“Automobiles and telephones, followed by televisions and personal computers, have undeniably changed the world and have greatly shaped the way in which we live our lives,” said Chris Pearson, President of 3G Americas. “Wireless mobile telephony substantially exceeds the impact of any one of these major innovations. In some countries, wireless penetration levels are exceeding 100 percent, as now, not only people, but machines, are connected through GSM technology, available today on nearly 800 networks in 219 countries worldwide.”

Equally noteworthy is the increasing number of 3G subscribers for UMTS-HSPA which has captured an annual worldwide gain of 57 percent in the year ending June 2009, according to Informa Telecoms & Media’s World Cellular Information Service. With 377 million subscriptions worldwide at the end of second quarter 2009, UMTS-HSPA added more than 137 million new connections in 12 months.

Today, there are 49 UMTS-HSPA networks commercially deployed throughout 24 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Worldwide, 277 commercial networks offer HSPA in 116 countries. Additionally, 11 networks have been upgraded to HSPA+. According to Informa, by the year 2012, UMTS-HSPA will reach a milestone of one billion subscribers.

The Nokia N97 is Nokia’s first device to feature a personalizable home screen, which can be customized with a range of widgets which bring live information directly to the device. These widgets include key social networking destinations like Facebook and Hi5, news services like the Associated Press, Bloomberg and Reuters, as well as shopping and weather information. The Nokia N97 is the first device to ship with the Ovi Store, which offers easy access to applications, games, videos, podcasts, productivity tools, web and location-based services, and much more. Ovi Store has paid and free content from a range of global and local content providers and developers, including Paramount Pictures, Facebook and Qik, as well as a selection of Twitter applications.

Specifications:

• Network: WCDMA 900/1900/2100 (HSDPA), EGSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• User Interface:S60 5th Edition
• Dimensions:117.2 x 55.3 x 15.9 mm (L x W x H) *18.25 mm at camera area
• Weight:Approx. 150 g
• Display:3.5 inch TFT with up to 16 million colors (640×360 pixels)
• Battery: Nokia Battery BP-4L, 1500 mAh
• 32 GB on-board memory
• microSD memory card slot
• Video playback:MPEG-4 / SP and MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, up to 30 fps, up to VGA resolution
• RealVideo up to QCIF @ 30 fps
• Windows Media (WMV9) up to CIF @ 30 fps
• Flash Lite 3.0 / Flash Video in internet browser
• Music playback: MP3, AAC, eAAC, eAAC+, WMA
• 5 megapixels camera (2584 x 1938 max)
• Video capture: MPEG-4 VGA (640 x 480) at up to 30 fps
• Flash: Dual LED camera flash and video light
• Talk time:Up to 320 min (3G), 400 min (GSM)
• Standby time:Up to 400 hrs (3G), 430 hrs (GSM)
• Video playback:Up to 4,5 hours (offline mode)
• Music playback:Up to 37 hours (offline mode)
• WLAN IEEE 802.11b/g with UPnP support
• Micro-USB connector
• 3.5mm stereo headphone plug and TV-out support (PAL/NTSC)
• Bluetooth wireless technology 2.0 with A2DP stereo audio, enhanced data rates (EDR)
• GPS receiver with support for assisted GPS (A-GPS)

The video is brief, but shows the Home Screen, and how to edit it. It also shows a privacy feature to clear the Home Screen with a gesture. You can also see a video playing on the N97 in 16:9 (HD) format (video is also recorded in that format, if you want – cool). Finally, you can see how the hinge works (it’s not a slide).

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

[via Nokia]

Specifications:

• Network: WCDMA 900/1900/2100 (HSDPA), EGSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• User Interface:S60 5th Edition
• Dimensions:117.2 x 55.3 x 15.9 mm (L x W x H) *18.25 mm at camera area
• Weight:Approx. 150 g
• Display:3.5 inch TFT with up to 16 million colors (640×360 pixels)
• Battery: Nokia Battery BP-4L, 1500 mAh
• 32 GB on-board memory
• microSD memory card slot
• Video playback:MPEG-4 / SP and MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, up to 30 fps, up to VGA resolution
• RealVideo up to QCIF @ 30 fps
• Windows Media (WMV9) up to CIF @ 30 fps
• Flash Lite 3.0 / Flash Video in internet browser
• Music playback: MP3, AAC, eAAC, eAAC+, WMA
• 5 megapixels camera (2584 x 1938 max)
• Video capture: MPEG-4 VGA (640 x 480) at up to 30 fps
• Flash: Dual LED camera flash and video light
• Talk time:Up to 320 min (3G), 400 min (GSM)
• Standby time:Up to 400 hrs (3G), 430 hrs (GSM)
• Video playback:Up to 4,5 hours (offline mode)
• Music playback:Up to 37 hours (offline mode)
• WLAN IEEE 802.11b/g with UPnP support
• Micro-USB connector
• 3.5mm stereo headphone plug and TV-out support (PAL/NTSC)
• Bluetooth wireless technology 2.0 with A2DP stereo audio, enhanced data rates (EDR)
• GPS receiver with support for assisted GPS (A-GPS)

Press release below:

Nokia today unveiled the Nokia N97, the world’s most advanced mobile computer, which will transform the way people connect to the Internet and to each other. Designed for the needs of Internet-savvy consumers, the Nokia N97 combines a large 3.5″ touch display with a full QWERTY keyboard, providing an ‘always open’ window to favorite social networking sites and Internet destinations. Nokia’s flagship Nseries device introduces leading technology – including multiple sensors, memory, processing power and connection speeds – for people to create a personal Internet and share their ’social location.’

