Mobile number portability still on track for Q2 launch

Over dinner recently, my friend was ranting about her angst with a local mobile telco provider and, in the end, she decided to jump ship to its competitor. After the new contract was signed, she sent a text message to her all friends so they would be aware of the change in number. A scenario like this where users flock to cheaper price plans or better service from competitors is common fare on our island-state. There's just a tiny drawback: The change in number.

That's probably one of the main reasons many are looking forward to the number portability database in the second quarter this year. According to Frost and Sullivan research analyst Siu Keat Chak, number portability will benefit both existing operators and eventual entrants. Siu added in the January 2007 research paper that the barrier for subscribers to switch carriers will be lowered and may lead to further price-based competition with a potential increase in new customers for the operators.

Unlike the current number retention system which is more like a forwarding service, "true" number portability will allow users to switch carriers without changing their current line or signing up for a new one. Besides getting to keep their own numbers, subscribers can also look forward to more market competition among the operators, which end consumers could benefit from eventually.

Singapore's not the only country looking at a centralized database for mobile subscribers. Malaysia expects its number portability plan to be completed by end this year. South Korea and Taiwan also announced similar plans back in 2004 and 2005, respectively.

So are you just holding out until the system is in place? Or will you stay loyal to your telco operator till the end?

Picture credit: M1

Centro launched in Asia with new(ish) color

As expected, the Palm has launched its entry-level PDA-phone, the Centro, in our region. First announced in Europe and then later exclusively to AT&T in the US, this GSM device will be sold in a shade of white with gray numeric buttons over here in Asia Pacific. We first caught a glimpse of all the colors of the Centro from a training site for retailers and this version was one of the five shown there. So that's three down, leaving only the dark blue and red ones to be announced.

This product has been announced for Hong Kong and Singapore. In Singapore, it will go on sale on March 6, most likely to coincide with the start of the annual electronics fair here, the IT Show. At S$598, it's inexpensive for a PDA-phone if you need only the basics and can live without 3G and Wi-Fi. One thing's for sure, it's the cheapest one when compared with other touchscreen-enabled handhelds with QWERTY keyboards, so that's a plus.

Palm has not confirmed exactly which countries it will be available in but told us only that it "may be launched in more countries in Asia Pacific". Check with your local Palm office if you are dying to find out when you can get your hands on one.

MWg's Atom V slated for early March release

It's been a while since the last Atom handheld was made available in Asia. The O2 Atom Life was announced more than a year ago in January 2007.

Thus, we were looking forward to today's launch of the Atom V, MWg's first handheld product release since the company was formed late last year to take over O2's device business in the region. (Note: The "V" in Atom V stands for the Roman numeral 5, not the alphabet V. According to MWg, Atom V is the fifth Atom product, after the original Atom, Atom Pure, Atom Exec and Atom Life.)

The Atom V, which will retail for S$998 in Singapore, offers a similar feature set as the Atom Life. There will be HSDPA, wireless LAN, quadband GSM and Bluetooth, as well as a 2-megapixel camera and QVGA touchscreen display. What's new on the Atom V will be an integrated GPS, a slimmer sub-15mm profile and new, sleek design. (Read our first take on the Atom V here.)

According to MWg's press release, there will be three to six new products planned for 2008, including the Zinc II which will be due out in the second quarter of this year. The Atom V is expected to be available in the rest of Asia-Pacific markets between mid-March and mid-April.

Color me Centro

Palminfocenter uncovered this image of a series of five GSM Centros all in different colors on a training site for Palm retailers. When the company first announced this model for the European market during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the color shown was the matte black one. AT&T in the US also recently announced its version, which is the one on the far right--the white one with green numeric keys.

With an Asia-Pacific launch imminent, which color do you think we will get? The dark blue one in the center, the white one with a partially gray keypad or the striking red one? Let us know which one you'd like to see here, or if you honestly couldn't care less.

Concept mobile Internet search device way cool

If this concept Internet search device by designer Mac Funamizu takes off, we'll probably see many people up in arms protesting about privacy invasion.

It's like having Wikipedia wherever you go, but way cooler and more advanced. The artist's impression is for the said portable device to have a touchscreen panel, built-in camera, scanner, Wi-Fi connectivity, Google Maps and Google Search capabilities, etc.

The screen will probably double as the camera viewfinder, so it's like looking through a piece of transparent glass. And when you point it at an object, the device will be able to show you more details about it--such as the name of an insect, a car model, or food on the table--on the screen. We suppose at this point of time it will use the onboard Wi-Fi to grab information off the Web.

A concept like this isn't new. We've written about it before, but Funamizu's rendition takes it up a few notches. While it's great to have information at our fingertips, it's not so fun if someone were to point the device at us.

Ya know, we prefer to remain anonymous.

Via Tuvie.com

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