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Excuse the noise, I was inside a mall.

The Apple iPhone launch has us all up in a tizzy, and we can’t help but let you in on every little tidbit of news regarding the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) iPhone. It looks like we’re going to see a couple Japanese panel-makers sourcing the multi-touch display panels for the Apple iPhone. Speculation has AU Optronics and Innolux as the two possible main suppliers for the iPhone’s panels, but DigiTimes is reporting that sources have indicated to them that two Japanese companies are likely to be the Apple iPhone multitouch display supplier – with a Taiwanese supplier as a secondary source. The Japanese panel makers have a leg up on Taiwanese fabrication plants, and that may be the edge that gives Japanese suppliers the contract for the Apple iPhone.

The Apple iPhone is also expected to make use of a low-temperature poly-silicon (TLPS) panel – allowing for more flexible circuit designs.

via: digitimes

In case you haven’t realized, your smartphone may be lonely from time to time. That’s why you need a companion for it. But not any companion – you need “the perfect companion for your smartphone.” Something what Palm (NSDQ: PALM) just announced.

The Palm Foleo is somewhat hard to understand device. It’s not a UMPC as we previously speculated, nor an Internet tablet device Nokia (NYSE: NOK) sells — it’s a small Linux-powered laptop computer that promises to extend your mobility beyond the smartphone. Or, that’s at least the way we’re pitched from the maker of Treo smartphones. And my rambling starts here…

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Beatnik has announced that they have developed a new audio format geared specifically for mobile devices. The company, fittingly founded by Thomas Dolby, claims that their new format can compress audio files ten times smaller than the popular MP3 format. To make good on their claim, the format includes just one copy of a repeated section of audio, and uses it over and over again, as needed. Beatnik is aiming this technology primarily at wireless operators. With audio files this small, operators can cash in on Over-the-Air (OTA) downloads of music files from a wider range of users – including those limited to just 2G data transfer rates.

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The Inquirer is reporting that Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) will be ponying up some cash to Broadcom (NSDQ: BRCM) – to the tune of $19.6 million. The lawsuit embattled chipmaker has filed and fought its fair share of patent suits over the past year. Broadcom filed suit against Qualcomm for infringing on patent related to video compression, push-to-talk, and simultaneous voice and data processing. A jury has found in favor of Broadcom and has ordered chip-maker Qualcomm to pay $19.6M worth of damages – although Judge James Selna has stated that he may well increase the fine to $60M if he finds that the patents were intentionally infringed upon.

The International Trade Commission (ITC) is slated to make a June 7th decision on whether shipments of Qualcomm chips should be banned from US import. And, Broadcom is rubbing salt into Qualcomm’s fresh wound by bringing another case to the ITC over a separate patent infringement. Given the recent judgment, this whole situation doesn’t bode too well for Qualcomm.

The decision comes on the heels of Nokia’s recent filing aginst Qualcomm over (what else?) more patent infringments. These guys just don’t stop. Can’t we all just play nice?

via: theinquirer

National Semiconductor has released their Boomer single-chip audio amplifier for driving high-powered ceramic speaker drivers in mobile phones, laptops, and other mobile applications. Ceramic speakers have an advantage over traditional voice coil speaker drivers because, even though they require more voltage (but less current, which is the more important factor), they take up a lot less space – 4mm thickness for traditional speaker drivers compared to 0.7mm thickness for ceramic speaker drivers.

With a ceramic speaker load equivalent to 1 uF + 20-Ohms, the LM48555 provides a voltage drive of 15.7V peak-to-peak with less than 1 percent total harmonic distortion plus noise (THD+N). In addition, the LM48555’s tiny 12-bump micro SMD package has a footprint of 1.5 mm by 2.0 mm, making it possible for manufacturers to create ultra-thin, feature-rich handsets.

We can’t wait for the, high-powered speakers fitted to our ultra thin phones of the future!

via: cellularnews

In a few hours we can expect to see pictures and video, but for now we know what Palm (NSDQ: PALM) is going to announce: The Foleo.

I’m going to make a huge prediction here that might make me sound like a total fanboy, but I think Nokia (NYSE: NOK) already has something like this in their pipeline. It would be foolish not to! The power of the mobile web server coupled with the talent of the Internet Tablet Team = Nokia’s Foleo.

There is a serious disruption about to occur in the world of mobile. No longer will we care about devices connecting to the cloud, we will care about devices that connect to devices that will eventually connect to the cloud. The importance of personal area networks is grossly underrated right now.

Between Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE)’s watch, Nokia’s Internet Tablet, Stereo Headphones and wireless headsets, don’t you think that Bluetooth is being completely underutilized?

The problem is standards. I hope Bluetooth 3.0 is not so much about speed, but about creating more connection profiles so more devices can exchange even more bits and bytes.

Thoughts?

Update (a few more thoughts):

I ultimately think that the concept of a dedicated hardware device as a "companion" to a smartphone is the wrong path to take. People already have large screens and keyboards, let them use those devices. Don’t get me wrong, a new breed of hardware will emerge due to this thin client concept, but we don’t want to end up with a closet full of 5+ proprietary docks.

This is my favorite part of the press release:

Smartphones will be the most prevalent personal computers on the planet, ultimately able to do everything that desktop computers can do. However, there are times when people need a large screen and full-size keyboard. As smartphones get smaller, this need increases. The Foleo completes the picture creating a mobile-computing system that sets a new standard in simplicity.

If I were in Nokia’s Mergers and Acquisitions department I would totally buy Palm. They get it.

Just a short note to inform you that a new version of the Technorati’s mobile web site has been silently released — thanks to AAS for the heads-up. This time the blog aggregator decided to go for the clean, simple and much easier to use interface, that is at the same time much less data intensive. Point your mobile web browsers to mobile.technorati.com, and while you’re there don’t hesitate to add IntoMobile to your favorites.

Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) has recently announced its new flagship device – P1i. Now, at Mobile-Review forums someone posted a photo, claiming it is the P3i. It’s hard to tell whether or not this is true. As far as we can see from the image bellow, the device looks practically the same as P1i, except maybe the larger screen. And yes, the colors are different, but that’s not the issue here. Hopefully, when we see the next Symbian UIQ 3-based smartphone announced from the Swedish-Japanese handset maker, the better display, it will also come with the built-in GPS. (via: jamp)

Just as we reported about the ongoing mobile TV trial in Australia, something’s gone wrong — with the Australian Communications and Media Authority delaying the planned release of sales documents for the upcoming auction of two digital TV licenses. Previously, Australian media authority said it would release mentioned documents by mid-May with opening up the applications process to follow. Now, they are waiting for a government announcement, after which they would release a revised timetable “shortly”.

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