Mediate introduces MT6236 platform (Taiwan)
MediaTek, Taiwanese fabless semiconductor company has introduced its new MT6236 platform. MT6236 targets the feature-rich multimedia market and supports high-end graphic displays; web browsing and full-finger touch functionality.
It features 5 megapixel camera, mobile TV, HVGA display, integrated Bluetooth, and full HTML browser. The MT6236 platform is pre-integrated with MediaTek’s software solution to reduce the design cycle time. MediaTelk also announced that it has opened an office in Dubai.
With the new office, MediaTek hopes to strengthen its regional connections and to grow its business by over 20% in the region.
NTT DoCoMo to sell Xperia arc from March 24 (Japan)
Japan’s NTT DoCoMo is all set to begin the sales of Xperia arc SO-01C smartphone nationwide from 24th March.
The arc is powered by Android 2.3 and supports download speeds of 14 Mbps. It is a touch screen mobile featuring Wi-Fi connectivity, FM Radio, GPS, Camera, Email, Instant messaging, 3.5 mm audio jack, Google Maps and Media Player.
T-Mobile Austria to offer Samsung Nexus S from March 9
T-Mobile Austria will sell the new Samsung Nexus S Android 2.3 smartphone from March 9. The handset will be available with the HIT2000 Large Entertainment plan.
In addition, T-Mobile is waiving the US$83 connection fee for all new customers transferring to T-Mobile and is offering them credit worth US$55.57 (divided over 24 months).
The handset is a touchscreen phone. It is equipped with a 5 MP Camera with Geo tagging, autofocus, LED flash and Video Recording. It also supports document viewer (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF) and fast internet browsing. One can also access Google Search, Maps, Gmail, You Tube and Social networking integration. Users can also use Google Talk, Picasa integration, Flash Player v10.1 and A-GPS support.
Apple iPhone battery explodes
Apple iPhone has reportedly exploded when resting on a desk – with burn marks visible on the table after the phone had cooled down.
According to iPhone 4 owner Omar Huartas, his Apple smartphone actually explodedâ€.
The iDevice apparently became really hot while his wife was holding it, causing the battery to swell, the back cover to dislodge and the smartphone to catch fire. After being frightened near to dear, Huertas’ wife dropped the device on a table where it left visible burn marks. While most reports like this are usually a hoax, it actually appears true, with the moment being caught on camera.
Huartas has contacted Apple to see if, perhaps, he can get a new iPhone.
Digital Camera still a hit
According to a new research report, while mobile phones continue to increase share of voice and share of image capture, the dedicated camera remains the image capture device of choice by most consumers.
The device with the largest percentage of all photos taken was the digital still camera, at 51%. Close behind, however, was the mobile phone, at 42%. Demographics play a factor in which device consumers choose for image capture. 13-17 year olds reported taking 54% of their photos with a mobile phone and 36% with a camera, while Moms reported taking 40% of their photos with a mobile phone and 55% with a camera.
As more devices are capable of both still and video capture, the usage pattern for video also tilts towards cameras. There was nearly an even split among amount of video captured on mobile phone versus camera, at 35% phone / 34% camera. Only 27% of video was reported being recorded on either a traditional or pocket camcorder.
When surveyed about the most important features in their next photo capture device (regardless of the actual device used), those favored by more than half of respondents included ease of use, long battery life and ease to carry.
These three attributes are easily satisfied by today’s smart phones, but other highly sought-after qualities for which a dedicated camera is best suited are
- High quality photos in low light environments
- Optical zoom capability
- Fast response time between pushing the button and capturing the image
Wind River and VIA Telecom Collaborate on Android Solution for Smartphones
Wind River has teamed with VIA Telecom on a multiyear project, codenamed Kunlun, to help bring low-cost Android smartphones featuring high-end capabilities to regional original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for the Chinese code division multiple access (CDMA) market. The collaboration delivers an integrated software and hardware Android solution to help OEMs meet network operator requirements and deliver Android devices to market faster with greater engineering efficiencies.
The Android software stack at the heart of Kunlun leverages Wind River Platform for Android, a validated and fully compliant commercial-quality software platform based on the Android software development kit. Designed to lower total cost of ownership and accelerate time-to-market for OEMs, Wind River Platform for Android has been customized to meet the acceptance criteria for Chinese operator networks. VIA Telecom delivered the 3G EVDO Rev. A and 1xRTT modem and telephony software and created the PCBA (print circuit board assembly) phone board hardware. While Kunlun initially targets the Chinese market, this integrated software and hardware offering provides a common PCBA platform to create Android devices that can be easily adapted for other markets.
“Working closely with VIA Telecom, Wind River is able to help OEMs gain quick entry into the lucrative Chinese mobile market by delivering high-quality and low-cost Android devices certified on Chinese operator networks,” said Michael Krutz, vice president of worldwide solutions and services at Wind River. “Kunlun is a reliable turnkey software and hardware Android platform that allows OEMs to bypass complex, expensive and time-consuming engineering hurdles such as integration and testing and focus their efforts on the features that will help them differentiate themselves from competitors.”
