Cell phone shipments hit record in 4Q

Worldwide shipments of mobile phones reached a record 242 million units in the fourth quarter, surpassing the previous peak of 200 million units during the 2004 holiday quarter, according to research firm iSuppli.

The Associated Press reports in The New York Times (1 February) that for all of 2005, 813 million units were shipped, up 14 percent from 713 million in 2004.

Finland-based Nokia led the pack, grabbing a 32 percent share of the market, followed by Motorola at 18 percent, according to iSuppli. Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Sony Ericsson, respectively, rounded out the top five.

According to AP., Siemens AG's mobile phone unit, acquired last year by BenQ, ranked fourth in 2004 with a 6.9 percent share but fell to sixth place in 2005 at 4.7 percent.

During 2005, both Nokia and Motorola posted strong gains in share at the expense of smaller, lesser known rivals.

AP says that Nokia benefited from offering low-cost phones and introducing cutting-edge models, while Motorola's success was driven by the popularity of its thin, RAZR phone, reported iSuppli.

{mospagebreaktitle=Motorola looks at phone partnership in Japan}Motorola looks at phone partnership in Japan

Motorola, the world's second-largest mobile phone maker, could partner with a Japanese manufacturer to launch appealing phones that will help it boost its presence in Japan, its chief executive said on Thursday.

Reuters reports in The New York Times (2 February) that the Chicago area-based communications technology company, which doubled earnings and increased sales by 18 percent to a new record last year, is setting its sights on one of the world's most sophisticated mobile phone markets as well as other regions in Asia even as it solidifies its strength elsewhere.

``We're trying to figure out how to get into the market quicker with our brand and working potentially with someone else,'' said

Chief Executive Ed Zander said in an interview with Reuters in Tokyo:

``(We're) talking to the NECs, the Panasonics, the Sanyos, and looking at 'Is there technology collaboration to bring products to market?'... We're exploring some of those things.''

Reuters says that Japan accounts for less than 10 percent of global mobile phone demand but has been at the forefront of a global shift to high-speed mobile services since 2001, when NTT DoCoMo became the world's first mobile operator to launch a commercial third-generation (3G) service based on the W-CDMA standard, one of two competing 3G formats.

But global mobile phone makers have had little presence in Japan, in large part because Japanese second-generation mobile networks were based on a unique, home-grown technology, says Reuters.

According to the news service, the few foreign phones that have been introduced failed to attract Japanese users as their designs did not appeal to Japanese tastes. The models also lacked some key features such as standard technology that allows users to easily write text messages in Japanese, creating the impression that they were inferior to Japanese phones.

Reuters says that Japan's mobile market is dominated by domestic manufacturers, led by Sharp, NEC and Matsushita Electric Industrial in contrast to other markets, which are dominated by Nokia, Motorola and Samsung Electronics .

Motorola and DoCoMo on Wednesday announced a jointly developed prototype for a next-generation HSDPA handset, increasing the likelihood that Motorola would be included in the initial phone lineup when DoCoMo is expected to start the service this summer.

{mospagebreaktitle=19 charged in alleged software piracy plot}19 charged in alleged software piracy plot

In the US., a federal grand jury has indicted 19 people on charges they used the internet to pirate more than US$6.5 million worth of copyrighted computer software, games and movies.

The Associated Press reports in The New York Times (1 February) that the indictment outlines an alleged plot by defendants from nine states, Australia and Barbados to illegally distribute newly released titles, including movies like ''The Incredibles'' and ''The Aviator,'' and games like ''Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005.''

A grand jury in Chicago returned the indictment late Tuesday following undercover investigations.

AP reports that the defendants, many of whom worked in high-tech jobs, were members of ''RISCISO,'' a ''warez'' community founded in 1993, according to the indictment. Warez groups are underground associations that use the internet to illegally distribute copyrighted software.

{mospagebreaktitle=Nortel, Huawei form joint venture}Nortel, Huawei form joint venture

Nortel Networks has announced it is joining hands with a major Chinese competitor, Huawei Technologies, in a partnership to develop equipment for broadband connections to homes.

The Associated Press reports in The New York Times (1 February) that the new company, to be based in Ottawa and majority-owned by Canada's Nortel, will combine Huawei's broadband access products with Nortel's voice and broadband networking technologies.

Huawei has in the past been seen as a growing threat to Nortel and other big established telecom equipment suppliers, as it gains worldwide market share and expands throughout Asia.

But, the AP report says, however, Huawei has tried with only mixed success to break into the United States and other developed markets. Huawei already has a Hong Kong-based joint venture with 3Com, but Nortel has stronger sales connections to North American telecommunications carriers.

