gadgetPhreak Gadget News Blog. Futuristic Gadgets and Portable Electronics

July 24, 2006

Nokia releases N73 and N93 “multimedia computers”

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Even if you're a die-hard Palm or Windows Mobile fan, it's hard to deny the appeal of Nokia's N-series lineup of S60-powered "multimedia computers," whose connectivity and imaging options are some of the best you can find on a smartphone today. As promised, the company has just officially released both the N73 (pictured, bottom) and N93 (pictured, top) handsets that we've been following for some time, and although you probably won't be able to pick them up through traditional channels, we know that they'll definitely be available at your local Nokia retail outlet. As a quick refresher, both of the phones (we know, we know, we're not supposed to call them phones) are highlighted by 3.2 megapixel, Zeiss lens-equipped cameras, with the N93 throwing in a 3x optical zoom and support for 30fps VGA video. Both models also feature high-res 2.4-inch displays, Bluetooth radios, a miniSD slot for image capture or rocking tunes, and quad-band GSM plus 3G UMTS capability. On top of all these attractive features, the N93 also gives you built-in WiFi with UPnP functionality, video out for replaying your precious memories on a big screen, and what sounds like better-than-average in-camera editing. We're still gonna stick with our current smartphones for now, but these models are so hot that we're seriously reconsidering our snobby insistence on rocking those handy QWERTY thumboards at all times.

Read- N73
Read- N93
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
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July 23, 2006

Pics of Moto’s KRZR for Verizon on Engadget Mobile

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Just in case the last set of pics of Motorola's sleek new Canary KRZR flip phone weren't enough for you, Engadget Mobile's got a few more hands-on shots of Verizon's version of this highly-anticipated handset. So if you're one of the millions of people who will end up buying this followup to the RAZR -- or if you just want to see what all the fuss is about -- head on over to our sister site and check out the full gallery...
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Pics of Motorola’s KRZR for Verizon

Filed under: RAZR,canary,flip phone,flipphone,handsets,krzr,moto,motorola,v cast,vcast,verizon,vzw — Evan Blass @ 10:31 am

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Somebody out there really loves us. An anonymous tipster just sent in a handful of pics of Motorola's impending followup to the RAZR -- formerly dubbed the Canary, and now known by the nearly-unpronounceable series of letters KRZR -- running on Verizon's CDMA network. Nothing here that we haven't seen before, but if you wanted a sneak preview of what this phone will look like in your hand as you watch all that wonderful V Cast swag, now you have a pretty good idea. Click on for a few more shots of the handset that Moto is hoping another 50 million people will decide they just gotta have...




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July 7, 2006

VK goes belly-up

Filed under: SouthKorean,bankruptcy,handsets,manufacturer,south korean,vk,vodaphone — Stan Horaczek @ 8:38 am

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Officially, it was the discrepancy between the value of the dollar and that of the won, combined with aggressive marketing strategies of companies like Nokia and Motorola that have driven Korean battery-turned-handset maker VK into receivership, a form of bankruptcy. Personally, we believe it had something more to do with the boatload of unimpressive and stylistically unoriginal handsets (Kickflip notwithstanding) they’ve released since they entered the mobile phone game in 2002. Either way, they’ll surely be missed; if not by us, then by SK Telecom and other investors who parted with billions of their won earlier this year in a failed attempt to keep VK afloat. Our only regret is that we won’t get to pocket the 4-megapixel VK 2200, but since we don’t live in South Korea, there’s a good chance we never would anyway. Oh well, at least we’ll always have CeBit.

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June 15, 2006

HTC self-brands Hermes (TyTN) and Breeze (MTeoR)

