HP and Palm today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which HP will purchase Palm, a provider of smartphones powered by the Palm webOS mobile operating system, at a price of $5.70 per share of Palm common stock in cash or an enterprise value of approximately $1.2 billion. The transaction has been approved by the HP and Palm boards of directors.
The combination of HP’s global scale and financial strength with Palm’s unparalleled webOS platform will enhance HP’s ability to participate more aggressively in the fast-growing, highly profitable smartphone and connected mobile device markets. Palm’s unique webOS will allow HP to take advantage of features such as true multitasking and always up-to-date information sharing across applications.
With free satellite navigation rolling out to Nokia devices the E72 is the latest to get OVI Maps with free voice guided navigation.
Today’s update also includes improved overall performance for email, contacts, calendar and browser and Nokia E72 owners will also be able to listen to internet radio.
The OVI Maps Sat Nav is not something I have tried but I will be reviewing it shortly so watch this space.
Nokia have also announced that the E72 will now be available in white and this new edition will come with the above update pre – installed.
Not sure when we will see the white version here in the UK as at present it is only showing on the Nokia Asia website.
If you have an E72 please use your Nokia software updater to grab the update and enjoy.
Posted by: James
Store staff in Carphone Warehouse and O2 shops claim sales of Palm Pre device have been terrible.
Palm Pre sales have been a disaster, claim staff in O2 and Carphone Warehouse stores. This follows news that Palm is to be put up for sale. Many stores have registering zero sales.
An O2 spokesperson said: “Palm Pre sales are in line with our expectations.”
But one store manager said “Our store has sold hardly any Palm Pres, It never stood a chance against the iPhone and they both advertise themselves as doing the same things”.
A Carphone staffer added: “It is a good device but it doesn’t really have a place in the market. No one knows who Palm is. So Nokia, Sony Ericsson and the iPhone will always be preferred.”
The Pre is available exclusively on O2 contracts. It was also launched on a premium £35 per month tariff but has since become free on all tariffs to “shift stock” staff claim.
According to O2 forums, sales were so low many smaller stores stopped selling the Pre. Other shop staff have reported software and hardware issues including freezing, poor battery life, and faults with its slide track.
I am certainly not surprised by this news. When I reviewed the Palm Pre I thought much the same as most people that the New Web OS was great but sadly let down by the cheap feeling hardware. Will Palm get some good news one of these days?
Posted by: James
Vodafone UK is already offering some of the hottest Android-powered smartphones of the year, and customers will soon have even more choice available with the launch of the Vodafone 845.
The Vodafone 845, demonstrated here by Vodafone UK’s eForum team, is the first Vodafone-branded handset to be based on Google’s Android platform and will offer an outstanding experience and great value on the UK’s best network.
The high spec, low cost Vodafone 845 runs on Éclair, the latest version of the Android platform, and will give users access to thousands of free apps on the Android Marketplace. It will also be pre-loaded with Vodafone 360 apps, giving users access to unique services such as Vodafone Music and MyWeb.
The device itself has a 2.8″ screen, offers Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and 3G/HSDPA connectivity, and features a 3.2MP camera and 500MB of memory as standard.
The Vodafone 845 is the latest addition to an extensive range of Android-based devices already available through Vodafone, which includes the HTC Desire, Sony Ericsson X10 and the HTC Legend, which is available exclusively through Vodafone in the UK. With the Google Nexus One just around the corner, Vodafone UK will be able to offer an Android device to suit everybody.
For more information and to register for updates, visit: http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/shop/mobile-phone/vodafone-845
Posted by: James
I was lucky enough to get myself an iPad at the weekend. Apart from the obvious games and web browsing that we all know is fantastic on the iPad, I thought I would demonstrate how I will also be using the iPad for my day job.
Although it is early days with the iPad I have discovered that it is a superb device for presenting PDFs and pictures which is something I often do in my job. Whipping out the iPad not only looks better than taking a product catalogue or brochure out of a briefcase, but it also delivers great quality images which hopefully will impress. The iPad allows you to have pretty much as many PDFs, pictures and office documents as you need, all in one compact device. No need to boot up a laptop or notebook anymore. The iPad is good to go in a split second.
Check out the video below. You never know, it may be a handy tool in your job too?
Today at WES 2010 RIM finally gave BlackBerry addicts and users what they have been waiting for – a sneaky peak at BlackBerry 6.
As you will see in the below video the new OS is still very much BlackBerry but with some nice tweaks. And we will not have to wait too long for it, like other new operating systems announced recently. RIM founder and CEO Mike Lazaridis said today that we can expect to see the new OS lanched within the next calendar quarter – good news!
If you like BlackBerry, the Black Eyed Peas or crazy unnecessary dancing then have a look at the video. It’s a bit whacky!
Back for another podcast are James, Andy, Matt and Gareth. This week a more relaxed agenda includes much tomfoolery and a hint of mobile related chit chat.
Regulars: James Richardson, Matt Davis, Gareth Myles and Andy Lee
The Nokia N8 is the First Device Based on Symbian’s Innovative New Platform.
SAN FRANCISCO AND LONDON – 27 APRIL, 2010: Symbian today announced that Nokia Corporation, the world’s leading smartphone manufacturer, has chosen the Symbian^3 (S^3) platform to power its new Nokia N8 device. Nokia is the first device manufacturer to showcase S^3, Symbian’s first platform release following the ground-breaking transition to fully open source in February this year.
The Nokia N8 takes full advantage of the S^3 platform, offering major advances including: multiple, personalized home screens, usability enhancements, including single tap and multi-touch gesture support, a faster and more responsive user interface with smooth transitions and improved look-and-feel, and more efficient memory management, enabling even faster multi-tasking on the device.
Yesterday I stopped off Best Buy at Thurrock, Essex. Best Buy kindly invited me to come and have a look around the new store situated on the Lakeside retail park and after walking through the doors I was pretty amazed.
If you imagine a Comet, PC World and Curry’s all rolled into one and doubled in size you get a Best Buy! The store is absolutely gorgeous. The staff were extremely friendly and really keen to discuss their products. Each section has a dedicated staff team to ensure you are getting the best experience possible when shopping with them.
I clearly made a b-line for the mobile section of the store and what I found was fantastic.
As you will see in the photos below the devices are split into sections depending on manufacturer. The beauty here is that every single phone in the store is not only on but also has a SIM card so you can give the handsets a proper test drive. Not a plastic dummy phone in sight. It’s no wonder Best Buy sell so many phones over in America.
Just had an email from the chaps over at BitDefender about a threat that’s targetting iPad owners and while it doesn’t directly attack or infect the iPad it plays upon the fact that iPad owners may want the latest firmware for their new toy.
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