Rolls Royce Turned Mobile Store in India

A Rolls Royce Phantom has been visiting Indian Cities for months selling mobile phones! The Mobile Store, leading telecom retail chain in India, is behind this 'Mobile' Store.

This is not a new stuff actually, as it started its journey in 2007. Now it got world wide attention as autoblog spotted it from nfscars. See more pics and stories here.

WinMo HTC Touch Pro Running BlackBerry OS

Now HTC Touch Pro can run a BlackBerry OS, but a virtual OS that runs as a Windows Mobile Application. BerryReview has some pics showing BlackBerry Application Suite running on a HTC Touch Pro.

In near feature this could turn to be an upgrade to HTC Touch Pro (and many other WinMo smartphones) as many of the BlackBerry applications are available through the application suite. BlackBerry is reportedly not afraid of extending its services to WinMo phones, which is now available only in BlackBerry handsets. 

Berryreview.com later came up with more details. The application suite, which is 32 MB in size based on OS 4.2.1, could be programmed to load as soon as WM boot up. It has almost everything in a BlackBerry, its email, PIN messaging, calendar, tasks, address book and memos. BES synchronization also works perfectly. GPS, Bluetooth and WiFi are among the features which it fails to support so is the video playback!

First Official Pics of Motorola i9

This may not the first time you are seeing a pic of i9, but here we have more detailed official pics from Motorola. The phone looks like a blend of RAZR and Rapture VU30.

i9 is designed to work in iDEN (Integrated Digital Enhanced Network), a mobile telecommunications technology, developed by Motorola. Nextel provides the iDEN service for this phone, as you can see Nextel logo in some pics.

Other information available are its 3.1 megapixel auto-focus camera, dedicated multimedia buttons, GPS and Wi-Fi. See more pics of this good looking phone from engadgetmobile.

Now Palm has Its Own App Store

Now every one else has it, from Apple to Android. But, the pioneer in smartphones, Plam has no app store till now. Making a good handset and distributing over a good carrier is not enough, services like app store and music stores are essential now a days. They says Better late than never, any way Palm has one now.

The palm's appstore is available here. Palm partnered with PocketGear to enable this service. PocketGear has been supporting smartphones with applications over various channels, with T-Online, AOL, Sony Ericsson and Softwareload among other distribution partners. Now they have about 5000 apps including games, over 1000 of them are free. Read more about Palm Software Store on jkOnTheRun. 

New Samsung Pixon to Go 3G for U.S. market

Samsung's another 8 megapixel phone, Samsung M8800L Pixon, will come with 1900 and 850 3.5G, compatible with AT&T bands. Along with its refined touchscreen and stylish slim design it could compete with Apple iPhone 3G.

The phone is rich Specs wise. The first thing to mention, of course, is its camera, the 8 megapixel cam has auto-focus, flash and everything from face, blink and smile detection to advanced shake reduction. Other key camera features are Camera geo-tagging and auto-panorama shot. There is a secondary cam for video-call. The 3.2-inch TFT screen comes in 240x400px with 256k colors. Its 200 MB in-built memory could be expanded to 8 GB using microSD. 

The phone was available in Europe and Asian markets as Pixon M8800, now it is renamed to Pixon M8800L. This would be a good news in US market, which has not enough camera phones in the stores. After T-mobile signed Samsung Memoir, another 8 megapixel, AT&T is expected to grab the deal for Pixon.

Microsoft Released its First iPhone App

iPhone has its first app from Microsoft, Seadragon Mobile. Seadragon is primarily a high-tech photo display software with advanced zooming features especially for high resolution images. The app is now available for free in Apple app store.

About Seadragon: Microsoft acquired Seattle-based Seadragon Software in 2006. Now it is a part of Microsoft Live Labs. Microsoft Photosynth photo-browsing program is based on the Seadragon technology, in which images of multiple resolutions are stored and only the bits needed to present the view on any given moment are delivered.

Seadragon Mobile Menu

Microsoft released this Mobile version to check the viability of the high-tech photo display technology on mobile platforms. Why they choose iPhone? They says it's because iPhone has a Graphics processing unit and is the most popular phone featuring the same. Yeah, iPhone is not the only smartphone with a GPU but they know an iPhone app could generate more headlines. Microsoft's another rumoured iPhone app 'Tellme voice-recognition service' is not expected until next year.

Another feature that make iPhone suitable is its 'multi-touch input'. The Seadragon app comes with about 50 sample images of 10 gigapixel range. The iPhone multi-touch screen would be handy for zooming in and out the high resolution images. Along with zooming around users can also make up limited Photosynth collections and can view uploaded 'deep zoom' images. Read more about Seadragon Mobile. 

Korea's Pantech Aims to Become a Top U.S. Cellphone Maker

South Korean companies are making their mark in US market? Recently it was Samsung, which hits the news as it surpasses Motorola to become the number one mobile phone provider in terms of market share. Now it is Pantech, aiming big in the US market. Presently, holding only 1% of the market share they aim to become one of the top US cellphone provider while the big players like Nokia and Samsung warned a slash in the market.

