T-Mobile pushes embedded devices

T-Mobile USA has unveiled an embedded SIM module for machines to help them connect to its cellular network as it looks to tap the growing embedded devices market, reports The Wall Street Journal.

With more than four out of every five consumers owning a cellphone, the wireless carriers are looking for places beyond the cellphone to connect.

The carriers have sung the praises of connecting multiple devices, and T-Mobile USA is the latest to join the chorus.

The European Union parliament, under the impulse of Telecoms Commissioner, Viviane Reading, has approved plans to set lower charges for SMS and data across Europe starting from July, according to ITProPortal.

Members of the European Parliament voted, by an overwhelming majority (646 against 22), for the new EU rules which were proposed by the European Commission back in September 2008 and were strongly opposed by the mobile phone industry.

This means that mobile phone users travelling to mainland Europe will only have to pay EUR0.11 (R1) to send a text message compared to EUR0.28 (R3).

The next generation of Bluetooth will offer faster transfer speeds and should be commercially available in devices in about nine months, InformationWeek reports.

Next-generation Bluetooth technology will be used for far more than just pairing headsets, according to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group.

The group officially introduced Bluetooth 3.0 + high speed and it says the short-range wireless technology will be used for things like bulk transfers of songs to a phone, or sending multiple photos to a printer.