Verizon Wireless XV6800

The Verizon Wireless XV6800 is the ultimate no-nonsense mobile productivity tool, with plenty of functionality for you to do it all on the go. The sleek and stylish XV6800 features a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and trackwheel navigation, and includes:

* Windows Mobile 6 Professional
* Microsoft Office Mobile
* Wi-Fi connectivity
* Bluetooth capability
* 2.0 MP camera with flash and video capture
* Touch screen and stylus

Don’t slow down when you’re on the move. Connect and stay productive with the XV6800.

Verizon Wireless XV6900

Experience the future of mobility with the Verizon XV6900. Powered by Windows Mobile 6 Professional, this phone features an easy-to-use touch screen, 3-D interface, stylish white compact shell, and brilliant new home screen. Customizable and optimized for entertainment, you'll have your games, music, videos, and more at your fingertips with the XV6900

Iron Key Could Be Most Secure Flash Drive Ever

Your data is important to you. The last thing you would want is to have those important documents destroyed in a flood or hijacked by a hacker. The people at ThinkGeek understand. They're pretty geeky about their digital files as well. That's why they are now offering the Iron Key.

Not to be confused with a certain Hollywood blockbuster movie, the Iron Key is a metallic USB flash drive that is "built to withstand attacks both virtual and physical." On the virtual front, the data is protected by a secure password. After 10 incorrect password attempts, the encryption chip will automatically self-destruct, rendering all the contents completely unusable.

On the physical front, I'd imagine that this drive can suffer a fair bit of abuse too. They mention that the innards contain all sorts of epoxy. This way, if someone tries to physically pry the thing apart to get at the chips, "he'd more likely damage them instead."

MacBook Touch Tablet Slated

If you'll cast Newton and ModBook aside for a moment, Apple fans have largely been deprived from the real tablet experience thus far. The end to that deprivation may be near, because there are rumors circulating about a MacBook touch that could hit retail as early as this October. In fact, the leaked statement says that it'll be available by October "at the latest."

Nothing has been confirmed by Cupertino, of course, but they say that this portable computer will get a display similar to the MacBook, except it will be Multi-Touch. The display might be a bit smaller than the 13.3-inches offered on the current MacBook and it will be in glass like the iPhone. Other mentioned features include a gesture library, full Mac OS X, possible haptic technology from Immersion, slot-loading SuperDrive, accelerometer, and GPS.

The best part is that Apple will be able to produce these things cheaply from the get-go, resulting in a "low price that will reduce margins." The net result? A super affordable Mac Tablet.

New Walkman Phones Announced by Sony Ericsson

It's a little hard to believe, but the Walkman line of mobile phones from Sony Ericsson has been around for three whole years already. To celebrate this triumphant milestone, Sony Ericsson has officially announced no fewer than three new Walkman phones.

Starting from the left, we have the Sony Ericsson W302. The musical candybar comes equipped with FM radio and a 2 megapixel camera. Given the model number, we can probably expect a rather affordable price point. In the center is the Sony Ericsson W902. This candybar is a decided step up from the W302, tossing in a 5 megapixel camera and super high sound quality for all the audiophiles in the audience. Last but not least, we have the W595 slider with built-in stereo speakers.

Garmin nuvi 500 Series Handles On-Road, Off-Road

When it comes to most portable GPS navigation devices, you find one of two families. On the one hand, you've got the GPS units that are designed for use in the woods and off the beaten path, operating mostly on longitude and latitude. On the other hand, you have personal GPS navigation devices that are more about driving directions.

Seemingly spanning the great divide between these two families is the new Garmin nuvi 500 series. These rugged and waterproof units feel perfectly at home both on the road and in the forest. The idea is that it can transition between driving, cycling, boating, and walking modes. When you're on the road, you've got turn-by-turn directions. When you're off the road (hiking and geocaching), you can see chart-specific information and topography.

Monster Advanced Headphones on Friday

You may have heard some time back that rap guru Dr. Dre partnered up with the team at Monster Cable to create what they believe to be the most advanced headphones ever. The development wheels got in motion and everyone got pretty stoked at the possibility of listening to Guilty Conscience with some kick-ass ear cans. And now they're here.

Dr. Dre's Beats headphones by Monster (and Geffen's Jimmy Iovine) will be available through Apple retail stores and Best Buy starting on July 25. That's this Friday. The headphones have been in development for three years, so this announcement has been a long time coming. Beats are supposed to "accurate reproduce the entire spectrum of music, just like you would hear in a pair of recording studio headphones." And they look great doing it.

Be prepared to fork out quite the pretty penny for these high-end headphones though

Nokia E71 This Week From Flagship Stores

It's not a BlackBerry, but when you whip out this hot new business handheld in public, you know that's going to be the common public perception. Starting this week, you'll be able to waltz into Nokia flagship stores to get your hands on the Nokia E71.

The latest in a long line of QWERTY-packing smartphones, the Nokia E71 is a dual-band WCDMA (850/1900) phone with GPS, microSD memory expansion, Symbian OS 9.2, Series 60 v3.1 UI, HTML web browser, 3 megapixel camera, video calling, and your usual smattering of personal information management software.

From what we hear, the Nokia flagship store in Chicago already has their hands on the first shipment and has already started to contact customers on the waiting list. If you're on the list, you might be expecting a call soon. Retail is

Samsung BlackJack III (i788)

In many ways, it started with the original Samsung BlackJack. It wasn't exactly a BlackBerry, but the QWERTY-packing smartphone offered a great option for people who wanted a slim Windows Mobile smartphone. Things got a touch better when they unleashed the Samsung BlackJack II, even though the form factor and design remained much the same.

As we anxiously await the arrival of the Samsung BlackJack III, it's good to hear that we can finally attach some sort of timeline to this wait. The current rumor has the BJ3, also known as the Samsung i788, hitting the corporate consumer market this October. The BlackJack III looks much like its predecessors, but that display is now a 320x320 touchscreen.

Other features include Windows Mobile 6.1, 528MHz processor, 3 megapixel camera, A-GPS, Wi-Fi, and HSDPA. More likely than not, you'll find this phone falling into the lap of AT&T and Rogers.

LG KS360

It may not exactly be classified as a smartphone, but the LG KS360 boasts a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard that will certainly make your SMS experience a heck of a lot easier. Using this keyboard, you can keep in contact with all your friends via instant messenger, text messages, and even mobile Twitter.

Other features on this colorful slider include tri-band GSM, a 2.4-inch QVGA display, 2 megapixel camera, 15MB internal memory, microSD expansion, Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0, media player, FM radio, and an 800mAh lithium-ion battery.

The LG KS360 will be available in a variety of different color schemes: titanium and bright blue, white and soft pink, black and red, and black and silver. No word on price.

Bringing the DJ Skills to iPhone for Free

As I'm sure you have heard by now, the Apple App Store is up and running, providing you with all sorts of cool games and productivity tools for your iPhone. Maybe the abacus tool isn't your cup of tea. Maybe you'd rather rock out in a miniature dance club instead.

For those of you who have always dreamed about the lifestyle of a club deejay, you can now get into the action on your iPhone via the new MixMeister Scratch application. The best part about this DJ simulator is that the app is available as a free download through the iPhone App Store. As you can imagine, this music-mixer will also work just find on an iPod touch.

Naturally, MixMeister Scratch is nowhere near advanced as its full-size counterpart, but it's also a lot cheaper. At least you've got "lots of sound effects to entertain and/or annoy your pals."

