VoIP over 3G networks now available on the iPhone with iCall

VoIP on the iPhone has quite a turbulent past, but they eventually reached a compromise - VoIP apps are allowed but only through Wi-Fi. But that was quite limiting - VoIP apps usually offer free calls between two users running the app, but the killer feature was the cheap international calls and if you're limited to using Wi-Fi only, then you're limited to only a few locations in which you can make and receive such calls.

But Apple has lifted the Wi-Fi-only restriction through a change in the iPhone SDK and there's already an app available that takes advantage of that. It's called the iCall and it's available for download now.

Here's a short video that demonstrates the iCall doing an international call, with an interface that looks almost exactly like the regular call interface on the iPhone.

International call rates never exceed 6 cents a minute for each of the 50 countries included. Here's a more detailed map with the costs for each country.

Source

Firefox for Android, a.k.a. Fennec, coming in February 2010?

It's been a while since we first heard that an Android-compatible Firefox version is in the works. Word on the street is that the waiting is almost over: we can expect the first beta version of the Fennec to show up this February.

Reportedly, Mozilla's Firefox for Android OS powered devices (or Fennec, as they call the mobile version of the web browser), has been cooking since December 2009 but now most of the work is done and the company is about to release the first beta of the application.

During a meeting of the Mozilla team it was announced that this beta will be launched sometime in February 2010.

Currently, Firefox is among the most popular PC web browsers. It has been available for Maemo-based devices for a while now (such as Nokia N900 and Nokia N800) and there is also an alpha version for WinMo devices. But now with the Firefox for Android company's plans go even further. So, what's left? Maybe seeing it in the AppStore isn't too far away now?

Source

Nokia having a stormer in Q4, earn piles of cash

Last year was certainly not too kind to Nokia as its sales kept shrinking for the first three quarter, but oh my do we have a surprise for you here. Apparently the Nokia phones have been flying off the shelves during the holiday season and the company has ended the year with a net profit of good 882 million euro. Not bad for a year, plagued by a global financial and economy crisis, is it?

The world's largest manufacturer has managed to ship 126.9 million devices in Q4 2009, which is 12% better than Q4 of 2008 and 17% better than Q3 of 2009. Those have generated a revenue of nearly 12 billion euro (which is a 5.3% decrease Year-on-Year and 22.2% increase Quarter-on-Quarter).

The company estimates its market share to 39%, which is better than both the 37% in Q4 2008 and the 38% in Q3 2009. Based on the full year sales though the Nokia estimates its market share to 38%, which is a 1% decrease compared to the whole previous year.

Admittedly the profit of the company would have been much higher if the Nokia-Siemens Networks division wasn't doing so badly - it ended the year with more than 1.6 billion euro operating loss. One would think that with so many HSPA network updates carried around the world and LTE kicking in the infrastructure companies will be doing much better but apparently something is terribly wrong with this Nokia division.

For more information about the Nokia Q4 financial report please follow the link.

Meanwhile, Nokia announced the availability of the new Ovi Maps version for the Nokia N97. Coming with free voice-guided navigation this is one of the most major application updates that Nokia (or any other company for that matter) have released recently.

If you happen to be a Nokia N97 owner, you head over to the Ovi Maps official website and get your update right now.

Nokia 2730 classic review: Start small

Introduction

The Nokia 2730 classic is part of a trio of dirty-cheap phones headed to emerging markets. It’s an economy pack that tries to give value for money. The Nokia 2730 classic boasts the most advanced features of the bunch of cheap handsets (some of which dip down to 25 euro a piece). The 2730 classic is actually trying to stay a cut above the typical low-end phone, with 3G data speeds and a 1GB microSD card in the box.

