The good news is that a path breaking technology which would enable mobile phone subscribers to get continuous network coverage has just been unveiled and rolled out by Vodafone to its customers.  This technology called ‘Femtocell’ functions by allowing the subscribers to connect to their respective mobile network through the internet, thereby avoiding the black spots that have become such a problem and ensuring 100% network coverage within their homes.

Though it is not very economical at 160 pounds and you also require a good broadband internet connection to make it work, this technology is a boon for people living in houses that are susceptible to loss of mobile network signals due to the location and topography of such houses.  People living in such houses only manage to get signals in some specific portions of their houses making it extremely inconvenient for them to carry on a conversation on their mobile.  They then have to resort to using their landline phones to call back the mobile to continue the conversation leading to high costs.

However, this new technology is set to change all that.  Users who have tested this technology have experienced 100% reception on their mobile and have not felt the need to call back or look at missed calls.

The feeling amongst some people is that mobile companies must constantly plough back their profits into the business to keep improving network coverage instead of making their subscribers turn to new technologies like Femtocell.  On the other hand, Vodafone seems to be throwing its hand up in frustration and is expressing their inability to provide continuous reception throughout the UK.

Opinion is divided.  Some feel that a service like Femtocell is worth it if you can spare the money, while some others feel that the mobile company must package this service at a competitive rate and offer it to its subscribers for a lasting solution that is mutually beneficial.

This morning I received the above image via post, nothing in the packaging suggesting who sent it but I received and email later in the day explaining what the package was all about. Because I am a thoroughly lazy blogger, I will just copy and past the email I received from terminate the rate below so that you can read what its all about for yourself.

But before you do that I will like to point you attention to something that could save you money on your broadband. You can “compare broadband” at various website and do “broadband speed test” at this one.  If you want to “compare prices”, you can do it at this site.

I am sure we all welcome lower mobile phone charges, that is what terminate the rates are campaigning for, support them as best as you can.

This morning the launch of the Terminate the Rate campaign
[www.terminatetherate.or] (live at 12noon) is taking place at BT
tower. BT, 3,   NUS, FSB, GMB and Carers UK will
announce their stand against  high  Mobile Termination Rates (MTRs).

MTRs are additional charges made every time you call a mobile
cross-network or from a landline. Currently they are set at around 4.7
pence per minute, and when combined cost the UK mobile consumer around
£2.5 billion per year. The argument is that they are unfair with the
cost of terminating a call being around a penny or even less.
Terminate the Rate wants them to be charged at a rate that reflects
that. This will mean, among other things, a reduction of costs for
everyone calling a mobile and the possibility of ‘all you can eat’
tariffs.

Keep an eye on the Terminate the Rate blog
[www.terminatetherateblog.org] for more information throughout the day
and follow the campaign on Twitter. We’ve also got Sam Ismail
, Rafe Blandford
Abul Hussain  Dan Lane and James Whatley
on the ground so keep your eye
on their sites.

You should have received a little surprise in the post this morning
that you might recognise from your school days! These will give you a
little more information about what MTRs are, how they affect everyone
and how you can help reduce them. And if you want to pass them onto
you friends to remind them of the good old days, and teach them a
thing or two, please download it from the blog at

A nine-year-old Malaysian boy in Singapore has written a painting application for the Apple iPhone. Lim Ding Wen created the finger painting program, known as Doodle Kids, for his two younger sisters aged three and five. The program allows iPhone owners to draw images on the handset’s touch screen using just their fingers. The program has been downloaded more than 4,000 times from Apple’s iTunes store in less than two weeks. While most children of his age are painting or drawing with crayons, Lim Ding Wen has been programming. Lim, who is now fluent in six programming languages, first started using a computer when he was two-years-old, discovered programming aged seven, and has since completed more than 20 programming projects.

His latest application, Doodle Kids, allows users to draw pictures using their fingers and then clear the screen by shaking the iPhone. “I wrote the program for my younger sisters, who like to draw,” said Lim. “But I am happy that people like it.” Lim wrote the original application on his computer but has now adapted it for use on an iPhone. He told The Electric New Paper in Singapore that he wrote the application in just a few days in Pascal.

