In the land of competitive smartphone market share wars, LG has taken a new approach to fight the battle. While other manufacturers are focused on adding all the bells and whistles into pricey handsets and keeping cheaper models radically inferior, LG has a different take. While LG will continue to produce high-end flagship devices, they will take several of the key features from the expensive device and put them on a simpler, cheaper mid-range device.
The first device from LG which that embodies this new philosophy is the 8 megapixel full-touchscreen LG KC780. The LG KC550 is the 5 megapixel solution and the newest device, the LG KP500 fills the 3 megapixel void: Continue reading
The official commercial launch of Sprint’s 4G solution, Xohm, is now live in Baltimore, Maryland. While other carriers will be looking to LTE for their next generation mobile broadband speeds, Xohm will be a radical shift in the business model of wireless by delivering an open market without contracts. The service will be available either for home use for $25/month or on-the-go for $35/month. Sprint is attacking any consumer looking for high speed Internet by even offering day passes on their WiMax network for $10. The good news is that there are no restrictions on which products can use the Xohm service.
Continue reading
Samsung just announced the new Pixon, a full touchscreen 8 megapixel camera phone. The Pixon measures just 13.8 mm thin and packs a 3.2 inch WQVGA resolution full touch screen. The 8 megapixel camera features a 16x digital zoom and delivers photos that even make the N96 a bit jealous. Also included with the Samsung Pixon is a music player (MP3, AAC, e-AAC+, WMA), FM radio, DNSe, Bluetooth, and an internal memory of 200MB (Micro SD card compatible). The new Pixon will be available in mid-October first in France. No word on a price.
Update: 11/04 - Available on T-Mobile, Orange and O2, it’ll be available for free on contracts between £30 and £35. However, if you are holding out for a SIM-free handset, we are still awaiting confirmation on that price tag.
Continue reading
We still might be a month or so away from the Verizon BlackBerry Storm release date (early Nov.), but this is not stopping the official press photos from showing up on the Internet. While we sit and wonder how the final OS build will deliver as compared to the other top name touchscreen devices on the market, feast your eyes on the soon to be release VZW BlackBerry Storm.
Continue reading
Three big name devices are expected to hit At&t very soon: the BlackJack III codenamed ‘Mirage’ (At&t’s i780), the Samsung Omnia-esque SGH-A867, and Samsung Sangria (SGH-767). The BlackJack III packs the same candybar form factor as the BlackJack II, but this time it brings a 2.55 inch touchscreen running at 320 x 320 pixel resolution. The controls have also been modified to use an optical mouse now that it is running Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional instead of the Standard (non-touchscreen) version on the BlackJack II. Other big name specs include a 624MHz processor, quadband GSM and triband UMTS/HSDPA support and WiFi. The camera will remain the same 2 megapixels and the device will measure 4.6 x 2.4 x 0.5 inches and weigh 4.4 oz. There is also a rumor going around that Verizon Wireless will also get their own version of the BlackJack III, to be called the SCH-i770. It will pack similar features, but instead of UMTS/HSDPA support it will be a CDMA/GSM hybrid for the global traveler. Continue reading
An anonymous source has leaked the Verizon Wireless employee training schedule which hints at possible launch dates for two of the most anticipated devices for the carrier this year: the BlackBerry Storm and the HTC Touch Diamond. While CDMA-rival Sprint has already launched the Touch Diamond, news from the Verizon camp is that they will be releasing a less powerful version of the device on their network before the end of the year. With the aforementioned document, we now know that Verizon Employees will be taking an Online Training course the Verizon Touch Diamond which concludes on December 3rd.
The BlackBerry Storm, which we still believe will be released in the first week of November, will also be offered via an Online Training Course. The device training for the BlackBerry Storm will conclude on November 2nd, just in time for the release date later that week. It looks like this holiday season will bring lots of smiles to the faces of happy Verizon Wireless customers.
Expected Release Dates:
BlackBerry Storm: first week of November
HTC Touch Diamond: first week of December
Source
Joining the Rogers LG Shine family of pink and gray releases is the LG Shine TU720 in Black. The sleek slider, complete with 2.0 megapixel camera and mirrored finish bezel has been a hit here in the states via At&t and enjoyed similar success in Canada on Rogers. The device is currently compatible with Roger’s Vision Plan and it is available for the same price as the pink and gray versions.
The Shine Slider is a tri-band GSM unit with HSPA video-calling capabilities. It features a scroll wheel navigation instead of the D-pad or joystick found on most phones. Other specs of note include a MP3 player, microSD expansion slot, Bluetooth and a large 2.2 inch display (240 x 320 pixels). The device first made its Canadian debut back on October 11th and hit stores in early November.
Source
Windows Mobile 7 might be a couple years away from an official release, but that is not stopping Internet Explorer Mobile 6 from showing its face. Our friends over at the::unwired have had a chance to test the updated browser running ontop of Windows Mobile 6.1 and from the looks of things, we are in for a treat. For starters, Internet Explorer Mobile 6 allows two different viewing environments to choose from: Mobile and Desktop. When browsing, the Mobile mode identifies as “[Device Name] (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 8.12; MSIEMobile 6.0)”, the Desktop mode identifies it as “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1)”:
Despite the positives, there are still a few areas that are still lacking in the updated browser. Most notably, tabbed browsing is not evident which means we will still be using a single window. Secondly, the old style scroll bars are still visible in the desktop browsing mode, serving more as a counterproductive measure rather than the innovation we were expecting. All in all, the updated browser does deliver a similar experience to a desktop pc and it is a step in the right direction for Windows Mobile. For the moment however, it seems that both Opera and Skyfire are still better alternatives, but we are hoping this will change once Internet Explorer Mobile 6 reaches a final build.
mobile version (left) / desktop version (right)
Source
Earlier this week BGR was passed an official At&t document outlining the upcoming Pantech Matrix phone. The device is heavily aimed towards text message addicts with its dual sliding hinge reminiscent of the Helio Ocean (also manufactured by Pantech). With Helio’s fate lying in the hands of Virgin Mobile now, it seems only fitting that At&t would be the next in line for a Helio Ocean alternative. The Pantech Matrix will featured dual-band UMTS/HSDPA connectivity for speedy online access while delivering a 1.3 megapixel camera and Video Share support for multimedia needs. Bluetooth 2.0 will also be included on the device and at launch there will be three colors to choose from: red, blue or black.
The only piece of missing information at this point is the price point. With so many devices hitting At&t these days and the iPhone dropping the high-end smartphone price tag to under $200, we would expect nothing less than bargain for the Pantech Matrix. If the Pantech Duo by At&t didn’t get your heart racing, maybe this time the Matrix will do the trick.
Source
Update 10/1: Release date is mid-October at the latest according to a retail manager in Rochester, MN. The phone will be $119.99 on a 2 year contract before a $50 MIR bringing the final cost down to $79.99. Thanks Whitney
The Korean market just added a new device to their repertoire, the SKY IM-S380K HSDPA capable slider. The device features a 400 x 240 pixel display, with a dedicated email key and a front-facing camera for video calls. While the specs have not been officially release just yet, we have learned that the device will also feature Bluetooth 2.0, a music player, FM radio, Sky Studio, expandable memory, an electronic dictionary and a subway map.
Upon release, the SKY IM-S380K will be available in three colors: white, black and pink, with a retail price of 400,000 KRW (about $355 USD). A release date is not available at this time, but we expect a formal announcement later in the week.
