The Limo Foundation - the consortium behind mobile Linux-based operating system LiMo Platform - is attempting to take some of the spotlight off rival Android during the GSMA Mobile World Congress this week, announcing today a number of new developments and claiming that some mobile operators are fearful of Google’s high-profile platform.

In an interview with Mobile Business Briefing, the LiMo Foundation said that some mobile operators fear that Google’s business model underlying the Android operating system offers a competitive threat to them.

The foundation argues mobile operators need to maintain control over their own brand, operating system and business processes... read on

Chinese vendor Huawei has confirmed speculation by today unveiling its first Android-powered smartphone. The device - which bears a very striking resemblance to Apple’s iPhone - will be commercially available in the third quarter of this year.

The device is likely to be only the second smartphone available to support Google’s Android operating system, following the launch of HTC’s G1 last year. Operating systems - and Android in particular - are set to be a major topic of debate at this year’s GSMA Mobile World Congress.

Nokia became the latest mobile player to launch into the increasingly crowded app store market at the GSMA Mobile World Congress yesterday but has sought to differentiate itself from longer-established rivals by playing up how users can personalise their shopping in its new Ovi Store.

The vendor’s new online shop and Microsoft’s Windows Mobile Marketplace, the other major application store announced at the show yesterday, are both attempting to make up the lead held by the successful Apple App Store, Android Market and the imminent initiative from Research In Motion... read on

Microsoft yesterday announced a number of new developments that aim to help it become a stronger player in the mobile arena.

The software giant unveiled a revamp of its handset OS, together with a new UI and mobile browser. The label of Windows Mobile will be replaced with new branding - 'Windows Phone.' The company also stressed that mobile was a key focus - ‘not just another pet project’ – and is continuing to invest heavily with much more activity being seen over the next 18 months... read on

Sony Ericsson has revealed its new ‘Entertainment Unlimited’ strategy. It will increase its focus on high-end, multimedia devices and broaden the user experience across devices.
It’s not too cruel to describe the ‘new’ strategy as staggering in its blandness.

It is little different to the joint venture’s founding principle that should have been guiding the company anyway. Instead of having music-centric Walkman devices and camera-oriented Cybershot phones, the new approach calls for something of a ‘Cyber-man’ approach.... read on

No real surprise here. But Nokia’s Ovi Store is not simply a “me-too” take on the barnstorming iPhone App Store, although its concept undoubtedly owes a great deal to Apple’s success.

For one, Nokia’s version is aimed at a far broader user demographic, with both mid-range Series 40 devices and high-end S60 handsets being catered for. For another, Nokia will use location and other personal information (with user buy-in) to enable it to deliver a more personalised buying experience than its rivals. ‘Context’ is something of a Nokia obsession of late, so this could prove interesting, but is as yet an unknown... read on

A couple of weeks ago I received the Sonim XP3, a phone that, according to the manufacturer, is supposed to be undestructable.

It’s predecessor, the Sonim XP1 (makes you wonder what ever happened to the ‘XP2’ model. It probably died during development ;-)), didn’t really live up to its expectations of being the strongest phone in the world as can be seen in several video reports.

According to the specifications the Sonim XP3 should be resistant to dust, water (even fully submersed for 30 minutes), extreme temperatures (-4 to +140 degrees Fahrenheit), shocks, sand, mud and so on.

Well that sounded very promising and so I decided to give it a try. To my surprise the phone actually withstood a fair amount of beating. Things like playing soccer with it on a conrete floor, dropping it in water for over half an hour, smashing it against a wall and even a night in the freezer at -13 (F) and two hours in an oven at 150 (F) didn’t seem to hurt the Sonim XP3 at all and after a couple of days it was still fully functional.... read on

The past few days I was invited to attend a press meeting at the new R&D head office from Sony Ericsson in Lund, Sweden. O the last day Sony Ericsson prepared a nice surprise for the remaining journalists and bloggers.

The first and second day were all about the new PlayNow Arena Plus service and a brief, but very interesting look in Sony Ericsson’s kitchen where they showed us how they design new phones, what their contribution is and will be towards a better environment and they also introduced a couple of new products like the first Bluetooth Watches designed especially for women.... read on

This week I attended the Phone House Christmas Event in Amsterdam. The retailer, together with all major Cell Phone manufacturers, showed of their 'winter coilection'.

Although there were not many surprises we still had the chance to get our hands on a brand new LG phone. The LG KP500 will be released during the holiday season and it will be available exclusively to customers of The Phone House.

The KP500 is an extremely lightweight full touchscreen phone with a 3 megapixel camera, microSD memorycard slot, Bluetooth and FM Radio. No word on pricing yet but a Gernan website for camparing products mentioned a pricetag between 218 and 226 Euros.... read on

London, UK - 10 September 2008 - Sony Ericsson today announces 30 September 2008 as the official launch date for the highly anticipated Xperia™ X1 – initially available to consumers in the UK, Germany and Sweden. The handset will be available in other markets across Europe, Asia and Latin America throughout Q4 2008.

APAC
Indonesia, Singapore, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam

Western Europe
Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands, Austria, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Portugal... read on

Nokia today extended recognition to the initial group of exceptional mobile application developers in its 2008 Forum Nokia Innovation Series program, designed to provide select small- and mid-sized developers with key business and market support and facilitate access for cutting-edge applications and services to the largest mobile device market in the world today.

The first eight developers recognized in the 2008 Forum Nokia Innovation Series cleared multiple selection hurdles over the course of the past year as part of the selection process, which included internal Nokia reviews and the screening of application features and functionality by consumer focus groups around the world.... read on

The Zeemote, a bluetooth gaming controller for Mobile Phones will have its world premiere launch in the Netherlands later this week. Zeemote has struck a deal with Sony Ericsson. Anyone in the Netherlands who buys a W760 between August 8th and October 31st will receive a Zeemote free of charge.

One of our Dutch bloggers, Arjan from MobileGamesBlog, had a sit down with Jim Adams from Zeemote for an exclusive interview.... read on

This news came to me from a very thrustworthy source who wouldn't (or couldn't) tell me exactly what it will be all about but Sony Ericsson is planning another productanouncement within the next two weeks, despite the fact they just released a trio of new Walkmanphones, erlier this week.

So, are they going to introduce another new phone, accessories or new services. We'll have to wait and see but in the meantime: 'Ladies and Gentleman, start your speculation!'

Personally I don't like it when people listen to music through the built in speakers of their cell phones. It just doesn't sound good enough and, above all, can be pretty annoying for their surroundings.

The speaker quality of the old iPhone (2G version) was even worse than that of the average (music)phone and Apple has fixed this problem on the iPhone 3G.

Here are two video's to prove the fact that the speakers of the new iPhone are much better than the ones used in the first iPhone. I used Madonna's new hit single 'Give It To Me'. First you'll here it on the old iPhone, then the new iPhone 3G. Of course all settings are the same (EQ was off on both phones, volume level was the same etc).... read on

Well, the long wait has finally come to an end. This week the Nokia E71 will arrive in (online) shops across the Netherlands.

The biggest question is whether the E71 can surpass the success of its predecessor, the E61. Or, can Nokia live up to the hype?

In itself it’s quite daring that the Finns have decided to release the E71 around the same time that the iPhone 3G will hit the stores here in Holland but I really can’t say whether that’s just a coincidence or a well thought out marketing strategy.

Over at the Dutch version of MobileCowboys, Cowboy Menno had the chance to play with the E71 a couple of days before it hits the stores. He made the following review.... read on