Latest Mobile Phone News

Here is a list of the changes for the new iPhone 2.1 firmware, which have been released last Friday. The update will decrease number of dropped calls, promise to give you better battery life and other bug fixes. To update your iPhone you can use the updater tool in your iTunes.

iPhone 2.1 Change Log:

• Decrease in call set-up failures and dropped calls

• Significantly better battery life for most users

• Dramatically reduced time to backup to iTunes

• Improved email reliability, notably fetching email from POP and Exchange accounts

• Faster installation of 3rd party applications

• Fixed bugs causing hangs and crashes for users with lots of third party applications

• Improved performance in text messaging

• Faster loading and searching of contacts

• Improved accuracy of the 3G signal strength display

• Repeat alert up to two additional times for incoming text messages

• Option to wipe data after ten failed passcode attempts

• Genius playlist creation

Popularity: 3%

MapQuest today announced the beta launch of MapQuest 4 Mobile, a free, downloadable application that extends MapQuest.com capabilities to compatible BlackBerry smartphones.

MapQuest 4 Mobile offers users an easy-to-use interface and the same accurate directions and maps they rely on from the MapQuest.com site. Local search is also accessible, enabling users to search for businesses by proper name or category. Additionally, MapQuest 4 Mobile provides hybrid imagery, traffic and incident information as well as a GPS “find me” feature which locates a user and tracks the progress to their destination. MapQuest 4 Mobile also utilizes smaller map tiles allowing for faster downloads and quicker screen refresh.

Popularity: 4%

Just found a post about an unique phone which “could work literally anywhere on earth, without worrying about coverage limits”.  Produced by a little known company called Elektrobit, its design strangely looks so much like the BlackBerry Bold or a Motorola MOTO Q.

A little known company called Elektrobit has come out with a unique phone that could use GSM in the city, 3G or Wi-Fi when you need it, and turn into a satellite phone when take that safari trip. The phone, which was shown at the CTIA show in Las Vegas this week, strangely looks so much like the RIM Bold or a Motorola Q. However, it is actually a Windows Mobile phone. The phone has no visible antenna, it uses a 300 MHz STN 8815 Nomadik chip, has a 3-megapixel camera, and is supposed to get 4 hours of 3G talk time and about 2 hours of satellite talk time.

Popularity: 2%

I think this stylish phone would be a good choice for entertainment lover. Sony Ericsson quitely announced its new W707 Alicia, a Walkman handset, which has HSDPA connectivity and 3.15 mega pixel camera with a video recording option.

As an advanced version of W980 handset, this attractive walkman handset comes with two displays on the external case (one is hidden in the upper part and the other one appears over the music control wheel), superb web and email capabilities.

Popularity: 4%

Verizon Wireless’s Treo 700wx owners can now upgrade their smartphone to Windows Mobile 6. Palm has just released the Treo 700wx Updater 1.24 on the support page. The releases note did not mention a Windows Mobile 6.1, so it is more likely to be the earlier Windows Mobile 6 version.

Calendar functionality – See the big picture at a glance. A Topline bar in the agenda view shows when you’re free or busy, and when you have scheduling conflicts. Drill down to view meeting attendees, contact information, acceptance status, and reply-to or forward meeting requests.
Email support- Send and receive HTML emails with tables, bullets, and colored text intact,The “smart filter” for contact search is available so you can search for emails stored on your company’s Exchange Server. Send an automated “out-of-office” message from your device.

Popularity: 2%

What? HTC Touch Pro for KDDI users? Take it easy. Since Taiwanese phone maker HTC Corporation has teamed-up with KDDI, Japan second largest mobile operator, so Japanese mobile users can enjoy HTC Touch Pro CDMA too! They called it E30HT Windows Mobile smart phone, which is based on the HTC Touch Pro (just like HTC Raphael, HTC Touch Pro CDMA for US’s Sprint users).

KDDI announced that they would be unveiling the smart phone at CEATEC, Japan’s largest electronics products exhibition, September 28-October, this year. However, commercial sales of the E30HT, are slated for spring 2009.  Why does it takes so long from its first showing up and comercial availability?

Popularity: 3%

Set to launch with Sprint, the LG LX600 Lotus packs a full slate of QWERTY, has Bluetooth 2.0, a 2.0 megapixel camera, and a reasonably compact form factor. It comes in luxurious colors such as purple with embossed flowers or satin black. Seems to be offered to the females.

