Mobiado today announces its new designer 105CLB series. The entire front and back of the phone has been crafted from large pieces of sapphire crystal and printed from beneath with the silver Mobiado monogram, providing a modern minimalist look with a wear resistance second only to diamond. The 105CLB utilizes a hidden sliding battery cover mechanism (patent pending) with the battery cover being made entirely from one piece of sapphire crystal. The phone frame is precision CNC machined from aircraft aluminum to create a strong yet light body, it is polished, and then anodized or nickel plated to produce a surface for the toughest of uses. The iconic Mobiado 105CLB is available in two designer styles (black and silver). The 105CLB is unlocked, quad-band GSM/EGSM and dual-band WCDMA network operational. They work within North America, Europe, Africa, Asia- Pacific, and South America where GSM/EGSM 850/900/1800/1900 and WCDMA 850/2100 networks are available. They are equipped with a 2 megapixel camera and video camera, more than 1 GB internal memory, 2″ display with up to 16 million colors, Bluetooth and micro USB connectivity, and a music player that supports AAC, eAAC+, and MP3 audio

  There are a few other differences. The Hacha, while clearly cast in cheap plastic from the same mold as the Vertu phone, is in fact a $15 MP3 player and not a piece of function-limited jewelry. It also plays music, which – astonishingly – the Vertu does not. For that price, you should really expect nothing, but you get 2GB storage and an the ability to play MP3, WMA and OGG files. You load it up via USB 2.0 and it is guaranteed not to work with iTunes. Even the battery life isn't bad, at 14 hours playback time. Today marks the symbolic end of the MP3 player market. We know that one day, standalone music players will be novelty items and all listening will be done on cellphones. This little piece of plastic tat ushers in the beginning of the end, firmly placing the MP3 player in the realm of the trade-show giveaway, to be ordered by the thousands along with USB thumbdrives and novelty pens.

  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

  How Microsoft’s Windows Mobile strategy to fight against Apple’s iPhone and the new comer Google’s Android phones? “Microsoft could be preparing a bid for BlackBerry maker, Research In Motion,” as PC Pro wrote recently.   Since Microsoft has a substantial amount of cash on its balance sheet ($23 billion), with RIM currently valued at around $34 billion, the acquisition would be financially viable. RIM’s shares have practically fallen off a cliff in recent months, plunging from a 52-week high of $150 to today’s price of around $68. That leaves the company vulnerable to a takeover from a cash-rich suitor such as Microsoft, according to analysts. Microsoft projected in 2008 that shipments of devices with Windows Mobile will increase from 11 million to 20 million units, but in fact, market only absorbing 18 million licenses, due to the delayed launch of certain smart-phones. It would be weird to see Windows Mobile appearing on a BlackBerry, but business has it own logic, right?

  HTC Corporation has reported September revenues of NT$13.7 billion, up 30% from the same period last year. For the third quarter of 2008, the company's total revenues reached NT$37.86 billion, representing 30.06% year-on-year growth. The company also reported pre-bonus adjusted net income before tax of NT$ 9.4 billion, total net income of NT$ 8.4 billion, and earnings per share of NT$11.14. For its post-bonus adjustment, the company had total net income before tax was NT$ 7,846 million, total net income was NT$ 7,071 million, and earnings per share after tax were NT$ 9.36. HTC's third quarter revenue were in line with guidance provided during last quarter's conference call. Nevertheless, September revenues were slightly affected by the delay of shipment due to a series of typhoons. The company remains optimitics it will achieve annual revenue growth of 20-30%, and close to the upper end of the target.

Orange has sent an internal memo to employees in the UK noting that they have suspended sales of the BlackBerry Bold due to ’software issues’. The suspension is simply an interim measure that Orange made in the best interests of their customers while RIM works away at a fix for the issues. The internal statement from Orange on the Bold: “Following reports of software issues with the BlackBerry Bold handset across a variety of mobile operators, Orange has decided to act in the interest of its customers by suspending shipments of the device in the UK. We are currently awaiting feed back from RIM as to when an industry wide fix for these issues will be in place, and expect this suspension to be an interim measure. We apologize for any inconvenience this issue may cause you. BlackBerry/RIM are doing everything they can to resolve this issue and will be completing full testing and validation to ensure future handsets do not have any quality issues. This may take a couple of weeks so it’s up to us to do what’s best for our customers.” I have to admit, I’ve heard a lot of issues from friends and colleagues regarding the Bold. Spontaneous restarts and OS crashes are not uncommon. Even so, those that have experienced issues

  Dopod China is planning to introduce a Chinese version of the G1 in the region for the first quarter of 2009. “We intend to introduce the G1 to China, possibly in the first quarter of 2009, through a deal with High Tech Computer Corp. (HTC). It will be branded as a Dopod. We are now discussing a partnership with China Mobile,” a source from Dopod China told Interfax. The Chinese G1 will be adapted to suit China’s network although Dopod have not currently decided whether the device will be EDGE or TD-SCDMA. With TD-SCDMA being the only 3G standard technology currently in use in China. As a partner of HTC, Dopod China sells selected models of HTC phones in China under the “Dopod” brand.

