Sony Ericsson reveals 5-megapixel W902 Walkman phone
Sony Ericsson has unveiled 3 new Walkman phones, the W902 - a 5-megapixel camera, HSDPA equipped handset, the W595 slider, and the W302 candybar
Sony Ericsson has brought 5-megapixel camera technology to its Walkman lineup for the first time with the launch of the W902, a 3G HSDPA-enabled music mobile that also comes with an 8GB Memory Stick Micro memory card for track and snap storage.
Alongside the W902, Sony Ericsson has today launched two other Walkman handsets, the W595, a 3.2-megapixel camera-equipped sliderphone, and the W302 candybar model, aimed at the mass market
W902
The W902 is geared up for tune playing with a set of music player controls on the side, the latest Walkman 3.0 software featuring SensMe and Shake control technology, and room for up to 8,000 tracks on its 8GB card. Supplied with premium Sony Ericsson HPM-77 headphones, Sony Ericsson claims the W902 offers improved sound quality with 'dramatically richer bass'.
The quad-band GSM/EDGE and 3G HSDPA-enabled W902 has the usual array of Sony Ericsson mid-tier features, including high-speed downloading and... Read more...
iPhone 3G hits 1 million sales mark in 3 days
Apple iPhone 3G is an instant hit, with over 1 million sold during the first weekend on sale, while App Store chalks up over 10 million downloads
Over 1 million iPhone 3G's were sold during its first weekend on sale, Apple has announced.
The latest version of the iconic mobile device, which has added high-speed 3G mobile data and GPS capabilities, plus support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, to the original user-friendly touchscreen design, went on sale on Friday July 11 in some 21 countries. The 1 millionth iPhone was sold on Sunday, three days after launch.
The 1 million sales mark for the original iPhone, which debuted solely in the USA, took 74 days.
Apple also released upgraded firmware, iPhone 2.0, on Friday so that existing iPhone and iPod Touch users can upgrade their devices to support hundreds of applications now available via the new iPhone App Store. The new iPhone 2.0 firmware upgrade is available free of charge to iPhone users via iTunes.
Apple also announced that App Store downloads topped 10 million over the first weekend in business. More than 800 third party applications are... Read more...
iPhone 3G launches, App Store debuts with 500 apps
The Apple iPhone 3G has arrived at last, with upgraded hardware and software - plus the facility to download hundreds of hot new applications
The highly anticipated Apple iPhone 3G finally hit stores today, enabling users to enjoy high-speed browsing on mobile networks for the first time, and officially sanctioned downloading of third party applications from Apple's new App Store service - with over 500 apps available from launch.
The new 3G version of Apple's hugely successful iPhone, which is available in 8GB and 16GB versions, went on sale across the UK this morning in O2 outlets, Apple Stores and branches of the Carphone Warehouse, with reports of brisk business at the tills.
The iPhone 3G upgrade introduces higher speed browsing and downloading over mobile networks, as well as hardware improvements, including built in A-GPS satellite location finding technology.
The iPhone 3G's new 2.0 firmware also enables users to download native applications for the iPhone from a new App Store application on the phone. Over 500 applications are available to download wirelessly via App Store from its launch... Read more...
LG launches KS360 Qwerty keyboard messager phone
LG has announced a UK release for its low-cost KS360 messager mobile that features a sliding Qwerty-keyboard and touchscreen dialling
LG is bringing to the UK this summer a low-cost messaging handset with a slide-out Qwerty keyboard - the KS360.
Aimed at younger mobile users who want to keep in touch with texts and picture messages or via instant messgaing and email, the KS360 has a large 2.4-inch display that can be used for touchscreen dialling, and which changes orientation automatically when the phone's Qwerty keyboard is slipped out of the side.
As well as message-tapping capabilities, the KS360 is enabled for users to visit their favourite social networking sites too, using the onboard web browser. The compact 16.8mm phone also features a 2 megapixel camera and supports MicroSD card memory expansion.
In addition, the KS360 has built in music and video player capabilities, and supports stereo Bluetooth. It has a GPRS/EDGE-powered browser onboard too.
The KS360 is being sold in several eye-catching colour combinations, including titanium and bright blue, white and soft pink, black... Read more...
Nokia trials free push email service
Nokia unveils its own free push email offering to challenge the paid-for services of Blackberry and the upcoming iPhone 3G
Nokia is about to launch a free 'push' email service that allows you to have a Blackberry-style email set-up on selected Nokia handsets.
The catchily-named Nokia Email Service allows you to receive push email - where messages just appear on your phone without signing in and checking for mail - using your current email address.
The service is currently on trial but you can sign up for an account and download the software to your phone. Just point your browser at email.nokia.com
Currently supported handsets are all Series 60 3rd edition models and mainly skewed towards the business users: the E51, E61, E61i, E65, E66, E71, E90, N73, N80, N81 8GB and the N95.
The application automatically hooks into your address book so you can start sending, receiving and forwarding messages to your mates straight from the off. You can even schedule the service to stop pushing any messages to you after a certain... Read more...
Nokia adds Warners to its free music download scheme
Nokia has signed up Warners to its controversial 'free' music download scheme due later in 2008
Warner Music Group is the latest major music label to sign up to Nokia's controversial 'all you can eat' download service, Comes With Music.
The move means that three of the four major music labels - Warners, Sony BMG and Universal - have backed the Comes Mith Music scheme which offers unlimited 'free' music downloads with selected Nokia handsets for 12 months. Only EMI has yet to sign up.
Comes With Music, which is due to launch in 10 countries including the UK later in 2008, is unusual in that Nokia handset owners will be able to download and play as many tracks as they want onto their mobile or their PC for a full year - and when the offer ends they will still be able to listen to their downloaded tracks. If they want to download more tracks they'll have to pay a monthly subscription.
