The Zumbafone: Ultimate Hands-free Mobile Phone

Touch screen phones are the current drift in today's cell phone market. But what about totally hands-free phone operation?

The Zumbafone from the Zumba Lumba land could set the next trend in cell phone manufacturing. IA Technologies, a UK company that provides military electronics and protection equipment, is planning to release the world's "first fully hands-free phone" before the end of this year, Called Zumbafoone, the device is the size of a credit card and is essentially a two-piece handset. In front is a standard-looking keypad and screen, but the most important part is at the back, a detachable earpiece that looks like a bluetooth headset but doesn't really require Bluetooth.



The phone makes use of the Internet instead of Bluetooth, connecting you to Zumba Lumba land (not kidding here, it's really the url of the site, zumbalumba.com) which contains all your necessary data and information. The user can create SMS or make voice calls using a fully accurate voice recognition system while wearing the earpiece. Incoming text messages are converted to audio and read back to you or displayed on the screen from half of the phone if both are attached. To send text messages, simply tap a button on the earpiece, speak your text, and the phone will transcribe the message and send it to your contact.

Good news is, IA Technologies claims the phone will be "low cost, simple and a refreshing new way to communicate." Dean McEvoy, its designer, is dyslexic and has always struggled with tasks like typing and reading text messages. He developed the Zumbafone as a fully voice-controlled phone and the solution to his problem.

Possible downside is the phone's total reliance on an Internet connection where some concerns do arise on performance and coverage, especially in areas where unlimited mobile Internet packages are still relatively expensive and rare. One also wonders how the Zumbafone will work with other languages and dialects, not to mention special characters like smileys, ASCII images and symbols avid texters often use in their messages.

The Zumbafone looks very promising but we will have to wait for now and see how it performs when it goes out of the shelves by the end of 2009.

The following video gives a little more detail about the Zumbafone.

Nokia 5800 Software Update Available for Download

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic touchscreen music-phone users can now download the latest software upgrade directly from Nokia. The updated software - which is a free download - boosts internet data access speeds and tweaks in-device searching and the onboard email app.



Other changes include speed improvements to the GUI and a new mobile dictionary with text-to-speech functionality for 38 languages. Nokia have also made changes to the 5800’s camera, adding a burst-shot mode for taking multiple successive photos while the shutter button is held down, together with allowing the front-facing camera to take still images.

Finally there’s a new updater app which allows users to either manually or automatically update the 5800 XpressMusic from the handset itself.

The new firmware is available to download from http://www.nokia.com/softwareupdate.

Here's the official press release from Nokia:

Nokia releases a new software update for Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

Update includes a wide range of new features and improvements

Espoo, Finland - Nokia has announced a software update to the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic to further improve the performance and add new functionalities to the device. The software update is immediately available for download on Nokia Software Update website (http://www.nokia.com/softwareupdate) free of charge (data charges may apply).

Improvements in the new software version include faster data download from Internet, improved e-mail experience, better search experience with in-device search. Many additional features are also included in the software update:

- Faster user interface and faster download times
- New camcorder features: second camera support for still image capture in addition to video calls, burst mode that allows people to take multiple pictures one after another without needing to repress the picture taking button
- Mobile Dictionary: built-in dictionary functionality with voice playback of words utilizing text-to-speech technology, support for 38 languages
- Application Update: with Application Update people can check for available updates for applications and update them directly in the device. Applications can also be kept up-to-date by setting the checking to automatic.

“The update includes great improvements in the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. As mobile devices become more and more advanced, additional features and new functionalities are easy to install to the existing device. We recommend people to take advantage of the new features and upgrade their Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, and get more from their existing device,” said Soren Petersen, Senior Vice President, Devices, Nokia.

Nokia regularly releases firmware updates for many device models and improves the overall experience by adding new functionality and improving performance.

About Nokia
Nokia is the world’s number one manufacturer of mobile devices by market share and a leader in the converging Internet and communications industries. We make a wide range of devices for all major consumer segments and offer Internet services that enable people to experience music, maps, media, messaging and games. We also provide comprehensive digital map information through NAVTEQ and equipment, solutions and services for communications networks through Nokia Siemens Networks.

Skype 3.0 Beta for Windows Mobile Now Available for Download

Skype 3.0 Beta for Windows Mobile is already available for download. Skype 2.5 however, recently went gold. The latest Skype version includes two new features: SMS and file transfer.

Using this beta, those with a Windows phone can send different file types to and from their Skype contacts around the world. This includes items like spreadsheets, music, and more.

In addition, the new version lets users send text messages through Skype. This is a paid service, but texting via Wi-Fi is generally less expensive than sending texts while roaming internationally.

The Skype 3.0 Beta for Windows Mobile can be downloaded now from its developer's website.

