11/17, 10:45pm
GSMA plans built-in, remote activated SIM for 2012
The GSM Association tonight discussed plans for a new, embedded SIM card that could simplify activation and allow new devices. A "task force" of carriers that includes AT&T, T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom and Verizon hopes to replace the SIM card on some devices with a built-in design that would allow remote activation. Users could not only start using a phone without having to enter a store but could see 3G or 4G devices where even a micro SIM was too small, such as a camera or an MP3 player.
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10/27, 4:55pm
Would allow App Store activations
Apple is working with SIM card maker Gemalto in order to produce a custom card for iPhones, sources inside European carriers claim. The technology would allow Europeans to buy an iPhone via the web or an Apple Store, and get it activated using an App Store download rather than a visit to a carrier store, or calling a carrier directly. The card would be integrated into the phone itself, GigaOM hears.
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10/26, 2:35pm
Gemalto lawsuit says Android violates Java patents
Gemalto late Monday sued the top companies behind Android phones for allegedly violating patents related to Java. The Texas-based lawsuit accused Google as well as HTC, Motorola and Samsung of infringing on technology Gemalto owns for running Java on low-footprint devices like phones. The Dalvik just-in-time Java engine inherent to Android 2.2 copies the earlier technology, Gemalto said.
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02/12, 9:55am
HP Joins Symbian Found
Nokia today bolstered the Symbian Foundation with the addition of multiple key new members. HP, MySpace and SanDisk lead the new sign-ons and each have their own different reasons for joining the open-source mobile OS project. HP hopes to improve its support for managing Symbian; MySpace hopes to further refine its MySpace app for the phone throuhg the open code; SanDisk hopes to improve the use of storage for multimedia apps. None of the three has given clues as to how soon products will appear that take advantage of Foundation membership.
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