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Nokia N900 revealed in Nseries presentation? (Update: probably not)
We're not sure how we missed this, but it seems the Nokia N900 (aka "Rover") was not only mentioned, but visually detailed in some candor during an Nseries presentation way back in October of last year. If you fast forward to about the three-minute mark in this video, Nokia's next-gen, Maemo 5-powered internet tablet is seen doing its thing, and it differs in a few key details from the last leak -- most noticeably, it's got a big d-pad on the left just like its predecessor and there's no sign of an earpiece for making calls over the rumored 3G radio. In fact, it really just looks like a whited-out N810, which makes us wonder whether this isn't purely conceptual, especially considering the age of the video. Either way, the N810's aging rapidly and the territory's rapidly being encroached on by MIDs of all shapes and sizes, so we imagine we'll see this get launched soon enough -- maybe on T-Mobile USA of all carriers, if the rumors pan out. Follow the break for the full video.[Thanks, CanisMinor]Update: We're being told that this was little more than a student-led art project -- and it's one hell of an art project, considering that it looks every bit as slick as Nokia's official marketing. Thanks, Ryan A.!
Sony Ericsson C901 and Naite GreenHeart phones can make a hippy smile
Hear about the green feel-good bandwagon? Yeah, well Sony Ericsson's on it, straw hat and all. Meet the first GreenHeart products bent on sustainability: the Nait and C901 GreenHeart candybars, MH300 GreenHeart headset, and EP300 GreenHeart charger. The GreenHeart label means reduced packaging, recycled plastics, waterborne paints, and an electronic in-phone manual instead of a paper booklet. The Naite even includes an Ecomate application with Carbon Footprint Calculator that shows how much CO2 you're saving while walking your fields of organic tie-dye ink. As for the phones, the C901 brings a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with Xenon flash and smile shutter tech when it lands in Q2 (hey, that ends this month) supporting GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 UMTS/HSPA 900/2100 frequencies. Naite scales things back with a 2 megapixel camera, a 2.2-inch 240x320 pixel display, and GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 UMTS HSPA 850/1900/2100 band support when it hits in Q3. And hey, if they make lousy phones you can probably just smoke 'em.
Nokia 5630 XpressMusic bows across Europe
If you've been desperately seeking a phone that could best be described as the Nokia E52's misbehaving younger brother who can't hold a job and spends most of his time in his mom's basement blaring death metal, look no further than the 5630 XpressMusic. The phone's essentially an E52 clone that's had some of its uptight bits swapped out for funkier ones (just look at that wild keyboard, for instance), emphasizing the music capabilities but toning down some of the productivity goodies like advanced profile support and integrated Nokia Messaging. Interested parties in many European locales can now latch onto a unit of their own -- take Nokia Finland's online store here, for example, where it's selling for a totally reasonable €255 (about $360). No sign of an American release at this point.[Via All About Symbian]
Mexican 3G auction could bring in $1.5B, depending on bidders' moods
Mexico's prepping for a big auction of purpose-built 3G spectrum in the 1700 and 1900MHz bands toward the end of the year, and at least one big-time investment group, Banamex, believes that could net as much as $1.5 billion for the government when everything's said and done. The estimate actually runs from $1 billion to $1.5 billion depending on the number of bidders that ultimately decide to participate and which side of the bed they woke up on that morning, but any way you slice it, it's a nice chunk of change (for comparison's sake, Canada's AWS auction brought in CAD $4.2 billion -- about $3.86 billion). Telcel, Telefonica, and NII are all said to be virtual locks to place bids, while Mexico's number-three operator -- Iusacell -- may sit this one out considering its less-than-stellar financial situation and a stash of spare spectrum that it already has at its disposal. Before you start any wild rumors that a foreign company might swoop in and shake things up, be warned -- Banamex says that's highly unlikely considering failed attempts to bust into the Mexican market by Verizon, Voda, and France Telecom in the past.
Samsung's Pixon 12: a dozen megapixels of cameraphone nonsense in June
After failing to show at Mobile World Congress event in February, Samsung's rumored 12 megapixel cameraphone has finally arrived. Meet the Pixon 12 and its 3.1-inch AMOLED touchscreen with a Sammy promise of fast shutter speeds and quick browsing. As a camera, the Pixon 12 (M8910) brings a dedicated shutter button, touch auto-focus (wherever you touch becomes the focal point) that locks in to track moving subjects, Smart Auto mode changing depending upon conditions, and 28-mm wide angle lens. The unit also saves images relatively quickly (for a cameraphone) so that you can fire off the next shot within 2 seconds. Just remember, more megapixels do not make for better photos especially when jammed tightly into a sensor small enough for a cellphone. And 12 megapixels translates to files ranging from 2MB to 18MB and beyond depending on the compression used (Samsung doesn't say). So ask yourself: is it really worth the storage space and the associated delays when uploading images to Samsung's Share Pix service (with Facebook, Picasa, Flickr integration) over the Pixon 12's built-in WiFi and HSUPA data? No rush, you've got time to decide -- Pixon 12 will be hitting Europe in late June, other regions sometime in August. One more pic after the break.Update: Full specs just came in: 150MB on-board storage (MicroSD expansion); quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, HSPA 900/2100MHz; Xenon + Power LED flash; 720 x 480 pixel videos at 30fps; internal GPS, and FM radio with RDS.
