Orange Walkman exclusives

Orange will have several Sony Ericsson Walkman exclusive colour variants for October, as part of a partnership between the two companies for new music TV show mobileAct Unsigned.

Orange said: 'Three new Sony Ericsson Walkman handsets, the W660i, the W910i and the W580i, will be available from Orange in October. We have the W910i exclusively in red and the W580i exclusively in pink, both for a minimum of three months.'

Orange also has the pink W200 exclusively from October.

MobileAct Unsigned will be on Channel 4's T4 and 4music slots and aims to unearth real music talent. The show will allow users to download tracks from competing bands and vote for the ones they want to progress through the competition. The UK winners will be signed to a record contract with a major record label.

The campaign will use content across TV, online and mobile.Orange has sold over two million Sony Ericsson Walkman handsets featuring the Orange full-track music download service, Orange Music Store, in just over 12 months.

The Sony Ericsson Walkman handsets are part of Orange's successful Signature Series, which gives customers one-click access to the Orange Music Store. Sony Ericsson's W850, W810 and W880 have continually been the top three performing Orange UK music phones in terms of download numbers, and across the group, Walkman handset users consume 50% more music than average phone users. Orange expects to exceed three million Walkman music device sales internationally by the end of 2007.

Orange and Sony Ericsson began an integrated marketing partnership in March 2006 with a joint nine-month European sponsorship deal with singer Christina Aguilera.

© Copyright 2007 : Noble House Media Ltd

Samsung i550 cellphone is the new GPS smartphone coming your way

Samsung have always given us all good phones and to top it off they want to give us another, the new handset is the Samsung i550 cellphone which is the new GPS smartphone and of which is coming your way soon.

We are not entirely sure when this phone is coming but we will keep you informed, so what has the Samsung i550 got? Will according to the source below it is a GPS smartphone that runs on Symbian OS S60 UI plus it features a 3.2 MP camera and dedicated keys for GPS, so far so good. How about HSDPA (3.6 Mbps) and 3G; sounds all good.

It will have a 2.6” screen and 128 MB RAM and much more. To learn more about the Samsung i550 GPS smartphone go over to Phones Review for more details. We will keep you posted on pricing and release dates as soon as we know more.

Samsung Q1B Ultra-Mobile PC, 40GB, 1GHz, 512MB: UMPC and a half.

Samsung have beautifully managed to find the perfect balance between connectivity, entertainment and performance with super easy mobility. Those of you being super critical wondering whether you can actually pack all the features of a Windows XP computer into something so small, well the answer is a definite yes.

The Q1 supports most video formats to be played on it’s portable 7″ screen, along with all the perks of having an actual pc in your pocket.

The Samsung Q1B UMPC is an ultra mobile computer capable of high performance editing with regards to its impressive multimedia features.

The specifications are incredible, as not only is the device itself small, but so is the price tag. Having been out for quite a while now, the Samsung Q1B is now at the gorgeous $799.99.

Technical Details

• OS: Genuine Windows ® XP tablet
• Processor: Via C7 ULV 1.0 GHz
• Chipset & Graphics: VX7000 Integrated
• Memory: 512 MB DDR2
• Display: 7″ WVGA Touch Screen(280 nits, 800 X 480)
• Audio: One Mono speaker (2W total), H/P out, and SRS Sound
• Storage: 40GB Hard Drive
• Connectivity:- 802.11 b/g- Bluetooth® v2.0
• Multimedia: AVS Now, (Multimedia Instant on)
• I/O Port:- 2 USB (USB 2.0)- H/P Jack- VGA- DC-In
• User Interface: Button: 8 Way Joystick, User Defined Key(4 positions), Auto Scale/Enter Button, Quick Menu Button, Hold, Voume Up/Down, Power/AVS Now, Ctrl/Alt/Delet Button

What do you think of the Samsung Q1B Ultra-Mobile PC? Does it win your vote as a revolutionary UMPC?

Samsung SGH-F110 adidas sports phone

Samsung is about to launch a sports phone co-branded with adidas , with a UK release confirmed by a Samsung spokesperson.

The Samsung SGH-F110 adidas phone was first reported by a German website . But a Samsung spokesperson in the UK has told Tech.co.uk that the co-branded adidas phone is also scheduled for a UK launch.

The Samsung SGH-F110 is a sports-featured mobile with personal trainer applications such as a pedometer, heart beat monitor, calories-counter and so on. There's also reported to be a voice coach feature to spur users on during their work out.

The F110 will include a 2-megapixel camera, multi-format MP3 player (with playlist option to match your workout), FM radio and MicroSD memory card support. The F110 is a quad-band EDGE enabled phone, with USB 2.0 and stereo Bluetooth connectivity.

The F110 has a similar slimline dual-front design to the recently released Samsung SGH-F300. Although Samsung has confirmed a UK release for the Samsung SGH-F110, no specific date or price details have yet been released.

tech.co.uk

Samsung Adds Second 5MP Camera Phone

After waiting a relative age to bust out its first five megapixel camera phone, Samsung is well and truly over its coyness.

Just two weeks after it launched the SGH-G600 the company has stepped up to the mark once again with the SGH-G800. Like the G600, it shoots at up to five megapixels but also throws in a 3x optical zoom and proper Xenon flash enabling it to compete not just with the likes of Sony Ericsson's K850i but even dedicated slim and light digicams too.

Away from its headlining feature this slider is no slouch either with a large 2.4in QVGA screen, HSDPA connectivity, Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0 and a microSD expansion slot. In fact, the only obvious downside of the device is that all this functionality has had a detrimental effect on its waistline with its 16.8mm width fatter than a lot of handsets these days.

That said, the G800 looks a cracking handset for those who like their fashion phones to do a lot more than just look pretty and given that you'll no longer need to carry round a digital camera for basic point and shoot stuff there's likely to be extra space in your pockets anyway...

Unsurprisingly, Sammy hasn't been keen to give a release date for the G800 yet, but I'd be surprised if it didn't start pleasing snap-happy customers before the end of the year.

