Now you can monitor your heart rate with the Nokia N79 Active. The Nokia N79 Action will ship with the wireless Polar Bluetooth WearLink heart rate belt from Polar, the leading brand in sports instruments and heart rate monitoring.
This healthy addition to the Nokia Nseries range is the perfect running companion. A-GPS tracking and a new version of the popular Nokia Sports Tracker application – available simultaneously with first shipments of the device – spur you to record and publish your favorite routes and fitness data on the web. You can also share the tracks you listened to while working out, as well as upload and geotag route images taken with the Nokia N79 Active’s built-in 5 Megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics.
“The Nokia N79 Active is all about fun and fitness,” said Juha Kokkonen, Director, Nokia Nseries. “This handset keeps you entertained on those long workouts as you get in shape for next summer, while the Polar heart rate belt lets you know exactly how you’re doing. And with Sports Tracker you can add a new social dimension to your fitness program by building up and sharing a great record of all your workouts. This is an inspiring way to track your progress and to challenge yourself and fellow workout partners.”
“Polar is the number one choice for heart rate worldwide,” said Marco Suvilaakso, Executive Director, Polar, Sports Business Area. “Now with the Nokia N79 Active, the comfortable Polar Bluetooth WearLink heart rate belt takes the guess-work out of training. When you can objectively see how hard your body is working, you can enjoy working out with a whole new level of confidence.”
The Active version of the Nokia N79, the smallest Nokia Nseries device to date, ships with sporty headphones and an armband so you can keep yourself plugged in as you work out. A 4GB microSD memory card holds enough music even for those long endurance sessions. You can add new tracks to your playlists over the air from the Nokia Music Store or tune in to the radio with the handset’s FM transmitter.
The Nokia N79 Active will be available in select markets for an estimated retail price of EUR 375 before taxes and subsidies.
Lights, camera, action! Have you ever watched a video or looked a picture on your cell phone and wished it could be a little bigger? How about ever setting up an impromptu movie watch party with a bunch of friends on the side of a wall? Just kidding, but now you actually can. Samsung has a device that can project your cell phone image anywhere you wish, the device is the MBP200 Pico Projector.
“Compact and lightweight, the portable MBP200 can connect to mobile phones and laptops and by utilizing the DLP® pico chip from Texas Instruments it allows users to transform their traditional two inch screen to a 50-inch viewing screen allowing others to share in the video experience. In addition, users can easily transfer files and project content independent of an attached source via the microSD card slot. The MBP200 has a simple shape and design with touchpad controls on the right side of the device for easy navigation and a 2.2-inch QVGA LCD screen which allow users to view content privately.
The Samsung pico projector delivers a superior picture from a mobile device and is powered by a miniaturized version of the same imaging technology found in DLP HDTVs, home theater projectors and large-scale cinema houses. The unit can accommodate a range of projected image sizes – from an 8 ½ x 11 standard sheet of paper to a large 50-inch screen. For added convenience, the MBP200 comes with a small screen holder with a telescoping pole hidden inside, which can instantly turn a standard sheet of paper into a screen to view movies, document files or pictures. The 3.5mm standard jack allows users to enjoy their own headphones or speakers, or the built-in external speaker allows the MBP200 to play audio directly from the device.”
The Pico Projector is scheduled to appear on store shelves later this year. This is just another example of how cell phones are integrating more devices into one small package. The Pic Projector (assuming it works well) would instantly eliminate the need to have a computer and project when giving a business presentation, can’t wait!
At CES yesterday LG showed off one of the most highly anticipated cell phones of the show. Well, actually it wasn’t a cell phone at all. It was actually a watch phone, the LG-GD910. Can you say Dick Tracy. The watch is a 3G enabled phone with touchscreen. It’s cool idea, but I’m not sure how practical it is. If you’re not using a Bluetooth headset you’ll be talking into your hand which looks more awkward than talking to yourself with a Bluetooth headset. Here’s a video of the watch phone in action. You be the judge.
The Nokia E63 has been out for some time now, but it never made its way over to the US. Well things are changing. Nokia officially announced today that the E63 is coming to America! The Nokia E63 should be available in a few weeks with the price tag of $279.00. It looks like the E63 will only be available for purchase at Nokia stores in the US. That means it won’t be coming to any specific carriers so get out your check book and plan on paying the full $279.00. The E63 will be available in both red and blue. You can see more photos and phone features at Nokia E63.
