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Hot stuffs, Technical Reviews and More…
Sprint’s HTC Touch Pro2 gets official Windows Mobile 6.5 update
Mar 21st
Sprint had promised a first-quarter update for its Touch Pro2 way back in January, and sure enough, it’s delivered the Windows Mobile 6.5 boost right on time. It might not have as much punch now that we know everything there is to know about Windows Phone 7 Series, of course, but it’s still a pretty big deal — the Touch Pro2 remains one of the best Microsoft-powered phones you can buy in the States, and unlike AT&T’s Tilt2, it launched with that grubby old WinMo 6.1. It’s available now, complete with Sense “enhancements” and a variety of bug fixes — so if you’ve got one of these bad boys in your pocket, it seems like a must-grab.
Purple color Nokia E72 to become available soon
Mar 21st
The Nokia E72 is currently the must-have Nokia Eseries business phone, but so far, it?s been limited to only three rather plain and overused colors (except for the last one): black, gray and topaz brown. However, it looks like things are about to change very soon, and those who would like to express themselves through the color of their handsets will be able to appreciate an upcoming update.
The team from NokiaLB have uncovered what appears to be a new Nokia E72 with a new color casing: purple. It looks to be exactly the same as earlier Nokia E72s, and only differ in its outer appearance. It looks girly, and I know I wouldn?t want to be caught dead holding it, but I?m sure some of the ladies out there would love to have their hands on it.
Although the exact release date of this particular model has not been specified, the purple Nokia E72 should be coming out very soon.
Sprint HTC Hero and Samsung Moment will have Android 2.1 in April?
Mar 21st
Sprint?s only Android smartphones, the HTC Hero and Samsung Moment, will be soon upgraded to Android 2.1.
Launched last year with Android 1.5 on board, the two handsets are currently available at Sprint for $99.99 (Samsung Moment) and $149.99 (HTC Hero).
Sprint didn?t mention when exactly the Moment and the Hero will get Android 2.1, but, according to Android Central, the third largest US carrier is ?actively working? to bring the latest Android version to the two handsets ?over the coming weeks.? If all goes well, Sprint?s Samsung Moment and HTC Hero will probably run Android 2.1 before the end of April.
Sprint recently announced that Google readies a version of the Nexus One for its network ? its launch may coincide with the Android 2.1 upgrade for the Hero and Moment.
Until then, you can check out our Samsung Moment review.
Microsoft’s dual-screen Courier to compete directly against the iPad.
Mar 7th
You didn’t think Microsoft was just going to sit there and let Apple take all the tabletmania glory today, did you? New pics have surfaced of Microsoft’s dual-screen Courier, and the book-like device seems to be dolled up a bit to compete directly against the iPad.
There are new details coming along with these pictures. It’s less than inch thick, weighs slightly more than a pound, and its two screens are about the size of a 5 x 7 photo. There’s supposedly a built-in camera. The best news? Its powerful NVIDIA Tegra 2 graphics processor will be driving a version of those gorgeous Zune HD and Windows Phone 7 interfaces of which we are so fond.
We’re going to have to wait a while for this sultry temptress ? its launch date is still pegged at somewhere between the third and fourth quarter of this year, selling for an as-yet-undisclosed price.
Cool and small Clip-on Speakers from Logitech for Notebooks
Mar 7th
Netbooks are cute and cool and small and all but when it comes to audio playback they end up putting up a squeak show. So get your hands on these cool Z205 Clip-on speakers from Logitech. These are specially made to clip onto the top of your netbooks. They come with an internal soundcard and stereo speakers It clips on to the LCD screen on your netbook. It?s perfectly cool to take this one out with you and play media while on the move.
The unit is slim and it comes along with a carry case. The price is fixed at $40.
A next generation type refrigerator from Samsung – Wi-fi refrigerator
Mar 7th
Refrigeration has gone a step above what it was some decade back: an ice-box! We now have something as cool as Samsung?s Wi-fi refrigerator that comes along with Wi-fi connectivity, a 10-inch touch display, Google Calendar support, a listing of 500 different kinds of food with their nutritional value, notes as well as news from the Internet. If you feel that it?s too geeky for your mum then let her know about the cool digital picture frame feature.
Now when it comes to the price of this fridge it?s a mighty expensive affair. $2600 is a bit too much for some of us to handle. Wait for a while, the price will come down as the novelty wears off.
