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source: coolsmartphone
• Quad Band GSM (850/900/1800/1900 Mhz)
• Triband UMTS (850/1900/2100) ,
• HSDPA and HSUPA connectivity
• 400 Mhz MSM7200 Qualcomm CPU,
• 128 RAM and 256 ROM
• 2.8″ 320×240 px QVGA display
• 3 megapixel camera with autofocus
• 0.3 mpx front camera for video calls
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
• Built-in A-GPS
• micro-SD/micro SDHC memory card slot
Cool apps that surprise and delight mobile users, built by developers like you, will be a huge part of the Android vision. To support you in your efforts, Google has launched the Android Developer Challenge, which will provide $10 million in awards -- no strings attached -- for great mobile apps built on the Android platform.
The award money will be distributed equally between two Android Developer Challenges:
In the Android Developer Challenge I, the 50 most promising entries received by March 3 will each receive a $25,000 award to fund further development. Those selected will then be eligible for even greater recognition via ten $275,000 awards and ten $100,000 awards.
We welcome all types of applications but are looking to reward innovative, useful apps that make use of Android's capabilities to deliver a better mobile experience. Here are some suggested areas of focus to get you started:
the much awaited Google operating system for mobile phones...was it worth the hype?
source: intomobile
with 5 hours to go until the UK Iphone launch, only 15 people were queueing at the Apple Store in London...
source: shinyshinysource: s60.cz
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source: s60.cz
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Symbian Freak teases us with just a glimpse of the Nokia N82...
source: symbianfreak
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The most eagerly awaited gadget in history went on sale at precisely 6.02pm - a gimmick reflecting the role of O2 as sole network provider - to cheers from thousands of people who had queued in the cold to buy one.Some had camped overnight under umbrellas to ensure they would be among the first to get their hands on the £269 combined phone, digital music player, camera and internet browser.
They turned up in force despite suggestions that could save their money and buy "unlocked" handsets in France when they go on sale later this month.
All iPhone owners in the UK have to sign up to an 18-month contract with O2, costing up to £55 a month.
But French law dictates that mobile phone users should be able to use their handsets on the network provider of their choice.
This means, in theory, that Britons will be able to travel to France, buy an unlocked phone and then use it with their network provider in the UK.
But that possibility did nothing to deter Nik Fletcher, 22, a computer student who set up camp outside Apple's flagship London store 34 hours before the device went on sale.
"It's not really an insult to me being labelled a geek or a nerd," he said. "I am someone that works in the technology industry. It's my passion. If the iPhone delivers on its promise and hype it will have all been worth it."
However, many in the queue said they were planning to "unlock" the phone to make it work with other network providers and avoid having to sign up to the O2 contract.
At the peak of activity, 10,000 used the site to search for the Apple gadget in just one hour.
The phones are being sold at more than 1,300 Apple, O2 and Carphone Warehouse stores across Britain.
(bottom picture shows first UK iPhone buyer)
source: bbc, telegraph, tomj.org
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source: mobile88, mobile-review
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source: mobile88, mobile-review
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The W960 was unveiled in June 2007 and marks a next generation of Walkman® phones. With room for up to 8,000 songs* and finger-touch navigation around playlists on the large touch screen, the days of taking an MP3 player and a phone with you are definitely over. The 2.6” display also serves as an excellent viewfinder for a 3.2 megapixel camera and as a widescreen for watching video in TV quality.
“The W960 has been generating a lot of consumer excitement since the day it was announced,” says Ben Padley, Head of Music Product Group at Sony Ericsson. “As the next instalment in our hugely popular Walkman® phone series, we are confident that this music mix of 3G phone, Walkman® player and quality camera will prove to be a hit, and a great complement to the rest of the range.”
The Sony Ericsson W960 Walkman® phone is UMTS 2100-GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900 and will be available in Vinyl Black from November 2007.
The Music Desk Stand MDS-65 will also be available from November 2007.
source: sony ericsson
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Unleash your inner DJ
Whether you’re on your own or with friends, the W890’s colour matched stereo headset and in-built stereo speakers deliver a high quality listening experience. The phone incorporates the Walkman® Player 3.0, the latest in Walkman® technology, which offers one-click access to the player and simple, intuitive navigation around your music.
Not only can you organise your tracks by artist, album, or visually using Album Art (the album’s front cover artwork) – with the W890, you can even select your music to match your mood. The SensMe™ music experience automatically plots your music by tempo and mood – letting you create a playlist that matches how you feel.
The W890 Walkman® phone offers the benefit of an expandable memory, which can be upgraded as your music collection grows. A 2GB Memory Stick Micro™ (M2™) is provided in-box - that equates to storage for up to 1800 songs*. If you tire of these, tune in to your favourite station using the W890’s FM Radio.
Download music and web pages – fast!
The W890’s HSDPA capabilities allow you to download music at speeds up to four times faster than with regular 3G devices. Plus, it makes viewing pages on the internet quicker and easier too. The phone is fully compatible with Sony Ericsson’s PlayNow™ mobile entertainment experience. This provides you with instant access to the latest content – whether it’s the full-length music tracks, the hottest mobile games, ringtones or wallpapers – downloadable either direct to your phone or via your PC.
