Mobile Digest

Dr Who flashing phone charm

The new series of Dr Who is on TV and the merchandising bandwagon is rolling - including these Dr Who flashing phone charms.

Sticking wisely to the traditional Dr Who icons (the Tardis and a Dalek) and compatible with most phone networks (with the exception of three), they spin and flash every time you get a call. That's certainly big on novelty, but if you're in a noisy environment (like a pub) or your phone is on silent, it can be very practical too.

Battery-powered (these are included), you can pick them up for £4.95 each.

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Sandisk launches 4GB M2 card for Sony Ericsson handsets

A bit short of space for photos and music on your Sony Ericsson handset? It might be worth investing in the Sandisk M2 card for Sony Ericsson phones, with 4GB of capacity.

M2 is a format jointly developed by Sandisk and Sony and in real terms, 4GB is around 1,000 MP3 tracks - giving many standalone MP3 players a run for their money. Alternatively, it's also enough for 2,000 high-resolution images or 20 hours of MPEG-4 video. The card is compatible with Sony's latest multimedia handsets, including the recent Cyber-shot and Walkman phones.

According to Norm Frentz, director of marketing for SanDisk’s mobile consumer solutions division. “This is the threshold at which mobile phones provide enough capacity to become the user’s all-in-one portable music player, camcorder, photo album and video player.”

The 4GB M2 card will ship in May, price to be confirmed,

Sandisk website

Proporta launches accessory range for Nokia N95 handset

You know a product has some legs when companies start retailing accessories specifically for it. So Nokia must be be feeling good about the N95, with add-ons already available for their do-it-all handset. Quick off the mark is Proporta, which has a range of extras for the N95 already available to buy.

In the main, they're add-ons to keep your shiny new phone in one piece. The Alu-Leather Book Case, which offers case and screen protection, room for a credit card module and SD cards, along with a magnetic docking system for use in the car. The Alu-Leather Flip Case offers the same functionality, but in a different shape.

The Crystal Case is made from the type of durable and scratch resistant polycarbonate plastic that's used to make protective eyewear and again will magnetically dock in your car if you want to use the N95 for GPS. And the Proporta USB Mobile Device Charger, whilst not being N95 specific, does work with the handset, offering a boost in power from a pocket-sized device when you need it. And when that runs out of power, recharge via USB.

Prices start from around $20.

More details from the Proporta website

Bluetrek Mini - more fashion for heads Bluetooth

Bluetrek has been pushing Bluetooth headsets as "Fashion for Heads" for some months now. But still they keep coming - the latest of which is the Bluetrek Mini.

The Mini is described as "an innovative ear jewel" that can be worn in the traditional way or as a pendant. It has a chrome-like finish and a minimalist design that doesn't need an ear hook for use, fitting directly into the ear using the Ergobud adjustable ear fitting.

In terms of specification, it offers up to six hours of talk time, six days of standby and features low battery alert, call waiting, volume adjustment and number memorisation. It should be in stores from May, priced between £29.90 to £32.90.

Bluetrek website

Millets' eco-friendly wind-up phone charger

Millets has a range of eco-friendly gadgets instore, including this wind-up mobile phone charger, part of the One Earth range by Peter Storm.

It's not just the winding that's good for the environment, it's also about the construction. The whole of the range is made from recycled and organic materials where possible - or sing sustainable resources and innovative methods of dying. The wind-up phone charger is part of a gadget range that also includes a wind-up head torch, standard torch, solar radio and lantern.

The wind-up phone charger itself is compatible with most mobiles and ideal for outdoor pursuits - where you might need a phone, but are unlikely to encounter a mains or USB socket. Available in blue, green or black, it retails for £12.99.

Milletts website

Samsung launches Bang & Olufsen-designed WEP 420 Bluetooth headset

Samsung has teamed up with high-end Danish designers Bang & Olufsen to produce the WEP 420 Bluetooth headset, which even comes with a charger that doubles as cool home decor.

Typically for Bang & Olufsen, it's all about minimalism, with all the buttons hidden behind a sliding cover. In addition, the sliding cover blocks static to improve overall sound.

And that's not all. "To enhance its value" (according to Samsung), the WEP 420 comes packaged with a designer charger cradle that doubles up as a decorative home item. Not sure I can see that myself, but I'm sure it appeals to someone out there.

The Samsung WEP 420 is available later this month, no price confirmed as yet.

Samsung website

Plantronics launches Discovery 665 Bluetooth headset with noise reduction

Plantronics has a new Bluetooth headset on the market - the Discovery 665 - which claims to reduce background noise by up to 50 per cent.

In terms of sound quality, the Discovery 665 features AudioIQ - the first headset DSP (digital signal processing) sound technology that automatically optimises audio quality for both caller and listener. In practice, that means more clarity for both caller and listener, with the sound constantly adapting to the change in external noise.

There's also QuickPair technology for ease of set-up, an in-car charging system, visual call and low battery indicator and a lightweight design with customisable eartips for a comfy fit. it's available now for £69.99.

Plantronics website

Sandisk launches mobile phone-specific range of microSD cards

Sandisk has a new range of microSD cards on the market - this time designed specifically for mobile phone downloads and known as Premier microSD cards.

Why so good for mobiles? Well, according to the company, they provide a faster transfer of content to and from their mobile phones as well as offering a sizeable amount of storage for all the things we now carry on our handsets - videos, music, ring tones, digital images and work-related documents. The Premier cards also feature SanDisk’s TrustedFlash technology, which allows network operators to sell premium content directly to mobile phones, stored on the cards and played on other TrustedFlash-enabled devices authorised by the network provider. Not sure I like the sound of that, but that's probably because I'm a consumer.

The company will offer 1GB and 2GB cards, each with adaptors that to fit standard SD card slots. They retail initially in the US for $44.99 and $69.99 respectively.

Sandisk website

BluPhones - wireless Bluetooth headphones for music and calls

If you've got an A2DP-friendly phone, you might as well take advantage of it - which is where BluPhones come in.

