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Nokia Siemens HSPA+ Multiflow lets one device connect to two cell sites simultaneously
If you've ever used a cell phone while moving, then you've probably experienced the depressed network connectivity that becomes more of an issue as you move further away from any given tower. Some of us are even unfortunate enough to reside or work right at the edge of a cell, forced to live with poor connectivity for much of every day. A new feature called HSPA+ Multiflow may offer some relief, "delivering double the data speed and up to 50 percent faster response compared to existing HSPA+ networks," according to Nokia Siemens, which will be demonstrating the technology at Mobile World Congress later this month. Essentially, Multiflow allows compatible devices on the edge of a cell to connect to two sites simultaneously, letting your device send and receive data between two base stations at once. Multiflow will be available as a software update for Single RAN systems, so it could make its way to a cell site near you just after Nokia Siemens flips the switch during the second half of 2013. Full PR is just past the break.
High school senior kills cancer with nanotech, still can't legally drink
Ever ask yourself, "What am I doing with my life?" No? Well, a little existential crisis is in order then. Because while you and the rest of Team teen America were busy dressing like Gaga, dancing to the Bieber and playing Angry Birds, high school senior Angela Zhang was killing cancer. Yes, this 17-year old medical prodigy from Cupertino was just awarded the Siemens Foundation grand prize -- a $100,000 payday -- for her work "Design of Image-guided, Photo-thermal Controlled Drug Releasing Multifunctional Nanosystem for the Treatment of Cancer Stem Cells." It's certainly a mouthful, but this nanotech is what one fellow researcher's calling the "Swiss Army knife of cancer treatment," as her gold and iron-oxide nanoparticle does double duty delivering the drug salinomycin to a tumor site, in addition to aiding MRI and photoacoustic imaging. If that's not impressive enough, this real-life lady Doogie Howser's also won Intel's ISEF grand award in both 2010 and 2011 for other health science-related work. Sure, Angela might inadvertently fall into the overachiever category, but girlfriend definitely deserves to win that Prom Queen crown.
Nokia Siemens Networks looks to unload WiMax division onto NewNet Communication
WiMax expansion isn't exactly all the rage as of late, and so it comes as no surprise that Nokia Siemens Networks is shedding itself of the extraneous baggage. Following its recent whopping round of layoffs, the move is a continuation of the company's efforts to bring stability to its bottom line. NewNet Communication Technologies has agreed to bring the castoff WiMax technologies into its fold, along with approximately 300 NSN employees -- all for an undisclosed price -- in a deal that's expected to be finalized before year's end. A full press release follows the break.
Nokia Siemens makes multi-carrier HSPA+ hurtle at 336Mbps
It's easy to shrug off technical achievements like this while real-world data speeds still lag so far behind. Nevertheless, the adrenalin junkies at Nokia Siemens Services insist their latest HSPA+ platform will be commercially available to carriers by the end of next year and, to prove it actually works, they've been demoing at PT Expo Comm in Beijing. The technology uses the latest 3GPP standardization to hog eight 42Mbps frequency channels at the same time, delivering a peak throughput of 336Mbps. Sure, it doesn't come close to the 1Gbps speeds we've seen from Ericsson with LTE-Advanced, but if it gets here first we'll have it. [Thanks, Alan]
Nokia Siemens gets into the dongle and router racket, hitches a ride on TD-LTE
At PT/Expo Comm Nokia Siemens officially decided to dip its toes in the 4G dongle and router waters, unleashing the USB-lte 7210, the CPEi-lte 7212 and the CPEo-lte 7210 on the public. The three different devices all use TD-LTE to hit speeds of 102Mbps down and 51Mbps up. The USB-lte (pictured on the right) is, obviously, a plug-and-play USB modem for getting your laptop (or desktop, we suppose) online using a cellular network. The CPEi and CPEo are 4G routers, with WiFi radios and Ethernet jacks that allow you to spread the 4G wealth. The difference being the CPEi is designed for in-home use, while the "o" in CPEo stands for "outside." Pricing and availability are still a mystery but, since no carriers here use the time division-duplex flavor of LTE, don't except to see them land on American shores. Check out the PR after the break.
