Tech Phone

Spatial View introduces a special protective skin called Wazabee 3DeeShell for the Apple's iPhone.  This skin comes with an integrated removable lens that can display 3D content on your iPhone. It uniquely depicts 3D content such as games, pictures and videos on your iPhone.

The housing contains a lens that eliminates the need for special 3D glasses, while serving as a stylish protective skin at the same time. The lens can easily be removed at any time in order to switch back and forth between normal 2D and spellbinding 3D graphics.

The company will display this product, along with their other Apple-related-products, at MacWorld 2009 January 6-9, 2009 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA. The Wazabee 3DeeShell itself is scheduled to ship in early Q2 2009.

We're hoping that this won't be the new trend in 2009, but apparently, the LG GD910 isn't the only watch phone making headlines now.

US-based Phenom Communications has just launched their new offering aptly named the Phenom Watch Phone. While it does look a lot more stunning than the LG GD910 in terms of aesthetics and design, it feature set is a bit underwhelming. It comes with a 1.3-inch TFT touchscreen display, Bluetooth, speakerphone functionality and microSD card support of up to 2GB in capacity. Nothing really outstanding about it except that it comes in a wristwatch form factor and when compared with the GD910, it looks even more unimpressive.

Anyway, one thing going for the Phenom is that it's apparently available already through their website with a starting price of $195. As far as the LG GD910 is concerned, we'll have to wait for CES to arrive to know more about its price and availability.

LG isn't known to produce phones with rather quirky and unfamiliar form factors. However, this is about to change, as the company is set to debut its very first 3G-enabled wrist phone, in the form of the LG-GD910. It's a phone with a twist that fits on your wrist.

The LG-GD910 might not look like much, but it's a fully functional mobile phone that even supports video calls. It will be officially unveiled in public on January at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2009. It is expected to be made available in Europe initially.

The LG-GD910 is considerably slim, measuring only 13.9mm thin, and features a 1.43 inch full touchscreen LCD. Other key features include the following:

- Voice dialing with built-in speech recognition
- TTS (Text To Speech) feature
- Front-facing camera
- Music player
- Built-in Bluetooth

It boasts download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps on HSDPA, though I have a problem finding that useful with the LG-GD910 being as it is.

Yahoo! have updated their Yahoo! Go application to version 3.0.47. This new version includes support for the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Bold. I have to admit, I've never installed/used Yahoo! Go, but it claims to give you 'The Best Internet Experience for your Phone'. Hmmm… well that sounds good! The app helps you send emails, upload photos, go through maps, check current stock prices, find breaking news and more… All from within the one handy app.

If you're a fan of Yahoo! Go (or simply want to try it) and are running on a BlackBerry Bold, you can pick it up via the link below. Simply punch it in from within your Bold's internet browser and you should be on your way.

http://mobile.yahoo.com/go

Philips has introduced a new low-to-mid range clamshell called Xenium 9@9q. The newly unveiled device looks very stylish and comes in two variants - Dragon and Phoenix.

We don't have much information about the Xenium 9@9q, at the moment. We do, however, know that it sports two screens, with external one being used for displaying such information as unread messages, missed calls, and remaining battery power. In addition, we also know some bits about the battery used — it provides enough power to make the device work for up to 8 hours in talk and/or a whole month in standby mode.

Both Philips Xenium 9@9q Dragon and Phoenix will be available in Russia for 4,999 rubles, which is about $172.

<

LG has unveiled its latest T-DMB mobile TV-enabled phone called LU1400 in Korea. The LU1400 has a wide swiveling screen 2.8 inch LCD with 800×480 pixels resolution (as good as 8 inch netbook), 3 megapixels camera, and one-icon quick access., that displays the videos in landscape mode.

As the phone is being launched for its own LG Telecom–Korean third largest operator–it is no doubt that the phone carries CDMA network technology with CDMA2000 EV-DO Revision A to be specific.

