Mobile Phone News September 2009

Last week was a busy week in the mobile industry, with lots to catch up on; new handsets, updates, rumours, etc. So, here is our take on the news that people were talking about.

It was a big week for new releases, with plenty of handsets making headlines across the net. The big news came from Nokia, with the Nokia World event happening last week in Stuttgart. It had long been suggested that Nokia were working on a new range of handsets, and what we suspected was confirmed with the announcement of two handsets from the debutant Xseries range. Taking centre stage we saw the announcement of the X6 and X3; the X6 is a power packed music focussed device, bringing a large capacitive touchscreen, 32GB of internal memory and a 5.0 Megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens, whilst the X3 offers a 3.2 Megapixel camera, 3.5mm audio output jack and integrated stereo speakers, amongst others. We fully expect both these handsets to be launching Q4 2009, just in time for the Christmas rush. You can expect a full review on both of these handsets from us shortly.

But that is not all. Nokia also gave confirmation of the Nokia N900, a handset we have already reviewed here. The N900 is going to be a major product for Nokia, running on an operating system called Maemo, which is based on Linux. This media powerhouse has a strong set of features, and caused more than a stir across the web last week. And as if that were not enough, Nokia also confirmed the Nokia N97 Mini, slated for a release in October 09. Main differences from its big brother include a smaller screen, (3.2 inches compared with 3.5 inches) a lighter weight (138g compared with 150g) and smaller internal memory capacity, down to 8GB from 32GB.

But it is not just Nokia who have been busy with new phones; we also have news from Sony Ericsson and LG.

Sony Ericsson has confirmed the forthcoming release of the Xperia X2, expected to be available in Q4 2009. Running on the latest version of Windows Mobile, Windows Mobile 6.5, the X2 carries an 8.0 Megapixel camera, WiFi and offers probably the most comfortable looking QWERTY keypad seen on a mobile phone to date. Very Psion-esque. Unlike the X1, which was manufactured by HTC for Sony Ericsson, it appears the X2 will be a Huawei device. Not a big name in mobile production, Huawei are the major producer of internet dongles used by most of the networks, as well as producing some network own brand mobile phones.

Meanwhile, over at LG, they have confirmed the LG BL40 Chocolate, the latest device in their premium Black Label range. The BL40 is an extremely long device, measuring 128mm in length, and brings a 4 inch TFT capacitive touchscreen and 5.0 Megapixel camera, plus WiFi, and an internal memory capacity of 1GB. At first glance, the BL40 looks more like one of those modern touchscreen all-in-one remote controls, a very unusual look that will take a bit of getting used to.

The news hasn’t all been new devices though. We also had confirmation this week that Microsoft will be launching the latest Windows Mobile OS, Windows Mobile 6.5 on the 6th October. The global launch will allow the many owners of Windows Mobile 6.1 handsets to upgrade their devices and experience the new operating system.

Improvements include a superior user experience, whilst bringing two new services to WinMo products: The My Phone and the Windows Marketplace. Not a lot needs to be said about Windows Marketplace, the name pretty much covers it all. This application base will offer an easy way to add extra functionality to devices by downloading apps straight onto the phone, with apps for services such as Twitter, and Facebook available at launch. The My Phone service also deserves a mention. It offers users an option to synchronise their content to an online server, allowing photos, messages, contacts and music to be backed up on the move.

And lastly this week, news of another addition to the Sony Ericsson Xperia range. Detail on the product remains scarce; the info we have comes from a Sony Ericsson press release, from a business update meeting. The new device, called the Xperia Pureness, will be the world’s first handset with a totally transparent display. Little else is known about the device, although from the press release we read that the handset is designed for “talk, text, time – a holiday from technology” In the rather arty way Sony Ericsson talk about their phones, they further describe the handset being “a work of art” rather than about the technology, a design aiming to “reflect the purity of water and a sense of calmness when not in use” All very intriguing, but we won’t have to wait long to find out more, as the press release further states more information will be available when the handset launches, which is scheduled for November this year. Take a peak at the preview video here.

Nokia have provided us video highlights of the Nokia World event in 2 parts below, providing more insight on their announcements mentioned above.