iPhone Now Available at Apple Retail Stores!

Yesterday, June 29 at exactly 6pm, iPhone started to go on sale in 164 US Apple retail stores and selected AT&T shops nationwide. iPhone comes in two variants, a 4GB model for $499 (US) and an 8GB model for $599 (US). You can connect it with either Mac or PC to synchronize and transfer your favorite music and other data. Initially, iPhone will only be offered in US, UK, Japan, Canada and Italy in a first come, first served basis.

Unfortunately, iPhone will be available in the (rest of) asian region sometime in 2008.

Check availability here
Official website here



CLOSER LOOK AT iPHONE
video from CBS

Technical Specifications:

Size and weight

• Height: 4.5 inches (115 mm)
• Width: 2.4 inches (61 mm)
• Depth: 0.46 inch (11.6 mm)
• Weight: 4.8 ounces (135 grams)

In the box

• iPhone
• Stereo Headset
• Dock
• Dock Connector to USB Cable
• USB Power Adapter
• Documentation
• Cleaning/polishing cloth

Capacity

• 4GB or 8GB flash drive

Display

• 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen multi-touch display
• 480-by-320-pixel resolution at 160 dpi
• Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously

Operating system

• OS X

GSM

• Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

Wireless data

• Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)
• EDGE
• Bluetooth 2.0+EDR

Camera

• 2.0 megapixels

Audio

• Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
• Audio formats supported: AAC, Protected AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 1, 2, and 3), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV

Video

• Video formats supported: H.264 video, up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Low-Complexity version of the H.264 Baseline Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; H.264 video, up to 768 Kbps, 320 by 240 pixels, 30 frames per second, Baseline Profile up to Level 1.3 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

Headphones

• Stereo earphones with built-in microphone
• Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
• Impedance: 32 ohms

Mac system requirements

• Mac computer with USB 2.0 port
• Mac OS X v10.4.10 or later
• iTunes 7.3 or later

Windows system requirements

• PC with USB 2.0 port
• Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate Edition; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later
• iTunes 7.3 or later

Environmental requirements

• Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C)
• Nonoperating temperature: -4° to 113° F (-20° to 45° C)
• Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
• Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m)

Input and output

• iPhone
  • 30-pin dock connector
  • 3.5-mm stereo headphone minijack
• iPhone Dock
  • Dock connector

Power and battery

• Built-in rechargeable lithium ion battery
• Talk time: Up to 8 hours
• Standby time: Up to 250 hours
• Internet use: Up to 6 hours
• Video playback: Up to 7 hours
• Audio playback: Up to 24 hours

Official Press release

Free Workshops, Genius Bar Support and One to One Personal Training

CUPERTINO, California—June 28, 2007—Apple’s revolutionary iPhone™ will go on sale this Friday, June 29 at 6:00 p.m. local time at Apple® retail stores nationwide. All 164 Apple retail stores in the US will stay open until midnight, and customers can purchase up to two iPhones on a first come, first served basis. Beginning Saturday morning, iPhone customers can learn how to get the most out of the iPhone with free, in-depth workshops offered throughout the day at all Apple retail stores. Every Apple retail store will offer support for iPhone at the Genius Bar and personal training through Apple’s new One to One program.

“Apple retail stores were created for this moment—to let customers touch and experience a revolutionary new product,” said Ron Johnson, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail. “With our legendary Genius Bar support, free workshops and our One to One personal training, we’re here to help customers get the most from their new iPhone.”

iPhone introduces an entirely new user interface based on a revolutionary multi-touch display and pioneering new software that allows users to control iPhone with just a tap, flick or pinch of their fingers. iPhone combines three products into one small and lightweight handheld device—a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod®, and the Internet in your pocket with best-ever applications on a mobile phone for email, web browsing and maps. iPhone ushers in an era of software power and sophistication never before seen in a mobile device, which completely redefines what users can do on their mobile phones.