MSI’s Wind U160 netbook is on sale for $380 to fulfill your Atom N450
Mar 7th
Got a hankering for Pine Trail? We attest to a certain weakness ourselves, and now MSI’s Wind U160 netbook is on sale for $380 to fulfill your Atom N450 snacking needs. We were intrigued by the little laptop when we played with it back at CES, particularly if its standard 6-cell battery hump can really produce the quoted 14 hours of life. For whatever reason Newegg and Buy.com are showing now-shipping right now, while Amazon’s lagging with pre-orders only at this point, but we’re sure you’ll make the right retail choice, whatever happens.
Firstview of CE/Android tablets
Mar 7th
Doesn’t look too bad for a $95 Android tablet, huh? Well, there’s plenty more where that came from. Scattered along the main halls of CeBIT are dozens of Chinese and Taiwanese consumer electronics resellers looking to sell products to new customers, and this year they sure loaded up the suitcases with cheap Android / Windows CE tablets.
For the most part all these tablets (or small smartbooks) have ARM 9 or 11 processors and 5 to 7-inch resistive touch displays. While some like the FirstView PC607V tablet (pictured above) have attractive skins on top of Windows CE, others from companies like Forsa and Huawei have gone with stock versions of Android. In truth, all of the ones we played with felt chintzy, but it was easier to lower our standards when we learned they wouldn’t draw more than $150 from our wallets. We’ve got a hands-on video with FirstView’s Android tablet after the break, but if that doesn’t fill your cheap tablet needs hit the more coverage links for videos by some serious Android / ARM tablet lovers.
Apple iPad pre-orders start this month in the US on APR 03.
Mar 6th
If you?re hoping to buy an Apple iPad in the US this month, you?ll be disappointed to find out that the Cupertino company?s first tablet will only be available starting April 3 ? so those rumors about production problems may be true.
Of course, it?s only the 3G-less iPad that?s going to be available on April 3. For the 3G version of the tablet you?ll have to wait until the end of April ? when both the Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G iPads will also be launched in Canada, Australia, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, the UK and Japan.
As a reminder, the prices for the iPad?s various versions will be as following:
Apple iPad 16GB with Wi-Fi: $499
Apple iPad 32GB with Wi-Fi: $599
Apple iPad 64GB with Wi-Fi: $699
Apple iPad 16GB with Wi-Fi and 3G: $629
Apple iPad 32GB with Wi-Fi and 3G: $729
Apple iPad 64GB with Wi-Fi and 3G: $829
?iPad is something completely new. We?re excited for customers to get their hands on this magical and revolutionary product and connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before,? says Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
I?m not sure how something that looks just like a bigger iPhone can be completely new, but anyway.
Starting March 12, US customers will be able to preorder the iPad through Apple?s online store.
Low-Cost Android Devices from Innocomm
Mar 6th
Have you heard of Innocomm? Chances are it?s a name that doesn?t sound terribly familiar. That?s because it?s a fresh new smartphone manufacturer that has lofty inspirations to come out with several low-cost yet high-quality Android handsets and distribute them to carriers on a global scale.
We first saw Innocomm at MWC 2010, where it was demonstrating its upcoming Skate handset (pictured below), which will actually come out the second half of 2010 as the Innocomm Raja. Now the company is planning four additional devices, all using Android. The names of these handsets are the Innocomm Shark, Innocomm Shadow, Innocomm Scorpion and Innocomm Gemini.
The Shark is the closest to launch. Sales Manager Chuck Huang told PC World to expect this device to come out in May or June; he also mentioned that while it will be in the same category of smartphone as those that cost $500-600 retail, it will actually sell for much less at time of release.
Here?s some specs for the forthcoming Shark:
3.2-inch touchscreen
800 x 400 pixel resolution
8MP camera with flash
3.5mm headset jack
MicroSD slot up to 32GB
GPS, 3G, HSPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
115 x 58 x 12.5 mm
Analog TV Receiver
Digital TV Receiver in future model
The specs don?t mention processor speed, but we have been told that Innocomm has recently been making some changes in the chips for the Skate, so the final processor may not even be officially set yet in the Shark. But the 800 x 400 pixel resolution as well as analog TV receiver are great additions to the device.
