World / Mobile Phones
Apple's latest patent app: multi-touch plus (insert technology here)
04.09.2008 18:21
engadgetmobile.com
Filed under: Apple Multi-touch hasn't necessarily revolutionized the way we're interacting with our devices, but it's certainly a step in the right direction -- particularly when a touchscreen is such a huge part of the overall input equation as it is with the iPhone. But why stop there? A new patent app filed by Cupertino's finest suggests that touch and multi-touch data could be mixed in with all sorts of other inputs for more refined control of what we're trying to do; accelerometer control, force sensitivity, voice, and visual recognition are all mentioned as possibilities, meaning that theoretically we could one day be shaking and multi-pounding our iPhone 7Gs while screaming and flipping the bird. What device function that would actuate, we're not exactly sure -- but we're just throwing out ideas here.[Via Unwired View]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Mobile Phones
Sure sign of success: Palm to bring Centro to Sprint in two new colors
04.09.2008 16:18
engadgetmobile.com
Filed under: Handsets, Palm, Sprint, Palm OS, EV-DO, CDMA Nothing quite says "these puppies are selling well, and we'd like to ride the wave a bit longer" than reformulating an existing device in new colors -- a strategy Motorola played to the extreme, bitter end with the original RAZR -- and Palm's circling back to Sprint's Centro lineup to add a couple more (it's not getting out of hand with the Centro yet, Palm, but we're onto your game). It seems that the new shades will be "rose" and "lime," both of which sorta speak to the Centro's approach as a personal -- not business -- oriented smartphone. If the rumors hold up, these snazzy new shades should be hitting late next month.[Via Palm Infocenter]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Mobile Phones
Nokia 6210 Navigator
04.09.2008 16:14
trustedreviews.com
Successor to the 6110, Nokia's latest A-GPS Navigator doesn't have everything, but its on the right track.
World
Mobile Phones
Sprint's HTC Touch Diamond: September 14 for $249.99. Honest.
04.09.2008 14:15
engadgetmobile.com
Filed under: Handsets, HTC, Sprint, Windows Mobile, EV-DO, CDMANow that Uncle Walt has gone and opened the floodgates, details are starting to pour in on Sprint's imminent release of the Touch Diamond, a device that should actually manage to get the carrier damn close to the top of the Windows Mobile pile (for a short while, anyway). PC Magazine is now reporting that it'll be available on September 14 for $249.99 on a two-year contract after $100 rebate, a sum that would put it squarely in the "average" category for on-contract smartphone pricing in these parts. Of course, with the Touch Pro allegedly just around the corner, it remains to be seen just how much love this thing is going to get; nothing like a good, old-fashioned QWERTY-versus-touchscreen fight, is there?Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Mobile Phones
Vodafone UK welcomes BlackBerry Bold to its ranks
04.09.2008 14:15
engadgetmobile.com
Filed under: Handsets, RIM, Vodafone, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTS Ironically, one of the very first carriers in the world to leak the Bold's existence way back in January of this year has ended up not being one of the first in the world to carry it -- but they're really not that far off. Vodafone UK has announced the BlackBerry Bold for immediate availability to its throngs of email-loving corporate types (and not-so-corporate types, for that matter), and even better, it's free on a £35 (about $62) plan with 600 minutes of talk time at 500MB of monthly data for two years. Considering that most larger companies are willing to shell out a small fortune to equip their crews with mobile gear, that ain't a bad deal at all.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Mobile Phones
Treo 800w gets updated, USB and battery main beneficiaries
04.09.2008 12:27
engadgetmobile.com
Filed under: Software, Palm, Windows MobileThough the Treo Pro has tempered pretty much any love we'd had for the suddenly ancient-looking 800w, we've got to hand it to Palm -- they've been on the ball with software updates since the phone's release a month and a half ago. The latest, which Palm calls "highly recommended for all Treo 800w devices," fixes problems with the detection of certain USB accessories and the inability to charge a completely dead battery (and don't worry, they've posted a trick for getting it charged enough to install the update). What's more, this particular patch can be applied over the air simply by visiting a URL, which is exactly what we like to hear.[Via Palm Infocenter]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Mobile Phones
Samsung a137 bows for AT&T
04.09.2008 10:19
engadgetmobile.com
