specifications

The first Android-powered smartphone, the T-mobile G1, is well on its way to becoming the success many had hoped for, but coming soon to China is the Sciphone Dream G2.  I know what you are thinking, they took iPhone 3G, HTC Dream and T-mobile G1 and mixed around the words to come up with a clever name, but actually the device is legit.  The Sciphone Dream G2 is an underpowered, full-touchscreen smartphone with a 2.8-inch screen, WiFi and 4-megapixel camera.  Notably neglected is a lack of 3G and GPS so it is clear that this is a market specific launch and we probably shouldn’t expect to see the device in Europe or North America.

The oddest thing about the Sciphone Dream G2 is that it lacks either a physical keyboard or an on-screen keyboard.  Our best guess is that users will be required to download an on-screen keyboard solution from the Android Marketplace, but at the moment no such solution exists.  If you have been wondering what application to develop for Android this might be your rise to far east super stardom if you can corner the market before the Sciphone Dream G2 releases later this year.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) and LG Electronics MobileComm U.S.A. Inc. (LG Mobile Phones) today announced the availability of the LG Incite™, the newest Windows Mobile device powered by the nation’s fastest 3G network for users who crave premium capabilities with ultramodern design. The Incite — available in the U.S. exclusively to AT&T customers — stirs up the smartphone market, with its stylish, sleek look and sophisticated technology.

The LG Incite boasts the latest in wireless communications technology, with domestic and international 3G capabilities, built-in aGPS and Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) and Bluetooth 2.0. The LG Incite is equipped with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, Microsoft Office Mobile and Microsoft ActiveSync 4.5. The Incite, the first of its kind for LG Mobile, offers Windows Media Player 10.

LG Incite looks as good as it sounds: a sophisticated, sleek design, a crystal-clear 3-inch touch screen and a 3.0 megapixel camera and camcorder that enables consumers to send and enjoy memories at the touch of a button. Users have a choice of on-screen virtual keyboards — a full, QWERTY keyboard in landscape mode and a 20-key keyboard in portrait view — with haptic keys that provide vibration feedback. The Incite also offers users choice in terms of screen navigation by simply using their fingers to move through the Incite’s friendly user interface, the scroll button to the upper right of the screen or the included stylus. A configurable, drag-and-drop favorites menu provides quick access to the applications that matter most to the user.

The Incite is pre-loaded with everything you’d expect, including AT&T Navigator, powered by TeleNav, featuring turn-by-turn voice and on-screen directions with colorful 3-D moving maps that can be used in vehicles or while walking. AT&T Navigator also features traffic alerts, re-routing and other location-based services. There also is business and personal e-mail access through Microsoft Direct Push and AT&T’s Xpress Mail service, instant messaging and AT&T Mobile Music service, which provides fast access to downloadable music from eMusic^®.

Store all your favorite songs with the microSD Memory Port with up to 16GB of support. Bluetooth 2.0 capabilities allow consumers to wirelessly access music through stereo headsets, transmit data to other Bluetooth-enabled devices and make calls hands-free anytime. The Incite also features AT&T Video ShareSM, the first-ever service in the U.S. that allows users to share live video over wireless devices while participating in a voice call.

“LG Mobile Phones has done an outstanding job in its first offering in the U.S. smartphone arena with the LG Incite, and AT&T is pleased to the be first U.S. carrier to offer an LG smartphone,” said Michael Woodward, vice president, Smart Devices for AT&T’s wireless operations. “It is a great looking smartphone with powerful capabilities that will provide our customers with a new and outstanding choice in our Windows Mobile smartphone portfolio, which is the broadest in the industry.”

Ehtisham Rabbani, vice president of Marketing and Product Strategy for LG Mobile Phones, said: “LG is excited to offer a phone with a different capability than anything we’ve offered in the U.S. thus far. As a leading provider of handsets, LG constantly looks toward the future and strives to incorporate the newest technologies as they become available to our consumers.”

The Incite also supports Microsoft’s System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008, an enterprise-grade mobile solution for managing and protecting Windows Mobile 6.1 phones. Mobile Device Manager helps companies provide its mobile workers with software updates and applications over the air, as well as security-enhanced access to company data. The Incite operates on AT&T’s 3G BroadbandConnect network, which currently is available in more than 320 major metropolitan areas in the U.S. and, by year-end, AT&T expects to offer the service in nearly 350 leading U.S. markets. In addition to 3G connectivity, the Incite is also designed to connect seamlessly with AT&T’s nationwide¹ EDGE network, which is available in more than 13,000 cities and towns and along some 40,000 miles of major highways. When abroad, customers can use the Incite to make a phone call in more than 200 countries and access data in more than 150, including more than 60 with 3G networks. AT&T has the broadest international wireless coverage of any U.S. carrier.

