Archive for 2008

Xperia X1 gets Facebook Panel

One of the Key features of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 are the customisable panels. The X1 comes with several panels pre-installed and you can install new one as they become available. There’s some argument at the moment that the Panel concept has yet to be fully exploited and there aren’t any killer Panels out there yet.

Could this be about to change? Well a new Panel became available today on the SE download site. It’s a dedicated Facebook Panel.

I’ve been trialing this for the last few weeks and can say that it’s definitely a step in the right direction, it’s very similar to the Facebook application on the iPhone. If you are a Facebook addict then you are going to love this! I cant wait to see more Panel like this on – I really want an eBay panel!

You can find the Facebook panel on the Sony Ericsson download site.

Posted by: Matt

Windows Mobile based LG Incite on AT&T

AT&T and LG unveiled the availability of the LG Incite, a Windows Mobile powered smartphone with 3G capabilities, built-in aGPS and Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) and Bluetooth 2.0. The LG Incite is equipped with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, Microsoft Office Mobile and Microsoft ActiveSync 4.5.

LG Incite

AT&T Debuts LG Incite Global 3G Smartphone

AT&T and LG Mobile Phones Launch New Windows Mobile 6.1 Smartphone With Sleek Design, Vibrant Touch Screen, aGPS, Wi-Fi and More

Dallas, Texas, San Diego, California, November 18, 2008

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) and LG Electronics MobileComm U.S.A. Inc. (LG Mobile Phones) today announced the availability of the LG Incite™, the newest Windows Mobile device powered by the nation’s fastest 3G network for users who crave premium capabilities with ultramodern design. The Incite — available in the U.S. exclusively to AT&T customers — stirs up the smartphone market, with its stylish, sleek look and sophisticated technology.

The LG Incite boasts the latest in wireless communications technology, with domestic and international 3G capabilities, built-in aGPS and Wi-Fi^® (802.11 b/g) and Bluetooth 2.0^®. The LG Incite is equipped with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, Microsoft Office Mobile and Microsoft ActiveSync 4.5. The Incite, the first of its kind for LG Mobile, offers Windows Media Player 10.

LG Incite looks as good as it sounds: a sophisticated, sleek design, a crystal-clear 3-inch touch screen and a 3.0 megapixel camera and camcorder that enables consumers to send and enjoy memories at the touch of a button. Users have a choice of on-screen virtual keyboards — a full, QWERTY keyboard in landscape mode and a 20-key keyboard in portrait view — with haptic keys that provide vibration feedback. The Incite also offers users choice in terms of screen navigation by simply using their fingers to move through the Incite’s friendly user interface, the scroll button to the upper right of the screen or the included stylus. A configurable, drag-and-drop favorites menu provides quick access to the applications that matter most to the user.

The Incite is pre-loaded with everything you’d expect, including AT&T Navigator, powered by TeleNav, featuring turn-by-turn voice and on-screen directions with colorful 3-D moving maps that can be used in vehicles or while walking. AT&T Navigator also features traffic alerts, re-routing and other location-based services. There also is business and personal e-mail access through Microsoft Direct Push and AT&T’s Xpress Mail service, instant messaging and AT&T Mobile Music service, which provides fast access to downloadable music from eMusic^®.

Store all your favorite songs with the microSD Memory Port with up to 16GB of support. Bluetooth 2.0 capabilities allow consumers to wirelessly access music through stereo headsets, transmit data to other Bluetooth-enabled devices and make calls hands-free anytime. The Incite also features AT&T Video ShareSM, the first-ever service in the U.S. that allows users to share live video over wireless devices while participating in a voice call.

"LG Mobile Phones has done an outstanding job in its first offering in the U.S. smartphone arena with the LG Incite, and AT&T is pleased to the be first U.S. carrier to offer an LG smartphone," said Michael Woodward, vice president, Smart Devices for AT&T’s wireless operations. "It is a great looking smartphone with powerful capabilities that will provide our customers with a new and outstanding choice in our Windows Mobile smartphone portfolio, which is the broadest in the industry."

