Earlier this month at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, we had the chance to take a look at the infamous Powermat. Powermat is a wireless charging system and an aspirant for the hottest gadget of this year. Instead of having a spaghetti of cables for charging your various gadgets, Powermat confines all this mess into one simple and revolutionary mat. All you need to do is place your phone or device on the mat and it begins charging instantly. So how does this wireless charging technology work? Well, the whole system consist out of one mat, that is available in different sizes allowing you to charge up to three devices simultaneously, and a receiver which is attached to your device of choice. The Powermat X1, X2 and X3 will be available in Summer 2010 for a retail price of $29,99, $44.99 and $59,99 retrospectively. The number of the mat, i.e. X# indicates the number of devices that the mat can charge. There are potable as well as home and office mats available which can be used as a very nifty hub.
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Fitch Ratings has lowered Nokia’s credit ratings, citing that the Finish market leaders face increased competition within the smartphone market. The global rating agency said that they are concerned with the growth of the smartphone market which has now become highly competitive with the likes of Apple’s iPhone and RIM’s Blackberry. Fitch has cut Nokia’s long-term debt from A to A-, four levels above junk, or non-investment grade. Read the rest of this entry »

Going a little off topic, I wanted to take a look at some connectivity tools and the best solutions out there. Connecting your device to a PC or laptop is an essential aspect for mobile users, whether its to back up your data, or simply send content to or from your PC. Most computers offer built in bluetooth technologies, however its usually at an extra cost or in a higher spec model, which again means more cost. So the other option is to buy a USB bluetooth adapter or dongle to enable this connectivity measure on your computer. Read the rest of this entry »

Major mobile phone manufacturers have signed an agreement to standardise charging ports on all data enabled devices sold in Europe. According to Reuters ten major mobile phone manufacturers including Nokia have agreed to the deal backed by the European Commission.

What does this mean? Well for starters it will reduce the waste created from unwanted accessories. If you’re travelling, there will be no need to lug around multiple chargers (as many PMP’s also use micro USB), and struggling to find the right charger at your mates house will be a thing of the past.

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Modern mobile phone technology continues to revolutionise the way we live our day to day lives and one of the most important additions to the world of hand held communication devices in recent times has to be the Blackberry. The Blackberry allows you to access your emails, post messages and keep in touch with your friends via Facebook® and even conduct your online banking, book train tickets and search Wikipedia without having to carry your laptop computer around with you wherever you go. You might think that all the new technology might come at an astronomical price but the reality of the matter is that it might not cost you any more than your current phone contract. It could even be cheaper. Read the rest of this entry »