Wireless

NEW YORK--GPS map maker Navteq is teaming with its parent company Nokia to help drivers get more accurate information about traffic conditions.

Before Nokia bought Navteq last year, the two began working on a project in conjunction with the University of California at Berkeley called Mobile Millennium that uses GPS-enabled cell phones as traffic monitors or "probes" to collect real-time traffic data.

A Nokia GPS-enabled phone acts as a traffic "probe" to provide real-time traffic information to drivers.

(Credit: Marguerite Reardon/CNET News)

A pilot program using more than 10,000 handsets has already launched in the San Francisco Bay Area. And on Tuesday the companies were showing off the technology at the Intelligent Transport Systems World Congress here in New York.

As part of the pilot program, researchers are collecting data via GPS and tracking usage patterns to provide real-time traffic reports for individual drivers. All the information is collected anonymously and aggregated statistically to provide the most up-to-date and accurate information.

"The beauty of this approach is that the users also become contributors and the more data that is collected the better the accuracy and range of the service," said Quinn Jacobson, a research leader at the Nokia Research Center in Palo Alto, Calif.

Navteq is a leader in the mapping and navigation market. Its maps have been used by Google and others to fuel their navigation services. And its technology is already being used for cell phone services, such as Verizon Wireless' VZ Navigator. In addition to turn-by-turn navigation, VZ Navigator also provides up-to-date traffic information.

But the problem is that most of the traffic information available through Navteq's technology is collected using government deployed sensors. While these sensors, which sit on the roads and monitor car speeds and traffic volume, do a good job, they are too expensive to be deployed everywhere. This means that traffic information is usually only available for busy highways in large metropolitan areas, but it's missing on arterial roads feeding into these highways or on rural secondary roads.

The application being developed in the Mobile Millennium project will solve this problem, Jacobson said.

Currently, the Mobile Millennium application is only being used in the pilot testing program, but Jacobson said he expects a commercial offering to be available within the next two years. It's not clear yet if Nokia will make the application available to phones other than ones made by Nokia. It's likely that the application could be made available as part of a service offered through a wireless operator. This would likely mean that it would be available on a wide range of handsets from other manufacturers.

Jacobson said those business details haven't been worked out, but it's technically possible to offer the application on any GPS device. Jacobson also emphasized that the application performs better with more users, which means it might be in Nokia's best interest to open it up to other devices.

"The application works really well with 2 percent of the drivers on the road using it," he said. "But 4 percent is even better and so on."

Jacobson said the application will become really useful when it allows users to input specific routes and is integrated with other applications. For example, a daily commuter could program into the phone several routes he drives to work. The traffic application would be able to choose the best route depending on the current traffic conditions. If something changes en route, the application would be smart enough to alter the route.

And for people who never leave themselves enough time to get to the airport or an important meeting, the traffic application could help. Once the application is integrated into the calendar, it could calculate how long it will take, based on current traffic conditions, to get to that appointment. And it could alert the user when he or she should leave in order to get there on time.

Worldwide mobile messaging grew nearly 10 percent in the third quarter compared to the second quarter of the year, fueled by new trends in the messaging market, according to VeriSign, which provides Internet infrastructure services and delivers messages on behalf of carriers and content providers.

The company reported Tuesday that VeriSign enabled more than 58.3 billion messages per day during the third quarter of 2008. This was up from about 52 billion messages sent during the second quarter of 2008.

On average, this means that VeriSign facilitated the delivery of about 634 million messages per day during the third quarter, compared to 572 million messages a day in the second quarter. In the third quarter of 2007, the company helped move 280 million messages per day across its systems. VeriSign said it expects to enable nearly 200 billion messages during 2008.

The company attributed a lot of this growth in mobile messaging to new uses of the technology, which include messaging for social and political change and marketing. One of the most notable examples of this is how U.S. President-elect Barack Obama used SMS text messaging to send messages to supporters during the campaign, even using the medium to distribute some of the campaign's biggest news like the selection of his vice presidential runningmate Joe Biden.

