Device Arena
Archive for October, 2007
Google Inc. is in advanced talks with two top U.S. cellphone operators, Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp., about selling handsets tailored to its new mobile-phone operating system, people familiar with the matter said.
Deals with the carriers would represent a major breakthrough for the Internet search giant, which until now has encountered wariness from some quarters of the wireless industry about its mobile-phone plans. Google shares crossed $700 Wednesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The milestone is a fresh intraday high for the company, after it passed $600 for the first time only three weeks ago.
Within two weeks, Google is expected to announce new software and services that handset makers could use to build customized Google-powered phones. The company needs wireless operators to sign on to the project in order to get its mobile devices in front of consumers by the middle of next year. Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC, and Sprint Nextel are both in advanced discussions with Google, the people familiar with the talks said.
More on The Wall Street Journal
Comment (1) »Google Inc. is close to unveiling its long-planned strategy to shake up the wireless market, people familiar with the matter say. The Web giant’s ambitious goal: to make applications and services as accessible on cellphones as they are on the Internet.
In a move likely to kick off an intense debate about the future shape of the cellphone industry, Google wants to make it easier for cellphone customers to get a variety of extra services on their phones — from maps to social-networking features to video-sharing. To get its way, however, the search giant will have to overcome resistance from wireless carriers and deal with potentially thorny security and privacy issues.
Google is trying to loosen the grip wireless carriers have over the software and services consumers can access on cellphones. Carriers have considerable clout, especially in the U.S., where they control distribution of phones to consumers through their retail stores.
Within the next two weeks, Google is expected to announce advanced software and services that would allow handset makers to bring Google-powered phones to market by the middle of next year, people familiar with the situation say. In recent months Google has approached several U.S. and foreign handset manufacturers about the idea of building phones tailored to Google software, with Taiwan’s HTC Corp. and South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc. mentioned in the industry as potential contenders. Google is also seeking partnerships with wireless operators. In the U.S., it has the most traction with Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile USA, while in Europe it is pursuing relationships with France T?l?com’s Orange SA and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd.’s 3 U.K., people familiar with the matter say. A Google spokeswoman declined to comment.
The Google-powered phones are expected to wrap together several Google applications — among them, its search engine, Google Maps, YouTube and Gmail email — that have already made their way onto some mobile devices. The most radical element of the plan, though, is Google’s push to make the phones’ software “open” right down to the operating system, the layer that controls applications and interacts with the hardware. That means independent software developers would get access to the tools they need to build additional phone features.
More on The Wall Street Journal
The Nokia N96 could be a revolutionary and overwhelming device when it would really come to the market. Clear is that Nokia would strike big with the Nokia N96 when the device would be announced and that they would show what a real market leader is. The Nokia N96 will offer specifications which we have not seen with any other manufacturer earlier.
Multimedia has never been better
The Nokia N96 will become an immense bestseller when the Finnish manufacturer would bring the device to the market. Because of the clear and detailed photos of the device, the Nokia N96 will probably come to the market but the expectation is that the announcement is a couple of months away. Multimedia with the mobile phone has never been better as with the Nokia N96. First of all, the huge display catches our eye and this will probably be a 3.2 inch touchscreen and offer 16 million colours.
Besides the large display, the full QWERTY keyboard prominent and this offers the possibility to type messages and e-mails on high speed. The keyboard can be slid out at two sides but the user can also choose to use a regular numbered keyboard when he wants to type a quick message or a phone number. This keyboard is quite special because the earlier mentioned QWERTY keys have made place for regular numbered keys with help of extra numbers that are illuminated at this moment instead of the QWERTY symbols.
An advertisement claiming to show off the NEW Roger’s iPhone has leaked onto the web. The ad is being shown on The Boy Genius Report blog. Rogers spokeswoman Odette Coleman has deunked the ad as being a fake. “The ad in Boy Genius, Mashable, Engadget blogs was not produced by Rogers. Nothing further to announce on iPhone.” So it looks like the ad was either made by a fanboy trying to milk the iPhone news here in Canada, or it was made by an advertising agency for Rogers. Industry watchers expect this product will hit store shelves before Christmas this year. The company looked poised to announce the phone last week, but for whatever reason decided to shove off the announcement until later this year.
Roger’s execs promised a “device” announcement in November, a December date could jive with those promises. The leaked ad sure looks real. It promises a pre-order for the phone on Roger.com on November 20, so you can buy one before Christmas and get it in January. Which is exactly what the folks over at Molson Dry were saying last week, before they were told to pull their contest down by someone who wanted to keep the iPhone under wraps a little longer. If the phone hits in December, the price is expected to be $499 on a three year contract.
Still Rogers maintains that it has nothing to say about the iPhone. I don’t know why they are being so silly about all of this. Just let the device loose and see what happens.
Following Geodesic’s earlier launch of Mundu IM for Windows Mobile Standard smartphones, the instant messaging specialist today announced the compatibility of its market leading product Mundu IM with Windows Mobile Professional and Classic Pocket PCs and select Sony Ericsson devices. Mundu IM gives users the exclusive ability to cross-conference friends, colleagues and family across AIM, MSN and Yahoo IM services through a single chat window on Windows Mobile Standard, Professional and Classic, Sony Ericsson J2ME, Palm OS, and Apple iPhone devices.
Mundu users can stay connected anywhere with their contacts on the most popular IM services including AIM, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, Google Talk and Jabber on a single user-friendly interface. People with popular phones such as the Sony Ericsson W300i and K550i, HTC Mogul, Samsung BlackJack, Motorola Q, Palm Treo 750, Palm 700p and the iPhone amongst others can now take advantage of Mundu IM.
