"Yesterday’s high-end is the new midrange we like to say. The Nokia C6 has almost exactly the same features as the Nokia N97 mini but hangs a big Sale sign. Time to shop for high-end features off high street. The C-series are trying to distill the Nokia knowledge and experience into a lineup of simple and affordable phones. There’s a bit of everything there: from cheap entry-level handsets to smartphones that border on the Eseries and Nseries." Read more here:

"A slip by the Ovi-supporting team today revealed a new touch-driven Nokia handset that is in the works. Nokia 5250 appeared on the company's application store website, flaunting a fresh new design, but unfortunately the handset is running on the good old Symbian S60 5th edition OS. Those of you hoping for an Symbian^3 device in the low-end segment are sadly out of luck. The handset is obviously the next member of Nokia's family of lower midrange touchscreen phones and comes to replace the pretty popular Nokia 5230. There is not much specs about the Nokia 5250 that we can confirm. Perhaps an nHD screen measuring somewhere around 3 inches in diagonal certainly isn't a wild guess. 3G and GPS are on the cards as well but the rest is pure guesswork. This February Nokia promised to deliver 100 euro touch smartphones and we have yet to see those. Could the Nokia 5250 be the first to go near that psychological barrier? In any case with the Nokia 5250 appearing on the Ovi store page it's clear that its announcement is fast approaching so we won't have to wait too long to find out." via gsmarena.com

"It's no great secret that AMOLED screens are in short supply, the effects having been felt across the industry. Manufacturers just can't get enough of them to keep pace with demand and that's despite Samsung having ramped up production. HTC is the latest manufacturer to feel the heat and has decided to switch away from using AMOLED technology in both the Desire and Nexus One. Instead the Taiwanese company will be opting for Super LCD screens, which are more plentiful and thus shouldn't constrain production, indeed HTC are saying that use of SLCD screens will allow them to 'ramp' production up. The actual announcement from HTC mentions that SLCD screens will be used in a 'variety of HTC phones' so newer models will probably be seeing the switch too. The proposed changes should kick in sometime later this summer. The full statement from HTC is presented below:
"Taoyuan, TAIWAN – July 26, 2010 – HTC Corporation, a global designer of smartphones, today introduced Super LCD display (SLCD) technology into a variety of HTC phones including the HTC Desire and global Nexus One later this summer. The SLCD display offers an exceptional natural balanced colour, clear contrast, broad viewing angles and improved power efficiency.
"HTC is experiencing high-demand for many of our phones, specifically our phones with 3.7 inch displays. The new SLCD display technology enables us to ramp up our production capabilities quickly to meet the high-demand," said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. "The SLCD displays provide consumers with a comparable visual experience to HTC's current 3.7 inch displays with some additional benefits including battery performance."
SLCD is the latest generation of LCD technology that offers improved performance from earlier LCD panels including approximately five times better power management. SLCDs also offer an enhanced viewing experience with wider viewing angles that are enabled by Sony's new VSPEC III™ technology." via mobile-review.com

"The only difference from Vivaz is in the addition of QWERTY keypad. This is a niche model as the number of people who need QWERTY keypad in the side slider below €400 is relatively small. Other solutions, which attract attention, are available as well. For Sony Ericsson it was a cheap way to come up with one more model without additional R&D expenses. If Vivaz targets young people, here the corporate users are in the center of attention, which is clear from the presence of the keypad. But the shot misses the target as both models have the same audience. There are no changes here, the phone is chosen predominantly by girls without particular insight into the world of mobile devices, but who need a nice looking solution with the keypad. The first month of sales proves the niche status of the phone. There is some demand for it, but this hero of the shelves will not stay there for long. It is not the product Sony Ericsson needs to return to the market" Read more here:

