HTC Launches New Diamond Variant - S740

After the HTC Touch Diamond and the HTC Touch Pro which is merely an extension of the former with a QWERTY keypad, the company has now announced the introduction of the HTC S740. This handset appears to be another variation of the form factor of the Touch Pro. The difference is that the S740 has been designed to offer users the comfort of a normal 12-key phone design and a slide out QWERTY keyboard.

"Demand for high-performance, smart, mobile devices continue to see strong growth globally and HTC is well positioned to meet the varying needs of our diverse customer base," said Dr. Florian Seiche, Vice President of HTC Europe. "The HTC S740 combines a powerful, premium phone with a full slide-out keypad in a compact and sleek form factor. Clearly, one size does not fit all and the S740 will play an important role in expanding our growing portfolio of devices."

The S740 has a 2.4 inch QVGA display with a 240 x 320 pixel resolution and 65k colors (not a touch screen). With regards to connectivity it supports 3G with HSDPA speeds, Wi-Fi, EDGE/GPRS, Bluetooth with an A2DP profile and of course USB v2.0. Memory can be extended using microSD cards. It also has integrated GPS with A-GPS support using Google maps and a 3.2MP camera (non auto-focus). The S740 runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional. Other features include a media player and an FM radio.

The handset will be available across Europe from September 2008 but there’s no pricing yet.

Idea, Nokia to Offer N96 From September

Idea Cellular, on Tuesday announced that it would offer an integrated suite of Idea services on a range of mid-to-high-end Nokia handsets.

This will offer consumers the combined advantage of easy-to-use devices with an enhanced experience in Internet services, content and browsing on Idea's high speed 2.75G Edge networks across the country, a press release issued in Mumbai said.

The company also plans to introduce several attractive offers and innovative tariff plans on various devices, starting with the N96, in early September, targeted at a varied cross-section of customers, the release said.

Idea customers will get faster and easier access to all of Idea's Internet and entertainment services on a wide range of mutually identified mid-and-high-end Nokia handsets, the release said.

Nokia 3600

Fast performance Easy to use Good form factor

Mediocre music player and camera Nothing really new in this phone No GPS

View Specifications

It seems lately Nokia’s taken to rehashing its existing phone database, by simply stripping down the design and updating the software. At its price point the 3600 brings nothing new to the table, except perhaps Nokia Maps and a rather mediocre 3.2 MP camera.

The 3600 is a slider with dimensions of 97.8 x 47.2 x 14.5 mm, and weighs some 97g. I felt it was quite light, although it isn’t the slimmest phone available. As is the case with most Nokia phones, it looks good enough for the current generation. The slide action is smooth, although the spring could have been improved a bit.

The 2-inch TFT screen can display 16M colors, and is really nothing to boast about. It’s a fingerprint magnet, and not scratch-resistant in the least, so it has every chance of losing its sparkle after a while.

The keys are a wonder to use, including the 5-way nav-pad on the face of the phone as well as the keypad. The back is made of plastic, with a steel plate for the camera and the home logo.

Not having a rubberized back means it’s more susceptible to accidental falls, and the steel plate only makes matters worse. In fact, accidental drops can create dents on the plate, making it look really ugly.

First Mobile Phone With Projector Makes an Appearance

I’ve been looking forward to 'seeing' what the first mobile phone with an integrated projector would be like ever since I first heard about this technology being in the works. Personally I didn’t expect it to be out so soon, but I'm not complaining. The handset in question is called the Epoq EGP-PP01.

This Tri-band GSM handset has the capability of projecting images as large as 30 inches (diagonal). The resolution of the projector is 640 x 480 pixels. Not only can it project images that are on the phone but DVD players or other media devices (including Laptops) with TV out features can be hooked up to the handset.

The handset comes with a 2.4-inch TFT LCD with a 240 x 320 pixel resolution. It supports GPRS and WAP, has a 1.3MP camera, supports Bluetooth with A2DP and USB and has a sound recorder. From the looks of the images floating around it seems like the handset runs on a UI similar to Apple’s iPhone.

