SmartPhones

The CEO of Symbian, the company, producer of Symbian, the operating system, OS for such popular smartphones as the LG Joy, Motorola MOTORIZR Z8, Samsung SGH series, several Sony Ericsson smartphones, and dozens of Nokia smartphones, has suggested that collaboration with search giant Google, and makers of the long-awaited (by users) and feared (by competitors) Android mobile OS, would be more than welcome by him.

Avoiding specifics as to whether the releationship would remain in the realm of applications or venture into OS territory, chief Symbian-ite Nigel Clifford points out that Google and Symian have already been working closely together for a while now, mainly on search and mapping applications for Nokia smartphones.

It would be quite difficult for the two to merge their operating systems, so the likes of RIM and Apple don’t have too much to be nervous about, but the mutual back-scratching of the two giants in their respective industries leaves a lot for fellow partners Motorola, LG, Samsung, and others a lot to be excited about. Only time will tell however, what such a collaborative venture will produce.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: Android, apple, Google, LG, Motorola, Nokia, RIM, Samsung, Symbian

First smartphones helped you find where you were going. Now, once you get there, they can help you find a place to park.

According to the NY Times, San Francisco is the site of the test-drive for this novel innovation, a “wireless sensor network” that uses a device embedded in a 4” x 4” piece of plastic attached to the pavement beside individual parking spaces to indicate wirelessly whether or not that space is occupied.

The ever-progressive city is trying out this technology on 6,000 metered parking spaces (out of 24,000 citywide) to see if such a thing can improve the parking disaster drivers are currently facing there.

Just like looking up maps and directions, smartphone users will be able to view maps of the area they’re traveling with available parking spaces lit up. Additional features this technology can make available are the ability to pay for spaces remotely, and even to feed the meter remotely should their stay last longer than intended.

On the flip side, surely this same technology may also be used to make meter-reading (and thus parking-ticket distribution) easier too.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: meter reader, New York Times, NY Times, parking, parking meter, San Francisco, wireless sensor network

Nokia lovers rejoice! Last week smartphone stalwart Nokia released its newest candy-bar style smartphone, the Nokia 6220 Classic, a quad-band GSM smartphone with 3G, HSDPA, and EDGE data connectivity.

Microsoft Office users will appreciate that the Nokia 6220 lets them view and edit Office documents, but they may find it a bit frustating to perform those tasks without a QWERTY keyboard on the phone.

One of the most striking features of this new, Bluetooth compatible, Symbian powered smartphone is its 5 mega-pixel camera using Carl Zeiss optics and featuring a Xenon flash, auto-focus ability, video recording capabilities as high as 30 frames/second. It even comes with a second camera to be used for video calling.

And that’s just the tip of the multimedia iceberg for the new Nokia, as it also includes an integrated FM radio, a music player compatible with many different codecs, MPEG4 video-playing ability, and even the possibility of watching regular television on the 2.2” screen.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: 3G, auto focus, Bluetooth, EDGE, GSM, hsdpa, Microsoft Office, MPEG4, Nokia, Nokia 6220, quad band, QWERTY, Symbian, video recording, Xenon, Zeiss

It seems nothing frustrates smartphone users more than finding the devices on which they spend their hard-earned money – not just once, but month after month – locked from them. But for Palm Centro users, at least, that inconvenience is about to become a thing of the past.

Palm has just announced the upcoming release of an unlocked version of their popular Palm Centro smartphone. Available form both Verizon Wireless and Sprint Mobile, the new unlocked Palm Centro will give users a lot more versatility about what they can now do on their devices, and most excitingly how much they can customize and personalize their devices to suit their own unique needs.

A GSM smartphone, the unlocked Centro will also feature support for the increasingly popular Google Maps application with the unparalleled My Location for Centro feature included.

The unlocked Palm Centro will otherwise retain the same general look and feel of the previous, locked Centro, still Palm’s smallest and lightest-weight design, though the unlocked Centro will be white in color with gray accents.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: Centro, Google Maps, GSM, My Location, Palm

It's called the Nokia E71 and it's just made technology history (or at least the record books) as the thinnest QWERTY-keyboard smartphone in the world. The latest in the Nokia E-Series of handsets for business, the E71 is the replacement for the Nokia E61.

The E71 is HSDPA network capable and features a built-in GPS and both the Nokia email software and Microsoft Exchange. It also offers two home screens you can switch between at will - one for home and one for the office. And the digital camera (with flash) is a whopping 3.2 megapixels.

By designing a casing that's thin and compact, Nokia aims to appeal to those business users who take their handheld with them everywhere and are constantly holding it, using it, and interacting with it. The fact that the E71 boasts a durable hard metal casing is another appeal to businesspeople always on-the-go.

So while the RIM BlackBerry is busy battling the Apple iPhone, the Nokia E71 seems to be sneaking in from behind for some of the BlackBerry's business.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: 3.2 megapixels, apple, Blackberry, business smartphone, digital camera, E61, E71, GPS, hsdpa, iphone, Nokia, RIM

Verizon Wireless has just announced that they will now be carrying their own version of the much-loved Palm Centro.

