Now the same company, Vobis Computer, has announced its next attempt at Android called the Highscreen Zeus, which will be launched in Russia at an unknown time for 13,990 rubles ($483 US). Needless to say, the Zeus has a much nicer ring to the name than PP5420 ever did.

Fortunately we were able to find a pic and some specs on this new device.

Some of the Zeus’ specs include:

• Operating System: Google Android OS
• Network: GSM / GPRS / EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) UMTS / HSDPA / HSUPA (2100 MHz)
• Display: TFT, 3.2 inches diagonal, with a resolution of 240 x 400 pixels (WQVGA)
• QWERTY-keyboard
• Camera: 3 megapixel CMOS, Auto Focus
• Navigation: GPS / AGPS
• Processor: Qualcomm MSM 7225 (528 MHz)
• RAM: 256 MB
• ROM: 512 MB
• Expansion Slot: microSD
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, WiFi 802.11 b/g, micro-USB, 3.5 mm headset jack
• Battery: Lithium-Ion 1010 mAh
• GSM Talk time: up to 480 minutes for GSM
• Standby: up to 400 hours for GSM
• Dimensions: 110 x 55 x 15, 1 mm
• Weight: 124.6 grams

Overall, it sounds like another average Android device, especially considering the inclusion of a 528 MHz processor. We also don’t know which version of the OS will be working on the Zeus.

Among the features of the Zeus will be a brand-new navigation service called iDA which will offer voice turn-by-turn navigation courtesy of a Canadian company by the name of Intrinsync. It will also offer detailed Russian city maps from Navteq.

We will keep you posted on any news of a launch date.

via Mobile-Review

• HighScreen PP5420 – Android phone for Russia
• General Mobile DSTL1 dual-SIM Android phone for the US, Turkey
• General Mobile DSTL1 Imaginary – the first dual-SIM Android smartphone?
• Motorola Sholes to Bring Android 2.0 to Verizon
• Acer A1 with Android 2.0 on pre-order

In consequence, users who have a Windows Mobile, BlackBerry or Symbian S60 smartphone can visit a Best Buy store and “get some help installing the app or to see a live demo of what the application can do.”

Also, if you’re buying a new phone at Best Buy, Google Mobile App can be installed as part of the Walk Out Working program.

“We are excited to offer users a new and more personalized way of getting Google on their smartphones. While Google Mobile App is available as a free download from m.google.com, often times users run into problems because they don’t have the right handset or data plan,” declared Marc Vanlerberghe, Director of Marketing at Google.

Google Mobile App includes features like My Location and search by voice, and at the same time provides quick access to Gmail, Google Maps, Google Search and so on.

Via Google Mobile Blog

• Google Mobile App for BlackBerry now available
• Google Mobile App for Windows Mobile is here
• Google Maps for mobile gets voice search – only on BlackBerry Pearl devices, for now
• Sprint and Google announce partnership to give users better mobile experience
• New Google-Tele Atlas deal will give users improved maps, chance to change the world

The $1.3 billion will be paid upfront, with additional royalties to be paid afterwards.

According to Telecoms Korea, the $1.3 billion that will be received from Samsung accounts for about 80% of Qualcomm’s net income of fiscal year 2009.

(Samsung S8000 Jet, one of the latest Samsung phones to use a Qualcomm platform)

Reportedly, the new deal with Qualcomm was signed by Samsung “under the most favorable conditions”, thanks to the fact that the South Korean company is Qualcomm’s most important customer.

• Qualcomm and BlackBerry heading for Korea now that WIPI’s gone
• Snapdragon smartbook, smartphone to be launched in Korea this year
• RIM reports strong growth, 3.9 million new BlackBerry subscribers
• HTC prepares about 10 new handsets for 2009
• South Korea scraps WIPI, opens the mobile market to foreign competition

The FCC has just approved the Mini 3iX (850/1900 GSM and UMTS bands included), so now all AT&T and Dell have to do is announce the smartphone.

As mentioned earlier this week, the Dell Mini 3iX features Wi-Fi – unlike the China-bound Mini 3i. The handset could also come with a 3.5 inch touchscreen display with 640 x 360 pixels, A-GPS, Microsoft Exchange support and a 3MP autofocus camera.

No word yet on what Android version Dell Mini 3iX will run. Anyway, this might be the very first Android phone to be launched by AT&T, and if the price is right, there will probably be many customers to buy it.

Via FCC

• Dell Mini 3iX Android phone turns up in Brazil. With tri-band 3G/HSDPA and Wi-Fi
• Dell’s China-bound Android smartphone spec’d, new photos show up
• Dell Mini 3i smartphone finally launches in China
• HTC makes the HD2 (Leo) official
• T-Mobile Pulse (Huawei U8220) to come in October for only €260

There have been enough leaked pics and videos of the Behold II that its overall look and feel are no longer in question, and certainly no longer a mystery. And we’ve already heard nearly-confirmed rumors that the device will officially be on sale beginning November 18. So now all that’s left is an official proclamation that the Behold II exists and really is coming out when we all expect it to.

Behold II. Tell your friends.

Just in case you need a refresher on what it looks like, check this pic out below:

via IntoMobile

• T-Mobile’s Samsung Behold and Samsung Gravity now official
• Blackberry Storm 2 Official Video is Now Out
• HTC S522 approved by FCC with T-Mobile 3G support
• Nokia N900 delayed a bit, will start shipping in November
• T-Mobile Release Date Rumors: Tap, Behold II

This particular one is called the Saygus VPhone V1 and has already cleared the FCC for approval. Saygus is a relatively new player on the market, though this would certainly give immediate name-recognition to the brand.

Besides having EVDO Rev A, how can we be so sure the VPhone is coming to Verizon? Saygus’ own website is confirming it. They mention this to be not only the third Android phone to come to Verizon, but also the first to be approved via Verizon’s own Open Development Program.

We have specs and pics ready to throw at all of you. Specs first:

• 3.5-inch 800 x 480 capacitive touchscreen
• 624 MHz Processor
• 5 MP autofocus camera
• 512 MB ROM, 256 MB RAM
• WiFi/Bluetooth/GPS/Possible MiFi
  
• MicroSD slot
• Front-facing camera (will this be omitted from Verizon’s final version?)
• FM Radio
• No 3.5 mm jack
• Accelerometer/compass

Not bad. The processor could always welcome a nice bump up in speed, though 624 is still quite respectable for current standards.

Here are a few pics from the FCC files.

Likely release timeframe is set to be early 2010 as of now, but is not confirmed and always subject to change.

Are you intrigued?

via FCC File; via Slashgear

• Verizon announces the HTC Droid Eris, launches the LG Chocolate Touch
• Best Buy pre-selling Motorola Droid on October 29, no mail-in rebate
• Motorola Tao Will be Droid on Verizon, to Offer Flash?
• Verizon Motorola Droid announced, comes on Nov. 6 for $199.99
• Rumored HTC Passion Coming to Verizon, is a HD2 With Android?

It seems more realistic now than when the rumor surfaced previously, mainly because now AT&T is concerned about the buzz around the Motorola Droid being comparable to the iPhone. A move like this would certainly continue to give the competitive edge to Apple and AT&T for now.

My thoughts: it’s about time. The holidays can’t come soon enough. My concern is, though, that only AT&T is rumored to be making the leap at this point. Are other iPhone carriers planning on releasing the 8 GB version of the 3GS as well?

