Samsung Launches Handset For Pre-Teens

I’m not entirely sure if this is good news, bad news or just ‘news’ news but Samsung has recently launched a new handset - The Tobi S3030 slider phone - that’s apparently designed and directed toward the pre-teen market. Of course it would be irresponsible to assume that that’s their prime demographic, considering the release also states that it’s for ‘young adults, and anyone who desires to experience fun and safety features from their mobile phones’.

The handset is available in colorful variations (Sweet Pink, Bright Orange, Loyal Blue, Oasis Blue, Apple Green and Snow Silver with interchangeable back covers) and is reportedly made from non-toxic recyclable and biodegradable bio-plastic. It’s painted using non-toxic paints and non-allergic materials to keep the environment as well as the health of the users safe. Does this mean that kids can safely shove this up their nose, or bite on it without the materials causing them any harm? Hopefully. Additionally, the earphone is also made of eco-friendly materials without any polyvinyl chloride (PVC).



The Tobi is quite an equipped handset that comes with a 1.3MP camera, audio player, Bluetooth (with BT messaging), a 1.9-inch TFT display (176×144 pixels, 65k colors), GPRS and microSD card support. What’s supposed to make the handset so enticing are the GUI colorful themes - Monster theme, Snowman theme and Ocean World theme as well as the interchangeable cover with a transparent portion at the back for inserting a photograph.

It’s a light-weight phone at just 85g so I’m presuming it’d be easy to misplace or break too, unless the company has thought of that and it comes equipped with Samsung’s resident Mobile Tracker software and is made of some truly rugged yet ‘eco-friendly’ material. But jokes aside, the handset does come with safety features that include - SOS Call, SOS Message and a feature called Fake Call. Using these safety features, users can be directly linked to their family members and friends in emergent situations and even “easily escape from dangerous situations”. I’m not sure how, but that’s what the release says.

The handset will be out sometime this month in the Europe sector and could make its way to Asia soon after that. There’s no price mentioned yet.




There are probably a slew of arguments for a scenario that arises out of a pre-teen requiring a cell phone. While a mobile handset can in no way be construed as a mere toy and there are innumerable handsets that are directed at the youth in general, the S3030 is just another electronic gizmo for a slightly younger generation. Whether or not it’s relevant is something for you to decide.

I’m curious, and I’m sure most of you mobile maniacs out there are too, to find out what everyone thinks of a mobile phone for kids. But before posting your comments do stop to think of the security features etc. that the handset comes with.

Samsung and Hugo Boss Reveal New Handset

Fashion houses are still fighting their way into the mobile industry and the latest to make its break after big names like Giorgio Armani with Samsung and Prada with LG, is Hugo Boss who’s also gone with Samsung. Of course the handset's designs don’t seem be getting any more interesting than they initially were. A few edges trimmed here a slightly larger display there, a few buttons rearranged and voila, a brand new handset that doesn’t look too different form the last.




According to reports, Samsung hasn’t even gone with a new design; instead Hugo Boss has simply opted for a variant of the F480 TouchWiz for their flagship model. The handset will come equipped with a 2.8-inch TFT touch screen display, 3G connectivity, Bluetooth with a customized Bluetooth headset as an accessory, and a 5 megapixel auto focus camera. The interface is apparently going to be customized for Hugo Boss as well.




And keeping in tune with the pretend that the world is not really undergoing a recession, the handset is due to hit shelves in Europe through the company’s official outlets this December for the price of Rs. 30,255. Hey if you got it… flaunt it right.

Sonim XP3 Most Rugged Handset Yet

For the rugged outdoors-techie Sonim Technologies has got exactly what you need. Noted for their earlier totally rugged handset that we talked about last year, the XP1, their latest offering is the Sonim XP3 Enduro that takes it up a notch.





The handset, according to the company can be kept underwater (up to 1 meter) for almost 30 minutes. It will also be able to survive a drop from 2 meters onto a concrete surface. Some of the other specs that the company has provided on their website include an IP-57 protection rating and an 810F Military grade rating for salt, fog, humidity, transport and thermal shock. The keyboard buttons are tested to function beyond 500,000 pushes while the Sonim XP3 is capable of operating as long as it's needed under temperatures ranging from -20C to +60C. It also comes with an anti-glare, shock-resistant display. As compared to the previous model, the XP3 is a little thicker (24.6mm) than its predecessor.





The company has provided users with a three year warranty with no questions asked. It’s priced at approximately Rs. 18, 316 (290 Euro) and while it may not be available here right now, we can only hope that in a regularly monsoon drenched country like ours, the company may just decide to ‘drop’ it in on us.

Nokia Unveils 5800 XpressMusic in India

Nokia India has unveiled its much awaited "Touch Music" device, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, in India.



Also announced is the scheduled launch of the beta version of the Nokia Music Store.

Nokia has also announced a tie-up with Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, EMI, Warner, Tseries, Big Music and Yashraj.

Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President, Nokia said, "With more than 300 million music enabled devices sold, and a strong base of over 10 Nokia Music stores in operation globally, Nokia has been able to gain incredible amount of knowledge and insights on what people want in a music device and track important trends on how people consume music. We will continue to break new grounds in this space by building more and better services for our consumers."

D. Shivakumar, Managing Director, Nokia India said, "As Nokia's first mass-market device with a touch screen, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic turns a 'user interface' into a 'human interface' by truly putting people first. When it comes to music phones, people all over the world want a device that is a great music experience – with more memory, loud and powerful speakers, easy synchronization – and must still work well as a mobile phone with direct access to important contacts and content. The iconic Nokia 5800 XpressMusic delivers on all these counts."




The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic along with offering a variety of input methods including a virtual alphanumeric keypad and a virtual computer-style QWERTY keyboard, also has a pen stylus and a plectrum.

It introduces the 'Media Bar', a drop down menu that provides direct access to music and entertainment. The Media Bar also offers a direct link to the Web and to online sharing. The phone offers all the music essentials, including a graphic equalizer, 8GB memory, support for all main digital music formats and a 3.5mm jack. It has built-in surround sound stereo speakers and the innovative 'Contacts Bar' lets consumers highlight four favorite contacts on their home-screen and, through a single touch, track a digital history of recent text messages, emails, phone logs, photos and blog updates.

The phone features a 3.2-inch widescreen display, a 16 by 9 aspect ratio and 30 frames-per-second playback and recording.

Equipped with a 3.2 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens, the phone allows images or videos to be shared via online communities, such as Share on Ovi, Flickr, or Facebook. Music playlist song titles can also be shared through Bluetooth, MMS or online sharing.

The device will be available in India starting January 2009 for Rs. 21,839.

The Nokia Music Store, an online music service is a part of OVI and will go live in December 2008.

Motorola QA30 Has Slide Out QWERTY Keypad

According to reports Motorola has a new 'Q' series device that should be out as a CDMA phone in the US with their Alltel operator. The device, called the QA30, looks quite sharp with a slider form factor that has a bit of a twist. The keypad that slides out from under the 2.5-inch TFT LCD (240 x 320 pixel resolution) display is QWERTY.




The MOTO QA30 will also come with a 2MP camera, microSD card support for external memory, USB 2.0, Bluetooth 2.0, Facebook access, full HTML support as well as a standard 3.5mm earphone socket for the handsfree. There are no more details about the OS, the pricing or the availability of the device. For now word is, the QA30 will be launched only in the USA.