Sony Ericsson G900i touchscreen business phone

The G900i is a slim & stylish 3G Smartphone which is a member of the Sony Ericsson G range. The Sony Ericsson G range includes other 3G Smartphone including the Sony Ericsson G700i. The G900i is a solid candy bar designed handset which is available in a choice of two coloured casing which is a dark red coloured casing which looks quite elegant or a dark brown coloured casing which looks rather contemporary. The handset feels solid without feeling heavy to hold as it weighs ninety nine grams. Its dimensions are slim & compact when considering this Smartphone's built in features. The handset is only 13mm deep by 49mm wide by 106mm tall.

More features of Sony Ericsson G900i

2.4 Inch 262k TFT Touch Screen (240 x 320 Pixels)
5 Megapixel Camera with Auto Focus & 3 x Digital Zoom
Media Player with Album Art
Opera™ Web Browser
Symbian™ OS
3G Technology
WLAN Wi-Fi Technology

Watch out HTC, Here Comes Velocity Mobile

I stumbled across two good looking smartphones in a magazine this afternoon, made by a company called Velocity Mobile. At first glance, given its design, Windows Mobile platform and feature-rich specification, I thought it may have been an HTC powered, rebranded effort. After a little digging, I am finding out that Velocity is a new company based in Seattle/London that designs smartphones and utilizes the manufacturing prowess of China with a top ODM partner in Taiwan known as Inventec.

The two windows mobile smartphones I am referring to are the Velocity 103 and 111. Available Q2-2008 and Q3-2008 respectively. Both models are remarkbly similar in specs: true worldwide 3G (850,1700,1900,2100), Windows Mobile Professional 6.1, WiFi, GPS, BT, 2MP Cam, etc. Model 103 features an awesome 640x320 touchscreen display using trackball while Model 111 is a basic 320x240 display but it comes with a full QWERTY keyboard. Again the design is leaning towards the HTC Diamond (or Sony Xperia X1) which is why I thought of it as a HTC rebadge but this is genuine new product from a new new player.

Based on what I am seeing so far, I am very impressed by its design and specs. Particularly the Model 103 which has VGA resolution that is highly desirable in today's mobile market. I am in the market for a Windows Mobile device for this blog, I will definitely watch out for this phone in the coming months. If they priced unlocked versions around $300, it would just obliterate competition.

MVNO Showcase: KDDI Mobile for the Japanese Americans

MVNO is a tough business. Essentially, you are leasing some network bandwidth from a major wireless telecom, yet, you have to find a niche or provide some competitive edge over the mobile-land-lords. Some MVNOs have come and gone, such as the Disney and ESPN mobile, while a few remains (ie. Virgin, Helio, Boost) but have not made as much of a splash as it should. I ran across another MVNO today called KDDI Mobile which runs over Sprint's network. This company is targeting specifically to Japanese folks living in America. It offers short terms (monthly) or long term (annually) subscriptions which allows both domestic and Japanese calling plans. Its biggest selling point offering services in both English and Japanese (customer service, stores, communications, etc.).

As mentioned earlier, KDDI Mobile is using Spring's CDMA network, which is quite similar to its operation in Japan. They offer a limited amount of LG/Sanyo handsets which runs on Japanese language, which is its big selling point).

KDDI offers three voice subscriber plans (small 200min, medium 650min and large 1,200min) priced at $30-$50-$70 per month. They also have a pre-paid plan which charged $0.12/min on calls and $0.15/text on top of a daily $0.10 service charge. Because it is catered towards Japanese visitors, signing up doesn't require any social security number or deposit. All you need is to have a valid passport and credit card. Its advertising and marketing is very low-keyed; perhaps this is why they can sustain as a business; by just targeting directly at its niche demographic (whereas Helio and Virgin is trying to take on the main stream customers amongst AT&T, Tmobile, Verizon and Spring).

LG KE800 Chocolate Platinum Smart phone

The elegant LG KE800 Chocolate Platinum has been designed beautifully by LG & is also know as the LG Chocolate Platinum & the LG Chocolate 2. The KE800 & is from the same family as the popular LG KG800 Chocolate but although the phone have the same appearance, there have been enhancements made to the specification & built in features of the LG KE800.

