Mobile Digest

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

Nokia 8800 Sirocco Gold - handset with 18-carat gold plating

I was looking at the millionaire-friendly Vertu handsets at the weekend, which might impress people in the know, but to most people, probably just look like any other handset. That's not the case with the Nokia 8800 Sirocco Gold.

That's because it dispenses with all subtlety - coming encased in an 18-carat gold plating. And that's not all, there's also white gold accents and a sapphire-coated, scratch-resistant glass display - put together, according to Nokia, with the techniques of watchmakers and jewellers.

Oh yes, there is a specification - and one that could never live up to the outer appearance. You get a a sliding mechanism that reveals a two megapixel camera, ergonomic keypad, 262k colour screen, Bluetooth and a co-ordinating Bluetooth headset and desk stand.

So essentially, it's all about the looks. If you want one, Nokia is quoting a price of around 1,000 Euros. It's unlikely to appear as a freebie from your network operator.

Nokia website

Samsung and Nokia work together on DVB-H technology

Will DVB-H technology ever make it to the UK? Who knows - it's been talked about for years and numerous handsets have shown off its TV-playing capabilities. Samsung and Nokia are certainly keen - announcing today that they have signed an agreement to work together to accelerate the technology to market.

The two companies will work together on DVB-H-enabled mobile devices and the open standards based Nokia network services system. The handset manufacturers will work together to support solutions based on the open OMA BCAST standard.

"Nokia warmly welcomes the collaboration in accelerating the adoption of DVB-H based mobile TV services to the market. We see that the OMA BCAST standard is essential in launching mobile TV services on a global scale," says Harri Männistö, Director, Multimedia, Nokia. "Further, the well-defined service and content protection profiles within the OMA BCAST standard such as the already now available OMA DRM, provides the ideal path towards standardized solutions enabling a coherent and open market for successful worldwide mobile TV deployments."

DVB-H technology offers high quality mobile TV broadcasts, but with low battery consumption and with the option to to simultaneously receive broadcasts while using other mobile services such as telephony and internet access on their device.

Nokia website
Samsung website

Londoners: Donate your old IT equipment to help others and stay green

Next weekend, 21-22 April, Maxitech.biz is encouraging London residents to donate their unwanted computer equipment and other technology, helping children, cash-strapped organisations, and being green - all at once.

In recognition of this year's International Earth Day, Londoners can drop off their old PCs, mobile phones, monitors, printers, digital cameras, and scanners at Maxitech's premises - 5 Clarendon Road, Haringey,
North London N22 - between 10am and 6pm on Saturday or Sunday.

The IT equipment will be professionally refurbished, with some being given to the NCH (National Children's Home), some being resold at low cost to UK-based organisations unable to afford brand-new computers, and those items which cannot be reused being recycled by a specialised recycling plant.

Proceeds from reselling the IT equipment will go towards Maxitech.biz's Edge Employer IT hardware training programme, which helps disadvantaged people
gain nationally recognized qualifications leading to jobs in IT.

The scheme is being supported by HP, and Dr Kirstie McIntyre, who heads up IT recycling and reuse programmes for HP in the UK, said, "“Refurbishing computer equipment and making IT accessible to the wider community is one of the most effective ways of reducing the impact of IT waste on the environment. It’'s something HP has been doing for many years, so we'’re really proud to be supporting Maxitech.biz in this initiative and hope that this will be the first of a series of events in the UK.”"

Related stories:
Green Phones recycles for fund raisers
There's gold in them there recycled mobiles (sorry)
Single-use cameras are environmentally friendly, Photo Imaging Council say
School computers are environmentally unfriendly and too powerful
Consumer electronics companies look to more environmentally friendly products

More on being an ethical consumer over at Hippy Shopper

OS X Leopard release slips 4 months thanks to iPhone

Last month we tried to stifle the rumours of an OS X Leopard delay, but now in an official statement, Apple has stated that its next generation operating system will indeed not ship until October.

The rumoured reason for the delay was to improve support for users wanting to use Vista, but the official reason cited by Apple yesterday is the iPhone.

Read on for Apple's official statement:

We can't wait until customers get their hands (and fingers) on it and experience what a revolutionary and magical product it is. However, iPhone contains the most sophisticated software ever shipped on a mobile device, and finishing it on time has not come without a price — we had to borrow some key software engineering and QA resources from our Mac OS® X team, and as a result we will not be able to release Leopard at our Worldwide Developers Conference in early June as planned. While Leopard's features will be complete by then, we cannot deliver the quality release that we and our customers expect from us. We now plan to show our developers a near final version of Leopard at the conference, give them a beta copy to take home so they can do their final testing, and ship Leopard in October.

Given the iPhone has a version of OS X on board, it makes sense that Leopard will almost be ready by then, as I presume many of its features will be available on the handset.

Though it's disappointing that Apple's next operating system won't be around until the autumn, and I can imagine Microsoft firing back a few shots after the hard time Apple gave them about OS delays, it's understandable. With all the hype, and potential revenue, behind the iPhone, Apple need to throw all of their resources at the launch.

LG unveils KE770 candybar Shine phone

Following on from the 3G Shine phone, LG has launched yet another variation of the phone - the KE770 candybar Shine phone.

It's just 9.9mm thick, compared to the original's 14mm. And apart from the new shape, that's about the only obvious development. So expect a 262,144-colour, 240 x 320 display, two megapixel camera with auto-focus, Bluetooth, 50MB of memory and a Micro SD slot for up to 2GB of add-on storage space.

It was launched in Russia this week, but as yet, it's not clear if this will make it to the rest of Europe. You'll be the first to know if it does.

LG website

Via The Register

O2 offer limited edition Ice Black candy bar mobile

O2 has announced a limited edition Ice Black mobile phone.

It's a candy bar style design, fully 3G, with inbuilt MP3 player, 1.3 megapixel camera with zoom, Bluetooth, 32MB of internal memory, and a microSD card slot.

Available for £59.99 on prepay from O2 shops, it's not the most advanced phone around, but it probably won't break the bank and could add a little bit of shiny black style to your summer.

O2 Online

T-Mobile and RIM offer exclusive white BlackBerry Pearl

T-Mobile and RIM have announced the availability of the white BlackBerry Pearl smartphone, exclusively to T-Mobile subscribers and available within its stores across the UK. It follows a similar deal introduced to the US earlier in the year.

Feature-wise, it offers the same key features of the original BlackBerry, including Internet access, email, smart dialling, conference calling, speakerphone, speed dial, and call forwarding, plus quad-band network support. It also uses T-Mobile's Web'n'Walk service.

The handset features polyphonic and MP3 ringtones, Bluetooth support, and an enhanced version of RIM's SureType QWERTY keypad technology designed to make typing messages or making phone calls quick and easy.

The handset will be available free with appropriate price plans.

T-Mobile

Orange to bring Samsung i600 smart phone to UK say reports

I'm sure the official announcement will follow in due course, but details of the Samsung i600 smart phone on the Orange network are already out in the wild.

The details of the Windows Mobile-based device aren't linked from the Orange site, but are listed on an Orange web page, spotted by Coolsmartphone.com, with a launch date of later this month a strong possibility.

But we do know what the device will offer - 3G connectivity, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, QWERTY keyboard, 320 x 240 display, Micro SD card storage, a 1.3 megapixel camera with 2x digital zoom, and a 0.3 megapixel camera for video calling.

We'll keep you posted on it.

Orange website

Via The Register

Butterfly cell phone - designed by a 15 year old

I made my first documentary when I was 13, so I'm not entirely shocked by the idea that the Butterfly mobile phone concept was designed by a 15 year old - and looks better and has more sensible design principles than most stuff coming out nowadays. Using existing tech such as Bluetooth and touchscreens (unlike many concepts which are doomed to remain concepts for lack of tech) and sporting an impressively polished interface, this is definitely my favourite non-existent phone to date. [GT]

Butterfly: A Social Networking Solution [via Slashgear]

Vodafone uses Sagem for own-brand handsets

Sagem annouced a couple of weeks back that it was designing entry-level handsets for Sony Ericsson. Now it has announced another deal - producing own-brand handsets for Vodafone.

Jens Schulte-Bockum, global director of terminals at Vodafone, said: "[Vodafone's] strategy is intended to use Vodafone's size and purchasing power to engage with the best white label handset makers and then use the power of the Vodafone brand to bring their products to market."

The first of the Sagem handsets, scheduled to be launched in June this year, features a slim case and 65K colours - and that's about all we know. But with such a quick turnaround, chances are that it's an existing model with a Vodafone badge.

Sagem website

Via The Register

LG to upgrade the Prada phone to the LG KS20?

Interesting story over on Shiny Shiny concerning LG's Prada handset. It's only just gone on sale in the Uk, but of rumours are to be believed, the phone is set for an upgrade - boosting the specification, but dropping the Prada affiliation.

The new KS20 keeps the style (or rather, the touch screen), but adds in Windows Mobile 6.0, two megapixel camera, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Whether this is all true - and indeed if it's about to appear sooner rather than later, we don't know.

But it does make you think twice about signing up for the original.

Read the full story at Shiny Shiny

Glasgow tops mobile phone theft league

Taking your mobile phone out tonight? Well, if your big night is in Glasgow, Belfast or Liverpool, I'd keep a tight hold of your mobile phone.

According to CPP Phonesafe figures, the three cities top the mobile theft league - but it's not exclusively there - across the UK, one in five people have had their phones taken, with half of those questioned knowing a victim of mobile theft. And the most vulnerable location? That's the pub, with 22 per cent suffering on a night out. And the worst times of the year are early May and late July.

Does your city make the top 10? Read on after the turn for the full listing.

Top 10 Cities for mobile phone theft

1. Glasgow
2. Belfast
3. Liverpool
4. Chelmsford
5. London
6. Bristol
7. Manchester
8. Leeds
9. Sheffield
10. Cambridge

CPP Phonesafe website

Vertu offers limited edition Ferrari mobile handset

Remember Vertu? Its the company that offers high-end, high status mobile handsets for filthy rich. A market where looks are much more important than specification. Probably summed up by this Ascent Ferrari 1947 Limited Edition - celebrating 60 years of Ferrari.

To match the year, there's 1947 of the phones being made - each with very little to offer technically beyond Bluetooth, limited memory, four hours of talk time and 270 hours on standby.

But that's not why you're buying it - it's the little things that tell the world you have cash to burn - like the sapphire-crystal display, stainless steel keys with jewelled bearings, the red and black leather, Ferrari Prancing Horse logo and a scaled-down, high-grade aluminium, Ferrari brake pedal on the back.

No price yet - but if you're a contender for one, price really shouldn't matter.

Vertu website

Via Stuff

LG Prada phone now available on the UK high street

The LG Prada phone - I bet you are sick of hearing about it. It's been on everyone's lips for a good four months, but not on our shelves. Well, until now that is.

Yes, LG has finally unleashed the fashionista phone onto our shelves and the more stylish British public. Which means you'll be able to spend your easter weekend impressing your friends and dodging muggers.

If you're after one, it's now available via Carphone Warehouse, Phones4U, Orange, 02 and T-Mobile stores. If you want to know more about it, check out our preview from January.

The price, as you would expect, is dependent on your choice of contract.

LG website

Smoker's mobile phone - with real cigarettes

Smoking might be on the run in the UK, but in China, there's still billions of keen participants. So many that it's viable to produce a mobile phone specifically for the smoking community.

Yes, it looks just like a packet of cigarettes - that's because it's essentially a hi-tech cigarette packet, same size and even carrying the health warning labels. But unlike your normal disposable pack, this one is a mobile phone with MP3 player, VGA camera and microSD slot for storage. There's even a colour screen.

It retails for the equivalent of around £90 - for that you get the phone, a packet of branded cigarettes and a lighter. Has their eve been a more unhealthy gadget?

Via Gearfuse

Nokia announces the "fun and function" 5070

Nokia has unveiled a new budget handset - the Nokia 5070 - which is aimed very much at "young consumer". By that, I think they mean it's a music phone that's good for texts.

Available in red or blue finish, the 5070, Nokia promises fast messaging - contacts found and messages posted in just a couple of clicks - along with fast voice messaging via Nokia Xpress Audio Messaging. There's also a camera on-board for picture messaging, but they're not specific over the pixel count, so we'll presume it's not high.

Other features include an integrated FM radio, MP3 player, stereo headset, java games, web browser, MP3 ringtones and a talk time up to 3.5 hours, along with a standby time of up to 12 days.

Expect to see the handset in the coming weeks, priced around 100 Euros.

Nokia website

Palm announces update to Windows Mobile 6 for Treo 750 smartphone

Still pondering the Palm Treo 750 smartphone six months after its launch? Well, here's something that might sway you - the company is updating the software to Windows Mobile 6.

Although details of networks offering it will only available later this week, it's fair to say it should be offered all who currently offer the smartphone. On some US networks, there will also be HSDPA connectivity. Again, we'll have to wait and see if that's the case here. Windows Mobile 6 paired with Exchange Server 2007 will offer email enhancements such as HTML-formatted email messages, the ability to set an out-of-office message remotely, and live links to Microsoft SharePoint documents. There's also newly-updated versions of Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

The device itself offers a touch screen, full QWERTY keyboard, mini SD slot, 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth and media player. Check with your network of choice for availability - but maybe leave it until the weekend.

Palm website

Sony Ericsson launches W580 Walkman phone

Yet another addition to the ever-increasing Sony Ericsson Walkman phone family - this time the W580 "lifestyle" handset.

It's a slimline, quad-band slider phone (just 14mm thickness) with EDGE support, a 2-inch screen, enough memory to store 470 music tracks and a 2 megapixel camera that doubles up as a training partner for all you fitness fanatics.

According to Steve Walker, Head of Product Marketing at Sony Ericsson: “As well as letting you have your latest music with you at all times, the W580 steps in as your portable photo album and pocket gaming device. It will even serve as your training partner thanks to built-in sports applications that track running speed and distance.”

Specifics on date and price are still unclear, but expect to see it in the UK at some point later in the year - with more details of these "sports applications" too.

Sony Ericsson website

ZyXEL launches V660 VoIP-enabled smartphone

ZyXEL has unveiled the V660 - a converged quad-band smartphone that offers VoIP calling over your Wi-Fi network, along with all the mobile functionality you'd expect.

It's powered by Microsoft Windows Mobile Edition 5.0, so expect all the mobile Office functionality (Excel, Word, Powerpoint, pocket MSN and Outlook), along with Push email. And there's a 1.9-inch screen, 2 megapixel camera, video and MP3 player, 64MB of on-board memory, microSD slot for added storage and Skype software pre-installed for those internet calls.

“The growing army of mobile workers is placing businesses under increasing pressure to provide a single device to replace the many that currently occupy our bags and pockets,” said Rob Mackinnon, VoIP product manager ZyXEL. “Whilst most technical innovation creates as many problems as it solves, the V660 combines a myriad of devices and ensures that SMBs and consumers alike always have instant access to the world’s sources of information and entertainment.”

Availability will be announced in the latter half of 2007.

ZyXEL website

Sony Ericsson to license Sagem handsets for entry-level range

The problem with being at the cutting edge of technology is that you need to be constantly pushing those boundaries to stay ahead of the pack. And to help Sony Ericsson to keep doing that, the company has decided to sub-contract entry-level models to budget specialist Sagem.

Yes, Sony Ericsson and Sagem have signed licensing and ODM (Original Developer Manufacturer) agreements concerning entry-level GSM, GPRS & EDGE mobile phones. As part of the deal, Sagem Communication will license certain hardware and software technologies to Sony Ericsson and provide Sony Ericsson with a number of Sony Ericsson branded mobile phones.

"We chose Sagem Communication because their software platforms are mature, scaleable and flexible. In addition we were impressed with the quality and performance of their phones, which have been developed by a skilled workforce. Our co-operation with Sagem Communication will allow us to offer a mature range of phones right from the start," said Howard Lewis, Vice President and Head of PBU (Product Business Unit) Entry at Sony Ericsson.

Sony Ericsson also plans to establish a development unit for entry-level mobile phones near Sagem's premises in Cergy, France.

Sony Ericsson website

Want an iPhone? Get one on eBay

Well, sort of - if you're up for a punt. Computerworld managed to track one down on the auction site, but as soon as it notified eBay the listing was pulled.

The magazine managed to trace the highest bidder - whpub - though, who was quite happy to slap down $1,125 on the as yet unreleased mecha-must have.

The buyer reckoned the bid was low risk, high reward. "EBay insures up to $200 and PayPal up to $2,000 if the seller does not deliver," whpub told Computerworld. "Besides, there are rumors of iPhones being shipped as early as early April, and there's always a chance this seller managed to get one somehow."

EBay took it less philosophically. When asked for comment it said: "Thanks ... for informing us of the Apple iPhone listings. As we understand, the Apple iPhone will not be commercially available until June. Any such listings claiming to be selling the Apple iPhone are in violation of eBay's pre-sale policy which require sellers to guarantee shipment of the item listed within 30 days from the date of purchase. As such, all postings violating eBay's pre-sale policy will be removed."

Elusive iPhone is sold on eBay

** More iPhone news on our iPhone blog iPhonic

Sagem launches my215x handset with Vodafone

Another handset for the budget-conscious from Sagem - the my215x.

It's being billed as a low-price music phone, offering 256MB of storage for your tunes, with music-friendly controls built into the handset for adjusting the volume, skipping tracks and pausing. It's also got a strong battery life, with neatly four hours of talk time and around 255 hours of standby.

And apart from that - not a lot beyond the mobile phone basics. But at £40 from Vodafone, it's not a bad price for a music phone. If only it had an expansion slot - then it really would be great value.

Sagem website

Sagem introduces my401c clamshell handset

Another budget handset on its way from Sagem, this time the my401c - a clamshell handset available in a silver/black or silver/pink finish.

It's probably what you would call a "solid" handset, with all the essentials in place, but nothing to make it stand out. The features on the tri-band phone include an exterior and 128x160-pixel, 65K-colour interior screen with white-on-black text, VGA camera with 4x digital zoom, music player for multimedia, SMS and MMS, Bluetooth and Wap 2.0.

There's 1.5MB of storage, which can be extended with a microSD card, over three hours of talk time and 250 hours on standby. It's available from April on T-Mobile and Vodafone for around £49.99.

Sagem website

Orange offers Samsung's D840 with bonus travel guides

We previewed the Samsung D840 back at the 3GSM. If it caught your eye, then you'll be interested to know that Orange are now offering it exclusively in the UK, with some bonus Euro travel guides thrown in as part of the deal.

The slim and chrome tri-band handset features a two megapixel camera with digital zoom, video recording (up to an hour in high resolution), automatic slide, 80MB of storage (expandable via microSD card), media player and Bluetooth connectivity.

And as an added sweetener, Orange are throwing in four Time Out City Guides (Rome, Paris, Barcelona and Prague), a gift box and a chance to win a city break to one of the cities.

Price varies according to your contract, but is free on contracts over £30.

Orange website

Sony Ericsson W660 Walkman phone with snap-on speakers

Sony Ericsson has a new 3G phone on the market - the W660 Walkman phone, compatible with Sony's new snap-on phone speakers.

Available in a choice of Record Black and Rose Red, it features TrackID, which can identify a piece of music when you're out and about via the Gracenote Mobile MusicID database, storage for up to 470 tunes on the supplied Memory Stick Micro, album art support for the media player, FM radio, two megapixel camera, two-inch TFT display, picture blogging and RSS feeds that can be sent directly to your phone's "desktop".

It can also be used with Sony Ericsson's new MPS-75 snap-on speakers - a small plug-in speaker unit powered by your phone. or you can stream your music via Bluetooth.

The W660 Walkman phone will be available fro the middle of 2007, with the snap-on speakers released around the same time.

