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Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Will You Crave Motorola's Krave?
If you're a fan of really cool technology, you'll definitely crave the Motorola Krave ZN4, available from Verizon for $149.99 after contract and rebate. Krave's cool technology is what the company calls a "touch cover" – a clear plastic protective flip flap that covers the Krave's 2.8-inch touchscreen that also is touch sensitive. In other words, touch the touch cover, and the LCD touchscreen beneath it reacts, complete with haptic tactile feedback.
Krave's credentials include a 2 MP camera and video recorder, an excellent MP3/AAC/WMA music player compatible with the Rhapsody subscription music service, stereo Bluetooth, the subscription-based V CAST TV live broadcast TV service, an HTML Web browser that connects via Verizon's EV-DO Rev. A
network, complete email, text messaging, instant messaging and chat services, and a microSD slot that can accommodate up to an 8 GB card.There's also an accelerometer, which means when you rotate the phone from landscape to horizontal, pictures, the camera viewfinder and Web pages rotate as well.
But back to Krave's main LCD touchscreen. Instead of the usual square-ish 240 x 320 pixel area, Krave's bright display is 80 pixels longer/wider, 240 x 400 pixels. This gives you a longer Web reading page and provides extra width for Krave's touch horizontal QWERTY keyboard.
But Motorola giveth and taketh away; with the touch cover up, you can't comfortably hold and tap out messages on the QWERTY keyboard with your left thumb.
That silver Motorola insignia on the edge of the touch cover is actually the Krave's earpiece. Don't ask how you can hear your caller with no visible wires connecting this speaker to the phone's main body. However it works, it's really cool and sounds good, too.
On the negative side, even though Krave has two touchscreens, you can't navigate the Web by direct touch. You have to finger-drag around an engagement ring-like cursor superimposed on every Web page to "point" at links. It doesn't always work as advertised, and the experience could leave you screaming at the phone in frustration.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 3:02 PM
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
BlackBerry Storms Into Touchscreen War
A storm is coming, the BlackBerry Storm, RIM's first touchscreen phone. It'll blow in first from Verizon in an CDMA EV-DO version this fall, although no one is saying exactly when or for how much. A Vodafone version of the Storm, officially the 9530, also makes landfall in Europe, which means there'll likely be a GSM HSDPA 3G Storm-front moving into for the U.S. at some point. I will now end the silly storm puns.
As you'd expect, since Storm is a full touchscreen device, there's no physical thumbpad. Instead, you get BlackBerry’s SureType two-characters-per-key QWERTY keypad (the one that's on the company's Pearl phones) when typing in portrait mode and a full QWERTY in landscape mode. Storm provides haptic feedback – RIM says the touch screen depresses slightly when pressed and releases with a light "click" – much like a physical keyboard. Like most iPhone clones, the Storm screen automatically re-orients itself when you rotate the phone.
Since this is RIM's answer to the iPhone, the Storm is equipped with all the digital all-work-and-no-play-makes-Jack-a-dull-boy toys you’d expect: a 3.25-inch 480 x 360 pixel screen, a full HTML Web browser, a 3.2 MP camera with variable zoom, auto focus, flash and video recording, GPS with support for location-based applications and photo geo-tagging, MP3/AAC/WMA music and MPEG-4/H.264-compatible video players, a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, and stereo Bluetooth.
There's 1 GB of memory built in and a microSD card slot that can support up to 16 GB, but no WiFi.
And, of course, Storm is loaded with all the usual BlackBerry email and messaging goodies, along with the DataViz Documents to Go suite for reading and editing Microsoft Office documents. There have been reports that RIM will open its own iPhone-like application store, but there’s been no official announcement.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 9:57 AM
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Samsung Sways With Silver Slider
With its silver surface and sleek skinny profile, the new Samsung Sway slider seems the perfect cell for the Silver Surfer, especially if the Marvel superhero likes to listen to music while silver surfing.
The Sway, available on October 14 from Verizon for $69.99 after the usual contract stipulations and rebates, is compatible with the Rhapsody subscription music service as well as Verizon's own V CAST music store. The Sway, however, lacks dedicated external music controls but does include stereo Bluetooth.
Less than half an inch thick (.47 inches to be exact), the Sway is equipped with a 2.2-inch LCD, a 2 MP camera with zoom and NightShot for better dark ambient photo results, GPS and is compatible with Verizon's location-based applications, mobile instant messaging, and a micro SD card slot.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 2:22 PM
Thursday, October 2, 2008
New Nokia Touchscreen No Mere Flash
Nokia has joined the iPhone clone parade with its 3G HSDPA 5800 XpressMusic phone, which features a 3.2-inch touchscreen and a microSD slot that can support up to 16 GB of add-your-own memory. It's due to be available worldwide sometime this fall, but there's no word yet on whether it will be unlocked or available through a carrier in the U.S. It's announced price is 270 Euros, which comes out to around $384.93 (at least today), so figure a $399 price tag.
Sound a little expensive for a phone with no built-in memory? That's because the 5800 is one of Nokia's Comes With Music phones. The price includes free access and downloads of music tracks from most of the major labels. Early word is these tracks are heavily copy-protected, which probably means no burning them to a CD, but details are still sketchy. Or, you can buy and download tunes the old-fashioned way, from the Nokia Music Store.
Otherwise, the 5800 also offers one big plus compared to other touchphones with full HTML browser: support for Flash-based Web content, currently unsupported by iPhone (although word is Adobe has an iPhone Flash solution that could be available before the 5800 hits these shores).
