Prototype -- Engadget Mobile

prototype posts

Toshiba shows off slate of smartphone prototypes at CEATEC (video)

by Darren Murph posted Oct 7th 2009 @ 11:47PM

The admittedly powerful TG01 has been carrying the flagship banner for awhile at Toshiba's smartphone division, but if a brief look at CEATEC gives us any indication of what's to come, we'd say you can look forward to hearing an awful lot more from Tosh in this here sector. Behind a small glass case, a smattering of smartphone prototypes were quietly sitting pretty in effort to be photographed. Naturally, we took 'em all up on the offer, snapping the K01, K02 and L01 and hosting them in the gallery below. We're told that the lot is actually nearing production, with the K01 packing a 4.1-inch capacitive touchscreen, the K02 a 3.5-inch resistive panel (with an 800 x 480 resolution) and the L01 a 7-inch screen within a MID-like form factor. Each of the three are to be powered by Windows Mobile 6.5, though we wouldn't argue if WinMo 7 ended up being the OS of choice. Video's after the break.

[Via Electronista]

Gallery: Toshiba shows off slate of smartphone prototypes at CEATEC

Continue reading Toshiba shows off slate of smartphone prototypes at CEATEC (video)

Video: NTT DoCoMo's Touch Wood concepts show their grains at CEATEC

by Darren Murph posted Oct 6th 2009 @ 8:42AM

We'll spare you the obvious cheap jokes, but grabbing hold of NTT DoCoMo's Touch Wood concepts at CEATEC was a true, honest-to-goodness pleasure. Engineered in cooperation with Sharp and Olympus, the kidney bean-esque touchscreen phone was accompanied by a TV tuning smartphone with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Both units were in the early prototype stage, with the bean shaped fellow being a mere mock-up that failed to do anything when pressed. The other guy is based around the SH-04A, and while the wood trim could've certainly encompassed more of the chassis than it did, we dig the direction DoCoMo is headed here. Have a look at Ma Earth's favorite phone (next to the Reclaim, of course) in the gallery below (and video after the break, if you're feeling extra saucy).

Gallery: NTT DoCoMo's Touch Wood concepts show their grains at CEATEC

Continue reading Video: NTT DoCoMo's Touch Wood concepts show their grains at CEATEC

Fujitsu cellphone design contest yields mind-blowing results: hands-on

by Darren Murph posted Oct 6th 2009 @ 5:01AM

Fujitsu has been wowing us with cellphone concepts for quite some time, but this year's round at CEATEC is undoubtedly a show-stopping bunch. Some of the hottest ideas to come from the outfit's most recent mobile phone design contest were on display here in Japan, and we went end to end capturing the lot. The clear pebble mock-up (shown above) was easily the crown jewel (in our mind, anyway), with a small black blob able to morph into different screens (media panels, a keypad, web browser, etc.) depending on which corner you drag said blob into. There was also a design reminiscent of paper mache, not to mention one with a circular vibe that just has to be a long lost cousin to Motorola's AURA. Have a gander at the masterpieces in the gallery below, but don't bet on these hitting your ~~favorite~~ carrier anytime soon.

Gallery: Fujitsu cellphone design contest yields mind-blowing results: hands-on

NTT DOCOMO's Touch Wood mockups make naughty puns easy

by Thomas Ricker posted Sep 24th 2009 @ 5:20AM

We're still not entirely sold on the intersection of gadgets and wood. Nevertheless, companies keep pumping out the concepts in response to our greener times. Here's NTT DOCOMO's effort using surplus wood leftover from Pacific culling operations. The Touch Wood prototype was developed in tandem with Sharp and Olympus and is based on the SH-04A slider. A Touch Wood mockup (pictured above) resembling a more feminine bean was also announced. In either case, the Touch Wood body is made of cypress without adding any artificial coloring or paint. And by using Olympus' 3D compression molding technique, they've manage to maintain the kind of durability, and resistance to water, insects, and mildew that you'd expect from, well, a tree. The handsets will be on exhibit in October at the ITU Telecom World and CEATEC Japan shows... touch wood. SH-04A prototype pictured after the break.

