Talk about putting the cart before the horse. Without a bona fide WiMAX network for mass consumer use up and running yet here in America, Siemens is making sure you're really ready for its onset by announcing its first WiMAX ExpressCard. The Gigaset SE68 WiMAX is based on the IEEE 802.16-2005 standard and complies with Wave 2 specifications (including MIMO A / B), supports beamforming and has actually been demonstrated as functional way over in Singapore. With a network in place, users can expect mobile broadband speeds of up to 20Mbps, and while no price is given, you can just circle the entire summer of 2008 in anticipation of its arrival.

We've seen a lot of research and even some products that promise seamless WiFi / cell roaming, but Intel and Nokia are cooking up tech that might one day bring us true uninterrupted broadband connectivity, based on automatic undetectable switchovers from WiFi to WiMAX. Intel's posted up a brief video demoing the tech auto-switching without interrupting a video conferencing session on a laptop, but it's easy to imagine the potential application on a mobile phone or UMPC -- dare to dream after the break.

[Via DailyWireless]

We're not certain why call center employees need even more reasons to treat customers condescendingly, but Siemens has announced that it's developing tech that will "intelligently" assign reps to callers based on determinations of age and gender. No word on how the system makes the determinations, but we're not going to be happy if we have to start doing Marilyn Monroe impressions just to get someone on the phone.

[Via The Raw Feed]

In an upmarket move, Fujitsu-Siemens just loosed this, their AMILO Si 2636 laptop onto the cafe-posing elite. Besides sporting an interesting orb of a touchpad, it's configurable with a 2.2GHz T7500 Core 2 Duo processor, up to 4GB DDR2 memory, and 250GB of 5400rpm SATA disk. The new 13.3-inch, 1,280 x 800 (WXGA) laptop features Intel GMA X3100 graphics, HDMI-out, an integrated 1.3 megapixel webcam, 4-in-1 card reader, slot loading 8x dual-layer DVD burner, and battery capable of up to 5-hours. They even combine one of the 3x USB ports with eSATA for attaching a bit of high-performance external disk action. It weighs in at 2.3-kg (5-pounds) and 36.6 ~ 37.4-mm thick. We're still waiting for pricing and availability to be announced.

[Thanks, Joe]

While folks living near Shanghai are already enjoying the luxuries of a maglev (magnetic levitation) railway, Germany is getting set to build a similar line to shuttle citizens from Munich's city center to its airport. The €1.85 billion ($2.61 billion) project is finally on track to become a reality after securing the necessary funding, and it should be able to whisk travelers around at nearly 310 miles-per-hour when it's complete. Sadly, there's no word as to when the Munich service will launch, but at least we're moving in the right direction, eh?

[Via Slashdot]

Siemens VDO and Microsoft just announced a deal to co-develop in-car entertainment systems and navigation products. The companies will initially develop a multi-media platform to more easily integrate mobile phones and music players into automotive systems. The first products based on the Microsoft Auto Platform are expected in 2009. Now go ahead dear readers, leave us your obligatory BSOD, car crashing jokes in the comments below, mercy not required.

Leaving so soon, are we? Turns out Fujitsu Siemens Computers is ditching the PDA / PNA market after 2007, which means that those bulky, albeit fashionable Loox handhelds will soon be available only in closeout bins and on your favorite auction site -- and just think, things were lookin' so bright just last year. According to a statement by FSC spokesperson Amy Flécher, the decision to cut the proverbial cord was simply "due to the usual examination of the portfolios," and the firm apparently noticed that "the traditional handheld segment (PDA) [had been shrinking] for years." Essentially, the company felt that smartphones would eventually swallow the "traditional handhelds" of the world, and considering that cranking out smartphones "is not its business at all," the choice seems logical.

Using a name that sounds vaguely like a conflation of two coffee drinks, Fujitsu-Siemens is setting its sights on the mid-range, business laptop market with a new trio of computers, dubbed the ESPRIMO Mobile Series. The rather reserved looking Core 2 Duo based models, a spinoff of its desktop line, are available in three different widescreen display configurations (12.1-inch, 14.5-inch, and 15.4-inch), and are based on the Santa Rosa chipset. All of the laptops come with Intel's GMA X3100 integrated graphics card, as well as integrated UMTS, Bluetooth, and WLAN. The three models can accommodate a second battery, giving the group up to ten hours of life between charges (according to Fujitsu), which would be a real treat for anyone who's getting tired of being tethered to an outlet. No word yet on pricing or street date, but we shall keep you posted.

