Nokia and Bertone-SKF Present Vision of the Future at Geneva Motor Show

Nokia unveiled a future in-car wireless communication scenario at the 71st Geneva Motor Show, according to NewsEdge Corp. The aim of Nokia's contribution to the Bertone-SKF "Filo" concept car was to evoke ideas about how future telematics may link the car with the outside world. "We believe that future mobile communication technology will be at the heart of telematics, offering drivers a solid system that significantly enhances the motoring experience. The car and the mobile device will exchange information from the moment the driver uses it to unlock the door. The car will adjust to the driver's needs, customizing everything from seat adjustment to air conditioning," said Hannu Suominen, vice president of Nokia's Smart Traffic Products. "Various technologies such as Bluetooth, WAP and location-based technologies will increase the intelligence of the automobile providing increased efficiency, safety and entertainment to passengers."

The telematics systems in future cars will continuously generate, process, transmit and receive information from the vehicle's operating system and the surrounding environment, providing the driver with routing assistance, real-time traffic alerts and remote vehicle diagnostics, not to mention information on weather, news and passing sights. As telematics gain in popularity and usage becomes more common, it will be possible to pay for parking tickets, gasoline or highway fees via the car's telematics systems. Internet access will be connected to a tailored personal profile accessible via the vehicle and wireless device, making the loading of e-mail or personal banking information, for example, convenient and safe. For further information, visit www.nokia.com. 

Digital Broadcast Satellite (DBS) Makes Solid Gains in Latin America

PRNewswire reports that Digital Broadcast Satellite (DBS) will increase its current market share in the Latin American region from 18 to 25 percent over the next six years. The Strategis Group, Latin America Cable and Satellite Division says that despite this significant increase in market share, DBS still trails cable in Latin America by a considerable margin. Overall, The Strategis Group predicts total pay television subscribers in the region will more than double over the same six-year period. "Since its introduction in 1996, DBS has done extremely well in this region," says Charles Dorrier, analyst, broadband research with the Strategis Group. "The technology is an excellent fit in these countries; operators are not dependent upon wireline build-out and are able to provision new service areas much faster than their cable counterparts. The DBS providers can offer their services anywhere and as equipment prices have gone down, attracting new subscribers is now much easier." Despite the expected successes for DBS, the study predicts that cable will remain the dominant force in the region, primarily because cable has the advantage of lower basic service prices and the ability to offer two-way, high speed services using cable modems. The report indicates that cable modem subscribers will increase sixteen-fold by 2006. "By offering tiered programming the cable operators have lowered the price of basic service, thereby achieving much higher penetration of low income households in the region," says Peter Jarich, director of broadband research with the Strategis Group. "This new base of potential customers, along with increased demand for high speed Internet, will fuel rapid growth in the Latin American cable industry." For more information on this report, please contact an account executive at (202) 530-7500 or e-mail: sales@StrategisGroup.com. 

Wild Wireless LAN Market Expected to Weather Economic Downturn

Although the first half of 2001 has been marked by indications of an economic downturn, the wireless LAN (WLAN) market is expected to show healthy growth throughout the forecast period, according to Cahners In-Stat Group. The high tech market research firm finds that, in the LAN space, wireless networking is the next step, with shipments continuing to grow, as prices fall and new technologies bring higher speeds. By 2005, total enterprise WLAN end-use revenues will reach almost $4.6 B. Throughout the forecast period, revenues will grow significantly less than shipments, as prices continue to fall. The driving force in the WLAN market will be Wi-Fi products, including IEEE 802.11b and 802.11g products. "The 802.11b products have been especially successful in penetrating the education, hospitality, health care and financial environments, and as prices fall in 2001 and 2002, other industries will adopt them at a high rate," says Gemma Paulo, industry analyst with In-Stat's voice and data communications service. "Also, the push by these products into areas outside of North America will continue to be a boon to the industry." In 2002, the growth rate in end-use revenues will increase as comparatively high priced 5 GHz products are introduced into the market. The report, "Wild On Wireless Networking: WLAN Market ­ Young, Energetic and Growing" can be purchased from In-Stat. It includes five-year forecasts of the worldwide enterprise wireless LAN market and gauges the size of the current market for NICs, access points and outdoor bridges, and makes future predictions based on products shipped and end-use sales of these three product components. For more information, visit their Web site at www.instat.com. 

Worldwide Market for Handheld Computing Devices Remains Healthy

The worldwide market for handheld computing devices and mobile personal computing devices is bullish says a new report soon to be published by the ARC Group. The report projects shipments for 2001 to be around 13 million PDAs, 7 million HPCs, 29.4 million notebook PCs and 2.5 million PCS. The whole mobile computing market is also growing rapidly. Shipments of new mobile computing devices with embedded wireless connectivity is set to reach over 45 percent of total shipments by 2006 for cellular solutions. The fastest growing regions for this market will be North America, Western Europe and Japan -- regions where new mobile computing products are released regularly. The ARC Group's "Wireless Connectivity of Mobile Computing," available through Mindbench Inc., states that the handheld computing device market is growing and diversifying, with new models of devices being developed regularly. According to the study, "This market is seeing new players moving into it and over the next five years will experience steady growth." For further information on this report please visit www.mindbranch.com. 

Registry Magic Demonstrates First Ever Bluetooth Hotel Guest Services

NewsEdge Corporation reports that Registry Magic Inc. has demonstrated the first ever Bluetooth hotel guest services with Ericsson at the Holiday Inn Wall Street during the Internet World Wireless show this past February. Using Registry Magic's Consumer Payment Network, guests have the ability to check in and out, make payments at in-house restaurants, secure access to their rooms and utilize the Internet using Bluetooth wireless technology. Registry Magic's patented software and hardware coupled with Ericsson's Bluetooth R520m mobile phone and access point technology enables guests to significantly enhance the convenience, security and speed of their customer experience. The Consumer Payment Network enables any mobile phone with Bluetooth capabilities to become a one-stop device with which to perform everyday consumer interactions such as conducting purchases, inter-person communication and identity validation. It will permit the replacement of many of the types of cards people carry in their wallets or purses. For further information, contact Registry Magic Inc. at (561) 994-3223 or e-mail: info@registrymagic.com.*