Day: October 4, 2007

“Opera Software has announced that it has released a new version of their popular web browser for Windows Mobile Smartphone and Pocket PC based devices as the “culmination of user feedback and beta testing results.” We won’t waste your time much here. Just to emphasize the new features that include: support for Macromedia Flash Player 7 for Pocket PC, FlashLite 2.1, Text Wrap in Desktop Mode (which is now a default viewing mode), Grab and Scroll (Pocket PC only), Web search in address bar, save image, copy text, send link as e-mail/SMS/MMS, import bookmarks from Pocket Internet Explorer.Sounds like a nice list of improvements if you ask me. Grab the free 30-day trial version now and see for yourself is it really worth $20.17. If you’ve been using Mobile Internet Explorer so far, you’ll certainly want to pay. Trust me.” via intomobile.com

“Symbian Limited today announced Symbian OS support for the ARM Symmetric Multi-processor (SMP) architecture. SMP support in future versions of Symbian OS will use multiple CPU cores to provide ‘performance on demand’ – battery life will be improved by accessing cores only when running demanding high-end multimedia applications and powering them down when they are not in use. This announcement is a milestone in Symbian’s strategy for power efficiency for converged mobile devices, reinforcing Symbian’s position as technology leader. Symbian and ARM are long standing partners and have successfully collaborated on technology development and product planning for over 10 years. The ARM® Cortex™-A9 MPCore™ multicore processor was announced earlier today at the ARM Developers’ Conference. Symbian and ARM are working together closely on supporting Cortex-A9 MPCore multicore processor-based CPUs in Symbian OS.Multi-processing technology underlies next generation Cortex-A9 processor designs. In converged mobile devices, SMP CPUs consist of multiple cores which can be individually powered up and down by the operating system. This delivers high performance for high-end applications such as games, browser-based intelligent services, and media-rich applications such as video streaming or TV recording, while offering low power consumption when the device is idle or executing less performance-critical tasks. Symbian believes SMP support is a crucial step in continuing to deliver industry-leading battery life in a world where converged mobile devices offer increasingly performance-demanding features with constant battery capacity.In order to take full advantage of SMP, Symbian is taking the following technology steps:• multi-processor support in the Symbian OS kernel and device driver model• targeted enhancements throughout Symbian OS• extended Symbian OS developer tools to allow developers to access the benefits of SMP• Symbian OS validation on Cortex-A9 based hardware and models Symbian has already started to deliver SMP technologies to its customers and will roll out the above incremental developments in future versions of Symbian OS. Details of this will be announced in due course. The first Cortex-A9 MPCore processor-based Symbian smartphones are expected in 2010.

HTC has reported it will launch HTC Shift Ultra mobile PC in 4Q 2007 together with the P6500 communicator and S730 smartphone. The device is powered by Windows Vista OS. It comes with a 7” touch-sensitive screen that slides out and tilts to a comfortable angle and a full QWERTY-keyboard. According to the company, HTC Shift has the optimal blend of portability and functionality. The SnapVUE always-on mode provides instant access to important info – e-mail, calendar events, SMS and contacts, even if the device is not switched on. The new product supports GSM/GPRS/EDGE and UMTS/HSDPA networks and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless connections. HTC shift will hit European stores in November.The manufacturer highlights the following functions: Direct Push Outlook e-mail Incredibly long battery life, up to 2 days in standby mode Always-on access to critical information with HTC SnapVUE Revolutionary small form factor providing portability without compromising mobility Powerful enough device to run Windows Vista” via mobile-review.com