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It's been a crazy few years for the once unknown Taiwanese OEM known as High Tech Computer. Although still not a household name like Sony or Samsung, HTC has leveraged its strong ties with Microsoft to offer tantalizing products that have made us early-adopters stand up and take notice, and now the company feels that it's in a strong enough market position to ditch the Qtek brand and begin selling phones under its own name. The Qtek phase-out was announced as part of HTC's official unveiling of the 3G Hermes Windows Mobile Pocket PC phone -- now known as the TyTN -- as well as the compact, UMTS-capable Breeze smartphone -- which is now called the MTeoR (yeah, we're noticing a MOTO-like naming trend too; see the rebadged STRTrk for further proof). In announcing July's European launch of these self-branded handsets, HTC reemphasized its dedication to the many carriers selling its products under their own names, but this development certainly bodes well for the company's overall name-recognition; imagine, instead of lying and telling people we have a Treo because Sprint-branded-UTStarcomm-PPC-6700-based-on-the-HTC-Apache sounds so nerdy, we may one day be able to proudly proclaim "Oh, it's an HTC." [Warning: PDF link]

[Via Geekzone, thanks to everyone who sent this in]
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June 1, 2006

Philips Messenger Phone for Microsoft VoIP

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It seems that there's a new VoIP handset on the market everyday, and today is no different, although you have to be a fan of Microsoft's version of Internet telephony if you want to take full advantage of the upcoming Philips Messenger Phone. Sporting a small color display, the plug-and-play VOIP4331S allows you to make free worldwide client-to-client calls over the Windows Live Messenger service or dial standard phone numbers on the cheap via Windows Live Call, and also acts as a regular cordless phone for when you get sick and tired of the crappy audio you're getting with VoIP. Philips promises that this model -- along with a dual-handset version called the VOIP4332S -- will "soon be available" at UK e-tailer Comet, but neither company is quoting prices yet.

[Thanks, Nir S.]
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May 24, 2006

Motorola exec reveals next-gen slimphone: the SCPL

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Talk about a tease: Motorola’s head honcho for cellphones, Ron Garriques, revealed the existence of an upcoming handset called the SCPL (that’s scalpel, in case the lack of vowels made it unclear) during a recent company investment conference — but kept all the important details to himself. All that’s known about the SCPL (which we hope no one will mistake for the surgical tool pictured here), other than the obvious fact that it will be quite slim, is that it will sport five features that promise to set it apart from the pack — which we’ll take to mean WiMax, GPS, 3CCD HD camcorder, 30GB hard drive, and probably a DirecTV dish as well. At this point, we can’t even say for sure that the SCPL is not the same as the supposed RAZR 2, or “Canary,” that’s been fluttering around recently, but whatever they’re working on, we’ll have to wait until next year to get our hands on one.

[Thanks, Shamste]

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Motorola exec reveals next-gen slimphone: the SCPL

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Talk about a tease: Motorola’s head honcho for cellphones, Ron Garriques, revealed the existence of an upcoming handset called the SCPL (that’s scalpel, in case the lack of vowels made it unclear) during a recent company investment conference — but kept all the important details to himself. All that’s known about the SCPL (which we hope no one will mistake for the surgical tool pictured here), other than the obvious fact that it will be quite slim, is that it will sport five features that promise to set it apart from the pack — which we’ll take to mean WiMax, GPS, 3CCD HD camcorder, 30GB hard drive, and probably a DirecTV dish as well. At this point, we can’t even say for sure that the SCPL is not the same as the supposed RAZR 2, or “Canary,” that’s been fluttering around recently, but whatever they’re working on, we’ll have to wait until next year to get our hands on one.

[Thanks, Shamste]

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May 21, 2006

All DoCoMo handsets to be GSM-capable within 2 years, sez paper

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Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun is reporting that NTT DoCoMo is working to make all of its handsets GSM-compatible in the next two years, which would allow them to work in over 130 countries. Furthermore, DoCoMo’s customers would have access to the popular i-mode Internet service in over 70 countries under the new plan, according to company sources quoted by the paper. Reuters reminds us that this move comes at a time when Japan’s wireless industry is preparing for increased competition this fall, and may also be a response to the attractive packages Softbank can now offer thanks to their recent purchase of Vodafone Japan.

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May 19, 2006

Nokia 6315i musicphone approved by FCC

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It looks like Pantech and Nokia have been hanging out again, but this time Nokia will be the one dropping the rebranded handset, an EV-DO-sporting model for Verizon known as the 6315i (and formerly known as the PN-E330). Phone Scoop discovered this recent approval while enjoying the FCC website, and reports back that it features a 1.3 megapixel camera, microSD slot, and Bluetooth, along with dedicated external music controls. We'll let you know when we find out a release date and some pricing info for this fairly feature-filled flip phone.

