MobileWorldCongress2010
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Opera Mini on iPhone is fast, but why?
We came, we saw, and we're still scratching our heads over what Opera is up to with its Mobile World Congress demonstration of its Opera Mini browser running on the iPhone 3GS. But before we get into that, let's talk performance: it's fast. Opera Mini is very, very fast on the iPhone. Loading the New York Times, for example, was about 5x faster than loading the same page in the iPhone 3GS' stock browser. Pages loaded smoothly and were interactive just as quickly as the content began to load -- not unlike the Safari browsing experience. From a functionality standpoint, Opera Mini operates exactly as it does on other, less-contentious platforms. So while double-tap to zoom is supported, pinch-to-zoom is not. The iPhone version does, however, remember the state of the browser when you exit Opera Mini. As such, you'll find your tabs and recent pages right where they were when you last used the app. The impressive performance gain has to do with how Opera Mini works. First, it's not doing any rendering of the pages or code processing locally. Web pages are processed by Opera's servers before sending just the results to the iPhone. Not only does this speed up the local processing but it also limits the amount of data sent -- a potential big money saver for people browsing while data roaming (like us in Barcelona) or for those without unlimited data plans. Unfortunately, Opera refused to let us or anyone photograph the app or take any video of it in action. We couldn't even photograph the Opera icon in the launch bar or the wallpaper adorned with the Opera logo. Why? It looks just like Opera Mini beta on any other device so it's not like we're exposing any competitive intelligence. And it's not like Opera would be violating any Apple NDA related to the SDK or the app approval process. Unfortunately, Opera was unable to give us a valid reason other than, "you just can't." So why is Opera making such a fuss about this before it has even submitted to Apple for approval? We have three theories that we discussed with Igor Netto, Senior Product Manager within Opera's Mobile group. Click through if you like conspiracies.
ZTE and OKWAP team with Intivation to deliver next generation solar devices
Let's be honest, we'd scorch the Earth to eke just one more hour of power from our superphones. Fortunately, as residents of the western world we've got plenty of juice to power all of our gadgets. Still, we can definitely see the attraction of a solar-powered cellphone meant for the peoples of developing nations living off the grid. Throw in a flashlight and you've just changed somebody's life. That's what we've got in the ZTE S316, a dead simple candybar with color display and torch. Also announced is the S101 charger with its own built-in flashlight that can be used to charge select, non-solar devices and costs just $12 to $13, maybe less on volume. The third solar device comes from China's OKWAP and is built by Inventec. The $40 GS109 (pictured above) feature phone is destined, believe it or not, to be an object of ultimate desire when slung from the neck on a lanyard as proof of ones prosperity. Spec-wise, this dual-SIM solar-powered phone packs a video camera, color display, microSD slot, MP3 player, and even Bluetooth 2.1 -- a lot of features for a solar phone. Linking the three devices is Intivations SunBoost solar conversion technology allowing the devices to charge in conditions less than ideal. The ZTE S316, for example, draws a max of about 113mA when on a call, while the solar cell pumps out about 50mA to 60mA of juice depending upon the natural lighting conditions (it even charges when cloudy). That's about two minutes of natural light exposure required for every minute of talk time to keep the device going. The solar cell on the GS109, meanwhile, produces about 70mA in direct sunlight to keep the device humming. Remember, the idea isn't to charge a phone from 0% to full but to keep a device continually charged at about 70% to 80%. Intivation is so confident in its tech that it claims to provide "a far better charging experience than anything else on the market today." Both the S316 and S101 charger will be available in April while the relatively swank GS109 will hit next month. See them all in the gallery below. %Gallery-85611%
XPAL's Solar Egg charges to 90% in four hours of mild sunlight
Unlike many solar devices that require an abundance of intense sunlight to be useful, XPAL's new Solar Egg does its thing even in "medium levels of natural light." The magic SunBoost solar conversion technology is supplied by a company called Intivation from The Netherlands, a country that's not exactly know for its tropical weather. XPAL claims that the internal 500mAh battery can be charged at over 90% capacity in just four hours of average sunlight exposure and can detect a "wide range of devices" like MP3 players and digital cameras to provide the appropriate level of power for charging. It'll ship next month to select regions -- where that is we can only guess for now.