Sony Ericsson website

Currys to sell mobile phones in store

DSG, owner of Currys and Currys.Digital (formerly Dixons) stores, has said that it plans to sell mobile phones in up to 500 of its stores, with a major mobile presence already planned for its Manchester White City and Bournemouth Currys superstores.

According to Mobile Today, it plans to play on its strengths in the home entertainment market by selling combined entertainment, broadband and communications deals for companies like Sky and Virgin Media.

John Lyngra, head of communications trading at Currys, said "Customers tell us they want clarity and value, and they do not trust the complexities and stealth pricing of most communications tariffs. We have designed our tariff guides to be ultra-transparent and fair, with a range of options to suit any customer."

Sony Ericsson K510i gets a Julien MacDonald makeover

Well, if you can't shift a handset the first time round, you can always give it a makeover to appeal to the fashion market, as is the case with this Sony Ericsson K510i, featuring a Julien MacDonald design.

The handset itself is around a year old, featuring a 1.3 megapixel camera with digital zoom, Bluetooth and an MP3 player. Except this time it casts off the dull exterior, replacing it with something altogether more colourful.

"The print I decided to use for the SonyEricsson K51Oi was taken from my spring summer 07 collection," says Mr MacDonald. "The print was inspired by exotic flowers, Orchids in particular, so thought it would be perfect for the spring launch of this handset."

And if you also think it perfect, you can pick one up for £50 from your nearest Orange store.

Orange website

Gucci to follow Prada in making a fashion phone?

Relax, fashionistas. It's still just an internetweb rumour based on nothing more than a couple of photos on Flickr, which may well be mockups. Still, with Prada having already teamed up with LG for a mobile phone, it wouldn't be entirely surprising if Gucci followed suit.

Where will it all end though? Surely it's only a matter of time before Armani, Chanel and Dior throw their hats into the ring too, while Kate Moss is presumably set to unleash her dazzling clamshell (not a euphemism) on the world at the same time as her much-anticipated Top Shop fashion range.

Hey, Naomi Campbell could put her name to a handset with a specially-moulded throwing grip, for those troublesome PAs...

(via Engadget Mobile)

O2 launches XDA Graphite smartphone

O2 is now offering its XDA Graphite smartphone, a Windows Mobile 5.0 device with all the usual add-ons.

Windows Mobile 5.0 means push email, MSN Messenger, the ability to view and edit documents plus music via Windows Media Player. In addition, there's a 2 megapixel camera, 2.2-inch screen and Bluetooth 2.0.

There's also video calling on 3G networks and a battery that offers around fours hours of talk time. You can pick one up in O2 stores now, price dependent on your contract.

O2 website

Video Review: Can the LG Prada phone beat iPhone at its own game?

Fashionistas are already getting themselves into a tizzy over LG's Prada handset, but those of us who don't change our wardrobes every season have got reason to follow its progress closely too. Can its tactile touch-screen interface rival Apple's iPhone? ShinyShiny's Susi takes a detailed look at LG's stylish new handset below.

Review: LG KE850 Prada phone

In certain quarters, it's the most hyped phone since the last hyped phone. And is likely to be, til the next hyped phone. So, having managed to check it out briefly at 3GSM, leaving Kat to manage in Milan, I was thrilled to have it in my hands for a full 24 hours in my care, to get a real idea of what it was like.

I found it an interesting experience. Disappointing in the same way that Christmas Day is never as good as you think it's going to be on Christmas Eve, but interesting nonetheless.

My initial reaction on getting it out of the box was the predictable 'ooh, it's so pretty, it's so shiny, it's so Versace. I mean Galliano. I mean Prada. Oh god, I wasn't born for all these gadget collaborations'. And they certainly have packaged it nicely, in a beautiful black box, which just cries out for an unveiling in the way few other phones do (although LG do seem to have the monopoly on those currently).

When you turn it on, it defaults to the black and white screen that Prada were so keen on, although there are several other coloured wallpapers available. It also defaults to the clock which floats around the screen, unless it's being dragged in another direction by your finger (it's a touchscreen, remember?). The bulk of the screen is used to display the clock and wallpaper, with the option for messaging, calling and settings laid out across the bottom.

There's also another option for your wallpaper, which involves a fish following your finger, although that wasn't working on the preproduction model I had.

The messaging was what I was most interested to try out, since no one I know has been overly keen on the thought of entirely doing away with a keypad when it came to SMSing. The results were mixed. Whilst concentrating, I found the touchscreen just as easy as a normal keypad - it's laid out in exactly the same way, with 2 representing abc, 0 being a space, in accordance with your normal T9 language. However, after a period of time, I forgot to be so exact, and found that I was frequently misspelling things. I don't need to tell you how annoying it is to have to go and retype texts two or three times over...

Apart from the texting, the touchscreen worked better than I thought it would. I didn't feel any particular lag, between hitting the buttons and the phone reacting, although there were several times where I had to tap something several times in order to get a response.

The menu icons were spaced far enough apart so that you didn't accidentally end up with your MP3s when you tried to turn on Bluetooth. Plus, several of the functions have external buttons on the handset itself, such as the MP3 player, camera and the screen lock.

The camera itself is an adequate two megapixels, and has a light. The size of the screen meant that the photos looked clear and bright, as well.

The build quality overall was impressive, as it's not only small and lightweight, but is only a few millimetres thick. One niggle I did have was how dirty the back of the phone got, which suffered the same fate as pretty much every 'Piano black' finished product ever - fingerprints everywhere. The button you pressed in at the bottom of the phone to release the back cover was also easily chipped, revealing that it wasn't metal, but a cheap spray job on a cheaper material.

And as for the inevitable iPhone comparison? Forget it. Yes. it's got a touchscreen, but that's where the similarity ends. This is a phone. And it's really nothing more than a phone. It's not aimed at people who want constant access to their emails, to be able to access their Outlook calendar, or to download at high speed (there is a simple browser included, and yes, I know the iPhone isn't going to have 3G). It's for those that are all about appearances. And there's nothing wrong with that.

It's slated to appear in select shops (including Prada... and Carphone Warehouse) from the end of March. SIM free it's expected to retail for 600 Euros (about £400), and pricing on contracts has yet to be released. They have said that it will be exclusively for 18 month contracts though.

The single best mobile phone review EVER printed

Sorry Samsung, it's your E900 that's getting a right royal kicking from Guardian columnist Charlie Brooker in a piece titled 'My new mobile is lumbered with a bewildering array of unnecessary features aimed at idiots'. That kinda gives you the general flavour.

"The whole thing is the visual equivalent of a moronic clip-art jumble sale poster designed in the dark by a myopic divorcee experiencing a freak biorhythmic high," he says, before going on to suggest that "the government is offloading these twittering handheld crapstones on to as many people as possible in a bid to whip us all into a state of perpetual, simmering anger in readiness for some kind of bare-knuckle street war."

Oof! Given Charlie's previous explanation of why he hates Macs, if the Guardian has any sense, it'll clear four pages for his iPhone review later this year...

Alcatel OT-C635 mobile phone launches

Who wants a purple mobile phone? Prince, maybe. But Alcatel is clearly hoping the market for its new OT-C635 mobile is bigger than one diminutive pop pixie.

Yes, it's purple, which is apparently one of this season's hottest colours (although those who take their fashion advice from the glossy women's mags rather than technology press releases can probably confirm or deny that).

Anyway, the OT-C635 is a clamshell handset, which offers fashionista looks over features – it doesn't have a camera, isn't 3G, and can't do video or music. Still, at £39.99 on Virgin Mobile and with a whopping battery life, it's got other things in its favour.

Alcatel website

O2 latest to offer BlackBerry 8800

Previously limited to Vodafone customers, RIM's BlackBerry 8800 is now available through the O2 network, the company has announced.

We previewed the BlackBerry 8800 at the 3GSM earlier this year. It features a full QWERTY keyboard, built-in GPS along with BlackBerry maps, media player and an expandable memory slot. There's also a high resolution screen with automatic light sensing technology for outdoor users and a trackball to speed up navigation.

It's available to purchase now for business customers. And as you would expect, pricing depends on your choice of contract, starting from free.

O2 website

Is the iPhone the only gadget launch that matters this year?

There are some folk round here who reckon that the only gadget launch that really matters this year is, you guessed it, the Apple iPhone.

So we have decided to give them their own blog. Over at iPhonic, Apple die-hard Andy Merrett will be waxing lyrical about Apple’s forthcoming phone. He'll be

* Highlighting its killer features (and, in the interest of fair play, its odd weakness)
* Focusing on its technology
* Gauging how much impact it will have on the mobile phone world on both sides of the Atlantic
* Checking out all the rumours and gossip
* Making predictions as to where Apple will take the iPhone

iPhonic will also keeps tabs on the iPhone’s rival handsets (Nokia N95, LG Prada etc) and also the mobile services that are set to take on iTunes.

All this and more on iPhonic

Does the Walkman brand still hit the right notes with consumers?

Stuart Dredge writes...

Once upon a time, Sony's Walkman was the most powerful music technology brand in the world. Everyone knew what a Walkman was, it was one of the most desirable and fashionable devices around, and it arguably changed the way we listen to music while it was at it.

Well, it saved millions of music fans from debilitating ghettoblaster-related shoulder pains in later life, anyway.

But isn't the Walkman old hat now? Apple's iPod is surely the biggest music brand of the 21st century, after all, having successfully fended off Napster, MySpace and The Cheeky Girls to secure its vaunted status.

Nevertheless, Sony thinks the Walkman still punches its weight, having just announced its new Walkman NW-A800 Video MP3 player, while Sony Ericsson has been pushing its brand of Walkman music phones.

Is Walkman still a powerful brand in the post-iPod world? I'd argue yes: here's why.

Let's start with those mobile phones. If you want evidence that Sony has successfully rehabilitated the Walkman, how does more than 20 million handset sales strike you? What's important is that many of those will be to people too young to have ever owned an original Walkman - or even remember the days when you could buy music on tape cassettes.

And that's the thing. If Walkman's going to mean anything to consumers today, it's got to be for what it is NOW, rather than what it was back in the 1980s. You can certainly argue that Sony Ericsson has succeeded in that goal, associating the Walkman brand with 'mobile music' in a way that no other manufacturer has yet managed.

Sony's efforts in other consumer electronics areas haven't been as successful. Sony has been branding various MP3 players as Walkmans for a while now, but a quick straw poll of gadgety friends brought the common responses of 'they're overpriced' and 'they're not easy to use' - the latter most likely because of Sony's earlier strategy of forcing people to convert their MP3s into the proprietary ATRAC format before they could be transferred to the firm's digital music players.

In that respect, the Walkman brand ended up looking like an embarrassing dad on the dancefloor - trying to get down to this new-fangled MP3 lark, but getting it wrong. Thankfully, Sony has since shifted its strategy to something more sensible, with recent Walkman devices much more desirable as a result. But it proved that a once-all-conquering brand is no use if the modern products badged with it aren't much cop.

So to the new NW-A800 Video MP3 player. Is the Walkman brand a help, or a hindrance? The sort of people buying video players may have warm memories of Walkmans the first time round, but does this make them any more likely to buy a handheld video player now?

To make Walkman truly relevant in this particular field, Sony'll have to convince people that the NW-A800 is better than similar devices from Archos and Creative. So rather than its brand, the NW-A800's success will rest on features like its battery life (eight hours for video), the quality of its screen, less than 1cm-thickness, and whether people really want to buy stuff from the Sony Connect music download store.

As strong as the Walkman brand was back in the day, you can't live on past glories alone in the modern gadget world. Sony's first MP3 players proved that, while Sony Ericsson's music phones have shown that you can reinvent yourself for a new market. We'll have to wait and see which category Sony's new video player falls into.

Motorola revives StarTAC for retro-obsessed Korean market

Can you really get nostalgic for an old mobile phone? Apparently so - well, at least in Korea, where Motorola has re-launched the StarTAC brand with the StarTAC III MS900 clamshell.

Except, it's not got a lot on common with the original in either looks or specification. It features an MP3 player, 2-inch 320 x 240 display and GPS on board. But don't despair, it does have the "distinctive StarTAC opening chime".

Mind you, the whole campaign is all over the place. According to the head of Motorola's marketing team: "Retro is the cultural movement of the 1960s, embodied by such celebrities as The Beatles and Twiggy. In a similar manner, Motorola’s StarTAC is being revived to become the timeless accessory in Korea.”

Perhaps someone should tell them that the StarTAC was released in 1996, not 1966.

Motorola website

Via The Register

Will Dell create the first modular mobile phone?

There's an intriguing bit of speculation over on Telecoms.com, suggesting that Dell may be looking to produce its own mobile phone. It's partly spurred by the news that Dell has recruited the former head of Motorola's mobile devices division, Ron Garriques, to take charge of Dell's new consumer products group.

It's also logical to assume that Dell might want to start making mobile phones – given that the company makes laptops and PDAs, it's not a huge leap to come out with a Windows Mobile smartphone.

The question is whether the way Dell traditionally does business – selling products directly to consumers, who can add and remove individual hardware and features on the firm's website - will suit the mobile industry, which has tended to be more focused around mobile operators.

Telecoms.com thinks that's not a problem, predicting that the number of phones sold directly through retailers or from manufacturers' own websites is going to increase rapidly.

I'll be blunt: few consumers would be excited by a Dell smartphone – it'd be no iPhone. But think about all those business users. It's also not a great leap to imagine Dell bundling an own-brand mobile phone with its PCs and laptops, in much the same way it treated MP3 players in the past.

Could its modular approach work with phones, though? Imagine going on the Dell website and selecting from a bunch of drop-down menus the features you want. Two or three-megapixel camera? 128MB or 256MB memory card? Built-in GPS, Wi-Fi, or both? I don't have the technical knowledge to judge if this is a pipedream, but if possible, that kind of customisation could help Dell make a mighty splash in the mobile market.

3G iPhone could come in early 2008

According to Apple Insider, they have it on good authority that a Swedish firm has been assured that they'll get their hands on a 3G version of th iPhone as early as January 2008.

Whether it will be the first model that those outside the US get their hands on, or not, remains to be seen. Will there be two iPhones, one with and one without 3G? After all, not everyone (so I've heard) is so bothered about 3G if they have decent wi-fi, and are more concerned about the entertainment potential of their mobile.

Apple Insider reports:

Apple's choice of cellphone networks would obligate it to use a particular form of 3G known as High-Speed Download Packet Access (HSDPA) [which] happens to represent Apple's best shot at selling the iPhone beyond American borders. In Europe, cheaper data rates and widespread 3G networks encourage Internet access from smartphones to the extent that many cellphone giants lavish more attention on their phone lineups for that continent than anywhere else. Nokia's range toppers, for example, are often badged as "multimedia computers" rather than cellphones.

Seems fair enough to me. Apple don't like to be left behind, and a second-generation, export version of the iPhone sporting 3G seems entirely plausible.

The inside story on the LG Prada KE850 mobile phone - from Milan!

If you're a secret fashionista you probably know by now that I was lucky enough to attend the Prada fashion show for Milan Fashion Week just last week. But, it wasn't just the sight of expensive designer frocks which rocked my boat, oh no, it was getting hands-on with the eagerly awaited mobile from the collaboration between LG and Prada which did it for me. Gosh, I'm such a geek. This was the first time I'd seen it in the wild, and wow, it was better than I could've ever expected. Your first time is always special, sigh. Read on below for my thoughts on the first-ever completely touch-screen mobile phone, information about the collaboration between the popular phone company and legendary fashion house, and just what LG think about the phone being touted as an 'iPhone killer'. Otherwise take a look at the quick video I shot with the phone in the hotel bar above, hopefully it can sate your appetite before this tasty piece of tech drops on March 18th!

There's no point in rehashing the specs about the mobile - everyone else on Shiny Shiny has told you all the 'deets, so let's discuss some of the things you probably haven't heard about this must-have mobile yet. As explained in the video above, Prada were simply not content with having their logo welded onto the casing of a random mobile, (case in point - Motorola's Dolce & Gabbana Razr), they actually wanted to have input with the design process, to ensure it was worthy of being a Prada product.

According to the several LG representatives I spoke to last week, Prada had been approached numerous times by "several big players" in the mobile phone industry, but up until they met with LG, they felt that none of the companies shared similar aims in producing a fashion mobile. Plus, all the other companies were only offering limited input in the design process - Prada were quite keen to contribute to the interface, wallpapers, ringtones and everything else that defines a fashion mobile phone. Perhaps a little too much for LG's liking, if the story I heard was correct!

The story goes that in May 2006, LG approached Miuccia and co at the house of Prada, and presented them with their ideas, as well as the then-recently released LG Chocolate. Miuccia was apparently quite impressed with the Chocolate, as well as LG's idea for a revolutionary (read: completely touch-screen) mobile, that they decided then and there to do business with the electronics company which was "once best known for its washing machines".

From the lengthy play I had with it, Prada have definitely injected some of their high-end opulence into the mobile, right down to the ringtones. I was quite surprised by how industrial the eight ringtones were, they were almost sci-fi, and not the bubbly, almost euro-dance tunes I was expecting. After seeing the Prada fashion show that night however, I understood their choice of music for the phone, for they matched the 'choons played as the models sauntered down the catwalk. According to Style.com's runway review from that night, the music was 'a soundtrack of some very angry girls, chanting lines like "poke his eyes out"', all the more reinforcing something Miuccia Prada herself said about an earlier collection once, "I'm tired of being so sweet...we women should go back to strength - and the sober side. Stop trying to appeal to everyone, and go out into the world". As rumoured, the interface was monochrome, perhaps a little dull for my liking, but it certainly ties in nicely with the Prada image. Other themes include 'butterfly', a yellow and purple mixture containing a cute butterfly you could control on the screen with your finger, and my personal favourite, 'fish', which was light blue, and you could similarly guide an orange fish around with the touch of your finger.

You wouldn't be out of order to assume that the phone was only capable of displaying black and white images, due to the default themes, but thank goodness, that's not the case. The short trailer I watched on the screen, of Casino Royale, was spot-on, and much better than anything the iPod Video could ever hope to show! Once you select the video to watch, it displays the images horizontally, making the most of the capacious LCD screen. One thing I was keen to test was the camera, and suffice to say, it lived up to my high expectations. Containing a 2-megapixel camera, with an LED flash, the few photos I took in the hotel bar were very impressive.

Other multimedia features include an MP3 player, handy when used with the free headphones they supply you with, or simply when using the stereo speakers located on the phone - great news for those kids on the train busting out their grime and hip hop, bad news for those of us with taste. You won't be able to store much music on the phone mind, the internal memory is only 8MB, and whilst they do supply you with a 256MB memory card, the slot is only capable of receiving Micro SD cards, and as they're currently available with a maximum of 2GB, it's sadly not enough potential albums to store for my liking. But then, I'm not content with a 30GB iPod, so maybe I'm a little more fussy than most!

Obviously I couldn't refrain from asking the all important question, of what LG thought about the Prada phone being branded an 'iPhone killer', due to its completely touch-screen capabilities and levels of ultra-desirability. Yvan Juget, the Communications Manager for LG, was very flattered by the comparisons the general public have made between the two phones, and that they could ever be pitted against "the world's audio leaders". He did admit however that the Prada mobile was aimed at an entirely different market to that of the iPhone, those who demand not only a mobile phone, but also that of an exclusive fashion accessory.

It appears that LG are quite keen to stress the exclusivity of the mobile, with Yvan commenting that Prada were worried "it would be found in really small phone stores in Sicily", which I presume would be a major faux pas for the fashion house. Perhaps the equivalent of being found in an Argos in Hounslow? For those after the mobile, you'll have to visit a Prada store, or if you're a Blighty dweller, Phones 4 U, Carphone Warehouse, Orange, or O2, which, according to Yvan, all had proven track records and were capable of delivering such an exclusive product to the right market. No Tesco, then!

