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Thursday 22 February 2007

SonyEricsson Firmware Update kiosks for stores [ 22-02-2007 13:28 ]

Author: Serge Novikov Source: Inforworld Translation by: Saliquincer

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB is readying a series of multimedia kiosks that it hopes will save operators, retailers and users time and money when it comes to fixing common phone faults. The company showed an early sample of the kiosks in its booth at the 3GSM World Congress.

A common remedy for mobile phone performance problems is to update the firmware (the basic operating software coded into a semipermanent memory such as flash). However, this usually involves sending phones back to a service center, a process that takes several days at best. This is costly for the retailers, who must pack and ship the phones, and for the network operators who miss out on call revenue -- not to mention the customers, who lose the use of their phones while all this is going on.

Sony Ericsson wants to simplify the update process by letting customers update their own phones at multimedia kiosks installed in busy stores. The cylindrical kiosks, about 0.5 meters wide and 1.5 meters tall, contain a small PC and feature a touch-sensitive flat-panel display and a docking cradle for a mobile phone. Customers will be able to slot their phone into the cradle after first removing the SIM card, then follow the on-screen prompts to update the firmware. The process will take about seven minutes, Sony Ericsson staff said. The kiosk's computer will also contain a variety of multimedia content that customers can consult while their phone is being updated, and at other times the screen can display promotional messages, either for Sony Ericsson phones or for the store hosting the kiosk, according to Jesper Lykking, who is responsible for service portfolio management at Sony Ericsson.

The kiosks are relatively expensive -- a few thousand euros, according to Lykking -- so they won't appear in every store stocking Sony Ericsson phones. Thirty are ready, 10 of them in the U.S., and a few hundred will be built, in all, he said. One will be placed in each Sony Ericsson national sales office around Europe, he said. The first in-store kiosk should appear in France around the end of the quarter, he said.

The company is still keen to cut the cost of firmware upgrades at other points of sale, but it has another trick in store for them: it aims to put a kit consisting of a cradle and a software CD in a few thousand stores, so that a standard PC can perform the upgrade.

Sony Ericsson has already tested the program, which it calls Update Service Pro, in the A1 store chain of network operator Mobilkom Austria AG & Co. KG. Last year the chain performed about 1,500 updates across its 39 stores, Sony Ericsson said.

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Sony's 2007 Cybershot Lineup Leaked [ 22-02-2007 12:58 ]

Author: Klimov Oleg Source: Engadget Translation by: Saliquincer

It's getting increasingly tough (or should we say impossible) to keep things under wraps and nearly all products go through their obligatory rumor mill phase in the entire life cycle. One anonymous tipster has taken things a little further with catalog snaps of the upcoming Sony Cyber-shots.

February 27 is the official date to mark on your calendar, but while you wait, Engadget has an exclusive on several catalog images of the upcoming Cyber-shots. The lineup is seen to include the T20HDPR (camera/printer bundle), T100, T20, H9, H7, G1 (pictured), W200 and W90 Cyber-shots.

These cameras, according to the blog site, offer Sony's Super SteadyShot optical image stabilization and HD output, but the G1 takes the cake with an apparent generous 2GB internal memory and a 3.5-inch LCD. More details to follow soon.

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Motorola launches mobile game development contest [ 22-02-2007 11:12 ]

Author: Serge Novikov Translation by: Saliquincer

The company's just announced its MOTODEV Game Developer Challenge. It's a competition for independent mobile developers, with the aim of discovering 'the Next Big Thing' in mobile gaming.

The contest will have two categories: Best Java Game, which will cover games submitted for Motorola's MOTOKRZR K1 handset; and Best Windows Mobile Game, which'll involve its Moto Q range of smartphones.

Backers include Sun Microsystems and Microsoft, while I-play is sponsoring the contest, and will publish the two winning games – which we think would be I-play's first move into the Windows Mobile publishing market.

Developers have to be registered with Motorola's MOTODEV developer network. Submissions open today, and won't close until August 10th. A panel of judges will then decide the winners before announcing them in Autumn. For more details, check : http://developer.motorola.com/eventstraining/gamechallenge/