Author: pdasnews

“Much more attention has been paid to accessing the rapidly growing phone market than there has been to designing practical and creative phones that meet a specific and unique demands of those markets. Motorola has done something very interesting in that regard with the new PVOT concept. It is designed to run on rechargeable AA batteries. A hand crank lets you recharge the batteries as you go – 25 cranks gives you one minute of talk time. The hand crank also has other practical functions. It folds down to be the microphone for the phone and contains a dot matrix LCD. The PVOT also has an Eraser Shield keypad. No word yet on whether this concept will ever make it into production, though it obviously will if it proves to be effective and profitable.” via mobilemag.com

“TabletKiosk, a leader in mobile PC computing solutions, today announced it has begun shipping eo, the new Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC) which is the first UMPC device available in the US market. Powered by the 1.0GHz VIA C7-M ULV processor, a new ULV processor that provides longer battery life than traditional LV processors, eo was designed for ultimate productivity and convenience.“TabletKiosk is to be congratulated for leading the way in the US market for this new category of device. eo brings together the best aspects of the Tablet PC with ultra mobility, enhanced multimedia capabilities, and a full connectivity suite,” commented Epan Wu, Deputy Director, CPU Product Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. “Integrating the VIA UMPC platform, eo takes full advantage of the VIA C7-M ULV processor’s ultra low-power operation for longer battery life, while still maintaining robust performance for a full range of mobile applications.”eo comes equipped with Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition as well as with the new Microsoft Touch Pak. Standout features of Touch Pack include the easy-to-use Program Launcher and Dial Keys, which enable the user to input text directly onscreen with their thumbs.”We’re very excited to see the first Ultra-Mobile PCs become publicly available for consumers,” said Otto Berkes, general manager of the Ultra-Mobile PC team at Microsoft Corp. “The eo is a marriage of great hardware and powerful new software such as Microsoft Touch Pack that presents a new and exciting way for consumers to stay connected wherever they go.”With USB 2.0, wireless networking, Bluetooth connectivity, enhanced touch screen capabilities and voice recognition, eo was developed to meet the ever-changing needs of today’s highly mobile population. Smaller than a typical day planner, eo fits easily into a backpack, handbag or briefcase and represents the new generation of mobile computing.eo is sold through the TabletKiosk website www.tabletkiosk.com, as well as a vertically integrated reseller network. Due to overwhelming response after the launch announcement, the initial shipment of eo is entirely sold out. TabletKiosk is currently accepting orders for the second production run which is scheduled to ship at the end of May / beginning of June 2006.” via mobilitysite.com

“From the makers of ‘PaintBall’, a new, fun & extra addicting puzzle game that will also sucks you in and won’t let you go until you’ve wasted all of your time! ‘Frutakia’ uses the ‘casino slots idea’ and turns it into an original & fun game.• Game Objective:You must make groups of 3 or more same fruits/items at any direction! There are 5 different fruits and 2 different items. ‘Blanks’ can also appear.The ‘bell’ scores more points than the fruits and the ‘super item’ scores the most! 3 different gaming modes.EASY: Take your time and have fun.HARD: For those who like frantic fun.FRUTAKIA: Bet your points and win or lose everything!—05/May/2006 UPDATE (1.5) —* Redraw issue fixed when receiving call* Other redraw issues fixed* Export HiScores now recognises Square QVGA/VGA* Bugs fixed.” Check it here:

“Today sees the launch of the new hot Smartphone from o2. It’s got all the things you’d expect from a great Smartphone – Windows Mobile 5.0, quad-band capability, hi-res screen, a 1.3 Megapixel camera, Mini-SD expansion slot, 64MB RAM, 64MB Flash, Bluetooth, IR, Push-email but wait – there’s something else in the mix -WiFi is on board too. Yes – WiFi in a Smartphone. This is the first major UK network launch of a WiFi-enabled Smartphone and it’s sitting in your local o2 shop just ready for you to buy!Technical Data• GSM: Quad-band (850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS networks)• Battery Life: 150 standby time, 4 hours talktime• Operating system: Windows Mobile 5.0 Smart phone Edition• Screen: 2.2 inch 65K TFT QVGA screen 1.3 MP Camera• Memory: Mini-SD, RAM 64MB, Flash 64MB• Built in Bluetooth 1.2, 1.3 MP camera and Weight: 110g• Polyphonic Speaker supporting playback of WAV, WMA and 32 chords MIDI files as ring tone• Connectivity: Mini-USB connector for USB and power in, Infrared IrDA, Wireless Modem, Integrated WiFi• Messaging: MSN Messenger client, email (POP3, IMAP4 and ActiveSync)” via coolsmartphone.com