[Via Phone Scoop]
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Sun and Samsung team up to enable Java app multi-tasking

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In an exciting development for Java-enabled cellphone owners, and a bit of an embarrassing reminder of the Palm operating system’s major limitation, Sun and Samsung have just announced a new platform that will allow regular handsets to multi-task certain applications. Called Multi-tasking VM Ware, or MVM, the new platform is built on the standard Java API, which will let existing Java applications run simultaneously even on non-smartphone models. Although we don’t know when this technology will hit the market, considering that the lack of multi-tasking is one of the biggest drawbacks of most phones, it should prove to be a popular feature once available. [Note: subscription required for "Read" link].

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May 17, 2006

The million dollar cellphone

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How much would you pay for “the Bentley of cellphones”? $1,000? $10,000? Try a cool million bucks. This one-of-a-kind quad-band handset by Goldvish sports a blinding 120 carats worth of VVS-1 grade diamonds, according to designer Emmanuel Gueit, and as you’d expect from a seven-figure phone, features such amenities as Bluetooth, a camera with 8x digital zoom, MP3 playback, FM radio, included 2GB memory card and an EDGE connection (though curiously no 3G option or WiFi — it seems a million bucks isn’t what it used to be). For those of you not willing to drop such an obscene amount of money on a phone that even the designer likens to a boomerang, Goldvish also offers several other diamond-encrusted 18k gold models in your choice of rose, yellow, or white, starting at a much more reasonable $25,600.

[Thanks, Langer]

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The million dollar cellphone

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How much would you pay for "the Bentley of cellphones"? $1,000? $10,000? Try a cool million bucks. This one-of-a-kind quad-band handset by Goldvish sports a blinding 120 carats worth of VVS-1 grade diamonds, according to designer Emmanuel Gueit, and as you'd expect from a seven-figure phone, features such amenities as Bluetooth, a camera with 8x digital zoom, MP3 playback, FM radio, included 2GB memory card and an EDGE connection (though curiously no 3G option or WiFi -- it seems a million bucks isn't what it used to be). For those of you not willing to drop such an obscene amount of money on a phone that even the designer likens to a boomerang, Goldvish also offers several other diamond-encrusted 18k gold models in your choice of rose, yellow, or white, starting at a much more reasonable $25,600.

[Thanks, Langer]
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May 16, 2006

SK Telecom launches HSDPA network with new Samsung SCH-W200

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South Korean consumers looking for some serious mobile bandwidth need not wait until June to pick up one of LG’s SH100 handsets that we brought you earlier today, because SK Telecom has just announced that their HSDPA network is live in 25 cities as of today, and that a new model from Samsung is available for the rollout. Besides 2G, 3G, and 3.5G data support, the new Samsung SCH-W200 — which is the first of five impending HSDPA phones, including the SH100, that will available by year’s end — offers both a two megapixel as well as a VGA camera, S-DMB TV capabilities, MP3/AAC playback, text-to-speech, and perhaps most importantly with all these features, multitasking. Although theoretically capable of 12Mbps downstream traffic, SKT’s HSDPA network will currently only deliver a relatively pokey 1.8Mbps to the W200 — with 3.6Mbps promised for later this year — but claims to be the only WCDMA network in the world to offer guaranteed video conferencing performance through circuit, and not packet, switching.

Read- HSDPA rollout
Read- HSDPA speeds (subscription required)
Read- Samsung SCH-W200

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May 15, 2006

Nokia: We don’t sell phones here

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In an otherwise run-of-the-mill profile on cellphone manufacturing giant Nokia, The Seattle Times reveals this funny little tidbit about corporate culture at the Finnish firm: employees are supposedly barred from referring to the company's products as "phones." Instead, according to Vice President of multimedia strategy and business development Harry Santamäki, all of the handsets are known around the company as "multimedia computers," which we're sure elicits more than a few snickers when they're discussing the no-frills, monochrome, um, computers of the 1000 series. And proving that his anti-phone rhetoric isn't just lip service, Santamäki swears that he'll take a swig from the bottle of cod liver oil on his desk if he himself should ever happen to utter the archaic, forbidden word. Unfortunately for Harry, Engadget Mobile will continue to refer to Nokia's products as phones, cellphones, or perhaps even telephones, but luckily a little program called Greasemonkey should enable him to continue reading the site while remaining blissfully phone-free.

