Fone Arena

You people may have seen a lot of leaked shots and information about the Windows Phone 7 device, and we notice that all the devices comes with a full touchscreen display, and there’s no portrait QWERTY keyboard like we saw on Blackberry devices i.e Blackberry Bold 9700. During an interview with Silicon, Microsoft’s Paul Foster told them that:

WP7 devices will have one of two screen resolutions – either 800 x 480 for large touchscreen devices with the potential for slide-out Qwerty keyboards, or 480 x 320 for 'BlackBerry' style handsets that can incorporate a Qwerty on the front of the device. Microsoft expects the majority of WP7 devices to have the larger screen resolution at launch, with smaller resolution handsets coming later.

So finally we have some words from a Microsoft official. If you are a Blackberry lover and want to move to Windows Phone 7, then don’t worry because soon you will see a Blackberry-type device. Redmond guy also say that Microsoft will bring the first WP7 device during the holiday time.

Read

Microsoft will launch Blackberry style WP7 handsets ©, .

• Microsoft Pink Live-To Be Announced Tomorrow!
• Microsoft holding a press conference in UK, WP7 coming to USA in November ?
• Microsoft Menlo Prototype Phone
• No tethering in Windows Phone 7, says Microsoft
• “Series” Gets Chucked. Windows Phone 7 is the New Name

HTC is one of the leading mobile companies in the world. We all know that HTC love making awesome, sexy and reliable devices, HTC Desire and Nexus One are great examples. HTC has big dreams, because this year they are planning to ship 7-8 million smartphones in Q3 2010, and around 9-10 million in Q4. HTC is really have some big plans, because HTC is actually going to launch some good Android and Windows Phone 7 devices later this year, which will be a great boost to their sales. HTC is currently known as the leader in Android phones, and HTC-made Windows powered phones are also famous, especially the HD2. So folks we are going to see some strong performance by HTC in 2010/11. Do you think HTC can reach their milestone? Tell us !

Read

HTC set to ship 7-8 million units in Q3, 9-10 million units in Q4 ©, .

• HTC Sense UI for Windows Phone 7 leaked !
• HTC Merge showing up in Verizon inventory, new Android smartphone?
• T-Mobile myTouch3G for free on a 2yr contract
• HTC Confirms Upcoming Windows Mobile 7 Phones!
• Vodafone UK: Android 2.2 for HTC Desire is coming out in 7-10 days

Words are going around that the Google Voice app is coming to Apple App store in a few weeks, and it’s already approved by Apple, which means that the app will be available in the market in a few weeks. On Android, we know that Google Voice app is very popular, and it is known as the one of the best apps in the market. There are unofficial paid Google Voice apps in the App Store, and I am sure that Google will launch the GVoice for free, which is actually a bad news for the developers who developed the paid app. So who’s looking forward to official Google Voice app?

via TechCrunch

Google Voice officially coming to Apple App store ©, .

• Paid Android apps coming to more countries
• Google bring paid apps to 13 more countries
• New Version Of Google Voice for iPhone and Palm WebOS Released
• Android 1.6 SDK is now available for download
• Google Open Handset Alliance and Android is official

It’s more than a week now since i returned back home from London, after 4 days that were the awesomeness of Nokia World. What you’re about to read are some of my personal Impressions, not of the Devices yet as i plan to pack this into a separate post. What’s left of my days in London? a TON of great memories, a bunch of friends who i finally met in person and a huge cold.

Anyways, whenever i heard about the date and location of Nokia World 2010, i was sold. London is roughly 2 hours away from me by airplane, so its an easy deal to fly over. A first WTF moment appeared when Nokia announced that the Ticket for the 2-day event will cost you the fortune of € 700,–. Okay, i get the point that NW would be even more packed when it’s free, but 700?? eesh. Anyways, i was lucky enough to get invited by Nokia Austria directly (thank you so much Stephanie!!), so that was sorted out. Flight booked, Hotel booked, here we go!