However the downloaded tracks cannot be burnt to a CD unless you pay an extra fee and they'll never be playable on portable music players like the Apple iPod. The... Read more...
Orange launches dance-powered mobile phone charger
Orange unveils a 'dance powered' mobile phone charger to harness the kinetic energy of festival ravers. Oo-er...
Orange's latest PR wheeze to prove it is down with the kids is the launch of a 'dance powered' mobile phone charger.
The announcement, timed to coincide with Orange's sponsorship of this week's Glastonbury festival, claims that the Orange Dance Charge follows "months of research into alternate, sustainable energy sources to power mobile phones during summer music festivals". Yeah right.
Apparently the Dance Charge - which looks like an oversized elasticated iPod arm holder - uses a system of weights and magnets to harness the kinetic energy your body generates when you dance. (Or if you're the typical British bloke, when you reluctantly shuffle your weight from your right foot to your left and back again). The electrical energy is stored in a battery which can then be used to charge your mobile later.
Don't rush out to buy one in the shops, though, as the Orange Dance Charge is just a prototype, albeit a fully functioning one. But you will no... Read more...
Nokia means business with E66 and E71
Nokia has upgraded its Eseries lineup with the Qwerty-keyboard equipped E71 and slider-action E66 - packed with email, functionality, GPS, HSDPA and Wi-Fi
Nokia has taken the wraps off its latest Enterprise series mobiles, the Qwerty-keyboard sporting E71 and the E66 sliderphone. Both devices are geared up to support a wide range of corporate and personal email solutions, including Microsoft Exchange, and mode-switching for home and work usage.
The two new Eseries models are equipped with the latest HSDPA high-speed 3G connectivity and have Wi-Fi onboard. VoIP internet-based calling is supported too on these Symbian S60 3.1 Edition smartphones. Integrated A-GPS technology and Nokia Maps software add satellite navigation and support for location-based services too.
Aimed primarily at corporate mobile users, Nokia's latest Eseries devices offer sophisticated office functionality. The E71 has a BlackBerry-style Qwerty keyboard and large 2.36-inch QVGA display for heavy email users, although both models have software for easy set up for and use of professional or personal email. Attachments are supported too, and there' a... Read more...
iPhone 3G gets 50 per cent O2 Wi-Fi boost
Over 3,000 more Wi-Fi hotspots will be accessible to O2 iPhone users from July 11 following a deal with BT Openzone
O2 iPhone customers will be have free access to 50 per cent more public Wi-Fi hotspots from 11 July, launch day for the iPhone 3G.
O2 has signed a deal with BT Openzone to give iPhone customers access to more than 3,000 BT Openzone Wi-Fi hotspots across the UK as part of their standard iPhone data package.
The agreement with BT Openzone, along with O2's existing arrangements for access to The Cloud's Wi-Fi network, will give all iPhone users 'unlimited' access to over 9,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots.
The deal covers existing iPhone users as well as iPhone 3G buyers, with either device automatically switching to the fastest network available when in range of The Cloud or BT Openzone hotspots. Users can download content or browse the web from their iPhone as much as they want at no extra cost - subject to O2's excessive use policy.
The BT... Read more...
Motorola ROKR E8 music mobile hits UK
Motorola's ultra-thin ROKR E8 music mobile has arrived in the UK, bringing touch-sensitive mode-shifting controls and 2GB of internal track storage
Motorola's ROKR E8 slimline music mobile is set to hit UK stores imminently, the company has announced.
The ROKR E8, which has 2GB of internal storage and is capable of storing up to 3,000 tunes, features 'ModeShift' role-changing controls that switch the front panel buttons between voice call, music player and camera functionality at the touch of a key.
It employs an iPod-style 'FastScroll' navigation wheel in the usual navigation pad position to scroll through tracks and contact lists, and has a standard 3.5mm headphone jack socket for using your own ear-wear.
The mode-changing virtual control keys are operated by touch sensitive buttons on its smooth front panel, with haptic feedback (a slight vibrating buzz) provided to confirm pressing.
As well as its 2GB of internal storage, the ROKR E8 supports MicroSD cards up to 4GB. Bluetooth stereo output is also supported on the phone, while music content can be managed and synced with a PC using Windows Media... Read more...
LG reveals KC550 low-cost 5-megapixel cameraphone
LG is bringing high-spec shooting to mass market cameraphones with the 5-megapixel LG-KC550 pre-pay special
LG has announced a low-cost 5-megapixel cameraphone, the LG-KC550, which boasts a high quality Schneider-Kreuznach lens and image stabiliser among its high-spec camera features.
The KC550, which is aimed at the pre-pay market, is a sliderphone with a 2.4-inch screen and is equipped with accelerometer technology to rotate images automatically between vertical and horizontal display as the phone is moved. It doesn't feature 3G technology, relying instead on tri-band GSM/GPRS for data connectivity.
As well as high quality stills imaging, the KC550 features a video capture facility for shooting at 30 frames per second and playback at maximum 720x480 resolution. There's also a TV output option on the device.
Other regular LG mobile specs include a music player and FM radio, and it supports MicroSD card expansion. Motion controlled games, as introduced on the LG secret, are included here too with darts, fishing and maze games to play.
The LG-KC550 will be... Read more...
Apple iPhone 3G available free from O2
Apple has taken the wraps off its iPhone 3G, bringing integrated GPS mapping and high-speed HSDPA to the must-have mobile - and it's available from free
Apple's hugely anticipated iPhone 3G has at last been unveiled - and will be available from free in the UK when it goes on sale on July 11.
