Nexus One is making it to Vodafone UK in April

T-Mobile is still the only operator out there to offer subsidized Nexus Ones. However, this is going to change soon. Really soon. Reportedly, Vodafone UK are getting Google's first very own Android-based device in April.

Previous rumors hinted of a launch in March but alas Vodafone customers will have to wait another month.

Again, to place an order, you'll have to go to google.com/phone. However at this stage there is still no word on subsidized pricing and available contracts.

We are now expecting to see Google do something about the regional availability of the Nexus one. Currently, if you want to have a brand new Google Nexus One (like the one we reviewed the other day), you have to live in the USA, Hong Kong, Singapore or in the UK. Yeap, the list is still that short.

Windows Mobile 7: Minimum Hardware Requirements

Microsoft is apparently trying its best to make Windows Mobile 7 a major success. So much, that there are rumors of them introducing minimum hardware that would be required to run Windows Mobile 7 on cell phones. When the phone was unveiled by Steve Ballmer, he clearly mentioned that his company would keep a tight rein on the specification of handsets to be allowed to run Microsoft's latest offering. Microsoft has decided to introduce variants which would be called "Chassis". Apparently, there will be three chassis of handsets running the Windows Mobile 7. This chassis strategy will allow Microsoft to specify a collection of possible hardware configurations. Invariably, all handsets are to support multi touch display, Wi-fi, a 5 Megapixel camera, FM Radio and a GPS receiver. As it is quite clear, Microsoft wants its OS only on the big handsets which can perform.

Chassis 1 will describe the requirements of big touchscreen phones. Rumors report that the screen size will have to be a minimum of 3.6 inch WQVGA. The CPU minimum will be a 1 Ghz processor! That's something which you find only in some high-end phones and to think of Microsoft actually making it a minimum system requirement! Hardware acceleration will also be mandatory for a phone to be called a Chassis 1 Windows Mobile 7 Phone. Microsoft is extremely keen to show that its OS is the next big thing in the mobile market and it doesn't want sluggish hardware to play spoilsport.

There is not much known about Chassis 2 and Chassis 3. Chassis 2 will have a hardware QWERTY keypad in addition to the the touch screen. Almost nothing is known about Chassis 3 except for the fact that it will probably have candy bar phones.

Chassis 1 phones are expected to release later this year. There is no word about the release of Chassis 2 and Chassis 3 handsets.

Microsoft is completely set to take the cell phone battle to a completely new level. This will significantly up the market expectations in terms of hardware from cell phone makers. Microsoft has quite celeverly eliminated the possibility of a sluggish handset ruining the image of its OS.

Unfortunately, this eliminates the people looking for mid-bugdet phones. This market is currently ruled by phones like Nokia 5800, Samsung Corby and Nokia 5230. With this gamble, Microsoft is certainly eliminating a big pie of the mobile market. We will have to wait and see if this gamble pays off or if it turns a great piece of software into a market failure.

LG hopes to launch their first Windows Phone 7 handset around September or November

by Greg Kumparak

When Microsoft announced Windows Phone 7 just a few days ago at Mobile World Congress, the only sort of time frame they’d give for release was “by the Holidays”.

As it turns out, they may have meant Labor Day.

Engadget Chinese met up with LG during some sort of Chinese New Year celebration, and got hit with a nice little knowledge bomb: LG’s hoping to launch their first Windows Mobile 7 phone by September. Alas, they also said that it might slip back as late as November — which is about the time we’re expecting much of the first batch of WP7 phones to launch.

AT&T gets its first Android phone next month

AT&T Thursday set a March 7 release date for the Motorola Backflip, which will become the first Android-powered smartphone to run on AT&T's 3G network. The Backflip features a "flip-out" QWERTY keyboard that is designed to be opened more like a book than like a traditional slide-out keyboard. The phone will also feature Motorola's Motoblur overlay, which is essentially a social networking aggregator that lets users integrate friends' status updates and uploaded pictures from Twitter, Facebook and MySpace onto their home screens. AT&T says the device will sell for $99.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate.

