Here’s a sampling of the iPod nano’s video quality. The 5th gen iPod can now play video and we’re wondering why this was the stark limitations given to such a powerful device. According to a friend, it may seem that today’s generation is a YouTube generation and photos may seem to be a thing of the past. Taking photos was reserved for camera phones while videos, in their relevant complexity is saved for more interesting devices such as the Flip … or the new iPod nano.

The new iPod nano’s video camera is honestly a bit oddly placed, but oh well. It’s still an Apple. And we know it’s going to sell.

Post from: Cellphone9

Compatible devices include:

• All iPod/iPhone models
• Portable DVD players
• Mobile phones with video output
• PCs and laptops*
• Televisions
• DVD/Blu-Ray players
• Portable media players

Post from: Cellphone9

To celebrate the launch, they are holding a contest. Anyone on Twitter can use the #12cast hashtag to win a year’s worth of data service for their iPhone, completely covered by 12seconds. Check it out!

[photos c/o iTunes Store]

Post from: Cellphone9

If the Chinese phone manufacturing market boosted their global marketing, they would come up with hit phones such as this one. We’ve seen the fake Nokla phones being scattered throughout Asia so here’s part II of the scenario. Though the label says that it runs on Windows Mobile, well, it doesn’t. But there’s every right to brag about this device which a friend showed me last week.

The phone comes with a built in antenna that receives television broadcast signals. What it basically is – a phone with built in local television. Though the quality isn’t very spectacular, it still is pretty decent to become engaged in your favorite soap opera or football game when you’re commuting.

The portable television concept has been introduced months ago with the advent of DVB-H technology. These phones (mostly Nokia) must run on a subscription plan and cost a little bit on the steep side. This particular China unit doesn’t need any subscription and it costs less than USD $300.00.

The unit comes with Bluetooth and a stylus for a touch screen user interface. Funny, I actually forgot the name of the unit

Post from: Cellphone9

The trick is to make them cheaper. The Nokia N77 is the second phone from Nokia to come with an internal DVB-H antenna. This module allows you to receive a mobile television broadcast. So there really seems to be a market for mobile television as mid range phones such as these boast mobile television in the stead of a WiFi signal.

I guess phone users would find a better use for passive entertainment while on the commute. It does make sense. Between watching television on the train vs. surfing the net, I’d do the former. This is the couch potato generation of the modern day!

Post from: Cellphone9

Back in 2001, the “in thing” was having a mobile phone with Bluetooth and a personal digital assistant. The latter allowed you to keep schedule, listen to music and view photos while your phone simply allowed you to send away text messages. You could sync both devices wirelessly, and this was the beginning of how the industry juggled OTA sync tools. My personal favorite config was the Nokia 6310i with the Palm m515 and a Bluetooth SDIO card.

Now, Apple had just announced the iPod touch, a niche market product that heavily capitalizes on the iPhone sans the calling and camera features. You can use it to browse the Internet via WiFi and watch music and videos. With the coming of the iPod touch, is Apple slowly trying to bring back the dawn of device pairs once more? But then, before you even try to answer that, I’d like to dare a suggestion – is Steve Jobs trying to revive the Apple Newton?

The Apple Newton was a PDA device that was too early and advanced for its time. It was so advanced, CNET did a feature on how it fared against a Samsung Q1. UMPC. It was scrapped and replaced for more consumer friendly products like the desktop Macs, Powerbooks and iPods.

In 1997, Palm had a 66 percent market share, Windows CE had 20 percent, and Newton just 6 percent, according to market research firm Dataquest. At the height of its popularity, only an estimated 200,000 Newtons were in use.

Apple finally killed the Newton in February 1998 after Steve Jobs returned to the company, even though fans demonstrated in the parking lot of Apple’s Cupertino campus. Apple officials gave them coffee and cookies but refused to resurrect the device. [source]

Here is why I think the Newton revival can be a possibility. Apple’s core competence doesn’t have anything to do with mobile phones and the telco industry. Amidst the hulabahoo of the exclusivities with AT&T and the unlocking phenomena of the iPhone, Apple stands to win more market share by releasing an iPhone that does more without the calling feature. Leave the phone manufacturing to the Nokias and the BlackBerry guys and concentrate on coming up with “Apple-centric products” (no more dealing with third parties). This seems to be the direction of two other companies: the Palm Foleo (the next version) as well as the ASUS eee.

