Nokia recently announced that they want to patent a “piezoelectric kinetic energy harvester”, a way to capture energy from the phone’s movements. This may remind you of the kinetic wristwatches, based on the same principles and generating clean energy.

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Tags: kinetic energy, Nokia kinetic energy, Nokia patent, Nokia phone power source, piezoelectric kinetic energy

Patents are both the coolest thing in the world, and the most frustrating. They’re cool when you can see the crazy ideas coming out of some of the world’s brightest minds; and they’re frustrating when they’re being used to make the competition struggle. But it’s the name of the game, and Nokia has gone ahead and taken with the former: a great idea.

They’ve gone ahead and filed for a patent that would, essentially, mean your phone would never have to be actually plugged into a wall to be charged. Yeah, things like this already exist in the form of Palm’s Touchstone charging base for their recent webOS devices, or even the immensely popular PowerMat, but Nokia wants to take the same technology and just move it one step forward. Instead of putting the devices outside the phone, they want to include piezoelectric crystals inside the phone.

Nokia is essentially planning to place the most important parts of the phone, like the battery, on a set of two rails. The piezoelectric cells would activate when the rails were compressed; so when you’re walking around, the phone would be charging itself. Just like magic, basically. Much in the same way that the Touchstone and PowerMat use a trickle-charge, so would the self-charging cells inside the phone. However, if you’re phone is always topped-off, this wouldn’t be a big deal. While we love the new wave of wireless charging, we can’t help but want this. Right now. No more cables sticking out of the walls at all? Yes please.

[via Symbian Freak]

Last night was easily the best night of the year for the celebrity-crazed paparazzi. It also turned out to be a pretty darn good night for the smartphone paparazzi as well for two upcoming T-Mobile handsets were given the star treatment on their very own red carpet. First up was the HTC HD2, the infinitely lovable Windows Phone with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and gargantuan 4.3″ WVGA display, which looked as stylish as ever in Sense UI by HTC. Never one to miss an opportunity to show support for those in need, the HD2 took a moment to show off its Blockbuster app which will allow proud owners to download movies on demand. Immediately following the HD2 was the Nokia Nuron. Although the general consensus was that it was dressed more for the Kids Choice Awards than the Academy Awards, the Nuron made a bit of a stir when it shrieked at the top of its lungs how it had seen the light, converted to Buddhism and was now on a mission to convince everyone that less is more and that all other smartphones cannot possibly be as happy as it is living with S60, an OS that is on its way out. When will us ordinary folk get a chance to meet these stars? The Nuron is still a mystery, but we’re still very confident on a March 24th debut for the HD2.

Read [HD2] Read [Nuron]

Here’s another story a la “Google Voice versus AT&T and Apple”, this time with Skype and Nokia playing the protagonists… or is it? We’re talking about the fact that the Skype app was pulled from Ovi Store, just days after the free application was made available for the Symbian Nokia phones.

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Tags: Ovi store, Skype for Symbian, Skype pulled out of Ovi Store, Skype Verizon agreement

Welcome to the SlashPhone Week in Review. This is where we take a look back at the week we’ve just left behind, and rehash the most important articles. It’s one of the ways we like to make sure that you’re not missing anything, just in case you couldn’t stop by on your busy Monday. After all, you wouldn’t want to miss the launch of a brand new phone, now would you? Of course not. So get comfy, grab a drink and some popcorn, as we dive in.

On the first, which was Monday (just in case you lost track of time), Samsung went on the record as officially launching the Caliber (SCH-r860) for MetroPCS. While this isn’t the highest of mid-range devices, it does offer some pretty good stats: a 3.2-inch (resistive) touchscreen; 3MP camera, Bluetooth, and access to a MicroSD card. Considering it’s a touch-based Samsung, you shouldn’t be surprised that TouchWiz is rocking the User Interface side of things. It also has a full HTML browser, so go ahead and surf away. The MicroSD can be expanded to 16GB, so you can make use of the on-board MP3 player.

Next up, we’ve got a new line of phones from industry heavy Nokia. They introduced the first in their C-Series of devices: the C5. It’s a “smartphone” running S60 3rd Edition, and like most phones coming out these days, it’s a media-centric device with a heavy tilt towards social interation. You can access Facebook status messages through the phonebook, and access to your favorite contacts can be had right from the homescreen. It’s got access to Nokia’s OVI Maps, which means navigation is free for life (or as long as you own the phone), and comes in at EURO 135, so nothing that’ll break the bank. The device is set to launch some time in the second quarter of 2010, so if this something you’re interested in, keep your eyes peeled.