The definitive Android smartphone guide

The Backflip will also be the first Android-powered phone to run on the HSPA 7.2 network that AT&T has been building out over the past year. HSPA 7.2 is a faster version of the standard HSPA technology that AT&T has used in its GSM-based 3G network. The carrier hopes to have HSPA 7.2 cover 90% of its 3G network by the end of 2011, when it will be preparing for its transition to Long Term Evolution 4G technology.

AT&T was the last carrier to officially offer an Android-based phone, as rivals Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile had all rolled out Android phones in 2008 and 2009. The Android mobile operating system, which Google designed and unveiled in 2007, is a Linux-based open platform for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and some key mobile applications. The idea behind the platform, according to Google, is to spur innovation in developing mobile applications that will give users the same experience surfing the Web on their phone as they have on their desktop computers.

Original story - www.networkworld.com/nwlookup.jsp?rid=201036

Poll: Would you consider getting a Windows Phone 7 Series device?

by Bonnie Cha

BARCELONA, Spain--Mobile World Congress 2010 has finally come to a close, and it's been one of the busier shows in recent memory. As the dust settles, we're finally getting the opportunity to reflect on this year's show and process all the news (look for our show wrap-up next week) but if we had to pick out one highlight of the show, it would be, without a doubt, Windows Phone 7 Series.

Much like Palm at CES 2009, much of the tech world and cell phone fans were watching to see whether Microsoft would finally deliver a mobile operating system that could not only address all of its previous issues but also advance the way smartphones work and offer a competitive edge over the iPhone OS, Android, and WebOS.

From what we saw at the official unveiling event, we think, for the most part, the answer is yes. Microsoft pretty much started from scratch and created a user interface that's fresh and intelligent--completely different than any iteration of Windows Mobile. The design team stripped away everything that wasn't necessary--something Microsoft calls a chromeless UI--and only kept the most relevant information to the user.

From the Start page, you can quickly launch a number of programs and a quick swipe of the finger brings up a list of all your apps. Hubs collect all the relevant data and functions of a category (People, Music and Video, and Office, for example) in one convenient place. In addition, the contextual Pivots (essentially like tabs at the top of the screen) and app bar make it easy to access menu options without having to dig through a number of layers. Windows Phone 7 finally gives us that simpler user experience we've been asking for all this time.

Not only that, Windows Phone 7 is one good-looking OS. From the dynamic widgets on the Start page to the typography to the turnstile motions, the UI is flashy yet elegant. I do worry slight about all the motion/animation. As pretty as it looks; it slows down the phone's navigation just a bit. In the brief hands-on time that we did get with a prototype device running Windows Phone 7, we noticed some delays and inconsistencies in terms of touch screen responsiveness. However, we're fully aware that the software is still in the earlier stages so there will be bugs.

Of course, there are still a lot of unanswered questions. Can Windows Phone 7 multitask? Is it backwards compatible? We're also fully aware that we won't be seeing Windows Phone 7 Series till the holiday season and a lot of things can happen between now and then. However, based on what you've seen, including the Zune and Xbox Live integration, we have to ask: Would you consider getting a Windows Phone 7 Series handset? Why or why not? What do you like about the OS? What don't you like? What questions do you have about Windows Phone 7 Series? Let us know. We've got some time to kill before we see the first phones so might as well fill it with some lively discussion.

Motorola QUENCH Android Smartphone Announced

Today at the 2010 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Motorola introduced their 8th Android-based smartphone, the Motorola QUENCH. This is the event's third Android device, after the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini and X10 mini pro.

The QUENCH comes with MOTOBLUR, Motorola's content delivery service, which syncs messages, contacts and photos into easy-to-manage streams to your home screen.

Features of the Motorola QUENCH include a 3.1-inch high-resolution touchscreen with pinch and zoom capabilities, a 5.0 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash, voice-activated web and phone search, Adobe Flash Lite, dual microphones with noise cancellation, 3G, Wi-Fi, a-GPS and stereo Bluetooth.

The Motorola QUENCH will be available in multiple regions starting Q1 2010. The US version will be called the CLIQ XT and will sold exclusively through T-Mobile USA beginning March. No prices were disclosed.

Microsoft to demo Windows Mobile 7

by Marguerite Reardon

BARCELONA--Microsoft is expected to show off the long-awaited Windows Mobile 7 operating system for smartphones at Mobile World Congress, as the company attempts to resurrect itself in this arena and better compete against rivals Apple and Google.

