td-scdma
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Nokia says "yes" to TD-SCDMA, has S60 phone in the works
By all accounts, China will eventually end up with LTE along with the rest of the world -- thank goodness -- but in the meantime, there's a hodgepodge of 3G techs brewing in the Far East including a healthy dose of the country's homegrown TD-SCDMA "standard." Not to worry though, denizens of the world's most populous country; turns out you won't be stuck with domestic handsets and the occasional Samsung or Motorola to get your high-speed fill. Nokia has mentioned at Macau's Mobile Asia Congress this week that it has a strong commitment to TD-SCDMA (and with a market that big, it's pretty hard to ignore) -- but what's more, they're hard at work on an S60-based smartphone for TD-SCDMA that will see launch by the end of 2009. With that kind of talk, the Sprints, Verizons, Bells, and Teluses of the world have to be screaming bloody murder that they can't bother to do the same for good, old-fashioned, well-established CDMA -- but then again, the North American market is still a little bit of a mystery to Nokia, isn't it?
ZTE's U990 does Windows Mobile for TD-SCDMA
Outside of China, TD-SCDMA isn't going to do you very bloody much good -- but inside China, it's just about the best thing going right now for 3G data. That makes devices like this here ZTE U990 particularly useful if you happen to be in the area, offering the People's Republic's oh-so-special flavor of high-speed wireless in an attractive package loaded with Windows Mobile 6, GPS, and EDGE roaming. The U990 also happens to be ZTE's very first Windows Mobile device, a surprising revelation for a manufacturer that currently sits at number six in the world for production volume. Look for it to launch into the retail chain "soon" -- which in corporate doublespeak could mean "tomorrow" or "2010."[Via wmpoweruser.com and cellular-news]
China Mobile could deactivate 3G / WiFi on iPhone 3G launch
Currently, over 400,000 unlocked iPhones are roaming around China. Now that China Mobile is about to officially launch Apple's latest handset in the world's most populous country, we can only imagine that figure going up. In a bizarre twist of trying to keep a homegrown 3G standard (TD-SCDMA) alive, the carrier has announced that it is intending to launch the mobile with WiFi and 3G disabled -- a move that would make it less appealing to those who may be considering buying one, unlocking it and using it on the expected W-CDMA network from China Telecom. Uncool, China Mobile. Very uncool.[Via mocoNews]
Lenovo's IdeaPad U8 makes official Olympics debut
Well, there it is, the Lenovo IdeaPad U8 launched official at the Beijing games just as we expected. With the launch come the final specs for this Asia-only MID we've seen incubating now for months: 4.8-inch touchscreen; the latest, sub-3 watt processor from Intel (uh hem, that'd be a Silverthorn-class Atom); 350-grams and 21 x 173 x 84-mm; up to 2GB memory and 6GB flash storage; dual-cameras; support for China Multimedia Mobile Broadcasting (CMMB) digital television via that protruding USB dongle; and 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, EDGE data and China-specific TD-SCDMA 3G, presumably. Expect to see it trotted out tomorrow as Intel's San Francisco IDF gets underway -- with any luck, it'll be sporting WiMAX for a North American / European release.[Via Pocketables]
China Mobile opens "experience shops" as TD-SCDMA softly launches
We knew good and well China Mobile was all geared up to launch its homegrown 3G standard in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Shenzhen (among other locales), and though China's government hasn't issued 3G licenses yet, TD-SCDMA has finally made its soft launch. In order to garner interest in the service, said carrier has also opened up "experience shops" in the aforementioned cities "to allow the public to experiment with TD-SCDMA handsets and gain confidence with TD-SCDMA's capabilities." During the initial launch, some 60,000 dual-mode TD-SCDMA / GSM handsets and 15,000 data cards will be on sale in these outlets, with most of the units being in the "mid- to high-end range" and costing between $286 and $572 (those are subsidized prices). Here is where we suppose China Mobile holds its breath and hopes for things to take off.[Via mocoNews]
Motorola L800t gets FCC blessing on way to China's TD-SCDMA
Remember that rumored L800t that got outed as part of Motorola's Asian lineup for '08 not long ago? We still can't really confirm that it's called the L800t, but we can confirm that the device itself is real thanks to an FCC approval -- and really, that's all that matters, isn't it? This unassuming candybar should mark Moto's first foray into China's budding TD-SCDMA network that hopes to eventually blanket the country's metropolitan areas with a proprietary form of 3G. The next question, naturally, is why the phone has found its way into American labs when it'll be biding its time over in Beijing, and the answer is pretty simple: we've got EDGE data on the 1900MHz band here, so theoretically, it could be used (with reduced performance) in the States -- just don't expect any high-speed action out of it.
