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Motorola's ROKR U9, U3 and W5 pictured / detailed

by Darren Murph posted Sep 12th 2007 at 10:44AM


While whispers and supposed shots of Motorola's ROKR U9 have been around for a tick, the PEBL-icious handset -- along with the similarly styled U9 and the W5 clamshell -- are finally getting detailed. Reportedly, the U9 will tout a 1.4-inch 160 x 128 resolution OLED (externally), two-megapixel camera, GSM / GPRS / EDGE connectivity, a 1.8-inch QVGA screen (internal), microSD expansion slot, USB, Bluetooth, and "touch sensitive keys." The U3 looks to be an entry-level sibling with a less attractive external display and a VGA camera, while the ROKR W5 will purportedly include a 1.3-megapixel camera, a 1.9-inch 220 x 176 resolution display, 20MB of internal storage, a microSD slot, 96 x 85 pixel external screen, miniUSB, Bluetooth, A2DP support, and quad-band GSM connectivity. No word on pricing or release dates just yet, but do click on for a few more pictures.

Read - ROKR U9
Read - ROKR W5
Read - ROKR U3

Continue reading Motorola's ROKR U9, U3 and W5 pictured / detailed

Nokia and AT&T announce 6555 3G flip

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 12th 2007 at 10:28AM Breaking News


Hey, we'd been told we'd see this next month -- but who are we to complain when the phone fairy drops in a couple weeks early? Nokia and AT&T today have announced the immediate availability of the 6555, a rather attractive flip -- "smoothback design," as they call it -- sporting UMTS, a QVGA primary display, microSD expansion in case the 30MB onboard ain't enough, and the full spread of GSM / EDGE bands for global dominance. It hasn't shown up on AT&T's site just yet, but we're told we can get it today for $49.99 on a two-year agreement.

Tilt, Duo, Inferno, and Q9h to blow out AT&T's October?

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 11th 2007 at 2:38PM

These are all devices we know folks have been waiting for, so we're delighted to finally hear some whipsers that launch windows are being put in place. First up, the AT&T Tilt -- alias 8925, alias Kaiser -- is rumored to be priced at $299 on a two-year or $374 on a one-year agreement. The Pantech Duo, which Amazon jumped the gun on over the weekend, will be launching for $199 on a two-year, which makes the Amazon pricing a bargain already. The Nokia 6555 "Inferno" gets priced at $49.99 on contract -- a steal for a sharp lookin' 3G flip, we figure. Last but not least, the Motorola Q9 global finally materializes for a cool $299, putting it head to head with the Tilt. All four of these are supposedly scheduled for shipment to stores on October 1, making for a very interesting month. Everyone know which of the four they're choosing yet?

[Thanks, Amy K.]

Samsung's A737 slider for AT&T gets peeped

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 11th 2007 at 11:54AM


If there's one manufacturer you can't fault for failing to bring 3G devices to AT&T in full force, it's gotta be Samsung. These guys go all the way back to the very beginning (remember the ZX10?) and have managed to keep a pretty steady stream of handsets in the pipe through to the present day, most recently offering up the attractive (and mighty slim, may we add) A717 and A727. That ain't all for the A7x7 series, though: as we'd mentioned before, there's an A737 in the pipe; since the series already has a flip and a candybar, this one's unsurprisingly a slider. phoneArena's scored an alleged shot of the phone, and although it appears to be a touch thicker than its siblings, that little indiscretion is made good for with an unapologetic red / black color scheme, a QVGA display (so we're told), and very likely HSDPA. No word on an exact release date for this sucker just yet.

Vertu's 3G Ascent Ti hits the shops

by Sean Cooper posted Sep 10th 2007 at 7:08PM


Vertu has finally seen fit to bump one of its out of the ballpark expensive sets into the 3G world, welcome the Vertu Ascent Ti, 'bout time we say, bout time. Featuring a casing "forged" from solid titanium, a "floodlit" keypad, 4GB of internal storage -- and with the 3 megapixel autofocus cam, you'll need that space -- UMTS in the 2100Mhz range, and a design strikingly similar to all other Vertu handsets, so if you're in the market for Vertu love, now's the time to strike. We dig these handsets only because of the untouchable status the pricing scheme puts them in. Oh, and as per usual, no dollar details are listed, but they should be in the shops any day now.

