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Mobile Evolution Shaping The Future - This Page Provides an Overview of The Market, Services and Technology Drivers Shaping the Mobile Industry's Evolution to Third Generation Networks.

Motorola Backflip photos show off its weird form factor

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The Motorola Backflip (it's also known as Enzo) is a first for AT&T - it's an Android phone. It's not official yet, but it's a very interesting phone in that it was designed by someone completely lacking spatial awareness.
First things first. The Motorola Backflip is a rather appropriate name as you're about to find out. Spec-wise it's almost identical to the Motorola CLIQ (or Motorola DEXT MB220 as it is known outside the States).
This means typical Android device and typical specs - 3.1" HVGA display, 528MHz CPU, 256MB RAM/512MB ROM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. The software is said to be Android 1.5 with Motoblur and lack all Google apps except Google Maps. The Android Market is included though.
AT&T have taken their time to include their own customizations - Yahoo! Search (say what?), AT&T Nav, AT&T Music and AT&T Mobile App store. Anyhow, word is that the Motorola Backflip is thinner, slightly smaller and lighter than the T-Mobile G1  (or HTC Dream ).
The Motorola Backflip sports a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash but, uh, there's a problem - the placement. We mentioned the weird form factor, right? Well, sit down because your head will start spinning.
If you've looked at the photos you're probably feeling something is off - how come you can see the keyboard in that one photo but not the screen? Well, it's called "Motorola Backflip" for a reason. The keyboard is on the back on the device, while the display is on the front.
When you fold the Motorola Backflip open, things start to look normal, good even - that's one roomy 4-row QWERTY - but putting the keyboard on the back where it's always exposed is not exactly a good idea. And where's the camera - on the keyboard, of course. Where else?
Oh, and that's not all that's strange about the Motorola Backflip - there's a touchpad on the back of the screen, accessible when the phone is open. Apparently, it can be used for scrolling. It's not like the phone has a 3.1" touchscreen or anything. Weird.
One last bit of weirdness before we go - the (admittedly rumored) specs list the device as quad-band GSM/EDGE and quint-band 3G. That is 5 bands in a row - 850/900/1700/1900/2100MHz. Of course, it could just be a mistake. There's no guarantee that the Motorola Backflip will have global 3G support (but if it does, we'd need a better name for it).

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Samsung Omnia II gets white

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The Samsung I8000 Omnia II has just been updated with HTC Sense UI by a hacked firmware. We also spotted the first shots of a ceramic white version of this uber-phone, so HTC HD2 might just have lost an edge here.
Truth be told, we knew this will happen sooner or later, but now was probably the best time (or worst, depending on which side of the barrier you are), with the Christmas shopping spree peak coming up.
From the Twitter client to the Footprints app - you can get it all on your Omnia II, thanks to a helpful hacker from ModaCo forums. And the Italian HDblog has just uploaded a live video of the home-backed ROM in action.
We've got some more good news for the potential Samsung I8000 Omnia II owners. If the black styling wasn't much to your liking you know have a second option available. The Ceramic White version of the Omnia II will be more appealing to a lot of people, helping the Omnia II reach a wider audience.
So far there's nothing official, but those Samsung I8000 Omnia II live shots we found over at PDAMobiz seem pretty legit. You gotta give it to them, that Ceramic White version is quite a looker.
South Koreans have been enjoying pink and white versions of Omnia 2 ever since August, but it's only now that we see a GSM version of Omnia II get snow white.

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You hear a lot about camera modules on mobile phones, but not so much about the chip that does all the work of compressing the images and video. The new Broadcom BCM2763 VideoCore IV can handle photos up to 20 megapixels and record Full HD video among other things.
Of course, it would need a 20-megapixel sensor to do its 20-megapixel photo trick but the first devices using the Broadcom VideoCore IV are expected to come out in 2011. In two years, it's not unlikely some company will be pushing out its new 18MP or so camera phone. Because, you know, they already did 12MP and to the average consumer more is better.
The chip can also handle image stabilization, face and smile detection and take several images a second - we wouldn't expect anything less out of future high-end camera phones.
Even if 20MP image sensors that fit into mobile phones don't materialize, the Broadcom VideoCore IV can record 1080p video using H.264 High Profile (the codec used in Blu-ray discs).
Image capture is just part of the BCM2763 VideoCore IV repertoire - it can also play back Full HD video as well and do it over HDMI. What's left is for the phone to use the Micro HDMI connectors, which are the size of microUSB, and you get a pocketable HTPC.
The last trick that the Broadcom VideoCore IV has up its sleeve is that it works as a GPU with 128MB LPDDR2 of dedicated RAM, for rendering 3D graphics.
Since it's targeted at mobile devices, the Broadcom BCM2763 VideoCore IV is built using a 40nm process. Broadcom estimates that its reduced power consumption will lead to 4-6 hours of video recording and 8-10 hours of video playback on most mobile devices, and up 16 hours if the video is played over HDMI. If the internal memory of the device can fit those 16 hours that is.