"The much-anticipated Dell Streak is going to hit the market in the next week or so, according to an official statement from Dell. This tablet phone is going to have a 5-inch display, and run Google's Android OS on a 1 GHz processor. The Streak has attracted the attention of those who are looking for a cutting-edge smartphone, small tablet, or PDA who don't want to sign a service contract with a wireless carrier, as Dell will be selling it directly to the public. However, no contract means no carrier subsidy, so the unlocked version will cost $500. It will come with 16 GB of storage in the form of a removable microSD memory card. Users will have the option of switching this out for a 32 GB card. The Streak is going to include a 5-megapixel auto-focus camera on its back, and a front-facing one for video conferencing. In addition, it will include a 3.5-mm headphone jack.The tablet is going to be bundled with a suite of entertainment, communications and productivity software, including a highly-capable web browser, email software, turn-by-turn navigation app, and much more. Overall, this device is going to be 6 inches x 3.1 inches x 0.4 inches (153 mm x 79 mm x 10 mm). Dell's tablet phone will be well supplied with high-end features, starting with its 5-inch, WVGA (800 x 480 pixel) capacitive touchscreen. It is going to run Google's mobile operating system on a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. The device is going to debut with Android OS 1.6, but an upgrade to Android OS 2.2 is coming. On top of Google's standard user interface will be one that Dell has developed. This model will sport voice and 3G cellular-wireless access, and will also include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1. plus a GPS receiver. With this device, users will be able to make voice calls on either T-Mobile or AT&T, but this smartphone will only include support for AT&T's 3G network." via brighthand.com

"FORGOTTEN SMARTPHONE DEVELOPER Microsoft has named the handset manufacturers that it hopes will help stave off its demise in the smartphone market. Microsoft is desperately pinning its hopes on Windows Phone 7 to reverse its trip to oblivion. However until now it remained quiet about who will help it do so. Now the Vole has finally revealed that handsets running Windows Phone 7 will be produced by Asustek, Dell, HTC, LG and Samsung. That's about all Microsoft was willing to say on the matter as it tries to drum up interest in its next mobile operating system. The handsets themselves are nowhere to be found, with release dates equally elusive. Microsoft is passing around a Samsung handset to developers in the hope that some applications will be created for its operating system at launch. Apparently the handset itself isn't what will end up in punters' hands, so that doesn't provide too many clues either. The Vole is playing a dangerous game by not giving away enough information about its smartphone plans. Even Apple, known for its secrecy, announces its Iphones months ahead of launch, allowing customers to ditch their mobile operators or save up for its expensive toys. Microsoft's silence on the matter could mean that it is nowhere near getting phones running Windows Phone 7 on the market. In the meantime, Apple's shiny toy and the numerous devices running Google's Android operating system are luring potential customers away from Microsoft. It will be interesting to see how many phones from the aforementioned manufacturers will actually run the Vole's operating system. HTC in particular has been a vocal supporter of Google's Android, while Samsung's Galaxy S has emerged to be one of the firm's most successful high-end handsets. For Microsoft, name dropping won't be nearly enough to lure smartphone customers away from the very credible alternatives that already exist today." via theinquirer.net

Nokia has released their Q2 2010 results, reporting an operating profit of €295 million, with net sales €10.0billion (up 1% Year-on-Year). Nokia's device and service division's profits were €643 million, down 16% year on year. Margins in devices and services were 9.5% (down 2.7% YoY and down 2.6% QoQ). Converged devices sales (smartphones) were significantly up, at 24 million, compared with 16.9 million units in Q2 2009 (so up 42% YoY) and compared with 21.5 million units in Q1 2010 (up 12%, QoQ). As such, worldwide smartphone marketshare was 41%, stable sequentially and year on year. Full story and comments here:

"This model was developed as a temporary solution to generate sales for Sony Ericsson until its Android models enter the market. It was envisaged as a part of Symbian powered range, opened by Satio. During the development Sony Ericsson changed its plans several times and by the time of its release future Symbian models of Sony Ericsson were called off. A couple of handsets may appear, but these will be niche models. The company does not plan a systematic development of this range because Nokia aggressively lowers the price of such solutions driving the margin down. Earlier Samsung was the first to abandon Symbian plans, now they are followed by Sony Ericsson. It's a pity as the company created much needed diversity in the Symbian market and offered alternatives for Nokia models." Read more here:

"Salomondrin took BlackBerry’s upcoming webkit browser — expected to debut in OS 6.0 — and ran it through its paces using a BlackBerry 9800 Slider. Salomondrin subjected the browser to several acid tests, the de facto standard for browser performance, and compared the results with the iPhone 4 and the HTC Incredible. Much to the surprise of many a reader, the BlackBerry webkit browser scored 208 on the test and outperformed both the iPhone 4 which scored 185 and the HTC Incredible which scored 151. Salomondrin also put together a nice video review which compares the current non-webkit browser with the upcoming webkit version highlighting the goodness that is to come to the world of BlackBerry." via boygeniusreport.com

"An interesting leak has appeared for all those eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Blackberry Storm 3. Some bright spark managed to sneak a picture of the specs during a RIM training session so we now have a good idea of what the handset will be capable of. It's looking pretty good actually, here's what we know so far:

• Blackberry OS 6
• Webkit browser
• 512 MB RAM
• 5 MP camera
• WiFi
• Support for using the handset as a 3G hotspot

Maddeningly the picture isn't complete because some chap in front of the cameraman got his head in the way and blocked out the part revealing when the Storm 3 would be launched! What can be made out is "ember" so presumably the Storm 3 is going to be available sometime in the last part of the year, just not October." via mobile-review.com

Crazysoft has an 'app idea contest' running in their Facebook page.
Here it is:

What kind of app would you like us to develop?
The best idea wins $cash!

Write your app idea on CrazySoft's Facebook wall and win!

Rules:
1) Write your short app idea on the Facebook fan page wall.
2) This contest lasts until 20 of August.
3) The best app idea will be decided by CrazySoft's creativity department.
4) The idea that wins will get the symbolic Paypal cash price of $200.

"Are you one of the 0.55% iPhone 4 users that care about the signal reception? On the latest press conference, Apple has explained that its antenna design flaw is simply common and happens among all the smartphones. Other than providing a free protection case to anyone that bought an iPhone 4 before September 30, the company will allow a full refund without restocking fee to you if you want. The free protection case that would prevent the signal losing problem might not be the Apple bumper case as the production can not meet the demand. Check out the full report on SlashGear. Other than the Antenna issue, the white iPhone 4 should be available by end of this month in limited quantities together with the iPhone 4 launches in 17 additional countries." via slashphone.com

"ChangeWave's latest smart phone survey of 4,028 consumers shows an explosive transformation occurring in consumer demand – resulting in some major new winners and losers for second half 2010. The survey – completed June 24th – took a close-up look at consumer demand for the new Apple iPhone 4 and the HTC Droid Incredible, along with the impact these and other offerings are having on the rest of the smart phone industry. Among key emerging trends:

• Next 90 day projections show the most extensive growth in consumer smart phone sales ever recorded in a ChangeWave survey
• Big leaps forward for Apple and HTC are occurring at the expense of Motorola and RIM
• The accompanying transformation in mobile OS preferences is being led by a huge increase in demand for the Apple OS and an accelerating downturn for the RIM OS." Read more here:
  

"The popular QWERTY slider E75 has had a firmware update today, to v211.12 (from v210.12), not available over the air for me, but there via Ovi Suite and Nokia Software Update, as a 146MB download. The E75 has User Data Preservation, but backup anyway, just in case, beforehand. The update is mainly bug fixes, listed below.
Official changelog summary:

• Corrections done concerning e-mail client: contacts and calendar sync starts failing specifically with exchange 2003 SP2 server

• Corrections done concerning OMA DM remote configuration problem

• Corrections done concerning FOTA server profile, wherein PC-suite has been set as the default profile instead of Nokia, this has been corrected.

• Improvements to the device lock functionality" via allaboutsymbian.com