More about Skype

Skype is a VoIP service which lets users talk to other Skype users for free over Wi-Fi or 3G connections, and also enables low-cost voice calls to landlines. In addition, it offers instant messaging with Skype and other IM services.

Users need to purchase minutes via major credit cards or PayPal in order to make calls to regular phones.

In addition to the version of Skype for Windows Mobile, there are also ones for Nokia Internet Tablets, Windows, and Mac OS X.

LG KC910 Renoir: A Work of Art

The LG KC910 is all about pictures, hence the "Renoir" moniker. Yes, it bears a passing resemblance to the sleek LG KP500 "Cookie", but what the Renoir has that the Cookie doesn't is a stunning eight megapixel camera with autofocus and a xenon flash. It also comes with oodles of connectivity: 7.2Mbps HSDPA, Wi-Fi, and built-in GPS, which together allow you to geo-tag your works of art and upload them to the Internet.

Features:

• 8 Megapixel Camera
LG’s KC910 takes super-sharp pictures, thanks to an 8 megapixel camera with Schneider-Kreuznach optics and a Xenon flash. ISO sensitivity, which determines how much light the camera’s sensor takes in, can be set as high as 1600, increasing the camera’s performance in dark conditions.

• Touch Shot
Users can select an object to focus on simply by selecting and touching a focal point on the phone’s 3.0-inch wide screen. After touching an area to focus, users can take a photo simply by removing their finger from the screen. This feature means that users will never miss a shot while searching for the right button to press or get a blurry image because of camera shake.

• Creative Shot Modes
The KC910’s shot modes include:
- Beauty Shot: Automatically removing spots and imperfections of people’s faces, Beauty Shot makes sure that faces appear bright and clear in photos. It creates more attractive looking portraits without the need to use Photoshop software.
- Art Shot: Unlock your creativity with its Art Shot mode. Create an artistic masterpiece with effects including, black & white, warm & cold exposure and more.
- Smile Shot: Automatically triggers the shutter when camera detects a smile
- Continuous Shot: Fires nine shots in rapid succession
- Panorama Shot: Allows the phone to take panoramic images
* The LG-KC910 also includes Face Tracking and Blink Detection

• Dolby Mobile
Dolby Mobile provides rich, vibrant audio as well as more powerful bass to the music listening experience. At the heart of Dolby Mobile is an integrated suite of audio processing technologies which includes:
- Natural Bass - provides clean, powerful bass extension without artificial side effects
- Sound Space for Headphones - adds spaciousness and impact to headphone listening from stereo content.
- High-Frequency Enhancer – reinforces the highs that often suffer when music and other content are digitally compressed

• DivX/Xvid Playback
The LG-KC910 also makes it easy to watch high-quality DivX/Xvid video right out of the box. The handset includes the popular DivX/Xvid codec, a portable format compatible with a large and growing number of devices and platforms. This means there is no need to specially encode videos for the phone, transferring video files is as simple as drag and drop.

• Slow-motion Video Recording (@ 120 fps)/ Fast-motion Video Recording (@5fps)
LG-KC910 can record QVGA video at up to 120fps, which allows it to catch every detail in slow motion, making it perfect for capturing fast moving objects, such as those at sporting events. The LG-KC910 can also handle the opposite extreme, slowing recording down to 5 fps to record very slow-moving objects with a time lapse effect.

• A-GPS/Jogging Buddy
LG KC910 supports A-GPS ensuring that users always know their exact location. The handset also offers the ultimate convenience for exercise enthusiasts by using the advanced GPS technology. Whether walking, running or jogging, KC910’s Jogging Buddy provides up-to-the-second information including distance and time, and keeps an exercise log for you.

• The latest 3G Networks/ Wi-Fi
With HSDPA connectivity at 7.2Mbps and seamless connections through Wi-Fi, users can browse the internet at very fast speeds.

• Personalized Widgets and Active Flash UI
Users can choose widgets with customizable settings to appear on the idle screen. Widgets are easily added by dragging them from the menu bar. The widget screen is oriented vertically and users can scroll through widgets with the flick of a finger. Users can choose from a variety of colour options for the idle screen. With its online widget function the KC910 provides instant access to information like weather forecasts on its idle screen. Real time weather data from carriers’ online services will help users be prepared for unexpected weather.



