Apple finally drops the third-party bomb
It's the Weekly Pocket Picks round-up
So what's been happening over the last seven days in the wonderful world of mobile news on our sister site, Pocket Picks? Plenty, that's what.
The week began pensively as the debut of the Samsung E950 prompted us to ask whether mobile phones need three different interface methods in order to 'simplify' the controls? It was the start of what turned out to be a reasonably busy period for Samsung handset-wise.
The Beyoncé-branded phone made its debut complete with luridly coloured limited edition shells and the new title, Bphone. Later, it was the red hot G800's turn to shine, showing off its 5-megapixel camera, complete with genuine optical zoom. This was quickly followed by the i560 fashion phone, sporting a nifty combination of GPS, 3G and HSDPA features.
Moving on, Nokia's N95 handset spent a bit of time in the headlines. With news that the new 8GB version of the device had started shipping came the welcome surprise that it is to come loaded with a copy of Spider-Man 3. Then there was the revelation that Vodafone, 3 and O2 are all now offering the base model for free on their respective cheaper monthly tariffs.
Meanwhile, the new N810 internet tablet also made an appearance and Nokia debuted its very simple but effective looking S60 touchscreen interface at the Symbian Smartphone Show.
In software news, Gmail got a mobile upgrade to mark its first birthday whereas the BBC unveiled plans to offer iPlayer content to mobile users for free via a deal with The Cloud. There was also the debut of Time Translator, an app that warns you if you are about to accidentally call someone in, say, China at 3am local time.
Microsoft launched the new Live service, Live Search, for Windows Mobile and BlackBerry, while EQO released a new mobile VoIP application for Symbian and Windows Mobile handsets.
In culture, Led Zeppelin revealed it will be allowing O2 to distribute its music via digital downloads until November 12th. O2 also announced the launch of its new interactive comedy, If An Alien Came To Earth, which has been tailor made for mobile phones.
Greenpeace made the headlines by taking a swipe at the iPhone, criticising its green credentials in a lab test that exposed some of the nasty chemicals contained in the device.
Speaking of which, in other circles the iPhone was doing what it does best – turning heads. The week's biggest shock announcement was Apple declaring it's going to open its mobile to third-party developers. In an open letter, Steve Jobs stated that the iPhone will be getting third-party applications, with the SDKs (software development kits) to be shipped in February next year.
And on that bombshell, we shall leave you for another seven days. Click 'Track It!' to catch next week's Pocket Picks update.