The Second Coming of the WebOS: the Palm Pixi
The Palm Pixi will be launched in the UK, definitely. Palm announced that it would bring the Pixi to Europe (and also Canada), for now, the device is only available in the United States.
This mobile phone may be small, but it is creating a big demand. The Pixi combines stylish good looks and great hardware to bring a combination of aesthetics and function in a mobile device. The result is this 55 x 111 x 10.85 mm device that brings together a full keyboard, a touch screen and 8GB of storage –all while looking stylishly sleek.
One would expect that the phone would look cramped in terms of the layout. But the face of the device shows otherwise. The QWERTY keyboard has its keys spaced evenly apart and the 2.63 inch capacitive touch screen occupies the general upper half. There is a good sized boarder around the device and nothing feels squeezed or cramped.
Specifications
It also helps that the full QWERTY keyboard is not only nice to look at, but it performs impeccably well too. The keyboard has a resounding click per button and it is both responsive and easy to use. Pressing a key accurately does not require you to carefully use the device; the buttons are shaped well enough to press even with slightly bigger thumbs.
The Palm Pixi also has a 2 mega pixel camera, not really a high end camera, but it does a good job at taking quick photos for sharing with friends. The LED flash allows users to take images indoors or at night without much problems.
WebOS and Availability
The WebOS will be present in the Pixi. Even before Palm has secured the success of the Pre, they have put much faith in this OS -as shown when they announced the Pixi earlier on.
Getting the Pixi on contract can only be done in the US. No news about a Europe release date has been made so far.
BlackBerry 9100 Images Leaked
Blackberry has introduced a new entry to the pearl range, the Blackberry Pearl 9100, which has been noted to possess features that are sleeker than its predecessors.
Pictures of the RIM’s latest budget-conscious BlackBerry, the Pearl 9100, have been leaked. Although we are awaiting the comprehensive feature list, the leaked photos provide an insight into this new BlackBerry Pearl.
One notable feature as seen from the images is the track pad. This was first introduced on the BlackBerry 8520 and Bold 9700 which hitherto replaced the rather archaic trackball. This track pad fits superbly on those high-end mobile devices so we can only pray that any cut corners do not affect the sleekness of its central control pad.
The Blackberry Pearl 9100 still utilizes the two letters to a key approach which is the key to the Pearl series even though it depicts a significantly less wide structure than the current 8110 Pearl. According to reports from Crackberry, the Blackberry will come furnished with 3G connectivity so it isn’t a device pulled from the bottom of the barrel.
You can read through the review on BlackBerry Pearl 8110 and take note of its features. It is highly expected that the new Blackberry 9100 Pearl will not deviate seriously from its predecessor.
I will post more juicy tidbits as soon as I obtain more information on this next generation Blackberry. You can keep visiting this corner to be abreast of every development.
BlackBerry Bold 9700 Lives Up to BlackBerry’s Name
When the first rumors about the Bold 9700 came out, everyone knew that it would be a messaging phone to be reckoned with; and it is. Sporting the good old ergonomic standards of BlackBerry devices, the Bold 9700 delivers a mobile messaging experience unlike no other.
The Bold 9700 (or Bold 2 as it is known in some circles), combines a full QWERTY keyboard with sensible phone design to make the typing experience both fast and easy. The BlackBerry operating system on the other hand, has been designed to be very intuitive.
Specs and Features
The BlackBerry Bold 2 sports a 2.44 inch TFT LCD with a resolution of 480 x 360 pixels, it can display up to 65 thousand colours. The full QWERTY keyboard sits nicely below the screen, occupying a good half of the device. The keys are located nicely apart despite the tight space and are easy to press.
Precise typing is actually possible thanks to the form of the keys. The BlackBerry track pad on the other hand makes moving around the menu a fast and easy process.
The Bold 9700 also has a 3 mega pixel camera for shooting both images and video. Playback of media is done by the BlackBerry OS, it supports various file types. The phone can be used as a music player thanks to its 35 hour continuous music playback capability.
The internal storage is 256MB, no need to conserve the small space though, the phone has a microSD card slot which allows users to expand the memory as needed.
Bold 9700 on Contracts
At this moment, the Bold 9700 is carried by Vodafone and T-Mobile. Both UK carriers offer the Bold 9700 free for 35 pound per month contracts. Orange Mobile UK will also be offering the device soon (and most probably at a similar deal). Orange has yet to announce when they will have the device on stock as they have it currently listed as ‘coming soon’.
T-Mobile Are Also Victims, Says Legal Practitioner
Field Fisher Waterhouse, one of the reputed Law Firms in London, today said that their client T-Mobile has fallen prey to a rogue employee.
Stewart Room, who is the data security partner of the firm, informed that the T-Mobile acted impeccably in the situation. At a very early stage, they passed on the details of the data breach to the Information Commissioner. This must be reflected on how the network has to be dealt with during the trial.