China Mobile delivers production 3G network in time for Olympics
A nice, thick blanket of 3G might still be years away for China, but who the heck knows -- if they can keep fast-tracking it like they're doing here, maybe they can tighten up that schedule just a teensy bit. After kicking off a trial... like, whoa, this month, China Mobile has already blessed a large enough swath of its nascent TD-SCDMA coverage to deliver some 15,000 compatible Samsung handsets, data cards, and 3 million yuan (about $430,000) worth of minutes to the Beijing Olympic Games' organizing committee this week. It's said that the hardware will be doled out to staff and volunteers helping to get the Games in order, giving them something to do with their leisure hours (we suppose) as they put the finishing touches on the many event venues spotting the city, and presumably, China will be working hard to play up its technological achievement come game time later this year. If you can call a proprietary 3G protocol that lags its CDMA and WCDMA competition by years a "technical achievement," anyway.[Via mocoNews]
Chinese 3G still two years away from widescale availability?
Despite ongoing trials and a groundswell of government and carrier optimism that the system would be ready in time for the Olympics this summer, at least one analyst is thinking that retail availability of China's homegrown 3G TD-SCDMA standard (and the equipment to take advantage of it) is still years away. The logic's pretty simple: historically, GSM trials have tended to last 12 to 18 months, and there's really no reason that the TD-SCDMA players would be able to effectively and reliably get it done any faster. Plus, network build-outs and handset developments take plenty of time, so they've got some work ahead of 'em. The outspoken analyst, working for Ernst & Young's global telecommunications group in Beijing, also thinks that China might end up awarding licenses for WCDMA (the underpinnings of UMTS) and CDMA2000 at the same time that TD-SCDMA licenses are handed out -- which begs the question, why'd they go through this whole rigmarole of developing their own standard to begin with?[Via Slashphone]
China Mobile firing up TD-SCDMA trials this April
We've been hearing that China Mobile would have its act together and get TD-SCDMA ready well in advance of the 2008 Beijing Olympics since last November, and with merely months to spare, it seems things just may work out. Reportedly, the carrier is all set to begin commercial trials of the home cooked 3G standard on April 1st, where it will be tested in Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenyang, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Qinhuangdao and of course, Beijing. Initially, China Mobile Group will provide 20,000 lucky souls with free TD-SCDMA phones and subsidies of 800 yuan per month, while folks outside of that group can also walk into retail outlets and pick up discounted handsets on a whim. Maybe it's just us, but we'd probably hold off until those guinea pigs gave everyone else a heads-up of the network quality before we went dropping our own change on it. [Via mocoNews]
China Mobile, Inventec have TD-SCDMA Windows Mobile phone in the works
When customers finally get to rush in on networks running China's homegrown TD-SCDMA 3G standard next year, it looks like there'll be at least one honest-to-goodness smartphone in the mix. China Mobile has revealed that Inventec has supplied it with the S876 for testing, a Windows Mobile 6 Professional device rocking a 2.4 inch touchscreen, 3 megapixel cam with autofocus, touch wheel navigation, and dual-mode support for seamless switching between TD-SCDMA and GSM -- especially important considering that the new network will only be available in 10 markets to start. Seeing how this is the largest carrier in the world's most populous country, getting 3G devices in the pipe seems like an automatic boon for anyone involved -- let alone the network's first Windows Mobile-based smartphone -- so we suspect the S876's arrival in the second quarter of next year is going to make it a darned good time to be an Inventec employee.[Via the::unwired]
China's TD-SCDMA deployment may be ready in time for Olympics
While most of the world plods along with WCDMA and EV-DO based networks to serve up 3G, China likes to do things its own way -- largely to avoid licensing fees -- by cookin' up TD-SCDMA. TD-SCDMA isn't commercial yet, which explains why the overwhelming majority of handsets targeted at the billion-strong Chinese market continue to this day to top out with 2G data. Unfortunately, launch dates have been pushed back time and time again; a full-scale launch isn't expected in 2007 at this point, though China Mobile reports that it's on target to complete networks in eight cities by year's end. That is good news, since it means that there's still hope for China to be able to showcase its shiny, new, royalty-unburdened technology by the time the Summer Olympics roll into Beijing next summer. ZTE and other domestic manufacturers (and some foreign ones, too) seem at the ready to deliver equipment into consumers' hands, so it's up to the carriers to get those towers up and running on the double. In other words: if you work for China Mobile, we think you have better things to be doing right now, don't you?[Via mocoNews]
