Mobility Phones - Mobile Phones

Ericsson and Dell have teamed up to ensure international travelers can stay connected with Dell’s next-generation laptops that will support seamless roaming on tri-band HSPA mobile broadband networks. Dell will offer built-in HSPA mobile broadband modules from Ericsson beginning in Q2 2008.HSPA is the world’s most widely deployed mobile broadband technology, with more than 185 commercially deployed networks available around the world serving more than one billion subscribers.

“Consumers are increasingly utilizing notebooks to access the high-capacity services that they have typically experienced only through a wired or WiFi connection,” said Mats Norin, Vice President, Mobile Broadband Modules, Ericsson. “We are excited to work with Dell to give consumers and business users the freedom and flexibility to access internet in the way they want it, wherever they are.

“Dell’s model is uniquely capable of putting the technology and wireless service in customers’ hands. Teaming with Ericsson to offer built-in HSPA in our laptops ensures Dell delivers on the basic assumption that one can access critical information anytime, anywhere, with the speed and rich content that we have all come to expect,” said John Thode, Vice President Small Devices, Dell Consumer Group.

Ericsson’s mobile broadband modules provide the end user with a simple and cost effective solution for broadband access while on-the-go. Seamlessly integrated with and optimized to work within the notebook, the built-in mobile broadband module provides superior downloading and uploading performance and takes less power from the battery. The module also has a GPS receiver, to be used together with positioning applications. Leveraging Ericsson’s in-house HSPA chipset technology and the company’s economies of scale and longstanding operator relationships, Ericsson can offer a very competitive mobile broadband module solution that will help further drive a mass market for mobile broadband.

Market projections indicate that in 2011, approximately 200 million notebooks will ship annually and Ericsson anticipates that 50 percent of those notebooks will feature a built-in HSPA mobile broadband module. Users will increasingly have the option to take their broadband connections with them, delivering on the promise of full service broadband, which is anytime, anywhere access from the screen or device of choice.

Today Ericsson signed GSM expansion framework agreements with China’s two largest mobile operators, China Mobile and China Unicom, valued at about USD 1.3 billion and USD 140 million respectively. The ceremony in Beijing was attended by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, who is in China on an official visit.China Mobile and China Unicom together provide mobile services to about 550 million subscribers in China. The expansion projects will allow both operators to boost their network capacity and performance, creating new revenue streams from enriched data services and offering an enhanced user experience.

Under the framework agreement with China Mobile, Ericsson will be one of the main suppliers of core and radio network equipment, along with related technical support and services, to expand GSM/GPRS coverage and capacity in 19 regions across China. Ericsson will also provide power-saving features that significantly reduce energy consumption in mobile networks and contribute to reducing carbon-dioxide emissions. This follows the “Green Action Program”, a Strategic Cooperation Memorandum previously signed between the two parties.

Under the agreement with China Unicom, Ericsson will be the main supplier and help expand GSM networks in 10 regions across China, including Beijing where Ericsson has previously not been a supplier. Ericsson will also supply multimedia solutions for WAP services to help provide attractive new multimedia services and applications.

The expansion projects are set to be completed in 2008. Deliveries to both operators have already started.

Carl-Henric Svanberg, President and CEO of Ericsson says: “Ericsson is continuously committed to supporting China’s rapidly expanding telecom industry with our global expertise and proven competence. The new framework agreements announced today further strengthen Ericsson’s position as the leading mobile communications supplier in the Chinese market. It reflects our vision of providing communications for all, and we are proud to be an integral part of China’s economic and social development.”

Mats H Olsson, President of Ericsson Greater China, says: “We are very excited to be carrying out these expansion projects for both China Mobile and China Unicom. It is a privilege for Ericsson to be able to work with our long-term strategic partners to provide advanced, innovative services to hundreds of millions of consumers in China.”

The ceremony was also attended by Wang Jianzhou, President of China Mobile, Shang Bing, President of China Unicom, Michael Treschow, Chairman of Ericsson, Carl-Henric Svanberg, President and CEO of Ericsson and Mats H Olsson, President of Ericsson Greater China.

Ericsson today unveiled its M700 mobile platform, the world’s first commercially available LTE-capable platform, with peak data rates of up to 100Mbps in the downlink and up to 50Mbps in the uplink. These speeds match, or in some cases surpass, fixed-line data rates, enabling a superior user experience, supporting advanced real-time mobile services such as online games and video streaming.The M700 is optimized both in terms of size and power consumption and comparable to standard 3G platforms available today. The first products based on M700 will be data devices such as laptop modems, ExpressCards and USB modems for notebooks, as well as other small-form modems suitable for consumer electronic devices. A rich set of interfaces allows easy integration with other handset platforms to create multi-mode devices. Samples of ASICs will be available during 2008 and commercial release is set for 2009, with products based on the platform expected in 2010.

Supporting bandwidths between 1.4 and 20MHz, the M700 is compatible with networks around the world. It can support up to six bands, including the 700 MHz bands. Ericsson’s interoperability testing ensures manufacturers can rapidly bring highly advanced devices to the market while reducing risk and lowering development costs.

Robert Puskaric, Head of Ericsson Mobile Platforms, says: “This world-first launch marks a milestone in Ericsson’s technology leadership and reflects our commitment to developing LTE as an evolutionary path. It is set to boost operators’ service offering and provide consumers with a superior experience with full service broadband on any device, anywhere, at any time.”

The announcement follows another Ericsson first, the demonstration of an LTE-enabled end-to-end phone call employing handheld mobile devices at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February 2008.

Ericsson will conduct the world’s first demonstration of end-to-end HSPA Evolution technology with speeds of up to 42 Mbps at CTIA Wireless 2008, which is being held in Las Vegas from April 1 to 3.Speeds of up to 42 Mbps represent the next phase in HSPA Evolution. These speeds are achieved by combining new higher order modulation technology (64QAM), together with 2×2 Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna technology. The first step of the HSPA evolution will be introduced during 2008.

