We have learned that from Global Certification Forum (GCF). What we are speaking about now is not a single mobile device but two of them. GCF has got approval for two Toshiba smartphones. TG01 is one of them, other being named in the documents as “To Be Advised”. The specifications (not full) of the two mobile phones coincide. Both are quad-band GSM mobile phones (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) supporting HSDPA and MMS. Well, maybe the difference hides in the operating system they run.  

  Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) reports that 26 mobile network operators are eager to develop 4G mobile networks based on LTE technology. The severe competition can be explained by the fact that the world's first LTE operator will be able to expand its range of services drastically and attract a huge number of subscribers. LTE is a technology of building mobile networks, a derivative from 2, 2.5 and 3G, based on IP technologies. Ten mobile network operators have the year 2010 marked as 4G network launch time. In the USA they are Verizon, MetroPCS, and CenturyTel; in Sweden and Norway – TeliaSonera. In Japan LTE 4G network is to be launched by NTT DoCoMo and KDDI; in Canada – by Rogers Wireless, Telus, and Bell Canada. Sixteen more operators are planning to launch LTE 4G after 2010. One of the factors that make it impossible to launch LTE 4G immediately is the lack of mobile devices supporting this standard. GSA says that two manufacturers, Ericsson and LG, plan to release respective mobile devices next year. What will we get from 4G? First of all, we’ll enjoy exceptionally high data transfer rates supported by high end mobile...

  The LG KM900 Arena mobile phone unveiled at MWC last month in Barcelona, is extremely popular with mobile operators in various countries around the globe. The company has already received pre-orders for more than 1 million devices or twice the pre-order sales of well-known Chocolate that eventually sold 20 million units. Taking into account the market reaction, LG expects the phone sales to catch up with Chocolate, Viewty, and Shine. We think that it is very likely to happen and especially because the company has expanded the initial launch market by several European countries.  

  The ezy100 mobile phone has a large high-contrast monochrome backlit display. The text size, keys, and inscriptions on them are quite large. There may be up to 500 contacts in the phonebook. The maximum ring volume is 100 dB and the maximum caller voice volume is 25 dB. Ezy100 has a powerful vibration alert and a one-touch emergency call function that deserves special attention: there is the emergency switch on the backside of the phone – once you slide it, the phone starts dialing a sequence of up to 5 numbers that have been programmed. Moreover, the mobile phone has 3 quick dial buttons. The retail price of the ezy100 will be $249. For a limited time, there will be a bonus desktop charging base in the package valued at $49. Kevin McDonnel, Oricom's Managing Director, says that the development of the phone is a response to feedback from the elderly and people with hearing loss or low vision.  

  Palm company is getting through hard times. A decline in revenue is expected to last through the Q3 2009. Moreover, the demand for Centro and Treo devices has reduced probably because the new Palm Pre has already been announced and is highly anticipated by consumers. These circumstances only aggravate the situation and Palm cannot start shipping its new smartphone as the company hasn’t got enough cash means for that. Palm CEO says that the company “got a difficult transition period to work through” and the new smartphone is slated to start shipping in the first half of 2009.  

  If you were lucky to attend MWC 2009, you remember that solar-powered mobile devices were everywhere. The only thing the manufacturers including LG and Samsung didn’t say a word about was the price of eco-friendly mobile phones. What we are about to surprise you with is that a solar-powered mobile phone may cost as little as… 40 USD! According to some reports, this is the estimated price of a new Coral 200 Solar mobile phone by ZTE, a Chinese company. Naturally, the device won’t incorporate the latest features and functions. It’ll be a low-class mobile device, but with an alternative way of charging the battery. An hour in the sun results in 15 minutes of talk time. The Coral 200 Solar mobile phone can also be charged traditionally – via a charger.  

  We have updated a new Motorola ZN300 mobile phone specifications and uploaded better quality photos of the device. As far as we have got the information from the official source, we may suppose that the new phone will be announced in the nearest future. The shipping date is unknown so far but we think it’s not that long to wait…  

  There’s a ROM update utility or RUU available on the HTC website. Download and run it if you have one of the following troubles with your HTC Touch Diamond: • The screen becomes black if you turn on the camera while other applications are running on the phone. • When playing a video, a portion of it is cut off. • While listening to music via the speaker the sound turns off (and on but not always) after 10 minutes (you may also hear a buzzing sound). • The phone is not able to receive MMS messages when in standby mode. • The sound turns off and on from time to time when you launch music via the Music tab on TouchFLO 3D. On updating the software all these troubles disappear. The manufacturer warns that all data and device settings are deleted during the update process. Before running the RUU make sure that all applications are closed and the battery is half-charged at least. You must not use the device during the update: don’t press any buttons, make or receive calls or disconnect the phone from your PC.  

  If accessing the web on your mobile phone is difficult with a small screen and smaller keypad, why not just talk to your phone to navigate the web? This was the thought of Dortmund, Germany, based Materna Communications who demonstrated their new VoiceFlash product in Barcelona. As Materna says, VoiceFlash user can control navigation menus “with their own voice input” – or by talking into their phone. This also means that online forms can be filled in, and even a genuine dialogue be held with the web interface, and information can be requested from websites. An example application would be requesting timetable information, by speaking the starting point of your journey and your destination, as well as the date and approximate time of departure or arrival. Similarly, it would be relatively easy to construct and then navigate by voice to quickly obtain phone numbers or local addresses from business directories. And of course, the voice doesn’t have to be via a phone call, but can be using a microphone or headset connected to a PC, and thereby help those less able to use a keyboard, or us geeks who like to show that we aren’t restricted to a keyboard, but can navigate the web by voice. Materna are working on making their...

  What a competition: there were four regional tournaments around the world, and the search took one year, but now the Champion of the 2009 Mobile Innovation Global Awards is known. The winner is CooTek for their TouchPal soft keyboard for touchscreen devices. It wasn’t just the spelling correction software which impressed judges, but also that experienced users can type at a staggering 400 characters per minute on a touchscreen. So it’s no wonder that TouchPal has become the most popular keyboard software in the world, with more than 2 million downloads last year. Touchscreen phones are getting popular these years. But typing on touchscreen is no fun. Many iPhone users, for example, have complaints about its onscreen keyboard. Due to the small buttons and the lack of key-pressing feedback, users are more likely to press wrong keys on a virtual keyboard than on a real keyboard. TouchPal was carefully designed to resolve these issues by introducing many breakthrough technologies. One example is the impressive mistyping correction technology -- even if a user mistypes all the letters in a word, it can still predict the correct word. One can thus type much faster without even looking at the keyboard. Another eye-catching feature is called...

  Orange Guinea Conakry and Ericsson are putting into operation more than 100 solar-powered BTS 2111 base stations in rural Africa. These hybrid base stations by Ericsson use the power produced by both solar-energy panels and a diesel generator. Moreover, the stations are exceptionally reliable, easy to install and maintain – for instance, they don’t have any forced cooling system. The companies are getting closer towards their target of reducing CO2 emissions by 20% by 2020 and increasing mobile coverage. Orange Group plans to install more than 1000 solar-powered base stations in Africa by the end of the year.