Despite the fact Research In Motion would appear again later in the week, we wanted to make you aware of this story more than anything. Meet what is being called the BlackBerry Storm 3. It’s a slider. Yes, that’s right. Leaked images of a sliding formfactor BlackBerry started making the rounds on Wednesday, showcasing what Research In Motion might be planning for some time later in the week. Nothing was confirmed of course, but as it stands, RIM could use another industry-changer (like the original Storm), and we’re eagerly anticipating anymore images we can get our greedy hands on.

Just past the middle of the week now and we’ve got Samsung on the chopping block again. This time around we’ve got two phones that are seeing shelves around the world, with no plans (as of now) for any State-side sales. We’ve got the Samsung Clutch, which is ridiculously shiny. However, Samsung may want you to think you’re getting a high-end device based on looks, going a bit deeper into the User Interface shows us that TouchWiz is still there in its full glory, with something Samsung is calling a “lady UI.” We’re still not sure what that means exactly, but apparently having applications like a calorie counter and party planner equate to a lady UI. It costs about $520. The Samsung Diva is something less than the Clutch, both in aesthetics and UI. Missing all the flashy “lady” parts (…), the Diva is indeed still aimed at a more female userbase. We’ve got to give it to Samsung: they know how to create phones.

Microsoft may have wowed the world with their upcoming Windows Phone 7 Series Operating System, but apparently they’ve also got something else being worked on in secret. Well, it hasn’t been much of a secret for awhile, but now we’ve got pictures! Microsoft’s Project Pink is apparently meant for the more teenage-age range of customers, with media, messaging, and social networking the focal point. They’re bringing two devices –the Turtle and Pure– to Verizon Wireless in April, if we are to believe the rumors. While the pictures may not speak to everyone, at least we can say the Turtle is one of the most interesting devices we’ve seen in awhile. And that’s saying a lot.

Speaking of Windows Phone 7, LG was nice enough to show off their first device running the mobile Operating System of the future. While everyone has been focusing on the top of the parameters for the hardware, LG wanted to show off what’s been called the second chassis. A slider, with a full, physical QWERTY keyboard, and a touchscreen. There wasn’t much else to go on at the time, but the codename did come out a bit later. LG is going to (according to further rumors) call the new phone the Panther. (Yes, they could have chosen a better name.) But! Even better than an LG slider-phone, is what Eric Rudder showed off at TechEd in the Middle East. He walks us through playing an Indie game on his computer, and then moves the same game over to his Windows Phone 7 Series-based device, and finally moves it over to the Xbox 360 to finish the experience. Rudder (and subsequently Microsoft) have shown what the convergence of the three screens will finally look like, and it looks awesome.

And finally, we’ve got Motorola. They’ve gone ahead and launched their latest Android-based device, but that’s not really the big news. Instead of hitting T-Mobile, Sprint, or even Verizon, this one’s heading to AT&T. That’s right, the second largest carrier in the States has finally received their first Android device, and, well, it’s interesting. It introduces a very intriguing form factor, and one that you’ll have to see to believe. We’ve got a review of the device over at SlashGear, which you should definitely check out, even if you’re not on AT&T or want an Android device. Just go look at it.

That ends this week. Be sure to stop by next week for another wrap-up.

Skype users that own a Symbian-powered Nokia handset will have to go the extra mile to install Skype on their handset. As noticed following Wednesday’s debut of Skype in the Ovi store, Skype is reportedly not available for Nokia owners in the US. In response to an email from Venture Beat, Sravanthi Agrawal, a member of Skpye’s corporate communications team, said the following:

“Skype has made a decision in the United States to not promote the Skype for Symbian app through the Ovi Store. We did this so that we could drive more attention to the recently announced Skype and Verizon Wireless agreement. This was a marketing decision — plain and simple.

“Skype users in the U.S can still download Symbian by going directly to Skype.com.”

The supposed reason behind this removal is not surprising considering the controversy over the removal of the Windows Mobile version of Skype from Skype’s website, the removal of Skype from the Android Market, and the rumored delay of the 3G-enabled version of Skype for the iPhone. Unless this policy changes or is revealed to be incorrect, anyone unduly affected will have to search a little harder to find a version of Skype to install on their handset or sign up with Verizon Wireless.

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More news coming our way from the Olympics. It seems this year is the year for customized, limited edition phones. We wish more times were like this, to be honest. We can never get enough limited edition things. Because, well, they’re limited. Anyway, this time we’ve got Nokia manufacturing only 200 of these rare gems. (It’s way more than that other limited edition device we heard about.) In addition to those 200, Nokia gave three of them to the Oakley-sponsored athletes at this year’s Winter Olympics.

