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The travails of a young company in Moscow offer a glimpse into the toll that the global financial crisis is taking on the budding entrepreneurial culture in Russia.

Source: By ELLEN BARRY

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Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

With Sprint snagging the vast majority of the WiMAX limelight of late, we aren’t going to complain with a similar network halfway across the globe yanking it back. Out of absolutely nowhere comes HTC’s first WiMAX-enabled handset, the sure-to-be-delightful T8290. Reportedly, this bugger packs a 3.8-inch 800 x 480 resolution display, 802.11g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, GSM and WiMAX radios and is expected to launch soon on Russia’s Yota. Granted, we can’t take this as hard truth or anything quite yet, but the images that reside in the read link are more than convincing. Oh, and HTC — given that you’re passing on the US with the Touch HD, do you think it’d be possible to get this over here for use with XOHM? We’d really, really appreciate it.

[Via Slashphone, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Source: Darren Murph

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The provision would allow NASA to buy seats on Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft until 2016, thereby granting the agency continued access to the International Space Station.

Source: By JOHN SCHWARTZ

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Weeks before physical bombs fell on Georgia, a security researcher was watching an attack against the country in cyberspace.

Source: By JOHN MARKOFF

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Filed under: Digital Cameras, HDTV

Though not nearly as sexy (or well-spec’d, for that matter) as Sony’s recently-unveiled HDR-TG1, AgfaPhoto’s DV-5000Z still manages to hold its own on paper. Measuring in at 4.7- x 2.75-inches (12- x 7-centimeters) and weighing just over 7-ounces (200-grams), this HD camcorder features a 5-megapixel Micron CMOS sensor, 2.5-inch flip-out LCD, 3x optical zoom and an SD / SDHC slot to store everything on. As for shooting capabilities, it’ll capture clips at 1,280 x 720 (using H.264 compression) and snag 16-bit stereo sound all the while. You’ll also find USB connectivity, a rechargeable Li-ion and video out, natch. Unfortunately, there’s no mention of this €249 ($393) device ever coming Stateside, but it’ll be ready to roll in Russia later this month.

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Cellphones

Well, what do you know? We heard that RIM was gearing up to ship BlackBerry handsets to Russia in 2008, and lo and behold, the addiction is indeed sliding over to the world’s largest country. British American Tobacco became the first client of BlackBerry service in the nation, and it’s being provided by the beautifully-named Vimpelcom. As expected, Vimpelcom’s customers will be handed the same 8700g model that was introduced to Chinese users when RIM broke into that territory last July. As it stands, the aforesaid operator is already in talks with some 40 more potential corporate clients, and rival Mobile TeleSystems is also getting set to unleash BB service with 30 corporate clients. Kudos, Russia — prepare for splintered relationships, 24 hour work days and a feeling of anxiety you can’t even fathom when service collapses for even a moment.

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

It’s not the first time it’s dabbled in subscription-based PCs, but Microsoft looks to be taking things up another notch, with it now making a fairly big push into Russia. To that end, the company’s teamed up with Russian cellphone operator Mobile TeleSystems OJSC, which will be offering the subscription-based PCs to all 85 million of its customers as part of Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential program, although there’s no word on exactly what the PC’s will cost just yet. Details on the PCs themselves are also expectedly light, although they’ll not surprisingly run Windows Vista, and will reportedly pack built-in mobile broadband access, which certainly makes sense given that it’s a cellphone company offering them. According to The New York Times, the two companies are also working on some unspecified “mobile communications services” that’ll be able to be accessed using the PCs, but it seems we’ll have to wait for the June launch date before we know much more about that as well.

[Via The Open Road]

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Source: Donald Melanson

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Filed under: GPS

Russia has announced the successful launch of three additional GLONASS navigation satellites on Christmas Day, bringing the total number of functional units to 18, and reportedly scaring the beejezus out of Santa and his reindeer during liftoff. The GPS competitor — first begun in the Soviet era and only recently revived after years of post-collapse neglect — is now theoretically capable of providing coverage to the entire Russian territory, with First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov claiming that the first compatible consumer devices will be available in the middle of next year. By 2010 Russia plans to open the system up to outside nations as well, contributing to an eventual three- or even four-system global market, and ensuring that President and Man of the Year Vladimir Putin will finally achieve his stated goal of being able to pinpoint his treasured black lab Koni anywhere in the world.

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Source: Evan Blass

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