Olympic fever being fuelled by high-tech in SKorea (AFP)

SEOUL (AFP) - Cutting-edge technology is fuelling Olympic fever in South Korea, with employees using hand-held TVs or mobile phones to follow the Games live during work or off-duty hours.

The nation of 49 million people was third in the medals table as of Tuesday night, with five golds. It also has six silvers and one bronze medal.

Park Tae-Hwan, dubbed "Marine Boy," has become a national hero after winning the country its first-ever gold in swimming in the 400-metre freestyle on Sunday. He followed up Tuesday with a silver in the 200-metre freestyle.

Koreans follow the events at work, or during bus and subway journeys, on palm-sized TVs or mobile phones equipped with digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) systems.

JoongAng Ilbo newspaper recounted the case of Nam, a typical young office worker, who left her desk and locked herself in a washroom cubicle with her mobile phone Monday to watch Park compete in the heats.

She shouted with joy when he qualified -- and realised she was not alone when similar shouts erupted from other cubicles.

South Korea, an IT powerhouse, has more than 14 million DMB terminals.

Samsung Electronics said handsets with DMB accounted for 33.5 percent of all its mobile sales last month, up from 23.1 percent in May.

"Thanks to the Olympic Games, the proportion of DMB phones is likely to rise further this month," a spokesman told AFP.

Thousands of company employees also secretly watch the Games online, with fingers poised to click back to a work-related window when bosses appear.

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iPhone to shake-up Japan's cellphone industry: Softbank official (AFP)

TOKYO (AFP) - The arrival of Apples iPhone 3G will force Japanese cellphone makers to revamp their handsets to allow increasingly sophisticated software, a senior official at Softbank Mobile said Wednesday.

Faced with increased competition, Japanese handset providers will have to provide more software-oriented machines like the touch-screen iPhone, said Tetsuzo Matsumoto, a senior executive vice president at Softbank Mobile.

"Its now the turning point," said Matsumoto, whose company is the only Japanese carrier so far to have launched the iPhone 3G in Japan.

The iPhones key advantage is that more features and applications can be added to suit the needs of users, he told a press conference.

Softbank Mobile launched Apples iPhone 3G for the first time in Japan in July, drawing long queues and helping the operator to add more subscribers.

But other operators, such as industry leader NTT DoCoMo, are more sceptical about the iPhones prospects of success in Japan.

Japans mobile phone market has developed differently than those in other countries. Here mobile operators, rather than handset makers, develop software and services, and foreign-made handsets have traditionally been unpopular.

NTT DoCoMo, the pioneer of third-generation (3G) telephones, has its own popular "i-mode" high-speed Internet service.

"I think Japanese handsets were uniquely ahead, but such uniqueness may not be so significant" compared with Apples approach, said Matsumoto.

Mobiles are becoming "more and more sophisticated, more and more PC-like. The conventional way of developing handsets will not work any more," he said.

Despite their popularity at home, Japanese handsets lag far behind those made by global leader Nokia in terms of overseas sales.

Softbank, Japans number three mobile telephone operator, was a late entrant to the competitive market, buying British giant Vodafones struggling Japanese unit for 15 billion dollars in 2006.

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iPhone 3G Problems Could Be From Flawed Chipset (NewsFactor)

Apples iPhone 3G reception issues could be more than a network problem -- or even a firmware problem. The issue could run as deep as the hardware, which could cause the handset maker millions in product repairs or replacements.

iPhone 3G users have been complaining about dropped calls, abrupt network switches, poor reception and service interruptions.

One financial analyst recalls similar complaints with 3G phones launched in Europe five years ago and speculates that the culprit could be the chipset inside the iPhone 3G. The new handset runs on an Infineon 3G chipset.

"We believe that these issues are typical of an immature chipset and radio protocol stack where we are almost certain that Infineon is the 3G supplier," Richard Windsor, a financial analyst at Nomura, wrote in a research paper. "This is not surprising as the Infineon 3G chipset solution has never really been tested in the hands of users. Some people will not experience these problems, as it is only in areas where the radio signal weakens that the immaturity of the stack really shows."

