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Nokia votes “No Confidence” in their US marketing team

2007-09-13T03:04:00.001-07:00

Nokia launched the newest edition to it’s N Series lineup, the N95, for European 3G networks last year. A non 3G device also called the N95 was available in the US and much tauted during the iPhone launch as an answer to Apple’s ground breaking mobile device. Many Nokia fanboys and fangirls explained how the N95 was superior including it’s 3G speed. And similar statements were made by Nokian’s themselves. The truth is that the N95 as presented in the US also worked on the slower Edge data network. Now, the FCC has approved a variant of Nokia’s N95 which will work on ATT’s US 3G HSDPA network with a clever new name, N95-3. The launch party is set, but there will be no lines of eager enthusiasts as was witnessed with the iPhone, because the launch of this new US market device will occur in London.

It’s unclear why Nokia would not launch this device from a US city. They have Flagship stores in New York and Chicago where a launch event could be staged. Apparently, they feel that a launch in London will receive more attention. For that to be true, Nokia must also believe that their US marketing team (they do have one right?) isn’t up to the job. Ouch! Of course, Nokia doesn’t have much success to point to in the US market as they’ve missed every major trend for handsets here. Nokia has the growing reputation of not listening to the market, but who can argue with their 35% global market share?

History of Nokia Failures in the US Market

Clamshell Design

It has been very clear since the mid 1990s with the popularity of the Motorola StarTac that US consumers are in love with the clamshell form factor. I owned one. And who didn’t recognize the StarTac influence on Motorola’s more recent phenom phone, the Razr. Nokia’s response to the StarTac was belligerent with their CEO proclaiming that the candy bar form was superior and Nokia would never make clamshells. Their response to the Razr on the other hand was the N76. It comes very late as the Razr craze has ended and somehow Nokia known for utilitarian design managed to make a Razr look clunky.

Motorola StarTac Motorola Razr Nokia N73 mobile phone

QWERTY Keyboard

Another trend in the US market has been the desire for QWERTY thumb keyboards used to compose email, and driven in large part by the success of Blackberry. Nokia avoided QWERTY in favor of the phone dialpad keys despite the success of Blackberry and Treo which dominated the early US smartphone market. Only recently has Nokia acquiesced on this feature with the E62, a stripped down version of the E61i.

3G on US Frequencies

Nokia’s N95 debuted in Europe early 2007, and it looks as though they plan to make the US holiday season with a US 3G HSPDA model of the N95. The issue here is that 3G frequencies in the US and Europe are different. In Europe, 3G operates at 2100 MHz and in the US the frequenices are (ATT) 1900, 950 and (T-mobile) 1700 MHz. So a 3G phone isn’t a 3G phone everywhere. The fact that the promise of WCDMA was suppose to be global interoperability apparently died a cruel death on the sword of competitive advantage. But that’s a story for another time. The bottom line is that Nokia releases phones on European frequencies about a year before they appear in the US market.

Incoming CEO OPK declarations

Despite Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo’s declarations during his initial press conferences in 2006, as the new CEO of Nokia, results haven’t demonstrated Nokia’s focus on the US market. In fact, Nokia handset sales in North America from Q1 2006 to Q1 2007 fell by 50%. This also the period during which Nokia exited it’s CDMA handset business.

CDMA Devices

One reality of the US market is the coexistence of two network technologies, GSM and CDMA. CDMA networks used by Verizon Wireless and Sprint were the first to market with 3G speed and services. Nokia has an institutional dysfunction with the implications of serving CDMA carriers. First, their abhorrence with customizing devices per operator requirements, and second, their long-standing licensing war with Qualcomm. This dysfunction caused Nokia to exit the partnership they built with Sharp to deliver CDMA devices for the US

Some have suggested that Nokia’s abandoning the higher margin US CDMA market for low margin entry handsets in India and China was a serious miscalculation. But as I’ve said, the dysfunction on this point is institutional. A member of S60’s marketing team explained about two weeks ago that the narrative inside Nokia for the US market goes something like this: We have 800 million customers outside the US and only 4 customers inside the US.

Obviously, this isn’t a true statement. There are many European Nokia devices that are imported to the US, along with newly enabled direct sales, new channels forming like BestBuy.com, and of course, the 4 referenced by the narrative, the US wireless carriers. However, trapped inside their narrative, Nokia does not appear able to evaluate the US market objectively. Perhaps Nokia should just fold up tents and exit.

iPhone Launch

The iPhone is listed as a Nokia failure in the US market, because given the long advance notice and the media buildup to Apple’s iPhone launch, Nokia marketing in the US fell flat. There was no competitive response that has registered here from the company. The best competitive response has come from the Nokia enthusiast blogosphere. Even the blogosphere missed the mark.

A feature by feature comparison of the N95 to the iPhone is nonsense. There was much made of the iPhone’s lack of 3G support which - I love irony - is astonishing given the US version of the N95 was also not 3G. And contrary to many reports from Europe, the US has a number of 3G devices. It’s just that they aren’t made by Nokia.

Given all these failures in the US market, and the focus of Nokia on the N95 as their competitive response to the iPhone, why isn’t the US 3G HSDPA version launched from a US city?

Apparently, Nokia has scheduled it’s annual Launch Event, and it’s in London on August 29th. The Launch website is intentionally cryptic and game like - hint, hint. So whether it’s convenience or tradition or short-sightedness, check the tubes in two days for the story on what Nokia reveals. Even, a simul-launch, events in both London and New York, would have been a good idea. Nokia does have a US marketing team, don’t they? It’s truly difficult to tell.

Orange rewrites the Nokia Narrative over Music Service

2007-09-13T03:00:00.000-07:00

The Independent reported that Orange is at odds with Nokia over its new music service which is scheduled for launch today. The paper claims to have “seen” a memo from Orange to Nokia that threatens to derange an 8GB device to be debuted today. Orange insists that if Nokia doesn’t agree to a trial measuring the performance of Nokia’s music service against Orange’s own music service their handset business will go elsewhere. The operator set a deadline of 31 August for Nokia’s reply.

The memo said: “We are still to see a working demo of the music store; we would expect a significant level of customer confusion and increased calls to customer services as a result of housing both players on a device and our data tariffs would be negatively impacted as they were not designed to deal with such large individual music files. In short, if this was an Orange service, we would definitely not launch yet to protect our customer experience.”

As Nokia prepares to launch an iTunes competitor today, Orange wants to ensure that their handset provider doesn’t cannibalize the operator’s revenue from its own music service. One has to wonder if the “trial” will infact result in the trottling of Nokia’s service to ensure a better subscriber experience for Orange. So, perhaps when it comes to Nokia’s internal narrative, We have 800 million customers outside the US and only 4 customers inside the US, Orange seems to be rewriting that statement. The network owner is still in charge regardless of what Nokia think.

Hands On with the Moto Q music 9m

2007-09-13T02:55:00.000-07:00

Targeting those who are looking for something more fun than a typical smart phone, the Moto Q music 9m ($249 after $50 rebate) isn’t just a refresh of the Q9. It features a completely retooled keyboard and Windows Mobile 6. It’s also the first Verizon Wireless smart phone that’s compatible with V CAST Music, enabling users to download tracks for $1.99 a pop. The most unique feature is the ability to change the standard Today screen view to a media-centric UI that provides quick access to your music, pictures, and videos.

So far we’ve only had a day to play with our just-activated Moto Q9m, but we can tell you that the voice quality is very good and the speaker is plenty loud. Here are the rest of our initial impressions.

What We Like

1. Darth Vader-Chic Design
Sure, it’s heavier than the original Q (4.8 versus 4.3 ounces)--most likely to accommodate a bigger battery--but we dig the glossy black and red treatment. When the area around the D-pad is backlit, it almost looks like a tiny Tie Fighter. The soft-touch finish on the back is another nice touch.

2. Fast Keyboard
The competition is pretty fierce out there, but the Q9m’s layout is among the best we’ve used. The keys are packed close together to enable quick text entry, and we like the matte finish, which gives the keyboard a rubbery, no-slip feel.

3. V CAST Music Support
Having access to 2 million tracks is a nice treat for a smart phone. Even better, unlike the HTC Mogul, you can access the songs you’ve downloaded even if the phone is in airplane mode. Plus, you can multitask while you’re rocking out, whether you’re surfing the Web or composing e-mails. Our only complaint: downloads were kind of slow at about a minute each.

4. Docs to Go
Usually Standard edition Windows Mobile 6 devices can only view and edit, not create, Office documents. So Motorola was generous by bundling Documents to Go, which covers PDFs, Word files, PowerPoints, and Excel docs. With this handy suite you can even zip files right on the Q9m.

5. In-Your-Face Media
Pressing the dedicated Home Screen Toggle key on the keyboard launches a slick skin that lets you access your content from a single interface. A center box that displays your music library, photos, and videos is flanked by icons on the left and right side. On the left there’s playback controls, a library icon, and a full screen icon for photos and videos. And on the left you’ll find icons for music, pictures, the camera, V CAST, and volume. This orientation is a little dizzying at first, but it’s better than WMP Mobile.

What We Don’t Like

1. No Dedicated Volume Controls; Bad Delete Key Placement
In order to change the volume when you’re not on a call or while using Windows Media Player Mobile, you have to press and hold the side scroll wheel and then move it up or down. We’d prefer to have dedicated volume keys on the left spine where the miniSD card slot is. (There may have been room if Motorola had opted for a smaller microSD card slot.) The fact that the Delete key is still above the keyboard is also annoying.

2. Sluggish Surfing
Surfing isn’t terribly slow, but we expect faster performance out of devices with EV-DO data capability. It took about 15 to 20 seconds for CNN.com’s homepage to pop up in IE Mobile on the Q9m, versus less than 10 seconds on the BlackBerry Curve’s browser using the EDGE network. Speed demons will probably want to wait for the HSDPA-enabled Q9h, which will also come with the superior Opera browser.

3. Lacks V CAST Video
Those who owned or considered Amp’d Mobile’s version of the Q (rest in peace, Amp’d) will be disappointed that the Q9m doesn’t stream video. On the other hand, streaming quality on the Amp’d version was mediocre at best; so maybe Verizon wisely left this feature off knowing that the videos wouldn’t look very good on the Q9m’s relatively large display. You’ll have to go with a third-party solution like SlingPlayer Mobile or MobiTV to get streaming goodness on this device. (Hey Verizon: Can we get a MediaFLO V CAST Mobile TV version next time?)

4. Apps Could be Snappier
Like a lot of Windows Mobile 6 devices, the Q9m is a little slow when you’re opening or backing out of applications. And like all WM6 phones, you have to manually close programs to free up memory. The good news is that you can add speed dials to apps by simply clicking the right Menu soft key while the icon is highlighted. Our recommendation: make Task Manager No. 1.