Previously only available on Sprint and AT&T networks, the Palm Centro will now be available on the Verizon network, finally giving users the mobile high-speed internet access they’ve been craving. Unlike the AT&T version, the Verizon Palm Centro is compatible with the EV-DO network, giving the device previously unheard-of web and email speeds. And all this at an appealing $99 price point.

The Verizon Palm Centro comes in one color – dark blue. Otherwise it’s the same BlackBerry look-alike as all the other Palm Centros.

The Palm Centro for Verizon Wireless includes a full QWERTY keyboard and a pre-installed GoogleMaps application that can pull up and research data directly from users’ Contacts. And in addition to all the usual email apps that normally come with the Centro, the Centro for Verizon also includes Wireless Sync, Verizon’s own proprietary emailing solution.

Unfortunately, the device will not, however, include support Verizon’s favored V-Cast multimedia solution. (At least not yet.)

Palm says that thanks to this new arrangement with Verizon, it now plans to ship out 2 million units by the end of the year.

written by admin \\ tags: Palm Centro, V-Cast, verizon, Verizon Smart Phones, Verizon Wireless

It was last November that Google announced their entry into the smartphone OS battle (alongside Symbian, RIM BlackBerry OS, Microsoft Windows Mobile, and of course the inimitable iPhone) but we have yet to see the first Google Android smartphone on the market. Well that is soon about to change.

A British chip maker named ARM has released a prototype of its unbranded handset running the Google Android operating system, equipped with:

• email (provided by Gmail)
• text messaging
• multimedia apps
• internet browser (with Google as the default home page)
• Google Calendar functionality
• GoogleMaps software

Meanwhile, Google's own engineering director has unveiled an Android smartphone prototype as well, this the Google branded GPhone. While Google won't be manufacturing the GPhones itself, it aims to design the basic handset in such a way that manufacturers of all capacities can still deliver a quality, Google-worthy product. The first of these looks to pack the equivalent power of the iPhone into a smaller, tighter package (and that includes the screen size).

The first Google Android smartphones are expected to hit markets later in the year.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: Android, ARM, BB OS, Blackberry, British, Gmail, Google, GoogleCalendar, GoogleMaps, iphone, Microsoft, RIM, Symbian, text messaging, Windows Mobile

Taking social networking to the next level, Trapster, a new wireless, Web 2.0 type software service for smartphones enables you to avoid speeding tickets while driving.

With Trapster, users share information on police speed traps wirelessly by pressing a button on their smartphone, the information then compiled and distributed to other smartphone users based on their locations, as determined by GPS and Skyhook Wireless.

Motorists can either set their smartphones to sound an alert whenever their vehicle nears a police radar detector, alternatively, a driver can choose to download a map of their route with the determined speed traps indicated.

False reports are minimized by comparing warnings from all users in the same area, with the intention being to make the system more and more accurate and efficient as time goes on and more people participate.

Already the technology has caught the attention of: CNN, The New York Times, Digg, Wired, Slashdot, FOX News, The Wall Street Journal, Yahoo Finance and more.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: CNN, Digg, FOX News, Global Positioning System, GPS, radar detectors, Skyhook Wireless, Slashdot, social networking, speed traps, speeding tickets, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Trapster, Web 2.0, Wired, Yahoo Finance

The good news? According to Wired Magazine, the seminal technology information source, the mobile file-sharing network CloudTrade is now offering free, legal music file-sharing on smartphones.

The catch? Only about 250 songs are currently available through this service. Why? Because CloudShare is only allowed to offer songs from its participating music label partners, those being: ATO Records (founded by none other than Dave Matthews) and Sci Fidelity Records.

Actually, that's only the first catch (albeit probably the more impactful one). The other catch (a familiar one to most users of free web and mobile services) is that users consent to view video advertisements and/or play games labeled with various company logos along with the music they access through the service.
Radiohead fans, for one, can rejoice over the news, as ATO is their U.S. CD distributor, as can fans of Mike Doughty, David Gray, Gomez, The Whigs, Crowded House, and Gov't Mule.

As for Sci Fidelity stars include jam bands like The String Cheese Incident, Greyboy Allstars, the Disco Biscuits, the Steve Kimock Band, and Karl Denson's Tiny Universe.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: ATO Records, CloudShare, Crowded House, Dave Matthews, David Gray, Disco Biscuits, file sharing, Gomez, Gov't Mule, Greyboy Allstars, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Mike Doughty, music file sharing, music sharing, Sci Fidelity Records, Steve Kimock Band, String Cheese Incident, the Whigs

Not only can you now get the NY Times delivered to your smartphone, but (to borrow a phrase) you can "have it your way" too. If you pick up a paper copy of the New York Times anytime soon, you'll notice that, in certain sections, you'll find a prompt inviting you to get headlines from that section with links to those articles sent to your smartphone for later reading.

With the new NY Times mobile service, you can do all of the following from your wireless internet-enabled smartphone:

• Read all the latest news in all of the NY Times sections
• Scan the front of sections for headlines of interest to you, and click on them for the full article
• Navigate from section to section easily, and without the mess of all that paper

Plus, you can search back a full 7 days into The Times' archive.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: New York Times, NY Times