The T-Mobile G1 has barely started to hit retail channels, and we’re already seeing mockups of the next-generation Android smartphone from T-Mobile. The mockup you see here is supposed to be the successor to the T-Mobile G1, logically dubbed the T-Mobile G2. The mockup is more of an evolution in design than a next-gen successor to the still green-behind-the-ears G1, but we’re fans of this mockup just the same. Selling itself on giving the user more screen real estate, a smaller “chin,” and enhanced web browsing capabilities, the T-Mobile GII is definitely a head-turner. The mockup demonstrates the current T-Mobile G1’s weaknesses, but also gives us something to look forward to with a next-generation Android handset. Take a gander at the mockups below and twiddle your thumbs in anticipation of the T-Mobile G1’s true successor.

  According to the latest forecasts from Informa Telecoms & Media, there will be four billion global mobile subscriptions at the end of this year! To put the number in perspective, it took five full quarters for the latest billion net additions. Naturally emerging markets such as India and China are to “blame” for this rapid growth. The two mentioned countries have seen over 50 million new mobile subscriptions during the last six months. Other countries that also saw a significant growth in mobile phone penetration include Indonesia, Vietnam, Pakistan and Brazil. On the down side, though, this growth is set to slow, and Informa predicts the five billionth subscription will be signed during Q4 2011, with worldwide penetration reaching in excess of 70% by this time. Only in Africa will penetration at the end of 2011 still be below 50%. The world’s largest mobile operators know the market will stop growing at some point, hence they’re broadening, and in some cases reconsidering their strategic thinking. Informa’s “Mobile Operator Strategies” report studies the parallel business lines being assumed by the likes of Vodafone, China Mobile and Telenor. On the one hand, the extension of basic mobile connectivity...

  The ongoing wrangle in the flash memory business that could potentially see Samsung buy out SanDisk took a new turn at the weekend when it emerged that Toshiba is getting involved too. Japanese media reports say that Toshiba is talking to US-owned SanDisk about buying ¥100 billion (£570 million) worth of SanDisk equipment in a factory they already run together as a joint venture. Protective measure The possible move is being seen as Toshiba's attempt to protect its production capabilities should the Samsung takeover of SanDisk eventually go ahead. If that were to happen there would be little chance of Samsung wishing to work with Toshiba in future. Money is tight Samsung currently has 42 per cent of the world's NAND flash memory market, with Toshiba in second place on 28 per cent. As Toshiba currently has less than ¥300 billion in the bank, the possibility of spending more than a third of that underlines how seriously it takes the Samsung threat. 

  These days, anyone with Photoshop and a fanboy bent can come up with fake (or, as they are known, "concept") product design. To achieve smart, desirable simplicity, though, requires some talent. Mac Funamizu has it, as we saw with his transparent tablet computer, which overlays the internet on the real world. Now he has theoretically embedded e-ink into simple plastic block to make a smart phone. Based on the Nokia Aeon (another concept), the Nanokia has no buttons. The interface is configured on-the-fly, like the iPhone, but the e-ink makes you forget thare is a screen involved. The planned haptic interface furthers the illusion of real, solid buttons. I love it. Especially the slide-out-screen configuration. It's one step closer to something that was already perfected 11 years ago.

  As the wireless world awaits the Oct. 22 debut of the first phone based on the Google-backed Android software, engineers at Motorola (MOT) are hard at work on their own Android handset. Motorola's version will boast an iPhone-like touch screen, a slide-out qwerty keyboard, and a host of social-network-friendly features, BusinessWeek.com has learned. Motorola has been showing spec sheets and images of the phone to carriers around the world in the past two months and is likely to introduce the handset in the U.S. sometime in the second quarter of 2009, according to people familiar with Motorola's plans. Building a phone based on the highly anticipated Android operating system is part of Motorola's effort to revive a loss-making handset division that has forfeited market share amid a drought of bestselling phones. Motorola stock, which on Oct. 17 rose a penny to 5.62, is hovering near a 16-year low. The phone will appear among a new class of social smartphones designed to make it easy for users to connect quickly and easily to mobile social networks such as Facebook and News Corp.'s (NWS) MySpace (BusinessWeek, 10/10/08). Such phones let users message in-network friends directly from phone contact lists, for example. A Facebook representative declined...

