Famous Saudi club closes
The well-known HZ1AB club station in Saudi Arabia is no more. Originally the US Military Training
Mission station and more recently the Dhahran Amateur Radio Club, HZ1AB was a well-known DX
callsign for almost six decades. But club secretary Thomas Carlsson, SM0CXU/AB5CQ, has
informed GB2RS that the station has had to be shut down as a result of new station licence
requirements in Saudi Arabia . The HZ1AB callsign has now been reissued to a Saudi national.
Motorola unveils new music radio service
Motorola, after nearly a year of vague pronouncements, unveiled Tuesday an ambitious music radio
service for cellphones that also plays over car and home stereos. Motorola iRadio, featuring 435 channels,
would be sold by wireless service providers to their subscribers for between $7 and $10 per month — a
few dollars cheaper than the satellite radio networks that would be among the phone-based service's
immediate rivals. No wireless carriers have signed on yet to carry iRadio, which may also be adapted for
non-Motorola phones if carriers request it, company officials said. Motorola expects about 90% of its
content to be loaded on phones from the Internet over a personal computer ,rather than broadcast over
the air, in this case a cellular network. That would mean less of a strain on the limited capacity wireless
operators have for mobile calls, e-mail and Internet services. iRadio marks a rare foray into consumer
services for Motorola, one of the world's top producers of mobile devices and network equipment.
The commercial-free network will feature channels created by Motorola through its partnerships with music
labels, as well as stations from other broadcasters. In October, Motorola signed a licensing deal with the
Universal Music unit of General Electric, and an agreement with Warner Music Group is slated to be
announced this week. Some of the iRadio stations will be devoted to a single artist from those labels.
For now, about a half dozen Motorola handsets due on the market this year through undisclosed carriers
are compatible with iRadio. One is the next edition of the ROKR, a phone that's generated only tepid
sales through Cingular Wireless despite its status as the first handset to play iTunes.
Hard drive maker Seagate to buy Maxtor in $1.9 billion deal
The hard disk drive business is becoming the latest maturing tech market to undergo massive consolidation.
No. 1 hard drive maker Seagate Technology on Wednesday announced plans to acquire No. 4 Maxtor for
$1.9 billion. The all-stock deal is a 60% premium from Maxtor's Tuesday closing price. Hard drives are hidden
but crucial components that store data on PCs and other electronics. Seagate will now loom over the market
with a 41% share — compared with 17% for No. 2 Western Digital, researcher IDC says.
Seagate's dominance will drive the price of hard drives — and the electronics containing them — up slightly,
says equity analyst Ashok Kumar with researcher Raymond James. But both consumers and the aging
industry will benefit, he says. Dozens of companies used to make hard drives. But they fought so fiercely
that many began losing money, even as demand rose. They started merging and going out of business.
Notably, Maxtor acquired Quantum's hard drive unit, and Hitachi purchased IBM's hard drive unit. Now, six
players — including Western Digital, Samsung, Toshiba and Fujitsu — account for most sales. The smaller
playing field will help stabilize prices and improve profit, creating steadier and more reliable supply, Kumar
says. That's important as the industry enters a new era. Hard drives are facing competition from flash
memory, a rival form of storage. But they're also getting a boost as people store more digital photos and
music.
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