Nokia E66 and E71 Launched

After we covered the news of E71 being available in the city, there's official word from Nokia about it. Nokia has also announced the availability of the E66. Both the phones will have support for the Nokia Intellisync Wireless Email solution as well as third party email solutions like System Seven and Visto Mobile. Both devices come with the new switch mode that allows people to switch easily between personal and work home screens.

The E71 will feature a 3.2MP, auto-focus camera, GPS with A-GPS support, Bluetooth with A2DP, Wi-Fi, 3G with HSDPA speeds, USB v2,0 support and a full QWERTY keypad

The E66 is a voice-centric slider that will enable its users with more than just Wi-fi and Bluetooth. Besides a 3.2MP auto focus camera, 2.5mm jack and IrDA, it will also offer plenty of office tools like QuickOffice, Zip Manager, PDF reader and Notes. It will also have in-built GPS.

While the E71 is available for Rs. 22,949 the price of the E66 is Rs. 23,689.

Samsung Launches New S60 Enabled Handset

Samsung has just introduced a new handset – the L870 that is an S60 embedded smartphone. It's made out of a stainless steel body with a hairline pattern and this slider phone is also just 13.5mm slim. Samsung and Series 60 OS seem to be doing quite well together with the platform complimenting Samsung's handset design.

"We are happy to compliment our product portfolio with yet another appealing S60 mobile, Samsung L870 that is fully customized with style, performance and user interface," says, Jongin Kim, the Vice President of Mobile Communication Division of Samsung Electronics. "With S60, we can successfully deliver the latest mobile technology with fully customizable applications and the intuitive user interfaces."

The L870 is equipped with a 2.4 inch QVGA TFT display with 16 million colors. Other features include an FM radio with RDS, a 3 megapixel camera that's capable of DVD quality video recording, document viewer and microSD external memory card support. It runs on a Symbian OS v9.3 (S60 3rd edition feature pack 2). The handset also supports Bluetooth v2.0, EDGE/GPRS and HSDPA speeds.

Samsung L870 will first be launched in Europe around August and will then be out in all regions where GSM is available. There doesn’t seem to be any pricing attached to the handset yet so stay tuned.

Samsung Launches U900, Slew of New Phones

Samsung Telecommunications India (STI) has announced the launch of its Flagship model - SGH-U900 - in the country along with eight new mobiles and lifestyle mobile accessories.

The U900 features Magic Touch by DaCP, that changes the navigation indicators on the keypad according to the user's needs, making navigation of the menus simple, intuitive and direct. The navigation panel's icons change according to function. For example, when in music mode, music related icons will light up on the navigation indicators. When in camera mode, camera related icons such as zoom and brightness icons will appear.

At 12.9mm thin, it is equipped with a 5 megapixel camera with features such as face detection, image stabilizer and Wide Dynamic Range (WDR). Users can enjoy Internet access through the 7.2 Mbps High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) browser and share images or video taken with the phone.

The U900 is priced at Rs. 20,585.

Sunil Dutt , Country Head, Samsung Telecommunications India , "We believe that is the answer for today's style-conscious consumers, looking for a perfect blend of outstanding quality , design and performance. We are confident that the will enhance the Samsung consumer experience in the premium phone category."

LG Creates Limited Edition Iron Man Phone

Iron Man is the next Superhero movie getting ready to hit the big screen on May 2 but where would his alter ego, Tony Stark be without his trusty cell phone? Like any big shot business man it's a necessity and why can’t Iron Man have a separate phone too I ask? LG decided to do just that by partnering with Marvel Studios and Paramount Pictures designing a limited edition LG Shine handset for the jet boot propelled Superhero's movie.



This handset is set in 18 karat gold plating and red and only a 100 pieces have been made. The problem is though, is that the phone is available only via entering a marketing contest. The specs include a 2.2 inch TFT display, 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth with A2DP, EDGE and microSD card support. Hardly something a Tony Stark or Iron Man would use, personally speaking of course.

