Interesting news from the world of Windows Mobile, now, as according to a story on The Register, Acer may be about to corner the market on cheap smartphones. As in really cheap smartphones. As in Windows Mobile phones that cost less than €49 (about £43)…
Er. Crikey. When you consider that my X1 costs in the region of £500, sim-free, that’s really quite an astonishing price.
It seems the phones, the Acer C1 and E1, going to be punted direct to the networks, who’d very possibly put their own branding on, in the same way that the T-Mobile G1 is actually made by HTC. Either way, though, that looks to be a startlingly cheap price for a proper, fully-fledged smartphone. Not only that, but Acer have confirmed they’ll come with Windows Mobile 6.5, the newest, slickest version, which given the price, is even more surprising. Unlike the vast majority of smartphones out there, they’re also saying the C1 and E1 will come in a range of different, funky colours.
So, with things like an improved user interface, and flashily-painted bodies, it gives us a bit of an insight into exactly what these two Acer phones are.
The words “My First Smartphone” are merrily rushing towards my lips…
And that’s a brilliant idea, in principle, there’s no doubt about that. If you want to get users to jump from cheap feature phones to smartphones, what better way to encourage them to do it than to make a smartphone cheaper to get than a feature phone, right? And yes, that is a brilliant idea, but… I can see a potential problem.
Take a look at the Toshiba TG01. It’s uber-powerful, and unless something pops up in the meantime, it’ll be the most powerful Windows Mobile phone in the world when it’s launched, with that stupidly fast 1GHz processor. I’ll bet you any money, though, that it comes in at a similar price to my X1, sim-free. Power ain’t cheap.
So at about 43 quid, which implies a much lower cost to make them, how powerful, exactly, can the Acer C1 and E1 actually be?
I really hope they can stick some serious power in them, even at that price, because Windows Mobile needs a lot of processing guts to make it a nice, usable operating system. I really hope the low price doesn’t compromise that, because I really want these phones to succeed. I’m genuinely excited about seeing what they’re like, but… well, they may be many people’s first smartphone, but unless they’re really nice, they might end up being many people’s last smartphone, as well.
conne sings on britons got talent
Saturday
Acer to corner the market on cheap smartphones
Becomes part of a full-size laptop
i-mate to release phone that becomes part of a full-size laptop
You may well remember that one of my favourite new phones at the Mobile World Congress was the little i-mate Centurion, a truly dinky, credit card-sized device that somehow managed to fit in Windows Mobile, a QWERTY keyboard and about as much processing power as my Sony Ericsson X1.
Yes, I need cash, because I want one.
Well, the same company have announced something else rather cool, as well, with the i-mate Legionnaire, according to Engadget Mobile. On the face of it, it’s a pretty standard Windows Mobile phone, with the ol’ touchscreen interface, and keyboard-less design of something like the Toshiba TG01. But here’s where it gets interesting. It does have a keyboard…
It’s just not actually attached to, or part of the phone…
What it actually has is a second device, the i-mate Warrior, which is best described as a 10″ netbook PC. Only it’s not, really, it’s a vast, powerful accessory for the Legionnaire. Basically, you slot the Legionnaire into the Warrior (oo-er), and instantly your phone becomes the guts of a laptop PC. And its touchpad, as well. So, in essence, you get yourself a netbook-sized laptop, but what’s powering it is actually the phone.
Now that’s intriguing.
I can see the argument against it, because it means carrying two devices about with you, but let’s be honest, how many people already do that nowadays, with a mobile phone and a separate laptop. Lots and lots, I’d guess. So, why not combine the two? It’s Windows Mobile, so it’ll do a fair amount of the stuff your normal laptop’d do (and definitely things like Word and Excel). Just imagine you’re on the train home from work, looking at t’internet on your phone, but decide you want to send some emails. Slot the phone into the laptop-y jacket-y thing, and do it on a full-size keyboard. And then keep browsing on the page you were looking at on the phone, which is now showing on the big 10″ screen. And when you’re done, unplug them, and carry on browsing on the phone.