Pantech Duo C810 Dual Slide phone

Pantech groups' Atlanta based subsidiary has close tie-up with major carrier AT&T and they are now promoting 2 of its handsets. In last quadrant they brought 4 handsets to the market. The main strategy of Pantech Wireless (PWI) are reasonable pricing and its elegant sleek design.

PWI already have some fine pieces of cost efficient handsets in the market. They call their 'C3' as 'world's smallest camera flip' while with a QWERTY keypad 'Matrix' and 'Slate' attracts teenagers. Last october they launched dual-sliding WinMo smartphone 'DUO'. Their costliest phone DUO is just $79.9.

It may take time for PWI to establish as a good brand but the close partnership with AT&T could help them. They are very excited about the upcoming DUO 2, with more sleeker design, better cam and updated Windows Mobile, which is expected to hit the market by early 2009. Read more-forbes.com.

BlackBerry's First Ever Clamshell

Here is the first Clamshell from Blackberry, Pearl Flip 8220. So finally, Blackberry wanted a change? These guys are now thinking differently, targeting those customers who don't need their phone for work.         

This stylish clamshell has a 27x34mm outer screen displaying an analogue clock and a 240x320 pixel main display. The keypad is in BlackBerry SureType way, that is 2 letters per key arranged in QWERTY, as we explained in BlackBerry Storm's keypad options. 

Both Blackberry map and Google map are included. As there is no GPS you have to adjust with the 500m tolerance resulting from the cell site triangulation technique, which they use to estimate where you are. There is no 3G but the quad band. Wi-Fi and bluetooth connectivity are provided.

 

Pearl comes with BlackBerry OS along with a decent Web browser, email client and facebook app. 2 megapixel camera, decent audio player, 128MB in-built memory, 16GB microSD slot, 3.5mm audio jack are among other features of this good looking clamshell. Read Techradar.com review. 

Loopt in HTC Android G1 Superior to that of iPhone

Ever since Android G1 is out it is being compared with none other than Apple iPhone, which sets the present trend in the smartphone market. Now the news is the Loopt, now available in Android App, which on a G1 has practically more features than Loopt on an iPhone. But its actually not the Loopt, but the fact that iPhone do not allow background processing for third-party apps.

Loopt is a popular social networking service for smartphones featuring social mapping, currently available in various smartphones in US. Among other features Loopt alerts users when a friend is nearby, it is called location updating. Here the iPhone fails, as it do not allow background processing for Loopt, user will get the alert only if the application is running. 

G1 users can revieve the alert in real time. Switching between map modes for a satellite view, sharing information with Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are among other features. Read more. 

Google Maps for Mobile Now Available for S60 and WinMo

Google announced Google Maps for mobile version 2.3 for S60 and Windows Mobile smartphones. Earlier it is available only for Android, Blackberry and iPhone.

The main attraction is the Street View, which is recently enhanced for markets like France, Italy, Spain and Australia. In case you don't know, these are the places where S60 and WinMo are widely used. Google also promised new geographies in coming days, that you might have guessed.

The street view helps users to locate in an unfamiliar neighbourhood with its panoramic images. This new version also features walking directions, transit alerts from participating public transportation authorities and even user reviews of a place! Google mobile official blog has a video demonstrating street view. Direct your phone's web browser to google.com/gmm to get the new version of Google Maps for Mobile.

First Glimpse of Lenova's Android Phone!

Lenova is making an Android phone? This seems to be true. Here is a pic of the rumoured phone from modmygphone.com, for sure this will make HTC shame.

Lenova is working on this phone, codenamed Ophone, for China Mobile. This would be China mobile's first Open Mobile System(OMS) based phone. So it will feature Android and TD SCDMA -their 3G standard. No specs are available right now. Will Lenova bring this phone to international market? There is very less chance.

Netbook Manufacturers Prefer HDDs to SSDs

Analysis shows a huge downfall in the usage of SSDs in Netbooks. SSD was widely regarded as the key component for the Netbooks. More manufacturers like Asus are expected to choose HDDs for their Netbooks.

ASUS EEE PC 901 is a popular Netbook using SSD

The Asian analyst DRAMeXchange finds that 70% of the netbooks came with SSD in the Q1. The figure is dropped to 66% in the next quarter and now it is only30%. The analyst also feels only 10% of the Netbooks would feature SSD in Q1 2009.

So what makes HDDs more popular? There are several reasons but the money factor and capacity will dominate. Large capacity SSDs are expensive than HDDs. The users want their Netbooks to equal the performance of a Notebook. The popularity of Windows OSs in Netbooks are another factor as Windows work better in a HDD version. See the DRAMeXchange report.

Copy and Paste for iPhone with out any software installation

At last some kind of Copy and Paste available for iPhone without any softwares like OpenClip. This new service, called 'Pastebud', works only between Mail and Safari.

The approach uses a combination of two javascript bookmarks and web services to enable copying from Safari and pasting it to Mail or text field of any other webpages. Pastebud cannot copy Paste to other applications like Notes.

But the service is not totally free. An upgrade of $5 is available for more conveneince. The site (now password protected) will be launching tomorrow. Gizmodo has a video demonstrating the functionality.