The estimated price of the handset is somewhere around Rs. 72,000 ($1,800). Check out the cool contest page here. Unfortunately it seems to be only for people residing in the USA.

Mobile Voip on Nokia Wi-fi Mobiles LaunchedMobile Voip on Nokia Wi-fi Mobiles Launched

Tpad has announced the availability of a free SMS text service that will automatically setup a WiFi enabled mass-market mobile phone that will bring free or ultra low cost mobile VoIP calls to millions.

The SMS text service is currently configured for Nokia's latest E and N series phones and will be updated when mobile phone producers such as Samsung and Motorola release their brand new WiFi phones later this year.

Mobile calls between Tpad users are free worldwide if the calls are routed over their WiFi Connection. All other PSTN calls from the user's WiFi mobile to any other landline or mobile in the world will be charged at the usual low Tpad VoIP rates.

This SMS text service has been designed to remove the need for complicated set up procedures. Customers need to create a mobile account that is free of cost and they will then automatically receive a free SMS text that will configure their phone's SIP settings with Tpad.

Tpad integrates seamlessly with the phone using the existing address book, so there's no need to retype your contacts. Once set up to use a WiFi hotspot, the mobile connects automatically next time the phone is in range.

No special software is needed, as it uses the inbuilt software that Nokia already has pre-installed. This ensures that there will be full compatibility with trouble free usage.

Chris Morris, Tpad's General Manager, said, "Tpad is at the forefront of the natural evolution of VoIP. First people began talking via a PC and headset, then they were tied to a fixed line IP device and now the next exciting step is Tpad mobile VoIP. Free calling has finally arrived on mass market mobiles. We are giving all new users who sign up for a free Tpad mobile account a free test call to the value of $0.50 for a limited period. This will give users the chance to experience the call quality of next generation mobile VoIP."

"For example, with this free credit you can make a 10 minute call to any mobile in Pakistan using our ultra low VoIP call rates. Of course calls between Tpad users are 100% free all the time.

If you combine this with our policy of no connection fees and per second billing we are at the forefront of the new wave of mobile VoIP companies".

Samsung Develops Slim 8MP Camera Module

Samsung has already given us a mobile camera with 5 megapixels and that’s not something new. To take it a step further they decided to add a 3X optical zoom lens to the mix. Given the fact they seem to want to take the mobile camera to new levels, their latest attempt was the world's ultra-thin CMOS camera phone module.

The module itself has dimensions of 28mm × 15.3mm × 8.5mm, which is nothing to sneeze at. With a module like this, we can expect a wider range of features from the next line-up of camera phones like face-detection, better macro and night modes and the like. More importantly, what we can hope to see with this module integrated into a handset is a camera phone with an 8-megapixel resolution. That’s definitely something we’ve been looking forward to for a while now.


The module is a key component of a mobile phone camera and with dimensions like these the next camera phone we could see from Samsung may not necessarily be as plump as the G810. We can hope

Trojan Found for Modded iPhones

So the iPhone has a virus. A trojan no less. F-Secure has confirmed the same, but it was a site for iPhone enthusiasts, called Modmyifone.com, that first got reports of this information. According to the site, this particular trojan masks itself as an update to Erica's Utilities and is labeled as "113 prep." It's been designed to target modded iPhones that are capable of installing third party applications, such as the one mentioned above.

F-Secure said that the trojan installation package contains false application installation information that causes legitimate third party applications to be removed if the trojan is uninstalled from the iPhone. F-Secure also reported that the website hosting the trojan has been taken offline. This application removes files from the /bin directory on the iPhone, breaking valid apps like Sendfile and Erica's Utilities.

CES 2008: Motorola Unveils Two New W-Series Phones

Motorola has introduced two new W-series GSM handsets at the ongoing International Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2008). The new W230 and W270 handsets offer expandable memory with optional microSD card and a simplified interface for text messaging.

