feedburner
Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

feedburner count

Top 10 Phones of 2009

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This post started out when I got a request from @jNatividad23 to make a list of what I think the top phones of 2009 are. I thought it'd be an interesting idea, since cell phones are all I talk about nowadays. This list has been made up based on other reviews or the spec sheets that I have read and, of course, my own opinions - basically how the phone stacks up on paper. All of the specs are courtesy of other sources linked on my blog or GSM Arena. So here goes:











10. Samsung (I8000) Omnia II - This phone is, obviously, the direct successor to the original Omnia and Samsung has changed it enough to impress me. The Omnia II has: a 3.7-inch AMOLED resistive touchscreen display with a 480 x 800 resolution, a 5MP AF camera (with an LED flash, geo-tagging support, and face / smile detection) that's capable of shooting video at 720 x 480 resolution, a Samsung S3C6410 800MHz CPU with a dedicated graphics accelerator, 2/8/16GB of internal storage, 256MB of RAM, a microSD card slot, WiFi b/g with DLNA / Bluetooth 2.0 + A2DP / aGPS support, a 3.5mm headphone jack, Stereo FM radio with RDS, quad-band GSM / tri-band HSDPA connectivity, and a 1,500 mAh battery.



Samsung developed this new AMOLED display back in the beginning of June, so I'm glad to see that they're already shipping these out. I don't think anyone will be upset with the clarity of a 3.7-inch AMOLED display with a 480 x 800 resolution. I don't know how good the TouchWiz 2.0 UI, but I've heard that it's been greatly improved since version 1.0. Thankfully, it's just 11.9mm thick.


Unfortunately, the display is a resistive touchscreen so it's not as responsive as it could be. I tested this handset in stores and it was running Windows Mobile 6.5, but it was fairly sluggish - which made me quite sad. The widgets on the home screen were quite laggy and Samsung's customized UI is not as good as HTC's.


You can check out the Samsung (I8000) Omnia II here or on GSM Arena (photo credit), if you'd like.




















9. Samsung B7610 OmniaPRO - Here is a great QWERTY keyboard-packed phone and it has amazing specs. The OmniaPRO has: a 3.5-inch AMOLED resistive touchscreen display with a 480 x 800 resolution, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 5MP AF camera (with an LED flash, geo-tagging support, and face / smile detection) capable of recording D1 video (720 x 480 resolution), a Samsung S3C6410 800MHz CPU with a dedicated graphics accelerator, 256MB of RAM, 2GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot, WiFi b/g with DLNA / aGPS / Bluetooth 2.0 + A2DP support, a 3.5mm headphone jack, Stereo FM radio with RDS, quad-band GSM / dual-band HSDPA connectivity, and a 1,500 mAh battery.

Thankfully, it's got a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard, which is a great addition to any mobile phone. Like the Samsung I8000 Omnia II, this handset is also rocking Samsung's new AMOLED display that has a high 480 x 800 resolution. This is sure to bring you the crispest pictures and video you've ever seen on a mobile phone. An 800MHz CPU also joins the party, which is welcomed. This phone beat out the Samsung I8000 Omnia II simply because it has a physical QWERTY keyboard and the virtually identical spec sheet.


But, like I said, this phone has a resistive touchscreen display which is a let down. However, Samsung has placed their new "Advanced R Touch" technology on this handset. At this point, I don't know how much it will improve the touchscreen of the device. Another let down is, of course, the OS. Windows Mobile 6.5 hasn't received the best of reviews, but if you can get past the slight lag it'll do. WinMo is still quite good in the mobile OS world, they just need to improve the UI and the speed of it. Another bad thing is that it's 16.2mm thick, simply because of the QWERTY keyboard. A like it or hate it kind of thing is the back battery cover - it's red.


You can check out the Samsung B7610 OmniaPRO here or on GSM Arena (photo credit), if you'd like.



8. Nokia N900 - This is Nokia's first Maemo 5 device and I've read that the OS is quite nice, especially since it comes with full Flash support. The Nokia N900 features: a 3.5-inch resistive touchscreen display with a 480 x 800 resolution, 32GB of internal storage, 256MB of RAM, a microSD card slot, a 5MP AF camera (with a Carl Zeiss lens and a dual-LED flash) capable of shooting WVGA video, WiFi b/g with DLNA / Bluetooth 2.1 + A2DP / aGPS support, an ARM Cortex A8 600MHz CPU with PowerVR SGX graphics, an FM radio / transmitter, a secondary video calling camera, a TV output, a 3.5mm headphone jack, quad-band GSM / tri-band HSDPA connectivity, and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

This handset comes with more goodies like Skype and Google Talk VoIP integration, which is great for the future. I'm sure Skype will integrate video into their mobile software soon, especially with Fring doing that with the iPhone and certain S60 devices. Hopefully they roll out support for my device soon, just saying.
Unfortunately no phone is perfect. The resistive touchscreen display isn't as responsive as people would've liked and it's fairly thick at 18mm. The thickness wouldn't bother me much though since I always have baggy pockets and the phone I have right now is 17.9mm (it's an N81) - and I don't mind it.


