Samsung M7500 Armani Edition

Once again Samsung and Giorgio Armani have collaborated to bring a new mobile handset for fashion-freaks. It is being called the Emporio Armani Night Effect. Catchy name, isn’t it? Of course, that’s the street-savvy name; the model number is M7500.

With a rather simplistic design this time, the M7500 candybar handset lives up to its name since it comes with a flashy set of LEDs that are embedded into the sides of the handset. This quad-band GSM handset is actually quite a slim phone at 12 mm. It’s packed with features that include HSDPA, a 3.2MP auto-focus camera, Bluetooth with A2DP, microSD card support and an integrated..

FM radio. The M7500 has a 2.2-inch OLED display, and Armani has made sure that its branding is as visible as possible.

November is the time, according to reports, that the Samsung Armani Night Effect should be making its way to European shelves first and later on to South-East Asia and then the Middle East. Not too long a wait for the fashion-conscious mobile users on our shores. No pricing has been revealed yet.

Samsung M8800 8 MegaPixel

5-megapixel camera phones are now becoming passé. The new "in" is 8-megapixel and the competition is getting extremely fierce. LG has two phones with 8-megapixel cameras and a bunch of other features, Sony Ericsson has its C905 and Samsung already has the i8510 INNOV8 slider, but it seems that was just not enough. Samsung has revealed the next 8 megapixel model - the M8800 - but reports are a bit unclear about the name. It’s either Bresson or Pixon.

The handset looks like it's an upgrade to the Omnia with a similar 3.2-inch touchscreen display incorporating a 240 x 400 pixel resolution. However, other reports mention that the M8800 will be running on Samsung's proprietary OS and not Windows Mobile. Other features include 3G with HSDPA, EDGE, Bluetooth with A2DP and of course USB connectivity. It will also feature built-in GPS functionality and..

automatic screen rotation, microSD card support for external memory (no word on internal memory yet), a media player with DivX support for video and FM radio.

Apparently, this handset will also have handwriting recognition. Does this mean it will have a stylus? We'll have to wait and see.

This 8-megapixel, auto-focus camera phone will feature settings that include face recognition with smile detection and blink detection, Geotagging and 30 fps video recording in VGA resolution. It will also include WDR which is wide dynamic range and advanced shake reduction.

There’s no official word on a release date and hence no official pricing, but some reports state that it could be out by November with an approximate price of about Rs 37,000 ($800). Stay tuned for more information.

Samsung OMNIA

Samsung Mobile today announced the launch of its top of the line, premium, all-in-one phone, Samsung OMNIA, in the Indian market. Samsung OMNIA (SGH-i900) brings together sophisticated style and fun, dynamic multimedia experience along with high performance business capabilities to raise the bar of mobile convergence and performance.

OMNIA, meaning ‘everything’ in Latin and ‘wish’ in Arabic, goes far beyond the current top-of-the-line features available in today’s mobile phones. Announcing the launch of Samsung OMNIA in the country today, stated Mr Sunil Dutt, Country Head, Samsung Telecom, “Samsung OMNIA is our flagship model aimed at users who desire a lot of functionality, a lot of style, a lot of usability and a lot of entertainment in one innovative device. Samsung OMNIA will help users to be at the forefront of work and play and at the same time, to stay connected anytime, anywhere."
Samsung’s patented TouchWiz user interface makes entering data and text simple. With unique widgets, users can customise and personalise the way they use their phone. Samsung OMNIA’s high resolution touch-sensitive 3.2-inch WQVGA LCD screen uses intuitive tap, sweep, drag and drop operations as well as an on-screen qwerty keyboard. Further, the OMNIA facilitates easy and convenient calling and texting with a dedicated dome key for controlling communications.

Samsung OMNIA comes with a five-megapixel CMOS camera with the latest value-added features, which include auto-focus (AF), face detection, smile..

detection and auto-panorama shot.

Available with 32 GB Memory (16GB Internal Memory + 16 GB MicroSD card from Sandisk) and 24 GB Memory (8GB Internal Memory + 16 GB MicroSD Card), Samsung OMNIA ensures ample storage space for digital assets.

It delivers the ultimate in digital entertainment with a wide 3.2-inch WQVGA LCD screen for viewing videos and slide shows in high-resolution and advanced audio capabilities. MultiCodec support for DivX, Xvid and other video formats eliminates the hassle of file format conversions.