Get the LG Dare Touchscreen Phone for Free

Here is the special Xmas offer from Telus, a LG Dare for $0.00! But on a 3yr contract basis with $20 bundle or higher for new Canadian customers and may keep the feature on their account for 3 months.

This is not your feature rich Blackberry Storm which is also available through Telus. But this cool phone includes good web browsing capabilities, 3.2 megapixel camera with flash, autofocus, facial recognition and video capture, Telus mobile music service and just 1GB memory card included.

Earlier LG Dare was available for $99.99 on same 3yr contract. The new scheme is available only upto the Christmas day. More details here, or get one!

14 New members join Open Handset Alliance

Open Handset Alliance yesterday announced membership of 14 additional companies. The Android will be the platform to watch in coming days many major carriers and vendors joined the Alliance.

The members of the Alliance will either make Android compatible devices, contibute to the Open Source Project or just support the product and services. As they believe this will accelerate the availability of Android-based devices.

After OS and Browsers the Open Source trend is now in the handets! Find who make the 14: AKM Semiconductor Inc., ARM, ASUSTek Computer Inc., Atheros Communications, Borqs, Ericsson, Garmin International Inc., Huawei Technologies, Omron Software Co. Ltd, Softbank Mobile Corporation, Sony Ericsson, Teleca AB, Toshiba and Vodafone. Click here to read.

Cowon to release S9 Curve in Korea this month

Cowon, leading Portable Media Player (PMP) manufacturer, anounced the new S9 Curve PMP. The S9 curve may continue the success of its8 D2. Cowon didn't release much information about this powerful product except some images and specs in its Korean website.

This sexy PMP comes with a 3.3-inch 16 million color scratch-resistant AMOLED touchscreen. Its sleek elegantly designed metal casing also houses a powerful 500 MHz processor, Bluetooth connectivity, digital television tuner, media player functions and an electronic dictionary.

It will be available for Korean customers from 16th of this month. BoyGeniusReport reports S9 is priced in three flavours: $150, $178 and $212 for its 4GB, 8GB and 16GB variants respectively.

Nokia's Flagship phone N97 announced

Nokia announced its first smartphone featuring both a touchscreen and a full QWERTY keyboard. This would be one of the most powerful phones available. Hear it from Nokia's Vice president for N-series,Jonas Geust "From the desktop to the laptop and now to your pocket, the Nokia N97 is the most powerful, multi-sensory mobile computer in existence".

Product managers calls it a 'facebook phone' as it is tuned for social networking sites, it features high multimedia capabilities. The Symbian Series 60 v.5, corporate clients such as Mail for Exchange and the physical keyboard make it a way closer to the business requirements.

Social-Location (So-Lo) is a new buzzword introduced here. Which refers to the assisted GPS and a built-in compass which enables the social networks to find where their N97 user are and where are they heading. Along with So-Lo the widgets for Facebook and Myspace make it a 'Facebook phone'.

 And it has everything that you expect: 3.5 -inch 640x360 resistive touchscreen, Tri-band HSDPA 3G, 802.11 b/g WiFi,  32GB built-in and microSD expansion upto 16GB,5 megapixel camera with Proffessional Carl Zeiss optics and flash support for web browser. Another phone which could give iPhone a competition. It is expected in first-half of 2009.

Standard & Poor cuts Motorola Ratings to Junk Status

Standard & Poor's Rating Service cut its long-term corporate credit rating on Motorola to 'BB+' from 'BBB', citing its 'operational challenges' that are not expected to fix themselves in the intermediate term. 

According to credit rater it will be harder for Motorola to borrow money to recover, as the cost of doing so has increased and it will result in lower profits, higher debt-to-earnings levels and diminishing cash flows. They also gave Motorola a recovery rate of '3' indicating the expectation for meaningful (50%-70%) debt recovery in the event of payment default.

Standard and Poor (S&P), a division of McGraw-Hill, is one of the top companies which publishes financial research and analysis on stocks and bonds. Motorola is also placed under review for possible rating downgrade by Moody's Investors service, where Motorola is currently just two notches above the junk status.

World's Second Android phone revealed

Beating the front runners Kogan Technologies introduced world's second phone based on widely discussed Android platform. Phone is named as Kogan Agora Pro Mobile and will go on sale by Jan 29. Reportedly it will work on most of the networks around the world, not restricted to its home country - Australia.

Features a 2.5-inch touchscreen along with a QWERTY keyboard, which make it look like a BlackBerry. Connectivity include 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0. Also feature a GPS with Google Maps. It has an edge on others with its 624 Mhz processor! 

As an Android based pone it is finely tuned for browsing and related services: attachment support, IM, Instant email, one touch google search, advanced Youtube support and the list goes on. As open to any network the company eyes the global market for their product. Unlike other Kogen products it provides special provision for international orders. You can find more or place your order here.

Turn your iPod into a Mobile Phone

You can now turn your iPod touch into a phone! All you need is Truphone, a free software downloaded from Apple's App store, and an additional microphone adapter.

