Opinion: How the Google-Motorola deal will spawn a new OS

This week I’m at a convention of analysts from the major firms who cover mobile phones devices. Most of the major names are here and, as you might imagine, much of the discussion is on the acquisition of Motorola Mobile by Google. While I don’t want to imply that all of us are in agreement — we seldom are — a theme has emerged in terms of consensus Android as an open OS is pretty much done. Google is now on the path to becoming much like Apple, with Android as an integrated solution. This could actually improve the quality of future Android phones, but it is also creating a substantial demand for something to take its place.

Android is dead, the Android Phone is born

The first part of this growing consensus is that by buying Motorola, Google made it nearly impossible to sustain relationships with the other licensees. This group of mostly mobile phone companies largely either didn’t adopt or abandoned Symbian after Nokia bought it, and avoids with a passion supporting any common platform that is tied to a competitor. It simply puts them at too great a disadvantage. Nokia actually went farther than Google is going to create separation between Symbian and its handset business, and it clearly wasn’t far enough.

New app Instagram allows mobile phones to create artistic photographs

London, Aug 21(ANI): Now, you can also create artistic photographs from your mobile phones which could then be shared with friends on a social network focused on photos - thanks to a new application called Instagram.


Launched in October 2010, Instagram is an iPhone app that makes it easy to add effects to photos and share them with friends. It added a social element to a trend that was already well developed: adding pre-determined effects and filters to mobile phone photographs.

ET Review: LG Optimus 3D P920 with eye-popping visuals

For some people, 3D is just a gimmick that is worth little more than the odd look. It definitely has no place on a mobile phones. LG, however, thinks differently. The new Optimus 3D is not really the first 3D phone - the Spice M-67 offered 3D without glasses almost a year ago -but it certainly is the most muscular handheld device we have seen offering 3D. It is bulky (11.9mm thick) and at a hefty 168 grams, is not the lightest phone in town. Although built mainly of plastic, it feels solid to hold.

The front is dominated by the large 4.3 inch display with four touch keys for menu, home, back and search. On the left side are HDMI and micro USB ports and on the right is the volume rocker and a key which many might assume is a camera key, but is actually the key that lets in the 3D magic. A 3.5 mm audio jack and the screen/power on-off button are on the top of the phone. On the back is the dual 5.0-megapixel camera module with a single LED flash.

Motorola DROID Bionic MAP leak shows $299.99 price tag kicking off September 8th

Seems like we can't go more than a day or two without another Motorola DROID Bionic latest mobile phone leak, huh? Today we've got the image you see above, showing that the Bionic has been given a minimum advertised price (MAP) of $299.99 by our friends at Verizon. That means that we'll likely see it slapped with that price tag when it arrives. Speaking of arriving, the Bionic's MAP is taking effect on September 8th, meaning that that's likely the day that the handset will hit stores and this whole saga can finally end. Oh, and if you're not the commitment type and are planning on picking up the Bionic for full retail next month, the folks at Droid-Life have heard that it'll be priced at $589.99 sans contract.

Xperia mini Pro

The Sony Xperia Mini Pro (Not to be mistaken for the X10 Mini Pro), is the keyboard equipped version of the Xperia mini that lanced last week. With so many Mini’s out there from Sony Ericsson it can be quite confusing especially considering the Mini Pro was code named “Mango” for the last few months. So just to be clear the Xperia Mini range is a small version of their popular Android powered Xperia smartphones. Rather then the usual format of adding numbers or letters to signify an upgrade Sony Ericsson have dropped the X10 from the newest model and is simply called Xperia Mini Pro. Hopefully that clears up any confusion over the name.

So now that we’re sure this is in fact a latest mobile phone, what does it have offer? Well for a small Android handset it’s got a pretty powerful processor. It’s main competitor the HTC wildfire S comes with a 600 MHz processor and is no slouch with a very smooth and responsive menu system.

