Mobile phone insurance scam dupes buyers

Taking out mobile phone insurance on a new top-of-the-range handset might seem like a good idea, but some customers have been caught out by scammers selling invalid cover.

Hundreds of people across the UK are thought to have been duped by the fraudsters, who are based mainly in the Swansea area of south Wales.

Trading Standards claimed the problem has been ongoing for the past 18 months and is keen to warn consumers against the threat as it seeks to investigate the companies in question.

The firms target new mobile phone owners by calling them up and posing as representatives of the shop or network from which they purchased the handset.

Victims are offered the chance to take out cheap phone insurance, with the fraudsters taking bank and credit card details before leaving the customer with invalid or poor-quality cover.

Rebekah Swift, who was among those customers caught out by the scam, said her son had received a phone call from people claiming to be from the Carphone Warehouse just hours after buying a new iPhone.

She said the cheaper insurance deal had seemed "great" and she thought nothing of giving away her credit card details over the phone.

"Then he received a text some while later from Carphone Warehouse warning him of an insurance scam going on and by that stage the money had already gone out of my account, and we'd been scammed," she commented.

This comes after mobile phone recycling provider Regenersis called for greater security measures to protect handset users looking to recycle their older models.

A study by the firm revealed that many mobiles still contain traces of personal data such as contacts and emails, which could put their personal information and identity at risk.

By Michael Hardman

O2 sneaks eagerly anticipated Palm Pre from under Vodafone's nose

Spain's Telefonica, which owns O2 in the UK, has suddenly appeared as the front runner in the race to sign the new Palm Pre exclusively - the phone launched in January in the US, to universal appeal, thought of as a major rival to the touch sensitive iPhone.

Until now Vodafone was seen as an almost certainty to sign the phone, and this looks like a last gasp bid by the company that already has the iPhone in Spain and the UK, to take a major iPhone rival away from Vodafone.

Vodafone was known to have the first shot at signing the iPhone, but shied away from the onerous terms that Apple insisted on. However Palm, which has just raised almost $90 million to see through its launch to the Pre, the phone which is supposed to save it from bankruptcy, is not so picky and would have settled for any large pre-order (no pun intended), to ensure its financial safety.

The news broke in the Spanish national press, and was only reported unofficially as a leak from Telefonica. The deal is that Telefonica will get the Palm Pre in Latin America, the UK and Spain, which will leave Palm looking for more exclusives in other parts of the world.

The Palm Pre should be now launched by Movistar in Spain, the brand that Telefonica bought from US operator Bellsouth which it now uses in all Spanish speaking countries. The phone is now expected in ll those territories before the Summer.

Earlier this week Palm issued a financial warning saying that its next financial quarter, which ended last week, was be even worse than expected because it had failed to get the Pre ready for launch with the US Sprint Nextel network. It's quarterly revenues will be almost halved the company said. However that version of the phone uses the CDMA technology, popular in the US and parts of Asia, not the GSM/HSDPA version that Telefonica would take, and this is expected to behave more predictably. That version of the Pre was only launched at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last month.

The deal with Telefonica may be more about how much money Palm is going to get up front to make the next quarter look good, rather than the most attractive deal long term.

Telefónica is currently the third largest cellular operator in the world and competes aggressively against Vodafone, which has the second largest number of customers and the highest revenue.

By Peter White

Samsung's new App Store - Keeping up with the iPhone-ses?

Samsung has announced the development of an online portal that will provide mobile access to a cornucopia of ringtones, music, on-demand video and games, competing with Apple's almighty App Store. This follows in the footsteps of rivals Nokia, Google, and BlackBerry, with their respective Ovi, Android Market and Storefront portals.

Whilst there isn't a release date or even a name for the online portal yet, it has been revealed that Samsung have chosen Streamezzo, a software publisher for mobiles based in Paris, to develop it. Chances are you've not heard of Streamezzo, but there's every chance that you might have unwittingly used a feature on your mobile that they've developed.

Already in use on over 250 mobile handsets, and not just high-end ones, Streamezzo develops stuff for practically every mobile platform and OS there is, including Symbian (S60 5th), Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, Android, Linux, and even the iPhone OS.

"Putting Streamezzo's experience at the service of Samsung's vision confirmed our capacity to deliver in short time compelling mobile applications despite the fragmented environment," said Streamezzo's CEO Olivier Avaro.

There's no denying that Apple's entry into the mobile market has been nothing short of a revolution. Pretty much everyone and their dog has come up with an 'iPhone killer' touchscreen, and now everyone is doing the same with regard to App Store, playing catch-up with Apple's online vendor.

