News

GSmart announces Android device

Being the clever clogs that I am, anyone that caught the Mobiletech Addicts special podcast at the beginning of the year may recall that I predicted that we would see Gigabyte G-Smart release some Android powered devices this year. Well sooner than expected we’ve already seen an announcement from Gigabyte about exactly that! 🙂

The G-Smart Android Phone

The Gigabyte Android smartphone doesn’t have a name yet, but it’s part of the GSmart series – which, until now, included only Windows Mobile devices.

The new handset runs Android 1.6 (!), has a trackball and measures 103 x 54 x 13.4mm

G-Smart android phone specification:

• GSM / GPRS / EDGE connectivity
• 2.8 QVGA touchscreen display
• Trackball
• G-sensor (accelerometer)
• Wi-Fi
• GPS
• Bluetooth 2.0
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• 2MP autofocus camera
• Qualcomm ESM7225 528 MHz CPU
• 256MB RAM, 512MB ROM
• MicroSD card support
• 1500 mAh battery

We’ve reviewed most of G-Smart’s handsets in the past so I hope to be able to get my hands on one of these for review soon too! 🙂

Shame it’s only Android 1.6 though!

Posted by: Matt

HTC Diamond 3 AKA HTC Obsession

wmpoweruser.com have today published the specs of the HTC Obsession. The device is rumoured to be sporting a 3.7 AMOLED screen and will be coming to AT&T and T-Mobile in the USA later this year. Lets hope the UK follows shortly.

HTC

They have also been told that the device may ship as early as June 2010 which would be nice, if true, as it is allegedly going to be released with Windows Mobile 7!

Here’s a quick run down of the believed specs:

• CPU: Qualcomm QSD8250 1GHz
• GSM HSDPA
• Device Size: 112 x 56 x 11.7 mm
• Memory (RAM/ROM): 512MB/512MB
• Internal Storage: 4GB
• External Storage: MicroSD (up to 32GB)
• Screen Size/Type: 3.7-inch capacitive AMOLED “Multitouch Supported”
• Camera: 5.0 Megapixel AF with flash; HD 720p video@ 25fps
• Video Support: Windows Media Video (WMV), MPEG-4 (MP4/M4V) H.264, DVR-MS4
• Audio Support: Windows Media Audio (WMA), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC-LC), FairPlay DRM, MP3 (.mp3)
• Battery:  Removable 1230 mAh
• Talk Time: Up to 10 hours
• Standby Time: 240 hours
• Internet Use: 6 hours (3G), 7.5 hours (WiFi)
• Video Playback: 7 hours
• Audio Playback: 24 hours

Sounds pretty sweet doesn’t it? Fingers crossed HTC or Microsoft will have further news at Mobile World Congress next month.

Posted By: James

Microsoft posts Windows Mobile 6.5 SDK by mistake!

This is definitely one of those oops moments! Apparently Microsoft published the Windows Mobile 6.5 SDK (software developers kit) on their site late on Friday.

Windows Mobile developers quickly noticed the SDK and several developers got their hands on it quickly before Microsoft pulled it off the site. The SDK includes several tool, emulator and widgets for Windows Mobile 6.5.3, the next version of the OS, 6.6 is thought to be announced in February at MWC.

On Monday, a spokeswoman with Microsoft’s public relations agency confirmed that it had been posted inadvertently. "While the SDK was not announced or promoted, it was discovered and generated questions from the community," she said. "To provide the best experience possible for Windows phone developers, the SDK will be reposted once final testing has been conducted."

Posted by: Matt

Motorola files case against Blackberry owners, RIM

Motorola has asked US regulators to ban Research in Motion (RIM), the Canadian firm behind the Blackberry, from importing its products into the US.

VS

The phone company claims that the Blackberry maker has been illegally using its wi-fi related technology.

A court case is already pending in the US but Motorola has accused RIM of "delaying tactics".

Motorola has lodged its complaint with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) in the hope of a quicker result.

"Motorola has no choice but to file a complaint with the ITC to halt RIM’s continued infringement" said Motorola’s legal representative, Jonathan Meyer.

