Month: August 2006

“Archos held a press conference this morning in France to present all new generation 4th portable media players: 404, 404cc, 504, 604 and 604 Wifi. Generation MP3 was there and published photos and details of all the new Archos players. Archos held back on the details of the 504, which can come with up to 160GB of storage. Archos also showed the 404 Camcorder at the press-event. As the name says this compact portable media player has a video camera built-in.The new 4th generation of Archos portable media players looks great. Well done Archos. I am just waiting to see how they play with Microsoft’s Zune. Now that we know that Toshiba makes the Zune player, it could also mean that MS is opening up the system to its PlayForSure partners.” via i4u.com

“Moving on to the GP2X buttons, on the right side you have the Select and Start buttons and the A, B, X and Y buttons arranged in a circle. The left side of the unit includes an 8-way directional joystick as well as a volume bar allowing you to press right to increase the volume and left to decrease. The ABXY buttons are virtually in the same place as the PSP’s triangle, circle, square and X buttons. The joystick rises fairly high above the surface of the GP2X which works for gameplay but makes me nervous that something could snag the joystick when the not in use. The GP2X does not have any other buttons like the PSP’s directional arrows. As a husband that has lost his rights to play the PSP in bed late at night due to the noise of the buttons, I appreciate that the GP2X ABXY buttons are much quieter than the ‘clicky’ sounds of the PSP buttons. The PSP’s joystick seems to move smoother than the GP2X, but since the PSP joystick barely hovers above the surface, thumb cramps occur more frequently than on the GP2X.” Read this nice review here:

” If like me you like your RTS games and especially Warfare Inc on the Palm then checkout Azeroth Wars which is an RTS based on Warcraft I. It’s in beta at the moment and there is a discussion on the game with the developer over at 1src so take a look. On the TX it works fine in portrait full screen but not landscape. If you find it a bit dark goto the options and press “light” and set it to fast as well! Overall it looks like a good game. Give it a go and let the developer know what you think.” via palmaddict.typepad.com

“The Nokia E62, the yet to be officially anounnced US version of the E61, is starting to generate interest amongst the US media. The E62 is expected to be available on Cingular in the second half of Septmber with subsidised pricing starting at $100 ($300 unsubsidised). Read on for further details. Despite its unannounced status the E62 has been reviewed favourably by some US based technology correspondents: Walter Mossberg writing in his Personal Technology column concludes that the E62 is a solid an inexpensive smartphone. Sascha Segan writing for PC Magazine (via GearLog) thinks the E62 will become a top handheld in the US and with a compelling price could become a killer handheld. Gary Krakow writing for MSNBC thinks the E62 is spectacular and ‘may just be the best smartphone around’. The E62 has the same design as the E61, but the WCDMA (3G) and WiFi connectivty has been removed. Consumers will have to make do with GPRS and EDGE connection speeds. Software changes are also expected including better support for keybord shortcuts and Cingular application customisations. The E62 is an example of the power of the US carriers – the E61 is a quad-band GSM phone and as such is perfectly usable in the US. The E61’s WCDMA radio is not compatiable with current US 3G networks, and so its removal does represent a cost saving. However the removal of the WiFi is likely to be an operator request aimed at defending data revenues. As such the E62 which is available for approximately $100 more may be a better buy for users wanting a greater range of connectivity options.As a thumb keyboard phone device the E62 will be facing off against the the Motorola Q, Blackberry series devices, Palm Treo 700p and Palm Treo 700w. It represents Nokia’s first serious push into the US corporate market with an Enterprise specific device. Both the Q and Treo devices are available on EVDO networks meaning faster data speeds. However for the same reason they are also unusable outside the US. Nokia will also point towards its vendor agnostic approach to corporate services – the E62 supports all the major corporate mobile email systems from the market leading Blackberry, through GoodLink, Visto, Seven, Visto to Microsoft’s Exchange server technology. The S60 platform, in sharp contrast to Europe, is little known in the US market where Palm and Windows Mobile are the dominant platforms. Although many are anticipating an interesting face off between the major platforms it is worth remembering that the E62 represents only a small portion of the S60 device portfolio. In the US the corporate smartphone market has great potential, but still looks small next to the potential smartphone consumer market. Nokia are clearing hoping for success with the E62, but it is it’s rivals that are probably more concerned as their core markets and devices, especially Palm’s Treo, come under increasing competitive pressure. ” via allaboutsymbian.com

“Dubai headquartered i-mate has launched two new HTC-made 3G handsets. The i-mate SP JAS and the i-mate JASJAM are the first i-mate devices to feature thumb-wheels for easy menu navigation, allowing users to quickly scroll within their inbox or simply move from one function to the next.The i-mate SP JAS offers Microsoft Windows Mobile functionality in a stylish and slim mobile phone format, while the i-mate JASJAM is a fully-featured Microsoft Windows Pocket PC, or handheld computer phone and one of the first products in the world to offer 3G (WCDMA), EDGE and WiFi global roaming access.The i-mate JASJAM also features a 400 MHz processor for blistering high speed data access and quad band support for global connectivity which will make it the device of choice for business travelers with a need for constant and fast connectivity.Pre-loaded with Microsoft Exchange Direct Push2 technology, both devices provide instant access to emails, allowing users to open and view Microsoft Office attachments in Word, Excel and PowerPoint Mobile in both English and Arabic.The i-mate JASJAM provides users with a range of dynamic flexible data input methods including i-mate’s scroll wheel, a touch-screen display and slider QWERTY keyboard. It features a 2.0 megapixel camera with macro mode. Both devices also feature a second lens for simple video conferencing connectivity.The i-mate SP JAS and i-mate JASJAM are available now at USD $888 (AED 3,259, SR 3,330) and USD $544 (AED 1999, SR 2,040) respectively. A complimentary trial version of i-mate Suite – i-mate’s own mobile device solution that minimizes downtime, safeguards data, and allows secure access and information transfers–is pre-installed on each device.” via slashphone.com