Volvo and Siemens team up to build better electric engines
Electric cars are finally starting to make a dent in the market, but they've got a long way to go before you'll find one in every driveway. Thankfully companies like Volvo and Siemens are working hard to improve EV technology and grant Mother Earth a bit of a reprieve from our pollutant-spewing rides. The two manufacturers are collaborating on vehicles equipped with electric drive motors, in particular Siemens's C30 DRIVe. Tests will begin later this year, with 200 vehicles set to be delivered in late 2012 for evaluation under "real-life conditions." Check out the PR after the break.
Siemens shows off iPad-controlled homeConnect appliances
You use your mobile device for pretty much everything these days, right? So why not the kitchen? That was part of Siemens' pitch today at IFA -- the ability to control your cooking and dish washing from afar. The company debuted homeConnect, a "networked kitchen," which lets homeowners check on their energy consumption, shut down appliances remotely, receive notifications when the washing is done and view the contents of their fridges in real time -- with the help of internal cameras trained at the food. By downloading recipes from the internet, users can also import temperature and cooking times. This isn't the first time we've seen some kitchen-based connectivity, of course -- LG debuted the similar smartphone-based Thinq line at CES earlier this year. %Gallery-132133%
Nokia Siemens Networks chooses a suitor: its own shareholders
A lot of marriages hit rough patches from time to time, and it's no different for companies and their shareholders. The last three months have likely been especially tumultuous for Nokia Siemens Networks as it played the field, conducting a review to assess potential private equity interest. In the end, however, NSN determined the grass was indeed greener on its own side. According to the press release (found after the break), it concluded that "the current shareholders are in the best position to further enhance the value of the company." Given that NSN's reported three successive quarters of year-on-year growth, the troubled relationship appears to be out of hot water for now -- we just hope the shareholders are willing to kiss and make up.
Siemens DA36 E-Star glider takes serial hybrid to new heights
It's not exactly Wonder Woman-ready, but this little glider is already a star. A collaboration between Siemens, Diamond Aircraft, and EADS, the DA36 E-Star, being billed as the "world's first serial hybrid electric airplane," has taken to the friendly skies and is now on display at the Paris Air Show. The two-seater, which boasts a serial (or series) hybrid electric drive, similar to that found in the Chevy Volt, is currently a two-seat affair, but is intended to pave the way for passenger planes, and could eventually cut emissions by 25 percent. Along with a decrease in fuel consumption and subsequent emissions, the plane is also nice and quiet. So what's next? Scientists are working on a new motor that could make the drive five times lighter. Hey Siemens, give us a call when it gets inflight-WiFi. Full PR after the break.
Nokia Siemens Networks looking for a date, despite some baggage
Well it appears the big dreams of the Nokia / Siemens joint-venture have gone adrift. WSJ reports the parent companies are mulling options to sell a majority stake in Nokia Siemens Networks. While both Nokia and Siemens insist they're not actively seeking suitors, leadership suggests the deal could provide $2 billion to the equipment provider that's been losing money since its founding. NSN has experienced a rough patch lately, with the news of AT&T's buyout of T-Mobile hitting particularly hard -- especially since the partnership had banked on helping T-Mo expand its HPSA+ network. While the equipment provider remains optimistic of its $7 billion contract with LightSquared, things could get tricky if the LTE start-up opts to purchase capacity from existing carriers. Even though NSN doesn't appear desperate, perhaps there's $2 billion up for grabs in some boardroom somewhere. Any offers? Anyone? Bueller?
Siemens creating portable sensor to warn about asthma attacks, breathe deeply until it ships
We all wheeze a little from time to time, at least we do when we've fallen off the fitness wagon and are trying desperately to climb back on. For some it's a little more serious than that, and for those prone to dangerous bouts of asthma Siemens AG has a bit of hope. It's developed a portable sensor that can detect minute increases of nitric oxide in a patient's breath, particles that serve as a sign of an impending asthma attack. The user can then use that information to ingest the correct amount of anti-inflammatory meds. The device is said to be about the size of a cellphone, though unfortunately Siemens didn't specify a model. Like, are we talking a Veer here or a king-sized Nexus S? Inquiring minds want to know.
