Just to be complete, here are Nokia's press releases announcing the shipping of the N73 and N93. Meanwhile, N93 tests aplenty continue at AAS central...
Travis Boatman (formerly Jamdat, now part of EA after their accquistion) sat down with MobileIndustry.biz to talk about the mobile gaming space on phones and what the major probelms are (along with what EA is up to). In short? The networks and distribution mechanisms haven't kept up with key developments in other areas.
So, whatever happened to the promise and lure of the Smartphone (asks The Register)? Andrew Orlowski wonders about the predictions made in 2000; of 15% market penetration, replacing everything from our Sony Discmam to microwave ovens, and heralding the demise of the regular mobile. So, what happened?
Perhaps the best Carnival of the Mobilists for a while, now live here, courtesy of Michael Mace. And I'm not saying that just because one of our articles was quoted as the best entry 8-). Plenty of good and thought-provoking reading, as always!
AAS friend Antony Pranata has been looking at using Mobipocket Reader to gather news offline (i.e. through your desktop) for later reading on your smartphone. Here's his report.
Interesting to see a nicely balanced article on taking your smartphone (in this case, an E61) on holiday with you, written by Nokia themselves. They make the point that I've made before - handling email on holiday can be more restful and stress-free, not less.
Interesting to see the Nokia E61 pop up (initially in very positive context) amidst these discussions about what's wrong with Palm, a competitor (mainly) in the USA. Also interesting to note that while Nokia have started making waves in America, Palm have just announced a Treo 700w variant for the UK.
Some Sony Ericsson P990i's are apparently sneaking out into the retail chain around the world, although most distributors now claim 'mid August'. I found this 10MB, ten minute video clip of a retail P990i being through its paces in some chap's bedroom (warning: dodgy, dodgy camerawork!). It seems that there are still bugs and performance issues. And no, AAS have still not heard anything offically from Sony Ericsson...
Nokia's Chief Designer has a tough job ahead of him, with Nokia's styling cues in many a recent phone called into question - especially when compared to the likes of the Motorola RAZR. Business Week have spoken to him about his new job, stopping designers going to far, retaining the traditional elements, and making ringtones as distinctive as opening a Zippo.
Nokia has announced (in something approaching an advert, but still worth reporting for the sheer number involved) that the 3250 (the S60 3rd Edition smartphone with the 'twist' bottom) has sold over a million units in the last three months or so. Impressive, by any standards. Full press release follows...
Although compiled in the USA and with a natural bias, this M:Metrics survey makes interesting reading. Highlights include smartphone penetration in the UK being 6.6%, S60 smartphones topping smartphone sales in Europe (no surprise there) and that around half of all N70 owners go online for content.
Mobile Whack's reporting that the Sony Ericsson P990i has finally been approved in the USA by the FCC. Here's the link to the user manual and gory internal photos, etc. Interestingly, Expansys still lists the P990i as coming in 'early July'.
