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The BlackBerry Storm 9530 from Research in Motion (RIM) carries a combined materials and manufacturing cost of US$202.89, according to a teardown conducted by iSuppli. This cost includes all parts and manufacturing costs for the Storm but excludes other expenses, including Intellectual Property (IP), royalties and licensing fees, software, shipping, logistics marketing and other channel costs.

In the US, Verizon is selling the Storm for US$249.99 with a US$50 rebate, bringing the balance to US$199.99 – the same selling price point as iPhone. However, carriers like Verizon and AT&T sell their mobile phones at subsidized pricing, so the actual price and materials/manufacturing margin for the product is difficult to determine.

Storm vs. iPhone

The Storm matches up with the iPhone 3G very well in terms of attributes and functionality. Both phones combine wireless voice communications with a range of other convergence features, including Internet access, email, built-in GPS, messaging and an integrated camera.

The Storm features a color 3.25-inch TFT-LCD display, with 65,000 colors and a 480 by 360 pixel resolution. However, the inclusion of the touchscreen is what really puts the Storm into the same class as the iPhone 3G, according to iSuppli.

“The touchscreen and the resulting user interface represent the focal point of the Storm’s design from the user’s point of view, as it is with the iPhone,” said Andrew Rassweiler, principal analyst, teardown services manager, for iSuppli. “However, RIM has added a special differentiating feature from the iPhone: the ‘clickable’ screen. The one thing that existing touchscreens lack is the feedback mechanism users get from a conventional keyboard that clicks when a key is depressed, letting you know quickly that your choice has been registered. Clearly, RIM felt this was lacking and added an actual physical button that allows users to feel and hear a click when they make a selection on the display.”

“While the Storm is very competitive with the iPhone in terms of features and hardware, it does not have iPhone’s multi-touch technology,” said Tina Teng, senior analyst, wireless communications, for iSuppli. “The Storm uses a simple physical button under the primary touch screen to provide haptic feedback. This allows one physical key press at a time, meaning there is no double-tapping capability with the Storm.”

On the other hand, the Storm is capable of roaming with more operators globally than the iPhone due to its support for the EVDO air standard, along with CDMA 2000, GSM, WCDMA and HSDPA. This allows Verizon’s Storm users to roam around the world without having to rent a separate device, depending on operator restrictions.

The Storm, when compared with the Apple iPhone 3G, is marginally more expensive and complex in terms of sheer component count.

In July 2008, iSuppli issued a preliminary estimate of US$174.33 for initial production costs for the 8GB iPhone 3G, US$28.56 less than the Storm. The Storm’s total component count is 1,177, of which 151 are mechanical in nature. The iPhone 3G includes 1,116 components.

“The higher cost and component cost of the Storm are to be expected, given its support for both 3GPP – and 3GPP2 – based technologies,” Rassweiler said.

BOMs away

The US$202.89 BOM/manufacturing cost of the Blackberry Storm 9530 consists of US$186 for components and other materials, and US$16.07 for manufacturing. This total is about $27 more expensive than the Bold, another smartphone model from RIM, based on pricing from October 2008, according to iSuppli’s Teardown Analysis Service. The cost differential is mainly accounted for by the touchscreen and its supporting electronics, according to Francis Sideco, senior analyst, wireless communications, for iSuppli.

Qualcomm scores design win

The use of the Qualcomm MSM7600 baseband processor represents the first time iSuppli’s Teardown Analysis Service has detected a part from this manufacturer in a RIM product. Previous teardowns noted that RIM employed Marvell chips for this function. For example, the Bold used Marvell Technology Group’s PXA9xx Integrated Baseband processor. The Qualcomm part not only provides support for the EVDO air standard, making it a more of a worldwide phone, but it also eliminates the need for multiple basebands and radio frequency chains, saving some cost.

At an estimated price of US$34.82, the MSM7600 accounts for 17.2% of the Storm’s total component cost. Qualcomm also provided two RF transceivers and a power management IC for the Storm, giving the company a 21.1% share of the total component costs for the product.

