Rogers Wireless Launches Nokia E71 at $99 with Contract

I've been in the market for a new cell phone for a little while now and one of the handsets that I've been considering is the Nokia E71. I haven't lived with a Symbian phone before, but I really like some of the features found in this particular smartphone. As it turns out, I can nab this handset for a lot less money than once expected. Although it hasn't been posted to the official website just yet, it seems that the Nokia E71 smartphone is available now through Rogers Wireless for just $99. Not surprisingly, you'll need to sign a new three-year service agreement with Rogers to take advantage of this significantly reduced price and you'll need to subscribe to a voice-and-data plan of at least $45 a month. When John from MobileSyrup first called into the Rogers customer service line, he was told that the phone would be $349.99 with a three-year plan, $374.99 on a two-year plan, and $524.99 on a one-year plan, but when he asked about a "promo" price, he was informed of the much more attractive $99 price tag. How did they manage to reduce the price by $250 by just asking about a promo? If you're not into contracts and would prefer to nab this Symbian smartphone outright, Rogers will happily sell it to you for $749.99. I don't know about you, but if I was avoiding contracts, wouldn't it make more sense to find the unlocked E71-2 NAM through a number of online retailers for about $500 instead? Via mobilesyrup.com

Samsung Launches Smartphones for BizBees in Europe

Well, aren't you a busy bee, running in between meetings and firing innumerable emails to your clients? Samsung knows that you work hard for your money and that's why they've got a brand that acknowledges your very existence. If you live and work in Europe, that is. To better cater to business and enterprise customers, Samsung is set to create a new business smartphone brand in Europe called BizBee. As you can imagine, this name is derived from the age-old "busy bee" term, as well as "biz" meaning business. Pretty clever? That's debatable. The BizBee brand is targeted toward the busy executive, "who requires a business mobile that offers optimum performance, 24/7, from any location." The branding is meant to drive more attention toward the business-end of Samsung's business, because I guess most people associate the cell phone brand with slim music phones and fashionable handsets. All phones that will fall under the BizBee umbrella will need to satisfy certain business-oriented criteria, like all-in-one connectivity, heavy email integration, and a full QWERTY keyboard. The Samsung i780 (also known as the Epix) will be the first advertised BizBee phone. Samsung plans on using the slogan "This is my office" in 10 European countries. I'm not so sure that the BizBee name is such a bright idea, seeing how there is already another heavily business-oriented brand that is known as BB (BlackBerry). Via intomobile.com

First Look: Nokia E75 QWERTY Slider Smartphone

Nokia is still sitting on top of the mobile phone game, despite being a little late to the party when it comes to certain innovations. For example, the Nokia "Tube" 5800 XpressMusic was only released recently, finally joining the big touchscreen game populated by devices like the iPhone, HTC Diamond, and Samsung Instinct.

Nokia is no stranger to QWERTY smartphones, but I believe the upcoming Nokia E75 is the first from the company to feature a sliding QWERTY keyboard. Much like the HTC S730, the Nokia E75 appears to make use of the most versatile mobile phone form factor.

While in its closed position, it looks like any other candybar with a color display and a standard numeric keypad. Slide the sucker open and turn it on its side, however, and you'll discover a landscape-oriented display and a full QWERTY keyboard. This really is the best of both worlds, wouldn't you say?

Well, the numeric keypad is a bit on the cramped side, but that's a small price to pay for the relatively large 2.4-inch display. Not surprisingly, this reasonably slender smartphone comes powered by Symbian S60, just like most of the Nokia E-series smartphones. If you're not digging the E71, you may prefer the styling of the E75.

The rest of the features are a little murky at this point, but we can quite plainly see a camera with flash on the back. The megapixel count and video capabilities remain to be seen.

