But T-Mobile wants you to keep an eye out for its myTouch line, which gets a robust update in the myTouch 3G Slide. This new landscape slider, which comes out in June, takes a lot of the best attributes of HTC’s Sense user interface and builds another layer on top.

It creates an even more polished experience, with added touches from T-Mobile that make the phone more social and helpful for users than its predecessor.

The main improvements include a Faves Gallery for up to 20 of your favorite people. This specialized contacts application lets you see all your communications with your favorite people and prioritizes your updates from those people. For instance, your phone will flash a green light when one of your Faves contacts communicates with you.

There’s a Genius Button that lets you activate voice commands for making calls, composing texts and e-mails, conducting Web searches or launching applications. The feature will also read incoming text messages.

And finally, there’s myModes, which builds off the Sense interface themes. Themes allow you to customize your interface for different occasions, say for work, evenings and weekends. MyModes automates the switching between themes based on the time of day or your location. So it can switch from work mode to home mode when you leave the office or hit a certain point in the day.

MyTouch 3G Slide also has full Microsoft Exchange support as well as the ability to run seven panes from the home screen.

The phone also boasts a full slide-out keyboard without adding much bulk to the body. The camera gets an upgrade to 5 megapixels and the screen is bumped up to 3.4 inches. It will run Android 2.1, which includes free turn-by-turn navigation.

This adds momentum to the fast-growing Android platform. We’re still waiting for Apple’s fourth-generation iPhone, expected to be released in June, but the well of Android competition keeps getting deeper.

Resource:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/04/BU051D9034.DTL

Garmin plans to release through T-Mobile this year a navigation-focused smartphone that would be the successor to the long-delayed Nuvifone A50 that shipped late last year.

The new Garminfone, like its predecessor, would run Google’s Android operating system. Layered on top of the OS is Garmin’s navigation user interface.

The latest phone would offer voice-guided and on-screen directions with automatic rerouting. The device, which has a 3.5-inch display, can be mounted on a dashboard to provide directions to motorists. In addition, Garmin also offers maps and navigation to people on foot.

Other features offered through Garminfone’s UI include real-time traffic, weather, and gas prices. The Garminfone also has a 3-megapixel camera, built-in support for 3G and Wi-Fi networks, and some internal storage, although Garmin has not said how much.

The smartphone will be available through T-Mobile, which could release the device as early as this spring, according to reports. Pricing has not been disclosed.

Garmin is hoping for a smoother launch of its latest Android phone than its Nuvifone predecessor. Garmin introduced the device in January 2008, expecting to release the smartphone in the third quarter of the year. Instead, the Nuvifone didn’t hit the market until late last year.

The device was Garmin’s first attempt to combine its personal navigation service with a cellular phone and mobile Web browser. At the time, the strongest features were the personal navigation capabilities, such as turn-by-turn directions that weren’t available on Apple’s popular iPhone.

Since then, similar navigation capabilities have been made available on the iPhone using Apple’s GPS technology and applications built by third-party developers offering iPhone applications through Apple’s App Store.

Garmin has partnered with computer maker Asus for manufacturing the Nuvifone, Garminfone, and Windows Mobile-based smartphones.

Resource:
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2010/04/22/google_the_server_chip_designer/

The Garminfone will come packed with tons of navigation features, including a brand new app called Garmin Voice Studio that allows users to send and share custom directions to friends and family

Android already offers its own built-in GPS app through Google Maps’ “Navigation” service, but Google warns that it is in beta form and the company certainly doesn’t have the expertise in the field that Garmin does.

Expanded functionality for the Garminfone will also include automatically hyperlinking street addresses (from texts, e-mails, Web sites, etc) on the device to bring up direction information. Users can also geo-tag pictures with the built-in 3-megapixel camera and Garmin will introduce a suite of location-based services like movie listings and local gas station prices.

Garmin’s full navigation suite that is used on its GPS devices will also be transferred over, allowing complete voice-based navigation information and guaranteed functionality even if the cell signal is lost.

