New WindowsPhone

New Windows 7 Mobile Phone - Nokia Lumia 710

Nokia has just announced the launch of the latest in its range of Windows 7 Phone handsets, the Nokia Lumia 710, which is due for release sometime this month.

This mobile phone is set to be the (slightly) more affordable version of its classier sister, the Nokia Lumia 800, with the expectation it will retail for around the £250 mark.  However, it will still incorporate the same 1.4GHz processor, hardwear acceleration and graphics processor as the 800, and is designed for ease of use with windows phones apps and games and social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

As for looks, the sleekness of the 800 is replaced by a simple curved back with a palm-friendly 3.7in screen, is available in black and white and the novelty value is a splash of colour provided by a set of interchangeable back covers in black, white, fushia, yellow and cyan which are available in matt or soft touch finishes.

The device uses Internet Explorer 9 and will run the Windows Phone 7.5 Mango operating system allowing easy online sharing and app downloads.

It has a 5 megapixel camera with an LED flash and autofocus and the shutter button is conveniently placed on the edge of the phone for further ease of use.

The 480 x 800 pixel LCD display is adequate for everyday use and it’s ClearBlack display feature is designed to allow clearer screen visibility even outdoors in bright sunlight, which is always good news when you’re checking your latest Facebook updates.

Windows Phone UK Features and Specifications
Released Date – Coming soon, Exp. Release 2011, November
Nokia-Lumia-710
Dimensions- 119 x 62.4 x 12.5 mm, 81.1 cc
Weight- 125.5 grams
Display type – TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Display Size:
- 480 x 800 pixels, 3.7 inches (~252 ppi pixel density)
- Gorilla Glass display
- Nokia ClearBlack display
- Multi-touch input method
- Proximity sensor for auto turn-off
- Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate
Colors – Black, White (front)/ black, white, cyan, fuchsia, yellow (back)
Sound:
- 3.5mm jack
- MP3/WAV/eAAC+/WMA player
- MP4/H.264/H.263/WMV player
Camera:
- 5 megapixel
- 2592 x 1944 pixels,
- autofocus
- LED flash
- Geo-tagging
- Face Detection
Data:
- HSDPA, 14.4 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.8 Mbps 3G
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
- Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP, EDR
- MicroUSB V2.0
Features:
- Microsoft Windows Phone 7.5 Mango,
- 1.4 GHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 205 GPU, Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon chipset, 3D Graphics  HW Accelerator
- Stereo FM radio with RDS
Memory:
-8GB, 512MB RAM internal memory
Battery:
- Standard battery, Li-Ion 1300 mAh (BP-3L)
- Up to 400 h (2G) / Up to 400 h (3G) Talk Time
- Up to 6 h 50 min (2G) / Up to 7 h 40 min (3G) Standby Time
- Up to 38 h Music Play

The latest release of the WindowsPhone has a People Hub that groups all your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn contacts.  Just one of this great mobile phone’s many exciting features.

Nokia N9 – One swipe and you’re home
The Nokia N9 introduces an innovative new design where the home key is replaced by a simple gesture: a swipe. Whenever you’re in an application, swiping from the edge of the display takes you home.

The three home views of the user interface are designed to give fast access to the most important things people do with a phone: using apps, staying up to date with notifications and social networks, and switching between activities.

The industrial design of the Nokia N9 is an example of extreme product making and craft. The body is precision-machined from a single piece of polycarbonate and flows seamlessly into beautiful curved glass. The laminated deep black display means that the user interface just floats on the surface of the product.

The Nokia N9 also packs the latest in camera, navigation and audio technology for a great all-round experience.

“With the Nokia N9, we wanted to design a better way to use a phone. To do this we innovated in the design of the hardware and software together. We reinvented the home key with a simple gesture: a swipe from the edge of the screen. The experience sets a new bar for how natural technology can feel,” said Marko Ahtisaari, Nokia’s head of Design. “And this is just the beginning. The details that make the Nokia N9 unique – the industrial design, the all-screen user experience, and the expressive Qt framework for developers – will evolve in future Nokia products.”

