The website of Alex Kinch, live from London
Posts tagged Devices
Skype launch mobile with 3
Oct 29th
Although not officially unveiled until later today, we’ve got all the details of the new Skype mobile – launched in conjunction with mobile operator 3. Ewan will be at the press launch later, so expect pictures soon!
The 3 Skypephone is a fully-featured 3G Internet phone with Skype built-in. In addition to Skype calls the phone makes conventional calls and can be used to access 3′s broad range of other internet services.
The handset was developed by Skype and 3 in partnership with Qualcomm, using Qualcomm’s BREW platform to enable Skype to work with core handset features such as address book and messaging. It’s got 3G, a 2-megapixel camera, mp3 player, mobile TV and internet access.
According to the information available, it’s a “small and shiny” handset, weighing in at a tiny 86 grams, and comes in black or white, with a blue or pink trim. Standby time is 320 hours, with a talk time of 270 minutes or 170 minutes of video calling. The screen is a 176 x 220 2.0″ QCIF 262K colour display, and the handset itself has 16MB of external memory plus room for up to 1GB of microSD memory card (it comes with a 256M card as standard).
Price-wise, the 3 Skypephone will be available from 3Stores or on the web from 2nd November, at £49.99 on pay-as-you-go or free with a contract. You get free Skype to Skype calls included (as expected) as long as you’re on a contract or you top up your credit monthly.
More news as it comes in..
Parrot unveil MMS-enabled photo frame
Oct 24th
In an interesting move, mobile accessories firm Parrot have just unveiled what they’re claiming is the world’s first MMS-enabled digital photo frame.
Digital photo frames are nothing new – there’s quite a few on the market. The concept is simple: chuck one on your mantlepiece or coffee table, pop in a memory card and load some photos up. Where the DF7700 goes further is it’s got a GSM modem built in, and can receive MMS on it’s own dedicated number. Send a picture from your mobile to the frame and it’ll display it at the press of a button.
Like most other digital photo frames, it’s also got a USB port and an SD card slot – and holds over 500 snaps in its internal memory. The device has a 7-inch digital TFT LCD screen, a light sensor, position sensor so it knows whether to display your photos in portrait or landscape mode – plus you can even change the frame to suit the decoration of the room.
There’s no details yet of price or availability, but it should hopefully be out in time for Christmas.
Nokia N81 and N81 8GB start shipping
Oct 22nd
The long-awaited Nokia N81 and Nokia N81 8GB handsets (or, as Nokia call them, “multimedia computers”) are now shipping worldwide.
The most noticable feature with these new handsets is the 3D multimedia menu – which Nokia claims is the first step in their plan to bring a completely new user interface to the Nseries.
“Accessing your portable music and games collection is not enough anymore,” said Jonas Geust, vice president, Multimedia, Nokia. “Today people want to be more in control of how and where they consume their digital entertainment. They want to discover new favorites and share them without being confined to one location – and it’s devices like the Nokia N81 that facilitate this.”
Continuing on the multimedia front, the N81 supports up to 8Gb of memory card, and has a standard 3.5mm stereo headphone jack so you can hook up regular headphones with ease.
The estimated retail price of the Nokia N81 is 360 EUR before subsidies or taxes. The Nokia N81 8GB is expected to retail for 430 EUR before subsidies or taxes.
Nokia unveil the new N810 tablet
Oct 18th
Link: Nokia N810 gets official – Engadget
Nokia unveiled their new N810 Internet tablet at Web 2.0 in San Francisco yesterday – and I must say I’m already considering throwing out my N800 at the first opportunity.
As the model number suggests, it’s not a major upgrade from the N800. It’s got the same size screen as it’s older brother (WVGA 800 x 480 with 65k colours) – although it’s apparently 20% brighter than the one on the N800. The main change seems to be a slide-out QWERTY keyboard – if you’ve used the N800 for any long period of time you’ll know it’s a tad longwinded trying to type stuff in.
More news and specs over at Engadget…
N810 gets free WayFinder navigation software
Oct 18th
Only a matter of hours after Nokia announced their new N810 Internet Tablet, GPS navigation software experts Wayfinder have announced that they’ve got a pre-installed free map application on the phone.
According to the company, the pre-installed free map application means that N810 users get a quick and handy pocket map where one can position oneself on the map and see the direction and distance to any chosen location. Users can even browse detailed street maps and search for locations like addresses, Wi-Fi hot-spots and points of interests (POI’s) and take advantage of associated web links and dynamic information. The map application includes access to free of charge world-wide maps – available and downloadable directly to the Nokia device.
