Concept -- Engadget Mobile

concept posts

Sony Ericsson bracelet phone concept unearthed in patent app

by Laura June, posted Jun 18th 2009 @ 7:05PM

Yeah, we can probably safely leave this one in the file we found it in: you know, the one marked "never going to happen." Regardless, when we spied this little dude on Unwired View, we thought we'd pass along the weirdness. Unearthed in a Sony Ericsson patent application mysteriously dubbed "Mobile Terminal," what we have here is a bracelet mobile phone concept, sort of reminiscent of LG's infamous GD910 watch phone. This one's got some added fun in the form of keys on the side of the wristband for a fuller typing experience. Like we said, it's never going to happen, but that won't really stop us from hoping.

LG's Design the Future competition guarantees deluge of fanciful phone concepts

by Chris Ziegler, posted May 6th 2009 @ 2:10PM

If you don't like the way phones look these days, why don't you get off your lazy behind and do something about it? LG's inviting you to do exactly that -- and what's more, there are 43 awards of various levels of awesomeness just waiting to be given away ranging from $1,000 (plus an LG phone, presumably not of your own design) all the way up to 20 grand. The Autodesk-sponsored competition claims that it'll be totally agnostic to the kinds of entries submitted -- whether they be sketches, renders, or computer-aided drafts -- instead concentrating on factors like market potential, creativity, polish and appeal, and our favorite, feasibility. Get those creative juices flowing, though, because the contest wraps up on June 8th.

[Thanks, Zach]

Sierra Wireless, Wavecom to demo EVDO Fastrack Extreme

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 31st 2009 @ 11:55AM

Not sure if you heard, but Sierra Wireless and Wavecom recently changed their respective Facebook statuses from "It's complicated" to "Married." Crazy, right? Here in Las Vegas, the two will be on hand to showcase their first product created in collaboration: the EVDO Fastrack Extreme concept. Said device will reportedly be streaming video of the CTIA show floor via an integrated Sierra Wireless MC5727 PCI Express Mini Card. We're told that the device is aimed for use in a broad range of applications, including everything from video surveillance security systems, multimedia kiosks, navigation database synchronization and broadcast feeds. Sadly, neither company decided to dish out an image, but there's a decent chance we'll see it slinging video around the CTIA floor.

ZTE's fancy concepts at MWC 2009

by Chris Ziegler, posted Feb 24th 2009 @ 10:43AM

None of these look particularly easy to use, but ZTE showed off some wild concept devices at Mobile World Congress this year. There were a couple of wristwatches in the mix that unbuckled to become USB modems, but our favorite has to be the "Xer," a handheld "inspired by family theater." It's not clear how you'd hold it effectively if you wanted to type on the QWERTY keyboard, but we suppose that's what makes it a concept instead of a production device. Also shown was the "Pure," featuring a "globoid keypad design" that looks only marginally more usable than the Xer -- or, as ZTE puts it, a "novel key-pressing experience." Click on for the full gallery.

Gallery: ZTE's fancy concepts at MWC 2009

Conduit mobile phone concept is about 40 years early

by Darren Murph, posted Feb 22nd 2009 @ 1:25AM

As much as we adore this concept, we're not even remotely hopeful something like this will become a reality within the next score or so. That said, we'd love to be proven wrong, as the Conduit is quite possibly the most fantastic phone design to ever be conceived. With a hint of steampunk, a dash of Star Trek and a splash of ergonomic appreciation, this here mobile can be collapsed into a pocket-friendly form or expanded into a bona fide video phone. Hit up the read link for a few more looks, and feel free to give these designers a chunk of capital to make our dreams come true.

[Via kanYeWestBlog]

LG's concept phone contest winners should please art house gadgetphiles

by Samuel Axon, posted Nov 9th 2008 @ 8:28PM

When we see alluring phone concepts that'll never leave the lab, we end up wishing there was a little more innovation in the handsets out in the wild. There was a wealth of eyebrow-raising examples of that principle when LG Japan exhibited top entries to its Mobile Design Contest last weekend. We're keen on the fbt, a phone designed for braille text messaging, and the Tap, which is shaped like a light switch and functions like one too -- when you tap it, the phone turns off so you can live once again in peace. The winner, though, was the above-pictured Planet Phone, the surface of which is dotted with LEDs representing your friends; if you don't talk to someone for a while, their light gradually moves out to the edge. It's supposed to remind you to keep in touch, but it has darker connotations -- if you become angry with someone, you can revel in the pleasure of watching them slowly tick away into oblivion. That's absolutely a feature we want to see added to the Storm.

[Via Hallyu Tech]

Pantech shows off latest round of concept phones

by Chris Ziegler, posted Oct 28th 2008 @ 1:20PM

Pantech has a rich and storied history of showing off concept handsets from time to time, many of which don't look totally unreasonable for production. The latest batch, produced in cooperation with the company's 20-strong team of college design students, includes three totally reasonable phones that we'd like (nay, expect) to see serving SKT and KTF customers in the not-too-distant future, and one totally off-the-wall oddball -- aptly named "Softy Lofty" -- that was clearly mocked up while its designer was involved with some illicit substances. At any rate, we'll take all four with a helping of global LTE, please. [Warning: subscription required]

[Via Unwired View]

Icono phone concept: call me, we'll do lunch

by Thomas Ricker, posted Oct 17th 2008 @ 5:33AM

Zinc Chan, a London-based designer, just struck fame with his Icono concept telephone with the speed of back-tax owing Ohio plumber. The design is inspired by the internationally recognized "call me" hand gesture made famous by pouty-mouthed debutantes and hollywood starlets -- aka Shaka, amongst surfers. As such, the microphone and speaker are split to ride the swell of the pinkie and thumb, respectively. Callers then draw a unique pattern on the touchscreen pre-assigned to their contacts to initiate a call. As far fetched as the concept may seem, work related to induction charging, body area networks for transmitting audio across human skin, round LCDs, and any number of short length wireless solutions could very well make this concept a near-term reality. One more pic after the break.

