The MWC 2008 - Live Report

At the moment we arrived at the airport, we noticed the two new LG phones. The Korean manufacturer is leading a massive advertising company, to popularize its new models. A banner with the LG KF700 and LG KF600 is all over Barcelona.

After the great success of the Viewty (more than 500 000 sold | read the review) LG now determines this is its year for touch-devices. There are three interesting models using some kind of touch technology, but the Koreans always announce lots of phones at such events – there is also a slew of other lower class and less interesting devices.


LG KF700 is a full-touch phone, which means that on its front it has nothing but the 3” wide-angled display with 240x480 pixels resolution. Viewty had send/end and clear keys below it, but it is not so with the KF700, which is not really convenient: sometimes you just want to minimize everything and start over from the homescreen. According to LG, the target group of this phone likes the touch display and interface, but cannot trade the standard hardware numeric keypad for it. So, one is present, once the phone is slid open. Another help for the navigation is the scroll wheel (accessible from the left) coupled with the OK key.

The KF700 is a mass market phone, for those who want the factor of a ‘touch phone’ but don’t want to spend a whole fortune on it. Of course, there are some compromises that had to be made (when compared to Viewty), and this are lower-res camera (3 instead of 5 megapixels) and camcorder, and lack of DivX support. While we are OK with the first, are disappointed for the latter – for us it was what made the phone really worth getting.




The KF600 doesn’t have the ‘full touch’ factor, but a standard QVGA display and a smaller touch-sensitive one (called InteractPad), instead of navigation keys. Here we must note that this ‘new model’ is almost exact copy of the Verizon’s Venus in its design. However, although initially we though LG is cheap (for putting small instead of large touch display), we got the real idea of the phone after a few minutes of using it. Talking about touch navigation area, everything is always at the tip of your finger and single handed usage is zero problem. Thanks to the well designed software, the overall user experience is as of a standard phone, but instead of scrolling up and down through the options, one just taps it in the navigation area. With the ‘full touch’ phones, you have large (about 3-inches) display, so you must move your hand from top to bottom and vice verse. The smart navigation of the menus is not only user friendly, it also looks attractive (similar WOW factor as other Touch displays) but this is not all: the display is full color one and the phone has lots of media content (screensavers, wallpapers) which interact with it, creating very cool look. Coupled with the attractive design, gives the result of a very cool mid-level phone.




KF510 – it is all about style! It is not the third label of the BlackSeries phones (Chocolate and Shine), which will be announced later in the year, and even doesn’t have a name, but definitely attracts attention. Both the front and back surface are of metal, and they are not in a single color but in a unique gradient, that transits from one shade to another. The navigation keys conceal when inactive and the slider mechanism is almost entirely hidden in the back, which helps for the superb design, we are in love with.

The navigation pad here is also not a standard one, but also is not very advanced, as seen above. Like the Chocolates, it is capacitive touch keypad which reacts only to skin touch, instead of physical press from any object. Unlike the Chocolate, the D-pad is not limited to 5 separate keys, but occupies larger area and allows for scrolling: sweep a finger from top to bottom or any other direction but diagonal. The KF510 is a well looking slim phone with decent functionality and is expected to hit the street in March.

Just as LG, Samsung also announced a slew of new models from various classes: slim candybars, mid-level sliders, music oriented devices and high-end cameraphones and phones with touch displays.


Samsung Soulis the flagship model, the successor of the U600. It is part of the Ultra Edition phones, the third edition and is what Samsung will advertise mostly. This can already be noted here in Barcelona – the posters are all over the city. The new phone has the same design language as its predecessor, but more attention to detail is paid, resulting in overall better device. Example for that is the lower part of the upper slider, which is curved so it is easily slid open with just one finger.



The standard D-pad is now replaced by “Magical Touch” field, which is a small touch sensitive display. Instead of constant hardware 5 buttons, it changes the functions depending on the available options (on the homescreen, in the menu, calculator, camera, music player) but that is it. In our opinion, the similar solution used in the LG KF600 is much better. That’s why:



• LG’s touch replaces not only the D-pad functions but also the soft and the send/end keys, so has larger area for the buttons.
• As in the Samsung there are hardware non-touch buttons, it is confusing – you touch the “d-pad” but have to press the softkey, etc. It would have been better, if Samsung used at least capacitive buttons (reacting to touch of the skin) to avoid this problem.
• LG’s touch display interface is very colorful, making it easier to use. On the Soul, only color of the icons or orbiting effect can be adjusted.