This isn’t the first time the N97 mini has been treated to the limited edition way of life, though. In fact, if we were going off limited edition versions, the N97 mini would be a pretty big hit. Of course, it still has that whole “N97″ moniker, which we’re sure is bringing some people down all over the world. It doesn’t hurt that it’s a better phone than its big brother, but still, sometimes those shadows extend pretty far.

Unfortunately, from what we can tell, there’s not much changed on this version of the mini. Yes, there is a laser-etched symbol on the back of the phone, and it does have a great gun metal finish to it, but we’re thinking that’s not enough. After all, the RAOUL version was pretty intense. There’s a few goodies in the box, though. Like some Team Oakley stuff. Other than that, not much. But, if you’re a fan of Oakley (or Nokia), and want a phone that stands out above the rest, then this is a great way to make that happen. Start scouring those online auction sites, ladies and gentlemen, these are bound to go quick.

[via WRG]

After announcing the partnership between Nokia, Navteq and Alpine we can now see the fruit of their cooperation, showcased at Geneva Motor Show 2010. We’re talking about the Terminal Mode initiative implemented on a car’s dashboard and pictured below.

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Tags: Alpine, Geneva Motor Show 2010, NAVTEQ, Nokia Terminal Mode, Valmet Automotive

Alpine Electronics, a company famous for its automotive systems and audio gear has just announced a partnership with Nokia and NAVTEQ, meant to implement a new technology called Terminal Mode on car infotainment systems. This technology will provide Nokia Ovi services, powered by NAVTEQ maps with the aid of smartphones integrated into the car’s dashboard.

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Tags: Alpine Electronics, car infotainment system, NAVTEQ, Nokia car navigation system, Terminal Mode

Mobile data is on fire. Despite a few false starts, we are now in the midst of a transformative “Open Mobile 3rd Wave” (remember WAP, and J2ME?). We are just in the early swell of the wave; the iPhone itself is not even three years old, and thanks to continued improvements we’re now seeing in smart phones, mobile OS platforms and 3G/4G networks, the raw ingredients are just getting better every month. Per the views of many mobile denizens and thought-leaders such as well-known internet analyst Mary Meeker of Morgan Stanley, I certainly believe there will emerge new industry-transforming Facebooks, Googles, and Yahoos in this mobile wave.

However, a key topic discussed by us mobile geeks and startups is the challenge of mobile platform fragmentation. There is an alphabet soup of protocols, standards, and regional differences by-country which can be daunting for any entrepreneur.

Editor’s note: Richard Wong is a venture capitalist with Accel Partners, an investor in AdMob, GetJar, and SunRun, and a former mobile industry executive..

The team behind Nokia and Intel’s latest open-source endeavour, MeeGo, have revealed the first part of their release timeline, and it’s certainly ambitious.  According to Valtteri Halla – half of the MeeGo Technical Steering Group (TSG) – the team plans to open the MeeGo repository by the end of March 2010, with a basic source and binary repository to build the platform on Intel Atom devices and the Nokia N900.

We already know that MeeGo will include Qt, OBS and RPM.  According to Halla, much of the other technologies discussed in relation to the new platform are “still under discussion”:

“Further selections are mostly still under discussion and beyond a few obvious ones (X, connman, ofono, gstreamer, dbus,…) can be considered as working assumptions for MeeGo 1 release” Valtteri Hall, TSG, MeeGo

MeeGo brings together Nokia’s work on Maemo, the current OS for the N900, and Intel’s work on Moblin, the open-source OS for netbooks and other low-power devices.

Skype has recently announced a new version of mobile software for Nokia, meaning that it would be supported on more than 200 million smartphones worldwide. Skype for Symbian is available for free, as a download from Nokia’s Ovi Store, to consumers worldwide.

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Tags: Nokia Ovi Store, Skype for mobile, Skype for Symbian, Skype on Nokia

Remember MeeGo? Announced back at Mobile World Congress 2010, the platform made by Nokia and Intel is tempting enough to have the mobile operator Orange announce a partnership based on it. We remind you that MeeGo merges Nokia and Intel’s Linux initiatives, Maemo and Moblin, respectively.

Thanks to the new partnership, Orange will deliver multimedia services on a number of Intel Atom-based devices, using the MeeGo platform. This includes smartphones, netbooks and tablets, all with support for Orange TV, Orange Maps and Orange Signature Services.

It will be interesting to see Nokia Maps competing with Orange Maps, in spite of the two companies working together.

[via Permalink | Comments | Author )
Tags: Intel Atom devices, Intel Nokia partnership, MeeGo platform, Orange MeeGo device, Orange support

Skype now has a free mobile application for Symbian in the Ovi Store to enable millions of users to make free Skype-to-Skype calls from their Nokia handsets. This app will work with many Symbian^1 devices — like the S60 3rd Edition and S60 5th Edition Nokia phones — and will also give them reduced SMS rates when abroad.

