“The iPhone is the phone with the most tricks on the market. What possibly could we do to trick it up more? Bless it with the finest precious metal and jewels,” Hughes told PC Advisor.

The iPhone 3G Supreme ships with a 7kg chest, which is made from a single block of granite, offset with Kashmir gold and with Nubuck top grain leather inner lining.

The front bezel houses 136 flawless diamonds totalling 68 carats. On its back, the Apple logo comprises of 53 diamonds totalling 1 carat. The rare, single cut 7.1 carat diamond acts as the front navigation button. The device is encased in a solid 22-carat gold case that weighs 271gm.

Stuart Hughes designed the phone for the Liverpool-based Goldstriker International.

Source: EFY Times

The researchers examined 465 articles published in major journals and focussed on 23 studies, which involved 37,916 participants. However, an analysis of 23 case-control studies found no connection between mobile phone use and head and neck tumours.

But, when eight of the most scientific studies were re-analysed, mobile phone users were shown to have a 10 to 30 per cent increase risk of tumours compared with people who rarely or never used the phones. The risk was highest amongst those who had used mobile phones for 10 years or more.

“A significant positive association (harmful effect) was observed in a random-effects meta-analysis of eight studies using blinding, whereas a significant negative association (protective effect) was observed in a fixed-effects meta-analysis of 15 studies not using blinding,” according to the report published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

“Mobile phone use of 10 years or longer was associated with a risk of tumours in 13 studies reporting this association,” the report pointed out.

Source: EFY Times

Barely three months after imposing a ban on the import of all handsets that do not support the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number, the Government is now preparing to put Chinese telecom equipment makers nearly out of business in India. The Government wants Chinese gearmakers to be barred from all but eight states — Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. However, the Government’s move has met with stiff opposition from Indian mobile phone firms, which fear such stringent measures will add substantially to their costs, according to The Economic Times.

Source: EFY Times

Price-cuts like this don’t happen often, and that’s why Univercell’s decision to shave off 50% from the Nokia N96’s price-tag is certainly an eye-catching proposition. The N96, which was priced at Rs. 35,000 is now available at Univercell at Rs. 19,231.

We stumbled across the new price while browsing through Univercell’s website. When we contacted the store, we were informed that the price is a result of a 50% off deal that the store was offering on the phone. It seems like a great deal, which leaves us wondering why Univercell hasn’t publicized it at all.

The N96, if you remember from our review, was launched February last year and sports  a 2.8 inch TFT screen, a 5MP camera with LED flash, GPS and Wi-Fi and powered by a 264MHz processor. Also, before the N97, it was Nokia’s flagship model. All in all, for Rs. 19,231, this looks like a steal alright.

Source: PC World

As an added extra, LG has incorporated indicator lights that give out a flashing light when the user reviews a call. Weighing just 73kg, the new KG376 is great for fitting into a handbag or a clutch bag and is the ideal accessory when out on the town. It measures 85.9 X 45 X 19.8 mm, which is a handy size for the ladies. Although there has been little said about the other features that the phone boasts, it arrives with a QQVGA resolution entertainment is provided via a FM radio. The capacity of the battery is 750 mAh. With the amount of internal memory limited to 1 MB mark.

There has been no word from the powers that be as to the pricing or availability of the phones as yet, but it is expected to be well received by the female fraternity who like having an aesthetically pleasing accessory on their person. The graphic presentation of the new model bodes well fo r its popularity once it has been launched officially.

Source: Mobile Marketing News

The device, which attaches to a mobile phone, allows physicians to create a portable microscope that can be used to examine blood samples in the field and help spot some of the world’s deadliest diseases.

Researchers at the University of California Berkeley say they hope the gadget would be deployed in areas where the cost of equipment and training currently prevents access to basic diagnostic tests.

While advanced medical imaging systems and computerised medical equipment remain the privilege of the rich, mobile phones are now ubiquitous – with recent figures suggesting that more there are more than 4bn mobile connections worldwide.

The CellScope microscope attachment clips on to an ordinary mobile phone and uses the built-in camera to process the images, allowing doctors to quickly screen for diseases including TB and sickle-cell. Doctors can perform complex high-resolution light microscopy on a blood or sputum sample placed on a slide.

In a paper published in the journal PLoS One, the team said that, although some of the tests would be more accurate or complete with higher-powered technology, they still proved adequate when performed on a standard Nokia N73 handset, which comes with a 3.2 megapixel camera.

