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Fring keeps adding new phones to the list of supported devices. Lately we caught them adding support for the Nokia N78 and N96.

Existing users of the two devices (even though there are not that many Nokia N96 owners at present) will be able to extend the usefulness of their smartphones with one of the most popular Symbian VoIP clients. In addition, fring users can chat with their buddies on multiple IM networks or run some of the third-party fring Add-ons…

To download fring, hop over to their website and take it from there.

[Via: fring blog]

When the premier data network in the US takes a nose-dive, people pay attention. Especially those people that were left without data access for hours.

AT&T, reeling from the enormous bad-press generated by a multi-state data network outage on the East Coast, left us all hanging with their promise to find out exactly what caused 3G and EDGE data users to go through wireless data-withdrawal. Today, AT&T spokesperson Brad Mays told Ars Technica that the network has been repaired and that the root of the data network outage has been pinpointed. “There was a routing issue affecting some wireless data use in the Northeast region.  AT&T technicians determined the cause and restored service at 11:56 a.m. EDT,” said Mays. “Voice calling, text messaging and BlackBerry email were unaffected.”

That’s it folks. No downed cell towers, no massive power losses. AT&Ts’ data network blackout was caused by a simple routing issue.

Now, if AT&T could move on to shoring up their 3G infrastructure to help support the flood of iPhone 3G demand…

[Via: ArsTechnica]

EQO has announced that it is one of the first mobile applications to support the BlackBerry Bold, releasing an enhanced version of its mobile VoIP, multi-network IM and mobile messaging software for RIM’s latest smartphone.

Using EQO, BlackBerry users will be able to chat with all of their IM buddies or stay in touch with friends, family and business contacts using EQO’s cheap mobile VoIP and free texting application.

The BlackBerry Bold takes the “EQO experience” to the next level by enabling users to:

• Multitask like never before - voice and data services can now run simultaneously.
• Using the Bold’s built-in WiFi connectivity, EQO users can automatically switch from 3G to Wi-Fi whenever they’re in range of a hotspot.
• Chat faster thanks to device’s full QWERTY keyboard.

EQO is a free application, and you can download it by visiting the official website or by pointing your mobile browser to m.eqo.com.

GyPSii, the “mobile digital lifestyle application and geo-mobility social networking platform,” announced that it has signed an agreement with Nanjing MyNet Ltd to make the GyPSii mobile social networking platform available to customers of China Mobile.

Under the terms of the agreement, the parties involved will share revenues from both subscriptions and advertising as the market evolves and matures.

Reaching the vast subscriber base of China’s leading mobile operator, China Mobile, is obviously a big deal for GyPSii, and the company’s CEO Dan Harple used the opportunity to comments: “This new relationship expands GyPSii’s reach deep into the Chinese mass market accessing the largest global subscriber base, and represents yet another material deal for GyPSii. With our growing global footprint, our extensive language support, and our unmatched infrastructure and resources worldwide, GyPSii is blazing a trail in the fast-growing market at the intersection of geo-location and mobile social networking.”

As for MyNet, they provide mobile services and applications to China Mobile’s more than 600 million subscribers.

Zimbra has recently announced availability of Zimbra Mobile for iPhone 2.0.

Zimbra Mobile provides over-the-air (OTA) two-way synchronization of e-mails, multiple calendars and contacts between user mailboxes and mobile devices, and enables seamless “push” e-mail service for all versions of Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS) Network Edition Standard or Professional, including the most current version, ZCS 5.0. Zimbra Mobile for iPhone 2.0 software allows iPhone users to maximize their business functions on the iPhone, complementing Apple’s recently added support for Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, PDF, JPEG and iWork. Additionally, Zimbra Mobile for iPhone enables OTA photo-sync, so photos associated with iPhone contacts will sync with the Zimbra address book as well.

The newest version of Zimbra Mobile for iPhone for Zimbra Collaboration Suite 5.0.9 adds support for synchronizing multiple calendars and address books, while optimizing push email performance at the same time. It [Zimbra Mobile] is available as a component of either ZCS Network Edition Standard or Professional, and has an annual site license fee starting at $500.

Users can test Zimbra Mobile for iPhone through Zimbra’s Hosted Demo.

Sure, 100Mbps worth of downstream data is something we’d all like to see in the near future. Imagine cruising the wireless airwaves at speeds faster than we see with wireline broadband services. Yup, the 4G LTE networks of the future are most definitely going to be fun.

Getting 100Mbps data speeds from a particular cellular tower is easy enough. But, what happens when you’re cruising along at highway speeds and jumping from cell site to cell site? That’s exactly the question that Nortel and LG sought to answer with their latest LTE 4G network test. The two companies tested the  3GPP Release 8 Standard with an early LTE mobile phone hopping across multiple cellular sites.