Ehtisham Rabbani, vice president of Marketing and Product Strategy for LG Mobile Phones, said: "LG is excited to offer a phone with a different capability than anything we’ve offered in the U.S. thus far. As a leading provider of handsets, LG constantly looks toward the future and strives to incorporate the newest technologies as they become available to our consumers."

The Incite also supports Microsoft’s System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008, an enterprise-grade mobile solution for managing and protecting Windows Mobile 6.1 phones. Mobile Device Manager helps companies provide its mobile workers with software updates and applications over the air, as well as security-enhanced access to company data. The Incite operates on AT&T’s 3G BroadbandConnect network, which currently is available in more than 320 major metropolitan areas in the U.S. and, by year-end, AT&T expects to offer the service in nearly 350 leading U.S. markets. In addition to 3G connectivity, the Incite is also designed to connect seamlessly with AT&T’s nationwide¹ EDGE network, which is available in more than 13,000 cities and towns and along some 40,000 miles of major highways. When abroad, customers can use the Incite to make a phone call in more than 200 countries and access data in more than 150, including more than 60 with 3G networks. AT&T has the broadest international wireless coverage of any U.S. carrier.

The Incite is available now in AT&T retail stores nationwide and online at www.wireless.att.com for $199.99 with a new two-year agreement and mail-in rebate. AT&T voice plans begin at $39.99 with monthly enterprise data plans priced at $45 and personal data plans at $30 per month. Small business customers also can subscribe to AT&T’s new, industry-first BusinessTalk voice plans, which start at $60 a month for five users and 700 Anytime Minutes and can be expanded for $9.99 a line to accommodate up to 40 users and 20,000 Anytime Minutes.

For the complete array of AT&T offerings, visit www.att.com.

Posted by: John

Vodafone Christmas Lineup

Vodafone has announced its Christmas handset line-up and offers for 2008, boasting 16 exclusives within its festive portfolio.

With the new BlackBerry Storm topping the list, and the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 netbook with built-in mobile broadband, the company is clearly hoping the thought of shiny gadgets to play with on Christmas morning will tempt the UK’s cash-conscious consumers.

Pay as you talk customers will get a free gift of a digital photo frame with purchases of the Samsung G600, Nokia 6500 Classic or the Sony Ericsson K770i.

Ian Shepherd, consumer director for Vodafone UK, says: "This year’s Christmas range features a great mix of phones at a price that will please everyone. Many of our exclusive mobiles will make ideal gifts especially as several will come with a free digital photo frame".

The list of phones available to Christmas shoppers is as follows:

Pay as you talk:
Sony Ericsson K770i – exclusive in pink or silver – Cyber-shot camera phone, £80 when bought with £20 Top Up
Sony Ericsson W350 – exclusive black and purple colourway – a music clamshell, £60
Sony Ericsson W910i Havana Gold – exclusive – £100
Samsung Steel – exclusive – 3-megapixel (MP) camera phone with autofocus and video capture, £80 (also available on contract)
Samsung J700 – exclusive in silver and pink – slider phone, £50
Samsung G600 – available in pink and graphite 5MP camera phone, £100
Samsung Omnia – Windows Mobile device with a 5MP camera and full touchscreen, £400 (and from free on contract)
Nokia 6500 classic – 2 MP camera, 1GB internal memory and 3G, £100

Vodafone’s own range of mobiles are offered within the pay as you talk line up with the VF527 Rainbow in a variety of colours (£30 inc £10 Airtime), the VF725 2MP camera phone (£50), the VF533 1.3MP camera slider (£30 when bought with £10 Top Up), and the compact VF231 (£20).