With its limited functionality, we don’t really see any idea of of this touch, but the ‘wow factor’.

The U900 soul also improves the features of its predecessor. It is now capable of 3G HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, has 5-megapixel camera and is still only half-inch thick. Its software reminds us of the G600 (read its review) one, with options to manually create themes, set menu transition types and others. If it is the same or better, it would be great, as G600’s is the best Samsung one we’ve used in non-touch sensitive phones.

Samsung SGH-U900 Soul Preview


Talking about touch displays, here we have the Samsung F490 and F480. The first was announced last year, together with the P720 DuoS, and was expected to be slimmer variant of the F700 trading the full QWERTY keyboard for 5-megapixel camera instead of 3. It was shown with the same Croix interface found on the F700 and Giorgio Armani phone which didn’t really excited us, as it is monochrome and neither user friendly nor really pretty looking. However, we now have information that all 2008’s Samsung phones (including the F490) with touch sensitive displays (well, not all but those for Europe) will run the new TouchWiz interface, which can be considered as the replacement of the Croix.



Yes, the logical question is “What is TouchWiz ?” – this is what we have here with the Samsung F480. Its lower model shouldn’t mislead you, it is not below the F490 in the line. Both will be targeted to similar consumer group, offering just different options: the 480 has standard 2.8” QVGA display while the 490 is with 3.2” wide screen. So back to the interface – it is colorful! Yeah, everything is in color (instead of shades of the Blue as in F700) which gives very contemporary look. These few pictures should be enough to grab your attention: proceed to our Samsung SGH-F480 Preview by clicking here!




As some rumors pointed last week, Samsung announced the G810, its converged device, replacing the G800. The high-end camera (5-megapixels, 3x zoom, Xenon, Face Recognition) and the slider form-factor is kept, but the feature set is improved. It is now a smartphone, running on Symbian OS with S60 interface, putting it in direct competition with Nokia’s 5-megapixel phones. Unlike the newly announced N96, this one uses the old Feature Pack 1 (found on N95, N82) and doesn’t have DVB-H for TV. The screen is 2.6” which is a step below the 2.8” found on the N96/N95 8GB and one above the 2.4” of the G800.



Untypical for an S60 phone, the “Menu” button is not labeled with specific sign but just with a dash; it is positioned below the left soft key and symmetrically on the other side is another shortcut. As these together with the D-pad are the only on the front, when the phone is closed, we were really confused they are Send/End buttons, which is what most users would expect. The latter are actually together with the numeric keypad, available after the phone is slid open. On the left are situated a dedicated power key, 3.5mm headphone jack (hinting us for the music-orientation) and finally a standard microUSB instead of Samsung’s proprietary connector for charger. On the right are the volume keys, the camera shutter and the microSD slot for memory. As G800, both the front and the back have brushed aluminum finish.

The camera interface is coming directly from the G800 (with just minor changes) and the user experience is the same. The options menu is a horizontal list with small monochrome icons at the top of the viewfinder, which is not really what we are fans of.

During the show, Sony Ericsson announced total of six phones, and three new lines: X-, G-, and C-.


Considering Sony Ericsson’s history with Symbian, and the UIQ interface, it is sure they surprised us with the announcement of the new XPERIA X1. The X-series device is Windows Mobile 6 Professional smartphone with high-end functionality. It is the first of the brand to use this operating system, but will most probably the start of a line of such devices. Unlike Cyber-shot and Walkman series, the XPERIA is a name that is not coming from Sony, but is a brand of the phone manufacturer (Sony Ericsson) only. XPERIA stands for ‘ultimate user experience’ and will consists of PREMIUM converged devices, not ones targeted to only camera, music, etc.

The phone is scheduled for release in the second half of the year, and the units that were showcased are prototypes, which were kept away from the press. We were able only to take pictures and (don't tell anyone) hold it only for a second. However, there were a few things that were shown: the design of the device itself, and a part of its personalization. Although its specifications are top-notch, the design is stylish: it will be available in two color variants, brushed aluminum and piano black. The few keys below the huge display are with triangular form, reminding of the PRISM Nokia phones and the Z555. The D-pad in the middle reacts to touch; called “Optical joystick” and can be used for scrolling – just sweep your finger from top to bottom or vice verse.



The operating system is Windows Mobile 6 (not 6.1) but it seems that Sony Ericsson will heavily personalized it. Unfortunately, at this stage only a few screens were shown, as the manufacturer is keeping the rest a secret. Once a shortcut is pressed, a menu with what is called ‘panels’ appears. It shows differently personalized environments, suitable for different tastes. The way the icons are scrolled and shown, reminds of the iPhone - everybody nowadays is inspired by the popular phone. These panels offer different interfaces as a whole, however, some menues will remain the standard Windows Mobile.

