Mobile Digest

One Minute Preview: Samsung X830 mobile

We wrote about the new Samsung X830 earlier today, and yesterday I got my hands on it for a brief look, in a very noisy hall.  Check out the video below.

Sign up with Virgin Mobile - get free Virgin broadband

  Another week, another free broadband offer - this time, courtesy of Virgin Mobile (now, of course, under the NTL:Telewest brand), which is offering free high-speed access with Virgin.net if you sign up to a Virgin Mobile monthly deal.

The deal seems fairly straightforward - if you sign up top one of Virgin Mobile's SIM-only pay monthly tariffs, you will be offered a year's worth of up to 8Mbps broadband, a service that would normally cost £17.99. The offer is available between now and 31st October. Once your SIM is activated, you can get the free broadband service by dialling a number you'll be given.

Last month, NTL:Telewest launched Britain's first quad-play service, offering digital TV, broadband, fixed-line phone and a mobile phone deal from Virgin for £40.

Virgin Mobile

Via The Register

One Minute Video Review: T-Mobile's MDA Vario II the first HSDPA phone to go on sale in the UK

We have waited a very long time for HSDPA phones, but now they seem to be coming in droves. T-Mobile looks like it will win the race to be first to market with its MDA Vario II, which goes on sale next week.

Here's a vid and a mini review

The phone is pretty similar to the Vario I but with the following key differences.

1 HSDPA - Yep it will be able to run at speeds of up to 1.8Mbps - four times faster than standard 3G. T-Mobile claims to have HSDPA across most of the major UK cities, which is far more developed than say Orange. Ultimately the speed of HSDPA does improve the web browsing experience on the phone - pictures certainly load much more quickly. The other key use for the phone in this space will be as a modem for laptops, though if you plan to use it in this capacity check out T-Mobile's data fair usage rules.

2 Better camera - It now has a two mega pixel snapper and the video shooting quality has been updated.

3 Different styling - it looks a little tidier now. Another tweak is that the keyboard apparently glows red in the dark - nice.

4 The device now has a BlackBerry style track wheel for speeding up access to applications.

Overall - the Vario I was a big hit in the Shiny offices, so there's sure to be a lot of interest in the second version. The HSDPA facility certainly worked well in central London

Samsung's swinging X830 music phone heads to Europe

Slider phones are just so yesterday - if you want to be ahead of the crowd, you've got to swing - with a phone like Samsung's X830 music phone.

The swing aspect quickly transforms this miniature to gadget from pocket MP3 player to cool mobile phone. Not sure you'll look all that cool taking a call with it, but your Bond-style phone should impress the office. The phone has 1GB of storage, which you can boost by card. Formats supported are MP3, WMA and OGG and once you've loaded in your music, you can browse it easily by artist, title or album. The GSM phone also features a 1.3MP camera.

Already available in Korea, the X830 should be available in the UK around October. Prices and networks to be confirmed.

Samsung website

More mobiles:
LG launches L343i i-mode clamshell phone
Review: LG U400 music phone

Friday interview: 3's Graham Baxter on how HSDPA will speed up your music and video life

Earlier this week, 3 invited a bunch of journalists to one of its London stores to see its new HSDPA mobile broadband service in action. The focus was to show how much faster music and video downloads, and video streaming will be, once it launches later this year in certain parts of the country, before being rolled out elsewhere early next year.

Tech Digest was there, and had a chat with Graham Baxter, 3's technical solutions director - the chap responsible for 3's network technology. He understands all those acronyms, in other words, but also has a handle on what HSDPA will mean for mobile content, and how it stands in relation to rival wireless technologies like WiMAX.

"It's important to stress that HSDPA is an incremental step in 3G networks," says Baxter. "It's an upgrade to our existing network. You do need new handsets or data cards to make use of it, but they can co-exist in the same network."

The first few HSDPA handsets will be on sale before Christmas. 3 hasn't announced which handset manufacturers it's working with yet, but there was a very slinky prototype LG mobile being used for the demos, so fingers crossed that will make it onto the shelves.

When 3 launches HSDPA later this year, initially in London and Manchester, the network will be capable of 3.6 megabits per second, compared to the current 3G rate of 384 kilobits per second. Beware though, the first handsets will only be capable of receiving 1.8Mbps, although a few will be capable of the full 3.6Mbps. However, ultimately it could be capable of up to 14.4 Mbps, which 3 will be working towards over the next couple of years. Got all that? Good.

But this is just download speeds - the 'D' in HSDPA (well, that's 'downlink', but let's not split hairs). What about going the other way? It's increasingly important, given data applications like 3's See Me TV, where people are uploading their own videos. Faster uplink speeds could mean you'll be able to upload longer videos, rather than the short clips that are currently possible.

When HSDPA launches, Baxter says the uplink speed will be the same as 3G - 384 Kbps - but that towards the end of next year 3 is planning to launch HSUPA, which will offer 1.5Mbps uplink. Got that? And HSUPA could eventually reach uplink speeds of 5.7Mbps.

The big question about all this bandwidth is what does it mean? 3 showed demos of various content services working with HSDPA, for example downloading songs (see our video clip yesterday) and streaming videos. And it's true that the speed increase is really impressive - click, and your song is on the handset in 25-30 seconds.

