The word is out: the name OVI will disappear. Nokia has announced to start rebranding the OVI services in preparation for the move to Windows 7 Phone. Right now it sounds more dramatic than it is. The only change we will see is that all OVI services will be called Nokia services instead. This will take place from July 2011 and the whole name change process should be completed late 2012.

The services themselves and the roadmaps for all these services remain unchanged. It’s purely a name change. Ovi Maps will soon be called  Nokia maps and hopefully make their appearance on the first Windows Nokia Phones. The existing phones will also get the name change for the OVI services to Nokia services. This change applies to all OVI services. The OVI store will soon be called Nokia store.

Jerri DeVard, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer at Nokia:

“By centralizing our services identity under one brand, not two, we will reinforce the powerful master brand of Nokia and unify our brand architecture – while continuing to deliver compelling opportunities and experiences for partners and consumers alike.  Our mobile experiences are tightly integrated with our devices – there is no longer a differentiation.”

This shows that Nokia is already making a start towards the Windows Phone platform by rebranding their services. I hope there will be coming more exciting news from Nokia regarding Windows Phone 7.  There is a look to look forward to.

As you may have noticed, we have been caught up with another exciting project and the flow of new articles must go on. As we all have daytime jobs and new challenges ahead of us, time to write articles has become somewhat limited and we are looking for some help which we hope find at our loyal readers. Are you interested in mobile technology and want to contribute on a regular basis by writing articles and/or reviewing programs or hardware ?

When you are interested, have a look at the prerequisites below and hopefully we’ll get in touch soon.What are we looking for ?

• Experience with Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, Google Android and iOS (Apple iPhone and iPad)
• Know how to take screenshots and use them in articles after resizing.
• Excellent writing skills in english.
• Experience with WordPress.
• Preferably based in Europe or United States.

When these conditions appeal to you and you would like to help us out, get in touch with us ! You can use the contact form at our website or leave a message on MobilityMinded’s Twitter @mobilityminded.

We hope to hear soon from you, so we can discuss the details and let you know what we have to offer.

Since May 3rd, the latest update for Windows Phone 7 devices is being rolled out. The first reports started in Europe to be soon followed by reports from the USA. This 7.0.7392 update contains all previous updates like 7.0.7008 and 7.0.7390 (NoDo). So if your device for some reason missed one of these previous updates, you’ll be up to date with this update.

What does 7.0.7392 contain?

This update contains a fix for fraudulent third-party digital certificates. This update includes a critical fix to an industry-wide issue with nine untrusted digital certificates that were issued by one root certificate authority. These third-party digital certificates are used to access popular websites and email portals. Although this is not a Microsoft security vulnerability, these untrusted certificates may be used to spoof content, perform phishing attacks, or perform man-in-the-middle attacks against all web browser users. This update moves the affected certificates to the “Untrusted Publishers” certificate store on Windows Phone, which helps ensure that these fraudulent certificates are not inadvertently used. For more info, see Microsoft Security Advisory (2524375).

I have applied the update to my LG Optimus7 and the screenshots below show that only the version has been increased and no other updates have been performed. Hardware is still at the same level.

Chris Walsh has also given us a look inside the 7.0.7392 update by showing how the update process works and what the update actually contains.

How the update process works

Your phone will ONLY prompt you for an update after you’ve plugged it into your computer (as soon as you plug it in, Zune automatically checks).  Once you’ve got an update pending, Zune will download the appropriate CAB files to “patch” your device.

Now these cab files, they aren’t full files.  They’re differential updates, which are merged with the existing DLL’s on the phone.  They’re then re-signed with the certificate specified in the DSM

There are two types of CAB files.  There are language packs, and software packs.

diff-7.0.7390.0-7.0.7392.0-armv7-retail-microsoft.pks_3a3a18fff5252d787974a169b115f8b428c0566c.cab
diff-7.0.7390.0-7.0.7392.0-armv7-retail-microsoft.lang_0410.pks_664864f39e89201620c48f6e6393123af232ae82.cab

As the language pack name denotes “0410”, this is an Input local, typically the language(s) installed and available to change in the Keyboard settings. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd744319(WS.10).aspx

So if you’ve got multiple INPUT languages available on your phone, Zune will download all the appropriate DIFF language updates.

What’s in your update

Managed Assembly Updates (IL diff changes to come)

Microsoft.Phone.Interop
Microsoft.Phone.InteropServices
Microsoft.Phone.MediaExtended
Microsoft.Phone.Reactive
Microsoft.Phone
System.Observable
Microsoft.Device.Sensors
System.Device (location sensors)
Microsoft.Xna.Framework.Game
Microsoft.Xna.Framework.GamerServices
Microsoft.Xna.Framework.Graphics
Microsoft.Xna.Framework.Input.Touch
Microsoft.Xna.Framework

AvCore (Camera Operations)

Quartz.dll

So there’s more than just a SSL certificate fix in this update. Let us know how your update went or if you got the update at all.

Until now it was not possible to connect to hidden networks on your Windows Phone 7, leaving a lot of disappointed users with no other choice to connect other than visible networks. The reasons to make a network hidden are obvious. What can’t be seen isn’t there. Although a lot of laptop or tablet users can connect to hidden networks without any problems, Windows Phone 7 users can’t even see those networks. Now HTC has developed a small app to let your HTC Windows Phone 7 connect to those hidden networks. At this moment it only can be found in the market for HTC users.

The app is free for MarketPlace users. Be sure to rate this app too !

After downloading the app from the Marketplace it will automatically appear in your list of apps. Just press the Hidden WiFi app and the program will start.
The app itself is pretty basic. The only thing you can do is add a hidden network. Please enter the name of the hidden network and press Confirm.

Now you can go to the WiFi settings and add this network. While creating these screenshots, I did not have access to a hidden WiFi network. As soon as I have access to one, I’ll update these screenshots.

You can find the app in the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace. Please leave a message here or in the forum if this actually resolved your problem when connecting to hidden networks.

