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Philips may not carry a big name in the mobile phone industry but it tries to come up with other form of marketing gimmicks to attract the attention of the public. We don't see many ultra-powerful smartphones coming from the inventor of the CD, but they do have some nice devices that are certainly appreciated among their buyers.

One such devices is the Philips Xenium 9@9, which has a battery that can reportedly last for two whole months in a standby mode, or up to 17 hours of continuous talk-time. And while that's quite impressive, the phone itself provides users with (almost) only the basic features. Maybe that's why it can hold power for that long.

Philips Xenium 9@9 features a 65k color TFT display, a VGA camera, 2.0 Bluetooth Connectivity and a microSD memory card slot. On the other hand, you may consider it as a reliable music-phone whose battery lasts more than an average MP3 player. No word on pricing nor availability, but at the moment it's an Asia-only device.

The quality of the cameras in mobile phones is improving very rapidly and approaching that of low to mid-end digital still camera's. This trend was especially visible during during this year.

Samsung have announced brand new technology that will see them mass-produce 8 megapixel camera phones complete with auto-focus in the first half of 2008. Currently, mid-range phones mostly feature a 3.2 megapixel camera, while the high-end phones, such as the Nokia N95 and Sony Ericsson K850i feature 5 megapixels.

Although other phones have offered high megapixellage (Samsung famously released a 10 megapixel monster back in 2006 in Korea, for example), this is the first time a major handset manufacturer has committed itself to extremely high megapixels for the mass market.

Samsung's latest announcement focuses on a brand new 8 megapixel CMOS camera module that's just 10.5 X 11.5 X 9.4mm in size (approximately the same size as current 3.2 megapixel sensors). It can produce clear 300 dpi picture output for highest resolution 27.64×20.73 cm prints.

8 mpx camera module can be mounted on mechanical shutter and has other advanced camera functions like autofocus, backlight correction, red eye removal, facial recognition, anti-shake technology, etc.

If Samsung manage to mass produce 8 megapixel camera phones, it won't be long before the other mobile phone manufacturers join them, so it really won't be long before the phoneless digital camera is consigned to the history books.

AT&T finally joins the download music-over-the-air club with the soon to be introduced Samsung SGH-A747 "SLM" mobile phone.
Its thin flip phone design may be nothing new but inside the SGH-A747 promises a new feature. It will be the first phone to support AT&T's new wireless music download service. Announced at CTIA last month, the service will allow AT&T customers to purchase and download music tracks over the air through Napster Mobile. You can purchase music from Napster directly from the SLM mobile phone - there's no need for a computer here. From within the SLM, you'll be able to choose from over 5 million songs within Napster's library of music. You don't even need to be a Napster member to purchase music. Music will cost $1.99 per song or $7.49 for a series of five songs. This is on par with Verizon Wireless prices but double the cost of Sprint's fees and definitely double those found on PC platforms.
It's a welcome addition as it truly puts AT&T Mobile on par with Verizon's V Cast Music and the Sprint Music Store.
Other features include Bluetooth, a speakerphone, quadband world phone support, a 2-megapixel camera, basic organizer applications, and support for AT&T's Video Share application. The SGH-A747, which is also called the SLM, will be available this Friday, November 23. It's $149.99 with a two-year contract.

Sony Ericsson revealed a new addition to its Walkman mobile phone portfolio. For the music fan on the move, the Sony Ericsson W380 Walkman phone combines a unique clamshell design with all the music cred users expect from Sony Ericsson's Walkman phones. The phone packs in never-seen before features, including Gesture control which allows users to mute calls with a wave of their hands. There is also an external display that comes to life only when you need it; to show the name of a music track or to let you know who is calling.

Sony Ericsson W380 Walkman phone

"With the new W380 Walkman phone, we address the needs of young, fashion-conscious music lovers," says Ben Padley, Head of Music Marketing at Sony Ericsson. "The W380 Walkman phone combines Sony Ericsson's undeniable expertise in mobile communications and mobile music to stunning effect." The Sony Ericsson W380 Walkman phone comes complete with Media Manager PC software that lets you easily transfer your music, photos and videos between your computer and phone. Simply point, click and drag your music files from your computer to your phone - the software automatically converts your music to the right format. Store hours of your favourite music (up to 271 songs) on the W380's 512 MB Memory Stick Micro (M2) or tune in to your favourite FM radio station.

