Mobi

The demonstration was carried out by Nokia, its subsidiary, NAVTEQ and Magneti Marelli Electronic Systems.

Connectivity between the smartphone and the car may provide key information such as fuel levels and engine status and combined with GPS information from the smartphone or car, could enable location based services. These services might include the nearest petrol station with the day's lowest prices or even offering an e-coupon for a free coffee if the driver chooses a particular station. In addition, ADAS based safety features may also be supported, for example, to warn drivers to slow down for an upcoming sharp bend. The integrated system mirrors the display of the smartphone on the larger screen and commands can be given either by voice, gesture, touch or traditional in car controls to enable ease of use.

"This collaboration offers Magneti Marelli the opportunity to make its know-how available for the integration of complex systems in the automotive field," stated Giuseppe Rosso, CEO of Magneti Marelli Electronic Systems. "In this case, through specific management of the vehicle's infotelematic node, Magneti Marelli enables communication between the car - and more precisely between certain functions and data concerning the car - and the new generation of smartphone devices. So, by combining the capabilities and functions of consumer devices with the added value of a "graded" automotive system embedded in the vehicle, the best possible system integration is provided, especially from the standpoint of ergonomics and safe use".

Connection from the mobile device to the infotainment system is made either via Bluetooth or USB cable which is a useful choice depending on the length of the journey. For a short distance the driver could leave the phone in a briefcase and connect wirelessly but for longer journeys, the smartphone battery can be preserved by connecting with a cable.

This technology known as "Virtual Networking Computer layer" is in alpha phase and was developed in collaboration with Nokia Research Center, Palo Alto.

Source

"The LG-GW620 will appeal to first-time smartphone customers by offering a new and different kind of user experience," said Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. "Our objective is to provide a wide selection of smartphones to satisfy the diverse preferences of today's consumers. This Android phone is just one of many smartphone models we plan to introduce worldwide in the years ahead."

In addition to the Android model, LG announced in early September that it will be introducing a minimum of 13 new smartphones over the next 16 months that utilize Microsoft's Windows Mobile. The newest release, version 6.5, was announced just last week.

The LG-GW620 will be available in the fourth quarter of this year in select European markets. Pricing and technical specifications are still to be confirmed.

Source

By Zach Epstein



Nokia USA has already put up the Maemo-powered N900 up for pre-order already, but if you’re waiting for an exact release date to be announced, then better listen up because that’s what we’ve got for you right now.

According to The Nokia Blog, the Nokia N900 will hit distribution centers on September 27th. Granted that this is true and no further delays are encountered, this feature-packed QWERTY-equipped touchscreen slider should be available in the first few days of October at best. So, from the looks of it, the US will indeed be among the select markets which the Nokia N900 will become available in by next month.

As expected, the retail price of the Nokia N900 is a dollar short of $650 making it the current most expensive handset from the Finish mobile phone maker in the US. T-Mobile hasn’t announced it yet, but you shouldn’t encounter any problems connecting to this particular US carrier’s 3G network as this version of the N900 comes with T-Mobile friendly WCDMA 900/1700/2100MHz bands.

By Rachel Metz

Struggling phone maker Motorola unveiled its first device using Google's Android system Thursday, banking on it to power features that will attract consumers looking to use their phones to connect with friends, family and colleagues.

The Cliq comes with a touch screen and a standard, "QWERTY" keyboard that slides out from its side. Software on it will let users aggregate contact information from various social networks and e-mail accounts. Small application "widgets" will show such information as your friends' Facebook status updates on the home screen.

The new device also sports a five-megapixel camera, allowing for sharper images than most other phones, including Apple Inc.'s iPhone and its three-megapixel resolution.

The Cliq, which Motorola unveiled Thursday during a GigaOM mobile Internet conference in San Francisco, will be available from wireless carrier T-Mobile in time for the holiday season. Pricing and release details will be announced within three weeks.

Motorola plans to unveil a second Android phone in the coming weeks. It will also be available for the holidays, most likely through Verizon Wireless, which has already said it will be one of the U.S. carriers for a Motorola smart phone.

The company's Android-based phones could be key to luring back customers. The Schaumburg, Ill.-based company hasn't produced a hit since the wildly popular Razr phone in 2005.

Sanjay Jha, Motorola's co-CEO and head of mobile devices, said Google Inc.'s Android software is a modern, well-written operating system that allows people do many different things with their phones. He said a vibrant community of programmers has sprung to build tools around Android. Thousands of applications are already available for free or for sale directly from Android phones.