Pricing and Availability

iPhone goes on sale in the US on June 29, 2007 at 6:00 p.m. local time through Apple’s retail stores and AT&T’s select retail stores. Apple’s online store will be taking orders for iPhone beginning at 6:00 p.m. PDT. iPhone will be available in a 4GB model for $499 (US) and an 8GB model for $599 (US), and will work with either a PC or Mac®. Beginning June 30 and continuing through the summer, Apple Stores in the US will open early at 9:00 a.m. for iPhone sales. Customers can check iPhone availability at their local Apple retail store starting at 9:00 p.m. the night before at www.apple.com/retail.

[via: Apple Inc.]

SanDisk 6 & 8 GB microSDHC - watch out iPhone!

After Samsung's 8GB microSD announcement last May, SanDisk proudly announces its largest capacity in microSDHC format to date. This addresses the need of the ever increasing storage requirement of modern mobile phones equipped with media players and cameras capable of recording videos in VGA @ 30fps as well as other devices with microSD slot (compatible with SDHC specification). Both capacities are expected to be available before the year ends with prices left unknown.

SanDisk also announces the availability of their largest Memory Stick Micro (M2) into the retail market. The new card is expected to be available worldwide this summer with a suggested retail price of $99.99.

The M2 format was co-developed by SanDisk and Sony Corporation to meet the growing storage needs of highly compact, multimedia mobile phones. The M2 measures 0.59” long x 0.49” wide x 0.05” high, or 15mm x 12.5mm x 1.2mm, making it the second smallest flash memory media in the world, behind the microSD™ format, which SanDisk pioneered.

We can expect the prices of 4GB and lower capacity cards to go down eventually when these high capacity cards are finally released =)

Press release below:

New Capacities Unleash Feature-Rich Multimedia Functionality
In Mobile Handsets

MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, June 27, 2007 – SanDisk^® Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) today announced that it is has begun sampling 6- and 8-gigabyte (GB)¹ microSD™ High Capacity (microSDHC™) flash memory cards to major phone manufacturers and mobile network operators (MNOs) for testing and evaluation. The new cards are ideal for the growing number of feature-rich multimedia handsets that bring together phones, music players, hand-held computers, digital cameras and more. An 8GB microSDHC card can store more than 2,000 digital songs, or more than 5,000 high-resolution pictures, or up to 5 hours of high-quality MPEG 4 video².


Retail release of the cards and availability to phone manufacturers and network operators are planned for later in 2007. Pricing has not yet been determined.

“With these new cards, any mobile phone with a compatible microSDHC slot will have just as much storage as the largest-capacity iPhone,” said Jeff Kost, vice president and general manager of the Mobile Consumer Solutions division at SanDisk. “What’s more, removable cards make it easy to share content you create with friends, ‘sideload’ files from a computer, and add more storage simply by purchasing more cards. By offering capacities of 6GB and 8GB, SanDisk is poised to enable people to enjoy more photos, more map data for navigation, more videos, more games and more music, wherever they go, on any phone with a compatible microSDHC slot.”

SDHC is the designation for any SD™ or SD-based card that is larger than 2GB and adheres to the new SD 2.00 specification required for cards and hosts to support 4GB to 32GB capacities. The specification was developed by the SD Association, an industry standards board, which has also created three classes to define minimum sustained data transfer speed. These cards adhere to the SD Speed Class 4 Rating³.

¹1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes.
² Approximations based on JPEG images on 5 MP camera with average file size of 1.5 megabytes (for pictures); 4 minute songs at 128 kbps MP3 (for songs) and 5 hours of MPEG 4 video (30 frames per second, 640x480, 3Mb/sec. for video). Actual numbers may vary.
³ Based on SanDisk internal testing.

[via: SanDisk Corporation]

Last 2 Days For Your Chance of Winning a Nokia 5700!

If you really love Nokia's new xpressmusic twister 5700 or just wishing of replacing your outdated phone then there's no other place to go, just click this link http://www.musicconnects.nokia-asia.com/ and you could be one of the 8 winners. Simply mix-and-match N5700's eight product features to its corresponding descriptions as fast as you can, and if you ended up to be in the top fastest 8, you win! Hurry, take your best shot now!