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Video of Google Nexus One Phone

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We have been hearing all about the upcoming Google Nexus One phone, including pictures, specs and price , but its hard to believe that not even a single video of the phone existed, until now. Folks over at The Nexus One , who seems to have the phone have managed to capture the device in action, showing the now-famous “X” boot up sequence of Android 2.1 on Nexus One.
The handset is placed on top of a box, which seems to be the pre-release packaging for the Nexus One phone.
Nexus One is the name of the Google phone which has been designed by the folks at Google, and the hardware is manufactured in partnership with HTC. It looks a hell alot like HTC Passion/Dream  which is also slated or 2010 launch. Nexus One, like Xperia X10  and HTC HD2 , will be powered by  the Snapdragon 1Ghz processor and it will ship with the latest Android 2.1 OS as preinstalled.
You may also like to check out:
  • Google Nexus One vs Motorola Droid 
  • Google Nexus One vs iPhone 3GS 
  • Google Nexus One Picture Leaked
  • Google Nexus One with Android 2.1 Photos Gallery
  • Google Nexus One Camera Samples 
  • All You Need to Know About the Google Nexus One phone 
You can follow me on twitter  or join our facebook fanpage  to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Android phones.

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James Cameron Avatar Released on iPhone

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The most awaited movie of Christmas 2009 has finally arrived as a game for the iPhone and iPod touch. Based on the film story and developed by Gameloft, James Cameron’s Avatar on the iPhone has great graphics, sound effects and story line that will keep you busy for hours of play. Graphics are stunningly smooth on iPhone 3GS, and there is no reason why the experience shouldn’t be same on the iPhone 3G/2G and iPod touch.
For those of you who don’t know, Avatar is a science fictional epic film which is written and directed by Oscar winning director James Cameron, who was the man behind the 90’s epics like Terminator and Titanic. It is available in the App Store for $9.99. The video trailer embedded below shows the in game graphics of Avatar on the iPhone.
Check out our iPhone Apps Gallery  to explore more apps for your iPhone or iPod touch.
You can follow me on twitter or join our facebook fanpage  to keep yourself updated on all the latest iPhone releases.

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Nexus One Google Phone to Cost $199?

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The latest round of rumors regarding the Google branded Nexus One  suggests that Google is going to sell a subsidized version of Nexus One for a mere US $199 on contract free T-Mobile. If the rumor turns out to be true, then this is going to be the first time that a handset manufacturer has subsidized its device, rather than a carrier. Rumor also has it that the handset in question would be available for purchase online through Google as early as January 5th.
For those of you don’t know, Nexus One is the name of the Google phone which has been designed by the folks at Google, and the hardware is manufactured in partnership with HTC. It looks a hell alot like HTC Passion/Dream HTC Passion/Dream  which is also slated or 2010 launch. Nexus One, Xperia X10  and HTC HD2 , will be powered by  the Snapdragon 1Ghz processor and it will ship with the latest Android 2.1 OS as preinstalled. [via  Android and Me]
You may also like to check out:

  • Google Nexus One vs Motorola Droid
  • Google Nexus One vs iPhone 3GS 
  • Google Nexus One Picture Leaked
  • Google Nexus One with Android 2.1 Photos Gallery 
  • Google Nexus One Camera Samples
  • All You Need to Know About the Google Nexus One phone 
You can follow me on twitter  or join our facebook fanpage  to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Android phones.

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Android 2.1 for Motorola Droid Leaked

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Folks over at Sholes.info  have managed to port Android 2.1 on Motorola Droid. You can go ahead and try it now but the hacker has a warning placed on his site which states that the current Rom release is unstable and might brick your phone. Earlier this month, Android 2.1 Rom was leaked for HTC Hero with the latest version of Sense UI, fully optimized to run on this latest version of Android.
Both Motorola and Verizon has plans to bring Android 2.1 update to Droid as soon as Google makes it an official release. It is also to be noted that Android 2.1 is the OS which is currently being tested on the Google branded Nexus One phone. All info about the Nexus One Google phone can be found here.
Full installation instructions will be posted as soon as a proper, and a more stable release of the Rom is created. You can see Android 2.1 booting up on Motorola Droid phone  in the video embedded.

