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Disclaimer: I used to work for Nokia, and I own a N73 and it is a great phone IMO.

The article is pretty short, and it's main criticism is the fact that Nokia's flagship smart-phones (or as they say "multimedia computers") have too many features and aren't good at "one" thing. First, let's look at the market.

Phones are marketed to all different types of demographics, age groups, technological needs, price points, etc. Nokia, being one of the (if not _the_) biggest phone manufacturers on the planet, has a huge selection of phones that appeal to all kinds of different needs. There are the cheapo phones that make calls, send text and that's it. There's the mid-range that have some memory, include an MP3 player, and maybe have a decent camera too. Then there's the high-end ("N series") which are generally meant for high-end business users and tech-heads like your's truly. To claim that Nokia, as a company, is slipping into Gizmondo territory is either ignorant or wishful thinking.

TFA also makes claims about making calls and sending text messages with the new S60v3 being too difficult, yet provides no argument for "how?" or "why?". Using the N73 let me show you how "unintuitive" it is to make a phone call:

1) Type in the number
2) Press the green button on the left

As you can see, this is real rocket science not intended for every day cell phone users =). Ok, now let's take a look at writing a text message:

1) On S60v3 devices there is a small row of quick buttons on the Standby; one looks like an envelope with the caption "New text msg". Click that button.
2) In the To field you can type a number manually or just hop over to your contacts by Options >Add Recipient
3) type your message
4) Options>Send

Admittedly, writing a text message is a slightly more lengthy process than making a phone call, but you're typing on a numpad, so that is to be expected IMO. I think at the end of the day, it all boils down to what your needs are. If you want a simple user interface without feature bloat, don't buy a cell phone with a full blown operating system! There are plenty of *great* phones from Nokia that have simplistic user interfaces and do certain things very well. See the Nokia 6233 or Nokia 6131 for great examples of Nokia midrange phones that are highly functional (without feature bloat) and also extremely easy to use.

Benefon is specializing in GPS phones, and has for a long time. The GSM model Benefon ESC! came to market in like 1999 - and had the same features, a GPS receiver, builtin map and the possibility to send your location to either to generic GSM phone (containing coordinates only) or to another similar phone (and you could see the destination on the map). Granted, the company has gone close to going bankrupt a number of times, but it seems they are nowadays doing ok in their niche.

The Moto A1200 MING is Motorola's real bad ass. When does that come to Amerika (a.k.a. backwater of mobile phone technology)?

You can read more here. BenQ bought their business.

http://www.gsmarena.com/news-detail125.php

I don't see what you are talking about because the Sony Ericsson W850 still takes Memory Stick Pro Duo.

http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_w850_and_4_m ore-news-195.php

Sony has even more memory stick formats coming. I just bought the sony ericsson w800 with a 2GB memory stick pro duo and now they announce a newer version of the phone on http://gsmarena.com/ that takes a different memory type.

therefore i cant just upgrade my phone and use the old memory sticks. im not a customer any more of sony.

http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_k800-1485.ph p

Especially if you can remotely control the wolf - as in Microsoft has full control of what Windows Vista comes preinstalled with. They could also easily dictate what obscure backdoors are open in the system that only their anti-spyware is aware of - others may end up staying behind at all times. The phrase "conflict of interest" comes to mind.

Posted from Motorola E680i

Strangely enough, Sony Ericssons are there already. Take a look at the W950, where the W is nomenclature from Sony's Walkman brand. This phone is both UMTS (3G) and GSM tri-band (900/1800/1900MHz) and has not only a 4GB drive for storing music, but also a gorgeous 240x320 256K colour touchscreen for navigating through it. Throw in an FM radio, USB2, Bluetooth 2, and support for MP3, MPEG4, and, yes, AAC, and why would I want to buy a Nano?

I love Apple as much as the next guy writing a post on a PowerBook. But as the parent points out, there is not going to be an iPod killer. You can't beat someone at their own game, you can only change the game. And to change the game, you have to offer something Apple doesn't. You can't make a better iPod, you can only make something that works as well as an iPod for playing music, but does something an iPod doesn't do.

Mobile market penetration rates are spectacular in some countries, and in some of those markets, the rate of people changing their mobiles is known to pass 50% per year. That means on average, everyone in those markets changes their phone every two years. Come out with a phone like the W950, and all of a sudden, people no longer need to buy an iPod.

