The buzz thus far (yet again) is Nokia’s new devices, including the
update to its powerhouse N95, the aptly named N96. I spent some time
with the N96 and the other new devices, the N78, the 6220 Classic and
the 60-something or other Navigator just now (and I managed to leave
my SD card reader in the hotel, so you’ll have to wait for pics). The
N96 is interesting because it’s got DVB-H — and I think that’s how
Nokia will attempt to drive the popularity of that mobile TV service.
They’ll build it into handsets that will sell well on their own, then
hope that people have a play with the mobile TV service and eventually
subscribe. Otherwise, there aren’t a ton of updates to the N96 from
the N95 in terms of physical specs, but it’s a testament to the
original’s powerful profile that even a year after it was announced,
it’s still top of the range.

Sony Ericsson managed to score some buzz by announcing their new
devices last night. The new Walkman device, the W980, is pretty slick
in appearance, and the guy demoing it on their stand pointed out that
it will ship with high-spec in-ear buds instead of some crappy
earphones. That’s a great move and one that I welcome, since these
are, after all, supposed to be musicphones. But the W980 still doesn’t
feature a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. Draw your own conclusion.

It was a bit surprising to see the new Xperia X1 from Sony Ericsson –
since it runs Windows Mobile. This is another WM handset that’s got a
lot of UI customization running on top of it, like the HTC Touch or
perhaps even the Treo. It’s an interesting choice for SE given its
investment in UIQ, but the use of WinMo like this appears to be a
growing trend. An SE employee demoing the device said it was “not yet
defined” if the Xperia line would continue to use Windows Mobile
exclusively, or if other operating systems would work their way into
the mix.