Similar to many high-end devices with this OS, the XPERIA is a side-opening slider, with QWERTY keyboard. However, it has ‘arc slider design’, which situates the display at a slight angle and according to Sony Ericsson leaves more space for the QWERTY keyboard.
As we said earlier, we were not really able to use the phone, so our impressions are limited. However, the features on paper look very nice: quad-band GSM and quad-band UMTS/HSDPA, 3-inch 480x800 pixels display, 3.2-megapixel camera, and all the bells and whistles of the WM6 Pro OS. Untypically for the manufacturer, the phone doesn’t use the proprietary connector (but miniUSB) and has standard microSD slot in the place of the M2 one.


Sony Ericsson expects to launch the X1 in the second half of the year, which for us means most likely fourth quarter or later…


Sony Ericsson introduced its G-series with two similar phones: one from the high and one from the middle class. Both are candybars with pocket-friendly dimensions, use Symbian UIQ and have standard hardware keypad, which can be used as the only navigation method. However, although they are smartphones, the G-series are advertised as easy to use phones, for the average customer, yet with enough organizer options. They are touted for the option to draw something in a note (is that the only purpose of the touchscreen?) and send it to another person – for example a St. Valentine’s card to your beloved, or reminder memos one would usually put on the refrigerator. The interface is personalized to be more user-friendly and a few shortcuts are added to the homescreen. On the other hand, the whole functionality of the UIQ smartphone is present, even things such as business card reader. Unfortunately both are only tri-band GSM phones with only 2100MHz UMTS, so there usage in the States will be limited to regions with 1900 MHz coverage.


G900is the more advanced of the two models. It has 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus and option to change the focusing area by tapping anywhere on the screen. The feature set for the camera is also pretty rich, with only a few options such as ‘best pic’ missing, to differentiate it from the Cyber-shot devices. Unlike it, the G700lacks WiFi, and has a less pretending 3.2 megapixel camera with fixed focus. Its design is pretty similar but instead of touch sensitive, the software keys are standard buttons. Both will be available in two color variants (each) and are expected in the second quarter of the year.




C … yes, Sony Ericsson announced the C-line. While we had a few wild guesses on what it is for, the answer is the most logical: the C stands for Cyber-shot. The camera-dedicated models of the manufacturer will now be positioned in this line and these two start it.

As its first digit shows, the C902is the high-end model of the line and in this aspect can be considered as the successor of the K850. It has slimmed down to 0.4” (10.5mm) from 0.7” (17mm) which is 40% less – Great Success! While the resolution for the photos isn’t increased from 5-megapixels, the interface has evolved. Previously the right column of keys (four) was dedicated to camera functions once its interface was turned on. Now, there are two rows that are also illuminated in blue – one above and one below the display (left and right when in vertical orientation). These keys are touch sensitive and conceal when the camera isn’t used; they cover pretty much the most commonly used features, and going to the setting menu will be limited. However, if you do, you will notice the new feature called ‘Face recognition’. Just as in the ‘old’ Samsung G800, it detects human faces and locks the focus on them, preventing you from focusing by mistake on a surrounding object.


Unlike the K850, the C902 lens cover is manually opened and closed. Its mechanism is very interesting though, as the whole upper part (including parts of the left and right) slides out to the top. However, this is comfortable procedure. In this phone the 3-way mode camera mode switch is replaced with a button which changes to either camera or camcorder only.



We were surprised the high-class C902 uses LED flash instead of Xenon, which proved to be much better in our tests. However, Sony Ericsson claims this is not the standard LED we are used to and is called by them ‘PhotoFlash’ (the ordinary is ‘PhotoLight’). In the tests of the manufacturer (according to them), it proved equal or better than the Xenon – we will state our opinion after our tests.



The C702is also Cyber-shot but its camera is only 3-megapixel. It is touted for its rugged body that is dust and splash resistant and the GPS capabilities (the second for the manufacturer). This shows its target group, young people. The combination of camera and GPS leads to a feature called GeoTagging. If the GPS can lock position (and you haven’t turned it manually off), it will add the coordinates of the location where the picture is taken, to its EXIF data of the JPEG file. It can then be seen from the phone, or from any software (on computer) which supports this feature. For example, Flickr.com reads this data and shows it. Additionally, the GPS can be used for navigation, either through Google Maps or the Wayfinder, which preloaded on the phone will have full functionality for three months, after which a license should be purchased (just as in the W760). While the rugged body won’t work if you want to take a shower while on the phone, or drop it in the beer, it should be enough for a short call in the rain. We guess it would also help to keep the phone in a good condition when you drop it, which isn’t rare for the young and active people.


