Thanks to new affordable touch screen technologies, also outdoors GPS receivers are being built with touch-sensitive displays. Outdoors conditions, however, can be anything from sunshine to pouring rain or snow, making it challenging to find the right technology for all situations. For instance, in freezing temperatures it would be nice to be able to tap the screen when wearing gloves. Garmin has introduced Dakota product line that is targeted at tough outdoors use, but the products can be used on the road as well.

The Garmin Dakota 10 is a compact outdoors GPS receiver with color maps. Its 2.6-inch touch screen ...

First, digital cameras were built into mobile phones, then, MP3 players and next, camcorders are going to do the same. Increasingly, high-end phones are being designed as multimedia devices that can handle many media types. Walkman mobile phone range covers both simple, low-cost music phones and advanced multimedia products. The Sony Ericsson W995 is a high-end Walkman phone.

The Sony Ericsson W995 is a compact media phone with slide-out keypad. In fact, for a device designed for videos and music, ...

Right now, as we are writing this, there are more than 14 million people logged onto Skype, talking, chatting, or simply waiting for someone to call. The vast majority of these people are signed in to the new telephone system on their PCs, but we are not the only ones who are also using smartphones to make free international phone calls via the Internet. Skype has been available as a free download for Windows Mobile smartphones for a couple of years already. Of course, there are other choices that you can find here. A popular free VoIP application, for instance, for Symbian smartphones is Fring which is compatible with Skype.

Skype application for Windows Mobile smartphones has reached its third major release. With every release, the software has inherited features from the PC application. Skype 3.0 for Windows Mobile lets you transfer files from your phone to the other end (PC or phone) during a live phone call. Also, if you purchase Skype credit, you can send low-cost text messages to mobile phones around the world.

Picture frames that can display digital photos belong to technology inventions that even technology haters can love. Practically anyone from a school kid to grandma wants a digital photo frame once they see beautiful pictures displayed in bright colors in a large frame. After the initial excitement has gone, however, photo frames tend to collect dust in a dark corner of the house because no one bothers to update it with new images. A smart way to solve the problem would be to download new photos to the frame directly from the Internet. That's what the Sungale ID800WT digital photo frame was designed to do. Better yet, the product can do it wirelessly. Read the full review...

While a large part of the world is raving about touch screen phones that tend to be sizeable because of the large screen required for finger input, even larger part of the world just wants to find a small, no-frills phone for personal communication. Even better if the no-frills phone can be purchased for less than half the price of a smartphone. Sony Ericsson has designed a credit card size mobile phone for these people.

The Sony Ericsson T715 is a tiny mobile phone with a slide-out keypad for ultra compactness. The slide-out structure makes the unit somewhat thick, but not too much (it is ...

HTC is one of the mobile phone manufacturers who has realized that hardware alone doesn't make a winning product. Even the most powerful, component-rich device can only make difference if its operating system software, menu system and applications make the phone easy to use, fun and useful. So far, HTC has primarily built smarphones on Windows Mobile software. The company even developed an attractive touch screen software that can be found in many products, for instance, the HTC Diamond and HTC Touch HD use the TouchFlo software. Now, the company has exploited its experience in touch screen software and has built a new smartphone on Google Android software.

At first glance, two features on the HTC Hero smartphone catch the eye. First, the unit is unconventially shaped. When the device is held upright, the lower portion of the body is slightly bent towards the user. Second, the menu system (or user interface software as techies like to call it) on the touch screen phone is highly customizable. Known as Sense, the menu system letss the user to pick up and remove items found on the screen. Menu items are rotated by flicking the screen with a finger.

The HTC Hero smartphone runs on Google Android operating system. Its 3.2-inch touch screen has 320x480 resolution. The device comes with applications that lets you keep up-to-date with your social networks, like Twitter.

The HTC Hero is a quad-band GSM phone and dual-band 3G UMTS phone. High-speed access to the Internet can be achieved via a 3G HSDPA mobile network or via Wi-Fi hotspots. Built-in GPS receiver provides location data for navigation and other applications. Music player can play common digital audio formats, including WMA9. Video player can recognize MPEG-4, H.263, H.264 and WMV9 formats. 5 megapixel camera at the back panel has autofocus.

I was invited to give a talk at the MobileMonday Helsinki event on June 8th, 2009. Here is a summary of my speech (as I recall it) titled "The Real Nokia Ovi Story".

Ovi Internet services and the Ovi Store are news even for many industry-followers. 10 years is a long time, especially in high-tech business, but that's how long Nokia has been developing online services for consumers. That's not all. The world's largest mobile phone company opened its first online application store back in 2003. Haven't heard of them? Yes, I thought so. These projects were created by visionary teams that lacked top management support and sufficient resources.

When Club Nokia service was launched in 2000, it caused an international incident...