CDMA Getting Treated to Nokia 3608 Clamshell, 8208 Dual Slider

Nokia has a couple of new offerings for the CDMA crowd and while neither will garner the same attention as a certain handset from Cupertino, they are still worth noting. After all, the CDMA guys in the crowd can't get their hands on that multi-touch wonder anyhow.

First up, we have the Nokia 3608 on the left. This clamshell has dual displays with the main display measuring 2-inches across the diagonal. On the outside of the phone, you'll find a smaller display, touch-sensitive music controls, and a cool red flaring paintjob. Other features include a 1.3 megapixel camera, GPS receiver, FM radio, and microSD expansion.

CDMA HTC Touch Diamond Looks Sharp at FCC Offices

Hot on the heels of the BlackBerry Bold 9000, the CDMA take on the HTC Touch Diamond has managed to survive its paces through the FCC offices, emerging out the other side with that precious stamp of approval.

As you recall, the HTC Touch Diamond, complete with CDMA and EVDO radios, has already been announced by Telus Mobility, so it's not a huge stretch of the imagination to have the iPhone-fighter finds its way into the hands of an American provider as well. This is in line with earlier rumors that Sprint and Verizon were in the running for some Diamond action.

There are no pictures of the device in the FCC documents, but the model number is being displayed as DIAM500.

Affordable Kodak Zi6 Pocket Camcorder Does 720p High-Def

RCA Small Wonder. Flip Video. Creative Vado. Flip Mino. There are a lot of these pocket camcorders bandying around these days, but the one advantage that the new Kodak Zi6 will have over them is its ability to record high-definition video.

It won't do 1080p, but this little pocket camcorder is perfectly capable of capturing 720p HD video at 60fps. That's mighty impressive, assuming that the image quality turns out half decent. The kooks at Gizmodo gave it a whirl and they determined that the video "looked great" when projected onto a 40-inch flat panel TV.

Aside from high-def video, the Kodak Zi6 can also do lower quality VGA video and regular stills. The SDHC slot will swallow cards up to 32GB and power comes by way of rechargeable NiMH AA batteries. Look for the Kodak to launch this September for $180.

Samsung Instinct is Best-Selling Handset in Past Two Years

Although it may be a little overshadowed by a certain phone dreamed up by Steve Jobs, the Samsung Instinct is actually doing very well for itself in the marketplace. In fact, it's doing better than just about every other phone out there in terms of sales.

Best Buy recently sent out a press release stated that the Instinct has become "the retailer's best selling handset in the past two years." It's selling better than any other phone sold through the big box electronics retailer. Will that change if Best Buy starts selling the iPhone 3G? Maybe.

I wonder if the haiku contest has anything to do with it. Will the Canadian launch through Telus and Bell be just as successful? We'll find out in a couple of months.

Live Look at Sony Ericsson W302 "Feng"

Cell phone companies are typically pretty creative when it comes to the codenames for their upcoming handsets. HTC is known for calling its phones everything from Hermes to Wizard. RIM is working on the BlackBerry Thunder and Javelin. Sony Ericsson was supposed to bring us Paris, but now it has apparently turned its musical attention over to a handset called the Feng. Maybe it's the name of the designer...

In any case, the Sony Ericsson W302 "Feng" will be one of the newest entries into the company's Walkman line of mobile phones. The slim candybar, as you can tell from its model number, is going to attack the low-end to mid-range end of the market. Features include a 2 megapixel camera (no flash or autofocus), A2 software, and a 176x220 pixel display.

You can expect Feng to find its way into the hands of retailers in the middle of October. I don't know about you, but I'm more interested in the Xperia hiding behind the SE W302.

No.new 3G phones for T-Mobile (yet)

Remember last October when T-Mobile launched the Samsung SGH-T639? Though the carrier lacked a 3G network at the time, the SGH-T639 debuted with support for 3G UMTS services. When we asked T-Mobile what was up, a representative responded by saying that the SGH-T639 "is positioned to be among the first devices to take advantage of a future UMTS network." No, we weren't satisfied with that answer, either.
Subscribers using one of those handsets shouldn't need to do anything besides turn on their phones. As T-Mobile said in a statement, "The phones are designed to automatically connect to the best available network (3G or GSM/GPRS/EDGE)." What's more, 3G use will be free for the time being. That's great news for anyone already using one of those models, but other customers will have to trade up if they want to use the new network.

Samsung announces new mobile

The Symbian Smartphone show at London displayed many a showstopper - the Samsung i550 was one such from Samsung's stable. With a candy-bar design, the new mobile is based on Symbian OS. Based on S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 1, users can choose from thousands of apps from the S60 library.

This is the first mobile from Samsung to pack in smart nav GPS feature. You can choose your GPs mode - activate voice and get turn-by-turn guidance while driving or find your way around specific locations and directions by switching to pedestrian mode.

NYC on 2 Nokias

A couple of weeks ago, I took the family on a trip to New York City. We got a pretty good deal on travel in the form of a package deal from Hotwired.com that included four round-trip tickets and two hotel rooms for about $600 per person for a four-night, five-day visit. The purpose of the trip was to attend a family event, see relatives and friends, and spend a bit of time in the city.

Livescribe Launches

Livescribe today unveiled a new chapter in mobile computing - a new paper-based computing platform. The Livescribe platform turns plain paper into a computer screen and bridges the gap between the paper and digital worlds. The platform enables a broad range of new applications in personal productivity, learning, communication, and self expression. The Livescribe platform includes: Smartpen, Dot Paper with Dot Positioning System (DPS), Software Applications and Development Tools. Just slightly larger than a Montblanc, Livescribe’s smartpen is designed to replace the everyday pen as a user’s primary writing instrument. The possibilities for paper-based applications are endless. Livescribe’s first key application is “Paper Replay.” When taking notes during a discussion or lecture, the smartpen records the conversation and digitizes the handwriting, automatically synching the ink and audio. By later tapping the ink, the smartpen replays the conversation from the exact moment the note was written. Notes and audio can also be uploaded to a PC where they can be replayed, saved, searched and sent

SCH-B550, the new Samsung mobile

The SCH-B550 has many other features, such as the DMB mobile TV, an MP3 player, a 2Mpix camera, Bluetooth…This phone is only available in Korea.

Siemens SX45i

Siemens has earned itself a reputation as a mobile phone maker, thus it's only fitting that the company is one of the first to put a hybrid PDA-mobile phone device on the market; the Siemens SX45i is an update to the SX45, which delivers on the promise of not only integrated GSM but also GPRS capabilities in a device that's also a PDA. Also; it's the first color device to offer such integrated functionality, except for Nokia's 9210 and the Motorola Accompli 009.

The SX45i is a combination of PDA and mobile phone for mobile business communication. Based on Microsoft’s Pocket PC operating system, the SX45i with an integrated GSM/GPRS phone is set to redefine the standard of mobile voice and data based communication. The SX45i brings seamless integration of PDA and mobile phone functionality allowing the sending and receiving of e.g. emails or SMS in one compact device.

Motorola V70 Phone

Simply amazing and amazingly simple. The sleek, micro-sized design of this phone, coupled with the incredible swivel motion of the flip, truly reflects an amazing attention to detail and passion for communications. The black, easy-to-read display allows you to view the screen even with the phone closed. Dialing in the dark is never a problem with the translucent Motoglo keypad. Other features include: GPRS * , voice-activated dialing, microbrowser * , 3 pre-loaded games, up to 1000 phonebook / date book entries, and SMS*.


