3G Femtocell acts like a miniature cell tower that is installed in your home, which provides 3G mobile coverage where there is none or weak for voice and data access. Instead of using the cell tower’s own backhaul, the femtocell connects back to your provider’s network using your broadband access.
AT&T 3G MicroCell plans to begin its national roll out beginning in mid April. Developed in conjunction with Cisco and in a public trial in select markets since September, AT&T 3G MicroCell is available for a one-time cost of $149.99. Consumers with AT&T 3G MicroCell will be able to easily activate the device the same day it is purchased, thanks to easy, self-install instructions. A brief feature overview:
- 10 lines access defined, handles up to four simultaneous calls
- Allows call transfer to the cellular network
- Works on UMTS bands (1900 MHz and 850 MHz)
- Supports E911 Service
AT&T who signed up for a supplementary voice plan or purchase a new line of broadband service are entitled to a $100 or $50 mail in rebate which lowers the cost of ownership for the subscribers.
In Malaysia its unheard of that subscriber should pay to improve their mobile coverage, but with the right business model and incentives, this may just change. 
Going for a trip but don’t want to carry a bunch of bulky board games, or afraid of chess pieces falling off while playing in the car?
Game Table provides everything you need to play classic board and card games with your friends and family using the Apple iPad. Game Table gives you all the “virtual pieces” to play Checkers, Chess, and most card games without hunting for boards or missing pieces.
Game Table is not a video game. There is no “logic” built into these games. Game Table simply provides brilliantly designed game tables and game pieces along with an extremely intuitive and fun way for you and your friends to interactive with them.
Game Table has been submited to Apple for the grand opening on iPad App Store, Saturday, April 3rd and launched with an introductory price of 99 cents.
Game Table may seem like just another app, but it’s a great example of how iPad’s bigger screen size can open Apple’s mobile application platform to new possibilities.
Sample of Game Table Chess Set
Remember this?
Oracle’s relationship with the open source software portfolio it bought along with Sun Microsystems appears to be in doubt.
It seems that Oracle is unhappy that Solaris ended up as open source and word on the street says that it wants to move it back to being proprietary. Open Solaris may remain, but the rumour mill claims that Oracle can make some components proprietary and erode developer support.
Source: The INQUIRER
License change leaves Sun Solaris users at a crossroads. Oracle’s decision to limit Solaris 10’s free usage to 90 days could be a boon for Linux vendors.
Source: InfoWorld
The much anticipated DiGi iPhone pricing is now officially released on their website.
You can get the iPhone 3GS 16GB as low as RM390 with a 24 month subscription to their iDiGi 238 plan. They even offer a 36months easy payment scheme for a mere RM178 per month.
Those who have pre-ordered their iPhone from DiGi can collect it from 31 March – 2 April, and the rest of us can grab it at selected DiGi stores from 3 April onwards, while stocks last.
If you’re thinking that the price and plan for DiGi’s iPhone is not significantly cheaper than that of Maxis, it is worth noting that DiGi gives double the amount of data volume cap, SMS and MMS and extra 12 more months for Easy Payment Plan (installment) compared to Maxis. On top of that, extra data usage (local) is not charged and your data roaming charge in overseas is capped at RM36/day. Anyway refer to the comparison chart that DiGi has provided against Maxis here, which has yet to reflect the RM200 discount Maxis has on offer with the iValue plans until 20 April 2010.
For those who already has an iPhone, well, they suggest you to sign up for their Internet Unlimited plan with DiGi Postpaid at RM58 per month.
DiGi iPhone pricing
iDiGi plan
Despite a spending slowdown by operators worldwide, Huawei Technologies manage to double its profit last yet.
The privately-held Chinese vendor yesterday announced a full-year profit of 18.3 billion yuan (USD$2.7b), up from 7.85 billion in 2008, on sales of 149.1 billion yuan (USD$21.8b).
According to chief marketing officer Ken Hu:
- From 36 in 2008, Huawei claims to have now supply 45 of the world’s top 50 operator
- operating margin improved from 12.9% to 14.1%
- cash flow improved 39%
- Huawei predicts year-on-year revenue growth of 20% in 2010, driven by increased broadband rollouts, smartphone adoption, and higher demand for professional managed services
The result makes Huawei the most profitable telecom vendor and the second biggest in the market by sales, overtaking Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia Siemens Networks during the year.
Market leader Ericsson last year posted USD$29 billion in revenue and USD$1.6 billion in net income.
Alcatel-Lucent recorded €15.15 billion ($20.4b) in sales but finished €524 million in the red.