The improved speed will assist operators in leveraging existing network infrastructure to meet growing consumer appetite for advanced multimedia services. The demonstration will be made using a handheld form-factor device based on Ericsson Mobile Platforms access technology.

Ericsson’s WCDMA/HSPA Radio Access Network solutions offer an evolutionary path for HSPA Evolution. For example, the RBS 3000 family of Ericsson base stations has support for both HSPA Evolution and LTE. Ericsson’s recently launched next-generation radio base station family, the RBS 6000 series, offers a enhanced multi-standard solution that supports GSM/EDGE, WCDMA/HSPA Evolution and LTE, all in a single package.

Ulf Ewaldsson, Vice President and Head of Product Area Radio at Ericsson, says: “Achieving speeds of up to 42 Mbps is a major industry milestone. It further strengthens the position of HSPA as the major mobile broadband technology as we go forward. Consumers will enjoy an even richer communications experience thanks to higher speeds, while operators will be able to reduce network operating costs via increased throughput enabled by HSPA Evolution.”

HSPA Evolution is a proven step in the WCDMA/HSPA evolutionary path. Today, HSPA has been commercially launched in 80 countries on all continents and in 185 networks. Ninety of these networks have been delivered by Ericsson and these operators are able to migrate smoothly toward HSPA Evolution.

The demonstration will be held at Las Vegas Convention Center, Central Hall, Booth 2024, from April 1 to 3.

Ericsson has recently opened an updated Experience Center in its North American headquarters in Plano, TX, with a complete HSPA-based mobile broadband network with a wide range of commercially available devices.

Ericsson and Napster today announce the largest European hosting contract for Napster Mobile, with O2 UK. O2 UK’s customers will be able to search, browse, preview and purchase full-length tracks from Napster’s immense catalog of over 5 million tracks and play them on their mobile handsets and PCs. The Napster Mobile service contains several sophisticated features, including a recommendation engine that makes content recommendations based upon each consumer’s musical taste, and dual delivery, a feature that sends a copy of the content purchased on the handset to the customer’s PC. Under the hosting agreement Ericsson’s responsibilities include systems integration, operations, maintenance and content management of the Napster Mobile service for O2 UK. Hosting is a part of Ericsson’s Managed Services offering. It is a business model that ensures easy and cost-efficient launches of end user appealing services. “This is another great example of our strategy of creating deep level partnerships with the best companies in the world to deliver compelling services to our customers,” says Sally Cowdry, Marketing Director, O2 UK. “Working with the right partners at O2 UK is crucial to our success and we have joined forces with a leader in this space to bring our customers a high quality, great value service with the widest choice of songs available on mobile.” “We’re extremely excited to be partnering with O2 UK on the launch of Napster Mobile,” says Brad Duea, president of Napster. “We look forward to delivering a superior mobile music experience to O2 UK’s customers, along with the largest mobile music catalog available. It’s the perfect extension of Napster’s online service in the UK.” Ged Doherty, Chairman, Sony BMG Music Entertainment UK and Ireland says: “Napster pioneered subscription services in the online world. We are delighted to support them as they move into the mobile space with O2 - another brand making a considerable impact on the music landscape.” “We’re happy to see this second launch of Napster Mobile in the O2 group, following that of O2 Ireland in 2006. Music is an important area for telecom operators and we believe that O2 UK’s subscribers will find this a very attractive service. Napster Mobile combines the strength of Ericsson’s multimedia offering and hosted services capabilities. Combining the two enables us to provide a very attractive offering for operators to launch to their end-users.” said Jacqueline Hey, Managing Director, Ericsson UK.

3G Americas, a wireless trade association, will host the HSPA Mobile Broadband Pavilion at CTIA, April 1-3, 2008, in the Las Vegas Convention Center with the participation of 19 other companies. Pavilion guests will see, feel and experience true mobile broadband services and applications on a broad variety of HSPA devices and learn about the evolution path to LTE. HSDPA is the leading mobile broadband technology commercially available today on 182 networks in 79 countries, with more than 400 devices available from 90 suppliers.The HSPA Mobile Broadband Pavilion will allow attendees to put themselves in real-life scenarios and interact with products and applications that are available today to revolutionize their lives — at work, at home, in the classroom and on the move. Guests will see many of the 400 different HSDPA devices currently available. Additionally, viewer-selected videos and presentations will be available for technology tutorials and real operator success stories worldwide. The future migration to LTE is exhibited as well as a roadmap to the numerous displays featuring live LTE demonstrations throughout CTIA.

Some of the demonstrations planned for the Pavilion include services that might be used “At Home” such as the “three-screen revolution,” using an HSPA femtocell to integrate the home IPTV experience with a mobile device and a PC. “On the Move” applications to be showcased include a file download and upload, laptop Internet browsing, streaming video, IP meetings and group calls. “In the Classroom” will feature an instant communications application, and “At Work” will showcase live video-sharing between a mobile device and a PC. Another application solution to be shown adapts video streams from off-deck broadband sites for delivery on HSPA devices.

“HSPA is a global reality. We invite you to visit the HPSA Mobile Broadband Pavilion at CTIA and experience the vibrant HSPA ecosystem here today,” said Chris Pearson, President of 3G Americas. “At the same time, there is another growing ecosystem for LTE evolving rapidly with its recent 3GPP standards specifications approval. This is an ecosystem of vendors as impressive as that of HSPA, with operators already announcing their future LTE deployments.”

Many members of 3G Americas will be present in the Pavilion to demonstrate or discuss HSPA and/or LTE technology. Members of the 3G Americas Board of Governors include: Alcatel-Lucent, AT&T, Cable & Wireless, Ericsson, Gemalto, HP, Motorola, Nortel Networks, Nokia, Openwave, Research in Motion (RIM), Rogers, T-Mobile USA, Telcel, Telefonica, and Texas Instruments.

