Hoping to capitalize on the momentum created by the release of its preliminary smartphones, Palm on Wednesday will unveil a smaller, cheaper smartphone called Pixi.

Apparently aimed toward younger consumers than those targeted by Pres, he playfully smartphone will be longer but thinner than before and smaller sport multitouch screen, a full-size keyboard QWERTY, as well as a 2-megapixel camera, Palm said. However, like his brother, smartphone, 3.5 oz Pixi-will still have 8 GB of memory and GPS capabilities.

In addition to the new application Facebook, Pixi also be able to integrate LinkedIn Yahoo contacts and the contacts, calendar, and chat in one window using the “Synergy palm.

“With Palm WebOS, we are creating a new, more intuitive smartphone experience is defined unmatched simplicity and usefulness,” Jon Rubinstein, Palm chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement. “Palm Pixi brings this unique experience to a wider range of people who want advanced messaging and social networks in the field of design, which allows them to express their personal style.”

Pixi announcement comes less than four months after the start of sales of Palm Prete, who said the company registered record sales, when it became available in June. The company did not discuss specific numbers, the first week, but some analysts estimate that between 50000 and 100000 units were sold during the first week.

The move coincides with the announcement that Palm would reduce the price of its smartphone preliminary to $ 150 with a two-year agreement for service and two rebates. Palm did not reveal the price Pixi did, but said it would be less than before and that he expected to be available to consumers in time for holiday shopping season through Sprint. Palm also plans to offer an artist-designed, Limited Edition replacement back cover, which he plans to demonstrate at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York, which begins on Thursday.

On Tuesday, Sprint began short-term promotion that offered customers to competing carriers $ 100 credit services for those who bought a Palm Preliminary and transferred my old Sprint number. However, this proposal was pulled after a few hours with Palm said that it was posted in error.

It’s no secret that Japan has the best mobile phones than the rest of the world. The country also has access to higher quality Internet telephony services from the start I was NTT DoCoMo’s service mode is still in 1998.

Recent data from japan.internet.com (translated whatjapanthinks.com) believes that Japan mobile phones offer users many features that 49 percent of respondents to a recent survey say “mobile phone is enough” when asked what kind of mobile device they are most would hold.

Mobile enough to 49,2 per cent
Smartphone 22 percent
Netbook 16,3 per
Notebook 8.9 per
MID / UMPC 0,3 per cent
Another 0.3 percent
Do not want to bear all the 3 per cent

In addition to the wealth of services and games, with the character based typing you really do not need an iPhone or other smartphones, if you want access to corporate e-mail. Although it can also be delivered directly to mobile phones, in my experience, most companies do not allow access if it is through a VPN.

So, let’s assume that everyone has a telephone. Answering the question “what mobile devices, in addition to standard mobile phone you usually carry with you?” The answers that I would consider the cultural match with the way Japanese consumers commute, as well as the fact that most access to the Internet directly to their phones.

Nintendo DS 44,3 per
No mobile 39.3 percent
Notebook 19,7 percent
Sony PSP 16 per
Netbook 4,7 per cent
Smartphone 3.4 per

There is fun to play in the future as the domination of Nintendo DS brings new areas of convergent game phones that can not be too far away, as game companies are aware that the mobile Internet is the final frontier completely obsessive game.

And although I did not expect to see this magical device in the U.S. in the near future, I suspect that there is a market for such things in Japan.

 

Nokia has been marketing its N97 smartphone as a mobile computer.

(List of participants: CNET),

Nokia, the world’s largest cell phone maker might be preparing to enter the crowded market Netbook.

According to the Economic Times, General Director of Nokia Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo told reporters at a press event on Wednesday in India that “on the PC and mobile will continue to close and merge.” He said, Nokia sees many opportunities in this convergence, and he added that the company is “looking at the market Netbook see what opportunities there are.”

it should not be as big a surprise that Nokia, may further push to the computational space. The company has been marketing its new smartphone, the N97, as a “mobile computer”. And the company also sells its own mobile Internet devices, or N-series tablets.

These devices, which are aimed at early adopters and gadget lovers, usually begin with about $ 300 to $ 400. They do not include the traditional cell phone, but they come with a full QWERTY keyboard and access to the Internet via Wi-Fi or via Bluetooth-connected phone.