The operating system will be demonstrated during Microsoft's press conference here Monday, according to several reports. News of Microsoft's plans to talk about Windows Mobile 7 at MWC had been reported by CNET's Ina Fried in late January.

Details about the new operating system are still light, but The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that the user interface will look a lot the one used on Microsoft's Zune HD music player.

Even though Microsoft retains a great deal of market share worldwide in the smartphone category, it has been slipping the past few quarters as others, such as Apple, Google, and Research In Motion, gain ground.

RIM, which makes BlackBerry devices, and Apple design both hardware and software for their handsets. Google, which has entered the mobile market with the Android software, like Microsoft, supplies software to multiple hardware makers. But Google recently launched its Nexus One, a phone built by HTC. Instead of simply supplying the software, Google has worked closely with HTC and is marketing and selling the phone itself.

Some wonder whether Microsoft will take a similar strategy with Windows Mobile 7. While it's unlikely that Microsoft will announce a single Windows Mobile 7 smartphone, it's clear the company is working more closely with hardware companies. The Journal reported that the company has created detailed plans for a small number of handset makers that will help them build their devices. The idea is that Microsoft is trying to limit variations in quality of Windows phones, the newspaper said. This should also make it easier for developers to write new applications for Windows phones.

Even though Microsoft isn't expected to actually build hardware for Windows Mobile 7 phones, CNET and others have reported that Microsoft is working on designing a mobile phone for the youth market to succeed the T-Mobile Sidekick, a device that Microsoft inherited as part of its acquisition of Danger two years ago.

The Journal said the new device, code-named Pink, will not be announced at MWC. But the newspaper offered details from unnamed sources about the phone. It will be geared toward social-networking applications and will be manufactured by Japan's Sharp. The device is expected to be sold internationally by Verizon Wireless and Vodafone Group, starting this spring.

Microsoft's press conference will be held in Barcelona at 3 p.m. local time on Monday.

Sony Ericsson shows love for Android

by Marguerite Reardon

BARCELONA--Executives from Sony Ericsson, the struggling European handset maker working hard to make a turnaround in 2010, said most of its new phones introduced this coming year will sport the Google Android operating system.

On the eve of the Mobile World Congress trade show, Sony Ericsson held a press conference here to show off its three new smartphones due out the first half of 2010. All three phones fit into an existing portfolio of devices that the company is calling the Fab Five. And two of the latest handsets will use Google Android.

The two new Android phones are follow-on products to another Android device Sony Ericsson introduced in November, the X10. The new phones, the X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro, are similar to the X10, but smaller and more compact than the original device.

The third phone announced, the Vivaz Pro, adds a QWERTY keyboard to the Vivaz, a device announced by Sony Ericsson. These phones use the Symbian operating system.

Up until recently, Sony Ericsson mostly used the Symbian operating system for its smartphones. Now, the company's CEO Bert Nordberg said the company will use three mobile OSes: Symbian, Microsoft's Windows Mobile, and Google Android.

That said, most of the new smartphones launched in 2010 will use Google Android, he said.

"This year everyone is talking about Android," he said. "We've been working closely with Google, and we expect the majority of our releases this year will be Android."

Nordberg, who took the CEO post in October, emphasized the company isn't abandoning Symbian, its traditional smartphone OS, nor is it giving up on Microsoft Windows Mobile. The company announced its first Windows Mobile phone two years ago at this same trade show and conference.

"We support three operating systems," he said.

As for the future, he said things could change. "Two and a half years ago it was all Symbian OS. And now Android is everywhere. I don't want to guess what will happen in the next few years, so we are hedging our bets."

Google unveiled its Android open-development operating system in fall 2007. It took a year before the first Android phone, the HTC G1 sold by T-Mobile, was introduced. And at last year's Mobile World Congress, there was only one Android phone announced. Within the past year, more than 50 Android devices have been announced.

It's clear that Sony Ericsson has been swayed by Google's growing popularity. Many handset makers are turning toward Google to help them build competitive smartphones. Motorola, which is also struggling to regain its footing in the handset business, is betting big on Android. The company expects to have at least 20 Android devices on the market by the end of 2010.

