Nokia N9 shipments start, pricing might be a problem

Nokia has just reported that the first Nokia N9 units have started leaving factories in Finland and are heading to shops around the globe. At this point we are just a few days from the actual availability of the first MeeGo-running smartphone.

What seems a bit worrying though is the Nokia price estimates. According to the Finns, the 16GB Nokia N9 will cost €480, whereas the 64GB version will go for €560. And those are prices before taxes, so they would actually end up higher.

Unless carriers embrace the phone and offer heavy subsidies on it, that is. With the N9 being the platform flagship, it will be quite important for it to gain some significant market share in order to attract developers, who are the beating heart of every ecosystem. And, frankly, we can't see that happening at the prices quoted by Nokia.

Not even with the ultra-cool design, the rich feature set and the innovative and intuitive OS that impressed us so much, when we met a while ago.

Here’s hoping we are wrong and the N9 turns out a success. MeeGo is such a cool platform that it will be a shame for it to follow the webOS footsteps.

Samsung Galaxy S II and HTC Amaze 4G go official for T-Mobile

T-Mobile announced its first two smartphones, capable of reaching 42Mbps today - the Samsung Galaxy S II and the HTC Amaze 4G. Both smartphones pack the latest and greatest features, which an Android device can possibly pack, including dual-core Snapdragon S3 CPUs, a gig of RAM, NFC capabilities and a whole lot more.

We will begin with the Samsung Galaxy S II. Sadly, the droid has dropped its Hercules name before going official. Like we mentioned above, the droid packs a dual-core Snapdragon CPU, clocked at 1.5MHz, not the highly revered Exynos chipset, in order to be capable of theoretically reaching 42Mbps download speeds. NFC is a welcome addition to the feature set as well. The rest of the specs, including the gorgeous 4.5" Super AMOLED Plus screen, are in line with those of its Sprint cousin, the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch. You are welcome to take a look at them here. The smartphone will come with TouchWiz-ed Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread out of the box.

The Samsung Galaxy S II for T-Mobile will be priced at $229.99 with a two year agreement, after a $50 mail-in-rebate. You can purchase one online on October 10, or from a T-Mobile store on October 12. We do explain the higher price, compared to the rest of the Galaxy S II trio, to the added NFC capability of the device.

The HTC Amaze 4G features the same CPU as the Galaxy S II and the reasons for this occurrence are network speed related as well. It specifications are not a surprise - we've encountered them before. The smartphone does offer NFC capability as well. It's super LCD screen measures 4.3", and offers qHD resolution. The rest of the specs include an 8MP camera unit with serious aspirations and 16GB of built-in memory (expandable via microSD card). The droid will run a Sense-d Android 2.3.4 out of the box.

The HTC Amaze 4G will be available for sale on the same dates as its Samsung rival/relative, but for $269.99 with a two year contract, after a $50 mail-in-rebate.

We did spend some time, trying to figure out why is the HTC priced higher than the Galaxy S II, and found no logical reason. If you can think of one, drop us a line in the comments section.

Samsung announces Omnia W, we go hands-on

Windows phone 7 Mango update is coming any moment now and so are the first phones that will have it stock right out of the box. HTC has already announced the Mango-based Titan and Radar, so today is the Samsung's turn - meet the Omnia W.

The Omnia W packs a 3.7-inch WVGA Super AMOLED screen and is based on the Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon chipset with a 1.4GHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 205 graphics and 512MB RAM. Since Microsoft has strict policy about the hardware there is very little space Samsung to innovate.

    
Samsung Omnia W official pictures

The rest of the specs are pretty much standard - a 5 megapixel snapper with a LED flash, a 720p camcorder, a front-facing VGA camera, 8GB internal storage, a 1500mAh battery and the usual connectivity (Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth).

Samsung Omnia W runs on the latest Windows Phone 7 Mango version and there are just few Samsung apps you can download for free to get something unique with your phone, since Microsoft forbids customizations.

According to GSMInfo.nl the Omnia W is expected this November for about €450 for the unlocked device.

