Nokia

Our buddies at Oled-display.net have let us know about a nifty new Samsung handset that is going to be announced at MWC 2010, packing a SUPER AMOLED (yes, SUPER!) touchscreen!

We do a little bit more, but not much – the AMOLED will be WVGA, and around 3.3 inches. Apparently Samsung have suggested that the new screen is 5x more vivid than normal screens, and 20% better outdoor. I’m not 100% sure I believe it will be that much better outdoors (AMOLEDs aren’t historically the best in sunlight), but giving more vivid colours is definitely something we could all do with.

Unfortunately we don’t know the model name/number yet – but, we will dear readership, oh yes, soon we will!

[Via: oled-display.net via: Koreatimes / jknews]

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Novatel Wireless today announced that it has successfully completed the first data transmission call using Long Term Evolution (LTE) 4G technology. Fascinatingly, LTE provides data rates of up to 100Mbps on the uplink and 50 Mbps on the downlink by leveraging new, wider bandwidth spectrum.  Many operators are already planning to overlay LTE on their 3G networks to augment data capacity. Novatel Wireless is working with operators and plans to launch commercial data devices in late 2010.

“We are pleased to achieve these important first data transmission milestones on next generation technologies, last week with dual carrier HSPA+, and now with LTE, and we expect to leverage our industry-leading position to offer  4G wireless data products to our customers,” said Dr. Slim Souissi, CTO, Novatel Wireless. “We believe our aggressive development efforts will enable us to deliver these innovative solutions with the fastest possible time to market.”

All I’ve got to say is I want one. Now. Whatever form-factor it comes in, I’ve got to have that 4G data love as soon as possible!

Related News from IntoMobile:

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• AT&T: 20Mbps 3G network by 2009 – HSPA release 7, here we come!

And now for something a little bit different….

Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) UK (and in fact other Vodafone OpCos internationally) have rolled out an initiative called ‘World of Difference’ – it’s a charitable programme which lets volunteers go and help out in places that need it:

Vodafone’s World of Difference programme gives people the opportunity to spend time working for charities without having to worry about making financial sacrifices.Through World of Difference people can get paid experience – for two months or a year – at a charity of their choice in the UK or overseas. The World of Difference programme, delivered by the local Vodafone Foundation in each country, currently operates in 14 countries, with many more countries launching in 2010. To date it has allowed over 700 individuals, around the world, to work for their dream charity – and be paid.

Vodafone has just announced a new phase of WoD, with 500 new people – if you’d like to read about them, and the great work that the Vodafone Foundation is doing, then click here.

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ALK Technologies today announced the availability of Premium Live Services for CoPilot Live v8 customers using Windows Mobile and Android smartphones. In addition, all CoPilot Live v8 customers across all platforms will be able to access Local Internet search from directly within the app for free.

A range of Premium Live Services is now available for all platforms, including:

• Live Traffic information – High quality, constantly updated traffic information about your route with automatic warnings and re-routing. Avoid stressful delays and always be informed on route conditions with CoPilot Live’s real-time traffic service.
• Live Fuel Prices – CoPilot Live v8 can instantly guide you to the closest – or the cheapest – petrol station near your current location. Spend less. The new Fuel Price service in v8 can help you find the cheapest petrol station nearby or on-route. So whether you are running on empty or want to fill up without emptying your pocket, let CoPilot Live lead the way.

Real-Time Traffic and Live Fuel are available as Premium Service package for £19.99 to purchase as upgrades through CoPilot Live Central 2.0 desktop software or CoPilot e-store. For iPhone users, it’s available as in-app purchase. Existing Windows Mobile and Android users can find out how to upgrade to free Local Search by visiting the CoPilot site. CoPilot Live iPhone customers will receive access to Free Live Local Search in a forthcoming update via iTunes.

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If I could name one game for the iPhone I’ve been most looking forward to, it has to be PopCap Games’ Plants Vs. Zombies.  The game was supposed to be released on the App Store in late January, but was pushed back.  It looks like our very short wait is finally over as PopCap Games announced today Plants Vs. Zombies will be making its debut on the iPhone on February 15th.

If you’re a fan of tower defense games, then you’ll certainly enjoy Plants Vs. Zombies as it puts a different spin on the popular game type.  Zombies are walking across your lawn and you need to set various plants down in order to defend your home.  The zombies players encounter become more difficult over time, equipping various armors and tools in order to invade your home.

As of now, no price point has been given for Plants Vs. Zombies for the iPhone.  Currently PopCap’s iPhone games retail around the $2.99 – $4.99 mark, so hopefully Plants Vs. Zombies will stay within that range.  For now, enjoy the new trailer for Plants Vs. Zombies below.

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It’s only been a handful of days since Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) released their iPhone OS 3.1.3 firmware update through iTunes, and the iPhone Dev Team has already come out with a way to jailbreak the new firmware. The new firmware does little more than fix buggy battery level indicators and Japanese language keyboards, so most of you probably won’t need to install the update. But, there’s invariably going to be a subset of jailbroken iPhone users that can’t resist the urge to update to a brand spankin’ new firmware. For those of you in this group, the iPhone Dev Team has released PwnageTool 3.1.5 to jailbreak iPhone OS 3.1.3!