IS AN IDISASTER BREWING?

Infineon could not immediately be reached for comment on the possibility that its chip could be the cause of 3G reception woes. Apple has not yet acknowledged any issues with its latest handset.

Although some commentators have made strong arguments that Apples 3G issues are due to a hardware issue rather than a network or firmware problem, at this point its impossible to know exactly where the problem lies, according to Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT Research.

"If it is an underlying problem with the processor, that makes repairing it either difficult or impossible. If that is the case, that could be a disaster for Apple," King said. "In any case, the 3G performance is obviously a problem."

King figures both Apple and AT&T are working behind the scenes to correct the issue. But, he said, Apples tight-lipped approach to the problem could come back to haunt the company.

"Sitting on your hands and either not discussing the issue publicly or claiming there is no problem when a firestorm of people are online complaining about difficulties means the inferno is just going to get bigger and bigger," King said. "If Apple finally does admit there is some sort of systemic issue, the result would be disastrous."

A CULTURE OF SECRECY

As King sees it, the underlying issue here is Apples culture of secrecy. He pointed to iPhone-related issues Apples secrecy has already created. Most recently, the kill-switch fiasco is a strong example.

"Apple installing a kill switch and not telling anyone caused a firestorm in the application-developer community online," King said. "Steve Jobs admitted to the fact that a kill switch does exist and tried to explain what the purpose of it was, but if Apple had simply announced it early on and the reason for it, there would not have been such controversy. Apples handling of the situation is emblematic of how it does business. it points to a real systemic weakness as Apple moves forward."

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NBC sees new media habits form with Olympic games (AP)

NEW YORK - About half of the people who are using mobile phones to pull down video or information about the Olympics have been trying out that technology for the first time, NBC said on Wednesday.

NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric Co., has been using the Olympics as something of a research lab to track the adoption of new media technology. Since the opening ceremony last Friday, the company has made content available online, through video on demand and via cell phones along with traditional TV.

The number of people requesting Olympic content over their phones is still relatively small -- 494,506 on Sunday and 476,062 on Monday -- but NBC executives say they're stunned at how many of those never used the phones for this purpose before.

"To some extent, the Olympics are beginning to influence how people use new technology," said Alan Wurtzel, research president for NBC Universal.

By far, however, television is still the preferred format. Of the estimated 107 million people to experience at least a few minutes of the Olympics on Sunday, 95 percent watched it on TV, NBC said.

Given the choice between a high-definition TV placed before a couch or a small, grainy picture on a computer screen, it's still a pretty obvious call, Wurtzel said.

NBC's prime-time ratings are running well ahead of the Athens games in 2004. Through five days, the average prime-time viewership for NBC is 31.3 million, the network said. Interest in Athens started slowly but heated up with gymnastics, while the Beijing games have been a draw from the start.

It has become a communal event that the country has enjoyed sharing, Wurtzel said, a rarity in the day of media fractionalization.

"I don't think you're going to see too much of this in the future," he said.

Americans downloaded some 1.7 million video streams of Monday's stunning swimming relay where the American team came from behind to beat France and keep Michael Phelps' gold medal streak alive. An estimated 1.5 million video streams were e-mailed from one person to another, Wurtzel said.

NBC Universal worried in past Olympics years that its decision to air much of the events on cable outlets like CNBC, MSNBC and USA would siphon interest from prime-time, which is still where the network earns the bulk of its advertising revenue.

But the opposite proved to be true and, this year, the same thing has happened with the digital content, said Gary Zenkel, president of NBC Olympics.

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Virgin Mobile USA 2Q profit declines (AP)

WARREN, N.J. - Wireless service provider Virgin Mobile USA Inc. said Wednesday its second-quarter profit dropped sharply as revenue declined and the company lost net subscribers.