OK, I think I’m done writing about the new Sony Ericsson phones that were announced today. Who knows, it’s still only 10:37AM over on the West Coast. The last, I think, phone to announce is the C510a. The C510a is a quad-band GSM Cyber-Shot phone. Just like the previous two phones were Walkman “centric” phones the C510a is a camera centric phone. The C510a has a 3.2 megapixel camera with flash. The C510a has a view great features built-in for ultimate photo taking. The phones has a Smile Shutter which detects smiles when taking a picture and snaps the photo immediately. You don’t have to worry about sitting there and hoping you don’t miss the shot (especially if it’s of kids). The phone also has Face Detection which focuses on up to three faces at one time. Another great feature. One other feature that is mentioned is the direct connect to YouTube. You can both view YouTube videos and you can upload videos you take on your phone directly to YouTube. That’s what I can instant journalism. You can see more photos of the phone along with specifications at Sony Ericsson C510a.
There are no official dates or countries where the phone will be launched. The only thing that is mentioned in the press release is, “Available in selected markets from Q1 2009.”
Sony Ericsson announces that soon Vodafone customers will be able to use the GPS enabled W715Walkman™ phone to make the most of location-based services. Aside from turn-by-turn pedestrian or driving navigation available using Vodafone Find&Go, customers will be able to find their nearest restaurants, hotels or shopping centres all within a few clicks on their new mobile phone.
The W715Walkman™phonefeatures the same superior sound quality as the W980 Walkman™ phone, which was rated ‘best audio experience’ in independent tests*. On the top of premium music experience with crystal clear sound, the W715 includes popular Walkman™ features such as the music recognition application TrackID™, SensMe™ for matching your mood to the music, and Shake Control to change tracks with the flick of a wrist. All this provides for a premium Music experience, fully integrated with Vodafone Music, allowing easy access to single and album downloads.
‘”The W715 is another exciting exclusive for Vodafone customers. The seamless integration with Vodafone’s Music services, such as single or full album download, provides for a great overall experience on our fast and reliable network. With fully integrated GPS and Vodafone Find&Go, this phone is offering a very attractive feature set in a combination we know customers are asking for more and more”, said Patrick Chomet, Global Director of Terminals at Vodafone.
‘We are continuing to progress the music capability on our phones’, added Peter Marsden, Head of GCU Vodafone at Sony Ericsson, ‘and the W715 Walkman™ phone is a great way to support Vodafone Music, plus its dedicated key to location-based services simply highlights its ease of use – all making for a great user experience.’
The W715Walkman™ phone is much more than a music phone. Its metal finish combines with a large screen in an elegant and compact slider for a professional feel. The inclusion of a 3.2 Megapixel camera and Wi-Fi connectivity allows users to snap photos of friends, and quickly upload them to social networking sites for all to see.
The Sony Ericsson W715 will initially launch for Vodofone users in Europe, but expect to see unlocked versions make their way to the United States. You can view more photos and specs at Sony Ericsson W715.
Today at CES 2009 in Las Vegas Sony Ericsson announced the W508a. The W508a is the latest addition to Sony’s popular Walkman line of cell phones. The phone has technology such as Shake and Gesture control, SenseMe™ and TrackID™, as well as Style-Up™ covers. There are officially 8 different covers that you can choose from. This is yet another example of how cell phone manufacturers are trying to let consumers “style” their phones.
“The W508 Walkman™ phone builds on our iconic Walkman™ range and the successful W380.” said Alexandre Cardon, Global Product Marketing Manager (music) at Sony Ericsson. “For those who like to express their style and individuality through their mobile phone we’ve brought our creative design team in to design stylish changeable covers so that W508 offers a truly interactive and individual experience.”
The W508 also includes popular Walkman™ features such as SensMe™, for matching your mood to the music and touch keys on top to play, stop and skip tracks. A 3.2 megapixel camera, HSDPA and 1GB M2 card completes the W508 offering for any trend setter. Other features of the phone include 3G support, Bluetooth, FM radio with RDS and web capabilities.
In the phone specs Sony Ericsson mentions both photo and video blogging capabilities along with direct connection to YouTube. I think theses are great features to have, especially on such a small and compact flip phone.
The phones will be available in select markets started 2Q 2009. Not sure yet which countries they will be. My guess is the US will be on the list. You can see more photos and additional phone specs at Sony Ericsson W508a.
It always interests me who makes the official announcement for new phones. Is it going to be the phone manufacturer or the carrier. I’m sure there are internal battles between the companies to see who will make the official announcement and receive the press coverage. Well this time around RIM Blackberry gets to make the first announcement for the upcoming Curve 8900 for T-Mobile. The Curve 8900 looks very familiar to Curves from the past. The phone has a sleeker design than it’s predecessors and comes with a number of upgrades. Notable features include a 3.2 megapixel camera with flash, Wi-Fi and GPS. One big feature missing is 3G support. I’m quite surprised that a new Blackberry phone would be released without 3G support. You would think that with the Bold and Storm releases that all new Blackberry phones would have 3G. Only time will tell how much this may or may not hurt sales. You can see more photos and all the specs at Blackberry Curve 8900.
The Blackberry Curve 8900 is set to hit T-Mobile shelves sometime in February.