Link:Samsung UK

Motorola to Embed Video Projector inside Mobile Phones

Microvision says that it has signed an agreement with Motorola to develop pico projector display solutions for mobile applications leveraging Microvision's ultra-miniature laser based display engine, called PicoP. Tiny laser-based projectors are expected to enable a "big screen" viewing experience from mobile devices, by projecting content displayed on the device screen onto a nearby wall or clean surface.

Motorola is committed to driving technology innovation that will enable the next generation of great consumer experiences," said Rob Shaddock, CTO, Motorola Mobile Devices business. "Working together with Microvision, we are pursuing ways that projection technology can redefine how mobile consumers view and interact with the media they take with them."

"With its slim form factor and low power requirements, Microvision's PicoP projector is optimized for the mobile environment," stated Alexander Tokman, President and CEO of Microvision. "We believe that our unique display technology, combined with Motorola's focus on delivering cool experiences, would allow mobile users to enhance their viewing of information and entertainment."

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, however the companies revealed they will work together initially to integrate Microvision's latest PicoP projector inside a functioning mobile device for demonstration purposes. This prototype handset will utilize Microvision's new, WVGA (854 x 480 color pixels) wide angle scanner, first demonstrated in May 2007 at the Society of Information Display annual conference.

Nokia E90 Communicator Smartphone Review

In the recent past, a flurry of new and advanced mobile phones has made their pompous entry into India. And the latest one to join the bandwagon is the Nokia E90 smartphone. But hey this is not just any ordinary mobile device, but a smartphone as it incorporates some truly ‘smart’ and intelligent functions. Undoubtedly an owner’s delight and a neighbor’s envy, that’s what the Nokia E90 exactly is. Read on to know why we seem to be so awed by this multimedia device.

But before we throw the light on the E90, let’s speak a little about the journey of communicators, from what it was to what it now is.

The first phone in the Communicator series was the Nokia 9000 that debuted in 1996. After that Nokia released a slew of phones in that line. Phones such as the 9000i, 9110, 9110i, 9210, 9210i, 9290, 9300, 9300i and the 9500 made an appearance. They were called the 9xxx series.

However, it has to be noted that 9300 and 9300i were not considered as Communicators.
Earlier phones in the communicator series were dubbed as Bricks (sorry iPhone, but your misnomer was taken long back) and even as bad as bulky compass boxes.

To begin with, the E90 smartphone is the first device, which is not a Nokia 9xxx series’ model that has been given the tag of Communicator. Coming to its appearance, it comes in two colors, mocha and burgundy (in layman terms, black and red!). As James Bond would say it, ‘first things first’. Yes the first thing that you notice about the E90 is the size. And what a breath of fresh air that seemed to be for sure! It essentially looks like an N70 enclosed in a shell! And if you’ve ever held the old communicators, then you would exactly understand how compact the E90 actually is.

Now coming to the main features of the Nokia E90 smartphone, the device features one of the fastest RAM in a Nokia phone, 128 MB coupled with a faster processor. This enables the phone to work efficiently. You can run several applications in the background without making it slow or freeze. The Nokia E90 is the first communicator to run on a single platform. It has S60 3.1 platform running on Symbian OS 9.2, which allows you to continue with the same action even when you flip screens.

It has a cool QWERTY keyboard that makes web browsing a true delight on this phone. And of course the inner display which is 800 x 352 pixels of size only adds on to the pleasure. The large screen makes the web pages look just as though you are surfing the internet on your PC monitor.


Normally to browse the web from a mobile phone, users have to use a GPRS connection, which sometimes can be expensive depending upon the carrier and the plan or 3G capability, which ironically is not available in all countries including India. However, the Nokia E90 communicator has Wi-Fi capabilities and all you have to do is go into a Wi-Fi hotspot and start surfing.

And of course it does include other basic features such as FM Radio, Media Player. The QWERTY keyboard makes sending SMSes and writing notes very easy. The Nokia E90 has a 3.2 MP camera with which you can click photos and also record videos. It features various different modes and settings that you would normally find in a digital camera. You can also make video calls with your E90. Besides these functions the smartphone has a host of other functions such as Clock, Calendar, GPS, Calculator and Converter. It also comes with a QuickOffice and Adobe PDF that let you view all your office documents. And if you have a printer nearby, you can use the Wi-Fi functionality of the phone to print documents. In addition, it also has a Barcode reader which scans barcodes.

Though the Nokia E90 is close to flawless, but as the old adage goes, “Nothing is perfect,” this device also cannot be given a perfect ten on ten.

Firstly the keys, especially the ones next to the Menu buttons on the front side could have been perhaps a little bigger. There is a lot of space at the bottom and instead of squishing the keys on the top; they could have ergonomically designed the main keypad. Secondly, we would have loved it if there were some more games included in the device. And here’s probably the biggest drawback, or may I say lack that I found in the Nokia E90. After having so many plus points one wonders why the Finnish mobile giant compensated on its memory capacity. Ironically, the phone supports and expandable memory of only up to 2 GB, which we feel is very low considering the fact that these days people do carry a lot of data on their phones. However, here’s some bleak ray of light that we see as there is a possibility of Nokia coming out with a newer version that would support up to 4 GB of expandable memory.

The Nokia E90 India price is Rs. 38,000, (that is around US $940, when converted) which seems like quite an affordable device for such a plethora of features and suave to its look.

Nokia LD-4W Bluetooth GPS Module Approved by FCC

Nokia has come up with its latest Bluetooth GPS module LD-4W that has been given a green signal by FCC.

For getting access to this GPS module, Bluetooth-enabled Nokia mobile phones are the biggest prerequisites. Especially smartphone or Nokia 770 users can get their hands on LD-4W to track roads and directions.

Nokia N95 is one of the phones which have built-in GPS ability. But the high cost doesn’t allow most of the consumers to go for it.

Nokia Bluetooth GPS Module is still not in the process of production. The Finnish mobile giant has kept lot of details confidential. Price and the availability of the Nokia LD-4W Bluetooth GPS Module are also unknown. However, it is expected to release very soon.