Music without wires
Need to provide the music for a party on the spur of the moment? No problem. As well as its own internal stereo speakers, the W890 is fully compatible with a range of the latest Sony Ericsson music accessories, including the Portable Bluetooth™ Speaker MBS-100 and the Stereo Bluetooth™ Headset HBH-DS220.
Match your personal lifestyle
With understated elegance, smooth curves and a choice of three stylish colours (Espresso Black, Mocha Brown and Sparking Silver), the W890 Walkman® phone will truly complement your personal style.
The W890’s 3.2 megapixel camera allows you to record the moment for posterity. One-press access to the camera means you need never miss a shot. Plus, instantly upload your photos to your personal online gallery, or ‘blogsite’, to let your friends know what you’re up to.
The W890 Walkman® phone is a HSDPA/UMTS 2100 and GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 phone and will be available in selected markets from Q1 2008. The W898c Walkman® phone is a GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 phone for the China market only.
Sony Ericsson W380 Walkman® phone
Hear it, Name it, Play it, Get it
The W380 Walkman® phone comes complete with Media Manager PC software that lets you easily transfer your music, photos and videos between your computer and phone. Simply point, click and drag your music files from your computer to your phone – the software automatically converts your music to the right format.
Store hours of your favourite music (up to 271 songs*) on the W380’s 512 MB Memory Stick Micro™ (M2™) or tune in to your favourite FM radio station.
Hear a song on the radio you don’t recognise but really like? Use the W380’s TrackID™ feature to tag a clip from the phone’s radio (or any external source) and find out instantly who sings it, what it’s called and which album it’s from. The TrackID™ functionality, available on the W380, the W890 and a host of other Walkman® phones – is one of the phones’ most popular features. Latest figures show that every second, someone, somewhere, is using TrackID™ to identify a song they love.
Once you have identified the song, get it onto your phone in just a few clicks via PlayNow™. Or browse through the latest full-length music tracks, mobile games, MP3 ringtones and wallpapers – all available from PlayNow™ straight to your W380 Walkman® phone or via your PC.
Take it to the top
The W380 Walkman® phone brings your music to the surface of the phone, allowing you to control what you’re listening to without needing to open the phone. Skip forward or backwards between tracks or pause the music effortlessly. One-touch buttons on the top of the phone light up when the Walkman® player is switched on and a hidden display comes to life, providing track information at a glance.
When not in use, the W380 Walkman® phone looks discreet and laid-back from the outside. But as soon as you receive a call or play music, it comes alive. Choose different light effects for different callers, and see your music ‘dance’ when the phone’s lights match the beat of your favourite song.
Keep your hands off!
Mute your phone with a wave of your hand. Or snooze the alarm if you’re lying in bed. The W380’s Gesture Control feature allows true ‘handsfree’ handling of your calls for the first time – show it off to your friends!
Accessorise it
To enjoy your music discreetly when you’re in public, choose a great headset to go with it. Pick from the Stereo Portable Headset HPM-83 or the Stereo Bluetooth™ Headset HBH-DS200 if you want to stream music wirelessly from your phone.
The W380 is a GSM/EDGE/GPRS 850/1800/1900 and 900/1800/1900 clamshell phone and will be available in selected markets from Q1 2008.
Sony Ericsson today announced the launch of the K660, an HSDPA (‘mobile broadband’) enabled phone with clever features like illuminated shortcut keys that only become active when surfing the Net, and desktop tickers that provide regular updates from your favourite websites; all designed to make Web browsing on the move as simple and convenient as at your computer.“Sony Ericsson’s vision is to offer ‘Generation Web’ a mobile internet experience that’s rich, user-friendly and satisfying,” says Martin Winkler, Head of Web Marketing at Sony Ericsson “This Web-optimised phone is a clear step along that journey and will appeal to individuals who are managing their busy lives and social networks online, whether its arranging to meet up for a football match or booking concert tickets.”
Sony Ericsson K660 – Web for Youth
The internet as you expect it to be!
The K660 makes browsing the mobile Web straightforward. The phone’s navigation key serves as a “magnetic mouse pointer” when in Web mode, letting you find your way around the page just as you would on a PC. It indicates when a part of the page is clickable and where text input is possible. You can even zoom in for a closer look at text or images.
Pan-and-zoom is just one of the Web shortcut keys that sit under your thumb when viewing Web pages in landscape mode. The K660 also sports a Bookmark function, a single click button that takes you back to your Home Page and an ‘Enter Address’ shortcut; all intended to guide you through the Web that much quicker. .
The information you need – on your terms
The K660 is engineered to ensure that you’re not kept waiting for the news or content that matters to you. Music, video or email – HSDPA technology lets you download it all at speeds that are up to four times faster than regular 3G.
Get there with Google Maps for Mobile
Thanks to Google™Mapsfor Mobile, the K660 keeps you grounded wherever you are, even in a strange city. Find your way instantly with interactive maps that let you zoom in or out, or pan in any direction to orient yourself. Enter your current location and destination and receive point-to-point directions. No fuss, no diversions.
