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The Swedish manufacturer of carrying cases for portable electronics, Krusell, has released their "Top 10"-list for February 2008. The list is based upon the number of pieces of model specific mobile and smart phone cases that have been ordered from Krusell during February 2008. Krusell's list is unique due to the fact that it reflects the sales of phones on six continents and in more than 50 countries around the globe.

* (1) Nokia 6300
* (3) Nokia 3109/3110
* (2) Sony Ericsson K810i
* (7) Nokia E51
* (5) Sony Ericsson K850i
* (4) Nokia N95 8GB
* (6) Nokia 6500
* (10) Sony Ericsson K530i
* (9) Nokia N95
* (-) Nokia N73

() = Last month’s position.

"By taking seven out of ten positions, Nokia is in total lead of the Krusell Top 10 list for February. It is rather fascinating to see that no other brand than Nokia and Sony Ericsson are represented in the list this month," says Ulf Sandberg MD at Krusell. "At least for the next month I will expect to see one of the units from HTC, Apple and Samsung making a comeback."

Source: cellular-news

The Swedish manufacturer of carrying cases for portable electronics, Krusell, has released their "Top 10"-list for July 2007. The list is based upon the number of pieces of model specific mobile and smart phone cases that have been ordered from Krusell during July 2007. Krusell's list is unique due to the fact that it reflects the sales of phones on six continents and in more than 50 countries around the globe.

1. (2) Nokia 6300
2. (1) Sony Ericsson K790i/K800i/K810i
3. (3) Nokia N95
4. (4) Nokia N73
5. (9) Sony Ericsson W880i
6. (-) Blackberry RIM 8300 Curve
7. (5) Blackberry Pearl 8100C/G/V
8. (9) Nokia 6233/6234
9. (6) Sony Ericsson K750i/W700i/W800i
10. (-) Nokia 5500 Sport

() = Last month's position.

"The summer month of July offered no major changes at the top of this months list. Nokia 6300 and Sony Ericsson K790i/K800i/K810i swapped top places, still followed by last months number three, Nokia N95. The only new entry is Blackberry RIM 8300 Curve. ? During the forthcoming high season, however, we have high expectations for Krusell's state-of-the-art Dynamic case for Sony Ericsson P1i," says Ulf Sandberg, Managing Director at Krusell International.

Source: cellular-news

Although Sony has yet to confirm a price drop officially, GameDaily BIZ has received confirmation from the retail sector that the PS3 will be dropped to $499 next week. Sony itself recently talked about "refining" the PS3 price. Now it appears to be happening.

A PS3 price cut rumor spread like wildfire across the Internet this afternoon when several sites spotted a new advertisement from Circuit City. The ad as seen on Kotaku lists the PS3 console at $499.99, $100 less than its current price.

It wasn't clear at first if this ad was a special deal specific to the electronics retailer or if it's indeed a retail-wide price cut instituted by Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA). As it turns out, a merchandising manager (who wished to remain anonymous) at one of the world's biggest retailers has confirmed to GameDaily BIZ that the price drop is indeed retail-wide and it's scheduled to take place on July 12, although the first wave of ads to promote the PS3's new price won't kick in until Sunday, July 15.

Many analysts have speculated that Sony would drop the price on the expensive console this year, and some even predicted that it could happen this summer. It's starting to look like they were right. We're sure to find out much more next week when Sony holds its press conference at E3.

SCEA when contacted for confirmation declined to comment.

By: James Brightman

MENLO PARK, California (Reuters) - A well-known hacker claims to have overcome restrictions on Apple Inc.'s iPhone, allowing highly technical users to bypass AT&T Inc.'s network to use the phone's Internet and music features.

In a post dated July 3 on his blog, Jon Johansen, 23, a prolific hacker of consumer electronics gadgets since he was a teenager in Norway, said "I've found a way to activate a brand new unactivated iPhone" without signing up for AT&T service.

"The iPhone does not have phone capability, but the iPod and Wi-Fi work. Stay tuned!" he wrote on his long-running blog, which is combatively named "So Sue Me." The post was entitled "iPhone Independence Day," a play on the July 4 U.S. holiday.

The site contained technical details for other hackers, as well as links to software necessary to complete the process.

One potential use would be for an iPhone user living or traveling outside the United States to access the iPhone's music player and Internet service over Wi-Fi connections without using the phone.

AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said it was necessary to activate the iPhone on AT&T's network to ensure optimum performance. Using the phone without AT&T's two-year service contract was unauthorized under the phone carrier's exclusive network service contract with Apple, Siegel added.