I've got an i-Pod Mini, but its been sitting in its charger since I got my I got my Walkman Phone. Apple has a great gadget today with the i-Pod, and I wish them success; but as an investor I'd be very skeptical about their ability to keep things going much longer. The standalone player is a transitional technology. I don't want to carry a phone, a camera, a pda, and a mp3 player. The Rokr has proven to me that Apple doesn't get this. In their typical "Steve knows best" arrogance they are going to lose the I-Pod market in the next 18 months as Sony-Ericson and Motorolla come out with ever more impressive integrated gadgets.

If you don't want these features get a phone without them. I have friends and family that wanted simple phones so that was what they got.

Of course I don't know where you live, but in the UK these sort of phones have always been available. For example http://www.gsmarena.com/sagem_vs1-1181.php the Sagem VS1.

What I don't understand is how you ended up with a phone you don't want. Why not keep the old one? Or if it is your first mobile phone and you couldn't find a simple one, get a second hand one.

I'm pretty sure you only have your all singing and dancing phone because *you* decided to buy it.

And I've seen convoluted processes also...

My parents bought 2 cell phones, both with a rebate. You COULD NOT file the rebade before 5 months after the purchase (WTF??) and after 6 months, it expired. Now I know my mom can be slow on things ("oh I'll get to it", 2 months later same thing), but she got this in properly because she had me help on it.
Its now close to the end of the contract (1 yr) and she just got a notice that she filed wrong. BS.

BTW, the phones were through T-Mobile, they are Motorola C650 phones (pic: http://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_c650-pictures-691 .php )

what's with slashdot? posting months old stories about N90 review earlier this week, another 'bout phone-cams today? for some up-to-date reviews on phones, go to http://www.gsmarena.com/ and knock yourself out...

GSMArena reviewed it almost 3 months ago... http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_n90-review-44.php

N90: 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, video, flash
N91: 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video

Nokia 9300 does have a camera. I am in the same boat at the moment. I have to downgrade from P910i to Nokia 6021.

If you want to search for phones with specific features GSM Arena they have a good search facility http://www.gsmarena.com/search.php3.

I guess since the W800i is a GSM phone without the 850MHz band, it isn't sold much in the US. But rest assured in GSM countries the ROKR looks like the piece of crap it is, a Motorola E398 with an extra button.

(Though personally I'm holding out for the Samsung D600 instead of the W800i.)

I guess since the W800i is a GSM phone without the 850MHz band, it isn't sold much in the US. But rest assured in GSM countries the ROKR looks like the piece of crap it is, a Motorola E398 with an extra button.

(Though personally I'm holding out for the Samsung D600 instead of the W800i.)

Google around or check howard forums, you might be able to use the Java mp3 player that comes with the Motorola e398, it's not amazing but it'll handle playlists and basic control. Then again, if you haven't looked around the phone to much, check in your Java games/applications area and see if the Java MP3 player is in there.

All they really did with the ROKR is add iTunes, an extra button and a different color case to the e398 they released sometime last year. I've had an e398 for a while and I like it, I think I'll be sticking with it since it doesn't have any restrictions on the number of songs it can handle and the built in MP3 is good enough for as much as I use it.

I'm mystified by this because my Sony Ericsson V800 already does this. From the pictures, the phone seems to run the same software too. So aside from branding, I fail to see the difference. The V800 also has expandable memory via Memory Stick Pro Duo which cards are available up to 1GB for.

Granted the V800 is not "available" in America, but one can be snagged from eBay and unlocked/flashed. The same thing you're going to have to do with the W800 though.

The drawback to the V800 though is that the earphones connect through the T28 connector as there is no mini-headphone jack. :( But with a little enginuity you could make your headphones work too.

The phone pictured running iTunes is the e398. It is a relatively cheap phone, released Q1 2004 and has MP3 playback already. A while back I read the Apple Motorola phone will be based on the e398, and again it springs up. I am pretty certain the specifications of the e398 will match those on the final Apple / Motorola phone. Whether it gets a new case or OS skin is a different story...

e398 Review

e398 Specifications

Samsung have such beautifully designed phones, I can't believe it's taken till late 2004 for them to add bluetooth connectivity.