[Thanks, Egor L]

Palm Treo 500 gets dressed for September 12 announcement

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 10th 2007 at 5:36PM Breaking News


Okay, we suppose it might not be as silly looking as we'd originally thought, but let's be honest: would this be your first choice for a Windows Mobile 6 Standard device? Yep, that's right, we said "Standard," meaning there's no touchscreen in the cards for Palm's latest and greatest device, a distinct departure from Treos of yore. So yeah, anyway, if this document turns out to be legit, the long-rumored Gandolf is going to end up christened as the Treo 500 when it's announced for Vodafone on the 12th. 3G data will thankfully be in tow, too, though there's no word on whether it'll be HSDPA or plain ol' UMTS. Not bad, but seriously, there are plenty of solid WM6 Standard handsets in the pipeline from manufacturers big and small. Best of luck, Palm.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

Vodafone gets the drop on Santa, announces Christmas lineup early

by Sean Cooper posted Sep 10th 2007 at 3:50PM


This may well be our first unofficial Christmas article, as Vodafone gets the jump on the holiday season with a sizeable list of new handsets for your enjoyment. The early launch features the new 8GB Nokia N95, Samsung SGH-F700V (by the by, that V at the end there stands for "vroom vroom"), Sony Ericsson W910i, BlackBerry 8310 Curve, and the BlackBerry 8100 Pearl. On the "B" list we can expect two new Windows Mobile devices, six devices based on Series 60, six 3G devices from leading manufacturers, and three new Vodafone branded sets (Vodafone 920, 720, 810). The final items on the menu are 13 new HSDPA handsets, not bad huh? While the devices are lumped into all those categories above, the devices specific to each are not, but in no particular order we can expect the Sharp GX33 and 880SH, Sagem my850v Crystal and my411 Cv. More Samsung goodness will arrive in the form of the SGH-i640v and SGH-ZV60, Sony Ericsson's W660i and V640i, with the Nokia 6120c rounding out the show. Don't take our word for it, but it seems like Christmas may be a good time to hop on Vodafone. Check the gallery for the pics we were able to cobble together of this grand event.

Gallery: Vodafone gets the drop on Santa, announces Christmas lineup early


Alltel antes up BlackBerry 8830 World Edition

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 9th 2007 at 11:52AM


They're a little late to the party, but it looks like Alltel has started slipping its own variant of RIM's BlackBerry 8830 World Edition into retail channels in the past few days. Thanks to a 900 / 1800MHz GSM radio packed in there beside the standard CDMA / EV-DO fare, the 8830 gives subscribers to CDMA carriers like Alltel a somewhat painless route to international roaming without juggling multiple handsets. The cameraless posterior means that the 8830's pretty much all business -- but with GPS in the mix, it's a darned good business to be in, we reckon. Check it for $250 on contract after rebates.

[Via PhoneMag]

O2 Germany getting Xda Atom Life as "Xda comet"

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 9th 2007 at 12:30AM


O2 has a track record of running largely different product lineups between its European and Asian operations, but German subscribers might be delighted to hear that they're getting a particularly strong import from their cousins on the other end of the globe. This here device, sold in the Asia Pacific region as the Xda Atom Life, is getting rebranded as the "Xda comet" (yes, lower case "c," as annoying as that is) -- and it's picking up an upgrade to Windows Mobile 6 as part of its transcontinental transformation (though Atom Life owners have access to an official upgrade now too). The handset holds its own with 3.6Mbps HSDPA, Bluetooth, WiFi, a healthy 624 megahertz of XScale action, 2 megapixel cam, and a full 1GB of storage onboard; the lack of a slide-out keyboard might be a deal breaker for some, but otherwise, looks like HTC's got a solid bit of Bavarian competition on its hands. Look for it to hit in October for a yet-to-be-announced price. [Warning: PDF link]

[Via the::unwired]

i-mate Ultimate 6150, 8150 now shipping

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 8th 2007 at 8:09PM


In case it wasn't obvious from the retail 8150 hands-on, the first two (only two?) of i-mate's Ultimate series devices have started shipping. The color scheme has mercifully been changed from the sickly gold shown at CeBIT to a far more tolerable black, but otherwise the specs ring true to what we'd been told to expect: quadband GSM / EDGE plus triband HSDPA, 128MB of RAM, 256MB of ROM, 2 megapixel autofocus cam, VGA display, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, microSD slot and TV out (whew). About the only difference between these two models, then, is the notably different keypad layout. The releases appear to be restricted to the Middle East at the moment, though we imagine it won't be too difficult to get one shipped out to your region of choice for the right price.

