Mobile Digest

Motorola Purple MOTORAZR V3i

Looks like purple is the new black, or is it the new pink? Whichever way, Motorola has put out a MOTORAZR V3i in striking mauve livery just in time Mother's Day in the US (May 13 in case you were wondering). And what mother doesn't want a bright purple phone?

The handset will be available exclusively through Motorola's online store without contract for a tidy $239.99 - although bag two at the same time (one phone is never enough) and you'll get a 20 percent discount. There's no word on UK availability just yet.

The MOTORAZR V3i is quad band with Bluetooth for wireless transfers. It has a large internal colour display and integrated 1.23 megapixel camera. More from Motorola's store.

3 offers Pay As You Go from 5p per minute

Following on from Orange's new pre-pay tariff yesterday, 3 has announced a new pricing structure for its Pay As You Go customers, with calls now from 5p per minute - the cheapest any network any time call rate available from any UK mobile network, according to the company.

3’s Pay As You Go Top-ups are also now available in a wider range of
denominations - £10, £15, £20, £25, £30,£40 and £50 - and with no expiry dates. And customers can convert Top-ups to an Add-on. Voice Add-ons reduce the cost of calls per minute to any network from 30p to 5p and text Add-ons can reduce the cost of texts from 10p to 5p each. You can also surf the net for £1 per day and access seven TV channels for £2.

Pay As You Go users can convert Top-ups to Add-ons by going to My3 on their handset or dialling 444. John Penberthy-Smith, marketing director at 3, commented: “3’s Pay As You Go tariff demonstrates our ongoing commitment to delivering the cheapest deals on the market for our customers.”

3 website

Orange offers pre-pay overdraft facility

Orange has a new solution to running out of credit for pre-pay customers - an overdraft.

Customers signing up to the company's Speakeasy pre-pay tariff can get £2.50 worth of 'overdraft' (known as the Reserve Tank) to stay connected when credit runs out. But it costs £1 to take advantage of it.

Other benefits include three 'Magic Numbers' that are charged at 15p per hour and a flat rate of 15p per minute for other numbers.

Orange website

Orange Pay-Off: 15 seconds to be a sexy, weird, dancer

Orange has launched its Pay-Off contest and is inviting its customers to submit 10-15 second video clips of themselves either trying to prove that they're the sexiest person alive (Face-off), are the best/craziest dancer (Dance-off), or are just plain weird but couldn't muster a longer clip on YouTube (Weird-off).

The best videos are entered into a series of play-off rounds, where users vote for their favourite and the winner then has to face a new challenge - though what that is isn't clear yet.

Video clips can be from your mobile or a video camera, and can be sent by MMS to 7469, or via the Orange web site.

Only Orange mobile users can submit, watch, and vote, which seems a little strange in this social networking, viral online world, as it could've been used as an interesting marketing ploy to get more people onto Orange's mailing lists.

Anyway, if you're an Orange customer with a need to show off in front of a lens, check it out.

Orange

Will the iPhone do for mobile music what iTunes did for online music?

Media analyst Screen Digest has completed some interesting research into the global market for over-the-air (OTA) mobile music downloads, as well as speculating on what impact the iPhone may have on this market.

By the end of 2006, the global market for OTA mobile music was worth around £113m, most of which was generated by single track downloads in the US. The global online music download market was worth around £636m.

By 2012, Screen Digest forecast the global mobile music market will be worth over £1bn, the vast majority thanks to consumers in Japan and South Korea. The reasoning for this is primarily due to vastly superior mobile networks in those countries than European and US citizens have the luxury of. For this reason, Western consumers prefer to download music onto their PCs over higher speed broadband connections, and then synchronise with their music devices / phones.

Screen Digest forecast that subscription-based music services will emerge over the next three years, and account for two-thirds of total mobile music revenues worldwide by 2012. Something that Steve Jobs may want to take note of, as he has hinted at being interested in subscription music services, while saying Apple won't launch such a service at other times.

Screen Digest digital music specialist Dan Cryan says: “This is a really exciting time for mobile music and industry players are jostling to enter a rapidly growing market with the right products and business models. On the one hand we have Apple’s iPhone, the first generation of which doesn’t lend itself it to over-the-air music downloads."

I'd question his belief that the first generation iPhone doesn't lend itself to OTA music downloads. Though it's likely that most people, particularly on slower mobile networks in the US, will upload music to their iPhone via iTunes on their Mac or PC (as per iPod) the inbuilt Wi-Fi—plus the possibility of a 3G international version of the iPhone—means that OTA downloading of tracks straight to the iPhone should easily be possible with a tweaked version of iTunes.

With many predicting that the iPhone will revolutionise the mobile industry, could it do for mobile music what iTunes has done for online music?

Ironically, it will be iTunes that underpins music on the iPhone, so in reality it will be the software that needs to change to facilitate a successful iPhone experience.