Motorola introduces in June the V70 mobile phone. The small phone features a unique swivel motion of the flip cover. The display is always visible. The keyboard is glowing in the dark. The celebs on this years Academy Awards receive the V70 in their Gift bags

Pogo Mobile Technology in U.K

Pogo has developed a unique platform to provide high-speed web access over existing GSM and GPRS networks.

It enables the delivery of existing rich-media web sites and provides real, usable access to web-based email services, such as Freeserve, Yahoo! mail and Hotmail.

At the heart of the Pogo platform lies our unique compression algorithms, which produce an average compression ratio of 6:1 for standard websites, and we have 2 separate patents pending to protect this core Intellectual Property.

The complete platform consists of three main modules – each providing our network partners with increasing levels of commitment to enabling a new generation of mobile data services on their existing networks:

1. Browser/Gateway combination

2. Email/Contacts data store and synchronisation process

3. Low-cost, colour-screen mobile devices

As part of the product development and in order to demonstrate the potential of this web-based platform, we implemented all three of these modules by launching our own handheld device into the UK market in February 2002.

Initially available exclusively through The Carphone Warehouse, this trial has proved that mobile users will make good use of wireless access to the real web if they are enabled to do so (ARPU figures available on request).

Selling for anything between 100 and 350 GBP depending on subsidies and contracts, the device measured 150 mm across diagonal, 20 mm deep and weighed 240g (8.5 oz.).

Despite the initial Pogo product only supporting GSM, Pogo Mobile Solutions also aims to incorporate support for GPRS in its offerings.

When applied to standard GSM mobile networks, this breakthrough innovation provides real-time access to the web at an effective download rate of more than 56kb/s. And over GPRS networks, the download speeds range between 100kb/s and 150kb/s - using only two timeslots.

Palm Tungsten T Mobile

The Tungsten T's most immediately noticeable feature is its sliding front panel, a first for a Palm OS device. The handheld slides in half, the bottom part of the device sliding up to cover the Graffiti area in "Compact" mode and sliding down to reveal a standard, silk-screened writing area. When in compact mode, the Tungsten T measures 101 x 77 x 15 mm (HWD), making it the shortest Palm OS device to date. When opened, it extends to 121 mm. When it is open, the Tungsten T is about the same length and width as a typical Palm OS handheld and slightly thicker than the Palm V design.

- Palm Tungsten T handheld with its 320x320 reflective TFT color display supports more than 65,000 colors.
- The new five-way button makes it easy to navigate application
-support Bluetooth
-OPERATING SYSTEM use Palm OS 5
- PROCESSOR Texas Instruments OMAP� 1510 (ARM) processor
- HOTSYNC CRADLE USB Cradle with power supply (120 VAC, 60Hz)

Nokia 7600 phone as its second 3G phone. Running on Nokia's Series 45 platform, the device incorporates a 16-bit (65, 536 colours) screen and offers functionality such as capturing pictures and videos, sending and receiving multimedia messages, mobile e-mail and listening to music.

Nokia 3650 New Moblie

Nokia's 7650 will no longer be the only Series 60 phone; meet the youth-targeted Nokia 3650 sporting tri-band GSM, GPRS, Bluetooth, MMC expansion, a 12-bit color display and MMS.
The 4096-color screen and icon-based navigation have all been designed for easy video (Camcorder) and picture shooting and sending.You can capture video clips with Camcorder and play them with RealOne Player. Send, receive, and forward multimedia messages, download JavaTM and Symbian applications, and talk on five continents.

The Nokia 3650 phone weighs 130 g, and comes with an 850 mAh Lithium ion battery where the Nokia 7650 only has a 650 mAh battery, giving 3650 a talk time of up to 4 hours hours, a standby time of up to 8 days and a faster charging time of approximately one hour. Also, user-changeable Xpress-on covers which will be shipping along with the 3650 in early 2003 will be available to allow owners to personalize their handset as with other youth-targeted phones from the company.

A Better Look at BlackBerry Thunder and Its Music Player

Large touchscreen displays and integrated media players seem to be all the rage these days. Research in Motion's initial entry into this arena will be the BlackBerry Thunder and we've got the first glimpse at its music player.

As you know, the BlackBerry Thunder will be the first BlackBerry to feature a full face touchscreen display. It's also the first BlackBerry to be missing a standard keyboard of any kind, relying instead on that touchscreen for all of your input. The only hard buttons are the four along the bottom for call, menu, back, and hang up.

The BlackBerry Thunder (aka BlackBerry 9500) will have a carrier-specific music player, granting you the ability to purchase new songs on the fly. Strangely, the Thunder will not have Media Sync like the BlackBerry Bold. At least you'll be able to watch videos in landscape.

Playing Portable NES Games on an NES Cartridge

What will they think of next? A member of the BenHeck forums has taken it upon himself to shove all the internals needed to run full-blown NES games into the tiny confines of a classic NES cartridge. If the system is the cartridge, where do you insert the games?

Well, you don't need to insert any games, because this "enterprising individual" has shoehorned no fewer than 99 games into this single cartridge. I think that most of us have enjoyed one of these multi-game packs in the past, but I don't think any of us have actually played those titles on the cartridge itself.

Power comes by way of three N-cell batteries, which are commonly found in certain scientific calculators. The start and select buttons are hidden on either side of the bottom notched portion. If this is the trend, would it be possible for someone to shove 99 games into a DS cartridge at some point in the future?

Sony Ericsson W595 Linda Follows in Footsteps of W580

Sliding its way into the realm of spyshot superstars is the Sony Ericsson W595 Linda. Sony Ericsson has already proven that it has a long pedigree of fantastic music phones and the Linda appears to be no exception. The W595 looks to be the spiritual, if not official successor the W580, a phone that is already available through AT&T and Rogers Wireless.

In terms of specs and features, you should expect full Walkman capabilities (it is a W-series phone after all), FM radio support, Walkman 3 player, A2 software platform, pre-installed Google maps, and some sort of camera. There's also mention of a 3D accelerometer, possibly for gesture-based music controls.

Although all we really have is a leaked photograph, word on the street has it that Sony Ericsson will launch the W595 Linda some time this month. That's pretty soon!

iPhone Gets Unofficial Support for Flash Lite

Adobe and Apple haven't exactly kissed and made up over the whole iPhone Flash situation just yet, so a rogue coder has decided to take it upon himself to bring Flash Lite to the Apple iPhone. Thomas Joos of Belgium doesn't have a perfect port of Flash Lite and his creation is far from having any sort of official endorsement from Cupertino or Adobe, but it seems to be working just fine.

In the video embedded below, you can watch as Thomas walks you through at least one website that is powered by Flash. The support does not come natively, as he has go through b.Tween and eyeGT in order to get Flash to go on the iPhone. I wonder if he'd able to slip this into the upcoming AppStore without anyone noticing...

ML-A608

Dual SIM card, dual standby, dual blue tooth
Dual battery design for never-off use
Can be used as Universal Remote ControlFM radio
MP3, MP4 playback
Attractive housing design
2.4' TFT touch screen display

MG-T806

Dual SIM, dual standby,dual bluestooth
1.3M camera built-in
FM radio with high volume
TV shortcut key for easy TV mode access
Multi-language
3.0' TFT touch screen display

MZ-T700

Single SIM card, single standby
Blue tooth V2.0
TV receiption
FM radio. Portable media player
1.3M pixel camera built-in
Multi-language
2.6' TFT touch screen display

Handsets

Nokia is currently the world's largest manufacturer of mobile phones, with a global device market share of approximately 40% in 2008. Other major mobile phone manufacturers (in order of market share) include Samsung (14%), Motorola (14%), Sony Ericsson (9%) and LG (7%).[3] These manufacturers account for over 80% of all mobile phones sold and produce phones for sale in most countries.

