Sony Alicia Clamshell Walkman Rumor

The C905 Shiho from Sony Ericsson is an extremely useful 8.2 megapixels camera, which, if treated nicely with a decent voice plan will also work as a phone. I guess the phone thing is optional. What we see in these leaked pictures (see below also) might be the next Walkman from Sony, the Alicia, which will also might work as a clamshell phone when you aren’t listening music to it.

I like the exterior and I imagine that circle will offer some walkman controls. As for other specs we’ll just have to wait one more week or two when the Alicia, and possibly the Shiho will be announced.

Which one do you prefer? I would choose the camera power of the Shiho over the musical abilities of the Alicia.

via se-nse

Mozilla Will Go Firefox Mobile

Firefox Mobile Concept Video from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.

This is a happy day. Mozilla Firefox
is my favorite browser and I’ve gone though some while searching for a
better and better one. It was time they went mobile. Why not use the
same friendly browser both on your PC and your smartphone?



Mozilla’s Head of User Experience Aza Raskin has posted the video
above. Basically Firefox Mobile will run on any smartphone capable of
Internet browsing. Whether it’s a touch screen or it has only buttons
to push, Firefox will adapt and will improve your on the go Internet
experience.

I’ll be waiting for this one to come out. I wonder how Firefox Mobile will measure up to Safari Mobile or to Opera 9.5 which are good mobile browsers.

No-Key Touch Keyboard Made of Glass

Not the most complicated keyboards I’ve seen, but certainly one of the best looking. This No-Key Touch Keyboard is indeed made out of glass and it will add coolness to your working environment. I’d have trouble matching it to the rest of my gear but I’d blog from it, no question’s asked. I wonder if it works for video games. Like everyone, I’ve had my share of multiplayer video-gaming where a good, dependable keyboard was needed.

How this works? There’s a light source and a camera. When you touch the glass surface, the camera picks it up and transmits it accordingly to your PC. Simple as that. I’d need a glass mouse to go with this keyboard and we’re settled. And a price? Anyone?

via YankoDesign

Vodafone and Airtel to Bring iPhone to India

No sooner has Steve Jobs unleashed the new 3G iPhone at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco than back home, not one but two carriers -- Bharti Airtel and Vodafone -- have announced, in conjunction with Apple, that they will be bringing the iconic device to India later this year. However, neither has specified the launch date or pricing of the 3G iPhone in India.

And now that the wraps are finally off of the much-hyped 3G iPhone, a quick recap of the stuff it's made of. iPhone II marries all of the features of iPhone with 3G networking to make the device "twice as fast" as the first-generation iPhone. iPhone II features built-in GPS for expanded location-based mobile services and iPhone 2.0 software with support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, and is capable of running hundreds of third-party applications already built with the recently-released iPhone SDK.

Vodafone and Apple will bring iPhone 3G first to Australia, Italy, New Zealand, and Portugal on July 11. In these markets, Vodafone will make available iPhone 3G on both prepaid and contract price plans that will include value data bundles. Vodafone will then, later this year, make iPhone 3G available in other markets including the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, South Africa, Turkey, and most importantly -- India. Details of specific launch dates and price plans will be made available in the respective countries by individual Vodafone operating companies. Vodafone customers in all of these markets including India can pre-register online and in retail stores in the next few days.

Meanwhile, Airtel customers who wish to receive more information on the Apple iPhone can send an SMS with keyword "iPhone" to 54321 (toll-free number). Airtel will announce details regarding pricing and availability at a later date, the company said.

Announcing the Apple-Vodafone partnership, Frank H R Vekamp, global CMO of Vodafone Group, said, "We are very excited to bring iPhone 3G to many of our customers across Europe and emerging markets this summer. Vodafone's extensive, high-speed, and reliable networks mean customers can enjoy a great Internet and communications experience on their iPhone 3G."

On a similar note, Manoj Kohli, president and chief executive officer of Bharti Airtel, said, "We are delighted with the opportunity to bring the innovative iPhone 3G to India. As India's leading telecom operator, Bharti Airtel has always stood for innovation and customer delight. With our reach across the country and iPhone's revolutionary features, we have a valuable proposition for our customers in India."

Meanwhile, Tim Cook, chief operating officer of Apple said in separate announcements that they are thrilled to work with both Vodafone and Bharti Airtel and can't wait to get this revolutionary product in the hands of even more people around the world.

Techtree had previously reported about the possibility of Apple going multi-carrier in India. Now that it's indeed official, we asked some people for their views on the same. "Vodaphone has an international tie-up with Apple for the iPhone in a lot of countries, so it is little wonder that they got roped in for India as well. This seems to be purely from a goodwill point of view. Bharti Airtel on the other hand has a huge reach in India, and they've been roped in as well by Apple. This is purely from the business point of view," said a hard-core techie we know. A Vodafone customer said, "I'm rather more interested in knowing when they are launching the iPhone in India and what will it cost". Meanwhile, an Airtel subscriber had this to say, "I'd like to see attractive schemes like special tariffs on voice-GPRS services along with better network services and support."

All said, both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone are established names in telecom; Bharti Airtel is known as India's leading integrated telecom services provider while Vodafone is known as the world's leading international mobile communications group. It will be interesting to see how the carriers' respective associations with Apple play out, to say the least.

Unveiling the new iPhone and more: WWDC 2008

So after hundreds of rumors and insider stories all over the wonderland (www), here we have the faster & cheaper - 3G iPhone. The new iPhone comes in two colours Black and White.

