GSM Arena did a thorough comparison review of the first two WinMo 6.1 smartphones in the market. The HTC Touch Diamond has a better screen (Diamond’s VGA screen is the best in the industry) and OS while the Samsung Omnia has a better battery life, processor, camera and a universal virtual keyboard and of course the DivX support is nice as well.

In the end, though, the reviewers at GSM-A couldn’t decide which one is better, but the effort at getting into the features of both phones in detail are very commendable. read more of it here.

Our HTC Touch Diamond page is here.

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The Best Windows Mobile 6.1 Device: Omnia V. Touch Diamond | Add your Comments

Filed under: Features

Filed under: Handsets, HTC, Samsung, Windows Mobile, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA

Filed under: Cellphones

After its record-breaking start in the US., the Samsung Instinct is heading North to conquer another territory. Bell Mobility will begin distributing the Samsung Instinct in Canada this summer. The Bell Instinct will be going for slightly higher price points beginning with 149.95 up to $449.95 from a 3-year tie-in to no contract.

Via

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Samsung Instinct Heads for Canada | Add your Comments

Filed under: Cellphones

AT&T may be getting this recently announced smartphone in Q3. That is according to rumor at least, according to that same rumor it may also be getting AT&T Music, AT&T Video, AT&T Navigator, AT&T Mobile TV, as well as a few more extras.

Either way, the phone has been confirmed as having a Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional device and quad-band EDGE. As well as UMTS, 3.2? WQVGA touch screen, Bluetooth, and the option to get either 8GB or 16GB of internal memory.

It will also have a 6MP camera with face detection and the screen measures 240 x 400. If you’re hungry for more details and pictures we have a hands-on report on the Omnia.

[via boygeniusreport]

Kind of old news this past week, but: “Mobile leaders to unify the Symbian software platform and set the future of mobile free” … but I wanted to post about the deal that was announced not too long ago … because it will be very important to the evolving mobile device platform playing field (IMHO).

If you had not heard, Nokia is buying up the rest of Symbian (they were already previously a 48% share holder in the company, BTW), and in the same move making Symbian open source (under the royalty free Eclipse Public License) under a “Symbian Foundation” of companies (currently) including: AT&T, broadcom, digia, NTT Docomo, EA mobile, ericsson, freescale, fujitsu, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Orange, plusmo, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, ST, Symbian, Teleca, Texas Instruments, T-Mobile, vodafone, wipro, (and no doubt others to be announced at a later date).

If you don’t know who Symbian is, check out this whitepaper for a good intro.

They are the largest mobile smartphone mobile operating system company worldwide. Popular Symbian platforms include S60, UIQ, MOAPS, and other variant platforms that utilize the Symbian OS … and mobile “players” such as Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, and NTT Docomo; use Symbian on their respective (mobile) devices.

So, from this deal we can a.) expect somewhat cheaper devices in the future (costs around $4 for Symbian to be on most devices for manufacturers), b.) support cost issues to increase (open source will lead to more variations of Symbian OS), c.) more compelling applications will be built, and faster innovation may be possible within the marketplace d.) things to get more exciting between Android, iPhone, Symbian, Windows Mobile, and others.

I was reading an article in Nokia) doing this? This sums it up:

“We want to make this the most widely used software platform on the planet.” - John Forsyth (Symbian VP for Strategy)

Essentially, Nokia et. al, is taking steps to combat Microsoft (Windows Mobile - proprietary), Google (Android - open source), and Apple (iPhone - proprietary) and opening the platform is one step they are taking to compete most effectively between all these players.

Symbian is at a reported 67% market share globally, with only 10% in US (RIM, Windows Mobile, and now iPhone make up the bulk). Also, only Symbian currently only does 6% share on low-end devices (Symbian runs best on high-end smartphone devices).

Nokia has basically said; here is an OS for the development community, including a user interface, and addressable low level code; “now go to town”.

How will it play out? Not sure!

Expect to hear more next year (2009), when Symbian will ship to OEMs, and they consequently certify their devices prior to rollout.

