News

Press Release: i-mate Go brings one touch browsing to handsets

We all like freebies and this time it’s the turn of i-mate to give things away.

i-mate™ Go brings one touch browsing to handsets

Simplified user experience and Windows Mobile® 6.1 position i-mate for mass market appeal

9th December 2008 – i-mate™, the global specialist in Microsoft Windows

Mobile devices and software, today launched Go, a new user interface for imate handsets. i-mate Go takes advantage of i-mate’s high resolution touch screens and advanced capabilities to deliver one touch access to the user’s favourite functions through a simple icon based menu.

Today also marks the start of Windows Mobile® 6.1 availability for the i-mate Ultimate range, commencing with the i-mate Ultimate 9502 and Ultimate 8502. Windows Mobile® 6.1 will be available for the Ultimate 8150 and Ultimate 6150 very shortly.

Designed with first time i-mate customers in mind, i-mate Go is also expected to appeal to experienced Windows Mobile users. This is because it offers a faster way of getting things done, whilst also ensuring the full suite of Windows Mobile tools remain within easy reach.

With the tap or slide of a finger, i-mate Go easily navigates through the full suite of Windows Mobile tools. Users can customise the interface adding their own icons for one touch access to the things they use every day from emails, notes and text messages to pictures, the internet or music. i-mate Go is available as a free download for the Ultimate 9502, Ultimate 8502,

Ultimate 8150, Ultimate 6150, and JAMA 101.

Commenting today about the launch, Jim Morrison, CEO and founder of imate said, “Our mobiles already offer a unique combination of impressive functionality that you won’t find in any other mobile phone. The free release of i-mate Go together with the backing of Windows Mobile 6.1 is the icing on the cake delivering unparalleled usability and performance. Add to that our extensive support and free innovative solutions to see why i-mate really is the smarter choice.”

Windows Mobile 6.1 delivers a host of enhancements to i-mate Ultimate handsets including the ability to thread together text messages to track a conversation just like Instant Messaging, faster connection to Wi-Fi, easier email set up, Bluetooth pairing improvements and improved battery performance.

i-mate GO and Windows Mobile 6.1 are available for free at www.imate.com.

Simply register your i-mate mobile online and download.

The new i-mate Go interface is powered by VITO Winterface.

As mentioned in the press release the new i-mate go is powered by Vito’s Winterface which we have done several reports on in the past. If you want this then head on over to the i-mate website where it’s available for FREE.

Posted by: John

HTC Touch HD on O2

It’s not yet officially on the o2 website but the MoDaCo team have announced that you can now get this handset on an o2 monthly contract from mobiles.co.uk.

If you use the code ‘MODACO’ you will get a free ‘Jabra Bluetooth 2010 Drive Pack’!

Good news for all you HD fans then. Remember that the Q&A post for the touch HD is live and questions can still be asked.

Posted by: John

[source]

Sonim Announce Deal with Land Rover & New XP3 Handset

Lets start of by telling you about the deal that Sonim has just signed with car manufacturer Land Rover. Together they`ll produce co-branded rugged mobile phones and the first models will see daylight next year. The first two models should be available by mid-2009 named the Land Rover S1 and Land Rover S2 G4. A third one is expected to hit the market a bit later in 2009. The companies plan to contract with some of the top operators and to spread their phones in 40 countries.

Just as the latest Sonim XP3, all Land Rover handsets will be submersible and should withstand salt, fog, humidity, transport and thermal shock. They are also supposed to survive a 1.6-meter drop to concrete.

Land Rover S1

Next is the news of their latest handset the Sonim XP3 which aint the best looking mobile phone but will be a treat for anyone in a job where they have to face extreme conditions like the building trade.

Sonim XP3

Sonim XP3 Specifications:

• GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900
• Dimensions: 118.8 x 56.3 x 24.6 mm
• Weight: 140 g
• Display Type: TFT, 65K colors
• Size: 128 x 160 pixels, 1.77 inches     
• Vibration
• GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 – 48 kbps
• Bluetooth v1.2
• miniUSB
• WAP 2.0/xHTML
• Shock, water and dust resistant
• Drop-to-concrete resistance up to 2m
• Water proof up to 1m
• Organizer
• Alarm clock
• Calculator
• Voice memo
• Stopwatch
• Count-down timer
• File manager
• Built-in handsfree
• Standard battery: Li-Ion 1180 mAh
• Stand-by: Up to 220 h
• Talk time: Up to 5 h 30 min

Posted by: John

[source]

Samsung S9402 Announced with Name Change

On the 27th of October we gave you the news of a leaked dual sim handset from Samsung named the S9402 DuoS. Today we can reveal that it’s official but it does have a name change.

The dual SIM Samsung S9402 will now be called the Samsung Ego and will pack a 2-inch AMOLED display, and a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with face recognition.