The HSPA Mobile Broadband Pavilion is located in the Central Hall between the North Hall and South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center at CTIA in the ‘Road to 4G’ zone. The Pavilion will be open Tuesday and Wednesday, 9am to 5pm and Thursday, 9am to 3pm (April 1-3). Media and analysts are encouraged to visit and contact 3G Americas for a private briefing and demonstrations.

HSPA, High Speed Packet Access, provides compelling advantages over competing technologies today, including the ability to support simultaneous voice and data services on the same radio spectrum, while also being backwards-compatible and enabling roaming across 220 countries worldwide. Some network operators report HSDPA users can expect average throughput rates of 600-1400 Kbps on the downlink. HSUPA users, on 31 commercial networks worldwide, can today experience peak achievable rates close to 1 Mbps in the uplink under favorable conditions. HSPA Evolution (HSPA+), with volume deployments scheduled for 2009, will more than double HSPA capacity as well as reduce latency below 25 milliseconds.

LTE, Long Term Evolution, an approved 3GPP standard specification, is a high data rate, low latency wireless technology based on OFDMA technology, and the next evolutionary step for GSM operators after HSPA+. It will match or exceed the capabilities of any other OFDMA mobile standard. For LTE, with advanced enhancements (MIMO), 3GPP reports peak theoretical network throughput rates of up to 326 Mbps and 86 Mbps respectively for the downlink and the uplink in 20 MHz of spectrum.

Ericsson is ready to deliver ground breaking technology that will enable auction winners in the US to rapidly deploy advanced mobile networks in the 700 MHz spectrum.Ericsson’s solutions will allow the US 700 MHz auction winners to deliver ubiquitous mobile data and enriched multimedia experiences to demanding customers at broadband speeds. The Ericsson mobile broadband solution will offer a full suite of infrastructure, device platforms, applications and services.

HSPA is currently delivering mobile broadband to millions of users across diverse global spectrum bands and Ericsson supports the deployment with infrastructure and device platforms. Ericsson is driving the further development of HSPA and is now expanding to support deployments in the 700 MHz band.

LTE is gaining significant global momentum as the technology of choice for scalable bandwidth and flexible deployment modes with backward capability for all current mobile technologies. Ericsson’s solution for LTE in 700 MHz covers infrastructure and device platforms. The company’s LTE chipset and software solution for 700 MHz devices is already in development and will be available in mid-2009.

Ericsson will support operators and public safety users with market leading professional services covering network design, network deployment, systems integration and interoperability expertise. Ericsson will also offer its hosting and managed operations services, which address operational and business process development, billing, and digital rights management in a cost effective and efficient way.

Ericsson’s mobile broadband solutions offer operators and public safety users a future-proof platform that enables them to deliver enriched mobile broadband experiences, superior interoperability and also achieve seamless network expansions by taking advantage of valuable economies of scale.

Ericsson’s North American operations include over 6400 employees working in 14 states covering R&D, Product Management, Sales and Marketing and Customer Support.Ericsson is ready to deliver ground breaking technology that will enable auction winners in the US to rapidly deploy advanced mobile networks in the 700 MHz spectrum.Ericsson’s solutions will allow the US 700 MHz auction winners to deliver ubiquitous mobile data and enriched multimedia experiences to demanding customers at broadband speeds. The Ericsson mobile broadband solution will offer a full suite of infrastructure, device platforms, applications and services.

HSPA is currently delivering mobile broadband to millions of users across diverse global spectrum bands and Ericsson supports the deployment with infrastructure and device platforms. Ericsson is driving the further development of HSPA and is now expanding to support deployments in the 700 MHz band.

LTE is gaining significant global momentum as the technology of choice for scalable bandwidth and flexible deployment modes with backward capability for all current mobile technologies. Ericsson’s solution for LTE in 700 MHz covers infrastructure and device platforms. The company’s LTE chipset and software solution for 700 MHz devices is already in development and will be available in mid-2009.

Ericsson will support operators and public safety users with market leading professional services covering network design, network deployment, systems integration and interoperability expertise. Ericsson will also offer its hosting and managed operations services, which address operational and business process development, billing, and digital rights management in a cost effective and efficient way.

Ericsson’s mobile broadband solutions offer operators and public safety users a future-proof platform that enables them to deliver enriched mobile broadband experiences, superior interoperability and also achieve seamless network expansions by taking advantage of valuable economies of scale.

Ericsson’s North American operations include over 6400 employees working in 14 states covering R&D, Product Management, Sales and Marketing and Customer Support.

Dell’Oro Group, a source for market information about the networking and telecommunications industries, reported today that the worldwide mobile infrastructure market grew more than $850 million in the fourth quarter of 2007, over the previous quarter. While GSM continued to be the dominant contributor to this growth, WCDMA is finally gaining traction and is poised to have a very strong 2008.”All signs point to a breakout year for the WCDMA market in 2008,” stated Scott Siegler, Analyst of Mobility Infrastructure research at Dell’Oro Group. “First, the fourth quarter recorded a record number of Node B shipments, 70 percent more than the year ago quarter. Second, nearly 90 percent of all WCDMA networks have been upgraded to HSDPA. This is a critical point because these networks now provide average practical download speeds of nearly ten times those of GSM EDGE networks. It is these faster download speeds that will provide incentive for subscribers to transition to WCDMA services in order to support their experiences with data intensive applications such as YouTube, music downloads and photo sharing,” Siegler added.

The report also shows that Huawei is on its way to becoming the number three largest player in the WCDMA market. By more than doubling its WCDMA revenue over the third quarter, Huawei is set to surpass Alcatel-Lucent’s WCDMA revenue in the near future and sit beyond the two largest players — Ericsson and Nokia Siemens.

