HTC is currently leading the industry with a combined lineup of great Windows Phone 7 and Android smart phones. Of course, the Apple iPhone 4’s large media hype and branding has helped it garner so many sales that it is hard to catch up with even after having been launched so many months back, but it is hard to deny that the current market interest and demand for Android phones is staggeringly high. Currently HTC devices have the highest number of searches online –even more than the iPhone.
If this demand starts translating to actual sales, Apple will have some serious competition. HTC may not have been all that well known several years back, but since the rise of the Google Android smart phone, the Taiwan based phone maker has been able to shake off its former reputation as Microsoft’s Pocket PC partner and instead, HTC has risen up to become one of Google’s most trusted industry partners.
In other news, a new Nokia device has been spotted in images. Designated as the Nokia X7-00, the device looks like it has been made specifically to promote the Nokia Ovi Store. Gaming and apps are two key features that are being shown off, as well as media playback. The specs are the same as the Nokia N8 handset, except that the X7-00 has a slightly lower spec camera and has four speakers up front.
The prices for RIM’s BlackBerry Playbook touch screen tablet have been confirmed with the version with the lowest internal memory getting a price tag of below 200 GBP. More than reasonable for any who simply want to browse online or read. At 400 GBP, there is plenty of storage space for media as well. With the promising new QNX OS and a good price rating, expect the Playbook to do well in terms of sales when it finally comes out.
Posts Tagged ‘Nokia’
Mobile News Highlights
Monday, November 29th, 2010Today’s Top Stories in Mobile News
Thursday, November 25th, 2010
Nokia is fast becoming the new king of delays. With the massive scheduling setback that the Nokia N8 has already gone through, one would think that Nokia would be more prudent with the release date. Now, the Nokia E7 has been set back for a January launch, hopefully this is the only delay that the handset will go through.
A new social networking phone from Nokia is also coming out. The C6 handset will feature a touch screen display, an 8 mega pixel camera and support for HD video recording and playback. Expect to see this mid range device spreading out once it becomes available to the public.
Sony is moving away from the Sony Reader hardware and has just released the Sony Reader application for mobile phones. Anyone who has used the Reader will be familiar with the app controls and will also appreciate the familiar visual layout of the tool as well.
Motorola has announced that the heavy duty Defy Android smart phone will finally receive an update to the OS bringing it t version 2.2 Froyo. Users of this Gorilla glass protected smart phone should expect the updated to be released shortly.
A new Tron inspired light cycle application from Coke combines a basic game with GPS for a massive real world light cycle match. Of course, the game is not as fast paced as one would think, but being able to navigate through town without crashing a light wall is going to be a pretty tough challenge once a lot of players start joining in.
It has been stated that the news iOS update will be coming out on December, Apple’s new 4.3 update promises plenty of focus on RSS feeds and content publication so iOS users might want to check out this new update when it comes out. Also it has been announced that a Jailbreak feature for the third generation iPhones has come out for version 4.2.
Today in Mobile News: Upcoming Devices
Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010
HTC’s Merge handset has been appearing quite a lot in news updates recently. The keyboard toting Android smart phone has been quite the attention grabber as HTC has finally decided to come out with a not-so-high-end smart phone that packs a physical QWERTY keyboard.
The biggest disappointment here is that the Merge is still announced as a US carrier Verizon exclusive which means that the only hope for a local re-release of the handset would be to wait it out for a month or so before HTC gives the Merge a quick name change and brings it here.
Nokia is once again showing us all where the money is at: the low end mobile phone market. Two new devices are being buffed up by Nokia, the C2-01 and X2-01 handsets. Despite the fact that the designations for the two are similar, these two phones look quite different from each other.
The C2-01 is your standard candy bar mobile phone while the X2-01 brings in a physical QWERTY keyboard in portrait view (similar to the BlackBerry layout). Specs wise, the two devices are as low end as one can get, but interested folks can also expect to get a very decent price tag as well.
The BlackBerry Playbook touch screen tablet has been slowly bobbing up and down the radar as the Samsung Tab and the iPad are still battling it out for the top spot in the tablet industry wars. Still, the Playbook deserves some much needed attention.
RIM has already confirmed that the device will be commercially available sometime this coming Q2 of 2011, but aside from that, not specific launch date has been pinned down. From what we have seen from the QNX mobile platform, this is one device that tablet users will enjoy in terms of browsing and media playback –though app support is still one major weakness for the device.
Mobile News Bits: Today’s Big Headlines
Friday, November 19th, 2010
Sony Ericsson is launching the XPERIA X12 and the official spec sheet is out. The touch screen smart phone will come with a 4.3 inch display, a 12 mega pixel camera, HD video recording and playback, an HDMI port, an 800MHz CPU and the Android 2.2 Froyo operating system.
Google has confirmed that they are finished working on the Google Docs browser app and it is now available for mobile users. The new version is said to be able to run smoothly on a wide variety of platforms but is definitely going to be compatible with Android and iOS devices. Those using other mobile OS might want to try it out for a bit as well.