Other groups used text messaging to solicit charitable donations. And several businesses and financial institutions also used mobile. In fact, messaging volume from businesses skyrocketed about 115 percent in the third quarter of 2008 compared to the same period a year ago, the company said. Messaging on VeriSign's Mobile Banking platform also saw a 35 percent bump in volume from the second quarter of 2008 to the third quarter.

VeriSigns figures, which include text messaging as well as other forms of messaging like multimedia messaging, is in line with growth other groups have observed. In September, the U.S. wireless association CTIA noted the explosion in text messaging among U.S. consumers. The group reported that for the month of June, American cell phone subscribers sent about 75 billion SMS text messages, averaging about 2.5 billion messages per day. This represents an increase of 160 percent over the 28.8 billion messages reported in June 2007.

As large employers, such as Citigroup, prepare for massive layoffs, the bad economic news is starting to hit home for consumers afraid of losing their jobs and already looking for ways to tighten their belts.

The recent spate of poor earnings from all kinds of consumer companies, like coffee giant Starbucks, tell us that consumers are nervous about the economy. And it looks like consumers will continue to be skittish about spending over the next several months. Last week Nokia, the largest maker of mobile phones in the world, announced it's already seen sales slip, and it projected that sales will likely continue to be weak in the fourth quarter and into 2009.

While it's obvious that consumers are cutting back spending on certain luxuries like lattes and new cell phones, I wonder if they are also looking to cut spending on monthly services, like wireless, broadband, and cable TV. I recently looked at my stack of monthly bills to find where I could trim some fat from my budget, and I realized that aside from my electric bill, my cable/broadband and wireless phone bills are my top money suckers every month.

Executives from some of the nation's largest wireless and broadband companies have said publicly they don't expect to see huge numbers of people canceling service. For one, wireless, cable TV, and broadband services have become staples in American culture. And second, most people are under some kind of contract for one, if not all, of these services. So canceling their service outright could end up costing them more.

I know I couldn't do without my cell phone, cable TV, or broadband services. But maybe I could manage with less.

That's exactly what CEOs from Sprint Nextel and Verizon Communications have said they expect people to do over the next few months. They expect to see consumers curtail their spending somewhat by cutting back on services. This might mean reducing the number of voice minutes on a voice plan or cutting down the number of channels received as part of a cable TV service. Or maybe people will downgrade from a higher-speed broadband connection to a slower connection for a better price. Perhaps it means getting rid of a traditional voice landline or even a second voice over IP line.

I'm working on a story on how the financial crunch is affecting consumers' decisions about these services, and I'd love to hear from CNET News readers. If you are thinking about cutting back on your cell phone or cable TV/broadband service or if you've contacted any of your providers to try to work out a better deal, please e-mail me. I really want to get firsthand accounts from consumers about how they plan to save money during these turbulent times. Feel free to e-mail me at maggie.reardon@cbs.com.

(Credit: LogMeIn)

There's some good news for BlackBerry owners with broken or misbehaving phones on their hands: starting Monday, service providers and company IT departments using LogMeIn Rescue+Mobile to remotely cure mobile phones from whatever ails them can now support BlackBerry phones.

LogMeIn Rescue+Mobile is desktop software with a mobile component that lets technicians access the phone's entire file system from their remote dashboard (previous coverage). Prior to this release for BlackBerry OS 4.3+, the remote control software was compatible for Windows Mobile 5+, Symbian UIQ 9.0+, and Symbian S60 7.0+, in addition to Windows desktop and Mac OS X platforms.

In case you start fantasizing about trying out LogMeIn Rescue+Mobile on your little brother's phone, one look at the price will remind you of the app's business purpose: the cost starts at $1,956 per technician per year.

Individuals who want to stick to LogMeIn's more casual remote log-ins for productivity or diagnostic desktop purposes should turn to LogMeIn (Windows | Mac) or LogMeIn Free (Windows).

Adobe Systems CTO Kevin Lynch touts Flash for mobile phones at the Adobe Max conference.