Now calls to iPod touch, other Truphone installed devices (iPhone, Nokia N and E series) and Google Talk PC users are only available. The calls calls are absolutely free without any subscription fee or hidden charges.

Truphone is a company building mobile VoIP applications to place international phone calls to mobiles and landlines by routing them over the Internet through Wi-Fi. Even Truphone do not consider it a replacement for an ordinary telephone service. There is no emergency call facility. It also mention the users to confirm the legality of VOIP services in their locations.

The features for iPhone in the Truphone's to do list include calling to landline for a low price, IM to Skype and MSN, calling to Skype, MSN users, check and set facilities for Twitter, Facebook. All services except calling to landlines will be available free of cost. See the official site for details.

Motorola to offer an Android phone

Motorola tries to bring back its brand value and market share through an Android touchscreen model. Motorola recently saw a set back in market after its highly successful Razr V3 model. It is not a secret that Motorola is seriously working on an Android based phone. There were also news that their Android team has been raised to a headcount of about 350.

The Android, which provides similar experience as an iPhone OS, has got nice reviews as it featured with HTC G1. This Motorola's rumoured phone is likely a touchscreen phone with similarities to Motorola Krave ZN4, iPhone and BlackBerry Storm. Motorola would be targeting the youth audience. It is expected to be out only by Q2, 2009.

MotoQ, the latest smartphone range from motorola, has been struggling. Many carriers were also not excited by its latest ranges. Motorola expect to hit back with this model. They already have touchscreen models, but this would probably be motorola's answer to new gen touchscreen models like Nokia 5800, BlackBerry Storm or iPhone. Android is also expected to get a major boost.

Mobile Web browsing on rise

Recent analysis revealed a promising rise in the web usage from mobile phones. The reasons are considered to be the enhanced mobile web browsers and flat-rate mobile data plans. The increased popularity of smart phones is another catalyst. It is clear from the words of, ABI research director, Micheal Wolf:

 

"The increase in awareness of the Web on mobile devices--due to the iPhone and new RIM models--has helped contribute to this growth, as has the continued move towards flat-rate data plans by many mobile operators"

Apple iPhone's web browser became sensational as its browsing experience closely match with that of a PC's. With the heavy success of the iPhone many smartphone manufacturers started to follow the trend. Now all are very keen with their web browsers. Google Android also came up with iPhone like web browser. Manufacturers like Motorola, HTC are planning to release more Android based phones. BlackBerry also introduced an enhanced mobile browser for their new smartphone Bold. All eyes are on its first touchscreen model Storm which is considered as a rival to iPhone. Nokia's touch 5800 Tube is also on race.

If this is not enough there are still more reasons! Subscribing to Mobile data plans are affordable than ever. Many carriers are now offering a flat-data plan. If EDGE is not enough for fast browsing here is 3G. 3G's networks provide reliable and fast access to the web. For a quite some time, the big players in PC web browsers, Forefox, Opera etc are in the business, releasing their own mobile web browsers for smartphones as well as for mid-level phones. Skyfire along with these companies are also working to make their browsers more sophisticated. Opera recently launched beta version of its version 4.2 with improved video rendering with Youtube and more.

About 3-10% of traffic to the top sites come from mobile users! Many top sites have their own sites targeted at mobile browsers. Google said it will provide special support for iPhone users with local results and clock on links.
The increase in mobile web traffic also fueled ad programs targeted at mobile users. With more smarphones in use, fast connectivity and improved browsers the web is about to kick start a promising new era of related services and business!

AMD says NO to Smartphone processors

AMD, one of the leading computer proccessor maker, is not going to make proccessors for smartphones, despite of the heavy boom in smartphone business. General manager of AMD's computing solutions group Randy Allen said:

“We don't expect the MID (Mobile Internet Device) market to become meaningful relative to other opportunities we can address ... of all the opportunities we could go after, we have eliminated microprocessors for smart phones.”

Rather they would go for ultra-portable and mini-notebook computers, which is considered as something that stand between a laptop and a netbook. AMD is very keen in making profit by saying that they will only focus on the area where they are sure to turn a profit. That is why AMD is too selective and is getting ready for the battle with Intel's Atom processors.

AMD is planning a dual-core processor for this segment. The 65nm part codenamed Conseus. scheduled for 2009, features 1MB of cache, DDR2 RAM and a sub 25W TDP. In 2010 and in 2011 Conseus will be followed by Geneva and Ontario(32nm).

First HTC WiMAX handset announced!

Here is HTC's first ever WiMAX handset-HTC Max 4G. With close resemblance to the Touch HD, this phone comes with WiMAX also known as IEEE 802.16e. Max 4G has a 3.8 inch WVGA display, 8GB internal memory, GPS. Unlike Touch HD it doesn't feature a 3.5mm audio jack.The phone also supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0. Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional runs on a 528MHz processor with a 288 built in RAM.

The network is not adapted in many countries as it is in its early stages. This phone is aimed at Russian markets through Yota, as Russia is one country that is adopting this standard. Yota provides a lot of exciting services too - Yota TV, Yota Music, Yota Video and Yap-Yap (photos with geographic coordinates). More info here.