When it appears in late March across Europe - the 18th I believe, it should be retailing for approximately €600 sim-free, otherwise on 18 month contracts with a certain amount required upfront. As we've seen with previous LG phones, it's not unusual for them to whip out several differently coloured versions later down the track, and when asked about the possibility of the Prada phone dipping its toe into the paintbox, the answer wasn't a definite 'no', you'll be pleased to hear. The general consensus was that once LG monitored the sales of the initial black version, they may consider releasing some colours "at the end of the year". I put in my two-pence worth and requested a silver one, fingers crossed.

Unfortunately I didn't get to lay eyes on the all-important packaging, but from what I heard, it's bound to be a crowd pleaser. According to the aforementioned Yvan, "everyone gasps at the packaging", commenting that they've "never seen such nice packaging before". Prada chose the box apparently, and it's all black, made from "nice" paper. Prada are also controlling all the advertising, with previously used models in their handbag (female) and cologne (male) ranges being used again. Being a Milanese fashion house, they're hoping "it'll be a hit in Italy", and that those familiar with the brand will embrace this new business venture with credit card in hand. From what I heard, it sounds like it's already a successful collaboration, as they've already taken more pre-orders for the Prada phone than for the Shine in France, if that's anything to go by.

As mentioned previously, the mobile is not 3G or HSDPA, something I find is most probably the only flaw in the design. According to Yvan, it was discussed, however "Prada liked the thinness of it", so form won over function in this case - sob! When pressed for details about further collaborations with the fashion house, he was close-lipped, but did let slip that LG would certainly be open to any new ideas Prada ever brought to them. A Prada-branded washing machine, perhaps?

Long-term readers of Shiny Shiny might remember a list I created back in January of the top ten mobile phones of 2007 to look forward to, where the Prada phone was listed at a healthy number 6. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you after reading the aforementioned sickly-sweet review of the KE850 that it' been bumped up a fair few places after my hands-on review - iPhone killer, indeed!

LG electronics
Prada

Cisco and Apple finally agree that both can use the iPhone name

In a move that is probably of greater benefit to Apple, Cisco have agreed to drop their iPhone trademark lawsuit, allowing both companies to use the name for their intended purposes.

Both companies agree to drop any pending actions over the trademark, and the joint statement issued also alludes to 'exploring opportunities for interoperability', whatever that might mean. Though some commentators think that CIsco have got a raw deal, if Apple ever wanted to go into VoIP services using the iPhone, they might need to explore that avenue.

The rest of the agreement is confidential, so we'll never officially know whether money was involved, or what other terms and conditions have been put in place.

The best news for Apple and its fans, though, has to be that the name won't have to change. It's iPhone, and that's a fact.

Shiny awards 2007: WAG gadget - that'll be the LG Chocolate phone then

Well England's football team might have had a dismal World Cup, but at least the WAGs did the nation proud by epitomising the qualities that make us superior to every other nation on Earth - namely binge drinking, handbag shopping and hamming it up for the paps.

So to salute that fine squad of young women we institiuted the WAG gadget award. Trouble is there could only be one winner - LG's Chocolate phone. It started in the hands of the very definition of a WAG, before making its way into the handbags of every WAG wannabe and WAG willneverbe. It's got the strokeable touch sensitive controls, the colourful screen, and a free footballer comes with every purchase. Or at least I think that's the latest promotion Carphone Warehouse are running....

Full list of shiny awards winners are here.

Shiny awards 2007: ASBO gadget - Samsung's K5 (with a bit of help from Sony Ericsson's Walkman phones)

On paper putting a powerful speakers in an MP3 player sounds like a great idea.

But just as camera phone makers inadvertently created the fave ASBO past-time of happy slapping, so the Samsung K5 along with the Sony Ericsson Walkman range of phones have been unwittingly responsible for the new phenomenon of ‘Bus Blasting.’

This is when normally peaceful buses are turned into discos on wheels as young tearaways push their K5/Walkman speakers to the max, much to the annoyance of all the other passengers.

So far on north London buses we have witnessed sound offs, fights, heated debates about the merits of white rappers, and, it has to be said, a wonderful loved up vibe on the 1.30am N73 night bus.

Besides as annoying as it might be inflicting your taste of in music on your fellow passengers we suspect that true ASBO collectors prefer Heelys skate shoes, after all those wheels are really handy for quick getaways.

Shiny awards results in full here

Nokia 7373 Special Edition - fashionista phone designed by Giambattista Valli

Nokia has announced a new handset to coincide with Paris Fashion Week - the Nokia 7373 Special Edition, reworked by fashion designer Giambattista Valli.

The Nokia 7373 Special Edition comes in two colours and with a range of Giambattista Valli accessories. The Powder Pink version has a pearl necklace for a strap and a miniature pink skull. The Black Chrome has an onyx-like crystal strap and black skull. And if you're into your fashion, you might appreciate the phones being pre-loaded with images and video footage from the life of the designer. The rest of us might not.

Everything else is as the standard version - 262k QVGA screen, 2 megapixel camera with 8 x digital zoom, Bluetooth, music player and FM radio. it should be on sale in March, priced at 280 Euros without a contract.

Nokia website

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.

Trade in your old mobile phone for Nectar points

Apparently there are 66 million unwanted mobile handsets in the UK, with phones being replaced on average every 18 months. But if you have a Nectar card, you can trade your old handsets in and buy something else. Like a new phone perhaps?

The new scheme is called mobile2points and is in conjunction with Greener Solutions, specialists in mobile phone recycling. You can visit the Nectar website to work out how much your phone will make in points, but as an example, an old Motorola V3 Razr is worth 3,000 Nectar points.

Once you have confirmed the trade-in online, a pre-paid envelope will be sent to you and points will be added to your nectar account in 28 days.

Nectar website

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...

iPhone will raise the bar for "cumbersome" mobile music, says Warner Music chairman

So much for the mobile industry's attempts to persuade everyone to download music to their phones. According to Warner Music Group chairman Edgar Bronfman Jr, it's not working very well.

"It's expensive, it's complicated and it's slow," he told a panel audience at 3GSM this week. "It's amazing we've generated as much revenue as we have given how cumbersome the experience can be." He also pointed out that even buying a ringtone from your operator can often require up to 20 key-presses. The solution? iPhone. Well, kind of.

"Before it's even hit the market it has raised the bar in terms of what users expect with a user interface and what music phones should do," he said. "Now it's up to other mobile phone makers to meet users' expectations. "For those who invent with a similarly inspiring vision, the opportunity is immense."

(via Yahoo News)

3GSM 2007: HTC announces two consumer focused handsets

Susi takes a look at two consumer orientated handsets from HTC. First up is the P3350 sporting an FM radio, microSD slot, MP3 player and BlackBerry Pearl-a-like trackwheel. Then there’s the S710 which sneakily disguises a slide-out QWERTY keyboard beneath its innocent candybar exterior. Both are due out in Q2.

3GSM: our top five phones (LG, Samsung, Motorola and HTC)

Well, there's another hour or so of the majority of the Shiny Massive's (Susi, Ashley and Stu) time here at 3GSM (although Hard Core Stu is staying on for more mobile fun); just time enough for a quick reflection on our own personal Top Five Best Things What We've Seen. There's a noteable absence of certain big players, but we've looked deep into our souls and decided that's just the way it is.

1. LG Prada
Susi was very over-excited to get herhands on the LG Prada phone yesterday, and was not only not disappointed, but positively surprised at just how luxurious it was. The touch screen is a sleek black and white, and navigating it is a doddle. In actual life, I'll be interested to see how easy it is to text, but as an aspirational handset, it's a winner. Check out the video here.

2. Samsung F500
Samsung have brought out a couple of handsets with a screen on each side - one for the phone stuff and one for the media stuff. The F500 is their multimedia device, and boasts a swivelling screen so you can prop it up and indulge in some Brad Pitt on the move. The video is here.

3. Motorola Z8
Motorola had *a lot* of new handsets, and since they were one of the first people we saw, it's proving rather difficult to remember just what they were all about. The RIZR Z8 stuck in my mind though, for its ergonomic design and its rather lovely video playback capabilities. Watch the video here.

4. Samsung F700
It's a small miracle that a phone that we only saw from behind an electrified fence glass has made it into our Top Five, but it just goes to show its class. It's a touchscreening, QWERTY keyboard toting, five megapixel sporting piece of Samsung goodness. Ashley gets all excited on this 'ere video.

5. HTC S710
HTC make a late entry to the list with their new smartphone, the S710. It's slipped in a QWERTY keyboard in, as well as a 2 megapixel camera, WiFi and best of all it's going to run the new Windows Mobile 6 platform, full of IMing goodness. I took a look at it (as well as their new music friendly device) here.

3GSM - Samsung's phone line up - Ultra Edition II, card phones and more

One of the best, although some cynical bloggers would also say one of the worst, things about Samsung is they always launch so many phones. 3GSM has been no different with around a dozen or so new handsets taking their bow. The downside of this is that some times some phones get lost in the rush.

So to keep things simple here’s a quick trawl through the best of the new Samsung breed, along with our comments and, when appropriate, links to videos.

Samsung F700 - In our books this the one to watch for. Samsung has delivered a large touch screen phone (it has a 2.78 inch display) with its own pull out QWERTY keypad for when you need to do some proper work. Other than its screen it has very impressive looking five mega pixel camera, complete with auto focus, a decent looking web browser and the souped up version of HSDPA which in theory can run up to seven Mbps. The only downside is that you’ll have to wait until Q3 before you can get your mitts on one.

Watch video here

Samsung F500 - Now this is clever. It is one of Samsung’s split screen handsets, see also the F300 music phone, which has the phone on one side and a large multimedia ready display on the other. It also has a top that twists enabling the user to set it up as a stand to make watching vids easier. It is also compatible with a range of video formats including, for the first time on mobile apparently, DiVX. It also has plenty of storage on board (410MB) and is HSDPA compatible. Video here.

Samsung F300 - This is also very clever. Its another split phone with one side looking like a Samsung MP3 player from a year or so ago, and the other side housing all the essential phone gubbins such as the key pad. It is also A2DP compatible, so you can listen to music wirelessly via your Bluetooth earphones, and it has an on board FM radio. I am slightly disappointed with the storage (just 100MB which of course can be uprated via a MicroSD card) and the lack of 3G/HSDPA. Video here.

Samsung U100 - Now this is bonkers, it is the size 0 of mobiles and is just 5.9 mm thick. It is also not the most feature filled mobile, but it does had a 3 mega pixel camera, music player, 70MB of storage and a TV out socket. Video here.

Samsung P310 - Yep the card phone is back. The P310 is skinny, comes with its leathery-type carry case and, in our eyes anyhow, is rather cool. Unfortunately it is not as retro-looking as its predecessor the P300 and it is GPRS rather than 3G. Nevertheless with its bonus battery (built into the case) and striking design it is still one of our 3GSM highlights, It goes on sale via Vodafone in a couple of months time.

Samsung U700 - This has biz phone written all over it. It is a stylish slider with HSDPA, a 3 mega pixel camera and decent web browser on board. Like all phones in Samsung’s Ultra Edition II series it is very skinny.

Samsung I-520 - And last, but by no means least, is this Symbian powered smart phone. It is super slim, HSDPA friendly and stacked out with smartphone style facilities. It comes out in April.

HTC to provide BT Fusion devices

HTC have announced that they have signed a deal to provide Windows Mobile 6 devices for their BT Fusion service. The VoIP service allows you to make calls over WiFi when you're in the range of your house, switching to a mobile signal when you fall outside the range, with no break in service.

The first handset to come as a result of this agreement will be the S650, which was introduced in the second half of last year. Windows Mobile 6 enables users to take advantage of Windows Live as well as full HTML emails. It's also significantly faster than previous versions. The full product will be available through BT in the second quarter of the year.

3GSM 2007: Samsung's F500 multimedia phone

It's a bit of a Samsung love-fest here at the moment, as Susi and Ashley are getting hands on with some of the brand's recently announced mobiles. The latest cat out of the bag is this rather sleek F500 multimedia phone, which features a handy swivel function, allowing you to view videos while it's propped up on a table. It can play DivX files, although with the micro SD memory slot, it limits those files to just 2GB. Still, it's a nice piece of kit, one I'd personally love to check out in detail at a later date.

3GSM 2007: Samsung's D840

Susi has made a recent discovery over at 3GSM - could this be an LG Shine killer? Samsung have displayed unfortunate timing by announcing their D840, which, whaddyknow, has a highly reflective mirror finish, slide function, and design which resembles something we know all too well by now.

3GSM 2007: BlackBerry's 8800

Not to be confused with Nokia's 8800, BlackBerry have just announced their new version, the 8800, which apparently contains 'GPS goodness', according to our woman of the hour, Susi, who obviously needs a long nap, judging by this video. Bless. The mobile appears to be a mash-up of the Pearl, and previous model, the 8700g. Expect to see this glued to your nearest businessman's ear shortly.

3GSM 2007: Samsung's U100 Size 0 mobile phone

Ever the comedian, Susi has pronounced this U100 mobile from Samsung as being so thin, it 'verges on taking up minus space'. Wowsers. If this U100 were a woman, she'd be stumbling down the London Fashion Week catwalks in a semi-drunk-coked-up haze right about now.

3GSM 2007: Samsung F300 music phone

Still hovering around the Samsung stand at 3GSM like a hobo 'round The Ivy's garbage cans, Ashley has his mitts firmly clamped on the F300 music phone from Samsung. This hybrid of a mobile phone, and music player on the flip-side is 'quite strokable' according to him, although with the storage capacity of only 2GB, a little disappointing.

Shiny at 3GSM: Samsung's F700 Smartphone

Remember that Samsung F700 smartphone we mentioned last week, with the slide-out qwerty keyboard and 5-megapixel camera? Well, Ashley is a lucky little sod, as he's got within inches of one over in Barcelona for 3GSM. That's right, he got within breathing space of the F700. Try not to fall off your chair next time, readers.

3GSM 2007: Vodafone first to launch BlackBerry 8800

We previewed the new BlackBerry 8800 yesterday, unsure at the time which networks were going to offer new device. Well, now we know at least one - Vodafone.

The BlackBerry 8800 features a full QWERTY keyboard, built-in GPS and BlackBerry Maps, a multi-media player and an expandable memory slot. The high resolution screen uses automatic light sensing technology for easier viewing, while the handset's trackball should speed up navigation. It can also access up to 10 supported personal and corporate email accounts (with support for attachment viewing) and work with most Instant Messaging services.

"The BlackBerry 8800, with its slim design and full QWERTY keyboard will be an absolute must for many of our corporate users," said Kyle Whitehill, director of Vodafone UK's Enterprise Business Unit. "We're pleased to expand the choice of BlackBerry handsets for our customers with the powerful and stylish BlackBerry 8800."

For details of pricing and contracts, visit the Vodafone website.

Vodafone Business

3GSM: Motorola's ergonomic RIZR Z8

Shiny Susi checks out the Motorola RIZR (pronounced ‘riser’) Z8 at 3GSM. HSDPA technology is what everyone is talking about at this year’s show and the RIZR comes equipped. It also has an ergonomically designed sliding system that looks flat and then kind of fits round your face… It’s hard to explain, so watch the video to see it in action:

3GSM 2007: HP announce new iPAQ smartphone

HP have shown off their new iPAQ 500 series Voice Messenger smartphone at 3GSM.

The phone features VoIP, "push" email, voice-to-text recognition, and the Windows Mobile 6.0 operating system. It also has a 1.3 megapixel camera, wi-fi, Bluetooth, USB, and microSD slot. Disappointingly, it doesn't appear to be 3G.

Many of its functions can be controlled by voice commands, and presumably this is a reasoning for losing the QWERTY keyboard. Some will love being able to work via voice, others will probably hate it.

This definitely seems to be aimed at the business user, and doesn't sound as if it has many 'fun' features. It's not the most excitingly-styled phone either, but if it does its intended job well, that's fine.

It's due in the Spring in the US for arund $300-$400, but no news on international availability yet.

More news from 3GSM 2007

3GSM: a first look at the LG Prada phone

We know the specs, we know the hype, but what's it like seeing the Prada phone in the flesh? I took a very brief look at it, which it is now my pleasure to share with you. Overall impressions are that this is not the phone I thought it was - it's better. Designer partnerships have a habit of being a bit gimmicky in the mobile phone world, but Prada seem to have really been involved from the beginning, rather than sticking their logo on at the end. And there really is no sign of a keypad - it's touchscreen in the truest sense of the word.  Yes, it's true, I'm a little bit in love.

3GSM: Sneak peek at the LG Prada

The hotly anticipated iPhone lookalike, the LG Prada, has put in an appearance at 3GSM. It’s stylish, it’s touchscreen, it’s sexy and it’s secured safely away behind a glass panel. Damn. Shiny Susi takes a look:

3GSM: Motorola SLVR L9

The Motorola SLVR has had a bit of makeover and now looks a lot a shinier and sports a 2.0 megapixel camera. There’s a  card slot to support up to 2GB of removable memory and an intriguing thing called a MegaSIM… Shiny Susi talks us through it:

3GSM 2007: Nokia's E61i smartphone

The Nokia E61 got a bit of a makeover, and has now made an appearance in its new guise, as the E61i. It's a bit sleeker, a bit shinier, and a bit better. It even has a camera. Ashley takes a look.

3GSM 2007: Motorola Q9

Another launch from Motorola, who have without a doubt been the most active of the big boys here at 3GSM. This one is the Q9, which offers a whole host of serious business functions, all packed into a none-to-ugly design.

3GSM 2007: Motorola unveils MOTOSLVR L9 multimedia handset

The only new handset launched by Motorola at 3GSM 2007 without HSDPA connectivity is the MOTOSLVR L9 - but it's still got plenty of useful features on-board to make it worthy of a look.

The MOTOSLVR L9 is a GPRS/EDGE handset with an integrated music player, FM radio and a stylish design with mirror-reflective finish. The FM radio supports RDS for station information on the go, while Bluetooth lets you play your music player tunes wirelessly. Also featured is a 2 megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom, video recording with 4x zoom and full-screen landscape playback.

The L9 also uses Motorola's new CrystalTalk technology, making it easy to hold conversations in noisy environments. There's 20MB internal memory, with a microSD slot to boost further.

The MOTOSLVR L9 is expected to be available in Q2 2007. No news on pricing as yet.

Motorola website

More from 3GSM 2007

3GSM 2007: Nokia 3110 classic - back to basics handset

Another new handset from Nokia, this time the Nokia 3110 classic, an everyday handset covering all the basics.

According to Nokia, the tri-band phone with 2.2-inch colour display is built for reliability, including details such as a thicker plastic casing and a larger antenna. That doesn't mean it is completely without features, it's just not particularly cutting-edge. What you do get is a 1.3 megapixel camera, music player, FM stereo radio, USB and Bluetooth connectivity.

If reliability is your main concern when buying a mobile phone, you can pick up the 3110 classic in the second quarter of 2007, priced in the budget bracket.

Nokia website

More from 3GSM 2007

3GSM 2007: RIM launches BlackBerry 8800 with BlackBerry Maps

Research in Motion has launched the BlackBerry 8800 - the first of the company's full QWERTY keyboard devices to feature a trackball design based on the Pearl handset.

The 8800 is a quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE device with Bluetooth 2.0 and a 320 x 240 display with "vibrant colour" - good enough to view detailed directions on the bundled BlackBerry Maps application, a handy tool that ties in with other applications - find someone in your address book and Maps will show you how to get to them.

Other features include a music player (AAC/MP3) and video player, with files stored on microSD card (just 64MB of on-board memory). There's also a speakerphone with built-in noise-cancellation technology, voice-activated dialling and a talk time of up to five hours.

Expect it on the shelves this month, pricing and networks to be confirmed.

RIM website

Via The Register

More from 3GSM 2007

3GSM 2007: Motorola adds to Q range with q9 and gsm smartphones

Motorola has added two new models to its Q range of smartphones - the q9 and gsm handsets, for HSDPA and GSM networks respectively.

