Another stab at the iPhone market!

It looks like Research in Motion (RIM) is getting ready to launch a replacement for the Blackberry Curve; the Javelin. Effectively, this device is a Blackberry Bold without the 3G bit (I don’t know about you, but I like, no, need 3G. I’m sure there’s a plan here somewhere!)

The Javelin is expected to feature cosmetic and feature upgrades in order to keep Blackberry fans buying - it’ll be hard task considering the new iPhone 3G sold over a million units since the Friday 11th launch.

The new handset is is rumoured to have GPS, WiFi, a 3.2MP camera, GSM / EDGE quad-band and the Blackberry 4.6 OS crammed into its chassis. Oh, and the Javelin features a micro-USB charging connector - buy a Javelin and you kiss your ’spare’ charger goodbye.

So, if you really want an EDGE phone don’t expect to be enjoying the ‘browsing experience of your life’ (unless you’re in a WiFi zone).

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Sharpened handsets at dawn.

Looks like Google have a serious competitor to Android. Symbian, Series 60, UIQ and MOAP platforms are to be merged into an open-sourced platform to rival to Android. Heading up this charge into the heart of Google-land is Nokia who are preparing to buy up the remaining Symbian shares that it does not already own.

The Symbian foundation is planning to Open Source selected components at the launch of the new initiative. Over the coming two years the entire platform will become Open Source. There’s a bonus here for current Symbian license holders: no more fees.

Sony Ericsson and Motorola will contribute the UIQ platform, and NTT DoCoMo will contribute its MOAP platform.

Other companies joining this initiative include AT&T, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments and Vodafone.

Forget the browsers wars (we know Firefox will win that one), things look set to get really hot in the mobile sector.

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You won’t be assimilated…not just yet!

I’m quite keen to have a look at Googles Android handset but going on reports I may have to wait until 2009!

A report in Mondays Wall Street Journal suggests that a number of Googles partners in the venture simply won’t be ready for the planned 2008 release. This flies in the face Google statements that the first Android equipped handset will be with us by the end of 2008.

The WSJ did say that Android could still be with us this year but not through Google. T-mobile are planning to release a handset by the end of the year.

Android currently has 30 companies officially in the programme - surely that’s enough to make it happen?

Ok, yes it will be here. Oh, no it won’t. Actually, nobody knows! On the plus side, this means I can avoid be deluged with sponsored ads for just a little longer

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You will like this.

How much will the iPhone 3G cost you? Between nothing and £159!

Hard to believe but true. Take a look at the tariffs:

• £75 (3000 mins, 500 texts) and £45 (1200 mins, 500 texts) a month contracts - you get an 8GB iPhone 3GB for free.
• higher rate contracts lets you have the 16GB model for free
• the £45 a month contact offers the handset as an additional one-off payment of £59
• a new £30 per month contract means you can buy the 16Gb handset for £159 and the 8Gb for £99

The last contact only offers 75 minutes and 125 texts per month but if you’re short of cash but desperate to get your hands on an iPhone 3G this may be the one for you.

O2 are also releasing the iPhone 3G on a pay-as-you go contract.

The iPhone 3G will still only be available through o2 and Carphone Warehouse.

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‘You’ll never tear us apart’.

How old is your mobile phone? 6 months, 1 year, 2 years…? It’s hard picking a new mobile phone. The keypad doesn’t feel ‘right’, it’s heavier, the layout is just not what you want. You see, we’ve experienced that lack of enthusiasm when it comes to finding a replacement for our aging mobile. So, it comes as no surprise that many users are keeping their phones for 1 year, 2 years and, in some cases even longer.

The technology fast lane.

Most manufacturers count on the latest release being the next big thing. I have 3G on my phone. Do I use it? Sometimes. Life wouldn’t be that much of a hardship without it. I had a Nokia handset that lasted for 3 years. It was clunky with text based web browsing but I liked it. Why change? I guess many people have the same view hence survey results by silicon.com showing that 28% of the 388 repsondents kept their mobiles for one to two years.

I wonder if my Blackberry will last that long.

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Android gets a slap in the face.

Verizon Wireless has announced that it will be using LiMo for future operating system rather than Google’s Android platform. The US telco has a seat on the LiMo Foundation and is set to become a core member of the consortium. The group, which includes Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic Mobile Communications, Samsung and Vodafone, was set up to create and open, Linux based OS for the mobile industry.

This news is a slap in the face for Google, whose Android platform has failed to get much support, despite initial interest. Could Android be squeezed out of the market? Analysts claim think so. The mobile market is currently dominated by Symbian and Microsoft but Linux is gaining supporters fast.

So, bad news for Google but good news for Linux as a whole.

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