Chinese iPhone nano rumours, MobileMe deletes your data and Palm’s triumphant return

Kia Ora!

It seems sensible to begin with a nifty little gadget from Nokia, before we forget where we put the news item. These awfully clever little tokens remind me of those key rings you used to whistle for, and they bleeped back at you. Remember?

Times have progressed, I’m sorry to say, and now we’ve got key fobs that your phone can pin point precisely from up to 100 meters away – and the system even works in reverse, if you lose your phone. These would also make a great amateur spy tool, too, if you can plant one on your mark and then track them as they meet up with an arms dealer or terrorist splinter group (24 is back on the telly, yeah).

And speaking of intriguing little gadgets, rumours continue to fly about the mysterious iPhone nano – this time originating in China, where the handsets are likely to be built (by children (just kidding)). Taiwanese chip manufacturers seem to be in a bidding war over providing Apple with components for what’s been labelled an iPhone nano in the developer’s services, while China Mobile has requested region specific versions of the unannounced handsets from Apple.

But perhaps we can stop worrying about whether or not to expect a miniature version of a phone that’s about the right size anyway, as the prodigal PDA son Palm is making its return (kill the fatted calf!). And a triumphant return it’s likely to be, considering the due attention the new Palm Pre handset received from the CES show.

It was even announced that this sweet handset with a brand new OS and slide out QWERTY (Treo style) will feature a wireless charger. This is the first peripheral announced for the Pre, and grabs hold of the device by its magnetic battery cover, then charges the battery through electromagnetic induction. Certainly it boasts quite high novelty value, but considering the handset’s still being attached to a fixed point it’s hard to realise the real benefit. Still, the Pre is all about making you look cool, and any tech-nerds who see you using the Palm hockey puck (as it’s been dubbed, though not by Palm) will treat you like a prince.

Now Palm’s come along with its gorgeous new WebOS, it seems Apple has decided to begin letting third party web browsers through its dogmatic App Store submissions system. Four new iPhone web browsers leapt leapt onto the App Store in celebration, with the only free one not actually being available in the UK yet. Bah. Still, Safari’s really not that bad – what I’m holding out for is decent email software. If Apple sorts that little snagging point out, my anticipation over the Pre might wane ever so slightly.

Apple has other issues to sort out right now, however, after a serious snap in the launch of its new MobileMe service, which even prompted stalwart Steve Jobs to admit it was a mistake. The service allows you a 60 day trial to store your contact details and so forth in ‘the cloud’, but once it runs out and you don’t subscribe to the full service, Apple deletes all your info. You might expect that, perhaps, but what it doesn’t tell you is that unless your switch off synchronisation first, the data on your handset will also be invisibly deleted.

So which other handsets might your data be safe on, you wonder? Other than the Palm Pre, of course, being an Asus Eee mini-laptop user I’m rather taken by the announcement that the company is getting into phone manufacturing. Details are pretty thin on the ground, but when a company like Asus uses words ‘low cost’ and ‘smartphone’, we’re inclined to believe it’ll be true.

The Nokia N79 Active also looks like a decent idea for those few pocket gamers who like to venture outdoors occasionally, as it comes with a built in heart monitor. It also collects data from the accelerometer and GPS, providing you with detailed statistics about that flight of stairs that almost just killed you. A great way to get fit in the New Year, or more Nokia features to go unused on your new handset? You decide.

Kia Ora!