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Sony Seeks Content Provider For Wi-Fi-Enabled PSP

From TelecomWeb:

Sony is going to be looking for mobile content that moves outside of traditional gaming, so any mobile-content providers that can configure their wares to work well via occasional access on Wi-Fi hot spots instead of phone-based systems should be talking to Sony now. Early-in developers are likely to get favorable terms out of Sony, because the company already has shown a willingness to take a financial bath on the PSP hardware, which probably costs them $100 more per unit to produce than they are charging. The company appears to be in the PSP game for the long haul, expecting to follow the PS2 model of making money from licensing fees only several years into the product’s life cycle. Until then, the object will be to build a critical mass of content and connectivity, and for that they need partners.

Related:

: WiFi gaming the next big thing?

WiFi to take off in India

From Rediff:

Wi-fi is set to take off in India after being written off initially, with metros and small towns likely to see a large increase in the number of hotspots. The trigger is the government's move to delicense the 2.4 Ghz and 5.1 Ghz bands, on which the wi-fi platform works.

Hotspots are locations that are wi-fi enabled, which means one can log on to the Internet at these spots without using cables. Under the new notification, the 2.4 Ghz band can now be used to provide both indoor and outdoor wi-fi, while the 5.1 Ghz band can be used for indoor and adjacent campuses.

Any service provider can establish, maintain, possess and deal with wireless networks operating on these bandwidths without a licence. At present, of the nearly 300 public hotspots in the country, over 80 per cent are in Bangalore. Also, less than 1 per cent of the world's hotspots are in India.

Wi-fi access tariffs in the country, which are currently among the highest in the world, are likely to crash as standalone service providers enter the race to offer these services.

Related:

: Wireless VoIP held back by handset costs - In a new study suggests it will take a number of yrs before WiFi phones hits the mass market. Also according to a recent report from Infonetics Research, worldwide WiFi VoIP handset revenue totaled $45M and 113,000 units were sold last year.

: NYT rounds up on the WiFi phone scene.

: Kiwi Wireless provider Woosh to introduce wireless VoIP service.

Click here for other WiFi related stories.

WiFi gaming the next big thing?

According to a new IDC study, WiFi gaming is going to generate lots of revenue, overtaking ringtones n 2005, rising to nearly $1.5B annually by 2008. The gaming trend will shift from single player, device only gameplay towards virtual community oriented games. The uptake of community-oriented games has been the vision of Trip Hawkins the co-founder of Digital Chocolate.

Technically difficult from a network, content provider, and device perspective, there is nonetheless a demand for head-to-head play among users and, “ Supporting these users requires enhanced features such as player-to-player text communications, player profiles, game information, player matching features, and leader boards.”

Moreover, casual, community-oriented subscription game revenue will grow from a distinct minority of total revenues to market dominance by the end of 2008, says IDC.

“A data point illustrating this trend is that InfoSpace Mobile and Blue Lava Wireless recently hosted what was billed as the largest domestic cross-carrier mobile phone gaming tournament ever held,” says Schelley Olhava, program manager, Consumer Markets: Gaming.

“Tetris Tournament Mobile Championship competitors played more than a million games in September and October for a chance to win $10,000 in prizes. The grand champion reportedly played 2,300 games.”

More on community based mobile games:

: Social Mobile games

: Location based mobile games

Review of WiFi detectors

Handtops.com has an indepth review of some of the best WiFi detectors available on the market. More here and here.

Vonage Goes Mobile

Vonage partners with UTStarcom to create a Wi-Fi enabled mobile phone, allowing users to make a call over a wireless network. The phone will be out next summer and the prices are yet to be determined. The WiFi mobile phone is based on the SIP technology.

Related:

: NTT DoCoMo is developing a dual network 3G FOMA handset that runs on both FOMA and wireless LAN networks.

: T-Mobile USA and H-P to Roll out Wi-Fi Web Phone.

: BT to launch a Wi-Fi enabled phone.

Dual Network Handset from DoCoMo

From JCNN:

NTT DoCoMo (TSE: 9437) has announced the development of the "N900iL," a dual network 3G FOMA handset that runs on both FOMA and wireless LAN networks.

The handset, which is scheduled to be marketed in Fall 2004, has been specifically designed to support the new PASSAGE DUPLE system that was developed by DoCoMo to integrate the two-network operation.

Under the PASSAGE DUPLE system, the N900iL may be used as a standard FOMA handset, as well as an in-house VoIP phone utilizing a company's internal wireless LAN network.

The dual-network solution targets corporate users, and will be marketed through DoCoMo's corporate business division and partner companies. The system will not be available through DoCoMo shop locations.

Related:
: T-Mobile USA and H-P to roll out Wi-Fi web phone

Wi-Fi Web Phone

T-Mobile USA and H-P to Roll out Wi-Fi Web Phone. From Wall Street Journal:

Hewlett-Packard Co. and T-Mobile USA Inc. are expected today to unveil what they say is the first mobile device that combines Wi-Fi and wide-area cellular data technology, allowing users to browse the Web wirelessly wherever they go, using the highest speeds available. The device, which is also a wireless phone, marks Hewlett-Packard's entry into that highly competitive business. ... "The whole intent is to bring the best-in-breed" of whatever connection is available, said Scott Ballantyne, vice president of business-service marketing for T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG. The device, called the iPaq 6315, looks like a traditional iPaq -- Hewlett-Packard's line of hand-held computers -- and comes with an attachable keyboard that can be used with a user's thumbs.

WiFi sensors aids wine makers

Californian vineyard is turning to Wi-Fi technology to help it grow better grapes. From the BBC:

Pickberry in Sonoma County is using a wireless net to gather data from sensors in its fields that monitor key conditions such as temperature, humidity and soil moisture.

The sensor net means the grape growers know much more about the health of their vines and can apply water or chemicals only when the plants really need them. Each of the sensors placed around the Pickberry vineyard has onboard monitors for several conditions known to be key influences on grapevine health.

Grapes that produce good wine cost a premium so getting the right conditions for good growth can mean the difference between profit and loss for small vineyards. When a sensor post has gathered data, it travels back to a central server by hopping from one wi-fi access point to another.

Wi-Fi technology in rural Nepal

Thanks to Nepal Wireless Networking project, farmers in rural Nepal are using Wi-Fi technology to keep in touch with their families:

"Yak farmers are using the network to buy and sell livestock, and exchange vetinerary tips," said Mr Pun. From the village where I live, the yak farm is two days' walk away, so that was one of the reasons why I thought about using wireless technology," he told the BBC programme Go Digital. "After we had the network, we could talk to the people taking care of the yak and ask them if they had problems, for example if they needed medicine or food or if they had any messages for their families. "They can send message via e-mail and also they can do it through NetMeeting video conferencing software, so they can also talk."