But how will 3 approach this? If we can download music two or three times as fast, will 3 go for that, or up the audio quality - and thus file size - to have downloads that take the same time to arrive, but sound better? The problem is that Baxter can't really answer these questions - he's in charge of making sure 3's content team have the choice to do either, rather than deciding which strategy to take.

"Think about movies or music videos," he says. "HSDPA gives higher spectral efficiency, so you can get a higher data rate, or more subscribers. So you could have more subscribers downloading a larger volume of videos, or offer higher-quality videos to the same number of subscribers. It really is a case of mix'n'match."

One thing 3 is planning is full album downloads alongside individual singles once HSDPA is up and running. Baxter also mentions surfing content-heavy internet sites like Flickr and YouTube, although there remains the question of how soon these sites will launch mobile versions that look good on a handset.

Baxter can talk about competitive technologies. Will Wi-Max be a strong competitor, for example? "It's an interesting debate, but you never hear people talking about the fact that you still need to build a network out for Wi-Max," he says. "And that takes a long time to roll something out that's in any way comparable with the 89% population coverage we have already."

The HSDPA v WiMAX debate could take up a whole interview by itself. What we can say is that 3's demo succeeded in its main intention - we want an HSDPA handset (especially the LG one), and hell, we want one before Christmas.

LG launches L343i i-mode clamshell phone

  A new addition to O2's i-mode range is the L343i from LG - an entry-level clamshell phone.

If you want something small that gives you access to i-mode, then the L343i is probably worth a look. Just a touch of the button and you get access to the service, viewed on a 1.7-inch 262k colour TFT screen, so you can book a holiday, browse the houses for sale, access eBay or use the i-mail service to send message to phones or email accounts. Other than that, the specification for this tri-band phone isn't going to get your pulse racing. The camera is described as "in-built", which sould like VGA, but does have 4x zoom. It also features Bluetooth and has 40 polyphonic ringtones.

The LG L343i will be available exclusively on O2. Price and availability has yet to be confirmed.

LG website

More i-mode:
eBay joins O2's i-mode service
Sony Ericsson unveils K610im - the i-mode 3G phone

Tunes in 30 seconds: see 3's HSDPA network in action

3 was showing off its speedy new HSDPA network in London this week, demonstrating how much faster it is than slow old 3G for activities like downloading music tracks and streaming video. Our video below shows two handsets - the one on the left is HSDPA, and the one on the right is 3G.

As you can see (from our, ahem, blurry camphone footage), the HSDPA one downloads the song in around 30 seconds, at which point the 3G phone isn't even halfway. Later today, we'll post our interview with 3 in which they explain some of the other benefits of HSDPA, and tell us just how fast it'll go in the future. In the meantime, click below to watch the vid.

Note, the HSDPA handset starts downloading first, but that's not an unfair head start - just a reflection of how long it takes the 3G one to begin the download. The button to start was pressed at the same time for each.

Review: Scala Rider Bluetooth Helmet Headset

The Propaganda

You don't realise til you get a motorbike how much stuff you need to buy to make it work. There's all the clothing to minimise scraping off the road situations, there's the bags, boxes and the like to make it usable day-to-day, and then there's the fact that you can't take any phone calls whilst you're on your bike. Unless you've got a bluetooth headset specially adapted for use under helmets - such as the Scala Rider headset from Cardo. It's a speaker that sits inside your helmet with a boom mike that you position inside the front mask. The idea is that it's simple enough to use on the road, without having to stop your bike to chat.

The Good

Securing the headset is easy, as you clamp the battery pack to the outside of your helmet using the clamp they supply. It's weather resistant, so there are no worries about the conditions you're biking in. It also doesn't leave a mark on the helmet, which given how much you've just shelled out on the helmet (definitely a piece of equipment you don't want to skimp on) you'll be thrilled about. 

You then position the boom mike by your mouth, and the speaker by your ear, which is fixed on with velcro. It's a speaker, rather than an in-ear piece, presumably to ensure that it doesn't fall out if you're on a particularly bumpy ride.

To make calls, you set up your phone with speech recognition. Alternatively, you can answer calls and dial your last number using the buttons on the battery pack.  Once I was on a call, I was amazed by how clear the sound was - the speaker really does make it easy to hear people. The speaker also adjusts the levels according to your speed levels, so it doesn't become deafening when you're at a standstill.  I've also been on the other end, and can vouch for the fact that when someone is using this, it really is impossible to tell that they're on a bike even up to speeds of 70 mph (apart for the "hang on a sec, just overtaking.." type comments).

The Bad

Whilst the sound quality is great on a closed helmet, the microphone does suffer when you're using an open helmet. Despite the manufacturers saying that it's wind-resistant, if you don't have your visor down, you do know about it.

Whilst they've made the buttons as big as they can, it can still be tricky to adjust, particularly when you're wearing gloves. There is a large answer button, as well as a separate re-dial button, but it's the volume buttons that are really tricky to get to. If you do have to adjust the volume, you might find that it's altogether safer to pull over.

There are also certain additional features that it would benefit from. For instance, there is a sudden crop of bluetooth headsets designed to work in tandem with your MP3 player. This would be perfect for the Scala Rider, as listening to music is something you miss on a bike  - what could be better than cruising along listening to Bat Out of Hell, or some equivalent biker type music, and knowing that you're not going to miss any calls. It's also impossible to get it to pair with a GPS device, which again, would be a great application of the technology.