Luckily, Google is stepping forth first with their alliance and Android *first*, so perhaps this will act as a precursor to what the Symbian Foundation will face in the coming year. We’ll see!

You can get more information over at: www.symbianfoundation.org

–

Mark Doherty (Adobe), had a recent post on what this may mean (theoretically) in the future in terms of Adobe and Flash within the Symbian Foundation (in his words).

©2008 Scott Janousek. All Rights Reserved.

Believe it or not, AT&T actually does have other smartphones coming this year besides the iPhone 3G and BlackBerry Bold. Four sequel-y Windows Mobile phones all slated for winter, and 6.1 updates for existing ones. Besides the Pantech Tech Duo 2, there's the BlackJack 3 (with a better cam and a little faster hardware), Tilt 2 (Update: BGR says Tilt 2 is probably the Touch Pro), and another unnamed Sammy, possibly the Omnia. There's also a "non-QWERTY" LG phone of some sort and a Wi-Fi version of the Curve (8320). Since these are all smartphones, we're guessing there's another consumer roadmap. [Gear Diary]

A lot of people might think Safari on the iPhone is the best mobile browser in the world. Opera though will not take that lying down. The latest version the mobile version of the opera browser will be available to Windows Mobile phones, like the Samsung Omnia, on July 15. Opera 95 is like having your PC Opera browser in your hand and navigated by your finger tips.

For those interested in the HTC Touch Diamond, Opera is preloading 9.5 in the phone. There are more to say about Opera Mobile 9.5 but much are still under wraps.

Via

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Opera Mobile 9.5 for July 15 | Add your Comments

LG Chocolate 3 More Photos - View Specs

LG Decoy (VX8610) More Photos - View Specs

LG Dare (VX9700) More Photos - View Specs

Motorola W755 More Photos - View Specs

Samsung SCH-U550 More Photos - View Specs

Samsung Glyde (SCH-U940) More Photos - View Specs

Samsung Juke (SCH-U470) More Photos - View Specs

Verizon Wireless today introduced Rhapsody's subscription music service, allowing its customers to download as much music as they want to their phones for $15 per month.

Rhapsody is following in the tracks of Napster, Apple's iTunes and Amazon.com, all of which have introduced MP3 downloads and moved away from digital rights management, or DRM, which prevents copying and piracy, but also makes it difficult to legally move music between devices.

Rhapsody also provides 30-second music samples that can be played on several websites, through "music discovery service" iLike. Clips will be expanded to full tracks, and users can listen to up to 25 of them per month without a subscription.

Previously, customers who bought and downloaded an individual song on a Verizon VCAST handset received another copy of the song for the PC. Now, that copy will be an unprotected MP3. The copy that arrives wirelessly on the phone will still be in a protected format.

"Rhapsody fulfills Verizon's promise to deliver the best mobile experience to our customers, said John Harrobin, Verizon Wireless' senior vice president of digital media. "Now, music fans can not only get the benefit of immediate access to music over-the-air, but also they can connect their mobile music and devices."

Songs downloaded through the new $15 unlimited service on Verizon phones will still come with DRM. The process requires users to connect their phones to a Windows PC running Rhapsody's software. There is no Macintosh version.

Rhapsody will work with the LG Chocolate 3 (available in July), LG Decoy and LG Dare; Motorola W755; Samsung U550, Samsung Glyde and Samsung Juke.

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Nokia 7310 Supernova More Photos - View Specs

Nokia today introduced its 7310 Supernova, a slim and sleek handheld with Xpress-On covers etched with 3D textured designs available in Steel Blue plus a second cover in Wasabi Green or Candy Pink. A further five cover options will be available in Mushroom Silver, Plum Jam, Electric Blue, Yellow Mellow and Espresso Brown colors.

Additional features include a 2.0-megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom and TV out for image sharing, instant messaging and playing the preinstalled games on TV. An FM RDS radio and an MP3 music player offer music on the road.