Others are also expected to announce Android devices at the conference this week, including HTC, ZTE, Dell, Samsung, and LG.

With so many Android phones hitting the market, how will companies such as Sony Ericsson differentiate their products?

Executives at Sony Ericsson say they aren't worried about that. They believe that they are tweaking the software enough on each of the operating systems used to ensure that consumers have a unique Sony Ericsson experience and not an experience dictated by the operating system.

"The goal eventually is to be OS agnostic," Nordberg said. "It should be the Sony Ericsson experience that users recognize. So it won't matter which OS we use."

Even if the user interface feels like Sony Ericsson, it's clear that operating systems do matter. And the reason is simple. Smartphone consumers want mobile applications for their phones. And developers, who can't develop for every platform, are only choosing to develop their applications for a few platforms. The more users and handsets that use a platform, the more likely it is that developers will create applications for those devices.

Apple's iPhone has created the gold-standard when it comes to this formula. Because the company developed the software, which essentially runs on one piece of hardware, it's easy for developers to create apps that work well on millions of devices. Add in the fact that Apple already had a widely used e-commerce site via iTunes, and it's easy to see why Apple is leading the market in terms of mobile applications.

Now every other handset maker and operating system company in the mobile world is looking to re-create Apple's success. So far, Android has been gaining traction. In fact, the operating system's market share grew to 5.2 percent in December, up from 2.5 percent in September. The Android Market App store has also been growing with more than 25,000 applications. This number is still small compared to Apple's 140,000 apps. But experts expect Android to become a top platform for developers in the coming year.

Sony Ericsson's move toward Android comes as the other major mobile OS brands, Symbian and Microsoft revamp and update their own software. Microsoft is expected to show off Windows Mobile 7 on Monday at a press conference at Mobile World Congress. And the Symbian Foundation, which is in charge of promoting the new open-source version of Symbian, will be at MWC to talk about enhancements to the operating system.

Motorola's Quench Marks Company's Eighth Android Phone

Motorola released its eighth Android smartphone on Monday called the Quench or Cliq XT, which comes with a touchscreen and a virtual keyboard.
The phone is based on version 1.5 of Android and features Motorola's own Motoblur, which, for example, syncs e-mails, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter messages. On the software side there is support for Adobe Flash Lite, according to Motorola.

The Quench will be available in the first quarter of 2010, according to Motorola. In the U.S. the phone will be called Cliq XT and be available next month exclusively through T-Mobile USA. Motorola didn't provide details on other parts of the world where the Quench will become available. Pricing was not immediately available.

The Quench also features a music player that connects to the Web and social media networks, including TuneWiki and SoundHound, Motorola said.

The touchscreen on the Quench measures 3.1 inches and has a 320 x 480 pixels resolution. Other features include a 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus and a LED (Light-Emitting Diode) flash, A-GPS (Assisted-GPS), with turn-by-turn direction and voice-activated search.

It surfs the web using Wi-Fi or HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) at 7.2M bps

HTC planning 1.5GHz ultimate phone with Android 2.2?

HTC Scorpion would pack fast CPU, 4G, Froyo

HTC may be in the earlier stages of developing an extremely high-end Android smartphone, says a code string reportedly leaked on Tuesday. Possibly to launch as the Scorpion, it would use the dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor teased at CES and would use Android 2.2, which is likely to be the final name for the update Google has so far codenamed Froyo. One line of code also makes reference to WiMAX and suggests it might head to Sprint's 4G network.

Little else is known other than the phone's internal HTC codename of Olympian, but the presence of WiMAX hints at the Scorpion being a follow-up to the recently spotted Supersonic (pictured), which could be on Sprint's network as soon as March. Using the new Snapdragon -- whose individual cores are also nicknamed Scorpion -- would give the distant Android phone the ability to play 1080p video and a likely selling point.

Pure text is potentially faked and thus leaves some room for doubt, but the nature of the design is consistent both with a quick Supersonic upgrade as well as HTC's increasing shift towards performance-oriented phones that are often tailored to one network. Sprint also has been routinely seeking a flagship phone that it still lacks to prevent customers from defecting to the iPhone, and it has turned to the Palm Pre and HTC Hero for this role with lukewarm results. A significant portion of iPhone customers on AT&T are believed to come from those unhappy with the phone lineups and service at Sprint and sometimes even Verizon.