Both phones will have two color variants and are expected to be available in the second quarter “in selected markets”, which basically means Europe, due to the single band 2100MHz UMTS support. However, the US press release mentioned the C702 also for the North American market, where it will be available in EDGE variant (removing the UMTS). There is no information on carrier availability.


It’s not only the cameraphone line that gets new models during the show. There is also a new Walkman which should intrigue most of the music fans of the brand. The W980is a high-end model in clamshell form-factor, which is untypical for Sony Ericsson. It has the third version of the Walkman player and 8GB of memory, for “up to 8000 songs on board” (our calculations say about 2000 but that is still a lot!). If these are not enough, the surprises are not over: the phone has FM radio … well, there are many with one, but this is the first that can use it without attached wired headphones, thanks to the integrated antenna. Great Success!


In addition to the choice of two sources, Sony Ericsson also gives you options when it comes to how you will listen to the music. We are not fans of the proprietary connector (and that you must use the adapter from the box to attach anything with 3.5mm jack) but appreciate the innovations. You can now broadcast wirelessly not only using Stereo Bluetooth A2DP profile, but also through FM frequency, which you can choose from the phone. Don’t expect to make your own one-man-show: the signal is so weak that it will be enough for an in-car or indoor usage, but not enough to reach another vehicle or room.


The second phone in this form-factor is the Z770, which is basically a folding variant of the K660, which we previewed back in January. It is targeted as a phone for Internet browsing, and although the lack of WiFi, we may say it is fine. The stylish design is definitely a plus. It is expected in the second quarter, and the W980 is scheduled for the 3rd one.




Sony Ericsson also showcased the budget Radio-dedicated phones: the R306and th R300. We are disappointed they must have the wired headphones attached, in order to start the key feature. Sony Ericsson, please look at the W980 - in the same size you were able to integrate antenna and high-end features, don't leave those empty!

Nokia new product announcements during the show definitely played a major role for our high levels of excitement. The CES event in Las Vegas which was completely boring and eventless, so we are very pleasantly surprised by the volume and quality of new products here in Barcelona.

Nokia has four new products launched – N96, N78, 6210 Navigator and 6220 classic. Those are also currently the only devices running on the new S60 V3 Service Pack 2 software. Stay tuned for our in-depth overview of its new features.

Just looking at the models you should be able to get the idea where these products stay in the company’s line of products. N96 is obviously the TOP device in the multimedia series and replaces the current #1 N95. The design language is very different and the change is noticeable only from just even a quick glimpse. Gone are the sharp edges and the new N96 looks a lot sleeker. Its resembles to the N78 is great as both devices have round edges, flush keys (soft, pick / hand-up ) and overall same design language.

The N96 overall volume is slightly decreased, but still cannot be called small device. Increased is the weight, but still it is at the very manageable 4.4 oz (125 g).



Looking at the top slider, new are the music dedicated keys which are only active when the slider is UP. When the dedicated multimedia keys are visible (slider down), the ones on the front are not active any more. Again what catches the eye is the flush surface – the only raised part is the D-pad.



Opening the slider to reveal the keypad shows four rows of keys slightly divided only horizontally. The actual keypad somewhat reminds of the one in RAZR, but instead of metal the one here is plastic. Even though the devices shown on the show are prototypes, a key press returned excellent feedback.

Hopefully the actual sliding action will be improved, as the one on the test units at the show floor was less than perfect. Sliding it open or closed ended up with very loud and unpleasant “chat” sound – way worse compared to the N95 8GB.
To sum up the design – very pleasing (expect for the slider action).

On the features side, the changes are not many but still major. All of you expecting to see 5+ mega pixels camera with Xenon flash will be greatly disappointed as N96 is still with the same camera and flash as the N95. The whole reason is it’s targeting – not as the top of the line camera phone, but the premier converged device. In order to be crowned as such, vital elements were missing. We say were, as the N96 partly adds them.