Samsung Ego

The Samsung S9402 Ego is made by a new exotic liquid metal alloy developed by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Compared to titanium this new material seems to be more than perfect for the body of a high-end gadget like the new Ego. It turns out that the liquid metal is 3 times stronger and 1.6 times more flexible. It withstands 1.8 times more pressure, has 3 times better vibration absorption and 100% lower thermal conductivity.

Samsung Ego

Everything else in the Samsung S9402 Ego is exclusive too – content, menu, ringtones were created especially for this model and won’t be found in any other of the company’s devices.

Samsung Ego

The Samsung S9402 Ego is expected to hit the shelves (Russia first) this month at an estimated price of 1400 euro (around 1800 US dollars) which is just a bit less than what Motorola expects to get for their Aura and a lot more than the price of a Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte.

Samsung Ego S9402 Specifications:

• GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900 – SIM 1
• GSM 900 / 1800 – SIM 2
• Dimensions: 115 x 48 x 16 mm
• Weight: 140 g
• Display Type: OLED, 256K colors
• Size : 240 x 320 pixels, 2.0 inches
• Vibration
• microSD (TransFlash), up to 8 GB
                1 GB user available memory
• GPRS
• EDGE
• Bluetooth  v2.0 with A2DP
• USB
• SMS, EMS, MMS, Email
• WAP 2.0/xHTML
• Camera: 5 MP, 2560?1920 pixels, autofocus, image stabiliser, video, flash
• Liquid metal body
• Dual SIM
• Java MIDP 2.0
• MP3/AAC+/MPEG4 player
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• Document viewer
• Voice memo
• Built-in handsfree
• Standard battery, Li-Ion 960 mAh
• Stand-by: Up to 280 h
• Talk time: Up to 3 h 30 min

Posted by: John

[source]

Press Release: O2 to Launch BlackBerry Curve 8900 smartphone in the UK

A nice piece of news here for Blackerry fans in general ad those on the O2 Network in particular.

Blackberry Curve 8900

9 December 2008 10:09

O2 to Launch BlackBerry Curve 8900 smartphone in the UK

O2 today announces that the new BlackBerry® Curve™ 8900 smartphone will be available for pre-registration in the UK from December 10th and pre-order from December 22nd from the O2 website: www.o2.co.uk/blackberry. The BlackBerry Curve 8900 will be available to customers from 5th January 2009.

A sleek, new twist on a classic style, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 is the thinnest BlackBerry® smartphone yet. With its powerful communications functionality and rich multimedia capabilities, the smartphone enables people to remain productive and entertained while on the move.

The new BlackBerry Curve 8900, as well as being an exceptional phone with email, messaging, organizer, web browser and multimedia applications, also features built-in Wi-Fi®, GPS including BlackBerry® Maps, a fast processor and a dazzling hi-resolution display that gives users an enjoyable and exceptional communications experience.

The stylish new BlackBerry Curve 8900 has a full featured media player that supports media streaming and can play all your favourite songs and videos. With a 3.2 megapixel camera, auto focus, digital zoom and flash, you can take sharp, print quality pictures that you can send straight to friends or post directly onto the Internet.

Steve Alder, General Manager Group and UK Devices for Telefónica O2 UK said “The BlackBerry Curve 8310 was one of our fastest selling handsets and we are pleased to offer our customers yet another fantastic smartphone from RIM, the BlackBerry Curve 8900. It is ideal for both business customers and consumers who want the functionality of a smartphone in a sleek, slim form that feels great in your hand.”

The BlackBerry Curve 8900 is approximately 110 grams and 109 x 60 13.5 mm. Its large, striking, 2.4 inch HVGA+ display projects vivid colour and makes information easier to read.

The BlackBerry Curve 8900 will range from free to £234 depending on tariffs and is supported by O2 for BlackBerry® Enterprise Server and BlackBerry® Internet Service.

For corporate users BlackBerry Enterprise Server tightly integrates with IBM® Lotus® Domino®, Microsoft® Exchange and Novell® GroupWise® and uses advanced encryption and IT policy controls to enable secure, push-based wireless access to email and other corporate data.

BlackBerry Internet Service is designed for smaller businesses and individuals. It allows customers to access up to 10 supported corporate and personal email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts such as, Yahoo! Mail and Google Mail) from a single device.

