Nokia Nseries gets Skype integration

What do you know. A clutch of new smartphones, updated features for Nokia Maps, a US$10 million Open Screen Project fund and it's very own Ovi Store aren't all the Finnish outfit is showcasing at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Skype and Nokia have today announced a partnership to integrate the VoIP app into the address book on the Nseries devices, starting with the N97 in the third quarter this year. There will, however, be two batches of the S60 5th edition smartphone as the N97 will be available earlier in June. That means existing N97 users will get the Skype app via a software update when this is ready in Q3.

No word on which other devices will come with Skype, though Nokia replied our query that this will be made "available to a select number of Nseries devices". (Duh.)

The one Aura to rule them all

Perhaps we are missing something here, but after witnessing a hemorrhage of shiny new devices from the Mobile World Congress yesterday, Motorola is literally taking glitz to the next shimmering level with a diamond-encrusted Aura. Designed by Alexander Amosu, the limited-edition Diamond Aura is encrusted with 99 stones (1 carat equivalent), comes with a 24-hour concierge service, all for a king-sized ransom of US$7,094. We're not sure if Moto is trying to pull a Vertu here, widely known for its luxury lineup and concierge service that puts a team of mere mortals service staff at your beck and call, round the clock, for a year. If the sticker shock hasn't gotten to you yet, blurry onsite pictures are available after the break.
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Huawei to launch Android handsets

BARCELONA--Chinese handset maker Huawei Technologies said Monday at the GSMA Global World Congress 2009 here that it plans to start selling phones using Google's Android operating system later this year.

Details about the upcoming phones are still scarce. But the company said it's partnering with a design consultancy company. The device is still in development and is expected to hit the market in the third quarter of this year.

Huawei is a large telecommunications equipment maker that has been manufacturing handsets it sells to wireless operators, which then resell the devices under their own brands.
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Flash 10 coming to most smartphones in 2010

A full-fledged version of the Adobe Flash player is coming soon to a whole slew of smartphones. Unfortunately, Apple's iPhone isn't one of them.

Adobe announced at the GSMA Mobile World Congress here Monday that Flash Player 10, which is the full version of Flash that runs on PCs, will be available on smartphones running Windows Mobile, Google's Android, Nokia S60/Symbian, and the new Palm operating systems. Devices with Flash Player 10 are expected to hit the market starting in early 2010.

The company has worked for years on a lightweight incarnation of its Flash technology for mobile phones. Adobe executives said that about 40 percent of all phones that are shipped today use this version of its technology. But because Flash Lite doesn't allow for the same functionality as what's available on the Flash 10 desktop version of the technology, mobile users are missing out.

In November, Chief Technology Officer Kevin Lynch told attendees at Adobe's Max conference in San Francisco that the company would bring the full-fledged Flash Player 10 to smartphones.
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Modu phone jackets: Slip into something more functional

You remember Modu? That's the Israeli company that makes the tiny modular cell phone that we first saw at last year's GSMA World Congress. The concept is simple: Insert the Modu into one of several "jackets" and it becomes a fully functional phone with real controls. Each jacket, which is really just a handset shell, will bring a different design and feature set. You can change them at will to match your mood and needs.

Well, just to show you that's it's really not vaporware, the company will be showing four new jackets next week in Barcelona. Each offers a different design theme and varying features. Check out the Modu photos below to see the new jackets in all their glory.



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