Freescale Semiconductor agreed to include IAR Systems development tools and debug probe in the next generation of its development kits based on the MC1322x IEEE 802.15.4 Platform-in-Package (PiP) IC.
Mobile entertainment company Buongiorno signed a commercial deal with Vodafone Egypt to support the launch of its mobile advertising program in the region. The program is running with such advertisers as BMW, P&G, Pepsi and Hyundai on multiple channels including MMS, WAP banner, SMS and interactive voice response.
Independent Scottish company Hay Systems Ltd. (HSL) plans to add 3G to its 2.75G (GSM/GPRS/EDGE) femtocell. HSL's 2.75G femtocell currently is under development and is expected to ship in volume toward the end of 2008. Existing femtocells from other vendors typically provide 3G support only. Figures from the GSM Association suggest 2G GSM mobile connections account for 80% of worldwide connections.
Can’t get enough of Dancing with the Stars? THQ is offering the video game version for your mobile phone. Based on the ABC TV show, the mobile version of Dancing with the Stars puts players in the role of their favorite celebrity as they test their skills while performing dances featured on the show. The mobile game lets wireless gamers choose their celebrity and costume while training their way through five mini-games. Gamers also can track their successes and ranking in an 8-week competition.
Roaming specialist MACH completed testing and implementation of Wireless Roaming Intermediary eXchange-d (WRIX-d) with Swisscom, Switzerland's top telecom provider. Swisscom will use WRIX-d, the standard for data clearing, in live operations. MACH supports Swisscom by generating and sending required wholesale billing data to its roaming partners, to be used as the basis for settlement. Split into 3 elements covering Radius Interconnect, Data Clearing and Financial Settlement, the WRIX standard was created by the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) to ensure consistency in the interfaces between different roaming partners. The WBA network has expanded to more than 26 operators enabling WLAN roaming in more than 85,000 hotspot locations around the world.
Video compression company On2 Technologies licensed its Hantro 4100 video decoder and 2600 Enhanced aacPlus audio decoder to Monsoon Multimedia, a digital video solutions provider. By integrating the decoders to its mobile player, Monsoon can bring higher performance and longer playback time to customers watching TV on their handsets using its HAVA place-shifting solutions. The 4100 is an optimized MPEG-4 software video decoder designed for wireless devices. The 2600 aacPlus audio codec offers near CD-quality stereo sound at 32 kbps and has built-in error concealment for mobile applications.
Digi International released its low power XBee ZB and extended range XBee-PRO ZB ZigBee modules based on the ZigBee PRO feature set. The feature set improves interoperability, node density management, data load management, frequency agility and builds upon the mesh networking and low-power capabilities of prior feature sets. Based on the Ember EM 250 chip and ZNet 3.1 stack, the XBee ZB and XBee-PRO ZB modules can be updated using over-the-air firmware.