Nokia N9 – Innovative all-screen design
With no need for a home key, the all-screen Nokia N9 makes more room for apps to shine. The 3.9-inch AMOLED screen is made from scratch-resistant curved glass. The polycarbonate body enables superior antenna performance. This means better reception, better voice quality and fewer dropped calls.

Camera, maps and multimedia
The 8-megapixel Carl Zeiss autofocus sensor, wide-angle lens, HD-quality video capture and large lens aperture enable great camera performance even in lowlighting conditions. This makes the Nokia N9 one of the best camera-phones ever produced.
The Nokia N9 features free turn-by-turn drive and walk navigation with voice guidance in Maps. With the new dedicated Drive app, you can get in your car and start navigating to your destination right away.

You can watch videos in true 16:9 widescreen format. And because the Nokia N9 is also the world’s first smartphone with Dolby® Digital Plus decoding and Dolby Headphone post-processing technology, you get a surround sound experience with any set of headphones.

Touch just got better
Fitted with the latest in wireless technology, Near Field Communication (NFC), the Nokia N9 allows you to easily share images and videos between devices by touching them together.  Pair it with Bluetooth accessories like the new NFC-enabled Nokia Play 360° wireless music speaker only once, and you get a great surround sound music experience with just a tap.

Colors and Memory
The Nokia N9 will be available in three colors – black, cyan, and magenta with storage options to accommodate plenty of content: 16GB and 64GB. The Nokia N9 is scheduled to be in stores later this year, with availability and local pricing to be announced closer to the sales start.

More information visit the Nokia N9 website.

“The people, customers and technology we’ve acquired greatly complement our existing business by taking us into new markets and broadening our market share,” said Rajeev Suri, Chief Executive Officer, Nokia Siemens Networks. “Our combined knowledge and experience will provide our newly expanded customer base with the means to grow by providing greater value to their subscribers.”

“Motorola Solutions is pleased to complete this transaction to combine our Networks team with an industry leader,” said Greg Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer, Motorola Solutions. “This is great news for our customers, our investors and our people and will allow Motorola Solutions to further sharpen our strategic focus on providing mission-critical solutions for our government and enterprise customers.”

The acquisition strengthens Nokia Siemens Networks’ position in key regions, particularly North America and Japan, as well as with some of the world’s major service providers. Based on revenue, the addition of Motorola Solutions’ Networks assets makes Nokia Siemens Networks the third largest wireless infrastructure vendor in the United States and the leading non-Japanese wireless vendor in Japan. In addition, the acquisition reinforces Nokia Siemens Networks’ position as the world’s second largest wireless infrastructure and services provider.

As part of the deal, responsibility for supporting 50 operators across 52 countries, as well as approximately 6900 employees, will transfer to Nokia Siemens Networks. In addition, Nokia Siemens Networks is acquiring a number of research and development facilities including sites in the United States, China, Russia, India and the UK.

Today you can choose between several different Blackberry models, Nokia, HTC and Samsung to name a few.  Not forgetting the latest Apple iPhone 4.  But what does a Smartphone allow you to do over a plain old mobile phone, and what should you be looking out for when making your choice?

A Smartphone allows you to do much more than simply send and receive phone calls and text messages.  It is rather like having a mini computer in your pocket.  Whether you need a phone for business or personal use smartphones offer advanced functionality including internet services and can run software programs known as Apps.

For the busy business person who is always on call and available 24/7, the Smartphone has become an essential ever handy tool that gives you email on the move, to view files such as spreadsheets, presentations and PDF files; while for the personal user it allows you to stream films, store and play music files; and with the growth of free or cheap Apps business and personal users can find a use for Apps covering the London Underground Tube Map, train timetables and keeping up to date with the latest news from around the world.

