Yup, you read that right. The Sony Ericsson P1i, combining the best bits of the original UIQ 3-powered P990 and M600, is only 4 days away from availability now available and in stock at Clove Technology. It's listed at only £315 plus VAT, too, at which price it should do very well.
I know the Sony Ericsson UIQ 3 smartphones haven't been to everyone's tastes, but I couldn't help noticing that the SIM-free, unlocked price for the M600i is now only £137 plus VAT, while the larger P990i is only £166 plus VAT. With latest firmware for each, there's a bargain to be picked up here, if you ask me.
Ewan's been trialling some of the ZingMagic games for UIQ 3 smartphones (like the Sony Ericsson P990 and Motorola Z8) - here's his review of Hearts - a game that's slick and professionally implemented.
AAS's Steve Litchfield has long been very sceptical about touchscreen-based phones, but the iPhone's new technology touchscreen and User Interface have wholeheartedly converted him to the concept. However, he's not impressed by the iPhone's lack of features and immature Operating System, and thinks this is where Symbian has the upper hand. Click on the link to read Steve's vision of a future where smartphones combine the best of both worlds, with iPhone-style interfaces and Symbian-style cutting edge features.
Well, that's the theory anyway. See here for details. Apparently, v1.05(4) is a customised version of Google Maps for Mobile that takes your position from Vodafone's cell network. Except that it did nothing for me. Comments welcome if you manage to get it working on your Vodafone SIM-ed smartphone....
LocatioNet has launched amAze, 'the UK's first free mobile mapping, navigation and local search solution', with voice guidance, maps and satellite imagery. As with Google Maps for Mobile, it's Java-based with heavy reliance on a data connection, but it's reported to work with both Bluetooth GPS and built-in receivers. The press release and link follow....
According to The Register, phone giant Motorola has now slipped into third place behind Nokia and Samsung, after a loss-making Q2 2007. El Reg thinks Moto should make more high end handsets, so would that mean more Z8-style Symbian UIQ3 models?
OK, so I got my hands on an Apple iPhone for a while (it's had to go back now... sob). Lovely piece of kit, but what I really wanted to know was how it would stack up against the Nokia E61i (effectively one of the smartphones ridiculed by Steve Jobs as 'having too much plastic'). Smartphones Show 38 is the result. Oh, and I threw in the W950i as well, to add some music focus... Links: YouTube, MP4 format, RSS. Enjoy...
DataViz has announced that until the end of August it will make its Document to Go viewer available to Motorola Z8 users at no cost (the normal cost will be $20). Documents to Go allows you to view Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. A version with editing capabilities will be available later in the year.
AAS regular and committed P-series fan Asri al-Baker takes Sony Ericsson's latest R6D23 firmware update to task, although he admits at the end of the day that it's still a worthwhile step, thankfully with less new bugs than fixes for old ones.
AAS's Steve Litchfield has long been very sceptical about touchscreen-based phones, but the iPhone's new technology touchscreen and User Interface have wholeheartedly converted him to the concept. However, he's not impressed by the iPhone's lack of features and immature Operating System, and thinks this is where Symbian has the upper hand. Click on the link to read Steve's vision of a future where smartphones combine the best of both worlds, with iPhone-style interfaces and Symbian-style cutting edge features.