Mobile users want Google and Facebook on their phones
A new report from Strategy Analytics indicates that Google and Facebook are the two most wanted features among mobile phone users in 2009. Users are ”considerably more interested” in having mobile access to Google, rather than to Microsoft’s Bing search engine – but that’s not actually a surprise, since Bing was launched only recently. Knowing [...]
Nokia and Samsung invest millions in Swype’s touchscreen typing technology
Swype, a Seattle-based company that develops a new way of typing on touchscreen displays, has secured a $5.6 million funding from Nokia and Samsung (via the companies’ subsidiaries Nokia Growth Partners and Samsung Ventures, respectively). Reportedly, Swype allows users to write “over 40 words per minute on touchscreen devices” by intelligently guessing the words you [...]
Nokia 7230 passes the FCC with US 3G
Officially announced less than one month ago, the Nokia 7230 has just been approved by the FCC, which blessed the phone’s use on US 3G bands (850 / 1900 MHz). This (theoretically) means that AT&T can launch the phone in the US, or, if you’re in Canada, Rogers or Fido may pick it up. The [...]
Samsung’s phones to come with Nuance T9 and XT9 predictive text input
Nuance has announced that it signed a new agreement with Samsung in order to provide its T9 and XT9 predictive text input products to the South Korean company’s phones. T9 and XT9 from Nuance allow customers to send texts and emails, and enter ULRs faster and easier via any kind of phone, including touchscreen, QWERTY [...]
O2 and Huawei successfully trial LTE, achieve 150Mbps transfer speeds
The same day when TeliaSonera launched the world’s first commercial LTE network (in Sweden and Norway), O2 announced that it has successfully implemented a live trial LTE network in the UK, helped by Huawei. During the trial, O2 and Huawei achieved a peak download rate of 150Mbps. Earlier this year, Telefonica (which owns O2) announced [...]
Nokia N900 announced by Vodafone UK
Vodafone’s customers in the UK will soon be able to buy the Nokia N900, as the carrier has just announced that it would offer the new Maemo smartphone on contract. According to Vodafone’s official website, the Nokia N900 will be available starting January 2010. The carrier doesn’t mention the smartphone’s price, but it will probably [...]
Synaptics Fuse touchscreen phone concept unveiled
Synaptics has teamed up with a handful of companies (Texas Instruments, Immersion, TheAlloy and The Astonishing Tribe) to announce a new mobile phone concept called Fuse. The Synaptics Fuse is the first concept phone to integrate multiple interface technologies: haptic feedback, multi-touch, 3D graphics, as well as “force, grip, and proximity sensing.” The concept extends [...]
Google’s Nexus One to be sold starting January 5?
I’m sure you’ve already noticed how everyone’s talking about the Google Phone aka Nexus One these last few days. We’ve already heard that the smartphone might be available starting January 2010, and it looks like it will happen very early in January. According to a brief report found at Reuters, a source familiar with the [...]
Android-powered Motorola XT800 (Zeppelin) and MT710 in new photos
Remember the Motorola MT710 and Motorola Zeppelin? They are two unannounced Android smartphones that should be launched by Motorola in China. The Zeppelin is actually called Motorola XT800, and it is a dual-mode phone (GSM and CDMA) with features that include: a 3.7 inch touchscreen display with 854 x 480 pixels, 3G, Wi-Fi, WAPI, HMDI [...]
TeliaSonera launches 4G / LTE network, Samsung GT-B3710 LTE dongle
TeliaSonera has become the world’s first mobile carrier to commercially launch a 4G/LTE network, as it just rolled out LTE services in Oslo, Norway, and Stockholm, Sweden. For the moment, the only LTE product available via TeliaSonera is the Samsung GT-B3710 dongle, which can be connected to your laptop and provide download speeds of up [...]
Nokia Messaging adds Twitter support, enhanced Facebook features
A new beta version of Nokia Messaging for social networks has just been released, coming with support for Twitter and thus allowing you to tweet directly from your Nokia phone’s homescreen. The new Nokia Messaging also features enhanced Facebook support. For example, you can now search friends, view upcoming events and birthdays, or upload pictures [...]
Sony Ericsson Elm and Hazel – new GreenHeart phones
Previously known as Susan and Sunny, the Sony Ericsson Elm and Sony Ericsson Hazel have just been officially announced as SE’s newest GreenHeart phones. The handsets are made out of recycled plastics, they’re free from hazardous chemicals and come with E-manuals (thus being packaged in minimized packaging). The Hazel and Elm also feature a Walk [...]
Google Phone (Nexus One) appears in lots of photos
The Google Phone, which will be called Nexus One and may (or may not) be the next best thing since the iPhone, has appeared in a set of live photos. As mentioned before, the handset is made by HTC for Google, but it doesn’t have HTC’s logo on it. In fact, Google’s logo can’t be [...]
HTC Legend shows up again
HTC Legend, one of the Android smartphones that HTC is getting ready to launch in 2010, has just appeared in a new and better photo (a rendering, actually), which confirms the fact that the device looks somewhat like the HTC Hero – although it’s a tad more elegant. Like the HTC Bravo, HTC Legend has [...]
The Google Phone to be launched in January 2010. Google confirms: a device is in testing
Not long after that rumor about the Google Phone being “very real” appeared, now several Google employees have started saying they already have the handset. Reportedly, the Google Phone is made by HTC, runs Android 2.1 and it might be launched as soon as January 2010. Leslie Hawthorn, Program Manager for Google’s Open Source Team, [...]
INQ Chat 3G available in the UK, £99.99 on PAYG
Just in time for Christmas, 3 UK announced the availability of INQ Chat 3G – the second new phone unveiled this year by INQ (after the INQ Mini 3G, available since October). The Chat 3G is INQ’s first handset to have a full QWERTY keypad. It features Twitter and Facebook integration, as well al built-in [...]
SHOP4APPS – Motorola’s own Android app store coming soon
Motorola is getting ready to launch its own Android application store, called SHOP4APPS. SHOP4APPS is web-based and was, for a short period of time, online, and now Motorola removed it. Luckily, the folks over at Android and Me have managed to take a look at some of its features. SHOP4APPS is accessible both from a [...]
Refreshed Nokia Ovi Store to be launched in spring 2010
Most probably unhappy with the level of popularity reached by Ovi Store until now, Nokia is planning to revamp it and release a new, “refreshed” version of it in spring 2010 – when the first Symbian^3 smartphone is likely to be launched, too. Introduced in May 2009, Ovi Store is Nokia’s response to Apple’s hugely [...]
Apple responds to Nokia’s lawsuit with a countersuit
Remember Nokia’s lawsuit filed against Apple in October? Nokia then stated that Apple’s iPhone infringes 10 of its patents. Apple has obviously not admitted this. In return, it has just filed a countersuit, claiming that the world’s largest phone maker is infringing no less than 13 Apple patents. While Nokia mentioned that the patents Apple [...]
Nokia 5235 Comes With Music offers unlimited music downloads for only €145
Almost four months after the announcement of Nokia 5230, a new and similar phone has now been introduced by Nokia: Nokia 5235 Comes With Music. As you can guess from its name, the 5235 is a Comes With Music phone, so those who buy it will be able to download as much music as they [...]