Tablet PCs are curious little devices. For instance, Bill Gates has believed in tablet computers for more than ten years, developing software that allows controlling a PC simply by touching the screen. Yet, there hasn't been many successful tablet PC products in the market. But the world is changing. The phenomenal success of the Apple iPhone proves that people want easy-to-use electronics that allow controlling the device by directly pointing objects with their fingers. While all major mobile phone manufacturers have introduced touch screen smartphones, PC manufacturers have introduced a new product category; small netbook PCs. Most 6 to 10-inch netbooks are used like traditional laptop PCs, but there are models that can be used like tablets.

The Archos 9 PCtablet is a modern tablet PC. It is a slim device, only 0.63 inches thick, with 9-inch touch screen. There is also a track ball mouse on the frame; the track ball is operated with the right hand thumb and the mouse buttons with the left hand thumb. Hard drive, starting from 80GB in size, provides storage space for media files and applications. Wi-Fi connectivity enables Internet access and logging in to a home network. Close-range connections to peripherals and PCs can be managed via Bluetooth connection. The Acrhos 9 comes with two (yes, that's 2) TV receivers. The reasoning is that DVB-T digital TV reception can be improved when signals from two receivers are combined.

The Archos 9 runs on Windows 7 operating system software. Archos expects the retail price for the product to be around 450 euros. You can find more information about availability on the manufacturer's Archos 9 web page. Other tablets are, for instance, the Fujitsu Lifebook U810, Nokia N810, and the Samsung Mondi.

The Samsung Omnia i900 quickly became a popular product for people who were looking for a solid touch screen smartphone in 2008. So popular, that Samsung added Omnia HD i8910 touch screen phone to the product range. In case you are wondering, HD doesn't mean Harley-Davidson, but capability to record high-definition video. We have also seen extremely active interest in the small and handy touch screen phone Samsung F480. So, it is not a big surprise that Samsung has decided to extend the Omnia product line with three products; Pro, II, and Lite.

The Samsung Omnia Pro has both a physical qwerty keyboard and a large touch screen. The keyboard slides under the display which is 3.5 inches in size. 5 megapixel camera can record high-resolution video. Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth and USB are included. MP3 player, video player, and FM radio provide entertainment to the smartphone that has a number of business features, such as Microsoft ActiveSync and Lotus Notes Traveller with office document editing capability.

The GSM/UMTS smartphone is powered by Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system software and Samsung's TouchWiz touch screen software. Instead of Microsoft web browser, you may access the Internet with the built-in Opera 9.5 browser.

The Samsung Omnia II ...

Many hikers, bikers and kayakers who have trusted a magnetic compass for navigation, don't necessarily want to take a giant leap to an advanced GPS receiver that can display maps and possibly even play music and take pictures. They trust their navigation skills but the improved accuracy provided by the worldwide GPS satellite system would be useful in the great outdoors. A small and simple GPS receiver that is used like a compass would be a perfect tool for these people. Qstarz has designed a product for them.

The Qstarz GF-Q900 QFinder BackTrack is a compact, weather-proof GPS receiver that can be used as an accurate compass and tracking device in order to find the way back to the desired location. The black-and-white display can show a direction arrow, distance to the destination, time, and temperature. Four locations can be saved in the device for tracking back to an important place. The Qstarz GF-Q900 requires only two AAA-size batteries for operation.

Nokia isn't exactly renowned for exciting or attractive flip phones, but the Nokia 3710 Fold deserves a closer look. It is one of the first mobile phones, apart from wide range of Symbian smartphones, from Nokia that lets users access Ovi services and Ovi Store. This is significant news for people who can't afford a smartphone or just don't want to learn new tricks required for mastering a smartphone. Nokia has high ambitions in delivering Internet services via mobile phones to all people in all countries, not just select markets.

The Nokia 3710 Fold comes with preinstalled Maps application for navigation (more maps can be downloaded from Ovi), photo upload feature to Share service on Ovi, and access to Ovi Store for downloading additional applications. The 3710 Fold is built on a new release of Series 40 menu system that has improved graphics and Internet access capability.

The Nokia 3710 comes with GPS receiver, 3.2 megapixel digital camera with video recording, MP3 music player, stereo FM radio, Bluetooth, USB, Internet browser, and Internet email. Java and Flash Lite applications are compatible with the phone. The display inside the unit is 320x240 pixels in resolution and the small display on the cover is built from 160x128 pixels. The expected price for the quad-band GSM and dual-band WCDMA/UMTS 3G phone is 140 euros without taxes or subsidies.

Do you remember the times when the most important feature of a PC (according to brochures) was its processor speed? The processor has something to do with the performance of a PC, a mobile phone or a GPS navigator, but it is not the only factor. Equally important are, for instance, the amount of memory, display technology, applications, speed of input and output ports and many other technical details. So far, mobile phone industry hasn't considered processor speed something that would really interest customers, but as phones are becoming more like computers, processor speed numbers may interest many power users.