Nokia is touting the 5800's Media Bar, a drop down menu that provides direct access to the phone's music and entertainment bells and whistles, which include favorite tracks, videos and photos. Being an XpressMusic phone, the 5800 includes the usual music essentials, including a graphic equalizer, support for all the major digital music formats, stereo Bluetooth and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It also has built-in surround sound stereo speakers.
It's non-musical attributes include WiFi, A-GPS and a 3.2 MP digital camera featuring Carl Zeiss Tessar optics with a dual LED flash and video recording, famously absent on the iPhone. There's also a Contacts Bar, which lets you track a digital history of text messages, emails, phone logs, photos and blog updates of up to four friends.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 1:19 PM
Monday, September 29, 2008
Will You Flip for New BlackBerry Pearl?
Let's face it – BlackBerrys are arguably the best email smartphone around, but they're boring. RIM's latest attempt to spice up its iconic device is the BlackBerry Pearl Flip, officially the BlackBerry 8220. Its new populist clamshell form factor is either a logical evolutionary step forward for BlackBerry, or an ergonomic anarchronistic step backward in the age of iPhone and Android.
Like most flip phones, the quad band EDGE Pearl 8220, coming soon from T-Mobile, has two screens, one inside, one outside, and you can preview incoming emails on the 128 x 160-pixel external screen. Physically, the Flip measures 3.9 x 1.9 x 0.7 inches and weighs a surprisingly light 3.6 ounces.
Flip features the full array of BlackBerry business attributes, such as WiFi connectivity, Speaker Independent Voice Recognition (SIVR) for voice dialing, voicemail attachment playback, and the DataViz Documents to Go app for reading and editing Microsoft Office documents, and of course all of BlackBerry.
Fun functions on the Flip include a 2 MP camera, a music player with an iTunes sync application and Roxio Media Manager software, MP3 ringtones, stereo Bluetooth, and a microSD memory card slot that can support up to 16 GB of memory.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 2:57 PM
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Touch the Touch Pro
The Android-powered T-Mobile G1 may be getting all the ink (even here), but Taiwanese phone maker HTC makes other phones. Coming to a Sprint store near you on October 19, three days before the G1, is HTC's Touch Pro ($299.99 with a two-year contract), the third of its Touch-series touchscreen phones.
The Pro is an expanded version of the recent HTC Touch Diamond. Both share a 2.8-inch touchscreen, a 3.2 MP camera with auto focus and a flash, an Opera Web browser, WiFi connectivity, a direct link to YouTube, GPS, a sensor that shifts the screen image from portrait to landscape and vice versa simply by tilting the phone, access to Sprint's streaming TV services, and both text and email capabilities. Both also employ HTC's TouchFLO 3D pan-and-zoom touch navigation control.
But this Touch is a professional model, which means it packs more business-specific applications, including the ability to read and edit Microsoft Office documents. Physically, the Pro adds a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a microSD card slot (a 1 GB card is included), and a business card scanner application.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 10:03 PM
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Google's First Android Phone, T-Mobile's G1, Unveiled
The press got a gander at the long-awaited G1, the first cellphone to use the Google-developed open source Android operating system, earlier this week. Android is an operating system, like Windows and Mac OS X (and somewhat like iPhone) for cellphones, which means anyone can develop applications for it. The G1, the first in what is likely a large number of future Android-powered devices, will be available from T-Mobile on October 22 for $179 with a two-year contract plus service plan.
So how does G1
compare with iPhone and the other iPhone clones, and how does Android compare with the iPhone software? There are some minor differences, pro and con, but they operate similarly with similar functionality.Physically, the G1 more resembles a Sidekick, with a slide-up 3.2-inch touch screen (iPhone has a 3.5-inch LCD) that reveals a QWERTY keyboard beneath (iPhone has no physical QWERTY). G1 is a bit shorter but thicker than iPhone, but has minimal built-in memory compared to iPhone's 8 GB and 16 GB models; the G1 has a microSD slot and will come pre-loaded with a 1 GB card. Instead of a 3.5mm headphone jack, the G1 has a multi-use HTC miniUSB jack. The G1 has a 3 MP camera (iPhone has a 2 GB imager), but like iPhone, offers no zoom or video recording. Both have an accelerometer, but G1 only automatically rotates the on-screen image from portrait-to-landscape and vice versa in its mapping mode. Both offer finger-flick scrolling through lists, but G1 lacks iPhone's multi-touch control.
G1 provides hard-button control and navigation control options missing on iPhone. Aside from the usual physical "send" and "end" keys, there's Home and "back" buttons and a Menu key that pops-up different options depending on what function or application you're in. There's also a nipple track ball, ala BlackBerry.
Android presents a clean, clutter-free and intuitive interface and easy navigation. Included is GPS with "live" street-level views but no voice-prompted directions (lacking in iPhone but present in Samsung's Instinct from Sprint), push Gmail along with POP3 and IMAP email but no Microsoft Exchange, multimedia messaging (lacking in iPhone), and a music player that supports MP3, non-DRM AAC and WMA (iPhone supports just MP3 and AAC).
But there is no corresponding iTunes-like desktop syncing software to coordinate the transfer of all your content – music, photos, et al – between your PC and your phone. And right now, Android is Windows-only. The G1 will be available in black (pictured), brown and white (pictured).