Will Apple listen to a potential wave of new customers, perhaps including a number who haven't used iTunes before?

Will the lure of a piece of the potentially lucrative subscription-based music download service tempt Jobs (or any successor) to offer such a service to iPhone/iPod users?

Only time will tell, but it's in the area of portable music devices and accompanying software that Apple has, arguably, made its biggest mark amongst general consumers. Apple likes to set trends. How will the iPhone shape mobile music, or will mobile music shape future generations of iPhone?

First iPhone camera images spotted online

Pictures claiming to have been taken on Apple's forthcoming iPhone have tipped up on the internet.

The image, showing a man tucking into some jam on toast, was spotted by Mobile Guerilla, after constantly typing "taken with an apple iphone" into Google for over a month.

The pics were found on a Flickr account, and the EXIF data showed that device used was: "Camera: Apple iPhone". The images have since been removed.

Of course, it's not that difficult to fake EXIF info so it could just be a cunning ruse.

More: Mobile Guerilla

Orange launches Play-Off - first video gameshow for mobile phones

Orange is jumping on the talent show bandwagon, but on mobiles phones with Play-Off, which claims to offer the nation’s never-ending queue of wanabees a platform to pit their "talents" against one another.

You need to submit 10-15 second videos in response to a particular challenge. The best videos go into a "play-off", then users vote for their favourite. Win and you take on your next challenger. Lose - and you're gone.

Don't expect high-brow, with categories for launch include Face-off, giving those who think they are the sexiest person alive a chance to prove it, Dance-off, for those with the "craziest dance moves" and finally Weird-off for "the weirdest stuff".

To have a go at Play-Off, submit your clip at orange.co.uk or send it by MMS to 7469.

Orange website

Vodafone offers free YouTube videos to your handset

We told you some time back that Vodafone had done an exclusive deal with YouTube. Well, now you can try it for yourself - as it's just launched.

Before you feverishly reach for your mobile handset to check out all those Shiny Media video reviews, there is a drawback to this - it isn't the full YouTube service. It's actually described as "the Best of YouTube", with a range of 15-20 videos being offered and refreshed each day. Better than nothing, but not quite what you might hope.

The videos will be tailored for your mobile handset and will be absolutely free (for a limited period - no mention of how long that is), so it's not all bad.

Find out more at Vodafone Live!

Championship Manager 2007 heads to mobiles

I'm guessing that the various Championship Manager games have had a serious negative impact on relationships over the years - and that looks set to continue with the launch of Championship Manager 2007 for mobile phones.

As you would expect, Championship Manager 2007 has all of the up to the minute data, and now features more English and European teams and players, improved tactics, player-specific training regimes, pre and post match press conferences and an enhanced interface.

“CM 2007 is faster and slicker game and when you consider the last version was the best-selling football game for mobile phones and award-winning, it shows you just how good this version is,” said Allison Archer, Producer, Eidos New Media. “We’ve beefed up the feature list for the game, increased the number of players and teams and made the interface even more accessible so we’re confident that we’ll be retaining our No.1 crown with CM 2007.”

It retails from £5.

Championship Manager website

Review: Sony Ericsson W200i - Walkman phone for everyone

The propaganda

Not everyone wants - or indeed needs - a super phone in their pocket, loaded with features and raring to satisfy any and every multimedia whim at a moment's notice.

Some just want a decent enough camera, a bit of music and the ability to talk and text their friends. Nothing more complex or overblown than that. For that sort of person, the Sony Ericsson W200i will more than suffice.

The good

The W200i is a good, solid phone, first and foremost. It's got enough features to keep you occupied without bundling in so much technology that it pushes you into forking out a massive amount each month to get one free on contract.

Camera snaps are good enough to share with your mates and there's a built-in Walkman music player. The bundled headphones are basic, but you can plug your own into the 3.5mm jack on the hands free kit. The inclusion of a 128MB Memory Stick Micro card in a phone aimed at this market is fairly generous.

The bad

There's no escaping the fact that W200i has a rather utilitarian design. It's solid and sensible, but it's not going to win any design awards. While it's quite small front on, it's a bit thick which makes it feel a somewhat bulky.

The navigation joystick is recessed a little too much, making it difficult to move around menus. The screen stretches to 1.8in and the low resolution of 128x160 pixels feels a little cramped at times.

There's also no Bluetooth, which feels positively antiquated, with wireless communication left to good old infrared instead.

Geek Sheet

Connectivity: 900/1800/1900MHz GSM, USB, infrared

Internal memory: 27MB, 256MB MemoryStick Micro

Display: 1.8in, 128x160 pixels

Camera: 0.3 megapixel

POP3 email client

Battery: 7 hours talk time, 300 hours standby

Dimensions: 44x101x18 mm

Overview

Free phones on contract are great - but if you're not in a position to take one out you may find your handset choice more limited. If you're shopping for a Pay As You Go phone, or need a replacement handset without any ties then the W200i is a reasonable option. It doesn't have all the whizbang features you'll find from the latest models, but with a price tag of around £60 on PAYG it's considerably more affordable too.

