Palm Pre to be exclusively sold by O2 in the UK
The mighty Palm Pre will be announced in the UK next week, as previously reported. And, surprisingly or not, it will be sold exclusively through O2, the carrier that reportedly managed to get exclusivity on the smartphone for several other markets. According to The Guardian, O2 fought for the GSM Pre with Orange, and eventually [...]
HTC Hero approved by FCC, AT&T 3G bands included
Last week, when HTC announced its brand new Hero Android smartphone, the Taiwanese company said nothing about a North American release. However, it’s highly probable that the Hero will be launched both in the US and in Canada. For this to happen, the smartphone first needs the FCC’s approval – and it just got it, [...]
The European Union drops plans for new cell phone taxes
In December last year, the EU Commission proposed the introduction of a new tax that would have raised the price of navigation-enabled phones with 3.7%, and the price of mobile TV-enabled phones with 14%. Luckily, Reuters reports that the European Union dropped the plans for the new taxes, as member countries voted against it today. [...]
Nokia Ovi Maps 3.0 out of beta; Ovi Contacts now supporting touch phones
We’ve got two announcements coming from Nokia today, regarding Ovi Maps and Ovi Contacts. First, Nokia has released the final version of Ovi Maps 3.0 for mobile. We don’t know what’s new in Ovi Maps 3.0 – other than the fact that it’s not a Beta application anymore. But you can download it from this [...]
LG aims for #2 spot by 2012, plans new “Black label” iPhone competitor, Prada III phone and extreme premium brand
LG has made some pretty impressive strides in a cellphone market during these last few years. With the demise of Motorola and the problems ailing Sony Ericsson last year, they’ve even managed to become #3 cellphone maker in the world. And LG does not plan to stop here. In an interview to Yonhap News Agency, [...]
NTT DOCOMO launches PayPal-like service for mobile phones
NTT DOCOMO, Japan’s leading mobile carrier, has announced the upcoming availability of a new PayPal-like service that will offer customers an easy and quick way of sending money to other DOCOMO subscribers, via a DOCOMO phone. The new mobile remittance service will be available starting July 21. It will allow users to remit up to [...]
Microsoft selects agency to create ad campaign for the WM7 Pink phone
It looks like that rumored Microsoft Pink phone is a real device after all. According to AdWeek, McCann’s T.A.G. ad agency was selected by Microsoft to create a marketing campaign for the Pink phone. “Pink” is only a codename for the moment, but it’s said that the device behind this codename will feature Windows Mobile [...]
iPhone 4.0 OS: event based modes, intellingent and scheduled communications
Now that with 3.0 OS iPhone has basically caught up with the traditional smartphones in functionality, it may be time to look how Apple can make the next generation devices even smarter. We’ve already seen some of the things, like integration between Mapping and Calendar app in recent Apple patent filings. Some new patent applications from [...]
HighScreen PP5420 – Android phone for Russia
With Android OS freely available for everyone, some new unknown players are bound to come up with their own Android phones. Well, we’ve already seen some of them, like DSTL1 from General Mobile, or Kogan Agora. At least in press releases. Well, here’s another one for you. HIGHSCREEN PP5420 (now, what a name!…)from Vobis Computer [...]
Samsung Omnia II coming in September with Windows Mobile 6.5?
As far as we know, Samsung Omnia II i8000 should be launched with Windows Mobile 6.1, with the possibility of being upgraded to Windows Mobile 6.5 afterwards. However, it looks like A1 (aka mobilkom), Austria’s largest mobile operator, will release the Omnia II with WM 6.5 from the beginning – sometime in September. We know [...]
Sprint launching the BlackBerry Tour on July 12 too
Less than one day after Verizon announced the release date of its BlackBerry Tour 9630, Sprint has now also confirmed (via its Twitter account) that it will launch the new RIM smartphone on July 12 as well – online and through telesales for the beginning. Unsurprisingly, Sprint will sell the Tour for the same price [...]
Toshiba TG01 to hit the UK on July 9
If you’re in the UK, wondering when exactly the thin, high-end Toshiba TG01 will be available, hear this: Toshiba is apparently getting ready to launch the WM 6.1 smartphone next week, on July 9, as it sent out invitations for a special event that will take place on that day. Details about the price of [...]
Palm Pre to be announced in the UK next week?
We first saw the GSM version of Palm Pre in February, during MWC 2009, but back then there weren’t any clear details on the smartphone’s availability in Europe. Sure, the Pre is already on sale in the US, via Sprint, but Palm said nothing yet about its GSM version and its release date. Well, it [...]
AT&T announces embedded laptops and netbooks
Not long after introducing netbooks for consumers, AT&T has now announced that it also offers embedded netbooks and laptops for small businesses. Coming from top manufacturers like Acer, HP and Panasonic, AT&T’s netbooks and laptops feature built-in 3G wireless connectivity, thus being able to provide small businesses with access to the carrier’s 3G network in [...]
AT&T’s Nokia 6790 Surge (Mako) caught on video
It’s not clear yet what’s the final, official name of AT&T’s Nokia 6790, but it looks like the smartphone will be called Nokia Surge, instead of Nokia Mako, as previously reported. The unannounced handset has just appeared in a video preview, which recommends it as a pretty good S60 messaging device. For example, it’s said [...]
SFR combines its HSPA and optical fiber networks
Big cities in France should be getting some pretty nice mobile broadband speeds pretty soon, thanks to some new developments by their mobile carrier SFR. SFR today announced that they are upgrading their network to support 14.4 mbps data transfer rates. Which, in itself, is nothing too new or exciting these days. Especially with max speeds rarely [...]
Pantech Love Actually IM-U460K touchscreen phone announced
Pantech has unveiled a new touchscreen phone for the Korean market, the IM-U460K, which will be sold under the unusual name of Pantech Love Actually. The handset has a simple, elegant design, and it comes with pretty-colored changeable back plates. Measuring 104.9 x 54.6 x 12 millimeters, the Pantech Love Actually features a 3 inch [...]
HTC Hero costs €99 in Spain with an Orange contract
Although Orange UK offers the HTC Hero for free on select plans, Orange Spain has announced that its Hero will be sold for prices starting at €99 (with a contract agreement and a monthly plan of €29). The new Android smartphone will be available in Spain starting next week, and it looks like customers can [...]
Skype 3.0 for Windows Mobile now out of beta
Several months after it was released as a Beta, Skype 3.0 for Windows Mobile has now reached the final version, obviously being available for download. Supporting Windows Mobile Professional and Standard versions 5, 6 and 6.1, Skype 3.0 for WM offers free Skype-to-Skype calls, plus free instant messaging. The application also comes with new features, [...]
Samsung expects to sell more than 10 mil Star S5230 phones this year
By now, Samsung has tons of full touchscreen handsets on the market, and more are soon to come. So which one of these will become THE best selling model this year? High end Symbian flagship Omnia HD i8910? 12 megapixel Samsung Pixon 12? “Smarter than smartphone” Samsung Jet? Nope. It looks like a lowly and cheap, [...]