Day: December 9, 2008

The Open Handset Alliance, a group of technology and mobile players, is pleased to announce the membership of 14 additional companies. By joining the founding members of the Open Handset Alliance, the following companies demonstrate their support for Android as an open mobile platform and their commitment to its commercial success. The new members are: 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 Corporation and Vodafone.New members will either deploy compatible Android devices, contribute significant code to the Android Open Source Project, or support the ecosystem through products and services that will accelerate the availability of Android-based devices. With these commitments, the Open Handset Alliance will continue to drive greater and faster innovation for the benefit of mobile users and everyone in the industry. Open Handset Alliance members’ continued contributions to Android give everyone in the mobile ecosystem a free and complete mobile platform to build Android devices. The new members will add to the momentum of Android device availability, providing developers with an even greater opportunity to deploy compelling applications that will reach a global audience. As a result, consumers around the world benefit from a superior mobile experience that features less expensive devices, more compelling services, rich Internet applications, and easier-to-use interfaces

“This past Friday, a slide from Nokia’s Capital Markets Day appeared on the internet depicting a touchscreen-only Nokia handset with a striking UI. Sure the slide looked a bit iffy and the wording of the accompanying notes isn’t your grandfather’s English, but anyone who has sat through a presentation given by a handset manufacturer knows that’s nothing out of the ordinary. Whiners immediately attacked the slide and shouted it was fake – even we were skeptical as to its authenticity. As it turns out, it’s as real as they come. The slide, pictured again above, is part of a large presentation from Capital Markets Day that is now publicly available. Sure the handset pictured is a mockup but it was indeed created by Nokia. While it does not necessarily depict an actual handset currently in the company’s pipeline, it does give us a glimpse of one of the directions Nokia is headed. Most substantially no doubt, is the fact that the mockup shows a UI that remarkably does not look like something out of War Games as does S60.Could this be the first official hint that Nokia is looking to finally build a UI as visually pleasing as its OS is capable? Only time will tell. As to the concept of a touchscreen-only handset in the works from Nokia, the full presentation is peppered with mockups of touchscreen-only handsets. In fact, Nokia even used a closed N810 as a mobile phone in several images. While this could lead many to believe that Nokia does intend to release a similarly-styled device in the near future, it could also simply mean said mockups were deemed the best way to have the audience focus on the screen shots being presented without being distracted by the handsets. Hit the read link for a PDF download of the full 20 MB presentation and enjoy.” via boygeniusreport.com

“Nokia has released a new firmware update for the European variants of its N96 smartphone, which is based on the S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2 platform. Firmware v12.043 is available through the Nokia Software Update application, a free program for Windows-powered computers. Reports are also coming in that this firmware update is available through the N96’s built-in firmware OTA facilities. To access this from your phone, simply type *#0000# from your standby screen, then press Options – Check for update. This can be done over WiFi or cellular data connections.We’ve spoken to a few folks who have applied the firmware, and they’re reporting enhanced stability, as well as a fix for the much-reported key press bug. Menu speeds have been enhanced, as well. As usual, it’s recommended that you backup any important information before applying the new firmware.” via mobileburn.com