Filed under: Cellphones, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Media PCs, Wireless, Networking

Eager to live in the fantastical future it has prophesied, NTT DoCoMo went to CEATEC and demoed an upcoming addition to its Pocket U service: MH2H (Mobile Home to Home), which gives you the ability use your cellphone to stream content from your computer at home to a friend’s TV. The phone connects to your friend’s WiFi network and sends his or her DLNA-compliant receiver the IP address of your also-DLNA-compliant server, then tells said server to accept the connection and start streaming any videos, songs, or photos you feel like sharing. When you leave, the connection ends and every one goes back to partying on their own isolated media islands like it’s 2006.

[Image courtesy of Tech-On!]

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Filed under: Cellphones

No need to defog your spectacles, what you just read there in the headline is the truth. Astoundingly enough, Motorola’s nearly archaic (in cellphone years, anyway) RAZR V3 is still the top-selling handset in the United States. Of course, it helps that it’s highly subsidized on practically every carrier from coast to coast, but we’re still a little stunned that it’s selling this well nearly 2.5 years after Moto moved its 50 millionth unit. The rest of the top five isn’t nearly as shocking, with Apple’s iPhone snagging the silver, RIM’s BlackBerry Curve grabbing the bronze, LG’s Chocolate at number four and the BlackBerry Pearl at five. With the original RAZR still selling so well, one would think Motorola could just tweak it slightly and issue a second iteration for even more windfall profits. Er, wait.

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Filed under: Cellphones, Misc. Gadgets

We deeply apologize to all the vegetarians in the crowd, but this was just too grotesque to overlook. We’re not exactly sure of the whos, whats, whys, and whens behind all this, but apparently some butcher-to-be found enough spare time (and enough fresh meat) to create a wallet, a set of keys, a 3G-capable cellphone and a 4TB flash drive from raw, tender meat. We don’t know what’s sadder — the fact that this isn’t the first of its kind, or that there ever was a first of its kind.

[Via textually]

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Filed under: Cellphones

Toshiba continues to tease us with its prototype liquid fuel cell-powered gadgets: last year it was a Gigabeat media player, and at this year’s CEATEC you can check out a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) that’s been crammed inside a cell phone, lending it a robust six hours of talk time (compared to the paltry three or four hours of a traditional battery). Toshiba won’t reveal the capacity of the DMFC, but they have said that a 50ml cartridge is good for about 15 refills. No release date yet, but the phone “might” be available “as early as next year.” In the meantime, enjoy this picture of a woman holding a flip phone with “DMFC” clearly visible on the display.

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Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio

We must say, we didn’t really expect Samsung’s P270 to get official in this manner, but we’ll take what we can get. Nanoradio has today unveiled that its “Always On WiFi” solution has been “commercially launched inside the world’s first 3G UMA phone.” The tech was already available in the 2.5G P250, but its inclusion in the 3G-capable P270 makes it a world’s first. For those unaware, this creates a dual-mode cellular / WiFi mobile which doesn’t require WiFi to be toggled on or off in order to save battery life. Sadly, that’s about it for details, but hopefully Sammy will come along soon and flesh things out.

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Filed under: Cellphones

Not even two full months after Sagem fell into the obviously capable hands of Sofinnova, out pops the company’s return to the red carpet. Picking right up (numerically speaking, at least) where the P’9521 left off is the well-endowed P’9522, which was reportedly built with a little help from Porsche Design. The candybar features an aluminum chassis, 2.8-inch display, 5-megapixel camera, GPS, WiFi, fingerprint reader and a microSD card slot. Unfortunately, the fun and games end there, as there’s no 3G radio anywhere to be found; plus, you’ll be asked to lay down about €600 ($875) to acquire one when it ships next month. Loyalty has its price, we guess.

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Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals

While Samsung’s latest cellphone-related release doesn’t pack quite the excitement as what T-Mobile unveiled yesterday, those obsessed with ultrathin lines packed together in the shape of a rectangle will be thrilled. Said mega-corp has landed an agreement with Scanbuy that will preload the ScanLife mobile 2D barcode application on an unspecified number of Samsung’s cameraphones. The program enables the handsets to easily read and digest EZcodes and other major 2D barcode formats, and while you’re probably envisioning some sort of warehouse scenario right now, the possibilities for on-the-go marketing are nearly endless. Expect Scanbuy-equipped Samsung cellies to go on sale in Spain, Italy, and Denmark as early as next month, with availability in other major markets to follow suit shortly.

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Filed under: Cellphones

Mmm, touchscreens. Expansive, gorgeous touchscreens. That pretty much sums up our initial impressions after taking one hard look at James Piatt’s Plica concept. As you can tell, this foldable cellie opens up to reveal a pair of touchscreens just begging to be used for web browsing, texting and photo viewing. There’s also a mini-USB port and a headphone jack, though we’d certainly be interested to see how he plans on slipping a battery in there that lasts more than a hour or two. Can we get a major handset manufacturer to look in this direction — pretty please?

