The Nokia (NYSE: NOK) Music Store went up for less than an hour, it is down now, then again it shouldn’t have even been launched for another 9 hours. All that aside, James Burland at Nokia Creative got access to the store and he made a demonstration video:
James why do you act as if Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)’s DRM is such a bad thing? Doesn’t your iPod have DRM? Burnnn and correction, it is 192 kbps WMA. You know I love you, but right now I hate you for playing with the store before I can.
To many people’s surprise, myself included, the Nokia (NYSE: NOK) N95 has a built in accelerometer. Not only has it not gone used, but the thing is incredibly accurate. Have a Nokia N95? Grab this sisx file and give it a try for yourself. Mark from The Nokia Blog shot a video demoing the application:
How many other Nokia devices shipped with an accelerometer that we don’t know about? Why is Nokia only telling us about this now? Will developers be able to utilize this functionality in the future? We just have to wait and see.
Google’s entry into the wireless industry has everyone up in a tizzy, but all this hype means nothing if Google (NSDQ: GOOG) can’t get wireless operators to back their new mobile platform. All the best software in the world means nothing if you can’t get it in the consumer’s hand. Well, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that sources have indicated that Sprint (NYSE: S) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) are in late-stage, “advanced” talks with the Mountain View, CA.-based search giant to bring the new Google Mobile OS to the US.
But, here’s the thing - Verizon Wireless was previously at odds with Google over the upcoming FCC 700Mhz frequency spectrum auction in January 2008. As you’ll recall, Google had successfully pushed through an “open-access” provision for the upcoming auction - provisions that Verizon Wireless sued the FCC to overturn. Interestingly, Verizon recently dropped their case against the FCC. We’re not sure if Verizon decided to drop their case in return for favorable licensing terms from Google, but it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibilty.
Google is still trying to figure out how to deal with security and revenue sharing - and a deal with Sprint or Verizon is not a sure bet. We’ll have to wait and see how these deals pan out. If Google successfully signs the No. 2 and No. 3 US wireless carriers to carry their mobile platform, the search-giant could make a big splash in the mobile pool.
Remember that Sony Ericsson M610i LIZY prototype that was floating around the internets? Well, it seems some enterprising eBayer has put their pre-production M610i up for auction.
With the Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) M610i already having passed FCC inspection, we gotta believe that the business-centric smartphone could be headed Stateside sometime soon. But, if you just need to have the latest and greatest, head on over to eBay Germany and grab the Sony Ericsson M610i LIZY prototype for 1000EUR (Buy-It-Now price). Just remember, this WiFi-packing smartphone with semi-QWERTY keyboard and FM radio only rocks a tri-band GSM (900/1800/1900Mhz) radio.
On the other hand, we’re hearing that Sony Ericsson has a major handset announcement a week from now (November 6). So you might want to hold off on that $1000+ eBay purchase for now - as soon as the Sony Ericsson M610i hits the mainstream, that prototype won’t be all that cool anymore.
Here’s yet another official Windows Mobile 6.0 upgrade for you guys. This time it’s unbranded, generic Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Treo 750’s in the US (remember, Australia already got this update, so you can stop holding your breath now) that get the WinMo6 treatment. The WM6 update comes to us straight from Palm, so those of you using an AT&T (NYSE: T)-spec Palm Treo 750 are out of luck.
Aside from the obvious bump-up to a fresh Windows Mobile 6.0 installation, Palm Treo 750 owners will be glad to hear that the update will enhance your email experience and allow for USB charging. We’re just left with one question - when is AT&T going to get with the program and release their own WM6 update for all those Treo 750 owners that opted for an AT&T-subsidized and branded smartphone?
If you shelled out the clams for an unbranded and unlocked Palm Treo 750, and you want to get jiggy with Windows Mobile 6.0, head on over to Palm’s download site. You’ll need to have your Palm Treo 750’s serial number handy.
It looks like our friends “down under” may be blessed with the joys of the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) iPhone in the near future. Market Watch is reporting that Apple is searching for a wireless partner to pick up the iconic iPhone in the outback. Specifically, Australia’s Telstra has been reported to be testing the iPhone on its network. Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo has confirmed these reports and is looking to bring the iPhone to Telstra’s Next G network next year.
According to Sol Trujillo, Telstra’s Next G network will require a specialized version of the iPhone working on the 850Mhz band. But, if this deal goes through, we could see the iPhone jump from Europe to Australia within a matter of months. We’ll keep you updated, stay tuned.
Google is not only a huge player in the online search game, they’re a veritable bull on Wall Street. Trading as GOOG, the online search giant has seen incredible gains on the stock market in recent months. We hope you got in early, Google (NSDQ: GOOG) just broke the $700 mark after news broke of Google’s impending entry into the mobile space.