Specifications:

General
2G Network: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network: HSDPA 2100

Dimensions
Width: 107.8mm,
Height: 55.9mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight: 114 g

Display
Type: TFT touchscreen, 256K colors
Size: 800 x 480 pixels, 3.0 inches

Memory
Call records: 40 dialed, 40 received, 40 missed calls
Card slot: microSD (TransFlash), up to 8GB

Data
GPRS: Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
GPS: Built in GPS Reciever
HSCSD: No
EDGE: Yes
3G: HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps
WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
Bluetooth: Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
USB: Yes, v2.0

Messaging
SMS, EMS, MMS, Email

Browser
WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML

Imaging
Camera 8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus,
Video(VGA 30fps, QVGA up to 120fps)
Xenon flash; secondary VGA videocall camera
Camera geo-tagging, face, smile and blink detection

Multimedia
Java MIDP 2.0
MP3/MPEG4/AAC/DivX/Xvid player
Ringtones
Type: Polyphonic, MP3
Customization Composer,
Download: Yes
Vibration: Yes

Other Features
Organiser
Document viewer (DOC, XLS, PDF)
TV-out
Voice memo
Built-in handsfree
T9

Battery
Type: Standard battery, Li-Ion
Stand-by: 264 hrs
Talk time: 3 hrs

Will Palm Pre be Gadget of the Year?

Is it too early to call Palm Pre as Gadget of the Year? Will all the buzz this amazing device is creating including topping the latest T3 Top 100, I wouldn't be surprised at all. Dubbed as the real iPhone killer, Palm Pre topped the list despite being only announced a month and a half ago.

Surprisingly, the iPhone has dipped out of the top ten this year, with the Toshiba TG01 taking its place; in fact, there are no Apple products in the top 10 at all.

Here's a rundown of the Palm Pre specifications:

Operating system
* Palm® webOS™

Network specs
* 3G EVDO Rev A

Display
* 3.1-inch touch screen
* 24-bit color
* 320x480 resolution
* HVGA display

Keyboard
* Physical QWERTY keyboard

Email
* Microsoft Outlook® email with Microsoft® Direct Push Technology
* POP3/IMAP (Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, etc)

Messaging
* Integrated IM, SMS, and MMS

GPS
* Built-in GPS

Digital camera
* 3 megapixel camera
* LED flash
* extended depth of field

Sensors
* Ambient light
* accelerometer
* proximity

Media formats supported
* Audio Formats: MP3, AAC, AAC+, AMR, QCELP, WAV
* Video Formats: MPEG-4, H.263, H.264
* Image Formats: GIF, Animated GIF, JPEG, PNG, BMP

Wireless connectivity
* Wi-Fi 802.11b/g with WPA, WPA2, 801.1x authentication
* Bluetooth® 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support

Memory
* 8GB of user storage (~7.4GB user available)
* USB mass storage support

Phone as laptop modem
* Bluetooth tethering

Connector
* MicroUSB connector with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed

Headphone jack
* 3.5mm stereo

Palm® Touchstone™ charging dock
* Compatible

Dimensions
* Width: 59.5mm (2.3 inches)
* Height: 100.5mm (3.9 inches)
* Thickness: 16.95mm (0.67 inches)
* Weight: 135 grams (4.76 ounces)

Meanwhile, here's the latest: Palm Pre Webcast

Sprint and Palm will hosting a Palm Pre Webcast on March 12. Wednesday morning there was a bit of a Palm Pre false alarm when Sprint announced the March 15 availability of the Palm Treo Pro. The one-letter difference in the product names can be oh-so-misleading. However, I received a very enticing e-mail in my inbox and looks like we might indeed be getting some Palm Pre news soon.

On Thursday, March 12, Sprint and Palm will co-host a Webcast centered around the Pre, complete with a demo by Fared Adib, vice president of Sprint Device Operations & Logistics, and Matt Crowley, product line manager at Palm. According to the e-mail, they will also highlight three key differentiators that make the Pre a "standout in the smartphone device category."

The Webcast starts at 11 a.m. Pacific on March 12, with 20 minutes scheduled for the presentation and 20 minutes allowed for questions and answers. It's not clear whether Palm and Sprint will release any new information or if it will be just heating up what was already out there.

Nokia N97 to Hit the Market this March

Nokia’s latest touchscreen N97 is said to hit in March this year. It’s a touchscreen like 5800 Xpress slapped on a Nokia N Series mobile. May not be attractive as you might imagine it, but when Nokia does it, you get a shiny piece of beauty that is the N97. A full QWERTY keyboard slides out from under the 3.5 inch touchscreen so you can conveniently type at a whim.



So what else is packed inside this killer phone? Aside from the 3.5-inch 640×360 touchscreen display with tactile feedback, it also comes with a 5-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss glass lens, HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth, A-GPS, 32GB internal memory upgradeable to 48GB via microSD (a space of about 12,000 tunes), and support for additional storage of up to 16GB via microSD. And introducing SoLo or Social Location, a social networking cum mapping software. SoLo sends your location to friends using GPS where you can attach pics and videos. It does lack DVB-H technology that’s found in the N96, I’m sure most users wouldn’t mind that small feature for the N97’s existing feature set.The Nokia N97 could so far be the best N Series yet.