Nokia Announces Ovi Brand and Four New Phones

2007-09-13T02:48:00.000-07:00

The big wireless carriers are usually the gatekeepers for services and applications, but Nokia is taking more control of the user experience with Ovi, the company's new Internet services brand name. Ovi will give users access to the new Nokia Music Store, which houses millions of high-quality (192 Kbps) WMA tracks, which are available for over-the-air or desktop downloads.

And then there's the return of N-Gage as a service, where gamers can try and buy games like FIFA 08, The Sims 2 Pets, Tetris, and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR, as well as battle it out in the N-Gage arena with other players. Also under the Ovi umbrella is Nokia Maps, a navigation service that offers maps, city guides, and more directly compatible mobile devices.

Nokia also announced four new handsets that will be optimized for Ovi. Although no carriers are attached to these phones, you should be able to purchase all of these models unlocked.

Nokia N95 8GB/North American Version
The Nokia N95 will get a North American launch version as well as an updated 8GB version. The North American version will sport the same specs as previous N95 models, including a five-megapixel camera, built-in GPS, and Wi-Fi, but it will now feature HSDPA data for true 3G speeds. The updated 8GB version will retain the original N95's key features and sport a larger 2.8-inch QVGA display and 8GB of internal memory.

N95 8GB; Available Q4; $750
N95 NAV; Available Fall; $699

Nokia N81
The N81 is the multimedia maestro, complete with music and gaming keys, a 3.5mm headphone jack, 3G data, and Wi-Fi. It sports a slick, polished surface and a 3D multimedia menu. With up to 8GB of memory, there's plenty of room to store purchased music and games from the Nokia Music Store and N-Gage service.
Available Q4; $600 (8GB), $500 (microSD)

Nokia 5310 XpressMusic
The Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone blends features and looks in a compact package that includes a 4GB microSD Card slot for up to 3,000 songs. You'll also get dedicated music keys, a 2-MP camera, and a bright two-inch QVGA screen. The 18 hours of music playback isn't shabby, either.
Available before end of year; $300

Nokia 5610 XpressMusic
The Nokia 5610 XpressMusic slider is beefier but offers a sharper 3.2-MP camera and a larger 2.2-inch display. This 3G handset sports aluminum side panels, a 4GB microSD slot for up to 3,000 songs, and a whopping 22 hours of music playback.
Available Q1 2008; $400

Motorola ROKR U9 caught in the wild

2007-09-13T02:35:00.000-07:00

A new Motorola clamshell, the Rokr U9 has had its look and specs released online and to be honest, it looks pretty neat. A nice reflective top gives you a stylish feel and even the keypad has that same look. Check out the specs below.

1.4″ 128×160 px 65K Color OLED display
Measures 90 × 48.6 × 16.4 mm
Weighs 87.5 grams
GSM850/900/1800/1900, GPRS/EDGE
2 megapixel camera (no autofocus, no flash)
1.8″ QVGA 240×320 px 262K color internal display
MicroSD memory card slot
MP3 player
USB and Bluetooth stereo connectivity
Touch-sensitive keys.

Check Out the Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot

2007-09-12T07:03:00.003-07:00

Sony Ericsson has unveiled the thinnest Cyber-shot cameraphone you will find.

The Sony Ericsson K770i Cyber-shot is a 3.2-megapixel camera-equipped 3G-enabled cellie that measures a mere 14.5mm thin. The K770i sports a slider cover that activates the camera and uses the Sony Cyber-shot camera-style software and control icons that allow you to make adjustments appear over the phone's keypad while the camera is in use. Amazingly, the phone also offers blogging software so you can easily upload photos to a blog. And if you're unhappy with the picture, you can always edit it with the help of the included Photo-fix software the devices ships with.

The Sony Ericsson K770i Cyber-shot supports video shooting and video calling (using a secondary front-facing camera). Besides that, it offers video download and streaming with the help of 3G. Even better, it plays FM radio and supports Memory Stick Micro cards, while it comes with a 256MB card and 16MB of internal memory.

The device features a 1.9-inch display and offers an XHTML browser, stereo Bluetooth and USB 2.0.

Look for the Sony Ericsson K770i, which will be released in "Truffle Brown", this fall for an undisclosed price.

Do You Want A Video Phone From Samsung?

2007-09-12T07:03:00.001-07:00

Samsung today unleashed its SMT-i8080 phone that lets you make a two-way video call. Designed for the home user in mind, the i8080 includes an Ethernet connection and a flip-up LCD with an embedded video camera to make it all work as planned. Besides the above, the device also includes navigation controls that allow you to buy from stores, reserve movie tickets, stream audio and even watch IPTV shows.

So far, Samsung has only committed this phone to Hong Kong, but would like to see it in the US and Europe in the near future. Pricing is unknown at this time, but should depend on the service and a subscription price on the phone's Internet features.

iPhone for all! Buy a sim-free iPhone in Hong Kong

2007-09-12T07:02:00.001-07:00

Just as I said! HK in Wanchai, SSP and others now propose iPhones that you can use with your good old SIM card....

IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN BUYING IT, WRITE TO MY E-MAIL: Vishtak (at) gmail.com

Say Aloha to the LG Aloha from Virgin Mobile

2007-09-12T07:00:00.003-07:00

Virgin Mobile USA has officially launched the new Aloha from LG. Interestingly enough, the Aloha is the first cellie from LG to be featured on the pre-paid Virgin Mobile service in the US. With a slim design of just 3.5- x 1.9- x 0.9-inches and 2.7 ounces, it sounds like this may be an easy fit in your pocket.

The phone can store up to 199 personal contacts and five numbers, three email addys and one url per contact. The battery will offer about 180 minutes of talk time.

All in all, this phone is pretty standard for the average consumer. That said, it comes with two preloaded games: ZooZoo Club and Battle Reversi. The Aloha will debut in September for a nice low price of $34.99.

Samsung's UFO phone!

2007-09-12T07:00:00.001-07:00

Samsung's latest HSDPA phone, recently presented in Korea, is called the UFO (SCH-W300, SPH-W3000 or SGH-U700) but it is not what you're thinking! After the SolidAllianec UFO detector you might think that there is an important alien activity in Asia but this time UFO means Unimaginable Fast speed Oh. Please don't laugh, but enjoy the HSDPA @ 7.2MBps, 2MPx, BlueTooth, microSD, TV out...available soon and not only in Korea!!

LG iPhone-clone Set for Fall Release - NEWS UPDATE -

2007-09-12T06:57:00.000-07:00

The new U990 "Viewty" from LG might look a little like the iPhone, but it actually sports some (more impressive) specs that are sure to get you excited.

First off, the phone sports a 5-megapixel, with Image Stabilizer, AF, camera with Schneider Kreuznach optics, a 120fps video camera, 3G HSDPA, 170MB internal memory, a 240 x 400 touchscreen and the obligatory music player.

And besides a nice touchscreen, the aforementioned camera sports a twisting collar around the lens, which doubles as a shuttle dial to get your way through high-speed video footage.

So far this phone is set for a UK release in the Fall and similar or the same product may hit US shelves next year, but there is currently no word on that -- just a hope!

Nokia Shows Off the New 6555

2007-09-12T06:56:00.002-07:00

Nokia today, launched the 6555 that promises a slick design along with some impressive specs to boot.

The phone sports a recessed hinge that creates a seam between the top and bottom shells when the device is open. This helps to create the nice look, but also makes it more comfortable to hold and use.

According to the company, the phone can display 16-million colors on its 240x320 LCD and you can even watch videos that are stored on a microSD card. If you want stills, you can also capture images with the included camera.

The 6555 is capable of running on North American networks thanks to quad-band GSM and it supports 3G over HSDPA. The phone will come in black, gold and red accents when it ships next month for $269 in Europe and (hopefully) in the US soon after.

Motorola Shows Off A Slick New Look for the Q

2007-09-12T06:56:00.001-07:00

Motorola has unleashed a new smartphone that sports some serious specs and an ergonomic design to boot.

The Moto Q 9m sports the familiar QWERTY keyboard with a side-scroll thumbwheel and dedicated keys for some easy one-handed navigation. Even better, the device uses Verizon's V CAST 3G EV-DO network so it zips along at a respectable pace.

The phone supports over-the-air music downloads with the help of V CAST and comes in the pictured black and red design. What sets it apart from its predecessor is the phone's ergonomically optimized keyboard that allows for fast and accurate typing.

The phone will run Windows Mobile 6 and allows for voice-activiated dialing, smart contacts dialing and Bluetooth.

Look for the Moto Q music 9m to hit sheles for $299.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a two-year agreement.

The LG Shine Signature available in Korea!!

2007-09-12T06:55:00.000-07:00

Presented at the 3GSM 2007, the LG Shine Signature aka LG-LC3600 is now available in Korea!

This very nice looking and thin telephone features a 1.3MPx camera, audio/video player, BlueTooth...as a new way of customization, it is possible to engrave anything you want on the back...poem, love message...whatever!

Last but not least, an international version is said to be in the works..wait and see!

LG, once again and finally!!!

2007-09-12T06:52:00.002-07:00

If you're a REAL Geek, you just can't get enough of all the LG goodies coming lately, this time, we're talking about their latest DAP-DMB and it's called the T54!

As you can see on the photos, the style is once again super sweet and light (in many ways) with just over 75 grams...the specifications include: 2.4 inches screen, DMB, FM radio, E-Book, MP3, OGG, WMA, WAV, ASF (audio) and AVI, WMV for the video.

This new baby is available in 4 colors (Jazz Blue, Reggae Orange, Funky Green and Techno Black) and 3 versions (2Gb, 4Gb and 8Gb). Can you believe how sweet this product is?? And once again, LG brought the right persons to show it...

HTC HT1100 and Fujitsu F1100, the 2 New Windows Mobile 6 phones for DoCoMo

2007-09-12T06:52:00.001-07:00

And “Voila” the press conference is now over and we can finally unleash our picture of the 2 new wonders for the Japanese Operator DoCoMo.

Let’s start with the HTC Nike (HT1100). Well not a lot to say on this one since we are aware of this product since several month now, but in a nutshell, the Nike is a HTC Touch with a retractable keyboard, it will run Windows Mobile 6 Professional, has a 2.6” touch screen with a QVGA resolution (yepp that sucks). Our phone is obviously 3G and HSDPA (since Japan does not support GSM) as well as GSM (for international roaming). Our device has a 2Mpix Digital camera as well as a 1Mpix one on top of the screen in order to let you enjoy the craziness of Video Call (Who uses this anyway?). Finally our Nike also features a FM radio tuner and bluetooth.

The Next device that I was expecting, is the F1100 from Fujitsu, which is a 3G only device (bummer) of a seize of 112x51x16.9mm for a weight of 130g, it will also receive a tiny QVGA screen of 2.6”, as a microSD card slot, a 1.3Mpix Camera module, Wifi A/B/G (yepp all of them), SIP, as well as Bluetooth. The other nice feature of this device is a fingerprint sensor which will let you easily protect your data.

