Tuesday, in Brazil, Motorola announced a new slider handset, the ZN200, planned to be available in September. The ZN200 features a 2 megapixel camera with image-editing tools on board. Bluetooth support with A2DP for stereo headsets is also built-in, allowing for easy wireless music enjoyment.
Samsung's SBH500 Bluetooth stereo headphones offer a sporty around-the-neck design with luxuriously cushioned earpieces. With good sound quality and the ability to be connected to a phone and PC at the same time, they have a lot going for them. Ricky tests them out for us in this review.
Nokia's new Supernova line of fashion oriented feature phones has provided us our first glimpse at Series 40 6th Edition. Things might be looking up for Sprint. The EU's Telecoms Commissioner is looking to regulate SMS Roaming on July 18th.
Fring has released the very first fringAdd-ons, include a handy mobile version of social networks, video streaming and email notification applications directly from within fring.
Fring users, or fringsters can now get real-time updates to Facebook and Google’s social network orkut. With the help of Gmail notifier fringAdd-on, you will get alerts whenever there is new email. Lastly, the VTap will provide you a mobile video search and streaming service.
fring-Add-ons are completely free of charge to activate and are integrated into fring, complementing the existing communication features. To activate the new fringAdd-ons, fringsters simply need to subscribe to their selected fringAdd-ons from the new “Manage Add-ons” menu (Options>Settings>Manage Add-ons). Once selected, the fringAdd-on applications appear as familiar icons in the fringster’s Contact List. The “Manage Add-ons” menu will be continually updated and new fringAdd-ons will automatically appear in the Menu as they become available.
Check out the video presentation by Fring below
The fringAdd-on is currently available with its latest version, which can be downloaded here
fringAdd-ons can be created under the recently released fringAPI by any web developer with a basic knowledge of XML/PHP , by visiting the developer zone at developers.fring.com. Third party developers will be able to publish their completed Add-ons to the new fring catalogue within a few weeks.
Palm has just released the first ROM software update for Treo 755p users. The Treo 755p is available on Verizon Wireless in US. The software update will upgrade the software version to v1.08.
Accordingn to Palm, the software update is a tune-up that improves the phone application, stability and device usability. Check out more detail here
via [PalmInfoCenter]
While UTStarcom Touch Diamond appeared in a rumor for Verizon Wireless, the company announced that it has reached an agreement to sell its Personal Communications Division (”PCD”) to a newly formed entity controlled by AIG Vantage Capital, a part of AIG Investments. The expected proceeds of approximately US$240 million will be based primarily on the net working capital levels, subject to certain adjustments. In addition to the cash consideration, UTStarcom could also receive up to US$50 million based on a three-year earn out provision.
The PCD business, which primarily distributes handsets and related accessories in North America, will be called Personal Communications Devices, LLC and will be led by PCD’s current management team. The Handset business unit of UTStarcom will continue to design and provide devices to be sold in the Americas through Personal Communications Devices, LLC as part of a supply agreement. UTStarcom will also sell devices directly to carriers in other areas of the world.
Philip Christopher, the president of UTStarcom’s PCD, stated, “Operating as a standalone business will afford the new company greater distribution and financial flexibility and better positions us to capitalize on emerging market trends and strategic growth opportunities. We will continue distributing handsets and accessories throughout North America, and we remain focused on providing our current manufacturing partners and carrier customers outstanding support and service.”
ACCESS today announced the launch of a beta version of its NetFront Browser Widgets community site, where users can download and try free widgets for mobile devices. Widgets provided on this site can be used after users download and install a free beta version of NetFront Browser Widgets Player, which initially is compatible with Windows Mobile versions 5.0 and 6.0 Professional edition.
Widgets are mini applications displayed in small GUI windows on the screen of a handset or consumer electronic device.They can be accessed without having to open the handset’s browser, automatically acquiring and displaying the latest information from the Web. The NetFront Browser Widgets community site provides a variety of widget applications such as maps, weather forecasts and games.
“ACCESS will begin providing tools for developers to create their own widgets in the near future,” said Toru Arakawa, CEO, president and co-founder of ACCESS. “By providing a platform for interchange among users and developers, ACCESS will facilitate the development of innovative content based on NetFront Browser Widgets, as well as contribute to the ubiquity of widget culture.”
The NetFront Browser Widgets community site is available in English and Japanese at the following URL: http://www.access.co.jp/nfbwc/. A widget player for smartphones using Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone Edition and Windows Mobile 6.0 Standard Edition is planned for the future.
The most significant growth in wireless handset markets will occur at the top and bottom ends of the price and features range, as the smartphone and low-cost handset categories expand at the expense of the mid-range models commonly called “enhanced” phones. The enhanced phone sector is currently the largest in terms of shipments: 2007 saw 854 million units shipped. But it will be overtaken by both other classes in 2013, with just 441 million shipping.
According to ABI Research director Kevin Burden, “As we see more user sophistication and demand for high-end features, handset manufacturers will continue to push functions of high-level smartphone operating systems further down their product lines. Their smartphone portfolios will grow, and with them, the entire smartphone market.”
Operators want more smartphone users too, because they generate higher ARPU. And operators like phones with standard operating systems that are optimized for their content delivery platforms.
Meanwhile, driven by the huge emerging markets in countries such as China, India, and Brazil, the low-cost and ultra-low-cost handset categories are set to become the largest classes of mobile phones by 2013 in terms of shipments, though not in terms of revenue. “While the unit shipments of ultra-low-cost handsets will be dramatic over the forecast period, the device class is only expected to account for 6% of the market’s overall revenue,” notes Burden. “But vendors will continue to pursue these markets for the sake of brand-building and the prospect of eventual upward migration by users.”
Since no single mobile device will serve the needs of everyone, a number of other form factors will compete for users’ mobile computing cycles. In particular, MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices) and UMPCs (Ultra-mobile PCs) show promise for wider consumer acceptance. Prices will be moderate (eventually under $200 for many MIDs) and they’ll deliver a superior mobile Internet experience.
Source [abiresearch]
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