Facebook announces a low-tech new mobile site developed in partnership with developing firm Snaptu. The new site is offered by Facebook for the low-end cell phone users without data fee for a limited period.
The app give users almost Smartphone like Facebook experience that comprises simple homescreen navigation, contact synchronization and fast scrolling of updates and photos. It will give feature phone users access to Facebook messages, profiles, news feed, events and pictures
This new mobile site works on more than 2,500 feature cell phones devices of Nokia, Sony Ericsson and LG. App is available on the carriers of different countries (currently none in U.S.) like Dialog (Srilanka), Life (Ukraine), Play (Poland), StarhHub (Singapore), STC (Saudi Arabia), Three (Hongkong), Tunisiana (Tunisia), Viva (Dominican Republic) and Vodafone (Romania) to make access to the site free of data fee for 90 days to start with.
In comparison to the Smartphone users, majority is of feature cell phone users. As in June 2010, 79 percent mobile users are simple feature cell phone customers. The ratio is even higher in countries like India and China. Facebook being the global company with the presence all around the world takes up the responsibility of providing app for all kind of users. It's taking strategic moves in the desired area...
India among the few countries to continue with the service
Nokia had launched its Ovi Music Store with much hope and fanfare, as a direct competitor to Apple's iTunes. It was known for the free music bundles, restricted to limited number of songs for cheaper Nokia phones and unlimited downloads for a year bundled with the more expensive phones. It seems a lack of response has prompted Nokia to cease the free music bundle in 27 countries. Fortunately, Indians will continue enjoying the free music subscription service.
The main reason for this move was a lack of user interest, which in turn can be blamed on the convoluted DRM implementation, which doesn't allow for the music to be moved from one device to another. Apple iTunes was prudent enough to stop its DRM system years back, which is why it's still thriving today, while Nokia has to cut down on the same.
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Today Nokia announced the latest addition to their business mobile phone lineup. True to its Eseries nature, the Nokia E52 sports a decent feature set, extensive connectivity and a classic metallic design.
Nokia E52 is basically a copy of the Nokia E55, save for the QW-ER-TY keyboard. It brings 3G with HSDPA 10.2 Mbps and HSUPA 2Mbps support. The other major features of the Nokia E52 include a 2.4” display, GPS and Wi-Fi. An accelerometer sensor for automatic screen rotation, a digital compass and a 3 megapixel full focus camera are also on board.
The 8 hours of talk time and 23 days of standby are the other assets of the E52. Those numbers are just about the same as on the Nokia E55 and twice as good as its predecessor – the E51.
The Nokia E52 will ship with a 1GB microSD card and a free 60 day trial for Files on Ovi. It’ll become available in the second half of the year at an estimated retail price of €245, before taxes or subsidies. That is about 20 euro less than the Nokia E55 to compensate for the missing QW-ER-TY which might be a good trade-off for some users.
Here is a quick hands-on video, courtesy of Nokia conversations for you to enjoy. Just remember to click the HD button, once you start the playback.
One of the most popular handsets in the world - Nokia 1100 has found itself in the middle of a banking fraud scandal, according to a Dutch investigator. Allegedly, criminals are paying an arm and a leg for working second hand units of the once-50-euro handset that are manufactured in Nokia plant in Bochum, Germany.
Investigators are observing huge amounts of money being offered for the outdated handset recently. The largest recorded sum up to now is 25,000 euro (about 32,000 US dollars), which is about 11 times its weight in gold. According to the investigators the criminals are looking to acquire only units that are manufactured in the Bochum plant of the company.
The supposed reason behind this peculiar requirement is that those handset most probably come with flawed software or hardware, which allows them to be hacked and used to make a working copy of someone else's phone line.
When set up this way, the Nokia 1100 receives the same calls and most importantly text messages that the original recipient gets, without them ever suspecting anything.
The loophole that the criminals are allegedly using is that many European banks now send temporary transaction authentication numbers or mTANs as SMS to the account holders as a security feature for authorizing online money transfers.
