UK to free up old spectrum

Old mobile phone frequencies in the UK could get a new lease of life thanks to proposals by regulator Ofcom, reports BBC News.

The telecommunications watchdog wants to loosen restrictions on who can use the portion of spectrum currently reserved for second-generation mobiles.

By opening it up, Ofcom hopes to boost 3G coverage in rural areas and speed up mobile downloads.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has acquired game developer Evolution Studios, and its subsidiary Bigbig Studios, to further expand its game development capabilities, says vnunet.com.

Evolution is based in Runcorn, England, and is the developer of MotorStorm, the million selling number one hit title for the PlayStation 3.

Evolution established its reputation as the successful developer of the World Rally Championship series on PlayStation 2, and is working on the next instalment of the MotorStorm franchise for PlayStation 3.

Nokia, the world's largest maker of mobile phones, has unveiled the first phone that can provide voice calls both over conventional GSM networks, as well as via wireless local area networks, reports X-bit labs.

While the Unlicensed Mobile Access technology deserves applause, its wide adoption is under question, as it does not have obvious benefits to end-users.

The new Nokia 6301 cellphone boasts a stainless steel frame, 2-inch 320x240MP screen, 30MB of internal memory, built-in MP3 player, FM radio, microSD card slot, and support for GSM 900, 1800 and 1900 networks.

The "SuperSpeed" USB Promotions Group was announced at the Intel Developer Forum, says PC Magazine. The promotions group will get together with contributors over the next year to finalise a USB 3.0 spec that will, they hope, take care of wired peripheral and syncing needs for another five years or more.

USB 3.0 is built upon, and is backwards-compatible with, the USB 2.0 "high-speed" spec. It would be generous to even call the specifications "early" at this stage, but the group still had lots of information about how USB 3.0 will work and what features it will provide.

The spec should be finalised sometime in the middle of 2008, with initial devices available in 2009, and broad deployment by 2010.