Handsets archives

As if you were at the launch yourself! Shiny Shiny liveblogged all that was happening during the INQ1 announcement and presentation this morning.

They’ve got the skinny on the handset, the ethos behind the device and why it was created, as well some interesting statistics on the usage of handsets and mobile internet. They, very much like Ant, are “Woo”ing the inclusion of Last.fm, among a few other things.

If you want to get a feel for what occured earlier today, and read about the INQ1’s integration of social media related services, then leap to here.

Despite an initial visual faux pas this morning before the reveal of the INQ1, Ant is now suitably impressed.

He’s got oodles to upload, including Frank Meehan’s part of the INQ1 presentation that occured this morning. Someone who, after talking to him, he believes to be “quite a cool guy”. Ant is also notably impressed with the appearance of Last.fm on the handset. Is it something that would tempt you? For now, stay tuned for Ant’s video and his further thoughts.

The Guardian has given the INQ1 a run down, confirming details and defining facts. The overiding piece of news has to be the price point though. They put, in black and white, “The INQ1 will be free for anyone willing to sign up to an 18-month contract at just £15 a month. For that they will get unlimited Facebook and Skype calls, as well as access to Windows Live Messenger and up to 1GB a month of web access, plus unlimited texts, unlimited email, unlimited calls to other 3 customers and 75 minutes of calls to other networks a month.”

Whichever way you cut it that’s a lot of phone for your £15 p/m. They also delve into where the potential appeal lies; citing the Facebook user increase from 5 to 15 million, it is the integrated use of the hugely popular social media site that’ll be tempting people to purchase. Has it got what it takes? Full Guardian piece is here.

Omio and MobileToday are both discussing the unveiling of the INQ handset that is due to take place tomorrow. Going a step further, Mobile Industry Review has revealed they’ll be present to see the silk shroud removed.

Their preview promises more to come, “We’ll tell you more when we get the full skinny, the complete low down, the full enchilada - everything you needed to know but were too afraid to ask about the INQ on the day.”

If you’re the brave sort, and not afraid to ask, MIR are after any questions you want answered about the INQ device in preparation for the event. Just leave them in the comments box on their post.

According to Stuff.tv it all began with Electricpig who took the words of INQ chief executive Frank Meehan regarding the company’s handset, the INQ1, and started putting a case together.

As Meehan states, the INQ1 promises “tight integration [of the devices] contacts book with popular social sites like Facebook.” This and his former position of Director and General Manager of 3G Handsets and Products for the Hutchison Whampoa Group, 3’s parent company, led Electricpig to conclude that “it’s fair to assume the INQ1 is 3’s much talked-about Facebook phone.”

This news is proliferating across the interwebs tech avenues and alleys. Phones Review talks of a Facebook frenzy while Ant at Fresh Plastic speculates on funky looking modern art-tastic colours and an alternative name, Facefone. Pocket-Lint also reveals it has been invited to an event on the 13^th with an invitation stating “Come and see the piece of technology we believe will tip traditional communication on its head”.

It seems, as Gadgetspy suggests, 3 have a trick up their sleeve. Exciting times indeed…

Ant UK at Fresh Plastic has passed on his Sony Ericsson W595 from 3 to his nephew. A relinquishing that was done “with great difficulty.”

He admits that this was always his plan and that the device is not the type of mobile he needs, despite how much he liked it, “[The W595] was fun - something sorely lacking in most other handsets I’ve used.”

After a little difficulty, the handset was returned to factory settings and now Ant is hoping that his nephew who is beginning to get use out of Bebo and MSN will be able to utilise these through the W595.

To see more on the W595 and the Spookfest that accompanied the launch click here for the launch site and here for the accompanying and amusing YouTube vids.

Nokia’s ‘Comes With Music‘ service is about to be available on 3.

The service will be on selected Nokia N95 8GBs that will, from the 3rd November, be slipping from shelves on a £35, 18 month contract. This will include 300 mins/texts and 1GB of inclusive internet access.

So a quick install and Comes With Music gets you hooked up with access to over four million tracks, with an ‘all you can eat’ protocol for getting them downloaded and on your handset.

This news has been greeted well, notably TrustedReviews and Techadar, seeing 3 as exactly the right brand due to their willingness to get involved with a service that may change the “mobile music landscape for years to come.” This sentiment follows Pocket-Lint’s belief that 3 is “often described as the UK’s most progressive network” and therefore well suited to collaborate with Nokia when other networks have been reluctant.

So all that is left to do, is wait for the 3rd Nov to roll on, then get my mobile groove on…

Earlier this month we covered both 3’s launch of the Sony Ericsson W595 and Ant Carroll’s first look at the handset.

Ant of Fresh Plastic has written a further update on the W595 after receiving notification that 3’s Mobile Mail now supports the device which you can read more about here.

Adonis of self-titled adonismobile has had his hands on the W595 for several weeks now and has just published his first in-depth review including his likes: the Sony Ericsson interface, themes and “decent earphones” and dislikes: “lack of WiFi” and “Propriety SE port”.

Rather than spoil a good read by quoting him verbatim here, pop over to his blog and read his findings for yourself.

Ant took the opportunity of that most rare occasion, a sunny day across our fair land, to put to the test his new Sony Ericsson W595 from 3 by taking a few snaps.