Taken for a joy ride by the Nokia 6110 Navigator

I don’t need a navigator. But I love the Nokia 6110 Navigator.

Nokia scored big with this masterpiece -- a sleek, little magnet to superlatives for its rich features topped by the company’s noble intention to introduce to as many people a navigation-enabled smart phone.

Like I said, though it’s not Nokia’s fault that I almost flunked the orienteering and map-reading courses of my Boy Scout days, I don’t need a navigator.

But I won’t mind going for a long hike just to test the Nokia 6110 Navigator.

Because even to dummies like me, the Nokia 6110’s GPS (Global Positioning System) and AGPS (Assisted Global Positioning System) can be easily navigated (pun intended).

The Nokia 6110 Navigator features full personal navigation experience with integrated maps, routing and navigation available with the click of the phone's one-touch Navigator key.

The Nokia 6110 Navigator’s primarily want for the consumers to quickly and easily view their current location on the map, search for destinations, find specific routes, or locate services such as restaurants, hotels or shops that are nearby.

With a full turn-by-turn 3D navigation, the Nokia 6110 Navigator suggests the best route to follow to reach a location by car or on foot. Clear instructions by voice guidance and turn arrows on a map ensure finding the fastest way to the destination.

At the recent 2007 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, a Nokia exec was quoted as saying that "location-based experience is among the fastest growing areas in mobile devices. Offering integrated GPS functionality, the Nokia 6110 Navigator will put maps, routing and navigation into the hands of the broadest consumer market world-wide.

"With the Nokia 6110 Navigator, mobile phone owners will be able to enjoy the benefits of navigation in their daily life and enjoy a wide range of location-based services - whether they want to explore a city, search for restaurants, get weather forecasts, or look for travel guides for a weekend trip."

The Nokia 6110 Navigator comes with a local map pre-installed on the memory card ready for immediate navigation. Additional maps and content - such as traffic information, weather services and travel guides - can be purchased online. Additional maps can be conveniently transferred to the phone by using the Nokia Map Manager application.

Of course, I’m just repeating here what I heard and read about navigation. But hey, new features in smart phones never cease to amaze us, right.

The satellite navigation on smartphones, in my humble opinion, could be in demand not just for constant travelers.

Just imagine being able to use satellite navigation by simply switch it on, and, voila, you see your location and exactly how to get to anywhere else.

Looking for a friend’s street adress, hunting for a new job in Makati labyrinthine business district, hotels, fuel stations, hospitals, etc., let the Nokia 6110 Navigator lead you right to them.
While bluetooth GPS accessories have been available for many years, the Nokia 6110 Navigator is one of the first smartphones to provide full satellite navigation that works straight out of the box, so it may introduce a lot of phone users to the world of GPS and sat nav.

Okay, enough about the navigator. Let’s now take a closer look into the many features of this small wonder. Surely, these things would interest you.

The Nokia 6110 Navigator enables fast and seamless access to online information with HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) up to 3.6 Mbps. Emails can be handled in real time by push email, which also supports attachments as well as features a Message reader function to read aloud your emails.

The Nokia 6110 Navigator is an ideal tool for 3G multimedia, enabling real time video sharing and video calls, as well as a 2 megapixel camera with a dedicated capture key, panorama mode, and integrated flash. Video clips can be enjoyed with full screen view, and maps and images are clear and crisp to see on the large and bright 2.2" QVGA screen, offering up to 16 million colors. For extra protection, the camera lens is covered by a protection slide, keeping the images crystal clear.

Based on the world's leading smartphone software S60 on Symbian OS, the Nokia 6110 Navigator enables access to a wide range of S60 applications such as Mobile Search or S60 games for additional entertainment and productivity.

The Nokia 6110 Navigator feels solid in your hand with a sturdy sliding mechanism, and is light at 125g. but comfortable to hold when making calls as the bulk of the weight is in the keypad section. The front and back covers are a glossy plastic, with a matt metallic silver middle section that allows you to grip the phone more easily. The screen is surrounded by a brushed steel frame.The back cover has a brushed steel middle section that covers the camera, part of which can be retracted to reveal the lens and flash.

On the top of the phone there's a charging socket and a 2.5mm audio socket. The left side has a USB port, "My Own" button and hotswap memory card slot. The right side has external volume controls and camera button. The bottom of the phone has a cover removal button.

The Nokia 6110 Navigator is compatible with Quadband GSM (850/900/1800/1900) and 3G WCDMA/UMTS (2100). In 3G mode, the 6110 Navigator supports HSDPA networks so you can download data at several times the speed of normal 3G networks -- sometimes referred to as 3.5G. It has external stereo speakers, a built-in FM radio tuner, which lets you listen to normal radio stations, or download all of your local presets from an online database. The gallery application lets you enter the RTSP addresses of internet audio streams so you can listen to many internet radio stations, too.

So you see, I really don’t need a navigator. But I simply love the Nokia 6110 Navigator.
Love it. Want it.

Win a free Sony Ericsson P1 from the Sony Ericsson Developer World Wiki contest1

This one goes out to all you UIQ3 hobbyists and developers out there. If you’ve been drooling over the new Sony Ericsson P1, but just can’t scrounge together the entrance fee to the P1-game, then head on over to the Sony Ericsson Developr World Wiki. The most innovative contribution to the wiki will wina P1!

“A Wiki article sharing the most innovative use of a UIQ 3 API contributed by a registered Developer World member will win a P1 smartphone. To be considered in this competition, make sure that your article is relevant to developers and written in English, fills information gaps in the UIQ 3 Wiki section, includes quality code samples and features illustrations such as screenshots or diagrams.”

Submissions will be judged by members of the Sony Ericsson Developer World Team, who “will assess the merit of the published Wiki articles and decide the one winner. Their judgment cannot be contested. The UIQ 3 Wiki article competition is open from now until 23.59 CET on August 27, 2007.”