The new Apple iPhone has been significantly upgraded from its first generation model, featuring high-speed HSDPA 3G technology that's twice as fast browsing as its EDGE-speed predecessor, and has integrated GPS satellite navigation technology - but is significantly cheaper than the original model on all contract deals.
The iPhone 3G will be available in 8GB and 16GB versions and will again be sold through O2 in the UK - but for the first time, it will be offered free to high-value contract customers, and at a range of price points too.
- The 8GB iPhone 3G model will be available from free on contracts costing £45 or £75 per month, or from £99 on a new £30 a month or existing £35 a month tariff.
- The 16GB iPhone 3G will be free on the £75 per month tariff, £59 on the... Read more...
Compact Jawbone boasts military might
Rhys Lewis
The Jawbone Bluetooth headset is back: smaller, quieter and armed with military-grade technology
When Aliph's Jawbone Bluetooth headset hit the UK last year, the designer earpiece stood out for its smart style and innovative noise reduction technology.
One year on and the next-generation Jawbone has arrived, smaller than the original and using military-grade technology to shut out even more ambient sound than ever.
Again created by industrial designer Yves Behar, the new Jawbone is half the size of the original and features a three-dimensional textured diamond pattern on the back, which Aliph claims isn't just good looking, but also helps to dampen outside noise. It comes in three imaginatively named colours - Bla Bla Black, Silver Tongue and rose gold, otherwise known as Goldy Lips.
The high-end technology behind the new Jawbone is the ominously named NoiseAssassin. Developed by US Military R&D arm DARPA for clear communications in battlefield... Read more...
HTC Touch Pro adds Qwerty keyboard to Touch Diamond
HTC has taken the wraps off the Touch Pro, a stunning Qwerty keyboard version of the HTC Touch Diamond Windows Mobile 6.1 HSDPA smartphone
Smartphone specialist HTC Corp has officially unveiled its HTC Touch Pro, a sliding Qwerty keyboard-equipped version of its stunning HTC Touch Diamond.
Like the Touch Diamond, the HTC Touch Pro is a smartphone running on the Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional platform, with a similar styling and features rundown, but adding a sliding 5-row full Qwerty keyboard that slips out of the side of the device.
Aimed primarily at business users, the HTC Touch Pro is an HSDPA mobile broadband enabled 3G mobile, capable of download and browsing speeds of up to 7.2Mbps. Wi-Fi connectivity is also included, plus there's a built in AGPS receiver for satellite navigation with a Google Maps application pre-loaded too.
The HTC Touch Pro's 2.8-inch touchscreen supports the smooth new HTC TouchFLO 3D touch operated user interface, layered over the latest version of the Windows Mobile operating system. A motion sensor adjusts the screen view automatically between landscape and... Read more...
T-Mobile reveals MDA Vario IV Qwerty keyboard smartphone
T-Mobile is introducing its MDA Vario IV Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone, a Qwerty keyboard-packing handset based on the HTC Touch Diamond
T-Mobile has announced the imminent arrival of its MDA Vario IV keyboard-sporting Windows Mobile smartphone.The HTC-built MDA Vario IV is similar in looks and functionality to the recently announced HTC Touch Diamond (which T-Mobile will be selling as the MDA Compact IV), but features a slide out Qwerty keyboard on the side.
The MDA Vario IV, which also uses the latest version of the Windows Mobile full touchscreen user interface, has high-speed HSDPA 3G connectivity inside capable of download speeds of up to 7.2Mbps, plus Wi-Fi support. It also has a built in GPS receiver with Google Maps mapping and navigation functionality.
Running on the Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone operating system, with a new 3D user interface layered on top, the MDA... Read more...
Samsung unveils L870 Symbian S60 smartphone
Samsung has taken the wraps off its latest Symbian S60 smartphone, the L870, a full-metal sliderphone with HSDPA mobile broadband connectivity
Samsung has shown off its latest Symbian smartphone, the L870, at the S60 Summit in Barcelona.
The L870 is a sliderphone with HSDPA high-speed 3G connectivity, capable of download speeds of up to 3.6Mbps. It's kitted out with a 3-megapixel main camera plus a secondary video call camera above its display.
Powered by the Symbian v9.3 and S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 smartphone platform, the L870 is capable of extensive application customisation, and there's a WebKit S60 browser onboard for high-speed full web browsing action.
The screen is a large 2.4-inch, 16-million colour QVGA display, and is built into a full stainless steel casing, with a pocketably-slim 13.5mm profile and 103.5(h) x 50.5(w) mm bodywork.
The L870's spec includes a multi-format music player and video player, plus an FM radio, with 100MB of internal memory and MicroSD memory card expansion up to 4GB. It has push email support for leading corporate email solutions including Visto Seven,... Read more...
Samsung Steel strengthens Vodafone lineup
Samsung has unveiled the Steel, an premium handset designed exclusively for Vodafone, featuring high-speed HSDPA connectivity and DAB radio
Samsung has revealed a new premium handset exclusively designed for Vodafone, the Samsung Steel, which includes high-speed HSDPA 3G connectivity and which includes DAB radio on a Samsung mobile for the first time.
The Samsung Steel is a sliderphone with a polished metallic finish, similar to the Samsung Soul, and is designed with a minimalst front panel featuring a large 2.2-inch 262K-colour display.
In addition to high-speed browsing, downloading and surfing using HSDPA, the Samsung Steel is equipped with a 3-megapixel camera with an autofocus system. A secondary video call camera is on the front panel.
Multimedia player functionality is built in, and there's 30MB of internal storage boosted by MicroSD card expansion, with cards of up to 8GB capacity supported.
The Steel can handle emails with a document viewer to view attachments, and a full web browser is built in. The phone also has a DAB receiver inside, allowing users to tune into high quality... Read more...