Ultimately my dream would be for the 16 GB 3GS to drop in price to $99, and have a 64 GB iPhone 3GS come out just before the holidays at the $299 price point. But I’ll settle for an 8 GB in 3GS flavor for now.

via BGR

• iPhone gets price cut in Britain, 3G version imminent
• Apple to sell iPhones through CostCo by January at $149?
• Orange to launch iPhone in ten more countries
• Apple to Allow iPhone Subsidies, Lower Revenue Sharing
• Analyst Predicts Verizon iPhone Deal in 2010

For Q3, T-Mobile lost 77,000 subscribers. This is a stark contrast to last year’s third quarter in which the company gained over 670,000 subscribers.

Other numbers of note: T-Mobile ended the quarter with 33 million customers, and reported a net income of $417 million. They are still the #4 carrier in the US, behind Sprint, AT&T and Verizon.

T-Mobile blamed most of the loss on FlexPay customers.

via CellPhoneSignal

• Sprint Nextel combo not getting any better, loses 1 million customers
• Deutsche Telekom to buy Sprint and merge it with T-Mobile USA?
• NTT DoCoMo has 10 million mobile payment customers
• Motorola posts Q3 results, Mobile Devices unit loses $183 million
• Palm announces Q1 FY 2010 results, says goodbye to Windows Mobile

We agree that was the right move. Verizon’s just having a heyday today with the Droid and Droid Eris coming out, as well as announcing several other devices. Sprint needed to do something to divert at least some of the attention away from Big Red.

No pricing set yet, but with Verizon’s model priced at $99.99 we anticipate a similar pricing on Sprint’s end, though it wouldn’t surprise us if Sprint undercut Verizon’s pricing by a small margin.

Sprint’s version will come in a choice of royal purple or black.

via news release:

Sprint 8530

• Rumor: Droid Eris to sell at $99
• LG Monaco, HTC Warhawk and Touch Pro2 leaked in Sprint document
• Samsung Exclaim M550 to hit Sprint; Samsung Alias 2 caught on video
• Pink Samsung Instinct now available from Sprint, only $99.99
• Sprint intros the Android HTC Hero – available starting October 11

Crackberry spotted the 9700 on sale on Rogers’ website, which is just about as official as you can get. Given the amount of love that Rogers and RIM have for each other, it’s no surprise Rogers would get first dibs at the Bold 9700.

And don’t forget that you getting your hands on such a premium Blackberry device when it first comes out will cost you roughly $299.99 ($281 US) on a 3-year contract and $599.99 sans contract.

So if forking out $300 or more for a new Blackberry isn’t really your style, perhaps you will instead be inticed to look at one of the other models Rogers sells, since Rogers just dropped the price of the Bold predecessor, Curve 8900 and 8520. Here are the new prices, which make those devices much more attractive:

• BlackBerry Bold 9000: $99.99 (in black or white)
• BlackBerry Curve 8900: $79.99
• BlackBerry Curve 8520: $49.99 (in black or lavender)

It is nice to see those prices drop, so now there’s a Blackberry option for every price range.

Bold 9700 via Crackberry

Price Cuts via IntoMobile

• Rogers to sell BlackBerry Bold for $399 with 3-year contract
• BlackBerry Curve 8900 officially released in Canada, via Rogers
• BlackBerry Curve 8900 quietly launched by Rogers?
• BlackBerry Bold to debut for Rogers Wireless on July 25th
• AT&T to Launch Bolds in White and Non-Camera; America Yawns

I was worried that this would have a negative ripple effect on the rest of U.S. telecom, causing every other wireless provider to follow suit. So far, 1 out of the other 3 major carriers has stepped up to the plate and rejected that notion.

That particular carrier is Sprint. Today it officially announced that there will be no change to its ETF policy in regards to this measure.

Sprint’s current ETF is set at $200 with it eventually decreasing to $50 when you are far enough through your contract.

via Sprint’s Official Twitter

• Sprint makes its ETF more user-friendly
• Sprint intros the Android HTC Hero – available starting October 11
• HTC Touch Pro2 details appear at Sprint’s website
• Samsung Moment (InstinctQ) with Android announced by Sprint
• Sprint announces 8,000 job cuts for the first quarter of the year

Another surprise is that only 6% of all mobile phones are being refurbished. Thus, only 8% of all cell phones worldwide are being disposed of properly. I don’t think I have to describe exactly what kind of impact this really is having on our environment, I’ll just leave it to you to imagine.

Fortunately this report isn’t all gloom and doom on the future; according to ABI Research, the number of recycled phones should double in 5 years and the total percentage of phones either refurbished or recycled will amount to 18%.

The future sounds much more acceptable, though I don’t believe it’s high enough. So then, what is the best way to dispose of your phone once you have moved on to the next? Most telecom companies offer a recycling program, and their retail stores typically have some sort of recycling bin. Many large electronics stores (Best Buy, as an example) will have a bin somewhere up front. If those options don’t fit your fancy, simply do an internet search for it and several alternatives will pop up.

In other words, there’s really no excuse not to recycle your phone if it’s not working or being of use anymore.

via ABI Research, via Environmental Leader

• LG Opens Developer Network
• Apple and Rogers feud rumor smashed: iPhone 3G won’t go on sale in all Apple stores outside US, not just Canada
• HSUPA mobile phone prepared by NTT DoCoMo, Renesas, Sharp and Fujitsu
• Web-capable mobile phones are in danger of being hacked, recent studies say
• Bang & Olufsen says goodbye to the cell phone biz

Beginning this month, Sprint will ship out these packages to all retail and online stores. The packages have become about 20 to 40 percent smaller, which will save 647 tons of waste each year; it will also help Sprint save 35% on packaging and shipping costs, to the tune of around $2.1 annually.

I do find it interesting that not only are these measures more eco-friendly, they will end up saving the company a load of money in the end as well. This is something every single telecom should be considering, if they aren’t already.

The new packaging will be available for several products, including:

• Samsung Instinct HD Protective Carry Wallet
• Blackberry Tour Holster
• Motorola i856 Holster
• Jabra C150 Behind The Ear Wired Headset
• HTC Hero Silicone Gels
• Samsung Reclaim Clear Ice Phone Cover
• Samsung Instinct HD Gels
• Samsung Intrepid i350 Silicone Gels
• Micro-USB Vehicle Power Charger
• Palm Micro – USB VPA
• Mini USB VPA – Rim 7250/7520/7100i/Ppc6700
• Samsung VPA – M300.M510

Sprint’s press release goes into a lot more detail about every little change that will make these packages environmentally friendly. Check it out here.

CORRECTION: I had written that Sprint was the 15th greenest telecom company, but I discovered that they were actually named the 15th greenest company in America by Newsweek. Here is the article.

• Sprint to launch WM 6.5 Samsung Intrepid (Ace II), Samsung Moment
• Samsung InstinctQ M900 to come with Android?
• Samsung SPH-M810 passes the FCC, could be Instinct Mini
• Samsung Instinct HD coming to Sprint on September 27?
• Samsung Instinct Mini / Instinct S30 in leaked images?

The Star S5230 passed the 10 million mark after six months since its release (May), thus becoming the fastest-selling Samsung phone ever.

Samsung reported that 5 million Star handsets were sold until August. September and October both brought sales of over 2 million units, so the 10 million mark was reached quite fast.

About 5 million Stars were sold in Europe (UK, Italy, the Netherlands and so on), 1.6 million in Latin America, 900,000 in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and 800,000 in China.

