Google Poised to Become Your Phone Company
Nov/09BC
Source: WIRED
Google is set to become your new phone company, perhaps reducing your phone bill to zilch in the process.
Seriously.
Google has bought Gizmo5, an online phone company that is akin to Skype — but based on open protocols and with a lot fewer users. TechCrunch, which broke the news on Monday, reported that Google spent $30 million on the company.
UPDATE: After this post was originally published, Google announced the Gizmo acquisition on Thursday afternoon Pacific Time. Gizmo5’s founder Michael Robertson, a brash serial entrepreneur, will become an Adviser to Google Voice.
It’s a potent recipe — take Gizmo5’s open standards-based online calling system. Add to it the new ability to route calls on Google’s massive network of cheap fiber. Toss in Google Voice’s free phone number, which will ring your mobile phone, your home phone and your Gizmo5 client on your laptop.
Dell unveils Android-based Mini 3 smartphone
Nov/09BC
Source: CNN Tech
CNET- Dell said Friday that it’s ready to enter the smartphone business with the Android-based Mini 3.
Long rumored to have such a device in the works, Dell said that the first two carriers to sell the Mini 3 will be China Mobile and Brazil’s Claro.
The Mini 3 will apparently use OPhone, China Mobile’s customized version of Google’s Android operating system. “We are excited for Dell to be among the first manufacturers to introduce new technology based on the OPhone platform,” an unnamed China Mobile representative said in Dell’s press release.
We’ve got a call out to Dell to seek clarification on the operating system software.
Dell did not provide technical specifications or pricing information for the phone, saying those would be revealed when the device arrives in stores–probably late November for China Mobile and by year’s end for Claro. It also did not say when the phone would arrive in the U.S. or other markets.
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Universal phone charger approved
Oct/09BC
News from the other side of the Atlantic.
A new mobile phone charger that will work with any handset has been approved by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
It is predicted that 51,000 tonnes of redundant chargers are generated each year. Currently most chargers are product or brand specific, so people tend to change them when they upgrade to a new phone. However, the new energy-efficient will last longer than normal chargers. The new universal mobile chargers are said to be implemented into Europe during the first half of 2010.