Essentially, it's a lightweight (26g) Bluetooth headset, so you can use it with a Bluetooth-friendly music player or phone, but if you have a gadget that does both, all the better. You can take calls on the BluPhones and if music is playing, it will be paused for the duration of the call. On-ear controls allow you to easily answer and end calls - and if you d

Then there's the music, wirelessly streaming the tunes from your player or phone, with on-ear control for volume and skipping tracks. There's five hours' talk time, 60 hours of standby and a range of 10m.

You can order one now for £49.99.

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Moixa develops phone battery charging from any USB port

Last year we featured the USBCell, a new kind of battery that could be charged from a standard USB port. Well, developers Moixa plan to bring this new technology to your mobile phones.

It's not a bad way to go. With so many new functions added to our mobiles - and especially with video gaining prominence - there's definitely a need to add flexibility to mobile charging. And by going down the USB line, it opens up all manner of sources for adding power to your handset.

It also means the end of having to carry round a bulky mains charger too. No news of a shelf date as yet, or indeed compatibility for handsets, but we'll let you know more as soon as we have it.

Moixa website

Is it a lamp? Is it a mobile phone? IT'S BOTH!

Meet the GSM Table Lamp. It's a nice-looking lamp, which has a GSM receiver and microphone built in, allowing you to call it, and listen to your cats plotting. Well, as long as they plot next to the lamp. And can talk. But other than that, it's foolproof.

The lamp has a range of 15 to 20 feet, but has a whopping price tag of almost £1,000. Couldn't you hire a private detective for that kind of money if you're worried your Nanny's up to no good?

(via Sci Fi Tech)

Sony MEX-BT2500 in-car Bluetooth CD tuner aids safer communication on the road

With the new UK regulations on using a mobile phone whilst driving now in full force, Sony are but one company appealing to you to use their product to enable you to make safe phone calls whilst driving, as well as being able to enjoy your CDs and streamed MP3 music on the go.

The MEX-BT2500 connects automatically to your mobile phone via Bluetooth, and has a super-sensitive built-in microphone, which means there's no need to use a headset or install a hands-free kit.

The MEX-BT2500 conforms to the Bluetooth A2DP specification, which means you can stream music to the device, and it happily pairs up with a Sony Walkman or other Bluetooth MP3 device. Non-Bluetooth MP3 players can be connected by using Sony's TMR-BT10 accessory that plugs directly into the headphone socket.

The MEX-BT2500 features advanced shock damper technology that ensures skip-free CD tracking, and also boasts 'zero visibility' operation (no wires, cradles or mouting suckers) for increased security.

Available from March, price to be confirmed.

New mobile driving legislation - your boss could end up in court

It's all over the media - a £60 fine and three points on your licence if you get caught using a mobile in your vehicle without a hands-free kit. But did you know your boss could also be dragged before the courts too?

According to a survey undertaken by YouGov in association with hands-free specialists Jabra, 68% of employers are aware of harsher penalties introduced today for mobile phone use in the car, but nearly one in four could be liable for prosecution if their employees use a mobile phone for work-related calls while driving.

Why? Well under Department of Transport guidelines, employers are liable if they require employees to use a hand-held phone while driving or if they fail to forbid employees to use such phones on company business. Around 78% of businesses have introduced a mobile phone policy for in-car use, but a number of smaller businesses (around a third) have no policy in place.

“Our survey highlights confusion amongst employers regarding their responsibility under legislation governing in-car mobile phone use for work-related calls. Given the high awareness of employer liability under existing mobile phone laws, it is worrying that only 78% of companies actually have a policy in place to ensure the safety of their staff and reduce the risk of prosecution, especially when providing a solution can cost less than £20 per employee,” commented Andrew Doyle, UK Country Manager, Jabra.

Jabra website

Review: Motorola S805 "DJ Style" Stereo Bluetooth Headset

The propaganda

Stereo Bluetooth looks set to become incredibly popular throughout 2007. If CES is anything to go by, and that after all is what CES is for, then it looks like we’re going to be bombarded with all manner of devices offering A2DP connectivity, ranging from phones to car stereos, MP3 players to headphones. Apart from the blissful absence of wires, lure enough in itself for anyone who is fed up with constantly trying to untangle their mobile and iPod from a perpetually knotted headphone cable, A2DP often comes in conjunction with AVRCP which allows you to control music sources wirelessly as well.

Although there aren’t a huge number of A2DP standard wireless headsets available in the UK at the moment, Motorola has always been at the forefront of this particular technology and it’s no surprise then that it has been first to market with what I consider to be a decent sized pair of headphones. I personally can’t stand earphones and think they are bloody uncomfortable, so a full sized pair of cans is always my personal preference. And they always sound so much better.

The S805s have an integrated mic with echo and noise reduction for making and receiving calls and they offer play/pause, skip and volume controls accessed by buttons on either side and jog-wheels built into both ear pieces. You charge them via the mains, which takes about 3 hours, and if you want to listen to a non-Bluetooth source, they even come with a 3.5mm

The good

For a device with only two buttons, general operation, setup and pairing is remarkably straight forward. You simply hold the call button to switch the S805s off or on, or hold it longer to begin pairing. When tested with an A2DP compatible phone, I found the response speed for the playback controls was generally very fast and only occasionally lagged out.

Battery life is also very good. You get about 17 hours of playback from a single charge and the sound quality remains stable throughout, only beginning to tail off right as the battery is on its very last legs.

Comfort – always an essential factor in big headphones – is great too. These cans aren’t too heavy at less than four ounces and there is plenty of flex in the construction which means they fit round your head very nicely. If I had to complain, it would be to say that they don’t hang round your neck as well as my battered old pair of Sennheisers used too, but that’s not huge problem.

The bad

Take the ‘DJ’ part of the name with a heavy dose of salt. The sound quality isn’t stunning and certainly not up to the standards that any self respecting audiophile would appreciate. Bass tends to twang rather than thumps and rapidly tops out with a horrible jarring sound and the range of mid-end doesn’t fully compliment the lower end sounds. Treble is a bit better though and is crisper and clearer but with an understated feel similar to the bass. A2DP also yields a fair bit of background hiss too.