“OMNIA is for people who expect the ultimate from their mobile devices and who don’t compromise on their desires. All functions of this device including amazing video-quality are to be experienced to be believed in as they set the next benchmark in the industry,” states Mr Dutt.

Samsung OMNIA also offers GPS, including navigation and geo-tagging capabilities. It allows users to switch seamlessly between Microsoft Outlook email and productivity applications that replicate the look and feel of their PC - with a stroke of their finger.

Based on the most up to date Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional operating system, Samsung OMNIA gives users a mobile extension to their PC experience, with access to MS Office documents such as PowerPoint, Excel and Word. Users can also send and receive email and manage their appointments in Outlook while on the go. The Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional operating system means users can download additional programs as they would on their PC and customize it for their individual needs. For ease of navigation, an optical mouse similar to those on laptop computers offers improved usability and one-handed control.

Samsung OMNIA is priced at Rs 39,999 (32 GB Memory ) and Rs 37,999 (24 GB Memory).

Motorola Yuva Range W388, A810, ZN200

Motorola has added three new phones to its 'Yuva' range - the MOTOYUVA W388, MOTOYUVA A810 and MOTOYUVA ZN200.

The MOTOYUVA W388 candy bar phone comes with a dedicated music button, an enhanced MP3 player, MusicID application for song recognition and an FM radio with radio data system (RDS) functionality, which shows the name of the artist and the song and the type of music playing on the radio. The W388 also let users record excerpts of songs from FM radio and set an FM alarm.

The W388 allows users to block unwanted callers, features Motorola's CrystalTalk technology for better voice clarity, offers 750 SMS storage and 1,000 phone book entries and an integrated VGA camera that supports 4x zoom and..

Java capabilities that enable users to download Java games. Memory is expandable upto 2GB.

The MOTOYUVA A810 is a touchscreen phone available in two colors - white and black. It offers easy menu navigation, user editable shortcuts on the home screen, advanced handwriting recognition and copy-paste for messages and numbers. The photoeditor capability in the new YUVA A810 helps users edit photographs taken with the 2-megapixel camera and add elements like cool hairstyles, crazy belts, etc. Once edited, these can be shared using Bluetooth or MMS.

The A810 has an inbuilt MP3 player with multiple visualizers to choose from. It offers up to 2GB memory with an optional MicroSD card and connectivity options like Bluetooth, GPRS with EDGE support and USB 2.0 data transmission. The phone also has FM radio and an inbuilt video player that supports videos encoded at rates up to 30fps (frames per second).

The MOTOYUVA A810 features live cricket text commentary, cricket 'masala' news, wallpapers, cricket video downloads and comes preloaded with three cricket games. Consumers can get news on the mobile phone with access to the WAP version of printed publications such as Hindustan Times, Financial Express, Indian Express, and Deccan Chronicle via the 'Daily News' link.

The phone comes with a specially designed WAP link that allows users to plan and book flight tickets or railway tickets directly from the mobile. As an introductory offer, consumers get Rs 250 off on each of the first two tickets booked from the YUVA A810.

The MOTOYUVA ZN200 is the latest addition to Motorola's family of media-optimized devices. This slider handset features a 2-megapixel camera, a 1.9-inch display screen and Motorola's CrystalTalk technology.

The top lip of the YUVA ZN200 has a series of status LED icons that light up to give users a quick visual reference of the status of missed calls, new messages, and Bluetooth activity.

The camera supports both landscape and portrait view modes and features 8X digital zoom. Video can be captured at 15-20 FPS. Th phone has up to 2GB of external memory, Bluetooth and MMS capability.

All three phones give users access to MOTOMUSIC, a combined Web, and WAP service. The entire range comes with a MOTOMUSIC scratch card inbox with 10 free ringtone downloads.

The phones will be available at MOTOSTORE and MOTOSTORE Lite, modern trade retail chains, and other retail outlets.

The MOTOYUVA A810 at an MRP of Rs 8,119 and the MOTOYUVA ZN200 at an MRP of Rs 6,719 will be available from the first week of October 2008. The MOTOYUVA W388 is priced at an MRP of Rs 3,640 is already available in the country.