Ericsson's fashion-forward W30 series 3G routers get detailed
It's not every day that we use "Ericsson," "sexy," and "3G router" all in the same sentence, so you can understand our excitement upon learning everything there is to know about the company's new W30 and W35 models. Calling it "3G" might be an understatement, actually -- these bad boys will do a purely theoretical 7.2Mbps down and 2.0Mbps up on three hair-raising HSPA bands in addition to quadband EDGE. Both models offer 802.11b / g and four Ethernet ports for routing that high-speed WWAN data however you see fit, and the W35 ups the ante by throwing two RJ11 ports on board for VoIP connectivity. The W35 looks to be shipping in early June, so clear a nice little feng shui spot on your kitchen counter where it can sit, get friendly compliments from the neighbors, and enhance your calm. [Thanks, Scott H.]
Sony Ericsson's Satio and Aino get handled, Remote Play makes the Aino PSP-like -- minus the games
Folks are already starting to get a look at production versions (well, closer to production than at MWC, anyhow) of the Sony Ericsson Satio and its baby sister, the Aino -- and even if you're not a fan of the joint venture's wares, it's hard not to appreciate what it's brought to the table here. The Satio looks identical to its Idou doppelganger -- albeit now in three colors instead of two -- but the real news here is inside, where we're finally getting a look at Sony Ericsson's interpretation of Symbian^1 with a unique UI. Overall, it's looking "chunky" (and we mean that in a good way) with an entirely finger-friendly presentation -- a sharp, healthy departure from the UIQ platform that it just threw in the dumpster a few months back.Though the Satio's higher end, it's actually the Aino that intrigues us more; in a way, this is the closest thing to a "PSP phone" that Sony Ericsson has ever produced, largely on account of its support for Sony Remote Play which funnels PlayStation 3-stored media content down over WiFi or your cellular connection. Sadly though, "media content" doesn't include games; Sony Ericsson is billing the phone strictly as a multimedia-heavy non-gaming phone, so calling it a PSP phone in practice would be a huge frickin' misnomer. The phone includes a dock that syncs media wirelessly to your PC when connected -- hot -- and from a distance, it seems to be just about the sexiest phone Sony Ericsson's ever made. It's not clear what carriers will be offering either of these, but as usual, we've got to bet against the North Americans.Read - Satio hands-onRead - Aino hands-on
Sony Ericsson adds Yari and Aino to its multimedia line
Launch details for the Satio was the 800-pound news gorilla out of Sony Ericsson today, but slotting in right underneath that set are another couple of phones that are still very much in the higher end of the range -- the Yari and Aino. The Yari slider (pictured left) is being billed as a gaming device, featuring gesture-controlled actions in the same vein as the Wii (and for the record, that's Sony Ericsson's comparison as much as it is ours). It features a 2.4-inch display, GPS, and support for the company's PlayNow services; it'll be available in the fourth quarter for about €400 ($558) unlocked. Next up, the Aino takes some cues from the Satio with a relatively large 3-inch touchscreen -- but also tosses in a numeric slider for good measure. It's got an 8.1 megapixel cam, Sony Remote Play support, GPS, HSPA, and a scratch-resistant mineral glass display; it'll be ready to rock in the same timeframe as the Yari in black and white, though we don't have pricing stats just yet -- needless to say, it'll be more than the Yari.[Via SEMC Blog]
Sony Ericsson Satio is Idou's final name, ships in October
It's been announced today that the Symbian-powered Idou unveiled at Mobile World Congress earlier this year will be coming to market as the "Satio." The full 640 x 350 3.5-inch touchscreen device features a whopping 12.1 megapixel camera, dual-band HSPA, microSD expansion (yes, microSD, not Memory Stick Micro), and a xenon flash. It'll be available in three colors -- black, silver, and bordeaux -- this October.[Via SEMC Blog]
So long, HSPA+: AT&T "likely" moving straight from 7.2Mbps to LTE
At Mobile World Congress, AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega had mentioned to us that AT&T was "better off" than Verizon thanks to 3GPP Release 7's capabilities to extend existing HSPA infrastructure through to 21Mbps and beyond by using the wonders of HSPA+ before the company would need to bite the bullet and get moving on LTE. We're not sure whether Big Red's aggressive LTE plans have AT&T rethinking its strategy or if it just wants to save time, money, and energy by avoiding yet another interim rollout, but we're now being told by a company spokesman that "it's likely that timelines for LTE standards will lead us directly from 7.2 to LTE." He mentions that HSPA+ is "still an option," but at any rate, this is a markedly different tone than we've heard in the past -- even as late as last month -- and if this means we're getting LTE even a single day sooner, we're all for it.
