The company suggests that the Romanian manufacturing plant was unable to keep up with the high-volume production from its Asian plants, hence the marching orders for the staff there. Meanwhile, Nokia will be reviewing its Salo, Finland, Komarom, Hungary, and Reynosa, Mexico plants, with the expectation that they will “shift their focus to customer and market-specific software and sales package customization.” That will likely result in more staff cuts next year, it’s warned.

As for the Location & Commerce business, which pulls together Nokia’s various NAVTEQ, social location services and other developments and acquisitions, it seems that just as in the industrial revolution, staff are being replaced by machines. Nokia has supposedly spotted ways to “increase effectiveness through automation” though doesn’t specify what, exactly, they are.

Consultations with Sales, Marketing and Corporate Functions are beginning now, with regards to the job trimming announced back in April. Still, there’s at least one place Nokia is taking on new staff – or one new staff member, anyway. Jesper Ovesen has been brought on as new Executive Chairman for Nokia Siemens Networks, with Oli-Pekka Kallasvuo stepping down as non-Executive Chairman, and Nokia and Siemens announcing they will each be investing €500m in capital to help the company find its feet as an “independent entity.”

The action became necessary after the Motorola network acquisition got stalled when Huawei filed a lawsuit seeking to halt the transaction for fear that NSN would obtain its trade secrets and intellectual property, which Motorola had access to. This, in turn, caused the unit’s products and services to fall into lower demand.

Hence, not only will 1,500 of the 6,900 employees from the Motorola WiMAX and GSM units be let go, but another 1,200 will be transferred to its LTE and WCDMA units, which are currently seeing more success. The first batch of workers to go will be 150 of mostly research staff from Nokia Siemen’s Swindon facilties.

[via ZDNet]

The documents show that from 2006 to 2008 the agency planned to study a range of new anti-terrorism technologies, including “a walk through x-ray screening system that could be deployed at entrances to special events or other points of interest” to “covert inspection of moving subjects” employing the same backscatter imaging technology used for full body scans in airports.

The van project was allocated to Northeastern University and Siemens and would mount backscatter x-ray scanners and video cameras on roving vans, and use cameras on buildings and utility poles to monitor groups of pedestrians. Using the system, it would be possible to assess what people are carrying, and even track their eye movements. Researchers were also asked to develop a system of long range x-ray scanning to determine what metal objects a person has on his or her body from up to thirty feet away.

“This would allow them to take these technologies out of the airport and into other contexts like public streets, special events and ground transit,” says Ginger McCall, an attorney with EPIC. “It’s a clear violation of the fourth amendment that’s very invasive, not necessarily effective, and poses all the same radiation risks as the airport scans.”

After the initial article was published by Andy Greenberg on Forbes.com,, The TSA responded that the “TSA has not tested the advanced imaging technology that is currently used at airports in mass transit environments and does not have plans to do so.”

However, they have spent money on this project and have contracts with Siemens Corporations, Northeastern University, and Rapiscan Systems for this project. EPIC has filed a lawsuit against the DHS fighting the use of scanners in airports, and is arguing its case in a D.C. appellate court next week. It seems likely that there would be quite an outcry if the TSA or the DHS tried to scatter x-rays indiscriminately at pedestrians, but this is a good thing to keep an eye on.
Full TSA documents here.
[via Andy Greenberg]

The benefits of LTHE include backward compatibility with existing WCDMA and HSPA mobiles and networks, which would mean a more straightforward evolutionary path than LTE and WiMAX. Meanwhile Nokia Siemens Networks’ RAN platforms are already prepared for the new standard, it’s claimed, which supports combination of up to eight carrier frequency bands and HSDPA Multipoint transmission for combining signals from multiple antennas. There’s also dual-antenna transmission support, which doubles uplink peak data rate; with 2×4 MIMO antennas, meanwhile, it’s claimed that over a 100-percent increase in average user data rates can be achieved, due to beam forming gain and four receive antennas in the base station.

Carrier and hardware company claim that, once standardized, Long Term HSPA Evolution could be ready for commercial deployment by 2013. Given HSPA+ theoretically tops out at 42Mbps, LTHE could dramatically open up T-Mobile USA’s top-end data capacity; still, if the standard wants to succeed then it will take more than one carrier adopting it. Nokia Siemens, meanwhile, is hedging its bets: the company will continue to produce both LTE and LTHE hardware.

