Keeping user’s interest in mind for touch screen models, Nokia has come up with it’s full touch screen phone having features 3.2 inch resistive touch screen with resolution 640×360 pixels, High speed 3G (HSDPA), in-built assisted-GPS with Ovi Maps, 2 megapixel camera, stereo FM radio,3.5mm audio jack and micro SD card slot. The biggest drawback is lacking Wi-Fi. Review

Its price in India is approximately Rs 8500

It runs on latest Symbian S60 5th edition operating system and 1320mAh battery with up to 7hour talk-time and 33hours non-stop music.

It supports MP3, MP4.AAC, eAAC+ and WMA formats. Handset made compatible to access web, Music and social networks. It has 70MB memory and micro SD support up to 16 GB.

The good thing about user interface is kinetic scrolling. One can press and slide on the screen, and the lists will continue to scroll down, eventually slowing down and coming to a halt.

5230 is one for the people who are particular about touch interface and at quite affordable price.

Source: Panasianbiz.com

It’s not the first Google phone

The Google Nexus One isn’t the first phone to have sole Google backing. Back in the days before Android

swept all before it, there was the developer aimed Android Dev Phone 1. Essentially a preproduction G1, it sold for $400. Likewise there was the Google Ion, which went on to become the HTC Magic.

It’s not Google branded (yet), but it’s not HTC branded either

Not one major mobile player has owned up to making the Google Nexus One. Early rumours said it was one of HTC’s leaked 2010 lineup, but Engadget’s latest hands-on snaps show no branding from the Taiwanese titan. It’s more likely that the famous Google logo will end up slapped on the back though.

It has a Sci-Fi heritage

Google Nexus One is a name sci-fi geeks and gadget nuts will know well. It’s the name of a type of replicant in Blade Runner, referring to an Android that’s more advacned than any other. That’s certainly bang on the money, with this blower packing in Android 2.0.1, better than the first Android 2.0 device, the Motorola Milestone.


It bites its thumb at Windows
Watch the start up video for the Google Nexus One and it’ll look eerily familiar if you’ve ever used a Windows-friendly gadget. It looks just like the Windows logo and marks a huge shift from the Android green we’ve become so used to as the Big G’s mobile OS takes over the world.

Google’s gearing up to support the Nexus One online

Google’s already got a dedicated support page for the Nexus One at google.com/phone/support. It’s not an Android page, but a plain old Google one. This suggests that it will sell the phone directly, perhaps with ad support to keep the cost nice and low.

Source: ElectricPig

The handset, known as the Motorola Droid in the US, is the first mobile phone to run on the Android 2.0 operating system (OS) from Google – also known as the Eclair OS.

Motorola Milestone running on Android 2.0 OS

The Android 2.0 operating system will be the first OS to allow for turn-by-turn navigation when using the Google Maps application. However, this application won’t be available to UK consumers at the time of the Milestone’s launch next week – and neither Motorola or Google have been able to confirm when this service will launch in Europe.

The Milestone will initially be available exclusively through the Expansys website until the end of the year, where it will retail for £449.99.

The Motorola Milestone features a 5Mp camera, a 3.7-inch capacitive touchscreen and Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth connectivity. It’s a slide model that when opened features a full Qwerty keyboard. It will come bundled with an 8GB SD memory card, and is compatible with cards up to 32GB.
No turn-by-turn navigation on Google Maps at time of launch

Jon Barrow, Which? mobile phone expert, said: ‘The Motorola Milestone features a raft of attractive features such as its large multi-touch screen, its Wi-Fi connectivity, and its full Qwerty keypad. However, its biggest draw will be the new Android operating system, and so it’s a shame that the Google Maps turn-by-turn navigation that this software can support will not be available at the time of the phone’s launch. We’ll keep you updated with news on this feature’s release, and when available we shall pit it against a dedicated sat nav.’

Credits: which.co.uk

The world’s largest mobile phone maker uses the gathering of analysts and investors — held yearly in early December — to update its market view and issue forecasts for the coming year.

Twelve months ago Nokia forecast its handset unit operating profit margins for 2009 in the teens — 13-19 percent — but the company has just failed to hit that range due to the steep economic downturn.

Nokia and the rest of the cellphone industry have suffered in 2009 as consumers cut spending on new gadgets, with the more expensive end of the market seeing increasingly stiff competition.