Apple releases Software Upgrade for iPhone 3G

Apple released software upgrade for iPhone including new features and fixing some stability bugs. But the upgrade may not excite everyone as some expected fix are not addressed yet. It will continue with further updates so as to address the other matters, stated Apple.

Here lists the important added features in iPhone 2.2 Software Update.

Google maps: A new feature called Street view is included this allow a closer view of locations. Other new improvements include walking and public transportation direction, adjustment of UI and sharing of location via email.

Podcasts: Now you can download audio or video podcast directly to the device. Wi-Fi or cellular data networks could be used for it.

Web Browser: Now Safari performs better! Ergonomic search bar integrated.

App store: Enhanced user experience. Now users are alloed to rate applications.

Texting and Mailing: The much discussed auto-correction got an important upgrade. You an now turn it off! The formatting of HTML e-mail is improved and so is the Visual Voicemail with good sound quality.

Home Screen Shortcut: This allow you to create a shortcut to your first Home screen from another.

Security: New measures to prevent malicious code attacks from some websites, TIFF images or Excel files.

Other fixes: Some other flaws like display of SMS messages in emergency call mode and long-distance emergency call are fixed. Now users can only make emergency calls to a certain set of numbers.

What it lacks?

• Copy/paste feature (apple promised this for quite some time)
  
• Integration with iCall and Outlook.
  
• Push alert system (One that Apple presented at this year's WWDC)
  

... so be patient for more from apple.

Connect your iPhone to iTunes and click on the "Check for Update" button to get the updates, its completely free. Check official site.

Smartphones will be Cyber-criminals next Target

The cyber-criminals next focus could be the cell phones reports The Georgia Institute of Technology Information Security Center (GTISTC) in its annual Emerging Cyber Threats Report. Experts suggests users to be more cautious with their phones just like they protect their PC's from spam or virus attacks.

Simen Coney of Adaptive Mobile says:

"One of common types we see now runs amok on the Symbian platform. These viruses work their way through the contact book, sending themselves out to every subscriber who has been called or has called that handset."

Adaptive Mobile tracks malware and provides security software for mobile firms. They found that number of mobile spam and viruses is increasing. The virus incidences increased about 50% from last year. With more smartphones in use more applications allow financial services, and criminals will try to access such sensitive data.

The mobile viruses were not as dangerous as computer viruses as they are on its early stages. The first mobile viruses came as executable files but now more sophisticated viruses show up, Coney added:

"But in the last four months, the majority of viruses we now see are of a new type that either masquerade as an MP3 file, a picture file, or a media file"

He put forward various suggestions like exercising the same caution with their mobile devices as with a PC, cautious when running attachments, keeping an eye on the mobile bills on regular basis and turning bluetooth connection to undiscoverable mode.

The GTISC's report suggests co-operation between operators, manufacturers, and application developers is the easier way to develop a robust security infrastructure for mobiles. Read the Network world's article on the GTISC cyber threats report.

Samsung's New TouchWiz phone - Eternity (A867)

One more phone to the full face touchscreen category, Samsung Eternity. Samsung, which has produced successful models like Instinct and Omnia, recently become the no:1 phone makers in terms of market share in US.

The etertnity comes in a black and chrome exterior with a 3.2-inch screen. Samsung's TouchWiz UI is set on a haptic supported touch screen, which vibrates providing keystroking experience. The TouchWiz provide a "drag and drop" feature for instant access to music player, IM, AT&T Mobile TV etc from home screen itself.

Listen to Bill Ogle, CMO, Samsung America:

"The Eternity brings the big screen to the palm of your hand.This touch-screen mobile TV handset is part of Samsung's TouchWiz line of phones and keeps you entertained and connected on the go."

AT&T Mobile TV is another highlight, which streams television contents from CNBC, ESPN Mobile, MTV, Nickelodeon, CNN Mobile etc. Eternity includes a good web browser manipulating the touchscreen with easy navigation and Zoom-in Zoom-out capabilities.

Other specs include 3.0 mega pixel camera capable of video capturing, Bluetooth, up to 8GB extendable microSD slot, advanced messaging capabilities inlcuding IM etc. Features accelerometer to arrange orientation of display, motion sensing games and photo scrolling. the three dedicated keys also adds to convenient navigation.

HP announced first Multi-touch Notebook

HP announced its first multi-touch notebook- HP TouchSmart TX2. It may be the first notebook to feature multi-touch technology in its screen, but the first notebook to integrate multi-touch  technology in a notebook is Apple MaBook Pro, which used a multi-touch trackpad.

The multi-touch technology used is different from the iPhone's multi-touch. TouchSmart uses 'Captive touch', which claims to enable more accurate inputs. It also supports brushes, swipes and two-handed gestures like MicroSoft Surface. So unlike other touches in market you can now crop photos using two hands. It comes with a digital ink pen too.

The notebook features a 12-inch screen could swivel to slate mode just like its predecessor tx2500. The TouchSmart can be configured. The AMD Turion X2 Dual-core processor can be 2.0GHz or 2.4Ghz. Other features include upto 8GB RAM, a harddrive option from 160GB to 500GB, ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics chip. It also includes a digital TV tuner. Starting from just $1199, TouchSmart will be available in market by Jan 2009. Click here for more.