ARM today announced at the Game Developers’ Conference, San Francisco, Calif., the ARM Mali-JSR297(TM) software for 3D graphics, the first product to enable developers of Java applications to take advantage of the latest hardware graphics features found in OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics processing units (GPUs), such as the ARM Mali200(TM) GPU. With the established Mali-JSR184 software (formerly Swerve Client), ARM is uniquely positioned to offer a complete software and hardware graphics stack and is one of the leading suppliers of middleware that enable 3D graphics to be used in Java games. Ericsson Mobile Platforms are the lead Partner for the Mali-JSR297 software, complementing the Mali200 GPU and ARM graphics middleware in the groundbreaking HSPA-enabled mobile platform, U500, bringing console class gaming to 2009 feature phones.With the ARM Mali-JSR297 software, game developers now have complete control over the visual appearance of their games, enabling the creation of graphics displays on mobile phones that are similar to those seen on high-end gaming consoles and PCs. The Mali-JSR297 software demonstrates a leap in graphics quality that meets consumer demands for advanced-content entertainment on mobile phones.

“The expectations of the gaming community continue to increase, which is driving demand for device manufacturers to deliver the next wave of user experience in mobile gaming. The Mali-JSR297 software will provide game developers with the resources they need to bridge the graphics divide among various gaming platforms,” said Dr. Jon Peddie, president of Jon Peddie Research, a leading multimedia and graphics market research firm. “Historically, graphics quality on mobile phones has lagged in comparison to those displayed on a gaming console or computer screens. The software and hardware products that ARM is now offering mean that mobile graphics will now quickly approach the quality of a dedicated games device.”

In order for Java applications to make use of the graphics hardware, handset manufacturers require an efficient software engine that minimizes the number of calculations that Java games need to perform in order to display the graphics. The Mali-JSR297 software builds on ARM’s legacy in graphics solutions and eliminates the risk of integration issues. Furthermore, the new features in the Mali-JSR297 software reside beneath the gaming applications that users download to their phones and open up the full power of OpenGL ES 2.0, the API used in leading games consoles such as the Sony PlayStation 3 and which is supported by the Mali200 GPU. The ARM Mali-JSR297 software empowers developers with the artistic freedom to produce games with more personality, despite limited display size, which previously had not been possible for mobile Java applications.

“One of the biggest challenges facing game developers today is the lack of tools that allow programmers to capitalize on the most powerful graphics hardware in mobile phones,” said David Brittain, vice president of technology, Superscape. “ARM’s graphics portfolio provides optimal compatibility and enables us to speed time-to-market with the games we develop.”

“The majority of today’s mobile phones are using Java technology to enable additional applications and games to be downloaded to the phone after it is sold. ARM is committed to providing solutions for the gaming community that deliver dramatic improvements in the quality of graphics displayed on these applications,” said Gareth Vaughan, graphics product manager, ARM. “ARM’s support for the Java community and graphics ecosystem with products such as the Mali-JSR297 software enables game developers to harness new hardware capabilities, producing 3D graphics that are markedly superior in quality and performance.”

The Mali-JSR297 software is the latest addition to the Mali(TM) graphics stack, a fully integrated set of hardware and software IP that supports all the graphics standards a device manufacturer needs. ARM has further expanded this stack with the recent launch of the Mali-JSR226(TM), Mali-JSR287(TM) and Mali-SVG-t(TM) products for the 2D graphics market at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Please visit http://www.arm.com/news/19869.html for more details.

Availability

The ARM Mali-JSR297 software will be released immediately following ratification of the JSR297 standard, with pre-release versions available from ARM in Q3 2008. For more information about the ARM graphics stack, please visit: http://www.arm.com/products/esd/multimediagraphics_home.html.

Ericsson aunched the Ericsson Multimedia Communication Suite (MCS) - bringing to consumers popular services they already enjoy on the Internet in a new and enhanced mobile way. The intuitive user interface will be integrated into selected new Sony Ericsson devices such as the W760.With the Ericsson MCS, mobile operators will be able to offer their customers a suite of attractive services. Consumers will be able to access new and existing services from the address book - with an interface including rich presence functionality such as avatars, photos and personal free text. The solution also keeps track of friends and their applications so consumers will always see who is available for different applications. The user has full control over what type of information is available.

The Internet has evolved from being mainly information and content oriented to becoming more communication and people related. Through extensive consumer research done by Ericsson ConsumerLab in Europe, Asia and USA, there are clear signs that communication services on the Internet, like communities, blogs, instant messaging etc, are also demanded in a mobile context. Our study shows that enriched communication services like chat, sending files and presence on the mobile phone, are of very great interest to consumers.

The intuitive user interface integrates new MCS applications such as chat and file transfer smoothly with existing voice, video call, SMS and MMS services. Having all contacts and services available through one presence-enabled address book creates a feeling of being closer to friends and family. This stimulates new types of spontaneous communication using both existing and new services. Ericsson has learned from its consumer research that today’s communication is about so much more than just making announcements: it has evolved into the sharing of everyday experiences. Presence alone with personal messages and avatars will be of great interest to many consumers supporting everyday sharing of experiences.

Claes Odman, head of Multimedia Solutions, Business Unit Multimedia at Ericsson, says: “We see from studies that the communication patterns are changing, messaging type of services is dominating and the demand for enriched communication is here. With our Multimedia Communication Suite we can take the consumer experience one step further, making it easier with intuitive interface and allow people to communicate in a richer way.”

Ericsson MCS will initially be available for selected Sony Ericsson feature phones. In Barcelona the MCS solution will be demonstrated live on popular Sony Ericsson phones. The MCS is built on IMS architecture and is aligned with the industry initiative Rich Communication Suite (RCS) that aims for broad industry interoperability and acceptance by utilizing standardized IMS service features. RCS is a group of key operators, infrastructure and device vendors comprised of Orange, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, TeliaSonera, Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Samsung, who have joined in an effort to facilitate the evolution of mobile communication toward rich communication.