Shoot and share…instantly
The K660 squeezes a 2.0 megapixel camera into its compact frame, making it easy to capture the moment. And since the Web is at your fingertips, it’s just a few clicks to upload your picture to your blogsite and share it instantly with friends and family.
Although packing a whole host of Web applications, this phone is not just for suits. Available in two stand-out colours, a funky ‘lime-on-white’ and a stylish ‘wine-on-black’ colour, the K660 will earn you admiring glances no matter where you are.
The K660 is a UMTS/HSDPA 2100 and GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 phone that will be available in selected markets from Q1 2008.
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It’s taken them 10 years but Nokia boffins have finally perfected a ‘touch feedback’ touchscreen. Don’t be fooled by simple vibrational imitations folks, this is the real McCoy – you press a key on the screen, and it clicks under your finger with exactly the same sort of fingertip feedback as if you’d pressed a conventional keyboard key. Roope Takala, Senior Program Manager at Nokia’s research labs gave me a demo of the technology in Finland the other day on a hacked N770 Internet tablet.
“The basic technology is not that difficult,” he explained, “We inserted two small piezo sensor pads under the screen and engineered in a 0.1mm movement in the screen itself. What’s taken the time has been fine tuning the movement and response to mimic exactly the sensation of pressing a real key.”
The problem in perfecting the tech – codenamed Haptikos, meaning ‘to touch’ – lies in how our fingers experience a key press. We actually feel two movements, in and out, and these movements and the associated audio have to be perfectly attuned to the speed and responsiveness of a real keyboard. In use, the touch feedback on the demo device was near on perfect. Each press of a key returned a clunky click and tactile snap on the touchscreen, which made typing feel incredibly responsive and very usable on the smooth screen surface. In fact it was hard to remember that you were using a touchscreen keyboard.
“Funnily enough, although you think you’re typing faster than normal because of the feedback, in actual fact you’re not,” said Takala, “There’s just some sort of mental satisfaction that comes from typing with a tactile response.”
The new Haptikos technology will apparently be shipped with the upcoming Nokia S60 Touch phone that has been shown off at recent demos, and the team is busy working on the next challenge, which is to provide exact tactile replicas for scrolling and draw/paint programs. The problem is that while we expect and need ultra fast responses for keyboard use, navigation and things like drag scrolling require a different, slower response map, which is another hurdle for the engineers to overcome.
“What’s nice is that people who are new to handheld devices don’t even notice this technology at first,” says Takala with a smile. “But they really miss it if you take it away from them once they’ve experienced it. It’s kind of addictive.”
source: redferret.net
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"It's not ruled out at all. If we would see this as beneficial we would think about taking part in it," said Kari Tuutti, spokesman for Nokia's multimedia unit.
"We should never close any doors."
Web search leader Google said on Monday it would enter the mobile phone market, saying its planned mobile phone software may boost Web use on handsets but without threatening entrenched players.
Analysts, however, said Google could have the means to disrupt the status quo in the wireless software industry, which is dominated by a handful of large phone makers and regional service providers that often tightly control customer choices.
source: reuters
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No Google Phone
Taiwanese mobile phone maker High Tech Computer (HTC) is already working on a Google phone, and will start selling it in the second half of next year, an executive said Tuesday.
The company was rumored early on to be making a handset for Google as was South Korean handset giant Samsung Electronics. But with the Monday launch of Google's mobile phone software, called Android, HTC was able to lift the veil of secrecy around its plans.
Android, an open source software platform that includes an OS, is designed to take advantage of Internet services for mobility, exactly the target for HTC's new handset, said John Wang, chief marketing officer at HTC. He declined to give specific details about the hardware makeup of the phone.
The strength of Google's new platform is its flexibility, since it will allow companies to innovate with their own software and services, said Wang.
The Google phone that HTC is working on could end up causing it some headaches. HTC is known as the world's largest maker of handsets that use Microsoft Windows Mobile software, a rival to Android. Should Android's popularity take off, HTC could cannibalize some of its own sales as well as those of partner Microsoft.
That's certainly not HTC's intention.
"Our commitment to the Windows Mobile platform is unwavering," Wang said, adding that many mobile phone OSes currently compete in the market.
Android could become a potent new rival to Windows Mobile and other handset OSs. At the launch ceremony, Google announced that over 30 companies had climbed on board its Open Handset Alliance, including HTC, Qualcomm, and Motorola.
source: yahoo
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There are apparently three key principles that have shaped the design of the new UI:
1. User Enjoyment - the UI needs to be fun without ever compromising its usability.
2. Smart Simplicity - usability tests have been conducted around the world with different languages and cultures.
3. Expandable Experiences - giving users the ability to decide not only what features they want on their handset, but also how the UI looks and feels.
As part of this, they've also released the Haze visual theme, which is available here for installation on all S60v3 devices.
source: symbian-guru
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Hoping to do for the mobile environment what it has done for information searches, travel directions, and blind dates, Google announced on Monday the release of a new mobile operating system known as "Android," as well as the formation of a new coalition, the Open Handset Alliance, to implement the new OS and develop applications for it. According to Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence, a consulting and research firm, the new mobile OS is based on Linux and contains a Web browser, video player, instant-messaging application, and several other features.
