More and more rumors are circling around the Internets about WM7 and the “Pink” smartphone project. According to CNET’s Mary Jo Foley, to her understanding, the “Pink” smart phone is now to be Microsoft-branded, running a customized UI on top of the WM7 platform. It will be developed by the Danger team and targeted towards the Sidekick market. The UI will be proprietary and not available to 3rd parties to use. The hardware is expected to be manufactured by either Sharp or Motorola. Both of which have made Sidekicks in the past. Other sources say that the new phone may be introduced sometime this fall!
I’m pretty excited to see what Microsoft has up its sleeves. Hopefully they can deliver to the degree that Apple and Palm have with their signature... [Read More]
According to a study released by Best Buy, about half of all prospective smartphone purchasers do not complete their purchase simply out of confusion from all the smart phone models out there. 47% of people who didn’t already own a smartphone said they were simply “too confused” by the sheer number of phones and features. 63% of all those studied didn’t own one because they thought the phones were too expensive, and 39% simply said they hated the shopping experience.
The study also showed that over half of those that 58 percent want one to play music; 41 percent want social networking and 36 percent value games.
Some other interesting statistics from the study include
“An unusual gender split also exists for apps, Best Buy adds. Women almost always valued apps more than men. They were also more likely than men to value built-in features like SMS messaging (71 percent versus 46 percent), photography... [Read More]
A survey of 655 US teenagers aged 13 to 18 has revealed disturbing amounts of bullying going on via the mobile phone networks, despite the fact that most of them seem to understand the risks of sharing too much data online.
The Teen Online and Wireless Safety survey was carried out by Cox communications in conjunction with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Participants were asked a series of questions about their own involvement in sexually explicit messaging and cyber-bullying, as well as their attitudes towards the problems.
Almost a fifth of those sampled had either sent or received a message containing "a nude or nearly nude photograph", generally to girlfriends or boyfriends, though less than 10 per cent actually admitted initiating such messages - the rest received or forwarded messages. The most common reason given was for a laugh, though some claimed to be responding to requests from their other half.
The US Revenue Service has decided to trash a controversial tax on personal use of employer provided devices such as WM Phones. The law, which was introduced in 1989 was meant to be a tax benefit for employers. Last week the IRS asked for ways to better enforce the law, which caused confusion when differentiating between private and business calls. Doug Shulman, the commissioner t the IRS was quoted as saying that the tax law was
“burdensome, poorly understood by taxpayers, and difficult for the IRS to to administer consistently. There will be no tax consequence to employers or employees for personal use of work-related devices such as cell phones provided by employers. The passage of time, advances in technology, and the nature of communication in the modern workplace have rendered the law obsolete.”
Accountants are cracking champagne bottles right now.
Technically not related to mobile phones, but thought some of you might find this interesting. Pixel Equity is a new not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to getting video games and consoles into the hands of children at youth centers who might not be able to play the games any other way. We all grew up playing video games, we all remember how much fun they were, playing for hours. Why not share that joy, and make a kids day happy.
"Video gaming is a fun activity, but with consoles costing hundreds of dollars, many children just can't afford to play," according to Matthew Badalucco, the founder and Executive Director of Pixel Equity Inc. "As a lifelong gamer, I want to address this aspect of the digital divide."
The recently announced price drop of the iPhone 3G to $99 changes the dynamics of the mobile phone industry. Research by analyst Roger Entner from Nielsen believes the cut completely changes the expected and perceived worth of every phone already on offer and wont just hurt smartphones. Any phone over $49 is kneecapped and will look like either it costs too much to make or that the carrier is asking too high a price.
The researcher expects Apple’s change to force changes in pricing for all phones. Either phones prices will drop to compete, or phones will become more advanced. Either way it benefits the consumer.
Think about it, what kind of phones could you get for $100? A basic one with a camera. But now you can get a smartphone. Who would ever want a basic phone again?
How do you guys think this will effect the industry? How will this effect... [Read More]
Samsung has come out with its 4 Windows Mobile phones:
Omnia II
OmniaPRO B7610
OmniaPRO B7320
OmniaLITE
The Omnia II will be available through Verizon networks and all of them will be available in Europe. The OmniaPRO B7610 aka "Work-Life Balance Winner" has a hybrid Touch/QWERTY design with push email that supports multiple email addresses. It's 5-megapixel camera, GPS, and AMOLED display give it a great balance between work and everyday use. The OmniaPRO B7320 aka "Personal Assistant Perfected" is compact in size and with its QWERTY keypad make it the perfect portable messaging device. The OmniaLITE aka "Simple All-rounder" has the simplest interface for a smartphone and gets the job done with full support multimedia, an Opera Browser and HSDPA & Wi-Fi connectivity, Microsoft Office Suit and multi-push email access.
The Samsung Jet runs on a 800MHz processor. It comes with a 3.1 inch AMOLED screen display and uses Samsung's TouchWiz 2.0 with 3D media gate UI and a customizable widget screen. The Jet also includes a 5.0 megapixel camera, build-in GPS, DNSe & SRS, and DivX and xVid video support.