The Incite is available now in AT&T retail stores nationwide and online at www.wireless.att.com for $199.99 with a new two-year agreement and mail-in rebate. AT&T voice plans begin at $39.99 with monthly enterprise data plans priced at $45 and personal data plans at $30 per month. Small business customers also can subscribe to AT&T’s new, industry-first BusinessTalk voice plans, which start at $60 a month for five users and 700 Anytime Minutes and can be expanded for $9.99 a line to accommodate up to 40 users and 20,000 Anytime Minutes.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a leading mobile phone provider, announced the launch of Samsung Tobi (Model: S3030), a mobile phone customized to amuse pre-teens, young adults, and anyone who desires to experience fun and safety features from their mobile phones. With friendly graphical user interface (GUI) and splashy design, Samsung Tobi is a perfect match for the mobile users who wish to stand out from the crowd. Also with various safety features and eco-friendly material, Samsung Tobi assures the security of the Samsung Tobi users.

Samsung Tobi is designed to meet the needs and desires of the mobile users to express their personality and style with mobile phones. First, Samsung Tobi features unique GUI themes which have never been applied previously in any other mobile phones. Affable animated characters in three themes, Monster theme, Snowman theme and Ocean World theme, capture the hearts of viewers instantaneously. Moreover, Samsung Tobi features changeable backside cover. Users can insert their favorite photo or image under the see-through protective sleeve on the back to customize their Samsung Tobi.

Available in six dazzling colors – Sweet Pink, Loyal Blue, Apple Green, Bright Orange, Oasis Blue and Snow Silver – each color variation Samsung Tobi is exceptionally designed to fulfill the visual satisfaction needs of even the most design-conscious mobile users.

With various safety functions such as SOS Call, SOS Message and Fake Call Samsung Tobi also fascinates parents with children at young age. Using these safety features, users can be directly linked to their family members and friends in emergent situations and even easily escape from dangerous situations. With Samsung Tobi, parents are always assured that their children are equipped with safety tools to keep them as secure as possible.

Moreover, built with recyclable and biodegradable bio-plastic, Samsung Tobi is made friendly for the environment. Samsung Tobi is painted using non-toxic paints and non-allergic materials to keep the environment as well as the health of the users safe. Additionally, the earphone is also made of eco-friendly materials without any polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

Starting from Italia and UK launch in November, Samsung Tobi will continue to meet the mobile users in other European countries, CIS, and China within this year.

Additional information about Samsung Tobi as well as access to various related contents are available the Samsung Tobi official website at http://tobi.samsungmobile.com. Starting from November 21st, users can also download various images to personalize the backside cover of their Samsung Tobi. Various other Samsung Tobi contents such as screensavers, wallpapers, calendar and entertainments such as game are available on the website.

Just over a month ago, At&t make a formal announcement that the LG Incite, CF750 and CF360 would be landing on the carrier’s network later this year.  Today in a bit of a surprise, At&t’s is listing the LG Incite as in stock on their website.  The Incite is a Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional smartphone with a 240 x 400 resolution touchscreen, 3G HSDPA support, a 3.2 megapixel camera, WiFi, GPS and a personalize At&t homescreen.

While we don’t imagine the LG Incite picking up the marketing buzz or sales figures that we will see Friday from the Verizon Wireless BlackBerry Storm, we are still thrilled to see another feature-rich smartphone come to At&t.  The LG Incite is available for $299.99 before a $100 Mail-In Rebate (Visa gift card) which isn’t exactly the deal we were hoping for, but at least the net cost is sub $200.

LG Incite on At&t

Telstra today announced the addition of the full touch-screen Samsung F480T to its Next G™ mobilehandset range.  Ross Fielding, Executive Director, Telstra Product Management said the handset was available exclusively to Telstra customers until 31 December 2008 and offers a great mobile media, photographic and web browsing experience powered by an innovative touch screen user interface.

“The Samsung F480T features the latest in touch control technology including haptic (vibration) feedback and the capability to select icons from a scrolling homepage menu and pull them across the screen for instant access to associated sub menus,” Mr Fielding said.

“People have been personalising their phones for years using wallpapers and ringtones. Now the Samsung F480T allows you to personalise how you access your favourite functions from the mobile home screen. You can access features like Mobile FOXTEL from Telstra channels and music player with one-click, one-touch simplicity.”

Samsung F480T’s brushed aluminium body, bundled premium leather case and vivid 2.8 inch LCD screen give this handset a premium look. The handset’s credit-card sized fascia and slim 12mm depth add to the appeal.

