News

Huawei’s first Android phone

Huawei’s first Android phone has been confirmed as due for launch on T-Mobile later this year.

Showcased at the Mobile World Congress event earlier this year, the OEM offering had been scheduled for a third quarter launch, but with whom was not known.

Huawei’s Android Phone

Now a Huawei spokesperson has confirmed the device will join the G1 in T-Mobile’s Android-based line-up: "I can confirm that Huawei will be releasing the third Google phone on T-Mobile this year".

The handset, said to be "low-cost", will boast a 5-megapixel camera, a 3.5mm headphone jack and Wi-Fi connectivity.

So far the T-Mobile G1 is the only Android phone available in the UK, although Vodafone and HTC are to offer the rival "Magic" from May.

Posted by: John

Acer DX900 now in stock

The Acer DX900 is the world’s first Dual-SIM Smartphone to support both 3.5G (HSDPA) and 2.75G (EDGE) SIM cards allowing you to keep track of both personal and business communications.

The Acer DX900 was publicly unveiled at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, in February.  Clove Technology are pleased to announce that it is NOW IN STOCK.

The DX900 is a truly revolutionary device which offers a more efficient method for communication, for those who carry both a personal and business mobiles. Priced at just under £399 including VAT the DX900 is a steal and has much to offer in comparison to some competition.

A few of the DX900 features include:

• Dual SIM Capability – One for work and one for personal
• Windows Mobile 6.1
• UMTS/HSDPA
• Bluetooth
• WiFi
• MicroSD Slot
• 2.8" VGA Display
• 3.0 Megapixel Camera
• Front facing VGA Camera
• In Built GPS Receiver
• TV Out Functionality

 
For more information and to place your order CLICK HERE

Posted by: Matt

T-Mobile Handset Release Schedule Leaked

It looks like another one of those moments that company’s dread and try so hard to cover up.

T-Mobiles handset release schedule looks to have been leaked on the net seemingly confirming that the carrier will launch the Sidekick 2009 “Blade” on May 13th and the HTC Touch Pro 2 will arrive on July 22nd which we reported earlier today.

The full list of release dates are as follows:

• “Blade” (Sidekick 2009) – May 13
• HTC “Maple”/”Snap” – July 1st (contrary to earlier speculation, this seems to confirm a T-Mobile variant)
• HTC “Rhodium”/Wing II – July 22nd (also known as the Touch Pro 2)
• HTC “Sapphire”/”Magic” – TBD (aka G2)
• Sony Ericsson “CS8? – June 24th (8mp camera? Is this the Android device they’ve been talking about?)
• Nokia 1661 (prepaid) – April 29th (a week later than previously mentioned)
• Samsung T349 (prepaid) – May 6th
• Samsung T239 (prepaid) – May 13th
• Samsung T559 – July 15th
• Samsung T469 – July 15th (just a simple two-tone gray, apparently)
• Samsung T749 – July 22nd (2 colors for this one: red/orange and two-tone gray)
• Samsung T659 – August 19th

The other interesting piece of news in this is the fact that the HTC Magic (Vodafone announced) will be going to T-Mobile as the G2.

Posted by: John

Samsung M2710 and M2310 leak

Photos of two yet unannounced Samsung phones leaked online today. Looking like trimmed-down versions of the M7610 Beat DISC the Samsung M2710 and Samsung M2310 are obviously all about music.

Samsung M2710

Even though the two newbie’s don’t have the feature pack of their bigger brother they still managed to catch our eye with their sleek design.

Samsung M2710 is a slider, sporting a standard 3.5 mm audio output jack, Bluetooth and a 2-megapixel snapper. A must for every music phone, there will also be a memory card slot aboard.

Samsung M2710

Samsung S2710 will feature FM radio and accelerometer sensor. Most probably the latter will be used for some kind of shake control, like the Samsung M3200 Beat.

Samsung M2310

The flip – Samsung M2310, has media control buttons on the front panel packs EDGE and Bluetooth support, FM radio and memory card slot. A camera is also available but its pixel count is yet unknown.

Samsung M2310

Both new members of the Beat family are destined for the Brazilian market but there is no information about their pricing yet.

Posted by: John

[source]

LG GD900 Crystal Details

Today LG unveiled some more details about the LG GD900 Crystal. The unique transparent keypad doubles as a touchpad and the handset will also support multi-touch.

It has also become clear that the keypad is made of glass, rather than plastic which in my view is a big mistake given that the form factor is slide (I wonder how much replacement slides will be).

