Cell Phone Memory Card Market Set for Steady Growth

With increasing demand for higher storage capacities of cell phones, the sales of removable memory cards is expected to grow continuously in the coming years, according to a recent report from Strategy Analytics.

Based on the report, there were almost 685 million handsets equipped with an expansion card slot in 2008, which amounted to nearly 60 percent of all handset shipments. By the end of 2013, shipments of slotted phones are set to reach 990 million units, making up approximately 70 percent of all cell phone shipments.

While the microSD format continues to dominate the slotted handset market, the higher capacity microSDHC format has been boosting from representing 3.5 percent of slotted phones in 2007 to 22 percent in 2008, and to around 54 percent in 2009. The surge is driven by consumers’ ever-increasing needs for more memory to store music, images, video, games and data in their multimedia-focused handsets.

In the meantime, due to rapid decline in the cost of NAND flash memory, we will also see more high-end phones with large onboard memory but no slot in the next two to three years, says Stuart Robinson, author of the report. Still, the abilities to expand phone capacity and to transfer data to a new phone give removable memory cards advantages over embedded memory.

Examples of new mobile devices that accept microSDHC memory cards can be easily found on the market: HTC Hero, HTC Tilt 2, Samsung Instinct HD, Motorola Cliq and BlackBerry 9700 Onyx. Smartphones like iPhone and Palm Pre do not come with an expansion slot, but offer significant flash memory as large as 32GB. Some handsets, such as Nokia N97, take the benefits from both by integrating with 32GB flash memory as well as a microSDHC card slot.

Strategy Analytics believes that the domination of microSD cards has slowed down the introduction of new formats. However, new developments will be essential to increase capacity beyond 32GB and to improve read/write speeds above 100mbps. New technologies from the industry, like microSDXC, could steer slotted phones in the right direction to be competitive with embedded memory in cell phones.

Tags: Memory Card, MicroSD / TransFlash Memory Card, M2 Memory Stick Micro Memory Cards, USB Flash Memory, Memory Stick PRO Duo, SD (Secure Digital) Memory Card, MultiMedia Cards (MMC)

... Read more!

Garmin Nuvifone G60 – the Navigation-centered Smartphone

Manufactured by Garmin-Asus, the Garmin Nuvifone G60 is offered by AT&T as an GPS-equipped touchscreen smartphone focused on navigation. Not only does it excel as a powerful navigator, but also brings users some useful features such as email, HTML Web browsing, Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth connectivity and a 3.2-megapixel camera.

Dominating the whole design is a 3.55-inch anti-glare resistive touchscreen with a 272x480-pixel resolution and 65k colors. Measuring 4.4" by 2.3" by 0.57" and weighing 4.8 ounces, the Linux-based Nuvifone has a simple and clean design just like other Garmin’s navigation devices. You will find a virtual QWERTY keyboard in landscape mode and a portrait keyboard in ABC format for text entry. The equipped accelerometer allows it to automatically switch between portrait and landscape view.

The selling point of the Nuvifone G60 is no doubt its full-GPS system, which offers preloaded maps of North America in 2D and 3D view, plus voice prompted turn-by-turn directions with text-to-speech functionality right out of the box. You will find a database containing millions of points of interest about shopping, food, entertainment, lodging, landmarks and more. In addition, there is a safety feature called "Where am I?", which shows your current location and lists the nearest hospitals, police stations and gas stations around you.

Through the AT&T 3G network, the Nuvifone G60 sports with a number of connected services, including Yellow Pages, Flight Status, Converter and a location-based social networking platform called Ciao. With a monthly subscription, you will also be able to use premium update services like traffic alerts, fuel prices, weather and local events.

Messaging is not the navigation phone’s strength, but it does support geotagged text messaging and a range of email clients such as AOL, Gmail, Hotmail and other POP3/IMAP email accounts. Although there is no multimedia messaging, you can share a photo with friends by attaching it to an email instead. As for entertainment features, other than a full HTML browser, you will get a music player for MP3 playback and a 3.2-megapixel auto-focus camera with geotagging capability.

Other noteworthy functions include USB mass storage, world roaming capabilities, a built-in compass, a speakerphone and a 5,000-entry address book. There are approximately 3GB of user-available memory and a microSD expansion slot that accepts cards up to 16GB.

The Garmin Nuvifone G60 is a unique navigation device that integrates its GPS-based navigation abilities into other features. It may lacks some of the advanced smartphone capabilities, but if you enjoy exploring new places or driving in some remote cities, this phone would be your great partner for finding directions quickly and easily.

Tags: Garmin Nuvifone G60 Accessories, Up To 16GB microSD Memory Card, Bluetooth Headset, Touch Stylus Pen For Touch Screens, Garmin Nuvifone G60 Handsfrees, Travel Charger For Garmin Nuvifone G60

... Read more!

Sony Ericsson’s Q3 Results Show Signs of Recovery

Following Nokia’s announcement of third-quarter loss, Sony Ericsson has recently released its financial results for the same quarter of 2009. Despite a widening net loss and lower sales year over year, the overall results have improved compared with the second quarter of 2009, showing a positive trend towards financial stabilization.

During the July-September period, the Swedish-Japanese company lost €198 million, which has worsened from the €12 million gain a year earlier, but got better compared with a loss of €283 million in the previous quarter. Sales also showed an improvement as 14.1 million cell phones were sold during the period, giving a 2 percent growth over the Q2’s 13.8 million units but a 42 percent drop compared with 2008.

As one of the few handset manufacturers that show signs of recovery amid global economic recession, Sony Ericsson explained the improving financial health as a result of its severe cost-cutting strategy, better-than-expected sales of the W995 walkman phone and the external financing received from its parents companies, Sony and Ericsson.

"Transforming the business for future growth and returning Sony Ericsson to profitability is the focus of the senior management team and will continue under the new leadership," said the company’s outgoing president Dick Komiyama.

Still, Sony Ericsson’s performance is far from being great considering its last year’s results. The company has been struggling to retain customers, partly due to its heavy focus on the Cybershot and Walkman series, such as the C905a and the W518a, while high-end smartphones such as iPhone and BlackBerry are becoming increasing popular. Its delay of engaging in the smartphone market hinders the growth of its business and restrains its global market share to around 5%.

For the last quarter of the year, Sony Ericsson puts high hopes for three new high-end devices integrating features such as Sony’s PlayStation game consoles to win back consumers. They are the Satio camera phone, the multimedia-focused Aino and the gaming-centric Yari. Still, whether these additions will improve the company’s situation remains to be seen.

Tags: Sony Ericsson Accessories, Sony Ericsson C905a Accessories, Sony Ericsson W518a Accessories, iPhone Accessories, BlackBerry Accessories, Sony PSP

... Read more!

Stay in Touch with Your Clique with the Motorola CLIQ

The Motorola CLIQ for T-Mobile is a smart and fun touchscreen phone that perfectly blends social networking with calls and messages all on one screen. Running the Android operating system, the CLIQ features Motorola’s own MotoBlur user interface to give you a new way of staying connected within your social circle.

The CLIQ has a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard and a 3.5-inch touchscreen display with 480 x 320 pixels and 262,000-color support. It measures 4.49 by 2.28 by 0.62 inches and weighs 5.6 ounces, which might be a bit heavy but gives a sturdy feel. It is available in two color schemes, titanium and winter white.

The focal point of the CLIQ is the personalized MotoBlur interface. There is a unique widget called Happenings, which connects to social networking sites, like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, and puts all status updates of your contacts in one single feed on the home screen. Your contacts, messages and information are backed up in a secure server, which means you can retrieve or erase your data remotely if you lost your phone.

