Day: February 28, 2006

The biggest mobile phone vendor, the Finnish company Nokia is back at 35% global market share after a dramatic fall in 2004, according to the survey. It took the cell phones from Finland almost two years to resume its position lost in 2004 after the company failed to introduce popular folding phones, and it can take its 40% market share again, market research group Gartner said. “I think it is still a hard target to get, but it looks definitively more possible now than when they were talking about it a year ago,” said analyst Carolina Milanesi after Gartner published 4Q shipments of cell phones to consumers. The market share of Nokia with sales to consumers is higher than the 34.2% market share based on already published shipments to distributors, i.e. more Nokia phones found their way to end users than phones from other manufacturers. According to this survey, almost all big vendors increased their shares on the global market. * Motorola from 16.3% to 17.8% * Samsung lost slightly to 12.1% against 12.2% * LG from 6.8% to 7.2% * Sony Ericsson from 6.3% to 6.9% * BenQMobile which took over Siemens handset business slipped to 4.7% from 6.5%.Gartner expects the total handset market to grow by 10-15% in 2006 from the 817 million handsets sold to consumers in 2005. via Reuters.com

Fifth Media Sdn. Bhd. announced today that the new AXIA A308 PDA Phone will be unveiled to the international market at the CeBIT exhibition in Hannover next month. Described as being a quad-band device offering GSM, GPRS and EDGE connectivity, the AXIA 308 also features Wifi connectivity. It is also the world’s smallest PDA Phone on the Microsoft Windows Mobile 5 operating system. “The AXIA A308 represents an obvious next step in mobile device consolidation. The device user gets full access to traditional cellular services from just about anywhere in the world, with its quad-band capabilities. Its compact size and built-in Wifi will set this device apart as a business tool,” said Mr. Bernard Bowiz, Chief Technical Adviser of Fifth Media Sdn. Bhd. “With the increasing proliferation of Wifi hotspots, the AXIA A308 will also offer a more cost effective way for users to access the Web,” adds Mr. Bowiz. Check more about this new PDA phone here:

Haeir N60 linux smartphone is one of the linux smartphone available in the market. Recently Haier has used it on demonstrating the Access Linux Platform. The Haier N60 got a SDIO expansion card, means you can add a WiFi connection to it. It also has a swiveling, 320×240 touch screen, a Linux-based OS, a 400-Mhz processor, built-in MP3 and MPEG4 players. No bluetooth for this phone, could be a problem for a smartphone. See its specifications and photos here.SpecificationsMode GSM Triband 900 / 1800 / 1900OS LinuxDimensions 48 x 25 x 94 mmBattery Type Lithium-Ion 900 mAhBattery Life Up to 180 mins talk time Up to 200 hours standby timeWeight 131 gramsDisplay 2,62,000 colors, (240 x 320)Expansion Slot SDIO card slotBuilt-in Memory 59MBCamera 1.3 MegapixelConnectivityGPRS, Infrared, Java, MMS, SMS, USB, WAPOthers64 polyphonic, MP3/MPEG player, MPEG video recorder

Wolverine Data may not be the biggest name on the market, but it is the company that is releasing a portable media player (PMP) with the world’s largest current storage capacity. The MVP 9120 sports an incredible 120GB hard drive, which is more than adequate for a wide library of videos, music, and pictures. There are also smaller versions available in the company’s MVP line, including 60GB and 100GB renditions, but hey, you might as well splurge for the 120 gigger.Other features include a built-in 7-in-1 memory card reader, which makes this great for those longer family vacations when your tiny 1GB memory card just isn’t enough for all your digital pictures. If the 2.5-inch color screen isn’t enough to satisfy your portable viewing purposes, you can always make use of the video-out port. Another unique feature is that this unit can handle 33 different RAW-type image files complete with EXIF information. Of course, this is also USB 2.0 ready.The Wolverine MVP 9120 comes bundled with the necessary cables, a remote control, an ear piece, and a carry case with a built-in speaker. Look for a retail price of $599. via mobilemag.com

28 February 2006, London – Sony Ericsson takes digital imaging in camera phones to new heights today with the launch of the K800 and K790 phones, the first handsets to carry the Cyber-shot brand, a true mark of imaging quality. Both are highly capable mobile phones with integrated 3.2 Megapixel digital cameras with Autofocus, Xenon flash and BestPic – Sony Ericsson’s unique imaging technology that allows you to capture exactly the moment you desire. K800 and K790 combine advanced image capture capabilities with high speed data transfer, making them perfect tools for shooting and sharing high quality pictures and videos. K800 is a dual-mode UMTS/GPRS phone and the K790 is a Tri Band EDGE phone. Both are available from Q2 2006. Read more at sonyericsson and the first review here:

“We have been comparing GPS receivers since the site was launched in late 2002… These days, new GPS systems and chipsets seem to be ‘popping out’ each day, in PDAs, in phones, AIO’s, etc… While guides will compare similar systems, GPS receivers for PDAs and PCs, All In One’s (WIP), GPS PDA’s (WIP), we will have regular ‘cross-platform’ comparisons to see what type of performance each platform has to offer. As in the chipset comparison article, all the testing will be done ‘side by side’…” Read this great article here: via pocketpcthoughts.com

At PMA 2006 show Sony Electronics has announced its storage card Memory Stick PRO Duo capacious of 4 GB. According to the company, this is the highest capacity for Memory Stick cards at the moment. This format is supported by many Sony devices, including digital still cameras of Cyber-Shot T and Cyber-Shot W series, Handycam camcorders and PSP game console. Memory Stick PRO Duo cards are supplied with adapters to use them in the slots for standard Memory Stick cards. They feature 15 Mbps data transfer speed. The 4GB card will be available only in July at about $250. via mobile-review.com