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Media Support Contributing to the Success of OLPC

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Western media houses are often criticized as being too much commercial. There is surely a lot of justification behind this criticism. Most of the time, they go for sensationalism and sex and violence are the two topics that they show all the time for earning money. Well, it is nice to see that American main stream media has come in support of OLPC. They have donated air time and ad space. It is helping to spread the message of OLPC. The main goal of OLPC is to bridge the digital divide by giving laptops in the hands of very poor children.

OLPC laptops are less than $200 but it is still very expensive for most people living in the third world countries. So, the give one get one program needs a lot of support from Europe and America. It is great that western media is helping in this regard and encouraging people to support OLPC.

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New York Times

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OLPC in Europe: Give One Get One

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One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project is spreading day by day in various parts in the world. When the project started a few years ago, many people thought that it may not be a good one. However, OLPC has achieved tremendous amount of success and many children in third world countries can now have a laptop. Now, OLPC has introduced Give One Get One system for European consumers. Under the scheme, people of 27 European countries can order to buy a laptop on the condition that they buy one and donate one. This is a good initiative and many people in Europe will surely enjoy the offer.

BBC wrote:

The plan to put the distinctive green and white XO laptops on sale in 27 European nations was revealed by OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte in a speech to the World of Health IT Conference in Copenhagen.

When it goes on sale the XO laptop is expected to cost £268 (313 euros) and should be available in 27 EU nations as well as Switzerland, Russia and Turkey.

Many people in the world want to donate something for the poor people. I think that one of the best things they can do in this regard is that they can donate a laptop for a child living in a third world country.

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Black Friday 2008: List of Prices of the Laptops Offered by Best Buy

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Yet, we are far from Black Friday 2008, but Best Buy has released list of the goods that it is offering on that day. Here, I am mentioning the laptops that are supposed to be sold in Best Buy only on Back Friday. I hope that Best Buy sells these laptops online too:

- HP Intel Core 2, 3GB, 160GB, 14.1" Laptop - $499.99

- Toshiba AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core Notebook Computer w/3GB Memory, 160GB Hard Drive - $379.99

- Toshiba AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core Notebook Computer w/4GB Memory, 250GB Hard Drive - $479.96

- Sony Intel Centrino Processor Computer - $899.98

- Sony Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 4GB RAM, 250GB HD, Trend Micro AntiVirus/AntiSpyware and Casino Royale Blu-Ray DVD - $899.98

- Dell Save $200-$250 On Select Dell Laptops and Desktop Packages

As you see all of them are good offeres for different sorts of laptop users. Also, There are some laptop accessories that will on sale on Black Friday including:

- Microsoft Explorer Mouse With Bluetrack Technology - $49.99

- Microsoft Wireless Optical Notebook Mouse 4000 - $19.99

- Rocketfish Bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse - $39.99

You can see the whole list here.

Although, Black Friday is a good day for shopping, Pre-black Friday or Back Friday deal stylethat are offered time to time these days by different stores are sometimes better than the options you find on Black Friday. So, if you are interested to have a best shopping this year, do not neglect the pre-black Friday deals. Surely, I will try my best to cover best of them here. Please, Keep in Touch.

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Pre-Black Friday Walmart Online Sale: Dell Inspiron 1526 with Case and Flash Drive for $598

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Black Friday is the special shopping day oneday after Tahnksgiving, but yo udon’t need to wait until that day and do you shopping hastily in one day. Pre-Back Friday has started and if you check out the news regularly, surely you will be able to find your good deal.

This week Walmart is offering a new set of online special Value Bundle sale this week. As I only cover laptop news, among over 40 "value bundles" specials I found one good offer. Walmart is selling Dell 15.4" Inspiron 1526 Laptop PC with Case ( Targus Classic Clamshell) and Flash Drive 1GB Kingston Data Traveler only for $598.

AMD-based Dell Inspiron 1526 is one of the successful budget laptops in the market. The laptop that Walmart is offering now is a good option. The laptop comes with impressive features like 3GB of RAM, DVD burner, Huge storage of 250GB HDD and ample Ports and slots like 4 USB ports and 8-in-1 media card reader and Express card.




