Mobility Watch

Simply aim the camera of your Nokia phone at any object in meat-space and the Point & Find application will access relevant data off the Internet. Ok, not any object as the beta only recognizes movie posters at the moment, but that’s the long term plan. Point & Find uses real-time image processing to recognize real-world objects in a Nokia database of virtually tagged items using the phone’s camera, Internet connection, and GPS data. The software also recognizes bar codes and supports category-specific text-entry search. The beta software is a free download for Nokia owners in the UK and get this, the US too. Man, Nokia’s getting serious about US market share.

Point & Find allows you to point your cameraphone at something and receive relevant links and information about that item.

The first example will be in conjunction with a movie studio, where consumers can point their S60-powered phones at a movie poster and instantly get local showtimes, links to the trailer, and even wallpaper downloads. It’s a really neat concept, and there will also be the opportunity for content creators to build their own ‘worlds’, where you could point your phone at the Symbian-Guru logo, for example, and get information. Very cool stuff, I’m anxious to see it available.

via engadget: Rough morning for Nokia. After having its trio of new music-oriented handsets leaked, Gartner goes and releases a set of unflattering sales figures related to Nokia’s beleaguered smartphones. While smartphone sales overall increased 3.7% in Q4, Nokia’s share slid from 50.9% to “just” 40.8% on 15.6 million units. While many, including Samsung and HTC gained, it was RIM and Apple that made the biggest advances. RIM increased its share of the lucrative market to 19.5% (7.4 million units) from 10.9% while Apple more than doubled its share, up from 5.2% to 10.7% (4.1 million units). Keeping things in perspective: smartphones accounted for only 12% of all mobile device sales for the quarter. There’s a method to Nokia’s mid- to low-end handset madness.

And from Nokia’s own editorial board:

Industry and Nokia outlook (January 22, 2009)

Nokia expects industry mobile device volumes in the first quarter 2009 to decline sequentially to a greater extent than the seasonal sequential decrease in the first quarter of the past few years.
Nokia expects its mobile device market share in the first quarter 2009 to be at approximately the same level sequentially.
While noting the extremely limited visibility, Nokia now expects 2009 industry mobile device volumes to decline approximately 10% from 2008 levels. Nokia expects the decline to be greater in the first half than in the second half of the year. This is an update to Nokia’s earlier estimate that industry mobile device volumes would decline 5% or more from 2008 levels.
Nokia continues to target an increase in its market share in mobile devices in 2009.
Nokia now targets its full year 2009 non-IFRS operating margin in Devices & Services to be more than 10%, rather than in the teens, as previously targeted.
Nokia targets its annualized non-IFRS operating expense run rate in Devices & Services to be lower than EUR 6 billion by the end of 2010. This would represent a reduction of more than EUR 700 million to the annualized run rate at the end of 2008. Nokia targets that a majority of the reduction will happen during 2009.
Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks continue to expect the mobile infrastructure and fixed infrastructure and related services market to decline 5% or more in Euro terms in 2009, from 2008 levels.
Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks continue to target for Nokia Siemens Networks market share to remain constant in 2009, compared to 2008.

From Engadget: the developer is a genius:

Okay, yes, pardon the headline — we’re a little fired up about the 5800’s 3G situation at the moment, and at a time like this, nothing soothes the soul quite like some awesome hackery. Self-described “homebrew coder” Jamie Fuller has somehow magically turned the singletouch 5800 into a multitouch device, delivering a proof of concept in the form of a Guitar Hero-style game requiring cat-like thumb reflexes in response to the beat of one of the best songs we’ve ever heard. Considering that neither the hardware nor the software technically support multitouch here, it’s a hell of a feat — and it’s also proof that hope springs eternal for even the most seemingly hopeless limitations of your favorite gadget, no matter what that gadget might be. The developer says that the app will eventually be available for free once it’s further along, and in the meantime, he needs some beta testers and help with graphics — you know, something beyond colored circles — so if the dream of putting two fingers on your 5800’s screen at the same time keeps you awake at night, you might consider pitching in.

So, if you want to help bring multitouch and more to the Nokia 5800 “Tube”, hit the blue link above.

