Yahoo launching an Android phone in Japan

Yahoo is launching an Android based smartphone in Japan on the country’s third biggest mobile operator, SoftBank.

Yes, as strange as it sounds, Yahoo is launching a phone running Android, an OS made by Yahoo’s biggest competitor in the search engine space. Having said that, Yahoo is a lot more popular in Japan and in fact it is the biggest site in the country.

As for the phone, it will be manufactured by Sharp and will have a 4-inch LCD with qHD resolution, Android 2.3, 8 megapixel camera with a CMOS sensor, Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, microSDHC card slot, a built-in digital TV tuner, an e-wallet function and infrared communications.

The phone will come with some of Yahoo’s apps pre-installed, such as Yahoo Japan Home, Yahoo Japan Auctions, Yahoo Luco, etc. The Yahoo phone will start selling late next month in Japan.

Is a Samsung-made Nexus Prime coming in October?

The rumors that Samsung will be producing the next generation Google phone are heating up. Today's edition suggests that the next Google phone, the Nexus Prime, will launch in October and will be the first device to run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Reportedly, it will pack a 4.5" screen with 720p resolution - probably the new generation SuperAMOLEDs we heard of yesterday. If that's true, it will mean going back to PenTile matrixes.

Rumors go on to say that the Nexus Prime will be powered by a chipset that will make even the Galaxy S II look slow - a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and a PowerVR SGX540 GPU running at a higher clock speed than we've ever seen so far.

Samsung is already teasing their Berlin Unpacked event, which will precede IFA. It's expected that they'll show the I9250 - supposedly a Android Ice Cream Sandwich phone with a 4.65" screen with 720p resolution.

This sounds very much in line with the Nexus Prime - and if it's not Prime itself, it might be Samsung's own version of the phone (like how Nexus S/Galaxy S were). Also, a September announcement and an October launch seem good.

The acquisition of Motorola by Google hasn’t gone through yet, so it's not strange that another company is making the next Nexus. Things might look differently when the time comes to make a successor to the Nexus Prime.

We can't wait for the Berlin Unpacked and IFA, when we should get a clearer picture.

Symbian Anna update rolls out for the whole Symbian^3 gang

Yesterday Nokia began uploading the Symbian Anna firmware for the N8 and E7 on its servers. Luckily, it didn’t stop with those two and the Anna updates for C7 and C6-01 also hit the servers later.

Symbian Anna is available now for download via the official channels - either as an OTA update or through the Ovi Suite. All Nokia N8, E7, C7 and C6-01 qualify for the update no matter the region, carrier or color.

Currently, the Anna updates are rolling out in most of Europe and Asia but it’s a matter of days before they go worldwide.

In case you've missed all the important stuff about Symbian Anna, it brings along a completely new web browser, a split-screen text input view, a new homescreen, menu icons and visuals plus improved overall performance and a few updates for Maps, Mail, Photos and Calendar. Nokia N8 gets continuous auto-focus in video recording plus a higher video framerate (30fps), while the C7's NFC capabilities are also finally enabled.

Let's hope the Symbian Belle update won't take Nokia as long as the Anna one.

Microsoft to buy Nokia in a few weeks for $27 billion, says analyst

Microsoft will buy Nokia in a matter of weeks, according to the influential mobile analyst who first broke the news that Nokia would be producing Windows Phone powered handsets.

According to an unsubstantiated tweet from the seemingly extraordinarily well connected Eldar Murtazin of Mobile Review, the companies have agreed what a price of around $27 billion, despite some hard negotiating from the Big M.

Murtazin stated: “Finally. Nokia could be sold in a few weeks. Price 27billions [sic] for the whole company. Microsoft in a hurry but want to pay much less.”

The editor of the Russian site, who it is alleged works as an analyst for some of Nokia’s major rivals, has been forecasting a Nokia sell-off for months now – much to the chagrin of some of Nok Nok’s movers and shakers and the derision of some tech watchers who regard much of his forthright commentary as pure conjecture.

However, there are some very real advantages for Microsoft that add a veneer of credibility to his statements. Not least among them being that acquiring a mobile manufacturer would enable the Redmond-based company to exert more control over its Windows platform.

What’s more, we’ve learned that dismissing Murtazin isn’t something you do lightly – especially where Nokia is concerned.

