Cellphones lose buttons

Pilotfish and Synaptics have released a prototype no-buttons cellphone, BusinessWeek Online reports.

The device, which is said to understand signs and hand gestures, opens and closes applications when swiped by one or two fingers. It also picks up a call when lifted to a cheek.

"The goal of this concept was to show people a completely different way of designing and making a phone," says Mariel Vantatenhove, senior product line director at Synaptics. "We think that the market is ready for some sort of change."

SanDisk has released the Sansa e280, an 8GB digital music device that can store 10GB of data, says CNet News.

The Sansa player enables people to increase storage capacity and change which songs are kept on the device by inserting different MicroSD cards, the report says.

Worldwide sales of EDGE-enabled phone handsets could reach 148 million during 2006, says TechWeb. The number represents 14% of the total mobile market.

In a report by ABI Research, analyst Jake Saunders says despite the lack of market attention, EDGE has an important role to play in delivering services today and content in the future.

EDGE`s role includes providing near-acceptable mobile broadband, which is the only option for carriers that do not yet have a 3G or 4G licence, the report says.

The Web site of well-known former hacker and security consultant Kevin Mitnick was hacked on Sunday, CNet News reports.

Mitnick says the hackers gained complete control over the server that hosts his Web site, as well as other sites hosted by his service provider, Hostedhere.

"Fortunately, I don`t keep any confidential data on my Web site, so it wasn`t that serious. Of course it is embarrassing to be defaced - nobody likes it," Mitnick says.

Cisco Systems is expected to purchase Arroyo Video Solutions, a video-on-demand start-up company, eWeek reports.

The acquisition, which will cost Cisco $92 million, builds on the products Cisco acquired from Scientific-Atlanta and could help the networking company address changes in the paid TV market, the report says.

"The nature of on-demand programming is changing. Cable operators used to be able to offer 100 choices that would get updated every couple of months, but consumers are soon going to expect millions of titles anytime they want them," said Paul Bosco, VP of video and cable initiatives at Cisco.