The theory is that developers will write programs to fulfill any void in Android's basic operations and, because Andoid is an operating system, it can be upgraded. But whether or not the G1 is "better" than the iPhone, or the Samsung Instinct from Sprint of the LG Voyager from Verizon, is a question that can be better addressed once the G1 is actually in people's hands.
Finally, the G1 operates on T-Mobile's limited 3G HSDPA network, available in 16 markets right now, growing to 22 markets by launch and 27 by mid-November, compared to the more than 300 AT&T 3G markets iPhone has access to.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 1:13 PM
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Samsung's Rugby Rough & Ready
Are you accident prone? Is your phone always slipping out your hand onto a concrete floor or into a toilet or into the garden dirt? If you're a bit klutzy, the rubberized a837 Rugby world phone from Samsung, available from AT&T for $129.99 with a two-year contract and after a $50 rebate, is encased in metal and is rated to military ruggedness standards to withstand dust, shock, vibration, rain, humidity, solar radiation, altitude and temperature extremes. Or, just a bad case of the drops.
Inside its tough exterior, Rugby is a push-to-talk 3G flip phone with an external speaker for walkie-talkie conversations, and AT&T's subscription-based Video Share, which lets you transmit live or recorded videos while you're in the middle of a call. The phone also is compatible with the AT&T Navigator service ($9.99/month), which offers turn-by-turn directions via assisted GPS (aGPS), which uses both GPS satellites and local cell towers to quickly triangulate your position.
Rugby's other less exotic features include a 1.3 MP digital camera, mobile email, Bluetooth and a microSD card slot, and is available in black, deep burgundy and construction yellow (pictured).
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 3:49 PM
Friday, September 5, 2008
Sanyo Eclipse Presents Lights, Camera and NFL Action
Sometimes you're so happy when a loved one calls, you just light up. Now your phone can light up, too.
Sanyo's Katana Eclipse ($99.99, Sprint) has LEDs that illuminate in seven colors that can be mixed-and-matched to create up to 40 different lighting effects that you can assign to individual callers. For instance, your phone can flash red when your significant other calls or a glow purple when your boss calls. Separate effects can be set for incoming calls, text messages received or voice messages left.
Colored lights flashing also make a ringing Eclipse easy to spot when its buried in a deep dark bag or backpack, or lets you know when a call is coming in without it ringing loudly and rudely in a quiet locale.
For football fans, Eclipse includes NFL Live, live audio and video broadcasts of all NFL Network games with real-time red zone alerts, scores and stats, along with fantasy team management.
But Eclipse is more than just a flash-in-the-bag. It's a fully-featured EVDO phone with a 1.3 MP camera with 12x digital zoom, and complete access to Sprint's streaming music, radio and TV services, including music downloads and stereo Bluetooth. You also get Sprint's turn-by-turn GPS navigation system, email and wireless backup of your personal phone book.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 9:31 AM
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Nokia Completes N-Series Triple Play
If you want a boat load of multimedia features in a phone but don't want to be locked into a service plan, Nokia has floated three new N-series unlocked phones into the market. All three are equipped with 3G, a 5 MP camera with dual LED flash, turn-by-turn GPS, music and video player, a
3.5mm stereo headphone jack and WiFi, and all can run Microsoft Exchange software.You may forgo the costs of a regular contract, but you'll pay a bit more upfront for these fancy phones. The N96 retails for between $750-$800, the N85 (above right) between $600-$650 and the N79 (right) between $500-$550. But they all have replaceable back plates with sensors that change your wallpaper color to match the new plate, either white, brown or coral red.
If you're still interested, the N96 is a two-way slider – slide it down to reveal a speaker and music control soft keys, slide it up to get the numeric keypad. To store your music and photos there's 16 GB of flash memory built-in and a microSD card slot that can accommodate up to an 8 GB card, and to watch video there's a 2.8-inch widescreen LCD. While 3G, the N96 works only on U.S.-based networks.
Both the dual slide N85 and the candybar N79 are 3G world phones and are equipped with 2.6-inch screens and FM transmitters to beam your music through your car's radio and speakers. The N85 is bundled with an 8 GB SD card, the N79 with a 4 GB card.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 11:51 PM
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
G'zOne Boulder is Rough and Ready
If you're going spelunking or mountain climbing or hang gliding or you push yourself in any other extreme outdoor activity – or if you're just rough on gear – here's the phone for you.
The push-to-talk G'zOne Boulder, now available through Verizon for $129.99 after contract and rebates, is built to military specifications to withstand shock, water, dust, vibration, salt fog, humidity, solar radiation, altitude, and low and high temperature storage. To paraphrase an old ad, it takes a licking and keeps on connecting.
Inside its tough exterior are a host of helpful outdoor tools such as an electronic compass, a flashlight, stopwatch and GPS navigation. Among its more mundane cellphone features are EV-DO Rev. A connectivity, a speakerphone, stereo Bluetooth, voice command and, of course, push-to-talk service through Verizon.
When you're at base camp, enjoy the MP3/WMA/AAC-compatible music player that can be supplemented by a subscription to the Rhapsody music service, and the 1.3 MP camera. There's a microSD memory card slot that can handle up to an 8 GB card.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 1:13 AM
Friday, August 15, 2008
Motorola's W755 Rhapsody in Purple
We're not kidding about the headline. Motorola's new W755 flip phone comes in charcoal gray or purple and is compatible with Verizon's Rhapsody music service. Hence, literally, you get Rhapsody in purple. Somewhere, George Gershwin is grimmacing.
