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The Mobile Roundup – The ‘Money Never Sleeps’ edition – 150th Edition

admin — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 22:35:54 +0000

It was Wall Street week as Apple, Microsoft and Nokia posted very different quarterly earnings and these provided great insight into who is winning in the mobile space. We also put the Samsung Galaxy S phones under the microscope and Apple finally started taking orders for those free bumper cases. Let’s stop wasting time and jump into this week in mobile news.

Wall Street week

Many important mobile companies reported quarterly earnings this week and Apple really flexed its muscles. The company reported $3.25 billion in profit for the quarter thanks to the success of its iPad and iPhone.

The company shipped 8.4 million iPhones in the quarter and it likely would have shipped more if it could have kept up with demand. It sold 3.2 million in the United States alone (according to AT&T’s second-quarter earnings) and the momentum for the iPhone 4 appears to be going strong. It doesn’t look like the white iPhone will goose sales though, as the company further delayed the ivory handset until “later this year.”

Even more impressive, the company shipped 3.27 million iPad units. This is a strong number for a category that no one was sure would be a success but we’ll have to see what happens over the course of the year as Android tablets hit the market.

Microsoft and Nokia were on the other end of the spectrum. While Microsoft had an amazing quarter with $4.52 billion in profits but the mobile division (which is also lumped in with the Xbox unit) lost $172 million. This isn’t very surprising considering the company is putting all its resources into the upcoming Windows Phone 7 but it’s still not a good sign.

On the bright side, Windows Phone 7 looks like it could be a hit. Early previews suggest the core of the new platform is good but it could use work on the fringes and we won’t know how good the apps will be until we get some units in the market. We do know there will be at least 90,000 Windows Phone 7 handsets out there, as the company is giving one to each of its employees.

It was hard to find a bright spot with Nokia’s earnings though, as the company saw its profits drop 31% compared to last year. With 111 million phones shipped, it’s still the clear leader but it’s going in the wrong direction in the smartphone space, as its average selling price for smartphones dipped 21% from a year ago. It still holds 41% of the global smartphone market, but these numbers don’t make it surprising to see rumors that it is already looking for a new CEO.

Even Amazon’s earnings were important to the mobile space, as the company’s CEO said it has generated over $1 billion in sales via mobile devices. That’s a lot of cheddar coming in from apps and I only expect that number to rise as smartphones and tablets become more prevalent.

The Samsung Galaxy S phones shine

We took a look at the Samsung Galaxy S phones for AT&T and T-Mobile and both the Vibrant and Captivate proved to be strong Android smartphones. Both rock a gorgeous 4-inch Super AMOLED screen, 1 GHz Hummingbird processor, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, Android 2.1 with TouchWiz 3.0, and access to the Android Market. The devices feature slightly different form factors and preloaded software but are essentially the same device at heart.

How’s does the Galaxy S stack up?

Overall, the Vibrant is the best device that has ever hit T-Mobile. It’s not just the best Android phone to ever hit T-Mobile, it’s the best smartphone to ever grace the Magenta network. Samsung has taken so many cues from its competition, namely Apple, that the similarities start to become obvious after a while … Most importantly, the Vibrant sports a feature-set that T-Mobile desperately needed. The stand-out feature is obviously the Super AMOLED display, and to tell you the truth, after seeing its power, you could take out half the bells and whistles and the phone would still be great. Is this the smartphone for you this summer? If you’re looking for an Android smartphone on T-Mobile this summer, the T-Mobile Samsung Vibrant is as good as it gets!

The Samsung Captivate also gets similar praise:

The bottom line is that the Samsung Captivate on AT&T is a really good phone that is just short of great due to its lack of a camera flash and the annoying keyboard. The keyboard issue can be fixed but you’re out of luck if you want to take many low-light pictures. Still, this Galaxy S phone is sleek, stylish, powerful and the software tweaks give it more visual flair than your average Android smartphone.

I wholeheartedly recommend the Captivate to anyone on AT&T who doesn’t want an iPhone. Even if you love iOS products, I think you’ll be quite satisfied with this Galaxy S phone.

