News | Fone Arena - Part 2886

Blogger launches mobile feature

Leading weblog publishing service Blogger has launched a new feature dubbed Blogger Mobile that allows users to post content from mobile phones. Both images and text can be posted to all Blogger powered sites (or by default a new moblog) via MMS or email.

Sending an MMS or email to go@blogger.com will automatically create a new blog. Your photo, along with any text you add, will be uploaded to that blog right away and then we’ll message you back with the address so you can visit your new blog on the web. It’s all free. When you feel like changing anything or you already have a Blogger account and you want the posts to go to your existing blog, you can log in to go.blogger.com and enter the token we sent to your phone.

Blogger is owned and operated by Google. As noted in the text above, this service like regular Blogger service, is free. Prior registration is not required to use Blogger Mobile.

Slide and Shoot with the Nokia N70: the smallest 3G Series 60 smartphone with 2 megapixel camera

Slide and Shoot with the Nokia N70: the smallest 3G Series 60 smartphone with 2 megapixel camera.Nokia N70 is part of the Nokia Nseries high performance multimedia range

Amsterdam, Cancun, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur – Nokia today introduced the Nokia N70 multimedia, a beautifully designed, compact and easy-to-use 3G smartphone with versatile mobile photography, personal productivity and entertainment features. Incorporating a complete smartphone feature set, as well as a 2 megapixel camera, flash and front camera for video calling, the Nokia N70 comes fully equipped with stereo FM radio, a digital music player and new 3D games.

"The Nokia N70 perfectly illustrates our commitment to offer powerful, all-inclusive handsets that aid people in their daily lives. In addition to advanced smartphone and entertainment features, mobile photography is extremely easy and enjoyable with the elegant Nokia N70," said Joe Coles, Director of imaging product marketing at Nokia. "The number one reason why people today purchase new handsets is the camera. Indeed, we foresee that by the end of 2005, over half a billion people worldwide will own a camera phone."

Easy mobile photography

The slide and shoot design makes mobile photography fast and simple. The rear camera slide reveals and automatically activates the 2 megapixel camera, ready to instantly shoot photos or video. The intuitive slide is complemented with an integrated flash, 20x zoom capability and a range of capture scene settings for optimizing image quality in various environments, including Scenery, Portrait, Night, and Sports. Furthermore, the dedicated shutter key on the side of the phone enables users to capture images like they would with a regular camera, allowing for greater stability and ease of use.

The storage, management and organization of images and video clips is convenient and efficient with the Nokia N70. With the Nokia XpressTransfer storing solution, all new photos and video clips can be automatically copied to the PC. Photo albums created on the phone are also automatically saved in similar albums on the PC. Furthermore, the Adobe Photoshop Album Starter Edition software offers users an efficient way for organizing or editing photos and video clips on the PC.

The new improved rotating Gallery provides for enhanced browsing of images and video clips. Images can, for example, be organized into slideshows, with the viewing experience further heightened with added background music. Images and video clips can also be instantly printed from the Gallery with the Nokia XpressPrint printing solution using a USB cable, wirelessly over Bluetooth connectivity, or using the Reduced Size Dual Voltage MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC).

Smart productivity

An excellent and powerful tool for personal and professional information management, the Nokia N70 offers a full set of smartphone features, including very easy-to-set up email functionality with extensive attachment support, Internet browser, video streaming and 3G-enabled features such as two-way video calling* and video sharing*. Furthermore, additional applications can be installed from various sources**, while organizer information can easily be synchronized with compatible PCs.

Entertainment on the move

Equipped with a digital music player with stereo audio, FM radio and support for Visual Radio, the compact 126 gram Nokia N70 also doubles as a great pocketable music device. For an even more playful multimedia experience, the Nokia N70 supports S60 and Java 2D and 3D games, some of which are pre-installed in the phone or on the standard in-box RS-MMC.

Measuring just 108.8 x 53 x 17.5 mm (95.9 cc), the Nokia N70 is the smallest ever 2 megapixel 3G smartphone based on the leading Series 60 Platform. The Nokia N70 is expected to be available in the third quarter of 2005. Additionally, a variant of the Nokia N70 for EDGE (Enhanced Data Rate for GSM Evolution) markets will be available at a later date.