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET Networks)

SAN FRANCISCO--Inspired by a new generation of smartphones, Adobe Systems has begun a new, higher-power effort to spread its Flash technology to mobile devices.

The company has worked for years on a lightweight incarnation of its Flash technology for mobile phones, but it now is working to bring the full-fledged Flash Player 10 to higher-end smartphones, Chief Technology Officer Kevin Lynch said at Adobe's Max conference here.

"We are midst of evolving Flash Player 10 for mobile," Lynch said. "We're taking the full Flash Player and making that run on the higher end of the mobile market."

Adobe naturally isn't the only company that wants to supply the plumbing for applications that run on mobile devices as well as PCs. Sun Microsystems has had some success spreading Java to mobile phones, and it's been working for months on a fancier alternative called JavaFX. And Microsoft, which also has legions of programmers familiar with its technology and development tools, is working hard on Windows Mobile.

Still no Flash for iPhone
Lynch demonstrated Flash Player 10 on devices running Nokia's Symbian operating system, Microsoft's Windows Mobile, and Google's Android operating system. But the quintessential example of the new family of smartphones, Apple's iPhone, so far remains only on the wish list.

"This needs a little more baking. We need to pass the taste test of Apple's head chef," Lynch said as he retrieved an iPhone from a pan full of mobile devices, turning enthusiastic whistles and cheering from a crowd of thousands into a disappointed hubbub. But Adobe is working on it, he said.

Naturally, nobody from Apple shared the stage with Lynch. Google Android leader Andy Rubin, by contrast, made an appearance after Lynch's demonstration of Flash on a T-Mobile G1, the first phone powered by Google's mobile operating system.

That Adobe was able to bring its software to Android affirms Google's strategy of building an "open platform (intended) to give a better Internet experience on cell phones," Rubin said. "Today, seeing Flash 10 makes me feel really warm. It was exactly what Android was built for."

Flash is used for YouTube's streaming video, and Lynch demonstrated a Windows Mobile phone playing a video hosted on the Google service. (The iPhone can show YouTube videos, too, but only after they've been transcoded into a different streaming format.)

Fresh AIR
Flash got its start as a Macromedia technology that could give Web sites animation and basic games. Adobe acquired Macromedia and embraced its vision of turning Flash into a much fuller computing foundation. One key to that foundation is what's called AIR, the Adobe Integrated Runtime, a downloadable software package that lets people run Flash applications outside the browser and when offline.

The New York Times is working on an AIR application that will let people read the International Herald Tribune in a format that looks more like newspaper and less like a Web page. It includes keyboard navigation controls, a browsing mode for the equivalent of flipping through the paper, a crossword that could be filled out, and video advertisements.

The application checks for new content every few minutes, but it can be used offline, too, with the stories and photos that already have been downloaded, said Michael Zimbalist, vice president of research and development at the Times.

Adobe released AIR 1.5 Monday, a version that inherits Flash Player 10 abilities such as better text rendering, support for right-to-left text scripts such as Arabic, multichannel audio, and 3D effects.

Like Flash, AIR is headed for the mobile world. Lynch also demonstrated AIR 1.5 running on a Linux-based Aigo miniature computer--what Intel likes to call a MID, or mobile Internet device. It was using an Intel Atom processor, and the same New York Times application ran on it.

Making Flash Lite easier
Although Adobe has elevated the status of the full Flash Player 10 on mobile devices, it's still working on Flash Lite.

Lynch acknowledged that it's hard to actually run Flash content with existing technology. Now, though, Flash Lite applications can be shared as a simple Web address, he said, and if Flash Lite isn't installed, it can be retrieved automatically.

"You can package your application built with Flash and deploy it to smartphones like Windows Mobile and Symbian, and we hope to get to Android as well," Lynch said. "If you don't already have Flash Lite, it will detect that and install it on your mobile phone over the air."

Flash includes auto-update technology so users generally have a current version installed, and Adobe plans to keep that philosophy with its push into the mobile realm, he added. Partners to help enable that update process include Cisco Systems, NTT DoCoMo, Verizon, Comcast, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Qualcomm, and ARM.