Room said that at this moment, it is quite difficult to come to a conclusion that T-Mobile has failed in their obligation for Data Protection Act. According to Room, there might be determined criminal involved in their offense and it is often difficult to detect them in such a large organization.
He added that there is a possibility about the Information Commissioner taking tough actions against the organization. However, it would be quite a rough action against such a reputed company.
He continued saying that if you go by the news, T-Mobile has been behaving impeccably and a regulatory regime should reward it rather than take action against the same. They should remember, prior to giving the verdict, that not only the customers, but the company is also the victim of the criminal offense that its employee has conducted.
As a suggestion to all the companies, Room said that everyone should opt for adopting an adequate number of measures for keeping their data secure. They should take steps for assessing the performance and reliability of the people, who are working on the data. This is how another issue, similar to the one T-Mobile finds itself in, can be avoided.
Experience Windows Mobile and the Snapdragon
Acer broke through the hardcore mobile phone market with the release of their Snapdragon WinMo phone last month. With the earlier release of their other Windows Mobile devices failing to spark any interest in the company’s foray into the mobile market, a Snapdragon device is definite way to get some heads turning. With outright trust in the capabilities of Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional, the Acer neoTouch F1 uses nothing else but the WinMo operating system. The entirety of the device’s hardware has been designed to deliver a true Windows experience. The F1 is available as it has been released over a month ago.
Hard Hitting Hardware
The neoTouch features the Snapdragon processor for its fast 1 GHz speed. This allows the phone to run Windows Mobile and applications fast and smooth. Response time is quick and the movement from one menu to another feels seamless thanks to the processing speed of the Snapdragon.
But the Snapdragon is not the only amazing feature of the neoTouch F1. It also has a huge 3.8 inch wide VGA resistive touch screen. This is probably one of the largest resistive touch screen used in a mobile phone. The display quality is excellent and bright (though not as bright as HD devices).
The 5 mega pixel camera shoots astoundingly crisp images, and thanks to the LED flash, taking backlit or lowlight images gives no cause for concern. You can also shoot VGA quality videos if you want. The device has no physical keyboard, but instead, uses an onscreen keyboard for all text and messaging related functions.
Available Now
There are neoTouch F1 deals on both Orange Mobile UK and on O2 that offer the device for half the retail price or for free depending on the plan. Buyers can also opt to get the phone on retail for 349.99 Pounds.
T-Mobile Formally Announces Theft of Information
Theft is not the exact word used by T-Mobile as their customer records were “illegally sold” to unknown parties. With the information itself still readily available within T-Mobile’s information servers, nothing has been technically stolen. But accessing said information and selling it to a third party is equally illegal. With information on consumer contact numbers and contract details, the buyers of this information hold quite a potential cache of customers as they are able to isolate and target consumers whose plans are about to end. Being able to prey on consumers who are most likely to get a new plan gives sellers and an excellent vantage point as they would not have to randomly look for likely customers.
According to BBC news, millions of records have been passed from T-Mobile. T-Mobile itself denies warranting any such actions and is currently in the process of investigating the internal perpetrators for prosecution. This is highly acceptable as T-Mobile has nothing to gain from selling customer data. While this may be big news in the fact that it has been confirmed by a telecomm company, the trade and purchase of customer information appears to run rampant across different carriers.
T-Mobile has made a report to the Information Commissioner’s Office and from what has been released to the public, they claim that the “information has been sold on different brokers and that substantial amounts of money have changed hands”.
The end result of these ‘crimes’ is that customers are the end victims, often being pestered by what is termed as “cold calling”; wherein they are directly contacted one their phones and greeted by their name by individual who should otherwise not have access to such relevant information and data.
While it is estimated that individual data does not sell for much, in bulk, the gross profit for selling information on what could be thousands of customers will net a substantial amount.
A Quick Look at the Samsung i5700 Galaxy Lite
The Samsung i5700 Galaxy Lite may be delayed for a little while, and things are no longer looking good for a November launch date. Instead, the device will be launched next year, 2010.
Aside from Delays
This Android smart phone is getting lots of attention thanks to its AMOLED touch screen, and excellent design. Samsung is placing the device as a complement to the original 7500 Galaxy. These two devices are Samsungs post-Omnia heavy hitters and it seems like the Galaxy Lite, it will be bringing lots of Android joy next year when it launches.
The Samsung i5700 Galaxy Lite sports an impressive looking 3 inch touch screen display that delivers some of the best looking images you can find in a 3G phone in this price range. The touch screen itself has shown to possess accurate finger tracking in the initial Galaxy Lite video demos.
The Android 1.5 Cupcake makes using the device and accessing features a quick and easy experience; not to mention that the Android’s virtual keyboard has a much better layout than most.
As a 3G phone, the i5700 supports Bluetooth accessories, WiFi and micro USB. The 1GB internal storage and 3.2 mega pixel camera are downgraded versions of the much larger storage and 5 mega pixel camera of the original Galaxy. The device also has a removable 1500 mAh Li-on battery for long hours of usage.
