Samsung Mobile and AT&T roll out Samsung Solstice

Samsung and AT&T have unveiled the Samsung Solstice, which will let you instantly get connected to social networking sites, multi-media features and messaging. A sleek phone, the Solstice comes featured with a virtual, landscape QWERTY keyboard in conjunction with Samsung’s distinctive TouchWiz user interface as well as a 3.0" touchscreen. It also boasts of offering one-touch access to often-utilized apps and social networks through the new widgets for MySpace, Facebook and Yahoo! oneSearch.

As the reviews, the mobile phone also helps users make access to mobile broadband, AT&T Navigator and AT&T Mobile Music with e-Music Mobile and Napster Mobile. It also features in the multiple messaging options such as Mobile Email, MMS and IM. The phone is also built-in with a 2.0 mp camera including camcorder. It also has a user-friendly QWERTY keyboard, which comes with clear numbers, letters and symbols.

The handset also comes encompassed with an accelerometer that has an automatic option of detecting orientation and motion of the device. It, as a result, offers richer apps usages and features such as motion sensing games, auto-rotation of the display as well as photo scrolling by just leaning the device. The widgets can easily be dragged and dropped on to the phone’s homescreen for one touch access to their preferred attributes.

Commenting about the Samsung Solstice, Mike Woodward, VP, Mobile Phone Portfolio, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets, was quoted to have said that AT&T Solstice’s enhanced full touch functionality will make the costumer thrilled. The widget bar feature Samsung Solstice will make it a user-friendly passport to customers’ preferred apps.

The mobile phone is also packaged with MP3 player, preloaded games, video and audio streaming, microSD memory card slot supporting up to 16GB and Bluetooth technology. The Solstice is also incorporated with quad-band GSM technology and dual-band 3G connectivity.

The handset can be availed at www.wireless.att.com or at AT&T retail locations for $99.99 almost Rs.4,793 along with a 2-year service contract.

Motorola to launch new Windows phone?

Handset to feature 5MP camera

Motorola appears to be on the verge of releasing a new phone based on Windows Mobile.

It's been some time since Motorola announced a mobile phone that incorporated the Windows Mobile operating system. The company has been concentrating upon its forthcoming handsets that feature the Android operating system instead (such as the forthcoming Morrision and Calgary). However, a new mobile might just be on the way which keeps the company's big toe in the Microsoft waters, according to the BGR website.

To be known as the A3300, the new design incorporates a Windows key just below its touchscreen display. Other specifications are unknown, at the moment, apart from the fact the new chassis will hold a built in camera that will reach the very respectable specification of 5-megapixels. The rear of the chassis also appears to hold a LED flash.

Distribution is unknown at the moment as is any projected price or release date.

INQ to launch "Twitter phone"

The Hong Kong-based owner of mobile network 3 say the devices will change the way people use mobile phones.

Mobile phone maker INQ is set to release two mobiles that are bound to be a hit with fans of social media, quoted in media reports Tuesday.

The 3G devices, the larger version of which possess a full qwerty keyboard, will allow users to access a host of applications including Twitter, Facebook and Skype as well as instant messaging and email from Hotmail, Yahoo and Google. The phone will also synch with Apple's iTunes store.

The release marks the latest attempt by Hutchison Whampoa to seize a piece of the competitive mobile market. The Hong Kong-based owner of mobile network 3 say the devices will change the way people use mobile phones. The new phones can also be used as HSDPA modems, thus enabling them to be plugged into a PC or Mac for mobile internet access. The INQ Chat has a 3.2 megapixel camera while the INQ Mini has a 2 megapixel camera.

The phones are expected to ship in September, though there is no word on price at this time.

Samsung/Orange launch Welsh language mobile phone

THE world’s first Welsh language mobile phone will have predictive text in the dialects of both South and North Wales. The slimline handset in white, black or purple is a collaboration between Samsung and Orange and includes more than 44,000 Welsh words, complete with accents. “It’s an amazing idea and perfect for people like me who do a lot of our conversing in Welsh,” said S4C presenter Alex Jones of Hip neu Sgip and Chwa!, who helped to launch the new phone on the Maes yesterday. “Things like typing and sending text messages are so much easier on this phone as opposed to the issues we all face on English-only phones. I know all my friends will want to get hold of one as soon as they are in the shops.” That won’t be until September 1. Samsung vice president for UK and Ireland Mark Mitchinson said there remained final tests and consultation with the Welsh Language Board to ensure that standards are as high as possible. He said the new device follows the success of the first Irish language phone last year. “That was enormously successful. The appetite is definitely there and we’re extremely proud and deeply honoured to be part of this ground-breaking initiative. Wales Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones said Orange and Samsung had recognised the benefits of offering services through the medium of Welsh and the importance of responding to customer needs. “It’s important to be able to have services and technology available in the language so that people can live their lives through the medium of Welsh,” he said. Meri Huws, who chairs the Welsh Language Board, described the phone as “a big step forward for Welsh and for mobile phones”. She said: “The way that people communicate is constantly changing. It is important that people can use Welsh as easily as they can use English and they can do that now for the first time with this great new phone.” The Samsung S5600, complete with widgets, camera and full internet browsing capability, will be available free on 24-month Orange contracts or on Orange pay-as-you-go from the company’s 16 shops in Wales before being rolled out beyond Wales and online.