From Jamie Fuller’s blog:

The game idea was a simple derivative of ‘guitar hero’ or ‘DDR’ whereby you press a button or buttons along with the music.

The two major problems with this idea on this specific platform are:

1) Button layout, the buttons need to be in an easy to reach location , but also that will not require the phone to be shifted around to reach other keys. also when pressing the buttons its important that the main game play area is not obscured by the players hands.

2) most touchscreen devices are still only single touch capable. this severely reduces the number of button presses available. unlike a traditional keypad which allows for combos.

Both of these issues have been overcome as you can see in the video. The game is very early on in design but the underlying technology is the real product that I’m showcasing.

One of the most important countries and where Nokia 5800 will have a big battle trying to gain some market share against Apple phones and Sony Ericsson is the United States of America. So, it becomes so much important to announce the 5800 release date like we did before when we announced the first countries to have the 5800.

Nokia 5800 Xpress Music will go on sale through the retailers by 26 of February, being the suggested price of 399$. The price might be this one as there is not one carrier subsidy, so the chances of getting the 5800 cheaper are little.

The unlocked Nokia 5800 US 3G version will be available at retailers and online sites like amazon.com, mobilecityonline.com, buy.com, newegg.com, tigerdirect.com, and then retailers like Nokia Flagship in NYC and Chicago, J&R Music in NYC, Just Mobile @ RCS Experience in NYC, Best Buy Mobile, many independent owned wireless phone dealers across the US, but not any carrier stores, have that in mind.

Nokia 5800 with US 3G support to be launched this month for $400
Although Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is already available in the US, it’s only the European version that can be bought – for $349.99. This means you are forced to use it only on the GSM/EDGE bands, since European 3G frequencies are incompatible with the US ones.

However, it looks like a North American version of the XpressMusic handset is on its way too.

The Nokia Blog has it that a NAM Nokia 5800 will be available from US retailers starting the end of this month (around February 26).

Engadget breaks this story: European markets can expect to see Nokia’s N86 handset on or about July 22, 2009. This would seem to be in line with the Q2 2009 estimate we’d previously heard, though the Expansys price — €659.99 (about $853) — is a lot higher than the €375 quote we’ve heard. Either way, the dual-slider boasts an 8MP camera with a Carl Zeiss Tessar lens, AutoFocus, a mechanical shutter and a dual-LED flash, and is sure to be an eye-popper for cameraphone buffs when it does appear. Expansys has the N86 up on site and available for pre-order right now.

Features:

Operating System Series 60 3rd Edition (FP 2)

Dimensions 103.4mm (L) x 51.4mm (W) x 16.5mm (T)
GSM/GPRS Quad-Band 850/900/1800/1900MHz
Bluetooth Yes (Stereo)

Camera 8 mega-pixel
Memory Card microSDHC

Stunning Images.
Use the 8 mega-pixel camera and wide angle lens to take stunning photographs. The powerful dual LED flash provides illumination in poor lighting conditions.

Sleek Design.
Carry a streamlined 2-way sliding device with metal detailing and an AMOLED display protected by a scratch-resistant hardened glass front.

Connect & Share:
Use contacts on Ovi to share you location, find friends or simply chat. Plan your trips on Ovi and navigate using the built in AGPS receiver and Nokia maps software.

• Network:
- GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 (Quad-Band)
- WCDMA: 900/1900/2100 (Tri-Band)
- HSDPA (3.6Mbps)
• Camera:
- 8 mega-pixels (auto-focus)
- 20 x Digital Zoom
- Carl Zeiss Tessar Lens
- Wide Angle Optics
- Dual LED Flash
- Image Stabilization
• Video:
- Hi-Resolution VGA Video Recording
- 30fps Video Recording (VGA)
- 8 x Video Zoom
- Supported formats: MP4, 3GP, H.264, Flash, H.263 & Real Player
- Video Streaming
• Music:
- Supported formats: MP3, AAC, eAAC+ & WMA
- FM Stereo Radio (RDS)
- Nokia Music Store
- Nokia Podcast Support
- Nokia Music Manager Support
- Windows Media Player Sync

A low-end Nokia offering, the XpressMusic device, 5630, a candybar the company sent to the FCC for review. The device will sport a 3.2 megapixel camera with built-in flash, GPS, S60 3rd Edition.