Not only was he proved correct when he forecast that Nokia Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo was not long for his position at the top of the tree, Murtazin was also bang on in forecasting that Nokia would retire its Ovi brand for app stores and services.

Nokia N9 has FM radio and FM Transmitter on board

The Nokia N9 is the first MeeGo handset to launch out of the Finish giant and the world seems to just can't get enough of it. And today we have some great news for you - despite Nokia's claims the N9 has FM radio receiver and an FM Transmitter in its premium-quality plastic body.

So while the Nokia N9 specs sheet claims that the smartphone has no FM radio, let alone FM transmitter the hardware is actually there. That was confirmed by no other than Nokia itself on one of its developer websites.

However, there's no software support for either of those and the Finns chose not to include it in the N9 specs sheet so no one got confused. Plus the FM transmitter might turn out to be totally unusable.

Yet, we are confident that the software issues will be dealt with eventually and the N9 will be getting FM radio functionality. The developer website says that it's not possible to control the receiver using Qt Mobility API (you know, the framework Nokia uses to let devs create apps compatible with several different platforms) so we'd need a native app, but that shouldn't be that much of a problem, really.

Now the discouraging part of is a line on the same website saying that "there isn't a way for the phone to access the transmitter as the device hasn't got a transmission antenna". Now we are not 100% sure, but we but we suspect that the transmitter only has a controlling chip and no antenna, which might make enabling it impossible.

On the other hand adding a piece of hardware to a smartphone's chipset that it completely useless is just a waste of money and Nokia isn't exactly in a position where it can throw money down the drain.

Whatever happens we'll at least get the FM radio, right?

Samsung to revise their device naming system for 2011

With the Nokia 500 being the first of Nokia's devices to follow their newest form of naming classification, now it appears that Samsung have seen fit to devise a new naming format of their own.

The fundamental name changes are as follows based on variations amongst the 'Wave', 'Omnia' and 'Galaxy' category devices. Each set of devices will be subject to grading, with the letters,'S', 'R', 'W', 'M' and 'Y'. The 'S' class being Samsung's crème de la crème, pretty much in line with how we see it now, any 'S' phone will effectively qualify as a flagship or the top device available within that category of device

It's important to add at this stage that each class of devices is also intended for a different price bracket and as a means of remembering the classes you can see which ones are likely to fetch more by words relating to the letter.

What that breaks down as is that after the 'S' class, comes the 'R' class, expected to be associated with words like 'Royal' or 'Refined', prices for devices in the range would be between €300 and €400. 'W' ties to the word 'Wonder' and fits the more middle of the road devices with prices between €200 and €300. Then we hit 'M', which stands for 'Magical', these mid-tier devices will retail between €130 and €200, and the final category is of course 'Y', which you should think of as 'young-minded'. These will be the entry level smartphones coming in at the €130 mark, tops.

The system also has one more set of variables to add to the mix, but stick with us. These new letters will sometimes be followed by the words 'Plus', 'Pro' or 'LTE'. 'Plus', as seen on the Galaxy S Plus, would promise enhanced attributes compared to it predecessor, or similar devices in it's class, but not enough to qualify for a device all their own.

The 'pro' devices, much like Sony Ericsson handsets, will guarantee the presence of a hardware keyboard, and the final extension is 'LTE', fairly self-explanatory with any devices following this convention, able to work on the 4G network.

It seems a simple and logical rethink and one that we can work with, what do you think, post your thoughts in the comments below.

Dell kills the Streak 5, delivers a brief eulogy

The device that was too big for a phone and too small to be a tablet has finally been put to rest. Dell’s website informs anyone still interested in the now deceased Streak 5 about its departure.

Unfortunately, I can’t find myself to agree with the “It’s been a great ride” part about the message on the website and Dell has itself to blame. Right from the confused form-factor to the outdated software and the high price, the Streak 5 was a recipe for disaster and Dell could have surely done better. If only they knew what they wanted it to be, a smartphone or a tablet.

Anyway, it’s not right to speak ill of the dead. You can visit the website in the link below to pay your last respects. Or, you know, buy something else.

Samsung Mobile announcing new product on August 29

Samsung Mobile is holding an event in New York on Monday, August 29 for a product announcement, for which they have sent out invites for the media.