The contest is open to participants of legal age who are residents of Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

Nokia Nseries DJ Mixer

If you think that the main Nseries website has it all then think twice, coz Nseries India has something else for all DJs and wannabes (like me LOL) and actually singers too! The DJ mixer has 2 functions, named as karaoke and mixer. With the latter, you can make your own playlists or select an existing one from the music files you have on your music phone. The only downside is that it's not compatible with other music file formats aside from MP3 (yet). Meaning, if you have some of your files converted into WMA or eAAC+ using the nokia music manager and other converters, you won't be able to load your music and use the DJ mixer's cool features. To use the mixer, simply make your playlist and listen to it then mix the styles as you wish!

Now let's go with the karaoke function. Same with the mixer, load and play your own MP3s from your device and record then save your very own karaoke tune. You can mix your voice as well but be sure that you're alone so nobody will hear your nice and talented voice =)

Nseries DJ Mixer is available for the N70ME, N80, N91, N91ME N73, N93, N93i and N73ME but the Mobile Diva (Darla Mack) has been using it with her lovely pink N95.

Download it here: Nseries India

[via: DarlaMack]

A New Dimension from Opera Mini

One of the world's most anticipated free browser - Opera Mini 4 beta (code named Dimension) is already available for download. Simply type in http://mini.opera.com/beta on your phone's browser to download and install Opera Mini 4 beta directly on your mobile device and see its slick transition effects, highlights plus mini map like feature ala S60's latest open source browser!

New key features are:

Get all RSS news on your phone

Subscribe to your favorite RSS news feeds and every time you connect with Opera Mini all updates are just one click away. Sort the articles by feed source or by date.

Point, snap, publish

Share a picture from anywhere, anytime with your phone using Opera Mini's photo sharing feature. Upload your photo to a blog or forum, or as an e-mail attachment. Photo sharing just got easier.

Get stuff

With Opera Mini you can download files directly to your mobile phone from the Web . Get all the sound bytes, images, documents and applications straight from the site.

Safe and sound

Do even more online with Opera Mini. Secure connections will now let you safely use secured sites, such as your e-mail, bank site, online stores, with no exposure of your personal details.

And now even faster

All subsequent requests to a server within a session are now quicker. Opera Mini keeps an open connection between server and client reducing overhead TCP set -up times.

Mini Technology

Opera Mini uses a remote server to pre-process Web pages before sending them to your phone. Web content is compressed to reduce the size of data transferred, enabling handling on simpler phones and creating fast browsing at low costs.

Opera Mini™ simply offers user-friendly access to all Web pages to nearly all mobile phones. It has all the features expected of a browser, and more, such as content download, bookmarks, skins, multi-search and smooth scrolling. In addition, Opera Mini recognizes your phone's capabilities and optimizes Web pages accordingly for fast and easy browsing.

[via: Opera Software ASA]

YouTube Mobile Goes Live!

Now that YouTube mobile is finally here, everybody can watch videos whilst on the go! Since this is a data hungry service, it is advisable for the user to have an unlimited data plan or a time based charging (i.e. per 30 mins, 1 hr, etc..) for one to enjoy watching videos without worrying that much on high fees being charged into their accounts. Luckily, since I am a Smart subscriber here in Manila, I can watch around 6 videos in 30 mins and it only costs around USD0.21!

Just point your browser to http://m.youtube.com and experience YouTube on your mobile devices!

Nokia 6267, Nokia 3500 classic and Nokia 6121 classic

June 18, 2007 Nokia announced three new models catered for the mid-range market. However, as you may also come to have notice, 6121c and the previously announced 6120c doesn't seem to have any significant changes (except for the increased battery capacity of 890 mAh from 820 mAh and more color options..). Nokia, what's the reason anyway?

The following handsets will start shipping this year in the 3rd quarter. Full press release by Nokia below.