In our opinion

It's a great piece of kit, and it's really surprising to hear exactly how clearly people can hear you. For anyone that travels regularly on their bike, £75 will be a small price to pay for the assurance that they're not missing calls. As for whether it's the safest thing in the world? Probably not.

BenQ Siemens AL26 phone Hello Kitty phone

  Catching my eye (and how could it not in that colour) over at Shiny Shiny is BenQ Siemens' latest attempt to cash in on the Hello Kitty obsession - the BenQ Siemens AL26.

If you're looking for a cutting-edge mobile that'll look sharp in the boardroom - this isn't it. If you're an overgrown child with an obsession with this particular cute cat, read on. Because it's a slider phone with a metallic pink finish featuring images of Hello Kitty herself, not to mention wallpapers, games and ringtones based on the cartoon cat packed inside.

Want to know? Check out Shiny Shiny for more on this, plus loads more gadgets for girls.

One Minute Video Review: LG U400 music phone

Katie and I look at the new LG U400 phone, which is chock full of music-related features. For an in-depth review click here. The phone is available free on a 3 contract.

Bluevoice - combined watch and Bluetooth headset

When gadgets converge, it can be beautiful thing, resulting in less weight in your pocket/bag and more functionality at your fingertips. But sometimes, it does go slightly wrong, resulting in something like the Bluevoice - the combined watch and Bluetooth headset.

Actually, rather than wrong, I'd probably say pointless. After all, don't most of us already own a watch? But if you like the idea of a watch round your ear, you'll be pleased to know that the Bluevoice will be officially unveiled later this year, with the big commercial push early next year. The marketing claims it to be an alterative to the "cyborg look" of many Bluetooth headsets - instead, you get a functional watch that transforms into a Bluetooth headset when a phone call comes in. It is actually worn as a watch, but when you receive a phone call, you can detach it and use it as a Bluetooth headset. When the call ends, you reattach to the strap. Maybe I'm missing something here - but wouldn't it be easier to wear a watch and answer your phone?

Anyway, if you're more convinced than me, you can look forward to paying $127.95 for the analogue version of the Bluevoice or $119.95 for the digital version, both in an assortment of colours and both due available in the first half of next year.                                 

Find out more

Via Blue Tomorrow

More Bluetooth:
Jabra BT320s Bluetooth earphones
Seiko bluetooth watch

Sky's Mobile TV service goes Extreme!

You don't need to clim a steep rock face or ride a big wave for an extreme sports buzz, you can just switch on your mobile phone, as Sky has added its Extreme Sports channel to its Mobile TV service.

Extreme Sports is joining Sky's mobile service as part of the news, sports and factual pack of channels with immediate effect, featuringmade-for-mobile content including a series covering the best and worst slams and profiles on the ultimate extreme sports legends as well as existing content such as the acclaimed Tips & Tricks series.

The Sky Mobile TV news sports and factual pack costs £5 per month for unlimited and is available to any Vodafone Live! 3G customer. Interestingly, Sky says it expects to extend the service to other 3G mobile networks in the coming months, as well as adding new channels to the service. We'll keep you posted.

Sky website

More mobile TV:
Mobile TV - consumer report finds ROK's 2.5G service out-performs leading 3G services
Virgin to launch live TV on your mobile

T-Mobile launches MDA Vario II with HSDPA connectivity

Just a week after Orange launched the SPV M3100 with HSDPA connectivity, T-Mobile has launched its own super 3G device - the MDA Vario II. There's one big difference though - T-Mobile has an HSDPA network in operation.

T-Mobile claims the MDA Vario II will provide users with connection speeds of up to 1.8 megabits per second - four times faster than previously available with 3G. If you move into an area that isn't yet covered (HSDPA appararently covers the same area as T-Mobile's 3G network), the Vario II will automatically connect via Wi-Fi and GPRS, so you're always connected at the fastest possible speed. It's also Web'n'Walk-enabled, pre-installed with a web browser so you can browse the net the way you'd browse it on your home PC.

The MDA Vario II features a sliding QWERTY keyboard, which which illuminates in low light, an integrated 2 megapixel camera with LED flash, VGA camera (for video calling) and Bluetooth connectivity. It's based on the Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 and comes with Microsoft Office installed, so you can use Outlook and view and edit Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files. Push email is also available for business users running Microsoft Exchange 2003 Service Pack 2.

The Vario II is available now in a limited edition red, silver and black casing. Prices differ dependent on your contract, with a maximum price of £299.

T-Mobile website

More HSDPA:
Orange announces SPV M3100 with HSDPA connectivity
Vodafone to launch v1605 HSDPA/super 3G handset

One Minute Video Review: Pulsar Bluetooth headphones

Gemma looks at the Pulsar Bluetooth headphones in the first of these headphone reviews. The Pulsar headphones are available for £70 here.  For a more detailed review you can read the full article here.

Vodafone to launch v1605 HSDPA/super 3G handset

Just days after Orange announced a HSDPA (super 3G) handset in the form of the SPV M3100, Vodafone is set to follow, with an own-brand version of the HTC TyTN Windows Mobile-based handset, dubbed the v1605.

Details are scarce at present with regards to the specification, but as it's the TyTN, it should feature a 2.8-inch, 240 x 320 touchscreen display, Wi-Fi wireless networking, tri-band GSM/GPRS, along with 3G and HSDPA. There's also a two megapixel camera on the back. It should also feature a 400MHz processor, 64MB of RAM and a Micro SD slot for boosting your storage.