The phone also supports N-gage games and HSDPA / HSUPA radio, the manual up on the FCC’s site only mentions GPRS and EDGE connectivity.

From mobilidia:

The 5630 XpressMusic has Nokia’s new voice-controlled ‘Say and Play’ feature. Users can say the name of an artist or song to automatically play it.

The integrated music player has dedicated control keys, a 4GB memory card to store up to 3000 tracks and a 3.5mm AV jack. Users can drag-and-drop songs to transfer and manage their music collection.

The homescreen quickly accesses up to 20 contacts and shows recent emails, messages, phone logs and photos shared. The shortcuts bar displays the most frequently used applications.

The 5630 XpressMusic also comes with N-Gage to offer an entire catalogue of games.

The full-focus 3.2-megapixel camera with flash captures photos and videos that can be shared online on sites such as Share on Ovi, Flickr, or Facebook.

The Nokia 5630 XpressMusic will be available in select markets beginning in the second quarter with an estimated retail price of $257.

Plug in headphones into the standard 3.5 mm AV connector for high-quality audio, listen to stereo sound directly from the built-in speakers or connect to a home music system using Universal Plug and Play
Integrated full-focus 3.2-megapixel camera with Enhanced Depth of Field so the entire image stays in focus
Reduced environmental impact through lower power consumption and an efficent charger

“>

Intomobile has this info:

With a little luck, we’ll see the Finnish cellphone giant pushing a new lineup of touchscreen smartphones on the Fira de Barcelona show-floor at Mobile World Congress next week. In a video interview with the Nokia N97 designer, Nokia (NYSE: NOK) shows off a couple new touchscreen smartphones with impressive feature-sets. The two new finger-friendly Nokia handsets are rumored to be the Madeleine and Ivalo.

In the video, we see a side-sliding QWERTY form-factor with a tilting display, much like the Nokia N97. The consensus seems to be that this newest side-slider is the Nokia Madeleine and will be aimed downrange of the Nokia N97. And, as the mid-range little brother to the Nokia N97, the Madeleine features a 3.2-megapixel camera, QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi and GPS connectivity, N-Gage support with dedicated gaming keys and FM radio.

The more high-end handset of the two, and the one that really catches our attention, is the Nokia Ivalo. Unlike the Madeline, the Ivalo sports a slate form-factor that makes good use of a 3.5-inch touchscreen display. And with 32GB ROM, AGPS, FM transmitter and receiver, 5MP camera, WiFi, TV-out and Bluetooth packed under the hood, the Nokia Ivalo should cater to the high-end market.

Details are understandably slim at the moment, but here’s to hoping that Nokia brings along these two touchscreen beauties to show off at Mobile World Congress.

These could be different ‘flavors’ of N97 or different ways of bringing them to the public. Hopefully Nokia will give some info on these leaked beauties.

Great review from CNET.

The Nokia N96 caused quite a commotion when it first debuted at GSMA 2008 in February, but as with most of Nokia’s high-end phones, it took a little while for the smartphone to make its way to the United States. Consequently, new products have come out and stolen its thunder, including one from the Nokia family, the Nokia N97. Still, the N96 is an impressive all-in-one device that deserves some recognition, most notably for the whopping 16GB of storage it offers. It also features advanced multimedia capabilities and comes close to being a replacement for your MP3 player or portable video player. The N96 has a business side, too, with its productivity suite and various wireless connections. That said, aside from the additional flash memory and some tweaks to the design, it’s very much like its predecessor, the Nokia N95, and doesn’t necessarily warrant an upgrade, especially at its unlocked price of $776. And with the announcement of the Nokia N97, we have a feeling potential N96 buyers might hold off to see what the newest N series device has to offer. Don’t get us wrong, the Nokia N96 is a powerful smartphone that blends work and play well, but at this point, the N96 feels more like an afterthought than a potential purchase.

