Archive for the ‘Mobile Phone’ Category

Steve just ran through a bunch of features of iPhone 2.0, and while we saw most of them back in March, some of them were new, like being able to draw in Chinese characters. There’s also new support for iWork documents and better Office doc support, as well as new abilities to save images from email to the photo library, and new contact search functions. It’ll hit in July free for iPhone owners, and the price has dropped to $9.95 for iPod touch owners — still high, but better than the $19.95 we heard in March.

Developing…

 
HTC Touch Diamond boot video from Joshua Topolsky on Vimeo.

For those of you who absolutely, positively can’t wait to see more of the Touch Diamond in action, the folks over at pocketnow are giving you a taste of what it’s like to hold one in your hands. Apparently, when you boot up the phone you’re greeted with a helpful video showing you how to navigate the heavily-skinned version of Windows Mobile (AKA Touch Flo 3D) that it sports. Needless to say, it’s smoother than a baby’s bottom. Not that we’d know. Video after the break in its full 640 x 480 resolution.

We already knew that Philips had plans to release the low-end touchscreen X800, but now we know just how low it was willing to go with this thing. Confirmed are the lack of 3G, EDGE (which still shocks us), and WiFi. Meanwhile, the 2.9-inch, 240×400 screen, only supports 256K colors, and the phone’s browser is your basic WAP 2.0/xHTML. It does support Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, though, so that’s a plus. Other bits: it will allow for expansion via microSD, support MP3 ringtones, and packs a USB port. In short, not a whole lot to see here. Follow the read link for a full spec list.

[Via BoyGeniusReport]

That deal AT&T whipped out of their hats to take over T-Mobile’s position as sole provider of WiFi at Starbucks? Turns out T-Mo is pissed about how the transition has gone down, and has filed suit against the buxx alleging collusion with AT&T, despite their supposedly exclusive agreement. Apparently T-Mo was basically allowed to run out its time serving and promoting WiFi service while Starbucks shops slowly converted over to AT&T. But T-Mo feels like it’s basically been pushed out (you don’t say!), claiming only two markets (San Antonio and Bakersfield) have actually legitimately transitioned to AT&T — far too little for Starbucks to come off like T-Mo service is done and over. We don’t know how much the suit’s worth in damages, but it sounds like they’ll be after a lot more cash than their magenta-related filings have brought in.

The rumored Tony Hawk edition of the Sidekick LX is said to be making its first public appearance today, looking every bit the part with a “skateboard look and feel” made complete with “grip-tape-texture” and the skateboarding icon’s name plastered across the display’s bezel. This one isn’t just about branding, though — it’s being said that T-Mobile will use the occasion to launch a rather hearty LX firmware update that includes video recording, stereo Bluetooth, additional themes, some sort of video sharing capability, and more; it’ll be available to all LX owners some time this summer via an over-the-air update. Meanwhile, the very special Tony Hawk piece should be made available to buyers in mid-July.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

Frustrated by the lack of a proper dock in your new cellphone’s packaging? Fret not, as Hong Kong’s Earth Trek has your best interests in mind. The all-in-one Mobile Stand enables your phone’s LCD to be easily viewable while you’re trapped toiling away in your cubicle, and it also triples as a USB hub / charger and multicard reader. There has yet to be a peep made concerning the price, but we are told to expect it in black and white motifs.

Truth be told, Fixed Mobile Convergence still isn’t talked about much (comparatively speaking) ’round these parts. Yeah, we’ve seen a few FMC routers scattered about, but Vodafone’s taking a stand by rolling out its Station in Italy. The box, which was developed in cooperation with Huawei, is an integrated switch / router with ADSL2+, WiFi, UMTS / HSPA (via a removable USB key) and four Ethernet ports. Essentially, it’s designed to combine voice with fixed and mobile broadband services, and it enables users to make calls on their handset through a fixed line connection when they’re kicking back at home. We’re also hearing that the device will eventually make its way to other Vodafone markets, but there’s been no word yet on future rollout dates.

[Via GigaOM]

Seasoned tech pundit Gary Krakow has a real puzzler here. He’s claiming that while the Android OS should be ready for launch through a couple manufacturers by the end of the year, an unnamed source has told him that the actual “Gphone” from Google has been delayed into next year. That’s great and all, but we thought the whole Gphone buzz was pretty much killed dead when Android got real. Sure, there was that one-off Samsung rumor about a couple Google-branded handsets supposedly due for September, but there was never much followup there. Google itself has never done much hinting at a Google-branded handset, instead choosing to work with Open Handset Alliance in building an OS for everybody. We’ll be keeping an eye on this rumor, but obviously if it proves true we won’t be seeing anything out of Google until next year — which basically puts us right where we started. Thanks, Gary.