"As we rely more heavily on mobile phones to stay connected, they increasingly know everything about us and have become a window into our worlds," said Jo Harlow, Vice President of Nokia. "With the Supernova range, we set out to give people the ability to set themselves apart in the same way that they would with a traditional statement accessory."

The Nokia 7310 Supernova is available in the second quarter of 2008 with an estimated retail price of $240 (155 EUR) before taxes and subsidies.

- Nokia 7310 Supernova Specs

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Nokia 7510 Supernova More Photos - View Specs

Nokia today announced its 7510 Supernova clamshell, a push-to-open design with a soft feel and solid metal hinge, available in Storm Blue, Red, Emerald Green and Espresso Brown colors.

The 7510 Supernova features light effects with a hidden-until-lit display and reminder light. The handheld features a 2.0-megapixel camera with NIPS, LED flash, 4x digital zoom, a 512MB microSD card, a large 2.2-inch QVGA display and Nokia web browser for access to Nokia Search, Share on OVI and Flickr.

Consumers can manage music with an FM Radio, an enhanced MP3 player, and Nokia Music Store and Nokia Music PC Client. Additional features include a link to YouTube, access to Nokia Maps 1.2 to navigate with free mapping, routing and local search, support of A-GPS and the Nokia WidSets service.

"As we rely more heavily on mobile phones to stay connected, they increasingly know everything about us and have become a window into our worlds," said Jo Harlow, Vice President of Nokia. "With the Supernova range, we set out to give people the ability to set themselves apart in the same way that they would with a traditional statement accessory."

The Nokia 7510 Supernova is available in the fourth quarter of 2008 with an estimated retail price of $280 (180 EUR) before taxes and subsidies.

- Nokia 7510 Supernova Specs

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©2002-2008 Mobiledia Corp. A Cell Phone Resource Site. All Rights Reserved. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only.

Nokia 7610 Supernova More Photos - View Specs

Nokia today unveiled its 7610 Supernova, a slider phone featuring smooth curves and Xpress-On covers in Steel Blue and Red or Bright Lilac and Steel Blue.

The Theme Colorizer lets users identify and capture any color and tailor a look by applying captured colors to its key illumination and wallpaper.

Additional features include a 3.2-megapixel camera with dual LED flash and 8x digital zoom, instant messaging and TV out for image sharing. Consumers can also manage music with a dedicated music key, FM-radio, an MP3 player and access the Nokia Music Store through the Nokia Music PC Client. The Nokia WidSets service shares content on favorite websites.

"As we rely more heavily on mobile phones to stay connected, they increasingly know everything about us and have become a window into our worlds," said Jo Harlow, Vice President of Nokia. "With the Supernova range, we set out to give people the ability to set themselves apart in the same way that they would with a traditional statement accessory."

The Nokia 7610 Supernova is available in the third quarter of 2008 with an estimated retail price of $350 USD (225 EUR) before taxes and subsidies.

- Nokia 7610 Supernova Specs

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©2002-2008 Mobiledia Corp. A Cell Phone Resource Site. All Rights Reserved. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only.

Ever wonder how phones get their names? There are two schools of thought in product marketing. The first is to come up with simple “consumer names” for products such as “Tiger” or “Leopard” or “LG Shine” or “BlackBerry Pearl.” But beneath these names are product codes that all brand managers have to memorize. For huge phone manufacturers that can’t possibly come up with creative names for the dozen or so models they churn out every week, product naming, for convenience sake is limited to an alpha-numerical designation.

Some companies lie in the middle, like Motorola and LG who don’t churn out as many iterations of their phones as Sony Ericsson or Nokia. Which is why both can afford to use names like “ROKR” or “LAZR” or “RAZR” or “Chocolate,” “Shine” and “Viewty.”