The LG GD900 Crystal will run on LG’s S-Class UI with a lot of touch related goodies including multi-touch input as well as gesture support. This means that features like the two-finger zoom we saw on the Arena will be available for the Crystal users too.

Oooh Fancy

There will also be some new stuff on the LG Crystal, for example writing an ‘M’ would launch the MP3 player and drawing a circle controls the volume.

We know that the GD900 will have haptic feedback which is a more than welcomed feature and that it will also have handwriting recognition, which isn’t too frequent on phones with capacitive screens but improvement has been done in the web browsing department too which is more than needed.

The GD900 will offer ‘mouse mode’ for a more convenient browsing experience which basically means that you will be able to control a virtual mouse with your touch keypad, much like you would do on a laptop.

The LG GD900 Crystal will hit the European and Asian shelves in May but its pricing is yet unknown.

Posted by: John

The HTC Snap

In a rather surprising press release HTC announced their newest handset, the HTC Snap, this afternoon.

HTC Corporation today debuted its newest QWERTY smartphone, the HTC Snap. Designed with a set of features selected to deliver everything customers need without overwhelming them with things they don’t, the HTC Snap makes it easier than ever to stay in contact with life’s most important people.
Many people find they are overwhelmed by the amount of email they receive.  In response to these issues, HTC’s innovative Inner Circle feature allows HTC Snap users to press a dedicated Inner Circle key to bring emails from a preselected group of people to the top of their inbox, enabling important messages to be acted upon immediately.

“Recognizing that people are being overwhelmed by an avalanche of email, the HTC Snap introduces Inner Circle, an HTC innovation that makes it easy for people to prioritize messages from the most important people in their lives at the press of a button,” said John Wang, Chief Marketing Officer, HTC Corporation. “The HTC Snap represents the latest step in HTC’s mission to create a range of innovative smartphones, each with specific benefits designed to both surprise and delight our customers.”

With a slim, sleek profile designed to fit perfectly in the hand, the HTC Snap measures less than a half-inch thick (12 mm), yet it can deliver up to eight and a half hours of talk time with the standard 1500mAh battery. The full QWERTY keyboard is ergonomically designed with extra-large domed keys and responsive tactile feedback to make typing emails and text messages fast, accurate and comfortable. High-speed 3G HSPA connectivity makes it quick and easy to send pictures to friends, access favourite social networking sites, or download large files while on the go.

The HTC Snap is powerful enough for experienced business users looking for an affordable, straightforward choice for remotely synchronizing email, calendar and contacts with their Microsoft Exchange server. However, the flexible Microsoft Windows Mobile® 6.1 Standard platform allows the HTC Snap to also be simple enough for first-time smartphone users wanting to keep their family life organized.

The HTC Snap is expected to be available in select channels during the second quarter of 2009, rolling out in markets around the world throughout the second half of the year. Additionally, an unlocked version supporting HSDPA at 850/1900MHz for the US market will be made available under the name HTC S721 during the summer.

Posted by: Matt

AT&T Announce 6 New QWERTY Handsets

AT&T announced 6 new entries to its mobile phones portfolio yesterday. The emphasis is quite obviously on texting with all 6 of their new offerings featuring full QWERTY keyboard. The leader of the pack is Nokia E71x, followed by three Samsung handsets – Propel Pro, Impression and Magnet and two LG devices – Neon and Xenon.

The Nokia E71x isn’t really any different from its European sibling, save for the new paintjob. The bar is the slimmest smartphone to date and sports a 2.36" 16M color QVGA display.

Nokia E71x

It will also feature a GPS receiver a 3 megapixel auto focus camera and of course – HSDPA and Wi-Fi connectivity. A built-in microSD card slot will allow expanding the internal memory with up to 16GB worth of additional storage.

Nokia E71x

The Nokia E71x will be available in the following weeks across AT&T stores for 150 US dollars on a 2 year contract.

The Samsung Propel Pro comes as a direct successor of the Samsung A767 Propel, extending its functionality quite extensively. Running on the Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard it packs Wi-Fi, GPS and a 2.55" square display with a resolution of 320 x 320 pixels.

Samsung Propel Pro

The Samsung Propel Pro has a 528 MHz CPU and 128 MB of RAM. Its other important features include 3G with HSDPA support, microSD card slot, Bluetooth, USB and a 3 megapixel autofocus camera.

Samsung Propel Pro

You can find the Propel Pro in the AT&T stores starting from April 14. In order to walk out with it you will have to part with 150 US dollars and sign a two-year contract.