“From the desktop to the laptop and now to your pocket, the Nokia N97 is the most powerful, multi-sensory mobile computer in existence,” said Jonas Geust, Vice President, heading Nokia Nseries. “Together with the Ovi services announced today, the Nokia N97 mobile computer adjusts to the world around us, helping stay connected to the people and things that matter most. With the Nokia N97, Nseries leads the charge in helping to transform the Internet into your Internet”.

Sensing your ‘So-Lo’
The Nokia N97 introduces the concept of ’social location’. With integrated A-GPS sensors and an electronic compass, the Nokia N97 mobile computer intuitively understands where it is. The Nokia N97 makes it easy to update social networks automatically with real-time information, giving approved friends the ability to update their ’status’ and share their ’social location’ as well as related pictures or videos.

Widescreen – Internet and entertainment
The home screen of the Nokia N97 mobile computer features the people, content and media that matter the most. Friends, social networks and news are available by simply touching the home screen. The 16:9 widescreen display can be fully personalized with frequently updated widgets of favorite web services and social networking sites. The Nokia N97 is also perfectly suited for browsing the web, streaming Flash videos or playing games. Both the physical QWERTY and virtual touch input ensure efficiency in blogging, chatting, posting, sending texts or emailing.

The Nokia N97 supports up to 48 GB of storage, including 32 GB of on-board memory, expandable with a 16 GB microSD card for music, media and more. This is complemented by excellent music capabilities, full support for the Nokia Music Store and continuous playback time of up to 1.5 days. The Nokia N97 also has a 5-Megapixel camera with high-quality Carl Zeiss optics, 16:9 and DVD quality video capture, and support for services like Share on Ovi for immediate sharing over HSDPA and WLAN.

The Nokia N97 is expected to begin shipping in the first half of 2009 at an estimated retail price of EUR 550 before taxes or subsidies.

Other features include:

• Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g)
• Built-in aGPS
• AT&T Video Share
• 2.0 Megapixel Camera

The Epix also includes features such as stereo Bluetooth technology, with stereo headset support, a 2.0 megapixel camera with video-capture capabilities, Windows Media Player 10 Mobile and microSD memory card slot for external storage of up to 32GB of data.

The Samsung Epix will be available through select AT&T retail locations for $199.99 with a two-year service agreement and after a mail-in rebate.

Check out the full unboxing photo gallery here

The Samsung Soul has a full metal body with a premium finish and 12.9mm-thin form factor. With Magical Touch by DaCP navigation indicators on the keypad of the phone change according to the user’s needs, making navigation of the menus simple and intuitive. The Soul is also equipped with a 5-megapixel camera with face detection, image stabilizer and Wide Dynamic Range (WDR), as well as a new series of graphic interfaces that provide three different options for users.

Source [idnes.cz] via [engadgetmobile]

A little known company called Elektrobit has come out with a unique phone that could use GSM in the city, 3G or Wi-Fi when you need it, and turn into a satellite phone when take that safari trip. The phone, which was shown at the CTIA show in Las Vegas this week, strangely looks so much like the RIM Bold or a Motorola Q. However, it is actually a Windows Mobile phone. The phone has no visible antenna, it uses a 300 MHz STN 8815 Nomadik chip, has a 3-megapixel camera, and is supposed to get 4 hours of 3G talk time and about 2 hours of satellite talk time.

[via NewLaunches]

Listen the radio on the go and if you’re not sure who the artist is, the W302 has TrackID music recognition which will give you all the answers. Use the two megapixel camera to send picture messages to your friends and upload images to your W302 blog site using the picture blogging function.

The W302 Walkman is a GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 phone that will be available in Midnight Black and Sparkling White in Q4 2008.

The W302 at a glance

• Walkman player
• FM Radio
• 2 megapixel camera
• Java
• WAP 2.0 XHTML
• Bluetooth
• USB mass storage
• USB support
• Size: 100 x 46 x 10,5 mm
• Weight: 78 grams
• Screen: 2-inch 262,144 colour TFT
• Resolution: 176×220 pixels
• Phone memory: Up to 20MB
• Memory Stick Micro (M2) support
• Talk time GSM: Up to 7 hrs
• Standby time: Up to 300 hrs
• Music listening time: Up to 10 hours

More photos at next page

Just as the W902, the new W595 slider walkman phone also features a 2.2″ bright display screen. The retail package will bundle with a 2GB Memory Stick Micro (M2) and a stereo share jack so you can listen in from an additional headset.

The W595 Walkman is a UMTS/HSDPA 2100 and GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 phone that will be available in selected markets in Active Blue, Cosmopolitan White, Jungle Grey and Lava Black in Q4 of 2008. The W595c/W595a Walkman phone will support GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900.

W595 features at a glance:

• Walkman player
• 2GB Memory Stick Micro (M2)
• Share jack and stereo speakers
• Shake Control
• Bluetooth
• TrackID and SensMe
• 3.2 megapixel camera 
• Java
• FM Radio
• Access NetFront Web Browser
• Dedicated music keys
• USB mass storage
• USB support
• Size: 100 x 47 x 14 mm
• Weight: 104 grams
• Screen: 262,144 colour TFT
• Resolution: 240×320 pixels
• Size: 2.2 inches
• Phone memory: Up to 40MB
• Memory Stick Micro (M2) support
• Talk time GSM: Up to 9 hrs
• Standby time GSM: Up to 385 hrs
• Talk time UMTS: Up to 4 hrs 30 min
• Standby time UMTS: Up to 365 hrs
• Video call time: Up to 2 hrs 30 min
• Music listening time: Up to 25 hrs

More photos at next page