*To check the availability and cost of the service, contact your network operator or service provider.

**Users are advised to install applications only from trusted sources.

Nokia introduces the Nokia N91 for a true mobile music experience

Storage for up to 3000 songs, plus smartphone functionality in an ultra-portable package

Amsterdam, Cancun, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur – Nokia today introduced the Nokia N91 multimedia, the company’s latest device optimized for mobile music consumption. With room for up to 3000 songs on the integrated 4-gigabyte hard disk, the Nokia N91 delivers a premier music experience. In addition, the industry standard 3.5mm stereo headset jack and easy transfer of music files from your PC help make the Nokia N91 a connected mobile jukebox. Encased in stainless steel, the Nokia N91 has dedicated music keys on its face, which slide down to reveal the phone keypad. The Nokia N91 is a part of the new Nokia Nseries range, bringing you the latest multimedia technologies and smartphone functionalities.

"The Nokia N91 delivers both a fantastic music experience and cutting-edge phone features," said Jonas Geust, Vice President, Music at Nokia. "What sets the Nokia N91 apart is the fact that it is always connected – you can download new music while on the move, add it to your favorite playlist and then share your playlist with friends. It’s truly the world’s best mobile connected jukebox."

Listen to Music

The Nokia N91 serves up to 12.5 hours of great sound via the included stereo headset with remote control. Enjoying your music collection has never been easier, as the Nokia N91 supports a wide range of digital music formats including MP3, M4A, AAC and WMA.

Nokia N91 is compatible with a number of accessories from industry leading brands Bose(R), Harman Kardon®, JBL®, and Sennheiser. In addition to using their favorite audio accessories with the Nokia N91 through its standard 3.5mm jack, consumers can maximize their audio experience by choosing products from a line-up of Nokia tested and recommended audio accessories*.

Get Music

Packed with multiple connectivity options, such as WCDMA, WLAN and Bluetooth wireless technology, the Nokia N91 makes it easy for you to find and enjoy music when and where you want. With the Nokia N91, you can quickly and easily find and purchase music over the air to your device from your operator’s music store.

Manage Music

Drag and drop your personal music collection from your PC to your Nokia N91 or synchronize your recent music purchases with your PC via USB 2.0. You can also create and manage your playlists directly on your Nokia N91, or shuffle songs around to build your optimal listening experience.

Share Music

A revolutionary feature of the Nokia N91 is the possibility to share your playlists with friends by multimedia message, email or Bluetooth. Proudly show off your musical taste or simply share the latest songs that have been stuck in your head.

The Nokia N91 also contains the latest multimedia technologies and smartphone functionalities, including a 2 megapixel camera for print-quality photos, email support, a full web browser and video sharing.

The Nokia N91 is expected to become commercially available worldwide by the end of 2005.

*The Nokia tested and recommended industry leading accessories for Nokia N91 include:

Sennheiser PX 100, 200, PMX 40, and PMX 60 mini headphones, PXC 150, 250, and 300 NoiseGard(TM) active noise-cancelling mini headphones and the HD465, 485, 515, 555, 595 audiophile headphones

JBL Duet(TM), OnTour(TM), Creature II®, and Encounter(TM) speaker systems

Harman Kardon Soundsticks II® speaker system

Bose Triport and Quietcomfort ® 2 Acoustic Noise Canceling headphones

About Nokia Nseries

Nokia Nseries is a range of high performance multimedia devices that delivers unparalleled mobile multimedia experiences by combining the latest technologies with stylish design and ease of use. With Nokia Nseries products, consumers can use a single device to enjoy entertainment, access information and to capture and share pictures and videos, whenever and wherever they want.

Twist and Shoot: Nokia N90 makes its premiere

Part of the Nokia Nseries high performance multimedia range, the Nokia N90 brings Carl Zeiss optics into the mobile arena

Amsterdam, Cancun, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur – Nokia today proudly presented the Nokia N90 multimedia, an advanced and inspirational multimedia device. Starring Carl Zeiss optics and a full set of advanced digital camera features, the Nokia N90 is targeted at high-technology enthusiasts who value the ultimate in connected mobile photography. The Nokia N90 boasts a 2 megapixel camera with autofocus and 20x digital zoom, integrated flash, macro mode for sharp close-ups, and high quality video capture with on-phone editing capabilities.

