After first coming face-to-face with Acer's bizarre DX650, we weren't sure we fully understand what the phone's engineers were trying to accomplish -- and after one of the first quick takes in the wild, we're no closer to understanding the vision. As the reviewer points out, one of the main draws to the phone's numeric keypad backside would be SMS, since Windows Mobile 6.1 isn't particularly strong at dealing with finger text input -- but the problem is that the secondary screen accompanying that keypad is a wee bit small for serious SMS work. For the 24,990 pesos Acer's asking (about $518), we're pretty sure we can think of better things to buy, but hey -- you'd probably be the only cat on your block with this thing in your pocket, and we guess that counts for something.

[Thanks, George L.]

Ok Acer, you can let us in on the joke now. These "leaks" are just to throw us off the scent of your real smartphones right? After teasing with the announcement of your entry into the marketplace, you can't expect us to believe that a Glofiish DX900 rebadge, and new DX650 (pictured above... twice) and X960 (after the break) makes up your A-game? The DX650 is a chubby dual-sided device: on one side we've got Windows Mobile pumping away beneath a 2.8-inch QVGA touchscreen, on the other a 1.27-inch OLED with full numeric keypad -- you know, because a software-based keypad and/or QWERTY is just crazy-talk. Inside you'll find HSDPA, GPS, microSD, 802.11b/g WiFi, and Bluetooth. Next up, the X960 looking very much a continuation of the Glofiish product line. It brings a 2.8-inch 640 x 480 pixel display riding a 533MHz Samsung S3C 6410 processor, HSDPA data, WiFi, SiRF Star III GPS, microSD, and a 3.2 megapixel camera with flash. Look Acer, if this is all you've got for Mobile World Congress, fine... just don't expect us to repeat the year 2007 along with you.

[Via Sohoa]

Read -- DX650
Read -- X960

For the third time this year, we're hearing straight from totally unofficial, somewhat sketchy Acer sources that the firm is still planning on producing its own smartphone in 2009. The latest report has company chairman JT Wang stating that the eventual launch may not happen until Q2 2009 (red flag), and he blamed the possible delay on the ongoing negotiations with carriers across the globe. If you'll recall, Acer's been talking up its own phone ever since it took E-Ten Information Systems in under its wings, but many months later, we still have no concrete evidence that anything is going on (mobile wise, at least) behind the firm's doors. We suppose time will tell, but we have serious doubts the hardcore Acer faithful will be holding their breath.

[Via Slashgear]

Bad camera, poor battery life, a dodgy d-pad, ugly color -- is there anything good to say about the most well-spec'd glofiish in E-TEN's range? Well, yes: with support for not one, not two, but four mobile TV standards under its belt, you'll have a hard time finding a WinMo set out there that's friendlier to telly on the go. Plus, the V900 rocks a flush VGA display and tri-band HSDPA, which are "good things" last time we checked; you're just going to have to put up with flimsy build quality and a host of software and hardware niggles to get 'em. At $700, it's hard to swallow the thought of buying a device this heavily panned in a review, but if you absolutely must be able to switch between DAB and DVB-T with aplomb... well, your crappy phone has arrived.

Announced all the way back at MWC in February, the glofiish X610 and V900 are finally nearing release -- or so E-TEN claims, anyway. Though the X610's spec sheet isn't going to get any motors running, it's a pretty sharp-looking entry level WinMo 6.1 Professional device that should find its way into a few pockets where 3G isn't needed. More interesting of the pair is the V900 (pictured), a multitalented mobile boob tube that can handle DVB-H, DVB-T, T-DMB, and DAB broadcasts in one convenient package -- and a VGA display certainly doesn't hurt its case, either. So far, the launches on these two are pegged simply as "soon," so keep an eye on the shop of your choice.

As QWERTY slider WinMo sets go, HTC and Sony Ericsson have collectively thrown down a big-ass gauntlet that competitors are likely going to be struggling to match for some time. So it goes with the glofiish M810, an HSDPA powerhouse that would've stolen the show 12 or 18 months ago -- but now it's got the Touch Pro and X1 to contend with, leaving the QVGA display and tired styling a bit tough to swallow. We suppose that a deep discount could still lure a throng, especially if Acer / E-TEN comes through with a Windows Mobile 6.1 upgrade -- but until we all make that fateful decision, check out Pocket PC Thoughts' quick unboxing, live vicariously, and see if it feels right.

Actually, E-TEN's saying they're showing four new models here, but we've been aware of E-TEN's glofiish quad-band V900 for some time now, leaving three all-new Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphones on display at Computex this week. The DX900 is a dual-SIM smartphone for those on multiple carriers and comes in a form factor very similar to the aforementioned mobile TV-friendly V900. Meanwhile, the X900 is a quad-band GSM handset with HSDPA and is a basic upgrade to the X800 with Windows Mobile 6.1 and a tweaked UI. Finally, the X610 -- an update to the X600 -- also runs WinMo 6.1 and a similarly-updated interface.