My Friend Roman, who runs the austrian S60 Inside Blog scored an Invite from WOM World Nokia, so i didnt even have to fly alone. We met up in Vienna, at an unmercyfully early 3.15 in the morning and drove to the Airport Vienna. Checked in, Bags dropped off, Adapters bought, and we were on our way. Over in London i was lucky, the driver who picked up Roman agreed to take me with them. So I ended up at Roman’s Hotel, with literally no idea which direction my hotel was. When i finally ended up in my Hotel, i directly bumped into my Friend Nirave, who i met already in January this Year, when Hell was in London. lol. The second guy who i met was Dan Carter aka WorldofNokia. Now let me tell you a few words about Dan: I met this Guy for the first time back in Las Vegas, when we were both invited to the CES Event. He was the Guy i spend the most time with over there, and exactly 3 years later, Dan even took the time to travel to London with me and spend some quality time there. Dan Carter has gotten a very very good Friend for me throughout the years, so it was especially nice to meet him again and spend some great days with him. After some chill out time at the hotel room, i met Dan downstairs to have a snack from where we headed directly to the Nokia Meetup.

The Nokia Meet

I can’t deny that this was the Thing i was looking forward to the most. Throughout the Years, the focus on why i am a Nokia Enthusiast switched from “having the most awesome device in the Universe” to “being a part of THE best community on this planet”. If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I love to have conversations and chats with everyone that shares the same love for Nokia like i do. Having seen Micky’s gigantic List of Attendees, i was giddy like a little Kid for this Meetup. It’s funny where it went from the initial “N9 Meetup”, that was just 9 of us. I don’t know any Numbers, but i’m guessing we had more than 70 bloggers, developers and even Nokia People in the 1000Heads Office. Good Times.

I wanna start off with 4 People i really really missed at the Nokia Meetup: First of all, my 2 friends from India, Founder of this Site, Varun and of course Clinton Jeff. CJ was invited, but couldnt make it due to Visa Issues. This was solely Nokia’s fault, as they invited him way too late so he couldn’t get his Visa sorted. Another big Nokia flaw was the invitation of Rita El Khory, who was apparently invited – but no one bothered to tell her. And last but not least was Steve Litchfield. I know Steve for such a long time now, but never had the privilege to meet him in person. With the help of James Whatley, we at least had the opportunity to talk to them shortly via Skype, with their Video projected on the big screen. The big smile on the faces of Rita and CJ told the story!

The Rooms filled up quickly and an hour later, the 1000Heads office felt like walking through a Walk of Fame of the Nokia Blogosphere. Not only my Friend Roman, but also the likes of Jay Montano, Simon and Mike from Mobilefanatics, Vaibhav who blogs at the Handheld Blog and spent some great Time in London, my long time Friend Sergejs aka @_nexus, Mr. Paul Grayburn, Gareth aka NokiaGeek aka PoliticsPenguin, Devin Balentina from the Nokia Guide, Rafe Blandford and Ewan from All About Symbian Fame, Richard aka Sheridan01 of Only Fools and Mobiles, my Friend Jon Choo who also blogs here at Fone Arena, Stefanos from the greek pestaola Blog, Dani from Daily Mobile, Steven Jon Smith aka “The Hoff”, Albert of the german Mobile Living Room, Mr. Ben Smith of the really mobile Project (finally!), … The List goes on and on and on. I was also very happy to see People from Nokia in the House. Not only i had the privilege to introduce Stephanie (Nokia Austria) to some of my favourite bloggers, i also met Saara and Jussi-Pekka who work at Digital Marketing at Nokia who are just awesome guys!