"These new devices offer design elements, music features and outstanding battery life that consumers don’t expect to find at this price point," said Stu Reed, president, Motorola Mobile Devices. "Whether buying your first phone or trying out a music phone for the first time, these new models from Motorola are the perfect choice."

The W230 and W270 include features a dedicated music key that activates an integrated digital audio player which supports MP3 and other popular formats. Your favorite songs can be stored using optional microSD removable memory cards up to 2GB in size.

In addition, users have access to free music and news through an FM radio with integrated Radio Data System (RDS) which displays artist, title and type of song playing on the radio. Users can also record FM radio clips to use as the phone’s alarm, share favorite stations with friends through text messaging, and listen via headphones or speaker.

Both devices offer Motorola CrystalTalk technology that helps reduce background noise, up to nine hours of talk time, the capacity to store up to 500 text messages and phone contacts, one-click access to create text messages, and the ability to access the Web.

The W230 is available in two interchangeable faceplate color palettes: licorice/silver, and titanium gray/mandarin. Both handsets are expected to be available in Q1 2008.

Bangladesh Gets Its First BlackBerry

Bangladesh's Grameenphone and Research In Motion (RIM) have launched the first BlackBerry solution in Bangladesh.

Available for the first time in Bangladesh, BlackBerry smartphones will provide Grameenphone's customers with access to a range of mobile applications, including email, browsing, messaging, phone, organizer, multimedia and a wide range of other business and lifestyle applications.

Grameenphone will initially offer the BlackBerry 8700g and the BlackBerry Pearl smartphones in conjunction with BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry Internet Service. The BlackBerry 8700g and the BlackBerry Pearl will operate on Grameenphone’s EDGE/GPRS enabled GSM network.

Anders Jensen, CEO at Grameenphone said, "The BlackBerry platform is the gold standard in mobility for business users around the world. We are proud to be the first mobile operator launching the BlackBerry platform in Bangladesh, bringing in the next level of global connectivity for businesses."

Norm Lo, Vice President of Asia Pacific at Research In Motion said, "The BlackBerry platform, together with Grameenphone’s network, will offer an innovative and powerful mobile solution that enables users to be more productive, flexible and successful in both work and life."

The BlackBerry 8700g and the BlackBerry Pearl smartphones will be available from Grameenphone in January 2008.

For more information on the BlackBerry solution from Grameenphone, click here.

Unleash The Force On Your N-gage

Nokia, THQ Wireless, Lucasfilm, and LucasArts today revealed that Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is coming to N-Gage, Nokia's next generation mobile gaming platform in 2008.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed casts players as Darth Vader's "Secret Apprentice" and promises to unveil new revelations about the Star Wars galaxy. The game's story is set during the largely unexplored era between Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.

The mobile version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is in development by THQ's Finland-based studio, Universomo. Using Cell Weaver technology, the game lets the player harness the Force while assisting Darth Vader in his quest to rid the universe of Jedi - and face decisions that could change the course of their destiny. This mobile game provides players with unique community features, including tournaments, score uploads and downloadable content, through N-Gage Arena services.

"We're proud to be able to deliver the next chapter in the Star Wars saga on the N-Gage platform," said Gregg Sauter, Director, Publishing, Nokia. "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Mobile game will take advantage of the N-Gage platform's robust native development environment to provide the ultimate mobile gaming experience, including powerful graphics, connectivity and community elements."

Nokia Reveals Eco-friendly Mobile

For those of you mobile maniacs who are also concerned about the environment (and we all should be) Nokia has, at their event in Amsterdam, announced a new Eco-friendly mobile phone – The 3110 Evolve. By Eco-friendly, we mean that its covers are made out of Bio-Sourced material i.e. 50% renewable material.