The phone will also come with a mount that makes it easy to stick it to a dashboard or window. Other specs of the Garminfone were not specifically detailed, though it does include support for Microsoft Exchange e-mail, native social networking functionality, and a 3.5-inch touch screen.

The Garminfone will be available later this spring.

Resource:
http://www.tgdaily.com/mobility-brief/49449-garmin-intros-navigation-centric-garminfone-on-android

We might have given it our first five star review in donkey’s years, but that’s not the end of the story – the public wants to know how to get it on the cheap as well.

And they’re being spoilt with the HTC Desire, as it’s coming to all six top providers – but that means a plethora of deals to sort through.

But don’t worry, as we’ve trawled the official provider’s tariffs and cracked out the calculators to work out the cash behind the contracts – how much will each really cost you?

We’re not talking about how little it will cost you at the start – there are plenty of ways to get a free phone and a bagillion minutes, but we want to know how much lighter your wallet will be in 18 to 24 months.

Note: We’ve not yet received official word on tariffs from O2, 3 or Orange (although we’ve taken those offered by The Carphone Warehouse for the latter), but we’ll update the article as they emerge.

We’ve taken a few things into account – the amount of cash you’ll chuck into the pockets of each network over the course of the deal, the minutes on offer, the contract length and handset cost, to find the cheapest overall cost for each network.

All are offering unlimited texts with the deals (although for T-Mobile this is a free Booster option; you could switch this for cheaper international calls for instance).

Also all of the deals we surveyed offer unlimited internet (with the exception of Vodafone, that’s only giving away a measly 500MB per month) because let’s be honest – if you’re not going to use the HTC Desire for a lot of data hungry applications and internet, then there’s not really a lot of point picking it up.

So once you’ve decided how long you can want to keep the phone for, and how many minutes you’re likely to be chatting for each month, have a look at TechRadar’s friendly chart to see which is the best deal for you:

If the thought of having to roll over and stare at the same (phone) face every day for two years is too much for you, then perhaps you’d be better off not tying yourself into a deal for 24 months.

18-month deals will generally cost the same as their two year brethren, but you do generally get more minutes and the chance to pick up a nice and shiny new phone sooner.

100-200 mins

There aren’t a lot of deals around for this price point, with only Virgin Media and T-Mobile chiming in with offers.

T-Mobile just shades it though: for £15 per month and £164 for the Desire, you get 100 minutes and an overall cost of £434.

Virgin Media’s offer might give you 200 minutes, but an extra tenner per month hurts over the year and half, despite the handset costing less up front.

Best deal: T-Mobile – £434

300 mins

T-Mobile is all on its lonesome in this category, with nobody else coming with a similar deal at the moment.

However, the deal isn’t too bad: £20 a month for 300 minutes, although £129 is a lot to pay at the start for the phone.

Don’t fret though – over the course of the deal it boils down to £489, which is a lot cheaper than buying a phone and whacking a pay-as-you go SIM in.

Best deal: T-Mobile – £434

600 mins

We’ve got three players in the space this time: T-Mobile, Vodafone and Virgin Media. If you’re against the pink network, look away now: T-Mobile is cheapest again.

With a £25 per month deal and a £129 upfront cost, the overall deal works out at £579 over the 18 months.

Vodafone is next up, with a £35 per month deal that costs £630 overall, with a free phone. However, you do get 300 extra minutes for signing up online, although there’s that pesky 500MB data limit.

And Virgin Media lags in last, with a £30 per month deal with a £115 upfront cost, taking the overall total to £655.

Best deal: T-Mobile – £579

800 – 900 mins

The same three again – T-Mobile, Vodafone and Virgin Media duke it out.

And this time we have a new winner – Virgin Media shaves it with a £35 per month deal offering 800 minutes and a free phone that costs £360 over the course of the deal.

T-Mobile is pretty close though; for £30 a month and a free phone it costs £635, and you also get 100 extra minutes per month, which equates to an extra 108,000 seconds of chat for only £5.