The Q q9 operates on the new Microsoft Windows Mobile 6 platform, along with Motorola's Good Mobile Messaging technology, promising "easy and intuitive" personal and corporate email, calendar access and content management wherever you are. It's slim at just 11.8mm thick and features a 2 megapixel camera with digital zoom, video capture and playback at 30fps, music player, USB and Bluetooth connectivity, up to 2GB of storage via microSD card and of course, HSDPA connectivity for fast data transfers, streaming media and web browsing.

The MOTO Q gsm is a quad-band GPRS/EDGE device, again using Microsoft Windows Mobile 6 and featuring a soft-touch metal casing, electro-luminescent keys, full colour screen, ergonomically optimised QWERTY keyboard and a side thumb wheel. There's also a 1.3 megapixel camera, video clip capture and playback, music player, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, dual stereo speakers and mini-SD removable memory card slot.

Both MOTO Q q9 and MOTO Q gsm are also fully customisable, with over 300 applications available. The MOTO Q q9 will be available in Q2 2007, with the MOTO Q gsm available in the second half of 2007.

Find out more

More from 3GSM 2007

3GSM 2007: Motorola's MOTORIZR Z8 - "fit-to-face" entertainment slider phone

Motorola has launched the MOTORIZR Z8, described as a "fit-to-face" slider and optimised for the entertainment market.

The handset is Motorola's first "kick slider", a new design concept that matches the phone to the contours of your face. On the technical side, there's HSDPA connectivity and 16 million colour 35x50mm QVGA full screen display, with video playback speeds of up to 30 frames per second.

And it's Sky-friendly. Motorola's partnership with Sky will allow users to access Sky's mobile content services - on-demand clips plus to Sky's range of live mobile TV services via Sky's 'Anytime' application. In addition to its 90MB of internal memory, the device also supports expandable memory up to 4GB using MicroSD. There's also stereo Bluetooth, a built-in music player, a 2MP digital camera with dedicated side camera key and MPEG-4 video recording.

The MOTORIZR Z8 will be available from April 2007.

Find out more

More from 3GSM 2007

Shiny product launch sneak preview - Samsung's Lily phone

Shiny Katie is a wonderful human being, who is far too witty and entertaining for her own good. She does however have one tiny flaw - she has a real thing about 'girl phones.' And by girl phones I mean the kind of low-end stuff makers bash out in a bid to nab women (and some men) who don't understand that a mobi is measured not by its cuteness, but by how loud its speakers go when playing back MP3 tunes.*

Exhibit A is Katie going all weak at the knees when handling Samsung's latest Lily phone. Sure it looks delightful, but it only has a VGA camera for goodness sake, and where's the integrated GPS? And what about its HSDPA modem facility? Aah well. Each to their own, I spose. * Preferably when sitting on the back of a bus

Samsung F700, their latest Ultra mobile phone

Samsung have announced a new addition to their Ultra range of mobile phones, with the Ultra Smart F700. The phone, which they're calling 'revolutionary' (doesn't every manufacturer?), will be showcased at next week's 3GSM World Congress, so we're sure to hear more about it, and get our mitts on it then.

The phone features a full touch screen user interface on its 2.78 inch colour display (440x240 pixel resolution), has a slide-out full QWERTY keypad, and VibeTonz technology that provides tactile feedback to the user.

They've utilised a 'drag and drop' interface allowing easier menu navigation, music play list control, and other functions. Is this sounding like the iPhone to you? Touch screens certainly seem to be the 'in thing' right now; I wonder how many more manufacturers will beat Apple to it...

Anyway, back to the Samsung. The Ultra Smart F700 features HSDPA giving a maximum data transfer speed of 7.2Mbps. This means a 4MB song could be downloaded in around 4 seconds.

The phone has a full HTML web browser, a whopping 5-megapixel camera with auto focus, Bluetooth, WAP, Java, and USB. It features microSD expansion, and measures up at 104 x 50 x 16.4mm.

No exact word on availability yet, and price will depend on who you get it with. Looks very nice though - anyone want one?

LG's Shine handset officially launches in the UK

As we predicted last month, LG has just launched its Shine handset in the UK - and you can head off to your local dealer and pick one up straight away.

Shine (also known as the KE970) is the latest handset in LG's premium Black Label series. And the premium aspect is very much about the looks - a full-metal bodied (and very thin) slider phone. Saying that, the specification isn't bad either. Shine features a 2.2-inch reflective screen - slide it open for the brushed metal keyboard with the keys that (according to LG) are "bathed in a cool blue light".

The GPRS/EDGE handset also has a Schneider Kreuznach 2 megapixel camera with auto focus, music player with MP3, WAV and ACC++ compatibility, Bluetooth and USB connectivity plus a microSD slot to expand the memory.

It's shifted more than 200,000 units in Korea since its November launch - and it will probably shift a good number in the UK too. Priced from free dependent on your contract.

LG website

LG launches KE800 Chocolate Platinum - same looks with extra functionality

With all the attention on Sony's new handsets, we almost missed the official launch of the LG Chocolate Platinum, the latest addition to the Chocolate Phone range.

The tri-band/EDGE LG KE800 (to give it the official name) is a luxury version of the original, keeping the glowing red touch keypad and adding the "Chocolate" name plus a couple of extra features. It now has an SD card memory slot, an upgraded 2 megapixel camera with auto focus, night mode and multi burst, an FM radio and twice as much on-board memory as the original Chocolate handset (256MB rather than 128MB).

It also has an upgraded class-leading MP3, MPEG4 and AAC music and video player and stereo Bluetooth functionality, if you want to play your music via a wireless Bluetooth headset. The music player also features a 5-band graphic equaliser, along with voice and keyword search for finding your favourite tunes.

No news on a shelf date - we'll keep you posted.

LG website

Samsung launch Ultra Edition D840 mobile phone

Samsung have announced their new Ultra Edition D840 mobile phone, the 'sexy and stylish older brother' of the Samsung D900.

Crafted from featherweight materials including magnesium and fibreglass-infused plastic, the phone has metallic looks and enhanced durability in a lightweight shell, and is just 11.9mm slim.

Its slider design features a 2.12" 262k colour TFT screen with 240x320 pixel resolution, has a 2 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom and built-in flash, and the ability to record up to 1 hour of video.

The extra large screen offers enough space to view 12 lines of text together and is fully capable of displaying text/photo/video caller ID, plus any multimedia stored on the phone.

There's a multi-format music player with microSD expandable memory, plus a PIM, vCard, and vCalendar, document viewer, and TV output. Connections wise, there's Bluetooth and USB.

It will be available this month from Vodafone, Orange, and the Carphone Warehouse. Pricing will vary depending upon contract.

Samsung Mobile

Sony Ericsson launches four entry-level handsets - K200, K220, J120 and J110

Sony Ericsson has four new candy bar handsets on the market, aimed very much at those who just want the basics for a budget price - the K200, K220, J120 and J110.

The K200 is a camera phone - but with a very basic VGA camera. The camera and the on-board photo album are accessible with just one click, with enough included memory to store around 40 snaps. There's one-touch access for your phone book (which can store up to 300 contacts) and a talk time of 8 hours. It should be available in the second quarter of 2007 in either Metallic Black or Light Champagne. The K220 is similar, but adds an integrated FM radio with RDS and 10 pre-set stations. You can also use it as a radio alarm clock. Again available in the second quarter, this time in a choice of Frost White or Ocean Blue.

The J110 is a 'back to basics' phone with large, legible keys and one-click access to commonly used features such as the text message menu, ring volume and alarm clock. And as it doesn't have much in the way of features, that means a longer talk time of 9 hours. The J110 will be available from the second quarter of 2007 in Soft Cream, Smooth Grey or Precious Purple. The J120 follows a similar specification, but adds an FM Radio, a stereo headset and loudspeaker. In Night Black, it's also available in the second quarter.

Sony Ericsson website

Asus shows off Aura concept mobile phone

It seems like the introduction of Apple's iPhone and to a lesser extent, LG's Prada phone has seen a return to the drawing board for mobile phone designers. And over at Asus, that drawing board has produced the Asus Aura handset.

The phone, produced by Hungarian design company Egy Studio, is not unlike Apple's handset - but does add a few extra whistles and bells. That includes movable navigation buttons and a sliding QWERTY keyboard, but maintaining a very thin device - just 6mm thick.

Other features include a 3.9-inch touchscreen display, 2 megapixel camera, HSDPA connectivity, along with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth plus a microSD memory slot.

That's all very well - but can they turn all that into a retail handset? We'll keep you posted.

Asus website

Via Unwired View

Microsoft Zune phone coming by end of 2007?

(Picture from CrunchGear)

CrunchGear broke the story yesterday and now it's spreading around the Net like wildfire: the very real possiblity (according to sources) that Microsoft is working on a Zune mobile phone that could be ready by the end of the year.

CG's sources suggest that it'll be a smartphone that works with the Zune marketplace and can sync with the Xbox 360. It will run an interface similar to that of Zune, rather than Windows Mobile, which makes sense if it's building on the Zune's capabilities.

CG's sources suggest that it'll be a smartphone that works with the Zune marketplace and can sync with the Xbox 360. It will run an interface similar to that of Zune, rather than Windows Mobile, which makes sense if it's building on the Zune's capabilities.

The rationale behind allowing it to sync with Xbox 360s? Market penetration, and the ability to stream movies over the net via the Xbox and get them onto the phone.

As with all rumours and whisperings, there's not much more to go on than that at present, but I'm sure we'll be hearing much more about it over the coming months.

What's interesting is that neither Apple nor Microsoft have their own mobile phone on the market, so it could be argued that the playing field could be more level when it comes to how they compete with one another. They'll both be playing catch up to the major mobile players though, and it'll be interesting to see how they both attack the market.

What Apple have is a loyal following, and a huge hold on the MP3 player market - something Microsoft can't yet say about their Zune. If both companies choose to play on the strengths of their respective media players, Apple has the upper hand.

Microsoft certainly have the clout and the cash to bring something to market in this time frame, particularly if there's been R&D going on behind closed doors. It'll be a very busy year for them, though, with lots of shiny new offerings: Vista, Office, Zune, Zune phone.

How much will Ballmer shout and jump about in 2007?

Rumour: Apple iPhone could be released early?

Think Secret speculates on rumours that the iPhone may be available in the US earlier than the announced June date. The tipsters have suggested that a release date as early as April might be possible. It certainly wouldn't be the first time Apple has delivered products earlier than announced - take the switch of Macs from PowerPC to Intel processors, for one.

And in related 'news', My!Phone thinks they've traced an Apple UK employee willing to divulge a UK release date of October 2007.

It could all be totally made up, mind you, but then that's the best bit about Apple rumours, isn't it?

Related stories: iPhone is not a smartphone, say analysts | Microsoft's CEO laughs at the iPhone, makes bold Zune claims | Can Google's Switch mobile compete with Apple's iPhone?

Sagem launches my501x and my401c handsets with T-Mobile

A new year and a selection of new handsets from Sagem, the first of which are the my501x and my401 - both available at a budget price point from T-Mobile.

The my401c is a clamshell tri-band handset that's WAP-enabled and comes with all the basics, including a music player (MP3 format), VGA camera and Bluetooth. Weighing in at under 85g, it's available in black and silver or silver and pink, priced at £49.99.

The my501x is a tri-band phone with a slightly improved specification - MP3 player, video player, 1.3 megapixel camera and Bluetooth. Only available in white, it retails for £59.99.

T-Mobile website

New survey suggests UK users are technology-shy

A new survey from PayPal (quite what the significance is I'm not sure) suggests that Brits wish they could turn their back on modern technology because it's become too complicated.

One in three people can't set their defunct VCR, and 77% haven't a hope of getting their DVD recorder to work.

61% of UK mobile phone users don't use more than voice, text, alarm clock, and camera on their phone, whilst 40% don't even realise there is a camera on their phone.

Said Neil Edwards from PayPal: "It's a worrying sign for Britain that so many of us are baffled and therefore turned off by technology. There's no hiding from technology so burying your head in the sand won't make it go away. We all must embrace technology or risk becoming the tech illiterates of the world."

I expect it depends who you ask, though, as there are plenty of surveys around that suggests us Brits are embracing and pioneering technology in our everyday lives.

(Via Mad4MobilePhones)

Related stories: Dual SIM mobile phone could make dual tariff use less of a pain | Germany proposes mobile roaming price caps | Yell launches new mobile search service

Motorola's Ferrari-themed handset - MotoRAZR MAXX V6 Ferrari Challenge

If the cost of Vertu's Racetrack Legends handsets was a bit rich for your tastes, there's another motor racing-themed phone on the market - the MotoRAZR MAXX V6 Ferrari Challenge.

The Ferrari aspect isn't much more than the outer branding and the red leather carrying case, plus a selection of Ferrari bits and pieces pre-loaded, including wallpapers of the F430 engine, Ferrari bodywork and a collection of 30 action shots in the photo album. And as for the handset, that's got HSDPA connectivity, music player, 2MP camera, VGA video camera, a microSD slot for storage and Bluetooth.

And one last thing - you get a Ferrari engine noise when you power the thing up. Nice touch. You can buy one now for £300.

Full specification at the Ferrari Store

Via Stuff

Dual SIM mobile phone could make dual tariff use less of a pain

Unless you like lugging round two handsets, or fiddling with your mobile SIM cards, there's not really an easy way to manage two mobile phone contracts.

Now Chinese company Doubao has released what it claims is the first dual-SIM mobile phone with full functionality. It means you can squeeze the best bits out of two different tariffs and forget the rest.

The 728 phone, on which it appears, also features a 2.2in touch screen with support for handwriting recognition, a microSD slot, and a VGA camera. As Trusted Reviews say, it's not a spectacular phone. What's important is that it's the first in its class.

Whilst they don't reckon it'll make it much further west, the concept could be an attractive one for other manufacturers. Whether the operators will be as happy? Probably not.

Related stories: Germany proposes mobile roaming price caps | Yell launches new mobile search service | One Minute Video Review: Samsung Z560 mobile phone

Verizon rejected Apple's iPhone advances two years ago

Various reports suggest that about two years ago, Verizon rejected a deal from Apple to market the coming iPhone.

They weren't against the iPhone itself, merely the terms of the agreement that Apple laid out, which are said to have included a share of the monthly contract fee, a say over how and where the iPhone could be sold, and a control over the relationship with iPhone customers.

What's interesting, other than the fact that Verizon may well have missed their chance now that Cingular have the exclusive rights to market the iPhone in the US, is that Apple were talking to operators two years ago.

No wonder iPhone rumours have been around for so long. Of course, a phone without a provider isn't great, but I wonder why Apple didn't choose to develop an unlocked mobile phone. They could still control the official channels where the phone was sold, plus develop a relationship with iPhone owners.

Or maybe Verizon couldn't stomach marketing such an expensive phone. Time will tell whether they end up kicking themselves for missing out on a hit Apple product.

(Via TechWhack)

Related stories: iPhone is not a smartphone, say analysts | Can Google's Switch mobile compete with Apple's iPhone? | Apple's decision to 'lock down' iPhone to developers a wise security move

iPhone is not a smartphone, say analysts

Whilst the coming iPhone may be an impressive, if expensive, iPod-capable mobile phone, it's not a smartphone - no matter what Steve Jobs says. That's according to analysts at ABI Research.

ABI Research's definition of a smartphone is a cellular handset using an open, commercial operating system that supports third-party applications.

The main reason for this conclusion is that the iPhone is locked down to developers. Though it will sport a version of OS X, it almost certainly won't be freely opened up to third-party software developers, and that's the problem.

The iPhone is a 'feature phone', not a smartphone: "Feature phones have third-party applications too, but these are relatively weak and limited applications that work with the middleware such as Java and Brew," said Philip Solis, principal mobile broadband analyst.

Stuart Carlaw, wireless research director, added, "Apple must get the phone engineering part of the equation right, and it is difficult to see how it will accomplish this with no track record in the industry."

Does it matter? It's only one opinion, and there are still sure to be plenty of people who want to get their hands on the iPhone.

Related stories: Apple iPhone: The full specifications | Nokia responds to Apple iPhone - 'it is a surprise that the iPhone is not 3G' | Microsoft's CEO laughs at the iPhone, makes bold Zune claims

Shiny Video Review: SideKick 3

Paris Hilton had one. Nicole Richie had one. Lindsay Lohan had one. No, not a high-flying celebutard lifestyle filled with personal assistants, nights out at Hyde, and a seven-figure bank balance. A SideKick! And now you can decide if the SideKick 3 is up your street, as we have the honour of presenting you with a video review.

Use a hand-held mobile in the car - get points on your licence

It's been an offence for around three years to use a hand-held mobile phone whilst driving in the UK, but the threat of a fine doesn't seem to have put people off. However, the threat of three points on your driving licence might make a difference.

New penalties for using a mobile in the car will come into force from February 27th. As well as the points, fines will be doubled to £60. According to Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander: "It's quite simple - it's impossible to do two things at once and do them well."

New laws against using mobile phones in cars came into force in 2003. Research shows that 92 per cent of people support the law - but 21 per cent of those surveyed have admitted to breaking it. Home Office figures for 2004 show that nearly 74,000 fixed-penalty notices were issued in England and Wales for illegal use of a mobile phone while driving. However, a Liberal Democrat study last year suggested this meant only 1.1 per cent of those who admitted to the offence were being caught.

Via BBC

Hands-free in the car:
Pioneer DEH-P75BT Bluetooth car stereo system
Parrot's car stereo with Bluetooth

Top 10 mobile phones of 2007 we can't wait for

Everyone's been talking about it the last few weeks - the blogs haven't buzzed this much since the Lonelygirl15 scandal; the chippies are wrapping pieces of cod in newspapers' sycophantic gushings about it, heck, even your own Aunt has asked you how integrated the OS X will be in it. Yep, we're talking 'bout the iPhone. However, in the shadow of Steve Jobs's phallic phone, many worthy mobiles have been cast aside - until now. Take a look under the jump for Tech Digest's list of the Top 10 Mobile Phones Of 2007 We Can't Wait For. And, err, admittedly the iPhone is on the list, not just to sate the Apple fans' thirst for More, More, More Pictures of The Great Shiny Object, but because it's actually a pretty great phone once you ignore all the buzz. Read on, fellow mobile geeks!

1.) LG Shine. A favourite amongst us Tech Digestians, and not for the obvious reasons, this Black Label mobile (our beloved Chocolate is also part of this range) features a 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, MP3 playback, 1GB of onboard storage space, and is also able to set user-recorded video as the phone's wallpaper. Pure bliss on a stick. Available in the UK 7th February, expect our full review shortly.

2.) Sidekick 3. Already available in the States, this baby was set to descend on Blighty back in December, but has been pushed back to late January. Featuring all the goodies we're used to in Paris and Nicole's phone du jour, it's got email, a 1.3 megapixel camera, MP3 player, miniSD slot, and T Mobile's Web'n Walk feature. Available late January 2007 in the UK, expect our full review shortly.

3.) Nokia N93i. The hugely-antipicated update to the N93, it possesses MPEG-4 VGA video capture at up to 30 frames per second, a 3.2 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, 3x optical zoom, 1 GB miniSD card (hurrah!), Wi-Fi, and an MP3 player. Thankfully, it's been on a diet, and is much slimmer than its predecessor. Available in 2007's first quarter.

4.) Apple iPhone. You knew it was going to be included in the top 5, but are you surprised it's not at number 1? As you no doubt know, it will have a 3.5 inch diagonal touch screen, 2 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, and run Apple's Mac OS X system. There'll be two versions available, a 4GB, and 8GB, handy for all those tunes you're likely to store. Available in UK Winter 2007, if that.