Even if you don't opt to subscribe to Rhapsody and load in your own songs (maybe "Rhapsody in Blue" to make up for my pun?), the W755 is a cute little music phone compatible with Windows Media Player 11, with touch-sensitive backlit music control icons on the front flap, along with a touch-sensitive blue Bluetooth icon to turn the wireless headphone function on or off without burrowing through the menus. If you don't like stereo Bluetooth, unfortunately your alternative is a 2.5mm headphone jack. Worse, you'll have to buy your own earphones – Verizon has stopped including them with phones.
Otherwise, the W755 is an EV-DO Rev. A phone, so Web pages load in a jiffy, is rubberized front and back for a sure grip, has a 1.3 MP camera and a microSD card slot awkwardly placed underneath the battery.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 4:04 PM
Monday, August 11, 2008
Nokia Cheaply Combines Camera and Tunes
You say you'd like a great music phone and a great camera but you'd rather not take out a second mortgage to get one?
Your prayers are answered. Nokia's third-generation XpressMusic phone, the 5610 slider, combines and exceptional music player and a 3.2 megapixel camera, all for $99 (with a two-year contract) or just $229 unsubsidized from T-Mobile.
To help get as much music on your phone as possible, Nokia has packed in a 2 GB microSD card; the 5610's card slot can handle up to a 4 GB card. The 5610 can handle AAC, eAAC+, MP3 and WMA formats. If you get tired of your own tunes, the 5610 also is equipped with an FM radio. For listening, there's a 3.5mm headphone jack and wired mic/earbuds are included, or you can use stereo Bluetooth.
For picture-taking, you get a dual LED flash and a 2.2-inch screen/viewfinder. The 5610 also shoots video and is available in white (pictured) or red.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 2:00 PM
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Motorola Rolls Out ROKR Family
You like certain features on a cellphone, but you wish they came in a flip phone rather than a slider or a candybar or in a slider instead of a flip phone, or – you get the idea.
Well, if you like music phones with built-in FM radios, Motorola has a ROKR in all three styles.
The ROKR EM30 (near right) is a candybar, the ROKR EM28 (bottom right) is a flip or clamshell with touch-sensitive keys and the ROKR EM25 (top right) is a slider with FM radio transmitting capabilities – it'll play the tracks on your ROKR through your car's radio system. The EM30 and the EM28 both operate on the GSM EDGE network.
Each includes an FM RDS radio to provide the name of the artist and song playing, can play multiple digital music formats, and is equipped with industry standard microUSB jacks, a standard 3.5mm headphone jack and stereo Bluetooth for wireless music listening.
While Motorola wouldn't say, they're likely to be available from T-Mobile like their big brother, the ROKR E8, probably in the next month or so, and probably for less than $100 with contract and rebates.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 3:10 PM
Monday, June 30, 2008
LG & Verizon's Chocolate Rhapsody
No, that's not a wireless dessert. Verizon and Rhapsody just announced a joint venture to merge the popular Rhapsody subscription music service with Verizon's V CAST music service. Since everyone in the popular media is covering this partnership, we'll deal with the hardware side. Verizon said that nine of its current V CAST phones can be used with the new service.
But the first true Rhapsody-optimized phone, due later this summer, will be the LG Chocolate 3. No pricing has been announced yet.
This year's Chocolate will be a flip phone rather than a slider, with the music control wheel on the outside flap. You'll also get an FM transmitter to beam your Rhapsody tunes through your car's stereo system. For slightly more private listening, the C3 has dual speakers and for even more private listening, stereo Bluetooth.
For storing your songs, C3 has a GB of internal memory and a high capacity micro SD card slot. The specs say you can add up to 4 GB this way, but the high-capacity SD spec says you should be able to slide in up to a 32 GB card, when they become available.
Aside from Rhapsody, the C3 is also an ESPN MVP phone and sports a 2 MP camera.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 4:18 PM
T-Mobile subscribers will get access to arguably the carrier's best music phone and a phone with the most unusual touchscreen interface ever, the Motorola E8 ROKR, next Monday, July 7. It'll be priced at $199 with a two-year contract and a $50 mail-in rebate, $249 with a one-year contract and a $50 mail-in rebate, or $349 sans contract.
On the face of the candybar E8 is a unique touchscreen. In normal mode, backlights display the usual dialpad . When in music mode, the screen shows only music controls (left). In 2 MP camera mode, you get imaging controls (right). When asleep, the E8's glass face is glossy black with only tiny raised dots indicating where backlit controls will be.
And when you press a backlit button, you get localized haptics, squishy tactile feedback that lets you know you sucessfully pushed the virtual button.
While the quasi-touchscreen and haptic sensation is unusual, the ROKR's real purpose is as a music player. Inside the E8 is 2 GB of built-in memory, which can be supplemented via the high capacity microSD card slot. 8 GB cards just became available, so the E8 can boast up to 10 GB in music and photo memory. E8 also supports a wide variety of non-DRM music formats including MP3, AAC, AAC+, Enhanced AAC+, WMA and Real Audio v10. Cleverly, any track you load in can be assigned as a ringtone.
Music continues to play regardless of whatever application you navigate to. E8 is equipped with a 3.5 headphone jack and comes with a stereo earphones, or you can take advantage of its stereo Bluetooth capability. Unfortunately, T-Mobile has no music services, so you'll have to supply your own tunes.
