3D graphics benchmarks aren’t the ‘be all and end all’ when it comes to games playing performance, but they’re a good clue as to how capable a device is. So it was interesting to find out about a regularly updated and bookmarkable table of OpenGL ES benchmarked smartphones. It’s topped by the ‘if you believe Nokia’ obsolete N93 and the N-Gage 1st access smartphone, the N81, comes in a lowly 22nd. Read on for comment. As evidenced by the ‘where’s the N93 update?’ outcry when we announce news of new firmware for other devices, the N93 does seem to be ‘the device that Nokia has forgotten’, despite the stellar showing here and despite the fabulous video recording and (recorded) sound quality.

Nokia - this used to be THE flagship, it’s still the fastest and best for many applications, even in 2008, and yet we haven’t had a firmware update for years! Also high up in the 3D benchmark table are the N93i (essentially the same as the N93 under the hood), the N82 and N95 variants, followed shortly by the VGA-screened Dell Axims, the UIQ 3-powered Motorola Z8 and the Nokia E90. Everything else, on all platforms, is a long, long way behind….The necessity for 3D graphics acceleration hardware (as in the N95, N93, N82 and E90 above) for gaming is a moot point. You’d have thought that this would be a requirement for next-gen N-Gage games, but it seems that most titles are built around software-rendered graphics and have the likes of the N81 and N73 as their baseline.

Nokia and PopCap Games, the leading developer and publisher of casual games, will bring connected mobile Java(TM) games to the SNAP Mobile platform. The award winning Chuzzle(TM) is the first game to be re-developed by PopCap under a multi-game agreement.”SNAP Mobile is all about bringing fun multiplayer Java games to the masses,” said Paul Whitaker, Head of Business Development for SNAP Mobile, Nokia. “With a catalog of broadly appealing games, PopCap titles are a perfect addition to our growing portfolio.”

“Downloads of our mobile games continue to grow rapidly and we have learned that consumers are increasingly looking for on-the-go games that allow them to interact with one another,” said Andrew Stein, Director of Mobile Business Development, PopCap. “To help meet that growing demand, we’re happy to cooperate with a company like Nokia that shares our vision of bringing engaging and fun casual games to the mobile mass-market along with a proven track record of efficiently distributing and hosting connected mobile games.”

The game, called CellMill, is a traditional two-player board game that can be played by two players over Bluetooth, or as a single-player game against the smart phone.�Bluetooth enabled smart phones, like Nokia�s 7650 with Symbian OS, are more suitable for multiplayer games than traditional PDAs and portable game consoles. Our goal has been to develop a user-friendly gaming experience, which is almost as real as players sitting at the same table in real life. CellMill is our second game for this emerging multiplayer game market�, says Esa Ketola, President, Cellsoft, Inc.�We have received a lot of positive feedback from players who really enjoy the Bluetooth multiplayer feature of both CellMill and CellPoker, which we released earlier this year �, Ketola continues.Initially, CellMill will run on Nokia 7650 and other Symbian OS handsets will be supported as they become available.

Motorola i90c and i95cl Handsets Offer Robust Entertainment Choices Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) and Gameloft (Euroclear 7960), a leading global publisher of video games for mobile devices, today announced they have signed a distribution agreement to make Gameloft’s mobile gaming titles available for users of Java(TM) technology-enabled phones from Motorola. The companies will demonstrate these games in the Gameloft/Ubi Soft booth (#724) at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) May 22-24 in Los Angeles. The companies will demonstrate the game Siberian Strike on the new Motorola i95cl color-display handset and the games Rotomino’s Box and Star Fighter on the Motorola i90c handset. Siberian Strike is a World War II-themed simulation game that allows players to choose between two planes equipped with secret weapons. Players’ flying skills are tested by Soviet cannons, tanks, battleships, and planes.

Rotomino’s Box is a challenging puzzle game with an original story about a mysterious box belonging to an old sorcerer. Players must think and act fast to complete each level of the puzzle and rescue the sorcerer’s assistant, who has become trapped inside the box. Star Fighter (working title) is Gameloft’s first 3D Java game. In this action-packed game, the player is an Air Force pilot whose mission is to combat alien life on four different planets.

Motorola i90c Limited Edition Phone with Pearlized Finish is Latest Mobile Phone to be Sold at Bloomingdale’s Motorola (NYSE: MOT) and Bloomingdale’s today announced the pearlized Motorola i90c Limited Edition phone, the latest in a series of limited edition Motorola mobile phones to be offered by Bloomingdale’s. This pearly white flip phone is a sophisticated communications device that’s also an elegant fashion accessory.