Press Release:

T-Mobile USA, Nokia Siemens Networks drive evolution of HSPA

Mobile leaders promote standardization of Long Term HSPA Evolution to unleash speeds of more than 650 Mbps

Operators would be able to achieve peak data rates of more than 650 megabits per second (Mbps), thanks to an HSPA standard being driven by T-Mobile USA and Nokia Siemens Networks. Long Term HSPA Evolution would improve mobile broadband with speeds matching those promised by LTE Advanced. T-Mobile USA and Nokia Siemens Networks are driving the technology’s standardization aiming to make it available for commercial deployment by 2013.

The proposed key features of Long Term HSPA Evolution were accepted during the plenary meeting of 3GPP RAN held on 7-10 December, 2010*.

“We strongly believe in continued HSPA evolution in parallel to the further development of LTE and LTE Advanced,” said Neville Ray, chief technology officer, T-Mobile USA. ‘’Long Term HSPA Evolution will allow us to enhance our 4G mobile broadband network beyond its current and planned near term capabilities, and provide room for considerable growth and speed enhancements. As customer demand for wireless data increases, we are well positioned to compete based on the speed, breadth and evolution path of our mobile broadband service.”

“The demand for higher data rates and mobile broadband growth continues to push the need for advances in both HSPA and LTE technologies,” added Keith Sutton, head of the WCDMA business line for Nokia Siemens Networks. “We are thus equally committed to both technologies. As a leader in HSPA evolution, we have already demonstrated data rates exceeding 100 Mbps at the Mobile World Congress earlier this year. Today, we also have the largest number of HSPA customers with nearly 200 operators worldwide. Driving the standardization of the new technology is a natural extension of our efforts to realize the full potential of HSPA.”

Nokia Siemens Networks’ Single Radio Access Network (RAN) platform is already prepared for Long Term HSPA Evolution. Operators would have a smooth evolution path to handle increased network traffic along with controlling costs with the introduction of the new technology.

In addition, all Long Term HSPA Evolution features are backwards compatible and can be used together with existing WCDMA and HSPA mobiles on the same carriers.

The subway car is being called the Inspiro, and it’s set to launch in 2012 in Poland. Those behind the design hope to create the car from an aluminum chassis, which would obviously make the new design considerably lighter than designs currently in use. The designers also hope that with the new aluminum design, that the flow of passengers will be better, if not increase, with the more spacious design.

Interestingly enough, the new subway car will also feature a demand-controlled air conditioning system, as well as electrodynamic braking. With all of that combined, including the fact it should take less energy to run the Inspiro, Poland is hoping to reduce the country’s subway energy output by 30 percent. Thinking into the future, Poland hopes to have 35 of the subway cars operational by the end of 2013.

[via Treehugger]

Elsewhere, Nokia’s long-awaited N97 finally reached North American customers’ hands, ours included, and you can find our unboxing and first-impressions here.  It’s a decent smartphone, and understandably the flagship of Nokia’s line, but can it hold up in the face of iPhone’s upgraded OS 3.0 software?  We’ll have our full review this coming week.

If it’s a QWERTY keyboard you’re after, but you prefer your phones berry-flavored, then the news that both Verizon and Sprint would be offering the BlackBerry Tour 9630 in the near future will probably come as some relief.  3G, GPS, for all the specs check out the official RIM video.  Finally, Samsung took the wraps off of the Omnia Pro B7610, complete with a glorious OLED touchscreen display and slide out ‘board.

It’s not all been smartphones, though.  SlashGear sat in front of a small screen, in the shape of Fujitsu-Siemen’s Amilo Mini Ui 3520 netbook, and a big screen (albeit a virtual one) with the Q-London 3D 80″ Video Eyewear.  Oh, and in the name of extreme destruction, we watched Lenovo’s ThinkPad T400s go head to head with a 26,000lb DOW truck.  If you want to see whether a slender ultraportable notebook can cope with getting comfortable between rubber and gravel, check out the video.

Finally, Microsoft confirmed that the Zune HD PMP will use NVIDIA’s Tegra chipset, making us even more keen to see what this potential-iPod-killer (yes, we know, a cliché if ever there was one) brings to the table.  And for your high-definition home entertainment, PopcornHour delivered their C200 Blu-ray ready media-streamer.  If you’ve ever looked at your media collection and wished there was a set-top box that could handle it all without breaking a sweat, this is the gadget for you.