Although the invite does not specify which product will be launched all clues point to the fact that it will be the Galaxy S II. First is the fact that the invite image has Galaxy S II in the name and then there is the large “II” in the image as can be seen above. It’s possible that the phone will be launched on multiple carriers simultaneously. Whatever it is, we will keep you informed about it.

Samsung to release 7 new droids, 2 tablets and 2 new Bada phones

As far as leaks go, they don't get much bigger than this. We just found specs sheets of no less than 9 upcoming Samsung smartphones and two tablets. The scoop includes the 7 new Android devices, two 7" Honeycomb tablets and finally two new Bada smartphones, one of which will be packing a 4" SuperAMOLED.

We start with the numerous droids:

The Samsung I9250 is the most interesting of the bunch. Sitting on the fence between smartphones and tablets, it features a 4.65" SuperAMOLED of HD resolution 1280x720, a 5 MP camera and runs on Android Ice Cream.

This will probably be Samsung's first droid featuring the yet unreleased version of the Google OS.

Samsung I9220 will make do with Gingerbread 2.3.3 and a 4.3" SuperAMOLED with the rumored 1280x720 (that's HD again) resolution, a 1.4 Ghz dual-core processor and an 8 MP camera. It's certainly another one worth keeping an eye on.

Samsung I9210 comes next with its Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread OS, a 4.5" WVGA SuperAMOLED and 4G support. This is probably the Celox that leaked a couple of days ago.

The I9210 has 16 GB of internal storage, 8 MP snapper with a LED flash on the back and a 2 MP front-facing camera on the front. GPS and Wi-Fi are covered as well as Bluetooth 3.0 and finally a 1750 mAh battery.

After this trio the Samsung I8150 is looking quite uninspiring with its 3.7" WVGA (480x800) TFT display, HSDPA support, 4 gigs worth of internal storage and a 1.4 Ghz single-core processor (much like the Galaxy S Plus).

However, with its Android 2.3.3. Gingerbread OS, microSD card slot and a 5 MP snapper with 720p video recording it makes up for one decently looking mid-range device.

Then we move into low-end territory with the Samsung B5510. The smartphone will reportedly come with a 2.8" display, and will run Android 2.2.2 Froyo.

Its CPU will be clocked to 800 Mhz processor and heavy texters will appreciate it for its physical QWERTY keyboard. The rest of the Samsung B5510 specs that have been unveiled include a 3 MP snapper, FM-radio, Wi-Fi and GPS.

We are back on the Gingerbread train with the Samsung S5360 and Samsung S5610. The decidedly entry-level duo comes with QVGA (240x320 pixels) displays - the unit on the S5360 measures 3" in diagonal, while the S5610 only has a 2.4" screen.

However the S5610 leads in the camera department, where it offers 5 megapixel stills to the S5360's 2 megapixel shots. Connectivity-wise, though, both should be doing well with GPS, Wi-Fi and HSDPA on board.

The story of the leaked tablets is much shorter. First, we've got the Samsung P6200 7-incher with Android Honeycomb, a SuperAMOLED 1024x600 display, 3 MP and 2 MP cameras (back and front) and HSDPA support.

The other tablet is the Samsung P6210, which is basically the same kind of deal, but with Wi-Fi support only.

Finally we have a couple of Bada devices to tell you about.

The Bada 2.0-running Samsung S5380 has a 3.2" display, Bluetooth 3.0, a 2 MP snapper, while the Samsung S8600 Wave III will come with a 4" SuperAMOLED display, a 5 MP camera, Bluetooth 3.0 and 3 GB of internal storage.

Well this is it folks. It appears that Samsung will have quite a lot of new devices to throw our way over the next few months and looking at the specs of some of them we cannot wait for their announcements to come.

Facebook Messenger now available for iPhone and Android – gives iMessage and Skype a run for their money

Facebook released today a brand new (separate) app, called Facebook Messenger for the iPhone and Android devices. It combines all of your messages into a single app and can be used to text your Facebook buddies via your profile or text message, via your carrier.

Also 9to5Mac have uncovered that the app (both for the iPhone and Android) has a top-secret video component to it, which would mean that the Palo Alto-based company is on route to rub shoulders with Skype (among others) by bringing cross-platform video calls.

