Telmap, the world leader in mobile location solutions, today announced the introduction of Telmap Active Interface – a new Graphical User Interface (GUI) engine that works across all mobile operating systems currently available on the market. The development, which is the first of its kind, sees Telmap using a Lightweight User Interface Toolkit (LWUIT) from Sun Microsystems as the base technology for the GUI’s core elements. This in turn offers users the first unique cross platform GUI engine to provide the ultimate experience available on mobile devices. [source]

I guess what I’m really after isn’t how the phone works in the back, but what appears out in front for the user to enjoy. So correct me if I’m wrong — regardless if its running on Symbian or Windows Mobile, this UI is supposed to integrate seamlessly as per however the developer wants. Since it’s light, it shouldn’t lag.

Correct?

Post from: Cellphone9

If you ask me, if they want a complete redesign, Motorola Mobile Division should change their name. I mean, why not? They won’t be having any responsibilities towards the mother company. And guess what? Everyone will know that they are Motorola anyway. It may be all marketing. It may be hype, but an identity change is something Motorola needs to do to bring home the notion that they want a fresh start with already great successes in the market. They have good products – the ROKR logo has been tweaked to spell a serious music lifestyle niche for instance, and Moto needs to make an even bigger impact if they want to get back in the game.

Post from: Cellphone9

“The leading cause of death among fashion models is falling through street grates.” – Dave Barry

Alas, when the time comes where I will have no more use for my mobile phone, I will bid it farewell and cast it into the bowels of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly in Russia. It’s true!

“The reason we selected the world’s biggest magnetic anomaly is not just for environmental reasons to minimise the potential electromagnetic radiation impact of a large number of mobile phones buried in one location”, said Ruslan G. Fedorovsky, Mobile Funs newly appointed Head of Mobile.”…There also is an interesting, although controversial idea increasing in popularity amongst Russian mobile phone users that over time, some personal electromagnetic ‘zen’ becomes trapped inside old mobile phones. [Press Release]

For an extra fee, your mobile phone can send you one last SMS before it is cast into the deep. Oh, the drama. I wonder if the service will be extended towards other pieces of hardware as well – servers, desktops, etc.

And maybe then, with the combination of magnetic energy and man-made circuitry, this will lead to the rise of the Man vs Robot war.

Post from: Cellphone9

I was sent over a HUAWEI CDMA-based C228s phone, aptly known as the “Bayan wireless landline.” With GSM being the primary network used for mobile phones in Asia, CDMA still has its niche. In the Philippines, the wireless landline concept has become a favorite among vendors and stall owners that don’t have access to a landline.

There are of course arguments about how a wireless landline is a step back in technology – isn’t a “wireless landline” really just a mobile phone? Why repackage the concept to make it more appealing? There is a lot of truth to this, as the landline can even send SMS and browse the Internet. I would want to say though that the “perks” of the technology necessitate cheaper rates. For one, paying a flat rate per month gives you unlimited call capability to other same network wireless landlines. Data is also a lot cheaper although I personally have not tried the service quality. You may want to proceed here for a more detailed user review of the wireless landline.

In the photos are the contents of the CDMA HUAWEI mobile phone with FM tuner. In terms of features, there’s nothing really spectacular about the unit apart from the fact that it is very light and small. I tried using the phone to make several calls and the signal is highly dependent on the area of coverage you reside in.

Is the wireless landline a step back in technology? Maybe. But there is still a strong niche when it comes to this service. For business owners that don’t want to rely on mobile phones for their shop keepers, this is a good alternative. This leaves me with several questions:

Is CDMA obsolete in other parts of the world? So is it all about the rates then? In your country, how do other telcos rebrand themselves to meet market expectations? Would love to hear from you.

P.S. Though this only applies to where I’m from, the rates are listed here.

Post from: Cellphone9

So you’ve always wanted to be Darth Vader. You’ve probably done this several times – walk up to a motion sensitive door and flick your hand as the glass door slides open. Well, Windows Mobile 7 does exactly that. No, not open doors – but the built in camera does more than take your photos. The camera is motion sensitive, allowing you to make simple hand gestures to execute a few basic commands.

This is rather interesting as the iPhone as well as other phone manufacturers are slowly taking the accelerometer route ala Nintendo Wii. Windows Mobile is begging to do something different. It’s too early to say anything now – remember the critics that put down the Wii’s motion sensitive concept – they may be eating their words.

Read more about this development here.

Post from: Cellphone9

A few days ago I released a survey on your cellphone wish list for the holidays. As of today, December 13 2007 we have had 60 votes divided among 8 phones. The Apple iPhone is ranked at number one followed by – now this is a surprise – a three way tie with the Nokia N82, Sony Ericsson P990i, and the BlackBerry Pearl. We also have significant votes for the HTC Touch. Interesting to note are the phones with the three way tie – these are all enterprise phones for the more “mature” consumer.

Does that say something about this blog’s readers? Hehe. I’ll be reporting the poll update regularly till the holiday comes and see if there are changes. Vote away!

Post from: Cellphone9

Was sitting in at a panel discussion last night for an informal eCommerce thing in Manila, Philippines. My co-panelist JC Medina of Level-Up Philippines was talking about a new Level-Up Gamer SIM card. For those not in the loop, Level-Up is probably the brand name of gaming in Asia as they hold the franchise of RF Online, Ragnarok and here in the Philippines – over 80%-90% of the gaming industry.

So back home, where we have the most awesome and crazy cellular network offers, Level-Up launches the LU Gamer SIM card. What it does is offer value added services for LU gamers. Guild messaging, server announcements, “conduit” J2ME games whose results are synced with Ragnarok are jsut some of the neat features.

So really, the business model here is really simple. Since Level-Up is affiliated with telco SMART, it really is just another way to grab market share. Getting the young ones to shift from Globe and SUN Cellular to SMART …

Nice move!

Post from: Cellphone9

Here are a few things up for the testing grounds according to the devs:

* New Portrait QVGA UI designed for remote controls
* New Universal driver for Windows SideShow that supports USB and Bluetooth communication
* New Simulator that uses the Universal driver
* New user switching UI for devices operating in the assigned user mode
* New Bluetooth menu commands
* Support for Danish, Finnish, and Norwegian languages

Gee. Although SideShow works with mobile devices with two screens, there has to be a way to link it up to your mobile phone to view pertinent information. Since SideShow uses gadgets, I guess an upgrade to the WM OS would allow support for these.

Post from: Cellphone9

In the new version of Google Maps, a new feature caled “My Location” is aims to simulate GPS by showing you approximately where you are currently located. The feature is compatible with most mobile phones — but ironically enough, not with the iPhone, that has by far the best implementation of Google Maps.

Post from: Cellphone9

This was the rather wild video of dancing girls and such other moderated frivolity that spun the night during the Nokia Red and Black party. The event was held in Manila, Philippines for the launch of the Nokia 5310 Xpress Music Phone. Check out Nikka Abes’ dress!

Post from: Cellphone9