Ok, nice guys, but when shall we get something more sexy like… an iPHONE ?

Nokia Finally Unveils the N81

2007-09-12T06:51:00.001-07:00

In announcement made today, Nokia officially launched the Nokia N81 multimedia computer, which is expected to hit stores in the fourth quarter with an earlier European and Asian release and a US release after October.

There will be two versions of the Nokia N81: an 8GB model and one with a microSD expansion slot that can accept cards up to 4GB. Both iterations offer support music and gaming and sport a 3.5mm headphone jack and dedicated game keys. You can even download music from the new Nokia music store and games from the N-gage service. The N81 supports A2DP, sports an FM tuner, has side-mounted speakers and plays the following formats: MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, and M4A. As part of the Nokia N series of multimedia computers, the N81 also has RealPlayer onboard for full-screen video playback and a 2-megapixel camera with video recording capabilities.

The Nokia N81 features quad-band world roaming and integrated Bluetooth 2.0 and Wi-Fi (802.11b/g). The Symbian smart phone also includes e-mail support (Push, SMTP, IMAP4, POP3), Nokia Mobile search, and Nokia Maps.

With a 2.4-inch screen and the ability to display 16 million colors, it will come at a hefty price. The 8GB model will retail for $599 for an unlocked version, while the regular Nokia N81 will go for $499 unlocked.

Another LG bomb!!!

2007-09-12T06:49:00.000-07:00

Last week we showed you the sweet LG "Viewty", this time, the unstoppable LG is presenting the KS20!

This new HSDPA Smartphone will be officially presented at the IFA 2007 early September and as you can see on the pictures...it's gorgeous! Specs wise it's also rock solid with 2MPx camera, audio/video player, BlueTooth, Windows Mobile 6, 2.8 inches touchscreen...

And it will be available in Europe by the end of the year !!!! Thank you LG !!

New world records for Samsung!

2007-09-12T06:48:00.000-07:00

Samsung recently announced (proudly) that three of their cellphones will be mentionned on the 2008 Guinness Book of Records!

The thinnest (slimest?) cellphone with the SGH-U100 or SCH-C210 (5.9mm) AND the SGH-Z370 which is a 3G phone (8.4mm) but also the highest number of MPx with 10 in the SCH-B600!
Back in 2001, Samsung already held the record of the first and smallest TV Cellphone with the SCH-M2200.

Congratulations to Samsung!!

Check out the Samsung iPhone

2007-09-12T06:42:00.001-07:00

Although the F700 from Samsung looks an awfully lot like the iPhone, Samsung is saying that it has no intention of being the iPhone.

And just in case you weren't sure, the new F700 won't be called that forever. According to reports, the F700 is officially called the Croix. So far there is little on pricing, availability or specs, but with a new name, you might like it just a little more. Right?

US to get Nokia N81 and N-Gage store later than expected?

2007-09-12T06:32:00.001-07:00

Remember when I told you that the Nokia N81 is states-bound (link below)? Well, it looks like the N81 N-Gage is also coming to US shores too.

The N81 N-Gage is a gaming phone that, although available in Europe, that will operate on quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900), with single-band WCDMA providing broadband.

So far, little else is known about the device, but we do know that the European version sold in two versions with or without 8GB of memory. Also coming is the N-Gage gaming store, which should be launching in November.

Originally, it was expected to be released in October.

More Details Emerge About the Samsung SGH-P520

2007-07-24T22:44:00.000-07:00

The Samsung SGH-P520 sports a touchscreen like that unnamed Apple phone and supports the EDGE network. The phone doesn't sport a keyboard and although the company has not come out and admitted it feature a touch screen, you can bet it will. And just like the LG Prada, the phone has only call answering buttons on the front.

What's nice about the phone is it comes in at just 8.9-mm thin while still supporting a 3-megapixel camera and 50MB of internal memory. Unlike the iPhone, the P520 also sports a micro SD slot so you can add more storage.

Look for a complete list of specs below.

* Network: Triband GSM with EDGE
* Size: 88 x 54 x 8.9 mm
* Weight: 102 grams
* Display Screen: QVGA touchscreen, 262k colors, around 2.6-inch
* 3 megapixel camera
* 50MB internal memory
* microSD card slot
* Bluetooth (A2DP capable)
* WiFi with UMA
* Document viewer
* 960mAh battery
* Up to 180 minutes talk time
* Up to 220 hours standby time

An iPhone in Japan...Microsoft, WHAT ARE YOU DOING ?!!?

2007-07-24T06:50:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine came to pay me a visit yesterday and guess what he had in his pocket? Yep, an iPhone, and that gave me the opportunity to fool around a bit with it...the result is WOW! But I mean WOW! This thing is a KILLER, ok there still are a couple flaws (keyboard) but the overall feel that I had was really positive!

The thing is that I'm a big fan of the Windows Mobile Solutions and a member of Mobius, I can see nice things shaping up in the Microsoft Mobile future but the iPhone simply blew me away, I can't wait for a 3G version in Japan, the internet browser is superb!

Microsoft!! Where is your iPhone??

iPhone Codes Leaked

2007-07-24T05:11:00.000-07:00

Although the iPhone is still being unlocked, there's still some cool hacks for you to try on your own.

The thoroughly-awesome Erica Sadun over at The Unofficial Apple Weblog discovered that certain Nokia phone codes were effective on an iPhone. She then Googled some other Nokia codes and found them to work as well.

So, for your edification:

"*3001#12345#* and tap Call. Enter Field Mode.

Field mode reveals many of the inner settings of your iPhone, specifically up-to-date network and cell information.

*#06# Displays your IMEI. No need to tap Call.

IMEI is the unique identifier for your cell phone hardware. Together with your SIM information it identifies you to the provider network.

*777# and tap Call. Account balance for prepaid iPhone.

*225# and tap Call. Bill Balance. (Postpaid only)

*646# and tap Call. Check minutes. (Postpaid only)

These three are pretty self explanatory.
*#21# and tap Call. Setting interrogation for call forwards.

Discover the settings for your call forwarding. You'll see whether you have voice, data, fax, sms, sync, async, packet access, and pad access call forwarding enabled or disabled.
*#30# and tap Call. Calling line presentation check.

This displays whether you have enabled or disabled the presentation of the calling line, presumably the number of the party placing the call.
*#76# and tap Call. Check whether the connected line presentation is enabled or not.

State whether the connected line presentation is enabled or disabled. Presumably similar to the calling line presentation.
*#43# and tap Call. Determine if call waiting is enabled.

Displays call waiting status for voice, data, fax, sms, sync data, async data, packet access and pad access. Each item is either enabled or disabled.
*#61# and tap Call. Check the number for unanswered calls.

Show the number for voice call forwarding when a call is unanswered. Also show the options for data, fax, sms, sync, async, packet access and pad access.
*#62# and tap Call. Check the number for call forwarding if no service is available.

Just like the previous, except for no-service rather than no-answer situations.
*#67# and tap Call. Check the number for call forwarding when the iPhone is busy.

And again, but for when the iPhone is busy.
*#33# and tap Call. Check for call control bars."

Skype finally on the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet

2007-07-24T05:10:00.000-07:00

Nokia has finally released a software update for the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet that lets you use Skype. For some reason, Nokia didn't include this functionality into the N800 until now, even though Skype was on the list of features when they first announced it at CES 2007 in January.

Beside the Skype, Nokia's Nseries widescreen device comes equipped with a pretty nice set of features: 800x480 pixel display, QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 and a built-in webcam.

Sony Ericsson PSP Phone

2007-07-24T05:07:00.000-07:00

Sony Ericsson already successfully adopted other Sony product categories into mobile phones with the Walkman Cyber-shot handsets. A recent patent filing indicates that a PSP phone might be on the horizon.

The proposed design features a swivel screen and controllers similar to the PSP. What is not clear to me is how the keypad will work as the game pad buttons located there.
Rumors about a Sony PSP phone are making their rounds since a while. Now with the patent filing there is evidence that a Sony Ericsson PSP phone is in the works.
See the patent filing here. Via UnwiredView.

A year ago we reported about a Chinese company that made a mobile phone that looks like a Sony PSP. It did not look bad.

NEC Concept Phone 2007

2007-07-24T05:02:00.000-07:00

NEC is showing a set of 5 concept phones during the Wireless Japan 2007. Ranging from fashion phone to kid phone, this series can be really implemented on real phone design.

BenQ Siemens SL98 - Is it so?

2007-07-24T05:01:00.000-07:00

Similar to the Samsung Dual Face phone, the small LCD screen gives you sufficient text info to save battery life on this slim phone. When you need a bigger screen for net surfing or playing video, just activate the pop up screen from the body.

This prototype or concept phone has a pretty ugly design, there is no info on the specification or possible released date too.

Kingston Technology Strikes Chord with eMusic To Enhance Mobile Phone Music Harmony

2007-07-24T04:57:00.001-07:00

Kingston is working with eMusic to launch a special 1GB microSD card package with a USB reader and 10 free preloaded songs. Also included is an eMusic trial subscription

offer for 50 additional free MP3 music tracks for mobile consumers.

"With the Kingston eMusic preloaded card/reader combo, consumers with MP3-enabled phones, MP3 players, or other devices using microSD expansion memory have an opportunity to enjoy full music mobility—instantly,” said Wendy Lecot, Flash memory marketing manager, Kingston.

Shipping immediately, the Kingston eMusic 1GB microSD USB Reader+Card combo, Kingston part #: (FCR-MRB+SDC/1GB-MEC) has an MSRP of $19.99 and is available initially from Buy.com and mobile/wireless distributors.

AT&T Video Share Arrives in Nearly 160 Markets Nationwide

2007-07-24T04:56:00.001-07:00

AT&T Video Share enables one-way live streaming-video feeds that can be seen by both parties while they are participating in a two-way voice conversation. Once the parties have initiated a Video Share call, either one can be the one generating the video stream for the other to see.

"Video Share is another demonstration of AT&T's advanced network and commitment to meaningful innovation that improves our customers' communications," said David Christopher, chief marketing officer of AT&T's wireless unit.

Video Share works exclusively over the AT&T 3G wireless network and is the first AT&T application to use the company's emerging Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) platform. This new platform will be used to deliver a range of new Internet Protocol (IP)-based services and applications and will increasingly enable AT&T customers to seamlessly access services and content over both wireless and wireline network connections.

To use the service, a Video Share-capable handset is required. Two Video Share service packages will be available for $4.99 a month for 25 minutes of Video Share usage or $9.99 a month for 60 minutes of usage. Users also may choose to pay as they go and pay 35 cents a minute each time they use the service. To view an interactive demonstration or find out more information, customers can go to www.attvideoshare.com.

The Samsung SGH-P520 Prada Phone

2007-07-24T04:55:00.000-07:00

The Samsung SGH-P520 is a triband GSM phone supporting EDGE data connection. While it is keypad-less, the specification did not mention if its display screen is done with a touch screen. Similar to LG Prada phone, it has only call answering buttons at the front.

