Nokia smartphone: talk, jam, train

The latest Nokia smartphone offers you three dedicated "modes." The model is the 5500 Sport, and you can set it in Phone, Music, or Sports mode, depending on your needs at the time.

First and foremost, it's a phone, allowing triband GSM 900/1800/1900 functionality and text-to-speech messages for those really on the go. The Music mode gives you a variety of digital music formats and a hefty 1GB worth of memory. In the Sports mode, you can access a pedometer to keep track of the miles you go and the calories you burn.

Look for this Nokia 5500 Sport online and in stores in a few months, with a pricetag of 300 euros.

Orange UK ditch SPV C100 for HTC S310

Over on CoolSmartphone, gears is reporting on a scan of the February Orange catalogue which shows the SPV C100 as being replaced by the HTC S310... the same HTC Oxygen handset, but branded HTC rather than Orange.You know what? He's right too!To the right is an exclusive pic of the dummy units that are now arriving in Orange stores. You'll note it's a white HTC S310, interesting as the Orange catalogue shows a black handset. Could the S310 be offered (as well as the M700) in a choice of colours?The plot thickens!P Thanks steven for the pic! .

7-Eleven Calls Globally

DALLAS -- 7-Eleven consumers can now call friends or family members internationally through the ReVoS PrepaidMobile calling service, which provides unlimited calls to 42 countries including Canada, Mexico, Europe and China, for $19.99 per month. ReVoS stands for "Revolutionary Voice Service," and is a product of RNK Communications. ReVos is sold as an overly to existing pre- and post-paid telephone service plans and works with all U.S. cellular service companies. The service requires no additional equipment or PINs to dial, and has no day or time restriction. The cards can be recharged at any 7-Eleven store. "For our customers who have international calling needs, this may be as big as the prepaid long distance phone cards introduced more than 10 years ago," said Joe DePinto, 7-Eleven's president and CEO.

Ten OEMs drive global chip sales

The 10 largest OEMs consumed a third of all semiconductors purchased in 2006, according to early results from a recent study by Gartner Inc. These OEMs accounted for $84 billion of the global semiconductor market in 2006, compared to $77 billion in 2005.

Average chip spending by the top 10 OEMs grew to $8.4 billion in 2006 from $7.7 billion in 2005, according to the Gartner report, titled, "Top 10 Semiconductor Consumers, 2006 Preliminary Estimates."

Hewlett-Packard remained the top chip consumer in 2006 with approximately $12 billion in semiconductor spending, but Nokia and Dell were close behind at more than $11.5 billion each, reported Gartner (Stamford, Conn.). Samsung and Sony rounded out the top five, followed by Motorola, Siemens, Toshiba, LG and Apple.

Strong growth in cell phone and communications applications contributed significantly to the increase in semiconductor usage, noted Gartner research director Alfonso Velosa.

State to ink deal with Cellular South for cell phone service

Cellular South expects to sign a deal in four to six weeks to become the sole provider of cell phones to Mississippi state government agencies as well as city and county government for the next five years.

The contract will cover wireless voice and data service, said David Litchliter, executive director of Mississippi Information Technology Services.

"We don't know yet how many people will use it. We'll need to finalize rates, discuss devices and negotiate for what agencies can do if they have to work in a dead zone.

"We're going to end up with a better rate structure and be better on a per-user rate," Litchliter said.

A report by the State Auditor's Office for the budget year that ended June 30, 2004, found cell phones used by state employees cost taxpayers at least $2.5 million.

New VoIP Service for Cell Phones

Avi Shechter, co-founder and CEO of Fringland Ltd. (Fring), could be on to something big with the launch of a cheap Internet-based phone service that runs over mobile networks. But the Israeli entrepreneur could also be in for the fight of his life with mobile phone network operators determined to protect their cash-cow voice business from virtual service providers.

"I believe Fring brings value for users," Shechter said in an interview on the sidelines of the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, adding that the low-cost service will have an impact on the voice business of mobile phone network operators.

Fring didn't have a booth at the show but if you ran into Shechter, he was more than happy to demonstrate the service.

The former co-general manager of instant messaging company ICQ Inc.