Looks like the Captivate and Vibrant rock, so be on the lookout for reviews on the Fascinate and Epic 4G in the near future. Check out the video below for a quick walk though of the software.

Apple starts free iPhone 4 bumper case orders

If you were worried that Apple wouldn’t follow through on its promise to give out free bumper cases for the iPhone 4, have no fear because the company has rolled out the program to claim your free stuff.

To get enrolled, download the iPhone 4 Case Program app from the App Store, launch it and sign in with your iTunes or Apple ID and then select which case you want. You’ll be able to get Apple’s bumper case or a variety of third-party cases. When should you expect it?

For iPhone 4 purchases made before July 23, 2010, you must apply no later than August 22, 2010; otherwise, you must apply within 30 days of your iPhone 4 purchase. To qualify for this program, you must purchase your iPhone 4 by September 30, 2010.

Thanks friends

I thought this was a good week, friends, as we delivered some hot news, gave some in-depth reviews and basically destroyed the mobile world. I do want to apologize for our comment system being funky but we’re getting it fixed ASAP. You guys and gals often provide insightful comments and there wouldn’t be a site without you, so keep them coming.

In the meanwhile, you can talk to IntoMobile in the comments or on Twitter (@Intomobile) and I can be reached @marinperez.

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By Marin Perez

Nokia C6 now available for 289 GBP in the UK – 149th Edition

admin — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 22:35:54 +0000

Nokia C6, which as you may know has been unveiled alongside two other QWERTY phones – C3 and E5, has been spotted at Nokia’s UK website from where interested users can grab it for 289 GBP. That’s kinda too steep, as we (and AllAboutSymbian) expected a price that’s closer to 220-230 GBP, but what do we know.

Anyways, if you’re looking for a perfect Symbian smartphone, the C6 is probably the closest you will get. By perfect I mean a device that has both a touchscreen and full QWERTY keyboard. Sony Ericsson’s Vivaz Pro is also a phone worth considering for that matter.

The Nokia C6′s features include a 3.2-inch nHD (640×360 pixels) touchscreen, 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, GPS, 434MHz CPU, 3.5mm headset jack, HSPA and WiFi connectivity, Bluetooth and a microSD expansion slot (inside the box you get a 2GB card). In other words, you can think of it as slightly reshaped Nokia N97 with a much better and easier to use keyboard…

[Via: AllAboutSymbian]

By Dusan Belic

Nokia CEO is About to See His Last Days as Chief – 148th Edition

admin — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:22:27 +0000

While Nokia may be the global leader in terms of market share, it’s no surprise to anyone that its glory days will soon be numbered as Apple, Google and RIM are chomping away at it. Like any company looking for a change and new direction, Nokia is rumored to be looking for a new CEO to replace Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo. The Wall Street Journal reports that “people familiar with the situation” indicated that Kallasvuo, who has held the CEO title since 2006, will soon be ousted for a new leader.

The WSJ continues in its report:

“They are serious about making a change,” one person familiar with the matter said. Nokia board members are “supposed to make a decision by the end of the month,” that person said.

The CEO of a major U.S. high-tech company recently spurned Nokia’s approach after meeting with Chairman Jorma Ollila, because the candidate wasn’t interested in moving to Finland, this person said. Nokia also has flown in at least one other U.S. based executive to interview for the CEO job, the person said.

If the reports are true, it looks like there could be a shake-up at a U.S. based company as well as the mobile manufacturer poaches American companies for a new leader. While the news strikes hard, it strikes fast as the decision by Nokia board members will be made by the end of the month.

It’s a pretty drastic measure for the folks at Espoo, but desperate times call for desperate measures. The Finland-based company has yet to make a splash in the North American smartphone market where the iPhone, BlackBerry and Android handsets rule. Perhaps the Nokia N8 was the latest decent smartphone after the Maemo-powered N900, but even N8 was ridiculed before most people got their hands on it. Hopefully this change will make Nokia a competitive force in the smartphone landscape.

