150 Ampere

Nokia is taking the wraps off of three new handsets that take a minimalist approach to design and are filled with easy-to-use features.

The Nokia 6600 Fold is a clamshell model that features a 2.1″ OLED screen with 16 million colours. The 6600 also features an outer display that sleeps most of the time, but can be awakened with a couple of taps. The display shows the time of day, incoming and missed messages. Double tapping the case can also silence the ringer, reject a call or squelch an alert.

Underneath the skirts, it’s a 3G phone with the standard 2-megapixel camera. It’s slim profile fits easily into a pocket or purse. The 6600 will hit the shelves in Q3 2008 and will be priced at €275.

The Nokia 6600 slide features the same minimalist styling, but slides to reveal a numeric keypad. Double tapping the 6600 Slide will prompt the phone to display the time, kill an alert or send an incoming call packing. The Slide is outfitted with a 3.2 megapixel camera that will capture stills or video. The display is a 2.2″ QVGA LCD. The Nokia 6600 Slide offers support for a Bluetooth GPS module for in-car or pedestrian navigation. Like the 6600 Fold, the 6600 Slide hits the store shelves in Q3 2008 and will retail for about €250.

Rounding out the trio is the Nokia 3600 Slide. Designed as a music phone, it drops the tap control of the 6600 twins, but hangs onto the 3.2 megapixel camera. It also provides a TV out connector which will hook up to most television sets. The 3600 supports the Bluetooth GPS module and can deliver information on more than 15 million points of interest. This one will retail for €175 when it hits store shelves in Q3.

For more information about Nokia phones, check out the ratings at TestFreaks.

Memorex has launched two new low-cost, flash-based portable music players. The Clip & Play, and the MMP8590 offer 2GB and 2GB or 4GB (respectively) of data storage. The Clip & Play is a Shuffle-killer that features a clothing clip suitable for use while exercising or moving about. Unlike the Shuffle, the Clip & Play has a 2-line OLED screen that displays track information. It also features an FM radio with presets and delivers ten hours of playtime.

The 2GB (optional 4GB) MMP8590 offers a 1.5-inch OLED screen and plays music, displays photos, offers a stopwatch and voice recorder. In addition, the MMP8590 provides a sport strap, earbuds, a USB cable and proprietary Memorex software for loading and managing the tunes. These playahs are out right now. The Clip & Play will run USD$50. The 2GB MMP8590 will run USD$60. No word on the 4GB cost.

LG has introduced the KF750 Secret, the third model in its Black Label line. Like its predecessors, Chocolate and Shine, the LG Secret is impeccably stylish. and delivers and upscale 5-megapixel camera, a carbon fiber composite body, tempered glass over the LCD touch screen, and navigation keys that are lit in an eye-catching blue colour.

Accelerometers in the handset enhance game play and deliver an autorotating display, while the Auto Luminance feature adjusts the display lighting based on ambient lighting conditions.

The Secret also features a built-in FM radio tuner, the standard complement of Office document readers, and Google-powered Internet applications that serve up Gmail, Google Maps and YouTube.

The Secret starts its worldwide tour in Europe, then moves on to Asia, South America and beyond. Take a look at all of the LG phones at TestFreaks.

Panasonic has announced that its Lumix DMC-TZ50 will be headed to the States, with its Wi-Fi links. The camera will be able to access T-Mobile hotspots in addition to home and commercial wireless networks, so users can upload photos directly to Google’s Picassa Web album. The camera also comes with API’s to make the photo transfer run smoothly. The first year of T-Mobile hotspot access is on the house. After that, users can renew on their own dime.

The TZ50 comes outfitted with a 9.1-megapixel image sensor, a 28-mm, 10x optical Leica DC zoom lens, and a 3-inch LCD view screen. It also comes with the standard image stabilization, red-eye correction, intelligent exposure, intelligent ISO, face detection and continuous auto focus, as well as SD expansion capabilities. Buyers will also get a 720p HD movie feature along with the Venus Engine IV, Panasonic’s latest image processor.

Users can send single or multiple photos at once to Google’s Picassa Web albums, after registering an email account with the service. Once photos are uploaded, the software will send a URL to the registered email account, allowing users to share the URL via email. This process eliminates the need for using a computer to share photos.

According to the company, the camera will be on store shelves in May, and in consumers hands for USD$450.

A couple of months back, I wrote about the newly introduced Sony Ericcson XPERIA. Sony Ericcson is making the rounds again but with more details than it was offering at the 2008 Mobile World Congress. To refresh, the XPERIA is a full-keyboard slider with a touch interface designed to compete with the Nokia E90.

The XPERIA will run Windows Mobile 6.1, a first for Sony Ericcson. The touch screen user interface supports 65K colours, and is divided into “panels” which the user can re-arrange to suit his or her tastes.

According to Sony Ericcson, applications can be built around the panels, but SE’s keeping a lid on exactly what applications will come loaded and who might be developing additional panels for the device. The company also indicates that the XPERIA will be out in the last half of 2008, which is earlier than predicted at the MWC in February.

When it hits the store shelves, the XPERIA will have a 3.2 megapixel camera with a 3x digital zoom, autofocus and a picture light, along with video recording capabilities. The camera will support video calling and polyphonic ring tones.

You’ll find aGPS, USB support and mass storage, Bluetooth stereo and connectivity support, Windows Media Player Mobile, SMS, MMS and a touchscreen with optical joystick navigation. You’ll have Internet connectivity for browsing, email, and RSS feed information, along with what looks to be the standard productivity applications load: calendar, clock, phone book, document readers and editors, calculator, to-do lists and a note pad. The phone is also rumoured to support handwriting recognition.