The ITC typically takes about a month to decide whether to launch an investigation, which takes 12 to 14 months to complete. It can’t award damages but it can stop products from being shipped into the US.

The complaint stems from the two companies failing to renew a cross-licensing agreement.

"These patented technologies are important to Motorola as they allow for more comprehensive connectivity, a better user experience and lower product costs," Motorola said in its statement.

Can you imagine the uproar in the USA if RIM were stopped from importing BlackBerry devices?

Even if it did happen, which I’m sure it wont, I cant see BlackBerry users switching over to Motorola devices, that’s for sure.

Comments on the forum please.

Posted by: James

Sony Ericsson Vivaz announced

Sony Ericsson VivazT, announced today, follows on from the Xperia X10 announced in November 2009, and is the second phone in the new family of communication entertainment phones coming to market in the first half of 2010. Sony Ericsson VivazT will come to market in Q1 2010.

Sony Ericsson Vivaz

With Sony Ericsson VivazT communication truly becomes entertainment with high quality HD video allowing consumers to produce and broadcast their best experiences with the latest video capture and sharing features.

Capture – record spontaneous moments and memories in HD quality and crisp high resolution for a real-life video experience. The dedicated video key allows consumers to shoot video instantly with continuous auto focus for the perfect film every time.

View – review video content in the standby panel or online via Wi-Fi on the 3.2 inch widescreen

Share – upload via Wi-Fi onto YouTubeT and Picasa in high resolution while still using other features on the handset

The open platform also allows users to personalise their entertainment experience by downloading great applications through PlayNowT and the SymbianT Developer Community.

“User-generated content, especially video, is exploding on the web,” said Lennard Hoornik, Head of Marketing, Sony Ericsson. “With Sony Ericsson VivazT, we have created a mobile phone that makes it easy to catch life in high quality video and upload that self expression onto the web to share with the world. Sony Ericsson VivazT offers beauty inside and out with an open and intuitive user experience allowing consumers to capture, view and share their lives and spontaneity in HD quality.”

Sony Ericsson VivazT features the new design philosophy ‘human curvature’, first introduced with the Xperia X10, which will become a consistent feature of Sony Ericsson’s portfolio going forward. Designed to mirror the shape of the human body, and at the same time delivering a precise and compelling phone interaction, Sony Ericsson VivazT is instantly recognisable.

Sony Ericsson VivazT

· HD video – produce and broadcast your best experiences with the latest video capture and sharing features

· Social networking – easy access to social networks such as FacebookT and Twitter

· 8.1 megapixel camera – capture life’s moments in high quality

· Face and smile detection – a perfect picture every time

· Sony Ericsson Media Player

Sony Ericsson VivazT supports UMTS HSPA 900/2100 and GSM GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS HSPA 850/1900/2100 and EDGE 850/900/1800/1900.

Sony Ericsson VivazT will be available in selected markets from Q1 in the colours Moon Silver, Cosmic Black, Galaxy Blue and Venus Ruby.

Looks pretty sweet to me! We will be itching to get a review device as soon as we can.

Head on over to the Sony Ericsson website for a few more details and a short video.

Posted by: James

HTC Espresso

The HTC Espresso is one of those devices that is a bit of a mystery at the moment but is expected to be officially announced by HTC at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month.

Although specs for the device are not confirmed we believe it will be be an Android handset possibly with a QWERTY keyboard. What we have seen this week though is the UI and it looks pretty special.

mobilementalism.com have this week posted some photos of the Espresso ROM running on a HTC G1.

HTC Espresso ROM on HTC G1

As you can see above, this new UI, that will sit on top of Android 2.1, has moved on from the “Sense” UI that was seen on the HTC Hero and then on the HD2. It’s more like TouchFlo 3D than Sense if you ask me.

HTC Espresso Menu

The menu also has been reworked with each icon sitting in a nice transparent square. Plus there are a few new icons such as “IM” and “HTC News”. I am pretty sure they were not on the Hero or HD2. It certainly looks nice but as we all know, things are quite prone to changing before an official release so we will have to wait and see how close these images are to the final product.

Posted by: James

New and updated Official HTC HD2 Car Kit

Devicewire have just emailed me to inform of a change in design for the HTC HD2 car kit.