Vodafone limps in third again, with 900 minutes and a free phone for £40 per month, but the same 300 extra minutes if you sign up online, for £720 over 18 months.

Best deal: Virgin Media – £630

1,200 mins

Virgin Media and T-Mobile tie this one: both deals will end up costing you £720 over the course of the contract.

Virgin Media only offers 1,000 minutes, whereas T-Mobile will offer you 1,200, but both cost £40 per month with a free phone.

Vodafone is proffering a huge 1,500 minute allowance if you sign up online, but costs £45 per month and will end up costing you £810 overall.

Best deal: T-Mobile – £720 (but with 200 more mins per month)

OK, you’ve read our HTC Desire review and decided that two years with this phone wouldn’t be so bad – we like the way you’re thinking.

But we wouldn’t want you to assume that’s the end of the decision making process – you’ve still got to choose a contract to go with that bad boy.

The Carphone Warehouse is only offering 24-month deals on Orange with unlimited internet – we expect that to change when we finally get the official tariffs through.

100-200 mins

Three networks in this one: T-Mobile, Virgin Media and Orange.

And it’s T-Mobile that takes the top slot, with a great £10 a month deal. The phone does cost £164 to buy first of all, and you only get 100 mins, but for £404 over two years you’re not going to get a lot better.

Virgin Media is offering the HTC Desire for £20 per month with 200 minutes, and an upfront cost of £149.99 – this equates to the much pricier £630.

And Orange comes in last, with 100 minutes on a £20 a month deal – and a whopping £240 for the phone as well.

Best deal: T-Mobile – £404

300 mins

Two options only here – T-Mobile and Orange.

The former is far and away the cheapest option again, with a cheap as chips £489 the cost over two years – at £15 per month and an early £129 upfront cost.

Orange is next up at £700 for the lifetime of the contract, at £25 per month and £100 for the phone – we can only hope that the official tariffs come in a little cheaper.

Best deal: T-Mobile – £489

500-600 mins

Now we’re getting somewhere – four networks duking it out, and it’s a lot closer this time between T-Mobile, Vodafone, Orange and Virgin Media.

Well, we say a lot closer, but T-Mobile is still ahead of the pack: for £20 per month and £129 at the start you get 600 mins for an overall cost of £609.

Virgin Media is up next, with 600 mins for £25 per month and £100 up front – that equates to a £700 lump sum.

Vodafone and Orange’s efforts will both set you back £720 over the two years (with a free phone) – with the latter you only get 500 mins, and with the former you can nab up to 300 bonus minutes (taking the total to 900) if you do it online.

Best deal: T-Mobile – £609

800-900 mins

All four in it to win it, with the price varying between £695 and £840 for the overall cost.

T-Mobile is (now predictably) the winner – it only costs £695 for a £25 per month deal, with the phone priced at £95.

If you only want 800 minutes but want to pay more cash, then check out Virgin Media’s offering – it’s £720 at £30 a month with a free phone.

And Vodafone and Orange tie again – both costing £840, but Vodafone offers 900 minutes (1,200 online) where Orange only offers 800.

Best deal: T-Mobile – £695

1,200 mins

We’re into seriously chatty territory here – so chatty that Orange hasn’t even got a tariff through The Carphone Warehouse.

£40 per month and a free phone (as well as 1,200 minutes, 1,500 online) will get you a Vodafone-branded HTC Desire for an overall cost of £960.

But the cheaper duo are the T-Mobile and Virgin Media offerings – the former giving 1,200 minutes, the latter 1,000 minutes for the same £840.

Best deal: T-Mobile – £840 (200 more minutes per month).

The findings paint an interesting early picture of the mobile phone landscape in the UK – it’s nothing like the Apple iPhone snooze-fest we’re used to when it comes to pricing.

T-Mobile is the winner of nearly every category when you average it out over the course of the deals – we certainly didn’t expect a near-whitewash from one network.