More features of LG KE800

Music Player (MP3, AAC & AAC+)
FM Radio
2 Inch TFT 256k Colour Screen
2 Megapixel Camera with Auto Flash
60 Mbytes Memory plus MicroSD™ Memory option up to 2 Gbytes
MMS (Multimedia Messaging)

Launching “the mobile experience” aStore on Amazon.com

As a big fan of mobile devices, I am always in search of the best deals where I can pickup the next gadget. I’ve been sharing some of those sweet deals with my readers as I come across them. A while ago, I’ve decided to dedicate a spot (right hand corner) on my blog to permanently list out some of the best unlocked and contracted smartphone bargains. It has proven to be quite a task to keep the pricing posted correctly, so I’ve decided to put together an “aStore” on Amazon.com for your convenience. So far, I’ve got two categories listed, “contracted deals” and “unlocked deals” for smartphones. In the future, I plan to add other cool findings like accessories, headsets, SD cards and more… all of which will satisfy my personal taste for design and price.

I hope you find this useful and the small commission I make from this store can help me afford more gadgets and toys to review for you. the mobile experience staff are contributing their review on their personal time, because we are not influenced by any corporation, we try to come up with the most practical reviews that are unbiased and no-holds-barred. Thank you for your support and we hope to find more ways to enhance your mobile experience!

Visit "the mobile experience" aStore here!

Review: Case Logic Small Digital Camera Tripod PVT14

People often dismiss the importance of a tripod; and I am not even talking about spending $700 for a full size tripod for your DSLR. Sometimes a small counter-top tripod for your point-n-shoot can benefit your outcome by making up for its slower shutter speed (that causes image destabilization), for example: group-photo, macro shots for your eBay needs, or if you are a blogger, then product review photos can be sharper and more stabilized.

This is exactly why Case Logic 6 PVT14 Small Digital Camera tripod is going to be my new best friend. The going rate for this tripod is about $10 shipped from Buy.com (MSRP $29). I've seen other brands that looks identical so it could very likely be an OEM out of China producing it and reselling them to be branded as various products in the U.S.

This tripod is about 6" in height when its fully collapsed for storage. The structure is completely made of plastic ball joints so it is totally flexible allowing you to position your camera in various heights and angles. Each of the grey rings on the ball joint is made of rubber to provide maximum grip depending on the way you shape its stance. The ball joint offers total flexibility and advantage over other small tripods made of sticks in most extreme scenario, you can wrap the legs around a pole to hang the camera upside down. Enclosed are some photos for your reference.

When I get together with my uncles (whats up Uncle Toby and Uncle Mark) from the West Coast, we love to hunt down some fine cuisines. The point-n-shoot cameras come in real handy to capture those beautiful presentations so we can salivate at a later time. With this tripod, I can take sharper images than before. Tip: to maximize your camera performance, I would set up each shot with a timer as any movement in pressing the down the shutter button can cause the image to be blurry rendering the tripod useless!

I've included some images for your reference, click to enlarge.

Charge 2 or 4 iPods/iPhones with Griffin PowerDock

I've accumulated several iPods over the years. In fact, right now, I've got an iPod 30GB, iPod Nano and two iPhones in my household. When preparing for a trip, making sure all of my devices have been charged has becoming a daunting task. The time it takes to charge your cameras, laptops, cell phones, iPods, iPhone, Gameboy and PSP can take a long time and it becomes a hassle to juggle between multiple chargers as well as finding available outlets.

Griffin Technology just announced the availability of two multi-charging stations that can ease up this process. The PowerDock2 ($49), available today, can support any combination of two iPods or iPhones while the PowerDock4 ($69), available in July, can support up to any four devices. Griffin will include six different adapters to support any size iPod that includes a dock connector.

This looks pretty handy and will definitely provide the solution needed families with multiple iPods and iPhones. I will try to provide a real life review shortly. Stay tuned!