In fact you can do wonders for the sound quality by keeping the source volume about as low as humanly possible and turning up the S805s up to full. This implies that the more serious sound quality issues are not so much to do with the headphones themselves but the limitations of A2DP. It is fortunate then that the S805s do turn up very loud, but that is counter balanced by the fact you have to keep the source volume so low so that in the end you may struggle to hear properly in noisy conditions such as a busy street.

Geek Sheet

A2DP stereo Bluetooth

17 hours battery life

3 hours charge time

Control playback and answer calls

Streaming: up to 30ft

In the box: charger, case, 3.5mm cable

Integrated echo- and noise-reduction microphone

Overview

Clearly A2DP still has some way to go before it will ever come close to straying on to the level of quality that a wired solution can offer. Likewise, the Motorola S805 headphones have some creases to iron out and getting the best possible sound out of them is fiddly at best, hit and miss at worst. That said though, now that I have them sussed I am pretty keen on them. The fact that I can pause and skip tracks without reaching for my pocket, then answer a call without missing a beat, still never fails to raise a smile…

Related stories: Motorola DJ-style S805 stereo Bluetooth headset | 3GSM: Motorola's ergonomic RIZR Z8| Review: Parrot Wireless Speakers | More Gadgets...

Related sites: Motorola

LG Prada Bluetooth headset - for your LG Prada phone

Spotted over at Shiny Shiny is the first accessory for the recently-announced LG Prada phone - the LG Prada Bluetooth headset.

However, unlike the very stylish handset, this first add-on doesn't look like it offers much more than any other on the market, with the exception of the Prada logo and the knowledge that it matches your mobile.

But if it gets your pulse racing and you want to know more, head over to Shiny Shiny now.

Sagem H4 - smallest-ever Bluetooth headset?

Here we go again, another "smallest ever...", this time from Sagem, which claims its H4 headset is the smallest on the market.

Is it? Well, if you know of an earpiece that's smaller than 35 x 18 x 12.5mm, let them know. If not, we'll presume the company is right. The H4 weighs in at 8g, is available in a glossy black, and has the ability to store and call two of your favourite numbers from a dedicated button, as well as handsfree voice dialling if you phone supports it.

Talktime is 5 hours, with 100 hours of standby. There's also a light indicator if the battery is low. Available now, it retails for £53.

Sagem website

Plantronics Discovery 655 Bluetooth headset with noise reduction

With government legislation on mobile use in cars getting some teeth at the end of February, there's a rush to market for new Bluetooth headsets, including the Plantronics Discovery 655 Bluetooth headset.

The Plantronics Discovery 655 is a lightweight headset (just 9g) featuring Digital Signal Processing (DSP) - technology that reduces noise levels for enhanced sound and clearer conversations.

The headset also features 10 hours of talk time and a vibrate ring indicator. it retails for £59.99.

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Who wants a Wi-Fi digital camera when you've got a mobile phone?

Stuart Dredge writes...

This post started life as a rant about how cool Wi-Fi digital cameras are, spurred by news that Nikon is launching two new models, the Coolpix S50 and S50c.

After all, it's about time there were more Wi-Fi cams available for those of us who've been longing for the next generation to follow up Kodak's EasyShare-One, Canon's PowerShot SD430 and Nikon's own Coolpix P1 and P2.

Yet the more I wrote about the potential uses for a connected digital camera, the more I realised that mobile phones are already doing pretty much all of it, and what's more are more likely to soon include technologies like GPS that'll take wireless photo-sharing to the next level.

At a basic level, the benefits of a Wi-Fi-enabled digital camera are clear, if a little prosaic. You take a bunch of shots, then when you get home, you don't need a USB cable to transfer them to your computer – or even print them if you've got a Wi-Fi printer sitting around. This is useful stuff, even if reducing my USB cable count by one still means there's about 74 lying about the house.

But the coolest stuff that could be done with a Wi-Fi cam - or so I thought - was the sharing aspects while out on the go. Check Nikon's press release for the new S50 and S50c: "Users can share pictures with friends and family from just about anywhere by emailing images directly from the camera through open-access wireless hotspots".

Okay, so the lack of open-access hotspots is a bit of a barrier, but I'm sure that's surmountable if the camera manufacturers can do similar deals with Wi-Fi hotspot networks as that done by Nintendo for the DS.

In theory, Wi-Fi cams could cross the chasm between shooting and sharing. Imagine: you're out and about taking photos, and whenever you're in range of a friendly Wi-Fi network, the camera automatically uploads them to whatever photo-sharing service you're using (ideally you'd get a choice, although I'm guessing the camera firms would prefer to restrict you to their own proprietary online services).

Point, click, and share without even thinking about it. It'd be great. More Wi-Fi cameras, I say! But hang on a minute. My mobile phone already does this, having downloaded the nifty ShoZu application (pictured) a few months ago. Whenever I take a photo, it asks me if I want to send it to Flickr. Say yes, and off it goes.

The quality of mobile phone cameras is improving all the time. Once we reach five megapixels in mass-market handsets, that'll be enough for most people's needs – and certainly enough for online sharing. There are obstacles - such as crazy data charges from your operator if you upload too many images - but if you're yearning for a world where you can share your daily snaps without even thinking about it, it's doable right now if you're on a suitable tariff.

There are some great professional uses for Wi-Fi digital cameras (think news and sports photographers, for example), but when it comes to consumer uses, phones will surely trump them – not least because for the near future, you're far more likely to be in reach of a 3G network than a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Even once we have city-wide WiMAX networks and suchlike, there's no reason phones won't be able to use those too. In fact, it seems logical to assume that mobiles will also steal some of the useful ideas from Wi-Fi cameras, such as automatic photo synching when in range of your home network.

Plus there's that GPS. I for one can't wait until my phone can automatically associate geotagging data with my snaps, which can then be plotted against a Google Map or whatever once uploaded to the Web. If I allow it to be, of course. There's probably some privacy issues I should think more about before sharing location-enabled pics willy-nilly. But anyway, GPS will be in more phones sooner than it'll be in digital cameras.

