Archive for April 2nd, 2008
 There isn't much at the HTC Booth here in Las Vegas. In fact, there isn't even much of an HTC booth to talk of. Our favorite Windows Mobile smartphone manufacturer has gone the decidedly conservative route at CTIA Las Vegas 2008 and set up shop on a small piece of Las Vegas Convention Center floorspace.
HTC is showing off their HTC Touch Dual for the US market. The Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone has been floating around Europe with the Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional OS for a few months already, but this is the first time we're seeing it with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional and available for US consumption. Fans of the HTC Touch that want quick access to a keypad for no-eye dialing will want to check out the HTC Touch Dual. The Touch Dual takes the tried and true formula of the Touch, and bumps up the OS and hardware.
The HTC Touch Dual rocks a 400Mhz processor, 2.6 inch touchscreen display, 256MB ROM/128MB RAM, Bluetooth 2.0, and microSD card slot - all powered by Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional.
Of course, HTC's TouchFLO interface is overlaid on the Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional homescreen, which is a bit of a disappointment, given the sleek look of the new WM6.1 sliding panel homescreen layout. The smartphone is slightly thicker than the HTC Touch that has done so well around the world - the addition of a vertical sliding 20-key, SureType-esque keypad will do that.
We're looking for T-Mobile USA to offer the HTC Touch Dual as the MDA Touch Plus in the near future - most likely with a numeric 16-key keypad in favor of the 20-key setup that HTC is showing off at CTIA Las Vegas 2008. Pricing is not yet known.
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Microsoft went ahead and met our expectations of a Windows Mobile 6.1 announcement at CTIA Las Vegas 2008. The revised Windows Mobile UI looks good, works well, and gives the Windows Mobile platform the aesthetic boost that it's been needing for a few years now. The homescreen has been reorganized with a “sliding panel” UI. You can add or remove panels to the homescreen as you see fit, giving the user complete control over quick-view information access directly from the homescreen.
And, to make SMS text messaging and web browsing more enjoyable and intuitive, Microsoft has finally gone live with their threaded messaging setup and revamped the World wide web Explorer Mobile (Pocket IE) web browser. SMS text messages are organized, by conversation, into a single thread, making it easy to track your past messages. The new IE Mobile offers zooming and panning features that should make mobile web browsing a bit more tolerable on the default WinMo browser.
The real news here is Microsoft's work on the next revision of World wide web Explorer Mobile. Derek Snyder from Microsoft was on hand to give the press an insider preview of what the future of IE Mobile would look like. Pan and Zoom features are included in the upcoming release of IE Mobile, but that's already available on the current Windows Mobile 6.1 release so it's not really that exciting.
What is exciting, however, is the complete overhaul of IE Mobile. The next version of Pocket Internet Explorer will apparently be using the same code as the desktop Internet Explorer, ported to work on Windows Mobile 6.1. This will allow Windows Mobile to deliver a full desktop-browsing experience right out-of-the-box. No need to install third-party mobile web browsers (Opera Mobile, Firefox Mobile, etc.) that can pan, zoom, and render full HTML pages, Windows Mobile 6.1's future Internet Explorer Mobile will handle all your full-page viewing needs.
I wasn't able to get video of the new Internet Explorer in action, but I did manage to score some high-res photos. The Red handset in the photos is the BlackJack II and the Black handset is the Samsung i780. Notice the “Zoom” feature on the BlackJack II's Windows Mobile 6.1 Internet Explorer Mobile. Compare that to the Samsung i780's Windows Mobile 6.1 Internet Explorer Mobile beta - the revamped version of Windows Mobile World wide web Explorer made with the desktop version of Internet Explorer's code. And, it's safe to say that this future version of World wide web Explorer will be serving up webpages on Windows Mobile 7.
The new version of Internet Explorer Mobile for Windows Mobile 6.1 is due out by the end of this calendar year - look for it to drop around the holiday shopping season. We'll have to wait and see how the new IE Mobile competes with the likes of Firefox Mobile and Opera Mobile 9.5, but from the initial preview, I'd say things are looking good for Windows Mobile.