On the other devices that were mentioned earlier, Huang told PC World that the designs are conceptual and haven?t been finalized, and could be influenced by customer requests. The only thing that can be counted on, according to Huang, is that Innocomm will always use Android OS in order to save money and justify a lower cost.
The Android smartphone market is becoming increasingly saturated with several young companies trying to make a name for itself. These companies typically choose Android because the OS just simply costs less to use than Windows. Innocomm is one of these young companies, and I believe that as long as it lives up to its mantra of being a high-quality device at a much lower cost, it will definitely stand out from the rest of the pack. But let?s not get too far ahead of ourselves; first Innocomm has to show up to the party before it actually gets judged. So, we?ll wait until May or June patiently to see how the Shark pans out?if it pans out at all.
And Innocomm, pretty please come out with the latest possible version of Android that you can!
Samsung launched the Clutch SPH-W9500 in South Korea – a luxury phone
Mar 4th
Samsung has launched the Clutch SPH-W9500 in South Korea, a new phone that resembles the Samsung Diva S7070 (recently released in the UK).
While the Diva S7070 is an entry-level touchscreen handset, the Clutch W9500 is a mid-end one. The phone features a 3.2 inch display, 3G, GPS, T-DMB, 3MP camera with 3D motion picture, secondary 1.3MP camera for video calls, MicroSD card support (up to 16GB), and a 960 mAh battery.
The Samsung Clutch W9500 has a ?Lady UI?, which is actually TouchWiz 2.0 with some extra apps (like party planner, meeting scheduler and calories calculator).
Samsung Clutch W9500 will be soon available in South Korea (via KT) in three color versions: Beige Silver, Romantic Pink and Black Gold. The phone should retail for about $520.
Apple iPhone 4G concept phone with multiple colors
Mar 4th
Apple (which has recently sued HTC for alleged patent infringements) will launch a new iPhone this year, possibly in June or July.
At the moment, no one knows exactly what the 4th generation iPhone looks like or what new features it will bring. Of course, we?ve seen some iPhone 4G concepts, and there are lots of rumors regarding the new smartphone?s specs (AMOLED touchscreen display, 5MP camera, more memory and so on).
Here?s another iPhone 4G concept that comes from Italy.
The creator of this new iPhone 4G concept sees it as having multiple color versions, a front-facing video calling camera, 32GB or 64GB of internal memory, and MicroSD card slot.
The black and white versions look pretty nice, and they might actually be close to the real new iPhone, which could be a bit taller than the iPhone 3GS.
Motorola MOTOBLUR – automatically delivers conversation threads, friend updates, stories, links, photos and more
Mar 3rd
You may have heard some rumblings that Motorola (NYSE: MOT) is going to hit the Canadian mobile scene hard with MOTOBLUR-enabled devices. While this tickled my interest-bone a bit, there wasn?t really much more to it than rumor? That is, until now. We?ve just received a short statement from a Rogers (NYSE: RCI) connection, stating that Rogers will indeed bring MOTOBLUR-enabled devices to the fore real soon. One of the devices in question will be the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.
We?ve also just received a press release from Motorola themselves, stating that Motorola will bring the BACKFLIP, DEXT and QUENCH to all three national wireless carriers in the first half of 2010. Canadians, I hope you?re ready to get an extended fill of Android+MOTOBLUR.
Of course, no carrier pricing or release dates have been made available, all I can tell you is these devices are coming in the ?first half of 2010?. While we wait for more details I?m going to reach out to some of my contacts at the ?big 3?. I suspect I?ll get a tight-lipped answer, but hey, you never know.
Full details of the Motorola press release after the jump.
MOTOBLUR? Debuts in Canada ? Say Hello to the First Phones with Social Skills
Only MOTOBLUR organizes all your messages from Facebook, MySpace and Twitter along with your emails and texts, and streams them to a single live widget for immediate reply ? right from the home screen
TORONTO, Ont. ? March 3, 2010 ? Motorola Canada today announced that MOTOBLURTM, its revolutionary social service for Android-powered devices, is coming to Canada with all three national wireless carriers in the first half of 2010.
MOTOBLUR is the only solution to sync all your friends, posts, feeds, messages, e-mails, photos and much more?from sources such as Facebook?, Twitter?, MySpace, Gmail?, Yahoo! and work email?with continuous updates, automatically delivering them to your home screen for immediate reply.? MOTOBLUR delivers these updates in easy-to-view streams, so there is no need to switch between different mobile applications to keep up with the latest content, allowing you to spend less time managing your life and more time living it.