And, of course, it’s about more than this; many people get attracted by the prospect of a free phone at the start and are happy to pay a little bit more over the course of a contract. If that’s the case, Vodafone is a good bet, given that you can’t actually pay upfront for the HTC Desire on a contract with the network.

Don’t forget the smorgasbord of other independent sites out there undercutting the networks with different minute and handset contract combos – you can use a comparison site like Omio to see all those on offer.

Virgin Media has some comparably good deals in the mix as well, and we haven’t even taken into account the customer-centric offerings we’ve seen, with offers of either a £5 lower tariff for the same contract term or a shorter 18-month contract for the same monthly tariff.

If you’re an existing customer, this makes it far and away the cheapest in a number of categories – but we’re assuming many people won’t be.

So T-Mobile is so far the best way to get the HTC Desire on the cheapest deal when it’s all laid out. But it really depends how you like to buy your mobile really.

Resource:
http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/t-mobile-vodafone-orange-and-virgin-htc-desire-deals-compared-681187

With news breaking that Apple is selling the iPhone at full price without requiring customers to buy a contract, some are wondering what CEO Steve Jobs has up his sleeve. Is this a thinly veiled attempt to help users unlock their iPhones and bring them to T-Mobile?

Is it a shot over AT&T’s bow, saying Apple is done playing nice? Or is it a response to Google’s decision to offer Nexus One smartphones online, rather than in carrier stores? While all of those scenarios are possible, it’s most likely that Apple is simply trying to get rid of some of its iPhone supply before it prepares for a new version of the device later in the year.

In any case, the speculation over this move is running rampant. But perhaps it underscores something that too many people have overlooked: Apple can use the iPhone as a weapon.

Whether AT&T, Google and customers like it or not, the iPhone is an extremely important device in today’s mobile market. The product has single-handedly revitalized AT&T’s business, changed the mobile market and ensured that consumer desire will always in some way be determined by the products Apple puts out. That kind of power can have far-reaching effects. And it means that Apple could capitalize on its standing in the marketplace and use the iPhone to impose its will.

Let’s take a look at how Apple could the iPhone as a weapon against any and all stakeholders.

1. Pressure AT&T

   Apple holds the most power over AT&T. Unlike so many other carriers in the mobile market, AT&T is heavily invested in the iPhone. In fact, it’s one of the key reasons why the company has been so successful attracting and maintaining customers. Apple is well aware of that. If and when the company wants to finally break free from AT&T, Apple can use the iPhone to work out just about any deal it wants. Or it might even work out a sweetheart deal that would keep the iPhone exclusive to AT&T. And unfortunately for AT&T, there’s nothing it can do about it. Without the iPhone, it would be in trouble.

2. Take on developers

   Apple’s contentious relationship with developers could get worse if the company decides to use the iPhone as a weapon against them. The problem for developers is that Apple’s installed base is huge compared with those of the makers of other touch-screen devices. So, even though developers might not like the fact that Apple’s App Store policies are secretive and sometimes draconian, they don’t want to push the company too far for fear of losing that key revenue stream. At the same time, Apple knows that if it really wants to control developers, it can use that fear to do so. Developers are in a bad spot.

3. App Store mania

   Even though Apple has gone out of its way to limit content that it doesn’t want in the App Store, there’s more that can be done. If Apple really wants to, it can create specific rules for what can be allowed in its store and what cannot. Worried that they would lose App Store revenue, buttonholed developers would have no choice but to listen. Consumers would also need to live with those rules if they wanted to keep using the iPhone. The App Store is an extension of the iPhone’s power. Apple would have little trouble using it to dominate.

4. Take on other carriers

   Although Apple’s power is most forceful against AT&T, the company can still use the iPhone to take on other carriers. Thanks to the iPhone’s success, Apple can go to Verizon Wireless or T-Mobile to see what kind of deal either company would offer. If it finds something a little better than what it has at AT&T, we could see a drastic shift in the way Apple does business in the mobile market. Apple could opt to go multicarrier and give preferential treatment to, say, Verizon Wireless, and totally change how the iPhone is perceived in the market. And there would be nothing AT&T, T-Mobile or Sprint could do about it.

