How many of you have heard of the Sectera Edge smartphone? It runs Windows Mobile, it's made by General Dynamics (the people behind the F-16 Falcon fighter) and it's about to get a whole lot of publicity. Why? Because the feature set is perfect for one smartphone user – Barack Obama. But what can the President of the United State's choice tell us about the mobile market?
Nokia's subscription music service, Comes with Music, seems to be struggling to pick up momentum. The major problems are around educating users in the details of the offer and the limited availability in terms channel availability and handsets. However worthy of note is that Carphone Warehouse has reduced the price of the Nokia 5310 Comes with Music Edition to £82.18.
The Nokia E63, at £200 (SIM-free), is one of the cheapest S60 phones (at RRP) on the market. With its QWERTY form factor it looks, at first glance, very similar to the popular, but more expensive, Nokia E71. In the first part of his Nokia E63 review, Steve looks at the hardware and explains the differences between the two 'sister' devices, before covering the Nokia Email experience and discussing highlights from the on board applications.
While I'm sure the problem is not as simple as he makes out, Robert Scoble's reasoning on why Palm can now rule the American smartphone market and why both Microsoft and Nokia are out the game, makes for a great rule of thumb. In short, there are six smartphone/OS competitors (Nokia, Microsoft and Palm as mentioned, plus Apple, Research in Motion and Google Android) and only four US networks (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile). Now the music has stopped, there are no seats left for the phones from Espoo and Seattle. Read on for my take on all this....
In All About Symbian Insight 55 (AAS Podcast 108) we look at the UK launch of the Nokia 5800 MusicXpress, talk about the 'Curse of Silence' vulnerability (stops SMS messages from being received on some S60 handsets), before discussing our first impressions of the Palm Pre. You can listen to AAS Insight 55 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
I'll admit that Nokia's DT-29 phone stand, as shipped with the 5800 XpressMusic is somewhat more professional than my own paper clip version. Aaron, over at the N82 blog has put up a gallery of photos and comments on how well it works propping up his N82 for video watching and capturing - I think he's right and Nokia should market this as a standalone accessory. [Updated: see below for the PDF template to Make Your Own]
Judy Breck asks, over on Smart Mobs, if it's about time for a mobile phone with a dual screen? The thought is inspired by the new Lenovo laptop that has an extension to the regular screen in the lid that slides out to the side, providing an almost Cinerama experience. I suspect that my reaction would be similar to any Symbian OS follower, namely a discrete cough before pointing out the Nokia Communicators.
One of the delights of the web is just how much useful stuff there is out there for travellers. From running round on a trip and trying to remember which hotel you are booked into, how to get there and working out if you have enough credit left in the local currency, is exactly what a smartphone is good for. While there are a number of “Travellers Toolkit” applications out there, with a mix of free and premium functions, most of these services can be found for free online or replicated with the built in S60 applications.
At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas Nokia has announced that the Nokia E63 will shortly be available in the US. The Nokia E63 is a QWERTY-equipped S60 phone and is effectively a budget version of the Nokia E71. It has a 2.0 megapixel camera, WiFi and 3G connectivity, and runs S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1. It will have an esitmated retail price of $279 (unlocked) and will be available in the 'coming weeks'.
In the first AAS Insight (54) of the year we look back on 2008 and share our hardware highlights, rant about our lowlights, make a few daring predictions and waffle on our favourite pieces of software from 2008. You can listen to AAS Insight 54 here or, if you wish to subscribe, here's the RSS feed.
And now, as we start 2009, how about some New Year resolutions from Ewan for the mobile enthusiast to keep their phone in the best of electronic health? It's a time for a new start, and a perfect time to clean out your 'house'. And as many of us pretty much live in our smartphones, then Ewan asks what can we do for 2009 to help out our mobiles and make sure they're in tip top condition?
We all love phone comparison pieces. I love writing them. You love reading them. And then the world and their dog love arguing until gone midnight about why the comparison is valid/invalid/pointless (delete as applicable). Below, I'm mulling over both sides of the argument, pitching a Nokia N82 against the 5800 XpressMusic and the Apple iPhone 3G to try and make a serious point.
I despair of the irresponsibility of the mainstream bloggers around the world who have gone into meltdown today over this announcement of an obscure bug in old versions of Symbian OS Messaging. Some comment and a link below. Short version. Move on, nothing to see. And no, you still don't need to pay money to a security firm...
In this, part 10 of my (ahem) long running series, I look at the difference sensor and aperture size can make in phone cameras, for both stills and video. As real world examples of both good and bad, I use the Nokia N95 8GB and the 5800 XpressMusic. See below for links to other articles in the series.
What happens when you have regular releases, and everyone expects a game on a certain day? You have a good feeling building around your platform. Will Nokia continue the regularity of the N-Gage game releases in 2009? Ewan think aloud on what could happen in the New Year.