The upshot of all this. If we're talking about connected photography devices, surely it's got to be phones if you're not a pro snapper? Wi-Fi cameras excite the gadgety geek inside me, but when it comes to thinking about what I'd actually get more use out of, the mobile wins every time.

3rdi - CCTV-like security using your mobile phone

Not the first time we've featured mobile-based home security, but the 3rdi mobile security system seems fairly straightforward to use and indeed affordable.

The system uses a small camera that can be positioned anywhere to watch over anything that you value around the home, the office or even in the car. Once the camera is in position, you can view live footage of your possessions whenever and from wherever you want via your mobile phone.

The system also works when you are not watching the camera. Using infrared and motion sensors, the camera detects when an intruder has entered your home, with the 3rd-i control centre immediately sending a text message alert to your mobile phone. You can then access a recording of the event that set the camera off or view the location in real-time. Images are stored at the 3rd-i control centre for up to 30 days, so if the mobile phone is switched off when the alert is sent, footage of the event is still available.

The 3rdi camera retails for around £200, check the company's website for pricing for its monitoring services.

3rdi website

Lexar introduces 4GB miniSDHC and 2GB microSD storage cards

Lexar is adding some new storage cards to its range - 4GB miniSDHC and 2GB microSD storage cards.

Lexar’s new 4GB miniSDHC card will allow you to store more than 100 hours of video in MPEG4 (3GP2) format, over 1,000 songs (4-minute song in MP3 format), or over 4,000 photos (using a 3 megapixel cameraphone). The new 2GB microSD card can hold up to 50 hours of video in MPEG4 (3GP2) format, over 500 songs in MP3 format, or over 2,000 photos using a 3 megapixel cameraphone.

As yet, there's no prices, but they will be shipping worldwide from April 2007.

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30 things we learned at 3GSM 2007

Phew. As ever, 3GSM was tiring both physically and mentally, with a barrage of new products and companies, plus an enormous venue to walk around. Honestly, if we believed in wearing pedometers, they'd have exploded by Tuesday.

So now the Shiny team is back in Blighty, what did we learn from this year's 3GSM? It's a chance to spot the hottest new mobile phones and technology, as well as suss out the most important mobile trends for the next 12 months. Here's our main thoughts.

1. There was no big theme this year

3GSM 2006 saw immense hype around mobile TV, with companies queuing up to proclaim it the Next Big Thing in mobile entertainment. The fact that it's since disappointed means that the lack of a single big hype this year isn't necessarily a bad thing. There was lots of buzz, but spread around a bunch of subjects, which is a healthier state of affairs.

2. Mobile social networking is a hot topic

There were lots of companies - many of them startups - promising to create MySpace-like communities for mobile. Meanwhile, the big players - the actual MySpaces, Bebos and so on - were undoubtedly at 3GSM, even if they weren't talking about their plans.

From our chats with companies like Cerkle, FunkySexyCool, Clicmobile and others, it's clear how new an area this is. People aren't sure if mobile-only social networks will succeed, for example, or whether mobile is just an add-on to existing web communities. 2007 should give some clues.

3. LG's Prada phone is better than you'd think

Don't take this the wrong way. We weren't expecting the Prada phone (right) to be awful. Just a bit gimmicky. Yet as Susi's video verdict makes clear, it looks and feels like Prada's been involved from the start. And that touch-screen is mighty purdy.

4. Mobile music is a bit rubbish

It seems us mobile users aren't as keen on downloading full tracks to our phones as the music industry would like us to be. Warner Music head honcho Edgar Bronfman Jr told 3GSM attendees that "it's expensive, it's complicated and it's slow", saying the iPhone will hopefully force operators and manufacturers to up their game.

Meanwhile, mobile firm Omnifone was trying to do just that, unveiling what it reckons is a truly mobile iTunes-beater, which it'll be running for operators around the world.

Meanwhile, the music industry continues to rumble about whether it should scrap copyright protection for digital music - if it does, it would certainly have a positive impact on the number of people downloading tunes directly to their phones.

5. Cool new handset designs

Motorola's new Z8 phone has a 'kick slider' design, which is the first handset type to sound like it should be a trick in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. We're looking forward to Nokia launching a triple-back-kick olley grinder phone at 3GSM 2008...

6. Bring on the five-megapixel camera phones

By and large, we tried to steer clear of the really techy companies at 3GSM. After all, the chips and servers they make are only interesting to the likes of us once they're actually in products we can buy.

But a firm called OmniVision announced a five-megapixel auto-focus camera module, which it'll be flogging to handset manufacturers, and which it says is affordable enough to be put into mass-market mobile phones. We can't wait.

7. Don't hold your breath for a roll-up mobile display that can play video

Philips spin-off Polymer Vision got plenty of deserved buzz at 3GSM for its Readius roll-up display for reading e-books and RSS feeds (left). Both Susi (video) and I (interview) were impressed, although the company's goal of putting one in every mobile phone seems ambitious, given they're not expecting the screens to be capable of video for a good five years.

8. We should start getting a bit worried about mobile viruses

Worried you'll look like a n00b if your phone gets hax0red? You should be. Bubbling under the surface at 3GSM was growing concern about the possible impact of viruses in the mobile space - even if some of it was fuelled by the companies looking to flog technology to protect against them.

McAfee claimed at the show that there are now around 350 mobile viruses, worms or other malware, and also said that 83% of mobile operators have been hit by mobile infections.

9. Next-generation phone interfaces will look amazing

We swung by the NVIDIA stand to check out some of the demos running on the company's new mobile chipsets, which will be making their way into millions of handsets in the next couple of years.

One demo featured a user interface for phones that included multi-tasking windows, a 3D interface with snazzy transition effects, and 'fully accelerated translucent window compositing'. Want to know what that is? Watch our video.

10. The operators need to sort out their data-tariffs

If we're all going to be downloading music, video and games onto our phones from sources other than the operator's own portals, we don't want to be paying through the nose in data charges. Yet although T-Mobile and 3 have launched 'flat-rate' tariffs in the shape of Web'n'Walk and X-Series, the other operators are dragging their heels a bit.