This is where the supposedly counterfeit-capable Nokia 1100 handsets step in. As they receive the SMS intended for the authorized account holder, criminals can acquire a working mTAN and initiate a transfer after they have stolen the needed online ID credentials in some other way.
At this stage Nokia have refuted those accusations claiming that they have not identified any flaw or wormhole in their phone software that would allow the alleged use cases.
A word is out that Apple is now officially inviting representatives of the press to attend their next big announcement event on 17 March. The event will be dedicated to the upcoming iPhone OS 3.0. There's no word of an upcoming mobile phone, but our hopes are high as always.
Engadget.com report to have received an invitation by Apple for an upcoming event with its main theme set on iPhone OS 3.0.
Apple will display an "advance preview of what they're building", meaning that you probably won't see any working full-fledged iPhone OS 3.0 there (or iPhone 3 anyway). We really hope that at least some of the stuff on our wishlist will be answered - and maybe we will even be surprised by some new features.
A word is out that Apple is now officially inviting representatives of the press to attend their next big announcement event on 17 March. The event will be dedicated to the upcoming iPhone OS 3.0. There's no word of an upcoming mobile phone, but our hopes are high as always.
Engadget.com report to have received an invitation by Apple for an upcoming event with its main theme set on iPhone OS 3.0.
Apple will display an "advance preview of what they're building", meaning that you probably won't see any working full-fledged iPhone OS 3.0 there (or iPhone 3 anyway). We really hope that at least some of the stuff on our wishlist will be answered - and maybe we will even be surprised by some new features.
The new trio by Nokia doesn't seem so groundbreaking as some of you might have hoped, but it expands the music-centric portfolio of the company with some nice new handsets with balanced functionality.
Nokia 5730 XpressMusic has already leaked in the past with quite a few details on its specifications, and now this unusual QWERTY-enabled music handset is finally officially out.
Quite similar to the Nokia E75, the new Nokia 5730 XpressMusic runs on the Symbian S60 OS and has got a 2.4-inch 16M color QVGA display, built-in GPS receiver, Wi-Fi and USB connectivity. Some of the other extras include a 3.2 Megapixel snapper with Carl Zeiss lens and 3G with video-call support.
Nokia 5730 XpressMusic
Music-centric features include the stereo speakers, the dedicated 3.5-mm audio jack, a stereo FM radio, and stereo Bluetooth support. There will also be an 8GB memory card included in the retail package.
Much like the Nokia 5630 XpressMusic that was presented at this year's MWC, the Nokia 5730 XpressMusic comes with N-gage support and the the innovative Say-and-Play feature that allows you to control the music player with your voice only. There's also the Music presence with Ovi Contacts, which shows you what music your Ovi friends are listening to right now.
Here's a quick hands-on video of Nokia 5730 XpressMusic:
The Nokia 5730 XpressMusic is expected in Q3 2009 in Red, Monochrome, Blue, and even Pink at an estimated retail price of 280 euro before taxes and subsidies.
Nokia 5330 XpressMusic
Nokia 5330 Xpressmusic is an S40 device with a 2.4-inch 16M color display and a 3 megapixel ficed focus camera. Touch-sensitive keys on the side control the music player, but there is also a standard 3.5mm jack, stereo Bluetooth, stereo FM radio. A 2GB card comes along in the retail box.
Nokia 5330 XpressMusic
You'd be also interested to know that the Nokia 5330 has a GPS receiver and comes with Nokia Maps for S40. Connectivity-wise the handset offers quad-band GSM and tri-band HSDPA support plus microUSB port - no Wi-Fi on this one.
Here's a quick hands-on video with the Nokia 5330 XpressMusic:
In either Black/Red or Silver/Blue color combo, the Nokia 5330 XpressMusic is expected hit it off in Q3 2009 at an estimated retail price of 160 EUR.
Nokia 5030 XpressRadio
Nokia 5030 is the Nokia's first phone with an internal FM radio antenna, which eliminates the need for a headset to be connected. The Nokia 5030 is also the first device to come out under the XpressRadio branding.
The Nokia 5030 XpressRadio has one touch FM radio and station selection keys on the side for easier control. When placed sideways on the table, the back of the handset looks just like any portable FM radio unit.