Via NewsWire

• 5 million Star S5230 phones already sold by Samsung
• Samsung Star S5230W and S5233W come with Wi-Fi
• 2 million LG Cookie phones sold, 10 million units planed
• Samsung Preston and Samsung Star – new names for the S5600 and S5230
• Samsung sold over 10 million touchscreen phones in 2008

Both new devices are touchscreen phones, but they’re not at all similar and are targeted at different categories of customers.

The Samsung Mythic is priced at $199.99 on contract after a $50 mail-in rebate and features stuff like: a 3.3 inch display, TouchWiz UI, 3G, finger zoom, virtual QWERTY keyboard, full HTML browser, AT&T Navigator, AT&T Mobile TV, Stereo Bluetooth and a 3.2MP camera.

The Mythic looks really nice, as you can see in the photo below:

Priced at $99.99 (also on contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate), the Samsung Flight is a non-3G handset.

The Flight comes with a smaller touchscreen display, full QWERTY keyboard, HTML web browser, AT&T Navigator, stereo Bluetooth, and a 2MP camera.

Via Press release

• AT&T Intros Four Phones with Opera HTML Browser
• Pantech Reveal now available at AT&T, $80 on contract
• Verizon’s Samsung Rogue and Intensity now available
• Samsung U960 Rogue and U450 Intensity coming to Verizon on September 8
• Verizon’s Samsung Rogue and Samsung Intensity appear in official photos

Previously known as BlackBerry Aries, the Curve 8530 is the CDMA version of T-Mobile’s BlackBerry 8520.

The 8530 features EV-DO connectivity, Wi-Fi, GPS, full QWERTY keyboard, QVGA display, optical trackpad, 3.5mm headset jack, 2MP camera and MicroSD card support.

BlackBerry Curve 8530 will be available at Verizon starting November 20 for $99.99 on contract (after a $100 mail-in rebate).

The other device announced by Verizon – Samsung u640 Convoy – is a rugged Push To Talk clamshell.

The Samsung Convoy meets military specifications 810F standards for dust and shock resistance, humidity, vibration, solar radiation, low/high temperature and altitude. It comes with VZ Navigator, external and internal displays, Bluetooth 2.1, 2MP camera and a 1300 mAh battery. The phone will be available from Verizon starting November 15 for $49.99 on contract.

Another rugged phone that’s headed to Verizon is the Casio G’Zone Brigade which, according to Engadget, is waterproof and features Push To Talk and document viewer. The G’Zone Brigade has a small display and an alphanumeric keypad on the outside, as well as a large display and a QWERTY keyboard on the inside.

The launch date and price of Casio G’Zone Brigade were not announced by Verizon.

Via Verizon here and here

• Verizon’s Casio Brigade C741 approved by the FCC
• Verizon to launch Nokia Twist 7705, LG Chocolate Touch VX8575 and more
• BlackBerry Curve 8350i finally launched by Sprint
• Casio Exilim and Motorola Rival launched by Verizon
• T-Mobile BlackBerry Curve 8520 (Gemini) to come on August 5

Customers can get the GD510 Pop on PAYG for £99.95 (about €112 or $166) – it’s not yet featured on Carphone’s website in the PAYG section, but it will probably be soon.

The new phone is also offered on contract, through T-Mobile, Vodafone, Orange and O2. The handset is free with a 2-yr agreement and a data plan of at least £15 per month. You can check out all the deals here.

In case you don’t know yet, LG GD510 Pop’s features include quad-band GSM/EDGE connectivity, a 3 inch WQVGA touchscreen display, accelerometer, Bluetooth 2.1, FM radio, Music/video player, Web browser, 3.2MP camera and MicroSD card support.

Via Pocket-lint

• Samsung Tocco Lite (S5230) announced in the UK
• Philips X806 and C702 touchscreen phones show up
• 8 new Samsung phones leaked – S5050, C5212, S3310 and E2210 included
• Samsung S5560 touchscreen phone coming soon
• ModeLabs MyWay Touch – simple, cheap touchscreen phone

What the heck’s happening with this Android stuff? All was peachy with the Android 1.0, Android 1.1, Android 1.5 Cupcake, and even Android 1.6 Donut releases.

Google will make OS available, cellphone vendors will take the package and make cool smartphones with it. Everyone gets the same version and releases handsets with it, accordingly.

Then came the announcement of Android 2.0 running Verizon/Motorola Droid, release of Android 2.0 SDK to developers, and things started getting really confusing.

With much more advanced and visually appealing Android 2.0 available, and already running on one phone, one would expect other vendors to jump on the bandwagon, and announce Eclair running handsets as soon as they can.

But no, all others, announcing their Android smartphones, for some mysterious reason, are using the old 1.6 Donut version of the OS.  Even for the high end models, that will ship only next year, like Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, or other Verizon Droid series handsets, like HTC Eris.

And I think,  I know what this reason is.

There simply is no 2.0 version of Android operating system yet. At least in a way, we usually consider a software package to be ready for a version X.0 number.

What we do have as an OS, Google, Motorola and Verizon call Android 2.0 for marketing purposes, is a pre-release/beta version of the software, optimized to run on a single device by a single vendor.

If you think it’s unlikely that Google will give one vendor such a strong preference, to launch a competing device, with a more advanced version of OS, think again.

This is exactly the same thing Google did last year, when they really wanted to get their OS into the market, before the year/holiday season was over. Google worked directly with HTC, optimizing the unfinished operating system to run on a single handset. Then they called it Android 1.0, and launched HTC G1/Dream handset running on it. With tons of unfinished/absent features, bugs and all.

Even Andy Rubin himself admitted, that Android 1.0 wasn’t really a software package worthy of 1.0 tag. Android reached that level only with the release of the Cupcake 1.5/Donut 1.6 updates. That’s when all other vendors felt that the software was actually ready for their phones, and got busy releasing them.

The launch of Motorola Droid, is sort of a deja vu of the things that happened last year.

Close integration work exclusively for a single handset, from a single vendor. Advanced version of the OS, not available to other vendors. The feeling of a rushed job, manifesting in illogically unfinished/absent features (see the dismal multimedia/sync experience, camera issues, universal search limitations, laginess of basic UI elements, etc;  that Gizmodo found on Droid).

All are the mirror thing of the problems the original G1 faced in November 2008.

So, to anyone waiting for another Android 2.0 handset to be released anytime soon, sorry. You won’t be seeing any of them this year. If ever.

My guess is, that Android 2.0 will remain exclusive to Motorola Droid/Milestone. Just like Android 1.0 was exclusive to HTC Dream/G1.

The rest of us, who will not pick up Droid, will have to wait for the release of Android 2.1/Flan, to get our hands on the next generation Android goodness. The handsets with which should be announced in February 2010, and start shipping sometime in March/April.

• Samsung Spica and BigFoot Android 2.0/ Donut phone details leaked
• Motorola Milestone (Droid) officially launched in Europe. Gets multi-touch, loses free navigation
• Verizon and Google officially promise several Android phones
• Verizon’s HTC Desire shows up in the… dark
• GSM Motorola Droid caught on video

Nokia says that this coincides with the global availability of Nokia X6, its new flagship music phone that should be on sale in the UK starting November 12.

The first event organized by Nokia Play 2010 is the release of Rihanna’s new album, “Rated R”, which will be available worldwide starting November 23. Rihanna will perform live on November 16 in London, and Nokia will stream the show live over the internet – fans can sign up here.

Nokia will also release a Rihanna mobile app via the Ovi Store. Moreover, Nokia Comes With Music customers will have access to an exclusive edition of Rihanna’s Rated R album, which includes a bonus track and free content.

