This week started with the rumor that Samsung will be announcing a 12 megapixel camera phone at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The latest rumors suggest that Samsung plan to follow up their 8-megapixel INNOV8 with the world’s first shipping 12-megapixel handset.
A recent survey suggests that mobile developers are getting more interested in developing other platforms rather than Microsoft’s Windows Mobile, while Motorola may indeed be saying goodbye to WinMo.
The Sidekick LX 2009 version will be equipped by 3G/GPS capabilities, a 3.2 megapixel camera, pre-installed social networking softwares, 3.2-inch WVGA screen and microSD card slot. The most important thing: the next Sidekick will run the NetBSD, an open source OS.
Motorola, Sprint and Boost Mobile have teamed up to launch Motorola Stature i9. The thinnest flip phone in the Nextel Direct Connect portfolio will be available from Boost at www.boostmobile.com by the end of February with Sprint getting the device shortly thereafter; so, be among the first to own it by pre-registering at their site.
T-Mobile USA have announced a new financing scheme that will let cash-strapped buyers spread the cost of new handsets and accessories. The Equipment Instalment Plan (EIP) will be offered to “qualified” customers, presumably those who pass a T-Mobile credit check, and involve splitting the overall cost of devices and accompanying accessories over four monthly payments.
Virgin Mobile USA has announced the first contract 3G handset in its 2009 line-up and will be on sale for $149 at www.virginmobileusa.com beginning February 12, 2009. This device incorporates broad range of mobile content, social media and GPS features.
Motorola today confirmed that they’re losing tons of money and plans to focus on smartphones that run the Android operating system. According to Motorola Co-CEO Sanjay Jha, this move will give Motorola a chance to capitalize on handsets that integrate social networking functionality.
Toshiba just announced the TG01, a 9.9mm thick Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone, featuring their own 3D user interface. It has a 4.1-inch WVGA 800 x 480 384k pixel resistive touchscreen, 3G HSPA, WiFi, GPS and A-GPS. TG01 is Toshiba’s first device to use Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon QSD2850 chipset.
T-Mobile USA and Motorola today announced the retail availability of the MOTO W233 Renew, the world’s first mobile phone made using plastics comprised of recycled water bottles.
Nvidia’s Tegra chip will be used in an upcoming Microsoft smartphone, according Doug Freedman, chip analyst with research firm Broadpoint AmTech. But Microsoft says absolutely not: Andy Lees, the senior vice president of Microsoft’s mobile communications business, denied the company is making a phone.
Amazon company has confirmed that its about 230,000 Kindle book collection will soon be accessible on mobile devices. Drew Herdener, a spokesman for Amazon, told the New York Times that it’s now working on making the dream of Kindle titles on mobiles a reality, but he hasn’t specified which phones will be able to work with the Kindle mobile.