Visa Unveils Plan to Speed Adoption of Mobile Phone-Based Payment Systems

Visa Inc. (V) unveiled plans to encourage U.S. retailers to shift to checkout systems that let consumers pay using their mobile phones, as the biggest payment network aims to jump ahead of rivals and curb credit-card fraud.

The company said it will let merchants that switch to credit-card readers supporting so-called EMV technology forego costly annual security certifications. Starting in 2015, it will also stop requiring banks to reimburse most merchants for some types of credit-card fraud, which can be prevented by using EMV systems, Visa said in a statement yesterday.

Zen Mobile appoints P Vignesh as Brand Manager

Zen Mobile has roped in P Vignesh as Brand Manager. He replaces Smarth Bansal, who used to look after the marketing division. Prior to this appointment, Vignesh was Brand Manager at Bates 141, where he used to look after the Zen Mobile account.

Vignesh has five and a half years experience in the industry and had started his career in advertising with a short stint with Dentsu Marcom – Middle East, where he was handling the Honda Motors account.

Maxx Mobile to launch 40 new handsets by March 2012

MUMBAI: With an aim to increase its share in the domestic mobile phones handset market, home-grown Maxx Mobile plans to launch up to 40 more models this fiscal, a top company official said.

"We plan to launch around 40 models by March, 2012. We will be launching four models in the next quarter in the smartphone series.

LG Prada K2 makes a quick appearance on video

Last month we were treated to our first peek at the LG Prada K2 in the form of a leaked render, which was nice at the time, but you know what's better than an image? Video. And that's precisely what the folks at Pocketnow got their hands on today. The clip is a tad blurry and rather short, but it does offer up another look at an unannounced smartphone, and that's good enough for us. You can check out the full video below.

Is the BlackBerry Bold 9900 priced out of the consumer range at $349.99?

We have been waiting to see RIM release the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and I was seriously considering the mobile phone device to go along with my PlayBook, but if the pricing shown in this leaked T-Mobile document is true then it looks like I am not going to be joining the BlackBerry community anytime soon. $349.99 before the $50 mail-in rebate (can’t these things just die?) with a 2-year contract is crazy pricing on a phone that runs a slightly modified version of an old OS and IMHO cannot compete with iOS, Android, and Windows Phone devices.

When a consumer can pick up the latest and greatest smartphones at their carrier store for $199 I don’t know why they would even consider the Bold 9900 at $100 more. I wonder if RIM is giving up on consumer market with the Bold 9900 so they can price some of their other upcoming BB OS 7 devices down in the $199 or less range. I know the initial cost of a smartphone is not the defining cost and has little effect on the contract cost that we pay here in the US, but it is a mental thing and does offer a comparison point with other smartphones. If it does launch at $199 with a contract and in the $400 off contract price, then I still may consider one.

Sony Ericsson Xperia neo: Review

Sony Ericsson has a lot riding on the Xperio neo, which arrived in Australia late last month. It’s the company’s most recent top-of-the-line handset, with a focus on an all-round great performance.

Design

Sony Ericsson has invested a lot of time in making the Xperia neo as sleek and modern-looking as possible. Colour-wise, and the neo comes with a (very) dark blue metallic tint, that in most light really comes across as being black. Interestingly, Sony has opted to make the standard Android back, home and menu buttons at the bottom of the front of the device physical — they’re not touch-sensitive like on most other Android phones coming out at the moment. Depending on your preference, you’ll either love them or hate them, but they match the style of the phone and the chrome look is suitable with the dark blue backing.

MAXX unveils MS727 Dual-SIM Mobile Phone

MAXX mobiles, one of the booming mobile companies in India has launched another dual SIM phone. Priced at Rs. 3,395, the MAXX SOUL MS727  comes with dual standby features and touch and type functionality.

If we go into its features and specifications this budget phone comes with a 2.4 inch QVGA touch screen display, 1.3 mega pixel camera, FM radio with scheduling, MP3 and WAV audio player and MP4 &3GPP video player and Bluetooth.

