Filed under: Cellphones

Alright kids, it's the moment we've all been waiting for (and by we, we mean the MVNO nerds). SK Telecom's and Earthlink's joint-venture Helio is officially lighting up today with their first two devices -- the Hero and Kickflip. We're all pretty well briefed to date on the capabilities and general offerings the service was supposed to have, so let's get to the plans and pricing, of which there are two types: the All-In Membership, which includes unlimited data, video, MMS, texting, nights and weekends, roaming, and long distance with the plan; and the A La Carte plan which is as the name implies. The All-In buys you 1,000 anytime minutes for $85, 1,500 for $100, or 2,500 minutes for $135 (which we think is a pretty good value, considering what some are charging for that many minutes and unlimited phone data); the A La Carte gets you a 500 minute $40 monthly plan straight up. Oh, and the devices now have prices, too: the Hero will set you back $275, and the Kickflip will ding you for $250. We have a sneaking feeling we know which will outsell the other. So if you're not ready to wait until the end of the month for their retail rollout to switch carriers (or join Helio as your first), fortunately you can just order direct and cut the middle man.

P.S. -More info on the media services Helio's offering over at Engadget Mobile.

Filed under: Handsets, Pantech, Helio, EV-DO, MVNOs, CDMA

src="http://www.engadget.com/media/2006/05/helio_launch.jpg" />

Alright kids, it’s the moment we’ve all been
waiting for (and by we, we mean the MVNO nerds). href="http://www.engadget.com/2005/10/26/helio-the-mvno-formerly-known-as-sk-earthlink/">SK Telecom’s and Earthlink’s
joint-venture Helio is officially lighting up today with
their first two devices — the Hero and
Kickflip. We’re all pretty well briefed to date
on the capabilities and general offerings the service was supposed to have, so let’s get to the plans and pricing, of
which there are two types: the All-In Membership, which includes unlimited data, video, MMS, texting, nights and
weekends, roaming, and long distance with the plan; and the A La Carte plan which is as the name implies. The All-In
buys you 1,000 anytime minutes for $85, 1,500 for $100, or 2,500 minutes for $135 (which we think is a pretty good
value, considering what some are charging for that many minutes and unlimited phone data); the A La Carte gets you a
500 minute $40 monthly plan straight up. Oh, and the devices now have prices, too: the Hero will set you back $275, and
the Kickflip will ding you for $250. We have a sneaking feeling we know which will outsell the other. So if you’re not
ready to wait until the end of the month for their retail rollout to switch carriers (or join Helio as your first),
fortunately you can just order direct and cut the middle man.

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Filed under: Handsets, Palm, Sprint-Nextel, Palm OS, EV-DO, CDMA

Alright everyone, it's time for your daily crappy cameraphone pic of the Palm Treo 700p, or what we're now referring to as Palm's worst kept secret to date. Dude who took the shots, GXMONT, was apparently kicking it with an SRR Manager (whatever that is) who busted out this 700p and coolly allowed him to take shots. Lesson to all people who kick it with industry connections: always carry a real camera. Anyhow, according to GXMONT this'll be out early May, which is a couple weeks ahead of schedule by our understanding. 'Nother day, 'nother 700p shot (or two, or ten); funny how silly we're all going to look when it turns out this thing isn't real (yeah right).

[Thanks, Alexander]

Filed under: Handsets, Palm, Sprint-Nextel, Palm OS, EV-DO, CDMA

border="1" src="http://www.engadgetmobile.com/media/2006/04/another700p.jpeg" alt="" />

Alright everyone,
it’s time for your daily crappy cameraphone pic of the Palm Treo
700p, or what we’re now referring to as Palm’s worst kept secret to date. Dude who took the shots, GXMONT, was
apparently kicking it with an SRR Manager (whatever that is) who busted out this 700p and coolly allowed him to take
shots. Lesson to all people who kick it with industry connections: always carry a real camera. Anyhow, according to
GXMONT this’ll be out early May, which is a href="http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2006/04/05/palm-set-to-announce-treo-700p-for-sprint-on-may-15th/">couple weeks
ahead of schedule by our understanding. ‘Nother day, ‘nother 700p shot (or two, or ten); funny how silly we’re all
going to look when it turns out this thing isn’t real (yeah right).