Nokia Maps 2.0 upgrade goes live
The Nokia Maps 2.0 software update is now available to download for free, bringing a wide range of improvements to the mobile-based navigation system
Nokia mobile users can now download the full updated version of Nokia Maps 2.0, which is ready for action after leaving beta stage.
Nokia Maps 2.0 introduces a raft of enhancements to the mobile navigation and location-based services application. These include improvements to its in-car and pedestrian navigation options, the addition of satellite images, more multimedia city guides and a revamped user interface.
The updated software, which is available to download free from http://www.maps.nokia.com, improves the car navigation option, with faster routing, and a new carousel interface for selecting different views quickly and easily. With added features, incuding sign posts and a multi-stop route planner, Nokia claims the new version provides the equivalent experience of a personal navigation device (PND) in your phone.
Pedestrians get an improved navigation exerience too, with step by step visual guidance,... Read more...
Samsung launches F400 B&O music mobile in UK
Samsung's F400 music mobile is set to debut in the UK, with the dual-slider phone featuring Bang & Olufsen audio technology plus 3G HSDPA connectivity
Samsung has confirmed the UK launch of its F400 music mobile, a 3G HSDPA enabled handset that's kitted out with Bang & Olufsen audio technology.
The F400 has a dual-slider action, with a slide up speaker which Samsung says delivers high fidelity 3D-effect sound, tuned by Bang & Olufsen and ICEpower audio technology. The F400 has 1GB of internal storage, and supports MicroSD card expansion up to 4GB. It has dedicated music controls, and offers a variety of music orientated features, including Samsung's FindMusic music recognition software, SmartBass frequency enhancement, and an FM radio with RDS.
The F400, which was first shown at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in February, supports 3G HSDPA for high-speed browsing, plus downloading and streaming of audio and video content, at up to 3.6Mbps.
As well as its music features, the... Read more...
BlackBerry Bold arrives with Wi-Fi, GPS and HSDPA
RIM has launched its most sophisticated BlackBerry yet - the BlackBerry Bold - packing in 3G HSDPA mobile broadband, Wi-Fi connectivity and GPS sat nav
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has announced its most powerful smartphone yet, the BlackBerry Bold - a HSDPA high-speed 3G-enabled device with built in Wi-Fi connectivity and GPS location-finding capabilities.
Finished in a smart black, chrome and leather effect design, the BlackBerry Bold is aimed at high-end professional users, with a reworked full Qwerty-keyboard and business-grade messaging and synchronisation applications. It features a large bright half-VGA (480x320 pixels resolution) display, and a speedy 624MHz mobile processor to facilitate high speed web browsing, downloading and streaming.
The usual spread of BlackBerry messaging and organiser functionality is present, including push email support with attachment viewing, and document editing for Word, Excel and PowerPoint files using DataViz Documents to Go software.
The Bold is naturally geared up to work with the BlackBerry Enterprise Server messaging solution for corporate users,... Read more...
Samsung debuts super-slim i200 smartphone
Samsung has unveiled its i200 smartphone, a thinline Windows Mobile 6.1 device packing in 3G with HSDPA high-speed connectivity
Samsung has taken the wraps off its i200, a Windows Mobile 6.1-powered slimline smartphone.
The Samsung i200 is a candybar-style handset that's 11.8 mm thin but is equipped with 3G high speed HSDPA download technology, plus the latest version of Microsoft's smartphone operating system. A suite of Windows Mobile apps are embedded, including mobile versions of Excel, Word, Powerpoint, Outlook, Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player.
Aimed primarily at the business user, it supports Microsoft Direct Push Email plus HTML formatted email.
It has a 2.3-inch QVGA non-touchscreen display and includes a 2-megapixel camera plus a secondary forward facing video call camera. Some 25MB of internal memory is included, plus there's room for MicroSD card expansion.The Samsung i200 weighs in at 102.2g and its overall dimensions are 116.7(h) x 50.8 (w) x 11.8(d) mm.
It will be available from June 2008 exclusively from Orange and The Carphone Warehouse.
Read more...T-Mobile launches MDA Compact IV own-brand HTC Touch Diamond
T-Mobile has revealed its own-brand version of the super-sharp HTC Diamond smartphone, the MDA Compact IV
T-Mobile has announced the MDA Compact IV, its own-branded version of the HTC Touch Diamond smartphone that's just been revealed.
The MDA Compact IV, which will be available on T-Mobile from July, is a sleek-looking slimline touchscreen smartphone, running Windows Mobile 6.1 and using HTC's latest TouchFLO 3D user interface.
Apart from the T-Moble branding, it is practically the same as the HTC Touch Diamond. The MDA Compact IV runs on 3G with HSDPA mobile broadband powering its data connectivity for downloading and surfing. It also has a GPS receiver built, and will be supplied with a trial version of CoPilot Sat Nav software.
It has a 3.1-megapixel camera, and supports full web browsing. The latest implementation of the Windows Mobile operating system will include the usual mobile versions of Microsoft desktop applications, including Outlook Mobile, Word... Read more...
HTC unveils its Diamond
With a form factor and interface more than redolent of the iPhone - the HTC Touch Diamond also boasts some very impressive technical specifications
HTC has unveiled its new smartphone - the HTC Touch Diamond - which is clearly aimed at the same market as the Apple iPhone.
The undeniably striking phone has a 2.8-inch touch screen and brushed steel casing that's only 11.3mm thick. However it runs Windows Mobile 6 Professional albeit sporting a new touch-based interface christened TouchFLO 3D which does away with a physical keyboard.