A very special mention goes to one person though, a man who i know for years and years, but never met him. He already attended last years Nokia World, where i wasn’t. He came down from Finland and put his heart and soul in this event, and most of all, in this meetup. The person i’m talking about, is of course Micky Aldridge aka @Mickyfin. It was Micky’s initial Idea to meet up prior to Nokia World, without this spark, the whole event would have never happened. It was my pleasure to finally meet Micky and he was exactly like i imagined: a very humble, passionate guy, honest about what he does and how he thinks. Very happy to say that i finally meet Mickyfin

Another two special mentions go to the following Developers: first, there was Brett Butterfield from Pixelpipe. In case you live under a rock, Pixelpipe is a fantastic all in one sharing tool. It started off as a simple image and video sharing Application, but became a lot more nowadays, even including updating your Status on social Networks. A man that knows a thing or two about Social Networks was the second guest, Mr. Gravity himself, Jan Ole Suhr. Jan arrived in London and found himself surrounded by loyal Gravity Fans throughout the Evening. He was very kind to everyone and took time to answer all of our questions. Two very nice Chaps!

Last but not least, i wanna say thank you to the ever awesome 1000heads crew! As usual, the guys really did a lot of work, not only planning the whole Nokia World, but also helping us out with Space, Food and Drinks at the Meetup. We had Skype, Power and a ton of Fun! James, Donna, Katie, Frank, Lydia, Paul, Simon, Chris – thank you so much for everything!!

So to wrap up my Thoughts about the Nokia Meetup, i only need one word: awesome! Fellow bloggers, Nokia People, 1000heads crew and developers that are in charge for some of my all time favourite apps – how much better can it get?

All the Pics above and a ton more, can be found as usual on my Flickr Set: Nokia World 2010 – Day 1: Meetup!

Nokia World 2010 – Part1: #NokiaMeet! ©, .

• Tons of pics from the Nokia Meet at WOMWorld / 1000 Heads
• Breaking : Nokia at HTC Event in London
• Secret Nokia Event in London and FoneArena will be there
• Our Quest to Get to The Good Things in London – Day 1
• What’s inside the Nokia Box ?

Galaxy Tab is for sure one of the hottest devices in the market, and a lot of people are looking forward to it. In USA, we know that every major carrier is going to get their own Samsung Galaxy Tab. AndroidGuys is reporting that AT&T is the first one to begin training its employees for the sale of the tablet. They also got some information about the price of the data plans which is going to hurt your feelings a little bit if you are planning to get the tablet.

The data plan will cost:

• $15/100mb for 1 day
• $30/300mb for 7 days
• $50/1gb for 30 days

Isn’t that too much? Because if you are using an iPad on AT&T, then you are paying only $25 for 2GB only, which means you are saving a good money on iPad plan. I hope this is not true, but if it’s true then we are going to see a lot of people dropping the Galaxy Tab. I hope AT&T will clear it soon !

AT&T data plan leaked for Samsung Galaxy Tab ©, .

• Verizon Wireless 2010/11 roadmap leaked
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• HTC Android Tablet due in Q1 2011
• Samsung working on a 10-inch tablet, coming out in Q1 2011

Who wants a phone on a contract for only a penny? I know everyone does. Amazon is offering some phones for only 1 penny like the HTC Aria and Xperia X10. But if you are looking for an Android phone on Verizon which is good enough to blow you away, then you better look at the Samsung Fascinate. Amazon is now offering the Samsung Fascinate for only 1 penny for new customers, and if you are eligible for upgrade then you can get it for $99. Fascinate is a one good phone, and we all know that it’s a Galaxy S model, and Galaxy S is currently one of the hottest and sexiest phones in the market. So if you are planning to move to Verizon, then you better look at the Fascinate over at Amazon.

via Android Central

Amazon offering Samsung Fascinate for $0.01, only for new customers ©, .

• Samsung Fascinate now available online !
• Rogers launching Samsung Galaxy S in Canada
• Samsung Galaxy Q specs leaked
• The overview of Samsung Galaxy S family [Video]
• Cellular South launching Samsung Galaxy S soon

Amazon is one of the most popular online retailers in the world. Amazon is also known by it’s Kindle and Kindle apps, and we all know that Kindle is an e-reader, and it’s also very popular. Amazon is now launching their own Android App store, so if you want to become a developer for Amazon you have to pay fee of $99 and Amazon will pay you a royalty equal to the greater of 70% of the purchase price or 20% of the List Price as of the purchase date. After that, rumors are on the road that Amazon is making their own Android powered tablet. Sure they can, because they are interested in making gadgets i.e Kindle. Rumors heated up because of the Amazon Android App store, so may be we will see an Amazon Android tablet with their own Android App store later this year or next. Nothing is confirmed at the moment, so take it as a rumor. Stay tuned with us, we will find it out soon !

via TechCrunch

Amazon launching their own Android app store, also launching an Android tablet? ©, .