Samsung Beam (Halo) Android projector phone hands-on
Well here it is, Samsung's pico projector phone live and in the flesh here at Mobile World Congress. And surprise surprise, it's running Android 2.1 with a TouchWiz 3.0 skin just as we heard. The only difference is the name: Halo is the codename, the official product name announced today is Beam. As a smartphone with integrated pico projector it's very impressive. However, as you can see from the pictures and video (it's coming), the 6 lumen brightness struggles even under the semi-controlled lighting demonstration set up here on the show floor in Barcelona. Samsung tells us that the TouchWiz implementation is nearly identical to what you'll find on Bada with "very small" differences. Unfortunately, the people we spoke with on the show floor weren't able to articulate exactly what those were. To us, having only used the two devices for a short period of time, they do look identical. Beam features a nice pass through trick that allows it to project the image seen by the 5 megapixel camera through the TI pico. Not sure how we'd use that in real life but it's a neat trick nonetheless. Now click into the gallery and prepare to be amazed at just how thin a smartphone with integrated projector can be while we wait for the summer launch. Update: Video is now after the break. %Gallery-85517%
Adobe confirms no Flash in Windows Mobile 7 (updated)
Look, it's pretty clear that Windows Mobile 7 will be revealed by Microsoft at Mobile World Congress. We've been feeding on a veritable feast of WinMo7 rumors for several months now all pointing to Steve Ballmer's keynote scheduled for 3PM Barcelona time (9AM in New York). Now Adobe has issued a statement apparently confirming what we've already heard: Windows Mobile 7 will not support Flash. Unfortunately, the actual quote carried by Phone Scoop doesn't mention Windows Phone 7: "Microsoft and Adobe are working closely together. While the newest version of Windows Phone won't support Flash at initial availability, both companies are working to include a browser plug-in for the full Flash player in future versions of Windows Phone. More details will be shared at Microsoft MIX next month." Of course, the "newest version of Windows Phone" is technically 6.5.3 -- a WinMo update recently announced (but hasn't shipped) and presumably still works with Flash 10.1 beta (but isn't guaranteed). And since we can't find the Adobe statement on any of its usual press channels, we can't say for sure this quote is related to Windows Mobile 7. Still, we don't doubt the accuracy of Phone Scoop so don't get your hopes up for Flash in the initial builds of Windows Mobile 7 Windows Phone 7 Series devices. Update: Sorry kids, we have independent confirmation: Windows Phone 7 will not support Flash at initial launch.
Samsung i8520 'Halo' Android 2.1 phone with 3.7-inch Super AMOLED and pico projector (updated)
While Samsung is desperate for us and the world to focus on its very first Bada device -- the Wave S8500 -- we found something a bit more interesting for Google fans. Tucked away in the depths of a spec sheet is Samsung's unannounced i8520 phone running Android 2.1. After quizzing a team of perplexed executives of increasing rank, a VP from Samsung's mobile division finally told us that it'll be revealed as the "Halo" tomorrow when the show floor opens. Looking at the spec sheet then, the i8520 Halo packs a 3.7-inch WVGA Super AMOLED display (bigger than the Wave's 3.3-incher), 8 megapixel autofocus camera with flash (VGA on the front), 720p / 30fps video encoding / decoding, DivX and Xvid playback support, Bluetooth 2.1, standard 3.5mm headphone jack, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, A-GPS, 16GB of internal storage and microSD expansion, stereo speakers, DLNA support, and -- get this -- a DLP pico projector integrated. The spec-sheet also lists a "Specialized Projector UI" as one of the features, suggesting it'll look a little different when you toss it up onto the big screen. This quad-band GSM / EDGE phone with tri-band UMTS 900 / 1900 / 2100 will ship in Q3 to Europe and Asia with a chance for a US version at some point later. We'll bring you more tomorrow just as soon as we get through all this paella. Note: Even though the i8520 clearly seems to run the same UI as the Bada-powered Wave, we've been assured by multiple people in Samsung -- including a VP in the Mobile division -- that it is, in fact, running Android 2.1. That ties in nicely with the fact that Bada's graphical representation comes through as a new cut of TouchWiz, so it makes sense these guys would want to port the same look and feel to other platforms. Also of note is the fact that we couldn't confirm from the company that it's got a projector on board, but there's plenty of evidence to suggest it does: the so-called Specialized Projector UI, the fact that the 14.9mm girth is likely thick enough to swallow the necessary optics, and -- of course -- the big DLP logo on back. We'll bring out the final details just as soon as we know 'em. Update: Images confirm it, Halo is a projector phone!%Gallery-85474%
Engadget is live from MWC 2010!