Built with an extremely slim size, this calculator size phone is only 8.9mm thickness. But this does not limit the camera module, a 3 megapixel camera module is used on the phone. 50MB internal memory will be sufficient for normal used. The micro SD card slot can always helps in keeping all the multimedia files.

Best of all the phone might come with built in WiFi for UMA. Those who wants a smaller iPhone would better bet on this.

Specifications:

Network: Triband GSM with EDGE
Size: 88 x 54 x 8.9 mm
Weight: 102 grams
Display Screen: QVGA touchscreen, 262k colors, around 2.6-inch
3 megapixel camera
50MB internal memory
microSD card slot
Bluetooth (A2DP capable)
WiFi with UMA
Document viewer
960mAh battery
Up to 180 minutes talk time
Up to 220 hours standby time

Design and Win the Nokia N76!

2007-07-24T04:50:00.000-07:00

General instructions

The Your Talent for Nokia Nseries contest is looking for talent to create original designs for the Nokia N76 multimedia computer. If you think you have what it takes to win and would like to submit one or more of your own designs, just download the design template provided on this website to get started.

Once you’ve downloaded the template, use the design software of your choice to create your own original design.

Please note that the design you submit has to be entirely your own and is subject to the Official Rules and Regulations of the contest.

Once you’re done, just save your design to your own computer and upload it according to the instructions provided with the template. You’ll get a wraparound view of your design on the Nokia N76 device, and if you like what you see, enter your design to the contest.

Nokia will send you an email to let you know whether your design has been added to the “Your Talent for Nokia Nseries” website. Once it has, your design will be judged by other viewers and you’ll be in running to win a fabulous prize – a Nokia N76 with your own design on it! You can enter as many original designs as you want, so enter often to increase your chances to beat out the competition and win!

Got some Questions?

Q1: How do I enter?

A: Click here to Download the template. Use the design software of your choice to create your own original design. You'll be able to preview your design and once you're happy with it, submit it to www.nseries.com/yourtalent!

Q2: How many times can I enter?

A: You can enter as many of your own original designs as you want.

Q3: I'm not a professional designer. Can I still enter?

A: Of course you can! The contest is open to anyone and everyone and is based on skill, so all you need is your creativity and talent!

Q4: Are there any restrictions regarding nationality?

A: There are no restrictions! Everyone all over the world is welcome to enter.

Q5: I'm not really an expert in the technology related to design. Is it going to be too hard for me?

A: You don't have to be an expert to create a winning design! Just download the template and use the software of your choice (e.g. Adobe Photoshop™, GIMP™, Adobe Illustrator™ etc.) to create your own original design. Then just make sure it's in the right format, save it to your own computer, submit it to the contest and you'll be good to go!

Q6: When will the contest end?

A: The contest will end on August 11th.

4.3: When and how will the winners be announced?
A: Winners will be announced after the contest has ended ended 11.8.2007. All winners will be informed by email/phone, so make sure all your personal information is accurate when submitting your design to the contest.

Q7: I want to get as many people as possible to vote for my design. How can I promote it?

A: It's easy! Once your design has been approved by the site, you'll receive a personalized banner you can copy and paste onto your own website or blog to promote your design. And remember to tell your friends, family and anyone who will listen to go to www.nseries.com/yourtalent to vote for your design!

Q8: What and how can I win?

A: Once you've submitted your design and it's been accepted by the "Your talent for Nokia Nseries" website, you'll be in the running to win a fabulous prize – a truly unique Nokia N76 with your own design on it! The site's viewers will vote for the designs they like best, and the 10 highest rated designs will win!

Check out the Official N76 Contest site: www.nseries.com/yourtalent

Good Luck and hope enjoy the contest

The Jabra JX10 Cara Gold Edition

2007-07-21T02:03:00.000-07:00

Made by 24k gold plated, the re-born Jabra JX10 Cara is now being sold at 300 USD. 28,000 units of the bluetooth headset is available in most countries. Jabra JX10 is among the smallest and lightest headsets in the industry. It weighs less than 10 grams (one ounce) and measures less than four centimetres (one and a half inches) in length. The headset also offers Digital Signal Processing (DSP) technology, which reduces background noise and ensures crystal clear conversations.

Jabra JX10 in summary:

Weighs less than 10 grams and measures L3.9 x W2 x D2 cm
Digital sound enhancement via DSP technology
One-touch pairing button
Optional charging from PC via USB
Comes with desktop charging cradle and carrying pouch
Up to 6 hours talk time and 200 hours standby
Multi-coloured LED light indicators for status on Bluetooth, battery and charging
2 different wearing styles - with or without the earhook
Easy accessible volume control
Voice dial, call hold/call wait, last number re-dial, answer/end call, reject call
Bluetooth 2.0

Luxury iPhone Protection Case from Louis Vuitton

2007-07-21T02:02:00.000-07:00

Louis Vuitton unveiled a series of iPhone protection case last week in US. Available only in Manhattan, the iPhone protection case series will be selling from $120 for a LV signature edition and it will cost you $1120 for a alligator edition, about twice of what you paid for an iPhone.

So think about adding value to your iPhone? This is a good choice.

Win a Bluetooth headset from My iTablet!

2007-07-21T02:01:00.000-07:00

The first giveaway is the Jawbone Bluetooth Headsets (retail value $119.95) and one Motorola H9 Bluetooth headset (retail value $119.95). To take part in the contest, just head over to their entry page and tell them which headset you want to win. I can't find a rule that you have to own an iPhone to submit your entry, so if you are U.S. residents , visit this page now with your valid email address!

The second giveaway is definitely even better although it required a photo submission. Now this is open to everyone in the planet and not limited to U.S. residents only. The rule says,

To kick off the launch of MY iTablet’s Own the Space Around You Photo Gallery, we’re inviting visitors to submit photos of themselves in areas where their space is owned by strangers, family members, loud noises and yes, that does include the confined space of driving your car. Basically, take a picture of you anywhere you might need to use a Bluetooth headset. Keep in mind that not all Bluetooth headsets are created equal: you can’t use just any headset in any environment and expect to clearly hear or be heard. Unlike other headsets, Gennum’s NX6000 offers powerful DSP performance with FRONTWAVE Extreme noise-cancellation and wind guard neatly packed in a sexy, compact unit, and they’ve generously sponsored this giveaway with three of their NX6000 headsets.

The submission will be closed on 1st August 2007. Read more about the Gennum's NX6000 giveaway here . Remember, you don't need an iPhone to get a chance of free bluetotoh headset!

The First Dual-Mode Cellular and Wi-Fi BlackBerry Smartphone

2007-07-21T01:57:00.000-07:00

The BlackBerry 8820 is the first dual-mode BlackBerry handset, combining EDGE/GPRS/GSM cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity for data access and voice support through UMA (unlicensed mobile access) for fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) service offerings from various wireless carriers around the world.

The BlackBerry 8820 smartphone supports the 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi standards to enable data access over Wi-Fi connections in the enterprise, as well as through public hotspots and wireless home networks. The BlackBerry 8820 also supports UMA, enabling wireless carriers to offer a fixed-mobile convergence service for both business and home use. With a UMA solution in place, the BlackBerry 8820 can also seamlessly switch voice calls between a wireless carrier's cellular network and a Wi-Fi network.

The BlackBerry 8820 is a quad-band GSM/GPRS and EDGE-enabled smartphone with the features include:

Built-in GPS - Through its built-in GPS, the BlackBerry 8820 can pinpoint its location and provide "out-of-the-box" support for a wide variety of location-based applications and services, including BlackBerry Maps.
microSD / microSDHC Expansion Memory - The BlackBerry 8820 includes a microSD expansion memory slot that can support both microSD (up to 2GB) and microSDHC (4GB to 32GB) memory cards. 4GB memory cards are available today, and 8GB cards are expected to be available later this year.
BlackBerry Services - The BlackBerry 8820 can operate with BlackBerry Internet Service, giving users the ability to manage up to 10 supported personal and corporate email accounts.
Multimedia – The BlackBerry 8820 supports the Bluetooth stereo audio profile (A2DP/AVRCP) and comes with the most recent BlackBerry media player refinements, allowing users to play music and search by simply typing the title, genre, artist or album name. Videos can also be played in full screen mode.
Removable Battery

The BlackBerry 8820 will be available from select wireless carriers around the world in the coming weeks. AT&T is scheduled to launch the BlackBerry 8820 in the U.S. later this summer.

T-Mobile Germany to Carry the Apple iPhone?

2007-07-21T01:56:00.000-07:00

First we had a rumor about Apple iPhone T-Mobile Germany early this month. One more evidence is leaked today to further prove the rumor itself. Focus Online web site in Germany has spotted an iPhone promotional page on T-Mobile Germany web site. Although the page has been removed quickly from the site, Focus Online managed to take a screen shot of it

T-Mobile Germany refused to comment on the iPhone page leaked.

Verizon Wireless Rolls Out Veoh Video On V CAST

2007-07-21T01:54:00.000-07:00

With Veoh on V CAST, Verizon Wireless customers now have access to the “Best of Veoh” video collection that includes animation, comedy, entertainment, drama, and Web-series video. The programming was selected specifically for the mobile audience from video clips published on Veoh.com and is continually refreshed to help keep V CAST customers entertained while on-the-go.

To get V CAST, customers with select V CAST-enabled phones can check out V CAST whenever they want for just $3.00 for 24-hour use or by signing up for the $15.00 V CAST VPak monthly subscription.

The two companies said their relationship will also enable Verizon to bring Veoh content to Verizon’s consumer broadband services and FiOS TV, marking the first time Veoh content will be available on three screens. A Veoh channel is expected on the VerizonSurround broadband entertainment portal this fall; FiOS TV, Verizon’s next generation TV service, is slated to carry Veoh content later this year. As part of the relationship, Verizon is also advertising on VeohTV.

Samsung and Los Angeles International Airport to Give Travelers a Power Boost With New Charging Stations for Mobile Devices

2007-07-21T01:53:00.000-07:00

Fifty-one 8-1/2-foot-tall, pole-like charging stations have been installed throughout the boarding areas in Terminals 1 through 8 and the Tom Bradley International Terminal. The Samsung Mobile Charging Stations have four outlets per station, allowing multiple travelers to re-charge their electronic devices. They are designed to re-charge personal electronics designed for U.S. voltage (i.e., 120 volts). The electrical re-charging stations are designed with a small shelf to hold electronic equipment.

"If you look around a crowded plane now, you see more travelers with laptops and other personal electronic devices than a decade ago," said Pete Skarzynski, Samsung Mobile senior vice president. "To celebrate Samsung's 10th anniversary, we are sponsoring the Samsung Mobile Charging Stations for travelers' use at LAX free of charge."

Samsung Telecommunications America is sponsoring the new service as part of the airport's in-terminal advertising program. LAWA is providing the electricity for the charging stations.