"We foresee that already this year, the camera phone market will grow to be over four times the size of the digital camera market," said Juha Putkiranta, Senior Vice President, Multimedia Imaging, Nokia. "And not only is the market growing at an enormous pace but, as fantastically highlighted by the Nokia N90, camera phone functionality is also developing rapidly to meet the needs of the more demanding picture taker. With its pioneering multi-hinge twist-and-shoot design, we have brought ease-of-use and high quality photography into mobile telephony."

Facilitated by its two screens, the Nokia N90 features two ergonomic modes for instant photo and video capture. Simply twist the unique rotating camera barrel, and automatically the 2 megapixel camera is ready to shoot high quality photos, in a snap. A dedicated capture key and the cover display (128 x 128 pixels) of up to 65,536 colors as a viewfinder make the snapshot experience ever more effortless. Unfold and twist the main display (352 x 416 pixels), and the Nokia N90 is ready to shoot high quality video in MP4 format using the high-resolution (352 x 416 pixels) 262,144 color landscape display as a viewfinder. Dedicated record and zoom keys, including up to 8x digital zoom for video capture, provide for very convenient one-hand operation.

Capture

The Nokia N90 is packed with advanced camera features that ensure high quality photos and videos every time. With autofocus, pressing the shutter key halfway automatically focuses in on the target, after which pressing the key all the way captures the image with amazing clarity. Furthermore, the macro mode feature provides for striking accuracy when taking close-ups.

Print

Printing great quality images is now possible directly from the Gallery with just a few pushes of a button. With the Nokia XpressPrint printing solution, users can select from a range of mobile printing options, including PictBridge, where the handset is connected directly to a compatible photo printer with a USB cable; wireless printing over Bluetooth wireless technology; or by extracting the Reduced Size Dual Voltage MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC) from the side of the phone and inserting it into a compatible printer.

Store

Photos and video clips taken with the Nokia N90 can conveniently be stored on the phone’s internal 31 MB memory or the 64 MB in-box RS-MMC. Users can also easily store captured content at full resolution using the Nokia PC Suite Image Store, which, when connected, automatically saves images and video clips to the PC.

Share

Images and video clips can also be instantly shared via MMS, email or by uploading them to web albums directly from the new improved rotating Gallery, which also allows on-handset editing of captured images and video clips. In addition, video clips can easily be trimmed further on the PC with the in-box Adobe Mobile Video Editor software.

Part of the Nokia Nseries, a new multimedia device range that combines rich functionality into one device, the Nokia N90 capitalizes on the convergence of imaging, smartphone features and 3G. 3G-enabled features, such as two-way video calling*, video sharing* and push email, are further complemented by an organizer, video streaming, Internet browser and add-on software.

Based on the leading Series 60 Platform, the Nokia N90 is a tri-band phone for GSM 900/1800/1900, EDGE and WCDMA networks, and is expected to be available in the second quarter of 2005.

*To check the availability and cost of the service, contact your network operator or service provider.

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Nokia launches Nokia Nseries branded multimedia device range

Nokia Nseries offers the latest technologies and new fusions of digital media and mobility to consumers

Amsterdam, Cancun, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur – Nokia announced today the Nokia Nseries branded range of next generation multimedia devices. Packed with the latest technologies such as 3G, Carl Zeiss Optics, megapixel cameras, multi-gigabyte memory, VHS resolution video and WLAN, the Nokia Nseries offers new fusions of digital media and mobility to the hands of mobile users. Consumers can now use a single device to do everything from snapping print-quality images, reading email, listening to music, browsing their favorite websites, watching mobile TV and much more. The Nokia Nseries multimedia range is styled to meet the expectations of the most demanding customers with stainless steel finishes and black pearl and smooth silver color pallets. The first Nokia Nseries products are expected to become available during the second quarter of 2005 followed by several more by the end of 2005.