Deals for the Lite
Expect Samsung i5700 deals to offer the device at a good price. As stated Samsung is placing this device as a budget Android and it will be competing with the Pulse from T-Mobile as well with HTC’s Tattoo. The big one up that this device offers is its AMOLED screen. The device itself looks pretty good with its all black finish and Android logo print in the front and on the back of the device.
LG GW620 Announced!
A couple of months back, LG announced that they would make an Android Phone. This is the LG GW620 and it has been quite some time since the first announcement. The bright side of it all is that the new device is now available for everyone. Of course, if you are planning to get this Android smart phone, why not go check out some LG GW620 deals that would combine a great phone with a practical package. The GW620 has a physical keyboard making most applications easy to run. Particularly document based apps and messaging software. If you are holding out for a higher end phone, LG also has a Snapdragon Android in the works.
GW620 Hardware
This LG mobile phone may not seem like much, but once you have it in your hands you know that the GW620 is a beast in its own right. The 3 inch resistive touch screen complements the keyboard for easily accessing, navigating and using the Android operating system and the many features that go with it. The external shape looks really cute with the wide curves and matte finish. It has a 5 mega pixel camera, A-GPS and plenty of Google mobile applications ranging from messaging to maps to email.
Purchase or Wait
With other Android devices about to come out soon, you might be hard pressed to wait it out. After all, for a slightly higher price, the Motorola Milestone offers a physical keyboard, a larger screen and a newer Android OS; you can also choose to get any of the upcoming Snapdragon Androids. The charm of the GW620 quickly wears out if you do not consider the budget, and HTC is offering some Androids for the same price range as the GW620. Between the GW620 and HTC’s Androids, it all boils down to which looks better to you.
The XPERIA Pureness Video
Sony Ericsson has been busy as of late. Their New high end mobile phones have been stealing the spotlight for quite some time now. With their last WinMo phone the X2 out there battling it out with the HTC Touch 2 and their new Android smart phone the XPERIA X10 gathering lots of fan fare, it’s a wonder Sony still has time to develop concept phones. Did we mention they also have a couple of Symbian devices underway? Yep, Sony Ericsson’s late 2009 to 2010 lineup is going be a pretty interesting bunch. With all these high end devices on the way, where does the strange looking Sony Ericsson XPERIA Pureness belong?
Unconfirmed Features
If you have not seen the uploaded video of the Pureness, then here is a quick recap of the functions that the Pureness will have. From the top, it has a clock, an organizer, an entertainment function, alarms, messaging, music playback, a calls list, the contacts, phone settings and lastly an FM radio. This little designer piece has all the makings of a generic current-generation GSM device.
What is interesting to note is that it has an “entertainment category” which is, at the very least, odd. Now, music playback and the FM radio are on separate categories, while games should just be listed as games. If we assume that a games list is listed in the entertainment category, what else is there? Unless this mobile phone is actually capable of doing more than displaying translucent whites on it the see through screen, I really doubt that it would have anything else that is actually entertaining.
Release Date
Anyway, it does not seem like Sony Ericsson wants people to make predictions and assumptions regarding this phone. The final announcements about the Pureness are not yet out but the release date is already this month.
Another quarter loss reported for Sony Ericsson
It could be the stiffening competition. It could be the economic recession. It could even be that consumers are not just into Sony Ericsson mobile devices anymore. But whatever the reason, Sony Ericsson reported a quarter’s loss of over €164m. That’s about £150m or $245m!
Japan’s Sony and Swedish company Ericsson seemed at a loss for words as well when asked to comment further on their smaller-than-expected loss. Three months prior to the report, it already marked a €213 million. For the same period of the recent report, Sony Ericsson had a loss of just €25 million.
It seems nothing healthy is going on at the mobile device manufacturers for the past year and months. It even announced job cuts in 2008. Over 2,000 of the workforce were released as well this year, totaling to 4,000 or more Sony Ericsson employees out of work.
Other than saying the company is experiencing the effects of its transformation targets, Sony Ericsson remains hopeful on fresh investments currently brewing. About what, we still don’t have any idea. But Sony Ericsson is seemingly on full throttle to see the full value of its transformation program to cut costs by middle of 2010. The cut is reportedly pegged at €880 million.
Apart from the promising fresh investment vouched by its Japanese and Swedish owners, Sony Ericsson officials predicted that their market for mobile phone handsets all over the world will be 10% less this year. That’s a big number considering they sold 1,190 million units in 2008 alone.
On the other hand, the biggest competitor of Sony Ericsson, Nokia, also reported a net loss of €913m. Such gigantic chunk lost by the Finnish company was recorded at the same time Sony Ericsson lost a little less than 10% of what Nokia has experienced due to falling sales.
More information could be read at : news.bbc.co.uk