The Samsung SGH-Z510 is a Motorola RAZR lookalike that comes with a QVGA TFT LCD internal display capable of displaying 262k colors, and a 65k color external display. This UMTS handset includes a 1.3 megapixel camera and a MP3/AAC/AAC+/e-AAC+/WMA compatible music player. Although there is no memory expansion slot included in the handset, it does come with 138MB of internal memory, which should be enough for a few pictures and a handful of your favorite tunes. Setting it slightly apart from the RAZR family is the music control keys on the front, though this would probably be more useful in a handset with more storage space. Weighing 98 g, the 97 x 52 x 14.9 mm handset also features a built-in document viewer and an e-mail client.

Tags: RAZR

W950 ultra-stylish UMTS WALKMAN® phone is a dream for mobile music lovers.

The W950 is an ultra-slim, ultra-stylish, UMTS-enabled device with 4GB of onboard storage complete with touch screen for simple navigation through music genres, playlists, individual songs or music albums.

More than a music phone, broadband-fast email and Web browsing plus a suite of high performance entertainment applications add to its capabilities, making it one of the most highly specified phones in the Sony Ericsson portfolio.

The W950’s design will turn the heads of the most avid style aficionados. Its thin, sleek and compact form is finished in Mystic Purple, fingerprint-proof matt with orange accents. The purity of its design is strengthened by the keypad being flush with the surface, and orange backlighting that brings the music keys to life in a stunning, practical way.

The music player within the W950 has the functionality and sound quality of an equivalent standalone device. Its 4GB storage can take up to 4,000 songs and the sound quality, delivered on high quality headphones, makes listening to music a real pleasure. A new graphic-rich interface on the Walkman® player makes it easy to navigate around the music library by song, artist or playlist and now it’s possible to search visually by browsing through album covers using the stylus and touch screen. The W950 has all the benefits of a combined phone and music player, enabling multitasking between listening to music, SMS texting, emailing and browsing the Internet.

Getting music into the W950 is fast and simple and can be done in a number of ways. The supplied Disc2Phone music management software is an intuitive package that handles transfer to the phone of music stored in the user’s PC. UMTS capability also makes the W950 ready for fast direct-to-phone transfers from available operators’ download services.

Beyond music, the W950 is a complete mobile entertainment centre that delivers great speed and exceptional quality sound and vision. Users can now enjoy the complete spectrum of mobile multimedia applications, from web browsing, push email and video streaming to 3D gaming and store-and-share of media files. Besides music, 4GB is enough storage for a wealth of photos, video’s or email attachments in the phone.

Stereo sound through wireless headphones is now possible as the W950 support Bluetooth streaming in stereo. The Bluetooth Stereo Headset HBH-DS970 also announced today and available as an accessory delivers high quality stereo sound through stylish, comfortable headphones.

W950 is the 3rd Sony Ericsson phone based on the new Symbian v9.1 and UIQ 3.0 platform, benefiting from a growing multitude of third party applications. All of these applications are available to download from the Sony Ericsson Application Shop, an online catalogue that is stocked directly by third party developers.

The Sony Ericsson W950 is a Dual Mode UMTS Walkman phone starts shipping during Q3 2006. Regional variations are:

W950i - Dual mode UMTS (2100MHz) - GPRS 900/1800/1900 for Europe, Asia Pacific,Middle East, Africa
W950c - Dual mode UMTS (2100MHz) - GPRS 900/1800/1900 for Mainland China (launch for mainland China dependent on availability of 3G services.)

For full technical specs check the Press Release

Tags: W950, W950i

Enjoy music and movies in real time: The BenQ-Siemens EF91 is the world’s first mobile with HSDPA cellular phone technology

The BenQ-Siemens EF91, a new fascinating camera phone, provides high-speed data transfer and downloads via HSDPA, also offering a 3.2 megapixel camera and a brilliant color display.

BenQ Mobile, the business division of the BenQ Corporation, has just crossed a milestone in mobile devices with the launch of the EF91, the world’s first mobile to carry HSDPA technology. HSDPA stands for “High Speed Downlink Packet Access,” which describes a technology that enables a data transfer speed in the UMTS network that is several times faster than the conventional standard. Now live television, video downloads and mobile Internet surfing can become a high-speed experience on the mobile phone. Thanks to HSDPA, shaky pictures seen during video calls are also a thing of the past.
Using modern multimedia technology, the BenQ-Siemens EF91 brings fun and entertainment to day-to-day communication with friends, family and colleagues. This clamshell mobile combines a high-resolution digital camera and modern mobile phone in one compact device. Precious moments can be captured spontaneously in pictures whilst on the move at any time with the aid of the integrated 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, digital zoom, photolight and camcorder function. Sharing pictures with friends is now easier via the mobile data transfer.

