Day: February 17, 2009

“In a big win for Windows Mobile, LG — the world’s third largest mobile handset maker — has agreed to make Microsoft’s struggling and aging operating system the primary for all its smartphones.
The move is a gamble for LG, which doesn’t have its own smartphone platform like market leader Nokia. Samsung, which has been the fastest growing mobile company and controls the #2 spot, said it will continue to dabble in Symbian, Windows Mobile and Google’s Android platforms.In exchange for picking Microsoft, LG will work closely to better integrate the operating system with devices, which has proven to be a problem for Windows Mobile in the past. LG has created a new user interface called S-Class, which makes Windows Mobile more modern and touch-screen friendly. The companies will create joint teams for research and development, and partner on marketing efforts.LG says it plans to deliver 50 new phones based on Windows Mobile due to the agreement, which was first signed as a memorandum of understanding in November. In 2009 alone, the number of Windows Mobile-based handsets from LG will increase ten-fold, the companies said.Microsoft has faced growing competition in the smartphone market, largely from Apple’s iPhone which has quickly gobbled up 9 percent of total sales behind Microsoft’s 12 percent (up from 11 percent in 2007). The lack of growth can be largely attributed to the company’s slow development; Windows Mobile 6 launched 2 years ago with few upgrades, and 6.5 won’t be ready until late 2009. Nokia-backed Symbian and Research in Motion’s BlackBerry devices, meanwhile, continue to dominate the industry.” via betanews.com

Today Nokia has released more info of its new Nokia NSeries multimedia computer, the Nokia N86. Nokia N86 has a wide-angle Carl Zeiss optics, able to produce up to 8 megapixel photo. According to the announcement, the Nokia N86 8MP is designed to excel in both bright and low light conditions, and it’s optimized for both video and still imaging. The Nokia N86 8MP is expected to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2009 with an estimated retail price of EUR 375 (around 475 USD), before taxes and subsidies.The camera module does not have the Xenon flash, although you will still have a dual LED flash to assist you on low light conditions. The wide-angle Carl Zeiss Tessar lens is also said to be the first mobile phone camera that supports variable aperture and reduced shutter lags.With a powerful camera, the Nokia N86 has a 8GB internal memory with another microSD card slot for more storage expansion.The device also offers a 2.6-inch QVGA OLED screen with scratch resistant hardened glass, A-GPS, 3.5 mm headphone jack, FM Radio receiver, easy photo management, full sync capability with a PC and TV-out support for slide shows.
Nokia N86 Specifications:

• GSM Quadband
• HSDPA
• Symbian S60
• 8 megapixel camera, wide-angle lens, auto focusing
• support 640 x 480 pixels @ 30fps video recording
• Dual Flash LED
• WiFi
• Secondary video call camera
• 2.6-inch, 16million colors AMOLED, 240 x 320 pixels
• N-Gage
• Up to 25 hours music listening
• Uo to 7 hours video playing
• 3.5 mm headphone jack
• Bluetooth
• A-GPS
• TV-Out
• microUSB
• 8 GB internal memory
• microSDHC card slot

“Acer has slated three new phones running Windows Mobile 6.1, the first two being a standard touch screen (F900) and a Qwerty Slider (M900) while the third is the rumored dual SIM phone (DX900).
For the F900 and the M900, the base specs are:

• 3.8″ screen at 480×800
• Samsung S3C 6410 mobile processor (533 MHz)
• 128MB SDRAM and 256MB for OS
• MicroSD card slot
• 3.2-megapixel camera w/ autofocus
• HSDPA Category 8/ HSUPA Category 5 (2100/1900/850 Mhz)
• Quad-band, 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• GPRS/EGPRS: Class B, multi-slot class 11
• 802.11b/g
• Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
• G-sensor and L-sensor
• SiRFstar III GPS system w/ Navigon shareware installed
• Pull-out antenna

The main difference between the F900 and the M900 is the keyboard and the M900 has a 5 megapixel cam and a fingerprint scanner (???). The DX900 has a different processor, smaller screen, and (obviously) two SIM card slots.” More here:

“Samsung Electronics has taken their mobile phone lineup to another level by announcing their newest full touch product line with DivX Mobile certification. The phone product line with DivX Mobile certification:

Samsung’s Ultra Touch

OMNIA HD

BEAT DJ

These new cutting-edge DivX Certified mobile phone devices offer consumers seamless playback of high-quality DivX video on the go and in the living room. DivX technology produces highly compressed video suitable for mobile platforms that require minimal storage for the highest quality experience possible.In addition to the three newly DivX Certified mobile phones with Samsung, DivX also announced a new certification profile, DivX Mobile Theater. Now available to DivX IC and OEM licensees, DivX Mobile Theater Profile helps mobile licensees ensure that their phones are certified to support studio requirements for premium DivX video playback, provide true DVD-like quality, and offers an improved user experience.” via mobilewhack.com

