Asus Eee 1000 to be Announced
May 31, 2008
We’d a small notebooks day today here at MobileWhack with so many small laptops emerging from various manufacturers. The leader of the pack, the Eee inventor, Asus, will be launching soon the Eee 1000, which is a 10 inch… Via [Mobilewhack]
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Microsoft anticipating 50 percent growth annually for Windows Mobile
May 31, 2008
Filed under: Windows Mobile
Brushing aside threats from Android, the impending 3G iPhone juggernaut, and all other comers, Microsoft’s managing director of embedded devices for the Asian region states that the company fully expects Windows Mobile to do double-digit volume growth in both 2008 and 2009. Oh, but wait — not just double digit growth, but a full 50 percent is being tossed around as a minimum. Them’s fightin’ words, and though much of that growth is stated to be coming from the US and Europe, more is being seen in emerging markets like Brazil and India where the platform is less likely to be stealing market share from its competitors as it cashes in. If all goes according to Microsoft’s plan, 20 million WinMo-equipped units will have been sold in the fiscal year ending next month, so any way you slice it, they’re projecting some serious numbers as we round out the decade.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Application store will most likely appear in Android
May 31, 2008
Filed under: Cellphones, Handsets, Software
It’s looking like Google will do what it can to provide an application store on Android-based handsets (see that “Market” icon above?). As project lead Andy Rubin mentioned at the Google I/O developer conference, “It would be a great benefit to the Android community to provide a place where people can go to safely and securely download content and where a billing system would grant developers to get paid for their effort”. So, two things of note here: 1) He wants to avoid malware and untested apps bricking people’s phones, and 2) Google would like a little side action on your transaction. Given the open nature of Android, we fully expect many people to find all sorts of random apps online in the dark alleys of the Intertrons, but a sanctioned store like this seems like a no-brainer for those on the straight-and-narrow.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Samsung’s Steel bears no resemblance to the superhero of the same name
May 31, 2008
Filed under: Handsets, Samsung, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTS
The Samsung Steel is a tricky phone. To casual observers, it’s a Soul, Samsung’s latest and greatest Ultra Edition device. In reality, though, it’s a lower-end phone wearing the Soul’s clothing. It doesn’t move too far downmarket; the trick OLED d-pad is gone, but buyers still get HSDPA, a microSD slot, integrated DAB radio, and steel surfaces (hence the name, we figure) pretty much everywhere you look. This one should hit Vodafone next month for an as-yet-to-be-determined price.
[Via Unwired View]
Popularity: 2% [?]
Android Q&A session at I/O reveals Dream specs, carefree mentality
May 31, 2008
Filed under: Handsets, HTC, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTS, Android
Following the grand reveal of the latest Android build running on fresh HTC-sourced hardware at I/O this day, Google took some questions that managed to pull a few extra gems from the rough. First and foremost, key specs of that lovely piece of kit were exposed: 3.6Mbps HSDPA is on board, as is a Qualcomm MSM7201A processor good for 528MHz, 128MB of RAM, 256MB of ROM, a capacitive touchscreen, and the key to our hearts. Despite that capacitive action, it was reiterated that Android is designed to work with a wide variety of form factors — everything from touchscreens to QWERTY keypads to devices with no screen at all (!!) — so fans of physical input methods definitely needn’t fret in the least. New features demoed for the first time this day include a configurable home screen launcher, accelerometer integration in Google Maps’ Street View, Pacman (which we can only assume will become the Solitaire of Android), and a new unlock UI for touchscreen-based devices. Some of the stuff shown was coded at the very last minute; they pointed out that the clock, for example, had just been thrown together yesterday, so they’re definitely flying by the seat of their pants here — a good thing for speeding up device availability, we figure.
Popularity: 4% [?]
Ed Colligan speaks about Palm OS 2.0
May 31, 2008
Filed under: Software, Palm, Linux, Palm OS
While Palm’s CFO Andy Brown wasn’t exactly forthcoming with details about its elusive next-gen OS, a recent interview with top dog Ed Colligan revealed quite a bit about codename Nova. As if it wasn’t official enough already, we’re told that Palm OS 2.0 (which is also not the final moniker) will indeed be Linux-based, and Ed continued to state that it would be “driven around the web and web-based applications.” Of course, a Palm interview wouldn’t be a Palm interview without at least some mention of the now-defunct Foleo, and the bigwig left a crack in the rumor drawer by stating that he “still believed the idea would be vindicated some day.” Trust us, there’s way more where this came from, so head on down to the read link if your interest is piqued.
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Samsung SPH-W4450 Phone
May 31, 2008
Samsung’s latest phone SPH-W4450 discovered in the wild. This titanium pink colored slider phone is awesome. Here are a few features of the cellphone: MP3 Player USB 2.0 support Bluetooth Supported formats: MP3/VOD/MOD Digital Camera 2.0 MP Memory 1GB TFT… Via [Mobilewhack]
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Hutchison’s 3 gets iPhone in Hong Kong, Macau
May 31, 2008
Filed under: Cellphones
The countries continue to fall ahead of Apple’s presumed June 9th, 3G iPhone announcement at WWDC. This time it’s Hong Kong and Macau — foothold populations as Apple eyes the large Japanese, Russian, and Chinese prizes which have thus far avoided Jobs’ charm RDF.
[Thanks, Patrick C and Edmond]
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Nokia E90 Black Edition Pictures
May 31, 2008
It’s picture day today. What superior way to spend a Sunday glazing at the Nokia E90 Black Edition Pictures? From what I have the ability to see, the design says elegance, responsibility and creativity. I’d go for a test drive on one… Via [Mobilewhack]
Popularity: 2% [?]
LG’s KC550: large cam, small price
May 30, 2008
Filed under: Handsets, LG, GSM, EDGE
Handset manufacturers — particularly Samsung, LG, and lately, Huawei — have a tendency to barrage the FCC’s approval process with countless models, most of which we’ll never see, much less pay any mind to as they’re quietly launched in some corner of the world with tiny to differentiate them from the models that precede or succeed them. Of course, that’s not always the case, and here’s a great example: LG’s KC550, a phone we saw approval for last month that turns out to be a pretty neat slider that LG trumpets as its cheapest 5 megapixel model to date. What makes it so cheap? Well, triband EDGE data with no 3G, for starters — and a mere 25MB of integrated memory helps too — but you’ve still got your microSD slot to play with, and the camera’s a decent Schneider-Kreuznach unit with image stabilization and autofocus. Not bad for the
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