Get your coding skills back in shape and head on over to the wiki, let us know if you win that P1!
[Via: JUSTAMP]

Sony Ericsson W580 now available

Although it was announced back in March and we saw it passing the FCC hurdle in June, we had to wait for the end of July to get one. Yes, I’m talking about Sony Ericsson mid-range Walkman phone - W580.

According to JAMPBLOG, at this stage Sony Ericsson’s slider music phone is available in small and limited quantities and still waits for a global distribution. Initially, the phone was spotted on sale in Hong Kong for roughly $400, which is quite expensive for a mid-range device. My guess is that the price will go bit down when it starts selling in Europe and other places.

In the meantime, hopefully Sony Ericsson will also start shipping the black version as well — not that I don’t like the white W580, it’s just the black one is more sexy.

Samsung may be developing G800 Handset with Enhanced Photography Features

Seems as though there are a lot of rumors about Samsung and now the electronics giant is once again in the news. Apparently, it is believed that Samsung is developing the G800, a more advanced camera-focused phone than its recent G600.


The G800 is expected to be equipped with 5-megapixel sensor and has a sliding cover too that reveals a lens with a 5.6-17.4mm. That’s not it; the phone also features an autofocus range and 3x optical zoom. Bright Xenon flash also might be a part of the G800 phone. Moreover, the upcoming phone may also include a front camera for video conferencing.

Apart from the camera features, the phone may also boast add-ons such as Internet access and sliding numberpad or touchscreen for input. However, most of the features of the G800 handset are blurred yet.

Rumors also state that Samsung is expected to launch this device by early 2008 and it will be initially available in Europe. So let’s wait and watch what exactly Samsung bring for its tech savvy people.

Samsung G600 (SGH-G600)

We got out first sighting of the Samsung G600 a couple of days ago, and now we can tell you almost all of the features of this interesting looking 5 megapixel camera phone.

The main selling feature the SGH-G600 is the camera - a 5 megapixel unit with autofocus and flash. Of course, megapixels aren't everything and a lot will depend on the quality of the lens.
The big surprise about the Samsung G600 is that it isn't a 3G phone which is surprising as Samsung are promoting the SGH-G600 as a web device. It doesn't have WiFi either, and any sort of high-speed data is limited to those few who have access to an EDGE network. And yes, the SGH-G600 looks like it has a front-facing camera, but as far as we can tell from all the official details it isn't.

What the Samsung G600 does have is the usual range of applications such as an MP3/AAC/WMA player, stereo Bluetooth, TV output and microSD expandable memory (an impressive 1GB in the standard sales package). The display is a 2.2" 240x320 pixel panel in 16 million colours, and the Samsung SGH-G600 also squeezes in an FM radio.

In addition to the 5 megapixel stills camera, Samsung say that the SGH-G600 can capture video at up to 640 x 480 pixels. Combine this with the TV output and memory card and the G600 looks like a capable little digital camcorder.

Don't forget that it's a phone - in this case the Samsung G600 is a quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz phone with GPRS and EDGE data. Maximum talktime is 3.5 hours with up to 12 days standby time. At 105 grams, the SGH-G600 is slightly heavier than many current GSM phones.

Samsung have high hopes for the G600, but we think that the lack of 3G data is a major flaw.. and then there are looks. The SGH-G600 looks very much like dozens of other Samsung sliders and there's very little to differentiate it. We think that the G600 will not challenge the dominant Nokia N95 any time soon.

ANADIGICS Amplifier Powers Samsung's Ultra Edition II SGH-U700 3G Mobile Phone

ANADIGICS are shipping production volumes of the dual-band ANADIGICS AWT6279R WCDMA power amplifier (PA) module for use in Samsung’s new SGH-U700 smart phone, available from Vodafone. Designed for a high-growth segment of the mobile phone market, the striking, glossy 3G slider phone features HSDPA download speeds of up to 3.6Mbps to give users true broadband capability in a sleek, pocketable 12.1mm handset.

The ANADIGICS AWT6279R PA module uses the company’s third-generation High-Efficiency-at-Low-Power (HELP3) technology, which reduces WCDMA average power consumption by 75%, so users can take advantage of those features without recharging their batteries as often.


The SGH-U700 is a tri-band WEDGE phone with HSDPA 3G WCDMA capabilities. Its feature set, one of the most comprehensive available, includes an HTML-enabled web browser, a built-in e-mail client, text and MMS messaging, playback compatibility with all of the most popular multimedia formats, a personal organizer, and even a picture editor.

A 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera delivers pictures with exemplary clarity, while a secondary camera handles video calling. Video is displayed at QVGA resolution (240 x 320). The Samsung SGH-U700 measures 103 x 50 x 12 mm. Its media player can handle MP3, AAC, WMA, WMDRM, MPEG4, H.263, and Real formats.

Motorola MOTOROKR T505 Bluetooth-enabled Speakerphone Released

There is news on the corner that Motorola has unveiled the MOTOROKR T505 very quietly. The T505 is a speakerphone system just like the T305 and T605.


The new palm-sized speakerphone from Motorola can be mounted in the car. The device enables hands-free calling with most Bluetooth phones.

Beside, the ordinary features like hands-free conversation the T505 can also beam music stored in a mobile phone or some portable media player. The speaker provides the quick access to frequently used functions such as a play/pause/stop music.

Moreover, Motorola’s new speakerphone features text-to-speech recognition that verbally announces caller ID and also ideal FM settings when an auto-scan system finds a clear channel.

The MOTOROKR T505 is powered by lithium-ion battery having estimated life span of 20 hours.

No pricing and availability information of the MOTOROKR T505 is known as there is no official announcement made from Motorola’s side.

Nokia 770 Internet Tablet Starts Shipping

Nokia today announced that it has started deliveries of the first device in its new Internet Tablet product category, the Nokia 770. The sleek, pocket sized device is Nokia's first Linux-based terminal product and is dedicated to convenient Internet browsing and email communications over Wi-Fi.

The Nokia 770 Internet Tablet features an impressive high-resolution widescreen display (4.13") with zoom and on-screen keyboard, ideal for viewing online content. Aside from Wi-Fi, the device can also connect to the Internet utilising Bluetooth wireless technology via a compatible mobile device.