There’s no doubt that the introduction of the Apple iPhone was as responsible for the growth in smartphones for personal use as the Blackberry was for business users.  But now, more so than before it seems there is less of a distinction between which market smartphones are aimed at, as companies  look to grow in a busy marketplace.  But one of the most important things to consider when choosing a Smartphone is which platform or operating system it uses.

There are six operating systems to choose from for UK mobile phones.  You need to consider not only how good is the platform and how efficient it runs, but how popular it is among software developers who will migrate to new operating systems if there is a market to do so.

Android OS
Android OS is Google’s Operating System, and not surprisingly comes with an excellent web browser as well as integrating online tools effectively.

The Android software is regularly updated and as it becomes more popular is becoming a serious alternative to the iPhone OS as far as software developers are concerned.  The Android OS is ‘open source’ which gives developers free range over application building, unlike the restrictive practises of Apple Apps.  The Android platform can handle a vast array of different programs, including some comprehensive media bundles.

Windows Phone OS
No prizes for guessing the Windows Phone Operating System is owned by Microsoft.  In the past it has been called Windows Mobile & WinMo.

Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS is designed to mirror the desktop version of Windows in both design and functionality. As you’d expect, it is simple to sync your mobile Smartphone to your PC computer and share contacts and emails with the Exchange server.  Microsoft Office programs and the Windows Media player also come as part of the Windows Phone OS.

The Microsoft application store is aptly named Windows Marketplace where users can update and download an assortment of application software.  Microsoft has strict control over which Apps are available in the Windows Marketplace.

iPhone OS
The iPhone Operating System was developed by Apple for their own Smartphone.  The iPhone has taken the world by storm and as a late entry into the Smartphone arena, has been able to capitalise on incorporating the best of previous mobile phone technology. The iPhone range has regular software updates; and though Apple has a strict control over licensing Apps it is by far the most popular operating system for developers.  The result is the Apple App Store is currently blessed with the largest selection of Apps of all operating systems.

Blackberry OS
The BlackBerry Operating System has been developed by mobile phone manufacturer Research in Motion for its own BlackBerry Smartphones. The original bias of the Blackberry was towards business users with its stylish looks and excellent office applications, internet and email functionality.

The email management software allows you to simply sync your phone with your PC with the BlackBerry Desktop Manager software. Blackberry’s work well with business Apps such as Microsoft Office and the BlackBerry App World has a wide range of applications. Some models now come with a touch screen which has coincided with a growth in personal user popularity.

Symbian OS
The Symbian Operating System is Nokia’s own software, though it is used by other mobile phone manufacturers, too. The Symbian user interface is regularly updated and improved, making it a very easy system to navigate.

A number of different email servers are supported from Microsoft Exchange to BlackBerry Enterprise which makes using the Symbian operation system easy to use when syncing your mobile phone to your desktop email client.  Like Android, Symbian OS is open source making it easier for developers to create and share applications.  Nokia’s own App Store is called the Ovi Store but there are also other websites that offer Apps for the Symbian OS.

Bada OS
The Bada Operating System is owned by Samsung who are promoting their Smartphone range to all users.  Samsung are a relatively late-comer to the Smartphone party but appear to be gaining ground with their latest range of Smartphone models.  Applications and Apps for the Bada OS can be downloaded from the Samsung Apps store.

So, if you are looking for a Smartphone we recommend three steps:

1.    Make a prioritised list of the functionality you are looking for and whether it is for business, personal use or both
2.   Find out which operating system it uses
3.    Look online & in magazines at independent reviews

Do all three steps before you enter a shop or call a mobile phone company to find out about the best mobile phone deals.

Fair to say that we would be disappointed if it were otherwise, and learning new stuff every time you upgrade your mobile phone does seem to be part of the pleasure of new ownership.

