Nokia N900
Initially available at £469.99 SIM Free, the Nokia N900 is the first-ever Linux-based mobile phone and could possibly be the manufacturer’s most advanced handset to date.
For a start, it’s a lot faster than most in bringing up applications and runs on the new Linux-based Maemo browser which means you can get 24-hour connection with wireless broadband, Wi-Fi and HSPA connections. Being powered by Mozillla technology, the device displays websites exactly as they are seen on a PC with a full browsing history available and, for the more myopic, there’s a zoom facility that adjusts text to the size of your screen. The panoramic, touch screen is used to switch between applications and can also be customised with short cuts, widgets and applications up to four different desktops, or if an email needs to be typed, you can swiftly slide out the QWERTY keypad and bang it out straight away.
The 5-megapixel camera with high-quality Carl Zeiss optics comes with tag clouds to label and share photos with friends. With Maemo OS and Adobe Flash 9.4 support, online videos and interactive applications are a synch and the Nokia N900 is capable or recording 16:9 video with a resolution of up to 848×480 pixels at 25 fps. Plus, you can watch your favourite videos on the high-resolution WVGA screen and display your photos with stunning clarity.
Communication wise, you can make voice calls, VoIP calls as well as SMS, emails and instant messaging. With up to 48GB of memory available via a microSD card, other features include a GPS receiver with Ovi Maps to find your way in over 150 countries, an FM transmitter, 3.5mm audio jack with TV-out function, Bluetooth and DivX/Xvid video playback support.
And priced at £469.99, now seems like an excellent time to get your mitts wrapped around the Nokia N900 before everyone else does.
Where to get it >>
Orange is to launch iPhone
Orange has announced the launch of the Orange iPhone which will be available from November 10th, 2009 and is hoping to grab as much of the market share from O2 as possible by improving on the user experience and increasing availability.
Not content with being the fastest GSM iPhone ever, the easy-to-use touch screen delivers web pages and emails instantly with improved performance and updated 3D graphics that enhance the whole gaming experience. Video recording functions mean you can shoot high-quality video in portrait or landscape and edit accordingly before posting on sites or sending to your friends via email. A new 3-megapixel camera combines a built-in autofocus and pictures can be viewed in portrait or landscape format simply by rotating the handset, with a zoom facility and geo-tagging option available. The iPhone can also be used to sync with photos already on your Mac or PC so you can share them with anyone wherever you are in the world.
With a digital compass and voice control, users can choose from more than 85,000 applications available through the iTunes App Store and the phone will cost £96.50 for a 32GB iPhone 3GS handset on a £44.04 per month, two-year contract.
As more than a quarter of a million people have registered an interest on the Orange website the iPhone looks set to be the must-have gadget for Christmas. Just as well then that Orange has assured customers that there won’t be a supply issue. In addition, they plan a 3G mobile broadband network covering more people in the UK than any other operator and have committed to providing the best-in-class applications in an attempt to cash in on the market before Vodafone starts selling the iPhone in 2010.
Sony Ericsson W995
Sony Ericsson’s new Walkman phone leads the way in market technology. Small and slim, its slider mechanism makes it easy to use and in a stylish, brushed black metal casing, it looks good too.
It more than satisfies all your media requirements but also has an 8.1 megapixel camera which delivers crisp, top quality photos with image LED flash, stabiliser, auto focus and face and smile detection. Other functions include geo-tagging which allows you to tag your photos with descriptions of where they were taken and live photo blogging so you can upload your pictures or videos straight onto social network sites or update your status any time you want.
With built in HSDPA and Wi-Fi, speeds are pretty impressive and other features include Bluetooth and an M2 memory card slot that’ll let you store up to 16 GB of stuff. Instant access to YouTube can be gained with up to 69 films available from PlayNow™ arena movies, with a 256K TFT colour screen, the quality of viewing is excellent and three free film downloads are available per month. There’s even a stand available that lets you watch the movie at a 45 degree angle.
Also incorporating latest version of the Walkman® 4.0 player, you can save and play hundreds of tracks with the musical quality for which Sony Ericcson is renowned. It’s possible to create playlists according to genre, tempo and mood. Don’t know what a song is? Simply ask TrickID and you can find out. As you can turn the radio function off, it’s also possible to use it on flights and in hospital and there’s also a docking station for the attachment of a speaker.
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Vodafone 360
Vodafone have announced the new Vodafone 360; the first truly integrated mobile internet service that consolidates and organises all your social life in one place.
Uniting friends everywhere, Vodafone 360 works on mobile phones, PCs or Macs and combines a single 3-D address book gathered from your phone, internet and social network accounts with instant access to social media sites. You can now chat on Facebook, receive status updates share photos, videos, games, music and maps and addresses or identify your location to chosen friends wherever and whenever you like.
The service links across all networks and works on a range of 100 popular mobile phones including two Vodafone 360 mobile handsets. Manufactured by Samsung and driven by Vodafone’s ‘proximity algorithm,’ these provide a tailor-made interface with a 3.5 inch high definition screen, 5 megapixel camera and LiMo operating system. You can access emails from your personal accounts like Hotmail and Gmail from your personalised web homepage with links to your favourite websites.
Contacts are organised into tiers so that the most frequently contacted are at the front, via a user-friendly, 3D visual address book; the Vodafone 360 People view. There’s also access to over 1,000 Apps, games and music. The Maps service includes a GPS that gives detailed directions which can be shared with friends so that you can meet up or search for specific locations and points of interest.
The Vodafone 360 integrates all contacts from your phone, Facebook, Windows Live Messenger and Google Talk and will soon embrace Twitter, Hyves and stuiVZ. Information, emails, tags and messages are automatically backed up and updated and synchronised wirelessly between the mobile and PC or Mac giving you the confidence of knowing that contacts can easily be recovered should you lose or change your mobile.
Vodafone 360 epitomises Vodafone’s new slogan ‘power to you’ that aims to put the customer in control. “The beauty of Vodafone 360 is that all the services work together and it’s easy to use,” says Pieter Knook, Director of Internet Services at Vodafone Group, “It enables customers’ digital lives.”