The 3110 Evolve is also quite a fully loaded device that supports Bluetooth withA2DP, infrared, has an integrated FM radio, a 1.3 megapixel camera, MP3 player and supports external memory with microUSB cards up to 2GB. It also supports EGPRS and according to the 3110 Evolve spec sheet it also uses a High Efficiency charger that's quite energy efficient as well. It runs on a Series 40 UI.



The 3110 Evolve is expected to be launched somewhere in the first quarter of 2008.

Nokia Files Patent Application For New N Series

According to Nokia’s latest patent application filing, it seems they intend to add another N series device to their existing range. There also seems to be a few detailed drawings that were provided with the application. According to those drawings, the new phone will not be just another slider, but will also have the camera portion, located above the display, rotate 90 degrees.

There’s no official information on what the megapixel count on the camera will be and not much information on the other specs either. However, by looking carefully at the sketches, one would notice that it would appear to have either a 6 or 8 megapixel branding. Then again it’s just an unclear image so we’ll just have to wait and see. It’s quite likely that the official announcement of this device, if any, will be out only sometime next year, so stay tuned. When we know you’ll know.

Via Intomobile.

ASUS Launches 2 PDAs in The Indian Market

Asus today unveiled its mobile communication product strategy for India. The formal initiative to enter the Indian market has been kick-started with the launch of two of its Windows Mobile 6 professional PDA phones for business professionals – The P526 and M530w. ASUS India has announced that India Digital Lifestyle Distributors Pvt Ltd (IDLDPL) will distribute PDA-phones to large format and mobile phone retailers across the country.

The company is also in talks with various mobile telecom service providers to bundle Asus PDA phones with their new subscribers. ASUS plans to initially target the top five metros - Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai for the PDA phones. The company plans to establish a strong brand presence in these five metros followed by other cities and towns across India.

“We see a huge potential going forward in the PDA Phone market in India.”, said Mr. Benson Lin, General Manager, ASUS Asia Pacific region. “India can expect to see a whole range of premium Asus PDA phones being launched in the next few months,” he added.

The P526 is equipped with GPS capabilities and a host of messaging enhancements to allow users to experience Windows Live with improved stability and speed. It has a 2.6" TFT display that supports 65K colors and has a 240 x 320 pixel resolution. The media player supports MPEG4 (supporting 30 FPS QCIF video) MIDI/MP3/WMA/WAV/AAC/ AAC+/AMR and other music formats. The device is also has a 2 megapixel camera. The P526 is also equipped with 128 MB Flash and 64 MB SDRAM. It supports Micro-SD cards for external memory and supports USB v1.1/ Bluetooth 1.2.

Apart from these features the device also has some very Asus specific apps like Remote Presenter to allow users to control PowerPoint presentations stored on a notebook or PC via a Bluetooth connection, ASUS Meeting Planner and ASUS Secret function that encrypts and protects sensitive documents.

With the ASUS M530w smartphone the first thing you'll notice is the QWERTY keypad of course. The integrated 2 Mega Pixel Auto-Macro camera is equipped with a flash while the Windows Media Player application supports full screen movies and music broadcasts. It has a 2.4" TFT display with 65K colors and a 320 x 240 pixel resolution, built-in 256 MB of Flash memory and a 64 MB SDRAM and supports microSD cards for external memory. It supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v2.0, USB v1.1 and supports Push-Mail. The ASUS M530w also has business card reader application and it also supports 3G video calling. The funny thing is that this mobile runs on Windows Mobile 6.0 standard.



These phones are available in the market and priced at Rs. 16,990 and Rs. 20,900 respectively.

Faster iPhone on Its Way: AT&T

AT&T Inc. says it plans to offer a version of an iPhone next year that runs on a faster wireless network so users can get speedier results when surfing the Web.

The move would address one of the main drawbacks about the smart phone made by Apple Inc. and distributed exclusively by wireless carrier AT&T in the United States.

AT&T Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson spilled the news during his appearance at an event late Wednesday at the Churchill Club in Santa Clara.

