briefbabble; iPhone, Helio, T-Mobile UMA, Clearwire VoIP, Femto Forum, GrandCentral

Some key announcements from the week past; iPhone release, Helio funding, T-Mobile’s GSM/ WiFi handset, Clearwire wireless VoIP, formation of the Femto Forum, and Google’s purchase of GrandCentral.

So just in case you missed it, the iPhone was launched on Friday. Estimates of half a million sales have been made, and despite some minor activation issues the consensus is that the iPhone is a fantastic device that will change the direction of mobile phones forever. Bizarrely enough, some of the first iPhone users decided to break it apart to see what was inside! Rumors of a UK launch with Vodafone are now being reported.

US MVNO Helio is set to receive US$100m injection joint founder SK Telecom, an equal amount is expected from the other founder Earthlink. This is not too much of a surprise given forecast estimates of a loss between US$330 – US$360 million for the 2007 FY.

T-Mobile launched its dual mode GMS WiFi handset in the US with an offer of unlimited calls via WiFi. The release comes after T-Mobile recently began blocking VoIP traffic from mobile VoIP provider Truphone. The T-Mobile product is targeted at the mobile carrier gaining share of the fixed voice market by offering a replacement service using VoIP via WiFi. The product uses Unlicensed Mobile Access technology to allow GSM / WiFi handovers, for a quick review of UMA see here.

Clearwire the US WiMAX operator has begun offering wireless VoIP services. Consumers use their existing analogue handsets connected to an Internet phone adapter. The service is initially available in Texas.

The Femto Forum, an operator and vendor non-profit association, has been formed to promote Femtocell deployment worldwide. Founding members include Netgear and Ubiquisys (who recently announced a jointly developed Femtocell product) and recently NASDAQ listed company Airvana.

Google has acquired GrandCentral. GrandCentral provides US consumers a service to have a single inbound telephone and voicemail service that links to up to 6 phones. The inbound number never changes and can be configured to provide call features normally seen on business key systems. The Google acquisition ads to their existing voice directory service Goog-411.