[Via textually]
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May 10, 2006

More sweet chocolate from LG: the “Black Label II”

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LG just unveiled the next generation of its popular "Chocolate" phone at the recent Expo Comm Wireless Korea 2006, and it seems to maintain the same features and minimalist elegance as its predecessor in a slightly thicker package (16.5-millimeters versus the original's 15.3). Also called the "Black Label II" or by its model number, KV6000, this handset is primarily targeted at the fashion-conscious crowd who also want to snap a pic or rock out to tunes once in awhile, letting them load the 512MB of memory with up to 120 MP3 tracks. Starting price for this newest bit of Chocolate is around $530, but it will probably only be seen on the streets of Seoul for the time being.
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More sweet chocolate from LG: the “Black Label II”

Filed under:

LG just unveiled the next generation of its popular “Chocolate” phone at the recent Expo Comm Wireless Korea 2006, and it seems to maintain the same features and minimalist elegance as its predecessor in a slightly thicker package (16.5-millimeters versus the original’s 15.3). Also called the “Black Label II” or by its model number, KV6000, this handset is primarily targeted at the fashion-conscious crowd who also want to snap a pic or rock out to tunes once in awhile, letting them load the 512MB of memory with up to 120 MP3 tracks. Starting price for this newest bit of Chocolate is around $530, but it will probably only be seen on the streets of Seoul for the time being.

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April 24, 2006

Sprint launches four new handsets, one oldie

Filed under: CDM-120,CDM-7025,LX350,LowEnd,PM-8920,SCP-3100,SPH-A580,Sprint,handsets,low end — Ryan Block @ 5:08 am

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href="http://phonearena.com/htmls/Sprint-PCS-launches-4-new-clamshell-phones-article-a_1264.html"> hspace="4" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.engadget.com/media/2006/04/sprint_four.jpg" />

Sprint’s launched
four new low end handsets today; they’ll run you less than a Benjamin with contract, so don’t expect much. Clockwise
from left: the free Sprint CDM-120 (aka UTStarcom CDM-7025) has a 1.5-inch 65k color display, speakerphone, and MP3
ringtones; the Samsung SPH-A580 has a 128 x 160 65k color internal display, grayscale external display, voice dialing,
1xRTT data, and should run you thirty after contract; the Sanyo SCP-3100 features a 1.8-inch 65k color internal
display, VGA camera, and carries a $50-spot price tag; the highest end of the bunch is the multi-colored LG LX350, with
Bluetooth, 1.3 megapixel camera, 65k color external OLED display and 262k color internal screen, which should run you
$80. Not pictured, like George Martin, is the UTStarcom PM-8920, an oldie from 2004 brought back from the dead with 1.3
megapixel camera, and 262k color displays in tow — now twenty bucks with a contract. Hey, you know what low end phones
are great for? Mother’s day. Just saying!

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April 19, 2006

Treo Hollywood nothing but a rumor?

Filed under: 700w,Rumors,Smartphones,brighthand,gsm,handsets,hollywood,lowrider,palm,treo — Evan Blass @ 2:48 pm

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src="http://www.engadgetmobile.com/media/2006/04/whatisthis.jpg" alt="" />Brighthand, a site we happen put a good
deal of credence in, is reporting that "very reliable sources" have informed them that there is no such
creature as the Treo Hollywood. The
Hollywood, which first appeared in a Saigo Investments report last year along with another model known as the href="http://engadgetmobile.com/search/?q=lowrider">Lowrider, was said to be a more stylish 3G-enabled Treo for the
antenna-hating European market. Even more intriguing were href="http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2006/03/20/first-shots-of-the-treo-hollywood/">pictures href="http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2006/03/22/more-pics-show-antenna-free-treo-to-be-more-of-a-lowrider/">that have
been steadily href="http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2006/04/19/treo-hollywood-sighted-for-reals/">leaking out of an antenna-free
Treo with blue highlights that were said to be Hollywood, but which Brighthand is now discounting as possibly just a
restyled GSM version of the 700w. Stay tuned to this station
folks, because Palm’s plans for this year just got a lot more open-ended.