[Thanks, href="http://www.mobileread.com">Alexander]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

You aren't sick of seeing shots of what is supposed to maybe probably should be the Palm Treo 700p, are you? No? Good, because we'd like to introduce the latest blurry cameraphone set, now with Verizon branding. Yes, Verizon Palm users, rejoice (tentatively, anyway)! Sprint users, however, should beware; even though we heard from a pretty reliable source that this thing was getting a Sprint launch about this time next month, you know how Verizon loves to swoop in with those handset exclusivity contracts. We're not saying Sprint users won't be getting this thing first, but things are definitely looking up for Verizon peeps.

[Via Gadgets On The Go]

Filed under: Handsets, Palm, Verizon Wireless, Palm OS, EV-DO, CDMA

You aren't sick of seeing shots of what is supposed to maybe probably should be the Palm Treo 700p, are you? No? Good, because we'd like to introduce the latest blurry cameraphone set, now with Verizon branding. Yes, Verizon Palm users, rejoice (tentatively, anyway)! Sprint users, however, should beware; even though we heard from a pretty reliable source that this thing was getting a Sprint launch about this time next month, you know how Verizon loves to swoop in with those handset exclusivity contracts. We're not saying Sprint users won't be getting this thing first, but things are definitely looking up for Verizon peeps.

[Via Gadgets On The Go]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

hspace="4" border="0" src="http://www.engadget.com/media/2006/04/treo_aku2.jpg" alt="" />

We hit you guys up
a couple weeks ago with the news that Palm was going to be releasing the href="http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2006/04/06/palms-treo-700w-gets-its-aku2-on/">AKU2 update for Windows Mobile 5.0
for the Treo 700w in short time. Well, hope you got all your biz backed up, because it’s time to get it on! The
35MB Palm Treo 700w Updater 1.10 is up over on their site, but caveat emptor: Palm advises you absolutely do not
restore from Sprite Backup backups unless you aren’t restoring registry settings. We can imagine why, so we suggest you
heed their advice if you’re the WinMo registry hacking type.

[Thanks, Andrew]

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Filed under: Handsets, Palm, Verizon Wireless, EV-DO, CDMA

hspace="4" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.engadget.com/media/2006/04/treo_aku2.jpg" />

We hit you guys up
a couple weeks ago with the news that Palm was going to be releasing the href="http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2006/04/06/palms-treo-700w-gets-its-aku2-on/">AKU2 update for Windows Mobile 5.0
for the Treo 700w in short time. Well, hope you got all your biz backed up, because it’s time to get it on! The
35MB Palm Treo 700w Updater 1.10 is up over on their site, but caveat emptor: Palm advises you absolutely do not
restore from Sprite Backup backups if you’ve backed up your registry. We can imagine why, so we suggest you heed their
advice if you’re the WinMo registry hacking type.

[Thanks, Andrew]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Interviews

/>Ok, so CTIA, the big wireless industry trade show that Ryan and I went to earlier this month, didn’t exactly
knock our socks off, but we were lucky enough to sit down with Sky Dayton, the serial entrepreneur behind EarthLink and
Boingo. Dayton’s latest venture is Helio, a youth-oriented (yeah, we know…) MVNO that’s all set to launch this
spring.

Thanks so much for taking some time to speak with us; I’m sure it’s been a busy week
for you here at CTIA. Could you tell us about Helio? I know you’re getting ready to launch soon.