I am constantly in wonderment at the latest offerings in the market, often confused or bemused at the endless list of new technology included on new devices and am often left wondering how I managed with last years product without all the glitz and glam of the newest must have toy.

Smartphones have changed our lives totally, they are more than just a mobile phone, indeed I actually have a device that has never had a SIM card inserted into it, and use it solely as a media centre.

It stores a substantial amount of mp3s and personal photos and can be easily attached to hi fi and televisions around the house although it has limited use outside of that environment other than as a personal mp3 player or radio and camera and video.

It does serve as a communication tool through the wi-fi connection however, where it makes and receives calls via the Skype app with amazing clarity and excellent reception.

It is unusual to use a mobile device in this way I suspect, but it suits my needs and I have a cheap Nokia handset that I put to good use as it was intended, as a mobile phone.

As smartphones go it was the Blackberry that first caught the attention of mainly business users, anxious to keep in touch with their e-mail accounts on the go as well having a mobile phone facility.

Their product led the way from 2002 until the emergence of the new kid on the block in the form of Apple’s iconic iPhone in 2007.

Having captured the mp3 player market with the iPod back in 2001, Apple found an army of fans keen to sign up for their latest mobile technology and the iPhone became the mobile device of choice around the world.

Nokia who had led the way in the original rush for truly mobile phones, suffered at the hands of the iPhone in the same way as Blackberry, but both manufacturers have hauled themselves back into the game with their most recent products.

The latest versions of the Blackberry Curve 8520 and Bold 9700 feature processors of 512MHz and full qwerty keyboard, features that have again endeared the product to new users, while the much hyped Nokia N8 is on target to become the best selling mobile device this Christmas.

The HTC Desire is currently topping many sales charts and wish lists and it is worth looking at the many cheap mobile phones online if you are in the market for a new phone for Christmas.

It is possible to kill two birds with one stone by choosing the phone that suits you with a free gift of an Xbox or similar for little Johnny.

Tesco announced that pre-orders for the new N8 would be taken from October 15th up until midnight on October 21st.

As well as offering market beating prices on Nokia N8 Pay As You Go deals Tesco Telecoms have also announced some killer deals on contract options.

There are savings to be made by pre-ordering the new device through Tesco who are offering a reduced rate of £25 per month on Vodafone or O2, once again with 1,000 clubcard points.

Once the coveted handset has hit the shelves on 22nd October , customers on Tesco Mobile, O2 and Vodafone can grab a free Nokia N8 for just £30 a month at Tesco.  Customers get 1,000 Clubcard points on sign up which no doubt will help with the Christmas shopping. Tesco Mobile’s 24 month N8 tariff includes 750 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited data.

Lance Batchelor, Chief Executive Officer of Tesco Telecoms and Tesco Mobile said;

“The Nokia N8 is one of the most highly anticipated mobile launches of this year, with both the industry and consumers awaiting its arrival with baited breath. We’re thrilled to be once again able to offer consumers the best choice and some of the cheapest deals on the market. The Nokia N8 looks set to be the most popular gift this Christmas and our great range of Pay As You Go and contract deals offer something to suit every budget and need. I’m also sure that hardcore tech fans will be pleased to hear about our pre-order deal, which means they no longer need to camp outside the store in the rain to be the first to get their new phone!”

Cricket T20 fever - screenshot

Spreading the rage that both Cricket T20fever and Warchess have created within the gaming community further, UTV Indiagames has now created versions of the games for the recently launched Nokia N8.

Cricket fans can now play the high-end versions of UTV Indiagames’ flagship game Cricket T20fever as well as Warchess on their own devices, making it a feature packed game for all gaming fans.

With the Cricket T20fever ranking among the top games for Nokia’s Ovi Store, the game is now being made available for the smartphone along with Warchess, which was recently launched for the Ovi Store.