It’s no slouch in the features department either. The Samsung F480T boasts a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash and autofocus, image stabilizer, and face-detection capabilities. The handset’s outstanding ability to capture quality pictures in a variety of environments means you can leave your standalone camera at home.

Web browsing is powered by the Next G™ network’s superior 3G coverage and mobile broadband speeds. The device is rated at 7.2Mbps* allowing super fast downloads when teamed with Telstra’s Next G™ network - the largest and fastest 3GSM network in Australia.

“The mobile data experience on this phone is fast. Users can pull down large files, stream content, surf the web seamlessly or upload data like email faster in more places,” Mr Fielding said.

“The Samsung also has strong media capabilities. You can playback video, MP3s or listen to FM radio using the handset’s integrated digital tuner. And with 200MB of memory onboard - and the capacity to boost that with an SD slot expandable to 8GBs - there’s plenty of room to store and organise your favourite tunes and video clips.”

Other handset features include Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity (including for Bluetooth stereo headsets), MMS, and video calling.

The Samsung F480T has a recommended retail price of $829 and is available on a range of plans, including $0 upfront on a $60 plan for 24 months. It is now available on Telstra’s Next G” network from Telstra Shops and dealers and online at http://www.telstra.com/.

*Downlink speed rating of 7.2Mbps. Typical customer download speed 550kbps - 3Mbps bursting up to 6Mbps in CBD, metropolitan and selected regional and other locations.

The 624MHz processor powering the iPhone 3G was an impressive feat, but ASUS is taking the smartphone world by storm with their latest announcement, the 800MHz P565 smartphone.  The device is claiming to be the fastest mobile phone on the market worldwide and the CPU is scoring Vsbenchmark scores almost twice as high as rival handsets.

The P565 is powered by Windows Mobile 6.1 with 156MB RAM and 128MB ROM and has a 2.8-inch VGA resolution touchscreen.  For Internet connectivity, the P565 supports 3G 3.6Mbps HSDPA while built-in GPS will handle your travel needs on the road.  To round out the P565 is a microSD card slot, 3-megapixel camera with front-facing camera for video calls, WiFi b/g, and ASUS’ Glide GUI which is similar to HTC’s TouchFLO.

Despite the powerful 800MHz processor, the P565 does fall a bit short when ti comes to the 1300mAh Li-Ion battery which only delivers up to 3 hours of 3G talk time and 300 hours of 3G standby.  The low RAM is also a concern for Windows Mobile 6.1 since competitors like the HTC Touch Pro and Diamond offer 288MB RAM (Sprint version’s).  No pricing or availability information has been released at this time, but as usual we will keep you updated.

Verizon Wireless and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile) announced the addition of two new phones to Verizon Wireless’ robust portfolio of global phones – the Samsung Renown™ and the Samsung Saga™. Both the Saga and the Renown will be available this month and boast advanced multimedia and messaging capabilities that allow customers to enjoy the nation’s most reliable network at home and wireless services in more than 200 destinations worldwide for voice and 150 global destinations for data, including new South American locations. The Saga is available today in business sales channels, online at www.verizonwireless.com and by calling 1-800-2 JOIN IN. The Saga will be in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores on Dec. 1. The Renown will be available in business sales channels, online and telesales on Nov. 19 and in stores on Dec. 1.

Samsung Saga Specifications

Samsung Renown Specifications

Via Samsung

Scartel (brand Yota), Russian provider of Mobile WiMAX, and HTC Corporation, a global leader in mobile phone innovation and design, today announced the HTC MAX 4G, the world’s first integrated GSM/WiMAX handset. Supported by a broad range of services based on Yota’s Mobile WiMAX network,   the HTC MAX 4G delivers a rich multimedia and high quality telephony experience in a sleek and powerful touch screen handset.

“Yota was established to provide a unique set of mobile communication services to millions of people in Russia and today we have launched the first device and services to realise its full potential,” said Denis Sverdlov, General Director of Yota’s parent company, Scartel LLC (brand Yota). “We really believe that these innovative services, high-speed Internet and stylish HTC MAX 4G will completely change the communications industry, just as the introduction of cellular communications did many years ago.”

HTC MAX 4G: A New World of Entertainment

The Yota Mobile WiMAX network offers high-speed wireless Internet access that opens a new realm of entertainment and communication possibilities. The basic Yota Home package will provide subscribers with instant access to online games, maps, messaging and file exchange applications while on the move. In addition, the high-capacity Mobile WiMAX network with traffic prioritisation algorithms, allows online films, video and TV programmes to be viewed on the large WVGA screen.