Contract:
BlackBerry Storm 9500 – multi-media smartphone purpose built for Vodafone customers
Nokia 6210 – exclusive – 3.2MP camera, satnav, email and internet
Nokia N96 16GB – 5MP camera, 16GB memory
Nokia 6124 Classic – 2MP camera phone
Sony Ericsson 595 Walkman – exclusive in black and red – music slider phone with stereo sound, shake control, MegaBass and an AM/FM Radio
Sony Ericsson C905 – Cyber-shot camera slider phone with an 8.1-megapixel camera and real flash
Sony Ericsson Xperia – Windows Mobile device, QWERTY slide-out keyboard, 3-inch colour touchscreen

Posted by: John

Samsung Tobi S3030 Launched

Samsung have announced the launch of the Samsung Tobi (S3030) in Europe and Asia , a mobile phone that aims to cater to pre-teens, young adults, and those who wish to have both "fun and safety features" from their mobile phones.

Samsung Tobi in Array of Colours

The Samsung Tobi comes in six colours: – Sweet Pink, Loyal Blue, Apple Green, Bright Orange, Oasis Blue and Snow Silver.

SEOUL, KOREA – Nov 13, 2008 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a leading mobile phone provider, announces the launch of Samsung Tobi (Model: S3030), a mobile phone customized to amuse pre-teens, young adults, and anyone who desires to experience fun and safety features from their mobile phones. With friendly graphical user interface (GUI) and splashy design, Samsung Tobi is a perfect match for the mobile users who wish to stand out from the crowd. Also with various safety features and eco-friendly material, Samsung Tobi assures the security of the Samsung Tobi users.

Samsung Tobi is designed to meet the needs and desires of the mobile users to express their personality and style with mobile phones. First, Samsung Tobi features unique GUI themes which have never been applied previously in any other mobile phones. Affable animated characters in three themes, Monster theme, Snowman theme and Ocean World theme, capture the hearts of viewers instantaneously. Moreover, Samsung Tobi features changeable backside cover. Users can insert their favorite photo or image under the see-through protective sleeve on the back to customize their Samsung Tobi.

Available in six dazzling colors Sweet Pink, Loyal Blue, Apple Green, Bright Orange, Oasis Blue and Snow Silver each color variation Samsung Tobi is exceptionally designed to fulfill the visual satisfaction needs of even the most design-conscious mobile users.
With various safety functions such as SOS Call, SOS Message and Fake Call Samsung Tobi also fascinates parents with children at young age. Using these safety features, users can be directly linked to their family members and friends in emergent situations and even easily escape from dangerous situations. With Samsung Tobi parents are always assured that their children are equipped with safety tools to keep them as secure as possible.

Moreover, built with recyclable and biodegradable bio-plastic, Samsung Tobi is made friendly for the environment. Samsung Tobi is painted using non-toxic paints and non-allergic materials to keep the environment as well as the health of the users safe. Additionally, the earphone is also made of eco-friendly materials without any polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

Starting from Italia and UK launch in November, Samsung Tobi will continue to meet the mobile users in other European countries, CIS, and China within this year.

Additional information about Samsung Tobi as well as access to various related contents are available the Samsung Tobi official website at http://tobi.samsungmobile.com. Starting from November 21st, users can also download various images to personalize the backside cover of their Samsung Tobi. Various other Samsung Tobi contents such as screensavers, wallpapers, calendar and entertainments such as game are available on the website.

Samung Tobi Specifications:

Network GPRS Tri-Band (900/1800/1900 MHz)
Display 1.9" QCIF 65K
Camera 1.3-megapixel camera
Audio Music Player (MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA)
Value-added Features
Three themes (Monster, Snowman, Ocean world)
Six color variations (Sweet Pink, Loyal Blue, Apple Green,
Bright Orange, Oasis Blue and Snow Silver)
SOS function (SOS call, SOS message, Fake call)
Eco-friendly and non-toxic material
Changeable backside images
Games (Brain Challenge, Tetris Mania)
Connectivity
Bluetooth messenger
Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0
Memory Internal Memory: 15MB; External Memory: Micro SD (Up to 8GB)
Size 94.7x 45.4x 17.5 mm, 85g

Posted by: John