Sony Ericsson today unveiled the S312, a basic camera phone with illuminated shortcuts on the keypad for easier usage. The London-based company said the S312 offers a 2.0-inch screen and 2.0-megapixel camera can be turned horizontally for a more realistic camera-quality feel. It has illuminated shortcuts on the keypad for more convenient usage, photo fix functions to get the best picture quality and picture blogging to upload images to the Web. Additional features include a built-in music player with equalizer, stereo widening and TrackID music recognition...

Internet search leader Google has rolled out a new version of Gmail for the iPhone and Android-powered smartphones. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company said its new version is faster and won’t crash even if a user loses connection with a wireless network. Users can open recently read messages and compose emails even when the phone is offline. The application is also more similar to Gmail on a computer and includes search, threaded conversations and a new “floaty bar” for more convenient functionality. The floaty bar appears near the...

Taiwanese handset component suppliers have started shipping parts for the successor to the Apple iPhone 3G — possibly launching in June. Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple has been beset by persistent rumors of new handset launches, with reports of a new iPhone gaining traction recently. The rumors intensified when several carriers said they were slashing the price of their current iPhone 3G stock — attributed to claims that they were clearing out inventory in preparation for the update to the handset. The new iPhone is suspected to have a 3.2-megapixel...