The Samsung Jet is a touch screen phone that is powered by a 800MHz processor. The little thing is ticking pretty fast. Yet, battery life is fine; 5 (3G network) to 8 (GSM) hours of talk time and up to 17 days of standby time. Not bad at all.

OLED display technology is making a breakthrough in many types of electronics, starting in mobile phones. The technology provides remarkably bright display, vivid colors and wide viewing angle. The Samsung Jet has 3.1-inch touch screen built on AMOLED technology. Samsung TouchWiz 2 software can adapt the on-screen keyboard and other applications to portrait or landscape mode, depending on the way the device is held. 5 megapixel digital camera can record high-resolution videos in 720x480 format. High-resolution video capture is a sign of a powerful processor (as opposed to other phones, like the Apple iPhone). It can play Divx, Xvid and MPEG4 movies. The Samsung Jet also has GPS for navigation, MP3 music player, FM radio, USB, and Bluetooth. Dolfin Internet browser has been finetuned for speed as well. The browser application can hold multiple web pages open at the same time.

TouchWiz touch screen menu system has proven to be quite popular. It allows customizing the home page on the phone with personal widgets, applications, and web pages. The Samsung F480 is also built on TouchWiz software. The product price may differ by market, but in Europe, the retail price for the Samsung Jet is expected to be around 550 euros.

It is easy to get hooked to a touch screen phone because the products tend to be intuitive and fun to use. However, the technology is only a couple of years old, making products pricier than comparable mobile phones without touch sensitive screen. Apple doesn't have to worry about pricing of the iPhone too much, since the product is attracting people who can afford the high cost. Nokia was the company that brought smartphones to the masses with its N-series products. Maybe Nokia can introduce touch screen phones to larger audiences than Apple?

Yes, it seems Nokia is seriously targeting larger audiences with the 5530 XpressMusic touch screen phone. The company expects the price to be around 199 euros before taxes and potential operator subsidies. It is one-third from the unlocked Apple iPhone list price. Which features missing (if any) from the Nokia music phone?

The Nokia 5530 XpressMusic has 2.9-inch, 640x360 resolution touch-sensitive display. On-screen qwerty keyboard is available in landscape mode. The phone comes with 3.2 megapixel digital camera that can record tiny 176x144 video clips. Music tracks can be downloaded, for instance, from Nokia Music Store. A new feature allows the phone owner to keep track of friends on Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, and Vox. The 5530 XpressMusic is a quad-band GSM phone with GPRS and EDGE data connectivity, but it can't connect to 3G networks. However, the phone comes with Wi-Fi for high-speed Internet access via hotspots. A considerable software package is included with the product for messaging, social networking, photography and gaming. Additional applications are available in Java, Flash and Symbian S60.

Comparing the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic and iPhone is not fair because of the price gap. In any case, the main differences are GPS and 3G, which the iPhone has and 5530 doesn't. The touch screen technology and user interface software are different as well. Nonetheless, we believe that Nokia has a product that has enough features to appeal to large markets.

Which mobile phone was the first to feature a qwerty keyboard? Our memory is telling us that it was the Nokia Communicator around 1996. Then, two-way pager Blackberry was introduced, and later, the legendary Palm Treo. Both came with tiny thumb keyboards for typing messages. It took a long time before Nokia introduced a competitive messaging product, but once it did, the E61, E62 and E71 became one of the most popular smartphones in Nokia's product range.

The Nokia E72 is a slim and compact messaging smartphone with qwerty keypad. Built-in GPS receiver provides location information to preinstalled Nokia Maps navigation application. 5 megapixel camera can record video at 640x480 resolution at 15 frames per second. Video streaming, MP3 playback, and FM radio provide entertainment while typing messages. The Nokia E72 is a quad-band GSM world phone and tri-band 3G phone for UMTS networks. High-speed data communication via HSDPA or Wi-Fi connection is available for Internet access. Nokia has added a new key, optical navi key, to the unit.

Nonetheless, the main attraction of the Nokia E72 is messaging and Internet access. For instance, Windows (MSN) Live, Yahoo Messenger, and Ovi Contacts are compatible instant messaging systems. It is possible to have multiple active email accounts on the phone. Some of the compatible email systems are Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft ActiveSync, Lotus Notes, or any IMAP4 or POP3 system. Nokia Ovi Messaging application is preinstalled into the phone for accessing multiple email accounts simultaneously. Retail price without taxes or subsidies is expected to be around 350 euros.

For the large part of the mankind, mobile phone is a trusted lifeline for getting help and for getting important services wherever the phone owners happens to roam. Well, almost. If you don't have an opportunity to charge the battery that's powering the phone every once in a while, that's it. It won't take long before your phone is dead. Unless you happen to be in a sunny region and your phone can be charged with sunlight.