Other component supplier winners in the Storm include: Synaptics, which contributed a US$15.50 capacitive touchscreen overlay; SanDisk, which provided an 8GB MicroSD memory card priced at US$11.50; Samsung Electronics, which supplied a US$7.50 multi-chip package (MCP) containing 8Gb of Multi-Level Cell (MLC) memory, according to iSuppli.

source: DigiTimes

China Mobile has been working on OMS for quite some time now. With the Apple deal going nowhere after multiple rounds of negotiations (because of China Mobile’s refusal to share any of its profits), it needs an OS of it’s own. A well placed source said,”Given these(iPhone, Android, Symbian) developments, it is becoming very clear that developing a proprietary handset operating system is essential for dominance of the mobile Internet market in China. At the moment, China Mobile is in a comparatively weak position without its own operating system. With its own operating system, China Mobile will be able to commission customized phones from handset makers and keep its hand strong in negotiations over profit sharing. There is even the possibility that China Mobile may move into manufacturing handsets itself.”

No word on specs yet but the pic should give some feelers.

source: www.modmygphone.com

The Nokia N97 is most definitely one of the most loaded N-series devices out there, but that’s not it’s all about. The N97 is the first high-end device powered by the latest touchscreen Symbian S60 OS. And if the 3.5-inch touchscreen display is not enough for you, you can always slide-and-tilt it up so the large full QWERTY keyboard gets revealed.

Tri-band HSDPA and quad-band GSM ensure world wide roaming, but the new Nokia N97 also boasts 32GB of internal memory, a 5 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, GPS, touch-enabled Nokia Maps with a digital compass, an accelerometer for auto screen rotation and a proximity sensor for auto screen turn-off during calls.

The 16M color 3.5-inch touchscreen TFT display has a resolution of 360 x 640 pixels that should meet all your handheld widescreen multimedia needs. Of course all the basics are covered too - with stereo Bluetooth, 3.5mm audio jack, TV-out and FM radio with RDS.

As you can imagine the loaded Nokia N97 is quite hefty - it weighs 150 g, but size-wise it’s not bigger than say, the Apple iPhone 3G (except in thickness, that is).

source: GSM Arena

Using a car as your source of inspiration is always a pretty neat idea, but when the car itself is a concept design, things get stunning. J. Havrlant designed the Sony Ericsson T903 concept phone, inspired by Ryuga, one of Mazda’s hottest futuristic automobiles.

source: Concept Phones

T-Mobile will be the first carrier to offer a mobile phone powered by Google’s Android software, according to people briefed on the company’s plans. The phone will be made by HTC, one of the largest makers of mobile phones in the world, and is expected to go on sale in the United States before Christmas, perhaps as early as October.

The high-end phone is expected to match many of the capabilities of Apple’s iPhone and other so-called smartphones that run software from Palm, Research in Motion, Microsoft and Nokia to access the Internet and perform computerlike functions.

The HTC phone, which many gadget sites are calling the “dream,” will have a touch screen, like the iPhone. But the screen also slides out to expose a full five-row keyboard. A video of the phone has been posted recently on YouTube. A person who has seen the HTC device said it matched the one in the video.

The phone’s release date depends on how soon the Federal Communications Commission certifies that the Google software and the HTC phone meet network standards. Executives at all three companies are hoping to announce the phone in September because they would benefit from holiday season sales. The people briefed on the discussions declined to be named because they were not authorized to discuss the project.

Apple’s iPhone has shaken the cellphone industry, partly because of its design, but mostly because AT&T and Apple have allowed owners to download any number of applications to their phones. That freedom to individualize a phone’s functions has helped increase the popularity of the iPhone.

Phones using Google’s software will do the same thing. Google is making the Android operating system software available free to an alliance of companies, including cellphone carriers and manufacturers who have agreed to provide devices which, like personal computers, allow users to decide which applications run on them.

Google thinks that many consumers will want to personalize their mobile phones with unique applications and services, including those made by Google.

Google is eager to get the Android platform on phones quickly because it thinks that the mobile Web is vital to the long-term growth of its digital advertising business.