Nokia’s shares have missed the stock market recovery, dropping 19 percent since the start of the year — mostly due to the company’s deteriorating smartphone offering — against a rise of 17 percent in DJ Stoxx European technology index .SX8P, in which it is the biggest constituent.

However, demand has started to recover and analysts say Nokia should benefit.

“I don’t expect much negative — the question is how positive it will be, and whether that is enough,” said Hannu Rauhala, analyst with Pohjola Bank.

On average analysts expect the cellphone market to grow 8.6 percent next year — rebounding from a contraction of seven percent in 2009 — with Nokia’s handset unit operating profit margin seen rising to 13.5 percent.

‘DUMBING DOWN’ SMARTPHONES

The smartphone market boom is expected to continue next year, helped by falling prices for the more advanced phones.

“Next year Nokia will make smartphones a mass market product,” said John Strand, chief executive of Strand Consult.

Underlining the rising importance of smartphones, Apple (AAPL.O) bypassed Nokia in the September quarter as the handset maker generating the largest profit, according to research firm Strategy Analytics, even though Nokia sells 15 phones for each iPhone sold.

Analysts also expect Nokia to comment on its court case in Delaware, United States, where it sued Apple for infringing 10 of its patents after the companies failed to reach a royalty deal.

Apple has until December 14 to respond to Nokia’s allegations.

For the first time the company’s outlook will be given by Timo Ihamuotila, who was named chief financial officer last month in a management revamp one day after the firm reported its weakest quarterly result ever.

Ihamuotila, relatively unknown to investors, has had a long career in Nokia, and in his last position as the global sales chief he worked closely with the firm’s largest customers, the big handset operators.

Richard Windsor, technology specialist at Nomura, said this could affect the nature of the forecasts.

“If he gives his view then there is a strong incentive to be conservative, as beating expectations in his first year would boost his standing in the market,” Windsor wrote in a note.

Credits: Reuters

The Pixi – which runs multiple applications simultaneously – also offers combined messaging, linked contacts, layered calendars and provides easy access to Palm’s App store.

In addition, the newest Palm smartphone allows users to visit non-mobile websites, with full scrolling and zooming capabilities.

Finally, the Pixi boasts an integrated 2-megapixel camera with LED flash and automatic data backup service. However, the device does not support Wi-Fi connectivity.

Palm spokesperson Jon Zilber described the Pixi as a “sleek smartphone” and an “incredibly sexy” piece of hardware.

“Is it the phone designed to communicate on your terms: instantly, intuitively, and personally, or the phone you can customize to make it personal? It’s all of the above, of course,” Zilber wrote in an official blog post.

“Palm Pixi is the newest webOS phone, packing in features like Palm Synergy, an exposed keyboard and a vivid multitouch screen, along with compatibility with Touchstone connectionless charging.”

Additional specs include:

* Network – Dual-band CDMA2000, 3G: EvDO Rev A.
* Display – 2.63-inch multitouch screen, 18-bit color, 320×400 resolution.
* Email – Microsoft Exchange Direct Push, POP3/IMAP, YahooMail, Gmail, AOL and Hotmail.
* Messaging – Integrated IM, SMS, and MMS.

* GPS – Integrated GPS.

* Digital camera – 2-megapixel camera with LED flash.

* Sensors – Ambient light, accelerometer and proximity.
* Supported media formats – MP3, AAC, AAC+, AMR, QCELP, WAV, MPEG-4, H.263, H.264.
* Wireless connectivity – Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo.
* Memory – 8GB. 
Connector – MicroUSB 2.0 connector.
* Headphone jack – 3.5mm stereo.
* Palm Synergy – aggregation capabilities for social networking and sites.

* Universal search – trawls applications, contacts, dialing information and web.
* Dimensions – 55.0mm (2.17 inches) width, 111.0mm (4.37 inches) height.
* Thickness – 10.85mm (0.43 inches).

* Weight – 92.5 grams (3.26 ounces).
* Note: Supports Palm Touchstone technology.

Source: TGDaily

Well, limited in that it won’t be available to Americans.

Dell will release the smartphone, dubbed the Dell Mini 3, only to China and Brazil.

But don’t worry. We’re not missing anything too exciting.

The Mini 3 cleverly lets Dell continue the naming convention it adopted when it came out with its netbook offerings, the Dell Mini 9 and Dell Mini 10.

