News

SanDisk release their Mobile Ultra memory card range

SanDisk has just released their latest Mobile Ultra range – which includes microSD, microSDHC and Memory Stick Micro (M2) flash mobile memory cards, available in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB capacities. Mobile Ultra offers more side-loading speed and capacity for storing and transferring music, videos, photos, games and even maps. For added value and convenience, the card is bundled with a MobileMate™ Micro Reader that plugs directly into a USB 2.0 port to assist in this quick transport and easy management of digital content.

From the press release:

SanDisk MobileMate

SanDisk Corporation, the leader in flash memory, today announced the availability of SanDisk Mobile Ultra microSD, microSDHC and Memory Stick Micro (M2) flash mobile memory cards, which are available in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB capacities – the industry’s first premium mobile phone storage cards.

A must-have product for consumers who embody the digital lifestyle, the SanDisk Mobile Ultra high-performance cards are “best of breed” premium cards that provide fast side-loading speeds. This means that users will experience accelerated transfer rates of digital files to and from their mobile memory card and their computer. In addition to speed, SanDisk Mobile Ultra cards allow consumers to “wake up” the multimedia features of mobile phones by increasing the phone’s storage capacity for maps, music, videos, photos, games and other essential applications. For avid mobile phone videographers, events and experiences captured by the phone’s video camera can be quickly and efficiently transferred to social media or video-sharing websites. For added value and convenience, the card is bundled with a MobileMate™ Micro Reader that plugs directly into a USB 2.0 port to assist in this quick transport and easy management of digital content.

“Mobile phone usage for multimedia activities, such as digital photography, music downloads, videos, and GPS functionality has doubled over the last two years, and spending on mobile media globally is expected to surpass £50.5 billion by 2012,” said David Kerr, vice president mobile research, Strategy Analytics. “This product launch further proves SanDisk’s ability to anticipate changing user needs and provide the market with the right mobile storage solutions at the right time.”

Michael Romero, vice president of Mobile Retail Business, SanDisk, said, “SanDisk’s new Mobile Ultra line will make consumers’ digital lifestyle more manageable by offering them greater ability to quickly transfer photos, maps, music, videos, games and other large file size content wherever they go. These cards are truly the most convenient way for people to store, move and play content using their mobile phones, so we’re excited to introduce this high-performance, premium product to market to meet this need and growing demand.”

Sample Storage Capacity

With 8GB of digital storage, for example, consumers will be able to store 1,000 songs, 1,200 photos and 21 hours of video – more than enough storage to drive from Exeter to Edinburgh without hearing the same song twice, fill six photo albums with images and watch both Star Wars trilogies and the Matrix trilogy.

Expected Pricing and Availability

Manufacturer’s suggested retail prices range from £14.99 to £59.99 (including VAT). SanDisk Mobile Ultra memory cards will be available at various retail outlets in mid-to-late June 2008.

The microSD cards are engineered for slot-equipped legacy mobile phones and can hold a maximum capacity of 2GB. The microSDHC cards, available in 4GB and 8GB, are ideal for newer mobile phone models, most of which are compatible with these higher capacity cards. The Memory Stick Micro M2 cards are designed for Sony Ericsson’s new generation of mobile phones, all of which are compatible with the 2GB, 4GB and 8GB capacity levels. SanDisk Mobile Ultra cards come with a 10-year limited warranty.

Posted by: Mark

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Tracy & Matt, Sandisk, Compact Flash]

Palm Treo 850 pictures appear

You may recall that Philip reviewed the Palm Centro for us a few weeks ago and, although Philip was fairly happy with the device, my comments were that it was a nice form factor but as I’m no fan of the Palm OS it wasn’t for me. Having used Windows Mobile for years I find Palm less friendly, but that said I’m sure Palm fans feel the same way about MW!

So when I first heard about the Palm Treo 850 I thought this might well be the answer. Similar in design to the Centro the 850 comes with Windows Mobile 6, 400MHz and 128MB RAM. You’ll also notice from the image below (courtesy of Boy Genius) that there’s a 320×320 square screen that’s possibly subject to the same software compatibility issues as the Samsung i780. But check out the rest of the Spec. below (subject to change) GPS, HSDPA and 256MB ROM!!

Palm Treo 850

Palm Treo 850w Specification:

[SOURCE]

Posted by: Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Palm, Treo 850, Tracy & Matt]

Toshiba Portege G710 now in stock

Some time ago we spoke about the new Windows Mobile devices coming from Toshiba and now at last the G710 is now available from Clove Technology.