The Samsung E1107 is a mobile phone with solar cell at the back of the unit. When you switch off the phone, turn the solar cell towards the sun and wait for an hour, you will get 5 10 minutes of talk time. Pretty clever, and free electricity, mind you. The dual-band GSM phone Samsung E1107 is a low-cost product that comes with essential features only. A couple of interesting extra features, however, separate the product from other low-cost phones. If someone removes the SIM card from the phone and inserts a new one, the phone automatically sends out an alert message. It is also possible to set the phone to make fake calls to itself to help the owner out of unwanted situations. A torch can be found on the device as well as FM radio and MP3 ringtones.

Active Internet users tend to have tens of user names and passwords saved in different services. In addition, many people have debit and credit cards with PIN numbers. Doors may have electronics locks that can only be opened with a passcode. Not to mention PIN numbers required by mobile phones, PCs and other electronic devices. We don't know about you, but we have given up a long time ago. We don't even try to remember every PIN and secret code. Instead, we store our valuable passcodes and ID numbers into a database. This method allows us to use long passwords, which is always safer than easy-to-remember short passwords. Only one thing has been troubling us; how do we take the confidential data with us when we leave our PC behind?

SymbianGuru has solved our problem of having confidential information always at hand. The company has created Phone Wallet, a piece of software that runs both on a mobile phone and on a PC. An encrypted database that holds valuable PIN and password information can be synchronized between the phone and the PC. Information can be added and modified both on the phone and on the PC. You just have to sync the Phone Wallet every now and then.

The application is compatible with Symbian OS smartphones, such as Nokia N-series and E-series and with Symbian smartphones from Samsung and LG. You can download the free Phone Wallet PC application here and the $9.99 mobile application from here.

GPS navigation devices have made life and work easier for many drivers. Before launching on a trip, you tell the navigator where you want to go and then you can forget about the device. The GPS unit gives you audio instructions where to turn. It is an excellent setup because the driver can totally concrentate on safe driving. Few drivers can or want to watch the navigator screen while driving. Not to mention watching TV.

Mio has designed many popular GPS satellite navigators for in-car use and also smartphones that have GPS receivers. Now, Mio has introduced the Moov V500 and Moov V700 car navigators that come with built-in TV tuners. Let's hope, however, that drivers don't watch TV while steering their families through the traffic. Naturally, the TV feature in the navigator is intended for passengers only.

The Mio Moov V500 has 4.7-inch wide-screen display in 480x272-pixel resolution. The Mio Moov V700 features a huge 7-inch display in 800x480-pixel resolution. They come with digital TV tuner DVB-T. Both products also let passengers listen to MP3 music, view photos and videos. Media files can be stored on a microSD memory card. Rechargeable battery makes it possible to move the device to the back seat, but passengers have to be careful and hold the GPS receiver so that it can pick up satellite signals from the sky.

In silence, Apple iPhone users have suffered. The worldwide iPhone community (except for India) has been loving the product so much that it has kept relatively silent about some major problems on the otherwise excellent smartphone. For example, on-screen keyboard has only been available in narrow, uncomfortable layout when the phone is held in portrait position. The Apple iPhone 3Gs features multiple welcomed improvements to the iPhone 3G. The main differences between the 3Gs and the 3G are as follows.

On-screen keyboard is available for all applications also in wide-format horizontal mode.
Thanks to a more powerful processor, the iPhone 3Gs can record video clips. Video resolution is 640x480 pixels at 30 frames per second. Audio is captured is well.
The digital camera has been upgraded to 3 megapixels from 2 megapixels.
For power users, cut, copy & paste features are available for moving text and objects from one application to another.
Phone-to-phone picture messaging, known as MMS (Multimedia Service) lets iPhone users send and receive photos from other phones without having to access email.
Audio recording is a new feature on the iPhone 3Gs.
The iPhone 3Gs can playback stereo music to a stereo Bluetooth headset (A2DP feature).
Search function lets you search information stored on the iPhone 3Gs.
Digital compass can show direction even when standing still. GPS requires movement in order to point the direction.
Longer battery life.

To learn the differences between the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G, check out this summary.

We don't even want to think about the reasons why someone would want to spy another person, but if you have to, modern technology can help you on your mission. You may use your or your target's mobile phone as a spying tool if you get a chance to install a piece of recording software to the phone. Spy applications record phone calls and messages sent and received on the phone. If you want more evidence, you have to photograph or capture video of your target. That's where a spy pen can help you.

The Spectra Optics Spy Pen is a compact pen that includes digital camera and microphone. For instance, the model 300 includes 2GB or permanent storage space for video and audio. The recorded material can be transferred to a PC via included USB cable. Battery allows two hours of recording. Don't expect too much from the video quality, the Spectra Spy Pen 300 can record in 176x144 resolution in AVI format.