Nokia and Symbian may not be making much in terms of overall hardware sales, but the Ovi store is one of the strongest in the industry. According to recent reports, the Ovi Store is getting about 3 million downloads each day –that is a massive volume that the iTunes network would be pressed to compete with on a daily basis.
HTC’s Sense web service is confirmed to be heading straight for the original HTC Desire. While this is a little unexpected, it is most certainly welcome. The cloud based service allows users to store content in the cloud storage as well as make use of the special remote access capabilities that the Sense provide. This is most useful as a remote access tool for security purposes as well.
Lastly, it seems that Qualcomm is on the cusp of changing the mobile phone industry once again with better, faster CPU. The next generation Snapdragon is going to pack a dual core CPU and will be five times faster than the previous model. What is most impressive here is not the speed and processing power however, but with the fact that energy consumption is even lower than before. According to initial reports, the new CPU will only require about 75% of its original power needs.
Upcoming: NFC Activation for C7 and Updates for Legend and Streak
Tuesday, November 16th, 2010
The 5 inch Dell Streak handset is one of the most intriguing smart phones around. After all, with the massive 5 inch touch screen display on the device, it is easy to mistake the overall face of the phone for one of the older, bulkier mobile devices of yesteryear.
Of course, the super slim case makes it known that this is simply a high end phone with a really big screen –much like a touch screen tablet. In fact, many are referring to the Streak as a mini tablet and the terminology is quite fitting. With the smallest tablets ranging around 7 inches, a smart phone with a 5 inch screen certainly has plenty of similarities. Anyway, the much anticipated upgrade to Android 2.2 Froyo for this intriguing device is available now.
HTC’s Legend handset is finally getting an update to the Android 2.2 Froyo operating system, as well. With initial plans to leave the device at 2.1 Éclair now scrapped, owners of this impressive high end smart phone have something new to look forward to. The Legend is basically a watered down version of the HTC Desire. Both devices use AMOLED touch screen technology, though the Legend’s screen is smaller at 3.7 inches. The device also comes with a 5 mega pixel camera.
Finally, Nokia has confirmed that the C7’s near field communications chip will be activated in an upcoming update. Though no specific date has been announced, this has excited many in the tech industry. NFC technology can be used in a very wide range of applications, making this handset something that users will certainly want to play around. Interfacing with a wide range of gadgets is expected to be one of the primary new functions that NFC will serve.
Apple is also heavily investing in NFC technology as well, having recently bought a specialist company earlier this year. Expect to see NFC to appear in more devices in the coming months.
Two New Handsets Now on 3 UK
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
3 Mobile UK has confirmed that they are offering both the Nokia N8 and the HTC Desire HD.
First up, the Android offering; the new HD Google powered handset is a definite favorite among this generation of mobile devices. The sequel to the successful HTC Desire brings in a bigger touch screen at 4.3 inches –compared to the original 3.7 inches of the first Desire as well as a better snapper that packs an 8 mega pixel camera.
Overall, it is hard not to like the Desire HD, the Android 2.2 Froyo operating system does a great job at delivering all the right features to users without much trouble having to understand or figuring out how the UI works. Controls are simple, intuitive and very responsive. Speaking of responsive, we particularly like how the 1GHz CPU has optimized the speed and smoothness of the user experience –Froyo’s upgraded kernel memory management and Java API has also certainly helped improve the speed and stability of the OS.
The Nokia N8 is the first and only Symbian^3 handset that will be coming out on Nokia N-series. This has been confirmed as early as the start of the year –Nokia will be adopting the MeeGo platform for the N-series instead. In the meanwhile, the N8 will be showcasing the latest version of the Symbian operating system.
Currently, there is a lot riding on the shoulders of the Nokia N8 as the Symbian OS is currently taking a lot of criticism in the mobile industry. With both Samsung and Sony Ericsson announcing that they will no longer be supporting the mobile platform, the Nokia N8 serves as the last hope for the Symbian Foundation.
Both devices are already available through 3 UK’s stores and both are being offered with very impressive plans that offer plenty of data and call minutes per month.
Nokia in Focus: Finnish Phone Maker is Shaping Up
Friday, October 22nd, 2010
It has been a short while since the Canadian born Stephen Elop has taken the reigns of the world largest phone maker. But he has come to take on the CEO title at a very testing time for the company. With strong competition in terms of both the hardware and software products, as well as the slowly decreasing fan base for the Nokia brand label, Elop certainly has his work cut out for him.
The most recent sales of Nokia still managed to rake in a profit, and after suffering from a serious degree of net losses last 2009, being able to stay afloat would be a very important thing. However, the overall shipping volume of Nokia’s handsets has decreased and despite profits moving up (mostly due to the costs of phones getting higher), Nokia needs to get into a strong market position in order to stay on top of the game.
According to reports, Nokia made about 469 million GBP in the previous quarter and has managed to ship out about 110 million devices. That is indeed higher than the volume last year, but certainly a lot less than they wanted –considering the fact that Nokia already predicts that the fourth quarter of the year would be bringing in even less sales.
