Phones

Microsoft My Phone beta coming soon

The Microsoft My Phone Beta which we already know about as it was originally called SkyBox is showing up online now just as a coming soon page with a little more information. Basically its Microsoft’s answer to backing up your data into the Cloud and nothing much more really and with a tiny storage limit of 200 Mb. My Phone syncs information on your mobile phone to a storage space on a web site hosted by Microsoft. If your phone is lost or stolen, or if you upgrade to a new phone, you can easily restore the contacts, calendar appointments, photos, and other information that you stored on My Phone to a compatible new or replacement phone. Most phones that run the Windows Mobile 6 operating system are compatible with My Phone service. More details after the break.

Samsung Omnia now in Purple

Samsung are about to release a new colour variant to the i900 Omnia, it’s purple to complement the already existing black and white versions. Also added in is new security and social applications plus new home screen widgets and a TV-out cable. Specs of the phone remain untouched – 3.2-inch WQVGA touch display, 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, Wi-Fi, HSDPA and GPS support. The internal storage also stays the same with 8 and 16-gig versions.

iPhone 2.1 Could be a Nano

A real hardware change may come this year for the Apple iPhone. PinchMedia was the first one to have seen the new iPhone and since then there have been some very intriguing evidence of its existence, though no one can say for sure if it’s an iPhone Nano or not an iPhone Nano and we don’t know.

Windows Mobile soon to be Windows Phone?

According to an article in Digitimes, Microsoft, which is planning to unveil its Windows Mobile 6.5 platform at the Mobile World Congress week after next, has decided that, going forward, Windows Mobile-based handsets will be promoted simply as Windows phones without specifying an OS version number, according to market sources in Taiwan. Sales of Windows Mobile-based handsets totalled about 20 million units in 2008, accounting for 13% of the global handset sales, said the sources. The reasoning behind this decision, if true, can only be to avoid dating a handsets OS and cloud the waters for consumers so they don’t really know for sure if the device has the latest software, will get the latest software or whatever else to cause confusion. If as we believe Windows Mobile 6.5 will be announced next week but won’t be available until September, this will again cause consumers to hold back on future purchases as experience of the 6.1 upgrade fiasco of last year where some devices have just got the update and others are still waiting is all too fresh in the mind.

Via DigiTimes

Spb’s new multiplatform approach to product development

Press Release : Spb Software, world’s top Windows Mobile applications developer releases Spb Wallet 2.0 for Window Mobile and Symbian-based smartphones, with the iPhone/iPod version to appear in App Stores soon. The new Spb Wallet 2.0 – a secure repository of most valuable private information, such as PINs, passwords, keys, account, passport, and credit card numbers – has versions for non- and touchscreen Windows Mobile devices, Symbian Series 60 smartphones (including Nokia 5800 touch screen), Apple’s iPhone and iPod, and a desktop component. The new multiplatform approach allows users of Spb Wallet to keep their private data safe, even when they swap phones or mobile platforms

Motorola testing out LTE in UK

According to a press release, Motorola have started trials of an LTE network in the UK. LTE, or Long Term Evolution, is a a 4th generation (4G) mobile broadband standard and is aimed to be the successor to the 3G technologies GSM/UMTS. Like WiMAX, this technology will provide broadband services wirelessly but instead of transmitting signals via microwaves, LTE utilizes a radio platform. You will need a LTE modem to access the network, which can be in USB format, ExpressCard, PCMCIA, or embedded in a laptop; it will also likely be featured as the internet connection on PDAs and phones of the future and promises peak download rates of up to 100Mbps. The full press release is after the break.

Windows Mobile 6.5 devices not coming until September 2009?

According to Mary-Jo Foley of ZDNet we won’t be seeing any Windows Mobile 6.5 devices until September at the earliest. This would make sense of the Toshiba TG01 being announced with 6.1. If this is more than just another rumour the update must be more than we were expecting or have seen so far, surely it cannot just be a quick makeover and a few extra services thrown in for good measure. According to Mary-Jo, While Windows Mobile officials won’t talk about ship-date targets some folks familiar with Microsoft’s plans are talking. Here’s the latest from her sources:

• Windows Mobile 6.5 RTM (release to manufacturing): April 2009
• First Windows Mobile 6.5 devices from cell phone makers: September 2009
• Windows Mobile 7.0 release to testers: November 2009
• First Windows Mobile 7.0 devices from cell phone makers: April 2010

So there you go, bet you can’t wait to hear what Microsoft have to say at Mobile World Congress now.

via WMExperts and ZDnet

T-Mobile G1 Firmware RC33 Details

G1 users should be receiving a new update, Firmware version 1.1 / RC33 will be sent to all G1 users over the next two weeks. The update includes several bug fixes and feature enhancements, but is not ‘Cupcake’. You need not take any action as the update is issued at random and will reach everyone in due course. For those interested in exactly what is included in the update, we have all the details after the break.

Rim sells over 50 million Blackberry handsets

The company announced on Wednesday that it had hit the sales milestone for its iconic smartphone almost exactly ten years after the first Blackberry was launched in January of 1999. In the years that followed its release, the Blackberry grew from making two-way pagers to add phone, email and web browsing support to its products as the name became almost synonymous with the business smart phone market. Since then, the company estimates that it has amassed a user base of 21 million subscribers who transfer an estimated three petabytes of data over the handset each month.

Garmin and Asus join forces, nuvifone on its way

Press Release : Garmin Ltd. and ASUSTeK Computer Inc. today announced a strategic alliance that will leverage the companies’ navigation and mobile telephony expertise to design, manufacture and distribute co-branded location-centric mobile phones. Garmin and ASUS have already begun joint development on a diverse mobile phone product line, which will be known as the Garmin-Asus nüvifone™ series. The companies expect to bring to market several Garmin-Asus nüvifone models in 2009, and a new Garmin-Asus nüvifone model will be announced at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain, February 16-19, 2009.