Speaking of navigation, you navigate through all the E8's menus via what Motorola calls a FastScroll arc, a sort-of scroll wheel. A ModeShift button on the side gets you instantly to the camera, and a music icon on the front touchscreen gets you instantly to the music player.
As a phone, E8's conversational abilities are enhanced by Motorola's ClearTalk technology. E8 is only an EDGE phone – T-Mobile doesn't yet offer a high-speed network, but you also get an FM radio in case your own music bores you.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 3:37 PM
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Sony Ericsson Announced 8.1 MP Cellcam
Remember yesterday when we touted cellphones with 5 MP digital cameras? 5 MP? Piffle!
Sony-Ericsson has upped the megapixel ante with its slider-style Cyber-shot C905, which contains an 8.1 MP digital camera, which will be available in the fall for $499.99.
Since Sony has affixed its Cyber-shot name to the C905, you can be assured that its camera meets Sony's exacting optics and image capture standards. Behind the sliding shutter guard are Sony lenses, a Xenon flash and video light. Like the company's standalone digicams, the C905 includes "smile shutter," a software sensor that detects a subject's smiles and automatically snaps the picture, "smart contrast" that compensates for varying lighting situations from one part of the picture to another and, of course, the ever-present face detection.
Your viewfinder is a bright 2.4-inch, 240 x 320 scratch-resistant glass LCD screen. To get the high-res photos off the phone, the C905 includes DLNA-compatible WiFi to transmit photos or video to a DLNA-compatible HDTV or upload to your blog site, a USB adapter, and will ship with a 2 GB Memory Stick micro (M2) that slides into an M2 slot that accepts up to an 8 GB card.
On the phone side, the 7.2 Mbps HSPA network compatible C905 includes A-GPS, which combines cell tower triangulation with traditional satellite GPS to speed location detection and also geo-tags images, a media player and stereo Bluetooth. For the fashion-conscious, it'll be available in Night Black (pictured), Ice Silver and Copper Gold.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Heather Fink @ 7:46 AM
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Moto and Kodak Partner on 5 MP Cellcam
Two of the oldest American technology brands have partnered to create the highest megapixel camera phone available in the U.S. (along with the Nokia N96 and N82). The Motorola Motozine ZN5 is a candybar cellphone up front and a 5 MP Kodak camera behind.
Unlike other camera phones, the ZN5 acts like a real camera. You slide down the lens cover to activate the camera. The shutter release button is right on the top right where you'd expect. Press the shutter halfway and the autofocus swings into action. And pressing the shutter all the way instantly snaps the scene – none of the usual slow second-or-so shutter delay between press and capture on other camera phones.
The ZN5 includes other digicam-like features such as multi-shot and panorama photo stitching, which patches together multiple consecutive exposures to create a extreme wide view. There's also an unusually powerful (for a cellcam) Xenon flash.
There's 350 MB of memory inside the phone to save photos to, or you can slide in a roomier 4 GB micro SD card. Once saved, you can upload your shots to Kodak's Kodak Gallery site, use ShoZu to upload them to varying social networking service, or off-load them via more traditional Bluetooth or wired connections. You can also print prints on Kodak's Bluetooth-compatible printers or Kodak Picture Kiosks.
Like Moto's pending E8, the ZN5 features the company's innovative haptic keypad that provides local tactile feedback when you hit a button. The touch sensitive keypad also displays backlit icons for functions specific to whatever application the phone is in.
As a phone, the ZN5 functions on GSM networks and offers Motorola's CrystalTalk technology which makes voices sound more landline-like. Instead of locating the phone's address book and looking up a name, you can just start tapping the name you're looking for and the appropriate name and number pops up on the screen. There's also a music player with stereo Bluetooth.
The ZN5 will first be available in China in time for the Beijing Olympics. Everyone else will have to wait until the games are over.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 11:16 PM
Thursday, June 19, 2008
iPhone-killer Instinct Goes on Sale
Getting a three-week jump on the second-generation of its inspiration, Instinct by Samsung goes on sale at Sprint stores nationwide Friday, June 20, for $129.99.
Samsung and Sprint think they have an iPhone-killer on their hands, for $70 less than the coming iPhone 3G. Samsung will be putting its money where its beliefs are, investing $100 million in marketing and advertising.
What's the big deal? While it closely resembles iPhone features-wise and physically – it's hard for any fully touchscreen phone not to – Instinct offers myriad bells and whistles not available on the current iPhone and some not even on the pending Apple 3G version. The biggest difference is Instinct's localized haptics – a tactile feedback under your finger after touching a screen icon simulating a physical button push.
Technically, Instinct has a 3.1-inch touchscreen and is Sprint's first EV-DO Rev. A phone, offering a slight data speed boost (2.4 mbps vs. 3.1 mbps) over plain old EV-DO. Because of the faster 3G Rev. A speeds, Samsung has eschewed WiFi in Instinct. Instinct's A-GPS adds directions to an address in your contact list from where you are and supplies weather conditions and forecasts based on your location, and provides vocal turn-by-turn directions. It also has an iPhone-like gyroscope that senses in what position you're holding the phone.
Instinct also will be the first Sprint phone with visual voicemail – choose the message you want to hear from a list rather than listening to all of them in sequence, as well as threaded chat and direct photo upload to Flickr or Facebook.
More pedantically, Instinct includes a 2 MP camera, full IMAP and POP3 email and supports Microsoft Exchange, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and an HTML browser from a company called Telica. And, of course, you have speedy access to all of Sprint's music and video services.