“Sample evaluation could potentially be performed in real time while a patient is still in the presence of a healthcare worker, rather than requiring days or weeks,” the paper says.

“Since we are developing a technology that makes the current and long-standing internationally accepted standards for disease screening in developing countries more portable, we anticipate that a relatively fast time to adoption by clinicians and health workers may be possible.”

The team also suggest that extra features built into many mobile phones, such as GPS location data and internet connectivity, could be used to enhance the findings and make it easier for medics to spot outbreaks and coordinate their responses.

Source: Guardian

The S9110 features a specially designed 1.76-inch TFT touchscreen display with a 176 x 220 pixel resolution. The phone can play MP3 files from its 40MB of internal storage, and it can be used to record voice memos as well. Voice dialing and a speakerphone are also included for that full Dick Tracy effect.

If you prefer not to be seen talking into your wrist, you’ll be thankful to know that the S9110 also supports Bluetooth headsets as well. The S9110’s battery is rated for 630mAh of power, but Samsung did not indicate what kind of talk time or standby time performance we can expect from a full charge.

The S9110 measures 57.5mm x 41.1mm x 11.98mm (2.3in x 1.6in x .47in) in size and weighs 91g (3.2oz). This dual-band (900/1800MHz) GSM/GPRS phone is designed to operate in Europe, and will be sold in France later this month for roughly 450 EUR.

Mobiles, today, are just not essential but have become an important status symbol. Feeling the public pulse, and correctly sensing that there is a niche market for obscenely priced mobiles, manufacturers are developing handsets that cost many thousand dollars.

To know more about the world’s most expensive mobile phones, read on.

1. Goldvish Le million:

Price: $1,000,000
This is the most expensive mobile phone in the world according the Guiness Books of Records.

The phone features a blinding 120 carats worth of VVS-1 grade diamonds. If $1 million is too much for you, the Geneva-based Goldvish also offer several other diamond-encrusted 18k gold models in a choice of rose, yellow, or white, starting at a more reasonable $25,600.

2. Vertu Signature Cobra:

Price: $310,000
Vertu is now taking orders for the Signature Cobra, designed by French jeweller Boucheron, but you better be quick as only eight are being made. The Cobra will feature one pear-cut diamond, one round white diamond, two emerald eyes and 439 rubies.

Vertu will also be offering a ‘cheaper’ version, ruby free, at $115,000.

3. Sony Ericsson Black Diamond:

Price: $300,000
The mobile has Quad-band with Wi-Fi, an Intel 400Mhz processor and a touch sensitive 2? screen. This Sony Ericsson Mobile has 128mb memory and comes with a 2Gb SD card for external storage and a 4 megapixel camera.

4. Vertu Diamond:

Price: $88,000
The Diamond is Vertu’s premium range of high-end mobile phones. As the name suggests, the handsets features diamonds encrusted in a platinum base. Only 200 of the handsets are being produced.

5. Motorola V220 Special Edition:

Price: $51,800
Austrian designer Peter Aloisson has taken a standard Motorola, studded it with 1,200 diamonds and added a keyboard inlaid with 18 carat gold. The outcome is simply spectacular.

6. Gold Edition Nokia 8800 Phone:

Price: $2,700
If you have $2,700 to spare, you can now buy the Nokia 8800 in 24K gold. The mobile phone includes a 0.5 mega pixel SVGA camera, 64 MB of internal memory, 64 voice polyphonic rigntones, FM Radio, Mp3 Player, video recording and 180 minutes’ talk time.

The Gold Edition includes a special edition box and charging dock!

7. Mobiado Professional EM (wood):

Price: $1,900
The Mobiado Professional EM, is a wood-clad upgrade of an earlier Nokia-based phone that includes a 1.3 megapixel camera, music player, FM radio, Bluetooth. According to Mobiado, it’s the first production phone with titanium buttons. Only 200 are being made and each one has its number engraved on the back.

8. Bang & Olufsen (Samsung) Serene:

Price: $1,250
Bang & Olufsen hooked up with Samsung to design the sleek but unconventional Serene. The phone has a built-in motor to assist you in opening and closing the phone.

It’s not very practical, however, as it requires a special screwdriver to access the battery and the SIM card. Its circular keypad will take some getting used to.

Also, for some strange reason the maker has positioned the camera lens on one side of the device, which will make it difficult to align snapshots via the viewfinder on the display.

Source: Mobile India Hub