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Apple Braces Itself for Another Record Breaking Quarter

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The iPhone juggernaut continues to roll. After Apple reported the last quarter as its most profitable ever, it looks like the company could be bracing itself up for one more record breaking quarter.
In a recent report, JP Morgan has reported better than expected growth momentum for Apple's devices which could lead to another very profitable quarter.
In his note, JP Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz claims that the continuing exclusive deal with AT&T not withstanding , iPhone's sales momentum is already on course to see another record quarter. Mark predicts 8.18 million unit sales in the last quarter of 2009, an 8% increase from the previous forecasts.
Mark is not the only one to be optimistic about the iPhone's fortunes this quarter. In fact, this sentiment is shared by the iPhone OEMs as well. These companies that supply components to the Apple iPhone  are already seeing surging volumes in demand and are trying hard to keep up with this growth.
In an article on the subject, Digitimes, a Taiwanese industry publication, has reported that shipments of integrated circuits spiked up by nearly 31% in the third quarter of 2009. A major boost for this growth comes from components shipped to the iPhone. Digitimes is much more optimistic about iPhone's volumes than Mark Moskowitz and predicts 10 million iPhones to be sold in the present quarter.
It is impressive that the sales outlook for the iPhone has remained vibrant despite the company's terrible flopshow in China, the world's biggest telecom market,earlier this quarter. As Charlie Wolf, an analyst at Needham & CO. says, the iPhone has now set itself as the "gold standard" of the smartphone market against which the competitors have now been benchmarking themselves. Thanks to this, it will be quite sometime before competition can truly affect the iPhone's popularity and growth.

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TeliaSonera launches the first LTE

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Let us welcome you into the future. While some already pretty well-developed countries are yet struggling to build reliable 3G networks, TeliaSonera is already making a push for LTE (the 4th gen networks) commercially available.
There are any publicly available phones that can make use of it but those will certainly come sooner rather than later. For now the owners of the LTE-supporting laptop modems will be the only potential customers.
The Sweden and Norwegian capital cities, Stockholm and Oslo are the first to enjoy the blessing 100Mbps-capable touch of the LTE. Ericsson supplied the equipment for the Swedes, while Huawei were chosen in Norway.
Those 100 Mpbs certainly sound pretty impressive, considering that the fastest HSPA-enabled 3G networks today offer a tenth of that. If and when will the mobile phones hardware be able to process data with such speeds is a whole other question of course, but that doesn't make the LTE technology any less of a significant achievement.
Finland will also have their 4G network up and running in Q1 of 2010, and O2 is already testing theirs in the UK so you might want to prepare for a few LTE announcements at the MWC in Barcelona in February next year. Or is it just us getting a little too excited a little too early?

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Sony Ericsson XPERIA Pureness is available

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Just in time for the holidays, the Sony Ericsson XPERIA Pureness is available in stores. And apparently it's got a concierge service, you know, like that thing Vertu phones have. So, you get a transparent screen (a novelty) and a concierge service all for less money than a Vertu.

Going through the list of specs you'll spot groundbreaking features of the Sony Ericsson XPERIA Pureness  like "Video streaming & viewing". Yes, video streaming on a 1.8" monochrome display.
We're not bashing the Pureness - it's a bold move by Sony Ericsson, kudos for that. But that's not a feature they should promote. More interesting is that the Sony Ericsson XPERIA Pureness comes with a concierge service - not bad, considering the concierge bit is usually reserved for phones with diamonds on them.
Still, the specs on the XPERIA Pureness may seem a little limited, but that was Sony Ericsson's intention all along. They say, they've stripped away the unnecessary things from both form and function and left only the essential phone functions (hence "Pureness").
The Sony Ericsson XPERIA Pureness comes with a 12-month membership in the Pureness concierge service. The service is available 24/7 via phone or email and it can get you perks like room upgrades in hotels, a VIP welcome, free champagne, macaroons, discounts, tickets with better seating and so on.
Sony Ericsson have set up a dedicated microsite  to promote the Pureness concierge service. The service is country dependent, so make sure to read the benefits list to see what they have to offer for your locale.
As for the Sony Ericsson XPERIA Pureness the phone, it costs 990 US dollars (676 euro) and it can be shipped to a long list of countries.

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Nokia Messaging for social networks beta now with Twitter

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After Facebook, Twitter is the second social networking service brought to your smartphone by Nokia Messaging for social networks. The applications helps you to keep in touch with the rest of your gang no matter where you are or what time it is.

