Sony Ericsson launches new phones in Singapore

Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson launched several new handsets in Singapore on Tuesday.

Targeted at a youthful audience, the F305 with Motion Gaming lets users control games with the flick of a wrist or the swing ofan arm, and then see the results straightaway on the screen, said Sony Ericsson in a statement.

Using advanced motion sensor technology, the phone can follow users actions to imitate bowling or casting a fishing line.

The new C905 Cyber-shot and S302 Snapshot camera phones allow consumers to capture and share vivid photos whatever their needs, photography skills or budget.

Sony Ericsson also unveiled its first USB modems kind of handsets, the MD400 and MD400g. The modems not only provide high speed broadband, also combine a M2 Memory Stick Micro and a microSD slot together.

The MD400g also has an in-built global position system (GPS) receiver which automatically shows users' current location.

Sony Ericsson also announced two new entry-level phones, the J132 and K330, designed for "lasting communication".


source : http://news.xinhuanet.com/

Nokia E66 - new feature packed Eseries slider

Nokia today officially unveiled the E66 enterprise focused smartphone. It has a slider form factor and is a follow up to the Nokia E65. It has the usual array of connectivity options: quad band GSM, dual band WCDMA (900/2100), WiFi and Bluetooth. There is also an integrated GPS, a 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera, microSD card slot, accelerometer, FM radio, 2.5mm audio jack and IrDA, USB and Bluetooth for local connectivity. Read on for pictures and the full details.

The E66 is positioned as a voice-centric device, but also has strong personal information management features and is no slouch in the multimedia department - reasonable camera and decent multimedia software support (H.264, WMA). There's full support for VoIP via the SIP backed Internet Telephone application for both independent services and corporate PBXs.
The E66's enterprise leanings come primarily through its on board software. There is support for a number of push email solutions including Nokia's Intellisync and Microsoft's Exchange ActiveSync; device provisioning and management (remote lock / remote wipe) is also catered for through these solutions. On board software includes the usual Quickoffice, Zip Manager, PDF Reader and Active Notes. New is Encryption which allows you to encrypt both the internal and external memory.

There is also the ability to extensively customise the idle screen (home sreen) thanks to a variety of plug-ins (e.g. email, to-do's, music, WiFi, Internet telephony) and the Switch Mode application. The Switch Mode application allows you to have a number of pre-configured idle screens (shortcuts, plug-ins and theme) that you can switch between depending on what you are doing (the basic concept is to have one for work and one for personal usage). You can read more about this and other new Eseries features in our review of the Nokia E71 (we'll have a review of the E66 shortly).

In common with other recent Eseries devices (starting with the E65) there are One Touch keys to access the key functions of the phone. These default to Contacts, Calendar and Messaging but are user configurable (both single press and long press).

Key points about the phone

* It has a slider form factor, and has dimensions of of 108 x 50 x 14 mm and weighs 121g. That compares to the E65 at 105 x 49 15.5mm and 115g. It is notable bigger than the E51 at 115 x 47 x 12 mm and 100g.

* On the rear of the device there's a 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera with accompanying LED flash. There's the usual VGA camera on the fron right for video calls.

* The E66 is equipped with an accelerometer and supports (optionally) automatic screen rotation when you turn the device.

* Integrated GPS with support for Assisted GPS. The phone ships with Nokia Maps 2.0 for car and pedestrian navigation.

* There is an integrated FM Radio.

* As well as Wi-Fi, the E66 is a quadband GSM (850/900/1800/1900), dual band WCDMA (900/2100) with HSDPA (3.5G) phone. Its Bluetooth profiles include support for stereo headsets. It also has a microUSB port, an infrared port and a 2.5mm headset jack.

* An icon of a house is used in place of the S60 swirl to access the home screen (idle screen) and application screen. This change was first seen on the E51 and is also found on the E71.

* It runs Symbian S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1, also known as S60 3.1.

* The E66 will ship with the full Eseries software suite. This includes Search, Quickoffice (4.1), PDF reader, Zip manager, File manager and Active Notes.

* The internal and external memory can be encrypted to protect sensitive data using the in-built encryption application.

* In the box it will ship with a 2GB Memory card, AC5 charger, CA-101 USB cable, HS-47 stereo headset, a wrist strap and cover pouch.