The app does everything a Skype app should do, send and receive IMs to or from a person or groups, share pictures, videos and other files; as well as receive calls to their existing online number and see when Skype contacts are online and available. The Skype application arrives to the Ovi Store as a free download and will work over Wi-Fi, GPRS, EDGE, and 3G data connections.

We reckon a lot of souls will be very pleased but carriers on the other hand might get nervous and/or upset about this. Anyway, if you are using a Symbian handset and are a Skype user then let us know how good the app works for you.

Press Release

Skype now available for Nokia smartphones in Ovi Store
March 03, 2010

More than 200 million smartphone users worldwide now have Skype at their fingertips

Luxembourg and Espoo, Finland – Skype and Nokia today jointly announced the release of Skype for Symbian, a Skype client for Nokia smartphones based on the Symbian platform, the world’s most popular smartphone platform. Skype for Symbian will allow Nokia smartphone users worldwide to use Skype on the move, over either a WiFi or mobile data connection (GPRS, EDGE, 3G). It is now downloadable for free from the Ovi Store, Nokia’s one-stop shop for mobile content.

Skype for Symbian enables Nokia smartphone users to:
– Make free Skype-to-Skype calls to other Skype users anywhere in the world*
– Save money on calls and texts (SMS) to phones abroad
– Send and receive instant messages to and from individuals or groups
– Share pictures, videos and other files
– Receive calls to their existing online number
– See when Skype contacts are online and available to call or IM
– Easily import names and numbers from the phone’s address book

Skype for Symbian will run on any Nokia smartphone using Symbian ^1, the latest version of the Symbian platform. Skype will soon introduce this client to Symbian mobile devices from other manufacturers, including Sony Ericsson.

“Symbian enables us to bring smartphones to more and more people and ensures scale for our solutions and compelling services, such as Skype. We’re seeing around 1.5 million downloads a day on Ovi Store now and believe that the Skype client for Nokia smartphones will have wide appeal to Symbian users,” said Jo Harlow, Senior Vice President for Smartphones, Nokia.

“Skype, the king of Internet communications, running on Symbian, the world’s dominant smartphone platform, makes for an explosive combination,” said Larry Berkin, Head of Global Alliances and GM USA, Symbian Foundation. “With Symbian’s global reach, Skype is that much closer to becoming the ubiquitous real-time communications platform for hundreds of millions of Symbian-based mobile users.”

Russ Shaw, General Manager, Mobile at Skype said, “With Skype for Nokia smartphones, more than 200 million smartphone users worldwide** will be able to take the Skype features they love with them on the move. Alongside Skype’s relationships with operators and handset manufacturers worldwide, making Skype available direct to consumers will help millions of users keep in contact with the people that are important to them without worrying about the cost, distance or whether they are away from a computer.”

The initial Skype for Symbian application is compatible with the following Nokia touchscreen models: Nokia N97, Nokia N97 mini, Nokia X6, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and Nokia 5530 and the following non-touch devices: Nokia E72, Nokia E71, Nokia E90, Nokia E63, Nokia E66, Nokia E51, Nokia N96, Nokia N95, Nokia N95 8Gb, Nokia N85, Nokia N82, Nokia N81, Nokia N81 8 Gb, Nokia N79, Nokia N78, Nokia 6220 classic, Nokia 6210 Navigator, Nokia 5320.

For more information on Skype for Symbian, including the latest supported handset list, at http://www.skype.com/go/symbian.

After rearing its ugly head on a leaked T-Mobile pricing sheet a few days ago, the Nokia 5320 Nuron has gotten the official nod from both Nokia and T-Mobile. For those that are dying to find out what $69.99 will buy you, here are all the details on this classic handset:

• Classic candybar form factor
• 3.2 inch touchscreen display at 16:9 640×360 resolution
• GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
• WCDMA 1700/2100
• 2 megapixel camera with 3X digital zoom and video recording
• Bluetooth 2.0
• aGPS and Ovi maps with turn by turn directions and maps for US, Canada, and Mexico
• Ovi Store pre-installed
• MicroSD expansion (up to 16GB)
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• White on White color with changeable colored battery covers

The Nokia Nuron will hit the shelves of T-Mobile in the upcoming weeks with an exact date yet to be determined. Though pricing details were not confirmed, a previous leak suggests the Nokia Nuron will be ultra-affordable, coming in at a mere $69.99 after rebate with a two year agreement or $179 for those that prefer to go contract-free. Any potential buyers lured by the promise of free Ovi Maps turn-by turn navigation at a sub $200 price tag?

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