Here is the full features of the system:

Chipset: 2.0 GHz AMD Sempron 3600+ mobile processor
Memory: 3GB of RAM
Hard Drive
: 250 GB hard drive
Optical drive: DVD+/-RW drive with dual-layer capability

Display: 15.4" TrueLife widescreen LCD Presents vivid 1280 x 800 WXGA resolution with more than 16 million colors
Graphics: integrated graphics subsystem ATI RADEON Xpress1270 HyperMemory
Network: 802.11g wireless LAN
Ports/slots: 4 ports USB 2.0, FireWire, Ethernet / 56k modem, VGA, HDMI (optional), audio in / out, 8-in-1 card reader and ExpressCard slot
Weight: 3kg
OS: Vista Home Premium with SP1

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AMD Releases CPU Roadmap; Cheap Ultra Slim Laptops rather than Netbooks?

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AMD released its CPU roadmap and its approach within 2008 up to 2011 at analyst meeting on past Thursday. AMD addressed many details about its upcoming CPU platforms and their time frames. 2009 and 2010 are filled up with 45nm technology-based processors and 2011 is the year of 32nm processors.

AMD is releasing 6 platforms for 6 computer categories available in the market including budget ultraportable laptops (instead of Netbooks), mainstream notebooks, business desktop computers, consumer desktop computers, high-end Home Theater PCs and powerhouse Enthusiast desktop computers.

2009 and 2010:

1-AMD is going to release Yukon platform for budget ultra portable laptops. Also, the company is releasing 45 nm technology-based “Conesus dual-core processors featuring 1MB of Cache. In 2010, upcoming 45 nm “Geneva” dual-core CPU with DDR3 support will be the successor of Conesus.

Here, there was a misunderstanding happened about the AMD’s opinion about Netbooks and spread in web by media widely. Cnet has explained very well that AMD told with details in the meeting that why AMD doesn’t like Netbooks for low-power processors lackluster graphics, small screens, and tiny keyboards. Instead AMD is encouraging the laptop makers to make ultra slim laptops like MacBook Air but with budget design targeting the price range of $500-$700.

For this aim, AMD is releasing dual-core Conesus CPU, which will utilize ATI's RS780M graphics to deliver better graphics and better overall performance than what Netbooks do with their Atom CPU or VIA C7 CPU and their integrated graphics.


2- AMD is going to release Tigris platform for mainstream notebooks in the second half of 2009. It Also is launching 45nm “Caspian” dual-core processor featuring 2MB of cache. In 2010, 45nm “Champlain” quad-core processor featuring 2MB of catch with DDR-3 memory support will be the successor of Caspian.




3- In the first quarter of 2009, the Enthusiast Desktop category (ultimate HD media and professional gaming computers) will utilize Dragon platform and 45nm upcoming “Deneb” processor featuring a four core chip and 8 Mbytes of cache with either DDR-2 or DDR-3 support.


4- AMD is launching Maui platform for The Home theater PC category before 2008 finishes.


5- In the second Half of 2009, AMD is releasing a new platform called “Kodiak” for business desktop computer category and “Pisces” platform for consumer desktop category.

Mainstream desktop computers will utilize the upcoming 45nm "Propos," processor in 2009. The processor features a quad-core chip with 2 Mbytes of cache, and support for DDR-2 or DDR-3 memory.

2011:

6- Now the important query is that what has happened to the 45nm Fusion processor which AMD was supposed to release it in 2010? As you know Fusion processor was supposed to be a combination of a CPU and GPU under one hood in the “Shrike” core.

TG Daily reported:

The chip, which was described to combine a CPU and GPU under one hood in the “Shrike” core, was found to only bring modest improvements over today’s platforms in terms of power efficiency, cost and performance. Instead, the company will introduce Fusion (which actually isn’t called Fusion anymore) as a 2011 model in a 32 nm version with llano core. Allen said that 32 nm would be the right technology to introduce the product. Llano will feature four cores, 4 MB of cache, DDR3 memory support and an integrated GPU.


So, as you see that AMD has removed the Fusion processor from the roadmap and instead it is going to produced 32nm technology based processors for laptops and desktop computers.

For laptops, AMD will use 32nm “Ontario” processors which is combination of dual core chip, A GPU, 1MB cache, and DDR3 support.

AMD will use “Orochi” processor featuring at least four cores, 8MB cache, with DDR3 support for the high end Enthusiast desktop category. For rest of desktop computer categories AMD will offer “LIano” processor featuring a four-core chip plus a GPU, 4-Mbyte L3 cache with support for DDR-3 memory.

Netbooks are really necessary these days to the consumers. I am sure that in 2009 or in 2010, most people will feel the need to have a budget ultra portable laptop just the way they feel the need to have a desktop PC. Netbooks are necessary and some people feel the need for them strongly. The way AMD is talking about the budget ultra slim laptops (Mac Air Style) feels the gap between netbooks and standards laptops.