Sony Ericsson W380 - Music TrackID feature

Hear a song on the radio you don't recognise but really like? Use the W380's TrackID feature to tag a clip from the phone's radio (or any external source) and find out instantly who sings it, what it's called and which album it's from. The TrackID functionality, available on the Sony Ericsson W380, the W890 and a host of other Walkman phones - is one of the phones' most popular features. Latest figures show that every second, someone, somewhere, is using TrackID to identify a song they love. Once you have identified the song, get it onto your phone in just a few clicks via PlayNow. Or browse through the latest full-length music tracks, mobile games, MP3 ringtones and wallpapers - all available from PlayNow straight to your W380 Walkman phone or via your PC.

RIM announced the Blackberry Pearl 8130 handset for CDMA networks in North America, including Sprint and Verizon. The Pearl 8130 is an updated version of the 8100 that was developed for GSM networks. Enhancements to the Blackberry Pearl 8130 include a built-in GPS receiver for satellite navigation and support for high-speed EV-DO networks.

The Blackberry Pearl 8130 will be available in either silver and amethyst colors, weighs 95.8g (3.4oz), and measures 106.7mm x 50mm x 14mm (4.2" x 1.97" x .55"). New features on the 8130 include an upgraded 2.0 megapixel camera with flash, video capture capability, and a 3.5mm headset jack. The 8130's Bluetooth 2.0 system also supports A2DP support for stereo headphones while its microSD card slot supports cards with capacities up to 4GB.

Availability is planned for November 2007.

9.4mm thin and with a casing of stainless steel: the W880i is ready to rock. And the Walkman® player 2.0 is never more than a click away.

Slim Walkman. Fat sound.

Funnel your favorite music into the ultra slim W880i Walkman® phone. Store up to 900 tracks - enough to give your musical taste buds whatever they fancy.

Full Walkman kit

The W880i kit contains all you need for a full musical experience. It includes a stereo handsfree, PC software and a 1GB Memory Stick Micro™ (M2™).
Shortcuts to more music

Click the PlayNow™ icon to browse the latest hits. Or check out potential future megastars at m-buzz.com, a site for unsigned artists.

The SGH-F110 was made in cooperation with Adidas featuring the company's trademark three-stripe logo just about the five-way navigator, and targets the sport fanatics. Speaking of the directional pad, you'll notice that it's got a funky carbon fiber-like texture on it, making for a very fashionable appearance.

The forthcoming Samsung cellphone it's a 2.5G phone with GPRS/EDGE and features a 2-inch LCD screen and a 2-megapixel camera. To add some storage capacity there is a microSD memory card slot, and for the "dead" moments there is a FM radio tuner. It also has and MP3 player function for tuning into your favourite tracks when you're out jogging or down the gym. Key features on the slider phone include subtle chrome accents.

Palm's new executive chairman Jon Rubinstein told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview yesterday that the new Palm OS won't be finished until the end of 2008 because Palm's next generation operating system will take 18 months before new products come out. These comments would seem to contradict guidance from CEO Ed Colligan given earlier this month where he stated he expected products to be available be the end of next calendar year. Rubinstein's new remarks would push that back until mid-2009 at the earliest. He is quoted as saying "It's a probably good target," [...] "These things take time."

The executive declined to comment on any specific plans, but noted that he's been at Palm for a few months working with the team. "We've already done significant analysis on the roadmap. We're really setting up our plans for the future."

Rubenstein said he expects a smooth transition. He added the he "loved" working with President and Chief Executive Ed Colligan. "We complement each other," he said.

Is this the next Sony Ericsson walkman phone

The new Sony Ericsson W910i/W890i Walkman is an upgraded version of the Sony Ericsson W850i. Looking quite similar to the W810i, the SE W890i measures 103 x 46.5 x 12mm (4.1 x 1.8 x 0.47 inches) and seems to feature a black and gold motif. It is a slim slider phone and the front design looks like using the metalic style, similar to the recent announced W880i. The 262k color display is a QVGA unit and it comes backed up 40MB of internal memory, as well as Memory Stick Micro (M2) expansion support. Naturally, there's a music player on board as well. Rounding out the features is a 3.2 megapixel camera, possibly with Carl Zeiss optics.

In addition to the usual quadband GSM radios, the W890i also supports HSDPA 850 and UMTS 2100.

The new Sony Ericsson W910i/W890i could be announced in few months time, just not to be disturbing the W880i market for now.

The Kyocera E5000 has what can only be described as an intriguing hinge design, with the stainless steel curve becoming a design feature of the device.

Kyoceras new E5000 look to be a sure fire hit, with 210 hours of standby time, and 3.5 hours of talk time, a GPS locater, Bluetooth, email, text, and Java support. This phone is a slim EV-DO design, with a first of its kind "S" hinge, and touch-sensitive external controls for the integrated music player and stereo Bluetooth capability. Also, a memory expansion slot to support up to 2GB of media storage.

The phone will be available everywhere this fall, the price is not known at the moment.