Related sites: Sony Ericsson W200i

Shiny Video Review: Nokia 6300

Susi examines the Nokia 6300 and reports back for Tech Digest on this simple, straightforward but fairly limited phone.

Nokia

Orange and Vodafone block Skype and other VoIP services

Red Herring has reported that Vodafone and Orange has blocked customers from using Internet telephony services such as Skype over their networks.

Phones are being shipped that have specifically had their VoIP capabilities disabled.

One such phone is the Nokia N95, an expensive mobile multimedia computer that's received great reviews, but which is now having features stripped out by frightened mobile operators.

According to Truphone, a VoIP service that has been blocked, users who try to restore VoIP functionality could be voiding their warranty, breaching their network contract, and possibly breaking the law.

It's hardly surprising that mobile operators want to keep tight control on how their customers are using phones on their networks, and ensure that as much revenue as possible continues to funnel into them.

This issue isn't going to go away, though. Will there be a backlash from tech-savvy customers irate at having their new phones messed up, and being tethered to overpriced call plans?

Vodafone encouraging family tariff, and business mobile recycling

Vodafone aims to encourage customers to sign up to its family tariff by selling two Samsung C300s, or two Nokia 1600s, in a single bundle.

The Samsung deal costs £75, and the Nokia deal costs £50. They'll be sold in Vodafone and Woolworths stores.

In other news, Vodafone has partnered with leading recycling company Fonebak to create awareness amongst UK employers about the importance of mobile phone recycling.

It will offer businesses a campaign pack including posters and a recycling box, plus digital initiatives such as emails, texts, and screensavers.

Vodafone estimates that each year in the UK, 11.3 million mobile phones are thrown away, and only a third of the UK population have ever recycled one.

As an extra piece of good news, Vodafone will donate money raised from this business mobile recycling scheme to the National Autistic Society.

Shock: Text messages blamed for declining standards in written language

Ireland's State Examination Commission has come to the conclusion that we all knew already: the rise in text messaging is a contributing factor in the decline of writing standards.

"The emergence of the mobile phone and the rise of text messaging as a popular means of communication would appear to have impacted on standards of writing as evidenced in the responses of candidates," their report stated.

Text messaging relies on phonetic spellings and rarely contains punctuation, and that "seems to pose a threat to traditional conventions in writing".

Students often rely on short sentences, simple tenses, and a limited vocabulary.

Not that you'd catch us doing that.

Nokia N76 - now with added Travis

When Nokia says it has teamed up with "one of the UK's most influential bands", I'm guessing not many of you out there would think of Travis. Well amazingly, that's who they mean.

Nokia has done a deal with Sony BMG to throw in five Travis tracks for anyone buying the N76. But it's typically not that simple - it's in the form of a voucher, you don't get to choose the tracks and you have to download from the MSN music shop. Surely pre-installing isn't that hard? At least you will get the band's new single, plus four other tracks from the band's back catalogue.

According to Tapio Hedman, senior vice-president Multimedia, Nokia and probably without his tongue in his cheek: "We're very excited about being able to offer music from Travis, a genuinely thought provoking and inspirational band, for mobile enjoyment with the Nokia N76. This compelling offer confirms the commitment Nokia Nseries has to music and developing devices that match the lifestyles of consumers"

The N76 can hold up to 1500 tracks and supports Windows DRM tunes.

See the full N76 specification

Samsung's SGH-i400 heads to Europe

Samsung has unveiled another smartphone - the SGH-i400 - which should debut in Europe sometime in late summer.

It's a slider handset, using the Symbian S60 operating system. Details confirmed so far include a two megapixel camera, dedicated MP3 keys, stereo speakers, A2DP Bluetooth, MicroSD slot and full web browsing courtesy of the 2.3-inch screen.

No word on connectivity as yet, but we do know it will make its debut in Russia in July, with Europe following soon after.

Samsung website

Via Engadget

Mobile phones cause forgetfulness

Here's a quick challenge for you - try and remember five numbers that are stored in your mobile phone. Tricky isn't it? If you're finding it a challenge, you're not alone.

Over two thirds of the UK mobile phone users - 69 percent - were unable to recall five numbers from their phone memory in a recent survey.

With thefts of mobile phones accounting for 40 percent of robberies and only four out of ten people backing up their contacts it's a bit of a recipe for disaster.

But all is not lost - ZYB is touting an online back up service that works with most phones and any UK network. You need to store you numbers on the phone memory, not the SIM, then sign up at the website and follow the instructions.

Given that on average we store 80 numbers in our phones, it's probably worth doing something about it sooner, rather than later.

