T-Mobile unveils G1 smartphone running Google Android

Posted in T-Mobile by Shane McGlaun on September 24th, 2008

T-Mobile G1Smartphones are a relatively small percentage of all mobile phones on the market today. Despite the small percentage of smartphones, the devices are still where many manufacturers throw their coolest tech and hardest marketing push. T-Mobile has announced a smartphone that many have been waiting for.

The T-Mobile G1 is the first smartphone to be announced running the Google Android operating system. Android is open source and allows for lots of customization. The G1 offers 3G broadband and EDGE network connectivity, Wi-Fi, GPS and more. A slide out QWERTY keyboard complements the touch screen.

Palm unveils the Treo Pro smartphone

Posted in Palm by Conner Flynn on August 19th, 2008

Palm unveils the Treo Pro smartphonePalm released a pair of official press photos of the Treo Pro and a video of the handset in action. They didn’t say a whole lot. Here’s what we know: the Treo Pro smartphone has a one-touch Wi-Fi button for wi-fi kung fu action, GPS, Windows Mobile 6.1 OS and sports a high-resolution flush-fitting color touchscreen. Earlier leaks indicate that the Treo Pro will feature a 3.5mm headphone socket, 320×320 pixel display, microUSB connector and has a 400MHz processor. No price or date yet. Video below.

HTC Touch Diamond rivals iPhone with 3G and VGA

Posted in Smart Devices by Darrin Olson on May 6th, 2008

HTC Touch Diamond smartphone with 3GThose looking for a nice alternative to the iPhone may have found Apple’s biggest competitor in the smartphone market with HTC’s recent launch of the Touch Diamond. The Diamond is the latest in High Tech Computer’s line of Touch smartphones, and looks to be the best one yet.

The Touch Diamond runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional and in addition to the many common features of popular smartphones it has some custom applications built in for watching YouTube video and taking advantage of Google’s mapping service. To top it off, HTC has included a 2.8-inch VGA touchscreen which they claim brings near print quality viewing.

Palm sells 1 million Centro smartphones

Posted in Mobile Phones by Shane McGlaun on April 1st, 2008

John West and his Centro SmartphoneTypical smartphones run well into the $500 range making them more than many cell phone users are willing to spend. Despite the high cost of smartphones they remain one of the fastest growing segments of mobile handset sells.

Palm bucked the trend of expensive smartphones when it released its Centro handset last September as a Sprint exclusive device. The phone sold for only $99 with new activation. In February 2008 AT&T started to carry the Centro and also sold the device for $99.

Nokia N82 now available in black

Posted in Mobile Phones by Shane McGlaun on March 18th, 2008

Nokia N82 in BlackNokia announced a new color for its ever popular N82 today. A new sleek black N82 will join the line alongside the Silver N82 that we wrote about in November of 2007. Other than the color change the black N82 is the same feature wise as the silver one.

The N82 sports the ability to operate on the WCDMA 2100 (HSDPA), EGSM900, GSM850/1800/1900 MHz (EGPRS) frequencies. The phone weighs 114g and has up to 100MB of dynamic internal memory for messaging, ring tones, images, video clips and more. A hot-swappable microSD card slot is available for memory expansion.

BlackBerry Pearl 8120 with WiFi comes to AT&T

Posted in Mobile Phones by Darrin Olson on March 13th, 2008

RIM Blackberry Pearl 8120 with WiFiToday AT&T announced the availability of their own new version of the BlackBerry Pearl with the 8120 as a replacement for the 8100. The BlackBerry Pearl 8120 comes to AT&T with some new features that are already enjoyed by Sprint and Verizon, but most notably has WiFi added to its connectivity and forgoes the GPS.

An external-facing microSD slot, regular-sized 3.5mm headphone jack, 2 megapixel camera with video recording and an improved browser round out the updated features on the new smartphone. It also of course has all the features of the 8100 model as a quad-band GSM/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900MHz) world phone along with the slim candy bar design, Bluetooth and the almost-QWERTY keyboard.

iPhone SDK and iPhone Software 2.0 Get Official

Posted in Apple by Shane McGlaun on March 7th, 2008

iPhone Software RoadmapiPhone users and iPhone developers alike jumped for joy yesterday when Apple announced the iPhone SDK. Apple also previewed its iPhone 2.0 software that is scheduled to release this June. Enterprise customers can register for the iPhone 2.0 software beta right now as well.

