The Wall Street Journal announced this morning that Dell will be introducing two new mobile phones (codenamed ‘MePhone’) at MWC in February that will be so amazing that they look to take on market leaders Apple and Research In Motion head-to-head.
One of the phones will be touchscreen-only while the other will sport a slide out QWERTY (similar to the T-Mobile G1). One will run Windows Mobile and the other will run Android though at this point it is unclear which model will run which OS.
No further specs or carrier news are available. Rumour has it that the phones will go on sale September 9th, though I wouldn’t hold your breath.
With all the competition from the iPhone 3G and Android, did you know that - according to Steve Balmer’s keynote at CES - Windows Mobile still sold 20 million handsets last year? It’s true! Now my theory that Windows Mobile will rebound isn’t so far fetched! Especially considering that sexy new HTC lineup for 2009 that was just leaked. Lots of potential there!
The Ottawa Citizen’s Rob Pegoraro wrote an article recently suggesting what smartphone to buy for the holidays. I have a few beefs with his report and it’s very obvious that he’s someone who has simply never used the devices he’s talking about. Click through to read the Ottawa Citizen’s suggestions
The QiJi i6, is not only the world’s most awkawdly named device, it is also a device that supports dual operating systems. I think the idea of dual operating systems is almost a pipe dream. Have you tried parallels? It’s great in theory but in practice it makes your computer slower than my grandmother without her walker. The device is sporting a 624MHz processor, 256MB of ROM, 128MB of RAM, a trackball, and on-screen keyboard. What 2 OS’s would you use?
According to some rumours started by the Inquirer today (ignore their linked ‘video proof’ as it’s clearly a joke), Microsoft is in the final stages of building a phone - the first of its own brand - that will rely on performance to drive sales. They’re allegedly developing a phone that uses one of NVIDIA’s Tegra processors. This processor (likely the APX 2500 chip) would theoretically give the Microsoft device 720p video playback and advanced 3D visuals that no other smartphone on the market has, to date.
Canalys recently published a study covering the Q3/2008 smartphone market with results pointing to results opposite of those expected for Windows Mobile. Rumors said that the platform was near extinction, but the numbers from this recent research showed exactly the opposite and who runs a serious risk to leave the market if the rate of decline continues? The Symbian operating system. The data shows a fall of 21.5% from 12.4% marketshare and sales.
Already Windows Mobile has defied the predictions and, in Q3, had a growth of 42.9% in sales and 12.2% in marketshare. With all these predictions, it turns out that Symbian has been the only one to take a numbers loss.
And, of course, I can’t forget to mention Apple, which saw a huge growth due to the launch of the new iPhone 3G, and now occupies the second collation in the ranking.
For Q4/2008 there are predictions for more changes, of course, and we predict an even higher growth for Windows Mobile, thanks mainly to the launch of new smartphones like the Touch Diamond and Touch HD.
And with recent news suggesting that iPhone sales are dropping, we hope to see Windows Mobile’s new smartphones’ sale’s skyrocket!
One of the great things about Windows Mobile is that the platform will allow for multiple browsers. If you’re unhappy with your iPhone browser, good luck doing anything about it. While most Windows Mobile users will turn to Opera Mobile 9.5 for their mobile web browsing experience, some may prefer to go with Torch Mobile, one of our top 5 mobile browser picks, who have an open-source “webkit” rendering engine (the same as the one used in Safari and Google Chrome) to Windows Mobile.
This browser isn’t recommended for the HTC Touch Diamond because apparently it doesn’t work so well on that device. In any case, it’s always fun trying new browsers and Iris has many features that should make it a worthwhile beta test:
Performance
Smaller footprint - we’re 10% smaller than beta 1!
According PC Magazine, Motorola’s Sanjay Jha has confirmed (though strangely non-chalantly) that Motorola expects to release a phone based on Windows Mobile 6.5 platform in the second half of 2009.
Windows Mobile 6 has not delivered the experience that I think Apple has been able to deliver, but as you look at the plan that is Windows Mobile 7 and even 6.5, I think there are significant new added features which will help the platform,” Jha said. “We have now targeted new teams which are focused – in California and Seattle – to deliver experiences. That is where we have to differentiate.
Motorola also announced that it plans to eliminate its MOTOMAGX and Symbian platforms in order to focus on the Google Android, Windows Mobile, and P2K 3G solutions.
If you’d like to pimp your Windows Mobile phone and give it an iPhone-like look (hey, I know there are some of you out there), well then, wait no more — check out iFonz.
You will need Windows Mobile 5.0 or higher in order to get it and a desperate need to have your handset look like Apple’s phone. Got that? Then continue on.
In case you haven’t heard, the iPhone 3G came out today worldwide. The editor in chief of QuicklyBored, Kyle, was one of those crazies that camped out front of a Rogers store waiting eagerly for this highly sought after phone. His story has been documented on QuicklyBored.com, our sister site, in case you’re curious. I, personally, am perfectly happy with my HTC TyTN and think all this hype is nuts. Watching him tinker with his new iPhone… on no sleep, wearing the same clothes as he was yesterday… with this fiendish smile and googly eyes - he’s absolutely possessed. His soul is now in the clutches of the Apple gods themselves…
So, just in time for the worldwide release of this super popular phone, msmobiles puts out a list pointing out 12 great reasons why you should skip the crazy lineups and instead purchase one of the many great Windows Mobile devices out there.
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