Design The Nokia N96’s doesn’t differ that much from the N95 in the looks department. It keeps the same dual-slider design and candy-bar shape, but Nokia updates the N96 with rounder edges and a sleeker face. The smartphone measures 4.1 inches high by 2.2 inches wide by 0.7 inch deep and weighs 4.4 ounces. It’s similar in size to the HTC Touch Pro, so while on the short side, it’s a bit thick, making for a tight fit in a pants pocket. For such a high-end device, we think the handset feels a tad cheap, because of the plastic edges. We’re also not huge fans of the plastic battery cover, since it feels pretty fragile and could crack if the phone took a tumble.

Verizon Wireless and Research In Motion Ltd. have high hopes for the BlackBerry Storm, which they spent nearly two years developing as their big response to Apple Inc.’s iPhone.

My Nokai 9500 Communicator feels so much better now that this has come up.

But despite a marketing campaign that cost more than $100 million, the smart phone has gotten off to a bumpy start.

Some early buyers have complained about technical bugs with RIM’s first touch screen BlackBerry, although others say most new gadgets have problems that need to be ironed out.

People familiar with the matter say Verizon Wireless, is the exclusive U.S. carrier for the device, sold roughly 500,000 units in the first month after the Storm’s Nov. 21 launch.

That is a promising start, though well off the pace of AT&T Inc.’s sale of 2.4 million iPhone 3G devices in that device’s first full quarter on the market.

Some Storm owners have complained about everything from clunky software for typing on the touch screen to the device’s sluggish performance with basic tasks like dialing-by-voice or taking photographs.

Nokia ships half a million Tubes in their 4th quarter.

Nokia clearly has a winner with their 5800 Tube Xpress music player, having shipped 500,000 of the units in very select markets. Nokia has done some creative marketing with this unit. There have been music benches in some cities with the 5800 attached or places to attach one.

For a reminder, here are the 5800 XpressMusic “Tube”:

Dimensions: 4.37 x 2.04 x 0.61 in
Weight: 3.84 oz
3D image engine
Stylus, plectrum and finger touch support for text input and user interface control (alphanumeric
Micro-USB connector, USB 2.0 High Speed
3.5 mm Nokia AV connector
MicroSD card slot, small DC jack, Micro USB cable interface to PC (CA-101), TV out interface (CA-75U)
Talk time (maximum):
- GSM up to 8.8 hr
- WCDMA up to 5 hr
Standby time (maximum):
- GSM up to 16.75 days
- WCDMA up to 16.7 days
Browsing time with packet data (maximum): up to 3.4 hr
Video playback time (maximum): up to 5.2 hr, Video playback time (maximum, nHD/Mpeg4)up to 3.4 hr, VGA video playback using TV-Out with Stereo BT Headset up to 3.8 hr
MicroSD memory card slot, hot swappable, max. 16 GB
81 MB internal memory
8GB microSD memory card in-box
Bluetooth version 2.0*
- Bluetooth profiles: A2DP & AVRCP

MTP (Mobile Transfer Protocol) support
TV out with Nokia Video Connectivity Cable (CA-75U, in-box)
Support for PC synchronization with Nokia PC suite

Oh, and it makes calls, along with messaging, email, web browsing, GPS and navagtion, photographs, and a whole host of other things, too.

Seidio’s G1 Innocell 2600mAh replacement batteries add significant depth to phones, but also add significant life.

Seidio’s Innocell product description promises quite a bit: “This 2600mAh Super Extended Battery provides up to 140% more capacity than the OEM battery that came with your phone! If you are a heavy user or tend to go for long periods without the ability to recharge, this battery is the solution for you! ”

As big a ‘back’ as it has, and at $55, it had better come through with it’s promises.

My Nokia 9500 Communicator can hold a charge for two weeks at a time, so Seidio’s 2600 battery should be similar. Research on the web has few specifications, but what I did find sounds promising for Blackberry owners. According to others, Seidio’s battery requires a special back cover as well.

If it brings more extended life to your handheld, I wouldn’t complain about looks. On the other hand, if you’re one that’s constantly considering what other think of how your phone or handheld looks, then the Innocell 2600mAh isn’t for you. There are tiny, thin phones out there, like my Nokia 7380 or the teeny tiny LG UP3.

