Nokia might be in the doldrums with their Symbian-powered devices not selling as well as they once did. I remember the glory days of Nokia when it seemed as though they could not do any wrong – their operating system was the easiest to use among all the other phones (remember how convoluted Motorola’s interface was?), and the phones were simple, tough and good looking. Too bad being too comfortable with themselves saw them miss the wave of the smartphone revolution, where Apple, HTC and Samsung started churning out winners, touchscreens and all.

Well, Nokia might have been too late to switch operating systems to Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform, but only time (and hindsight) will tell. While we know that the first Windows Phone 7.5 Mango smartphone will be known as Searay (the codename at this moment, although it might change in time), but another name has been bandied around – the Nokia Sabre.

The Nokia Sabre is said to come with a 3.7″ display with a microSIM slot ala iPhone – could this be so that those using unlocked iPhones can make the jump to Windows Phone 7 in a jiffy? Regardless, both Sabre and Searay have been listed as prizes in a Microsoft Canada Mango competition that states, “The estimated retail value of the phone is $600.00. The type of Windows Phone 7.5 will vary and will be selected at Microsoft’s choosing (examples include Samsung Yukon, Samsung Wembley, NOKIA Searay and NOKIA Sabre).”
[MW]

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Samsung has announced a 64GB embedded memory (eMMC) meant for smartphones and tablets. The new 64GB eMMC touts industry’s highest performance that uses 20nm-based 64Gb NAND with Toggle DDR 2.0 interface and is really thin to make it suitable for slim mobile devices.

The eMMC can store up to 16,000 MP3 files and has a sequential read speed of up to 80MB/s and write speed of up to 40MB/s.
[SH]

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Remember our earlier story on whispers in the industry that Apple might actually discontinue both the iPod classic as well as iPod Shuffle? Well, I guess those rumors hold far more weight today than it did a couple of days ago simply because those two have been around long enough (in a technological timeframe of course), and with so many devices deciding to take the touchscreen route these days, isn’t it surprising that that is but the fate of even faithful servants of both iPods?

It seems that Apple decided to do away with a section from the Apple iTunes App Store which was previously dedicated to click-wheel games, where among the titles available there include “Brick”, “iQuiz” and “Klondike”. Of course, there is still no official confirmation as at press time, but most probably when October 4th rolls around and the iPhone 5 gets announced, you will see the iPod classic and iPod Shuffle being retired for good.

It was fun while it lasted, no? I wonder who will shed a tear for either (or both) device(s).
[MW]

Samsung has confirmed that they’ve developed a new Exynos System-on-Chip (SoC) using the 32nm High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) low-power process. The Exynos 4212 is a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 that is clocked at a speed of 1.5GHz.

The new chip that will be used in smartphones and tablets is 30 percent more power efficient, thanks to its process.

Moreover, the Exynos 4212’s GPU is now capable to deliver 50 percent higher 3D graphics and comes with a support for advanced codec accelerators for images, 1080p HD video recording and playback and HDMI 1.4 support.

Samsung will sample the new processor to select companies in Q4 2011 but is showcased the chip at Samsung Mobile Solutions Forum in Taiwan.
[SH]

Sony is launching a preview of Video Unlimited, a new user interface that lets PlayStation3 users browse PlayStation Network content in a whole new way. It is fair to say that the PlayStation 3 is extremely more powerful than a set top box or smart TV, yet the user experience of the current PlayStation Network doesn’t really reflect that. Video Unlimited changes the paradigm, forever.When Michael Aragon (Vice President and General Manager, Global Digital Video and Music Services) showed us the live demo, I found the user interface to be impressively fast. I have included a video for you to watch, and I think that you will agree with me (drop a comment). The reason why Video Unlimited is so fast is because it uses the hardware potential of the PS3 by leveraging the superior graphics capabilities and extra memory that the platform has to offer. Video Unlimited does not sit around and wait for your next command, it will actively pre-load data that you are likely to use next, and it will keep previously loaded data in case you retrace your step. The end-result is an amazingly fast content browsing on PlayStation 3.

