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Sony Clie PDA: End Of The Line

Sony Stops Development On Its Clie PDA Range Sony has announced that it is to end production on its Clie line of PDAs in Japan.

The move comes eight months after the company said it would stop developing new Clie models for the US and European markets, to concentrate on Japanese users.

First launched by the Tokyo company in mid-2000, Sony’s Clie handhelds gave an almighty kick up the backside of PalmOne and stirred up the market with a series of dazzling innovations.

Their last two European models, the TH55 and UX50 were both highly regarded, offering a full suite of connectivity options (Bluetooth, wi-fi, infrared) supported by Sony’s proprietary software and the huge Palm back catalogue.

In Japan, Sony had the top share of the domestic PDA market in 2003 at 32%, followed by Sharp (19%) and Casio (16%), according to information and technology industry researcher Gartner Japan Ltd.

Sony’s total retreat from the PDA market was considered a serious blow to PalmSource who have yet to match Sony’s ground-breaking designs.

This latest announcement looks like another nail in the coffin for the PDA – as mobile phones, portable media players, and even gaming consoles sport ever-expanding PDA-like capabilities, the PDA market seems to be ever-shrinking.

In an interview with PC World, Sony spokesperson Aki Shimazu said, “There won’t be any new Clie PDAs but we are not necessarily exiting the PDA business”. She also added that the company may collaborate with other companies for future devices.

Sony Stops Development On Its Clie PDA Range Our guess is that they’re going to focus their energies on ramping up the feature list on Sony Ericsson smartphones, developing the PlayStation Portable and finally producing the iPod killer they so desperately need.

Loyal Clie users still wailing into their beers at the prospect of losing a much loved product line (that’ll be me) can draw the tiniest scrap of consolation out of the news that Sony will keep providing parts and repair services for at least another six years or so.

Shareholders at Palm will probably have even longer faces after losing such a vital licensee for their operating system. Could this be the beginning of the end for Palm?

Clie PDA

Apple Updates iPod Mini and iPod Photo, Now Direct Camera Upload

Apple Updates iPod Photo and iPod Mini Models Apple has updated its iPod photo line-up with a new slim 30GB model, holding up to 7,500 songs, for just £249 ($475, e360) and a new 60GB model, holding up to 15,000 songs, for £309 ($590, e446)

Designed for content-hungry consumers who can’t bear to be parted from their music and photo libraries, both iPod photo models feature a high-resolution colour screen for displaying photos and (ahem) “enhancing the entire iPod music experience” (we think this translates to having some pictures and album art to look at while you’re playing songs).

Both models hold up to 25,000 digital photos and will feature the ability to import photos from your digital camera via the new iPod Camera Connector for “instant viewing and slide show playback “.

“The new slim 30GB iPod photo at just £249 lets music lovers enjoy their iPod in full colour, including album artwork along with their personal photo library,” enthused Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “And now you can import photos from your digital camera directly into iPod photo with the optional iPod Camera Connector.”

We welcome this enhancment, meaning that holiday won’t involve lugging a laptop around just for image downloads. Sadly, the iPod Camera Connector is not built in: it’s an optional extra that will set consumers back £19 ($36, e27.5) – and it isn’t available until March 2005.

Although the iPod remains one of the finest MP3 players on the planet, we’re not convinced that the iPod Photo is quite there yet as a photo wallet.

Unlike some rival units, there’s no built in card reader or Bluetooth support and we haven’t been able to work out if the iPhoto will be able to import – and view – RAW format files, something that would definitely create enthusiasm amongst the photographic cognoscenti. It would appear strange if they didn’t given, the impressive support that Apple’s iPhoto software has for the RAW format.

Apple Updates iPod Photo and iPod Mini Models The truth is that the iPod photo seems to be far better as a versatile MP3 player and photo presentation unit rather than something for serious photographers to use for direct-to-camera storage.

However, the aggressive price cuts (rumoured to be in response to rumoured poor sales of the original iPod photo) will no doubt be warmly welcomed by consumers and ratchet up the fierce competition with main rivals iRiver and Creative Technology.

The 4GB and 6GB models of iPod mini for Mac or Windows are available worldwide immediately for a suggested retail price of £139 ($265, €200) and £169 ($322, €244) respectively, in a choice of silver, pink, blue or green.

