Nokia 6260 slide mobile phone with 5 megapixel camera at price of EUR 299

People use mobile devices to share their lives with friends and family and with this in mind, Nokia introduces the Nokia 6260 slide. The phone call is the most obvious way to use the new handset to connect with people, but it will also be used to share photographs and videos, check on a friend's social network status or be guided to a restaurant to meet up with a loved one. For this, the Nokia 6260 slide features quick access to search engines and points of interest straight from the home screen and the new 360° navi-key allows a great mobile Internet experience.

Uploading images and videos to websites, blogs and social networks is quicker than ever with Nokia's newest arrival, which features lightning-fast speeds over both cellular and Wi-Fi networks. The Nokia 6260 slide comes with the latest 3G technology, with high speed uploads (HSUPA) and downloads (HSDPA), a great camera, music player and web browser with a simple, instantly familiar interface. Combined with the range of Ovi services on offer, Nokia brings a compelling mobile Internet experience to a huge group of consumers.

A 5Mpix Carl Zeiss camera with flash takes fantastic pictures which can be easily shared and uploaded to Share on Ovi or other photo and video sharing websites. In addition to the photo, music and sharing features that come packed in the Nokia 6260 slide, Nokia Maps and the assisted GPS provide a great navigation experience. The Nokia 6260 slide brings GPS into the Series 40 software platform for the first time, really signifying navigation arriving in the mass market.

The Nokia 6260 slide is expected to begin shipping at the beginning of 2009 for an estimated retail price of EUR 299, before taxes and subsidies.

Toshiba Launches Three Mobile Computers

Mobile computer manufacturer Toshiba has unveiled three lightweight products targeted at various consumer segments. Yesterday’s product launch, which consisted of one netbook and two ultraportable computers, also marks Toshiba’s venture into the netbook market. Netbooks are usually defined as small form factor mobile computers that use low-voltage processors.

Toshiba’s maiden netbook offering, the NB100, comes with a backlit 8.9-inch WSVGA LCD panel, with resolution up to 1024 x 600 pixels. The NB100 is powered by Intel’s N270 Atom CPU and runs Microsoft Windows XP.

Other features include a 0.3 megapixel Web camera, an integrated graphics controller, Bluetooth 2.1, wi-fi (802.11b/g), 10/100 ethernet and three USB ports. The NB100 is expected to weigh below 1 kg and come with up to 120 GB of hard disk drive storage space.

According to Toshiba, the netbook is targeted at schoolchildren, senior citizens, and mobile workers who “do not require the processor power or range of functions of a full-sized laptop”.

Toshiba’s second and third offerings, both 12.1-inch models which contain more features and higher-end specifications than the NB100, are aimed primarily at business users.

The PORTEGE A600, which weighs in at 1.46 kg, contains an in-built optical drive, an express card reader, spill-resistant keyboard, and fingerprint recognition for a secure log-on process. The A600 runs on Intel’s Centrino 2 processor and comes with 3GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive.

Connectivity options for the A600 include wi-fi, Bluetooth 2.1, and Gigabit ethernet. A USB cum eSATA combo port on the A600 will provide consumers with the convenience of charging USB devices and connecting eSATA devices using the same port.

Targeted at style-conscious business users, the high-end PORTEGE R600 comes in a silver grey magnesium case and weighs in at just 979g. It features a 128GB solid state disk (SSD) and 7mm DVD SuperMulti Drive. Battery life for the R600 is expected to last up to nine hours due to the SSD’s lower energy consumption compared to standard hard disk drives.

The R600 runs Intel’s Centrino 2 processor and comes with an LED backlit display which Toshiba claims is able to offer clear visibility “both indoors and outdoors” due to a transflective screen, which allows the user to turn off the LED backlight and use an embedded reflecting mirror to avoid light reflection. Standard connectivity options such as wi-fi, Bluetooth 2.1 and Gigabit Ethernet are available.

Like the A600, the R600 also comes with a spill-resistant keyboard and fingerprint reader.

All three laptops are expected to be available in Singapore next month. Prices start at S$799 (US$522) for the NB100, S$3,999 for the A600, and S$4,000 for the R600.

HTC Touch Pro and HTC Touch Viva smartphones in India

HTC has introduced two spanking new models, the HTC Touch Pro and the Touch Viva in Mumbai. The new HTC Touch phones comprise the best elements of the touch screen experience in devices designed to put this latest, intuitive mobile phone technology in the hands of all who desire passionately to communicate efficiently.

riced at Rs34,990, the HTC Touch Pro keypad slides out from behind the screen. With its full-featured QWERTY keyboard for text entry, it also offers an elegant and sophisticated touch screen experience for intuitive navigation. The proprietary touch interface, TouchFLO 3D featured earlier in the HTC Touch Diamond. The new customised web browser allows panning and zooming of pages. Like in the Diamond, the user can access YouTube for playing videos as well as Google Maps. Its 3D optimised touch experience provides a stunningly intuitive way to zip through common tasks like making calls, writing text messages or emails, listening to music or checking weather. Boasting of a 2.8-inch display, the built-in TV-out functionality enables perfect PowerPoint presentations from the Touch Pro.

The HTC Touch Viva at Rs16,490 also features a sharp 2.8-inch screen and a 2 megapixel camera. Besides its compact design the Touch Viva also includes touch screen for navigation through contacts, media and web pages with HTC's touch optimised TouchFLO user interface. Users can flip through their album artwork, pictures and videos simply like they were picture cards in the palm of their hands.

Nokia warns mobile-device sales will fall next year

Handset makers collectively will sell fewer mobile phones in 2009 than this year, and sales for 2008 will be lower than previously expected, Nokia warned on Friday.

However, Nokia doesn't expect smartphones to be particularly hard hit.

The world's largest cell phone maker said that it now expects that total mobile phone sales across the market for 2008 will be 1.24 billion, instead of its earlier estimate of 1.26 billion. The total is still better than 2007, when 1.14 billion phones were sold. While Nokia didn't give a figure for how many phones it expects to sell next year, it did say that the total will probably be lower than this year.

Nokia said that, in the last few weeks, the global economic slowdown, combined with unprecedented currency volatility, has resulted in consumers pulling back sharply on their spending.

The market for mobile devices "has also been negatively impacted by the more limited availability of credit, which has limited the purchasing ability of some of our trade customers," the Finnish company added.

Nokia still expects market share in the fourth quarter to be at or slightly above third-quarter levels but warned sales and profit in its devices and services unit will be negatively impacted.

The telecom-equipment industry wasn't spared either, with Nokia Siemens Networks forecasting both the mobile- and fixed-infrastructure markets will be down in euro terms next year.

The telecom-equipment industry wasn't spared either, with Nokia Siemens Networks forecasting both the mobile- and fixed-infrastructure markets will be down in euro terms next year.

Nokia Siemens is the 50-50 equipment venture between Nokia and Germany's Siemens