Samsung SGH-T578H: world's first TD-SCDMA HSDPA / GSM multi-mode handset
We knew NXP and T3G were working on an automatic handover between TD-SCDMA and GSM, and now both firms are buddying up with Samsung to gloat about the unveiling of the "world's first" TD-SCDMA HSDPA / GSM multi-mode handset. The celebrated mobile is being dubbed the Samsung SGH-T578H, which is equipped with a software-defined modem capable of achieving data transfer rates of 2.8Mbps. TD-SCDMA network deployments have already been completed in ten major cities in China, and it should be upgraded to support Release 5 (HSDPA) of the TD-SCDMA standard in time for users to enjoy streaming content from the Beijing Olympics. Regrettably, there's no mention as to when the aforementioned mobile will be released, but we're sure this trio won't let it go unnoticed should that day come.[Via MobileTechNews, image courtesy of 163]
T3G, NXP develop automatic handover between TD-SCDMA and GSM
It sounds like the days of dropped calls and endless frustration when leaving TD-SCDMA coverage and entering a GSM realm are nearing an end, as Beijing's T3G Technology and NXP Semiconductors have introduced the "world's first voice automatic handover of multi-mode TD-SCDMA and GSM/GPRS/EDGE in a handset." Just as it sounds, the technology will provide bi-directional on-the-fly, automatic handovers between TD-SCDMA and GSM networks, and any equipped mobile can "automatically scan for available networks" and switch over when necessary "without any adverse effects." Apparently, the two firms have already validated the claims on a number of Chinese network environments, but we've no idea how soon this peace making creation will get rolled out to the masses.
Qualcomm spat may slow 3G rollout, says Nokia
While Nokia and Qualcomm continue various spats and other legal nonsense to the nth degree, the future of 3G may be at risk. Well, not really -- but Nokia says it could very well slow things down, and mobile WiMAX and other technology that Qualcomm can't claim exclusive license to may be a possible answer. Qualcomm may be in for a bit of shock as the world's transition to 3G technology will mean more and more reluctance to pay any entity royalties. One thing seems clear here -- these two companies don't seem eager to settle on anything these days.[Via mocoNews.net]
China recruits 3G standards from other countries
And we thought China's government was pretty solid on deploying TD-SCDMA as the 3G wireless standard of choice in the billion-plus country. It's kinda scary when a single carrier there has more wireless subscribers than the entire US population. Anyway, the Chinese government has had a change of heart it seems, and will be allowing foreign 3G standards into the country's wireless landscape. Why? It appears that forcing more innovation in its own homegrown wireless standard by opening up the market to competing standards -- WCDMA and CDMA2000 among them -- may light some fires under the status of current homegrown deployments.[Via MobileBurn]
LG demos phone for China's TD-HCDMA
In a country dominated by one-off alphabet soup oddities like DMB-T/H, EVD / VMD, and TD-SCDMA, it only stands to reason that China would once again shun global standards when time came to re-up data speeds on its cellular networks. TD-HCDMA, also known as HSDPA TDD (you writing this all down?), is the backward-compatible spiritual successor to TD-SCDMA, raising peak downstream speeds from 384kbps all the way up to 2Mbps on the same fragment of bandwidth. Having filed patents for the tech now in China, Korea, and the US, LG has now become the first manufacturer to demo equipment utilizing the bizarro new standard -- just video calls and whatnot for now, but they're apparently well on their way to commercial viability in early 2008. The idea is apparently to have the network totally good to go in and around Beijing by the time the Olympics hit, but something tells us no one from outside China is going to be toting compatible equipment. [Warning: subscription required]
China delays homegrown 3G rollout to Q4 2007
With China having just finalized their TD-SCDMA specification the skids were greased for a quick 3G deplyment, right China Mobile? Not so, big boy. After four years of waiting, the 1.3 billion Chinese will have to wait just a bit longer -- China's state controlled media is reporting that 3G testing has been extended into Q4 of 2007. While that's bad news for the 400 million or so current Chinese subscribers, it especially difficult for chip and handset makers who were counting on tapping that new revenue stream as early as Q1 of this year by some estimates -- a stream measured in tens of billions of dollars. On the flip side, that means 3G-enabled iPhone and BlackBerry clones will be delayed at least another 9 months as well... so it's not all bad news.[Thanks, Eric]