You can check out the Nokia N900 here or on GSM Arena (photo credit), if you'd like.



7. Sony Ericsson Satio (Idou) - Sony Ericsson has had a really rough year, reporting losses left and right, but they're looking to turn that around. Behold, the Sony Ericsson Satio formerly called the Idou. The Satio has: a 3.5-inch resistive touchscreen display with a 360 x 640 resolution, a 12MP AF camera capable of recording VGA video, an ARM Cortex A8 600MHz CPU with PowerVR SGX graphics, 128MB of internal storage, a microSD card slot, 256MB of RAM, Bluetooth 2.0 + A2DP / aGPS / WiFi b/g with DLNA support, Stereo FM radio, quad-band GSM / dual-band HSDPA connectivity (the Satio(a) has tri-band HSDPA for the Americas), a secondary video calling camera, and a 1,000 mAh battery. The camera is really impressive, it has a xenon flash, touch-focus / geo-tagging support, and face / smile detection.

What it doesn't tell us on the spec sheet is that the Satio is capable of playing PlayStation games in nHD (ninth High Definition) format. We don't know how well the Satio will play games, but it does have the same CPU as the iPhone 3GS, which is a good thing. We'll know more about the gaming capabilities of this phone in the future. The camera is more than impressive, but just remember that megapixels aren't everything. I should probably mention that you get an 8GB microSD card in the box.

As of right now, the inclusion of a 3.5mm headphone jack has not been mentioned yet, so I'll assume that it doesn't have one. This is a huge let down to most people out there. The touchscreen is supposedly resistive, but it's not confirmed yet. The Satio runs on S60 and it's not as touch-friendly as some of the other OS's out there. Like the LG BL40 - which didn't make my list - it has a small 1,000 mAh battery.

You can check out the Sony Ericsson Satio (Idou) here or on GSM Arena (photo credit), if you'd like.


6. iPhone 3GS - Although this is probably the phone that would top everyone's list, it clearly doesn't top mine. The iPhone 3GS has: a scratch-resistant 3.5-inch capacitive multi-touchscreen display with a 320 x 480 resolution, a 3.2MP AF camera (with touch-focus and geo-tagging support) with VGA video capabilities, an ARM Cortex A8 600MHz CPU with PowerVR SGX graphics, a 3.5mm headphone jack, 16/32GB of internal memory, 256MB of RAM, WiFi b/g / Bluetooth 2.1 + A2DP (only headset support) / aGPS support, a digital compass, and of course, the App Store.

The display is arguably the best touchscreen that the mobile world has ever seen and the CPU speed bump is welcomed, especially since the UI was already extremely snappy to begin with - which is evident in the iPhone 3G. The CPU can be used for some hardcore iPhone gaming, which isn't a bad thing. The camera is an improvement over the iPhone 3G, since it can record 30fps VGA video and it also got a small bump up to 3.2MP; it also has touch focus and geo-tagging support. But let's get right down to it, without Apple's App Store the iPhone 3GS would not be on my list. The App Store makes this phone what it is. The iPhone 3GS is very easy to use and the Apps make this phone do virtually anything you want to do. You can have Apps that will keep up with your Twitter, Facebook, e-mail via push notifications, and the list goes on and on. At least 100,000 of them to choose from.

However, there are bad things about the iPhone 3GS, don't get me wrong. The 3.2MP camera is good, but it doesn't have flash, the (1,219 mAh) battery life is definitely not the best around, and the back of the iPhone attracts some fingerprint smudges. Not to mention, there's no Flash support on the iPhone 3GS, which is a let down. The negative aspects of this phone are pretty minimal, but they're still present and that's my point. Nothing's perfect, especially not the iPhone.

You can check out the iPhone 3GS here or on GSM Arena (photo credit), if you'd like.


