Switzerland -- Engadget Mobile

switzerland posts

Nokia throws "Xseries" into the ring, too?

by Chris Ziegler posted Jul 20th 2009 @ 12:57AM

You know the saying "where there's smoke, there's fire"? Yeah, well, this is kind of like that, except its.. uh, "where there's Cseries, there's Xseries." Stay with us: on Saturday we reported that Nokia had filed for a trademark on the "Cseries" name, ostensibly for a new line of smartphones, MIDs, or netbooks to complement its existing Nseries and Eseries lines. Now it seems the intriguing-sounding "Xseries" is in the mix, too, thanks to details coughed up by the EU's Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market. This particular mark was filed in Switzerland, but something tells us they don't just plan on selling some crazy new line of devices in the Alps, if you know what we're saying; like the Cseries, though, the question of what the Xseries is exactly remains to be answered.

[Via digitoday, thanks Pasi]

BlackBerry credited with saving skier's life, serendipity left hanging

by Darren Murph posted Jun 30th 2009 @ 8:43AM

Not that we haven't heard a few miraculous gadgets-saving-lives stories before, but this one is in a league of its own. According to the always-embellishing Sun, one David Fitzherbert is thanking his smartphone after coming entirely too close to falling 700 feet to his death. As the story goes, he got wedged between a pair of rocks after losing control of his skis in the Matterhorn, and while we aren't quite sure why he chose RIM's BlackBerry over -- say, chap-stick, car keys, his wallet or a fattening breakfast -- he credited it with adding just enough width to his person to keep him wedged. Two hours after finding himself between a rock and a hard place, rescue crews arrived and flew him to a hospital where he used the "0.5-inch wide" phone to tell his wife that he had survived a nasty spill. We still say David owes a round of thanks to genetics, luck and Zeus, but hey, what do we know?

Sunrise offers pay-per-hour HSPA access in Switzerland

by Darren Murph posted Jul 12th 2008 @ 4:18AM

Remember those days when you'd beg your mom to hop online and watch GamePro.com load for 15 minutes in order to read the latest reviews, only to be shut down by pops who refused to pay $.50 per minute to be on the world wide web? Thankfully, Sunrise's latest mobile broadband plans aren't that bad, but each precious hour of surfing over HSPA will set you back 3 Swiss francs (or $2.97). On the upside, there's no commitment attached to the USB modem, and there aren't any data usage caps either, so who knows, maybe this deal will float your boat after all.

[Thanks, Jay]

iPhone 3G breaks cover, shows up in Swiss store display

by Joshua Topolsky posted Jul 8th 2008 @ 12:15PM

You probably saw this one coming, but with that massive slew of countries and partners Apple has wrangled for the new iPhone launch, that July 11th street date was bound to be neglected. So here you have it, courtesy of the french blog Gadget O'Mac, an iPhone 3G on display in a shop in Switzerland. While the shots may be blurry, we at least get to see this thing in the hands of someone other than an Apple employee, and coupled with that Portuguese leak, this should thoroughly whet your appetite for Friday. Check out a few more shots after the break.

[Thanks, Florence]

Continue reading iPhone 3G breaks cover, shows up in Swiss store display

Swisscom goes live with DVB-H service

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 1st 2008 @ 9:22PM

Swisscom's DVB-H-based mobile TV service, Bluewin TV, is now ripe and ready for public consumption, offering up a full 20 channels of portable entertainment to subscribers who pony up the 16 Swiss francs (about $15.40) per month. Coverage is said to reach about 44 percent of the Swiss population, while anyone roaming beyond those airwaves can still enjoy the service via Vodafone's live! portal over UMTS and EDGE networks. The only phone available at the moment appears to be the rather dusty Nokia N77, so we wouldn't be surprised if these lucky gals and dudes become some of the first in the world to enjoy all the benefits of the upcoming N96.

