Author: pdasnews

W00t! Nokia’s full-QWERTY keyboard business phone, the Nokia E61 (also called Blackberry-killer), has just been granted approval from the almighty FCC paving its entry into the US market. Apart from the joystick for navigation (like the Nokia 6600), one of the things I like about the E61 is the quick-access e-mail button, which makes sense for a business phone.Sure, on my dusty old 3650, I have set up the right key for opening the default messaging application; but a dedicated button is much better if you ask me. Of course, the E61 also leverages the tons of Symbian S60 applications out there. You also get viewers and editors for the most common features of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.To top it all, it’s not only a quad-band GSM world phone but also supports WCDMA. While the device is heavy (144 grams with battery), its features are not to be missed. The display is a bright 320×240 pixel resolution LCD capable of 16 million colors.The Nokia E61 should be on its way to the US and other markets soon. No pricing or availability is available at this point, but stay tuned. More info from Nokia’s website. Check out the full specs here:

Few countries including Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan have reports on seeing the upcoming RW6800 pocket pc phone on a HP “Embark on a Magical Adventure” new product announcement event. Some of the confirmed specification includes a 2 megapixel camera, SDIO slot, GPS, bluetooth and built in WiFi. The SDIO slot can be useful to addon another attachment for extra functionality.The RW6800 pocket pc phone got a different colors of cover on it to protect the LCD screen. The cover should be detachable if you want. GPS, bluetooth and WiFi give you a complete choices of connection, not forgetting that the pocket pc phone also support EDGE/GPRS service.There will be 2 version of model, most likely RW6800 and RW6828. One of it will have a extra GPS module. The RW6800 / RW6828 also support Microsoft Direct Push Email technology, support Blackberry like service. HP RW6800 will be available in April. Click here for more:

Vodafone K.K. subscribers in Japan will get to have their faces for passwords, the software can be credited to Oki Electric Industry’s face sensing technology.Oki’s Face Sensing Engine (FSE) will replace the current password system or feature in Vodafone K.K. units. Instead of keying in a password, the user will instead have to submit to a facial scan in order to use the unit. The sensor will be integrated in the Vodafone 904SH mobile phone which is slated to be released in April. Succeeding 3G mobile phones of Vodafone K.K. will also have the FSE as a standard feature.The new password system is more convenient as the user does not need to memorize and key in alphanumeric characters to activate the phone anymore. Password recognition and processing is also faster since Oki boasts that its FSE has the fastest verification rate compared to other similar devices or technology. Oki also guarantees that the sensors would be able to conduct reliable scans regardless of the lighting condition. It also assures accurate readings despite changes in facial features that are brought about by different facial expression.The integration of the FSE into the mobile units will not result to a significant increase in handset price as Oki said that the technology costs little. It would also not entail any inconvenience or require extra equipment as it is embedded in the mobile phone. And besides, how can you lose your face? via mobilemag.com

We’re not sure how reliable the source is, but in an interview this week, a Motorola design manager told one of your faithful Gizmodo newshounds that the Q could be released as soon as next week. What makes us think it might be legit? He was holding a working model in his hands, and it was up and running on Verizon’s network.Our first impressions from holding it in our hot little hands for a few minutes: this sucker’s extremely thin, although a bit wider than our Treo 650. The screen is a bit squat for our liking, though, even if it’s crisp; with the soft-key icons running along the bottom and an info bar across the top, we weren’t able to display a ton of information on it all at once. On the flip side, though, the buttons have a nice tactile feel; and the side jog-dial is pretty handy indeed. Maybe the GSM version will be even more sexy? Only time will tell. via us.gizmodo.com

Fifth Media is preparing the release of its EMXI 700 smartphone. It is powered by Windows Mobile OS and meant for GSM networks. There is the support of Wi-Fi wireless networks. The smartphone is equipped with a digital keyboard like in an ordinary phone. The details on the specs are not clear yet.

The EMXI 700 is likely to be exhibited at CeBIT show in March starting next week. Fifth Media hasn’t provided any details on the release date, however the website of VIPN (Voice Internet Phone Network), the company to release the device, suggests it will be available in 2Q 2006.

Kevtris 1.1 has been released. New features include WM5 support (including soft menus and square-screen device support), better graphics, and more. Best of all, it’s still free.New Version 1.1! Support for Windows Mobile 5 Support for square screens (240×240) Support for QVGA Smartphones Sound can be toggled Better piece shadows New graphics One installer for both Smartphone and PocketPC Download from PocketGearIf the link does not work, download from this siteAlternatively, download the CAB file

Mobilemag has learned that the .mobi Google website is now live. It will be searching mobile news sources and listing them for online viewing. This is particularly noteworthy because the .mobi domain is not set for commercial launch until later this summer, so Google is way ahead of the curve.The .mobi domain is designed to clearly identify internet sites and applications that have been made for mobile devices. This news makes sense in the wake of news coming from Google this morning that they are providing Google News for phones. For now you can access it by going to http://news.google.mobi/news?output=xhtml on your phone browser according to the announcement, but this is just the first step towards google.mobi being the destination for mobile information. The company also announced that they are working with Sony Ericsson to provide phone-sized versions of Google Web Search and Blogger. Google is obviously positioning themselves to continue to be at the forefront of whatever comes from this new domain. via mobilemag.com

At PMA 2006 show Sony Electronics has announced its storage card Memory Stick PRO Duo capacious of 4 GB. According to the company, this is the highest capacity for Memory Stick cards at the moment. This format is supported by many Sony devices, including digital still cameras of Cyber-Shot T and Cyber-Shot W series, Handycam camcorders and PSP game console. Memory Stick PRO Duo cards are supplied with adapters to use them in the slots for standard Memory Stick cards. They feature 15 Mbps data transfer speed. The 4GB card will be available only in July at about $250. via mobile-review.com

“We have been comparing GPS receivers since the site was launched in late 2002… These days, new GPS systems and chipsets seem to be ‘popping out’ each day, in PDAs, in phones, AIO’s, etc… While guides will compare similar systems, GPS receivers for PDAs and PCs, All In One’s (WIP), GPS PDA’s (WIP), we will have regular ‘cross-platform’ comparisons to see what type of performance each platform has to offer. As in the chipset comparison article, all the testing will be done ‘side by side’…” Read this great article here: via pocketpcthoughts.com

28 February 2006, London – Sony Ericsson takes digital imaging in camera phones to new heights today with the launch of the K800 and K790 phones, the first handsets to carry the Cyber-shot brand, a true mark of imaging quality. Both are highly capable mobile phones with integrated 3.2 Megapixel digital cameras with Autofocus, Xenon flash and BestPic – Sony Ericsson’s unique imaging technology that allows you to capture exactly the moment you desire. K800 and K790 combine advanced image capture capabilities with high speed data transfer, making them perfect tools for shooting and sharing high quality pictures and videos. K800 is a dual-mode UMTS/GPRS phone and the K790 is a Tri Band EDGE phone. Both are available from Q2 2006. Read more at sonyericsson and the first review here: