A new Motorola iDEN clamshell has been spied at the FCC. It is the Moto i680, which, apart from its “rugged nature” and an iDEN radio (800/900 MHz), also features two screens (external and internal), camera with flash capable of taking both photos and videos, media player, Bluetooth, microSD memory card slot, and headset jack. Apart from that, the device also includes support for PTX services.
The only dampener is the look and feel, which is super antiquated, although that might not be an issue with those looking for a rugged device. Neither Motorola nor Sprint has released any official information relating to the i680 at this juncture.
Palm has made available a new firmware for the Pre, in a move that is obviously planned to coincide with the release of the Pixi. The update bundles loads of minor fixes that further enhance the user experience. Here’s what has changed:
> Yahoo! synchronization has been added.
> Message forwarding.
> A new option to restart the handset: press and hold power > Power > Restart.
> Video clips (including YouTube) now display, by default, in widescreen mode.
> You can now open YouTube videos embedded on a webpage with a dedicated app, just like on the iPhone.
> Ability to choose ring tone for new message alerts.
> Ability to navigate forward or backward in the song by using a playback slider (once more, just like on the iPhone).
Unfortunately, this update does not bring back the iTunes compatibility. One might suppose that had to end at some point.
Back in July, Vobis Computer launched its first Android device – HighScreen PP5420. And now, the company has unveiled the second one – Highscreen Zeus. Evidently, the new smartphone is better in comparison to its predecessor and it features a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard.
Rest of the specifications include 3.2-inch 240×400 pixels touchscreen, HSPA connectivity, GPS, 3-megapixel camera with auto-focus, Bluetooth 2.1, 256 MB of RAM along with 512 MB of ROM, while Qualcomm’s MSM 7225 CPU is running the show at 528 MHz. In terms of size, the Highscreen Zeus measures 110×55×15.1 mm. And it weighs 124.6 grams.
Precise release date isn’t known at this juncture, but there’s information on pricing. After it’s released, Vobis will be asking 13,990 rubles (around $483) for the Zeus.
Koodo has added some fresh colors on a few of their more popular Samsung devices. You can now get the Samsung Slyde in pink and the Samsung Intensity in red.
The Slyde comes with a full QWERTY keyboard, MP3 player, 2.1″ screen, 2MP camera with video, and more. It’ll cost you $175 for outright purchase or $25 on your ‘tab’. The Intensity is a slidy also with a full QWERTY keyboard, 1.3MP camera, 2.1″ display, MP3 player, and is expandable up to 16GB with the microSD slot. How much you need to pay? Well, you’ll have to shell out over a little bit more – it comes for $200 for outright purchase or $50 on your ‘tab’.
Both of these devices don’t seem to be that sensational, but a lot of folks out there might fancy them.
For additional information, you can head over to KoodoMobile.com.
Samsung has unveiled yet another Korea-only device dubbed as W920. It is a decent phone which, as it’s slowly getting a standard there, features a S-DMB mobile TV receiver. Other specs relating to the 12.9mm thick phone include a 3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, front facing camera for video calls, SOS function, media player, pre-installed TOEIC/TOEFL test apps to learn English on the go, and e-dictionary.
As mentioned above, the Samsung SCH-W920 is aimed at the company’s domestic market exclusively, where those interested can snap it up for 500,000 won (approximately, $425) in either white or black.
Alltel has come up with a new device for young but heavy texters. It is the Samsung DoubleTake, which flaunts a sliding QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth, 1.3-megapixel camera, and such things. In short, nothing exceptional, but still enough for $39.99. That is, of course, the price to which is tied at least a one-year service contract on a qualifying rate plan and following a $50 mail-in rebate. And speaking of the color options, you have two versions – sleek charcoal gray and bold red, which appear to be targeted at boys and girls, respectively – so it seems. Alltel’s website has more details for those interested.
Adobe’s Photoshop.com Mobile for iPhone launched not too long back, and quickly gained popularity – it was downloaded more than one million times from Apple’s App Store during the first week.
The app lets users upload, view, and share photos using their phone. This includes simple edits like crop and rotate, as also transform photos with the help of one-touch filters and effects.
Consumers with a free account will be able to store images on Photoshop.com, and access them with their iPhone or computer. Also, it’s possible to share edited photos through Photoshop.com or making use of the iPhone’s native sharing features.
You can download the Adobe Photoshop.com Mobile for iPhone application from Apple’s App Store on iPhone as well as iPod touch.
For additional information, you can visit Adobe’s website.
It should be pointed out that the application is presently available in the United States and Canada only.
Certainly, of late, the BlackBerry Storm2, Tour 9630 and Bold 9700 has been hogging the news. That is to say, in the BlackBerry world. Berry addicts across the world are undoubtedly weighing their options and making upgrades to the new devices introduced by RIM as time passes.
However, in case you’re among those who don’t care about the ‘cutting edge’ in the RIM lineup, Rogers has brought down their pricing on some very solid devices from BlackBerry. The Bold 9000, Curve 8520 and Curve 8900 have all been given price reductions, and at the new price points they seem to be more attractive than ever. The details are as below:
> BlackBerry Bold 9000: $99.99 (in white or black)
> BlackBerry Curve 8520: $49.99 (in lavender or black)
> BlackBerry Curve 8900: $79.99
Hardly any surprise here that the above-mentioned prices come with a 3-year contract. Visit the BlackBerry lineup at Rogers for additional information. Happy shopping!
Apple’s recent announcement can be looked upon as a milestone of sorts. You can access 100,000 apps in the App Store for the iPod touch and iPhone.
“The App Store, now with over 100,000 applications available, is clearly a major differentiator for millions of iPhone and iPod touch customers around the world,” according to Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, Philip Schiller. “The iPhone SDK created the first great platform for mobile applications and our customers are loving all of the amazing apps our developers are creating.”
While quite a few developers express displeasure about an irksome submission and inclusion procedure, and others simply complain about the dismal quality overall (lousy free apps), there’s no doubt that the App Store is the ‘place to be’ for developers looking to make some cash.
It would be interesting to see what REALLY happens on the whole ‘App Store’ scene in the months and years to come. It’s likely that the Google Android Market and Apple App Store are going to tangle toe-to-toe. With Android’s rapidly expanding developer base, not to mention the growing presence of Android devices during the latter half of this year, Google and Apple appear to be headed for a major confrontation next year. Don’t you think so?
Those subscribers getting accustomed with the breadth of Sprint’s Simply Everything plan and utilizing the odd smartphone tethering are in for a rude shock. Some angry discussion seen on the Sprint forums has brought to light that phone as modem service isn’t available any longer for those with the Simply Everything plan, even though a Sprint employee fervently defends the decision, stating that PAM has always been intended as an add-on, and any subscriber tethering up till now was doing so outside the scope of their contract. David Owens, Sprint VP, has confirmed the change and has mentioned that there isn’t going to be a PAM add-on available for Simply Everything any time in the near future. However, workarounds are always there, such as TetherBerry for BlackBerry, and My Tether for the Pre, but that involves more work then many users would care to put in. Clearly, Sprint is more interested in peddling their mobile broadband access via WiMAX routers. Depressing news for a lot of customers, but it’s difficult to blame Sprint for promoting 4G.