Facebook Messenger aims to give you a better way of reaching your friends and contacts by unifying your entire correspondence with everyone (social network friends, email and phone contacts) into one single app. The Facebook Messenger is an extension of the Facebook messages service and you can send messages to your online friends, but you can also send texts to your acquaintances the regular SMS way.

Starting up the app brings you to a list, consisting of all your Facebook messages. To write a message to someone you just tap the compose icon in the top right corner and start typing the person’s name. If a person has more than one number to his/hers contact details the app prompts you to select which number to use. You can, naturally, just select Facebook messages and send an online message.

There’s added support for group conversations and a geo-tag option so you could let people know where you are.

This all looks swell and okay, but I just have to ask – iMessage anyone? It does look similar to the Facebook Messenger and add all the other details to the lot and it could easily step on Viber, WhatsApp, Tango and other services’ shoes. It seems a little underhandedly done by the big blue social network leader. But I guess in today’s technologically social times competition is tough, ruthless and has no regard for integrity.

Have any thoughts on the matter? Share them in the comments – we’d love to get your inputs.

Here are some direct download links to the apps – iTunes and Android. So far only the iPhone is listed as an iOS-supported device so iPad and iPod Touch users will have to wait a while longer. Facebook has put up an official page for the new service – check it out here.

Leaked promo video supposedly shows new Nokia WP7 phones

The Nokia Sea Ray may be expecting company - a leaked promo video shows off what is supposedly a Nokia phone powered by Windows Phone 7 and it looks different than the Sea Ray. Of course, it could be fake (though pretty well-made) or it could be some internal promo video.

Remember the first images of Nokia WP7 phone that turned out to be nothing but mockups? The video shows two models, one of which looks almost exactly like the mockups that leaked originally. The other model however is different from those and from the Sea Ray.

Here's the video in question:

We can't be sure that the origin of this video is Nokia (the tipster who sent it to MyNokiaBlog claimed to be from Microsoft, but sent the tip from an Ovi Mail account).

And even if it is from Nokia, we can't be sure if it's an actual device rather than a generic mockup for a promo video. The ending of the clip, which shows a futuristic device that is obviously intended for promo purposes only gives some weight to the second option.

Especially, if you compare this frame from the video with this Nokia-made mockup.

Samsung Galaxy Xcover is one sweet-looking rugged droid

Samsung has just unveiled the latest addition to their Xcover lineup of rugged phones and it is by far the most exciting to date. The Samsung Galaxy Xcover is an Android 2.3 Gingerbread smartphone with IP67 standard certification, meaning it's fully dust and water resistant, and it's also shock resistant so you won't need to worry about dropping it.

The Xcover series by Samsung have so far been only dumb phones with next to no functionality outside calling and texting, but this latest unit runs Android and aims to challenge the Motorola Defy and the Sony Ericsson Xperia Active.

We don't have the full specs sheet yet, but we can confirm that the Samsung Galaxy Xcover has a 3.2 MP camera with LED flash that doubles as a flashlight, Wi-Fi, GPS, HSDPA up to 7.2Mbps and, finally, a 3.65" scratch-resistant display of tempered glass. Oh, and the phone can stay as deep as 1 meter under water for 30 minutes.

So far we know the phone will hit Germany in October, but unfortunately, nothing on its pricing. Man we can't wait to take this one for a ride.

4.5-inch Samsung Galaxy S2 variant spotted

Samsung looks set to unleash yet another iteration of its hot-selling Galaxy S2 smartphone with a larger screen on board, leaked snaps suggest.

Codenamed ‘Hercules’, the handset, heading to Canada’s Telus network, is reportedly home to a 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus display – 0.2 inches bigger than the version released in the UK and Europe.

More expansive display aside, the handset also appears to rock a smoother, curvier back this time around. This is evident in a separate T-Mobile (USA) branded unit spotted on TMONews, with a battery cover that looks to be fashioned from brushed aluminium rather than the original S2's plastic.

The rest of the device is believed to be unchanged. This would mean it still sports a 1.2GHz dual core SoC processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage and an eight-megapixel snapper with HD 1080p recording capabilities.

