Nvidia Launches Apx-2500 Processor for Windows Mobile

APX 2500

Nvidia Corporation, a world leader in visual computing technologies and inventor of the GPU, has just introduced the APX 2500, an applications processor that enables intuitive 3D user interfaces and high-definition video on connected Windows Mobile phones.

The APX 2500 applications processor can apparently deliver up to 10 hours of 720p HD playback – which would be an industry first for video quality and power consumption on a mobile device. It’s capable of HD video recording with an HD camcorder, and offers ultra high-resolution photo imaging capabilities.

Nvidia has worked closely with Microsoft on the development of APX 2500. The combined engineering efforts of these two industry mammoths will ensure that next-gen versions of the Windows Mobile OS will harness the capabilities of the APX 2500 applications processor to the fullest extent.

Maybe this is what Windows Mobile 7 will be all about!

source:tech2 

Xperia X1 would put iPhone to shame?

 X1

One commentator hailed Xperia X1 as the new reference in terms of productivity and entertainment, and “the most exciting Windows Mobile phone since the Blackjack 2.”

Sony Ericsson execs call it a “premium” convergence device and forewarn that it won’t be cheap.

But they promise the Xperia X1 mobile phone will be worth every cent you spend on it.

That, of course, is an assertion that is yet to be verified as the device will only be available in North America in the second half of 2008.

However, the information and preview provided during the product’s launch at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Sunday created a buzz that resonated across the Web.

Another observed that X1’s “luscious aluminum shell” and “amazingly sharp display” would “put Apple’s [iPhone] to shame.”

source:pcworld 

Nokia Struggles With Touch Screen?

Nokia

Nokia is still working on bringing out touch, the company told a disappointed audience at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Apple wasn’t mentioned, but the message was clear–the Mac-maker had an easy time of it developing an iPhone as its first ever telephony product, while the Finnish handset maker has more work to do.

The company also denied a move to Linux following its acquisition of Trolltech, and added pedestrian-focussed GPS to its products.

“We are platformising touch and will bring out touch products this year,” said Niklas Savander, head of software and services at Nokia. He said it was important not to bring out “guinea pig” (other reporters heard “gimmicky”) touch products–and promised a smooth migration path from Nokia’s existing products and the 5000 applications running on mobile phones.

Nokia executives denied the company had any plans for Windows Mobile machines, despite Sony Ericsson announcing support for the Microsoft operating system in a phone announced today.

source:pcworld 

Demonstrate prototype Google Android phone

Andriod

Google’s Android software platform for mobile phones is coming to life in Barcelona, with a number of chip manufacturers showing it running on prototype or proof-of-concept phones at the Mobile World Congress today.

Freescale, Marvell, NEC Electronics, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments all had Android on show. Most of them expect to see Android phones based on their chips on the market in the second half of this year.

The device will also allow for the integration of different applications, a capability mostly limited to desktop computers. For example, a real-estate agent could combine information from its database with mapping software to let customers easily locate properties on the go, TI said.

The hardware ranged from bulky development boards with daughter cards sticking out at unlikely angles to more compact devices small enough to slip into your pocket. All were built around chips containing processor cores designed by Arm, a British fabless semiconductor company.

Google had said on Friday that while a number of companies would demonstrate Android products at the wireless trade show, the prototypes would give no real indication of the actual devices customers would ultimately be able to buy.

source:pcworld 

The new N96 is available now

N76

The new N96 is official! The word’s all over the Internet, with pictures and a limited spec sheet. Nokia finally made the phone available at GSMA Barcelona today, and tech2 reports that the phone is a union of the N81 and the N95.

The N96 has a 5MP camera with Carl-Zeiss lens and Xenon flash, and will come with S60 3rd feature pack, which is yet to make a release. To make the surfing experience a little richer, a fully flash-enabled surfing interface is included. The phone will come with 16GB of space built in, with an option to double that

source:tech2

AOL’s New Open Mobile Platform

aol

At the GSMA congress in Barcelona they’ve announced their own open mobile platform, which will enable developers to build RIAs for mobile devices.

“The platform will consist of three components: an XML-based, next-generation markup language; an ultra-lightweight mobile device client; and an application server. A dynamic presentation layer will allow for rapid deployment of new features and easy optimization for a wide variety of mobile devices, allowing developers to build and update applications once, and then distribute them across all supported devices and platforms.”

The platform will become available to developers sometime in the summer and the applications built on the platform will work across most major mobile device platforms – BREW, Java, Linux, RIM, Symbian and Windows Mobile – but interestingly enough, Android is nowhere to be seen.

Furthermore, developers will be able to integrate applications build on the platform with third party APIs, AOL’s other open APIs (AIM, AOL Mail, AOL Video, MapQuest, Userplane, Truveo, Winamp, and others), as well as monetize their mobile apps through AOL’s Platform-A advertising platform.

source:reuters 

Sony Ericsson Unveils Windows Mobile Handset XPERIA™ X1

sony_ericsson logo   X1

Sony Ericsson has created phones around the Symbian operating system, jumped quietly onto the Windows Mobile bandwagon with the announcement here today of its Xperian X1 smartphone.