As a social handset, apart from text and multimedia messaging, it offers an array of email options, including Yahoo, Windows Live Hotmail and other POP3 and IMAP email services. It syncs with your Outlook calendar and corporate email accounts that use Outlook Web Access. For instant messaging, the CLIQ combines support for Google Talk, as well as AOL, Yahoo Messenger and Windows Live Messenger. With the MotoBlur interface, all the texts, social network messages and emails received are gathered together for quick reply and easy viewing.

Entertainment features are similar to those found on Android phones. The music player supports AAC, MP3, WAV, MIDI, AMR NB and AAC+ formats, while the 5-megapixel camera sports with auto-focus, digital zoom and video recording and editing capabilities. You can download free and paid applications from the Android Market and store them on the 512MB internal memory. There is also a memory card slot compatible with microSD cards up to 32GB.

Apart from the basics, the CLIQ offers Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth, full HTML browsing, USB mass storage, Quickoffice with document viewing, voice commands and a standard 3.5mm headset jack. For GPS-based service, you will find E-Compass, Google Maps with street view, plus the TeleNav GPS navigator for turn-by-turn directions.

Combining its stylish form factor, a fully customizable home screen and Android’s services, the Motorola CLIQ is a versatile and full-featured social smartphone that makes a strong addition to Google Android’s lineup.

Tags: Motorola CLIQ Accessories, Up To 16GB microSD Memory Card, Bluetooth Headset, Bluetooth Cell Phone Car Kit, Motorola CLIQ Handsfrees, Motorola CLIQ Cases, Car Charger For Motorola CLIQ

... Read more!

CTIA Supports Universal Adoption of 3.5mm Plug and Micro-USB Connector

For those cell phone users who get tired of carrying an audio or proprietary charging adapter around, this is definitely an exciting news: the CTIA Wire Association is backing an attempt to make 3.5mm plugs and micro-USB connectors as the standard features of mobile devices.

The international trade group recently announced in its annual conference that it is in favor of the standardization of certain jacks on handsets released after January 2012. To ‘streamline and enhance the customer experience’, it is encouraging the industry-wide adoption of the 3.5mm audio headphone plug and the micro-USB format for connection with peripheral devices, such as chargers and laptops.

Currently, there is no specifications regarding the kind of connectors to be equipped in cell phones. Many handsets on the market only come with a 2.5mm jack instead of a 3.5 mm one, and a proprietary jack rather than a micro-USB connector. This often means consumers have to buy an extra adapter in order to use their own headsets and chargers.

"By simplifying input and output features on mobile devices, economies of scale will reduce consumers' costs," said CTIA’s president Steve Largent. Federal Communications Commission also welcomes the proposal and believes it bodes well for consumers, inventors and the environment. Reusing chargers and other peripherals on multiple devices could reduce electronic waste.

Members of the CTIA, which include handset makers Nokia, Samsung and Motorola, as well as the four largest carriers in the U.S., all showed support for the standardization, stating that consumers will benefit in the end. In fact, back in July, HTC has said it would equip a vast majority of its future devices with a 3.5mm jack. Newly launched handsets such as the Hero and the Imagio are examples.

The CTIA’s statement may be solely a gesture of support instead of a binding agreement, but it is still an important step towards a standardized interface across the mobile industry. It is probably a matter of time before other vendors follow HTC and make similar changes.

Tags: Cellular Handsfree, Cellular Charger, Car Charger, Cell Phone Audio Adapter, Universal 3.5mm Headset Adapter, Universal 2.5mm to 3.5mm Headset Adapter

... Read more!

Nokia Posts Loss in Q3; Losing Ground in the Smartphone Market

Nokia, the world’s leading cell phone maker, has reported a loss for the third quarter of 2009 amid global economic downturn. The handset giant still leads the world in terms of entire cell phone shipments, but its smartphone segment is apparently losing ground to strong rivals such as Apple and Research in Motion.

For the period ended on September 30, Nokia posted an unexpected loss of 559 million euros ($832 million) compared with a profit of 1.09 billion euros in the prior year’s quarter, probably as a result of declining sales. During the third quarter, Nokia sold around 108.5 million handsets, 8 percent less than Q3 2008. Still, the company managed to maintain its overall market share at 38%, which is roughly the same it has had since the third quarter last year.

Nokia may be able to retain its dominance in the lower-end market, but it is not doing very well in smartphone sales. In the face of intensifying competition from companies such as iPhone, BlackBerry and the rising Android phones, Nokia’s smartphone market share has dropped to 35 percent, compared to 41 percent in the second quarter. With smartphones becoming increasingly popular, Nokia’s weakness in this field may be a drag on the company’s overall sale in long term.
Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Nokia’s CEO said in a statement that the demand for mobile devices has improved during the previous quarter, but sales were partly constrained by a shortage of components, such as camera modules.

Still, Kallasvuo expects the October-December period to be the best quarter of the year in terms of net sales, volumes and margins. Nokia sees the overall global market share remain unchanged at about 38 percent, with a total of 1.12 billion units sold by the end of the year. It would make a 7 percent drop comparing with 2008, but is slightly better than its previous estimate.

Nokia is also planning on rolling out several new handsets like N97 mini, X6 and N900, as well as Nokia Booklet 3G netbook by the end of this year. Yet, whether these new additions can improve its financial results remains unknown.

Tags: Nokia Accessories, iPhone Accessories, BlackBerry Accessories, Samsung Accessories, LG Accessories, Cell Phone

... Read more!

Android to Become No.2 Operating System by 2012?

Although Google’s Android operating system currently accounts for less than 2 percent of all smartphones only, research company Gartner sees a huge growth potential in the next three years. By the end of 2012, Android is expected to take the second place in the global smartphone market, ahead of iPhone, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile operating systems.

According to Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney, Android will experience substantial expansion that by 2012, its global market share will have jumped to 14.5 percent with 76 million devices sold. This means the open mobile platform will replace Blackberry OS as the second-ranking system.
Symbian OS, which is used in Nokia devices, is predicted to lose about 10 percent of its market share, but will still maintain the top by selling 203 million handsets and making up 39% of the market. Meanwhile, iPhone will grow steadily and keep its third place with 71.5 million shipments, giving a 13.7 percent global market penetration.

Analysts believe that Android’s edge mainly lies in its open-source technology, which makes it easier to customize for different devices and more attractive among software developers. The fact that Android will appear on multiple vendors’ devices will also contribute to its growth. In 2010, about 40 new Android-powered handsets from Samsung, LG, Motorola, HTC and Dell, will show up in the market. Android 2.0 donut, the next OS update, will start shipping in the second quarter as well.

While Android will represent the fastest growing OS, Gartner’s report shows that the current second-place system used in Blackberry devices will slide to the fifth place, with its market share dropped from 19.9 percent to 12.5 percent. Windows Mobile will remain in the fourth position, showing a slightly rise in share from 10.3 percent to 12.5 percent.

The outcome of the OS battle may be uncertain, but it is generally believed that the demand of smartphones will continue to increase at the expense of mid-range feature phones. Gartner estimates 522 million smartphones will be shipped in 2012.

Tags: iPhone Accessories, BlackBerry Accessories, Samsung Accessories, LG Accessories, Nokia Accessories, HTC Accessories

... Read more!

Samsung Instinct HD (SPH-m850) – the Truly High-Definition Video Phone

The Samsung Instinct HD, available from Sprint, is touted as the successor of the Instinct S30 released earlier this year. By bringing a larger and brighter display, a 5.0-megapixel camera, enhanced Web browsing, Wi-Fi connectivity, HD video-out and more features, the Instinct HD proves itself to be an appealing updated version and a great multimedia phone.