Sources: TG Daily, extremetech, Cnet

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Budget Intel-based Dell Vostro A860- the Netbook Killer Available for $379

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Seeing several news items about Netbooks is not a weird matter, anymore, but arrival of budget standard laptops in the price range of Netbooks is a good thing that is gradually happening nowadays in the market. Dell today released a new Vostro laptop that challenges Acer Aspire one, Wind PC and Eee PC 900 series in the terms of price and features.

If a 15.6-inches laptop with the weight of 5.4 pounds seems portable for you yet, Dell Vostro A860 is really a Netbook killer. It really challenges all the popular and leading Netbooks in the market with its basic price and features. Dell Vostro A860 starts from $379. Vostro A860 has been categorized along Vostro 1510. it seems that vostro A860 is the budget form of Vostro 1510.


The basic configuration utilizes Intel Celeron M M560 (2.13GHz, 1M L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB), 1GB of RAM, 120GB HDD (5400 rpm) and a DVD combo drive and GM965 chipset with Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100.

Although Intel Celeron is not as powerful as Atom N270 CPU, the laptop comes with better graphics card, bigger faster storage and an extra built-in optical drive which can be never found in any Netbooks.


The system features 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, optional Bluetooth, Ethernet LAN, and a 56k modem.

Regarding ports and slots and audio the system sports two USB ports, and FireWire, a PC Card slot, 3-in-1 media card reader.

Unfortunately, the system utilizes only a single speaker, although this big 15.6-in laptop. The display comes with anti-glare coating and 1366×768-pixel resolution.
The system runs on Vista home Basic with SP1 OS.


The most expensive model with the price tag of $529 incorporates Inte Pentium Dual Core M T2390 (1.86GHz, 1M L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB), 2GB of RAM, 160GB HDD and a DVD burner drive.

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Dell Inspiron Mini 12 Available In American Market for Purchase

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Dell INspiron Mini 12 is not unknown laptop for us. I myself have covered a review round up about it and have compared it with Mini 9. Dell today announced officially that Mini 12 is available for purchase in the American market.

The 12-inch Mini 12 is priced at $549 when it utilizes A lower 1.33GHz Atom CPU, 1 GB of memory, a 40GB hard drive and pre-installed Vista Home Basic OS.

The system is priced at $599 when it comes with a 1.6GHz Atom CPU, a larger 60GB hard drive and a six-cell battery.

In the end, Mini 12 is available with the price tag of $649 featuring bigger 80GB and the warranty of two years.

Sources: Electronista, Dell Website

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Good News for Laptop Users: ARM and Canonical Joining Hands

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I thought that it was a bad news for Microsoft as this joining hands of ARM and Canonical would promote the use of Linux OS in laptops. However, it seems that Intel has something to worry too. ARM makes small powered processors and it is successful in its field. Now, ARM bosses feel that netbooks can be the perfect niche for them as netbooks need inexpensive processors to keep the cost down.

From a press release:

The combination of a commercially supported, optimized Ubuntu distribution for ARM, together with Canonical's ability to tailor solutions to specific ARM technology-based devices and OEM requirements, ensures that highly-optimized systems can be rapidly deployed into the fast growing mobile computing market. ARM's wide partnership with leading semiconductor and device manufacturers strengthens the mobile computing software ecosystem and extends the market reach for Ubuntu-based products.

"The release of a full Ubuntu desktop distribution supporting latest ARM technology will enable rapid growth, with internet everywhere, connected ultra portable devices," said Ian Drew, vice president of Marketing, ARM. "The always-on experience available with mobile devices is rapidly expanding to new device categories such as netbooks, laptops and other internet connected products. Working with Canonical will pave the way for the development of new features and innovations to all connected platforms."

I will be happy if this move helps to reduce the price of netbooks. Well, most people living in third world countries still cannot afford to buy a laptop.

Looking for more information on laptop? Then read:

The Acer 8.9 Aspire One mini notebook: The new notebook for travellers

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CPU Test: Dual-core Atom 330 vs. Single-core Atom N270 vs. VIA C7

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comparisons with VIA C7, VIA Nano or Isaiah, Intel Celeron M and Intel Core 2 Due U7600. You can read about these tests in the following entries:
-A First Benchmark: Atom CPU vs. VIA Isaiah vs. Celeron M vs. VIA C7
-2nd Test: Atom vs. Celeron M 353 vs. Core 2 Duo U7600; Wind PC vs. Eee PC 900
-VIA Nano L2100 vs. Intel Atom 230: Real Competition between Two Cheap Makers
-Test Four: VIA Nano CPU vs. Atom Processor: Nano Really Better than Atom!