Apart from viewing personal photo and video shots in brilliant quality on the large, 2-inch TFT mobile display (240 x 320 pixels, 262,000 colors), the latest news and stock market prices can also be read conveniently on the Internet whilst on the move. Music and video clips can be downloaded directly from the Internet onto the EF91 equally effortlessly via HSDPA technology. All multimedia content can be stored on microSD cards, which can simply be plugged into the slot provided on the mobile phone. The built-in MP3 music player boasts novel 3D surround sound that makes for realistic sound effects. Various Bluetooth® headsets provide wireless listening enjoyment in stereo sound quality. These include the Headset Bluetooth ® Stereo (EU/UK) HHB-180/181 with remote control functions for the EF91. Moreover, hands-free calls can be made using the light and modern Headset Bluetooth® Clip (EU/UK) 130/131. The cutting-edge technology in the EF91 is also reflected in the top-notch Car Kit Bluetooth® SIM HKW-720.

Exquisite design provides the optical counterpart to the technological capabilities of this innovative luxury class mobile. Its compact, curved shape and shimmering metallic surface visualize the perfect interplay of design and functionality.

The BenQ-Siemens EF91 will be available in summer 2006 in different color variants. Prices will be determined locally.

Press Releases

BenQ-Siemens presents the S81: one of the slimmest 3G phones in the market with full UMTS performance in an award-winning design

Ultra-slim and fully equipped UMTS phone: Captivating because of its classic elegance, the BenQ-Siemens S81 makes mobile telephony even more diverse. At only a slender 13 mm, it is one of the world’s slimmest UMTS-mobiles to offer complete UMTS functionality. It looks so elegant and valuable that it won the 2006 international iF Design Award. The S81 is the ideal mobile phone for discovering the diverse possibilities of mobile communication. A video call function enables calls to be made face to face with friends and colleagues. After all, a look says more than a thousand words.

The special video telephony VGA camera at the front of the mobile phone ensures video calls in brilliant quality. Music in MP3, AAC, AAC+, AMR and WMA formats as well as video clips can be loaded onto the mobile directly via high-quality, UMTS-supported streaming and downloading and subsequently played anywhere and anytime in stereo quality on the integrated media player. The high-quality stereo headset supplied with the mobile offers excellent audio performance. To make multimedia experiences more personal, photos and videos can be taken whilst on the move. Its 1.3 megapixel, camcorder function, 10x digital zoom and LED photolight make the S81 an ideal camera for capturing spontaneous impressions. Pictures and movies are a sight to behold on the brilliant 2-inch TFT display (262,144 colors). All data have sufficient space in the phone’s internal memory or on a plug-in microSD™ card – and can be synchronized with a PC in an instant via the USB DCA-150 data cable.

However, the elegant S81 does not only offer multimedia enjoyment, but is also a trusted companion in daily business life. Via the built-in organizer function, key information can be synchronized easily with an office PC. The S81 enables instantaneous access to current appointments, address data, personal memos and e-mails. The Headset Bluetooth® Comfort (EU/UK) HHB-160/161 (available as an accessory) is particularly convenient for making calls whilst on the move.

The BenQ-Siemens S81 will be available in Q2/2006 in a Black/Silver color variant. Prices will be determined locally.

Tags: S81

Option N.V. has announced the GlobeSurfer HSDPA, the second member within its fixed-wireless product family aimed at delivering wireless broadband connectivity to Small Offices, Home Office and Mobile Office environments.

The GlobeSurfer HSDPA is a fast broadband wireless router that enables the user to establish an instant hotspot with a speed of up to 1.8 Mbps (megabits per second) over an HSDPA connection and share this connection with multiple users.

Designed for ease-of-use, and simplicity of installation, the GlobeSurfer HSDPA is suited to Small Office and Home Office environments where it can be shared by multiple users. Support and remote administration features combined with user-authentication capabilities make it a flexible and cost-effective solution to the challenge of providing reliable and secure data connectivity to Mobile or Temporary Offices.

Tags: HSDPA Router, Wireless router

Samsung is reinforcing its technology leadership with the launch of a new HSDPA handset (model: SGH-Z560) for Europe. The launch of this handset will be combined with Europe’s first demonstration of High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) technology, reaching speeds up to 3.6 Mbps, at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona.