Clear Armor Military Grade Skin for your iPhone, BlackBerry, iPod

Case Mate has a product line called Clear Armor, its an invisible skin/case made of defense grade 3M film that was used for the military. Take a look at the clip below to see the level of protection it offers as they put two BlackBerrys (with and without Clear Armor) into an industrial grade Blendtec blender. This magical film actually withstood the abuse of the the legendary blender.

After watching this clip, I am sold on how tough these defense grade 3M protective films are. From the looks of it, it offers a transparent 360 degree protection for your iPod, iPhone or BlackBerry. It offers protection and good looks, a rare find! (source: Gizmodo)

New iPhone SDK Available Today, Sixth Beta Release

Woke up this morning to find an email from Apple letting me know that a new version of the iPhone SDK is now available. It is the sixth beta release of the SDK and perhaps the last release prior to the hugely anticipated 2.0 release just before the WWDC conference two weeks from now.

Apple requires you to update your OS X to the latest 10.5.3 version prior to installing this SDK package. This will surely stir up even more 3G iPhone and features rumor. I will keep everyone posted as the day goes on. Check back soon.

Blackberry curve 8300 smart phone

This is the smallest blackberry phone which comes with a QWERTY keypad. The Curve 8300 may be small but it still comes with all the user friendly, business focused features that are expected from a BlackBerry Smartphone curve 8300 has a 64mb flash internal memory and supports up to 2Gb cards. The Curve 8300 comes with day to day Smartphone features which include an alarm clock, phone book, organiser, memo pad & task list. The Smartphone comes with a 2Mp camera.
You can play your favorite music with media player. and browse internet with web browser. You can connect internet via EDGE technology.

Blackberry curve features

65k Colour Screen (320 x 240 Pixels)
2 Megapixel Camera
Flash
Camera Settings
Viewfinder Display
Video Player
Video Recorder
Organiser
BlackBerry Maps™
Embedded RIM® Wireless Modem

Samsung F700 smart phone

When you close it’s slider keyboard,Samsung F700 looks like the iphone. The F700's large touchscreen is nice to look at and responsive to touch. Underneath the screen there's a mechanical key, which pops up a shortcut menu. On the top of the F700 there's a power key and charging port next to a 3.5mm headphone jack. It has a 3Mp camera. You can type anything easyer than other phones because F700 has a QWERTY keyboard.
The samsung F700 will give you a great music experience because it has a great media player. It supports many file types. It has small front VGA camera which allows you to get video calls. F700 also supports HSDPA (3.5G) and you can download data much faster

Sony ericsson W910i music phone

if you know about sony ericsson you must know about W-series. This W910i is the latest member of walkmen family. This phone is designed for music as it’s name. you can see it has simple design and there are some music controls in its face. This phone is bit lager than other similar phones because this has large display. This is a slider type phone. I saw some special things in this phone when comparing other recent phones. The menu system of this phones is very simple and user friendly. Also the media menu has updated to graphical way. It is very similar to sony ericsson PSP phones. Oh .. this phone has another very special function like the iphone .it is called an onboard accelerometer so it senses which way you turn it. This has been linked into the Walkman music player, so when you switch the phone from portrait to landscape, the display follows suit. Also, if you hold down the Walkman button at the top of the phone and flick it to the right or left, it'll skip forward or back through your tunes. This W910i supports HSDPA for high speed data downloads and also has twin cameras for video calling. One camera is VGA and other one is 2MP.an also this phone comes with 1GB micro SD card.

Nokia N95-3 Browser Flash Support Test via 20.2.011 Firmware

One of the most exciting features with the recent firmware update for the Nokia N95-3 (RM-160) phones has to be it Flash Lite 3 support. This can potentially unlock so much more mobile experience for its users. Flash support has been one of those highly desirable features challenging almost all smartphones. Currently, to find a smartphone that is fully capable of supporting Flash in a mobile browser is almost non-existent; not even with the high acclaimed iPhone (mobile Safari). One can only hope Skyfire can bring this to reality soon.