If you are looking for a Blackberry-style Windows Mobile device with built in QWERTY keyboard and GPS then the Portege G710 might be the device for you!

Toshiba Portege G710

Overview of Toshiba Portege G710

The Toshiba Portege G710 us a compact messaging smartphone built for the demanding business user. Designed for fast and simple email access, the Portege G710 has a slender design.

With a full QWERTY keypad, creating, editing and responding to emails and documents is simple.

Powered by Windows Mobile 6, the G710 has all the standard applications for mobile office.

With built in GPS, this mobile messaging device can offer a quick and efficient solution to navigation on foot or in a vehicle. With appropriate software satellite navigation from one location to another has never been so simple.

The G710 has a 2.0 mega pixel camera for those all important business and personal shots.

In addition to the usual functions you’d expect from a high quality smartphone, the G710 offers a Windows Media Player, which is ideal for listening to music and watching videos for entertainment whilst on the move.

Toshiba G710 specification:

Posted by: Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Windows Mobile blog, G710, Toshiba, Tracy & Matt]

HTC TyTN II offical ROM update now available

A few days ago Mark told us about the expected release of the TyTN II offical ROM and performance update. Well today I can confirm that the official ROM is now available for download from the HTC website (htc.com) but only through the e-club.

In order to download the update you must have an HTC branded TyTN II (not an Orange version for example) and you’ll have to register its serial number through your e-club account. Once you have done this then the download will be available as a “Phone Software Update” in the “My Downloads” section of your account.

The download is just over 66MB in size and the update process takes around 20 minutes to perform. This is a full ROM update so EVERYTHING will be wiped from your TyTN II during the upgrade so be sure to backup all of your important data before you begin the update process!

Drop by and let us know how you get on and, if you had any issues with your TyTN II before the update then did the ROM upgrade help?!

Posted By: Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Tracy & Matt, HTC, TyTN II]

Samsung announces the Samsung Steel

Another new device announcement today from Samsung, this time they announce the new, sleek-looking, Samsung Steel. You may, however, be disapointed to learn that the Steel will be exclusive to Vodafone customers.

Samsung Mobile today announces the new Samsung Steel, developed exclusively for Vodafone.

The Samsung Steel is designed for the style-conscious user who is keen to own the very latest in mobile design. This slim and stylish slider phone stands out from the crowd with its polished and sophisticated metallic finish, as recently seen on the popular Samsung Soul.
Made with the highest quality materials, the Samsung Steel boasts premium design with its minimalist exterior encasing a 2.2” screen capable of 262K colours. It also offers users super-fast internet access at turbo speed with HSDPA, making it the perfect choice for swiftly sharing images and video content, surfing your favourite websites, emailing friends or downloading great summer tracks.

The quality three megapixel camera is ideal for capturing those timeless moments and with the built-in auto focus you will never take a blurred photo again, giving you print quality shots everytime you click. You can also record those special moments with the video capture option, either way you will be proud to take out your phone to snap that perfect shot with the stylish Samsung Steel.

“With the Samsung Steel we wanted to create a multimedia handset with a timeless appeal and premium feel,” commented Mark Mitchinson, Vice President, Samsung Mobile UK and Ireland. “Samsung Steel’s elegant exterior and user friendly features will appeal to a broad range of mobile users making the handset the next must-have accessory.”

The Samsung Steel is capable of supporting up to 8GB of expandable memory which means you can store all of those precious moments on the handset. With the Bluetooth™ capability you can then share all of your files with friends and family by transferring them to your PC, laptop or any Bluetooth™ enabled device. The Samsung Steel provides today’s consumer with a multifunctional mobile encased within one of the slickest designed handsets on the market.

The Samsung Steel is an exclusive handset developed specifically for Vodafone. “We are incredibly excited that we will be offering our customers another great value exclusive from Samsung. We think it will really appeal to those customers who want to access the internet, stay in touch with email or update their favourite social network site while on the go. Above all we are pleased to be continuing our promise to range new and exciting handsets that deliver a great customer experience,” commented Chris Edwards, Head of Devices for Vodafone UK.

The Samsung Steel will be launched in the UK in June 2008.

Posted by: Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Tracy & Matt, Samsung, Samsung Steel]

HTC TyTN II – more issues?

I’m sure that most people are now aware of the complaints generally made about a few HTC devices and their apparent lack of video drivers and related performance issues. (If this is new to you then you might want to read our posts about HTCClassAction.)

