Much to the chagrin of Omnia HD i8910 owners, Samsung announced it is discontinuing support for the Symbian mobile OS by the end of the year. All related developer’s labs, forums and discussion, will be terminated after December 31st 2010.
The company urges all discussion related issues to be submitted before December 10th, so it can have time to address them. Developers won’t be able to upload and certify Symbian applications to Samsung Apps after 8am on December 31st. Well, that was to be expected – Samsung is having enough trouble trying to roll out updates for its flagship Android handsets, to iron out Windows Phone 7 support, and to populate its Apps store with bada-compatible software.
source: Samsung
One of the first tests of Nokia’s new ClearBlack screen technology comes courtesy of a Russian mobile blog. The folks over there got their hands on the new Nokia E7, with a ClearBlack screen, and just so happened that there was a Galaxy S sitting nearby, so they decided to play some pictures on both screens for our viewing pleasure. A Nokia N8 with its 3.5″ AMOLED display was also thrown in the mix for a good measure.
In a nutshell, Super AMOLED is still king of the vibrant, oversaturated colors, and deep blacks. The picture’s details also looked more distinct on the Galaxy S, but that is due to the higher resolution of the handset at the same 4″ size.
Nokia’s ClearBlack screen, as found on the E7, is having its own advantages in brightness over the Super AMOLED, but that can also be said for most modern LCD screens – brightness was pumped to the max on both handsets. We hope to see more tests in direct sunlight – the ClearBlack will probably outshine the Super AMOLED in that situation.
Android is like a fury of fists that never lets up, and keeps on coming at a rapid rate. This newest study shows that Google’s popular Android OS may end the year as the number two mobile platform in terms of market share. Still forecasted to be in distant first of course is global powerhouse Nokia and their Symbian OS.
The study has projections for the remainder of 2010, as well as the years 2011-2014. Other mobile platforms such as Apple’s iOS and RIM’s BlackBerry platform are projected to decline slightly by 2014. The forthcoming Windows Phone 7 OS isn’t expected to last, as market share is projected to drop under 4% by 2014.
Do you see Windows Phone 7 lasting with tough competition like Android and iOS? Can Android catch up to Symbian by the year 2014 in market share? Will RIM hang in there? These are all just projections of course, and could very well change. Take a look at the chart and give us your opinion.
source: Into Mobile
IDC has run its numbers prediction game again, and this time it speculates on the market share of the various mobile operating systems in the next few years. By 2014, it predicts, the “wild card” Android will have reached nearly 25% of all smartphones worldwide – not hard to believe considering the low-tier push that Google is plotting.
IDC also states that the market for Windows Phone devices (presumably both Windows Mobile legacy, if it is still lurking around, and WP7) will expand from 6.8% to 9.8% – again plausible, since Windows Phone 7 hasn’t even hit the market yet. Here we will go out on a limb and say that WP7 will probably surpass the 10% mark, considering the resources Microsoft is pouring into its development, marketing and distribution.
BlackBerry OS is expected to remain almost unchanged from its 17.9% market share, and the biggest loser is supposed to be Symbian, falling from 40.1%, to 32.9%. The other dip, according to IDC, will be in Apple’s iOS market share, which could shrink from 14.7% to 10.9%. The “other” platforms will modestly increase their market share to a combined value of 4.5%.
We wouldn’t even dare to speculate what the mobile OS market will look like next year, let alone in 2014, but that’s what the IDC analyst get paychecks for. Considering the explosive expansion of the smartphone industry expected in the near future, where will the puzzle pieces fall is anyone’s guess.
Apple’s exclusivity with AT&T will be over in that timeframe, so we will be seeing the iPhone on more carriers, which will certainly boost the iOS numbers. Symbian might be declining in its current reincarnation, but Symbain^4 and MeeGo are nearing to replace it in Nokia handsets, and who knows what consumers will find attractive. Samsung is planning to put bada on a third of its smartphones, and it is the number two cell phone manufacturer, so they might stir the market as well. We are also not so sure of BlackBerry remaining unscathed with all the troubles looming over its proprietary email system.
For all we know the smartphone OS market will become increasingly fragmented, but in the end it will be Apple and Google raking in the cash – Apple from the huge margins on its tightly integrated products, and Google from the search revenue generated by Android’s proliferation.