Helio is a new mobile brand designed for young, passionate consumers that have really been missing out on cool stuff;
not just in terms of technology, but in terms of services — some of which are available elsewhere in other countries
like Korea, and some of which we’re just inventing and that are totally new. We don’t have the word
“wireless” or “mobile” in our name — it’s just Helio. That’s because for young,
passionate consumers today, it’s just as much about fashion and lifestyle as it is technology, and saying the
word "wireless" is a little bit redundant. Of course it’s wireless. We never had a concept that there
was a wire.

What we’re doing is starting with a technological lead with a platform from Korea, from
SK Telecom, probably the most advanced wireless market in the world and bringing a basis of innovation here. Then
we’re taking that and creating some interesting stuff with that.

How is the launch looking?

It’s good; we’re launching in the
spring and everything’s on track. It’s been a very fast ramp. We weren’t even a company until about
a year ago. I’ve been hiring I think one and half people every business day. We’re up to about 230
employees now, plus about 70 engineers from Korea, and we’re based in Westwood, right across from UCLA. We’ve
got a great building with a big Helio logo on the top of it; I could go on, but we got this flame, a 16 foot flame made
up of thousands of LEDs; really kind of cool.

How is Helio going to attract customers? To be
successful, at least in the long run, you’ll have to get at least a few million subscribers, so what is Helio going to
do to convince people to sign up? At this point you can’t count on first-time wireless subscribers – you’re
really going to have convince people to leave Verizon, or Sprint, or whatever carrier they have now. />
We’ve created this experience for a very specific group of people. Broadly we talk about young consumers
in this country; people who are 18 to 34. We vary specifically within that. Who are the people that really care about
wireless? I mean, again, not just for the technological aspect, but people for whom their lives revolve around this
device in their hand; their phone is the one thing that they can’t live without. That group is a very specific
sub-segment, and when we market and distribute we’re doing it in a way that’s really authentic for that
group, which means that you’re going to see us in places that you’d expect to see us, but you’re also
going to see us in places in terms of retail that you wouldn’t expect to see mobile; you know, fashion locations,
music-type locations. You’re also going to see us do things on the web that are pretty unique, because frankly,
that’s where people are today. You start with an innovative product and then figure out how to distribute it in
an innovative way.

src="http://www.engadget.com/media/2006/04/helio_kickflip.jpg" />But going beyond that, how do you
convince someone to switch? Is it going to be aggressive pricing, is it going to be more advanced features on the
handsets? Every carrier would say that they have savvy marketing, so what specifically is it going to be that attracts
consumers besides marketing? Will Helio be competitively priced compared to the major carriers?

You’re going to sign up for Helio not because you want to save a bunch of money, but because we offer something
that’s really different.

What specifically is that something different that you’re going to offer?

A couple things; let’s start with
the handsets. We have exclusive, unique handsets that have never been in this country before, and the services that run
on those handsets are also unique to Helio. One of the best examples of that is MySpace. There’s a social
phenomenon in Korea called Cyworld. 30% of Koreans use Cyworld, and 90% of Koreans in their teens and early twenties
use Cyworld. And they’ve done it for years and they’ve taken it mobile; Mobile Cyworld is just a huge
thing in Korea. We looked at it in this country. Well, okay, social networking is happening, MySpace, etc., but
nobody’s taken that mobile. That’s really where people really want to interact with that stuff, is when
they’re out in the world, right? They don’t want to be blogging about what they did last night; they want
to be blogging about what they’re doing right now. They want to be taking pictures and uploading. Helio is the
only place where you can get the full MySpace mobile experience on a device.

Is that an exclusive
contract?

There’s exclusivity as part of it.

For a period of
time?

Yes. There’s also another set of things that I can’t really talk about yet, but that
are services that are just really cool. I mean it will be like, “Wow, that’s great, that’s what I
want!” Those things are the main event for Helio; they’re not some kind of side-attraction, or something
we’re doing on the side while we’re also targeting soccer moms and business people and grandparents and
everyone else.