There's things missing from the Instinct, however. There's no integrated on-board memory, for instance – you'll have to spend more to get a high-capacity SD card, and you're limited to 8 GB. You get a pre-loaded 2 GB card, however, and a second battery and separate charger are included.
Instinct plan pricing starts at $69.99/month for 450 voice minutes or talk/message/data minutes, or Sprint's Simply Everything Plan, unlimited nationwide voice and data services for $99.99/month.
We're playing with an Instinct now and we'll have a full report before the iPhone goes on sale.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 12:05 PM
File this one under "Why didn't anyone think of this before?"
LG's new Decoy slider, available from Verizon for $179.99 after rebates and two-year contract, has a Bluetooth earpiece piggy-backed to it. Once paired, the pair remained paired thanks to the new Bluetooth 2.1 protocol. Plug in the Decoy and the attached earpiece charges as well, eliminating a charger.
DUH!
LG didn't just tack on a Bluetooth earpiece and skimp on the rest of this EV-DO multimedia phone. Decoy is fully V CAST compatible, able to access all of Verizon's music, application and game downloads, VZ Navigator and streaming video services, sports a 2 MP digital camera, and is compatible with Hotmail, AOL and Yahoo! email and instant messaging. Its music player can play back MP3, WMA, AAC and iTunes new AAC+ non-DRM tracks.
On the outside, Decoy sports a 2.2-inch mirror-like LCD screen, a two-tone silver and black glossy front, and a blue satin back where its Bluetooth earpiece dock is located.
But what kind of name is "Decoy"? What does that have to do with the innovation of a piggybacked Bluetooth earpiece?
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 12:08 AM
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Dark Knight Returns from Nokia
Here's a phone Bruce Wayne would be proud to carry, whether he's wearing a cowl or not. Technically known as the Nokia 6205, this black beauty is the Dark Knight edition, specially designed to coincide with the opening of the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, on July 18. It's now available for super heroes and super hero fans from Verizon for $69.99 after the usual rebates and contract stipulations.
Inside the box is a Joker card with a code to link to the www.fightforgothamcity.com Web site. Once on the Web site, you can find out if you've
won The Joker’s "bag of cash" containing $10,000 and other games to win more The DarkKnight-themed prizes.
Inside the phone is a 1.3 MP camera, 58 MB of memory that can be supplemented by a microSD card of up to 4 GB, access to Verizon's V CAST music service and exclusive access to special The Dark Knight content and Verizon's VZ Navigator navigation application.
If you're not into comic books – er, we mean graphic novels – there'll be a metallic blue and silver version of the 6205 available next month.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 1:42 PM
Monday, June 9, 2008
iPhone 3G on the Way
The good news is, Apple's iPhone 3G, which chief Apple buffer Steve Jobs announced earlier today, will load Web pages and download files more than twice as fast as the current EDGE version, includes true GPS capabilities, can manipulate Microsoft Office documents, will be available in 8 and 16 GB versions for $199 and $299 respectively (with the usual contract stipulations), and new iPhone 2.0 firmware will open the door to a flood of innovative iPhone native applications, which will either be free or cost just $9.99.
The bad news is, you'll have to wait a month to get it all. The new iPhone 3G models and the new iPhone 2.o (free to iPhone owners, $99 for iTouch owners) won't go on sale until July 11.
Among the 3G's simpler improvements is a flush headphone jack, which means you don't have to search for the rare compatible set of headphones or headphone/mic combos. While we don't yet have the actual physical details, the iPhone 3G retains the original's 3.5-inch LCD screen and the 2 MP camera but still no video, and is almost exactly the same size – it's just .02 inches thicker and .1 ounce lighter.
Considering how much more there'll be to play with, it's a good thing the new model gets a battery boost – 300 hours of 3G standby, 10 hours of 2G talk-time (original has only 5), 5 hours of 3G talk-time (most 3G phones only have 3 hours of talk time), 5 to 6 hours of 3G browsing, 7 hours of video, and 24 hours of iPod music playback.
The 16 GB version also will be available with a white back as well as the new black. One report from Jobs' announcement reported there'd be a 32 GB version for $399, but none of Apple's subsequent materials included any mention of this version.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 11:59 AM
Friday, June 6, 2008
Sidewalk Surfing Sidekick from Tony Hawk and T-Mobile
Try not to check your messages on the Tony Hawk edition Sidekick LX while you're grinding a rail or catching some air. But you'll be able to shoot some POV video with it since this limited edition Sidekick, available in July from T-Mobile, will be the first to offer video record and share capabilities.
Hawk even tried to make his Sidekick look and feel like a skateboard. The rear of the slate-grey device emblazoned with his hawk graphic feels like the textured grip-tape top of a 'board with eight simulated screws. You'll also get a video of Hawk performing tricks and skate-themed swivel open and close sounds. Among its technical features are the expected Sidekick email, texting, MySpace Mobile and music playback apps as well as a more personalized Web browsing experience, stereo Bluetooth and more theme and background personalization options than other un-Hawk Sidekicks. All Sidekick LX owners, however, will get an over-the-air update with all the Hawk-edition enhancements, including video recording.