The Instinct HD boasts a 3.2-inch touchscreen display with 320x480-pixel resolution. It offers an onscreen QWERTY keyboard with haptic feedback. Other than an ambient light sensor and a proximity sensor, it also comes equipped with an accelerometer, which means you can switch the keyboard between landscape and portrait modes by tilting the handset.

As the name suggests, the new Instinct offers HD recording capabilities. The integrated 5.0-megapixel camera with auto-focus, 4x zoom and face detection records video in high-definition (1,280x720). With a mini-HDMI port, you can connect the phone directly to a HD capable auxiliary device for photo and video playback.

Other multimedia features include a music player that supports MP3, AAC, AAC+ and WMA files. Powered by Sprint’s high-speed 3G network, the phone allows access to the Sprint Music Store, where you can buy and download full-length songs directly. Besides, you can connect to Sprint TV for live and on-demand programming from a wide variety of channels. Other Sprint services include Sprint Radio, Live Search, Sprint Navigation for GPS-enabled turn-by-turn directions, and Mobile Sync for contact backup.

Similar to its sibling, the Instinct HD delivers a broad range of email choices. Users can check personal emails from AOL, Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail, or sync with work corporate email accounts. It supports text, voice and instant messaging with threaded text as well. For Web browsing, it offers the Opera Mobile 9.7 browser with tabbed browsing for viewing Web pages in full HTML.

The Instinct HD measures 4.63 by 2.28 by 0.5 inches and weighs 4 ounces, which is a bit heavier than its predecessor. It has 512MB of internal shared memory and accommodates a microSD card up to 16GB. In addition, you will find a 3.5mm headset jack, a 600-contact phone book, stereo Bluetooth and speaker-independent voice commands.

With great improvement on the functionality, the Samsung Instinct HD undoubtedly surpasses its predecessor in various aspects, such as camera and camcorder, design, display, Web browser and connectivity. All these add up to a powerful multimedia device that outperforms many smartphones on the market.

Tags: Samsung Instinct HD / SPH-m850, Up To 16GB microSD Memory Card, Bluetooth Headset, Stylus For Samsung Touch-Screen Phone, Car Charger For Samsung Instinct HD, USB Data Cable For Samsung Instinct HD

... Read more!

Sprint HTC Hero – the Best Android Phone to Date

Exclusively available from Sprint, the HTC Hero is HTC’s third smartphone powered by Google Android operating system. As the successor to the two previous Android devices, the G1 and the MyTouch3G, the Hero brings some additional features and notable improvements, like HTC’s Sense user interface, a capacity multi-touch screen, a 5.0-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi capability, a Flash-supported web browser and many more.

Unlike the European version, the Sprint Hero does not have the signature "chin" of HTC Android devices, but boasts a more streamlined design. It measures 4.5" high by 2.2" wide by 0.5" thick and weighs 4.5 ounces, giving you a sturdy feeling in hand. As mentioned above, its 3.2-inch 480x320-pixel capacitive is equipped with multi-touch capability, which means you can pinch to zoom in and out of Web pages or images, or flick to scroll. Text entry is easy using the virtual QWERTY keyboard with haptic feedback in portrait or landscape mode.

One of the most noteworthy features of the Hero is the Sense, a highly customizable user interface that lets you customize seven home panels with various widgets and shortcuts. Also, you can change the theme of the device using the feature called Scenes, depending on whether you are at work, traveling or out of the town.

Running on Sprint’s high-speed network, the Hero delivers fast Internet surfing using a Google HTML Web browser that displays Flash-based sites. Messaging options are all-round: Other than text, multimedia and instant messaging, the Hero allows access to Gmail as well as AOL, Yahoo and Windows Live email accounts. You can also sync your Outlook email, calendar and contacts.

Like other Google phones, it comes with a range of Google mobile services, including Google search, Google Maps and Google Calendar. More than 8,000 applications, widgets and games are available in the Andriod Market for download. Also, you will find some preloaded Sprint services on the smartphone, including Sprint TV, GPS with Sprint Navigator, NFL Mobile Live, plus Nascar Sprint Cup Mobile.

In addition, the Hero sports with a bunch of multimedia goodies. There is a decent media player with support for MP3, AAC, AMR-NB, WAV, MIDI and Windows Media Audio 9 formats. The 5.0-megapixel camera is capable of recording video and geo-tagging. Other features include a built-in light sensor, an accelerometer, a 3.5mm headset jack, Bluetooth 2.0 and a PDF viewer. The Hero offers 512MB ROM and 288MB RAM, while its microSD slot accepts up to 32GB memory cards.

With a revamped interface, an array of Google applications and many other enhanced features, the HTC Hero is a fun and powerful smartphone that brings the best operating system to Android fans.

Tags: HTC Hero Accessories (Sprint), Up To 16GB microSD Memory Card, Bluetooth Headset, Bluetooth Cell Phone Car Kit, HTC Hero Cases, Travel Charger For HTC Hero, USB Data Cable For HTC Hero

... Read more!

HTC Pure – Balances Your Work and Play

Released for AT&T, the HTC Pure is a sleek touchscreen smartphone that can satisfy both business and entertainment needs. As AT&T’s first handset running Windows Mobile 6.5, the Pure brings a better user experience with a simpler interface, an improved mobile Web browser and the long-awaited Windows Marketplace for Mobile.

The Pure boasts a slim bar-type form factor by measuring 4.25" high by 2.09" wide by 0.54" deep and weighing 4.15 ounces. Its large 3.2-inch display with WVGA (480 x 800 pixels) resolution works perfectly with HTC’s latest version of TouchFLO 3D user interface. It provides a virtual QWERTY keyboard with haptic feedback to let you know when your command is registered. Equipped with an accelerometer, the Pure will change its screen orientation automatically when you tilt the phone.

Powered by Windows Mobile 6.5, one of the highlights of the Pure is its Microsoft’s app store, Windows Marketplace, where you can download free and paid applications in a wide range of categories. For web browsing, the Pure offers the new Internet Explorer Mobile with support for Flash Lite to give you a desktop-like browsing experience. You might also use the preloaded Opera Web browser.

In addition, users will find a new service called MyPhone, which enables you to back up your contacts, text messages and more to a password-protected Microsoft website for free. In case you lost your phone, it will also help you find it by showing its last known location on a map.
Needless to say, like any other Windows Mobile phone, the Pure features a full suite of Office Mobile and Direct Push Technology for real-time email delivery and automatic synchronization. POP3 and IMAP email accounts are supported as well.

As for multimedia features, the Pure sports with a 5.0-megapixel camera, offering auto-focus, digital zoom and video recording capabilities. You can play multimedia files using either the TouchFLO 3D’s media player or the Windows Mobile Media Player. With 3G support, the handset also offers a number of AT&T applications, including AT&T Music, AT&T Video and AT&T Navigator for GPS navigation.

Other advanced features of the Pure include Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth connectivity, text and multimedia messaging, an ambient light sensor, a gravity sensor, FM radio and voice commands. It comes with 144MB internal memory, but you can add up to 16GB of additional capacity with a microSD memory card.

To sum up, the HTC Pure has an array of Microsoft services and applications packed in a stylish design. If you are looking for a less expansive smartphone with both business and consumer appeal, this might be your pick.

Tags: HTC Pure Accessories, Up To 16GB microSD Memory Card, Bluetooth Headset, Stereo Handsfree For HTC Pure, 4-in-1 PDA Stylus Pen, Car Charger For HTC Pure, USB Data Cable For HTC Pure

... Read more!

