| Unbeknownst to many in the mobile phone community, | | | | sets its Else Intuition OS apart is its gesture-controlled |
| there’s a mobile phone company called Emblaze | | | | UI that is similar to what the iPhone has but goes a |
| Mobile based in Israel that is poised to do battle with | | | | step farther with more menus controllable by thumb |
| entrenched smartphone makers starting this year. | | | | gestures and a unique dial-up graphic menu calls |
| It’s a nine-year old company that operates under | | | | “sPlay.” |
| the group umbrella of Emblaze Ltd., a small Anglo-Israeli | | | | In addition, it has complete multitasking capability and a |
| IT company in the business of providing software and | | | | media store available for Apps developers on the new |
| communication solutions since 1994. | | | | platform as Emblaze will be releasing is API together |
| A Little History | | | | with the handset. It’s good to know that for a |
| Emblaze Mobile has been specializing on designing | | | | company starting out to venture into smartphones, it |
| cutting-edge technologies for mobile telephony since | | | | recognizes this early that a successful smartphone |
| 1998 even before getting incorporated. It has been | | | | needs a good online apps store |
| marketing low cost feature phones that commands a | | | | Demoed at a launch event in Japan last December |
| fairly good size of the Israeli and Middle Eastern | | | | and launched in London this week, the First Else looks |
| markets, especially its Touch & which was also | | | | like a Nokia N900 but without the QWERTY keypad. |
| marketed in Europe in 2006. | | | | It’s designed to be operated with just one hand |
| Emblaze Mobile is now known as Else Ltd shifting to | | | | courtesy of its capacitive touchscreen and a |
| the new name after announcing its Emblaze Mobile | | | | persistent display of controls on the right side of the |
| First Else smartphones back in November 2009. | | | | screen. |
| Emblaze Mobile embarked on the “Monolith” | | | | What immediately strikes you is its 3.5” Wide-VGA |
| project that had a Japanese company as a strategic | | | | (854 x 480) display and a high end 5 megapixel |
| partner, Access, which is one of the world’s leading | | | | autofocus camera with image stabilization. It’s a |
| providers of mobile software solutions and is best | | | | quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE phone on 2G with |
| known for its net browser NetFront as well the | | | | UMTS/3.5G and HSDPA data connectivity, WiFi, GPS, |
| Access Linux OS used by many companies | | | | accelerometer and proximity sensors, Bluetooth 2,0 |
| worldwide. | | | | and USB 2.0. |
| It is also the maker of Garnet OS derived from the | | | | Internal memory comes at 16 GB though a 32 GB |
| Palm OS. The joint project produced a unique | | | | version is being readied. Neither version seems |
| Access Linux-based platform called Else Intuition. | | | | capable of microSD expandability. It is powered by the |
| High End Features | | | | same Texas Instrument OMAP 3430 processor |
| Finally out from its classified Monolith product, the new | | | | powering the iPhone 3Gs, Motorola Droid and Nokia |
| smartphone’s all-black slab 116 x 57 x 13mm body | | | | N900. Incidentally, these three smartphones would be |
| comes out as an unabashedly inspired design form the | | | | its main competitors. |
| monolith in the movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey. What | | | | |