Posts Tagged ‘handset’

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Motorola: Nothing to see here, move along, move along

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009

I headed by the Motorola stand to see what they’d got to show off.

Just a preface: We’re at America’s largest, most influential trade show. Motorola’s spend hundreds of thousands to deliver a big stand, they’ve flown in all their top people and … this is the bollocks they’ve got to show off:

I kid ye not.

A bollocks flip phone. With a bollocks camera. And — contain your excitement — I’m pretty sure this one comes with an Alarm Clock function.

Goodness me.

I couldn’t bear to look at the other devices on show. I simply couldn’t suppress my utter, utter disappointment. I didn’t want to start vomiting over the nice helpful Motorola team.

When I arrived on stand, there was a 40-year old chap going nuts with excitement over the next generation RAZR-bollocks handset. (Yes there was a RAZR in his holster on his belt).

“OH WOW! This is the new RAZR?” he said, picking it up as the Motorola stand person beamed with delight.

“Yeah!” she said, watching the chap obsess over it, before listing the rubbish specifications to the pure joy of the chap.

I felt like ripping it out of his hands and jamming it up his arse.

With his holster.

Is this the best Motorola have got to show for their few billion dollars worth of investment over the past months?

Come on.

I’m sure they’re working on some good stuff.

I hope they are.

Original post by Ewan and software by Elliott Back

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Posted in Devices, Mobile | Comments

Charge your handset with an AAA battery

Friday, February 20th, 2009

This caught my attention as we walked around Mobile World Congress: The ability to power your handset with a (rechargeable) AAA battery.

This was particularly relevant to me since I’ve spent most of the week running out of Blackberry battery power at about 2pm much to my *intense* annoyance.

Have a look at this development coming to mobile handsets. Here’s the video:


Techtium Demonstrate Their Mobile Power Products from Mobile Industry Review on Vimeo.

The chaps behind it are from Techtium. I can’t wait to get something like this. The flexibility of having TWO power supplies is fantastic. You can rely on your main battery — supplementing when/if you need to with any AAA you can find at any corner shop. Genius when you’re roaming.

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Posted in Devices, Feature, mirshow, mobile world congress | Comments

Hyundai hits the UK mobile handset market with 15 handsets en route

Monday, January 19th, 2009

The global behemoth, Hyundai, has entered the UK mobile handset market.

Big time.

There’s no toe-in-the-water nonsense from Hyundai. Nope. They’re hitting the market with 2, followed by 10 to 15 new handsets this year.

That’s THE FIRST HALF of this year.

Come on!

A little bit of competition, eh? Plus you might get a discount on your next Yaris. Or Taris. Or… Hyundai [something]. I can’t, alas, name a Hyundai car model without resorting to Google. And that would be cheating.

I’m going to do more on this shortly. For now, here are two images to whet your appetite.

This one, unsurprisingly (from the description on the screen), has — as I infer — a touchscreen:

No word on actual operating system specifics. I tell you what, if Hyundai simply HINTED at the SLIGHT POSSIBILITY of manufacturing 200m Android handsets this year, I’m willing to bet half the industry would wet their pants. Some with delight, others not so much.

Anyway, more soon.

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To everyone crying about Jaiku: Get real.

Friday, January 16th, 2009

Jaiku’s biggest problem was the shitty shitty handset infrastructure that Jyri and the guys had to make do with. Google, which it acquired the service, was hardly ever likely to integrate it as a Google Jaiku service.

For one, Jaiku means nothing to your average punter. Google Docs means something. Google Jaiku? Rubbish. Doesn’t fit on a superficial branding level.

It’s the people. The people who were mad enough to come up with such a brilliant concept (I mean ‘mad’ in a good way) even faced with such shitty rubbish infrastructure as your common-or-garden Nokia/Symbian device, … well… if they can DO that with Symbian, what do you reckon they could do with their own handsets and operating system?

Right.

There’s your strategy.

Do you want sod about with Jaiku… or do you want to work on the next generation operating systems and applications that REAL people — tens and hundreds of millions (as apposed to thousands) will use?

Deal done.

So Jaiku users, stop maoning, get over it and — if you’re really, really committed, get yourself a T-Mobile G1 and start hassling Jyri and his colleagues about the collaboration, location-based lifestreaming developments. If they can get it right, Google can nail it and it’ll be SO brilliant. The efforts and attentions of Jaiku’s biggest and most loyal fans are far better invested in the next generation rather than kicking, screaming and demanding redress.

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Posted in Mobile Applications | Comments

NSA-approved handset runs Windows Mobile

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009

Goodness me.

This is the phone that is apparently approved — or at least possible for — Mr President-Elect Obama to use.

You know how he’s ‘addicted’ to Blackberry?

Well, give him one of these and watch him become immediately un-addicted.