Mobile Web Usage Boosted by Women, Teenagers and Elders

With smartphones increasingly becoming popular, more and more Americans are using their mobile devices to surf the Web. According to a new study from Nielsen, the mobile Internet usage in the US has surged by 34% year-over-year, with teenagers, women and elders outpacing other groups in growth.

Based on the report, the number of mobile Web users has jumped from 42.5 million in July 2008 to 56.9 million in July this year. Although younger males were early-adopters of the mobile Web, women are also embracing the technology. The figures show that female visitors were up by 43 percent from last year, surpassing the 26 percent growth seen among men. Ladies now make up 47 percent of the total mobile Web audience and the 6 percent gap is narrowing at a rapid pace.

According to Nielsen, the websites men visited most were technology, sports and game sites, such as NBA, CBS, CNET and Gizmodo. Women, on the contrary, tended to browse websites for online shopping and social networking, like Facebook, MySpace and Target.

Broken down by demographics, the year-over-year growth also shows some surprising findings. Web surfing by cell phone users aged 65 or over has boosted by 67 percent from last year, though they still only account for 3 percent of the total usage. Youth aged 13 to 17 also belongs to the fast-growing group, showing a 45 percent jump in mobile Internet usage for the past year.
Still, teenagers prefer messaging when it comes to mobile media usage. In the second quarter of 2009, the top-ranked mobile activity was messaging, with 84 percent of them sending a text message and 55 percent sending a picture message.

Driven by the prevalence of smartphones like iPhone and BlackBerry, which are equipped with large screens and high-speed 3G, it is very likely that mobile Internet usage will continue to rise and become a mainstream.

Tags: iPhone Accessories, Apple iPhone 3G S Accessories, BlackBerry Accessories, HTC Accessories, LG Accessories, Samsung Accessories

... Read more!

Motorola Entice W766 Makes Communication Simpler

Recently joined Verizon Wireless’s lineup, Motorola Entice W766 is a flip phone that provides easy access to your favorite functions. Although it is a low-to-mid range handset, it offers users a number of decent features, such as external touch-sensitive controls, Web browsing, instant messaging, Bluetooth connectivity and V CAST Music with Rhapsody.

The classic clamshell design of the Entice makes it look like the Motorola Rapture VU30 released last year. On the front there is a small external display with a set of touch keys underneath for controlling the music player, speakerphone and Bluetooth. Flip open the phone you will spot a 2.2-inch TFT internal display with 65,000 colors and 176x220 pixel resolution, which is large and bright for reading text. The Entice is compact and lightweight by measuring 1.9" high by 3.8" wide by 0.7" deep and weighing 3.6 ounces.

People who want to stay connected will not be disappointed, as the Entice not only supports text and multimedia messaging that lets you view conversations by contacts, but also instant messaging through AIM, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger. Email clients include Yahoo, MSN, Hotmail and AOL.

The Entice also features a range of Verizon broadband services such as V CAST Music with Rhapsody and V CAST Video for downloading multimedia files. You can play songs via the built-in music player which supports different file formats like AAC, AAC+, MP3, MIDI and WMV. Apart from these, it boasts VZ Navigator with audible turn-by-turn directions, Family Locator for tracking family members using its WAP 2.0 Web browser, plus Backup Assistant to keep a copy of your address book in case your phone is lost.

In addition, the flip phone comes equipped with a 2.0-megapixel fixed-focus camera with digital zoom and video recording capabilities. You can record videos up to 45 seconds for multimedia messaging, or up to the available memory for saving. On-board user memory is only 35MB, but you may expand the storage capacity with a microSD/SDHC card up to 8GB. You also get a 2.5mm input jack, a 1,000-contact phone book, stereo Bluetooth, USB mass storage and a speakerphone.

Combining a bunch of useful Verizon applications, decent multimedia features and good call quality, the Motorola Entice W766 is a feature-packed and user-friendly handset that many budget-minded customers will like.

Tags: Motorola Entice W766 Accessories, Up To 8GB microSD Memory Card, Bluetooth Headset, Motorola Handsfrees, Lithium Battery For Motorola Entice W766, Travel Charger For Motorola Entice W766

... Read more!

RIM’s Q2 Profit Drops; Falls Short of Analysts’ Expectation

Blackberry maker Research in Motion has announced its fiscal second-quarter results that were below analysts’ expectations. Although its revenue rose and sales of its Blackberry devices were up, RIM reported a year-over-year drop in earnings, which makes analysts wonder if the company is losing its edge in the increasingly competitive smartphone market.

For the quarter ended on August 29, RIM earned $475.6 million, down 4 percent from $495.5 million in the same quarter last year. Revenue increased to $3.53 billion from $2.58 billion a year ago, but failed to come in line with analysts’ forecast of $3.63 billion. Meanwhile, the 8.3 million Blackberry devices it shipped and the 3.8 million new subscribers it added during the June-August period were also less than expected.

Still, the Canadian smartphone vendor is optimistic about its outlook. Jim Balsillie, RIM’s co-CEO explained the fall in quarterly earnings was caused by the charges for a patent settlement. Although its performance did not meet expectations, RIM still saw strong sales of BlackBerrys that in fact, shipments for the second quarter enjoyed a 40 percent year-over-year surge.

He added that the company is in a good and prosperous position, and its strategies of moving beyond corporate market to target consumer market have been going well, as more than 80 percent of its new subscribers are consumers. The goal for this quarter is to make its Blackberry devices more popular.

RIM has been known as the leadership in the enterprise field in the United States. But as the market becomes saturated, the company has diverted its focus to the consumer market where competition is keen. Other than rivals like the rapidly-growing Apple iPhone, Google Android phones are also gaining momentum that more vendors, such as Motorola, are launching their Android-powered handsets soon. Even the Palm Pre did relatively well during the second quarter, despite the fact that it was being exclusively sold on Sprint Nextel.

With the holiday season coming, RIM says it is well-prepared with new devices like the BlackBerry Tour 9630 and the Blackberry Curve 8520. Also, it is expected that the Canadian vendor will introduce new versions of two high-end models, the Storm and the Bold, later this year. Hopefully this addition will help RIM attract more subscribers and improve its financial results.

Tags: BlackBerry Accessories, BlackBerry Tour 9630 Accessories, BlackBerry Curve (Curve 8520) Accessories, iPhone Accessories, Motorola Accessories, Palm Pre Accessories

... Read more!

Smartphone Buyers Receive Better Retail Services than Feature Phone Customers

While smartphones continue to flood into the cell phone market, it seems that most wireless carriers still managed to provide quality in-store customer care to their smartphone buyers. Based on a survey from J.D. Power and Associates, smartphone shoppers are generally more satisfied with their retail experience, compared to feature phone buyers.

The semi-annual study, conducted on 8,637 wireless subscribers who had an in-store retail experience within the past six months, analyzes customers satisfaction based on four aspects: sales staff, price, store facility and display. The results show that smartphone owners are more pleased than traditional handset users in all categories of customer service. Although smartphones are more expansive and customers have to pay $23 more on average per month for the service, these buyers seem to be particularly happy with the price and promotion packages offered to them.

Based on the study, customer satisfaction tends to fall if a salesperson fails to give detailed explanation on how to operate a phone. This is true especially when the customer is choosing a smartphone loaded with plenty of advanced features and applications, like Apple’s iPhone.
"It is critical for wireless retailers to be knowledgeable about smartphone models and service plans options available and to display a high level of courtesy during the sales process to ensure satisfaction levels continue to improve," said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates.

Here is another interesting finding: customers who felt pressured during their in-store visits have a 20 percent lower satisfaction level, with the score dropping from an average of 738 over 1,000 index points to 616 points.

