The Nokia Lumia 800 is, according to CEO Stephen Elop, "the first real Windows Phone". Other models, made by HTC and Samsung, have been decent enough, but they don't offer the solidity of the new Lumia 800. Although the seamless polycarbonate shell and the solidity of the device are impressive, in fact it's the Windows Phone software that really shines. Teamed with Nokia's excellent design and camera heritage, there's a lot to like, whether it's the Office integration, gaming with Xbox live or simply social network integration. Read more
Smartphones could have their battery life extended by up to 20% by changing what type of memory they use. Samsung has announced plans to produce memory modules built of what is known as a phase change material. These modules are built of a substance that records or erases data when it is heated and typically use far less power than existing equivalents. Read more
Samsung Electronics Co., the largest maker of cell phones for the U.S. market, on Sunday revealed the first phone running Samsung's own "smart" software system, bada. With bada, Korea-based Samsung is taking the TouchWiz system used on its touch-screen non-smart phones and making it the basis of a smart phone platform to take on Apple Inc.'s iPhone and Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry. Samsung also makes phones based on other competing smart phone systems: Android, created by Google Inc., and Symbian, of which Nokia Corp. is a major backer. Read more
Inmarsat, a provider of global mobile satellite communications services, announced today that the first call has been made using its global handheld service, IsatPhone Pro, which is on track for launch in June 2010. The first images of the new handset have also been released. Read more
Camera & Flash 5 megapixels Autofocus from 6cm to infinity 2X digital zoom LED flash
User can include location of photos from phone's AGPS receiver Video captured at 720x480 pixels at 20 frames per second or higher, depending on lighting conditions Cellular & Wireless UMTS Band 1/4/8 (2100/AWS/900) HSDPA 7.2Mbps HSUPA 2Mbps GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n) Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR A2DP stereo Bluetooth
Graphics, video and audio
Audio decoders AAC LC/LTP, HE-AACv1 (AAC+), HE-AACv2 (enhanced AAC+) Mono/Stereo standard bit rates up to 160 kbps and sampling rates from 8 to 48kHz, AMR-NB 4.75 to 12.2 kbps sampled @ 8kHz, AMR-WB 9 rates from 6.60 kbit/s to 23.85 kbit/s sampled @ 16kHz., MP3 Mono/Stereo 8-320Kbps constant (CBR) or variable bit-rate (VBR), MIDI SMF (Type 0 and 1), DLS Version 1 and 2, XMF/Mobile XMF, RTTTL/RTX, OTA, iMelody, Ogg Vorbis, WAVE (8-bit and 16-bit PCM)
Image JPEG (encode and decode), GIF, PNG, BMP Video H.263 (encode and decode) MPEG-4 SP (encode and decode) H.264 AVC (decode) Audio encoders AMR-NB 4.75 to 12.2 kbps sampled @ 8kHz
Power and battery Removable 1400 mAH battery Charges at 480mA from USB, at 980mA from supplied charger Talk time Up to 10 hours on 2G Up to 7 hours on 3G Standby time Up to 290 hours on 2G Up to 250 hours on 3G Internet use Up to 5 hours on 3G Up to 6.5 hours on Wi-Fi Video playback Up to 7 hours Audio playback Up to 20 hours
Google is expected start a battle for supremacy with Apple by unveiling its vision of how a mobile phone should be made and sold today. The new handset, pitched as a rival to the hugely successful iPhone, is likely to raise the stakes in the internet search leader's bid to gain more control over how people surf the web while on the go Read more