The HTC Touch Diamond has high-speed HSDPA 3G connectivity, GPS and a 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera - all features that outshine the current iPhone specs. But a relatively miserly 4GB of internal storage means the handset won't be an iPod substitute for most people. The Diamond also has 802.11g WiFi making it one of the most networkable phones around.
But its the high resolution (640 x 480 pixel) TouchFLO 3D front-end that will attract the most attention. The interface supports simple gestures such as finger swiping and uses 3D acceleration to add unfeasible amounts of eye... Read more...
LG Secret first impressions
We get our hands on the LG Secret, a successor to the Chocolate and Shine that has far more about it than mere fashion
The Secret is out. LG's third Black Label phone hits the shops later this month, and offers the stylish good looks and packed feature set of its Chocolate and Shine stablemates.
The slick design of the Secret certainly lives up the the Black Label reputation. The 'unscratchable' tempered glass front, patterned back panel, solid build and confident sliding mechanism give the phone a real premium look and feel, and the fact that only four buttons are visible on the black front fascia make the Secret look sleek and stylish.
The black area around the main selection key comes to life when the keypad is activated or the phone slid open, with six touch-sensitive buttons for the four nav keys and the left and right selection keys. Like any touch-sensitive keypad, these take some getting used to, but a slight vibration in response to a key press along with ripples of light emanating from the button help you get used to the keypad's sensitivity.
The 240x320-pixel... Read more...
T-Mobile adds Solo SIM-only deal in pay monthly refresh
T-Mobile has revamped its pay monthly deals, introducing the Solo SIM-only, 30-day contract option plus Combi value package
T-Mobile has refreshed its pay monthly contract deals, simplifying the options available, and introducing a new set of SIM card-only 'Solo' pay monthly deals, and 'Combi' value 18-month packages.
The SIM-only Solo deal will give customers the option of keeping their existing handset, and signing up to a 30-day rolling contract for inclusive calls and texts, rather than having to commit to a yearly or 18-month deal. Solo deals cost from £15 to £35 a month with various bundles of inclusive text and airtime.
For £15 a month, Solo offers 350 minutes of calls and 650 texts. Spending more gets you unlimited texts plus various amounts of airtime: for £20 you get 500 minutes, £25 gets 800 minutes, £30 1400 minutes, and £35 1800 minutes.
The Combi offerings are straight 18-month contract deals that include bundles of airtime and texts at competitive rates. For £25 a... Read more...
Vodafone offers free 'unlimited' web access
Vodafone redefines the meaning of 'unlimited' to just 500MB but it has ditched the GBP7.50 fee for web access
Vodafone is to offer 'unlimited' internet access on all its monthly pricing plans - ditching the £7.50 fee it previously charged for email and web access.
But yet again the adjective 'unlimited' is accompanied by a small print proviso: the dreaded fair usage policy which effectively limits your Internet usage to a mere 500MB each month.
This usage cap works out at about 16MB per day - which is probably fine if all you do is check your email or update your Facebook status. But with the average web page now weighing in at a hefty 312k you'll run past that limit pretty quickly if you go browsing or view any multimedia.
Ironically, on Wednesday 30 April Vodafone streamed pop icon Madonna's launch performance for her Hard Candy album - watching the video of the whole show would push you very close to your allowance for the month.
The new pricing plans start at £25... Read more...
Motorola MOTO Z10 arrives in UK
The Motorola MOTO Z10 kick-slider phone has been released in the UK, delivering 3G HSDPA smartphone functionality plus high quality video facilities
Motorola has released its much-awaited Z10 kick-slider phone in the UK, with O2 initially selling the 3G HSDPA smartphone exclusively on its network deals.
The MOTO Z10 is the successor to Motorola's novel Z8 'banana phone' model, which introduced a curved style of slide action. The upgraded features include a 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, which also supports video shooting at 30 frames per second.
Based on the Symbian UIQ operating system, the Z10 has a sophisticated rundown of multimedia features, including extensive in-phone video editing facilities that enable users to shoot, add effects and soundtracks before uploading directly to a blog or website.
The Z10 has a 2.2-inch 16-million colour QVGA display which can be used for widescreen video playback, and Motorola is supplying the handset with the three full length movies in The Bourne Trilogy loaded up on to a memory card. The Z10 supports high capacity MicroSD memory cards up to... Read more...
Nokia unveils 6600 fold, 6600 slide and 3600 slide trio
Nokia has boosted its mobile lineup two stylish 3G handsets - the 6600 fold and 6600 slide - and the compact, eye-catching 3600 slide
Nokia is expanding its mobile lineup with three new handsets, the 3G-enabled 6600 fold and 6600 slide, and the compact 3600 slide.
With the 6600-series handsets Nokia has again used similar model names for phones with distinctive looks and slightly different specs, as it did with the 6500 slide and 6500 classic models.
6600 fold
The 6600 fold is a glossy clamshell design featuring a 'hidden' external display that comes to life when tapped twice or when activated by an incoming call. The double-tap feature can also be used to send alarms to snooze or to reject calls.
The 6600 fold is based on Nokia's Series 40 user interface, and has a main 2-megapixel camera for snapping, and a secondary camera for 3G video calling inside the shell, above a large 2.13-inch OLED 16-million... Read more...
LG Secret revealed
The LG Secret has been unveiled, a super-slim, 5-megapixel camera-packing sliderphone, with touchscreen control and 3G HSDPA in a stylish carbon fibre and glass design
LG has revealed its Secret - the latest premium phone in LG's stylish Black Label Series and follow up to the successful Chocolate and Shine.
The LG Secret (or LG KF750) is a slim sliderphone that features a 5-megapixel camera and high speed 3G HSDPA technology, as well as a selection of touch-screen controls and motion sensor technology onboard.