Windows Mobile. Total total unmitigated rubbish when you ACTUALLY want to use a device that can respond swiftly and immediately to your requirements.

Anyone who’s ever done a send/receive with their Windows Mobile device will tell you, it’s 100% rubbish if you do anything else other than wait for it to complete.

You can’t actually USE it. Because the OS is using 100% of resources to connect to your IMAP server and sod about downloading your email.

Add on a few more layers of security and geez, it’ll take years to do anything decent.

Still, the General Dynamics handset Secterea Edge looks pretty nifty.

Instead of $350, they’ve sensibly added a zero.

Well, it’s the Goverment, right?

So one of these babies:

… Will set you back $3,350. And, as ZDnet points out, even the accessories are stupidly expensive. ($100 for a cigarette-lighter charger).

Here’s a quote from the ZDnet piece:

The Sectera runs a mobile version of Microsoft Windows, including versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Windows Media Player. The NSA claims that the installed versions of Internet Explorer, WordPad, and Windows Messenger are good enough for data that’s classified at a level of Secret. Presumably the federal spooks have found a way to protect IE from the numerous security flaws that continue to plague the Internet’s most popular browser.

The NSA declined to comment on Monday.

You bet they are. They’re probably still waiting for the device’s little circle egg-timer thing to stop whirring.

Here’s the full image of the device:

Place your orders for the Sectera at the General Dynamics C4 site.

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Posted in Devices, Feature | Comments

HTC’s Android Tungsten handset is a looker

Tuesday, January 13th, 2009

Did you catch Rob’s overview of what appears to be HTC’s full product map for the year?

I don’t know why HTC bothers to keep these things secret. We want to know.

Provided it’s good news.

And it looks like it may well be.

Rob pulled out the Tungsten handset in his overview earlier today and, I have to say, if this is anything like the reality — and if it’s engineered to HTC’s TouchPro-style devices, the future for Android is looking pretty sexy:

(Photos & leak via PPC Geeks — check the link for a whole RAFT of upcoming HTC devices - tons!).

As Rob pointed out, if you can get an HTC Touch HD Pro — that DOESN’T run Windows Mobile (which really does hamper the experience, unless you screw your eyes up tightly) — HTC’s Android equivalent will definitely set hearts-a-flutter.

It’s going to be interesting comparing this Tungsten Android with Nokia’s new N97.

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Posted in Devices | Comments

The best handset for ShoZu, ever?

Monday, December 15th, 2008

I’m looking for your assistance.

As part of the MIR ShoZu Campaign, we will be giving away a handset every week shortly. Exact details are coming soon, but before then, I need to determine the best handset most appropriate for ShoZu use. And then go and buy them.

What’s your recommendation?

Nokia N82?

The trusty N95? That’s the handset that really opened up ShoZu for me, because of it’s fantastic camera. The N95 is a bit old though.

Or what about the brilliant, brilliant Sony Ericsson K800i? 3.2 megapixels of sheer camera excellence.

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Posted in Mobile | Comments

Opinion: The INQ1 — 3rd attempt at a Skype-friendly handset?

Friday, December 5th, 2008

Michael Aubert knows a thing or two about Symbian, given that he — literally — wrote the book on Mastering C++ in Mobile Development.

Michael took issue with the manner in which we’ve covered the INQ1 launch. So much so he knocked me over a text about it this morning. I responded asking him to expand on his viewpoint so we could publish his opinion here. Over to Michael!

- - - - -

Hi Ewan,

I sent you an SMS about the INQ1 coverage on MIR earlier today.

To expand on it:

It seems the whole MIR redaction has fallen in love with the new INQ1 phone. A more balanced view of the device could be useful to the MIR readers.

The INQ1 is the third attempt from manufacturer Amoi to create a Skype-friendly handset.

It is also the first one that is remotely usable by third-party application developers.

It still has teething problems like the complexity of customizing a shortcut icon.

It is still based on a cheap Qualcomm chipset with limited audio capabilities.

It is still using a security model that is actually laughable.

However, Amoi is a good manufacturer when it comes to responding to developer feedback and producing improved firmwares. Hopefully, all the alpha and beta testing developers have gone through with this phone over the last few months will make for a good user experience now that the INQ1 is available in the shops.

The INQ software layer in itself, including the Skype VoIP and Facebook social networking clients, certainly looks exiting.

One last comment about the UK marketing campaign: Over-exposition reeks of desperation.

Regards,

Michael Aubert
http://developer.symbian.com/quick

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Michael, thanks very much for taking the time to write and to rebalance the sometimes rather keen coverage we’ve been delivering here on Mobile Industry Review. You’ve made some fair points there — I’m looking forward to getting the perspective of the wider audience on the INQ1 too.

(And I’m just away to go and buy one!)

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