On the same day that Nokia went forth and multiplied with seven new phones, rivals Sony Ericsson announced four new handsets, aimed at increasing its presence in the low end and mid-market sectors.
Sony Ericsson K608i The K608i 3G handset employs Sony Ericsson’s now-familiar dual use format, with the phone being used vertically for calls and horizontally for taking pictures.
The 1.3 megapixel camera includes an active lens cover for swift activation, with video calls taken care of via a dedicated video telephony button.
There’s a reasonably large 1.8 inch 262k colour TFT screen onboard, and the K608 comes bundled with the usual suite of business applications, PIM and PC-synchronisation tools (via USB or Bluetooth).
Gameloft’s Vijay Singh Pro Golf 2005 comes preloaded with the phone in the hope that customers’ chequebooks will form a yawning chasm in the direction of Sony Ericsson’s Fun & Downloads portals.
There’s 32MB of memory space on the phone for shunting on ringtones, wallpapers, still shots and video footage, with a built in music player and FM radio taking care of multimedia.
Sony Ericsson S600
The all-swivelling Sony Ericsson S600 phone is claimed to be “ready to party” with features “to enhance the lifestyles of those who live their lives to the fullest”.
Like an expensive marital aid, the phone also promises “maximum fun and excitement in an ultra stylish package” according to Sony Ericsson. It almost makes you wary of putting it next to your ear.
The tri-band phone employs the same ‘jack-knife’ mechanism seen in last year’s S700, although there’s no ‘Mean Streets’ spring-action on offer, which kind of spoils the effect.
Inside, there’s 176×220 pixel, 1.8″ wide, 262 K colour TFT screen with two stereo loudspeakers and a MegaBass function enhancing the sound.
The S600 comes with 64MB of onboard memory, but sadly, there’s no memory card on offer – presumably it’s been left off so as to not compete with the higher spec’ed K750 model.
Gamers might be enticed by the S600’s widescreen mode which enables games to be played horizontally on screen. There’s also support for multi-player peer-2-peer gaming via Bluetooth.
Finishing off the package is Bluetooth and USB 2.0 connectivity, a 1.3 megapixel camera, NetFront web browser, 40-tone polyphonic alert and a RDS FM radio.
Sony Ericsson Z520
Described as possessing “cool curves in a smooth shell”, the Sony Ericsson Z520 is a compact quad-band phone “for the fashion conscious.”
With worrying sexual undertones, Sony Ericsson’s announcement salivates over the “smooth sleek body” of the clamshell which, apparently, creates “a small and inviting handset” with the added bonus of an illuminated “rim of blue lights” (stop tittering at the back).
“The new Z520 is specifically designed for the stylish younger generation, particularly young women, who want to carry an attractive accessory just as much as a mobile communications device,” purred Jan Wareby, Corporate Executive, Vice President and Head of Sales and Marketing of Sony Ericsson.
Flipped open, the twin-display phone offers a 1.8″ 128 x 160 pixel, 65k colour, TFT main screen, supported by a 101 x 80 pixel, colour secondary display on the outside.
The phone supports Bluetooth, music playback, SMS, e-mail, video/photo MMS and web browsing.
In keeping with its intended audience, the Z520 can be accessorised with covers in Pale Blue, Sandy Grey, Ceramic White, Espresso Brown, Peach, Mint, Pale Yellow and Pale Pink. But no Death Metal Black.
Sony Ericsson J210
Last and, quite frankly, least is the J210, a no-frills, bargain basement handset, aimed at “practical phoners who value simplicity and reliability” according to Jan Wareby, Sony Ericsson’s Corporate Executive Vice President & Head of Sales and Marketing.
The tri-band handset offers a basic set of features with a near-microscopic 600KB of user memory onboard.
Scheduled for release at the beginning of July is Samsung’s “Web friendly” SGH-Z130 3G handset.
There’s a fair bit of memory on board to handle all the multimedia fluff, with a total of 88.5 MB storage offering 80 MB for Image/Sound/Video, 4 MB for Java, 3 MB for Email and 1.5 MB for MMS with just enough room left over for 200 SMS messages.