A few months back we told you about Nokia Beta Labs' IM client but today's news seem even more tempting. Social networks make instant messaging looks so outdated. With services like Facebook or Twitter you can not only chat your friends, but also view images and videos and do so much more.
Before you follow that link  to download the application just take a look at that short video demoing Nokia Messaging for social networks beta.
The Nokia Messaging for social networks beta 2 now offers support for two of the most popular social networking services - Facebook and Twitter. With its help you can easily access either of the services using the contextual homescreen widget. And what is more important: the app supports push notifications so you get the news the moment it happens.
With the new version you can update your Twitter status, view and reply to Tweets. Thanks to that social network client you can also upload images and videos, view upcoming events and contact your friends via multiple ways such as SMS, call, email, or, naturally, a comment.
Nokia Beta Labs promise to increase the number of supported services very soon. The same goes for the supported devices since at the moment you can take advantage of the Nokia Messaging for social networks beta only if you own a Nokia N97, Nokia N97 mini or a Nokia 5800 XpressMusic touchscreen equipped smartphone.

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New Versions of iPhone OS Traced In Website Visits

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Late last month, we had reported trails of a new iPhone model discovered in the wild. Back then, a new iPhone device ID  was found in the analytics logs of an iPhone app  named iBART which was used in the San Francisco area.
Now, there are similar reports from the folks at BoyGeniusReport who have noted that their site has apparently been accessed by iPhones running newer versions of iPhone OS.
A screenshot of the log files posted on the website shows two new versions of iPhone OS, iPhone OS 3.1.3  and iPhone OS 4.0 as the source of the visits.
Like we had speculated in the earlier article on iBart as well, going by the traditional nomenclature followed by Apple, a shift in OS version to 4.x from 3.x could mean that the upcoming model of the iPhone is a much improved version from the current one. Nevertheless, these speculations are not conclusive since the OS detected in the user logs are primarily the 'user agents' tracked from the browsers. A lot many browsers today, including Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome lets you customize this string to the user's choice and so this whole episode could as well be a prank.
However, with Apple known to field test their newer iPhone models  around eight months before launch, it is very likely that these user agents tracked are genuine. Still, it begets the question - What's new in iPhone OS 4.0?
We would like to hear your thoughts on this. Please tell in the comments.

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iVideoCamera iPhone App Brings Video Recording

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The iPhone App Store  is getting prettier by the day.
After live video streaming  and live video broadcasting  became a reality on the iPhone over the past couple of weeks, now video recording on the older models of iPhone becomes possible as well.
In a sign of changing times, Apple has now approved an iPhone app  called iVideoCamera that lets you record short videos from any iPhone model, including iPhone 2G and iPhone 3G . The iPhone app which is available on the App Store captures video at 3 FPS. Other features of the iPhone app includes the ability to save camera roll or "photos" and share it on social media outlets like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
The approval is significant as such iPhone apps like Cycoder  had to go through the unofficial route and available only for iPhone users who had jailbroken their iPhone .
We have been seeing massive improvements in the App approval policies in the recent past. Earlier this month, we had written about the review staff warning app developers over violations instead of rejecting their apps rightaway, which was the norm so far. One of our readers, Alessandro  also informed us that app developers no longer have to wait for weeks to bring updates to iPhone apps and these updates are now happening quicker. All these are very positive changes and we are glad Apple has done this.
Coming back to iVideoCamera, the video quality of the app doesn't seem to be all that good - a 3 FPS video at a 160x213 resolution. Also, the maximum video length is only one minute. However, an update to the app has already been submitted, which should bring a higher frame rate and video length to the app users very soon. If you are one of those who do not own an iPhone 3GS, this app is a must-have. You can download this app for $0.99 by clicking here  (iTunes link). Please note that you will need iPhone OS 3.1  or above.

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Androidish HTC Legend goes live

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The first good picture of the HTC Legend already circles the web. It looks like a Hero successor, with better specs and design. Its official catwalk is expected to take place through the MWC 2010 in February.
The previously leaked Legend from the HTC Roadmap 2010 has now a clear face. The first official picture is already circling the web, though it's not a live one.
The Legend looks very much like a Hero's successor with its similar and stylish design. The specs sheet goes even further with 3.2"AMOLED capacitive multi-touch display with 480x320 pixels resolution, optical trackpad, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3G with HSDPA, FM radio, along with a 5 megapixel snapper, this time accompanied with a LED flash and a 3.5mm audio jack.
The CPU has also been upgraded and the Legend will be powered by a 600 MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 unit, while the RAM will be 256 MB.
There is no word on the Android version inside the Legend, but we suppose it will be 2.0 or better.
HTC Legend announcement is supposed to take place during the next Mobile World Congress sometime in February next year, while the release is rumored for March.

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Nexus One is the rumored Google Phone

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The Internet is swimming in a sea of Google Phone leaks (started off by Google employees themselves) and it's getting hard to sort out which are true and which are false. And we gotta be honest with you - some are quite controversial. Google as a company is pretty much silent on the matter except for the fact that they've admitted giving some employees an Android handset meant to be used only as a software testing lab. And that's that.
As current conspiracy theory goes however, Google is indeed working on its own Google phone and they will be selling it themselves. As photos and first-hand reports of the mythic phone fly in it became clear that the phone seems an HTC Dragon  (or HTC Passion) and it's codenamed Google Nexus One.

