4G Phone Calls: Clear As MP3
Phone calls on your mobile 4G phone could sound as clear as an MP3 or CD.
At the Mobile World Congress the inventor of the MP3 format, Fraunhofer, will demo 4G phone calls in stereo CD quality over a 4G cell network. As well as improving the quality of phone call audio, the innovation could bring a welcome quality boost to audio and video streaming services that phone operators offer.
Fraunhofer says its new AAC Enhanced Low Delay codec gives CD quality audio with very low coding delays and bit rates. It’s said to even perform well under adverse network conditions.
Such a boost in phone call quality could make mobile conference calls much easier to understand and less painful to attend. But then maybe there’s no technology that can do that…
NTT DoCoMo To Demo 4G Phone
Japanese mobile phone company NTT DoCoMo will demo a prototype 4G phone based on LTE technology later this month, according the company’s handset partner NEC.
The 4G demo will take place at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which starts on February 15.
While 4G modems are starting to go on sale around the world, voice 4G phones have yet to appear in the marketplace. NEC says NTT DoCoMo will demo streaming high resolution video across a 4G network at the Mobile World Congress on a 4G phone joint developed by Fujitsu, NEC, NTT DoCoMo and Panasonic.
4G Cars – You Car Will Get a Better Mobile Connection Than Your Phone
4G connected cars have been a big thing at tradeshow CES in Las Vegas, with car companies falling over themselves to demonstrate how mobile broadband internet access is a coming reality in cars.
While most concept cars use a standard 4G mobile phone connection to stream videos, traffic info and maps to cars, Alcatel-Lucent has been showcasing a custom Toyota Prius with its own built-in 4G / LTE mobile connection, effectively turning the Toyota into a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot.
Speeds quoted have been five times that of 3G – at almost 15 Mbps. On occasion, speeds have hit 56 Mbps download and 25 Mbps upload.
Mobile games are also on the cards. The founder of Game company GameStreamer said, “People passionately enjoy games and are already actively playing them through Internet connected devices such as PC’s, consoles and mobile phones. We felt enabling video games in a connected car was a natural addition to these devices and one game players will welcome with open arms.”
But let’s hope that doesn’t happen while they’re driving :-)
Although the 4G car remains only a concept for now, Alcatel-Lucent is busy building the Verizon 4G network – aiming to have the entire United States covered by 2013.
4G Crashes Cable TV
We all know that 4G phones provide blisteringly fast mobile internet connections but did you also know 4G phones can crash your cable TV set top box?
Astoundingly, “experts” seem to have only just realized that cable TV boxes operate on the same frequency spectrum as LTE 4G technology. Any 4G phone which is near to a set top box may cause interference or make the box crash and need a restart.
Luckily, there’s nothing decent on TV these days anyway.
T-Mobile Adds Voice to 4G Phones
Deutsche Telekom, known outside Germany as T-Mobile, have announced the first voice call using 4G LTE technology.
While other mobile operators have gone down a purely IP based technology – where voice calls are sent using VOIP (think Skype) – T-Mobile / Deutsche Telekom has been working on something it calls VoLGA (Voice over LTE via Generic Access).
It claims the system is a cheaper solution that needs little in the way of hardware upgrades. A spokesperson said, “The VoLGA test shows how operators could quickly and easily provide next generation voice services, re-using their existing core networks.”
The 4G Blackberry
Not only have the makers of the Blackberry phone, RIM, have announced they’re working with China Mobile to supply the Blackberry to the Chinese market but it seems the company will be working on a TD-LTE / 4G version of the phone.
China Mobile has been trialling 4G for some time but up to now only HTC phones have been able to run on it. In the US, rumors have been circulating that RIM is planning a 4G Blackberry for the MetroPCS network.
4G Chips from Qualcomm
Mobile phone chip maker Qualcomm has announced it’s now providing a new family of wireless chipsets (MSM7x30) that combine 3G and 4G technology to help phone carriers move to 4G phone networks.
Among the first companies to test the new technology are LG Electronics, Sierra Wireless and ZTE. Qualcomm expects the new chips to be available in commercial products by mid 2010. Android, Brew, Symbian and Windows Mobile operating systems will all be supported.
The 4G Car
Soon the must-have option for new cars won’t be a sunroof or leather seats – it will be ultra high-speed, high-bandwidth 4G connectivity. At least, that’s the claim of NG Connect, a consortium of companies that recently showcased a prototype Toyota car with 4G internet.
Led by Alcatel-Lucent, the group also included names like Atlantic Records. The aim is to deliver unlimited music, video, maps, etc. to moving cars, via 4G. It could even be used to send information from shock sensors to help city authorities know where to repair potholes.
The Toyota prototype comes soon after the Mercedes-Benz 4G car. The first commercial 4G car is expected to hit the roads in 2012.