With Android, which Google encourages manufacturers to use and customize for free, Motorola can also offer distinctive features — something that will be key in convincing cell phone shoppers that the Cliq is more worthy of their dollars than the iPhone and Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry devices.

"I see this as a first step in a long journey where we develop the kind of products which are really relevant for consumers," Jha said in an interview.

Jim Kelleher, an analyst at Argus Research, said the Cliq may be Motorola's best stab at the smart phone market thus far.

"I think for Motorola to retain its tech edge and reputation for engineering, it really has to hit a home run — not necessary with this particular phone, but with its phones in the coming year, including this one," he said.

Outside the U.S., the Cliq will be known as the Dext. It will be available through wireless carrier Orange in the U.K. and France, Telefonica in Spain and America Movil in South America.

Currently, T-Mobile sells two Android-running smart phones made by HTC Corp., and Sprint Nextel Corp. is releasing one also made by HTC on Oct. 11. Samsung Electronics Co. has said it is making an Android phone as well.

By Bonnie Cha

T-Mobile teased us at CES 2009 by introducing the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 but denying us any details on availability date and pricing. Fortunately, we didn't have to wait too long as the carrier has released the final details and has given us our own review unit.

In short, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 is a solid addition to T-Mobile's smartphone lineup and one of the company's top offerings, in our opinion. It replaces the Curve 8300 series, and brings several notable improvements, including a sleeker design that's bolstered by a more solid construction and an amazingly sharp display, a faster processor, a full HTML Web browser, and a 3.2-megapixel camera. It also has integrated Wi-Fi with UMA support so you can make unlimited calls over a Wi-Fi network. However, our one big disappointment is the lack of 3G support. It's a feature that could really have given the 8900 an edge over its competition.

Despite this omission and some other minor issues, we would absolutely recommend the BlackBerry Curve 8900. It's a solid device that will appeal to both consumers and mobile professionals, offering a nice balance between work and play and all wrapped up in a sweet little package. The BlackBerry Curve 8900 is available now through B2B sales and will be in retail stores nationwide starting February 11 for $199 with a two-year contract.

Design
The RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 holds the distinction (though who knows for how long) as being the thinnest full QWERTY BlackBerry to date. The smartphone measures 4.2 inches tall by 2.3 inches wide by 0.5 inch thick and weighs 3.8 ounces compared with the BlackBerry Curve 8320, which comes it at 4.2 inches high by 2.4 inches wide by 0.6 inch thick and 3.9 ounces. It feels comfortable to use a both a phone and messaging device and fit into a pants pocket. We do appreciate the Curve 8900's sleek profile but even more than that, we're fans of the phone's more solid construction. Though the phone's body is still made of plastic, RIM used different finishes and paint applications to make the handset more durable and you can notice the difference as soon as you pick it up. Our only complaint would be that the battery cover can sometimes shift a little.

Also, while style is subjective, we have to say we dig the look of the Curve 8900 over the previous Curve 8300 series. It has tapered edges like the BlackBerry Storm and the metallic paint gives the 8900 a fresh, modern. It's a lot less corporate and masculine looking than the BlackBerry Bold, so it should appeal to a wide variety of users.

The Curve 8900 features a 2.4-inch TFT LCD that supports 65,536 colors at a 480x360-pixel resolution. It's a better screen than the BlackBerry Bold, which isn't too shabby itself with a 480x320-pixel resolution, but there is an extra level of sharpness and brightness to the Curve's screen that's quite impressive. The Curve 8900 also runs the latest version of the BlackBerry operating system so you get an updated user interface. There's no doubt the UI is more aesthetically pleasing, but we do have one minor complaint: a lot of icons look the same, so it's a bit hard to distinguish different folders and applications onscreen just at a glance.

Below the display, you have your standard navigation array that includes Talk and End keys, a menu shortcut, a back button, and the trackball navigator. The layout is simple and spacious, so there were no problems using the controls or navigating the phone. The side controls, which are outlined below, also allows for easy one-handed operation.

The BlackBerry Curve 8900's keyboard is similar to the one found on the BlackBerry Bold. Since the phone is smaller, the keys aren't as big or roomy but we still found it easy to compose e-mails and text with minimal errors. The buttons provide a nice tactile feedback and the keyboard is adequately backlit, with the number keys highlighted in red instead of white.