“We can make more money on mobile than we do on the desktop, eventually,” Eric Schmidt, Google’s chief executive, said in an interview on CNBC this week.

But carriers have their own reasons for wanting devices that are more Internet friendly. For one, they can charge more for data plans than typical voice plans. And some carriers, like AT&T, are creating their own mobile applications that they hope will also be revenue generators.

“The launch of Android is an important milestone in the industry,” said Richard Wong, a venture capitalist at Accel Partners, which invests in mobile start-ups. But, he warned, it was only one of several platforms being developed or upgraded today. He said that what he found most exciting was that Google’s Android and Apple’s iPhone “forces others to innovate faster.”

Executives for T-Mobile, the nation’s No. 4 wireless carrier, declined to comment on the new phone except to say it was on track to offer it in the fourth quarter. HTC, which is based in Taiwan, also declined to comment, although executives there have said they expected to deliver their phone by the end of the year.

While other carriers and manufacturers have plans to offer phones based on Google’s software, the T-Mobile-HTC phone is expected to be the only Android phone available in the United States this year, according to a person briefed on the discussion.

Sprint, the third-largest carrier and also a member of the Google-led Open Handset Alliance, has been working closely with Google, too, but does not have a confirmed date for offering an Android phone, said Kevin Packingham, vice president for wireless product management. So far AT&T and Verizon Wireless, the two biggest carriers, have not committed to selling mobile phones sold with Google’s software.

The chip maker Qualcomm, another member of the alliance, said the company was working on Android phones with more than five phone manufacturers.

Google executives have confirmed that phones based on Android will be available this year, but have refused to reveal details. The company said it was testing the software on several devices.

“This process ensures we have an opportunity to receive feedback from users,” Google said in a statement.

Some makers of mobile software programs have complained that creating applications for Android has been difficult, as Google has continued to make changes to the operating system and has at times been too busy to provide support to developers. Some of those software makers have chosen to focus their development efforts, at least for now, on phones that are already on the market like the iPhone or the BlackBerry, made by Research in Motion.

With the iPhone still setting the standard for touch-screen phones, challengers to the throne all seem to be trying to out-elegance one another–witness the new Samsung Armani, for instance. Now along comes the HTC Touch Diamond, “a new benchmark for phone sophistication,” the company crows.

Central to the phone is the company’s TouchFlo 3D interface, which HTC says provides “animated access” to people (by calling, we presume), messaging, e-mail, photos, and more. There’s also a touch pad alongside the screen. Under the hood is the Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional operating system.

“Drive” is what we call the new and beautiful car navigation feature. It looks great and is easy to use while driving: change “views” by clicking left or right, select functions from a “grid” menu. The Drive interface is transparent black and the turning arrows dynamically show the exact angle of the turn. Check out driving time and average speed for your journey and plan multiple stopover routes.

I’m very excited about a new feature that we call “Walk”. It lets you find your way in the city when you are on foot. It is easy to use and discreet (no voice instructions). Small “breadcrumbs” are shown where you have been walking so you easily see what direction to take. “Walk” is included in the navigation license for car navigation but can also be purchased separately. If you have already purchased car navigation with older Maps version, you will now get “Walk” free of charge!

The beta offers satellite maps in 200 cities worldwide. Satellite maps can be turned on when browsing the map and also in “Walk”. The satellite maps are downloaded over the air and are saved automatically. Next time you start Maps the satellite maps will be there, no need to download them again.

The search is much, much improved. It is now as simple as typing part of street names or a place in a search box. Search results are listed by category (addresses, cities, restaurants etc.)

Places are personal. You are now able to save places as favorites, create collections (folders for places) and even save your routes.

What else? Better 3D mode and overall faster, better, and more beautiful

Upgrading to Maps 2.0 Beta is easy. You can continue using your old maps and licenses. It is also possible to upgrade your map data using the new Map Loader (also provided from beta labs). You need to run the Maps beta once first in the phone before connecting to PC.

Grab Nokia Maps 2.0 Beta while it is hot and let us know what you think about it!

Note that since this is a beta, some less important functions may be ‘limited’. We are still working on the traffic feature for car navigation. We’ll keep you posted when that gets available too.