“With its large widescreen touch display, full qwerty key board, integrated GPS and extremely fast Internet connectivity, the Nokia N810 is the top purchase for people seeking voice guided GPS navigation and versatile GPS maps. By combining our award-winning Wayfinder Navigator with this innovative device, we can offer a hard-to-match user experience that can compete with any navigation system on the market” says Magnus Nilsson, CEO, Wayfinder Systems AB.
“Customer feedback about navigation kits for the Nokia 770 and N800 devices has been very positive. Now we wanted to offer even more with the new Nokia N810 by introducing a map application available for our users and offer navigation as a hassle free premium service directly from the device” said Ari Virtanen, Vice President of Convergence Products, Multimedia, Nokia. “The N810 and the map application now take Internet enhanced mapping to the next level thanks to integrated GPS in the device and the Wayfinder solutions know-how, ” he continues.
Ted Baker to launch mobile handsets
Oct 4th
Goodness me…
Link: Ted Baker heads into mobile phone market – Telegraph
Fashion retailer Ted Baker has revealed plans to strut down the high-street into the doors of a very different outfit.
The group has announced it is to team up with The Carphone Warehouse to launch two Ted Baker branded mobile phones next month – with Samsung Electronics and High Tech Computer Corporation.
I did some enquiries. Apparently Ted Baker is hot at the moment.
So I’m going to phone them and see what they’re going to come out with. I hope it’s NOWHERE NEAR any of that Cath Kidson stuff.
Incidentally here is a story about me being nailed-to-the-wall by a Cath Kidson fan.
Cath Kidson = hawker of frilly and flowery stuff.
Avaya and Nokia bring FMC to business
Oct 3rd
Avaya and Nokia today announced the next phase of their strategic collaboration with a solution that provides users of Nokia Eseries business devices with one number access and advanced enterprise telephony capabilities as they travel across private Wi-Fi and public mobile networks. With a single mobile device, workers can ‘handoff” phone calls at the click of a button, using dual mode communications, as they travel from inside a company building (Wi-Fi) to the outside environment (mobile) – and vice versa. This gives workers a more convenient and productive way to manage their communications, while giving organisations a more cost-effective approach to enterprise mobility.
The solution – Avaya one-X Mobile Dual Mode Edition – combines Internet protocol (IP)-based applications with Nokia Eseries business devices – the Nokia E60, Nokia E61 and Nokia E70 models – to deliver the full benefits of FMC. The offering includes a dual-mode device with Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) capabilities that can make and receive calls over both mobile and wireless local area networks (WLAN), both on and off a company campus.For example: when a worker is communicating while roaming inside company walls, the solution uses the company’s communications system and a secure Wi-Fi network. This drives cost savings by eliminating the need to use cellular minutes while at work. When the worker travels outside a company’s Wi-Fi network, they can handoff their Wi-Fi call to the cellular network outside by pressing a button, keeping their conversation going uninterrupted.
An organisation that is using Avaya mobility solutions to keep employees connected wherever they go is CNIPA, the Italian National Centre for Information Technologies in Public Administration.
“We recently planned to introduce VoIP technologies which would see the migration of a million desk phones to IP mode over three years,” said Stefano Paolucci, CNIPA CIO manager, the Italian National Centre for Information Technologies in Public Administration. “We are enthusiastic about the possibility of collaborating with Avaya to provide access to mobility services in our headquarters in Rome. With an easy and quick installation system we are currently using WLAN and GSM dual-mode technologies to provide mobile access to PBX services such as call transfer, call registration and conference calls. Despite the complexity of our building – Mr. Paolucci continues – the communication through the continuous coverage of the Wi-fi network is secured thanks to the various access points located on all floors and the connection from one point to another does not cause any sort of interference during the conversation. Not only has this resulted in increased mobility, but we have also reduced costs.”
‘We’re finding that more and more businesses are using mobile devices in their telephony evolution cycle to deal with an increasingly virtual workforce,” said Nathan Dyer, Yankee Group senior analyst, Enterprise Mobility. ‘Apart from cost-savings, integrated Wi-Fi and cellular devices enable simplified management and greater enterprise control over wireless voice devices.”
Avaya one-X Mobile Edition and Nokia Eseries business devices deliver greater convenience, enhanced functionality, and improved security by giving workers one device for business and personal use, one number call access, and one voicemail message interface. Enterprise telephony features available with the dual mode solution include conferencing, transfer, and extension dialing – key capabilities enabling more productive communications for mobile workers. Security benefits include the ability to authenticate the Nokia Eseries device to a PBX, giving businesses greater control over wireless communications by allowing only authorised users to access the company’s systems.