As with earlier versions of Netfront, there is a handy option to render Web pages to fit smaller screen widths, saving a ton of pesky horizontal scrolling.
Rather immodestly self-declared as ‘beautifully designed’, Sony Ericsson and Vodafone have announced their new V600i 3G phone.
Subscribers can also take advantage of the content streamed from the Vodafone live! site, including live sports and music videos.
Cutting edge office hipsters keen to perfect that 
After an eternity of “will they? won’t they?” rumours Siemens has announced that it is to flog its loss-making mobile-phones unit to the Taiwan-based BenQ Group.
Through the haze of a soft focus lens, Klaus Kleinfeld, the CEO of Siemens AG whispered sweet nothings about his new bedfellow:
Perhaps a little tipsy from wielding his fearsome buying power, BenQ Chairman & CEO K.Y. Lee roared “With the acquisition of Siemens’s mobile phones business, we are rapidly approaching our goal to become one of the world’s leading players in the mobile phone industry. Our expansion strategy will be strongly supported by this deal, as we can rely on a global organization with excellent employees, a well-established blue-chip customer base in the mobile business and a strong brand with high impact.”
“Siemens will continue to offer its customers in the telecommunications industry one-stop shopping for all their needs. With BenQ, we have found a partner who will supply us with the corresponding products. In addition, we will be collaborating closely in research and development. Moreover, we also intend to utilize synergies in jointly addressing customers and in our selling operations,” commented Lothar Pauly, the CEO of the Siemens Communications Group.
United and Verizon Airfone have become the first companies to receive Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval to install Wi-Fi for use on US domestic commercial aircraft.
Although the FAA approval currently only applies to the cabin of United’s B757-200 aircraft, it’s an important landmark on the way to enabling full high-speed wireless Internet access on board all United aircraft.
“Our wireless broadband system will require only the addition of an avionics box, a wireless access point and a directional antenna, making it the faster and more affordable choice for United and its passengers,” said Bill Pallone, president, Verizon Airfone.
Once a service provider is selected by the FCC, United should be able to meet their passengers’ Wi-Fi needs in double quick time with, no doubt, zillions of other airlines following their lead.
Coming hot on the heels of their 3G Mobile TV launch, Orange France has announced that their high-speed EDGE mobile service for consumers will go live next week.
SFR expects to have scooped up around 500,000 3G subscribers by the end of the year.
The mobile Internet handset – developed by Danger and manufactured by Sharp Corporation – will be made available on service contract for £68.70 (~€100, ~US$125).
The feature-stuffed handset includes a mobile phone, push email, instant messaging, HTML Web browser, text-messaging, calendar, address book, an integrated digital camera and the option to download applications and content.
Beating at the heart of the T-Mobile Sidekick II is Danger’s “hiptop” software and services infrastructure.
Also known as the Hiptop 2, the 130 x 66 x 22 mm (5.1″ x 2.6″ x 0.9″) handset features a flip Transflective TFT 240×160 pixel screen and an integrated VGA (640 x 480 pixel) camera.
T-Mobile are also releasing a “trendy” version of the Sidekick, resplendent in distinctly un-macho pink sparkly bits.
The European Commission has announced plans to create a single set of European Union rules on broadcasting and the wireless spectrum.
Europe is also looking to free up the highly lucrative wireless spectrum – currently worth something like €9 billion (~US$11bn ~£6bn) a year – and hopes that digital frequencies used by services such as mobile phone operators, police radar and radio will be brought under centralised EU control by the end of 2005.
Frontier Silicon has launched a new module that claims to bring personal-video-recorder (PVR) like capabilities to DAB digital radio.
Recordings can be saved onto a memory card on the same radio or played back on any compatible audio unit.
Frontier Silicon’s software provides an interface through which EPG and dynamic service information (DLS) can be viewed, with scrolling text allowing information ‘wider’ than the 16-character screen to be seen.
A survey by Cingular Wireless has revealed that men spend more time yakking on mobiles than women.
Women aren’t afraid to get snapping either, with 60 percent using their camera feature frequently or occasionally against 40 percent of men using it as often.