Other manufacturers include Apple Inc., Audiovox (now UTStarcom), Benefon, BenQ-Siemens, CECT, High Tech Computer Corporation (HTC), Fujitsu, Kyocera, Mitsubishi Electric, NEC, Neonode, Panasonic (Matsushita Electric), Pantech Curitel, Philips, Research In Motion, Sagem, Sanyo, Sharp, Siemens, Sierra Wireless, SK Teletech, Sonim Technologies, T&A Alcatel, Huawei, Trium and Toshiba. There are also specialist communication systems related to (but distinct from) mobile phones.

There are several categories of mobile phones, from basic phones to feature phones such as musicphones and cameraphones, to smartphones. The first smartphone was the Nokia 9000 Communicator in 1996 which incorporated PDA functionality to the basic mobile phone at the time. As miniaturization and increased processing power of microchips has enabled ever more features to be added to phones, the concept of the smartphone has evolved, and what was a high-end smartphone five years ago, is a standard phone today. Several phone series have been introduced to address a given market segment, such as the RIM Blackberry focusing on enterprise/corporate customer email needs; the SonyEricsson Walkman series of musicphones and Cybershot series of cameraphones; and the Nokia N-Series of multimedia phones. The Apple iPhone is another example of a multimedia smartphone.

Main article: Mobile phone features

Mobile phones often have features beyond sending text messages and making voice calls, including Internet browsing, music (MP3) playback, memo recording, personal organizer functions, e-mail, instant messaging, built-in cameras and camcorders, ringtones, games, radio, Push-to-Talk (PTT), infrared and Bluetooth connectivity, call registers, ability to watch streaming video or download video for later viewing, video calling and serve as a wireless modem for a PC, and soon will also serve as a console of sorts to online games and other high quality games. The total value of mobile data services exceeds the value of paid services on the Internet, and was worth 31 billion dollars in 2006 (source Informa).[citation needed] The largest categories of mobile services are music, picture downloads, videogaming, adult entertainment, gambling, video/TV.

Applications

The most commonly used data application on mobile phones is SMS text messaging, with 74% of all mobile phone users as active users (over 2.4 billion out of 3.3 billion total subscribers at the end of 2007). SMS text messaging was worth over 100 billion dollars in annual revenues in 2007 and the worldwide average of messaging use is 2.6 SMS sent per day per person across the whole mobile phone subscriber base. (source Informa 2007). The first SMS text message was sent from a computer to a mobile phone in 1992 in the UK, while the first person-to-person SMS from phone to phone was sent in Finland in 1993.

The other non-SMS data services used by mobile phones were worth 31 Billion dollars in 2007, and were led by mobile music, downloadable logos and pictures, gaming, gambling, adult entertainment and advertising (source: Informa 2007). The first downloadable mobile content was sold to a mobile phone in Finland in 1998, when Radiolinja (now Elisa) introduced the downloadable ringing tone service. In 1999 Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo introduced its mobile internet service, i-Mode, which today is the world's largest mobile internet service and roughly the same size as Google in annual revenues.

The first mobile news service, delivered via SMS, was launched in Finland in 2000. Mobile news services are expanding with many organizations providing "on-demand" news services by SMS. Some also provide "instant" news pushed out by SMS. Mobile telephony also facilitates activism and public journalism being explored by Reuters and Yahoo![4] and small independent news companies such as Jasmine News in Sri Lanka. Companies like Monster[5] are starting to offer mobile services such as job search and career advice. Consumer applications are on the rise and include everything from information guides on local activities and events to mobile coupons and discount offers one can use to save money on purchases. Even tools for creating websites for mobile phones are increasingly becoming available, e.g. Mobilemo.

Mobile payments were first trialled in Finland in 1998 when two coca cola machines in Espoo were enabled to work with SMS payments. Eventually the idea spread and in 1999 the Philippines launched the first commercial mobile payments systems, on the mobile operators Globe and Smart. Today mobile payments ranging from mobile banking to mobile credit cards to mobile commerce are very widely used in Asia and Africa, and in selected European markets. For example in the Philippines it is not unusual to have your whole paycheck paid to the mobile account. In Kenya the limit of money transfers from one mobile banking account to another is one million US dollars. In India paying utility bills with mobile gains a 5% discount. In Estonia the government found criminals collecting cash parking fees, so the government declared that only mobile payments via SMS were valid for parking and today all parking fees in Estonia are handled via mobile and the crime involved in the activity has vanished.

Mobile Applications are developed using the Six M's (previously Five M's) service-development theory created by the author Tomi Ahonen with Joe Barrett of Nokia and Paul Golding of Motorola. The Six M's are Movement (location), Moment (time), Me (personalization), Multi-user (community), Money (payments) and Machines (automation). The Six M's / Five M's theory is widely referenced in the telecoms applications literature and used by most major industry players. The first book to discuss the theory was Services for UMTS by Ahonen & Barrett in 2002.

The availability of mobile phone backup applications is growing with the increasing amount of mobile phone data being stored on mobile phones today. With mobile phone manufacturers producing mobile handsets with more and more memory storage capabilities the awareness of the importance in backing up mobile phone data is increasing. Corporate mobile phone users today keep very important company information on their mobiles, information if lost then not easily replaced. Wireless backup applications like SC BackUp offer users the chance to backup mobile phone data using advanced wireless technology. Users can backup, restore or transfer mobile data anytime, anywhere all over the world, to a secured server.

Media

The mobile phone became a mass media channel in 1998 when the first ringing tones were sold to mobile phones by Radiolinja in Finland. Soon other media content appeared such as news, videogames, jokes, horoscopes, TV content and advertising. In 2006 the total value of mobile phone paid media content exceeded internet paid media content and was worth 31 Billion dollars (source Informa 2007). The value of music on phones was worth 9.3 Billion dollars in 2007 and gaming was worth over 5 billion dollars in 2007 (source Netsize Guide 2008).

The mobile phone is often called the Fourth Screen (if counting cinema, TV and PC screens as the first three) or Third Screen (counting only TV and PC screens). It is also called the Seventh of the Mass Media (with Print, Recordings, Cinema, Radio, TV and Internet the first six). Most early content for mobile tended to be copies of legacy media, such as the banner advertisement or the TV news highlight video clip. Recently unique content for mobile has been emerging, from the ringing tones and ringback tones in music to "mobisodes" the video content that has been produced exclusively for mobile phones.

The advent of media on the mobile phone has also produced the opportunity to identify and track Alpha Users or Hubs, the most influential members of any social community. AMF Ventures measured in 2007 the relative accuracy of three mass media, and found that audience measures on mobile were nine times more accurate than on the internet and 90 times more accurate than on TV.

Power supply

Mobile phones generally obtain power from batteries which can be recharged from a USB port or from mains power or a cigarette lighter socket in a car using an adapter (often called battery charger or wall wart). Formerly, the most common form of mobile phone batteries were nickel metal-hydride, as they have a low size and weight. Lithium-Ion batteries are sometimes used, as they are lighter and do not have the voltage depression that nickel metal-hydride batteries do. Many mobile phone manufacturers have now switched to using lithium-Polymer batteries as opposed to the older Lithium-Ion, the main advantages of this being even lower weight and the possibility to make the battery a shape other than strict cuboid. Mobile phone manufacturers have been experimenting with alternate power sources, including solar cells.

