Vodafone and HTC Corporation have announced the HTC Magic smartphone, Vodafone’s first Android-powered mobile, which will be available in the spring. The introduction of the HTC Magic is the result of a successful relationship between Vodafone and HTC, and Vodafone’s joining, late last year, of the Open Handset Alliance.
“Delivering an unbeatable mobile internet experience for our customers is a priority for Vodafone, so we are very excited to be introducing our first Android-powered smartphone in the spring,” says Patrick Chomet, Global Director of Terminals, Vodafone Group. “Following our joining of the Open Handset Alliance, we have worked very closely with HTC to bring this cool new phone to the market. Our customers want to access a wide range of the most attractive mobile devices to help them make the most of their time – the HTC Magic helps meet that need.”
“The HTC Magic embodies the compact style and sophistication for which HTC has come to be known, with the powerful and intuitive internet experience for which the Android platform was designed,” says Peter Chou, president and CEO, HTC Corporation. “We are proud of our partnership with Vodafone and excited about making the Android-powered HTC Magic available to Vodafone customers in Europe.”
“The announcement of the HTC Magic is an important step for Android and the Open Handset Alliance,” says Andy Rubin, Senior Director of Mobile Platforms atGoogle “With it, Vodafone is opening up the mobile web for consumers across Europe and giving more third-party developers a platform on which they can build the next wave of killer applications.”
The HTC Magic has –
a 3.2-inch QVGA touch screen display
Features a trackball and navigational buttons for quick, easy access
Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate
Handwriting recognition
MicroSD card support
Wi-Fi, 3G, EDGE/GPRS
Bluetooth only for mono headset, USB (mini)
3 megapixel AF camera
GPS
The HTC Magic includes a variety of email options such as Google Mail, POP3 and IMAP. In addition, Android Market allows for quick and easy downloading of games and applications utilizing Vodafone’s network.
The new handset is exclusive to Vodafone in the UK, Spain, Germany (Black) and France where it’s available in White. It’s also going to be out in Italy on a non-exclusive basis in both colors – Black and White. Customers can ensure that they are the first to receive information about the HTC Magic’s availability, pricing and pre-ordering by registering their interest via their local Vodafone website from today. Full details of availability and pricing will be available in the future in local Vodafone markets.
Nokia and Skype announced plans to fully integrate Skype into select Nokia devices. Kicking off with the Nokia N97, Skype will be part of the address book in the device. This will enable users to easily see when their Skype contacts are online. It’ll also enable them to use 3G and Wi-Fi to make and receive free Skype to Skype voice calls.
Scott Durchslag, Skype’s Chief Operating Officer said “Collaborating closely with Nokia to preload and integrate our software onto their devices will benefit the many Nokia customers who already use Skype, as it makes Skype easily accessible and simple to use on the go. It will also bring Skype new users who love Nokia’s Symbian Series 60 experience.”
This is in no way a new concept. Skype for mobile, across platforms is very easily available for free. Of course there are also plenty of alternatives like Nimbuzz or Fring. However the integration of the service and application into a handset as part and parcel of its UI and make-up should enhance it’s usage and make things a little simpler in terms of access and functioning of the same.
Meanwhile Jose-Luis Martinez, Vice President, Nokia N-series said “With more than 400 million Skype users worldwide, the integration of Skype on Nokia N-series mobile computer is a significant step in bringing converged internet experiences from the desktop to the world’s most advanced mobile computer.”
Skype will be rolled out on other devices after the Nokia N97 goes live in the third quarter. New Nokia N97 devices will have it pre-installed, whilst early versions will be able to get it through a software upgrade. Other select N-series devices are also likely to come with integrated Skype functionality which includes Skype contacts, Chat, VoIP and Presence.
Nokia and Skype announced plans to fully integrate Skype into select Nokia devices. Kicking off with the Nokia N97, Skype will be part of the address book in the device. This will enable users to easily see when their Skype contacts are online. It’ll also enable them to use 3G and Wi-Fi to make and receive free Skype to Skype voice calls.
Scott Durchslag, Skype’s Chief Operating Officer said “Collaborating closely with Nokia to preload and integrate our software onto their devices will benefit the many Nokia customers who already use Skype, as it makes Skype easily accessible and simple to use on the go. It will also bring Skype new users who love Nokia’s Symbian Series 60 experience.”
This is in no way a new concept. Skype for mobile, across platforms is very easily available for free. Of course there are also plenty of alternatives like Nimbuzz or Fring. However the integration of the service and application into a handset as part and parcel of its UI and make-up should enhance it’s usage and make things a little simpler in terms of access and functioning of the same.
Meanwhile Jose-Luis Martinez, Vice President, Nokia N-series said “With more than 400 million Skype users worldwide, the integration of Skype on Nokia N-series mobile computer is a significant step in bringing converged internet experiences from the desktop to the world’s most advanced mobile computer.”
Skype will be rolled out on other devices after the Nokia N97 goes live in the third quarter. New Nokia N97 devices will have it pre-installed, whilst early versions will be able to get it through a software upgrade. Other select N-series devices are also likely to come with integrated Skype functionality which includes Skype contacts, Chat, VoIP and Presence.
It’s been a while since Nokia has been in the news but that could also be because of LG’s KM900 and Samsung’s plethora of handsets making their way to MWC. Nokia has in fact announced an addition to their music range of handsets – the 5630XpressMusic.
This candy-bar styled, rather simplistic looking handset runs on a Symbian OS with an S60 UI and is equipped with –
a 3 megapixel camera AF camera (LED flash)
2.2-inch TFT LCD (240 x 320 pixels)
N-Gage Gaming
MicroSD card support (up to 16GB)
3.5mm earphone socket
Wi-Fi
EDGE/GPRS, 3G (HSDPA)
Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0
FM radio with RDS
Apart from these, the 5630 will also feature Nokia’s ‘Say and Play’ function that will let users simply speak the name of the song or artist and the handset will locate and play the track. This handset is also bundled with Nokia’s ‘Comes with Music’ tag where it’s available already.
The Nokia 5630 XpressMusic’s new tweaked homescreen shows the Contacts Bar that allows direct access to up to 20 friends or business contacts straight from there and provides a full communication history with these contacts including recent emails, messages, phone logs and photos shared. A shortcuts bar at the bottom of the homescreen also gives quick access to the most frequently used applications including music, radio, Web, N-Gage and photos. This is all very similar to the 5800’s but in a more confined space of course.
The Nokia 5630 XpressMusic should start making its way to shelves by the second quarter of this year with a price tag of about Rs. 12, 575 (200 EURO) exclusive of subsidies and taxes and a bundled 4GB microSD card.
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If you’ve held back that urge of yours to buy a PS3, your wait has finally paid off! Sony has launched the 80GB PS3 in India, which comes bundled with a copy of Resistance 2 and boasts of a pretty decent price tag of Rs. 25,990.
And here’s what Atindriya Bose, Country Manager – Sony Computer Entertainment had to say, “The introduction of high definition gaming and entertainment systems among the Indian audience is a result of extensive research into the entertainment needs and preferences of the next generation of PS3 owners. It has allowed us to deliver an extremely advanced, yet incredibly affordable High Definition gaming and entertainment system which has resulted in creating an entire new dimension to the overall entertainment experience.”
