Apple Announces iPhone 3G

After months of anticipation, the heavily rumored 3G iPhone was announced today during Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference Keynote.

Features
- 3G-capable. 2.8 times faster than EDGE.
- GPS built-in
- Thinner
- Better battery life – 300 hours of standby, 2G talk-time 10 hours (as opposed to 5), 5 hours of 3G talk-time (competition is 3 hour 3G talk time), 5 to 6 hours of high-speed browsing, 7 hours of video, 24 hours of audio.
- flush headphone jack

Pricing and Availability
The iPhone 3G will be available July 11th in 22 countries (including Greece) for $199 for 8 GB and $299 for 16 GB. The 16 GB model also comes in white. Apple has posted details on their website, but it is currently overwhelmed.

Omnia, competition for iPhone from Samsung

Samsung Electronics South Korea released on early Monday preview details on the company’s new smartphone, just before the mania of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in California. The Samsung Omnia (SGH-i900) is similar in looks and function to the Samsung Instinct (SPH-M800), but with a few more bells and whistles. For starters, it sounds like it has a very promising camera. With five megapixels and anti-shake technology, this may be the first camera on a phone that produces pictures you would actual think of printing, not just posting to Facebook. This is an improvement over the 2-megapixel cameras on both the first-generation iPhone and on the Samsung Instinct.

The touch-screen smartphone, which runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 and features Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Opera 9.5 as its Web browser, will also have Wi-Fi. That’s something the Instinct also lacks. Like the Instinct, the Omnia has visual voice mail, 3G capability, Bluetooth, an FM radio, and GPS functionality. The smartphone, of course, also doubles as a music player and, with 16GB, will be able to hold up to 4,000 songs or 100 minutes of video, according to Samsung. More details on the smartphone’s specs will follow when the Omnia (SGH-i900) is officially unveiled on June 17 at Communicasia, the 2008 Singapore Expo. The Omnia (SGH-i900) will become available in Southeast Asia first and then be launched to other markets over the second half of 2008, according to Samsung.

One Laptop Per Child with Windows XP

Microsoft has joined forces with the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project in a bid to provide inexpensive portable PCs to schoolchildren in developing countries. The announcement means that the XO laptop will run Windows as well as the OLPC’s home grown Linux-based operating system. OLPC will be hoping that the partnership with Microsoft will help kick-start demand from education ministers for its XO laptop, which has thus far received orders for just 600,000 systems. The project has also struggled to drive down the price of its laptop to the highly publicised $100 mark; the current version is priced at $188.

OLPC and Microsoft said in a joint statement that trials of laptops loaded with Windows will begin in “four to five” countries from next month, with a broader release in August or September. “Transforming education is a fundamental goal of Microsoft Unlimited Potential, our ambitious effort to bring sustained social and economic opportunity to people who do not currently enjoy the benefits of technology,” said Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer at Microsoft. “By supporting a wide variety of affordable computing solutions for education that includes OLPC’s XO laptop, we aim to make technology more relevant, accessible and affordable for students everywhere.”

Source: Vnunet

HTC unveils Touch Diamond, competition for iPhone

High Tech Computer on Tuesday launched a more powerful version of its popular Touch smartphone, hoping to lure consumers from better-known rivals such as Apple’s iPhone. The Touch Diamond, which supports carriers’ 3G broadband-like networks, includes features that focus on Web browsing and checking e-mail. The device, which runs on Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, includes a 2.8-inch VGA touch screen that the company claims provides near-print-quality viewing. The smartphone’s Web browser can zoom and pan Web sites. In addition, turning the device sideways automatically rotates the page view from portrait to landscape.

HTC has also developed its own YouTube application to watch video from the popular site. The software also optimizes the use of Google’s mobile mapping service for accessing street maps and getting traffic data. The Touch Diamond weighs less than 4 ounces and includes a 3.2-megapixel camera. The device comes with 4 GB of storage, and supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless technologies. Talk time is up to four hours on a fully charged battery, according to HTC. Its size is roughly 4 by 2 by 0.4 inches. HTC plans to offer the Touch Diamond through all major European carriers in June, and later this quarter in Asia and the Middle East. The device is scheduled to ship in North America and Latin America in the second half of the year.

