Carriers and manufacturers form pact to push mobile Linux
Filed under: Cellphones Yeah, we’ve heard it before, but they mean it this time. Carriers Vodafone and NTT DoCoMo have teamed up with Motorola, Samsung, NEC, and Panasonic to succeed where others have failed, busting out a common Linux-based smartphone platform and sharing costs and R&D resources along the way. Besides unifying the fragmented mobile Linux community behind a single open platform, the group’s goal is to see the light of day in a production phone before the end of 2007, but let’s be honest — the project won’t be considered a success unless the joint venture can produce a popular, well-known platform that can scrap with the Symbians and the Windows Mobiles of the world. Hey, Access PalmSource, you guys paying attention?[Via Mobiledia]Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
HTC self-brands Hermes (TyTN) and Breeze (MTeoR)
Filed under: CellphonesIt’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]Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
New patent covers wireless iPod video conferencing
Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video, Wireless These iPod-related patents get more outlandish by the minute, and this one might not even be from Apple, but we thought we’d run it by you all the same. The patent seems to refer to what could at least be an iPod accessory. It isn’t filed by Apple, but since it continuously refers the the iPod specifically, it seems the device is somehow closely related. Clearly evident is an ability to do iChat AV-style video conferencing over a wired or wireless connection. References to “wherein the handheld video device is an improved iPod” give us hope that this device will work with some sort of next-generation wireless iPod, possibly even a phone version. The patent also covers the use of the iPod as a video server or to receive video streams from the Internets (World Cup, anyone?) which we’re sure quite a few fans of the little device could find useful. There’s also the chance that these pictures that include a phone are merely the dreams a patent squatter, or that the bare-bones approach of plugging in an external camera and headset will be as far as anybody goes with these video capabilities. But we can always dream, right?[Via Macsimum News]Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
GlobalSat TR-101 GPS phone for easily misplaced children
Filed under: Cellphones, GPS Thanks GlobalSat, we we’re starting to think the worrying-parent market was drying up a bit. After that first wave of GPS kiddie phones hit, the feature set has been slowly sinking into the everyphone, which doesn’t allow for that special self-importance that comes to a child owner of a stripped-down tracking phone. The TR-101 allows for calls to 3 preset numbers, and sends location data via SMS or over the Internet. It uses a full-on SiRF Star III chipset, and can be remote controlled via other phones or through Online software. There’s also an SOS button for emergencies, Google Earth integration for visualisation, and quad-band GSM support to keep track of the little bugger all over the globe. No word on price or availability.Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
Engadget Mobile gets hands-on with Motorola Canary!
Filed under: Cellphones We’ve seen Motorola’s RAZR sequel, the Canary, pop up here and there, but it took our boys at Engadget Mobile, with a little help from Boy Genius, to do it up right and get some serious shots of all that shiny blueness. Head on over for a whole slew of pics, but try not to get too jealous — they too put their shiny-blue-pants on one leg at a time.Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
Energizer’s Energi To Go charges gadgets with AAs
Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Portable Audio, Portable Video We’ll sheepishly admit to being among the reported 20 percent of cellphone users whose phones conk out at least once a week (in fact, it just happened today), so you can bet we’ll be first in line to pick up one of Energizer’s new AA-based cellphone chargers when they hit stores on September 1st. Eschewing proper spelling for catchy branding, the Energi To Go line will come in numerous configurations to support a claimed 100 handsets covering most major manufacturers, with each package containing a special tip for individual models. Energizer promises that its e2 batteries will enable most dead phones to make a call in just 30 seconds (you can use regular alkalines, but of course Energizer recommends its own pricey products), with smartphones requiring several minutes to suck up enough juice for calling. Along with the $20 cellphone version, Energizer will also be releasing a $30, four-battery model to charge DAPs and portable gaming devices, with iGo-developed tips available for iPods, PSPs, Nintendo DSes, and other small gadgets you see mentioned with regularity on these pages.[Via Mobiledia, thanks Ryan]Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
Samsung launches SGH-i320 in France
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds We haven’t heard many peeps out of Samsung about their QWERTY “Q killer” SGH-i320 ever since we noticed its FCC approval a couple of months ago. Well, now it looks like they’re ready to bust this thing out, and they’re starting off with a launch in EDGE-friendly France. The EDGE smartphone isn’t as wide or tall as the Motorola Q, but the phones both share that thinner-than-a-RAZR 11.5mm thickness. There’s 120MB of included memory, along with a microSD slot, so Windows Mobile 5.0 should have plenty of room to play, but the QVGA display is a mere 2.2-inches, so some squinting might be in order. The phone includes Bluetooth, dual-speakers and push-email support, but we’re still without a clue as to the actual launch date or specific carrier. We’re also curious if Samsung can manage to compete with the Q at that $200 (with subsidies) price point, but we guess we’ll find out soon.Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
Motorola Capri, a.k.a. the RAZR slider, previewed
Filed under: Cellphones The guys over at PhoneScoop have sure made the site live up to its name today: not only did they get some serious hands-on time with Motorola’s upcoming RAZR slider — codenamed Capri — they also got to preview the next version of Moto’s much-maligned Synergy UI that will show up in such models as the Canary and the SCPL. At least on paper, the Capri seems to offer a very compelling feature set that will probably attract anyone into the RAZR lifestyle- you’re getting a model only slightly thicker and heavier than its clamshell counterpart, but which sports a 2.0 megapixel camera, A2DP-capable Bluetooth, and what sounds like a greatly improved user interface. Especially noteworthy in the overhauled Synergy is an address book that seems to work much more intuitively than past iterations (remember the one on the StarTAC?), allowing you to organize entries by name and search for contacts using multiple letters. Although Phone Scoop was only testing a pre-production model, they have identified some potential problems to watch out for on the final version, such as the unusually crappy quality of what should be a decent camera, and most importantly, a spring-assisted slider that’s difficult to activate due to the raised antenna bulge so familiar to RAZR owners. Click on if you want to peep a few more snaps, but you’re really doing yourself a disservice if you don’t head over to PhoneScoop for the full gallery and a very thorough write-up… Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: cellphones.engadget.com
