Nokia N85 now in India

By Koushik Saha on 21.10.08

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Nokia Nseries has launched the Nokia N85 in India.The dual-slider boasts of a 2.6" OLED screen and comes pre-loaded with 15 try-and-buy made-for-mobile N-Gage games and a voucher for one full game license. Dedicated gaming keys of the device light up when it is in gaming mode.

"The Nokia N85 was created to be more than the sum of its parts, offering a complete mobile entertainment package," said Devinder Kishore, Director- Marketing, Nokia India. "Combined with landscape gaming and dedicated gaming keys for additional comfort, the Nokia N85 breaks the boundaries of mobile gameplay".In addition to games, the Nokia N85 comes with multimedia features like in-built FM transmitter, 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and location tagging capabilities, a three month integrated license for turn-by-turn voice navigation. Gaming, photos, navigation and music blend together with the newest Ovi and third party services via 3.5G HSDPA and Wi-Fi connectivity to make discovering and sharing experiences quick and seamless.

The Nokia N85 comes with an 8GB microSD card, which allows storing upto 6000 songs. It powers up to 30 hours of music playback time and the built-in FM Transmitter allows users to play music wirelessly through a car or home stereo.

The Nokia N85 has started shipping and will be retailed at an MRP of Rs. 27,299.


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HP to bring touchscreen laptops next year

By Koushik Saha on 17.10.08

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Hewlett-Packard Co., aiming to boost its personal computer sales amid a deteriorating economy and soft holiday season, is increasingly turning to touch-screen technology.The computer giant is now developing a consumer notebook machine with a touch screen that will debut before year end, said people familiar with the matter. It will include special H-P software that supports the touch screen, but other details, such as pricing, remained unclear.

The new laptop is the latest in a series of touch-oriented devices, including an upcoming line of cellphones, that will become a priority of H-P's consumer strategy as it tries to differentiate itself from rivals such as Dell Inc., these people said.

H-P began promoting touch screens last year with a big-screen desktop computer called the TouchSmart. The Palo Alto, Calif., company introduced a revamped TouchSmart this year, with new software and a new external design and has recently ramped up its effort to market the computer.

The touch-sensitive screens allow PC users to move items around, surf the Web or open files with their fingertips, replacing functions normally performed by a mouse and keyboard.The touch-sensitive screens allow PC users to move items around, surf the Web or open files with their fingertips, replacing functions normally performed by a mouse and keyboard.

Roger Kay, a PC-industry analyst with Endpoint Technologies, said H-P is trying to create a new market with its focus on touch, since there's no established market for such products other than Apple Inc.'s iPhone. Tablet PCs, or touch-screen laptops, "haven't done that well" in the past, he added.

H-P's touch-screen effort is being led by executives such as Phil McKinney, the PC division's chief technical officer. Mr. McKinney has been working on PC software that masks Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system, and has hired the design company Frog Design to help develop new touch software and hardware. The TouchSmart desktop was the first result of that project.

An H-P spokeswoman declined to detail forthcoming products, though she acknowledged H-P is "building a whole family of touch" devices that will be released in the future.

The new touch-screen notebook comes in time for a holiday sales season that's expected to drag heavily on PC makers. While the end-of-year season is usually the strongest for consumer PC sales, "we're looking at a pretty gloomy outlook" this year, said Mika Kitagawa, an analyst at research firm Gartner.

On Tuesday, Gartner said world-wide PC shipments grew 15% in the third quarter. While Gartner had previously predicted a 14% fourth-quarter jump in consumer PC shipments, the research firm will likely lower that forecast to reflect the weakening economy, said Ms. Kitagawa.

Much of the growth that Gartner does anticipate will come from low-end mini-notebooks, or "netbooks," said Ms. Kitagawa. Netbooks can access the Internet and perform basic PC functions, but usually sell for $500 or less, half as much as many full-sized laptops.

To capitalize on netbook growth, H-P is planning to introduce a new netbook with a 10-inch screen this year, said people familiar with the matter. The netbook won't feature a touch screen. H-P has been selling a smaller netbook geared toward schools since earlier this year.

While H-P started selling a touch-screen laptop last year, Mr. Kay said the company put relatively little effort into marketing it. People familiar with H-P's current plans said the company will be more aggressive with its new products.

These people said H-P is also working on a line of consumer cellphones that feature touch screens and the first such phone will be introduced in Europe this year. H-P plans to start selling the phones through a U.S. cellular carrier within the next year or so.


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