The new Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 has it all!

It is the all new Sony Ericsson Xperia that turned our attention, a slider with QWERTY keypad. It has all the features that a N96 or the proposed iPhone killers have. This touchscreen SE's QWERTY keypad and some other features would really make it a way close to your business needs. The Windows Mobile platform is same time a boon and a bane.

As any Sony Ericsson it features an excellent camera of 3 megapixel which also supports video recording. The screen that features 65 k colors has some thing to emphasis - it has got a resolution of 800X480 - a long way ahead 5800 Tube or a Blackberry Storm! The 3 inch touch sensitive WVGA screen is framed in a piano black finish. 

Using Windows Mobile 6.1, it has all the Windows advantages that comes with. But like many WM based phones it has a slow processing time and a non-impressive battery back-up. The 528MHz processor doesn't look enough.

The inputs for Xperia is what make it special. Along with the touchscreen (not a multi-touch), and QWERTY keypad it also have a optical joystick, which may add to your browsing experience. Another highlight is the Xperia Panels, nine awesome menu shortcuts in the homescreen. Other features include Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, HSPA and assisted GPS. 

After all, it is not your eye candy iPhone or hyped 5800Tube but a super stylish business functionality phone. As a Sony Erricsson running a Windows Mobile it has all to please you. This is not just another phone to be hyped as an iPhone killer, rather it is all set to create new trends that others may be watching carefully.

Blackberry 'Storm' the Smartphone market

Iconic iPhone's latest after-effect! Like Steve Jobs iPhone is iconic by proving touchscreen has lot more to do. The leading vendors like Nokia, Blackberry etc who never tried their luck with touchscreen turned irresistible with the trend. Android's iPhone like interface is another example.


Any way Nokia came with 5800 Tube as a real challenge to iPhone. The challenge doesn't end, iPhone have to face more challenges. Now it is RIM's Storm, another possible threat to iPhone. All smartphones that target at iPhones market share highlight what iPhone lacks-like video-recording, bluetooth, landscape keyboard, voice-dialing etc


This the new 'Storm' from leading smartphone provider RIM. This cool looking phone has got all what iPhone is criticized for. Video-recording, bluetooth, 3 types of keyboard, voice-dialing, better camera (3.2 MP) with auto-focus and auto-flash, group text messaging, MMS and more... RIM's first UI for a touchscreen Blackberry looks awesome, though underlying OS remains the same. Hopefully retaining the reliability and usability that comes with them...

Blackberry Storm 9500 comes with 1GB internal memory with an extendable microSD slot up to 8GB. The OS runs on a 624 MHz CPU with 192 MB RAM. Is not the icons beautifully arranged in an easy usable pattern?


What if you like to have the UI in the other way with landscape menus... just rotate it. Like iPhone it also features an accelerometer which in turn switch to landscape and portrait mode when the hand set is rotated.


The screen is a crystal clear TFT Touchscreen of 3.3 inches, at a resolution of 360 X 480 pixels. A-GPS and Blackberry maps will help you to find businesses and restaurants effortlessly.

The main highlight of Storm would be its 'Haptic' touch technology, where users feel the buttons to be pressed and released as with a real keyboard. Giving iPhone a blow it features three keyboard options: QWERTY in landscape mode, SureType and Traditional 12-key in Portrait mode.

This is the SureType mode, where users type in portrait mode. Here keys are arranged in QWERTY fashion with many keys share two letters. Special keys to launch numeric keypad, symbols, caps etc. Users type using a dictionary which resembles T9 dictionary. see the above pic.

Here is the landscape keyboard. Which looks more eye candy than 5800 Tube's keyboard on first look. This offers easy interface for the users to type using their thumps, a feature which would be a necessity for coming touchscreen phones!

Nokia's Roadmap for Smart Phones Leaked?

Yes, you heard it right! Nokia's roadmap for upcoming smart phones leaked. There are over 30 sexy smart phones on their way to hit the market. But don't think that Nokia is going to launch all the prototypes in the roadmap. Also there is no authentication for this. The list also include the announced 5800 Tube. The prototypes are labeled either 'Development complete' or 'In development'.

Any way there are a lot of promising designs among them. Here are some that attracted me:

Corolla: It, code named as Corolla, is supposed to have a 8 megapixel camera! Nokia about to challenge players like Samsung which already has a 8MP cam phone on the market? This non-touchscreen half QWERTY keyboard phone will use a 3 inch VGA display. It says OS 5.0.1. 128MB RAM and 8GB ROM is also proposed. more than enough for a phone right? The model is under development, it says a prototype availability of 2009 11th week.

IP08: One more widescreen touch that we know so far. They expect it to be available by the end of this year. It says 'QWERTY' keyboard too?! Is it a sidekick phone? Supposed to use OS 5.0. megapixel auto-focus camera, Wi-Fi, TV output etc are other features. It also features Nokia's own Naviscroll.