The Chinese company is a leader in equipment that connects digital subscriber lines -- broadband carried over telephone wires -- to the internet.

AP says that the joint venture will develop new products and enhancements to Huawei's products. Joint development of products has already begun, Nortel said, adding that products would available by the third quarter of 2006.

{mospagebreaktitle=Microsoft's Gates speaks out against net censorship}Microsoft's Gates speaks out against net censorship

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said Wednesday that attempts by governments to censor web site contents were doomed, because banned information can seep out despite official injunctions.

''The ability to really withhold information no longer exists,'' Gates told a government forum on the internet in Portugal, reported The Associated Press in The New York Times (1 February).

Gates said his company must comply with legal requirements in the countries where it operates.

According to AP., late last year, Microsoft shut down the site of a popular Chinese blogger at Beijing's request. The blog by Zhao Jing, writing under the pen name An Ti, appraised sensitive topics such as China's relations with Taiwan and media freedoms in China.

But the spread of free, private e-mail enabled users to disseminate information anyway, Gates said.

AP says that some of Microsoft's rivals, including Google and Yahoo, also have hit problems with censorship in foreign countries

Gates was in the Portuguese capital Lisbon for a two-day Microsoft-sponsored forum for government leaders to examine ways of harnessing internet technology to make the public sector more efficient.

{mospagebreaktitle=Lawmakers say US firms aiding China's internet censorship}Lawmakers say US firms aiding China's internet censorship

US firms are putting profits before principles by helping China censor the internet, American lawmakers said on Wednesday at the start of a congressional debate that could lead to rules on American technology companies operating in repressive states.

Reuters reports in The New York Times (1 Febrtuary) that the Congressional Human Rights Caucus heard experts tell how technology titans Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Cisco Systems had made the work of 30,000 Chinese Communist cyber-police easier.

``Companies that have blossomed and make billions in this country, a country that reveres freedom of speech, have chosen to ignore that core value in expanding their reach overseas, and to erect a Great Firewall to suit Beijing's purposes,'' Rep. Tom Lantos, a California Democrat, told the caucus.

Reuters says that the informal hearing follows Google's announcement last month that it would block politically sensitive terms on its new Chinese search site -- the latest case in which US. firms have collaborated with draconian Chinese censorship policies.

Microsoft and Yahoo submitted a statement saying they ``do not consider the internet situation in China to be one of 'business-as-usual''' and calling for Washington to engage the Chinese government on the broader censorship issues.

Reuters says that freedom of speech advocates condemned Microsoft in December after it pulled the blog, or Web log, of a critic of the Chinese government after getting a government order to do so.

Yahoo came under fire in September after rights groups revealed that it helped Chinese authorities link journalist Shi Tao to a US-based web site, leading him to receive a 10-year prison sentence for revealing state secrets.

And, reports Reuters, Google's Chinese search engine blocks many terms associated with taboo topics related to movements for democracy or independence for Tibet and Taiwan, as well as links to some US media outlets.

{mospagebreaktitle=Ruling aids manufacturer of BlackBerry}Ruling aids manufacturer of BlackBerry

A preliminary ruling by the United States patent office on Wednesday further undermined legal claims by a company that has sought to shut the BlackBerry wireless e-mail device in the United States.

The New York Times reports (2 February) that Research in Motion, the Canadian maker of the BlackBerry, said the decision meant that the patent office had twice rejected all five patents controlled by NTP that are related to BlackBerry litigation. NTP is an intellectual property company based in Arlington, Va.

According to the newspaper, the most recent decision clears the way for a final ruling from the patent office, which may occur by next month. But if, as expected, the final decision supports Research in Motion, NTP still has two avenues of appeal, and that process could take months or possibly years.

In addition, it is unclear how the patent office action will affect a separate BlackBerry case in federal court in Virginia, says the NYT.

On 24 Feb., Judge James R. Spencer, will hear a request from NTP for an injunction to shut the sale and operation of BlackBerries for all account holders in the United States who are not in government or emergency services.

Judge Spencer imposed an injunction earlier, but it was put on hold while Research in Motion appealed. That process came to an end last month when the United States Supreme Court rejected a request for a hearing from the company.

The NYT says that it is possible that BlackBerry service in the United States could be shut within weeks of the February hearing. Even if an injunction occurs, though, it could be prevented by a settlement between the companies. Research in Motion also asserts it has an alternative technology that it can introduce to prevent a shutdown.