Nokia 2730 classic official photo

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• Dual-band 3G
• 2.0" 262K-color QVGA display
• 2-megapixel fixed-focus camera
• S40 user interface, 5th edition
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• Standard 3.5mm audio jack
• Bluetooth (with A2DP) and microUSB port
• Hot-swappable microSD card slot (2 GB supported, 1GB included)
• Ovi Store, Ovi Maps and Ovi Share

Main disadvantages:

• Smallish display with poor viewing angles and sunlight legibility
• S40 interface feels clunky and out of date
• Stiff clicking controls and keypad
• Questionable build quality
• No smart dialing

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Nokia 2730 classic at our office

he 2730 classic is an entry-level offer, which is likely to enjoy robust demand. This handsets seems the right thing to get us to try out a new format of reviews – crisp and short, all on one page. So, let’s not waste any more time and space and head straight to unboxing.

360 degree spin and unboxing

It’s a tiny box the Nokia 2730 classic comes in and it actually has all the essentials – a BL-5C Li-Ion battery (1020mAh), a charger, one-piece headset and a microUSB cable. There’s a complimentary 1GB microSD card in the box and the handset supports up to 2GB.

A small box has it all

LG GD510 Pop review: Mobile pop culture

Introduction

It looks like LG have been playing their own version of will it blend. There's no need to tell you they're not playing for fun - they're rather trying to squeeze some more cash off a couple of hot-selling handsets. So, here's the deal. Get your blender, throw in an LG Arena and a Cookie and set the speed to "budget". And there you have it - an LG GD510 Pop - ready to be served to the happy masses. The "pop" LG are going for is definitely "popular", as opposed to the "popstar stuff" some of you may have hoped for.

You can go ahead and call it the new Cookie, or the low-cost Arena, but the LG Pop is quite obviously keen to have its own purpose and personality. The optional battery cover fitting a solar panel and the all-round eco-friendliness are one way for it to stand on its own two feet as a phone.

LG GD510 Pop official photos

Apart from that, the Pop is just another midrange touchscreen. And this is by no means a guilty verdict. The LG Cookie used to be just another touchscreen too. Certainly not now - over 5 million units sold later. The Pop is perhaps setting its hopes high as well. Let's see if the classic unisex design, the feature mix and the affordable price tag can do it for it too.

Key features:

• 3.0" 256K-color TFT LCD touchscreen display (240x400 pixels)
• 3.15 megapixel fixed focus camera, QVGA video @ 15fps
• Quad-band GSM support
• Bluetooth with A2DP and microUSB v2.0
• microSD card memory expansion
• Standard microUSB port
• FM radio with RDS
• Widget interface and LiveSquare homescreen
• Accelerometer sensor for automatic screen rotation and turn-to-mute
• Landscape on-screen QWERTY keyboard
• Office document viewer
• Smart dialing
• Nice battery life
• Optional solar panel battery cover
• Allegedly affordable price

Main disadvantages:

• No 3G support, no Wi-Fi
• Display has poor sunlight legibility
• No DivX/XviD video support
• Camera lacks autofocus and flash
• Video recording maxes out at QVGA@15fps
• No standard 3.5mm audio jack

There's something about the styling of the Pop that might misguide users to expect Arena-like functionality. In fact, the only Arena stuff inside is the S-Class-styled main menu - the rest of the interface is like on the LG Cookie. The important features for the mass user are there but the expected price bracket doesn't really imply high-end specs.

Many people might miss the camera autofocus and 3G support. And yes, some would have been delighted to get Wi-Fi support on the spec sheet. To us, the most important omission - given the potential target audience - is DivX/XviD support. Anyway, the reason for all that is more than clear: specs are sticking to the basics to keep the price tag comfortably low.

LG GD510 Pop live shots

We guess, there's no reason to construe the GD510 Pop as an upgrade to the LG KP500 Cookie. The Pop is simply the next LG handset to try and tap on the demand for basic affordable touchscreens. An inevitable response to what Samsung are doing with the Star, the Preston and the Corby. To set it apart from the Cookie, the Pop was given some of the LG Arena styling, an optional solar panel and has taken an altogether greener stance.

We praised the Cookie for its handling and style, and the Pop has quite a lot to live up to. The first impression is promising enough though. The Arena-like looks and absolutely minimalist exterior may receive a warm enough reception.