Motorola temporarily banned from spilling Huawei secrets to NSN, could affect $1.2B sale
Well, that didn't take long at all: in response to Huawei's lawsuit yesterday over concerns that Motorola could tell its dirty secrets to Nokia Siemens Networks in the wake of their $1.2 billion unit sale, a judge in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has issued a temporary ruling banning Motorola from disclosing any Huawei proprietary information to NSN. Technically, we suppose that doesn't prevent the sale -- which the two companies had hoped to close in early 2011 -- from going through unabated, but in reality it probably does since there's no clean way for the transfer to happen without including information that Huawei had previously shared with Moto. We're sure this will take a little time to work itself out, but for the interim, looks like Huawei's gotten its wish.
Huawei sues Motorola over concerns it'll reveal secrets to Nokia Siemens
After tying off a $1.2 billion deal last July, Motorola and Nokia Siemens Networks -- the new owner of Moto's telecom infrastructure business -- have had a little roadblock thrown in their way courtesy of China's Huawei. Turns out Moto and Huawei had a partnership in place that involved the former reselling the latter's equipment, which necessitated some rather cozy information sharing -- and now Huawei's concerned that Motorola might be turning over some or all of that intellectual property to NSN as a part of the sale. You'd think this is the sort of thing that would've been squared away prior to inking a ten-figure deal, but Huawei says that it "had not been given assurance that Motorola would not transfer proprietary information" over to NSN, one of Huawei's fiercest rivals in the infrastructure biz... so you can kinda understand their concern. More on this as it develops.
Long Term HSPA Evolution specs come together, promise speeds of 650Mbps -- and T-Mobile USA is on board
Thought the alphabet soup of modern wireless standards was confusing enough? 1X Advanced / EV-DO Advanced, UMTS, HSPA, HSPA+, dual-carrier HSPA+, EDGE Evolution, LTE, LTE-Advanced, WiMAX, WiMAX 2... we could keep going, but we'd really rather not. Oh, but we have to, because this one could get really interesting: Nokia Siemens is touting that the specifications for Long Term HSPA Evolution have just been submitted to the 3GPP, promising theoretical speeds in excess of 650Mbps -- a number that still falls shy of the ITU's definition of a 4G standard, but easily eclipses just about anything shy of LTE-Advanced or WiMAX 2. Interestingly, T-Mobile USA is specifically mentioned in Nokia Siemens' press release as supporting the developments, a testament to the fact that the carrier is firmly committed to wringing everything it can out of legacy 3G standards before moving on -- just as they're already doing with their aggressive 21Mbps HSPA+ rollout. Considering that present-day LTE tops out somewhere in the 300Mbps to 400Mbps range, we can't say we're opposed, especially since the new technology will be backward compatible with today's HSPA networks. Yes, granted: "Long Term HSPA Evolution" is a terrible name considering that LTE already stands for Long Term Evolution (and LTHSPAE isn't the slickest acronym anyway) -- but we'll worry about naming logistics closer to launch, which is still years off. See the full press release after the break.
BMW Designworks USA flexes its eco muscle with Siemens Inspiro subway concept
BMW Group's Designworks USA -- where have we heard about those folks before? Ah, yes, that's the crew that's responsible for Thermaltake's Level 10 PC case, and we're desperately hoping that this concept has an equal (or greater) level of success in the open market. The subway car you see above is purportedly 97.5 percent recyclable, with an aluminum chassis, vivacious hues and a ridiculously spacious interior. It's being labeled the Siemens Inspiro, and it's on track to show up in Warsaw's Metro Warszawskie just over a year from now. No word on where to sign up for conductor dutie, though.