More when it hits the streets!

LG Electronics, maker of the Viewty mobile phone, announced a photo contest for users (and user-wannabes) of the handset’s 5-megapixel camera. The Viewtyful World contest runs from 10 April to 11 June, and is being held in conjunction with National Geographic magazine, Yahoo! and its subsidiaries Flickr and Keikoo.

Photos can be submitted in one of three categories: Night view, Retouch and Moments. Submissions must be exactly 174mm x 254mm at 150 dpi, and must be original works of the submitter. Entrants must register at the Viewtyful World Web site. During the contest, two photos will be selected each week via user votes, and a third photo will be selected by National Geographic Magazine. Once the 24 semi-finalists have been selected, National Geographic Magazine will select the Grand Prize winner. Weekly winners will receive a brand new LG Viewty phone. The Grand Prize winner will receive USD$10,000 and the winning photo will be used in a LG Viewty print advertisement to run in National Geographic Magazine.

The premium LG Viewty camera phone was introduced in Europe at the end of 2007 and has sold one million units to date. So, if you have a Viewty or want a Viewty, get snapping! The contest is open only to adult residents of the UK, Russia, Turkey, China, Singapore and Brazil. Check out the contest web site for more information on submitting your photos.

Iogear is ready to put out a 120 GB PMP. The nameless PMP has no screen or external display. It’s designed to connect to a television and crank out the tunes. It will also push 720p video to said tele. The compact unit holds up to 34,000 digital photos, 30,000 MP3s, 3,000 uncompressed songs, nine hours of digital video or 50 hours of DVD-quality video. The unit provides both RCA and component video connectors.

The Portable Media Player is available online and comes with a 1-year warranty. Retail price for the unit is USD$349. According to the company, it’s compatible with Windows 2000, XP and Vista - as long as said computers have a USB port - and works with both HD and standard-definition television with component or composite connectors and RCA left-and right-audio jacks. This is Iomega’s first foray into multimedia playa-hood, although the company’s media storage product have been around for ages. Also last week, Iomega announced that it was being acquired by EMC sometime in the second quarter of 2008.

Nikon introduced two new Coolpix models this week, the S52 and S52c. These cameras are part of Nikon’s consumer series, and include 9.0-megapixel image sensors and a 3x NIKKOR zoom lens with a focal length range of 38-mm to 114-mm. They offer ISO sensitivity to 3200 and provide a 3.0-inch super-bright TFT LCD screen that stands up, even in bright sunlight. It also offers a 170° viewing angle with anti-reflection coating. You’ll get 38 MB of built-in memory and SD microcard support for additional storage.

The Coolpix S52 comes in a variety of colours, including Silver, Purplish Black, Coral Pink, Beige Gold, Matte Black, Gloss Red and Forest Green. The S52C gets its work done in either Purplish Black or Silver.

The big difference between the S52 and S52c is the built-in wireless capabilities of the S52c. Operationally, the cameras are the same, but the S52c has a slightly larger package. Both cameras come with a high-speed USB port. The S52c comes with an AC adapter. You can buy the adapter if you opt for the S52. You’ll get about 200 shots out of the Li-ion battery between charges.

No word on cost or availability.

In the mini-cam wars, Sony is coming out swinging with the introduction of the HDR-TG1 HD video camera. The ultra-small Sony camcorder now owns the record for the world’s smallest HD video camcorder, weighing in at just 10 ounces - two of which are the HDR-TG1’s lithium battery. The camera shoots full 1920 x 1080 HD video from a package that’s just 1.3″ x 4.7″ x 2.5″ and will snag 4-megapixel still images as well while you’re recording video. (The video image sensor will capture a 2.3-megapixel image, in case you’re wondering.)

The HDR-TG1 is packaged in a titanium body. It comes with a 4 GB memory stick, and can also accept Duo Mark2 media cards. So what will you get with this? On the fly image correction, video face detection with auto focus, a 2.7-inch fold-out touch screen LCD display that rotates as much as 270° and a 10x optical zoom that will get you into the action, without putting you in the way. The HDR-TG1 will index video footage for easy searching, an HDMI output for quick connection to a BRAVIA HD TV, and an instant-on feature to help you capture those “instant-on” moments.

The HDR-TG1 starts its world tour in the US, retailing for USD$900. Sony is currently accepting pre-orders for a mid-May delivery.

Sony Ericcson’s W910 Walkman, awarded the GSM Association’s Best Handset of 2008 designation at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona hasn’t escaped my attention, either. The W910 is definitely not a business phone. Designed for its pure entertainment value, the W910 provides music, 3D gaming, video services and high-speed Web access.

The handset comes with accelerometers that enable the holder to control game action by changing the phone’s position. Via Shake Control, the accelerometers also provide navigation and control of the music functions and rotate the display, depending upon the phone’s orientation. The W910 comes with a 1GB memory stick and can hold more than 900 songs.

The W910 is a quad-band 3G phone, with HSDPA, EDGE and UMTS connectivity, and features two built-in cameras, music recognition, a media manager, picture blogging capabilities, 3-click music downloads, video calling, Internet access, and of course, 3-D gaming. On most networks, you’ll get up to nine hours of talk time and 350 hours of standby time from this slim, 12-mm package. The SonyEriccson Walkman W910i, along with the rest of the Walkman line is available now. Check out the reviews at TestFreaks.