ArchiveJune, 2007

Two security companies – Diversinet Corp. and Intersections, Inc. - recently joined forces to help provide a full security suite for mobile users, as more and more personal information moves onto cell phones to be transmitted wirelessly.

With the advent of mobile transaction services like Verizon Wireless’s Obopay, cell phone security is a growing concern for many early adapters. The added convenience and exciting potential of mobile transactions are, for some, tempered by security concerns; this is one hurdle that must be overcome in order for the technology to enter the mainstream.

Intersection plans to use Diversinet’s service, MobiSecure Wallet and Vault, to provide the kind of mobile security that makes it nearly impossible for an identity thief to steal your personal information as it projects through the air via a wireless network. A highlight of the product, for example, allows consumers to securely store information on the cell phone itself, meaning there’s less interaction with a remote server, and, as a result, less exposure.

Read more…

On Monday, Nokia’s chief technology officer spoke at the CommunicAsia telecom event in Singapore, where his remarks on innovation seemed to echo - or, perhaps, move beyond - the impending arrival of Apple’s iPhone. The exec, Tero Ojanpera, focused on the two elements he and his company consider critical in pushing mobile technology forward:

“Optical sensors and touch will be the next big things… I believe there will be a lot of innovation around these.”

On its face, that statement may seem fairly innocuous, but the long-term ramifications are pretty fascinating coming from the world’s largest cell phone manufacturer. The iPhone is poised to introduce full touch-screen technology to a mass market later this summer, and that innovation clearly carries with it a certain “wow� factor. In fairness, though, touch screens have been around for a little while; room for advancement is limited to expanding general use and perfecting the interface.

What may be more interesting is that Ojanpera puts so much emphasis on “optical sensorsâ€?. Read more…

Verizon Wireless today announced the upcoming launch of Obopay, which will let users send money to each other via their cell phones.

To use the service you need to open an Obopay account and transfer money from a credit card or bank account. You can then send that money to a phone number with text message command, via a mobile web browser, or if you’re a subscriber with a participating carrier such as Verizon Wireless, by downloading the Obopay application which puts an easy-to-use interface on your phone. Each purchase transaction costs ten cents. To claim money that someone has sent to you, you simply need to log into or create an account associated with your phone number. Receiving payments is free.

Read more…

AT&T wireless store locations in the Northeast are now drop-off points for the Cell Phones for Soldiers charity founded by two Massachusetts teenagers. The proceeds from recycling are used to purchase prepaid phone cards and distribute them to soldiers serving overseas, allowing them to stay in touch with their families.

The teens, siblings from Norwell, MA, started the organization with $21 after hearing a report on the news about how much soldiers were spending to call home. Since they started in 2004, they have raised over $1 million and distributed over 75,000 phone cards to soldiers.

By the Fourth of July, all AT&T wireless store locations will be accepting cell phones for recycling. In addition, AT&T is donating 30,000 prepaid phone cards as well as volume discount pricing to the organization.

More information on donating and/or recycling your cell phone is available at Wirefly.org.

Late last year, T-Mobile launched an experimental UMA service in Seattle called HotSpot @Home. UMA networks allow cell phone users to place calls using existing GSM or GPRS cellular networks, and over unlicensed spectrum typically found in a home, or local-area WiFi setup. The transition is seamless, and allows customers to improve signal strength while indoors, while also saving money on wireless bills by using free WiFi connections when available.

The HotSpot @Home service (well, the beta version) costs an extra $20 a month, but that fee includes access at all T-Mobile WiFi HotSpots, meaning you’ll be able to take advantage of the network at coffee houses, hotels, airports, and anywhere else T-Mobile has set up shop.

Six months into the trial run in Seattle, T-Mobile now appears ready to roll out the service nationwide, according to the Wall Street Journal (subscription req.), and HotSpot @Home could come to your neck of the woods by mid-summer. Final pricing is not yet set, but should come soon.

AT&T announced today that its new cell phone “shared video” service is now available in three U.S. cities. Subscribers in San Antonio, Atlanta and Dallas are able to essentially broadcast a live video feed from their phone, share that video with a friend, and carry on a conversation at the same time. The program, called Video Share, is best summed up as “I see what you see.”

Right now, only three cell phone models support AT&T’s Video Share – the Samsung a707, Samsung Sync, and LG CU500v – and in order for the service to work, both the sender and receiver must own the correct phone and subscribe to the Video Share program. Still, though, this sure sounds cool. Video Share costs a modest $4.99 a month for 25 minutes of video feeds, or $9.99 for a full hour.

Best of all, an AT&T spokeswoman says Video Share will be made available to AT&T’s entire 3G network, from coast to coast, by next month.

Virgin Mobile USA has launched a mobile music magazine application called ‘Headliner.’ Once you download the application from the Virgin Mobile USA website to a compatible phone, you can personalize it to receive the music-related content about your favorite arists, including news, reviews, bios, and tour updates. You can also search any time for concert info based on a particular area or artist and get dates, times, and opening acts.

There’s a 14 day free trial and then it’s $2.49 a month (plus the cost of the text messages). Still sounds easier than all that time I spend on Ticketmaster trying to remember what shows are going on sale when.