Google Nexus One Said To Cost $530 Unlocked

With Google poised to unveil its Nexus One mobile phone next week, the $530 unlocked handset ($180 subsidized by T-Mobile) is already taking the wind out of the sails of other exhibitors at next week's Consumer Electronics Show.

Google hasn't said much about the phone, but enough information has leaked out to produce a profile of the HTC-built phone. It will operate on GSM networks, meaning the Nexus One could also work on AT&T's network, but not on Verizon Wireless or Sprint Nextel networks.

Qualcomm's fast Snapdragon processor is slated to power the Nexus One, which raises the question whether Qualcomm's chief operating officer, Len Lauer, will be involved in the Nexus One. Lauer has worked closely with Google on its Android Open Handset Alliance, but is scheduled to leave Qualcomm Thursday to become CEO of another as-yet unnamed firm. Lauer's predecessor in the Qualcomm COO post, Sanjay Jha, left to become co-CEO at Motorola, where he has been directing that firm's Android project.

Previously Lauer said the Snapdragon, which boasts a 1-GHz speed, could eventually operate with Google's new Chrome browser.

New details on the Nexus One were provided by Gizmodo, which reported that it had received information from anonymous sources.

Specs reported for the Nexus One mention Wi-Fi connectivity, a 5- or 6-megapixel camera, and a 3.7-inch AMOLED touchscreen. Broadcom's BCM4329 chip, also said to be included in the Nexus One, is capable of providing 802.11n, Bluetooth, and FM technologies.

The Nexus One could represent a unified design for Google Android phones, thereby eliminating some of the complaints of application developers that existing Android phones are fragmented. A recent survey of 30 developers found that many were dropping Android work and returning to application development for the iPhone because the multiple Android designs made it difficult and uneconomical to develop apps for Android handsets. A unified Android design could attract more developers to the Android.

An unlocked Nexus One Google phone would likely please the Federal Communications Commission, which has been complaining about the exclusive marketing deals that exist between mobile phone providers and carriers. The T-Mobile Nexus One will carry a stipulation that users will pay a stiff fee if they opt out of the phone's contract before its completion.

By: W. David Gardner
Source:http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/smart_phones/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=222100268

11:37 AM | 0 comments | Read More

Google sharpens aim on mobile marketing with AdMob

SAN MATEO, Calif. — Four years ago, Omar Hamoui was just another ineffectual entrepreneur trying to spruce up his resume in graduate school.

Now, he's poised to become Google Inc.'s newest weapon as the company aims to extend its dominance of online advertising from computers to mobile devices.

Google is buying Hamoui's expertise in a $750 million acquisition of AdMob, a network for ads on iPhones and similar gadgets. He launched the business while struggling to support his wife and children as a student at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

Hamoui, 32, changed his life by setting up a system for advertising on mobile devices. Though that sounds simple, it was a breakthrough because Hamoui's network got around stifling controls that wireless carriers had imposed on the content their customers could see on their phones. The crack that AdMob opened in the carriers' "walled gardens" made it easier for independent programmers to profit from applications planted on mobile phones.

"It took a lot of guts because (the carriers) were the gatekeepers of the industry," says Rich Wong, an AdMob investor and board member who is with Accel Partners. "Back then, it was sort of like if you said no to the Godfather. Bad things could happen."

More than a year after Hamoui ignited the fuse, Apple Inc. blew up the status quo with the June 2007 introduction of the iPhone - which created a platform for applications chosen by users.

That has spawned more than 100,000 mobile "apps" for doing everything from bird watching to cooking poultry. The revenue from AdMob's ad network is one of the main reasons application developers can give the programs away or just charge a few bucks.

"Omar was absolutely the tip of the spear in this mobile media revolution," says Jason Spero, general manager of AdMob's North America operations.

If Google's proposed acquisition is approved by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Hamoui thinks he and AdMob's 150 employees will be in an even better position to turn mobile phones into moneymaking magnets.