Ivalo: To all our surprise, this follow-on to IP08 phone will have a ROM of 32GB! The phone under development will feature a 3.5 wide touchscreen and all other IP08 features. Prototype is expected to be available with in this year.

Surfer: Nokia completely developed Surfer with Landscape 2.6-inch QVGA screen, QWERTY keyboard, NaviWheel...

Athlon: Considered as refreshed N85. Include features like Quadband GSM, HSDPA, 8-16GB ROM, analog joystick, integrated compass, stereo speakers, GPS, WiFi... Its 5MP camera comes with xenon flash.

Eitri: This may be the most promising prototype in the list. It will be a Landscape candybar with QWERTY keyboard. Will be using a 3.5-inch 640×350 display. It says pressure sensitive touch UI with tactile feedback and
gestures! Along with a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera the phone under develpment includes an integrated compass, accelerometer and proximity sensor.

Tera: Tera will have 'hybrid QWERTY keypad' along with AGPS with integrated compass, 3MP camera with LED flash, WiFi.

Jig: Jig's special feature is that it is a Landscape slider for AT&T using 6650’s guts. Other specs will be Quadband GSM, HSDPA, 2MP camera, 2.4-inch display.

Ofcourse Nokia's research department is too rich for the coming year. No doubt, with a few exciting novel features, the market leader is going to rock coming years. Etri and Corolla deserve special attention as they are capable to take smart phones to next level! See the complete roadmap here.

Three New Limited Edition Vertu Ferrari Phones Announced

It's worth visiting the official site for pics and more.

Vertu, poineer and leader in handcrafted mobile phones for the luxury market, annouced the release of three new editions to its Ferrari branded mobile phone collection. The three models, namely Vertu Ascent Ti Ferrari Nero, Rosso and Giallo, are designed to reflect the exclusivity, elegence and performance of the Ferrari supercars. The Nero comes in black leather while Rosso in red and giallo in yellow.

The Ascent Ti's design are highly influenced by the 'Prancing Horse', hear it from Frank Nuovo, chief of design for vertu:

" The original design for the Ascent Ti was heavily influenced by the dynamic power of luxury sports cars and working closely with Ferrari has enabled us to progress thes vision. The new Vertu Ascent Ti Ferrari editions are the definitive automotive-inspired handsets - bold, balanced and with the unmistakable character of the Prancing Horse."

Ascent Ti editons use same leather and stiching used in latest Ferrari car interiors. The battery cover and the sides of Ascent Ti resembles respectively the bonnet and louvers of various Ferrari cars. 'Ti' in the model name resmbles Titanium, the non-corrosive metal with which the phone 'chasis' is made of. It also features fine sapphire crystal screen. The ringtones in Ascent Ti include original recordings of original Ferrar engine sounds from the F430 and 612 Scalietti, blended by famous songwriter and musician Dave Stewart. The Ferrari logo also appears on the front and back of the phones.

The handsets comes with quad-band GSM radio(850/900/1800/1900MHz), a 3 megapixel camera with auto-focus and flash, 4 GB of internal memory and Bluetooth connectivity. It is reportedly have a five hours of talk time and 300 hours battery standby time. Yeah, specs are not bad, but cannot even categorize it into smartphone category. Only 2009 units of these limited edition phones will be available for sale worldwide, so hurry to grab one ONLY if you are a huge Ferrari fan and a Vertu matches your wallet!

A better BOLD BlackBerry!

Bold is another serious phone that BlackBerry brings into the market. It could be considered as the best BlackBerry phone ever with a lot of best features among BBs. One can't say it is a completely different BlackBerry, but just an improved one. The phone stand out from any other Blackberry in terms of its looks. Sufficient improvements made in this area, from the chrome border around it (resembling that of iPhone's) to the gorgeous screen but it may get scratched easily.

The screen is best thing in this phone. May be best screen in any phone! Its 480x320 screen has high contrast level and good pixel density. It also have screen-auto-dim, that controls the brightness according to the surroundings, giving you no trouble. The first thing came to mind about a Blackberry may be its keyboard. Again Bold features a good quality keyboard, same layout as other BBs, sufficiently large keys that beautifully back litted.

Bold provides very consistent and reliable 3G connection despite the earlier reports. Built in GPS capabilities along with the Blackberry maps is a good companion while your drive, though it is found little slow. Bold also features a good Wi-Fi connectivity for data transfer for reducing your cellular costs. Reports shows a good battery life with its 1500mAh battery that promises to last for a full day of heavy use.

Watching video in a Bold's gorgeous screen is really amazing. Sound department has got notable changes, it features good speakers instead of covered speakers as in Curve. The sound quality improved alot. The menu for music/video remain unchanged except for the looks. 

RIM introduced a better and different feel to the OS, though basically it remains same as other BBs. High resolution icons, pleasant looking menu and everything is improved to go with the Bold's look. Like any other BB OS it take a lot of time in start up, it need almost 4 minutes. Once it is loaded it runs really smooth with its speedy 624MHz processor. Along with your favorite applications from RIM Bold features few new apps too, including two new multiplayer games (over wi-fi or cellular networks).

