SCHAUMBURG, USA – Motorola has introduced a new rugged smartphone based on Google Android. The Motorola Defy is one of the few of its kind, presenting advanced features underneath a uncrackable shell.

The smartphone has a 3.7″ touchscreen display with wide-VGA resolution, just like on the Droid 2 and Milestone 2, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass, but uncommon for handsets which are designed to sustain damaged. Impressively, it remains thin at only 13.4mm.

The device also has a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash, but there are no words on HD video recording. It seems as if Motorola reserves this feature for smartphones with faster processors – the Motorola Defy has an 800MHz CPU, unlike the 1GHz found on high-end Android devices by the same manufacturer.

Google Android 2.1 runs on the handset, together with the MotoBlur user inteface. Adobe Flash Lite is supported, and it provides flash functionality to the WebKit browser.

In terms of toughness, the Motorola Defy complies with IP67 durability specifications, allowing to be resistant against dust and water.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzT2oD1hi8M

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Motorola Launches Defy Tough Smartphone with MotoBlur

SAN FRANCISCO, USA – In a launch event where Apple introduced the new iPod Nano, Shuffle and Touch, and the iPhone’s iOS4.1 and iPad’s iOS4.2 update, a service called iTunes Ping was announced as well.

Even though the social networking scene is already saturated with Facebook, Twitter and all of their competitors, Apple decided to bring in yet another service, but focused on music. iTunes Ping lists users’ favourite artists, and what the users are listening to and downloading. In turn, this is shared with friends and other contacts in the same social group.

Besides following friends, users can also track musicians, subscribe to updates and comment on them, similar to what happens on Facebook.

In essence, it is very similar to Facebook, a social network with more than half a billion users, although completely centered around music. It could have been well integrated into Facebook, although by going separate, Apple stands a chance to promote its own devices, and even earn ad revenue.

For now, Ping is only available on iTunes 10 for the computer, but it will arrive to the iPhone4 and other Apple handhelds with the iOS4.1 update.

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iTunes Ping Coming to the iPhone, iPod

SAN FRANCISCO, USA – At a event which saw the launch of new, smaller iPod Nano and Shuffle models, as well as new iPod Touch, Apple also demonstrated the upcoming iOS4.1 and iOS4.2 for the iPhone 4, and iPad, respectively.

According to the Cupertino company, it has shipped over 120 million iOS devices, it counts with 230 000 new iOS device activations every single day, 6.5 billion downloads from its app store, a total of 250 000 iPhone and iPod Touch-ready apps, and 25 000 iPad-ready apps. Apple set the standard for mobile software ever since the iPhone was announced, and prompted its rivals to begin their own app stores, as well as allowing Google to earn from a smartphone operating system developed for mainly this purpose, Android.

The newly-announced iOS4.1 for the iPhone 4 and iPod Touch handhelds contains the Game Center announced at the launch of the newer smartphone, HDR capabilities for photography enthusiasts, TV show rentals, support for iTunes Ping, HD video upload, and fixes several bugs, such as the signal strength calculation.

The Game Center, finally included in the software update, allows users to play online games, as well as track achievements and high scores.

HDR photography might be a feature only used by serious shutterbugs. It combines three photos with different exposure levels into one with average light for both foreground and background, just like the picture below.

iTunes TV rental is a component not fully appreciated by the industry, seeing that Apple will charge only US$0.99 for each TV show “rented”. The low price scared several industry experts and investors, but Apple managed to deliver in the end.

The iOS4.1 update will be available from next week for both iPhone and iPod Touch. The iPhone models supported are the latest one, iPhone 3GS and 3G, although the latter one does not support multi-tasking.

For the iPad, iOS4.2 will bring multi-tasking, folder arrangement, wireless printing, AirPlay, the Game Center, more keyboards, as well as the enhancements from iOS4.1. This version of the operating system will only be released in November.

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Apple Showcases New iOS4.1, iOS4.2 at iPod Launch Event

BELLEVUE, USA – T-Mobile has announced that the BlackBerry Curve 3G 9100 will launch on its network September 8th. The new Curve will be shipped with OS5.0, and will retail for US$80 plus the normal two-year contract extension. Two colors are available, gray and purple.

The Curve 3G 9100 is an update of one of the original entry-level BlackBerry smartphones. It is BlackBerry OS 6.0-ready, with enough memory and processing power, has Wi-Fi built-in, and a 2 megapixel camera. With emphasis on entry-level, the device is not the bell-and-whistle-loaded Torch 9800, however, for a basic phone and data connectivity device at a great price, the Curve 3G 9100 fits the bill.

T-Mobile will have exclusivity for a while, users happy with the network and happy with BlackBerry looking for a quick upgrade inexpensively, this is the opportunity.

The carrier announced the launch on Facebook, underlining the “hipness” of the service provider getting the word out via social networking instead of the usual press release and mass media announcements. There are already comments on the release, centered around the ease of use and basic configuration of the Curve 3G.

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BlackBerry Curve 3G to Launch Next Week on T-Mobile

GLOBAL – New images said to be demonstrating the Windows Phone 7-based LG C900 have leaked from a reputable source, together with confirmed specifications.

Although neither Microsoft nor LG have commented on this device, it is likely to become one of the first smartphones based on the Redmond software giant’s new mobile operating system, given the continuous leaks.

This same phone is planned for an AT&T release later this year, for LG and Microsoft to capture the Christmas sales period customers.

The update also corrects a previous mistake on the processor information. The LG C900 will not have a 1.3GHz CPU, but a 1GHz Snapdragon one, which should be more than sufficient.

According to existing specifications, the smartphone will bring a 3.7″ touchscreen display, a slide-out hardware keyboard, 3D hardware acceleration, GPS, HD video recording, and both UMTS and CDMA 3G connectivity.

Microsoft intends Windows Phone 7-based smartphones to launch by either this month or October, a deadline which is fast approaching.

No new videos were published, although the two currently available do give a good glimpse of what is to come.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrL20rY87rw

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUnVf38sm6Q

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LG C900 Windows Phone 7 Device Becomes More Concrete