More on the LG GD510 Pop coming up after the jump. We can safely say the LG Pop looks above its class but let's see how it handles.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 review: Another one in

Introduction

It was back in February 2008 that the XPERIA lineup was born and it took Sony Ericsson almost two years to bring about the XPERIA X1 successor. The long waiting is over now and the XPERIA X2 is keen to prove to us all it was worth it.

Both devices obviously have lots of features in common (it's the same amount of memory - both RAM and ROM, and the same CPU) but there are - possibly - enough improvements to make the XPERIA X2 a strong successor and a valuable upgrade. And by telling you that, we don't only mean the more recent version of WinMo. 6.5 was never officially compatible with the original.

Anyway, the upgraded imaging is the greatest asset of the XPERIA X2 hardware and we're about to see how much it works in its favor.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 official images

Before we kick off though, a bit of family tree stuff. The XPERIA X2 is only the second PocketPC in the series after the X1. The X10 runs Android and so does the rumored Robyn, while the Pureness isn't even a smartphone. The XPERIA lineup comes in different shapes and sizes but it all started with Windows Mobile. The X2 is perfectly aware of that and comes to offer some all-round PocketPC skills and the aggressive styling of its forerunner.

Key features:

• Quad-band GSM support
• Tri-band 3G with HSDPA 7.2Mbps and HSUPA 2Mbps
• Four-row slide-and-tilt QWERTY keyboard
• Landscape and portrait virtual QWERTY keyboards
• Handwriting recognition
• 3.2" 65K-color TFT LCD resistive touchscreen (480 x 800 pixels)
• Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional
• XPERIA panels user interface
• Accelerometer sensor
• Qualcomm MSM 7200 528 MHz CPU, 256 MB of RAM memory
• 8.1 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash
• WVGA video recording at 30fps
• Support for DivX/XviD files out of the box
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, DLNA
• Built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS support
• Bluetooth and USB (standard microUSB connector) v2.0
• 3.5mm standard audio jack
• Stereo speakers
• Flash video support
• TV out port, TV out cable supplied in the retail box

Main disadvantages:

• Outdated hardware
• Sluggish interface
• Display still on the small side, inadequate touch sensitivity and sunlight legibility
• Almost no screen auto-rotation throughout the UI
• Disappointing video recording
• Basic music player

As we said in the preview a few months back, there aren't many groundbreaking features to see, but the XPERIA X2 is definitely worth a look to check what it can actually do.

Well, if you're looking for Snapdragon speed, you won't find it here. There's no capacitive touchscreen either. And the X2 also skips an FM radio and its camera has no Xenon flash. But you get all the business benefits you would expect in a phone in this class, with some nice media too.

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 packs the full range of connectivity options, hopefully a capable enough CPU, a comfy slide-and-tilt QWERTY keyboard, promising autofocus camera and, like its predecessor, it has a 3.5mm audio jack on board. The trackpad is also there (even if it's been redesigned).

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 live shots

While the XPERIA X1 came with a 3" display, the X2's screen measures 3.2 inches, but keeps the same 800 x 480 resolution. Among the most important novelties brought by the X2 is the latest firmware version: Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional. The revamped touch-optimized X-panels interface has been promoted to a full featured system for handling various animated and interactive homescreens.

Unlike the early version of the X2 which we had for a spin and a short preview, this one comes off the shelves so no excuses this time! After the jump a 360 degree spin awaits, along with our say on design and construction. But first things first - next up: unboxing.

Nokia blesses all its smartphones with free voice-guided navigation

Nope, there is no mistake in the title. Today, in a swift game-changing maneuvre, Nokia announced that all their smartphones will get lifetime voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation through Ovi Maps for free. All you need is download the free new 3.3 version of Ovi Maps and you are good to go.

According to the company this new version includes high-end walk and drive turn-by-turn voice navigation at no cost at all. Ovi Maps navigation is currently available in 74 countries and 46 languages, with even traffic information for more than 10 of those.

Ovi Maps 3.3

In any case this is a huge leap forward for Nokia and the value of their handsets. The Ovi Maps is even better than the Google's free Google Maps navigation as it doesn't necessarily need internet connection on-the-go to work - you can preload maps from a computer to escape data charges.

