Samsung is the only major phone maker that takes dual SIM handset production seriously – the South Korean company is constantly releasing dual SIM phones, the latest being the Duos 259 (launched in India).
This year, however, global sales of dual SIM phones are expected to double according to Strategy Analytics – and lots of other companies will have new dual SIM devices, including Nokia, which should launch them as soon as the second quarter of the year in markets like China and Russia.
Several chip manufacturers, like Infineon, MediaTek and Qualcomm, are already making platforms for dual SIM handsets.
It’s no secret how Bill Gates views Google and its Android operating system. One fine afternoon Gates, while browsing the web discovered that Google was recruiting ex-Microsoft employees. That’s when the penny dropped – Google was competing with the ‘Big Boys’ in the OS market.
Today, as expected, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has unveiled the company’s next generation mobile OS, officially called Windows Phone 7 Series.
As Microsoft puts it, Windows Phone 7 Series is a “new beginning” offering “a fresh approach to phone software, distinguished by smart design and truly integrated experiences that bring to the surface the content people care about from the Web and applications”. The new OS integrates Xbox LIVE games and Zune music and videos – for the first time into a mobile platform. Reportedly, “every Windows Phone 7 Series device will be a Zune.”
Windows Phone 7 Series features dynamically updated live titles on the Start screen – these provide real-time content from various sources (including your contacts).
All Windows Phone 7 Series handsets will feature a Bing dedicated hardware button for one-click access to Microsoft’s search engine.
Important: for the beginning, there will be no Adobe Flash support in Windows Phone 7 Series.
Russia’s division of Philips announced the immediate availability of Philips Xenium X100, a long working hours and two SIM cards mobile phone. The Russian users can bring this phone home for 1,999 rubles.
The Philips Xenium X100’s features include:
* Support communications standards: 2x 900/1800 MHz, GPRS Class 12
* Dimensions: 102,8 h43, 8h14.9
* Weight: 52.7 oz.
* Display: 1.8-inch, TFT, resolution of 128×160 pixels, 262,000 colors
* Supported audio formats: MP3, AMR, WAV, Midi
* MP3 player, FM-radio,
* Three built-in games
* Scheduler, Alarm Clock, Calculator, Calendar
While the Garmin Asus Nuvifone M10 is already available in Taiwan, the company has officially announced the Nuvifone M10 with Windows Mobile 6.5.3. Other than Taiwan, Garmin Asus also confirmed that it will be available in Asia and Europe by next month. The Garmin-Asus M10 is designed with location information at its core and it delivers the most advanced location experience on a Windows phone. Navigation functions are linked to frequently used applications such as calendar, contacts, email, internet browser, and messaging; making an exceptionally intuitive and smooth navigation experience.
The M10 has advanced navigation features equivalent to a high-end Garmin nüvi® such as lane assist with junction view that guides drivers to the correct lane for an approaching turn or exit and realistically displays road signs. It also has highway mode that tells drivers the next three upcoming street exits so they can plan ahead. The M10 is ready for automotive navigation out-of-the-box, and it includes everything a customer needs to use the device in a car, including a powered cradle and windshield mount*.
Comes with a 3.5-inch WVGA display, the Billboard feature displays the most important information so users can review all at one glance. An intuitive 3D Task Manager also allows users to switch easily between running applications. Keeping the phone responsive and the navigation smooth are 512 RAM and 512 ROM, while 4GB of Flash memory provides ample storage for multimedia and data. The M10 is equipped with a 1500 mAh battery for hours of uninterrupted use, as well as a full QWERTY soft keyboard for speedy text input. HSDPA wireless connectivity and Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) ensure that messages are sent and received quickly.
Sharp has revealed a picture of the long rumored Microsoft’s Project Pink phone Turtle. The image above appeared in a FCC filing this week.
According to the FCC filing, Turtle will be a “CDMA Slide Phone with WLAN & BT”. The image seen in the FCC filing, is almost equal to the previous Project Pink leak in September 2009. Check out the picture after the break.
Back in November, Acer said that its 2010 portfolio would include more Android smartphones than in 2009 (when the company launched only one Android device – the Acer Liquid A1).
Well, one of the Android Acer handsets of this year is the Acer E110, which has just appeared over at the Bluetooth SIG.
Probably running Android 2.0, the Acer E110 features UMTS/HSDPA (900/2100 MHz or 850/1900MHz), A-GPS, Bluetooth, a touchscreen display of unknown resolution, and four touch-sensitive keys below the display.
This is what the Acer E110 looks like:
Another new Acer smartphone is the Acer P300, which is based on Windows Mobile (unknown version):
The Acer P300 features HSDPA/HSUPA, Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g.
Both the Acer E110 and Acer P300 are manufactured by Chi Mei Communication Systems (part of Foxconn). For the moment, there’s no word on when Acer plans to announce the two smartphones, but we’ll keep you posted.
Philips has just announced the launch of the Xenium K700 handset in Russia, a multimedia handset with a touchscreen that gets pictured below. The handset retails for $280 and we learn that it’s able to support almost all video formats, including RMVB, AVI, FLV, MPEG4 and Divx without conversion.
Philips Xenium K700 comes with a touch widescreen 2.8 inch TFT screen with a 400 x 240 pixel resolution and a very impressive battery, that will provide 4 hours of video playback or 25 hours of music listening. Also, you’ll be able to chat on the phone for 8.5 hours continuously or leave it in standby for a month.
Also on board there’s a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, FM radio with RDS and a microSD card slot, plus a 3.5mm audio jack.
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