At this moment there are over 13000 apps in the MarketPlace for Windows Phone 7. A lot of them are created by dutch developers. Although a lot of dutch developers are using the hashtag #WP7NL on Twitter to draw some attention to their apps, Tom Verhoeff went a few steps further and developed a small app called WP7NL Apps, which was initiated by the WP7NL community. The dutch MarketPlace is still not available, but with the help of this app, you can quickly look up all dutch apps and developers. In this article I’ll give you a small tour around the WP7NL App.

When you start the app, you’ll be taken to the list of available apps. All apps are alphabetically ordered and when you press the letter i for example, the grid view from the next screenshot is presented where you can quickly jump to an app you want to look up or view. Letters of apps that are not available are greyed out and cannot be chosen.

When you select an app, you will automatically be taken to the MarketPlace where you can download, buy or try an app. This is very convenient and saves you from searching for apps in the MarketPlace. Pressing the Back button on your device, will show you the list of available apps again.

When looking at the list of developers, it works exactly the same way as looking for apps. Just select a developer and the app gives you a summary of all the apps created by that developer. From here when selecting an app, you will be taken to the MarketPlace where you can download the app.

WP7NL Apps is just the best way when looking for apps on your Windows Phone 7. It just does what it needs to do and the app will be regularly updated when new apps are available in the MarketPlace. Be sure to check out WP7NL Apps and don’t forget to Rate the app. Feedback and suggestions for improvements are always welcome !

WP7NL Apps can be downloaded here through Zune.

Today in London, HTC renews the definition of mobile entertainment by announcing the HTC Sensation. This pocket-sized entertainment center is the first device to feature HTC Watch, giving you on-the-go access to an entire library of the latest premium movies and TV shows. View purchased content on up to five HTC devices or on the HTC Sensation’s qHD 4.3-inch widescreen super LCD display with the highest resolution ever used on a HTC device: 540×960 pixels ! The touch screen surface is protected by a Gorilla Glass contoured screen that feels more natural as your finger glides across it. Additionally, an 8- megapixel camera which captures video at 1080p with new instant capture camera capabilities and dual-core Qualcomm^® Snapdragon^™ 1.2 GHz processor combines the power within the HTC Sensation’s sleek aluminum unibody design to provide a unique mobile experience. All this is powered by Android 2.3.3.

The HTC Sensation features everything you expect from a Smartphone: All means of connectivity, GPS, WiFi B/G/N, Bluetooth and a Micro-USB port with mobile high-definition video link (MHL) for USB or HDMI connection and a broad range of sensors: Gyro sensor, G-Sensor, Digital compass, Proximity sensor and an Ambient light sensor. All these features in the Unibody design weigh not more than 148 gram !

The newest iteration of HTC Sense optimizes mobile fun and productivity by bringing sharper graphics, vibrant animations and new widgets to the HTC Sensation. With the introduction of a customizable lock screen experience where the user can also place widgets onto, the locked display is transformed into a window with the most important information on your device, allowing you to receive real-time updates with a glance at your screen. Save time by quickly navigating to the feature you’d like to use to make a phone call, send a text or update your status directly from your lock screen. Even in its most inactive state, the HTC Sensation allows you to customize your device to put what’s most important front and center.

HTC Sense

Next to the HTC Sensation’s premium design is the latest HTC Sense experience that gives you a lot of new features and enhancements, helping people have more fun and getting more done. For instance, HTC Sense introduces a customizable active lock screen experience that transforms the lock screen into a real-time window to the most important information and content, such as social updates, photos, weather or stock updates that are viewed by simply waking up the display. In addition, the new active lock screen becomes a customizable gateway, which lets people quickly jump to the most-used features, such as making a phone call, sending an email, taking a picture or anything else, with the same quick gesture usually used to unlock the phone. For instance, the camera can be launched right from the lock screen with a single motion, saving precious seconds when you’re trying to capture the action. Sharper graphics, vibrant animations and new widgets make HTC Sense look better than ever and, by continuing to focus on all of the aspects, both large and small, that make HTC Sense special, HTC introduces a more cinematic and immersive weather experience with stunning imagery and audible weather effects.

HTC Sense also makes it easy to have fun by enabling people to capture and share special moments. The HTC Sensation’s 8-megapixel camera doesn’t just shoot awesome photos — with the new instant capture feature, it lets people capture the moments they want without worrying about missing or keeping up with the action. The HTC Sensation also shoots full HD video in 1080p resolution, with full stereo sound up to 30 frames per second, giving you smooth video that is better than many other phones. With the new Video Trimmer tool, people can crop their clips to the perfect size for easy sharing with friends and family.HTC Watch

The HTC Sensation is a smartphone that is built from the ground up for a sophisticated, evolved multimedia experience. The 4.3-inch widescreen display means that users can watch movies like they were meant to be seen — in their full cinematic glory, with no cropping or letterboxing. The HTC Sensation is also the first smartphone to feature HTC Watch — an application and service that puts an entire library of the latest, premium movies and TV shows right at your fingertips, letting people discover the latest video content in an easy and visually engaging way. HTC Watch uses progressive download technology that makes it possible to watch videos without waiting for a huge file to finish downloading. HTC Watch offers the choice of renting or buying videos and, if purchased, lets you watch them on up to five different HTC devices.

Otterbox is well known for its protective cases for a lot of devices. One of the latest additions to the Defender Series is a Defender case for the Samsung Galaxy Tab. I have used several Otterbox products before and I must admit when my device is protected by a Defender case I don’t have to worry it gets damaged or suffers any influences from outside. The Otterbox does not make your device waterproof, although a small spill can easily be survived. It protects your device from scratches, dust, bumps and shocks. I can now use the Tab in virtually any condition where I wouldn’t use it without protection. A year ago, my iPhone with a Defender case even survived a drop from 1 meter at a speed of 40 km/h when downhilling on my mountainbike. The case was damaged, but the iPhone didn’t suffer any damage.