Google's Android OS is the outgrowth of a mobile software project started three years ago by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Andy Rubin. His company, Android, was acquired by Google in August 2005 for an undisclosed amount in a move that was widely seen as the opening play of Google's wireless plans.
Free and Open Source
"The new OS is totally open source and completely free," Sterling said. "It will totally radicalize the cost of developing applications for mobile phones. The Google mobile OS is dramatically simpler, and much easier to adapt to different hardware equipment and protocols."
He added that the software developer's kit for Android will be available as early as next week, and that the Android OS could appear on consumer products as early as mid-2008.
Although several Google applications will ship with copies of Android, they can be stripped out by carriers, equipment manufacturers, or even the end user. "With Android," Sterling pointed out, "there is no single user experience; companies can use the OS to create individual and even branded experiences for their customers."
As impressive as the development of a mobile OS is, Google's real accomplishment is the creation of such a broad mobile coalition. More than 30 different companies have signed up as members of the Open Handset Alliance, with representatives from equipment manufacturers, carriers, software developers, and commercialization partners.
There are some notable mobile players missing from the OHA so far. The largest equipment manufacturer, Nokia, is still on the sidelines, and two companies deeply involved in the mobile space, Microsoft and Yahoo, have adopted a "wait-and-see" approach.
Microsoft has particular reason to be concerned about the release of Android, Sterling pointed out, because it is a direct competitor to the company's Windows Mobile. Sterling said that he expects that companies such as Nokia and even Microsoft ultimately will join the alliance, particularly if consumers react favorably to Android.
"The promise of Android," he suggested, "is that it will give consumers control over their mobile experience that they don't currently have." The new OS, for instance, will make it easier for users to share applications with their friends, Sterling explained, much like they do now on Facebook.
source: yahoo
Features:
The UK iPhone is, externally, identical to the US version. The biggest modification is on the inside and is something that will have nerdgeeks sprinting to online forums in a message-posting furore. We can reveal that the UK iPhone is, in fact, installed with firmware version 1.1.2. Oh, how we wanted to post picture proof last week but would have run the risk of Steve Jobs personally removing our knackers. As well as more keyboard character sets, the updated firmware will have addressed security issues and minor bugs: Great for news overall stability, but it is likely to cause yet another uproar in Apple's loyal fanbase, as Apple is sure to have closed up the security loopholes (such as the TIFF exploit) which allowed people to hack the iPhone to run their own software.
The UK iPhone works just the same way as one bought from the states. However, having a solid week to play around on the o2 network meant we could road-test the experiences of iBlighty come 9 November. And impressed we were. Early reservations about the iPhone's lack of 3G were dampened with how well EDGE copes with Safari page loading (around 10 secs), Google map finding, email downloading and other net-based apps (weather and stocks). Glen did mention, however, that because we were testing in Beta, we might not reach warp speeds until the ninth. So, a chunky double thumbs up, although we'd like to see a greater selection of UK weather locations and an improved pop-up blocker - a roguish couple escaped the net.
Web-surfing on the iPhone is simply the best example of internet browsing on a handheld device. Ever. Zooming is smooth, pages look great thanks to its super-sharp screen and the virtual keyboard is quick to learn - we were double finger pecking within a few days. And now that IMAP has been added for Gmail, we were living the mobile office dream.
A nice piece of insider info: If you've signed up to an o2 contract before 18 Sep 2007, you can break it and jump onto an iPhone plan without incurring any leaving or contract-moving costs. You'll be able to keep your old handset too.
We get a heads-up on the new Sony Ericsson handset
We’ve uncovered a few sneaky facts about the imminent new handset from Sony Ericsson – for which there is no name, yet.
That official, Roland Fryer, a Harvard economist who is leading the city's program to pay cash to some students who do well on standardized tests, told an undergraduate economics class at Harvard last month that his next proposal would include a plan to give cellphones to students, and reward those who do well with free minutes - an idea that is at odds with one of the city's most contentious school policies, the ban on students having cellphones in school.
Last month, the city embraced a plan by a private foundation to reward students who pass Advanced Placement tests with thousands of dollars.
Under the newest proposal, the cellphones would be donated at virtually no cost to the city and students would be unable to make calls during school hours, Fryer said, according to people who attended the lecture. The free phones would have a fixed number of minutes of airtime. Students who excel would be rewarded with additional minutes, Fryer told the class, the people said.
If officials approve the idea, the first batch of free phones, flip-style models donated by Motorola, would be delivered to several hundred students this month, Fryer told the class. He said the program, if approved, would eventually attempt to include one million students in city schools.
Fryer also told the class that celebrities, including the hip-hop artist Jay-Z, might be asked to record ring tones.
Chuck Kaiser, a spokesman for Motorola, said in an e-mail message that the company was "aware of the concept," but that it would be premature to comment on it because "the project is under consideration and no commitments have yet been made."
source: textually.org, international herald tribune
The Telstra 165 'Country Phone' is one of two new WCDMA (Next G) handsets being added to the growing 'Blue Tick' range of rural specific phones. The other new Blue Tick handset is the Nokia N95, which will be in stores from mid-November.
