Phonesnews.com

Sony Europe has announced a new model of the compact HDD series Microvault Pro. The device is capacious of 8 GB. It is based on a 1” HDD placed in metallic shell and equipped with a USB-connector.The drive has the size of a business card. The sales of the 8 GB Microvault Pro should start during February. The recommended price makes up €199, i.e. about $240. The HDD comes with preinstalled software Auto Sync. via mobile-review.com

Two smart phones coming from Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications in the second quarter will support an array of push e-mail systems including Microsoft’s Exchange ActiveSync and Research in Motion’s BlackBerry Connect.Users will be able to synchronize both the P990 and the M600 handsets with Exchange Server 2003 to view e-mail, contacts, and calendar entries, Microsoft said today. Enterprises using Service Pack 2 of the server software will be able to deliver the latest e-mail to employees via Microsoft’s Direct Push technology.Not Only MicrosoftBut Sony Ericsson isn’t locking users in to Microsoft’s platform on the phones, which will use Symbian’s Symbian OS 9.1 and the UIQ 3.0 software platform and operate on UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) networks.Both devices will also support BlackBerry Connect, a software-based version of RIM’s popular push e-mail technology, RIM announced today. Other e-mail options will include iAnywhere Solutions’ OneBridge and software from AlteXia, Intellisync, Seven, and Visto. Standard IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) e-mail will also be supported, and Ericsson Mobile Office will be provided free with the phones on a “try-and-buy” basis, according to Sony Ericsson. Competitive Push E-MailPush e-mail for mobile handsets, pioneered by RIM, has become a hotly competitive field. Microsoft is making inroads both with licensed ActiveSync software and with Windows Mobile OS devices, which have Exchange ActiveSync compatibility built in. Motorola, Palm, Nokia, Symbian, and software vendor DataViz are already licensees of ActiveSync, according to Microsoft. Meanwhile, RIM has come under a cloud as the Waterloo, Ontario, company faces a possible injunction against its service in the United States due to a court battle over patents.Sony Ericsson’s P990 was announced last year in advance of its availability so developers could start working on applications for it. The handset includes Wi-Fi and a 2-megapixel camera. The M600, announced Monday, will have a touch screen with handwriting recognition. It will also have a dual-fuction keypad for dialing numbers and typing e-mail that can be configured for QWERTY, Russian, and other layouts, according to Sony Ericsson.Both handsets also will include trial versions of McAfee antivirus and firewall software and Pointsec Mobile Technologies encryption software, plus a free Certicom VPN (virtual private network) client.The P990 will be offered in two forms: the P990i for UMTS and GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) networks in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region, and the P990c for UMTS and GPRS networks in mainland China when UMTS coverage is available. The M600i will be offered for UMTS and GPRS in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas, and the M600c will be available in mainland China when networks become available.

Toshiba and Microsoft introduced the Gigabeat S at the CES 2006. CNET just published a review of the Toshiba Gigabeat S that should hit stores in March in the US. The CNET reviewer is a big fan of the Portable Media Center (PMC) and raves how intuitive it is. He is though not pleased with the button interface of the Gigabeat S. The 2.4 inch screen also lacks the vividness of the one featured in the Creative Zen Vision:M for instance. Read the full review for more details.Microsoft will release the Windows Media Player 11 in March and also the MTV and Microsoft music service site Urge is supposed to launch in 2006. If the portable media players by Microsoft partners such as Toshiba are not gaining on Apple’s market share, Microsoft might really have to launch their rumored portable gaming and media gadget to fight Apple directly. via i4u.com

RWC is going to release the B1 under their iTAN brand. this USB phone is Skype compatible and will have DSP (Echo Cancellation) and a very nice design. Would have been better to make it wireless/cordless too, but maybe we’re just too demanding now… via akihabaranews.com

StyleTap Platform allows you to run applications (and games!) originally written for Palm OS handhelds on your Windows Mobile Pocket PC handheld. With more than 20,000 applications for the Palm OS platform available – many of them free – you will be able to do so much more with your Windows Mobile Pocket PC handheld.StyleTap Platform is fast, compact and comes with everything you need. Just add your favorite third-party applications for Palm OS Platform and you’re ready to go! StyleTap Platform preview version is now available for a free 14-day trial. To download click here.You can also purchase the preview version for the special introductory price of $29.95 (US). This price includes a free upgrade to StyleTap Platform version 1.0 when it becomes available.If you find an application that does not work properly, please visit our support page and let us know about the problem.If you have any general questions about StyleTap or suggestions for improvements, please go to our contact page. We want to hear from you.News Flash! Palm Treo 700w now supported!New preview version (v0.9.108) now available. See Downloads for more information.