Via Press release

• SanDisk’s $15 slotMusic cards now shipping. Leona Lewis, Rhianna, Coldplay and many more coming your way
• Nokia OVI Music & Games (N-Gage) Videos
• Nokia Music Store opens in Singapore
• Cheaper Nokia X6 16GB coming in 2010 without CWM?
• Nokia announces six Comes With Music handsets for Singapore; launches Music Stores in Austria, Switzerland

As rumored, Verizon will sell the Droid Eris for 99.99 on contract (after a $100 mail-in rebate) starting November 6, the same day when the more expensive Motorola Droid becomes available.

The features of HTC Droid Eris include a 3.2 inch HVGA touchscreen display, HTC Sense UI, Wi-Fi, GPS and digital compass, HTML browser with Flash Lite, Bluetooth, 3.5mm headset jack, 5MP autofocus camera, and an 8GB MicroSD card in the box.

Unlike the Motorola Droid which will come with Android 2.0, HTC Droid Eris runs Android 1.5 (but it might be upgraded to 2.0).

Verizon has also (silently) launched the LG Chocolate Touch VX8575.

Available starting today for $79.99 on contract, the LG Chocolate Touch features EV-DO Rev. 0 connectivity, a 3 inch touchscreen display with 400 x 240 pixels, VZ Navigator, HTML web browser, Dolby Mobile sound, 3.5mm headset jack, FM radio, 3.2MP camera, 1GB of internal memory, and MicroSD card support.

Via Gizmodo

• Verizon Motorola Droid announced, comes on Nov. 6 for $199.99
• Verizon’s HTC Droid Eris shows up in press and hands-on photos
• Verizon’s LG Chocolate Touch VX8575 shows up again
• Best Buy pre-selling Motorola Droid on October 29, no mail-in rebate
• Verizon’s Samsung Rogue and Samsung Intensity appear in official photos

Only orders of up to £30 are accepted, but you get a 20% discount every time.

The Pizza Hut app will use Vodafone’s location-based services to highlight the nearest Pizza Hut store so that customers can receive their orders as soon as possible.

The Samsung Vodafone 360 H1 is currently available for free with a 2-yr contract agreement and a monthly plan of at least £35 ($58). The smartphone runs on a LiMo platform and features a 3.5 AMOLED touch screen display, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, 5MP camera and 16GB of internal memory.

Via Pocket-lint

• Vodafone Samsung 360 H1 starts shipping on October 30
• Samsung Jet S8000 already available in the UK, free on select Vodafone plans
• Samsung S5600 launched in the UK via Orange
• Samsung Galaxy i7500 finally available from O2 UK
• Nokia N900 to hit the UK on Nov. 16, free on select contracts

Unfortunately, there are no new details about the features of Kurara, so we’ll have to stick to the previously rumored ones: 3.5 inch AMOLED touchscreen display, an 8.1MP camera with autofocus and flash (the camera can be clearly seen now), and Symbian – probably Symbian^2, which is based on Symbian S60 5.1 Edition).

The HD inscription can no longer be seen on the back of the phone, so it may have been just a photoshop job.

The Sony Ericsson Kurara should be released in the first half of 2010 – maybe at about the same time with the Android-powered Xperia X10?

Via Pestaola

• Sony Ericsson Kurara shows up in new photos, promises HD video capabilities
• Sony Ericsson Rachael (X3) to be announced on November 3; SE Kurara coming soon too
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 confirmed by Skyhook CEO?
• Sony Ericsson to ditch Windows Mobile, prepare Android and Symbian smartphones for 2010
• Android 2.0 on Sony Ericsson’s first Android smartphone?

In time for Thanksgiving, the company will be offering its own T-Mobile channel within the Android Market, which will offer recommendations on which content to download, in order to add ease to the customer’s experience in finding new apps and downloads.

But wait, there’s more. T-Mo will also be adding in support for billing the customer’s account as an alternative to using Google Checkout whenever downloading a purchased Android app.

Carrier billing is somewhat unusual in the States for App Stores. Purchases made on the iPhone App Store, for example, are billed to the customer’s iTunes account instead of AT&T directly. Venetia Espinoza, Director of Mobile Applications and Partner Programs explained that:

We are making it very easy to purchase apps. Historically, research has shown that with carrier billing, there’s a big uptick of 30 to 40 percent in app or content downloads….We’ve been working very closely with Google over the last several months to integrate the Android Market with our internal billing gateway.

Any interesting insights to the news? Do you believe the “research” that’s been done to prove carrier billing is more popular?

via MocoNews

• Google to add carrier billing to Android Market
• Paid Android apps confirmed for this month
• Google and Baidu to fight over China’s mobile search market
• Google Analytics now available for mobile apps (Android and iPhone)
• Google Mobile App for BlackBerry now available

To be honest, we weren’t expecting to see the Jack to be one of the first 6.1 phones pushed through to 6.5 by its manufacturer. Nothing against the Jack at all; it’s just running Standard since there is no touchscreen capability.

So what does the Jack and any other WM 6.5 Standard phone get? Improved Internet Explorer, full access to Windows Marketplace, and free access to AT&T WiFi hotspots.

Woohoo? Anyone excited about this one?

In order to download the upgrade, check out Samsung’s official place to do so.

• More details on Windows Mobile Marketplace’s Phase 2
• Samsung Jack i637 officially announced by AT&T
• Microsoft is negotiating carrier-branded versions of Windows Marketplace
• Windows Marketplace opens for submissions on July 27; WM 6.0 and 6.1 will be supported
• AT&T finally offers free Wi-Fi for all iPhone users

Expansys lists the X6 as coming on this date, for no less than 529.99 GBP ($878). Of course, the phone’s price at launch will probably be closer to the price initially announced by Nokia: about €450 (405 GBP).

The X6 is a high-end Symbian touchscreen phone with features that include a 3.2 inches display with 360 x 640 pixels, HSDPA connectivity, Wi-Fi (with UPnP), stereo speakers, 3.5mm headset jack, TV out, 5MP camera with Carl Zeiss optics, and 32GB of internal memory.

Nokia X6 includes Comes With Music unlimited downloads for a year. A non-CWM version of the X6 is rumored to be released in 2010 for a lower price.

Via World of Nokia

• Nokia 5800 XpressMusic launched by Rogers in Canada
• Nokia N96 hits Best Buy, unlocked and yours for $900
• Nokia Xseries debuts with the X6 (Alvin) and X3 music phones
• Nokia N85 NAM ships next week
• Nokia N900 coming to the US on September 27?

That’s right — for advanced phones such as the Droid and similar smartphones, the Early Termination Fee will begin at $350 and decrease by $10 per month per line, starting November 15.

We can’t help but assume that the only reason this ETF is warranted is to prevent anyone from flipping their fancy new Droids on eBay for profit, but it still seems the penalty is a bit harsh.

Just when we thought contracts were becoming more fair by way of prorated ETFs, this comes out of nowhere and blindsides everyone. Thus there is a legitimate fear in other carriers following suit. After all, the iPhone is being subsidized by $400, so it wouldn’t be too ridiculous to imagine AT&T copycatting Verizon on this one.

Here’s a solution, Verizon: if you’re so worried about losing money and customers but yet want to be fair about the ETF, demand a $350 ETF for only the first 4-6 months to ward off the potential flippers, and then drop the ETF down to the same cost as every other device.

via BGR

• FCC Chair Proposes ETF Regulations
• AT&T Now Offering Prorated ETFs
• Sprint Defies Verizon, Will Not Raise ETF
• Verizon to launch an Apple tablet computer this year
• Verizon to finally launch an iPhone in 2010?

