BlackBerry gets Bold

RESEARCH In Motion Ltd is launching a new high- end version of the BlackBerry aimed at its core base of business users, but it hopes the sleek device will also catch on in the broad retail market. The BlackBerry Bold, as the new smart phone is called, is the first BlackBerry to support high- speed HSDPA cellular networks and comes with integrated GPS, Wi- Fi and a host of multimedia features. “ Its really a step up in function in many core aspects of the system,” RIM Co- CEO Jim Balsillie said.

The smart phone rolls out globally this summer and will cost between $ 300 and $ 400. AT& T will be its lead carrier in the United States. While Waterloo, Ontario- based RIM hopes the Bold will entice corporate users to upgrade the handsets they currently use, Balsillie said he “ wouldn’t be surprised if it gets picked up by the consumer”. The device will be a test of whether the shaky US economy is making corporations less willing to spend on new wireless hardware. Some analysts have expressed concerns that companies will delay upgrades or cut back on spending on items such as the BlackBerry.

RIM helped dispel such worries last month when it delivered a higher fourth quarter profit and a robust outlook. The Bold features the most vivid display ever on a BlackBerry, a 2-mega pixel camera with video recording capability, and a media player for watching movies and managing music collections. This isn’t the first time a BlackBerry is being loaded with multimedia features to catch the eye of the retail customer.

RIM has actively worked at diversifying its client base away from the executives, lawyers and other professionals who use the BlackBerry for sending secure wireless e- mail. More than a third of RIMs 14 million subscribers are now classified as non- government and non- corporate. This pursuit of consumers has put RIM in increasingly direct competition with devices such as Apples iPhone that target the broad consumer market. Still, Balsillie said the Bold is aimed first and foremost at the business, or enterprise, audience. “ Its pretty fair to say that the Bold does quite a job for cementing our leadership in the ( enterprise) side,” he said. “ We understand our roots and we understand the priority there.” RIM also announced that, along with Royal Bank of Canada and Thomson Reuters it will launch a $ 150 million venture capital fund that will invest in applications and services for the BlackBerry and other mobile platforms.

The smart phone market is shaping up like a three- horse race in 2008. BlackBerry remains the leader, Windows Mobile continues to make slow and steady progress, and Apple has come out of nowhere with the hottest and most widely hyped product of the year to become a good contender with its iPhone.

A survey carried out by IT analyst firm Canalys revealed that the iPhone surpassed Windows Mobile in market share in Q3 of 2007. Four firms, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Vodafone- controlled Vodafone Essar and BPL Mobile provide BlackBerry services in India.

RIM does not give country specific user numbers. A spokesman for India said the company had 14 million subscribers globally as of the quarter ended March. India had asked telecom firms not to provide certain BlackBerry services until proper monitoring systems are in place. It had also written to RIM asking it to install servers in India.

Currently, RIMs servers are placed in Canada. The move came after security agencies raised concerns the service posed a risk as emails sent on BlackBerry could not be traced or intercepted by Indian security services since the servers were placed in Canada. Security agencies said terrorists and other anti- national elements could use this loophole to wreck havoc in the country.

The five Apple products that flopped

Apple Newton: Released much ahead of its time in 1993, the Newton (official name was MessagePad) was touted as the future of computing. It would be the first in a new line of PDAs. The Newton's $ 1,000 price tag, poor handwriting recognition and large size pushed it towards failure.

Apple Lisa: Way back in 1983, Apple released the Lisa, one of the first commercial personal computers to have a GUI and a mouse. One of the main reasons of Lisas failure was its astonishing price of $ 9,995 ( around $ 21,500 in todays rate).

Macintosh Portable: The Macintosh Portable was Apples first portable computer. Launched in 1989, it was powered by a Motorola 68000 processor at 16 MHz and had 1 MB of RAM ( expandable to 8 MB). It was bigger than a briefcase, which made it unacceptable.

Macintosh TV: The limited- edition TV introduced in 1993 failed because it could not display TV feeds on desktop window and mediocre graphical performance.

Motorola ROKR: The iPhone is not Apples first cell phone; in 2005 it partnered with Motorola for the ROKR phone. It flopped mainly because of its awfully slow transfer rates.

Of PHONES TOO MOBILE

Cellphone giant Nokia is fast catching up with Apples iPhone. The announcement of the new iPhone-like Nokia 5800 Tube swept many geeks off their feet. Expected to be out by the last quarter of 2008, this phone is designed like the iPhone and can perform similar functionals. It is expected to give a huge boost to the mass adoption of mobile Internet. It is designed to run on the Symbian operating system, the S60.

The company has not disclosed much, but only mentioned that it would come with an iPhone- like tilt touch screen with 3G or even higher G features and of course a camera with a minimum of 3.2 megapixel plus autofocus.

TOO MOBILE ASUS P750: This PDA phone from ASUSTek Computer, Inc, comes with tri- band GSM and runs on Windows Mobile 6.

The phones high point is that it supports the TMC (Traffic Message Channel), which will help you get real- time information on traffic snarls so that you can reach your destination on time. Even with features like the 3MP camera and 64MB SDRAM with 256MB Flash memory, the phone manages to be reasonably light at 130 gm. Price: Rs 28,900.