Thanks to mobile WiMAX, high-quality multimedia entertainment is no longer limited. With Yota Video, a full video on demand (VOD) service, users can watch their favourite movies and videos from their personal Yota catalogue anytime, anywhere.

Broadcasting 14 free channels at launch and 23 channels by the end of 2008, Yota TV introduces a powerful mobile television experience. The vibrant, 3.8 inch 800×480 screen of the HTC MAX 4G can display up to nine TV channels simultaneously, allowing quick and easy channel surfing and programme selection. Thanks to the device’s TV-out capability, users can also watch content on the big screen, putting the HTC MAX 4G at the very heart of the mobile entertainment experience.

For music-lovers, Yota Music offers an extensive online music catalogue of more than 50,000 titles, including a wide range of music from both international and independent music labels. Users can choose to either play the tracks direct from the online catalogue, or download them to the HTC MAX 4G’s 8GB of onboard flash memory.

In addition, a separate catalogue of electronic books is available, so users can download, read and enjoy a broad range of books while on the move. 

”The introduction of the HTC MAX 4G represents the culmination of a close partnership between HTC and Yota to develop the world’s first integrated mobile GSM/WIMAX handset,” said Peter Chou, CEO and President, HTC Corporation.  “Russia is a key strategic market for HTC and Yota’s Mobile WiMAX network sets a new global benchmark for next-generation mobile services.”

HTC MAX 4G: Flexible Communication

The HTC MAX 4G supports GSM calls using a SIM card from any Russian network operator and when both callers are Yota subscribers, the call will automatically be routed as a VoIP call over the Yota Mobile WiMAX network. The Yota Phone service also supports more business applications, allowing users to switch between English and Russian contact records while providing functionality such as call holding, conference calling and video calling using the VGA camera on the front of the device.

HTC MAX 4G: Unparalleled Performance With Intuitive Usability

The HTC MAX 4G was created to take full advantage of Yota’s high-speed Mobile WiMAX network without compromising style or ease of use.  The device is sleek and elegant and includes a vibrant, large 3.8 inch, 800×480 WVGA touch screen display. Running Windows Mobile 6.1, the HTC MAX 4G incorporates HTC’s proprietary Touch FLO 3D user interface, allowing swift and intuitive navigation to key applications such as dialling calls, listening to music, taking picture and more.

Introduction of Yota Yap-yap

HTC MAX 4G users can now record their lives through a lens thanks to Yota’s Yap-yap service. This allows contacts to be synchronised and edited through the Web and video clips and photos can also be uploaded to www.yota.ru. Images taken with the integrated 5MP camera can also be geo-tagged using coordinates from the integrated GPS.

At&t Stores began receiving Samsung Eternity units earlier this week and now At&t’s website has the device available for purchase.  For just $149.99 on a 2 year contract (after rebates) or $379.99 sans-contract you can pull the trigger and finally upgrade that LG Vu you’ve been looking to replace.  We’re still likely to believe that you’ll remain envious of your T-mobile counterpart using their Samsung Behold, but the more wireless options the merrier.

In case you still need a bit of inspiration we have put together a spec sheet below with all the important details you might need in making that decision.

Visit At&t to purchase the Samsung Eternity here.

At&t Eternity (Samsung A867) Specifications

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile)1 today announced the availability of the Samsung Eternity™, an advanced touch-screen phone with support for AT&T Mobile TV. AT&T also announced the availability of a 30-day free trial for new AT&T Mobile TV subscribers.

The Eternity is a multimedia-rich device that is one of the best in its class. In addition to one-touch access to AT&T Mobile TV and a full-touch QWERTY keypad, it provides customers access to mobile broadband Web from the nation’s fastest 3G network, AT&T Navigator2, AT&T Mobile Music with Napster Mobile and a 3 megapixel camera.

An attractive black and chrome device with a large, vivid 3.2-inch touch screen, the Eternity also has haptic support, enhancing your sensory connection with the phone and providing subtle vibrations that confirm your selections. Three dedicated keys on the lower portion of the device make operation straightforward and easy to navigate. Additionally, the Eternity supports an accelerometer that will automatically detect motion and the orientation of the device allowing for the use of richer applications and additional feature capability, including autorotation of the display, motion sensing games and photo scrolling by tilting the device.

“Eternity can provide endless entertainment options for AT&T customers,” said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president, Devices for AT&T’s Mobility and Consumer operations. “Our customers are looking for mobile phones to be a remote control for their life, bringing music, the Internet, GPS navigation and even TV with them on the go.”