On the left side, there's a single user-programmable shortcut key (launches voice dialer by default), while there's a 3.5mm headphone jack, a volume rocker, a MicroUSB port, and another customizable side button (assigned to the camera out of the box). The camera and flash are located on the back, and behind the battery cover are the SIM card and microSD expansion slots. We would have preferred that the expansion slot be on the outside for easier access, and we also weren't huge fans of the little plastic piece that held the card in place. It felt flimsy, so we worry if it'll hold up over time. Finally, while not immediately visible, there's a mute button and a lock key on top the unit.

T-Mobile ships the Curve 8900 with a travel charger, a USB cable, a 256MB MicroSD card, a wired headset, a protective case, a software CD, and reference material. For more add-ons, please check our cell phone accessories, ringtones, and help page.

Features
The RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 runs BlackBerry OS 4.6.1.114 so aside from the aforementioned updated user interface, you also get new functionality and improved applications. For example, unlike the Curve 8300 series, you can now edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, thanks to the inclusion of DataViz's Documents to Go Suite. Like the Bold and the Storm, only the Standard Edition is preloaded on the smartphone so if you want the ability to create new documents, you will have to upgrade to the Premium Edition.

The BlackBerry Curve 8900 also ships with a number of personal information management tools, such as a Calendar, a task list, a memo pad, a voice recorder, a calculator, a password keeper, and more. There's quite a catalog of applications available for BlackBerrys, whether you're looking for new games or software for your job. Be aware, however, that if you have third-party applications on an older BlackBerry model, they may not be compatible with the Curve 8900. T-Mobile includes some suggestions and direct download links on its mobile site, or you can check out Download.com for more ideas.

One of the most-needed improvements was in the area of Web browsing, and the Curve 8900 delivers. You now get a full HTML Web browser with support for RSS feeds and streaming media, including YouTube clips. Browsing and navigating sites is made better by the Page and Column view options and onscreen cursor. There are also zoom in/out functions. The experience hardly matches the Web experience on the iPhone, but it's a definite improvement from previous versions of the BlackBerry browser, which was pretty much atrocious. Baby steps, right?

To get connected, you have two options: Wi-Fi or T-Mobile's EDGE network, which is all well and good but what's more newsworthy to us, is what's missing: 3G support. We realize that the addition of a 3G radio affects battery life and size, but still, T-Mobile has finally rolled out its 3G network and could use more 3G smartphones (currently, the T-Mobile G1 is the carrier's only smartphone to offer 3G). Admittedly, we found that surfing the Web on the Curve 8900 over EDGE wasn't that bad but even so, we still would have liked to see the inclusion of 3G.

Fortunately, you do get Wi-Fi as an alternative, and the other upside of the integrated Wi-Fi is UMA support. This means you can make and receive unlimited calls over a wireless network and not have the minutes deducted from your cellular plan. The caveat is that you will need to sign for T-Mobile's Unlimited HotSpot Calling plan, which starts at $9.99 per month on top of an existing T-Mobile plan.

Other voice features of the BlackBerry Curve 8900 include quad-band world roaming, a speakerphone, voice-activated dialing, smart dialing, conference calling, speed dial, and text and multimedia messaging. The address book is limited only by the available memory (the SIM card holds an additional 250 contacts) with room in each entry for multiple phone numbers, e-mail addresses, work and home addresses, job title, and more. For caller ID purposes, you can assign each contact a photo, a group ID, or a custom ringtone.

Like most of the carrier's handsets, the Curve 8900 supports T-Mobile's MyFaves service, giving you unlimited calls to five contacts, regardless of carrier. Individual plans for MyFaves start at $39.99 a month. You also get Bluetooth 2.0 with support for mono and stereo Bluetooth wireless headsets, hands-free kits, and dial-up networking.

GPS is built in, using both satellites and cellular triangulation to find your position. You can get maps and text-based, turn-by-turn driving directions with applications such as BlackBerry Maps, which is preloaded on the Curve 8900, and Google Maps for Mobile, but if you want any real-time tracking and voice-guided instructions, you'll have to use a location-based service like TeleNav GPS Navigator.

The BlackBerry Curve 8900's built-in media player can play various music and video formats, including MP3, WMA9/WMA9 Pro/WMA20, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR-NB, and MIDI music files, and MPEG4, WMV, DivX4, DivX5/6 (partial support), XviD (partial), and H.263 video clips. There's a search function, playlist creation, shuffle and repeat, and you get a full-screen mode for video playback. The included software CD also contains a copy of Roxio Easy Media Creator, so you can create MP3s from CDs and add audio tags as well as the BlackBerry Media Sync application so you can load your iTunes library. The Curve has 256MB onboard Flash memory while the expansion slot can accept up to 16GB cards.

