Do you design a single device for all occasions or create a separate device to meet the needs of each occasion? That’s a question that’s been confounding phone makers for the last half decade. As our phones become more powerful, they become capable of usurping the functions of other devices: mobile music players, laptops, navigation systems, even television. The phone may be capable of performing these feats, but viewing video, composing a PowerPoint presentation or mapping a crosstown route on a 4-inch screen isn’t necessarily practical or even comfortable.

The subject of the two most recent interactive feature elements is the evolution of the mobile phone and its interface: a feature outlining Texas Instrument’s plans to evolve the mobile phone into a central repository for computing, content and multimedia; and a podcast with The Astonishing Tribe founder Hampus Jakobsson on the how the device user interface will expand beyond the physical constraints of the screen and keypad. more

Aktino, which sells Ethernet-over-copper gear for line-bonded broadband, today announced plans to double the rate/reach performance of its products. Starting in May, Aktino’s gear will deliver “up to 100 Mb/s on just five copper pairs (80 Mb/s on four copper pairs).” On five copper pairs, Aktino’s range for 100 Mb/s is 4,000 feet, the company said. And using eight pairs, the range for 100 Mb/s is 9,000 feet.
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