[Via gadgetell]

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Filed under: Cellphones

Fired up to capitalize on some of the hype Sprint has managed to drum up for the Instinct down in the States, Samsung’s taking its iPhone fighter north of the border for a promised intro later this summer. Bell Mobility is the lucky partner (seriously, Telus, you probably should’ve hustled Samsung a little harder for this one), launching at price points ranging from $149.95 up to $449.95 for a three-year contract all the way down to zero commitment. Features and software look like they’re all carrying over from their stateside cousin, although the UI’s looking just a little bit less Sprint-ified (read: no yellow tinge). Nice.

[Via MobileSyrup]

Update: There are rumors that Telus is slated to pick it up, too, but we haven’t seen anything solid just yet. We’ll let you know.

Update 2: Yep, Telus is down with it — exclusivity be damned! Thanks, howi!

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

The question on quite literally every WinMo fanatic’s mind as we go into the second half of the year here is, “Touch Pro or X1?” It’s not an easy question to answer, and anyone hoping to sink some cash on either one of these models in a few months is going to want to do so with a crap-ton of research and anecdotal information under their belts lest the buyer’s remorse set in particularly quickly. MobileBurn scored an early look at the Touch Pro — which won’t be available at retail for a month or three yet — and came away impressed with the all-important keyboard, saying that it was “much more” usable than the QWERTY found on Sony Ericsson’s rival superphone. Closed, it’s said to be virtually indistingushable from the Touch Diamond (which we’d say is a good thing) other than being a bit thicker to accomodate they keyboard and picking up a matte-finish rear cover. Unfortunately, HTC refused to show off the Touch Pro’s interface — apparently on account of some new tricks up TouchFLO 3D’s sleeve that haven’t already made their way into the Touch Diamond — but they did share that the new model will handle landscape mode with particular aplomb. So this one might have the X1 beat in the keyboard department, but the X1’s WVGA display takes the crown for sheer pixel count. Decisions!

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Filed under: Cellphones

Though they’ve already been well documented (heck, they’re already on sale in some parts of the world), Nokia’s just now getting around to making its foursome of Supernovas official. The new line reps mid-range fashion (think L’Amour, but not over the top) and comes in your choice of two candybars, a flip, or a slider as the 7210, 7310, 7510, or 7610, respectively. The 7210 features a tri-band GSM radio plus EDGE, a 2 megapixel camera, and an FM radio; look for it to launch in the third quarter for €120 (about $189). The 7310 apes the 7210’s look but adds support for changeable Xpress-On faceplates, TV-out, and support for GSM 850, and while all that extra kit adds €35 (about $55) to the price over the lesser model, it’s available now. The 7510 goes for the flip form factor but carries over most of the 7310’s spec sheet, waiting it out until the fourth quarter for a €180 (about $283) launch in scary colors like “Fatal Red”. Finally, the 7610 (no, not that one) moves up to a beefier 3.2 megapixel camera and hits next quarter for €225 (about $354).

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Who would’ve thought that rumored iControl app would not only turn out to be real, but survive the inevitable internal politics, delays, and feature cutbacks to make it all the way through to a summer release? Sure enough, iTunes 7.7 has been pushed out to developers in the past several hours, and the installer encourages iPhone and iPod touch owners to “use the new Remote application for iPhone or iPod touch to control iTunes playback from anywhere in your home — a free download from the App Store.” No further details are given — and it’s not clear whether the “iControl” name seen earlier has been scrapped altogether — but we can guess that it’ll use WiFi to hook up with your mainframe, which really makes the idea of an AirPort Express appealing all over again.

On another note, Apple has released Beta 8 of the iPhone SDK and is using the occasion to kick off acceptances of applications to the real, live App Store in preparation for its July 11 launch. It appears that Beta 8 is actually required to complete the process, so don’t go jumping the gun now — goodness knows the rest of the iPhone-toting world doesn’t want your half-baked apps in a couple weeks, you shady developer, you.

Read - iPhone / iTunes Remote app
Read - Applications to App Store now being accepted

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Filed under: Cellphones

As expected, T-Mobile has taken the wraps off its very own version of Motorola’s ROKR E8, a glossy black candybar offering a 2 megapixel camera, 2GB of internal storage (plus a microSD slot that’ll swallow up to 8GB more), stereo Bluetooth, 3.5mm headphone jack, FM radio, and that so-called “morphing” keypad that selectively renders keys invisible depending on the mode you’re using. It’s missing 3G, but that’s one feature T-Mobile customers are all too well acquainted to missing out on — and considering that the just-announced flagship ZN5 doesn’t even do any WCDMA, it shouldn’t come as any surprise. Subscribers and would-be subscribers will be able to nab the E8 come July 7 for $199.99 on contract.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: Cellphones

Hints of Motorola’s new MOTOZINE series of devices have gone back as far as last year, but today marks the first time that Moto’s officially spilled any beans on the goods. The headlining feature on the first model, the ZN5 candybar, lies on the backside: a 5-megapixel sensor courtesy of a partnership with Kodak, featuring autofocus, a xenon flash, image stitching, and on-device integration with Kodak Gallery. Otherwise, you get WiFi (score), Motorola’s so-called “ModeShift” technology for morphing the keypad depending on device mode (a la the E8), and a run-of-the-mill quadband GSM radio with EDGE. China’s the first country to get the hookup starting next month, but Moto expects to take the ZN5 on a world tour over the course of the remainder of the year.