The 11.8mm thin LG Secret's cover and screen are made from highly durable carbon fibre and tempered glass, and are designed to be scratch resistant as well as good looking.
The display is a 2.4-inch QVGA touchscreen, although touch operation is used for a limited selection of five multimedia features (LG calls it Touch Media). These include music player, photo viewer, motion-controlled games, document viewer and FM radio functions. Other controls and most... Read more...
Sony Ericsson unveils Z780 and G502 high-speed 3G phones
Sony Ericsson has boosted its 3G HSDPA enabled handset line-up with the super-slim, AGPS-equipped Z780 clamshell and the low-cost G502
Sony Ericsson is aming to bring high-speed 3G to the mass market with the launch of its lowest cost HSDPA-enabled mobile yet, the G502, and has added a slimline HSDPA clamshell, the Z780, to its range for markets outside of Europe.
The Z780 is similar to the Z770i announced by Sony Ericsson earlier this year but adds built in A-GPS (Asssited Global Positioning System) satellite location technology. It's a tri-band 3G HSDPA handset, featuring a full range of high-speed downloading, streaming and cvideo call options. It comes loaded with Google Maps for Mobile software too offering location based services, and is equipped with a music player and 2-megapixel camera.
The G502, which also comes with Google Maps, is Sony Ericsson's most affordable HSDPA enabled handset yet. The low-cost G502 has a full web browser a set of high-speed 3G features,... Read more...
Sony BMG signs up for Nokia's 'free music' scheme
Sony BMG Entertainment is the latest record label to offer its entire music catalogue free on upcoming Nokia handsets
Nokia has signed up music giant Sony BMG Entertainment as the latest major record label to offer its catalogue on Nokia Comes With Music - the upcoming 'unlimited free music' bundle for Nokia handsets.
Sony BMG joins Universal Music as the second major label to back Nokia's ground-breaking music offering. Punters who buy a Nokia Comes With Music mobile will be able to download as much music from those companies catalogues as they want from the Nokia Music Store for 12 months free of charge
The tracks can be downloaded direct to the handset or to a compatible PC (the service doesn't work on Macs) and at the end of the 12-month period they can keep everything they've downloaded forever.
This is the key difference between Nokia's offering and previous subscription-style deals which saw the supposedly free music 'disappear' at the end of the offer period. If you switch to a non-Nokia phone or buy an Apple Mac your accumulated treasure of tracks becomes... Read more...
Nokia reveals 5320 and 5220 XpressMusic mobiles
Nokia adds to its music mobile range with the 5320 XpressMusic - a 3G HSDPA-enabled, N-Gage supporting smartphone - and the 5220 XpressMusic
Nokia has added two new music mobiles to its lineup with the launch of the 3G HSDPA-enabled 5320 XpressMusic and 5220 XpressMusic. Both are candybar models featuring the trademark XpressMusic dedicated music player controls on the side.
The 5320 XpressMusic runs on the Nokia S60 Symbian smartphone platform, and supports N-Gage gaming, as well as high-speed 3G web connectivity and downloading. Its music functionality includes a new voice-controlled Say and Play feature, allowing users to call up tracks by saying the name of the artist or song.
With HSDPA onboard the 5320 XpressMusic is geared up for high speed downloading of content and browsing the interne, and is set up with links to the Nokia Music Store over-the-air download service. Its full web browser has links to Nokia's Ovi suite of services and search facilities, and offers access to various content sharing sites to make it easy to upload or download content. In addition, the 5320 has dedicated N-Gage... Read more...
O2 offers Mobile Broadband high-speed deal for laptop users
O2 has launched a high-speed 3G HSDPA and Wi-Fi Mobile Broadband service for laptops, with a free USB modem, for 20 pounds per month
O2 is offering its customers a high-speed mobile internet service for laptops, with a 3G HSDPA and Wi-Fi-enabled USB modem that promises plug and play connectivity.
The O2 Mobile Broadband service provides mobile data connection speeds of up to 1.8Mbps (increasing to 3.2Mbps in June, and up to 7.2 Mbps later in the year), plus free access to over 7,500 Wi-Fi hotspots from The Cloud.
For £20 per month, users will be entitled to 3GB of inclusive data usage every month via O2's mobile network plus unlimited usage of The Cloud's Wi-Fi hotspot network. Existing pay monthly customers can choose to sign up for an 18-month deal, under which the USB modem is free, or commit to a rolling one-month contract and pay £119.99 for the USB modem.
In addition to pay monthly mobile customers, the Mobile Broadband service is also available to O2 Home Broadband customers and O2 Pay & Go users who top up £30 or more a month. There is an additional cost if... Read more...
Nokia 6212 classic delivers tap-to-share NFC technology
Nokia has announced the 6212 classic, its first Near Field Communication mobile, offering easy sharing of content, and tap-to-pay functionality
Nokia has announced the 6212 classic, its first mobile to include Near Field Communication (NFC) technology that enables users to exchange content, get information, make payments, and connect with other devices with just a simple tap of the phone.
The 3G-equipped Nokia 6212 classic debuts NFC technology in a slimline candybar handset design that includes a standard set of Nokia mid-range features including a 2-megapixel camera and music player.
NFC has been developed to make it simple to interact with other devices, share content and make payments for good and services. Users can swap contact details or content such as images or video between NFC-enabled phones by simply tapping the devices, or get content such as audio files, weblinks or contact information by tapping NFC-enabled tags - for example, on ad posters, in stores, at information points, and so on.
NFC technology can be used to automatically open up applications on the phone, such as the web browser,... Read more...