Microsoft phone is now confirmed for emerging markets

For a while there have been rumours circulating that software giant Microsoft is getting into the phone market.

Most of the rumours have been based on Redmond coming up with a Zune phone which will aim at killing off of Apple's iPhone.

However it seems that Microsoft might have set its sights a bit lower.

Microsoft and MediaTek have said that they are forming a strategic partnership to provide a multimedia-rich smartphone primarily aimed at emerging markets.

The kit will be built on the Windows Phone 6 platform. They will be multimedia-rich smartphones and will have full touch capabilities and offer advanced communication features.

MediaTek says its partnership with Microsoft will drive smartphone penetration in developing countries.

The move is interesting because it suggests that Microsoft is leaving the smartphone field in the West to Apple. Apple has been unable to get into the Chinese market and has not had much success in India. Redmond might be thinking that if it can sell enough of the gear to the cheaper markets it will not have to waste time and money chasing the Jobs' Mob marketing machine.

More Details about the Upcoming Windows Mobile 7

Only a few more days to go before the Mobile World Congress is held in Barcelona, Spain and we have a last minute detail round up for the soon to launch Windows Mobile version 7. So far, we are sure that the WinMo 6.5.3 Maldives will definitely be unveiled at the event; though we doubt that a readily usable version 7 will be on stage (WinMo 6.5.3 will be running on the recently announced Sony Ericsson Aspen Greenheart phone).

To date, here is a quick run through of all the rumors and reports about the upcoming WinMo platform.

First off, Windows Mobile 7 will come in two varieties; a business edition and a media edition. The business edition is rumored to be a match for the BlackBerry OS and Palm OS while the media edition will serve as a general commercial use version.

Considering that previous version of Windows Mobile have been heavily criticized for having badly designed user interfaces, this new version will be made for capacitive touch screens and will support multi touch features just like the Maldives. The UI will be Zune-based in terms of visual elements.

New features on the OS include support for Xbox Live, a new internet browser (with IE 8 features) and of course access to the Windows Mobile Marketplace –not really new, but app installation is now exclusive to downloaded content from the Marketplace.

Also in our list are things that WinMo 7 is not compatible with. The first are applications made for older versions of Windows Mobile. Flash will also not be supported by the platform as well as the use of custom skins (such as the HTC Sense user interface).

Read more about known details on the new Windows Mobile 7 and other related information straight from the source and go to Tech Radar.

HTC HD Gets Android 2.1 And Sense UI

Google’s Android isn’t just making headways into the mobile scene via new phones (at Windows Mobile’s expense), but even existing phones aren’t spared from Google’s OS. The HTC HD recently received a rather basic Android 2.0.1 port, which might have seemed rather sparse, now the phone has been blessed with Android 2.1, not to mention the latest Sense UI. So if you’ve got a HTC HD and are willing to experiment, this might be just to thing to spend your weekend over. The usual warnings that include warranty being void and data loss still stand, of course.

Samsung M100S Android 2.1 phone gets announced, Android 2.1 update coming to Galaxy in Q2

Apart from being the first Google phone, the Nexus One is also known for its OS, Android 2.1. It’s the first and currently the only phone available in the market right now that runs on the said platform. That’s soon about to change though as Samsung has just announced their latest touchscreen phone which will break the monopoly the Nexus One has over the Android 2.1 market, the Samsung SHW-M100S.

This baby packs a 3.7-inch AMOLED display, 5-megapixel camera, 720p video recording, WiFi (802.11n), GPS, 3.5mm jack, 800MHz processor, T-DMB tuner, and the latest TouchWiz UI running in tandem with Android 2.1. SK Telecom will release the Samsung M100S in Korea this March with an uncertain future elsewhere. Pricing is still yet to be known as well.

In related news, Samsung has also announced that an Android 2.1 update will be released for their first Android phone, the Samsung Galaxy. This will happen sometime in the second quarter which should be a nice consolation for others if ever the Samsung M100S doesn’t make it out of Korea.