SMARTPHONES ROLL IN

The avalanche of new handsets with their sets of pluses and minuses boggle ones mind, forcing it to reach the no conclusion stage each time one attempts to tally the pros and cons of different instruments. I don't intend to harangue you on what to choose and what not to. Instead, I'll share what I found striking about some of the phones that have just hit the market. TyTN II: HTCs newly introduced smartphone TyTN II has some very interesting features. Global high- speed HSDPA connectivity, in- built GPS for personal navigation and a novel adjustable screen angle make for a good package, especially, when it boasts of 3.5G high- speed Internet access at speeds nine times faster than 3G and advanced WiFi to ensure quick surfing, uploading and downloading wherever you may be in the world. The added applications, like the business card scanner and MapKing R12 to complement the in- built GPS, are the proverbial cherry on the cake. The TyTN II has an in- built GPS for personal navigation Nokias 5800 Tube will compete with the Apple iPhone ( left) Get real- time information on traffic snarl on the ASUS P750 ( right) The TyTN II has an in- built GPS for personal navigation

MILLION- DOLLAR CHATTING

Luxury is boundless. Touching the stars wont make you a king because there always will be unexplored galaxies. Lets learn about certain galaxies that you may not have explored yet or may find it impossible to even after knowing about them.
Those looking at a less expensive rival of the million- dollar GoldVish can go for the iPhone Princess Plus made by Australian designer and jeweller Peter Aloisson. This is the worlds most expensive iPhone, and is encrusted with 318 diamonds of 17.75 carats each — 138 of these are princess- cut, which is why the phone is named Princess Plus, and the other 180 brilliant- cut, all set in an 18- karat white gold rim. Price: $ 176,400. You can also opt for a “ slightly cheaper” version of the Princess Plus. That would be a brilliant- cut diamond version at US$ 66,150.

HTC Touch Diamond vs. iPhone, fight!

Our brethren over at Engadget Chinese had the chance to size-up HTC's new Windows Mobile 6.1 Touch Diamond with Apple's iPhone this morning in Taiwan. We have to admit, HTC's CEO was dead-on when he claimed that the Diamond's "not too big, not too small" after seeing it side-by-side with Microsoft's left-coast nemesis.

Airtel set to ring in iPhone this year

EYEING the growing market for highend mobile phones in the country telecom companies are launching new models of smartphones almost every month.
The latest smartphone to hit the Indian market will be Apples iPhone, which is being brought to the country by Bharti Airtel, through a tie- up with USbased Apple Inc.
“ Bharti Airtel has signed a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to India later this year,” the company said in a statement. Sources said Airtel may start offering iPhones around Diwali festival to its over 65 million GSM- based subscribers.
Airtel's announcement comes on the heels of the world's largest mobile phone operator Vodafone announcing last week to distribute iPhones worldwide including India. Company official's are not willing to disclose the price of the iPhone that will be launched in the country. Even Bharti Airtel gets ready to launch iPhone in India, RIM is launching a new high- end version of the BlackBerry aimed at its core base of business users. Called the BlackBerry Bold, the new smartphone would be the first BlackBerry product to support high- speed HSDPA cellular networks. It comes with integrated GPS, Wi- Fi and a host of multimedia features. The market for smartphones globally is dominated by Nokia that has a market share of 52.9 per cent in the segment. Research In Motion ( RIM), owners of BlackBerry, have 11.4 per cent market share. While Apples iPhone, which was launched last year has 6.5 per market cent, Motorola too has the same share of 6.5 per cent. Other brands such as LG and Samsung have the remaining 22.7 per cent share. The iPhone is an Internet- enabled multimedia mobile phone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It has a multi- touch screen with virtual keyboard and buttons. The iPhones features include a camera phone, portable media player ( iPod), text messaging and visual voicemail. It also offers Internet services including e- mail, web browsing and local Wi- Fi connectivity. It is a quadband mobile phone that uses the GSM standard, and hence has international capability. It supports the EDGE data technology. In the grey market the devices are available in the range of $ 500 to 600 ( about Rs 25,000), sources said, adding that these handsets procured from the grey market need to be unlocked. The tie- up between Bharti and Apple is likely to benefit the consumers who can now avail the products from legal channels and avoid tapping the grey market. If Airtel launches the service around Diwali, ahead of Vodafone, which also plans to launch the device by the year- end, it would get the first mover advantage in the highly competitive Indian mobile market. The UK telecom giant Vodafone would be selling the iPhone in India, besides nine other markets such as Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey. Apple has filed more than 300 patents related to the iPhone technology. LG Electronics claims the iPhones design was copied from the LG Prada.

New high- speed iPhone coming

APPLE INC is expected to launch a high- speed wireless version of iPhone in the second quarter and produce as many as eight million of the devices in the third quarter, according to Bank of America.
“ Our latest channel checks point to a significant production build of a 3G iPhone beginning June, after an initial small build in May,” Bank of America analyst Scott Craig said.

AT& T said last year it expects to be able to sell a 3G version of iPhone in 2008, but it declined comment on specific launch dates on Friday. Craig said that now he expects production volume to be much higher than his previous estimates. He said Apple planned to build more than three million high- speed iPhones in May followed by more than eight million in the third quarter of the year. Craig, who had previously estimated eight million iPhone units for the whole of 2008, said that was starting to look conservative unless some of the plans were pushed back.