New HTC HD2 car kit

For whatever reasons they have changed the way the mount actually attaches to the phone. See original below.

HTC HD2 car kit – original

I’m not sure if this change is due to any defects on the original or if its just down to manufacturing costs but I’m sure this new version will do the job just fine.

Although you cant buy it yet you can pre – order from Devicewire. Its not cheap though, but neither is the iPhone Tom Tom mount.

Posted by: James

Windows Mobile 7 Rumours

The rumour police have been working hard over the past twelve hours. A few websites have reported Windows Mobile 7 leaks, although there are some big contradictions, so which rumours you believe, if any, is up to you.

Windows Mobile

WMExperts.com have reported that there will be two versions of Windows Mobile 7 or “Seven” as they are saying it will be called. A business edition and a media edition. The media version is believed to support HD video, a Zune-like music player and maybe even streaming TV, as well as integrated social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

Mobilecrunch.com on the other hand have reported that there will be no business edition and the whole platform will be based around Zune.

There has also be talk of the first two devices to run “Seven”. These are from LG and HTC. The specs can be seen on WMExperts.com but please remember that Microsoft have not confirmed anything so everything above maybe completely wrong!

Fingers crossed we will get the opportunity to have an insight into the new OS or devices at Mobile World Congress next month. I will be the roving reporter tweeting live from Barcelona so if you do not follow us on Twitter now would be a good time to start.

Posted by: James

LG GW620 Android coming to the UK

The LG GW620 is reportedly coming to both T-Mobile and Virgin Mobile here in the UK.

LG GW620 with slide out QWERTY

The device which runs Android 1.5, Cupcake, will be known as the INTOUCH MAX. Running this early version of Android is not the best news but hardware wise it doesn’t look too bad. With Motorola recently releasing the Dext and soon to be releasing the BackFlip its nice to see LG are bringing some competition to the market.

The slide out five row QWERTY keyboard certainly looks impressive and not too dissimilar to that on the HTC Touch Pro2. It will however be smaller as the INTOUCH MAX screen is 3 inches.

LG GW620

The INTOUCH MAX has not yet made its way to the T-Mobile website but it is on the Virgin Mobile one, although showing as out of stock. The device will be available on Virgin for free for as little as £22.00 per month and as well as minutes this deal also includes unlimited texts and internet, although I’m not sure of their terms and conditions with regards to fair usage.

Here’s a quick run down on the LG GW620 INTOUCH MAX specifications:

• 3G Network: HSDPA 900 / 2100
• Dimensions: 109 x 54.5 x 15.9 mm
• Weight:139 g
• Display: TFT resistive touchscreen, 256K colours
• Size: 320 x 480 pixels, 3.0 inches
• Full QWERTY keyboard
• Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate
• Internal Memory: 150 MB
• microSD, up to 32GB
• EDGE    Class 10, 236.8 kbps
• 3G    HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, HSUPA
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
• Bluetooth: with A2DP
• Camera: 5 MP, 2560 x 1920 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
• Android OS, v1.5 (Cupcake)
• Messaging: SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, IM, Push Email
• GPS,  A-GPS
• Document viewer (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF)
• Battery: Standard battery, Li-Po 1500 mAh

Doesn’t sound too shabby does it?

As soon as we get further news we will be sure to let you know.

LG

Posted by: James

Windows Mobile 7 News

With speculation growing that Windows Mobile 7 may or may not be announced at this years Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month, a piece of news has been leaked that leads us to believe it is a strong possibility.

Windows Mobile

While attending a LG Design Lab French tech blogger Eric of Presse Citron tweeted that LG would be releasing a Windows Mobile 7 handset in September 2010 and an Android 2.1 device in April.

The tweets were quickly removed, but not before they were cached and wmpoweruser managed to grab them!

So once again we are wondering if Windows Mobile version 6.5.3 (or as some people are calling it, 6.6) will be officially released by Microsoft or will they hold out for Windows Mobile 7. Either way I will be at Mobile World Congress to report on the news as it happens. If you don’t follow us on Twitter please do so, as that will give you instant access to what’s happening in Barcelona next month.

Twitter

Posted by: James