"This next step in digital convergence brings together mobile devices, Internet content, still and video cameras, music, email and much more. Nokia Nseries devices share similar design traits as mobile phones, but they are actually powerful pocketable computers with a comprehensive set of multimedia features," said Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President, Multimedia, Nokia. "The Nokia Nseries offers the world’s most powerful functionality in the mobile space. As Nokia Nseries is based on Series 60, people can choose from thousands of add-on applications to customize their device to best suit their needs. The Nokia Nseries range is the perfect choice for customers who want to have mobility with the latest technologies and great design – for both work and play."

Nokia Nseries – high performance multimedia

Nokia Nseries leads the formation of new mobile product categories through the fusion of rich functionality into one beautifully designed, easy-to-use device. All Nokia Nseries devices support print-quality photography and high quality video recording. In addition, Nokia Nseries devices offer rich music experience including over-the-air downloads, gigabytes of memory and stereo audio.

Featuring large color displays, HTML web browser and streaming video, the Nokia Nseries devices enable access to entertainment, news and information anywhere, anytime. The Nokia Nseries range helps consumers balance personal and work life with a broad range of productivity features such as push email with attachments and full organizer features. PC synchronization of music, images, videos and organizer data are made simple with Nokia PC Suite and multiple connectivity options. As Nokia Nseries is based on the Series 60 smartphone platform, users can choose from more than 3 000 applications to add new functionality to their device. Rich communication is naturally at the core of all Nokia Nseries devices, including telephony, two-way video call, video sharing and multiple messaging options.

Six Apart to Bring Mobile Sharing to LiveJournal Users Through Nokia Lifeblog Compatibilityobile music experience

San Mateo, CA – Six Apart, the leader in weblogging software and services, and Nokia today announced that the users of Six Apart’s LiveJournal online community can easily post text to their diaries using Nokia Lifeblog, an application solution that effortlessly keeps an organized multimedia diary of items collected with your mobile phone. LiveJournal users with paid accounts can also enhance their diaries by uploading photos with text to their LiveJournal entries.

LiveJournal is an online community organized around personal journals. Built on open source software, LiveJournal has helped fuel the rapid growth of blogging by offering consumers both free and paid accounts on its easy-to-use personal publishing service. Every week, more than 1 million users update their LiveJournals.

Nokia Lifeblog software automatically organizes photos, videos, text messages and multimedia messages into a beautiful chronology you can easily browse, search and share. Lifebloggers can already share online, from the phone or PC, via Six Apart’s TypePad personal publishing service.

"The teamwork between Six Apart and Nokia continues to result in creative ways to improve our users’ blogging experience," said Barak Berkowitz, Six Apart’s CEO. "Nokia Lifeblog allows our users to create and seamlessly update a diary on LiveJournal or TypePad, easily sharing photos and memories with family and friends as events happen."

"With LiveJournal support, Nokia Lifeblog now has the potential to reach almost 7 million LiveJournal users," said Christian Lindholm, director of Multimedia Applications, Nokia Ventures Organization. "We are delighted to be working with Six Apart and believe this is an enormous advantage for operators and other service providers, who want to offer their customers the best mobile blogging experience available."

Nokia Lifeblog is compatible with a number of handsets, such as the, Nokia 6682 and Nokia 7610 phones in the Americas, and with the Nokia 3230, Nokia 6260, Nokia 6630, Nokia 6670, Nokia 6680, Nokia 6681 and Nokia 7610 handsets in Europe and Asia. The software is also available online at www.nokia.com/lifeblog. Other Nokia Series 60 based phones will be supported as they are released. The blogging capability of Nokia Lifeblog is based on the open ATOM standard.

About Nokia

Nokia is a world leader in mobile communications, driving the growth and sustainability of the broader mobility industry. Nokia connects people to each other and the information that matters to them with easy-to-use and innovative products like mobile phones, devices and solutions for imaging, games, media and businesses. Nokia provides equipment, solutions and services for network operators and corporations. www.nokia.com.

About Six Apart

Six Apart Ltd., based in San Francisco, CA, is the company behind the Movable Type publishing platform, the TypePad personal weblogging service and LiveJournal, an online community organized around personal journals. Founded by husband and wife team Ben Trott and Mena G. Trott in 2002, who were joined by LiveJournal founder Brad Fitzpatrick early this year, and funded by Neoteny Co., Ltd. and August Capital, Six Apart’s sole focus is to create tools that enable millions of individuals, organizations and corporations to participate in the Web’s full potential by publishing their ideas on the Internet with the simple, yet powerful software and services. For more information about Six Apart, TypePad, Movable Type and LiveJournal, visit the Six Apart corporate weblog at http://www.sixapart.com/.

