Isn't she a cutie? Pink is such a nice colour for the Nokia 6111 (pictured right), which has the following features:
It might be prudent to wait for the Nokia 7380, however, which is almost the same size, but is a swivel phone, and has a larger 2.2" QVGA screen.
Look at more pics of the Pink Nokia 6111 here.
[via Cellphone9]
Cingular today announced BroadbandConnect, the first commercial cellular network in the world which supports HSDPA and UMTS and has fall-back to EDGE.
BroadbandConnect will make its debut in Austin, Texas; Baltimore; Boston; Chicago; Dallas; Houston; Las Vegas; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; Salt Lake City; San Diego; San Francisco; San Jose, Calif.; Seattle; Tacoma, Wash.; and Washington, D.C.
The service will offer customers average data connection speeds between 400 and 700 kbps when using HSPDA, with these highest rates currently only available to laptop users through the Sierra Wireless AC860 and Novatel 720 PC Cards. The cards cost $100 with a 2 year contract. Unlimited data service is being offered for a promotional price of $60 per month. Cingular also promised to expand BroadbandConnect coverage to 100 markets during 2006.
Releasing HSPDA is a good idea. It seems to be confirmed that this will be the new technology standard for data transport (3.5G), and while the usual suspects (SE, Motorola, Nokia) have not yet announced any HSPDA devices, HTC (the maker of most Windows Mobile phones) has promised HSPDA-compatible handsets in the second half of 2006.
Announced 3G devices should also work with the network though, at least those with US bands (such as the Nokia N80, Nokia E70, and Nokia 6282) at speeds of up to 384 kbps. Unless Cingular have changed it's Terms of Service, however, they seem rather restrictive:
Data Service sessions may only be conducted for the following purposes: (i) Internet browsing; (ii) e-mail; and (iii) corporate intranet access (including access to corporate e-mail, customer relationship management, sales force automation, and field service automation applications). The Services cannot be used with server devices or host computer applications. Prohibited uses include, but are not limited to, telemetry applications, automated data feeds, continuous jpeg file transfers, Web camera posts or broadcasts, other machine-to-machine applications, and voice over IP. These Services are not intended to provide full-time connections, and the Service may be discontinued after a significant period of inactivity or after sessions of excessive usage.
[via Slashphone and Phone Scoop]
Plastic Logic announced today that it has developed the world's largest flexible display.
The display consists of a flexible, high resolution, printed active-matrix backplane driving an electronic paper frontplane from US-based E Ink Corporation.
The displays are 10" diagonal SVGA (600 by 800) with 100ppi resolution and 4 levels of greyscale. The thickness of the display when laminated with E Ink Imaging Film(TM) is less than 0.4mm.
E Ink Imaging Film is an electrophoretic display material that looks like printed ink-on-paper and has been designed for use in paper-like electronic displays. Like paper, the material can be flexed and rolled. The film only consumes battery power while the image is updated, and the flexibility of the display even allows a pressure sensor to be placed under the screen to implement a touchscreen without compromising the optical performance of the display.
We are a little concerned about durability (the dog ate my computer!!!), but Plastic Logic is saying that this might see commercial production, which tends to allay fears. Yum. However, we think that this might be a little bit of a solution in search of a problem. For fixed usage, there's no harm having a screen similar to present-day LCDs. Perhaps this could be used as an external display for mobile devices...
[via ubergizmo]
For US $57 each, you can buy (in Japan) telephoto, wide, and macro lenses for your mobile.
Our opinion: don't do it. Perhaps the macro is a good thing - but it's probably not worth the cash, and carrying it around will truly be a pain. And having a magnet (which attaches the lens) swinging from your phone is probably not a good thing either - even though we no longer use floppy discs, the magnetic strips on your credit cards probably won't like it.
[via Gizmodo]
Nokia says that it holds a cost advantage of more than 20% over its closest competitor.
Nokia's CFO Simonson attributed this advantage to factors such as in-house manufacturing, sourcing, and the use of standardized components. On the next-generation side, wideband code division multiple code access, or WCDMA, phones are expected to have a cost advantage of 20% to 30%.
Nokia earlier backed its total operating margin target of 17% over the next two years, with 17% to 18% margins on its mobile devices and multimedia business. The article goes on to talk about how Nokia wants to win more of the CDMA market, which is apparently 50% of the US.
[via Excite]
YCL Electronics Co. Ltd. took out front page advertisements in the Wall Street Journal on Monday, stating that Nokia had an unfair contract with them. The clause they cited empowers Nokia with the ability to unilaterally cancel any order 2 weeks before delivery. YCL is saying that this will "connect" them with bankruptcy.
In what appears to be an attempt to encourage sympathy for their position, they have also published correspondence with Nokia regarding the issue (where Nokia basically says nothing).
Reading the correspondence, it appears that a former employee of YCL signed a contract with Nokia which included the above clause. YCL is now worried about the actual effect of this upon their financial health, should Nokia place a large order then cancel it.
Our opinion is that this is just too bad. YCL should have negotiated the contract properly. Also - without sight of the entire contract it is impossible to tell, but surely there are provisions for the contract to lapse, and for YCL to renegotiate.
In any case, it is terribly unprofessional to use public pressure in this fashion. Our sentiments would be different if YCL were a consumer, but as both parties are businesses there is no scope for any claim of "unfairness". In any case, there does not appear to be any legal obligation upon Nokia to do anything about this at all. Thomas Jönsson, director of communications for Nokia in Beijing said that Nokia was "evaluating our next step in this unusual situation."
[via Infoworld.nl]
News about the Moto V3c has been plastered everywhere since yesterday, and Crave also reported that the V3X was available from three.co.uk (they said it was not on the website yet, but now it is).
So what can you expect from these new RAZRs?
Improved Cameras (V3c = 1.3MP, V3x = 2.0MP), enhanced downloads (V3c = EVDO, V3x = 3G), and bigger packages (in mm, V3 = 98 x 53 x 13.9, V3c = 99 x 53 x 15 , V3x = 99 x 53 x 19.6)
Still pretty sleek. That 3G-connectivity obviously adds poundage though. Would we get it? Don't know.
The NYTimes had fun over the weekend.
I snuggled against the bumper of the silver 2003 Boxster (2800 pounds), and slipped the Styrofoam pad under the right rear tire. I placed the Vertu face down on the pad to keep its keypad and crystal display from being scratched.
... I held my breath as I watched Denise back up the Boxster. I heard a soft crunch as the right rear tire rolled over the Liquidmetal casing of the Vertu. I dug the phone out of the Styrofoam pad. The crystal display panel lighted up immediately.
Denise insisted on running over it again. Once again, the Vertu made it through without a scratch. "Let's try it out on the street," she said, grinning.
We ran over the Vertu twice more out on the street with the Styrofoam pad underneath the casing. Reveling in the existential absurdity of our testing procedure but not wanting to press our luck, I declared our experiment a Sisyphean success.
Denise refused to quit. She demanded that I replace the Styrofoam pad with a piece of notebook paper. Then she ran over the Vertu for a fifth time, and for a fifth time, it emerged unscathed.
[via Engadget]
