Google Has Even Bigger Plans for Mobile Phones

Google Inc. made a big splash last week with its new software for cellphones. But that's far from the limit of the Internet giant's wireless ambitions -- which could include running its own mobile network.

The company is gearing up to make a serious run at buying wireless spectrum, a chunk of the airwaves that can be used to provide mobile phone and Internet services, in a Federal Communications Commission auction in January. Google is prepared to bid on its own without any partners, say people familiar with the matter. It is working out a plan to finance its bid, which could run $4.6 billion or higher, that would rely on its own cash and possibly some borrowed money.

Google, meanwhile, already is running a test version of an advanced wireless network at its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters, gaining operating experience that could come in handy if it wins the spectrum and decides to run a full-scale national mobile carrier, according to people familiar with the matter.

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Wilmington, Delaware, Residents to Benefit from Verizon Wireless Network Expansion

In a continuing effort to provide the best wireless service for local residents in Wilmington, Verizon Wireless, the leading wireless company with the most reliable voice and data network, has expanded its network with a new cell site. The new site increases coverage and capacity along Route 13 north to Haines Avenue and west to East 28th Street, and along I-495 south to the Christiana Avenue overpass.

This network expansion is part of the company's aggressive multi-billion dollar network investment each year (more than $1 billion every 90 days) to stay ahead of the growing demand for Verizon Wireless voice and data services. The company has invested more than $170 million this year to enhance and expand its network in southeastern, central and northeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware, bringing the network investment in the region to more than $1 billion since 2000.

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ASUS P527 Phone

GPS navigation is not one of those things most users consider to be crucial in a PDA-phone, at least not in the same way as features like W-Fi and Bluetooth are. But even though most consider it to be a bonus rather than a requirement, it is surprisingly found in quite a few entry-level devices even when high-end ones give it a miss.

Examples will be devices from Mitac and E-Ten, companies which tend to put a GPS chip into every handset they sell, even the 2.5G ones. Another of these manufacturers is Asus, and a good example is its upcoming P527 handheld.

Like the Asus P525 before it, the P527 comes with a numeric keypad. This makes it easier to punch in phone numbers for dialing and even for keying in text compared to writing on the screen. It also eases in users switching over from regular mobile phones as most of those have numeric keypads as well.

As mentioned earlier, the P527 will come with GPS for navigation. This utilizes the SiRFstar III chip, that we've generally had good experiences with in other devices like the Dopod U1000 and Mitac Mio A501.

Like many other Windows Mobile PDA-phones, the P527 comes with quite a few wireless connectivity features. Granted, it's doesn't have HSDPA or 3G, but all others like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are available. A bonus is the inclusion of an FM tuner.

Other notable features of the P527 are a 2-megapixel autofocus camera, a microSD slot with support for SDHC cards, and a 2.6-inch QVGA display. It is also reasonably compact with a thickness of 15.4mm and weight of 125g.

The Asus P527 will be available in Hong Kong and Taiwan at the end of November. Thereafter, it will be sold in Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, India and Turkey.

Nokia NM705i Mobile Phone for NTT DoCoMo

Check out this shiny new phone from Nokia: the Nokia NM705i. Of course, the chances of you getting your hands on this phone is remote, unless you happen to be in Japan. Available to NTT DoCoMo customers, the NM705i is designed to work on the FOMA (WCDMA 2100MHz) network as well as WCDMA 800/850. A quad-band GSM phone, it will also work pretty much everywhere else in the world. There's an FM radio on-board.

Compliant with Bluetooth 2.0, the phone supports quite a few profiles like: Audio Streaming, Audio/Video Remote Control Profile, Dial-up Networking Profile, File Transfer Profile, Generic Access Profile, General Audio/Video Distribution Profile, General Object Exchange Profile, Handsfree Profile, Headset Profile, Object Push Profile and Serial Port Profile.

The Nokia NM705i recently gained the FCC's approval as well, but there's no word on the pricing or availability.