• Amazon to bring Kindle app to Blackberry Playbook
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• Is the Apple Tablet a King Size iPhone ?
• Dell teases 7-inch Android powered tablet

Anyone looking for a White HTC Desire or a Silver HTC Wildfire in UK? If you really want one then let me tell you that you can get your White HTC Desire or Silver HTC Wildfire from Mobile.co.uk. Wildfire is only available on Orange, where HTC Desire is available on other carriers too. If you want to pre-order one, then you can head over to Car Ph0ne Warehouse (White HTC Desire or Silver HTC Wildfire). Both phones are really sexy, and as you can see the White HTC Desire in the image above, it looks really clean and better than the original color. Well, if you are not interested in HTC Desire, then you better look out for HTC Desire HD or Z.

via UV

White HTC Desire and Silver HTC Wildfire now available in UK ©, .

• HTC Wildfire hitting India soon!
• HTC Desire Black Edition Confirmed
• HTC Desire HD coming to Australia via Vodafone and Three
• Orange rolling out Android 2.2 for HTC Desire
• HTC Desire HD and Z priced !

Canadian mobile carrier Telus is currently considering on mid-end Android devices. As we know that Telus recently launched the LG Shine Plus, which is a mid-end Android device. And now Telus is launching another device, the Samsung Galaxy Apollo. Samsung Galaxy Apollo is actually an affordable version of Galaxy S, and we all know that Galaxy S is one expensive device. If you are interested in Galaxy Apollo, then you can get it from Telus for CAD$49.99 with a 3-yr contract, or for CAD$149.99 for 2-yr and for CAD$199.99 for only 1-yr. If you are not interested in contracts, then get it for CAD$249 without contract. Galaxy Apollo comes with following features:

• Android 2.1
• 3.2 inch HVGA touchscreen display
• Swype virtual keyboard
  
• 3.5mm headset jack
• Stereo Bluetooth
• 3MP autofocus camera
• 2GB memory card in the box
• HSDPA, Wi-Fi, and GPS

So who’s getting a Galaxy Apollo from Telus?

via UV

Telus launches the Samsung Galaxy Apollo ©, .

• Samsung Galaxy Apollo coming soon to T-Mobile UK!
• Telus launches the LG Shine+
• Samsung Launches Android-Powered Galaxy Portal In UK
• Bell launches the Samsung Vibrant
• Samsung Galaxy Tab accessories

T-Mobile recently opened pre-orders for the T-Mobile G2, and they told us that they will bring it out on October 6th, which is still 8 days away. Folks over at TmoNews managed to get some shots of the phone and its packaging. The device is already landed in very few stores, but they are not selling it. All I can say is that the G2 is an awesome device, and it will be also good for T-Mobile future, because T-Mo customers were waiting for this device from a very long time. So folks, TmoNews got more than 20 shots of the phone, so don’t forget to watch them, and please share your thoughts.

HTC T-Mobile G2 appears in T-Mobile store ©, .

• Android 2.2 coming to Telus HTC Desire in October
• HTC Sense UI for Windows Phone 7 leaked !
• T-Mobile G2 to be the first T-Mobile HSPA+ Android smartphone?
• T-Mobile will start taking pre-orders for G2 from tomorrow, releasing on October 6th
• Orange rolling out Android 2.2 for HTC Desire

Tweetdeck have released its social client for Android which includes Twitter, Facebook, Google Buzz and Foursquare. The Tweetdeck client is still in beta stage but the experience it gives is so nice. Lets have a look at it in detail in the review below.

When you start the tweetdeck it displays the login page where you can configure your social accounts. Twitter and foursquare can be configured via the above form whereas the Facebook and Google Buzz takes you to their corresponding websites to grant access to the tweetdeck.