Nokia N97 and iPhone Duel



Look & Feel

The Nokia N97 measures 117.2 (L) x 55.3 (W) x 15.9mm (D) compared to the iPhone 3G's 115.5 (H) x 62.1 (W) x 12.3mm (D); the N97 weighs 150g compared to the iPhone 3G's 133g. All pretty similar. The N97 obviously has the slide out QWERTY keyboard and features a tilting touchscreen, whereas the iPhone 3G is a single, static unit.

Screen

The iPhone 3G's 320 x 480 3:2 ratio screen is eclipsed by the Nokia N97's true widescreen (16:9) 640 x 360 pixels. Both measure 3.5 inches diagonally. Nokia definitely wins on this one, as not only will TV/DVD based widescreen movies fill the whole screen, but there's more resolution.

Camera

Again, the N97 wins hands down on the camera front, offering five megapixels, Carl Zeiss Tessar optics, and a LED flash / video light. Yes, video. The N97 will shoot video at DVD quality (30fps). The iPhone 3G, by comparison, has no video functionality and a paltry 2MP camera with no flash or focus.

Multimedia

Both handsets are heavyweights when it comes to consuming multimedia content, with both phones loyal to their companies' services - the iPhone 3G obviously has access to a huge range of content via the iTunes Store, with all other content having to go via iTunes. The N97 has access to the Nokia Music Store.

Both can play a wide variety of audio formats, but the N97 manages WMA on top of MP3, AAC, eAAC and eAAC+.

Both play variations of the MPEG4 video format, but the N97 also supports Windows Media 9 and Flash Lite/Flash Video via the Internet browser.

Navigation

The iPhone 3G utilises A-GPS and Google Maps, plus any third-party applications which use geo-location data, while the Nokia N97 has A-GPS and an electronic compass and uses Nokia Maps.

Google Maps offers 3D views of selected cities, driving, limited public transport and walking directions.

Nokia Maps offers multimedia city guides and navigation services, voice-guided car navigation, pedestrian-optimised guidance.

The N97 wins on navigation functionality, as the Nokia Maps system does seem to offer a wider range of options, however individual usage will vary depending on location.

Communications

Both phones offer HSDPA and Wi-Fi connectivity. The N97 has the full Bluetooth 2.0 A2DP implementation whereas the iPhone 3G has only basic Bluetooth.

Web Browsing

Both handsets offer full access to Internet web sites, but the Nokia N97 offers support for Flash Lite 3.0 and Flash Video, so will be able to render pages more fully than the iPhone which doesn't. It's not immediately clear from the specs whether the N97 offers in-browser Java support, the iPhone 3G doesn't.

Operating System

The initial Nokia N97 specifications don't explicitly mention which operating system is being used, but I presume, as an NSeries phone, it's Symbian-based. The iPhone 3G uses OS X.

Storage

The iPhone 3G comes with either 8GB or 16GB of fixed storage with no external expansion. The Nokia N97 comes with a whopping 32GB of internal memory plus up to 16GB of microSD expansion.


Applications

iPhone 3G users have access to the standard range of useful applications plus a host of free and pay-for applications in the iPhone App Store via iTunes.

Assuming no restrictions, users will be able to install Symbian-based applications onto the Nokia N97.


Pricing & Networks

Pricing and networks have not yet been announced for the Nokia N97, thought it's expected to have a pre-subsidy price of €599 (about £465).

Conclusion

Technically, the Nokia N97 beats the iPhone 3G in nearly every area - screen resolution, camera, web browser, video capability, storage - but of course it's an ewer handset.

Don't be surprised to see Apple announcing a third generation iPhone soon.

There's a lot of buzz surrounding the N97, and rightly so, but will its superior specs beat the "I want one" iPhone factor?

Time will tell. Do you want your phone to be Apple-flavoured or Nokia-flavoured? And what about the price - both are going to be fairly hefty and/or require a serious contract.

Google-Android Samsung Phones Due Later This Year

According to Robert X. Cringely, Samsung is readying not one, but two separate Android-based phones, one of which is due in September, with another model following around Christmas (I'm readying my Android Christmas wrappers ready!). According to sources, these phones will not be labeled Samsung, rather they will be released as Google-branded gPhones. The model released in the Fall will be a "higher-end" model which apparently looks "somewhat like a Blackberry Pearl" but with a screen that flips and "a keyboard for texting" (makes sense, as the Pearl has a keyboard). The second device will be a cheaper model (under $100), and will likely be released after the holidays. Of course, right now this is just speculation -- given the large gap of time between now and September, these plans could be completely rearranged or nixed altogether... even if they are accurate.