Alas, we’re possibly looking at a variant meant only for our North American friends, who’ve had to wait a bit longer to get on board with Sammy’s best. On the bright side, Samsung is launching a new a white Galaxy S2 model in our shores next month, so at least there’s that to look forward

Apple iPhone topples Nokia in Q2 smartphone sales

Apple has dethroned Nokia at the smartphone summit with more units of its handsets sold in the second quarter than any other manufacturer, research firm IDC has revealed.

Cupertino cruised to pole position in IDC’s mobile phone tracker with Q2 sales of 20.3 million iPhones worldwide, relegating Nokia, which managed 16.7 million, to third place.

Samsung, which came second, was still the biggest winner with 17.3 million handsets shifted, representing a staggering 380.6 per cent increase from the same period last year. This was chiefly fuelled by the Android powered Galaxy S, which sold in excess of ten million units to date.

Commenting on Samsung’s phenomenal rise to fame, IDC said: "What originally began as a series of high-end smartphones has proliferated well into the mass-market, but has not strayed too far from its high-end roots.

"Moreover, its steady cadence of device releases and updates has kept Samsung's smartphones well out in front of the competition."

While Samsung reinvented itself as a genuine player in the market, Nokia saw its quarterly figures dip below 20 million units for the first time since 2009.

"Even as the company released new smartphones running on Symbian^3, demand for its products running on the aged Symbian platform has shifted to other devices," said IDC.

With Apple gearing up for the launch of its fifth-generation iPhone, Espoo’s only hope of regaining its place at the top now lies largely with the performance of its first handsets running Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system, scheduled to drop later this year.

Samsung Galaxy S2 price cut on O2

O2 has cut the cost of the five million-selling Samsung Galaxy S2, in the latest of its blink-and-you’ll-miss-‘em weekend offers.

Under the terms of the promotion, O2 has cut £5 from its £32, £37, £42 and £63 per month deals for customers who sign up for a two-year contract before Monday August 8th

All contracts entitle you to a free phone, as well as unlimited texts and 500Mb of data per month.

Opt for a £32 per month contract and you’ll get 600 monthly call minutes, while £37 per month offers 900 minutes.

If you’re a heavier user, there’s the £42 deal with 1,200 minutes. And if you really, really like to chat,you can go for the no-nonsense £63 per month tariff which includes unlimited talk time.

In case you’re not familiar with the S2, it’s Samsung’s fastest-selling smartphone ever. And with good reason. With Android 2.3 (aka Gingerbread) out of the box, an eight megapixel snapper and a powerful 1.2GHz dual core processor, it’s many people’s choice for the best Android handset so far.

Huawei Vision: Premium Android goodness from Huawei

In Beijing earlier this week, Huawei unveiled its latest Android device and it promises to be one of their 'sexiest' smartphones yet. The Vision is a stylish droid that fits in at the upper end of the Huawei's smartphone portfolio and has a promising spec sheet that matches its sophisticated image.

The Vision will come running Gingerbread 2.3 and totes a 3D carousel UI, which is in fact a modified version of SPB's Shell 3D launcher. The device's construction consists of an aluminum alloy uni-body which measures just 9.9mm thick at its thinnest point and weighs in at a reasonable 121g. It uses a 3.7" capacitive display on the front and a 5MP camera with a single LED flash on the back, capable of 720p HD video recording.

Hardware is certainly capable with a single-core 1GHz MSM 8255-1 Snapdragon chipset, 512MB of RAM, 2GB of ROM, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP support, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, a microSD slot that can take cards up to 32GB, a microUSB 2.0 port, a 1400mAh battery, A-GPS, an FM radio, a proximity and brightness sensor and customisable back covers available in charcoal, silver or rose gold.

So there are a few omissions that need to be cleared up like 3G connectivity and screen resolution, but all in all it's a device not to be sniffed at with looks akin to an HTC Legend crossed with a Nexus S and hardware similar to that of the Samsung Galaxy S, a competent device that aims higher than some of it's brand siblings for sure. If you're interested by the Huawei Vision it's coming to 'selected markets' in September of this year.

Samsung Galaxy S II Hercules spotted in Canada

Another one of the Samsung Galaxy S II variants has been discovered and it is making its way to the TELUS network in Canada. The picture below was snapped by MobileSyrup.com who attended a VIP event in Canada, where this phone was spotted.