You can look at their new bluetooth model here: D500

They've still got development to do. 260,000 colours aren't enough!

They will do 24 bits in no time and you will see them in laptops PDA's cameras and cell phones sooner than you think.
for more info on LEP/OLED displays try these...
Universal display
cambridge display tech
high efficency
transparent
flexible
stacked hi res

and some apps...
# Low-power, bright, colorful cell phones
# Full color, high-resolution, personal communicators
# Wrist-mounted, featherweight, rugged PDAs
# Wearable, form-fitting, electronic displays
# Full-color, high resolution, portable Internet devices and palm size computers
# High-contrast automotive instrument and windshield displays
# Heads-up instrumentation for aircraft and automobiles
# Automobile light systems without bulbs
# Flexible, lightweight, thin, durable, and highly efficient laptop screens
# Roll-up, electronic, daily-refreshable newspaper
# Ultra-lightweight, wall-size television monitor
# Office windows, walls and partitions that double as computer screens
# Color-changing lighting panels and light walls for home and office
# Low-cost organic lasers
# Computer-controlled, electronic shelf pricing for supermarkets and retail stores
# Smart goggles/helmets for scuba divers, motorcycle riders
# Medical test equipment
# Wide area, full-motion video camcorders
# Global positioning systems (GPS)
# Integrated computer displaying eyewear
# Rugged military portable communication devices

My favorite is the high efficency ceiling mount. Need white light [click] there you are. Want a change of pace go for blue sky with puffy white coulds [click] done.

These products are supposed to be cheap enough to do these things once mass production has begun.

240x320 - more on A760 Specs and photo

250 MB of RAM is nice, can't agree on the 'looks good' part though :)

• official site
• a Mobile Burn article on the phone including pictures
• an IDG article on the phone.

Unfortunately, very few details about the features of the phone.

Everybody are excited about Ericsson's and Nokia's new top-of-the-line models, but are there any alternatives? One that seems pretty cool to me in the previews is the Panasonic GD87, mainly because of the polyphonic ringtones, 65k colours display and digital camera. No JAVA tho, it seems. If it is cheap enough it will probably be one to consider anyway? Anyone know any more cool "underdog" alternatives?

But given my not-too-good financial state at the moment I will probably have to set my aims lower. I have found two alternatives that seem pretty nice and good value for the money:

Siemens M50 is cheap, has JAVA and GPRS, but two colour display and monophonic ringtones.

Panasonic GD67 has got 256 colours display and polyphonic ringtones, but no JAVA there either. It will probably cost about the same as the Siemens M50.

Are there any other cellphones among the cheaper ones that can beat those two that I should know about?

Everybody are excited about Ericsson's and Nokia's new top-of-the-line models, but are there any alternatives? One that seems pretty cool to me in the previews is the Panasonic GD87, mainly because of the polyphonic ringtones, 65k colours display and digital camera. No JAVA tho, it seems. If it is cheap enough it will probably be one to consider anyway? Anyone know any more cool "underdog" alternatives?

But given my not-too-good financial state at the moment I will probably have to set my aims lower. I have found two alternatives that seem pretty nice and good value for the money:

Siemens M50 is cheap, has JAVA and GPRS, but two colour display and monophonic ringtones.

Panasonic GD67 has got 256 colours display and polyphonic ringtones, but no JAVA there either. It will probably cost about the same as the Siemens M50.

Are there any other cellphones among the cheaper ones that can beat those two that I should know about?

Everybody are excited about Ericsson's and Nokia's new top-of-the-line models, but are there any alternatives? One that seems pretty cool to me in the previews is the Panasonic GD87, mainly because of the polyphonic ringtones, 65k colours display and digital camera. No JAVA tho, it seems. If it is cheap enough it will probably be one to consider anyway? Anyone know any more cool "underdog" alternatives?

But given my not-too-good financial state at the moment I will probably have to set my aims lower. I have found two alternatives that seem pretty nice and good value for the money:

Siemens M50 is cheap, has JAVA and GPRS, but two colour display and monophonic ringtones.

Panasonic GD67 has got 256 colours display and polyphonic ringtones, but no JAVA there either. It will probably cost about the same as the Siemens M50.

Are there any other cellphones among the cheaper ones that can beat those two that I should know about?