Apple iPhone price slashed by 100 pounds
O2 has cut the price of the 8GB Apple iPhone by 100 pounds to just 169 pounds on all iPhone tariffs, fueling speculation about a June 3G iPhone launch
O2 is slashing £100 off the price of the 8GB Apple iPhone, fueling speculation that a 3G iPhone will be launched in June.
O2 confirmed that the price of the 8GB iPhone will drop to £169 on all iPhone tariffs from tomorrow, 16 April, in an offer that will run until 1 June 2008. The price of the 16GB iPhone will not be affected however, remaining at £329.
The O2 move comes amid growing speculation that Apple is lining up its much-awaited 3G iPhone launch for June. The iPhone price cut by O2 could be a move to run down stocks ahead of a new product launch, with the latest iPhone Web rumour-frenzy suggesting the iPhone could be unveiled at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco in June.
Read more...
Nokia N-Gage mobile gaming service goes live
Nokia's N-Gage mobile gaming platform finally goes live, bringing sophisticated games, multiplayer action, and interactivity to Nokia Nseries phones
Mobile gamers can at last download and play Nokia N-Gage games on their phones following the long-awaited launch of the full version of the advanced mobile gaming platform.
The revamped N-Gage mobile gaming service, which offers a sophisticated gaming experience with multiplayer and interactive elements, has gone live for owners of select Nseries multimedia mobiles - the N81, N81 8GB, N82, N95 and N95 8GB.
The N-Gage application is available to download now from the N-Gage website, although Nokia is making an official announcement about the launch on Monday.
The new N-Gage platform will enable users to download sophisticated games, get try-before-you buy demos of games, play with other N-Gagers, post high scores and interact with other gamers.
Nokia expects around 25-30 N-Gage games to be available by the... Read more...
Microsoft: new Internet Explorer Mobile and Windows Mobile 6.1
Microsoft is updating its smartphone operating system with new, improved Windows Mobile 6.1, while Internet Explorer Mobile is revamped too
Microsoft is promising a significantly improved version of its smartphone browser and a more consumer friendly experience on Windows Mobile smartphones, with the release of a new version of Internet Explorer Mobile and its latest Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system update.
The latest version of Internet Explorer Mobile adds the ability to see full web pages on mobile screens, as you would on a desktop PC, allowing you to scroll and zooming in on parts of the screen. It supports Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight and H.264 standards too, enabling users to view multimedia on smartphone web-browsers, such as video clips on YouTube and other sites.
The Windows Mobile 6.1 OS update brings more useful information easily to hand on Windows Mobile smartphone home screens, simplifying and speeding up access to information and enabling users to respond quickly to new messages, diary update, missed calls, and so on. Access to other features and functions, such as music and... Read more...
iPhones assault teenagers with 'mosquito' ringtone
The high frequency, anti-teenager 'Mosquito' ringtone can now be downloaded to your iPhone via an iTunes podcast
Curmudgeonly iPhone owners who want to keep teenagers away from their precious handset can now download a special high-frequency 'mosquito' ringtone to drive them away.
The so-called 'Teenbuzz' ringtones are in the 17 kHz - 22 kHz range which makes them inaudible to people over 24 but can prove intensely annoying to younger adults and teenagers.
The use of high-frequencies to deter teenagers was recently in the news when a UK inventor patented the Mosquito device to stop young people congregating in shop fronts or bus depots.
The Mosquito ringtone and security device both take advantage of the tendency of the human ear to become progressively poorer at hearing high frequencies as we grow older - a phenomenon known as presbycusis.
The free ringtones are available for iPhone users via the novel method of subscribing to the Teenbuzz... Read more...
Mobile users set to join the mile-high club
Ofcom ruling means that personal mobile phones could soon be used on UK-registered flights
Passengers could soon be making mobile phone calls and sending text-messages while flying on UK-registered aircraft.
The prospect - dreaded by anyone who's winced at the shout 'I'M ON MY MOBILE' while on a packed train - follows a decision by the UK telecommunications regulator Ofcom this week.
The proposal still has to be approved by UK and European aviation bodies but as it stands it would allow passengers to start making calls and sending texts on their personal mobile phones once their plane reaches a height of 3000 metres.
Mobiles would still have to be off or in flight mode when the plane was taking off or landing for safety reasons.
"The safety of passengers is paramount and mobile systems on aircraft will only be installed when they have secured approval by the European Aviation Safety Agency and the Civil Aviation Authority in the UK," Ofcom said.
"If such approval has been secured it will be a matter for individual... Read more...
Nokia 6300i upgrade gets added Wi-Fi and VoIP support
Nokia has anounced an enhanced version of its popular 6300, adding WLAN connectivity and VoIP internet voice calling to the home office-friendly 6300i
Nokia is upgrading its popular 6300 mobile with the 6300i, adding Wi-Fi connectivity and VoIP internet voice calling support among a spread of small business-orientated feature enhancements.
The 6300i's Wi-Fi connectivity enables high-speed web browsing as well as the potential for making low cost VoIP calls, which Nokia reckons makes it ideal for the home office worker. A simple to set up and use VoIP client is promised.
Like the original candybar 6300, the 6300i has a straightforward Nokia Series 40 operating system onboard and is a tri-band GSM GPRS/EDGE model rather than a 3G multimedia phone. It has a 2-megapixel camera, a multi-format music player and an FM radio.
Internal storage capacity has been boosted to 30MB, and a larger 512MB MicroSD memory card will be supplied with the 6300i, with cards up to 4GB supported. The MicroSD card supplied will come with Nokia Maps mapping information pre-loaded, with the navigation and location services application... Read more...
Virgin Mobile Liberty SIM deal offers contract without commitment
Virgin Mobile has introduced its Liberty SIM offering, a SIM-only contract deal with bundled airtime and texts - and just a 30-day notice period
Virgin Mobile has become the latest UK operator to introduce a SIM-only contract deal, offering monthly contract call rates without the burden of a year-or-longer contract tie-in.
