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Nokia's 6300 plays fetch with Fido
While the Canadians in the crowd may not have paid too much attention to the the Nokia 6300 review, you should probably take interest now that the handset is making its North American debut on Fido. The tri-band (850 / 1800 / 1900) candybar measures in at a sleek 13.1-millimeters thick, sports a sexy stainless steel motif, and packs modernized features into one of Nokia's most long-standing designs. Among the inclusions are a two-megapixel camera with video recording capability, a 512MB microSD card, Bluetooth, music player, FM tuner, voice dialing, a bundled headset, and a battery that purportedly lasts through 3.5-hours of continuous talking. Best of all, Fido users don't even have to wait for this thing to show up, as the 6300 is available right now for $300 sans a contract, $150 with a two-year deal, or $100 when signing a three-year contract.[Via Cellphones Etc., thanks Branden]
LG / Harris announce In-Band mobile DTV system
Ah, yet another technology that looks oh-so-promising from the onset, but quickly becomes dulled when wading through the technical jargon required to understand it. So is the case with digital television broadcasting, but Harris Corporation and LG Electronics don't seem to mind the complexities involved in establishing a new In-Band Mobile DTV service, as the duo has just announced the means to allow broadcasters to "create new markets and revenue streams" -- but besides all that -- give the end-user yet another option when it comes to TV on the go. Reportedly backwards compatible with A-VSB transmission and receiving equipment, the forthcoming Mobile-Pedestrian-Handheld (MPH) applications should theoretically allow DTV broadcasters to beam signals to set-top-boxes in the home and mobile devices simultaneously via the same antenna. Additionally, this technology enables HD programming to hit the couch-dwelling customers, while bandwidth-starved cellphone users will still get vanilla SD content without relying on new (read: pricey) hardware on the broadcasting end. Unfortunately, we've no idea when mass deployment of this stuff is scheduled, but you can still look forward to "field testing results" as well as mysterious "extra details" to be divulged in a few short weeks.
i-mate's JAQ3 heading stateside
Barely two weeks after i-mate's JAQ3 got previewed, and just a single day after some other firms caught the smartphone blues, the now-dull looking device is headed to American shores. Presumably hoping to grab the business of those who just can't wait for an iPhone, our textual begging was apparently heard, as now we US lads can get a little JAQ in us, too. As expected, this Window Mobile 5-powered device will sport a full QWERTY keyboard, massive D-pad for navigating those menus, 802.11b/g, two-megapixel camera, 2.4-inch touchscreen LCD, 128MB of onboard ROM, 64MB of RAM, a microSD slot, and four hours of reported talk time to boot. You'll also find quad-band GSM and Bluetooth 2.0 (with A2DP) connectivity, EDGE, and a side-mounted scroll wheel for one-handed navigatin'. So if the nicely-featured JAQ3 was everything (keyword: was) you wanted in a smartphone, you can rethink your decision to pick one up when they land here later this month.
Samsung builds on ATSC, develops A-VSB for mobile broadcasting
While Argentina tries to figure out if ISDB or DVB is the way to go, Samsung is giving us North American folk something (else) to cheer about, and it's dubbed A-VSB. Yes, that unfortunately means that you'll have to learn yet another acronym in the world of digital television broadcasting, but if the benefits turn out to be as sweet as they sound, it'll be worth it. Quite simply, Advanced-VSB technology "builds on the current ATSC transmission standard to enhance the ability of receivers to get television broadcasts in motion both indoors and out," and also "eases synchronization of broadcast signal timing of different towers in a Single Frequency Network (SFN)." SFNs are most certainly your friend, as they can improve the signal strength throughout an entire service area, allowing even remote and heavily walled locations to fetch their favorite shows. Possibly the best news about this newfangled development is its backwards compatibility with current digital TV receivers, meaning that potential implementers can't use that excuse when approached by Samsung. Currently, A-VSB is being "standardized in ATSC," and field tests are planned for "early 2007," but here's what you really want to know: implementation should happen shortly after "the first half of the year."
Sony Ericsson rumors aplenty
Member shaliron over at Esato appears to have done some serious homework compiling a list of all known Sony Ericsson handsets in the pipeline, complete with nifty color coding to indicate verified, debunked, and new intelligence. We encourage Sony Ericsson fans and non-fans alike to go check out the real deal, but in the meanwhile, we've put together a Reader's Digest peek here at some of the highlights. First up, the music-oriented Walkman series could be growing by a solid six devices in the coming months, topped off by a successor to the UIQ-based W950 codenamed "Maria," a (possibly UIQ-based) clamshell dubbed W910, and the oft-discussed Ai. The camera-focused (no pun inteded) Cyber-shot series will be enjoying a bumper crop itself: a successor to the K800 is allegedly already in the works, "Sofia," packing a 5 megapixel shooter, UMTS, and QVGA recording, while a possible Handycam-branded M600 variant would obviously reign supreme for its video capabilities. Other highlights include a promise that HSDPA will factor into the company's 2007 plans, a wide-scale migration of the FastPort connector to the sides of the handsets, and a shortening of the span from announcement to release of UIQ-based models (a move we applaud). As we said, there's plenty more juicy tidbits to digest over at Esato -- but even with what we've presented here, it's safe to say Sony Ericsson's shaping up for a killer '07. Any UIQ or 3G love for the US of A, folks?
Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow patch patches Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow
Ubi Soft has released a small patch for their best-selling game Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, bringing the title to version 1.31. The changes are minor, but important enough to have their own patch. According to the release notes the following issues are addressed. "Corrections: In 1.3, Punkbuster disappears if the pb directory was not accessible in read/write - The spy teleportation problem has been corrected." All you really need to know is that you should download it.