If Samsung is interested in really making an impact, then their online shop is going to have to be something a bit more special than an exercise in keeping up with the Jobses.

By Thomas Newton

iPhone helps boost popularity of mobile web browsing

The success of the Apple iPhone has encouraged more people across the UK and US to browse the web on their mobile phones, it has been claimed.

According to a new report by mobile technology firm Bango, the widespread popularity of smartphone devices has resulted in a dramatic increase in mobile internet traffic in recent months.

The company identified people using their handsets to access the web in more than 200 different countries in February, with the US having knocked the UK off the top spot for mobile browsing.

American surfers accounted for 29 per cent of worldwide traffic compared to 20 per cent in Britain.

Senior vice-president of marketing at Bango Anil Malhotra said: "With 245 million subscribers, it was only a matter of time before the US became the number one country in the world for mobile web browsing."

Despite the continued growth, she claimed that businesses across the world had failed to take advantage of the popularity of mobile web browsing.

"Many people simply have no idea that they have visitors from mobile devices accessing their PC websites - these mobile visitors are simply invisible to them," Mr Malhotra commented.

He claimed that companies could benefit from the trend by developing mobile websites, with people showing a greater willingness to buy and download content from the internet straight to their handsets.

Bango found that the US is also accelerating fastest in this department, now accounting for more than half of payments worldwide compared to 38 per cent in the UK.

The findings come after mobile operator Orange announced a partnership with Barclaycard that will see the two companies come together to offer mobile payment services to customers, allowing them to use their handsets to pay for everyday items and products.

By Stephen Glass

Samsung Tocco Ultra

The Samsung Tocco was an incredibly successful handset, in fact in terms of sales in the UK the original Tocco managed to beat the iPhone into second place in the second half of 2008. This was largely due to a competitive pricing strategy from Samsung and an impressive user interface that really made people want the handset, all despite Apple’s best marketing efforts. So to follow up the Tocco Samsung have unveiled something big in the shape of the Tocco ultra edition (or the S8300 ultraTOUCH as it’s known outside the shores of Great Britain).

Although the Tocco Ultra takes the same name as the hugely successful F480 Tocco, it is in fact a very different handset altogether. For starters one of the first things you will notice is that Samsung have added a slide out keypad to the already successful touch interface. This gives the handset a more novel look than most touchscreen handsets which it has to be said have all started to look like very similar iPhone clones. This does however make the handset seem very ‘tall’ when the Tocco Ultra is opened up. This is offset by the Tocco Ultra’s slim 12.7mm body that has also been given a bit of a makeover. The fine brushed metal body gives the Tocco Ultra an elegant feel to go with all of its tech skills, which are impressive to say the least.

The features that have been announced for the Tocco Ultra make impressive reading, the most notable of which is the camera upgrade. The Tocco came in with five megapixels but on the Tocco Ultra this has been ramped up to eight megapixels. The camera also has a dual LED flash, autofocus, face detection and it allows geotagging using the Tocco Ultra’s built in GPS. The camera on the Tocco Ultra can also record video at an impressive 30 frames per second. Video playback is also impressive as the Tocco Ultra supports a number of major video file formats; including DivX, XviD, MP4 and WMV. The touchscreen panel has also received a few tweaks on the original Tocco design. The display is a 2.8 inch WQVGA panel with full haptic feedback. This means that whenever you press to action something on the touchscreen the phone will vibrate slightly. This is a great and thoughtful addition to the touchscreen process and is not as widely available as it should be.

In terms of connectivity the Tocco Ultra has everything that you would expect from a high end Samsung release. The Tocco Ultra is a quad band GSM phone with dual band 900/2100 MHz UMTS. The handset is also HSDPA compatible with a maximum download speed of 7.2 mbps. It has to be said that overall web browsing is slightly disappointing due to the software on board the Ultra. The software renders a web page as a single image rather than displaying web pages in full screen. This can get slightly annoying but overall the handsets many plusses outweigh this small minus. When compared to the iPhone, web browsing is not the only area in which the Tocco Ultra suffers. Internal memory comes in at a mere 75MB but it is thankfully upgradeable up to 16GB using the microSD card slot. If you want to take advantage of the Ultra’s video editing capabilities you will definitely need to upgrade.

In conclusion the Samsung Tocco Ultra should be the first port of call for anyone who is looking for an alternative to the Apple iPhone. The eight megapixel camera works brilliantly and the fantastic display makes the Ultra an intriguing proposition.

