TamsPalm – the Palm OS / web OS Blog

The first Palm Pilot devices contained a slot for memory cards – it allowed users to expand the memory of their device with ease. As devices became more compact, the slots went away…

Motorola’s XOOM shipped as a 3G handset, but was advertised to be able to get a hardware update to 4G networking via a new modem card:

iFixit now found out the following about the process:

It looks like the Xoom was specifically designed with this upgrade in mind. We had to fully delve into the device to find all the clues, but we believe this is the procedure Motorola will perform on your behalf:

1. Use a T5 Torx screwdriver to unscrew two screws on the bottom, and then slide the back panel to expose a mysterious circuit board that immediately becomes accessible. In fact, there are retaining clips on the back of the rear panel that prevent it from sliding any further (which of course we immediately circumvented).
2. Disconnect two antenna connectors, unscrew the two Torx screws holding the board in place, and swap it out with a 4G LTE board.
3. And… Thats it

Sounds cool to me…

When it comes to device data, getting more is merrier. We have now partnered up with the UK mobile phone accessory retailer MobileFun, and hope to bring you data from them regularly.

MobileFun’s data is different to the one provided by Krusell for two reasons: a) we get raw data which we can process, and b) their presence is strongest in the UK and thus gives their data high significance for the UK market.

Breaking down over platforms, the most successful devices look as following:

Finally, here is the top 100, as provided by MobileFun:

P.S: The folks have pretty cool iPhone 4 cases, BlackBerry Curve 3G cases and HTC WildFire chargers.

The list is out for the last month of the year. This holiday season, Nokia unexpectedly (or rather expectedly) fell from the 60% last month to 40% this month. Quite interestingly, the HTC folks have grabbed up an extra 10% of the spots with 30% share and HTC HD2 making a strong jump from the 6^th to the 3^rd place, displacing the Galaxy S to the 9^th spot.

1. (1) Apple iPhone 4

2. (2) Nokia 3720 Classic

3. (6) HTC HD2

4. (7) Nokia E52

5. (5) Nokia N8

6. (10) HTC Desire HD

7. (-) HTC Wildfire

8. (-) Samsung Galaxy tab

9. (9) Nokia 6303 Classic

10. (-) Samsung I9000 Galaxy S

() = Last month’s position.

Samsung Galaxy Tab makes it into Krusell’s Top seller list. iPhone 4´s first place during the Christmas period, is probably no surprise to the market says Ulf Sandberg CEO at Krusell. Most impressing is that the Samsung Galaxy Tab did enter the list, and that it actually made a better position than its sibling from Samsung, the smart phone Galaxy S.

The Swedish manufacturer of carrying cases for portable electronics, Krusell, releases its “Top 10″-list for December 2010. The list is based on the number of pieces of custom made mobile and smart phone cases ordered from Krusell during December 2010. Krusell’s list is unique due to the fact that it reflects the sales of phones in six continents and in more than 70 countries around the globe.

Two years ago, Symbian staff spoke about upcoming dial-core handsets. All kinds of device rumors have since been published – and both NVidia and TI have now published extra info.

NVidia
First of all, NVidia published a PDF whitepaper on dual core processors.

The most interesting claim is one of reduced power drain:

TI
TI announced a 1,5GhZ version of its dual-core OMAP processor. Semiconductor-interested individuals can read up more at the URL above…

Long-term followers of this site know that yours truly is a fan of Krusell‘s data – the Swedish case is invisible offline, but has a retail presence which is stronger than Proporta.

Once a month, the Swedes announce which device sold the most accessories. For October 2010, the data looks as following (number in brackets: last month):

1. (3) Apple iPhone 4
2. (2) Nokia 3720 Classic
3. (1) Samsung I9000 Galaxy S
4. (6) Nokia C5
5. (-) Nokia 2730 Classic
6. (-) Nokia 6303 Classic
7. (4) HTC HD2
8. (9) Nokia E52
9. (10) Nokia 6700 Classic
10. (5) HTC Desire
() = Last month’s position.

Apple is back with iPhone 4 at the top position on Krusell’s Top Seller List for October. The reason for iPhone 4’s third place in September is probably based on Apples failure in meeting the demand for the device. In October the supply has improved both from Apple and from Krusell, says Ulf Sandberg Managing Director at Krusell. Moreover it is of interest to point out that even if media and the industry is disparages Nokia, they still have six out of the ten positions on our list. They are still, by far the biggest player in the mobile device industry, he ends.

Not much to add here – thanks to Krusell for providing the data…

When it comes to SLR’s, a pretty smart manager at Olympus once said that going beyond 12 MP is not really important for the average customer – what really counts is noise-freeness and image quality.

Unfortunately, this thinking is lost on the mobile phone industry – Sony has just announced the totally crazy thing pictured below:

We are looking at a 16.41 megapixel sensor for a camera phone. The products are intended to ship in Q1 2011, and are described as follows:

Sony Corporation (hereafter, “Sony”) today announced the commercialization of two new “Exmor R” back-illuminated CMOS image sensors with dramatically improved photographic performance including significantly high sensitivity and low noise. In addition, Sony will launch two new lens modules equipped with these image sensors, which also include the smallest and thinnest*1 model for mobile phones. This is also the first time that “Exmor R” is commercialized for the use in mobile phones.

A few (generic) sample images and pricing information can be found via the URL below:
http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201010/10-137E/index.html