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Unless you’re very, very special, you haven’t yet had an opportunity to run your hands over Openmoko’s latest open-source creation, the FreeRunner, which was announced several months back with the hope of a spring release. Unlike the Neo1973 before it, the FreeRunner’s said to be chock full of enough spit and polish to take on an audience larger than the original’s hardcore developer base, and while a springtime date with destiny is now out of reach, it looks like they’ll only miss the mark by a few days. A recent message from Openmoko’s VP of marketing on the community listserv said that the retail phones should be packed and shipped by tomorrow and — if all goes well, of course — should clear customs by the first of July, meaning buyers should be able to get them delivered in the first week or two of the month. If they’d been able to squeeze in 3G, we’d hardly be able to contain ourselves, but even as it is, we suspect there’s enough buzz to get units sold; let’s just hope they’re already hard at work on version three.

[Via The Inquirer Spanish]

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Filed under: Cellphones

A full fortnight is way too long to go without seeing a little more of Samsung’s Windows Mobile 6.1-powered i900 Omnia, so we were just tickled pink to find a new video showcasing the mobile’s user interface. More specifically, the web browsing function gets most of the attention, and while it doesn’t exactly look like a refined experience from here, why don’t you head on past the break and judge for yourself?

[Thanks, TUcow]

Continue reading Samsung’s i900 Omnia surfs web on video

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

RIM hasn’t even had the opportunity to announce the Kickstart 9100 — much less release it — but it looks like we might already have some intel leaking out on the first BlackBerry flip’s successor. In RIM parlance, a “10″ tacked on to a model number is often a sign that a GPS receiver lurks within; sure enough, metadata obtained by Boy Genius Report lists GPS support in the 9110 “Seawolf.” There’s also mention of an “Aurora,” indicated to be a member of the 8100 (Pearl) series, though its device ID curiously matches that of the Thunder / Storm so it’s possible that the two projects were merged at some point. Are we crazy for missing the days of yore when RIM’s model names were nothing more than four solid, reliable, old-fashioned digits?

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Filed under: Cellphones

If the idea of a sub-$200 3G touchscreen fashion phone sounds vaguely familiar, trust us, it’s not just your noggin playing tricks on you. Sprint is apparently circulating documentation internally revealing that the Samsung Instinct will run $199.99 on contract after rebates, a move that doesn’t really come as surprise; Sprint itself has worked overtime trying to play up the Instinct versus iPhone angle, after all, and it’s entirely plausible that the carrier was holding out for Apple’s announcement before settling on a price. Sprint will also be requiring that users sign up for an “Everything” plan when taking delivery of their Instinct, a move that smacks of AT&T’s marriage of the iPhone to specific plans. The Instinct gets the jump on Apple’s hardware by a few days thanks to a June 20 launch, so it’ll be interesting to see just how much Cupertino thunder Samsung can steal here.

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Filed under: Cellphones

Paris who? Sony Ericsson’s let yet another one slip out of its fingers before the official announcement, this time around a killer slider said to be the Cyber-shot C905, codenamed “Shiho.” If the rumors pan out, it’s got one heck of a rap sheet, too, starting off with an 8.1 — yes, eight point flippin’ one — megapixel camera with both xenon and LED flashes (for still and video capture, respectively), GPS, TV out, DLNA certification, and HSDPA in your choice of European and American flavors. The screen’s apparently just QVGA, but in light of everything else we’re hearing, we might just be willing to let that slide. It’ll apparently be announced on the 17th of the month in gold, silver, and black for a fourth quarter release. Wowza!

[Thanks, Adrian]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Random flickr feeds aren’t the typical way for hot new Nokias to be discovered out in the environs, but hey, who are we to question a good thing when we see it? Pictures of one totally unknown Nseries have emerged — alleged to be the N79 — showing a sublime S60 candybar in a pair of colors. Next, we have more of the just-scooped N85, including some of a white version, so we’re definitely feeling more confident by the minute that it’s the real deal and not some ridiculously sophisticated fake. Last but certainly not least, we have some shots of the XpressMedia 5800 affectionately known as the “Tube,” a device that’ll likely come to be Nokia’s first to use S60 Touch. This one is Vodafone branded (doesn’t really surprise us, we guess) and features a 3.2 megapixel sensor with Carl Zeiss optics, a stylus, and the key to our hearts. How much longer do we have to wait for these, Nokia?

[Via Talk About Nseries]

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