Motorola AURA

To say that Motorola's fortune of late has been somewhat chequered would be as big an understatement as saying that the iPhone has done kind of alright; however, the announcement of the new AURA luxury handset from Motorola looks set to change this. Dubbed "The Return of Artistry™", by the Big M, the AURA is a very finely crafted luxury handset, rocking a never-seen-before design, which, according to the press release "breaks convention and re-establishes artistry in mobile device design and manufacturing".

The AURA certainly has something of an art deco feel about it, with its chemically etched contour lines and unique circular display screen – the first to ever be used on a mobile – which kicks out images in 16 million colours.

Comprising of more than 700 individual components, the AURA is forged from some seriously high-grade materials, which not only contribute to the overall aesthetic of the handset, but also confer a level of durability – just as well, as the AURA is a rotate-open handset, which swings around the circular screen, revealing the numeric keypad and standard mobile phone menu and command keys, all done over in shiny, anodized aluminium.

The swing mechanism features highly robust hardened steel gears which are protected with a tungsten carbide coating, apparently the same level of protection afforded to the gears of high-performance racing cars. There are also some 130 precision ball bearings floating around inside the AURA somewhere, meaning that the opening function "glides with the same fluidity and grace that it did on its first" even after some 100,000 openings.

The exterior is forged from highly polished stainless steel, and the lens cover for the camera is created from the highly scratch resistant Grade 1 62-carat sapphire crystal, and the entire phone is done over in a mirrored finish, the same type which is normally applied to luxury timepieces.

This extremely dedicated attention to detail and very high standard of quality control could see Motorola shooting to the top of the fashion phone pack with the very stylish and swish-looking AURA, despite some of the phone's actual features (a 2 Megapixel camera? Liek srsly guys?) perhaps not being as high-end as the design.

The AURA comes with support for a very good selection of audio file formats (AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, MIDI, MP3, WAV, WMA v10, WMA v9) and H.263, H.264, MPEG4 video file formats; support for Stereo Bluetooth comes included, meaning that the aesthetic qualities of the AURA need not be diminished by having ungainly headphone cables trailing from its body.

On board memory rocks in at a shapely 2GB, and although there's no mention of a card slot over on Motorola's site, you'd hope, given the number of file formats it supports that this has not been overlooked.

Push email support (POP3 and IMAP) comes as standard, and whilst it does not explicitly mention 3G capabilities, the mobile email specification on the Motorola site comes with a footnote which states: "Network and/or SIM card dependent feature, not available in all areas," which, if you read between the lines, sounds like the phone comes with 3G features, or at the very least GPRS and EDGE…

Motorola's trademarked CrystalTalk technology makes a return here on the AURA, ensuring that your conversations will be as crisp and crystal clear as the circular display.

The AURA marks a stunning return to form for a mobile manufacturer on the ropes and thought to be on its last legs; just as the RAZR series redefined and helped kick off the slim phone craze, the AURA raises the bar in terms of mobile phone construction standards and quality design.

Rumoured to retail in the States for a staggering $1,999 (just over £1000 here) the AURA doesn't come cheap, hence our low value for money rating, but this is just the cost of the handset on PAYG – if the demand is big enough, then it should be available for considerably less on contract. Either way, be prepared to dig deep.

Source : Mobile phones

Virtualisation's new frontier - the mobile phone

We've had virtual storage, virtual machines and virtual data centres now VMware is looking to the next frontier: the virtual mobile phone.

The company has announced the mobile virtualisation platform (MVP) aimed at handset vendors to enable mobile users to choose between two different platforms or phone numbers on a single handset.

Speaking at the VMworld conference, VMware chief technology officer Steve Herrod said that it would enable users who had separate phones for work and for home to be able to use both phones from a single device.
"The way that I envisage it working would be that IT departments would outline a set of policies and particular software build.

In essence, this means that users would be able bring any device into the workplace and the IT team could use that device to include any particular workplace policies. "It could even be the case that one device could have multiple operating systems running so that you see Symbian and Android in a single view," Herrod said.

The software for MVP is as a result of the VMware acquisition of a French company Trango Software. Herrod said that although MVP has sprouted from Trango's original work, there had been a VMware team working with them to fully incorporate into VMware's product line.

He said that the software was now available for handset vendors to look at now but couldn't specify when products might be available as that was in the hands of the vendors.

Herrod warned that there were still some issues to be tackled. "Power management is a big issue. We've done power management on the desktop but nothing like to the amount we've have to do on the mobile phone."

