Christian Dior debuts $5,000 mobile phone - Dior cellphone aims at luxury market

Christian Dior has been rumored to be working on a mobile phone for some time, and following on recent speculation the Christian Dior-branded handset could make its debut soon, the Dior phone has gone live. With a $5,000 price tag, we can't imagine anyone outside the comfortable walls of high society will be grabbing a Dior phone anytime soon.

But, for those of you living the Gossip Girl lifestyle, Dior will happily hand over a cellphone to complement your undoubtedly stylish threads. Made by ModeLabs, the $5,000 Dior cellphone sports a touchscreen display and camera. But, more interestingly Dior has included something called "My Dior" with their new handset. The "My Dior" is essentially a USB flash drive-sized mini-cellphone/remote that is meant to be clipped to the outside of a purse. The idea is to make answering phone calls simple and hassle-free using "My Dior," with the main handset standing by to handle more complicated phone-related duties - like SMS text messaging and taking pictures.

Hey, if $5,000 doesn't faze your petty cash fund, you might want to hit up Dior and grab your own Dior phone. You know your self-esteem will appreciate it…

source:http://www.intomobile.com

Compelling Mobile Experience for MOTO Z10 Users

Motorola announced an array of applications from ecosystem partners available now on the MOTO Z10 mobile device ( left ), taking the mobile experience for consumers to a whole new level. MOTO Z10 is a 3G device based on the Symbian OS and UIQ platform that offers a complete, pocket-sized, mobile film studio in a unique ergonomic kick slider design.

Leveraging the strength and momentum of Motorola's developer ecosystem, the MOTO Z10 comes pre-loaded with a selection of software, content and applications which further enhance its capabilities -- from displaying full feature films to capturing, editing and sharing high-quality video clips. In addition to the applications pre-loaded to the MOTO Z10 device, hundreds of applications and content titles have been developed and made available by the broader Symbian and UIQ development community for consumers to discover.

news source : http://www.3g.co.uk/PR/May2008/6056.htm

Asus M930 Review

The Asus M930 is one chunky smartphone, but there is a good reason for its size and weight. From first glance, it looks like an old-fashioned mobile phone. It is large in the pocket and the hand, and the front fascia has a screen and number pad, just like other bar phones. However, turn it sideways and lift a hinge, and it opens up clamshell style to reveal a second inner screen and a full keyboard − think of Nokia’s very popular E90 and you’ll get the idea.

The internal screen looks lost in its wide surroundings, and because it only manages 240x400 pixels, it doesn’t give you a great deal more viewing area than you’d get from an ordinary Windows Mobile Professional smartphone.

The keyboard could be a little wider, but it’s on a par with what you’d expect from other Windows Mobile devices, such as the E-TEN range. There is even space for a navigation button, and Call and End keys.

news source : http://www.3g.co.uk/PR/May2008/Asus_M930_review.htm

Sony Ericsson announces two new HSDPA handsets

Sony Ericsson has introduced two new HSDPA phones into its line-up, the Z780 and G502.

The Z780 is a clamshell and the better equipped of the two, with built-in A-GPS for sat nav, as well as HSDPA for accessing your email and internet at high speeds. The pre-loaded Google Maps application gives users a satellite view of the local area plus listings for local restaurants and hotels.

The handsets also features a 2 megapixel camera with Photo Fix, RSS data feeds, automatic email set up, picture and video blogging and a music player with Mega Bass, PlayNow and TrackID. Sony Ericsson says the handset, which comes in Grand Onyx and Amethyst Silver, will be available in selected markets from Q2 2008.

Meanwhile, the G502 also features HSDPA data speeds and Google Maps, but you'll have to plug in Sony Ericsson's HGE-100 GPS enabler if you want satellite assisted navigation.

The handsets also feature an RSS desktop, automatic email set up, picture and video blogging, a 2 megapixel camera and a music player with PlayNow and TrackID.

