Day: July 10, 2008

“Rumours of a PSP phone from Sony – at first apparently going in the venture without Ericsson, but that seems to no longer be the case, have been going around for some time now. Nothing of the following specs is confirmed, so take it with a pinch of salt:

• Connectivity: 3G – with video calling camera
• Screen: 4.3-inch, 16:9 aspect ratio, TFT LCD, 480 x 272 pixel, 16.77 million colours
• Camera: two megapixels
• Memory: Micro SD and M2 slot, first seen in the K850
• Extras: Web Browser, podcasting support, flight mode, Bluetooth, Java support, new Media browser
• Battery life: 5 hours game time, 3 hours 20 minutes video call time, 9 hours 30 minutes talk time and up 400 hours standby time
• Weight: 250 grams ” via mobile-review.com

“Haptic feedback will be the next stage of touchscreen evolution. Apple has revolutionized the mobile industry with their multi-touch display proving that touchscreens work in the mass-market. But, critics of the sleek, flush, and glass-covered touchscreen denounce the multi-touch display’s lack of feedback – and it’s all true.So in an effort to bring the touchscreen game to a higher level, Nokia announced some time ago that they are working on making localized haptic feedback a reality. Rather than vibrating the entire device to indicate a particular touchscreen input, like we see in all other handsets touting “vibration feedback,” localized haptics aims to give the user precise tactile feedback concentrated in the input-region. Basically, localized haptics’ goal is to emulate the feel of a button-press under a fingertip. That’s where Nokia’s Haptikos technology comes in to play.To that end, Nokia’s Haptikos project was unveiled last year, and promised to make virtual buttons feel real. But, we have been left in want of more details – until now.A new patent application from Nokia outlines just how this localized haptic feedback system would work. Haptikos will apparently employ numerous voltage-sensitive elements within a film that raise and lower in response to electrical current.” Read more here:

“The initial board members of the Symbian Foundation have welcomed continuing support from mobile industry leaders for their plans for the Symbian Foundation and the evolution of Symbian OS(TM) as the leading, open platform for mobile innovation.Plans for the Symbian Foundation were announced on June 24, 2008 by the initial board members; AT&T, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nokia, NTT DOCOMO, Samsung Electronics, Sony Ericsson, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments and Vodafone, together with Symbian Limited. An additional 11 organizations supported the announcement on that day; today 9 further companies are confirming their endorsement of plans for the Symbian Foundation, including mobile operators 3, América Móvil and TIM, semiconductor manufacturer Marvell plus services and software providers Aplix, EB, EMCC Software, Sasken and TietoEnator.”We were delighted with the broad support for plans for the Symbian Foundation”, said Kai Öistämö, Executive Vice President, Devices at Nokia, on behalf of the initial board members. “We believe that this is a significant move for our industry and are pleased that these additional market leaders agree and are giving their support to the initiative.”
“3 is pleased to support the Symbian Foundation and believe this is a significant development in open mobile software platforms”, said Frank Meehan, Director and General Manager, 3 Handset Group. “3 has established a leading position in mobile internet with the highly acclaimed x-series suite of services, which has now evolved into an even more open approach to the internet on mobile devices. We believe that this initiative will provide an excellent opportunity to expand the range and quality of services for our customers.”
“América Móvil applauds plans for the Symbian Foundation”, said Daniel Hajj, CEO of América Móvil. “By offering an open mobile software platform, the Symbian Foundation will drive innovation which will ultimately benefit consumers as well as the mobile industry. This innovation will allow América Móvil to deliver more exciting and compelling experiences for our customers.”
“Aplix is excited about the plans for the Symbian Foundation”, said Ryu Koriyama, Chairman & CEO of Aplix Corporation. “We intend to join the foundation and are committed to bring our extensive mobile & embedded experience to the Symbian Foundation, enabling faster time to market for device manufacturers using the Symbian Foundation platform with our Java solutions.”
“EB is very excited about plans for the Symbian Foundation and the intent to make the platform even more open”, said Pertti Korhonen, CEO at EB, Elektrobit Corporation. “We believe that this will benefit consumers as well as the whole mobile industry. The open platform will mean more players and products in the market. This in turn will increase the need for innovation partners and experienced solution providers such as EB.”
“EMCC Software welcomes plans for the Symbian Foundation and the move to a royalty-free and ultimately open source platform. This bold move has the potential to transform the whole industry”, said Leigh Edwards, CEO of EMCC Software. “This radical move will generate many new products based on the Symbian Foundation platform, attracting new companies as well as driving change for the established players. As a leading Symbian OS, UIQ and S60 Competence Center, with ten years experience, EMCC is ideally qualified to advise and assist companies in the ecosystem with this transformation.”
“As a longtime proponent of open source ecosystems, Marvell will be pleased to join the Symbian Foundation”, said David Young, Vice President and General Manager, Mobile Cellular Business Group at Marvell. “We plan to extend and leverage our significant experience in developing open source systems and work together with other industry leaders in the mobile ecosystem to build the foundation platform. Marvell brings extensive experience in open source technologies that will utilize the high-performance mobile application processors, low-power highly integrated communication processors and the open architecture of Marvell’s silicon.”
“We welcome this initiative”, said Edwin Moses, Senior Vice President, Sasken. “Sasken already works with leading handset manufacturers and semiconductor vendors, across different implementations of the Symbian OS, providing IP and professional services. This gives us an intimate understanding of the benefits the Symbian Foundation will offer. We believe it will empower licensees of the Symbian Foundation platform to create more compelling converged devices and better customer experiences, while improving on economics and time to market. We are confident that this initiative will bind the community and enable leading companies like Sasken to serve their customers even better.”
“Symbian OS is one of the icons of the mobile eco-system, with an extremely successful track record”, said Ari Vanhanen, Executive Vice President and President of Telecom & Media at TietoEnator. “Regarding the future, the plans for the Symbian Foundation are a great step forward and I’m personally proud that we will be part of this initiative.”
“TIM has been pioneering the adoption of S60 on Symbian OS to deliver exciting experiences to our customers in a consistent and cost-effective way, across multiple devices, reinforcing TIM’s position as a leading innovator”, said Leopoldo Tranquilli, VP Handset and SIM Development, Value Added Services at TIM. “We’re happy to join this outstanding step in the evolution of Symbian OS and we welcome the open and collaborative approach, which we are keen to contribute to, based on our long-standing experience.”
Since plans for the Symbian Foundation were announced, more than 150 organizations have registered their interest in joining via the website at www.symbianfoundation.org.