The test is a milestone for 4G LTE networks around the world. The two companies successfully handed over the LTE cellular signal between multiple cell towers, showing to the world that LTE is slowly but surely marching towards a viable commercial release in the next few years.

After all, what good is all that wireless data if you can’t get at it in a moving car?

[Via: MobileCrunch]

AT&T has been struggling to keep up with demand on its data network since the launch of the iPhone 3G. Tests and speculation have all but absolved the iPhone 3G of any inherent defect as the root of sluggish data network performance on AT&T’s 3G network. At this point, AT&T’s recently upgraded 3G network is seemingly to blame for problematic 3G performance.

This morning, AT&T added some icing to their bitter 3G-cake when the No. 1 US wireless carrier’s data network took a nose dive. Reports indicate that AT&T customers on the East Coast saw their local 3G and EDGE networks go completely dark for 10-12 hours. The data network outage affected Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Illinois and Missouri - leaving users without access to emails and unable to surf the web. The voice network was still operational, allowing for text messages and voice calls.

Customers posted complaints about the AT&T data network outage on AT&T support forums and Apple forums , with some customers reporting success in getting a credit of $20-$30 from AT&T.

AT&T says that they are looking in to the cause of the data network outage.

[Via: AP]

There’s nothing like a little website-leak to get our juices flowing. Engadget Mobile got their hands on some juicy details for Sprint’s upcoming WiMAX-based XOHM Mobile Broadband service and we’re rearin’ to get a chance to test the high-speed wireless service!

We’ve been waiting for Sprint to go live with their XOHM service for ages now. And, in the face of formal opposition from various carriers in the US, Sprint is moving forward with their WiMAX plans.

Working under the assumption that their Clearwire partnership will be given the go-ahead from the Feds, Sprint has apparently started developing a XOHM Member website that details the service and hardware that customers can expect to see when the service goes live in the near future (hopefully nearer than not). A bit of link-hacking uncovered all the juicy details on Sprint’s XOHM service, but the website has since been locked down. It seems Sprint doesn’t want their juicy bits splashed across the web until they’re darn-tootin’ ready.

We know that the Sprint’s XOHM service could go live in September. The website lists the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition Internet Tablet, a XOHM USB modem, a XOHM expresscard modem, and a XOHM wireless router with ethernet hub that should all work with something called the XOHM Portal.

Details are slim at this point - considering the above info wasn’t intended for public consumption yet, it makes sense that pricing and availability data isn’t up to par. We aren’t going to hold our breath for XOHM launching this month, but it sure would be nice to see 2-4Mbps downstream and 1-3Mbps upload data speeds before the end of 2008!

[Via: EngadgetMobile]

Touted as the “Apple’s MobileMe more affordable alternative,” MailPronto offers hosted exchange, hosted e-mail and managed e-mail services for the iPhone users. Their idea is to compete with MobileMe by making the product cost less — that’s both in case you need an individual account or you’re purchasing the service for the entire company.

MailPronto is $8.95 a month per e-mailbox, and it’s based on the tried-and-tested Microsoft Hosted Exchange platform. Like MobileMe, MailPronto provides real-time e-mail exchange, so e-mailing happens seamlessly and instantaneously. MailPronto also manages all e-mail-related services, plus it stores calendar and contact information through its online server. Real people — as opposed to recorded messages or automated customer service — assist MailPronto customers with their needs. This gives MailPronto yet another competitive edge in its industry, making it a leader in exceptional, efficient and cost-effective dedicated service.

MailPronto’s additional customer benefits include Free Outlook 2007 Software, Free Virus and Spam Filtering, Free ActiveSync for Treo/PocketPC, Free Outlook Mobile Access, and 2GB of Mailbox Space. Plus, MailPronto’s Hosted Exchange service is fully compatible with Outlook 2003, Outlook 2007 and Entourage. In addition to iPhone, the service works with BlackBerry and Windows Mobile devices… More information is available on the official website.

Nokia has recently unveiled the global Ovi.com website to bring all of their web services — including Nokia Maps, Share on Ovi and Files on Ovi — under one brand.

In the other Ovi news, a new service called Sync on Ovi was also launched to enable both S60 and Series 40 powered Nokia mobile phone users to easily sync their contacts, appointments, and notes with Ovi. The benefits of the new service are obvious — users can easily manage their PIM data from a web browsers, and then sync the data with all their Nokia phones.

Sync on Ovi is free to use, though your mobile operator will charge you for all the data transfer you make along the way.

[Via: MobileBurn]