Note: If you have already used tweetdeck in desktop you can login to tweetdeck to sync all your accounts.

After the tweetdeck is configured it starts to fetch tweets from your timeline, your @mentions and DM’s. Normally these three columns are displayed. You can also add columns from your facebook feed, buzz and foursquare. The updates are shown in main timeline with a colour difference of each feeds.

Black Color for Twitter Updates:

Dark Blue color For Facebook Updates:

Light Blue Color for Foursquare

Dark Red Color for Buzz

The status update window in Tweetdeck allows you to update all your accounts at once.

You can attach pictures from the inbuilt gallery or from the camera. Currently the pictures are auto uploaded to yfrog we hope tweetdeck will be bringing other image uploaders in the upcoming version. You can also attach your location in the tweet .

When you click a tweet it shows you the common options like reply, retweet and make it as favourite.

Clicking the downward arrow button brings you the menu where you can share, translate, copy, copy the url in tweet. When the tweet consists of picture it is auto loaded in the same window.Likewise when a tweet contains the geo location it opens a mini map in the tweet window.

If the tweet was a conversation you can click the conversation button to see the list of tweets.

When you click the “+” sign on the tweetdeck it takes you to the column page where you can insert facebook,buzz and foursquare columns.

When you click a facebook or buzz feed it opens a window where you can like that feed and comment on it.

When you click a foursquare checkin it displays option to shout at the location, add a tip and view map.

Tweetdeck settings:

In settings you can refresh, access column settings , change the text size and access accounts. In column settings you can change the update time of every column and change the vibration and sound notifications.

Tweetdeck notifies the updates in the notification bar for easy access.

We encountered force close in tweetdeck sometimes we hope those problems will be resolved in future releases.

TweetDeck Beta For Android Review ©, .

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Here is a new advertisement/video released by Nokia. It title says it’s the original Nokia NSeries vision- Mobile Computing.

The video is shot in a very interesting and funny style with good thumping background music. The video showcases the human beings of 2010 and says it’s not what technology you have but how you use it that matters.

We think it is related to the Nokia N9 which will be running the MeeGo OS. So we could expect an announcement pretty soon. We think Nokia will be trying to push for a release in December for the Christmas season to maximise sales.

Watch the video here.

Nokia Teases Us With Mobile Computing Video ©, .

• Leaked Nokia MeeGo OS Demo
• MeeGo Handset might look like this
• Official Meego Release for Nokia N900 in the works
• Nokia N9 MeeGo UI might look different
• MeeGo v1.0 for Netbooks is out , coming to handhelds soon

Here are some official photos of the Sony Ericsson Live View and as you can see it’s pretty small and the size of a wristwatch.

It can be clipped on or worn on the wrist like a watch.

It shows incoming SMS, Facebook updates.

People on the road and adventurers would love it

Climbing a rock and want to see who’s calling you ? There might be a solution to that !

Sony Ericsson Live View Photos ©, .

• Sony Ericsson LiveView – Wireless Micro Display for your Android Phone
• Bluetooth watch MBW-100 from Sony Ericsson
• Sony Ericsson W810 EDGE Walkman
• Philips Tapster
• Atomic Pico Bluetooth Dongle – Can it get any smaller ?

Sony Erisson has announced a cool new accessory for Android phones called the LiveView which is a wireless micro display for your phone or in other words a custom remote control. The device connects to your phone via Bluetooth and displays information on it’s 1.3 inch color OLED display. You can also control your music player on the phone and mute the ringer using the device.

It is compatible with Sony Eriscsson’s XPERIA X10 range  and the HTC Desire and Samsung Galaxy S, yes the last two devices are mentioned on SE’s site.

It can display incoming messages ,  phone number for calls , facebook updates , twitter updates, rss feeds

Watch the Video of the Live View micro display below

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN2qoA0FfHQ

It does remind us of the new iPod nano but sadly this accessory is not a touchscreen device but has buttons for it’s operation. It charges via microUSB and it comes with a clip and wristband in the sales pack.