* A US version, the E66-2, has passed through the FCC. It supports the US WCDMA bands - 850/1900 Mhz.

* The E66 is shipping immediately. In practise this means you should be able to find it in the shops easily in the next 2-4 weeks. It likely to be available online, from the usual retailers, in the next 10 days. The E66 will be available in two colour variants: white and black.

The E65 was something of a surprise success for the first generation of Eseries devices. The E66 retains the familiar form factor and manages to thin down while adding a raft of new hardware (GPS, HSDPA, improved camera, FM radio) and software (S60 3.1 - improved performance and stability, better multimedia, more mature enterprise software suite) features which should make it attractive to both those looking to upgrade and to new users.

source : http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/

Nokia launches new phones, vows to stay number one

Finnish telecom giant Nokia has launched two new email-capable handsets for business users and vowed to defend its position as the world's leading mobile phone maker.

Nokia said the E71 and E66 were pre-loaded with Microsoft's popular email programme and would cater to business professionals who wanted easy and instant access to their messages.

"With the E series, we want to serve people who are passionate about their work," said Chris Carr, Nokia's vice president for regional sales, at a launch in Singapore late Monday.

The two phones would be available in July and support email accounts from key Internet service providers such Yahoo! and Google's Gmail, the firm said.

It said there were an estimated 1.5 billion email users globally and that there were set to be four billion mobile users by the end of 2009.

"We have grown our share with the broadest portfolio of devices in the industry... Nokia remains the undisputed leader and it is a leadership mantle we will not relinquish," Carr said.

The business mobile sector is currently dominated by Canada's Research in Motion, maker of the BlackBerry smart phone combining a mobile phone and personal digital assistant (PDA).

The BlackBerry allows users to browse the Internet, use e-mail and make calls and has proven a big hit with business executives worldwide.

Apple is also taking aim at the corporate market with the launch of its touch-screen-activated 3G iPhone, which will come with faster Internet access and more features for business users than its initial iPhone.

South Korea's Samsung on Monday unveiled its latest smart phone, a touch-screen model to be commercially launched in Southeast Asia this week.

The Samsung and Nokia launches came on the eve of CommunicAsia. The event is billed as the region's leading information and communications technology conference and exhibition and began Tuesday in Singapore.

source : http://afp.google.com/

Mobile phone users may pay to receive calls

Mobile phone customers could pay to receive calls as companies seek to protect their profits after being forced to cut other charges.

The European Commission has promised to bring down controversial termination charges – the fee that mobile phone companies charge each other as well as landline companies for connecting calls to their networks.

The charges, on average about 7p for each call, total an estimated £1 billion every year in the UK.

Viviane Reding , the European telecoms commissioner, is due later this month to unveil how she intends to slash these charges to about 1p – a move that has incensed some of the mobile phone giants, who believe her policies are a major threat to their profits.

Ms Reding last year forced mobile phone companies to lower the charges they levied on holidaymakers when they made calls abroad.

They have warned her – in private meetings with the Commissioner – that they could charge customers to receive calls, if termination charges were cut.

The prospect of being charged to receive calls will shock UK consumers but it is the norm in the USA.

Ms Reding said there were no laws stopping companies doing this. In an interview she said: "I think the business models are not for the European commissioner to decide. Business models are for the operators to decide."

Her spokesman, Martin Selmayr, later sought to clarify her statement, saying, "This is all part of the Commissioner pledging to drastically reduce the costs to call mobile phone companies.

"Companies could introduce tariffs that made you pay to receive calls, but most consumers will not tolerate this. They will go elsewhere. This is an empty threat from the mobile phone companies."

The Commissioner has promised that whatever changes she introduces, mobile phone costs will fall overall.

British customers currently pay 40 per cent more to use their phones than their American peers – even though most American phone companies charge you to receive calls.

Smaller mobile phone companies – which argue they unfairly subsidise termination charges of the larger players – have backed Ms Reding's proposals.

Kevin Russell, the UK chief executive of 3, said bigger networks were introducing a "scaremongering campaign to try and frighten people."

He added: "Any change would undoubtedly make the market more competitive, giving consumers much better deals than they can get today."

source : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Sony Ericsson W890i

Following the slim and trendy W880i Walkman mobile phone, Sony Ericsson follows up this slim gem with the W890i – a stylish new upgrade of its predecessor that promises to offer more while retaining its sexy, thin, nano-like figure.