“Here we are at the next frontier in mobile entertainment and information. While cell phones, PDAs, and PMPs cannot possibly have displays larger than the devices themselves, the Philips READUS has a stealthy roll-out screen (check out the video to see what I mean) that is flexible and lightweight. Utilizing technology from E Ink Corp, the electronic ink display is said to be “easy to read, even in bright daylight”. When you’re done reading whatever you’re reading, you simply roll the 5-inch QVGA display back in, and you’ve got yourself something that’s about the same size as the average cell phone on the market (100 x 60 x 20mm). Much better than unfolding and struggling with a full-size newspaper.The working prototype is, unfortunately, just monochrome with four different shades of gray, but the company representative did mention that they are working on larger displays as well as those with color capabilities and even a touchscreen interface. In the meantime, you should really restrict yourself to simple text, electronic maps, and the like.” Check out this nice video here:

““It’s all in your hands!” This hand reading software will guide you to self-understanding with many simple and entertaining image tests.Learn Hand Analysis / Reading with your PDA. Surprise and impress your friends. Discover more about yourself. Entertain your family or even read other people’shands and know more about them.It is fun!!!Analyze you Palm / Fingers and discover everything about you & your inner thoughts. How to read palms the different lines and their meanings, hand shapes, fingers shapes, health carreer & love in your palms.Hand Reading Pro Features:1) Tuned for 2003, 2003SE and 2005 devices.1) VGA, QVGA and Square (240×240. Eg: Treo 700w) resolutions.2) You can set up to 3 completely different users at the same time!3) Fully supports all newest pdas. (Treo 700w, VGA, WM2005)—29/Aug/2006 UPDATE (1.2) —* 320×240 Horizontal resolution now supported.* 640×480 Horizontal resolution now supported.* Bugs fixed ” Check it here:

“The Apple iPod popularized the minimalist look. You don’t need to look big and flashy to get people’s attention these days. Instead, it seems the public prefers the understated elegance of fingerprint-attracting glossy white. Samsung has taken the popular iPod-look and adapted it to their latest music phone: the Z610. Rocking a smooth white exterior, chrome accents, and prominent music controls, the Z610 looks pretty darn sweet.We’re not sure how much memory is on board, but if you really want to make use of the integrated MP3/WMA/AAC media player, you’d probably want to stuff a gig (or more) into the microSD expansion slot. The 2.0 megapixel camera features notably on the back of the phone, with a VGA unit on the front for video telephony: yup, this is a 3G handset. If you’re wondering where you’d dial your digits, fret not, because this is a slider phone. (C’mon, it’s Samsung. Would you really expect anything different?)No word on pricing, but this did just receive FCC approval. Take that for what it’s worth.” via mobilemag.com

“The model’s display boasts a diagonal of 2.4 inches (37×50 mm) and capable of showing up to 262 colors (TFT) at a resolution of 240×320 pixels. Exactly the same screen is adopted by Nokia N71 and there is no wonder in that: it looks and feels great, has the right proportions. It’s interesting to know that VGA screens will use comparable diagonals – the platform is being turned nowadays, so that by the time these displays hit the market it will have been ready to operate with them. The picture on the N73 looks fine and allows for no criticism. Besides, the display is armed with a translucent metallic substrate, ensuring that information on the screen will remain readable even in the sun – it’s a signature of the models retaining to the latest generation.” Read this GREAT review here:

A SUPER confident Symbian is claiming to have kept the Beast of Redmond at bay with a 65 to 70 per cent share of the smartphone sector, according to CEO, Nigel Clifford.We wonder whether this is merely the lull before the storm, when Windows Mobile 5.0 begins to mount a real challenge or operators finally get their act together with a standard version of Linux, via the Mobile Linux Forum.Symbian claims to have shipped 12.3 million units in Q2 2006 compared to 7.8 million units in Q2 2005. Intriguingly, the average royalty rate per phone has risen and revenues increased by 74 per cent to to around 71.7 USD million (37.9 Pound million).The snag is that Symbian is very dependent on its key customers. Nokia accounts for around 70 per cent of sales, while circa 28 per cent of sales come from Japan. It’s worth noting that two major Japanese mobile phone suppliers – NEC and Panasonic – are key founders of the Mobile Linux Forum.To enforce is postion, Symbian introduced a new licensing model (from July 1st 2006), which provides for lower royalty rates. It didn’t specify what the new rate is.Presently there are some 86 different Symbian-powered devices from 10 different vendors. It would be useful to know how that compares to Windows Mobile 5.0 licencees.” via theinquirer.net