The Curve's camera gets upgraded to a 3.2-megapixel lens (from 2 megapixels) with video recording capabilities, flash, auto focus, 2x zoom, and image stabilization. In camera mode, you get a choice of three picture sizes and three picture qualities. There are white balance settings, and you can add various effects to your photos, such as black and white, and sepia. With the built-in GPS, you can also geotag photos. The camcorder records clips in two formats (normal and MMS) with sound and offers a video light and color effects.

Picture quality was good, as long as we were snapping shots in well-lit areas. Even with the flash or in night mode, we had a hard time getting a photo that didn't look dark or completely blown out by the flash. We also noticed a bit of shutter lag, so be sure not to move to quickly away from the scene after pressing the capture button. Video quality wasn't the best as clips looked pretty grainy, but you can still make out the objects and scenery so it'll be fine if there's a moment that you absolutely must get on film and don't have access to a camcorder.

Despite all these other features, e-mail remains the heart and soul of the BlackBerry. The BlackBerry Curve 8900 can sync with your company's BlackBerry Enterprise server, with support for Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino, or Novell GroupWise, to deliver corporate e-mail in real time. There's also an attachment viewer for opening Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Corel WordPerfect, PDF, JPEG, GIF, and more. With BlackBerry Internet Service, you can also access up to 10 personal/business POP3 or IMAP4 e-mail accounts. Set up is nearly instantaneous; we simply input our Yahoo log in and password, and within a couple of seconds, we received a message that activation was successful. The smartphone also comes preloaded with several instant messaging clients, including Yahoo, AIM, Windows Live, and Google Talk.

Performance
We tested the quad-band (850/900/1800/1900; GPRS/EDGE) RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 in San Francisco using T-Mobile service and call quality was satisfactory. There was some minimal background noise that made audio quality a little less pristine than some other smartphones we've tested, but nothing that prevented us from having a conversation or using an airline's voice automated system. There's an Enhance Audio option where you can boost the treble or bass, but we didn't find a noticeable difference. Our friends reported a couple instances of warbled audio, but otherwise no major complaints. We didn't experience any dropped calls during our review period. The speakerphone was also OK. There was plenty of volume, but there was some hollowness to the audio, making it sound as if our callers were talking in an empty room. We successfully paired the Curve 8900 with the Logitech Mobile Traveller Bluetooth headset and the Motorola S9 Bluetooth Active Headphones.

The BlackBerry Curve 8900 is equipped with a 512MHz processor and is a fairly responsive device. There were some instances of sluggishness; for example, we encountered some lag when we were trying to access our photo gallery and a couple of times when we launched the camera. It wasn't anything that stopped us in our tracks or left us completely frustrated, and overall, we're pleased with the general performance.

The Curve 8900's speaker can't rival the BlackBerry Bold's rich output, but most of you will probably be listening to your music through headphones anyway, so it's a not a huge issue. Using the handset's 3.5mm jack, we plugged in a pair of Bose On-Ear headphones for a MP3-like music-listening experience. Video playback was quite impressive. We checked out a couple of clips, including an MP4 file, and found playback to be smooth and the picture looked great on the Curve's high-resolution screen. We also watched a couple of YouTube clips from the Web browser, which looked very mushy and blurry, but that's more about a video quality issue than a Curve issue.

Our review unit had no problem finding and connecting to our Wi-Fi network. On EDGE speeds, it took the smartphone about a minute to fully load CNET's Web site, while it took about 15 to 20 seconds to load CNN's and ESPN's mobile sites. Though we weren't hooked up with TeleNav GPS Navigator for real-time navigation, the Curve's GPS radio was able to pinpoint our location within a couple of minutes on BlackBerry Maps.

The BlackBerry Curve 8900 features a 1,400mAh lithium ion battery with a rated talk time of 5.5 hours and up to 14.5 days of standby time. In our battery drain tests, we were able to get 8.5 hours of continuous talk time from the Curve 8900 on a single charge. According to FCC radiation tests, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 has a digital SAR rating of 1.01 watts per kilogram.

By Bonnie Cha

While it may seem that everyone is obsessed with the latest full-featured phones, there is still the need and want for basic handsets, and the Samsung Glint SCH-u350 answers that call for Alltel customers. The flip phone offers a simple design and ease of use and most importantly, good call quality. Samsung even throws in Bluetooth, but if you're looking for any type of multimedia features or Web browsing capabilities, look elsewhere. The Samsung Glint is purely for those who simply want a handset for making calls, and the best part is that you can get the phone for free with a one-year contract and after a $30 mail-in rebate.

