The November 2008 issue of WIRED magazine - the test issue - awarded top scores to the Nokia E71 as the Test Best Cell Phone. Designed for messaging, navigation and other top multimedia features, the E71 scored 9/10. WIRED editors called it a road warrior on the ball - without being too much of a business phone.

The E71 features two screens - one that places all your work related apps together (including Excel and PowerPoint), and another for your entertainment - audio/video and gaming. A dedicated button lets you switch between the two screens. The slimmest QWERTY phone also features 3G, HSDPA and WLAN support, Nokia Maps with A-GPS and a browser with Flash support.

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You knew it was bound to happen, didn’t you? Today, CTIA announced the new Camera-Phone Based Barcode Scanning White Paper, using input from the nation’s leading carriers. The white paper is meant to help define, develop and promote an open system for camera-phone 2D barcode scanning in the US market. It will also help companies with the necessary information on technologies that will be supported in the code scanning development and implementation process.

Use case examples, recommended architectures, growth, technical support and a deployment time table are all a part of the white paper. After this, the team will also develop Marketing Best Practices Guidelines, and RFPs for a Central Registry.

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Along with announcements of the Nokia N96 and Nokia N79, the folks over at Espoo also unleashed the new Nokia N85 multimedia computer featuring a 2.6 inch, battery-saving OLED display. The feature set is pretty similar to the N79, including the integrated FM transmitter, 5 megapixel camera, HSDPA and Wi-Fi support as well as 10 pre-loaded N-Gage games.

Where it differs is in its dual slider design and of course the display technology. When the phone is in landscape mode, the gaming keys light up for an enhanced experience. The camera on this baby can shoot videos at 30 fps - which you can store on the included 8GB microSD memory card.

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One of the hot phones of the year, the Nokia N96, will finally arrive at the American shores in Q4 of 2008. The N96 was introduced to us in the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and will be targeted at 3G/HSDPA networks. Featuring a 2.8 inch screen, the phone will come with 16 gigs of memory in a sleek package.

Touted as an entertainment phone, it supports a range of video formats (including Windows Media) along with integration with popular video download services, allowing you to purchase, download and play TV shows and movies right on the phone. It features a convenient kick stand for handsfree viewing.

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After last year’s tremendous success, Sony Ericsson is reviving its World View online competition to take a look at that perfect picture snapped on a cameraphone. As part of this global event, Sony Ericsson has launched a new portal where users can upload their photos, build up a social network, share images with other members, get tips from world-class photogs while getting to know Sony Ericsson’s latest cameraphone lineup.

With over 70,000 people putting up entries the last time, we could expect many more to participate this time around, given the improvement (even if marginal) in the power of camera lens on a cell phone. A panel of judges will decide who gets the lucky chance to win a trip worth €12,500 while another winner will be chosen based upon the number votes his/her photograph garners with €6,250 worth trip at stake. Too bad the C905 will only become available in the fourth quarter!

Hop-on announced that it will throw in 6 new GSM and 3G phones into the markets worldwide. The HOP1800 series will feature pretty much everything from a US $125 PDA phone to the world’s cheapest phone at $10. The new phones include:

• HOP1801 Smart Phone, touted as the cheapest smartphone in the market
• HOP1803 Ultra Low Price GSM Tri-band phone
• HOP1805 Ultra Low Price targeted at emerging markets
• HOP1810 is a GSM dual-band phone equipped with a camera
• HOP1800 is a mobile phone, period

The above phones will be available in North and South America, Asia, Middle East and Africa. Supported languages on these phones include English, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and more.

For the North and South American markets, there is an additional phones: the HOP1809 3G mobile phone with camera, and supports MP4 video, MMS, Java, and even Bluetooth.

It was only yesterday that I showed you how small a 5 megapixels camera from Sharp could be. That’s a camera that will be inserted into lots of mobile devices.
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In the mobile world the smaller and the faster the better right?
What you see in the picture above is a 500 asian coin a 5 megapixels camera from Sharp.
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More phones from Sony Ericsson. This time, it’s the Sony Ericsson R300 mobile phone that cleared the FCC hurdle. This is also a cameraphone, and features TrackID - a free music recognition service. TrackID allows you to search for song titles, artists and album names. There’s also a web browser on the phone.

Connecting the Sony Ericsson R300 to your computer via USB allows you to view it as a mass storage device, allowing for convenient bulk transfer of files. If you prefer the wireless way of doing things, the R300 also sports Bluetooth. The phone appears to be an entry-level series. There’s not much else information available about the phone.