It has following features:
*T-DMB TV;
*2.8″ screen WVGA resolution (800×480 pixels);
*3Mpix camera;
*Widgets;
*Web

The LU1400 will be available this Xmas in South Korea.You can purchase the Phone LG-LU1400 for approx. $373.

Walmart officially confirmed rumors on Friday that iPhone 3G will be available for sale at nearly 2,500 store locations beginning Sunday, December 28, 2008. Walmart will blast out the black 8 GB iPhone 3G model for $197 and the 16 GB black or white model for $297 with a new two-year AT&T service agreement qualified upgrade required. According to Mac Rumors, they have received training material and advertising from a source connected with Walmart that lists only the 8GB iPhone 3G. This would therefore be the same model on offer at Best Buy, AT&T and of course Apple Stores, only Walmart would apparently be selling the handset for $197: two dollars less than the standard MRSP.

Add everything up, and the regular $199 iPhone 3G will cost at least somewhere between $2033.76 and about $2700 over a 2-year period, depending on where you live and which taxes and fees apply and assuming that you will stay within the limits of your voice plan. In a best case, the Walmart price translates into a 0.1% discount.

Nokia's Chinese website has published details about  the upcoming 6208c phone for the local market. The new 6208c has a touch screen, handwriting recognition, a stylus and an interesting 3.2-megapixel camera. Nokia 6208c to configure a visual 2.4 - inch QVGA 16 million colors, level resolution touch screen.In this mobile work in three frequency GSM/EDGE network environment, also supported China"s 3 g network standards, but at present its 3 g standards adopted by China Mobile TD - SCDMA or China Unicom WCDMA or China Telecom CDMA2000 Nokia does not disclose.

Other aspects of this Nokian 6208c support third - party microSD (t - Flash) storage card extended functionality, up to 2 GB.At the same standard USB data socket support for Bluetooth Wireless foerdertechnik.This mobile phone ultra-slim measurements is 109.8 49.3 14.7 mm, the weight value of 130 grams.Nokian 6208c with a support af autofocusing technology 320 - megapixel camera, for daily pictures is also good enough for us.However this mobile specific prices and related information yet. It hasn't been officially announced yet, and unfortunately we have no idea on when it's released and how much it will cost.

TechFiath Wireless has recently announced their first carrier-supported smartphone release in Mexico.  The PC CDMA mobile device is the first of its type to enter the Mexican market. The new Techfaith Moffet is a CDMA-based smartphone that has 3G among older generation specifications. Iusacell will sell this smartphone, which includes Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, camera, music player, 3G and a 2.8-inch touchscreen. This new device has  Windows Mobile 6.0 operating system,  and Office Mobile applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) that allow users to receive, edit and send their files. In addition, the PC CDMA device also supports high-speed Internet connection.

TechFaith is putting their money on the fact that they will be able to sell many more devices on a carrier than they have been able to do when selling unlocked handsets in the past. "We're very pleased to ship the first pocket PC CDMA to Mexico," said Wilson Cai, Deputy CEO for TechFaith. "The shipment of this high-performing, Windows Mobile based pocket PC is a significant milestone for TechFaith. We expect the device to be very successful in the Mexican market."

Wow. A new patent application for iPhone during Christmas holiday! The new patent called Swipe Gestures for Touch Screen Keyboards and creditted to Wayne Westerman. Seems it's very useful additions to the iPhone's on screen keyboard. But MacRumors says that Westerman multi-touch patent applications "always seem to be more ambitious than practical".

For example, erasing and basic punctuation insertion, directional swipes (also referred to herein as "swipe gestures") over the alphabetic keys can be used as an alternative to striking certain keys. Because the Space and Backspace keys are quite frequently used, they are logical candidates for the rightward and leftward swipes, respectively. Leftward and rightward swipes intuitively match the cursor travel caused by these symbols. Following this cursor movement analogy, the Enter/Return may be invoked by a downward swipe, and a Shift/Caps may be invoked by an upward swipe. Alternatively, as the Enter and Shift functions may be less frequently invoked, these may be substituted for other functions as well. One alternative mapping for the upward swipe, for example, could be to activate an alternative numeric and punctuation keypad or a particular punctuation symbol like an apostrophe or period.