Ericsson today announced it will make the world’s first demonstration of an end-to-end phone call enabled by Long-Term Evolution - System Architecture Evolution (LTE/SAE), employing handheld mobile devices, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.The demonstration call will be made using handheld mobile devices developed by Ericsson Mobile Platforms. Ericsson’s LTE network equipment supports multi-user data rates of up to 160Mbps per cell.

LTE/SAE represents the next step in the evolution of the user experience, improving latency, capacity and throughput. Commercial launch is expected in 2009.

LTE supports a superior, mass-market user experience. It enhances such demanding applications as mobile video, blogging, advanced games, rich multimedia telephony and professional services. It also interoperates with existing cellular systems.

Robert Puskaric, head of Ericsson’s mobile platforms business, says: “This world-first demonstration marks a key milestone in the development of LTE. It proves the stability and integration of our platform with a form factor accurate handheld device, reaching uplink and downlink data speeds of 25Mbit/s already today. Samples of our first LTE platform will be available in 2008.”

Ulf Ewaldsson, Vice President and Head of Product Area Radio at Ericsson, says: “Today’s demonstration of a complete end-to-end solution, including a small form factor accurate device operated over a flat network architecture, reaffirms Ericsson’s technology leadership. It also reflects our commitment to developing LTE as an evolutionary path that will boost operators’ service offering, while providing end users with a superior experience.”

LTE is the next evolution in mobile network standards as defined by the 3GPP (Third-Generation Partnership Project) and supports operations in both the paired spectrum and unpaired spectrum. It enables efficient spectrum utilization for both legacy and future wireless frequency bands. Channel bandwidths of 1.4-20MHz are supported. The wide international support for LTE ensures economies of scale, enabling cost-effective solutions for network operators.

This world-first demonstration follows another recent Ericsson first, the demonstration of LTE in both Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode on the same base station platform.

Sony Ericsson today revealed the W980, a Walkman phone that promises to get the most out of your music. Its unique audio enhancing technology, together with the Walkman on Top design, sees the W980 cement Sony Ericsson’s position as a true market leader in the world of music on your mobile.W980 Walkman phone Created with music in mind

* Clear audio experience - Superior sound quality lets you enjoy your music as it was meant to be heard

* Walkman on Top - Intuitive music access and control,

* Storage solutions - 8GB internal memory lets you store up to 8,000 songs*

Be true to the original recording

The W980 Walkman phone is designed to allow you to listen to music as it should be heard. Clear stereo enables the music to sound like the original recording. Clear bass delivers distortion free sound even at higher volumes. These features combine with the premium headphones, the Stereo Portable Handsfree HPM-77, to deliver an incredible clear audio experience and music that sounds as true as possible to the original recording

Share your music with friends

The W980 Walkman phone has a built-in FM transmitter, which allows you to send whatever’s playing on your phone to other devices with a built-in FM radio receiver. This gives you the ability to share your music with all those around you, whether through a friend’s hi-fi or your car stereo.

Quality music is made for sharing with the W980. Unplug your headset, sit back and let the music flow through the integrated stereo speakers for all to enjoy. Select a track from the extensive music library - the W980 lets you store up to 8000 songs* - or tune in to your favourite radio station and listen out loud. No need to plug in an FM Receiver, since this is on-board with the W980.

Build your collection every day

With the recent evolution of PlayNow(TM) arena, Sony Ericsson’s popular over-the-air (OTA) and web download service being launched this May, you will be able to access up to 5 million tracks to maximise your music collection. The W980’s TrackID(TM) feature, which can identify any track that you just can’t put a name to, will be fully integrated into PlayNow(TM) arena. This makes the W980 a genuine gateway to great music, as you can download the track instantly once it has been identified.

Customise your sound

You can tailor the W980’s Walkman player to the music that you’re listening to. This latest Walkman phone provides a choice of eight equaliser presets, each of which contains a distinct profile that is suitable to a range of music. So whether you’re listening to jazz, pop or heavy metal, you’ve can always choose the best sound for the song.

Control your music at your fingertips

The Walkman on Top feature on the W980 gives you the full functionality of a Walkman player without even having to open your phone. The entire Walkman player that would normally be displayed on the inside of your clamshell is also replicated on the outside of the phone, so navigation through your music library is effortless.

Balance and beat

Every music enthusiast knows that a great audio experience requires great quality speakers or headphones. The W980 Walkman phone comes with the new Stereo Portable Handsfree HPM-77; a headset that lets you enjoy music in powerful stereo sound. The HPM-77 also allows users to take their calls handsfree, and its sleek design and in-ear wearing-style mean that it’s both comfortable and reduces background noise to the bare minimum.

Whether listening via the headphones or the stereo speakers, the W980 Walkman phone is a must-have for those who want an unrivalled music experience, which they carry with them every minute of the day. It is a UMTS/HSDPA 2100 GSM/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 phone that will be available in selected markets from Q3 2008.

The Stereo Portable Handsfree HPM-77 will be available in selected markets from June 2008.

Ericsson today announced the U380 mobile platform delivering a true mobile Internet experience and empowering consumers with advanced multimedia features. The U380 is an integrated and verified one-chip HSPA platform, supporting all major Open Operating Systems on the market and the first product based on the recently announced Open OS collaboration with Texas Instruments (TI).The continuous need for more powerful devices combined with the demand for mass market smartphones makes the U380 a groundbreaking platform for mobile device manufacturers addressing this rapidly growing segment. By integrating Ericsson’s HSPA modem with TI’s high performance OMAP3430 applications processor into a one-chip solution, the U380 is among the smallest and most powerful multimedia platforms on the market in this category.