Would you use the ‘baby bump battery’?

Hello, my name is Brick, I’ve been blogging for 451 Press for almost two years now. My first blog for 451 Press was Encouraging Health (still going strong!) and now i’m writing on eight blogs for 451 Press.

Technology and electronics have always held a fascination for me and I enjoy reading about new and emerging technology. Currently, I have a TC1100 Slate Tablet PC (that’s my main computer), a Nokia 9500 Communicator, a Nokia 7380 (just for fun and a secondary cell phone), a Planon Pen Scanner and various health related technology that I can carry around when I travel. Onto today’s post!

Where can you get the new Palm Pre? Only at Best Buy, says WebOS Arena (via Engadget), and for only 60 days.

Engadget did a great review and write up while at the CES convention recently. They were duly impressed with the UI and ensuing animations. They even say it’s better in some ways than the iPhone!

Here are the specs:

Here’s a quick rundown of everything you need to know spec-wise:

High-speed wireless (EV-DO Rev. A or HSDPA, depending on version)
802.11b / g WiFi
Integrated GPS
3.1-inch 24-bit color 480 x 320 display
Dedicated gesture area below display
Slide-out portrait QWERTY keyboard
Exchange email support in addition to POP and IMAP
IM, MMS, and SMS messaging
High-performance browser
3-megapixel camera with LED flash and “extended depth of field”
3.5mm headphone jack
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR with A2DP
8GB of internal storage
USB mass storage mode
MicroUSB connectivity with USB 2.0
Proximity sensor for detecting when phone is near face
Light sensor to automatically dim display
Ringer mute switch
Removable rechargeable battery
59.57 x 100.53 x 16.95mm closed
4.76 ounces

You would not use any other mobile phone handset than Nokia. You don’t actually know why but you believe that the handsets from the brand just have seemed to grow on you thus making using other handsets quite a new experience.

And now with the newest mobile phone unit from Nokia given the go signal from the FCC, I’m sure you would be jumping for joy right now. According to those who have seen the unit, the Nokia 3555 comes also using 3G technology and you would find it very much similar to the older Nokia 6555 model. The 3555 has been made available with AT&T.

Some of the features you can find with the Nokia 3555 include instant message support, email access, dual band WCDMCA, a quad-band for GSM, Bluetooth technology and connectivity, as well as a slot for a microSD card for added memory. Yeah, it also has a camera, in case you were wondering.

[Via Laptop Logic]
[Image from Reesun.com]

Just recently, Nokia took the curtains off the Nokia E51 which they are marketing as a corporate mobile phone. According to experts, this move has been done by the mobile phone maker so as to boost their sales in the enterprise mobility segment.

Come the fourth quarter of this year, the Nokia E51 would be available in the market. It comes having 3G technology and could make use of WiFi. Its design is the traditional candy bar style.

Antti Vasara is the senior VP of Nokia for mobile devices for enterprises and on the new Nokia E51, Vasara expresses, “The new thing is mobile unified communications. This device can be your desk phone as well as your mobile phone. When in the office, it can be connected to your corporate phone system and have the same functionality as a desk phone. Why have several numbers and devices?�

The E51 is part of the Nokia E-Series.

[Via vnunet.com]
[Image from Lets Go Digital]

To whom?To the Nokia N95 mobile phone!

Nokia is so proud to announce to the entire planet and to anyone who would listen that their creation, the Nokia N95, has just gotten the most number of votes so as to be named the European Media Phone of the Year (2007 to 2008). This award from the European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) was given to the Nokia unit which acts like a multimedia computer.

EISA really did love the Nokia N95. They said that the gadget had “practically every feature one could imagine in a mobile deviceâ€?. They even did continue to share, “It’s no mere mobile phone and no mere status symbol. Pick up a Nokia N95 and you hold in your hands a state-of-the-art communication tool - the ideal way to remain permanently in touch and on track with the world that surrounds you.â€?

Kudos to you Nokia!

[Via CNNMoney.com]
[Image from Zone-Numerique]