The PwnageTool utility creates a custom iPhone restore file that you can use to update and jailbreak your iPhone in one felled swoop. PwnageTool 3.1.5 will strip the iPhone OS 3.1.3 update file of its newer baseband modem firmware and replaces it with an older version that can be unlocked with ultrasn0w – this allows you to keep using your iPhone unlocked on any GSM carrier in the world. If you were to update your currently unlocked iPhone 3GS to iPhone OS 3.1.3 without PwnageTool, iTunes will replace your iPhone’s baseband firmware with a new version that cannot be unlocked.

For those of you using a newer iPhone 3GS or had previously updated your firmware to a newer version (05.11.07), you’re going to want to avoid updating to iPhone OS 3.1.3 altogether, if you plan to use your iPhone on unofficial GSM carriers. As long as you stay at iPhone OS 3.1.2, you can jailbreak your iPhone 3GS using blackra1n or PwnageTool and then run GeoHot’s blacksn0w unlock utility to free your iPhone of GSM lockdown.

Get PwnageTool 3.1.5 here.

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While these aren’t the touchscreen beauties we’ve heard about, it’s always worth noting when a carrier has something new to offer. In this case, it looks like we have some proof (via a FutureShop flyer) of the Samsung Flight and the Motorola (NYSE: MOT) (NYSE: MOT) W388, coming to Rogers (NYSE: RCI) (NYSE: RCI) and Fido respectively.

The Samsung Flight features a look and form-factor strikingly similar to another popular device out on the market these days. I won’t mention the name, but if you know what webOS is, I think you can figure it out. The Flight packs a slide out QWERTY keyboard, 2.8″ touchscreen, 2MP camera with video, expansion to 16GB via microSD, and a bunch more. The cost? $99.99 on a 3-year term with Rogers.

The Motorola W388 is a basic candybar complete with 2.5mm headset jack, 1.8″ display, expansion to 2GB via microSD, 0.3MB VGA camera and more. The price tag will apparently be set at $15 on a 2-year contract with Fido.

[Via: MobileSyrup]

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We had heard about a mysterious LG device bearing the model number LU9400 passing through Wi-Fi certification, but few details were available at the time. Well, the Arena Max is now out in the open for us to take a gander at: a 5 megapixel camera, 3.5” display, Bluetooth, GPS, and Wi-Fi (obviously) are  part of the package, but the real star of the show is the 1 GHz processor.

Based on specs alone, the LU9400 has a few bragging rights over the original Arena: 1 GHz over 528 MHz, and a display that’s 0.5” bigger, but what I’m really curious about is the operating system. Odds are good that LG will keep pushing its goofy cube-spinny S-Class user interface, but even that might be enough to swallow if they go with Android rather than Windows Mobile. This Arena Max is bound for Korea first, since it’s clearly branded as Cyon (LG’s Korean mobile arm), but with any luck we’ll at least get a chance to play with it at Mobile World Congress next week.

[via Engadget]

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Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) recently revealed that the Xperia X2 won’t be supporting Windows Mobile 7, but they don’t seem to be having the same limitations for Android devices. according to a recent official blog post. Android 2.1 is alluded to at multiple points in the post, so we can assume that the X10 will eventually get that high, but they’re "not trying to hide from the fact that there are platform upgrades between Android 1.6 and 2.1".

The X10 is a high-end smartphone that will be shipping with Android 1.6, and a beefy 1 GHz processor, 4” WVGA touchscreen, and 8 megapixel camera. Without a doubt, it will give the other Android handsets out there a run for their money. The big key with the X10 is Sony Ericsson’s Timescape contact management and Mediascape multimedia applications. We’ve had some time to play with it, so be sure to check out our video if you’re curious.

The post goes into some detail about SE’s upgrade strategy, and highlights the fact that the custom-built user interface will be upgraded along with the OS. Timescape and Mediascape make up a lot for the supposed datedness of Android 1.6, according to the post, and I’m tempted to agree – are there really that many killer features in 2.0 and 2.1 that would be sorely lacking from the X10 at launch? Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Maps Navigation is available for 1.6, and the rest of the 2.0 features are small usability issues that Sony Ericsson addresses in their own way. Still, for those who burn for the latest and greatest, they won’t have to worry too much about being left behind when picking up the X10 sometime this spring.

[via Sony Ericsson Product Blog]

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When it comes to god games for the iPhone, the king at the moment seems to be Bolt Creative’s Pocket God as it not only sells for $.99, but it’s actually a fun game with continued support by Bold Creative by way up regular updates.  Ngmoco’s GodFinger, however, might be the game to finally be able to compete with the juggernaut that is Pocket God.

In episode 2-1 of the ngmoshow, GodFinger producer Stephanie Morgan is interviewed to find out what exactly GodFinger is.  The developers behind GodFinger have a lot of experience with god games, namely Black & White and the Fable series, which with that info alone is one of the main reasons why GodFinger is on my radar.  We also get a quick little demo that shows what exactly we all can expect when GodFinger is released on the App Store ‘Soon’.

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