Samsung BEATb (M3510) BEATs (M3200)

Samsung has announced its newest series of music phones, Samsung BEATb (model: M3510) and Samsung BEATs (model: M3200), thus starting the company’s music phone line, "The BEAT Edition". These new handsets come in the form of a bar and a slider design respectively.

Geesung Choi, President of Samsung’s Telecommunication Business, said the music phone market is one of the fastest growing areas in the mobile industry and still has potential to further grow. "Samsung hopes to set our own music mobile identity with the latest BEAT edition," said Choi, adding that Samsung plans to continuously strengthen its music phone line.

Digital Natural Sound engine, also known as DNSe, which is inherited from Samsung's own audio technology, provides more natural sound effects and helps..

reproduce a genuine 3D sound and deep bass resonance.

Samsung BEATb and Samsung BEATs offer a variety of music dedicated features. 'Auto EQ' function automatically turns the equalizer into the best setting according to the genre and type of the music users listen to. By recording and sending a tune to Shazam server, users can easily track down and even purchase the song, through participating ioperators’ music stores, just like Sony Ericsson’s TrackId.

BEATb - M3510

Samsung BEATb and Samsung BEATs come with 'Motion Play' feature, which enables users to control their music with a few simple motions. For instance, users can play or pause music simply by tapping their phone. By flipping the phone, the music is muted and the phone is automatically set on etiquette mode. Moreover, by simple shaking the phone, users can play the next song or previous song.

Besides the Motion Play feature, Samsung BEATb and Samsung BEATs also feature physical music control keys on the outside. Users can immediately play, stop, pause, fast forward or rewind music using these control keys even when working on other tasks such as sending text messages and playing mobile games. Samsung BEATb and Samsung BEATs are available in unique and vivid accent colors.

BEATs - M3200

The BEATs (model: M3200) is a slider type music phone with a sleek MP3 player-alike design. Besides all the music dedicated features, Samsung BEATs is equipped with an amplifier by B&O ICEpower as well as a stereo speaker to provide even-better sound quality to users.

Samsung BEATb, the first to be launched from The BEAT Edition will be available in September. Samsung BEATs will soon follow in October.

BlackBerry Bold

Research In Motion (RIM) has announced the launch of highly-anticipated BlackBerry Bold smartphone for customers in India.

Crafted from premium materials inside and out, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone is the first BlackBerry smartphone to support tri-band HSDPA high-speed networks around the world, providing superior functionality and performance for business professionals and power users.

The BlackBerry Bold smartphone integrates 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi and GPS, which can pinpoint the user's location and supports location-based applications and services. It comes with a beautiful half-VGA (480 x 320 resolution at 217 ppi) color LCD that is fused to the under surface of the lens, making images and videos appear in stunning..

definition and clarity. The smartphone also comes with rich multimedia capabilities including a media player for music, videos and photos and a 2-megapixel camera with video recording.

“We at RIM are excited with the response to BlackBerry in the Indian market. Through the widened reach of Airtel, we look forward to penetrate the high level of consumer sophistication in the Indian market by introducing the new BlackBerry Bold, which will set new benchmarks in business mobility by integrating elegance with powerful internet speed,” said Mr Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO, Research In Motion.

Managing music, pictures and video is made easy with the inclusion of Roxio Media Manager for BlackBerry as well as Roxio Photosuite 9 LE in the BlackBerry Desktop Manager software. Users can enhance pictures and create photo albums on the computer. For users that manage their collection with iTunes, the new BlackBerry Media Sync application provides a simple way to sync iTunes digital music collections with the smartphone.

The BlackBerry Bold smartphone also comes with a newly enhanced, high performance browser, giving users an on-the-go web browsing experience with desktop-style depiction. The trackball mimics a mouse, making it easy to navigate sites in "Page View" or "Column View" or to zoom in on specific parts of a web page, while various emulation settings allow users to choose between the full desktop-style HTML content and layout or the mobile version.

Powering its robust communications and multimedia capabilities, including phone, email, messaging, organizer, browser, camera and media player, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone comes with a next-generation 624 MHz mobile processor, 128 MB Flash memory plus 1 GB on-board storage memory, and a microSD/SDHC memory card slot that is conveniently accessible from a side door. DataViz Documents to Go is also preloaded, enabling users to edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the smartphone.