5. Samsung i8910 Omnia HD - To be honest, I don't know how you can dislike this phone. It's completely packed with superb features. The i8910 Omnia HD has: a scratch-resistant 3.7-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display with a 360 x 640 resolution, a 3.5mm headphone jack, 8/16GB of internal memory, Virtual 5.1 channel Dolby surround speakers / DNSe 2.0, 256MB of RAM, a microSD card slot, WiFi b/g with DLNA / Bluetooth 2.0 + A2DP / aGPS support, an 8MP AF camera capable of recording 720p video, an ARM Cortex A8 600MHz CPU with PowerVR SGX graphics, Stereo FM radio with RDS support, a CIF secondary video camera on the front, a digital compass, and a 1,500 mAh battery.

Besides the 8-megapixel goodness, the camera also comes equipped with: an LED-flash, geo-tagging support, face / smile / blink detection, and image stabilization. The 3.7-inch display is the largest AMOLED to hit a mobile phone, but unfortunately, it's not the best one to hit Samsung devices. The Samsung I8000 Omnia II - mentioned earlier - has a 3.7-inch AMOLED display as well, but it has an improved 480 x 800 resolution.

There's not much to dislike about this handset, but it does have a couple of underwhelming features. The i8910 Omnia HD runs on Symbian S60 5th Edition and it's not as touch-friendly as the iPhone OS. The browser also doesn't have Flash support right now, but that's limited to a few handsets at this point.

You can check out the Samsung i8910 HD here or on GSM Arena (photo credit), if you'd like.

4. Motorola DROID / MILESTONE - The DROID. If you live in North America you should know about this handset, the robot phone as the advertisements say. It has launched on Verizon as the Motorola DROID, but it's hitting everywhere else as the MILESTONE (including Canada via Telus in 2010) This handset features: a 3.7-inch capacitive touchscreen display with a 480 x 854 resolution, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a 5MP AF camera (with dual-LED flash, geo-tagging support, and image stabilization) capable of shooting D1 video, a microSD card slot (8GB card included), WiFi b/g / Bluetooth 2.1 + A2DP / aGPS support, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard with an optical trackpad, an ARM Cortex A8 550MHz CPU, a digital compass, quad-band GSM / dual-band HSDPA connectivity, and a 1,400 mAh battery.

This handset - right now - is the best Android handset to date. This handset features Android's latest OS, version 2.0 "Eclair", which is definitely a step up from all the other versions of Android. The inclusion of Google Maps Navigation is definitely a positive, but unfortunately, it's limited to the DROID. The MILESTONE will not be getting it. The DROID doesn't have multitouch out-of-the-box (it does support it though), but the MILESTONE does which is great news since I live in Canada.

You can check out the Motorola DROID / MILESTONE here or on GSM Arena (photo credit), if you'd like.

3. HTC HD2 - This is a large and amazing handset. The HTC HD2 has: a huge 4.3-inch WVGA capacitive multi-touchscreen display with a 480 x 800 resolution, a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8250 Snapdragon CPU, WiFi b/g / Bluetooth 2.1 + A2DP / aGPS support, a 5MP AF camera (with a dual-LED flash and geo-tagging support) with VGA video capabilities, a 3.5mm headphone jack, 512MB of ROM, 448MB of RAM, quad-band GSM / dual-band HSDPA connectivity, Stereo FM radio with RDS support, a microSD card slot, a digital compass, and a 1,230 mAh battery.

This phone has an impressive spec sheet, to say the least. Its 4.3-inch display will be the largest ever display on a mobile phone - beating out the likes of the 4.1-inch Toshiba TG01. The inclusion of the 1GHz Snapdragon CPU will also be welcomed, especially since it's going to run WinMo 6.5 Professional where all the CPU speed is going to be needed. HTC has thankfully polished WinMo 6.5 with their own cutomized Sense UI which is amazing. The display is capacitive which will make it - I believe - the first WinMo mobile phone to rock a capacitive [and even multitouch] display.

You can check out the HTC HD2 here or on GSM Arena (photo credit), if you'd like.

2. Google Nexus One - This handset hasn't been made officially official by Google themselves, but we know it's out there and the specs were just leaked out this morning (special thanks to Engadget). Unfortunately, I don't believe it was enough to eclipse the number one phone on my list (on paper at least). This handset is truly impressive, since we believe it's coming from Google themselves. It's the Nexus One (picture source: Engadget).


The Google Nexus One is packing a punch in the specification department with its: 3.7-inch AMOLED WVGA touchscreen display, a 5MP AF camera (with an LED flash and 2x digital zoom), 512MB of RAM, 512MB of ROM, a microSD card slot (4GB in the box), WiFi a/b/g/n / Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR / aGPS support, a Qualcomm QSD 8250 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a 1,400 mAh battery.

