One of the more enduring rumours of recent times is whether the iPhone would be officially available on more than one network in the UK. Those rumours started to gather pace over recent months, with more and more sources suggesting that O2 would lose their exclusive contract on their headline handset, until recently the network that had been touted as the most likely destination was T-Mobile.
As it turned out, the announcement last week was that it would be Orange who had secured release of the iPhone in the UK. Whether the news of the imminent merger between T-Mobile and Orange had any bearing on this is not clear, but the news was greeted with the customary amount of over hyping that is common with the iPhone, and served the marketing department at Apple well, with far more coverage than any amount of money could buy. And, as if that were not enough, Vodafone followed this announcement up the very next day, confirming that in early 2010 they too would be carrying the iPhone 3G and 3G S.
There is still no announcement from either network regarding pricing but what we can hope for is that a general price war will develop between the networks and we should then start to see prices for the iPhone come down to a more reasonable level. Then again, some of the handsets that we could also see released during 2010, and the features they offer, it may turn out that the iPhone is the least of concern to the discerning mobile consumer.
It is not often we mention handsets that can’t be purchased in the UK. After all, why whet the appetite for something when it cannot be satisfied? However, on this occasion we are going to make an exception, as we bring news of the world’s first 12.0 Megapixel cameraphone with a 3x optical zoom! This amazing device offers a Xenon flash and HD video recording at 30 fps, alongside the amazing optical zoom. The handset we are talking about is the Samsung W880 AMOLED 12M. Currently this device is only available in Samsung’s home market of South Korea, but as a hint of what Samsung can offer it is certainly worth taking note of, as there may well be a sister device in the pipeline for European launch in 2010. On top of the camera, the W880 AMOLED 12M boasts a 3.3 inch WVGA AMOLED Capacitive touchscreen, with 4GB internal memory which can be expanded with MicroSD memory cards. The spec sheet on the W880 is mightily impressive, and if this is the level of handset we have to look forward to in 2010, I for one can’t wait. What was that about an ‘iPhone?’
If there is one handset that has been rivalling the iPhone for press coverage, it is the HTC HD2, or maybe that should be Touch HD2? Whatever the name turns out to be, this is going to be a much sought after phone. Due to launch in the UK around mid-October, the HD2 has a huge display, and runs on the 1GHz Snapdragon CPU with 320MB RAM and 512MB ROM. Including a 5.0 Megapixel camera and running on the latest version of Windows Mobile. Already we suspect that the device will be available on O2, and it is now thought we could also see it on T-Mobile, too. We will be taking a more in depth look at the new Windows Mobile platform when it becomes available, with the release expected to be on Tuesday, 6th October.
And talking of updated software, there were two updates of note, an update for all T-Mobile G1 users, bringing their handset firmware bang up to date with Android OS 1.6, known as Donut. The improvements Donut brings include a better organised App Market, quicker loading camera with faster load time between shots and a new VPN feature in the menu system.
Meanwhile, Nokia rolled out a new software update for their new imaging flagship handset, the 8.0 Megapixel Nokia N86. This major update brings Face Detection facility to the camera, as well as improving still and video quality. As well as bringing these enhancements to the camera, the software updates deliver bug fixes to the Music app, updated OVI Maps, as well as fixing Nokia Messaging and the N-Gage client. After installing the new firmware the N86 has more internal memory, and more RAM. For all users of smartphones, it is most important to keep your device up to date with the latest firmware; very often firmware updates will include important bug fixes, as well as delivering improvements, with new features and general updates. To enjoy the smartphone experience to the full, keeping the firmware up to date is vital.
Finally an item that escaped our attention last week, with details about some new earphones released by Sony Ericsson for their handsets, the MH907. Now, whilst we are first and foremost interested in mobile phones, enhancements with intelligent accessories just serve to improve the mobile experience, and the MH907 certainly comes under the category of smart accessory. These headphones are motion activated, and just by simply inserting both ear buds into your ears, the music on your device will start to play, automatically. And, as logic would suggest, removing both earphones stops music playback. If whilst listening to the music you want to pause, just remove one ear bud. You can even answer an incoming call, just by inserting one earphone to take the call. Pretty cool, it has to be said. As mentioned, the MH907 was announced last week, and went on general sale this week, check out the video below.