With support for all major Open OSs, the U380 will provide mobile device manufacturers with a robust and flexible architecture for applications and services deployment, enabling easier delivery and management of services and content. This enables handset manufacturers and mobile operators to differentiate their products through rich, easy-to-use and customizable user interfaces. The extensive verification and IOT testing performed by Ericsson will also enable manufacturers to rapidly bring highly advanced mobile devices to the mass market while reducing risk and lowering development costs.

Robert Puskaric, head of Ericsson’s mobile platforms business, says: “This is truly a next generation platform for the rapidly growing Open OS market. The combination of powerful multimedia performance and Open OS capabilities in an extremely small package makes the U380 platform hard to match.”

Richard Kerslake, general manager for the TI-Ericsson business, TI’s Wireless Terminals Business Unit, says “The combination of Texas Instruments’ and Ericsson’s key competences has really paid off. TI’s OMAP3430 processing power, coupled with Ericsson’s HSPA access technology in a pre-verified and tested platform supporting all major open operating systems will provide great opportunities for device manufacturers worldwide.”

The U380 platform is expected to be commercially available in the first half of 2009.

Ericsson today announced its U500 mobile platform, a next generation architecture with a triple processor solution and a powerful multimedia subsystem, enabling new multimedia functionality and advanced multitasking capabilities. The U500 will not only pave the way for new consumer services, but also improve the usability and quality of existing multimedia services.Robert Puskaric, head of Ericsson’s mobile platforms business, says: “The U500 is a powerful multimedia platform with performance, graphics and usability, more resembling a mobile computer than today’s mobile phones. With the U500 platform Ericsson will keep its world leading position within the multimedia mass market for years to come.”

The U500 mobile platform is a response to the rapidly growing demand for advanced multimedia features and services requiring enhanced user experience. Designed for mass market mobile devices, the U500 is capable of groundbreaking features such as high quality camcorder, 12 Mpix camera, WVGA displays, advanced 3D gaming and 3D user interface, CD quality audio performance and high resolution video for a true mobile TV experience.

The Ericsson U500 mobile platform combines raw power through the implementation of three ARM11 CPUs and hardware accelerators, with state-of-the-art platform architecture through the integration of the digital baseband and an advanced multimedia companion chip into a single-die processor. The result is a powerful multimedia platform that is smaller and more cost efficient than what is currently available.

The advanced graphics capabilities available in the U500 are enabled through the implementation of ARM Mali200 GPU, a programmable, OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics processor producing fast, high quality graphics with the low power consumption required for a handheld device.

The U500 will be commercially available in the first half of 2009.

Ericsson will showcase the latest in multimedia and broadband, including several world firsts, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 11-14. Ericsson’s demonstrations will unveil the latest developments in television, mobile broadband and energy efficiency. Visitors will be able to experience the technology and learn about the services’ capabilities at Ericsson’s main conference stand, located in Hall 8, La Fira, and in the TV pavilion and outdoor area. Meet Jessica - a true digital native*Jessica has grown up with technology and seeks creative new ways to communicate and consume multimedia services on any device. Jessica demonstrates the new opportunities for television, including IPTV and mobile TV, and highlights how attractive content, user-friendly technology and innovative applications drive consumption and communication. Visitors will also be able to explore the technology that makes interactive multimedia possible, including the new Multimedia Communications Suite, services over IMS, and MBMS (Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service), which allows simultaneous broadcasting to a large numbers of users. (Main stand, Hall 8).

Meet Tom - a true careerist

Tom leads a hectic life: he is a careerist, a father and a football fan. He can still manage his life and be on top of things thanks to the advanced mobile multimedia solutions Ericsson and his operator provide him with. Step into his shoes and follow him around a normal day to see how broadband, enterprise and voice services merge seamlessly around him. Visitors can experience interactive IPTV solutions; voice services such as AMR Wideband, HSPA and mobile broadband modules; hosted enterprise solutions including Multimedia Contact Center; Converged Center; Mobile push email/calendar; and web-integrated mobile GPS navigation. Tom’s experience highlights a complete array of services packaged so that an operator can offer enterprise users, such as Tom, seamless, flexible and dependable services for any business situation. (Main stand, Hall 8).

Meet Mosi - an empowered phone user

Mosi is a carpenter in Nigeria whose life is changing dramatically following the introduction of mobile telephony. Through him, Ericsson will highlight how mobile telephony can improve socioeconomic conditions, while offering operators a sustainable business model in emerging markets. Visitors can see how technology such as Voice SMS, together with innovative solutions such as complete solar-powered radio sites, supports profitable network expansion while helping bridge the digital divide. (Main stand, Hall 8).

* Reservations for the media are available for the Jessica demonstrations, which are scheduled from 5.30pm to 6.00pm, Monday to Wednesday, and 9.00am to 9.30am on Tuesday and Thursday. Places are limited.

The Individual TV Experience at the TV pavilion Visitors to Ericsson’s TV Pavilion, located outside Hall 8, will be able to experience the whole process of producing, managing, distributing and consuming the TV content. Ericsson’s end-to-end TV capabilities - across multimedia, network and services domains - are on display. Reservations for the TV pavilion demonstrations are limited to customers.

Innovating energy efficiency in the outdoor area Ericsson will showcase its innovative energy efficient solutions. Optimizing energy efficiency will not only reduce environmental impact, it will also cut network costs and help make communications more affordable for everyone. Mobile network efficiency starts with good design and continues with excellent individual core and radio site performance. Utilizing alternative sources of energy such as solar, wind and bio-fuels will make communication more accessible and will reduce reliance on fossil fuels and further reduce environmental impact. The outdoor areas are located in the avenue next to the main entrance to Hall 8. No reservation needed.

Additional topics

HSPA - the global technology of choice for mobile broadband

At the HSPA Pavilion (Hall 2, Stall 2C37), Ericsson will demonstrate key HSPA characteristics that underpin WCDMA/HSPA networks worldwide, providing economies of scale and spectrum efficiency. Visitors can experience the benefits of a high-speed network on par with fixed broadband, using various applications on a range of devices that can be used at work, in the home, at school and when mobile. (Main stand, Hall 8).