Motorola V3i phone packed with gold and diamonds

If those high-priced Vertu handsets don't offer enough glitz, you could go for something just a little more obvious - the Peter Aloisson-designed Motorola V3i phone, made from gold-covered stainless steel and encrusted with 855 small diamonds.

Ideal for the average footballer's wife, it has a typical V3i specification (which is approaching two years old) of a 1.3 megapixel camera, media player and not much else.

And the price of this glamour? Around £5,000. Although if you can do without the gold, you can have one for £2,000.

Motorola website

Via Gizmodo

Review: Nokia N95 - feature packed multimedia mobile

The propaganda

Nokia is touting the N95 as a multimedia computer, rather than just a simple old phone. While that might be pushing it slightly, it's certainly a feature packed handset.

It supports 3G, HSDPA, GPRS, GSM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and infrared - basically every wireless connection you can think of and there's built in GPS, so you'll always know where you are.

It's got strong multimedia credentials too, with a 5 megapixel camera, Carl Zeiss lens and, according to Nokia, DVD-like quality video clips.

The good

It's a neat design - the large 2.6in 240x320 screen occupies the majority of the front of the unit with navigation buttons below. Sliding the screen up reveals the numeric keypad, while sliding it the other way exposes four media playback keys.

The GPS receiver works with the included mapping application, which doesn't store the map data on the device but downloads it as needed from the internet.

Snaps from the camera were very good for a cameraphone, with maximum resolution images measuring 2,592x1,944 pixels. Video clips can be recorded at a maximum resolution of 640x480 - not quite PAL resolution, but close.

The bad

The interface can take a bit of getting used to, due to the large number of features available. It can also be slow to respond at times - press the button to bring up the animated multimedia menu and it can be up to three seconds before it appears, making it feel a bit sluggish.

As the mapping application needs an active internet connection to download map information it could end up costing a fair amount of money unless you've got an unlimited use data account.

It's also a bit on the large size, measuring 53x99x21mm and weighing in at 120g.

Geek Sheet

Connectivity: 3G, HSDPA, 850/900/1800/1900MHz GSM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB, infrared, GPS

Memory: up to 160MB, expandable via MicroSD card

Display: 2.6in, 240x320 pixels

Camera: 5.0 megapixel

POP3 email client

Battery: 4 hours talk time, 225 hours standby

Dimensions: 53x99x21 mm

Overview

While it's certainly no match for a full computer, the N95 is feature packed.

The integrated GPS and map application means you'll always know where you are, although it could run up extra data costs.

Snaps are very good quality for a cameraphone and video footage is decent, if not quite up to DVD standard.

If you're happy with a larger than average handset, you can pick it up from free with a new contract.

Related sites: Nokia N95

Philips SHB6102/05 Bluetooth stereo headset

Let's be honest, we can probably do without the wires connecting headphones to player - and with some you can, as indeed you can with the right mobile phone. Well, if yours isn't one of them, you can make it so with the Philips SHB6102/05 Bluetooth stereo headset.

There's no need to worry about you player having Bluetooth support, because these headphones come complete with a Bluetooth transmitter that plugs into your 3.5mm headphone socket, creating A2DP compatibility.

It offers a range of up to 33ft for your music playback. And it can pair up to your mobile too, intervening when a call comes in. It's all powered by a rechargeable battery, which should offer around 12 hours of music from a single charge.

No price as yet.

Product page

LG KS10 - Google-packed slider phone

LG recently announced a tie-in with Google, offering pre-loaded Google Maps, Gmail, and Blogger mobile applications with selected new handsets. And it looks like the first of these is the LG KS10.

It's a slim slider phone with HSDPA connectivity and a Symbian operating system. Other features include a 2.4-inch LCD screen, two megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, multimedia playback and a microSD slot.

LG says this will get its debut in April in Italy, with a launch through the rest of Europe before the end of the year.

LG website

Via Engadget

T-Mobile launches web'n'walk USB modem

T-Mobile has just launched the web'n'walk USB modem, which is compatible with both PC and Mac, offering broadband speeds of up to 1.8Mbps.

And according to T-Mobile, it's significantly cheaper than the similar device from Vodafone. On comparable 12-month price plans with unlimited usage on a HSDPA connection, T-Mobile's USB modem costs £29.99 to purchase the device plus a monthly fee of £29 on the web'n'walk Plus price plan, where as Vodafone's USB modem costs £49 to buy, plus a monthly fee of £52.86 on the Data Unlimited price plan.

It's aimed at people who might not have landlines or the internet at home - or people who work out and about. For example, if you need to get a photo or article to your head office quickly, you could go online wherever you are and click 'send'.

The web’n’walk USB modem is in T-Mobile stores now and available online

T-Mobile website

When is a BlackBerry not a BlackBerry?

Will Head writes...

RIM is soon going to be rolling out a version of its much prized instant email software that will run on Microsoft's Windows Mobile platform.

