Embarrassing ringtones, really mobile printers and Ferrari handsets
Our Pocket Picks of the week
Time again to depart the mean streets of mobile gaming to take a leisurely stroll through the scenic countryside of mobile content, courtesy of our sister site Pocket Picks.
To be honest though we might as well not have bothered according to a new survey from PayPal, which stated that 61 per cent of mobile owners only use the voice, text, alarm and camera functions of their handset. No wonder that 80 per cent of Brits are embarrassed by their ringtones – the majority probably haven't figured out they can change them!
The Mobile Data Association isn't quite so convinced by the alleged ludditery however, claiming that mobile internet use is on the increase. Services such as Mobyko (which offers to back up your vital data online), Google Maps coming for Windows Mobile and the RSS-reading Smaato News application can only help.
Elsewhere the smartphone brigade have plenty more to cheer with a further exciting glimpse of the eagerly anticipated Nokia N95 and not so expected Windows Mobile 6.
The world of high tech Far-Eastern handsets displayed its feminine side with the arrival of Panasonic's flowery W51P for 'women in their 20s', NTT's P703i 'for women who send many e-mails' and the Fujitsu F703i that combines funky light show displays with a waterproof case (presumably for women 'who like to listen to music in the bath').
Meanwhile, the testosterone balance was maintained on this side of the Atlantic by the arrival of Motorola's petrolhead pleasing Ferrari branded mobile complete with prancing pony and 8-cylinder engine sound effects, and the impending arrival of Nuts magazine on T-Mobile handsets.
Perhaps the most impressive piece of hardware to be unveiled recently though is the Zink mobile printer, which sounds good in theory and looks even more impressive in action. Then again most of us will be equally impressed by the ability to send snaps from the web to ours phone via Myxermagic.
Finally, we had a glimpse at the original Apple iPhone designs. No wonder they had to go back to the drawing board.