But there is more than speed: Sony has also improved the whole design and browsing experience in a big way. You can now find related content by tags, actors, directors, channel, studio, etc… at a level that was previously not possible – or practical. If you happen to know exactly what you are looking for, Sony has also updated its search with “Tumbler”, a new search system that is PS-controller friendly (vs. keyboard). Within a few clicks, Michael showed us that he can search for something as complex as “The Shawshank Redemption” – try that with your smart TV…

PlayStation Plus subscribers are the first ones who can download Video Unlimited and this new experience will start as an application, which may (or may not) replace the current PSN UI down the road. What do you think?
[UG]

The iPhone 5 is not out yet – but that does not mean third party manufacturers cannot come up with accessories for it, right? Japan has the honor of introducing the GETPOWERPAD Qi 1 wireless charger that not only plays nice with the iPhone 5, but is Qi compatible as well. The GETPOWERPAD Qi 1 wireless charger will juice up smartphones, mobile phones as well as other mobile electronic devices.

Some of the features of the GETPOWERPAD Qi 1 include a sound indicator to let you know whether your device is fully charged or not, while an LED indicator will let you know whether the device is being charged or not at the moment. Apart from the iPhone 5, it will also be able to work with the iPhone 4, and tipping the scales at just 110 grams, it measures a highly portable 90mm x 150mm x 14.8mm.

No idea on pricing, but it will arrive at the end of this year. How much are you willing to pay to make sure your iPhone 5 gets juiced up sans wires?
[UG]

Microsoft has announced that its new operating system, Windows 8, will include Xbox Live integration. This has been rumoured for some months, but is now official.

Exactly what this means isn’t exactly clear, but it is certainly possible that it will see Xbox games becoming playable on PCs for the first time ever.

Microsoft said the move will bring “games, music, movies, and TV shows to your favourite Microsoft and Windows devices.”

Microsoft has just wrapped up its BUILD conference, during which it revealed a lot of information about Windows 8. The OS will hit stores sometime next year, if rumours are to be believed.
[GW]

Own a Sony PS3? Well, it goes without saying that getting your console updated to the latest firmware or system software version is always a good thing – assuming the latest update is not gimped. I’m not saying that Sony’s latest PS3 update will be spoiled in any way, but I would think that it will bring far more progress than regression.

This will be a minor update at most, so skipping it won’t be too much of a big deal. It is said that system stability during use of PS3 format software and network services has been improved, and apart from that, nothing else was mentioned. Ah well, at least it is another step closer to version 4.0 of the update, and one can expect that time to offer a whole boat load of bells and whistles.

Some folks do hope that 3.72 will be able to fix the issue of highlighting the music folder in the XMB when in-game, all the while wearing the new PS3 headset. What are some changes that you would like to see?
[UG]

D-Link introduces its new Amplifi HD Media Router 2000 (model DIR-827), a high-performance home networking solution designed to optimize a home’s Wi-Fi signal and provide increased and continuous Internet strength. The router supports 802.11ba/b/g/n WiFi and has four Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports. It supports WPA, WPA2 and WPS security.

The DIR-827 supports equipped with both 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz 300Mbps frequency bands, and offers simultaneous N600 Dual Band (300Mbps + 300Mbps) for streaming HD videos and surfing the web at the same time. It comes with 128-bit AES data security encryption to protect your network and the HD Fuel technology to prioritize high-bandwidth applications.

The HD Media Router 2000 supports SharePort Plus with USB 3.0 port for sharing virtually any USB-enabled device, such as a printer or storage device, across the home network at faster transfer rates. There is even a SD card slot for sharing media files. The D-Link Amplifi DIR-827 is available for $149.99.
[ITN]

A mobile phone with various attachable and detachable accessories is not something very new.

It’s an interesting idea that many tried. We’ve seen Modu mini-phone with “jackets”, LG Expo handset with the attachable projector and NTT Docomo’s separable phone. And we’ve seen even more interesting stuff in Palm’s R&D department.

Alas, none of them became a successful commercial product yet.

Now it’s time for Microsoft’s R&D department to try something new. A slider phone with multiple interchangeable accessories:

It looks like your usual slider, but the sliding keyboard part is detachable and can be replaced with gaming keypad, second display, additional battery and other things.

What’s more – those same accessories can be operated independently, in a detached mode. For example, acting as a second phone, gaming stick, or remote control, to operate your smartphone while it streams games and videos to an attached TV set.

There are many reasons why such combined devices, even when they look great on paper, do not find many interested customers. And Microsoft is not getting into phone hardware making business again anytime soon. So the chances for this kind of slider to become a device you can buy, are pretty slim.

But if Microsoft decides to provide a reference design for such slider to its hardware partners and then adds an accessory support to Windows Phone OS… Who knows, someone may build something interesting with this.
[UWV]