Posts in Mobile Phones
Another memory format--you will use it, or else
John Chan | Sep 18, 2007
In a joint press release, several major mobile phone manufacturers have announced that they will be collaborating on a removable memory format to be finalized in 2009. This will be done with JEDEC, a developer for standards for the solid-state industry.
What does this mean for you? Well, look at it this way--the mobile phone companies involved here are Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson. Together, these companies account for more than half of all mobile phones sold in the world currently.
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Apple event today, time your watches
Damian Koh | Sep 18, 2007
Rumors on the Web have been rife of a 3G iPhone for Europe at the "Mum is no longer the word" press conference in London today. We suppose our UK colleagues are already rubbing their hands in glee and probably having a sleepless night right now. We're happy for them (really!) because if the announcement is indeed on a 3G or HSDPA-enabled iPhone, it means those of us in Asia would probably get the same version and not the ancient EDGE handset. That's if and when it comes. Or would His Jobness pull another stunt revealing a 12-inch MacBook Pro? Gah.
Whatever it is, it's happening at 4pm in Bangkok, 5pm in Singapore/Beijing/Hong Kong, 6pm in Seoul/Tokyo and 7pm in Sydney/Melbourne, local time.
Armani phone isn't exactly dressed to kill
Mike Yamamoto | Sep 17, 2007
There have been a bunch of busy little bees at Samsung's luxury phone division of late. Not only are they coyly working on the release of the "Serenata" handset, the successor to Bang & Olufsen's controversial "Serene," but they're also hard at work on the anticipated Armani phone that has stirred a bit of buzz as well.
Yet the mysterious designer handset has finally been revealed--and it's apparently somewhat underwhelming. The new Armani phone made an appearance at a dealer show in Holland, according to UK-based Pocket-lint, and it's basically Samsung's SGH-P520 model that's already been announced. Talk about a letdown.
It's not that the P520 is a slouch--the triband handset has a touch screen, 3-megapixel camera and Wi-Fi connection options in a sleek iPhone-like casing--but it doesn't have nearly the wow factor of other fashion-house phones, such as Prada's, and it's certainly more mundane than Samsung's B&O experiments. But perhaps that's an important point to note: With so many partnerships in the works, maybe Samsung's designers simply ran out of ideas.
Via CNET Crave
Apple schedules London press event, iPhones expected
Tom Krazit | Sep 14, 2007
Apple will take its keynote show on the road to London next week, with speculation mostly centered on the carriers for a European iPhone.
The company sent out invitations to a Tuesday press conference, but didn't specify the topic. "Mum is no longer the word" was the tagline attached to this invitation, stirring up talk across the pond that Apple is ready to announce its plans for European iPhone sales. The company has previously said that it wants to start selling iPhones in Europe by the end of the year.
The Times Online reported that Peter Erskine, CEO of wireless carrier O2, didn't quite confirm that his company was about to start carrying the iPhone. However, he told reporters that Apple's insistence on receiving a share of the carrier revenue from calls made with the iPhone--as Apple does with AT&T--is actually a good thing for the wireless industry, apparently practicing for calls with his shareholders later this year.
Previous reports had indicated that O2 would be the UK carrier of the iPhone, but O2 representatives would not comment on Thursday to The Times Online. The Financial Times had also reported that Apple had chosen T-Mobile's network in Germany and Orange's network in France, but it's not clear whether Tuesday's event will be just about the Brits.
Apple's forays into Europe will be very interesting, given the quality and quantity of mobile phones in that market. It's likely to produce the first 3G-based iPhone, and it's likely to be a much tougher go for Apple amid stronger competition and choosy shoppers. The company plans to enter the Asian market--also way ahead of the US mobile phone industry--in 2008.
This story first appeared on CNET News.com.
StarHub partners ShoZu get chummy with Web 2.0
Damian Koh | Sep 13, 2007
Alarm bells ring and our inhouse Nabaztag's ears swirl whenever we come across words like "free" and "unlimited". That's the good thing about having a tech pet in the office. It prevents us from succumbing to the treachery of the pay-without-knowing syndrome.
And it seems like one Singapore telco, StarHub, is making a beeline for media-sharing enthusiasts' wallets with its new unlimited uploading service. The catch is you have to be a postpaid customer with the operator and there's a flat S$5.35 monthly fee. Dubbed ShoZu Access, the client-based application allows the user to upload content to popular Web 2.0 sites from their mobile phones without incurring extra charges, other than the monthly fee, of course. And it will run on most Symbian S60, Nokia Series 40, Windows Mobile 5 and 6 handhelds and those which support Java MIDP-2.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to upload content to the Web from a mobile phone. For example, Nokia has added Flickr support to its Nseries handhelds since April 2006, while Sony Ericsson has a blogging option that allows users to post content directly onto their sites. But to be able to upload unlimited content over the air for a low fixed monthly cost, StarHub claims this to be a first in Asia and Singapore.
You'll probably go "whatever" if you've secured a permanent seat in a free Wi-Fi zone or on an unlimited data plan, but this is something worth looking at if you have neither.
Click on the thumbnails for larger screenshots:
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