The company has offered similar functionality in the past through BlackBerry Connect, but the new version looks like it will replace the Windows Mobile interface while it's running so it looks distinctly more BlackBerry like.

However, it doesn't look like just anybody with a Windows Mobile can just simply download the software and off they go. First up, it will only run on the latest version of Windows Mobile - 6.0. Also, there's no firm word yet how RIM plans to charge for it.

It could be a free add-on - since users pay an additional fee for BlackBerry email each month - or it could requite an upfront fee as well. It'll no doubt come down to what sort of deal is agreed with the mobile operators.

But is it a good idea for RIM to put one of its must have features on a competitor's platform? It is true that until recently, BlackBerry hardware was viewed as a necessary evil for having the advantages of push email. But with the consumer friendly Pearl model and its bigger brother the 8800 it's not the case anymore - these are desirable handsets in their own right and they come with all that BlackBerry goodness built in.

It's good news for Windows Mobile handset makers - if RIM irons out the details with the operators then it's a new feature for their phones without them having to do anything at all.

Microsoft might not be over the moon about the announcement - after all, it seems a bit rude of the application to replace the current interface with its own (although users can switch back and forth between two).

For consumers, though, it's great. With a wider range of handsets that are BlackBerry compatible available then more people can enjoy the simplicity of email on the go. No more tapping in seemingly random setup details via the keypad or routinely checking for new mail - with BlackBerry you can treat email like text messages and get on with the things you need to do.

BlackBerry software coming to Windows Mobile 6 devices

Research in Motion (RIM) has said that it plans to port software to devices running the latest Windows Mobile 6.0 operating system, allowing more devices to run like BlackBerries.

The software would allow people who don't want to lose their existing handset functionality to subscribe to the BlackBerry service and get the BlackBerry interface on their mobile.

A user would be able to switch easily between BlackBerry and Windows Mobile functionality, according to RIM.

The company are currently working with a number of mobile phone operators, including AT&T, to make the software available, possibly by September.

Read Will's take on this news.

O2 offers incentives not to upgrade

All those shiny new mobile phones - whatever handset we go for, we want another one a few weeks later. And certainly as soon as our contract allows us to. That's not good news for the phone networks or indeed the environment. Well, O2 are taking steps to encourage you to keep the one you have.

The company is to pay customers not to upgrade, offering £95 in phone credit and a £10 donation to the Energy Saving Trust if you agree to keep your handset on for another year. Or if you're feeling less charitable, £100 in credit and no money for the EST.

The money for the EST will be used to award grants to communities to implement carbon-reduction schemes.

So what's it to be? Keeping your handset and helping the environment or looking cutting edge? It's your call.

O2 website

Review: ZyXEL v660 - mobile and VoIP hybrid phone

The propaganda

VoIP may be great for keeping calling costs down - but it does mean you're shackled to your PC by a headset, which doesn't lend itself to long conversations.

ZyXEL is hoping to change all that with the V660 phone which combines a normal mobile with Wi-Fi and VoIP functionality. The idea is simple - when you're in range of a hotspot you can make calls cheaply over the internet and when you're out of coverage you can still be contactable via the standard GSM network.

The good

As the V660 runs Microsoft's Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system you get all the goodies you'd expect from a high end smartphone.

In addition to your normal phone functionality there's cut down versions of Internet Explorer for web surfing and Outlook for email on the go. With built in Wi-Fi, you can surf away without worrying about high data costs.

Wi-Fi also means you can use it with a VoIP service such as Sipgate which offers calls much more cheaply than normal mobile rates. Like most VoIP services, it depends on the speed of your internet connection and the sound does drop out at times, but it's still usable.

The bad

The V660 doesn't currently support Skype - perhaps the most popular VoIP service. Support is planned for later in the year, but there's no confirmed date at present.

Setting up the VoIP service is also fairly fiddly and involves entering seemingly random text into lots of different boxes to get it to work - although you only have to do it once, thankfully.

Battery life also wasn't brilliant - after just a day's moderate use with both GSM and Wi-Fi turned on it was down to half full so you'll need to keep it topped up regularly.

Geek Sheet

Connectivity: 850/900/1800/1900MHz GSM, Wi-Fi, USB

Internal memory: 64MB

Display: 1.9”, 176x220 pixels

Camera: 1.3 megapixel

POP3 email client

Dimensions: 44x107x15 mm

Overview

There's no confirmed price, but ZyXEL estimates it will sell for around £250 without contract which is fairly pricey considering most phones are given away free with a contract.

Design-wise it's fairly basic to look at, although it's relatively simple to use - especially if you know your way around Windows Mobile.

The VoIP functionality is a welcome addition, although lack of Skype support is disappointing and setting it up other services is quite complex and could be made easier.

