Samsung to launch GT i8330 H2 Vodafone 360 phone

Samsung is preparing to launch yet another Linux Mobile phone for Vodafone – the GT i8330. We found the Wi-Fi Certification for the device and a little bit of digging revealed that Vodafone is currently testing the phone. Rumoured specs indicate a 1 GHz processor, WVGA (480×800 pixel) touchscreen and an 8.0 MP camera capable of shooting videos at full HD resolution of 1080p. Now if that does not revive LiMo, we don’t know what would.

Nokia N900 gets JoikuSpot

JoikuSpot Premium is set to hit the mobile Linux platform with Nokia’s Maemo-driven N900 getting a version of the world’s most used and popular solution for on-demand mobile WiFi internet and mobile 3G HotSpotting application. The app will be launched formally at 3GSM Barcelona on coming Monday, but it is already available for download at http://www.joiku.com. 

Just in case you have been residing on a non-smartphone planet, JoikuSpot enables users to turn their cellphones into Wi-Fi hotspots, allowing multiple people to share its Internet connection over Wi-Fi. At last count, there were more than half a million users of this app, which is now even coming preinstalled on some devices such as the Nokia N97 and the Nokia N97 Mini. Needless to say, folks in both the  Joikusoft and Nokia camps were just delighted with the news of JoikuSpot getting a N900 avatar, which incidentally comes with a host of new features such as speed measure. 

Purnima Kochikar, VP of Forum Nokia, claimed that the JoikuSpot experience created for the Nokia N900 surpassesed anything seen before, while Tom Ojala, the CEO and Founder of Joikusoft paid tribute to Maemo, saying: â€œNokia’s Maemo platform allows the most speedy and easy internet connection via JoikuSpotting. Coupled with intuitive touch-user interface that Nokia N900 has, the user experience for mobile internet has now become “1 click.” The Nokia N900 takes mobile internet to a totally new level. Nokia N900 owners can now simply go and make their N900 a wireless “MiFi” modem with a simple download!”

We are in queue for a review copy, so you will hear more of this.

Symbian still holds 94 percent share of the total smartphone traffic in India: AdMob

According to AdMob’s latest Mobile Metrics report, worldwide requests from Android devices have increased 5.8 times since April 2009. Globally, the iPhone takes the lead with 50 percent of the smartphone traffic share followed by Symbian with 25 percent. Android, which is barely a year-old platform already accounts for 11 percent of traffic generated on AdMob’s mobile advertising network.

 

However, India bucks the global trend. Symbian, which accounts a quarter of the global smartphone traffic, generates a whopping 94 percent traffic in India! What’s more, the top 20 Symbian devices are manufactured by Nokia. However, the list of these 20 phones hasn’t changed much this year apart from the inclusion of the 5800 XM phone, which speaks a lot about how the OS has stagnated at the moment.

 

In India, Android and iPhone account for just one and three percent traffic, which showcases how the market has failed to mature. We believe that the absence of carrier-subsidised smartphones and the relative newness of the Android platform are the main reasons behind this trend.

 

What’s interesting, however, is that the iPhone has managed to topple Windows Mobile, which accounts for just two percent of traffic generated on AdMob. Well, this figure can be a bit deceptive as Windows Mobile did not have an application store till very recently and hence, users using apps with AdMob’s advertising are expected to be far lower than those using an iPhone. We are certain that Windows Mobile is the second most popular smartphone OS after Symbian in India.

Samsung Protector i8320 runs Linux not Android!

Way back in July, we had told you about the Samsung i8320 aka Protector. Back then, we had very little details to serve ya with the name and its proof of existence but now we have lots more juicy bits to share.

First, it runs Linux but not Google’s version! Yup, the Protector will be a LiMo phone, which makes Sammy probably the only handset vendor to flirt with just about every open smartphone OS known to man at the moment. On the specs front, we are looking at a CORTEX-A8 OMAP3430 processor, an 800×480 pixel touchscreen display, 3G connectivity, Wi-Fi and the works. Interestingly, it would have Opera Mobile 9.6 Internet browser.

Open OS movement becomes stronger as Symbian joins the fray

After the LiMo (Linux Mobile) Foundation and the Open Handset Aliance (Android), we have yet another consortium that hopes to make a difference in the mobile industry by going open source. Biggies like Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and NTT DoCoMo have joined hands to form the Symbian foundation to develop a new open source mobile operating system. Under the agreement, Nokia will acquire Symbian completely while Motorola and Sony Ericsson will contribute technology from UIQ, a company that the handset vendors jointly hold. NTT DoCoMo will contribute technology from its MOAP(S) or the (Mobile Oriented Application Platform) that it employs on its range of Symbian phones.

Eventually, the Symbian Foundation will come out with a unified platform that borrows the best technologies from all the foundation members. The success of the Symbian Foundation will be critical to global market leader, Nokia, which is facing a severe threat from Apple’s iPhone and expects further erosion of its market share once device based on Google’s Android operating system start shipping later this year or early next year.

Another founding member of the alliance, Sony Ericsson, is also finding it difficult to counter the iPhone with its current Symbian UIQ platform. Earlier this year, the handset vendor announced its plans to sell a high-end device based on Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system and is expected to hit the shelves in the fourth quarter of this year. Relying solely on Windows Mobile would hurt Sony Ericsson as it has to pay a royalty to Microsoft for every Windows Mobile device it ships.

Industry sources reveal that handset vendors have to pay Microsoft royalties in the range of US$30 to $40 for every device shipped. This cost is eventually passed on to the end consumer. However, if the Symbian Foundation is able to deliver a high-class mobile operating system platform, a vendor like Sony Ericsson will be able to do away with such royalty by using the new Symbian-based operating system than Microsoft’s Windows Mobile.

Having said that, we are yet to see any path breaking phones arising from such alliances. While the LIMO Foundation does have a few products, none have been best sellers. As far as Android goes, reports in the media indicate delays in the implementation of the operating system on handsets. Meanwhile, Microsoft continues to gain traction with handset vendors for implementing its Windows Mobile platform. This year, Microsoft hopes to ship as many as 300,000 Windows Mobile devices in India alone, with brands like Asus, HTC, LG, MWg and Samsung.

The real test for these operating system alliances will be next year, when, hopefully, consumers will be able to see commercial handsets running on these ‘open’ operating systems.

LiMo Foundation readies Android rival

The LiMo Foundation, the group developing the Linux Mobile platform, has announced the availablility of LiMo Platform Release 1. A open source platform for cellphones, like Google’s Android, LiMo allows third party developers to develop applications for handsets based on the platform by making freely available the application programming interface. The Foundation expects to bring another release of the platform – Release 2 – later this year.