Techarati

Testing a new phone, the Nokia E62

Readers, I am testing a new phone, the Nokia E62 from Cingular.  The Nokia E62 is the 'light' version of the Nokia E61, which eliminates 3G and WiFi from the line up.  In addition to testing the phone itself, I am also testing Blackberry Connect, which I find has little written about this fascinating expansion for Blackberry into non-native devices.

So far, my first impressions are very positive, the phone has a great form factor, and the screen is incredibly crisp.  I was concerned that I might be facing a steep learning curve adapting to the new menus (to me that is) of the Symbian Series 60 UI, especially after using Motorola devices for so long,... but then again I was a long term tester for the Windows based Seimens SX-66, and the Palm Treo 650… yet so far it seems rather easy and natural to navigate within the device.

After I have had the phone for a week I will detail my thoughts and experiences in a review, so expect something new in the pipeline soon!

Nokia E62 from Cingular
Quad Band, Edge
MiniSD
Qwerty Keyboard
Hi res color screen
Blackberry Connect Software

[Nokia E62] [Nokia E62 from Cingular] [Blackberry Connect]

SXSW tickets via cellphone SMS

South By Southwest (SXSW) Austin, Tx., one of the largest film festivals in the U.S., with over 1331 bands playing live across seven days at 58 venues, offered wrist bands early to a lucky few who signed up via cell phone SMS message this evening (Wednesday Night, Febraury 22nd). 

The messages directed the interested to tickets being sold at Waterloo records in downtown Austin.

According to the SXSW official site:

If you are a SXSW Registrant, sign up and receive special notices through the Online Registrant's Directory. SXSW will send you alerts and updates specific to your badge type from last minute schedule changes, special events, breaking news and more. Get the latest lowdown and don't miss a thing!

In addition to an early notice of ticket sales, SXSW SMS, will also will notify you of band schedules, as well as allow you to vote in the Film Festival Audience Award, or vote for your SXSW favorite film.

"To sign up for general updates and alerts about SXSW 2006 just send the text message 'sx add' to '56658' from your mobile phone!"

Click here for more SXSW SMS info! or here for the latest SXSW info!

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Update: According to those who have recieved the text messages, there will be more wristbands on sale to the public Thursday, February 23rd, at Waterloo Records in Austin, Tx.

Separated at birth?

Via Mobiletracker and Travelizmo respectively.

Apple MVNO rumor

I don't like getting into the rumor game, though I have levied my picks at times, but it looks as if there is mounting evidence that Apple may be mounting a consumer push for their own cell phone service (MNVO). Instead of me rehashing what many are saying on the net, I'll let you, the intelligent reader, put the information together for yourselves.

Fuzzy Apple SIM Card Photo's?
MacBook Verizon EVDO card's?
Forbes Reporting Apple MNVO

Here is all the data put together...

The photo above is a mockup from SlashPhone

MobileTracker.net

Folks, I just thought I would give you an update as to what's going on here at Techarati and LoftyWords.

I realize post have been sparse for the last week, even though there has been quite a bit of cell phone news and breaking loft news to write about. Interestingly, I have been writing about cell phones all week, but not for Techarati.

Two weeks ago I accepted a position over at MobileTracker.net with Jon Gales, as the new News Editor, and as you can imagine with 3GSM going full tilt in Barcelona, there has been an inordinate amount of work!

As I ease into my new role, find the virtual bathroom and water cooler, I will develop the time management skills to write for Techarati and LoftyWords again (hey these are my babies, right...).

Apple announces 1gb Nano

Folks, we all saw it coming, Apple has finally taken the wraps off it's Shuffle replacement today.

The iPod Nano 1gb, will be priced at $149.00, and comes in the prerequisite black and white. The existing Shuffles will be marked down to $69 and $99, while they last.

In a separate announcement, Apple has inked a deal with ShowTime Television for a number of shows, bringing the total available TV shows on iTunes to over 50.

http://www.apple.com

Definitive Mythos Home Theatre Speakers

Modern designed homes and flat panel plasma screen have made the standard big box speakers looking out of place in many homes. Enter stage left - the Mythos Series Home Theatre Speakers are engineered to work together in mix-and-match systems within the Mythos line. You choose the main Left & Right speakers based on your own audio desire, the size of your room or the size of your television. Match it to a Mythos Center Channel Speaker, and then add matching Mythos Speakers as Surround Channels; use the same Mythos Speakers as your mains, or choose a different, more convenient size. Add a SuperCube Subwoofer or two to round out the system with thrilling bass effects; Mythos is designed to work   perfectly with SuperCube Subwoofers (highly reccomeded, since they can sound rather tinish without a sub).