Technical Data

• Preloaded DataViz® Documents to Go® allows users to edit Microsoft® Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the handset
• A sleek, new twist on a classic style with a large 2.4-inch, HGVA+, 480×360-pixel display with light sensor
• 3.2 megapixel camera, with variable zoom, auto focus, image stabilization and a powerful flash that also provides continuous lighting when recording video
• Built-in assisted and autonomous GPS
• 256MB Flash memory and a microSD®/microSDHC® memory card slot that supports up to 16 GB of additional storage
• A 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, support for Bluetooth® 2.0 stereo audio profile (A2DP/AVRCP) and dedicated volume controls
• Quad band support for GSM/GPRS/EDGE on 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• 512 MHz processor
• It features a full QWERTY keyboard and is the thinnest full QWERTY BlackBerry smartphone
• Extend your wideband coverage with its built-in Wi-Fi support (802.11 b/g)
• 1400 mAh removable/rechargeable battery with 5.5 hours of talk time and 356 hours/15 days of standby time

We will of course be getting a hands on with this device really soon so watch this space for our review and our un boxing video.

HTC Release Fix for Touch HD Screen Freezing

Not a problem that I have ever encountered with the Touch HD but I’m sure there are lots of people who have had it hence HTC’s fast Hotfix release.

HTC Touch HD

Hot fix to enhance response time for HTC Touch HD

Date: 2008-12-04 Category: Hotfix

Sometimes the screen stops responding for about 3 to 5 seconds when running an application that needs to use the stylus to click the screen repeatedly within a short time. For example, the windows built-in software like SMS, email, solitaire, etc.
Installation Instructions: Follow the instructions below to install this software onto your device.

Note: This hot fix can only be installed in ROM version less than 1.19.???.?. To check your ROM version, tap Start > Settings > System tab > Device Information to confirm the ROM version.

Follow the instructions below to download and install the hot fix on your device:

1. Make sure you have Microsoft ActiveSync^® installed on your Windows XP PC or Windows Mobile Device Center on your Windows Vista^® PC. You can find Microsoft ActiveSync from this link or Windows Mobile Device Center from this link.
2. Connect and synchronize your device with your PC via Microsoft ActiveSync^® orWindows Mobile Device Center using the USB cable.
3. To download the hot fix, first select the check box below. Next, select the hot fix and the desired FTP site then click Download.
4. Copy the hot fix, which is an .exe file, to your device.

To install the hot fix, tap the .exe file and follow the on-screen instructions.

* If you perform a hard reset of your device, you need to reinstall the hot fix after the hard reset. 

To get the hot fix head on over to HTC’s website and carry out the instructions shown there.

Posted by: John

Press Release – Nokia 2608 – Stylish and practical meet in the middle

OK So here is another phone by the Phone Giant that is Nokia. The “comes in 3 colours” handset should appeal to the teen to mid 20’s market and the retail price is currently unknown.

Today Nokia announced a bright new addition to their CDMA portfolio, the Nokia 2608. With its high-gloss exterior, racy stripe down the middle and three colourful options, the Nokia 2608 fold phone was designed for style enthusiasts and consumers who want convenient functionality when they’re on the go. Whether it’s fuchsia with pink stripe, silver with green stripe or black with blue stripe there are choices for expressing individuality. In addition to the eye-catching exterior, consumers can personalize their Nokia 2608 by using the pre-loaded ringtones and wallpapers or by downloading new ones.

When it comes to being practical the Nokia 2608 offers easy to use functions such as quick touch access to one’s PC, using the phone as a modem; a voice recorder for capturing those key thoughts and an integrated speakerphone for conference calls on the run. The practical Nokia 2608 is also the lowest priced browser offered in Nokia’s CDMA portfolio and features a quick-press flashlight, FM radio, LED indicator light that blinks when there is an incoming call or message waiting and an option to send a business card or calendar appointment via SMS.

The Nokia 2608 is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2009, in select CDMA markets outside the US.

Posted by: John

Lenovo P80 to hit China

I bet you that when you read the title of this post you immediately thought of a Laptop. I’m afraid you were wrong in going down that route, I was infact talking about a mobile phone.

You may not know it but Lenovo do also make mobile phones and they sold their China-based cellphone business along with the brand to a company called Hony Capital who up to now have not been greatly successful.

The Lenovo P80 main display is a 2.8-inch TFT unit, but the device also has an ingeniously hidden 1-inch OLED one on the outside. The rest of the modest specs include a 3 megapixel snapper (CIF video @15fps), FM radio, Bluetooth and a microSD slot. There is dual-band GSM support and of course, but no 3G.

The target market for Lenovo P80 is logically China and it will be available in seven different colours. Unfortunately there is no info on pricing and availability yet.

Posted by: John

[source]

Press Release: LYCAMOBILE’S FREE TEXT MESSAGE OFFER

If only all UK operators had the same thoughts as Lyca Mobile.

