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TI Unveils OMAP(TM)-Based Multimedia Extensions for Symbian-Based Wireless Devices
New Plug-Ins to Symbian Software Development Kits Offer Seamless Access To Real-Time DSP Performance
DALLAS, May 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Driving the development of emerging 2.5 and 3G wireless applications, Texas Instruments Incorporated (NYSE: TXN - news; TI) today announced the availability of a new TI OMAP(TM)-based multimedia extension that can be used with Symbian's software development kits. The new plug-ins enable developers designing real-time applications such as multimedia messaging, video and Internet audio to take advantage of the multimedia capability in the Symbian software platform enhanced by TI's fully-open, digital signal processor (DSP)-based OMAP platform.
``TI's new extensions with the industry-proven Symbian SDKs will accelerate the introduction of multimedia capabilities for 2.5 and 3G applications,'' said Jouko Hayrynen, Vice President, Strategy and Business Development, Nokia Mobile Phones. ``Symbian and TI have created a robust value proposition for developers who are creating multimedia applications that require the real-time performance of TI's DSP-based OMAP platform.''
Developers Gain Seamless Access to Optimized DSP Algorithms
Building on Symbian's platform offering for next generation mobile phones, the new OMAP-based plug-ins further enables Symbian's licensees and independent software vendors to easily enrich their applications with multimedia-rich features for Symbian / TI based devices. With these extensions, developers can also leverage the best-in-class performance and power efficiency of TI's DSPs, by utilizing high-level application program interfaces (APIs) that provide seamless access to optimized DSP algorithms.
The TI extensions to be released will include multimedia service APIs for applications such as video, speech and audio services. Addressing the demand for video services, TI today offers an MPEG4 decoding API extension for the Symbian C++ SDK and is scheduled to follow with speech and audio API extensions such as MP3 and speech recognition in the third quarter of 2001.
``Having delivered our open, software platform to licensees, Symbian is working closely with partners to drive the creation of thousands of innovative software solutions for Symbian based devices,'' said Mark Edwards, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Symbian. ``TI's plug-ins for our software developer kits will further drive the creation of compelling multimedia applications and services targeted for Symbian / TI based devices.''
The Symbian platform is an open, mobile operating system designed for wireless information devices that combine voice communications with data capabilities. Licensed by the world's leading handset manufacturers, devices based on the combination of Symbian's technology and TI's DSP-based OMAP architecture are due to ship in the second half of 2001.
Introduced in May 1999, TI's DSP-based OMAP architecture is a fully open platform capable of supporting all wireless industry standards. Delivering the required performance and low power to enable real-time communications- based applications, the OMAP platform is quickly becoming a defacto standard for 2.5 and 3G wireless devices as with manufacturers such as Nokia, Ericsson and Sony. TI's OMAP platform is also supported by a broad network of developers who design popular applications including multimedia, security, m-commerce, gaming and location based services.
``Today's announcement is an extension of our strategy to enable the development of 2.5 and 3G next-generation wireless applications,'' said Alain Mutricy, OMAP platform general manager for TI. ``Moving ahead, TI will continue to work with its customers and partners to facilitate software development efforts for new applications for a variety of end equipments.''
May 3, 2001
RIM to give BlackBerry a voice
By IAN FRIED, CNET NEWS.CO
When the BlackBerry e-mail pager makes its European debut later this year, it will be something to talk about. Soon afterward, it will be something to talk on.
In Europe, the BlackBerry will run on the voice network known as GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications). As a result, adding the ability to make cell phone calls will be as simple as offering a software download and plugging in a headset.
''It's just another icon on the screen,'' said Dennis Kavelman, chief financial officer of Research In Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry.
RIM is working with BT Cellnet, a wireless offshoot of British Telecom, to offer the BlackBerry in Europe. The unit will use the emerging General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) standard, which moves data at high speeds over the GSM phone network. When it first launches, the BlackBerry will offer only data, but adding voice should be a snap, Kavelman said.
Kavelman added that RIM is counting on its European effort--as well as a separate effort to make all BlackBerry pagers compatible with Lotus Notes--to help the company keep growing despite a diminished appetite for technology spending at large companies. RIM and BT employees are doing early testing of the BlackBerry in Europe.
While technologically simple, the move to add voice to the e-mail device is challenging financially. RIM deserves to benefit from the voice calls made over a BlackBerry, Kavelman said, but has yet to work out the financial details with BT.
''We don't know what the voice model is,'' he said, speaking to investors Wednesday at a J.P. Morgan H&Q conference in San Francisco.
RIM is not the only handheld maker with its eye on Europe and the GSM market. Also speaking at the J.P. Morgan event, Palm CFO Judy Bruner said that her company is working on a handheld with built-in, GSM-based wireless functions, although she did not give specifics. French phone maker Sagem has also announced a combination cell phone/handheld computer using Microsoft's Pocket PC operating system.
Handspring's VisorPhone add-on for handhelds also runs on the GSM network. The company plans to begin selling it in Europe in the next couple of months.
Kavelman said RIM will have an easier time forming partnerships with other leading tech companies than Palm will because RIM is not looking to compete with them.
''We don't have a RIM.Net portal,'' Kavelman said, alluding to Palm.Net. ''We don't have a RIM OS that is trying to compete with Microsoft.''
IDC analyst Alex Slawsby said that a voice-capable BlackBerry is one of several products that could make so-called convergence devices more attractive. Slawsby also pointed to Motorola's Accompli 009, provided that the unit comes down in price.
Scott Miller, an analyst at C.E. Unterberg Towbin, said he expects the data-only BlackBerry for Europe to start shipping in late fall but added that it will take some time for the BlackBerry to catch on there. He said the initial marketing will focus on U.S. companies that have European operations and others that have experience with the BlackBerry.
''There is some question as to really how rapid the adoption will be,'' Miller said. ''Europe is much more phone-centric.''
Still, Miller noted that sending text messages has become quite popular in Europe and said the BlackBerry is much more attractive for entering text than cell phones are.
''When they use the BlackBerry for the first time, they are going to be amazed by just how useful that keyboard is,'' Miller said.
Another wild card is how fast the GPRS network gets up and running. But assuming all goes well, the combination of voice and the BlackBerry could be quite a topic of conversation overseas.
''By the middle of 2002, BlackBerry may be all the rage in London,'' Miller
Future Computing: Faster Than Silicon
Tim McDonald
May 03, 2001
According to IBM scientists, molecular science and, in particular, carbon nanotubes could replace silicon-based chips in as little as a decade.
Sooner or later -- and some scientists vote for sooner -- the technological trip that the silicon-based computer chip has taken us on must come to an end as the technology is stretched to its limit. The race is now on to discover silicon's successor, and to the winner will come glory and unimaginable profits.
In perhaps as little as a decade, to the average computer user now struggling to download an online movie over a dial-up connection or even over cable or DSL modems, today's technology will seem primitive.
Computer speeds promise to become unimaginably faster, and computers themselves may morph from the desktop furniture they are today into something worn on one's shirt -- or even as a piece of jewelry.
Bacterial Computing
The search for the post-silicon future has led to such far-out options as quantum computing -- a bizarre, sub-atomic world in which an electron can be two places at the same time -- and biological computing, where DNA or even a vial of lowly bacteria is capable of computing.
Many scientists think the answer lies in molecular science and, in particular, a material called carbon nanotubes, which might be imagined as microscopic sheets of graphite folded into long, thin cylinders.
A computer composed of molecules? Sound far-fetched? Yes it does, but look up carbon on your periodic table -- you'll find it right there in silicon's ritzy neighborhood.
"Carbon and silicon are very similar elements," IBM scientist Phaedon Avouris told NewsFactor Network. "They interact very nicely." That means that Avouris' team's discovery may lead to the future of computing.
Avouris is the manager of the IBM research project that produced the first array of transistors out of carbon nanotubes, which are actually elongated molecules about 50,000 times thinner than the diameter of a human hair. He was also the author of the resulting research paper that IBM released last week.
Current technology enables chipmakers to print circuits on silicon down to 0.1 micron, about 1,000 times thinner than a human hair.
Simple and Fast
Carbon nanotubes have been around since 1991, when they were discovered by Japanese scientist S. Iijima. Scientists were excited about their unique conductive qualities, but there was a major problem: the metallic carbon nanotubes, useless for semiconducting, tended to clog at random with the semiconducting ones.
Scientists were stymied by the problem of how to separate the two, until the IBM team came up with an extraordinarily simple system.
"The last few years have been painstaking," IBM's Matt McMahon told NewsFactor. "What this work did was to throw bundles of these tubes onto a silicon substrate, then we add electrodes on top of it. We turned off the semiconductor tubes, which insulates them from the electricity flowing."
"When we add a certain voltage," McMahon explained, "we can 'blow up' the metallic ones. It leaves us with the semiconductor tubes only. It basically leaves us with a working transistor. It's a very simple and fast technique."
Hybrid Devices
The IBM scientists, along with everyone else in the "molectronics" community, will tell you that making a computer out of molecules is a long way off, probably several decades, if it happens at all.
However, using "hybrid devices" for memory and logic alongside and in conjunction with silicon is a very real near-term possibility.
"We have tested the physics, we know that it works, so it's a matter of developing the technology," Avouris said. "If that is going to succeed or not depends on the manufacturer. If nothing else, we showed that it's not as difficult as people thought. I think what you're going to see is hybridization between silicon and nanotube technologies."
Economics Matter
Avouris noted that economics played a big factor in how they conducted their research.
"The silicon factories over the years have spent trillions of dollars developing that technology, so you don't want to start from zero," he said. "What we tried to do during every step of our work with nanotubes is to use technology that has already been developed with silicon."
"I think the physics will be completely understood in another two or three years," Avouris told NewsFactor. "From that point on, I would expect that some development efforts will start, and by the time silicon starts getting into deep water 10 or 12 years from now, we'll probably start seeing some commercial applications."
Breathtaking Possibilities
If molecular computing on its own ever does become feasible, it would mark a breathtaking leap beyond silicon. Engineers could pack more circuitry onto a microchip than silicon ever dreamed of, and do it much more cheaply.
Sophisticated miniaturization with silicon becomes increasingly expensive, and assuming that chipmakers were able to discover viable ways to stick ultra-tiny silicon components onto chips, they probably wouldn't work because at that size quantum physics makes the electrons behave unpredictably.
But molecules are only a few nanometers in size, and it is possible to make chips containing billions -- or even trillions -- of switches and components. That would make possible supercomputers that heretofore were only imagined -- computers so small they could be worn with your shirt or on your wrist.
In effect, molecular memories could have a million times the storage density of today's most advanced chips, leaving Moore's Law a distant human memory.
Iomega chief responds to criticism
By Brice Wallace
Deseret News business writer
OGDEN — David Dunn found himself in the spotlight both literally and figuratively Wednesday during Iomega Corp.'s annual shareholder meeting.
The chairman of the company's board of directors spent several minutes responding to recent criticism directed at him by Stan Corker, director of technology research at Emerald Research. Dunn alternately agreed with, denied and rationalized different parts of Corker's report on the company and comments made by the industry analyst in the wake of Iomega's first-quarter earnings announcement.
Dunn acknowledged that it must be frustrating for analysts who see various factors affect their predictions about companies such as the Roy-based maker of removable data storage products.
"This is somewhat the stamping of the foot of someone who's frustrated," Dunn said in responding to a shareholder's questions about the matter.
In his report and a media interview, Corker also said Dunn has "handcuffed" chief executive officer Bruce Albertson and his predecessor CEOs and said Dunn's recent sale of stock was an example of Dunn putting his personal interests ahead of the company's.
Corker also criticized the company for refusing to give analysts guidance on future earnings and revenue expectations. He said it was the board's arrogance that was preventing it and said Dunn was primarily responsible for that policy.
Dunn acknowledged that the company provides little guidance. "It is absolutely true, except for the arrogance part," he said.
A few years ago, the company settled — at a cost of $15 million — a lawsuit spawned by shareholders who latched on to a former CEO's optimistic comments only to see the company unable to reach those expectations.
"It's easy for an analyst who is frustrated (to be critical), . . . but I never once heard them say, 'I'll protect you against lawsuits.' "
Dunn said the company also uses conservative accounting methods and faces fluctuations in the economy. He cited as an example the board's first-quarter revenue expectation in January of $345 million, far ahead of the actual $278 million figure.
Dunn said none of the company's CEOs have complained about being handcuffed, adding that they have been strong and almost always had board support. He noted that the board's authority differs from that of a CEO.
"There may be a fiction around that CEOs make all the decisions and all the board does is hire and fire CEOs," he said.
He also said Iomega has grown in two decades from nothing to a company with 3,500 worldwide employees and $1.5 billion in annual sales. "You really have to admire CEOs who could accomplish that while they're handcuffed," he said.
Dunn acknowledged that in February he sold 155,000 of his Iomega shares but added that in the past two decades, his shares have had a net increase of 52,804, leaving him with 2.85 million shares.
Chairmen of other major companies buy and sell tons of stock, but that hasn't offended analysts, he said. As for his activities conflicting with the company's interests? "That's absolute nonsense," he said.
Dunn also said board members have many reasons for making sales or purchases, including some that are deeply personal. "We don't disclose why we sell our stock. . . . Shareholders do not have a responsibility to know why we sold them," he said.
A few shareholders were critical of Dunn Tuesday. Outside the meeting, Joe Clark of Ogden said he agreed with analyst Corker's assessments of Dunn. "He holds CEOs down so they don't do their job," Clark said.
During the meeting, shareholder Scott Hogan of Bountiful said having statements about Iomega's prospects would be helpful and that many company announcements are meaningless to investors. Hogan said he would prefer "a happy midway point" between the board's stance of no information and the hefty information analysts seek.
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Intel attempts to maintain Moore's Law despite cost
Company continues to develop faster, more powerful chips
Paul Sakuma / Associated Press
Intel Chief Executive Craig Barrett faces the challenge of maintaining "Moore's Law" while keeping prices low and convincing shoppers they need more powerful processors.
By Matthew Fordahl / Associated Press
LIVERMORE, Calif. -- Computing power hasn't doubled every 12 to 18 months just because Gordon Moore said it would back in 1965.
Few people understand that more than Intel Corp. chief executive Craig Barrett, who leads the company Moore co-founded in 1968 and faces the challenge and costs of maintaining "Moore's Law" -- while keeping prices low and convincing customers they actually need more powerful processors.
The continued prosperity of the high-tech economy depends on faster, better, cheaper chips.
Intel recently announced progress on two fronts. It plans to start making chips on larger, 12-inch wafers, cutting costs by about 30 percent over the current 8-inch wafers. And a new technology that adds more features -- more processing punch for smaller spaces -- also was unveiled this month.