[Via mocoNews and MobileTechNews]

Orange lands broad iPhone distro deal too

by Thomas Ricker posted May 16th 2008 @ 4:14AM

We'll make this brief. Orange spokesperson Therese Wenger told the SDA news agency that it has secured rights to release the iPhone (3G version, presumably) in Switzerland and more than 10 other countries -- take that Swisscom! Other countries include Austria, Belgium, Poland, Portugal, and Romania. And France of course where it's already on sale. See, that was quick and leaves room for a dozen or so other iPhone related announcements today.

Update: Official Orange press release now out.

[Via 20minuten, thanks Pascal M. and Pae]

Official: Swisscom to launch iPhone in Switzerland -- 3G, GPS, mobile TV, video conferencing rumored

by Thomas Ricker posted May 14th 2008 @ 3:16AM

So there was a little rumor bouncing about yesterday which claimed that Swisscom would land the iPhone. Today, Swisscom confirmed the deal while saying little else. What's interesting then is what the rest of the rumor, started by the leading Swiss newspaper, Le Matin, had to say. Namely, the 3G iPhone will be on sale in Switzerland this summer (on sale in the US by June) offering 2-way video chats, mobile TV and GPS navigation all powered by an even beefier processor. That certainly sounds like the same 3G iPhone we're expecting to pop at WWDC now doesn't it?

[Via MacPrime, thanks Stefan R.]

Read -- Le Matin rumor
Read -- Swisscom teaser

iPhone coming to Swisscom on April 4?

by Chris Ziegler posted Mar 5th 2008 @ 12:32AM

So check it out, if this shot of a Swisscom ad flyer in the wild is legit, not only will our Swiss friends be able to sign up for an iPhone starting early next month -- they'll get a very special kind of iPhone, to boot. So special, in fact, that the screen will only be able to fit four icons vertically and three across. Here's what we don't understand: if this is fake, why would someone put so much effort into it and then bork the screen like that?

[Via Everything iCafe]

Swiss send ludicrous number of texts on Christmas, Christmas Eve

by Chris Ziegler posted Dec 26th 2007 @ 5:13PM

Switzerland's three largest carriers have reported that their subscribers sent a grand total of 62 million-plus text messages on Christmas Eve and Christmas day, 5 million more than were sent in the same two-day period last year. Any way you slice it, that's a big steaming pile of SMSes -- especially considering that the good, neutral folks of Switzerland total under 8 million in population. Swisscom reports that a little over half of the messages were sent on Christmas Eve, a stat we can totally buy since we know we were too busy unwrapping phones and headsets on the 25th to bother firing off texts.

[Via textually.org]

Zenum issues season's greetings, teaser shot in one fell swoop

by Chris Ziegler posted Dec 24th 2007 @ 4:54PM

So Swiss outfit Zenum sent us this little gem in the mail this weekend (click on the gallery below to see a bigger shot of it), and we don't think that red cloth is stuck there on accident, if you know what we're saying. What is it? It almost looks like the display slides back and forth while the bottom half doesn't, possibly revealing two different keypads -- though we'll be the first to admit that it's a wild guess. The company's previous effort, the Opus, is based on Windows Mobile 6, so we wouldn't be surprised if this sucker met the same fate. Happy New Year indeed, Zenum; we'll be anxiously waiting to find out more.

Gallery: Zenum issues season's greetings, teaser shot in one fell swoop

Swiss PostBus brings bus scheduling to hikers via camera

by Sean Cooper posted Jul 11th 2007 @ 9:19PM

The Swiss, of course known for, well, ~~money~~ chocolate, also have a top-notch public transportation system. A new system being trialled in the Heiden area of Switzerland will see hikers and other wandering types scanning special posts to get bus timetables with their mobile phone's camera. Once the pic is captured, a web page with info on the nearest rural stop opens -- and for a tourist who may have no clue what stop needs to be looked up on a map, this will be a blessing -- and shows the schedule. This is perfect for those times when blisters and lack of conveniently located refreshments brings an end to a day of wanderwegging.

[Via Physorg.com]