Are you going to offer anything to users who aren’t picking a carrier because of
the services, but just want unfettered access to the internet and want a powerful handset that gives them full access
to the features they’re looking for, like WiFi and Bluetooth that’s not crippled? Are you going to go after those power
users?

I kind of draw a line and say, “All right, there’s cool technology and we can
get a device and just tackle the technology.” Okay, so that’s on one side of the line. On the other side
of the line is really cool technology that enables you to actually do something. We’re not going to integrate
technology just for the sake of technology, like putting a ten megapixel camera on a phone. We could do that — we know
where to get ‘em, you know — but it’s a little bit of a freak show as a handset, right? I mean it’s
not a very good phone, it’s huge and it’s not really a very good camera. If you want ten megapixels, go
get a D50, you know; that’s a great camera. So we really – and this is important to understand Helio — we
look at how people use mobile and then we use technology to enable them to do something. It just so happens that we have
a technological foundation that is a strategic advantage for us, in terms of both handsets and in terms of back-end
systems. The Cyworld platform, for example, is what we’re using to power MySpace on Helio.

Are all Helio handsets going to have the same user interface?

Yes.

Are are you going to encourage people to develop applications for the phones?

Totally, I
mean you can develop in WIPI Java or WIPI C. WIPI Java’s just a very easy incarnation of Java and is very
similar to BREW. We have a lot of Brew developers that have developed stuff in WIPI C for us. They say it’s very
easy.

How many handsets do you expect to have in your portfolio by the end of the year?

We haven’t announced it publicly, but we will have a good selection. We are rolling out our initial
two handsets, and we’ve got a number of others in the works right now. You’ll see us come out and
consistently hit, not only with new handsets, but with new services — bang, bang, bang — as we go through the year
and into 2007.

Should we expect to see a QWERTY phone from Helio? What sort of spectrum of
handsets are we looking at?

Without hearing the specifics, we’re going to stay focused on
the high-end; even our entry-level phone is like a BMW 3 Series. We are going to introduce interesting form factors
and stuff that’s different.

src="http://www.engadget.com/media/2006/04/helio_hero.jpg" />Will you carry any smartphones? Does having a
common platform for all your phones preclude Helio from offering a device with a smartphone OS like Symbian or Windows
Mobile?

Nothing that we’ve really announced, I mean we’re kind of quiet about that
stuff. What’s important again is, what are people actually doing with it and how do we enable that? So I think
what we wanted to start with was a UI is consistent from device to device; no MVNO’s ever achieved that. Frankly,
few carriers have achieved that, and we have. That’s not easy, believe me, but it’s a good start for us.

How do you view Amp’d, the other new MVNO that seems to be going after the same youth demographic.
How does Helio position itself with respect to Amp’d?

You know, I think there are a lot of
interesting things happening in the MVNO space. It’s a sign of the segmentation that’s inevitably going to
happen. One brand being all things to all people — that’s okay as a generalist thing, but there are people with
very specific needs and interests. In order to really be different you need a technical capability and you need a lot
of capital.

This is not an inexpensive business; it’s not a couple guys in a garage doing a web
startup. I mean I’ve started lots of companies and this is a half a billion dollar startup to do it properly. Even
though you’re not building a network, the handsets are expensive, the systems are expensive, and marketing and
distribution are expensive. That’s going to naturally limit the field, and without talking about any one
competitor specifically, we’re doing almost everything except building a network. So for the carriers that we
work with they see us as, “Great, they’re actually going to add a lot of value,” and not just come in
and compete on price.

At what point does the MVNO market become oversaturated? Sprint just
announced that they’re going to limit the number of MVNOs they support because there’s just too many.

I’m really happy that that’s happening because I’ve been through this before,
and when there’s too much capital flowing into a space with bad ideas, it just pees in the sandbox for everybody.
We need healthy competitors and competitors that are legitimate. When you actually look at the number of MVNOs that are
going to get off the ground, it’s actually relatively limited at this point, but there are a huge set of business
plans out there that are not going to get funded, and I think that’s a positive for the industry. There
should be a high hurdle.