Netbooks appeal to a wider audience than the mobile Internet devices, which could help Nokia to diversify its business. Netbooks, which once were considered “Companion devices to access the cloud-based services like Gmail and social networking sites like Facebook, are now being used as a full-fledged computers.

Their low cost (around $ 299) is a great initiative, sales of these devices. Approximately 16 million Netbooks are sold in North America in 2008. And since these devices often use Windows XP, the operating system familiar to most PC users already feel comfortable using them.

Nokia, probably hoping to cash in on Netbooks’ popularity.

It is clear that consumers are looking to be more mobile and as carriers worldwide to build a faster 4G wireless networks, the demand for mobility is likely to increase. Furthermore, Nokia phones, and other bodies will soon face competition on the part of the computer in the mobile phone market. Notebook Acer Maker has already announced it is developing a smartphone. And there are reports that the computer is Dell Maker is also working on a mobile phone.

A prototype of a Dell smartphone seen in China Mobile event.

(List of participants: Mobile.163.com)

China Mobile introduced the new mobile platform Monday, and one of the partners in the submission of a hand raised a few eyebrows.

Details of the Dell phone is reportedly called the Mini-3i, have begun to circulate on the Internet almost immediately after the represented at the event, but Dell said that has not yet announced any smartphone on the market of China.

“Dell has been supporting China Mobile as a partner in development. We can not confirm or announce anything,” said Representative Matt Dell Parretta.

There was, however, the “proof of concept mobile device prototype” Off demonstrated at the event, Parretta said. This explains the photos, which depict in black, candybar-style mobile phone that has touch screen and stamped with the Dell logo on the back.

Reports from China Mobile event, which introduced a wireless operator based on the Android open mobile systems, or MSA, for example Mini 3i is limited to work on the 2G GSM network - no Wi-Fi access - but in 3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and slot for MicroSD - card.

Industry observers and analysts of the market, mostly underwhelmed like the idea of creating a Dell smartphone, and some who have seen early prototypes, the performance of it.

INQ new cell phones: IM for 3G and INQ INQ Mini.

(List of participants: INQ Mobile)
Cellphone Maker INQ Mobile releases two new inexpensive CellPhones optimized for social networking applications for mobile subscribers to provide an alternative to more expensive smartphones.

INQ, which owns Hong Kong’s Hutchison Whampoa, launched its first low-cost “smartphone-Lite” device at the beginning of this year. And now the company is expanding its portfolio with two new devices, one of which has a full QWERTY keyboard.

On the phones do not work full of browsers and operating systems used on your Java-based and not as sophisticated smartphone operating system used in devices such as Apple iPhone and Research In Motion of BlackBerry.

But the INQ has included many of the most popular web services such as Facebook and twitter, on their phones to give users a smartphone type of experience to a much lesser price. And because the device is not a Smartphone, as a rule, the subscriber can subscribe to the less expensive data plans, using the INQ phones.

In addition to tight integration for one click access to Facebook, twitter and other web services, like Skype, INQ new devices can also synchronize with unprotected music stored in iTunes and Windows Media Player.

Just how cheap are the INQ phones? Well, if AT & T may sell the Apple iPhone for $ 99 with a two-year contract, INQ director Frank Meehan United States believes that the operators can afford to offer INQ mobile devices anywhere between $ 25 and $ 50 for two-year wireless contract for the services. And in many cases, operators can even suggest free phones in exchange for a two-year service obligation.

Two new phones announced this week are the INQ Chat 3G phone that has a full QWERTY-keyboard and looks like a BlackBerry and colorful INQ Mini, which is a candy bar and comes with a standard mobile phone keypad. The devices are expected to sell in six countries, the operator Hutchison 3 later this year. These countries include Britain, Ireland, Sweden, Italy, Australia and Hong Kong.

In the Mini, which will cost less than $ 150 without carrier subsidies, will go on sale in September. And INQ Chat 3G, which will retail below $ 200 without carrier subsidies, will go on sale in October.

Meehan said the company is still working on deal with American operator. But the phones could eventually on this side of the Atlantic next year.