Lynch also boasted that Adobe is exceeding its goals for Flash on mobile phones.

"Our goal (was to make) a billion phones Flash-enabled by 2010," Lynch said. "We're actually going to get 1 billion Flash-enabled phones by 2009."

Click here for more news on Adobe's Max conference.

BT's Ribbit released its long-awaited Web telephony platform Monday to developers, which BT hopes will help spur innovation for new products and services in the telephony market.

Until now, most telephony advancements have been made by engineers at a particular company working on a closed, proprietary network. But now Ribbit is offering developers the chance to go behind the curtain and use its network to develop new applications.

Developers will be able to gain access to Ribbit's voice over IP SmartSwitch software, as well as a community site and support, monitoring, and management capabilities. The Ribbit platform will allow these developers to design, test, deploy, and manage voice and communication features used on the Web or within other applications. Developers will then be able to sell their applications through a Ribbit Store.

Pricing hasn't been disclosed, but BT plans to charge developers a fee based on the usage of its VoIP platform.

Ribbit, which launched the beta version of its software last year, has already demonstrated how its software can be used to enhance other Web-based applications. Previously, the company integrated its VoIP technology with Saleforce's customer relationship management software so that users can push an e-mail message into Salesforce. This allows them to attach leads and contacts. Users can also make and receive phone calls from within the Salesforce application.

So far, there are already over 600 developers involved in creating new applications on the Ribbit platform, the company said. Some of these applications involve call centers, social networking mash-ups, unified messaging, and other productivity tools.

BT, which bought Ribbit earlier this year for $105 million, said that it's also opening the software platform up to other phone companies. This would allow other carriers to easily access the wide range of new applications that are being created by the more than 7,500 developers who have signed up to use the platform since it was first available in 2007.

"Our vision from the start was 'programmable telephony'--a platform that enables developers around the globe to design, deploy and monetize the next-generation of telecommunication services," Ted Griggs, CEO of Ribbit, said in a statement. "Now, just four months after BT's acquisition of Ribbit, the platform is live, and we are open for business with developers, systems integrators, and yes, other carriers."

Ribbit is sponsoring a contest to encourage developers to come up with new applications for its platform. The company is offering $100,000 in prize money for the most innovative Ribbit integrations across five general categories. The categories are: business productivity; media, entertainment, and marketing; social networking; carrier integration; and next-gen innovation.

The economic downturn is taking its toll on the cell phone market, as Nokia, the world's largest maker of mobile devices, downgrades its outlook for the fourth quarter and 2009.

On Friday, Nokia announced that it now expects to only sell about 330 million mobile phones in the fourth quarter, bringing its total number of handsets sold in 2008 to 1.24 billion. The company had expected to sell 1.2 billion devices in 2008.

The company blames the weakening economy and currency volatility for its dismal outlook. Simply put, people aren't spending money on cell phones in these uncertain economic times.

"As a result of the rapid change in global consumer spending, which has impacted the mobile-device market, Nokia now expects that the industry mobile-device volumes will be lower in the fourth quarter of 2008 than previously expected," Nokia said in a statement.

In an effort to deal with the reduced outlook, Nokia also announced it will cut costs in 2009. Specifically, the company is looking to "curtail use of external contractors, consultants and professional services." It will also reduce other operational expenses. The company said it would provide more detail on its cost cutting plans in early December at a meeting in New York

Nokia still expects its mobile device market share to remain the same for the fourth quarter of 2008.

Nokia had reported a drop in earnings for the third quarter of 2008. Profits dipped about 30 percent and the company said it could lay off hundreds of workers.

A slowdown in the overall handset market will also likely affect other device makers, including Motorola, which recently reported dismal earnings. The company has been struggling to get back on track for more than a year, but the economic troubles certainly won't be a help.