The Epoq EGP-PP01 is priced at $549.95 on GadgetCraver. Perhaps it’ll make it here too. When... is of course the big question.

MOTOZINE ZN5 Launches in India

Motorola and KODAK's MOTOZINE ZN5 camera phone has finally made it to the Indian market. Sony Ericsson's Cyber-Shot series has got more competition now. With features that include Motorola's "ModeShift Technology" and KODAK's "Imaging Technology" this camera could just give the other mobiles in this segment a run for their pixels.

The ZN5 comes with a Xenon flash. It has a 2.4-inch TFT display with a 240 x 320 pixel resolution and 256k colors. With regard to connectivity the handset supports Wi-Fi, EDGE, GPRS, Bluetooth with A2DP and USB v2.0. Memory can be expanded via microSD cards. It comes with a TV out feature and a 3.5mm earphone socket. The handset also features Motorola's CrystalTalk technology.

Consumers can experience a totally customized Indian experience on their ZN5. They can stay updated with news on their mobile phones with access to the WAP version of printed publications including Financial Express, Indian Express, and Deccan Chronicle via the ‘Daily News’ link in the ZN5. Motorola designers have specially designed wallpapers inspired by India and its people, traditions and fine arts.

Consumers can download more wallpapers from MOTOMUSIC, that as a combined service on the web and WAP, allows consumers to download full songs, ring tones, music video clips and wallpapers to both their PC and mobile at the same time. In addition, three cricket games by Krish Cricket have been preloaded on the ZN5, along with live cricket scorecards, ball-by-ball commentary, live match simulations, Series schedules and news.

Although no official pricing has been fixed, Motorola says the MOTOZINE ZN5 would be priced at approximately Rs. 20,000.

MOTOZINE ZN5 will be available in India from mid-September 2008 in retail stores and will come with a 2GB memory card and a TV-out cable. As part of the introductory offer, consumers will get 100 free Kodak prints of their personal photographs at select Kodak stores until 31 March 2009. This offer includes 60 4x6 prints, 15 8x12 prints and 25 prints of photos uploaded to www.motozine.picsquare.com with free home delivery service.

Xperia Launch Date Further Delayed

The latest scoop, according to reports says that Sony Ericsson’s elusive handset, the Xperia X1, as now been further delayed. This is getting rather annoying as the handset just doesn’t seem to be making any headway. This looks like it is some sort of gimmick the company has cooked up to flash the Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional handset at as many events as possible without making a proper statement as to when it will officially launch. It was showcased at SE's booth at this year's IFA as well.

The last news we heard was that the handset was due to be out a while back. Nothing happened of course, and it was delayed till the latter half of the year. October was the speculation. Now it seems that has been further delayed to the end of the year. December or maybe even January of 2009. All I have to say is, if the company is taking so much time to make sure the handset is properly prepped and glitch-free for a launch, this had better be one heck of a mobile phone. iPhone 3G and N96, look out!

SE Xperia X1 SDK Out For Developers

Sony Ericsson has unveiled their new Beta SDK for Windows Mobile 6.1 to enable developers to create Xperia Panels and applications for the Xperia X1 phone. Xperia Panels can be Native or Web (HTML) and the new SDK includes an X1 emulator, Microsoft Visual Studio IDE plug-in and templates, documents and sample code for the quick development, testing, debugging and deployment of these panels.

Sony Ericsson Developer World also offers Xperia Panels testing and signing information and a new Windows Mobile moderated discussion forum. Xperia Panels will also have a dedicated category in the upcoming Sony Ericsson Content Awards 2008.

The SDK features a built-in true Xperia X1 phone device emulator allowing you to run, test and debug panels locally on your computer without needing phone hardware. To save time and resources so you can get started quickly, integration with Microsoft Visual Studio means you can use predefined Native and Web (HTML) Panel templates to create basic project containers and a preliminary set of panel items.

The SDK is free for download from here.