Unlocking Mobile – Samsung launches SPH-B5800 T-DMB handset with TPEG integration
Samsung launches SPH-B5800 T-DMB handset with TPEG integration
Filed under: Cellphones Although Samsung has already crammed T-DMB support into a plethora of its (sometimes oddly-designed) handsets, the sleek SPH-B5800 gets the honor of being the “world’s first” that also integrates TPEG. While we knew the firm was working on the Transport Protocol Experts Group service last year, this phone marks the “first time” users can expect to receive live updates “about traffic, nice restaurants,” or other points of interest surrounding them. Reportedly, the phone will receive new information “every five minutes” depending on your location, and will show a route and expected arrival time for any destination that perks the user’s interest. On the DMB side, it purportedly sports a “full list of channels” to keep you occupied while cruising in the backseat. Other features on this snazzy slider include a 2-megapixel camera, electronic dictionary, “My Pet” game (long lost Tamagotchi sibling?), file viewer, and support for audio book playback. So if you’re anxious to let your phone dictate where you eat for supper, you can snag the SPH-B5800 later this month for around 600,000KRW ($645).[Via AVing] Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsBOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-timeOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
Spectec rolls out microSD-packin’ SDIO GPS receiver
Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, StorageIf that handy SD slot in your Treo (or similar smartphone) has gone lonely long enough, you’ve probably been waiting for “that killer device” to slam down in there and boast about. Thankfully, that time has seemingly come, as Spectec’s latest SDIO GPS receiver packs a whole lot of functionality into a minuscule (and sleek) package. Unlike alternative GPS attachments for your handset, the SDG-810 provides a SiRF Star III 20-channel tracking adornment, is WAAS-enabled, and sports a microSD slot to carry up to 2GB of excess data (like maps, for instance) since your original flash memory slot just got occupied. While pricing information wasn’t readily available, this nifty smartphone must-have should be available in your neck of the woods (read: everywhere) real soon.[Via GearDiary] Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsBOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-timeOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
Three new Verizon Pocket PC phones leaked on Engadget Mobile
Filed under: Cellphones We have an early Christmas present for you Verizon smartphone users: three new Windows Mobile Pocket PC devices leaked over on Engadget Mobile, including the oh so hotly anticipated CDMA followup to the HTC TyTn / Hermes. Check ‘em out:Verizon UTStarcom XV6800: the CDMA TyTn lives!Verizon’s Samsung i760 out-BlackJacks the BlackJack?Verizon UTStarcom SMT5800: Libra comes stateside in green? Permalink | Email this | CommentsBOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-timeOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
Visto scores $7.7 million in phone patent ruling, not stopping yet
Filed under: CellphonesAnd so it continues. We’ve never been the greatest fans of Visto and its money-grabbing patent lawsuit methods, be it’s hard to argue with results. The last time we hear from Visto, it was busy suing RIM, Microsoft and Good Technology, having just won a spankin’ $3.6 million from victim defendant Seven Networks. Well it looks like the worst wasn’t over for Seven, since the judge in that case just doubled the price for accumulated interest, and then piled on Visto’s legal fees for a grand total of $7.7 million. Brian Bogosian, CEO of Visto, says the decision “heralds a victory for true innovation and for lawful invention, whether it is conceived by a large corporation or by a passionate few toiling in the dim lights of a garage.” At least with that kind of cash they can finally afford to furnish the garage with that rad shag carpet and foosball table they’ve been eyeing, so bully for them. Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsBOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-timeOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
Hitachi does 800 x 480 display for phones
Filed under: Cellphones, Displays Heck, plain ol’ QVGA displays on phones are still a fairly scarce commodity in some parts of the world, but Hitachi knows you want… nay, need more. VGA, perhaps? Nope, keep going; think wider. Hitachi has officially started pumping out copies of its 2.9-inch, 800 x 480 cellphone display, promising web browsing experiences that could finally catch up with the 3G data speeds modern handsets are offering. The company points out that such crazy-fresh resolution typically leads to crazy-fresh battery drainage thanks to increased backlight brightness requirements, but engineers have apparently put in some late nights miniaturizing the circuitry and designing a new pixel structure to minimize power draw. Better yet, the panel promises a 170 degree viewing angle and a 400:1 contrast ratio. Only thing left, it seems, is for some scrappy manufacturer and/or carrier to step forward and announce a killer device wrapped around this sucker. Why do we get the strange feeling we should keep our eyes on NTT DoCoMo for that? Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsBOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-timeOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
Samsung’s tiny 3 megapixel CIS: another “world’s first”
Filed under: CellphonesWhat would a day be without another “world’s first” announcement from Samsung. Today’s stretch comes in the form of the “world’s first 3 megapixel CMOS image sensor with a 1/4-inch lens aperture” for use in Ultra-slim cellphones. Someone please, alert Guinness. Hyperbole aside, the CIS shares the same dimensions as the current lot of 2 megapixel CIS modules found in today’s slimsters. So yeah, we’re looking at any easy bump in specs for manufactures as it’s a like-for-like component swap. We can expect to see the 3 megapixel CIS in our cellphones mid-2007 as mass production ramps in Q1. According to market research quoted by Samsung, 38% of all cameraphones will be equipped with 3 megapixel cams in 2008. Damn, at that rate, 10 megapixel ubiquity is a long way out. [Via AVING] Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsBOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-timeOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
MOTORIZR Z3 gets reviewed
Filed under: CellphonesThe MOTORIZR Z3 isn’t exactly awe-inspiring in terms of features, but being that its Moto’s “first attempt at the slider design trend,” it gets somewhat of a pass in the value department. CNET was able to get its paws on the predictably thin new mobile, and while the list of niceties wasn’t exactly suited to the (admittedly) high $300 pricetag, they couldn’t help but fall for its snazzy good looks. Aside from the design, the phone offered a pleasantly crisp LCD, user-friendly navigation array, call quality similar to the GSM KRZR (read: satisfactory), “respectable” battery life of 6.5 hours, and a highly improved volume level. All wasn’t peachy, however, as reviewers found the built-in camera to be fairly awful, the button layout to be a bit cramped / slick, and the speakerphone to be less than impressive. All in all, this rendition of Motorola’s (almost) vowel-less lineup did the slider motif “quite well,” and while CNET suggested holding out until prices drop just a bit, it was deemed a solid performer nonetheless.[Thanks, Justin] Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsBOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-timeOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
Samsung’s SCH-V960: “world’s first” optical joystick phone
Filed under: CellphonesWe’ve seen and felt some sorry, craplastic navigation devices over the years. So pardon us while we effuse hope over Samsung’s latest “world’s first,” the optical joystick cellphone. Though not bad, it’s not the SCH-V960′s specs that get us going: EV-DO data, 2 megapixel camera, 2.12-inch 240×320 display, Bluetooth, GPS, and microSD expansion to store your media. Rather, it’s the new joystick with optical sensors which, according to Sammy, reads and reacts to your finger movements for “quick and hassle-free” navigation through the menus. The phone also touts a “smart lighting” featuring to automatically control the brightness of the LCD and keypad to help squeeze a bit more life out of the battery. This 18.6mm /102g phone hits Korea later this month. Don’t be too surprised to find the new optical stick popping up across Samsung’s lineup of audio players, digicams, and UMPCs in the near future. Who knows, maybe they’ve got an iPod Click Wheel on their hands… or not. Another picture after the break.[Via AVING]Continue reading Samsung’s SCH-V960: “world’s first” optical joystick phone Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsBOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-timeOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Source: cellphones.engadget.com