As you can see, this feature is quite important for the Nokia symbian S60 3rd edition handsets. Yours truly decided to test out a few websites featuring Flash-rich animations and see how the Nokia browser would handle the flash rendering. The end result is not great; only 1 out of 4 websites I tested worked with some of navigational bugs (won't scroll all the way to the top of page). Take a look at the comparisons for yourself between a desktop browser vs. Nokia browser handling Flash animations.

iSlsk Peer to Peer File Sharing Application for iPhone iPod Touch

Lifehacker reported a new 3rd party application for jailbroken iPhone and iPod Touch. The software, known as iSlsk, can be used to as a limewire-like P2P file sharing client. It enables you to search for MP3s from its network and download it directly to your iPhone/iPod. It is combined with your iTunes library and allows you to playback. The only catch is the song will be wiped away upon your connection with desktop iTunes.

This software is definitely pushing the envelope of making iPhones truly independent portable computer solution. See a clip below of iSlsk in action:

Review of Nokia N95-3 RM-160 Firmware Update 20.2.011

With the much anticipated release of the N95-3 firmware V20.2.011 (aka. RM-160, NAM, North American 3G edition), I must say I am pleased with this new firmware. Overall, Nokia has polished its operating system and made it more efficient as well as more organized. Please find some of my upgrade feedback and screen shots below:

*Faster startup time. Unlike other's posted speed of 19 seconds, it took about 30 seconds for me
*Faster camera load time. It took about 2 seconds to launch but another 2 sec to be ready for shooting (much improved compared to it used to take 10 seconds)
*Flash Lite 3 is now supported in the browser (flash capable... see my screenshot of LouisVuitton Site)!!!
* Integrated Search feature now available right on the homepage screen
* N-Gage Demo is now available
* The Menu icons are more organized, clicked on settings now shows a neatly organized 9 icons. (compared to 15 or so in the past)
* When connected via USB, the "mass storage" mode is now sensibly named "data transfer" mode
* Bug/Conflict: When running Screenshot program, the default "camera" button now triggers the Nokia camera to launch after a screenshot is taken (quick fix is to reassign the button to something else within Screenshot application setting)

Skyfire Secures $13M in Funding

Our favorite Windows Mobile browser, Skyfire, just secured $13M in Series B funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Matrix Partners and Trinity Ventures.

As you can see from our video review in the past, this browser unlocks a Windows Mobile smartphone's true potential and brings it up to the same leveled playing field with mobile Safari. It wasn't until recently, my Nokia N95-3's 20.2.011 firmware upgrade could I have accessed flash in the Nokia browser. I am still anxiously awaiting Skyfire to come out of private beta and release a version for Symbian S60 3rd edition phones.

This is exciting news, with funding and backed by venture partners, I can't wait to see some breakthroughs in their upcoming updates.

Zinio Adds 20 new titles for Zinio iPhone

Zinio announced today that Zinio Labs has made 20 new titles available on the Zinio iPhone and iPod Touch. All titles can be accessed for free at http://www.zinio.com/iphone.Some of these new titles include: * Readers Digest * Elle * Esquire UK * Macworld Spain * Macworld UK * Outside * PC Magazine * Popular Photography * U.S. News & World Report“Our initial iPhone application was extremely well

K-Touch 8 Megapixel Camera Phone from Beijing Tianyu

Is these a phone or camera? One of the famous mobile phone maker in China, Beijing Tianyu Communication Equipment has just announced their In-Xiang series (K-Touch) camera phone. First three models of the series has been introduced, which all powered by 7 and 8 megapixel camera module and 3x optical zoom capability. The company claims to have added the phone functionality into the digital camera,

Nokia Will Allow N-Gage Games License to Be Transferred

Just few days after AllAboutNGage revealed the current N-Gage policy, which only allows you to install the purchased game on single phone, Nokia has released an official statement that they will apply a fix to the current situation and eventually allows you to transfer your purchased license to other phones.Here is the statement released “We have noticed a number of media stories about N-Gage

Opera announced a customized Opera Mobile 9.5 for HTC Touch Diamond

Opera today announced the availability of Opera Mobile 9.5 on the new HTC Touch Diamond. The customized HTC-specific version enables easy one-handed viewing and effortless navigation. Page viewing and panning allows users to scan and navigate pages quickly while Opera Zoom enables users to dive into the page and get closer to the content they want. Turning the device sideways automatically

