Day: November 29, 2006

Opera Software has released the next major version of its J2ME-based mobile Web browser.Opera Mini 3.0 has a great emphasis on mobile social networking abilities. New features include: Photo Sharing: Point, snap and instantly publish photos in your e-mail, forum or blog RSS Feed Reader: Add favorite news feeds directly in the browser Secure connections: Safely bank or make purchases online Content Folding: Collapse long menu lists into one expandable button for user-friendly navigationOpera Mini 3.0 can now be used for easy browsing and uploading pictures to online community sites (i.e. MySpace, Blogger, Flickr, etc.), accessing popular webmail services (i.e. Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc.) as well as secure banking or shopping on eBay or Amazon.”We are excited to improve on the mobile Web experience that has already been so well received by both end users and distributors”, says Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. “I think the main reason for Mini’s success is that it, for the first time, allows millions of people to use their mobile phones to access the same Web sites they do from their desktop.”Opera Mini 3.0 is available as a free download from www.operamini.com.” via pdalive.com

“Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson and Japan’s electronics giant Sony will expand their cooperation beyond cell phones to mobile and broadband TV, an Ericsson official said on Thursday.Per Nordlof, Ericsson’s director of product strategy and portfolio management, said the companies will together develop software to link their products through wireless networks.”There is a strong confidence between Ericsson and Sony after the success of the handset business and we will work to develop software that connects the gadgets in the homes with the outer world,” he told journalists at a news conference.”We see a mass market for mobile TV within two years,” said Nordlof, who defined a mass market as 30 percent of users regularly watching television on their cell phones.Ericsson believes telecom operators will also have to offer television through their broadband networks.”Broadband TV will be an important factor. Most telecom operators realize they will have to offer TV in order not to lose customers,” Nordlof said.Sony and Ericsson formed a mobile telephone joint venture in October 2001 which has since become the world’s fourth-largest handset maker.” via today.reuters.com

“YouTube plans to announce a deal with Verizon Wireless today to bring user-submitted videos from the Web to mobile phone customers nationwide, marking the biggest marriage yet between a video Web service and mobile phone carrier.The deal, in which no financial details were released, means customers who use Verizon Wireless’ V Cast video and music service will be able to access some of the popular Web site’s videos from their mobile phones, starting next month.YouTube cofounder Steve Chen called this the company’s “first move into the mobile space” and said his goal is to make sure all mobile phone users have access to the videos. He declined to say how long an exclusivity arrangement with Verizon would last.“The great thing about the emerging new phones, they all come with the ability to take pictures and video at the same time,” Chen said. “Now everybody with a cell phone in their pocket will be able to upload it without going back to their computers.”Only pre-selected high-quality videos will be available for viewing on Verizon’s YouTube channel. Users are also be able to upload to the YouTube Web site after shooting video on a Verizon phone. YouTube, which was founded in February 2005, reports 100 million video views a day.Industry analysts said other carriers are expected to quickly follow suit by pairing with YouTube or finding other partners to create content for the nation’s 219 million mobile customers.” Read more here:

“Motorola has reported that its MOTOMING smartphone became the bestseller devices in China, its sales reached 2 million units. Motorola A1200 smartphone got the name MOTOMING in March, and its sales started in China at that time. It was announced in December 2005. According to Motorola, the MOTOMING achieved an unprecedented success by conquering 50% of the touchscreen smartphones market in China. Right after the release the model turned out to be a real sales hit.The smartphone is powered by Linux operating system. It comes with a translucent screen flip cover. The MOTOMING is equipped with an Intel PXA270 processor, a 2-megapixel camera, an MP3-player, an FM-radio and Bluetooth interface. It supports documents viewing, handwritten text recognition and optical recognition of symbols. The device is designed for quad-band GSM networking.” via mobile-review.com