Samsung/Orange launch Welsh language mobile phone

THE world’s first Welsh language mobile phone will have predictive text in the dialects of both South and North Wales.

The slimline handset in white, black or purple is a collaboration between Samsung and Orange and includes more than 44,000 Welsh words, complete with accents.

“It’s an amazing idea and perfect for people like me who do a lot of our conversing in Welsh,” said S4C presenter Alex Jones of Hip neu Sgip and Chwa!, who helped to launch the new phone on the Maes yesterday.

“Things like typing and sending text messages are so much easier on this phone as opposed to the issues we all face on English-only phones. I know all my friends will want to get hold of one as soon as they are in the shops.”

That won’t be until September 1. Samsung vice president for UK and Ireland Mark Mitchinson said there remained final tests and consultation with the Welsh Language Board to ensure that standards are as high as possible.

He said the new device follows the success of the first Irish language phone last year.

“That was enormously successful. The appetite is definitely there and we’re extremely proud and deeply honoured to be part of this ground-breaking initiative.

Wales Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones said Orange and Samsung had recognised the benefits of offering services through the medium of Welsh and the importance of responding to customer needs.

“It’s important to be able to have services and technology available in the language so that people can live their lives through the medium of Welsh,” he said.

Meri Huws, who chairs the Welsh Language Board, described the phone as “a big step forward for Welsh and for mobile phones”.

She said: “The way that people communicate is constantly changing. It is important that people can use Welsh as easily as they can use English and they can do that now for the first time with this great new phone.”

The Samsung S5600, complete with widgets, camera and full internet browsing capability, will be available free on 24-month Orange contracts or on Orange pay-as-you-go from the company’s 16 shops in Wales before being rolled out beyond Wales and online.

Microsoft's outsmarted Windows Phone OS rings in the new

The oft-renamed Windows mobile phone platform has never matched the glitz of the iPhone or BlackBerry. But is that about to change?

Among smartphone users, Windows Phone – the handset operating system formerly known as Windows Mobile – tends to not to provoke excitement. This is a space dominated by flashy handsets such as the iPhone, now in its third incarnation – with its OS X operating system also at 3.0 after just two years – and by buzz about new operating systems such as Google's Android and the Palm Pre's WebOS.

Worse, Microsoft has had to play catchup to Apple, Google, Palm and even RIM, introducing an "app store" for Windows Phone after its rivals had done so – and after insisting that nobody was making much money from Apple's iPhone App Store. In January 2007, its chief executive, Steve Ballmer, dismissed the iPhone as "the most expensive phone in the world, and it doesn't appeal to business customers because it doesn't have a keyboard, which makes it not a very good email machine". In fiscal 2008/9, the iPhone sold 20.4m units – compared with an estimated 18m Windows Phone licences. (Microsoft has not given numbers for the year, but has not said they were any higher than 2007-08.)

Call for more style

In short, Windows Phone has an image problem – which has not been altered by rebranding it.

Besides the endless name changes (from PocketPC to Windows Mobile to Phone), the Windows phone platform has been regarded as a dull tool for corporations instead of a strong player in the consumer market, and its user interface has never been much to write home about. Third-party vendors have gone so far as to build their own front ends to hide its perceived ugliness, though offerings such as HTC's Touch-Flo haven't always been an entirely good thing, placing a further burden on the phone's CPU.

Yet Windows Phone is the determined tortoise of the smartphone world, having been around since 1996. Microsoft hopes that its next version – snappily named 6.5 – will end its reputation as a plodding also-ran and spur it to catch up with flashier hares such as the iPhone and HTC Hero.

But is it enough? Roberta Cozza, principal analyst with Gartner, says no. "It's too little, too late. WinMo has been struggling in the consumer market. 6.5 is a small improvement in the look and feel, but it's not comparable with efforts from other vendors."