Executives at the big wireless operators in the U.S. say they expect to weather the economic crisis unscathed. But a reduction in handset sales could mean that consumers may be unwilling to upgrade to a new device and more expensive service. While it's unlikely that large numbers of people would simply cancel cell phone service, these carriers could see a larger number of consumers reducing how much they spend on their service. And some may even see a higher rate of late payments and payment defaults. Sprint Nextel's CEO Dan Hesse has already mentioned this as a possible problem as the economy dips further.

The Inq1 phone will be optimized for Facebook, Windows Live Messenger, Last.fm, and Skype, 3 says.

(Credit: 3)

LONDON--Mobile operator 3 has unveiled a phone designed for accessing Web 2.0 services such as Facebook that it hopes will do for data consumption what Apple's iPhone has done for smartphone uptake.

Speaking at a launch event here, Kevin Russell, CEO of 3, said: "The iPhone is a fabulous product--a breakthrough in usability. The Google (Android) phone is an exciting direction. But for us, we want to open this whole marketplace up, in terms of usage of data for mobiles."

The operator announced that it will be offering the new phone, the Inq1, to tap into rising demand for data services, made by new maker Inq under the brand name Social Mobile. The device has been designed for always-on integration, with a range of mobile social networking and instant-messaging services, including Facebook, Windows Live Messenger, and Skype.

Frank Meehan, CEO of Inq--and previously director and general manager of 3G handsets and products for 3's parent company, Hutchison Whampoa--said the vast majority of existing mobile-Internet customers use their phones for e-mail, social networking, VoIP, IM, and video sharing, yet mass-market handsets have not typically been designed with these services in mind.

"If you get the user interface right--easy to use, with access to key services--like the iPhone, like the BlackBerry...you can really drive (mobile Internet) usage up," he said.

Here's a closer look at the Inq1.

(Credit: 3)

The phone is client-based so it syncs in the background with Web services such as Facebook, pulling in contact and profile data, and updating it automatically. The client system also means that social-networking services can still be used when there is no network reception, for instance, on the London Underground.

The slider-style candybar design--which has a traditional 12-key keypad--runs Inq's own operating system, which is based on Qualcomm's BREW (Binary Run-time Environment for Wireless). On 3, the monthly subscription will be 15 British pounds, while the device will cost 79.99 pounds on a pay-as-you-go agreement.

It is intended to be the first of "many" social mobiles, Meehan added, including a full QWERTY offering.

The two CEOs added that they are hoping for other operators to adopt Social Mobile, after an initial period of exclusivity to 3. However, Russell claimed that the big incumbent operators are not as likely to embrace mobile Internet services in the way 3 is. "Their desire to embrace the Internet is not great; their desire to hang on to their existing customers is great," he said.

Social Mobile will be launched in the United Kingdom in the next few months, according to 3.

Natasha Lomas of Silicon.com reported from London.

When you've got a game as compelling and competitive as Guitar Hero World Tour, you get it on as many platforms as you can as fast as you can, including the mobile phone. On Thursday, the mobile version of Guitar Hero World Tour became available on AT&T phones. We got to try it out.

On the PlayStation, Wii, and Xbox, this fourth Guitar Hero installment counters Rock Band's drum and vocal tracks, which themselves had one-upped Guitar Hero's original stringed instrument. Vocals aren't practical for the mobile version--which still rocks, by the way--but a drum track is. Activision and game-maker Hands-On Mobile have introduced a drum choice for every song.

There's a lot more news here--the updated game, which has a new look and two fresh game-playing features (can you say "battle mode"?). There are also technical details that could make a difference to how the game looks and sounds on your individual phone. Finally, there's all the practical stuff about when your carrier will stock the game and how much it'll cost you. Let's take one at a time.

Note the new purple drum line you have to think about while you play.

(Credit: Hands-On Mobile)

Gameplay

Anyone who has played Guitar Hero III Mobile (video review) will feel right at home with Guitar Hero World Tour Mobile, which begins with fifteen new songs for guitar and drums, and which uses the phone's keypad buttons instead of guitar frets. When it comes to customization, you drummers out there are an afterthought--guitarists can choose their instrument, but not you. Also, when you're playing drums, the bottom row of keys (7, 8, 9) stand in for the kick-drum, which is represented in the game by a horizontal purple line that floats at you along with the notes. I played several songs in the drummer's mode, where the kick-drum line helped keep the game interesting.