Back when the first in-the-wild shots of the Amilo Mini emerged, we admired its Stormtrooper-esque design and compact size. In the plastic, it has a semi-gloss finish that does a reasonable job of avoiding fingerprint smudges, plus you can replace the lid cover for alternative colors. Fujitsu-Siemens pre-fit the white and include a burgundy red cover (and will sell you additional options) but we can’t seem most people swapping even semi-frequently, if at all.

Ports include two USB 2.0 sockets, audio in/out, VGA, a multiformat card-reader, ethernet and a 34mm ExpressCard slot. The latter may find favor with mobile users toting ExpressCard 3G modems, but the specs of the Amilo Mini undermine anything more serious such as high-quality sound cards or TV tuners. More disappointing is the keyboard and trackpad, neither of which is especially appealing. The trackpad is an okay size, if a little small, but the buttons not only flank it but have angled cut-outs at the bottom, presumably for stylistic reasons. In reality, though, it simply makes them harder to press.

As for the keyboard, that’s cramped and shows surprising quantities of flex. Considering this is an 8.9-inch netbook, the ‘board is more the size you might find on an original 7-inch Eee PC. It feels cheap, and that’s at odds with the rest of the chassis which is of reasonable quality. Above it, the screen has a sizable bezel, which has the end result of making the panel itself look smaller. Still, it’s relatively clear and bright, and lacks the gloss finish that many find frustrating. It runs at 1024 x 600 resolution.

Inside, there’s the usual Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz processor, paired with 1GB of DDR2 RAM and a rather paltry 60GB PATA hard-drive. An 80GB drive is an option, but still only half the size of what’s available as standard on rival machines. Graphics are courtesy of Intel’s GMA 950M chipset, and the OS is Windows XP Home. Both WiFi b/g and Bluetooth are standard fit.

Performance from the Atom processor is never going to be something to write home about, but Fujitsu also allow you to underclock it some more. They call this “Silent Mode”, and it basically limits CPU and GPU speed so as to reduce the need for a noisy fan; in reality, we noticed little difference between the two either in performance or sound. Memory and CPU benchmarks proved roughly on a par with other N270/1GB machines, but the Amilo Mini’s PATA hard-drive let it down compared to SATA or SSD based rivals. Still, you’re unlikely to be asking too much performance from the netbook, and the payoff is a slightly cheaper sticker-price.

Battery life from the 2,200mAh Li-Ion pack was roughly three hours of video playback with the screen brightness at half; turning off the WiFi/Bluetooth extended that, and the display remains usable even notched down close to its minimum backlight. Alternatively, ramp it all the way up and ask some heavy crunching of the N270 and you’ll drain it after just a couple of hours.

The Fujitsu Amilo Mini Ui 3520 is certainly distinctive in its looks, and it’s reasonably compact and sturdy, but the tricky touchpad buttons and dire keyboard undermine its abilities. Standard Bluetooth and the ExpressCard slot will have appeal for some users, and the relatively small hard-drive may not, considering most usage scenarios for netbooks, actually be too much of an impediment, but there are other machines we’d reach for before the Fujitsu. The upside is, of course, the price: right now, you can pick up the Ui 3520 from around £245 ($398) online, though that’s still more expensive than the older (but similarly specified) 8.9-inch Acer Aspire One. If it were our money, we’d go for the Acer.

The two R-series Celsius workstations also support SLI graphics, while the R670 throws an integrated SAS controller into the mixture.  Together with the Xeon CPUs, Fujitsu have used the 1S Intel X58 and 2S Intel 5520 chipsets.

Fujitsu are also promoting the machines as environmentally-considerate: their power supplies are high-efficiency and meet ENERGY STAR 5.0 certification, while the work environment should be more comfortable as they boast best-in-class noise emission levels.  No pricing has been announced for the new Celsius workstations, nor specific availability dates.

