Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

I am doing a bit of head scratching this morning.  CTIA has come and gone, as has CeBit and 3G.  In this post, I’ll go over the 3 phones that are hot on the tail of the iPhone.  But can any of them compare?

First, I think it is essential to boil down the obvious: the iPhone hype is about 3 things.
1. OS.  Fun.  Simple.  Easy.  We like pushing things around with our fingers.
2. Internet.  We do so much online, it is natural to do that everywhere.  The big screen is a huge plus.
3. Sexy.  What makes sexy?  Not sure but Apple has it right now.

Knowing I am but a tech blogger and thus an idiot, let’s see how the phone makers have assessed the competition and how they plan to beat it.

MORE »

The keynote speakers at the upcoming CTIA Wireless 2007 expo have been announced.

Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer of Microsoft Corporation, will kick off the show with the opening day keynote address on Tuesday, October 23 at 9:00 a.m. in his second CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment appearance. Dustin Moskovitz, co-founder and vice president of engineering at Facebook, will deliver the keynote address on Wednesday, October 24 at 9:00 a.m.

Microsoft continues to lead the market with its software and operating systems designed to deliver a seamless experience across a wide range of devices and services. After serving the company in a number of leadership roles, Ballmer was named CEO in January 2000, assuming full management responsibility for the company, which includes delivering on the company’s mission of enabling people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential. A focused, funny, passionate and dynamic executive, Ballmer is sure to entertain and enlighten the attendees with the same energetic leadership, vision and spirit that he has infused into Microsoft over the past two decades.

Facebook is changing the way people interact and communicate with the development of new technologies that facilitate the spread of information through social networks. Moskovitz is responsible for the company’s mobile strategy and has been instrumental in the company’s growth and development since its inception. He started Facebook with founder Mark Zuckerberg from their dorm room at Harvard University and has since managed engineering and architecture of the Facebook site.

CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2007 will take place October 23-25 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Going on right now Orange country convention center in Orlando, FL, is the CTIA Wireless 2007 (March 25-29, 2007), an international wireless expo expecting more than 800 exhibitors and 40,000 attendees from 100 countries.

Highlights include conference sessions such as SmartPhone Summit and Mobile Movie Fest, a Fashion in Motion runway show of wireless fashion and accessories. The most exciting part - especially for those of us not in attendance - are the Wireless Building and International Pavilions where companies show everyone their current and upcoming goodies. A few of the companies scheduled attend include Ericsson, Microsoft, Motorola, Palm, Accenture, Applied Innovations Inc., BlackBerry, EarthLink, Gemalto, Magellan, MicroTelecom, Plantronics, Spotwave, Syniverse Technologies and Wilson Electronics Inc.

Keynote addresses and product highlights are listed after the break:

Tuesday, March 27, 2007 – Theme: Broadband Convergence

• Randall Stephenson, Chief Operating Officer, AT&T


• Pieter Knook, Sr. Vice President, Mobile & Embedded Devices, Microsoft Corporation


• Ed Zander, Chief Executive Officer, Motorola

Wednesday, March 28, 2007 – Theme: Emerging Opportunities in Wireless

• Eric Nicoli, Chief Executive Officer, EMI Group


• Sanjiv Ahuja, Chief Executive Officer, Orange Group


• Philippe P. Dauman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Viacom Inc.


• John Philip Coghlan, President and Chief Executive Officer, Visa USA

Thursday, March 29, 2007 – Theme: Presidential Perspectives

• The Honorable George H.W. Bush, 41st President of the United States


• The Honorable William J. Clinton, 42nd President of the United States

I’ll sure we’ll have plenty of products to share during and after the conference. For now, we’ll settle for this quick list of a few products expected to demo:

Applied Innovation will display an interactive kiosk within the consumer electronics superstore that urges potential subscribers to “take the challenge” and see which provider truly delivers the best wireless user experiences.

From Gemalto, attendees will see how the SIM in a phone, powered by their secure smart card, can unlock office doors - simply by transmitting a person’s corporate credentials via Near Field Communication to the contactless reader. As mobile transactions gain momentum in financial services, physical and logical access and ticketing, 3G SIMs provide the security and device mobility required to meet these needs.

The Plantronics Voyager 510SL Bluetooth Headset System offers mobile professionals hands-free convenience with a single, high-performance Bluetooth headset for both mobile and office phones. Featuring multipoint technology for easy switching between devices, attendees will see how users can take calls from either their mobile or desk phone with the touch of a button. The Plantronics Voyager 510SL System also includes a noise-canceling microphone, wind-reduction technology and provides up to 33-feet of wireless roaming distance – empowering professionals to multi-task, expand the virtual workplace and stay connected whether in the office, at home or on the go.

Magellan will showcase, NavCreator a software development kit containing navigation module APIs, based on Magellan technology that enables creation of customized navigation applications.

In the retail area, MicroTelecom 2007 will showcase its software management solutions for wireless retail, wholesale and master agents. The system includes a real time Point of Sale and remote back office modules that effectively monitor and automate business processes including purchases, back orders, inventory, sales and returns, accounting, CRM, activation tracking, commission reconciliation and more.

Motorola will be showcasing several innovative products and technologies throughout the Wireless Building and in an exclusively sponsored retail area. Among the exhibits will be Motorola’s WiMAX solutions, designed to support fixed, portable, nomadic and mobile applications as well as IPTV solutions, enabling service providers to offer subscribers the ultimate in-home video experience - high definition TV, video on demand and home media networking.

Throughout the Wireless Building Spotwave‘s SpotCell 2500X3 will seamlessly bring outdoor wireless signal inside - ensuring cell phones, PDAs and 3G laptop air cards work reliably indoors. Spotwave’s products cost-effectively solve cellular dead spots for both carriers and enterprise customers looking to boost in-building cellular signal and reception.

Also on display will be Syniverse‘s Interactive Video Response System (IVDRS), a multimedia application platform that enables operators to extend a wide range of popular revenue-generating video-based services to 3G subscribers. Attendees will be able to see real-time video surveillance, interactive video quiz games, video mail, mobile TV, multiparty conferencing that incorporates both video and voice, and more.

Conference Site [CTIA Wireless 2007]