Mobile Choice Blog

The mobile phone with secret Bluetooth headset inside

Carrying a Bluetooth headset around can be a bit annoying. Well, it can if you lose it. Chinese firm NaXing has one answer: a Bluetooth headset that's stored inside the phone itself, popping out when you need it. The picture shows how it works.

It's a neat idea, although we're not sure we'd fancy the phone itself, which is shamelessly inspired by classic Nokia candybars. Still, when you charge the phone, the headset charges at the same time, which (may) save energy, and thus the planet.

(via SlashPhone)

Nokia updates firmware for N95

Nokia has released new firmware for its flagship N95 handset, which includes a host of improvements. For example, the way it runs applications has been tweaked, to provide more than 30MB of free RAM after booting (translation for untecchy types: it'll run faster).

The camera has been updated so it's faster to use too, with less of a gap between shots. The search function has been built into the standby screen to help you find stuff on the phone more quickly, and excitingly, it gets some N-Gage game previews and the Nokia Music Store application.

A lot of mobile users don't know what a firmware update is, let alone how to get one. But the list of features here shows why it's worth learning. Nokia's Phone Software Updater site will get you started.

(via All About Symbian)

Now Levi's has launched its own mobile phone

There is no shortage of big brands wanting to get some mobile lustre. Witness the recent fashion phones involving Prada and Armani, for example. Now jeans-maker Levi's wants to get in on the act, and has partnered with Samsung to make a Levi's-branded handset.

Several versions are available, including metallic silver, black, brown copper, "shiny silver" and "shiny sand" (those last two are aimed at women). The blurb says that "the functional essence of the Levi's brand's design philosophy is perfectly captured by the phone's compact design and sturdy riveted steel casing". Quite. It also has a detachable chain to dangle the phone from your jeans.

Feature-wise, it's got a two-megapixel camera, MP3 player and FM radio, Bluetooth and a 262k-colour screen. We wonder if it'll be sold alongside Levi's clothes in retailers, which would be interesting.

Levi's Mobile site

Philips launches Xenium 9@9k mobile with TWO MONTH battery life!

That's right: two full months of standby time for a mobile phone. Which considering most new handsets need recharging every couple of days is some achievement.

The phone in question is Philips' Xenium 9@9k, so the downside is that it's not one of the major phone brands. The company is promising 1,440 hours of standby battery life, and an equally impressive 17 hours of talktime.

Its camera is only VGA-resolution, but it does have Bluetooth, a built-in FM tuner, and a microSD memory card slot. Hopefully this won't be the last phone to offer supercharged battery life, although there must be a limit to how long current phone batteries can stretch before manufacturers need to switch to another technology, like futuristic fuel-cells.

(via Engadget Mobile)

HTC introduces new Touch smartphones with extra memory

We're big fans of the HTC Touch smartphone, which is currently being touted to mobile users as a rival to the iPhone. HTC has just announced a couple of new colours for the device in Asia - white and burgundy - which may appeal to anyone who shunned the existing green and black versions.

Better still, the new Touches have been given an upgrade, doubling their memory from 128MB of RAM to 256MB, which should make them run faster. There's no news on when these upgraded Touch handsets will come to Europe, but we're hoping it's soon. Not least because in Asia, the new models don't cost any more than the old ones.

(via the::unwired)