‘Bringing the functionality of the IP PBX to mobile devices over cellular and Wi-Fi to employees both inside and outside the office is one of the ways mobility is transforming the way business is done,” said Tom Furlong, vice president, Security & Mobile Connectivity, Nokia. ‘Working with a leading IP telephony provider like Avaya to extend their solutions to Nokia Eseries business devices is a key element to realizing the Nokia vision of connecting people using virtually any device over any network to any corporate application or data source.”
‘Embedding Avaya mobility applications with Nokia dual mode technology represents a core part of Avaya’s vision of delivering Intelligent Communications to every worker, regardless of the network they’re on,” said Geoffrey Baird, Avaya vice president and general manager of Appliances, Mobile and Small Systems Division. ‘This unifies a business’ voice applications, devices and networks to simplify communications for enterprise users wherever they go. Greater productivity and savings are just the beginning of the benefits gained with dual mode mobility.”
Avaya will sell the mobile application as part of its IP telephony portfolio through its enterprise channels; Nokia will sell the solution through its operator and other channels. Both companies are investing research, development and marketing resources to realise the enterprise fixed mobile convergence market.
Netsize publish handset tech specs via API
Sep 26th
Link: Netsize Makes Handset Technical Specs Available Via Web API
Mobile messaging aggregator Netsize has launched a new mobile handset technical database.
The service, called mDevices, contains details of handsets, their capabilities, features and functions – and best of all can be accessed remotely in real time via a web-based API.
According to Netsize marketing director Renaud Menerat, “Optimising mobile browsing experience and product merchandising according to devices capabilities may sound trivial or obvious. However with close to 2,500 mobile handsets in the European market and couple hundred new models coming out each year, this information update can quickly become a nightmare for brands and merchants and be of crucial necessity if they wish to propose their consumers a compelling shopping experience on mobile”.
Purple Labs raise $14.5m of initial funding
Sep 25th
Purple Labs, a leading supplier of embedded Linux solutions for the wireless industry, announced today that it secured $14.5 Million USD (10.5 Million €) in an initial round of venture capital funding. This investment comes five months after Sofinnova bought out Purple Labs’ previous Spanish owner. The round was led by Sofinnova Partners (Paris), Earlybird (Munich) and Partners Group (Zurich). The funding will allow Purple Labs to expand its business into new markets and to strengthen the company’s position with existing partners.
Purple Labs was among the first companies in the world to ship a Linux mobile phone fully approved by European network operators. From its beginning as a design center specializing in mobile phone development, Purple Labs has expanded its operation to market and distribute its full, low-cost Linux solution.
‘The open operating systems market for mobile is now taking off and Linux will represent a large market share. Purple Labs has not only a fully operational technology allowing the lowest cost handsets to run on Linux, but also a fully proven technology already embedded in millions of phones,” said Roland Manger, an Earlybird Managing Director.
‘A fast moving market, a proven technology, a strong team, a fine set of investors: we believe these are the ingredients for a recipe of success,” added Jean Schmitt, a Sofinnova Partners Managing Director.
‘Purple Labs has made substantial investments in Linux over the years, convinced of its benefits to design houses, ODM’s and manufacturers looking for a powerful software platform on which to build their future products,” commented Dennis O’Donovan, co-Founder of Purple Labs. ‘We’re pleased to have respected investors validating our technical choice in Linux. We look forward to rewarding their faith in the Purple Labs team.”
With a long history in Linux software development and in depth knowledge of mobile phone design and customization, Purple Labs is in the position to meet even the more demanding needs of its customers. The company offers a complete solution spanning from hardware reference design to a complete customisable Linux software suite, thereby offering customers a true one-stop-shop solution.
Mobile cable woes could be over soon
Sep 23rd
Link: PC Pro: News: All mobiles to share same charger standard
The Open Mobile Terminal Platform (OMTP), a forum of leading phone operators and manufacturers including heavyweights Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and LG, has agreed to make micro-USB the connector standard on all its future hardware.
“With UK consumers changing their handset on average twice a year there are hundreds millions of chargers and data cables in circulation,” says a statement from the group.
On the average day I carry around two data cables and two chargers, plus a Nokia power adaptor (you know the one that adapts the bigger Nokia plug to the smaller one). It’s a total pain in the arse – and would be even worse if I had any non-Nokia devices about my person.
How long will it be before we start seeing the same connector for power and data on all our mobiles? Given the average life of a device, I reckon it’s going to be a few years before one charger and one data cable rules them all.
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