Posted November 21st, 2008 by The second half of November is turning out to be as busy as the first, with plenty of mobile news hitting the Internet. This week we’re going to take a look at some special edition phones from Nokia and Motorola, some interesting Nokia Comes With… news, plus more phones for the paranoid parent.
1. LG Prada II Release Imminent!
When a mobile phones sells the way the first Prada did, it was only a matter of time before a follow-up hits the streets and here it is, the LG Prada II KF900. Nothing groundbreaking has been done in terms of design, but the inclusion of a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 3G HSDPA data speeds and the chance to control it by Bluetooth watch makes it very exciting indeed! It’s out next week, so form an orderly queue.
2. Bruce Lee is Back! On Your Nokia N96!
Nokia in Hong Kong has released a special edition of the brilliant N96, dedicated to the martial arts legend Bruce Lee. Although the N96 itself is unchanged internally aside from a couple of themes and pictures, the rear panel has Bruce’s face and signature, plus inside the box you’ll find a statue dressed in his iconic yellow and black jumpsuit from Game of Death, a wristband and a Nunchaku keyring.
3. Ofcom Report Sees Irish Number One Mobile Users.
The International Communications Market Report published by Ofcom compares the digital industry as a whole between various countries and amongst other things, has concluded the Irish use their phones more than the British and Americans. The average Irish user chatted for 179 minutes and sent 154 SMS per month, while the UK trailed on 136 minutes and only 81 SMS messages.
4. Keep Track of Your Kids by Mobile Phone.
The Teddyphone and G-Phone both offer mobile tracking so you can find out exactly where your tween or pre-schooler (in the case of the Teddyphone presumably) is at anytime, plus he or she can make calls to a set of pre-defined numbers only. It may be nothing new, but isn’t the Teddyphone sweet!
5. Kodak Sues LG and Samsung.
Camera giant Kodak has filed a lawsuit against LG and Samsung for seemingly ignoring patents which they own concerning image capture, compression and preview. According to the source, other mobile makers have recognised this and licensed the tech from Kodak, but not LG and Samsung, who have both pledged to fight it out.
6. Nokia Set to Come With More?
Nokia’s Comes With Music service is still in its infancy, making it a little to early to judge its success, however, Nokia have hinted that if the service does as well as they hope, it could be expanded to cover other media. The media has taken this to mean Comes With Games or Comes With Movies is a distinct possibility in the future.
7. Mobile Chargers to be Rated out of Five for Greenness.
The charger you find inside the box of your phone will soon be rated out of five to determine just how environmentally friendly it is. An agreement between Nokia, Samsung, LG, Motorola and Sony Ericsson has been reached to put this into practice.
8. Assisted GPS Through Your Sim.
Sagem Orga, one of the largest makers of smart cards, has created a mobile SIM which incorporates an Assisted GPS receiver and antenna, which will allow non-GPS enabled mobile phones to enjoy navigation services. No news as to when it will be available, but we love the idea of a pay-as-you-go style sim for use abroad with this tech inside.
9. Motorola Releases Gold A1600
It wasn’t the best looking phone when it was standard, but now the A1600 has been given a golden finish and some crocodile skin there’s no denying it stands out, but not necessarily in a good way. It’s currently only available in China, so fans of the tacky mobile will have to make a considerable effort to grab one of these.
10. The IcePhone Cometh!
Well, it cometh sometime in 2009 if makers The Medical Phone Ltd have their way. Folded up, the Windows Mobile concept looks quite neat, but unfolded it looks a little confused, like three different devices cobbled together. Although it was conceived as an emergency device, it has steadily become more commercial, ending up with the bottom panel being adapted to house gaming keys. The spec isn’t bad, however the 210 gram weight will put a few people off!
Join us next week for more mobile phone news stories!