HTC Touch Pro2 hits virtual shelves, unlocked and ready for action
Luckily we've got solid word of HTC's Touch Pro2 headed for all of the majors Stateside, or this would come as a bit more of a blow for the hopelessly selfish Windows Mobile users among us: HTC's QWERTY slider flagship is now available online and unlocked, though its Euro-centric nature means there's no 3G for folks who'd like to use it in the wilds of the United States of America. Still, there's plenty of greatness here outside the HSPA data, and the $800-ish pricetag doesn't seem too unreasonable for what you get. And hey, maybe you live in Europe -- we're not ones to judge.
Nokia next-gen "Rover" tablet unveiled?
After the spec rundown this morning of the long-rumored Maemo 5 tablet from Nokia, we've now got ourselves a potential name and image to pair with the wonderful promise of 3G and OMAP3. According to this shot obtained by Cellpassion, the next-generation Internet Tablet device is taking quite a bit of an N-series turn, with that 3.5-inch WVGA screen (instead of the 4-inch display on the N810), three-row QWERTY keyboard and other refinements making this look to be much more a smartphone than a tablet -- which is presumably exactly what Nokia is going for. Naturally, we can't vouch for the source, and there are enough oddities to the image -- which seems to be gleaned from a presentation slide of some sort -- to voice caution, but if this is truly the marriage of Maemo with handset we've always dreamed of, it's going to be a little difficult to rein in our enthusiasm.
AT&T prepping Option and Sierra Wireless modems for HSPA+ launch
We know that HSPA+ (also known as HSPA Evolution, depending on who you ask and which side of the bed they got up on that morning) is in the mix for AT&T ahead of LTE, and in order to make that launch a successful one, good data cards are a must. It looks like two of the cards coming out of the gate later this year will be the Option 393 -- an unassuming USB modem with a retractable plug and integrated microSD reader -- and the Sierra "Triple Lindy," a dual form factor ExpressCard in the same vein as the AirCard 402. The 393 will top out at 14.4Mbps down and 5.76Mbps up, while the Triple Lindy really burns rubber with 21.1Mbps down and 11.5Mbps up. Of course, all those speeds are purely theoretical -- but if we can even average 10 to 15 percent of that in real life, we're in good shape.
Nokia's N810 successor coming later this year with 3G and Maemo 5?
MobileCrunch claims to have pictures (which it can't publish for security reasons, unfortunately) and complete specs for Nokia's next-gen internet tablet -- and although we don't have any corroborating evidence to back up the story, everything they've got makes perfect sense. We've known for the better part of a year now that Nokia has been planning an OMAP3-based N810 replacement with 3G that would run Maemo 5, and that's exactly what this new device seems to be with a 3.5-inch wide VGA display, WiFi, full HSPA, 32GB of onboard storage expandable to 48GB (presumably via microSD), and -- get this -- a 5 megapixel AF camera with dual LED flash. GSM voice and VoIP are both in the cards, making this the closest thing yet to a Maemo-powered phone -- and in a sick, twisted way, the 5 megapixel camera plus sliding keyboard almost put it in direct competition with the upcoming N97. Indeed, carriers are taking direct interest in this thing, with T-Mobile apparently interested both in Europe and the States; it seems we could expect a European release as soon as July, with T-Mobile USA nabbing it in an AWS 3G flavor closer to fall. Makes an eventual divorce from S60 all that much more plausible for Nokia, doesn't it?
Sony Ericsson Kokura spotted, but is it different from the Idou?
The same poorly-lit source offering up the first picture of a Verizon-branded HTC Touch Pro2 has come to the table with a device claimed to be the Sony Ericsson "Kokura," which looks suspiciously like the Idou (we've blown the contrast and brightness on the image to try to get some better definition out of Mr. Blurrycam's fine work). Indeed, the specs are a dead ringer for the Idou's, too, with a 12.1 megapixel camera and S60 5th Edition both said to be in the mix. Granted, Sony Ericsson wants to launch the Idou with the Symbian Foundation's R1 release, but the difference between R1 and S60 5th Edition should be little more than the difference in an old-school S60 Feature Pack, so we're not too worried about it. Question is, is this really just the Idou by a different name? If so, should the fact that there are units in the wild give us hope that a launch isn't too far off? And if not, why is the company making multiple identical devices with similar specs?