[Via phoneArena]

Rumor has it that E-TEN will be unveiling a new Windows Mobile set at Taiwan's Computex next month that sports -- count 'em, one, two SIMs. The so-called DX900 (pictured) in the glofiish series should be quite a powerhouse, too, with triband HSDPA, quadband GSM, 3 megapixel autofocus cam, FM radio, 256MB of ROM with microSDHC expansion, GPS, motion sensor, and that all-important VGA display that's probably (hopefully) going to come to define high-end WinMo devices from here on out. We don't see any particular reason why this one wouldn't come to fruition; dual-SIM phones are pretty commonplace in Asia, though the presence of triband HSDPA is a pretty rare feat in that bunch. Anyone feeling an itch to import one of these stateside?

[Via the::unwired]

It wasn't too long ago that Acer was finalizing paperwork to acquire E-Ten, and now that it's moving on, we're hearing that the company should be launching its very first (aw, how cute) smartphone in around eight to ten months. According to the firm's president, it's aiming to introduce the handset "near the end of this year or early next year," and it will indeed "be Microsoft-based." Gianfranco Lanci also suggested that smartphones could represent up to 10-percent of the company's revenue within the next few years. Notably, the outfit is apparently planning to move its phones via mobile network operators, and while it typically takes six to nine months to sweet talk a carrier into marketing a new smartphone, it hopes to use its "existing relationships with telecommunications companies to speed up such sales." Sadly, we're not given any clues about what carriers it's aiming for, but it won't be too awfully long before we're sure to find out.

Remember that M810 that E-TEN announced for its glofiish line of Windows Mobile-powered goodies at MWC? Yep, well, they've announced it again -- along with its underachieving little brother, the M750 -- along with full details and a promise of availability in just two to three weeks. The QWERTY-clad monsters both support WiFi, feature 2 megapixel cameras, GPS, Bluetooth, and 256MB of onboard storage; the lesser M750 makes do with EDGE for wide-area data while the M810 steps it up to HSDPA. If they were coming out of the gate with Windows Mobile 6.1 we'd be whooping and hollering, but they're merely 6 -- to start, anyway -- so nothing to get too excited about. Unless you're into 3.5G data, GPS, and keyboards that glow blue, that is.

[Via Pocket PC Thoughts]

It's barely been a month since Acer dropped a big chunk of cash to buy up 75% of Packard Bell, but it looks like the company still had plenty of money left to throw around, as it's now parted with a hefty $290 million to buy up 100% of Glofiish smartphone-maker E-Ten. According to Acer itself, the boards of both E-Ten and Acer approved the deal unanimously, and they expect the acquisition to close sometime during the third quarter of this year. Any other details, however, are expectedly light, including any word on how future devices would be branded, with Acer chairmen J.T. Wang only saying that the "acquisition of E-TEN increases Acer's global footprint by giving us a strong and highly credible presence in the mobility segment." No word on any future moves by Acer just yet but, given its recent spending spree, we wouldn't be surprised if it tried to expand that "global footprint" even further.

[Via Phone Scoop]

After teasing us with a lustful peep from their V900's marketing collateral, E-TEN had the good grace to make their newest Glofiish official. Their first handset to offer mobile TV does so without hesitation -- DVB-H, DVB-T, T-DMB, and DAB broadcast media are all supported on that generous VGA display. These consumer oriented Windows Mobile phones pack an unspecified GSM radio, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS underneath an E-TEN developed touch-based user interface. Presumably, E-TEN has a TouchFLO-like layer to hide the consumer-unfriendly ugliness of Microsoft's increasingly dated and finger-meat hating mobile OS. Also announced is E-TEN's new Glofiish M810 with HSDPA, WiFI (b/g), and GPS with full QWERTY in tow. More on these with their unveiling at GSMA.

[Via Pocket PC Thoughts]

Seeing how this allegedly leaked shot of the upcoming glofiish V900 from E-TEN looks exactly like E-TEN's own promo shot for Mobile World Congress, we're thinking it's the real deal. It actually looks a heck of a lot better now than it that little tiny thumbnail we saw before (dare we say high end?) with tasteful chrome accents, a fairly aggressive display-to-case size ratio, and a front cam for video calling, suggesting this sucker's packing at least UMTS, if not better. That sexy display will come in handy, too, considering that the V900 is going to be packing a veritable what's what of mobile TV standards when it rolls out -- not so much on the MediaFLO, but then again, we're not sure it makes the "what's what" cut, anyway.

Very little is known about the glofiish V900 from E-TEN -- in fact, nothing is known about it other than what we have on this promotional image advertising E-TEN's presence at the GSM Association's Mobile World Congress next month. What few details are revealed here, though, are pretty freakin' notable. The V900 apparently supports DVB-H, DVB-T, T-DMB, and DAB broadcasts, unifying half a world's worth of digital television and radio broadcast standards in a single device. We guess we'll have to wait until the big show in a few weeks to figure out the rest, but if we were the betting types, we'd wager that it'll probably be available in black and blue.

[Via Unwired View]