Now I’ve had my HTC TyTN II since August 2007 and consider myself to be a pretty heavy user (I use the phone heavily, I’m not over weight!) but for the most part I’m unafected by the problems that many other people report, on the rare occasion that I watch video on the TyTN II it plays ok and for the business apps I use, email mainly, I have no problems.

Well, that’s true until recently. For the past few weeks I’ve noticed problems with the hardware keyboard. When I am typing a chunk of text the letters appear in the wrong sequence on screen. Now before you all call my typing in to question I’d like to point out that I thought I was making a lot of typos too to begin with but then the problem seemed to get worse. So after a little more testing I discovered that some key presses appear on screen quicker than others so, for example, when I type a line of text I might see ‘Hih owa rey ou?’ where other letters are taking priority over the space key. Closer scrutiny reveals that pressing the space and then a letter results in letter then space on the screen!

At first I thought this was a problem with the keyboard itself but later discovered that sometimes it would be ok but at other times it would be much worse. It seems ok straight after a soft reset but gets worse over time. Even a hard reset seems not to cure the problem!

So I thought I would ask all of you out there if you have the same or similar issues? Please share with the rest of us!

I’m really hoping that the official TyTN II ROM update will solve the problems!

Posted By: Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Tracy & Matt, HTC, TyTN II]

Symbian Publishes Q1 2008 Results

Symbian have just published their Q1 2008 results and it looks like Symbian penetration is very much on the increase. It would be interesting to see how Windows Mobile results compare though.

The press release is as follows:

Symbian Limited, the market leader in open operating systems for mobile phones, today released the following unaudited financial and operational figures for the first quarter ended 31 March 2008:

Symbian Limited unaudited Q1 2008 financial highlights

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Highlights – Q1 2008 as at 31 March 2008

Nigel Clifford, Symbian CEO, commented:

“We are pleased to report yet another significant milestone for Symbian. With our customers shipping a total of 18.5 million Symbian mobile phones through over 250 major network operators globally in the quarter, we have now surpassed the 200 million cumulative shipment mark. In fact, by the end of the quarter, a cumulative total of 206 million Symbian mobile phones have been shipped by the world’s leading handset manufacturers and each of our licensees has shipped a new Symbian mobile phone model since the beginning of 2008.

The world’s five leading handset vendors announced nine products based on Symbian OS v9 during Q1 2008 including UIQ-based Motorola Z10, Sony Ericsson G700 and Sony Ericsson G900 as well as S60-based LG KT610, Nokia N96, Nokia N78, Nokia 6210 Navigator, Nokia 6220 classic and Samsung G810. We also experienced an increased demand for consulting services which indicates a broadening and deepening customer phone project pipeline.”

Q1 shipments – a wealth of new models

Eight handset manufacturers launched 13 new Symbian models (multiple variants not included) bringing the total number of models in the market at the end of Q1 2008 to 154 with a total of 235 models shipped since the formation of Symbian. These cover a broad range of market segments and form factors including high-end converged devices, smartphones and mid-range mobile phones. The majority of these new phones are based on Symbian OS v9 including Symbian’s latest product offering, Symbian OS v9.3, which is currently shipping in Japan. At Mobile World Congress 2008 in Barcelona in February, four licensees announced a total of eight new mobile phones based on Symbian OS.

Symbian Outlook – beyond the smartphone space

“Symbian continues to lead the smartphone OS market but is focused on increasing its share of the overall mobile phone market from 7% at the end of 2007” (Source: Strategy Analytics), said Nigel Clifford.

“For the past ten years, helping our customers succeed has been our number one priority. Deploying Symbian OS helps our licensees to differentiate their devices and deliver faster shipment times-to-market across multiple market segments as well as benefiting from Symbian’s superiority in platform quality, features and power management.”

“Achieving 200 million devices is testament to the commitment to excellence of Symbian engineers and of our thriving ecosystem of thousands of developers. We’re pleased with our progress and excited about the next wave of mobile innovation.”

Posted by: Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, symbian, Tracy & Matt]

Orange launches internet radio device

News today that Orange have released their new internet radio device. Details can be found below but lets hope that we wont have to pay data charges on top ot that! 😛

Orange today announced its entrance to the UK internet radio market with a wireless internet radio device called Liveradio. The launch extends Orange’s provision of telecoms services for the home, allowing it to offer a complete end-to-end internet radio solution.

Liveradio is a wireless internet radio device which gives broadband customers access to over 4,000 local, national and international internet radio stations. Already a success in France, Orange is now giving consumers in the UK an opportunity to enjoy their or unique music experience with the product.