That's right, we just arrived in Barcelona fattened up on airline food and as rested as 8 hours of recirculated oxygen consumed at a 30-degree incline can provide. Weary? No way, we're staring Mobile World Congress 2010 in the face, and if you're a smartphone nerd (and really, what modern gadget fan isn't?) then this is the event that will reveal our future handheld device purchases. So what's going to happen? Windows Mobile 7 seems like a lock as is a Samsung Bada debut with the Wave handset. But what are HTC, Sony Ericsson, Nokia and the rest of the industry up to? We'll find out soon enough -- press events begin tomorrow.
Samsung S8500 Wave caught in a spigot of leaks
Trust in yourself, son, the increase in smartphone news that you sense is not imagined, it's very very real. Mobile World Congress is about to kick off in Barcelona which means we're just hours away from being knee-deep in the stuff. One of the most anticipated devices is the Samsung Wave, first spotted on billboards around Barcelona yesterday. The anticipation is warranted for 2 reasons. First, this 3.3-inch candybar slate is presumably sporting Samsung's new Super AMOLED which should help with outdoor viewing. And b, it's the first phone to run Samsung's new Bada smartphone OS... yes, another one, developers. According to Daily Mobile, the Wave S8500 brings a1GHz processor, 5 megapixel autofocus camera with flash, 720p video recording to 2GB of internal memory or microSD expansion, 802.11b/g/n WiFi and HSDPA data, DivX video support, and a 3.5-mm audio jack in a device measuring 10.9-mm thick. Unfotunately, we can't confirm any of those specs yet (wait until Sunday's press event) -- the pics, however, certainly match up with what we've already seen. We've dropped in a few choice shots after the break, the rest are at Daily Mobile in the link below. [Thanks, Daniel]
Garmin-Asus nuvifone A50 runs Android, knows where you are turn-by-turn
The long rumored Nuvifone jump to Android is here just as we get set to kick off Mobile World Congress next week. Garmin and ASUS claim that the A50 brings "more location technology than any other smartphone" with a plethora of location-aware apps making use of a highly sensitive (though unnamed) GPS receiver. Spec-wise, the A50 packs a 3.5-inch HVGA (that's 480x320 pixels, presumably) capacitive touchscreen with custom, finger-friendly UI, 4GB of internal storage with microSD expansion, and accelerometer for the usual portrait to landscape mode flip. The A50 uses satellite, network-based, and terrestrial sources to quickly zero in on your location and comes pre-loaded with Garmin turn-by-turn navigation, lane assist with junction view, and maps -- no need to download them over the network (and risk data dead spots), eh Google. In fact, it's ready for in-vehicle (ships with car mount and vehicle power cable) or pedestrian navigation out of the box. The A50 also brings on-device sync with Microsoft Exchange server and includes all the usual Google mobile services like search by voice, Maps with Street View, Gmail, YouTube, and Android Market. Rounding things out are a multitouch WebKit-based browser and 3 megapixel autofocus camera that automatically geo-tags your snaps. The A50 will launch in Europe in the first half of 2010 though pricing has not been announced. We're still digging for more specs but will definitely be back with a detailed hands-on from Barcelona next week. Update: We have an insider telling us that the device runs Android 1.6 (something we've seen before) and uses Qualcomm's gpsOne platform for SatNav. Makes sense, but we won't be able to confirm until we meet with Garmin-Asus next week at MWC.