HTC Expect to Ship 3 Millions HTC Touch Diamond This Year

Instead of previous forecast of 2 million units, a chinese newspaper “Commercial Times” reported that the CEO Peter Chou now expects to see 3 Millions units sold in the next 7 months starting June.Relates: HTC Touch DiamondSource [Digitimes]

Verizon Launches Motorola W755

Verizon has launched the midrange W755 clamshell from Motorola.The Motorola W755 has most of the same features and specs as the RAZR V3m, but adds stereo Bluetooth and external touch controls for controlling music, Bluetooth, and the ringer. Features in common with the V3m include 1.3 megapixel camera, color external display, microSD memory card slot, and GPS navigation. The W755 is available now

Mobile in Japan, a Whole New Class

The mobile market is vastly different when it comes to Japan. They have products and audience of a completely different pedigree. Personally, I am more accustomed to the U.S. mobile standards, but every time I am exposed to the Japanese mobile culture, I can't help to be memorized by its glitzy design and specifications. For the Japanese, a mobile phone is a reflection of a person's individuality. Beyond functionality, the design has to be sleeky and classy. Take a look at the Sony Ericsson W62S.

The design itself is magnificent. With a simple brushed stainless finish, It just looks ages ahead of what is available in our market. The W62S happens to be a GSM phone, I wonder if this can be used in the US?

Verzio Introduces its First HSDPA PDA Phone in Asia

REGIONAL 3C brand Verzio has launched the company’s first 3.5G high-speed packet data access (HSPDA) PDA phone. The Verzio Envii is already available in Philippines since March.Verzio Envii is powered by the Marvell PXA270 processor at 624MHZ. Running on Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0 platform, Verzio Envii gives access to information and operations including Microsofts Office applicantions, media

Touch on Samsung TouchWiz F480

Seoul, South Korea, May 22, 2008 - Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a leading mobile phone and telecommunication equipment provider, today announced the launch of its Samsung F480. With this latest full touch screen mobile, Samsung is able to enhance its position as a leading player in the hugely popular touch screen mobile market.“The F480 is a significant addition to our touch screen mobile

AT&T announced Pantech Breeze

AT&T wireless announced Pantech Breeze.The handset have a large color display with a resolution of 128×160. The quad band Breeze comes with a VGA camera, Bluetooth and uniquely designed quick call keys under the display.The entry level clamshell is priced at $49.99 with a 2 year service agreement.

Nokia N95-3 RM160 Firmware Update 20.2.011

Nokia has jumped the gun in releasing the latest firmware 20.2.011 update for the North American 3G N95-3. It seems like these days, I always find myself re-installing the firmware for this phone. The update is still not supporting Windows Vista or OS X. Basically, it is an XP friendly scenario. This update requires you to 113.5MB prior to installation so make sure you give yourself some time for this major upgrade.

Make a short list of your favorite applications (ie. Nokia Maps 2.0, Geo-Tagger, Screenshot, ec.) and back up your contacts. You'll need to reinstall and sycnhronize everyone once the firmware is flashed. Once again, this is where the benefit of having MicroSDHC expansion comes in handy, so my maps, music and photos are still in place.

Boot time seems to have improved as most people have claimed. I haven't gotten a chance to thoroughly test the new firmware just yet. Stay tuned for more updates!

Google Maps, Nokia N95 & GPS Make Great Mobile Experience

Given today's mobile technology (smartphones with EDGE/3G data, Java support, and basic application support), I would say that the integration between Google Maps, Nokia N95 GPS and 3G Data is one of the best mobile experience I've had.

Its a perfect marriages of functionality and usability. Google Maps application for Nokia is surprisingly robust. It offers the benefit of latest map data and POI over Nokia Maps. With "my location" function, Google uses cell signal and the integrated GPS receiver to approximate my location and provides navigation. Since it uses a similiar technology as the iPhone, I can be located even in areas where I have no GPS satelite exposure (indoors). Finally, if you are outdoors with GPS fix, you can use it to navigate to your searched destination. It does all three things very well and until I got my N95-3, none of my previous phones could do all of these together (ie. Apple iPhone or HTC/AT&T 8525).