In addition Nokia have also substantially upgraded the Ovi Maps application itself, so it now packs a cooler looking interface, the Lonely planet city guide and Michelin restaurant guide with lots and lots of points of interest. There's also an events guide that lists all events happening within a 3km radius of your position and provides you with details on each one.

So what are you waiting for? Follow the link and get your free Ovi Maps update and you can use the voice guidance on your way back from work. You can also download it straight from your Nokia handset through the SW update utility.

Source

TeliaSonera launches the first LTE (4G) networks in Scandinavia

Let us welcome you into the future. While some already pretty well-developed countries are yet struggling to build reliable 3G networks, TeliaSonera is already making a push for LTE (the 4th gen networks) commercially available.

There aren't any publicly available phones that can make use of it but those will certainly come sooner rather than later. For now the owners of the LTE-supporting laptop modems will be the only potential customers.

The Sweden and Norwegian capital cities, Stockholm and Oslo are the first to enjoy the blessing 100Mbps-capable touch of the LTE. Ericsson supplied the equipment for the Swedes, while Huawei were chosen in Norway.

Those 100 Mpbs certainly sound pretty impressive, considering that the fastest HSPA-enabled 3G networks today offer a tenth of that. If and when will the mobile phones hardware be able to process data with such speeds is a whole other question of course, but that doesn't make the LTE technology any less of a significant achievement.

Finland will also have their 4G network up and running in Q1 of 2010, and O2 is already testing theirs in the UK so you might want to prepare for a few LTE announcements at the MWC in Barcelona in February next year. Or is it just us getting a little too excited a little too early?

Source

3 Scandinavia and Ericsson to launch 84 Mbps HSPA network

3 Scandinavia, together with Ericsson, are about to launch world's fastest 3G network. This will allow data transfer speeds over HSPA to jump from the current 21Mbps to 84Mbps. This news comes only a month after TeliaSonera's introduction of the first commercially available LTE (the other way to say 4G) networks in Scandinavia.

TeliaSonera's promise for speeds reaching 100Mbps sounds way more intriguing but let's not forget that its LTE netwkork is only available in selected cities across Scandinavia (by far those include only Stockholm and Oslo).

3 Scandinavia, on the other hand, will spread their 84Mbps HSPA network across whole Denmark as well as in 4 major cities in Sweden. The needed equipment will be supplied by Ericsson and as both companies state the rollout is expected to start in the first quarter of 2010.

There are lots of differences between the LTE and the 84Mbps HSPA networks but what is more important, they have something in common - at the moment there still aren't any publicly available mobile phone compatible with either of those modern networks.

But hey, who says mobile broadband is for mobile phones only. We're sure rad warriors will surely appreciate a speed upgrade for their laptops as well.

Source

Lenovo LePhone to hit China in a few months, rest of the world later

Despite the ongoing argument between Google and China, the Lenovo LePhone is on track for its release in China. The LePhone is only Lenovo's second attempt at an Android phone but its specs echo those of the Nexus One.

The Lenovo LePhone is powered by a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU and sports a 3.7" AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with WVGA resolution. Wi-Fi and GPS are on board too, but the camera is only a 3MP one. The phone is quite thin at 12mm.

Lenovo LePhone

Still, the LePhone is interesting in another way - it's got a one-off detachable QWERTY keyboard. The phone and keyboard combo almost turn the device into a proper MID. The Lenovo LePhone runs a modified version of Android 2.1 - it takes the main menu design cues from the iPhone, while offering card-like multitasking like Palm's WebOS. But you know, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, as they say.

The Lenovo LePhone will launch in China in May with the rest of the world supposed to follow later this year. Lenovo plans to sell the LePhone to the three major Chinese operators so that means CDMA and the home-brewed TD-CDMA 3G, but China Mobile and China Unicom run GSM networks too, so keep you're fingers crossed for a GSM/UMTS version of the LePhone.