Apple (NSDQ: AAPL)’s stock more than doubled in the few hours after they officially entered the wireless game with the iPhone, so it makes sense that investors are squirming in their seats for Google to take the same plunge. Rumors indicating that Google would make their plans for the wireless industry known in two weeks time were enough to boost their shares to over $700.
Way to go Google. But big ups to all of you that got in early - remember when GOOG was trading for $250? Yea, those were the good old days.
If you’re an AT&T (NYSE: T) 8525 (HTC TyTn Hermes) owner, then you’ve probably been drooling over the launch of the HTC Kaiser TyTn II in the US as the AT&T Tilt. But, if you’ve been envious of the AT&T Tilt 8925 for its Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional OS, HTC’s got your back. Our favorite little ODM-turned-smartphone-giant has just released an official Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional ROM for all AT&T 8525’s. The WM6 upgrade is finally available for free and should help you deal with the little green devil sitting on your shoulder (ours kept telling us to go get an AT&T Tilt 8925…until we gave in and got one).
The AT&T 8925 Tilt still has the upper hand in terms of features - 3 megapixel autofocus camera, tilting screen, integrated GPS - but if the freshness of WinMo6 is all your AT&T 8525 TyTn needs, then head on over to HTC’s download page and get crazy. That is, if you haven’t already gotten the AT&T 8525 WinMo6 ROM from xda-developers.
Just back up your data before said craziness. The flashing that WM6 Pro ROM will wipe your data.
The Nokia (NYSE: NOK) Music Store is set to launch in a little under 24 hours and many journalists are going to cover it, bloggers are going to compare it to iTunes and after a week no one will remember it even exists. Chances are that if you read this blog you are a pirate. Don’t be afraid to admit it, I am one too.
I hardly remember the last time I purchased music and even though Oink got shut down I still have multiple sources that can give me practically any song I want in either uncompressed FLAC or 320 kbps MP3 files with no DRM. Now I know what you’re saying, if Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) can sell tracks to people then so can Nokia.
You are right about that, but if you can do simple division you will realize that the number of iTunes songs sold over the number of iPods sold = roughly 20 legal tracks on a music player that can hold thousands. Piracy is the norm, not legal distribution. There are a few things Nokia can do to get my money however:
1. Unlimited downloading via my device for a flat monthly fee. I will gladly pay up to 20 Euros per month for a service that lets me enjoy millions of tracks from the palm (NSDQ: PALM) of my hand from anywhere in the world. Why should I care about unlimited streaming to my computer at home? I thought my Nokia N95 is what computers have become?
2. Make the Music Store social. Know why people loved Napster and Audio Galaxy and Oink? If I found someone who had some of the same music I did then I could grab the tracks off their hard drive that I never heard of and maybe find an artist I would have never otherwise encountered.
3. Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) devices have a fantastic feature called TrackID. In a nutshell if you hear a song you like then you hold your phone up to the speaker, hit the TrackID button, your device records a 5 second sample and sends it to GraceNote who then tells you the artist and track. Copy that and add an option to “Download Now” and you will get that crisp 20 Euro note in my wallet.
4. Let me send music from my device to my friend’s devices if they have a Music Store account. If I’m in a café and my friend plays a new awesome song on her Nokia device then let her send it to me via Bluetooth. If I find a new song via TrackID that I think my friend would like, let me send them an SMS with a download link. Music is social, I know that is the second time I said this.
5. The Nokia N81 has fantastic audio quality and that should be the baseline for the rest of the Nseries phones to be released and something that ES and MP should strive to reach. Your best of breed service should be enjoyed on best of breed devices. Nokia’s have long been known for being resilient, having long battery life and easy to use; now make the Nokia brand synonymous with the best sound quality out of all the phone manufactures.
Feel free to add some of your thoughts. I know what I’m going to do when the music store launches, keep on pirating like I have been since the 20th century when the MP3 was invented.
If you ever needed a reason to commit harri karri then let me introduce you to the Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) Cybershot with a 5.1 megapixel camera, Xenon flash, 3x optical zoom, 480×864 resolution 2.7 inch screen in a device that is only 113 × 50 × 20 mm and weights 150 grams. At the Symbian Smartphone Show I got to play with Japenese cellphones and one of the first things that struck me was how they’re essentially all large clamshells, I’m talking Nokia (NYSE: NOK) N93 large.
It makes sense when you think about how many hours of the day these people spend buried in their device. A large screen that can fit a lot of data is a must. I admit I’m jealous and while I’m not usually a fan of clamshells, that resolution would make me switch in a heart beat. Damn thing has a higer resolution than the Internet Tablet and most UMPC’s!
Expect this beast to be announced tomorrow as apart of NTT DoCoMo (NYSE: DCM)’s new 905i lineup.
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It looks like our friends “down under” may be blessed with the joys of the Apple (
Google is not only a huge player in the online search game, they’re a veritable bull on Wall Street. Trading as GOOG, the online search giant has seen incredible gains on the stock market in recent months. We hope you got in early, Google (
