Altek to debut 14-megapixel cameraphone Altek Leo at CommunicAsia 2010 Tweet

Altek will unveil Altek Leo, its own-brand 14-megapixel cameraphone, which it claims is so far the highest resolution globally, at the CommunicAsia 2010 exhibition in Singapore from June 15-18, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

Altek Leo, claimed to be a 3.5G smartphone by Altek, features 3x optical zoom, 720p video recording and built-in Wi-Fi and HSDPA functions, the sources said.

While Samsung Electronics, Sony Ericsson, LG Electronics and Nokia have offered 12-megapixel cameraphones, the upgrade from 12 megapixels to 14 megapixels is less important than integrating camera, GPS and social networking functions in the handset, the sources quoted Taiwan-based makers of cameraphones as indicating.

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Qualcomm ships dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon chipsets Tweet

Qualcomm has begun sampling its first dual-CPU Snapdragon chipsets that integrate two CPU cores running at up to 1.2GHz, according to the company. Targeted high-end smartphones, the dual-core MSM8260 and MSM8660 solutions are third-generation chipsets from Qualcomm's expanded Snapdragon platform, which has been powering smartphones, tablets and smartbook devices.

The MSM8260 for HSPA+ and MSM8660 for EV-DO Rev. B are designed for high levels of Web application and multimedia performance, including a powerful GPU with 3D/2D acceleration engines for Open GLES 2.0 and Open VG 1.1 accelration, 1080p video encode/decode, dedicated low power audio engine, integrated low power GPS, and support for 24-bit WXGA 1280 x 800 resolution displays.

"Qualcomm's first-generation Snapdragon chipsets set a new standard for advanced smartphones and smartbook devices, and our second-generation solutions are already shipping in volume," said Steve Mollenkopf, executive VP of Qualcomm and president of Qualcomm CDMA Technologies. "We are very excited by the innovation our customers are already showing as they begin designing products based on our dual-core MSM8260 and MSM8660 chipsets."

At the ongoing Computex 2010 show, Qualcomm is showcasing a variety of products based on its Snapdragon platform including Acer's Liquid and neoTouch smartphones, Dell's Streak 5-inch Android tablet, HP's Compaq Airlife 100 smartbook, HTC's Droid Incredible and Nexus One smartphones, Huawei's S7 tablet and Lenovo's LePhone smartphone.

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Motorola Launches Get Smarter™ Responsible Driving Awareness Campaign Tweet

Beginning National Safe Driving Month Consumers can get easy access to local hands-free laws using new responsible driving mobile application.

LIBERTYVILLE, ILL. – During June, National Safe Driving Month, Motorola is hitting the open road to educate drivers on ways to Get Smarter™ behind the wheel by launching a hands-free awareness campaign that educates consumers on ways to stay responsible and legal while communicating on the road.

A mobile Android™ application, developed by Motorola, helps consumers get smart on local hands-free legislation. With the application, travelers will be able to look up the state they are traveling to for their hands-free laws. You will be able to download the Smart Hands-Free application from Android Market™ starting today.

“Education is critical to decrease distracted driving” said Wayne White, corporate vice president, Companion Products, Motorola Mobile Devices. “We are taking our Get Smarter message to the streets this summer to provide consumers with important tools for staying focused on driving and avoiding the urge to look at distracting text messages.”

As part of the effort, Motorola will be making stops this summer to showcase the H17txt with MotoSpeak™, a headset that reads text messages to consumers in real time, so they can keep their eyes on the road. With H17txt, drivers can customize an automated response letting the sender know they will respond once they have reached their destination. H17txt can even translate 150 acronyms such as lol, btw and l8r when the text message is read aloud.

Throughout June, Motorola’s “Get Smarter”™ cars will be making stops in cities with hands-free laws including New York, Chicago, Minneapolis and San Francisco. Consumers will be able to get free rides in the cars and win Motorola products, including the H17txt with MotoSpeak™. To participate, consumers are invited to follow Motorola on Twitter and Facebook, where they will learn more about hands-free laws and get the first word on the location of the “Get Smarter”™ cars.