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April 18, 2006

LG’s Chocolate phone on sale in China for $495

Filed under: cellphone,china,chocolate,handsets,knockoff,lg,mobile — Thomas Ricker @ 2:30 am

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vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" src="http://www.engadgetmobile.com/media/2006/04/chocolate_05.jpg" alt=""
/>

Yeah ok, it’s not exactly shipping in the US yet, but it’s still good to know that the LG
“Chocolate” phone has left South Korea and is finally dancing on the international stage with the intent of
kicking it live in the West
sometime after May
. Turned-out in a tri-band GSM flavour for China (a CDMA version is also produced), this 0.6-inch
sugary sweet slider brings a 2-inch QVGA display, 512MB of memory, and 1.3 megapixel cam for a cool fistful of
Benjamins. Of course, now that these are in the wild, we fully expect a “ href="http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2006/04/11/rims-blackberry-to-battle-redberry-clone-in-china/">red
chocolate” knockoff to drop in a few months for about half the price.

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April 14, 2006

FCC Fridays

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We here at Engadget Mobile tend to spend a lot of way too much time poring over the latest FCC filings, be it on the net or directly on the ol' Federal Communications Commission's site. Since we couldn't possibly (want to) cover all the stuff that goes down there, we've gathered up all the raw info you may want (but probably don't need). Enjoy!

Phones
Samsung A640 - Read
LG AX490 - Read
Samsung T709 - Read
Samsung T719 - Read
Motorola ROKR E2 - Read
Samsung X461 - Read
Samsung X481 - Read
Samsung S109 - Read

Computers
Sony PCG-6J1L - Read
Motorola Mobile Laptop 900 - Read
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February 8, 2012

Toyota developing integrated “carphone” with KDDI

Filed under: Bluetooth,Navigation,Toshiba,cars,handsets,kddi,toyota — Evan Blass @ 8:25 pm

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In a move designed to foster tighter integration between cars and the cellphones that cause people to crash their cars, Toyota has just announced that it will be co-developing a handset with Japanese carrier KDDI based on an existing Toshiba model. The phone, cutely name TiMO (and obviously NOT pictured above — if you think that’s a Toshiba, you need to hit up this site a little more often), will feature Bluetooth functionality to make it compatible with Toyota’s in-car navigation systems (think: on-screen caller ID and audio piped through the vehicle’s speakers) as well as a dedicated OnStar-like button that drivers can trigger in an emergency. A special charger will also be part of the package, allowing the phone to dock in an armrest and give owners access to downloadable games and tunes, the latter of which will presumably be playable through the car’s audio system. Next to Kyocera, Toyota is the largest shareholder in KDDI (with an 11% stake), and will offer the handsets exclusively at its 7,500 Japanese dealerships starting in October.

[Via Autoblog]

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Sony Ericsson working on a PSP phone?

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As far as rumors go, this one is about as thin on the deets as they come, but Cnet Asia is reporting that Sony Ericsson senior VP of Product and Application Planning, Rikko Sakaguchi, actually alluded to plans for a game-playing phone at a recent press event in Sweden. During what was presumably the Q&A portion of a media conference in honor of the merged company’s fifth anniversary, Sakaguchi reportedly answered a question about a theoretical PSP phone (most decidedly NOT pictured above) by saying simply that Sony Ericsson “is working on something,” but that “the surprise must be kept for the future.” Yeah, we know, not too much meat here — Sakaguchi did mention that the objective was to integrate gaming and communications functions, not to create a dedicated gaming device (whatever that means) — however, after the relative success of its Walkman and Cybershot lineup of handsets, it certainly makes sense for the company to leverage the PlayStation brand in this market as well. Sony Ericsson would be wise, though, to learn from Nokia’s experience with the N-Gage, which is that, well, people don’t like the N-Gage. So, here’s to hoping that the Ericsson side of the equation can knock some sense into the Sony side of the equation, or else we may end up with a bulky, side-talkin’ handset which uses even more proprietary formats that no one is interested in.

[Via Maxconsole]

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