The little smartphone, which runs the Google Android open-source smartphone operating system, appears rather underwhelming.

Underwhelming at least by iPhone and “the Perfect Storm” standards.

The Mini 3 seems unexciting because of some confusion about its specifications.

At first, according to an article in PCWorld, Dell said the phone would only be 2G compliant — vs. the new iPhone 3G — and would not support WiFi connectivity for quick Internet access when in WiFi hotspots.

Compared with the iPhone, a Dell Mini 3 without these features would not compete successfully.

The Mini 3 comes complete with a 3.5-inch touch screen and a 3.2-megapixel camera.

The touch screen matches that of the iPhone and the camera boasts a whopping 0.2 megapixel improvement over the iPhone, but the internal specifications of speed and performance pale in comparison to the Mini 3’s rivals. The Mini 3 appeared to have “lame” specifications, according to PCWorld.

So here is a dilemma.

Let’s imagine a hypothetical situation that involves Dell bringing the Mini 3 to the United States.

We must note that ComputerWorld and PCWorld both feel unsure whether Dell will bring the new smartphone to the United States.

If Dell decides to make this move, it can go one of two ways, as the specifications could cause the phone to fail immediately in the American market.

But those same specifications could come with a low price tag, and could thus find a niche in the discounted market.
People might buy the phone and deal with reduced performance for a quid pro quo reduction in cost.

So what is Dell likely to do?

For the moment, Dell will more than likely feel content with marketing to China and Brazil exclusively.

The smartphone markets in those two countries are not nearly as fierce as the market in the United States, where more people covet smartphones and more companies have the infrastructure support and marketing networks to provide them.

Dell would need to work hard in the United States and immediately compete with the entrenched smartphone products.
The cell phone company under whose service Dell attempts to release the Mini 3 will be able to give the Mini 3 a great deal of development attention.

According to PCWorld, China Mobile might already require the Mini 3 to gain 3G support if it has not already adopted it.

If Dell comes to the United States soon, it would do well to sell the phone at a good discount over its competitors, as it appears to require a great deal of research and development before it can successfully trounce the iPhone.

But the phone’s existence does affect its operating system.

ComputerWorld published an article describing the phone as a “small victory” for the Google Android operating system, even if it doesn’t get marketed to Americans directly.

The phone’s existence proves the viability of the Android operating system, and will thus make it more available for other manufacturers to develop smartphones that can run it effectively.

The more models of phones become available for Android, the more Android’s market share will likely increase.

The announcement of the Dell Mini 3 can only bring additional competition to the worldwide market, and it might begin to make the other manufacturers somewhat nervous.

The Mini 3 itself might not have the specifications to affect the smartphones already available to American consumers, but because Dell has interest, it might send chills throughout the market.

Source: Pitt News

As the N900 begins to appear on shelves around the globe it will be price-gunned at around 500 Euros SIM-free, with plenty of contract deals making it available at a reduced cost and in some cases gratis.

José-Luis Martinez is Vice President for Nseries and had this to say about the N900 as it finally departs on its worldwide travels:

“The Nokia N900 has generated a lot of interest since its public launch in August, which has been reflected in the device preorders. What’s exciting is the Maemo software, which takes its cues from the desktop computer and offers a full browsing experience like no other handset. We believe the Nokia N900 will be a very compelling device for people who are passionate about technology.”

The N900’s Maemo 5 backbone is indeed one of the key ingredients that makes this such an milestone mobile, and is the main contributing factor as to why the N900 gets better the more you use it.

When the N900 launches it’ll be compatible with most networks, although it won’t initially be available on new 3G SIM cards from 3 in the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark and Austria – a software update is in the pipeline and is slated to become available before the end of the year.

We’ve been lucky enough to have early hands-on access with the N900 for a couple weeks (find all our N900 coverage here), and we’ve got some cool stuff planned for it shortly, so stay tuned. Until then, soak up more details on the N900 in our Almanac entry, join the debate on the N900, and leave your comments on the global launch directly below.

Source: Nokia Blog

Let’s cut straight to the chase. The HTC HD2 is the best Windows Mobile phone we’ve ever used. That’s not thanks to the OS hidden underneath the stunning HTC Sense skin last seen on the HTC Hero and HTC Tattoo, more down to the manner in which HTC has built this mobile from the ground up.