The irony is that what had seemed like a sure thing – aiming a mobile form of Windows squarely at the business users who had it on their desktops – has turned out to be a mistake.

At its core, the OS offers enterprise solutions such as Office apps and support for Exchange, Microsoft's email and collaboration application. This has made it popular with corporate IT departments; consumers, however, have been less impressed. And the BlackBerry was already there to grab market share.

All this is changing, says James McCarthy, Microsoft's business manager for mobile communications. The next release, probably in September, "pays real attention to the consumer". Certainly, the new look places it much more firmly in the arena with the iPhone and LG Viewty.

The whole interface has had a makeover, aimed at making it much more intuitive and finger-friendly. Until now, using Windows Mobile has tended to require a stylus – fiddly, easy to break and to lose – because the screens on the devices have been small and packed with information.

A lot of care has been taken with the home screen. There's no need to drill down to an application: if it tells you you have an email, you can launch it right away.

Microsoft will also launch a series of related products, from an app store to MyPhone, an online backup service that already works well in beta.

Perhaps the most important thing for any smartphone is the ecosystem that grows up around it. Apple's App Store for the iPhone registered 1.5bn downloads in its first year, and rivals quickly followed: RIM, which makes the BlackBerry, has its App World, Nokia its oddly named Ovi World, and there's the Android Market for handsets running Google's Android. "It's a battle of the ecosystems," says Cozza. "Microsoft needs to come up with a strategy around an application marketplace."

Microsoft had left the apps business to partners such as Handango, but now would argue that it's doing precisely that. With its app store Windows Marketplace for Mobile (it's rubbish at names), it understands that it must offer at least some apps when it launches 6.5. There will be 20,000 available, and McCarthy says "We're busy making sure that they work with the handsets – there's a ton of work going into that."

Consumer challenge

The key question is whether Microsoft can be a big player in the consumer space. The figures suggest it has some catching up to do. According to Gartner, Windows Mobile has a steady 10% or so of the OS market – competing against proprietary Sony Ericsson and Samsung systems, as well as Symbian, which runs on Nokia and some other phones, and the offerings on the BlackBerry, the iPhone, Android and Palm. Its share of the smartphone market has fallen as the iPhone has wormed its way into corporations, by licensing Microsoft Exchange so that it can handle ActiveSync push notifications and calendaring.

However, says US-based analyst Michael Gartenberg, "of course it's not late to the party". He reckons that the new version of Windows Mobile will "have a lot of appeal to consumers" and that it "builds on a solid foundation". Gartenberg, vice-president of strategy and analysis at Interpret, argues that other smartphone manufacturers still cannot match Windows Mobile as a business offering.

With a Windows Mobile phone, he says, you can not only take pictures and keep up with Facebook and Twitter, you can also edit a Microsoft Word document or an Excel spreadsheet and then email it to your colleagues – which you can't (yet) do with an iPhone. Business people who need that are also consumers who want to keep up with their social networks, he notes, adding that Windows Mobile offers the best of both worlds.

Cozza concedes that Windows Mobile is "a strong platform for enterprise", but adds that for a smartphone to succeed, it needs to blur the dividing line between business and consumer users. RIM, with the BlackBerry, has done that smartly, she says.

But, counters Gartenberg, Windows Mobile already does that. What Microsoft needs to do now is to tell the story of its latest version of the system. "There's a lot of negative perception about WinMo," he says, adding that there's everything to play for.

"Six platforms can't survive," he says. "The battle is hardly over yet. "Cozza is more cautious: "We will have to wait and see," she says.

T-Mobile launches next-gen Android mobile phone in the US

The mobile phone market will be watching as T-Mobile launches its next generation Android mobile phone, myTouch 3G, in the US today.

Designed by HTC of Taiwan, T-Mobile myTouch 3G is being presented as the "Google phone".

The search engine giant has developed the Android operating system in its bid to open up the smartphone market which is currently dominated by Apple's iPhone and handsets running Windows Mobile.

The first mobile phone based on the Android platform, the G1 also made by HTC, was launched last September in the US.

A feature of the new handset is that it allows to personalise the entire theme of the device with new widgets, icons and wallpapers, which can be added directly on the home screen.

It will also host the Android Market of downloadable applications.

T-Mobile said its 3G network is currently available in 176 US cities.

Another feature is one-touch access to the Google mobile services.

Sprint, Samsung unveil eco-friendly phone

Samsung and Sprint today announced the launch of the green Reclaim mobile phone, as the companies take aim at eco-friendly consumers.

The phone is based off of 80 percent recyclable materials, with $2 from each purchase going towards the Nature Conservancy’s Adopt an Acre program. The phone itself has an outer casing made from corn, and the outer packaging and other unnecessary materials are made from 70 percent recycled materials.

