Latest WinMo 7 Rumors Surface: Multitasking Not Likely

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It’s no secret that there are plans for Microsoft to announce more details about WinMo 7 at Mobile World Congress. What is secret, however, is what those details are. PPCGeeks claims to have uncovered some unofficial nuggets of information regarding the mysterious new mobile OS.

What’s being reported is that Microsoft only plans on showing off the user interface without getting detailed on any hardware or even in-depth software details. The UI itself will be very similar to the look of the Zune HD, with a completely new Start screen.

Some additional details:
* You won’t be able to sideload apps into the platform via cable or storage card; rather, any and all apps will be downloaded via Marketplace * Marketplace will have a new API and will offer trial periods for paid apps * WM7 will be fully integrated with Zune * No multitasking; push notifications will be supported, and apps will pause when exited. * Full integration of XBOX gaming: friends, avatars, achievements, gamer tags, etc. * No more OEM interfaces such as Sense and TouchFLO

So there’s some real interesting pieces of scoop in that list. No multitasking, no Sense UI or TouchFLO of any kind, and much more Zune goodness. I hope the multitasking rumor isn’t true; frankly, Microsoft needs any competitive advantage it can get over the iPhone, and that would be a huge one in favor of WM7 (especially if iPhone OS 4.0 gets multitasking this summer, as is currently hoped).

Again, this is all unofficial and unconfirmed except through PPCGeeks’ sources. It all sounds legitimate, but MWC will be here soon enough and we won’t have to wait too long to find out the full scoop.

What do you think of the list? Feel free to add in some comments!

Via PPCGeeks

LG Arena Max LU9400 possibly pictured, Snapdragon CPU apparently onboard

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We first heard about the LG Arena Max LU9400 in November last year, when some info about it appeared at the Wi-Fi Alliance website. Sadly, there were no photos of the handset back then.

But today we’ve spotted a new LG touchscreen phone, and it seems to be the Arena Max.

According to the info found at Cetizen (and the rough automatic translation), the LG Arena Max has a 3.5 inch touchscreen display, Wi-Fi, GPS, 5MP camera and a 1GHz Snapdragon processor.

The first LG Arena phone (KM900) is 106mm long, so the new Arena Max could be about this big when compared to it (the Arena Max is on the right):

A live photo of the Arena Max is also available:



The Cyon logo seen on the phone suggests that it will be launched in Korea sometime soon.

We have no idea when exactly LG will announce the Arena Max, but Cetizen says the handset might be out in March. Let’s hope this is true.

Via UV

Symbian tablets and netbooks coming in the next few years?

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Now that Symbian OS is open source, developers all over the world can pretty much do everything they want with its source code. Including porting the OS to different devices – like tablets and netbooks.

In an interview with ZDNet UK, Symbian Foundation chief executive Lee Williams says that “it’s very likely that, in the next year or two,” Symbian tablets or netbooks will be available on the market. This will probably happen after Symbian^4 or Symbian^5 are out.

Nokia already has a netbook – the Booklet 3G – but it’s based on Windows 7. Of course, the Symbian tablets and netbooks could come from any other company interested in making them, and not (just) from Nokia.

Tablet and netbook talk aside, Lee Williams has also unveiled interesting details about Symbian^3 and Symbian^4.

For example, Symbian^3 will resemble the Series 60 UI “in the way you navigate,” but there are visual enhancements, as well as a reduced number of menu options and inputs.

As for Symbian^4, this will have a “power UI”, introducing “a whole new graphical approach.”

Let’s remember that the first Symbian^3 phones will be available starting the second half of 2010, with Symbian^4 phones coming in the first half of 2011.

Via SlashGear

OverMyMinutes iPhone App Monitors Your Usage and Gives Alerts

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This is one of the better ideas I’ve seen for an iPhone app in 2010 so far. OverMyMinutes.com has recently announced the release of an iPhone app that monitors your minute and text usage, and will alert you when you’re getting close to your limit.

OverMyMinutes Alerter will send out daily emails showing how many minutes and texts you have remaining on your plan, so you don’t have to worry about manually checking it yourself. If you’re like me, it’s very easy to forget to check your minute use on your own, so it’s nice to have these alerts sent to you.

The app will be the first of its kind, but you can still take advantage of the service if you don’t have an iPhone. Overmyminutes.com is the only site thus far to offer free minute/text monitoring, and covers plans on AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint.

While it’s true that there is a similar app called MyWireless, sponsored by AT&T, that lets you monitor your phone usage, the difference here is that you have to monitor it on your own. It won’t send you alerts, which is the whole point of OverMyMinutes. With Alerter, you just set up your parameters and stop worrying.

Rumor also has it that they are also prepping an app for Android as well, which would certainly make the site a huge success when it’s finally on both platforms.

Check out the OverMyMinutes site here. Go here to download the app.

Via IntoMobile

Samsung M100S is the company’s first Android 2.1 phone

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Unfortunately, the Samsung SHW-M100S looks like the M100S will be available only in South Korea (starting March, via SK Telecom).

The Samsung M100S features a 3.7 inch WVGA AMOLED touchscreen display, an 800MHz processor, Wi-Fi, GPS, DivX support, T-DMB, 3.5mm headset jack, social networking services, 5MP camera with 720p video recording, and the latest version of TouchWiz UI.

Here’s what the Samsung M100S looks like (live photos from danawa):

The price of Samsung M100S is not known.

As a reminder, the Samsung Galaxy i5700 should get Android 2.1 too, sometime in the second quarter of the year.

Via SamsungHub