It was another busy week in the still-nascent-yet-fast-growing M2M technology market. Here’s a quick re-cap of the some of the top M2M technology articles published on TMCnet this week (also included are two articles from the short Thanksgiving week as well):

On Monday, Nov. 23, OnAsset, a provider of machine-to-machine, or M2M wireless asset tracking, sensing, and control solutions, announced that high-value cargo moved by shipping containers can now be transported more securely across land and sea with its new SENTRY ContainerSafe product. According to a press release, ContainerSafe solves a long standing security challenge for high value cargo moved by shipping containers across land and sea by enabling 24x7 monitoring of container status and location, ensuring immediate notification of any unauthorized activity during transit. The new ground-breaking product is a milestone for cargo security that works to reduce theft opportunities of cargo in-transit.

Also on Monday, Nov. 23, SNCF and Gemalto announced that it is offering a new service that lets travelers purchase and recharge their transport tickets using a contactless mobile phone, which incorporates Near Field Communication technology. In a release, Gemalto officials said that the widespread integration of NFC technology into consumer mobile phones will let travelers buy or top up transport tickets, at any time, from the online SNCF portal. Travelers who buy pre-paid tickets can also check to see how many tickets they have remaining. This new service enabling online purchases, in addition to the existing ticket offices and ticket machines, gives travelers greater freedom and flexibility.

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On Monday, Dec. 1, TeleCommunication Systems (News - Alert) Inc., a provider of mission-critical wireless communications, announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued to the company patent number 7,624,185 titled “System for Automated Device-To-Device Transfer System.” The device allows for the capability to transfer an on-going server-related session from one device to another device while also maintaining the session. A laptop user, for instance, may wish to transfer an active session to a smartphone. With a conventional system, the user must close the session on the laptop and restart it on the smartphone. While reinitiating a new session on a second device is an adequate solution, the user may be facing the loss of the current session history, a time delay as a result of logging off and reinitiating or some other similar inconvenience. With the TCS invention, users can start a session transfer between proximate devices without having to end the session on the first device and restart it on the second.

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On Tuesday, Dec. 2, Technology Marketing Corporation and Crossfire Media announced that the complete conference program for the M2M Evolution Conference, taking place Wednesday, January 20, 2010 in Miami, has been released and is available on the event Web site. Sponsored by Multi-Tech Systems, and co-located with ITEXPO, M2M Evolution is an educational and networking event focused on Machine to Machine (M2M) Technologies.  Registration is now open at www.m2mevolution.com/conference.

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On Thursday, Dec. 3, Telular (News - Alert) Corp., a major player in wireless communications technology, announced that it had entered into strategic agreement with Telefónica México, one of the cellular network operators in Mexico with over 16.2 million subscribers, to offer remote tank monitoring solutions. According to a press release, the Telefónica México will private label its TankLink monitoring solution under the brand name TeleControl-Gas. Company officials said Telefónica México selected the TankLink solution as part of its long-term strategy to offer wireless data-centric services to a larger commercial customer base.

Also on Thursday, Dec. 3, SIM cards supplier Giesecke & Devrient announced that it had signed an agreement with SIMCOM and u-blox (News - Alert), both manufacturers of machine-to-machine (M2M) modules. As per this collaboration, these companies have incorporated special SIMs developed by G&D for the M2M market.

“We see tremendous potential for growth in the M2M market. G&D is working closely with a number of module manufacturers and network operators to help achieve breakthroughs for M2M technology in as many fields of application as possible,” said Klaus Vedder, head of the telecommunications division at G&D, in a release.

The release also mentions that the Swiss module manufacturer u-blox has integrated G&D's VQFN8 SIM with activated phone number in its ready-to-use u-blox C16 GSM/GPS reference design for telematics applications.

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Finally, on Friday, Dec. 4, TMCnet contributor Tom Wheeler (News - Alert) had a great feature on wireless brownouts that explores the question: “Are we headed toward wireless data brownouts reminiscent of electricity brownouts?”

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Be sure to check out Technology Marketing Corporation’s upcoming M2M Conference -- collocated with TMC’s (News - Alert) Internet Telephony Conference and Expo East 2010 (ITEXPO) and 4GWE Conference -- to be held Wednesday, Jan. 20, at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Fla.

The event will feature keynotes, free workshops, networking receptions, panel discussions, and an exhibit hall packed with vendors demonstrating the latest and most innovative M2M technology solutions. To register -- or for more information -- click here.