πηγη: Coolest Gadgets

Updated : iPhone 2.0 with 3G debuts in May

A Bank of America analyst is predicting that the 3G iPhone will be a reality by the summer, according to reports. In a research note issued last Friday, B of A’s Scott Craig said that he is also forecasting that Apple will produce as many as 8 million of the 3G iPhones in the third quarter. Apple’s current iPhone model operates on AT&T’s 2.5G network, and many analysts have speculated that a faster version was in the works for this year. “Our latest channel checks point to a significant production build of a 3G iPhone beginning in the month of June after an initial small build in May,” Craig said, according to Reuters. That small build predicts will be about 3 million 3G iPhones, to be followed by the 8 million later in the year.

Analysts have speculated that Apple would bring the faster iPhone to market around the time of its World Wide Developer Conference, scheduled for June 9 ” 13, in San Francisco. Updated iPhone software, v 2.0, which brings new features and compatibility with Microsoft’s Exchange email platform, is expected in June, along with the final version of its software development kit (SDK). Apple released the second beta of the SDK last week. In its most recent earnings call with analysts, Apple said it expects to sell 10 million iPhones in 2008, which some analysts speculated was an optimistic number.

Update : Now we have an image of the supposedly 3G iPhone as well. If the image is what it claims then the new iPhone will also sport a glossy black back, replacing the satin nickel look found on the current model. Apparently Apple is very good at keeping things under wraps so i believe that this is just a mock up dummy phone.

Update : 27-04-08 - The 3G iPhone will be announced June 9, the likely date of Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ keynote at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference, analysts said in research notes on Thursday. The 3G iPhone will be the “first of an impressive wave of new products” from Apple, wrote Citi analysts Richard Gardner and Yeechang Lee. They also expect an updated Mac laptop and iPod lines. The Apple conference is scheduled for June 9-13 in San Francisco. In addition to a 3G iPhone release in early June, the 2.5G model could have a “minor casing change” and a price drop to between US$299 and $349, compared to the current $399, wrote Shaw Wu, an analyst with American Technology Research, in a research report.

Those predictions are consistent with a February prediction Gardner made that 3G iPhones will be announced by midyear. The 3G iPhone release will help Apple meet its target of shipping 10 million iPhones in 2008, Gardner wrote at the time. Apple is confident it will sell 10 million iPhones this year, officials said during a conference call on Wednesday to discuss the company’s second-quarter earnings. Apple sold more iPhones than expected during the quarter and iPhone inventories were not enough to meet the strong demand.

Updated 09/06/08  Apple Announces iPhone 3G

Readius, Ενα κινητο με ebook reader και αναδιπλούμενο display.

Η εταιρια Polymer Vision ανακοινωσε μια νεα συσκευη, το Readius, ενα κινητο τηλεφωνο με αναδιπλουμενο display, που εχει τη δυνατοτητα να γινεται ebook reader με μια απλη κινηση. Στο δρομο που πρωτη χαραξε η Sony και μετα το Amazon, το Readius χρρησιμοποιει το δικτυο κινητης τηλεφωνιας τριτης γενιας για προσβαση στο internet, ετσι ωστε η αποκτηση ebooks να γινεται υποθεση μερικων δεπτερολεπτων online. 

“Τρεχει” Windows CE, και εχει τη δυνατοτητα να παιζει τα αγαπημενα σας mp3, podcasts και audio books, ενω ο ARM11 επεξεργαστης του στα 400MHz με 128MB of RAM και 256MB ενσωματωμενης μνημης προσφερουν ανεση στις δυατοτητες του κινητου. Δεχεται Micro SDHC cards μεχρι 8GB, διαθετει Bluetooth 2.0 , και το display ειναι 5-inch QVGA (320×240 pixels) rollable display στις 16 σκιες του γκρι για την ωρα, ενω η Polymer Vision θα εκδοσει και διαφορετικη version με 8-inch εγχρωμο.  Η μπαταρια του διαρκει για 30 ωρες συνεχομενης αναγνωσης και εχει τη δυνατοτητα ληψης/αναγνωσης και αποστολης POP3 and IMAP mail,  αλλα και Yahoo! Mail, Gmail και Microsoft Exchange.