Next in line is the side-slider Samsung Impression. Its highlight feature is the 3.2" AMOLED touchscreen of WQVGA resolution, which according to AT&T is a first for the US. In addition to it the handset comes with quad-band GSM and dual-band UMTS with HSDPA support.

Samsung Impression

The other key features of Samsung Impression are Bluetooth with A2DP, microSD card slot and a 3 megapixel camera with video recording capabilities.

Samsung Impression

The Samsung Impression will be available from April 7 for 200 US dollars on a two-year contract.

Samsung Impression

The Samsung Magnet is a simple offering, targeted at the younger audience. Sporting great messaging capabilities thanks to the full QWERTY keyboard it will be the most affordable of the bunch. However AT&T haven’t yet published the full specifications of the device so all we can tell you is that it will be an entry-level offering.

The Samsung Magnet will hit the shelves in the coming weeks.

LG Neon is an exact replica of the LG KS360, which we reviewed not too long ago. It is a mid-ranger that catches the eye with bold colours and quirky controls. Its main features include a 2.4" display, a 2 megapixel snapper and Tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support.

Samsung Impression

FM radio is also onboard and so are stereo Bluetooth, microSD card slot and FM radio.

Samsung Impression

The Neon will be available quite shortly for 100 US dollars on a two-year contract.

The LG Xenon comes with haptic feedback for improving the touchscreen experience. The quad-band GSM and dual-band UMTS (with HSDPA support) handset sports a 2.8" 65K colour WQVGA display.

Samsung Impression

Its other features include 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, USB and a microSD card slot.

Samsung Impression

The LG Xenon will be available shortly across AT&T stores but its pricing still remains to be disclosed.

Posted by: John

[source]

Apple announces iPhone OS 3.0

At a press conference today (which at the time of writing is still going on) Apple announced the anticipated update of the Apple iPhone (and iPod Touch) OS 3.0.

This has been described as a ‘major update’ for iPhone and iPod touch and "It comes with incredible features for both developers and customers".

There will be ‘IN-App’ purchase support in the new OS which will allow developers to provide subscription based apps. or to be able to sell new game levels, or ebook chapters, from within an app.

It is also expected that the new OS will allow peer-to-peer network and Bluetooth connectivity which will be great for multiplayer gaming but also for sharing and exchanging contacts etc.

Finally native copy, cut and paste support has been added to the OS as has MMS at last!

iPhone OS 3.0 will ship this Summer and will be free for iPhone owners although not all feature will be supported on iPhone 2G (MMS For example). iPod touch owners will have to pay $9.95 for this upgrade.

Posted by: Matt

Acer’s DX650 double-sided Windows Mobile

We’ve seen some double-sided phones before, there’s been the odd Samsung music that’s had phone controls on one side and phone controls on the other but I’m pretty sure I’d be right in saying that this is the first double-sided Windows Mobile.

So you’d probably be forgiven for thinking that the pictures below are of two different handsets but in fact the are of the front and the, erm, other front of the Acer DX650.

I suppose it’s an interesting idea but I’d have thought if you were going to the effort of making a two-sided phone it would be at least worth putting a compact QWERTY on one side?!

Acer DX650 Specification:

• Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
• 32bit Samsung S3C6410, 533MHz CPU
• 128MiB RAM, 256MiB ROM
• 2.8" 240×320 color transflective
• TFT LCD sec. display
• Audio jack
• GSM850, GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900
• UMTS2100, CSD, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA
• microSD, microSDHC
• mini-USB port
• Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP
• WLAN 802.11b/g
• GPS, A-GPS
• FM radio
• Built-in numeric phone keypad
• Scroll wheel
• 1.9MP camera

Posted by: Matt

[Image courtesy of MoDaCo]

MWg Zinc II back in stock

For those of you contemplating the highly-popular MWg Zinc II Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone I have good news as the Zinc II is back in stock at eXpansys. The MWg Zinc II is fully-featured with a slide-out keyboard, touch screen, HSDPA and an in-built GPS receiver. The MWg Zinc II is perfect for web browsing, emailing and document editing on-the-move.

We reviewed the Zinc II a while ago and Steve was pretty impressed with the features at the price.

Order now for £249.99 or from Free on T-Mobile

SIM Free

Free on T-mobile

Posted by: Matt

[ Post Tags: smartphone news, windows mobile news, tracyandmatt.co.uk, MWg, Zinc II, eXpansys ]