Partnership for “smartphone on wheels”

Alcatel-Lucent and Toyota are touting in-car multimedia technology as the future of mobile broadband, reports TheStreet.com.

Working with Toyota and QNX Software, Alcatel has built what it describes as an "LTE connected car," bristling with a vast array of Internet applications.

The 2010 Prius has four touch-screens, two in the dashboard, and two behind the front seats, which offer a wealth of different services. "We wanted to show what is possible with next-generation mobile networks," Derek Kuhn, vice-president of emerging technology, said during a technology demo in New York.

Start-up ReVolt Technology is developing rechargeable zinc air batteries, a technology it says promises longer runtime for consumer electronics and plug-in vehicles, states CNET News.

The Switzerland-based company, which was spun out of a Norwegian research institute five years ago, anticipates commercialising rechargeable coin-size batteries next year.

But the technology has the potential to be a cheaper and more energy-dense alternative to lithium-ion batteries in consumer electronics, grid storage, and transportation, according to CEO James McDougall.

Microsoft and the Taiwan government have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly set up a research centre for cloud computing in Taiwan, the US-based software giant said in a statement, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Microsoft and Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs will establish the 'Software and Services Excellence Centre' on the island within a year, Microsoft said in the statement, without disclosing the size of its investment.

Microsoft said the venture is aimed at helping local contract makers of electronics products develop devices and services related to cloud computing. Barry Lam, chairman of Quanta Computer, the world's largest contract notebook maker by revenue, said in late October the company will focus on developing and making cloud computing servers in the coming years.