As part of the promotional campaign this summer, T-Mobile will help sponsor Hawk's Boom Boom HuckJam 2008 North American Tour and the sk8tr's Tony Hawk Foundation, and a contest with a prize package including a trip to LA and a chance to meet Hawk. Current Sidekick LX owners will get an exclusive chance to upgrade to the Hawk edition before it's available to everyone else.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 1:51 PM
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Motorola Packs Bargain W775
We never ceased to be amazed by how much technology cellphone makers manager to cram into increasingly tinier phones. For instance, Motorola's new W775, now available through Verizon for just $69.99 after contract and rebates, includes an MP3/AAC/WMA-compatible music player with access to Verizon's VCast music service and stereo Bluetooth, access to VCast TV services, VZ Navigation and Verizon's Chaperone service, which lets you use GPS to locate your child with the phone, and a 1.3 MP camera.
Among this RAZR-like clamshell's other pedantic but functional attributes are EV-DO broadband data connectivity, bright and colorful 1.1-inch and 1.9-inch LCD screens outside and in respectively, a microSD card slot that can accommodate a 4 GB card, and external music and sound controls that let you mute the phone without opening it. It's a bit chunkier than the RAZRs, but it has a cleaner easier-to-punch keypad compared to Motorola's funkier phones. The W775 may not be sexy, but it does what it's supposed to do.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 2:49 AM
Nokia's XpressMusic phone has moved from its chubby adolescent saddle shoe aesthetics in the model 5300 to the new 5310, a sexy .39-inch waif-thin candybar, but remains one of the most unpretentious – and least expensive – music phones around. It's available starting today for just $49.99 after the usual contract stipulations and rebates.
While the 5310 includes no online memory – what do you want for 50 bucks? – but a 4 GB micro SD card will hold up to 3,000 (assuming 48 kbps each) WMA, AAC or MP3 tracks on an optional 4GB microSD card (a 1 GB card is included). The 5310 retains its predecessor's external physical (rather than touch) music controls, FM radio and 3.5mm stereo headphone jack, but adds a 2 MP camera and stereo Bluetooth. It's a tri-band EDGE phone so don't count on speedy internet conenctions or track downloads (T-Mobile doesn't have a music service), and instead of white, the 5310 is available in three color combos: black/red, black/purple and black/orange.
To get you started, the 5310 will come preloaded with two exclusive tracks from Panic At The Disco and Phantom Planet, along with Panic At The Disco’s "That Green Gentleman" video and an exclusive making-of video with a greeting from the band.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 2:30 AM
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Samsung Instinct: iPhone killer?
In less than a month, arguably the coolest cellphone ever will be released – and it's not Apple's 3G iPhone. It's the Sprint Instinct by Samsung, which which will arrive in Sprint stores on June 20 backed by a $100 million marketing campaign.
Instinct features a laundry list of capabilities lacking in the current iPhone – tactile QWERTY keypad and menu vibration feedback (haptics), Sprint's streaming "live" TV, music downloads via Sprint's EV-DO Rev. A broadband network, video recording, stereo Bluetooth, GPS with voice turn-by-turn directions, direct photo upload to Flickr, and voice command for GPS points-of-interest searches, although we don't know what improvements Apple will add to the 3G model that will hit stores at around the same time as the Instinct.
Instinct arguably has more instinctual navigation than the nearly identical iPhone; there are three direct access touch keys below the 3.1-inch touchscreen for the home menu (like the iPhone), a "back" arrow and for the phone dialpad. And also are four "home" screens: a "main" screen that lists everything, a "Web" screen with customizable bookmarks, "Fun" with links to all the Instincts A/V apps, and "Favs" for direct access to all your favorite apps.
Instinct is lacking when compared to the iPhone in one vital area: it has no internal memory. Sprint will pack a 2 GB card with the phone, which will only get you started. In common with iPhone, Instinct is equipped with a 2 MP still camera, music player, a 3.5mm headphone jack, threaded texting and one of iPhone's greatest innovations, visual voice mail.
Instinct likely will sell for between $200-$300 after the usual contract and rebates, then $69.99/month for 450 voice minutes and unlimited data or $99.99/month for unlimited everything.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 1:22 PM
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
T-Mobile Now Has Colorful Sidekick
No, not Sideshow Bob, Robin or Vanna White, but a new Sidekick, the specialized texting cellphone. T-Mobile is now offering a special scarlet Sidekick as an option for more fashion-conscious texters for $199.99 with a two-year contract.
The T-Mobile Sidekick Slide Scarlet is outfitted exactly the same as the current plain black version – quad-band world phone, QWERTY keyboard, swing-out 2 x 1.5 inch QVGA screen, Web surfing, MySpace application available through the carrier's Download Center, POP3 and IMAP email, MMS, SMS and IM capable including AOL IM, Windows Live and Yahoo! Messenger, 1.3 MP camera, AAC/MP3 music player, microSD card slot and Bluetooth.
Pretty, ain't it?
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 11:39 PM
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Blackberry Gets Bold
Everyone wants to play in iPhone's tent, and BlackBerry is angling for a bunk with its new Bold smartphone, due this summer worldwide. The Bold is a tri-band GSM worldphone and the first from Blackberry to offer access to HSPA broadband wireless networks, but only at 3.6 Mbps; the 3G HSPA iPhone will speed by on 7.2 Mbps HSPA systems, one of the few aspects of Apple's next generation device (due next month) we know for sure.
The Bold's iPhone-beating benefit is more multimedia – movie viewing, photo slide shows, Roxio music management and even an iTunes sync application – plus a 3.5mm stereo headphone jack, 1 GB internal memory and an external micro SDHC memory card slot. But BlackBerry's raison d'être is email, which is what makes it preferable to the iPhone and it's awkward touchscreen keypad. No matter how rich RIM makes the Bold's multimedia capabilities, it can't compete with iPhone.