Unearthed Microsoft emails reveal reaction to iTunes launch, make us giddy for MWC
It's a funny thing, really. iTunes has somehow managed to become the world's largest seller of music in just seven years, yet it's easily one of the buggiest, most resource intensive and altogether unlikable pieces of software to ever come from the labs of Cupertino. From Microsoft's perspective, however, they're really just interested in the first bit, and in particular, why it wasn't able to take advantage of the market opportunity in the way Jobs and company did. Groklaw managed to dig up a handful of email chains that were made public after the Comes v. Microsoft antitrust litigation, and the content is nothing short of eye-opening. One particular snippet from Bill Gates was exceptionally juicy, as he noted (in a number of words) that Apple had somehow managed to "get a better licensing deal than anyone else has gotten for music." Jim Allchin's terse reply consisted of two statements, one of which was "we were smoked." Frankly, this unearthing couldn't have come at a better time. With Mobile World Congress about to get going in Barcelona, we're waiting on pins and needles to see what kind of music innovation is being veiled in the purported Windows Mobile 7 introduction. If you'll recall, we already heard that many elements from the Zune HD interface would be making their way onto the mobile side, and there's hardly a better time to really give iTunes a run for its money than mid-February 2010. Dig into the links below for more on the 2003 revelation -- it's a hoot, we tell ya.
Opera Mini for iPhone to be revealed next week, available never
Here's a guaranteed way to drum up support for an upcoming press event: claim the impossible. Opera just announced a press and partner preview of its Opera Mini browser for the iPhone at Mobile World Congress. You read that right -- for the iPhone. Of course, the real intent of this stunt is to draw our incredulous attention to Opera's Mobile and Mini browsers running on platforms where the software is actually released like Symbian, Windows Mobile, and Android. Besides, as good as the Mini browser is, it, like Mobile Safari, doesn't support Flash. And since Apple isn't likely to approve any browser that duplicates functionality it already provides, really, what's the point of all this? A Cydia store release?
Samsung's first Bada phone with Super AMOLED to be announced on February 14th? Sure.
By now you're undoubtedly aware than Samsung has a new smartphone OS (Bada) and touchscreen technology (Super AMOLED) in the works. In this case, putting 2 and 2 together yields 14, a number that matches Samsung's February 14th press event at Mobile World Congress. How so? Well, first of all, Sammy is promoting the Samsung Unpacked teaser page from its Bada site. The ocean-themed teaser ("bada" means "ocean" in Korean) says, "on 2.14 a new mobile from Samsung is born. See it first in Barcelona." A quick look at the teaser site's source reveals the keywords "Bada," "smartphone," and "AMOLED." In other words, you can bet that Samsung will be unveiling a 3.3-inch, 800 x 480 pixel Super AMOLED (already rumored for a next week reveal) touchscreen Bada phone on February 14th. P.S. The image above comes courtesy of GSM Arena. While the site won't say what the device is on the left it's clearly running Samsung's Bada UI and is likely AMOLED judging by those deep blacks. The display is also slightly smaller than the iPhone 3G's 3.5-inch display. Gee... what could it be?
Samsung's first 'Super AMOLED' phone to debut next week?
Remember Samsung's new 3.3-inch AMOLED with embedded touch-controls? If not then you'd better go back and brush up on your display tech because the first Samsung phone using the new 800 x 480 pixel "Super AMOLED" display is said to be getting a reveal next week at the big Mobile World Congress show. The panel is claimed to be five times "clearer" and offer 20% better visibility when used outside -- the biggest weakness of existing AMOLED devices like the Zune HD and Nexus One. We're also going to guess that the new device will be running Samsung's new Bada OS at the time of the reveal -- but that's not exactly a stretch.
TI's OMAP4 prototype drives three independent displays without breaking a sweat
It's been a long, long while since we've seen any life from the OMAP4 labs at Texas Instruments, but with the sudden resurgence of the tablet, now seems just about right for the company to start showcasing the platform's prowess once more. TI is expected to have a mind-bending showcase at Mobile World Congress later this month, but Slashgear was able to get a sneak peek at what's to come at the outfit's Dallas office. The device you're peering at above definitely piqued our interest, as it's some sort of twin-screened handheld that can actually support a third independent display courtesy of an integrated pico projector module. We're told that OMAP4 will bring along dual 1GHz ARM A9 cores, patently ridiculous battery life figures (145 hours of MP3 playback with a 1,000mAh battery) and support for 1080p output via HDMI. Naturally, TI has no intention of ever bringing this piece of hardware to market, but it'd certainly love if some other firm stepped in and did so. Here's hoping we're overrun by potential suitors in Barcelona -- given that the show kicks off on Valentine's Day, we'd say the timing would be just about perfect.