Who wants to download a music track if it's going to cost you an extra £3 in data charges? Or, as Yospace CTO David Springall pointed out to us, who's going to upload their cool cameraphone video to YouTube if it costs them £12 to do it? Even Nokia and Sony Ericsson united to criticise the operators' complex tariffs at 3GSM this year.

11. Transformers RAWK!

The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift might be the best mobile game of 2006, according to 3GSM's Global Mobile Awards judges, but I'm more excited about the chance to play as Optimus Prime in the upcoming Transformers mobile game. Even if it is a bit unwise to turn into a truck midway through a platform game.

Mobile games were a bit quiet at 3GSM, with only a few publishers booking their own stands to show off new stuff. However, there's a quiet momentum building behind smartphone games - for example with a new Symbian version of Project Gotham Racing.

12. We still can't tell the difference between all the mobile VoIP companies

There are loads of startups aiming to be the mobile Skype. And speaking as a consumer, it's hard to a.) tell them apart, and b.) figure out why we shouldn't just wait for Skype to roll out a mobile application that provides ALL the features you get on the desktop version.

Rest assured, Tech Digest is going to be looking at this whole area very soon, to figure out who's who and what it's all about. For now, we remain confused. Which is why we haven't raced to sign up to any service.

13. Mobile TV is still underwhelming

Research firm M:Metrics surveyed 22,000 European mobile users before the show, and found that former mobile TV viewers now outnumber current mobile TV users. 45% of the people who've turned off say pricing issues were a factor, while 24% cite concerns over service quality and reliability.

From the technical demos we saw at 3GSM, mobile TV will be great. One day. But for now, it's provoking a lot of people who are interested in watching programmes on their phones to switch off.

14. Mobile blogging is growing, with photos and videos the focus

The problem with moblogging was always the assumption that people would type posts on their mobile keypad to upload. However ninja your texting skills are, it's not very appealing.

However, talking to a couple of blogging tech providers at 3GSM (including Motorola), people have twigged that moblogging is more about instant posting of photos and videos as (or just after) you capture them. Which when you think about it, makes way more sense.

That said, the Shiny massive are also converts to SpinVox's Spin-my-Blog technology, which converts your voice blatherings into proper text posts. So wordy moblogging could make a comeback soon.

15. If you want a phone with a full keyboard, you're spoilt for choice

All the manufacturers had the QWERTY bug at this year's 3GSM, including the usual suspecs (HTC), but also the likes of Nokia, Motorola and Toshiba. We blame the rise of mobile email.

16. It's quite seedy to hang around a stand leching on Russian booth babes

Although, yes, it's probably even worse to film them. Sorry about that.

17. YouTube and MySpace have work to do on mobile

The two biggest Web 2.0 brands clearly see mobile as an important part of their future, but mobile types aren't convinced they've got their strategy right just yet. YouTube has signed deals with Nokia and Vodafone, but mobile video-sharing site Yospace reckons it still sees mobile as simply a case of shoving its web vids onto phones.

Meanwhile, social networking firm Clicmobile warned MySpace that it needs to get mobile right, or it could die! The fact that these two companies' are in some form rivals to MySpace and YouTube doesn't mean their views should be written off, either. Figuring out what will make a great MySpace or YouTube mobile service will be one of the biggest challenges in 2007. We're sure it's possible.

18. Don't spunk all your new product announcements the week before 3GSM.

It might mean Susi can shoot videos on your stand without being jostled by 717 men in suits, but it doesn't give her much to talk about...

19. Thin is in

The fashion industry may be (reluctantly) booting underweight models off the catwalk, but Size Zero phones go from strength to strength. Top dog at 3GSM in the 'looks really cool even though you have a nagging suspicion you might end up accidentally snapping it in your back pocket' stakes was Samsung's U100 (left).

20. Us Brits like a night at the movies

And we use our phones to do it too. M-Spatial chose 3GSM to release its latest research on what local services UK mobile users search for using their phones. Cinema was the most popular category, followed by Fast Food, Drinking and Taxi. No, Museums, Opera and Bowling Greens didn't make the Top 10...

21. Mobile GPS navigation is buzzing

Also in evidence at the show was mobile navigation technology, whether applications for phones from the likes of Telmap, TeleNav and ALK Technologies, or GPS-enabled devices from Garmin, BlackBerry and Nokia.

Right now, it's mainly about providing the sort of turn-by-turn driving directions that you'd get in a regular satnav device, but the real potential is in using your mobile's data connection to provide live traffic info and updates, or at some point in the future, tying into mobile social networks (companies like Clicmobile and CityNeo are already looking to do this).

22. Techy mobile companies have a keen sense of irony

At least, I hope that's the case. How they come up with stand slogans like 'Shattering Tomorrow's Boundaries of Mobile Antenna Specification Solutions, Today!' if they're not having a laugh is beyond me.

23. Windows Mobile is gearing up for another big push

Microsoft launched Windows Mobile 6.0 at 3GSM, with all manner of on-stand demos showing off its new features, which we'll be looking at in more detail in the weeks ahead.

But equally importantly, Microsoft has signed up the likes of LG, Toshiba and HP to make Windows Mobile phones, with the first handsets using the new OS set to appear in the second half of this year, including some from previous licensors like HTC.

24. Creating your own mobile TV channel is more fun than watching what the operators are serving up

If mobile is such a personal device, why do I have to just watch simulcasts of terrestrial or digital channels, hmm? Some companies are exploring DIY TV, where you create a channel of video content to watch on your phone. One example is Vpod.tv, who'll have an interview going up on Tech Digest early next week.

Meanwhile, Dutch firm TNO unveiled a new tech called Farcast which works the other way around, taking video from your phone and turning it into a web-based TV channel.

25. DVB-H mobile TV is still frustratingly far away in the UK

We want it. We want it now. But despite the announcement of cool DVB-H handsets like Nokia's N77, don't expect to see them on sale here unless the powers-that-be in the UK broadcasting and mobile industries figure out how and when to roll the technology out here. Bah.