Press Release:

The first product innovation under the Fujitsu brand: Fujitsu Siemens Computers introduces three powerful new workstations

The CELSIUS M470, CELSIUS R570 and CELSIUS R670 will be based on the latest Intel® processor technology and, with optimized computing and graphics power, take workstation performance to the next level

Fujitsu Siemens Computers today introduces a new generation of workstations which offer a new level of computing and graphics performance: The CELSIUS M470, CELSIUS R570 and CELSIUS R670 will be already based on Intel®’s latest workstation platform, codename: Tylersburg, which Intel® announced yesterday. With Intel®’s latest Xeon® processor 3500 and 5500 series Nehalem EP / WS as well as the new 1S Intel® X58 and 2S Intel® 5520 chipsets on board, the new CELSIUS family members deliver superior performance which makes them the ideal choice for compute-intense, multi-core optimized workstation applications. They will be the first product innovations introduced under the Fujitsu brand following Fujitsu Siemens Computers’ integration into Fujitsu as a wholly owned subsidiary on April 01, 2009.

Achieving best-in-class benchmark scores, the new workstations offer a better balanced architecture and an enormous performance boost – in complex modelling and simulation for example single application performance can be increased up to four times. Also, the new CELISUS range is certified and optimized for all leading workstation ISV applications.

All three workstations can be configured with a complete range of up to two next generation, professional OpenGL graphics sub-systems and are launched in a new functional design which provide a new dimension of performance and shader features suitable for the most demanding graphic tasks in environments such as 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD), Computer Aided Engineering (CAE, Simulation) and Digital Conte nt Creation (DCC) or even High-end Visualization, Post-processing or in Geo Sciences.

In terms of usability and Green IT features, Fujitsu Siemens Computers has even further upgraded its new workstation highlights. Thanks to an improved cooling technology, noise level and heat dissipation have been further reduced: The new CELSIUS models boast best in class noise emission and, in fact, provide whisper quiet operation. In addition, their high efficiency power supply makes them less power-consuming and fit for ENERGY STAR® 5.0 (in preparation).

Superior reliability is granted by a system board engineered and manufactured in Germany, by extended lifetime components for a trouble-free operation around the clock and by a sophisticated premium status LCD that displays the system status at any time and delivers comprehensive diagnostic information for problem resolution as well as customer specific information like system serial numbers – even without the Operating System running.

“Our new CELSIUS workstations are a breakthrough in terms of computing and graphics performance and underline Fujitsu Siemens Computers’ capability to deliver high-end infrastructure products and solutions to our customers as soon as the latest technology is available in the market”, says Wilhelm Geyer, Director Workstations at Fujitsu Siemens Computers. “Our powerful and reliable workstations have become indispensable equipment in the demanding workstation target markets. Based on the new Intel® platform and with the improved cooling system, the latest models – now under the Fujitsu brand – will be even more appreciated as a personal supercomputer which provides not only double performance, but also the perfect user experience for professional workstation users.”

„With the new Xeon® processor 5500, Intel® has achieved another key milestone in its approach to increase the power while reducing power consumption in workstations” says Christian Morales, Vice President and General Manager Europe, Middle East and Africa at Intel®. “Customers can unleash the power and energy efficiency of the new Intel® Xeon® processor 5500 series now, as vendors such as Fujitsu Siemens Computers have the technology ready to make it available immediately in its latest high performance workstation models.”

The new workstation models at a glance:

CELSIUS M470

This high performance, multi-core workstation is designed for mid-range 3D CAD, CAE and DCC applications. It supports up to 2 ultra high-end graphics subsystems, is equipped with the latest Intel® Xeon® processor and memory capacity of up to 24 GB. This makes it the best choice single-processor workstation for engineers, architects, animators or analysts.

CELSIUS R570

The CELSIUS R570 is the compact Dual Xeon mid-range workstation and the ideal choice for high-end 3D CAD, DCC and FSA applications. It supports up to two ultra high-end graphics subsystems as well as SLI technology and offers up to 48 GB memory. This compact dual-processor workstation delivers highest performance for ambitious tasks in almost any workstation segments.

CELSIUS R670

With the CELSIUS R670, Fujitsu Siemens Computers introduces a high-end, dual Xeon® workstation for high-end CAE, VR/VIS and GIS applications; it is even suitable for demanding EDA users. It supports up to two ultra high-end graphics subsystems and SLI technology, but offers up to 96 GB. For best I/O, the CELSIUS R670 is equipped with an integrated SAS controller. Its ultimate performance level makes it the perfect partner for most demanding multi-threaded tasks and for personal supercomputing.

About Fujitsu Siemens Computers:

Fujitsu Siemens Computers is the leading European IT Infrastructure Provider. By delivering Infrastructure products, solutions and services as well as Managed Infrastructure or a combination of these offerings, our customers have the freedom to choose whatever IT infrastructure fits best to their specific needs.