?We are thrilled to be bringing Canadians three unique MOTOBLUR handsets with all the major wireless carriers,? said Rick Gadd, Vice President and Sales General Manager, Mobile Devices, Motorola Canada. ?With MOTOBLUR, we are differentiating the Android experience and delivering phones that are truly instinctive and socially smart.?
Life: Organized, Streamed and Delivered
Only MOTOBLUR automatically delivers conversation threads, friend updates, stories, links, photos and more, to live widgets on your home screen for immediate reply:
Happenings: View your social site updates in one spot with the live Happenings application. Every friend feed, status update, wall post, bulletin and photo upload is automatically delivered and ready for immediate reply, anyway you like.Messages: Quickly scroll through the Messages application for a snapshot of current work or personal emails, social site messages and texts, and view messages all together in the universal inbox or separately by source.Social Status: Blast your status right from the home screen and even save time by updating your status to one or all your social networks at once.News Feeds: Keep track of your favorite news feeds, sports scores or even celebrity gossip without leaving the home screen.
Even cooler is MOTOBLUR?s ability to back up and restore all your contacts, log-in information, home screen customizations, and email and social network messages via the secure MOTOBLUR server. Lost or stolen phones can be found with integrated AGPS from the online owner?s portal, and data can even be wiped clean. Simply enter the account username and password on the next MOTOBLUR phone, and all the information will be ready and waiting. Now there?s peace of mind!
Integrated Contacts with Context
MOTOBLUR keeps track of contacts so it?s easy to keep up. Only MOTOBLUR syncs and merges friends from Facebook, MySpace and Twitter together with your work and personal email contacts into a single phone book. Contacts are automatically synced to the phone from personal and work email as well as social network accounts, and MOTOBLUR updates any changes friends or contacts make to their information so you don?t have to. When making or receiving a phone call, your friend?s latest profile picture and status is shown on the screen. In the contacts view, see your communication history with each person and their latest social network broadcasts organized in an easy-to-read manner so you?ll always know the latest info about friends and family. Plus, communicate with them anyway you like, directly from their contact information.
Customize with Apps and Widgets
Mix and match thousands of applications and widgets from MOTOBLUR, Android Market? or pre-loaded Google (NSDQ: GOOG)? mobile services. Everything from messages to news feeds to sports scores to the Happenings widget to Google Maps? can be added to create custom home screens that fit anyone?s multi-faceted life.
Canadian MOTOBLUR Line Up
The following devices featuring MOTOBLUR will be available in Canada:
MOTOROLA BACKFLIP? ? Backflip?s unique reverse flip design makes it easy to enjoy videos, music and photos, while its QWERTY keyboard allows you to blast through e-mails, texts, news feeds, social network messages and more. Navigate quickly and easily through menus and features with the new and unique BACKTRACK? feature. BACKTRACK is a touch panel located on the opposite side of the device, offering you a new way to scroll through the web, texts, e-mails and news feeds without obscuring the home screen.
MOTOROLA DEXT? ? Flick through your latest updates and fire back a response on DEXT?s slide-out QWERTY keyboard ? no apps to open and no menus to dig through, just instant social gratification. Snap photos with DEXT?s 5 megapixel camera with autofocus; upload photos simply to your favorite photo sharing or social sites; and make and take clear calls even in noisy environments with dual microphones and noise cancellation technology.
MOTOROLA QUENCH? ? This sleek, customizable touch tablet fits nicely in a palm (NSDQ: PALM) or pocket. QUENCH?s easy-to-use touch pad and enhanced browser bring to life content rich web sites (busy banners, full videos) that many of today?s phones can?t handle.? And with pinch and zoom capabilities, it?s easy to enlarge and enjoy all this great content.
Stay tuned as Motorola turns the mobile phone into a whole new kind of social in the first half of 2010.? For more information about MOTOBLUR, please visit www.motorola.ca.
Related News from IntoMobile:MOTOBLUR makes gives HTC G1 a taste of Motorola?s Android recipeMotorola DEXT on sale in UK this week ? exclusively on OrangeUK: Orange: Motorola introduces DEXT? with MOTOBLUR?Video: We take the Motorola CLIQ and MOTOBLUR for a spinMotorola CLIQ goes live on T-Mobile USA
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