News on mobile phones, tablets, smartphones, wireless services and applications, GPS devices, and ereaders

October, November, December 2011

LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer tablet is designed for small children / 15:42 17-12-2011
If you have seen videos on YouTube where an adorable child is using an Apple iPad like a pro, you might think that the iPad is the right choice for a small child. What do you think will happen when the iPad slips from those little fingers to the floor? It's not a pretty sight. A tablet specifically designed for small children that comes with applications designed for children is a better choice for small hands. The LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer is an affordable tablet with hardware and software designed for children.
Powered by Android 4.0, Acer Iconia Tab A200 tablet features 10.1-inch multitouch display / 11:52 05-12-2011
Anyone who ever thought that tablet business would be dominated by the Apple iPad alone, will have to think again the market dynamics in 2012. First, Amazon made a bold move with the low-price Kindle Fire media tablet, and then, the usual suspects introduced their affordable competitive products. The Acer Iconia Tab A200 is one of the hottest tablet products for people who want the latest Android 4.0 software in an affordable hardware package.
Series 40 software takes Nokia Asha mobile phones into the cloud / 10:33 01-12-2011
While practically all the publicity concerning Nokia has been about smartphones - Symbian and Windows Phone strategy change - the company has been quietly developing its own feature phone operating system Series 40. It is a mature platform for mobile phones that is looking more and more like an entry-level smartphone platform. The first phones in the Series 40-powered Nokia Asha product line have features like touch screen, Wi-Fi, dual SIM, and fast, cloud-based web browser.
Tablet for those want raw processing power: Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime / 12:08 13-11-2011
A couple of years ago, Asus kicked off the trend for a new category of computers - netbooks - that quickly became popular across the world. After the Apple iPad was launched, however, netbooks have lost a lot of sales to tablets. It makes sense: a typical netbook is 10 inches in size and a typical tablet is from 7 to 10 inches in size. Both are used for web surfing, video viewing, social media and messaging. It is not a huge surprise that Asus has decided to grab a piece of the fast-growing tablet market. The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime is a super-powered tablet for those who want raw processing power on their mobile device.
Life after Symbian: Nokia Lumia 800 Windows Phone 7.5 smartphone / 14:27 01-11-2011
After dramatically killing the Symbian operating system in early 2011, Nokia has furiously worked with Windows Phone software in order to get the first smartphone built on Windows software out by the end of 2011. Although the schedule was extremely tight, Nokia was able to deliver its first product by the deadline in co-operation with Microsoft. At a first glance, the Nokia Lumia 800 isn't a game changer, but a good start for the new smartphone product line.
The main differences between the Apple iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 and iPhone 3 11:45 12-10-2011
The more we look at the Apple iPhone 4S, the more we are convinced that the product has one feature that Steve Jobs must have pushed through. That's Siri artificial intelligence voice system. It is not a simple piece of software that can identify simple commands and execute them, but a comprehensive system that can find answers to questions. Check out what other differences there are between the iPhone 4S and other iPhone models.
Amazon Fire media tablet for movie and TV-show rentals, ebook and MP3 downloads / 11:07 02-10-2011
The world's largest Internet store Amazon has introduced a tablet device for accessing digital media content products. The Amazon Fire comes with 7-inch touch screen that can display 16 million colors. The device connects to the Internet via Wi-Fi hotspot. The list price for the Fire is only $199, making it an attractive media tablet.
A hands-free system for drivers from Nokia and Alpine / 13:53 01-10-2011
Nokia has teamed up with car audio and navigation product manufacturer Alpine in order to integrate mobile phones to car dashboard units. When a Nokia smartphone is connected with a cable to the dashboard-mounted Alpine ICS-X8 system, the driver can access phone's navigation and music applications via the dashboard.
Samsung Omnia W smartphone built on Windows Phone 7.5 software / 07:38 01-10-2011
Microsoft has drawn a lot of attention in the smartphone industry for two reasons: Nokia chose Windows Phone software for its future smartphones and the new Windows Phone 7.5 operating system has been well received by experts who have had an opportunity to have a look at the user interface. Samsung beat Nokia in the speed of execution, introducing the Omnia W Windows Phone 7.5 smartphone before Nokia managed to introduce even its first Windows Phone product.