[Thanks, Stop Spamming]

Continue reading NTT DOCOMO's Touch Wood mockups make naughty puns easy

Foxconn claims employee who committed suicide had history of misplacing prototypes, does nothing for its case

by Laura June posted Jul 27th 2009 @ 12:26PM

This is one story that only gets more bizarre with each passing day. The 25-year-old Foxconn employee who committed suicide this month, apparently after one of the iPhone prototypes he was responsible for went missing, is now reported to have misplaced other prototypes previous to this instance. According to Foxconn (who spoke with the New York Times), his employer and the company charged with manufacturing all of Apple's handsets, Sun Danyong had had products go missing "several times," but that he had gotten them back. Foxconn itself is the subject of some mystery in all this, after a security officer connected to the company was suspended and turned over to the Chinese government -- apparently in connection with the case. Sun Danyong was reportedly interrogated and possibly beaten after the prototype went missing, though Foxconn and those connected with the company have denied this. Foxconn has confirmed that Sun Danyong's family was paid roughly $44,000 and given an Apple laptop as compensation for his death.

Apple confirms and expresses sadness over death of Chinese iPhone prototype handler

by Ross Miller posted Jul 21st 2009 @ 11:23PM

Reports have circulated the internet that a 25-year old worker at Chinese manufacturer Foxconn, which produces all the iPhone models for Apple, committed suicide last week following revelation that a fourth-generation iPhone prototype, one of the 16 iPhones he was responsible for, had gone missing. Some stories circulating have described illegal searches of the man's apartment and interrogation involving physical abuse by other Foxconn employees. While not confirming the case being a suicide or the cause being the disappearing device, a spokesperson for the Cupertino-based company did release a statement corroborating the news of his death, saying that it is "saddened by the tragic loss of this young employee, and we are awaiting results of the investigations into his death. We require our suppliers to treat all workers with dignity and respect." The status of the missing iPhone prototype, which may or may not have been one that earlier this month found itself on eBay given the timeframe (although a 3GS model and not "fourth generation") remains unknown. Our hearts go out to all involved.

Read - Statement form Apple
Read - iPhone prototype goes missing; Chinese worker investigated, commits suicide

iPhone 3GS prototype scooped up at airport, now on eBay

by Darren Murph posted Jul 3rd 2009 @ 12:44PM

Seriously folks, what's up with these prototype iPhones falling out of nondescript white vans and ending up on eBay in the shadiest of manners? Just months after we saw an original iPhone prototype (ancient OS included) pop up on The 'Bay, now we've got one of the world's first iPhone 3GSs on there as well. According to the highly ranked eBay seller, the "guy" he "got it from" actually stumbled upon it at an airport, and rather than doing the nonsensical thing of hitting up lost and found, he decided to make the most of the sudden opportunity. According to the new owner, an Apple Genius has confirmed that it is an iPhone 3GS, but due to its prototype nature, they can't help him get past the "Connect to iTunes" screen. In other words, it's an incredibly rare brick. If that sounds like just the thing to complete your collection, you can visit the road to overpaying through the read link below.

[Via ElectricPig]

OLED mini projector prototype for mobile phones using a series of lenses developed

by Laura June posted Jun 29th 2009 @ 7:19PM

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute -- partnered with project HYPOLED -- have created an OLED mini projector prototype for mobile phones. Unlike many previous iterations of similar technologies, this new prototype doesn't need an additional illumination system, instead relying on a lens system to project images produced by an OLED onto a screen or wall -- making it both smaller and more energy efficient. The prototype currently displays a monochrome image with a brightness of 10,000 candelas per square meter, and color images with a brightness of about half of that. The lenses are also made of glass at this point, though cheaper and simpler plastic ones are in the works. No word on when we might see these prototypes hitting the streets in actual projector phones, though.

[Via Gizmag]

Maria Sharapova models Bluetooth-enabled Sony Ericsson prototype dress

by Laura June posted Jun 18th 2009 @ 2:18PM

Sony Ericsson's official spokesperson, Maria Sharapova, was on hand recently to unveil a student-designed prototype of a Bluetooth-enabled dress. The iridescent scales that run up one side of the dress move and light up when the phone rings, enabling its owner to know about calls even in noisy places (so says the dress's maker, Georgie Davies). Yes, it's just a prototype for now, but it's a pretty cute dress, so hopefully we'll see these hit the streets at some point in the (nearish) future.