Based on customers’ evaluations, T-Mobile USA ranks highest as the nation’s most satisfying wireless carrier as always, offering helpful and knowledgeable sales staff, attractive prices and great retail displays. While Alltel and Verizon Wireless are following closely behind, Sprint and AT&T received the lowest scores among the five major carriers.

Tags: T-Mobile Accessories, Alltel Accessories, Verizon Wireless Accessories, Sprint Cell Phone Accessories, AT&T Cell Phone Accessories, iPhone Accessories

... Read more!

LG Incite CT810 – the Well-rounded Windows Mobile Smartphone

The LG Incite CT810, released for AT&T, is LG’s first-ever smartphone available in the U.S. Running on Windows Mobile 6.1, the sophisticated handset offers both consumers and business users a bundle of enhanced features, including Office Mobile, Microsoft ActiveSync, a 3.2-megapixel camera, GPS and Wi-Fi capability.

Measuring in 4.2" high by 2.17" wide by 0.55" deep and weighing 4.23 ounces, the Incite is compact enough to fit in your palm. It boasts a 3.0-inch 240x400-pixel resistive touchscreen with support for 262k colors, which allows you to navigate the screen with your finger, the scroll button or the provided stylus. Every touch on the screen triggers a vibration, letting users know a selection has been made. You can choose to type onscreen with a full QWERTY keyboard in landscape mode or a SureType keyboard in portrait mode. There is also a built-in proximity sensor that turns off the screen when you put the phone near your face to take calls.

Apart from threaded text and multimedia messaging, it offers instant messaging supporting AIM, Windows Live and Yahoo Messenger. Email options include POP3, IMAP, Microsoft Direct push email and Microsoft ActiveSync for synchronizing your Outlook calendar and email. As a Windows Mobile phone, the Incite also comes equipped with Office Mobile Suite, meaning you can read PDF documents and PowerPoint presentations, and view and edit Excel, OneNote and Word files.

Music and multimedia features are plentiful as well. With the Windows Media Player 10, you can play files in MP3, WMA, AAC, AAC+ and eAAC+ formats. The Incite sports with a wide range of AT&T’s 3G services, including Celluar Video for streaming video clips, Video Share for making video calls, plus Mobile Music with music-related applications like Music ID, Pandora, FM radio and more. In addition, you will find an integrated 3.2-megapixel camera with landscape viewfinder, panorama setting and video recording ability.

As for web browsing, the Windows Mobile phone offers Internet Explorer Mobile as well as AT&T’s NetFront browser for your selection. GPS can be used with TeleNav-powered AT&T Navigator for turn-by-turn voice and onscreen driving directions with real-time traffic updates. You will also find other useful features like Bluetooth stereo A2DP, a 3.5mm headset jack, an accelerometer, voice-activated dialing and speakerphone. The Incite is loaded with 256MB internal memory storage and accommodates a microSD memory card up to 16GB.

To conclude, the LG Incite is loaded with many attractive features you expect from a touchscreen smartphone. All these add to a device that comes in handy for everyday professional needs as well as entertainment.

Tags: LG Incite CT810 Accessories, Up To 16GB microSD Memory Card, Bluetooth Headset, LG CT810 / Incite Cases, Car Charger For LG Incite CT810, Original LG USB Data Cable LG-DLC100

... Read more!

Handset Battery Capacity Unable to Keep Up With Power Requirements

The gap between the power demands of cell phones and the battery capacity available to users is widening at a rapid pace, and it is believed that there will not be any complete solution to the problem any time soon, according to market researchers at IMS Research.

The increasing power requirement for cell phones is driven by two key factors: consumer behavior and handset features. In recent years, people rely more and more on their handsets to perform different tasks, causing mobile data and application use to surge substantially. In the meantime, improving on-device features, such as crisper and brighter displays, faster CPUs and higher data throughputs, demand higher power consumption than before. These cell phone upgrades continue to add pressure on handset power usage, and IMS Research predicts that power requirement for smartphone owners will grow at a rate of 15 percent per year.

The resulting gap between power available to users and the power required by a growing number of handset features threatens to slowdown the mobile lifestyle consumers are increasingly embracing. This also put cell phone makers in a dilemma, as they are trying hard to extend battery life, but at the same time embedding more power-draining features into smartphones to satisfy customers’ needs.

There may be a number of potential solutions to ease the problem, including new display technologies, more power efficient silicon design, and new battery chemistries. Nevertheless, analysts generally agree there will not be a major breakthrough on the battery technology soon.
While waiting for new technologies to address the problem, cell phone users can take several measures to extend their handset battery life, such as turning off GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when they are not in use. You may also want to keep an extra battery, a travel charger, a car charger or a portable mobile charger by your side to juice up your handset anytime you want. For iPhone users who always have to endure poor battery performance, an external mini battery pack would be a perfect back up for you.

Tags: Cell Phone Batteries, Car Charger, Cellular Charger, Portable Emergency Charger, External Mini Battery Pack For Apple iPhone – Black, Iphone accessories

... Read more!

Samsung Delve SCH-r800 – the Multimedia Touchscreen Phone for Non-business Users

Available through Alltel and U.S. Cellular, the Samsung Delve SCH-r800 is a multimedia touchscreen handset targeting at message-centric folks. Not only does it boast a large responsive display, the Delve also comes with an intuitive interface with widget support, a virtual QWERTY keyboard and a full suite of multimedia and messaging features.

The Delve features Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface on its 3-inch touchscreen, which supports 262k colors and has 240x400-pixel resolution. The unique interface offers widgets for users to customize their phone. By dragging and dropping widgets onto the main display, you can enjoy instant access to your favorite functions like Web browser and music player. Apart from this, the Delve offers a virtual QWERTY keyboard in landscape mode, giving tactile haptic feedback when items are selected.

Multimedia features offered by the touchscreen phone are attractive. Its music player supports files in MP3, AAC, AAC+ and eAAC+ formats. With Alltel’s music application nuTsie, you can stream your own iTunes playlists, your friends’ iTunes playlists and music from nuTsie’s catalog. Additionally, the phone comes equipped with a 3.5mm headset jack and stereo Bluetooth support for quality private music listening. You will also find an integrated 2.0-megapixel camera with auto-focus, multi-shot mode and video recording ability.

The Delve offers plentiful messaging options, which include text messaging, multimedia messaging and instant messaging. POP3 and web-based email access is supported as well. With the full HTML browser, you can download content such as ringtones, wallpapers and games from the Alltel Shop or U.S. Cellular's EasyEdge Web service to personalize your phone. Other advanced features include a 500-contact phone book, GPS navigation, speaker-independent voice dialing and commands, PC syncing and USB mass storage.

Sharing a similar slim form factor with the Samsung Instinct, the Delve weighs 3.63 ounces and measures 4.57" high by 2.17" wide by 0.48" deep. It offers 150MB internal memory and a microSD memory card slot for storage expansion up to 8GB.

The sleek design, customizable interface and multimedia goodies all add up to an attractive device for non-business users. Although the Delve lacks Wi-Fi, it is still a solid addition to the carriers’ lineups.

Tags: Samsung Delve (SCH-r800) Accessories, Up To 8GB microSD Memory Card, Bluetooth Headset, Bluetooth Cell Phone Car Kit, Samsung SCH-r800 / Delve Cases, Car Charger For Samsung Delve r800, USB Data Cable For Samsung Delve r800

... Read more!