The G502, which comes in Champagne Black and Brilliant Hazel, will also be available from Q2 2008.

news source : http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/Sony_Ericsson_announces_two_new_HSDPA_handsets.html

Samsung launches "Soul" in Europe

Samsung Electronics on Sunday announced the launch of the previously announced 'Soul' mobile phone, calling it the company's flagship product in the first half 2008. Beginning later this month (and next), the "Soul" will be available in France, UK, and Germany through major European mobile operators and in most of GSM supporting open markets. The tri-band phone features a 5-megapixel camera with a 4x digital zoom, face detection, image stabilizer and Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) as well as 7.2Mbps HSDPA data access for advanced 3G network support. Soul is available in three different colors: 'Sterling Steel,' 'Soul Gray' and 'Platinum Silver" for €400.

Showcased in Barcelona last February, Samsung says it named ‘Soul’ to honor the completion of its exclusive ‘Ultra Edition’ series with a full metal body and a premium finish and 12.9mm-thin form factor.

The slim, lightweight and stylish mobile phone offers a sleek combination of "highly styled design" and functionality, including advanced usability features that adapt to the user depending on the application: the navigation indicators on the keypad of the phone change according to the user’s needs, enabling simpler navigation of the menus simple, intuitive and direct, Samsung claims.

"The navigation panel’s icons change according to function. For example, when in music mode, music related icons will light up on the navigation indicators," the company said in a statement. "When in camera mode, camera related icons such as zoom and brightness icons will appear."

http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/04/20/samsung.launches.soul/

Improved LG Viewty to come this year

LG has hinted that we could be seeing a new improved 'Viewty' phone in October 2008.

The manufacturer said a 'Viewty-style' phone, with 'possibly more megapixels' was in the pipeline and could launch around October this year, but stressed that an exact launch date was yet to be confirmed.

LG revealed its plans when talking to Mobile about its product roadmap for the rest of the year.

In addition to the LG K750 Black Label handset, which is set to be unveiled next week, LG said there would be a music phone launching 'around July', an imaging phone 'like the Viewty' around October and an 'design/fashion led phone' planned for November.

Meanwhile, the LG KF700 is already on sale.

http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/Improved_LG_Viewty_to_come_this_year.html

LG T80: Mobile Freeview for Nordic neighbours

It's a popular opinion at Crave that South Korean company LG Electronics has made significant advances in its game over the last few years. We find its mobile phones to be as titillating as Kate Nash, and its MP3 players, while not ground-breaking, are at least stylish and touch-sensitive, also like Ms Nash. Rowr.

Lucky for our Nordic neighbours, then, that LG's giving them a new model of MP3 player to enjoy. It's called the T80 and among the what-we-expected-in-2007 -not-2008 specifications, it supports DVB-T -- the digital TV technology that Freeview is built upon. "You mean I can get Dave on my MP3 player?" Well, yes and no... but mostly no.

Why? It's probably not going to come to the UK, despite LG needing to give us an update to last year's FM37. Come on, it's no big deal. Freeview on the move would be rubbish. We've seen it implemented in a mobile phone and it was awful.

TV aside, the T80 is an okay MP3 player, with MP3, WMA, OGG and WAV support, MPEG-4 video, a full 40 hours of audio battery life and a 400x240-pixel touch-sensitive display. With only 4GB of non-expandable internal memory and just two hours of DVB-T battery life, we don't feel like we're missing this year's most crucial product.

If you're itching for your quirky usage of TV technology fix, you can see people with televisions for heads in Encoded this week. -Nate Lanxon

news source : http://crave.cnet.co.uk/digitalmusic/0,39029432,49296497,00.htm

Back in July of last year, Samsung announced its 5 megapixel SGH-G600 mobile phone. Samsung has now partnered with nails inc. to launch the G600 Belle

Back in July of last year, Samsung announced its 5 megapixel SGH-G600 mobile phone. Samsung has now partnered with nails inc. to launch the G600 Belle, a device available exclusively at Phones 4u in the UK. This new version of the G600 is cloaked in a sleek burgundy colour and the manufacturer is now throwing in 3 bottles of nail polish in the box, including one that matches the G600 Belle's color. Ladies, its what Samsung just knows you've been waiting for, a way to match your fingernails with your phone.