 

5.) LG enV. Another phone which has been available in the US since November, we're including this on our list due to its smartphone capabilities - it's got a full qwerty keyboard, 2 megapixel camera, integrated GPS, wireless synchronisation for emailing purposes, and of course, Bluetooth. Check out our video of it at CES. No word on UK availability, but we guess around Spring 2007.

6.) LG KE850 Prada. The recently announced mobile from LG, made in conjunction with the fashion house Prada, will pip the iPhone to the post to being the world's first completely touch screen mobile. It's got a 3 inch display, with a 2 megapixel camera, LED flash, Bluetooth, and a player supporting MPEG 4. Due February 2007 in the UK.

7.) Sony Ericsson SO903iTV Bravia. Based on Bravia technology (you remember those telly ads with the bouncing balls, right?) the SO903iTV boasts a 3 inch screen, with a slide function for horizontal viewing. It's got a 2 megapixel camera, and microSD card slot for storing those all-important pics of your friend downing three Sambuca shots in a row. Available in Japan in June, let's hope it launches here sometime this year.

8.) Samsung Ultra Edition 12.9. Formerly known as the D900, this new model is only 12.9 mm thin, with a 3 megapixel camera, 2.1 inch screen, quad-band, and not only that, claims it's the world's slimmest slider phone with a 3 megapixel camera. Due out sometime late 2007.

9.) Google's Switch. Ok, so it hasn't been announced yet, but with shady photos cropping up all over blogs, and stories about it being made by Samsung, yet branded as Google, we will hold our breath for a 2007 launch UK-side. It's rumoured to have GPS with Google Maps based navigation features, a contact application using Gmail, Google Talk, and traditional messaging, and absolutely no internal memory, as everything will be served up over the network. No word on availability, as it's still just a rumour, d'oh!

10.) Samsung SCH-W559. It's the first touchscreen mobile to use Immersion's VibeTonz, a technology which provides tactile feedback for touchscreen interactions. This is good news, as there isn't a traditional keypad on the mobile, it's an LCD display, and with the VibeTonz feature, it ensures your touches will feel real, like actual keys. Not only that, it's got handwriting recognition, Bluetooth, a 1.3 megapixel camera, and audio and video playback. No word on availability, but it's sure to launch in 2007.

Mobile phones to be banned from British Open golf tournament

Following complaints from players during the 2006 British Open in Hoylake, organisers of this year's event at Carnoustie will be banned from taking their mobile phones on to the course.

Director of Championships for the Royal & Ancient organisers said, "We have so far resisted the call to ban mobile phones on the grounds that it may be an inconvenience to the public. However, after receiving complaints referring to the numbers that were in use as play was proceeding, we feel there is no other reasonable option than a complete ban."

Security checks will be carried out on spectators upon entry. Presumably the public aren't trusted to keep their mobile phones switched off, so they have to be banned completely.

Related stories: Solar-powered golf bag | USB golf simulator | Wi-Fi hits the golf course

Thief returns stolen mobile phone and belongings after receiving 21 text messages from owner

In China, a young thief returned the belongings of a Chinese teacher he had stolen from after she sent him 21 text messages asking for the items to be returned.

Pan Aiying, a Chinese teacher at Wutou Middle School in Qihe county, had a bag containing her mobile phone, bank cards, and 4,900 yuan (about £350), snatched by a motorcycle rider.

She tried to call her stolen phone, but was disconnected. Before calling the police, she sent a text message to the phone: "Hey buddy. I'm Pan Aiying, a teacher from Wutou Middle School. You must be going through a difficult time. If so, I will not blame you"

And a second: "Keep the 4,900 yuan if you really need it, but please return the other things to me. You are still young. To error is human. Correcting your mistake is more important than anything,"

Another 19 messages were sent, all without reply. She gave up, planning to call the police the next morning. However, on her way out the next day, she found a parcel containing her bag, phone, cards, and money, all intact.

"Dear Pan: I'm sorry. I made a mistake. Please forgive me. You are so tolerant even though I stole from you. I'll correct my ways and be an upright person,"

A rare and touching story.

(Via News.cn)

Samsung's super-slim Ultra Edition 6.9, 9.9 and 12.9 mobiles

Exactly how thin are mobile phones going to go? It's like watching all those Hollywood starlets waste away – at some point, the public will put their foot down and say 'ENOUGH!'. But not yet. Witness Samsung's new Ultra Edition 6.9, which is a 6.9mm-thick candybar handset.

It's a 2.5G phone with a two-megapixel camera, 1.9-inch screen, Bluetooth, 80MB of internal memory and music/video playing capabilities. It's teeny-tiny! Although heaven help you if you stick it in your back pocket then forget to take it out before sitting down. The 6.9 is joined by two other new Ultra Edition handsets: the 9.9 and 12.9.

The UE 9.9 is a clamshell phone, which has near enough the same features as the 6.9, except with a MicroSD memory card slot, and a flash for the camera. It also boasts a TV-out port, making it ideal for showing your home-shot clips on bigger screens. And yes, it is 9.9mm thick. Finally, the UE 12.9 (you can figure its thickness out for yourself, surely) is quad-band (the other two are tri-band), and has a three-megapixel camera, a 2.1-inch screen, Bluetooth including A2DP stereo audio support, and touts itself as the world's slimmest slider phone with a three-megapixel cam. Which frankly is a bit cheeky as claims go. All three handsets should be out later this year, and eagle-eyed readers may have spotted that they're renamed versions of the X820, D830 and D900 Samsung phones. (via Engadget)

Sony Ericsson launches SO903iTV Bravia TV phone

We mentioned last week about the lack of excitement (and sales) for Virgin's Lobster mobile TV handset. Well, here's how it should be done - the Sony Ericsson SO903iTV Bravia TV phone.

In a very bold shade of red, the SO903iTV features a display based on Bravia technology. The screen is 3-inch, with a slide function for horizontal viewing. It also features time-shift video recording, a 2 megapixel camera and microSD card slot for storing your data.

It's scheduled for a June launch, but here's the bad news - so far it is Japan only, via DoCoMo. But if it goes down well over there, who knows?

Sony Ericsson website

Via Cnet Asia

Microsoft's CEO laughs at the iPhone, makes bold Zune claims

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's erratic CEO, laughed at Apple's iPhone during a recent TV interview with CNBC, mainly because of the price. He then claimed that the Zune claimed 20-25% of the high end music player market.

He wasn't exactly convincing, though:

""I don't know, but I think most estimates would say we took about 20-25 per cent of the high end of the market. We weren't down at some of the lower price points, but for devices $249 and over we took, you know, let's say about 20 per cent of the market."

Tell it like it is, Steve. Or like you think it possibly might be.

It's an interesting figure, given other reports that suggest otherwise.

If you fancy watching it, it's miraculously found its way onto YouTube:

Hitachi W51H hi-res mobile phone

Hitachi don't sell their mobile phones here in the UK, but their latest model, the W51H, makes me wish they did. It's just been announced in Japan, and is a clamshell phone with a monster 2.9-inch display with 480x800-pixel resolution. That's dribbleworthy in itself.

The phone also has a fingerprint-scanner to stop people nicking your sensitive data (i.e. saucy text messages), a two-megapixel camera with LED flash, 30MB of internal memory, and voice-activated GPS that lets you speak your destination, with the software then figuring out how to get you there.

It's only available on Japanese operator KDDI at the moment, and given Hitachi's regional focus when it comes to phones, don't hold your breath for a UK release.

(via Newlaunches)

Can Google's Switch mobile compete with Apple's iPhone?

A slightly fatuous question perhaps, given that Google Switch is still a rumour, albeit one with a freshly-minted set of allegedly-leaked photos. According to Engadget, Switch will be a touch-screen device made by Samsung, but branded as Google.

It'll have built-in GPS, allowing Google Maps based navigation features, with a contact application that's a cross between Gmail, Google Talk and more traditional text messaging. Oh, and there won't be any internal memory: everything will be served up over the network. Hopefully that'll be 3G then, unlike the iPhone...

Whether this is it or not, there's little doubt that a Google-branded mobile phone will appear at some point. The company has ramped up its mobile activities in the last year, albeit focusing on signing deals with operators like 3, Vodafone and T-Mobile.

Now that the iPhone has crossed the line from myth to real product, perhaps we can spend the next 18 months dreaming up cool ideas for the GooglePhone. Like built-in WiMAX, to make use of all those city-wide networks that (we're told) will spring up in the next few years.

Or a direct interface to Google-owned YouTube, letting you watch vids but also upload the ones you've shot using the phone. It would have a camera, right? Or a dynamic version of Google Earth that lets you swoop over the Himalayas and send text messages to the Yetis. Okay, maybe that last one's a bit ambitious. But I can dream... For now, feast your eyes on the screenshots via the link below.

(via Engadget)

Apple's decision to 'lock down' iPhone to developers a wise security move

A researcher at Symantec has said that Apple's decision (based on what Steve Jobs said) to 'lock down' the forthcoming iPhone is a smart move and will help to keep them secure.

"If the iPhone remains a closed device, with not even Java applications or widgets let alone native code, the risk of infection becomes orders of magnitude lower," said Eric Chien on the company's Security Response Weblog.

Steve Jobs had previously told reporters, "These are devices that need to work. And you can't do that if you load any software on them. It doesn't mean we have to write it all, but it means it has to be more of a controlled environment."

Chien expects that malicious software will find its way on to the iPhone, but not in such vast amounts as on other mobile devices. Limiting access to the operating system gives hackers less opportunity to find vulnerabilities.

Security or not, however, this decision is sure to disappoint many OS X fans who were hoping to port over some of their desktop applications to their shiny new iPhone.

Disgusting fact: Average mobile phone contains more bacteria than toilet seat

I suppose it depends on how clean you keep your toilet seat, but new research shows that the average mobile phone contains more bacteria than the trusty throne.

Dial-a-Phone conducted this vital research, taking swabs from everyday objects and testing them for bacteria.

Seems that the ubiquitous mobile has more bacteria on it that the average door handle, keyboard, shoe sole, or toilet seat.

Of course, the phone also ends up touching more parts of the human body than those other objects.

"The phones contained more skin bacteria than the any other object; this could be due to the fact that this type of bacteria increases in high temperatures and our phones are perfect for breeding these germs as they're kept warm and cozy in our pockets, handbags and brief cases. These bacteria are toxic to humans, and can cause infections if they have the opportunity to enter the body," commented Joanne Verran, Professor of Microbiology at Manchester Metropolitan University.

There's a simple solution, though. Clean your phone thoroughly with an antibacterial wipe more than once a year. Easy!

Related stories: Clean your screen with Alpine Innovations Mini Spudz | Lockup Cup stops people from sharing your coffee | Getting dirty at the office: Content of your PC keyboard could make you ill

LG's KE850 Prada phone gets official unveiling - and imminent European launch

Can't wait for the iPhone to arrive? Well, you can get your hands on another very fashionable handset much sooner when the LG KE850 Prada phone arrives in Europe next month.

Like the iPhone (but beating it to market), the KE850, sized at just 98.8 × 54 × 12mm, is a touchscreen-only mobile phone, in this case using a 3-inch display with 240x400 resolution. The display is a minimalist white on black - no iPhone-style coloured icons here.

In terms of specifications, the KE850 is tri-band, EDGE compatible and features a 2 megapixel camera with Schneider-Kreuznach lens and LED flash, Bluetooth 2.0, an MPEG4 video player and an audio player with MP3/ACC/ACC+/WMA/RA support. There's also a document viewer supporting Microsoft's PPT, DOC, XLS formats, plus PDF and TXT. Memory is via SD card - none built-in I'm afraid.

According to LG, the phone will hit mobile stores and Prada shops in Europe from the end of February. The price quoted is 600 Euros - but we'll probably have a better idea of that and which networks are opting for the handset as that Euro launch date approaches.

LG website

Via Engadget

Apple aiming for 10 million iPhone sales in 2008

So, Apple announced its 'fiscal first quarter' results yesterday for the last three months of 2006. The key news was that the company shifted over 21 million iPods, which is 50% up on the same period in 2005. In the US, this made up 72% of the digital music player market, while Apple reckons it now accounts for more than 85% of the legal music downloads.

However, the company also talked iPhone, saying it wants to sell 10 million of the handsets during 2008, and said that the reason the iPhone isn't 3G is because 2.5G networks are more widespread in the US than 3G. On behalf of all Europeans who are keen to get an iPhone, cheers for that Apple.

However, the company did say it will "be where the technology is over time", which cynics may suggest means a revamped 3G version a few months after millions of people have splashed out on the first-generation version.

Oh, and Apple had stern words for Cisco, which is taking it to court over the iPhone trademark. "We think the Cisco trademark is silly. We believe Cisco's US trademark registration is tenuous at best." Oof!

Other stats from the results and subsequent conference call: Apple sold over 1.6 million Macs in the last three months of 2006, thanks to strong sales of laptops, particularly the MacBook Pro. Apparently Apple was pleasantly surprised by the 1.6 million figure, which was way above its own expectations.

Finally, Apple described its upcoming Apple TV product as the DVD player of the 21st century, and said there are now over 4 million songs, 350 TV shows and 250 films on the iTunes Store. That's in the US, obviously. No news on when they'll finally roll out the telly and movies here in Europe.

(via AppleInsider)

GMEA: it's a mobile phone with a sliding-puzzle keypad

God bless designers. If they weren't coming up with crazy concepts for new gadgets, the world would be a much less fun place.

Meet GMEA, which its creator describes as "the first ever real game phone". Does that mean 3D graphics, an attached DualShock joypad, and a slot for Nintendo DS cartridges? Sadly not.

Instead, it's got a keypad that mimics a sliding puzzle! Bear with me on this, it's genius. Really. You can move them around to arrange them however you like, although the right positions are marked underneath, so you can get them back into place if necessary.

It's the brainchild of Russian designer Dima Komissarov: click on the link below to see a moving demo, then ring up Nokia and DEMAND they incorporate this into their next handset. Or not, as you prefer.

GMEA concept mobile

DoCoMo to bring touchscreen clamshell phone to market

Japan's DoCoMo has unveiled a clamshell mobile phone featuring two touch-sensitive screens and able to be controlled with either a stylus or finger.

Characters are input by writing on the screen, or a virtual keypad can be called up to dial a number.

DoCoMo said that users would be able to send handwritten notes and pictures to other phones.

The D800iDS, manufactured by Mitsubishi, features similarities with the Nintendo DS game console, though the operator said that the DS stood for "direct and smooth".

Touch screen phones, smartphones and PDAs weren't new when Apple announced their iPhone, and you can bet this phone, due on sale in Japan in February, certainly won't be the last.

One thing the iPhone doesn't feature is aroma, unlike Sony Ericcson's SO703i which comes with scented sheets designed to relax users during phone calls.

Related stories: Apple iPhone: The full specifications | Play iTunes songs on your Nintendo Wii | Nintendo DS sets sights on VoIP

Vodafone launches three special edition McLaren Mercedes mobile handsets

To celebrate the new Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula One racing team, Vodafone have unveiled three new special edition mobile phone handsets.

The handsets are:

* The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 770SH from Sharp (top picture)
* The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes GX29 from Sharp (second picture)
* The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes SGH-Z720M from Samsung (no picture yet available)

The Sharp GX29 is a 2G clamshell phone with a VGA camera, games, and USB 1.1/Bluetooth 1.0.

The Sharp 770SH sounds fairly entry-level 3G, being a clamshell phone with a 1.3 megapixel camera, USB 1.1 and Bluetooth 1.0.

Finally, the Samsung SGH-Z720M is a 3G/HSDPA slider phone with a 3 megapixel camera with auto focus, USB 2.0 and Bluetooth 2.0, and a stereo headset.

All give access to the Vodafone Live! portal, and have various music and games options.

UK pricing and availability to be confirmed

Vodafone

Macworld 2007 roundup: Back seat Macs; new markets; Apple's "killer app"

As Macworld closes for another year, here are my reflections on a show of surprises and omissions.

iPhone

The star of the show has to be the iPhone, yet it's the first Expo I can remember where a product has been announced before it's available. Not only is it frustrating for consumers but it also gives a long lead time for competitors to line up their iPhone alternatives - and you can bet that they're doing just that.

Some are calling the iPhone 'vapourware' because the product can't be bought. In fact, you'd be lucky to just touch one.

Apple TV

Apple TV had been announced last year, and whilst it got its share of limelight in Jobs' keynote, as soon as the iPhone was announced, it's fair to say that most people forgot about it.

That's not to say that it's an unimpressive piece of kit, though I have my doubts about how it will fare in a UK market.

Back seat Macs

Many true Mac fans (you know, the people who actually buy Apple's computers) may well have been disappointed that these two consumer-friendly items have completely overshadowed - in fact, eradicated - any Mac hardware announcements.

iPhone or no iPhone, we had expected some new Mac to arrive. Yes, this is primarily a consumer affair, so maybe a new Pro machine will be announced later in the year, but dreams of more powerful Macs weren't realised at the show.

Best Mac hardware from third party

In fact, the best Mac-based hardware of the show had to be Axiotron's ModBook, a 'tablet Mac' created from the Apple MacBook. A very slinky piece of kit, winning one of the "Best of Show" awards, it's something we wish Apple themselves had made. Maybe they will, one day.

Dropping the computer

After the iPhone excitement, Steve threw in the announcement that the company were changing their name from "Apple Computer Inc" to "Apple Inc", to reflect their increasing presence in the consumer electronics market.

Given that their biggest selling products to date are iPods, not desktop or laptop computers, and that Apple TV and the iPhone could prove a hit with consumers, this isn't too surprising, but is it a sign of something more?

Apart from the usual references to record numbers of non-Mac computer users switching to Macs, there was precious little mention of Apple's computers in the keynote. However, what there was mention of was OS X.

Apple's killer app - OS X

Apple has a killer application. It's not the iPod, the Apple TV, nor the iPhone.

It's OS X.

In a computer and consumer electronics industry where manufacturers are picking up on good product design, both visually and in usability, there's less of a distinction between Apple hardware and PC manufacturers hardware. Yes, Apple computers still represent great design, but a whole range of PCs, both desktop and notebook, are no longer simply beige lumps that are purely functional.

Apple's winning product, the one that will unite its current and future hardware devices, is OS X, a modern, robust, scalable operating system that sits just as happily and works just as well in an iPhone or in the Apple TV as it does in a Mac mini or a top-of-the-range Mac Pro.

Despite Jobs' current protestations, I wouldn't be at all surprised if, at some point in the near future, it's announced that OS X can be legitimately run on any Intel-based PC.

Sure, the iPhone is supposed to synchronise with PC users' Windows-based machines, but how much easier would it be for users to have versions of OS X spread across the whole range of hardware? Of course, interoperability still needs to be worked on, as not everyone is going to load OS X on their PC, but it feels like a distinct possibility.

Apple marches on

The pre-Expo message, the company name change, the ongoing move to mainstream consumer products, OS X in the iPhone... these signal a company that is keen to take on new markets, and to be recognised for much more than its computers.

Whether it has more successes like the iPod remains to be seen, but there's no doubt that Apple is changing.

Macworld 2007 coverage

First video of Apple's iPhone

Yes the iPhone does exist and it is not a collective hallucination of the people who attended MacWorld last week and the thousands who watched the launch on the web.

The proof is here courtesy of CBS News who secured a demo from Apple. First thoughts are it looks pretty impressive but I can’t remember the last time I used a phone two-handed. So can you operate it with one hand? Does it matter? Guess we’ll have to wait until we get our own to play with before that question can be answered.

It is amazing though that it seems to be the only legit vid of the iPhone on YouTube. Apple is certainly keeping the handset very close to its chest for the time being.