Source: FCC

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Remember the Nokia 6210 Navigator? Yes, the very same phone with integrated GPS. It’s officially approved by the FCC, so it’s well on its way to the target release date of sometime in Q3 2008. A full-featured smartphone running Symbian OS, the 6210 Navigator is equipped with a 3.2 megapixel camera, as well as a secondary camera on the front for video conferencing.

The phone offers connectivity via a micro USB connector, and takes in microSD memory cards for additional memory. The nice part is the included self-mount car kit for this device - something amiss with the N95 and other GPS phones. It also supports Assisted GPS, and comes with on-board MP3 player and FM receiver.

Priced at US $430, check out the Nokia 6210 Navigator.

Source: FCC

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Flickr, one of the largest online pictures gallery, happens to rate the number of pictures uploaded by any device such as a camera phone like the iPhone is.

According to the graph above, the iPhone with its 2 megapixel camera, has just surpassed the Nokia N95 (a 5 megapixel camera) and the Nokia N73. If we watch the constant raising curve it’s clear that more people have started uploading pictures to Flickr using an iPhone since it has been released. Keep in mind that every day more and more people join Flickr, so this graph is an estimate and whenever it drops down that might also symbolize a sudden burst of new accounts being open.

However as more people are joining, the graphic shows that more people are choosing the iPhone for taking more pictures which will eventually end up on Flickr for better sharing. Could this also mean that iPhone owners are joining Flickr just because they are taking so many pictures with their iPhone and they need a social sharing site?

With all this interpretation possibilities I have to remind you that getting the details about the camera phone is only available for 2/3 of all the uploads so that means the graphic isn’t 100% accurate.

I imagine that even more people will upload pictures with the iPhone when the second generation 3G cameras (notice how I don’t refer to them as phones) will arrive in June!

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Nokia is getting its hands dirty in the music business. If yesterday’s announcement of the Nokia Music Store in Australia was not enough, the Finnish giant today unveiled the new Nokia 5320 XpressMusic mobile phone, with 3G capabilities and social entertainment - apart from the usual suspects like web 2.0 support. The phone has a new voice-controlled Say and Play feature where you can simply say the name of an artist or song to automatically play it.

The XpressMusic 5320 phone offers a 3.5mm audio jack, 8GB memory card support, hi-speed USB and even an audio chip specially for improving audio quality. Nokia claims up to 24 hours of playback time. There are also dedicated keys for N-Gage gaming, as well as landscape view for a wider game experience.

Expect the phone to hit the markets in Q3 2008. Priced at €220 before taxes and subsidies.

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Check out Samsung’s new Adidas-cobranded miCoach mobile phone featuring a sporty design. It appears that Adidas was also involved in the phone’s design. At 80 grams, it is truly a lightweight phone that won’t be a burden in your pocket. This GSM phone, while lacking 3G, supports EDGE.

The phone will be available in seven colors including deep ash, silver, blue and other fresh colors. Designed with the regular jogger in mind, it features an MP3 player.

via stuff.tv

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Hot off the presses! HP’s new iPAQ, the HP iPAQ 900 Series, just got approved by the FCC. Featuring a ton of goodies including GPS, HSDPA support, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and more, this is one venerable all-in-one. Called a Business Messenger, the HP iPAQ 900 series is bundled with a Stylus and comes with a 1940 mAh Li-polymer rechargeable battery. For some reason, it is shipped with a wired stereo handset, but hey, it’s got Bluetooth, so I’m sure you’ll end up buying spankin’ wireless ones.

The device features a mini USB interface. One of the nice things about the iPAQ is its QWERTY keyboard. It also features the familiar 5-way navigation key. Running on Windows Mobile 6, the device takes in microSD memory cards for added memory. There’s also an on-board 3-megapixel camera with flash.

There are tons of other details available on the FCC site, go check it out in your free time (which is RIGHT NOW, people!). No word on the pricing or availability yet.

Source: FCC

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The much awaited Nokia 6212 classic, featuring Near-Field Communication (NFC) is finally here. It’s a 3G handset that not only lets you access web services and share content but also use the phone as your wallet - conduct payments and ticketing right from the device. Expect the device to ship in Q3 of 2008.

And it’s not just payments that you can use the phones for: two users can conveniently exchange business cards, calendar notes or what not by simply tapping their handsets together. Sure, you could do the same with Bluetooth, but that requires pairing the devices and so on. I don’t know what’s different with NFC, though - I guess I have to wait like everyone else for the phone to hit the markets.

You can also share photos and videos by tapping an NFC-capable phone and pairing with a Bluetooth NFC-enabled device. The new Nokia BH-210 headset with NFC also allows users to access all functions with a single multifunction key. Fitted with a 2-inch display, a 2 megapixel camera and stereo FM radio, it supports microSD memory cards for added memory.