Naturally being late to the party may not be such a bad thing, especially when you’ve got two high-end devices splashing down to spread its presence further on a global scale. South Korea may get a lot of love from domestic handset manufacturers Samsung and LG, but the HTC Nexus One and Nokia X6 are about to embark on winning over some consumers with their glaring presence. The Nokia X6 is expected to make its arrival on KT this summer in June for 595,000 won which equates to approximately $495. On the other hand, the HTC Nexus One is teaming up with rival mobile carrier SKT near the end of June for a yet to be disclosed price. Symbian and Android are getting more face time with customers who are starved from experiencing top tiered handsets that are known fully on a worldwide scale and not to mention that it’s better late than never.
source: Telecoms Korea & Reuters via Engadget
Opera Software is a global leader in mobile browsing technologies and its products have been adopted by more than 50mln. users worldwide. One of the major reasons behind the growing popularity of the software is it´s easily available for virtually all platforms. Moreover, all Opera browser editions are extremely snappy and utilize algorithms that significantly decrease the amount of generated internet traffic.
Both applications spent quite a lot of time in beta stage, but the company has now announced that the development of Opera Mobile 10 and Opera Mini 5 has been completed and they are ready for the wide audience. Great news, right? Cool! Sadly, however… the final editions do not support all mobile platforms. Opera Mobile 10 is available for Windows Mobile and Symbian S60, while Opera Mini 5 will bring joy to owners of Java-based and BlackBerry cell phones. We remind you that Opera Mini 5 beta for Android rolled out last week (take a look at our hands-on with the application here), while a Java-free version of Opera for Windows Mobile had appeared earlier. The latter editions are not finalized yet, but we expect to see this happen soon.
The official versions of Opera Mobile 10 and Opera Mini 5 can be downloaded via this link.
source: Opera
Microsoft’s Tag Reader is an app that allows you to scan a product’s bar code using your phone’s camera. Your phone will then give you information on the product including promotions, videos and special offers. This is the Redmond based firm’s first application for Android and Tag Reader has already been released for the iPhone, Symbian, BlackBerry and of course, Windows Mobile platforms. The app is free and can be downloaded from the Android Market. If you Pre and Pixi users feel a bit left out, start bugging Microsoft and perhaps the next build will be for webOS.
source: Microsoft via Engadget, UnwiredView
Windows Mobile won’t be the only one supporting the SPB Mobile Shell app that’s popular among end users and OEMs. Now it’s branching out with support for the Android and Symbian platforms with SPB Mobile Shell 5.0 – it exudes a new eye catching 3D engine and a new “natural interaction engine” that’ll be able to support multi-touch. These new eye candy glazed effects are seen in the 3D Media Player, 3D Photo Viewer, 3D Weather, and dynamic 3D widgets. Other major updates found on it are improved social networking integration that involves contacts, messages, photos, and statuses to be sync with popular services like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Although most of its features have been made known, there is still a cloud surrounding its pricing, release date, or if there are going to be any phones down the road that will come pre-installed with it.
source: SPB Software via Engadget
At an event taking place in Barcelona, just before the start of the MWC 2010, Sony Ericsson made quite an impressing show. First off, the company revealed its strategy for the future. It looks like the GreenHeart series will continue to grow. The president of the company said that all their devices in 2011 will be made with ecology in mind. Congratulations to the manufacturer!
Sony Ericsson also showed its design ideas, which we have already seen in some products – smooth curves, inspired by the human body that fit perfectly into the hand. The advantages of the UXP interface also got described. We have seen this one in the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.
Enough about the ideas. What matters is how they get integrated in real devices. Well, the new phones by Sony Ericsson are truly intriguing. Here they come, the Vivaz pro, Xperia X10 mini and Xperia X10 mini pro.
First is the Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro. You might be already guessing that it will be more oriented towards business, packing a slide-out four-row QWERTY keyboard. The impressive part is the keyboard has only added 2 millimeters to the thickness of the device. The other difference with Vivaz is that the new model sports a 5MP camera, as opposed to 8MP, but the ability to capture 720p HD video is still there. The rest of the specs are identical – 3.2-inch screen, GPS, Wi-Fi and HSDPA support.
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini and Xperia X10 mini pro look very promising. These are smaller versions of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 – the first Android phone by the company, which will come out in March. The two handsets are sharing the same characteristics, but the mini pro has a four-row QWERTY keyboard. So, you can expect the smallest Android devices, equipped with 2.55″ screens with QVGA resolution, 5MP cameras, GPS, Wi-Fi and 3G. They will work with Android 1.6 and the personalized interface by Sony Ericsson, called UX. The interface itself will be tweaked in order to be more comfortable for one-handed use – in the four corners of the screen there will be icons leading to different functions, while the rest of the elements will be as big as possible. The phones will have access to both the Android Market and the Play Now portal. Both devices will be offered in several colors – black, yellow, white, pink and red.
The Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro, Xperia X10 mini and Xperia X10 mini pro will be released in the second quarter. Information about their prices is still unavailable.
At an event taking place in Barcelona, just before the start of the MWC 2010, Sony Ericsson made quite an impressing show. First off, the company revealed its strategy for the future. It looks like the GreenHeart series will continue to grow. The president of the company said that all their devices in 2011 will be made with ecology in mind. Congratulations to the manufacturer!
Sony Ericsson also showed its design ideas, which we have already seen in some products – smooth curves, inspired by the human body that fit perfectly into the hand. The advantages of the UXP interface also got described. We have seen this one in the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.
Enough about the ideas. What matters is how they get integrated in real devices. Well, the new phones by Sony Ericsson are truly intriguing. Here they come, the Vivaz pro, Xperia X10 mini and Xperia X10 mini pro.
First is the Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro. You might be already guessing that it will be more oriented towards business, packing a slide-out four-row QWERTY keyboard. The impressive part is the keyboard has only added 2 millimeters to the thickness of the device. The other difference with Vivaz is that the new model sports a 5MP camera, as opposed to 8MP, but the ability to capture 720p HD video is still there. The rest of the specs are identical – 3.2-inch screen, GPS, Wi-Fi and HSDPA support.
Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro
The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini and Xperia X10 mini pro look very promising. These are smaller versions of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 – the first Android phone by the company, which will come out in March. The two handsets are sharing the same characteristics, but the mini pro has a four-row QWERTY keyboard. So, you can expect the smallest Android devices, equipped with 2.55″ screens with QVGA resolution, 5MP cameras, GPS, Wi-Fi and 3G. They will work with Android 1.6 and the personalized interface by Sony Ericsson, called UX. The interface itself will be tweaked in order to be more comfortable for one-handed use – in the four corners of the screen there will be icons leading to different functions, while the rest of the elements will be as big as possible. The phones will have access to both the Android Market and the Play Now portal. Both devices will be offered in several colors – black, yellow, white, pink and red.
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini anf Xperia X10 mini pro
The Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro, Xperia X10 mini and Xperia X10 mini pro will be released in the second quarter. Information about their prices is still unavailable.
Google made some buzz today, as they released their Google Maps 4 (avaliable in the Android Market) and new Buzz social networking feature. What’s interesting is that you can access the Buzz feature within Google Maps, or by pointing you mobile web browser to the buzz.google.com site. With it, you can post information for places, not just your current GPS location, as well as read Buzz posts by other people and make reply comments. It also integrates with your GMail account with comments also being sent there. For example, you can post a Buzz about a local restaurant “Sal’s Italian Restaurant is the best” and then have other people reply, which you can view in GMail, the Buzz site, or in Google Maps. We gave it a try on the Motorola DROID, first by installing the new Google Maps 4, then we were able to see small balloon icons on the map where people have already done Buzz postings. We could easily reply to them, and also create new Buzz posts.
Checkout the video and Buzz site for more information.
source: Google
Much to the chagrin of Omnia HD i8910 owners, Samsung announced it is discontinuing support for the Symbian mobile OS by the end of the year. All related developer’s labs, forums and discussion, will be terminated after December 31st 2010.
Android is like a fury of fists that never lets up, and keeps on coming at a rapid rate. This newest study shows that Google’s popular Android OS may end the year as the number two mobile platform in terms of market share. Still forecasted to be in distant first of course is global powerhouse Nokia and their Symbian OS.
IDC also states that the market for Windows Phone devices (presumably both Windows Mobile legacy, if it is still lurking around, and WP7) will expand from 6.8% to 9.8% – again plausible, since Windows Phone 7 hasn’t even hit the market yet. Here we will go out on a limb and say that WP7 will probably surpass the 10% mark, considering 
Naturally being late to the party may not be such a bad thing, especially when you’ve got two high-end devices splashing down to spread its presence further on a global scale. South Korea may get a lot of love from domestic handset manufacturers Samsung and LG, but the HTC Nexus One and Nokia X6 are about to embark on winning over some consumers with their glaring presence. The Nokia X6 is expected to make its arrival on KT this summer in June for 595,000 won which equates to approximately $495. On the other hand, the HTC Nexus One is teaming up with rival mobile carrier SKT near the end of June for a yet to be disclosed price. Symbian and Android are getting more face time with customers who are starved from experiencing top tiered handsets that are known fully on a worldwide scale and not to mention that it’s better late than never.