The stylish G600 Belle is equipped with a 5 megapixel camera with camcorder function, and supports microSD memory cards for needed expansion when capturing the moment. Pics and video can be viewed on the G600's large 2.2" display, which can render 16 million colors. The handheld also supports Internet browsing thanks to NetFront's Browser v3.4, which provides PC like capabilities on a small screen.

Other features included are email and Bluetooth support, and an MP3 music player. The Samsung G600 Belle will be available starting on April 1 exclusively at Phones 4u in the UK. The regular version of the SGH-G600 has the same specs and is currently available.

http://www.mobileburn.com/review.jsp?Id=4333&source=SIDEBARHOME

Personal Navigation with the Nokia 6210 Navigator

Nokia have seemingly increased the pace of mobile phone innovation with the announcement of the Nokia 6210 Navigator at the MWC 2008. The 6210 Navigator is similar in features to the 6120 Navigator, coming with HSDPA and aGPS as standard.

However, what the 6210 adds to the mix is a built-in compass, which acts to rotate the map according to the direction in which you're pointing. In other words, no more having to work out which way down a street you're walking - the map will always point in your direction no matter where you stand. Perfect for women, I understand.

news source : http://mobilementalism.com/

Samsung SGH-G800

When you buy a mobile phone with a view to using its camera instead of having a dedicated digital camera for your snaps, you inevitably make some compromises. Even the best mobile phone camera can't match a nicely specified pocket digital camera for features and capabilities.

How much longer that will hold true is questionable, though. Phones with below par 2-megapixel (and lower) sensors will probably continue to be around for a long while, but at the higher end of the market things are getting better and better with 5-megapixel sensors and impoved optics now appearing in handsets.

Samsung's new G800 brings 3x optical zoom alongside 5-megapixel images to the mobile phone - a pairing that was pretty desirable in a dedicated digital camera not that long ago.

I'll get to the camera - the unique selling point for this mobile - in more detail later. But even before looking at any of the features I need to point out that if you have small pockets or want a tidy and neat mobile, then maybe the G800 is not for you.

Styled in silver and black the G800 is a reasonably good looking phone. It is a slider, and an exceptionally large navigation button sits beneath the screen, flanked by two tall, thin softmenu buttons. Beneath these and very close to the bottom edge of the phone, are the Call and End keys and a Cancel key.

Slide the lid section upwards and the flat number pad is revealed. This is large, and easy enough to use. Opened, the phone is a generous 135mm tall. Closed, it is 101.5mm tall and either way it's 52mm wide. As for thickness, Samsung lists that at 18.8mm, but that doesn't include the back-mounted camera lens cover which protrudes from the main body of the phone. Include the cover and by my reckoning the G800 measures in at a substantial 22mm thick. Weight-wise you are looking at 129g.

The screen is a 2.4 inch, 262 thousand colour, 320 x 240 pixel affair and as we have come to expect from Samsung it is clear, sharp and bright. No problems there.

news source: http://www.trustedreviews.com/mobile-phones/review/2008/02/17/Samsung-SGH-G800/p1

Sony Ericsson W300i Review

Sony Ericsson is known for their Cyber Shot camera phones and its Walkman music phones. They are, in my opinion, one of the leading mobile manufacturers in the market today. In this article, let’s take a look at one of their more successful device, the SE W300i.

Walkman phones are generally packed with the most expensive and the best features. However, the W300i is more of a low-end Walkman phone. Of course, basic staples like bluetooth, a VGA camera, and the full range of Walkman music compatibility is still there, but its overall effect is a step down from models usually released by Sony.

Most of SE phones lean heavily on the swivel/candy bar design. The W300i on the other hand came out with a flip design, which in my opinion, is a surprise especially to Sony Ericsson fans. From the outside it’s quite attractive and doesn’t bear much of a resemblance to the company’s few other flip phones.