There are other issues to be tackled however. Julia Austin, senior director for R&D said that one of the biggest challenges was working with carriers. "I think it depends who you're talking to: some welcome the opportunity to simplify the software process, some are more defensive." She said that billing in particular could prove to be hurdle to overcome, although again she said that some carriers were more responsive than others.

One application where MVP could prove to be useful is for users who have multiple SIM cards from different countries' operators. "Think of it as a way of putting a new SIM card into your phone when you change country - without needing a SIM card," she said.

New Sony Ericsson W508 Walkman handset announced for Q2 2009

Sony Ericsson has unveiled the new W508 Walkman phone, due to arrive Q2 2009

Published on Jan 8, 2009

Sony Ericsson has revealed the W508, set for release from April this year.

As a Walkman phone, the W508 will come with a fully-featured music player including Shake and Gesture control, and the trademark SenseMe and TrackID technology.

The handset only comes in white or grey but there are eight different 'Style-Up' interchangeable covers to liven things up a bit.

Other features of the handset include:

• A 3.2-megapixel camera
• HSDPA and EDGE connections
• One extra 'Style -Up' cover in the box
• A 1GB M2 memory card included
• A2DP compliant Bluetooth

That's about all we've got right now, but stay tuned for more info as we receive it.

First X1 winner in the Developer World communication survey, four phones still to win

The Sony Ericsson Developer communications team is running a survey to learn more about your information needs.

We are giving away five Sony Ericsson Xperia™ X1 phones to survey entrants and the first phone has already been won - read on to find out who won and complete the survey by March 15, 2009 as there are still four phones left to win.

First winner
We are giving away a total of five Sony Ericsson X1 phones to survey entrants – and congratulations go to Ravi Kiran Sodimbakam from India who has won the first X1. Ravi has already been notified and will be receiving his prize shortly.

Still four Xperia™ X1 phones: enter by March 15, 2009

Here's your opportunity to send us your feedback and ideas about information sources, web sites, discussion forums and social networking - and by filing it out, you have the chance to win one of the four remaining Sony Ericsson Xperia™ X1 phones.

If your name is randomly selected, a Sony Ericsson X1 could be yours.

• So please take 5-10 minutes to complete this online survey before March 15, 2009>>

We are always looking for ways to improve how we communicate with you and the results from this survey will help us focus on making the right information available to the right people. Your participation is greatly appreciated and we thank you for your help.

This survey is hosted on QuestBack, created on behalf of Sony Ericsson by Xlent Consulting, and the terms, conditions and rules are available here>>

Motorola 2009 Verizon line-up leaks

Images of Motorola’s 2009 range for Verizon Wireless have been spotted by the Boy Genius Report, and while details are scant the handsets are at least not RAZR-rebadges. Four devices are on show, the Calgary - shown here - together with the Flash, Rush 2 and Inferno, all shown after the cut. Two are QWERTY sliders, an increasingly popular form-factor, with a touchscreen candybar and touchscreen flip rounding out the line.

The names are all believed to be codenames, rather than necessarily what will make the final cut, and when exactly each will see a release is unknown. The most specific timeframe is for the Rush 2, expected in Q1 2009. Of all the devices, that one is perhaps the least unusual in design terms; it’s also unclear whether it uses a touchscreen like the other three do.

No detailed specifications beyond CDMA, but expect Motorola to pull out all the stops - on certain handsets at least, we’re thinking the Calgary and the Flash which both have “premium” written all over them - to try to claw back some market share and profitability. Also unclear is what OS the devices will use.

New Motorola Phone Made of Recycled Bottles

One of Motorola's newest phones is made with recycled plastic, comes with less packaging and is carbon neutral.

The MOTO W233 Renew's plastic housing is made from recycled water bottles, it's packaging has been reduced by 22 percent, and its box and printed materials are all made of 100 percent post-consumer content paper.

The plastic housing is also 100 percent recyclable, which could have been a meaningless claim (just because something is recyclable doesn't mean it's easy to recycle or that anyone is willing to recycle it) but Motorola runs a recycling program that takes any mobile phone or accessory.

There's no cost to send in phones, and Motorola covers the cost of shipping. The Renew will even come with a postage-paid envelope so consumers can send in an old phone.

Motorola, which is introducing the phone at the International CES in Las Vegas this month, is also working through CarbonFund.org to offset the carbon dioxide emissions from the manufacturing, distribution and use of the phone by investing in renewable energy and reforestation projects. The phone has also earned the CarbonFree product certification label.