In addition to the battery, most cellphones require a small microchip, called a Subscriber Identity Module or SIM Card, to function. Approximately the size of a one-cent postage stamp, the SIM Card is installed underneath the battery in the rear of the unit, and (when properly activated) stores the phone's configuration data, and information about the phone itself, such as which calling plan the subscriber is using. When the subscriber removes the SIM Card, it can be re-inserted into another phone and used as normal.

Each SIM Card is activated by use of a unique numerical identifier; once activated, the identifier is locked down and the card is permanently locked in to the activating network. For this reason, most retailers will refuse the return of an activated SIM Card.

Those cell phones that do not use a SIM Card have the data programmed in to their memory. This data is accessed by using a special digit sequence to access the "NAM" as in "Name" or number programming menu. From here, one can add information such as a new number for your phone, new Service Provider numbers, new emergency numbers, change their Authentication Key or A-Key code, and update their Preferred Roaming List or PRL. However, to prevent the average Joe from totally disabling their phone or removing it from the network, the Service Provider puts a lock on this data called a Master Subsidiary Lock or MSL.

The MSL also ensures that the Service Provider gets payment for the phone that was purchased or "leased". For example, the Motorola Razr V9C costs upwards of CAD $500. You can get one from Bell Mobility for approximately $200. The difference is paid by the customer in the form of a monthly bill. If, in this case, Bell Mobility did not use a MSL, then they may lose the $300–$400 difference that is paid in the monthly bill, since some customers would cancel their service and take the phone to another carrier such as Telus, or Verizon. This would eventually put the carrier or in this case, Bell Mobility out of business.

Cellular systems

Mobile phones send and receive radio signals with any number of cell site base stations fitted with microwave antennas. These sites are usually mounted on a tower, pole or building, located throughout populated areas, then connected to a cabled communication network and switching system. The phones have a low-power transceiver that transmits voice and data to the nearest cell sites, normally not more than 8 to 13 km (approximately 5 to 8 miles) away.

When the mobile phone or data device is turned on, it registers with the mobile telephone exchange, or switch, with its unique identifiers, and will then be alerted by the mobile switch when there is an incoming telephone call. The handset constantly listens for the strongest signal being received from the surrounding base stations. As the user moves around the network, the mobile device will "handoff" to various cell sites during calls, or while waiting (idle) between calls it will reselect cell sites.

Cell sites have relatively low-power (often only one or two watts) radio transmitters which broadcast their presence and relay communications between the mobile handsets and the switch. The switch in turn connects the call to another subscriber of the same wireless service provider or to the public telephone network, which includes the networks of other wireless carriers. Many of these sites are camouflaged to blend with existing environments, particularly in scenic areas.

The dialogue between the handset and the cell site is a stream of digital data that includes digitized audio (except for the first generation analog networks). The technology that achieves this depends on the system which the mobile phone operator has adopted. The technologies are grouped by generation. The first-generation systems started in 1979 with Japan, are all analog and include AMPS and NMT. Second-generation systems, started in 1991 in Finland, are all digital and include GSM, CDMA and TDMA.

The nature of cellular technology renders many phones vulnerable to 'cloning': anytime a cell phone moves out of coverage (for example, in a road tunnel), when the signal is re-established, the phone will send out a 're-connect' signal to the nearest cell-tower, identifying itself and signalling that it is again ready to transmit. WIth the proper equipment, it's possible to intercept the re-connect signal and encode the data it contains into a 'blank' phone -- in all respects, the 'blank' is then an exact duplicate of the real phone and any calls made on the 'clone' will be charged to the original account.

Third-generation (3G) networks, which are still being deployed, began in Japan in 2001. They are all digital, and offer high-speed data access in addition to voice services and include W-CDMA (known also as UMTS), and CDMA2000 EV-DO. China will launch a third generation technology on the TD-SCDMA standard. Operators use a mix of predesignated frequency bands determined by the network requirements and local regulations.

Mobile phone

The mobile phone (also called a mobile, wireless, cellular phone, cell phone, or hand phone(hp))[1] is a short-range, portable electronic device used for mobile voice or data communication over a network of specialized base stations known as cell sites. The first commercial mobile phone service was launched in Japan by NTT in 1979, and by November 2007, the total number of mobile phone subscriptions in the world had reached 3.3 billion, or half of the human population (although some users have multiple subscriptions, or inactive subscriptions), which also makes the mobile phone the most widely spread technology and the most common gadget in the world.[2] In addition to the standard voice function of a telephone, current mobile phones may support many additional services, and accessories, such as SMS for text messaging, email, packet switching for access to the Internet, gaming, bluetooth, infrared, camera with video recorder and MMS for sending and receiving photos and video. Most current mobile phones connect to a cellular network of base stations (cell sites), which is in turn interconnected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) (the exception is satellite phones). The first mobile phone to enable internet connectivity and wireless email use, was the Nokia Communicator released in 1996 and created a new category of expensive phones called smartphones. In 1999 the first mobile internet service was launched by NTT DoCoMo in Japan under the i-Mode service. By 2007 over 798 million people around the world accessed the internet or equivalent mobile internet services such as WAP and i-Mode at least occasionally using a mobile phone rather than a personal computer.

ML-T808

Dual SIM card, Dual standby
Dual blue tooth
1.3M pixel camera built-in
TV receiption
FM radio. Portable media player
Multi-language
2.8' TFT touch screen display

Acer Aspire One Mini-Laptop Spotted in the Wild

And let the competition begin. The market is about to get flooded with all sorts of alternatives to the Asus Eee PC and it seems like one of the latest entries comes from our friends at Acer. To be named the Acer Aspire One, this mini notebook shares much of its appeal with the other subnotebooks out there.
Details are really slim at this point, but we do hear the the Acer Aspire One gets equipped with an 8.9-inch display. That happens to be right in line with the MSI Wind and the Eee PC 901. The rumored resolution of the display is 1024x768, but since it looks more like a widescreen, it could be 1024x600 instead.
The Acer Aspire One will be powered by Windows XP SP3, though the provided shot seems to depict a different interface. Perhaps there are other OS options or maybe this is a media center overlay. The Aspire One is being built by Quanta, the same notebook ODM as that used by HP, Dell, and Apple. Look for more information (and possible European availability) to come in a few weeks.

Samsung Soul Cell Phone Gets Barred For Release

The Samsung Soul is the flagship handset for Samsung and now the Korean manufacturer is ready to expand on that segment of its lineup. Not everyone likes the slider form factor found on the original Samsung Soul, so they've decided to announce a bar phone called the Soulb. No, that's not a typo.
The Soulb, or "Spirit Of ULtra Bar" (get it?), boasts the same metallic body as its slider counterpart. The brushed metal certainly gives this phone an air of elegance and exclusivity. Because it's a bar phone, the Samsung Soulb is remarkably slim with just a 9.9mm profile too.
Going down the specs, you'll find tri-band GSM, HSDPA 3.6Mbps, 2-inch QVGA display, 3 megapixel camera with power LED, HTML browser, RDS FM radio, Bluetooth, 3.5mm audio jack, 1GB internal memory, microSD expansion, and an office document editor. Look for the Samsung Soulb to launch in Germany in early June.

Emergency Power from IOGEAR GearJuice Rescue Charger

Oh no! My cell phone is running low on power and there isn't a wall outlet in sight. I don't want to miss that all important phone call. This could be a matter of life or death!