Virgin Mobile earned $3.5 million, or 7 cents per share, down 50 percent from $7.1 million, or 14 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue slipped 3 percent to $317.4 million from $327.6 million.

Analysts, on average, were expecting a profit of 2 cents per share on sales of $314.3 million, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

The company lost 111,273 net customers during the quarter, up from a loss of 53,424 net subscribers a year earlier. Gross customer additions totaled 728,370 during the quarter.

Churn, or subscriber turnover rate, was 5.6 percent.

The company forecast third-quarter results of a breakeven to a profit of 3 cents per share. Analysts expect a profit of 8 cents per share. It also expects net service revenue to "stabilize and be consistent with the second quarter," in the range of $285 million to $295 million.

Virgin Mobile USA is the U.S. wireless unit of Richard Branson's Virgin Group. It went public at $15 per share last October.

Shares climbed 26 cents, or 9.5 percent, to $3 in after-hours electronic trading. The stock closed unchanged at $2.74.

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Swedish magazine blames iPhone 3G woes on hardware (AP)

SEATTLE - Spotty wireless broadband connectivity for some of Apple Inc.'s new iPhones most likely results from a hardware problem introduced during mass production, a Swedish technical magazine reported Wednesday.

Ny Teknik, Sweden's foremost engineering weekly, obtained a report on tests conducted by unnamed experts that showed some handsets' sensitivity to third-generation network signals is well below the level specified in the 3G standard.

So-called 3G networks offer the promise of faster Web surfing on cell phone browsers, and make bandwidth-hogging applications like video calling feasible. Phones that access 3G networks must meet certain engineering and technical specifications, which are set and maintained by the International Telecommunication Union, a Geneva-based organization.

The report said the most likely cause of the 3G problems is defective adjustments between the antenna and an amplifier that captures very weak signals from the antenna. This could lead to poor 3G connectivity and slower data speeds.

The iPhone 3G, which on sale July 11 in the United States and 21 other countries, was meant to offer faster Web browsing than the year-old original model.

Since the launch of the next-generation iPhone, Apple's message boards have been flooded with complaints of dropped calls and poor 3G connectivity indicated by few or no "bars" on the phone's display.

Some users said they performed side-by-side tests and found that the iPhone had connectivity problems in locations where 3G phones from other manufacturers did not. The reports were made by users who said they lived the United States, Canada, Japan, Britain and other countries.

Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris declined to comment on whether the problem lies in the iPhone's hardware or software, or with the various carriers' 3G networks.

In the United States, AT&T Inc. is the only wireless provider to sell the iPhone. Mark Siegel, a spokesman for AT&T's wireless unit, said AT&T has not received a significant number of complaints and that, "overall, the new iPhone is performing just great on our 3G network."

In an interview, Siegel recommended that iPhone 3G users sync the devices with Apple's iTunes program frequently to take advantage of improvements that may come via updated software.

Connectivity is just the latest of Apple's problems with the iPhone 3G.

Just hours before the new phones were set to go on sale, users of the Cupertino, Calif.-based company's old data-synching service were locked out of their accounts when it took Apple longer than expected to get the new version, MobileMe, up and running.

On launch day, Apple's servers buckled as buyers tried to activate new iPhones in stores, while owners of older iPhones and the iPod Touch were updating and reactivating their devices at home.

Francis Sideco, a senior analyst for El Segundo, Calif.-based research group iSuppli Corp., said the connectivity problems described by users -- dropped calls and the low number of bars in particular -- could be caused by any of a number of parts, from the phone's antenna and amplifier and the radio frequency transceiver to the baseband that processes the digital signal and sends it to the speaker or screen.

A faulty part could cause the phone to think there isn't enough signal strength to keep a call connected, he said, and could prompt the phone to display too few bars.

Different parts from different manufacturers also vary in their ability to draw the 3G signal from the air, the analyst said, which would support users' claims that different phones held side by side show different numbers of bars.