Smart-Car Technology to Bring Smartphone Integration with Car Infotainment System

A new technology developed by handset maker Nokia is about to bring better smartphone integration with in-vehicle infotainment system, allowing a smartphone device and a vehicle to share their features, information and interfaces. Nokia, along with NAVTEQ, its digital map data provider, and Magneti Marelli, the automotive systems and components specialist, revealed the innovation in the IAA Exhibition Centre in Frankfurt, Germany.

Named "Virtual Networking Computer layer", the technology brings connectivity between your smartphone and your automotive system, making all smartphone features and applications available through the in-car navigation screens and audio systems. Other than the car’s control panel, commands can be made by voice, touch or even gesture, delivering ergonomic and user-friendly operations to drivers.

The integration allows key data exchange such as fuel levels and engine status between the smartphone and the car. Combined with GPS functionality, location-based services will be available as well, such as directing the driver to the closest gas station for refueling, or offering an e-coupon for a cup of free coffee if you go to a particular gas station.

Apart from this, ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) features that help the driver in the driving process can also be included. For instance, the system will give a slow-down warning to the driver when he is driving towards a sharp bend.

Depending on the length of driving time, connection from the handset to the infotainment system is made either via Bluetooth or a USB cable. For a shorter trip, the driver can connect wirelessly without taking the smartphone out; for a longer journey, it will be better to use a USB cable to help preserving the smartphone battery.

By establishing a better communication between automotive systems and smartphone devices, functions and capabilities of each can be fully utilized, and drivers will be able to use their handsets more safely and conveniently in a vehicle.

Tags: Nokia Accessories, Bluetooth, Data Cables, Cell Phone Batteries, GlobalSat BT-359 Bluetooth GPS Receiver, Cellular Handsfree

... Read more!

Cell Phone: A Potential Threat to Our Health?

The potential risk of using cell phone to human bodies has been a concern for quite some time. Although no solid link has been established between cancer and cell phones, some scientists suggest taking a precautionary approach in the light of recent studies that indicate the possibility of such a connection.

Each cell phone is embedded with a small radio transmitter inside to communicate with the telephone network. While some people are worried that the radio frequency may seep into brain tissue, damages cell and cause tumors, years of research and experiments have failed to prove the theory.

But recently, some new studies are starting to show that long-term use of these mobile devices may pose a threat to our health. According to Environmental Working Group, a government watchdog group, people who have used cell phones for at least 10 years face higher risk of brain and mouth cancers.

Nevertheless, CTIA – the Wireless Association, disagrees with the study by saying "scientific evidence has overwhelmingly indicated that wireless devices do not pose" a health hazard to human beings. The Food & Drug Administration also express a similar view on its Web: "the weight of scientific evidence has not linked cell phones with any health problems".

Despite their different standpoints, they all share the same view on the need for more research. For instance, the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is funding a large-scale animal testing, which exposes rodents to the same levels of radiation as humans are when using handsets. But the results won’t be available until sometime in 2013.

Until we have firm results on the issue, cell phone users who might be worried about the possible health threat can take several precautions by using speakers, wired handsfree devices or wireless Bluetooth headsets. You can also choose a low-radiation phone and use text messaging instead of voice calls if possible.

Tags: Bluetooth, Bluetooth Headset Car Charger, Cellular Handsfree, Universal Handsfree, Car Kits, Universal Bluetooth Speaker Car Kit

... Read more!

Text with Ease with the Samsung Intensity SCH-u450

Available on Verizon Wireless, the Samsung Intensity SCH-u450 is one of the latest messaging handsets that has joined the Samsung family. The Intensity is not a high-end handset like the recently released Samsung Rogue, but it does offer a number of easy-to-use multimedia features geared towards the mass market, including a QWERTY keyboard, threaded messaging, email and GPS.

Sporting with a sleek side-slide design like many of the Samsung messaging phones, the Intensity has a numeric keypad on the front, and reveals a four-row QWERTY keyboard when slid open horizontally. Its 2.1-inch TFT display supports 262k colors and 176x220-pixel resolution. The handset weighs 3.53 ounces and measures 2.08" high by 4.25" wide by 0.65" thick, which is quite compact and lightweight.

Text and multimedia messaging are made easy using either the keypad with T9 predictive entry or the slide-out keyboard. Users can view SMS messages in threaded conversations. For instant messaging, you will find mobile IM supporting AIM, Yahoo messenger and Windows Live Messenger. In addition, you can send and receive emails from various service providers like Yahoo, AOL and Window Live via Mobile Email or mobile Web email.

On top of the messaging options, the Intensity also offers multimedia goodies like a built-in music player for playing MP3, AAC/AC+ and WMA9 files. With support for Verizon’s V CAST Music with Rhapsody, you can purchase and download music to your PC and transfer to the handset using a USB cable. Besides, there is a 1.3-megapixel camera with 10x zoom, multi-shot and a dedicated shutter button. Other than the 128MB internal memory, the Intensity supports microSD memory cards as large as 16GB for additional storage space.

Other features on the Intensity include Mobile Web 2.0, Verizon’s GPS-powered VZ Navigator, Bluetooth wireless support, voice commands, USB mass storage, a 1,000-entry phone book and a 2.5mm headset jack. More ringtones, wallpapers, games and applications are available from Verizon’s online store as well.

Overall, the Samsung Intensity is a user-friendly handset with some great messaging and multimedia highlights offered at an affordable price, making it a worthwhile pick for the average consumers who are looking for something basic but full-featured.

Tags: Samsung Intensity (SCH-u450) Accessories, Up To 16GB microSD Memory Card, Bluetooth Headset, Buetooth Cell Phone Car Kit, Samsung Intensity (SCH-u450) Handsfrees, Samsung SCH-u450 / Intensity Cases, Car Charger For Samsung Intensity u450

... Read more!

NAND Flash Memory Supply Prioritized for Apple, Causes Worldwide Shortage

NAND-type flash memory modules are widely used in smartphones for users to store pictures, music, videos, games and other files. As Apple’s iPhone and iPod continue to consume a huge amount of NAND flash memory, cell phone makers have been undergoing a serious worldwide shortage of these memory chips, reported DigiTimes.

Apple has been increasing the storage capacities on iPhone and iPod Touch every year. The iPhone 3G S is embedded with 32GB of onboard storage, while the capacity of the iPod touch is recently doubled from 32GB to 64GB. In addition, the iPhone is expected to land the massive Chinese market through China Unicom in the forth quarter of 2009. Both factors drive up the need for NAND flash memory, gobbling up the chips in an unprecedented rate.

According to a report from DigiTimes, the world’s major NAND chip suppliers are giving priority to Apple’s increased flash demands, while limiting the supply provided to other companies. For instance, Samsung Electronics has announced that it will reduce its NAND flash supply by half in September. Micron Technology has also told some of its customers that they cannot provide any NAND flash chip at the moment, according to sources. Similarly, Toshiba and Hynix Semiconductor are putting Apple on the top of the list and are offering limited stock to the spot market. The tight supply is expected to until the end of this year.

In fact, the reason for Apple’s privilege is the long-term supply agreements Apple signed with Samsung, Intel, Hynix, Micron and Toshiba dated back in November 2005. The agreements assure that the manufacturers would provide ample supplies of NAND chips to Apple through 2010, with a prepayment of $250 million to each of them.

Meanwhile, NAND flash price has also been rising steadily, with the average price for a 16GB chip increased by 7.2% to US$4.48 in the first half of September, while a 32GB chip now costs US$6.80, up by 4.3%, said e-marketplace DRAMeXchange.

Currently, Apple is negotiating with China Mobile, the largest wireless network in the world, hoping to bring its iPhone to the carrier’s half-billion subscriber base. If Apple reach an agreement with China Mobile, iPhone sales will grow tremendously and demand for NAND chips will be further tightened.