During a recent drive from Santa Clara to Livermore, Barrett spoke about the challenge of maintaining Moore's Law, Intel's approach to research and the future of computing.
The Associated Press: Are you surprised at how long the semiconductor has been able to sustain Moore's Law?
Craig Barrett: I think everyone has been amazed that Moore's Law has gone as long as it has. I know that in 1965, when Gordon postulated that law, he didn't think it would be sustained over an extended period of time. That was 35 years ago, and we're still pretty much on track.
Most people would suggest it's got somewhere between 10 and 20 years more. That would make about 50 years of doubling every 18 months. Mother Nature doesn't do many things of that sort. It is quite amazing to all involved that something could be increased geometrically for that extended period of time.
AP: As more computing power is available, how do you see the personal computer evolving?
Barrett: I see the computer continuing to do very much the same things it has done in the past -- word processing, spreadsheets and act as a vehicle to access information and to communicate and also to extend its features and capabilities into natural data types -- to audio, digital video imaging, entertainment, animation, rich communication. I think the image of the desktop PC, which is this rectangular, beige box, flat and on end under the desktop or on the desktop, is going to disappear, mainly because houses will be networked and there will be wireless connectivity. You can put the guts of your PC anywhere. It may well be some place out of sight.
AP: In the past, some of the greatest inventions of the computer age have originated in corporate labs performing basic research. Why doesn't Intel follow that model?
Barrett: There are historic reasons, which is the founders of the company came out of Fairchild (Semiconductor). Fairchild had what we call an esoteric R&D laboratory that did not interface terribly closely with the rest of the company. It had a very difficult time transferring its research results into the mainstream of the company.
(Intel founders) Bob Noyce, Gordon Moore and Andy Grove at that time noticed they could do much better if they dedicated their research more toward the development and commercialization of technology as opposed to the basic creation of technology.
AP: A lot of time, effort and money is going into faster processors. Yet many consumers say there's no need for such speed. How do you respond?
Barrett: I heard it when we transformed the 286 to the 386, the 386 to 486, the 486 to the Pentium, the Pentium to the Pentium II, Pentium III to the Pentium 4. That has been a common comment through every transition we have made. Unfortunately, we tend to always look at the next generation of microprocessors in light of our past experience rather than thinking about what we can do in the future.
AP: The dot-coms and the Internet seemed to offer new uses for more powerful computers. What happened there?
Barrett: Business models. Anybody who had a halfway smart idea could create an IPO and go out and be valued in the billions of dollars with no products, no revenue, no profits, no customer service, no nothing. It was an unsustainable model, so we crashed back to Earth. The dot-coms had farther to fall, and they're squished flat.
I.B.M. Enhances Liquid Crystal Display Process
By JOHN MARKOFF
cting on a scientist's hunch, a team of researchers at I.B.M. have perfected a significant improvement in the process used to align liquid crystals that form displays in laptop computers and increasingly in desktop machines.
The technique, which will be reported in today's issue of the scientific journal Nature, replaces a 95-year- old rubbing method with a new noncontact process based on tools widely available from semiconductor and disk manufacturing systems.
The new system employs an ion beam gun to deposit an ultrathin layer of carbon, whose molecules form in such a way that liquid crystals align themselves when they are deposited on the carbon layer, or substrate.
The new method is simpler and less expensive and will significantly increase yields in the $20 billion liquid crystal display business, said Praveen Chaudhari, an I.B.M. researcher who specializes in amorphous solids.
I.B.M. said the new technology could be deployed in its factories by the end of the year. It is also prepared to license the technology widely within the display industry.
Dr. Chaudhari, who works at the I.B.M. research center in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., said the new manufacturing process sprang from his hunch that tilting the ion beam at the chaotic planes of carbon molecules, instead of beaming it directly, would make it possible to push aside some of the surface carbon atoms, forming precise atomic-scale rows.
Later, when the rod-shaped liquid crystals are poured onto the substrate, they conveniently align themselves to the carbon. The substrate is remarkably thin — as little as 8 to 10 atoms thick.
The noncontact process avoids a step in the manufacturing of L.C.D. panels in which the panels are removed from a clean room, rubbed with a dusty cloth and then washed and baked. Those steps invariably introduced imperfections that became more noticeable as the resolution and precision of L.C.D. devices increased.
An industry analyst said the technology was likely to be adopted quickly by the industry.
"In the display industry today, margins are very thin," said Ross Young, president of DisplaySearch, a market research firm based in Austin, Tex. "So certainly any cost savings associated with yield are very interesting in the industry."
Dr. Chaudhari, a former manager at the research center, said he had returned to scientific research because of the pleasure of the work. He said being a scientist at the Yorktown Heights center was like working in a "playpen."
OT: Microsoft could scoop up one of Big Five, Gartner says
By Matt Berger
IDG News Service, 05/03/01
A post antitrust Microsoft could come replete with some major acquisitions, an analyst speaking at Gartner Group's annual Windows conference in Los Angeles suggested this week.
Amid discussions over the future of Microsoft's software and services strategy, Gartner analyst Tom Bittman predicted that Microsoft would follow the resolution of its lengthy antitrust battle with a shopping spree.
"In the first year post antitrust, we expect Microsoft to spend $4 billion on acquisitions," Bittman said, addressing a crowd at the group's annual conference here on Windows. "There are lots of vendors that may be struggling during this bubble burst that Microsoft may take a look at."
Without putting too much weight behind his guess, Bittman said a potential acquisition target for Microsoft could be one of the Big Five management and consulting firms: Deloitte & Touche, Ernst & Young, KPMG Consulting, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting).
"It's a role they need to be in if they are going to grow in the enterprise," he said.
Microsoft last week announced an internal effort to grow its consulting services division. The company combined its support services and consulting business to take a more aggressive role in grabbing the lead role in major contract jobs. While consulting makes up only about 3% of its total revenue, the unit is Microsoft's fastest-growing business, according to Gartner.
Bob McDowell, vice president of worldwide services at Microsoft, who will head the new division, last week said that the shift to consulting has become necessary as Microsoft makes its move into the high-end server market. He also noted that for Microsoft to implement its broad .Net vision successfully, customers will require a range of consulting services as they work through sometimes complex projects.
The company sees the need for a more complete set of consulting services growing so dramatically, it plans to increase its head count in the new division 20% to 30% each year, from the current 13,000 employees.
While Gartner's prediction was followed by a number of disclaimers, such as the unknown outcome of Microsoft's antitrust appeal and any impact that ruling could bring, other industry watchers say they wouldn't rule out an acquisition in the consulting area.
"I think that you could definitely see them go in that direction," said Brendan Barnicle, a financial analyst with Pacific Crest Securities. "They're obviously sitting on a pile of cash."
Microsoft has about $26.9 billion in cash and $18.3 billion in investments that will likely be put to use when its antitrust battle with the Department of Justice comes to a close, according to figures from Gartner. That enables Microsoft to buy into partnerships, such as its recent $25 million loan to business-to-business software maker Commerce One, and pick up key components to build on .Net, its initiative for delivering applications and services to various types of computer over the Web.
Microsoft already has reacted to the momentum gathering behind the "software as a service" concept with its $1.1 billion purchase of Great Plains Software. The company recently started announcing services based on Great Plains' products at its bCentral Web services site for small and midsize businesses. A dominant position in the consulting business would allow Microsoft to play a lead role in helping customers to implement its new services.
"That would be a very valid use of capital for them." Barnicle said. "That's the piece Microsoft is missing when going up against IBM and others."
An acquisition in the consulting business would not be the first for a major computer hardware or software company. In September 2000, Hewlett-Packard offered to buy the global consulting division of PricewaterhouseCoopers. Negotiations over an acquisition - valued at between $17 billion and $18 billion in stock - ended two months later with no deal. Since then, HP has tackled the need for a service division by expanding internally, and has commented on other potential targets such as Scient. Microsoft has also spent its share in the space, spending $385 million on a partnership with Accenture, then called Andersen Consulting, to form Avanade.
Making such a big move as acquiring a top five consulting company would be out of step with Microsoft's traditional growth strategy, some analysts argued. Typically the company has grown organically, making only small buys to move into key market segments. "They don't usually do big blockbuster acquisitions," Barnicle said.
Taking the reins of a major consulting firm could also be difficult because it would put Microsoft in the position of having to integrate its products with a variety of competing applications used by large customers. Also, analysts note, profit margins are much lower in the management and consulting industry than in software.
"I'm not sure they would want all those things," Barnicle said. "If they can grow it internally, that may be enough."
Bittman said that Gartner has already started compiling a list of possible acquisition targets, but would not comment on any specifics. "I don't want to be in the business of killing someone's stock," he said.
Ultralife Boosts Lithium-Ion Battery Production Capacity
May 4, 2001 (TAIPEI) -- Ultralife Taiwan Inc., a lithium-ion cell maker, recently held a ground breaking ceremony for its second battery factory at Hsinchu Science-Based Industrial Park, as part of a major capacity-expansion project.
Mass production is slated for 2002.
Expected to come on stream by the end of the year, the new plant will come with a monthly capacity of 1.5 million lithium-ion batteries and three million lithium-ion polymer batteries. With this expanded production capacity in the pipeline, Ultralife expects to become one of world's top 10 lithium-ion cell makers eventually, despite fierce competition from counterparts in Japan and Korea.
Until recently, Ultralife tended to keep a low profile, biding its time until its R&D projects were completed. The company may enjoy greater exposure in the future, however, having recently successfully developed a lithium-ion polymer battery only 0.36mm thick. The state-of-the-art cell is now under accreditation among mobile phone and PDA producers, a process expected to take just a few months, and then Ultralife will be in line for landing orders from these producers.
Ultralife's existing lithium-ion polymer battery plant in the Hsinchu Park delivers some 100,000 cells monthly. This monthly capacity can be maximized to 200,000 by adding more machines, and Ultralife has decided to radically increase the plant's capacity as well as building a second plant in the science-based park.
Once this capacity expansion is complete, by the end of 2002, the plant will be outfitted with four production lines, each of which harnesses monthly capacities of 750,000 units.
Lithium-ion polymer batteries use the newest rechargeable energy technology, and are available for consumer use in products such as portable computers, PDAs and cellular telephones.
A lithium-ion polymer battery has a high voltage per cell (3.8 volts on average), has excellent energy on both a weight and volume basis and can be made in very thin and large footprint configurations. A lithium-ion polymer battery uses liquid lithium-ion electrochemistry in a matrix of conductive polymers which eliminate free electrolytes within the cell.
Motorola Honored by General Motors as a 2000 Supplier of the Year
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The Motorola (NYSE: MOT - news) Automotive and Industrial Electronics Group (AIEG), a business unit of Motorola's Automotive Communications and Electronic Systems Group (ACES), was named as a General Motors Supplier of the Year for its superior performance in quality, service, technology and price. The award was given during ceremonies Saturday, April 28 at the historic Warner Theatre in the nation's capital.
``Motorola AIEG represents the best of the best and it has set an example during the past year for other companies to follow,'' said Bo Andersson, executive in charge, GM Worldwide Purchasing. ``It is a role model and it is an honor to work with a company so committed to supporting our priorities for quality, launch and a balance between current and future business.''
``This is the third consecutive year that Motorola AIEG has been honored with this prestigious award from General Motors,'' said Tom Alger, corporate vice president and general manager of AIEG. ``Our goal each year is to continue to offer value-added products and services for our customers. We work with each customer individually to develop programs and processes to meet their specific needs.''
The GM Supplier of the Year Award began as a global program in 1992. Award-winners are selected by a global team of executives from purchasing, engineering, manufacturing and logistics who base their decisions on suppler performance in quality, service, technology and price. This year, General Motors honored 165 suppliers from 19 countries for their excellence throughout 2000.
About Motorola
Motorola's Automotive Communications & Electronic Systems Group (ACES) is part of the Motorola Integrated Electronic Systems Sector (IESS). ACES is a leading, global supplier of automotive electronics, telematics, and communications systems. ACES operating units include the Automotive and Industrial Electronics Group (AIEG), the Telematics Communications Group (TCG), the Automotive Communications Systems (ACS) business and the Systems, Platforms and Applications (SPA) business.
IESS is a leading provider of advanced electronic products and systems for customers integrating electronics into their products. Motorola IESS solutions provide the brains -- the DigitalDNA(TM) -- that make electronic systems simpler, safer, smarter and more synchronized.
Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT - news) is a global leader in providing integrated communications solutions and embedded electronic solutions. Sales in 2000 were $37.6 billion. http://www.motorola.com
MOTOROLA, the Stylized M Logo and all other trademarks indicated as such herein are trademarks of Motorola, Inc. (R) Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. (C) 2001 Motorola, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.
Mobile Devices: Developing Bluetooth IP
By Communication Systems Design
May 2, 2001 (9:01 AM)
URL: http://www.csdmag.com/story/OEG20010502S0032
Clearly there has been a great deal of hype behind the Bluetooth protocol. With big communication backers like Ericsson and Nokia, Bluetooth technology has shot onto the scene and captured the attention of PC developers, mobile phone manufacturers, and a variety of other consumer equipment manufacturers.
But, behind the hype, there are several challenges to making Bluetooth a reality. One of the biggest challenges is the development and integration of intellectual property (IP) blocks for system-on-a-chip (SOC) designs. Development and integration of these blocks requires a strong interaction between the system designer building the Bluetooth-enabled end product and the chip designer building the Bluetooth processing engine.
Interoperability becomes challenging with system designers and chip designers delivering different core competencies and employing different tools and methodologies during the Bluetooth development process. This gap can hinder the overall chip design process and, in turn, the overall development of finished systems. Fortunately, new design model and abstraction techniques are available to bridge this gap and allow systemdesigners to get Bluetooth devices to market quicker.
Protocol overview
In its current form, Bluetooth is a short-range radio link intended to replace physical cables. Bluetooth operates in the 2.4-GHz band and employs a frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) technique that avoids interfering signals by hopping between channels after transmitting or receiving a packet.
Figure 1 illustrates the Bluetooth protocol stack. The Bluetooth radio, the lowest defined layer of the protocol specification, defines the requirements of the Bluetooth transceiver device operating in the 2.4- GHz band. It accomplishes spectrum spreading by frequency hopping in 79 hops displaced by 1 MHz, typically starting at 2.403 GHz. These RF components may be the core expertise of a system integrator and require analog simulation tools for modeling continuous time effects.
In the physical layer (PHY) of the Bluetooth protocol, the baseband signal is the information riding on the RF carrier that manages physical channels and links apart from other services like error correction, data whitening, hop selection, and Bluetooth security. The algorithms required for this functionality, which may be licensed from a third-party developer, are typically modeled and simulated using dataflow descriptions.