Price is not revealed but if its sensibly priced , we are going to grab one for sure !

Press Release

Sony Ericsson LiveView™ micro display with remote control functionality mirrors the activities of your mobile phone
London, September 28th 2010 – Today sees the announcement of the Sony Ericsson LiveView™. This innovative accessory is another step in Sony Ericsson's commitment to help consumers get the very best mobile phone experience through the open Android platform. The Sony Ericsson LiveView™ is part of the Sony Ericsson Extras portfolio – a division which offers a total product experience and enhanced mobile possibilities.

The Sony Ericsson LiveView™ uses Bluetooth™ connectivity to wirelessly pair up to a compatible handset and allows consumers to control the phone without taking it out of their pocket or handbag. Read text messages, see incoming calls and keep up to date with the latest news on Facebook™ and Twitter™.
The Sony Ericsson LiveView™ allows the user to control the Sony Ericsson music features of the handset from the micro display, selecting tracks and controlling volume. The product also serves as a calendar reminder, displaying calendar events and other phone applications.

Whether on the go, in a meeting or out for dinner, the convenient Sony Ericsson LiveView™ can be clipped anywhere. Attached in a watch strap, on a keychain or clipped to a laptop, the micro display allows the user to incorporate the product into their lifestyle and always stay connected.

Mikael Henriksson, Head of creation and offering planning at Sony Ericsson Extras, said: "It is our ambition to be THE Communication Entertainment brand and this includes being the most open mobile phone brand on the market. We believe in openness and offering consumers a wide range of applications to choose from. We will continue to develop accessories to ensure we play a major and groundbreaking role in the market and design innovative and exciting accessories for all platforms, including Android."
Mikael Henriksson continued: "The Sony Ericsson LiveView™ is the first Sony Ericsson accessory to be compatible with the open Android™ platform which gives developers an opportunity to be creative and develop the next must-have innovative application."
Your window to your world with Sony Ericsson LiveView™
Micro display device that mirrors the phone
Tunes on the go – control music
Don't miss out – Get instant notification and readtexts, Tweets and Facebook™ updates
Incoming calls – see who is calling
Make it mine – open platform for developers to add to the large collection of applications for a unique experience
To find Sony Ericsson LiveView™ enabled applications, Sony Ericsson has developed the Sony Ericsson LiveWare™ Manager application. It will scan Android™ Market for Sony Ericsson LiveView™ enabled applications and present them to the user. The Sony Ericsson LiveWare™ manager will be available from Android™ Market, or come preinstalled in phone bundles.
The Sony Ericsson LiveView™ will be available in stores from Q4, 2010.
The Sony Ericsson LiveView™ is also available in one of the Sony Ericsson Experience Packs. An 'Experience Pack' is a package of several related components that together create a great user experience in a certain area. The packages include mobile phone applications, accessories, services and much more. The "Sony Ericsson Fitness Pack" is aimed at sports and fitness enthusiasts. It contains a sport application for the Sony Ericsson LiveView™ -- The SportyPal™ Pro – and a carrying case for your mobile phone – ideal for exercising.
The first 'Sony Ericsson Experience Pack" will be available in selected markets in Q4.

Sony Ericsson LiveView -- Wireless Micro Display for your Android Phone ©, .

• Sony Ericsson Live View Photos
• Bluetooth watch MBW-100 from Sony Ericsson
• LG Watch Phone now in India for Rs.49990

Nexus one got OTA update FRG83 which updates the Android Version to 2.2.1. The OTA update is 3.9mb in size. The OTA update comes with important bug fixes and security patches. The notable security fix is Google have disabled the one click root in Nexus One. The OTA update is having issues with swype and other third party keyboards. This update is only  for those running the latest  version of Android 2.2 (build FRF91).

Goto Settings>About Phone, and select System Updates to check whether the update is available for your Nexus one too.

P.S: You will lose the Root when you install this OTA update.

Nexus One Updated to Android 2.2.1 ©, .

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• Froyo for Vodafone Nexus One coming out in few days!