Espoo, Finland/Berlin, Germany – Nokia and gate5 AG today announced that an agreement has been signed for Nokia to acquire gate5. gate5 is a leading supplier of mapping, routing and navigation software and services. By acquiring gate5, Nokia will offer consumers maps, routing, navigation and other location based applications on its mobile devices.

“Maps and navigation are natural elements to be offered in mobile devices but this area hasn’t developed as fast as expected by the market. Acquiring gate5 enables Nokia to offer consumers the world-leading mobile location applications, such as maps, routing and navigation at an accelerated speed.” said Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Multimedia, Nokia. “The Personal Navigation Device market is in a rapid growth phase with the global market size expected to reach 15 million units in 2006 compared with 8 million units in 2005. By integrating the maps and navigation capabilities into our devices, Nokia will participate in this growth. Nokia Nseries multimedia computers offer people new ways to explore their world – navigation and maps enhance this journey and add to the overall experience.”

gate5 is a leading supplier of mapping, routing and navigation software and services. gate5 was founded in 1999, is privately owned, has its headquarters in Berlin, Germany and has approximately 70 employees. gate5 provides software to leading personal navigation device manufacturers around the world. gate5 solution enables people to enjoy a highly sophisticated mapping and navigation experience offering seamless navigation with breathtaking features such as house polygons, earth browsing and dynamic route guidance. All applications are extendable with more than 5,000 city guides, travel guides or services.

“Our combined expertise means that mobile device owners will enjoy a wide range of location based services,” said Dr. Michael Halbherr, CEO, gate5. “Based on maps and routing functionality, there are countless useful features for mobile users; e.g. travel guides, search what is around you including restaurants, hotels, shops, etc. anything you need in your surroundings. We are excited to become part of Nokia and to be able to take the gate5 technologies and products to even wider audiences.”

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Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) today announced that it had reached an agreement with Finnish company Distocraft Oy to acquire the assets of Distocraft’s business. The company, with 42 employees, specializes in software development for mobile network performance management.

In today’s highly competitive environment, increasingly more focus is being placed on network and service management to reduce costs without compromising quality of service. Performance management systems give operators information about their networks performance, allowing them to improve efficiency and reduce time-to-market.

With this acquisition, Ericsson will expand the capabilities of its market-leading OSS portfolio, addressing both new technologies, such as HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access), IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) and 3G LTE (3G Long-Term Evolution), and multivendor environments.

Kurt Jofs, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Business Unit Access, Ericsson, says: “I am pleased to announce this acquisition. It will further strengthen our ability to support our customers with best-in-class network management, allowing them to focus on the introduction of attractive end-user services.”

Distocraft is based in Lahti and Helsinki, Finland, and is an independent software vendor specializing in software development for mobile network O&M. Its operations are concentrated in the Nordic and Baltic region. The company’s 42 employees will join Ericsson Finland.

Ericsson’s OSS offering is powerful in terms of capacity and is one of the few that can manage an entire network in a single system. Today, about 250 customers are using it worldwide.

The Nokia N80 Internet Edition connects you to your on-line life.

Espoo, Finland – Nokia today announced a way for internet users to interact with some of the web’s favorite services while they are away from their PC’s, in a pocketable, easy to use device. Nokia N80 Internet Edition brings together wireless LAN (WLAN), a rubust browser, support for internet calls, a 3-megapixel camera, and quadband GSM WCDMA coverage along with an easy to use WLAN wizard (to make connecting to the internet easy), and a host of other internet services not previously installed together on Nokia devices.

The Nokia N80 Internet Edition comes out of the box ready to create, connect, consume and interact with some of the internet’s most popular services. Use Yahoo! Search in the Mobile Search application to conveniently search for and find most anything on the web, and use the Mini Map functionality of the internet browser to enjoy the pages you find. Browse through thousands of items at Amazon.com, or scroll though a book with Amazon’s MobiPocket Reader. You can also share your moments online – snap a photo and send it directly from your device to your Flickr site for your friends and family to enjoy too. Connect to the Yahoo! community using the Yahoo! Go for Mobile application. Be it shopping with Amazon, photo sharing on Flickr or simply searching for a restaurant with Mobile Search, the Nokia N80 Internet Edition can provide you convenient internet access when you are away from your PC.

“Mobilizing the internet is a major strategic focus for Nokia and I’m excited to see how people can participate on the internet using the Nokia N80 Internet Edition,” said Ralph Eric Kunz, vice president, Multimedia, Nokia. “The internet has evolved from static web pages to communities and people sharing experiences. I believe it will be multimedia computers, such as the Nokia N80 Internet Edition, that will be primary devices for people to participate in this phenomenon, in addition to PCs.”

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Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S), tglo.com, Inc (formerly known as VoiceGlo Holdings Inc) and Theglobe.com Inc announced today that the companies have resolved their pending patent infringement lawsuit by settlement. In October 2005, Sprint filed a lawsuit against VoiceGlo Holdings (now tglo.com, Inc) and Theglobe.com alleging that the providers of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone services and equipment infringed seven patents owned by Sprint. As part of the settlement, tglo.com and Theglobe.com have entered into a non-exclusive license under Sprint’s patents. The remaining terms of the settlement are confidential.

More details at Sprint.

Leading operator O2 has selected Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) as a sole supplier for its Irish HSDPA-enabled 3G network. Ericsson will also expand and modernize O2′s existing network with Ericsson IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and the Ericsson Mobile Softswitch solution.

Under the four-year agreement, Ericsson will provide new 2G and 3G core network equipment, including mobile softswitch, and upgrade the access network with HSDPA technology. Ericsson will have the prime integrator role and will provide network deployment and systems integration services for building the network. The deployment will start immediately.