In the case of Bluetooth, the link setup, authentication, link configuration, and other protocols are handled by the link manager, which communicates with other link managers through the link manager protocol (LMP). The link manager performs its service provider role using the services of the underlying link controller (LC). The logical link control and adaptation protocol (L2CAP) is layered over the baseband protocol. It permits higher-level protocols and applications to transmit and receive data packets up to 64 KB in length. Another protocol, RFCOMM, provides emulation of serial ports over the L2CAP.
For this kind of control logic, Bluetooth chip design teams can employ finite state machine (FSM) descriptions, while licensing the software protocol stack from a third-party vendor using specification-description-language (SDL) tools. All these elements must work together with the application software, defining central parts of the eventual product features.
The Bluetooth protocol also incorporates a service-discovery protocol (SDP). This protocol provides a means for applications to discover which services are available in the Bluetooth-enabled device. It also allows determination of the characteristics of those available services.
Another key element of the protocol is the host-controller inter-face (HCI). This interface provides a command interface to the baseband controller and link manager and access to the hardware status and control registers.
Three methodologies needed
Even with the relatively small Bluetooth protocol stack, both system and chip design teams are dealing with three different modeling and simulation techniques. Combining these modeling/simulation techniques with the increasing complexity of Bluetooth SOC designs, designers need advanced design methodologies. These methodologies include integration platform-based design, the adoption of higher levels of abstraction, and heterogeneous integration of different simulation techniques. Let's start by taking a look at the benefits of platform-based design.
The complexity of designs combined with time-to-market pressure makes starting every new design from scratch an impossibility. Even reuse of synthesizable design blocks (with modification) is difficult to apply because every change in the design block requires a complete rerun of verification scenarios.
Instead, system-house and SOC design teams now use design block reuse techniques where modifications to the reused blocks are not made - a method learned from PCB design. This leads to platform-based design techniques in which the basic architectural platform is maintained through product generation.
One of the main challenges with the platform-based approach is differentiation. By working off a common SOC platform, system and chip designers run the risk of developing Bluetooth systems that are virtually the same as their competitors. Product differentiation in platform-based designs can be achieved in two ways. The first is through software. The second is by adding hardware components from the platform library using standard interfaces.
Platform-based design methodology changes the way design teams interact, even across company borders, in the design supply chain. Prominent examples of semiconductor integration platforms are Texas Instruments' (TI's) open multimedia application platform (OMAP) for wireless applications, Philips Semiconductor's Nexperia platform, and Tality's Bluetooth platform. Starting with the standard platform system, companies can create derivative designs by adding differentiating functionality either through software or by trading blocks into and out of the platform architecture. Using system-level tools, the interaction between system houses and semiconductor houses happens long before the register transfer level (RTL) and embedded software are signed off.
In this process, abstraction takes an increasingly important role. It is no longer acceptable for a semiconductor company to provide just an implementation model of the platform. Instead, abstracted system platform models are required to allow the system integrator to assess trade-offs and derivative design considerations early in the design cycle. Moreover, the silicon provider delivers a platform specification with a consistent application programming interface (API) to software developers for configuring and modifying the platform.
In a typical platform-based approach, design teams would use at least three different simulation types. The radio would be analyzed in environments simulating analog continuous time data. Data flow simulators would also be used for analyzing the Bluetooth baseband. Finally, discrete event simulators would be employed to evaluate the Bluetooth protocol, which is displayed in Figure 1 . The different models of time, which have to be simulated, are shown in Figure 2 . It is obvious that simple co-simulation between the different techniques is not practical because the simulators have different time bases, and the overall system simulation would take too much time or computer memory.
In this context, let's now consider three specific integration challenges in Bluetooth designs: 1) the interaction between the radio and baseband decoders, 2) the interfaces between baseband and protocols with control dominated functionality, and 3) the combination of hardware and software and the interaction between system houses and SOC providers.
Analog abstracts
The mixed-signal radio circuitry in the RF front-end of a wireless receiver is typically located between the antenna and the digital signal processing (DSP) algorithms. This circuitry includes noisy, non-linear analog elements like low-noise amplifiers (LNAs), mixers, and oscillators.
The RF section extracts digital data from the analog RF carriers and the analog components somewhat distort the baseband signal by adding noise. A typical design challenge is to assess the bit error rate (BER) on a given channel receiver combination depending on the architecture chosen in the analog circuitry. Co-simulation of Spice-like analog data with dataflow simulation is impractical because the simulation time is too long.
However, K-models provide a solution for this challenge. Gener-ally employed in wireless receivers, K-models are discrete time behavioral models of analog circuitry. They represent the linear and non linear baseband distortion caused by RF receivers and can be used in C++ based system-level simulation of data flow algorithms. Given the wide variation in most channels, behavioral models represent a practical balance of speed and accuracy as they abstract the characteristics of the analog circuitry for use in dataflow simulation. They do not invoke the analog simulator when executing together with C++ based models. This link provides an efficient interface between the analog, continuous-time simulation paradigm and the dataflow simulation used in DSP.
Figure 3 shows how abstraction is used to enable this link. Starting from the analog transistor mode, a K-model is characterized by obtaining frequency transfer functions at several determined amplitudes of the input signal to the non-linear RF circuit. To ensure that the K-model is accurately representing analog effects, designers should perform a transient analysis in the analog domain and compare this analysis with the results obtained from dataflow simulation obtained from the model in data flow simulators. Once characterized and validated, the K-model can be used in C++ based data flow simulation as a representation of the receiver.
After the baseband signal is decoded, it is forwarded to control-dominated system blocks that determine further processing needs such as speech or video processing or simple data storage. Control models can be simulated efficiently using the discrete event computational model. These models are executed in simulation once any of the inputs are available.
By comparison, a dataflow model is executed once all the inputs for the computation are available. In dataflow simulation, significant speed advantages can be gained over discrete event simulation because a schedule of the modules to be executed can be predetermined.
Figure 4 shows an assembled Bluetooth example. A sender and receiver path are illustrated, and the two baseband controllers are assembled with imported modules from a data flow simulator. The LC and the HCI are modeled as C and C++ models. The same is true for the testbenches driving the design. Based on the open modeling interface standard (OMI, IEEE 1499), the link between dataflow and control blocks is available between several tools for system-level design block integration.
When an OMI-packaged model is imported, the necessary logic must be generated to execute the imported dataflow model in a discrete event environment. For this purpose a trigger module is automatically inserted, which, in simulation, activates the module once all its inputs are available. This enable the assessment of integration aspects of software protocol stacks with the hardware/software co-design environment.
Figure 4 outlines the functional integration of a Bluetooth system. The protocol components and the baseband controller are the components that Bluetooth-enable an electronic device. The purpose of functional integration is to assess interaction aspects between the different system blocks. In this case, the dataflow baseband performs certain coding and decoding tasks. Functional simulation together with the protocol blocks modeled as pure C/C++, and discrete event simulation can discover deadlocks and connection issues between the control and dataflow domain.
Designers should note that the channel between the baseband controllers is not modeled using K-models. While theoretically possible, it is not practical because the overall simulation times, with long protocol sequences, would be too slow.
Trade-off analysis
Hardware and software are moving closer together, especially in platform-based design scenarios, where the actual product differentiation may often be implemented using software. Standard methods available today, such as hardware/software co-verification, address important verification aspects for detailed hardware/software interfaces.
However, their applicability as architectural trade-off analysis tools is limited by the simulation speed dictated by instruction set simulations (ISSs) that are cosimulating with slow hardware description language (HDL) or clocked C++ modules. This leads to equally slow simulation speed. Furthermore, all the modules must be implemented before these tools can be used. Both factors make these technologies impractical as hand-off points between semiconductor and system design teams.
A solution for this challenge is the efficient use of abstraction. For both software and hardware implementation there are a variety of different description and authoring techniques available. Most of these techniques allow users to start at abstract, untimed models and to refine these gradually throughout the design flow until the designer arrives at the implementation.
In the software domain, the designer can choose between tools that are targeted to specific application domains and use specific simulation paradigms. On the hardware side, design teams can start at the abstract level from behavioral HDL and generic C and C++ descriptions.
In both domains, the tools described above allow modeling at an untimed abstract level, and some of them offer a direct path to implementation. However, the automated results of code generation are only close to production-ready code in a few cases. In most cases design teams will hand-implement the design RTL and software and use the abstract models only for analysis of certain system aspects, such as the evaluation of different algorithmic options for a decoding algorithm. There are, however, rare exceptions that allow graphical entry of the micro-architecture of DSP algorithms implementations combined with HDL export to Verilog and VHDL and testbench reuse through different levels of abstraction.
Aside from how a design team arrives at the implementation, the question of system integration remains difficult. The implementation level of RTL and software is impractical for the evaluation of trade-offs because the limited simulation speed allows only the consideration of a small number of alternatives. However, new development environments are available in which SOC design teams can use models abstracting the performance of the implementations. This approach allows Bluetooth SOC designers to keep functional descriptions at the system level (independent from implementation) and to sweep over different options quickly by changing performance models.
Advanced platform-based design methodologies describe and simulate functionality in a heterogeneous fashion. While definition of the functionality is typically the responsibility of Bluetooth system engineers, SOC designers can provide, in an equally prior-to-implementation fashion, the system architecture using abstract models for CPUs, DSPs, buses, real-time operating systems (RTOSes), memories, and dedicated hardware/software implementations.
The architectural models represent abstracted performance models. Mapping between function and architecture defines which architectural resources are used for all computations and communications. Performance simulation models can be built from those three descriptions. This enables efficient trade-off simulation before implementation using characterized or estimated performance models representing the implementations.
Note that it is important to provide the design activities functional capture, architectural capture, and mapping within the same development environment at a reasonably high level of abstraction. This enables new ways of interaction between Bluetooth system designers and SOC semiconductor providers and, perhaps even more importantly, allows each party to concentrate on their core competency while still being able to work together seamlessly.
The design flow described provides the ability to perform early system performance evaluations. It also provides an efficient hand-off point in the SOC design chain. Together, the functional and architectural descriptions define the abstracted system platform. The Bluetooth system designer can change mappings, add functionality, and explore the function-architecture design space efficiently before committing to the final implementation. The functionality, which is defined independent of the implementation, can be articulated to the Bluetooth SOC developer and architecture options can be evaluated.
Once the function design space is explored using performance simulation and an optimal function/architecture pair is identified, it is paramount to export this information directly to implementation-level tools. These tools include hardware/software co-verification products, compilers, and synthesis for hardware.
A platform-based methodology also encourages IP reuse without modification. Therefore, the design export between the Bluetooth system designer and the Bluetooth chip designer must be able to automatically assemble the communication path between hardware and software, software and hardware, and within the hardware and software domains. A function-architecture co-design methodology and a tool environment must also be present to provide a path from the abstract system level (used for exploration of the design space) to the implementation level. This will facilitate hardware and software export from system-level to implementation as well as communication synthesis establishing communication between the design blocks.
Frank Schirrmeister is the director of product management at Cadence Design Systems. Before joining Cadence, Schirrmeister held various technical and management positions with Sican GmbH and Media Chip Technology. He holds an MSEE from the Technical University of Berlin in Germany and can be reached at franks@cadence.com.
Copyright 2001 © CMP Media Inc.
Xybernaut® Sponsors Sixth Annual International Conference on Wearable Computing
New Generation of Wearables to be Launched
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Fairfax, Virginia, May 03, 2001 – Xybernaut Corporation (NASDAQ: XYBR), announced today that it will unveil its new No Compromise Computing ™ wearable product line, jointly designed and developed with IBM, at the sixth annual International Conference on Wearable Computing (ICWC). The new wearables feature a fully integrated on-board digital signal processor (DSP) from Texas Instruments along with a Xybernaut software developer's kit to drive the systems for maximum efficiency. The conference will take place May 30 and 31 at the Ritz-Carlton Tyson’s Corner in McLean, Virginia.
The two-day event is the premier annual conference for the converging market of wearable computing and communications. Last year’s conference attracted more than 1,000 attendees from 34 countries. This year’s conference will offer topics ranging from wireless communication and telephony, to wearable computing implementations, methodologies and paybacks. Presenters will include world leaders in the corporate, government and education sectors.
For the full conference schedule, roster of speakers and on-line registration, please visit www.xybernaut.com/icwc2001. The press can register by contacting Sheryl Frye, sfrye@xybernaut.com, 703-654-3627.
“The ICWC has grown to become the leading international conference on wearable computing,” said Edward G. Newman, President and CEO of Xybernaut. “With industry analysts predicting a boom in the market for wearable computing over the next several years, hardware and software companies alike are taking notice of this multibillion dollar market.”
About Xybernaut Corporation:
Xybernaut Corporation is the leading provider of wearable computing hardware, software and services, bringing communications and full-function computing power in a hands-free design to people when and where they need it. The Mobile Assistant® IV (MA IV®), Xybernaut®'s patented wearable PC, runs all major PC operating systems, including Windows® 98/2000/NT, Linux and SCO Unix. With the MA IV, customers can realize immediate savings in maintenance, repair, diagnosis, inspection, inventory control and data collection in a broad spectrum of industries, including manufacturing, distribution, utilities, government and transportation. Xybernaut also provides hyper linking, multimedia authoring tools, project management, asset management and speech software toolkits. Headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, Xybernaut has offices and subsidiaries in Europe (Germany) and Asia (Japan). Visit Xybernaut's web site at www.xybernaut.com.
MS-DOS, Windows and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Act”). In particular, when used in the preceding discussion, the words “plan,” “confident that,” “believe,” “scheduled,” “expect,” or “intend to,” and similar conditional expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Act and are subject to the safe harbor created by the Act. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and actual results could differ materially from those expressed in any of the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, market conditions, the availability of components and successful production of the Company's products, general acceptance of the Company’s products and technologies, competitive factors, timing, and other risks described in the Company’s SEC reports and filings.
May 3, 2001
Sony's New Hand-Held Device
Improves on Palm's Designs
By WALTER S. MOSSBERG
WHEN SONY ENTERED the hand-held computer market last year, expectations were high. After all, Sony is the trendsetter in all sorts of small electronic devices, usually melding great style and functionality in a compact form. And it had licensed the elegant Palm operating system and software to power its new hand-held. But Sony's first effort, called the Clié, was a dud, nothing more than an expensive Palm clone, with little to distinguish it.
Now, Sony is back for a second try, with a new Clié (pronounced klee-AY), and this time some of the Sony tradition shines through. This latest Sony hand-held still uses Palm software, which means it runs all the programs made for the Palm, and can synchronize with any PC programs a regular Palm can handle. But it looks very different from a Palm and has some nice added functions and features.