Tags: iPhone Accessories, Apple iPhone 3G Accessories, Apple iPhone 3G S Accessories, MP3 / Apple Ipod Accessory, Apple iPod touch (1st generation) Accessories, Apple iPod touch (2nd generation) Accessories, Samsung Accessories

... Read more!

Mobile App DriveSafe.ly to Help Reduce the Risk of Texting while Driving

The deadly phenomenon of texting while driving has been an issue to the general public, and developers have begun working on solutions for quite a while. Recently, a new free mobile application called DriveSafe.ly is launched to address the problem.

Developed by Heath Ahrens, the founder of iSpeech.org, DriveSafe.ly turns incoming text messages and emails into spoken words in real time and automatically responds without drivers touching their cell phones. Currently, the software is compatible with all BlackBerry models, as well as Google Android-powered smartphones such as T-Mobile G1 and T-Mobile MyTouch 3G.

Working with a cell phone’s speaker via Bluetooth or a car’s speaker via a radio transmitter, the application reads incoming texts and email messages aloud to the user. There is also a built-in text auto-responder that you can turn on to deliver a response whenever a message is received, letting senders know that you are driving. As a lightweight application, it will not slow down your handset operation or drain the phone battery.

DriveSafe.ly is available in two versions. The one for free download has an auto-responder, supports text messages and email shorthand readouts, and reads up to 25 words per message. On the other hand, the premium version reads a message with up to 500 words at a time and screens out unwanted advertising messages. Premium users can also choose from male or female voices. It is available for a one-time purchase at $13.95, or for a monthly subscription at $3.95.

Aside from BlackBerry and Google phones, the company says it is developing versions of the applications for other smartphones. iPhone and Windows Mobile phone users can try the service using its beta version at the moment. The text-to-speech application can be downloaded at the DriveSafe.ly official website, or through mobile app stores maintained by wireless carriers.

With this software, you can now stay connected with others even behind the wheel using your Bluetooth handsfree and car kit in a safe and responsible way.

Tags: Bluetooth, Car Kits, Cell Phone Battery, BlackBerry Accessories, iPhone Accessories, T-Mobile G1 (Google Phone) Accessories, T-Mobile myTouch 3G (HTC Magic) Accessories

... Read more!

Palm to Focus on WebOS in the Future; no more Windows Mobile

After reporting widening losses for the last quarter, smartphone maker Palm Inc. has announced in a recent press call that it will no longer manufacture smartphones running the Windows Mobile operating system. Instead, the company will focus exclusively on developing its own WebOS platform in the future.

For the fiscal first quarter of 2010, Palm managed to sell a total of 823,000 smartphones, with many of those believed to be the Palm Pre. Although the sales figure of the Pre is better than expected, it still failed to make up for the lowering shipments of other Palm devices, as the results are 30 percent down year over year. Also, the company posted a widening loss of $164.5 million, compared with a loss of $41.9 million in the same quarter last year.

Facing stiff competition from rivals such as BlackBerry maker Research in Motion and iPhone maker Apple, the struggling smartphone maker has decided to give up Windows Mobile, which can be found on the Palm Treo Pro. The plan is to focus future development solely on its WebOS operating system. This new system is the foundation of the Pre and the new Pixi, a more affordable and compact version to the Pre that is expected to arrive in the coming holiday season.

"While there are still Centros and Treos moving through the channel, our future engineering efforts are based around WebOS," Palm’s chairman and CEO Jon Rubinstein said in a statement, "We're launching more great Palm WebOS products with more carriers, and turning our sights toward growth." The company has shown its effort by speeding up updates to the WebOS system, such as improved Exchange security policies, to make its devices more appealing to business users.

Still, keen competition with other rivals is inevitable in the upcoming holidays, including the hot iPhone 3G S, Motorola’s first Android handset the Cliq, a new version BlackBerry Storm and the Android-based Sony Ericsson Xperia X3. We shall wait to see whether Palm’s strategy could help regain its momentum and turn its fortunes around.

Tags: Palm Pre Accessories, Palm Treo Pro Accessories, Palm Centro Accessories, Apple iPhone 3G S Accessories, BlackBerry Storm 9530 Accessories, Motorola Accessories, Sony Ericsson Accessories

... Read more!

Motorola Debut i856 – the Music Walkie-Talkie from Boost Mobile

Motorola and Boost Mobile, a division of Sprint, together have launched the Debut i856, which is Motorola’s first push-to-talk iDEN phone to come in a slider form factor. Apart from the push-to-talk technology, the Debut boasts a complete set of mid-tier multimedia features, including a music player, threaded messaging, emailing, GPS and a Web browser.

With Motorola’s nationwide push-to-talk feature, users are able to talk to up to 20 friends at the same time through group calling, plus short-range conversations outside network areas. The phone supports POP3 email, text and multimedia messaging, and IM-style threaded messaging for you to view entire conversations. For wireless Internet surfing, it also comes equipped with the Openwave 7.2.1 web browser.

Another highlight of the Debut is no doubt its music features. Music lovers will appreciate the dedicated music key for instant music access, the 3.5mm standard audio jack and Bluetooth 2.1 with stereo support. The integrated music player offers twelve preset equalizer settings, plus an enhanced 3D audio mode with fourteen 3D reverb effects. It supports files in various formats, including AAC, AAC+, eAAC, eAAC+, MP3, MPEG-4 and WAV. The phone also allows you to play music as the background while using other functions.

In addition, there are also features like stereo speakerphone, voice-activated dialing, a micro-USB port, a 600-contact phone book, a GPS receiver, and a basic 1.3-megapixel camera 2x zoom, geo-location tagging and video recording capabilities. There is 70MB built-in memory and extra storage can be added with a microSD memory card of up to 8GB. You can purchase and download wallpapers, ringtones, games and applications via the Web browser to personalize your phone.

As for the physical appearance, the Debut has a slide-out T9 numeric keypad and a 2.2-inch TFT display with 65,536 colors and 176x220-pixel resolution. It measures 4.19" high by 2.0" wide by 0.59" thick and weighs 2.99 ounces, making it quite a thin device that fits comfortably in a pocket.

The Motorola Debut i856 is a stylish mid-range music phone that also gives you quick family, social and business communication. If you are a Boost Mobile’s customer who simply enjoys mobile music listening, you may want to give it a shot.

Tags: Motorola Debut i856 Accessories, Up To 8GB microSD Memory Card, Bluetooth Headset, Bluetooth Cell Phone Car Kit, Motorola Debut i856 Cases, Car Charger For Motorola Debut i856, USB Data Cable For Motorola Debut i856

... Read more!

Motorola Renew W233 – Probably the Most Eco-friendly Handset

The Motorola Renew W233, released by T-Mobile, is touted as the most environmental-friendly candy-bar cell phone available on the market. Despite its lack of advanced functionality, the phone offers good call quality in a green and compact design to people who want a handset simply for mobile calling.

As the first carbon neutral phone in the world, the Motorola Renew has a sturdy plastic housing made by recycled water bottles. It requires 20% less energy to manufacture than other cell phones on average, and even comes packed in a paper box made from 100% recycled cardboard, giving it an entirely green design and production. Measuring 4.4" high by 1.8" wide by 0.6" deep and weighing only 2.9 ounces, the Renew has a lightweight design that makes it perfect to be slipped into a pocket.

The Renew is a dual-band GSM handset with EDGE, supporting T-Mobile’s MyFaves service that allows a unique icon for each contact. It boasts Motorola’s CrystalTalk noise reduction technology, which filters out background noise to offer you good sound quality for clear conversations.

