Todays & Tomorrows Technology

LG’s latest super-snapper cellphone has broken cover, and from the spec-sheet at least you’d think this was the handset to quash all point-and-shoot digicams. The LG GC990 Louvre is tipped (despite LG’s own denials; see after the cut) to launch later on in 2009, taking the place of the existing LG GC900 (aka the Viewty II), and brings with it a 12.1-megapixel camera with Schneider-Kreuznach optics, Xenon flash and what the company suggests is ISO 3200 sensitivity.


Call us terrible skeptics, but we’re wondering exactly how much noise will be in images at those sort of ISO levels; this may be a case of “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” Elsewhere the camera can be re-purposed as a camcorder, grabbing 720p HD video at 30fps. Like the iPhone 3GS it supports touchscreen-controlled focus and GPS geotagging, and LG are claiming zero shutter lag too.

Elsewhere there’s a 3.2-inch 16:9 aspect touchscreen with the company’s S-Class UI, WiFi and Bluetooth, together with DivX and Xvid playback plus TV output. It can also stream media to and from other DLNA compatible devices.

In a move that’s been a long time coming, the major participants in the European cellphone market have backed a proposal to standardize microUSB as the generic charger port. The scheme was led by the European Commission, and has now received support from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Apple, Motorola, NEC, LG, RIM, Qualcomm, Samsung and Texas Instruments.
Together, those companies account for 90-percent of the European cellphone market. The EC have positioned the scheme as environmentally sound, suggesting that cellphone users will not have to throw away their old charger whenever they buy a new device.

The first devices using the standardized connector will arrive on the market in 2010, though of course many phones already use microUSB for charging and data connectivity. What will be interesting is how Apple respond to the move; the dock connector is not only a common feature among docks and accessories, but a source of licensing revenue from third-party manufacturers.

Rumors regarding a PSP phone have circulated for almost as long as the gaming handheld itself has been available, and despite Sony’s best efforts they refuse to die down. According to the Nikkei business daily this weekend, Sony is looking to set up a department that would explore gaming/phone hybrid devices; the team could be established as early as July, suggests the report.
While the Nikkei’s sources are unspecified, the Sony project is tipped to bring together their own gaming-device experience and the cellular functionality of Sony Ericsson handsets. That implies that the project may not be a Sony Ericsson device but solely bear Sony’s branding; previous rumors have suggested strong internal disagreement over Sony Ericsson handsets using the PlayStation name.

Sony themselves have declined to comment on the report, which does at least make a change from the usual “we have no plans” we tend to hear from them. Their most recent handheld, the PSP Go, has WiFi but no 3G connectivity; however as it relies on digital distribution for its gaming titles and content, it would be a likely candidate for the sort of anywhere-downloads integrated WWAN would permit.

Sony Ericsson have announced a new entry-level cellphone, the T715, offering 3G connectivity, a 2.2-inch 240 x 320 LCD display and a 3.2-megapixel camera. The handset differs from the usual run-of-the-mill consumer device by adding Exchange ActiveSync support to the normal IM, MMS and SMS messaging; it also comes loaded with Google Maps.
The T715’s A-GPS is used for directions and also for geotagging photos. Sony Ericsson have loaded on a YouTube viewer and the NetFront browser, which take advantage of the handset’s quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE and HSPA (both a 2100MHz UMTS model and a 850/1900/2100MHz UMTS model, the T715a, will be released). Internal storage is 90MB, augmented by microSD card, and the whole thing weighs 96.5g and measures 91.5 x 48 x 14.9mm.

GSMHelpdesk.nl had a chance to go hands-on with the T715, and you can see some of their live photos in the gallery below. The shots seem to confirm that it’s quite a chunky device, but they praise its full feature-set and media functionality.

OnLive have already woken up interest in cloud-gaming, using a system of remote server processing and rendering that means local computers can be little more than viewing devices, but now that system has been shrunk down to cellphone size. OTOY use the same sort of server-side rendering system as OnLive, but promise that it’s usable even through the web browser on a cellphone. To demonstrate it, they’ve released a video showing an Xbox 360 controller being used to control a FPS on a Samsung Omnia.