Bold's Browser is too good, again best in a BB. Faster than any other BB, it could even compete with iPhone's rendering speed. It has got improved control in your browsing. The pointer by default is a zoom pointer. Small but significant changes in the area where BB is most interested at, that is the e-mail, like the ability to see pictures in message, full HTML and attachment viewing. The high resolution screen also adds to the better email experience as well as browsing.

So if you are a BlackBerry user who want to upgrade your phone , yeah, this is the way to GO but only if you are still not bothered by the touchscreen trend brought by iPhone! Else wait for the Storm where you can catch everything, even more than, that iPhone offers in a BlackBerry!

Nokia 5800 Xpressmusic all set to take on iPhone

Widely hyped as an iPhone killer Nokia's first touchscreen phone Nokia 5800 has a hand ful of feature that iPhone doesn't posses. Nokia 5800 could be the first real threat to the iPhone. Have a look at what iPhone doesn't have but Nokia 5800 Xpressmusic does, even with an advantage of price.

Video recording

One of the most discussed drawback of iPhone is the lack of video recording option. iphone uses a 2 megapixel camera with no flash while 5800 incorporates a 3.2 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens, auto focus and a dual-LED flash. It supports video recording upto 640x480 pixels and 30 fps.

Video conferencing

No video conferencing facilities in 3G iPhone as it doesn't support video recording Nokia 5800 also features video calling upto 3 hours.

Free Music service

An important advantage with iPhone is the services that Apple provides like app store, online store for music, TV, video etc. But hear Nokia made a forward leap with company's new music service, `Comes With Music', with one year free subscription! 

Alpha numeric keypad and landscape keyboard

Many are still not so conviced by the onscreen keyboard of iPhone, there is no fullscreen keyboard and an alpha numeric one. For text input Nokia's touchscreen phone has four options: handwriting, mini QWERTY keyboard, full screen QWERTY and alphanumeric keypad.

Replaceable Battery

The area where iPhone is being critizised the most is the non-replaceable battery. Apple claims replaceable battery make it bulky, but interestingly many decent sleek phones comes with replaceable battery, which are even not as expensive. Nokia 5800 is one, that claims 35 hours of music, 3hours of video playback and a standby time of 300 hours!

Adobe Flash Player

Though widely publicised as 'an internet communication device' iPhone doesn't support Adobe Flash player, an essential tool for today's browsing!

So that it cannot render video from many sites but Youtube provides special technical support though the large collection of video is not available to the iPhone users. Nokia 5800 comes with the Adobe Flash Player.

Messaging

Text messaging is considered one of the favorite services that mobile phone offers. But in an iPhone you cannot forward text messages! Nor you can send to multiple contacts. MMS feature is completely excluded. 5800 Xpressmusic features SMS, group messaging, MMS, image resizing for MMS etc.

Voice recognition

iPhone doesn't have support for voice recognition (though it recognise everything else from temperature, light...). So it lacks voice dialing or voice command unlike Nokia 5800.

Bluetooth

No bluetooth filesharing possible with an iPhone but provides support to Apple bluetooth headset. Here also the Nokia leads.

Expandable Memory slot

Yes 16 MB is quite large but look what Nokia 5800 offers. It has 81 MB internal memory and up to 16 Gb expandable micro SD slot. Little more handy than an iPhone with 8 or 16 GB options, right? In a way even leads to infinite storage capacity...

T-mobile G1 may not 'kill' iPhone!

Finally Tmobile brings out the rumoured 'Google phone', which uses Google Android platform and the phone is made by HTC. Obviously not as attractive as Apple iPhone. But it is Google's Android that made the impact here. So the software and hardware should be seperately discussed as many others are also keen with Android.

Android Interface

Apple the unarguable trend setter definetly influenced the smart phone market! Android has a lot of features similar to iPhone but not as attractive. Being version 1.0 it is surprisingly complete and deserve appaulse. Favorite icons, "widgets", web pages or address-book "cards" could be placed in the desktop just like a computer. Just like iPhone app store here is Andriod market featuring open programs most of them are even free. Apple doesn't allow programs that make phone calls through internet but Google reportedly not against it.

The menu button, which serves just like right mouse button, provide functions related to what you are doing. Zooming using + - is definitley not exciting as pinching in an iPhone. Seperate applications for gmail and other mails. Calender, address book etc are based on Google accouints only- so welcome to the community if you need the phone! ou cannot synchronise multimedia files here as iTunes do in iPhone. T-mobile provides amason music stores but only in US. Unlike iPhones it could Voice-dial, picture-message and aslo got a built-in audio recorder and could turn any song into a ringtone free of cost.

Talking about the phone it has Wi-Fi, GPS and a camera(no video recording). The dedicated buttons(send end and back) along with the trackball make it more flexible than an iPhone. It has a QWERTY thumb keyboard just like a sidekick phone- good news for those who don't like an anscreen keyboard. But everytime you have to turn the phone horizintally to enter a text. It has got a removable battery, which along with the keyboard make it thicker than iPhone. Little built-in storage space-have to use a microSD which could no way match massive 16GB iPhone.