It’s been relatively quiet on the mobile phone news front since MWC 2009 ended, with only Nokia and Samsung providing some unexpected new-phone thrills. Still, we’ve still rustled up a collection of ten news stories which you may have missed during the past week.
1. Vodafone Music Store Goes DRM-Free.
It’s a move which will win Vodafone many fans, as they have signed three major record labels – Universal, EMI and Sony – to provide music without DRM protection built-in. Vodafone say this will come into effect from summer this year.
2. Gorgeous Tocco Ultra Out Next Week!
The S8300 Tocco Ultra Touch Ultra Edition or whatever it’s supposed to be called should be available from the 19th March onwards. The touchscreen/slider handset has an OLED screen, 3G with HSDPA and GPS.
3. Apple Set to Preview iPhone OS 3.0.
On March 17th Apple has invited a select few to see the new SDK and get a sneak peek at the forthcoming 3.0 firmware for the iPhone 3G. Rumours concerning new features include MMS support and enable background running of apps. Yeah, we’ll believe it when we see it too.
4. Nokia E71 Gets Text Art.
By downloading an application from Nokia’s E71 page, you can convert your text messages into modern artwork. Artist Marius Watz is the man behind the designs, which can be set as your wallpaper, sent to friends or even printed out to hang on your walls at home.
5. Nokia Losing Out to Apple and RIM.
The N97 looks like it can’t come soon enough, as the final quarter figures of 2008 show Nokia losing 10% of their market share to BlackBerry and the iPhone 3G. Their smartphone sales also took a 17% dive, while HTC saw a 20% increase in sales.
6. Cupcakes For All in April!
If you have a T-Mobile G1, then you’ve fancied a Cupcake for a while and according to a Pocket Lint source, the firmware upgrade is finally heading your way in April. The Cupcake upgrade will add a virtual keyboard, A2DP Bluetooth and audio/video recording amongst other things.
7. Palm Pre Exclusive to O2?
Spain’s Telefonica have grabbed the rights for selling the forthcoming Palm Pre in Spain and since they also have a share in O2 in the UK, expect them to be flying the Pre flag when the time comes.
8. Samsung Shun Pocket-Sized Mobile Phones.
Thankfully not across the range though! Samsung and Cricket (a network provider) have built the world’s biggest working mobile phone by scaling up their Messager handset. Take a look at the video for massive mobile fun!
9. More PSP Phone Denial.
Sony stated again there is no PSP Phone, where a mobile phone would meet the PlayStation Portable, in the works. The thing is however, the more they talk about it, the less we’re inclined to believe them.
10. The KRE-8 Concept Phone for DJ’s.
Designer Jose Tomas DeLuna has created this concept phone for the DJ and music producer. Apart from the pictures, there’s even a video showing you exactly how the KRE-8 would work.
Enjoy your week!
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