EU providing $21 million grant to IBM and others, funding research into cloud storage
Clouds are beautiful things that fill our skies with wonderment, and as it turns out they make awfully good places to store our precious data, too. In that way European Union wants to make them even better, providing a €15.7 million (that's $21.4 million US) research project called Vision Cloud. It's set to tackle a number of related storage issues, including the ability to run applications within cloud storage, proper auditing and access restriction, and mobility of said data, so that it can be accessed from anywhere. IBM's Haifa, Israel think tank is going to be leading the effort, while Siemens and SAP will be playing nice too. Really, when you're getting paid to think about clouds, how would it be possible to not play nice?
Siemens pumps streaming audio to hearing aids with miniTek remote
See that tiny black box? It's a streaming audio hub, designed specifically for the hard of hearing who have Siemens earphones buried in their lobes. Connect special Tek transmitters to traditional TVs and stereos, or hook it up directly to a phone, audio player or PC over Bluetooth or 3.5mm jack, and the matchbox-sized, two-ounce remote will wirelessly stream stereo audio from two devices for up to five hours a time. (It's also apparently got an integrated coil for induction loop audio.) Just don't expect it to come cheap -- it's a medical product, you know. [Thanks, Klaus]
Apple, Siemens and Sisvel patent infringement leads to CeBIT booth raid
Mama always said that some folks just never learn, and we reckon there's plenty of wisdom to be had from that very statement. Year after year, German police are called in to raid select booths at CeBIT (and IFA, to be fair), and yet again we've seen a booth cleared out at the request of powerful lawyers from a few companies you may have heard of. Word on the street has it that Apple, Siemens and Sisvel were all kvetching over patent infringements made by an unnamed company exhibiting at last week's show, and within an hour or so of the fuzz showing up, the whole thing was stripped and a hefty fine (€10,000) was levied. Unfortunately, the exact details of who was violating what remains clouded in mystery, but for whatever reason, we get the feeling that something extremely similar will be going down in Hannover next year. We blame KIRFers determination. Updated: Turns out one of our editors at CeBIT saw this whole situation go down at the FirstView booth. Within minutes the entire booth was surrounded by the Polizei, and though we tried to dig further on the situation our inability to speak German caused some communication issues so we decided it best to move on to the next craptablet on the floor. We will, however, always have the shot above to remember the confusing experience. [Thanks, TheLostSwede]
Siemens gurus hit 500Mbps with white LED lights, dare you to blink
You know what's better than wireless power? Nothing, frankly. You know what comes darn close? Wicked fast transmissions through thin air. Researchers from Siemens have just shattered their own record for wireless data transfer using white LED light, hitting a whopping 500Mbps while working in collaboration with the Heinrich Hertz Institute in Berlin. The old record sat at "just" 200Mbps, but the new speeds are helping to take Visible Light Communication from a hopeful technology to a serious contender in the space. These same researchers were also able to show that a system using up to five LEDs is capable of beaming out data over long distances at up to 100Mbps. We're told that the IEEE has been toiling tirelessly since 2007 to standardize activities in this field, and while a late 2010 completion date is currently being penciled in, we're not holding our breath. Anyone remember how long it took 802.11n to escape "draft?"[Thanks, Mademoiselle Y]
China Mobile, Nokia Siemens team up to show first TD-LTE femtocell
LTE's being designed to support deployment in both frequency division (FD-LTE) and time division (TD-LTE) modes depending on bandwidth allocation and the legacy network that's being upgraded, and in China Mobile's case, they're looking at possibly rolling out a mix -- TD-LTE makes for an elegant and inexpensive upgrade path when you're starting with another tech with "TD" in its name, TD-SCDMA. Carriers around the world are looking to lean heavily on femtocells to boost LTE footprint out of the gate, and to that end, China Mobile has teamed up with Nokia Siemens -- a company that's been pushing a number of "world's firsts" lately -- to show off the first functional TD-LTE femtocell demo by streaming video over a base station in the carrier's labs. It's still a ways off yet before customers will actually have these tucked away in the corners of their homes, but it's a step in the right direction.