You can order it now from Vodafone's website as a business customer, with price based on number ordered and contract - but prices range up to £250. There's no confirmed shipping date.

Vodafone website

Via The Register

More HSDPA:
Orange announces SPV M3100 with HSDPA connectivity
LG unveils HSDPA two-way slider phone

Apple Rumour of the Day: iPhone revisited

It's been a bit quiet on the rumour mill for a few days - after all, once Steve has made his announcements, that kinda seals it for the pre-speech rumours: most of them dead in the water.

But let's take a look at the iPhone talk. OK, so Steve didn't announce any such device, but that doesn't mean it's not coming - or even that he's not talking about it behind not quite closed doors.

AppleInsider says that the iPhone has grown past rumour into expectation, and also reports that Mr Jobs has been making uncharacteristic remarks in Apple's inner sanctum.

An informant (don't we love them - not that we know any...) has said that the device may well turn up earlier than expected, catching even some insiders off-guard. Boy, that would be fun.

So, an iPhone with iPod capabilities, to ensure that Apple don't get knocked off top spot by, say, Nokia - but will it come soon enough? Some analysts say if it comes it won't be until mid-2007, but then Apple have a habit of delivering early.

I'm upping the likelihood of a pre-2007 iPhone release to 80%. What do you reckon - is the iPhone on its way?

Review: LG U400 music phone

The Propaganda

This is the LG music phone - the U400. As with many LG phones, it's firmly ingratiated with 3, featuring the 3 Player (their MP3 player interface). LG see it as a contemporary for the Sony Ericsson Walkman range, and since they've brought out the W850i it can't differentiate itself based on its 3G capabilities.

It's a slider phone which features the MP3 player controls on the front of the handset, as well as call answer and reject buttons. The numbered keypad is revealed when you slide it open.

The Good

Because the MP3 controls are on the front of the handset, the U400 successfully stakes its claim as a true phone/MP3 hybrid. It's got an internal memory of 70MB, and a MiniSD slot which can expend it by a further 1GB. In total this will hold about 500 songs, which doesn't make it the biggest out there, but will be adequate for many people out there. It's bundled with a 512MB memory card  to get you started.

Because it's exclusive to 3, it's integrated with the 3 player - their MP3 interface. This allows you to view your library to include the songs you've uploaded onto your phone, as well as those you've bought and crucially, those that 3 have available for you to buy. This makes it really easy for you to spend your gas bill money on tracks at 99p a pop.

There are other things that make this a good music phone. Headphones are bundled with it, and appear as standard in-ear headphones, connected into an in-line remote via a 35 mm jack. This means you can quickly discard them and insert your noise cancelling/sporty/just plain comfier headphones.  It's also got stereo Bluetooth, so if you're a flash git, you can even stream music without the wires. But be warned, as I have previously mentioned, I have never been able to get my Plantronics headphones to connect to an LG phone.

Other positive aspects: the screen is bright and crisp, the camera isn't hidden under the slide like many of these types of phones (this means you can shoot with it as you would a normal camera), and the colours of the casing make it attractive, and MP3 player-like.

The Bad

Five minutes out of the box, and the U400 was covered in finger prints - it's got a nice finish but it's just not equipped for the real life situation for being touched by a human hand.  There's also a problem using the softkeys. They're situated on each side of the scrollwheel, which is itself to the left of the phone. Getting to them requires a bit of finger gymnastics and a lot of getting used to.

You can't transfer music with a simple drag and drop between drives with the U400. There's software to load and even when this is done, loading tunes is hit and miss.  Once you've loaded the songs, there is a horrible DJing function that means you can put a kind of 'wiki-wii-wik' scratching noise over the top. It's a horror to behold, although I recognise that if someone else wrote this review, that might well appear in 'The Good'.

The camera is also nothing of note. It's 2 megapixels but doesn't have any zoom or autofocus built in. You do get the feeling that LG concentrated so hard on the music part of the phone that everthing else kind of fell by the wayside. This is particularly obvious when you try to write messages, find contacts or any of that phone type stuff - there aren't the familiar soft keys that we've quickly become to depend on.

In our opinion

The LG U400 is a good MP3 player, with everything you'd want included in an MP3 player. However, without stereotyping too much, I tempted to conclude that the slightly bulky size, and the masculine black and blue casing means that I'm perhaps the wrong sex to fully appreciate it. And to be honest the wiki-wik noise means it will never be found in my bag.

Jabra BT320s Bluetooth earphones

With so many mobiles offering Bluetooth and indeed a decent music player, Bluetooth headphones/earphones are becoming an ever more useful purchase. And the latest to market are the BT320s earphones from Jabra.

When you connect the Jabra BT320s to your music phone, you can listen to your favourite tunes without missing a call - the music automatically pauses when a call comes in. The remote control interface lets you control your music, as well as controlling the main call functions - answer/end, voice dial and last number redial. The headphones are exhangeable, while the main unit is splash proof and offers up to 6 hours of listening/talk time and 160 hours standby time. There's also an LED indicator for battery strength and charging.

If you fancy picking up the BT320s, it should cost around £70. We're still awaiting confirmation of a release date.

