“Some Chinese source has posted info and a picture of Motorola A1600 smartphone (MOTOMING 2). I’d remind you that another Linux-powered smartphone with the touch-sensitive display Motorola A1200 (MOTOMING) hit the Chinese stores last March and got high popularity. Probably Motorola A1600 will follow the steps of the predecessor. The new model features enhanced specs – a faster processor being one of them. The official announcement of the MOTOMING 2 might take place in February 2007 at 3GSM Congress.The short specs of Motorola A1600 (MOTOMING 2):
Networks – GSM/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
Linux operating system
3.2-megapixel camera with auto focus and LED-flash
Wi-Fi
AGPS
3 preinstalled games
Thickness – 17.5 mm” via mobile-review.com
Layoffs coming as Palm sinks lower
“Palm plans to get smaller in the coming weeks, as less money coming in the door means less money to spread around.A company representative confirmed a report earlier Wednesday by PalmInfocenter that the struggling company has begun informing employees of job cuts, just as the holiday season kicks into full gear. The representative said Palm is not disclosing how many employees were affected by the decision to cut jobs, but PalmInfocenter said the number could be in the “hundreds.” Palm had 1,247 employees as of May 31, according to its annual report.Palm announced earlier this month that quarterly revenue and gross margin would be well below expectations after the company was unable to get a new product qualified for release, setting the stage for the layoffs. The company has struggled mightily this year as the Treo smartphone, so popular in years past, has fallen out of favor with consumers and businesses. The hardware look and feel of the Treo has grown stale against thinner models, and there still hasn’t been a major update to the Palm OS since 2004, an eternity in this industry.CEO Ed Colligan does not appear to be among those who will be laid off, at least yet. It’s hard to see how fewer people will make it easier for Palm to create something new, but the company doesn’t really have a choice if it wants to stay in business. It’s really sad to see a company that has played such a pivotal role in the advancement of mobile computing on the brink like this.” via cnet.com
Opera Mobile 9 to come out in first half 2008
“We’ve got info that new Opera Mobile version number 9 to be preinstalled on WM-devices will come out in the first half of 2008, and Symbian UIQ smartphones with it will shipped later.I’d remind you that Opera Mobile 9 was announced at World GSM Congress back in February 2007. The company expects to release versions for all main mobile platforms. The ninth version features “intelligent zoom”, widget support and advanced functionality with Ajax and Web 2.0. You can download the current version of Opera mobile here.” via mobile-review.com