Related sites: ZyXEL

Video: Jabra limited edition JX10 Cara headset

When you’ve gone to the trouble of getting a flashy phone the last thing you want is a naff Star Trek headset making you look like a crack dealer. This is probably why Jabra have come up with Cara, a limited edition of the JX10 headset. Charlotte from Jabra talks us through the concept behind the headsets. See after the jump for pictures.

Cara, as it’s called, still has the ergonomic waisted design but is in luxurious 24 carat gold or stainless steel. It comes with a bewildering array of accessories, including a nifty desktop charger, optional earhook and a lanyard so you can keep it safe. For its size it has an impressive 6 hours talk time and great digital sound processing.

iPhone? Nope, never heard of it

Nearly half of Americans adults have heard of the iPhone, despite the fact it's not even out yet, according to a survey. What's more, 17 percent said they already wanted to buy one - something that will not doubt delight the accountants at Apple.

However, not everyone is jumping at the chance to get their mitts on Apple's new baby - with only nine percent saying they'd be queuing up to buy one at launch. About 17 percent, however, were willing to wait until their current contract expires and a quarter would only buy it when their mobile company offers it.

Four out of ten people thought it was too expensive, though, and instead would wait for the price to come down.

Slightly bizarrely, the feature most people (37 percent) were after was its large storage capacity, followed by quad band support (36 percent). The shiny, much hyped interface only came in third at 31 percent.

The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, quizzed over 1,000 US residents aged over 18 online.

** More iPhone news on our iPhone blog iPhonic

Stuck in a boring meeting? Read your email instead

If you've been holding a meeting and found you've had to compete with the allure of mobile email for your colleagues' attention, you're not alone.

A survey of senior executives found that 86 percent said it was common for people to check their mail during a meeting using a BlackBerry or Treo. A third of them weren't very happy about the practice and were somewhat irked by their fellow worker's behaviour.

More people - 37 percent - thought it was alright to reply if the message was urgent, though quite how you find out if the message is urgent before reading it is a bit of a mystery. Only a fifth thought that you should make your excuses and leave before tapping out a reply.

So are people getting addicted to handheld email or is it just a reaction to listening to someone drone on for hours on end about mindless topics?

The survey was conducted by Robert Half Management Resources and quizzed 150 senior executives about their experience of mobile email.

Video review: Nokia N95

Ashley and Shiny Shiny's Susi put the Nokia N95 through its paces.

Nokia

Jabra launches limited edition JX10 Cara Bluetooth headsets for the affluent

There's no stopping some people when it comes to buying and wearing gold jewellery - so there should be a ready-made market for the limited edition JX10 Cara Bluetooth headset from Jabra, which is available in 24 carat gold.

If that sounds a bit too flash, there's also a more subtle stainless steel version. Both are designed by Jacob Jensen, familiar for his designs for Bang & Olufsen and weigh in at 14g. They feature Digital Sound Processing technology for improved clarity, with settings (including volume) controlled by the earpiece and set-up/pairing is one-touch.

Functions include voice dial, call hold/call wait, last number re-dial, answer/end calls and reject calls, with six hours of talk time possible, along with 200 hours of standby.

The Jabra JX10 in 24 carat gold sells for £149.99, with the stainless steel version at £99.99

Jabra website

Video review: Orange SPV M700

Shiny Shiny's Susi and Katie take a peek and poke around the Orange SPV M700 (complete with nostalgic hints of a PDA).

Orange

Camera phone popularity causing decline in sale of wallpaper

No, not the sort of wallpaper you stick on your wall - B&Q can rest easy - but rather digital wallpaper and phone graphics that certain companies take great pride in selling for extortionate prices.

People are instead using their own camera phones to personalise their displays with pictures they've taken themselves.

Instead, people are more willing to pay for data services and photo messaging.

In this climate (which is hardly a revelation: people use the photos they've taken themselves - gasp!) it will be interesting to see how services such as that formed by iStockphoto and AMUSE will fare. After all, there's a world of difference between the quality of photos taken on a camera phone, and that by a semi-professional photographer.

Having said that, we're only talking about phone wallpaper here, and even the largest smartphone screens don't need super quality photos.

Having your own snap of your best mate doing something silly after a night on the town? Priceless.

10 Music 2.0 services that'll change your listening habits forever

Let's get one thing straight. The internet isn't killing music, any more than home taping did back in the 1980s. Yes, CD sales are on the slide. Yes, people are still using peer-to-peer download services to trouser free music, despite the threat of legal action from the music industry. And yes, it's possible that a whole generation of teenagers now believe music isn't something you pay for.

But these are challenges for the music industry, not mortal wounds. The way we discover, consume and share music is changing fast, and the internet brings as many opportunities for bands and singers as it does threats. A new breed of online music services are springing up to offer a Web 2.0 take on music listening.

I've rounded up ten of the most interesting ones, including the big names (yes, MySpace is in there), but also some cool startups. And that's without mentioning innovative blogs like Pitchfork – which has broken several new bands recently – and Trackfeeder. Read on for a taste of what else Music 2.0 has to offer.