Nokia 6267: Keeping it simple. Easy-to-access music, videos and photos

throughWith dedicated media keys and multimedia applications, the colorful No premium on keeping it simple, so that listening to music, watching videos and sortingkia 6267 places a photos is a breeze. The Nokia 6267 includes an enhanced music player and dedicated keys to make listening to music uncomplicated. Capturing events and playback of video clips and stills for family and friends is also easier and impressive with the new high speed video capability and two cameras, including a 2 megapixel camera with flash and 8X digital zoom. The Nokia 6267 utilizes 3G technology for fast downloads, Internet browsing and video calls. The sleek and compact fold phone also offers a large keypad and high resolution screen, calendar, organizer, and support for up to 4GB of expandable memory to store movie clips, images and music. The Nokia 6267 has up to 6.5 hours of talk time and up to 12.5 days of standby time. The anticipated retail price of the Nokia 6267 is EUR 240, before taxes and subsidies.

Nokia 3500 classic: Affordable mobile technology in a timeless design

For consumers who are looking for an easy-to-use, stylish yet affordable mobile phone, the Nokia 3500 classic offers traditional features in a timeless design. The sleek, comfortable Nokia 3500 classic will be available as a collection of vibrant colours with eye-catching keymat split line colouring. The metal frame around the phone accentuates a sophisticated design language and offers protection as well. The Nokia 3500 classic comes with an FM radio, 2 megapixel camera, instant messaging and space for 2,000 phone contacts. It offers up to 3 hours of talk time and up to 12 days of standby time. The anticipated retail price of the Nokia 3500 classic is EUR 135, before taxes and subsidies.

Nokia 6121 classic: A versatile smartphone for 3G technology

The Nokia 6121 classic, a fast and versatile smartphone in a compact design, supports quadband GSM and WCDMA 900/2100 technology. With a 2-megapixel camera and 4X- digital zoom, flash and panorama mode, taking high-quality photos is fast and easy. Additionally, the Nokia 6121 classic also features a second camera in the front that adds a personal touch to calls by making use of the video call feature. The Nokia 6121 classic utilizes HSDPA technology providing faster and easier downloads, Internet browsing, video streaming and receiving emails with attachements. The Data Transfer application allows consumers to transfer contacts, calendars, photos, videos and files from their previous Nokia to their new Nokia 6121 classic. The anticipated retail price of the Nokia 6121 classic is EUR 260, before taxes and subsidies.

[via: Nokia]

ZDNet Reviews Nokia 5700

The latest XpressMusic phone was finally reviewed by CNET! Currently, Nokia 5700 is one of my choices (aside from N95) to replace my 14 month old 3250. My main reasons...

1) It has the latest Symbian OS version S60 3.1 (a.k.a. Symbian 9.2) currently available in the market

2) 2.2" TFT 16 million QVGA screen

3) 3G connectivity

4) 369mhz CPU clock speed with 64mb SDRAM (approx. 18mb free executable)

5) LED flash and QVGA video capture @ 15 fps

6) Better music player than 3250 with support for album art and audio visualizations

7) Standard connectors/media card (like miniUSB, microSD, 2.5mm jack)

8) Bluetooth stereo support (AdvancedAudio2DistributionProfile)

9) Flash support in the latest open source S60 browser

10) And finally, the price I just love it! Considering all the features (plus upgraded hardware), it's even more affordable than my 3250 (initial release prices)!

Only thing missing (at least for me), an auto-focusing lens! Nokia, I'am patiently waiting for your announcement of an express music phone (targeted at mid-range customers like me) with at least 3mpx sensor with AF!



Here's what CNET has to say:


THE GOOD: The Nokia 5700 Xpress Music offers a user-friendly design, an impressive array of features, and admirable call and music quality.

THE BAD: Some of the Nokia 5700 Xpress Music's controls were difficult to use and its photo quality was disappointing. Also, it doesn't support a U.S. 3G band.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The Nokia 5700 Xpress Music cell phone continues the trend set by the Nokia 5300, offering a satisfying combination of features, performance, and design.