The radio works in conjunction with the specially designed Liveradio website: www.orange.co.uk/liveradio. Once registered on the site, users can customise their presets, create specialist folders for easy reference and add the stations they want to listen to via a simple ‘drag and drop’ function.

What’s more, if the song being listened to is shown on the Liveradio’s screen, users can simply press the ‘bookmark’ button on the radio and the details of the track are added to the ‘My Favourites’ section on the Liveradio website, along with an option to buy from the Orange Music Store*. By clicking on the ‘buy’ link provided, Orange Music Store will be presented in a separate window allowing the customer to purchase the track if available for £0.99 from a catalogue of over 1 million tracks. Orange mobile customers can also take advantage of the unique dual download service resulting in them instantly receiving the track on their mobile for no additional cost.

Figures revealed earlier this year show that more than eight million people listen to internet-based radio every week in the UK (source: Rajar 2008).

Mike Newnham, Vice President of Home, Orange UK said: “The internet radio market in the UK is growing at an increasingly rapid rate and Orange with its home internet pedigree is well placed to be part of it. The Liveradio device we’ve launched today is testament to our ability to offer consumers a multi-platformed entertainment experience, and is the first of many such products Orange plans to offer for the home.”

The Liveradio is priced at £99.99 and is available immediately from www.orange.co.uk/liveradio or from 1st June at selected Orange retail stores.

Posted by: Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, internet radio, Orange, Tracy & Matt]

Samsung announces the F400

Samsung Mobile has today announced the launch of their latest music mobile, the Samsung F400, with audio technology by Bang & Olufsen ICEpower.

The Samsung F400 is the style-conscious choice for users who do not wish to compromise technology for design. This elegant and stylish music slider phone contains a fantastic portfolio of functions whilst remaining lightweight and simple to use.

This compact dual slider phone delivers high fidelity sound tuned by Bang & Olufsen and ICEpower audio technology via a slide up speaker that uses an adaptation of Samsung DNSe technology, creating a 3D sound effect. The Samsung F400 also contains the SmartBass™ system with full digital amplifier.

Equipped with a full host of music features to give ultimate clarity of sound and easy access to free your music, the Samsung F400 boasts a dedicated musical user interface with music recognition via FindMusic™. You can easily access your full music library at the touch of the music hot key. You can also use Windows media player sync to upload your favourite tracks and tune into your favourite station on the FM Radio with RDS.

The Samsung F400 employs a timeless contemporary design with sleek lines and great attention to detail, making the handset highly desirable to the brand savvy design conscious mobile user.

“With the Samsung F400 we wanted to create a multimedia handset which allows users to share their music with others as a way of expressing who they are and the Samsung F400 embraces this,” commented Mark Mitchinson, Vice President, Samsung Mobile UK and Ireland. “The handset demonstrates Samsung’s commitment to providing consumers with innovative technology which integrates seamlessly with everyday life.”

The Samsung F400 offers users Internet access via the 3.6 Mbps Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), enabling them to download music at great speed.

Mobile photography is also made easy with the Samsung F400 which contains a 3 megapixel CIF camera with flash and uses a 2.2” 262K QVGA (262K colour) screen. Packed with a microSD slot that supports up to 4GB the Samsung F400 truly combines the needs of today’s consumer into one multifunctional device.

The Samsung F400 launch will be supported by an extensive £2 million national advertising campaign, including print, radio and digital mediums. Samsung will launch a microsite for artists to share their music offering the chance to have their music form a part of the Samsung F400 radio and online advertising campaign.

The site will feature a voting mechanism allowing users to rate from unknown bands’ music. Users can upload their music to the Samsung music bank which can be accessed via applications on Facebook, Myspace and Bebo social networking sites.

The Samsung F400 will be launched initially by O2, Orange, Virgin, The Carphone Warehouse and Phones4U.

Posted by: Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Tracy & Matt, Samsung, F400]

HTC Touch Diamond official desktop cradle

At the Touch Diamond launch event last week a few HTC employees mentioned that there would be a number of official accessories for the new device. So I managed to track down this photo of the official desktop cradle for the HTC Touch Diamond.

HTC Touch Diamond official cradle

I must say that this looks super sexy with its glossy black finish. You’ll also notice the decent looking set of headphones in that photo above which, in my mind, implies that the dock/cradle will allow you to sync, charge and use headphones while the device Diamond is plugged in! Now that would be cool!

You can pre-order the cradle for the Diamond from the Clove website HERE.

Posted by: Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone news, Pocket PC news, Tracy & Matt, cradle, HTC, HTC Touch Diamond]