Two pieces of interesting Apple tidbits...

The first is specifically targeted for the French waiting on the arrival of the iPhone in their market. On Apple's press release, it states that Orange in France will be the exclusive carrier to offer the iPod-plus-phone product for the local market from November 29th, at a price of 399 Euros inclusive of V.A.T. upon subscribing to "one of the dedicated rate plans" to be offered. It's not the first mention of Orange when the iPhone is concerned, as there have been firm rumours and speculation on the number-one-wireless carrier partnering with Apple.

But what was more surprising, and not mentioned in the Apple press release, was the fact that unlocked iPhones will be an option also available. TUAW (The Unofficial Apple Weblog) reports that this second option will be available alongside the aforementioned, and will be offered "for some as-yet-unannounced higher price" - a pretty-much-expected scenario. Reason being for this is due to a law which forbids telco carriers to network-lock handsets beyond a six-month introductory window.

This second option may be of greater relevance to those outside of the French market, for people who are in markets yet to be served with a local iPhone offering (which, currently, is most of the world), than those within it.

And, finally, the second piece of news is a personal note from Steve Jobs himself (apparently) - he goes on record to say that an SDK (or "software development kit") for the iPhone and iPod touch will be made available sometime in February next year, and justifies as to why the long wait. While this may be a few months off, developers waiting to have their software working on the platform - as well as those users who can't wait to make their devices so much more practical - probably won't mind too much about this slight setback.

Time may be of the essence. But at least Steve himself has firmly assured the community (with his words of persuasiveness) that web apps certainly won't be the final frontier.

Thought I'd jot a note here - specifically for iPhone users - to say that Apple has finally launched their third-party applications listing for both the iPhone and iPod touch devices. Finally, we can now expect more from these devices - whichever one (or two) you may own...

As of my last count, there are 215 applications currently listed - where most of which are directly accessed through the Mobile Safari browser. For those "web app" links, the browser will act as the primary interface between it and the user.

You can access the directory from either your PC browser (where a summary of each app is shown) - or directly from an iPhone or iPod touch, which would launch the respective web app in a 'new page' within Mobile Safari.

Enjoy, and have fun!

This has been a long time coming. But for me, the wait and the effort spent on the site's overhaul was truly worth it - given the results :)

Welcome to "version two" of Mobique. After having spent the past three-and-so years on the old platform, which - in present day environment - seems rather antiquated, I've finally decided to make the move to a site design that allows me to publish and report a broader range of content with the least of fuss. In other words, more time spent on the creation of the actual content, rather than the same effort made towards the publishing process.

It has been unfortunate that the site has taken a downturn over the past 12 months, due to my other non-Mobique commitments. The lesser time spent writing reviews meant that it was not possible for me to keep up with all the handsets that came and went, and selecting only the ones that I believe would be worth the while to take a closer look. But hopefully, from now onwards, I shall have the opportunity to get my teeth into most of the important models that makes it across my desk.

Anyway, from what you may have already noticed, Mobique is now presented in a blog-like manner - a format that I found to be very appropriate for posting up-to-the-minute news and product announcements, as well as the posting of new product reviews. Anything that's worth a mention will also be spoken about here, and categorised appropriately.

Reviews for the new site will also be a bit different. Instead of locking myself into looking at specific aspects of a handset's design, I will try and go into more detail on things that actually matter for the product being reviewed - but not compromising on the overall quality of the review. In other words, I hope to be able to provide a similar level of quality in my write-ups - a level that I've tried to maintain for the many years of being a product reviewer.

If you're after those older phone reviews of mine, these can be also accessed from the "Phone Reviews" section of the site.

And, finally, site design has been kept simple, and we've also added search capabilities should you want to look for anything specific on our site. Just remember to choose the "Mobique.com" radio button to restrict the Google search engine to look only at our repository of reviews and other articles.

I hope this refresh will bring along great things - and only time will tell (yet, I am confident that it will!)

If you found the first beta to be impressive, then just wait till you try the second...

The best mobile web browser around has just gotten even better! Although still in "beta", the latest Opera Mini offering continues to improve on the user experience of accessing Internet sites through the mobile phone. Those of us who have first-hand experience with this Java-based app would (undoubtedly) appreciate the benefits, and the flexibilities, that it offers.

Code named 'Dimension', Opera Mini 4 "beta 2" adds a number of important features, which makes it an irresistible release to download and use. These include (but not limited to):

• Exclusive Blackberry device support: a new interface with better menus, which are now native from within the browser;
• Landscape display mode: widescreen display orientation now an option;
• Improved web search: a multi-search start page doesn't restrict you to a single search engine, as well as having the ability to creating your own one/s;
• Encryption support added (this was not available with the first beta); and
• Various tweaks: including a simplified settings page, improved image quality, and other fixes.