* Reviewed by:
* Kent German
* Review date: 6/12/07


Nokia 5700 Xpress Music

It's no secret that we're big fans of the Nokia 5300 Xpress Music. In fact, we loved it so much when we reviewed it last year that we gave it a CNET Editors' Choice award. So you can imagine we were a bit excited when the new Nokia 5700 Xpress Music landed in our office. As the update to the 5300, the 5700 offers everything found on its predecessor but with a new design twist--literally--and improved features. On the performance side, calling and music quality shine, but photo quality was disappointing. At the time of the writing, no U.S. carrier has picked up the 5700 so it remains a bit pricey at $400. And unfortunately, because the 5700 supports only the WCDMA band used in Europe, it's unlikely it will land here in its present form.


Design

Instead of incorporating the 5300's slider design the Nokia 5700 Xpress Music offers a twisting base like that on the Nokia 3250. The keypad, camera lens, and dedicated music controls are located on different sides and each base position is used for a different function. With the keypad facing forward, you can make calls as normal and access all menu applications. Picture time? That's no problem. Just turn the base 90 degrees and the shooter kicks into gear instantly. A turn to the left activates the camera's normal mode, while a turn to the right lets you take self-portraits. Or if you're pining for some tunes, just rotate the base a full 180 degrees to the right to start the music player.


Nokia 5700 Xpress Music

The 5700's 2.2-inch (320x240 pixels) display supports a brilliant 16 million colors. Vibrant and bright, it's great for viewing everything from text to graphics, and it's quite suitable as the viewfinder for the camera. The menus are user-friendly and attractive, and we love that Nokia provides a description of unfamiliar applications if you hold the cursor over the corresponding icon. You can change the font size, the backlight time, and the brightness. Our only complaint is that the display attracts fingerprints and smudges.


Nokia 5700 Xpress Music

The Nokia 5700 Xpress Music has dedicated music player controls.

Below the display are the spacious and tactile navigation controls. A five-way joystick doubles as a shortcut to four-user defined functions, but it was a little tricky to use. In the "up" direction, we kept selecting things by accident rather than moving the cursor. There are also two soft keys, which are programmable for one-touch access, and the Talk and End buttons. Menu access is through a dedicated button to the left of the array while a clear key sits to the right. Both are covered in a tactile, rubbery skin. Similarly, the large keypad buttons are raised above the surface of the phone so we had no problems dialing by feel. The backlighting was rather dim, though, and the text on the keys may be too small for some users to read easily.

Read the complete review [via: ZDNET | CNET]

Casio Exilim 5MP Camera-Phone

Casio joined N95 and pumped up the megapixel race (not only in the stand alone digicam market) with the launch of their new Casio W53CA Exilim mobile phone. Yup! you heard it right, its an Exilim sub branded phone just like Sony Ericsson's CyberShot! If (only) this model will be introduced and be available outside of Japan, there's no doubt, this will make the competition harder for Nokia, Sony Ericsson and other mobile handset makers. As an imaging centric device, casio focuses on the functionality and quality of its camera. Technical specs below:

-5 megapixels with 9 point auto-focusing, a 28mm lens, autofocus and a high-speed shutter

-large 2.8" internal display with an incredible 480×800 pixel VGA resolution

-MP3 player, email client, InfraRed and a a microSD slot for memory expansion

[via: MobileMentalism]

REQUEST & DOWNLOAD BOX

Need something for your phone? Simply drop in your requests here! You can also download some of my favorite apps and games here soon. Watch out for it!

- Wallpaper Manager

- Phone Call Recorder

- Micro Counter Strike

- Pimp Your N3250 & 5700
(DEMO HERE)

- N.E. Systems MediaSafe

- Handy Profiles

- Vampent vBag GBA Emulator v1.1

- Mario Kart Super Circuit [GBA ROM]

-Sexy Sadie [alert tones]

-NTorchLite for S60v3

-Nokia Nseries 4 (3rd Ed Theme) [N95 8GB, N81 & N82 default themes]

-Nokia Nseries FeaturePack2 Blue Theme

-Nokia Nseries FeaturePack2 Orange Theme

QUESTION BOX

Hi! Kindly leave your questions and I'll try my best to answer it ASAP. Thanks!