“At this breakthrough price point, and with more than twice the battery life, the new iPod mini should appeal to even more music lovers,” said Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs.

Both iPod mini models feature increased battery life of up to 18 hours, USB charging and the same lightweight design.

All these new iPod models work with the Apple iTunes software and store, and are compatible with either Mac OS or Windows based PC, connecting via firewire or USB 2.0.

Apple
iPod photo
iRiver
Creative Technology.

Google Movie Search Born

A handy Google search feature went live this week that lets users find showtimes at nearby movie theatres using either their computer or mobile phones and other wireless devices that use short-message services.

The service is available from any Google search box or via SMS.

So a movie hungry visitor to New York could enter their zip code in this search phrase “movie: 10122” to get a listing of what’s playing and when at theatres in their area. If they’re looking for a specific film, typing in, for example, ‘Vera Drake in 10122′ will provide local listings and show times.

The new feature also provides information such as theatre locations and reviews, and enables users to search for movies by title, plot or genre, sortable by movie or cinema.

Other possible searches can help with recommendations or simply refresh fans’ memories (or settle late night arguments).

A query such as “movie: lick my love pump” would return with “This Is Spinal Tap (1984)”, or searching on “movie: great fights” would provide a list of films featuring lots of fabulous punch-ups. And before you ask, yes, it works for naughty words too.

The search results come with a star rating, calculated on an aggregate of online reviews, and links to critics’ reviews.

“We’ll expect more traffic flow overall in movie names,” said Marissa Mayer, Google’s director of consumer Web products. She said increased inventory will increase bidding. “We’re basically creating a new market for AdWords.”

In addition to film studios, Google expects marketing interest from video and DVD distribution companies such as Netflix, Blockbuster Online and Amazon.com, and from marketers of celebrity wallpaper, mobile ringtones and other such money-spinning merchandise.

This latest service ups the stakes in the ongoing bunfight between Google, Yahoo – and recently MSN search – as they battle to provide the most comprehensive set of Web search tools – and get a slice of fast-growing advertising revenues.

Google

Robert Clark Photo Trip Sponsored by Sony Ericcson: PR Own Goal?

Sony Ericsson and Photographer Robert Clark,S710a Camera Phone We know that camera phones are getting better and that the Ericsson S710a Camera Phone has a better one than most, but this over-excited PR bonanza from Sony has rubbed us up the wrong way.

Here’s the story: Sony have waved enough bags of gold at award-winning photographer Robert Clark to entice him to trudge across North America capturing “spontaneous” pictures through the viewfinder of a Sony Ericsson S710a camera.

Now, you may think getting a top photographer to go around taking pictures and then slapping them up on a Web site is fairly unspectacular stuff, but Sony’s press department clearly doesn’t agree.

“A New Era of Digital Photography Begins Today” screams their hyperbolic announcement, “Join Robert Clark as He Travels Across North America, Spontaneously Discovering Life as It Happens”.

We’re not quite sure what ‘Spontaneously Discovering Life as It Happens’ entails. Maybe he’ll be stumbling across new life forms with every step or be in a constant state of astonished delight as wonderful creatures ‘spontaneously’ appear before his eyes.

Mind you, this Clark fella appears equally keen to join in the mutual PR lathering:

“It is truly exciting to have the opportunity to undertake such a prolific journey across North America, and have the opportunity to capture the people, places and things that make this country unique,” purred Robert Clark.

“The camera phone is revolutionising how we see the world, allowing us to capture intimate moments more spontaneously than ever before. This tour aims to be a defining moment in the era of digital photography – elements of American life all captured with a high performance Sony Ericsson camera phone.”

Quick as a flash, Sony’s Vice President of Marketing for Sony Ericsson, Frances Britchford, was on hand to further inflate the wild claims being made for this blatant publicity stunt:

“The Image America tour, and our partnership with the very talented Robert Clark, provides a unique opportunity to capture the essence of the United States and Canada through something that most of us now consider essential to our lives – the cell phone”.

And just when you thought he couldn’t get any further carried away, he rolls out this spectacular piece of convoluted PR guff:

“For experienced photographers or true photo novices, the S710a is the perfect tool to capture life’s moments as they happen.”