Wednesday was the final day for submissions in advance of Judge Spencer's hearing. In a filing, the United States Department of Justice asked the court for any injunction to be delayed until all questions are answered about how any shutdown could occur without affecting the government.

The newspaper says that Research in Motion made a filing urging the court to weigh NTP's claim against "the exceptional public interest in the unfettered availability and use of the BlackBerry system."

{mospagebreaktitle=Google stock rebounds}Google stock rebounds

Google shares fell 9 percent on Wednesday after its quarterly results missed Wall Street's lofty expectations, but the internet search company showed it still had not lost all of the Teflon-coating as it rebounded from a nearly 20 percent drop, reports Reuters in The New York Times (1 February).

According to Reuters, Wall Street analysts rushed to the defense of Google, saying the results showed a surge in advertising sales -- albeit at less than previous 100 percent-plus rates -- while it is also gaining share from rivals such as Yahoo.

Reuters also said that bulls on the stock, including Goldman Sachs and Piper Jaffray, reiterated 12-month price targets of US$500 and US$600, respectively.

The report says that shares of Google fell US$36.50, or 8.5 percent, to US$396.16 in midday trading on the Nasdaq, rebounding from levels of around US$350 in early after-hours trading after Google posted results on Tuesday.

{mospagebreaktitle=US Congress urged to toughen laws on phone data}US Congress urged to toughen laws on phone data

In the US., Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin on Wednesday urged Congress to toughen laws protecting telephone subscriber records in the wake of the discovery of several online data brokers.

Reuters reports in The New York Times (1 February) that the FCC chairman urged Congress to specifically make it illegal to commercially sell phone records, boost penalties the FCC can impose on violators and allow the agency to require carriers to get customer permission before data can be used for marketing.

The FCC, state attorneys general, lawmakers, and the Federal Trade Commission are all investigating the practice of companies that offer to obtain and sell telephone subscriber information.

Reuters reports that Martin said the agency in its investigation has served subpoenas on about 30 data brokers and has made undercover purchases of phone records from some of the companies.

{mospagebreaktitle=US poll looks at illegal music downloading}US poll looks at illegal music downloading

The Associated Press says in a New York Times report (2 February) that music executives love to blame illegal downloading for their industry's woes. But, based on the results of a new nationwide US poll, they might want to look in the mirror, comments AP.

According to AP., 80 percent of the respondents consider it stealing to download music for free without the copyright holder's permission, and 92 percent say they've never done it, according to the poll conducted for The Associated Press and Rolling Stone magazine.

The report says that,meanwhile, three-quarters of music fans say compact discs are too expensive, and 58 percent say music in general is getting worse.

AP says that the music industry has spent several years in turmoil, as downloading and the popularity of iPods upend its traditional business model. A total of 618.9 million CD albums were sold during 2005, sharply down from the 762.8 million sold in 2001, according to Nielsen Soundscan.

At the same time, 352.7 million tracks were sold digitally in 2005, a category that wasn't even measured five years ago. Digital sales of music and ring tones offer new revenue opportunities, but often at the expense of more lucrative CD sales.

According to AP., although buying music digitally hasn't exactly become widespread -- only 15 percent of poll respondents said they have done it -- there appears to be a growing acceptance of this type of transaction. The poll found that 71 percent of music fans believe that a 99-cent download of a song is a fair price or outright bargain.

{mospagebreaktitle=Pigeons Get Backpacks for Air Pollution Monitoring}Pigeons Get Backpacks for Air Pollution Monitoring

A flock of pigeons fitted with mobile phone backpacks is to be used to monitor air pollution, New Scientist magazine reported on Wednesday.

Reuters reports in The New York Times that the 20 pigeons will be released into the skies over California, in August.

Each bird will carry a GPS satellite tracking receiver, air pollution sensors and a basic mobile phone. Text messages on air quality will be beamed back in real time to a special pigeon ``blog,'' a journal accessible on the internet.

The Reuters report says that text messages on air quality will be beamed back in real time to a special pigeon ``blog,'' a journal accessible on the internet.

Miniature cameras slung around the pigeons' necks will also post aerial pictures.

Reuters says that the idea is the brainchild of researcher Beatriz da Costa, of the University of California at Irvine, and two of her students.

They have built a prototype of the pigeons' equipment, containing a mobile phone circuit board with SIM card and communication chips, a GPS receiver, and sensors capable of detecting carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide.

The Reuters report says that the team is planning to squeeze all the components onto a single board small enough for the birds to carry in a backpack, New Scientist said.  The data the pigeons will send back will be displayed on the blog in the form of an interactive map.