We’ve got some network posts on the naming schemes of two of the bigger manufacturers - Sony Ericsson and Nokia:

How Nokia names their mobile phones and categorizes them according to market niche

How Sony Ericsson names their phones and categorizes them according to region and incremental feature upgrades

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Motorola ROKR E8 More Photos - View Specs

T-Mobile plans to launch the Motorola ROKR E8, a music phone with new ModeShift technology, beginning July 7. Offering a modern style, the handset features a high-gloss front, aluminum soft touch back, spun metal side keys and engraved banding.

Its smooth surface has no visible keys when powered off. Powered on and the device presents a virtual numbered keypad on the front surface. It only presents users with only the controls they need. Using ModeShift technology, it transforms from music player to phone with the touch of a button. The phone keypad disappears and control keys for the music player - play, pause, fast forward and rewind - appear in its place.

Using vibrating haptics technology, the ROKR E8 has the tactile feedback of a traditional keypad.

The ROKR E8 also debuts the FastScroll navigation wheel, a variable-speed touch control. With a slide of the thumb, the wheel scrolls through music, contacts, calendar or multimedia content. Information is easily viewed on the landscape 2.0-inch QVGA display.

In Music Mode, the ROKR E8 delivers sound through a three-dimensional stereo feature that enhances two-channel audio and an on-board equalizer. Music can listened on the built-in speaker, with a compatible Bluetooth stereo headset, or through a wired headset plugged into the 3.5mm jack.

The ROKR E8 also has a built-in FM radio and support for Song ID. The 2GB internal memory can store up to 1,500 songs, and the external memory is expandable up to 4GB with an optional microSD card. Music transfers quickly with USB 2.0. The device is compatible with Windows Media Player 11 on the PC.

In Phone Mode, the ROKR E8 provides improved voice quality using CrystalTalk technology. It can receive calls while downloading or playing music, text messaging, surfing the Web or taking pictures.

The Motorola ROKR E8 will be available beginning July 7 at select T-Mobile retail stores and online.

- Motorola ROKR E8 Specs

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Nokia today said it is offering to buy the 52 percent of Symbian, the consortium that makes the software for its phones. Nokia plans to make it available for free to other manufacturers, in hopes of blunting the influence of competing software providers.

Nokia will then establish a foundation with Sony Ericsson, Motorola and Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo to make the software available royalty-free. Symbian previously licensed its software for royalties. They will combine their three different versions of the Symbian software for advanced, data-enabled phones into one open platform.

AT&T, LG, Samsung, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments and Vodafone will also join the foundation.

Nokia said it expects the acquisition to be completed during the fourth quarter of 2008 and is subject to regulatory approval.

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Nokia N78 More Photos - View Specs

Nokia today announced the U.S. availability of its N78, the newest Nokia Nseries device that combines integrated A-GPS, a 3.2-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and high-speed HSDPA connectivity.

The N78 offers new Nokia services such as Nokia Maps and Share on Ovi. Nokia Maps to calculate routing information, provide details on up to 15 million different points of interest, and give audible and visual turn-by-turn directions. Integrated A-GPS lets users 'geotag' images with location information such as when and where the picture was taken.

The N78 combines a digital music player and an integrated FM transmitter. With storage for up to 8GB of music on an optional microSD memory card, a music collection can be shared in the home or car by playing it wirelessly through the FM radio.

Allowing access to weather, sports and news, the N78 provides widget support by Web Runtime technology. Widgets are available through the Download! client on the Nokia N78 or through the MOSH mobile content distribution platform at http://mosh.nokia.com .

"Offering the robust feature set expected from an Nseries device, the integration of these features with Nokia's new suite of Ovi services is what makes the Nokia N78 a perfect companion for a connected and mobile lifestyle," said William Plummer, Vice President of Go-to-Market for Nokia. "Whether using GPS to find my way across town, adding geotag information to the images I capture and upload to Share on Ovi, or using the FM transmitter to listen to my music collection through my car stereo, the Nokia N78 keeps me connected and entertained wherever I go."

The Nokia N78 retails for $560 and is available through select consumer electronics and wireless retailers, online retailers and at the Nokia Flagship Stores in Chicago and New York.

- Nokia N78 Specs

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