AT&T says B Block and Aloha spectrum will go to LTE

April 3, 2008

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The FCC has just lifted its gag order on the gory details of the 700MHz Auction 73, and AT&T wasted absolutely no time setting up a press conference to discuss how it was planning to utilize its win in the so-called B Block. Bottom line: AT&T's moving to LTE for its 4G infrastructure -- no surprise there, since it's the natural evolution for GSM carriers -- and the purchase is designed to support that build-out. As they've said before, they're tooting their horn over the fact that the B Block action combined with the Aloha spectrum purchase gives the carrier 100 percent coverage in the 700MHz arena in the top 200 US markets, while also noting that the frequency range is stellar at breaking through walls for hot in-building coverage.

As for Verizon's C Block win -- the block touted for its open access clause -- AT&T's convinced that the B Block made more sense for the very reason that it lacked those regulatory restrictions. The lack of FCC oversight is cause for some concern, yes, but AT&T continues to stress that it was "open" long before the whole C Block hullaballoo came along by virtue of the fact that any GSM device with the right bands can hop on its network.

In terms of timing, the company's not really in any hurry; it wants to continue to milk HSPA for everything it's worth, promising a 7.2Mbps downlink rollout through 2009, and realistically, we'll be well into the next decade before we see wide-scale use of 700MHz LTE around these parts. A little scary for the impatient among us, we've gotta say.

 

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Ericsson unveils M700 LTE platform for mobile devices

April 3, 2008

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The same week that Nokia Siemens Networks unveiled its LTE solution for North America comes a little nugget from Ericsson: the M700. Hailed as the "world's first commercially available LTE-capable platform," it promises peak data transmissions of 100Mbps down and 50Mbps up, which will undoubtedly be the next best thing since sliced bread. Reportedly, initial devices based on the unit will be ExpressCards, USB modems, etc., and of course, it supports bandwidths between 1.4 and 20MHz and the oh-so-exciting 700MHz bands. Unfortunately, a commercial release isn't set to happen until 2009 -- with products "based on the platform" not scheduled until 2010 -- but to its credit, samples of ASICs will be ready to roll sometime this year.

 

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AOC intros format-lovin’ X600 portable media player

April 3, 2008

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To say it's been awhile since we've seen anything noteworthy from AOC would be a gross understatement, but the Chinese firm is hitting back with a sleek new PMP that just dares you to feed it off-the-wall formats. Besides boasting an expansive 3-inch 400 x 240 resolution display, this bugger handles RM, RMVB, FLV, AVI, MOV, ASF, MP4, WMV, MPG, WMA, MP3, APE and FLAC files (among others) and offers up an FM tuner, text / photo viewer, 4GB of storage space and TV-out functionality. Fairly potent for 599 yuan ($85), huh?

[Via PMPToday]

 

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Windows XP to live until 2010… on the Eee

April 3, 2008

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We puzzled over Microsoft's cryptic statements at CeBIT that the Eee's "other requirements" would lead to an adjustment of the Windows 7 timeline, and it looks like our first guess was spot-on: Microsoft will be making Windows XP available for Eee-class ultraportables until 2010, and possibly later. Demand for XP on devices like the Eee and Intel's Classmate machines has prompted MS to reconsider axing XP entirely this June: the company will now sell XP Home through at least June 2010, and for one year after the release of Windows 7 -- which means sales of XP could stretch into 2012. There's no word on if the build of XP Home targeted at the ultraportable laptop set will be different from regular XP builds, but we doubt there'll be many changes -- it'll be awfully sad if people are still clamoring for XP more than a decade after its initial release, though.