Most notable among these is the screen -- it is a bright, vivid color display that is better than any of the others I've seen from Palm or Handspring, the second-biggest maker of Palm-compatible hand-helds. The Sony screen offers twice the resolution of a standard Palm or Handspring screen, so fonts are thinner and sharper and photos look much better. Sony's display puts to shame Palm's own new color model, the m505.
IN MY TESTS, I grew to really enjoy using this great screen, which goes a long way toward justifying the new Clié's hefty $499 price tag. Even standard Palm programs, like the address book and calendar, are enhanced because the fonts on the Clié are so much crisper. Like all color screens, this one sucks up more battery power than a monochrome display. But battery life while using standard Palm functions is still good enough for about two weeks of typical use.
The new Clié
The other big departure in the new Clié is a built-in digital music player, which can handle MP3 files and files encrypted in a Sony format. The player is the first to be built into a Palm-compatible hand-held. You can transfer music files from a PC and hear them on the Clié using headphones (there's no speaker) that Sony supplies. There's even a remote control, like on high-end audio players, for selecting songs and adjusting volume.
But the music player is nearly useless, despite its good sound quality. That's because the new Clié can store only about eight minutes of MP3 music recorded at a minimally decent quality level. The music must be stored on a Sony-designed memory module, called a Memory Stick, which pops into a slot on the back of the Clié. And the Memory Stick that comes with the unit has a meager 8-megabyte capacity, which holds just about two pop songs recorded at decent quality.
To be able to play an hour of decent-quality MP3 music, you'd need to buy a 64 megabyte Memory Stick, which costs an extra $120 -- almost as much as some standalone MP3 players. Not only that, but using the Clié's audio player drains the unit's battery drastically. Instead of the two weeks of use you get when performing standard Palm functions, you get only three hours when running the audio player, or 11 hours if you listen to music with the screen turned off.
The unit's other multimedia features are more practical. There's a built-in program for displaying photos, either individually or as a slide show. You can transfer your favorite pictures from your PC and show off your kids, or your products, on the great color screen. There's also a program that can show brief color video clips, with audio.
SONY ALSO ADDED a very useful navigation feature to the standard Palm design -- a jog dial on the side. You can turn this dial to move among the choices on any screen, then press it in to select any of them. It's especially helpful for one-handed use of the address book. There's also a "back" button that will return you to the main application screen from any other program, and a "hold" button that disables the screen and everything else other than the audio player.
The new Clié is handsome. It has a silvery case protected by a dark-blue, fake-leather cover that's removable. It's narrower than Palm's new m505, but it's longer, thicker and heavier than that device or the Palm V.
Inside the unit is a generous 8 megabytes of internal memory. And the synchronization cradle, which also charges the battery, uses a fast and simple USB connection to mate with a PC. The unit will be available around June 1.
The biggest disappointment in the Clié is that there's no built-in wireless connectivity for e-mail or Web data. And there aren't any add-on modems available. The expansion slot, which uses only Sony's proprietary Memory Sticks, won't accommodate any of the wireless modems being built for the Palm, the Handspring Visor, or the Microsoft-based Pocket PCs.
By early next year, Sony plans some add-ons for the Memory Stick slot, such as digital cameras, but there's no mention of wireless modems.
Still, Sony has moved the ball forward with this device. Next week, I'll review another Palm-compatible hand-held that improves on Palm's designs.
Wingcast, XM Radio CEO's and OnStar, Ford, DaimlerChrsyler, Nissan, Delphi, Visteon, NTT DoCoMo Meet to Discuss the Big Issues at eyeforauto's Telematics 2001 Conference
DETROIT, April 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Leaders from all the major players in automotive telematics will meet in Detroit this May 15-16 to discuss revenue models and the future of telematics at the sell-out eyeforauto Telematics 2001 conference at Cobo Center on May 15 -16. http://www.eyeforauto.com/telematics
Visionary keynotes come from Rodney Egdorf, vice-president, Wireless Business, OnStar, Harel Kodesh, president & CEO, Wingcast and Hugh Panero, president & CEO, XM Radio
``This is the biggest auto telematics meeting ever held and we expect the conference to sell out in the next week or so,'' says event organiser Tobias Webb.
Senior executives from Ford Motor Company will also join 500 senior level executives from DaimlerChrylser, Nissan, Delphi Lear, Visteon, MobileAria, WirelessCar, AOL, IBM, Clarion, Denso, Siemens, Motorola and many more to network and discuss the big issues in automotive telematics.
``Revenue models, selling safety applications, Tier 1 electronics integration, Wall Street investment analysis, platform standardisation, traffic information, mobile services and linking up the car, the office and the home via wireless technologies are the big issues that we'll go into in-depth'' says Webb.
Conference sponsors include Hewlett-Packard, WirelessCar, Sun Microsystems, Webraska, EDS, IBM, Sensoria, Navigation Technologies, Aeris.net, Clarity, Fonix and Cross Country Automotive Services
The full conference program and speakers are at: http://www.eyeforauto.com/telematics/program.html .
eyeforauto's print magazine -- Telematics Update -- is a free senior level publication on the subject: for a free subscription, email your address details to subscribe@eyeforauto.com.
About eyeforauto:
The eyeforauto event series and online communities are creations of First Conferences, a London and New York based company dedicated to building online and offline communities in e-Business and wireless for vertical markets. The eyeforauto website provides free industry e-business information and free weekly and monthly email and print newsletters for senior auto executives: http://www.eyeforauto.com
. Why do some MP3 music files sound better than others?
A. Two factors probably have the most effect on the sound quality of digital audio MP3 files.
One factor is the sound quality of the source from which the MP3 was created. Although digitizing a tune on your computer can be quite straightforward — copying and encoding the MP3 file from a compact disc in your PC's CD-ROM drive — skilled audio hobbyists can create an MP3 file from cassette tapes, vinyl record albums and other analog or digital sources.
Although there are things that can be done to help improve the sound quality of digital music, an MP3 made from an old vinyl record is probably going to sound less crisp and clear than one made from a song taken from a compact disc.
Perhaps a more common factor in the sound quality of MP3 or other digital music files is the kilobits-per-second rate at which the file was recorded. The software that copies a song from a compact disc (a process called ripping) and then encodes it as an MP3 file — programs like MusicMatch Jukebox or SoundJam MP — usually let you adjust the bit rate. The higher the bit rate, the better the sound quality of the file, and the larger the MP3 file.
The rate of 128 kilobits per second is generally considered to be "CD quality" in terms of sound, and music recorded at lower rates, like 64 kilobits per second, may sound tinny and weak in comparison. Lower bit rates are usually fine for low-fidelity sources like spoken-word recordings.
Record makers lock music away
Lock and key: Music companies want to protect their products
By BBC News Online technology correspondent Mark Ward
Digital locks are being put on to CDs in a attempt to stop music piracy.
Later this month, small independent label Farenheit Entertainment will release the first copy-protected CD, which it hopes will make it easier for artists to control who listens to, and pays for, their music.
The system used on the CD is only the latest of many attempts by record makers and publishers to stop people pirating pop.
But it remains to be seen if consumers will accept restrictions on what they can do with music they have already paid for.
Country copy
On 15 May, legendary country singer Charley Pride is releasing his latest CD, a tribute album to Jim Reeves. Sitting alongside the music is a cloaking technology that Pride's label hopes will stop the CD being pirated.
Willie Nelson could soon be cloaked too
The CD plays like any other in a hi-fi, car stereo or portable player, but resists the attempts of software "rippers" to convert the music into an MP3 file.
The MP3 format turns bulky CD-quality music files into smaller versions that sound almost as good. Many people have created illegal MP3 versions of the music on CDs they own and then shared them on the net via websites or services such as Napster.
But anyone trying to turn the tracks on the Charley Pride CD into MP3s will find themselves redirected to a website that will authenticate the CD, and then let them download legitimate Windows Media versions of the tracks they want.
Artist protection
Later this year, SunnComm, the company that created the music protection system, is planning to release software tools that let people put together authenticated compilations of music tracks.
Peter Trimarco, the head of country/jazz label Farenheit Entertainment releasing the CD, said the technology gave fans of Charley Pride a fuller experience and helped protect the music from piracy. "We think this will be big," he said.
SunnComm's MediaCloQ system is only the latest attempt by the recording industry to protect the music put on CDs. So far, Farenheit is the only company signed up to use it. But companies such as InterTrust, Liquid Audio and many others have developed authentication systems that try to stop people pirating pop or any digital media.
In December 1998 the recording industry set up the Secure Digital Music Initiative to develop watermarking and protection systems for CDs and digital music tracks.
Subscription models
The efforts of the SDMI have been criticised by academics who say the technology it is developing does not work. So far, legal threats by the recording industry have prevented the academics from publishing their findings.
Copies of the paper produced by the researchers, however, are circulating widely on the net.
But many media commentators believe that consumers will not accept restrictions on what they can do with music they have already paid for.
Many expect that subscription models of paying for music will eventually win out over copy-protection systems that force people to work hard to listen to music.
IBM Scientists Report Significant Breakthrough In Computer Display Manufacturing
New Technique Replaces Century-Old Process; Could Save Millions For Producers Of High-End Displays
YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, NY -- (INTERNET WIRE) -- 05/02/2001 -- IBM researchers have discovered a new process for manufacturing computer displays that can vastly improve screen quality and viewing angles while saving manufacturers millions of dollars. The breakthrough holds the first real potential to replace a nearly century-old technique that all manufacturers currently use to build display products.
As reported in the May 3 issue of the journal Nature, IBM has demonstrated a new non-contact method that uses beams of ions – electrically charged atoms – to align the liquid crystal molecules inside the flat-panel liquid crystal displays used in portable and desktop computers and other electronic devices. The new method is the first to replace a process discovered 95 years ago that proved when a substrate is rubbed, it forms a pattern that the liquid crystals align to. Although scientists cannot fully explain how this rubbing process works, it has been used for building displays with LCDs for about 20 years.
IBM is considering licensing the patented process to other manufacturers in the $20 billion per year flat-panel display industry and expects to have converted the pilot-line it used to develop this new technique into a full-blown production line by the end of the year.
When properly aligned, the molecules inside an LCD turn pixels on and off by twisting and rotating in response to electronic signals sent by the computer processor. Until now, the only method to reliably align the molecules involved rubbing a polymer substrate with a velvet cloth. When placed onto the "rubbed" substrate, the liquid crystal molecules line up along the rubbing direction as if they were in a precision marching band. Without rubbing, the liquid crystal molecules would orient themselves in many different directions and would not be controlled uniformly, resulting in a useless flat-panel display.
“Replacing the rubbing process has been a ‘Holy Grail’ of flat-panel display manufacturing,” said Praveen Chaudhari, lead scientist on the project, IBM Research. “Display manufacturers told us that the single most important thing that science could do to improve their business was to invent a non-contact method for aligning liquid crystals. When our new process is successfully integrated in manufacturing, it will enable new generations of displays that are higher quality and lower cost.”
New Method: Atomic Beam Alignment
The first step in IBM's new method is to deposit a thin layer of diamond-like carbon instead of using a polymer substrate. Next, atoms are shot by an ion gun at an angle that push aside many of the surface carbon atoms, forming atomic-scale rows. When the rod-shaped liquid crystal molecules are added, one end of each molecule attaches to an exposed carbon atom, resulting in the alignment of all the liquid crystal molecules in the direction of the rows.
IBM's new method reduces manufacturing time and produces higher-quality displays, especially at higher resolutions.
Since its discovery in 1906, rubbing to align liquid crystals has been developed into a high art. Manufacturers use an object similar to a paint roller with a velvet cloth attached, which is run across the surface of a substrate. It is believed that the threads of the roller make contact with the atoms, hooking them much like the two sides of Velcro hook together. As the roller passes along the substrate, it drags the hooked atoms across the surface, which can cause streaks and scratches which will be most noticeable in higher resolution displays.
While the rubbing technique is a viable one, it has many disadvantages. The rubbing process is still not entirely understood, which makes it difficult to improve or to solve problems that arise. Replacing worn velvet clothes every shift interrupts the manufacturing process. Defects caused by the rubbing process cannot be detected until much later in the manufacturing process, when they are difficult or impossible to correct. As a result, today countless displays must be discarded, wasting time and money.
Rubbed displays must be removed from the clean room manufacturing line to avoid contamination from the velvet cloths used in rubbing. Then they must be washed and baked to eliminate contaminants before returning to the manufacturing line. Since it is built right into the clean manufacturing line, IBM's new method does not require those extra steps and saves space as well.
Related Display Work at IBM’s Labs
The report in Nature is the first of four technical papers describing different aspects of the new process. Detailed technical descriptions of a) the science underlying the beam and liquid crystal alignment and b) a theoretical modeling method that can be used to improve results are contained, separately, in the other two reports, which will be published soon in different scientific journals. The first public demonstration of a prototype display made with IBM's new ion-beam liquid-crystal-alignment process will be conducted at the annual meeting of the Society of Information Display, which will be held June 3-8, 2001 in San Jose, Calif. IBM's research and development of the new liquid crystal alignment technique was conducted at its laboratories in New York (T.J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, N.Y.), California (Almaden Research Center, San Jose, Calif.) and Japan (Yamato Development Laboratory, Yamato, Japan
Sony Offers Audio and Video on the Go
Generic Media's GMovie Player will allow users to create digital films on the new CLIE handheld.
Jason Meserve, Network World Fusion
Thursday, May 03, 2001
Generic Media this week announced it will support the new Sony CLIE handheld, giving users the ability to take their audio and video on the road with them.
Generic Media's GMovie Player is the only supported audio/video application on the CLIE, so users who want to create videos for the device must encode their content with GMovie Maker. The GMovie Maker application can take video, audio, and still images and covert them into the GMovie video format.
The new CLIE, which will ship in June, comes with a removable 8MB memory stick dedicated for storing audio and video. It is one of the few devices that run the Palm operating system and have true sound capabilities.
"[Sony has] taken a platform from something where media is just an option to a great device for taking media where ever you go," says Peter Hoddie, chief executive officer of Generic Media. "With [the recently announced] 128MB memory stick, a user could put a half-hour of video on the device. And though that may not be the most practical thing to do, it is a big step."
While Generic Media is working with Sony to help consumers port their personal videos to the CLIE, corporate users could use GMovie Maker to create mini-training or marketing videos for salespeople to take in the field with them.
Users can download the GMovie Player for free, while the GMovie Maker application is available for Macintosh and Windows for $30.
Handheld makers lose footing
By Margaret Kane
Special to CNET News.com
May 3, 2001, 6:55 a.m. PT
Shares of Handspring dipped in morning trading after a Lehman Brothers analyst downgraded the stock, saying it could be hurt by pricing pressures.
The downgrade comes a day after Handspring's main competitor, Palm, said that U.S. retail sales were slipping.
Handspring shares were off $1.50 to $16; Palm slid $1.04 to $8.71 in premarket trading on the Island ECN.
