Tag: phone
UPDATED: BlackBerry Storm II due in September
Although we weren’t massive fans of the BlackBerry Storm when it arrived in our office, we’re still pretty excited about this rumour. Sources suggest that RIM will be releasing a second iteration of the touchscreen BlackBerry in September this year.
One of the biggest failings of the original Storm, aside from the horrible touchscreen, was that it didn’t support Wi-Fi. The new version apparently will, which will make BlackBerry fans happy. If you ask me, though, they’ve got a long way to go before they can reach the user experience delights of Nokia or Apple phones or the G1.
(via SlashGear)
Sony Ericsson announces W205 and S312 entry-level phones
Are there really many people left entering the mobile phone market these days? Or is “entry-level” just another phrase for “cheap and low-spec”? Sony Ericsson’s just dropped us word of a couple of new “entry-level” phones that it’s bringing out in the middle of this year.
First there’s the W205, which is probably the snazzier of the two. It’s a Walkman phone, which means that it’s got some music-y features (though not a 3.5mm headphone jack). There’s an FM radio, a track identification system, as well as a fully-featured MP3 player with shuffle, loop, album art, playlists, etc.
It’s also got a 1.3-megapixel camera, memory card support – which you’ll need if you want to add music to it – and a 1.8″ screen. It’s 96g and measures 92 x 47 x 16.4 mm. It’ll be available in Q2.
Then there’s the S312, on which the biggest feature seems to just be that it’s got a dedicated video camera button. There’s a 2-megapixel camera, and a few photo uploading tools, but this really isn’t a seriously cameraphone, especially as the claimed 2.5X zoom is entirely digital. Anything taken at that level of zoom is going to look awful.
Again, there’s memory card support, a 2″ screen, and it comes in two colours – dawn and silver. It measures 100 x 46 x 12.5 mm and weighs 80g. It’ll also be available in Q2.
Sony Ericsson
T-Mobile plotting Android home phone and tablet
Remember, before we all had mobiles, the days of the home phone. Having to drag the cable across the hallway and under your door if you wanted to have a private conversation without the rest of your family listening in? That mysterious ‘Mercury’ button?
Those days are mostly at an end, but there are a few people still buying landline phones. As a result, companies are still making them – including T-Mobile who, rumour has it, will be bringing out an Android version next year. There’ll be a docking station that lets you sync it and recharge the battery.
On top of that, there’s a 7″ Android tablet in the works too. There’s very little detail being shared, but it’ll apparently let you ‘check the weather’ or ‘manage data across a wide variety of devices’. Sounds good. More when we get it.
(via Electric Pig)
RUMOUR: 3.2-megapixel iPhone for 2009
I’m slightly loathed to publish this story because the information lies somewhere between total speculation and the bleeding obvious. Stay with me here, you’ll see what I mean.
So, word has it via iPhone Buzz that OmniVision has won the contract to supply Apple with the CMOS sensors for the iPhone of next Tuesday.
They’re saying that it’ll bring the iPhone 3.0 handset up to 3.2-megapixels and, beyond that, they’re taking consignment of 5-megapixel equipment for a second handset later this year.
So, it’s total speculation because none of this has been confirmed with anyone, and it’s the bleeding obvious as the camera is the one place on the iPhone that’s simply been screaming to be upgraded ever since the first handset came out two years ago.
As for a fourth iPhone, well, it’s possible Apple plans on doing to their phone range what they’ve done with iPods and, indeed, we’ve heard murmurs about it already but my money’s on 2010 for that kind of action. Perhaps this other optic set up is for another piece of Appleware. Tablet anyone?
iPhone on O2
Burberry to launch phone handset?
It appears that Burberry will be launching a handset, following a promotional image leaked from a factory in China. The handset appears to be of clamshell design and features the iconic burberry design.
Specs are unknown at this point, though you wouldn’t expect the bPhone to be high-end. I’d guess a 2MP camera, bluetooth, and T9 text input, as well as a couple of hundred MB of onboard storage. No release date for now.
Samsung announces first WiMax handset
This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Samsung SWD-M100, otherwise known as the Mondi, and the big deal about the Mondi is that it’s Samsung’s first mobile device supporting WiMax.
It’s got a full slide-out QWERTY with an interesting looking D-pad, which I’m hoping is game-centric rather than straight ease of navigation because you might as well use the touchscreen for that kind of thing.
Samsung will, of course, utterly cripple the device with Windows Mobile, rumoured to be the 6.5 version, but you can expect to see the handset soon on the Clear network in the US, making it the first WiMax mobile in their market. Who’d like to put down money that Samsung isn’t going to miss the opportunity over here too?
(via Phone Scoop)
Twice as many Brits email on the iPhone than any other smartphone
Stats from Comscore have revealed that 75% of UK iPhone users access their email on their phone – more than double the average for smartphones. The news kicks dirt in the eyes of critics who don’t like the onscreen keyboard.
60% of iPhone users accessed news on their device, compared to 15% for mobile phone users, and 37% of iPhoners have downloaded a game, compared to just 5.6% of regular smartphone owners.
