Mobile Technology News

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Motorola seriously changed the mobile phone industry in the 2000′s with the RAZR. The low-profile flip phone sold more than 110 million units, spawned several successful follow-up models and imitations from competitors, and generally altered how we perceive “sexiness” in mobile phones.

It has had an excellent run, and continues to sell to this day. According to Neilsen Media, the RAZR was the third most popular mobile phone on the market last year with 2.3 percent of mobile subscribers owning one.

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Sony yesterday discussed its plans to open a download shop similar to iTunes or Amazon Digital Downloads.

Reportedly given the tentative name “Sony Online Service,” the online store would make the many different types of Sony digital content available in a single place. The company has a number of content portals already, but each is geared toward a related piece of hardware and run by a different business unit of the giant Sony conglomerate.

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Early this morning, Sony Ericsson took the wraps off of its first Android-based handset, the 1 GHz Snapdragon-powered Xperia X10. With a huge 4″ touchscreen, an 8.1 megapixel camera and the elegant custom user interface named “Rachael,” Sony Ericsson moves the Android platform a step further by giving it almost no mention in announcements and commercials.

T-Mobile adds more allure to its 3G phones with this latest from Sony Ericsson – the Sony Ericsson Equinox (earlier named T707). Otherwise a basic flip-phone in functionality, the Equinox carries some eye-catching bling to push itself to the limelight amongst the other established clamshell models in the market. First is the stylish exterior – after you update your T-Mobile favorites list with your caller friends’ circle, the shell lights up to indicate the identity of the caller in one of the five available colors. Say “amber” for good friend Joe and “amethyst” for avoidable Erica. I say, a thumbs-up for people with good memory, and more confusion for those without. Other than that, the external shell also contains an 128 x 36 OLED screen that functions only when you get an incoming call.

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

When Microsoft announced yesterday that “Windows Phones” would be coming on October 6th, it didn’t name specific phone models, but instead listed manufacturers and the mobile network operators that would be carrying them.

Today however, joint venture Sony Ericsson announced the sequel to its powerful and pricey Xperia X1 handset will be a “Windows Phone,” the Windows Mobile 6.5-powered Xperia X2.

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

As NPD recently showed, more than 72% of all phones being sold are feature phones, and though there are a few examples of app stores for these phones, the mobile app trend has largely missed the majority of phone owners. Today Microsoft announced its move to change that with OneApp, a mobile app environment which gives feature phones access to smartphone-style applications.

By Scott M. Fulton, III, Betanews

It’s difficult to say which company has suffered most from the bad global economic climate — Nokia, Motorola, or Sony Ericsson — but if you ask any of their executives candidly, they’ll probably point to their own firms. Last quarter, Sony Ericsson reported shipping 43% fewer phones than in the same quarter of 2008; and in terms of income, the company is bleeding at the rate of a third of a billion euro per quarter.

Sony Ericsson has teamed up with the masters of luxury and elegance Dolce&Gabbana to create the Jalou, the newest luxury phone that all the starlets will be clamoring for and regular Jills like me will long wistfully for. The Jalou is a limited edition affair, set to hit chosen markets sometime near the end of this year.

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

The largest commercial communications satellite ever has been launched. The Terrestar-1 from Terrestar Networks lifted off from the ESA (Europe’s equivalent of NASA) aerospace center in French Guiana on the northern coast of South America.

The satellite’s network will operate in two 10 MHz blocks of contiguous MSS spectrum in the 2 GHz band throughout the United States and Canada with a footprint that covers a population of nearly 330 million. The company will offer both wireless broadband and voice services which will improve inconsistent rural coverage and dead zones throughout North America. Connection to the satellite, however, requires a clear line of sight with the southern sky.

As our gadgets have become more prevalent in our lives, it’s also become a necessity for our tech to not only improve our lives but look good while they do it. Cell phone companies have answered the call for high-quality tech and aesthetics with phones specifically designed to function as high tech fashion accessories decked out with everything from precious metals to jewelry.

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