“Who likes a bandwagon? The technology industry, for one. It just loves bandwagons! Especially online bandwagons. If there’s one thing you can be assured of, it’s that shortly after a popular idea floats to the surface of the fetid cesspool that is the Internet it will attract a mob of hangers-on, desperate to lift themselves out of the stinking mire. Thus the proliferation of “Digg this!” widgets, the virus-like spread of Google Maps onto every mobile on the planet and the access to eBay from anything more advanced than a sundial. Everyone wants a piece of the action. Preferably before someone else has chewed on it. The biggest tech bandwagon of recent years has been social networking. Even if you don’t use Facebook or MySpace, you’ve probably heard of them. Facebook is such a glamorous-looking bandwagon Microsoft paid $240 million to get a tiny little space on it. Now it’s Palm’s turn to try and muscle their way on board, with the release of their new Facebook for Palm application. How does it compare to the desktop experience? Will it be enough to get them noticed amidst the swarm of competitors? Is it a clever remora fish or a nasty hookworm? Read on for PIC’s in-depth review here”

“Apple CEO Steve Jobs expected to launch his App Store — the online venue for third-party iPhone and iPod Touch applications — with 200 software offerings; he ended up with more than 500.”The reaction has been so strong,” he says. “So many developers responded.”With 500 programs launching internationally Thursday night, “This is the biggest launch of my career,” says Jobs. The App Store is a way for owners of the iPhone and Touch (like the iPhone without the phone) to add games and other software and Web shortcuts to the devices. Heavyweight participants include Facebook, MySpace, AOL, eBay, Major League Baseball, Sega and Bank of America. The App Store is timed to spur sales of the new iPhone, which goes on sale at 8 a.m. Friday with a lower price ($199 from $399) and faster network. The App Store is available as a free download for owners of the old iPhone and $9.99 for Touch owners.Consumers initially will buy the new iPhone for its price and speed, but later on applications will make the sale, says Tim Bajarin, an independent analyst at Creative Strategies.”When IBM introduced the PC, it was good, but it didn’t take off until people started discovering the software,” he says. The breadth of the applications “dramatically differentiates the iPhone” from competing smartphones such as the Treo and BlackBerry, he adds.”The games are what you’d find on a computer, not on a phone,” he says. “You’ll end up with PC-class applications that fit in your pocket.”Having an application on the device — instead of going to a website to use it — makes it a quicker, more robust experience, says Chris DeWolfe, CEO of social network MySpace. His app instantly updates you on friends’ activities. You can post directly to MySpace photos taken with the iPhone’s camera. “You do more of the work on the device than over the Net, so the load time should be quicker,” he says.Another new application is from Pandora, which lets you create customized Internet radio stations. Pandora is already available on other phones from AT&T and Sprint, for a monthly fee. On the iPhone, it is free. That makes it “a credible alternative to broadcast (radio),” in part because iPhones can be plugged into car stereos, founder Tim Westergren says.The new offerings aren’t only from the big guys. Xavier Carrillo Costa, CEO of Digital Legends, a Barcelona game company, had never worked with Macs before but wanted to develop games for the phone. “You forget that it’s a phone,” says Costa, whose action game Kroll will launch in September for $9.99. “It has all the power of a computer.”Jobs says 25% of the apps will be free, and 90% of the ones for sale will be $9.99 or less. Apple gets 30% of the revenue. “ via usatoday.com