Find out more

More Bluetooth:
Sennheiser announces BW900 Bluetooth headset
Saitek Audio Bluetooth headphones

Orange announces SPV M3100 with HSDPA connectivity

  Orange has expanded its Signature devices for business range with the SPV M3100 PDA with 3G, GPRS, EDGE, WiFi and most interestingly,  HSDPA connectivity for the first time. But there's one drawback - Orange is unlikely to have an HSDPA network for sometime yet.

HSDPA (or 3G broadband) is the next major leap in mobile connectivity - offering data transfer well in excess of current 3G speeds - over three times faster than current 3G and over 40 times faster than GPRS. Both Vodafone and T-Mobile have a network in place - Orange is still testing theirs, with a launch date currently estimated as an undetermined date in 2007. Still, I guess you're future-proof if you pick one of these devices up - and you've plenty of other connectivity options in the meantime.

The M3100 with QVGA 320x240 pixel touch screen is powered by Windows Mobile 5.0, which means access to all the Microsoft business software (Outlook, Word, Excel), along with push email. It also features a full sliding qwerty keyboard, Bluetooth, USB and infrared connectivity, 128MB internal memory and entertainment options including Windows Media Player, a 2.3MP camera and video recorder. Talk time is up to 4 hours or 3 hours for 3G. Standby time is up to 6 days.

The SPV M3100 is available now to UK business customers for £315 (ex VAT) or from free, depending on your contract.

Orange website

More HSDPA:
Vodafone first to offer 3G broadband in the UK
LG unveils HSDPA two-way slider phone

Sony Ericsson K618 phone: entertainment and business combines

Sony Ericsson has announced its latest 3G mobile phone, the K618, touted as a phone that satisfies both business and pleasure at the same time. I thought you couldn't mix those two, but maybe this phone proves me wrong.

This 3G phone is as light and slim as a 2.5G phone (for those of you keeping up with the Gs). It has 'push email' (in other words, it comes to you without you having to download it) which should go down well with business users, or anyone who likes immediate spam. There's bluetooth, a 2 megapixel camera with 2.5x digital zoom, a Picture Blog application so you can post pix straight to your Blogger account, video calling, and a 256Mb memory card expandable to 1Gb.

Available in black or white, it's coming in September, price to be confirmed.

Virgin to cure in-flight boredom with text Q&A

If the in-flight movie isn't doing anything for you, your iPod has run out of batteries, and you're fed up listening to the guy snoring in the seat next to you, maybe you'd like to pass the time and boredom with a few text messages.

Normally, that's out of the question, but if a system from Virgin takes off, you could start texting questions to a ground station and have them answered, all in mid-flight.

You wouldn't use your regular phone - passengers would use their seat-back TV screens (hmm we're not talking economy class here are we?) to text a question to an existing answer service on the ground (not Richard Branson then) which promises to answer any question within minutes.

It's an interesting idea, but I think I could find better ways of entertaining myself on a long flight with a little preparation - and for free.

Not sure when this service is being introduced though.

Stuart's Wednesday Rant: why brain training mobile games are a clever idea

Some of us aren't cut out for this brain training lark. Last week I bought Brain Age for my DS, and within 24 hours had lost the cartridge after absent-mindedly putting it down somewhere. So much for improving my memory.

There's no doubt that the relatively new brain training genre - simple logic puzzles to stretch your grey cells - has been a huge success on DS. Nintendo has apparently sold over five million copies of its three brain-training titles, and they can't all be duplicates for idiot users like me.

What's more, brain training has been credited with persuading legions of Japanese pensioners to invest in a DS - something that for all its charm, WarioWare had thus far failed to do. However, the next big push for the genre isn't on DS. It's on mobile phones.

Three mobile brain training titles have been announced recently. The first comes, appropriately enough, from Japanese firm G-Mode, and is called I.Q. Academy - it's being published here in the West by Irish firm Upstart Games. Hot on its heels come Mobile IQ Trainer from British company Telcogames, and Brain Juice from US publisher Digital Chocolate.

Three's a crowd, but there's plenty more where those came from. It takes a while for mobile games publishers to react to new trends, so many were still beavering away on Sudoku games when the brain training craze hit DS. So what does it all mean, beyond making me worried that I'm going to mislay my phone now too?

Firstly, in the West, mobile brain training games should open up the genre to a wider audience. Japanese grannies and grandads may have been flocking to the stores to buy DS handhelds, but I'm not sure the same will happen here in the West. Whereas an increasing number of elderly people already have a mobile, even if it's a fairly basic one bought for them by their family.

Secondly, there's the network capabilities of mobile phones. See how your brain power stacks up against the rest of the UK, or even the world. I believe Digital Chocolate is looking to include some form of network functionality in Brain Juice, although it's unclear what form this'll take exactly. Yes, you can do this with a DS, as long as you're within a Wi-Fi network.

Thirdly, brain training games are perfect for episodic content, where you get a new bunch of puzzles delivered to you every day. And while this is equally possible on handheld platforms like PSP and DS, it would seem to be no-brainer (sorry, I tried not to use that word) on mobile, and it'll be easier for publishers to charge small amounts for this - which will encourage them to keep up the service.

Brain training is already big on DS, but it'll surely be bigger on mobile, as long as these games are promoted in the right way to attract people who probably don't spend their time surfing their operator's games portal. But then if you're making a brain training game, you should be smart enough to figure that out for yourself.