Nokia 5030
Targeted at the emerging markets, the Nokia 5030 offers some of the differentiating Nokia entry level features such as a built-in flashlight and the speaking clock and alarm. It has dual-band GSM support and runs on the entry-level S30 user interface. The 1.8-inch display has a resolution of 128 x 160 pixels.
Here's a quick hands-on video of Nokia 5030 XpressRadio:
One of Nokia's most affordable devices to offer an FM radio, the Nokia 5030 XpressRadio is expected to start shipping in red and graphite colors in Q2 2009 with an estimated retail price of less than 40 EUR, before taxes or subsidies.
Super rich folks just got a new idea for the present for their special ladies. And special they gotta be, since the Gresso Lady Diamond costs a whooping $5,500!
Only 8 of these ultra-luxurious devices will be produced, each one sporting “high-tech ceramic of Magenta Diamond color,” 18-carat gold, genuine leather and 4 white diamonds that are used on the navigation keys. Moreover, the back of the device has that Gresso-standard transparent sapphire crystal cover.
As for the specs — in case anyone cares — there’s a 2-megapixel camera on board, GSM/GPRS connectivity, Bluetooth, music player, 2GB of on-board memory. Windows Mobile 6 Standard Edition is running the show.
Finally, some of you may want care to know about the availability (or not) –the Gresso Lady Diamond is already available, though it seems you can grab it Russia, only.
Some visionaries over at Microsoft Labs have put a lot of hard work and devotion to a video displaying out digital world in 2019. Heavily relying on touch and constant interconnectivity, our digital future looks quite promising - especially to geeks like us.
Smart office and household devices cater for our needs in the most intuitive way possible. Mobile phones for one, have also seen quite a few changes.
Here are several screenshots from the video compiled as a quick how-to for using your phone in 2019.
First off, check your upcoming appointments. Call the person you are seeing next to confirm the meeting. Video calling is preferred and remember to keep the eye contact. Call a taxi using the touchscreen dial pad. Simple as that.
The calendar • Dialling • a video call • touchscreen dial pad • the clever coffee cup is a bonus
We bet that after this short intro, you'd certainly appreciate the video (or better yet its short version):
Earlier this morning on Finland’s YLE (think BBC, but Finnish), Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo was asked if the company had plans to expand into the laptop market. Sure enough, his response:
“We are looking very actively also at this opportunity.”
Yeah. Weird, right? Nokia, making laptops? It seemed strange to us at first, too. Then we thought about it a bit more - and it kind of made sense.
First, we recalled our trip to the Nokia Damage Testing Labs, where Nokia smashes, scratches, freezes, and drops every piece of hardware that they produce. Beyond a handful of manufacturers that take tremendous pride in their products, the laptop market is filled with poorly made garbage. If Nokia put the same amount of effort into stress testing a laptop that they did their phones, we’d definitely consider picking one up. We’d have to take another trip to their smash labs to watch them hit things with big sticks again, of course - you know, for the sake of science and stuff.
Then we thought a bit about their upcoming products, one of the most notable of which is the N97 - which is about as close to a laptop as a mobile phone gets. Make it a bit bigger, flesh out the OS a bit, and you’ve got a laptop. Well, you’ve got a netbook - and that’s exactly where we think Nokia might be going with this. This is purely conjecture, but we wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see Nokia throw down a netbook with a Symbian Foundation-made (or Maemo) OS running on top sometime in the next year or two. We’ll just have to keep an ear to the ground for now.
Good times for the WinMo fans seem to be just around the corner. After last week the release of Windows Mobile 6.5 was officially confirmed for the second half of this year it now appears that its successor isn't too far away either. In an analysts meeting held yesterday Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer confirmed that Windows Mobile 7 will be available next year.
The other good news that the meeting brought to the masses is the fact that the mobile version of Windows 7 will sport a much tighter integration with its desktop brother - whatever they mean by that.
Steve Ballmer also confirmed that Microsoft will make all they can to make up for the main disadvantage of their OS - namely the lack of user-friendliness. Finger optimization is one of the key thought in the developers' minds when designing the WinMo 7 and we should expect a whole load of new nice applications too.