Traditional game consoles, like the Xbox, Nintendo Wii, or Sony Playstation don't provide enough entertainment for serious gamers. Many want a portable device for playing their favorite games outside the home as well. For many years, the Sony PSP has been one of the most powerful handheld game devices available. The latest model, the Sony PSP Go, is the smallest PSP so far. One of the reasons for more compact size is the slide-out keypad for game controls. The solution makes sense because despite its small size, the unit can accomodate large keypad with comfortable buttons. Instead of discs, new games can be downloaded wirelessly from the Playstation Network to the PSP Go.

The main features of the Sony PSP go are Wi-Fi for Internet access, 16GB of memory, Bluetooth for headphones and wireless controller, Memory Stick Micro memory card slot, USB port, and AV connector. A charging cradle is available separately for charging the unit and for USB connection. The game device doesn't have UMD disc drive. The expected price is 249 dollars or the same amount in euros.

The original Sony PSP is still a solid handheld gaming device, but the new PSP Go will face competition from mobile phones. For instance, the Sony Ericsson Yari is a powerful mobile phone designed for gaming.

Watchful telephone service subscribers can save plenty of money by following the new developments in the telecommunications industry. Most people know about Skype because the application allows anyone make free calls to the other side of the world on a PC or on a mobile phone. Skype isn't an ideal solution for people who would like to replace their existing landline subscription with something more economical. It is possible to achieve with SkypeIn and SkypeOut, but Sipgate One provides an alternative, easy service for people who don't want to get drawn into modern technology.

Sipgate One is a Voip (Voice over Internet Protocol) service that doesn't require you to install any additional software to your PC or mobile phone. THe best thing is that you can end your landline subscription (ofcourse, you have to keep your broadband subscription). Instead, your account with call preferences reside on a Sipgate One server. Currently, the service is available in the US. Here's how it works.

Using your PC browser, you can sign up to the Sipgate One service. First, you'll get one US telephone number for free. You can select the state. Then, you can link your mobile phone number, office number and other possible numbers to the service. When someone dials your new Sipgate One number, all your phones ring (if that's the way you set up your account). When you want to make a call, you can make free calls from your PC or Voip phone to another Sipgate user. You have to pay a low rate for other calls. The service can also manage incoming and outgoing faxes.

If you want free phone calls when you are dialing on your mobile phone, you need a smartphone (preferably with Wi-Fi) where you have to download an application, like Skype, Fring, or Truphone.

The possibility to capture 12 megapixel images on a digital camera is still pretty rare. Not to mention camera phones whose picture size tends to be around 3 and 5 megapixels. Samsung, however, has introduced a phone with 12 megapixel image sensor. Yet, we are more excited about the product's capability to record high-resolution videos than its high number of megapixels.

The Samsung Pixon12 (model number M8910) can record video in 720x480 pixel resolution at 30 frames per second. It is a remarkable achievement for a mobile phone. The resolution and frame rate are better than in most digital cameras. When framing a shot, advanced auto-focus system lets you point an object on the screen. Then, the lens will follow the object automatically keeping focus on it (or him or her). In addition to the 12 megapixel image sensor with 28mm macro lens, the large touch screen on the Pixon 12 will draw attention. The 3.1-inch touch screen is built on OLED-technology, allowing bright and high-contrast display of photos and videos.

The Samsung Pixon12 comes with plenty of other advanced features, like Wi-Fi for high-speed Internet access via hotspots, GPS receiver for navigation in Google Maps, Share Pix for uploading photos and videos, FM radio, Microsoft ActiveSync, Bluetooth, USB, and microSD memory card slot. The Pixon12 is compatible with GSM and 3G UMTS mobile networks.

Another camera phone that lets you capture 12 megapixel photos is the Sony Ericsson Satio. It's so easy to get excited in the megapixel race that we'd like to remind everyone that the high number of megapixels doesn't automatically mean high-quality photos. The number of pixels only specifies the size of an image, not its sharpness, colors, focus, or anything else related to the image quality.

Many mobile phone users and video game players still remember the Nokia N-Gage, a gaming device and mobile phone that flopped spectalularly only to be withdrawn from production after two years of existence. Despite the failure of a dedicated gaming phone, the idea of playing games on a phone is still alive and well. For instance, Nokia has made N-Gage games available to a number of smartphone models through the Ovi Store. So far, Sony Ericsson has designed phones for music (Walkman-series) and photography (Cybershot-series) only and left gaming to Playstation consoles. Not anymore. Sony Ericsson is testing the waters with a gaming phone that is gesture-controlled, potentially triggering a wave of new ideas and new games to the market.

The Sony Ericsson Yari phone has been designed for games that can be played by controlling the action with gestures. That's exactly the same technology that made the Nintendo Wii popular; the possibility to play by waving, pushing, hitting, pulling, or twisting the joystick held in hand. In this case, the joystick happens to be the Yari gaming phone where the games are running as well. Two hardware gaming keys on the unit provide additional control for playing mobile games.

As a mobile phone, the Sony Ericsson Yari can be used in regions where GSM or UMTS networks are available. It is a quad-band GSM phone and dual-band 3G phone. The Yari comes with GPS, web browser, a range of messaging options, 5 megapixel camera, MP3 player, FM radio, YouTube viewing, Bluetooth, and USB. Additionally, users can download Java games and applications to the device.

