Into Tech

People in the UK used their handsets to access the net 15.9 million times in December, says a report.

A deal between US mobile firm Verizon and social networking site YouTube will extend the service to handsets.

LONDON (Reuters) - Online gaming group 888 Plc is close to
signing deals with some of Europe’s bigger mobile phone
operators to offer their customers gambling over their
handsets, a source close to the company said on Thursday.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Google Inc. , the world’s No.1
Web search engine, has started a free Japanese-language news
site for mobile phones, to expand in a market where more people
access the Web via handsets than PCs.

NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s number-one phone provider, went buck wild at a Tokyo press conference this morning and unveiled no fewer than 14 new handsets, all of ‘em 3G wonders. The lineup consists of 11 high-end FOMA 903i series models, two dumb-but-nice Simpure phones and the N902iL Wi-Fi-ed smartphone.

There’s far too much phonetastic goodness to go into here (check the press release at the link below if you dare) but standouts include IC cards preloaded with DoCoMo’s RFID credit card software, One-seg digital TV, 3.6Mbps HSDPA, interoperability with Napster Japan and – get this – the Keitai-Osagashi service, which uses GPS and a PC to find lost or stolen phones. – Jonny Hiratsuka

Press release [NTT DoCoMo]

Similar to the USRobotics USR9630 Skype phone we reviewed yesterday, the Auvi PHIP64 Skype phone uses DECT to connect your handset to the base station, which then connects to your PC via USB to give you wireless Skype calling. Like the USRobotics phone, this has both landline and Skype, along with an LCD display, caller ID, speakerphone, and Skype contact list. In fact, we’re pretty sure the feature set is so similar, that they’ve got more than just a little bit in common.

This Auvi is £70 and will have additional handsets (up to four) available in November for £40 each. All in all, this seems like yet another Skype DECT phone that’s, for better or worse, indistinguishable from the competition. – Jason Chen

Press Release [PR Newswire via Crunchgear]

Helio, the cellphone company with mySpace on their speedy 3G handsets, has always offered unlimited data, but without any way to get that net-link to your laptop. Until now. This PCMCIA card rocks EVDO, good for 700kbps downloads, and WiFi that comes with access to Boingo hotspots. Not bad for $85 dollar a month. And…

LONDON/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Vodafone Group Plc launched its first own-branded 3G handsets on Thursday, as the mobile phone giant tries to expand in the market for higher-paying third-generation services by luring more pre-pay users.

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Most mobile phone users will still have to wait some time for Internet telephony company Skype’s mobile service because of technical hurdles and a lack of suitable handsets, Skype’s chief executive was quoted as saying in a Finnish newspaper on Thursday.

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Most mobile phone users will still have to wait some time for Internet telephony company Skype’s mobile service because of technical hurdles and a lack of suitable handsets, Skype’s chief executive was quoted as saying in a Finnish newspaper on Thursday.