In an effort to keep things running steady, Nokia has already adopted the Qt platform for software development. This will create a level of uniformity between the MeeGo and Symbian platforms, allowing developers to create cross compatible apps without any issues at all –this is a good sign for Symbian users as well.
Nokia’s current lineup of handsets is also looking pretty good. Despite being very delayed, the N-series N8 has been getting plenty of attention as of late as the phone’s 12 MP snapper and HD features are certainly worth trying out.
Mobile News: Today’s Highlights
Thursday, October 14th, 2010
O2 UK has confirmed that they are launching a new VOIP service specifically for those who spend a lot of money on international calls. The new feature is going to be called the International Favorites and it will be based on the recently acquired Jajah client. So far, the initial costing for the feature will have users paying 10 GBP for 3,000 minutes worth of calls to three specific international numbers.
Tesco announced that the pre-order slots for the Nokia N8 Symbian^3 smart phone are now open. Those who are planning to get this impressive camera phone can now get the handset straight from Tesco under deals from Vodafone and O2 UK. The latest addition to the N-series sports a powerful 12 mega pixel snapper packing Carl Zeiss lenses and Xenon flash technology.
The HTC Desire HD’s official launch date has been pushed back to October 22. While initial rumors stated that the Desire HD and the Desire Z had been delayed due to issues with Google’s Approval, both HTC and Google declared that the rumors are not true. The phone is equipped with a 4.3 inch WVGA capacitive touch screen, an 8 mega pixel camera, support for HD video playback and recording as well as a 1GHz CPU.
Speaking of the Android operating system, it appears that video calling will be a major focus for the upcoming Android 3.0 Gingerbread. While no specific details have been given, it has been confirmed that the Google Talk Video has become a new priority for the Android developers. Google VP Andy Rubin stated that they are converting the feature to be friendlier in terms of performance to mobile platforms.
Lastly, Amazon UK has opened up the page for the HTC 7 Trophy and has confirmed that by November 8, interested buyers will be able to order the device SIM free from the online retailer.
Not WP7: Today’s Other Highlights
Tuesday, October 12th, 2010
Sure, we all know the big news about Windows Phone 7 and how Microsoft’s new mobile platform is going to shake the phone industry’s roots. But putting aside all the hype and hoopla, there are a few other important news highlights that are also worth talking about. Here’s a quick look at all the other news that are not WP7 related.
First up, Samsung has just unveiled a new smart phone, the Galaxy K. For now, the device is only available in Korea, but considering that this is the Android Galaxy handset series that we are talking about, a local release in the UK is quite likely. The only question now is when Samsung would actually take the time to bring the handset over.
Considering the initial specs of this handset, one could almost say that it is a Galaxy S Lite of sorts. The phone packs a 1GHz CPU, a 3.7 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen and of course, the Android 2.2 Froyo operating system. From the Samsung launch event, it has been shown that the Galaxy K is available in two colors: black and white variants.
Nokia is also launching a new handset, and this one is being done locally; a Symbian^3 smart phone, the Nokia C7. This little touch screen smart phone brings a 3.5 inch AMOLED display, an 8 mega pixel snapper and about 8 GB of internal memory. This will be the very first time we will all get to try out the Symbian^3 OS. Also, expect this little number to be slightly cheaper than the high end Nokia N8.
Lastly, going back to a little bit of Android news, it appears that Google is not entirely happy with how the HTC Desire HD and Desire Z have turned out. According to reports, the two high end Androids are getting a launch delay until the issues are resolved. Some believe that the delay is simply meant to move the launch away from the WP7 event.
Inside Nokia: N8 Launch Highlights and a Quick Goodbye to Anssi
Monday, October 11th, 2010The Nokia N8 smart phone is finally coming to the UK. Mobile network operator Vodafone has confirmed that the handset will indeed be in store shelves by October 22 –as just recently announced by Nokia and that pre-orders of the device would be available in the next few days.
Of course, as to whether people are still excited over the handset still remains to be seen.
The Nokia N8 N-series handset is basically a media phone focused on video features. It has a 12 mega pixel camera packed with Carl Zeiss lenses and Xenon flash technology –features that digital camera fans are certain to appreciate. Of course, the phone will be able to record videos in 720p HD quality. If that was not enough, the phone also features a mini HDMI output port so that you can playback videos on an HD monitor too.
The device itself runs the Symbian^3 operating system –which is the Symbian Foundations’ latest attempt at making the OS a little more up to date with today’s trends with touch based controls and capacitive touch screen technology. From the initial demonstrations of the OS, the Symbian^3 lacks anything innovative or completely new –making us hope that the final version of the platform would be a significant improvement over the one shown in the tech demo.
Speaking of the Nokia N8, Anssi Vanjoki, the man who has expressed great excitement and support for the handset has finally announced his upcoming retirement from Nokia and on October 12, he will be officially leaving the company.
With Anssi out of the picture, the future is starting to look grim for the Nokia N8 –the phone has lost its major voice and is now slowly being pushed into the looming shadow of the upcoming Nokia N9 –which uses the Nokia-Intel made MeeGo operating system.