Lim’s father - Lim Thye Chean  is a chief technology officer at a local hi-tech firm, who also writes iPhone applications, was modest about his son’s achievements. “Ding Wen is an above average boy with an interest in computers, especially Apple IIGS and Macs, likes to do programming, and that’s it. “Doodle Kids is an extremely simple program that can be done by anybody. Everybody can program - if Ding Wen can, so can you,” he wrote.

Motorola has launched a new mobile-imaging handset that combines imaging, software and online storage technology from Kodak with a Wi-Fi-enabled smartphone. Designed to let users click and instantly share photos in several ways.

Motozine ZN5 is a candybar shape and it is the first true photo-centric phone with 5 megapixel camera.  ZN5 is capable to fast image capturing which means fastest click-to-click ratio. ZN5 key features include  GSM 850/900/1800/1900, a sharp 2.4″ display, a touch-sensitive keypad, and 3.5 mm audio jack (which doubles as A/V out).

ZN5 has a robust 350MB of built-in memory with optional 4GB microSD expansion. Users can upload their photos to Kodak Gallery and other services with its Wi-Fi capability. However the phone lacks any other popular services which are widely available like add-on support for Flickr, Facebook and Photobucket.

Nokia N85 is a two-way slider, revealing either a numeric keypad or music shortcuts. It is a Symbian S60 smartphone with 2.6” OLED display, 5-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens and N-Gage gaming platform. For music it has 3.5mm jack, stereo speakers, stereo Bluetooth, FM transmitter and radio.

Each Nokia N85 comes with an 8 GB microSD card, up to 30 hours of music playback time and its high-fidelity sound means favorite tracks can be enjoyed virtually anywhere. Build a personal music collection from the millions of tracks and playlists available from the Nokia Music Store or other online music vendors, or synchronize PC and mobile music libraries via USB cable.

The Nokia N85 is pre-loaded with at least 10 made-for-mobile N-Gage gaming titles that jump off of the screen thanks to the dazzling OLED display and a voucher to activate one full game license. Dedicated gaming keys light up when the device is in landscape gaming mode to further enhance the action-packed experience.

N - Gage Gaming.

The Nokia N85 is an impressive gaming device as it features Nokia’s excellent N-Gage gaming service. Some 15 pre-installed demos are included along with a code to activate one of the games for free. Not only is the gorgeous screen ideal for playing games, but the gaming keys which come alive when you access N-Gage make playing far more enjoyable.

Although initially the Nokia N85 is only available as a SIM free mobile phone and on the Orange UK network its expected to be picked up by further network operators over the coming days further expanding the number of tariffs and packages available and allowing consumers to get the closest deal to their current usage requirements.

Now, the N85 improves in every area where the N95 was less successful and in doing so, it has become one of the most desirable mobiles available today, and there is no hesitation recommending it.

Motorola has launched its touchscreen GPS-enabled phone offering navigation maps and landmarks of 30 cities priced at Rs 15,847 in this festive season.

The phone has satellite based GPS which offers consumers lifetime free GPS navigation maps and landmarks of 30 cities, Motorola MobileDevices India and South West AsiaLloyd Mathias said:

It also allows voice-guided navigation across major national and state highways. “MOTOMING A 1600, is the first GPS-enabled mobile phone. The navigation service is free with no activation charges, independent of mobile networks and can be used even without inserting the SIM card,” Mathias said.

The touchscreen phone offers 1 GB MicroSD card and an expandable memory capacity of up to 4 GB and a 3.2 megapixel camera. Powered by MapmyIndia, India mapscome preloaded on the memory card of the phone.

Source:economictimes

Mozilla wll release an alpha-build of their new Firefox Mobile browser by the end of next week, only for the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet.

The Mozilla CEO John Lilly said that the team of Mozilla is working on the new Firefox mobile which allow you to surf the internet from your mobile phone .
“We want to make sure that the web on mobile is more like the web than what the mobile industry offers today, which is closed, separate networks and not a very good information-getting experience for the user” and said too “First thing we need to let the Firefox works on the mobile devices and we will see the new alpha after few weeks”

According to Jay Sullivan, Mozilla vice president of mobile, the software, codenamed Fennec, is intended for preliminary code checking with a touchscreen-centric device, and precedes a Windows Mobile version that will drop “in a few months”.  As well as the multifunction search & address ‘awesome bar’, Firefox for Mobile will support swipe-gestures for calling up control and contextual menus, and use the same Gecko rendering engine as the desktop version of Firefox.

