HTC Corporation has launched the first Windows phone with HTC Sense in India — HTC HD2. Powered by Windows Mobile 6.5, The HD2 uses the 4.3-inch ‘capacitive touch’ display to make viewing, zooming and resizing websites, Microsoft Office files, PDF documents and pictures easier.

Utilising Qualcomm’s new 1Ghz Snapdragon mobile processor, the HTC HD2 offers enhanced performance that improves the speed of applications, videos, games and more, according to the company.

Tata DoCoMo has announced an exclusive offer with this launch. Tata DoCoMo customers who purchase an HTC HD2 phone will get an exclusive offer to browse the Internet and download 500MB of data per month free for a period of six months. It will be also premiering the HTC HD2 exclusively at Tata DoCoMo Dive-In stores to offer first-hand experience to customers.

The HTC HD2 will be available at a market operating price of Rs 39,990 in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, and Rs 36,990 in the other parts of the country.

Source: EFY Times

N-Gage community features like N-Gage Arena will be closed at the end of 2010, and Nokia has said that it will try to implement similar functionality in the Ovi Store. The N-Gage platform, Nokia’s first foray into mobile gaming that started in 2002, has been a disappointment for Nokia from the start. The first N-Gage phone was widely panned for its oddball “side-talking” form factor, and the follow-up device did little better. N-Gage games have been available on many other Nokia S60 devices for some time, but still failed to take off. You can read more at the official Nokia N-Gage blog.

Source: Mobile Burn

So the next time you need to order a pizza, enquire about a taxi service, call up a florist or in case you want to access the plethora of information available on the Internet while you are on the road just use search by voice on GMA on your Nokia S60 phones to initiate a Google Search on your mobile. The free-to-use application helps users search for updates on cricket and local business listings. The application automatically detects your location. So now as soon as you enter a pizza or pharmacy query and it will return results closest to your current location.

In addition to this, Google Mobile App for Nokia S60 also has a smart suggest feature which suggests search terms query, thus minimising typing in case you are using the cumbersome mobile key board and this result in faster completion of your query term.

Announcing the launch, Vinay Goel, head, products, Google India, said, “There’s no denying the importance of search by voice in India, and the extension of Google’s search by voice feature to more mobile handsets is a natural next step for our mobile strategy. Speech is one of our key innovations in the mobile space out of the India engineering centre. With millions of new mobile users being added every month Google Mobile App’s will provide them with a quick and easy way to get the required information whenever and wherever they need it.”

Voice search speeds up the entire experience and the process of conducting a Google Search using your mobile. All you have to do is to download the Google Mobile App from m.google.co.in on your phone!

Google Mobile App on your Nokia phone enables you to: get rid of typing on the mobile keyboard… just speak your queries; search for business, weather and film information without specifying where you are; and start a Google search with just one click. Suggestions appear as you type, to save you time.

Source: EFY Times

Physical Aspects

The Samsung SGH-A887 Solstice from AT&T appears to be the same as most other touchscreen phones, when you first see it. The small pocketable phone measures in at 109mm x 53mm x 12.7mm (4.3in x 2.1in x .5in) and only weighs a scant 94g (3.3oz), but it packs plenty of features, as well. The phone is built well, with solid materials, though it does feel rather hollow in your hand. The Solstice is available in a toned-down black color scheme, with chrome accents on its few buttons.

The small 3-inch WQVGA (240×400 pixel) resolution touchscreen display dominates the front of the phone and is very responsive, with a bright backlight. There are three buttons below the display – send, back, and end/power. There is also a dedicated screen lock button on the top right edge of the phone, to prevent accidental key presses. Along the left edge of the phone, you’ll find the proprietary Samsung power/data/audio port, which is protected by an attached door, to keep debris out. Below this is the task-switcher button, and below that is the dedicated camera button. The volume rocker is the only button on the right edge of the phone.

The back of the phone is covered in a faux-leather texture, with an ever-so-slightly rubberized grip. You’ll also find the 2 megapixel camera and a single speaker on the back of the Samsung Solstice. Beneath the back cover you’ll find the device’s small 1000mAh battery. Oddly enough, the SIM card slot is not blocked by the battery, though the microSD card slot is.

Source: Mobile Burn

Maps for Mobile version 3.2 was released for Windows Mobile and Symbian S60 devices in July, as we reported, and the new version for BlackBerry includes many of the same new features. The Layers feature enables users to see additional information overlaid on top of maps, including transit lines, Wikipedia data, Google Latitude information, search results, traffic, and directions.

The new software can be downloaded by browsing to m.google.com/maps.

Source: Mobile Burn

Reliance Mobile has introduced the call manager service on its GSM network on supporting handsets. Offered through a server-less client protocol, the Call Manager service allows customers to respond to incoming calls with pre-recorded voice messages. The Call Manager also features SMS based chatting and voice mail on mobile. It allows one to respond to answer phone calls without any need to talk or type, using an intuitive user interface.

The Voice Message feature enables caller to leave a message once a call is left unanswered. The recorded messages are deposited in the mobile phone’s Inbox folder, and can be played, forwarded, replied to or removed. The Voice Message feature can be activated either manually by selecting it from the ringing menu. It allows users to customise its greeting message or the duration after which the voicemail automatically answers a call through the application’s settings.

Sometimes, when dialling a number, the call may ring without an answer. In such cases where the called party might not notice the call, or may not be able to answer at the moment, the application provides options like Call another number. This will offer you to dial the other available numbers of the same contact. This way, if someone is not available at work, you can try reaching them at home with a click. It also enables the caller to start chatting. The Chatting option allows user to start an instant messaging UI-like chat session and communicate using text messaging.

Reliance Mobile is offering the Call Manager service through a subscription module. It will not charge the user for downloading the application. Moreover, post the installation of the service, the customers can avail a free seven-day offer. The subscription for the service will be activated post the expiry of this free-trial period.

Reliance Mobile will charge Rs 15 per month as subscription fee for this service.

Source: EFY Times

Wi-Fi Direct will allow WiFi enabled devices such as phones, cameras, printers, computers, keyboards, and headphones to connect on a one-to-one basis or several at a time. Standard data rates and connection ranges (100m) will be supported, so any device could make use of high-speed bandwidth provided by a broadband connection.

Though ad hoc connections are already available within the current WiFi specifications, the new discovery features will make it easy for devices to find each other. The trade association will certify devices for Wi-Fi Direct starting in mid-2010.

Source: Mobile Burn

HealthRadar, an application for Symbian devices, improves data collection by automatically distributing information from a number of phones to a central server, where it is then aggregated back to local practitioners.

Daily reports are sent to field physicians by SMS. Users can view maps that show disease intensity in geographic locations. Comparisons of current patterns with historical statistics are also available. The software is an exciting and interesting example of how the use of mobile devices brings the power of computing to the real world and gets results.

Source: Mobile Burn