Motorola's Droid

Motorola is introducing its Android 3G Motorola Droid, using Android 2.0 with a capacity of social networking etc and back in the race. Add in a slide-out Qwerty keyboard, 5 megapixel camera, improved browser, Wi-Fi, and A-GPS with sat nav capability, and things are looking very interesting at Motorola.

It's solidly put together though, weighing in at a surprisingly heavy 165g for its 60 x 116 x 14mm dimensions. The weight is partly due to its metal casing, which features a rubberised coating on the back to prevent it sliding around on smooth surfaces.

The large screen sits above a touch-sensitive Android menu bar with back, menu, home and search buttons, while the sides sport a volume rocker, blingy gold-coloured camera shutter button and micro USB power/sync slot, with a power/lock button and 3.5mm headphone jack on top.

The slide-out Qwerty keyboard is nice and thin, but found it just a little bit disappointing. It has four lines of good-sized keys with a large D-pad on the right. Yet, even though the keys are slightly raised, they're not as easy to find under the thumbs as recent models from Nokia or HTC.

Japan handheld with Intel Atom chip debuts

The Japanese electronics maker Sharp along with Willcom announced the ultra-mobile Willcom D4 "communication device" based on Intel's Atom processor and Microsoft's Vista operating system.

Microsoft and Intel were also credited with development of the device, according to the Japanese-language release on the Sharp Web site.

The handheld-size device uses a 1.33GHz Z520 Intel Atom processor and runs Windows Vista Home Premium (with Service Pack 1). Other devices this size--which are also referred to as mobile Internet devices or MIDs--have also been shown running the Linux operating system.
With a separate headset, the device can also be used as a phone using Wilcom's Personal Handy-phone System (PHS) network, both Sharp and Willcom said.

The device weighs in at 470 grams (about one pound) and features a 5-inch sliding LCD (1024x600/262K colors) with an LED backlight, a 1.8-inch 40GB hard disk drive (Ultra ATA/100), 64-key QWERTY keyboard, a built-in camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a mirco SD card slot, and a USB 2.0 slot.

The D4's inclusion of a 40GB hard disk drive is an indicator that the device is meant to run Windows--because of the operating system's typically larger footprint--not Linux.
Intel Atom technology includes a single-chip with integrated graphics called the Intel System Controller Hub.

Atom will find its way into fit-in-your-pocket MIDs from Gigabyte, Toshiba, LG Electronics, Lenovo, and BenQ, among others. Netbooks (inexpensive, Internet-centric ultra-small notebook PCs) such as Asus's popular Intel-based Eee PC, MSI's Wind PC, and Clevo will also use the chip.

Willcom D4 is slated for a June release and is expected to be priced at 128,600 yen ($1,272)

Nokia confirms 'iPhone killer' handset

Nokia has confirmed that it’s developing a touchscreen-equipped handset to take on the Apple iPhone, and has shown off pictures of the upcoming phone to drooling onlookers.

The Finnish giant’s handset is code named 'Tube', and Tom Libretto, VP of Forum Nokia, said the device will be the company’s “first touch device”. Given the codename, it's fair to suggest Nokia sees it as a mobile video platform. And with the DVB-H mobile digital TV standard now starting to gain momentum, Tube will probably be a handheld telly too.

The device looks like the iPhone’s long lost twin, except for a Nokia logo stuck underneath the handset’s earpiece. The Tube’s display doesn’t look as wide as the iPhone’s, but appearances can be deceptive. Nokia's design also lacks the iPhone's 'home' button. Unconfirmed reports suggest Nokia's would-be iPhone killer will run on the Symbian S60 platform.

Bluetooth, Nokia unite for wireless watches

New technology may pave way for communication through small devices:

NEW YORK - The consortium behind the Bluetooth wireless standard announced that Nokia Corp., the world's largest maker of cell phones, is contributing a technology that promises to bring the wireless connections to devices that are too small for regular Bluetooth chips.



The technology, called Wibree, opens up the possibility of a host of small wearable gadgets, like watches, heart rate monitors, pedometers and pill boxes that communicate with Bluetooth-equipped cell phones or computers. A watch could display the user's incoming text messages, for instance, or an action figure toy could sense the presence of other toys.

Wibree has a lower data rate and much lower power consumption than Bluetooth, which is in widespread use as the interface between cell phones and wireless headsets. That means smaller batteries that don't have to be charged often, unlike Bluetooth headsets.

Nokia, which is based in Finland, started developing Wibree in 2001, and announced the technology in October last year. It formed a Wibree Forum with other companies to license and exploit the technology, an effort that will be subsumed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, which includes about 8,000 companies.

"Our members have been asking for an ultra low power Bluetooth solution. With Nokia's innovative development and contribution to the Bluetooth specification with Wibree, we will be able to deliver this in approximately a year," said Michael Foley, director of the Bluetooth SIG.

The decision by the Bluetooth SIG to embrace Wibree validates Nokia's technology, but it also means the Finnish company is giving away the results of a multiyear development effort as Wibree will now be licensed royalty-free. Such a move is not uncommon in the technology field _ Sweden's LM Ericsson developed and then gave away the original Bluetooth technology in the 1990s, calculating that widespread and fast adoption would allow the company to benefit more from its leadership than it would from a licensing scheme.

Nokia had been looking to turn Wibree over to an open standards group from the beginning, said Harri Tulimaa, Nokia's head of technology out-licensing. The move will help ensure Wibree will be deployed as widely as possible, he said Tuesday.

There is already a Bluetooth watch, sold under several brands, that vibrates in response to incoming calls on the user's Sony Ericsson phone and shows the number. However, because of the power-hungry Bluetooth chip and vibration function, the watch is large and heavy and requires charging every few weeks. Foley said Wibree should enable a wireless watch that's powered by a button cell that only needs replacing once per year.

Devices with Wibree chips will not be able to communicate with existing Bluetooth-equipped devices, according to Foley. However, future Bluetooth devices could relatively easily and cheaply be upgraded to include the ability to talk to Wibree devices, since the technologies use the same frequencies, and no new antenna or radio components would be needed.
By Peter Svensson, June 12, 2007