Digia Plc has created a first fully finger touch controllable web browser for UIQ based mobile phones. Designed for UIQ 3 and Symbian OS the Digia Web provides user oriented mobile browsing experience. Browser is based on the open-source webkit browser engine ported to UIQ by Digia, and a whole new browser UI that gives powerful and intuitive access to true web content.Mobile browsing is gaining huge popularity due to flat rate 3G data access and possibility to use WLAN connections. Digia Web empowers mobile phone users with browser designed to give the optimal mobile browsing experience. Direct access to true web content is achieved through the first full finger touch browser interface designed by Digia. Jari-Pekka Heikkila, VP Smartphone from Digia says: “We see internet content becoming more and more important for users of mobile phones, and browser as the single most important application in the truly converged devices. By creating the new browser we want to provide the users of UIQ based mobile phones the opportunity to see the web as it has been intended.”Tuukka Turunen, Director, Special Projects from Digia continues: “We chose webkit as the engine for our browser because it is fast and reliable, and allows web content to be seen in its true form. By combining the open-source webkit engine with our new and intuitive browser UI we have created the best and most powerful tool to surf the web with touch enabled UIQ phones.”Digia Web 1.0 browser engine is based on the open-source S60 webkit engine version ported to UIQ platform by Digia. Other users of the webkit browser engine include Apple Safari browser, iPhone, Google Android and Nokia S60 browser. Digia will contribute source code modifications of the webkit engine to open-source. Digia Web 1.0 public beta will be available for downloads during June 2008.Please visit www.digia.com/browser to learn more on the Digia Web features.
fring for Symbian S60 and Windows Mobile updated!
“The company behind the popular mobile VoIP client fring announced updates for Symbian S60 and Windows Mobile versions of their application.
First comes the S60, which in version 3.35 is more stable than ever and also brings all round better sound quality. Speakerphone support is added for devices running on top of Symbian 9.2 (S60 3.1), and file transfer is now enabled for Yahoo! IM and Skype.
As for the Windows Mobile version (3.24), it now supports auto-roaming between 3G and WiFi, and also allows users to manually manage their WLAN settings directly from fring. In addition, fringME widget support is added and so are additional languages. In total the VoIP application is now available in 8 languages including English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese, Italian and Russian.
Download page remains at the same URL, so if you still haven’t tried fring, now may be the time. Existing users can upgraded their fring version from the same page, too.” via intomobile.com
Survey finds growing interest in smartphones
“The success of smartphones among U.S. shoppers has served to boost the average purchase price for cellphones, according to new research from J.D. Power and Associates. According to the firm’s survey of almost 20,000 cellphone owners, the average price paid for a phone has increased by $9 over the past six months, to a record high of $101. J.D. Power said that figure was the highest average purchase price for a cellphone in the United States since the firm began tracking the number in 2003.“As more customers start to upgrade to mobile phones that offer real-time connectivity and access to Internet content — particularly those offered by smartphone devices — we should continue to see the wireless handset price point rise,” said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power. “Sales of smartphone devices have increased considerably over the past year to 6.3% from 1.7% in overall market share at the beginning of 2007.”
Among other findings in the report:
–Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications ranked highest in overall wireless customer satisfaction for a second consecutive time. LG Electronics Co. Ltd. also ranked above the industry average, while Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. came in just below the industry average. Samsung was followed by Motorola Inc., Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd., Kyocera Wireless Corp. and, finally, Nokia Corp.
–Seventy-four percent of all cellphones have a clamshell design — an increase of 24% from 2006. Meanwhile, 21% have a candybar style and 5% have a “slide-cover” design.
–The average reported length of cellphone ownership is 17.7 months—an increase from 16.6 months in 2006.
–The most frequently reported reasons customers select their current cellphone include: pleasing design style (41%); received for free (25%); easy to use (23%); discounted/reduced price (21%); digital camera features (18%); variety of features offered and small size (17%). ” via rcrnews.com