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MobileBurn has a new article that compares & contrasts the photographic capabilities of two relatively new 2 megapixel cameraphones : the Sony Ericsson K750 and the Nokia N90.

In a close call, the reviewer gives the edge to the Sony Ericsson K750. The cameras in these two phones were evaluated on the basis of sharpness, white balance, exposure, contrast, focus and low light performance.

The K750 won on the basis of its sharper lens, which was surprising in view of the N90’s much-vaunted Carl Zeiss optics.

2MP Cameraphone Shootout: Sony Ericsson’s K750 vs. Nokia’s N90 - MobileBurn, October 26, 2005

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Here’s another concept phone, this one based on suggestions from CNet readers, and as mocked-up by Frog Design. The main feature of the Ubik seems to be its dual configuration. Flip it open one way, and its a mobile phone, e-mail and IM device. In the other, its a gaming platform, photo & video & music player.

Oh, and its got a biometric optical scanner, high-rez OLED displays, and since it’s a concept, it has all the connectivity that one can imagine. Estimated to be do-able in 5-10 years.

Ubik: mobile phone of the future - CNet, September 19 2005

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Fujitsu Siemens is now offering the Pocket LOOX N520 which is a PDA combined with an integrated GPS package operating on Windows Mobile 5.0 Premium Edition. The unit has a SD-I/O/MMC slot , Wi-Fi and a QVGA screen. The GPS solution is based on a SirfStar III 20-channel GPS receiver and NAVIGON MobileNavigator 5. The N520 is among the first Pocket PCs with a built-in GPS, ie there no bulky external antenna. Pocket LOOX N Series - Fujitsu announcement

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AVC of Japan has launched their Signeo line of music players, including the SN-A800 series. The main specs for the A800 include : up to 1GB of memory, support for MP3/WMA/OGG/WAV audio formats and an FM tuner with a 4-line white OLED display. Sized at 68×50x6.5mm and weighing 30g, its smaller all around and lighter than the iPod nano, but then it doesn’t look as cool. Signeo Press Release - 10/25/2005

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Back in June of 2004, The Economist published an article entitled “The Meaning of iPod”, which attempted to explain the striking success of the iPod from a social perspective. The piece included an analysis by one Michael Bull, a lecturer at the University of Sussex in England, alleged to be the world’s leading expert on iPod culture, and who is also known as ‘Professor iPod”. In his assessment, Dr Bull attributed the popularity of the iPod largely to its ability to provide better control over the one’s environment, thus allowing users to “… escape into their own little private bubbles”. The article goes on to suggest that adding phone features to the iPod would be a bad idea, and that video iPods (this was back in June of ‘04) would not fit the typical usage patterns of the (audio) iPod. It would appear that the good professor was forecasting the demise of the (already unpopular) ROKR and similar such products, simply because they allow intrusions into that ‘privacy bubble’. One would surmise from the above that even the new video iPod might be in for some less-than-smooth-sailing. That’s a shame really, as the latest iPhone concept from Isamu Sanada, this time a slider, looks like it might have been a winner … The meaning of iPod - The Economist, Jun 10th 2004

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Msmobiles.com has some exclusive pics of the circa May 2006 HTC Hermes Pocket PC Phone. The Hermes is a GSM Quadband phone with support for UMTS, EDGE and GPRS. It offers a sliding QWERTY keyboard and comes with a QVGA screen. EXCLUSIVE: photos of HTC Star Trek smartphone and HTC Hermes Pocket PC phone – msmobiles, October 24, 2005

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Playlist has just published their take on the new video iPod …er, iPod with video as they insist on calling it. Basically they like it a lot, giving it four-and-a-half stars out of five. The reviewers loved the new screen and thought that the improved voice memo feature has great potential. Their gripes consisted mostly of external matters eg obsolete accessories and lack of video conversion software. They conclude by saying : “It’s hard not to like this iPod”. Review: 30GB iPod with video - PlayList review, October 21, 2005

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Today, GadgetManiac introduces our new Kid’s section. Our goal: to keep gadget parents in touch with new developments in the burgeoning area of gadgets for children. Our lead-off piece deals with the recent Toy of the Year (T.O.Y.) Awards. FamilyFun Magazine organizes this annual toy test during which actual kids play with and vote for their favorite toys. The result is a top ten list of the best toys of the year. According to those who should know — the kids themselves –, the best toy of 2005 is Knights� Empire Castle by Playmobil. Can’t argue with that one. In the list of top 10 toys, however, there were some genuine gadgets. Appearing at number 4 is ChatNow by Tiger Electronics. The ChatNow is a 2-way 2-mile-range walkie-talkie disguised as a mobile phone. It has some other interesting features. The device supports ringtones, screen savers and message alerts, as well as text messaging. The built-in digital camera can store up to 30 images. Some of those features would have come in handy the last time we used a walkie-talkie. On the downside, the screen is grayscale, and the price seems a little high. FamilyFun Magazine unveils the 2005 Toy of the Year - WebWire, 10/4/2005

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IDC reports that mobile phone sales increased by 19% year-over-year. Nokia is doing very well, with its unit sales up 30% to a market-leading share of 32%. Motorola is in 2nd place with sales up by an astounding 66% to a 18.6% share. Moto’s performance seems to be driven by the RAZR. CEO Ed Zander said that Motorola sold 6.5 million RAZRs during Q3, thus making it “… the world’s best-selling cell phone” … at least according to Zander. The latest RAZR V3 in “Hot Pink” – actually magenta – is shown above & is expected to be yet another best seller. Runners-up include Samsung, LG and Sony Ericsson. Worldwide Mobile Phone Market Breaks 200 Million Unit Mark in 3Q05

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Google estimates that there are 5 million terabytes of information in the world, and that it might take another 300 years to complete the task of indexing everything.

Eric Schmidt, Google CEO in a talk at the Association of National Advertisers on October 8 2005, estimated that only 2-3% of the world’s info is currently indexed and searchable.

We at GadgetManiac are beginning to think that Google might be serious about their stated goal, which is : “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful“.

Google ETA? 300 years to index the world’s info - CNet, October 8, 2005

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