Six Apart is a trademark of Six Apart Ltd. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Yahoo! goes mobile on Nokia smartphones

Nokia, the global leader in mobility, and Yahoo!, the number one global internet brand, today announced an agreement that allows millions of Nokia smartphone users to stay informed, entertained and in touch through Yahoo!’s rapidly developing internet services.

A wide selection of Yahoo! Internet Services pre-installed on Nokia Series 60 devices
Espoo, Finland – Nokia, the global leader in mobility, and Yahoo!, the number one global internet brand, today announced an agreement that allows millions of Nokia smartphone users to stay informed, entertained and in touch through Yahoo!’s rapidly developing internet services. Yahoo! data communications services such as e-mail, Yahoo! entertainment services such as ring tones, wallpapers and downloadable games and Yahoo! Search for Mobile, will be the first set of services available through Nokia devices based on Series 60, the industry-leading smartphone platform.

“Access to information, entertainment and the ability to stay in touch when and where you want is at the heart of our vision of a mobile connected life,” said Harry Santam�ki, Vice President, Strategy and Business Development, Nokia Multimedia. “Our agreement with Yahoo! is a progressive step in facilitating the adoption of an online lifestyle: we are providing consumers with a familiar way of accessing the internet and Yahoo! email through their mobile devices, with the added convenience of content downloads on the go.”

Juha Varelius, VP & MD of Yahoo! Mobile said: “With consumers’ lives across the world becoming increasingly centered around mobile communications, this new international relationship between Yahoo! and Nokia is a great way for people to have the Yahoo! internet experience on their Nokia phone and benefit from a range of essential services on the go.”

Nokia is the first handset manufacturer with Symbian-based products to distribute Yahoo! services for consumers in such a large number of European and Asian markets, including Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Spain and the United Kingdom. The first Nokia devices with Yahoo! internet services are the Nokia 6680, Nokia 6681 and the Nokia 6630. More devices will be announced on April 27. The existing Nokia 6680, Nokia 6681 and Nokia 6630 owners will be able to download similar applications over-the-air in the same markets starting from the second half of 2005.

iTunes Mobile Coming Soon in June

Think Secret is reporting that Apple is finishing up a version of iTunes music software for Mobile Phones. The software currently carries the name of iTunes Mobile 1.0 which has been in development since last year when Motorola and Apple teamed..

Skype Coming To Mobile Phones

At the Voice On the Net (VON) conference in Toronto, Skype Technologies co-founder and CEO Niklas Zennstrom reported that a mobile version of Skype will be available this year…

At the Voice On the Net (VON) conference in Toronto, Skype Technologies co-founder and CEO Niklas Zennstrom reported that a mobile version of Skype will be available this year.

Skype is a free global telephony application that allows for VoIP communications, it currently runs on Mac OSX, Windows and Pocket PC, Skype plans to release a version for Embedded Linux, Symbian or Windows Mobile devices later this year.
Skype
�We will encourage hardware manufacturers to deploy Skype on their devices.?? said Zennstrom. SkypeMobile for mobile devices (our unofficial name for the new Skype) will be targeted to hardware manufacturers for integration into new dual-mode (GPRS + WiFi) mobile devices once made available to carriers. Our guess is that whichever manufacturer will adopt Skype first is the platform SkypeMobile will be released for.

Regulatory issues may slow Skypes deployment down, large telecommunication companies have huge pull when it comes to communication regulations. They earn billions of dollars each year from long distance calls, they also pay the government millions more in taxes each year. According to Zennstrom these companies will be the last ones to continue charging for long distance communications on a per call basis while other companies have started offering flat-rate services.

It may be hard convincing a manufacturer to allow Skype to be put on their device and be available right out of the box, the carriers will bitch and complain that it will cut their airtime revenues. Besides, what will stop them from removing the software once its in their hands? We know sneaky stuff like this has happened before.