New Samsung phones: From Rant and Behold to Eternity

The regular cell phone is getting, well, smarter. That is, more models allow you to open attached documents in Office apps such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint—a capability that was once exclusive to smart phones. A new batch of models from Samsung embodies the trend, as does one new model from LG.

Here's a rundown of these new arrivals, including some distinctions they showed in our labs. In a few days, we'll post full test results to our Ratings of cell phones, available to subscribers. Prices are after rebates and with a two-year contract from the cited carrier.

Samsung Rant, $50
A very popular phone (Click on image at right for a closer look), in spite of its association with Sprint, which hasn't fared well in our Ratings of cell-phone carriers. The attractive Rant (image above) complements its front keypad with a full QWERTY keyboard that slides out for easier texting. But, at 4.8 ounces, it's heavier than most cell phones.

Samsung Highnote, $100
Sliding the Highnote's faceplate down reveals a speaker for listening to music, while pushing it the other way uncovers a keypad for telephony and texting. Also from Sprint.

LG Lotus, $100
Folded closed, the wide, square-shape Lotus looks more like a cosmetics compact than a phone. But flip it open and you'll find a full QWERTY keyboard for typing text messages and dialing phone numbers. But you'll need big hands to handle this whopper, which is wider than most phones. Despite its bulk, however, the Lotus has a cramped keypad that makes dialing a challenge. We expect LG will soon to introduce other conventional cell phones with document-handling capabilities.

Samsung Behold, $150
The Behold, from T-Mobile, has a relatively large 3-in. touch-screen display with user-selectable widgets and virtual keyboard. Its full-featured camera has among the highest resolutions (at 4.9-megapixels) an impressive array of features, including ISO settings, anti-shake control, face and smile detection. Its images were very good overall, even in low-light conditions, comparing favorably to those from many 5-megapixel point-and-shoot cameras we’ve tested. However, the camera phone was slower to respond than many cameras when its shutter was pressed. And its handwriting-recognition feature lets you jot down numbers, letters, symbols, and punctuation, which are then converted to typed text.

Samsung Eternity, $150
Only 0.5 in. thick, the Eternity, offered by AT&T, is thinner than most cell phones, yet has a relatively large 3.2-inch touch screen display with a widget tool bar and virtual keyboard. Like its cousin, the Behold, it has a handwriting-recognition feature and better-than-average photographic prowess for a phone. Its 3.1-megapixel camera produced images comparable to those from a 3-megapixel point-and-shoot camera, though it was slower to respond than many cameras when its shutter was pressed. It also records video.

Samsung Rugby, $130
With its rugged, water-resistant case, the Rugby will keep you connected on tough terrain or in foul weather. But it's bulkier than most cell phones and it lacks some features you’d expect from much cheaper ones—like standard voice-activated dialing, voice command, and a standard headset connector and adapter.

—Mike Gikas

New Iqua BHS-603 SUN - World’s First Solar-Powered Bluetooth Headset

The famous British-based company, Orange UK has recently launched the new Iqua BHS-603 SUN which the company claims as the world’s first solar-powered bluetooth headset. With its ability to draw power from sun light, the consumers can now talk/chat without worrying about battery life.
According to the company, the solar-powered headset is compatible with wide range of bluetooth-enabled devices including PDAs, PCs, mobile phones as well as Apple iPhone. In total darkness, the 603 SUN headset’s fully charged battery can support up to 9 hours of talk time or up to 200 hours of standby time.

The new Iqua BHS-603 SUN bluetooth headset which weights only 14g is available exclusively to Orange users for three months with a price tag of £49.99 or about $100.

Digicel Coral-200-Solar Low Cost Solar Powered Cellphone

The mobile telecommunications operator, Digicel Group has announced the launch of the new Coral-200-Solar, which ZTE (the manufacturer of Coral-200-Solar) claims as the world’s first low-cost solar-powered handset, utilizing innovative technology from Dutch-based innovator Intivation.
“Solar-powered handsets are clearly the way to meet the needs of power-challenged users across the globe,” said Tom Bryant, Digicel Group VP Distribution Procurement. “While the idea of solar-powered handsets has been around for some time, it has taken the leadership of Digicel and the technology and manufacturing skills of its partners Intivation and ZTE to make the Coral-200-Solar handset a reality. This marks another first for Digicel and we think our customers are going to love this great device.”