Also already, I have mentioned a simple test done over Atom 330 that you can read about it here:
Intel Outsets Shipping Dual Core Atom 330; Atom 330 Hands- on: two better than One

This time PCPro could do several tests on dual-core Atom 330 and comare the results with Atom N270 and VIA C7 processors. The results are really interesting. Here I will mention them briefly.

Atom 330 is designed specifically for nettops, which are affordable desktops purpose-built primarily for web surfing, email, and basic Internet usage. The dual-core Atom 330 features a 1.6GHz processing core, 1MB of level 2 cache, an 8W TDP and support for DDR2 667MHz.

PCPro has done its tests on Atom 330 set on an improved mini-ITX motherboard that is equipped with a 7,200rpm SATA hard disk and 1GB of DDR2 RAM running on Windows XP with SP3.

Here are the benchmark results:

-Overall results: Atom 330 performs only 16% faster than Atom N270.
-Office 2003 tests: Atom 330 stayed behind Atom N270 and VIA C7 respectively.
-2D graphics tests: Atom 330 performed 41% better than Atom N270 and 70% better than VIA C7
-Encoding tests: Atom 330 scored 18% better than N720 and 39% much better than the VIA.
-Multitasking tests: Atom 330 performed 47% faster than Atom N270 and Atom N270 performed 44% better than VIA C7.


The nice part is that Atom 330 could do well the processor-intensive tasks, but the writer of article has asked very important question about the battery life. Although Atom 330 performs closer to the CPU that is used in a standard laptop, the battery life will be a critical part by it. The Atom 330 drains battery double than single-core Atom N270. So, the Netbook using Atom 330 will deliver half battery life than the current Netbooks utilizing Atom N270. Even now, users like to have longer battery life on their Eee PC or Aspire One, or Wind PC. so, Will Atom 330 be a as successful CPU as Atom N270 in the market or will it become more popular among nettops, which are affordable desktops purpose-built primarily for web surfing, email, and basic Internet usage?

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Black Friday 2008: Asus Eee PC 900A for $280 at Best Buy

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No, I am not dreaming and it is not a gimmick either. You get 1 GB RAM. This is true too. It seems that Best Buy has stolen the show today. You cannot find a better deal than this. 8.9" WSVGA widescreen display is cool too. You should not complain about it. It is much better than 7” display.

Yes, I really wish that I could get it. Unfortunately, I cannot get Asus Eee PC 900A for $280 as I live in a country from which I do not have access to Best Buy products. So, I can only dream of having it at $280. However, if you can get it then don’t waste your time in this blog. Run right away and grab one.

For more information: Asus - Eee PC Netbook with Intel® Atom™ Processor N270 - White

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Acer Aspire One A110X Black Edition Available for Purchase in Europe

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I like the design of Acer Aspire one it really looks gorgeous. But the new one that I have just seen, I mean the Black Edition (covering in piano optics) really makes me crazy. It looks stunning. It is sheer chic. It can easily satisfy the fashionable users by just paying 400 Euro.

Aspire One A110X the Black Edition is a companion laptop that utilizes a 1.6 GHz Atom processor, 1GB of RAM memory, speedy 16GB SSD, storage, and 6-cell battery and pre-installed Windows XP Home Edition. The other features of this laptop are like the White Edition such as WLAN 802.11b / g, Acer Crystal Eye webcam, 1x SD Card Card Reader and 1x multi-in-1 card reader.

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AMD Introducing Processors for Netbooks

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For many years, AMD is fighting perhaps a losing battle against Intel in the processor market. Intel consistently has 3 or 4 times more market share than AMD. In this age, the battle is mainly in the laptop field as desktop PCs are not having healthy growth compared to laptops. Within the next 5-10 years, there will be almost same number of laptops as desktop PCs. It seems that Intel is ahead in the laptop field. Intel is directly involved in this field with its classmate PC. Intel is also keen to develop inexpensive processors for Netbooks. AMD has largely neglected this market until now, but it is going to be changed from now. Notebooks.com has reported that AMD is going to announce Netbook processors tomorrow. I just hope that it does not become too little too late for the company.

I am curious to see the response from the major laptop makers about these processors. I feel that AMD should focus more on making processors for laptop computers.