The Liberty SIM deal is designed to bring pre-pay style flexibility to contract deals. Newcomers to the Virgin Mobile Liberty SIM deal don't get a phone supplied, just a SIM card, and pay between £15 and £30 a month for their subscription. For this, they receive a bundle of inclusive airtime and texts, like a standard contact customer - but users can cancel their deal with just 30 days' notice.
The £15 a month deal gives user a choice of 300 minutes of airtime and 300 texts, or 150 minutes and 1000 texts; £20 a month deals offer the choice of 450 minutes and 450 texts, or 300 minutes and 2000 texts; £25 a month provides 600 minutes and 600 texts; while £30 a month gets you 750 minutes and 750 texts. Voicemail is free on these deals.
The Liberty SIM... Read more...
Nokia reveals black N82 with picture geotagging
With automatic image geotagging, Nokia's black N82 3G S60 smartphone combines quality 5-megapixel shooting with A-GPS positoning in a powerful package
Nokia is rolling out a new black version of its N82 A-GPS-enabled smartphone, which now enables users to mark their photographs automatically with exact satellite-based location information.
This 'geotagging' shooting feature has been added to a heavyweight feature count that includes a 5-megapixel camera sporting Carl Zeiss optics and a Xenon flash, Symbian S60 smartphone functionality, 3G HSDPA and Wi-Fi connectivity and onboard satellite navigation.
With geotagging, the phone automatically combines picture location metadata from the A-GPS system with camera images. This information, bundled in with the digital image, can then be used to view the place where the image was taken on an online map or on a map on the N82 itself.
N82 users can also share images online directly by uploading them straight to a Flickr account or services like Share on Ovi, or upload its DVD-like quality video clips to YouTube.
The new black version of the N82 will be released... Read more...
O2 teams up with Napster for music download service
O2 has joined forced with Napster for a music download service offering over 5 million tracks and dual downloads to both a mobile and PC
O2 has teamed up with Napster to launch a new digital music download service on O2 Active.
The O2 Napster service will offer its customers a catalogue of over 5 million tracks, plus dual delivery of purchased songs to both mobile phone over the air and to a user's PC via email.
Songs will be priced at 99p each, or 5 for £4. The service, accessible via the O2 Active mobile internet portal, will be initially be compatible with over 30 handsets.
Users of the O2 Napster service will have access to the largest number of downloadable tracks available from any UK mobile network music service. As well as an extensive back catalogue of music, customers will have access to the latest releases, with information on artists and imagery to go with tracks sent to both mobile phones and PCs.
Win a state-of-the-art 16GB Apple iPhone!
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Register your details with Know Your Mobile and we'll put you in the regular draw to win a state-of the-art mobile phone - you get to choose between a 16GB iPhone, an LG KU990 Viewty, a Nokia N95 8GB or a Sony Ericsson W890i.
There's no obligation or cost to you - just click on the Register link at the top of the page (or at the end of this article) and enter your details - including which mobile phone you own.
The only thing we ask is that you leave the the box to receive the Know your Mobile newsletter checked. This will let us you give you the latest news, reviews and updates from the Know Your Mobile - which we can tailor...
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Nokia N96 UK launch date leaked
The new flagship Nokia N96 will arrive in the UK in August - according to Carphone Warehouse's website
Nokia's new flagship GPS-enabled N-series phone - the Nokia N96 - will be launched in the UK in August.
The news about the phone's launch - previously only detailed with a vague 'Quarter 3 2008' - came not from Nokia but from retailer Carphone Warehouse.
The N96 - which will take over as Nokia's top consumer phone from the popular N95 and its 8GB variant - will offer 16GB of built-in flash memory, a 5-megapixel camera, GPS, WiFi and high-speed HSDPA connectivity and the ability to receive DVB-H mobile TV broadcast (if and when it becomes available).
The August launch date - if accurate - means that the Nokia N96 will arrive in the UK at about the same time as the long-awaited 3G iPhone. It should be a very intriguing Autumn...
Read more...BBC rolls out iPlayer onto iPhone
The BBC has launched an iPhone version of its iPlayer online application to stream TV shows to the Apple handset with stunning video and audio quality
The BBC has today launched a Beta version of its online iPlayer application for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch.
If you point your iPhone's browser at www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer and try clicking on some of the programs you should see that some of them now load up at full screen on the iPhone's display.
Coverage is a bit hit and miss - Ashes to Ashes was unavailable though Price Harry in Iraq loaded up fine - but is sure to improve over the coming weeks. It is a Beta release after all.
This is the first version of BBC's iPlayer to appear on a mobile device. The BBC has re-encoded many of its videos from Flash - which the iPhone famously cannot handle - to the more Apple-friendly H264 video codec.
The quality of the programs that are iPhone-compatible is absolutely stunning - the video is encoded at 400 kilobits/second while the audio is a 116 kilobits/second AAC stream. The downside of this high quality is that the videos won't run over EDGE -... Read more...
Apple opens up iPhone with version 2.0 upgrade
Apple iPhone version 2.0 upgrade offers full Microsoft Exchange compatibility and opens up the platform to third-party developers
Apple has made a big shift towards business users for the iPhone by announcing that the iPhone 2.0 software update will bring full Microsoft Exchange compatibility with push email and calendaring functions that match those of the RIM Blackberry.
Apple has also released a full software development kit (SDK) for the iPhone and iPod touch which gives third-party developers the same tools that Apple uses to create native applications that can make full use of the iPhone's capabilities.
That means that instead of the current limited web-only apps, new program