“After the success of the translucent Motorola i90c Limited Edition phone, we wanted to offer Bloomingdale’s customers something new and different,” said Peter Aloumanis, vice president and general manager of the U.S. Markets Division, Motorola’s iDEN(R) Subscriber Group. “With its pearlized finish and silver colored trim, this phone is sleek, elegant and stylish, while also offering the most advanced features such as a two-way radio, speakerphone, musical ring tones, and downloadable games.” “Bloomingdale’s customers are fashion-conscious consumers who want to express their personal style through both their clothing and their personal electronic devices,” said Anne Keating, senior vice president of Bloomingdale’s. “

The pearlized Motorola i90c Limited Edition mobile phone is a stylish alternative for the customer who wants something different.” The pearly white Motorola i90c Limited Edition wireless phone is a compact 3.5 x 1.9 x 1.1 inches (89 x 48 x 28 mm) and weighs just four ounces (113 g). Features include blue backlighting that makes it stand out in dimly lit environments, dual displays that show Caller ID on the outside of the phone, voice recognition, and voice recording.

Ten selectable musical files and ten selectable ring tones allow users to personalize the ring style with rich polyphonic sound. Users can customize the phone by wirelessly downloading applications, such as games and productivity tools, to meet their individual needs. Pre-installed applications include Checkers, Blackjack, Video Poker, Calculator, and Unit Converter. The Motorola i90c Limited Edition handset will be available beginning this week at select Bloomingdale’s stores in New York City, Huntington Station, White Plains, and Garden City, New York; Hackensack, Wayne, and Bridgewater, New Jersey; Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles. It will be also featured in the Bloomingdale’s Mother’s Day catalog. Suggested retail price is $399. 

Verizon Wireless announced plans to develop and deploy its fourth generation mobile broadband network using LTE – Long Term Evolution – the technology developed within the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards organization. The selection of LTE provides Verizon and Vodafone – joint owners of U.S.-based Verizon Wireless – with a unique opportunity to adopt a common access platform with true global scale and compatibility with existing technologies of both companies.Verizon and Vodafone have a coordinated trial plan for LTE that begins in 2008. Trial suppliers include Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia-Siemens, and Nortel.

These suppliers, along with others in the world community, have contributed significantly towards development of the standards in 3GPP. Discussions with device suppliers have expanded beyond traditional suppliers such as LG, Samsung, Motorola, Nokia, and Sony Ericsson, as consumer electronics companies anticipate embedded wireless functionality in their future products .Working within 3GPP, Verizon and Vodafone, as well as a broad group of infrastructure suppliers, device suppliers, and technology companies from around the globe, have advanced the standards to enable a technology that will deliver unprecedented wireless broadband service for high performance mobile computing, multimedia, and consumer electronic devices and applications.

The technology is designed to deliver mobile data networks with higher speed and throughput performance, lower latency, global roaming, and improved efficiencies.Today’s LTE announcement builds on Verizon Wireless’ technology leadership as the first company to launch high-speed wireless broadband service in the United States using CDMA Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) technology. Its data innovation and leadership have been marked by the introduction of new multimedia handsets and innovative applications such as V CAST Music, V CAST Video, VZ NavigatorSM, V CAST games, e-mail, Internet access, and picture and video messaging on a variety of devices, including handsets, PDAs and laptops.Richard Lynch, executive vice president and chief technology officer of Verizon Communications observed that “while this next generation technology will be exciting to develop and deploy, it comes at a time when we are adding record numbers of customers to our existing CDMA2000 1x and EV-DO networks.

We relish the challenge of preparing for the time when our customers start demanding such 4G capabilities, while continuing the expansion and operation of our existing technologies for many years to come.”“The company’s move toward a 4G network is driven by our vision of pervasive wireless Internet connectivity and mobility,” said Lynch. “Customers want to be truly untethered with advanced communication devices that provide functionality comparable to today’s wired networks – whether it’s downloading or uploading video, gaming, downloading their favorite music, or social networking. They want to be able to communicate in new and innovative ways whenever and wherever they choose around the globe. A number of factors are setting the stage for our 4G network migration; most importantly, our view of customers’ evolving appetite for more information, entertainment, and functionality, combined with an increasing customer expectation for easy access, high speed, easy handling, and seamless mobility. With a host of new devices and applications, and a particular focus on embedded wireless in virtually every piece of electronics you buy in any store, we believe LTE is the best technology with global scale to deliver on the promise.”

- MobileGuru launched Java & SMS games on their fun & games portal offering some of the best mobile contents in the UK market. SMS games such as Mighty Metropolis, Top Agent, Txt to Shoot and at least 40 Java games currently available for download to mobiles such as the Nokia 7650. Popular games such as Goldminer, Jem Jam & Detonate are amongst the list of very exciting java games.