26. You can finally get Flash Lite content on your phone

You know Flash - it's ubiquitous on the Web. Adobe has had the Flash Lite tool for mobile phones for some time, which can be used for rich games and applications. Trouble was, nobody was really selling them, so you had to frequent developer forums to find stuff to actually put on your phone.

That's changing. At 3GSM, Adobe signed a deal with website Handango, which will be one of the first to sell Flash Lite content to mobile users. Hopefully more will follow.

27. Short films on your phone are cool

At 3GSM, the people behind the Sundance Film Festival unveiled five short films shot especially for mobile, which were immediately made available for download to mobile users.

You can have a gander by texting FILM to 07624 807 811, to get sent a link to their WAP site. Better still, you can freely share them with friends via Bluetooth. The idea of sitting down for three hours to watch King Kong on a phone is horrendous, but short, arty movies like this should find a healthy audience.

28. We quite fancy a simple mobile phone

All these cutting-edge whizzy multimedia handsets can get a bit much at times. Remember the old days, when your phone could make voice calls, send texts and.. well, that was it. Those days don't have to be in the past.

The mobile industry is putting lots of effort into low-cost handsets too, albeit mainly for countries such as India and China, which are expected to provide explosive mobile growth in the coming years. Motorola's F3 won an award at the show for being the 'Best Ultra Low Cost Handset', for example.

If you're thinking of going retro, Tech Digest's recommendation is the newly-announced Nokia 3110 Classic, which is a replacement for the classic 6310i. Ashley liked the big buttons. "If your dad wants a phone..."

29. Touch-screen phones are easy to use

Not sure about how you'd get on without a keypad? Soon you'll have the opportunity to find out. Besides the LG Prada phone, and of course Apple's iPhone, 3GSM also saw the debut of Samsung's F700, which admittedly also has a slide-out keyboard for messaging. But it's the screen that caught Ashley's attention, even from behind a glass screen.

Touch-screen phones aren't just about slinkiness. As mobiles try to be all things to all people - music player, TV, web surfing device etc - the traditional keypad interface is struggling to keep up. Touch-screens mean more flexible user interfaces able to adapt to whatever you're doing on the phone at the time.

30. Everyone thinks mobile advertising will be big. Nobody knows quite how it'll work

The advertising industry loves the thought of putting ads on phones. Not least because the young cool hipsters it likes to target aren't as susceptible to TV and print ads. Along with online advertising, mobile is the new buzz area. Trouble is, nobody's quite sure what kind of mobile advertising will work well, and what us users will put up with.

The mobile phone's a personal device, so any unwanted ads will feel doubly intrusive. Yet at the same time, the mobile industry sees adverts as a way to make mobile entertainment cheaper - or even free - to make more of us use it. Which would certainly solve those worries over mobile TV pricing (see earlier).

At 3GSM, there was lots of talk about mobile ads, but not that much action yet. 2007 will see a big growth in the sector though, whether it's free mobile games with ads on the loading screens, banner ads on your operator portal, or the Crazy Frog bursting into your voice calls every three minutes singing his latest ringtone. Okay, not that last one. Well, I hope not...

Review: Parrot Conference

The propaganda

Conference calling and mobile phones are two technologies that have seldom crossed paths, but it does make a kind of sense. Most offices won’t have a fixed-line conference phone system fitted to every meeting room and although there are cordless conference phones, DECT still isn’t quite as free roaming as a mobile phone and Bluetooth device.

The Parrot Conference is pretty much exactly like any ordinary conference phone in most other regards. It has three integrated microphones for a 360 degree voice pickup and a 5W internal speaker so you can hear the person on the other end. To ensure that you can do things completely wirelessly, it includes three rechargeable Li-Ion batteries that offer up to ten hours of continuous talk-time. The unit will also store 50 different phones in its memory and up to 6,000 contacts which, rather than programming in yourself, you can upload directly using any Bluetooth enabled device.

The good

The Parrot Conference does a good job in two key areas: setup and call quality. Assuming your handset already has Bluetooth switched on and is visible, you can be connected up and dialling in under twenty seconds, most of which time you will probably only spend waiting for the Bluetooth to connect. What’s more, you can connect your phone either straight from the handset or from the Conference itself –you get a choice and that makes things a bit more straight forward. The buttons are large and generally well marked, the two big mute buttons double up as the ‘synchronisation’ button when pressed together.

Call quality is generally pretty decent and its greatest strength is in ensuring that there is no echo at all on the other end. Background noise is also cut down really well so you shouldn’t have much trouble being heard even in a noisy office.

Of course, there’s a possibility that you might not see a mobile phone as the most cost effective solution for making long, often international, phone calls. Luckily Parrot has you covered there as well. The Conference comes with a CD containing software that will let you connect to a Bluetooth enabled PC with Skype. That means you can enjoy all the same functionality, but a heck of a lot cheaper thanks to VoIP.

The bad

Although it is pretty easy to get your most basic call settings up to speed, there are a few areas where things get more complicated. When connecting a handset, you can either choose ‘default’ Bluetooth settings or you can select your model/service from a long list of different handset types and actions. It’s all well and good if your handset is on the list, but at the time of testing I was using a Samsung X820 which was not on the list. Using default settings I could easily connect to the device, make and receive calls – no problem. However, when it sat idle for a few minutes it had a tendency to lose connection. I was also unable to transfer contacts from the phone to the unit.

I then tried using different settings to see if that helped. Sure enough I solved the contacts problem and the handset stayed connected as it was supposed to, but then I could no longer dial out from the main unit. Doh.

Obviously the problem is going to be limited only to those handsets that don’t fully support the Parrot Conference’s Bluetooth systems and even then, an unsupported one like the X820 can still function properly with a bit of tweaking.