The phone is relatively compact at 3.5 by 1.8 by 1.0 inches, so it’s easily placed in most pockets. It’s also quite light for its size at 3.3 ounces, but the trade-off is that the overall construction feels somewhat flimsy.

In the center of the front flap is the external display which displays info such as date, time, battery life, signal strength, and caller ID. Above the screen is the VGA camera lens and a self-portrait mirror, while the speaker is on the top of the rear face. The volume control is on the left spine along with a control for activating the music player and playing and pausing music. The infrared port is on the right spine, while the connection port for the charger, the wired headset, and the USB cable is on the bottom of the handset.

Flip open the phone and you’ll see its 1.75-inch (128×160) internal display. The W300i shows a bright and vivid screen that displays all 262,144 colors beautifully and is perfect for viewing photos and videos, playing games, and scrolling through the user-friendly menus.

The W300i has a 1,000-contact phone book with room in each entry for five phone numbers, e-mail and Web addresses, business and home street addresses, a birthday date, and notes. As most phones now, users can organize contacts into groups, pair them with a photo for caller ID, or assign them one of 28 (40-chord) polyphonic ring tones.

Other basic/standard features of this phone include support for MP3 ring tones, a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, voice dialing, a calendar, a task list, a notepad, a calculator, a timer, a stopwatch, and a code memo for storing passwords and other secure information. There’s also a recorder for both voice memos and calls which is limited by the available memory.

Sony Ericsson music player among their phones (especially Walkman phones) are basically similar to each other. It supports a broad range of formats, including MP3, MP4, 3GP, AAC, and WAV files. Opening the player takes you directly to the main menu, where you can organize music by artist, track name, or playlist. Settings include album/song shuffle and loop, Sony’s Mega Bass, and an equalizer.

You can store your music files to the phone as long as you still have available memory left. Its a bit small at only 20MB. But you can extend that using the supported Memory Stick Micro for extra space.

Its a bit expected, knowing that this is a Walkman phone, that the built-in VGA camera wouldn’t be that good at all. You can take pictures in three resolutions (640×480, 320×240, 160×120) and choose from a variety of editing options, including four color effects, a night mode, two quality settings, a self-timer, 19 fun frames, and a brightness control.

Of course, looking at the picture this camera produces, the quality is rather disappointing. Shots were blurry and grainy and colors washed out. Likewise, video quality was unremarkable. Still, the W300i does offer a few creative applications for the amateur photographer. With Photo DJ, you can add one of six fun frames; rotate the shot’s orientation; and use various image effects such as brightness, contrast, tint control, and photo marking.

The W300i has a rated talk time of 9 hours and a promised standby time of 16.5 days.

news source :http://www.camera-core.co.uk/11-03-2008-sony-ericsson-w300i-review.html

Another stun gun that looks like a mobile phone - The Sony Ericsson stun gun

Stun guns that look like mobile phones aren't new. But, the latest cellphone turned stun gun to be discovered actually looks like a decent handset upon cursory inspection.

This Sony Ericsson look-alike is a fresh departure from previous stun guns masquerading as ugly monoblock handsets, and the police in Nottingham, England are surprised to have found it. The BBC reports that they found this stun gun disguised as a Sony Ericsson handset in the Hyson Green area. Although it looks like a Sony Ericsson slider, the fact that it doesn't actually work as a cellphone but does deliver 900,000 volts of electricity through two metal prongs should make the user a little cautious.

In fact, the 900,000V shock is 18 more likely to be fatal than the 500,000V shock that police-issue Tasers deliver. "It's a shock that we found it. We are always concerned about finding different types of weapons on the streets. This could potentially kill someone," said a Nottingham police officer.

So, the next time you plan to mug a stranger, make sure they're actually using their mobile phone as a phone. Otherwise you might be shocked to find that their handset is actually a stun gun.

news source:
http://www.intomobile.com/2008/03/12/another-stun-gun-that-looks-like-a-mobile-phone-the-sony-ericsson-stun-gun.html