IMS

Ericsson will show the capabilities of IMS via a number of demonstrations. Ericsson will host the world’s first demonstration of the new IMS multimedia telephony standard, 3GPP/NGN MMTel, over HSPA using handsets with a commercial mobile chipset from Ericsson Mobile Platforms. IMS-based services offer communications that enrich the user’s experience, providing multimedia-enhanced applications. It is a key element in the next generation architecture and makes it possible to provide any service to any screen. It seamlessly combines communication sessions with multimedia elements, for example, sharing live video while chatting during a multiplayer game. Ericsson will also demonstrate the benefit of integrating IMS and SDP (Service Delivery Platform) in launching new end-user services. (Main stand, Hall 8).

LTE

LTE is a continued evolution of the 2G and 3G networks and is an integrated part of the full service broadband concept. Different applications are demonstrated end-to-end over a flat network architecture that is based on the Long Term Evolution (LTE) and the System Architecture Evolution (SAE). (Main stand, Hall 8). Reservations for the media are available for a LTE demonstration on Wednesday, 9.00am to 9.30am. Places are limited.

Creating the Multimedia Marketplace

To be successful in the emerging multimedia marketplace, operators and service providers must be prepared to act quickly and manage a complex ecosystem. Ericsson will demonstrate the Service Delivery Platform interworking with IMS services and Convergent Charging and Billing, based on the joint Ericsson and LHS offering. (Main stand, Hall 8).

Managed Services

Ericsson has the telecom industry’s most comprehensive Managed Services offering providing high quality, cost-efficient operations of networks, end-user services and business support systems. Ericsson’s Managed Services capabilities will be presented at the main stand, Hall 8.

National Security and Public Safety

For the first time at the Mobile World Congress, Ericsson will showcase its National Security and Public Safety solutions. It will demonstrate how broadband technology can be used in emergencies and makes innovative use of instant radio communications via the cellular network. (Main stand, Hall 8).

Ericsson and Lenovo, the world’s third largest PC maker, have aligned to provide mobile broadband modules based on HSPA - the world’s most widely commercially deployed technology for mobile broadband. Select Lenovo ThinkPad notebooks will include mobile broadband modules beginning in 2008. Lenovo is Ericsson’s first announced mobile broadband module customer.HSPA provides a DSL-like experience wirelessly and is currently capable of peak download rates of up to 14.4 Mbps and peak upload rates of up to 2.0 Mbps. There are currently more than 160 commercially deployed HSPA networks globally, serving more than one billion subscribers.

“Lenovo is committed to PC innovation and providing our customers the latest functionality and tools to enhance their computing experience,” said, Frances K. O’Sullivan, Senior Vice President, Product Group, Lenovo. “Our engineering team is working with Ericsson’s engineers to deliver ThinkPads with the fastest and most reliable connectivity available. We firmly believe that this effort will dramatically change the user mobile experience, allowing ThinkPad customers to more easily search, download, share, and store information and content when they want.”

“With mobile networks being upgraded globally to handle greater demand for Internet services and data connectivity, consumers are increasingly utilizing mobile phones and notebooks to access the high-capacity services that they have typically experienced only through a wired or WiFi connection,” said Kurt Jofs, Executive Vice President and head of Business Unit Networks, Ericsson. “Today, Ericsson is doing for broadband what the company did for telephony 20 years ago - making it mobile and available to everyone, everywhere. We respect Lenovo’s innovative approach to business and their vision in this maket and we look forward to future opportunities to work with them to create even more advanced mobile computing solutions that translate into direct customer value.”

Ericsson’s mobile broadband modules provide the end user with a simple and cost effective solution for broadband access while on-the-go. Seamlessly integrated with and optimized to work within the notebook, the built-in broadband module provides superior downloading and uploading performance and takes less power from the battery. Leveraging Ericsson’s in-house HSPA chipset technology and strong patent cross-licensing position, the company’s economies of scale and longstanding operator relationships, Ericsson can offer a very competitive mobile broadband module solution that will help further drive a mass market for mobile broadband.

Market projections indicate that in 2011, approximately 200 million notebooks will ship annually and Ericsson anticipates that 50 percent of those notebooks will feature a built-in HSPA mobile broadband module. Users will increasingly have the option to take their broadband connections with them, delivering on the promise of full service broadband, which is anytime, anywhere access from the screen or device of choice.

Ericsson today announced that it had demonstrated for the first time Long Term Evolution (LTE) in both Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode on the same base station platform. LTE is the only technology that can use the same platform for both paired and unpaired spectrum, thereby enabling large economies of scale for operators.Ericsson’s LTE TDD mode demonstration encompassed a variety of applications and showcased speeds over 90Mbps in the downlink with 2×2 MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output). Ericsson has previously demonstrated LTE in FDD mode several times with speeds of up to 160Mbps.

Mobile broadband is rapidly growing, and LTE offers a superior user experience. It will enhance more demanding applications like mobile video, blogging, advanced games, rich multimedia telephony and professional services. It also interoperates with existing cellular systems.

LTE is the next evolution in mobile network standards defined by 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) and supports operations in both the paired spectrum and unpaired spectrum. It enables efficient spectrum utilization for both legacy and future wireless frequency bands. Channel bandwidths of 1.4-20MHz are supported. The wide industry support for LTE ensures economies of scale, providing cost-efficient solutions.

Ulf Ewaldsson, Vice President and Head of Product Area Radio at Ericsson, says: “We have now demonstrated that LTE can be used in both paired (FDD) and unpaired spectrum (TDD) on the same base station platform. This means that operators with only unpaired spectrum also can plan for LTE and benefit from the optimal global LTE solutions.” With its latest achievement in LTE TDD/FDD, Ericsson is continuing to drive important global research in this area. At the same time TDD continues to play an international role, featuring in markets such as China, where Ericsson has initiated a cooperation with the Chinese company Datang Group.