Integrated with 3D graphics along with realistic animations and powered by UTV Indiagames proprietary “ICE 3D” cross-platform engine, Cricket T20fever lets gamers play an entire league match series with their favorite world teams, leading them to win the tournament. The game has various modes to choose from including the popular T20 format, One-day matches, Tournament mode and introducing a new PowerPlay mode.

WarChess is a 3D interpretation of the game of chess, with original innovative fantasy chess pieces, captivating visual effects and animations to visualize the battle of the chess pieces. Combining powerful 3D graphics, animated battle sequences, multiple levels of difficulty, and multiple themes, the game delivers the ultimate interactive chess experience. It also includes a classic board style 2d mode with different themes to choose from.

Vishal Gondal, CEO, UTV Indiagames, said, “Both Cricket T20fever and Warchess have been extremely popular with the gamers and have received a phenomenal response on the Ovi Store as well. Gauging this trend, we decided to extend both the games on the new Symbiam platform. This launch reiterates our commitment to provide the best of games to all available digital platforms.”

They can certainly target the younger market in some confidence. The vast percentage of those who embrace new technology tend to come from the younger age range, but there is also a vast market of older users who may have different needs.

They may not be interested that the latest phone can download music, run an app to tell them how to bake a goat’s cheese and lemon terrine or that they can now access the Internet while they are pruning their hedges at the bottom of the garden.

Many of these users, as strange as it may seem to many of the younger folk, would just like a mobile phone that is simple, easy to understand and performs the seemingly forgotten art of actually calling someone to speak to them. Fortunately, this is where a website like www.phones4u.co.uk is so beneficial.

This autumn, many new students will be heading into colleges and universities across the UK. Parents can give them a head start by taking a look at the fantastic ‘student saviour’ deals on offer on the website at present. These are the best mobile phone contract/laptop package deals and the value to be had is truly astonishing.

Take the popular Samsung Tocco Lite, a fantastic little mobile phone using touch screen technology. For just £30 a month with 02, you receive this great little handset on a 24-month contract but for that you get unlimited texts over the two-year period (which will be invaluable when little Jonny forgets the power of speech while at University and decides to communicate only via SMS!), 600 talk time minutes a month (which will no doubt keep him from running up a huge phone bill ordering Chinese takeaway).

A great deal, but it gets even better when you learn that he will also get completely free a fantastic Dell Inspiron 11Z laptop on which to do his vital University work, or more likely, spend the day on YouTube watching videos of skateboarders fall clumsily to the ground.

If you are a techno-lover then you will no doubt want the latest technology and Phones4u once again delivers. They offer the full range of fantastic new smartphone packages, including the superb new Samsung Wave S8500 and the astonishing Samsung Galaxy S.

They also offer a comprehensive range of Blackberry handsets, the stylish new offerings from the likes of HTC, Nokia, LG, Sony Ericsson and of course Apple.

Yes, fans of the iPhone 4 will be understandably feverish with the news that Phones4u have some of the best deals available on this latest Steve Jobs creation.

For instance, the stylish Apple iPhone 4 16GB is available under contract from Vodafone for 24 months. For that you receive 1GB a month mobile Internet browsing and 900 free minutes and 3000 texts messages a month.

All for just £40 a month and a one off initial payment of just £89. Alternatively, if you are going to be using your brand new iPhone 4 online a great deal, you could opt for Orange’s similar deal, which is exactly the same price, £89 initially and £40 a month, with the same number of texts and minutes free each month, but which comes with unlimited browsing and WiFi included!

If you aren’t an Apple fan, then don’t worry. There are still plenty of great contract phones on offer to you, at a vast range of prices and on a suitable tariff to match your budget. Many also come with a fantastic free gift to sweeten the deal further.

This gift is often delivered the same day as your phone, no needlessly sorting vouchers, having to send them off to some obscure address in the remote Orkneys and then waiting three months for delivery with Phones4u! If you order a phone with a free gift then, pending satisfactory credit checks, they should be with you the next day!