Tip 1: Shortcut keys in the map

• Use * and # keys to zoom in and out in the map
• Use to 0 key to go to “My position”
• Use the 1 key to change map modes (2D, 3D, Satellite, Hybrid)

Tip 2: Shortcut keys in Drive mode

• The “grid” (options menu) layout imitates the keyboard. Items in the grid are also accessible directly through the keyboard.
• The same shortcuts are also available in Walk

source: Nokia Beta Labs

Factories here churn out iPhones that are exported to the United States and Europe. Then thousands of them are smuggled back into China.The strange journey of Apple’s popular iPhone, to nearly every corner of the world, shows what happens when the world’s hottest consumer product defies a company’s attempt to introduce it slowly in new markets.

The iPhone has been swept up in a frenzy of global smuggling and word-of-mouth marketing that leads friends to ask friends, “While you’re in the U.S., would you mind picking up an iPhone for me?”

These unofficial distribution networks help explain a mystery that analysts who follow Apple have been pondering: Why is there a large gap between the number of iPhones that Apple says it sold last year, about 3.7 million, and the 2.3 million that are actually registered on the networks of its wireless partners in the United States and Europe?

The answer now seems clear. For months, tourists, small entrepreneurs and smugglers of electronic goods have been purchasing iPhones in the United States and then shipping them overseas.

There the phones’ digital locks are broken so they can work on local telephone networks, and they are outfitted with localized software, essentially undermining Apple’s effort to roll out the phone with exclusive partnership deals, similar to its primary partnership agreement with AT&T in the United States.

“There’s no question many of them are ending up abroad,” said Charles Wolf, an analyst who follows Apple for Needham.

For Apple, the booming overseas market for iPhones is both a sign of its marketing prowess and a blow to a business model that could be coming undone, costing the company as much as $1 billion over the next three years, according to some analysts.

But those economic realities do not play into the mind of Daniel Pan, a 22-year-old Web site designer who says a friend recently bought an iPhone for him in the United States.

He and other people in Shanghai often pay $450 to $600 to get a phone that sells for $400 in the United States. But they are happy.

“This is even better than I thought it would be,” he said, toying with his iPhone at an upscale coffee shop. “This is definitely one of the great inventions of this century.”

Pan is among the new breed of young professionals in China who can afford to buy the latest gadgets and the coolest Western brands.

IPhones are widely available at electronic stores in big cities, and many stores offer unlocking services for imported phones.

Chinese sellers of iPhones say they typically get the phones from suppliers who purchase them in the United States, then have them shipped or carried to China by airline passengers.

Often, they say, the phones are given to members of Chinese tourist groups or Chinese airline flight attendants, who are typically paid a commission of about $30 for every phone they deliver.

Although unlocking the phone violates Apple’s purchase agreement, it does not appear to violate any laws in China, though many stores may be avoiding import duties.

Considering the penchant in China for smuggling and counterfeiting high-quality goods, the huge number of iPhones being sold in China is not surprising, particularly given the popularity of the Apple brand in China.

Indeed, within months of the release of the iPhone in the United States last June, iPhone knockoffs, or iClones as some have dubbed them, were selling in Shanghai for as little as $125. But most people want the real thing.

“A lot of people here want to get an iPhone,” said Conlyn Chan, 31, a lawyer who was born in Taiwan and now lives in Shanghai. “I know a guy who went back to the States and bought 20 iPhones. He even gave one to his driver.”

Negotiations between Apple and China Mobile, the world’s biggest mobile-phone service operator, with more than 350 million subscribers, broke down last month, stalling the official release of the iPhone in China. Long before that, however, there was a thriving gray market.

“I love all of Apple’s products,” said a 27-year-old Beijing engineer named Chen Chen who found his iPhone through a bulletin board Web site. “I bought mine for $625 last October, and the seller helped me unlock it. Reading and sending Chinese messages is no problem.”