"The Country Phone is the first Next G handset with a pullout antenna and it's built to meet the demands of Australia's tough outdoor conditions. The handset's bigger design incorporates a large, easy to use key pad to accommodate even the biggest of fingers and the phone is protected in rubber casing, is dust proof, shock and liquid resistant," Telstra Country Wide Group Managing Director, Mr Geoff Booth, said.
Telstra Product Management Group Managing Director, Ms Holly Kramer, said while the Country Phone had a focus on utility, the Nokia N95 had all the style and sophistication synonymous with one of the world's leading handset brands."Incorporating advanced multimedia functionality and elegant design, the Nokia N95 is the first Nokia handset to achieve Telstra's Blue Tick for handheld use in rural areas," Ms Kramer said.
Both new handsets offer easy 1-click content and applications including access to BigPond TV, 33 channels on Mobile FOXTEL, Sensis search services plus an array of free BigPond content such as the latest news and weather reports.
source: 3g.co.uk
Currently, there are 1.25 Million tracks to download from leading companies such as Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, EMI Music, Warner Music Group and independent labels.
With MusicStation, you can download and play your favorite tracks, even on the move. It is currently available on a range of 13 handsets.
Notice anything missing from the Nokia Music Store launched yesterday? How about Madonna? According to the Wall Street Journal, Warner Music Group -- yeah, that guy -- is withholding their goods due to concerns with copyright abuse at Nokia. No, not with Nokia's Music Store but with their seemingly unrelated MOSH (MObile SHaring) file-sharing service. The other three majors -- Universal, Sony BMG, and EMI -- are all playing nice, however. A Nokia spokesman confirmed the absence stating, "we are hopeful that Warner will be part of Nokia Music Store in the future." Who knew that Madonna could be used like a big stick?
The thing is hard to type on. It's too slow. It's too big. It doesn't have instant messaging. It's too expensive. (Or, no, wait, it's too cheap!) It doesn't support my work e-mail. It's locked to AT&T. Steve Jobs secretly hates puppies. And—all together now—we're sick of hearing about it! Yes, there's been a lot of hype written about the iPhone, and a lot of guff too. So much so that it seems weird to add more, after Danny Fanboy and Bobby McBlogger have had their day. But when that day is over, Apple's iPhone is still the best thing invented this year. Why? Five reasons:
1. The iPhone is pretty
Most high-tech companies don't take design seriously. They treat it as an afterthought. Window-dressing. But one of Jobs' basic insights about technology is that good design is actually as important as good technology. All the cool features in the world won't do you any good unless you can figure out how to use said features, and feel smart and attractive while doing it.
An example: look at what happens when you put the iPhone into "airplane" mode (i.e., no cell service, WiFi, etc.). A tiny little orange airplane zooms into the menu bar! Cute, you might say. But cute little touches like that are part of what makes the iPhone usable in a world of useless gadgets. It speaks your language. In the world of technology, surface really is depth.
2. It's touchy-feely
apple didn't invent the touchscreen. Apple didn't even reinvent it (Apple probably acquired its much hyped multitouch technology when it snapped up a company called Fingerworks in 2005). But Apple knew what to do with it. Apple's engineers used the touchscreen to innovate past the graphical user interface (which Apple helped pioneer with the Macintosh in the 1980s) to create a whole new kind of interface, a tactile one that gives users the illusion of actually physically manipulating data with their hands—flipping through album covers, clicking links, stretching and shrinking photographs with their fingers.
This is, as engineers say, nontrivial. It's part of a new way of relating to computers. Look at the success of the Nintendo Wii. Look at Microsoft's new Surface Computing division. Look at how Apple has propagated its touchscreen interface to the iPod line with the iPod Touch. Can it be long before we get an iMac Touch? A TouchBook? Touching is the new seeing.
3. It will make other phones better
jobs didn't write the code inside the iPhone. These days he doesn't dirty his fingers with 1's and 0's, if he ever really did. But he did negotiate the deal with AT&T to carry the iPhone. That's important: one reason so many cell phones are lame is that cell-phone-service providers hobble developers with lame rules about what they can and can't do. AT&T gave Apple unprecedented freedom to build the iPhone to its own specifications. Now other phone makers are jealous. They're demanding the same freedoms. That means better, more innovative phones for all.
4. It's not a phone, it's a platform
when apple made the iphone, it didn't throw together some cheap-o bare-bones firmware. It took OS X, its full-featured desktop operating system, and somehow squished it down to fit inside the iPhone's elegant glass-and-stainless-steel case. That makes the iPhone more than just a gadget. It's a genuine handheld, walk-around computer, the first device that really deserves the name. One of the big trends of 2007 was the idea that computing doesn't belong just in cyberspace, it needs to happen here, in the real world, where actual stuff happens. The iPhone gets applications like Google Maps out onto the street, where we really need them.
And this is just the beginning. Platforms are for building on. Last month, after a lot of throat-clearing, Apple decided to open up the iPhone, so that you—meaning people other than Apple employees—will be able to develop software for it too. Ever notice all that black blank space on the iPhone's desktop? It's about to fill up with lots of tiny, pretty, useful icons.