[Via Textually and Core77]

Continue reading Icono phone concept: call me, we'll do lunch

Wooden Nokia concept phone goes beyond the drawing board, gets built

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 13th 2008 @ 4:09PM

Oh sure, LG has teased us with a faux wood cellphone, and Hulger has actually produced one that four people in existence can afford, but this... this is something else. According to the captions in textlad's Flickr pool, Nokia's own eco-team designed and created the object of desire that you see above: an 8-megapixel "handset" that appears to function just fine. We can already tell you this thing isn't coming to market, but we would absolutely love to be proven wrong.

[Via TreeHugger, thanks shellshock]

OLO dreams up iPhone-powered netbook, CELIO shouts "don't do it!"

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 13th 2008 @ 8:14AM

You were looking for a laugh to start your Columbus Day / Canadian Thanksgiving Day / etc. off, weren't you? Consider yourself lucky. OLO Computer is reportedly thinking of bringing to market a netbook-styled device that would actually enable (require?) users to plop their iPhone / iPhone 3G into the palm rest; from there, the handset would act as the brains of the operation and double as a trackpad. At the present time, there are no real specifications to speak of -- just a zany teaser page and lots of speculation. We shouldn't have to remind you what an epic failure the whole "cellphone companion" sector has been, as one look at Palm's axed Foleo and the deeply discounted Celio REDFLY should be explanation enough. Hey, we're not trying to discourage you from giving this a go, OLO, but we'd probably have a backup plan ready to roll in case Apple itself drops a netbook on the world in the next 48 hours.

[Via Liliputing]

Read - Official teaser page
Read - Netbook-style clamshell for iPhone is coming

Another look at KDDI's CEATEC concepts

by Chris Ziegler, posted Oct 1st 2008 @ 2:16AM

When the coup de grace of your CEATEC showing is a concept phone designed to look like a frickin' satellite, you know you've got some winners on your hands. KDDI's known for trotting out some really cool concepts in the past, and its latest batch is no exception -- check 'em out over on Engadget.

DoCoMo and Fujitsu show off splitting phone at CEATEC

by Joshua Topolsky, posted Sep 30th 2008 @ 6:46AM

DoCoMo and Fujitsu are showing off some interesting phone tech in Japan at this year's CEATEC, particularly a concept device which can be split into two pieces. The gadget features a separate screen and keyboard segment, and the pieces can be configured in a standard flip-phone-like arrangement, or snapped together to form an X1 or Touch Pro-esque landscape QWERTY variation. The two halves are held together by magnets and communicate via Bluetooth. Of course, right now this is very much in the concept phase, and honestly -- aren't we trying to minimize the amount of electronic components we're carting around? Still, it's a fairly slick design, and certainly a new way of thinking about phones. Take another look after the break, and hit the read link for a slew of pics.

Continue reading DoCoMo and Fujitsu show off splitting phone at CEATEC

Sony Ericsson's GreenHeart in the environmentally friendly flesh

by Chris Ziegler, posted Sep 28th 2008 @ 11:05AM

Now we've got a photo to go along with the announcement of Sony Ericsson's GreenHeart concept phone -- and if this is what saving the environment looks like, we approve. It looks sorta like a retooled W880, but you won't find any brushed aluminum here; instead, the GreenHeart's made with some crazy plastics that go easy on mother nature. It's bundled with a new charger that shuts off when the phone doesn't need any juice to save energy, but one thing it's not bundled with is a manual -- the guide is entirely electronic to save paper. The granola candybar isn't slated for production, but we'll see a number of technologies developed for it come about in retail models over the next few years.

[Via SEMC Blog]

Art Lebedev's Scartel WiMax handset concept: we're moving to Russia

by Paul Miller, posted Sep 25th 2008 @ 10:59AM

Never one to settle, Art Lebedev's design shop is trying its hand at handset design, and we like the looks of it. Art is teaming up with Scartel, a Russian carrier which just launched a WiMax network in Moscow and St. Petersburg, for a flagship handset of sorts, and has left no spec unturned -- at least in the wishful-thinking conceptual stage. In addition to a WiMax radio, the device has WiFi, tri-band GSM, microSD, dual cameras, 3.5mm audio, an A/V plug and a gargantuan 850 x 480 screen. There are minimal buttons at the base: a five-way joystick and call / end, and no keypad, so we're going to assume that we're looking at a touchscreen device. Now all that's left is to pick an OS -- would Android be too much to ask? Another shot is after the fold.

[Via Pocket-lint]

Continue reading Art Lebedev's Scartel WiMax handset concept: we're moving to Russia

Motorola shows off femtocell-in-a-digiframe concept

by Darren Murph, posted Sep 24th 2008 @ 7:49PM

After personally trying out Sprint's AIRAVE, we're confident that femtocells have a place in this world. Thankfully, Motorola's already trying to make them less of an eyesore by integrating a CDMA femtocell into something we wouldn't mind showing off in the den: an inconspicuous digital photo frame. The "3-in-1" concept also includes a VoIP soft phone that would theoretically enable calls to be made right from the frame. Of course, Moto's not handing out any sort of release time frame, but let us be the first to say that this thing needs to hit store shelves on the double -- just make sure it's not carrier specific, and toss in a GSM version while you're at it, okay Moto? Check out the demonstration vid after the break.

[Thanks, Dave]

Continue reading Motorola shows off femtocell-in-a-digiframe concept