In case you've missed it, here's a quick scoop of all WinMo 7 goodies leaked on a concept paper a year ago.
Expansys have posted the Nokia N86 8MP for an online pre-order with an expected release date of July 22 2009. Quite naturally, the reputation of the store and the rather hefty price seem to attract attention.
Advertized only in black, the Nokia N86 8MP is offered at the whopping price of 625 euro (incl. taxes), which is almost double the expected price of 375 euro before taxes posted by Nokia.
Anyway, the first 8 megapixel shooter from Nokia, which we managed to get our hands on last week, was expected to start retailing in Q2 but getting a nod on July is not bad at all. The price is quite steep but that's not unusual for early pre-orders and it should drop down to more reasonable levels once the phone hits the market.
Besides the pumped up camera specs, the Nokia N86 8MP boasts 8GB of internal memory, a microSDHC card slot, a 2.6-inch OLED screen, FM transmitter, Wi-Fi and GPS connectivity, a 3.5mm audio jack and TV out. Quad-band GSM and tri-band HSDPA support are also present for a truly worldwide voice and data roaming.
3 UK's INQ1 is top of the list of winners of the 14th Global Mobile Awards basking in their glory. Last night at the National Palace in Barcelona the vote of a wide panel of judges from within the world of mobile technology, decided the winners in 7 categories.
The one we're most interested in - the Best Mobile Handset or Device - produced a quite surprising winner. The Amoi-made INQ1 for 3 UK emerged triumphant over LG KS360, T-Mobile G1, BlackBerry Storm 9500 and Nokia E71. Winning stuff was social networking - the INQ1 is tightly integrated with Facebook and last.fm, and comes with support for popular messengers like Skype and Windows Live Messenger.
3's INQ1 official photos
T-Mobile and Nokia are the two runners-up so to say, splitting the Highly Commended award in this category. The G1 was praised by the judges and T-Mobile should share credit with HTC, who actually manufactured it. The Android Platform got its share of appreciation and, with several new handsets coming in 2009, the way ahead is wide open.
The other competitors
Nokia got a firm handshake too on behalf of their E71 - the business minded QWERTY all-in-one. You can read our review here.
Nokia also snatched the Best Mobile Internet Service award with the Nokia Sports Tracker. The application uses GPS to keep track of your workouts - jogging, running or cycling. Putting due emphasis on networking again, that workout data can be shared on the relevant website including route, speed and even pictures taken along the way.
The Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough award went to the SurePress screen of the BlackBerry Storm. The SurePress screen actually 'clicks' like a hardware button allowing the user to both hover over an item and get physical feedback from virtual buttons, a feature that has been a major challenge for touchscreens.
There were many rumors of trouble for the Storm but if anything, this award is confirms that touchscreen is the way the future's shaping and tactile feedback will play an important role in user experience.
Next year's awards promise to be even more interesting with the Mobile Innovation Grand Prix. It will focus on smaller players with pioneering products and services seeking bigger market deployment.
So there is an 8 megapixel cameraphone by Nokia in the works. Meet the Nokia N86 - as official as it gets, it still didn't get an announcement at the MWC 2009. We can't help but wonder why.
Nokia N86 data sheet and a press image
Whatever the reasons for keeping the N85-inspired slider in secrecy at the MWC, it seems the device is pretty much officially showcased at some other event.
Nokia N86 live shots
Along the way we also stumbled upon a live video of the device in action, obviously shot by the same person that took the live shots.
Sony Ericsson have just announced their very own multimedia monster - the Sony Ericsson Idou. It's pronounced 'I do' but Sony Ericsson say they will market the phone under a different name. In the meanwhile the heavily rumored Hikaru got its own announcement as well. Folks, meet the Idou and the W995.
Sony Ericsson Idou
Enough teasing here's the scoop. Sony Ericsson have gone the whole nine yards with the camera of the Sony Ericsson Idou, they've given it a 12-megapixel camera with xenon flash and touch focus. The camera is hidden under a sliding cover.