According to Apple the iPhone 2.0 software adds some significant features for enterprise users including support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync that provides secure over-the-air push email, contacts, and calendars. Several mail features will be added to the iPhone with the 2.0 update including the ability to view PowerPoint attachments along with Word and Excel. One feature that I have longed for is on the feature list as well, the ability to mass delete and move emails. Too bad Apple didn’t add the ability to mark emails as read in mass.

EMONSTER smart phone is one manly phone

Posted in Mobile Phones by Conner Flynn on February 27th, 2008

EMONSTER smart phone
This is a good iPhone alternative for those who like a far less polished look and favor a more rugged and tough design. EMobile’s new S11HT EMONSTER is far more macho and lives up to it’s name.

According to EMobile, it’s Japan’s first multi-functional smart phone. It does have a bunch of nice features, like a neat tilt-up 2.8-inch QVGA display screen, Windows Mobile 6, GPS functionality, microSD, Bluetooth 2.0, and a slick QWERTY keyboard. If you dislike the iPhone, or want to stand out against the converted masses, you can pick up your EMONSTER on March 28th.

Cell phone in your pocket or are you packing wood?

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on February 16th, 2008

Made from the best stuff on Earth
When we think of tech we picture a cold metal or plastic in silver or black usually. It’s the material that can be cold and impersonal. Some users would like a more organic natural alternative. Maybe something from nature. Something so simple can affect your mood dramatically, like having a well meaning but cold friend to dinner. The Chute Smartphone is natural, organic, and moody all in one.

The Chute is like any other Smartphone inside, but it’s the shell, designed with bamboo, that makes all the difference. Bamboo is actually lighter and stronger than plastic. Better yet, it’s completely biodegradable and far more eco friendly than plastics and metals.

Nokia’s N96 16GB multimedia computing dual slider

Posted in Mobile Phones by Reuben Drake on February 11th, 2008

Nokia N96 multimedia computer mobile phoneIt’s tough to give a good one-line summary of this new mobile handset from Nokia because as the younger sibling to the N95, this multimedia computer has a lot to live up to. Fortunately for us it appears to be handling it quite well.

For starters the N96 doubles the internal storage capacity providing a 16GB capacity that can be expanded further with MicroSD cards. It also packs in a 5 megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss lens allowing quality photos and video to be shot at 30 frames per second. Video and DVB-H TV (if you are near it) can then be displayed on a generously sized 2.8 inch QVGA display. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and A-GPS round out the connectivity of this HSDPA 900/2100 MHz phone.

Sony Ericsson G700 compact touchscreen phone

Posted in Mobile Phones by Darrin Olson on February 10th, 2008

Sony Ericsson G700 mobile phone Touchscreen organizerAnother one of the new lineup of devices launched by Sony Ericsson today is the G700, another “Touchscreen Organizer” that promises its users to give back more time to busy people. The G700 is the little brother to the G900, housing many of the same features with a smaller, 3.2 megapixel camera and lacking the Wi-Fi connectivity.

The G700 does have the same intuitive interface that Sony Ericsson is bragging up as a simple and efficient tool for organizing your life without a lot of technology “just for the sake of it”. It features the One-touch full organizer with the ability to make little “post-it” type notes that can be hand-written with the stylus and saved. The handset can also recognize the handwriting and convert to text as you take notes on the 2.4″ touchscreen.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 running Windows Mobile

Posted in Mobile Phones by Darrin Olson on February 10th, 2008

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 smartphoneAmong the many product announcements released by Sony Ericsson today the most significant has to be the release of the new XPERIA line by introducing the XPERIA X1. The new XPERIA brand marks a new era for Sony Ericsson in mobile devices, with this sweet-looking new model featuring a whole host of communication mediums, driven from a touch screen and full-QWERTY keyboard and riding on Windows Mobile 6.

SE calls the design of the X1 an “arch slider” as it slides up to expose the full keyboard with a large 3-inch VGA display on top. The impressive list of features continues with a 3.2 megapixel camera with auto focus and video, a microSD slot and communications via Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi, and quad-band GSM/EDGE, and 900/1700/1900/2100MHz UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA.





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