No, not Marvel Comics. Marvell Technology today announced the completion of the XScale chip purchase. The XScale chip has been powering mobile phone handsets and PDAs for many years, but has seemingly stagnated under Intel’s ownership.
Hopefully, Marvell will continue innovation in the space by working on power requirements, performance and feature integration.
Via: The Wireless Report – Marvell completes purchase of Intel’s handset chip business
If you are looking at the Motorola H700 BT Headset, you may be interested in the infoSync World review of the device.
While its a nice small headset, it does have some cons like average call quality and unstable feeling on the ear.
Via: infoSync World = Review: Motorola H700 Bluetooth headset
A new version of Opera’s “Mini” browser has been released for mobile phones. Version 3.0 now features nifty photo sharing tools, and sports an RSS viewer as well.
In addition, SSL is now supported for secure online transactions. The product is free and requires Java, you can download it from the OperaMini site.
Technorati tags: Opera Mini
Cingular has launched the Palm Treo 680, at the $199 price-point. This Palm OS powered phone has some nice updates to the basic Treo design.
The big change to the 680 is the lack of an external antenna, which allows for a sleeker appearance, and more pocket-friendly. Improved buttons on the keyboard, and the ability to quickly answer incoming calls with text messages is a big plus to new Treo users.
* A new internal antenna enables a sleeker design;
* An improved phone application on the Treo 680 smart device allows users to dial faster;
* The ability to ignore calls with a quick text message lets users tell a caller “I’m in a meeting” or “Can’t talk now”;
* The large, bright color screen is perfect for viewing email, documents or spreadsheets via DataViz Documents To Go®, and even photos and movies;
* The highly regarded built-in QWERTY keyboard has improved buttons, making it even easier to type emails or SMS messages;
* The messaging application displays text-messaging conversations as “threaded chats,” similar to IM, so users can see their entire conversation with a particular person; and
* The Treo 680 smart device also can be used as an MP3 player and has an integrated digital camera, camcorder and video player, with simpler organization for photos and photo slideshows.
Via: The Wireless Weblog – Palm Treo 680 launches at $199 at Cingular
Well, this is an interesting turn for anyone who uses mobile phones.
Cell phone owners will be allowed to break software locks on their handsets in order to use them with competing carriers under new copyright rules announced Wednesday.
“I am very encouraged by the fact that the Copyright Office is willing to recognize exemptions for archivists, cell phone recyclers and computer security experts,” said Fred von Lohmann, an attorney with the civil-liberties group Electronic Frontier Foundation. “Frankly I’m surprised and pleased they were granted.”
Via: Yahoo! News – U.S. Copyright Office issues new rights
Jason Dunn of Thoughts Media fame has a great write-up of the Pocket PC Techs Lil’ Sync Penguin (and other items). I first found a reference to this item over at Pocket PC Thoughts, then I found the link to Jason’s The Two Inch View blog.
Somehow I missed the launch of Jason’s blog, and I have to apologize to Jason for that – I always enjoy his write-ups and reviews.
So if you have an interest in innovative mobile power solutions, check out Jason’s review, and the actual products at Pocket PC Techs.
Via: The Two Inch View – Mobile Power Options from Pocket PC Techs
Looks like Arne Hess has dug up a story on the upcoming HTC Cavalier – a follow on upgrade of the HTC Excalibur. Looks like the main enhancements are:
Could this be your next phone? 
Via: the::unwired – LEAKED: First HTC Cavalier photo hits the Web
I want to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving. We’re taking a break over the next day or so, but we’ll be back later in the week with more news and stuff.
It appears that Symbol may be prepping a device for the consumer market – or at least the enterprise market.
The MC35 is said to include GPS, VoIP, and push-to-talk features. Enhanced WiFi and Bluetooth variants are sure to follow.
Via: Engadget – The MC35: a Symbol for the masses?
HTC is expanding its line of Pocket PC Phones, improving on their previous designs. With the P4350, they’ve taken the basic HTC Wizard, and upgraded some of the included software, bumped the camera resolution to 2MP, and slimmed the device somewhat.
Unfortunately, this device will only be available in Europe during its debut in December of this year.
Via: msmobiles.com – HTC announces officially new low-end Pocket PC phone with slide-out QWERTY keyboard : HTC P4350