Are you familiar with the bulky, often useless manuals that come with mobile phones? To cut down on environmental waste, Samsung isn’t shipping a physical paper manual with the phone, as the company will point phone owners to an online web site to download the manual.

Naturally, the phone’s charger has been Energy Star approved and requires 12 watts less power than Energy Star’s standards for standby power consumption.

The Samsung Reclaim will be released on Aug. 16 for $50 with a two-year phone agreement with Sprint-Nextel. Consumers can purchase the phone online, at Sprint retail locations, Best Buy, or Radio Shack. Starting in September, Wal-Mart will also begin to sell the phone.

Sprint continues to lose revenue and subscribers, which makes each new phone launch an important event. The company remains the No. 4 wireless provider in the United States, but continually trails the likes of Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile. Launching an eco-friendly phone is the company’s latest ploy to attract new subscribers, especially with growing concern about the negative impact old phones have on the environment.

Is this the type of mobile phone you’d be interested in purchasing?

Mobile cos line up Google’s Android phone launches

With the top cellphone vendors such as HTC, Samsung, LG and Motorola, the Google’s smartphone operating system (OS) Android is going to enter India shortly.

Adding, the focus of the Android phones is the urban youth users and places in the mid to high-end segment range. In the coming month, Samsung will be releasing its first device, christened Galaxy and the HTC has started shipping the first Android phone to India.

Sources said that in the month of December, the Android phones from LG and Motorola’s stable are expected to hit the market. With such releases at varying price-points, Google anticipates rapid take on of the Android platform in India.

In the Android platform, about 47 companies are working and worldwide by the month of December around 15-20 Android handsets will be released. The company anticipates that a few of these models will be shipped to India, said Vinay Goel, Google India director (products).

From the initial Android handset, HTC has got favorable reaction in India. Adding, Android is a growing platform and for HTC it will be one of the basis. In each quarter, the company launches 2-3 devices in India and few of them will be on this platform, said Ajay Sharma, HTC India country head. By the year end, the company will release a portfolio of touchscreen Android handsets, said Sunil Dutt, the head of Samsung Mobile in the country.

He added that the company will work with Google to make sure quicker adoption of the devices in India. Also, Android has the potential to appear as the next big mobile phone OS. Further, Samsung, HTC and LG are positive that Android will be proficient to compete against the two most admired smartphone OSSymbian and Windows Mobile.

Mr Goel said that the actually the patrons don’t care about the handset OS and they need exciting applications.

To focus the typical Indian market and make certain Android’s triumph, Google considers that the vendors must release some handsets in the price range of Rs 10,000-15, 000. The price of the handset can be reduced since it is an open source and there is no license fee.

Currently, in India, the HTC’s first Android phone is sold for about Rs 30,000 and Samsung has decided to release the Galaxy for a price of Rs 29,000.

Samsung Electronics Unveils Largest Ever 3G Mobile Phone Lineup in China

Samsung Electronics, the world’s leading electronic producer and second largest mobile phone manufacturer, today announced an aggressive 3G marketing initiative “3GSamsung, 3G for all” at JuYong, Great Wall in China, offering 30 3G mobile phone models.

2009 is the first year of China’s 3G launch and China is the only country that has adopted three different standards used around the world. As an industry leader, Samsung Electronics introduced the “3GSamsung, 3G for all” initiative combining strategic insights and R&D investments with a well planned localization approach, reflecting Samsung Electronics’ leading position in the 3G arena both in China and worldwide.

Samsung Electronics commenced TD-SCDMA related research in 2000. As the global handset manufacturer that was the earliest to identify this as a promising standard, Samsung Electronics invested significant resources to establish its Beijing Samsung Telecom R&D Center in China, with an R&D team consisting of hundreds of talented experts. This forward-looking strategy helped Samsung lead the industry in China.

Similarly, for WCDMA and EVDO standards, Samsung Electronics has many years’ accumulated experience in both technology and marketing, establishing a leading position in China for handsets based on these technologies. Samsung Electronics will continue to introduce global leading products and launch more specialized handset models in the Chinese market.

In the second half of this year, Samsung plans to launch more products featuring 3G applications, in addition to over ten 3G models releases in the first half of the year, which included six WCDMA models, six TD-SCDMA models and nine handsets compatible with EVDO. Samsung Electronics looks forward to launching over 30 3G models in the Chinese market throughout this year, ranging from Smartphones and music and fashion mobile phones to devices that feature a full touch screen and HD recording. Samsung aims to satisfy the needs of consumers with varying tastes and preferences and successfully lead the 3G market.