Fujitsu Siemens Computers is present in all key markets in Europe, Africa and the Middle East serving large, small or medium-sized companies or private consumers, while its Infrastructure Services division is active in 170 countries. The company benefits from the global cooperation and innovation power of both its shareholders, Fujitsu Ltd. and Siemens AG.

Fujitsu Siemens Computers is one of the pioneers in offering a complete range of environmentally conscious products and in using environmentally friendly technologies and processes throughout the entire lifecycle of a product.

For more information on Fujitsu Siemens Computers, please visit: www.fujitsu-siemens.com , for Corporate Social Responsibility please see www.fujitsu-siemens.com/aboutus/sor/index.html .

Midrange, the VHD 400 has the same physical specs as the 600 but bridges up to four parties, while the VHD 100 is a single point-to-point conferencing unit that can also join a video meeting hosted by a VHD 600.  Each system can automatically adjust video and audio quality to take into account available bandwidth.

The VHD range will be available by the end of April 2008, priced from €6,499 ($9,871) for the VHD 100.  Siemens have also launched a Voice package offering least-cost routing, and a software Voice UC application that integrates UC into existing systems.

Furthermore, it doesn’t add too much girth to the laptop, well, at least not for a freaking ultrasound machine. You can still use the MBP as a regular notebook with web surfing, email, all that usual stuff, but there is the added hardware for the Ultrasound machine, and there is some added software for the same.

This would be great for emergency situations, field applications, or anywhere else where it would normally be impossible to get an ultrasound machine. If I were a doctor, I’d definitely want one, I kind of wonder what it would cost, but I have found that in the medical world, if you have to ask, you probably can’t afford it.

New Laptop For Doctors Does Ultrasound [via therawfeed]

What we know is that there will be 4 internal drive bays, I have no clue how they will fit in there though. As far as ports go, you will have plenty of options for connectivity with 4 USB 2.0 ports, and 2 e-SATA ports.

For those geeks out there that also try to be earth-friendly its supposed to have an “always available” mode, which I assume means it goes into some sort of standby low power usage mode until a request is sent to it. Rumors are there will be a 50W power usage and maybe a 2-drive RAID array, those two aren’t official yet. Stay tuned to our IFA coverage to find out for sure and see more.

First photos of Fujitsu-Siemens’ Scaleo Home Server [via Engadget]

The idea is to have a phone with a small LCD screen for dialing and text information only to save battery life. When you need a larger screen, you can pop it up from inside the phone. Like I said, it sounds like a great idea, however, this first prototype looks ugly.

That’s not to say that a future revision won’t look nearly as clunky. However, I think that this one needs to go back to the drawing board.

SlashRumor: BenQ Siemens SL98? [via SlashPhone]

Serve@Home was announced back in 2005; where is it now, do you think?

A quick glance through Siemens’ website fails to turn up any ostensibly Serve@Home compatible products, and no apparent mention of the “Cockpit” central control interface. 

It’s a shame, really, because it sounded quite interesting.  SSL-secured VPN tunnels were automatically established between the hub, appliances and any number of web-enabled devices (e.g. cellphones, tablets, PCs and internet-squirrels) meaning you could do the usual “Home of the Future” tasks like switching on the oven while in the bath or turning up the central heating while driving home in the snow.

Perhaps it was the price and limited number of Siemens appliances that scuppered it: €50  ($66) on top of list price for each appliance, as well as €250 to €1,000 ($330 to $1,313) for a starter hub.  Only fifteen products in the Siemens range were Serve@Home compatible on its launch.

Ah well, at least we have these lovely press photos to remember it all by.  Now there’s a legacy to be proud of!

Siemens Press Release [via Appliancist]

The Slider S5 has a slew of other features including an AntiCalc-System, 3-position automatic shut-off, vertical steaming function, 300ml water tank, and a “Inox-glissee” sole plate that delivers 40g of permanent steam per minute.
Now, if you are like myself, a non-ironer, and clueless to what the above listed features are for, then focus your attention on the stylish design. Nonetheless, I am not convinced by its repertoire and feel that unless it can roll around on my shirts like a Roomba, I cannot consider it truly automatic. And when that day comes, I may then shill out the $133 that this S5 is demanding.

The Slider S5 Iron from Siemens [Via: GizmoDiva]