Flames, anyone?

Post from: Cellphone9

I’m in Singapore! Although the Nokia Go Play event ended several hours ago (we took a post event trip to Equinox, a bar located at the highest peak of Singapore), there are a lot more things happening tomorrow. In the meantime let me give an overview of what took place today as Nokia launched several new products and services.

FOUR NEW PHONES
Although the news has been out in the blogosphere for quite some time, Nokia officially announces the coming of four new phones for the fourth quarter of 2007. This would include the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic, the Nokia 5610 XpressMusic, the Nokia N81 and the new Nokia N95 Black Edition.

The Nokia 5310 is the newest affordable music phone that brings forth the ultra slim line to Nokia’s stable of products. The Nokia 5610 is also a music phone that features an integrated hardware slider button for ease of use in browsing through playlists, the media player, the gallery and the main phone menu.

The N81 is the new top of the line music phone that features a new user interface (more on this in a succeeding post) and a walloping 8GB of memory.

The black edition N95 is a well thought of improvement to the previous model. It now houses 8GB of memory, has a bigger 2.8 inch screen, better battery life and TV out.

NEW SERVICES
Nokia has launched their new service called Ovi which is basically a portal by which consumers can experience the full circle of multimedia, Web 2.0 and gaming all in one portal. These specific services include the Nokia Music Store, Nokia Maps, and the N-Gage service. Ovi also aims to integrate with popular Web 2.0 applications such as social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, online video services like YouTube and other popular online community services like Digg.

NEW USER INTERFACE
Nokia has revamped their user interface for their new line of Nseries phones. Though the current line of phones still make use of the familiar S60 or S40 menus, Nokia has identified key areas by which consumers are most inclined to categorize their mobile life. The new UI is accessible via a dedicated button allowing you to browse through wireless connectivity and Internet features, music, video and pictures, gaming, and phone functions.

Post from: Cellphone9

With a bumped up 3MP camera, Pantech has decided to include a PictBridge add on so that you can print directly from the device. Four channel speakers (front stereo and back stereo) are included with the unit for digital playback.

A DMB receiver was also included in the device making the U410 a thick brick reminiscent of the SEGA Game Gear. Belt clip advised.

Post from: Cellphone9

Though some other countries already offer digital TV via the Internet, Planet Japan has come up with a way to broadcast digital media via radio airwaves, and not through satelittes or the Internet.

But the new service in Japan, which is free, will potentially reach the broadest market yet through the country’s terrestrial digital broadcast system, which relays images through the air via TV towers, not satellites.

It also uses broadcasting air waves, rather than an Internet connection, to relay streaming video.

[source at Yahoo! News]

Post from: Cellphone9

For such a small device (roughly the size of my thumb), I wonder when a 1.18″ OLED widescreen can be augmented for maximum viewing pleasure. A widescreen that’s roughly the size of half of my thumb you say? Haha!

The good pluses is that the Vidz is packed with an FM tuner and more importantly, a voice recorder. The version I got to tinker with was only capable of 512MB so if you do plan to get one, opt for the higher capacity ones.

Pros
I had no complaints with the music quality. You can change EQ settings on the fly with a dedicated button and some settings augment the bass to comfortable thumping level. Nice. It’s also Mac-mountable.

Cons
The JPEG display feature leaves me wanting for more. There really isn’t much you can do with the picture viewer, plus most huge images take some time to load.

If you are thinking of getting this player, then do so for the sake of music and for the voice recorder. The video-playing and picture viewing features are so-so.

Here’s a short 3GP video I took. Doesn’t really do justice given the cameraphone I used, but it’s still a worthwhile view. Check it out.

[Creative]

Post from: Cellphone9