Set to rival Samsung's Platinum card phone (SCH-V870), NEC has unveiled its own version of the credit card-sized phone - the N908. This tiny phone is sure to appeal to the touch screen generation, as the company decided to get rid of the keypad. Think of it as a DS phone, only much much smaller. The "do away with the keypad" design enables NEC to cut down the phone's size while giving the impression that it's one step ahead of its rival. NEC was able to squeeze in a 1.3 megapixel camera, a dual stereo speaker, and a microSD card slot in one tiny package. It's obviously being marketed to multimedia junkies who are always on the go. The phone supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, 3Gp, and MPEG4 formats. Wireless connection via Bluetooth is an added sweetener.

No word on pricing but the N908 is headed for an Asian release in Q3.

Recently, IN-FUSIO, an international mobile games and entertainment publisher renewed its exclusive partnership with Amaury Sport Organisation, official organiser of the Tour de France. This could only mean one thing: a Tour de France game for your mobile phones.

The Tour de France game on mobile phones is available in Europe, North America, and Asia for Java, ExEn and EGE platforms. It tries to recreate all the excitement and challenges that is the Tour de France. It is a combination of arcade action and cycling simulation, plus it is easy to play and offers hours of entertainment with three different modes, including "Tour de France," "Quick Race," and "Challenges."

Players will be put to the test with each of the sprint and mountain stages that make up the 3653 km course. Future players will have to choose the best race strategy to secure first place in each of the three official classifications of this Grande Boucle competition:

- Yellow jersey: players must finish first in each of the 21 stages
- Polka dot jersey: players must secure the best times through the mountain stages
- Green jersey: players must accumulate the most points in the sprint stages

This one was developed by MIG Studio and aside from its exciting gameplay, it also incorporates a great deal of realism by including key elements of the cycling discipline. Players will have to watch their breathing, relay passes, tire damage, and endurance for the sprints and mountain climbs. The Tour de France mobile game will be available for download beginning June 2006 via leading European, North American and Asian operators. To help you decide if you'd like this game on your phone, here are some of the mobile game's screens.

If you want to get your hands on Samsung's Q1, well the gadget Gods may have given you a break. The Samsung UMPC - the very first brand-name device to use Microsoft's Origami Project software, is now available at all 32 Fry's Electronics locations in the US as well as in some Best Buy stores in Texas.

Up until this development, the Q1 has only been sold online by limited stores. According to Samsung, the Q1 is experiencing "strong initial sales" and maybe that pushed them to sell the Q1 in U.S. Stores.

This statement was countered by IDC analyst, Richard Shim, by saying that the product demand for UMPCs appears to be fairly limited, by saying that "if there were truly big demand for this, you'd think it would be a nationwide Best Buy move, rather than just in Texas". Good point.

Shim contined by saying that there has been little interest coming from big name computer makers and/or major Asian contract manufacturers that has the capability and the resources to make most UMPCs. With that, it ain't suprising that Microsoft is said to be prepping for the release of a new type of device - the Vistagami, which will come with an updated software based on Windows Vista.