How to get the most out of Android phone

Choosing an iPhone is easy: do you want black or white? Buying an Android phone is more challenging, but potentially more rewarding. Google’s operating system can now be found on dozens of mobile phones, not to mention tablet computers, e-book readers and even television.

Whether you’re looking for a palm-spanning multimedia powerhouse or just a compact, competent smart phone, there’s an Android handset for you. But not every Android phone is created equal. A good place to start is to look at the version of Android a phone is running. Anything running version 1.6, 1.5 or — we shudder to think of it — older won’t be able to run many of the latest, shiniest apps, such as Google Maps Navigation.

Maxx Scope MT150 touchscreen phone arrives in India‎

MUMBAI: Maxx Mobiles has launched a touch phone 'Scope MT150' in the Indian market.

The multi-touch sleek handset is equipped with 2.8-inch touch screen, 1.3MP camera, FM radio and supports MP3/WAV/MP4/3GPP audio and video player format and is powered with 1000mAh battery. The Java enable handset integrates WAP, Opera mini browser, Yahoo launcher, Yahoo mail, Yahoo Messenger, Facebook and Twitter.

BlackBerry to launch Bold 9900 in India

NEW DELHI: If you are a BlackBerry fan eagerly waiting for their latest handset, then here comes some great news. Research In Motion ( RIM) has confirmed that their latest smartphone, BlackBerry 9900, will hit the Indian stores in the second week of August.

Just after the launch of Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Maxx launches another touchscreen phone

MAXX mobiles has launched new touch and type slider phone MAXX SOUL MS727. This is a dual SIM phone that has full metal body. The touch screen lets you access the multimedia features easily and the keypad is convenient for typing.

Nokia, still a market leader

According to the latest quarterly report issued by research firm IDC (International Data Corporation), the global mobile phone market grew by 11.3% year over year, as in second quarter of 2011 were delivered, worldwide, 365.4 million units – compared with 328.4 million units shipped in the second quarter of 2010.

But the figures were below predictions of the company, aimed at an increase of 13.3% for Q2 – lower than the growth of 16.8% recorded in 2011.

Are dual-core phones really worth your cash?

There was a time we used to brag about computers which had dual-core processors. Now it's the case with mobile phones. Dualcore phones seem to be the flavor of the season. And despite their Rs 25k+ price tag, there's no dearth of people lining up for the latest toy. In fact, Samsung's much awaited sequel to their hugely successful Galaxy S - the S2 - sold out within hours of its launch. A friend tweeted that he finally got his hands on the elusive toy after picking up one online. He had been to three metro cities that week but returned empty-handed.

The incident brought up the moot question - do we need such a powerful phone? While it's okay to go gaga over the cool multimedia features and multi-tasking abilities of all three phones in this segment - first off the block LG Optimus 2X P990 and the HTC Sensation provide the S2 company - what is the basic use of a mobile phone? To stay in touch and make our life easier.

Nokia Remains World's First Maker of Smartphones

The worldwide mobile phone market grew 11.3% year over year in the second quarter of 2011, despite a weaker feature phone market, which declined for the first time since Q3 2009. Nokia Corp. remained the top maker of mobile phone despite of major losses of the market of smartphones.

According to the International Data Corp. (IDC), vendors shipped 365.4 million units in Q2 2011 compared to 328.4 million units in the second quarter of 2010. The 11.3% growth was lower than IDC's forecast of 13.3% for the quarter and was also below the 16.8% growth in Q1 2011.

RIM improves social experiences through BBM 6

I haven’t personally owned a BlackBerry smartphone for long enough to get into the whole BBM craze, but understand it is quite addictive and I did enjoy it when I was using an eval BB for the last few months and if RIM ever releases the Bold 9900 I may get one for myself. Tonight RIM announced BBM version 6 with greatly expanded social functionality that lets application developers integrate a BBM experience into their apps and services.

As you can see in videos on the BlackBerry Blog you can chat with friends on BBM within games, use Foursquare to check in and then notify a friend via BBM that you are there, and even share apps with friends via BBM 6.