Hua Long IP2000 iPhone Clone

2007-07-21T01:50:00.000-07:00

A working but not so cool iPhone is now being sold in China for about $140 USD only. The Hua Long IP2000 (iPhone 2000?!) shares the similar iPhone casing, but with a generic mobile phone software built in. Its display screen is also a touch screen, but keypad is available below designed in 2 rows. You still gets a 3.5 inch large LCD screen, 2 megapixel camera, media player and USB connection. The GSM dual band phone is thicker, and the BIG apple logo at the back of the phone will remind you that it is indeed an iPhone clone!

Specifications:

GSM Dual Band (900 / 1800 MHz)
3.5 inch 256k colors TFT screen (240 x 320)
MP3 player
3GP, MP4 player
2 megapixel camera
USB connection
GPRS, WAP
180 - 300 mins talk time
150 hours stand by time
Size: 114 x 62 x 15.5 mm
Weight: 125 grams

IF YOU WANT THAT PHONE YO CAN CONTACT ME. I HAVE ALL CHINESE PHONES FOR SELLING!!! CONTACT ME VIA E-MAIL vishtak (at) gmail dot com

SlashRumor: Nokia N82

2007-07-21T01:44:00.000-07:00

News from symbian-guru that another 5 megapixel camera phone is in the work by Nokia. The model, which will be called Nokia N82, has a 5 megapixel camera module with Carl Zeiss lens and Xenon flash. The camera module is able to do auto focusing and capture video at 30 fps with VGA quality. Similar to Nokia N95, it will be a connectivity rich device. The Nokia N82 supports Quad band GSM network, giving you HSDPA high speed connection and has built in bluetooth, GPS and WiFi.

Specifications:

Network: GSM Quadband, HSDPA
Size: 112 x 50.2 x 17.3 mm
Weight: 120 grams
MicroSD card slot
100MB built in memory
2.4" 16M colors TFT (240 x 320)
5 megapixel camera, auto focus, xenon flash
Secondary video call camera

The Nokia N82 should be available in Q4 2007 according to the rumor.

Cect K898 Slider Phone Twist Like Camcorder

2007-07-21T01:40:00.000-07:00

Works like the Nokia NSeries camcorder phone, the Cect K898 is in sliding form factor instead but has a twistable camera module as well. Other than the main camera, a secondary camera for video calls is available when the movable camera is placed in its original position.

IF YOU WANT THAT PHONE YO CAN CONTACT ME. I HAVE ALL CHINESE PHONES FOR SELLING!!! CONTACT ME VIA E-MAIL vishtak (at) gmail dot com

Cect 599 Apple iPhone Variant

2007-07-21T01:35:00.000-07:00

While US residents are enjoying the iPhone, chinese are also able to purchase an iPhone-alike phone from one of the different models in the market. Cect 599 is one of the available phones now. First it gives you a 3.2-inch display screen with 240 x 400 WQVGA resolution, then you see it also comes with built in bluetooth, dual speaker, 1.3 megapixel camera, touch screen and a light 90 grams body. Anyone would really buy it when you see a price tag of only 150 USD, without contract.

There is no internal memory for the Cect 599, although you can still enjoy big memory storage by adding a microSD card. But what it didn't mention on its specification is that, it can only play video with a maximum of 176 x 144 pixels. Those who bought it might end up putting it up on the auction site for sell.

IF YOU WANT THAT PHONE YO CAN CONTACT ME. I HAVE ALL CHINESE PHONES FOR SELLING!!! CONTACT ME VIA E-MAIL vishtak (at) gmail dot com

LG KS10 - the smart phone that loves the internet

2007-03-27T07:05:00.000-07:00

LG Electronics won’t cease to amaze me for the last few months with their latest announcements and launches. They have a new baby-born, for those that like the Symbian Series 60 operating system, coming with a 2.4-inch QVGA display that has 240×320 pixels resolution and 256k colors, and you should know that this phone is addicted to browsing the internet. That is because of the advanced functions browser that would allow recording web pages, capture images and more. It is a full Internet browsing capability mobile phone, tri-band (900/1800/1900) GSM and with HSDPA up to 1.8Mbps.
LG KS10 is a smart phone indeed. Comes with Bluetooth 1.2, a 2 megapixel camera with auto-focus and a VGA camera for 3G calls, microSD slots and a built-in audio player that supports MP3/AAC/AAC+/WMA files and you can connect it via USB. The phone is not very big, weighting 73 grams with 103×51x18.5mm. Even if LG KS10 was announced in Barcelona at 3GSM 2007 they haven’t set a price for it yet, not even a release date for mass production, but even if it’s going to be expensive those of you that like to go on the web on every corner will be prepared to pay the bill for it.

MOTORAZR V3i DOLCE & GABBANA

2007-03-27T07:02:00.000-07:00

Like a response to LG Prada, Motorola has launched the new MOTORAZR V3i which carry D&G theme. It is modeled after the MOTORAZR V3, but the MOTORAZR V3i DOLCE & GABBANA has a luxurious gold and silver finish, with an engraved Dolce & Gabbana logo.

The phone keeps the same sleek design as RAZR V3. The handset comes complete with an integrated 1.23 megapixel digital camera, MP3 player and other multimedia capabilities. In addition to RAZR V3, the D&G phone supports microSD memory card. Stylish, smart, and sophisticated, the MOTORAZR V3i DOLCE & GABBANA retails for $349.99.

SAGEM my300C Brings Color Into Your Life

2007-03-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

Last week Sagem presented a new mobile phone modem targeted at the low entry market. Featuring a superb clamshell design, the new my300C measures just 79.2×43.5×21.7 mm, and it weights only 80 g.

The list of features for this device comes a little short as the multimedia capabilities top at a VGA (640×480) digital camera capable of 4x digital zoom. The available memory for the my300C reaches just 3 MB and the LCD screen matches the multicolor exterior design as it is capable of displaying more than 65k colors. For internet browsing the mobile phone can connect trough WAP 2.0.

The my300C will be available starting this June.

Samsung Sgh D900

2007-03-27T06:52:00.000-07:00

This is a slim slider extreme Samsung cellphone, already on the market. The battle for the slimmest mobile phone is extreme, and as it looks like the cellphones have gone on a diet with the Motorola RAZR V3, the slim cases became more and more popular.
The Samsung D900 was initially going to launch as D870 first time presented in March at the CeBIT fair last year and then they decided to name it D900.The phone is almost as big as a credit card, being the flatter D600. It’s only 13mm thick. It has great dimensions 103.5 x 51 being only 13mm thick. The display is big, with 256k colors and with the dimensions 32 x 42 mm.

Though it has a great camera the phone is a bit far from the best photography cellphones which are Sony Ericsson K800 or Nokia N73. It won’t have clear details and the color saturation is far too high. Also if you don’t have enough light the pictures will blur.
The price for the Samsung Sgh D900 is quite expensive. It costs about 300 euros (can be found at about 400 dollars too). You should think really well before acquiring this phone. The stylish design and the main key features are being compensated by the disadvantages of the mobile phone, but overall it’s a very good phone.

Nokia 8800 Sirocco

2007-03-27T06:47:00.000-07:00

You’ve probably heard of this cellphone. It is the most expensive Nokia phone. This highclass cellphone is equipped with a sapphire protecting glass and glossy steel panels. Nokia 8800 Sirocco is one of the most luxurious mobile phone. It is part of the Nokia 8 class successes: Nokia 8910, Nokia 8910i or Nokia 8800 the forerunner of Sirocco.
The cellphone is for bussinesmen, managers, celebrities or other kind of rich people. Nokia 8800 Sirocco was launched in this autumn and the price is around $1000. I would say that the phone is not worth so much. At this price you cand get a very nice smartphone with many features. The phone package contains a leather case, two batteries, a earphone, a Bluetooth handsfree, and a cleaning cloth. I will name below some pros and cons of this Nokia cellphone:

Pros

- extraordinary design

- good features

- 2 megapixel camera

- fine TFT display covered with sapphire glass

- high quality accessories and materials

- special ringtones and themes

Cons

- very expensive

- does not have a slot card

- does not have a system connector

- battery is not very good

Sirocco’s features and organizing functions are those of a good phone. The brilliant design is the one whish grab the buyer’s attention. The material used are of good quality and the cellphone is the result of a great projecting.

Sony Ericsson concept phone

2007-03-27T06:42:00.000-07:00

Why are concept phones always nicer than actual products? Why is it that they never release exact copies of the concept phones on the market? Well let’s take a look at a concept mobile phone from Sony Ericsson. It looks like the glowing LG Chocolate at the display with so much shine, and like a Nokia 8800 Sirocco with that slide. Neat!
Sony Ericsson is not famous for releasing fashion cell phones, they actually are not famous for announcing concept phones on the market, but I would say a petition should be made for them to take it into consideration. We are not even sure if this beauty is going to be a Sony or not. Just hope. And that hope is counting on a 3.2 megapixel camera, 2GB memory and FM radio.

Samsung U510 Slim Slider Hits Telus Mobility

2007-03-27T06:34:00.000-07:00

The Samsung U510 is pretty typical of what Samsung has to offer. It's got a piano black finish, a large color display, a slim profile, and that slider form factor that Sammy loves to employ. And now it's available for Canadians through the "future is friendly" folks at Telus Mobility. Bearing a striking resemblance to the D800, the U510 offers high-speed EVDO connectivity, a built-in media player, 1.3 megapixel camera with VGA video, PictBridge support, stereo Bluetooth, KidFind, and microSD expansion.Preloaded with Telus mobile music, Telus Navigator, MSN Windows Live, and MyEmail, the Samsung U510 sells for $99.99, $149.99, $229.99, and $279.99, depending if you want to sign a three-year, two-year, one-year, or no contract, respectively. The $100 and $150 price points are apparently only valid until the end of this month.

Nokia E65

2007-03-27T06:29:00.000-07:00

The Nokia E65 is a new model in the business oriented Nokia E-Series. The E65 packs business features into a slim 15mm package. The slide-style handset

Quad band GSM plus WCDMA 2100
WiFi, Bluetooth and IR
QVGA screen with 16m colors
2 megapixel camera
microSD card slot
One Touch key for easy access to business apps

The Nokia E65 is already shipping in select markets and will expand globally later in the quarter. The unsubsidized price is 400 euro.

Dwyane Wade Sidekick 3 from T-Mobile USA

2007-03-27T06:18:00.000-07:00

T-Mobile has introduced the Sidekick 3 D-Wade Edition, a souped up version of the venerable Sidekick 3 designed by NBA phenom Dwyane Wade. Wade has been a Sidekick user for a couple of years and says he is excited to be able to put his own twist on the device:
“My T-Mobile Sidekick is a part of me. I don’t go anywhere without it because it keeps me in touch with the most important people in my life,” said Wade. “I really wanted to design a Sidekick that meant something special to me – one that reflects my own personal style and inspiration. I’m excited that it will soon be in the hands of people who want a great device that looks smooth.”
Feature wise the special edition handset mirrors the original. However the case has been retooled in a new gold and white color scheme. The back also features a basketball-texture for extra grip (we hope it's modeled after the classic leather ball and not the ill-fated synthetic that thankfully has been phased out).
The D-Wade Edition Sidekick is on sale since February 21st. It should be available at all corporate T-Mobile stores in addition to online. T-Mobile previously announced two other special editions of the Sidekick 3.