Nokia jumps on music store bandwagon, teaming up with Loudeye

Nokia may be looking to challenge Apple's iTunes service by launching one of its own, as it buys out Loudeye. They're setting their sights on multi-function mobile devices as being the preferred medium for enjoying music, through Nokia's own products like the N91.

Nokia sold more than 15 million music-enabled devices worldwide in the 2nd quarter this year, which it claims makes it the world's largest manufacturer of digital music players (hmmm).

They're confident that Loudeye, who currently provide the service for a large number of online music stores including Oxfam's Big Noise Music, MSN and MTV, have the experience, and rights to a substantial quanity of music, to make this a success.

It will be interesting to see how quickly this is taken up. Apple have done well (despite criticism) by tying in the iPod to its iTunes store, and I wonder if Nokia will do the same with its handsets.

One of the big pains I foresee, for anyone who has both a Nokia music phone and an iPod, is DRM headaches and the inability to transfer music. Particularly if the services end up having different music catalogues, users could end up with their collections scattered across different devices that won't communicate with one another - hardly the integrated digital experience.

What do you think? Will this deal make Nokia a serious contender in the market, or will they just be another bit-part player against the giant of iTunes?

ROK launches 2.5G mobile TV service in the US

I imagine our US readers have seen our numerous posts on ROK TV in the UK and wondered what all the fuss was about? Well, now you can find out - as the service that streams TV to your 2.5G phone has now launched in the US, initially with 13 channels and priced at $0.99 per channel.

If you're not expecting much from the 2.5G service, think again. ROK was recently consumer tested against the leading 3G TV services in the UK, coming out in second place, ahead of big boys 3 and Orange, for the quality of service. However, ROK doesn't seem to be going for the mainstream market in the US - instead focusing on niche/alternative content, such as TV Reggaeton, OutThere TV, and Noche De Salsa. Up to niche 50 channels should be available in the coming weeks, along with on-demand and premium programming.

To get ROK TV, visit the ROK website, register and download the software to your smartphone, Windows Mobile or Java device. You can then build up your own custom package of channels. To get things off the ground, the company is also offering one month of free ROK TV for all new subscribers.

ROK website

More ROK:
Mobile TV - consumer report finds ROK's 2.5G service out-performs leading 3G services
Watch ROK TV on your mobile without data charges using Wi-Fi

Photo messaging increases with camera phone popularity

A new report from M:Metrics shows that camera phone ownership and usage is increasing in both the US and Europe.

In the UK, photo messaging has increased by 16% since February. The report also shows that people with higher quality cameras in their phones are more likely to send their photos via messaging (51.8%) than those with VGA (28%) or lower quality (22.3%) resolutions.

The most popular camera phone in the UK is currently the RAZR, however the most common phone for actually sending picture messages is the Nokia 6111.

I'm not sure if there's much significance to the most used model to send picture messages.

What seems to be the case is that those taking better quality photos (well, potentially) are happier to send them to others. It may also be that those with higher quality phones also have calling plans with a higher quota of free picture messaging, but we can't tell from these stats.

Often the way I've seen people using their phones is to take photos and then show them directly to other people by passing the phone around, rather than sending them. Certainly cheaper and more sociable, though probably not what the operators hoped for.

The survey also pushed us some general figures about mobile usage in the UK.

• Sent Text Message (84.7%)
• Used Photo Messaging (29.7%)
• Browsed News and Information (15.0%)
• Used Personal E-Mail (6.6%)
• Purchased Ringtone (5.7%)
• Downloaded Mobile Game (4.3%)
• Used Mobile Instant Messenger (4.1%)
• Used Work E-Mail (3.2%)
• Purchased Wallpaper or Screensaver (2.2%)

Text messaging is still king but photo messaging is more rapidly increasing its share.

Mobile internet - most of us don't use it

Virtually all new mobiles and PDAs on the market feature a web browser, but new research suggests that, for most us, it's just another add-on we don't need.

The research from Hostway has found that although many people can access internet services from their mobile phone, three quarters (73%) are not taking advantage of it. Amongst the reasons for not using mobile internet were being frustrated by slow-loading pages (38%), problems with navigating websites from a phone or PDA (27%) and some websites being completely unavailable on mobile phones (25%).

"At the moment, most websites just aren't flexible enough to be accessed on mobile phones," said Neil Barton, a director at Hostway. "There's nothing wrong with having a flash website with all the bells and whistles you can muster, but you've got to be aware that mobile users simply aren't going to be able to access it. The research illustrates that even if people do wait for sites to load, quite often it's impossible to actually get at the content itself because of the way that sites are built."

However, the survey suggests that if these problems could be remedied, people would be more enthusiastic about using the net on the move. 90% of the survey said that they would use mobile internet if they could be sure that pages would load faster and they wouldn't incur high costs from their mobile operator. Accessing email on the move (71%) and the latest news and sport (47%) were highlighted as the most desirable services from a mobile.

The research, commissioned by Hostway, was conducted by independent research body TNS and surveyed 1484 consumers in Great Britain.

Hostway website

3 to exclusively stream ITV1 to your mobile

Good news for anyone who hates leaving the house just before Jeremy Kyle hits the screens - you will soon be able to watch it on your mobile via 3, after the company announced an exclusive deal with ITV to stream the channel.

The deal allows 3's 3.5 million customers to watch ITV1, along with "participation channel" ITV Play live. It will be the UK's first live streamed terrestrial mobile channel and the largest service of its kind in the UK, with coverage of more than 89 per cent of the UK population.