Windows Mobile 7 roadmap elucidated, starts with MWC 2010 demo
You know, January is all but expired now. Gone are the heady (or is that headless?) days of CES 2010, and we're nearly past the rumor euphoria of the decade, so what do we have to look forward to? According to CNET's sources, WinMo 7. This year. Sure, we heard as much from DigiTimes, but it's always good to put a more legitimate source to what is quite the juicy forecast. Confirmation that Microsoft is planning to finalize all code by this summer also meshes with an earlier leak of an LG Windows Mobile 7 handset set for a September release, while the latest Pink phone rumors are also reiterated. At any rate, it all kicks off in Barcelona come February 15, with Microsoft also circling its MIX 2010 web development conference a month later as the time it'll start dishing the dirt on how to code for the new OS. So there we have it, new consumer phones and a long overdue WinMo overhaul all coming to you within the next few months.
Zune 'Phone' devices listed in latest software update
Whoa, what's this? The so-called Zune software maintenance release has a trio of Phone device drivers tucked away inside the Zune.inf file according to Long Zheng over at istartedsomething. And similar to the three devices listed representing the three types of Zunes, we have three Phone.DeviceDesc placeholders for three unannounced (Pink and WinMo 6.x/7?) phones presumably running premium Zune media services. We expect Microsoft will come clean at Mobile World Congress starting February 15th. We'll be there live which means that you will be too.
Windows Mobile 7 rumors coalesce around Q4 launch, MWC announcement
While DigiTimes isn't our go-to source for all things Microsoft, the Taiwanese tattler does have its finger on the pulse of the Taiwanese / Chinese manufacturing juggernaut. As such, we expect it to be privy to information related to HTC, Acer, and ASUS handsets. So lean in close when it cites "sources familiar to Microsoft's roadmap" in claiming a September 2010 release of Windows Mobile 7 to its handset partners -- the same month pegged by that LG leak last week. That should translate into consumer availability by the end of Q4, or Q1 2011 at the latest. As it's stated, WinMo7 will bring an improved interface, browsing, and multimedia experience with integrated support for Zune, Xbox Live, and Silverlight; nothing we haven't heard before (and long wished for). DigiTimes claims that only English and "common European languages" will be available initially with Asian localization coming in 2011. Oh, and it'll be announced at Mobile World Congress. One thing's clear: the rapid convergence of the rumor mill around dates and feature sets has us very excited about Microsoft's chances at resurrecting its smartphone soul in time for the holidays. As such, we'll be at Mobile World Congress in force to bring you the full story starting February 15th. It's going to be good.
Nokia to have private Connecting People event alongside Mobile World Congress
CES 2010 might be just around the corner, but it sounds like Nokia's next big move might be at Mobile World Congress in February. Well, not quite at MWC: Espoo actually pulled out of the tradeshow earlier this year, but now we're hearing that there will be a private Connecting People event in Barcelona on the first and second days of MWC. That's particularly interesting because one of the reasons Nokia pulled out of MWC was to increase focus on its own Nokia World conference, so we're guessing nothing major will be coming out in Spain -- but we can't help but agree with this poignant Babelfish translation of Engadget Spanish's post on the same subject: "Fulfilled mission, Nokia: you have been able to attract our curiosity."
HTC Passion runs Android on 3.5-inch OLED and Snapdragon in Verizon's early 2010?
Ever since the WinMo-powered HTC HD2 started to drip, drip onto our pages in the form of leaked images and details, we've been asking ourselves one question: where's the Android version? And while we've heard whispers of a supposed Snapdragon-based Dragon device running Android ever since early October, we're left to rely on Motorola's Droid / Milestone to fulfill our Android 2.0 dreams this holiday season. And if DigiTimes is correct, that picture likely won't change until early 2010. Taiwanese DigiTimes' sources have its Taiwan-based neighbor launching its Passion handset running Android 2.0 (or even 2.1 by then) on a 1GHz Snapdragon chipset with 3.5-inch multitouch OLED display sometime in early 2010 (not 2009 as previously tipped) as HTC continues to tweak the device's software. And if previous rumors are true then this CDMA variant of Dragon will be making its debut on Verizon at that time. DigiTimes' sources also claim that HTC will announce a QWERTY-toting Android device, possibly named Espresso, at the huge Mobile World Congress event in February. Of course, all this is rumor for now so hold tight as HTC's roadmap unfolds.