Also new to the mobile game is the multiplayer battle mode, where Hands-On Mobile has created a good way to pair you up with similar players all over the world. You'll be matched by skill level and by phone type (more on this below.) You'll divvy up picking a song and the instrument, and will have to use your star power strategically (called battle power in this mode) to keep your opponent from scoring. After playing, it'll be easy to track your score from the accompanying Web site (launching Friday). This is neat, but what if you want to play your friend? You should be able to duke it out with personal pals as well as with perfect strangers.

Sprint continues to be haunted by its $35 billion acquisition of Nextel Communications in 2005 as the company is forced to divest some of its Nextel network and is still struggling to get its finances back on track.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Illinois upheld a lower court's ruling that Sprint must stop owning, operating, and managing its Nextel iDEN network in Sprint affiliate iPCS's territory. But the court also extended the time line Sprint has for divesting itself from this market from 180 days to 360 days.

Basically, the two courts agreed with iPCS that Sprint was violating its agreement with iPCS by operating the Nextel network in the iPCS territory. Nextel had already been operating in iPCS's territory before Sprint bought the company in 2005. The agreement between Sprint and iPCS precludes Sprint from operating a competing wireless service in its territory. So once the merger was complete, Sprint was in violation of its agreement, iPCS argued.

Now Sprint must either work out a deal with iPCS or with some other wireless operator in order to continue serving its roughly 500,000 iDEN customers in the iPCS territory.

Sprint spokesman Matt Sullivan said the ruling was expected and his company is working to ensure that service won't be interrupted.

"Our current customers don't need to take any action," he said. "We remain committed to providing them service. We have been considering these issues for a long time, and we will be providing more details to customers later."

Sprint's merger with Nextel has been blamed for many of the problems facing the wireless operator today. The company has been steadily losing customers for several quarters, including a net loss of about 1.3 million customers in the third quarter of 2008. Sprint also posted a quarterly loss of $326 million, or 11 cents a share. A year earlier the company had a profit of $64 million, or two cents a share. Revenue also fell about 12 percent to $8.82 billion from $10.04 billion a year earlier.

For the past year, Sprint has been trying to regain its footing. The company hired a new CEO and has begun an aggressive campaign to improve its customer service. But the Nextel merger and the troubles associated with it still linger. Earlier this year Sprint tried to sell the Nextel business, but the weak economy has made that prospect next to impossible.

Now as the economy worsens, Sprint executives have said they expect a few speed bumps on their road to recovery. Specifically, they expect to see an increase in defaults in service plans and continued declines in subscribers, who sign long-term contracts, as well as declining revenue on a per user basis.

In an effort to get its finances back on track, Sprint has been cutting costs. For example, the company saved about $15.5 million during the most recent quarter by freezing office supply purchases. It's also slashed spending on travel, reducing on a monthly basis the number of employees traveling by about 63 percent. This effort has saved the company about $7.5 million in airfare alone from January to September, spokesman James Fisher said.

In its latest attempt to cut costs, Sprint began on Thursday offering some employees a volunteer severance package. The buyout only applies to employees who have non-customer facing jobs. Eligible employees can apply for the severance starting today and have until December 3 to put in their request. At that point, Sprint will review applications and let employees know if they're request has been accepted. The severance package being offered includes eight weeks of full pay, plus an additional two-weeks of pay for every year an employee has worked for the company.

Fisher said the company doesn't have a specific goal in terms of how much money it expects to save with the buyout or even how many employees it hopes will take the package. He also emphasized that the program is just one of many things the company is doing to reduce costs.

"We have been cutting back in various ways for the better part of this year," he said. "So this is just part of our ongoing attempts to save as much as we can without impacting the service we provide to customers."