If you’re in the UK, you should know that leading mobile operators O2 and T-Mobile will not offer the Milestone at all – or at least that’s what T3 is reporting.

Apparently, T-Mobile UK tested the Droid about six months ago; Nicola Shenton, the operator’s Head of Handset and Device Marketing, confirmed that they chose not to carry it. The exact reason for this is unknown, but it may have something to do with the fact that T-Mo already sells three Android phones in the UK: G1, Hero and Pulse.

So it looks like it’s up to Vodafone, Orange or 3 to bring the Milestone to UK consumers. Let’s hope that at least one of these operators will announce the new Android 2.0 smartphone soon.

• Motorola Milestone (Droid) officially launched in Europe. Gets multi-touch, loses free navigation
• Brazil gets the Motorola Milestone too, multi-touch included
• T-Mobile USA’s second Android phone to come this month, possibly not from HTC
• Verizon’s HTC Droid Eris shows up in press and hands-on photos
• Sony Ericsson to ditch Windows Mobile, prepare Android and Symbian smartphones for 2010

And were extremely disappointed, when Nokia delayed the release of N900 from October to November. Without even bothering to reveal more concrete release date, or even week.

Well, your wait is almost over. There are reports that Nokia N900 starts shipping in U.K. on Nov. 16th.

And now I have even better news for those, who have been eagerly awaiting  Nokia’s N900 arrival to the United States.

Nokia N900 will be released in U.S. next week. On November 14th, to be exact, if the info on NewEgg website is accurate:

As you can see, NewEgg is having a pretty nice discount on Nokia N900, and says that it’s being released on 11/14/2009 – that’s next Saturday.

The wait seems to be almost over. Let’s hope this is for real, and there will be no more last minute delays by Nokia.

• Sony Ericsson Idou release date rumors
• Nokia 6555 headed for AT&T soon
• Rumor: Nokia 5800 Tube to be released in the UK on October 8th
• Nokia N900 delayed a bit, will start shipping in November
• Telus Launching HSPA Nov 5; iPhone is on the List

Well, now we have blacksn0w too, which can unlock both the iPhone 3G and the new iPhone 3GS, via either Windows or Mac.

The blacksn0w unlock app is free and requires iPhone OS 3.1, as well as baseband 05.11.07. To download the application, visit the blackra1n website.

More info about blacksn0w can be found here.

Tutorials on how to use blacksn0w are available at iClarified (text and video): go here for the Windows tutorial, or here for the Mac tutorial.

• iPhone 3G unlock now available for download
• iPhone 3G soft unlock accomplished, to be made available New Year’s eve
• Microsoft My Phone beta now available for everyone
• Windows Mobile 6.5 Build 23022 demoed on video
• iPhone 3G S launched by 3 Italy for a good price – starting at €99

While Motorola didn’t say anything about tethering being available for its latest and greatest smartphone – the Droid – it looks like Verizon will offer the feature, although not this year.

According to Gearlog, the largest US carrier will allow tethering for the Droid in early 2010, thanks to its Broadband Access Connect plan – this will probably add $15 to your Droid monthly plan.

As a reminder, Verizon will sell the Motorola Droid starting November 6, for $199.99 on contract – many of Verizon’s stores will open early in the morning.

• Verizon opens stores early for the Motorola Droid
• Best Buy pre-selling Motorola Droid on October 29, no mail-in rebate
• Verizon’s HTC Droid Eris shows up in press and hands-on photos
• Verizon announces the HTC Droid Eris, launches the LG Chocolate Touch
• Verizon intros GlobalAccess plan, USB1000 Global Modem

In the UK, customers will be able to buy the Nokia N900 starting November 16 and, depending on the contract and data plan they choose, they can get the smartphone even for free.

For example, you won’t have to pay anything for the N900 is you choose a 2-yr contract agreement with a £35 monthly plan from Orange (which includes 900 minutes). There are also many O2 deals – for instance, £30 per month for two years lets you have the N900 at only £10.

To check out all the Nokia N900 deals available in the UK, visit Omio (note that there aren’t any deals for Vodafone and T-Mobile at the moment).

Via Pocket-lint

• Vodafone UK launches International Super SIM plan
• LG GD510 Pop priced at £99.95 on PAYG in the UK
• Nokia 5530 XpressMusic available in the UK, free on select plans
• Vodafone’s Samsung H1 to have a Pizza Hut home delivery app
• Samsung Jet S8000 already available in the UK, free on select Vodafone plans

Known as Motorola Droid in the US (where Verizon will release it on November 6), the Milestone is clearly one of Moto’s nicest handsets to date.

The highlight features of Milestone / Droid include: 3.7 inch TFT multi-touch display with 854 x 480 pixels, full QWERTY keyboard, HSDPA/HSUPA connectivity, GPS, Wi-Fi, 3.5mm headset jack, and a 1400 mAh battery.

Motorola Milestone will be available in Brazil before the year’s end, via TIM, the third largest Brazilian mobile carrier. The smartphone’s price was not unveiled (however, you should know that in the US it will cost $200 on contract).

Via Press release

• Motorola Milestone (Droid) officially launched in Europe. Gets multi-touch, loses free navigation
• Verizon Motorola Droid announced, comes on Nov. 6 for $199.99
• Verizon opens stores early for the Motorola Droid
• Best Buy pre-selling Motorola Droid on October 29, no mail-in rebate
• Moto Droid / Milestone not coming to O2 and T-Mobile in the UK?

The Korean Ruby is called MOTO Klassic and will be available via SK Telecom, featuring CDMA Ev-DO connectivity.

As we mentioned before, the phone has two QVGA displays (the external one being touch-sensitive), a 5MP autofocus camera, GPS, Bluetooth, MicroSD card support, and a 950 mAh battery.

No word yet if Motorola plans to release the Ruby / Klassic outside Korea, but you can check out the phone on its official (Korean) website.

Via Mobile-review

• Motorola Ruby lives, now it’s called V13
• Motorola Ruby VE1 RAZR3 appears in press shots. Back from the dead?
• Samsung SCH-B900 touchscreen phone introduced in Korea
• Official pics of Motorola EM326g and the MOTOROKR S7-HD Bluetooth headset emerge
• Motorola Stature i9 announced, Sprint and Boost will release it soon

The Finnish giant has just unveiled five new models that will be available around the world soon: Nokia 1280, Nokia 1616, Nokia 1800, Nokia 2220 slide and Nokia 2690.

Nokia 1280 is the company’s cheapest phone to date, as it will retail at only €20 (about $30).

The 1280 looks more like a toy than a real phone, and features S30 UI, a 96 x 68 pixels monochrome display, GSM-only connectivity, flashlight, alarm, calendar, MP3 ringtones, FM radio and – interestingly – a 3.5mm headset jack (although there’s no headset included in the box). The handset is dust and scratch resistant, and has changeable color covers. Its battery should last up to 8.5 hours in talk-time mode, or 22 days in stand-by mode.

The Nokia 1280 also supports Nokia Life Tools, the service that’s already available in India and will be launched in Indonesia in December 2009.

The next two phones, Nokia 1616 and Nokia 1800, look similar and feature 128 x 160 pixels color displays, flashlight, FM radio and support for Nokia Life Tools.

The Nokia 1616 and 1800 will cost €24 and €26 respectively.

