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‘Smart Skins’ and Linux enable new wireless phones

Mar 18, 2002 — by LinuxDevices Staff — from the LinuxDevices Archive — 3 views

Kirkland, WA –(press release excerpt) — Wildseed, formerly GITWiT, today announced the unveiling of its Smart Skins on the first working prototype of the Smart Skin-enabled phone at CTIA Wireless 2002 in Orlando, Florida. Smart Skins are the first intelligent faceplates that contain smart cards and deploy software to wireless phones for features and applications that reflect the specific content themes of the skins.

Intelligent faceplates are a new media vehicle for the wireless industry. Smart Skins package music, sports, games, celebrities, and fashion themes as well as other intangible value-added services enabling carriers to earn new recurring revenue. In addition, Wildseed will launch game-specific skins with extra buttons that effectively turn the phone into a game console for a robust gaming experience. Each Smart Skin has an embedded smart card that automatically deploys software to the phone when the skin is attached. When subscribers upgrade their wireless experience and phone style by purchasing a new Smart Skin, carriers can profit from the high margin sale, instead of subsidizing the sale of a handset or settling for the accessory-only revenue of a traditional static faceplate.

Wildseed's software is based on Linux, and it will be available for use in handsets supporting GSM GPRS, Qualcomm's CDMA 1XRTT and legacy TDMA.



 
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