On some level as an MVNO you’re at the mercy of the
carrier whose network you’re using. How does that complicate the future of the business, not just for Helio, but for
MVNOs in general?

A typical MVNO, unlike Helio, is really dependent on the network provider for a
lot of the core stuff. Maybe they use an MVNE to do some billing and stuff like that, but when they want to roll out a
new service or get a new handset they have to go to the carrier and get in line. With Helio we brought over one of the
most advanced billing systems in the world from Korea. We brought over one of the advanced, if not the most advanced
content-management systems. That allows us to make decisions. Of course, we still have to work with our carrier
partners for the things that touch the network, but give us a lot of freedom to be creative.

There
hasn’t been a high-end premium MVNO with the ability to scale. Actually let me say that differently: there
haven’t really been post-paid MVNOs until recently. This is a new thing. It’s really important again that
the MVNO that’s utilizing a carrier’s infrastructure really do something that’s fundamentally
different, and coming and competing on price, you’re totally right-on. That’s flying in the face of the
carrier whose infrastructure you’re using, and that just doesn’t make sense. So you’ve got to come and
you’ve got to bring something that’s really different.

What do you think that the
traditional carriers aren’t doing to address the needs of the customer base? Is it just that they’re not offering
services like the kind Helio is promising?

You just walk into a typical company-owned cellular
store and look at the posters on the wall. You know: soccer moms, grandparents, kids, business people, everybody, with
one brand appealing to everyone. With something that is this personal, that is this close to you, that is the one thing
you can’t leave home without, you don’t want a generalist brand, and when I say ‘you’ I’m
talking about this young consumer segment. They want something for them, and that’s what we designed Helio for.
That manifests in lots of different ways, from the handsets, to the services, to the way it’s marketed and the
language we use.

How is music going to fit into what you’re doing; that seems to be the one thing
that the carriers have seriously bungled over the past year, with the disastrous launch of the ROKR and its 100-song
cap and Sprint and Verizon offering two or three dollar downloads. What is Helio going to do differently? />
There are some endemic problems with music that you’re all too familiar with, and when we do something we
will only do it if it’s better than the alternatives. We will not do something that’s a marginal experience.
The iPod is a great experience and what I focus on is “What’s really different here?” We’re
organized around a central theme, which is communication and connection. And the thing that our customer wants to
connect to is their friends and to their world.

Everything we do is organized around that concept, and
even when it comes to media. So for example, with video it’s not just about consumption, it’s about
discovery and sharing. Sitting and watching reruns of Desperate Housewives in a doctor’s office — that’s
all interesting, but that’s not the main point of this device. This device is about communication — two-way
communication — so we see content, whether it’s ultimately video or music or a game or a ringtone or anything,
as particles of communication to be discovered and shared between people. And that will play out, as you will see, in
a number of things that we’re doing.

Thanks very much for your time!

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Filed under: Handsets, Motorola, Sprint-Nextel, EV-DO, CDMA

We have to admit that we're not big fans of the whole push-to-talk thing -- something about that annoying "chirp chirp" followed by both parties repeatedly querying "where you at?" -- so we were naturally a bit disappointed to learn that Sprint-Nextel will begin releasing dual-network phones that only incorporate iDEN functionality to feed people's nasty PTT habit. As we'd heard last month, Sprint-Nextel will start rolling out a series of these iDEN/CDMA with EV-DO Rev. A handsets near the end of the year, and now the first pictures of two models from Motorola have surfaced. Besides their ability to jump on iDEN for walkie-talkie action, nothing really stands out about these devices; they both incorporate the same function-over-fashion design that we've come to know, if not love, from the Nextel-Moto alliance. PCS Intel reports that these two unnamed handsets could go on sale as early as November, for an unknown price, with more feature-filled (read: multimedia-centric) models popping up in the second quarter of next year.