Reliance Communications and Research In Motion (RIM) launched the first prepaid service for the BlackBerry® wireless solution in India. This first of its kind ‘pay as you use’ pricing model in India is in line with Reliance Communications’ strategy to extend BlackBerry services to customers who are looking for cost-effective options, giving customers flexibility and control over their expenses for wireless services. Reliance Communications has been on the forefront of offering a wide range of prepaid options to consumers across its data cards, mobile phones and fixed wireless phones offering. This prepaid service option is available on a range of BlackBerry smartphones including: The BlackBerry® 8830 World Edition smartphone, which operates on both CDMA & GSM networks The BlackBerry® Curve™ 8330 smartphone on CDMA networks The BlackBerry® Curve™ 8300 smartphone on GSM networks The BlackBerry® Pearl™ 8100 smartphone on GSM networks The BlackBerry® Pearl™ 8130 smartphone on CDMA networks, and  The BlackBerry® 8703e smartphone on CDMA networks For further query, customers can visit any Reliance World or Reliance Communications

SingTel and Nokia will deliver Nokia Messaging on the Nokia E63 with special data plans for SingTel mobile subscribers in Singapore to drive mobile messaging adoption for its customers using Nokia devices. SingTel will be the first operator in Asia, and among the first in the world to launch this offering on 4 April 2009. As a special introductory offer, SingTel subscribers who purchase a Nokia E63 device with a MobileM@il Plus data plan for two years at SGD 5.35/month will have the Nokia Messaging built-in push email service included without additional charge. (Normal subscription price is SGD 17.86). MobileM@il Plus also comes with a bundle of 10MB data and PhoneSafe - a mobile phone security solution that lets customers lock phone, backup and delete important data such as emails from phones remotely. Nokia Messaging mobilises consumer email on Nokia devices, to give millions of consumers access to email accounts from Yahoo! Mail, Windows Live Hotmail, Gmail, and SingNet email as well as email solutions from thousands of ISPs around the world on Nokia devices. To mobilise their email account, all users have to enter are their email address and password, and emails are seamlessly pushed to their preferred Nokia device. Nokia Messaging also makes it

Reliance Communications and Research In Motion (RIM) launched the first prepaid service for the BlackBerry® wireless solution in India. This first of its kind ‘pay as you use’ pricing model in India is in line with Reliance Communications’ strategy to extend BlackBerry services to customers who are looking for cost-effective options, giving customers flexibility and control over their expenses for wireless services. Reliance Communications has been on the forefront of offering a wide range of prepaid options to consumers across its data cards, mobile phones and fixed wireless phones offering. This prepaid service option is available on a range of BlackBerry smartphones including: The BlackBerry® 8830 World Edition smartphone, which operates on both CDMA & GSM networks The BlackBerry® Curve™ 8330 smartphone on CDMA networks The BlackBerry® Curve™ 8300 smartphone on GSM networks The BlackBerry® Pearl™ 8100 smartphone on GSM networks The BlackBerry® Pearl™ 8130 smartphone on CDMA networks, and  The BlackBerry® 8703e smartphone on CDMA networks For further query, customers can visit any Reliance World or Reliance Communications

Sybase 365 today announced it would team with Swisscontact to develop Mobile Money Transfer and Mobile Money for the Unbanked (MMT and MMU respectively) services in emerging markets. Sybase 365 is a subsidiary of Sybase engaged in mobile messaging services and Swisscontact is a leading development organization. The cooperation of the two will make it possible to combine social interests and commercial ones and deliver innovative solutions for a great number of mobile users expected to reach 5 billion by 2012 due to fast growth in the markets under consideration. Less than 15% of the population in emerging markets use bank accounts and that is why mobile money services have the potential to integrate both the unbanked and the under banked into a single financial sector. For instance, the Sybase 365® end-to-end mCommerce solution enables mobile users to make transactions and pay for services via a mobile device. Undoubtedly, the mobile technologies are the most useful for development in these markets. Sybase 365 has already deployed solutions in such emerging markets as Columbia, Chile, Egypt, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Africa, the UAE, and the United States. Sybase 365 will present its partnership with Swisscontact and mCommerce

RIM, Zain Malawi, and EMS (Emitac Mobile Solutions) yesterday announced the launch of the BlackBerry solution in Malawi underscoring Zain’s commitment in modernizing telecommunication industry in the country. At launch, BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry Internet Service will be offered as well as the BlackBerry Curve 8900, the lightest and thinnest BlackBerry mobile device with QWERTY keyboard. Zain subscribers in Malawi will be pleased to enjoy easy access to multimedia, email and other services on the go. Source: GSMPress ® in cooperation with Research In Motion

RIM, Zain Malawi, and EMS (Emitac Mobile Solutions) yesterday announced the launch of the BlackBerry solution in Malawi underscoring Zain’s commitment in modernizing telecommunication industry in the country. At launch, BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry Internet Service will be offered as well as the BlackBerry Curve 8900, the lightest and thinnest BlackBerry mobile device with QWERTY keyboard. Zain subscribers in Malawi will be pleased to enjoy easy access to multimedia, email and other services on the go. Source: GSMPress ® in cooperation with Research In Motion

RIM, Zain Malawi, and EMS (Emitac Mobile Solutions) yesterday announced the launch of the BlackBerry solution in Malawi underscoring Zain’s commitment in modernizing telecommunication industry in the country. At launch, BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry Internet Service will be offered as well as the BlackBerry Curve 8900, the lightest and thinnest BlackBerry mobile device with QWERTY keyboard. Zain subscribers in Malawi will be pleased to enjoy easy access to multimedia, email and other services on the go. Source: GSMPress ® in cooperation with Research In Motion

Samsung launched a new phone powered by T-Mobile and packed into a slider form factor. What amazes about the new SGH-T729 is the incorporated qwerty keypad. Which helps users to reply faster and in a more comfortable manner to e-mails, as the phone supports Yahoo, Gmail and Aol messengers and e-mail services. The Blast slider will be available in two color schemes and features EDGE technology, Bluetooth, a 1.3 MP camera, MicroSD slot and MP3 player.