HTC's Warhawk and Fortress are AT&T's Touch Diamond2 and Pro2
We know that Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile are all getting versions of the Touch Pro2, but what about little ol' AT&T? Turns out that device is codenamed "Fortress," and it'll accompany a Touch Diamond2 version known as "Warhawk" to market this summer. The Fortress is actually listed as targeted for May 25, which seems a bit unrealistic -- but we think the document we're looking at is a little stale, so we're sure the inevitable delay has crept into the schedule by now. It's expected to launch with WinMo 6.1 AKU6 (presumably upgradeable to 6.5 down the road) with full HSPA on three bands, AGPS, a 3.2 megapixel AF cam, 3.6-inch WVGA display, and Video Share support. Curiously, the bottom of the slide mentions that a "WM 7.X refresh" is in the works with a September 2009 launch date, which underscores the fact that this slide is likely a little old -- there's no way anything running Windows Mobile 7 is hitting this year if 6.5 will just be coming to market in volume toward the holiday season. Meanwhile, the Warhawk -- AT&T's Touch Diamond2 -- gets a 3.2-inch WVGA display, dual-band HSDPA, AGPS, and Video Share, but unlike the Fortress, it's scheduled to launch with Windows Mobile 6.5 installed out of the gate. It's targeted for August 24, so we'll see how closely they can stick to that.
HTC Lancaster is a QWERTY slider with Android for AT&T
AT&T's been extraordinarily coy about its Android plans, right up through our interview with Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega back in February -- but rest assured, the carrier does plan to get in the game, and it might just beat a number of T-Mobile's planned launches to market. Meet the HTC Lancaster, which kinda looks like a Magic when closed -- but open, it takes on more of a traditional Touch Pro-ish form factor for a QWERTY slider than the G1 / Dream. It's got triband EDGE and 850 / 1900MHz HSPA, AGPS, a 3 megapixel fixed-focus camera, Bluetooth 2.0, microSD expansion, and a "unique HTC social messaging user interface" that we'd assume takes cues from that Hero stuff we've been seeing recently. It's lined up for a full six months of AT&T exclusivity and -- according to our materials, anyway -- has a target availability date of August 3, meaning we could see this pretty shortly. Unfortunately, there's a note here that "Initial Lab Entry dates were based on Google Mobile Services (GMS) UI, AT&T standard UI has been requested, which puts schedule in question." In other words, AT&T wants its fingerprints all over the interface, which risks pushing out the launch -- and that's a double whammy of suck. Follow the break for a larger shot of the phone!
HTC Touch Pro2 shipping on June 12?
The Touch Diamond2's been circulating for a little while now, but its more QWERTY-savvy sibling -- the Touch Pro2 -- has yet to hit the market in any official capacity. That looks to be changing pretty shortly, though, with eXpansys UK estimating that its stock will be ready to roll on the 12th of next month. Of course, this is the UK version of the device with a localized charger and all that jazz, but it's safe to assume that if it's available there, it should be available in a variety of other locales within a reasonably short period of time. Naïve of us to think such an outlandish thing, isn't it? [Via wmpoweruser.com]
China Unicom gets rolling with 3G trials
Following China Telecom and China Mobile, China Unicom has now become the last of the big three Chinese operators to begin trials of its 3G network -- christened "Wo" -- with some 55 test markets lighting up this week. Happily, the trials are purely UMTS / HSPA, which means you won't need a pesky, proprietary TD-SCDMA handset to take advantage; unfortunately, though, regular commercial service won't begin until the end of the year. In the meantime, Unicom is expecting an expansion in the September time frame that would see the high-speed service expand to some 284 cities.
Samsung i8910 HD comes to Orange UK
Say what you will about S60 5th Edition, but here's the thing -- of the smartphones in the news today, only one has a massive AMOLED display. Samsung's i8910 HD is almost irrefutably the baddest-ass S60 device ever produced and one of the most heavily-spec'd smartphones ever made for any platform, featuring the aforementioned 3.7-inch 640 x 360 capacitive touchscreen, an 8 megapixel camera, an S60-specific implementation of TouchWiz with 3D enhancements, and HSUPA. Bottom line is that if this phone can't get you worked into a lather, S60 definitely isn't for you -- and lucky Brits now have the opportunity to make that gut check thanks to Orange's retail launch. You can grab it for a totally reasonable £97.50 (about $151) on a £35 per month plan, which seems like a pittance to pay for one of the monster handsets of 2009. [Via All About Symbian]