Take a look at the screenshot for example. I used "my location" to identify where I am at (white dot) and searched for Starbucks nearby. It showed me a bunch of nearby locations. Now I can choose the closest store or the one on my way to another destination. Some may argue that ths is what a real GPS unit does; while I agree that it s what a good GPS unit should do, but having 3G data offers more benefits: 1). It can pin-point your location even indoors, great for pedestrians planning a walking trip in house, 2). With 3G data, it offers incremental information like traffic, and look up a store information via the mobile browser and 3). You will always have your phone with you, but not always will you carry a pocket-sized GPS unit. Considering my feedback on my OEM GPS system, you can see how I would rely on this solution while I am on to go.

PS - Nokia Maps offer some benefits as well. Having the ability to download the maps to your phone directly gives you even more flexibility when you are not able to connect to the web. I used it for my trip to Asia and it was great to use GPS w/ pre-installed map sets of Taipei, Jarkata and Bali Island. One time, I used it in a subway to check for the closest subway station I needed to get off the train. All because of the benefit of having pre-installed maps on my handset.

Microsoft announces display advertising on Windows Live for mobile services

Microsoft today announced the availability of display advertising across Windows Live for mobile services. Advertisers can now extend their campaigns to social media through Windows Live for mobile in France, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. by creating banner ads that will be visible across Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Hotmail.This builds upon Microsoft’s initial launch of mobile

HTC Touch Dual coming to Best Buy stores

HTC and Best Buy are finally getting ready to make the North American version of the HTC Touch Dual available to U.S. customers.The HTC Touch Dual will come with Windows Mobile 6.1, HTC’s unique TouchFLO touch-based user interface, a 2 megapixel camera and HSDPA network support. $549 (before tax) will leave you if ever you get hypnotized enough to go and purchase this thing.The handset will be on

Nokia 5310 XpressMusic Phone Available at T-Mobile USA

Starting May 28, T-Mobile will start offering the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic which offers a variety of features, including easy-to-use external music controls, stereo Bluetooth connectivity, wired stereo headsets, a USB cable for side-loading music and a memory card. It will be available at $49.99 with a two-year contract.The Nokia 5310 XpressMusic will come preloaded with two exclusive new hits -

Nokia Maps 2.0 Officially Available

Nokia today announced that Nokia Maps is ready for consumers to download. Downloaded over 240,000 times since announced in February, Nokia Maps 2.0 has improved its optional Car Navigation, enhanced its pedestrian navigation, added multimedia city guides, now offers satellite images, and is sporting a redesigned user interface.A new beta version of the Nokia Map Loader is available on the Nokia

AT&T Launches Free Wi-Fi for LaptopConnect Customers

AT&T’s LaptopConnect customers can now access more than 17,000 Wi-Fi hot spots free of charge. Users can access Wi-Fi at nearly 7,000 participating Starbucks locations plus thousands more AT&T Wi-FiSM locations, including restaurants, airports, hotels and other convenient locations across the United States. AT&T also offers free Wi-Fi access to qualifying broadband subscribers. The company plans

Sony Ericsson G702 picks up by FCC

Yesterday the Sony Ericsson BeiBei, Sony Ericsson G702 has just got FCC approved. Other than the model information, pictures of the test copy are posted on the document list as well.The FCC confirms that is has GSM/EDGE 850/1900 as well as Bluetooth radios. There is a 3.2 megapixel camera, M2 memory slot, and roller bar for navigating the screen. The G702 also comes with a red stylus, suggesting

iPass Provides Wi-Fi Connectivity for Windows Mobile 6 Devices; iPhone and Blackberry Support Planned

iPass today announced service availability for Windows Mobile 6 devices. Users of the iPass Mobile Office service for enterprises and iPassConnect mobility service for individuals can now connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi using their Windows Mobile 6 smartphone and handheld devices. iPass plans to support the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch later this year and intends to support Wi-Fi-enabled