The BlackBerry Bold smartphone also features a new acoustic design that increases the size of the phone’s audio sweet spot, improving listening quality and clarity. It comes with support for hands-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits (including car kits that adhere to the Bluetooth Remote SIM Access Profile) and other Bluetooth peripherals, noise cancellation technology that offsets background noise, a powerful speaker phone and support for polyphonic, MP3 and MIDI ring tones.

The BlackBerry Bold smartphone works with BlackBerry Enterprise Server, which enables advanced security and IT administration within IBM Lotus Domino, Microsoft Exchange and Novell GroupWise environments, as well as BlackBerry Professional Software for small businesses. It also works with BlackBerry Internet Service, which gives users access to up to 10 supported work or personal email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts).

Priced at Rs 34,990, the BlackBerry Bold would be available by the end of September 2008 at Airtel authorised channels, Vodafone stores and Reliance Communications' stores.

BlackBerry 8830 World Edition

TATA Teleservices and Research In Motion (RIM) have announced the launch of the BlackBerry 8830 World Edition smartphone in India.

Featuring a sleek and stylish design with a full QWERTY keyboard, trackball navigation system and large bright display, the CDMA-based BlackBerry 8830 World Edition offers international roaming capability on GSM/GPRS networks. Together with a ‘One World – One Number’ R-UIM (Removable User Identity Module) card powered by TATA Indicom, users can access email and data, as well as..

place and receive domestic and international calls, nationwide on the TATA Indicom CDMA network in India and around the world on GSM/GPRS networks.

Announcing the launch of the BlackBerry solution from TATA Indicom, Mr. Anil Sardana, Managing Director of TATA Teleservices Ltd, said, “We take immense pride in launching the much-awaited BlackBerry solution. The BlackBerry smartphone has become a way of life — an office on the move for corporate executives and business professionals — and its many user-friendly features make it truly desirable. The BlackBerry 8830 World Edition smartphone also adds a powerful capability to support seamless roaming on international networks.”

Mr. Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO of Research In Motion (RIM), said, "We are pleased to bring the BlackBerry solution to TATA Indicom customers. The BlackBerry 8830 World Edition is an exceptional smartphone that will win customers with its unique blend of functionality, usability and style.”

To meet the mobility demands of enterprise customers, TATA Teleservices also provides enterprise mobility applications for sales & field service automation, business intelligence and data collection on the BlackBerry platform. Customised software is available.

The following are the key specs of the Blackberry 8830 World Edition:

* Features available: Wireless phone, email, SMS, organizer, browser, GPS, media player and dorporate data access.
* Size and weight: 4.49-inch/114-mm (length), 2.60-inch/66-mm (width), 0.55-inch/14mm (depth), 4.6- oz/132-g (weight).
* Data input/navigation: Trackball, QWERTY (Keyboard) and Keyboard backlighting.
* Voice Input/output: Headset jack, integrated earpiece/ microphone and Stereo headset capable
* Speaker options: Built-in speakerphone, headset, hands-free and Bluetooth serial port profiles supported.
* Display: Font size (user selectable), color display, backlighting and light sensing display.
* Notification: Polyphonic/MIDI ring tones, MP3 ring tones, Vibrate mode and LED indicator.
* Approx Battery Life: Standby time of up to 9 days and a talk time of up to 220 minutes.
* Memory: Flash memory – 64 MB; expandable memory – support for micro SD card.

Velocity 103

Velocity Mobile has announced the retail availability of their first touchscreen phone, the Velocity 103.

The company's belief is that the simplest solution is often the best solution and have thus tried with this handset to combine an easy-to-use Odyssey Interface, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone operating system and their Velocity Over The Air updates. The outcome is a sleek, a form factor rather similar to HTC.

"Consumers these days are demanding more from their phones. Our research tells us that..

people want experiences, not applications and functions," said David Hayes, president and managing director, Velocity Mobile. "Velocity Mobile has brought together some of the greatest minds and best of breed partners in the industry to deliver positive experience and value to consumers."

Velocity Mobile’s core leadership team collectively has nearly forty years' experience in innovative mobile engineering, design, sales and marketing, and is working in collaboration with Inventec Corporation, one of the world's top three original design manufacturers (ODMs) for notebook computers.

Together, these two companies have developed this GSM handset that incorporates features like a Qualcomm Mobile Station Modem (MSM) with a MSM7201 chipset, a touch screen display with a 640 x 480 VGA resolution, 256MB ROM with 128MB RAM and Bluetooth 2.0. The Velocity 103 also features Wi-Fi, integrated GPS, a 2-megapixel camera, TV/VGA out and MicroSD expansion slot for more memory. It uses a trackball for navigation much like you’d find in a Samsung or Blackberry Pearl.

