Samsung Electronics a leading mobile phone and telecommunication equipment provider, today announced the launch of ‘Soul’, Samsung’s new flagship product for 2008. To make its debut, Samsung has chosen Mobile World Congress in Barcelona as the platform to deliver its new vision for mobile handsets to enrich consumer’s lives. Samsung named ‘Soul’ to honour the completion of its exclusive ‘Ultra Edition’ series of handsets, which offer a perfect balance of design and features.

‘Soul’, an abbreviation of “The Spirit Of Ultra”, will appeal to style-conscious users who are not willing to compromise between design and technology and search out the best of the best for inspiration and stimulation to enrich their lives.’ Soul’ will be supported by a major global advertising campaign and will be available in European countries from April.” We believe that is the answer for today’s style-conscious consumers, excited by outstanding quality design and performance,” said Geesung Choi, President of Samsung’s Telecommunication Business.

“Soul is set to continue the success of past Ultra Edition handsets, such as D900 and U600, and will further enhance Samsung’s leadership in the premium phone category.’ Soul’ is the ultimate essence of mobile; a slim, lightweight and stylish product yet still boasting all the essential functions in one single device. This product, a sleek combination of highly styled design and functionality, is a triumph of extreme opposite values, ‘Portability’ and ‘Multi-function.’

Today at ITU Telecom World 2006, Samsung Electronics and Microsoft launched the Samsung Ultra Messaging i600 powered by Microsoft ® Windows Mobile ® 5.0, the first 3G smartphone with HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) support. Measuring only 11.8mm and weighing a mere 99g, the Samsung Ultra Messaging i600 is the world’s thinnest 3G smartphone with a full QWERTY keyboard.

It blends the feature-rich, desktop functionality of the Windows Mobile 5.0 platform with multimedia capabilities to help people work on the go, stay in touch with family and friends or just have fun.” I am proud to introduce the Ultra Messaging i600 Windows Mobile smartphone with Microsoft. It represents the best innovation from both Samsung and Microsoft and makes it a perfect solution for today’s mobile professional,” said Kitae Lee, President, Samsung Telecommunication Network Business.

“Samsung will continue to explore new market opportunities with Microsoft and we look forward to collaborating together to bring more innovative products to market.” The Samsung Ultra Messaging i600 is the first smartphone in Asia Pacific and Europe that supports the HSDPA network for faster data transfer speeds, as well as seamless communications through high-speed connectivity via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 EDR. It is also the first smartphone to support web applications such as podcasting and RSS Feeder.

Samsung Ultra Messaging i600 users can listen to stereo-quality music and view high quality video clips with Windows Media Player 10 Mobile and a Bluetooth stereo headset. Internet browsing rivals the PC experience due to the device’s large 2.3” high quality color screen and wireless broadband capabilities. The Samsung Ultra Messaging i600 also includes a speakerphone, built-in voice recognition and support for a 1.3 megapixel digital camera that can record video. Built-in Pocket MSN offers consumers the consistent and familiar user experience that they currently enjoy with MSN Messenger on their desktops. With this offering, users will automatically have a separate Inbox for Hotmail messages on their device.

After the success of the MOTO A 1200, Motorola has announced that version 2 is on its way. The new MING, the A1600, appears to have a similar design but is a bit squarish with a similar transparent flip casing.

It will be 3G-enabled, come equipped with Wi-Fi and AGPS, and retain its touchscreen feature, but will have a newer Linux UI. Another upgrade is with the camera. The A1600 will boast a 3.2 megapixel, auto-focus camera with an LED flash. The CPU has also undergone an upgrade, so it should naturally be faster. The phone will be approximately 17.5 mm thick, so it’s going to be slimmer than the original. No pricing or availability has been announced yet.

The K660 is a new launch from Sony Ericsson that hasn’t yet made it officially into the Indian market. But being who I am and knowing the people I do, I managed to get my paws on a prototype test piece. Of course it didn’t come with the full kit, so I can give you only a preview. Here’s what I can let you in on for now. The K660 is a good-looking candybar phone that’s available in some cool colors. It has a certain good-to-hold feeling, so it’s not like other Sony Ericssons. Thankfully there’s no sticky joystick but a very easy-to-maneuver 5 way nav-pad. The buttons and keys are very well placed and easily accessible.

The phone is lightweight and the 2-inch display with a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels is really crisp. The K660 doesn’t have any features that will make it stand out amidst other Sony Ericsson phones. It comes with regular business features like calendar, notes, schedules, stopwatch, timer etc. As for connectivity, it’s 3G-enabled with HSDPA and has a VGA camera in front for video calls. Also available are EDGE and Bluetooth with A2DP compatibility. It comes with Google Maps preinstalled.

After being teased with the info that the phone exists, but with no news on the release date or pricing, it’s finally here. Nokia has launched the N82. Another high end mobile from the Finnish mobile makers with a 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics. But this time, unlike the N95, they equipped the phone with a Xenon flash. The N82 is also equipped with A-GPS for navigation with preinstalled Nokia maps and all the standard packages come with a free voice guided navigation trial. You can purchase additional features, such as city guides and longer subscription to the navigation. Also available in the standard pack is a 2GB micro SD card.

“The evolution of camera capabilities in mobile devices has been extremely fast over the past years. With the Nokia N82 we have reached such a superior level in image quality, speed and ease of use that not only does it outperform any other camera phone on the market, but it’s also a very credible alternative for single purpose digital still cameras,” said Satu Ehrnrooth, head of Nokia Nseries Cameras Category, Multimedia, Nokia. “In addition to the high-end camera, the Nokia N82 also enables you to navigate and discover new places, enjoy your music, browse the web, play games, chat online and be part of the global web 2.0 community wherever you go. Thanks to the wireless broadband connectivity, convergence and yet again increased performance, the Nokia N82 is all you need in your pocket. 

