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Oh, by the way: August 4, 2009

by Chris Ziegler posted Aug 5th 2009 @ 2:30AM

Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of mobile for Tuesday, August 4th, 2009:

Following the G'zOne C731 Rock, Casio's C741 Brigade for Verizon has nabbed FCC clearance. Not much is known about the phone -- we can assume it'll be ruggedized to one degree or another -- but one interesting tidbit is the inclusion of VCAST TV support, something Verizon's been getting lax on as of late. [Via PhoneArena]
Have you seen a white / silver Samsung i7500 Galaxy? Now you have. [Thanks, Ruben W.]
China's regulatory peeps have had the good fortune of seeing a couple new Philips Xeniums in their midst, a K700 full touch model and an X501 candybar. Philips has yet to announce either unit, but you can bet they'll last until the next ice age on a single charge. [Via Unwired View]
Microsoft's MSDN -- its official developer network -- has published a case study on porting an iPhone app to Windows Mobile. A year ago, you'd have been more likely to see case studies going in the other direction, but, you know, times are changing. [Via Tweakers.net]
Digia put together a nice little web browser for UIQ called @Web, but then UIQ sorta went away -- so they're back at it again, this time on S60 5th Edition in beta form. S60 does a decent job browsing out of the gate, but @Web's got some interesting UI elements that might make it worth a look. [Via All About Symbian]
We don't see much of it in the States, but Samsung's got a whole brand -- DuoS -- for dual-SIM capable handsets. Mobil.cz has dug up a new model in the series, a low-end candybar dubbed C3212 that'll run the equivalent of around $195 and go on sale in Russia later this summer before expanding to other European markets. [Via Mobile Phone Helpdesk]
Value brand Cricket is adding yet more value to its unlimited voice plans that start at a bargain-basement $40. The $40 price point now includes web access; $45 gets you unlimited email, backup, and 30 roaming minutes a month, and $55 ups the roaming to 200 minutes.

Samsung's dual-SIM B5702, now mega-official

by Chris Ziegler posted Apr 8th 2009 @ 2:16PM

Dual SIM support still isn't a big deal in most of Europe and North America, but in Russia -- where the new B5702 is launching, among other places, in May -- having two lines at your immediate disposal seems to be a headlining feature. The leaked B5702 is now fully official, offering a 3 megapixel camera, quadband EDGE, QVGA display, FM radio with RDS, built-in document viewer including Office and PDF (kinda unique for a dumbphone), and microSD expansion up to 8GB. Unlike some dual-SIM devices, the B5702 utilizes both cards simultaneously; two LEDs indicate which line is being used by incoming calls, and a button on the side allows users to hot-swap active lines without restarting the phone. Just don't mix up "Boss" and "Sweetie" on the speed dials, alright?

Samsung's Ego S9402 launching for way too much in Russia

by Darren Murph posted Jan 17th 2009 @ 10:08PM

Man, it's crazy to see what flies as a "luxury phone" these days. The altogether vanilla looking Ego S9402 fittingly feels pretty darn good about itself, and while twin SIM card slots, a Bang & Olufsen sound processor and a 2-inch QVGA AMOLED display are nice inclusions, we're still wondering what we've missed that would justify the 48,990 rubles ($1,543) price tag. Who knows, maybe it's the 5 megapixel camera, metallic casing or the Russian exclusivity. Yeah, definitely the latter.

[Via UnwiredView]

Samsung throws two SIM slots in beefy S9402 DuoS

by Darren Murph posted Oct 27th 2008 @ 7:00PM

Just in case Samsung has yet to create a dual SIM DuoS handset that really struck your fancy, here's yet another to consider: the S9402. Expected to boast a luxurious outfit (and matching price tag, we imagine), this here candybar will tout a 2-inch QVGA AMOLED display, an all-metal frame, 1GB of internal memory, a microSDHC card slot, Bluetooth 2.0, USB connectivity, FM tuner, a 5-megapixel camera (with video mode) and a complete lack of 3G support. Word has it that it'll be launched first in Russia, though we suspect surrounding nations won't have to wait too long to indulge.

Samsung intros twelve (yes, twelve) phones at IFA

by Chris Ziegler posted Aug 31st 2008 @ 12:01PM

IFA typically isn't considered the strongest show in the mobile world, which Samsung apparently saw as an opportunity to grab just a little more spotlight than it'd normally have. Okay, maybe "a little more spotlight" is an understatement, seeing how it trotted out no fewer than a dozen handsets at the show -- and granted, none of them are groundbreaking taken alone, but the collective ends up making for a mighty showing. Highlights include the S7330 slider, featuring a Soul-like display in the d-pad; the rumored D980 DUOS which adds an extra SIM slot to the F480's design language; the music-centric M3510 Beat; and this here beast of a phone, the B2700, looking like it's more than ready to take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. Overall, we would've liked to have seen a little more high-end fare in the mix, but we'll take it.

Samsung F480 + second SIM = D988 for China

by Chris Ziegler posted Jul 21st 2008 @ 11:38PM

Call it Tocco in the UK, Player Style in France, and now, you can call it dual SIM capable in China. The F480 has been morphed (more or less, anyway) into the D988 for the Chinese market, a place where a good percentage of the mobile populace enjoys having a pair of wireless accounts at the ready. It carries over the 5 megapixel autofocus camera, too; bring back the 3G that's missing here and release it as a Europe-ready DuoS model, Samsung, and you might have a global winner on your hands.

[Via Unwired View]

More dual-SIM wares on the way from Samsung

by Chris Ziegler posted Mar 24th 2008 @ 9:31AM

As cool as the concept of the Samsung DuoS D880 might be, there's a big problem: it runs in the $700 range at retail. Russian site Smape recently sat down with Samsung's mobile chief for the region, and he plainly admitted that the high cost of the D880's admission is leaving out a large segment of the dual-SIM market -- folks who are looking to minimize costs by using different providers depending on who they're calling -- and the company's looking to address that in the second quarter by adding another DuoS model, the P240 candybar. The new piece is expected to cost 20 to 30 percent less than the D880 while still offering its most important feature -- the two SIM slots, that is -- along with Bluetooth, a microSD slot, and a 220 x 176 display. The rep also mentioned that a WinMo-powered DuoS is in the works for this year, and Symbian's on their radar as well -- though probably not before 2008's out. Samsung had previously shown a DuoS-based version of the Armani, too, but it looks like that's now off the table because they found that managing two SIMs proved difficult with a touchscreen; we personally think we could've managed, but whatevs.

[Via Unwired View]

Samsung's dual-SIM DuoS D880

by Chris Ziegler posted Oct 3rd 2007 @ 7:37PM

Dual-SIM handsets are a completely foreign concept in these parts, but in parts of Asia, they're a fairly common sight (three SIMs, though -- that's another story). Samsung's contributing its "DuoS" D880 slider to the fray, offering the capability to rock two SIMs from the same carrier or different carriers and switch seamlessly between the two for voice, data, and text functions. Sadly, the handset tops out at EDGE, though the other specs aren't half bad -- 3.2 megapixel cam, FM radio, stereo Bluetooth, et cetera -- and it looks alright, too. Look for it around a hefty $700 next month.

[Via Unwired View]