Telecom companies are breaking down the barrier between phone networks and the Internet, with mobile phones that can surf online at the speed of a broadband connection and portable handsets that hook up to a fixed line or mobile network wherever you go.
Companies unveiled several models uniting mobile and Internet technology at the giant CeBIT technology fair in Hanover this week, reflecting a growing trend of manufacturers equipping phones with voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP).
Taiwanese company BenQ Corp (明基) -- owner of the mobile phone business of German manufacturer Siemens -- presented P51, a phone installed with the Skype program that enables telephone calls through an Internet connection.
South Korean firm Samsung Electronics Co demonstrated a prototype mobile phone that can transmit voice and images via a "Wi-Fi" local wireless Internet connection.
Finnish manufacturer Nokia Oyj also recently unveiled its 6136 model, which allows users to make calls via the Internet in areas that are equipped with Wi-Fi networks.
Mobile network operators have already begun to offer novel services for domestic calls.
In Germany, Vodafone Group Plc and O2 Plc offer reduced charges for mobile calls which are made within a limited radius around the home.
Internet users are set to benefit increasingly from mobile telephones as well, with new models unveiled that allow online surfing on a mobile phone at high speed comparable to that of a broadband connection in the home.
German companies Vodafone and the Deutsch Telekom-owned T-Mobile International AG at CeBIT launched services that offer high download speeds of up to 10 megabits per second.
The technology is currently only available for portable computers, but telephone makers plan to launch mobile phones that can surf the Internet at these high speeds later in the year.
The services use high-speed downlink packet access (HDSPA) technology -- a highly advanced version of the existing universal mobile telephony system (HMTS) which offers far lower speeds of around 380 kilobits per second.
BenQ-Siemens intends to launch its version of this high-speed Internet phone, the EF91, in Europe in a few months, while Samsung and Nokia also have models in the pipeline.
The real future of mobile technology, however, looks likely to be a new breed of all-condition multi-function telephone that adapts to a fixed or mobile network depending on where it is.
Deutsch Telekom AG unveiled its "dual phone" at CeBIT last Tuesday: a handset that serves as both a fixed-line or mobile handset.
Users of the dual phone will be able to make calls through a fixed line inside a building, a mobile phone network outside or via the Internet in a Wi-Fi-equipped zone -- and receive a single bill for all calls.
As many operators race to develop similar devices, Deutsche Telekom announced its TC300 model, while Nokia announced two models -- the E60 and N80 -- to be released in the second half of the year.
British Telecom Group Plc launched the first dual device, the BT Fusion, last year.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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