The Renew is not designed as a multimedia-centered handset, which is why it does not have a camera or Bluetooth support. The display on the front, showing 65k colors and a 128x128-pixel resolution, is not optimized for video watching either. However, it does have a built-in music player with a music shortcut key, as well as the OpenWave web browser for searching information online quickly. It also includes a 2.5mm headset port and a microSD card slot for storage expansion up to 2GB.

In addition, users will find other must-have features like text and multimedia messaging using Motorola’s iTap predictive text input, USB syncing, a 500-contact phone book, speakerphone, alarm clock and vibrate mode. You can download various wallpaper, screensavers and greetings from T-Mobile’s t-zones service to personalize your handset as well.

It is certain that Motorola Renew W233 is not a high-end feature-rich cell phone. But if you just want a simple, affordable and green-minded cell phone for making clear voice calls, it may be what you are looking for.

Tags: Motorola Renew W233 Accessories, Motorola Handsfrees, Leather Carrying Pouch Case For Motorola Renew W233, Clear Snap-On Cover For Motorola Renew W233, Car Charger For Motorola Renew W233, Lithium Battery For Motorola Renew W233

... Read more!

Smartphone App Market Booming; Cell Phone Users Hungry for Apps

Mobile application proves itself to be a gold mine as both the numbers of apps available and downloads continue to increase at a rapid pace. Yankee Group predicts that by the end of 2013, nearly 7 billion smartphone app downloads from all app stores will generate $4.2 billion in revenue within the U.S. market.

According to the market research company, the projected strong growth rides on the back of two trends: the increasing smartphone adoption and the rising average price of apps. Over the next four years, the number of people owning a smartphone will surge by four times from 40 million to about 160 million. In addition, while more and more apps are available to customers, paid apps will account for a quarter of all smartphone app downloads by 2013, with an average price of $2.37, up from $0.99 today.

Following in Apple’s footstep, companies such as Google, Microsoft, Palm, Nokia, BlackBerry and Samsung have started running their own app stores. Also, leveraging a number of advanced features provided by smartphones, such as touchscreens, accelerometers, GPS support and full HTML Web browsers, developers also flooding in the mobile application market. The result is that mobile apps are now available in a wide range of categories to satisfy users’ different needs, including entertainment, communication, business, information and interest.

Other than developers and app store owners, handset users have also been showing great interest in the field. A survey from comparison website Moneysupermarket.com reveals that over two out of five customers will consider changing their cell phones, so that they can use apps available elsewhere. Meanwhile, six percent of all users consider the ability to download apps more important than other factors when choosing a new handset. The research also finds that in the past 12 months, smartphone owner has downloaded 20 applications in average, which is more than a lot of people have been thinking.

With more cell phone users, app developers and companies joining the gold rush, it seems very likely that the boom of mobile applications will continue for at least a couple of years.

Tags: iPhone Accessories, BlackBerry Accessories, Palm Treo Accessories, Nokia Accessories, Samsung Accessories, Verizon Wireless Accessories

... Read more!

Samsung Rogue SCH-u960 – the Next-generation Multimedia Touchscreen Phone

The Samsung Rogue SCH-u960, as the first Verizon’s device with an AMOLED touchscreen display, is a stylish and powerful handset supporting Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface. Not only does it boasts a QWERTY keyboard, it is also packed with plenty of multimedia features, like a 3-megapixel camera, a full HTML browser, Bluetooth, GPS and threaded messaging.

One of the highlights of the Rogue is its bright and vivid 3.1" AMOLED display, which shows 262K colors and WVGA 480x800 pixels. It is powered by the TouchWiz interface with shortcut widgets, giving users one-touch access to various social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, MySapce and Twitter.

Sliding out the Rogue horizontally it reveals a four-row QWERTY keyboard and switches from portrait to landscape mode. The phone is equipped with an accelerometer for automatic change in orientation, which also works with applications like the browser and the photo gallery. The handset weighs 4.49 ounces and measures in 4.29" high by 2.17" wide by 0.65" thick.

The Rogue provides a full messaging suite, including text, picture, video and voice messaging, for heavy texters as well. You can have access to your POP or IMAP email accounts from Mobile Email, with support for services like Yahoo, Windows Live and AOL. The corporate email allows you to sync your work email and calendar via RemoSync. Instant messaging is compatible with AIM, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger. One more messaging feature to note is the new Voice Dictation, which will transcribe what you say into text.

As mentioned before, the Rogue comes with a full HTML web browser with Flash Lite for watching streaming videos from YouTube and other sources. You can open up to five web pages with tabbed browsing. As a Verizon phone, the Rogue also gets full support of Verizon Wireless services, including V CAST Video, V CAST Music with Rhapsody, and VZ Navigator for GPS-guided directions. Using the preloaded File Viewer, you can view Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF documents as well.

On the Rogue, multimedia features are promising too. There is a decent 3.0-megapixel camera with auto-focus, 10x digital zoom and LED flash, which is capable of capturing video and editing. Sporting with a built-in music player, the Rogue can play various files such as MP3, WMA, AAC and AAC+ formats. Other than the 512MB of internal memory, its microSD memory card slot supporting up to 16GB cards also provides a great option for storing multimedia files. Other noteworthy features include stereo Bluetooth, USB mass storage mode, a 3.5mm audio jack and speaker-independent voice commands.

Offering an array of impressive features that are comparable to smartphones, without a doubt, the Samsung Rogue SCH-u960 is a great messaging and multimedia feature phone for Verizon customers.

Tags: Samsung Rogue (SCH-u960) Accessories, Up To 16GB microSD Memory Card, Bluetooth Headset, Bluetooth Cell Phone Car Kit, Samsung SCH-u960 / Rogue Cases, Retractable Car Charger For Samsung Rogue u960, Original Samsung USB Charging Data Cable APCBS10UBE

... Read more!

Motorola to Release Blind-user-friendly Cell Phones in 2010

To improve the accessibility of cell phones to people who are visually impaired, handset maker Motorola and the National Federation of the Blind, the largest organization of blind people in the U.S., have recently decided to team up to introduce handsets that are equipped with features tailor-made for blind users.

Following their cooperation agreement, some of the future Motorola cell phones will provide verbal readouts of information on the screen to blind users, giving them better accessibility to mobile technology. The information for readout includes date and time, battery level, signal strength, user’s phone number, voice mail alert, incoming caller ID information, as well as missed and received call records. On top of that, there will also be a voice-command function for ring tone status, inputting and accessing contacts, and some other settings. The first Motorola phone boasting these features is expected to come to the market next year.

The aim of their cooperation is to promote technologies that improve the accessibility of cell phone to consumers. Other than the aforementioned, they have agreed to work together to develop additional handsets and features for the consumers suffering from vision loss.

Dr Marc Maurer, President of the Federation, said they appreciate Motorola's commitment to introduce the features of its cell phone products accessible to blind users without the need for third-party software, and they look forward to working together with the manufacturer to make improvements to this.

In fact, apart from Motorola, iPhone maker Apple has also taken part in equipping its device with voice readout functions. The iPhone 3G S, launched in June, includes a screen reader called VoiceOver that speaks what appears on the display, enabling visually impaired people to make calls, read emails, browse web pages, play music and run applications.

Hopefully, the new features will allow blind people to enjoy easier mobile usage, while other handset giants, such as Nokia, Samsung and LG, will also make effort to develop devices that are more accessible to people with visual disability.

Tags: Motorola Accessories, iPhone Accessories, Apple iPhone 3G S Accessories, Nokia Accessories, Samsung Accessories, LG Accessories

... Read more!