The service will be available from this autumn, with 3 having an exclusive 3G mobile licence to 3 for six months to host the ITV channel. Full details of the channel packages will be announced nearer the time of launch.

3 website

More from 3:
MSN Messenger on your 3 phone
3 adds K610i and K800i Cyber-shot phones to its range

One Minute Video Review: Nokia N93

Just like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Arctic Monkeys discussions about Nokia's N Series phones invariably lead to fisticuffs in this parish. Here's Ashley swooning all over the camcorder-tastic N93, while Katie pulls disapproving faces.

Apple Rumour of the Day: The iPhone

Apple Rumour: The iPhone

I love Apple rumours, don't you? It's certainly one of the companies everyone loves to speculate about, even though we know that nothing's certain until Steve Jobs sings.

What's quite cool (for a while) is the amount of spoof product and ad shots that people seem to spend a lot of time concocting. Some of them are quite convincing, too. Here we go with the iPhone.

The Rumour Mill Says...

MobileMag are just one site that have published the spoof Apple iPhone ad. Yeah, someone's got the 'Apple font' and the white background and suddenly they're on the PR team. "Everything you expect from a Mac, from a phone" is the tag. "Say hello to everyone" another one beams.

Join the club, watch the "iPhone Ad" on YouTube.

See how many old adverts someone has clipped together or Photoshopped to create it. Convincing? Maybe not, but it seems to well up the hope that many Apple fans have for another way to bring Apple into their life.

It's easy to lose count of how many previous rumours have been off-the-wall and proved wrong when Steve actually starts talking.

Next time he'll talk is on Monday, August 7th at the World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC06). We'll see what happens (and of course we'll tell you about it).

Finally, you can play WWDC Bingo, courtesy of Ars Technica - can you get five rumours in a row?

Rumour Rating

Well, this one's been rumbling on and off for a while. Do Apple really want to get into mobile phones? How does it fit into their digital lifestyle strategy? Will the iPod generation and Mac addicts really want to commit another part of their lifestyle to Apple?

My feeling is it's fairly likely. Whether it gets announced on Monday is another matter, but so I have a bigger chance of looking stupid (hey, why not) I'll rate the likelihood of Mr Jobs unveiling an iPhone (or similar device with a different name) on Monday - 60%:

So what do you reckon? iPhone, anyone?

New Platinum and Gold LG Chocolate phone

LG gave further indications as to when we can expect the new coloured versions of the popular Chocolate phone, as well as previewing two new editions when I met them this week.

I saw the two new 'premium' versions - gold and platinum. These look the same as the classic version, but with a thin gold or silver strip running through the middle, with Gold/Platinum inscribed on it. Looks wise, they reminded me slightly of a packet of cigarettes, but the kind that might tempt a non-smoker to take it up. Besides this, the main enhancement is the inclusion of a 2 megapixel camera with light, where the previous model only had 1.3 megapixels. These are expected to arrive with us mid-November, making them prime Christmas list fodder. They'll come at a similar price to the classic version, which was free on many networks with a £35ish contract.

Further to that, I got a proper look at the pink and white versions, both coming soon. The white version is designed to feel like an iPod Nano, with the same sheen to the paint and silver edging. n fact, it's one of the more successful imitations, as the size and build quality of the phone lends itself well to it. Weirdly, when you first pick it up it feels thicker than the 'classic' Chocolate. This provokes several minutes of looking at the two side by side from every possible angle, only to discover that in fact, they're exactly the same size. It just goes to prove that black is most definitely slimming. This is going to be available in the next 10 days, and in all likelihood, by next Friday (11th). Carphone Warehouse have a two week exclusivity deal, after which it's expected to be everywhere.

The pink version is the hot pink we're all used to from the Motorola RAZR, with the same red glowing buttons we expect from the classic Chocolate. Despite pink and red clashing no doubt it'll be a huge seller. LG expect this to be THE pre-pay handset at Christmas time, when it's expected to retail at about £150. The official launch will be in October, available on both pre-pay and contract.

One minute review: Oakley O-ROKR shades

Susi looks at the latest collaboration from Motorola and Oakley -the O-ROKR shades, which stream music to you from any Bluetooth enabled device.  Feel free to laugh uncontrollably.

Vodafone say video calling is a flop

Vodafone are admitting that video calling has not been a success with its customers, despite it being one of the main selling points for 3G phones. Voice and text still remains the predominant use of phones for communicating, and any video-ing going on is probably destined for the likes of YouTube.

Rumours have been circulating that Vodafone has lost interest in 3G, and that all the cash that went into securing licences and infrastructure was a waste. They seem unhappy to subsidise 3G handsets any more, because customers aren't spending enough money on the extra services.

Mind you, they have also said that more than half of their 3G customers have taken a mobile TV package, often the premium one. It's all a tad confusing knowing who to believe, because a more independent survey found that 3 in 4 of all mobile users weren't interested in Mobile TV at all.

Mobile operator 3 would disagree, claiming that its mobile TV and music services were wildly popular. So, are people turning to 3 instead of V, or is there some marketing hype going on here? What, hype? Never.

It makes me wonder how many people are actually on 3G technology anyway, letalone using its features, if all people really want to do is send text messages...

(sings: And I'm gonna be under the tree, I wonder why no-one's using 3G...)