Here is the quick Specs:

• 3G - Apple claims 3G is faster than Nokia and Treo.
• Same camera - NO improvements
• The 3.5mm headphone jack is normal. So no fussy adapters required. Plugin your favourite earphones freely
• Better battery life
• 8GB version $199 and 16GB version $299
• Weight goes down by 2gms, thicker by 2mm. But thinner edges.

Looks like Apple has been keen on making the iPhone affordable and being powered by iPhone Firmware V 2.0, the loads of software’s and games (official this time!) makes the package much more interesting. Many of thee software are Free. Mobile Blogging Apps, Sega Games (Amazing Graphics) and more have been demoed. Also this time the New iPhone’s will launch in multiple countries simultaneously.

More on the iPhone 2.0:

1. Contacts search now available. So the conventional style of looking up contacts by typing the initial few letters is IN.

2. The new iPhone 2.0 firmware is free for the iPhone and leaves the iPod Touch users with a charge of 9.95$.

3. Ms office is not supported fully by iWork docs.

4. The Apple App Store now in 62 countries (up from 22 earlier)

5. Mobileme service: Syncs all your info across your PC, Mac and the iPhone over the air. keeping all of them up to date and synced. (www.me.com)

Apple iPhone in India - Your Questions on Unlocked iPhones

Want to buy an Apple iPhone in India ? Not sure if unlocked iphone works in India. Read this quick iPhone Guide before you purchase the iPhone from Indian mobile phone dealers.

1. Is the Apple iPhone available in India - Yes. you can easily purchase iPhone phones here.

2. If iPhone is available where can I buy i Phone in India - Apple hasn’t introduced iPhone officially in India but you can grab one from Palika Bazaar of Delhi or Heera Panna shopping complex of Mumbai. Alternatively, some online sites are also selling unlocked iPhone in India. The iPhone was earlier expected to debut in India via Reliance Retail. Most online iPhone suppliers in India do not share their contact address.

3. Will Indian iPhone work with the GSM SIM card of Airtel, Idea, BSNL or Vodafone? Yes but you cannot use the Visual Voicemail feature of iPhone. Also, iPhone is GSM based so it may not work with Tata Indicom or Reliance CDMA network.

4. Can I buy an unlocked iPhone in US and use it in India - Yes, the iPhone bought in US (or UK or Canada) will be compatible in India - you can just buy a local SIM card in India and replace the AT&T SIM. Make sure you read the Apple policies as this may break the warranty.

5. What about HCL and Wipro selling iPhone in India legally? There was a rumor that iPhone may be available in India through a legal route from Wipro and HCL as they were expected to sign a distribution deal soon with Apple for selling iPhone in India. No confirmation still.

6. Does Apple official sell an unlocked iPhone - Yes, they have launched an unlocked iPhone in France and it could soon be available in India. No need to pay mobile phone dealers for unlocking iPhone cell phones.

7. What about Apple Store - The first store will open in Bangalore for selling Macbooks, iPod, Apple TV and other Apple products but they won’t stock iPhone.

8. What is the price of iPhone in India - It varies but the time of writing, the unlocked 4GB iphone was around 20k while the 8GB unlocked iPhone was 30k. (includes shipping and taxes)

9. Should I wait for iPhone or invest in BlackBerry or Nokia N95 ? Read this comparison of smartphones - iPhone vs Blackberry, N95

10. I have bought an iPhone and manage to unlock it. Now what - If you are connecting to iTunes for transferring music, videos and photographs from the computer to the iPhone, iTunes may suggest that you upgrade the iPhone firmware to version 1.1.1 - Cancel and do not allow iTunes to update your iPhone as it will get locked again and become useless. Update: The new unlocked iPhones are shipping in India with firmware version 1.1.1.

11. I bought an iPhone in US and traveling to India on a business trip. How can I save on iPhone international roaming charges while making phone calls in India - Do not use the AT&T call service, instead make phone call over VoIP using the Wi-Fi option of iPhone. You can use Jajah or even Skype to make cheap international calls over the internet.

iPhone is a quad-band GSM mobile phone so it will working internationally in countries outside the US though you’ll have to ask AT&T to turn on international roaming on the iPhone and that the places you’re going offer GSM coverage. If you want to learn more about iPhone, here are iPhone books and iPhone tutorial DVDs that you may buy from Amazon.

iPhone 2 aka 3G iPhone Review

Though we can’t speak much without having the device in hand, there is a lot that we can sense. Using the 1st Gen iPhone for such a long period helps me visualize the changes that are needed. Apple has taken the feedback on its original iPhone quite seriously.

Looks: Great finishing. Apple always steals the show with the looks. To make up for the added weight of the GPS, 3G etc etc, the back of the new iPhone is plastic instead of Aluminum. Result the weight of the new iPhone is 2gms less than the original one.

3G: The obvious and much needed upgrade to the original EDGE iPhone. Add to that the Apple claims of faster loading compared to the Nokia N95 and the Treo.

GPS: A-GPS, this is good. This would drain the battery but then to handle that there is a upgraded battery from Apple. And with all this added the device still manages to remain as slim as the original iPhone.

iPhone 2.0: The 2.0 firmware is awesome. Checkout the cool upcoming games and apps. Many of these would be free!!

Camera: The same camera! This is bad. So wait untill 2009 for the 3rd Gen iPhones. lol

Battery: Wow, Now this is probably the best part. 5hrs 3G internet surfing, 24Hrs Mp3 playback, 7 hrs video playback, 5hrs 3G talktime, 10hrs 2G talk-time.

MobileMe subscription provides seamless integration of all your data between your PC/Mac and the iPhone.

Also not to forget Photo geotagging, iWork supports Ms Office (Word, Excel & Powerpoint), Contacts search and more.