Samsung F500 or Ultra Video Performance

2007-03-26T05:16:00.000-07:00

The Samsung Ultra Video is the ultimate personal multimedia device. Samsung F500 is the first phone to support the DivX codec. Also the cellphone allows users to view a large array of video content including MPEG-4, H.264, WMV and AVI files. It also has a PMP function with wide 2.4″ screen as well as a 2 megapixel camera. The Ultra Video has a smart design to go with dual face and sweeping touch. One side is a phone while the other contains a large screen and intuitive controls for multimedia features. It has a unique swivel design for multimedia content. The screen swivels away from the controls to adjust the viewing angle or form a stand to place the device down. It has an internal memory of 400 MB and the memory is expandable up to 2 GB using the microSD card slot. The Samsung F500 users could view about 2 movies (each about two hours long) using the 2 GB memory card.
This smartphone is using 3G technology and supports GPRS and EDGE data transfers. It can be connected to the PC through via USB 2.0 connection. Even F500 has some great features, it doesn’t have Wi-Fi connectivity.
Samsung F500 looks very stylish and seems to be a great competitor to Nokia N92. It was announced by Samsung at the ITU Telecom World 2006 in Hong Kong, but there are no news when it will be available.

Nokia E90 Communicator - The Legend Evolves

2007-03-26T05:13:00.000-07:00

Nokia launches their new S60-series E90 Communicator. Communicator is, was and I am sure it will always be the quality mobile phone for business men or for those that demand a lot. You can even consider this is not a mobile phone, but a business device, because it’s really like taking your office with you on your trips.
Nokia E90 Communicator is a quad-band GSM phone, with Wi-Fi connectivity and featuring HSDPA, based on the S60 platform. It has a 3.2Mpix auto-focus camera and flash on the back and a front camera for 3G calls, FM radio, a music and a video player. Thanks to the S60 browser it can load a full web page with full width on the 16million colors display. Another nice thing of the Nokia E90 Communicator is the integrated GPS to work with Nokia Maps if you ever need to find a street or make your itinerary.
Expect to pay $1000 or maybe more for the Communicator Legend but I am sure it’s well worth it. We’re expecting them in Q3 of 2007 (release date is set for Q2). Check up Nokia!

Motorola Q Available For Sprint Users

2007-03-26T05:05:00.000-07:00

According to a joint announcement made by the two telecommunications giants you will have the opportunity to admire the slim smartphone on the shelves of Sprint stores all over USA. The declaration also states they began the online sell (on www.sprint.com) but stores will have to wait for the device.
Being one of the thinest smartphone on the market Moto Q received great reviews when it was released last year. Capitalizing on the success of the RAZR line, Motorola’s effort to build the slimmest smartphone led to a wider than average device. But this proved to be not a drawback, but an advantage as the qwerty keyboard and the wider screen offer better functionality than similar solutions of their competitors.
For those of you interested in the technical details I mention the 2.4′’ screen @ 320×240 (65k colors) color display, 1.3 Mp camera, audio (as in mp3 and other file types) and video playback possibilities, Bluetooth infrared and mini-USB connection modules and 64 MB of built-in memory which can be extended with the aid of a mini SD slot. Regarding the software side you may want to know that besides the OS there is the Windows Media Player,an E-mail client and there is ensured compatibility with Microsoft 2003 Exchange server. The battery is a 1300 mAh LiIon ready to ensure up to 4 hours of talk time or 212 hours of stand-by time.
Although Motorola Q impresses with its multimedia abilities it is intended for those who need to always stay in contact with their work even if they are always on the move. Anyway it is a great gadget to have.

S5200 From LG

2007-03-26T05:02:00.000-07:00

The S5200 is a cool mobile phone from LG designed to provide as much fun as possible from the new multimedia features it incorporates. The digital camera has become a standard and the 1.3 MP one in the S5200 will deliver high quality pictures at a resolution of 1280*960. As I don’t consider the digital zoom as an important feature for cameras, the ability to take up to 9 continuous pictures has impressed me the most. There is also the possibility of playing the most common types of video and audio files trough a PC like media player with included features like playlists editing, shuffle playing and a sound equalizer.
The Bluetooth standard is of course implemented and the USB connection is as simple as possible. You can connect the phone to your PC using just an USB cable and there is no need for any piece of software as the Windows operating system will deal with it as with an ordinary memory stick. Moreover, you can use the 64 MB of the phone for mobile storage for small files like photos or
music and even small video clips (as 64 MB is not very much when compared to today’s normal capacity of the USB flash drives).
The S5200 is a tri-band phone, working on almost all European networks but also on some networks in the US, so it is great choice for the people who like traveling a lot as they can benefit both from the phone connection and the media features.

Blackberry Pearl. Small, Smart and Stylish!

2007-03-26T04:55:00.000-07:00

Blackberry Pearl is one of the smallest smartphones in the world. It’s dimensions are minimal: 107 x 50 x 14.5 mm and only 89.5 g. This marvelous piece of art can be described in 3 words: small, smart and stylish. Blackberry Pearl supports 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS and EDGE networks, so it can be used in North America and Europe too. The smartphone has some great functions, but it can be improved. For example, the screen offers only 65k colors, in comparison with other new mobile phones which have better screens. The Blackberry Pearl 8100 has a SureType keyboard technology in a QWERTY-style layout. It is equipped with dedicated Send, End and Mute keys, and has the option for the user to define his own keys.I want to present you the main advantages of this cellphone:

- brilliant design and good quality materials;

- 1.3 megapixel flash camera, with 5x digital zoom;

- Blackberry Maps, for driving directions in US and Canada;

- expandable memory capability (microSD card);

- trackball navigation;

- Document viewer (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, PDF.)

It has some weak points too:

- 65k colors display;

- no infrared port;

- no Wi-Fi.

Prices for this smartphone are around $500. For a business mobile, the price is fair.

Cellphones for Fools

2007-03-26T04:52:00.000-07:00

Bang & Olufsen Serene

Bang & Olufsen Serene, $1,200. We're starting to catch on to the formula of Bang & Olufsen: design a weird-looking electronic device, then add $1000 to its price.

The P51 - Another All-in-One Mobile Phone

2007-03-26T04:46:00.000-07:00

I really love the expression “all-in-one” and I like even more the devices that qualify for that expression, therefore I like the P51 mobile phone by BenQ-Siemens.
So what has the P51 to offer? As you would expect from an all-in-one device there is wireless LAN, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, GPS navigation, PDA functions and of course quad band mobile telephony (GSM/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 MHz). A 1.3 MP digital camera was also included which being capable of video recording, and the appropriate software for video and audio playback together with the photo editing application offer a complete multimedia experience.
As for the PDA functionalities, the hardware that provides all the computing power is an Intel Xscale processor clocked at 416 MHz benefiting from a 64MB Mobile SDRAM and 192MB Flash ROM memory. Just like in all the new mobile devices, the storage capacity can be increased by the means of a memory card inserted in the SD/MMC slot. On this hardware a Microsoft Windows Mobile V5 operating system will make sure you can perform almost any task trough the installed applications, like the Office for mobile phones package, the Internet browser, email and calendar client (with synchronization) and many others.
I remember no more than a year ago it was hard to find a telephone with PDA capabilities that will incorporate GPS positioning and a wireless connection and almost everything you found lacked at least one of this functionalities. We find ourselves now with plenty of such devices (many of which I or my colleagues have wrote about here at DevicePedia) and it’s tougher and tougher to pick one so we are trying to bring you all the important information when searching for such devices.

Smelly Phones Add Aroma to Your Conversations

2007-03-26T04:44:00.000-07:00

Communication is often so much more than just an exchange of words. The Sony EricssonSO703i would seem to be proof of this, with its talking-point-quality aroma sheets. You can choose from 11 different-smelling attachments, depending on the mood of your olfactory system at the time. Just find the internal slot, slide the aroma sheet in, and you can enjoy your favorite smell while chatting away on your mobile.Another area of choice is the series of nine faceplates that are available, allowing you to customize how the phone looks from the outside as well.This model and its customizability are available exclusively for NTT DoCoMo customers.

Cellphone Has 4-Sided Keypad

2007-03-26T04:42:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you just can't be bothered to figure out which side is the front of your phone. That's why the CUin5 phone has a keypad, speaker, and microphone on all of its six sides. This is the latest "Design Fiction" created by branko Lukic, and while it has the full numerical keypad no matter which way you grab this phone, you'll notice that there is no display anywhere. Not quite the
cell phone shuffle, but pretty close.The CUin5
cell phone will be including in branko Lukic's upcoming book, non.object. Yeah, totally strange, but Lukic apparently knows what he's doing considering that he spent five years at frog Design and then went on to create the TaylorMade r500 golf club and Zyliss salad spinner.

Mobile Control of Your Front Door

2007-03-26T04:29:00.000-07:00

Taking the open-door policy to a whole new level is Waleli, a Dutch wireless startup that can enable you to open your front door even if you're halfway across the world. The GSM Doorbell starts with a message to your mobile phone and, if it gets the correct PIN number from you, can even open your door for cleaning staff, delivery people, or even friends and family to enter when you're not there. You can also talk to your visitors via the attached intercom. Better yet, you can use your mobile to open your door if you lock yourself out.The GSM Doorbell has been tested in Holland and will be available elsewhere soon. Pricing for Version 2.0 is yet to be determined.

Cellphones for Fools

2007-03-24T04:20:00.000-07:00

Black Diamond

Black Diamond, $300,000. Nice piano black finish, but that huge diamond you see there is what makes it so expensive. There are only five of these in the world.

Size Matters: Mega Phone Is Just That, Mega

2007-03-24T04:18:00.000-07:00

No, that's not a model of a Star Trek starship. That's a mobile phone, except that it's not much of a mobile phone because it's not very mobile.The photo is definitely not to scale, because the Mega Phone is massive by mobile standards, measuring in at 5 feet, 7 inches tall. It comes with a podium, so you can stand it up without worrying about its falling over and crushing your foot. That podium comes with wheels, too, so you can wheel the phone around and save your back, too.Despite its impressive size, this is a normal phone. You can use your hands (or feet) to access the keypad, which lets you take or make calls, send or receive text messages, get email, keep track of calendar and contacts, and even surf the Web.It's from a Finnish company called SysOpen Digia. The company envisions it as a promotional material, as in a trade show attention-getter.We have to mention the most important sentence in the features list as well: "Delivered with an impact-resistant box for safe transport." And no, we don't have a price.