New Study texting helps improve literacy
The age old conflict over the English language, with so many grammar bores stating categorically that texting and the like are causing declining standards in literacy and the English language is dying. Of course, the fact that the English language is an ever-evolving beast doesn’t factor into their heads, but hey. These are the same people who say that swearing shows you have a smaller vocabulary and lower intelligence, usually just before I launch into a tirade of abuse that shows them precisely how big my vocabulary is, and how many ways I have of expressing my dislike for them…
However, if a new study quoted by The Register is to be believed, the grammar bores of the world may very soon have to shut up, because it’s now been suggested that texting, and using abbreviations like LOL, OMG, and STFU (one for the grammar bores, right there) actually help increase kids’ literacy.
Now, granted, it was only a small study, but the fact is, it found that of the kids studied, the ones who text regularly had a better reading ability, a larger vocabulary and more phonological (I love that word) awareness, than those who didn’t. Of course, it might just be that they’re brighter kids all round, and the thickos stick to shorter words they know, but one never can tell.
Take me personally, for example. I use abbreviations all the time, if I’m texting or on MSN. Just ask my mate Diana, I’ve had to explain some of the stupid shortcuts I’ve come out with in the past. And that’s because, despite being a wordsmith, I’m inherently lazy. And it really, really bugs me when people go on these ‘crusades against txt spk’, filled with some kind of self-righteous vim and vigour.
Just stop it. Please. What exactly is wrong with using lol to show you find something funny? It’s quite considerably easier than typing ‘oh, I am laughing most heartily, huzzah‘, even if you’re using a QWERTY phone like the Palm Pre, or Nokia N97. It saves time, and, ooh, it really annoys grammar bores!
Besides, it’s insulting, not just to me, but to kids using txt spk, to suggest they can’t use any other form of expression. Just because someone types lol, doesn’t mean they can’t type the long-drawn out version, it just means they made a conscious choice not to. And besides, considering how these people say we have to protect the children as they’re our future in one breath, and then in the next, say exams are getting easier and that they’re all illiterate morons, I think we can safely disregard their opinion.
I say we set them a challenge. Get a full touchscreen phone like the Nokia 5800, or even a traditionally keypadded-up phone like the C905, and try typing out ‘oh yes, most humorous, your witticism has made me fall over to the ground laughing until my bottom has fallen off‘.
Friday
Unprecedented Phone Blows
Toshiba TG01 - unprecedented phone blows EVERYONE’s minds :
Long time readers of our blog will know that whenever I see a mobile phone that I really like, I tend to gawp at it a lot, and generally act like a complete fanboy for a while. I’ll warn you now, expect that to happen in this blog post, because the Toshiba TG01, as shown on Pocket Lint, is truly, utterly, staggeringly gorgeous.
Seriously. Just look at it. It’s taken me about 4 hours just to stop ogling it for long enough to actually write about it. But why is it, when you get right down to it, so special? Well, first off, take a look at the Toshiba TG01’s screen. Notice anything?
Yep. It’s huge. Actually, no, it needs a new word, to properly describe its size. It’s hyoooooooooj!
Coming in at a truly vast 4.1 inches, it neatly stuffs every other mobile phone on the market, even the HTC Touch HD (which is sure to annoy me ol’ mate Matthew, who justifiably loves his HD to bits). And that’s no mean feat considering that the screen on the HD ain’t no slouch. The Toshiba TG01, though, really is something else. Sure, the phone is physically bigger because of it, but it’s all screen, which’ll make typing on it incredibly easy, and watching movies just epic.
However, there’s something else rather exciting about the Toshiba TG01, and that comes from the other dimensions of the phone. Ok, it may be long and wide, but it’s also incredibly thin, coming in at just 9.9mm, making it officially, as far as I’m aware, the thinnest Windows Mobile phone ever made. Well, you’ll see what I mean in the pics below (also courtesy of Pocket Lint), where, when it’s viewed from the side, you can barely see it!
There’s no word yet no what the other specs will be, and Toshiba have sneakily not put the megapixel count on the camera in the promo pics, but I’d bet 3 megapixel, if I had to. Or maybe 5, at a push. As for software, it runs on Windows Mobile 6.1, with a bespoke interface, meaning it really is angling after the Touch HD’s top spot. Same resolution as the HD, too, coming in at 800×480 pixels. Which translates as: ‘you watch, some enterprising soul will port TouchFLO over to it, like they did with the Sony Ericsson X1.’
Oh and it even appears that you can change the CPU speed on it, to either pump up the power, or save it when your battery’s low. Now that is one gorgeous and clever bit of kit…