Unfortunately, there's still no copy-and-paste function.

Getting busy with your tasks? maybe this gadget could help you in your busy day. This bluetooth handsfree kit is powered by solar panel on its back, which it means that you could have unlimited talk time without worrying to be running out of power. It should be compatible with most Bluetooth equipped cell phones, including the iPhone. You can grab one of these from the Apple Store.

If it weren't for iPhone case manufacturer XSKN, we would have never been intrigued again by rumors of an upcoming iPhone nano. But well, the rumors have spread, especially with them posting a mock-up of the iPhone nano case they've designed.

Checking back on them today, it appears as if they've posted the entire line of their upcoming iPhone nano cases, available in a slew of different colors, all fit for the rumored device's mock up. You can see a sample of it below. An iPhone nano case colored with black on black.

These iPhone nano cases are priced at $25, according to the site. And like earlier mentioned, it's available in many more colors other than the black version embedded above.

Here's a version of the XSKN's iPhone nano case in red. They all look quite neat, but the existence of these iPhone nano cases (even if they get released) do not necessarily mean that the iPhone nano from Apple is actually real. Of it it's going to be released any time soon. In any case, it seems XSKN's showcase of iPhone nano cases is in full swing. Best take a peek at it while you can.

The past few weeks there has been a bunch of crazy rumors flying around about a new smaller version of the iPhone 3G called the "iPhone Nano." We have seen product sheets and third party cases suggesting that there will be another iPhone announced, but as the last iPhone rumors we heard they are probably false.

MacRumors has received an anonymous tip showing what is believed to be the iPhone Nano, but the source does lack a great deal of credibility. The picture lines up perfectly with the 3rd party case we recently saw. We really don't believe that Apple will announce another form factor to the iPhone line.

We all know what happened to the rumors of a 4GB model coming to Walmart and we feel that even with multiple rumors will end up the same way. With the cheap model of the iPhone costing $199 ($149 refurbished) is there really a need to dig deeper and get an even cheaper version? Would such an iPhone be cost effective enough to manufacture? If this rumor turned out to be real we feel that this model would particularly appeal to women.

LG is out with a new device for young female consumers - SH490. The so called "make-up" phone is a clamshell device, sporting a shiny outer case that is adorned with different patterns and colors (as you can see from the image above).

Specs wise, the SH490 is a decent mid-ranger and has such things on board as 2.4-inch QVGA internal and 1.1-inch external screen, 3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth connectivity support, media playback software, 512MB of internal memory, and we guess, a micro SD memory card slot.

Unfortunately, we don't know how much the "make-up" phone costs nor where LG will sell it. We do, however, know the available colors. They are "Smoky Red," "Deep Blue" and "Pearl White."

Just picked up a Sony Ericsson G900 mobile phone awhile ago as an advance Christmas gift for my wife. The moment I laid my hands on the G900 I was so impressed by the its light weight, and slim design. The unit I picked up was a red G900. I had the chance to test out the phone before I left my mobile phone dealer and all I can say upon firing up the phone after loading my SIM card is that the phone is certainly one heck of mobile phone packed in tiny classic-looking body.

The last time I bought a Sony Ericsson was when I got bought my trusty old Sony Ericsson P990i. Considering that the P990i is a bulky and heavy mobile phone, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the form factor and design of the G900. It’s definitely lighter than my iPhone, although they are almost of the same thickness. As a review and if you’d remember, the Sony Ericsson G-series phones is one of the latest SE mobile phone series which is characterized by a set of features which are a combination of a basic call-and-text features and a PDA phone. It was designed for mobile phone users in need of a reliable mobile phone to fullfill the basic call-and-text picture while at the same time a decent smartphone.
Anyway, as published the Sony Ericsson G900 boast of the following specs and features:

* 262,144-colour TFT screen (240×320) pixel
* 5 MP Camera with the following features - auto-focus, 16x digital zoom, image stabilizer, photo fix, photo light, red-eye touch focus, video recording
* FM Radio
* Bluetooth
* Wi-Fi
* Google Maps
* Media player
* Touch-screen using Stylus
* Symbian OS
* PIM features

Having used a Sony Ericsson P990i, I could say that the G900’s features is almost the same as the P990i, considering that the P990i is supposed to be a higher end model than the G900.