He does have a “few gripes” but admits these are potentially to do with the fact he is yet to become entirely familiar with the device, having had it for only a few days. After the pics and initial reaction Ant turns his attention to the Darkside, the launch event he attended for the device. Think spook-a-thon with the W595 at the heart of the ghoulish activities. You can see the YouTube channel here and below is an example of the sort of thing you’ll find there.

Ant finishes by name checking some of the other attendees including AdonisMobile and Ben from Mobile Industry Review.

Engadget posted Friday about the new handset coming from the new arm of Hutchison, INQ. The device known as the INQ1 may appear to be a simple slider with a decent screen, but there is a lot more going on under the bonnet. There is more than meets the eye to the INQ1 – we’re talking a handset that has Facebook fully integrated, along with Windows Live Messenger, Ebay tracker and a complete Webkit browser.

Cell Phones etc state the device’s difference early on, “how about a social-networking centric phone?” How about it indeed? You see, that’s what the INQ1 is and does. Mobile Phones Review talks target market, “the INQ1 which is set to target the social networking hungry youths”. The killer on this is that the device will be affordable. It looks by all accounts to be a Social Media phone for the masses!

So what do you think about the integration of such services on a handset as opposed to the go-through-browser option?

3’s Nokia N96 is already a best seller! UK Gadgeteer has covered this, stating that the since the device was only just released that the figures are based on  first week sales.

“With 3UK pricing it at £30 per month (with no upfront cost to buy the phone), 3 UK are claiming this is the cheapest price you can obtain the Nokia N96 over an 18 month contract direct from the networks.”

The post finishes with a mention of 3’s other ‘proving-to-be-popular’ Nokia device, the E71, posing the question - which would you prefer?

Ben Smith from Mobile Industry Review has given everyone a taster of what it was like to be at the launch event last night for the Sony Ericsson W595 on 3.

Although the dark room and loud music (product launch mainstays) were ticked off and then some, Ben was left a little frustrated at not being able get his hands on a device until the conclusion of the evening. However, now he has it in hand, first impressions are good. The 3 model comes in an exclusive grey and with the feature of being able to bash vids straight to YouTube with one click. He also added, “Particular kudos to the 3 people who have added their brand customisation, but have integrated it really well with the device both in use and style.”

A full review will be arriving shortly on MIR, but for now there is a little promo-vid and pricing info available on Ben’s post.

3 are looking to give everyone on a 3 tariff access to email via their handset. The story is being covered by the guys at Tech Watch.

The details are as such; “These tariffs are very similar in nature as mobile broadband, but without the broadband. The first tariff includes a 10 MB data limit with unlimited access to POP3 and IMAP, while the other more expensive tariff includes up to 1 GB with unlimited access to their own Notes or Exchange servers.” Priced at £2.50 for unlimited access (double up to a fiver if you want to use exchange or notes), the potential for this is great if you’re the type of digital nomad that likes to keep correspondance in the domain of the hand-held.

Pushing email availability on mobile handsets will, Tech Watch believe, follow a similar pattern to the strategy that saw a huge up take of 3’s mobile broadband, it’ll be interesting to see if this service proves as successful.

Let us just say 3 currently have it going on and there is a lot of it. There seems to be little value in beating around the bush, a phrase that suits the chosen setting for 3’s Crimbo in summer event, seeing as it was set in a faux park, resplendent with benches, blankets, picnic and, a topiary bush crafted into the brand logo.

As for the attendees, there were plenty of interested parties, among whom were some of the more regular names featured in our own pages. Already to have written up some thoughts is Chris Dawson of Tamebay, an avid fan of the original Skypephone. The prospect of the S2, complete with email capabilities, has him seeing the new incarnation as even more desirable than the first. Ant UK from Fresh Plastic was feeling a little jaded after a long hot day in London, but did post about his hamper, Pimms and the Strawberry and Cream sweets.

Also there was Ewan from SMS Text News who was enthused by much of what was on show as this post from the event demonstrates. Needless to say, when Ewan means more, he means a lot more. By the end of the day, SMS Text News was littered with posts about the upcoming options on what’s coming your way from 3 this autumn. Naturally there is the Skypephone S2, and in Ewan’s words, it is looking “shit hot”. Hot on the heels of this will be the Nokia N96 on the 3 network, be sure to have a look at the Qik vid to see what could be yours come September. As part of 3’s new initiative of consumer email available on all handsets there is the addition to the 3 stable of the Nokia E71 White and the BlackBerry Bold.

And that isn’t all. 3 have also set up a deal on laptops in collaboration with HP meaning you get the PC, data allowance, a number of texts and a dongle for anywhere between £30 and £40 a month, dependent on the specifics. Very nice indeed.

For a succinct list of what is in the offing, head to WhatMobile forum, who have done superb job of nailing the important bits down.

It seems appropriate to finish in part with Ewan’s views of the event as a whole, as well as his thoughts on the greater good behind the efforts involved to engage with those that’ll be passing on 3’s brand message to the consumer. It is well worth a read and some consideration.

They’ll be more to come from us on all the details involved with the products mentioned above, and to all those I spoke to yesterday, it was a pleasure to meet you and look forward to seeing you again.