If you ever find yourself in a situation where you are desperately in need of some extra power for your portable electronic device, be sure to bring along the GearJuice Rescue Charger from IOGEAR. The tubular device can give your cell phone up to 15 minutes of additional talk time and it is able to provide some extra power to just about anything that uses a mini-USB connection.

Nokia N96 Superphone Shipping in July, Priced at $1200

Announced at the 2008 Mobile World Congress (formally known as 3GSM) earlier this year, the Nokia N96 is supposed to be one crazy smartphone. As it turns out, this handset has a price tag to match.
The Nokia N96 is currently available for pre-order from Play.com and they have the Symbian smartphone listed at 599.99 GBP. That works out roughly to $1,200. For the same amount of money, you can buy two N95 smartphones instead. I guess that's the price you pay to stay on top of technology.
Among the features found on this flagship Nseries are a 5 megapixel camera, quad-band GSM, WCDMA, WiFi, GPS, and DVB-H mobile television. There are less expensive phones with similar features, I'm sure, but there is definitely something alluring about the N96. Play.com says the phone should ship by July 31st

Comparison: HTC Touch Diamond vs. Apple iPhone vs. Sony Xperia X1

We've seen blurry pictures of all three handsets. We've seen reasonably clear photos of all three devices. Never before have we been able to gather all three smartphones into one convenient location. That is, until now.
CNET Asia has snapped a series of photographs that directly compare the HTC Touch Diamond, the (non-3G) Apple iPhone, and the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1. The photo shoot gives you a good indication as to the relative proportions of the three devices as well as the distinct differences in their user interfaces. Interestingly, two of the three devices depicted are made by HTC.
The three most talked about touchscreen phones share a lot of elements, like having a large touchscreen, but they've got plenty of differences too. The XPERIA X1 is the only one with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, but it is also the bulkiest as a result. The smallest and thinnest of the trio is the Touch Diamond.

The mobile phone

The mobile phone (also called a mobile, wireless, cellular phone, cell phone, or hand phone(hp))[1] is a short-range, portable electronic device used for mobile voice or data communication over a network of specialized base stations known as cell sites. In November 2007, the total number of mobile phone subscriptions in the world reached 3.3 billion, or half of the human population, which also makes the mobile phone the most widely spread technology and the most common gadget in the world. In addition to the standard voice function of a telephone, current mobile phones may support many additional services, and accessories, such as SMS for text messaging, email, packet switching for access to the Internet, java gaming, bluetooth, infrared, camera with video recorder and MMS for sending and receiving photos and video. Most current mobile phones connect to a cellular network of base stations (cell sites), which is in turn interconnected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) (the exception is satellite phones). Since the mid-2000s, an increasing number of cellphones can connect to the Internet, a portion of which can be navigated using cellphones.

Smartphones

AT&T BlackJack™ II
Sleeker, smarter, and even simpler to use than its predecessor, the BlackJack II by Samsung is the only mobile device you’ll ever need. The new version of this stylish smartphone takes the BlackJack to a new level of functionality with:
Built-In GPS support.
Windows Mobile 6 operating system
Faster 3G downloads
Larger 2.4-inch display.
The BlackJackII smartphone also features:
A full QWERTY keyboard
Front jog wheel for easier scrolling
World roaming capability with tri-band HSDPA
2.0MP camera
The BlackJack™ II is available in two colors — black and wine red.
The Windows Mobile 6.1 update will be available this year. Your mobile operator will announce the update availability.

Nokia launches two new XpressMusic handsets

Nokia today unveiled two new XpressMusic devices, the 5320 and the 5220.

Both devices include the usual dedicated music keys, and they also support 24 hours of music playback and a 3.5mm audio jack for headphones and speakers to be plugged into.

The 5320 is a 3G handset that features a voice-controlled ‘Say and Play’ feature, so users can say the name of a favorite artist or song to automatically play it. It also has extendable memory up to 8GB, HS-USB for fast music transfer and HSDPA for access to data.

With no 3G capability, the 5220 (pictured) appears to be aimed at emerging markets. The device has an asymmetrical design with a built-in lanyard to make it easy to carry.

Nokia unveils updated versions of high selling 6500 range

Nokia has announced three new devices, the Nokia 6600 fold, 6600 Slide and the Nokia 3600 slide.

The manufacturer says all three handsets ‘present a smooth, minimalist design and have an appealing array of easy-to-use features.’ The devices will range in price from 175 - 275 EUR before taxes and subsidies and are expected to start shipping during the third quarter of 2008.

The handsets appear to be intended to take over the baton from the Nokia 6500 Slide and 6500 Classic, which have consistently been two of this year’s best selling handsets.

Mikkel Drucker, connect devices director at Nokia, said: ‘There is a strong consumer demand for mobile handsets that blend elegant looks with modern features. We believe the three devices are both beautiful to use and beautiful to behold – and offer a range of choice.’

The Nokia 6600 fold has a 2.13’’ OLED screen which displays up to 16 million colours and can be turned off standby mode with a double tap of the screen. The same motion can also silence or reject incoming calls. The 3G device has a 2 megapixel camera and will be available at around 275 EUR excluding taxes.

Meanwhile the 6600 Slide is one of its ‘smallest sliders to date’ according to Nokia and will be available at around 250 EUR before taxes. It offers the same double tap options as the 6600 fold, but has a better camera than its contemporary, with 3.2 megapixels. However, unlike the ‘fold’ it appears not to have 3G capability.

The third release, the Nokia 3600 slide, offers a 3.2 megapixel camera and has a built in music player that holds up to 3000 songs. It will cost around 175 EUR before tax.

Nokia 7900 Crystal Prism

User Interface

* Series 40 3rd Edition
* 5-way navi-key
* Light enhanced user interface
* Flight mode

Camera and video
Camera and video

* Integrated 2 megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom
* Flash modes: on, off, and automatic
* Video recording and playback in QCIF, 3GPP, H.263, and MPEG-4 codecs and formats

Display
Display

* 2 inch OLED (organic LED) display 16 million colors 240 x 320 pixels display

Applications
Applications

* Java™ MIDP 2.0
* Nokia Sensor is a spontaneous, sociable application using Bluetooth that allows you to communicate with other Sensor phones.
* Over-the-air (OTA) download of Java™-based applications

Browsing
Browsing

* WAP* 2.0 xHTML/HTML multimode browser
* OMA (Open Mobile Alliance) DRM (digital rights management) 2.0 for secure content downloading


*Please note that this service is operator dependent
Connectivity
Connectivity

* Bluetooth 2.0
* MicroUSB connector for charging and data transfer with USB 2.0
* Local and remote SyncML data synchronization

Data Transfer
Data Transfer

* GPRS: Multislot Class 32
* *EGPRS: Multislot Class 32
* WCDMA with simultaneous voice and packet data
* CSD (circuit-switched data) for browsing and as data modem


*Please note that these services require network support
Digital Services
Digital Services

* Over-the-air (OTA) downloads for MP3, MIDI, video, and true tones ringtones, plus themes, wallpapers, and screensavers

Messaging
Messaging

* Text messaging: Supports concatenated SMS, picture messaging, and SMS distribution list
* Audio messaging: Record your own voice message and send it to compatible devices
* Nokia Xpress audio messaging: Send a spontaneously recorded voice clip via MMS
* Predictive text input: Support for all major languages in Europe

Memory Functions
Memory Functions

* 1 GB built-in memory

Music
Music

* Stereo music player for MP3, AAC, and eAAC+ music files with up to 9 hours playing time

Personal Information Management (PIM)
Personal Information Management (PIM)

* Push email with attachments
* Alarm clock
* Notes
* Countdown timer
* To-do list
* Calendar

Ringtones and Wallpapers
Ringtones and Wallpapers

* Supported file formats: MP3, video, AAC, and 64-chord/voice polyphonic MIDI ringtones
* 2 new static & 2 new living wallpapers designed by Frédérique Daubal

Power Management
Power Management

* Battery: BL-6P (Li-Ion)
* Capacity: 850 mAh
* Talk time: Up to 3 hrs
* Stand-by: Up to 240 hrs


*Operation times vary depending on the network, SIM card and usage
Sales package contents
Sales package contents
The availability of the product and its features depends on your area and service providers, so please contact them and your Nokia dealer for further information. These specifications are subject to change without notice.