A spokeswoman for Apple declined to comment Thursday.

Stephenson said he didn't know how much more the new version will cost than the existing model, which sells for $399.

Many industry observers had expected Apple to make the iPhone work on faster 3G networks at some point but couldn't pinpoint when. The current model - Apple's first foray in the cell phone market - runs on 2.5G networks, or in AT&T's case, its relatively slow EDGE network.

The difference in performance is similar to a dial-up Internet connection versus a high-speed broadband connection.

Modelabs Helps Tag Heuer Go Mobile

Renowned Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer has joined forces with Modelabs to start producing a range of mobile handsets.

The latest trend, so it would seem, is either for two completely different companies, from two completely different fields, to get together and develop a product that would of course make everyone in the world look at one another and go – Wha…? Wow! The ‘in’ name these days is French design house Modelabs. As you may recall, they helped design the HT1 Hummer cell phone. Recently they launched the Levi’s mobile handset in Hong Kong. They also are the makers of a few concept mobile handsets.

We are, of course, totally in the dark as to what kind of mobile phone handset a watch company would bring to the table. Then again, there was the Levi’s handset. But if it’s anything like their watches, I’m sure it’ll be stylish, tasteful and yes, probably very expensive. But who knows. The first Tag Heuer phone should be out sometime in the second half of next year. Stay Tuned.

Let’s see who and of course what, the guys at Modelabs will team up with and bring us next.

Via Pocket-lint.

Hungama Mobile Goes Hollywood

Hungama Mobile, has signed an agreement with Paramount Digital Entertainment, a part of Paramount Pictures Corporation, a unit of Viacom, Inc., to localize and distribute Paramount branded mobile and interactive content for the Indian market. With this crucial relationship, an Indian Mobile VAS player will now localize and provide exclusive content directly from Paramount Pictures.

The agreement makes Paramount's wireless and interactive content available to more than 200 million Indian subscribers. The primary intent of the agreement between Paramount Pictures, a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment and Hungama Mobile, is to combine the strengths and experiences of each company to deliver advanced technology-based, interactive and entertaining mobile content. Services include themed logos, polyphonic ring-tones, animated wallpaper screens, mobile games, video clips, and applications, among others to be based upon Paramount's catalogue. The two companies will work together to execute synergy promotions in the new media space for previous catalog titles as well as upcoming Paramount releases.

"This is the first time that Hollywood content of such diversity, quality and size will be made available to the Indian consumers." said Pradeep Mittur, Paramount Digital Entertainment Vice President, Interactive and Mobile Entertainment, Asia Pacific.

Hungama Mobile will localize and distribute a wide range of mobile and internet based entertainment for a select mix of Paramount's library and upcoming titles.

Google and iPhone, a Perfect Sync

Google has been a busy little bee, what with the new Google Phone news and the development of the Android platform for mobile phones. Another application that’s made the news is GooSync. This service allows you to synchronize your Google calendar with the calendar application on your mobile phone.

What’s making the news is not the application of course but the fact that it is now fully usable for the ‘iPhoners’. The GooSync system is now fully functional with the iPhone so in case you’ve made entries into Google's online calendar software, you can have all of that safely on your iPhone simply by syncing it through the GooSync website and all entries will show up on the iPhone’s calendar application.

Other Google applications that are also compatible with the iPhone besides the Google calendar, include Gmail for mobiles and Google Reader.

Via Intomobile.

Samsung Launches CDMA Phone, MAX

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., has launched its first open market phone - Samsung MAX in the CDMA segment.

The slider is launched through the company's own distribution network and aiming at the growing CDMA market, will be available to both Tata Indicom and Reliance Mobile subscribers.

Hyundai Kim, Vice President and Head - CDMA Division, Samsung Telecommunications India Pvt. Ltd., said, "We expect to fuel the growth of the Indian CDMA industry through the launch Samsung Max in the open market. Fully feature loaded Samsung Max is launched to serve the Multimedia needs of the CDMA consumer. The availability of CDMA phones in the open market will provide Indian consumers freedom to choose network operator's of their choice".