An iPhone purchased in Shanghai or Beijing typically costs about $555, compared with the $400 retail price for the same model in the United States. To unlock the phone and add Chinese language software costs an additional $25.

read the whole story at Herald Tribune

Today at Mobile World Congress 2008, Microsoft Corp. announced that Sony Ericsson will deliver a new Windows Mobile phone, the XPERIA™ X1, which blends mobile Web communication and multimedia entertainment, to meet consumer demand for a premium mobile experience for work and play.”People should be able to have phones that deliver what they need throughout the day and stay connected with today’s broad array of on-demand information and entertainment no matter where they are, said Pieter Knook, senior vice president, Mobile Communications Business, Microsoft. “Our shared vision with Sony Ericsson is to make the concept of ‘One Phone for Your Life’ a reality and finally give consumers the freedom of true mobility. The XPERIA X1 from Sony Ericsson lets users choose from a dynamic range of activities for work and play backed by the familiarity of Microsoft Windows and extensive availability of Windows Mobile applications and services.

To be introduced in the second half of 2008, XPERIA X1 is the first phone to realize the vision of XPERIA, a new Sony Ericsson sub-brand that reflects a premium experience of energized communication. “XPERIA is our promise to think foremost about user experience and to deliver on our goal of providing a true premium experience - anytime, anywhere, anything, with anyone,” said Rikko Sakaguchi, head of Portfolio and Proposition at Sony Ericsson. “By working with Microsoft on the XPERIA X1, we have been able to couple our excellence in creating compelling consumer propositions with the productivity capabilities of Windows Mobile to deliver a seamless blend of mobile Web communication and multimedia entertainment within a distinctive design.”Sony Ericsson is the latest leading device manufacturer to design and market mobile phones based on the Windows Mobile platform. The company sold more than 100 million handsets in 2007 and excelled in sales of imaging and music-enabled devices, such as Cyber-shot and Walkman phones. In fiscal year 2007, Microsoft sold 11 million Windows Mobile licenses and expects to sell more than 20 million licenses in fiscal year 2008, making Windows Mobile a leading smartphone platform globally.

With the addition of the XPERIA X1 from Sony Ericsson, four of the world’s top five makers of mobile phones will ship Windows Mobile devices in 2008. “The agreement between Microsoft and Sony Ericsson is undoubtedly a win- win for both companies,” said Lars Vestergaard, research director, European Wireless and Mobile Communications at IDC. “Marrying the power and ease of use of the Windows Mobile platform with the advanced consumer features Sony Ericsson is known for has the potential to reach the ’sweet spot’ for mobile phones.”The XPERIA X1 features include the following:

• Unique arc slider with wide-pitch, easy-to-use QWERTY keyboard, 3-inch clear wide VGA display and high-quality high-finish metal body
• Windows Mobile, HSDPA/HSUPA and Wi-Fi™ support so customers can enjoy their favorite entertainment and work efficiently on the move
• XPERIA™ panels to navigate Web, multimedia and other applications with the tip of a finger

The XPERIATM X1 combines a 3-inch clear wide VGA display and a full QWERTY keyboard within a quality metal-finish body. With Windows Mobile® inside, the XPERIA™ X1 lets you choose from a dynamic range of activities at anytime and anywhere; from enjoying your favourite entertainment content to working efficiently on-the-move. Access a world of experiences simply by touching the XPERIA™ panel on the screen.”XPERIA™ represents the first brand that is truly borne from within Sony Ericsson. It represents our vision for a premium, energised communication experience,” said Dee Dutta, Head of Marketing, Sony Ericsson. “This launch, and the announcement of the X1, further strengthens the overall Sony Ericsson brand and places us at the forefront of mobile convergence.“Our vision for the XPERIA™ X1 is to deliver a seamless blend of mobile Web communication and multimedia entertainment within a distinctive design,” said Rikko Sakaguchi, Head of Portfolio and Propositions, Sony Ericsson. “XPERIA™ is our promise to think foremost of user experience and to deliver the premium experience – anytime, anywhere, anything, with anyone.

read more at ecoustics.com

Sony Ericsson recently announced the launch of its T270 and T280 handsets.