Filed under: Handsets, Samsung, ATT, GSM, EDGE Remember that supposed a137 that we saw chilling on a countertop somewhere in the wilds not long ago? Samsung and AT&T are now fessing up to its existence by quietly posting product info pages on their respective sites without so much as a single press release from either Sammy or the carrier -- because that's the sort of thing that happens when a phone's just this flat-out uninteresting, we suppose. How uninteresting are we talking about here? For starters, the a137 tops out with GPRS data -- not EDGE -- making for a circa-2004 blast from the past that should naturally help users keep their browsing habits to a bare minimum. On the plus side, it packs AGPS and runs just $39.99 as a GoPhone. Now, what do you want to bet we see it in a few more colors before its run is up?[Via Phone Scoop]Read - AT&TRead - SamsungPermalink | Email this | Comments
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Mobile Phones
Fly Mobile's E310 Attitude takes a stroll into the FCC's office
04.09.2008 10:19
engadgetmobile.com
Filed under: Handsets, Others, GSM And now, a dispatch from our "we'd be gaga over it with a 3G radio" department: Fly Mobile's E310 Attitude slider has slid on through the FCC's testing process, blessing it with a sort of cheap, neo-Chocolate look and feel that'd make LG proud. Truth be told, we can't tell if that's a good thing without getting our hands on the phone, but we'll admit, there's something intriguing to us about it from the cold, clinical shots the FCC is giving us -- and the hidden d-pad below the display is still pretty trick for the low-cost segment that Fly is trying to target. It's got a 3.2-megapixel camera, integrated FM radio, TV-out, Bluetooth, and microSDHC support; on the downside, the GPRS data leaves a musty taste in our mouths, but hey, at least it's of the quadband variety.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Mobile Phones
Palm Treo Pro gets props from Telstra for extreme signal strength
04.09.2008 07:10
engadgetmobile.com
Filed under: Handsets, Palm, Telstra, Windows Mobile, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTSFor our money, there's really nothing worse than dropping a few hundred bucks on a shiny new 3G toy, taking it home to the Outback, and realizing that we're getting more wallaby meat than we are reception. Happily, Telstra has a pretty unique program in the carrier world -- dubbed "Blue Tick" -- that awards certain devices in its lineup for their killer signal strength, which theoretically makes them more appropriate choices for use in rural and fringe areas where lesser phones might struggle. Interestingly, the Treo Pro is now the first smartphone in Telstra's Blue Tick range -- which they're offering for as little as zilch on a two year contract, by the by -- making it a solid choice for anyone around the world who's looking for a modern WinMo set with enough signal-pulling power to make a Motorola V365 green with envy. Only question is, can we still completely encase it in gold and hold a call?Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Mobile Phones
US surpasses European 3G subscribers by 0.1% -- first!
04.09.2008 07:10
engadgetmobile.com
Filed under: Culture, Handsets If comScore's data is to believed then the US has done the unthinkable and passed Western Europe (aka, old Europe right Donnie?) in terms of 3G adoption. 28.4% of American mobile cellphone subscribers north of that southern land mass with a similar sounding name now sport 3G devices compared to a measly 28.3% average for Europe's largest countries. That's an 80% surge in the US last year even though T-Mobile is still 3G-less. Man, it's like the Phelps 100-meter butterfly victory all over again, eh Europe? Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Mobile Phones
RadioShack to carry Sprint's Samsung Instinct nationwide
04.09.2008 07:10
engadgetmobile.com
Filed under: Handsets, Samsung, Sprint, EV-DO, CDMA For those in America who just can't shake the desire to snap up one of those Samsung Instincts, but can't bring themselves into braving the yellow-clad walls of most Sprint stores, an alternative method of B&M procurement has finally arrived. Effective immediately, Sprint's "iPhone killer" will be available across the US in RadioShack stores. If you happened into one over the Labor Day weekend, you were lucky enough to grab the handset for just $99.99 on contract, but from here on out (well, until the first second price drop), it'll be $129.99 for everyone else.[Image courtesy of RiverWalkPlaza]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Mobile Phones
LG Confirms KC910: 8MP, Viewty Successor
04.09.2008 06:56
trustedreviews.com
Hello Apple...
World
Mobile Phones
Michael Dell once again says he's down with competing with the iPhone... in the future
04.09.2008 02:33
engadgetmobile.com
Filed under: Handsets, Others, AppleUgh, make it stop. Every few months, someone in the media asks Michael Dell the inevitable question: "Do you plan on competing with Apple's iPhone?" While speaking recently in the Citi Technology Conference in New York, the chief executive stated that "I think you will see us with small screen devices," and he continued on to state that we the people will see Dell producing "smaller and smaller devices that have capabilities of the [iPhone]." Without missing a beat, he also proclaimed: "Not in the near-term." Alrighty then -- anything we didn't already know?Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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