5. It is but the ghost of iPhones yet to come
the iphone has sold enough units—more than 1.4 million at press time—that it'll be around for a while, and with all that room to develop and its infinitely updatable, all-software interface, the iPhone is built to evolve. Look at the iPod of six years ago. That monochrome interface! That clunky touchwheel! It looks like something a caveman whittled from a piece of flint using another piece of flint. Now imagine something that's going to make the iPhone look that primitive. You'll have one in a few years. It'll be very cool. And it'll be even cheaper.
source: time
Choosing e28 as the Gphone manufacturer and Linux software provider is an ingenious move that will certainly trump the popularity of the iPhone. Imagine a phone that makes calls using a low cost VOIP system on cellular networks and WIFI while seamlessly integrating data across diverse technology platforms. Add to that an open platform that will allow any programmer to develop add-on applications (see Facebook) and you have the makings of a revolution in Mobile technology.
source: indiastreet
A Nokia executive was spotted in Buenos Aires with a brand new Nokia N82, to be launched this friday. The announcement day was confirmed along with its features, already leaked on the web.
The version spotted has a silver case, different from the black phone that was leaked a few days ago. It reminds an N73, but thicker, with the same 2,4 inch screen, front VGA camera for video calls and an aluminum keyboard. On the back, the N82 has a 5 megapixel camera equal to the one in Nokia N95, but with an exclusive xenon flash.
“The N82 is a lot faster taking pictures than the N95. It has no difference in experience from a dedicated digital camera” said the executive that recieved the phone on the day before. The quote suggests that Nokia has solved a main issue with the N95 - its latency between photos.
The new phone from Nokia, which will be launched on a London event on November 2nd, also has a built-in GPS, Wi-Fi and UMTS/HSPDA support. Other N95 specs are present, such as the 3,5 mm audio plug, microSD slot and USB 2.0 interface.
Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo this week confirmed talks had already begun with Apple, which plans to launch the handset in Australia next year.
Mr Trujillo said Telstra would be interested in the device if it delivered an enhanced experience for their customers.
"The answer is simple: yes we'd be interested and we're exploring that option," he said.
"We've had conversations with Apple and a lot of others and what's interesting now is that everybody's now responding to the Apple iPhone.
"Almost every supplier has big plans in the next six to 12 months with their version of an iPhone in response."
The Next G network operates at the rarer 850Mhz frequency and requires specialized handsets.
Mr Trujillo predicted Apple would produce a compatible iPhone.
"The company they introduced the iPhone with in the US is Cingular and obviously we have a very good relationship with Cingular (now called AT&T)," he said.
Mr Trujillo said deals struck between Apple and AT&T in the US, O2 in the UK, T Mobile in Germany and Orange in France - all believed to involve revenue sharing - would have no bearing on a possible deal between Apple and Telstra.
Apple Australia offered no comment.
The touch-screen smartphone, which combines Apple's popular iPod music player, a camera and Web browser, will be sold through Spanish-owned operator O2 UK, Carphone Warehouse and Apple retail and online stores from November 9.
Apple has not given any forecasts for sales since announcing the launch in Britain but Darren Gardner, head of wireless UK at Carphone Warehouse, said with around 800 stores across the country, Carphone could hope to sell up to 10,000 in the first day.
The phone will go on sale at 6 p.m. local time next Friday and the Carphone stores are set to stay open for four hours to meet consumer demand.
"We will hope to represent a big share of what is sold," he told reporters on Thursday.
source: reuters
The Christmas season looks set to be a hot one, with Apple’s iPhone coming under attack from the Samsung F700 and Verizon’s Voyager. Both touchscreen cellphones, one a slider and the other a clamshell; we showed you preview footage of the Voyager from the carrier’s booth at CTIA but until now we’ve only had relatively scant details of the phone’s capabilities. Well that’s all changed, after a leaked data sheet has flaunted the Voyager’s innards across the internet.
So what are the highlights? Well, there are details of the different camera functionality, as well as tidbits about the media player (and that it will apparently work with 8GB MicroSDHC cards ), and that the card slot at least will show up as a USB mass storage device, though it’s unclear as to whether the phone’s memory will be so easily accessed.There’s also a list of upcoming accessories, though none out of the ordinary. It’s still an interesting handset, though the talk of a less-than-fulsome browser (i.e. not of the same calibre as that of the iPhone) is mildly concerning.
The Hyundai A200, as the device will be called, is reasonable big and has a nice pricetag for a smartphone. A size of 123 x 61,5 x 22 millimeters indicates that the candybar will not be one of the smallest and when we look at its appearance it is also clear that it is not the most beautiful swan on the lake.
Interest in the tool may be driven by more than just a desire to experiment with or use general-purpose third-party iPhone applications. When used in conjunction with AnySIM.app, AppSnapp is part of a remarkably easy two-step process for unlocking the iPhone to work on wireless companies other than AT&T and other official carriers.
Despite the massive usage of AppSnapp, donations, upon which the development team relies, have so far been meager: about $1500 according to Penree.
source: iphoneatlas
A crew of hackers (including hdm/metasploit, rezn, dinopio, drudge, kroo, pumpkin, davidc, dunham, and NerveGas) have introduced a one-touch instant jailbreak for both iPhone and iPod touch. The jailbreak opens your iPhone for full disk access and installs Installer.app so you can add pretty much any third party application you like.
