Carmen Nobel

A month of government scrutiny and some high-profile accidents have highlighted the hazards of driving while fumbling with a cellular phone. But even as carriers push manufacturers to make safer handsets, wireless industry officials and drivers advocates say that the risks are overstated and that proposed legislation aimed at curbing cell phone use in cars […]

While numerous high-speed wireless technologies flap about, WLANs have continued a steady migration into corporate America, gaining ground with added speed, security and the number of devices supported. At this weeks NetWorld+Interop show in Las Vegas—an event traditionally more concerned with function than flash—wireless LAN will be the primary wireless focus. Startup Atheros Communications Inc. […]

Although widely considered geek chic, wearable computing systems are steadily gaining ground in vertical and consumer arenas alike. At the center of the movement is wearable computing pioneer Xybernaut Corp., which, at its annual wearable computing conference in McLean, Va., at the end of the month will announce its latest product, the Mobile Assistant V. […]

Microsoft Corp. is continuing to embed itself in the embedded systems market. Earlier this month, the Redmond, Wash., software company announced the first beta of Talisker, the code name for Version 3.1 of the Windows CE operating system, which runs in handheld devices and Internet appliances. Talisker is slated for wide release by the end […]

Erich Berman has spent six months scouring the Las Vegas trade shows in search of elusive quarry: a hands-on experience with the wireless technology known as Bluetooth. At events such as the CTIA Wireless show, Berman went right to the belly of the beast—the Bluetooth Pavilion—to ask a dwindling number of vendors point- blank when […]

Compaq Computer Corp.s decision to extend mobile Internet services on foundering Metricom Inc.s Ricochet wireless network is raising questions about the offering and fueling speculation that Metricom may be ripe for a takeover. Compaqs new iPaq Mobile Internet extension was announced last week and is designed for “on-the-go businesspeople.” Under the initiative and through a […]

Faced with slowing demand for products and a slowing economy, the major cell phone and handheld computer makers spent the end of last month cleaning house. Telefon Ericsson AB, Nokia Corp., Motorola Inc. and Palm Inc. have laid off employees and shuttered facilities in an effort to ride out what some are calling the wireless […]

The CTIA wireless show may have been staged here in the glitz capital of the country, but the focus was far from flashy. Where just one year ago the conference, sponsored by the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, was a no-holds-barred celebration of new technology, this year the mood was cautious as industry giants debated the […]

Commercial satellites may be more than just pies in the sky. A year after Iridium LLC shut down its satellite phone service because operating costs outweighed customer interest, a reincarnation, Iridium Satellite LLC, is giving it another shot. The Tempe, Ariz., company last week began commercial phone service using the network of satellites it acquired […]

Having gained a loyal following of corporate users for its BlackBerry wireless message devices, Research In Motion Ltd. is ready to move beyond e-mail. The Waterloo, Ontario, company this week will announce plans to support wireless calendar synchronization; wireless downloads from GoAmerica Communications Corp., in Hackensack, N.J.; and Web content from AvantGo Inc. on its […]