O2 Ireland will become the first Irish operator to launch a 3.6Mbps HSDPA network, providing its 1.6 million customers with the most advanced mobile network technology in the world.

Ericsson’s HSDPA solution will enable O2 Ireland to introduce a new generation of mobile broadband services, including mobile TV and video, and mobile-music-related services. With download speeds up to 3.6Mbps, O2 subscribers will also enjoy a richer communication experience.

O2 has taken important steps to an all-IP network. Ericsson IMS and Mobile Softswitch will bring both flexibility and cost efficiency. O2 will be able to offer a richer user experience; with one common system for all broadband services, users will have the freedom to access any multimedia service with the most convenient device at any given moment.
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Sprint (NYSE: S) and Novatel Wireless, Inc. (Nasdaq:NVTL) today announced commercial availability of the country’s first EV-DO Revision A-capable device – the Novatel Wireless S720 Sprint Mobile Broadband Card. This milestone follows Sprint’s recent announcement that it will begin upgrading the Sprint Power Vision(SM) Network — the nation’s largest wireless broadband network currently covering more than 153 million people – to the faster EV-DO Revision A this year.

Designed for operation with compatible laptops as well as the soon-to-be-available Linksys Wireless G-Router for Mobile Broadband, the Merlin S720 will allow customers to connect to the Sprint Power Vision Network and remotely access audio, video and data applications at DSL-like speeds. The card operates on the current Sprint Power Vision Network and will support faster average download and upload speeds (450 -850 kbps and 300 – 400 kbps, respectively) of Sprint’s upgraded network when it becomes available. Sprint plans to begin its roll out of EV-DO Revision A during the fourth quarter of 2006 with coverage expected to reach more than 40 million people by year end. Ultimately, Sprint plans to reach more than 200 million people in the United States with mobile broadband data services in 220 major metropolitan areas by the end of 2006.

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Motorola leverages vast wireless expertise to enable advanced silicon innovation that helps ensure its leadership in cutting-edge WiMAX handsets

LIBERTYVILLE, Ill., Aug. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today announced a strategic initiative to develop mobile WiMAX chipsets for use in Motorola’s next-generation WiMAX devices. This investment in chipset design demonstrates Motorola’s on-going commitment to WiMAX and expands the company’s role as a leader in end-to-end WiMAX solutions beyond infrastructure and handsets to the core implementation of WiMAX in chipsets.

“It should come as no surprise to anyone that Motorola is, and intends to remain, a leader in WiMAX — including the design of silicon chipsets for mobile devices. For some time now Motorola has been investing in the development and deployment of WiMAX — from infrastructure to advanced silicon,” said Ron Garriques, president of Motorola’s Mobile Devices Business. “In our vision of seamless mobility, WiMAX will help transform the mobile communications experience for everyone. Enhanced speed for data, as well as cost efficiencies and network optimization for wireless operators are just some of the benefits that are fueling excitement and accelerated adoption of WiMAX across the industry.”

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Nokia global sales channel to offer Sourcefire’s IPS on hardened Nokia IP security appliances

Mountain View, CA, USA – Nokia (NYSE:NOK), the world leader in mobile communications, today announces plans to offer Sourcefire’s Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) on its portfolio of high-performance IP Security Platforms. Nokia Intrusion Prevention with Sourcefire will provide enterprises with defense-in-depth by analyzing network traffic to discover risks, determine their business impact and take actions to defend the network. This complete network visibility allows companies not only to address existing threats, but to actually prevent some of the attacks that plague them.

Sourcefire’s Intrusion Prevention system leverages open source Snort® technology, which it created and manages. Widely regarded as the de facto standard for Intrusion Prevention, Snort has been downloaded more than three million times and protects many of the world’s most critical networks. Nokia Intrusion Prevention will offer Sourcefire’s technology on Nokia IP Security Platforms, which are purpose-built for security in both traditional and mobile environments, and feature the hardened Nokia IPSO(TM) secure operating system. Offering Sourcefire on Nokia gives customers access to one of the industry’s best Intrusion Prevention technologies backed by the global scale and world-class First Call – Final Resolution global support services of Nokia. More►

Greater China partnership includes exclusive content, first access to newest hits on MOTOMUSIC.COM.CN and Jay Chou branded MOTOROKR E2

At a gala event today, Motorola (NYSE: MOT) announced that Jay Chou, one of Asia’s leading music artists, has been appointed as a Motorola brand ambassador for Greater China. Jay will star in Motorola commercials and advertisements and champion the dynamic music experience delivered by Motorola’s industry leading music-enabled and music-optimized mobile devices. Motorola also established a dedicated Jay Chou space on MOTOMUSIC(1) featuring his ring tones and full tracks, along with music videos, exclusive footage and interviews.

“I am very excited to be partnering with Motorola,” Jay Chou proclaimed. “In addition to offering the coolest phones in the world, Motorola’s dedication to delivering a superior user experience, especially in mobile music, is very important to me, and to everyone who makes music a part of their life. With a Motorola handset, my fans can enjoy music anytime and anywhere.”

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Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) has been selected by the largest mobile operator in the southern hemisphere, Vivo – a company controlled by Portugal Telecom and Telefónica – to provide a future-proof network for its customers in Brazil. The contract includes the Ericsson Mobile Softswitch solution and a GSM/GPRS radio access network.

The initiative is part of Vivo’s strategy to build its own GSM network to further strengthen its leading position in the competitive Brazilian market.

Ericsson was selected as the sole supplier of the core network for voice and data, including the mobile softswitch solution, and as the main supplier for the radio network, covering the states of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Bahia, Distrito Federal, Goiás, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, São Paulo, Sergipe and Tocantins. More►