Next we have the Nokia 2220 slide, a slider that we’ve seen before in several leaked photos.

The Nokia 2220 slide features Ovi Mail, GSM/GPRS connectivity, a 128 x 160 pixels color display, Bluetooth, 3.5mm headset jack, MP3 player, MMS, FM radio, Nokia Life Tools support, VGA photo camera, and 32MB of internal memory. The phone will cost €45.

Finally, the Nokia 2690 is a candybar that looks pretty nice and has most of the features the 2220 has, plus EDGE and MicroSD card support (up to 8GB).

Nokia 2690 will be available for €54.

Via Press release

• Nokia 2220 slide to be colorful, simple and cheap
• Nokia intros new services and 7 new phones under €100 – 7100 Supernova and 5130 XpressMusic included
• Nokia 2220 Slide in new photos, should be released this quarter
• Nokia N86, 2730, 6750 and 6350 coming to Canada for the Holidays
• Nokia 6600i slide, the smallest 5MP Nokia slider

Moreover, HTC and Microsoft have also unveiled that the HD2 would be available in the US in early 2010, offered by a “major carrier”. Verizon? AT&T? T-Mobile maybe? We’ll see.

Previously known as HTC Leo, the HTC HD2 was officially announced at the beginning of October. Its features include Windows Mobile 6.5, a 4.3 inch WVGA touchscreen display, HTC Sense, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, 3.5mm headset jack and a 5MP camera with autofocus.

The exact price of HTC DH2 is not known, but it should be around €500 ($738).

Via Press release

• LG GM750 with Windows Mobile 6.5 announced by Vodafone
• HTC HD2 (Leo) made official by O2, sort of
• HTC makes the HD2 (Leo) official
• More details on HTC Whitestone, Firestone, Thoth and others
• Samsung Armani B7620 goes to Germany in November, costs €729

It really shouldn’t be a surprise to too many Android fans, considering the short turnaround time between 1.6 and 2.0. It’s natural to assume Google would already be hard at work getting the next available version ready for developers as soon as possible. This ability to quickly update definitely can be a sign of a healthy mobile OS with a load of potential.

Here’s how it was discovered: Android and Me’s webmasters were tracking the site’s analytics reports and found that 0.04% of its traffic was coming from Android 2.1, instead of any other OS. It seems like such an incredibly simple approach, yet it worked rather well.

There are no reports of any brand-new features in 2.1 as of yet; all that is known for sure is that 2.1 will be a minor update to fix bugs from 2.0 and will be ready by the end of 2009. Still, that’s a rather fast turnaround time for an OS to get all major bugs fixed that soon.

via Android and Me, via PhoneArena

• Google Analytics now available for mobile apps (Android and iPhone)
• Google Chrome for Android in the works?
• Bug in Android phone triggers reboot with 8 keystrokes
• Samsung Spica and BigFoot Android 2.0/ Donut phone details leaked
• WAT: Why there ain’t more phones with Android 2.0. And there won’t be soon, if ever

The U.S. National Research Council (NRC) recently published a report which claims there are some natural signals, such as radio emissions from space and natural earth phenomena, are being impeded by consumer gadgets such as cell phones and other wireless devices.

These wireless devices are regulated, but the NRC is calling for stricter rules and regulations to ensure the devices won’t be bleeding into the same spectrum as these quieter natural signals that are crucial to collecting scientific data.

According to LiveScience:

The “electronic fog” of manmade signals could not only dampen scientific discoveries, but also threaten passive monitoring systems vital to agriculture, transportation and national defense.

Passive instruments listen for faint radio emissions from water, soil and atmospheric gases, as well as emissions related to atmospheric changes in temperature and humidity.

The NRC believes  that while these manmade wireless signals are essential to the global economy and thus are necessary to keep intact, a certain balance must be achieved so that both sides can be appeased.

Proper balance could be wrought about in a few different ways: set aside more spectrum for these signals that can’t be reached by mobile devices; develop new technologies to allow both to co-exist peacefully; or simply allow scientists the ability to briefly turn off radio transmissions so they can collect data when a satellite passes over a given area. There are certainly many possible ideas to ensure scientists can continue in their work unimpeded by the latest technology out there.

via LiveScience

• Cloaking device to eliminate cellphone static and render objects invisible closer to reality
• Verizon completes first LTE data calls over its 700 MHz spectrum
• Verizon expands, buys SureWest Communications for $69 million
• FCC Chairman Kevin Martin wants to allow the use of portable devices on white spaces
• New Samsung phones to help you pratice safe sex

It’s not an illusion; according to comScore there are 24 million touchscreen devices in use within the United States, a 159 percent growth year-over-year from last year at this time.

That is a huge rate of expansion for a US cell phone market that has historically been slower to adopt new trends and technology than overseas markets in Asia or Europe. On top of touchscreen growth the US has also seen a 63 percent raise in smartphone use.

Frankly, it doesn’t take a lot of thinking to figure out the main contributor to this army of 24 million touchscreen phones. Did you guess the iPhone? You would be exactly right. It turns out that 32.9 percent of US touchscreen phones are iPhones.

The breakdown goes as follows: 32.9 % iPhone, 8.7% LG Dare, 7.8% LG Voyager, 7% Blackberry Storm, and 6.5% Palm Treo. Also on the list at 5 percent or lower are the T-Mobile G1, HTC Touch, LG Xenon, Samsung Instinct, and Samsung Glyde.

Of note in the study is how popular capacitive screens are over the more traditional resistive screens, and touchscreens in general are becoming much more popular for people under the age of 35 than those over 35.

Check out the link for complete lists of all the breakdowns in the study.

via Cellular News

• AT&T Posts Q3 Numbers; Admits Possibility of Losing iPhone Exclusivity
• Samsung and LG both sell 20 million touchscreen phones
• Samsung’s mobile market share to top 20% by the end of 2009
• Samsung takes Sony Ericsson’s place as second biggest player in Indian handset market
• Android shipments to grow 900% this year? No. I say it’s 1800%!

The handset has now been spotted in new images, and this time we can take a better look at it.

As previously reported, the Sony Ericsson Kurara is a smartphone based on Symbian S60 5th Edition and it should be included in SE’s Entertainment Unlimited line-up (like the Satio and Aino).

The features of Sony Ericsson Kurara apparently include a 3.5 inch AMOLED touchscreen display and an 8.1MP camera (which, judging by the HD seen on the phone’s back, should be able to record video in HD).

The Kurara should be announced in the first half of 2010, probably under a different name.

Via PhonesDB

• Sony Ericsson Satio, Aino and Yari launched in India
• Sony Ericsson Rachael (X3) to be announced on November 3; SE Kurara coming soon too
• Sony Ericsson Kurara leaked again, no HD this time
• Sony Ericsson Idou now called Satio, will ship in Q4 2009
• Sony Ericsson Aino hits the US, $599.99 unlocked

The data provided by Google Analytics helps app developers find out how users interact with their apps, what features they use more and so on.

To learn more about Google Analytics for Android and iPhone mobile apps, you should read the technical documentation and check out the SDK on Google’s website.

The video below shows how Redfin (an online brokerage for buying and selling homes) uses Google Analytics with their mobile app:

Via the Google Mobile Blog

• Google brings books to Android, iPhone. Boasts about its OCR tech
• Google Product Search now available for iPhone, Android
• Google launches Finance for Android
• Google Mobile products to feature flawless integration with online counterparts in T-Mobile G1
• Paid Android apps confirmed for this month

In case you don’t know yet, Nokia X3 is a slider that has no 3G, but features a 3.5mm headset jack, dedicated touch music keys on the side, Bluetooth 2.1, stereo speakers and stereo FM radio.