"Any other use of the device is not authorized and we can't guarantee the device will perform as intended to. We'll monitor situations like this and if necessary we will take appropriate action," he said. "Our terms and conditions are very clear."

He did not elaborate on potential action AT&T might take.

Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris declined to comment on Johansen's claims.

Apple has yet to reveal network operator deals in markets outside the United States. But the iPhone is a quad-band GSM phone and will work in many parts of Europe and Asia with international roaming deals arranged by AT&T, Kerris said.

Neither Apple nor AT&T have disclosed sales figures since the iPhone went on sale in the United States on June 29, but some analysts have estimated sales of up to 700,000 units for the costly coveted phone's first weekend on the market.

Johansen became known as "DVD Jon" earlier this decade for helping to reverse engineer the code used to protect DVD movies against piracy, saying he did so in order to play them on his Linux computer.

The computer activist has engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with Apple to bypass copyright controls on various Apple products, including QuickTime, iTunes and Apple TV.

By: Sinead Carew

Manging finances via a mobile device has become a needed feature for many
Windows Mobile device users. Spb Software House's new Spb Wallet seeks
help those who want a secure storage application that features high
security and ease of use.

It provides a structured secure storage
for private information like passwords, credit cards, serial numbers,
and account numbers. Synchronization with a desktop companion allows
users to access the same information on both a PC and a Windows Mobile
device.

Spb Wallet uses the AES 256-bit algorithm (recommended
by US Government for secret and top secret information), automatic
clipboard cleanup, a special login panel and program auto-lock helps to
protect against potential side channel attacks.

The desktop application has all the features of its Pocket PC counterpart, the
ability to import data from other wallets, and a special Internet
Explorer toolbar.

Spb Wallet is currently available in nine
languages and is compatible with Windows Mobile 2003 and 5.0 for Pocket
PC and Windows Mobile 6 Professional devices.

A free 15-day trial can be downloaded, or Spb Wallet can be purchased for $29.95, from spbsoftwarehouse.com.

By: AWright

Research In Motion getting approval to sell BlackBerrys in China has been a "long time coming," said IDC analyst Sean Ryan. "Any time you're dealing with data transfer over proprietary lines," as with the BlackBerry, Ryan noted, it is likely to raise concerns in a controlling government such as China's.

Eight years of trying to sell BlackBerrys in China has paid off for Research In Motion (RIM), which finally won permission from the Chinese authorities to sell its handsets there. The breakthrough could help the Canadian company continue its wave of financial good news.

RIM co-CEO James L. Balsillie is reported to have made the announcement in a conference call with analysts last week. According to an unnamed manager in RIM's Beijing office, cited in Canada's Globe and Mail on Wednesday, RIM received approval from the Chinese Ministry of Information Industry in June.

The manager also told the paper that the first handset to go on sale in China will be the BlackBerry 8700g, which will sell for the equivalent of $700 by the end of August.

Good News All Over

Nearly 5,000 orders, largely from business users working for foreign companies in China, already have been received for the 8700g, the manager reported, indicating that RIM is investigating the possibility of setting up manufacturing there. There are an estimated 500 million cell phone users in China.

The opening of this huge new market continues RIM's streak of positive news. Last week, RIM reported a 16.3 percent increase in revenue to $1.082 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2008, compared to the previous quarter. This was a whopping 76.5 percent jump over the same quarter last year and, according to Balsillie, was RIM's "first billion-dollar quarter." About 1.2 million new subscribers were added in the quarter.

The company's financial news came out the day before Apple's much-publicized iPhone was released. But the iPhone is helping RIM, Balsillie has said, because it "drove attention" to handsets with multiple functions.

There have been reports that AT&T, Apple's carrier in the U.S. for the iPhone, has been suggesting the BlackBerry Curve as an alternative choice when the iPhone sells out. AT&T, the exclusive provider of the Curve, has denied the reports.

RIM on a Roll

The approval for RIM to sell in China has been a "long time coming," said IDC analyst Sean Ryan. It probably took so long, he stated, "because it's China" and the government oversight makes it a challenging market.

"Any time you're dealing with data transfer over proprietary lines," as with the BlackBerry, Ryan noted, it is likely going to raise concerns in a controlling government such as China's.

But RIM is "very much on a roll," he said. "They have expanded their portfolio of devices, and continue to expand their pipeline" as well as their markets, he said, while largely remaining focused on the business user.

He noted that employees of foreign companies in China likely will be the key target there, at least initially. "Just think about trying to input Chinese characters into a Qwerty keyboard," he suggested, adding that some other smartphones there use handwriting recognition to accomplish that task.

By Barry Levine