The Symbian^3 (S^3) platform is here! S^3 is the first entirely open source release following the platforms transition to an open source license on February 4th, 2010, which was the largest of its kind in history. Check out the cool video after the break.
A 3D performance comparison between Google’s Nexus One and Apple’s iPhone 3GS.
The test I’m showing here is a pretty typical 3D game scene. It contains a 3D environment and multiple animated 3D characters. The GPU is stress tested due to the high number of polygons in the scene and the CPU is stress tested as it is calculating the bone & skinning of the animation.
Starting up the test on both devices shows that the iPhone 3GS runs at 60 frames per second (fps) and the Nexus at between 30 to 35fps. As we add more woman models until we get to 8 models we see that the frame rate has dropped to 29fps on the iPhone and approx 21fps on the Nexus. Therefore, on the face of it, it seems the iPhone is 138% faster in this scene.
Check out the video after the break.
Sony Ericsson today announced two unrumored phones, the Xperia X10 mini and Xperia X10 mini pro. The phones are, not surprisingly, smaller versions of the original Xperia X10, and with a few downgraded features. It will run Android 1.6 on a 600MHz Qualcomm processor, 5 megapixel autofocus camera, A-GPS, 3.5mm headphone jack, Bluetooth, WiFi and a 2.55″ QVGA touchscreen.
The only difference between these two versions is the QWERTY-keyboard. Expect to see this phone in stores during the second quarter.
Check out the press release and specs after the break.
A few official press images of the Samsung GT-i8520 also known as Halo. Hit read more for the images.
Engadget has found a spec sheet for the yet unannounced Samsung i8520 a.k.a. Halo. This little thing has a few very interesting features. Specs:
The phone should be available in Europe and Asia in the third quarter. Boy do I love Mobile World Congress! Full specs after the break.
Sony Ericsson just announced the Vivaz Pro at the Mobile World Congress. This is basically the “original” Vivaz that was announced last month, but with an added QWERTY-keyboard. Another minor difference is a downgraded camera, from 8.1MP to 5.1MP. The Vivaz Pro will come in black and white, and should be available sometime during the 2nd quarter.
Full specs and press release after the break.
Samsung just announced the first Bada phone at Mobile World Congress. The Wave, S8500, comes with an amazing 3.3″ Super AMOLED screen at a resolution of 800 x 480. But, the screen doesn’t support multitouch(!)? On top of Bada, runs a TouchWiz 3.0 UI. Other interesting features include Wifi 802.11n, Bluetooth 3.0, 1GHz processor, 5 megapixel camera, a-GPS, accelerometer, 2GB or 8GB internal storage with a possibility for a microSD card. The phone supports DivX, XviD, MP3 and WMV plus a virtual 5.1 surround sound and 720p recording and decoding.
The phone will be world wide available in April, but Samsung didn’t give us a price just yet. Check out the full specs and a hands-on video after the break.
The Nokia E72 just received a firmware update. No word about what the update will bring more, at least it updates the version number to 23.002 ;)
Remember to make a backup of your phone before updating.
Neowin has learned that Microsoft will announce a new Windows Mobile edition on Monday at Mobile World Congress. The new version will be called Windows Mobile Starter edition, and will be based on Windows Mobile 6.
Named Windows Mobile Starter Edition the software will be targeted at OEMs building devices for new and emerging markets. Based on Windows Mobile 6, Starter Edition will come in two versions, one with Office Mobile and one without. Windows Mobile Starter Edition will also support 2G (GSM), 2.5G (EDGE, GPRS) and CDMA (Rev A, EV-DO Revision A) or TD-SCDMA. It’s not yet clear whether 3G (GSM) will be supported.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Microsoft is looking to broaden Windows Mobile licensing to a wider audience. Microsoft recently announced a partnership with MediaTek to drive growth in smartphone sales for emerging markets over the next 12 months. MediaTek has worked with Microsoft to couple its hardwarewith the Windows Mobile 6 software. Neowin believes this is one of many working relationships that Microsoft will form to push Windows Mobile 6 or Windows Mobile Starter Edition to emerging markets over the next year.
We will know much more tomorrow, and during the coming week.
A homescreen comparison between Android, iPhone, Windows Mobile and webOS. The phones compared in the video are iPhone 3GS, Google Nexus One, HTC HD2 and Palm Pre.
Video after the break.