No phone can truly call be a 'multimedia' device without the screen being awesome and it is the case with Idou. The touch screen is generous with its 3.5 inches and 16 million colors. It has a 16:9 aspect ratio (360 x 640 pixels) to emphasize that the phone is aimed at multimedia. 3G and Wi-Fi are on board so streaming content from the Internet won't be a problem.
Sony Ericsson Idou
The OS that the Sony Ericsson Idou will run on is a new user interface of the well-known Symbian OS based on the S60. That's the first implementation of the spanking new opens-source Symbian user interface developed by the Symbian Foundation.
Sony Ericsson traditionally have had good YouTube integration and with the Idou they would offer 16:9 aspect ratio and high-definition option.
Speaking of videos, here's the official video ad of the Idou by Sony Ericsson:
The Sony Ericsson Idou also has integrated GPS receiver and with that big screen, it will make an excellent navigation device provided they give it proper software.
You would be rather surprised however that the Sony Ericsson Idou has a microSD memory card slot. That means that the manufacturer of the device is again not Sony Ericsson themselves - just as XPERIA X1.
Sony Ericsson have launched a demo website of the Sony Ericsson Idou and if you are interested, you can find it right here.
Sony Ericsson W995
While the announcement of the Idou was a surprise (what a surprise, indeed!) there's not much to reveal about the next handset that sees daylight for the first time today - the Sony Ericsson W995, formerly known as Hikaru.
Sony Ericsson W995
As we've already said, this is the first 8-megapixel Walkman-branded mobile phone. The Sony Ericsson W995 is a classy slider with a metal housing and a large 2.6-inch QVGA TFT display.
Even if some have been expecting the 8 gigs of memory to be built-in they come in the form of a memory card placed next to the little fellow in the box.
The other specs are also known from before. Definitely the most interesting parts about them are the kick-stand on the back, the 2.6-inch screen and the standard 3.5 audio jack on board (the XPERIA is the only other SE sporting one of those).
The Sony Ericsson W995 packs HSDPA, Wi-Fi, GPS (with a 3-month trial version of Wayfinder Navigator). Check out the other goodies in the specs list right here.
Full specifications for the Sony Ericsson Idou are yet to be announced. Both devices are expected to hit the shelves in Q2 of 2009.
You read that title correctly. There might be a small chance that jailbreaking an iPhone may be considered a crime. Sure there are plenty of users out there probably wondering how performing an act like that could land you some time behind bars. Apple argues that jailbreaking an iPhone constitutes copyright infringement and a DMCA violation. This is the first formal public statement from the Cupertino giant about its legal stance on the process. It only makes sense for the behemoth company to protect its creation from anyone or anything that poses any threat. The legal reasoning behind the statement is that jailbroken iPhones run on modified versions of Apple’s bootloader and operating system software. But there might be some light on the opposite spectrum thanks to courts long recognizing copying software while reverse engineering is a fair use. It’s only valid if the purpose is to foster interoperability with independently created software; something that Apple fails to mention in their statement. This may be an act to deter users from going through the process and further retaining their firm grasp on their intellectual property. But who says they are making all the rules and forcing you to choose?
The Samsung Blue Earth is a solar powered, eco-friendly phone and it quite looks the part. Samsung say it was designed to resemble a rounded pebble and with the solar rear panel users can always count on enough charge to make a call. There's a regular DC charger for a rainy day too, which Samsung claim is highly energy efficient.
With an ultra low standby power charger and a recycled paper retail box, the Samsung Blue Earth has no other choice but follow suit. The handset is made of plastic from recycled water bottles and Samsung claim it's free of harmful materials.
Although we have seen other phones made from recycled materials, the first solar-powered touchscreen is really trying to provoke the user to be "green". A special "eco mode" puts a leash on power hogs like the screen and Bluetooth and sets them running in an energy efficient manner.
Samsung Blue Earth
The step-counting function found on many devices with accelerometers has a new spin to it. It calculates how much CO2 would have been released if you were to make the journey by car and the units for this calculation are the number of trees saved.
The Samsung Blue Earth will be showcased at the Mobile World Congress so more details should be available soon. We're on our way there and well… we wish we walked or biked.