Lastly, some demographics. 75% of iPhone owners are male, and most are between 18 and 44. That’s not too different to other smartphone owners, 65% of whom are male. Comscore cautions those who are calling it the next big thing, though – only 2% of British mobile phone owners have an iPhone.
(via Macworld)
Samsung Lucido, smartphone specs in a midrange phone
This is a sign of progress. Lucido is unashamedly not a high-end phone, but it’s got the kind of features and specs that we’re normally fairly impressed with. Are we in the future or something? I don’t feel different…
There’s HSDPA, aGPS, a 5-megapixel camera with various software goodies like face recognition and smile capture, Bluetooth, an accelerometer, and microSD slot. Best of all, though, is the AMOLED display, which stretches out across 2.2″ of the front of the phone.
The phone measures 114 x 56 x 12mm, and there’s a nice metallic finish to it that you can see in the pictures above. It’ll be available April, but there’s been no price announced yet. Looks rather swish, don’t you think?
(via Trusted Reviews)
Google Voice launches in the USA
Damn. I want this so bad. Google Voice, formerly known as GrandCentral and acquired by the company in 2006, has finally launched officially in the US. It’s a service that gives you one phone number that can access all your phones, for life, for free.
It’s been invite-only for nearly two years, and there are apparently tens of thousands of people on the waiting list, but Google will shortly be letting some of those people in. Accounts have, in the past, gone for up to $650 on eBay.
The way it works is that you get given a mobile phone number, and then a web interface lets you redirect that number to any phone you like. Going on holiday? Redirect it to the hotel you’re staying in. Leaving the office for an afternoon? Send people to your mobile phone. Expecting a call you don’t want? Put the caller through to the fax machine.
There’s also Spinvox-esque voicemail transcription, text messaging, friend settings (so that certain people can bypass your voicemail) and call recording. There’s even conference calling, and you can add credit to the account to make very cheap international calls, just like Skype.
Sadly, the service is only available in the USA. That’s a big 🙁 for me. When can we get that going down in the UK? It’s got to be possible, right?
(via TechCrunch)
Nokia pumps out three new music phones, and comments on the N97, Spotify and Comes with Music
Nokia seems to have decided that music is where it wants to be. The Finnish handset-maker has announced three new handsets today – the 5730 XpressMusic, the 5330 XpressMusic, and the 5030 – which doesn’t have an XpressMusic suffix, but does have an XpressRadio one.
The handsets range from budget to high-end. Starting at the bottom, the 5030 XpressRadio is a candybar with a built-in FM radio antenna, not the internet radio that Nokia’s been pushing to date. It’s very cheap, at just €40 before contracts come into play. Budget-tastic. It’ll be available in Q2.
Then there’s the 5330 XpressMusic, which has a different design to many Nokia handsets. More square. It’s a slider, and it has a 3.5mm headphone jack, 24 hours of listening time battery life, and some sort of crazy light thing going on. If you have any idea what that’s about, then free free to comment. Unfortunately, the 5330 won’t be running S60 – just the cut-down S40 version. It’ll cost €184 before taxes or contracts get involved. It’ll be available in Q3 2009.
Then, at the top of the range is the 5730 XpressMusic which comes in black/red, black/grey, grey/blue and black/pink. It’s got both a numeric keypad and a slide-out QWERTY, which shrinks the screen down a little, but it’s the only phone of the three to be running S60.
Specs-wise, the 5730 has got Wi-Fi, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a 3.2-megapixel camera, HSDPA, and GPS. You can also access your media from the home screen, which will be handy for those who want easier access to their content on the go. It’ll cost €280, and will be available in Q3 2009.
The phones were announced with a webchat this morning, and as part of that chat, the Nokia team also answered a few random questions from the audience. Here’s a few interesting tidbits that they came out with.
Firstly, when asked about the N97, Product Manager for Music Solutions, Steven Stewart, said the handset is “like sex in your hand”(!). The device hasn’t been announced as a Comes with Music device, but Stewart said it would be “perfect for getting unlimited free music downloads”, which sounds like a hint to me.
The inevitable question about Spotify was asked – Nokia responded: “Yes, the music team is aware of most all types of music services and devices. Spotify is one of many interesting new services. Social Music is an important part of the music experience which our teams are busy as beavers working on!”. Given Spotify’s now-officially-announcedmobile ambitions, a tie-in could be very powerful.
Discussing Apple and competition, Stewart said: “Nokia is doing many exciting things with music that apple is not. Nokia has a large range of devices for most every taste, style, and use. Nokia also has a subscription model for unlimited free music that users keep even AFTER the membership ends. But we do look at ALL of the competitive intelligence to make sure we are developing music experiences that consumers want.”.
Lastly, with regards to Comes with Music, the service will shortly be announced in Italy, Sweden, and Mexico. There are no current plans to unbundle the service from handsets, so that it’ll be usable with any device. I suspect that’s because, like Apple, Nokia wants to carefully control the ecosystem and not have to deal with supporting other manufacturer’s handsets.
The DRM on the service is “a requirement of the labels and publishers at this point”, says Stewart. “Nokia Music team is looking for the best experiences for Music Lovers. Getting DRM free music is one of the things which we are in discussions with the labels and publishers about.”
Nokia 5730, 5330 and 5030.