The unlocked Velocity 103 is available for pre-order online now through Expansys for Rs 26,477 (£334.99), and will ship by the end of September.

HTC Touch HD

HTC already had i-killers in the form of the HTC Touch, the HTC Touch Diamond, and the HTC Touch Pro. It doesn't seem though like those were enough: its latest offerings are, say the reports, two handsets - the HTC Touch HD and the HTC Opal.

In case you’re wondering, the HD stands for High Def and the reason it carries that tag is because of the screen resolution that is supposed to support a 480 x 800 pixel resolution. Yes, WVGA. The handset runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional and comes equipped with a Qualcomm 7201A processor (@ 528MHz) with 512MB ROM and 256 MB RAM (+32MB on processor).

The same reports state that the Touch HD will be equipped with GPS, a..

5-MP camera, with no flash though, microSD card support for extra memory and a 3.5-mm earphone socket. According to some of the pics and these reports, there doesn’t seem to be any sort of navigation or scroll pad. Does this mean it’ll be totally 'touch'? We’ll have to wait on that. As of now, it seems this could be one step above the iPhone, with no button against the iPhone's singular one.

The second handset is a refurbished HTC Touch, called the Opal, simply because of its more refined and elegant look. It retains a design similar to the original Touch with a 3D interface like the Diamond. It’ll also be running on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional. The handset will sport a 2.8-inch TFT touchscreen with a 240 x 320 pixel resolution. It supports EDGE, GPRS and of course Wi-fi, but there's no evidence of 3G support in the specs. The handset will also be equipped with a 2-MP camera.

There’s no word on the availability of these handsets as they are not featured on the official HTC websites.

Sony Ericsson G705

Sony Ericsson has announced the G705 - a slider mobile phone with a 2.4-inch screen, turbo 3G and full HTML browser.

"The G705 is ideal for those who need a bit of help organising their busy life," said Catherine Cherry, Global product marketing manager at Sony Ericsson. "This life-enhancing phone has everything you need to keep track of your daily activities and is perfect for keeping in touch with friends. It also allows you to stay fully up-to-date thanks to the full HTML browser, email support, and desktop RSS feeds - all delivered at turbo 3G speeds."

The G705 features a 3.2-megapixel camera, video capabilities and..

Wi-fi. It allows RSS feeds to be delivered straight to the phone's desktop, has built-in FM radio and a GPS combined with Google Maps for Mobile and Wayfinder navigation.

Also announced today is the G705u, the first UMA enabled phone from Sony Ericsson. UMA enables users to seamlessly roam between the mobile network and local area networks thanks to GSM/Wi-Fi dual capabilities. The G705u is exclusive to the operator Orange in its territories.

Sony Ericsson has also partnered with Google to integrate YouTube into selected upcoming models from Sony Ericsson. This capability will allow users to instantly download and upload video directly from their phones to YouTube.

The G705 will be YouTube compatible and further models will be announced at a later stage.

The Sony Ericsson G705 will be available in select markets from early Q4 in the colours Silky Gold or majestic black, while the G705u (exclusive to Orange) will be available from early Q4 in the colour luminous black.

BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220

Research In Motion (RIM) has unveiled the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 smartphone, the first BlackBerry phone to come in the flip form factor.

The quad-band EDGE-based BlackBerry weighs 3.6 ounces and measures approximately 3.9 x 1.9 x 0.7-inch. Featuring two high-resolution, light-sensing color displays, the external LCD makes it easy to preview incoming emails, text messages and phone calls without opening the handset, while the large, 240 x 320 internal LCD displays messages, videos and web pages.

The BlackBerry Pearl Flip smartphone includes features like Speaker Independent Voice Recognition (SIVR) for Voice Activated Dialing (VAD), support for..

MP3 ring tones, smart dialing, conference calling, speed dialing, call forwarding, voicemail attachment playback and enhanced background noise cancellation. It also features a speakerphone and Bluetooth 2.0 for use with hands-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits and other Bluetooth peripherals such as a GPS receiver.

