Mobile Tech News -- Stowaway Keyboard Discontinued, YouTube for Mobile Improvements, Nokia Acquires Trolltech

Stowaway Keyboard Line Discontinued

In a blow to those who use their smartphone, handheld, or UMPC for serious text entry, iGo has discontinued production and support for its popular Stowaway line of Bluetooth keyboards (read a review).

According to SmartphoneMag.com, iGo's president made this decision because producing updated drivers for this series of accessories was too expensive.

Instead, this company is going to focus on its line of mobile power adapters.

YouTube for Mobile Now Offers a Greatly Expanded Selection of Videos 

Watching videos on a mobile device can't be called a mainstream activity, but YouTube is hoping to change that. It has recently updated the mobile version of its web site, so that it now offers a much wider selection of videos and more community features.

What's changed:

• YouTube for Mobile now features tens of millions of videos, which includes most of the videos already available on YouTube.com.
• Users can now access their YouTube account, their Favorites, their own uploaded videos and their favorite Channels. You can also share, rate, and comment directly from the mobile website to other YouTube users. 
• Videos that users upload from their phone to YouTube via email/mms will appear within moments on both the mobile and regular versions of the site.

YouTube for Mobile is available at m.youtube.com. To view the videos, the mobile device has to support RTSP streaming.

Nokia Acquires Mobile Linux Developer Trolltech

In a move that surprised many analysts, the mobile Linux software developer Trolltech has been acquired by mobile device maker Nokia. Citing its ability to enable Nokia to accelerate its cross-platform software strategy for mobile devices and desktop applications ; this move is seen as another move Nokia is making towards turning itself from a device manufacturer to a services provider.

Nokia aims to continue the development of Trolltech's products and support of new and existing customers. Trolltech's Qt is used in popular software such as Skype, Google Earth, Adobe Photoshop Elements, and Lucasfilm. Trolltech's Qtopia mobile Linux platform powers mobile handsets, video-phones, set-top boxes and media players in over 10 million devices.

Kai Öistämö, Executive Vice President, Devices, Nokia says, "Trolltech's deep understanding of open source software and its strong technology assets will enable both Nokia and others to innovate on our device platforms while reducing time-to-market. This acquisition will also further increase the competitiveness of S60 and Series 40."

For more information, visit Nokia's web site.