5. Consumer desire?

   Although consumers have been calling on Apple to add new features to the iPhone, including multitasking, Jobs has done little to swiftly bring desired features to the device. Instead, he has waited until he’s good and ready to update the iPhone. That’s a problem. Thanks to the iPhone’s success, Apple has little reason to worry about complaints from consumers. Sure, it wants to satisfy consumer desire, but the company clearly feels that it can do that whenever it wants. After all, Apple controls the iPhone and decides what’s in it. What can consumers really do about it? The longer it has that control, the less Apple might listen.

6. Use patents on vendors

   If Apple is successful in its patent-infringement case against HTC, the entire mobile market could change. Apple’s lawsuit includes several charges, such as alleged infringement of both the iPhone’s screen-unlock functionality and the way users move around a Web page in a mobile browser. With a victory, Apple could bring a lawsuit to every other vendor in the market that it believes is violating its patent. That could help the company dominate the market even more. Watch out for that patent lawsuit. If Apple wins, it could be lights out for some of its competitors.

7. Eliminate conventional sales

   Apple has the power to drastically change the way vendors offer their phones. Currently, Google sells the Nexus One smartphone from its own Website. Carriers are concerned that Google’s retail model could prompt other vendors to follow suit. Well, what if Apple does? Such a move could send shockwaves through the industry and cause carriers to start worrying about bottom lines that rely heavily on in-store sales. If Apple and Google, arguably the market’s most influential companies, set a new retail standard in the market, carriers will need to start worrying.

8. Use it to the iPad’s advantage

   The iPhone can be used to the iPad’s advantage if Apple plays its cards right. The tablet industry could be a significantly profitable space for Apple. But that will only be true if the iPad enjoys the kind of success Apple has witnessed with its iPhone and iPod. The beauty of the iPad is that it runs Apple’s iPhone OS. With just a few changes here and there, Apple can improve the tablet’s operating system and surpass the competition. And since that OS is desired above all others, it should only help Apple sell iPads. The iPhone OS is just as much a weapon as the iPhone itself.

9. Mac OS X’s Trojan horse?

   Even though Apple has substantially lower operating system market share than Windows in the desktop market, the iPhone could help Apple attract more PC users to its side. In the tech industry, the halo effect is extremely important. Essentially, as users try products from a company and like what they see, they are more likely to buy other products from that company. Apple’s iPhone is extremely successful. In some cases, it has brought new customers to Apple’s side. If the company can find a way to capitalize on those converts and deliver them to Mac OS X, Microsoft could feel the effect. We simply can’t underestimate the iPhone’s importance to Mac OS X.

10. Pressure the entertainment industry

    The iPhone is also an iPod. Realizing that, it’s important to remember that the more iPhones Apple sells, the more power it wields against the music and movie industries. Time and again, the entertainment business has railed against Apple’s power and attempted to limit it as much as possible. But each time, it has failed. As Apple sells more iPhones, it can bring that burgeoning installed base (plus all the iTunes purchases iPhone owners make) and use it as leverage in its negotiations with record labels and film studios. And those companies will have little choice but to give in to some of Apple’s demands.

Simply put, the more iPhones Apple sells, the more troublesome it is to, well, just about everyone it’s up against.

Resource:
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/IT-Management/10-Ways-Apple-Could-Use-the-iPhone-As-a-Weapon-790036/

Google March 16 said it now selling a version of its Nexus One smartphone that runs on AT&T’s 3G network and Rogers Wireless, a move that could broaden the device’s appeal and put it more squarely in competition with Apple’s world-beating iPhone 3GS.

The Nexus One is now available from Google’s Webstore as an unlocked device without a service plan for AT&T’s 3G network in the U.S. and on Rogers Wireless in Canada. Nexus One devices can also now be shipped to Canada from Google’s Webstore and will work with a SIM from Rogers Wireless, the company said.