The T270 and T280 are less than 13mm slim and built using brushed light metal with a glass finish. The T280 features a 1.3-megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom.

The two GSM-based phones will be available in the same colors, silver on black and copper on silver. They will be available in selected markets from the first quarter of 2008.

This is whipper!!! i could easily recommend this beauty to any one working in a TPO or BPO related job environment …as its a phone thats has MP3 ringtones,BT,Limited Mem,NO CAM(preffered)& BEST RADIO RECEPTION with RDS …who needs more than the…

source: DigiTimes

Panasonic, a leader in High Definition technology, today announced the development of the world’s first* 32 Gigabyte (GB) SD High Capacity (SDHC)** Memory Card with Class 6 speed specification, perfect for recording High Definition video. With the ability to store up to eight hours of High Definition video, the 32GB SDHC Memory Card prototype will be showcased at the 2008 International CES in Las Vegas from January 7-10 at the Panasonic booth #9405.

The newly developed card, featuring a massive 32GB of capacity is introduced in line with the huge growth in High Definition SD Camcorders and AVCHD High Definition video recording. With double the storage capacity of the current 16GB card, the 32GB card is able to record approximately eight hours of 1440 x 1080i High Definition video and approximately five hours and 20 minutes of 1920 x 1080i full High Definition video. Hours and hours of High definition recording time ensures that you never miss out on a moment. Fly on the wall documentary at work sound interesting? You will have no problems in capturing your whole day with the ability to record around eight hours worth of high definition footage. With the Class 6 speed specification and maximum data transfer speeds up to an impressive 20MB/s, the 32GB card is the industries fastest of its size, allowing users to enjoy superb performance and high-quality recording.

The card is also equipped with a new user-friendly labeling feature, which allows users to write titles or comments directly onto labels on the front and back of the card. Archiving all those holiday snaps has never become so easy. Panasonic is planning to introduce the new labeling feature in its other SD Memory Card models, with a running changeover from the current card designs in spring 2008.

The arrival of Panasonic’s 32GB model further strengthens its Pro High Speed line-up which currently has five models available: 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB and 16GB card sizes with the Class 6 speed specification. The 32GB SDHC memory card will be available from March 2008.

source: dpnow.com

Nokia, the world’s biggest maker of mobile phones, said Tuesday that it would close a factory in Germany and cut about 2,300 jobs as it shifts production to locations with lower costs.The factory in Bochum in western Germany is scheduled to close in mid-2008, Nokia said in a statement. Production will be moved to more competitive plants in Europe, Nokia said without elaborating. Costs for the shutdown were not disclosed.

Nokia wants to stay ahead of competitors Samsung Electronics and Motorola without sacrificing profit margins at a time when cellphone prices are falling. Nokia has European plants in Finland, Hungary and Britain, and is building a new site in Romania. Last month, the company decided to move some production lines from Finland to South Korea because of labor shortages.

“Germany isn’t very cost efficient,” said Jari Honko, an analyst at eQ Bank in Helsinki. “They were forced to do this.”

Nonproduction related activities in Bochum will also be closed, the company said. Nokia said it planned to sell its line fit automotive business and is in talks to sell the adaptation software research unit in Bochum to Sasken Technologies.

“The planned closure of the Bochum production site is necessary to secure Nokia’s long-term competitiveness,” Veli Sundbaeck, head of corporate relations and responsibility, said in the statement. “It cannot be operated in a way that meets the requirements for global cost efficiency and for flexible capacity growth.”

The Finnish company employed about 113,000 people as of Sept. 30. Nokia also has factories in Mexico, Brazil, China and India. It is currently spending $75 million in Chennai to increase capacity at the Indian plant.

“If you build a plant, it would be better to do it Asia than in Europe,” said Wing-Yen Choi, an analyst at Theodoor Gilissen Amsterdam. He said Nokia could still benefit from redirecting production to Eastern Europe, where costs are lower. “The plant was already written off and has zero economic value.”

Germany’s IG Metall union called Nokia’s plan “inhuman” and “socially unacceptable.”

