New 'affordable' BlackBerry smartphone launched in India

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Research in Motion (RIM) on Wednesday launched in India what it called its "most affordable" BlackBerry smartphone, part of an aggressive push in one of its few growing markets.

The new Curve 9220 is priced in India at 10,990 rupees, higher than the price of Curve 8520, which is RIM's best-selling phone in India, and comes with an introductory offer to download free applications worth 2,500 rupees.

RIM, which will start selling the new phone in India on Thursday, will launch it in a number of other countries in coming weeks, Carlo Chiarello, executive vice president of RIM's smartphone division, told reporters.

The BlackBerry Curve 9220 has a dedicated key for accessing BlackBerry Messenger and FM radio, along with a 2 mega pixel camera, and works on second-generation mobile networks.

(Also read: In Asia, BlackBerry's RIM sees a glimmer of hope, click http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/04/18/blackberry-curve-9220-rim-india-asia-ind-idINDEE83H06220120418)

RIM's BlackBerry devices have struggled to compete with Apple Inc's iPhone and iPad and a slew of devices based on Google's Android platform, and the Canadian company reported a quarterly loss last month as sales of its phones slumped.

While RIM's U.S. sales have fallen for five straight quarters, and analysts say consumer acceptance of its smartphones is starting to erode in Latin America and Europe, countries in Asia such as Indonesia and India offer hope for the Waterloo, Ontario-based company.

In India, for example, RIM has seen fast growth as it expanded aggressively into the consumer segment with low-cost offerings and by positioning the device as a gadget for aspiring young professionals and even college students.

Last year, RIM had a 15 percent share of the Indian smartphone market, while Nokia led the segment with a 38 percent share, according to data compiled by technology researcher CyberMedia.

Patrick Spence, RIM's global head of sales, said smartphones account for just about 15 percent of mobile handsets sold globally, but was bullish on the potential for their growth.

"We are very early in this game," he told reporters in New Delhi.

India has are more than 900 million mobile subscribers, making it the second biggest wireless market after China, but smartphones account for just about 6 percent of total handset sales but are growing quickly.

Motorola announced their S9 Bluetooth Headset

Motorola announced their S9 Bluetooth Headset

It’s David Beckham! Motorola has launched their new 32g Bluetooth stereo headset codenamed “S9” in Korea. This headset supports version 2.0 Bluetooth wireless technology and comes with a stable behind-the-head style. There’s also a button which enabled user to switch the music to calls. This headset will be suitable for sports use as it is water and sweat resistant. The Motorola S9 Bluetooth wireless headset comes with a suggested price of 99,000 KRW ($108) when released. More pictures after the jump.

World’s Smallest Laptop

World’s Smallest Laptop

Fujitsu Lifebook

Fujitsu Japan has announced the world’s smallest laptop, the super compact Lifebook U. It measures only 171×133×26.5 - 32mm and weighs a mere 280 grams. It is powered by Intel A110 processor at 800Mhz and Intel 945GU Express chipset which has an onboard graphics processor. This Lifebook U features Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Fingerprint sensor, 1 x USB 2.0 port, CF and SD card slot, Ethernet and VGA out. It can be run on Windows XP Professional or Vista Business. It has a 5.6 inch (1024 x 600) touch screen display that can be rotate.

Its onboard Lithium Ion battery provides you 4 hours of Windows XP or 3.5 hours of Vista, no worry you can get an optional battery for extended computing hours. Pricing and availability has not been announced.

Facts about Nokia

Facts about Nokia

1) The ringtone "Nokia tune" is actually based on a 19th century guitar work named "Gran Vals" by Spanish musician Francisco Tárrega. The Nokia Tune was originally named "Grande Valse" on Nokia phones but was changed to "Nokia Tune" around 1998 when it became so well known that people referred to it as the "Nokia Tune."

2) The world's first commercial GSM call was made in 1991 in Helsinki over a Nokia-supplied network, by Prime Minister of Finland Harri Holkeri, using a Nokia phone.

3) Nokia is currently the world's largest digital camera manufacturer, as the sales of its camera-equipped mobile phones have exceeded those of any conventional camera manufacturer.
(read 07 more facts after the break...)



4) The "Special" tone available to users of Nokia phones when receiving SMS (text messages) is actually Morse code for "SMS". Similarly, the "Ascending" SMS tone is Morse code for "Connecting People," Nokia's slogan. The "Standard" SMS tone is Morse code for "M" (Message).

5) The Nokia corporate font (typeface) is the AgfaMonotype Nokia Sans font, originally designed by Eric Spiekermann. Its mobile phone User's Guides Nokia mostly used the Agfa Rotis Sans font.

6) In Asia, the digit 4 never appears in any Nokia handset model number, because 4 is considered unlucky in many parts of Southeast/East Asia.

7) Nokia was listed as the 20th most admirable company worldwide in Fortune's list of 2006 (1st in network communications, 4th non-US company).

8. Unlike other modern day handsets, Nokia phones do not automatically start the call timer when the call is connected, but start it when the call is initiated. (Except for Series 60 based handsets like the Nokia 6600)

9) Nokia is sometimes called aikon (Nokia backwards) by non-Nokia mobile phone users and by mobile software developers, because "aikon" is used in various SDK software packages, including Nokia's own Symbian S60 SDK.

10) The name of the town of Nokia originated from the river which flowed through the town. The river itself, Nokianvirta, was named after the old Finnish word originally meaning sable, later pine marten.