It features a large SureType QWERTY keyboard, plus provides access to up to 10 supported personal and work email accounts. The DataViz Documents to Go software suite is also preloaded, allowing users to edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the handset. The BlackBerry Pearl Flip is supported on BlackBerry Internet Service, BlackBerry Unite!, BlackBerry Professional Software and BlackBerry Enterprise Server, which provides tight integration with corporate email systems and the security and IT policy controls that enterprise customers require to allow smartphones in their organization.

It features a 2 megapixel camera with flash, zoom and video recording, and includes BlackBerry Maps to deliver maps and step-by-step driving directions. An enhanced HTML browser displays web pages in either "Column View" or "Page View" and different emulation settings allow users to choose between desktop-style HTML content and the mobile version of web pages. The browser also supports RTSP for watching online streaming video from sites like m.youtube.com.

In addition, the BlackBerry Pearl Flip smartphone features built-in Wi-fi (802.11 b/g) with support for UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access), extending wireless email and data coverage and supporting carrier- enabled voice calls over home Wi-Fi networks, enterprise wireless deployments and Wi-Fi hotspots.

The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 smartphone will be available from wireless carriers around the world beginning this fall.

Specific availability and pricing details will be announced at a later date.

Motorola MOTOJEWEL

Motorola has just added to the list of mobile handsets dedicated to fashion-conscious consumers, with the MOTOJEWEL. The name pretty much speaks for itself. The phone, available in midnight quartz, has a 3D crystal-cut and mirror finish with a jewel-like design and a purple keypad.

The MOTOJEWEL comes with a mini clutch that’s designed to hold the phone as well as other items that might include a credit card, lipstick etc. It’s a light-weight handset with a borderless, touch-sensitive external display. Like the RAZR, the MOTOJEWEL also has touch-sensitive media keys for controlling the music player.

“MOTOJEWEL combines fashion-forward trends with..

the latest in premium mobile design and inventive controls to deliver a unique and mesmerizing mobile experience,” said Andrew Morley, VP Marketing, Mobile Devices, Motorola.

The music player can sync with Microsoft Windows Media Player 11 for updating the music library on the device. It has a 2.0 megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom and features that include - multi-shot feature, video capture and playback, and a light and landscape viewfinder.

Other features include Motorola’s CrystalTalk technology, Bluetooth with A2DP, and Push Email capability.

The MOTOJEWEL is available exclusively at Carphone Warehouse, for a limited period, from November 2008.

There’s no official word on the pricing yet.

LG KC910

We already heard that LG was launching an upgrade to their LG KU990 Viewty and the handset was going to be called the KC910. This new ‘i-Killer’ from LG will come equipped with a whopping 8-megapixel auto-focus camera with a host of integrated features that will include geo-tagging, given that it’s equipped with internal GPS, and, of course, a xenon flash.

The KC910 will have Wi-fi connectivity, a first for LG. The 3-inch display with..

a 240 x 400 pixel resolution, 3G with HSDPA speeds, microSD card support for external memory and Bluetooth with A2DP, will make this handset tough to beat. Like the Viewty, the KC910 will also have support for DivX video playback, Dolby sound for music, XviD file support and TV out.

Reports say that it could be out in October, the pricing though is still a mystery.

Asus P552w

Asus has launched a new WinMob handset called the P552w PDA phone. The P552w, running on Window's Mobile 6.1 Professional, is Asus' answer to the likes of the HTC Touch Diamond and other touchscreen mobiles that feature snazzy touch screen technology in a 3D form. This handset features Glide (Gester technology), which uses the handset’s touch-responsive user interface to make navigating and performing tasks on the mobile more intuitive and interactive, by scrolling and flipping pages with the touch of your finger.

Some of the widget-like applications are called - Multi-Home, Anytime Launcher, EziPhoto, and EziMusic. The 3.5G (HSDPA) enabled P552w comes equipped with a 624MHz processor and sports GPS and Google integration and a 624MHz CPU. It offers TV..

streaming, Bluetooth, WLAN, USB and other connectivity standards. Google Maps, too, is included.

The P552w's navigation also includes a feature known as Asus SMS Location Link. With this exclusive feature, users at two different locations can locate each other easily by sending each other SMS. Clicking on the URLs, which are automatically embedded in the sent messages, will link the phones up to Google Maps, which will then provide the users with directions on how to get to each other’s positions. The ASUS P552w also features a Google Search Bar on the Today screen that makes it easier to perform online queries.