A full list of features and product software support of the Nokia 770 is available at www.nokia.com/770.

The device runs on Linux based Nokia Internet Tablet 2005 software edition which is based on popular desktop Linux and Open Source technologies. The maemo web site (www.maemo.org) provides Open Source developers and innovation houses with the tools and opportunities to collaborate with Nokia on future devices and OS releases in the Internet Tablet category. The Nokia 770 Internet Tablet was recently named Best Embedded Linux/Mobile Product or Initiative at the 2005 UK Linux & Open Source Awards.

"We are very excited to start shipments of our first Nokia Internet Tablet device," said Janne Jormalainen, Vice President of Convergence Products, Multimedia, Nokia. "Since announced back in May we have seen huge interest in this device, particularly from the Open Source community."

"This is the first step to creating an Open Source product for broadband and Internet services. We will be launching regular software updates. During the first half of year 2006 we will launch the next operating system upgrade to support more presence based functionalities such as VoIP and Instant Messaging", continues Janne Jormalainen.

The Nokia 770 Internet Tablet also boasts web browser with flash player, email client, Internet radio, news reader, file manager and media players to enable your favourite Internet services to move with you.In addition to select retail outlets, the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet is available for purchase online through www.nokia.com at an estimated sales price of approximately 350 euros including taxes. The www.nokiausa.com sales channel is expected to open one week later.

CGC unveils designer Nokia 8600 Luna in Qatar

Consolidated Gulf Co. (CGC), the biggest retailer of mobile phones as well as the largest Telecom and IT solution provider in Qatar, has unveiled Nokia 8600 Luna in the local market.

It is a definitive design statement with a touch of glass. Detailing the unique features of Nokia 8600 Luna, Anil Mahajan, Head-Business Development, CGC, said, 'With its sleek lines and luxurious attention to detail, Nokia 8600 Luna is all set to show mobizens in a whole new light. Its stylish exterior is the perfect façade for what lies inside.

Besides viewing pictures on the brilliant, high-resolution display, mobizens can enjoy music and video anywhere with video playback and streaming, built-in FM radio and music player.

Qatar's mobizens, who are fond of capturing life's special moments, can do it on video or with the 2 megapixel camera.'

Mahajan added, 'The melding of nearly opaque smoked glass with unique, soft-touch stainless steel makes the Nokia 8600 Luna as enchanting to behold as it is a joy to touch. Adding to its mysterious allure, a gentle keypad illumination pulsates from beneath the glass case while the phone awaits a call.

Combined with the warmth of its glass and stainless steel body, this 'heartbeat' transforms the Nokia 8600 Luna from an inanimate object into a trusted companion with an organic, virtually alive form. Even the name holds special significance, as it is in honour of the goddess of moonlight.'

The balance of aesthetics and ergonomics found in the design of the Nokia 8600 Luna continues in its well thought out feature set. The use of a single micro-USB port not only allows for a streamlined design free of extraneous indentations, it also allows owners to streamline common activities - like charging, audio and data connectivity - into a single connection.

Quad-band GSM support allows owners to easily stay connected while they are on the road, while the large, bright display is perfect for sharing images.

Emirates Computers launches Nokia's N800 Internet Tablet in the Middle East

Emirates Computers today announced the launch of the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet in the UAE. The sleek, widescreen Nokia N800 Internet Tablet combines seamless wireless connectivity with a host of advanced features, for anytime, anywhere internet access.

Speaking on the launch, Mr. Khaldoun Al Shamaa, Business Development and Marketing Manager at Emirates Computers, said,

"We are delighted to introduce the much awaited Nokia N800 Internet Tablet for the first time in the Middle East. The slim and lightweight Nokia N800 supports a wide variety of applications and allows you to quite literally carry the Internet in your pocket. We believe that users will thoroughly enjoy and appreciate the high-performance, ultra-portable N800 with its myriad of free applications and ergonomic, user-friendly design.'

The N800 represents the ultimate portability, integrating the internet into daily life for a new level of connectivity. The ultra-sensitive touch-screen and handwriting recognition features provide an intuitive user interface.

Users can enjoy an extraordinary multimedia experience thanks to the integrated multimedia capabilities, high-resolution display and high audio quality speakers. The device comes with a host of free, built-in applications that provide easy access to everything from internet radio and instant messaging to web browsing and email.

Users can also take advantage of internet calling with video or conduct video conferences with the integrated web camera. A wide variety of freely downloadable open-source applications further enhance this Linux-based device, such as the Maemo Mapper, a free GPS software that allows it to be used as a convenient personal navigation system.

Other applications include Orb, which lets users instantly enjoy digital media providing total connectivity to stream photos, music, video and TV. The Nokia N800 is available at all Emirates Computers outlets, Emirates Computers Nokia Concept stores and select Nokia resellers.

Yahoo Go 2.0 WM review

Yahoo recently announced the final version of Yahoo Go 2.0. Designed for a variety of phones from Symbian OS to Windows Mobile, Yahoo Go offers a mobile portal experience.Yahoo provides a variety of widgets and applets designed for the small mobile form factors. They include Yahoo Maps, Yahoo Mail, Flickr and the new Yahoo oneSearch.


I decided to take Yahoo Go 2.0 for a spin. I previously installed version 1.0 last year and wasn’t terribly impressed. This version offers more features, accoutrements and tighter integration to other Yahoo services. Most notably, I like the Flickr integration. My test platform was the Motorola Q running on the Verizon’s EDVO network. The cab installer downloaded and installed without problems on this Windows Mobile device. At first launch, the UI was coherent and pleasant to look at. However, the eye candy wore off pretty fast. The apps were slow and at times a bit clunky. In the following paragraphs, I will comment on some of the widgets.


Mail is the most stable and most responsive widget. I actually like this version of Yahoo over the mobile WAP version. Attachments are not supported in this widget.

Flickr is my favorite widget in the entire suite. You can add comments, upload photos and search. Overall, Flickr works great on Yahoo Go 2.0. It browsed my entire device including the removable miniSD card. I was able to upload a file, tag it, and give a description in one shot.

