Apple has now proposed a smaller standardized SIM card than is currently used, allowing its iOS devices to be marginally thinner.
UK carrier Orange seems to support the proposal:
We were quite happy to see last week that Apple has submitted a new requirement to (European telecoms standards body) ETSI for a smaller SIM form factor — smaller than the one that goes in iPhone 4 and iPad.
They have done that through the standardization route, through ETSI, with the sponsorship of some major mobile operators, Orange being one of them.
Processing would take some time, but thew first devices using those SIM cards could be out next year.
Result for: telecom
Google has announced today the completion of their purchase of 111 Eighth Avenue in Chelsea, valuing the property at $1.9 billion.
The property is 2.9-million-square-feet and is the biggest deal in 2010 for a single building purchase in the U.S.
Google currently occupies 500,000 square feet in the building, and shares the space with Nike, Lifetime cable, WebMD and many telecoms.
The search giant is said to have won the contract because of its ability to close before the end of the year. The company has already put down a deposit in excess of $200 million.
111 used to be the headquarters for the Port Authority of NY and NJ.
Says Google of the deal:
Google New York started in a Starbucks on 86th Street with one person in 2000—a scrappy, highly-caffeinated sales “team.” After moving to a larger office in Times Square, in 2006 we relocated to our current home in Chelsea, at 111 Eighth Avenue—a former Port Authority building. In June of 2008, we took additional space in the Chelsea Market building at 75 Ninth Avenue. Now we have more than 2,000 Googlers working on a variety of projects in both sales and engineering—and we’re hiring across the board.
Today, we’re pleased to announce that we’ve closed a deal with the partnership of Taconic Investment Partners, Jamestown Properties and the New York State Common Retirement Fund to purchase 111 Eighth Avenue (also known as 76 Ninth Avenue). As part of the deal, we’ve retained Taconic Management Company to continue the leasing oversight services and management of the building on our behalf, providing the same level of customer service the building’s tenants have come to expect. We believe that this is a great real estate investment in a thriving neighborhood and a fantastic city.
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Result for: telecom
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a body of the United Nations (UN), has approved a universal mobile phone charger that will work with all future handsets.
The body says that over 51,000 tons of redundant chargers are used or thrown out each year and that the new energy-efficient chargers will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 13.6 million tons, each year.
Because many companies such as LG and Samsung use proprietary chargers, users throw out their chargers when they switch phones, leading to waste. The new universal chargers would allow users to keep just one charger for years at a time, even if they choose to upgrade their handsets.
“This is a significant step in reducing the environmental impact of mobile charging,” added Malcolm Johnson, director of ITU’s Telecommunication Standardisation Bureau. “Universal chargers are a common-sense solution that I look forward to seeing in other areas.”
The new charger will be micro-USB, used today in most Motorola and HTC handsets. The technology is the same that is used by most digital cameras.
Unfortunately manufacturers have to volunteer to accept the new charger, and it is likely many will not given the amount of money they make off selling overpriced proprietary chargers.
