In a nutshell, this is pretty much what this new 6301 model is... "but what is this UMA thingamigy?!"

To put it simply, 'Unlicensed Mobile Access' offers an alternate way for people to connect to their mobile service provider's network. So far, a handset can only hook up to a provider through the specific cellular network technology (or technologies) that it supports (e.g. GSM, UMTS). But with the addition of UMA, it offers an alternative means to achieving the same result - through the use of private unlicenced spectrum technologies.

In the case of the 6301, as well as most other UMA-enabled handsets, this is achieved through the use of WiFi (or wireless LAN technology). Now, you may probably want to throw your arms up in joy right about now, having just learnt that - one day - you would be able to make calls via the comfort of a traditional local area network at home or in the office. But, right now, trying to find a mobile service provider that supports UMA technology may be harder than you think - since it is still early in the technology's life cycle.

(No lecture today from me - but if you want to find out more about this particular mobile technology, here's the concise-enough UMA explanation via Wikipedia)

Getting back to the subject at hand, the Nokia 6301 will:

• come only in the GSM 900/1800/1900 flavour (the model is targeted at the European market);
• gain WiFi data connectivity - for use primarily with UMA, but also accessible by other data-capable on-board apps;
• offer up to 30MB of memory for user data, which is nearly three times more space than its elder twin model; and
• also get a deskstand - to keep the phone in-charge during those UMA-based calls.

These changes certainly look interesting, but at the same time somewhat irrelevant - that is, if you aren't going to give UMA a shot. But in any case, expect to see the 6301 sometime during the fourth quarter...

Resources: General product pages | Technical specifications

(original article posted on 18th September, 2007)

Next stop on the iPhone's world tour will be in Britain on November 9th, and its telephony services proudly hosted by local operator O2.

The CEOs of both Apple and O2, Steve Jobs and Matthew Key, were present at the Regent Street Apple Store this morning where they made the announcement.

Pricing and availability, in a nutshell (quoting from the official press release):

"iPhone is scheduled to go on sale on November 9th and will be sold exclusively in the UK through Apple’s retail and online stores, O2 and The Carphone Warehouse’s retail and online stores. iPhone will be available in an 8GB model for £269 (inc VAT) and will work with either a PC or Mac. Three new great value iPhone tariffs will be available from O2 starting at £35, which all include unlimited anytime, anywhere mobile data usage and, in a market first, free unlimited use of the UK’s largest single public Wi-Fi network, covering over 7,500 cafes, restaurants, airport lounges, pubs and other locations across the UK."

... and, as expected:

"iPhone activation will require an Internet connection; an iTunes Store account or a major credit card; the latest version of iTunes..."

Update:
Looks like Steve has crossed the Channel, and over to Germany, to do the very same act with T-Mobile International CEO, Hamid Akhavan, on the very next day! Germans can look forward to the same iPhone model that the Brits will get, as well as an identical release date of November 9th. Sadly, no 3G model as many had hoped for (thanks partly to rumours) - but users will have full EDGE data connectivity, as T-Mobile is the only operator having adapted the technology fully on their GSM-based network.

And, in final:

"iPhone is scheduled to go on sale on November 9 and will be sold in Germany through Telekom Shops of Deutsche Telekom and the T-Mobile web shop. iPhone requires a new 2-year T-Mobile tariff and will be available in an 8GB model for €399 including V.A.T. and will work with either a PC or Mac."

Resources: Apple UK - iPhone home page | O2 tariffs for iPhone chart | Apple Germany - iPhone home page

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!)

Nokia's E51 will be the third candy bar (or monoblock) design of the Eseries family of business-orientated handsets. This rather thin handset, measuring at just 12 millimetres thick, will be a focus for those looking for a compact device with high-speed data access - supporting both HSDPA (3.5G) mobile data connectivity and wireless LAN (802.11g) networks.

The E51 is only the second handset in the Eseries family, following the E90 Communicator, to include support for the higher data rates offered by HSDPA - which, in a sense, makes it all the more attractive if fast mobile data is a key need for you. This dual-band UMTS (850/2100), quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900) model also features a built-in FM radio, a 2-megapixel camera, and supports the Windows Live suite of apps (Live Hotmail, Live Search, Live Spaces, and Live Messenger).

And, of course, those general Eseries features - including push email support, VoIP, and one-touch hard keys for instant access to functions - are obviously included with the E51.

Nokia expects to ship the E51 during the fourth quarter of this year, and has an expected retail price of around 350 EUR.

Resources: General product pages | Technical specifications

It looks as though the iPhone unlocking saga is finally coming to a close, with the release of a free, open source, software unlock solution by the iPhone Dev Team.

Appropriately named as "anySIM", it is an iPhone-native GUI app that removes the AT&T sim lock from the smartphone device. While the installation of the app, onto the iPhone, may require going through some procedures (this is dependent on what's already been done on the device, such as jailbreaking and SSH access), the actual unlocking process will only require a simple brush of the on-screen slide bar, and make agreement to a short list of terms (which, virtually everyone, would in such a case!)

At the time of writing, the most current version of anySIM was v1.0.1, being a minor update alleviating a timing issue that was present in the initial version.

We are also aware of other software-based unlocking solutions available, with some of these charging an arm and a leg a hefty premium before the unlock package is sent out to its customer. Granted that these parties are wanting to gain a return-on-investment on the time and effort spent on developing the unlock - but it seems that they might have gone a bit overboard with their pricing structures (plus, the logistical process of obtaining the unlock seemed rather tedious).

If you're a non-AT&T user, and have found the anySIM solution useful in getting your iPhone to work, then maybe a small donation to the iPhone Dev Team for their efforts would be the way to go. These guys have certainly done a fantastic job in offering not just a software unlock solution alone, but also others that go toward making this device SO much more interesting to use!

Resources: The iPhone Dev Wiki