Besides Flickr and Yahoo Mail, I wasn’t impressed with anything else.Yahoo Maps was slow and crashed a few times. Compared to Google Maps, it failed to find specific POIs (Points of Interests). The routing was very slow and unintuitive. Google Maps on the iPhone running EDGE was several times more responsive than Yahoo Maps running on Verizon’s EDVO. When I tried to do a search for an intersection “Van Ness and Geary” in San Francisco, Yahoo Maps would return nothing. Google Maps would always find an intersection.

The most important widget is the Yahoo oneSearch engine. It simplifies searches into categories such as Movies, Products, City, Companies/Finance, News, Celebrities (if you’re into Hollywood gossip) and the web.

Like Google mobile on a WAP phone, Yahoo Go attempts to reformat web pages for the small screen. The results are often time disastrous. On a Windows Mobile device, Yahoo Go should use PIE to render the pages. Here is an example of how Ebay Motors and Craigslist appear in Yahoo Go 2.0.

In conclusion, I wanted to like Yahoo Go 2.0 but was a bit disappointed with the slowness and sluggishness. It felt like a really slow Java midlet instead of a native WM application.At times, I would whip out my iPhone just to get something done while Yahoo Go would process an event.

Rumor has it that there will be an iPhone version coming soon. Yahoo should simply make an AJAX web version so it can run on the iPhone, Symbian S60 and newer mobile devices that support rich Web 2.0 capabilities.

You can find out more about Yahoo Go 2.0 at http://mobile.yahoo.com/go/

Mobile TV in Ghana

A terrestrial digital mobile TV service has been launched in Accra Ghana, named BlackStar TV. According to the operators, this is the first implementation of the T-DMB technology on the African continent.


According to Wikipedia,

Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) is a digital radio transmission system for sending multimedia (radio, TV, and datacasting) to mobile devices such as mobile phones. This technology was first developed in South Korea under the national IT project and the world’s first official DMB broadcast started in South Korea in 2005, although trials were available much earlier. It can operate via satellite (S-DMB) or terrestrial (T-DMB) transmission. DMB is based on the Eureka 147 Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) standard, and has some similarities with the main competing mobile TV standard, DVB-H.

Blackstar TV is currently running on test transmission here in Accra and is being offered in collaboration with Onetouch (a GSM cellular network). I was at the Ghana Telecom head office premises last Friday, to see a live demo of the devices. The quality on the little screens is just watch can be expected from a mobile device and no where near an analog mobile TV device.

Only one TV channel is currently active. It’s operators hope to broadcast 6 TV, 4 audio and 2 data channels when the service commences in full.I’d do an extensive write-up on this issue on Mobile Africa, and link to it from here later.n launched in Accra

Google and Sprint team-up on WiMAX For Mobile Web

Yesterday, Google and Sprint-Nextel announced that they are in the works of offering Internet search services via a web portal that the latter is developing for its WiMAX high-speed wireless service.


The latest partnership is by far the search giant’s closest alliance with a leading US mobile service provider. The new joint venture is anticipated to augment internet access over Sprint’s new network and enhance use of Google’s search and communications services on mobile devices.

“This seems to be a bigger deal than what [Google has] done in the past, more comprehensive,” observed Pacific Crest analyst Steve Weinstein, who expects wireless services to be a “very material driver” for Google by late 2008 and early 2009.

Even though Google has penned deals with overseas mobile providers, analysts claim it to be much behind Yahoo Inc. in the U.S. mobile Web market.

According to Google, wireless is a key to its growth and its strategy of selling Internet advertising.

The Mountain View, Calif., company is in the midst of a lobbying battle over rules governing an upcoming U.S. government auction of airwaves.

With this deal, Google becomes Sprint’s exclusive search provider for WiMAX service, maintained Sprint’s chief technology officer, Barry West. Adding, that the agreement should help raise Sprint’s image as a provider of wireless Web services.

“If you think of the Internet you automatically think of Google,” West said. “Obviously having a powerful partner on the Internet helps us become synonymous with the mobile Internet.”

Spring will be combining technology for discovering user location with the help of Google tools on devices running on a high-speed network Sprint was building based on WiMAX technology. The Google tools would be the ones such as email and chat

Though WiMAX offers Web access speeds five times faster than typical wireless networks, all the same it much slower than wired broadband.

This service would be free for access, and will earn its revenues through search-related advertising. Google and Sprint will share advertising revenue.

Sprint intends using the up-and-coming WiMAX technology to better compete with rival wireless and wired broadband networks.It plans to test the WiMAX service in Chicago, Baltimore and Washington by 2007-end, with a goal of achieving coverage for 100 million people by the end of 2008. The company is hoping that users will in due course use the service through WiMAX-embedded devices like laptops and cell phones.

Motorola gets its MOTOGROOVE on with internationally acclaimed musicians

Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT), a global leader in wireless communications, has launched the MOTOGROOVE pack to Jordan consumers, with performances from famous R&B sensation, The Sound of Reason and reggae superstar, Sean Paul.

The MOTOGROOVE pack, launched alongside Motorola's latest handset portfolio including the RAZR² V8, MOTO Q and RIZR Z6, bundles one of four stylish handsets - the KRZR K1, RIZR Z3, ROKR E6 or RAZR maxx V6 with the ROKR S9 Bluetooth® Active Headphones, delivering a powerful mobile music experience for consumers on the go.

'Motorola is driving the convergence of music and mobility and bringing choice to mobile consumers in Jordan', said Patrick Mulligan, Area Director for Motorola's Mobile Devices business in the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and Pakistan.

'The MOTOGROOVE pack will enable users to enjoy the freedom and convenience of staying connected and carrying their favourite music with them all the time,' he said.

Motorola's MOTOGROOVE pack allows consumers in Jordan to choose the mobile that best reflects their needs:

• ROKR E6 - a slim, premium entertainment PDA with both an integrated MP3 player, dedicated music keys and up to 2GB of MicroSD™ storage plus email access, business-card reader and other executive features.