Most notable is the addition of DVB-H digital TV reception. The system is widely used in Europe, but not adopted in the US where AT&T is expected to launch anytime now its MediaFlo based service (not compatible with DVB-H). Unlike other DVB-H phones, the N96 lacks any kind of external antenna. What is has though is a small plastic on the back around the camera which when needed is used as a stand to hold the device at an angel when placed on a table for example. The idea of course is for better video and TV viewing experience.
We were secretly hoping to hear that officially or not it supports DivX or Xvid video playback out of the box, but all we got was “sorry folks maybe next time”. Very unfortunate for a video oriented “multimedia computer”. The good news is that video player software supporting those protocols can be installed later.

We all liked the idea to have 8GB of memory on board (N95 8GB), but were still secretly hoping to be able to expand it even further if the need arises. N96 tops that with 8GB more for a total of 16GB built-in memory with an addition microSDHC card slot allowing … well up to 32GB more (total: up to 48GB!). As we like to say: “Great Success” (you guessed right – we love Borat).



The combination of camera and GPS leads to a feature called GeoTagging. If the GPS can lock position (and you haven’t turned it manually off), it will add the coordinates of the location where the picture is taken, to its EXIF data of the JPEG file. It can then be seen from the phone, or from any software (on computer) which supports this feature. For example, Flickr.com reads this data and shows it. All devices announced at the MWC were GeoTagging capable.

Whoever guess that N78 is the successor of N73 gets high five. As mentioned earlier, it has the new “N” series piano black finish with rounded ages and flush surface. Unlike though the N96, here the keypad is in four rows of keys without vertical separation. The rest of the keys are around it and as seen from our great pictures – lack any relief.



Dimension-wise, the N78 is about the size of its predecessor, with the weight decreased to 3.6 oz (102 g).

Originally introduced in the N81, the Navi wheel function is present here. According to the N78 product manager, its functionally has been greatly improved in the new model. When we get our test units and do the in-depth review, will definitely let you know.

The rest of the changes are the addition of Wi-Fi, dual band UMTS (EU and EU versions available), FM transmitter and like all other just announced devices – added A-GPS.

Nokia 6220 announced during the expo strangely enough is a Series 40 device with 128x128 pixels display and 0.1 mega pixel camera. This could be right if we were at the 3GSM 2003. Confused? So are we as Nokia is continuing to re-use its model numbers and just adds “classic” to denote a completely new device. On a more series note, if it had the N-series design language, the new 6220 classic could fit in that line quite well. The new high end phone for the masses is equipped with the same 5 mega-pixel camera found in the top-of-the-line N-series, Xenon flash, A-GPS and S60 3rd with FP2. We are so happy it is MWC 2008!

The last new phone from Nokia is the 6210 Navigator. Besides the usage of the same design language as in the 6220 classic, the only other notable difference is the presence of digital compass. The Nokia people we talked with claimed that this is a first in a mobile phone, but we are more inclined to think as the first for 2008, as phone with compass was released by Nokia back in 2004 (the 5140). The whole idea to have it in your phone is not to show you where the North Pole is, but when using the new Nokia Maps 2 in Pedestrian more, instead of walking 50 meters to see in which direction you are going to, all you need is just to take the phone out of your pocket and your correct orientation will be shown.
The other changes are the increased camera resolution to 3.2 mega pixels and like all other Nokias announced during the expo – the added second band of UMTS. Its expected market release is around Q3.

2008 is the first year Eten appear on the showfloor, here in Barcelona. We had the chance to talk with the company’s CEO, who shed some light on the strategy E-TEN is going to use in the future. The company will remain focusing on Windows Mobile Professional GSM phones. Both Standard OS and CDMA are not in the plans for this year, but nothing is known for the future. Until now, the Eten phones were mainly professional devices, but with the V900 and M810, the consumer-oriented models are coming. This can be noticed by their design language – glossy surface, rounded corners and shiny buttons. A finger-friendly touch interface is in the works and we saw an early version of it deployed on a phone, but were not allowed to take pictures of it. Trust us – it looks good; it seems to go deeper in customization than HTC’s TouchFlo found in the Touch Dual (read its review). Once the new personalized interface is released, any current glofiish user will be able to take advantage of it.


V900 is a high-end model with digital TV support, for watching live broadcasted content directly on the phone. It supports DVB-H (the standard deployed across Europe), as well as DVB-T (standard digital TV broadcast), T-DMB and DAB (for digital radio also). The specifications are also suitable for high-class phone: 2.8” VGA 480x640 pixels display, 533MHz processor, global GSM and 3G HSDPA, WiFi and GPS. The V900 is probably the most well looking handset of the manufacturer, with flat front surface (the display is not concaved), and glossy black surface.