Source

Sony Ericsson loses another 167M euro, puts all hopes on X10

Sony Ericsson keep struggling with the challenging market conditions and recorded another losing quarter to end the 2009. Despite selling half a million handsets more than they did in the Q4 of last year they still scored a loss of 167 million euro.

As was to be expected, the holiday season increased the average selling price of the Sony Ericsson devices to 120 euro and the number of units sold to 14.6 million. Those numbers would have been even higher, had the XPERIA X2 and XPERIA X10 managed to reach the market in time but, alas, they didn't make it in time.

Meanwhile the company's painful restructuring continues and swallowed another 150 million euro. It should be able to save the company good 800 million euro a year in the end but we are already starting to doubt if they will survive long enough to enjoy the benefits.

The full 2009 financial report of Sony Ericsson shows that the company managed to ship 57.1 million handsets (41 decrease compared to 2008) for an average price of 119 euro (2.5% increase). The net loss for the period totals 836 million euro. Gulp!

Considering that the company has a net cash position of 620 million euro they have no chance of surviving yet another year like this so let's hope that, for the sake of competition, things start to improve.

With the forecasts being of a slight growth in units shipped in the global handset market in the upcoming year, it might just be good enough ground for the X10, X2 and the Vivaz to sell well enough to save the company. Perhaps we can even expect a major release next month at the MWC that should change the whole game.

For more numbers from the Sony Ericsson report follow the link

Garmin-Asus Nuvifone M10 is now official, WinMo 6.5.3 onboard

Today Garmin-Asus quietly announced their next smartphone - the Nuvifone M10. The most interesting thing about the M10 is the Windows Mobile 6.5.3 (codename Maldives) packed inside, which makes it the first device with the latest Microsoft mobile OS.

The Nuvifone M10 will sport a 3.5" WVGA TFT touchscreen, 600MHz processor (manufacturer is still unknown), 512 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM, 4 GB internal storage, a 5 megapixel camera, 3G connectivity, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth and microSD card slot. It will come with the latest Windows Mobile 6.5.3. We've already had a few peaks of it in our GSMArena Team blog. It has yet to be officially announced by Microsoft though.

As its older siblings from the Nuvifone family G60 and M20, the M10 will come with full navigation services from Garmin, which will turn your phone into a complete SatNav solution.

Garmin-Asus Nuvifone M10 is already available for pre-order in Taiwan and costs about 310 euro (435 US dollars). The handset will most probably premiere at the MWC 2010 in February, along with the duo's first Android device.

Samsung B5310 CorbyPRO review: Type and go

Introduction

The S3650 Corby was just the beginning of a lineup that appears to have no visible end. There is a Corby for the touchscreen addicts, a Corby for the music buffs, Corby for the heavy texters, Corby for the young, and one for their parents. That’s pretty much everyone, don’t you think? We guess there should even be a Corby for the bored-with-the-Corby.

The founding member of the Corby wasn’t announced so long ago, but so much has been changed. Well, if you put the S3650 Corby and the recently announced B5310 CorbyPRO side by side you'll notice one thing that hasn't changed at all: design. But on the inside they are very different, indeed.

Samsung B5310 CorbyPRO official photos

The Samsung CorbyPRO is meant for a different range of users altogether. It combines great texting and the intuitive touchscreen control tops that up with a nice connectivity package (such as HSDPA, Wi-Fi, GPS and a 3.5mm audio jack) and all that is delivered at a bargain price.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/EDGE
• Dual-band UMTS support with HSDPA
• 2.8" resistive TFT touchscreen of QVGA resolution
• Four-row side-slide QWERTY keyboard
• 150 MB onboard storage, microSD card slot (up to 16GB)
• 3.15 megapixel fixed-focus camera with smile detection, QVGA video @ 15fps
• FM radio with RDS
• Find Music recognition service
• TouchWiz and Cartoon UI
• Social networking integration with direct file uploads
• GPS with A-GPS support
• Wi-Fi and GPS
• 3.5mm audio jack
• Accelerometer sensor for screen auto rotation
• Office document viewer
• Excellent web browser
• Push email
• Smart unlock
• Replaceable rear covers (Fashion Jackets)

Main disadvantages

• Disappointing sunlight legibility
• The camera has no autofocus or flash
• Video recording maxes out at QVGA@15fps
• All preinstalled games are trial versions only
• Google Maps is the only GPS navigation app
• microSD slot is under the battery cover

The original Corby was all about design, about touchscreen, about budget. The CorbyPRO, on the other hand, has managed to keep all that but goes much further by adding some killer features that are well above the S3650 league.