  Here is list of new phones from Sony Ericsson for 2009 year: Yao: Walkman branded phone named W305 Entry slider phone   Walkman-version of F305 Release date: the end of Q1 Yue: Cyber-shot branded Compact stick phone 3.2-Mp camera One of the K550’s successors   Release date: the end of Q1 Frances: Cyber-shot branded Slider design GPS (!)   Active lens cover PhotoFix, Face Detection, Smile Shutter   Looks very pretty Athena: Snapshot branded Mid-range stick phone Can be successor of S302 Release date: Q1, 2009 Filippa: Cyber-shot branded stick phone HSUPA 140 Mb of memory SnapFish BestPic, PhotoFix, Face Detection, Smile Shutter Colours: Noble Black, Precious Peach, Sincere Silver Kate: Cyber-shot branded stick phone Active lens cover 3.2-Mp camera with AF EDGE 900/1800/1900 and HSDPA 2100 120 Mb of memory PhotoFix, Face Detection, Smile Shutter, SnapFish Available in 2 different colours Rika: Named W705 Walkman-version of G705 Wi-Fi with GPS (!) In the box: 4 Gb M2 and HPM-77 Available in 3 colours...

Q3 highlights: Break even results, excluding restructuring charges, as challenging business conditions continued C902 Cyber-shot™ camera phone is hit model of the quarter First Xperia™ branded multimedia phone X1 began shipping   Expansion of music service offering with announcement of PlayNow™ plus   Units shipped in the quarter were 25.7 million, a sequential increase but flat year-on-year, while sales for the quarter were Euro 2,808 million, a decrease of 10% compared to the third quarter of 2007. Most of this decrease reflects the impact of exchange rate fluctuations, as well as a shift of the product mix to more lower priced phones. Gross margin also decreased year-on-year and sequentially due to continued price pressure at a time of adverse cost trends in the supplier base. This was partially mitigated by the introduction of new products at the end of the second quarter, such as the C902 Cyber-shot™ camera phone, which is selling well; however, strong competition continues, particularly in Europe. Income before taxes for the quarter was Euro 12 million, excluding restructuring charges of Euro 35 million, a decrease compared to the third quarter of 2007. Average selling price (ASP)...

  One of the great things about the original Soul is that despite its heavy-hitting credentials -- 5-megapixel camera, 7.2Mbps HSDPA, and OLED-equipped d-pad, just to name a few -- it remains a pretty understated (read: tasteful) slider. Of course, taste isn't for everyone, which is apparently why Samsung has elected to dress up its high-end U900 in black and gold for a "Limited Edition" that commands about a 700 Czech crown ($40) premium over its easier-to-look-at silver counterpart. To each their own, we suppose. The Limited Edition is already available in some markets, and with the high sheen of that classy gold plating, it should be pretty easy to pick out.

  According to JPMorgan, mobile phone handset growth for 2009 will drop by roughly two per cent, primarily because consumers, particularly in Europe, are reluctant to upgrade their phones. Other ­market analysts argue that consumers are being put off buying new mobile phones because of the current economic climate. This follows recently issued research findings from Globo, which show that 65 percent of users of mobile phones, who want access to emails or other online applications, aren't ready to replace their handsets just to obtain it. Dr. Joseph Coughlin, Director, AgeLab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Non-Executive Director, Globo, believes that new developments in mobile software are the logical next step in the development of the mobile society. He argues that current economic developments highlight the requirement for the market to adopt a new breed of open software that has the ability to turn every mobile phone into a 'smart' phone. The next generation of 'all-in-one' solutions will push, synchronise and share all a users' different applications onto one single platform - regardless of the service provider or handset. "We have already seen communications bring the death of distance and the next generation of mobile...

  Are they running out of new designs in the Sony Ericsson’s lab or are they just porting over cell phones with a few changes from different segments? After the Rika, we have news about yet another cellphone that’s going for the Walkman branding, the F305 gaming phone, which will become the W305 when it is released next year in March. Going by the code name of “Yao” (F305 was called Ying), the W305 will sport pretty much the same features as the F305 before it was Walkmanized, dropping the gaming keys on top for the Walkman button, a 2-megapixel camera, a 176×220 display, and most probably EDGE support, making this another low-ender in the Walkman category. More details as we find them!

  In a rather impressive debut, Firefox Mobile, which has not even entered alpha release yet, already scored 88/100 in the Acid 3 web-standards test (wikipedia). This test measures how standards compliant a web browser’s rendering engine is, and therefore how accurately it will be able to display complex web pages. For comparison, the iPhone 3G browser only scores 74, wile making a complete hash of the rendering of the test, and the Opera Mobile 9.5 browser scores a lower 71 (but however renders the web page much more accurately than the iPhone browser). With results this good, and also reports that browsing is pretty past, I cant wait for this new entrant to arrive in the now-crowded Windows Mobile browser arena.