That's not all though. This handset will also feature a secondary microphone which will cancel out your background noise when you talk, this is a nice feature to have. Of course, it'll be running the Android OS and it'll be version 2.1. The Android app store is approaching 20,000 apps, so you have a ton of them to choose from (although it's nowhere near Apple's 100,000 apps and counting). Unfortunately, this handset is lacking a QWERTY keyboard, but that helps keep the phone at 11.5mm (the iPhone 3GS is 12.3mm). This handset will also be capable of running on T-Mobile's 3G network, but not AT&T's (it'll run on AT&T's EDGE network though). This means that it'll be capable of running on WIND Mobile's 3G network in Canada as well.

You can also check out the Google Nexus One here.

1. Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 - It wasn't a tough decision, even though I've always hated Sony Ericsson; I once hoped that they would just go bankrupt already, since they release the same cheap Walkman phones over and over again. However, the XPERIA X10 was made official about a month ago and the specs are pretty damn good. The XPERIA X10 is my number one phone to-date, even though it hasn't been released yet. Its specs are truly promising.

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 has: a scratch-resistant 4-inch OLED touchscreen display with a 480 x 854 resolution, an 8.1MP AF camera capable of recording WVGA video, 1GB of internal storage, 256MB of RAM, a microSD card slot (8GB card included), a 3.5mm headphone jack, and WiFi b/g with DLNA / Bluetooth 2.1 + A2DP / aGPS support. The camera is equipped with: 16x digital zoom, an LED-flash, image stabilization, face detection, smile shutter, and geo-tagging support.

In addition, this phone is running a sexy and customized build of Android 2.0 (as seen here). And yes, I know what you're saying. How can this be your number one phone when it hasn't been released yet? Well, GSM Arena got their first look at this handset and mentioned that it is running a Qualcomm QSD8250 1GHz Snapdragon CPU.

What also makes the XPERIA X10 interesting is that it's looking like it will be Sony Ericsson's first Android handset, since they haven't announced anything else yet. Somewhere down the line though, it looks like Android devices will have multitouch support. 4-inch capacitive touchscreen display + 1GHz Snapdragon CPU + sexy and customized Android build + an 8MP camera = Love.

The bad thing about this handset is that it won't be available until early 2010. If you were to pick the Google Nexus One or the HTC HD2 over this handset, I couldn't and wouldn't argue with you. They're all great handsets, but the fact that this runs Android, has a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, and packs a 4-inch OLED touchscreen display are the real punch-out factors for me.

You can check out the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 here or on GSM Arena (photo credit), if you'd like.

A bunch of notables - in no specific order: LG GW820 eXpoHTC Touch Pro 2Toshiba TG01, Nokia N97, LG Viewty SmartHTC Touch Diamond 2, LG Chocolate BL40, Palm Pre, HTC Touch HD, , Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2, Acer (A1) Liquid, Acer (F1) neoTouchHTC Hero, and the HTC Dragon / Passion / Bravo.

Yes, those are a lot of honourable mentions, but that's only because there are so many high-end phones that could be on this list. This list may not be perfect and I tried to do my best judging each phone by its spec sheet and other reviews that I have read. It's my first time making a list of the top phones on my blog and I understand that I can improve it. All-in-all I'm satisfied with my list - it just sucks that they're all expensive unlocked.

Of course, there are still phones to look forward to later this year. There has been talks of Samsung's WiMAX-capable handset running Android; it's rumoured to hit Sprint sometime in the future. Another phone to look forward to is a Samsung handset that will be running on the Nvidia Tegra chipset, check it out here. If this trend continues, Samsung will overtake Nokia.



Acer Aspire 532h Gets Leaked With Pine Trail; Another Standard Netbook

Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,


CES is only a couple of days away and another Acer netbook has just leaked out with Pine Trail. This is the Acer Aspire 532h netbook that features: a 10.1-inch display with a 1,024 x 600 resolution, Intel GMA 3150 graphics, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB / 250GB HDD, a 5-in-1 card reader, 3 USB 2.0 ports, a 0.3MP webcam, VGA output, and Windows 7 Starter Edition. You bet that we'll see more of this netbook at CES 2010, but right now it's looking pretty standard. It's expected to hit a price point under $300


[Gizmodo]

Motorola Shadow Rumours Start Up Right Before CES 2010; 4.3-Inch Display, 8MP, 1080p, and Android

Labels: , , , , , ,


Well, what the heck is this? Apparently, this is another touchscreen handset from Motorola, called the Shadow. And yes, the correct picture is the black one - not the white one. This handset is rumoured to have: a 4.3-inch touchscreen display with an 850 x 484 resolution, an 8MP camera, an HDMI output (for 1080p), and supposedly the Android OS. Let's hope this one gets unveiled at CES 2010 - maybe I'll hold off buying the Nexus One for it. This looks like it could be the real Sholes tablet.