To learn more about the Get Smarter™ campaign click here. If you are interested in learning more about H17txt with MotoSpeak™ click here and for your chance to win the headset, find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The use of wireless devices and their accessories while driving may cause distraction. Discontinue use of the device if you can’t concentrate on driving. Additionally, the use of wireless devices and their accessories may be prohibited or restricted in certain areas. Always obey the laws and regulations on the use of these products.

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MAXIMIZE YOUR SOCIAL NETWORKING EXPERIENCE WITH LG TOWN GT350 Tweet

SEOUL -- LG Electronics (LG) announced the launch of the LG Town GT350, a QWERTY keypad equipped messaging phone optimized for social networking integration.

The LG Town GT350 is the first phone in LG’s new Town Series, with its special focus on social networking services (SNS). With its effortless connectivity and instant access to SNS sites, LG’s newest phone range is the perfect platform for users to maintain their very own communities or “towns” of friends and social groups.

“The LG Town Series is the result of our effort to provide consumers with an exciting on-the-go social networking experience with better connectivity and easier access to the people who matter the most to them,” said Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “Starting with the LG Town GT350, the series will offer instant access to a multitude of social networks, providing users with the kind of smart, smooth integration they have told us they want.”

The LG Town GT350’s user interface was specifically designed to make it easier than ever to enjoy real-time interaction with friends on popular social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Orkut . A live social network feed appears on the phone’s 3-inch WQVA touchscreen and a quick tap of the refresh button brings up the latest updates instantly.

LG, long known for its outstanding mobile phone QWERTY keypads, spares no expense when it comes to the LG Town GT350. This phone’s four-row QWERTY keypad offers a spacious layout that reduces mistyping and customizable shortcut keys provide direct access to optimized interfaces for each network.

Screenshots and photos taken with the phone’s 2-megapixel camera, can be uploaded to multiple social networks or shared through MMS or email. The LG Town GT350 offers Wi-Fi support for faster internet access.

Even with a fully optimized touch interface and a wide 3-inch display accompanying the slide-out keyboard, the LG Town GT350 manages to maintain a slim 15.9 mm profile. The stylish design of the phone is enhanced by its grip-friendly rounded edges and availability in four colors -- aqua blue, purple, light silver and black.

The LG Town GT350 will be introduced in European markets including the UK, Germany and Italy this month, followed by other regions. Pricing will be announced separately in each market.

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What are your three essential pieces of kit to survive a long trip? (Poll results) Tweet

GLOBAL - The Conversations team has certainly been out and about over the past few weeks. Ian and JBC have just returned from their week long trip to Miami to launch the Latin America version of Conversations, Nokia Conversaciones; a couple of weeks ago, JBC jetted off to China and I’ve just got back from my first trip to Nokia HQ in Espoo, Finland. We’ve had to think carefully about the kit we’ve taken along for the ride and it prompted us to ask you last week, what are your three essential pieces of kit to survive a long trip? I for one would have to go for my mobile phone, laptop and music player, but did I pick wisely and do you guys agree? Read on after the jump as we reveal your must-have tech to survive a long trip.

Unsurprisingly, at the top of the list as the device that you’d have to take on a long trip is the mobile phone. Over 1,600 of you voted and 556 votes were for the mobile phone, making it an easy winner with 34 per cent of the vote. It’d be interesting to find out what uses you guys have for your mobile phone. Does it replace your sat-nav and media player?

Interestingly, using your mobile as a camera doesn’t seem to be on the cards, as taking second place as the must-have piece of kit on a long journey is the digital camera with 15 per cent of the vote. Could mobiles like the Nokia N8, with its massive megapixels, change this? What is it about the digital camera that makes you take it along?

Third place falls to the laptop. I for one wouldn’t be able to go anywhere without mine and 14 per cent of you guys agree with me. Gone are the days of reading a good book on a long plane journey my laptop is stacked with downloaded content that could keep me amused for weeks.

Taking fourth place, after the top trio is a music player, with ten per cent of the vote. With mobiles now competing with the music player market, could we soon see music players disappear completely? As we get more mobile does the number of devices we lug around decrease? JBC picked up an interesting point on his travels to China as he noticed that the Chinese consume almost everything on their mobile device, from TV programmes to movies and games.

