Evidence, speculation of Motorola DROID X2 launch surfaces

A number of bits and pieces of information about an upcoming Motorola DROID X2 for Verizon Wireless have surfaced recently. A user manual for the device was found, posted, and then removed. TG Daily even went so far as to definitively say that the DROID X2 was being announced on May 26, though it provided absolutely no information on its sources. We've also seen some indications that the original DROID X was to get a Gingerbread update soon, but that it has been possibly postponed due to the X2 version shipping with Android 2.2 Froyo, though this is all highly speculative.

Hot Christmas gadgets: Nintendo Wii, sat nav and iPods

Christmas, of course, comes earlier every year. For retailers it starts earlier than most as they try to identify the year’s 'must have' gifts. In order to give them a bit of a hand, some predictions for what HITWISE think about this year’s hot gadgets, entertainment, toys and fashions.

Search term analysis provides great insight into people's habits and desires, so we analysed the top 2,000 search terms that sent traffic to a Hitwise Custom Category consisting of the top 100 online retail websites in the UK during the four weeks ending 22nd September 2007. Gadgets are up first, and our definition encompasses a range of consumer electronics products including mobile phones, computers and peripherals, games consoles, in car entertainment and navigation systems, and audio-visual equipment.

Nintendo Wii is the most searched for gaming console in the UK, ranking as the sixth most popular gadget heading into Christmas, ahead of the Xbox 360 at number 7 and the Nintendo DS at number 8. There were 5 times as many searches for the Nintendo Wii as the Sony Playstation 3, which did not make the top 10 gadget list.

Top gadgets by share of searches-

Mobile phones are the most popular gadgets in the UK, capturing 46% of all searches, followed by computers, iPods, satellite navigation systems and high definition televisions. The success for the TomTom brand of satellite navigation systems continues with the number of searches for 'tomtom' double that for the generic term 'sat nav'. Searches for 'external hard drive' have increased by 15% year on year, reflecting a desire among UK consumers to back up their precious collections of digital music, photos and videos.

The Nokia N95 multimedia phone captures almost one in ten searches for mobile phone models in the UK, making it the most popular handset. It is followed closely by the stylish Nokia 6300, with 8.7% of searches, and the Samsung G600 5 mega pixel camera phone, with 8.5%.

Top mobile phone models by share of searches-

The top mobile phone manufacturer by share of UK Internet searches is Nokia, which receives 35% of searches across the top 5 brands, followed by Sony Ericsson with 29% and Samsung with 24%. Motorola is at number four with a 6% share, followed by LG with 5%.

There are 14 times as many searches for the Apple iPod as for all the other MP3 players combined. Two thirds of searches are for the generic iPod, while one in five searchers is looking specifically for the iPod Nano, which has seen searches increase by 67% year on year.

Most searched for gadget brands-

The new iPod Touch and the UK release of the iPhone were announced too late to have a significant impact on the retail search data, but there is a massive amount of internet buzz about both products. For example, the volume of searches for ‘iPhone’ sending traffic to News and Media websites has increased 5 fold over the last month. With Apple the most searched for gadget brand in the UK, it seems likely that both products will find eager fans amongst British consumers. Dell is the second most searched for brand, receiving almost four times as many searches as its nearest rival HP.

Source- http://weblogs.hitwise.com/robin-goad/2007/09/hot_christmas_gadgets_nintendo.html

T-Mobile Sidekick Slide is faulty

Following news of the recall of the Sony Ericsson Walkman W910i here in the UK, the T-Mobile Sidekick Slide is suffering a similar fate in the US.

Reports state the Slide, listed as "temporarily unavailable" on T-Mobile's official site has been "inadvertently" powering off for no reason.

T-Mobile has made a press statement "T-Mobile USA suspended sales of the T-Mobile Sidekick Slide on Friday evening, Nov. 16, after Motorola – the manufacturer of the device – confirmed that some devices may inadvertently power off when the slide door on the front side of the phone is opened or closed".

"T-Mobile has taken this action to help ensure our customers only receive devices we’re confident will perform at their peak, so they can stay effortlessly connected to those who matter most".

"Motorola is currently working to identify the root cause of the power cycle issue in affected Sidekick Slide devices. The T-Mobile Sidekick and Sidekick are not affected by this issue".

Customers affected are urged to return their handsets to stores where they will receive an upgrade to the LX model, We are waiting confirmation that this recall is for British handsets too and will update the story.

Source- http://uk.news.yahoo.com/pocketli/20071119/ttc-t-mobile-sidekick-slide-is-faulty-57dbc65.html