What’s in the package ?

When you unpack the Defender case, you’ll find several parts in the box. First, there is a protective polycarbonate shell which consists of two parts. The front part of the shell contains a clear protective film which functions as a screen protector. The back part needs to be attached to the front part to enclose the Galaxy Tab completely. After that, you need to attach the silicone skin to close all the gaps. All buttons and ports are accessible via silicone plugs. This silicone skin will absorb the impact and gives a firm grip when you hold it in you hand. The final part serves both as a desk stand for the Galaxy Tab in the Defender case or as a full protector, so the screen won’t get damaged. The picture below should give you a good impression how the Defender case is constructed.

Putting it all together

In the picture series below, I will try to give you a good overview on how to attach all parts together, so your Galaxy Tab is very well protected on your next mountaineering or jungle trip. An overview of all the parts: On the left you see the front part with the protective film, than the back part, next to the back part the silicone skin and on the right the desk stand/front protector.

When you start the assembly, first you have to attach the front and back parts together. Do not forget to clean the display of the Galaxy Tab and the inside of the protective film, otherwise you’ll see the swipes or smudges on the screen behind the film. Now, click the two parts together. The best way is to start at the bottom and click it together until the top.

Now wrap the silicone skin over the shell and make sure all connectors and ports are aligned and you can operate all buttons. Your Defender case is now ready for use. Just open the port on the top if you want to connect a headphone jack or the port at the bottom to connect the sync/charge cable.

Usage and final verdict

If you use the Defender case daily your device is very well protected and you can throw it in a bag without thinking twice. Using the ports is easy too, but using the touchscreen requires some more precision.  There is an extra layer on top of the touchscreen and while operating the touchscreen in the middle works out just fine, using it at the edges requires a bit more precision and even touching a soft button once or twice to activate it happened several times to me. But these small drawbacks are nothing compared to the protection you’ll get for your Galaxy Tab ! This is the best you can get and it will last for years. It’s versatile too, because the screencover can also be used as a stand for your Tab, so you can watch a movie without holding the device !

Grab your Otterbox at the Otterbox website or check them out at a retailer like Best Buy.

First of all: we need to make an excuse for announcing the winner of the Samsung Focus contest so late. The MobilityMinded team consists of 5 editors who all have a full time job and due to a lot of traveling and other causes we were unable to post this earlier. Now back to the contest ! The rules of the contest were:

1. Follow @mobilityminded and Tweet the following: ” Like ,Post & Follow @MobilityMinded and Win a @SamsungMobileUS Focus @windowsphone 7, easy rules  http://bit.ly/e0niBx @Samsungtweets “
2. Click on the ” Facebook Like ” button on the top of this article.
3. Go to our forum , Register yourself and Post in this thread your Twitter name and Facebook name and tells us why you want to win this new Samsung Focus Windows Phone 7.
4. The more you tweet and share on Facebook the more chance you make to win the Samsung Focus Windows Phone 7.
5. Our contest ends on February 28th at midnight EST and we will announce the winner in the days following.
6. All entries in the forum will be numbered and we will use Random.org to select our winner.

Without further ado we would like to present the winner of this awesome Samsung Focus to you: BppIsEarth. a.k.a. Alan Valentine. The winner was chosen through random.org just like we announced in the rules.

Alan, please get in touch with us by sending us a private message on the forum with your details and please do let us know in the forums how this awesome phone is.

If you are still waiting for the NoDo update for your Windows Phone 7 which was announced for the first half of March by several sources, you might get lucky in the second half of March. In February 2011, many handsets received a “pre-NoDo” update, which was a small update to the Zune client and to make your handset ready for the next update. On your Windows Phone 7, the version went from 7.0.7004.0 to 7.0.7008.0. So this was just a minor update. While there were some problems with this minor update on Samsung devices, the update did run flawless on most unbranded devices. There are still reports that carrier-branded devices still did not receive the “pre-NoDo” update until today.

For devices which did receive the update, the next mayor update should be there in the upcoming weeks. Eric Hautala, General Manager Customer Experience Engineering for Windows Phone explains on the WindowsPhone Teamblog how the update gets to your Windows Phone 7 handset, clears some issues where carriers are blocking updates and assures you that you will receive the update in a short period of time:

Picture courtesy of Careace.net

How software gets from us to you

Many customers have already received our February update. Others, I know, are still waiting for the message saying it’s available. This has made some of you understandably anxious, wondering: Will I ever get it? Why does it take so long?

The best way for me to answer is to briefly summarize the journey update software takes from our computers here in Redmond to Windows Phones like yours around the world. With 9 handsets on 60 mobile operators in 30 countries around the world, things can get a little complicated!

Here’s what happens:

First, the engineering team here makes and thoroughly tests changes to our Windows Phone operating system software, adding new and improved features or making fixes.

But that’s typically just part of what we send you. The companies that make your Windows Phone handset—or even the chips inside them—also frequently provide us updated firmware that they’ve written, tested, and want us to include.

This combination makes up our update, which we dispatch to the cellular carriers around the world that sell Windows Phones. The carriers then conduct their own tests to help ensure that the new software works correctly both on their networks and the Windows Phone models they sell.

We work closely with our carrier partners, and encourage them to test our software as swiftly as possible. But it’s still their network, and the reality is that some carriers require more time than others. By the way, this carrier testing is a common industry practice that all of our competitors must also undergo. No exceptions.

After a carrier has had an opportunity to test, we schedule an update delivery to its customers through Microsoft Update, the same system that Microsoft uses to update your desktop PC. You see a message on your phone saying an update is available, plug your phone into your computer and—voila—a few clicks later you have the latest and greatest version of Windows Phone.

One important point worth highlighting: Our update technology allows us to precisely target which phones receive an update. Since some updates are hardware-specific, we don’t send every update to every device. We also don’t send new software updates to everyone at once. This staggered approach is deliberate, and helps us pinpoint and fix any problems quickly.