EziPhoto enables users to flip through their photo collection with their fingertips, akin to how they would with a real album which is nothing we haven’t already seen in various other forms. It also has a Calendar option which organizes and displays the thumbnails of photos users have taken according to the dates in which they were snapped.

EziMusic offers an interactive interface for users to play and manage their music. The P552w also houses applications that enable easy access to web content such as RSS newsfeeds, YouTube movies and photos on Flickr.

The HTC Touch may have some serious competition here considering that the P552w has a similar styled 3D-ish interface and a host of media features, including a 2MP camera.

Stay tuned for pricing details.

Spice D-90

Spice Mobile seems to be launching new handsets by the bushel. It's latest phone is what is called as the next generation dual SIM handset, the Spice D-90. The new GSM/GSM handset offers simultaneous access of two different numbers, enabling users to keep their personal and professional lives separate.

Spice offers the capability of two live SIMs working simultaneously with features like call hold and swap (providing real-time switching facility between both SIMs). The Dual-SIM helps to..

cut down on roaming bills without getting disconnected from their home-network. Of course this not necessarily new technology. Just ask the Chinese mobile makers.

The Spice D-90 has a 2-MP camera which can double as a webcam. Other media features include an in-built MP3 player and FM radio with recording facility. This handset also features a special handset contact back-up application which allows seamless transfer of all the phone book contacts to the D-90 at one go.

The phone comes with a panic button (you’ll have to wait for the review to know what that’s all about), mobile tracker, 256MB memory card; is GPRS / WAP/ JAVA enabled, and comes pre-loaded with Opera Mini as a web browser.

The handset is priced at Rs 7,799 (MRP).

Nokia N96

Nokia’s N96 has been launched in the country and will be available from the 16th of September.

The dual slide phone is expected to be an iPhone killer, and will sell for a whopping Rs 35,000.

The N96 has a 2.8-inch TFT display with a 240 x 320 pixel resolution and 16 million colors. It runs on a Dual ARM 9 264 MHz CPU and comes with 128MB RAM, 256MB storage memory and 16GB of internal memory as well as microSD card support.

For net connectivity, the N96 is equipped with Wi-Fi, 3G..

support with HSDPA speeds, EDGE class 32, GPRS/WAP, Bluetooth with A2DP and microUSB v2.0 for data transfer. It also features a 5-MP auto-focus camera with Carl Zeiss optics. It's also capable of video capture (VGA 30fps) and comes with an LED flash. The N96 also has a secondary VGA videocall camera in front.

The phone comes equipped with a 3.5-mm earphone socket that doubles as a TV Out. It even has an FM Radio with RDS and Visual Radio.

The N96 will come preloaded with the movie ‘Om Shanti Om’, 50 music videos, music tracks in Hindi and English and 3 N-Gage games with an unlimited license on for the 3rd edition of Asphalt Urban. It will also have 3 countries' Nokia Maps, namely, Singapore, UAE and, of course India, and a 3-month Navigation license for 8 Indian cities.

The handset can be pre-booked by logging on to www.nokia.co.in/n96 and registering.

LG Dynamite KP199

LG has launched a new model in its Dynamite series – the LG KP199. According to LG, the handset will be able to offer a talk time of up to 11 hours and a standby time of up to 30 days.

This phone allows users to opt for FM radio as a wake-up alarm. Apart from this, the phone also comes with a music player, Bluetooth connectivity and Anti Theft Mobile Tracker. If the phone is..

lost or stolen and the finder tries to insert any other SIM, the phone automatically sends out messages on two pre-stored numbers, and the receivers will know the location and the number of the SIM inserted in the phone. Also, the phone sends messages to the two numbers after every 12 hours or whenever the phone is used.

Commenting on the launch, Anil Arora, Business Group Head, GSM, PCs and DAV, LGEIL said, "We at LG Mobiles thrive to offer the finest and most essential features to our consumers. Considering the importance and urge for communication, style and usability for the Indian consumer we have come out with some never before features in our mobile segment. KP199 is not just a product but a package deal with all the important aspects, technology and features which are sure to entice and satisfy our consumers. The KP199, a fully loaded phone with advanced multimedia functions and long battery-life, will definitely appeal to our customers."

The phone is available in the Indian market for Rs 4390 (MOP).