Sony Ericsson and Photographer Robert Clark,S710a Camera Phone Now we like the Sony Ericsson S710a phone. It’s a great phone.

In fact, it’s a nicely designed, well specified, fully featured smart-phone with an above average camera that is fine for taking holiday snaps and photographs of your mates getting drunk. And that’s about it.

It is not – and never will be – “the perfect tool for professional photographers”.

With a resolution of just 1.3 megapixels it sits near the bottom of the pile of even the cheapest digital cameras, so the only professional photographers likely to be using this camera are the ones being sponsored by Sony.

Despite the ludicrous blurb, it’s a fairly safe bet that Clark will produce a fine set of pictures that will put almost all camera phone photographers to shame.

No doubt his years of experience producing work for esteemed magazines like National Geographic and Sports Illustrated will get the very best out of the Sony phone and the ‘commemorative book’ he’s knocking out at the end of his tour will be a fine looking thing (although the cynical amongst us wonder how much pre-publishing Photoshoppery will go on behind the scenes).

For consumers looking for a handy camera/phone combination capable of producing reasonable quality 6″ x 4″ prints, the Sony Ericsson S710a is a fine choice. Professional photographers should, however, look elsewhere.

Sony Ericsson S710a photos
Robert Clark at American PHOTO
Sony Ericsson Image America

Sony Ericsson

Sony PSP UMD Movie Pricing Announced

Sony PSP UMD movie pricing announce Kids today, eh? Spoilt rotten they are.

When I were a lad, an ‘entertainment system’ would take the form of a wobbly cassette player or perhaps a racy CD/radio combination for the well-heeled, but these young ‘uns today are positively spoilt for choice.

Not only can they loll around in their messy bedrooms all day and play state-of-the-art video games and music CDs on their PlayStation Portables, but now the little blighters can watch the latest movie releases too, courtesy of Sony’s proprietary Universal Media Disc (UMD) format.

Within weeks, weary parents around the country will soon be nagged into submission by persistent teenagers demanding the $28.95 (£15.30, Euro 21) to buy the cult classic, ‘The House of Flying Daggers’, scheduled for release on 19th April, 2005.

New films published on UMD will share a simultaneous release date as US/Region 1 DVD releases, with a price of $28.95 (£15.30, Euro 21) or thereabouts with a lower price of $19.95 (£10.50, Euro 15) for films that have already been released.

Accordingly, the other four previously announced UMD titles – Hellboy, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, XXX and Once Upon A Time In Mexico – will all retail for $19.95 when they go on sale on 19th April.

Following the initial flurry of releases in April, Sony plans to annoy parents further with the release of new titles at monthly intervals thereafter.

As a special bonus, the first million PlayStation Portables sold in the US following its 24th March release will also come with a UMD movie copy of Spider-Man 2.

Although the pricing appears attractive to the target audience, it’s the same price as regular DVD and some may feel that they’d be better off buying something with greater compatibility.

PlayStation Portables

Nokia Series 60 Update, Smartphones to the Masses

Mindful of the advance of Linux as an OS for mobile handsets, Nokia is giving their updated Series 60 Platform 3rd Edition, the loud fanfare treatment at 3GSM Cannes.

Although the Series 60 Platform is currently the leading smart phone platform in the world (licensed by mobile phone heavyweights such as LG Electronics, Lenovo, Nokia, Panasonic, Samsung, Sendo and Siemens), things are hotting up in the smartphone market with increased competition from Linux and Microsoft’s just-announced ‘Peabody’ phone.

Running on Symbian OS v9.0, the updated software will enable Series 60 handset manufacturers to create smartphones for various user segments, device formats and better target high volume consumer markets. And – they hope – beat off Linux.

The Series 60 3rd Edition will be available for licensees in mid-2005 and comes stuffed full of groovy new features including enhanced multimedia and enterprise functionality, sustainable application business support, customisation tools and improved platform architecture.

But what does that mean in English? Allow us to explain!

The software will include all the features and functions of the previous editions – including multiradio, extensive application suite, scalable UI and high-resolution support – and bolt on lots of new refinements for business and consumer users.