M810 is targeted as a phone for chatters, bloggers ,etc. It hasside-sliding QWERTY keyboard which is on a flat surface, in order tokeep the design slim. It also looks very well as the V900 but is inlighter color.

Do you remember the rumors about Motorola getting out of the cellphones business? We think they should either do something to stay competitive, or just leave this market.  Instead of the expected rumored cameraphones (currently its best is the Z10), the US manufacturer announced three phones: a WIFI-capable variant of the Z6 and two ultra low-level phones.


Motorola Z6w is nothing but the UMA capable variant of the old ROKR Z6. The design is kept the same, it still uses Linux JAVA system and so on, but adds WiFi connectivity. A quad-band GSM, it can be used all around the world but there is no information on availability from T-Mobile USA, which has its UMA service.




The other two phones are ultra low level candybars for the developing countries. The W161 has monochrome display, while the W181 has color one, and higher class look, thanks to the colorful housing. Both are only dual-band GSM phones.

HTC P3470

HTC did not offer anything ground breaking, but still announced two new devices. HTC P3470 is can be viewed like a budget navigation device with just minimal hardware power. The processor is only 200 Mhz and there is no 3G supported. Like the rest of navigation oriented HTC phones, this one will come with TomTom 6 preloaded.



HTC X7510 Advantage

The second new phone announced by the manufacturer is also not ground-breaking. The Advantage 7510 doesn’t really change much when compared to the standard 7500, which is definitely our favorite model. It has the same unique form factor (of candybar with large display and separate keyboard) and very similar design. The keyboard however is totally flat which would be logical if it was much slimmer, but it has the same thickness of 0.6” (16mm).

The features are overall the same, but the operating system is now Windows Mobile 6.1 instead of 5.0, which has a few advantages. The flash memory is doubled, now 16GB instead of 8GB in the 7500.

Modu

About two weeks ago, only probably a handful of people had heard about modu. All the information available was from a short demo, showing one person putting something into something else and obviously receiving some type of enjoyment from this. We set down with Ms. Liat Arad, modu’s COO and discussed Zack Weisfeld, Vice President of Marketing at modu to discuss how they see the future of their product and what exactly their product is.

The modu system consists of the actual modu phone which is a fully functional one with display and few keys, EDGE data and UI. If slipped into a jacket (the second component), new look is achieved or additional functionality is gained. For example, if a full keyboard is desired, there will be a jacket which will have QWERTY with probably large display for heavy texting crowed. When the modu is inserted, it brings the jacket to life. The list of potential jackets is very long – music, navigation, designer and more. They will be initially manufactured only by modu.



The third module are so called modu mates or devices, which are fully functional without modu, but when paired with it, gains additional functionality. At this moment, the only mate known is Blaupunkt car stereo. The idea to be play music stored on the modu through your cars stereo, or use it as hands-free system. The list of possible mates is as long as the jackets – alarm radios (will charge your modu, synchronize clock and alarm settings, show incoming calls or SMS messages), camera, refrigerators and more.



To illustrate better how will modu work, we’ll give a few examples: in the morning you insert your modu into your Windows Mobile 7 (eventually) jacket and have the full keyboard, touch screen and everything else that system provides. After work, you will insert it into you car’s cd player which will play the music stored in the modu. The list of possible scenarios goes on.

The benefits from the practicality offered by modu are unquestionable. The success of the whole concept lays on the availability of modu jackets and mates. The company has reached an agreement with three carries in the US to distribute their products, but still the time will tell if they will be successful.

We managed to get close and personal with Garmin’s nuvifone. The company still doesn’t have a working model to showcase so we had to play with the mock-up. As we said before, the GPS phone will have a 3.5” touch display and no hardware keys. In contrast to most other GPS phones, the nuvifone will try to compete with standalone devices. It will have preloaded maps of North America, Eastern and Western Europe or both. Turn by turn navigation and tons of POI will also be included. Additional GPS-based features include the “Where am I?” which displays exact coordinates, as well as nearest “address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and gas stations.” Garmin has not released any specifications of the nuvifone yet and we hope by Q3, when the phone is scheduled for release, there will be more information available.

One of the most interesting mobile devices from unknown brands at MWCwas the Readius, which we have previously discussed in our news. It isproduced by the Dutch company PolymerVision and is the world’s firstcell phone with a “rollable” 5-inch display. As you can see from itsname (read-ius), the device is reading friendly but it also includesthe mobility and features of a cell phone. We are expecting to see theReadius on the market, by the end of this year.