10 tricks to play on your iPhone
10 reasons to love/hate the iPhone
Nokia responds to the iPhone announcement

LG Shine handset - UK launch date confirmed and new pictures

You may have seen Susi getting excited over the LG Shine phone this week at the CES. Well, LG has been kind enough to send across some images of the handset and announced that February 7th is the date it is to debut on the UK (after Korea obviously) - with the rest of the world to follow (which might make up for the wait for the iPhone).

LG has already sold more than 180,000 Shine handsets in Korea since its launch in November, so there must be some hands-on appeal in the wide 2.2-inch 'magic mirror' screen and brushed full metal body. Full technical details for the UK version of Shine will be announced at the launch on February 7th. You'll read about them first here.

LG website

10 reasons to love the iPhone, 10 reasons to run

Now that the iPhone announcement has had a couple of days to sink it, here's my reflections on the best and worst of the iPhone.

FOR THE IPHONE

1. Looks (and feels) amazing

Whatever you think of the feature set, and the chances of your fat fingers destroying that shiny big screen, the iPhone looks amazing, and it probably feels amazing in the palm of your hand, too. It's sleek, curvy, shiny, and sexy, with on-screen icons and buttons that just ooze and drip class.

2. OS X

Most likely a scaled-down version of the fully fledged Mac OS X, but still a world-class operating system, and touted to run 'desktop-class applications'. Certainly great news for Apple Mac fans that have longed for a home-grown solution that lets them use the desktop apps they love on the move.

3. Google/Yahoo integration

Seeing Apple working closely with Google and Yahoo may not sit comfortably with everyone, but it does mean that the iPhone gets killer apps - like Google Maps - as well as more mail functionality - Yahoo mail push. A good alliance.

4. Gestures

Whilst no-one but Steve and a few top bods at Apple have got their hands on the iPhone yet, all the demonstrations so far point to a pretty slick 'gesturing' system for controlling the iPhone. Sweeping and pinching to scroll and zoom look particularly cool. Apple have certainly done a lot of research into this. Well-known for producing great user interfaces, expect something special from Apple on this one.

5. Cover art

Not everyone's cup of tea, but the function first introduced on the desktop version of iTunes makes it way onto the iPhone. Sure, it only looks good if iTunes can find art for most of your albums, but scrolling through your music visually with bold finger sweeps on that luscious widescreen is amazing.

6. Smart contacts and voicemail

After all, this is a phone: Finding and calling contacts, setting up conference calls, and visual voicemeail that allows you to see your messages rather than having to run through them sequentially, are all cool features that raise the bar on how you make, take, and organise calls.

7. Sensors

The iPhone's three built-in sensors: accelerometer, proximity, and ambient light, improve the user experience by doing smart things without the user intervening or even having to think about them - typically Apple.

8. Wi-fi

Of course wi-fi isn't everywhere, but it's increasingly easy to hook up to the Internet at home and work, as well as plenty of other places: cafés, libraries, and urban hotspots. iPhone certainly isn't the only handset to include it, but it's a great addition.

9. Large screen

Oh that gorgeous high-resolution widescreen. It invites you to touch it - which is just as well, given that's how you interact with the iPhone.

10. It's Apple

For some, this puts it in the 'against' list, but not for me. Apple make products that look, feel, and work... great. The iPhone is undeniably Apple.

AGAINST THE IPHONE

1. Lockdown

Despite running a version of OS X, Steve Jobs has told the press that the iPhone will be a closed platform. It was exciting when we thought we could put all our OS X software goodies on the device, but apparently that isn't going to happen. Oh, Apple will probably sell extra software, but there won't be a free-for-all.

I'm surprised, given the stability and reliability of OS X, that a workaround for this hasn't been found. Steve Jobs has implied that a rogue application could screw up the mobile network. "Cingular doesn't want to see their West Coast network go down because some application messed up," he told Newsweek.

2. Touchscreen

That touchscreen is a mixed blessing. Fingers are messy things (some people's more than others) and sweeping and tapping them all over a glossy screen is sure to take its toll eventually. Plus, fingers are much fatter than a stylus, so you can't help but obscure what you're interacting with. You'll also have to invest in your own screen protection, as first-generation iPhone doesn't have its own.

3. No 3G

This is a killer for many people, particularly outside the US. Whilst a second generation of iPhone could feature 3G, omitting it from the start may make it unattractive to anyone wanting high-speed Net access on the move. Wi-fi isn't everywhere and we're more accustomed to widespread 3G in the UK and Europe. Though Steve mentioned the elusive 3G in his keynote, it's not a feature yet, and with an apparent exclusive tie-in to Cingular (in the States) until at least 2009, things could move very slowly on this one. Let's hope European variants evolve more quickly.

4. Poor camera spec

A 2 megapixel camera, even on a mobile phone, is pretty paltry these days. It's an easy one to upgrade in future models, but it still seems a little stingy. It's a spec already whipped by cheaper phones from most other manufacturers. With the iPhone touted as an all-in-one device, the camera needs to improve.

5. US provider

The whole deal with users requiring a two-year contract with Cingular to use the iPhone is a bum deal for anyone on the larger US networks with existing contracts. Let's hope similar tie-ins 'features' like this don't make their way over to the UK.

6. No VoIP

Some were hoping for VoIP to be a part of the iPhone, but that doesn't appear to be the case. And the reason? Allegedly because of Cisco's pesky lawsuit against Apple's use of the iPhone name. Apple have said that their products are different because Cisco make VoIP devices, which the iPhone isn't. If this is the only reason, it's a pain. Worth a name change?

7. Release date

5+ months until the US gets hold of the iPhone, and almost a year until international rollout begins, will result in hype and unreasonably raised expectations. It could all backfire on Apple if demand can't be met, or if the first iPhone doesn't live up to the spin that will now circle the Internet until release date.

8. Battery life

The iPhone's battery life is something that has to improve if users are to enjoy all of its features on the move without being forced to recharge it 2 or 3 times a day. 5 hours talk/video time is pretty pathetic, added to the fact that these batteries look like they're 'locked in' (a la iPod) - so carrying round a spare and swapping it out isn't a possibility.

9. Price

Yes it's a premium Apple product, but the price is going to deter even some of the most ardent Apple fans. Unlocked versions, if they ever materialise, could cost even more. And what about the replacement cost? Presumably the iPhone, as it comes on contract, is already subsidised?

10. Not Symbian

Though OS X is great, and the scaled-down iPhone version could work wonderfully, many see Symbian OS as the leading OS for mobile devices. It's present on around 70% of mobile devices (as of 3Q last year) and is an evolved, honed system. OS X, on the other hand, is as yet unproven on such a mobile device. It also makes it harder for existing third-party applications to be ported to the iPhone.

Cisco to sue Apple over iPhone name

We hinted on launch date that Cisco might have something to say about Apple's use of the iPhone for its new handset - and it does. It's going to sue.

Cisco obtained the iPhone trademark in 2000 after acquiring Infogear, which previously owned the name. However, Apple doesn't seem overly concerned, dismissing Cisco's claims as "silly" and "tenuous at best".

According to Apple spokesman Alan Hely: "We think Cisco's trademark lawsuit is silly. There are already several companies using the name iPhone for Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) products. We are the first company to ever use the iPhone name for a cell phone, and if Cisco wants to challenge us on it we are very confident we will prevail."

In response, Mark Chandler, Cisco senior vice-president and general counsel, said: "Cisco entered into negotiations with Apple in good faith after Apple repeatedly asked permission to use Cisco's iPhone name." Cisco said it would seek to stop Apple from "infringing upon and deliberately copying and using" the trademark.

Apple website

Apple's iPhone and LG's KE850 - striking similarities?

No, your eyes do not lie - the pictures above are of two separate handsets that could well have been separated at birth.

Engadget noticed the similarity between the design of Apple's much-heralded iPhone and LG's KE850, currently recipient of the International Forum Design Product Design Award for 2007. Of course, it may be pure coincidence - but that's probably something for the respective legal teams to ascertain.

Apple website
LG website

Via Engadget

CES 2007: Nokia's Pekka Pohjakallio talks Nseries, Wi-Fi and multimedia trends

Nokia has maintained a high profile at CES, announcing three new phones and deals with the likes of Skype, Yahoo and Six Apart. I sat down for a chat with Pekka Pohjakallio, VP of Nseries computers in Nokia's multimedia division.

Besides giving Nokia's initial response to the Apple iPhone, he also talked about the new N93i, N76 and N800, promised that Wi-Fi and 3.5mm headphone jacks will be standard in ALL Nseries handsets from now on, and hinted at a potentially-ace collaboration with guitar-maker Gibson. Read on for the full details.

First off, we went through the three new Nseries handsets, starting with the N93i (pictured), which is the revamped version of the N93 camcorder handset.

"It's 6mm thinner and 3mm shorter, and we've used premium materials to make it more comfortable to use and carry," says Pohjakallio. "We've upgraded the screen to 16 million colours, and made the setup of Wi-Fi much easier than it used to be. It's now active/idle, so there is a sniffer checking around for Wi-Fi hotspots."

The basic form factor remains the same, with you twisting the screen in a camcorder stylee, and then folding it back on itself to watch clips. The Wi-Fi is important too, and it's clearly becoming an ever-more important feature for Nokia.

"From now on, all the Nseries will have Wi-Fi," says Pohjahkallio. "We believe more and more that when the internet is about participation, the creation tools we have on these devices fit into people's desire to participate in Web 2.0 applications, as well as get at their email and browsing wherever they are. And Wi-Fi seems to be cheaper in many places than normal data calls. And of course it is also a tool for home integration, as there are lots of devices that you can connect to Wi-Fi."

Then there's the N76 (pictured), which if I was a cynical man, I'd label Nokia's RAZR. It's a super-slim clamshell phone with metallic styling, and according to Pohjakallio, it's aimed at the demographic group Nokia refers to as 'technology stylists' (you may remember our post from the Nokia World conference explaining how Nokia segments mobile users)

"There's an emerging group of people who are excited about the new technology, and don't settle for low-quality, but it's also very very important for them that the style is right and the materials are good," he says. "So the N76 is metal, very robust and with a good premium feel to it, but still having all the Nseries use cases. There's a two-megapixel camera, the new internet browser, and a music player with which you can use a normal 3.5mm headphones jack."

Like Wi-Fi, 3.5mm jacks are going to be a standard feature in Nseries devices going forward, which is frankly about time for the mobile industry, given that so many music phones come with proprietary ports forcing you to use the bundled earphones rather than your own set. "We're not going to have any proprietary jacks any more," says Pohjakallio. I'll raise a toast to that.

Finally, there's the N800 Internet Tablet (pictured), which is the follow-up to the original 770 device, which Pohjakallio says was more of a device for "Linux enthusiasts who were hacking and making new code in the open-source environment". The N800 keeps the widescreen format and Wi-Fi connectivity, and is basically about browsing, instant messaging and thanks to a deal with Skype announced at CES, VoIP calls too.

Is it a new gadget for people, or is Nokia trying to replace another device? "I think this is a new one," says Pohjakallio. "It's for those who really want to get the internet in a comfortable manner wherever they are. You have PDAs, but their main use case is something else. This has been done thinking internet first, and then adding other features if need be."

Some of those other features are pretty neat, mind. Nokia has signed up Navicore to provide navigation software for the N800, and RealNetworks to get the latter's Rhapsody music subscription service running on the device. Pohjakallio says the latter could be the dark-horse feature, suggesting people may use the N800 as an internet radio in their kitchens, for example.

"Because it's open-source Linux, there's lots of application development happening for it," he says. "You will see a community building, developing applications we wouldn't have even thought about."

One thing I was keen to ask about was how Nokia is approaching the challenges of making smartphones that are supposed to do so many different things. Can one device really be as good at watching mobile TV, as it is at shooting video or taking photos, as it is at playing music or games, or surfing the internet? How do you prevent the jack-of-all-trades problem kicking in, where one or more of these areas suffer?

When it comes to devices like the N93, Pohjakallio says Nokia is taking the form-factor approach, of making sure that as soon as users pick it up, they know what its main use is (camcorder in this case), with the other features sitting behind. Which doesn't quite answer the question (can those other features be as good if the phone is focused more on video). But he does say there's an interesting challenge when it comes to more general handsets like the N76.

"You have to be really careful about what is important," he says. "Our main areas are photography, music, video, TV, games and internet connection. They all have to be in a good level in these products when it comes to usability and performance, and then you can highlight one or two per product. It is a challenge, but we believe that we are one of the companies who have been thinking about what makes a good multi-purpose device for a long time now, so we are further ahead than some other companies."

The last area I asked about was convergence with other devices. Particularly at this year's CES, lots of the major consumer electronics manufacturers are figuring out how to make their devices work with other devices. Think TVs designed to display your photos, or hi-fis that connect easily with iPods and so on. Is this a big deal for Nokia?

Pohjakallion says yes, and cites design decisions like the 3.5mm jack as proof. TV-Out is also becoming a more important feature for Nseries handsets, while he also thinks the Universal Plug'n'Play (UPnP) standard will become more of a factor as home electronics devices come out that support it. Oh, and Bluetooth when it comes to things like cars, which increasingly have Bluetooth fitted in the factory.

"The surrounding world is very important, and the reason we think we have a strong position is that this is a device that is very personal, and always with you," he says. "So it's natural that stuff accumulates on here, and then you share it with other devices. And of course the PC and Mac connectivity is of the utmost importance, for storage and so on, as well as music synchronising."

And it's not just your normal gadgets either. Here's a mini scoop for you: the morning of our talk, Pohjakallio rode to CES in a tour bus belonging to guitar firm Gibson, after a meeting with one of their bigwigs. Are we going to see a Nokia axe any time soon? Weeelll... who knows.

"They have the classical part, but lots of electronics are starting to be embedded," says Pohjakallio. "They have a digital guitar, so they connect to the same places we connect to. So... yeah..."

Tech Digest CES coverage

CES 2007: LG's new Shine phone

The LG Shine phone is currently only available in Asia, but it's been promised to the UK for a while now. However, the pictures seen so far don't do it justice, and I was surprised to find out how attractive it was once I got to the stand.
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CES 2007: Samsung 10 megapixel camera phone and MobileTV handset

Samsung had a couple of CDMA phones on display on their stand, and of course, no one's sure if they're going to ever make it to the UK. Still, they both look flash, although why you'd ever want 10 megapixels in a camera phone god only knows. Really in depth photos of your mates down the pub perhaps?

10 tricks to play on your new iPhone (when it arrives)

By the time you've waited for between 6 and 12 months for your new iPhone, you may have gone just a little crazy. Relieve your madness with these iPhone-busting ideas:

1. Spin the iPhone

"iPhone’s accelerometer detects when you rotate the device from portrait to landscape, then automatically changes the contents of the display, so you immediately see the entire width of a web page or a photo in its proper landscape aspect ratio."

See how fast you can rotate the iPhone before the operating system simply gives up trying to reorient what's on the screen.

2. Grease the iPhone

It's a touchscreen, man, but you just know that after your morning coffee and doughnut and several grovelling calls to the boss that you might have trouble getting your iPhone to understand your gestures. See how much gunk you can get on the screen before you (a) can't control the screen and (b) can't read it anyway.

3. "Venus fly trap effect" for your iPhone

"The proximity sensor detects when you lift iPhone to your ear and immediately turns off the display to save power and prevent inadvertent touches until iPhone is moved away."

Go on, wave it about near your ear and see how many times it tries to save power and 'prevent inadvertent touches' before it just gives up and goes to sleep (or cracks open on your skull)

4. Install Office 2008 on your iPhone

Yeah, baby, Universal Office 2008 is coming around the same time as the iPhone (Stateside anyway). And the iPhone runs OS X right? So put this tiny, happy little application on 'cause you know how much fun typing a Word document on the soft keyboard is going to be, don't you? And Microsoft and Mac get on so well...

5. Install Windows Vista on your iPhone

Next step up from #4. Hey, why not give it a go? Just because two-year-old PCs will struggle to get the best out of the Vista monster, doesn't mean your Intel iPhone can't have a go at running it. Wonder if Aero'll work?

6. Teach your iPhone new gestures

Some smart-arse developer is going to find out a way to abuse the gesturing-with-your-fingers system and come up with some new interesting ways of controlling the iPhone. Worked for getting the motion detectors on the PowerBooks to flip screens, anyway.

7. Photo feedback loop overload

Get your iPhone to take a photo every second, email it to your Yahoo IMAP account (via your free wi-fi connection of course), then have Yahoo push that email back to you. See how long before that exciting digital flickbook you've just created eats up the 4 or 8GB storage.

8. Send rude audio files to a Zune user

Tricky one. First, find a Zune user. Then send him a cleverly concocted iTunes insult (a fart or something'll do if you can't be more creative) over wi-fi. OK, so the incompatible DRM could send one or t'other of them into meltdown (my money's on Billy Zune) but it's worth a go.

9. Widget overdrive!

See how many pointless OS X widgets you can cram onto the device. You know the ones - weird animations, quotes of the day from people you've never heard of, Sudoku - that sort of thing. Then watch iPhone squirm trying to serve them up to you. 3.5 inches of screen isn't infinite...

10. Interrogate your iPhone

"An ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the display’s brightness to the appropriate level for the current ambient light, thereby enhancing the user experience and saving power at the same time."

Pretend your iPhone has done something very, very bad (called Bill Gates and asked for a laptop PC with Vista installed, for example). Shine a very bright light on it and watch it lose it's ambience.

Get serious iPhone specs and links here | Macworld 2007 coverage | CES 2007 coverage

Apple iPhone: The full specifications

So, after months (years) of speculation and rumour, Apple has finally announced the iPhone in all its glory.

Tech Digest has already covered the initial communications aspects, and what it might mean for UK consumers if and when it arrives in Britain, plus reactions from the likes of Orange and Nokia (scroll to end of this article for the links) so in this article I'll take a look at the key features of this 'revolutionary' new mobile phone.

First up is that gorgeous touch screen that fills almost the entire front panel. It's a 3.5 inch (diagonal) screen, boasting a resolution of 320 x 480 at 160 pixels per inch. That's more than enough for widescreen (16:9) viewing, though you'll probably get black bars at the top and bottom of the images.

It has just one physical button at the bottom of the display. Nearly everything else is done via the touchscreen, using intuitive finger motions such as tapping, sweeping and 'pinching'.

It features several sensors. One reorients what's displayed on screen when the phone is rotated between landscape and portrait orientation. It also has a proximity sensor that knows when you have the phone to your ear and adjusts the screen and touch pad accordingly.

The phone is quad-band, wi-fi enabled (Apple site specs say 802.11b and g though Steve was talking about n compatibility also), with Bluetooth 2.0 EDR, GSM, and EDGE.

It comes with a 2 megapixel camera.

It will run Apple's own Mac OS X system - no details on whether this will be a cut down version of Tiger, a cut down of Leopard (which could be released before the iPhone is), or a full version intelligently switching to make best use of the iPhone, isn't clear, but Jobs described and demonstrated the use of Mac OS X applications and widgets, including stock trackers, weather, iChat, iCal, iTunes, iMovies, and iPhoto. It will also utilise Core Graphics, and other features that will be familiar to anyone who uses the desktop version of OS X.

Containing an Intel processor (exact chipset not known), it will offer 5 hours battery life when talking, browsing the web, or watching video, and 16 hours of audio playback. No word on standby time.

Dimensions are 4.5 x 2.4 x 0.46 inches (115 x 61 x 11.6mm), with a weight of 135 grams.

There are plenty of calling features, tied into your contacts list and email, including setting up 3-way voice conferences, sending email whilst on a call, and easily adding and calling numbers from emails.

Software wise, it contains a version of Apple Mail, featuring rich HTML email, web browser Safari, with Google and Yahoo searches, Google Maps, and Widgets. Given that the phone OS is Mac OS X, it shouldn't be difficult to put a variety of other apps onto the system. Apple claim that apps run fast. They also say that PC users will be able to sync their contact data, so presumably as well as supporting the 'i' range of Mac apps, there'll be some syncing with Outlook etc. We'll wait to see how that bit works.