Let’s look at multimedia first: the new software will offer a new music player, more functionality for rich media content, USB mass memory storage and high-quality multimedia rendering.

The music player will come with all the bells and whistles demanded by the youth market (and hipster execs!), including “seamless and easy-to-use music downloading” with personalised themes and skins.

USB support means that it’ll be easier to exchange music files from mobile to PC, although we suspect that some of their target audience may not be quite so excited by the inclusion of OMA Digital Rights Management (DRM) v2.0.

For business users, the Series 60 3rd Edition also includes significant improvements in many areas, including a new security framework and calendar, synchronisation and device management enhancements.

The new functionality on a platform architecture level will allow manufacturers to target devices for specific segments, with increased support for different hardware configurations, including single and dual-chip hardware architectures and improved performance.

The global smartphone market is expanding at a huge rate – Nokia will have shipped approximately 20 million Series 60 based devices by the end of February and estimates the overall smartphone market in 2005 to exceed 50 million units. In 2008, Nokia expects the smartphone market to be around 25 percent of the total mobile device market.

Series60.com
Series 60 Developer Platform 2.0 and Feature Packs (PDF)

Nokia, Microsoft Music shock: 3GSM

Much to everyone’s surprise, Nokia has just announced at 3GSM that they are to put Microsoft’s Media player software on their handsets.

Prior to this, Nokia has had a long running, and seemingly-solid relationship with Real Networks.

Music bought in either format will be invisibly exchangeable between mobile phones and Microsoft’s media player.

Microsoft Digital Media big gun, Amir Majidimehr was brought on stage to explain that Microsoft would be creating a software ‘bridge’ between their digital music format/DRM and OMA, the mobile worlds chosen DRM.

Nokia Microsoft music shock In return Microsoft will also be supporting OMA DRM and AAC music format in their Windows Media player, via a plug in.

When asked about how this would affect the relationship with Real, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Mobile Phones said that as an open platform, Nokia was happy to work with all audio players. Quite if Real will be as casual and off-hand about it, is highly doubtful.

We suspect there will be much shouting and screaming at Real Networks.

Nokia mPosition System Brings in Cambridge Positioning Systems Matrix

Nokia rolls out the Gateway Mobile Location Center (iGMLC) 4.0 There’s a big future in locations-based services and Nokia are making their move to provide technology for it. As part of the Nokia mPosition System, Nokia is rolling out the Nokia intelligent Gateway Mobile Location Center (iGMLC) 4.0.

Billed as a new, cost-efficient platform for location-based services (LBS), the Nokia iGMLC platform is highly flexible and simultaneously supports both GSM and WCDMA 3G location based services. “The new platform offers our customer a cost-efficient means of deploying location based services, as well as excellent scalability and flexibility in terms of capacity and choice of positioning technologies,” says Heikki Hemmi, General Manager, Location Business Program, Networks, Nokia

Nokia are hoping that this system will provide operators with a future-proof and cost-effective solution for providing mobile services based on the location of the user, as Hemmi says “The platform supports the entire range of complementing positioning methods, from low-accuracy to high-accuracy technologies.”

Teaming up with Cambridge Positioning Systems (CPS), Nokia aims to provide a comprehensive state-of-the-art solution, with the platform supporting a variety of positioning technologies for both GSM and WCDMA 3G.

This includes new support for enhanced Cell Identity and Mobile Station-based A-GPS (based on the Secure User Plane (SUPL) protocol) and support for Cambridge Positioning Systems’ SUPL Matrix for 2G.

Secure User Plane Location (SUPL), works on any network and doesn’t require additional investments in the core and radio network, as Chris Wade, CPS Chief Executive Officer explains, “CPS believes SUPL is the simplest and most cost-effective route to high accuracy. Matrix is particularly suited to this new open standard due to its ability to offer high and robust accuracy, all-area coverage and fast location fixes in a software-only implementation.”

With the Nokia mPosition System allowing mobile operators to build complete end-to-end systems for Location Based Services (while supporting both legacy and LBS enabled handsets), we think this is a significant development.

The Nokia iGMLC 4.0 platform will be available in the second quarter. Support for MS-based SUPL A-GPS and CPS’ SUPL Matrix for 2G will be available as a software upgrade in the third quarter.