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTSMS WITH LYCAMOBILE’S FREE TEXT MESSAGE OFFER

First-rate offer of free text messages to mobiles in ALL countries
Why send cards? Deliver your holiday greetings for free and on time via SMS
Pay As You Go SIM is the ideal stocking filler and secret Santa gift
Festive offer period lasts from 1^stDecember to  2^nd January

LYCAMOBILE, the international mobile telecoms provider, helps to unite friends and families across the globe this Christmas and New Year with a special festive offer that gives international mobile phone users the opportunity to send their loved ones UNLIMITEDtext messages to mobiles in ANY country in the world.
From this 1^st December to 2^ndJanuary 2009, all users of Lycamobile’s Pay As You Go SIM, who top-up with £20 in December, can send free Christsmsto mobiles worldwide, may it be to Australia or to Zimbabwe. Complementing Lycamobile’s existing cut-price international call rates, starting from as little as 3p per minute, the festive offer is much more than just the icing on the Christmas cake.

“As always the focus of our festive promotion is to unite family and friends. In line with the increasing trend of sending text messages, we have developed a unique SMS promotion that allows our customers to interact on a global scale in a more straightforward and uncomplicated manner,” says Lycamobile’s CEO Milind Kangle.

Lycamobile’s free text message deal offers users unlimited opportunities that can range from getting your Christmas party started via free SMS invitations to sending seasonal SMS-powered greetings rather than spending extra money on extravagant cards and international postage fees.
As well as sending free text messages to any country, new Lycamobile customers get an extra £2 credit on registration and all customers get an additional £10 worth of calls on £20 top-up vouchers. Calls can be made by simply replacing an existing SIM card, in any unlocked UK mobile handset,with the Lycamobile Pay As You Go SIM. Top-ups and SIM cards are available from more than 85,000 UK retail outlets, including newsagents, convenience stores, payzone and e-pay. Top-up vouchers can also be purchased online at www.lycamobile.co.uk.
On top of its seasonal rates Lycamobile always offers cut-price national tariffs, with calls to UK landlines costing 8p per minute while calls to UK mobiles are 10p per minute. Calls made between Lycamobile customers are even less at 0p per minute plus a one-off connection charge
“Why not give the gift of free worldwide text messages and bargain rate calls to your family, friends and colleagues? Our compactly-sized Pay As You Go SIM card makes an ideal stocking filler and secret Santa gift,” adds Kangle.

I’m not sure how much a PAYG simcard from Lyca Mobile will cost but I know that Tesco sell them, so why not get over there and see what this is all about.

For the sake of a £20 top up to take part in this offer it makes me think "where’s the catch", but in all honesty there is none.

Fantastic offer folks, I’m off to get myself a simcard.

Posted by: John

ModeLabs Group Announce MTV 3.4

ModeLabs Group, the French manufacturer of tailor-made phones (like the Christian Dior and the Hummer HT1 ones) has announced the availability of MTV 3.4 “Non-Stop MTV” – a new handset designed for youngsters.

ModeLabs Group: MTV 3.4 “Non-Stop MTV”: A New 3G Mobile Available with an Exclusive Offer By SFR

PARIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Regulatory News:

ModeLabs Group (Paris:MDL), the creator of tailor-made handsets, announces the commercial launch of its new MTV 3.4 “Non-Stop MTV” mobile telephone. Following the success of the MTV 3.3 launched in May 2008, MTV is thus reinforcing its range of 100% Music and TV mobiles with the MTV 3.4 to be made available as an exclusive SFR Pack in all SFR shops and retail distribution.

The MTV 3.4 “Non-Stop MTV” mobile incorporates the full range of multimedia functionalities. In particular, its “one-click” ergonomics developed by ModeLabs provide it with SINGLE CLICK access to MTV channels and to MTV’s musical playlists. The MTV 3.4 also possesses a large choice of preloaded MTV content (ring tones, videos, logos and games) and is equipped with a 2 mega pixel camera, an MP3 player, a videoconferencing function, an RSS feed reader and a memory that can be enlarged via a micro SD card.

Available for €29 as part of the SFR pack, this new generation mobile will be the perfect occasion to satisfy young consumers during the year-end festivities.

Coming after the MTV 3.3 phone, which was released in May this year, MTV 3.4 “Non-Stop MTV” obviously offers a set of features that will bring people closer to the popular music TV channel.

These include MTV musical playlists, single click access to MTV channels, exclusive ring tones, logos, wallpapers and two MTV games (Dirty Sanchez and Urban Attack).

MTV 3.4 “Non-Stop MTV” may be a good-looking slider, but except for the stuff mentioned above, its specs are rather modest:

• 3G connectivity

• MP3 player

• 2MP camera

• Videoconferencing

• RSS feed reader

• MicroSD card support, up to 2GB

MTV 3.4 “Non-Stop MTV” is currently available only in France, via SFR, for as low as €29 (as part of a SFR pack).

No word yet about the phone’s availability in other markets.

Posted by: John

[source & text]