Symbian announces Symbian 9

Symbian key strategic focus is to ensure Symbian OS is adopted as a platform for the development of higher volume and lower cost, advanced phones for 2.5G and 3G networks around the world.

Symbian�s key strategic focus is to ensure Symbian OS is adopted as a platform for the development of higher volume and lower cost, advanced phones for 2.5G and 3G networks around the world.

Symbain
Symbian OS v9 helps lower Symbian OS licensee development costs and accelerate time to market for smaller, less expensive and even more capable Symbian OS smartphones.

As a robust, secure, open and standards-based platform, Symbian OS v9 will support network operators� cost-effective deployment of revenue-generating services, content and applications.

Symbian OS licensees have phones based on Symbian OS v9 in development, with product launches anticipated during the second half of 2005.

Key enhancements in Symbian OS v9 include:

Enabling multimedia phones � Symbian OS v9 supports Bluetooth stereo headsets, USB mass storage, advanced audio mixing and playback, as well as the latest MPEG and OMA DRM standards.

Enhanced support for 3D graphics, multimedia and graphics acceleration as well as support for different screen sizes and orientations, and simultaneous multiple displays.

Managing Symbian OS phones � Using OMA-compliant Device Management solutions, network operators and enterprise IS managers will be able to access a user�s phone over the air to deploy new network services, capabilities or applications, or to diagnose a problem, as well as to audit applications installed on a phone.

Supporting the Enterprise � Symbian OS v9 provides new enterprise functions such as enhanced filtering and sorting of IMAP email, as well as new group scheduling capabilities, including accepting meeting invitations from standard PIM applications such as Lotus Notes or Microsoft Outlook.

Even better phone performance � Symbian OS v9 supports the latest generation of ARM-based processors that will enable faster and more powerful Symbian OS phones with improved battery life.

Motorola and Nokia outsell Samsung in cameraphone market

According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, 257 million camera phones were shipped worldwide, representing 38% of total handset sales, in 2004. This was up sharply from 84 million, or 16% of total, in 2003.

Camera phones outsold digital still cameras by almost 4 to 1, reaching just 68 million units globally in 2004. Sales grew 40 percent annually, from 49 million units in 2003.

Blocking stolen phones in South Africa

South Africa’s three mobile phone operators have agreed to co-operate on sharing databases of stolen phones and baring them from use on all three networks. This agreement will make it easier for the companies – Cell C, MTN and Vodacom – to blacklist and disable stolen, lost and destroyed cell phones and for the police to trace and arrest those who steal cell phones or use them to further their criminal activities.

Until now stolen phones have been “grey” listed by MTN and Vodacom, which means that the sim cards were blocked but not the cell phone instruments. Criminals could simply change sim cards and continue using the phones. On the other hand Cell C has been blacklisting stolen or lost cellphones since its inception.
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Motorola set to unveil iRadio

The service will let users download preselected audio content from a range of providers on their home computers, dump it on their cell phones and listen to it on their car stereos.

CHICAGO: Motorola Inc. is betting consumers will pay to have it both ways, gaining control over the content on their car radios and the flexibility of taking their music with them on their cell phones when they turn off their engines.

Motorola, the No. 2 maker of mobile telephones, is set to unveil a service called iRadio that will let users download preselected audio content from a range of providers on their home computers, dump it on their cell phones and listen to it on their car stereos.

The company is banking on the popularity of portable music underscored by sales of Apple Computer Inc.’s iPod digital music players and growing demand for high-quality, commercial-free radio provided by satellite radio companies Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.

“What we set out to solve was finding a way to get the breadth of content into the stereo where people listen,” said David Ulmer, director of marketing for Motorola’s media solutions business. “We looked around and noticed that everyone had a cell phone in their pocket. There is a very large market of potential customers to go after.”

The iRadio service, which will let customers download 10 hours of content at a time, will be available at the subscription cost of about $5 to $7 a month. When not driving, customers can listen to content on a phone with a headset.

By comparison, Sirius and XM charge about $13 a month for access to more than 100 channels; online music content provider Napster Inc. gets about $15 in the same period for unlimited downloads to a computer, or digital music player. Apple’s iTunes music library charges about 99 cents per song.

“It’s just another way to offer entertainment on the cell phone,” said Albert Lin, an analyst with American Technology Research.