[Thanks, John R.]

Filed under: Laptops, Peripherals, Wireless

If you've got a snazzy new laptop that includes an ExpressCard slot but no legacy PCMCIA slots, you've probably been suffering a little for your commitment to the cutting edge: there are still far more cards available that meet the old standard than the new one, especially for things like wireless communication (which, let's face it, is the main reason to still have one of these slots, unless you use it to stash extra cash). Fortunately, that shortage is rapidly being remedied, and Gearlog managed to score a hot little number: a prototype of Novatel's X620 EV-DO ExpressCard. The card, for use with Verizon's EV-DO network, should work with any Windows laptop -- and to prove it, Gearlog hooked one up to a MacBookPro running Boot Camp. Novatel expects Apple to ship Mac drivers soon as well, so if you've picked up a MacBook Pro and want a native way to cruise on down the highway, you shouldn't have to wait all that long.

Filed under: Handsets, Palm, Palm OS

Last we heard from our insider in the biz, Palm was going to be launching their PalmOS-powered Treo 700p sometime around or on Monday, May 15th. Not it would seem Gadgets on the Go's got word from a source they deem reliable that the 700p's got a price: $399 for a new 2 year contract, $499 with 1 year contract.  (Oh, they also confirmed our release time frame -- mid May ideally, early June at latest.) That sounds about right if you ask us, but there's only one way to find out: wait for the launch. Ok, well, two ways: we'll keep on inquiring, ourselves. Stay tuned, Treo nuts.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Last we heard from our insider in the biz, Palm was going to be launching their PalmOS-powered Treo 700p sometime around or on Monday, May 15th. Not it would seem Gadgets on the Go's got word from a source they deem reliable that the 700p's got a price: $399 for a new 2 year contract, $499 with 1 year contract.  (Oh, they also confirmed our release time frame -- mid May ideally, early June at latest.) That sounds about right if you ask us, but there's only one way to find out: wait for the launch. Ok, well, two ways: we'll keep on inquiring, ourselves. Stay tuned, Treo nuts.

Filed under: Handsets, Samsung, Verizon Wireless, EV-DO, CDMA

We were thinking of sending the FCC some flowers for Valentine's day last February for gifting us year-round with juicy scoops like Samsung's new SCH-A990 (well, kind of new -- see their SCH-Z710, pictured after the break), an EV-DO handset likely to feature a rotating QVGA display, 3.2 megapixel autofocusing camera, Bluetooth, and MicroSD slot. No knowing when this phone will hit the streets, but it'll be on Verizon, and we can assume it'll set you back some bank.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Filed under: Peripherals, EV-DO

We've still yet to hear of any solid 3G ExpressCard device releases as yet (we were kind of hoping CTIA would have yielded at least one or two), but Om seems to have the scoop on a Novatel EV-DO ExpressCard 34 launch for May -- whose most obvious application right now is, of course in Apple MacBook Pros. Granted, we wouldn't be in this predicament if Apple had just followed through with internal integrated 3G like so many other laptop manufacturers, but hey, you've got what we've got, and we'll takes what we can gets. There's no way of knowing, however, when the cards will hit the market with Sprint or Verizon even if Novatel launches their card in May, so stay tuned.

[Via TUAW, image via EVDOinfo]

Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops, Peripherals, Wireless

We've still yet to hear of any solid 3G ExpressCard device releases as yet (we were kind of hoping CTIA would have yielded at least one or two), but Om seems to have the scoop on a Novatel EV-DO ExpressCard 34 launch for May -- whose most obvious application right now is, of course in Apple MacBook Pros. Granted, we wouldn't be in this predicament if Apple had just followed through with internal integrated 3G like so many other laptop manufacturers, but hey, you've got what we've got, and we'll takes what we can gets. There's no way of knowing, however, when the cards will hit the market with Sprint or Verizon even if Novatel launches their card in May, so stay tuned.