Will publish a full review of the Sony Ericsson G900 in a couple of days. In the meantime enjoy these unboxing photos.

Recently, Nokia has added another luxury phone to its 8880 phone series - the 8880 Gold Arte. This luxury phone features a stunning design characterized by a gold-plated form factor and loaded with some good mobile phone features.The Nokia 8880 Gold Arte is a slider phone measuring only 109 x 14.6 x 45.6 mm and weighs a mere 150 g with battery.

Key features of the Nokia 8880 Gold Arte include, a 2-inch OLED display with 320 x 240 pixels resolution, a numeric keypad with user configurable right soft keys and voice commands, an 18 carat gold plating with white leather, micro USB connector at 2.0 USB full speed, and a 4GB internal memory. The phone is powered by a BL-4U 1000 mAh Li-Ion standard battery which provides up to 3 hours and 20 mins GSM talk time and 2 hour 45 mins WCDMA usage, whilee standby time is a 300 hours.

The Nokia 8880 Gold Arte is a Tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900/EGSM 900 phone with automatic switching between GSM bands. It runs on WCDMA 2100 data network with speed of PS 128/384 kbps. It features Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity with enhanced data rate and supports PC synchronization with Nokia’s PC Suite. The phone also features an integrated hands-free speakerphone, number screening for handling messages and calls, automatic answer with headset or car kit, any key answer function, call waiting and call hold, call logs, speed dialing and voice dialing. It also supports picture profiling for contacts, talking ring tones and conference calling.
For its messaging function, the Nokia 8880 Gold Arte supports concatenated SMS for long messages, speed dialing for SMS sending, list of recently used numbers in message editor, multiple SMS deletion, text-to-speech message reader, automatic resizing of images for MMS, Nokia Xpress audio messaging. Email messaging supports IMAP, POP, SMTP, email attachments, email filtering, IMAP IDLE support, OMA email notification support.

The Nokia 8880 Gold Arte also features web browsing and supports HTML, XHTML and WML, HTTP and WAP 2.0 Protocol, TCP/IP support and XHTML browser over HTTP/TCP/IP.

For its entertainment and multimedia features, the Nokia 8880 Gold Arte features a 3.2 megapixel camera at 2048×1536 resolution. Its camera features CMOS sensor, autofocus, 8x digital zoom, automatic white balance, and various modes such as portrati, landscape, color tones, full screen view finder, active toolbar and photo editor. The camera also supports video capture at 15 fps with 8x digital zoom and records video in .3GP and H.263, H.264 codecs. The phone can also be used as a music player as it supports MP3, MP4, AAC, eAAC+ and WMA music formats.

Philips may not be a very popular mobile phones manufacturers but it does comes out with some mobile phone units which is worthy of coverage from time to time. The latest mobile phones to come out of Philips manufacturing is the new Xenium X620, a classic-looking mobile handset which promises to help you with your mobile needs in your fast pace of life.

Among the key features of the Philips Xenium X620 include, a 12 hour talk time and 50 days standby time. It is also a good camera phone with its 3.2 megapixel camera with auto-focus that works automatically when you press the camera button halfway.The camera also works as a video capturing device which you can play later on in MPEG4 and H263 format on your PC or mobile phone. For your entertainment needs, the Philips Xenium X620 supports A2DP Bluetooth profile that lets you listen to your favorite tunes wirelessly and in high-quality stereo music using your Bluetooth-enabled headphones. The X620 also features and FM radio which you can listen through its speaker or through a stereo headset which also serves as the radio’s antenna. It also supports microSD memory card to give you more room to store your music and video files.