If you're still using v3.x of the Opera Mini browser, there's no better time to give this latest browser release a go, as encryption is once again available. Or for those who've yet to take the leap of faith, let me assure you with this thought: "Opera Mini will have your phone's built-in web browser for breakfast!"

To download, simply point your phone browser (before it gets consumed) to mini.opera.com/beta/ - and follow the on-screen instructions. For users of Blackberry and Palm devices, you can download the application from the Opera Mini Beta home page below.

Resources: Opera Mini beta homepage | New Features in Opera Mini 4 beta | Opera Mini 4 Beta changelog

If you're using one of the latest Nseries models, then you'd be very interested to learn of the following...

Nokia and Microsoft have finally announced the official release of their Windows Live suite of apps, enabling users access to the following Windows Live services directly from a compatible S60 handset: Contacts, Hotmail, Live Spaces, and - most importantly - Live Messenger (aka MSN). This is great news for those who wants to be able to access these online services at any time they so wish.

Some time prior to this announcement, a preview release (or beta) of the suite was floating around on the Internet - and I managed to get hold of it to try out, and ultimately use. And after having spent some time with it, I've got to say that they've done a fantastic job with the implementation on virtually all fronts... well done Nokia!

Now, on availability - this excerpt from the official press release pretty much sums it up:

Nokia customers who own the Nokia N73, N76, N80 Internet Edition, N93i, and the N95 multimedia computers can get the Windows Live services via the Download! application in the following countries; Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, UK, Sweden, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Customers can visit http://www.nokia.com/windowslive to learn more, and check if their country is on the availability list. Initially the service will be available as a free trial and then customers in select markets wishing to continue using the service may be asked to pay a monthly fee.

Sadly, this is how it is right now. But do check back at the Nokia Windows Live page often to see if the suite is available for more phone models, and whether it has been extended to more markets (currently, the list only shows selected countries in Europe and the Middle East).

(While more S60 models will be supported in the near future, Nokia is also planning on bringing these services to S40-based models as of next year - stay tuned!)

Resources: Nokia Windows Live page

The European market has always been Apple's next move for the iPhone after the US. Therefore, it is not at all surprising to see Euro operators warming up to the Cupertino-based computer maker for the sole purpose of gaining its sale exclusivity.

The Financial Times has reported the signing of three operators by Apple - T-Mobile of Germany, Orange of France, and O2 in the UK. Apparently, part of the deal is for Apple to take a cut of "10 per cent of the revenues made from calls and data transfers by customers over iPhones" - sweet huh?

In the mobile handset space, it is rare to see how a handset maker is able to woo operators into revenue sharing of such fashion. But because it's the iPhone, and the fact that it's "Designed by Apple in California", what this particular device can bring to these operators won't simply be increased patronage and revenue - but also a significant boost in the mobile operator's image.

And, most importantly:

Apple has also lured the mobile operators with the prospect of a financially risk-free business, as it will not allow the now common subsidies on the sale of handsets. Most mobile phones are sold by operators to subscribers at a highly subsidised rate.

Yes, it does seem the ball is in the other court now...

An official announcement of the partnerships is expected to come at the IFA consumer electronics trade fair in Berlin at the end of August.

Being world-number-one-phone-maker, this has got to make headline news - if it hasn't already, that is...

Nokia, on Tuesday, has issued a product advisory, or "recall", on one of their more (if not, most) popular battery models, the BL-5C. Specifically, it refers to those manufactured by Japanese-based Matsushita Battery Industrial Co. Ltd. between the period of December 2005 and November 2006:

Nokia has several suppliers for BL-5C batteries who have collectively produced more than 300 million BL-5C batteries. This advisory applies only to the 46 million batteries manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006, from which there have been approximately 100 incidents of overheating reported globally. No serious injuries or property damage have been reported.

I guess it's reassuring to know that only around 15% of the total BL-5C population out there are affected
(?)...

Consumers with a BL-5C battery subject to this advisory should note that all of the approximately 100 incidents have occurred while charging the battery. According to Nokia's knowledge this issue does not affect any other use of the mobile device.

... along with the fact that only 100 cases, all of which occurred during the charging process, have so far been reported.

To check if you're affected, you'll need to enter the battery's 26-character identification number, which is located near the bottom on the back of the cell. Once you've got this, visit the BL-5C Product Advisory web page to verify.