“The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a final rejection of one of the five patents at issue in NTP’s long-running case against BlackBerry maker Research In Motion.

The final rejection was posted on the Patent Office’s Web site for the NTP-held patent, which covers a system for sending e-mails over a wireless network to a mobile device. The Patent Office has already issued nonfinal actions rejecting the claims in four out of the five NTP patents in question, but a final rejection is required before the appeals process can begin.

Contacted on Wednesday, NTP’s lead counsel, James Wallace of Wiley, Rein & Fielding, said he had not reviewed the final action and therefore could not comment. NTP has the right to appeal any final rejection notice to a three-judge panel at the Patent Office, and can file further appeals at the federal-court level.

RIM issued a statement confirming it had received the final action and said it expects the rejections to withstand future NTP appeals…..”

Full Story @ zdnet

Seeing as I have been talking about mobile email and push email a lot lately I thought that this article about the current litigation between NTP and RIM was quite interesting. The court will make a ruling on Friday whether or not the injunction against the sale of blackberry in the U.S will go ahead.

“No more communication, no more instant updates, isolation from the outside world. That’s what 4 million BlackBerry customers fear if a judge cuts the service.

A five-year battle between a tiny patent holder and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion could come to a head in a Richmond, Va., courtroom Friday. That’s when a federal judge will decide whether to enforce an injunction against RIM, which would shut down its wireless e-mail system.

Several years before RIM introduced its BlackBerry system, NTP Inc. owned patents to a system that could send messages from computers to wireless devices, but NTP never actually developed a system. When RIM started producing BlackBerrys in 2001, NTP launched a lawsuit.”

Full article @ abcnews

SecureGSM announces the immediate availability of a major update to its successful crypto phone product, SecureGSM™ Pro.

This latest revision, 1.22, boasts several enhancements to the unique, software-only secure voice and messaging application for Windows Mobile phone enabled devices using the GSM network standard.

Users of SecureGSM™ Pro enjoy secure, encrypted end-to-end voice and messaging over standard GSM networks.

SecureGSM™ Pro R1.22 features the following enhancements:

• Support for HTC Prophet and HTC Charmer
• Enhanced Echo Suppression engine with improved support for HTC Universal, Wizard, Prophet, Charmer and other WM5.0 based devices.
• Enhanced Caller ID module with improved support for HTC Universal, Wizard, Prophet, Charmer and other WM5.0 based devices.
• Enhanced connectivity in difficult network conditions.
• Enhanced incoming call management engine.

More details @ http://www.securegsm.com

It looks like the much anticipated Push email for Windows Mobile powered devices is finally starting to become available. This technology has been due for quite some time now on Windows Mobile devices. I look forward to seeing some reviews of the new features. Will it be the Blackberry killer that many people say it is?
“Today at 3GSM World Congress 2006, Microsoft Corp. and its mobile operator and device-maker partners announced a broad range of services and Windows Mobile^®-based devices for business customers to cost-effectively deploy mobile messaging solutions. Leveraging the integration between Direct Push technology in Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 and Microsoft^® Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2), businesses can mobilize their employees on a unified infrastructure without the requirement to pay for additional and costly e-mail servers. This same technology is now available for Microsoft Windows^® Small Business Server and is also offered as a hosted service by a number of mobile operators around the world.

Cingular Wireless, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone today announced free upgrades to the Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP) for all their Windows Mobile 5.0 customers, enabling Direct Push functionality and providing enhanced device management and security for messaging applications. Palm Inc. and i-Mate also reaffirmed their commitment to free MSFP upgrades. In addition, new Windows Mobile-based devices were unveiled today, all of which will ship with Direct Push technology: the HP iPAQ hw6900 Mobile Messenger, the Gigabyte Communications g-Smart (offered by Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd. in Taiwan), the ASUS P305 3G-enabled smartphone, and the Fujitsu Siemens FS Pocket Loox. In addition, HTC Corp. has unveiled a new product portfolio of Windows Mobile-based devices that are Direct Push-enabled and will be made available globally to T-Mobile and other operators beginning in the second quarter of this year.”

Microsoft Press Release @ Microsoft.com

A new version of Vito Sound Explorer has been released.

VITO Technology releases a new version of VITO SoundExplorer. This update mostly concentrates on increasing performance. VITO SoundExplorer is a great choice to explore the music world on your Pocket PC to the full.

VITO SoundExplorer is 3 programs in one. It is an audio player, audio recorder and file explorer designed specially for browsing music content. VITO SoundExplorer:

• Supports Windows Mobile 5.0
• Supports high-resolution displays
• Supports landscape mode
• Converts WAV to MP3
• Records CD-quality MP3: 44 100 Hz
• Features Today plugin
• Is all you need for music playing and sound recording

New in VITO SoundExplorer v 1.7:

• ID3 tags supported
• WMA playback returned
• Overall stability increased
• landscape mode fixed
• New easier registration system (see the manual on the product page)

More info @ http://vitotechnology.com/

Cnet has just published a review on the new O2 XDA Exec (HTC Universal)

“Performance
The XDA Exec’s screen-swivelling mechanism works very well, and the hinge — a potential point of failure — feels solid. The ability to close the clamshell with the screen facing inwards provides some protection for the display and the keyboard. However, the device lacks a locking mechanism, so make sure that you use O2’s bundled slip case to prevent it coming open when rattling around in a briefcase or bag.