Palm and Handspring make handheld computing products. Lehman analyst Joseph To said in a research note that pricing at the low end of the market would become more aggressive, as the companies try to move inventory through seasonal promotions.
"We believe Handspring may look to take a more proactive approach to the situation after having been held hostage to Palm's pricing actions over the last month," To said in a report.
In April, Palm slashed prices on its older models in an effort to deal with a glut of inventory. The company said at the time that it could have an additional $200 million in unsold inventory this quarter, based on current demand, on top of $100 million in inventory still left from the end of last quarter.
To downgraded Handspring from "strong buy" to "buy," although he noted that he still likes the sector in the long term. Pricing on the very low end of the market would "have to come down even further in order to right the ship," he said.
"As it stands right now, 2MB products are selling in the $130 to $150 price range, whereas 8MB products are selling as low as $179," he wrote. "Consumers are not stupid and have been willing to pay the extra $20 to $40 for the extra memory."
Price cuts could come as early as next week, To said, but would be more likely later in the month to match up with Father's Day and graduation promotions.
Pricing for low-end products could get as low as $100, he said, adding that those products make up as much as 60 percent of sales for Handspring and Palm.
Palm Chief Financial Officer Judy Bruner said Wednesday that U.S. retail sales had slipped 20 percent from January to April.
Bruner, speaking at the J.P. Morgan H&Q technology conference, said that the company expects to take a one-time charge, likely this quarter, to write off up to $300 million in inventory. The write-off would probably include both components and finished products, she said.
Handspring executives had said in April that they saw "softness" in demand for handheld products amid the economic slowdown.
Home Broadband Surge Coming Soon?
By allNetDevices Staff
May 03, 2001
A large jump in broadband users in the home could occur in the next six months, according to research firm Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) Intersearch.
The firm said that only 18 percent of U.S. households now use broadband Internet access such as DSL and cable service. However, a survey found that an additional 13 percent of households said they expect to subscribe in the next six months.
The main barriers so far to broadband adoption have been high prices and a lack of availability, the survey found. About 22 percent cited high prices while 15 percent said the service wasn't available in their areas.
"While the Internet delivery method of choice continues to be the dial-up modem, once the prices of these broadband services come down and they become more accessible, a large portion of Internet subscribers will choose those services," said Brenda McFarland, senior vice president of TNS Intersearch.
The study also found relatively little interest in accessing the Internet via television, with only about 22 percent expressing interest in that method. However, there was strong interest in interactive television (i-TV), which augments programming with Internet content.
The study comes at a time in which many broadband providers, particularly those providing DSL service, have either gone out of business or are staggering. The study was conducted among 1,022 U.S. adults between April 11 to April 15, 2001.
HomeRF Fights Back
By allNetDevices Staff
May 03, 2001
Facing major competition from a competing standard, the HomeRF wireless home networking standard struck back Thursday with an updated specification and greater speed.
The HomeRF Working Group officially released version two of its specification, which provides for 10Mbps speed, which is about ten times faster than previous HomeRF products. The group claims that it is the only wireless standard that supports high-quality voice transmissions and that it doesn't suffer from interference from common household items like microwave ovens and cordless phones.
The competing 802.11b wireless networking standard, which is commonly used in the enterprise and supports speeds as high as 11Mbps, has made significant gains in the home lately. For instance, Intel said it would no longer develop HomeRF products and would focus its efforts on 802.11b products.
The HomeRF working group says that, besides increased speed, the updated specification will result in products that are easier to install. Advocates also claim it has superior quality of service, with built-in prioritization for applications such as streaming.
In addition, the specification uses frequency-hopping technology that is more secure than 802.11b, the group says. The new specification is backward-compatible with older HomeRF products.
Bluetooth Market to Grow Sharply to 955 Mln. Units in 2005: Survey
May 3, 2001 (TOKYO) -- Cahners In-Stat Group, a U.S. research group, said in a survey that the market for short-distance wireless communication Bluetooth technology will grow at an average of 360 percent a year on a shipment basis to reach a scale of 955 million units in 2005.
The Bluetooth market has had a hard time initially, with a delay in developing products, a slowing of the economy, and less-than-expected evaluation of the first product series. "However, we can expect outstanding growth, and the future is extremely bright," the In-Stat report said.
In-Stat predicts that the microchip market for Bluetooth devices also will grow sharply, and that the baseband processing LSI and RF transceiver LSI market will reach a scale of US$4.4 billion in 2005.
According to the In-Stat report: "The year 2000 was quite simply a 'trial period' for Bluetooth, but now we can see positive activities implying the market expansion. Beginning with the increased production of LSIs for Bluetooth, production of a great number of compatible products is on schedule, which will soon appear on the scene one after another."
Also, Bluetooth's readiness is growing in hotels, shopping malls, golf courses and airports, and the application environment will be put into place by the end of 2001. Although there was a delay in hardware development in many of the facilities, in terms of application development, most products have already been developed both for client software and server software support markets.
Aiming at the Top in Asia Means Being Truly Global Enterprise: Bertelsmann Chairman
May 3, 2001 (TOKYO) -- Bertelsmann AG, a major media enterprise in Germany, has been increasing its competitiveness in the Japanese market by obtaining a three percent share of Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., Ltd. in late 1999. And it launched "BOL Japan," an online book store in 2000.
Nikkei Business recently interviewed Klaus Eierhoff, age 47, chairman of Direct Group Bertelsmann, as well as a board member of Bertelsmann AG, about their plans.
Nikkei Business: Although Bertelsmann ranks with renowned enterprises in the media industry such as Walt Disney Co. and AOL Time Warner Inc. of the United States, the name brand is not as well known in Japan as in the West.
Eierhoff: The reason why the name, Bertelsmann, was seldom recognized in Japan largely is because of our unique philosophy, in that we have stuck to non-centralization of power. Although Bertelsmann has approximately 600 subsidiary companies in 54 countries, most of those are operated by the original brands.
In Japan, you have probably heard of the publishing company called Random House, the music store site called CDNow and the record company called BMG. These are all Bertelsmann's subsidiary companies, and they are doing a good job in Japan, too.
Q: So, has the business in Japan been growing more than expected?
A: Bertelsmann deals with a wide range of businesses, such as books, magazines, music, broadcasting and the Internet, and made approximately 32,400 million German marks (approximately 1,944 billion yen) in the business term ending June 2000. We have also succeeded more in internationalization of the enterprise than other competitors in our business. However, it is true that we have had a slow start to expand our business to Japan. We only make 5 percent of the gross sales of Bertelsmann in the whole of Asia.
Q: For the last couple of years, you have been increasing your competitiveness in the Japanese market. Has there been some change of policy?
A: We have renewed our understanding of the fact that if we want to aim at becoming a real international media company, it is vital to win the first or the second place in the Asian market, including Japan. Therefore, we are aggressively expanding our business not only in Japan, but also in China and Korea. We have a target of making 15 percent of the gross sales in Asia in the year 2013.
Moreover, we reorganized last July in connection with the whole group, and set up Direct Group, which I head. That is to bundle up several businesses in order to sell books and music directly to customers without retail stores, etc.
Q: Does establishment of Direct Group have any bearing on the expansion of your business in Japan?
A: Thanks to the development of the Internet, building a direct relationship with customers is becoming more important than before, and Bertelsmann has been going ahead considerably in this respect.
As we had already been running Book Club, a membership book mail-order business, and worked on the Internet from the early stage, we now have more than 20 million members in the United States alone, and more than 35 million members worldwide.
We plan to employ this Direct Group as the main avenue to increase profits in the Asian market, including Japan, which remains as an untapped market for us until now. Although we are now right in the middle of a discussion, it is likely that we will bring the name, Bertelsmann, as a brand to the fore more than before.
Q: I believe that so far it is only BOL Japan Inc. that you have launched as a business subsidiary of Direct Group. What kind of movements do you intend to make from now on?
A: BOL Japan made a good start as planned. Regarding Book Club, we will also set up a corporation in Japan and start a business in due time. At present, Bertelsmann aims for the enterprise to win the first or the second place in the business it deals with in the world or in each area. Since the Asian market, including Japan, is the market where we have to achieve this from now on, we will continue to seize every opportunity this year.
Did Microsoft's 'Bundled' Media Player Get Loose?
Wed to Windows XP, rogue Windows Media Player 8 raises questions about Microsoft's bundling practices.
Scarlet Pruitt, IDG News Service
Wednesday, May 02, 2001
Which comes first--Microsoft's much anticipated Windows XP operating system, or its new Windows Media Player 8?
To the chagrin of the software giant, and bemusement of its opponents, the winner appears to be the Media Player, which has apparently run away from a beta version of Windows XP. The Media Player is supposed to be tied to the operating system, but it's out on the Web, on the loose.
Well, sort of. According to Microsoft spokesman Jim Cullinan, someone extracted codes from a Windows XP beta version and is masquerading a thrown-together system as Media Player 8, although it lacks some of the core functions of the real Media Player.
Stand-Alone Raises Suspicions
The proliferation of the counterfeit Media Player, which has sprung up on various Web sites, has prompted Microsoft to threaten legal action against the software harborers. In turn, this spurs a greater question for Microsoft-watchers. By tying Media Player 8 to Windows XP, which is due for release in the second half of this year, is Microsoft following the same sort of bundling practices that got the software colossus into antitrust problems in the first place?
Yes, says Mike Pettit, executive director for ProComp, the Project to Promote Competition & Innovation in the Digital Age, a group founded by Microsoft competitors.
"This would violate the agreement they entered into in 1995 because they are conditioning the sale of one product with another," Pettit says. He's referring to a consent decree Microsoft signed in 1995, effectively agreeing not to bundle products. Accusations about Microsoft bundling its Internet Explorer Web browser with Windows helped push the software giant into antitrust court initially.
Windows XP Required
Although Microsoft denies parenthood of the rogue Media Player, some of the company's detractors point to it as evidence that the software giant has bundled the player with Windows XP. Sources who have downloaded and tested the player note that some of its functions won't work without XP, such as its CD burning and DVD playback functions.
Pettit indicates that if Media Player 8 can't stand apart from Windows XP, it could mean Microsoft is again trying to block the competition.
"There's robust competition in media players, and what they decided to do is 'bolt' users into [Media Player]," Pettit says.
Microsoft's Cullinan rebuts that the Media Player has been part of Windows since 1991. Claims of bundling are an example of competitors trying to prevent the company from innovating and improving technologies, he says.
Pettit argues in return: "What we've learned from the Microsoft trial is that there is no reason why products can't stand alone and work seamlessly. It's a facade to put things together and tell the world they don't work as well apart."
Forrester Research Group Director of Research John McCarthy disagrees with Pettit, however.
"That's baloney," McCarthy says. "There isn't a company in the world that wouldn't try to stop people from ripping apart its beta version."
"Microsoft has enough power that there is the potential for antitrust, but people risk playing Chicken Little [with this accusation]," McCarthy says.
WindowsMedia.com Gets a Face Lift
Meanwhile, Microsoft has redesigned its WindowsMedia.com site, which offers links to content in the Windows Media audio and video formats. The updated site promises to be faster and easier to use, with an expanded lineup of content providers available through the site or via the Media Guide in Windows Media Player 7.
Did Microsoft's 'Bundled' Media Player Get Loose?
Wed to Windows XP, rogue Windows Media Player 8 raises questions about Microsoft's bundling practices.
Scarlet Pruitt, IDG News Service
Wednesday, May 02, 2001
Which comes first--Microsoft's much anticipated Windows XP operating system, or its new Windows Media Player 8?
To the chagrin of the software giant, and bemusement of its opponents, the winner appears to be the Media Player, which has apparently run away from a beta version of Windows XP. The Media Player is supposed to be tied to the operating system, but it's out on the Web, on the loose.
Well, sort of. According to Microsoft spokesman Jim Cullinan, someone extracted codes from a Windows XP beta version and is masquerading a thrown-together system as Media Player 8, although it lacks some of the core functions of the real Media Player.
Stand-Alone Raises Suspicions
The proliferation of the counterfeit Media Player, which has sprung up on various Web sites, has prompted Microsoft to threaten legal action against the software harborers. In turn, this spurs a greater question for Microsoft-watchers. By tying Media Player 8 to Windows XP, which is due for release in the second half of this year, is Microsoft following the same sort of bundling practices that got the software colossus into antitrust problems in the first place?
Yes, says Mike Pettit, executive director for ProComp, the Project to Promote Competition & Innovation in the Digital Age, a group founded by Microsoft competitors.
"This would violate the agreement they entered into in 1995 because they are conditioning the sale of one product with another," Pettit says. He's referring to a consent decree Microsoft signed in 1995, effectively agreeing not to bundle products. Accusations about Microsoft bundling its Internet Explorer Web browser with Windows helped push the software giant into antitrust court initially.
Windows XP Required
Although Microsoft denies parenthood of the rogue Media Player, some of the company's detractors point to it as evidence that the software giant has bundled the player with Windows XP. Sources who have downloaded and tested the player note that some of its functions won't work without XP, such as its CD burning and DVD playback functions.
Pettit indicates that if Media Player 8 can't stand apart from Windows XP, it could mean Microsoft is again trying to block the competition.
"There's robust competition in media players, and what they decided to do is 'bolt' users into [Media Player]," Pettit says.
Microsoft's Cullinan rebuts that the Media Player has been part of Windows since 1991. Claims of bundling are an example of competitors trying to prevent the company from innovating and improving technologies, he says.
Pettit argues in return: "What we've learned from the Microsoft trial is that there is no reason why products can't stand alone and work seamlessly. It's a facade to put things together and tell the world they don't work as well apart."
Forrester Research Group Director of Research John McCarthy disagrees with Pettit, however.
"That's baloney," McCarthy says. "There isn't a company in the world that wouldn't try to stop people from ripping apart its beta version."
"Microsoft has enough power that there is the potential for antitrust, but people risk playing Chicken Little [with this accusation]," McCarthy says.
WindowsMedia.com Gets a Face Lift
Meanwhile, Microsoft has redesigned its WindowsMedia.com site, which offers links to content in the Windows Media audio and video formats. The updated site promises to be faster and easier to use, with an expanded lineup of content providers available through the site or via the Media Guide in Windows Media Player 7.
Added to WindowsMedia.com are five more guides to popular content including business, news, and sports; improved searching and page loading; and content from AudioBasket, Bloomberg News, CameraPlanet, Carsey-Werner eDistribution, EMI Christian Music Group, Guinness World Records, iNexTV, Interscope Records, PamTV.com, The ComedyLab, Universal Studios Home Video, VastVideo.com, and others.