The Philips Xenium X620 gives out three times data capacity of GPRS and lets you experience high speed internet and WAP access.
Here’s a complete rundown of the Philips Xenium X620’s specs:

* GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, GPRS/EDGE
* 2.4-inch TFT display
* 3.2-MP CMOS camera with video capture at 15 fps
* 64-s tone ringtone, MP3 ringtone support
* 80 MB internal memory
* microSD memory card support up to 8GB
* FM Radio, Music support (MIDI, MP3, SP-MIDI, WAV, WMA
* Video file supports MPEG4, 3GP
* USB v.1.1, Bluetooth
* Electronic dictionaries, alarm clock, document converter, photo editor

On the surface, the Nokia 6208 Classic looks just like any other mid-range candybar from the Finnish company, but it comes with something that’ll definitely set it apart from the rest of the Nokia lineup: a touchscreen. the 6208 Classic does not run on Symbian 9.4 S60 5th Edition (like the N97 and the 5800 XpressMusic). Instead, it might come with an S40 interface tweaked to work with a touchscreen.

The Nokia 6208, by contrast, is just like any other conventional candybar. You have a regular alphanumeric keypad on the bottom for all your dialing and texting needs, but the 2.8-inch TFT display is a touchscreen for greater ease of use. Anyway, here are the known specs of the new handset:

*2.8 inch TFT display (touchscreen, as I already mentioned), with 16 million colors and *240 x 320 pixels
*Quad band GSM connectivity with GPRS, EDGE
*27MB of internal memory
*MicroSD card support
*3.2MP camera with autofocus and flash
*130 grams
*109.8 x 49.3 x 14.7 millimeters

Pricing or release information for the 6208 Classic is unkown, but the handset is believed to be meant for the Chinese market only.

Chrome "type 12" dials used on 200 series and 300 series bakelite telephones can run slow over time. The instructions below explain how to safely take the dial apart to clean/lubricate the governor and gears to fix this problem. You can do this without removing the dial from the bakelite case of the telephone (we have only removed it for clarity of the photographs).


1) Firstly NEVER EVER Spray WD40 or other oil directly into these old dials. The backing to the dial number plate (seen on photographs below) is similar to emulsion paint and is VERY porous. WD40 or other lubricants will soak into this, badly discolouring it and most likely destroying part of the numbers. We see more dials badly damaged by people doing this than any other cause.

2) Using a very small flat bladed screwdriver carefully prise out the metal circlip that holds the paper dial label insert in place (usually covered with a plastic clear label cover).

3) Remove the clear cover and dial lable to expose the centre screw.

4) Next remove the CENTRE screw (and only the centre screw) with a flat bladed screwdriver, and lift it off the chrome finger dial.

5) Carefully remove the larger circlip holding the number plate in position (looks like piano wire). I do this with a compass point, and I think this is the fiddliest part of the procedure.

6) At this point the dial number plate can be lifted out exposing the inner workings of the chrome dial.

7) Notice in the next photograph (below) the back of the dial number plate, which is the porous backing that WD40 or other lubricants will absorb into, and permanently decolour and damage. Be VERY careful not to get any oil near this part.

8) Use a cotton bud to apply (very sparingly) a small amount of watch makers lubricating oil or graphite to the inside of the governor cap (see below).

9) Next use a cotton bud to apply (very sparingly) a small amount of watch makers lubricating oil or graphite to the gear teeth (see picture below).

10) Reassemble the dial in the reverse order.

11) If you have been successful you should be able to dial a “0” and in the time it takes to say (at a steady pace) “one thousand one hundred and one” the dial should return to its rest position.

Looks to be like the featured, or at least the most talked about rumor for the upcoming Macworld conference is going to be the so-called ‘iPhone Nano’. I touched on it a bit yesterday, with news of a case manufacturer already publishing pages on their website for the rumored device.

Well wouldn’t you know it, just as I’m completely zonked and have had it (another long day), I open up my email to find some images of the rumored iPhone Nano… and they look pretty darn good.