Geek Sheet

Speaker: 5 watts

DSP: advanced echo cancellation

3 microphones high sensitivity -47dB

Colour LCD display 262,144 colors

Pairing: up to 50 phones

Number of contacts: up to 6,000 in total

Bluetooth profiles: HSP 1.1, HFP 1.0 & 1.5, OPP, SYNC, PBAP

Supports Skype VoIP software

Dimensions: 265 x 240 x 45 mm, Weight: 640 gr 

Power supply: rechargeable Li-Ion batteries

Warranty: one year from date of purchase

Overview

I wouldn’t claim to be an expert on conference phones, but after a quick trawl on the web, I’m thinking that the £148 price tag on the Parrot Conference is a pretty good deal compared to a normal standalone kit. Although the Bluetooth synchronisation system is good and straightforward to setup for the most basic and important functions, you may find it more of struggle to get the full range of features working on every single phone.

Related stories: CES 2007: Parrot Bluetooth Photo Viewer | Parrot Conference Bluetooth speakerphone| Review: Parrot Wireless Speakers | More Gadgets...

Related sites: Parrot

M300 wristwatch phone ready for launch

Convergence could move a step forward next month with the launch of M300 tri-band wristwatch phone in Australia by SMS Technology.

How it works in practice, we'll have to wait and see. But it features a 1-inch screen, 64MB of on-board memory, Bluetooth 2.0 an MP3 and MP4 player, along with 3.33 hours' talk time and 80 hours standby. It will retail for the equivalent of £261, with a European launched slated for 25th April. More on that when we have it.

There's also an M501 in the works - made from gold and titanium, it should be available from, June. And an M700, which will be pitched at businessmen and features Outlook and Office synchronisation. That I have to see.

SMS Technology

Via The Register

Stay legal in the car with Parrot’s CK3000 Evolution

Drive down the road and chances are you'll see a van driver clutching a mobile to their ear whilst negotiating a tricky turn. It's illegal, but no-one seems bothered. However, as of 27th February, the law gets teeth - £60 fine plus three points on your licence. So it might be as well to go hands free.

Parrot's CK3000 Evolution is universally compatible with all Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones and using your car stereo speakers, it lets you take the calls with a clear sound (well, as clear as your stereo). You can stay in touch with up to 150 friends, family or business contacts at the touch of a button with the voice recognition functionality and it's easy to transfer between cars.

You can pick one up from Halfords, priced at £99.99 with free installation.

Parrot website

Bluetrek ST1 Bluetooth headset

Any phone worth its salt has Bluetooth these days, with most of the high-profile launches at the 3GSM offering A2DP streaming too. So a good time for Bluetrek to launch its ST1 Bluetooth headset.

The headset offers A2DP streaming from a mobile phone or from a PC, allowing you to listen to your tunes without being tied to the wires. And if a phone call comes in, the ST1 pauses the music so you can chat away without a soundtrack.

Battery life is nine hours of music playback between charges (which can be done via USB) or 19 hours of chat and 11 days of standby. You can buy them now, priced at £60.

Bluetrek website

Kingston launches microSD Dual Adapter Pack - add some flexibility to your storage card

Not all devices takes the same size of storage card - meaning you could have one that fits your PDA, but isn't much use in your digital camera or MP3 player. One solution to the dilemma is Kingston Technology’s new microSD Dual Adapter Pack - designed to make Mobile Flash cards more flexible.

The set consists of a 1GB microSD card, a microSD to miniSD card adapter and a microSD to full size SD card adapter. The kit costs £10.60 plus VAT and is backed by a lifetime warranty for the 1GB microSD card.

According to Jim Selby, Product Marketing Manager at Kingston: "With microSD cards being used in many multifunctional handsets, Kingston saw an opportunity to create a very practical product - costing considerably less than buying three different memory card formats of the same capacity. Now consumers can use the miniSD or standard SD card adapter with a microSD card to enjoy music, pictures and videos or easily transport files from a mobile phone to an MP3 player, digital camera, PC or printer."

Kingston Technology website

Turn your fingers into a mobile phone

Another winning entry to this year's iF Concept Product Awards (albeit in a different category to the baby car seat featured earlier today) is 'Finger Touching', which is a wearable mobile device that turns your hand into a phone. No, really.

Designed by Sunman Kwon at Hong-ik University in South Korea, it slips onto your hand, and then projects a 3x4 mobile-style keypad onto your fingers, with each joint making up a button. You can see how it works from the picture.

Who knows if it'll be turned into an actual product. But imagine the looks you'd get if you whipped one out on the train and began texting by rapping your knuckles. Marvellous.

iF Design Awards – Consumer Electronics / Telecommunications category

Sony Ericsson debuts HBH-PV702 and HBH-PV710 Bluetooth headsets plus HPM-75 stereo portable handsfree unit

As well as the new handsets, Sony Ericsson also has a batch of new accessories on the market - the HBH-PV702 and HBH-PV710 Bluetooth headsets plus HPM-75 stereo portable handsfree unit.

The HBH-PV702 Bluetooth headset is available with a black or white cover, weighs 14g and offers up to 8 hours talk time, with around 200 hours of standby and can be used with any compatible Bluetooth handset, Sony Ericsson or not. The HBH-PV710 boosts talk and standby times to up to 12 and 300 hours respectively and comes in a more bold colour range - red and brown are included in the starter kit. Between calls it can hang on a supplied neck strap, slipping onto the ear when needed.

The HPM-75 stereo portable handsfree unit is an upgrade to the HPM-70. It comes with spare ear buds of different sizes, which can be swapped over for a perfect fit to block out external noise. A microphone and call answer button are on the cord for accessing calls.

The PV702 is available from mid 2007, the PV710 is available in the coming weeks and the HPM-75 is available later this year.

Sony Ericsson website

Motorola DJ-style S805 stereo Bluetooth headset

Call me old-fashioned, but when I go for a pair of headphones, I like the big chunky ones, not a million miles away from the pair I use when I pretend to be a superstar DJ. Which is why I'm drawn to Motorola's DJ-style S805 stereo Bluetooth headset.

Granted they aren't as subtle as some on the market, but you just know they're going to be so much more comfortable on the ears. The headset is fully Bluetooth 2.0 compliant, streaming up to 30ft away from the source. They also feature noise cancellation, volume and skip functions, a microphone for calls, a play time of up to 17 hours and despite the size, the S805 weighs less than four ounces.

The headphones come with cable, case, and charger, retailing for £79.99.