You’re probably asking yourself: If you do all that testing, how can there still occasionally be problems?

Great question. Microsoft has been making and delivering software updates long enough to know that the laboratory can simulate—but never quite equal—the experience of delivering software to thousands of real phones “in the wild,” each loaded with its own unique set of apps, pictures, songs, and other stuff.

Success of our February update

This brings me back to our February update, which I briefly want to touch on.

As you might recall, this minor update is an important but invisible under-the-hood tweak designed to improve the phone update process itself. It results in no visible changes to your phone.

Of the customers who’ve so far tried to install it, the overwhelming majority have been successful. If you’ve been following along, you know that we did encounter a few issues, which we quickly identified and fixed or provided workarounds for.

Let me be crystal clear: We’re not satisfied when problems prevent you from enjoying the latest Windows Phone updates. When we find an issue, we study and fix it. To that end, we’re carefully studying the current update process and will apply the lessons learned from it to all future ones. This is how we get better.

There’s one more thing I want to clear up. I’ve seen a lot of speculation on blogs and forums lately about whether carriers can “block” an update. We work closely with carriers to test and schedule updates. They may ask us for a specific date to start an update. They may ask for updates to be bundled together.  But you should ultimately receive all the updates we send out.

Status of the “copy and paste” update

We have the next update waiting in the wings. It delivers copy and paste, better Marketplace search, and other key improvements.

But I believe it’s important that we learn all we can from the February update. So I’ve decided to take some extra time to ensure the update process meets our standards, your standards, and the standards of our partners. As a result, our plan is to start delivering the copy-and-paste update in the latter half of March.

This short pause should in no way impact the timing of future updates, including the one announced recently at Mobile World Congress featuring multitasking, a Twitter feature, and a new HTML 5-friendly version of Internet Explorer Mobile.

It looks promising for us and while there are reports that the NoDo update is already available on several new handsets (devices repaired by Samsung are updated to 7.0.7355.0, some leaked HTC roms for popular HTC Windows Phone 7 handsets who can get updated to 7.0.7389.0 and some reports from Dell Venue Pro buyers in one specific region that also seem to have copy and paste, the majority of the Windows Phone 7 users will have to wait for the update which hopefully should appear real soon on a Windows Phone 7 near you.

Starting from February 21st on forward, the first Windows Phone 7 will be rolled out. This update will NOT contain the copy and paste option but it will get your Windows Phone 7 and your Zune client ready for future updates. The update will be rolled out from this date. Don’t worry if your phone does not receive the update notification the very first day. It will not be rolled out to all phones at the same time. It can take a day or two or for some a little longer depending of your cellular provider.

How to install this update ?

First, you’ll need the Zune client. You can find it here. Just download and install it. This software is required to update your phone. Mac users can get the Windows Phone 7 Connector from here or from the Mac app store.
After you have installed the update, just connect your Windows Phone 7 and give it a nice name.

On your Windows Phone 7, check if you have the update notification enabled on your phone under Settings > System > Phone Update

Also, check if your Zune PC software is up to date. Please disconnect your Windows Phone 7 and start the Zune PC software. Then check under Settings > Software > General > Software Updates > Check for updates, if there is an update available.

After this, reconnect your Windows Phone 7 to your PC and restart your phone. After it has restarted, you should get the notification about the update and the Zune software will guide you through the installation. Do not disconnect your phone during the process. Depending on how much content must be backed up, the update may take a some time.

Didn’t get your notification yet!

There might me a small chance to see if you can force the update without having had the notifications from Microsoft and your Carrier. Open up your Zune desktop and connect your Windows Phone 7. Wait till it stopped synchronizing your Windows Phone 7. Check now on your Zune Desktop in the Phone Settings.  Settings > Phone> Update. There might be a small chance that the software recognizes that you need an update. Hopefully this will work as well for all the Windows Phone 7 users who are having no Sim or a Sim of carriers that don’t officially have Windows Phone 7 Devices.

For other detailed information you can always go to the Windows Phone Help and How-To Phone Updates site. There is also a special Windows Phone update history site. The Windows Phone Blog has a great article as well.

If you have any questions on this update, just ask them in our forum.

The update is live !

The update is now live and will come soon to a Windows Phone 7 near you. Apparently I am in the first wave, so my HTC 7 Trophy is now updating. See some screenshots below.

Zune tells you there is an update for your device available. You can update it right away or skip it (can’t find any reason why). After that, the first four steps will be carried out.

The update prepares your phone for the update now.

The 5th step creates a backup of your phone. You have to be patient for that. It takes about 8 minutes.

This is the actual part where the update is applied to your phone. Please be patient. This can take a few minutes.

After the update has been successfully installed on your device, it will be rebooted.

The final step. Your Windows Phone 7 is now updated and you are at OS version 7008. The previous version was 7004.

Update unsuccessful ?

When the update hangs or the Zune software fails to respond during the backup process, take a look at this KB article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2498092

Don’t have a Windows Phone 7 yet ? We are giving one away!

Just in case you have missed it but we are actually running a contest this week with thanks to Samsung USA. You can win the Samsung Focus Windows Phone 7 from AT&T right here.

HTC was honored to win the ‘2011 Device Manufacturer of the Year’ award at the prestigious GSMA Global Mobile awards at Mobile World Congress. HTC was voted the winner from a shortlist of three finalists which included Apple and Samsung.

Accepting the award, Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corp. said, “This award also belongs to the tens of millions of customers around the world who enjoy our phones and inspire us each day to create new innovative experiences. To those people, to our partners around the world and to the HTC family, you have my sincere thanks and congratulations.”

Read the full press release below:

HTC Corporation, a global designer of smartphones, has been honored this week with the highest industry honor as ‘Device Manufacturer of the Year’ by the GSMA at its Global Mobile Awards ceremony in Barcelona.  The award follows a year of global momentum for HTC, which saw the launch of a large portfolio of industry leading smartphones such as the HTC Desire. HTC was awarded from a list of three finalists that included Apple and Samsung.