1. MYSPACE (www.myspace.com)

In some senses, MySpace is old news in terms of music. Bands have been setting up their own profiles for ages now, with the site's embedded player letting you hear artists who haven't been covered in the traditional music media yet. And yes, it was a big factor in the rise of Lily Allen and the Arctic Monkeys, even if the stories have been somewhat embellished in both cases.

But what's interesting is where MySpace goes now. How will it avoid further spats with artists who want to sell digital songs from their profiles using third-party widgets? What part – if any – will music play in MySpace's mobile activities such as its exclusive deal with Vodafone? What kind of royalties should MySpace be paying the record labels and publishers? And could it get outflanked by some of the companies below? Answering these questions is going to be interesting.

2. SONGBIRD (www.songbirdnest.com)

Songbird describes itself as a mash-up of a desktop Web player, a digital jukebox, and a traditional Web browser. You could call it iTunes meets Firefox (especially accurate, since like the latter it's based on Mozilla). Browse websites with music files on them – blogs, for example – and it'll cue them up for playing.

It ties into an increasing selection of online stores – compared to iTunes, which only works with Apple's iTunes Store. And because it's open-source, all manner of developers are chipping in to create nifty extensions for it. Songbird is still officially in 'developer preview', but you can download it and have a play now.

3. MOG (www.mog.com)

An innovative new music community that shares several features with Last.fm (see below), but also throws in some new ideas. You can upload MP3 music to share with friends, read news and reviews, and get recommendations on new tunes based on your existing collection (the latter through a download, MOG-O-MATIC.

Recent additions include a neat Magic Button feature, which provides instant recommendations, and something called MOG TV. The latter is a personalised music TV channel, which throws up a bunch of YouTube music videos based on your tastes.

4. NOKIA MUSIC RECOMMENDERS (www.musicrecommenders.com)

This recommendation service was launched to parade Nokia's cutting-edge music credentials, and to test-drive its download-store technology in advance of a full iTunes rival coming later this year. The idea is simple enough: 40 independent stores around the world choose some tracks every month, which you can preview and buy.

These are shops that you'd probably be scared to walk into in the real-world, but which theoretically are quickest to catch onto new trends in their areas (including London, Germany, Japan, Brazil, Jamaica...). And, of course, there's a strong mobile angle, given that Nokia is behind it. Now excuse me, I've got some blistering dub-step J-Pop to listen to...

5. JAMGLUE (www.jamglue.com)

The term 'jam' has brought me out in goose-pimples ever since a mammoth 20-minute-long middle-eight during a Black Crowes gig, during which I had time to go to the loo, buy a pint AND refind my mates in the crowd. Jamglue (sadly) has nothing to do with the Crowes. Instead, it's about uploading your tracks, and then letting other members of the community remix them, while you remix theirs.

The big appeal is the user-friendliness of the remixing tool, and the way you can then easily share or embed the resulting aural catastrophe top choon however you want. Creativity is as much a part of Music 2.0 as consuming and community – something Jamglue and its rivals are a testament too.

6. LAST.FM (www.last.fm)

Like MySpace, Last.fm is one of the well-known Music 2.0 services – most people reading this post will know that you can use it to create personalised radio streams based on the artists and songs that you already like. And that's cool. But there are two other reasons why I think Last.fm will make a lasting impact.

First, there's the social networking that's sprung up around the radio aspect. Being able to see what friends have been listening to, and even dip into their streams, is fab. Second, Last.fm has momentum with the record labels, having recently signed deals with Warner Music Group and EMI.

7. HOOOKA (www.hoooka.com)

Hoooka isn't a site, it's an online music store widget, which is the work of Indie911. It lets bands create their own digital store to sell songs and videos on their social network profile, blog or website, and take 80% of the revenues. It can be customised to the nth degree, and can even include a live chat feature if they want.

Unsigned bands have been able to promote their music online for a while now, but actually selling it has been harder. Widgets like Hoooka won't replace the labels, of course – they're more likely to become an important way for bands to get signed, as they'll be able to prove they've got commercial potential. The cloud on the horizon is spats like the one with MySpace (see above).

8. RUCKUS (www.ruckusnetwork.com)

Over in the US, music industry body the RIAA has been trying to stop students from file-sharing by sending them scary legal letters. A more constructive way to wean them onto legal downloading is offered by Ruckus, which offers more than 2.5 million tracks free, with revenues coming from advertising.

In February, Ruckus announced that since moving to the free ad-funded model, its subscriber base had increased by more than 14 times. The company has signed licensing deals with major and indie labels alike, and the only downside is that it's US-only for now. Bring it over here, quick! And, er, let those of us whose university days are way behind us use it too...

