Sep 26

The Gphone Is More Google Than A Phone |

By Harel Shattenstein
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News

Thats it, on Tuesday the expectation ended and the long awaited mobile phone the so-called Gphone was officially announced.
I can’t remember such anticipation for a mobile device rather than the iPhone, of course.
The G1 is a product of HTC, T-Mobile and Google, 4 executives set down and explained why the G1 will be such a hit, However it seemed that Google was not so enthusiastic, go ask Sergey Brin and Larry Page that came to say hello and roll out.
Do not get me wrong, That is Google’s first mobile phone, but for them unlike T-Mobile and HTC, it is just the beginning, The beginning of a new era.

The iPhone for example changed the mobile industry and for the first time the hardware was not the issue.
It does not matter how much megapixel the camera is and if there are stereo speakers or not.
Until the iPhone came hardware was the issue, than apple made it all about software and more important user interface.
So which era has began now that the first Android phone is out?! It is the mobile OS era.
I am sorry to disappoint you but I do not think that Apple thought at first to release the OSX SDK for developers.
Jobes, thinking as a centralist as always, wanted to alter the mobile industry like he did with the iPod, nothing less.
He did not notice the MAIN issue in mobile consumption which is the content and that the quality of experience is influenced by the variety of possibilities.
After the iPhone hit the market, it was noticed that the beautiful “box” itself isn’t enough and that Apple is not a services development company.
Back to the Android and the OS era, Google want to be on any mobile phone, where is it an Android based phone or even an iPhone.

This fact brings me to my main point, Google does not want to create full web experience mobile phones, there are already enablers that do just that, take a look at Opera, Skyfire and yes again at the iPhone.
Google just want to build a mobile OS, It have all the services to do that like mail, maps, IM etc and the rest will fall into the developers hands.
Google’s Android comparison to the iPhone is really like comparing Symbian to J2ME.
Google tries to enable others to create services but still, Google still think as the player that came after the iPhone and try to clone the AppStore’s business model.
Only in the case that Google removes all restrictions and barriers and attract the operators and the users, they will be able to take control over the mobile OS market and operate as the Microsoft of the mobile world.
If Apple continues with the same attitude, they will be the Apple of the mobile OS market, nice, shaped, with no significant market share.
So enough with my analysis what do you think?

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Aug 27

The Weekly Mobile Phones Coverage 27.8 |

By Harel Shattenstein & Jeb Brilliant
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Devices

Two new Nokia N-series phones N79 & N85

Nokia announce today on the new N-series phones to its multimedia phones portfolio.
The first is the Nokia N85, The device share the same design factors as the N81 which was the first to include the Navi-Wheel.
The Nokia N85 is a 5 megapixel shooter with A-GPS, Wi-Fi and FM receivers.
It runs on Symbian OS S60 FP 2 which is displayed on a 2.6 inch AMOLED screen with 16 millions colors and an accelerometer.
As a High-End multimedia device the N85 will support all of Nokia OVI services.
The N85 will be on sale on October and will cost 660 US dollars.

Full specification

The second device is the successor of the N78 The new Nokia N79.
The N79 has a smaller screen than the N85, A 2.4 TFT screen.
More or less the N79 share the same features like the N85: 5 megapixel camera, A-GPS and Wi-Fi.
Again all OVI services can run on the device.
More interesting is the come-back of the XperssOn covers the N79 comes with two additional covers in retail.
The N79 will be on sale from October at the price of 515 US dollars.

Full specification

HTC dual keyboard smartphone

While HTC is getting the EISA (European Imaging and Sound Association) award for its iPhone rival, the HTC diamond, HTC is introducing The S740.

The dual keyboard smartphone design inspired by the diamond and touch diamond devices.
It runs Windows Mobile 6.1 and has Wi-Fi and A-GPS.
The devices will start to be sold the next month in Europe.



Full specification

HTC “Dream” is FCC approved

The FCC approved the HTC Dream the first Andorid based mobile phone that will launch on T-Mobile this year.

The full specification (Not confirmed) By AndroidGuys

  • 528Mhz Qualcomm 7201 processor
  • Data kit for USB connectivity in the box
  • 64MB Internal RAM
  • 128MB Internal ROM
  • 1GB MicroSD card
  • 5 Row QWERTY keypad
  • Trackball
  • Dedicated camera button
  • 3.1MP camera (no flash) 2048 x 1536
  • Video playback files – H.264, streaming, 3GPP, MPEG4, and Codec 3GP
  • Dedicated YouTube Player
  • Audio playback files – MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA, MPEG4, WAV, MIDI, REAL AUDIO, OGG
  • Wallpaper supports JPG, BMP, PNG, and GIF
  • Speakerphone (mono, natch)
  • Ringtones (MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA)
  • HTTP, WAP Push, xHTML
  • Bluetooth (class 1)
  • Picture Caller ID
  • SMS and MMS support (Take that Apple!)
  • POP, IMAP, and SMTP, AOL, and GMAIL email
  • AIM, MSN, YAHOO, and GTALK messaging
  • Quad Band (850, 900, 1800, 1900)
  • 3G
  • 802.11b & 802.11g
  • UMTS (1,4), HSDPA, SUPL
  • 1150mAh battery
  • Screen size is 3.17″ with HVGA (480 x 320)
  • Handset 117 x 55 x 16mm
  • 5.6 oz weight
  • Sync capable with Google Calendar
  • Downloadable content via Android Marketplace
  • Google Streetview with built-in compass
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Aug 05
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News

HTC, a device manufacturer from Taiwan and a member of the OHA (Open Handset Alliance), is scheduling to release the first Android based devices at the end of 2008.
HTC’s declaration ignores the unscheduled delay from Google, the founder of the OHA organization and Android mobile OS developer.

It seems like HTC wants to take advantage of the Android mobile OS and to refresh its line-up with devices that are based on more than one OS. Currently HTC mobile phones run Microsoft Windows Mobile OS.

HTC designs and manufactures its own branded devices for the past 2 years now while in the past they only manufactured OEM devices. The Israeli device market works with HTC devices that were using the “i-mate” brand before 2006. HTC’s main problem is the transition from an OEM manufacturer to a branded phones manufacturer. The move from OEM to branded phones requires a paradigm shift in many issues concerning the device and its stability. While in the OEM market they needed to release the newest features and very fast on the expense of the stability of the phone, branded phones manufacturers put more emphasis on the stability and testing of the device before they release it to the market.

HTC’s decision to ignore the delays of the other organizations it is dependant on, demonstrates that they still prefer to release an unstable device with many features and to be first to the market. If that will be the case, it will be very interesting to see the device technical failure rate and the return rate. It will show if the strategy of go first to the market even if the device is unstable is the right decision.

Cellular-news reports that Qualcomm is also working on an Android based device.
There are not too many details regarding the Qualcomm’s Android device, but Qualcomm’s COO mentioned that the Snapdragon chipset will feature a 1Ghz processor and will support up to 8 megapixel camera.

We should expect an internet centric / iPhone rival to come at 2009 or even at this year if it depends on HTC.

Via intomobile & Cellular-News

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