Technoglam

Apple to launch the iPhone 3G S on June 19th

Only a few more sleeps Apple peeps! The iPhone 3G S is scheduled for a June 19th launch with a promise to be even more powerful than its predecessor. The camera has been given a mini-boost to 3MP, there's longer battery life and hands-free voice control (including for the iPod element) plus the choice between 16GB and 32GB models. Naturally it can still be customised with the 50,000 applications on offer through Apple's App Store.

There isn't a fixed RRP yet but needless to say, don't expect it to be cheap!

Solar-powered mobile phone from Digicel

It seems somewhat odd that there is a solar-powered mobile phone. Who would have thought that could happen? Yet it has thanks to those clever people at Digicel who have been supplying low cost and solar phones since 2008. The phone has an integrated solar charger and it's actually rather nice looking, isn't it?

I don't know if it might be pushing it in the UK with the intermittent sun, but for 2 billion people worldwide who don't have access to electricity for charging, this phone could be a lifesaver. Details are somewhat sketchy so I can't 'big up' any features and thus assume it might be rather basic. It'll be out in selected markets in June.

Digicel press release.

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Meet the new Google Phone - HTC Magic

Lots of lovely new handsets are being announced this week thanks to Mobile World Congress, the industry event for all things telephony. The HTC Magic is the second phone to use Google's Android operating system with new firmware 'cupcake'. There's a full intuitive touchscreen (no slide-out keyboard) with a 3.2MP video camera, WiFi, GPS and has several Google applications preloaded including Mail, Maps and YouTube (which you can publish directly to from the phone) plus there's access to the Android Market online store with 800 other applications on offer.

On the downside, we're a bit dissapointed by the proprietry headphone jack so many standard headphones won't fit plus there isn't a flash option for the camera.

The price may get as low as around Euro 99-199 and it'll go on sale, via Vodafone, in the UK, Germany, Spain and France and on other networks in Italy. More Google/Android phones are expected to be announced.

HTC Magic [via BBC - check them out for a video of the HTC Magic in action]

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LG's Touch Watch LG-GD910 Phone

I don't know if you're interested in getting in to the James Bond groove - and really that's what this nifty gadget immediately makes me think of - but you could be a bit (read: not much) like the top spy with LG's first market-ready Touch Watch Phone. The wristwatch device has a built-in camera for making 3G video calls, has a full touchscreen interface, a curved tempered glass face with 1.43" screen, high quality metal casing and is just 13.9mm thick.

In the event of you feeling a trite daft talking in to your sleeve, it can be paired up with a Bluetooth headset, there's a built-in speaker enabling Text to Speech technology to read text messages and other information or for playing music.

It'll be out on the Orange network by the end of 2009.

LG Touch Watch Phone

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Nokia N86 with 8MP wide-angle camera

Nokia have gone huge lengths to produce the latest in camera phones. The N86 boasts a brilliant 8MP camera (the industry average is around 2 or 3MP with a few available at 5MP) with wide-angle Carl Zeiss optics. There's video imaging too. "The aperture of the Nokia N86 8MP is comparable to that of a high-quality, stand-alone digital camera," says Juha-Pekka Sipponen, Director, Nokia Nseries. "Whether it's running with the bulls in Pamplona or capturing the panoramic beauty of a sunrise over Sydney, the Nokia N86 8MP will take brilliantly clear, wide-angle images that are instantly geotagged to be uploaded onto sites like Ovi Share or Flickr."

8GB of internal memory means storage for up to 4000 images plus you can expand the storage with a microSD memory card up to 16GB.

As for the phone, it has an OLED screen with scratch-resistant glass, plays videos and has the latest version of Nokia Maps, a built-in compass and 3months license for voice and pedestrian navigation with location and picture sharing through geotagging. It can play 25 hours of music from one charge and can be coupled with the Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-214, also just announced, with music downloading from the Nokia Music store.