Sony Ericsson has invented a new feature for mobile phones that we didn't know the world needed before we discovered it. It actually makes perfect sense. If you have a game console, in this case a Sony Playstation 3, at home but you don't want to sit around the console the whole time when a game is on, this could be something for you. The Sony Ericsson Aino mobile phone lets you wirelessly connect to your Playstation 3 in order to control it remotely.

The Sony Ericsson Aino looks like an ordinary phone. It has, however, a piece of software originally created for the PSP (Playstation Portable) that makes it possible to control a Playstation 3 game console wirelessly via home Wi-Fi/LAN network or from the other side of the world via the Internet. If the idea of playing games remotely feels odd to you, you may access TV programs with the Aino as well. In the countries where PlayTV service is available for the Playstation 3,it is possible to view TV shows on the mobile phone.

The Sony Ericsson Aino is a quad-band GSM world phone and tri-band 3G UMTS phone. It comes with GPS, Wi-Fi, MP3 player, 8 megapixel camera, YouTube and Facebook access, Bluetooth, USB, and microSD memory card slot.

Gradually, two mainstreams for smartphones have emerged; products are being designed primarily for messaging or multimedia use. Of course, a multimedia smartphone lets you access email, instant messaging, and Twitter, but not as conveniently as a product specifically designed for messaging. The Sony Ericsson Satio (originally known as Idou when it was forst introduced) is a prime sample of a product purposely designed for multimedia.

The product is quite a multimedia-machine targeted at people who like to take photographs, capture videos and view movies on the phone. The digital camera on the Sony Ericsson Satio has 12 megapixel image sensor. 12 megapixels! In fact, it is a bit difficult to see the point with such high number of pixels because the optics in mobile phones aren't as good as in dedicated cameras. There is simply too little space for large lenses or zoom mechanics. In ane case, Xenon flash helps with low light pictures. Face detection software can automatically focus on a face in the frame.

The front panel of the Sony Ericsson Satio consists of a large 3.5-inch touch screen. There is no physical keypad, only a software keypad that allows typing by tapping the screen. The resolution is 640x360 pixels. If you happen to have your PC in one of the European countries where the PlayNow Movies is available, you can download full-length feature films to the Satio. For the rest of us, there's always YouTube for phones and other sources available.

MP3 player and FM radio provide audio entertainment whereas Facebook connection provides social entertainment. In addition, the Sony Ericsson Sation has A-GPS for turn-by-turn navigation, Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth, USB, PictBridge printing and plenty of preinstalled software for personal information management, gaming, and Internet access.

Two mobile network versions are available. The Satio is a quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 phone and UMTS 2100 with high-speed HSDPA band. The Satioa has the same GSM bands as the Satio but more UMTS bands: 850/1900/2100. The product is available in black, silver, and Bordeaux red. The Satio multimedia phone is built on Symbian OS software, unlike the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 that runs on Windows Mobile operating system software.

Billions of mobile phone users who acquire the cheapest device they can get and don't worry about features too much, probably don't know anything about Taiwanese brand HTC. On the other hand, people who follow high-end smartphones in order to get as many features as possible for their next mobile device, are likely to know HTC's products. The company keeps cranking out stylish and feature-rich products built on Windows Mobile and Google Android software.

The HTC Touch Pro2 smartphone has practically all the features mankind has invented that can be useful mobile devices. It has GPS receiver for navigation applications, Wi-Fi for direct Internet access via hotspots, Bluetooth, USB and TV output. The touch screen is large; 3.6 inches in size and 800x480 pixels in resolution. When the keypad is pulled out, the screen tilt can be adjusted. 3.2 megapixel camera can record video as well. Storage space can be extended with MicroSD memory cards.

The HTC Touch Pro2 is quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G UMTS phone, making it suitable even for a world traveler. The smartphone is powered by WindowsMobile 6.1 Professional operating system software, complemented with HTC TouchFlo touch screen software. Similar HTC products with the Pro2 are, for instance, the Touch Diamond, Touch Dual, Touch HD and Touch Cruise.

There's not much excitement over portable MP3 music players anymore. A gigantic electronics store we recently visited showcased a couple of lonely iPod players on the shelf where tens of different models had been shining two years ago. We believe mobile phones with MP3 player and video viewing capability have managed to take the place of an entry-level MP3 player in the markets. Only media players with additional functionality, like Internet access via Wi-Fi seem to survive the attack of the smartphones. Advanced media players can provide storage capacity, audio quality and screen size that mobile phones rarely can match.