• RAZR maxx V6 - one of the smallest broadband phones available, with lightning-fast downloads, exceptional data capabilities, advanced imaging features, music functionality and ample memory for storing users' favourite files.

• KRZR K1 - the definitive luxury mobile for individuals who have an appreciation for cutting edge designs, clean lines, precision detailing and premium materials.

• RIZR Z3 - the slider handset for music-lovers, with a built-in music player supporting a variety of music formats and up to 2GB of MicroSD storage available.

Each MOTOGROOVE pack is bundled with the ROKR S9 Bluetooth Active Headphones. ROKR S9 weighs barely an ounce and is designed with a behind-the-head style that is comfortable, stylish and wireless. The bundled pack also comes with a 1GB memory card and the required cables to transfer music and other files to and from your personal computer.

'The MOTOGROOVE pack delivers the ultimate multimedia experience for consumers with freedom from wires,' Mulligan concluded.

The MOTOGROOVE pack is now available at leading stores in Jordan.

Digital Chocolate to publish Mobile Games for the Nokia N-Gage Platform

Nokia has sent in word that California-based mobile games developer Digital Chocolate will be publishing a wide range of titles exclusively for the Nokia N-Gage platform that is slated for launch this fall.

Digital Chocolate is one of the leading mobile game developers and is known for delivering original as well as high quality games with intuitive features and entertaining content.

The company’s latest game series for the N-Gage platform is called ‘DChoc Café’. This game series merges the most popular and accessible casual games with the next generation of social gaming on mobile platforms.]

DChoc Café for the N-Gage platform is basically a virtual café that features casual card, board and puzzle games that you would usually see in your neighborhood café.

Besides offering games, DChoc Café also offers users the chance to remain connected with friends through mobile gaming whenever they want.

Other features in DChoc Café allow players to create customized characters, earn prizes and make game recommendations.

Greg Sauter, Nokia’s director of third party publishing said: Digital Chocolate has been a driving force in promoting social interaction within the contest of mobile gaming. They are also an award winning publisher dedicated to bringing innovative games to the masses. It is these qualities that make Digital Chocolate a perfect fit for our N-Gage offering, which allows publishers to innovate with respect to quality, ease of use and community interaction.”

And, here is what Gary Schofield, president of networks, Digital Chocolate had to say: “DChoc Café is a perfect complement to the Nokia’s next generation N-Gage platform. N-Gage provides the tools we need to tap into the powerful device performance and promote social interaction between players through games, which is completely in line with Digital Chocolate’s philosophy.

We’re very pleased to be teaming up with Nokia.”

Nokia Acquires Twango to Offer Media Sharing

Nokia today announced the acquisition of Twango, a media sharing provider for organizing and sharing photos, videos and other personal media. By acquiring Twango, Nokia will be able to offer people an easy way to share multimedia content through their desktop and mobile devices.

Twango, a privately-owned company founded by former Microsoft veterans, is headquartered in Redmond, WA.
Twango's platform makes organizing, sharing, and republishing media such as photos, videos and audio clips easy. Unlike many other social media services, Twango supports multiple media types and offers options for people to manage, share, and repurpose their personal media content. Twango offers a destination experience on desktop computers and mobile devices, as well as a platform that allows developers to create companion applications, connect with mobile devices, and integrate with other Web services.

Equipped with cameras and mobile broadband connections, Nokia devices have changed the way people create content, blog and participate in online communities. In 2006, Nokia sold over 140 million connected cameras, and its devices are rapidly becoming the world's primary source of images and videos. Nokia offers people new media sharing experiences, such as combining GPS-based location information with photos and videos.

At&T rolls out Mobile Backup solution

AT&T just announced a new service called AT&T Mobile Backup to allow its subscribers to store, update and access their contact information from the Web. Naturally, the idea is to eliminate the need to spend hours re-entering contacts into a new or replacement phone — or to delete all contacts remotely in the case a phone has been stolen or lost. In addition, the new service allows subscribers to import existing contacts from Microsoft Outlook, Yahoo! and AOL through AT&T Mobile Backup website.

Interested? You’ll need one of the following six Motorola devices - RAZR V3xx, RAZR V3i, RAZR V3r, V365, SLVR L7 or KRZR K1, plus a will to pay $1.99 on top of your monthly bill.

Virgin joins high-speed race

OPTUS' Virgin Mobile is the latest carrier to take a tilt at the burgeoning mobile broadband market, becoming the first to combine voice and internet access in a single price package delivered over a 3G network.

A "virtual" operator using the Optus 3G network, Virgin will today announce two Virgin Broadband plans, with one aimed at home users and one at mobile users with laptops.

Virgin is promising a deluge of advertising to support the launch, which it says will be the largest since the brand kicked off in Australia. But for once, the announcement will not be accompanied by a trademark media stunt by Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Mobile chief executive Matt Davey said.

"We are a little bit more mature and I don't think we need to launch with a huge stunt. This will speak for itself," Mr Davey said.

The Virgin offer is the latest in a spate of affordable mobile-based internet services designed to tempt customers away from fixed-line broadband.

The new "At home" product will include a home phone with unlimited free local and long distance calls, free calls to Virgin mobiles, wireless networking and 4GB of internet access for $60 per month.

While it uses the mobile network to connect calls, the new service would have all the appearances of a conventional home phone, with a "fixed line" number and the ability to use an existing phone, Mr Davey said.

The $80 per month mobile broadband product comes with a Nokia 6120 handset, $520 worth of mobile calls included and 1GB of internet downloads via a free USB modem.

Data speeds on both home and mobile services, which use the high-speed HSDPA network protocol, averaged approximately 512kbps, Mr Davey said.

But peer to peer traffic would be limited to speeds of 64kbps, Mr Davey said, saying the service was not designed for heavy users. However, there were no charges for over-cap use, he said. "We are not rating upload and we are not charging for excess usage. We will just throttle (speeds)."