For instance, now you get UMTS support with HSDPA which will dramatically boost web browsing. But the really big news here is Wi-Fi support. It is a great addition to the comfy QWERTY keyboard and the numerous social networking services that the phone gives you access to.

Samsung B5310 live shots

Strangely, the latest of the Corbies also has an integrated GPS receiver. You can use it for image geotagging as well as for navigation. Unfortunately, if you decide to use your CorbyPRO into a GPS nav device you'll have to solely rely on the preloaded Google Maps app or on a third-party Java alternative.

And when it comes to the Corby basics, we shouldn't forget to mention the 2.8" touchscreen. Well, it turned out to be resistive this time around but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The colorful UI is also aboard and, unfortunately, so is the fixed-focus camera (3-megapixel this time).

Nokia X6 review: Going up the ladder

Introduction

In the world of Nokia it's all about evolution, rather than revolution. So don't expect the specs on the X6 to blow your mind. The handset is the next step for the market leader scrambling to make up for a late start in touch- screens. To be honest, the Symbian S60 touch edition has been struggling to catch up with the standard setters in terms of user experience. And the X6 claims to have the answer: the responsiveness only a capacitive screen can bring.

Nokia X6 official photos

The Nokia X6 is also the first XpressMusic handset to head straight for the high-end. Midrange is the highest the music Finns have gone so we are interested to see how this change of approach works. Nokia have always had a strong appeal to the masses, but pleasing the selected few is undoubtedly harder.

Key features:

• Quad-band GSM support
• Tri-band 3G with HSDPA support
• 3.2" 16M-color TFT LCD 16:9 capacitive touchscreen (360 x 640 pixels)
• Symbian S60 5th edition UI
• ARM 11 434 MHz CPU, 128 MB of RAM memory
• 5 megapixel autofocus camera with dual-LED flash
• VGA video recording at 30fps
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, UPnP technology
• Built-in GPS receiver
• 32GB built-in storage
• FM radio with RDS
• Bluetooth and USB (standard microUSB connector) v2.0
• 3.5mm standard audio jack
• Very good audio quality
• Proximity sensor for screen auto turn-off
• Accelerometer sensor for automatic UI rotation and motion-based gaming
• Stereo speakers
• TV out
• "Comes with music" edition gives you a year of all-you-can-eat music subscription
• Landscape on-screen virtual QWERTY keyboard
• Ovi Maps 3.0 Touch
• Further Ovi and MySpace service integration (direct image and video uploads)
• Most regional retail packages include a set of the great Nokia WH-500 headphones

Main disadvantages:

• X6 is still quite pricey (around 500 euro at the time of writing)
• UI is still immature with somewhat inconsistent user experience
• Touch web browser not quite polished and with dodgy Flash support
• No voice-guided navigation license
• No office document viewer preinstalled
• Doesn't charge off microUSB
• Very poor sunlight legibility
• Slow image gallery
• No DivX/XviD support for the video player
• No microSD card slot (as a connectivity solution)

As you can see in the two lists above there is almost nothing new in the software package, so it all falls on the hardware to justify the high asking price. The well-stuffed retail package is a great place to start but does the capacitive screen improve usability enough to be worth the extra money over, say, the 5800 XpressMusic? And the difference in price is by no means trivial.

Nokia X6 at ours

In the increasingly competitive touchscreen market manufacturers don't have much room for error. The unpolished S60 UI is enough of a burden already, so Nokia X6 has to be near perfect in every other respect. A tall task indeed, but let's see how they've tackled it.