Nokia has released details of it’s newest Internet Tablet, the N810 WME (WiMax Edition). Although it will only be available (for 2008 at least) in the US, it still brings some interesting features to the current range. It’s based on the N810, so still features the QWERTY keyboard and built in GPS added with the N810. On top of that, Nokia have added WiMax (which adds a little extra depth to the back of the unit to accommodate the WiMax antenna). Nokia have managed to keep the WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity options for when WiMax isn’t available (or you are at home /work, and want to utilise your own existing connections).

The most interesting features, though, come with the new version of the OS. This includes a number of bug fixes and an improved email client. However, it also features “Seamless Software Update” which Nokia claims to remove the need for periodic system updates. It’s not clear whether this is an automated version of the current Application Manager update process, or whether it’s similar to the User Data Preservation feature of some of the newer Nokia N-Series devices. The new OS should be available in the Summer for both the N800 and N810 devices.

It appears the new 8.9″ Asus Eee PC may also be coming with a couple of additional goodies. Rumours are that it will come with a touchscreen. We mentioned the touchscreen before, and equally have discussed Asus’ statement saying they weren’t planning it. However, fresh rumours are saying it is likely, and the inclusion of GPS too is interesting. Whether any GPS / mapping software will also ship with the laptop is unknown, nor is it known if this new unit will also have Bluetooth, probably one of the other major hardware omissions so far in the range.

More news as and when we have it confirmed.

Last month Nokia released the Mobile TV device above (the SU-33W), which strangely only currently works with the Nokia N73. However, we didn’t cover the story as there is no DVB-H mobile TV services in the UK. However, Ofcom has announced plans to auction off the relevant frequency range, meaning that we may well soon see such devices being useful in the UK. The above mobile TV receiver connects to the N73 via Bluetooth, which keep the weight and battery life of the phone down to sensible levels when you don’t want or need TV on the move.

Ofcom story courtesy of SMS Text News.

For those that use LinuxMCE to manage your media library, then Java Mobile Orbiter is for you. It’s a Java app that can run on your mobile phone to control your LinuxMCE server via Bluetooth. It should run on a large variety of phones, as long as they support Java and Bluetooth.

[Via Smart Home Blog]

If you own a Nokia Tablet and a recent Windows Mobile smartphone, you’ll be aware that many Windows smartphones now only support PAN (Personal Area Network) to allow external devices (such as Tablets) to use the phone for Internet access. Unfortunately, the Nokia tablets ship with only Bluetooth DUN (Dial Up Networking) support built in, meaning that although they will work fine with Nokia phones and many other phones (including the 3 SkypePhone), they don’t work with the WM phones… until now.

You need to be running the latest OS2008 to be able to use it, but the application integrates nicely into the OS to make it appear like the functionality was always there.

Head here for more information. [Via jkOnTheRun]

The Times have covered the Elonex One, which is a £99 laptop due for formal announcement at The Education Show in Birmingham at the end of February. The One will have 1Gb of memory, WiFi, and run Linux (just like the twice as expensive Eee PC and the thrice as expensive Everex Cloudbook), a 7″ screen, although it has no CD drive. It should weigh aound a kilo (2.2 pounds). Pre-installed software will include web browser, email client, mp3 software, and it will feature access to ONEunion, which seems to be some form of content sharing system. Although being targetted at schools (hence the choice of launch venue), it should also be available for general sale.

Alternatively (and unlike the Eee PC), a second version for £120 will feature Bluetooth and 2Gb of memory instead.

Story from Times Online.

Although designed for BlackBerry devices, there are rumours (although they are just rumours right now) that this device will work with other devices. This will take the Bluetooth signal from the BlackBerry, and then provides a 3.5mm standard audio connector to play the music through a traditional stereo. This will sell in the US for approximately $80 in the US, although whether that will result in a £40, £50 or £80 price in the UK we don’t currently know.

It’s possible, although not confirmed, that the device will also take the stereo music and play it via Bluetooth Headphones.

[Via Engadget]

Zeemote have produced a little Bluetooth joystick, designed explicitly for gaming on mobile phones. With the current relaunch of N-Gage by Nokia, this device could become popular. Although it seems to need support within the game itself, we would have thought that with a little software it should be able to work with most games. The Zeemote is 95 x 35 x 20mm and weighs 47g (including batteries).

The device is not yet available for sale, but should be soon. No information about UK availability is known.

Story courtesy of IntoMobile [Via SMSTextNews]

Sony Ericsson has also announced the G-Series of smartphones. These are UIQ touchscreen phones, but unlike previous UIQ phones, Sony Ericsson has said these have been designed as “Touchscreen Organizers for the Masses”.

The G700 comes in Silk Bronze, has a 3.2 megapixel camera (with image stabilisation and red eye reduction), FM Radio, and Bluetooth (including A2DP).

The G900 comes in Dark Red or Dark Brown, and has a 5 megapixel camera (with autofocus, 3x digital zoom, image stabilisation, red eye reduction, and facial recognition), WiFi, Memory Stick Micro, and Bluetooth (including A2DP). It is 106 x 49 x 13 mm and weighs 99 grams.

Both feature a 2.4″ touchscreen, and we hope to bring more information, including availability when we have it.

Specs direct from Sony Ericsson, with some specs and picture courtesy of Symbian Guru.