In a recent research note, he called providing preselected audio content for cell phones “a massive market opportunity.”

Several companies are already betting on the potential, boosted by the popularity of a multitude of cell phones that enable music downloads.

Clear Channel Communications Inc., the top U.S. radio operator, earlier this week said it plans to begin offering clips of programs over handsets by the end of 2005.

Outside of the United States, operators like Virgin Radio in Britain and Swedish broadcaster SBS Broadcasting System SA are creating interactive radio to deliver to users with enabled Nokia mobile phones.

COMPLEMENT TO iTUNES?

Motorola has already seen the value in delivering music content. Through a partnership with Apple, it will soon launch a cell phone that works with the Apple iTunes service.

But iRadio requires a substantial up-front investment. A customer will initially lay out about $200 for a mid-range Motorola phone with at least 256 megabytes of storage, built in iRadio software and Bluetooth, a low-range wireless technology that streams content from the phone to the car radio or home stereo, Ulmer said.

The service also requires buying a $75 wireless audio adapter that must be installed in the car radio, either by the customer or a service provider. A USB connector to hook the phone to the desktop computer comes packaged with the handset.

Ulmer said Motorola plans to test the service in several U.S. markets in mid-May and launch nationwide in the fourth quarter. The company is also in discussions with several music content and wireless service providers, he said, but he would not provide specifics.

Motorola will begin selling the iRadio service at retailers, but it is also in talks with auto companies, who may eventually install iRadio in luxury cars, similar to arrangements that satellite radio providers have, Ulmer said.

� Reuters

Nokia releases PC Suite 6.5

Nokia released its new version of PC Suite having better synchronization abilities, better stability, support for newer Series 60 phones as well as Series 80 phones like 9300, 9500.

Nokia releases PC Suite 6.5

nokia

Nokia released its new version of PC Suite having better synchronization abilities, better stability, support for newer Series 60 phones as well as Series 80 phones like 9300, 9500.

Download it from here

Google Goes Local With Mobile Search

With Google SMS, users can send a search query as a text message to the U.S. five-digit code 46645 — which translates to “GOOGL” on most phones — and now receive driving directions in a text reply.

google local mobile search

Search engine giant Google Latest News about Google is taking its mobile device offering in a new direction with the launch of local services that deliver maps, directions and business listings to advancedmobile phones Latest News about mobile phones and other wireless Latest News about wireless handhelds.

The company has added a link to its site that enables those with XHTML-enabled mobile devices to enter a search term and a location to receive map results from Google Local.

The local services are initially available in the U.S. and Canada.

Price Game

With Google SMS Latest News about SMS, users can send a search query as a text message to the U.S. five-digit code 46645 — which translates to “GOOGL” on most phones — and now receive driving directions in a text reply.

Callers already can initiate text-message queries and receive results, including phone-book listings, dictionary definitions and product prices that arrive as text lines on the device.

Location is critical for the evolution of search, especially on mobile devices. Yahoo Latest News about Yahoo offers a mobile-search service, based on text messaging, that enables users of the Yahoo Local search engine Latest News about search engine to send query results from a PC Latest News about PC directly to a cell phone Latest News about cell phones.

Through Yahoo Local, consumers now can receive a business name, phone number, address and cross-street on an SMS-enabled handheld. The new Send to Phone capability is an outgrowth of Yahoo’s Mobile Internet site launched late last year.

More Mobile Services

The convenience of mobile devices makes them a target for search companies like Google and Yahoo, said IDC analyst Alex Slawsby.

“There has been a lot of talk about the omnipresence of these devices, and Google is seizing the opportunity to take its brand recognition and technology to a broader audience,” he said.

The number of mobile devices with XHTML capabilities remains small, Slawsby noted, but localized information offerings have the potential to draw a large audience.

The addition of maps and directions by Google is compelling for mobile users, and helps the company improve its image, said Yankee Group analyst Su Li Walker.

“They understand the importance of providing on-the-go access to their services, and they are tying up all of those services in a single package for mobile devices,” she said.

Search providers are now moving away from SMS-based text messaging and toward the HTML platform as a way to deliver Web-based services to increasingly smarter mobile devices, said Walker.

SOURCE:Newsfactor