[Slash Gear]

Rogers Cuts the BB Bold 9700 To $200 On Contract

Labels: , , , , ,


The price for the BlackBerry Bold 9700 just continues to drop and this time it's Rogers' turn. They have just slashed the price of theirs to $199.99 on a 3-year contract. That's $100 cheaper than it first launched and now it's on par with Bell's. Choose your poison. Check it out here.

[Mobile Syrup]

SmartQ V5 MID Now Available For Around $160; Android, Ubuntu, and Windows CE Pre-Installed

Labels: , , , , , , ,


Well, it looks like SmartQ has just released the V5 MID. Do you care? Do you want it? Well, you can scoop it up for right around the $160 mark. This MID comes with: a 4.3-inch touchscreen display, a 600MHz ARM11 CPU, 256MB of RAM, 2GB of internal storage, an SD card slot, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, and 1080p with its HDMI output. It's got Android, Ubuntu, and Windows CE 6.0 pre-installed so you know this thing is a monster.

[Pocketables, Engadget]

Samsung BCH-i899 Headed To China With Android

Labels: , , ,


Damn, another Android handset is headed to China thanks to Samsung. This one is the Samsung i899 and takes a look similar to the Behold 2 in the US. This handset features: a 3.2-inch AMOLED HVGA resistive touchscreen display, an 800MHz CPU, a 3.2MP AF camera with an LED flash, GPS / Bluetooth / WiFi/WAPI support, 512MB of internal memory, and a microSD card slot. I don't know which carrier will be carrying this but, like I said, it's headed to China.

[Samsung Hub]

Asus Eee PC 1001P Netbook With Pine Trail Shipping On January 6th

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


I know you remember the Asus Eee PC 1001P that we saw pop up last week. Well, we know that it'll feature an Intel Atom N450 CPU and it's actually already available for pre-orders on Amazon Germany. Other specs include: (likely) a 10.1-inch display, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB HDD, and Windows XP. I don't know why they didn't put Windows 7 Starter Edition on here, but oh well. If you want you can check out the black model here and the white model here for €267.70 ($384 USD); the delivery is set for January 6th.

Spring Design To Unveil Alex E-Book Reader On January 7th, Android and All.

Labels: , , , ,


Remember Spring Design's Alex e-book reader? Well, it looks like we'll see it unveiled at CES 2010, which is in a couple of days now. If you remember, they gave us a preview of this e-book reader right around the time we saw the Barnes & Noble Nook e-book reader for the first time. Their press event will take place on January 7th at 11:30 Las Vegas time. This e-book reader reportedly has a 6-inch EPD screen (for reading), a 3.5-inch coloured display at the bottom, the Android OS, and a microSD card slots to store all of your books on.

Apple Holding January 26th Event, Hopefully For the Tablet.

Labels: , , ,

I'm pretty sure we've heard this date thrown around before. Apple is reportedly holding an event for their tablet on January 26th. So, last year was their last MacWorld, but it looks like Apple doesn't have a problem with holding events in January. Oh yeah, we'll also know exactly what this tablet will be called; some likely names right now are the iSlate or the iGuide (which would be weird).

HTC Working On Dual-Screen Android Handset?

Labels: , ,

A new rumour has just started today. Apparently, HTC is working on an Android handset with two displays on it. I believe that they'll both be touchscreens, but I could be wrong. They're still trying to figure out if having two screens is worth it, so what do you think? If things work out maybe we'll see it at MWC 2010

Motorola Set To Unveil 2 Android Phones At CES 2010

Labels: , , , , , , , ,


At CES 2010, we're now hearing that Motorola will be unveiling two new Android phones. To be honest, this isn't all that surprising. They probably won't be anything new either. The two Android phones will likely be the Motorola Backflip / Enzo that's headed to AT&T and the Sholes Tablet that's probably headed to Verizon. If they're neither of those two, then it'll be shocking. Maybe we'll even see the Opus One, let's wait and see.

Nexus One Being Sold Exclusively By Google On January 5th For $530 Unlocked; $180 On T-Mobile Plan

Labels: , , , , , ,


A lot of Google Nexus One news popped up yesterday, but I couldn't muster up a post about all of it since I was busy sleeping in bed after getting some food poisoning. All of that aside it looks like the Nexus One will be sold exclusively by Google. We're hearing that it'll launch on January 5th for $180 on a T-Mobile USA Even More contract or you can get it for $530 unlocked (via Boy Genius). $530 unlocked is definitely not a bad deal (at least I think so), and I'd actually scoop one up if I could.