Priced at €200 before taxes and subsidies, it will hit Europe and Asia by Q3 of ‘08.

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E-TEN, makers of the Glofiish series of Pocket PC phones, have just announced the new Glofiish M810 and M750, focusing this time on mobile entertainment, social networking and communications geared towards web 2.0. With a 2.8-inch display, the phones include Java support for games and productivity applications.

The Glofiish M810 supports high-speed HSDPA networks as well as Wi-Fi, while the M750 supports Wi-Fi and EDGE. With a QWERTY keyboard, you can conveniently compose emails or chat over IM with your friends. Want to blog on the move? No problem. The phones also sport a 2 megapixel camera, and let you upload them on your preferred site. They’ve also thrown in a radio along with the music player on board.

Powered by a Samsung S3C processor running at 500MHz and 256MB Flash ROM, the phone offers Windows Mobile 6. Measuring 109.5mm x 59mm x 17.5mm, the Glofiish M810 and M750 will be available in the next two to three weeks.

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E-TEN, makers of the Glofiish series of Pocket PC phones, have just announced the new Glofiish M810 and M750, focusing this time on mobile entertainment, social networking and communications geared towards web 2.0. With a 2.8-inch display, the phones include Java support for games and productivity applications.

The Glofiish M810 supports high-speed HSDPA networks as well as Wi-Fi, while the M750 supports Wi-Fi and EDGE. With a QWERTY keyboard, you can conveniently compose emails or chat over IM with your friends. Want to blog on the move? No problem. The phones also sport a 2 megapixel camera, and let you upload them on your preferred site. They’ve also thrown in a radio along with the music player on board.

Powered by a Samsung S3C processor running at 500MHz and 256MB Flash ROM, the phone offers Windows Mobile 6. Measuring 109.5mm x 59mm x 17.5mm, the Glofiish M810 and M750 will be available in the next two to three weeks.

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An as-yet unnamed Nokia mobile phone has made its appearance at the FCC. The phone, which carries the FCC ID RM451 (and is referred by the same name in the phone user manual), is approved for use on the EGSM 900, GSM 1800 and 1900 networks. It supports WAP 2.0 protocols including HTTP and SSL. It also supports MMS, email, instant messaging, presence enhanced contacts and remote synchronization.

The Nokia RM451 also includes 1GB of internal memory. It supports the Nokia Xpress audio messaging application, as well as the ability to create Flash messages. Flash messages are text messages that are instantly displayed upon receipt. Note that these messages are not automatically saved into the SMS application’s Inbox.

The phone also supports Bluetooth. Tons of profiles are supported, including: SIM access, object push, file transfer, dial-up networking, headset, hands-free, service discovery application, generic access, serial port, and generic object exchange. No name, no word on the availability or pricing. But the phone looks stylish enough, so I won’t be surprised if it is one of Nokia’s fashion phones.

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The new Sony Ericsson G700 mobile phone was also approved over the weekend along with the Nokia RM451 mobile phone. The G700 features a camera on the front, to use the phone for video conferencing. It features the familiar 5-way navigation key, as well as buttons for volume control on the side of the device. On the back, it has a 3.2 megapixel camera.

The G700 comes with a Stylus, so navigation and typing out emails can be convenient. You can also use the stylus to pan photos. The phone is also a 3G phone. It supports the Memory Stick Micro (M2) for added memory up to 8GB. When connected to a computer, it will act as a USB mass storage device for convenient file transfer. There’s also an integrated RSS feed reader!

The Sony Ericsson G700 supports MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV9 and Real Video formats for video playback, and for audio, it supports MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, AAC+ and eAAC+. No word on the pricing or availability in the US yet.

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An as-yet unnamed Nokia mobile phone has made its appearance at the FCC. The phone, which carries the FCC ID RM451 (and is referred by the same name in the phone user manual), is approved for use on the EGSM 900, GSM 1800 and 1900 networks. It supports WAP 2.0 protocols including HTTP and SSL. It also supports MMS, email, instant messaging, presence enhanced contacts and remote synchronization.

The Nokia RM451 also includes 1GB of internal memory. It supports the Nokia Xpress audio messaging application, as well as the ability to create Flash messages. Flash messages are text messages that are instantly displayed upon receipt. Note that these messages are not automatically saved into the SMS application’s Inbox.

The phone also supports Bluetooth. Tons of profiles are supported, including: SIM access, object push, file transfer, dial-up networking, headset, hands-free, service discovery application, generic access, serial port, and generic object exchange. No name, no word on the availability or pricing. But the phone looks stylish enough, so I won’t be surprised if it is one of Nokia’s fashion phones.

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