Windows Mobile Smartphones hit 14.3 million in past 6 months

Windows Mobile Smartphones hit 14.3 million in past 6 months. Microsoft's press conference at Mobile World Congress (3GSM) 2008 was something of a counter-punch to the iPhone sales figures that have been floating around of late. Shipments of Windows Mobile smartphones hit 14.3 million units globally in the last six months, and Microsoft expects to hit 20 million units by June of this year.

Dolby Surround Sound for Mobile Phones, Portable Media Players

Dolby Surround Sound for Mobile Phones, Portable Media Players. Yes, It is not just SRS which wants to improve the sound on mobile devices (and portable media players). Dolby also wants a piece of the action, hence at the Mobile World Congress, as expected, they've announced Dolby Mobile, an audio processing technology platform that brings "rich, vibrant surround sound" to music, movies, and TV programs on mobile phones and portable media players.

At stands 2.1B37 in Hall 2 and 7C62 in Hall 7, Dolby showed Dolby Mobile, an audio processing technology platform that brings rich, vibrant surround sound to music, movies, and television programs on mobile phones and portable media players.

Motorola Z6w, W161, and W181

Motorola Z6w, W161, and W181. Motorola announced low-end phones and an update to the existing one seems more than pathetic. Two of the devices, W181 and W161 — seem designed for emerging markets, while the third, Z6w, is the WiFi-enabled Z6m.

Z6w -- a WiFi version of the Z6m -- and a pair of affordable, low-end handsets dubbed the W181 and W161. The new W-series gear ship in dual-band GSM 900/1800 or GSM 850/1900 configurations with built-in FM radio, USB 1.1 (yes, 1.1), and 128 x 128 pixel display which brings 65k colors on the W181 or black and white on the W161.

iPhone Display with Bubbles

iPhone Display with Bubbles. Apple's support forums are lit up with users complaining of "tiny bubbles" forming in their glass displays. Several users are reporting an issue where tiny bubble-like distortions appear underneath the iPhone screen’s glass layer. Some reports from a pertinent thread on Apple’s Discussion boards:
-- “I have 5 bubbles thus far and more as showing up as the days go on”
-- “I just found one one my phone, its in the upper right hand corner under the battery icon. “
-- “I have the same issue and I’m going to be taking my phone in tomorrow (Saturday, January 19, 2008) to see if I can get it fixed.”

MSN Direct for Windows Mobile

MSN Direct for Windows Mobile. Microsoft announced they are bringing MSN Direct content to Windows Mobile-based devices. The idea is to provide customers with instant access to information such as weather and stock updates; top news stories; and entertainment, sports and business news. The information is presented in a "glanceable format," and is easily accessible directly from the home screen of a device. Content is automatically updated so that customers have immediate access to the content that matters most to them.

Windows Mobile customers interested in downloading the MSN Direct technology preview can use either of the following methods:

Simpler iPhone 1.1.3 Jailbreak + Unlock Tips

Simpler iPhone 1.1.3 Jailbreak + Unlock Tips. iPhone developer Zibri, the iPhone community now has a super-simple software-based unlock and jailbreak solution for all iPhones running the new v1.1.3 firmware. Yes, that includes OTB (out of the box) v1.1.3 iPhones running the updated Bootloader v4.6.

The "ZiPhone" package should jailbreak your iPhone using the iPhone Dev Team's official jailbreak solution, activate your iPhone, and then unlock the sucker to work on any GSM network in the world. iPhone users with Mac or Windows will be happy to hear that the ZiPhone solution is compatible with both platforms and should make quick work of freeing your iPhone from file-system jail and network lockdown.

Emoze Push Email to Cellphone or PDA

Emoze Push Email to Cellphone or PDA. By now you're probably aware Emoze provides both individual and corporate users with free multi-platform, mobile push email service, calendars and contacts. And now they've just announced that literally anyone could use their solution. Not even a Gmail account is required — the regular POP3 account you got from an ISP will do just fine. Free software from emoze launched at Mobile World Congress 2008 enables everyone with a personal email account from their Internet service provider to have emails pushed to their mobile phone or PDA.

It's like push email was brought down to the regular consumer. The cost is zero and if you like how it sounds, just visit emoze.com, sing-up and start receiving your emails on your mobile the second they arrive.

Vodafone HSPA+ Trial alongside Ericsson, Huawei and Qualcomm

Vodafone HSPA+ Trial alongside Ericsson, Huawei and Qualcomm. Vodafone is to trial HSPA+ along with Ericsson, Huawei and Qualcomm. It's an evolution of today's radio access HSPA technology, to assess its potential to deliver even higher data rates through the upgrade of existing network equipment. The technology, which is also known as HSPA Evolution, is capable of delivering data throughput rates of up to 28.8 Mbps — compared to the 14.4 Mbps maximum offered by today's HSPA networks. If successful, the technology has the potential to extend the life of today’s HSPA infrastructure still further.

HSPA+ technology is designed to offer higher throughput than HSPA through its use of multiple antennae on both base stations and handsets (Multiple Input Multiple Output) as well as the deployment of a complex modulation technique called 64-QAM HSDPA. Both features will require new advanced devices compliant to 3GPP Release7 standard.

iPhone, Android Rumored to Austria

iPhone, Android Rumored to Austria. According to T-Mobile Chief Executive Hamid Akhavan, the iPhone is headed to Austria. That's Austria, as in Europe, not Australia, as in "down unda." Akhavan stated on Tuesday that, Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile would begin selling the iconic Apple iPhone in the first half of this year.

That means we could see T-Mobile bringing the iPhone to the Austrian masses by this coming summer.

Plantronics Explorer 370 Bluetooth Headset

Plantronics Explorer 370 Bluetooth Headset. Plantronics, Inc. introduced the Plantronics Explorer 370, a new Bluetooth headset tailored for the adventurer in all of us — or at least those requiring their communication tools stand up to the elements. Durability tested to meet military-grade specifications, the Explorer 370 is water, dust and shock resistant and features windscreen technology to ensure users experience clear calls no matter what the environment.

Explorer 370 is "tailored for the adventurer in all of us," and aside from the durable body that is water, dust and shock resistant - it also incorporates excellent call clarity with multiple control features — including volume, answer and end call, last-number redial, and voice-activated dialing, with the touch of a button.