As for applications, Samsung Electronics will further enhance its product development, promoting advanced 3G features such as online widgets, mobile TV and high-speed Internet access. Thanks to significant improvements in 3G network bandwidth, consumers can enjoy a spectacular 3G experience for the first time.

With its strength and confidence, Samsung is ready to lead China’s 3G market to provide benefit of “3GSamsung 3G for all,” which implies hi-tech based, meets all the major operators’ requirements, and aims to satisfy consumers across three operating standards.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2008 consolidated sales of US$96 billion. Employing approximately 164,600 people in 179 offices across 61 countries, the company consists of two business units: Digital Media & Communications and Device Solutions. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs.

Hackers Can Launch iPhone Attack Via SMS

Security experts at the Black Hat conference said Thursday that hackers can break into an iPhone to intercept text messages, deliver spam and deliver malware.

Charlie Miller, Independent Security Evaluators researcher, and Collin Mulliner, a Ph.D. student at the University of Berlin, demonstrated during a Black Hat presentation that hackers can break into an iPhone via the SMS protocol to launch a denial-of-service (DOS) attack or take control of a victim's phone.

"Its lots of fun to kick friends off the network, but it's even more fun to own their phone," Miller said, who demonstrated the exploits on both the iPhone and Android.

The hack is enabled by memory issues in the way the iPhone handles the SMS protocol, Miller said. Miller demonstrated Thursday that the attack can be used to launch a DOS attack, which could be used to shut off an iPhone, deface text or otherwise reconfigure the keys.

The DOS hack is launched by flooding the iPhone with hundreds of SMS control messages, which allows hackers to keep their victims off the network indefinitely.

A similar SMS hack can be conducted on the Google Android and the Windows Mobile platforms.

"Basically what happens, you send a bad SMS, you can't use your phone," Miller said. "Literally the phone is working, you just can't press any of the buttons."

And unlike previous types of mobile attacks, which required a hacker to entice users to open a malicious Web site, iPhone users could become infected with no intervention.

These kinds of attacks will likely be used to send spam, researchers said. "It could be used in a spam game," said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer for Finland-based F-Secure. "SMS is cheap but it's not free."

Unless you hack into someone's phone, that is. One of the biggest impediments to launching spam campaigns via SMS is that it costs money to send a text. However, hackers who can break into a victim's phone can launch an attack that could send out millions of spam text messages free of charge.

Miller, however, found a way to test the SMS exploit while incurring minimal costs. "We paid for 100, and we got the effects of half a million," he said.

Perhaps even more menacing, researchers said, is the possibility of launching a malware attack via SMS. An attack could be used to distribute malware once the hacker is able to penetrate the victim's phone, which would spread to everyone on the victim's contact list. Mobile Trojans could be used to steal information or make the mobile phone into a remote spying device, Hypponen said.

Motorola pulls out small profit amid falling sales

Motorola Inc. squeezed out a small profit in the second quarter, though revenues were down sharply across the company and the mobile phone division continued to lose ground.

The Schaumburg-based company reported Thursday net income of $26 million, or 1 cent per share, up from income of $4 million in the same quarter last year. Excluding one-off items, Motorola posted a small net loss of 1 cent per share.

The company's stock traded sharply higher on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares were up more than 9 percent to $7.18 in morning trading.

Motorola has been focused on aggressive cost-cutting and expects to save $1.8 billion by year-end. The company's total headcount has been reduced by 8,000 since the end of 2008, and co-chief executive Sanjay Jha said Thursday that the workforce in mobile devices is 30 percent smaller than when he arrived last year.

Jha's focus continues to be on the fourth quarter, when Motorola will launch two smartphones powered by Google's Android platform.

"The devices we're launching in the holiday season will get us back in the game in smartphones," Jha said.

Motorola shipped 14.8 million mobile handsets during the quarter and sales totaled $1.8 billion, a decrease of 45 percent from a year earlier. The company now has a global market share of 5.5 percent.

Jha said more Android phones are coming in 2010, and that he's less concerned with regaining market share and volume than staying relevant in the smartphone segment and improving the average selling price of phones. Even so, Jha said Motorola wants to put Android into lower-priced phones as well.

"Our core strategy really is to take Android as low down on the feature-phone tier as we possibly can," he said.

The company's other two divisions remained profitable despite falling sales. Home and Networks Mobility, which produces cable set-top boxes and network infrastructure, saw revenues fall 27 percent to $2 billion. Enterprise Mobility Solutions, which makes communications equipment for government and business clients, posted $1.7 billion in sales, down 17 percent from the same quarter last year.