We also got a chance to play around with the Omnia W. It's nicely compact and not too heavy. The battery cover is made out of brushed metal (a nice touch!) but the rest of the body is plastic. Still, the Omnia W feels solidly built.

       
Samsung Omnia W live pictures

On the front, there's the 3.7" SuperAMOLED screen with WVGA resolution. Below that is the Windows key flanked by capacitive back and search keys. There's a half-pressable shutter key on the side as it's customary for Windows Phones.

Unfortunately, the phone had a rather bad case of a dead battery, so we can’t share any impressions about actually using the phone. We bet, however, it won't be long before we get one-on-one with the Omnia W again.

Huawei announces the 1.4Ghz Android-based Honor

Honor is the latest addition to the Huawei's Android smartphone lineup. It comes with a 4-inch FWVGA (480x854 pixels) touchscreen, an 8 megapixel camera with HDR functionality and a 2MP front-facing snapper and is powered by a 1900mAh battery.

 
Huawei Honor

Huawei Honor utilizes a 1.4GHz single-core processor, has 512MB RAM and comes with 4GB internal storage expandable via a microSD card slot.

The connectivity package is geared well too - there are quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G (with HSPA) support, Wi-Fi with DLNA, GPS, Bluetooth and FM radio.

  
More Huawei Honor pictures

Android 2.3.5 is ticking inside the Honor skinned with some proprietary Huawei interface.

Huawei Honor is expected to hit China, Russia and the Middle East by the end of the year. Initially Honor will be available only in black but more colors will follow soon after.

Doodle Marks Google's 13th Birthday : Happy Birthday Google

What better way for search giant Google to mark its 13th birthday than with one of its own Google Doodles?

Visitors to Google's website on Tuesday saw a birthday cake with one of Google's earliest logos.

Some of the letters in "Google" wore a party hat and were "seated" at a table with a birthday cake and gifts and balloons.


Clicking on the doodle will take a visitor to a search results page, with - what else? - Google as the top result.

Google has had a tradition of doodles for its "birthday."

Google began in January 1996 as a research project by Larry Page and Sergey Brin when they were both PhD students at Stanford University in California.

Page and Brin originally nicknamed their new search engine "BackRub."

Eventually, they changed the name to Google, originating from a misspelling of the word "googol." the number one followed by 100 zeros.

In May 2011, unique visitors of Google surpassed one billion mark for the first time, an 8.4 percent increase from a year ago with 931 million unique visitors.

Samsung Brings HD to the Galaxy: Samsung Galaxy S2 HD

Samsung already produces some pretty stunning smartphone displays but they’ve just upped the ante in Korea by announcing the Samsung Galaxy S2 HD.

The Galaxy S2 HD shares almost identical specs as the Galaxy S2 LTE already announced for the region – including a 1.5GHz dual core processor, 8MP camera, and NFC chip – but sports a 4.65-inch HD screen with 720 x 1260 pixel resolution.

The S2 HD will be available on all of Korea’s major carriers but international availability hasn’t been announced. That may leave some of you with a tingly feeling of emptiness in your belly that even a full pack of Tums can’t patch up but don’t worry… we’re thinking Samsung will bring their Chicken Soup for the HD smartphone display soul across the pond in the near future. And if not, maybe pick up your current smartphone and rub sone ‘Tussen on it.

Galaxy S II global sales pass the 10 million mark

The hit smartphone Galaxy S II has surpassed the 10 million landmark in global sales. It managed to achieve this in just five months of going on sale.

The previous record holder in Samsung's fleet was the Samsung Star S5230, which managed to cross the 10 million mark in six months. The hot selling Galaxy S managed to achieve the same in about seven months. Being significantly more expensive than both, the fact that the Galaxy S II managed to reach the sales figure in a shorter period of time is quite an achievement.

Then again, this is not surprising. The Galaxy S II has struck a chord with the smartphone buyers thanks to its awesome features and performance and people are shoveling their money at Samsung just to get their hands on the best smartphone on the market right now. Now that the phone has started selling in the US as well, the next landmark will probably take even less time.