Today more than 90 percent of all mobile spectrum is paired and less than 10 percent is unpaired. Operators are now able to get access to a healthy ecosystem regardless of the duplex mode.

On January 17, 2008, 3GPP confirmed that the LTE Terrestrial Radio Access Network technology specifications have been approved and are now under change control, leading to their inclusion in the forthcoming 3GPP Release 8.

The Femto Forum, the independent industry association that supports femtocell deployment worldwide, has launched a programme to help harmonise the integration of femtocells into mobile core networks. Operator demand to launch femtocells quickly has led to the development of many different methods for integrating potentially millions of femtocells into the network core. Although this is not holding up the commercial deployment of femtocells, this programme will help unite these different approaches in the longer term and set the stage for the development of future standards.At the Femto Forum’s next plenary in March 2008, a variety of approaches to femtocell network integration will be put forward by members. Synergies between the approaches will be identified and the Femto Forum will provide a framework within which consensus can be built around similar approaches.

This will enable vendors to respond quickly to operator demands for interoperability, and will provide a platform from which members can advance the best approaches into the relevant standards bodies — the Femto Forum is not itself a standards making body.

The Forum has already agreed a reference architecture which will be used to provide a consistent basis for comparison between the different network integration options. A set of ‘hot topics’ - criteria that any integration method must meet in order to satisfy operator requirements - has also been agreed, including scalability and multi-vendor support.

“Femtocells have got off to a flying start and more deployments will take place in the near future but it is crucial that all the players in the market begin to plan together for the longer term. Operators have been vocal about their desire for a more unified approach to femtocell network integration as the scale of deployments increases. This programme represents the first time the femtocell community has come together to forge a future technology path through consensus,” said Simon Saunders, Chairman of the Femto Forum. “This conjoined approach will not only encourage interoperability and increase economies of scale thereby helping keep costs low, but it will also help to support far-reaching new femtocell applications.”

In other news the forum also welcomes new members who are already active in the working groups, these include: Acme Packet, AudioCodes, BT, Cellcom Israel Ltd, Cisco, Ericsson, GENBAND, Huawei, KTL, mobilkom austria AG, NewStep Networks, NXP Semiconductors, Samsung, SaskTel, SOFTBANK MOBILE, Telecom Italia and Vodafone. This brings the forum’s membership to 58 companies which include many of the world’s largest telecoms companies as well as the smaller innovative players in the femtocell sector. A full list of members is available on the Femto Forum website - (http://www.femtoforum.org/femto/membership.php).

Ericsson has announced that a brand-new security device with positioning capabilities, enabled by Ericsson technology, has been launched in Japan.NTT DoCoMo, Inc., the Japanese telecoms giant, has launched a safety device that gets high-precision location information by using the GPS function. The device is designed to provide family members or authorities with positioning information or to enable location tracking when the user pulls the slide switch in a dangerous or emergency situation. The slide switch also triggers a crime prevention buzzer on the device.

The device is based on the U310 platform developed by Ericsson. The platform enables the modem and GPS functionality within the device, which is small enough to be carried inside a pocket or bag for easy activation in case of emergency.

Robert Puskaric, Head of Ericsson Mobile Platforms, says: “This shows that our platform technology is flexible and small enough to be implemented in devices other than the traditional mobile phone. We are also pleased to see that our platform has been included in a security device within the DoCoMo portfolio, as this proves its stability and quality.”

The product, CTG-001G, has been developed by Giant Electronics on behalf of DoCoMo, and was launched on the Japanese market on December 7.

Vodafone Germany is the first operator to put Ericsson’s new Base Transceiver Station (BTS) Power Savings feature in place. The feature, which is commercially available, significantly reduces energy consumption in mobile networks and therefore makes an important contribution to cutting carbon-dioxide emissions.During periods of low network traffic, the feature effectively puts those parts of the network that are not being used in standby mode - overcoming the traditional practice of having radio equipment continually turned on, which can result in energy being wasted.

Depending on the network traffic pattern, this innovation can save between 10 and 20 percent of the energy per BTS when a base station is in use, while still providing the same services and quality to end users.

The feature is compatible with all Ericsson GSM radio base stations introduced since 1995.

Vodafone Germany will install the energy-saving software upgrade across its base stations by the end of 2007. This initiative is part of the operator’s strategy to cut energy consumption in its mobile networks. Installing this software is expected to reduce energy usage and corresponding carbon-dioxide emissions.

Ulf Ewaldsson, Vice President and head of Ericsson’s radio network business, says: “Reducing energy consumption is a key area where the telecommunications industry can make a positive contribution to international efforts to respond to climate change. At the same time, reducing power consumption also reduces operational expenditures for operators, so it is a win-win.”

Hartmut Kremling, Chief Technology Officer of Vodafone Germany, says: “Our initiative with Ericsson shows that Vodafone takes its responsibility for the environment seriously. We have a leading role in this field in the telecoms sector.”

If deployed across the 1 million GSM Ericsson base stations globally, the power-saving feature could mean a collective energy saving of 10-20 percent in the radio access networks, which could result in a reduction in carbon-dioxide emissions of 1 million tons. This highlights that sustainability and cost reductions can go hand in hand.

Ericsson’s BTS Power Savings feature is the latest in a series of energy optimization innovations that Ericsson is driving to help reduce total cost of ownership, while at the same time improving the environmental performance of mobile network growth worldwide. In 2006, Ericsson reduced the power consumption of its latest generation of WCDMA base stations by 35 percent and has pioneered the introduction of alternative energies, such as biofuel and solar power, to make mobile telephony economically and environmentally sustainable in emerging markets.