Top Agent is an SMS spy game that allows players to live out their secret agent fantasies in a world of espionage, intrigue and danger.The company has been working with a leading UK contents solution provider to develop a brand of Java & SMS games for 2G & 2.5G mobiles.

Java games can be downloaded to Nokia 3410, 6310i, 7650 and Siemens M50, SL42i, SL45i. The services offered are aimed at mobile users on all UK networks.MobileGuru’s current SMS games portfolio includes Mighty Metropolis, Top Agent, Txt to Shoot with Virtual Lover and Spin the Phone in development.Top Agent is a spy adventure game played via SMS messages. Players live out their secret agent fantasies in a world of espionage, intrigue and danger, where their role is to hunt down the world’s most dangerous criminals and bring them to justice.

Cellular One from Dobson Cellular Systems, a subsidiary of Dobson Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:DCEL) and Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC), the world’s leading telecommunications supplier, today announced they have signed two contracts for hosted multimedia services: AnswerTunes, a ringback tones service and content downloads.

The new service AnswerTunes allows Dobson customers in more than 70 wireless markets to choose from a catalog of thousands of songs to replace the traditional ring heard by callers when they dial a number. On top of that they will also have access to a huge catalogue of content, including ringtones, games, images and video clips to download to their phones. The contracts are the third and fourth managed services hosting contracts Ericsson has been awarded by Dobson Cellular Systems since 2006.

Ericsson also provides Dobson with a hosted prepaid real time charging service including content and game downloads as well as Napster Mobile. The ringback tones service will be hosted on Ericsson’s innovative Service Delivery Platform (SDP). Thomas K. Roberts, Chief Marketing Officer for Cellular One, says: “We are pleased to partner with Ericsson to deliver AnswerTunes and downloadable content to our customer base.

Offering subscribers a wide array of value-added services has been a key differentiator for Cellular One.”Ericsson is providing an end-to-end ringback service, which includes systems integration, hosting and managing the day-to-day operations of the service.

Today, Nokia announced the first Capcom title for its N-Gage game portfolio. Catan, a brain sport strategy game, will appeal to a wide range of gamers who will be inspired by the possibility to engage in up to four person mobile multiplayer gaming via Bluetooth wireless technology. Catan gamers will compete with each other to build roads, settlements and cities. Instead of colonizing land and enslaving natives, gamers will occupy new land to develop into communities with the aim of expanding their civilization and squeezing out competitors. Catan offers a balanced mix of tactic, strategy, interaction and - of course - luck. “The Catan board game has a loyal following worldwide and we have every reason to believe that this new mobile multiplayer version of Catan for the N-Gage platform will be very popular as well,” said Pasi Pölönen, Director, Games Publishing, Nokia.

“The N-Gage platform gives an opportunity for both existing and new Catan fans to engage in a powerful, strategic mobile gaming experience.” “Catan is perfectly suited to be launched as the first Capcom release on the N-Gage platform”, says Kuniaki Tanaka, General Manager of Mobile Business Department of Capcom. “The mobile multiplayer features will make Catan fans work their brains even harder to accomplish their mission and grow their civilization.” The N-Gage Arena provides tips and hints to gamers as they roll the dice to get the commodities they need to build new roads, cities and settlements. Catan is expected to be available on the N-Gage platform in early 2005.

Nokia and Gameloft today announced Asphalt: Urban GT for the N-Gage platform. Asphalt: Urban GTTM brings the thrill of high-speed racing in locations from around the world with licensed dream cars that players can customize for performance and looks. With its amazing 3D graphics and fast frame rate, Asphalt: Urban GT offers a true high-speed experience with the possibility to race against others via Bluetooth wireless technology. “Asphalt: Urban GT is the first dream car racing game for the N-Gage platform and it delivers fantastic graphics and high-powered performance,” says Pasi Pölönen, Director of Games Publishing, Nokia. “Asphalt: Urban GT lets you race your customized Lamborghini down the Champs-Elysée in Paris - a thrilling experience!”
“We think this is an excellent fit to the N-Gage platform,” says Julien Fournials, VP Production of Gameloft..

” In addition to the very rich and crisp 3D graphics, the platforms allows a fast frame rate to enhance the sports cars driving experience”Players compete to earn money so that they can buy their favorite dream cars and unlock racing tracks from around the world. With the possibility to customize car through visual and performance tuning, players can create their own racing dream car. Asphalt: Urban GT offers wireless local multiplayer gaming for up to four players with several different racing modes.