“For HTC to be recognized by the industry in this way for the growth and success we have experienced in the last year is truly humbling.  Thousands of people at HTC work tirelessly to create the intuitive and deeply personal smartphone experiences for which we have become known. This award is a measure of their passion and dedication,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation.  “This award also belongs to the tens of millions of customers around the world who enjoy our phones and inspire us each day to create new innovative experiences. To those people, to our partners around the world and to the HTC family, you have my sincere thanks and congratulations.”

The GSMA judges commented, “this company (HTC) has built its market presence from nowhere, with fresh branding and marketing and a strong portfolio of devices across many platforms. In particular, it has proven an exceptionally popular and enduring phone manufacturer. With great communication and good customer service, this is a well-deserved award.”

HTC previously was awarded for the ‘Best Mobile Phone of 2010’ with the HTC Hero.

A committee of judges that include industry analysts and consultants, mobile operators, educators and other industry leaders determines the GSMA Awards.  For more information on the 2011 GSMA Global Mobile awards please visit – http://www.globalmobileawards.com

During the Mobile Focus event in Barcelona, we ran into Sonim. Maybe you haven’t heard from them but they produce the most rugged phones you can imagine. I am owning a Sonim phone myself and I am using it in conditions where I wouldn’t want to use my normal daily smartphone. Dirt, water, extreme shocks, all these things make sure that a normal smartphone wouldn’t survive these conditions. Sonim has now improved their latest product by making it extremely rugged and having the longest talk time in the world.

While at the event I took some pictures and I will give a short explanation with them which will give you an idea how rugged this phone is. First: ICE !

This phone is frozen in a huge block of ice 3 weeks ago. It was frozen with a full battery and it is still operational. During the evening a lot of calls have been made to this phone just to prove to everybody that it is still working. The picture below shows in actual incoming call on the frozen phone.

Next: Concrete !

This XP3300 is poured in a block of concrete. It can’t be turned off or charged. It is still standby after 3 weeks now. To put that in perpective: Even Vincent Everts couldn’t destroy a XP 3300 which was placed on top of this concrete-poured phone and he was severely hitting it with another block of concrete

I witnessed some more tests like submerging the phone in a can of anti-freeze mixture and other things where a normal phone wouldn’t stand a chance. This phone is just rock solid ! Read the full press release below:

Sonim Technologies announces the Sonim XP3300 FORCE GSM mobile phone, an ultra-rugged MRM-ready handset designed to help enterprises and government organizations locate, track and manage mobile workers, their tasks and assets. Built on lessons learned from serving half a million customers with the toughest jobs on earth, some who work 16 hour shifts, Sonim’s XP3300 FORCE helps maximize workforce efficiency, minimize downtime and enhance safety in industries such as transportation, logistics and utilities.

“The XP3300 FORCE takes Sonim’s legendary ruggedness to the enterprise segment,” said Bob Plaschke, CEO of Sonim Technologies. “There’s no question it’s a power tool of communications. We continue to dream up new ways that showcase how Sonim’s handsets stretch the limits of phone engineering such as:

• submerging it in an antifreeze mixture (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYbxs6CQJAk)
• dropping it from 30 meters (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zFhuJ2evvU)
• casting it in concrete (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/9369639.stm)”

Workforce efficiency

With the XP3300 FORCE, Sonim’s objective is to help companies with mobile workforces reduce operating costs, increase productivity, improve customer satisfaction and ensure employee safety. The handset has professional-grade Assisted GPS that delivers highly accurate locations and faster location fixes due to the excellent signal sensitivity. With 20 to 24 hours of talk time or GPS tracking time of up to 26 hours with MRM applications (at 5 minute location update intervals), the XP3300 FORCE has the power to work through the long 16-hour shifts endured by Sonim users. The 2 MP camera with a bright LED flash and digital zoom captures critical job site information. Sonim has further improved the reliability, speed and available memory for JAVA applications and the Sonim JAVA Application Manager (JAM) store will offer a range of pre-tested and certified third party workforce management applications for download. The handset is a quad band GSM unit with GPRS and EDGE data capability.

The MRM applications being integrated with the Sonim XP3300 FORCE offer workforce location monitoring, fleet tracking, monitoring, timecard reporting, real-time work order updates, alerts, job scheduling, event confirmation, data collection and reports. “Integration and field testing is underway with some of the world’s leading MRM application providers, who have recognized the XP3300 FORCE as the ideal rugged MRM phone,” said Sanjay Jhawar, VP/GM of Marketing and Applications.

A software revision for the XP3300 will be released following final MRM field-testing and the following will be commercially certified and available in Q2 2011:

• mComet from Actsoft: www.actsoft.com
• Timecard from Econz Wireless: www.econz.com
• Track & Trace from Spotmaster: www.spotmaster.com
• TimeTrack from Xora: www.xora.com

Other applications for the XP3300 include an Opera Mini® browser and City Cruiser® navigation. NoteVault, a voice note transcription and project-reporting tool specifically for the construction industry, is also available. Subscription fees will apply for NoteVault and MRM applications. Enterprise application developers can register at www.sonimdevelopers.com.

Ruggedness to minimize downtime

Sonim’s Rugged Performance Standards Certified (RPS) surpass the military specifications for ruggedness.
Even wastewater 2 meters deep is no challenge for this IP-68 rated, water and dust proof handset, which can also be dropped from 2 meters onto concrete. The 2 inch high-resolution display is protected by a class-leading 1.5 mm thick Corning® Gorilla® Glass lens for the highest scratch and shock resistance. Sonim has added a fiberglass mix to the phone’s housing to give users the confidence to truly take it anywhere. The phone is certified against salt, fog, humidity, transport shock, and thermal shock and operates in temperatures ranging from -20˚C to +55˚C.