9. FOXYTUNES (www.foxytunes.com)

Two services in one, here. The original FoxyTunes is a browser plug-in that checks what music you're listening to in your media player, and lets you find lyrics, videos, biographies and other content via a right-click. Simple, but useful.

However, FoxyTunes Planet is even cooler. It's a musical search engine. Type in a band, and it brings up a page of links to YouTube videos, similar Last.fm artists, Flickr photos, LyricWiki lyrics and albums to buy on Amazon. However, you can then add and remove these widgets, subbing in iTunes links, blog posts on Hype Machine, and other download store links. Fab.

10. MYSTRANDS (www.mystrands.com)

MyStrands is another social recommendation service, riffing off your iTunes library to find other stuff it thinks you might like. It also ties in social networking features, so you can find recommendations via friends or likeminded music fans, as well as posting blog entries and messaging other people.

That's all cool, but similar to Last.fm and Pandora. What makes MyStrands really interesting, though, is its mobile aspects. There are Windows Mobile and Symbian applications available, which bring all these features to your phone. Okay, so you really need an unlimited data tariff to make use of it, but with phones increasingly seen as music-playing devices in their own right, MyStrands is ahead of the curve.

Middle-aged men - pioneers of the mobile web

Social networking might be dominated by the teen and youth markets, but according to a new survey by Yell.com, middle-aged men are driving the mobile web forward.

And no survey would be complete without a buzz word - and the one here is FUN-ctionals. Apparently, it's a group likely to be self-employed, middle-aged men who search the mobile web for functional, day-to-day items such as train times or finding their nearest DIY store. Over half of men aged between 35 and 44 said they used their mobile phone for such things. Unsurprisingly, few teens get excited by similar searches.

The survey also found the five reasons why consumers bought into the net on their handsets. Top of the list is for maps and local information, followed by email and messaging, banking, transport information and news/sport. Bad news for the mobile TV industry though - this was seen as a switch-off on the go, as were dating and social networking.

Martin Wilson, head of Yell.com mobile marketing, said: “For a long time, mobile internet just hasn’t been attractive to consumers, as bad experiences on WAP, high costs and slow applications have put them off. Our study shows that consumers are now starting to find a real need for mobile search in their everyday lives. The emergence of the “FUN-ctionals” shows local information and maps are at the heart of people’s needs and the driving force behind the beginning of mobile search taking off.”

Yell website

Orb MyCasting service now available for Nokia N800 internet tablet

Have you been sold on the idea of the Nokia N800 internet tablet? The company were very excited about it when we caught up with them at CES 2007, in particular about the device being open source - which makes it easier for developing third-party applications.

There's already a good number out there - and the latest to be added to the list is Orb MyCasting, which is a very useful application for accessing digital media stored on your home computer.

Essentially, it streams the content via a web browser and media player. And you can also remotely record TV programs using Orb's Digital Video Recorder (DVR) function and then play back recorded programs on the N800. And best of all, it's completely free - comparing favourably to the £10 monthly fee charged by 3 for using Orb with its X-Series package.

Download the Orb software for the N800

Wayfinder Navigator 7 - add sat nav to your mobile handset

Wayfinder Navigator 7 promises constantly-updated satellite navigation for the life of your mobile phone - and for a single one-off fee.

The service operates anywhere in Europe or North America, offering directions by both voice and map, along with around 20 million points of interest including restaurants, cash points, hotels and petrol stations. And there's no downloading - map data is streamed from a central server, which it's also the most up-to-date information, including all the latest traffic updates.

The latest version offers additional features, including 3D maps, a night mode which adapts colour and brightness and an increased number of points of interest. There's also a Power Search function for finding destinations more easily, taking into account your personal preferences and re-calculation of routes when problems approach.

Wayfinder Navigator 7 is supported in 17 languages, requires a Bluetooth GPS receiver and a data subscription on your handset. It will be available from mid April 2007, priced at 99 Euros for a lifetime's subscription to the UK and Ireland database. Other prices on application.

Wayfinder website

Nokia introduces 6120 with HSDPA connectivity

Nokia has launched the Nokia 6120 - which looks like any other candybar handset, but actually packs HSDPA connectivity for high-speed downloading.

There's also a media player, plus two cameras, one for video calls and a second two megapixel camera with 4x zoom for your snaps. And it promises easy set-up, so you can quickly take advantage of your fast connection for downloading emails and web browsing. Based on S60 software, you can also personalise your handset with the additional applications available for download.

"Mobile phones have taken on a much larger role in our busy lives," said Peter Ropke, Senior Vice President, Mobile Phones, Nokia. "We recognize that having the capability to utilize the mobile phone in many ways gives consumers a better balance between work and play. With the HSDPA technology, S60 operating system and the wide range of features of the Nokia 6120 classic, consumers will be able to make their daily lives more manageable."

The Nokia 6120 classic is expected to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2007, sim-free for around 260 Euros.

Nokia website