Samsung maintains that the Samsung Max is a complete multimedia phone localized to suit Indian needs.

The phone sports a 1.9-inch 262k TFT screen and a 1.3 MP camera. It has Bluetooth, R-UIM card support, expandable memory, an integrated FM radio, voice recorder and an MP3 player. Other features include Indian Calendar, Panchang, Mobile Prayer, Cricket Scorer, Hinglish SMS, Mobile Tracker and SOS alert.

The phone also has some additional security features like call lock which restricts others from receiving or making calls from the handset.

Dinesh Sharma, Marketing Head - CDMA Division, Samsung Telecommunications India Pvt. Ltd., said "Samsung aims to roll out Max through open market distribution in a phase wise manner.

Currently, the MAX will be available only in Delhi and Mumbai for Rs. 7,500, but by December 2007 it will be available in several other large cities.

LG Launches 2 Entry Level Handsets

LG Electronics India Pvt. Limited (LGEIL), has launched two new mobile handsets - KG 288 and KG 285. These handsets are an addition to LG’s entry portfolio and are targeted at the entry-level customer. Both models are loaded with an anti-theft tracker and have features like Sudoku and in the case of the KG288, a hot key for FM radio.

Anil Arora, Business Group Head, GSM said, “LG has always been on the forefront in launching new technology and wrapping it up with the style quotient. In our latest offering, we have continued with this trend by providing the customer attractive features at unbeatable prices.”

The KG 288 and 285 are equipped with TFT 65K Color Displays; 300 entry phone book memory and 100 SMS memory. Both models also have speaker phones and are dual band handsets. Other features include a stopwatch function, calendar and an alarm. The KG 288 also comes with an inbox headset for listening to FM.

The KG 288 and KG 285 will be available in the market for Rs. 1,949 and Rs.1,649 respectively.

Opera Mini Now on Tata Indicom Handsets

Opera Software has announced an initiative with Tata Teleservices to provide Opera Mini on its upcoming BREW-enabled handsets. The browser will be made available first on the Huawei C2900i, a mass market BREW-enabled handset.

This is the first delivery of Opera Mini on a BREW-enabled handset and marks Opera's entry into the Indian market.

According to Gartner India's mobile phone market is set for a period of rapid growth, with revenue from cellular services expected to jump by more than 18 per cent year on year for the next five years. Indian mobile data revenue is expected to outpace that of voice services and contribute to about a fifth of total revenues by 2011, doubling year on year.

A report by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, (TRAI) the Indian telecom industry watchdog, suggests that the number of Indian consumers connecting to the Internet via mobile handsets has more than doubled in just over a year - to 38 million from 16 million.

Mobile web browser Opera Mini, will provide users with access to the Web on the go. Opera Mini will also support local language Web sites such as BBC Hindi, Dainik Bhaskar and others and will include bookmarks, secure access to e-mail and online banking.

"We are bringing the world's best mobile Web browsing experience to India and are the first operator to enable this experience for Indian consumers. Mobile Web on affordable mobile devices will open up the power of the Internet to a huge base of consumers, in a language of their choice. Tata Indicom's superior CDMA capabilities, coupled with Opera Mini's unique capabilities, will bring a delightful browsing experience to our customers," said Pankaj Sethi, President, VAS & Enterprise Marketing, Tata Teleservices Ltd.

"India continues to be an important market for Opera and we are excited to partner with Tata Teleservices to offer the full power of the Internet to mobile users in India. Opera's focus on innovation is what differentiates the company in the market today. The new Opera Mini on BREW solution clearly demonstrates our vision and commitment to providing an outstanding Web browsing experience on mobile phones to customers in India," says Jon von Tetzchner, Chief Executive Officer, Opera Software.