To use it, open Safari and point your browser to jailbreakme.com (which we aren't linking to so folks won't install this by accident, but you are prompted to confirm). Once there, read the directions, scroll to the bottom, and tap Install AppSnapp. If Safari disappears and you return to the main Home screen, you're good. Just wait a minute more for your unit to restart--don't touch anything until you see the slide to unlock screen. If Safari hangs, just quit out (press and hold Home for 4-8 seconds) and try again.
The jailbreak really is as easy as it sounds. I restored my iPod touch and jailbroke it just a few minutes ago and it worked great.
UPDATE: Please try to do this using WiFi rather than EDGE. Success rates are much higher!
source: tuaw
Unfortunately, this is only happening in Australia, but every bit counts.
For more information please visit the Nokia Australia site.
source: darlamack
Is that a Nokia in your pocket? Then why not whip it out in celebration, for the Finnish phone funlovers are all set to launch their own music store tomorrow.
Called, drum roll please, the Nokia Music Store, you’ll be able to buy tracks at an iTunes alike 80p per song and £8 per album, slap them on your Windows Media Player, then sync up with your cell.
However, if you lucky enough to be carting around an N81 or N95, then you’ll be able to access the entire library on the move, using 3G and WiFi to download your favourite bizarreo folk.
Considering the iTunes WiFi store is just that, WiFi, we’re looking at a major development. 3G to buy the song that’s floating round your head? Yes please.
As for format, tracks will be coming in WMA for the most part and will be completely slathered in DRM.
So no playing nice with your iPod here.
Nokia is promising millions of tunes and a Napster style streaming service for £8 a month, letting you access the entire catalogue.
Hearty round of applause Nokia, it looks like you’re onto a winner.
source: t3
Well, we’ve been hearing about the upcoming Sony Ericsson M610 Lizy since the first part of 2007. It was even approved by FCC way back in May.
I say it’s time to for Sony Ericsson to deliver M610i business smartphone already!
As for the E-Bay sellers and potential bidders, I say “Hurry up!”.
There are quite a few reports that Sony Ericsson will have major new phone announcement on November 6th (that’s a week from now).
There’s a big chance that SE M610i will be announced there and all the “novelty” premium will disappear then.
(The seller says that the phone is 100% perfect technically, very good condition, with the protective film still on the display. Menu language is only in English, and may be changed by updating the phone.)source: unwiredview
Where there's gold, diamonds are sure to follow. It's become a familiar pattern, as we saw most recently with an 18k gold Shuffle that was soon followed by a diamond-encrusted version. So it was time to start an office pool after a 24k iPhone began making the rounds a few weeks ago. Like clockwork, today Crave got an email from Amosu, one of the more prolific bling meisters in the gadget world, with what it calls "the first diamond Apple iPhone." In classically over-the-top fashion, the U.K. purveyor has adorned this limited edition with 420 diamonds totaling 5.65 carats set in 18k white or yellow gold, with a choice of white, black or pink sapphires. Decisions, decisions.
It wasn't officially listed on Amosu's Web site as of this writing, but we have little doubt that it'll make good on its promise for a launch next month, given its track record--especially because it knows that there are people out there actually willing to pay the $41,225 price. We hope only that it doesn't become the model for an iPhone pendant.
source: crave
T-Mobile has just announced its newest Windows Mobile 6 Smartphone, the Shadow. The HTC Shadow is a slider with a SureType keypad and quad-band GSM/EDGE radios. T-Mobile and Microsoft developed a user interface overlay that users can use to access most of the phone's features without diving into Windows Mobile. The D-pad doubles as a scroll wheel to navigate through the menus. It also has stereo Bluetooth and a 2 Megapixel camera, expandable storage with the microSD slot, and Wi-Fi. It is compatible with MyFaves, and goes on sale October 31st for $150 with two-year contract. T-Mobile has also recently reduced its unlimited data plan pricing from $30 per month to $20. This is the first phone in a "planned franchise of phones" under the Shadow brand exclusive to T-Mobile.
source: phonescoop
If your friends and family have a 3 Skypephone (in a country where it’s available), you can all speak mobile-to-mobile on Skype for free. So go on, buy your best friend a phone and you can talk and chat to your heart’s content.
With 3G, a 2-megapixel camera, mp3 player, mobile TV and internet, 3 Skypephone keeps you occupied even when you run out of things to say. Plus, it’s small and shiny, and comes in black or white, with blue or pink trim.
You can use Skype for free on other 3 handsets too.
Available in UK on November 2.
source: skype
"The shirts would directly power mobile telephones, portable music players and other small electrical appliances.
Dr Best, of the CSIRO's Energy Technology Division, predicted the first power shirts - or flexible integrated energy devices - could be developed within five years.
The secret behind the idea involves piezo electrical materials. "Whenever you bend or deform piezo electrical material it creates an electrical charge."
If a shirt could be woven from the fabric, the constant vibration would "produce electricity as you move".
The power would be fed into flexible batteries that would also be woven into the shirt. Appliances, including mobile phones and palm pilots could then be plugged into the shirt.