Apple announced that they'd teamed up and formed close alliances with both Google and Yahoo, which is also exciting.

It will be worth taking a look at the keynote speech (not available at time of writing), and the official iPhone web site to get an idea of the capabilities of the phone.

Suffice to say, it looks very good. It's been well over 2 years in the making, and it shows. It offers a dynamically new way for users to interact with their phone, using just their fingers. No more add-on or pull-out keyboards, fiddly styli, or other oddities. Of course, the proof will be in the using, and it may not suit everyone (like any interface) but it certainly looks good from a distance.

The groan factor is the wait. Even the US won't get it until June (Apple don't have full FCC approval yet, apparently, so things could change a little in specs etc.). Europe isn't due to get it until sometime in the last quarter of 2007. Great...

Hopefully by then, there'll either be a souped-up second generation iPhone ready, or a Euro-friendly one. Apple would do well not to ignore the UK which, though a crowded market, is also a very tech-savvy, and promiscuous with their handsets too.

Done right, the iPhone could be massive, though with limited initial stock and global reach, and an initial target of 1% of the mobile market share, it won't pose any immediate threat to the big guns.

The 4GB version will retail in the US for $499 and the 8GB will cost $599, coming in June, exclusively with Cingular Wireless. It's due in Europe in Q4 of 2007 - no more details than that, though.

Other iPhone stories:

Apple iPhone - the first proper pic
Which UK network will get Apple's iPhone first?
Apple's iPhone - the first images. Coming to the UK soon?
Nokia responds to Apple iPhone - 'it is a surprise that the iPhone is not 3G'
Apple iPhone - bad news for UK consumers, great news for eBay

Apple iPhone - bad news for UK consumers, great news for eBay

There's no denying that it looks amazing, is crammed with innovative features and has sent Apple's share price soaring. But I can't help but feel a little bit let down by Apple.

I know they obviously can't get the iPhone to market tomorrow, but making UK punters wait until Q4, which is consumer electronics speak for December, is going to cause both British punters and the UK phone industry a nightmare.

Here's why

1 If Apple's track record is anything to go by I'd take Q4 with a huge pinch of salt. The company have consistently missed product launches and I would bet a fair sum of money that we won't see the phone in the UK until 2008.

2 They are only making ten million iPhones. To put that in some kind of perspective Nokia sold 40 million high-end mobiles last year and claims it will do at least double that this year. There is going to be huge demand which Apple simply won't be able to meet.

3 Apple always plays at home. Apple has shown time and time again its local market (ie the US) is way more important to it than anywhere else in the world. If that first batch sells out in June (smart move btw as I reckon Cingular will be pre-registering buyers very soon - that gives them five months to pack them in) where do you think the next lot will be sold? Not in Europe. You only have to look at how Apple has sold its iPods to know that keeping UK punters hanging on is one its fortes - and in many ways creating hype shifts the products when they arrive too.

4 eBay is the real winner. Just imagine how much UK Apple obsessives are going to pay for a phone on eBay in June? Some will be getting US friends and relatives to get Cingular contracts and then having the iPhones shipped over. There will be a ton of iPhones on eBay, many won't be legit and almost all will be overpriced.

5 Will people still spend money on smartphones this year? The iPhone is such a great product that I can imagine that many Europeans won't upgrade their handsets in 2007 and will prefer to wait for its arrival in the UK.

The only sliver of comfort for Nokia, Sony Ericsson and others is that a year is a very long time in the mobile phone industry. Nokia's N95 will be launched in a March and it is in many ways a real rival to the iPhone. It has a similar set of features (minus iTunes and the large storage), a much better camera and is HSDPA rather than Edge (so it has the potential for downloads and web browsing at speeds of up to six times faster than the iPhone).

There is a chance that a phone that is not 3G and only has 2.0 mega pixel camera might look rather old hat by January 2008. I doubt it though. Good luck Sony Ericsson, Nokia and HTC - your high-end phones have some real competition.

Which UK network will get Apple's iPhone first?

OK, so we now know the iPhone exists. But when will UK punters be able to buy it. It ships in the US in June, but sadly we won't be able to buy it until Q4 in the UK.

That gives Apple a long time to work on a partner for the handset for Europe.

The big market this summer will be eBay - just imagine how many Europeans will want to import one from the US.

Then Apple may sell a Sim-free version on its UK website and through its retailers. But if it does partner with a UK network here's the runners and riders.

Vodafone - (Maybe) Although Voda has close links with Verizon, Cingular's big US rival network, it needs a big hit and there's no denying that the iPhone will be huge. However I think it will be put off by the fact that the phone is not 3G and not compatible with its music download offering.

Orange - (possible) Has Euro-wide distribution say can offer Jobs and co a lot of potential punters. But see statement below - doesn't sound good. Has also invested a lot in its music download service and might see the iPhone as muddying the waters.

T-Mobile (The best bet) Again a big Euro-wide network so lots of distribution. Likes to get in quick with high profile phones too. Less concerned about music downloads. So in our book the frontrunner.

O2 (unlikely) I can't see it, even though it is owned by monster Spanish network Telefonica it probably doesn't have the reach.

3 (mmm) Wouldn't have thought so. The iPhone isn't 3G for starters.

Orange has just issued this statement... Doesn't sound like it is going to be first in the queue for the phone does it?

"Today's launch of Apple’s iPhone is another example of how the world of entertainment technology is converging. It reinforces our belief here at Orange that we shall see many more similar moves in the future. We have already seen our own Music Player service grow rapidly in the last year to average 100,000 single downloads per month, with over 500,000 tracks to choose from currently. Apple's entry into the market will no doubt stimulate even further interest in mobile music services.

"Europe is undergoing a digital revolution and Orange , Apple and other key companies are at the forefront of that. As the technology and entertainment industries merge over the next few years, consumers will be able to do things they previously only ever dreamt of and will be able to access all the services they need from a single provider”

Apple's iPhone - the first images. Coming to the UK soon?

OK, so here it is, the gadget that has been something of a Holy Grail for geeks the world over for the last god knows how many years. Years of false leads, speculation, gossip and some truly awful photoshop mock ups are finally over. Was it all worth it? Well, it's a bit early for a final verdict, but the product shots haven't exactly sent a shiver down my spine. It's thin - very thin - at 11.6mm and it's got a 3.5-inch screen.

As for UK distribution - no news yet. There's nothing on Apple's UK website. The deal announced was with Cingular in the US. No mention yet of any UK networks. Might Apple choose to sell the phone only through its website and retaillers? It could potentially bypass the networks if it wanted to. I am sure there's be plenty of demand for a SIM free model if they can keep the price under £300.

So what do you reckon? First impressions? *Slightly* disappointed that they didn't come up with a more exciting name (everyone nicknamed it that, which makes it seem a bit old already) and it's not entirely clear what Cisco is going to say about the whole thing.

Further specs: touchscreen display, 2 megapixel camera, 8GB of storage, Bluetooth, WiFi and, most exciting of all, OS X. The touchscreen disables automatically when it comes close to your face, which is the kind of whizzy technology that always impresses me.

CES 2007: The Top 10 vids so far

We've been blogging and shooting videos for what feels like weeks, so we thought it time to give you a rundown of the Top 10 CES 2007 vids so far. Drumroll please... 1. Is it a robot? Is it a hamster? Is it both? Really, it's anything you want it to be. 2. More robots, this time Star Wars-themed. R2D2 will do anything media for you, but he really doesn't want to see that Paris Hilton video again. Please. 3. Susi suffers US gadget envy checking out the LGenV. We think she's kept the return portion of her ticket, but we can't be sure. 4. Elvis is The King for a reason, you know. And now he's back, at CES. I don't think this counts as a 'he's alive!' spot, though, so put that blog away. 5. You may think this looks dull, until you realise how much you need one. And then you will rue, oh yes. 6. We love our Shinies, really we do. Even when they're dressed up like Hunter S. Thompson, gonzoing their way around Shadowrun on Xbox Live. 7. You may be au fait with the Ambilight telly, but are you down with the system? Oh yes. This baby rumbles. 8. I hate the Blues Brothers. I used to like them, until an ex watched the movie 40 times in a single week. If you've not had them ruined for you, watch them pimp Blu(es)-Ray. 9. Kat's at it again, this time revealing her inner Nintendo fangirl as she coos over Wii travel bags and accessories in a very unique fashion. I don't think Hunter would approve... 10. My telly's bigger than yours. No, really. This 108" behemoth will surely trounce everyone's oversized telly claims for the whole five minutes it takes someone to invent the telly that can only be seen when on the moon, for it is that big. It's called Asia.

Macworld 2007: Apple and Cingular Wireless to team up for 'iPhone'

Unnamed sources cited by The Wall Street Journal are convinced that Apple will team up with the US wireless operator Cingular Wireless to provide the much rumoured 'iPhone'. They also think it likely that Apple will release an unlocked phone that can be used on any network.

Whilst this is US-centric news, and we know that North America nearly always gets hold of the latest technology first, an unlocked UK version could be good news, allowing users to choose their network provider by simply purchasing (or transferring) a SIM card.

We'll all find out if the phone is coming to Macworld or not in a little over 6 hours' time.

(Via Digit Mag)

CES 2007: Nokia N76 video preview

Here it is. Quite possibly the slimmest and smallest smartphone on sale. It is N76, Nokia's, ahem, RAZR-like N series model. So it not only looks the biz and has the usual collection of music players, cool camera and web browser. It also has one of those etched keypads. It goes on sale in a couple of months time. Check out the rest of our CES coverage.

CES 2007: Samsung and Google unite to provide mobile users with Google services

Samsung became the latest mobile phone operator to announce an alliance with Google to provide its mobile phone users access to Google's products and services.

Samsung mobile phones equipped with Google applications will enable consumers to search information, find locations, and manage their email on the move.

From early this year, selected Samsung mobiles will provide Google search, Google Maps, and Gmail for Mobile. The Ultra Edition 13.8 is its first device to offer these services.

Of course, it will still depend upon the network operators allowing its customers access to Google products. Last year Google slammed mobile operators for blocking its content.

Check out the rest of our CES coverage.

CES 2007: Jitterbug idiot-proof mobile phones

Not everyone wants an all-singing all-dancing multimedia computer. That's what Nokia calls its high-end mobile phones these days, by the way. But there's still plenty of people who just want a phone they can call people with. Think your parents, or grandparents even.

I hooked up with Jitterbug last night, who were showing off two handsets at the Digital Experience event. The Jitterbug OneTouch (pictured) doesn't even have a numeric keypad on it. The green button calls the Jitterbug operator, the yellow one calls a number of your choice (it's set up by Jitterbug when you order the phone), and the red button calls 911.

Meanwhile, to access other features like voicemail, you answer Yes/No questions using the buttons under the screen. It really is the most grandparent-friendly mobile I've seen, although if they're a bit more advanced, it can also hold a list of other contacts that can be scrolled through to call.

Meanwhile, the JitterBug Dial (right) does have a numeric keypad, but otherwise works in the same way with the Yes/No questions to access features. Meanwhile, the number buttons themselves are big and backlit.

Both phones are made by Samsung for Jitterbug, and are reassuringly solid-feeling clamshell phones. They have a cushioned ear-bit which is also compatible with hearing aids, apparently. They're $147 each, with call plans starting at $10 a month. It's only just gone on sale in the US, but the company told me there are "definite plans" to expand this in the future.

Over on Shiny Shiny they've got some video footage of the Jitterbug.

Jitterbug website

Check out the rest of our CES coverage.

Sony Ericsson releases teasing images of forthcoming W880i handset

I'll hold my hand up - I don't know anything about the new Walkman W880i handset, except for what can be gleaned from these two pictures from Sony Ericsson. From the evidence below, we can ascertain that:

1. It will be very thin.
2. It will have a large screen area (in relation to size of phone.

The offical word is that "the W880i Walkman phone will blend astonishing good looks and all of the music-centered features that fans have come to expect from the Walkman® phone family." Which isn't much, so enjoy these images (one here, one over the fold) and rest assured, we'll keep you posted.

Sony Ericsson website

CES 2007: Sony Ericsson launches W200 entry-level Walkman phone

Sony Ericsson's latest Walkman phone is the entry-level W200 - a candybar handset with a capacity that can be boosted to store around 2555 full-length tracks.

Available in black or white, Sony Ericsson is pitching it as a first step into "music on your mobile". It's actually a very small first step - the initial capacity allows for just 37 tracks, but this can be increased to 1GB via Memory Stick, which increases that to up to 255 tracks.

There's also an FM radio with 20 presets, alarm (via the built-in speakerphone) colour-matched headset, VGA phone, HTML browser and surprisingly, push email, along with all the usual phone basics.

Don't expect to see it in stores until at least April this year, when a price will be announced.

Sony Ericsson website

Check out the rest of our CES coverage.

CES 2007: Nokia adds to Nseries with the slimline N76 flip phone

Nokia has unveiled a new addition to its Nseries range of handsets - the N76 - which the company claims is the "perfect blend of style and substance" with its slimline shape and depth of multimedia features.

It's very much the music phone, with dedicated quick cover keys on the Nokia N76, to access the main features without having to flip open the phone. It holds up to 1500 tracks, works with industry standard 3.5 mm headphones and supports most formats, including Windows Media DRM if you like to buy your tunes online.

There's a 2.4" screen with up to 16 million color screen, which operates in landscape mode for web browsing via the Nokia web browser. There's also a 2MP camera with 20x digital zoom - and like the music player, you can use it without having to open the device. There's also ease of uploading to most online galleries too. There's also 2GB of expandable memory, video capture (15fps), FM radio, Bluetooth, voice recording and all the phone and messaging features you would expect.

Expect to see it in the first few months of 2007, priced around 390 Euros for a sim-free model, considerably less if you take out a contract.

More on the N76

Check out the rest of our CES coverage.

CES 2007: LG's US Chocolate and enV phones (we're a bit jealous)

Unsurprisingly, LG are saving their big news for tomorrow's press conference so there's not much to say about their new stuff, but today we were given a chance to see some of the exclusive products that haven't made it to our side of the Atlantic, and to be honest, we're a bit jealous. First was a chance to compare the US version of the chocolate phone (left) to the UK model (middle). Our Yank counterparts get a bigger touchpad and more colour variations, but it's much chunkier than our version and lacks the sleekness the phone is famous for. We also got our grubby mitts on the enV, LG's latest smartphone (right), and were very impressed with the way they integrated a full QWERTY keyboard, 2 megapixel camera, GPS, stereo sound (two speakers either side of the big colour screen) with the best bits of the chocolate - that trademark sleek, stylish design, and the illuminated touchpad. Much nicer than most of the brick-like QWERTY phones that are currently on offer over here, we're hoping it hits British shores soon.

Click here for Susi's video of the enV

Check out the rest of our CES coverage.

CES 2007: LG's enV smartphone

Yes, I know it's already available in the US. But we don't have it in the UK, so for that reason I think you should press the play button on the video. And if not for that, then perhaps for the increasingly rubbish jokes that I will inevitably throw in. Blame it on the jetlag. The phone itself is from LG, and is a relatively compact smartphone, with a full QWERTY keyboard, and integrated GPS.

Check out the rest of our CES coverage.

Vodafone offers Samsung's BlackBerry-like SGH-i320 in the UK

Back in July, we featured Samsung's SGH-i320 'BlackBerry beater' smartphone, which was scheduled to come to Europe at some future date. Well, that date approaches, with news that the smartphone is now available to order via Vodafone in the UK.

Weighing in at 95g and measuring 11.1 x 5.9 x 1.2cm, the tri-band phone with EDGE support features a 2.2-inch, 240 x 320, 65,536-colour display, a QWERTY keyboard, a 1.3mp camera and Bluetooth. It uses Windows Mobile 5, has 120MB of memory on board, along with a MicroSD slot for more.

Vodafone is offering the device to its business customers, with prices from nothing to £140, depending on your choice of airtime package.

Vodafone

Via The Register

Eco-friendly Mobile Phones

It's about blasted time that we're starting to see mobile phones that actually consider environmental viability.  Three concept mobiles from ModeLabs are designed around using the repetitive motion inherent in mobile usage to actually provide power for the thing. The U-Turn, for example, uses the opening-closing of the keyboard to inject some extra juice into the battery. Can't wait. [GT]

ModeLabs [via Ministry of Tech]

Vertu Signature Cobra and Python - jewel-encrusted mobiles for millionaires

Vertu is at it again, producing high-status handsets for people with more money than brain cells. We've covered the Vertu Signature Duo handset and the Vertu Racetrack Legends phones recently, but even they seem like a bargain compared to the Vertu Signature Cobra and Vertu Python.

The new handsets are a joint venture with jewellery designers Boucheron. The specifications are nothing to brag about, so we're left with the looks. For $310,000, you can pick up the Cobra, covered in one pear-cut diamond, one round one, two emeralds, and 439 rubies. Just eight have been made, so hurry!

A little much for you? Well, how about the Python, a comparative snip at $115,000. 26 of these on the market, but sadly, no rubies this time. If you're tempted by either, perhaps you need to think about a donation to charity.

Vertu website

Via CNN

T-Mobile extends Content Lock to BlackBerry users

T-Mobile is keeping the mobile web safe with its Content Lock feature, now extending the service to the BlackBerry - which means it now covers all of its web-friendly handsets.

Content Lock is an advanced filtering mechanism, intended to protect consumers, especially children, being exposed to adult and illegal internet content when accessed via the T-Mobile service. Content Lock specifically blocks access to online child abuse content as well as adult rated sites, gambling sites and unmoderated chatrooms. Customers trying to access a website or a service on the internet via their mobile phone which is rated as adult content will be informed the site they are accessing has been blocked.

"As the number of people using the internet and the diversity of content available continues to grow, it is important to implement the necessary precautions to protect customers against illegal content. Extending Content Lock to BlackBerry users demonstrates T-Mobile’s commitment to safeguarding its customers," commented Peter Robbins, QPM, Chief Executive, Internet Watch Foundation.

Content Lock is switched on by default for all T-Mobile’s existing and new pre-pay and contract customer accounts. However customers who can prove they are over 18 can ask for the adult Content Lock to be removed free of charge.

T-Mobile website

More BlackBerry:
Review: BlackBerry Pearl
T-Mobile launches BlackBerry 8700g

Ten Nokia 8800 Sirocco Brian Eno Signature Edition phones to be auctioned for charity

Nokia today announced that they have ten highly exclusive Nokia 8800's with Brian Eno's signature emblazoned upon them. The phones are being auctioned online to raise money for two charities chosen by Brian, the Keiskamma Aids Treatment program and The World Land Trust.

The auction starts on 8th January 2007 and goes on until 12th February 2007. Each phone will come with a certificate of authenticity.

The Keiskamma Aids Treatment program provides both HIV education and anti-retroviral drug therapy to the residents of the district at the mouth of the Keiskamma River in South Africa. The World Land Trust, a well-regarded UK-based conservation project, has helped buy and preserve more than 300,000 acres of ecologically-rich habitats from South America to the Philippines.

"I would like to thank the people who bid for these phones for helping towards solutions to two of the biggest problems facing the world: climate change and Aids," said Brian Eno. "The World Land Trust seeks to address long term environmental change by planting trees and caring for the land. The Keiskamma Trust is a great example of an intelligent local response to a global problem, helping people with AIDS to manage their condition and live useful and productive lives"

"We are truly delighted to work closely with Brian, who composed the soundtrack to the Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition, to raise funds in support of his chosen charities," says Heikki Norta, Senior Vice President, Lifestyle Products, for Nokia. "In addition to supporting these two very worthwhile causes, each successful bidder will own an exceptionally unique mobile phone, each individually numbered and signed by the composer himself."

Bidding is easy: just visit nokiacharityauction.com to find out more.