The Mobile World Congress at Barcelona saw Motorola introducing three new models: MOTO Z6w, W181 and W161. The Wi-Fi enabled MOTO Z6w is fully compatible with Windows Media Player 11 on the PC, works on high-speed USB 2.0, and features a 2.0 megapixel camera and video capture, and has up to 4GB of optional removable memory.” We’re proud to add our latest Wi-Fi enabled handset to our growing portfolio, delivering a compelling wireless experience to consumers anywhere they go,” said Rob Shaddock, senior VP, feature and mass market handsets, Motorola Mobile Devices. “

The new W series handsets offer both great mobile phone basics and a solid music experience, in a candybar form factor that you can show off with pride. The new candybar W161 and W181 come with the patented Motorola Crystal Talk technology, and also feature FM radio.

In Silicon Valley, tech company owner Mohammed Khan buys his bagels with a wave of his specially equipped cell phone. In Los Angeles, aspiring filmmaker Mike Hodgkinson uses his cell phone to shoot DVD-quality video, one of them for Rob Dickinson, former songwriter for indie band Catherine Wheel. And in Italy, IT professional Robert Bernocco thumb-typed an entire 384-page sci-fi novel on his standard 12-button Nokia 6630 keypad during his daily train commute. These days the gadget formerly known only for voice calls has mastered multitasking. Smarter phones lead an onslaught of wireless technologies creating the third revolution of modern electronics, following transformations wrought by the personal computer and the Internet.

The cell phone’s worldwide conversion from voice device to high-tech Swiss Army knife includes contributions from engineers in San Diego at Qualcomm, Kyocera, LG Electronics and other telecom companies. In the five years since manufacturers added high-speed data connections to mobile phones, they’ve offered music downloads, text messaging, cameras, keyboards and other gadgetry as potential “killer applications” – must-have features that would compel consumers to buy new phones.

It’s obvious enough that music phones are quickly gaining in popularity in North America, because people definitely want more out of their mobile phones than just text messages and voice calls. One of the more innovative cellular phones that has captured the MP3 player market is the Juke by Samsung, available through Verizon Wireless in the States.CES is going on this week, so the organizers are very busy in handing out all sorts of awards. The Samsung Juke recently received Red Dot Design and Engineering Showcase Honors, helping propel the swivel phone into the innovation stratosphere.

In case you’re not familiar, the Samsung Juke looks much like a flash-based music player while in its closed position, but it can swivel open to reveal a full numeric keypad. Other vitals include Bluetooth wireless technology, Location Based Services, an integrated camera with Night Shot, and a slim color display. The Juke is available in red, teal, and navy.

Motorola Inc, the world’s third biggest mobile phone maker, on Sunday unveiled two new phones and a plan to buy Asian digital music service Soundbuzz as it looks to stem recent market share losses. Motorola unveiled the Rokr E8 music phone which, when switched on, is controlled by virtual buttons that vibrate when touched. When switched off, it has no visible control keys. The device also highlights and enables different buttons depending on whether the music player, phone or camera is being used. The company also announced the Moto Z10, a videophone with editing capability and enough storage space for 24 hours of footage in an effort to appeal to young consumers who like to share videos with their friends. Motorola has been under pressure to come up with new phone designs as it has been losing mobile phone market share to rivals such as Nokia Oyj and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd in the past year.

And it has come under criticism for failing to come up with a strong successor to its Razr phone. It also faces competition from Apple Inc, which entered the cell phone market with its iPhone in June. Stu Reed, the head of Motorola’s cell phone unit, said the latest phones were part of the company’s plan to come out with new products frequently to build a broad phone range. “We want to sell a broad portfolio. We don’t want to be dependent on one phone ever again. We’re not about one phone,” Reed said in an interview at Motorola’s product launch event on the sidelines of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The man accused of bludgeoning a Madera teenager to death may have taken photographs with his cell phone afterward to prove to his girlfriend that he had done it, authorities said on Tuesday. Police have turned over the cell phones of Dustin Robert Gran, 19, and his 16-year-old girlfriend, Brittany Navarra, to the state Department of Justice so that investigators can attempt to retrieve data from them. The two have pleaded not guilty in the death of 18-year-old Krista Pike, whose boyfriend found her slain last week in his home. Investigators have said they believe Gran killed Pike at Navarra’s behest. Navarra had once dated Pike’s boyfriend. “If it is in fact true that photos were taken, you are dealing with an individual I can’t even describe,” said Madera police Sgt. Robert Salas. “How can you be involved in something so brutal and take photographs?” Police also said Tuesday that a five-pound metal dumbbell is missing from the home where Pike was found dead, and investigators believe it may have been the murder weapon.

And investigators are looking for a kitchen knife that may have been used to cut the teen after she died, Salas said. Most likely Gran was let into the house, Salas said, because there was no evidence of forced entry. Gran was arrested hours after Pike’s boyfriend, Tom Hollier, 19, arrived home from school Jan. 14 and found her slain. Police said they were led to Gran by a confession from Navarra. Navarra had been in school that day, but she told police there had been text messaging. While investigators have not said who sent messages to whom, they have filed search warrants for records from Verizon and AT& T for telephones used by Gran, Pike and Navarra.