Added to WindowsMedia.com are five more guides to popular content including business, news, and sports; improved searching and page loading; and content from AudioBasket, Bloomberg News, CameraPlanet, Carsey-Werner eDistribution, EMI Christian Music Group, Guinness World Records, iNexTV, Interscope Records, PamTV.com, The ComedyLab, Universal Studios Home Video, VastVideo.com, and others.
remember that sanyo and TI go back as far as 1999 re sanyo planning to use TI's DSPs in Sanyo's DAPs.
Loudeye Secures Sample-Streaming License From Sony Music
Loudeye Technologies secured a non-exclusive license agreement to offer streaming music samples from Sony Music Entertainment. The license lets Loudeye use Sony Music clips in the streaming music sample service it markets to online retailers. Of the major label groups, only EMI has not licensed its catalog for the music sample service. Loudeye encodes, stores and distributes digital media for clients including each of the five major labels. Through its acquisition of DiscoverMusic, the company operates a music sample service for online music retailers. The service will eventually include downloadable music, streaming movie trailers and Internet radio services. Last month Loudeye laid off 45% of its approximately 300 employees after acquiring the assets of OnAir Streaming Networks and purchasing DiscoverMusic
Set-Top Box Makers Plan Digital Video Recording for This Year
by Mark Lewis
Major set-top box manufacturers plan this year to launch a new generation of devices with built-in hard drives for digital video recording, taking on the satellite and consumer electronics industries.
Solidifying plans announced last year, set-top box maker Motorola said Tuesday that it will offer a set-top box during the fourth quarter that records digital video to an internal hard drive.
Motorola signed a long-term licensing agreement to use recording technology from ReplayTV, the Mountain View, Calif.-based firm that is in the process of being acquired by consumer electronics firm SonicBlue. Last October, Motorola formed a joint venture with ReplayTV, cable operator Charter Communications and capital firm Vulcan Ventures to develop set-top boxes that combine digital video recording (DVR) with interactive television [see 12.11.00 Advanced Set-Top Boxes Could Win Convergence Race.
Bernadette Vernon, director of strategic marketing for Motorola's DigiCable division, said the agreement to license ReplayTV's technology followed from the joint venture project. Motorola will pay ReplayTV cash for a reference design, said Steve Shannon, ReplayTV's vice president of marketing. Other terms were not disclosed.
Motorola is shopping the new box to major cable operators, Vernon said. However, it remains to be seen whether Charter places an order, or if AOL Time Warner, Comcast and AT&T Broadband become customers. Those three companies tested a non-DVR version of Motorola's advanced interactive set-top box last year.
Motorola's major competitor, Scientific-Atlanta (S-A), has also developed a set-top box integrating hard drive video recording, as well as two tuners that allow a consumer to watch one program while recording another, said Tony Wasilewski, S-A's chief scientist. The Motorola box will not have dual tuners, Vernon said.
AOL Time Warner's cable division, the second largest in the U.S. behind AT&T, has agreed to purchase 100,000 of S-A's DVR boxes, and S-A expects they will be deployed late in the fourth quarter or in early 2002.
Pioneer, which develops interactive set-top boxes as well as crucial interface software, also plans to introduce a new box in the first part of 2002 that will integrate hard-drive recording, said Haig Krakirian, Pioneer's vice president of software engineering. The dual-tuner box, which is not yet in production, will be deployed by cable operators, rather than being sold at retail.
Cable operators woke up to the fact last year that they will need to offer digital video recording to reduce the number of subscribers they are losing to satellite broadcasters. Consumers who want to use a DVR-enabled set-top box have to subscribe to digital cable, which had 9.5 million customers at the end of 2000, according to Joshua Wise, an analyst with ABI Digital Media.
The satellite industry and the consumer electronics companies that make their receivers entered the digital video recording market last year, taking advantage of their distribution through major retailers such as Circuit City, Best Buy, Sears and Radio Shack.
Last year, DirecTV introduced a receiver with TiVo's personal video recorder (PVR) service, then followed it up a month ago with a new receiver integrating Microsoft's UltimateTV service. EchoStar Communications' DishNetwork announced two weeks ago that it will sell its new recorder/receiver -- which expands the hard-drive size of last year's model -- and not charge a monthly service fee for recording services, the way TiVo and Microsoft do.
"UltimateTV is out there aggressively right now, so it's important that cable operators are on a par with that," Motorola's Vernon said.
"We don't see consumers buying all the PVR boxes from the satellite companies, because it's really not a very well understood device or technology yet," Pioneer's Krakirian said.
The cable industry has the advantage of offering new boxes to consumers at a cost that appears minimal, because lease payments are spread out over several months. "Consumers get more services at a relatively small incremental cost," said Wise. "The vendors get more licensing revenue, and the operators as well get more revenue."
But new competitors are emerging, such as Nokia's Media Terminal, a Linux-based convergence box that is supposed to hit the European market in the third quarter and the U.S. market in time for the holiday shopping season. The device will receive satellite TV, record digital video and provide Internet access, including web browsing, email and MP3 downloading. Unlike with the typical interactive set-top box, users will be able to download and run applications on it, similar to a computer.
Nokia is in talks with EchoStar to provide satellite TV service, but no deal has been announced. A Nokia spokeswoman wouldn't say whether the device will launch without a satellite partner, nor would she reveal the box's cost and whether consumers will have to pay a subscription to use it.
Pioneer wants to position its DVR-enabled set-top box as a home-networking gateway, whose software interface can be used to control a DVD player, CD player and home theater system. That is similar to SonicBlue's vision for a "media server," a device that is still in the planning stages, said SonicBlue spokeswoman Tracy Perry. SonicBlue's media server probably won't have Internet access, but it will have digital video recording, audio file storage and the ability to pull data from a personal computer, ReplayTV's Shannon said.
Compaq, Starbucks to offer wireless Internet
By Jeff Franks
HOUSTON, May 1 (Reuters) - Compaq Computer Corp. and
Starbucks Coffee Co. offered up a yuppie's vision of
paradise on Tuesday when they announced a joint project to
provide high-speed wireless Internet access at Starbucks
stores.
Beginning this summer, some Starbucks customers will be
able to surf the net on their handheld or laptop computers
while sipping coffee. And by 2002, customers in nearly
three-fourths of the 4,150 Starbucks stores around the world
will have Web access, said Compaq's chief executive Michael
Capellas and Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz.
"This is a perfect marriage," Schultz told reporters at a
Starbucks in Houston, where Compaq is based.
"Despite the fact we're in very different businesses, we're
in the same business...to try as much as possible to enhance
the experience of our customers' lives," he said.
As if to illustrate how the future might look at a
Starbucks store, the two executives, neither wearing a tie, sat
a table set with two cups of coffee and two iPAQs, Compaq's
popular handheld computer.
"If you come in with your iPAQ, you'll be able to do
connectivity inside. There'll be special content delivery...but
you'll also be able to access your e-mail, access your calendar
and while you're doing that you can put a pair of headphones on
and listen to some great music," Capellas said.
He said there may also be non-wireless Internet
connectivity, but Schultz emphatically made the point that
Starbucks stores will not become cybercafes.
"It will be nothing like a cybercafe. That's a very
important distinction for me," he said. "What we're going to do
is the antithesis of that."
Capellas said the two companies agreed to a five-year
strategic partnership in which Compaq would provide broadband
Internet infrastructure powered by Microsoft Corp
software.
He said Compaq's chief gain would be "brand extension," but
that the Internet link would be usable on all types of portable
computers, not just Compaq.
Schultz said the Internet connections should start showing
up in stores this summer, with a goal of having 70 percent of
all Starbucks connected by the first quarter of 2002.
Starbucks is based in Seattle, Wash.
Intel and PacketVideo Complete StrongARM Optimized Wireless Multimedia Decoder
(February 15, 2000)
Intel and PacketVideo announced that they have completed the optimization of PacketVideo's PV Player MPEG-4 decoding software for the Intel StrongARM SA-1110 processor. This development is a step toward optimized multimedia solutions, including a 3G-324M implementation, on the StrongARM processor family. The 3G-324M implementation is dedicated to the 2-way communication of real-time video and audio over future mobile networks.
PacketVideo's decoding software will be demonstrated at the Intel Developer Forum. PacketVideo will provide high-quality video over existing wireless networks, speeding the arrival of anytime, anywhere multimedia and Internet access. With the PacketVideo software, people can access and view their home or work with security cameras, watch movie previews and news reports, listen to high-quality audio, or even videoconference from any location.
message board post:
BillPinnell
Idler MP4 is used for Video mostly and offers higher compression ratios than MPEG2.
MPEG4 is a standard but there are many versions of it with extras - e.g PacketVideo, Toshiba, Philips all have slightly different encoders that interoperate but you get extras when you use 'friendly' suppliers.
Will be big in wireless - you get a reasonable streaming media experience over a GPRS 20<>50kbps link.
(AAC is pure audio and is arguably better than mp3 and atrac3)
Bill
Message edited by BillPinnell at 06/01/2001 00:49:13
Posted:06/01/2001 00:48:02
QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies Begins Worldwide Production Shipment of Its First Multimedia CDMA Integrated Circuit and System Software
- MSM3300 Solution Selected by 20 Handset Manufacturers for Use in CDMA Digital Wireless Handsets and Data Devices -
SAN DIEGO -- January 25, 2001 -- QUALCOMM Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM), pioneer and world leader of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital wireless technology, today announced the on-time production shipping in December 2000 of the QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies (QCT) MSM3300™ Mobile Station Modem (MSM™) integrated circuit and system software, providing the most highly integrated advanced multimedia solution available for CDMA digital wireless handsets and data devices. Also shipping as part of QCT's complete solution is the SURF3300™ Subscriber Unit Reference development platform. Twenty of the world's leading CDMA handset manufacturers have selected the MSM3300 integrated circuit and system software, and development tools for use in their products.
"With the MSM3300 solution, QCT is the first chip developer in the world to provide CDMA handset manufacturers with highly integrated multimedia capabilities and the most powerful position location technologies on a single chipset," said Don Schrock, president of QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies. "With our on-time production delivery, handsets using the MSM3300 integrated circuit and system software are expected to be available in early spring 2001, offering consumers an unprecedented range of multimedia, position location, and other advanced capabilities and features."
The MSM3300 device is the centerpiece of the chipset, which is comprised of the MSM3300 CDMA modem, RFT3100™ analog-baseband-to-RF upconverter, IFR3300™ IF-to-baseband downconverter, RFR3300™ RF-to-IF downconverter - the first front-end receiver in the industry to incorporate global positioning system (GPS) capabilities in a CDMA chipset - PA3300™ power amplifier, PM1000™ power management device and the SURF3300 development platform.
The MSM3300 solution offers the highly integrated features of QCT's Wireless Internet Launchpad™ suite of advanced technologies and software, including gpsOne™ position location capabilities featuring SnapTrack™ technology, Bluetooth™ connectivity capabilities, UMTS Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), and multimedia features such as Qtunes™ Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG-1) Layer-3 (MP3) player software support and Compact Media Extension (CMX™) Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI)-based multimedia software. MSM3300 integrated circuit is also capable of interfacing to QCT's Mobile Station Processor (MSP™) microprocessor family, which is designed to perform the functions associated with personal digital assistant (PDA) applications, including support for streaming video using PacketVideo's PVPlayer™ MPEG-4 streaming media decoder.-compatible with the MSM3100, the MSM3300 is available in the same 208-ball Fine-Pitch Ball Grid Array (FBGA) production package.
QCT, a division of QUALCOMM Incorporated, is a developer and supplier of CDMA integrated circuits, hardware and software solutions, and tools, with more than 118 million cumulative shipments of MSM integrated circuits worldwide. QCT offers wireless position location technology by SnapTrack, a wholly owned subsidiary of QUALCOMM. QCT supplies chipsets to the world's leading CDMA handset and infrastructure manufacturers including: Acer Peripherals, Inc., ALPS ELECTRIC CO., LTD.; CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.; FUJITSU LIMITED; Hitachi, Ltd.; Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd.; KYOCERA CORPORATION; LG Information and Communications, Ltd.; {sung Electronics Ltd.; SANYO Electric Co., Ltd.; and Toshiba Corporation, among others.
QUALCOMM Incorporated (www.qualcomm.com) is a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on the Company's CDMA digital technology. The Company's business areas include CDMA integrated circuits and system software; technology licensing; Eudora® email software for Windows® and Macintosh® computing platforms; digital cinema systems; and satellite-based systems including portions of the Globalstar™ system and wireless fleet management systems, OmniTRACS® and OmniExpress™. QUALCOMM owns patents that are essential to all of the CDMA wireless telecommunications standards that have been adopted or proposed for adoption by standards-setting bodies worldwide. QUALCOMM has licensed its essential CDMA patent portfolio to more than 90 telecommunications equipment manufacturers worldwide. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., QUALCOMM is included in the S&P 500 Index and is a 2000 FORTUNE 500® company traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market® under the ticker symbol QCOM.
Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including the Company's ability to successfully design and have manufactured significant quantities of CDMA components on a timely and profitable basis, the extent and speed to which CDMA is deployed, change in economic conditions of the various markets the Company serves, as well as the other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including the report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 24, 2000, and most recent Form 10-Q.
###
QUALCOMM, OmniTRACS and Eudora are registered trademarks of QUALCOMM Incorporated. MSM3300, MSM, SURF3300, RFT3100, IFR3300, RFR3300, PA3300, PM1000, Wireless Internet Launchpad, gpsOne, SnapTrack, Qtunes, CMX, MSP and OmniExpress are trademarks of QUALCOMM Incorporated. Globalstar is a trademark of Loral QUALCOMM Satellite Services, Incorporated. Bluetooth is a trademark owned by Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson, Sweden. PVPlayer is a trademark of PacketVideo Corporation. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple Computer Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
QUALCOMM Contacts:
Anita Hix, CDMA Technologies Public Relations
1-(858) 658-5879 (ph) 1-(858) 651-7385 (fax)
e-mail: ahix@qualcomm.com
or
Christine Trimble, Corporate Public Relations
1-(858) 651-3628 (ph) 1-(858) 651-2590 (fax)
e-mail: ctrimble@qualcomm.com
or
Julie Cunningham, Investor Relations
1-(858) 658-4224 (ph) 1-(858) 651-9303 (fax)
e-mail: jcunningham@qualcomm.com
EMI and BMG Officially End Merger Talks
by Jay Kumar
For the second time in seven months, EMI Recorded Music has been unable to complete a merger with a fellow major label group. EMI and rival BMG Entertainment have officially called off merger talks, citing the same regulatory concerns that led to the failure of EMI's attempted merger with Warner Music Group last fall.
The companies are concerned about regulatory hurdles in both Europe and the U.S. A merger would reduce the number of major label groups from five to four and European Commission (EC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulators would reportedly require EMI and BMG to sell off certain assets including Virgin Records and RCA Records.