[Thanks, JP]

 

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Census Bureau goes forward with plans to ditch PDAs

April 3, 2008

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While it doesn't exactly come as a surprise given recent developments, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez has now told a House subcommittee that the Census Bureau will in fact be ditching its much-ballyhooed PDAs in favor of paper and pencil for the 2010 census. According to the AP, that fairly drastic move comes as part of a package of changes that will ultimately add as much as $3 billion to the cost of the census, bringing the total cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $14 billion. Among other things, Gutierrez said that a "lack of effective communication with one of our key contractors" was one of the factors that "significantly contributed to the challenges." The handhelds will apparently still see some use during the census, however, although only for verifying street addresses using the PDA's GPS functionality. For its part, Harris Corp. (which had the contract to provide the PDAs) put the best spin on things, saying that it was "encouraged that automation and the adoption of new technology is moving forward, even if in a more narrowly focused fashion." Of course, it's still getting its $600 million+, so it can't really complain all that much.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

 

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Heat from data center used to warm Swiss swimming pool

April 3, 2008

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Here's a novel idea: rather than stressing over the choice between solar or hydroelectric power sources to keep that green data center running, just build the thing near a community pool. Apparently that's exactly what's happening in Uitikon, Switzerland, as an IBM-built center erected for GIB-Services AG is using its excess heat to warm a local swimming pool. Put simply, the warmth emitted by the computers will be piped through a heat exchanger to boost the temperature of water used in the neighboring pool, and while the town had to cover some of the equipment costs to make it come together, it'll reap the oh-so-steamy benefits for free.

[Via FashionFunky, thanks Yash]

 

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Apple officially says it’s the #1 music retailer in the US

April 3, 2008

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Based on today's earlier leak of some weekly NPD marketshare data, we had our doubts that Apple had actually overtaken Wal-Mart as the number one music retailer in the US, but it looks like that January surge of iTunes gift cards and new iPod owners pushed it over the top for good -- and now we've got the PR to prove it. Apple's giving out the same "4 billion songs to 50 million customers" numbers as it has for a while now, but it says iTunes was the biggest game in town in January and February. Of course, there's a lot of 2008 left to go, so Wally might make a comeback -- it was the overall champ last year -- but Apple's achievement is still a major milestone for digitally distributed content, and we hope to see a lot more iTunes-like services on that list soon.

 

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Nokia’s new N-Gage gaming service goes live

April 3, 2008

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It's apparently saving the full, official announcement until Monday, but Nokia just dropped word on its N-Gage blog that the final version of its new N-Gage gaming service / application is now live and ready for your taking. To take advantage of that right now, however, you'll need an N81, N81 8GB, N82, N95, or N95 8GB handset, although Nokia says that support for additional N-Gage compatible devices is "coming soon," including the N73, N93, and N93i. If that doesn't preclude you, you can download the application straight to your device from Nokia's mobile site (n-gage.mobi/d), or you can hit up the link below to download it the old fashioned way.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

 

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LaCie’s latest Neil Poulton external HDD does eSATA, too

April 3, 2008

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In typical LaCie fashion, it's latest external hard drive isn't even mentioned on the outfit's own website, but nevertheless, it most definitely exists. The tried and true Neil Poulton HDD has been refreshed with two new ports to coexist alongside the USB 2.0 socket: FireWire 400 and eSATA. Outside of the two new holes flanking the rear, the drive looks essentially the same, and is available on the streets as we speak for $139.99 (500GB), $187.99 (750GB) or $276.99 (1TB).

[Via CNET]

Update: LaCie mounted these up on its website, after all. Thanks, bjrcboy!

 

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Buffalo’s DriveStation Combo4 external HDD touts four interfaces

April 3, 2008

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You know what they say: you can never have enough ports, right? Apparently Buffalo Technology is nodding its head in agreement, as its DriveStation Combo4 features no fewer than four different interfaces and five total connection ports. Though it can't be connected to multiple machines simultaneously, you can hook things up one at a time with USB 2.0, eSATA, FireWire 400 and FireWire 800 (x2). The drive, which comes in 320GB (HD-HS320Q), 500GB (HD-HS500Q) and 1TB (HD-HS1.0TQ) flavors, comes bundled with the PC / Mac-compatible Memeo AutoBackup software and a two-year warranty to boot. For the port lovers who just can't resist, all three are available now for £79 ($156), £93 ($184) and £161 ($319) from least capacious to most.

 

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