The reported specs of the Nexus One also seem to match up with the HTC Dragon - Snapdragon CPU, 3.7" AMOLED display, 5MP camera, touchscreen bar form factor. By the way, the HTC Bravo has a similar hardware too.
The Nexus One is built by HTC (no surprise here) with a lot of input from Google and it runs Android 2.1. The reported changes are a touch of 3D in the app tray, a bit of WebOS gadgetry with a preview of all homescreen pages (there are more of them, too) done card-style. Preloaded are Google Navigation (in the US) and the new Google Goggles , which identifies objects (e.g. the Golden Gate Bridge) by using the camera and brings up relevant information.
The rumors go on - the device is not locked ad works on both AT&T and T-Mobile networks in the US. Engadget have unearthed a report from the FCC about the Nexus One passing their tests . The interesting bit here is that it has quad-band GSM support and 850/1700/1900MHz 3G support, which covers both AT&T and T-Mobile indeed.
And now for the controversial bit - the most popular rumor is that the Nexus One will be sold by Google either directly or through other retail channels (T-Mobile apparently). It will be unsubsidized and unlocked so it will work with every GSM network with proper frequencies.
Is Google moving into the phone selling business? As the guys at Engadget correctly point out  both the Android Dev Phone (an unlocked T-Mobile G1  or HTC Dream  if you will) and the Google Ion  (HTC Magic) were handed out to Google employees and developers in the same fashion. They even sold the Dev Phone, but that's hardly what the rumors imply - full-on mobile phone retail.
The infamous Eldar Murtazin from mobile-review.com claims that some rival company (Apple he says) is trying to stir the pot by using the whole confusion around this potential new business model.
Google has expanded their services since their initial search engine, but for now, they seem to prefer sticking with software and advertising as their primary business model. So, for now we're leaning towards Google simply trying to get some quick feedback on the new Android OS. But we're yet to see about that.

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Sony Ericsson reveals two phones with Greenhearts

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Today Sony Ericsson presented their latest Greenheart tree-hugging phones - the aptly named Elm and Hazel. Those two are no slackers in functionality as they come with Wi-Fi, GPS and pioneer social networking integration via homescreen widgets. They also pack some innovative sound enhancing technologies such as Noise Shield, Clear Voice and Intelligent Volume Adaptation.
Both the Elm and the Hazel have splash-resistant bodies and curved designs meant to fit better in the palm of your hand (obviously based on the same design cues as the XPERIA X10).

The Sony Ericsson Elm  and Hazel pack 5 megapixel auto focus cameras, Wi-Fi connectivity and GPS receivers complete with the preinstalled Google Maps and Wisepilot mapping applications.
The Sony Ericsson Hazel  has a thickness of 16 mm and a weight of 120 g. It packs a 2.6-inch 16M color QVGA display.
The Sony Ericsson Elm has a thickness of 14 mm and a weight of 90 grams. The Elm screen however is only 2.2 inches with 262K color support and QVGA resolution.
Again, both the Elm and Hazel have quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support and dual-band HSPA (2100/900). Interestingly the devices are also HD Voice ready  thanks to the AMR-WB audio codec.
Sony Ericsson *feature* phones are also obviously getting in on the game of social networking. The company is introducing a new homescreen widget system. It would allow direct integration with services such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter.
Another first from Sony Ericsson is the online backup of personal information at sonyericsson.com. There are no further details about the service mentioned, but we guess you'd be able to recover all your info if your phone gets stolen.
Both the Elm and the Haze have rich multimedia features including support for SensMe, TrackID, and MegaBass. Screen auto rotation is also available thanks to the built-in accelerometer.
Interestingly, Sony Ericsson mention a microUSB charger in the retail packages of both phones, which would make them the second and third phones by the manufacturer to feature that port after the XPERIA X10. Unfortunately, it's clearly visible from the shots that the Hazel and Elm both have proprietary FastPorts on their sides.
The Sony Ericsson Elm will be available in Metal Black and Pearly Rose from Q1 2010. The Sony Ericsson Hazel will be available in Superior Black and Passionate Rouge from Q2 2010.

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ITG xpPhone first live photos appear, look pretty nice

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The ITG xpPhone just edged a step closer to its release with the appearance of its first live photos. The device that keeps challenging our idea of a smartphone looks pretty good in those shots and makes us look forward to its official release even more impatiently.
 We have already told you  about the ITG xpPhone and its large set of customizable features . Running on Windows XP or Windows 7 OS it will pack up to 2GB of RAM and up to 120GB of storage space. All of a sudden your HTC HD2 isn’t looking all that powerful, right?