For instance, let’s imagine that a customer wants the stylish Blackberry Curve 8520. Once they have logged in, checked the specifications of the phone and read the all-important customer reviews of the phone on the site, they then decide that they want to order the phone.

The choices available to the customer are frankly astonishing. If he wants a cheaper monthly package, he can take the 18-month 02 woo contract, which offers a quality phone free of charge, for just £20 a month. Plus the customer would receive 100 call time minutes and 3000 texts free each month!

However, if the customer wants a little more then they will surely be delighted to find that they receive a lot more for their money! If they opt for the Blackberry Curve 8520 on the Vodafone Blackberry your plan Text £30 contract, for his £30 a month he would get 300 minutes of talk time and 3000 text messages. A great deal, but one made even better when you consider he would get delivered, free of charge usually within 24 hours, a brand new slimline 120GB Playstation 3!

A quick browse of the offers for your choice of phone will highlight the myriad of free gifts, from games consoles, televisions to laptops, cashback and iPods, all of which are offered alongside some of the best deals available anywhere in the UK.

Pay as you go customers are not left behind either. Whether you don’t want to be tied down to a monthly contract and want a stylish, modern feature-laden phone, such as the new Samsung Monte or Sony Ericsson W995, then they are available on fantastic, affordable pay as you go deals.

At the other end of the scale, if you just want an emergency back-up phone to keep in the car, or a phone so simple even your mildly eccentric granny could use it, then you can spend the princely sum of £2.95 to get a rather elegant Nokia 1661 – when you buy £10 airtime with Virgin to credit the account with.

With mobile broadband deals, laptop packages, special offers by the dozen, phone reviews and all the latest mobile technology news, the Phones4u website isn’t just about buying phones, but enhancing your life with them. Best of all, that applies if you are a techno-wizard who wants the most expensive gadget and gizmo money can buy, or whether you are of a more venerable age and want the simplest of phones to contact your family.

The name says Phones4u, but really they have phones, gifts, features and advice that is perfect for everybody.

You can also tag your favourite landmarks etc yourself to add your own contribution to the database to share with others. This excellent little app can be found at the Ovi store and is free to download for most Nokia mobile devices.

Here is a clip of how the application actually works;

world cup 2010 mobile apps

In case it had passed you by, the 2010 World Cup finals kick off this weekend in South Africa and to celebrate the greatest sporting event of all, almost everything in the media at present appears to have a World Cup theme.

Mobile applications are no exception to the rule and there are an abundance of apps available featuring football games, live score and news information, star player profiles and much more.

If you have a Nokia mobile device the range of World Cup apps in the Ovi store is growing on a daily basis, fans from all over the globe are invited to download wallpaper featuring their national team colours and theme to brighten up the appearance of their mobiles.

The EA Sports 2010 FIFA World Cup game is apparently the only official game for mobiles and is available on Ovi for only £4.00  which looks good value if you fancy playing out the finals in your armchair or on the commute to work.

For only £1.00 you can own Fantasy World Cup, where you are invited to assemble a team of top players from the 32 competing nations, with points awarded for each players real life performances in the competition.

There are a stack of mobile apps offering Live updates, scores and stats, in fact everything that you could possibly want to know, always available to impress your mates down the pub or simply to keep in touch with any games that you are unable to watch.

Even the free Fring app that connects you to all IMs and Social Media sites for FREE calls is listed as the must have World Cup app, inviting fans to keep connected during the games & share your World Cup excitement with your friends, live!

Sat amongst the long list of World Cup apps is one that is just begging to be downloaded, though again not just for the World Cup. It is called The Special One Speaks and promises a personal supply of wit and wisdom from Jose Mourinho.

‘Call upon The Special One at any time for an instant quote to inspire, amuse and console you and your friends throughout the World Cup and beyond.’

Check out all the World Cup mobile apps at the Nokia Ovi store and let us know your personal favourites or the ones that should be avoided!