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 TDC is offering a new, ground-breaking music service that offers their Danish mobile and broadband customers unlimited access to music downloads from renowned local and international acts, without additional charge.
Three of the world's major music companies and a massive number of Danish music companies are part of TDC's new music service called PLAY, which launched at midnight on April 1, 2008.
TDC's and YouSee's broadband and mobile customers - with the exception of a few subscriptions types - will be able to download more than one million tracks from artists such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, REM, Ida Corr, James Blunt, Anne Linnet, Bruce Springsteen, Outlandish, L.O.C, Robbie Williams,TV2, Szhirley and many, many more.
At present, TDC has entered into agreements with three of the four largest international music companies, EMI, SONY BMG and Warner Music Denmark as well as many Danish independent labels including the MBO group, DIGIDI, Artpeople, Clockwize, Home of Scandinavia. The agreements cover both new and catalogue releases.
Under the terms of the deals, the ability to play the downloaded tracks will expire automatically if the customer terminates their subscription. TDC will also offer music fans the opportunity to buy their favourite tracks for 8dkk (approx. €1) per download.
Jens Alder explains the rationale for the launch of PLAY with the fact that both the mobile and broadband market are more or less saturated, and that there is a need for new thinking for telcos to attract more customers.
For the techies among you (and I know you’re out there!), here are the formats of the tracks for each delivery channel:
- Music for mobile phones: AAC/AAC+ (48 kbit/s)
- Music for computers: WMA (192 kbit/s
So what do we think? Is it a flyer? I could certainly do with unlimited music as part of my mobile or broadband package!
[Via: TDC.com PR]
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 Everyone wants needs an iPhone competitor. In a market flooded with notions that sleek and slim smartphones with a rock-solid and intuitive interfaces are the way to go, no carrier can afford to ignore the touchscreen craze that's sweeping the mobile space. And, Sprint has just announced their own attempt to woo the touchscreen crowd with the Samsung Instinct.
Sprint's Samsung Instinct wasn't available at Sprint nor Samsung's booth for some reason. I had to wait until an evening-event to get my hands on the Samsung Instinct, where Sprint had a handful of reps ready to showcase the new Sprint touchscreen handset.
Packed with a 2 megapixel camera, GPS, FM radio, EVDO Rev. A (the first Rev. A device on Sprint, according to the Sprint rep), 3-inch touchscreen (pressure-based and flush with the face of the device), and microSD card slot, the slim touchscreen offering from Samsung should help Sprint regain (or at least retain) some of its lost customer base. The Samsung Sprint measures a svelte 2.17 x 4.57 x 0.49 inches and tips the scales at a rather solid-feeling but still light 4.4 ounces.
The Samsung Instinct looks and feels much like the Samsung F700 Croix/U940 Glyde, without the sliding keyboard (of course) and without the award-winning Croix interface. The haptic feedback on the Samsung Instinct is the same pseudo-haptic feedback system that Samsung likes to use on their touchscreen handsets - the entire device vibrates with each touchscreen input. The vibration feedback novel at first, but then gets annoying quite quickly.
Overall, the pressure-based touchscreen was nice and firm - there was very little touchscreen “squish.” The display's flush design helps to keep the Samsung Instinct's lines clean and smooth, and the LED backlit navigation buttons added a bit of flair to the device. As an iPhone competitor, this is probably as good as it's going to get for now (on Sprint). Capacitance touchscreen technology would have made the Samsung Instinct a tiny snazzier, and the UI could use some refinement. But in the end, if you want to get in on the full-body touchscreen craze, and you want to stay with Sprint, the Samsung Instinct is probably your best bet.
Booth reps said that the Samsung Instinct should be launching in June at a price point that is sure “to surprise” us all. I'd put money on the Sprint Samsung Instinct commanding a mid-$200 price tag with new contract.
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TDC is offering a new, ground-breaking music service that offers their Danish mobile and broadband customers unlimited access to music downloads from renowned local and international acts, without additional charge.
Three of the world's major music companies and a massive number of Danish music companies are part of TDC's new music service called PLAY, which launched at midnight on April 1, 2008.