[Via the::unwired]

Read - i-mate Ultimate 6150
Read - i-mate Ultimate 8150

Amazon gets impatient, offers Pantech C810 for AT&T

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 8th 2007 at 3:26PM


You know, if it weren't for retailers and the FCC, manufacturers' and carriers' employees would lead relatively stress- and hypertension-free lives -- but in this heavily embargoed, NDA'd, confidentiality agreemented world in which we live, bean spillage is an inevitable occurrence. We're not saying that's what's going on here, but we find it odd that Amazon would start offering Pantech's C810 dual slider Windows Mobile smartphone for AT&T with nary a peep from the carrier itself (not that we're complaining in the least). Even better, they're offering it for a cool $180 which seems really reasonable for a Windows Mobile 6 Standard device with UMTS in such a creative and useful form factor. Give us a holler in comments if anyone grabs it!

[Via Smartphone Thoughts]

Levi's phone passes FCC on way to Mexico

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 7th 2007 at 11:00PM


We're still not sure what to make of the way this thing looks -- nor the fact that the FCC was supplied with the gaudiest gold version, nor the fact that Levi's decided its name fits well embossed on the front of the cellphone -- but alas, here it is. Turns out the ModeLabs-designed phone is being manufactured by South Korea's Ezze Mobile Tech and it rocks out with GSM 850 and 1900. Don't get too stoked about an American release, though; the user's manual clearly identifies Mexico as the intended target, but we imagine Americans and Canadians should have no trouble getting it working in their respective necks of the woods. Just don't get caught slipping it into another brand's pockets, k?

Sprint scores silly marketing points, pairs BlackBerry 8830 with private island

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 7th 2007 at 3:58PM


Sprint must figure that if you need a phone whose name includes the phrase "World Edition," you're probably the jet-setting type. Like, the type that needs a private island, apparently. A tipster pointed us out to a pretty clever new ad campaign involving Sprint's BlackBerry 8830 World Edition that offers an enticing combo package: an 8830 for $200 (after contract and rebates, of course) and an "Exotic Island plus amenities" for a shade over ten mil. Total cost: $10.5 million. Of course, if you actually go through the process of trying to place an order, the site calls you out on it -- but here's where it gets interesting, they actually offer to take your information through an email and get you in touch with the appropriate brokers if you are, in fact, serious. Talk about customer service!

[Thanks, Jake]

i-mate's Ultimate 8150 out and about

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 7th 2007 at 1:18PM


Okay, we've gotta admit, it looks way better in black than it did in the sickly champagne hue we'd originally seen. ce4arab's had a chance to play with the production version of i-mate's 8150, one of the first members of its flagship Ultimate line to see the light of day. We'll save the review itself for the Arabic speakers among us, but the extensive visuals (right down to a test of its TV out capability) here are enough to justify taking a peep. In particular, we're feeling the blue backlighting on the keypad -- and as we said, the black theme is a huge improvement. The specs are less notable now than they were back when these things were announced at CeBIT, but hey, if you can score one at the right price, at least it's not gonna look like you're pulling a brick of fool's gold out of your pocket.

Hands-on with Sony Ericsson's W960i

by Sean Cooper posted Sep 7th 2007 at 10:40AM


Planete-Nokia goes hands-on with Sony Ericsson's glossiest new handset, the W960i. Featuring triple-band GSM / GPRS and 2100 UMTS, WiFi, Bluetooth, a forward facing and 3.2 megapixel autofocus cam, 8GB of internal storage, and all shoehorned into that slick exterior finish called "Black Vinyl." As far as UIQ 3.1 handsets go, the W960i is a beast in the look and feature departments, seriously, if it rocked some 3G that we could use, we'd already have one. Pricing and carrier info is still blurry, but we're expecting that info should be appearing real soon now.

[Thanks, Matthew F]




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