The only thing that bothers us here is the large amount of wasted space around the display, but we guess you cannot have it all. The xpPhone is still way too little when compared to a netbook and it is obviously set to do what the HTC Advantage duo  failed to – create a whole new class of devices.
Of course we will only be able to say that for sure when we learn its pricing and test the real-life performance of the xpPhone but on paper it looks really promising. We’ll keep you updated about the other steps it will take before eventually hitting the shelves.

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Google Phone: A Faster, Prettier And Unlocked iPhone

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Is the Google Phone already out in the wild? In a blog post yesterday, Google had written that the company was doling out a new mobile device running on Android 2.1 to their employees for what they call is 'dogfooding' - a means for employees to test new devices and help improve it before launch.

TechCrunch is now reporting that this is indeed the new Google Phone that we had written about  last month. This is what we know about the device up till now
  • Manufactured by HTC
  • Runs on Android 2.1
  • Powered by SnapDragon chip
  • High resolution OLED touchscreen
  • Virtual keyboard
  • Voice-to-text feature to dictate email
  • Two mics - The mic on the back of the phone helps eliminate noise. 

The Google Phone is supposedly thinner than the iPhone and has an unusually large camera. Tweets from Google employees who were given the phone yesterday seem to suggest a pretty looking, blazingly fast device. Like one tweeter puts it, the new Google phone is "like an iPhone on beautifying steroids". In our previous article, we had reported speculations that the new Google phone might be a data-only device. However, TechCrunch now reports that the phone shall be a GSM device and also that it will come unlocked.
In all likelihood, the new phone shall go on sale from January 2010. While we still do not have confirmed pictures of how the device will actually look like, it is apparently a HTC Passion handset customized to Google's requirements. From pictures leaked by TheUnlockr.com back in October, this is how Google Phone might look like.

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TomTom Launches US-Only iPhone App For $49.99

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If you are planning on long drives this holiday season, TomTom has a surprise for you.
The popular navigation systems developer has launched a stripped down version of their iPhone app, which now costs just half the original price.
Available at $49.99, the newly launched TomTom iPhone app  has dropped coverage for Canada and only includes area inside US, including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The iPhone app however continues to offer all other features like lane guidance, 2D and 3D driving views, voice navigation, etc.
The move comes at an interesting time when GPS navigation devices are feeling increasingly threatened after Google launched their free turn-by-turn navigation app with Motorola Droid and have promised  to offer one for the iPhone as well. At present, the only light in the tunnel for the navigation app developers  has been the prevailing deadlock between Apple and Google with respect to the approval of the latter's apps.
However, this need not be the only reason. With a credible name in the industry, TomTom's initial high price could simply be a price skimming strategy - A $99 iPhone app that does not even include any hardware costs is huge profit indeed. With the initial buzz having died down, this new verion of the iPhone app could reinvigorate the sale volumes.
TomTom has not indicated if there would be a corresponding Canada-only version of the app for Canadian users, though it would make a lot of sense if they would. The US-only version can now be downloaded from the App Store  by clicking here (iTunes Link).
We would be interested to know from our readers if they see the new pricing competitive enough. Please tell us in the comments.

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Zong offering BlackBerry Smartphones

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Step into the world of BlackBerry with ZONG.

The BlackBerry solution by ZONG will connect you to customers, colleagues and information while on the move. Business and personal tasks can be performed directly from one’s BlackBerry handheld which is synchronized with one’s laptop, official computer or even to one’s web mailbox. Blackberry solutions are specially-tailored to provide you a winning edge over the accomplishments in your life and the achievements yet to come your way.

From entertainment to travel plans, business news to personal finance or personal productivity, BlackBerry smartphones mobilize all areas of your day-to-day life. It is a time-tested technological excellence, which provides individuals and corporate identities on-the-go solutions while enabling them to remain connected to their loved ones, business ventures and information within Pakistan and around the globe at particular locations.

With BlackBerry services from ZONG, you can enjoy a breakthrough push-based email solution, which helps you access your personal and/or official information while roaming locally and globally at specific locations. Moreover, it offers you the privileged service of Instant Messenger, email access with attachment facility and amazing surfing experience through exclusive Edge/GPRS services by ZONG.

Models Offered:
Best available deals and offers are just a couple of attractions from many and latest handheld models make it more exciting to use BlackBerry from ZONG.

Power the passions you pursue with a BlackBerry Smartphone from ZONG that expresses your style and simplifies your life. Select one of the 2 prestigious offered:

BlackBerry Curve 8900
BlackBerry Bold 9000

BlackBerry Services:
BlackBerry® Internet Solution (BIS) is a recommended solution for sole proprietors or individuals on the go as it allows you to keep in touch with your friends, family and work simultaneously. You can avail the BlackBerry services with any Post Paid package from ZONG commercially available and can configure 10 POP3 E-mail Accounts (Gmail, Hotmail, AOL, etc).

