Guest squall Posted February 18, 2004 Report Posted February 18, 2004 INVENTOP announced in January that they will be releasing an application which will allow owners of Bluetooth enabled smartphones to have conversations with other Bluetooth phones. The Bluetooth communication will give a result similar to web chat rooms, allowing groups of friends or strangers to communicate without having to give out telephone details, and without the need for an internet connection. INVENTOP ProximityMail smartphone introduces a new feature to cellular phones called ProximityMail proximity contact. It’s like a mobile chat room or newsgroup that allows anonymous, public or private proximity communications. It enables users to create groups, subscribe (or not) to those of interest without knowing a specific user’s phone number or email address. When two users want to connect directly, they can use a simple Texto-Me(SMS) and Call-Me one-click button. ProximityMail™ transforms Bluetooth enabled devices into a localized community-messaging network. It incorporates Inventop’s Patent-pending BluePing Network™ technology, which enables hassle-free peer-to-peer networking, expanded Bluetooth effective range well beyond 10 meters, instantaneous “random area networks”, and powerful communications capabilities for cellphones and other devices. The full press release can be seen here Since the announcement was made there has not been a great deal of publicity around the topic, however it is possible this could be a new market for not only the smartphone range, but mobile phones in general. The application is due out in the first quarter of 04, so sounds like something to look forward to!
Guest James Posted February 18, 2004 Report Posted February 18, 2004 is this just for smartphone or is the app multi platform? also i assume you will both need to be near some post of bluetooth hub for long ranges.. Posted from my SmartPhone!
Guest peekie Posted February 19, 2004 Report Posted February 19, 2004 saw this article on zdnet uk its about nokias and bluetooth but it could happen also to the smartphone full report bellow Nokia has admitted that some of its Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones are vulnerable to "bluesnarfing", which is where an attacker could read, modify and copy a phone's address book and calendar without leaving any trace of the intrusion. Following networking and security firm AL Digital's revelation that at least ten handsets from Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Ericsson were vulnerable to a bluesnarfing attack, a Nokia spokesperson told ZDNet UK that the company is aware of "security issues" relating to Bluetooth devices that "makes it possible to download and modify phone book, calendar and other information on the phone without the owner's knowledge or consent, if Bluetooth is turned on." However, the spokesperson said the attack was only possible if the phone was in 'visible mode' where it is set to actively search for other Bluetooth devices. The company admitted that a bluesnarf attack "may happen in public places, if a device is in the 'visible' mode, and the Bluetooth functionality is switched on. The phones vulnerable to 'snarf' attack include the Nokia 6310, 6310i, 8910 and 8910i phones as well as devices from another manufacturer." According to Nokia, if an attacker had physical access to the 7650, the bluesnarf attack would not only be possible, but it would also allow the attacker's Bluetooth device to "read the data on the attacked device and also send SMS messages and browse the Web via it." The company said it had not been able to recreate this "backdoor" attack on the 6310, but would not confirm if the other models were vulnerable. Nokia also admitted that its 6310i handset is vulnerable to a Denial of Service attack when it receives a "corrupted" Bluetooth message: "A DoS attack would happen if a malicious party sends a malformatted Bluetooth... message to re-boot a victim's Nokia 6310(i). We have repeated the attacks and found that there are some corrupted Bluetooth messages that could crash the Nokia 6310(i) phone," said the spokesperson, who sought to reassure customers by saying that following the crash, the phone will reset and function normally. Nokia will not be releasing a fix for the devices in the near future because it said the attacks are limited to "only a few models" and it does not expect them to "happen at large". The company advises customers in public places to set their phones to "invisible" or switch the Bluetooth functionality off: "In public places, where the above mentioned devices with Bluetooth technology might be targets of malicious attacks, at least in theory, the safest way to prevent hackers is to set the device in non-discoverable mode -- 'hidden' -- or switch off the Bluetooth functionality. This does not affect other functionalities of the phone," the spokesperson said. A Sony Ericsson spokesperson told ZDNet UK the company is "looking into" the matter and expected to make a statement on Tuesday. hope this will not affect the e200 the only smartphone with bluetooth at the moment :cry: :wink: :wink: original from http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/wir...39145886,00.htm
Guest spacemonkey Posted February 19, 2004 Report Posted February 19, 2004 It's not 100% clear what devices they are looking at, but it sounds like they are going to make their client for a number of platforms to get the widest audience possible. As to longer range... what I interpret from the press release is that you get more range by going VIA other cellphones. So I want to talk to my friend john who is 100m away. The message goes Me->Rick->Carla->Jane->Bob->Willy->John. So basically as long as a lot of people have their bluetooth discoverable and are running this app then it forms a big crazy peer to peer network... Not entirely sure how that will affect things like battery life when you are actively transmitting info for other people... but it sounds cool.
Guest squall Posted February 19, 2004 Report Posted February 19, 2004 its an interesting idea, cant wait to try it in a club. From what i gather they are releasing or planning to release version of the software for several types of phone, including Symbian. Ive read is will work up to 100m but i would be surprised if you actually got more than 50-57m as for battery life, id buy one of these wind generators :wink:
Guest ferret Posted February 19, 2004 Report Posted February 19, 2004 Due to the crap range of the e200, why not just talk to the other people as they'll have to be in the same room. :wink:
Guest Scarfman007 Posted February 19, 2004 Report Posted February 19, 2004 Yeah - imagine the situation. My friend is 10m away from me - do I go and speak to him or chat to him in a bluetooth chatroom? Having said that I'm sure it'd be good if enough people got in on it :) ! (100m+ range) Scarfman
Guest Crispy Posted February 19, 2004 Report Posted February 19, 2004 why not just talk to the other people as they'll have to be in the same room? My question exactly ... :roll:
Guest phonesmarts Posted March 5, 2004 Report Posted March 5, 2004 Whynot chat? you waste your breath by talking too much....
Guest schildy Posted March 18, 2004 Report Posted March 18, 2004 Is this the reason that to pair up with another bluetooth item you need to enter a code on the E200? Is there somewhere that can maybe explain the use of bluetooth better tha the E200 guide? :oops:
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