Garmin, maker of standalone and other GPS-focussed devices, has launched Mobile XT, a complete microSD-based navigation solution for smartphones, priced at $99. Details of international availability are sketchy at the moment, but we've asked Garmin UK if they can get hold of a review sample for us to try.
At 'the definitive consumer awards event' last night, the Mobile Choice Awards, the Nokia N95 was voted the ‘Dream Handset’, ahead of the Apple iPhone, while Nokia's other flagship, the E90, was pipped to the post for 'Best Smartphone' by the Blackberry Curve. MEX has some analysis of the night and of some related industry trends.
There have been claims of mysterious flying saucers carrying alien creatures for over sixty years now, but very few supposed witnesses have ever taken pictures or filmed these craft. Now that cameraphones and smartphone are becoming ubiquitous, will we see a flood of UFO images, or a drought of UFO sightings? Krisse investigates!
ARM and Symbian today announced Symbian OS would support the ARM Symmetric Multi-processor (SMP) architecture in future OS versions. This technology allows for multiple CPU cores to be used in mobile phones. Don't get too excited though, the first phones using multiple core processors are not expected before 2010. In other Symbian related processor news Renesas today announced it has commenced sample shipments of its new generation chipset, the SH-Mobile G3. Read on for more details.
Symbian has just added a number of new speakers to its Smartphone Show agenda, including a VP of Samsung, the SVP of Freescale, the president of RIM and a director of Vodafone. Full details here, but I think it's safe to predict that there's going to be plenty to see and hear. And if you get into town early, see our own meet!
This is the question I've been trying to answer in Smartphones Show 44, using a Nokia N95 and a Bluetooth keyboard cold turkey for a working week. Did the experiment succeed? Also, Rafe and I were at HTC's big launch two days ago in London. Non-Symbian, but still very interesting, show 44 includes my video report.
In what is one of the most significant technology acquisitions of the year Nokia has announced it is to acquire Navteq for $8.1 billion. Navteq is the leading provider of digital map information which is used in car navigation systems (e.g. BMW), mobile navigation devices (e.g. Garmin), Internet-based mapping applications (e.g. Google Maps), and government and business solutions. Nokia uses Navteq data in its own Nokia Maps product.
A couple of links of interest looking ahead to the future. Adobe has formally announced Flash Lite 3 which will be available first on NTT DoCoMo and Nokia phones. The new version includes support for Flash video (e.g. on YouTube), and Adobe says the aim is to more closely replicate the experience of Flash on the desktop. To go along with the announcement Forum Nokia launched a Creative Pros section to help desktop Flash developers port their content to mobile devices.
Seemingly more than a little after the fact, AAS regular Asri al-Baker has been consoling himself for not being able to make this month's pub meet and London Smartphone Show by reminiscing about his trip to the UK for the two events in 2004. Some nice photos and kind words!
If you've ever looked at an aspect of the Symbian or smartphone world and asked 'Why?', then you know exactly how I sometimes feel. This being Friday, here are some of my puzzlers for weekend pontification....
There have been claims of mysterious flying saucers carrying alien creatures for over sixty years now, but very few supposed witnesses have ever taken pictures or filmed these craft. Now that cameraphones and smartphone are becoming ubiquitous, will we see a flood of UFO images, or a drought of UFO sightings? Krisse investigates!