FlyTunes Adds Video, Customization for iPhone Users

FlyTunes announced several major changes to its mobile content network, popularized on the iPhone and iPod Touch. FlyTunes is adding video and audio podcasts, a new user interface, and a customizable channel guide.With over 200 new channels available immediately, the new video and audio channels cover a wide range of topics, including news, entertainment, politics, kids & family, health, comedy,

LG KD876 3G mobile phone

During CHITEC 2008 LG Electronics presented its 3G mobile handset KD876,which supports TD-SCDMA, a 3G mobile telecommunications standard in China.The LG KD876 is equipped with 3M and 0.3M cameras.Stay Tuned for more information of this 3G phone.More pictures after you jump

Nokia Music Store in Sweden Now Operational

Nokia announced today that the Nokia Music Store in Sweden has gone live. The Nokia Music Store, with its compelling combination of download and streaming services, empowers you to connect to music you want, in the way you want.With millions of tracks from major artists, independent labels, and up-and-coming Swedish acts, the Nokia Music Store let’s people enjoy music directly on their Nokia

Mobiado Professional 105 ZAF Luxury Phone

The Mobiado Professional 105 ZAF luxury phone is claimed to be the thinnest luxury phone in the world. It is only 10.6 mm thin, nearest competitor Vertu Ascent is only 22 mm. The phone boasts of a 2-inch display with up to 16 million colors, Built-in 2 megapixel camera, over 1GB of internal memory, Bluetooth and microUSB connectivity, Music player with MP3, AAC and eAAC+ music file format

Samsung L870 should be launched in June

Mobile.cz today has received more info about SGH-L870 handset; will be launched next month during Communic Asia on June 17th in Singapore or during Computex show in Taipei on June 03-07.If all the information are correct it seems that the exterior Samsung L870 has been somewhat updated in the meantime. To give it Samsung Soul like appearance, L870 slider has received a similar interactive

Nokia Maps 2.0 Officially Released

Nokia Maps 2.0 which has been in the beta labs for a couple of months has finally been released as a full application update for most Symbian S60 3rd edition handsets. I have been using Maps 2.0 beta for a few weeks. There doesn't appear to be any significant difference going from Beta (2.0_1803_3.1) to full 2.0 release (2.0_2102_3.1).

Installation on my N95 took a solid 10 minutes to complete (which is by far one of the longest installation time I've ever seen). Everything went smoothly as usual. The application launched as usual recognizing the previous downloaded maps off of my MicroSD card. I will give it a test tomorrow morning while walking to work. (Nokia: Maps Info, Download Maps 2.0)

Nokia N95 vs iPhone GPS Shoot-out

Ever wonder how accurate your iPhone's faux GPS function (from firmware 1.4 update) in Google Maps "My Location" would hold up against a real GPS receiver? Better yet, how does it stack up against another smartphone with integrated GPS like the Nokia N95? I wanted to find out for myself so I took both devices out for a shoot out.

iPhone - in its typical fashion, performed quickly via AT&T EDGE network to provide my location. Regardless of where I stood nearby my NYC apartment (in the courtyard, by both sides of 23rd street), it would locate me at the corner of 24th and 10th Avenue.

Nokia N95 - I had the internet connection defaulted to turn off, relying purely on the integrated GPS. In an open space, I can normally get a good fix on the satellites within 2 minutes. This afternoon, however, I cannot even get connected; its possible that the buildings are too tall on my street which blocked partial satellite signals. I sampled it in the same three locations as mentioned above (courtyard, both sides of 23rd Street) and I can't rely on the integrated GPS alone to pick up my location. So I activated Nokia Maps to go online via AT&T 3G network which engaged the Assisted-GPS function (ie. using data network to help getting a location fix assisting integrated GPS receiver). Within 30 seconds, I got a fix. It showed me as if I were on the other side of 23rd Street. See the 3rd image for exact location test results.

There you have it. iPhone's simulated GPS works faster with lesser accuracy. Nokia N95's integrated GPS is slow (which is a known fact, and I've seen better GPS phones) but offers a bit more accuracy and obviously helps you track your location no matter where you move around once you have a fix.