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Black Friday Deal 2008: Acer Aspire One for $349 at Sam’s Club;

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Acer Aspire one is one of the most popular Netbook in the market. It sounds lovely if we can buy this mini- laptop some cheaper than its real price, doesn’t It?

Sam’s Club has announced that its members can buy the highest configuration of Aspire One with the price of $350 on Black Friday onwards. The offering Netbook utilizes an 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, 1GB of RAM, 120GB HDD hard drive and 8.9-inch display and a free laptop case.
Well, it is important to know that “Sam’s Club opens at 5AM on Black Friday for members only.”

Well this is a good opportunity because this Netbook is available at Walmart with the same features plus 6-cell battery ( and without a laptop case) pricing at $398.

Of course you can buy Aspire One with lower features and cheaper price right away. Acer Aspire One 8.9-inch Mini Laptop (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 512 MB RAM, 8 GB Solid State Drive, Linpus Linux Lite) White with the price tag of $324.74 plus FREE shipment with Super Saver Shipping at Amazon.com or wit the price tag of $349.96 at TigerDirect.com or wit hthe price tag of $307 available at Comp-U-Plus.

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OLPC Laptops in Columbia Thanks to Microsoft

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I still remember that Microsoft was not keen to join One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project. Bill Gates is a smart man and he realized that if Microsoft did not join OLPC then the company would lose market share in OS segment in the whole world and it would give Linux a decisive victory in the third world countries. So, he became serious to strike a deal and OLPC bosses welcomed it. Now, many children in Colombia are going to be very happy to have a laptop that would run on Windows Operating System. Before that, Microsoft entered into partnership with government of Peru in this regard.

I live in a third world country and I am happy that Microsoft is becoming serious about OLPC laptops. I feel that it makes a good business sense in the long run for the richest company in the world.

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Xda Zest with GPS and Wi-Fi made exclusively for O2

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O2 today exclusively unveiled the XDA Zest, adding another Xda phone to its expanding range of O2 branded handsets. The new PDA is the first O2 XDA to be made available on Pay&Go, but it will be available on Pay Monthly plans as well.

Manufactured by Asus, the O2 XDA Zest naturally runs on Windows Mobile OS v6.1 and has a large 2.8” VGA TFT display. As you already knew from the header it boasts Wi-Fi and GPS (wih SiRF Star III chipset) plus a trial version of CoPilot Sat Nav app with full UK and Ireland maps.

The O2 XDA Zest has a fast Marvell TavorP 624MHz processor, 128 MB SDRAM and 256 MB Flash ROM.

The tri-band GPRS/EDGE phone has also 3G support and HSDPA connectivity. The 3 MP autofocus camera, secondary video call camera, Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP profile, microSD card slot and MP3 player completes the specs list.

O2 Xda Zest will be on sale in O2 stores and online at o2.co.uk from 17th November 2008. It will be available on O2 Pay&Go priced at £249.99 and for free on certain O2 Pay Monthly contracts.

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LG KC560 surfaces - did someone say tacky or what?

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The LG KC560 handset leaked today with a supposed release date just in time for the holidays. Having multimedia as its key element the LG KC560 does have some… okay let's call them interesting design solutions.

For one, the phone has a golden D-pad and back panel. There are also several LEDs at the bottom of the front panel of the slider that blink when there is an incoming call. Is it us or the Samsung M7500 Emprio Armani may as well start trembling with fear?

Anyway, putting the imposing looks aside, the LG KC560 has quite a decent package of extras on board. There is a 3 megapixel autofocus snapper and a 2.4" 262K color QVGA display. Some of the other features include tri-band GSM support, FM radio, USB, Bluetooth and a microSD card slot.

LG KC560
LG KC560

The LG KC560 is expected to cost between 300 and 350 US dollars (230-270 euro) when it eventually becomes available.

Meanwhile three new versions of already announced LG handsets appeared in what seems to be the week of bad taste over at the Korean manufacturer.

The LG KF300, KF510 and KF750 are all receiving their own gold-plated carbon copies. Save for the looks nothing has been changed in those new versions.

LG

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Windows Mobile 6.5 confirmed, WinMo 7 still quite far away

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Following the rumors that have been going around, the CEO of Microsoft Corporation Steve Ballmer "mentioned" that the Windows Mobile 6.5 OS for mobile phones will hit the market in 2009, without revealing any details about the improvements in the OS itself or its availability in end-user devices.

While everyone's expecting something of WinMo 7, Ballmer said that it's on their roadmap, but didn't mention its expected release, which means that it won't come out until 2010.