It'll cost around Euro375, be out in Q2 (April-June) and is certainly on my wishlist!

Nokia N86

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Toshiba TG01 multimedia mobile

 

If you like the touchscreen style phones, take a look at the Toshiba TG01 multimedia phone. With a super slim casing at just 9.9mm thin and a large 4.12 Wide-VGA (800x480) touch-screen display, the phone utilises technology from Toshiba’s LCD TV ”Regza” to ensure a bright, vivid display for video playback making it a nifty portable entertainment device. Features are accessed via the 3D interface and it also has intuitive controls - for example, there's a tilt sensor to access features by tipping the phone left or right.

It's built around Windows Mobile so users will get mobile web browser Internet Explorer® Mobile - useful for social networking or online banking - and Microsoft Office Outlook® Mobile for emails, contacts and the calendar function and Windows Live Messenger. Blueooth, 3G HSDPA, WiFi and GSM/GPRS/EDGE should make connectivity a breeze. There's a better than average 3.2MP camera with autofocus, micro SDHC slot up to 32GB, 11 hours standby, 5 hours talktime and  MP3 player to complete the roundup.

So far, I like the casing style and feature set but the coloured menu doesn't appeal. It will be out in black or white throught Europe this summer with price and networks tbc.

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Dell Wasabi Bluetooth printer

Dell have announced the Wasabi PZ310 Mobile Printer which should be great teamed up with your mobile phone for instant 2x3" photo printing. Hook it up with your phone via Bluetooth or PictBridge. The lightweight palm-size is largely thanks to the Zero-Ink technology which means ink is embedded in the paper and activated by heat. It's available in pink, blue and black but unfortunately only our American friends can get their hands on it for $99 from Dell. [via Unplggd]

Like this? Check out the PoGo Instant photo printer in our Valentine's Day feature

 

Indestructible i-mate 810-F smartphone

My mobile has just gone to phone heaven thanks to the machinations of my phone-loving toddler. Perhaps I should be considering the i-mate 810-F for my next purchase. Built to military standards, the waterproofed rubber casing can cope with extreme pressure, heat, cold, water, humidity, extreme shock and even drive a car over it or take a hammer to it and it will survive plus it has a lifetime warranty. It has a QWERTY keyboard, impact resistant 320×240 touch screen and runs Windows Mobile 6.1 ready for emailing, music or browsing the web plus there is a 2MP video camera, GPS, WiFi, digital compass and Bluetooth.

Security conscious types can also access Secure i-Q, which allows you to use your PC to remotely lock the smartphone, wipe personal information and alarm it in the event of it being lost or stolen.

It should be out within the next few weeks at mobile retailers or check iMate.

As for my toddler, well, he's met his match with this one.

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LG's new multimedia phone - KM900

LG have announced their flagship phone for 2009 which will be unveiled at industry gathering Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The LG Arena (or KM900) features their new 3D user interface with a cube-based layout. There's four customisable home screens that give direct access to features including music, movies, pictures with 3D menus. There's also HSDPA 7.2 netowrks, Wi-Fi and A-GPS that should cover all your web connectivity needs.

More news is expected to be announced next week at the Mobile World Congress.

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Snap up the classics with Google's free e-books for mobiles

Google are offering free e-books from today. Over 1.5million out-of-copyright titles are up for grabs which means a massive digital library for... nothing! The books can be downloaded to phones with large screens such as the iPhone or G1. These new mobile editions are optimized to be read on a small screen," Google said. "With this launch, we believe that we've taken an important step toward more universal access to books."

Books can be searched by category or using the search function. Authors include Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle, Jonathan Swift, Lewis Carroll, Jane Austen, Lucy Maud Montgomery and Oscar Wilde. Could this mean a renewed interest in literature. We hope so!

To view the service via your phone go to: http://books.google.com/m or click here. You may need to check your download allowance on your phone.

Go to our sister site Five Minutes Peace for book news and great reads.