The iBIT U250 is to put it simply, “super”. Its not just well made with plenty of though being given to its design and form factor but the features, OS etc all come together to give a superb product. The flip form factor of the handset is very similar to what SonyEricsson uses for its PDA phones (SonyEricsson P910i). Its a nice way of providing a keypad despite having a touch screen. Keypads are easier for one handed use since the stylus does not come into play. The GPS based handset has two types of Navigation features to help its user. The first is car navigation system (CNS) which helps in finding addresses while driving. The other is a PNS (Personal navigation system). There are indeed a lot many features, not surprising since it operates on Windows CE.net v4.3 (makes surfing the net a p[leasure thanks to Internet Explorer 6). In terms of memory, the devie holds 64 MB SD RAM and 512 MB Flash memory. Supporting these is the mini SD card slot which can further serve to expand the memory if need be. The U250 has a nice 2 megapixel camera. Operated by a Intel PXA running at 400 Mhz, the PDA is certainly not going to give you cause for complaint by its performance. The EV-DO handset easily beats the competition by a long margin. It offers advantages such as digital zooming and a larger high resolution display. The U250 for example has a 240 x 320 resolution display which handles 262,000 colors. The phone also has a Text to speech program which is specifically for e-books. Simply download your favorite book and listen to the phone read it out for you. More at Aving (Korean) via phoneyworld.com

Sony announced plans today to ship in March the first Memory Stick Micro (‘M2’) products with storage capacities of 256MB, 512MB and 1GB. The new memory card is designed for mobile phones. An ‘M2’ adaptor in the size of a standard Memory Stick will allow users to exchange data to Memory Stick PRO compatible products. The ‘M2’ media is approximately one-quarter the volume of ‘Memory Stick PRO Duo’ media, yet only about 1.2mm thick. ‘M2’ media is designed as an externally removable media with a controlled eject function to prevent loss. Following the trend of mobile phones that operate at 1.8 volts, the ‘M2’ has been designed as dual-voltage media. In addition to 1.8 volt support, the media offers 3.3 volt operation which is required for existing ‘Memory Stick PRO’ compatible products. The Sony Ericsson M600i, which was also announced today, is the first mobile phone compatible with the ‘M2’. Sony plans to ship the 256MB and 512MB versions of the ‘M2’ media from March, and the 1GB model from May 2006. The estimated enduser price of the ‘M2’ media will be similar to the price of the current ‘Memory Stick PRO Duo’ media. via personaltechpipeline.com

“When I last wrote about Linux on the Treo 650, it was barely booting up the command prompt. Now less than 2 months later, developers have got the GPE graphical interface up and running. GPE is an open source user interface for using Linux on a handheld. It contains an environment of components for PIM, settings network access and other programs. So far people working on the Treo 650 Linux porting have got the keyboard, LCD, touchscreen, bootloader, SD slot, USB and some sound working. Phone and Bluetooth drivers are still under development. There is no word yet on how stable or functional this is, as only a batch of pictures have been posted.” via palminfocenter.com

“The front of the device houses a 65k, 2.8” TFT touch screen. The screen display’s vibrant colours with accurate saturation and no noticeable yellow hue. Just above the screen, placed in the centre is a speaker. Unfortunately, the problems that the JAM had in regards to the speaker is shared by the JAMin too. I found the speaker volume too low and absolutely inaudible in loud areas such as busy streets, malls etc I thought HTC would have learnt a lesson and corrected this error, but the booming sales of the JAM perhaps deterred them from taking any action in this regard” Read this review at pocketpcdubai.com

Silent Hero Productions has released their new FREE Tetris game for Palm OS devices. Screenshots, FREE game download, and company contact information can be accessed HERE. Game features: – 100% FREE FUN – Arcade perfect Gameboy to Palm conversion – Beautiful visuals – Digitized sound effects – Digitized music – Perfect control – Perfect gameplay – Plus much, much more! Game requirements: – A PDA handheld device with Palm OS 4.0 or better REGISTRATION CODE: “AAAAAAA”