Via BGR

Next-gen mobile: InfoWorld's preview guide

The Apple iPhone redefined a mobile device, bring real HTML, e-mail, and apps to smartphones. But after 18 months, the iPhone faces its first real competitors, which will begin shipping in late October. Apple's issues with its 2.0 software update, developer complaints over its highly controlled environment, and so-so enterprise support all give the competition an opening. InfoWorld assesses their relative merits, based on what we know today. Note that all support 3G networks, touch interfaces, accelerometers, and location detection services. Will the newcomers really deliver on their promises? We'll find out as they ship. Check back for our hands-on reviews.

Qik Launches First Live Mobile Video Streaming on Mass Market Phones

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Oct 16, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Qik, Inc., the live mobile video streaming platform, today announced that it is the first live mobile video product to launch on mass market mobile phones. Available today in alpha, Qik's service is now ready for use on more than a dozen Nokia and Sony Ericsson mass market mobile handsets. With Qik's free service, users can stream video live to the Internet in just two clicks from their mobile phone. Those watching the videos on the web can engage in live interactive chat with the person broadcasting.

"It's a real milestone for mobile technology that an advanced utility like Qik is now available on mass market cell phones," said Ramu Sunkara, co-founder and CEO of Qik. "We have been astounded by the use of Qik by smartphone owners, and are excited to see what mass market cell phone users will stream live to the Web."

Mass market cell phones include non-PDA and non-smartphone handsets which are more accessible to a much broader market of customers. These devices usually carry a lower price point than more advanced phones and have deep penetration in the global mobile market. Qik's software for these handsets is based on the Java Platform, Micro Edition, (commonly referred to as J2ME), the most ubiquitous application platform for mobile devices.

"Nokia is pleased that Qik's innovative live video service is now available for owners of Nokia feature phones as well as Nokia smartphones," said Tom Libretto, Vice President, Forum Nokia. "Qik's release for these phones adds an exciting new way for people to use an even wider variety of Nokia handsets."

Qik is initially launching in alpha on the following handsets: Nokia 5300, Nokia 6300, Nokia 6500 (classic and slide), Nokia 6555, Nokia 8800 Arte/Carbon Arte, Sony Ericsson G502, Sony Ericsson K660i, Sony Ericsson K850i, Sony Ericsson K858c, Sony Ericsson W890i, Sony Ericsson W908c, Sony Ericsson W910i, and Sony Ericsson Z750i.

Owners of the above devices can get Qik by registering at http://qik.com/. Support for these devices is expected to enter beta in the coming weeks, and support for additional Nokia and Sony Ericsson feature phones is expected soon after.

The Pope, Senator Barack Obama, Bono, and Steve Jobs are just a few of the notables to be streamed live to the web by Qik users in more than 150 countries. Journalists are using Qik to be more transparent in their reporting, and politicians worldwide are employing Qik as they campaign on a more engaging Web platform. Parents around the planet are easily sharing family events as they happen through Qik on their cell phones. With simple but robust software and a feature-rich site, tens of thousands of Qik users are streaming important moments live to the people with whom they want to share.

Qik, in addition to being the live mobile to web video service of choice for celebrities like Ashton Kutcher, is also delivering exciting footage shot by a wide selection of users across entertainment, business, sports, and technology. Recent Qik videos of note have included behind the scenes footage from Sarah Palin and Joe Biden's vice presidential debate, interviews with comedian Dane Cook, the launch of Apple's new notebook computers, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's speech reacting to the global economic climate.

About Qik

Qik, the world's leading mobile live video streaming platform, currently available on nearly 70 cell phones, enables anyone to stream video live from their mobile device from anywhere, to anywhere. Its innovative, patent-pending technology enables anyone to share their moments live with their friends and family or the entire world. Notable events captured on Qik include the lighting of the Olympics torch from both inside and outside the Olympic stadium in Beijing, Ashton Kutcher's own Qiks from behind the scenes at Blah Girls, his new start-up, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's speech reacting to global economic distress. Find additional Qik videos, including those streaming live, here: http://qik.com/.