Safety

The Sonim XP3300 FORCE enhances the worker’s safety by enabling calls under the worst conditions. The phone features strong antenna performance, the industry’s longest talk time of 20 to 24 hours and 800 hours of standby time, an active noise canceling microphone, and loud audio with a 23mm speaker, protected by a GORE® protective vent.  Enhanced usability with widely-spaced keys for ease of use with gloved hands and a higher resolution display with good outdoor visibility also contribute to dependability that saves lives.

Rugged and reliable, the XP3300 FORCE is backed by Sonim’s 3-Year Comprehensive Warranty.

Today at Mobile World Congress 2011, HTC announced their first Android tablet called HTC Flyer. When I showed up at the HTC stand in Hall 1, I was kind of disappointed that I found the HTC Flyer behind glass, so I was unable to take any pictures of it close by. Later today I had a session together with several members of the dutch press with Mark Moons, Regional Director HTC Benelux, who showed us the new HTC Incredible S, HTC Desire S and Wildfire S. After that we all hoped for the new two Facebook phones ChaCha and Salsa and the HTC Flyer. Sadly Mark didn’t bring them, so apart from a brief introduction and a Q and A on both products, we left the building (where this morning’s press conference took place). Luck was on our side when we discovered inside the building some HTC people and one of them had both the HTC Flyer and the Facebook phones there.

To conclude this, we got the extended tour with the HTC Flyer and managed to take some pictures of it too. The circumstances were not ideal because of the bad lighting but I think the photos turned out quite well. Let’s have a look !

This picture show the Flyer in it’s full glory. You can see how the capacitive buttons on the bottom rotate when you turn the device. The buttons are now on the bottom in landscape mode, but in the picture below, you’ll see them on the bottom in portrait mode. At the top you’ll also notice the front camera.

In this picture you can also see Scribe in action in the application Scribble. When you tap with your pen on the screen, a screenshot is made and you can start writing on the screen. The pen indicator turns from red to green indicating the writing-mode. When you are done and saved or shared your document, the indicator returns to red again. More pictures on the indicator below:

One of the other things demonstrated was the use of the front camera. You can use it to create special effects to your picture. If you ever wanted a pixelated face, you need the app Snapbooth on a Flyer for that !

After the demonstration where we got an overview of all the apps which make the Flyer unique like Scribe, HTC Watch and apps for reading E-books, listening to music and all the other additions when you use the Sense interface. After this I could some pictures of the Flyer to compare it in size or show of it’s design aspects.

Only for a size comparison: This is the HTC Desire HD with it’s 4.3 inch screen next to the Flyer.

The back of the HTC Flyer where you can clearly see the camera, stereo loudspeakers and on the top right corner the 3,5 mm headphone jack and power button. You can also see the Unibody design here.

Here you can see the bottom where you can insert the charging cable and also the cable which enables you to connect it to any HDMI device.

This picture is a bit unsharp and it shows you the top of the Flyer. Power button and headphone jack.

I tried to capture the curves at the side of the device here. It is not clearly visible but there is a small curve on both sides, just to give you a little bit more grip when holding it on both sides. Reminds me of the G1 and Legend who also had a curve at the bottom of the device. Picture below shows the other side.

What I wanted to find out too, was if I can hold the Flyer comfortably with one hand and in fact, Yes I can ! Could be the ideal device for me…

Some more information: The pen will be included and a case which holds the Flyer and the pen will be there too when you one.
Suggested retailprice may be 699 euro incl VAT for the 32GB version with 3G. Maybe there will be other versions with Wifi and no 3G and/or smaller memory amounts but I guess we’ll have to wait for May to find that out.

The last but absolutely not the least from Mobile World Congress 2011 in Barcelona is the introduction of the HTC Desire S and HTC Wildfire S. Both of these new Android smartphones offers HTC users to choose a devices that fits your lifestyle and budget. HTC Sense and a new design are the key features of the successors of the HTC Desire and HTC Wildfire which were introduced in 2010.

HTC Desire S

The HTC is the successor of the popular HTC Desire. Just like the HTC Legend, the Desire HD and the newly introduced HTC Flyer tablet, the Desire S features a aluminum Unibody design. It is powered by a Qualcomm 8255 processor which we all know from several other HTC devices. The 3.7 inch SuperLCD has a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels and has the same size as the original HTC Desire. As you have expected from HTC it features a 5 Megapixel camera with auto focus and LED flash at the back and a front facing VGA camera for video chatting. The silver color gives the device a distinguished look.

HTC Wildfire S: compact and complete

Like it’s predecessor, the HTC Wildfire S is mostly compact but packed with new features. It has Facebook integration and all the apps you’ll ever need can be downloaded from the Android Market with one touch of a button.You can completely personalize the Home screen with all your favorite apps, widgets and content. The 3.2 inch display got an upgrade too. It is now half-VGA 320 x 480 where the previous Wildfire only had 320 x 240 pixels resolution. It is only 101.3 mm long and 59.4 mm wide. Like all the other new phones, it sports a 5 Megapixel camera with auto focus and LED flash. If the internal memory is not enough to hold all your media files, just expand it with a microSD card. The Wildfire S now comes in three colors: black, white and purple.

Availability and price

The HTC Desire comes to a store near you in April 2011 for 469 euro and the Wildfire will be there one month later in May for 279 euro including VAT.

The third announcement of today from the Mobile World Congress 2011 in Barcelona is the introduction of two specially designed social networking phones named HTC ChaCha and HTC Salsa. Both devices combine the power of Facebook with the HTC Sense interface. A special Facebook button on both devices gives you direct access to the common features of the world’s biggest social network.

Facebook button

The Facebook-button on the HTC ChaCha and HTC Salsa gives you direct access to the most used Facebook functions. The button offers several options and lights up automatically when you can share content or send an update to your Facebook profile. You can update your status, upload a picture, share articles, check in to a location and all the other things you would like to do on Facebook. You can even share to which music you are listening to and share the track with your Facebook friends.