“My 8700g came loaded with Google Local on Mobile and Handmark Pocket Express information applications. Blackberry devices have fully made the transition from e-mail-only devices to real smartphones, with hundreds of applications available and 64MB of storage for programs and data. They lack only multimedia apps like music and video players, although the first BlackBerry streaming video player, from Sona Mobile, is scheduled to arrive this summer. Performance isn’t great—the 8700g and 8700c performed like midrange feature phones rather than like high-end smartphones on JBenchmark’s Java benchmark tests—but maps look gorgeous on the 320-by-240 screen.Phone reception on this quad-band device is in the average, acceptable range. As with the 8700c, the earpiece is loud and the speakerphone is very loud. I didn’t hear the dropouts or audio fluctuations that I did on the 8700c—there was some background hiss and a bit of scratchiness, but calls came through solidly. Both Logitech and Plantronics Bluetooth headsets paired and connected without a problem. Like all other BlackBerry devices, the 8700g is still missing voice dialing. Battery life, at 7 hours 7 minutes, was right in line with that of the BlackBerry 8700c and the 7100g, both of which use similar bright color screens. Earlier BlackBerry models, such as the 7290, lasted longer because their transreflective screens didn’t drain as much power.” Read this review here:

“Palm enthusiasts are second only to Apple enthusiasts in the energy they devote to speculation about what products are coming next. It’s no surprise, really. Palm isn’t quite as secretive as Apple when it comes to giving information about future product releases, but they do a pretty good job keeping their plans under wraps. That leaves the field wide open to all kinds of theories, based on past history, the occasional word that drops from an executive’s lips, or fuzzy images “leaked” by Photoshop mavens. But if rumors and press release exegetics aren’t your bag, you can learn a lot about what to expect from Palm in the coming years from a more authoritative source: Palm’s own web site. The trick is to look carefully at the job postings, which often describe new product development in surprising detail. Let’s take a walk through some recent job descriptions and see what we can learn. Sorry I can’t provide links to the exact page in Palm’s site. They use content management software that prevents this, but it’s easy enough to find the ones I’m talking about if you want to read more for yourself.” Great article from palminfocenter! Check it here:

“The Asus MyPal A632 has been approved by the FCC for use in the U.S. It’s a personal mobile GPS navigator that also features a portable multimedia player and a PDA. The GPS system is made more effective by a unique swivel antenna which lets you adjust the angle for better reception. You can also use the screen in either portrait or landscape view, so you can choose which works best for the maps you need to view.The PMP uses the 3.5 inch TFT LCD touch screen and Windows Media Player 10 for movie playback or music enjoyment. The PDA employs Windows Mobile 5.0 to allow you to use Microsoft Office and the works. It has built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for data processing and synchronization with your PC.The device has dual card capabilities, supporting both SD cards and miniSD cards for storage or data transfer. It has 128MB of onboard Flash memory and 64MB of SDRAM. No word yet on price or availability.” via mobilemag.com

“Opera Software today announced Opera Mobile 8.60, its proven mobile browser for Symbian Series 60 (S60) mobile phones. With this new release, Opera is offering its most complete and easy-to-use mobile browser to date. Opera Mobile 8.60 for S60 is designed to let users interact more effectively with the Web on their phone, and includes new features to speed up the user interaction through auto-completion of Web addresses and passwords, page toggling and smooth scrolling.Opera Mobile 8.60 for S60 is designed for the new Symbian 9, S60 3rd Edition phones, featured on handsets such as the Nokia 3250, N91, N80, N71, E60, E61 and E71. It also supports all current Symbian S60 2nd Edition mobile devices.A user-friendly experience is also about being able to select how pages are displayed on a small screen. Users can surf with Opera’s acclaimed Small-Screen Rendering (SSR) technology, which refits Web pages to the width of the mobile screen, or select desktop mode to view the page to look like it would on a PC, with the ability to zoom in and out.Highlights of Opera Mobile 8.60 * Symbian 9, S60 3rd Edition compatible * Auto-completion for URL entry * Password manager for easy logins * New and improved smooth scrolling * Updated user interface with new skin * Open and toggle up to four windows, each with separate settings for zoom levels and display options * Read and bookmark newsfeeds * Send images as MMS or save to phone gallery” via slashphone.com

“Nokia has started deliveries of its E61 business phone with full keyboard, a model directly competing with RIM’s BlackBerry device, the world’s largest handset maker said on Wednesday. “First deliveries started late last week. It’s gradually becoming available across the globe,” Pekka Isosomppi, spokesman for Nokia’s Enterprise division, told Reuters. The E70 model, with a 2 megapixel camera, is expected to start shipping later in May, he said. The first E-series phone, the E60, went on sale in April. The three E-series phones, aimed at business users, and three of Nokia’s flagship multimedia N-series handsets missed their original target shipping dates due to software- related problems. Nokia last October unveiled the new business phone line-up — part of the Finnish company’s plan to win more of the potentially lucrative corporate market — and said at the time that it would start shipments in the January-March quarter. Nokia’s Enterprise division’s first quarter loss widened to 66 million euros ($84 million) and it is aiming to turn to profit in 2007, with the help of its new phones.” via today.reuters.com

“RIM is about to launch 3 new Blackberry models to their lineup!Yesterday evening the FCC approved three new GSM BlackBerrys. The 7130e will soon be joined by GSM/EDGE models: the 7130c for Cingular and a 7130g and also the 7130v. The 7130 has a new more-rectangular form factor featuring the hybrid SureType keyboard, quad-band GSM/GPRS with EDGE, mini-USB and Bluetooth 2.0.Here are the first pics, detailed photos.” via blackberryforums.pinstack.com