O2 claims battery life of 5-8 hours of talk, 2-4 hours of 3G usage, 15 hours in handheld mode and 220-250 hours on standby. However, we did not feel it appropriate to carry out our usual battery rundown test on a pre-production model to test these claims.

The Qwerty keyboard is a central part of this device but, as with all mini-keyboards, it has its drawbacks. The keys are small — a shade under 10mm by 9mm — and while it’s possible to use them in conventional laptop mode, you won’t achieve anything like normal typing speeds this way. However, it’s fine for tapping out emails and short texts, and we found it quite convenient to hold the XDA Exec in two palms and type with two thumbs.”

Full O2 XDA Exec Review

“The Pocket LOOX N Series is the first handheld from Fujitsu Siemens Computers combining integrated GPS solution and Windows Mobile 5.0 Premium Edition in an outstanding design. The new Office Mobile Suite increases productivity and gives you access to all critical business information, regardless of your location.
Wireless LAN (depending on model) and Infrared are integrated for optimized connection everywhere. Expand your Pocket LOOX N Series with SD-I/O / MM cards for storing data, backup and additional applications like navigation, multimedia and more. Special designed and tested navigation bundles make the Pocket LOOX N Series the perfect handheld for private and professional use.”

Technical Highlights

- 100% integrated powerful GPS solution
- Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 Premium Edition
- Optional: NAVIGON MobileNavigator 5
- SD-I/O / MMC slot
- MP3 player
- Integrated wireless LAN 802.11g Wi-Fi certified (Pocket LOOX N520)
- 128 flash memory (N520)
- Fujitsu Siemens Computers Software Suite for free preinstalled, containing applications for improved performance and connectivity like Fujitsu Siemens Computers SpeedMenu or Fujitsu Siemens Computers CONNECTMOBILITY.

More info on the Loox N series is available on the Fujitsu Siemens website

British telco BT has signed an agreement with Canadian wireless solutions provider Research In Motion (RIM) to become Europe’s first mobile virtual network operator to sell BlackBerry wireless communications solutions.

The deal is to enable BT to offer BlackBerry to its corporate customer base. The BlackBerry handhelds are to be co-branded BlackBerry and BT.

Developed and manufactured by RIM, BlackBerry offers BT’s customers secure, always-on, wireless access to their corporate e-mail and data, via a BlackBerry handheld with integrated phone, SMS, internet, calendar and organiser capability. BlackBerry’s ‘push’ technology also means customers don’t have to periodically connect to their e-mail to check for new messages as messages are automatically routed to the handheld. BT is initially offering the BlackBerry 7230 and BlackBerry 7730 handhelds….

Full Story @ http://www.dmeurope.com/default.asp?ArticleID=4418

Subscribers Double In Less Than Ten Months

Waterloo, ON - Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced that its award-winning BlackBerry® wireless platform has passed another major industry milestone by exceeding two million active wireless subscribers. BlackBerry continues to lead the industry and becomes the first integrated wireless data platform to reach the two millionth subscriber mark. This rapid growth illustrates the widening popularity of BlackBerry and the increasing market potential for converged devices and wireless data connectivity.

“This is a significant milestone, especially when you consider it took five years to establish the market and attract the first million BlackBerry users and less than ten months to double that number,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion. “Together with our partners around the world, we continue to build upon this momentum and expand the market opportunity for BlackBerry.”

Today’s news follows a busy ten-month period whereby RIM and its partners executed well and continued to pave the way for future growth. Several new and innovative BlackBerry devices were launched. Services were broadened and enhanced. RIM and its carrier partners expanded into many new countries and channels. RIM expanded its BlackBerry licensing programs with many of the world’s leading device manufacturers. BlackBerry Enterprise Server™ v4.0 and support for Novell Groupwise were readied. A new BlackBerry handheld for WLAN networks was previewed. RIM introduced new tools for developers and BlackBerry ISV Alliance partners continued to build upon the BlackBerry platform…..

Full press release @ blackberry.com

This looks like a killer device. Look at the quality of that VGA screen.

INtel CPU 520MHz
OS: Pocket PC 2003 with Ozone Update
Memory: 64 MB Flash ROM, RAM 128/64 MB SDRAM
Display: 3.7 inch VGA TFT LCD
CF Slot: Compact Flash II, Type II
SD: SD-IO
Connectivity: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built-in
IrDa (infrared): SIR, Remote Control Support for CE
Camera: 1.3 M Pixel CMOS Camera
Battery: Main 1150 mAH / Large 1800 mAH Removable
Size: 73×113x16.8 mm, +/- 0.3 mm
Weight: Less than 190 g
Accessory: Cradle, AC Adaptor, USB Cable

More pictures @ http://www.slashphone.com/67/555.html