We are still yet to see the official announcement if Windows Mobile 6.5, as an accidental mentioning at a press conference doesn't really count.

It seems quite probable that the new WM 6.5 will be revealed in details on the forthcoming Mobile World Congress 2008 that's to be held in Barcelona at February 2009.

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T-Mobile releases Samsung Behold and Gravity

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Today, T-Mobile officially released the rumored Samsung Behold and Samsung Gravity. The Behold has a large touchscreen display while the Gravity has a sliding QWERTY keyboard.

Touchscreen Samsung T919 Behold looks like the Samsung F480 but on steroids. On top of the touchscreen TouchWiz interface, 5 megapixel autofocus camera, 3G support, full HTML browser the new Behold scores higher with its built-in GPS. Unfortunately, even the Behold does not feature the highly desirable Wi-Fi feature.

Samsung Behold and Gravity
Samsung Behold

Samsung Behold can be yours starting from November 10 for $149.99 on a 2 year contract in light rose color.

The Samsung Gravity is actually the first phone by Samsung with such form factor. In its essence the Samsung Gravity is pretty much like some other phones as HTC S730 and S710. Only those run on Windows Mobile, while the Samsung Behold doesn't.

Samsung Behold and Gravity Samsung Behold and Gravity Samsung Behold and Gravity
Samsung Gravity

Leaving aside the design, Samsung Gravity, so far known as Samsung T459/T450, is a quad-band phone with GPRS/EDGE but no 3G support. Its display is relatively small measuring 2.1" 256K colors and 176 x 220 pixels resolution. Other features include microSD card slot, Bluetooth with A2DP profile, a modest fixed-focus 1.3 MP camera. Its processor and built-in memory is still unknown.

Samsung Gravity will be released on November 17 for $49.99 on a 2 year contract in lime and aqua colors.

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HTC Touch HD hits Asia too, America still on the waiting list

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We have received word on the next wave of countries to get the Windows Mobile uber device - HTC Touch HD. Only a few days after its European premiere HTC brought joyful news to all its fans in Asia by announcing that the HD will be available on the World's most populated continent as soon as the beginning of next month. Unfortunately for our American friends, there is still no word of when will the phone become available there.

The first two countries from the Asian tour of the HTC Touch HD will be Malaysia and Singapore. The prices of the multimedia powerhouse in those countries will be respectively 730 euro (930 US dollars) and 750 euro (950 US dollars). The twenty euro difference can easily be explained by the 8GB microSD card that will be included in the retail package in Singapore.

Equipped with a large 3.8" WVGA screen the HTC Touch HD is surely one of the most interesting devices to hit the market this year. Even though multimedia isn't normally one of Windows Mobile devices' elements the Touch HD has a specs sheet that can put much of the competition to shame. The large display, the 5 MP snapper and the 3.5mm audio jack are just some of the niceties it brings.

The connectivity includes all contemporary means of data transfers - 3G, Wi-Fi and of course the microSD card slot. There is also a built-in GPS to make the specs sheet on the HD almost as complete as it can be.

You can check out our preview of HTC Touch HD here for a bunch of live photos of the hot device.

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Sony Ericsson W705 now official - Wi-Fi confirmed, GPS not

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Just as expected, today Sony Ericsson announced their new Walkman phone - the Sony Ericsson W705. The high-end slider is the first music-dedicated feature phone by the company to feature Wi-Fi. Unluckily the rumored GPS connectivity seems to have been dropped out but at least the rest of the specs sheet seems pretty decent.

The Sony Ericsson W705 comes with a 2.4" QVGA display capable of showing up to 256K colors. Some of its more important features include a 3.2 MP fixed-focus snapper, FM radio with RDS, quad-band GSM and dual-band (900/2100 MHz) 3G support.

Sony Ericsson W705 Sony Ericsson W705 Sony Ericsson W705 Sony Ericsson W705
Sony Ericsson W705

The typical for the Walkman family niceties - Shake control and SensMe are also available in the W705. The phone will come with 120 MB of internal memory that can be expanded through the M2 card slot for storing your favorite tracks. In addition there will be a 4GB memory card included in the retail package to grant generous storage capacity straight out of the box.

Sony Ericsson W705 Sony Ericsson W705 Sony Ericsson W705 Sony Ericsson W705
Sony Ericsson W705

Sony Ericsson W705 will hit the shelves in two different flavors - W705 and W705u (exclusive to Orange). It will become available in Luxury Silver and Passionate Red color versions starting from Q1 of 2009.