Cambridge Positioning Systems
Nokia
Nokia Location Services

Industry Giants Stick it to Viagra Spammers

Pfizer and Microsoft go in hard with fake online Viagra sellers In a litigious pincer movement, Pfizer, makers of the anti-impotence drug Viagra, have filed lawsuits against two online pharmacies selling the drug, while Microsoft has sued the same two pharmacies and the firms that promoted the Websites via email.

It’s the first time Pfizer and Microsoft have teamed up for such an action in a move that should prove mutually beneficial: Pfizer’s civil suit may curb the illegal sale of generic drugs while Microsoft’s legal action is aimed at reducing spam.

“We want to take back our inboxes,” said Aaron Kornblum, Microsoft’s Internet safety enforcement lawyer. “Spam can lead to fraud, it can lead to identity theft and, in this case with Pfizer, it can lead to possible physical harm.”

Pfizer has taken action against CanadianPharmacy (cndpharmacy.com) and E-Pharmacy Direct (myepharmacydirect.com) for allegedly selling unapproved drugs – claimed to be Viagra – to U.S. citizens.

Despite their name, the exact whereabouts of the people behind CanadianPharmacy is unclear.

Kornblum said orders for cndpharmacy.com were received by a computer server in New York that relayed the information to a call centre in Montreal. The drugs were made in India and then mailed back to rumpy-pumpy seeking customers using a US freight forwarding company.

Pfizer took action after receiving complaints from shareholders who wrongly assumed that the company was responsible for the daily deluge of Viagra-related spam cascading into their inbox.

Levine said that Pfizer was also concerned about the safety of advertised products being sold online, although he conceded that he was yet to receive any reports from disappointed customers (or their partners).

In the notoriously nefarious world of Web identities, it’s open to question whether this action will succeed or not.

Dodgy Internet trading companies can move physical and virtual locations faster than Casanova on steroids, but many suspect that this legal move is more about firing a warning shot over the bow of Web based spammers.

With Viagra-based bulk emailing currently accounting for more than 14 per cent of all spam (Commtouch Spam Lab, 2004) we live in hope that this action may reduce the amount of emails bearing the title “VIAGRA”, “v1AGRA” AND “V*GRA” etc arriving in our in boxes.

But we’re not holding our breath.

Microsoft, Pfizer to tackle fake Viagra sales (Reuters)
Microsoft and Pfizer fight fake Viagra spammers (Guardian)

NFC First, Nokia 3220 Brings Contactless Payment and Ticketing

Nokia welcomes you to the high tech world of contactless payment and ticketing The world’s first Near Field Communications (NFC) product for payment and ticketing will be an enhanced version of the already announced Nokia NFC shell for Nokia 3220 phone.

Near Field Communications (NFC) may sound like something the Borg use to transmit their evil plans to each other, but in fact it’s a new short-range wireless system for electronics, mobile devices and PCs.

Whereas Bluetooth and Wi-Fi have a range anywhere between 33 feet and 300 feet, NFC only works much closer to home. A mere eight inches, in fact, which makes it great for conducting local transactions, like buying travel tickets.

Here’s how it works: a consumer’s payment credentials, such as their debit and credit card details/transport tickets, are securely stored in the integrated smart card chip of the Nokia NFC shell.

Users sporting the new phone can then make local payments by simply touching a point of sales device or ticket gate with their phone. Fast, quick and efficient (if it works, of course).

Naturally, the Man from Visa is visibly purring with excitement, “Visa is always looking for exciting, first-rate innovations that advance the field of contactless payment and we are pleased to join forces with Nokia in this pioneering effort,” said Jim Lee, senior vice president, Product Technology and Standards, Visa International.

“The development of the Nokia NFC shell serves as a natural extension of Visa’s contactless card and phone programs around the world. Moreover, it aligns well with Visa’s commitment to enabling payments anywhere, anytime, through any device.”

The first NFC-based public transport ticketing trials with Nokia 3220 mobile phones will be taking place within the local bus network in the city of Hanau, near Frankfurt, Germany, with the Nokia NFC shell for payment and ticketing promised for mid 2005.

Nokia 3220
Nokia NFC demo
Nokia NFC
Near-Field Communications
NFC Forum