Related stories: Share your travel knowledge online and help UNICEF | Tom Baker sings Kinks' classic, charity download-only track for Shelter | Cancer charity turns to text

Samsung SCH-V960 - the world's first 'optical joystick' mobile phone

All new phones need a unique selling point - and the Samsung SCH-V960 is no different, featuring an 'optical joystick', which it claims will revolutionise how we interact with our handsets.

Put another way, it means you should be able to navigate faster around the phone's functions. To use the optical joystick, you place your finger on the phone, then as you move it, the cursor, using optical sensors, scrolls around in similar fashion to a PC mouse. The big benefit here is 360-degree movement - not just the traditional four directions.

Other features include a 2 megapixel camera, music player, GPS function, Bluetooth, document viewer and microSD slot. The V960 will be launched in Korean at the end of December, no date for Europe as yet.

Samsung website

Via Phone Mag

More Samsung mobiles:
Review: Samsung X820
Review: Samsung D900 Ultra slim slider phone

Review: Samsung X820

The propaganda

Currently holding the title of skinniest-mobile-in-the-world, the Samsung X820 attempts to squeeze all the essential functions you’d expect from a mobile handset, and then some, into a chassis that is only 6.9mm thick. Features include a 176 x 220 pixel display, digital music player (MP3, AAC and WMA compatible), web browser, document/spreadsheet viewer and even a 2.0 megapixel camera (!).

The handset, although a touch taller and wider than some at 113 x 50mm, is still nothing short of minute. But there surely must have been some compromises made to squeeze it all in there – check the turn to find out what we think.

The good

Sorry to state the obvious, but freakin’ hell – it’s only 6.9mm thick! It’s hard to imagine without seeing in the flesh, but if you want to get a rough idea, it is almost the same thickness as six credit cards stacked together. And that is also just under half a centimetre thinner than Motorola’s skinniest offering, the L6. It is definitely a head turner and ideal of you’re either very fashion conscious or are wanting it to fit into a very tight pair of jeans (along with yourself of course).

A brief poll yielded mostly positive opinions about the general aesthetics, although one concern was that you could snap it by sitting on it. Actually, while this must be a risk factor, the handset does feel pretty strong and robust – it would probably take a fair bit of weight to really kill it.

The menu interface is incredibly easy to use and takes no time at all to learn your way around even if you have never picked up a Samsung mobile before. The screen is also really good and yields some really crisp, bright images. This is especially good when combined with the 2.0 megapixel camera, which does produce some really decent pics when used in well lit areas, although it lacks a flash. The fact that Samsung didn’t shirk off with a 1.3 megapixel camera is a really pleasing addition.

The bad

There are two areas in which the X820 loses out to its bulkier competitors: sound quality and battery life. Playing MP3 tracks offers pretty decent sound (but with only 80MB of storage and no card slot, you probably won’t bother with it much), yet call quality suffers a little. There tends to be some occasional popping going on and background noises from the other person’s end often pick a strange garbled effect. It wasn’t enough to detract heavily from the phone’s performance but these are issues that have been eliminated from other larger handsets.

Battery life is claimed at an underwhelming 2.5 hours talk-time. Unfortunately I didn’t get a charger with the review kit so I couldn’t run a full test, but along with the 210 hours of standby time, a single charge did allow me to use it comfortably for a couple of days before it started complaining. Nonetheless, such a short talk-time is far more like what you would expect from a 3G mobile – not from a GSM.

Geek Sheet

Dimensions: 113 x 50 x 6.9mm

Weight: 65g

Tri-band, GPRS, EDGE

Screen: 262,144 colours, 220 x 176 pixels

2.0 megapixel camera

Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB

Compatibility: MP3, AMR, ACC, ACC+, e-AAC+ and WMA audio, JPEG images, H.263, AMR, MPEG4 video, DOC, XLS, PPT, PDF and TXT files

Battery: up to 2.5 hours talk-time, 210 hours standby

Overview

The Samsung X820 is eye-catching and convenient if your pocket space is at a real premium. The very straightforward menu design is a big plus, yet even with the 2.0 megapixel camera, etc, the feature set might still prove too basic for some. The short battery life is by far the biggest weakness, however, and it threatens to eliminate a lot of the practicality of such a compact handset. Serious fashionistas probably won’t let hold them back though.

Related stories: Review: Samsung D900 Ultra slim slider phone | Samsung replaces P300 calculator phone with P310| One Minute Review: Samsung E870 | More Mobile Phones...

Related sites: Samsung

Gizmodo makes bold iPhone announcement

I told myself I wouldn't mention the Apple iPhone again (1, 2, 3) until we had something concrete to go on but first we had Diggnation, now we have Gizmodo. I can't keep quiet on this. The post in question over at Gizmodo reads:

Gizmodo Knows: iPhone Will Be Announced On Monday

I guarantee it. It isn't what I expected at all. And I've already said too much.

That's it. That's the whole post. On any other blog you'd be forgiven for scanning straight over it and onto the next but not here. There has to be something to this. I guess the only thing we can do here is stay tuned Monday... and if it turns out to be a hoax I promise not to mention it again.

Via Fark.

Review: Virgin Mobile Lobster 700TV

The propaganda

Through out this year, mobile TV has been heralded as the future by most major mobile network operators.But even the improved data speed of 3G still isn’t enough to make it into the killer app the networks want it to be. However, Virgin’s Lobster 700TV takes a different approach to the streaming problem; it uses an onboard DAB decoder using BT’s Movio to tune into five different TV channels (and it is possible the list will change over time) consisting of BBC1, ITV1, ITN News, E4 and Channel 4, who’s service has recently been updated.

The service is blissfully subscription free too (unless you’re on Pay As You Go) and because it’s DAB, you also get the opportunity to tune into 50 or so radio stations as well. The phone is a bit of a behemoth and aesthetically not to every one’s taste (or as the ladies of Shiny Shiny put it: “it looks like someone has knocked it on the side and a swelling has come up”. Mmm, nice).

It does have a selection of other features too though: a Windows Mobile OS, MicroSD memory card slot, media player, 1.3 megapixel camera and a decent battery life that should give a good couple of hours of viewing time.

The good

Wonderful though the idea of mobile TV might be, it ain’t much use when you’re walking places or are doing anything that requires you some attention from your eyes. For that reason, the integrated DAB receiver is an absolutely great feature, especially if you’re a 6Music addict like myself. Furthermore the sound quality is top notch and way better than anything you’ll get from some piddly FM receiver.

Coverage of digital services in the UK is now pretty good (about 85%) so most places should be able to get Virgin network reception and also TV/Radio reception. Using the radio, the signal only broke down occasionally when moving around inside buildings and never cut off entirely. TV was a different matter, but we’ll come to that shortly.

General operation of the handset was pretty good too; it suffered from the usual slow down you get with the Windows Mobile, but to its credit, it never once crashed. The buttons are quite large and easy to operate one handed, although their movement doesn’t feel as crisp as on many other phones.

The bad

The DAB aerial is integrated with the headphone cable. That’s not a huge surprise (where else are they going to put it?), but if you lose them or leave them at home you’re a bit stuck. And because there’s no 3.5mm socket to be found, you can’t use your own cans and that’s a bit of a shame.

The main issue is that TV reception can be patchy, especially while on the move. The problem is a bit sporadic, even in the city centre where coverage should be strong – sometimes it will work fine for ages, but at other times it will lose signal entirely forcing you to reload the channel and lose valuable moments of viewing time, and that can be a real pain. Another annoyance is that some programs on C4 and E4 have a licensing issue, so you’re just presented with an apology notice when you tune in, but I suppose Virgin can’t really take all the blame for that.

The frame rate for TV isn’t wonderful either so things can end up looking a bit jerky and lip syncing can quickly break down. It’s not unwatchable and when you have a consistent signal it rarely develops any annoying artefacts, which are the bane of the 3G alternatives.

It seems that mobile TV isn’t quite fine tuned enough yet to be relied on to stave off the boredom of your bus journey yet, but if you’re trying to catch a cheeky few minutes of telly while at your desk, you should be okay.

Geek Sheet

Dimensions: 111.2 x 52/58 (at bulge) x 23.8 mm

Weight: 140g

Screen: 240 x 320 pixels

DAB digital tuner

TV channels: BBC1 C4, E4, ITV1, ITN News

Bluetooth

Battery: 5 hours talk time, 140 hours standby

1.3 megapixel camera

MicroSD expandable memory

Overview

The sheer size of the phone is going to be the cause of most gripes, but I didn’t really mind it – sure it’s bigger than most ordinary handsets and probably about four times the size of one of Samsung’s Ultra models for example, but it’s not so big that you can’t fit in your hand or pocket or anything. I do know that some people prefer a little extra girth (ooer!) on their phone and so it shouldn’t be much of a problem unless you have dainty little hands.

If you’re sold on the DAB tuner, you’ll be hard pushed to find a standalone portable DAB that is much smaller and, because you can pick it up from free on contract, it’s a bit of a bargain too. If you’re going for a Pay As You Go contract though, the Lobster will set you back £199 and TV subscription costs £5 per month.

Related stories: Free beer and kebabs from Virgin Mobile | Channel 4 goes live exclusively on Virgin Mobile TV| Review Virgin Mobile Lobster 544 budget music phone | More Mobile Phones...

Related sites: Virgin

Samsung fusion chip to make phones five times faster

Looks like we'll all be looking to upgrade our handsets again next year, with Samsung announcing that it expects gadget makers to be using its new 'fusion' memory chip (also known as OneDRAM), into handsets, portable games consoles and media players by mid 2007. The benefit? It "sharply increases" data throughput speeds. Or in other words, everything becomes a whole lot faster.

The memory replaces the distinct banks of SRAM and DRAM found in most of today's mobile devices and allows media and communications processors to share the available memory, dynamically adjusted according to need. That should boost the handset's processing speed fivefold, claims Samsung.

Other benefits include low power consumption - the memory requires 30 per cent less power than separate DRAM and SRAM memory banks. And with handsets containing fewer chips, that should also mean smaller devices and lower production costs. More on this when the first device comes through.

Samsung website

Via The Register

More mobiles:
LG and Prada partner up for next year's fashion phone
There's gold in them there recycled mobiles (sorry)

iPhone domain registered... and up for sale

The Apple iPhone drama continues... A helpful reader of Tech Digest has pointed us in the direction of the-iPhone.com, a url that has been registered by a domain squatter and is up for sale at a whopping $750,000.00!

It seems like everyone is trying to cash in at poor little Apples expense but whether the asking price will be met by anyone remains to be seen. Personally I think whoever bought it will struggle to sell the address at that price. Now, if it were just iPhone.com... well that's a whole different story.

LG and Prada partner up for next year's fashion phone

LG, makers of this year's fashion handset of choice - the Chocolate phone - is looking to corner the market again next year, with the announcement that it's teaming up with Prada to develop "an innovative and iconic mobile phone".

It's still in the planning stage right now (so no photos available), but according to LG, the handset will combine high-end technology with "avant-garde design". Rather than just sticking traditional phone technology into a new case, the two companies are working together on all aspects of the phone, including software, user interface and music as well as the design and packaging.

The result, they claim, will be "a unique, sophisticated and elegant phone" with an advanced touch interface replacing the conventional keypad. The initial launch is planned for early 2007, with distribution starting in Europe (firstly in Italy, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany). So you never know, we might well get our hands on this at the CES in January.

LG website

Vertu's Racetracks Legends phones for the rich and frivolous

There's obviously a strong demand for overpriced handsets amongst the rich and famous. Following on from Vertu's millionaire-friendly Signature Duo handset comes a whole series of handsets from the company, all themed around motor racing.

The Vertu Racetracks Legends phones are a limited edition range, covering six of the world's most famous racetracks. The series starts with Monza (red) and Silverstone (green), followed by Le Mans (blue) and Indianapolis (black), with Monaco (yellow) and Nuerburgring (titanium grey) bringing up the rear. The phones feature racing tread rubber detailing and a laser etched map of the phones respective race track.

Small in number, collectable, pitched at the millionaire set - you know the price is going to be high. Expect to pay at least £3,000 for each handset. And if the bug bites and you decide to pick up all six, there's a special case to store them all in, made of carbon fibre - the price of that to be confirmed, but don't expect a bargain.

Vertu website

Via Luxury Launches

iPhone trademark problem

After hearing just days ago that Apple's iPhone may be hitting the US as early as January (a date that is looking more and more unlikely) next year, it seems that the company may now have a rather large problem on their hands. Turns out that the Canadian company Comwave have already trademarked the name iPhone and the service - a Skype-like internet phone line - has been in use state-side for the past few years.

Comwave might just manage to swing itself a nice little deal out of this. After all, would Apple's phone by any other name have the same "must have" qualities? Unlikely. And you've got to wonder if Comwave foresaw Apples move into the mobile market. A quick search over at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office shows that it's not the first company to try and trademark the name, but the only one to succeed.

Via The Inquirer.

No cancer risk from mobile phone usage, Danish study suggests

Every so often someone tells us all that prolonged use of mobile phones is bad for our health (it's usually in the Daily Mail or on This Morning, isn't it?).

Now, however, a two-decade study by the Danish Institute of Cancer Epidemiology which followed 420,000 mobile phone users for up to 21 years has concluded that there was no increase in various cancer risks - including brain, neck, eye tumours and leukaemia, amongst those who had used their mobile phones compared to that of the general population.

"We found no evidence for an association between tumor risk and cellular telephone use among either short-term or long-term users," said lead researcher Dr. Christoffer Johansen of the Danish Institute of Cancer Epidemiology. "Moreover, the narrow confidence intervals provide evidence that any large association of risk of cancer and cellular telephone use can be excluded."

Whilst that sounds like good news, I'm still not convinced that having a phone strapped to your ear, or stored around your waist (particularly if you're male) is such a good idea.

Related stories: Computer Keep Fit | Mobile Phones...

There's gold in them there recycled mobiles (sorry)

Today's horrifying statistic: less than 1% of discarded mobiles are actually recycled, despite being loaded not only with precious metals, but toxic sludge.  Hopefully by appealing to basic human nature - greed, that is - that can change. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that a whopping 500 million unused mobiles are lying around in desk drawers, which can be converted right into cash by companies such as The Recycling Factory.  (And while you're at it, sell off those used ink cartridges you've got lying around too.)  [GT]

Recycled Cell Phones—A Treasure Trove of Valuable Metals [via WorldChanging]

Related stories: Moto's biodegradable mobile | Send empty ink and dead mobiles to the Recycling Factory | 5 ways to recycle your mobile

i-Kids GPS child safety device launched in the UK

Mobiles2Go have announced the availability of their i-Kids GPS gadget designed as a child safety device that will keep track of a child and give parents peace of mind.

i-Kids has a one-touch emergency button that will immediately put the child in touch with a parent by speed-dialling four pre-programmed numbers in sequence until the alert is answered. If none of the numbers are answered, the call is diverted to the i-Kids service desk where a trained operator can offer assistance.

The latest GPS functionality ensures that the device can be pinpointed to within 10-20 metres. This works even when the device is switched off, and can alert the parent by text message if a child moves out of pre-defined safety zones.

Children can be sent text and voice messages from the parent, but cannot send texts or make calls, nor receive texts from unauthorised people.

Commenting on the launch, Mark Gullickson, CEO of mobiles2go said: "Everyday we read about the increasing number of threats to child safety and this is fuelling the already prevalent fears of parents everywhere. There is a fine balance between keeping your child safe while gradually introducing the freedom and responsibility they need to enjoy a healthy and happy childhood. i Kids has already proven a very popular solution to this parental predicament in Australia, Netherlands, Germany, South Africa and Korea, by giving children the ability to communicate safely, with security features that give parents peace of mind.”"

The durable device is priced £99.99, with a monthly tariff of £15.75 on an 18-month contract.

Mobiles2Go
i-Kids

Related stories: Hannspree.z - child-friendly, zoo-themed TVs | Track your kids by mobile phone | Loc8tor tagging stops you losing keys, children, teeth..., | Parents need their techie kids' help

Zenum's "premium design" Opus smartphone to launch early 2007

Planned for a launch in November this year, Zenum's Opus smartphone will now make a stylish entrance early in 2007, the company has announced.

The reason? It still needs "some improvment". What will improve, we don't know. The current spec is a tri-band phone with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (with A2DP wireless stereo support), a two megapixel camera, QWERTY keyboard, 64MB RAM, 128MB Flash ROM, miniSD support and a 700MHz Texas Instruments OMAP 750 CPU. It runs with Windows Mobile 5.0.

It's being billed as a phone with "premium design", doubtless to appeal to all those tax exile in its native Switzerland. Judging by the image, it’s certainly not without an element of style, but you can make your mind up in March 2007, when the phone will finally hit the shelves.

Zenum website

Via The Register

More smartphones:
Palm Treo 680 smartphone now available in the UK
E-Ten Glofiish M700 pocket PC with sliding keyboard and Wi-Fi

Samsung launches Ultra Edition handsets - Ultra Music F300, Ultra Video F500 and Ultra Messaging i600

Samsung has launched three handsets under the Ultra Edition banner - the Ultra Music F300, the Ultra Video F500 and the Ultra Messaging i600.

The F300 and F500 are tri-band devices, each with a two megapixel camera. The F300 has a 2.1-inch touchscreen and the looks of a music player, with the keypad sliding out. It also features Bluetooth 2.0 audio (A2DP), FM radio, 100MB of on-board storage and a MicroSD slot to boost it further. The F500 has a 2.4-inch screen, a sliding keypad, music and video support and 400MB of storage, which again can be boosted via MicroSD.

The i600 is a 3G handset with HSDPA support. It has a 2.3-inch screen, QWERTY keyboard and runs Windows Mobile 5.0. There's a VGA camera for video calls, a 1.3 megapixel camera for snapping. plus Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, 64MB of RAM and 128MB of Flash ROM.

No news on pricing or if these handsets will make it over to Europe. We'll keep you posted.

Samsung website

Via The Register

More Samsung handsets:
T-Mobile offers first non-PDA mobile broadband handset - Samsung Z560
Samsung i320 reviewed

Diggnation leaks possible iPhone details

Popular weekly podcast, Diggnation, recently leaked details on the eagerly awaited Apple iPhone. Though not yet officially announced and technically rumour, the news is still taken as fact by many; Kevin Rose - founder of digg.com and one of the Diggnation presenters - was also correct when he let slip details on the Core 2 Duo Macbook and Macbook Pros in the past.

Details are few (Rose was scared he was going to get in trouble for releasing the information and held-back) but if he's right we know that the iPhone's features include 2x batteries (one for phone, one for mp3), flash memory, slide-out keyboard, touchscreen (on outside) and that it will be available in two capacities: 4Gb and 8Gb. Kevin also stated that the phone would be released in the US in January and that prices would be $249 and $449 for the two sizes.

View Diggnation #74 here.

Apple files patent for wireless handheld device

The EETimes has picked up upon Apple's latest patent filing, published today but rumoured since August, of a handheld computing device with wireless communications capability.

It's summarised as: "The portable computing device includes an enclosure that surrounds and protects the internal operational components of the portable computing device. The enclosure includes a structural wall formed from a ceramic material that permits wireless communications therethrough. The wireless communications may for example correspond to RF communications, and further the ceramic material may be radio-transparent thereby allowing RF communications therethrough."

Well, we've been talking about wireless iPods and iPhones for an age, so it's not that surprising. How it will come, though, is another matter. Maybe something else to look forward at MacWorld 2007 in January.

The patent goes on to talk about the device's ceramic properties:

"It should be noted that ceramics have been used in a wide variety of products including electronic devices such as watches, phones, and medical instruments. In all of these cases, however, the ceramic material have not been used as structural components. In most of these cases they have been used as cosmetic accoutrements. It is believed up till now ceramic materials have never been used as a structural element including structural frames, walls or main body of a consumer electronic device, and more particularly an enclosure of a portable electronic device such as a media