The S40 phone also features a 2.2 inch QVGA display, access to Ovi Store, 3.2MP camera with flash, and MicroSD card support (a 2GB card should be included in the box).

At the moment, there’s no word yet whether there will be US carriers to offer the X3 or not.

In Europe, the Nokia X3 will cost €115 ($169) unlocked, so US customers will probably be able to buy it at a similar price – assuming the phone will reach North America.

• Nokia 3710a passes the FCC, probably for AT&T
• Nokia 5710 XpressMusic appears on Nokia’s US website
• Nokia 7100s (Supernova) details emerge
• Sony Ericsson W995a approved by the FCC
• Nokia Xseries debuts with the X6 (Alvin) and X3 music phones

Those who are eagerly waiting to buy a Droid should visit local stores to check the exact opening hours (note that Verizon’s Mall stores will not open early).

In addition to launching the Motorola Droid, Verizon will “host demonstrations at select locations to help customers get the most” from the new Android smartphone.

Moreover, the largest US mobile carrier announced “Droid Does Times Square” – an interactive experience that will be set up in New York City, allowing callers to control two of Times Square’s largest digital billboards (from NASDAQ and Reuters) via voice commands. Participants will be able to call a toll-free number and search for any location they want – which will then be displayed on the giant boards thanks to Google Maps. “Droid Does Times Square” will take place from November 6 through November 20.

The Droid by Motorola (known as Motorola Milestone in Europe) is not only the world’s first device to come with Android 2.0, but also the first Android phone to have a touchscreen display of 854 x 480 pixels (Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is the second to have such a display). Other features include a full QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3.5mm headset jack, and a 5MP autofocus camera.

Verizon will sell the Motorola Droid for $199.99 with a 2-year contract agreement and after a $100 mail-in rebate. If you don’t want to wait for that rebate, you can buy the Droid from Best Buy.

Via email Press releae

• Verizon Motorola Droid announced, comes on Nov. 6 for $199.99
• Verizon’s Motorola Droid to get tethering in early 2010
• Best Buy pre-selling Motorola Droid on October 29, no mail-in rebate
• Verizon announces the HTC Droid Eris, launches the LG Chocolate Touch
• Brazil gets the Motorola Milestone too, multi-touch included

And they are indeed pretty cool.

But today’s announcement actually gives even more hints, about how Sony Ericsson plans to go bout making new devices that should get it out of the current slump.

One of the first steps in SE plans, is making this *scape user interface, into an open UI platform, across multiple lines of devices.

Sony Ericsson head of portfolio planning has confirmed to Electricpig.co.uk that they do plan to port the new UI to Symbian handsets. And I will not be at all surprised, if their  own high end feature phones will get the same UX  too.

The other thing, revealed in Sony Ericsson communication to developers today, is that they plan to open Mediascape and Timescpe UI apps to third party developers, by releasing SDK sometime in 2010. According to SE:

We are keen to open up the APIs for these applications, and we welcome a dialog with developers to get ideas and feedback, with a view to launching a Sony Ericsson SDK in early 2010.

This common UI across multiple platforms approach, is actually nothing new. All major handset vendors are already doing it, in one way or another. HTC has the Sense UI, LG created “S-Class”, Samsung uses TouchWiz, which even has an SDK for third party widgets, etc;

But it’s good to see Sony Ericsson finally getting in tune with the industry trends with their multi platform user interface initiative and pretty cool devices. Both,  Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and Timescape/Mediascape UX apps, look good, albeit extremely laggy, in presentation and limited demos.

Hope they will iron out the bugs in a couple of months remaining before launch.  Which  was pretty nice.

Now comes the “easy” part. Implementation

• First handsets running Symbian Foundation’s open-source OS out in 2010
• Nokia S60 Devices to get touch interface next year
• Android 0.9 SDK beta released
• Sony Ericsson Rachael’s Android UI demoed on video
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is official, comes with Android 1.6, new UX platform and more

The TwitterPeek features a 2.5 inch QVGA landscape display, a full QWERTY keyboard, a trackwheel on the side, and a battery that should last up to three days.

So what can you do with it? Well, it’s a Twitter-only handset, so you can: read Tweets, send Tweets, reply, retweet, send direct messages, download followers and… that’s about it. When you receive Tweets, the TwittertPeek can vibrate, make a tweeting sound, and light up a blue light on the front.

The folks over at PC Mag already had the chance to play with a TwitterPeek. Reportedly, the device is very easy to set-up, but it’s “painfully slow” after that. When you’re viewing the main list of tweets, you can only see the first three and a half words of each tweet – you have to hit the Return key to read more. Also, you can’t search for trending topics, can’t view photos other than the ones stored on Twitpic, and can’t view full HTML pages.

TwitterPeek costs $99.99 with 6 months of free service, or $199.99 with lifetime service. You can buy the device via the Twitter Peek website.

• Vodafone UK allows Twittering via SMS; free for the first weeks
• Twitter 2.0 add-on for fring now available
• INQ to release a Twitter phone before Christmas
• O2 UK will offer free Twitter alerts via SMS
• Google Docs&Spreadsheets go mobile

Opera Mobile 10 beta works with Symbian S60 3rd and 5th edition, so it can be installed on both touchscreen and non-touchscreen phones.

The new version of Opera Mobile has a fresh design, it’s twice as fast as the older versions launched for Symbian, and comes with desktop-like features such as Speed Dial and tabbed browsing.

Here’s a video presentation of Opera Mobile 10 beta for Symbian:

You can download Opera Mobile 10 beta for free from Opera’s official website.

Via Press release

• Opera Mini 5 beta launched, available for download
• Opera Mobile 9.7 beta announced and available for download
• Opera Mini 5 coming really soon to a phone near you
• Opera 9.5 Mobile beta is out
• Skyfire 1.0 mobile browser now available

Some of them turn out to be a complete BS, a few happen to be spot on, and quite a few are somewhere in the middle. I’d like to share them to get some input of whether I’m going completely bonkers, or not.

So I’m starting a new category of posts on UV – “Wild arsed theories” or WAT – just for this purpose. These will be a pure speculation on my part, based on some things I see happing in the market.

Today lets start with the Android stuff.  With the release of Motorola Milestone in Europe, two questions have been buggering me.

1. Why there’s no Google’s  free turn-by-turn navigation app in a European version of Droid (Motorola Milestone).

2. What’s happening with the frigging Android OS upgrades? First we get Android 1.6 Donut upgrade. Then, in a few weeks, a phone running Android 2.0/Eclair comes out. However none of the other Android handsets, coming out this year, mention anything about Android 2.0.  All of them, apparently, are still running Android 1.6. Even uber high end Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, announced today, but due only in Q1 2010.

Well, I think, I may have answers to both of these questions. Let’s start with the first today, and get to second tomorrow.

Why there is no free turn-by-turn navigation in Motorola Milestone? And it ain’t comig anytime soon

It all comes down to the mapping data. Take a look at these screenshots:

See the difference? The copyright notice for the area around Kansas City says that map data is owned by Google. The same notice for London says that map data is owned by Tele Atlas.

