Day: October 22, 2008

“AT&T and Samsung announced today the availability of the Samsung Epix, featuring full touch screen and new optical mouse that is powered by Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional operating system. The Epix is available exclusively to AT&T customers in the U.S., comes in a cool silver finish. Equipped with a full QWERTY keyboard, the Samsung Epix measures 4.6 inches x 2.4 inches x 0.5 inches, weighs just 4.4 ounces and includes a large 2.5-inch TFT color display.
Other features include:

• Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g)
• Built-in aGPS
• AT&T Video Share
• 2.0 Megapixel Camera

The Epix also includes features such as stereo Bluetooth technology, with stereo headset support, a 2.0 megapixel camera with video-capture capabilities, Windows Media Player 10 Mobile and microSD memory card slot for external storage of up to 32GB of data.
The Samsung Epix will be available through select AT&T retail locations for $199.99 with a two-year service agreement and after a mail-in rebate.” via slashphone.com

“Hot off of Apple’s Q4 earnings call comes a bit of iPhone news: Alongside 2.6 million Macs and 11 million iPods, Apple managed to sell 6,892,000 iPhones in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2008. In contrast, they sold just 1,119,000 iPhones in fiscal Q4 of 2007.Feeling a bit spunky, Jobs’ mentioned that they’ve outsold some significant competition, saying “We’ve sold more phones than RIM.” While they’ve yet to figure out “how this economic downturn will affect Apple,” they’ve got “$25 billion of cash safely in the bank with zero debt” saved up for a rainy day. With growth up across the board, how much of Apple’s business is made up by the iPhone? A fairly crazy 39%. This makes Apple the 3rd largest mobile phone supplier in the world, behind only Nokia and Samsung (and followed by Sony Ericsson, LG, Motorola, and RIM, in that order.)Growth has been monumental on the hardware front, and things are looking just as good on the software end of things. In August, Apple had pushed over 60 million application downloads since the launch of the App Store. By September’s MacBook event, that number had reached 100 million. By Apples estimates, the store will click past the 200 million download mark tomorrow.”via mobilecrunch.com

“Kyocera Wireless today announced that it has begun development of a new product platform incorporating Android mobile software. The company is collaborating with Wind River, which will provide software systems integration services, including middleware and user interface integration, optimization of Android, and custom integration for technologies from other Open Handset Alliance members and third-party developers.“Our adoption of the Android platform further exemplifies how Kyocera Wireless is driving the convergence of telecommunication, broadband and multimedia technologies in mobile devices,” said Dave Carey, vice president and general manager of the Consumer Products Group at Kyocera Wireless Corp. “We are committed to developing compelling consumer devices that leverage our robust technology portfolio. Our goal is to make Kyocera the leader in Android integration among CDMA device manufacturers in the markets we serve.”“The mobile handset industry is undergoing a radical shift, namely the rapid move to create mobile solutions based on open source stacks, supported by ecosystems of developers and managed by a participant-led consortium,” said Jason Whitmire, general manager of the Mobile segment at Wind River. “As part of being a Linux Commercialization Partner of the Open Handset Alliance, we’re at the nexus of the mobile ecosystem. Our Android systems integration services will provide our broad mobile and deep open source expertise to Kyocera Wireless to help them accomplish their market goals.” via slashphone.com

“Motorola has been through a lot of hardships and its current condition, while still critical, isn’t the worst they’ve been in. At any rate, it hasn’t affected their ability to create out-of-this-world phones. And the reason why we’ve brought this up, is that the focus of this write-up, the MOTOAURA, set to land on most markets later in 2008 is another off-the-wall offering in Motorola’s portfolio. As for the “AURA” prefix – in essense, the word “aura” stands for an invisible emanation produced by and surrounding a person or object and is very rarely used in a negative sense these days, so normally it’s used to distinguish something special from the rest of the pack.” Read more here:

T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announced the national availability of the highly anticipated T-Mobile G1 with Google, the first Android-powered mobile phone. The T-Mobile G1 combines full touch-screen functionality and a QWERTY keyboard with a rich mobile Web experience, dozens of Android Market applications, and popular Google products that millions have enjoyed on the desktop, including Google Maps Street View, Gmail, YouTube and others. Beginning today, consumers can purchase the phone in select retail stores across the country and online at http://www.T-MobileG1.com. “During the past month, we’ve seen unbridled excitement for the T-Mobile G1 and the positive impact it will have on the mobile lives of our customers,” said Denny Marie Post, chief marketing officer, T-Mobile USA. “In fact, among those T-Mobile customers who have pre-ordered the phone, roughly half have traded up from a basic handset, illustrating the leap many consumers are taking to a rich, accessible mobile Web experience. Its design, functionality and value make the first-of-its-kind T-Mobile G1 a truly approachable device for the masses.”
With a fun and intuitive user interface and one-touch access to Google Search, the T-Mobile G1 is the first phone to offer access to Android Market, which hosts unique applications and mashups of existing and new services from developers around the world. Customers can find and download a wide range of innovative applications—from games to social networking and on-the-go shopping—to personalize their phone and enhance their mobile lifestyle. Even better, for a limited time, the dozens of applications available on Android Market are available free-of-charge for T-Mobile G1 users.
“With new, high-value applications constantly being added to Android Market for customers to discover, the T-Mobile G1 is the phone that grows with you,” said Post. “And as the Market continues to grow and evolve, the possibilities are virtually endless.”
Customers can purchase and carry away the T-Mobile G1 at T-Mobile retail stores and select third-party stores in major cities where T-Mobile’s 3G service is currently available. T-Mobile 3G service is currently available in 95 major cities across top population centers. For a list of cities where T-Mobile 3G service is available, please visit http://www.T-MobileG1.com/3G.aspx or see T-Mobile’s Personal Coverage Check tool, available online at http://www.T-Mobile.com/Coverage. All T-Mobile stores across the country will have demonstration devices on-hand and can assist customers with ordering the device for delivery at a later date.
T-Mobile is working to ensure that customers have a great experience harnessing the power of their new T-Mobile G1. Specifically:

• T-Mobile has established a collaborative online forum dedicated to the T-Mobile G1 (http://forums.T-Mobile.com) where customers can ask questions, share tips and get helpful information.
• All T-Mobile retail stores will open early at 8 a.m. on Oct. 22 to give everyone the chance to experience and purchase or order the T-Mobile G1.
• T-Mobile G1 experts will be on-hand at retail stores to demonstrate the phone and answer any questions.

For more information on the T-Mobile G1 in the U.S., please visit http://www.T-MobileG1.com.

Notes: Additional charges may apply to features and services. 3G service may not be available in all locations. Price and availability of device subject to change; taxes and other charges may apply.