Ny Teknik's report suggested the error was introduced during mass production. Sideco noted that cell phone chips, or the phones themselves, go through a testing and certification process before reaching consumers, but only a fraction of the chips or handsets are tested.

"We've seen this in the past before, in Motorola's Razr line. It was a very big seller, but the first version of that phone had RF (radio frequency) problems. They had to recall it, fix it, (and) put it back out there," he said.

Sideco said such a problem could explain another oft-heard iPhone 3G complaint, the shorter-than-expected battery life.

"It could end up drawing more power because now the phone thinks it's (getting a) worse signal than it actually is. When it goes to talk to the network, it speaks louder than it needs to," he said.

The analyst said similar complaints from people in more than one geographic location indicates that the problem is with the phone, not the network.

Without knowing exactly what is going wrong, Sideco could not say whether software or firmware updates could fix the glitch, or whether Apple could be facing the possibility of a recall.

___

Associated Press Writer Louise Nordstrom in Stockholm contributed to this report.

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FCC Sets Rules for Cell-Phone Alerts (PC Magazine)

Federally supervised cell phone alerts about national emergencies came one step closer to reality Thursday when regulators released their final rules for how mobile providers must implement the Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS).

CMAS is a voluntary system available to wireless providers that will send text out message blasts in the event of a national disaster like Hurricane Katrina, or the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Though providers are not required to join the CMAS, major providers like Verizon, AT imminent threat alerts and child abduction emergency or Amber alerts.

Initial implementation of the system is not expected until at least April 2010. Providers have until October 2008 to complete a CMAS industry standard, while development and testing will be conducted from October 2008 to October 2010, the FCC said.

The system has its origins in the Warning, Alert, and Response Network (WARN) Act, a bill Congress passed in 2006 as part of a larger port security bill. It allocated $106 million to create the voluntary, national emergency alert system.

Since then, the FCC has been working with wireless carriers as part of the Commercial Service Alert Advisory Committee (CMSAAC) to develop recommendations for how to execute CMAS. The FCC adopted an initial framework for CMAS in April and adopted further rules for educational and public broadcasting stations in July.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) pledged in late May to be the federal agency in charge of sending out the alerts, but not without some controversy. FEMA initially refused to coordinate the CMAS, prompting a public tongue lashing from the FCC commissioners.

The FCC did not take on that role itself because it did not have experience with originating emergency alerts; had received federal funds for operating an emergency alert system (as FEMA has); and did not have statutory authority to borrow money against the DTV Transition Fund to implement the WARN Act, as the Departments of Homeland Security and Commerce have, Democratic Commissioner Michael Copps said in April.

So far, FEMA has no concrete plans for the CMAS, but if they do not provide the FCC with specifications about the system by December 31, 2008, the FCC will convene an emergency CMSAAC meeting to address the issue, the order said.

But what does this mean for the average cell phone user?

Though most of the major providers are currently on board to participate in CMAS, it is not a done deal, and they have the option to back out at any point.

The FCC said Thursday that providers must notify the agency within 30 days about whether or not it will participate in the CMAS. If they opt out, providers will have to notify potential and current customers that they are not participating, but the FCC left it to the provider as to how that notification should occur.

Customers of providers who opt out will not receive alerts until 60 days before the CMAS is operational, or approximately February 2010.

"We believe the relevance of this decision may be lost if notification is delivered to prospective and existing customers too far in advance of CMAS commercial availability," according to the FCC order.

If you are a customer of a provider that opts out or signs up and then backs out, you can cancel your service without incurring a penalty or an early termination fee, the FCC said.

Similarly, if you subscribe to a service that will be provider alerts, you cannot opt out of presidential alerts, but can select not to receive "imminent threat" texts or Amber alert notifications.

As for the cost, providers are banned from imposing a "separate or additional charge" specifically for the CMAS, but they "have the discretion to absorb service-related costs" and pass those on to customers. So essentially, wireless customers will not see a separate "CMAS Fee" on their bill, but their providers reserve the right to up their monthly fees to recoup the costs associated with CMAS.

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