Find out more at the Motorola Shop

Seagate unveils Digital Audio Video Experience (DAVE) wireless mobile storage

Seagate has unveiled what it sees as the next-generation of mobile storage - Digital Audio Video Experience, or DAVE for short.

DAVE is a technology that can deliver 10-20GB of wireless storage for your mobile device via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi anywhere up to 30ft (9.1m) - not unlike the recently-unveiled BluOnyx server. And the accessory is small - about the size of a centimetre-thick credit card. It's a technology with one eye on the future, as our downloads and the necessary capacity needed to store them continues to grow. According to Frost & Sullivan, the number of mobile video download subscribers will jump to nearly 5 million in 2010, as compared with roughly 250,000 mobile video download subscribers in 2006.

DAVE will allow you to store all these downloads on one device - a 10GB device should mean around 2,500 songs or 21 hours of video available to you all the time. And if you change your mobile handset, you don't need to swap over the data - just pair it with the new phone or device.

Seagate are planning to sell the device to mobile phone manufacturers later this year - so expect it for sale late 2007.

Seagate website

Parrot Conference Bluetooth speakerphone

Parrot is introducing some new technology to the boardroom with the Bluetooth-friendly Conference wireless speakerphone, with Skype capability. 

The Conference speakerphone can store up to 6,000 contacts, which can be loaded wirelessly via Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones, PDAs, and laptops. And once loaded, you can access them and all the other menus and settings through a large, bright active-matrix TFT colour display. It works with Parrot’s proprietary advanced digital signal processing technology with full duplexing for clear, echo-free conversations in rooms of any size. Three highly sensitive microphones provide a complete 360-degree voice pickup and a 5W speaker means all participants should be heard clearly.

It's powered by three rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries, so can be easily moved from office to conference room whenever the need arises. The batteries provide 10 hours of continuous talk-time, and fully recharge in five hours. It can also be paired with up to 50 phones at any one time and has an integrated Skype interface, so is ready to use with the service out of the box.

The Conference will retail from £148.

Parrot website

OtterBox launches rugged BlackBerry cases

You've not seen true despair until you've seen a high-flying business-person with a broken BlackBerry - especially if the cause was their own butterfingers. OtterBox's new 1930 and 1931 rugged BlackBerry cases might prevent their woe, mind.

The cases have water-resistant polycarbonate/ABS shells, plus rubber moulding making them easier to grip. There's also a rigid screen cover to protect the display from scratches.

OtterBox reckons soldiers are especially keen on the cases – all the better to ensure safe transmission of those illicit snaps of Iraqi prisoners, presumably.

Anyway, the 1930 fits the BlackBerry 8700 series, and the 1931 fits the 7200 series, and both come in black with grey rubber. They're on sale from the OtterBox website now, for $129.95.

OtterBox 1930 and 1931

BluOnyx Mobile Content Server - Wi-Fi storage for your mobile phone or media player

Agere Systems has introduced the BluOnyx Mobile Content Server, a storage solution for your mobile phone or media player when card capacity just isn't enough.

The BluOnyx is the size of a credit card and thinner than a Blackberry. It can transfer or stream music, video, pictures, business files to or from mobile phones, digital cameras, digital camcorders, PCs or to and from any site on the internet (such as YouTube or MySpace), accessing the web via Wi-Fi connection.

It has its own rechargeable battery, which lasts up to 12 hours and is available with strage levels from 1GB to 40GB. There's no screen - all control is via your mobile phone, PC or screen. Any media file can be hosted, even DRM files, as long as the playback device has the decoding capability. And as it's Wi-Fi-enabled, the BluOnyx offers net access for mobiles and PDAs that aren't broadband-enabled.

The retail price of the BluOnyx is expected to range from £50 to £130 depending on memory capacity. 

Find out more

More for your mobile

Skullcandy Link Hydration Pack with speakers

Possibly not the ideal accessory every day, but if you happen to be heading off for some winter sports or even a bit of adventure back home, you might like to take your technology with you, using the Skullcandy Link Hydration Pack with speakers.

Skullcandy Link Hydration Pack is a backpack with a difference. Yes, it can hold everything you need in the great outdoors, including the biggest coat you can carry, but it also features a battery-powered amplifier, firing sound out of the 60mm speakers embedded in the straps. The speakers are weather-impervious, carbon-fibre woven custom jobs designed to be used in rain, snow or shine.

Add to that a mobile microphone embedded in the strap, which allows you to make calls handsfree. And in the mid-strap, there's also a soft-touch panel for controlling power, volume and your mobile phone. Secure pockets will hold your phone and music player in place.

Available now in a choice of colours, you can pick one up for £106.99

Find out more at iWorld

Review: Orange Bluetooth Loudspeaker System

The propaganda

While I was cleaning out the attic the other day I found a neat little stereo. It has all the usual play/pause, volumes controls and stuff, but the weird part is that it only takes these funny looking shiny circular thingies – there wasn’t an iPod connector in sight. That’s just weird.

But you know, plugging your player into a stereo is soooo last year – Bluetooth is what 2007 is all about. In fact, Orange revealed it special Bluetooth Stereo Loudspeaker System back in October, but it should come its own this year as more and more handsets start to offer the latest stereo Bluetooth standard, called A2DP, which has been designed specifically to stream high quality audio wirelessly.

The speakers fit together as a single unit, or you can separate each speaker from the main unit, with a little under 1m worth of speaker cable to play with on each. The controls are pretty basic and consist of a single volume dial, which acts as the power switch as well, and the essential Bluetooth button. There is also a 3.5mm line in.

The good

Acoustic Energy is the company which actually makes Orange’s speaker set. It has a good reputation for making decent speakers and that really shows here. The sound has a pleasingly warm feel to it with a good balance of bass power and definition. You can really pick out a lot of the subtleties in what you’re listening to and you can crank the volume up to full and never experience any kind of distortion.

Pairing with a Bluetooth handset is very straight forward as you would expect – you just hold the Bluetooth button for a few seconds to start the pairing process. Testament to the simplicity of the design is the fact that all of the instructions are on one side of an A4 sized instruction