The W890i features a more rounded edge than the W880i. The mobile now features a 3.2 megapixel camera with adequate quality to be printed on an A4-sized paper. It also features the new Walkman 3.0 player, which now resembles the Cross Media Bar (XMD) navigation menu reminiscent of the PlayStation Portable and the PlayStation 3, which organises all your media into a set of icon-driven menus that you scroll using the keypad.

Compared to the W880i, the W890i now has a wider set of keypads, making it easier to push those numbers even with big fingers. The menu keys have also been redesigned, with three keys instead of the usual two to navigate the phone. The phone also has a brushed metal design, which nearly covers the phone’s entire surface. This in turn gives the device a firm grip when holding it without the phone getting some nasty fingerprints and smudges on it.

Aside from quad band and 3G capability, the W890i also features HSDPA support, which today is one of the fastest means of connecting your mobile to the information superhighway. Video calls are also possible through the video call camera located at the front of the phone. An easy accessible Walkman button on the side of the phone enables you to enjoy your music at a single touch of a button.

Navigating the W890i will be easy for Sony Ericsson mobile phone users since it still follows the same design as the other phones. The built-in 3.2 megapixel camera takes the best pictures, though it does not have autofocus or even a photo light when taking snaps in a dark environment. However, when compared with shots taken from a K800i (also at 3.2 megapixels), the K800i still produces the best images. The new Walkman 3.0 player is one of the W890’s best features. You can easily load up the phone with music on the included 2GB Memory Stick Micro card, which can hold up to 1000 songs. You can either choose to hear the music through the phone’s included in-ear headphones or through the external loudspeaker or even wirelessly via a connected stereo Bluetooth device.

Phone features are very good, and calls made and answered through the phone were crisp without any noticeable distortions. Even in video calling, the images were sharp and the voices were good. Standby time was claimed to be at 360 hours, which in turn lasted about a week after a full charge when we were using it. Talk time was about nine and a half hours.

Truly, with a new set of features and a slim trendy design, the W890i is another hit from Sony Ericsson that will definitely top the charts. Included in the package are English and Arabic manuals, along with the Sony Ericsson PC Suite, Disc2Phone software and connecting cables.

source : http://www.pcmag-mideast.com/

Sony Ericsson F305 Has Wiimote-Like Motion Gaming, May Be PSP Phone?

This leaked Sony Ericsson's F305 phone is notable for a couple reasons. One, it's their first motion gaming phone under the F-line (there've been one or two here and there for various other phones), which makes us and The Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog think that it the series stands for "Fun". Two, it's got PlayStation buttons on there, namely the O and the X, giving users an NES-level of complexity to the games.

Other details are slightly less impressive. It's quad-band GSM with only EDGE, has a Power Pack CCP-100 purchasable accessory for backup battery capabilities, stereo rear speakers, Bluetooth connectivity to other phones for multiplayer, Memory Stick Micro slot, built-in FM, TrackID track recognition, and a "selected market" release in Q3 of this year. Se-nse says it'll be formally announced on Tuesday.

source : http://gizmodo.com/

Samsung Unveils Environment-Friendly Mobile Phones

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced two environment-friendly mobile handsets, W510 and F268 at World IT Show in Seoul.

W510 is Samsung's first mobile phone with 'bio-plastic' made from natural material extracted from corns. Samsung has been making an effort to develop more renewable and eco-friendly material compared with common plastic produced from petroleum.

Moreover, when producing W510, Samsung did not use any heavy metals, such as Lead, Mercury, and Cadmium, and applied water-soluble coating.

Samsung F268 with all the accessories including charger and headset does not contain BFRs(Brominated Flame Retardant) or PVC.

In addition, Samsung F268 has an alarm function to encourage users to unplug their charger when the devices are fully charged. The product also is following the Energy Star requirements as well, which is strict energy-efficiency guidelines set by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy.

Both W510 for the Korean market and F268 for the Chinese market will be launched in June.

“Samsung is striving to continue to be a strong corporate citizen that contributes to environmental sustainability," said Geesung Choi, President of Samsung’s Telecommunication Business. “Now we are trying not only to launch more environmentally-conscious products with more renewable material and less energy consuming, but also to expand proactively set up a phone recycling system"

source : http://www.zdnet.co.kr/