NTT DoCoMo today unveiled its FOMA 904i Series and three out of five of these phones run MOAP on Symbian OS. The D904i (Mitsubishi) features an accelerometer, the F904i (Fujitsu) has a tilting screen for Mobile TV and the the SH904i (Sharp) has a 6 colour filter screen for improved outdoors viewing. Each also supports a comprehensive range of services.
The Register reports that VOIP company Truphone is to lodge an official complaint with the UK telecoms regulator OFCOM against phone network operators Orange and Vodafone, over the networks' crippling of the Nokia N95 to remove VOIP functionality. Truphone has a video of the N95's crippling here.
Interesting, although perhaps not surprising, to see that the Nokia N95 is now the Carphone Warehouse's top selling device, with over 50,000 sales forecast in the first month alone. Nokia UK say that all channels have had enough stock and that the demand has been met.
Well, as long as you're a pre-pay (pay as you go) user anyway. The info doesn't seem to have made it onto Vodafone's web site yet, but as from 1st June, pre-pay users in the UK will be charged £2/MB for mobile data rather than the current £7.30/MB. It's not exactly flat rate, but it's a step in the right direction for those of us that don't want to go on contract.
PalmInfoCenter is reporting that Palm has announced and is working on a new Linux based mobile platform. The new platform was announced at a Palm Analyst meeting and is described as a new foundation for Palm. The new platform will compete with Symbian OS, although Palm has said they will not be licensing the platform.
In this in-depth editorial feature Krisse asks whether non-portable game systems are doomed? Home consoles and home computers have played such a big part in the history of gaming, it seems inconceivable that they would ever disappear. But is gaming about to become 100% mobile?
At the recent CTIA event the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announced that the core specifcation for Bluetooth 2.1 will soon be made available to vendors. Devices using the new specification are already being demoed and commercial availability will follow shortly. Bluetooth 2.1 allows for easier pairing of devices (including a provision to use NFC), uses less power and is more secure.
The BBC has announced plan to begin a 12 month trial to syndicate its TV channels over 3G mobile phone networks in the UK with operators 3, Orange and Vodafone. A number of radio channels will also be available. Separately the BBC has also announced an enhanced version of the BBC Mobile site.
You probably didn't make CTIA 2007 and the Symbian-sponsored Smartphone Summit, but don't worry - Symbian CEO Nigel Clifford's keynote and various interviews are all online for viewing at your convenience. Video quality isn't perfect, but still well worth a look.
An increasing number of basic but widely-used applications, including email clients, word processors and calendars are becoming available as web-based applications. In the future, Krisse asks will a smartphone need any on-board apps except the browser?
Today at CTIA, Symbian is announcing version 9.5 of its operating system. The new version delivers improved performance including lower memory and processor requirements, more multimedia features including support for advanced camera features, better PC connectivity, support for DVB-H and ISDB-T Mobile TV standards and improved network and connection management features. Symbian 9.5 is fully backwardly compatible with all member of the Symbian 9.x family. Read on for more.
Rafe Blandford gives his hands-on preview of the Nokia N77 smartphone, launched at 3GSM 2007, the first mainstream device with built-in DVB-H mobile TV support. He also goes into detail about DVB-H technology and his thoughts on the way the mobile TV market will pan out.
Technology website The Register reports that Google has confirmed it is designing a mobile phone. El Reg speculates that their motive is to do with potentially large advertising revenues from mobile advertising. Google themselves say it is to get a foothold in developing countries (where mobiles are now the commonest form of connected computing). The Register reports it will use Java-based applications and have a Sidekick-style form factor. They also note that Google has been recruiting engineers from mobile companies including Symbian.
In roughly four hours time, around 11pm GMT Thursday, the creme de la creme of the S60 world will be gathering in the Nokia Store, New York, for talks, demos, previews and more.... Rafe and I couldn't make it (though Ewan's at least on the right continent), but Darla and other AAS stawarts will be there, reporting back with Flickr photos and a YouTube channel, so we can all share something of what goes down...
Helping prove that their business ambitions at least are getting somewhere in the USA, Nokia's Enterprise Solutions group has received the 2007 Frost and Sullivan North American Mobility Award for Mobile Device Management. The press release follows.
Rafe Blandford gives his hands-on preview of the Nokia N77 smartphone, launched at 3GSM 2007, the first mainstream device with built-in DVB-H mobile TV support. He also goes into detail about DVB-H technology and his thoughts on the way the mobile TV market will pan out.