To kick off the Nexus One launch it also looks like Google will be holding an event for Android on January 5th as well. If this opens up in Canada as well (and it will ship outside of the US), you'll be able to use it on WIND Mobile's 3G network.

• Yeah, it’s $530 unsubsidized. Google’s not going to be selling the phone at cost, like so many people considered. They’re not going to save us from the “making money off of hardware” culture we’ve got right now, so this is basically just another Android handset, albeit a really good one
• If you want it subsidized, you’ll have to sign up for a 2 year mandatory contract
• There’s only one rate plan: $39.99 Even More + Text + Web for $79.99 total
• Existing customers cannot keep their plan if they want a subsidized phone; they have to change to the one plan, and this only applies to accounts with one single line
• If that doesn’t fly with you, you have to buy the $530 unlocked version—this actually might save you money over two years if you already have a cheap plan
• Family plans, Flexpay, SmartAccess and KidConnect subscribers 
must buy the phone unlocked and unsubsidized for $530
• You can only buy 
five Nexus One phones per Google account
• There is language in the agreement of shipping 
outside the US
• Google will sell it at google.com/phone, which explains what they were doing with that page 
a few weeks ago
• Google will still call it the Nexus One apparently, and not the 
Google Phone


Verizon Palm Pre Gets a WiFi Certificate; Stocking Up On 600,000 Palm Pixis As Well

Labels: , , , , , ,


So, a Palm smartphone has just popped up in the WiFi certification and it looks like it could actually be the upcoming Pre - the one headed to Verizon. To make things even more interesting Verizon could also be looking to stock up 600,000 Pixis next year as well. Maybe both handsets hit Verizon at the exact same time, kind of like when Verizon launched the Motorola DROID and the HTC Droid Eris.


[(Pre) Engadget, (Pixi) Engadget Mobile]

Samsung I6330C and I8180C Hitting China Mobile Soon With WinMo 6.5

Labels: , ,


China Mobile looks like they're set to launch two more WinMo 6.5 from Samsung. This time it's the I6330C (above) and the I8180C (below). Both of these handsets will allow you to watch mobile TV, of course, which is a standard in China. The I6330C will feature a 3.2-inch AMOLED WQVGA touchscreen display, aGPS support, and a 3.2MP camera. Since the I8180C is an Omnia II variant, you can expect those traditional specs. Yes, including the 800MHz CPU.


Pantech P9020 Passes the FCC, Headed To AT&T

Labels: , , , ,


Well, it looks like the Patench P9020 has just passed the FCC (here) and it's headed to AT&T next year. To me it actually looks pretty funny, it's like a midget phone. It's got a 2.8-inch QVGA touchscreen display, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 2MP camera, Bluetooth support, and a microSD card slot.


Philips Shows Off Their 720p-Capable SA075 PMP In Beijing

Labels: , ,


Philips has just shown off their latest PMP overseas in Beijing. This is the Philips SA075 and it looks like it'll be a fingerprint magnet. This PMP will be capable of spewing out a 720p resolution on a touchscreen display that has an 800 x 480 resolution. It also features an HDMI output and probably a microSD card slot as well.

Samsung N220 Netbook Spotted In France With Pine Trail Atom CPU

Labels: , , , , , , , ,


Another netbook has just been spotted on a France e-tailer's website. This one's the Samsung N220 that will feature: a 10.1-inch display with a 1,024 x 600 resolution, an Intel Atom N450 CPU, integrated GMA 3150 graphics, 1GB of RAM, a 250GB HDD, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, a 0.3MP webcam, Windows 7 Starter Edition, and a 6-cell battery. It'll likely be available in early 2010 and we'll probably see it at CES 2010. It's sporting a chiclet keyboard and will be priced at 349 euros ($502 USD).

[Netbooked]

Cancelled Touchscreen BlackBerry Gets Shown Off

Labels: , ,


A new BlackBerry (prototype) has just been spotted in photos. Unfortunately, this looks like it was a shunned BlackBerry since it's reportedly been cancelled at this point. It reminds me of a Pearl and a Storm, since it's featuring a touchscreen display. I wonder if this guy could turn it on for us.