“At the ongoing Mobile World Congress event, Microsoft announced the successor to Windows Mobile 6.1 – version 6.5, which has been known about for some time. Version 6.5 of the WM brings with it, amongst other things, an emphasis on touch screen usability, a new version of Internet Explorer Mobile, an overhaul of menus – which can be used with – or without a stylus – the other option, of course, being your finger. Also, there’s a new homescreen to be had, which looks to be inspired by Microsoft’s Zune media player. Back to the new version of IE Mobile for a second – in the newest version, there are several new additions, which include: Flash, and Javascript support, zooming and panning of web pages, via an on-screen slider, and, lasyly, a feature named breadcrumb, which shows you what section of a web page you are currently browsing. Unfortunately, current devices running on Windows Mobile will not be upgradeable to version 6.5, as has been the case before. Windows Mobile 6.5 will be making its way to devices come sometime in Q4 of this year.” via mobile-review.com

“Skype and Nokia today announced a partnership that will bring the world’s leading Internet communications experience to the Nokia range of mobile computers. Under the terms of the cooperation, Skype will be integrated into Nokia devices, starting with the Nokia Nseries. The Nokia N97 flagship device will be the first to incorporate the Skype experience in the 3rd quarter of 2009.The Skype experience will be part of the address book of the Nokia N97, enabling presence – seeing when Skype contacts are online – as well as instant messaging. Nokia N97 owners around the world will also be able to use 3G and WLAN to easily make and receive free Skype-to-Skype voice calls, in addition to low-cost Skype calls to landlines and mobile devices.“Making Skype available everywhere through mobile devices is essential to fulfilling our vision of ‘enabling the world’s conversations’,” said Scott Durchslag, Skype’s Chief Operating Officer. “Collaborating closely with Nokia to preload and integrate our software onto their devices will benefit the many Nokia customers who already use Skype, as it makes Skype easily accessible and simple to use on the go. It will also bring Skype new users who love Nokia’s Symbian S60 experience.” via slashphone.com

Vodafone and HTC Corporation today announced the HTC Magic smartphone, Vodafone’s first Android-powered mobile, which will be available in the spring.The stylish new handset is exclusive to Vodafone in the UK, Spain, Germany and France (SFR) and available on a non-exclusive basis in Italy. Customers can ensure that they are the first to receive information about the HTC Magic’s availability, pricing and pre-ordering by registering their interest via their local Vodafone website from today.The introduction of the HTC Magic is the result of a successful relationship between Vodafone and HTC, and Vodafone’s joining, late last year, of the Open Handset Alliance.A tablet-style device, with a sleek design and unprecedented compactness for a smartphone featuring the Android platform, the HTC Magic enables a superior mobile internet experience, providing broad flexibility for personalisation via the application-rich Android Market. Available in white in the UK, Spain and France, black in Germany and in both colours in Italy, the HTC Magic will be for sale in several other Vodafone markets over the next few months.
“Delivering an unbeatable mobile internet experience for our customers is a priority for Vodafone, so we are very excited to be introducing our first Android-powered smartphone in the spring,” says Patrick Chomet, Global Director of Terminals, Vodafone Group. “Following our joining of the Open Handset Alliance, we have worked very closely with HTC to bring this cool new phone to the market. Our customers want to access a wide range of the most attractive mobile devices to help them make the most of their time – the HTC Magic helps meet that need.”
“The HTC Magic embodies the compact style and sophistication for which HTC has come to be known, with the powerful and intuitive internet experience for which the Android platform was designed,” says Peter Chou, president and CEO, HTC Corporation. “We are proud of our partnership with Vodafone and excited about making the Android-powered HTC Magic available to Vodafone customers in Europe.”
“The announcement of the HTC Magic is an important step for Android and the Open Handset Alliance,” says Andy Rubin, Senior Director of Mobile Platforms at Google. “With it, Vodafone is opening up the mobile web for consumers across Europe and giving more third-party developers a platform on which they can build the next wave of killer applications.”
Available from free on various price plans, the HTC Magic has a 3.2” QVGA touch screen display and features a trackball and navigational buttons for quick, easy access. The HTC Magic includes a variety of email options such as Google Mail™, POP3 and IMAP as well as Google Talk™ for instant messaging.
The HTC Magic has a variety of powerful mobile internet capabilities beginning with an Android-optimised Webkit browser. It also features the popular Google™ applications, Google Maps™ and Google Search™ as well as favourites like YouTube™. In addition, Android Market allows for quick and easy downloading of games and applications utilising Vodafone’s fast and reliable network.