LG Electronics, a worldwide technology and design leader in mobile communications, announces the launch of LG KP500 with an affordable introduction price never offered before. This attractively-priced full touch screen handset is complete with the latest touch technology and features found in the existing high-end full touch screen handsets currently available on the market.

As a slim and stylish handset, the LG KP500 is a GSM phone which can operate in four frequency bands, giving it a far-reaching reception range, and upon its global release, the LG KP500 can be used in 39 languages. But no matter what language one speaks, the vivid and intuitive user interface of the LG KP500 is simple for anyone to understand with vivid icons on the wide 3 inch screen.

Main Features Of LG KP500:

* 3-inch wide full touch screen display.
* Active flash UI (user interface) allowing users to attach friend’s photo for the speed dial feature.
* Easy-to-use smart handwriting recognition function allowing users to send text messages without using  the touch keyboard.
* Embedded stylus pen for advanced handwriting recognition program.
* Motion sensor games that requires eye-hand coordination to balance, flip, shift, and twist the handset to play the games, using advanced motion sensor technology.
* The QWERTY onscreen keyboard slides into view when the LG KP500 is held horizontally, and the auto rotating display always shifts images or documents for proper viewing no matter which way the cellphone is turned.

The LG KP500 will be available at the end of October 2008 in Europe and then on to the rest of the world. The price of the LG KP500 will be announced during the launch.

Verizon Wireless and Motorola have recently announced two new handsets-the Motorola VU30 and MOTO VU204.

Motorola Rapture VU30

The Motorola Rapture VU30 comes in an attractive clamshell design including a touch-sensitive exterior display. It allows users to take pictures and reach their music in no time even without opening phone. The VU30 phone supports 2.0 megapixel camera with advanced imaging, video recording, as well as audible turn-by-turn directions with VZ Navigator abilities. It also comes with expandable memory of up to 8GB using microSD™ card slot.

It features includes:

• 1X/EV–DO connectivity (800 / 1900 MHz)
• 2.2 inch TFT QVGA internal display
• 1.6 inch touch-sensitive TFT external display with 120 x 160 pixels
• V CAST Music with Rhapsody and V CAST Videos
• VZ Navigator
• 2 MP camera with video recording
• Music player
• 2.5mm headset jack
• Email & Internet browser
• microSD card support, 8GB max.
• 3.4 ounces
• 3.9 x 1.9 x 0.67 inches
• 270 minutes of talk-time or up to 470 hours of stand-by time

Moto vu204

It provides users with an array of messaging features including Mobile IM, Email and text & multimedia messages. The wonderful VU204 handset supports a VGA camera with 4 x digital zoom and a dedicated camera key to operate it with ease. Additionally, the MOTO VU204 also includes Stereo Bluetooth wireless technology, Verizon Wireless’ Media Center and VZ Navigator service.

MOTO VU204, is not yet available for purchase, but Verizon did mention some of its features:

• VZ Navigator
• Verizon’s Media Center
• E-mail, Instant Messaging
• Stereo Bluetooth
• VGA camera with dedicated key

Panasonic has announced what it calls the world’s lightest 3G ready notebook with a 14.1-inch wide display and internal optical drive. The notebook is called the Toughbook F8. Embedded 3G is from Gobi and can provide connectivity all around the world.

The Panasonic Toughbook F8, which possesses a 14.1-inch display, weighs just 3.7 pounds, has an internal optical drive, has a handle for easy carrying and is 3G-ready. Other specs include an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of RAM and a 160GB shock-mounted hard drive. It’s seriously portable and offers serious flexibility for those that are a little rougher on their computers than most.

The rest of the 8-Series received an update as well, with the W8 and T8 models getting embedded Gobi 3G technology, making for the ultimate in connectivity with mobile broadband (WWAN) from Qualcomm. The 8-Series Panasonic Toughbook notebooks will be available starting in November. The W8 and T8 are expected to cost $2,900 and the F8 is slightly pricier at $2,499.

“The growing trend of portability in computers–lighter weight, longer battery life, advanced wireless capabilities–needs to be balanced by true durability,” said Daniel Longfield, industry analyst, mobile and wireless, Frost & Sullivan. “Highly mobile government, enterprise and small business users need reliable connectivity to drive continued productivity. Panasonic’s proven business-rugged notebooks enabled with Gobi address this requirement.”