“That location is running well and the workers there give it all seven days a week,” said Ulrike Kleinebrahn, an IG Metall official based in Düsseldorf, Germany. “As a top company in the industry, Nokia made a very brutal decision.”

Nokia increased its handset market share in the third quarter, the fifth straight quarter, while Samsung Electronics overtook Motorola, a survey showed.

The Finnish company’s global third-quarter market share by unit sales rose to 38.1 percent from 35.1 percent a year earlier, according to a report by Gartner, the researcher based in Stamford, Connecticut. Samsung increased its share to 14.5 percent from 12.2 percent and Motorola fell to 13.1 percent from 20.7 percent.

Nokia has stayed ahead of competitors with products ranging from phones costing less than $50 to advanced devices featuring satellite navigation and e-mail.

Nokia, which reports fourth-quarter earnings next Thursday, posted an 85 percent increase in third-quarter profit to €1.56 billion, or $2.32 billion.

Gartner forecast in November that global unit sales would be 1.13 billion units or “slightly” higher for 2007, an increase of about 14 percent from the previous year.

source: Herald Tribune

While not a huge risk, the first Trojan for the iPhone has been discovered. The first reports came from iPhone enthusiast site Modmyifone.com and were later confirmed by security research company F-Secure.

The Trojan specifically targets users that have modded their iPhone so they can install third-party applications. The application masks itself as an update to Erica’s Utilities and is labeled as “113 prep.”

According to Modmyifone.com all the app does is say “shoes.” However, when uninstalled, the application removes files from the /bin directory on the iPhone, breaking valid apps like Sendfile and Erica’s Utilities.

The Web site hosting the application was taken offline soon after it was discovered, reports F-Secure.

“Hopefully this serves as a warning for those who have opened their iPhones using a security hole in the system and then installing unverified software without a second thought to what they are doing,” said F-Secure on its Web site.

F-Secure reported that it was an 11-year-old kid playing with XML files who created the Trojan. “Next time it might be someone else with more skills and with specific target,” they said.

source: MacWorld 

It’s not exactly an iPhonekiller, but Research In Motion appears set to launch a new BlackBerry that mimics some of Apple Inc.’s design cues, according to information leaked on the Internet.

A Vodafone Group document that details the carrier’s 2008 handset lineup has been posted on several websites and includes, among other things, a photo of a yet-to-be released BlackBerry wireless e-mail device.

The leaked RIM offering retains the BlackBerry’s traditional look of a full-sized keyboard and smaller screen, but adopts the iPhone’s sleek black and steel motif.

The Wi-Fi and GPS-enabled device will be “BlackBerry’s new flagship device targeted at senior execs,” when it goes on sale in May, according to the Vodafone document.
There are also reports of the same BlackBerry model bearing a Rogers logo, but Rogers Wireless spokesperson Odette Coleman said she could not confirm the new model’s existence, or whether it would be offered in Canada by Rogers.

source: MetroNews.ca & The Boy Genius Report

Hewlett-Packard (HP) has teamed up with a number of Taiwan-based makers in a bid to strengthen it market position in the dedicated PDA and PDA phone segments, according to sources at Taiwan handset makers.

The company released its new PDA device, the iPAQ 112, in South Korea last week and unveiled the product in Taiwan on December 25.

The iPAQ 112 features a 3.5-inch touch screen and runs on Windows Mobile 6 OS and is powered by a Marvell PXA310 processor. The handheld device, which also supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity, carries a suggested retail price of NT$9,900 (US$305).

While outsourcing the production of the iPAQ 112 to the Foxconn (Hon Hai Precision Industry) Group, HP is contracting the production of two PDA phones, the iPAQ 610 and iPAQ 910, to Inventec Appliances, according to sources at the makers.

The launch of the iPAQ 610 and iPAQ 910, both supporting the 3.5G standard, was originally set for the fourth quarter of this year but has been postponed to the first half of 2008 due to certification problems, the sources indicated.

HP has also teamed up with Compal Communications for the development of three smartphone phones with specifications yet to be decided, said the sources, noting that the iPAQs manufactured by Compal may come out in the second half of 2008 at the earliest.

source: DigiTimes