Sony Ericsson made also another announcement - the wireless 2.1 speaker system MBS-900. It has integrated FM radio receiver and a 3.5mm standard audio jack. The unit has monochrome OLED display and Bluetooth functionality with A2DP support. Packing the impressive power output of 2x10W plus a 20W subwoofer the MBS-900 seems quite up to the task of sound-screening your next picnic.

Sony Ericsson MBS-900 Sony Ericsson MBS-900 Sony Ericsson MBS-900 Sony Ericsson MBS-900
Sony Ericsson MBS-900

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Music-centric Motorola EM35 spotted in the wild

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We came across the Motorola EM35, which will be the successor of the music oriented Motorola EM30. The smartphone runs on Linux Montavista 2.6.10 OS and has SCM-A11 500MHz processor on-board.

Motorola EM35

The new EM35 is also a music-centric phone but this time in the slider form factor. It sports three hardware music keys as well as a 3.5mm AV jack. The new baby has borrowed from Motorola ROKR E8 the navigation scroll wheel, as you can see by yourself from the leaked photos.

Of course the feature-rich music player and stereo FM radio with RDS support are here as well. Though the 110MB built-in memory is pretty good count, you can rely on the microSD card slot for expanding the on-board memory. Finally, the music section is enhanced by Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP profile for listening stereo music with compatible Bluetooth headsets.

The tri-band GSM phone will support GPRS and EDGE but no 3G. Motorola EM35 has a 2.22" QVGA TFT display with 256K colors and a 3MP camera on its back. Talking about dimensions, the EM35 slider measures 107 x 49.5 x 16 mm and weighs 117 grams.

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Sony Ericsson W705 on the stage tomorrow, leaks today

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We are pretty confident that Sony Ericsson will release some new phones tomorrow, including the Walkman branded Sony Ericsson W705. Music fans will also cheer up with the latest portable speaker MBS-900, which also will be revealed to the public.

What makes immediate impression is that the W705 design is strikingly similar to the already announced Sony Ericsson G705. According to the leaked information, the new slider phone is equipped with a 240 x 320 pixels 256K color TFT display, 3.2 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi and GPS (G705 also has both of the connectivity options on-board).

Sony Ericsson W705 is said to have 120MB of built-in memory, expandable via M2 card slot. The retail package will sport a 4GB card.

The new phone is expected to hit the market in February 2009.

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HTC Touch HD arrives to O2 Germany, yours for only 290 euro

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O2 Germany announced that the HTC Touch HD multimedia powerhouse will arrive on the carrier's shop windows rather soon. The handset will be sold exclusively by O2 in Germany for four weeks starting from mid-November.

Having seen a similar thing happen in UK, the short-term exclusivity deal in Germany hardly comes as a surprise to us. What somewhat surprises though is the fact that the phones will be sold without a SIM-lock.

HTC Touch HD
HTC Touch HD

The O2 states that it will charge 290 euro for the HTC Touch HD combined with one of their subscription plans. However there is no information if the deal is valid with any plan or only with the ones on a heftier monthly tax. We remind you that the HD retails at about 80 GBP in UK with a 40 GBP/month plan on an 18-month contract.

According to O2 the strongest selling points of the HTC Touch HD are the large 3.8" WVGA touchscreen and the TouchFLO 3D UI. In addition the phone comes with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional and an enormous set of connectivity options but unless you lived in a cave for the past few months you already knew that.

Still, you can check out our quick and dirty preview of the HTC uber QWERTY-less device.

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iPhone photo contest gets the beast out of the tiny camera

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An online iPhone photo contest was recently held and the winning entries have just been announced. The iPhone camera has been a subject of many polemics and if you ask us, it just sucks, but it's still nice to see what you can do with enough enthusiasm and some serious photoshopping.

We all know that the iPhone camera is no good and serves more as a complimentary feature - snapping some contact pics seems its best and most appropriate application. Nevertheless, the wonderful guys over at all-things-adobe KelbyTraining.com have thrown in an iPhone photo contest as means to popularize their iPhone book.

Scott Kelby, the author of the book and also publisher of the Photoshop User Magazine and co-host of the Photoshop User TV, has some really nice books on digital photography and Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, but we doubt that the mass public really needs an iPhone book.