Both devices will feature the latest Android 2.3.3 version and the latest edition of HTC Sense. When someone calls you or you place an outgoing call, the latest updates, uploaded pictures and even the birthday (if this is present in their Facebook profile) of the person you are calling or calls you is shown on the display.

Both the HTC ChaCha and HTC Salsa offer many ways to personalize your device with the latest Facebook widgets. You can use Facebook chat and Messages to stay in contact with your friends. Facebook messages from your profile and conversations will be integrated now and appear automatically in your email inbox, next to your other conversations.

Mark Moons, Regional Director HTC Benelux: “The HTC ChaCha and HTC Salsa offer new options to use Facebook on your mobile device. There are over 500 million active Facebook users worldwide and for many people Facebook is synonym for social networking.”

HTC ChaCha: QWERTY and touch screen

The HTC ChaCha features a touch screen, a 3-row QWERTY keyboard with a fourth row of keyboard functions. It has two camera’s: A 5 Megapixel camera at the back with LED flash and auto focus and and a VGA front-facing camera. This enables you to take crystal clear pictures you can upload to your profile and the front-facing camera is is used for video chats with you friends. The 2.6 inch HVGA touch screen features a 480 x 320 pixel resolution.

HTC Salsa

The HTC Salsa offers the same Facebook integration like we have already seen on the ChaCha. It features the same set of camera’s: 5 Megapixel at the back and VGA at the front. The 3.4 inch touch screen has the same resolution as the ChaCha: 480 x 320 pixels. Apart from this, both devices will have a 600 MHz processor and 512 MB RAM and ROM. Only 120 grams of weight are shown on the scale for both devices. More specifications later…

Availability

The HTC ChaCha should be in stores by June, while the HTC Salsa should appear in stores one month later. The HTC ChaCha will be going for 299 euro, while the Salsa will cost you 369 euro’s. Both prices already include VAT.

Today at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, HTC introduces the HTC Incredible S. A brand new Android powered smartphone with a 4 inch Super LCD display, DLNA, front camera for video calling and HTC’s familiar Sense interface.With the new Incredible S, HTC amazes us again with a groundbreaking design combined with a complete mobile experience.

Some specifications of the latest smartphone from HTC: 1 GHz. processor, 1.1 GB ROM and 768 MB RAM, dimensions: 120x64x117 mm, a weight of 135,5 grams, 4 inch Super LCD with 480 x 800 pixels resolution, DLNA, GPS, Bluetooth 2.1, all the connectivity options you might need while on the road,  a 1.3 Megapixel front camera and a 8 Megapixel camera at the back with auto focus, dual led flash and 720p HD recording.

The HTC Incredible S is for sharing and more sharing. Video calling is made easy with the front camera. Crystal clear pictures taken with the 8 Megapixel camera can be uploaded at high speed to your social media networks. This is also the first HTC device with built-in DLNA. DLNA technology is used to share video’s, pictures and music with other DLNA capable devices like televisions or stereo sets.

Mark Moons, Regional Director HTC Benelux tells us: “The HTC Incredible S shows what can be accomplished when designers and developers work together and pushing the bar for designing new mobile devices higher and higher. This device completely suits the need for users to be always and everywhere online and share their lives with their friends”.

Availability and price

The Incredible S should be available in March 2011. The suggested retailprice is 519 euro including VAT. You might get it for a lower price when combining it with a mobile subscription.

Today at Mobile World Congress 2011 in Barcelona, HTC has unveiled their first Tablet with Scribe, Skype Video Chat and OnLive Gaming. This tablet combines HTC’s unique design with the familiar HTC Sense interface, which we all know from various HTC Android and Windows Mobile devices. This intuitive interface now combines touch and pen interaction. Another brand new service which debuts on the HTC Flyer is that HTC now works together with OnLive to give you the first cloud based gaming service on a tablet.

As you can see, the HTC Flyer features the same Unibody style which we all know from the HTC Legend and Desire HD. The Flyer has a 7 inch display, features a 1.5 GHz. processor and high speed wireless HSPA+. 32 GB of internal memory gives you enough space to store a lot of media files and if that is still not enough, just extend it with a MicroSD card. The dimensions are 195.4 x 122 x 13.2 mm and at a weight of 415 grams it is as light as a pocketbook. The huge 4000 mAh battery will keep the Flyer on standby time for up to 1470 hours and gives you a video playback time of up to 4 hours.

HTC Sense for tablet

The revolutionary interface of HTC Sense placed the user in the center of the whole experience and now the the Sense interface is extended to the HTC Flyer and gives you a 3D Home screen. A unique carousel of widgets shows the most important data in the visual center of the whole Sense experience. Support for Flash 10 and HTML 5 gives you the optimal browsing experience.

HTC Scribe

HTC Scribe is an awesome technology which comes very close to normal natural writing. A set of integrated digital ink innovations make it so much easier and more natural to take notes, sign contracts, draw pictures or even to write on a web page or picture.

Another feature is Timemark. Timemark gives you the possibility to synchronize written notes with a recording from a meeting. Just pressing the word is enough to go the the exact point of that particular recording. Notes are also synchronized to the calender. When a reminder shows up on the screen you can start a new note or continue with the notes of the last meeting if it was a recurring meeting. If you are using Evernote, the Flyer is your perfect partner. It now syncs with Evernote, a market leading company for notes applications and services

Video calling with Skype Mobile

A 1.3 Megapixel front camera makes the HTC Flyer the first tablet which integrates Skype mobile and video calling. The form factor of the Flyer makes it easy communicate everywhere using Skype.

Mobile gaming

Mobile gaming steps up to a new level on the HTC Flyer with the integration of OnLive, a cloud based gaming service. OnLive makes it possible for everyone to game from home by giving the option to play games on your television without having to invest in expensive hard or software. By using wireless broadband OnLive can is brought to your television or right to your tablet. At launch several games like Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood and Lego Harry Potter will be available.