“As mobile phones continue to proliferate in emerging markets and are widely used where electricity is available, mobile operators are demanding more innovative handsets,” said Mr Xiong Hui, VP of ZTE’s handset division. “We are confident that the Digicel Coral-200-Solar is such a product and that solar power technology can be used in any type of handset. We are pleased to provide this handset with Digicel and Intivation. It will help millions of consumers worldwide to use mobile phones more conveniently and the technology is more environment-friendly.”

Digicel plans to release the new Coral-200-Solar solar powered mobile phone in selected market starting June 2009.

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Is Now Available In United States

After a long await, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic phone is finally available in United States. The touch screen phone which built-in with most of the music features is targeted to the music enthusiast.
According to Ian Laing, Vice President, North America Sales, Nokia, “When it comes to music phones, people all over the world want a device that is a great music experience and still works really well as a mobile phone, without sacrificing features,” and he further added, “The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic delivers on this and has clearly proven to be a device that consumers are clamoring for - selling more than one million worldwide since its introduction a few months ago.”

Highlight key features of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic:

* 3.2-inch touchscreen display with resolution of 640 x 360 pixel.
* 3.2-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens.
* Automatic orientation sensor, Mediabar Touch Key, QWERTY keyboard.
* Supports GPS and Bluetooth enabled.
* 8GB of internal memory.
* Nokia Maps 2.0, GPS receiver, A-GPS, Document Viewer (Excel, PDF, Powerpoint, Word), Zip, Flash Lite 3.0.

The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic phone will be available in United States for the estimated price of $399.

Samsung New 5.1 Channel Bluetooth Speaker YA-SBR510

Samsung has released its new 5.1 channel Bluetooth speaker YA-SBR510. The speaker uses the motion of sensors to activate the onboard lights and display when it detects a user close by. So it will help to save the precious power. YA-SBR510 is also able to easily pairs with compatible MP3 players, cell phone, PC, TV, PMP and etc. It also able to delivers on output up to 30 watts and able to support mutliple types of connection. Therefore, the users can simply connect to host unit via Bluetooth, USB, optical or analog cables.
Currently YA-SBR510 is only available in black color for the detail price of 249,000 KRW ($225). Samsung also releases the YA-SD210, a smaller speaker that is also a cradle for Samsung’s P2, T10 or S3 MP3 players.

Veritronix VX-818 Slim Bluetooth Speaker

Looking for slim and tiny Bluetooth speaker? Veritronix has introduced their new Bluetooth speaker VX-818 which is as small as a name card that you can put in your pocket. The Veritronix VX-818 is a 13mm thick slim Bluetooth speaker with a mini USB port,plus line-in, line-out, and 3.5mm stereo jack. In addition, this slim bluetooth speaker also equipped with a built-in microphone.
This slim bluetooth speaker also has a huge touch-sensitive key controls for changing volume, connecting to devices or answering and ending calls. By using its 650mAH Li-ion rechargeable battery, this device has playback duration along 8 hours. Besides, the battery can be charged via a USB cable. The Veritronix VX-818 bluetooth speaker is currently being displayed at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair but no words on its price yet.

Your Hand Phone Speaker: Altec Lansing T515 Bluetooth

Sometime it is nicer to have speakers rather than headphones to listen to your favourite music from your iPod or your players. But what if your favourite songs are on your phone, any suitable speakers? Well, the market leader in digital audio, Altec Lansing, now bring to you Altec Lansing T515 Bluetooth wireless speaker system – the first speaker systems developed for the exploding convergence of music-enabled cell phones and wireless audio streaming.
Altec Lansing T515 Bluetooth comes with 3 audio devices: the speaker base, a speaker phone cum Bluetooth receiver and a wearable handset. After pairing your phone to the receiver, you can either carry it with you and listen through headphone, or pop it into its dock to play music through speakers. While you are enjoying the music and suddenly a call comes in, you can pick up the call from the T515, as a speaker phone, or directly from your cell phone. When your call is done, you go back to your music with the same touch of a button.

You phone needs to be able to handle A2DP, the Bluetooth Standard for wireless stereo output in order to make Altec Lansing T515 Bluetooth works.

Features and benefits:
• Crystal-clear and high quality stereo sound.
• Come with a speaker phone, a built-in microphone turns your Bluetooth cell phone into a first-class speakerphone.
• Unique design improves bass and stereo separation, as well as overall volume.
• This compact, lightweight speaker system comes with its own carrying case and goes just about anywhere you want to listen to music.
• With over 7 hours of battery life (or 13 hours of standby time), the Altec Lansing T515 gives you complete freedom (4 AAA batteries included).
• GSM/CDMA shielding prevents speaker buzz.