Cellphones for Fools

2007-03-24T04:15:00.000-07:00

GoldVish

GoldVish $1.3 million. Oh, man. $1.3 million for a cellphone? The reason it costs so much is that each diamond attached to this phone is flawless. That's more than you can say for the skull full of mush of whomever's carrying it. Steal this.

Raku-Raku Phone: What's That You Say, Sonny?

2007-03-24T04:13:00.000-07:00

While young whipper-snappers like myself are interested in all the hottest new features found on cell phones, looking to increase the megapixel count on the integrated cameras
and so forth, the older population seems to just want a phone that works. More importantly, they want a phone that they can actually hear. NTT DoCoMo has announced the Raku-Raku phone, which may otherwise look like any other clamshell except that it has a "slow voice" function which brings the conversation to a crawl. This way, grandpa can actually keep up with what little Timmy is saying.There's also a "clear voice" function that acts as a noise processor, filtering out the surrounding sound so that just the voice comes through. Emails and text messages can also be translated via the text-to-speech function, and then there's a pedometer to track how many steps it takes to get to the bathroom.The irony of it all, though, is that the picture they released of the product is a white Raku-Raku phone on a white background. I'd imagine that more mature folk might have some trouble looking at this pic. I know I did.

Motorola Announces Multimedia-Focused MOTO Q, Amp'd Edition

2007-03-24T04:12:00.000-07:00

Amp'd Mobile may be the MVNO that is trying to market itself to all the hip kids, but some of those kids have business to do. For them, there is the MOTO Q, Amp'd Edition. So, what makes this smartphone so Amp'd? Well, instead of focusing on push email and time planners, the Amp'd version of Motorola's slim smartphone is all about
multimedia. Sure, it's got that QWERTY keyboard -- great for text messaging -- but it's also got access to "24 live TV channels, 55 video-on-demand channels, one million downloadable songs, stereo Bluetooth, 3D games, and access to all online social networks." And that's before we get into any Windows Mobile application.Running on Windows Mobile 5.0, the Motorola Q boasts a QVGA display, "advanced" EVDO technology, rich multimedia content, and Adobe's Flash Lite technology. The Amp'd MOTO Q is being targeted at youth, young professionals and early adopters, but they haven't indicated a price point as of yet.

The Cell Phone That Adjusts To Your Mood

2007-03-24T04:09:00.000-07:00

Here's a cell phone that gets rid of buttons entirely. There are absolutely no keys to be found on Blank, a design by Chris Kujawski. Instead, an OLED touchscreen wraps the entire face of the phone, allowing you to slap on any assortment of "static or even kinetic skins that make your phone come to life, just the way you want it to." iPhone, eat your heart out.In addition to the infinite customizability that the full-face OLED provides, Chris also promises lower power consumption, a higher contrast ratio, and excellent video watching capabilities. (Full widescreen, anyone?) And because it's a touchscreen, you can pull up whatever functionality you need on a whim: QWERTY for text messages, a numpad for dialing, music controls for jamming... too bad it's just a concept. Yanko Design strikes again.

Sony Ericsson MPS-75 Snaps Speaker Onto Music Phones

2007-03-24T04:04:00.000-07:00

Got yourself a Sony Ericsson Walkman phone and fancy the opportunity to share your Cher collection with your friends? Look no further than the rubber boot-like MPS-75 portable snap-on speaker set. Compatible with all Sony Ericsson phones incorporating the Fast port connection, the MPS-75 was first seen when they announced the W660i cell phone last week.The Sony Ericsson MPS-75 features "great stereo sound" via its neodymium speakers. You'll also enjoy the integrated FM antenna for catching those morning deejays. The speakers measure 101.5 x 65.5 x 48mm and weigh 107 grams.No word on pricing, but we hear that SE is planning a good palette of color choices to match their rainbow of phones.

Philips 598 Cell Phone Tells Women They're Too Fat

2007-03-24T04:02:00.000-07:00

Philips is telling us that the 598 cell phone is designed specifically "for women" with all sorts of features that the feminine contingent may appreciate. We're not just talking about the glossy black casing accented by shiny gold trim. It's got a digital diary and datebook, shopping list, discount manager (which I guess goes well with the shopping list), body weight index, and basal metabolic rate measurement. Why don't they do like some of those phones available in Japan that keep track of that time of the month too?I don't know about you, but most of the women that I have encountered just want a phone that looks nice and is easy to use. Sure, there's a contingent of tech-heads out there too, but then again, they probably wouldn't be all that interested in the basal metabolic rate feature. One female commenter said, "As a woman, this phone does nothing for me. I don't need a phone version of a Cosmo mag telling me I'm too fat."

Sagem H4 is World's Smallest Bluetooth Headset

2007-03-24T04:00:00.000-07:00

We came across this video of the Sagem H4, touted as the world's smallest Bluetooth headset. It doesn't exactly come with the world's smallest price tag, but it's still a pretty competitive entry at $104. On the plus side, it weighs next to nothing (8 grams), comes with two programmable buttons for quick access to your favorite phone numbers, and it supports voice recognition so that you don't actually need to whip out your phone to make the call.Battery life has been rated at five hours of talk time and 100 hours of standby, and because of its diminutive size, it could be a near-stealth solution for people with Dumbo ears. Relative to its footprint, the Sagem H4 Bluetooth headset is a touch on the chubby side, though.

Jabra T5330 Bluetooth Headset With the Extra Long Mic Boom

2007-03-24T03:57:00.000-07:00

A common complaint about Bluetooth headsets is that the microphone is too far away from the mouth, making you sound somewhat distant to the person on the other end of the line. In an age of ever-shrinking Bluetooth headsets, there is the elongated Jabra T5330. You see, unlike other wireless offerings on the market, this headset comes with an extra long microphone boom, placing the sound grabber right next to your mouth. Technical features are pretty standard with four hours of talk time per charge and a claimed range of about 10 meters (30 feet). The charging station holds the T5330 vertically, further demonstrating its extreme length. Hmm, extreme length. You don't suppose Jabra has a phallic infatuation?

Nokia 7373 gets a special fashion edition

2007-03-20T09:09:00.000-07:00

Nokia has teamed up with fashion designer Giambattista Valli to give the L’Amour Nokia 7373 handset an extra dose of je ne sais quoi…The Nokia 7373 was gorgeous to begin with. Now that Valli has added slinky extras like his iconic pearl necklace as a strap on the powder pink handset, and a crystal strap and miniature black skull on the glossy dark blower, it’s achieved haute-coutue status.
The Nokia 7373 Special Edition fashion phone will be unveiled at Paris Fashion Week in powder pink and black chrome. Its dreamy bod’ comes pre-loaded with behind-the-scenes video footage of Valli, as well as designer wallpapers, graphics and an exclusive ringtone.We don’t have any specific retail details for you at this stage. All we know is that it’ll be available in “select European markets” during March for around £188 (about 280 euro) before taxes and all the rest.

Cellphones for Fools

2007-03-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

Gresso Luxury Phone

No one's saying how much this costs, but its made of African blackwood, somehow better than American or South American blackwood.

Russia's Gresso boasts that its Black Aura handsets are 200 years old--the age of the African Blackwood on each phone's case.

Cellphones for Fools

2007-03-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

Mobiado Professional EM

Canada's Mobiado says it has sold through its 200-unit run of the $2,200 jet-black Professional EM, made from ebony wood and hard-anodized aluminum with titanium buttons.

Mobiado Professional EM $1,900.

There's no word what sort of profession people who would carry this one are engaged in, but its old-school buttons don't look like they'd be very easy to use. Nice wood, though.

Samsung Ultra Smart F700

2007-03-20T08:41:00.001-07:00

The Samsung Ultra Smart F700 is a new feature-laden handset that some analysts are saying will pose competition to the Apple iPhone. Much like the iPhone, the F700 features a new Flash user interface and a large touch screen. Most of the other features on the F700 are more advanced than Apple's offering however.
Features of the Ultra Smart F700 include:

GSM 900/1800/1900 plus 7.2 megabit HSPDA
5.0 megapixel camera
Slide out QWERTY keyboard
Bluetooth
microSD
2.78" touch screen with VibeTonz for tactile feedback

Samsung will show off the Ultra Smart F700 at 3GSM World Congress. The company did not announce when the handset will begin shipping or estimates of pricing. Because it lacks GSM 850 it will not launch in its current form in the US.

Motorola KRZR K1m Fire launches from Verizon Wireless

2007-03-20T08:38:00.000-07:00

The recent trend of releasing existing handsets in new color schemes has continued with the launch of the Motorola KRZR K1m Fire. The red handset is identical in features to the original black and newer white models. Verizon Wireless also added a new color of Chocolate to its line up, making itself one of the most colorful carriers.
Features of the Motorola KRZR K1m Fire include:

bluetooth

EV-DO data (V Cast compatible)

Music player with playback keys on exterior

1.3 mega-pixel camera

microSD memory card slot

VZNagivator compatible (GPS navigation)

The KRZR K1m in all colors is available for $99 after a new 2-year service contract and $50 in instant savings.

Buy Here

Pink LG Chocolate launches on Verizon Wireless

2007-03-20T08:35:00.000-07:00

Verizon Wireless has gotten into the Valentine's day spirit by launching the Pink LG Chocolate. Technically the shade is called Strawberry, but we've never seen strawberries quite this shade. The Chocolate is also available in black, white, red and green. Color is the only differences among the models, much like with Motorola's various shades of RAZRs.
Features of the Chocolate include:

MP3 player
EV-DO data (V Cast compatible)
1.3 mega-pixel camera
Bluetooth
microSD card slot
QVGA screen with 262k colors

The pink LG Chocolate is available for $99.99 after a $50 online rebate and new 2-year service contract. That's $29.99 cheaper than all the other color schemes. The phone is available now and is not a limited time offer for the holiday.

You can Buy Pink LG Chocolate

LG Chocolate Flip Gets Colorful for Alltel

2007-03-17T11:58:00.000-07:00

While the LG Chocolate flip phone (VX8600) has been offered by Verizon Wireless for months, the checkmark of a mobile provider has yet to add a dash a color into those glossy black cheeks. Alltel Wireless is releasing its own version of the clamshell, except their casting glossy black aside in favor of Vivid Blue, Lime Green and Champagne Gold. Also known as the AX8600, these flip phones are functionally identical to the VX8600, except for the colorful casings.What this means is that you get the same electrostatic (touch sensitive) music controls on the front cover, the same 176 x 220 internal display, and the same
1.3 mega-pixel camera. Other key features include an integrated music player (naturally), a small color external display, and a microSD memory slot.No word on price.