This doesn't mean that the Bold isn't bulging with goodies that will make Blackberry users a little less envious of their iPhone-toting compadres for non-email activities. Bold boasts DataViz' Documents To Go, which enables downloading and editing of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. Bold also adds a/b/g WiFi, integrated GPS functionality, a 2 MP camera with video recording and the fastest processor Blackberry has yet offered.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 12:48 AM
Friday, May 9, 2008
U.S. Has To Wait For HTC Touch Diamond
HTC's second-generation Touch, dubbed the Diamond, will make its debut in Europe next month, the Middle East and Asia a month or so later. Touchy U.S. consumers will have to wait until later this summer or fall.
Both the Touch's interface and the aesthetics have been upgraded in the Diamond from the Touch currently available through Sprint. The Diamond is a GSM version that'll work on 7.2 HSPA networks, so we're guessing we'll see it from AT&T Wireless when it makes its way to the U.S. Rather than the grip-friendly rubberized casing on the Sprint Touch, the Diamond appropriately looks shinier and sleeker. And instead of the single action button on the current model, the Diamond features a number of direct application keys below the screen which will make getting around the phone features much easier.
The company claims the Touch Diamond's software interface has been approved, which is a relief since interacting with the current Touch pales in comparison to the larger iPhone, with which it is often compared. One early user reports that Windows Mobile 6.1 is nicely disguised within the Diamond's GUI and HTC's TouchFLO 3D provides a flip-though experience for browsing music, contact and other entries similar to Apple's Cover Flow. HTC also touts a new Web browser that optimizes pages to fit its 2.8-inch touchscreen display and, like the iPhone, allows users to zoom in on pages, which automatically re-orient themselves when the phone is turned from portrait to landscape.
PCWorld reports that HTC has built in some other neat features. For instance, if you don't want to answer a call, laying the phone face down silences the ringer. Taking out the stylus during a call automatically boots the notepad application. Flashing LCD lights on the touchpad below the display screen will indicate missed calls, emails, text messages, etc. Only slightly less glitzy bells and whistles include b/g WiFi, a 3.2 MP camera, a music player, 4 GB of internal storage, push email and stereo Bluetooth.
We'll just have to wait a few months before we can play with it ourselves.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 2:51 PM
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
The Skinny On The Skinnier LG ENV2
The new skinnier LG enV2 (squared) handset is now available at Verizon Wireless stores nationwide for $129.99 after a $50 rebate and the usual two-year contract or extension.
Sort of a touch-less version of the LG Voyager (although technically the Voyager is a touchscreen takeoff of the older enV), the new enV, like its predecessor, is a horizontal flip phone. The front of the phone looks like your standard candy bar phone. Crack it open and you get a larger 2.4-inch widescreen bracketed by twin speakers and a full QWERTY keyboard like a tiny PC, perfect for heavy emailers and texters.
The new enV is .13 of an inch thinner, more than a half-inch shorter and nearly a half ounce lighter than its predecessor. You can yack for up to 5 hours and 20 minutes, almost an hour longer than on the original enV, and will standby for more than three weeks on a single charge.
You won't be envious (sorry, had to do it) of anyone else's phone with the enV's feature pack. For one thing, the enV will be one of the first Verizon handsets equipped with VZ Navigator 4, Verizon's cell-based navigation service ($9.99/month, $2.99/day). enV also includes a 2 MP camera/video recorder, V CAST Music for MP3, WMA and non-protected AAC playback, V CAST Video, all the usual POP3 and IMAP email options, a micro SDHC slot (up to 8 GB) and Stereo Bluetooth.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 1:29 PM
Monday, May 5, 2008
3G Comes to T-Mobile Phones in NYC
Four handsets from T-Mobile are going to get a speed boost, at least if you're using them in New York City. The carrier has launched 3G UMTS/HSDPA service in the Big Apple with plans to roll out 3G network coverage in 20-to-25 of the country's major metro markets by the end of the year.
Immediately, two Nokia flip phones, the 6263 and the 3555 world phone, the latter of which became available two weeks ago, and two Samsung models, the flip t639 and the slider t819, will all be able to access T-Mobile's wireless Web at speeds of 200 to 300 kbps.
Unfortunately, there'll be no indicator on these four models to let you know if you're in 3G range except Web pages will load quicker and Thumbplay and other downloads will finish faster than under T-Mobile's EDGE network.
T-Mobile plans to launch HSDPA-specific phones, including new data-oriented all-in-one devices capable of speeds of data rates of 600 kbps to 1 mbps in the coming months, presumably when there's a critical mass of potential buyers in affected markets.
Immediately, two Nokia flip phones, the 6263 and the 3555 world phone, the latter of which became available two weeks ago, and two Samsung models, the flip t639 and the slider t819, will all be able to access T-Mobile's wireless Web at speeds of 200 to 300 kbps.
Unfortunately, there'll be no indicator on these four models to let you know if you're in 3G range except Web pages will load quicker and Thumbplay and other downloads will finish faster than under T-Mobile's EDGE network.
T-Mobile plans to launch HSDPA-specific phones, including new data-oriented all-in-one devices capable of speeds of data rates of 600 kbps to 1 mbps in the coming months, presumably when there's a critical mass of potential buyers in affected markets.
Labels: cellphones
posted by Stewart Wolpin @ 3:26 PM
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