[Via Switched]

Dell's first cellphone prototypes said to "lack differentiation"

by Darren Murph posted Mar 21st 2009 @ 10:33AM

Remember when AT&T's Ralph de la Vega got caught up in the middle of mixed words over a supposed Dell smartphone at MWC? Turns out, maybe that cat has seen a cellular prototype from the labs of Round Rock, but given his displeasure with it, he brushed it off as no huge deal. A fresh report from Barron's asserts that Dell actually has shown off both WinMo and Android-powered handsets to an undisclosed amount of mobile carriers, but essentially, everyone met them with a gigantic "meh" and simply stated that the attempts "lacked differentiation." That said, it seems that Dell's not being deterred by the naysayers, and it has even led some analysts to guess that the company may pick up one of those other struggling cellphone makers in order to get some of that "differentiating" juice. It strikes us sort of funny, though -- since when did differentiation really matter to carriers?

[Via mocoNews]

Prototype iPhone firmware posted, leaves more questions than answers

by Chris Ziegler posted Mar 12th 2009 @ 12:56AM

The physical devices have been unceremoniously pulled off eBay, yes, but thankfully, their spirit lives on thanks to ripped binaries now circulating the interwebs. It seems that no one has quite figured out how to run the pre-pro iPhone firmware outright, but we're sure it's just a matter of time. While we twiddle our thumbs, one of the firmware's more interesting nuggets -- the colorfully-named skankphone.app -- has apparently been successfully launched from an iPhone 3G's home screen, briefly producing this unfortunate image for your viewing enjoyment before booting you back out. This is all either an elaborate hoax crafted by some of the crazier minds in the iPhone hacking community, or there are some awfully sick puppies in Cupertino's iPhone team -- but either way, we're finding ourselves wanting more. What?

[Thanks, Marcel]

iPhone prototype surfaces on eBay, aims to fetch a pretty penny

by Darren Murph posted Mar 9th 2009 @ 7:42PM

Okay, so we'll go ahead and crush a few dreams up front -- there's nothing here that proves this isn't some funky KIRF iPhone or just an ad hoc or jailbroken app making things look completely funkadelic. Now that our skepticism is out in the open, we'll be honest and say we really, really hope this is legitimate. According to the eBay description, this here iPhone prototype was constructed a few months prior to the real iPhone's release, and it actually powers on, makes calls and receives SMSs. It sports a totally beta plastic matte screen, and the software is obviously pre-release. Oh, and the best part? The auction winner also scores a second beta phone that won't turn on (yet), but we're sure the right tweaker could fix it up into the most amazing secondary phone the world has ever seen. Forget all that bad economic news you've been hearing -- you best bring the bring the bank if you're thinking seriously about claiming this.

[Via iLounge]

Man swipes prototype phones from Sony Ericsson, is caught

by Donald Melanson posted Jan 14th 2009 @ 6:01PM

Details are still a bit fuzzy on this one, but reports out of Sweden say that a 35-year-old map swiped a batch of prototype phones from Sony Ericsson's Lund offices on Monday or Tuesday and was then promptly arrested on Wednesday after police discovered the prototypes, along with a hundred other phones, at his home. According to Sony Ericsson, the man was not an employee but had a "working relationship" with the company, and apparently used a pass card to gain entry to the building. Police also found a laptop with some unspecified contents at the man's home, and say that the total value of the theft was about 750,000 kronor, or roughly $90,000.

[Image courtesy Skånskan.se, thanks Örjan]

Sony Ericsson's axed Paris gets video review: here's to what could've been

by Darren Murph posted Nov 26th 2008 @ 10:26AM

Sony Ericsson sure knows how to toy with the heartstrings -- 'course, one could argue that it's our own fault for delving beneath the surface and learning far too much about a handset that was never assured of a public release, but whatever. The Paris, or P5, or the one that got away has been reviewed in a two-part video series over at UIQ Blog, and while the handset used was indeed a prototype, it's pretty much the most finalized version anyone ever saw. We wouldn't dare spoil anything in case you just can't take anymore positive press about a phone you'll never be able to own, but those with hardened hearts can hit the read link and mash play (twice).

[Via Boy Genius Report]

Concept phone can see through walls -- in theory

by Tim Stevens posted Oct 1st 2008 @ 3:29PM

Remember that scene in 'The Dark Knight' where (spoiler alert!) Batman uses the city's cell-phones to look through walls and find the bad guys? Totally awesome, right!? A group of scientists at KDDI apparently thought so too, creating a prototype they say could do something similar. Using geomagnetic sensors, accelerometers, and GPS, the device is able to determine its position and render its surroundings on the screen in OpenGL, including areas that are currently out of sight. We're guessing you must have already scanned those areas with the phone and that it can't actually see through walls, but we'd be happy to be proven wrong -- whenever they actually have something to show us. Like the group's funky concept phones we brought to you earlier, this one doesn't actually work. Yet.