Charges:

Rs. 1,000 + tax (monthly recurring fee)
Unlimited Free GPRS (no cap)
Additional Security Deposit for BlS Rs. 500/- only
Sales Channels:
The product is available for sales through Corporate Sales Teams and Franchisee as well as ZONG CSCs.

Support:
To access 24/7 Blackberry support helpline, dial 310 from your ZONG Post Paid connection or 111-222-111 from any other number.

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Mobilink Indigo italk and iSMS budles

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indigo Bundles

Mobilink indigo offers you a range of highly competitive postpaid packages offering great value for your money. These include packages for more SMS-savvy individuals, while also offering more high-end packages which provide a combination of bulk free minutes, free data offering and the best call rates in the industry.

Moving another step ahead to provide value and convenience to our indigo customers and to make our packages unmatched, we are happy to announce the launch of voice and SMS bundles – iTalk and iSMS – designed to suit the communication needs of our valued customers.


iTALK- Weekend and Late Night Voice Bundle:

Mobilink indigo offers you the iTalk voice bundle tailored to suit your late night and weekend communication needs.

* Minutes will be available for all calls to Mobilink between 12am to 7am every night and 24 hours on Sunday


Terms & Conditions

•1,000 minutes will be available to call all Mobilink numbers from
•12am to 7am every night
•24 hours on Sunday

•The iTalk minutes will have priority over the built-in free minutes with each package
•For example if a customer has both free minutes and bundle minutes available and he makes a call on Sunday or during late night (between 12am to 7am), his bundle minutes will be consumed first. If bundle minutes are finished, then free minutes in the postpaid package will be utilized (if available).

•The iTalk bundle can be subscribed by calling to 111 (Club indigo members can subscribe to the bundle by calling their respective Corporate Account Managers)
•The bundle will be activated within 3 hours of subscription request
•Once subscribed, the bundle will be automatically available every month to the customers. The bundles can be unsubscribed by calling at 111.

•Bundle minutes will be valid for one month starting from the bill date. In case a bundle is subscribed or unsubscribed in the middle of a month, both the charges and free minutes will be pro-rated according to number of days.
• If a bundle is subscribed or unsubscribed 15 days before the bill date, the customer will be charged Rs 100 for half month and 500 minutes will be available for consumption during late nights and Sunday
Note:Calls to premium numbers and IVR will not be included in bundled minutes



iSMS- SMS bundles for any network, any day

Mobilink indigo offers three amazing SMS bundles designed to offer highly economical SMS solution to our customers. These bundles will be available for all mobile networks (inland), 24 hours a day for the entire month. The offer includes:


* Fair use policy applies (6,000 SMS per month)


Terms & Conditions
•The bundles will be applicable for all networks, anytime during the month
•12am to 7am every night
•24 hours on Sunday

•The iSMS bundle can be subscribed by calling to 111 (Club indigo members can subscribe to the bundles by calling their respective CAMs)
•The bundle will be activated within 3 hours of subscription request
•Once subscribed, the bundle will be automatically available every month to the customers. The bundles can be unsubscribed by calling at 111.

•Bundle SMS will be valid for one month starting from the bill date. In case a bundle is subscribed or unsubscribed in the middle of a month (according to bill date), the bundles will NOT be prorated and full charges will apply along with the complete number of SMS.
• For example, if a bundle iSMS-1 is subscribed 15 days before the bill date, the customer will be charged full Rs 30 and 300 SMS will be available for consumption till the bill date.
•Similarly, if a bundle iSMS-1 is unsubscribed 10 days before the bill date, full charges of Rs 30 will apply
•The customer can subscribe to only one iSMS bundle at a time. To change an iSMS bundle, the previous bundle will expire immediately and full charges of both bundles will apply in that month.

Note: Premium SMS will not be included in bundled SMS

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Nokia 2730 Classic review and Specification

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Nokia 2730 Classic

Whats New?
Nokia 2730 classic - Informed and connected
The Nokia 2730 classic lets you take advantage of fast 3G internet access to stay on top of events, keep up with email, & stay connected with friends. Engage with the world with your Nokia 2730 classic. 3G internet & a full web browser of Nokia 2730 classic puts a world of knowledge at your fingertips. Stay on top of business & connected to friends & family with Nokia 2730 classic's Ovi Mail & Contacts.