[Via TUAW, image via EVDOinfo]

Filed under: Handsets, GSM, EV-DO, UMTS, CDMA

In a move sure to excite both business travelers and wandering geeks, Qualcomm announced earlier this week that it expects to ship chips for high-speed world phones by the end of this year. Handsets with the new Qualcomm chipsets will be able to access both EV-DO services on CDMA networks as well as W-CDMA-powered GSM UMTS networks, effectively allowing for 3G connections almost anywhere in the world. Even customers not willing to shell out the big bucks that these first models will cost will still benefit from the new chips, as prices on current-gen 2G and 2.5G world phones will drop accordingly as a result of their new mid-tier market status.

Filed under: Multimedia, Software, Windows Mobile, EV-DO

src="http://www.engadgetmobile.com/media/2006/04/msnbc.jpg" />

MSNBC.com and Microsoft have teamed up
to provide an Action Engine-powered standalone application for mobile devices that allows for quick access to news
stories, videos, and photo slideshows without to need to launch a browser. Initially available as a download for a
handful of Windows Mobile devices, with support for Java/BREW-enabled phones promised in the coming months, the free
applet and corresponding service are ad-supported — with the first ad spots purchased by, you guessed it, Microsoft.
We took the video component through a quick run through on our PPC-6700 (shhh, don’t tell Sprint!), and found the
viewing experience to be quite pleasant over EV-DO, with smooth frame rates and tinny-but-acceptable audio throughout.
That’s not to say we’ll give up streaming real MSNBC and other unedited content over Orb (again, shhh!), but this
mobile app will at least retain a place on our storage card for quick access to headlines and "Today Show"
clips.

[Via href="http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20060405005446&newsLang=en">Business
Wire]

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Filed under: Handsets, LG, GSM, EV-DO, CDMA

LG brought a crush of new GSM and CDMA phones into CTIA in addition to the LG550 musicphone, LG DM-L200 for Disney we checked earlier. The LG8300 musicphone (pictured) is the most interesting of the lot bringing dual-stereo speakers and A2DP stereo Bluetooth to the game while packing a 1.3 megapixel cam, EV-DO data, a GPS positioning system, and stubby little antenna for jabbing into the sides of annoying commuters. The mid-level LG5300 packs in CDMA, dual-band GSM, Bluetooth and a VGA cam with flash. The LG3400 meanwhile, is touted as "sleek, sexy and super lightweight" clamshell -- you be the judge. The LG350 then sports Bluetooth, dual internal/external LCD displays, and 3D graphics support. Bringing up the rear is the LG225 which sports a range of uninspiring features such as VGA cam, full-duplex speakerphone, and MSN Messenger for those mad texting tweeners in your life. Pics of the others after the break.

[Via PhoneArena]

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Wireless, Networking

Instead sitting back and frowning on bandwidth hogging EV-DO to WiFi routers, Sprint has decided to jump into the game themselves with a new device made by Linksys. Accompanying the new router -- which, like current solutions, merely hosts existing PCMCIA EV-DO cards -- is a new USB dongle that brings EV-DO functionality to owners of laptops that lack PC card slots, or adventurous desktop users. Both products are due in the second half of this year, with the router going for "slightly under $200." The USB dongle still lacks a price, but we imagine it will be rather popular, especially for MacBook Pro owners with their incredibly functionless ExpressCard slots.