[Via: Wall Street Journal]

By Marc Flores

Samsung i8910 HD unofficially updated… again! – 147th Edition

admin — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:22:26 +0000

Although Samsung is not too keen to update its Symbian-powered i8910 HD smartphone, the hacking community owning the powerful multimedia device is eager to improve it like all the time. Yap, the new unofficial firmware has been released, marked as HX7 aka “Black Pearl.”

Here’s what’s new:

Interface settings are improved – kinetic scrolling, included
Camera now saves images and videos in DATE format “yyyy.mm.dd”
Wlan power back to normal (you can change it if you want in Settings)
Threaded SMS still there
Pocket data back to normal
Added “wow” effect to 3D-taskswitcher
Widget-homescreen gadget.swf now on e:
Music player only searches on e:music and f:music
New battery-management – battery-life will increase for about 20%

And you can get the full change log from this page.

You must know that installing this firmware may (probably will) break your warranty. Also important – make sure to backup ALL your data prior to pushing any buttons. This isn’t the official update and it will definitely kill most if not all of your data on the phone. Don’t say we haven’t warned you.

[Via: AllAboutSymbian]

By Dusan Belic

More Symbian^4 screenshots emerge – 146th Edition

admin — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 15:05:31 +0000

Unwired View caught more Symbian^4 screenshots from Symbian Developer Wiki and we are glad to show them to you, too. What you’re about see won’t be available in any device sold this year. As we know, the first Symbian^4 phones are set to hit the market at some point next year. In the meantime, we’ll have to settle with Symbian^3 which is the OS of choice used for the Nokia N8.

The question on everyone’s mind is whether this is “good enough” to face the rising competition from Android. As far as I can tell, the UI looks good but since it won’t be available till 2011, I’m not that confident users will love it once it’s released.

Anssi Vanjoki, who is the new man in charge of the mobile devices at Nokia, promised a tough fight to get the Finnish giant back at the top of the smartphone world, which should be a good news for everyone. Adding NFC to the mix may help a bit, but that’s only a part of the equation.

We certainly want to see Nokia rising back to its glory days and offer us the best devices once again. At the same time, other platforms will also keep advancing, ultimately offering the best bang for the buck for consumers.

And now the screenshots. Enjoy.

[Via: Unwired View]

By Dusan Belic

Deal: 26 games available for a single EUR/USD/GBP in the Ovi Store! – 145th Edition

admin — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 15:05:31 +0000

Good news for our readers with Nokia devices. The Finnish giant is discounting 26 games on the Ovi Store, all of which are now offered for a single EUR, USD or GBP, depending where you live. That’s kinda not fair as those living in the U.S. will get a much better deal than British, for instance. But I guess that’s the way of doing business in this globalized world – U.S. always gets lower prices…

Anyway, here’s a list of discounted titles:

Doodle Jump
Fieldrunners
Bejeweled
Bejeweled Twist
California Gold Rush
Pac-Man Championship Edition
Armageddon Squadron
ToonWarz
WSOP – Hold’em Legend
Wave Blazer
Fieldrunners
UniWar
The Sims 3
Monopoly World
Uno
Raging Thunder
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Where’s Wally
California Gold Rush
Zuma
Zuma’s Revenge
Burning Tires
Tetris Revolution
Trivial Pursuit
Jewel Quest III
Tony Hawk VERT
Super KO Boxing 2
Heli Strike

There’s no point waiting. Simply search for any of the title above in the Ovi Store (whether online or from your mobile phone) and take it from there. The deal ends on August 12th…

[Via: PocketGamer.co.uk]

By Dusan Belic

Symbian S60 malware found to be creating a mobile botnet network? – 144th Edition

admin — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 09:57:57 +0000

Mobile security firm NetQin has apparently found a malware spreading via Symbian S60 handsets that is being used to build a mobile botnet.

The company has identified three piece of malware masquerading as mobile games or special offers, infecting Symbian S60 3rd and 5th edition devices. Their estimate is that around 100,000 handsets have been infected and could be used to form a mobile botnet.

The malware will either send messages to all the contacts of the address book directly, or send messages to random phone numbers by connecting to a server. As expected, you won’t see those messages as they will be deleted from Outbox/Sent and SMS log.