Fifth place was nabbed by the sat-nav, with nine per cent of you choosing to include it in your trio of devices to take on a long trip. Again would this figure be higher a couple of years ago? It’s clear to see that services like Ovi Maps are having an effect and you guys seem to be turning to your phones to point you in the right direction.

Looking further down the list and to the bottom three, the most defunct device and one that only 0.5 per cent of you featured it in your top three was the harddrive. The device was even beaten by the binoculars that – miraculously – four per cent of you voted to have it in your top three.

As usual, the other answer option didn’t fail to deliver some interesting choices. A number of you seem to refer to your friends as pieces of kit, answering that good company would be in the top three. Other answers included a credit card but, again, could the mobile phone make this old hat before too long? It’s clear to see from the results that the mobile phone is by now multipurpose, but what else would you like your phone to do? Let us know in the comments down south.

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The Premium Posters of Pakistan Tweet

KARACHI, Pakistan – Many of the leading bloggers of Pakistan were awarded honours at the country’s first blog awards ceremony which took place last Friday (May 28). Organised by Google and CIO Pakistan magazine, and presented by Nokia, the awards celebrated the best of the country’s home-made media.

As with any other country, the exact numbers participating in social media are hard to come by, but Adeel Hashmi, Communications Manager, Nokia Pakistan and Afghanistan, estimates that there is a fast-growing cadre of over 400 active local blogs, serving an audience of over a million readers.

Speaking at the occasion, Hashmi said,

“The Pakistani blogging community reflects the ways that Pakistan is a progressive society; we know how to make an educated use of technology when it is available to us. I’m certain that given the right kind of exposure, Pakistani bloggers will become the key movers and shakers of our society.

Nokia is committed to bringing new technology to Pakistan at affordable prices through its mobile solutions which can empower the masses to use them for the betterment of their lives as well as society. Nokia has always been at the forefront of the digital drive in Pakistan and today we want to thank all those people who have been our companions in this journey.”

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If you’re interested in seeing what the country’s best citizen journalists have to offer, then you should check out some of the links below, courtesy of the report in the Tribune Express. They’re all written in English.

1. Best Celebrity Blog

Naveen Naqvi: naveenaqvi.com

2. Best Culture Blog

Yasir Niaz: yasirniaz.blogspot.com

3. Best Humour Blog

Tazeen: tazeen-tazeen.blogspot.com

4. Best Photo Blog

Awais Yaqub: www.photopakistan.blogspot.com

5. Best Current Affairs Blog

Adil Najam: pakistaniat.com

6. Best Diarist

Momal Mushtaq: mm89.wordpress.com

7. Best Travel Blog

Nabeel: eatntravel.pk

8. Best Political Coverage Blog

Ahsan butt: fiverupees.blogspot.com

9. Best Personal Blog

Salman Latif: salmanlatif.wordpress.com

10. Best Education Blog

Khurram Hassan Shafique: nextstepforward.net

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Ovi Store wants to teach you a lesson Tweet

GLOBAL – One tricky part of buying mobile applications is that very often – unless you’ve read an in-depth review or have seen the app working on a friend’s device – you don’t know quite what you’re getting. Yes, the description says what it can do, but can it do those things well? You normally don’t know until you’ve got it. Happily, the folk at the Ovi Daily App blog feel your pain and have come up with a cunning plan to put paid to the post-purchase blues.

Introducing Ovi Daily App Tutorials – they’re available from the ‘Tutorials’ tab at the top of the blog, sensibly enough. Each presents a web-based walkthrough of either what an application does or how to achieve specific tasks with them. The step-by-step instructions are complemented by graphical display of what it will look like on a phone – a Nokia N97 mini, at present, but there are plans to include other devices. But really, if your phone is modern enough to be running Ovi Store software, then there shouldn’t be too much difference between this and the way the applications will work on your own device.

At present, there are five tutorials online, with a new one promised every Tuesday. The Ovi Daily App folk would also like to hear your requests for apps in need of a tutorial. Leave them in the comments, either here, or on the announcement post.

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