That 4.3-inch screen is nothing short of magnificent and dominates the HTC HD2. However, it’s never overpowering and really helps take this phone ahead of its competitors. See, this bad boy has a capacitive touchscreen with multitouch capabilities for zipping about web pages and snaps. It’s every bit as good as the iPhone and thanks to the size, this is one of the best browsing experiences we’ve ever had on-the-go. Admittedly Safari remains top dog, but this pushes it very close indeed.

The screen is also great for use as a satnav. While the 3.5-inch effort on the iPhone is just a tad too small, the HTC HD2 is perfect for GPS in your motor. We loaded it up with CoPilot Live 8 and didn’t miss the TomTom usually slapped on our dash. There’s a car kit available at extra cost. If you don’t have a satnav already, it’s well worth slapping down for.

Adding HTC Sense to the HTC HD2 is also a smart move. It means that Windows Mobile 6.5 is nicely hidden under a variety of clever homescreens we’ve been enamoured with ever since first playing with it on the HTC Hero. Getting instant access to Facebook and Twitter updates is ace and something we struggles without when we had to switch back to our bog-standard Nokia N85.

There’s no escaping the fact that Windows Mobile 6.5 is on board. While HTC has done well to skin it to within an inch of its life, it still throws up annoying menu systems which are only made easy to use thanks to the HTC HD2’s massive screen. If Android was on board, we can’t help but feel everything would run even smoother than it already does.

The Snapdragon processor should also keep things ticking along, but we noticed apps slowing down dramatically when they should have been moving at lick spit pace. And the camera, at 5 megapixels, could do with a bump.

These issues aside though, the HTC HD2 is still the best Windows Mobile 6.5 phone we’ve toyed with. The epic screen is fantasic and points to a time when all phones are this handy.

Source: Electricpig.co.uk

Having played with a finished Samsung Omnia 2 for the first time, we’re torn. We were all over the HTC HD2’s capacitive screen when we got a hold of the fella earlier on in the week, but Sammy’s OLED screen looks even better. Screens, snaps and videos are all eye popping, and make the iPhone seem positively low-res.

Naturally, Samsung’s also seen fit to give Windows Mobile 6.5 a facelift, ironing out the horrible grey boxes and menus with colourful and easy to poke options, as well as TouchWhiz for homescreen widgets.

Samsung Omnia 2, now with Windows Mobile 6.5
On the downside, though Samsung has improved its keyboard since the Jet – you can now roll across keys – the Samsung Omnia 2’s virtual board is still lacking. Is that a price worth paying? Hold tight and we’ll tell you in a full Samsung Omnia 2 review soon.

In the meantime, help your eyes to all the shots in our gallery, post haste!

For more pictures check out ElectricPig.co.uk

THE GLORIOUS APPLE RELIGION’S missionary quest in China seems doomed from the outset.

The Iphone, which has been a triumph of control freakery in the West, was launched in the highly commercial Chinese market over the weekend.

However Chinese buyers, who have to save up for months to buy the gizmo, were shocked to discover it had no WiFi.

China wanted the makers of smartphones to use its WiFi standard, but Jobs’ Mob said that if the gear had not been approved by Steve then it was not going into the Iphone.

Beijing later changed its mind but it was too late for the Chinese release, so the first wave of Iphones without WiFi has gone out.

An Iphone without WiFi is one where you have to use the phone company for all functions and therefore incur a higher phone bill.

Duncan Clark, chairman of Beijing-based technology research firm BDA China, told AP that the Chinese market will respond angrily to Western imperialistic behaviour. The feeling will be that if Americian capitalists provide things for Californians they should also provide them for the Chinese. With China such a big market tinkering with the WiFi should have been no big deal.

The other problem Apple has is that its deal with mobile operator China Unicom makes the gadget even more expensive.

There is a booming market for unlocked, WiFi friendly Iphones in the local Chinese markets. Most of the things come from overseas. They are 20 per cent cheaper and some of the second-hand models are half the price.

Apple has always had problems trying to sell its widgets places like China. In Russia it presented its techno-toys at the same price as it does in the US only to be laughed at by the technology press there.

The release of the Iphone in China was delayed because Apple found that the Chinese were not bending over backwards to give Apple huge wodges of cash like the Western telecoms have done.

All up it is looking like Apple’s push into China is going to be about as successful as the Mongolian empire’s attempts to take over Japan during the Middle Ages.

Source: Source: The Inquirer