The images were submitted anonymously, and by the sounds of it, MacRumors has some real doubts about the validity of the device:
It seems the “iPhone Nano” is the rumor that is going take the spotlight ahead of this year’s Macworld, and while MacRumors is publishing these photos and rumors, we have some serious doubts about the likelihood of such a device. These doubts are based both in the quality of the sources as well as the practicality of introducing a new form factor to the iPhone/iPod Touch platform.

Be that as it may, I actually like the idea of a smaller, more compact iPhone. Something I can stash away easily in my pocket. That said, I think I would enjoy it only it I used the device for incoming/outgoing calls. If I used my iPhone to make calls only, heck, the smaller and lighter you can make it while still providing the same great OS and usability… I’m all over it. But after looking at the images of the device, it appears as though the screen is a tad smaller. Web browsing, gaming, video playback/viewing and the like will all take a hit on a smaller device. If I used the device for calls only, no biggie… But of course, I use my iPhone 3G for a heck of a lot more than that. From my point of view, when you’ve already had steak, why the heck would you go back to hamburger?

As with most rumors that have been going out these days, hold them as just that… Rumors. I’ll believe it when I see it… But at the very least, lets open this up to discussion in the comments, shall we?

Nokia's Arte series of luxury phones now has a new member: Nokia 8800 Gold Arte, a device that comes dressed in 18-carat gold and white leather. 

Apart from its color and the materials used in its creation, Nokia 8800 Gold Arte is similar to the other Arte phones (the Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte, for example).

So what we have here is yet another Arte slider with mid-end features and luxurious design.

Here's what the phone looks like:

 

The main specs and capabilities of Nokia 8800 Gold Arte include:

• Tri-band GSM (900 / 1800 / 1900) and WCDMA 2100 connectivity
• A 2 inch OLED display with 240 x 320 pixels and 16 million colors
• Series 40 5th Edition interface, Feature Pack 1
• Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
• Opera Mini
• A 3.2MP camera with autofocus
• USB 2.0
• 4GB of internal memory
• 150 grams
• 109 x 45.6 x 14.6 mm

Nokia didn't say when the 8800 Gold Arte will be available for purchase. The handset's price is also unknown for the moment.  

It's a no-brainer to make an app designed to sync iTunes music to your BlackBerry able to work with a Mac, but it still hasn't been made available until recently. Media Sync makes filling your BlackBerry with iTunes music, playlists and album art easy and automated. If you already have Desktop Manager installed on your PC, the app should already be included, but now those riding the Macwagon can download Media Sync standalone in a preview version.

BlackBerry Media Sync first came out over the summer, though they had been working on plugging into Macs since the fall. It's because of stuff like this that I always find RIM leans towards the Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) side of the scale. For example, in order to use their browser-based upgrade service, you have to be running Internet Explorer; when checking for updates via Desktop Manager, it launches Internet Explorer, not your default browser; plus we're still waiting on a native, working Desktop Manager for Mac. The love for Apple (NSDQ: AAPL)-eaters is trickling out, slowly and surely, but it sure is taking its sweet time.

Just recently we spotted a new firmware version for the Nokia N85. The Finnish giant is following the suite with their N79 model and has released firmware version 12 for the device.

Aside from fixing many of the known bugs and issues, improving existing stuff, and overall making the device more responsive and stable - the updated N79 sports a new version of NGage client as well as new version of Mail for Exchange app. The change-log is huge and if you really want to know all the details, I suggest you visit SymbianFreak, who scored the whole list.

As always, we advise you to keep your device's software up to date. The new firmware is already available through Nokia Software Updater and Nokia PC Suite, and by now you figured what you should do, right?

MetroPCS, the US home of simple phones, will soon add a new entry-level handset to its line-up: Samsung Byline SCH-R310.

Samsung USA says that the new phone is already available via MetroPCS, although it can't be found on the carrier's website yet. Moreover, the handset's price is not known, but I'm pretty sure it's not a high one.