Dimension
109.6 x 46.9 x 14.4 mm, 65 cc

Weight
87.7 g

Battery
Talk time Up to 7 h 20 min, Stand-by Up to 396 h, Music play Up to 12 h

OS
Nokia Series 40

Memory
30 MB Built-in + 1GB microSD Card included

Connectivity
Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB, GPRS Class 32, EDGE, Class 32, 3G (384 kbps)

Display Size
240 x 320 pixels, 2.0 inches

Display Colour
TFT, 256K colors

Operating
Frequency / Band
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 (UMTS 900 / 2100)

Browser
WAP 2.0/xHTML

Colors
Black or Dark Magenta

Entertainment
Stereo FM radio with RDS, 3.5 mm audio jack, MP3/WAV/WMV/eAAC+ player, MP4/H.263 player, Flash Lite 3.0, Games (4 + Downloadable)

Camera
2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, 4x digital zoom, Video (176x144 10fps)

Other Features
Speakerphone, Voice memo/dial, Organizer

Ring Tones
Downloadable Polyphonic, MP3

Messaging
SMS, EMS, MMS, Email

Price
Price in Rs: 9,900 Price in USD: $119

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Intel sign MOU to launch technology programme in Government Colleges

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KARACHI :Intel Pakistan recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a consortium partner in Pre-Step (the pre-service teacher education programme). The agreement has been made to launch a technology programme in Government Colleges of Pakistan with a vision to improve the basic education by strengthening teachers training institutes.

Pre-Step is a five-year, national programme led by the Academy for Educational Development (AED), with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The programme is designed to improve the quality of basic education in Pakistan by improving teacher preparation practices and strengthening the capacity of up to 75 teachers training institutes and 15 universities. This programme will also provide an opportunity for teacher educators to learn about, practice and make plans to use active teaching approaches.-PR

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TIME Top 10 Gadgets Of The Year Lists Droid

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It is the time of the year when leading publications come out with their Top 10 lists.
TIME in their 'Top 10 Everything 2009' compilation have listed Motorola Droid as the top gadget for the year. The iPhone 3GS is at number 4.
While iPhone fans may look down upon this list as being biased, it is probable that TIME has chosen to offer more weightage to gadgets that have tried to challenge the existing market environment. As TIME notes in their list, the Droid is "Android's first credible challenge to the iPhone". Praising the Verizon Droid for its beast-like looks, TIME writes:
"The Droid is a hefty beast, a metal behemoth without the gloss and finish of the iPhone, but you don't miss it. The Droid's touchscreen is phenomenally sharp and vivid, it has an actual physical (not great, but good enough) keyboard, and best of all, the Droid is on Verizon's best-of-breed 3G network"
As for iPhone 3GS , TIME writes that the main improvement of the device over iPhone 3G  is the speed:
"Take the iPhone. Make it faster. There, you're done. Yes, the 3GS has a better camera — with video. And it has a compass and voice control. Those are all improvements over the original. But the main point of, and the best thing about, the new iPhone is speed"
While TIME is probably right in giving credit to Droid for including free turn-by-turn GPS navigation and physical keyboard, it has probably missed the critical point in that the iPhone's App Store  now holds nearly ten times as many apps  as that available on the Android marketplace. This means that iPhone as a platform brings much more sophistication to the user than Droid - including the availability of applications like turn-by-turn GPS navigation . With the app economy becoming such a vital part of today's mobile phones, a balanced comparison of smartphones is really incomplete without considering the third party apps that are available for each of these devices.
We would like to hear your opinion. Do you really think the Android scores over the iPhone because of its free GPS navigation software and physical keyboard? Please tell us in the comments.

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Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition hits the USA

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Two months after the Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition became available across various countries around the globe, it finally made its way to the USA. And as you might guess, the price is considerably lower than elsewhere.

Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition is an upgraded version of the popular Nokia 5800 XpressMusic  touchscreen device that comes with lifetime voice-guided navigation for North America and a car kit so it can be easily mounted on a dash or windshield.
Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition uses Ovi Maps for mobile, offering real-time turn-by-turn navigation both in vehicle and on foot. The Ovi Maps offers safety features like speed limit warnings and speed camera alerts, and near real-time information on traffic congestion due to roadwork or accidents. When walking, the service provides pedestrian-friendly directions, including routes that take a pedestrian up one-way streets and through parks, pathways and other shortcuts.
Unlike Google Maps Navigation that seems so hip right now in the US, you can actually preload the map data on the Nokia 5800 so you don't have to download it over the air as you move about.
When bought from Nokia USA's online store  the SIM-free Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition costs only 299 US dollars (200 euro), discounted from 369 US Dollars (250 euro), which is a great deal heaving in mind the 300-euro price tag of the Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition for us on the Old Continent.
Nokia also went ahead and announced the Nokia E72  US availability today even though it was already spotted listed In Stock at the Nokia online store a few days ago.

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