Story about the third generation and other ideas

First, I'm going to touch upon the I-Mode service which will soon be available in several European countries. We wrote about FOMA last year, and this time they showed this technology again and tried to convince the visitors why it was good.

For some communicators equipped with a large screen and a built-in video camera they offered external handsets which have nothing but a low-power Bluetooth module. The communicator can be in your bag while you speak by a small light handset. Maybe, it is a prototype of a new class of devices.

The display had a lot of prototypes and a great deal of working models.

The NEC's stand shows three models for Europe. One of them is NEC DB7000. At SMAU we found out that this model should have been available since October 2001 at about 500 euros. But it actually came out only onto the Italian market, and quite a limited number of models were sold. Now the terms are shifted to August, and the phones are supposed to be available in England, Germany and France, and of course, in Italy.

The Nec 515, also showcased, is going to be available since the summer; the company says the phone belongs to the higher price class.

The third phone designed for Europe is a model for I-mode networks.

One more device that the company displayed there is a new type of communicator with a large sensor screen and a built-in Wi-Fi module; it can receive various data, for example, from the camera located not far away.

The TPOCAST service is available already today and can be used by all GSM operators. It provides for determination of position of a user in the GPRS network. A user can make a request for SMS messages with different information. The gist of the service is that information comes not regularly but at the most appropriate time. For example, it's possible to get an SMS with the restaurant's address shortly before the lunch. Information on a party or a movie can come afternoon. The service chooses the time of sending such messages itself. Besides, on receiving the message you can inquire about details, for example, how to get there. Well, the service is interesting, and we will see how many companies will be able to realize it. Here you can learn about it more.

Ericsson speaks about the network infrastructure and new services. The huge stand is decorated finely, but there is nothing more that can attract attention.

The Alactel's exposure is also devoted to network solutions. The company is ready for 3G networks and it has finished solutions for the infrastructure of such networks. At the display they showed UMTS experimental zone consisted of 3 base stations; they were connected with a similar commercial network in Paris - Orange. The UMTS network uses terminals of the Alcatel's partners. There is, for example, a terminal with a built-in video camera, and it's possible to show both yourself and those around you as the lens has two outputs.

The stand also shows a line of DECT phones.

IPM demonstrates pay phones, among which are models with large sensor displays. There are such phones which allow viewing web sites, sending SMS or letters by e-mail. Well, it is an interesting solution for public phones.

A new-comer among terminal manufacturers, Voxson from Australia, has one original mode with blue backlight. The technical side is not very interesting.

Another new name is DBTEL which displays several cell phones; and one of them is very similar to the Fisio 820 both in appearance and its characteristics.

There is also a small stand of Elan which deals in development of Text to Speech technologies. At their site you can find in-depth information on the technology and how it is applied. In short, the idea is that the device reads texts by a synthesized voice.

Let's call it a day, and tomorrow I will speak about stands of the major mobile companies.

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