[Thanks, Michael]

Filed under: Peripherals, Sprint-Nextel, EV-DO

alt="" src="http://www.engadget.com/media/2006/04/sprint_evdo.jpg" />

Instead sitting back and frowning on
bandwidth hogging EV-DO to WiFi routers, Sprint has decided to
jump into the game themselves with a new device made by Linksys. Accompanying the new router — which, like href="http://www.engadget.com/2005/11/16/kyocera-kr1-ev-do-router-reviewed/">current href="http://www.engadget.com/2005/08/25/netgears-mbr814-flash-ofdm-mobile-router/">solutions, merely hosts
existing PCMCIA EV-DO cards — is a new USB dongle that brings EV-DO functionality to owners of laptops that lack PC
card slots, or adventurous desktop users. Both products are due in the second half of this year, with the router going
for "slightly under $200." The USB dongle still lacks a price, but we imagine it will be rather popular,
especially for MacBook Pro owners with their incredibly functionless href="http://www.engadget.com/search/?q=ExpressCard">ExpressCard slots.

[Thanks, Michael]

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Filed under: Cellphones

CTIA is just getting rolling here in Vegas, but we've already spotted a couple of fine looking new handsets, most notably LG's new LG550 musicphone. LG was lame and wouldn't let us take any hands-on shots, which turned out to be a big mistake since the press shots they gave us really don't do this thing justice.

Yeah, that touchpad on the front definitely reminds us of you-know-what, but the rest of the phone is sleek and thin, and along with the Chocoloate Phone, the LG550 represents an evolution of LG's handset design sensibility Specs are decent, but not extraordinary: EV-DO, Bluetooth, a MicroSD memory card slot, a 1.3 megapixel digital camera, swappable faceplates, and software for creating your own ringtones by humming the melody of what you want it to be (or something along those lines). No carrier or price confirmed yet, but the LG550 should be available here in the States sometime in Q2.

Filed under: Handsets, Reviews, UTStarcom, Verizon Wireless, EV-DO, CDMA

border="0" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.engadget.com/media/2006/02/vzw_cdm8945-thumb.jpg" />It’s a little
bit of a stretch to call the EV-DO equipped href="http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2006/01/26/verizon-launches-cdm-8945-third-vcast-musicphone/">CDM-8945 from
Verizon a musicphone, since it doesn’t even have external music buttons, but you can use the phone’s fast connection to
snag songs off of the V
Cast Music store at $1.99 a pop, (with a $15 monthly subscription) so we guess it counts. But even with that fast
connection, PC Magazine thinks this phone is too much for too little, since the phone can range in price from $180 to
$300, yet doesn’t even have Bluetooth. They found the UTStarcom phone to be fairly solid, with decent reception and
audio quality, but the 4.5 hour talk time wasn’t so hot, and the speakerphone doesn’t work when the phone is shut,
making car-based conversations even more difficult. PC Mag calls the 176 x 220 color screen "thoroughly
average," and the VGA camera isn’t going to win any awards either. At least there is a TransFlash memory slot for
storing downloads, and you can use the 2.5mm jack for a wired headset, though if you want to get music off of Windows
Media Player you’ll need a $30 kit with a USB cable and stereo headset

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Filed under: Handsets, Sanyo, Sprint-Nextel, CDMA

It doesn't get much blurrier than this, folks, but pics have emerged at HowardForums purporting to depict Sprint's rumored "Katana" phone from Sanyo. The ultra-slim handset is said to have a lovable 2.2-inch QVGA display, a less exciting VGA camera, and Bluetooth connectivity. There's no word on EV-DO, but the phone will supposedly retail for around $100 after rebates and is due "mid-to-late summer." Check the read link for some exciting color schemes like "Blue Sapphire" and "Cherry Blossom Pink," making this handset hard not to peg as a fashionphone.

[Via phoneArena]

Filed under: Multimedia, EV-DO, MVNOs

Not that it should come as much of a surprise that Mobile ESPN would secure content for one of the two biggest sports in the US, but they announced clip highlights, scoreboards, Fantasy team management, and team alerts for the 2006 Major League Baseball season. You know what you gotta do to get access, friends; we're thinking of joining up just to see the spectacle that is the Mets take on yet another season... on our phone.

[Via Mobile Tracker]