Nokia N80

The next big cell phone from Nokia is the new N80.

Here are the facts as I know them today:

                                                     

Shp. Weight	2.00 lbs
Band	GSM UMTS/ GSM 850/ GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900 - OEM FACTORY UNLOCKED
Technology	3g/umts, BLUETOOTH, CAMCORDER, CAMERA, COLOR, EDGE, EMS, fm radio, gprs, IM, INFRARED, JAVA, MMS, mp3, PDA, pic book, POLYPHONIC, sd slot, SMARTPHONE, SMS, t9, upnp ready, video play, WAP, wi-fi, XHTML
Design	Slider

Here is what the pros over at celluloco.com have to say:

Nokia N80 N Series 3G/EDGE/Bluetooth/Wi-fi Enabled  Quadband Slider/Media Device with 3Mbpixel Camera/Camcorder, FM Radio, MP3 Player, 40Mb Shared Memory, Up to 2Gb miniSD Slot

Nokia N80, the first ever handset to enable seamless home media networking between compatible TVs, audio systems and PCs. The Nokia N80 reflects and harmonizes work and personal life through leading on-the-go productivity tools, multimedia entertainment and mobile photography in a design that communicates success. Weighing only 134 grams, the compact yet feature-rich 3G multimedia device is packed with performance, providing fast internet access and convenient intuitive browsing as well as the possibility to send and receive emails at Wireless LAN (WLAN) speeds.

Home Stereo iPod Docking Stations!

Currently I know of two iPod docking stations for two brands of home theatre systems, Harmon Kardon and Onkyo.

The Harmon Kardon iPod docking station is a single connection that provides complete navigation and control of an iPod with the remote control from a The Bridge-Ready* Harman Kardon receiver, and charges the battery at the same time. Of course, you can also hear any track on the iPod through your home entertainment system.

Specifically the dock connector is compatible with AVR 140, AVR 240, AVR 340 and AVR 740. Unfortunatley it is not compatible with earlier Harman Kardon products, or with other brands of audio/video equipment.

The Onkyo DS-A1 is now available, and will allow you to connect your iPod to over 90% of today’s Onkyo receivers, home theater systems and audio systems. Not only is the DS-A1 compatible with
the full range of current Onkyo products, from the flagship TX-NR1000 to the affordable CS-210. It’s also compatible with the majority of Onkyo products that have been produced over the past decade.

• iPod Cradle for Onkyo Components and systems Charges iPod RCA Stereo Audio Output Video Output for iPod Photo Slide Show Control your iPod using your Onkyo Remote

 

DLO Home Dock

The DLO HomeDock Deluxe is an iPod dock that lets you view and select your iPod's music on your TV screen. The Dock lets you view current song information and navigate playlists, artists and albums from the sofa.

Looks like I will have to get one!

Here are the facts as I copied them from DLO's web site.

• Shipping March 2006
• Easily connect any dockable iPod to your Home Stereo & TV
• View and navigate iPods music directly on your TV screen
• Works with ALL Dockable iPods, including iPod nano and Video iPod
• Plays iPod videos on large screen TV via AV connection or S-Video
• View picture slideshows with music on your big screen TV
• Control everything from the sofa with the included 20 Button Remote Control
• Fully Powers and Charges iPod while in use
• Includes all necessary cables incl. AC Power Supply and AV Cable

You can visit DLO here for more information.

MacWorld, my absence!

This is the first time in years that I am not at MacWorld, this sucks!  I'm betting on a complete line of Intels PowerBooks (a Micro would be great), and 34", 42", and 50" plasma's from Apple with built in Mac Mini's,  AirPort, HDMI, etc.

Watching mobile TV beats out reading the newspaper!

A new Korean study shows that people will spend more time watching Mobile TV (DMB) then they spend reading the newspaper according to the Korean Broadcasting Advertising Company.

The study's results, titled "Consumer Behavior 2005", are inline with the world wide trend of the last decade witnessing consumers migrating away from paper based products, and towards electronic versions of the same products (i.e.: email vs. postal mail).

A synapses of the results show that the average Korean consumer spends 82 minutes watching TV, spends 61 minutes watching mobile TV (DMB), and only 42 minutes reading the newspaper each day. The most popular content on mobile TV is News - 19.2%, movies - 14.5%, and music - 14.4%, with 45% of mobile TV (dmb) users being in their 20's. Though most of these figures line up squarely with most first world nations, the most surprising figure was that DMB consumers are more willing to endure advertising versus other media (DMB 77.7%, Regular TV 74.2%, and Radio 68.8%).

Via: MobileMag.Com