Microsoft has introduced the Zune HD media player which is a worthy competitor to the Apple iPod Touch. The Zune HD provides access to the Internet via in-built Wi-Fi. You can wirelessly download tracks from the Zune music store and view web pages with the included browser application. The Zune HD comes with touch screen that's built on bright OLED technology. The screen is composed of 480x272 pixels, making it a 16:9 widescreen-format display. It is possible to view higher resolution videos on the device, because they are scaled down to fit the screen. The HD (High Definition) label is justified because it is possible to play HD movies from the Zune HD on a HD TV via a AV cable. The Zune HD can only output HD-resolution (the lower resolution 720p) images, not display them on its own screen.

The Zune HD also has HD radio receiver for listening to music chosen by other people. Xbox Live service will feature Zune HD integration. Microsoft's first Zune MP3 player model raised strong feelings because of its design, Wi-Fi capability and recommendation system. Now, the Zune HD has better chances of succeeding because of its wireless Internet access, web browser and TV connectivity.

All heavy users of laptop or netbook PCs who carry their PC around when traveling, working or studying have noticed how quickly the shiny shell collects scratches and stains. It may not be a big deal for a workhorse that's expected to perform its daily duty, but yet, many laptop owners like to purchase an additional sleeve or foam case to protect the unit. We have resisted the temptation to buy extra protection because it inevitably will enlarge the netbook's preciously small size.

Samsung has solved the problem by covering the outer shell of the Samsung N310 netbook PC with rubber-like material. The material also makes it easy to hold the netbook. Rounded corners give the PC a unique look. Those netbook owners who are bold enough to choose blue or red unit instead of traditional black color, have a product that will stand out from the rest. Inside, the keyboard has been coated with nano-sized silver ion powder. The coating creates anti-bacterial protection to the keyboard.

The Samsung N310 netbook PC comes with Windows XP operating system software. Two battery versions are available; a six-cell battery can provide up to seven/ten hours of power and a four-cell battery up to 3.5 hours. The netbook has 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, Ethernet port, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, three USB ports. The 10.1-inch screen has 1024 x 600 pixel resolution.

Just like most corporations, Nokia is tackling the economic downturn primarily by cutting costs. The company is applying three methods; layoff of employees, reducing purchases from contractors, and offering voluntary retirement packages. This is the first time Nokia has offered attractive retirement packages for managers and other knowledge-workers in larger scale.

The first round of packages that was available to 1000 senior-level employees in Finland was so badly wanted that many who hesitated too long, didn't get it. Those who used the opportunity to cash out, received an equivalent of 6 to 15 months salary, depending on the length of their Nokia careers. In May 2009, Nokia employees at the Salo factory were keen to get the packages as well and pushed the top management to offer the scheme to factory workers. It was an instant success, too.

The strategy to let employees decide if they want to go or stay can be regarded a success. Naturally, Nokia will lose talent it didn't want to lose, but that's a small price to pay for the good will and positive brand image created during tough times. Besides, Nokia is still one of the most wanted employees in the world and young talent is continuously queuing up outside the company's door to get ...

A waterpoof digital camera would be fun to have when swimming or diving, right? That's right, but waterpoof digital camera is useful in many other situations as well. The last time we had an opportunity to get onboard on a sailing boat, we didn't dare to pull out our camera at all. Splashing water or rain can easily damage a camera, or any electronics that are sensitive to water. A small, waterproof camera that can be carried along wherever holiday or leisure activities take us sounds like a good idea.

Fujifilm has an extensive range of digital cameras available, but the Finepix Z33WP is the company's first waterproof camera. It is a tiny device, measuring only 92 (width) x 59 (height) x 20.6 (depth) mm / 3.6 x 2.3 x 0.8 inches. You can dive to 3 meters with the camera. The camera has 3 times optical zoom and it can capture 10 megapixel photos. Video recording is available in 640x480 resolution, at 30 frames per second. Movies are stored in AVI format. Fuji has given up the xD memory card format for SD and SDHC memory cards. Low light tends to be a problem when shooting under the water, but the Fujifilm Z33WP allows increasing ISO sensitivity up to 1600 in order to get at least some pictures in reduced light.

Other products for underwater digital photography are, for instance, the Pentax Optio WPi, Sanyo Xacti E1, Sealife Ecoshot or the Aquapac waterproof case.

Many mobile phone owners have discarded paper calendars and phonebooks because maintaining appointments and contacts is so simple on the phone. Some PC users try to manage their calendars and contacts on a PC or on an Internet service. The PC strategy is doomed to fail. We have relied more than 10 years solely on an electronic calendar and our experience indicates that the primary calendar always has to be in the pocket.

Although Google Calendar and Contacts are fine services, they have only been available on the Internet. Not anymore. Google has developed a new service called Google Sync that lets you keep your calendar and contacts up-to-date between your phone and your personal account on the Internet. The service is available for the Apple iPhone, Blackberry, Windows Mobile smartphones and now for Symbian smartphones as well. Installing the service on a Symbian smartphone requires some work because you may have to download and install MS Exchange program to the phone to make it work with Google Sync.

