Trucking Technology Alert - Nov. 26
 |  |
Both the online report and e-mail are sponsored by @Track Communications, a supplier of wireless communications and dispatch services.
Today's Technology Headlines:
- Cell Phone Firms Battle Dead Zones
- Wireless Delivery Drives Forward
- Mobile Phone Sales Dive in 3Q
- Bluetooth Technology Faces Obstacles
- Wireless Delivery Drives Forward
Cell Phone Firms Battle Dead Zones
Cell phone companies continue to battle with dead zones in an effort to thwart the loss of consumers, whose major complaint is the lack of coverage. Dead zones are increasingly becoming a problem due in part to the rise in cell phone use and wireless firms inability to keep their infrastructure growing as quickly as demand rises. According to a recent report, complaints from cell phone users centered on the lack of coverage, poor call quality, as well as dropped calls.In turn, cell phone companies are taking drastic measures to counter the problems. Verizon, for instance, spends $200 million annually in the Baltimore-Washington-Northern Virginia area on wireless equipment, while other wireless businesses focus on commercial centers and major travel routes when trying to reroute calls. In the meantime, consumers are increasingly demanding that wireless companies first inform them of their coverage or rather their lack of coverage. Baltimore Sun (11/26/01) P. C1; Obermayer, Joel B.
Wireless Delivery Drives Forward
Aspiring Web services companies are continuing their work to provide information and services to users anywhere, at anytime, on a number of wireless devices.OnStar, General Motors' telematics subsidiary, is moving into the handheld arena while planning big improvements to its on-board system that will integrate three types of interfaces. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz unveiled a city-wide wireless LAN system that would allow cars to upload rich data such as video clips and music from roadside transmitters. Other companies are working to build the software infrastructure and development tools necessary for large-scale wireless Web services. Infragistics, for example, is developing wireless Web services for business use, with services such as forwarding sales leads to representatives in the field. MagnetPoint, on the other hand, is creating what CTO Kayvan Alikhani calls "a HailStorm for Java" infrastructure that Sun Microsystems and IBM have inquired about. InfoWorld.com (11/16/01); Sullivan, Tom; Schwartz, Ephraim
Mobile Phone Sales Dive in 3Q
A recent report from industry analyst firm Gartner Dataquest has found that worldwide sales of cellular phones fell 10% in the third quarter from the same period a year ago.Gartner Dataquest's Mobile Communications Worldwide research group reported that phone shipments fell from 104.6 million units in the third quarter of 2000, to 94.4 million units during the same period in 2001. According to Bryan Prohm, a senior analyst in Gartner's Mobile Communications Worldwide research group, the cellular phone industry has been hurt by the effect of the economic downturn on regions where wireless connection growth has traditionally been high, such as South and Central America, and by repeated delays in the availability of general packet radio service terminals.
In addition, Ben Wood, another senior analyst with the Mobile Communications Worldwide research group, says the Western European market, which accounted for about 33% of annual mobile terminal sales in 1999 and 2000, saw a serious decline in demand in 2001. Gartner analysts say that the Finnish company Nokia remains the leader in worldwide cellular phone sales, with 31.5 million handsets shipped in the third quarter. Nevertheless, analysts say, Nokia reported a slight decline in shipments from the third quarter in 2000, primarily because of a lack of demand in the Western European market. Motorola took second place, with 14.7 million units shipped, while the Swedish company Ericsson took third place, with 7.5 million units shipped in the third quarter. The Korean company Samsung and the German company Siemens rounded out the top five. Wireless Newsfactor (11/19/01); Wrolstad, Jay
Bluetooth Technology Faces Obstacles
The Bluetooth technology, which is designed to allow various electronic devices to talk to each other, still faces considerable obstacles before it becomes generally available.So far, the highly-touted technology has been held up by competitive tussling and technical difficulties. Moreover, Bluetooth has rivals, in particular, a technology called 802.11 or Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi uses the same unlicensed spectrum to connect wireless devices, and it can carry signals further and handle more data than Bluetooth. At the same time, however, Wi-Fi is a lot more expensive than Bluetooth and serious concerns about its security have been expressed. Some analysts believe both technologies will survive. In this view, Wi-Fi will handle large data loads and long-range communications, while Bluetooth will be used for close-at-hand transmission. Atlanta Journal-Constitution (11/25/01) P. 1Q; Kanell, Michael E.
A href="https://www.ttnews.com/members/topNews/0008184.html">Previous Trucking Technology Report
© copyright 2001 INFORMATION, INC. Terms of Service
| ||||
8191