Nokia 2680 Finally Makes Slider Phones

Nokia is no stranger to slider phones. We've seen (arguably) terrific devices like the Nokia N81 and the 6500 Slide. Those things are quite the lookers and they come with formidable feature sets. But what about people who don't want to spend too much money on a phone? Nokia's sliding solution to that question is the newly revealed Nokia 2680.

As its model number implies, this is definitely an entry-level handset. There have been other reasonably affordable slider phones from Nokia in the past, but they were only affordable when you opted in to one of those "get it cheaper with contract" kind of deals. The Nokia 2680, on the other hand, has been designed from the ground up for entry-level (possibly even "emerging") markets.

They've kept the profile on this slider phone reasonably slim and it's got a feature set to match. You get FM radio, VGA camera, MP3 ringtones, Bluetooth, WAP 2.0, quad-band GSM, and the S40 interface. Look for the Nokia 2680 to start shipping in Q3 with an estimated retail price of 75 Euro.

Panasonic Plasma Displays Coming to AT&T Mobile Phones

We already know that AT&T plans on launching their MediaFLO-powered mobile television service soon and now word has gotten out that Panasonic will be offering cell phones for that service that come with plasma video displays. Yes, you read that correctly. You are essentially get a plasma TV in the palm of your hand.

They're probably not quite as good as the huge plasma TV you have in your living room, but the Panasonic cell phones will use "new low-voltage plasma technology" that is lightweight, thin, and incredibly compact. The goal is to rival OLED displays for brightness, contrast, and thinness. The kicker is that these mini plasma TVs can be manufactured for less money than their OLED counterparts.

Chunky Sidekick-Sized MIU HDPC Is a Pocket Computer

Who cares if the Macbook Air is the world's thinnest laptop? While the MIU HDPC might look like a bit of a porker, it has to be one of the most powerful devices given its relatively small proportions. It's almost pocketable at 6.4 x 2.6 x 0.96 inches, but it seems to offer a lot more than what many smartphones and PocketPC devices are able to offer.

For starters, the MIU HDPC comes equipped with a reasonably large 4-inch touchscreen display, in addition to the smaller screen on the outer shell. Processing comes via the 1GHz Via C7M ULV CPU and it gets backed by up to 4GB of DDR2 memory, Windows XP and/or Linux Qplus embedded OS, and a pair of USB ports. You get a choice of either a 60GB hard drive (wow) or a 4GB solid state drive, either of which can be expanded via the miniSD/microSD card slot. Rounding out the specs are a 5.0 megapixel camera, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 2.0.

Better still, the battery life sounds pretty impressive. Even at "high power", the MIU HDPC keeps trucking for seven hours at a time. Dial it down to low power settings and you can enjoy up to 90 hours of mobile computing. The MIU HDPC is priced at $500.

Verizon Wireless Flips Out with Motorola VU30

Could it be that Motorola is finally giving up on the four capital letter naming scheme for their phones? What you see here is the upcoming Motorola VU30, a flip phone destined for arrival at Verizon Wireless this summer. From what I can gather, the Motorola clamshell will take on a roundish form factor not unlike the PEBL.

Details are pretty slim at this point, so we can't really say what sort of features this phone will have. Even so, I'm thinking that it's going to be an entry-level handset with a spec sheet and price tag to match. This probably means that it will get things like a low-resolution camera and maybe, if you're lucky, a multimedia player too.

The round buttons are a bit of a departure from what Motorola usually does with their phones, but I still don't think they're quite there yet when it comes to revitalizing the mobile division. Oh, and when this phone arrives at Verizon, it probably won't be called the VU30 anymore, seeing how Verizon likes names like Venus and Voyager

BlackBerry 8820 with GPS and Wi-Fi Confirmed by T-Mobile

Here's some good news for all the T-Mobile subscribers in the audience, because the pink-themed mobile operator has confirmed that it will indeed be getting the BlackBerry 8820. As you recall, this is the lovely QWERTY-packing device that comes equipped with both Wi-Fi and GPS.

The good thing about having Wi-Fi built into this latest version of the BlackBerry Curve is the fact that it can then take advantage of T-Mobile's Hotspot@Home service, helping you reduce the minutes racked up on the cellular network. The GPS side of things is taken care of with the preloaded TeleNav navigation software. The major feature missing from this handset is a camera, no doubt because of demands from enterprise users.

The BlackBerry 8820 will sell through T-Mobile for a price of $350, assuming you're willing to lock 'er down for a two-year contract.

Jabra's Mono A2DP Bluetooth Headset is Exercise in Futility

You could say that Jabra knows a thing or two about Bluetooth headsets, but this has got to be an industry first. When most people consider listening to music on their cell phones, they'd love the opportunity to cut the cords and listen through a set of wireless headphones. In order for this to work, you'll need Bluetooth A2DP.

Up until now, most (if not all) stereo A2DP Bluetooth headsets provide sound to both of your ears, but the Jabra BT8040 is a mono wonder. In this way, it looks more like a conventional Bluetooth headset, but you are perfectly capable of bobbing one side of your head to "What is Love"... baby, don't hurt me.

Yeah, pretty weird eh? The reasonably small mono Bluetooth headset is actually stereo A2DP compliant, even though it only sends sound through one ear. I wonder if you can pair two of them to get a pseudo-stereo effect.

Video Review: HTC Shift X9000 with CDMA

It's not really a laptop, but it's not really a smartphone either. The HTC Shift X9000 fits somewhere in between and it can now hop onto Sprint's high-speed EVDO network for Internet connectivity anywhere you go. At $1500 through Amazon, the America-friendly version of the Shift is far from being the cheapest option on the block.

Laptop Mag had the opportunity to take the QWERTY-packing UMPC out for a test run and they conclude that it's a "valiant first effort from HTC." They applaud the web surfing experience offered by the Shift, saying that it is better than the OQO model 02 and the Samsung Q1 Ultra. Unfortunately, the keyboard isn't the best and the "somewhat sluggish CPU sometimes has a hard time keeping up with Vista, especially with multiple applications open."

In this way, you may be better off going cheaper (and smaller) with something like the Asus Eee PC or going bigger with something like the Macbook Air or Asus W7S-B1B. The $1500 asking price doesn't help either.

Import Contacts to iPhone From SIM Card

After you've managed to get through the unlocking and jailbreaking process for the iPhone, it seems like everything is great until you hit up the contact list and notice that it is empty! There has to be a way to import your contacts from a SIM card, right? Well, it's not a first-party solution, but the iPhone is perfectly capable of reading contacts on a SIM card.