Sony Ericsson have announced the Xperia X1 phone. As you can see from the pictures above, the phone includes a full QWERTY keyboard, running Windows Mobile with a 3″ VGA screen, 3.2 megapixel camera, microSD support, Bluetooth (including A2DP), FM Radio, AGPS (not a full built in GPS), WiFi, HSDPA and HSUPA. It is 110 x 53 x 16.7 mm and weighs 145 grams. It will be available in Black and Silver in the second half of 2008.

Specs from SonyEricsson, Picture courtesy of Engadget.

Ahead of the expected launch next week, the German Nokia site listed the N96 complete with full specs. Stefan at IntoMobile released the information. The specs include:

• GPS Built in (A-GPS)
• 5 megapixel camera with dual LED flash
• DVB-H Mobile TV
• WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 (including A2DP)
• 16Gb of built in memory, plus a microSD slot
• 103 x 55 x 18 mm weighing 125g
• FM radio
• Full 3G and HSDPA
• S60 3rd Edition with FP2 (including Flash Lite 3 support)
• Dual Slider format

The downsides? It’s not got a Xenon Flash, the battery is only 950mAh, which may not be enough. Expect more information at Mobile World Congress next week when the formal announcement is expected.

This little device allows you to use your iPod Dock (not included), not for playing music from your iPod, but from your Bluetooth A2DP mobile phone. Plugging into the standard iPod dock connector, it transforms that dock into a Bluetooth compatible dock.

This is available now for £33 from Amazon, either direct, or through our Amazon Store.

Parrot, who produce a range of Bluetooth devices (Handsfree Kits, Photo Frames, Music Devices), have announced that they are forming an alliance with HTC to develop improved compatibility and overall user experience between the companies’ products. The alliance will see HTC working closely with Parrot to align product roadmaps, marketing efforts and channel development to provide an enhanced complimentary solution for customers.

Garmin have announced the Nuviphone, a mobile phone with SatNav capabilities. It has a 3.5″ touchscreen, full browsing and PIM capabilities, HSDPA, Quad-Band (3.5G), WiFi, Bluetooth, and is roughly the same size as the iPhone. As it uses a variant of the same proprietary OS as that on their SatNav devices, the UI will be familiar to many, and will have “millions” of POIs, and will have turn-by-turn voice prompts. However, it will also have Google Local Search capabilities (and potentially other Google apps such as Google Talk, and the camera may integrate with Google Panorama). Finally, it will use the phone network connection to get updates via Garmin Online for real time traffic, fuel prices, news, weather and stock prices (although historically these have been US only data). It is expected to be released in Q3 this year, so in time for Christmas.

The picture above is possibly just a mockup of the device, but Asus plan to announce the M930 at CeBIT later this year in March. The device will run Windows Mobile 6 (Standard, ie no Touchscreen), has a QVGA exterior screen, a 400 x 240 interior display (not a match for the E90’s screen), with a 2 megapixel camera, WiFi, Bluetooth, microSD card slot, 256MB of ROM and 64MB RAM. These specs (smaller screen, no GPS etc.) mean this is likely to be cheaper than the E90 and may take some customers away from Nokia. However, with Nokia and HTC trying to include GPS receivers in all their high spec equipment, this device may not get as many customers as it could.

Picture and Story courtesy of Engadget.

We’ve managed to find some more information on the Everex side panel accessories. These side panel accessories may eventually include:

• Bluetooth VOIP phone
• GPS
• DVB
• 3G / CDMA phone
• World Clock

Picture courtesy of jkOnTheRun.

A lot of people have been trying to connect their TomTom SatNav devices to their new 3 SkypePhones to get traffic updates, and having problems. Crundy, who developed the SkypeIN / SkypeOUT workaround, has released details instructions on how to achieve this, which you can access in the rest of the article.

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For those involved in OpenStreetMap, or for those thinking about getting involved, the NaviGPS is a common unit to use. As well as being able to log large amounts of data to an SD card, the unit functions as a working GPS, which is rare for DataLoggers. Historically, the manufacturer, Locosys, has produced 2 models, the second including Bluetooth to allow the unit to provide the GPS data to a PDA, or other device.

Locosys has announced, at CES, an updated NaviGPS, the GT-31 and BGT-31 (with Bluetooth). This has a SirfIII chipset, is waterproof (and floats), and has battery life of up to 24 hours.

Mio has released the C620 and C620T SatNav units (the latter with RDS-TMC support too). What’s interesting is the 3D mapping data that Mio have included, which makes these units fairly unique at the moment, although we expect more 3D applications / devices to come next year. The 3D maps include digital elevation data, as well 3D images of landmarks. Both units feature Bluetooth and a 4.3″ screen.

If you have a Symbian GPS enabled phone, and want to turn it into a Bluetooth GPS for another device to be able to use the GPS signal, then Symarctic’s ExtGPS maybe the solution. It allows the GPS signal to be accessed over Bluetooth by other devices. This is a Java application, not a Symbian specific one, so will potentially work with other phones too, but so far we’ve only seen reports of success using it on Nokia phones. Best of all, it’s also free!

This could allow you to carry a Nokia N800 Internet Tablet and a Nokia N95 phone, yet still be able to utilise the GPS from the N95 on the N800.

Photo courtesy of Symbian in Motion.