[Phone Arena]

Philips D908 Handset Coming To China Telecom Soon With 1GB of RAM

Labels: , , ,


It's now official. What you see above is the Philips D908 and it's headed to China soon (on China Telecom) with Windows Mobile 6.5. The spec sheet is looking pretty good, since it's packing: a 3.2-inch WVGA touchscreen display, GSM / CDMA / EV-DO connectivity, WiFi / GPS / Bluetooth 2.1 support, a 5MP camera, 2GB of ROM, and a microSD card slot. But that's not all it's packing. Somehow Philips managed to pack in 1GB of RAM into this high-end handset, so that will improve the performance. We don't know how much this handset will launch for yet.

[Unwired View]

Notion Ink Smartpad Gearing Up Towards June 2010 Launch

Labels: , , , ,


Remember that Notion Ink smartpad? Well, Crunch Gear is hearing that this tablet will get launched in June 2010. That's hoping that the Nvidia Tegra 2 (T20) graphics don't get delayed. Well, it's 6 months away if everything goes according to plan. Let's hope it does. Maybe we'll even see a prototype by CES.

[Crunch Gear]

Lenovo Already Cooking Up Their Own E-Book Reader

Labels: , ,


Lenovo looks like they're planning to hop onto the e-book reader bandwagon as well. Engadget is hearing that Lenovo may already have started their internal testing on this new device of theirs. But, I'm guessing this won't be an e-reader killer like the one Apple is brewing up. Maybe we'll see it at CES 2010.

[Engadget]

Nokia Confirms Dual-SIM S40 Handset For Next Year; Also QWERTY and Touch UI

Labels:


Looks like Nokia is really planning on creating their own dual-SIM handset. These handsets will also be running their Symbian S40 OS (not S60) and there could actually be more than one of them coming next year. Nokia's executive VP of devices said, "Next year you can also expect other developments in Series 40 such as adding QWERTY keyboards, dual SIM, touch UI, and so on." Look out for these handsets at either CES or MWC next year.

[Slash Gear]

LG LS680 Spotted In Sprint's Systems, It's Running Android

Labels: , , , , , ,


Right now we don't know anything about this handset from LG. All that we do know is that it's headed to Sprint with the Android OS. We don't even know what version of Android it'll be running. Could this be what Sprint and LG are cooking up at CES 2010? Possibly - but, personally, I don't think so.

[Boy Genius]

5 HP Notebooks Slip Out; Envy 14 and 17 On the Way

Labels: , , ,


A couple of days before CES 2010, it looks like new HP notebooks have just been spotted. More notably, it's the HP Envy 14 and 17. Surprisingly enough, both of these models may not have integrated optical drives for some reason, since HP Korean's website lists the HP external USB DVD Drive as a specification.

The other set of notebooks that have been leaked out is the successor to the Elitebook 2730p tablet notebook, the 2530p tablet notebook, and the 17-inch 8730w notebook. They're on their way.

[Engadget]

Google Nexus One Bluetooth Dock Passes FCC; Ugly Car Clip Spotted In the Wild Too

Labels: , , , , ,



Spotted at the FCC this morning is a new Bluetooth dock for the Google Nexus One. At this point, I don't know why the dock has Bluetooth, since the Nexus One itself has Bluetooth, but we'll have to wait and see when this all goes down early next year. Check out the FCC filing here.

Update: There's also another Nexus One product that was spotted and it's below (courtesy of Engadget). It's the Nexus One car clip and someone decided to snap a picture of it in their car. Luckily when you place the phone on it, it hides the ugly.


Google Chrome OS Netbook Specs Leak Out; Multitouch and SSD

Labels: , ,


You know those Google Chrome OS netbooks that are coming next year? Well, some specs for their netbook have decided to trickle out this morning. In these netbooks, Engadget is hearing that they'll have: 10.1-inch multitouch displays with a 1,280 x 720 resolution, an ARM CPU, a 64GB SSD, WiFi support, 2GB of RAM, integrated 3G support, Bluetooth support, an Ethernet jack, a couple of USB ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a multicard reader, a 4 / 6-cell battery, and optional GPS support.

These specs won't stay the same in every single Chrome OS netbook, but for the most part that should be a standard one. We'll likely see slightly higher and slightly lower configurations on more expensive and less expensive netbooks, respectively.

[Engadget]

11.6-Inch Gateway EC18T Notebook Tablet Passes the FCC

Labels: , , , , , , ,


The rebranded Acer Aspire 1420P has just passed the FCC as the Gateway EC18T. This notebook tablet features: an 11.6-inch display (looking like it'll be touchscreen and rotatable), an Intel SU2300 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, an Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics, up to 8GB of RAM, up to a 500GB HDD, and there's a battery in there that should last about 8 hours. This notebook tablet should be available early next year and I assume the price won't be too steep. Check out the FCC filing here - but it's a PDF.

