Author: Apurva Chaudhary

Research In Motion (RIM) co-CEO Mike Lazaridis showcased  the company’s latest BlackBerry Browser, based on the WebKit open-source browser-engine, at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) held in Barcelona, Spain.

Being a Blackberry users myself, I can safely say that Blackberry’s browser is the most looked down on – by me and by almost everyone. It’s Slow, sluggish and many pages just won’t load. At the demo, Mike Lazaridis stated that the Webkit-based browser will  not only loads JavaScript much faster, it handles AJAX efficiently, supports HTML 5.0 and CSS3 and even scored a cool 100/100 in the Acid3 Web standards test.

This is a great step by Blackberry which promises to deliver business-like experience to the users. Though, RIM has not disclosed when the browser would be made available but lets hope they include it with the OS update – which again shouldn’t take too long.

Check out the Webkit-based Blackberry browser in action:

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The mini’s are in form. After the success of Nokia N97 mini after Nokia N97 doomed, many other mobile device manufacturers have started bringing in the mini version of their models. Today, at the Mobile World Congress 2010, HTC has launched HTC HD Mini, which is said to be younger and cheaper version of HTC HD2 but with similar experience. The HTC HD Mini is sleek and provides almost similar experience as that of HTC HD2.

HTC HD Mini is powered with Windows mobile 6.5.3 (YES! the OLD crappy windows mobile OS) with HTC Sense. Of course, Windows phone 7 series isn’t coming anytime before the year end, so can’t complain. Apart from that, HTC HD Mini comes with a Capacitive touch screen, 512MB ROM, 384MB RAM, 3.2″ HVGA display, 5MP camera. It also comes with support for 3G connectivity and GPS. This is the second Windows Mobile phone, after HTC HD2, to have a capacitive display.

HTC HD mini will be available to customers across Europe and Asia beginning in April 2010.

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Just today, HTC  announced the HTC Desire at the MWC 2010, guys at engadget have posted few first hand pics and video of the device. Take a look at the pics:

Here’s the video by neowin, albeit a bit blur but should do good for now:

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Yesterday it was Windows Phone 7 Series galore at the MWC, today it is raining Android everywhere. Acer has launched Acer Liquid e, an Android 2.1 (Eclair) powered device. It is powered by 768 Mhz Snapdragon processor and it features a 3.5″ WVGA display and 5 megapixel camera with AutoFocus.

Apart from that, the device sports megapixel Camera with Autofocus, 3.5″ WVGA Display screen, capacitive touch screen and comes with inbuilt GPS,3.5mm audio jack, support for Bluetooth 2.0 and 7.2Mbps HSDPA. It possesses 256MB of RAM and 512 MB ROM.

New features on Liquid e with Android  2.1:
• Home screens – The new version now handles five home screens by default, allowing users to easily install more applications from the rich selection available on the AndroidMarket, as well as shortcuts and widgets;
• Quick Contacts – a feature that lets users easily switch between the address book and the social network applications;
• Live wallpapers to customize your Liquid e on the fly;
• A new keyboard layout with an extended dictionary for predictive input;
• An updated version of the Android browser, supporting HTML5, double-tap zooming, video tagging support and geo-location API support.

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Nokia launched a new feature rich 3G phone and what’s so amazing about it is, it’s priced at just 4,700 INR, which is quite cheap. It also comes preloaded with features such as Ovi Mail, Nokia Messaging, Nokia Life Tools. Other features include a 2 mega pixel camera, FM radio, Bluetooth, long talk time, phonebook with 1000 entry capacity, integrated hands free speaker, expense manager.

The Nokia 2730 Classic weighs just 87.7 grams and 109.6 x 46.9 x 14.4 mm in terms of its dimensions. It has a TFT display with 256K colours and a 2 inches screen with a 5 way navigation key. It also supports both 2G and 3G networks. It has a USB port and A2DP Bluetooth making file share easy and exhilarating. Plug to a computer or pair with a device for easy file sharing. It can also manage to send email along with normal SMS and MMS. Nokia 2730 Classic’s internal memory is 30 MB which supports microSD card up to 2 GB and the phone book can store 1000 entries.

Since it’s a java based phone, you can install 3rd party .jar files/applications/games. For a cost of 4,700 INR, the device is totally worth it.

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Now that I have come down to soberness after Steve Ballmer announced the Windows Phone 7 Series at the Mobile World Congress 2010, Check out this video to get a first-hand look of the latest Windows Phone that brings  people, photos, music, and video into an unrivaled mobile experience.

Windows Phone 7 Series devices will be touch screen and are integrated with Xbox live, Zune music and video  and more. In detail post to follow.

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Sony Ericsson, with the help of Opera web browser announced a comprehensive application store solution, called the Ericsson eStore. With Opera Web technology, including Opera Mobile, Opera Mini and Opera Widgets, the eStore enables operators to provide a branded application store to their subscribers. The eStore concept offers a wide variety of free or premium Opera Widgets, as well as native applications.

Since the eStore is an open platform that many operators can share it’s cost efficient.  Opera’s cross-platform capabilities allow the eStore to serve as a one-stop-shop for customers to purchase and start using new applications on their mobile phones and other devices.

Due to Opera’s cross-platform capabilities, we are able to help Ericsson deliver Web based solutions across a wide range of devices," said Jon von Tetzchner, Co-founder, Opera Software ASA. "We are excited to be cooperating with Ericsson on their new eStore, and to help deliver superior Web experience to the potential one billion subscribers who are accessing the eStore on various devices and platforms."