“Kunlun helps eliminate significant cost and engineering obstacles for entry into the Android market for OEMs. Our work with Wind River allows us to now deliver Android to our large customer base by providing a powerful yet affordable integrated solution to help regional OEMs get their Android devices to market quickly,” said Dr. Ker Zhang, chief executive officer of VIA Telecom. “It was critical to find a partner who had the expertise to smoothly integrate the many complex elements from each contributor and possessed knowledge of Chinese operator and Android requirements. Wind River seemed the obvious choice.”
“Android’s rapid growth and demand in the market place have made it a key platform for developers and OEMs,” said William Stofega, program director of Mobile Phone Technology and Trends at IDC. “China is the world’s largest mobile market and a prime target for Android devices at all levels, especially low-cost yet feature-rich smartphones.”
Using the flexible Kunlun PCBA platform, regional OEMs are able to bring low-cost Android devices that feature high-end capabilities to new markets. Devices developed from the Kunlun PCBA platform may include features such as GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM radio, camera, touchpad, keyboard and microSD for external memory.
As the primary system integrator of software components, Wind River provided critical elements such as overall system integration, optimization and testing. Wind River Framework for Automated Software Testing (FAST) for Android, an automated software testing solution for Android-based devices, was used to rapidly test and validate software and prove compliance with the Android Compatibility Test Suite. Wind River FAST for Android can be customized for leading silicon architectures, across any device manufacturer or operator in need of testing Android software stacks.
Additional information about Wind River Platform for Android is available at http://www.windriver.com/solutions/mobile-devices/android.html.
About Wind River
Wind River, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel Corporation, is a world leader in embedded and mobile software. Wind River has been pioneering computing inside embedded devices since 1981, and its technology is found in more than 500 million products. Wind River is headquartered in Alameda, Calif., with offices in more than 15 countries. To learn more, visit Wind River at www.windriver.com or blogs.windriver.com.
Vodafone Business World offers 10 GB Mobile Broadband plus Free MIFI
Vodafone Qatar takes mobile broadband to the next level with the launch of the new Business World 10GB Mobile Broadband plan with free Vodafone MiFi.
Exclusive to Vodafone Business World customers, the Mobile Broadband 10 GB plan has no lock-in period or contract and costs only QR 300. The free MiFi valued at QR 599 will only be available while stocks last.
With Vodafone Business World Mobile Broadband, users can have multiple laptops, a Smartphone and iPad all working at the same time. Send emails, browse the web, download tunes and access office networks – all at speeds of 7.2 Mbps without the need for a fixed WiFi hotspot or network cable.
Vodafone MiFi creates a WiFi hotspot wherever the user is, so you can take the internet wherever you go and share it with 5 colleagues wirelessly with Vodafone MiFi.
Vodafon MiFi comes with its own storage card slot to store, update and share documents and media files on the go. Boasting expanded storage capacity up to 16GB, Vodafone MiFi is small and highly portable; the device fits into the palm of your hand and its sleek design mean it’s bound to get you noticed!
Pre-installed plug and play software means Vodafone MiFi makes life all work and play as you wirelessly connect to any WiFi enabled device such as a camera or music player.
“Whether you want to work collaboratively on a project or just need to have multiple devices connecting together while you’re out and about, Vodafone MiFi gives you the best of Vodafone’s 3G broadband connection and combines it with all the benefits of WiFi to deliver a great product,” says Jan Holzberg.
Vodafone MiFi is the latest business focused Vodafone service following the recent launch of Business World, offering a great value Business Freedom account, 50% savings on international calls and 10MB of free Mobile Internet each month.
For more information about Vodafone MiFi, visit www.vodafone.com.qa
Tata Indicom launches CDMA-GSM 3G BlackBerry Bold 9650 (India)
Tata Indicom has launched the BlackBerry Bold 9650, which is the first combined CDMA-GSM 3G smartphone in the BlackBerry Bold series. The handset will cost around US$567. The company will also provide the users with a special offer- for first two months, customers will receive a free data pack worth US$20.26 per month, as well as 500 MB of tethered modem data usage. Moreover, the phone will come packed with Tata’s live TV (Photon TV) service.
The BlackBerry Bold 9650 is equipped with a 3.2-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi connectivity, GPS and a microSD memory card slot.
According to Mr Sunil Batra, President of CDMA Operations at Tata Teleservices Limited, as the youngest dual-technology telecom service provider in India, the addition of a Smartphone like the BlackBerry Bold 9650 to the company’s portfolio of products and services from Research In Motion is an important step in strengthening offerings to consumers. Tata’s pan-India reach, supported by the traditionally strong speeds on TTL’s cutting-edge CDMA network, will provide users with an exceptional voice and data communication experience, enhanced by the ability to share and experience multimedia, chat and social networking on the go.
T-Mobile myTouch 4G finally launching on November 3
T-Mobile has announced that they will start the shipping of myTouch 4G from November 3rd onwards. The handset will be retailed for $199.99 on a 2-year contract.
The hone comes packed with a 3.8 inch screen, front-facing camera, 5 megapixel rear-facing camera with support for 720p HD video recording, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, Android 2.2 FroYo and a pre-installed 8GB microSD card. The handset also includes HSPA+ network and a 1GHz Snapdragon processor.
The body of the myTouch 4G is primarily metal. It’s thin and is very lite weighted. The phone is equipped with the standard headphone jack, camera button and microUSB port along the spines and top of the handset. The 5-megapixel camera module and flash are relatively subtle on the back but we wouldn’t have minded an 8-megapixel sensor