TDC's and YouSee's broadband and mobile customers - with the exception of a few subscriptions types - will be able to download more than one million tracks from artists such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, REM, Ida Corr, James Blunt, Anne Linnet, Bruce Springsteen, Outlandish, L.O.C, Robbie Williams,TV2, Szhirley and many, many more.
At present, TDC has entered into agreements with three of the four largest international music companies, EMI, SONY BMG and Warner Music Denmark as well as many Danish independent labels including the MBO group, DIGIDI, Artpeople, Clockwize, Home of Scandinavia. The agreements cover both new and catalogue releases.
Under the terms of the deals, the capability to play the downloaded tracks will expire automatically if the customer terminates their subscription. TDC will also offer music fans the chance to purchase their favourite tracks for 8dkk (approx. €1) per download.
Jens Alder explains the rationale for the launch of PLAY with the fact that both the mobile and broadband market are more or less saturated, and that there’s a need for new thinking for telcos to attract more customers.
For the techies among you (and I know you are out there!), here are the formats of the tracks for each delivery channel:
- Music for mobile phones: AAC/AAC+ (48 kbit/s)
- Music for computers: WMA (192 kbit/s
So what do we think? Is it a flyer? I could certainly do with unlimited music as part of my mobile or broadband package!
[Via: TDC.com PR]
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Now you might remember I have mentioned about the Motorola DH01 (here and here) - but already it's successor (?) is upon us, with more Mobile Multimedia goodness!
The “Motorola DH02 mobile phone” will apparently have a 480
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Orange UK has commissioned a research project to find out how mobile is changing the media landscape - the results of which have been given to MobiAD News.
You can visit the site here for the full story, but the highlights are:
- people who access media regularly tend to do so for just over 3 1/2 hours each week
- half of all media consumption happens when the consumer is with other people - friends, spouse, etc
- only 20% of media occasions happen when traveling, most is at home or in the office
- mobile is the prime media channel between the hours of 12 noon and 6pm
- idle screen advertising was the most highly rated form of mobile advertising looked at in the study
I think these results help reinforce further what the industry is realising - there is a tectonic shift, being spearheaded by innovators in both internet and mobile services, towards a new landscape of mass media consumption on mobile - but delivered “on-demand”. Oh, and Ads just keep cropping as a major spoke in the wheel of revenues!
[Via: ModiAD News]
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Now you might remember I have mentioned about the Motorola DH01 (here and here) - but already it's successor (?) is upon us, with more Mobile Multimedia goodness!
The “Motorola DH02 mobile phone” will apparently have a 480
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Orange has announced an ad-supported content trial on Orange World (it's portal). The trial will apparently “give 800,000 of Orange’s 15.6 million mobile customers the option to download music to their mobile phone for free or at a discounted rate” - so it's definitely a trial, but big trees grow from small seeds, right?
The Ad inventory will be managed by ScreenTonic, last for 3 months, and include such notables as Paramount and Ford as advetisers.
It's interesting that music has been chosen for the Ad trial - apparently customers will have the option of downloading music tracks at full/half/free price, depending on how much “Ad” you can live with. Plans will include a potential rollout to other areas such as games (and I'd assume lots of video!)
So Orange are busy with researching and trialling ads - and with ScreenTonic (now a business unit of Microsoft) involved, they might be beating a path towards some lucrative substitute revenue channels…
[Via: ModiAD News]
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Orange UK has commissioned a research project to find out how mobile is changing the media landscape - the results of which have been given to MobiAD News.
You can visit the site here for the full story, but the highlights are:
- people who access media regularly tend to do so for just over 3 1/2 hours each week
- half of all media consumption happens when the consumer is with other people - friends, spouse, etc
- only 20% of media occasions happen when traveling, most is at home or in the office
- mobile is the prime media channel between the hours of 12 noon and 6pm
- idle screen advertising was the most highly rated form of mobile advertising looked at in the study
I think these results help reinforce further what the industry is realising - there’s a tectonic shift, being spearheaded by innovators in both internet and mobile services, towards a new landscape of mass media consumption on mobile - but delivered “on-demand”. Oh, and Ads just keep cropping as a major spoke in the wheel of revenues!
[Via: ModiAD News]
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