The Byline SCH-R310 is a clamshell that comes in a red vs. black color version and features, among others, push to talk capabilities (Walkie-Talkie with ChatLINKSM).

The full list of specs include:

• 1.77 inch CSTN internal display with 128 x 160 pixels and 65K
• 96 x 96 pixels CSTN external display with 65K colors
• Bluetooth
• SMS, EMS and MMS
• metroWEBSM
• Advanced Voice Recognition
• Speakerphone
• 3.25 ounces
• 3.5 x 1.7 x 0.77 inches
• Talk time: up to 3.5 hours

 

So if you want a new and simple Samsung flip phone this Christmas, look for the Byline SCH-R310 in MetroPCS' stores – assuming that the carrier offers services in your area.

O2 Germany is preparing to pull down Xda Orbit 2 and introduce a new device instead. The so called O2 Xda Guide will be the carrier exclusive device, running the latest version of Windows Mobile (6.1).

Other specs include:

• Qualcomm 528 MHz MSM 7225 CPU
• UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA support
• 2.8″ QVGA touchscreen (why not VGA?)
• Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi
• GPS receiver
• 3.2 megapixel camera
• 256 MB RAM and 512 MB ROM
• microSD expansion slot

O2 will start selling the Xda Guide from February of next year and will bundle it with a 1GB microSD card with TomTom Navigator 7 pre-loaded, along with maps for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Price was not disclosed, though.

Blackberry Storm and Blackberry Bold users get to enjoy the convenience of the web at their fingertips. Well they did except for the Blackberry site itself, which wouldn't load properly on Blackberry handsets. Instead of an easy to navigate site, you would get an oddly formatted page that didn't render correctly, Ah, the irony for a smartphone's own site.

Well RIM have decided to do something about this rather embarrassing situation, by launching BlackBerry.Mobi, a site dedicated to providing BlackBerry information on mobile handsets.

The latest member of O2's Xda family is O2 Xda Guide, a smartphone that was unveiled today by the German branch of the international mobile carrier.

Built by HTC, like most of the Xda devices, the wisely-named Guide has a simple but pretty cool design and a set of features that position it in the mid to high-end category.    

The new handset will first be available via O2 Germany, starting February next year, for a price that was not yet announced.

 

The main specs and features of O2 Xda Guide include:

• Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
• GSM/GPRS/EDGE and UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA connectivity
• A 2.8 inch TFT touchscreen display with320 x 340 colors
• Wi-Fi
• Internal GPS
• TomTom Navigator 7 with maps for Austria, Germany and Switzerland
• Bluetooth 2.0
• A 3.2 MP camera
• A 528 MHz Qualcomm MSM 7225 processor
• 256MB RAM, 512MB ROM
• And a 1GB card, included in the package

 

After the German release, it's highly probable that O2 Xda Guide will reach the UK too.

In a move bound to diversify its mid-end phone offering, Samsung has just launched the Samsung SCH-W690, a new clamshell that should be soon available in South Korea, via SK Telecom.

The W690 comes in two color versions (black and white) and looks quite elegant. Its alphanumeric keypad seems to be very user-friendly, thanks to those large keys.

One of the phone's nicest features is the 2.6 inch internal AMOLED screen that supports 240 x 320 pixels and 262K colors. Nokia's N85 Nseries smartphone packs a similar display, with the difference that the N85 one supports 16 million colors.  

 

Anyway, here are the other features of Samsung W690:

• GSM and HSDPA connectivity
• GPS
• 1.5 inch OLED external display with 128 x 128 pixels and 65K colors
• MP3 player
• Bluetooth
• 2MP camera
• 800 mAh battery
• 123 grams
• 101 x 51.6 x 16.95 millimeters

There's no word yet if Samsung SCH-W690 will be released outside South Korea too.

