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Tag: touch-screen

  • Microsoft Confirms Zune HD with XBox Live Tie-In


    Microsoft is to launch the Zune HD this autumn and the device will have access to TV, movies and games through the Xbox Live Video Marketplace.

    Essentially being lined up as a rival to Apple’s iPod Touch, the new PMP will have a built-in HD Radio receiver, an OLED touch screen interface, wi-fi, a multi-touch UI for Internet Explorer.

    The new Zune will feature a 16:9 widescreen format display (480 x 272 resolution) and have HD video output to allow video to be played on an HDTV.

    While the new features are certainly an improvement on the original Zune, it will be interesting to see whether consumers like the fact a Zune dock has also to be bought for outputting HD video.

    The HDMI audiovisual docking station connects to an HDTV in 720p.

    The apparent lack of an app store also seems to be a potential stumbling block for the Microsoft device.

  • Palm Unveils New Pre smartphone


    Palm finally revealed its new smartphone, the Pre, along with an exclusive partnership with Sprint to distribute it.

    The new touch-screen device and operating system, WebOS, received a positive welcome at CES in Las Vegas.

    Much has been made of the importance of the new device’s success if Palm is to resurrect its fortunes in the highly competitive smartphone market.

    Initial positives for the Pre include its emphasis on fast Web browsing and efficient multitasking.

    The handset will be available in the first half of the year. No pricing information is available as yet.

    The Pre has a sophisticated interface and can be charged on a special platform without the need to attach a cable.

    It comes comes with eight gigabytes of storage, GPS navigational capabilities, Wi-Fi networking and a slide-out keyboard.

    A possible hurdle in Palm’s path to renewed success could be apps for its new device.

    Software developers are now concentrating on RIM’s BlackBerry devices and the iPhone because they represent a large and growing market.

    Apps are seen as crucial to the success of smartphones because of the functions such as games and navigation services that they provide.

  • 12 Mpx Camera, Touchscreen Phone Due From Sony Ericsson


    The smartphone camera race roars on with news that Sony Ericsson is shaping up a 12 megapixel camera on a CyberShot phone.

    Currently codenamed the Kokura, it will apparently also feature a touchscreen and iPhone-like interface, according to Mobilementalism.

    Based on leaked information, the site says the Sony Ericsson handset will be based on the TI3240 chipset with the Symbian OS version 9.4 and S60 interface.

    It also reports another offering from the phone maker – another CyberShot phone currently codenamed the Yurika.

    Aimed at the youth market, it will feature easy access to Facebook, Yahoo!, YouTube and so on.

    According to Mobilementalism, the Yurika will come with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard as well as a touchscreen and similar iPhone-like interface to the Kokura.

  • Nokia Unveils Music-loving Touchscreen Phone


    Nokia finally unveiled its touchscreen 5800 XpressMusic.

    Dubbed the “Tube” during its development the 5800 is the first device to run the Symbian S60 5th Edition platform – S60 Touch.

    Aimed at a mainstream market, the Finnish phone giant is hoping to attract users put off by the price of Apple’s iPhone.

    To coincide with the announcement of its the mid-range music-focussed phone Nokia launched its’ free music package Comes with Music.

    This is being seen as a challenge to Apple’s dominance of the digital music market.

    The 5800 comes with a 3.2-inch, 640 x 360 touchscreen to go along with its 3.2-megapixel autofocus cam, Carl Zeiss optics, dual LED flash, GPS, WiFi, 3.5mm jack, and a microSD slot with support for 16GB cards.

    Nokia said it will be available in three versions – European HSDPA, North American HSDPA, and GSM only.

    The first version will be priced at just under €279 (around USD $400) and it will be followed early next year by a slightly more expensive version bundled with Comes with Music.

    The battle for mobile music is increasingly crowded, with Sony Ericsson launching its music package this month in Sweden, while South Korea’s LG Electronics plans a service similar to Nokia’s.

    Nokia’s package differs from others on the market as users can keep all the music they have downloaded during a 12- month subscription period.

    There are no charges for tracks downloaded, since the cost is bundled to the phone price.

    The music package is being heralded as a genuine tool for fighting file-sharing as research has shown most consumers would be willing to pay for a service like Comes with Music.

    It is the prospect of users accessing millions of tracks for free that poses the biggest threat to Apple.

  • Nokia Touch-screen Smartphone Expected Today


    An announcement is expected from Nokia today about the launch of a touch-screen device.

    Dubbed the “Tube”, the handset could be unveiled at a media and analyst event in London.

    It would be Nokia’s first touch-screen since Apple launched the iPhone last year.

    IMS Research recently published a report saying the current steady growth in sales of touchscreen-equipped mobile handsets will become even stronger.

    It forecasts that while fewer than 30 million touchscreen phones were sold in 2007, this will surge to over 230 million by 2012.

    Nokia wouldn’t comment on an unannounced product.

    Reports suggest the device will be closely tied to Nokia’s Comes With Music service, which will first be released in the United Kingdom and compete with iTunes and other music services.

    On September 2, Nokia announced that Carphone Warehouse will be the exclusive UK prepaid channel for the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic edition.

  • Market for mobile touch screen worth US$5bn in 2009


    Apple’s iPhone has done much to thrust touch screens firmly into the public’s consciousness – a place they seem certain to increasingly inhabit.

    A report from ABI Research forecasts that revenue from the global touch screen market for smartphones and other handheld devices such as MIDs, UMPCs, and PNDs will reach USD $5 billion in 2009.

    Shipments of touch screen-based mobile devices increased 91 per cent in 2007 compared to the previous year.

    Yet according to Kevin Burden, research director at ABI, said nearly all mobile handset manufacturers were getting into touch screens to a greater or lesser extent.

    But he added that there were strong regional differences in the uptake of touch screens.

    The Asia/Pacific market, where more than 80 per cent of the world’s touch screen-based mobile phone production was consumed over the past year, has been a major driver in the rising demand.

    “The acceptance of touch screens to date has varied by geographic region, which has been a significant factor in determining the success of individual handset vendors,” he said.

    Samsung and Motorola have been the most successful, commanding 33 per cent and 30 per cent shares of the touch screen mobile phone market respectively.

    “Samsung and Motorola lead the market for touch screen phones primarily because of their scale and significant presence in the Asian markets,” said Burden.

    “Because it’s difficult to represent even a fraction of the common Asian characters on a QWERTY-style keyboard, touch screen devices on which characters can be written with a stylus are immensely popular.”

    At 24 per cent, Sony Ericsson has the third-largest market share, while all the other handset vendors – including Apple – are essentially niche players.

    The ABI report said that a number of factors are driving further adoption of touch screen-based mobile devices.

    *Consumers are looking for more intuitive user interfaces and personalization options as device functionality increases.

    *Prices for touch components and panels continue to decrease and are falling on an average of nearly 10 per cent per annum.