[Via notebookitalia]

Read -- Fujitsu-Siemens ESPRIMO U9200
Read -- Fujitsu-Siemens ESPRIMO M9400
Read -- Fujitsu-Siemens ESPRIMO D9500

Ultrasound machines have been getting smaller for a while now, leading some doctors to claim that they'll eventually replace the stethoscope -- and Siemen's latest model, the ACUSON P10, is another step in the transition. The 1.6-pound P10 is designed to fit inside a standard white coat pocket, and can store images and video clips for later examination. The unit is currently undergoing clinical trials in the US; hopefully that "optimized price" Siemens is touting means that we'll be seeing the P10 pop up in hospitals very soon.

[Via MedGadget]

Although we'd prefer at least a few things in our domicile remain non-intelligent, hooking our refrigerator up with a mind doesn't sound like a half bad idea. Sure, Samsung's already on the ball, but anyone interested in receiving SMS alerts about how out of date their milk is, which peanut butter not to buy, and whether Sally's favorite sherbet is all but empty isn't down with waiting another year. Thanks to Kim Otto of Denmark's Innovation Lab, along with RFID labels / readers, copper wiring, a PragmaSoft-enabled computer, and a (previously) TV-equipped fridge, the task has already been accomplished. Reportedly, the Siemens smart fridge prototype can judge all sorts of facts from foodstuffs that are tagged with RFID, and considering that it's also connected to the internet, it can be made to beam out emails or text messages to alert you of dwindling supplies or warn you of recalled produce. Best of all, the folks even took the time to video the newfangled creation, so be sure to click on through for the not-even-for-sale fridge of your dreams.

[Via BoingBoing]

Screw getting a dollar a year salary or changing the world, the hip cool chairperson / CEO thing to do these days is resign. Perhaps for obvious reasons, or perhaps for the daunting task of getting your company back on track after major setbacks, the big wigs are falling in droves. This time around it's Siemens chairman Heinrich Pierer who's bailing, because despite the fact that he's not involved in the current embezzlement investigations, he says his duty lies with the firm and its 400k employees. He said that his (soon to be former) company is in a "difficult situation due to the in part apparent and in part alleged misconduct of a number of managers and employees," and that "The sole reason for my decision today is to serve the best interests of Siemens." He also added, just in case we weren't clear on the fact that he isn't in trouble with the popo, that this was "A personal responsibility in view of the current investigations was not the basis for my decisions." Don't worry Heinrich, we don't blame you one bit.

[Image courtesy German Press Agency]

With all of the bribery, corruption, and kickback scandals plaguing German giant Siemens at the moment, we're half expecting to wake up tomorrow and learn that one of their executives drunkenly wrapped his exotic car around a tree after a night of boozing it up with notorious Deutchland bad boy Dietrich. The latest player to get caught up in this mess -- and the highest ranking -- is board member Johannes Feldmayer, who was detained yesterday while prosecutors tore his life apart executed search warrants on three of his offices. Interestingly enough, Feldmayer's alleged payoff of already-arrested union official Wilhelm Schelsky has nothing to do with the larger $500 million embezzlement scandal involving the company's communications division, which sparked that countrywide raid late last year. Siemens has reportedly brought on an anti-corruption expert to advise the firm on how to, um, not be so corrupt, and we hear that the bidding war for his services got pretty heated when BenQ also learned that there are people out there who can help you run your business in a less shady manner.

Intelligent roadways are nothing new, as we've seen project after project (and even countries) look at varying ways to keep drivers informed whilst cruising about, but a new rendition showcased at CeBIT is looking to utilize P2P networking in order to spread pertinent information about road hazards to drivers behind the mishap. SmartWeb, which is being coordinated by the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence along with a myriad of other corporations, would allow vehicles to detect hazards (such as an oil slick or road block) and pass the information on to surrounding vehicles in order to hopefully prevent accidents and give motorists ample time to locate a detour. This doesn't mark the first time P2P has been used for the betterment of mankind, and the data would reportedly be conveyed via a "dashboard screen or through a mobile handset," potentially adding yet another distraction to overload our brains while trying to remain between the blinking yellow lines. Of course, those of you with real-time traffic updates are already on top of the game, but we could definitely see this technology being marketable to thrill-seeking cops looking to pinpoint information feeds coming from speeding criminals.