Microsoft, Nokia in Mobile DRM Deal

From Eric Sylvers, IHT:

Microsoft and Nokia, which both make operating systems for mobile phones and compete for control of that market, are coming together in a rare accord in an effort to take advantage of the expected explosion of the sale of mobile digital content in the coming years. Under the agreement to be announced Monday, Microsoft's PlayReady DRM technology - which helps content owners like music companies and service providers deliver digital content while restricting access - will be loaded directly on some Nokia phones beginning early next year.

The market for mobile content - music, games, graphics, video and adult material - will exceed $44 billion in 2011, up from $20 billion this year, the market researcher iSuppli estimates. But many consumers have balked from the beginning at the restrictions put on them with DRM. And some analysts argue that the technology has limited the growth of digital content sales.

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Faster iPhone On Its Way

From ABC News:

AT&T CEO Says Apple Plans to Unveil IPhone With Faster Web Browsing in 2008

AT&T Inc. says it plans to offer a version of an iPhone next year that runs on a faster wireless network so users can get speedier results when surfing the Web.

The move would address one of the main drawbacks about the smart phone made by Apple Inc. and distributed exclusively by wireless carrier AT&T in the United States.

The difference in performance is similar to a dial-up Internet connection versus a high-speed broadband connection.

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Verizon Opens Way to More Options in Handsets, Software

From Wailin Wong, Chicago Tribune:

For years, mobile phone customers have been frustrated with the strange economics of the wireless industry: Consumers could choose the phone they want, or the carrier, but often not both.

But the balance of power now may be shifting, giving consumers much more control over their choice of phones, features and carriers.

On Tuesday, Verizon Wireless, the nation's second-largest carrier, said it planned to open its network to any device or application that meets certain standards. The result means that subscribers will be able to choose from a far broader array of handsets and software for downloading music, watching videos or browsing the Internet by the end of 2008.

Further ahead, assuming software developers and other technology
providers accept Verizon's offer, many more kinds of gadgets will be hooked into the wireless network, ranging from digital cameras to portable gaming systems to
home appliances.

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