The HTC Flyer is coming to a store near you from May 2011.

In my previous article I gave you a preview of the Altek Leo, the first Android device with a 14 Megapixel image sensor and a 3x optical lens. On our forum, we have a discussion going between people who want more information on this relatively unknown device. I was able to take some pictures with it and on top of that I can show you some screenshots of the interface.

Interface

The interface of the Altek does contain everything you need, BUT no Google apps. I repeat: NO Google apps. There is no Market, No Gmail, not one of the apps that Google is offering on almost any other Android device is there and that is quite a drawback for me. Although the unique feature of this phone is it’s camera, or should I say that the unique feature of this camera is its ability to make calls with it and browse the internet, without the app market you are in a certain way bound to the apps on the device. Although there are many ways to install apps on your device, access to the Market makes it a lot easier and it keeps your apps up-to-date too. I am visiting Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and Altek will be there too, so I think you can guess what one of my questions will be….

The screenshot on the left shows you the user interface when you unlock your phone and on the right you will see all the installed applications. At the bottom you’ll two two other icons. One is from the Sound Recorder and the other one for the Root Superuser. As you can see except from the OfficeSuite, there is no value-added content. Even the Astro file manager is a freeware version showing you ads. All this is related to one question I have asked before… An Android with a very good camera or a camera which can browse the internet and make calls too…

The screenshot above shows you the camera screen with its various settings. I have set it at 14 Megapixel and Superfine. The switch on the right slides between camera and video. The bottom right corner shows you a preview of the pictures you took.

These screenshots show you the Settings menu. This menu like quite familiar with a lot of other Android devices and do not contain a lot of surprises. Just an extra option for your social networks.

Another nice feature is to install the PC Sync software to your PC. A drive letter will be mounted on your PC and shows you the software which you can install. The right screenshot shows you the available memory. It contains about 200 MB internal memory, so there is not much left after install. The screenshots were taken without any software installed !

On the left you’ll see the familiar Wireless settings screen and on the right the Social networking option which you’ll find in the settings menu.

Sample pictures

Below you will find some pictures I took while on the road. I will add some more to the Flickr stream of MobilityMinded in the upcoming days, but I am sure that these pictures will give you a good overview of the performance of the camera. Just click on the desired picture to open them in our Flickr Photostream and show the larger versions.

Join the conversation on our forum on the Altek Leo preview and be sure to keep an eye on the front page for any news on the Altek and other devices from Mobile World Congress in Barcelona !

As a Windows Phone MVP I am pretty excited that Nokia and Microsoft today announced plans to form a broad strategic partnership that would use their complementary strengths and expertise to create a new global mobile ecosystem.

What was supposed to be announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona but hit the news already is that Nokia and Microsoft intend to jointly create market-leading mobile products and services designed to offer consumers, operators and developers unrivalled choice and opportunity.  As each company would focus on its core competencies, the partnership would create the opportunity for rapid time to market execution.  Additionally, Nokia and Microsoft plan to work together to integrate key assets and create completely new service offerings, while extending established products and services to new markets.

Under the proposed partnership:

• Nokia would adopt Windows Phone as its principal smartphone strategy, innovating on top of the platform in areas such as imaging, where Nokia is a market leader.
• Nokia would help drive the future of Windows Phone.  Nokia would contribute its expertise on hardware design, language support, and help bring Windows Phone to a larger range of price points, market segments and geographies.
• Nokia and Microsoft would closely collaborate on joint marketing initiatives and a shared development roadmap to align on the future evolution of mobile products.
• Bing would power Nokia’s search services across Nokia devices and services, giving customers access to Bing’s next generation search capabilities.  Microsoft adCenter would provide search advertising services on Nokia’s line of devices and services.
• Nokia Maps would be a core part of Microsoft’s mapping services.   For example, Maps would be integrated with Microsoft’s Bing search engine and adCenter advertising platform to form a unique local search and advertising experience
• Nokia’s extensive operator billing agreements would make it easier for consumers to purchase Nokia Windows Phone services in countries where credit-card use is low.
• Microsoft development tools would be used to create applications to run on Nokia Windows Phones, allowing developers to easily leverage the ecosystem’s global reach.
• Nokia’s content and application store would be integrated with Microsoft Marketplace for a more compelling consumer experience.

“Today, developers, operators and consumers want  compelling mobile products, which include not only the device, but the software, services, applications and customer support that make a great  experience,” Stephen Elop, Nokia President and CEO, said at a joint news conference in London. “Nokia and Microsoft will combine our strengths to deliver an ecosystem with unrivalled global reach and scale. It’s now a three-horse race.”

“I am excited about this partnership with Nokia,” said Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft CEO. “Ecosystems thrive when fueled by speed, innovation and scale. The partnership announced today provides incredible scale, vast expertise in hardware and software innovation and a proven ability to execute.”

Source: Press release via email and Microsoft Press release

Valentine’s Day might be a good day at this year’s Mobile World Congress, because LG will unveil the LG Optimus 3D, the world’s first 3D smartphone offering consumers a full 3D experience right in the palm of their hands. This latest addition to the LG portfolio is supposed to feature a dual-core processor and best of all, you don’t need 3D glasses to fully enjoy the 3D experience. The banner shows the LG Optimus logo and a new dimension can only point to a new 3D Smartphone.

The LG Optimus 3D addresses the lack of 3D content issue — one of the biggest problems facing the 3D market — with a complete platform for a one-of-a-kind experience on a mobile device. LG’s most advanced smartphone to date will feature a dual-lens camera for 3D recording, a glasses-free LCD panel for 3D viewing and diverse connectivity options such as HDMI and DLNA for 3D content sharing anytime, anywhere.

If you happen to visit LG at this years Mobile World Congress, swing by at Booth #8B178 for more details and a live demo of the LG Optimus 3D.

Source: LG Press Release