If you are not using Google services for storing your personal information, we recommend Zyb sync service to keep your calendar and contacts up-to-date between your phone and PC.

Ringtones and the capability to download new tunes to a mobile phone are essential for every phone owner. You know how pathetic it is to hear someone's phone ringing the default tune preset at the factory. Wallpapers, background pictures and screensavers haven't been as popular download items as ringtones, but the situation may change with a new service that makes it easy to create and download new pictures to mobile phones.

Pikkoo is an easy to use service for downloading new wallpapers and screensavers to a mobile phone. A wizard guides you through a couple of steps required to design and download a wallpaper. Your phone must be compatible with Flash applications in order to download wallpapers from Pikkoo. The service tells you if your phone is compatible.

If you want to learn how you can get free ringtones for your phone, check out these tips for downloading polyphonic MIDI tunes, this guide that shows you how to extract ringtones from your audio CDs, or how to use the popular Myxer ringtone service for downloading new soundclips.

Nokia was one of the sexiest brands in the world at the end of 1990s. Investors loved the company so much that they quadrupled its share price in two years. Mobile phone shoppers adored the products so much that they made Nokia the biggest mobile phone manufacturer in the world. Nokia management and employees loved the company that made millionaires from those individuals who had received stock options.

In the early 2000s, the dot-com crash returned Nokia back to earth and maybe even a few feet under. Despite the new CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, who returned Nokia to growth path in market share and sales, Nokia's brand image has been showing signs of being out of fashion. It is not the world's trendiest electronics brand anymore, apart from emerging markets, such as India or China.

Brandz Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2009 report ranked Nokia the 13th valuable brand in the world. The ranking was based on monetary values calculated from earnings and expected future earnings for the brand. While it is a remarkable achievement to end up in 13th position, Nokia's brand value decreased 20 percent from the year before.

When Nokia's future is assessed through four scenarios, the outcome of the Brandz report isn't surprising at all.

The first future scenario for Nokia is ...

Ten years ago, a small Scandinavian country got so much attention from the world's leading magazines, newspapers and TV channels that someone may have thought aliens had been discovered. No, it was something real. The media was looking for stories about Finns who had fallen in love with modern technology, and especially, reporters were trying to discover the secret code for Nokia's phenomenal success.

Jorma Ollila, who was the CEO ten years ago, avoided answering the question when Fortune magazine asked him what was the secret behind Nokia's success. Nokia had overtaken Motorola as the world's largest mobile phone vendor, its share price had more than quadrupled, and the company was preparing a new technology that was supposed to bring Internet to mobile phones. Nokia's top management and the Board were aware of the secret formula but were reluctant to unveil it.

Some of the key success factors had been established in early 1990s when Nokia started to change itself into a modern corporation. The logistics crisis in 1995 forced Ollila to take a close look at the company's core competencies. The crisis nailed down the fourth key factor for Nokia's success; cost efficiency. The other three factors were ...

Ask a seemingly simple question "Which innovations have changed people's lives most dramatically during the last three decades?" and you might be surprised about the answers.

The first thought that crosses the minds of many technology, business, media or research focused people might be things like the Internet, the telephone, the computer, the combustion engine, or the electricity. Sure, they are all among the top innovations of all time, but they older than 30 years. Yes, even the foundation for the Internet was developed during the 1960s. Not to mention e-mail as one of its first applications.

The New York Times asked a panel of eight judges from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania what are the "Life changers: The top innovations of the last 30 years"? Sure enough, the learned judges fell into the same trap. Here is the list from Wharton:
1. Internet, 2. PC and laptop computers, 3. Mobile phone, 4. E-mail, ...

Reuters created a buzz in the media and among bloggers when the news agency reported that Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo admitted Nokia was entering into laptop PC business. The news story was even titled Nokia considering entering laptop industry.

What exactly did Kallasvuo say? He was interviewed by a reporter at a prime time current affairs-show broadcast by Yle, the Finnish national broadcaster. Reporter: Will Nokia make mini mobile PCs some day? Kallasvuo: Never say never. Of course, we are actively looking at this business opportunity among other opportunities.

Kallasvuo simply said netbook PCs are an opportunity among many other opportunities. There are hundreds of managers in a high-tech company like Nokia who do nothing else than scan the markets and plan for new businesses. 99.99 percent ...

Many visitors at the Nokia headquarters in Espoo, Finland, are surprised if they happen to spot CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, or another member of senior management having lunch at the cafeteria. The top management is queuing up with everyone else and sharing tables with other lunch guests. Of course, the number of travel days and cabinet lunches reduce the likelyhood of spotting Kallasvuo at the cafeteria, but still.

Now, Nokia's CEO has moved away from his top floor office in the headquarters. He didn't pack and go home, he didn't camp at the airport, but he moved his desk to an open space office on the fourth floor where the other guys are working. "A liberating feeling," said Kallasvuo. Nokia's CEO gave an extensive interview ...