Nokia has announced the Nokia X3-02 handset. It’s quite a strange phone from what we can see in that it has a regular numeric keypad on the lower part of the phone along with a 2.4 inch QVGA touchscreen above that.

The touchscreen isn’t a full replacement for the keypad though and essentially makes it easier to navigate around the device which could actually work well.

As well as having a relatively small touchscreen, the Nokia X3-02 has 3G connectivity along with wireless 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1 which makes it very connectible. [Read more…]

Over the last week or so there has been some news about Apple [AAPL] buying a company out that makes Liquid metal. The metal has some unique characteristics that make it more bouncy than other metals. Rumours started going around about how a new iPhone or iPad could be made with this metal to toughen them up a little, thanks to the ability of the metal to morph a little.

We expected that in the next couple of years that this metal could be introduced somewhere in to phones although it appears that we might have already all used Liquidmetal with our iPhones and iPads and just not realised it.

The part we are talking about here is pictured above. The iPhone 3GS SIM pin is apparently made from Liquidmetal alloy. The reason this part is made of liquid metal is that it’s part of the iPhone, but not an essential part. The liquidmetal used makes the part extremely hard but at the same time very light weight. [Read more…]

The Nook software for the iPad, iPhone and PC has been updated and enhanced. New features include a book rating feature on the iPad and Retina display optimised version for the iPhone 4.

The iPhone and iPod touch Nook app is new to the Apple [AAPL] devices and prior to this release, it was only available on the iPad. The iPhone version is a simple version that allows users to get on with reading without distraction. Colours can be optimised for day or night reading. A one-tap preview is also available allowing users to quickly see a theme before changing it. [Read more…]

Microsoft [MSFT] is launched Windows Phone 7 in the next few months. Along with the new OS, Xbox Live is also bundled in to the OS bringing the avatars in to the palm of your hand.

“We believe that no matter where life takes you, the best in gaming and entertainment should follow,” said Marc Whitten, corporate vice president of Xbox LIVE at Microsoft. “Windows Phone 7 takes a different approach to handheld gaming, utilizing Xbox LIVE, Microsoft Game Studios, leading game publishers, and innovative indie developers, to create powerful, shared experiences for everyone.”

[Read more…]

Official details of the HTC Desire HD have not been made available yet. There is a small possibility that the phone will be revealed on September 15 at an event being held by HTC. This didn’t stop Amazon in the UK posting details about the smartphone (briefly) yesterday. The page is now pulled but it provided a few details about the HTC Desire HD along with a confirmation that it is coming.

Amazon in the UK priced it at £415 which will be off contract and not subsidised. The product was listed with the following title… “HTC 99HLZ001-00 ACE/Desire HD” with the ACE part being heard of before. [Read more…]

Qualcomm towards the end of this year will start shipping dual-core chips for smartphones. The new chip runs at 1.5GHz and is a dual core device numbered QSD8672.

As well as working in smartphones, the new 1.5GHz chip is expected to also arrive in tablets and low-cost laptops.

Release dates are mentioned as being next year although it is expected that manufactures of smartphones (if aggressive enough) might be able to get them shipping by the fourth quarter of this year. [Read more…]

We already know that Apple [AAPL] will be working on an iPad 2 as well as a CDMA iPhone. We have seen details before showing this and mixed with a bit of logic, it’s kind of obvious that they would be testing it.

However, we still like to see when more evidence is uncovered. The latest evidence confirms that new Apple devices are being tested out. The first bit of code looks to be related to a CDMA iPhone which is more than likely a Verizon iPhone. The next bit of code is related to an iPad 2.

The reasons for believing this is that the code found has a way for the devices to bypass the iTunes activation sequence. This is a common thing to happen when Apple tests out new phones and devices such as the Verizon [VZ] iPhone and iPad 2. [Read more…]

BGR has posted some interesting screen captures from Verizon Wireless systems [VZ] that show a few new devices are incoming.

The first smartphone mentioned is the Motorola DROID Pro that has a 4 inch display along with a fast 1.3GHz CPU. This device has the A957 model number and is apparently launching in November of this year.

The Motorola DROID 2 World Edition is also mentioned which will have a global roaming feature. This device is numbered A956 and will be available in either black or white. [Read more…]