O2 has confirmed it’s carrying the new version of its xda Orbit called, imaginatively enough, the xda Orbit 2.
HTC’s poor old smartphones always have a schizophrenic approach to their names, and this is no exception. O2 is calling the device one thing, but you might know it as the HTC Polaris or HTC Touch Cruise. Of course, when other operators carry it, it’ll have another name as well.
Needless to say, all these different versions will have the same features. They’ll have the new TouchFLO controls, a 400Mhz processor, quad-band GSM as well as 3G/HSDPA, a three-megapixel camera and wi-fi. Oh, and of course, as a HTC device, you know it’ll run on Windows Mobile.
O2 will start selling the xda Orbit 2 from early next month with pre-installed TomTom GPS software and a 1GB microSD card. Now, you might think this’ll be expensive, right? Wrong. According to reports, it’s going to cost a mere €99 (£65-£70) on a contract.
It’s got more under the hood than and iPod and it’ll cost less than an iPod Nano let alone the iPhone. Now that’s a bargain.
The N81 has only just gone on sale with the launch of the Nokia Music Store, and now pictures and feedback on a real-life N82 are already emerging on the web.
Although the N81 was launched with Nokia’s Music Store, the N82 is being pitched as a camera phone. But not just any camera phone, oh no, that would be too boring.
According to Symbian Freak, the N82 will be the first Nokia to feature XENON flash to go with its Carl Zeiss optic and five-megapixel camera.
But that’s not all. The N82 will also have 3G/wi-fi, Bluetooth, in-built GPS and a micro-USB port. Like all new NSeries devices, it’ll also feature the NGage games platform, and the Music Store (as seen on the N81 and N95 8GB).
One notable innovation is an auto screen rotation, but unlike the iPhone (which only rotates for certain applications), the N82 will rotate any time, any place no matter what you’re doing.
You can see more photos here.
Well regarded Mac blog TUAW has tried out the new iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store for iPhone & iPod touch, and seems pretty impressed with what’s on offer. Here are a couple of quotes:
‘It feels much snappier than I expected. The album art is nice and big and everything is quite legible.’
‘This is a very nice piece of software: Speedy, simple and similar enough to the “full”version of the iTunes Store that there’s no learning curve at all.’
The review also describes the process of synching back to iTunes on your Mac or PC as ‘laughably easy’. You can read the whole shebang over on the TUAW site now.
With both Sony and Nokia (which recently announced its service) offering over-the-air music purchases, it was only a matter of time for Apple to do the same. The arrival of the new iPod touch (shown right) has given Apple the opportunity to roll out the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, which does pretty much what it says on the tin.
Songs can be browsed, previewed and purchased direct to either the iPhone or the iPod touch, and then synched-back to your home computer next time you link the device up. Pricing and selection of songs remains the same as in the standard iTunes app — it’s the full service, gone mobile.
In addition, Apple and Starbucks have tied-up in the States to offer an innovative service through which you can purchase the song you’re listening to in a Starbucks branch through a one-click process. Your iPod or iPhone will have access to the Starbucks location’s current playlist, allowing you to find it instantly. Over 600 locations will initially offer the service, which includes free wi-fi access to the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, starting 2nd October.
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