Filed under: Cellphones

Oh yeah, you’ve seen Sony Ericsson’s succulent XPERIA X1 unboxed in still image form, but there’s just nothing like a little unpacking on video to really whet your appetite, right? Oh, and there’s also some comparison action thrown in with the HTC Touch Pro, and of course, we get to see the OS in action. Hop on past the break to have a look, but we’re warning you, those who covet easily will want to restrain themselves.

[Thanks, Oscar]

Continue reading Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 unboxed, played with on video

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

We’d been encouraged in previous spy shots that AT&T was intending to keep a clean, brand-free look on the front of the Fuze, but what were we thinking? That’d never sit well with the suits up on the 49th floor of AT&T’s headquarters (we just made that up, by the way — we have no idea how many floors AT&T’s headquarters has), and sure enough, the latest batch of shots is showing a big ol’ logo slapped on the upper right of the face. The poster says release is currently planned for early November, but we’d say that target is about as solid as one of those Jello rings you make in a bundt mold. We’ll believe it when it’s on the shelf, as they say.

[Via wmpoweruser]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

With Sprint snagging the vast majority of the WiMAX limelight of late, we aren’t going to complain with a similar network halfway across the globe yanking it back. Out of absolutely nowhere comes HTC’s first WiMAX-enabled handset, the sure-to-be-delightful T8290. Reportedly, this bugger packs a 3.8-inch 800 x 480 resolution display, 802.11g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, GSM and WiMAX radios and is expected to launch soon on Russia’s Yota. Granted, we can’t take this as hard truth or anything quite yet, but the images that reside in the read link are more than convincing. Oh, and HTC — given that you’re passing on the US with the Touch HD, do you think it’d be possible to get this over here for use with XOHM? We’d really, really appreciate it.

[Via Slashphone, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: Handhelds

Like your smartphones with a little heft to them? Check out Motorola’s new VC6096, an oversized Windows Mobile 6.1 device for those with inventory (and employees) to track. The 4.85 pound behemoth is intended for dashboards, not Dockers, and features a wealth of connectivity to ensure your workers are never offline, like HSDPA, 802.11a/b/g, and Bluetooth too. It also offers SAE J1708 and J1939 ports for communicating directly with the systems of whatever vehicle you mount it in, and a SiRFstarIII GSC3ef/LP GPS chipset for pinpointing exactly where your last shipment of widgets was delivered. The front sports a 6.5-inch VGA touchscreen and a backlit 65-key keyboard, while inside hides 128MB of RAM plus 256MB of flash for storage and a 624 MHz XScale PXA270 processor, a faster version of the same chip we’ve seen before in other shop-minded portables. Price isn’t set, but this could be the must-have gadget for your fleet in ‘09.

[Via NaviGadget]

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Filed under: Cellphones

Not that Motorola’s Q11 comes as any big surprise, but it’s nice to see the Windows Mobile 6.1-packin’ smartphone get all official on us. Now boasting its very own dedicated page on Moto’s website, the Q11 comes to us with quad-band GPRS / EDGE (no 3G, for whatever reason), a 3-megapixel camera with LED flash, 64MB of RAM, microSD card slot, Bluetooth 2.1, a 320 x 240 resolution display, integrated GPS and a multimedia player with support for all sorts of file formats. You can also expect up to 450 minutes of talk time and up to 195 hours in standby, but you won’t be able to wrap your paws around it until December. As for carriers and pricing? Patience, friends, patience.

[Via UnwiredView]

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Filed under: Cellphones

Not even a fortnight after HTC’s Touch HD went official in Germany, out pops a review from Deutschland calling it the best thing since sliced bread. Okay, so maybe our translation skills are a bit off, but one thing’s for sure — it was hailed as the first “iPhone killer to deserve that name.” Right off the bat, reviewers praised the TouchFLO 3D interface for masking Windows Mobile, and of course, the expansive display was drooled upon numerous times. Additionally, critics praised the Opera browser while scolding Internet Explorer, and while it’s hard to say for certain whether the battery life was remarkable, it definitely seemed to get their vote of approval. Of note, the 3.5-millimeter headphone jack was also loved, making us weep while thinking of what could have been with the T-Mobile G1. At any rate, it seems pretty clear that the Touch HD is going to rock some socks off, but we’re trying to push it out of our minds until it becomes available on this side of the drink. Too bad that approach isn’t working at all.

[Via WMPowerUser]

Read - Early Touch HD review
Read - Video showing off Stocks tab

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Now that Sony Ericsson’s mighty X1 has earned the FCC’s love and affection, you won’t be an outlaw for using one in the States — but unfortunately, you won’t be a speed demon everywhere, either. The version that just nabbed approval here is the X1i, and anyone familiar with Sony Ericsson’s naming scheme can tell you that an “i” means a phone’s not really meant for North American consumption; in this case, we’re lucky to squeak by with UMTS Band II support, which means we’ll theoretically be able to pick up some of AT&T’s 1900MHz signal. On 850, though, you’ll be stuck with EDGE. Of course, a true global launch has been in the cards for the X1 from day one, and we’re not worried that we won’t see a more 3G-rife model getting torn down by the feds — this just ain’t it.

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Filed under: Cellphones

Details on this one are about as light as can be at the moment, but The Wall Street Journal has it that HP is aiming to expand its iPAQ smartphone line into the consumer market with a new model that it’ll market to both average consumers and corporate users alike. According to “people briefed on the plan,” the phone will have both a touchscreen and a keypad and, naturally, it’ll run Windows Mobile 6.1 — oh, and it’ll be able to “send and receive emails, and access the Internet.” While there’s no indication of a price just yet, word is the device will be available in Europe first within the next two months, with a worldwide release to follow sometime thereafter.

[Via Gearlog]

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Filed under: Cellphones

Steve Ballmer’s whirlwind UK media tour ahead of the Professional Developers Conference just keeps giving us sound bite gems: first it was Windows Cloud, then Zune on Windows Mobile, and now Stevie’s taking shots at Android and the G1. Calling Microsoft David to Google’s search Goliath, Ballms said that he wasn’t worried about Android because it won’t be “attractive” to other handset manufacturers because it’s “version one… and it looks like version one.” Not only that, but he apparently thinks Google’s going to sit still, saying “they’ve got one handset maker, we’ve got 55. They’re available through one operator, we’ve got 175.” True for now, sure, but we know Android isn’t going to languish on a single handset on a single carrier for long — and we’re pretty certain Steve knows that HTC and T-Mobile aren’t exactly minor players, regardless. Still, it’s some masterful bluster from a master of bluster — now if he’d just back it up with Windows Mobile 7, we’d be way more inclined to believe him.

[Via Cool Smart Phones]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Rumors of a Zune phone have floated around forever, but we’ve always thought it would make more sense for Microsoft to start by simply making a Zune player for Windows Mobile — a plan Steve Ballmer casually confirmed today in an interview with CIO Magazine. Sure, Ballmer’s hinted at Zune on WinMo in the past, but those were just hints — not like today’s pronouncement that “the Zune software will also be ported to and be more important not just with the hardware but on the PC, on Windows Mobile devices, etc.” That’s a pretty solid declaration of things to come, if you ask us — too bad he didn’t give a time frame. Now, about that 360 integration.

[Via WM Power User]

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Filed under: Cellphones

We’ve heard it time and time again, but the inner Zune Guy within us refuses to believe Microsoft is really shunning the chance to pump out a handset of its very own. Unfortunately, Lady Luck hasn’t done us any favors since the last time this question was posed, as Scott Rockfeld, group product manager for Windows Mobile, recently confirmed that Microsoft has “no plans to build [its] own phone.” He continued by adding that “right now [it’s] happy to share the limelight.” C’mon Scott — where’s that tenacious spirit you had that first day in Redmond? Where’s the unrelenting determination to conquer the competition? Where’s… oh, never mind.

[Via Pocket PC Thoughts]

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Filed under: Cellphones

Let’s do a quick recap, shall we? So we pretty much know everything there is to know about Verizon’s forthcoming BlackBerry Storm save for the price and release date, and so far as we can tell, Verizon’s version of the Touch Diamond is still expected to be totally underpowered compared to Sprint’s iteration. Now that we’ve rounded the tables, let’s have a look at this image above. This here is Verizon’s internal training schedule, and given that employees have to complete their Storm courses before November 2nd and their Touch Diamond courses before December 3rd, we’d say you now have a pretty good idea of when these two will be landing. Hey VZW — think you could make that “Blocking Features Assessment” available to the public? We’re guessing it’d be a real hit.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

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Filed under: Cellphones

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Filed under: Cellphones

You’ve seen HTC’s Touch Diamond, Touch Pro and Touch HD handled in separate instances, but CNET Asia took the opportunity to get all three of the handsets together for a little get-together. Atypical for most sibling relationships, these three seemed to get along fairly well, though we did overhear the Touch Diamond calling the Touch Pro “a fatso.” Hit the read link for a few more looks.

[Via SlashPhone]

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Filed under: Cellphones

It’s no shock to see a US 3G-enabled Touch Diamond showing up at Best Buy (unlike the hamstrung sibling over at CompUSA) — though we can’t say we were expecting the big box retailer to start shipping this soon. If its website is to be believed (read: don’t book it just yet), the unlocked Touch Diamond 3G you’re about to order for $699.99 will leave Best Buy’s warehouse within one business day. If that’s not cool with you, you can also pick it up “at most stores.” Shame there’s no white option listed…

[Via MobileTechReview]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Okay, so this “review” of HTC’s beastly new Touch HD isn’t much of a review, but it offers up a few important snippets of insight — and perhaps more importantly for the visual stimulation-starved among us, a plethora of photography. The reviewer notes that the 800 x 480 display is positively gorgeous, the cam is decent (though autofocus is a tad on the slow side), the latest iteration of TouchFLO 3D running here chugs along with virtually no slowdown, and despite the display and the heavy-duty spec sheet, the darned thing is essentially the same size as an iPhone 3G. Oh, and there’s also a true 3.5mm headphone jack lurking on here, too, which we dare you to find on that HTC in your pocket right now. Makes it all that much harder to hear that it’s launching in the fourth quarter without global HSDPA, doesn’t it?

[Thanks, Steph]

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Filed under: Cellphones

If you’re jazzed about the Touch Diamond, but have a thing for albino devices, a Danish site may have unearthed just what you’re looking for. According to HTC-User, the company will be introducing a white version of their popular touchscreen device come October. We can’t say for sure if this intel is pure gold or a pile of festering garbage, but if the pics we see (just renders right now) and the retail order page the site is linking to are any indication, this magic will be a reality sooner or later. That’s a good thing, too — you don’t want Apple cornering the market on white and black touchscreen phones, right? Check out one more huge picture after the break.

Update: Engadget Spanish has confirmed that these are — in fact — the real deal, and will be headed to store shelves come October.

[Via Engadget Spanish, HTC-User; Thanks, Jesper]

Continue reading HTC’s Touch Diamond coming in white

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Filed under: Cellphones

We’ve known for what feels like ages that Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X1 would be based on Windows Mobile, but we wouldn’t count on the X2, X3 or X99 to just follow suit. At the launch of its digital marketing campaign for said handset, the firm made clear that future SE Xperia phones may not be based on Microsoft’s OS, with Magnus Andersson, product manager for the X1, noting that “the brand is not tied into any specific technical platform.” Unfortunately, he didn’t elaborate nor give any indication what other systems we could eventually see, but at least we know that there will be life after the X1 in one form or another, right?

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Yo, Microsoft, step on the gas and get Windows Mobile 7 out the door, would ya? Gartner’s profile of global smartphone sales in the second quarter of 2008 reveals that RIM’s BlackBerry OS has jumped over Windows Mobile to become the number two platform finding its way into pockets around the world, while perennial powerhouse Symbian carries on comfortably with the number one spot (and it’s not UIQ that’s doing the heavy lifting there, if you catch our drift). As a percentage of the overall mobile market, smartphones account for the same 11 percent they did a year ago — but the entire market saw growth, meaning that total smartphone shipments jumped a solid 15.7 percent over the same period. Well-earned kudos to RIM for knocking WinMo off its high horse, but seriously, Microsoft need only look in the mirror if it wants to know exactly how this came to pass.

[Via jkOnTheRun]

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Filed under: Cellphones

It looks like ASUS has more in store when it comes to touchscreen phones than that P552w we saw the other day. According to pictures leaked to the Mobile01 forums, the company is planning an Omnia-esque device that will feature a large (WQVGA or WVGA) touchscreen, a 5-megapixel camera, a trackball for non-touch navigation, and the predictable 3G radios / WiFi. Not much is known about the device at this point, though speculation is running rampant on the forum as to CPU specs and on-board memory. It’s likely this will be at least competitive in comparison to recent Window Mobile devices we’ve seen of this variety, though nothing’s certain till we get word from ASUS… which we’re waiting patiently for, fellas.

[Via wmpoweruser]

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