Phones

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.

Toshiba TG01 official video

Toshiba have released their first official marketing video of the newly announced TG01 Windows Mobile phone. The video which we have after the break demonstrates just how thin the device is as well as showing the new user interface, on-screen keyboard and shake controls available on the phone. The video is after the break complete with slow motion and soundtrack, pure marketing gold.

Toshiba TG01 processor Qualcomm Snapdragon, what does it offer?

After today’s announcement of the Toshiba TG01 and its new 1Ghz processor we thought we would find out and share some more information on what it has to offer. Combining a 1GHz processor core, and Qualcomm’s sixth generation DSP and 3G connectivity with ultra-low power consumption to create new mobile devices with the performance to revolutionize the world of mobile computing. The Qualcomm Snapdragon platform empowers a new generation of Pocketable Computing Devices (PCDs) and Mobile Computing Devices (MCDs) that deliver real-time ubiquitous communication, high performance multimedia, location-aware content, full Internet browsing and productivity applications, all with the lowest levels of power consumption for all-day battery life.

Toshiba TG01 announced, Windows Mobile is sexy again!

Toshiba this morning announced their latest Windows Mobile device, the TG01, set to take on the HTC Touch HD and iPhone 3G at their own game.  The Toshiba TG01 is a skinny 9.9mm running Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional with a 4.1-inch WVGA 800 x 480 384k pixel resistive touchscreen, 3G HSPA, WiFi, GPS and A-GPS.  It also features Toshiba’s own 3D user interface, and is the first device to use Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon QSD2850 chipset. More info after the break along with some videos showing the UI, gaming and video playback.

HP Voice and Data Messenger devices now in stock in UK

The HP Voice and Data Messenger devices are now in stock at online retailers in the UK after what seem like a long wait since they were first announced. There are two models available the Voice Messenger which is a Windows Mobile Standard Device (no touchscreen) and the Data Messenger which is a Windows Mobile Professional device (with touchscreen). Full specs after the break.

Acer DX900 coming to the UK by end of February

We have just heard that the much anticipated Acer DX900 dual SIM Windows Mobile Professional phone should be available in the UK by the end of this month. What is special about this phone is the Acer DX900 is one of the world’s first dual-SIM and dual standby Windows Mobile handsets to support HSDPA and EDGE. The DX900 is a simple solution to an increasingly in-demand requirement for consumers who need access to two mobile communications services, but don’t want to carry around two devices at the same time. In a nutshell this phone supports two SIM’s that are both active at the same time. More details after the break.

Microsoft T-Shirts given to charity shops

Just read this article over at msmobiles and thought it was such a good story it was worth sharing. Apparently popping up in charity shops over in the Seattle area of the USA are many different Microsoft T-Shirts apparently that are worn by employees of the software giant but no longer required. The shirts are a fun glimpse into the company’s internal culture and mindset and I am all for being proud of the products you are involved with, so to me there is no problem with them. People may laugh at the picture above, but why, Windows Mobile can do many more things than the iPhone, the problem is it just doesn’t do it as easily or without a little tweaking here and there. Lets see what Microsoft come out with at MWC later this month before we make a final decision. A few more of the T-Shirts are after the break.

Mobinnova ICE video unboxing

Tracy and Matt have managed to get hold of the Mobinnova Ice Windows Mobile professional handset and have posted a video unboxing. The Mobinnova Ice is a very high spec phone with a 3” WVGA screen, a secondary 128mm x 96mm OLED panel which is used as a touchpad, Tri-Band HSPA and WiFi b and g. It looks similar to the Samsung Omnia. Looking at the specifications it is lacking in a few areas like only 128 megs of Ram and a 3.2 Mpx autofocus camera. The main weakness appears to be the battery, its only a 1080mAh so should be interesting to see how that works out. Video and full specifications after the break.

Evernote funding, Awards and Releases

Looks like Evernote have tee’d off the New Year with a bang. A nice new update to their already tidy service adds GPS functionality, they’ve won an award for being the new kids on the block and they’ve secured monies to keep them going for a while. Have a read of their full announcement after the break.

Proposed US law would require phone cameras to make noise

The United States is suffering, with two foreign wars, a crumbling economy, and soaring budget deficits. What would you expect congress to be doing in a time of such national turmoil? If you guessed introducing asinine laws about shutter noises on camera phones, you would be right. The Camera Phone Predator Alert Act has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce by Rep. Peter King (R-NY). There are similar laws in effect in parts of Asia but this law will have absolutely zero effect on “camera phone predators”

The main reasons this bill is a dumb idea include: this bill does not apply to all digital cameras (only camera phones), most camera phones have video capture and there is no requirement for a video alert sound, and lastly most cell phone speakers are too quiet to alert anybody more than a couple of feet away, if you have ever tried to listen to music through the iPhone’s speakers you’ll know what I’m talking about.

A similar bill was introduced last year, but failed to gain any traction. To Representative King I would like to say good luck and as a tax payer, I would like to thank you for focusing on the really important issues at a time like this.

Source: Phone Scoop