Popularity: 2%

Sprint and Research In Motion (RIM) announced plans to deliver the BlackBerry Curve 8350i – the newest Nextel Direct Connect-capable BlackBerry smartphone – by the end of 2008. The BlackBerry Curve 8350i will be the latest BlackBerry smartphone to utilize iDEN technology and feature Nextel Direct Connect push-to-talk service. The BlackBerry Curve 8350i will also be the first BlackBerry smartphone from Sprint to offer Group Connect, allowing customers to instantly set up group conversations with up to 20 other participants.

In addition to delivering push email and messaging capabilities of the BlackBerry solution, the BlackBerry Curve 8350i will include built-in Wi-Fi capabilities, allowing customers to browse the Internet and download email attachments quickly and easily.

Other key features include:

* Integrated GPS
* 2 Megapixel Camera
* DataViz Documents to Go
* Speakerphone
* Advanced Media Player
* Removable/Rechargeable 1400 mAH Battery
* microSD memory card slot
* Bluetooth

Popularity: 2%

The touchscreen capabilities in mobile devices are getting more popular now. A recent research stated that the global revenue of the touchscreen market will reach $5 billion next year. No wonder that nearly all mobile handset manufacturers are getting into touch screens and forcefully offer them to the growing mobile customers around the world.

Touch screens have been available for some time and are found in a variety of fixed and portable devices, but it was the launch of Apple’s iPhone that refocused the public’s attention on them as never before. Shipments in 2007 of touch screen-based mobile devices increased 91% over 2006, and ABI Research forecasts that revenue from the global touch screen market for mobile phones and other handheld devices such as MIDs, UMPCs, and PNDs will reach $5 billion in 2009.

Popularity: 2%

Yeah, it’s been five months since Velocity Mobile 103 leaked around the blogosphere and now, finally, they’ve announced the retail availability of the first touchscreen phone. The Velocity Mobile 103 combines Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, an Odyssey Interface

• Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional

• Qualcomm Mobile Station Modem™ (MSM™) MSM7201™ chipset

• GSM/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900

• UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA 850, 1900, 2100

• 640×480 VGA touch screen

• Odyssey Interface

• Velocity Over The Air updates (VOTA)

• 256MB ROM, 128MB RAM

• Bluetooth 2.0, 802.11b/g WiFi, GPS

• 2.0 megapixel camera, 0.3 megapixel videoconferencing camera

• TV/VGA out

• MicroSD expansion slot

Popularity: 1%

It’s really an exciting innovation that comes to the gadget world and already available in the market. Shown off at the CTIA Wireless Expo in San Francisco, Medis offers its portable, disposable, and relatively cheap fuel cell charger that ready to juice up your gadgets.

The Medis 24-7 Power Pack is portable power system designed to keep your handheld devices operational while you are on the go. The Power Pack has enough power to drive many handheld devices when the battery is nearly depleted and it will also function as a portable charger.

The 24-7 Power Pack provides sufficient energy to provide up to 30 hours of talk time to an average mobile phone or 60-80 hours of play time for an average iPod. The power is sufficient (1 watt) to operate, and charge, multiple times, a wide range of the standard and advanced portable electronic devices in the market today.

Popularity: 1%

After seeing Nokia’s Tube in action and getting a glimpse of the future Touch Communicator, it’s time for the camera to flash, as we check out an 8 megapixel cameraphone. Yes, the device is branded Nokia, but the details are extremely scarce… The handset looks more like a camera than a phone to me, but it’s equally hot.

Turns out that it features Bluetooth, Symbian S60, a speaker and tons of eco-friendliness. This concept phone is made of wood from sustainable forests, so Mother Nature won’t suffer as you take your pics with the aid of the handset.

Popularity: 3%

It looks like there is some good news for folks who are having problems with their new Nokia 5800 NAM phones. If you’ve been following the recent events of the phone having problems connecting to 3G networks, then you’ll need to hope that the updated firmware will be released by Nokia soon. Word on the street is that the solution to this could be a firmware update, which will certainly come as a huge relief to many 5800 owners as that means they won’t have to exchange their mobile phones. The Nokia 5800 NAM initially came with a v11 firmware, so we’ll need to see what updated firmware Nokia comes out with, and hopefully that will be the solution to the problem.

Popularity: 3%