Known as the “Hercules”, the phone looks similar to the standard Galaxy S II, Nexus S and the Infuse 4G. It was said to have a display bigger than the Galaxy S II and more in line with the 4.5-inch display on the Infuse 4G. The device will be running on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, 1.2GHz dual-core processor and could be the first dual carrier 42Mbps smartphone in Canada. It is also said to have an 8 megapixel camera on the back capable of recording 1080p videos and 2 megapixel front facing camera.

Since there has been no official announcement there is no price and launch date to report but we shall keep an eye out for them.

Orange Switzerland to unleash the Nokia N9 on September 15th

As you may be aware, the N9 is the swan-song device that represents the end of the Nokia/MeeGo marriage. A fitting end but still a sad one to be sure.

The N9 has received plenty of praise during its pre-release life from reviewers and industry types to boot. Even we have had the pleasure of being charmed by its unique user experience and its wonderful design.

But of course despite all the buzz surrounding its existence and its lifespan, it still hasn't actually been unleashed on the general public. One of a small handful to put a time to the release of the N9 however has been Orange Switzerland. Their online store quotes the N9's expected arrival from September 15. Wonderful news, especially to those who are MeeGo fans.

In case you're not fully clued up, the Nokia N9 is the latest and last MeeGo device from Nokia as they plan to turn their efforts into pushing Windows Phone 7 in a big way. This device will be coming to a host of territories but missing out on some pretty big markets, including the US and the UK, this news correlating with likely launch locations of Nokia's first WP7 device, an effective doppelgänger of the N9, the Nokia W9 Sea Ray.

With only hints of pricing, there's nothing more we can confirm at this time, but if you want to know more about the device there are a host of articles (linked throughout this post) on the N9 along with our hands-on which you can read here, some camera samples you can admire here and the full spec list which you can read here.

So are you one of the lucky Swiss citizens who plans on picking up an N9 or are you in the unenviable position of being stuck in a part of the globe where the N9 won't be showing its face, let us know in the comments.

The Nokia 500 is Nokia's first 1GHz Symbian smartphone

The Nokia 500 has just been announced as Nokia latest Symbian Anna smartphone. The new phone is based on the Nokia C5-03 specs-wise but refreshes some of the key features, retaining the reportedly affordable price tag.

The Nokia 500 has a 3.2-inch capacitive screen with 640 x 360 pixel resolution and there's a 5 megapixel camera on the back. Connectivity is covered by 14.4Mbps HSDPA and 5.8Mbps HSUPA speeds, Wi-Fi (no N support here), GPS, a charging microUSB port and a 3.5mm standard audio jack. There's 2GB of internal memory and a microSD slot for adding more storage.

The Nokia 500 comes with exchangeable back covers in different colors (two extra supplied with the phone). Much like with the Nokia N79 back in the day, the Nokia 500 changes its wallpaper automatically to match the color of the back cover you put on it.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem the 1GHz CPU has improved the performance much. If you scrub to 1:31 m in the video, you will see the presenter scrolling the News Feed in the Facebook app. Well, we can clearly see some stuttering in the scrolling action.

The Nokia 500 will launch in black in Q3 with a white version coming in Q4 too. There will be six differently colored back panels at the launch in Q3. It's supposed to cost ˆ150 before taxes and subsidies. Sounds affordable for a smartphone alright.

LG promises OTA updates to smartphones, new customer care

The LG OTA updates app and remote assistance services got their debut in Korea and now LG is making it clear it will offer the same services widely to Europe, the Asia Pacific region and South and Central America throughout the second half of the year to its premium line of Optimus smartphones - the Black, 2X and 3D.

First off, customers will get the FOTA app - "firmware over-the-air" so they can get the most current updates for their phones wirelessly (as other makes offer them). This way LG Optimus owners will get software updates directly to their phones without the need to connect to a PC.

The remote call service will be region and operator-dependent and will connect users to a member of customer service through 3G or Wi-Fi, should a problem occur with their phones. Thus users won't have the need to necessarily visit an LG Customer Information Center or a service-station. This will be done through the pre-loaded "Remote Call" application.

Once the user is registered, LG's remote customer care assistants will get wireless access to the smartphone in order to quickly see what the problem is. Customer Information Center assistants won't get access to private information like emails, messages, pictures and calendars unless the customer has consented to it.

Both services will be made available in the second half of this year.