And it’s the same all over the world. Play a bit with Google maps yourself. What you will see is that the map data anywhere in the United States is owned by Google. Even in remote places like Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

Just cross the border, to Canada or Mexico, and another company name springs up in the map data ownership field.  TeleAtlas, INEGO, Europa Technologies, etc;

What this tells us is, that, for now, Google has collected enough of it’s own mapping  data only for the United States. And since they own the data there, they are free to use it however they like. Including provision of a free turn-by-turn navigation services, that screws the business model for paid nav service and gadget providers like Garmin and TomTom.

But all the mapping data for Western Europe in Google maps, is provided by TeleAtlas, owned by Tom Tom. Do you think Tom Tom is eager to provide Google with the data that could destroy their paid service and the main income source? I am pretty sure, that somewhere in a contract between Tele Atlas and Google, there is a clause, explicitly forbidding Google to offer tbt navigation, using Tele Atlas data.

So now what? Tough luck for us, Europeans? No free navigation from Google here?

Yes. For now.

But don’t think Google is sitting still and won’t be able to collect all that European map data for itself. Those Google Street View  cars are not driving around just for fun.

We know that Google is able to collect it’s own mapping data and they are heavily investing in it. They already did so in the U.S, after all. And as soon as Google has enough of it for Western Europe, the navigation services will come here too.

Thank’s to OScarB and vowe for pointing me in the right derection

• Motorola Milestone (Droid) officially launched in Europe. Gets multi-touch, loses free navigation
• New Google-Tele Atlas deal will give users improved maps, chance to change the world
• Apple patents iPhone Mobile Navigation / Mapping App
• Google intros free Maps Navigation for Android 2.0, Garmin and TomTom stocks plummet
• Motorola V9x RAZR2 Arriving in AT&T Stores

The survey shows that, from over 3,000 phone users, 38% would prefer a finger-based touchscreen phone, while 16% want a stylus-based touchscreen phone.

However, from the customers who have tried a touchscreen UI, only 47% would choose it again for their next phone.

Interestingly, most of those who tried touchscreen phones from Apple and HTC want to continue with touch UIs, while only 27% of the users who had Sony Ericsson touchscreen phones would stick to the same type of UI.

“The results suggest that consumer awareness of touchscreen UIs is very high, driven by the marketing of Apple, Samsung and others, and there is no doubt that the changes in device design we have seen over the past couple of years have produced some very exciting products. But it is also apparent that, with experience, a significant proportion of users have not been totally won over by some of these devices. This is to be expected, as it is quite a big shift for many users to make, but a poor experience with one touchscreen device may dissuade users from trying another one in the future and it is imperative that vendors focus on usability and practicality as well as visual appeal, and continue to enhance their interfaces. There has always been a question mark over how well touchscreens would work among an SMS-centric audience and the results indicate the transition has not been totally smooth,” declared Canalys senior analist Pete Cunningham.

(Sony Ericsson Xperia X10)

Virtually all major phone makers have touchscreen handsets in their portfolio, and the years to come will probably see touch UIs getting closer to perfection. Will this lead to the extinction of classic cell phones? Probably not, but it’s obvious that the future isn’t made for non-touch handsets.

Via Press release

• Sony Ericsson files for touchscreen keypad patent
• Qik announces support for several HTC devices, AT&T Tilt and Sony Ericsson Xperia X1
• iPhone used for voice communications less than half of the time in US
• Android 2.0 on Sony Ericsson’s first Android smartphone?
• Sony Ericsson Aino passes the FCC with AT&T 3G bands

The X10 will run Android 1.6 Donut (why not Android 2.0?), coming with a new UX (user experience) platform that we’ve seen before. This UX platform should provide a unique user experience, as it’s “combining best-in-class entertainment features with signature applications, unrivalled integration of social media services and a rich graphical user interface.”

As previously rumored, the Xperia X10 is based on a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 processor – being the second Android phone to use a Snapdragon platform, after the Acer Liquid A1.

With the X10, users will have access to both Android Market and Play Now Arena. At the same time with the X10, Sony Ericsson will introduce two new features: Sony Ericsson Timescape, which “manages all your communication with one person in one place – you can browse through your conversations the bright way to check out your Facebook, Twitter, photos, emails, and texts all in one go”; and Sony Ericsson Mediascape, which “is the smart way to get all the music, photos and videos you want from your favorite friends and artists. It accesses content from everywhere – your phone, YouTube, PlayNow – and presents everything for you.”

Here are the phone’s main specs and features:

• GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
• UMTS HSPA 900/1700/2100 or UMTS HSPA 800/850/1900/2100
• 4.0 inches scratch-resistant capacitive touchscreen display with 480 x 854 pixels
• Wi-Fi
• Gesture control
• GPS
• Google Maps with Street View
• Wisepilot turn-by-turn navigation (free trial version)
• WebKit web browser
• Gmail
• Google Calendar
• Google Media Uploader
• Google phone-top search
• Google search widget
• Google Talk
• Google Voice Search
• 3.5mm headset jack
• Bluetooth
• MicroUSB
• 8.1MP autofocus camera with touch focus, intelligent face recognition, smile detection, image and video stabilizer, and geotagging (no flash, though)
• 1GB of internal memory
• 8GB MicroSD card included
• 119 x 63 x 13 mm
• 135 grams

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and X10a will be available starting the first quarter of 2010, in two color versions: Sensuous Black and Luster White. The smartphone’s price was not announced.

Sony Ericsson says about the X10 that it’s “the flagship phone in a family of phones coming to market during the first half of 2010”, so we should expect more Android handsets to be announced soon by the Swedish-Japanese company.

An Xperia X10 promo video can be watched below:

Via Press release

• First Sony Ericsson Xperia (X5?) Android phone “Rachael”, and strange “Kiki” with transparent display
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 finally official, ships with WM 6.5 in early Q4 2009
• Sony Ericsson Rachael’s Android UI demoed on video
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 Rachael teaser video shows up
• Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 Rachael already unboxed

Like the other 105GMT models, these new phones from Mobiado incorporate Swiss gold-plated dual mechanical watches that feature 25 jeweled bearings.

The 105GMT Stealth is made from aluminum, sapphire crystal and stainless steel, while the 105GMT Antique adds rose gold and Cocobolo hardwood to all that.

The phones’ specs include: quad-band GSM and dual-band WCDMA connectivity (850/2100 MHz), 2 inch QVGA display with 16 million colors, Bluetooth, Music player, 2MP camera and 1GB of internal memory.

No word yet on the price of Mobiado Professional 105GMT Stealth and 105GMT Antique, but it’s surely a high one.

Via Mobiado

• Mobiado Professional 105GCB Rose announced
• Mobiado introduces Professional 105 EM in Cocobolo, Ebony and 24-K Gold
• Mobiado intros Professional 105 EM Special Edition and 105 EM CLB luxury phones
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As the name suggests, the new handset is made in collaboration with Lamborghini and it’s actually a special edition of the MERIDIIST phone announced last year.

The new handset is “housed in black titanium carbide coated 316L stainless steel” and features a Lamborghini signature on the battery cover, similar to the one on the Lamborghini Murcielago LP 640’s V12 engine block.

Built by ModeLabs, the TAG Heuer MERIDIIST Automobili Lamborghini also features a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal display, 2MP camera, 2GB of internal memory and a battery that can last up to7 hours in talk time mode, or up to 28 days in standby.

Only 1963 units of the MERIDIIST Lamborghini phone will be made – as tribute to the year Lamborghini was founded. Customers will be able to buy the handset from select TAG Heuer and Lamborghini retail locations. You can check out the phone on TAG Heuer’s official website.

Via Pursuitist, Engadget

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