The technologically advanced Z560 for Europe supports 1.8Mbps data rates and comes in an ultra slim design. With a depth of mere 16mm, the handset includes advanced features such as a 2 mega-pixel camera with auto focus, external touch music keys, 30 MB of internal memory and microSD external memory slot. The Z560 is slim yet has a wide display for the convenient use of multimedia functions at a very high speed data rate. It uses a 2.3″ QVGA 262K LCD to ensure a clear, sharp screen image. The Z560 will be available in Europe at 2nd quarter of 2006.

At the end of 2005, Samsung announced the introduction of HSDPA phone for the first time in Europe through cooperation with Vodafone and Qualcomm. Samsung has also demonstrated the industry’s first HSDPA handset speeds of 3.6Mbps at CES in January 2006 and will demonstrate the technology for the first time in Europe at 3GSM.

Samsung’s 3.6Mbps HSDPA handset allows users to download content much faster than on WCDMA or GSM/GPRS networks. For example, downloading a 4MB mp3 file takes less than 10 seconds at 3.6Mbps HSDPA. Demonstration of web browsing, as well as streaming and downloading of content will be held to compare the speed of 384Kbps (WCDMA speed) and 1.8 Mbps HSDPA phone.

HSDPA, a new form of mobile broadband, is capable of transmitting data at speeds up to seven times faster than that of WCDMA. Users can enjoy large-scale multimedia downloads, such as DVD-quality movies and interactive multimedia games, with high-speed wireless Internet access comparable to speeds of fixed-line ADSL services.

SGH-Z560 Specification

• Standard HSDPA 1.8Mbps, EDGE
• 900/1800/1900 MHz + 2.1GHz
• Camera 2 Megapixel Camera with Auto Focus
• Display 2.3″ 240×320 262K TFT (Internal)
• 1.0″ 128×128 65K TFT (external)
• Features Video Recording & Messaging (MPEG4 / H.263 / Real)
• Video Telephony & Streaming
• MP3/AAC/AAC+/Real /WMA
• Dual Speaker / Digital Power Amp / External Touch Music Key
• Bluetooth Technology / USB /PictBridge
• Document Viewer
• 30MB user memory & microSD slot
• Size 97.3 x 51.3 x 16 mm
• Weight 98 g

Via Slashphone

Tags: HSDPA, SGH-Z560

The GSM Association (GSMA) and Intel Corporation today announced an initiative to facilitate and drive the adoption of the GSM family of technologies in laptop computers, to enable users to connect and seamlessly roam across global mobile networks.

The GSMA and Intel will collaborate to develop guidelines for integrating 3G modems and SIM cards into laptop computers, enabling automatic connection to both 3GSM networks and Wi-Fi networks around the world - using the same SIM card technology used by mobile phones today. Some laptop makers have already announced their intentions to offer GSM capabilities, and these guidelines are key to ensure that they can quickly and easily provide these capabilities to laptop owners around the world. The GSMA and Intel will seek to engage organizations critical to market implementation, including mobile operators, PC manufacturers and network infrastructure providers.

“Our goal is to ensure that in future, every notebook will be SIM ready,” said Rob Conway, CEO of the GSM Association. “This development brings the advantages and pervasiveness of the GSM platform to the notebook market, where this year sales of more than 60 million laptops are forecast worldwide. As 3G network roll-outs accelerate across the world, with additional media rich capabilities added through HSDPA upgrades, laptops with in-built connectivity to the 3GSM world will enable PC users to enjoy the full benefits of seamless access to mobile broadband wireless services with secure authentication. The mobile operator community will benefit from significant market and revenue growth opportunities.”

Sean Maloney, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Intel’s Mobility Group, added: “During 2006, many of our customers will offer Intel Centrino Mobile Technology laptops that not only feature built in Wi-Fi technology, but also an internal 3GSM data card and an integrated SIM reader. This will turn the notebook into a real multi-communications terminal, and the SIM into a real authentication vehicle for GSM, GPRS, EDGE, 3GSM, HSDPA and Wi-Fi networks.”

This initiative builds on the work completed within the GSMA, which has laid the groundwork for seamless roaming scenarios between networks of mixed technology infrastructure and the usage of the SIM card to provide Wi-Fi access control and billing. This initiative will focus on developing guidelines to include the GSM family of technologies including the new high speed 3G wireless broadband technology, HSDPA, in laptop computers.