Symbian Foundation reacted by revoking the Symbian Signed certificates used to sign the malware. They also said there is no evidence that the malware is using handsets in a botnet. Moreover, they described the threat as “very minor.”

Nevertheless we advise you to check your monthly phone bill and see if your phone sends more messages than you do…

[Via: V3.co.uk]

By Dusan Belic

Rally Master Pro available for free on two Sony Ericsson Symbian smartphones – Satio and Vivaz – 143th Edition

admin — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 09:57:57 +0000

Good news for the Sony Ericsson Vivaz and Satio (Idou) owners. The Swedish-Japanese handset maker has teamed up with Fishlabs to make Rally Master Pro available as a free download. That’s actually in case you already don’t have the game pre-installed on your device, since it’s included as part of the latest firmware version.

If you’re not familiar, you should know Rally Master Pro is one of the best lookin’ racing games for mobile phones. Fishlabs CEO, Michael Schade, even said that this [Symbian version] is “the best version” of the racer, with “better than PSP quality” graphics.

In addition to Symbian, the game is also available for the iPhone and JavaME-enabled feature phones.

If you’re interested (and you should be), simply look for it in Sony Ericsson’s PlayNow service and take it from there.

Now that I’m thinking, I guess Rally Master Pro will also work on the Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro smartphone since it’s basically the QWERTY keyboard equipped version of the original Vivaz…

[Via: PocketGamer.co.uk]

By Dusan Belic

With Fring, you can video call between iPhone, Droid and Nokia – 142th Edition

admin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 02:29:46 +0000

The FaceTime video-calling feature is a cool new aspect of the Apple iPhone 4 but it’s limited to iPhone users and can only be used over WiFi. Fring is trying to capitalize on those weaknesses and its updated apps enable users to make two-way video calls between iOS, Android and Symbian S60 smartphones.

The new app means you’ll be able to use your Apple iPhone 4 and video-chat with a friend on the HTC EVO 4G. The cool thing about this is that you’ll also be able to do this over 3G networks, so you can get your video chatting on anywhere you have decent coverage.

As you can see from the oddly enthusiastic video below from Fring, the chatting can be a little choppy over 3G but that’s to be expected.

I’m still a bit skeptical about the mainstream appeal of video calling but I do believe that cross-platform programs like Fring have the best chance of appealing to the masses. We should see a spate of new devices soon come out with a front-facing camera (the Samsung Epic 4G comes to mind), so there should be a larger potential audience for this type of program.

This type of app also indicates that Apple was serious when the company said it wanted developers to utilize that front-facing camera for apps. While I appreciate companies like Fring doing exciting things with it, I get the feeling that the majority of Apple iPhone 4 users will stick with just using FaceTime because it’s easier to work out of the box.

The updated Fring app for the Apple iPhone also takes advantage of multiple capabilities of iOS 4, including the ability to run in the background to notify you if users are trying to reach you via video. There’s also a social stream that aggregates tweets and Facebook updates.

Want to know more about the video-calling capabilities of the EVO 4G? Check out our full review for a thorough take on the front-facing camera and more.

[Via Fring]

By Marin Perez

Microsoft Silverlight Hits Symbian Platform – 141th Edition

admin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 02:29:44 +0000

It might have missed Windows Mobile, funny enough, but Microsoft’s Silverlight runtime has surprisingly come to the Symbian platform. Of course, we all know it’s going to hit Windows Phone 7, as it should, but unlike WP7, Silverlight on Symbian will allow those runtime-based apps to work in or out of the browser.

While my general take on Symbian these days is “meh,” it looks like good things are happening for the platform, albeit incrementally. Decent apps like Skype for Mobile are gracing the OS while the Symbian Foundation continues to push and encourage the openness of the platform to developers and content creators by opening up the source code and recently releasing the PDK.

If you’re wondering whether your handset will support Silverlight, it’s available on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia N97 and Nokia N97 Mini and other Series 60 5th edition devices.

[Via: WMPoweruser.com]

By Marc Flores