"The companies have mutually concluded that the regulatory hurdles Brussels and Washington would most likely impose on an EMI/BMG merger would require a complicated, lengthy investigation and approval procedure," according to a statement from BMG's parent corporation, Bertelsmann. "Also, preliminary talks indicated that there would be significant stipulations, which might have called the project's economic viability into question."
EMI and Warner Music officially called off a deal last October after the EC had said it was concerned that the new company would have too much control over retail music pricing, song catalog licensing and online music distribution. At the time Warner Music executives were awaiting final approval of the AOL Time Warner merger from the FTC, amid antitrust concerns in the U.S. European regulators signed off on the AOL Time Warner merger in October
Both EMI and BMG plan to continue their involvement with MusicNet, a digital music distribution platform they established with AOL Time Warner and RealNetworks; Bertelsmann also continues to back a forthcoming commercial version of the Napster file-swap service.
Warner Music may re-enter the EMI merger picture. WMG head Roger Ames told shareholders in January that Warner would revisit merger talks with EMI if the latter's merger with BMG failed and the current regulatory climate eased [see 2.01.01 AOL Time Warner Divisional CEOs Upbeat About Post-merger Opportunities].
A WMG spokeswoman said the regulatory climate has not changed dramatically since last October, making it unlikely that WMG would start merger talks with EMI again. "The idea of going back for a third [attempt at merger] after two have already failed seems like banging your head against a wall," she added.
Last fall, EC regulators were concerned about the implications of combining EMI and WMG's music publishing businesses, as well as the potential issues raised by the technology advantage provided by WMG's parent corporation, AOL Time Warner. An EMI spokeswoman said the company plans to focus on its core businesses.
Last September, Warner and EMI offered to sell off several assets, including Warner/Chappell Music publishing and EMI's Virgin Records; ultimately, the companies did not feel the concessions were enough to cement the deal [see 10.05.00 Warner/EMI Cancel Merger; EU Ruling on AOL/TW October 11].
EMI today released early projections of its fiscal 2000 results; group sales improved by 12% to about $3.87 billion, group operating profits grew 14% to about $473.8 million, and adjusted profit before tax increased 6% to approximately $373.3 million. The company will release final results on May 22.
EMI is still an attractive acquisition target. Potential merger partners for EMI could be major media conglomerates that do not own music labels and which would not attract as much regulatory scrutiny, such as News Corp. or the Walt Disney Co.
EMI's share price was unchanged today at $11.85; AOL Time Warner's shares closed up 2.89% today at 51.96.
Liquid Audio Cuts Could Signal Pending Acquisition
by Dave Brigham
In cutting 40% of its staff today, Liquid Audio may be getting ready to be acquired. The company denies it is cleaning house for potential suitors, but Liquid's new CFO is an experienced hand at such tasks. He prepared MongoMusic for its acquisition by Microsoft.
Liquid laid off nearly 80 of its 195 employees, across all divisions; about 90% of the company's sales force was let go, according to a source close to the company. Redwood City, Calif.-based Liquid plans to jettison a number of "non-core" businesses, including retail kiosks, a program for independent artists and its promotions department, among others.
A company spokeswoman said Liquid would focus on providing downloadable and streaming music to retailers, and to digital music subscription services. Additionally, the company believes its patent portfolio, which includes patents related to digital watermarking and territory restrictions for delivery of digital content, will help it earn licensing revenue.
Times are tough for Internet companies, so it's conceivable that Liquid is simply cutting costs to stay competitive. However, a recent corporate restructuring points to the possibility of a buyout. Last week, the company hired former MongoMusic COO Michael Bolcerek as its chief financial officer. MongoMusic hired Bolcerek in June 2000; two months later Microsoft agreed to acquire the music personalization software developer [see 09.13.00 Microsoft Buys MongoMusic].
Bolcerek has been brought to Liquid to "clean it up and get it ready" to be acquired, the source said. Among the top contenders for a buyout is Yahoo, the source said.
The Liquid spokeswoman had no comment on whether the company is seeking an acquisition partner. A Yahoo spokeswoman said the company is "always looking for new types of services," but she would not comment on a possible Liquid acquisition.
Yahoo's music strategy is open to question. The company has licensed the TurboJukebox.com URL, developed a software music player and obtained a webcasting license from the Recording Industry Association of America. Yahoo has agreed to market, but not license, the Duet subscription service that Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment are developing [see 04.05.01 Yahoo to Market Duet Music Service, Music Strategy Still Unclear].
Yahoo could leverage its Yahoo Broadcast technology to build a music platform, but would still need a security partner, according to Rob Martin, a senior technology analyst with Friedman Billings Ramsey who covers Yahoo.
Liquid's digital rights management technology includes watermarking, encryption, copy control and copyright management components, according to the company.
While Liquid is best known for its downloadable music applications and services, the company has "the capability for streaming, but content owners haven't been asking for it," according to the Liquid spokeswoman. In recent months, however, there has been activity among major media companies to develop streaming music subscription services.
Last month, RealNetworks announced the formation of MusicNet, a joint venture with AOL Time Warner, Bertelsmann and EMI Group. MusicNet is developing an online subscription service platform that will feature music from Warner Music Group, BMG Entertainment and EMI Recorded Music [see 04.02.01 RealNetworks to Launch Subscription Platform With Labels].
It's unlikely MusicNet needs Liquid's technology, as MusicNet's system is operational and a sales team for the joint venture is being put in place, according to executives from the joint venture's major-label backers [see 04.20.01 MusicNet Makes its Platform Real for Major Label Execs]. It's possible that Liquid could provide services for Universal Music and Sony Music's Duet system.
Liquid Audio, rights management and clearinghouse firm Reciprocal and platform technology company Supertracks are among the companies that have presented their technology to either Universal or Sony, in some cases specifically for Duet [see 03.08.01 Tech Companies Want to Sing Chorus Behind Universal and Sony's "Duet"].
Other candidates to buy Liquid Audio include Bertelsmann ECommerce Group, which oversees businesses including BarnesandNoble.com, BOL.com, CDnow and Digital World Services (DWS). Both DWS and Liquid Audio have relationships with Napster. DWS is building security components for Napster's forthcoming commercial song-swap system; Liquid has a research and development agreement with Napster.
Commenting on a possible acquisition of Liquid Audio by Bertelsmann, a spokeswoman for Bertelsmann ECommerce Group said, "There is nothing going on now." A DWS spokeswoman said the company is not pursuing a Liquid Audio deal.
Late last year Bertelsmann conducted due diligence with Liquid Audio over a possible acquisition. A source close to Liquid Audio said it is unlikely Bertelsmann would reconsider a deal.
While it's unlikely any company will buy Liquid in the next few months, it's quite possible in the next six months. Liquid will probably continue to develop its technologies and streamline its operations to better position itself for a buyout later this year, the source said.
Liquid expects to record a cash charge of between $3.5 million and $4 million related to its layoffs and cutbacks. The company's shares closed down 8.43% today at $2.28.
IBM WebSphere Receives Four Awards At XML One In Austin, Wins Best Of Show Honors For Its Internet Infrastructure Software
SOMERS, NY -- (INTERNET WIRE) -- 05/01/2001 -- IBM's WebSphere software won four awards in the Best of Show category at this year's XML One conference held in Austin, Texas.
IBM won or tied in four different categories, including: Best B2B Messaging Solution for WebSphere B-to-B Integrator; Best Enterprise Application Integration Solution for MQSeries; Best XML Information Server for Transcoding Publisher (tie); and Best Web Resources for developerWorks (tie).
The awards are peer-based; after visiting each exhibit, the conference attendees cast their votes for products in a variety of categories.
WebSphere is Internet infrastructure software -- known as middleware -- that helps businesses manage high-volume transactions and complex integration of business operations. WebSphere momentum continues to grow in the marketplace with eight consecutive quarters of double-digit growth on Unix and Windows NT computer systems; WebSphere continues to rapidly gain share at BEA's (NASDAQ: BEAS) expense while BEA's marketshare has declined according to Giga; and there are 35,000 WebSphere customers around the world and 9,000 business partners supporting the software.
WebSphere Business-to-Business Integrator
WebSphere Business-to-Business Integrator is software that enables businesses to bridge the gap between enterprise computing systems and those of customers, suppliers, business partners and marketplaces. It supports every aspect of business, combining technology from IBM's extensive catalog of integration and transaction software and is based on open XML technology.
MQSeries
MQSeries is the most widely used software for integrating business processes on the market and the defacto standard in the industry with 65 percent marketshare according to Aberdeen. It enables users to exchange information between applications and across more than 35 different platforms, from mainframes to PCs. This software enables business integration throughout the enterprise, allowing companies to maximize e-business opportunities by leveraging existing resources to improve speed-to-market and anticipate IT changes as their business changes.
WebSphere Transcoding Publisher
WebSphere Transcoding Publisher is a server-side solution for connecting data across multiple formats, markup languages and devices. It can adapt, reformat, and filter content to make it suitable for pervasive computing, giving companies better access to customers, business partners and mobile employees on a variety of devices.
developerWorks
developerWorks, IBM's free, online, resource for developers, provides tools, code and tutorials for open standards-based development including Java technology, XML, Linux and Web services. The site also includes product domains including WebSphere, Lotus and VisualAge for Java as well as an "Ask the Expert" section for question and answer exchanges.
For additional information on IBM, please visit www.ibm.com
About IBM's (NYSE: IBM) WebSphere Software
WebSphere is Internet infrastructure software -- known as middleware -- that enables companies to develop, deploy and integrate next-generation e-business applications, such as those for business-to-business e-commerce. WebSphere supports business applications from simple Web publishing through enterprise-scale transaction processing. WebSphere transforms the way businesses manage customer, partner and employee relationships. More information about the WebSphere software platform is on the Web at www.ibm.com/websphere.
Putting a Price on Mobile Multimedia
By David Boettger
May 01, 2001
Cellular operators and infrastructure vendors continue to drone on about the impending mobile Internet revolution. We are told that in the near future we will wonder how life was possible prior to mobile multimedia (MMM) - mobile video phone calls in particular.
Meanwhile, in reaction to the heart-stopping expenditures by the operators on 3G network infrastructure and radio spectrum, and by the vendors on 3G R&D and financing offers to the operators, telecom share prices and shareholders have been pummeled in the market.
Never mind, we are told; the "data hockey stick", in which mobile voice traffic levels (and revenues and earnings, by implication) are surpassed by mobile data traffic, is just around the corner. Shareholders' rewards are immanent.
Wireless Multimedia: A Cost Estimate
Thus far, however, neither operators nor vendors have been able to muster the courage to put a retail price tag on MMM services. No matter; it's easy to estimate.
Globally, cellular operators seem to need to generate at least US$.05 per minute - averaged over all subscribers and call-minutes - in order to sustain their operations. With the data rate of cellular voice calls averaging about 5 kbps, it is apparent that one kilobit-per-second of cellular bandwidth retails for about one cent. (Though the precise figures for call charges and data rates are debatable, the general conclusions here hold true regardless.)
Video, like voice, is a "real-time" service. This is significant because the cost-saving tricks that the cellular infrastructure applies to packet-oriented services, such as introducing lots of packet delay and reducing radio link reliability, cannot be tolerated with real-time services.
From the perspective of the cellular infrastructure and for the purposes of this price estimation, a video phone call is more like a circuit-oriented voice call than a packet-oriented web browsing session. So it is reasonable to ballpark the retail price of a mobile video call by scaling the price of a voice call by the video data rate.
For example, consider a video call with a gross data rate of 64 kbps. At one cent per kbps, the video call would retail for about US$.64 per minute. A 384 kbps video call would be charged at a whopping $3.84 per minute.
This calculation shows what an operator must charge simply to maintain its operating profit margin. It assumes that 3G infrastructure capacity costs the same on a per-kbps basis as existing infrastructure, which seems rather optimistic. Moreover, it doesn't even begin to address the operator's net profit margin, which would bear the additional burdens of the up-front costs for 3G including radio spectrum and network infrastructure base platforms.
Can It Work
Obviously operators would have a hard time attracting MMM subscribers at these prices. But what happens if they apply discounts to these rates in order to spur MMM usage?
Suppose an operator discounts the retail price of video calls to "only" five times the price of a voice call - US$.25 per minute in this case. Further suppose that this results in 1 percent of its monthly call minutes being converted from 5 kbps voice to 64 kbps video. The result is a 12 percent increase in traffic (kbps) but only a four percent increase in revenues.
And if video usage rises to just 8.5 percent of call minutes, network traffic has doubled but revenues have risen by only one third. The expenditures required to support the MMM traffic go straight to the operator's bottom line. It is clear that, MMM notwithstanding, voice traffic will continue to reign supreme in terms of profitability.
It would not be accurate to imply that a cellular operator's cost structure is solely a function of system throughput. Cellular operating costs are a function of the size of the subscriber base, the radio coverage footprint, the system call volume, and other factors.
However, the kbps metric is a reasonable predictor of operating costs because kbps consume several costly infrastructure resources, namely: radio spectrum, network hardware, and transmission (moving the subscriber traffic from place-to-place within the network) capacity.
Now, some might argue that the value of MMM is not in the revenue generated from MMM services themselves, but in the intangibles such as reduced subscriber "churn" rates and increased voice calling revenues. These arguments might hold true (it remains to be seen), but a reasonable shareholder must ask: Is equity best utilized by purchasing 3G radio spectrum and installing a completely new infrastructure to support MMM, or by improving customer service and system reliability, and providing attractive services, on the existing 2G infrastructure?
Ultimately, this question - indeed this entire pricing exercise - is academic. Cellular operators will deploy 3G cellular networks and will launch MMM services. They will set retail prices that maximize revenues (or minimize losses). But telecom shareholders should hope that voice calls continue to dominate the cellular usage profile -- and that the MMM hockey stick never arrives.
David Boettger has been a mobile cellular telecommunication professional for nine years. He has held a variety of positions with cellular infrastructure vendors in the areas of product development, system engineering, and most recently, sales & marketing. His primary expertise is code division multiple access (CDMA) cellular networks. He is currently CEO of LB Technology, a wireless consultancy.
Study: Multimedia Key to 3G Success
By allNetDevices Staff
May 01, 2001
Failing to deliver lots of streaming media choices to consumers will bring ruin to the wireless industry, according to a study released Tuesday by Datacomm Research Company.
Also necessary for success will be widespread support for micropayments to encourage wireless e-commerce, according to the study. But streaming media remains the single most essential element of success, the study claims.
"Wireless streaming will make or break operators, manufacturers, and content providers," said Paul Pauesick, Datacomm Research's director of research. "If they get it right, it will lead to new business and consumer applications, higher average revenue per user per month, and lower subscriber churn," he added.