The third-party application is called SIMport and, as you can probably imagine, it ports all the contacts from your SIM card over to the iPhone. The process takes just three simple steps -- outlined here -- and then you'll be calling and texting in no time. Best of all, SIMport is free.

An alternative is a program called iSIM. The trial version of iSIM only ports one contact at a time and you need to pay for the upgrade to do more. Pay?! Perish the thought.

Mobile Microscope Powered By Your Cell Phone

Sometimes it's just not possible to bring a sample into the lab for investigating, so what is a researcher to do when they want to take a nice close look at something? Some researchers from Berkeley have created a rather interest contraption that connects to just about any cell phone, offering up to 60x magnification. That's right, it's a high-powered mobile microscope.

They have developed two microscopes for this purpose and the 60x one is the stronger of the two. The idea is that these add-ons can capture the detail of cancerous cells, malaria parasites, and other microscopic things that would not otherwise be visible to the naked eye. Perhaps the best application is for doctors making house calls in remote areas. The images captured by the smartphone can then be emailed directly to the lab for immediate analysis.

This, of course, assuming that the camera on your phone is of a reasonable resolution to begin with. Even so, the LED-self-illuminating module costs a reasonable $75 to build using off-the-shelf parts. Good work, docs. Good work. Initial test are scheduled for this summer in Uganda.

Latest Alltel Phone Isn't That A-Muse-Ing

It certainly won't win any innovation awards, but the Samsung Muse does everything it needs to do and it seems to do it well. That's good news for Alltel Wireless customers who want a decent music phone without having to break the bank in the process.

Featuring a classic slim clamshell design, the Samsung Muse comes with dedicated touch-sensitive music controls underneath the outer display and these controls are almost hidden under the wonderfully glossy finish. I hope that these light up when in use. If MP3-listening isn't your thing, the Muse also has a free trial of 20 XM Radio stations.

Other highlights include a 2 megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, microSD slot, GPS-capable with Axcess Mobile Guide preloaded, and high-speed EVDO. Pick one up for $90 when you sign a two-year service agreement.

Motorola MOTOMING2 A1600 Not Launched

We already know that Chinese manufacturers have a habit of creating product clones, releasing MP4 players that bear a striking resemblance to the iPod or iPhone. Interestingly, although the Motorola A1600 -- known as the MOTOMING2 -- has not officially launched, it seems like the prototype has already gone on sale in China. It's like having a "real" knockoff before the official product even becomes available.

From what we can gather, the second-generation MOTOMING is very much like its predecessor. You get quad-band GSM/GPRS connectivity with no mention of 3G to speak of. Thankfully, the MOTOMING2 does appear to have Wi-Fi for when you want a speedier data connection. Running on a Linux OS, the Motorola A1600 gets a "faster" processor, 3.2 megapixel camera, aGPS receiver, talking dictionary, and three pre-loaded games.

Measuring a mere 17.5mm in thickness, the Motorola MOTOMING2 A1600 does not yet have an official price point.

Gets Ready to Nab Nokia N78 Smartphone Candybar

My brother is the proud owner of a Nokia N73 and he loves all that Symbian-powered goodness. After he takes a gander at the Nokia N78, however, he may be inclined to do the upgrade. For other people interested in the Nokia N78, there could be some good news coming down the pipeline because AT&T could be adding the Symbian smartphone to their lineup.

The Nokia N78 has a beautiful piano black finish, but that's not the main reason why you'd want this phone. It's because it's got US-friendly 3G bands and this is a strong indicator that Nokia wants AT&T to have it. The user manual for the N78 also seems to point in this direction. With the N95 also rumored to be AT&T-bound, the iPhone could be in for some competition from its stablemates.

Other features on the his slick candybar include a 3.2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, aGPS, and FM radio.

Das iPhone Arrives in Austria and Ireland

And Apple is further extending its reach with the multi-touch enabled cell phone. The Apple iPhone is now available in Austria through T-Mobile and in Ireland via the O2 network. The popular cell phone has already been available in the United States for some time now and it has also launched in several European countries like France and Germany.

It was only a matter of time before "das iPhone" showed up in Austria and the luck of the Irish brought the iPhone over to Ireland as well. The pricing, unfortunately, is a fair bit higher than what Americans are paying for the exact same handset. The 8GB model sells for 399 Euro, whereas the 16GB version goes for 499 Euro. That works out to about US$777 for the 16-gigger.

To make matters even more expensive, the Austrian version of the iPhone cannot be loaded with unlimited data. The best plan is 39 Euro a month and it gets you 3GB of data, 1000 minutes, and free WiFi. You can step that up to 55 Euro to get the same 3 gigs, 3000 minutes, and 1000 text messages.

Verizon Launches Motorola Z6cx World Edition Phone

When you sign up with a GSM provider, you get a phone with a magical SIM card slot. Assuming that you can unlock your phone, all it takes to use your phone with an international provider is to swap out the SIM card. The process is nowhere near as easy with CDMA providers like Telus and Sprint.

Verizon Wireless is promoting worldly travel with the recent announcement of the Motorola Z6cx World Edition Phone. It's basically the the same as the Motorola Z6c which is also available through Verizon, except that the Z6cx has a SIM card slot for when you're traveling abroad. As you can expect, the only GSM bands supported are the non-American ones.

The trade-off for this worldly capability, unfortunately, is that you lose the 2 megapixel camera. So, you've got to ask yourself, what's more important? Taking pictures or seeing the world?

Gartner Grants iPhone "Appliance-Level" Status for Business Types

And Apple has scored itself another coup. When the iPhone was first released last year, many corporate types said that it would not be appropriate for business. Even NASA said it was no good. Around this time, Gartner too said that the iPhone wasn't business worthy, but now the company is singing a different tune. This is largely because of the upcoming enterprise-friendly iPhone 2.0 update. Go SDK, go?

Gartner is a company that many firms trust for budget spending recommendations, and what mobile phones they hand out to their employees is a significant piece of advice. Directing this information at IT buyers, Gartner has granted the iPhone what they call "appliance-level" status. This means that the the iPhone is a-okay for "PIM, e-mail, telephony and browsing applications."

Part of the reason why corporate America was hesitant to adopt the iPhone was because it didn't really stack up against the BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Symbian S60 smartphones of the world. With this endorsement, now it does.

Sony Ericsson S500i Copper Mobile Phone

The Sony Ericsson S500i Copper is a slim, stylish fun phone with lots of exciting features. This slide camera phone has a 2 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom. It is also a media player for music and video, and can be listened to wirelessly using bluetooth connectivity. The Sony Ericsson S500i Copper is a Quad Band phone with a battery powerful enough to allow 9 hours of talk time or up to 370 hours on standby. It comes with 12 MB memory which can be expanded up to 2 GB by using a memory stick.

LG KE850 Prada Silver Mobile Phone

Super sexy design combined with high-end technology, the Prada phone from LG offers both style and performance for the fashion conscious. It has full touch-screen control with a wide LCD screen and an integrated 2 mega-pixel digital camera with auto-focus, video capture and flash. You can enjoy all your favourite tunes on the MP3 player and connect wirelessly to your PC or accessories with Bluetooth.

Samsung G600 Mobile Phone

The Samsung G600 is a slim and sleek slider phone. This mobile phone has a 2.2 inch 240x320 pixel colour screen with 16 million colours. It has a 5 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom, LED Flask and White balance. The Samsung G600 has a music player with stereo FM radio and bluetooth for wireless connectivity. It is a Quad band phone with GPRS and EDGE.