Toshiba and Siemens to develop videophones

Following on from our recent story about next generation LCD screens, it has been announced that Toshiba and Siemens are to work together to produce video-capable mobile phones. According to the Japanese business newspaper Nihon Keizai, without revealing its sources, the two companies are in talks and will make an announcement at the end of the year. The impetus behind the deal is Toshiba's advanced video compression technology and Siemens' extensive distribution network. ...more

Orange peels off into fixed line business

Orange is aiming for convergence by offering fixed line telephone services in addition to its mobile operations, a first of its kind in the UK. Orange Landline for Business will provide fixed services to new and existing Orange mobile business users, and will - claims Orange - deliver call charges at up to 20 per cent less than BT. It is part of the company's strategy to provide 'communications whenever, wherever and however' for customers. ...more

Call centres pinpointed for ID theft

Employees at Indian call centres routinely sell personal financial information that is being used to conduct fraudulent Internet transactions, according to a report by Australia's national broadcaster. An investigation by ABC Television's Four Corners programme saw reporters offered PINs, passport numbers and credit card details. It also found that people were asked for information - notably passport numbers - that they were not required to provide. ...more

AOL revamps its Search

AOL, the world's biggest ISP has added a range of new features to its search offering. The new features are aimed at making it easier for searchers to drill down to the results they are after. As is the fashion these days, AOL Search has dropped the tabbed layout in favour of a cleaner design. ...more

Metrowerks supports developers targeting Nokia Series 60

Metrowerks, the software development tools specialist is to provide an all-in-one developer kit for Nokia's Series 60 Platform. It has extended its venerable and well-respected Code-Warrior environment to support Nokia's platform for smart phones. Included in the new CodeWarrior Wireless Development Kit for Symbian OS, Nokia 3650 Edition is the newly released Series 60 SDK for Symbian OS, as well as a Development Studio for Symbian OS v2, Personal Edition. ...more