A la Mobile Reveals Linux-based Software for GSM, Wi-Fi

2007-03-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

A la Mobile has updated its Linux-based mobile phone software with an eye toward the burgeoning GSM, Wi-Fi convergence. Not a closed-up set of code so much as an operating document for a new way of approaching the mobile phone, A la Mobile's Linux kernel-based system incorporates a standard SIP-based VoIP client and adds Flash, Java, email, and even a browser.The San Ramon, Calif.-based company has one customer so far, a Malaysian phone manufacturer that will begin selling mobiles using the Linux-based software this summer. With the jury still out on whether it's a good idea to marry the two ways of connectivity, Linux-based mobile OSes will continue to drive their point home with more and more user-friendly updates.

iCare mobile for kids

2007-03-17T11:49:00.000-07:00

Remember the Mymo that was withdrawn from the UK market after all that hoo-hah about children and mobiles? Well, it hasn't deterred other companies from trying their hand at pre-teen mobile making, however. The i-Care Baby Bear cell phone from GuideTek Technology is even more cutesy than the Mymo, but has the disadvantage of only being at plastic prototype phase rather than plastic finished product phase. The handset is so simple even an adult could use it. No screen, four speed dial keys on the hands and feet, and that's about it. The upcoming model will also include a GPS locater so anxious parents can keep track of their wandering tots.

MYMO cute kid's mobile

2007-03-17T11:46:00.000-07:00

There’s the £60 MYMO mobile phone, made especially for children between the ages of 4 and 8.
The bright coloured plastic mobile has been designed to appeal to children and, with just 3 buttons controlling all the functions, it should be easy enough for adults to work out how to use it before handing it over to their far more tech-savvy offspring.
In fact, we're finding the bright colours, cute ears and three-button design pretty appealing to us. It only holds 5 phone numbers (so kids will be limited in who they can call), which would be perfect for us on a night out: 2 best friends, cab, takeaway and flatmate for when we lose our keys.

LeapFrog's Tic Talk Phone for kiddies

2007-03-17T11:34:00.000-07:00

Being able to contact your children at any time of the day or night gives your kids an enormous advantage over their peers - they'll learn to lie convincingly about what they're up too way before the other boys and girls. Joining the MYMO and the iCare Bear mobile phones, the TicTalk is the latest cellphone for sprogs. LeapFrog has got together with Enfora to produce the TicTalk Parental-Controlled Cellphone for the US market. Designed for children aged 6 and up, the TicTalk is a basic handset that doesn't even have a keypad (you stick the numbers on there via a web interface). This means that junior won't be able to call premium rate phone lines - just mum, dad, grandma, and any other boring old crusty that takes your fancy.

Banana Phone Holder

2007-03-17T11:27:00.000-07:00

Here's something you've all been waiting for. Worried about being struck by a mugger as you saunter down the street with your mobile phone? You could disguise it as a banana. No, really, you could! There's only one tiny little problem - you'll look like you are crazy (and not in a good way) as you chatter into your banana.

The latest Walkman phone from Sony Ericsson

2007-03-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

It's not like you couldn't listen to music on quite a few other mobile phones out there, but Sony Ericsson has made it all a bit more obvious by creating a range of Walkman-branded handsets, which leave you in no doubt that they're intended for a spot of in-ear entertainment. The latest is this W550 camera phone. It comes with a 1.3 mega-pixel camera, two stereo speakers, an MP3 player
, and a top quality 262k colour screen. The phone has 256MB of internal memory for holding songs and on a full charge can keep playing for a considerable 30 hours, apparently. It's also supposed to double as a games console, and you can use it sideways to play titles such as Wormforts: Undersiege.

Cellphones for Fools

2007-03-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

Motorola V220 Special Edition $57,000.

This one has diamonds and gold slathered all over it, making it a lot heavier than its $200 brother.

Cellphones for Fools

2007-03-17T10:56:00.000-07:00

MyBlingRing is some sweat shop that makes poor wretches paste Swarovski crystals to various luxury items including cellphones. Somehow sticking rhinestones with a hard-to-spell name to small electronics is supposed to make whomever's carrying one seem rich and unique.

Samsung E500 Versus

2007-03-17T10:51:00.000-07:00

Fa-fa-fa-fa fashion phones the sequel. Seems like Versace’s betting on two horses. Last year, they made a special version of the Nokia 7270. But now, they’ve teamed up with Samsung too.
The Samsung E500 Versus offers three colour options: white and gold, white and antique pink, and black and silver.
Samunsg adds in its press release this clamshell mobile phone sports a 1.3 megapixel camera, Music Player and Bluetooth. We doubt fashionistas even care…

LG KE850 Prada, the first fashion phone with a touch screen

2007-03-17T10:46:00.000-07:00

LG Electronics (LG), a pioneer in consumer electronics and mobile phones, and PRADA, one of the world’s leading brands in the luxury goods industry, unveil the first completely touch screen mobile phone. The PRADA Phone by LG (KE850) is a real breakthrough in the industry, as it is a unique, sophisticated and elegant mobile phones with the first complete advanced touch interface.
LG and PRADA have worked closely together on every aspect of the product, from handset development to marketing combining the attention to detail and uncompromising quality of PRADA design with the trademark technological innovation of LG mobile.

The PRADA Phone by LG introduces the world’s first advanced touch interface which eliminates the conventional keypad making the overall usage experience a highly tactile one.

Rumor: Gucci geared up to create a ‘Gucci phone’

2007-03-17T10:39:00.000-07:00

It doesn’t come as a surprise to me that Gucci has jumped on to the bandwagon of creating a “Gucci phone”!After all famed international brands like Prada, D&G and Tag Heuer have taken the plunge in it since some time now. What has got my imagination to toil is the outcome of this particular fashion phone. The whole buzz has been generated by two pictures that appeared on Flickr. Although it seems like a touchscreen cell phone, you never know it can also churn out to be a clam sell or a slider one!

Monaco Nokia 8800 - bejeweled masterpiece

2007-03-16T07:13:00.000-07:00

Nokia
has always taken care and ensured that each release of Nokia 8800 is distinct and has its own specialties.
Monaco, a re-christened version of 8800 is another outstanding paradigm. ISSE from Russia is intending to sell this exclusive edition that is designed in various appealing colors and encrusted with dazzling jewels. Drawing upon modern watchmaking and jewelry techniques, the result is an elegant, ‘human’ design, comprised of materials destined to age with grace.
However, there is no official info about the pricing and availability of these bejeweled masterpieces. But I’m sure these exotic handsets are not for the tightfisted souls.

Sony Ericsson W660i Walkman Phone Is A True Ghetto Blaster

2007-03-16T07:07:00.000-07:00

Sony Ericsson announced another handset to add to their Walkman phone collection today. The W660i is a mid-tier mobile, and there is an optional portable speaker that plugs into the bottom, essentially transforming the music phone into the world's ghetto-est ghetto blaster. Some have even said that it looks almost like a rubber boot on its side with a speaker on the sole.Available in two color combinations -- rose or black, both with gold trim -- the Sony Ericsson W660i Walkman phone is a candybar with a reasonable set of features. You get high-speed 3G connectivity, an included 512MB memory card Memory Stick Micro, and an integrated 2-megapixel camera. In fact, there's an optional "camera phone kit" that consists of a 3-inch high tripod. Yes, the camera has a lens cover.No word on pricing, but the W660i should start shipping this Spring.

Cellphones for Fools

2007-03-16T07:02:00.000-07:00

Nokia 8800

Nokia 8800 Bling Editions, $1,800.

Anything that has the word "bling" attached to it has lost our interest immediately.

GPhone Kinda, Sorta Confirmed by Google Spain, But Not Really

2007-03-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

It wasn't the kind of grand announcement we were expecting, but Isabel Aguilera, CEO of Google Spain and Portugal, has supposedly spilled the beans on the GPhone, confirming for the world that our favorite search engine is indeed working on a mobile. She also mentioned they were working on 18 other projects, many of which could initially appear strange, but would ultimately be in line with Google's whole innovation motto. Why Aguilera would bypass Google HQ and release info on the GPhone is beyond me, so we're not 100% convinced yet, and you shouldn't be either. Call us skeptical, but we'll become believers once there's an official announcement, not a thread of "could be" quotes.

Cellphones for Fools

2007-03-16T06:57:00.000-07:00

Samsung SPH-E3200:

$14,510

This one's dipped in gold paint and festooned with 240 diamonds. So let's break it down, cell phone, $200; diamonds, $14,300, gold paint, $10.

Cellphones for Fools

2007-03-16T06:54:00.000-07:00

Vertu Cobra

Nokia Vertu Cobra, $310,000.
There are only eight of these cellphones in the world, inspired by 19th-century Parisian jeweler Frederic Boucheron, whoever he was.

Huge Gallery of Hyper-Expensive, Tacky Cellphones

2007-03-16T06:52:00.000-07:00

Some cell phones are so super luxurious that it's just getting out of hand. Wired magazine searched the world over for the most expensive, most ostentatious, and sometimes just the most downright craziest cell phones, showing us that some shit-for-brains rich people will buy anything, going to any lengths to get rid of their money.
It's said that the rich are different from you and me. Yeah, some of them are just incredibly stupid. Follow along in the gallery and be shocked, amazed and disgusted with levels of excess unseen since the French Revolution.

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Pantech Slim Phone: Maglev Makes It Skinnier But Doesn't Make You Float

2007-03-16T06:45:00.000-07:00

At 9.99mm (0.39 inches), Pantech's new slim phone is the skinniest slide-phone currently on the market, beating Samsung by 3mm. And, in a cellphone first, it's all down to Magnetic Levitation, the same technology that is used by ~~Japan's Bullet Trains~~ some high speed trains. The phone also sports a 1.3-megapixel camera, MP3 player and DMP (terrestrial digital multimedia broadcasting).
Using magnetic forces, Maglev enables one object to be suspended above another object and it is this that makes the phone slide. It's out next month in Korea and costs an obese $527, but expect to see it over here if it does well over there.

Google Phone to Predict Your Searches

2007-03-16T06:29:00.000-07:00

The idea sounds over the top, but a Google patent has surfaced which describes an application that can predict your searches based on your location, previous search history, and the time of day. So let's say you're in New York on a Saturday night. You take out your GPhone, and the app will predict the type of bar/restaurant you're looking for based on your previous bar/restaurant picks. Or if it's really late in the night and you typically hit a diner before going home, it'll scan for diners in your vicinity. In a nutshell, the app will read your mind, and if done accurately, that could be the GPhone's killer feature.

EU Seeks to Trim Mobile Roaming Charges

2007-03-16T06:28:00.000-07:00

The EU's 27 Telecom Ministers met at the CeBIT show in Germany and agreed in principle to adopt new rules that would cut mobile phone roaming charges by June or July. The current proposal would be to cap roaming charges at EUR 0.50 per minute.EU Telecom Commissioner Viviane Reding has been seeking even more aggressive price cuts. An EC proposal from July 2006 sought to reduce by up to 70% the charges consumers have to pay for using their mobile phone abroad.
http://www.europa.eu