Google’s Nexus One is based on the search engine’s Android operating system, an open source platform around which more than 20 different handsets have been built. The device, which runs the latest Android 2.1, includes a speedy 1 GHz processor.

When Google launched the Nexus One from its Webstore Jan. 5, the company made device available unlocked for $529 and with a two-year contract from T-Mobile for $179.

Google officials also pledged to make the Nexus One available on Verizon Wireless and via Vodafone in the spring. Recent reports indicated Verizon could sell the Nexus One as early as March 23, with the device rolling out from Vodafone in April.

In February, mobile gadget blogs discovered that the Federal Communications Commission had blessed a version of the Nexus One smartphone that runs on AT&T’s 3G network.

Google designed the Nexus One to be unlocked, which means users can use it with a SIM card from most GSM operators worldwide.

While the device is compatible with 3G networks such as T-Mobile, carriers such as AT&T and Rogers have different 3G frequencies. Accordingly, users owning SIM cards from AT&T or Rogers devices could only access 2G or EDGE networks on their Nexus One.

That all changed today. Users may choose from two versions of the Nexus One: one with 3G coverage on networks that use the 850 MHz, 1900 MHz, and 2100 MHz frequency bands. This is recommended for use on AT&T in the US and Rogers in Canada.

Google also offers the Nexus One with 3G coverage on networks that use the 900 MHz, AWS, and 2100 MHz frequency bands. This is recommended for use on T-Mobile in the U.S..

This move is a bit of positive news in the wake of a dismal new report from analytics researcher Flurry, which found that the Nexus One sold only 135,000 units through its first 74 days of retail sale.

By contrast, the Android-based Motorola Droid from Verizon Wireless sold 1.05 million units, while Apple’s inaugural iPhone shipped 1 million copies in 2007.

If the Nexus One can find purchase on AT&T’s network, it may be able to more directly challenge Apple’s iPhone, currently carried exclusively by AT&T.

With features such as pinch-to-zoom multitouch, the Nexus One has been compared to the iPhone with all of its functionality. This is big reason why Apple has sued Nexus One manufacturer HTC Corp. for infringing on some 20 of its smartphone patents dating back the last several years.

The idea is to take Android down a few notches as Apple seeks to defend its turf from Google-based phones.

Resource:
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Google-Nexus-One-Now-Runs-on-ATT-3G-in-US-Rogers-in-Canada-320991/

This week it is expected that the merger between Orange and T-Mobile, forming the biggest mobile phone operator in the UK, will receive regulatory approval.

The European Commission has decided not to pass the enquiry back to the UK regulator, despite fears from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) that the merger will “significantly” reduce competition.

What convinced the commission to allow the merger to go ahead were assurances from Orange and T-Mobile to protect the future of 3, the UK’s smallest mobile phone network. The two companies agreed, last night, that they would extend a network-sharing deal with 3 to 16,000 mast sites across the UK.

In fact, it was concerns about the future of 3 that prompted the OFT to ask for control of the investigation earlier this month. The OFT was worried that reducing competition from five players to three in the UK mobile arena would irrevocably change the mobile landscape.

There will also be an agreement stated between Orange and T-Mobile that they will let go of 25 per cent of their combined 1800 MHz spectrum, the wavelength required for super-fast mobile broadband internet.

It is not known whether competitors Vodafone and O2 will challenge the merger, but it is understood that they have pushed for more of the valuable spectrum, granted in the 1990s, to be relinquished by the merger companies.

Amidst concerns that the merger could increase the cost of mobile phone contracts, consumer groups such as Which? had been in favour of a UK investigation.

At the same time, France Telecom, which owns Orange, and Deutsche Telecom for T-Mobile had been pushing for a Euroapean investigation rather than a UK one which they thought would be slower to reach a decision.

Resource :
http://www.mobilemarketingnews.co.uk/Orange_and_T-mobile_Merge_Soon_to_be_Approved_9222215148343.html