Mobile music downloads set to increase, but ringtones won't die

Jupiter have done some research that suggests that global downloading of music to mobile phones will reach $14bn by 2011.

The kings of download at present are ringtones, which account for 81% of all downloads, but real music downloads will increase from 9% to 32%, taking away some of their annoyance value. It's all fuelled by an increase in 3G networks and music handsets.

Fortunately, or not, depending on your aural sensibilities, ring tones aren't going to vanish completely. After all there'll always be teenagers on trains that need some way of annoying business commuters...

Nokia phones UK's most stolen mobile

Those uni boffins (from Loughborough) have been researching again, and have discovered that Nokia mobile phones have achieved number one spot in "Britain's Most Nicked Mobile".

I'm not sure if this is a huge revelation? After all, Nokia's are pretty much the most common phone around, which suggests they're popular, which suggests they're 'nickable' - dunnit?

But wait, we get the actual models: The Nokia 6230 was the most stolen phone, at a whopping 15.4% of all thefts. After that came the Samsung D500 (8.2%) and the Motorola Razr (5.4%).

Overall, over half of all thefts were of Nokia models, followed by Samsung (13.6%) and Sony Ericsson at 13.3%. Again, to me, that sounds like the general popularity of these manufacturers.

Just to mix things up a bit though, it turns out that thieves are seasonally-inclined, and pick different phones to nick around Christmastime.

One thing's almost certain - the old Nokia brick I still embarrassedly use isn't likely to be nicked by anyone. If only.

Are these the weirdest mobile games ever?

Unfortunately, Indian firm Mobile2win didn't get into today's 'Top 10 mobile games' post, as I haven't had a chance to play any of their games. But by hell, I'd like to. Take Spank The Ass for example, for its title screen alone (left). Or 7 Year Itch, where you have to hurl crockery at your spouse. Or Cupid's Fart to Heart, where the goal is "to fart and spread love". Or Moo Poo, where you fly around as a loose-bowelled cow. I won't even tell you what Casting Couch, Cherry Popping and Anti Terrorism Party Pack involve... If these games aren't already for sale in the UK, well, they should be.

Thursday Top 10: Mobile games worth giving yourself RSI for

Mobile games are rubbish, right? Snake's the only one worth playing, especially since you paid a fiver for that rubbish movie game when you were drunk on the train home last year. Never again. But wait a second.

Mobile games have moved on, both from Snake and from the more atrocious movie tie-ins that were common a couple of years ago. The last year has seen an explosion in creativity and quality among mobile game designers. To prove it, we've rounded up ten of the best current mobile games.

They're all unbranded, not based on films, console games, celebrities etc. This isn't because branded games are inherently bad, but because unbranded games don't always get the publicity they deserve - in the press, or from your mobile operator. That said, they should all be available to buy for £3-£5 from the games section of your operator's portal.

1. Turbo Camels: Circus Extreme
It's the best game featuring a bouncing German camel you'll ever play! Yes, probably the only one, but still. Pioneering a genre crying out to be known as the hump'em-up, this sees you playing a camel who's fired out of a cannon, and has to bounce around over 60 levels collecting items before executing a gymnastic landing. It's got humour, panache, and turtles too. And a finely-tuned scoring system gives it more depth than most games we've seen.
Official site - Pocket Gamer review

2. Rollercoaster Rush
Ever been on a rollercoaster and wished it was, well, a bit more dangerous? Try this neat 2D game that puts you in the shoes of a coaster brakesman. It's controlled with just two buttons - 6 to speed up, and 4 to whack on the brakes (although you get a bonus if you don't use the brakes at all). The idea is to give your passengers as thrilling a ride as possible by jumping off bumps, speeding downhill and doing loop-the-loops at every opportunity. Set in Australia, France and the USA - what, no Alton Towers or Thorpe Park? - and will have you beaming like a fool from the start.
Official site - IGN review - Pocket Gamer review

3. Midnight Bowling 3D
Bowling games have always been a safe bet on mobile thanks to the simple controls and familiar gameplay mechanics. The latest breed of 3D-capable phones are spawning their own bowling titles too, such as this one. There's a selection of well-rounded characters to control - yes, including the obligatory slinky women - and enough swoopy camera angles to make the game worth showing off. Meanwhile, you unlock new characters, balls and costumes as you go along. They haven't messed with the controls though - setting your aim and spin is as easy as the traditional 2D bowling games.
Official site - IGN review

4. Tower Bloxx
You have to be good to get comparisons to Tetris and not emerge with egg on your face. The premise of Tower Bloxx is simple - build skyscrapers floor-by-floor by pressing the 5 key to drop blocks into place - complicated by the fact that they're swinging all over the place. If your timing's good, your tower is straight and loads of people move in. If it's off, you end up with a wobbly load of old shite. It's hypnotically addictive, with added depth provided by the Build City mode, which mixes in a dash of Sim City-esque town planning to the core one-button action.
Official site - IGN review - Pocket Gamer review

5. Ancient Empires 2
This is nominally an original game, although it's fair to say this (and its predecessor) owe more than a smidgeon to Nintendo's Advance Wars series. It's turn-based game where you move your units around a map, ganging up on enemies, capturing towns and gradually taking over the (fantasy) world. If all this sounds a bit dull, don't worry - it's leavened by the crafted cartoon graphics,