Jason Ford, Handmark VP of Development and Distribution, says: "We fully support the eStore and see it as a great platform for helping to deliver a fantastic mobile shopping experience, while also connecting brands and businesses to a loyal and engaged group of mobile users."

As of now the Sony Ericsson eStore is available in 25 markets worldwide.

You can visit http://www.ericsson.com/estore/.

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Nokia in an attempt to start its Global financial services initiative announced that Nokia would initiate the commercial service in Pune – one of the largest metropolitan areas in India. Nokia has partnered with YES BANK for  Mobile Money Services to bring financial services to the consumers’ mobile devices.

"The Nokia Money initiative based on Obopay’s platform is initially targeted at growth markets and designed to work in partnership with multiple network operators and banks, involving distributors and merchants in a dynamic open ecosystem to seamlessly provide the new services. YES BANK is our first partner in India to bring this service to market," said Teppo Paavola, VP and general manager of Mobile Financial Services at Nokia.

In the initial phase of the service, consumers will be able to transfer money to another person just by using the person’s mobile phone number, pay utility bills as well as recharge their prepaid SIM cards (SIM top-up). Later, consumers will also be able to pay merchants for goods and services. This move by Nokia would definitely eat up Mcheck and Ngpay’s business, which has similar business plan in India.

Check out the video of Gerhard Romen, Nokia’s Director for Alliances:

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Motorola today announced Motorola CLIQ XT (in USA) / QUENCH (Rest of the world) with MOTOBLUR at the Mobile World Congress. Motorola Cliq XT is an Android powered device and comes with 3.1” high resolution display and a 5 megapixel camera with Auto-Focus and LED Flash. Though, the device runs on Android OS it runs on Android 1.5, which is an age old version of Android.

Features and Specifications:

• 3.1″ High Resolution Display.
• MOTOBLUR , Motorola’s Android-powered content delivery service created to make phones more personal and socially smart. It is the first solution to sync contacts, posts, messages, photos and much more — from sources such as Facebook®, MySpace, Twitter®, Gmail™, work and personal e-mail and Last.FM — and automatically deliver them to the home screen. Content is fed into easy-to-manage streams allowing you to spend less time managing your life and more time living it.
• Android OS with pinch-to-zoom capabilities
• A-GPS, FM Radio and Stereo Bluetooth.
• 5 megapixel Camera with Autofocus and LED Flash.
• Dual microphones and noise cancellation technology for better audio quality
• Adobe Flash Lite support

This is the eighth Android-powered device launched by Motorola around the globe. Motorola Quench will be launched in the first half of Q1 and will be called Cliq XT.

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Adobe Systems Incorporated, announced the launch of Adobe AIR and Flash player 10.1 on the mobile platform, at the Mobile World Congress 2010.

Adobe AIR will be initially launched for Android and Blackberry devices. AIR provides developers with a feature-rich environment for delivering rich applications outside the mobile browser and across multiple operating systems via mobile marketplaces and app stores. Developers can make use of features like multi touch, gesture inputs, accelerometer, geolocation and screen orientation etc.

Flash Player 10.1 Beta, the Open Screen Project enabling uncompromised Web browsing of expressive applications, content and high definition (HD) videos across screens including new tablet devices, smartphones, netbooks, smartbooks, desktops and other consumer electronics.  Mobile platforms that will support the full Flash Player include Android, the BlackBerry platform, Symbian OS, Palm  webOS and Windows Mobile.

The most amazing thing for the developers is that developers can test and deliver applications to multiple devices and operating systemsusing a single tool chain and API set across platforms with Flash Platform tooling and the Adobe Creative Suite®. And using Adobe® Flash® Professional CS5 with the Adobe Packager for iPhone,developers can reuse their iPhone application code to create the same application for Android platform.

This is a huge and obvious step by Adobe after Apple made it clear that none of its device would integrate the buggy software. Now, let us see how ‘other’ devices perform with Adobe’s buggy software.

Check out the video demoing Adobe AIR and Flash Player in action:

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Today, Nokia rolled out an update for its Email client — Nokia messaging for Email to version 10.2 for S60v5 devices. S60v5 won’t be the lone version to receive this update, Nokia plans to release updates for other devices too.

S60 5^thedition will see 10.2.04 as the version number in the client.  On Software Update on your device, this release will be identified as 10.2.  The major update in this version is using the Destinations feature, you simply add your preferred WiFi access points to the Internet Destination (or any other Destination that you configure), and Nokia Messaging will automatically switch to it when it’s available.

The Change Log  includes:

• Localized in 38 languages
• Support for Destinations on S60 5^th edition devices
• Improvements to on-device-setup wizard
• Deleted items folder now automatically empties itself, faster client deletions
• Various bug fixes

To Download and install the new Nokia Messaging v10.2, just head over to Software Update/SW Update application on your device.

Image credits: AAL

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Just when we thought Nokia is just getting geared by revealing Nokia C5 and Nokia C6, there are rumors that Nokia might launch a new device —  Nokia N8 at the MWC 2010, held in Barcelona next week.

Nokia N8-00 will come with a capacitive multitouch 3.5 inch display and will be the first to offer Symbian^3 OS. Apart from that it sports a 12 megapixel camera and capture 720p at 30 frames per second. It will also feature an HDMI output. Another interesting mention is Video on Demand through the Ovi Store.

Now that the Mobile World Congress – 2010 isn’t too long away, there is possibility that these are just baseless rumors.

(via)

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