The Jet is almost identical to the Omnia II in appearance but uses Samsung OS instead of Windows Mobile. This is where it's 800 MHz processor kicks into gear. Their one-finger zoom feature could be useful to users looking for one-handed use on their device.
Overall, the Samsung Omnia II does sport a larger display and Opera browser, but the 800MHz processor does make this device one of the faster or the fastest touch screen devices on the market. Looking forward to its release!
An upgraded version of the Samsung Omnia is coming to a Verizon store near you! With a beautiful high resolution AM-OLED display and 3.7-inch touchscreen, this baby is packing a punch. It will also have Verizon's EV-DO Rev, a 5MPx camera, Opera Mobile 9.5, a 3.5 mm headset jack, and many more features. The Omnia II runs Windows Mobile 6.1 and comes with TouchWiz 2.0. One possible set back may be the resistive touch present on Samsung's devices to date. Guess that's one thing they haven't changed. The exact date and pricing information has yet to be released so expect updates on this device very soon. There is already news of a GSM version of this device as well.
UPDATE!!!!
It's Windows Mobile 6.1 will be later upgradeable to 6.5
AT&T's "Fortress" has hit the FCC. The Fortress will be released this summer along with AT&T's "Warhawk" or HTC Touch Diamond2. It should be coming with WinMo 6.1 AKU6 (presumably upgradeable to 6.5 down the road) with full HSPA on three bands, AGPS, a 3.2 megapixel AF cam, 3.6-inch WVGA display, and Video Share support. The Warhawk is expected to launch with Windows Mobile 6.5 installed around August 24th.
We've got the Rhodium 100 for T-Mobile, 400 and 500 for Sprint and Verizon and 300 for AT&T.
Keep a look out for this device that should be hitting stores mid-June!
007 Spy-wear looks like it will soon become reality.
These interactive data eyeglasses allow you to sit back, relax, have a cup of tea, talk on the phone, and drive while zooming in and out on a map on your glasses! They take the wearer into a virtual world by providing the user interactive data on their environment.
Currently the glasses can only display information but scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS in Dresden are developing eyeglasses that are bidirectional and interactive with its users. The eye tracking technology will allow users to change what is displayed by moving their eyes or targeting a certain image or object. These glasses will provide numerous advantages to people who need more detailed information on their surroundings but will not be able to operate a computer... [Read More]
According to the Wall Street Journal today, Adobe is currently “reengineering its software so Flash-based games and videos can run on different handsets as well as PC’s without being modified.” They say a number of teams are working to get Flash supported for multiple smartphone platforms. These platforms include webOS, s60, Android, BlackBerry OS and iPhone OS. They are working with various chip and phone manufacturers as well as developers in hopes of creating a cross platform version of the popular Flash.
So this video isn’t actually new, but it is deffinetly news worthy. Check out the Windows Live Mesh commercial on YouTube that was released back in April 2008. The commercial shows a future vision of seemless syncing capabilities across multiple devices and platforms. Maybe this will become a possibility in four... [Read More]
Looking to upgrade your WindowsMobile phone? Look no more, the Pharos Traveler 137 is now available. For the steep price of $350.00 on a 2 year contract with T-Mobile. Or if you don’t like to commitment, you can get one unlocked for $600.00. Why the steep price? Aside from getting a nice looking phone with a bunch of features, it is also Windows Mobile 6.5 ready!
Some Features:
Touch Screen
3.1 megapixel camera with video capture and a VGA user facing camera
quad-band GSM/EDGE and tri-band 1700/1900/2100 MHz 7.2Mbps HSDPA
This is the new mobile web browser version with a strong emphasis on producing local results. It allows you to set your location, customize your homepage, quickly access directions, maps, movies, etc. The innovative search engine displays your results in a menu-like drop down category list. Even Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is praising Microsofts search engine and complimenting how it sorts out results in the lefthand column. Could Bing be the new Google? Or will the search-engine giant still remain on top? I think the latter. If they are trying to compete with Google, they still have a long ways to go.
More and more rumors are circling around the Internets about WM7 and the “Pink” smartphone project. According to CNET’s Mary Jo Foley, to her understanding, the “Pink” smart phone is now to be Microsoft-branded, running a customized UI on top of the WM7 platform. It will be developed by the Danger team and targeted towards the Sidekick market. The UI will be proprietary and not available to 3rd parties to use. The hardware is expected to be manufactured by either Sharp or Motorola. Both of which have made Sidekicks in the past. Other sources say that the new phone may be introduced sometime this fall!
Technically not related to mobile phones, but thought some of you might find this interesting. Pixel Equity is a new not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to getting video games and consoles into the hands of children at youth centers who might not be able to play the games any other way. We all grew up playing video games, we all remember how much fun they were, playing for hours. Why not share that joy, and make a kids day happy. 
... 
Looking to upgrade your WindowsMobile phone? Look no more, the Pharos Traveler 137 is now available. For the steep price of $350.00 on a 2 year contract with T-Mobile. Or if you don’t like to commitment, you can get one unlocked for $600.00. Why the steep price? Aside from getting a nice looking phone with a bunch of features, it is also Windows Mobile 6.5 ready! 