Today marked the launch of XPERIA™  and a new era in mobile communications with the announcement of the XPERIA™ X1, a stand-out, arc slider phone from Sony Ericsson designed to address the growing need for a premium, converged mobile experience.

In fact, the handset has a custom user interface–consisting of 9 square icons that Sony Ericsson calls panels–which sits on top of the usual Windows Mobile 6 interface. The company also said the Xperia brand was not tied to Windows Mobile, so that future Xperia models could support other mobile phone platforms.

However Rikko Sakaguchi, head of Portfolios and Propositions for Sony Ericsson, said using Windows Mobile would allow the company to broaden its customer base, and also said it was the best platform in terms of PC integration.

The handset itself has a resistive 3-inch VGA touchscreen atop an optical navigation pad; the display slides sideways in a gently curved arc (and changes screen orientation to landscape mode) to reveal a roomy QWERTY keyboard. It supports assisted GPS and Wi-Fi as well as HSDPA, and has a built-in 3.2-megapixel camera.

Sony Ericsson also announced a slew of other phones, including new Walkman and Cyber-shot handsets, plus a couple of high-speed HSPA XpressCards.

Sony Ericsson XPERIATM X1 – energised communication, the premium experience.

  • Convergence of multimedia entertainment and mobile Web communication
  • Unique arc slider with wide pitch easy-to-use QWERTY keyboard
  • XPERIA™ panels  – arrange as you want for easy access
  • Enjoy multimedia entertainment on bright wide VGA display
  • Windows Mobile® capabilities

The X1 won’t appear until the second half of this year, but most of the others should begin shipping worldwide by mid year. Most of the phones support either HSDPA or its slightly slower (but still considered broadband) sibling, UMTS–although some only support the latter in Europe (and are therefore unlikely to ship in the U.S.).

source:sonyericsson 

Palm Centro in Europe

Centro

The Centro, launched in the States late last year, has email, web, Palm’s organiser, contact and calendar capabilities, a full colour touchscreen and full keyboard.

The phone has proved popular in the States, and has been credited for attracting a younger audience to Palm’s devices.

At launch, the phone was said to be aimed at students, young professionals and “CEOs of households”.

Palm has announced that the Palm Centro, the smallest and lightest Palm smartphone to date, will be coming to Europe at the end of February.

Key features (in Palm’s phrasing):

• All-in-one phone and messaging device
• Small and light, weighing just over 4oz.
• Full keyboard and a colour touchscreen
• Text messaging with a chat-style view
• Ability to store names, numbers, appointments, notes and to-dos
• Access to wireless email accounts, such as Gmail and Yahoo
• Web browsing capabilities
• Google Maps for maps and directions
• 1.3-megapixel digital camera with video capture
• Easy-to-use Palm OS software
• Ability to play music with PocketTunes
• Ability to create, edit and view native Word and Excel compatible files
• Ability to view native PowerPoint and PDF documents
• Microsoft Direct Push Technology for delivery of Outlook email, as well as personal email, such as Gmail and Yahoo
• Bluetooth 1.2 for connecting wirelessly with compatible headsets and car kits
• 64MB dedicated user storage with support for up to 4GB microSD cards
• Thousands of add-on applications available
• Ability to use Centro as a modem for connecting a laptop to the Internet via Bluetooth, so users can stay connected anywhere within wireless coverage

source:sky 

Nokia’s 6110 Navigator

Nokia

Nokia has just launched its GPS-enabled 6110 Navigator. Did the company hold a boring old press event with handouts to announce the fact? No sirree – what Nokia did was to arrange a kind of treasure hunt through the southern extremity of the great, yet terribly crowded, city of Mumbai!

The 6110 Navigator is an easy-to-use GPS-enabled handset. GPS may be its USP, but it’s also equipped with some pretty decent features. These include a 2 megapixel camera, microSD support, USB v2.0 (mini USB), Bluetooth with A2DP profile, music player, and stereo FM radio.

This 3G-, HSDPA-enabled slider also supports EDGE. A secondary camera located above its 2.2 inch TFT display (240 x 320 pixels, 16M colors) comes in handy for video calls. As for the GPS, maps of eight Indian cities are included, and are really quite detailed.

The device is available off the shelf for around Rs 14,250 with bill and warranty. Expect a detailed review from us soon!

source:tech2

Cool iPDA ‘A iPod with PDA features’

ipod-Pda

ZappTek has released iPDA 4.1, the latest version of its personal information management software for the iPod.

The latest version adds full Entourage 2008 support and allows for having both Gmail and local mail messages on your iPod at the same time. Gmail messages now appear in their own Gmail folder on your iPod.

iPDA lets users transfer Word, PDF, Apple Pages, RTF or text documents for reading on the iPod. The software also lets users download RSS feeds, weather forecasts, driving directions and news headlines directly to the iPod.

Additionally, iPDA supports the transfer of information from Entourage, Stickies, Gmail, Mail, Address Book and iCal to the iPod.

Advanced filtering controls what information gets transferred to the iPod; by date ranges for events, flagged contacts, unread messages and tasks based on whether or not they have been completed.

iPDA 4.1 costs US$19.95. A trial version is available.

source:pcworld