[Engadget]

HTC Espresso's (HTC Hero Successor) Sense UI Gets Demoed On Video

Labels: , , ,


With these Christmas holidays passing, more and more news is starting to flow in through the door. And today, there's just this new video on the upcoming HTC Espresso's UI. As you can see in the video below it's an improved HTC Sense UI, it's being demoed on an HTC Hero and the build isn't final. That means, yes, there are some laggy spots but don't forget that the Espresso will have a slightly faster CPU as well. Enjoy.



[Engadget]

AT&T LG eXpo Just $50 On Amazon, Phone Projector Still Extra

Labels: , , , , ,


I hope you haven't decided to pick up that LG phone projector eXpo yet. Right now it's available for just $99.99 USD on Amazon, but they'll even throw in a $50 Amazon gift card with your purchase. This means that you can get the handset for $50 on a 2-year AT&T contract. Check it out on Amazon here.

[WMPowerUser]

Bell Mobility Releases the BlackBerry Curve 8530 For $50

Labels: , , , , ,


Canada's Bell Mobility has just released the BlackBerry Curve 8530. This smartphone is now available on their website (here) for $49.95 CAD on a 3-year contract, $249.95 on a 2-year contract, $349.95 on a 1-year contract, and $399.95 contract-free. This smartphone is actually running on Bell's CDMA network which could be a bad thing for you.

[Mobile Syrup]

Samsung Corby POP (C3510) Spotted On Their Mobile Website

Labels:


Here's yet another variant of the Samsung Corby, this is the Corby POP (C3510). It has just been spotted on Samsung's own mobile site (here) and it will likely feature: a 1.3MP camera, an FM radio, 22MB of internal storage, Bluetooth support, and only 8 hours of battery life. This one should be cheap (price-wise).

[Samsung Hub]

MSI Unveiling An All-In-One PC and Two Nettops For CES 2010, All Running Pine Trail

Labels: , , , , , , , ,


MSI has just announced that they'll be showing off two more products for CES 2010. They'll be introducing the Wind Top AP1920, which is an all-in-one PC with an 18.5-inch display. That's all we know about it so far. MSI will also be unveiling the Wind Box DE220 and the DC500, both of which are nettops. There are no pics of either of these nettops, but they should be announced with Intel's new Pine Trail Dual-Core Atoms so they won't be the N450's you find in the netbooks.

[Netbooked]

Motorola Unveiling "What's Next" At CES 2010

Labels: , ,


Unsurprisingly, Motorola will be showing us something new at CES 2010. What could it be? I assume it's the Sholes Tablet for the US, but I guess we'll have to find out officially in about 2 weeks.

[Mobile Crunch]

Sony Ericsson U5i Symbian Handset Passes the FCC

Labels: , , , ,


The FCC (here) has just approved a new Sony Ericsson handset, with the model number U5i. Cell Passion is reporting that this handset is a Symbian handset that will feature a 360 x 640 resolution display and a 2MP camera. Sorry folks, this one's a dumbphone.

[Engadget Mobile]

Apple Holding Event For Their Tablet On January 26th?

Labels: , , ,

It looks like the latest rumour has it that Apple be holding an event for the tablet on or around the January 26th (2010) date. We've already heard that Steve Jobs is extremely satisfied by the way the tablet works and an employee has mentioned that we will be "surprised" at how we interact with this tablet. Well, I can't wait, so let's hope Apple doesn't disappoint.

[Electronista]

LG Unveiling Prada 3 At CES 2010? Launching On Sprint With Android In 2010?

Labels: , , , , , ,


Keep in mind that this is just a rumour. Apparently, LG could be looking to launch the Prada 3 pretty soon.This handset will feature a touchscreen display along with a QWERTY keyboard. It'll also be the first handset of the Prada line-up to use CDMA network bands and use the Android OS. Rumour has it that this will be unveiled at CES 2010 and will launch on Sprint in 2010

[Slash Gear]

7-Inch Apple Tablet To Be Unveiled In January 2010

Labels: , , ,


According to Boy Genius' source, Apple has a 100% chance of unveiling a 7-inch tablet in January 2010. The release date will follow in the coming months (hopefully by the end of 2010). If this is true, it will go directly head to head with the 7-inch ICD Ultra tablet that will be rocking Nvidia Tegra 2 graphics and Android. It'll also meet up with the Asus Eee Pad which could also be a 7-inch tablet that could feature the Nvidia Tegra 2 graphics as well. It's all rumours at this point, but sooner or later Apple will release this damn tablet.

[Slash Gear, Mashable]