The recent rash of price cuts on high-speed, 3G-based internet services was sparked by the launch in March of the "X-Series" brand on Hutchison's 3, which brought pricing comparable to fixed line broadband services to the mobile market for the first time.

After the launch of more plans in recent weeks, Hutchison made another pricing move yesterday, launching a very basic $12 per month offer.

Garner analyst Robin Simpson said whether mobile networks would be able to deal with large numbers of data users remained a key question, but one that would only be answered once subscriber numbers grew.

Nevertheless, having "fixed" users on the mobile network could help plan network capacity, he said.

"The roaming mobile user is harder to deal with because you never know where they are going to be. The home users is a bit easier to plan for because you know where they are going to be and can plan accordingly."

The market for 3G internet services was in its early stages worldwide, making it difficult to predict potential growth, he said.

Sony Ericsson W51S

Sony Ericsson W51S cell phone review

Living in Japan, the need for a cell phone quickly becomes apparent. During the job search process, the inability to quickly communicate with recruiters and employers is an enormous handicap. As a stopgap measure, I temporarily used Skype as my primary method of communication; but that was a poor substitute for an actual cell phone. I then decided to sign up for a cell phone with AU by KDD, one of Japan’s primary cell phone service providers.

A lack of knowledge with regards to the features and services offered by cell phones in Japan made the availability of English language menus my primary criteria in choosing hardware. Out of the few cell phones that offered this feature, the Sony Ericsson W51S fit the bill.

The W51S has a very simple and slim design that allows for easy use of its various features. The black version of this phone has a metallic finish that is very resistant to fingerprints and scratches (unlike my iPod). On the outside top half of the closed clamshell, there is a mesh-like finish that covers the entire top. Unlike other cell phones there is no digital display or screen on the top half.

When receiving a call, an email, or setting the alarm an otherwise invisible phone, mail, or alarm symbol appears on the outer casing. The bottom edge of the closed clamshell also flashes white.
On the outside bottom half of the closed clamshell there is a small digital display that shows information such as the time, date, battery life and caller id.

The lens for the 2 Megapixel CMOS camera is also found on the bottom half along with the housing for the Lithium ion battery. On one side of the closed clamshell are the plug in for the remote control earphones, the camera mode button, the display light button, and the housing for the Memory Stick Pro Duo Card. The phone comes with 120 megabytes of on-board memory.

Being a Sony product the phone uses Pro Duo memory sticks as opposed to the more popular SD memory. I picked up a 2 gigabyte card in Akihabara for roughly 5000 yen ($40) at the same time I saw a 2 gigabyte SD memory card for about 3000 yen ($25).

Also found on the side of the phone is an “EZ FeliCa” button which allows for the purchase of goods and service using the phone. On the other side of the closed clam shell is the USB plug in for connecting the device to the PC.

The phone comes with a large 2.7-inch screen with a 16:9 widescreen display. It measures 105 × 48 × 19.3 mm and has an official talk time of 210 minutes and standby time of 270 hours (the phone lasts about 6 to 7 days on standby, but if used as a music player all day battery life shrinks to a day). Typical of most cell phones today, the W51S has a small notch on the top corner that allows you to attach cute Hello Kitty-like accessories on your phone. (I see many Japanese do this and in some cases the accessories are larger than the phone.)

This phone comes with a battery charging dock and earphones with remote control.
Interestingly though, with AU by KDDI, the actual AC Adapter charger does not come with the phone – you are forced to purchase it separately for 1000 yen ($8). This may be an example of the “nickel and dimeing” that can happen in Japan.

I’ve found the service plans offered by AU by KDDI are more complex and more expensive than my previous phone contract in Canada. By signing on for a two-year contract, I did receive the phone for free, and similar to Canada, there is a penalty for cancelling the contract prematurely. Monthly prices vary depending on whether you are a first time customer or if you’ve been a customer for 11 months or longer.

The usage of minutes and the usage of packets (Internet based services) is separated clearly. For 3000 yen ($25) per month, I receive only 60 minutes of free talk time – but thankfully, the minutes that were not used in the last month are added on to this month’s total.

The high cost of calling appears to be a factor that forces most Japanese to text message or email as opposed to actually calling. To use email and other Internet based services there is a 300 yen ($2.45) default charge and most users sign on to a packet cost reduction service that costs 1050 yen ($8.59). With this service, the first 12,500 packets are free and additional packets used are at a reduced cost. If all you use is email, then 12,500 should be enough; but it is very easy to use up tens of thousands of packets instantly. I downloaded Final Fantasy II for my cell phone and visited a few websites, and these activities shot my packet use into the 40000 range instantly contributing to my 7000 yen cell phone bill.

I’ve used this phone as a music player, to send emails, to take pictures and to play a little Final Fantasy II (as a side note, I later discovered that FF II requires a monthly 525 yen ($4.29) fee, which I recently cancelled). I also visited a few websites to look at maps of places I wanted to go to. Websites look distorted on the phone but not completely unusable. As a music player, this phone performs very well combined with the remote control earphone accessory. Loading music on to the phone is done using an iTunes-like software called au MusicPort. Sadly, the software is not as user friendly as iTunes and is quite cumbersome to use. The biggest negative I’ve found is MusicPort only allows the use of m4a, wma, and wav files. MP3 files cannot be used, forcing you to convert your existing MP3 music collection. As a music player, the phone performs like a typical MP3 player with a standard set of features.

Sending emails can be done in English or Japanese. but the features for Japanese are naturally far more developed. In Japanese, by just typing a few letters, words and phrases you are likely to use instantly pop up. No such feature exists for English.

For photos, the camera allows you to take pictures with a resolution from 240x320 all the way up to 1600x1200. There is a loud shutter sound that goes off when taking a picture that it appears I cannot turn off (which I’ve been told is a feature to discourage men from taking ‘secret shots’ of unsuspecting women).

Getting a cell phone was a unique experience in my first couple months of officially living in Japan. Compared to cell phones in North America, the products and services available to the Japanese are far superior. I suppose that is one advantage of having a massive population on a small landmass – it is easier for cell carriers to rapidly implement infrastructure improvements and new technologies.