The study also cautioned wireless operators that they must develop new business models that include revenues created by new opportunities, such as inserting advertising into content and Net-based storage. The study also predicted that wireless capabilities will become a "standard option" not only for handhelds, but also for audio players and digital cameras.
The study also calls for the music industry to change to facilitate secure delivery of copyrighted material via wireless devices. The findings are part of the study: Wireless Streaming Media: Markets & Business Opportunities.
Handheld Wars Are Heating Up
By David Haskin
Managing Editor, allNetDevices
April 30, 2001
Most industries start out with tumult and then settle into predictable patterns. The opposite is true in the handheld business. Suddenly, Pocket PC is gaining momentum, Wall Street has soured on Palm and a dark horse handheld vendor is emerging.
Does this signal a sea change in the handheld industry?
Pocket PC: Gaining Momentum
Pocket PC is, without doubt, gaining momentum but nobody knows how much.
Microsoft understandably uses the most optimistic market share assessment it can find, which come from market analysis firm IDC. That assessment claims Pocket PC's market share is more than a 16 percent. NPD Intelect claims Pocket PC's share is closer to 10 percent.
Both figures require close scrutiny. NPD's figures reflect only channel sales, not direct sales. Compaq sells its successful iPAQ Pocket PCs directly, but it's hard to imagine that iPAQ alone has a six percent market share.
I agree with a market analyst with whom I recently spoke who said that Pocket PC has, roughly a 12 percent market share. Given that Microsoft had virtually no handheld market share until a year ago, that's pretty impressive.
Given their multimedia savvy and strong connections to Office applications, I continue to predict that Pocket PCs will end 2001 with between 15 and 20 percent market share. That will be aided by a new Pocket PC vendor -- Toshiba -- hitting the streets later this year.
However, some fundamental problems remain for Microsoft. First, the devices will always be more expensive than Palm-based devices because all that multimedia power requires lots of RAM and expensive color screens. Plus, Pocket PC vendors are not particularly consumer-oriented, which remains essential for big-time handheld success.
The increasing success of Pocket PCs will come at the expense of Palm's m500 products, which also are being hurt by Handspring's Visor Edge. As a result, Palm's market share inevitable will continue to head south -- just as Palm has long predicted.
Wall Street Sours on Palm
Even at its zenith, Palm said publicly that it expected market share for its own handhelds to decrease because it licenses its platform to competitors such as the clever and aggressive Handspring. However, Wall Street is taking the reality of that strategy pretty hard.
In a surprisingly rapid change of heart, Palm changed practically overnight from being a Wall Street darling to an also-ran. Instead, Handspring is the Wall Street handheld darling. I don't get it.
If Handspring hadn't licensed the Palm operating system, it would have used another platform. Palm knew that, as did the whole world. So Palm wisely decided early on to generate a revenue stream from the Handsprings of the world, a strategy that is working quite well.
Think how successful Apple could have been if it started licensing its operating system when it released the Macintosh in the mid-80s. The competition would have driven Mac prices down and would have forced Apple to be even more innovative than it has been.
That's Palm's strategy. It is willingly giving up some market share for its own hardware while ensuring an ongoing, high-margin revenue stream from its technology base.
While the strategy makes sense, here's a typical response from Wall Street, this one from Goldman & Sachs: "We believe that Palm's weakness is attributable to increased competition ... " No kidding.
Handspring is an exciting, innovative company, but it so far has no underlying technology from which it can generate a revenue stream. I hear increasingly loud whispers that's changing; the company clearly has its sites on wireless telephony.
The bottom line: Analysts are rightly bullish on Handspring, but they're off-base on Palm. Sure, Palm had a bad quarter and is projecting another one. However, as a vendor of both the leading handheld platform and the still best-selling handheld line, its long-term prospects are bright, even as it struggles with short-term issues such as too much inventory and a spending slowdown.
A Darkhorse Emerges?
While little HandEra, formerly known as TRG Products, will never match the marketing budget of the handheld heavyweights, I'm seriously impressed with its new model 330, which it will ship in the next month.
I've been using the HandEra 330 for about a week. It looks like an old Palm III, but it is surprisingly innovative. For instance, its display has far higher resolution than other Palm handhelds, making it more crisp and readable. Applications can, at the developer's option, rotate on-screen from portrait to landscape mode so you can see more. The bundled Microsoft Office-compatible applications have that ability.
The device has both CompactFlash and Secure Disk expansion slots, ensuring compatibility with the widest variety of add-ons. It holds four AAA batteries instead of two but the device weighs less than a Palm III because its beautiful LCD is also lighter. And, the thing is fifty bucks cheaper than the Palm m500 or Visor Edge.
The HandEra 330 doesn't have that sexy thin look, but it's easier to use and more powerful than its competitors. If there was any justice in the world, HandEra would, at the very least, emerge from obscurity and become a significant dark horse.
Delphi's Next-Generation Wireless Chip Solution Operates On TI Programmable DSP
Delphi Communications Systems, a provider of Digital Signal Processing (DSP) software products and solutions in wireless and network communication applications, announced that it has produced an eXpressDSP real-time software technology compliant algorithm to operate on Texas Instruments (TI) newest programmable TMS320CC55x generation of DSPs.
"Because TI C55x DSPs are programmable and the most power-efficient DSP's available today, C55x DSPs are being chosen to drive the industry's next generation of wireless applications," said Christine Wu, C55x marketing manager for Texas Instruments. "Combining Delphi's eXpressDSP software algorithms with TI C55x DSPs will give product developers an edge over their competition with superior performance enabling software companies to get to market as quickly as possible - far ahead of the competition."
The Delphi G.168 Algorithm and the C55x DSP generation by Texas Instruments contain important factors in the development of next generation wireless, voice over IP, and personal electronic devices such as cellular handsets, conferencing devices, and PDAs. The C55x DSP is programmable and offers the lowest power consumption available today for up to four times the performance of the previous generation of devices. Delphi's highly optimized assembly implementation of this Digital Network Echo canceller takes full advantage of the C55x DSP instruction set enhancements and multiple MAC units while providing an ANSI C interface to an object-oriented design. The combination of optimization, object based design, and ANSI C interfaces uniquely addresses the demands of design engineers who are looking for simple, rapid integration of algorithms into new and existing systems. The G.168 algorithm is also compatible with Delphi's DelCORE Universal Framework, further enhancing the ease of integration of algorithms into new designs.
"Texas Instruments has focused on responding to the explosive demand of engineers for wired and wireless products with multimedia functionality and packet-based communications," said Doug Shute, CEO of Delphi Communications.
"The resulting eXpressDSP software compliant solutions by Delphi have integrated multi-standard protocols into a high-performance, low-cost product that accelerates time-to-market and results in increased revenue."
The DelCORE Universal Framework, Delphi's key technology, is a highly portable application software environment that simultaneously supports multiple, disparate protocols used in DSP-based applications. The Universal Framework enables a multiplicity of algorithms to work together to execute applications that convert samples to packets or packets to samples. Uniquely addressing the technology and business challenges of market fragmentation and the incompatibility of hardware and software application development, the DelCORE Universal Framework is a fundamental building block for use in both wireless and wireline network applications
Intel set to wire more powerful Net devices
By Erwin Lemuel G. Oliva
INQ7.net
FUTURE wireless Internet devices will require more horsepower because of the expected barrage of multimedia content, according to chip manufacturer Intel Corp.
"Cellular phone units and wireless clients should be capable to handle multimedia," said Hans Geyer, vice president and general manager of cellular communications division of Intel Corp. during a keynote at the recently held Intel Developer Forum in Beijing.
Intel now powers personal digital assistants (PDAs) manufactured by Hewlett Packard, Compaq, and Casio. At the forum, Intel officials revealed that it is currently working with Asian hardware manufacturers based in Japan and China.
In China, Intel is working with Legend Group Co. Ltd., which one of the biggest manufacturer of computers in the country.
Meanwhile, Intel and ASUSTek Computer Inc. are working on a personal digital assistant using Intel Personal Client Architecture (PCA), according to Hank Lai, regional marketing wireless group for Intel Asia Pacific.
Lai said that the chip manufacturer is also "talking" with mobile manufacturers, but declined to give details.
"Cellular operators are seeing a future where voice calls revenues will decrease…The only way they can get their investments back is to offer new services that users are willing to pay for," Geyer remarked.
The Intel PCA architecture--said to be Intel’s answer to the needs of future wireless devices—is composed of hardware and software components built for wireless clients. It also has next-generation microprocessors and other components that support global standards for wireless communications such as Bluetooth and 802.11 for wireless local area networks.
The PCA is reportedly Intel’s way of separating computing power from communications and memory components. Intel’s StrongArm microprocessor and Xscale Microarchitecture will handle the computing side of the wireless device, while Intel's Micro Signal Architecture (the company’s version of digital signal processor technology) will handle the wireless communications side.
Intel believes that such architecture will enable companies to "deploy new mobile services and applications quickly."
So far, 20 companies support Intel PCA, including IBM. The computer behemoth has "endorsed" Intel PCA and is expected to "port" its software product the Websphere EveryPlace Suite Embedded Edition to Intel PCA, Geyer said.
Cell phone music on tour in Japan
By Ben Charny
Special to CNET News.com
April 30, 2001, 10:45 a.m. PT
The first service that lets people download music files to a cell phone has hit Japan, but will people pay for it?
On Monday, Japanese telephone giant NTT DoCoMo started selling a handset capable of receiving music files for $245. Consumers will also have to pay a monthly fee to NTT DoCoMo of $1.60 and then another $2.83 for every title loaded onto their phones, according to the company.
Downloading music to cell phones is one of the much-hyped new services expected from the next generation of high-speed phones that carriers are beginning to offer at the end of this year.
Consumers are expected to spend $7 billion a year to download music, according to a report released Monday by Webnoize, a digital music industry watchdog.
But the price will have to come down before people will use it, according to Webnoize senior analyst Matt Bailey. Fifty million people are expected to regularly download music, with 28 million in Europe and 7 million both in the United States and Japan.
It will cost about $13 to download a music file to a cell phone, Bailey said. But that price could drop to about $3.30 per song as the technology improves and telephone companies finish building the networks for higher-speed phone systems.
"At that point, it starts getting pretty affordable," he said. "The price to transfer a song will drop quicker than anybody thinks."
Consumers won't be sacrificing much if they use their phones to listen to their digitized music instead of devices like MP3 players specially designed for such purposes, he said.
"Music is actually a very good potential for (cell phones)," Bailey said. "You're getting a very comparable service to what consumers are used to now."
There is a large market for such a service among the college student set, according to a Webnoize's survey of about 5,000 students.
Nearly three-quarters of the students responding said they would be willing to pay a telephone company extra money to download music onto their phones. About 17 percent said they would be willing to pay an extra $20 for that kind of service.
By comparison, just 9 percent of the students said they would be willing to pay an extra $20 to download videos onto phones, another of the promised applications of the higher-speed phone networks.
IBM Microdrive Is Out Of This World
World’s Smallest Hard Disk Drive Completes Two Successful NASA Shuttle Missions; Brought Back High-Resolution, Space-Aged Pictures
SAN JOSE, CA -- (INTERNET WIRE) -- 04/30/2001 -- IBM says its award-winning one-gigabyte Microdrive™ offers the ruggedness and performance ideal for outer space or earthbound photographic missions. This, after NASA astronauts successfully stored and brought back digital images on IBM’s revolutionary one-inch hard disk drive during the recent Atlantis and Discovery shuttle missions.
After withstanding a series of tests including high doses of radiation and durability in a weightless environment, the Microdrive easily stored hundreds of data-intensive digital images from NASA’s most important missions to the International Space Station. The pictures were captured with the Kodak Professional DCS 660 digital camera, providing six megapixel resolution for high-quality professional images.
“IBM designed the Microdrive for reliability, high-performance and huge capacity -- features that are essential to meet NASA’s rigorous standards for critical missions,” said Michael Kuptz, Microdrive business line manager, IBM Storage Technology Division. “If the Microdrive can be trusted to help capture NASA’s history-making journeys, imagine what it can do to preserve your child’s first smile or your business-critical documents.”
The high capacity of the 1 GB Microdrive enabled shuttle crew to be more productive by giving them extra time to spend capturing images instead of swapping in and out storage cards, as would be the case with lower capacity removable memory formats. In addition, according to Kodak and independent third-party testing, the Microdrive’s high performance enables Kodak digital cameras to write images to the Microdrive more quickly than to any other storage technology.
The Kodak Professional DCS 660’s six-megapixel resolution, offering precision surpassing that of 35 mm cameras, met NASA’s requirement for very high quality images. Digital files at this high resolution can be as large of 18 MB, compared to one to two MB for standard digital files.
“We optimized Kodak Professional’s digital cameras to be compatible with the IBM Microdrive because of its ability to quickly store and move very large files,” said Jay Kelbley, product manager, digital cameras, Kodak Professional. “Kodak and IBM together offer a ‘digital imaging workflow’ in the highest-quality image capture and storage solution on the market.”
NASA’s in-flight images captured with the IBM Microdrive and Kodak Professional DCS 660 digital camera can be viewed at spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery for shuttle missions STS98 and STS102.
About the Microdrive
The IBM Microdrive offers breakthrough storage capacity for the portable electronic devices industry. With capacities ranging from 340 MB to 1 GB on a single one-inch diameter hard disk drive, the IBM family of Microdrives provides high-capacity and cost-effective personal storage in an industry-standard CompactFlash Type II form factor. Weighing just over half an ounce (16 grams), the Microdrive provides outstanding capacity in a compact, portable package -- a key requirement for today’s handheld devices.
The Microdrive is supported by a host of portable handheld devices including digital music players, personal digital assistants, and digital cameras. In addition, the Microdrive supports multiple data types including MP3, Text, JPEG, voice, etc., and can hold up 1000 standard digital photographs, a thousand 200-page novels or nearly 18 hours of high-quality digital audio music.
The Microdrive continues IBM’s tradition and leadership in the innovation of hard disk drives.
The Microdrive is being offered at price points beginning at $299 for the 340 MB and $499 for the 1 GB. For more information on the Microdrive, visit www.ibm.com/storage/microdrive or call 1-888-426-5214.
About IBM
IBM develops and manufactures the industry's most advanced information technologies, including computer systems, software, networking systems, storage devices and microelectronics. The IBM Storage Technology Division offers customers worldwide the most comprehensive range of industry-leading storage products available today. These storage solutions are offered through IBM, as well as a large network of IBM Business Partners and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).
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Contact: Kim Nguyen
Company: IBM
Title: Media Relations, Storage Technology Division
Phone: 408-256-7589 T/L 276
Email: ktnguyen@us.ibm.com
Cell: 408-504-0902
Home Office: 831-460-0902