According to OTOY, just about any mobile device – whether Palm Pre, iPhone, iPod touch or Android-based smartphone – will be able to access the service. They’re currently working on control methods, which will range from accelerometer control, on-screen joypads and even external peripherals.

While it works best over WiFi, it’s still supposedly playable with a 3G connection; we’re not sure how they’ve got past control lag, though, nor instability in the phone’s connection, especially when mobile. Still, HD-quality gaming without a huge, overpowered mobile console is nothing to be sniffed at, so we’ll be watching with great interest to see when OTOY will be coming to market.

Vodafone UK have become the latest carrier to offer a femtocell, and the first in Europe to do so. The Vodafone Access Gateway connects to a subscriber’s home or office broadband connection and creates a local “3G cloud” of coverage; up to four Vodafone 3G handsets can use this at any one time, with their calls and data routed over the broadband.

Described as similar to the size of a router, Vodafone are yet to release images of the Access Gateway [image above via bandaancha], but we’re presuming it will be similar to Sprint’s AIRAVE and Verizon’s Wireless Network Extender in the US. As with those femtocells, users can choose to pay a monthly subscription for the Access Gateway – either inclusive in a contract plan, from £15 ($24) per month, or alone from £5 ($8) – but they’re also offering it as a one-off purchase for £160 ($260).

Customers can pre-select the devices that will be allowed access to the femtocell, via an online interface. Sales begin on July 1st.

Now this is pretty cool. Apparently, gadgets that can change their color just by pressing a button are on the horizon for tech geeks everywhere. Yes, that means you can make your handheld any color you want on the go. Can you sense the anticipation?


By utilizing cholesteric liquid crystal display technology, or chLCD, gadgets will be able to change color automatically. These special displays have been modified to wrap around any object–a cell phone in this case.

By using three layers of red, green and blue chLCD, the device can be wrapped in the displays with resin in between each layer. This makes them strong and impervious to breakage. Then, all you do is press a button and a electric current changes the color of the screens. The color stays the same–even when the device is powered off–until you press the button again. Apparently, displays capable of up to 4,000 colors will be made in the future by Kent Displays. It remains to be seen if this tech will be used in next-gen devices, but we don’t see why not.

Photos of LonMID’s M100 engineering prototype showed up before Computex, but now the convertible MID phone has made its official appearance on the company’s site. The obvious change is the color-scheme (the prototype was black and gold) but there are other differences too, not least the fact that the external phone keypad has been omitted.


Still, it’s a 6.2 x 3.5 x 1.1 inch chunk with a 4.8-inch WVGA touchscreen inside and a smaller, 2.4-inch QVGA display inside. Underneath there’s a flat panel which could use backlit, touch-sensitive buttons; LonMID haven’t released close-up images of the M100 turned on yet.

Other specs confirm the same 800MHz Intel Atom Z500 processor, paired with up to 1GB of RAM, a 4GB SSD and the Midinux Linux OS. Wireless connectivity includes WiFi b/g, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and some sort of 3G modem, judging by the SIM slot, while there’s also a microSD card slot, USB 2.0 port, miniUSB port and a headphone jack, plus a microphone. No word on when we expect to see it go on sale, nor where.

Forgive me if my Pre and iPhone 3GS lusts wane a little, I’ve just seen NTT DoCoMo’s latest super-phone, the Fujitsu F-09A. Packing a 3.4-inch sliding and rotating touchscreen, 8.1-megapixel camera with autofocus, smile-detection and high-speed FOMA and 3G GSM connectivity.
The F-09A is also perhaps the first phone to include an integrated exercise monitor, tracking physical activity and working with the handset’s GPS and compass to track progress and offer mapping. Integrated TV can be watched in widescreen by rotating the display by 90-degrees.

There’s also Bluetooth and a full internet browser, media player and the usual NTT DoCoMo treats that Western users can only dream of. No word on how much it will cost when it arrives in Japan on June 10th.