Design
Being a basic phone, the Samsung Glint doesn't have a flashy design. Instead, it's simple and functional with a plain but classic midnight-blue-and-black color scheme. The clamshell handset measures 3.78 inches tall by 1.87 inches wide by 0.76 inch deep and weighs 3.35 ounces, so you'll have no problem slipping this compact phone into a pants pocket. Also, while lightweight, the Glint doesn't feel too fragile, though the battery cover is rather plasticky, and the flip mechanism is solid.

On the front, there's a postage-stamp-size display that shows the usual information (time, date, network strength, battery, message notifications, and photo caller ID. You can also change the contrast, wallpaper, and clock format of the external screen. Above the display, you'll find the Glint's VGA camera while the camera activation/capture key is on the right side along with a dedicated speakerphone button, a 2.5mm headset jack, and Samsung's proprietary power connector. A volume rocker is located on the left side.

Inside, the Samsung Glint offers a 1.9-inch TFT screen that shows 65,000 colors at a 128x160-pixel resolution. With a low resolution, graphics and colors didn't look all that great, but the display was clear enough for dialing numbers and reading text messages. Like the external screen, you can change the wallpaper as well as adjust the backlight and dialing font size.

Below the display, you'll find a standard navigation array of two soft keys, Send and End/power buttons, a Clear key, and a four-way directional keypad with a center select key for navigating through the Glint's menu system, which is easy to use and understand. All the controls are large and roomy so we had no problem with any mispresses. The alphanumeric keypad is also spacious with large and easily readable numbers and letters for dialing numbers and text messaging.

Alltel packages the Samsung Glint with an AC adapter and reference material. For more add-ons, please check our cell phone accessories, ringtones, and help page.

Features
The Samsung Glint has a 1,000-contact address book with room in each entry for five numbers and two e-mail addresses. For caller ID purposes, you can assign a photo, group ID, and/or a custom ringtone. Other phone features include a speakerphone, speed dial, three-way calling, voice commands, vibrate mode, and text and multimedia messaging. Also, while mostly a basic phone, the Glint does offer integrated Bluetooth with support for wireless headsets, hands-free kits, serial port, object push, and phone book access.

Moving beyond voice, the Glint includes a handful of tools for personal organization, such as a calendar, a memo pad, a calculator, a unit converter, an alarm clock, and more. You can shop for more apps through Alltel's MobileShop, but be aware that browsing and downloading apps uses up airtime (the phone warns you of this as well). The same goes for using the phone's WAP browser. You can check your Web-based e-mail accounts as well as other social networking sites through the browser, but given its bare-bones nature and the Glint's low-resolution screen, we'd keep this to a minimum.

The Samsung Glint isn't big on multimedia and only comes with a VGA camera. A 1.3-megapixel camera would have been nice. You can shoot photos in one of three resolutions and one of three quality settings. The camera also offers five shooting modes, including series, mosaic, and night, as well as white balance settings, effects, and a self-timer.

Picture quality was subpar, which isn't that surprising considering the VGA lens. Images looked blurry, and colors were drab and gray. It was also hard to get any close-up shots. After you're done taking pictures, you can upload your photos to Alltel MyPics or send them to friends and family via multimedia message. You can also set it as your wallpaper, use it for photo caller ID, or view them in a slideshow on your phone. The Samsung Glint offers about 52MB of internal memory.

Performance
We tested the dual-band (CDMA 800/1900) Samsung Glint in San Francisco using Alltel's roaming service. Call quality was quite good. We enjoyed rich-sounding audio on our end with plenty of volume. There was very little background noise, though on a couple of occasions, the call cut out for a brief second. Our friends also reported good sound quality and didn't have any complaints until we activated the speakerphone at which point they said we sounded a bit tinny. On our end, we were impressed with the clarity and volume of the speakerphone.

We paired the Samsung Glint with the Logitech Mobile Traveller Bluetooth headset with no problem. The handset has an M3 Hearing Aid Compatibility rating.

The Samsung Glint has a rated talk time of 6 hours and up to 12 days of standby time. We are still conducting our battery drain tests but will update this section as soon as we have final results. According to FCC radiation tests, the Glint has a digital SAR rating of 1.09 watts per kilogram.