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Cell phones have been transformed from mere telephones into handheld computers capable of a variety of tasks, such as supporting e-mail, surfing the Web and transmitting video. Consequently, handset vendors have been focused on enhancing their products' software capabilities, which means adding more support for software development tools to the devices and convincing third party software suppliers to develop applications for them...

Changes are afoot in many enterprises as more and more of them switch from traditional voice connections to Voice over IP (VoIP) services. Market research firm Gartner found that three out of every four PBX lines sold in 2005 were VoIP links; that number is expected to grow to more than four out of every five this year ...

The drumbeat of support for WiMax products has begun to sound a bit more loudly. In August, Sprint Nextel became the largest domestic carrier to throw its weight behind the next-generation wireless option ...

Shareholders approved last week the merger of Lucent and Alcatel, a deal first announced in March. The pairing is one of a handful that has taken place in the telecommunications equipment market since the year began. The changes underscore the diminishing vitality of the telecom equipment market and serve as a precursor to additional consolidation in the coming years...

A growing number of consumers are walking around with a cell phone for voice communications and a laptop for data connections. Soon, that may no longer be necessary, as handset vendors are delivering new devices and carriers are rolling out new services that support both cellular and WiFi connections ...

Across the U.S. -- and in fact throughout the world -- municipalities are adding broadband WiFi to their list of services. Improving their own communication infrastructure, bridging the digital divide, making the community more attractive to business and bringing a few extra dollars into city coffers are among the reasons governments are moving into this area. Berge Ayvazian, executive vice president at market research firm the Yankee Group, expects spending on these networks to increase from less than US$50 million in 2005 to more than $150 million in 2006...

Users want to keep their data safe from outsiders but they do not want their securitysecurity to make their computing experiences tedious. Vendors often find it difficult to maintain that delicate balance, but that could change if a new encryption technique gains momentum ...

Enterprises have armed themselves with a bevy of management and monitoring tools. These products calculate bandwidth utilization, gauge system response time, and identify system and network bottlenecks. Yet amid all the information gleaned, for many firms a simple question often goes unanswered: How is our IT infrastructure performing? ...

Enterprises have begun to recognize that instant messaging can be a useful tool to help improve employee productivity. The ability to instantly determine where an employee, supplier or customer is at any time, coupled with the tools to exchange information with the person instantly, can cut down on response time, reduce errors, and improve customer satisfaction...

Companies are seeing e-mail usage grow at exponential rates. While the rise in e-mail use can improve employee productivity, it also presents challenges to IT staff, many of whom are struggling to keep pace with the rapid increases as related management, security and storage tasks increase. Some are looking at e-mail outsourcing options as possible solutions...

The battle plans have been laid, and the combatants are poised to attack. After months of mystery, the big three game console makers -- Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo -- have each revealed their next-generation gaming machines. Whether the coming market showdown will result in any dramatic reshaping of the market remains to be seen, but most industry watchers expect the leaders to maintain their positions -- at least for now...

Handheld devices now tie top executives to corporate e-mail systems and application servers. Since this capability allows mobile workers to be better informed and more responsive, companies are thinking about expanding their reach. As usage spreads, more formal metrics are being put into place to determine whether or not these changes help the bottom line. Some hidden costs may force companies to at least pause and in some cases reign in their expansion plans...

Cell phones have been steadily morphing into portable computers that busy executives are using to keep in touch with clients, suppliers and co-workers while on the go. Now, after passively watching this market take hold, Microsoft has decided that it wants to become a key player, an attainable but not an inevitable goal ...

To some, it might seem like an unlikely pairing: wireless handset chipsets and mobile application development tools. To Qualcomm, however, it is a match that makes sense and is starting to have an impact on the wireless data industry ...

Cell phones have been transformed into handheld computers capable of supporting e-mail, Web surfing, and video transmissions, which has necessitated the development of more sophisticated cell phone operating systems. After a number of failed attempts to emerge as a significant force in this market, Microsoft appears to be gaining ground with its Windows Mobile platform...

As the future of video gaming services comes into focus, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony are all enhancing their online gaming services in a bid to offer gamers richer, more challenging interplay experiences than they can find when playing just by themselves. What is not as easy to discern is how the suppliers will make money from these services, however. "Vendors are experimenting with a number of subscription models with the goal of finding one that appeals to gamers and works financially for them as well," said Michael Wolf, a principal analyst with market research ABI Research...

Convergence is a common theme among telecommunications and cable television suppliers. These companies think that by offering a portfolio of bundled voice, video and data services they will be able to gain customers and increase their market share. This desire has created a ripple effect in the network equipment market where vendors have focused on developing new IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) set-top boxes...

The Internet has made it simple for consumers to shop and in some cases to find the best deal when making a purchase. Comparison shopping engines collect information, such as product pricing, feature set and shipment costs, from various vendors, and then present that data to users ...

E-mail systems such as Microsoft's Exchange had been considered moribund technology, but recently they have been revitalized. "Because corporations are now using e-mail to streamline a variety of communications, including instant messaging and Web conferencing, they are moving away from simple Web based e-mail systems to more sophisticated enterprise packages," said Peter O'Kelly, research director at market research firm Burton Group...

At one time, users had to buy Ethernet adapters, install them in their desktop computers, and then upgrade them as they moved to a faster version of the networking option. Now when users buy a desktop system, it comes with an integrated adapter that supports a variety of transmission speeds. A similar transition is beginning with 3G wireless data services...