The technology could revolutionise appliances such as mobile phones. By adding printed flexible circuit boards, they, too, could be woven into clothing.
"We see no reason why you couldn't do that," said Dr Best, saying the day may not be far off when people could make phone calls simply by talking into their collars.
source: textually.org
T Mobile's Sidekick Slide, crafted by mobile giants Motorola, has at last launched in the UK.
As the name suggests, you'll find a slide out QWERTY board underneath the ample screen, letting you pound out emails and fire off pointless instant message chatter.
T's web'n'walk service means you can get cheap and speedy access to the web, the meaty display allowing you to see full web pages, not specially designed mobile ones.
The on board MP3 player supports WMA, non-DRM AACs and MP3, so you can get friendly with iTunes and Windows Media Player. And thanks to a tie-in with Danger, Inc, you'll be able to back up all your content, from photos to numbers, on your own personalised web page.
It's out next month and is free on T's Flext 30 plus web'n'walk tariff.
A contact of ours sent us a picture of the new 3 Skype Phone, and we are very impressed. We are not allowed to show you it though, so here is a very blurred image (can’t really tell at all what it looks like) but trust us, it is very sexy.
We know a few details about the 3 Skype Phone, including:The 3Skypephone comes in 3 great colours and will be available on Pay Monthly and Pay As You Go for the festive season market. It will also be the only phone available on the new £12 Mix and Match 100 tariff which offers 100 minutes or texts or any mix of the two.
source: ukphonenews
To be called Talkmobile, it will run alongside Carphone's existing services, Fresh and TalkTalk Mobile, which operate through T-Mobile's network.
The deal with Vodafone comes as a surprise, as a year ago Vodafone said Carphone would no longer be able to sell its mobile phone contracts.
Carphone Warehouse will continue not to sell Vodafone's mobile phone contracts.
Renting network space
Talkmobile will be a pay monthly service based around a nine-month contract.
It will operate by renting excess network capacity from Vodafone, the same as Fresh and TalkTalk Mobile do through T-Mobile.
Virgin Mobile has a similar arrangement with T-Mobile, and such services are known as mobile virtual network operators or MVNOs.
Carphone is the UK's largest mobine phone retailer.
RIM said on Tuesday it struck a Chinese distribution deal with Alcatel-Lucent. The first handset to be sold under the new partnership is the 8700 model, versions of which RIM has sold globally for several years.
"China and India are emerging mobile phone behemoths that could contribute millions of subscribers to RIM over the next several years," said Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek.
The Waterloo, Ontario-based company already has a service partnership with China Mobile for its entry into China, where it will face competition from low-cost rivals, including a popular local service called RedBerry.
source: reuters
The BlackJack II has a bunch of small changes, but the big ones are Video Share and GPS. Video Share lets users make one-way video calls to owners of a few other AT&T phones. (Right now, only two other Samsung models, the A717 and A727 support the service.) Since the BlackJack II's 2-megapixel camera is on the back of the phone, this isn't for showing callers your own face – it's more of a see-what-I-see thing. The built-in GPS, meanwhile, will work with TeleNav to provide driving directions.
Samsung has also improved the keyboard. The number keys for dialing are now grouped together, instead of separated, and the individual QWERTY keys are larger for a better typing experience.
The BlackJack II also comes with a slimmer extended battery, improving battery life; a 2-megapixel camera; a louder speakerphone, and more memory to prevent the out-of-memory errors that plague Windows Mobile.
The BlackJack II's price is compelling: it will be $149 with a two-year contract when it comes out later this year. That will put the BlackJack II up against the Blackberry Pearl and Curve for folks looking for a text-centric smart phone on AT&T.
source: pcworld
These four devices in the i-Mate Ultimates line—the 9502, 8502, 8150 and the 6150— are i-Mate's official push into the North American market. We've seen their Ultimates line before, but now they've promised a marketing campaign and sales direct from their website. Until now, the US market for Windows Mobile phones have been dominated by HTC and Palm (with some various other smaller companies picking up the end), but i-Mate's a big contender overseas. Here's what the four phones look like.
The 9502 is quad-band GSM, 3G Windows Mobile 6, 3-megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash, front facing VGA camera for video calls, GPS, 2.86-inch backlit LCD, microSD support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a 400MHz Quallcomm MSM 7200 processor, and a QWERTY keyboard underneath (the screen slides out).
The 8502 is also quad-band GSM and 3G with Windows Mobile 6, but has a 2-megapixel cam, GPS, 2.6-inch touchscreen, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, but the interesting feature is its XGA output for projectors and TVs so you can make presentations right from your phone. The QWERTY keyboard is right on board, on the bottom.
Then there's the 8510, which is similar to the 8502 with the XGA out, quad-band GSM, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 2-megapixel camera with flash, VGA front camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a 2.6-inch touchscreen. The big difference is its lack of a QWERTY keyboard.
Finally the bottom of the pack is the 6150, with XGA out, quad-band GSM, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 2-megapixel auto-focus camera, VGA front-facing camera, and a 2.8-inch touchscreen. No keyboard on this model either.
Release dates for the phones are targeted at November.
source: gizmodo