According to a survey of internet leaders, activists and analysts, it was discovered that the mighty little cellphone was considered to be the premiere device to be used to access the internet come 2020. This is not at all surprising news, and we won't even be shocked if it happens at a much earlier time considering how mobile phones are rapidly advancing in features and capabilities. Add the fact the internet browser developers are also ramping up their deployment of mobile phone-tweaked applications, there's no doubt that mobile phones will someday the lead the pack in internet usage.

The question on my mind is who will be the first to be able to deliver that break-through application that will finally provide the same full internet experience similar to that of a computer-based browser. While Apple maybe the leader in mobile internet browsing at the moment, I think the arrival of Mozill'a Fennec mobile internet browser next year will shake things up a bit for the better.

We've seen Macs running Windows, and apparently, we will one day see Windows Mobile phones running BlackBerry applications as well.

Based on the latest info, the BlackBerry Application Suite is designed to work on top of the Windows Mobile operating system and is indeed real. It will allow BlackBerry email, PIN messaging, calendars, task, address book and memo functionality to work without a hitch as if it were actually running on a RIM device. However, as good as it sounds, it's far from being perfect. GPS, Bluetooth and WiFi are not accessible through the application and phone calls will have to be routed through Windows Mobile. Likewise, video playback is not supported and some applications may not also work properly with VGA resolution. That's a lot of drawbacks just to that will definitely make you think twice if you really want to have the BlackBerry OS working on Windows Mobile.

Here's a short video showing off the BlackBerry Application Suite in action.

The BlackBerry Application Suite is estimated to be 32MB in size and is based on OS 4.2.1. There's still no release date available, but it seems that they're nearing the finish line based on the video, leaked images and details now available on the interweb. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that when the final version does go live they would have found a way to address all those flaws we just mentioned earlier so that it indeed be a groundbreaking app worth using.

For those of you still hoping for Verizon to change their minds regarding GPS on phones, don’t lose hope. Currently, Verizon is said to be working with Windows Mobile device manufacturers for a software update that would enable the standalone GPS chips inside phones while retaining their ability to support assisted GPS.

So in the future, not only will you be able to navigate with assistance from Verizon’s cellular network, but also with the use of your device’s standalone GPS chips. This is still a work in progress, but it’s good to now that Verizon is not ignoring the issue, which has been affecting a lot of their customers for quite some time now.
Verizon has confirmed this through an e-mail to users that have campaigned for them to open up said feature in phones, the full text of which is below:

Verizon Wireless, like all carriers, orders devices to meet certain specifications inclusive of features. Each of these specs is tested to determine if it meets our performance goals. There are instances when the phone will pass our extensive testing process but a specific feature may not meet the standard. We will often choose to introduce the phone without that feature but ask that the manufacturer come back to us with revised software that has to be tested to make sure the service works the same across our entire wireless footprint –from Maine to Hawaii. In the case of open standalone GPS, we are partnering with the Windows Mobile device manufacturers to provide a software upgrade that will add this capability to the existing assisted GPS capability. This is a complex development project to provide open standalone GPS while maintaining the assisted GPS capability with the level of performance and security that our customers expect. The recently introduced Windows Mobile devices including Omnia, Saga, and Touch Pro are targeted to add open standalone GPS in the 1st half of 2009.

Steve Schwed
Verizon Wireless
HQ Executive Relations Supervisor

So, Omnia, Saga, and Touch Pro owners should be the first to watch out for this software update to be made available. As well as owners of other Windows Mobile-powered and GPS-equipped handsets in Verizon’s line up.

The LG Vu cell phone now available in burgundy. New LG Phones - LG CU920 Vu TV - Take a good look at the exceptionally eye-catching Vu TV. Not only does it have a sleek exterior, but you can play with all the toys you have at home on the go. Don't forget about TV availability on a large 3-inch touch screen. if you actually own this phone, then you may need to play with it a little bit more. LG Vu is a pretty feature rich phone. It's a good phone, and with some minor modifications it's a great phone. You can watch movies or podcasts on your phone. [via AT&T & LG]

New Cell Phones - New LG Cell Phones - New AT&T Phones
- LG CU920 Vu cell phone photos