Continue Reading "Google sharpens aim on mobile marketing with AdMob"

11:53 AM | 0 comments | Read More

HTC to Launch Windows Mobile 7 Phones in Q2-Q3 Next Year

Taiwan-based mobile phone maker HTC is known to be the largest maker of Windows Mobile-based handsets, and it seems that the company plans on keeping its name. Since the next flavor of Microsoft's OS is under development at the moment, the handset vendor is also set to give a hand at delivering it to the market, and apparently, we might see the first Windows Mobile 7-based devices from HTC reaching the shelves sometimes in the second or the third quarter of the next year.

According to a recent article on WMPoweruser, which cites some posts from the xda.developers forum, HTC plans on launching the first mobile phones running under the next-gen Windows Mobile as soon as the first half of 2010, or the third quarter, the latest. It seems that the recently leaked Windows Mobile-based handsets from HTC, namely the HTC Trophy, HTC Tera and HTC Photon, are only those meant for T-Mobile, and that other phones will also arrive in the first half of the next year with WM on board.

There are two posts on the forum that specifically mention the upcoming mobile phones from HTC:
The second is more interesting, and states that HTC is planning to release a Windows Mobile 7 handset either in late Q2 or early Q3.

Anyway's…I have truly fresh news to share with you which absolutely make sense why in HTC’s portfolio there are no such WM7 phones…and just simple QWERTY or not, WM6.5 ones.
Microsoft, as many of you already know…moved back, the primal release of WM7 and chosen HTC as strategic vendor to launch the first HTC WM7 device late on Q2, start of Q3 2010 (September), so everything up to now, is under discussion and will be finalized till End of April of 2010.

These are quite exciting news, one should agree. HTC is very popular for its Windows Mobile-based handsets, and especially for some high-end devices like the Touch Pro2 or the HD2, both launched during the ongoing year, and it seems that it might bring even more appealing phones to the market. However, since nothing is finalized yet, and is not even official, we'll have to take this with a grain of salt for the moment, especially since the OS has been said to arrive towards the end of the next year, not sooner, but we are still keeping our fingers crossed for this to pan out.

Source:http://news.softpedia.com/news/HTC-to-Launch-Windows-Mobile-7-Phones-in-Q2-Q3-Next-Year-130304.shtml

10:19 AM | 0 comments | Read More

INQ Chat 3G launches on Three

Mobile manufacturer INQ has launched the INQ Chat 3G - its first handset with a Qwerty keyboard, similar to that found on many BlackBerry mobile phones.



The INQ Chat 3G is available exclusively on Three mobile, for £99.99 on PAYG tariffs, or at least £15 per month on contract tariffs.

The handset is geared towards social networking, with integrated Facebook, Twitter and Skype applications. According to INQ, there's a new email client with free push Gmail so new emails are automatically sent to the handset.

The phone's software also includes an active address book, showing live status of all your contacts.

The INQ Chat 3G has a 2.4-inch 320x240 pixel resolution TFT screen, arranged in a landscape format above the Qwerty keypad.

Source: http://www.which.co.uk/news/2009/12/inq-chat-3g-launches-on-three-191509

10:58 AM | 0 comments | Read More

Apple reveals 2009's best selling iPhone games

Apple has published two 'Top Sellers' charts of games and apps for 2009, which reveals the titles that generated the most cash on its iPhone App Store this year.

Seven of the top 30 games are from EA Mobile, representing a hugely successful year for the publisher, which has brought a succession of its big console brands to iPhone.

Gameloft has three games in the top 30, while Australian independent studio Firemint has entries from both its games: Real Racing and Flight Control. The full list can be seen here.

In the separate apps list, navigation applications are to the fore, with ALK's CoPilot, TomTom, Navigon's Mobile Navigator and Sygic's Mobile Maps Europe all present and correct.

Other apps to have coined it in include chef Jamie Oliver's 20 Minute Meals app, Smule's I Am T-Pain, Arsenal FC's official app, and Sling Media's SlingPlayer Mobile. The full list can be found here.

Source: http://www.casualgaming.biz/news/29582/Apple-reveals-2009s-best-selling-iPhone-games

10:24 AM | 0 comments | Read More