Phones

Nokia 5800 Tube UK release end of January

Nokia has announced that its upcoming touchscreen phone, the 5800 or Tube, will be available to customers in the UK from 23 January. The new phone, touted to go head to head with Apple’s iPhone, was originally announced in August and was expected to be released on 2 October. The Nokia 5800 offers a 3.2in 640 x 360 touchscreen interface designed to be used with a fingertip, stylus or plectrum. The Tube also includes tactile feedback to help users confirm button and key clicks. Nokia said that the device will feature a dedicated media bar, giving easy access to music, maps, Ovi share and other multimedia applications. It also has surround sound built-in speakers and promises 35 hours of music playback.

LG touch screen 3G wrist watch video

Well we all love a bit of real geeky tech and this watch from LG delivers it. It’s basically a mobile phone built into a watch form factor with a touch screen, it has bluetooth, 3G / HSDPA and a reported talk time of 2hrs. Not sure I am ready to be seen in the street talking into my watch yet so the bluetooth could come in handy for a headset connection. Check out the LG video after the break.

Nokia sends the N810 WiMax Edition out to pasture

The same week that another major US city gets lit up with WiMax (Portland, Oregon), reports have been trickling out that Nokia has canceled the WiMax equipped version of its portable internet tablet. Nokia is allegedly saying that the N810 WiMax has reached its end of life, and declined to give any other explanation. There is speculation that the slow roll out of WiMax across the US may have limited the pool of buyers. With Baltimore, and now Portland  being the only big cities where  WiMax is available, there doesn’t seem to be  much of a market for this device. Though no official announcement has been made, and the N810 WiMax Edition is still available from several online stores including Amazon and even Nokia’s official site, it appears that the end is near for this WiMax device.

Source: Mobileburn

Finally a digital picture frame worth buying

Until now digital picture frames have been relegated to ugly hunks of electronics slapped together in a backroom factory somewhere in the Shenzen Special Economic Zone, and possibly containing viruses. In November T-Mobile introduced The T-Mobile Cameo which was a GSM connected picture frame that can display images sent to the frame via email or MMS. It is a neat idea, but paying a monthly fee to display pictures taken from camera phones was a tough pill to swallow, and the device is having a hard time finding a market for itself.

"Cupcake" update still in the works for Android

G1 users may be getting a much-needed update which comes with a virtual on-screen keyboard (similar to the iPhone).  This would be a nice addition since users have to slide open the keyboard for all typing purposes.  It is slightly inconvenient to slide the keyboard out, especially if you are typing a short response, so this update will eliminate that completely.  Call it copying the iPhone if you want, but it’s practical and makes perfect sense.  There is not a specific date set for the release, but lets hope it is soon!

Via Gizmodo

Pharos Traveler 137 Windows Mobile Professional device announced

Pharos have announced a new Windows Mobile Professional device with great specifications. The Pharos 137 features a large 3.5 inch WVGA screen, weighs just 4.9 ounces and is encased in a sleek, stylish black case. It has a 3 megapixel camera in the back and front-facing VGA camera for video conferencing in the front, a first for a device designed for the US market. It comes pre-customized with SPB Mobile Shell and features Pharos’ Smart Navigator software, a unique hybrid navigation system that works both with and without a network connection.

Highlights from Macworld

iTunes is to go DRM free, There will be tiered pricing which in dollars will be $0.79 for older catalog songs $0.99 for mid-tier and $1.29 and £0.59 , £0.79 and £0.99 in UK Pounds , As far as mobility goes no new iPhones, only update is you can now buy iTunes music via 3G and sync back to iTunes, its available to do now and no need for a firmware update. Other announcements were updates to Apple software for the Mac and a new MacBook Pro. The keynote finished with the Tony Bennett song “The best is yet to come”, a message, well lets hope so.

Info via tipb.com fantastic live blogging of the event

Palm to possibly show Nova at CES

What is that? Palm could display a mobile phone at CES running on NOVA, which is their new OS? We all know that coming up to the beginning of CES, rumours tend to run rampant so let’s take this with a teaspoon of salt.

A new version of fring for Windows Mobile (3.34)

Fring have announced a new version for Windows Mobile devices, including Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X1 and Samsung Omnia. In the new version, you’ll find the new & improved fring Add-ons – fun, interactive mobile internet apps that sit inside fring, allowing you to take your Facebook account mobile, receive Gmail notifications and more. Also included is the popular File Transfer function – you can now send digital files to all your fring, Skype, MSN & Yahoo buddies at the click of a button.  No need for Bluetooth pairing, no wires, no infrared and no costly MMS charges. Additionally if you’re an HTC user, it now supports earpiece use. You can download the latest version here.

via wmpoweruser

Motorola announce new devices, one made from recycled water bottles!

Today Motorola, announced two new mobile devices that will make social responsibility and social connectivity even more accessible to people everywhere.  MOTO™ W233 Renew is the world’s first mobile phone made using plastics comprised of recycled water bottles including coastal and marine recycled plastic textiles, and MOTOSURF™ A3100 – a high-speed touch tablet with a fully customizable home screen – will debut this week at the 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Full details and pictures after the break.