The low quality of the iPhone camera makes it even more interesting and fun to see some of the winning entries in a dedicated photo contest. We hope you enjoy them too.

iPhone photo contest
Best in Show (by Dewitt Jones)

iPhone photo contest iPhone photo contest
Winners: Friends (Austin Meyer) • Pets (Donato Rondinelli)

iPhone photo contest iPhone photo contest iPhone photo contest
Winners: Office (Suri Teller) • Family (Eric Rasch) • Fine Art (Roger Levesque)

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Nokia unveils 7 low-cost handsets, there are even more coming soon

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Today Nokia unveiled seven new handsets that come right into the low-to-mid end segment. The new offerings include 7100 Supernova, 5130 XpressMusic, 2323 classic, 2330 classic, 2320 classic, 1661 and what is said to be the most affordable Nokia handset to date - the 1202. Targeted mainly at the emerging markets they rely on low price tags and unusual design rather than functionality to win customers.

The Nokia 7100 Supernova is the stylish offering for people on a tight budget. The handset packs a 1.3 megapixel camera, FM radio and a 65K QVGA screen. Bluetooth connectivity and radio recording are some of the other more interesting features of the phone. The handset will also come complete with support for image sharing and email services on Ovi.

Nokia 7100 Supernova Nokia 7100 Supernova Nokia 7100 Supernova Nokia 7100 Supernova
Nokia 7100 Supernova

The Nokia 7100 Supernova comes in two different dual-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE versions (850/1900 MHz and 900/1800 MHz) and will have three colors to pick from (Jelly red, Fresh blue and Black). It is expected to start shipping in Q4 2008 with an estimated retail price of 75 euro (95 US dollars).

The music-centered Nokia 5130 XpressMusic comes with dedicated music keys, a standard 3.5mm audio jack and FM radio. It also has a 2 megapixel fixed focus snapper and a 2" QVGA display with up to 256K colors. Bluetooth and USB are also on board and there is a microSD card slot to allow you to carry more music on the handset. A 1GB memory card will be included in the standard retail package.

Nokia 5130 XpressMusic Nokia 5130 XpressMusic Nokia 5130 XpressMusic
Nokia 5130 XpressMusic

Dubbed to be the most affordable music handset on the market the quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE Nokia 5130 XpressMusic will hit the shelves in Red and Blue in Q1 of 2009. Its estimated retail price is 90 euro (113 US dollars).

The classic trio announced today includes the Nokia 2330 classic, Nokia 2323 classic and the Nokia 2320 classic. All of the handsets have somewhat extraordinary design as far as recent trends go and as their names suggest quite modest specs sheets. Each of them will have a 65K color display with a resolution of 128 x 160 pixels.

Nokia
Nokia 2330 classic and Nokia 2323 classic

In addition, the Nokia 2323 and 2330 classic will pack FM radios with recording capabilities. The Nokia 2330 also comes with a built-in VGA camera and Bluetooth.

Nokia Nokia
Nokia 2330 classic

The Nokia 2320 will be is the most affordable of the trio, packing very little more than the basic telephony and messaging features.

The Nokia 2320 classic, Nokia 2323 classic and the Nokia 2330 classic will start shipping in Q2 2009. The 2330 classic will retail for about 50 euro (63 US dollars) a piece while the 2320 and the 2323 will be yours for only 40 euro (50 US dollars).

Nokia 2323 classic Nokia 2323 classic Nokia 2323 classic
Nokia 2323 classic

Nokia 1661 (or 1662 as it will be known in some areas) will be the company's lowest cost color screen phone. According to the manufacturer the phone is designed to suit mostly the demands of the inhabitants of rural areas. Its features include flashlight, an FM radio and multiple phonebooks. The display on the phone will sport a resolution of 128 x 160 pixels and will be capable of showing up to 65K colors.

Nokia 1661 Nokia 1661 Nokia 1661 Nokia 1661
Nokia 1661

The Nokia 1661 will have two dual-band GSM versions (850/1900 MHz and 900/1800 MHz) one of which will presumably be sold as Nokia 1662. They will both start shipping in the first quarter of next year, costing just about 30 euro (38 US dollars).

Finally we reach the Nokia 1202 - the last handset of today's announcement is the most affordable of the lot. The highlights of the device are extended battery life, a flashlight and a separate phonebooks for up to five users.

Nokia 1202 Nokia 1202 Nokia 1202
Nokia 1202

The handset will be available in two dual band versions (850/1900 MHz and 900/1800 MHz) before the end of 2008. The 1202 version will be available in Midnight black and Violet blue while the 1203 will come in silver gray for the mere 25 euro (31 US dollars).

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