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Samsung's Slyde m540 comes to Telus in grey and pink

by Darren Murph posted Nov 8th 2008 @ 5:15PM

For Telus subscribers who've been unbelievably envious of Americans yapping on the Rant, it's time to kick back a cold one and relax. Telus Mobility has just introduced the renamed Samsung Slyde m540 into its lineup, and the pricing is mighty palatable if you've got three years to burn. Available now, the handset can be acquired gratis on a 3-year plan, while it'll run you $49.99 with a 2-year agreement, $179.99 on a 1-year deal and $229.99 with no strings to speak of. Now, if only choosing between grey and pink were that simple...

[Via mobilesyrup]

Hands-on with Samsung's Rant and Highnote

by Sean Cooper posted Sep 10th 2008 @ 8:48PM

Well, that about covers Sprint's new handset binge at CTIA,and we got hands-on with both the Samsung Highnote (pictured left) and the Samsung Rant to wrap up the announcements. The Highnote's the music centric handset -- isn't there always one? -- in this launch, but sadly, the speaker seems to lack oomph in the sonic delivery department, but the dedicated messaging button's kinda useful. The Rant is built like a tank, and the very solid metal construction is top notch -- so if you're prone to dropping your phone, it's worth checking out. The gallery covers the range of colors that'll be available -- and the purple is a glowing example of ugly -- when these two hit in October. You know the drill, the read link has the goods.

Gallery: Hands-on with Samsung's Rant and Highnote

Sprint shows fall dumbphone lineup, new "One Click" user interface

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 10th 2008 @ 11:06AM

Sure enough, there wasn't anything squished about the image we saw of the LG LX600 a while back -- it was just loosening the belt a couple notches to make room for a full QWERTY keyboard running across its naughty bits. Oh, and it's no longer the LX600; turns out Sprint is releasing it as the Lotus, one of four all-new dumbphones for the autumn months to complement today's announcement of the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro. It'll be available next month for $149.99 on contract. Others in the mix include the Samsung Highnote -- a music-focused dual slider that dedicates one slide direction to a hefty little loudspeaker -- and the curiously-named Rant, which apes the LG Rumor's form factor to give text addicts another affordable option. Like the Lotus, the Highnote and Rant will both hit in October for $99.99 and $49.99, respectively. Meanwhile, iDEN freaks (and we use that term in the most loving way possible) will be happy to see that they're getting their grubby, calloused hands on another rugged option, the Motorola i576 flip. It'll start getting beaten senseless at retail come October 19 for $69.99.

Sprint's also using those three new consumer sets (sorry, i576) to premiere "One Click," a new UI paradigm for its non-smartphone devices that allows folks to drop all sorts of commonly-used features with information-rich icons right on the home screen for... well, one-click access, hence the name. New Katana Eclipse colors coming later this fall will feature the new software, too.

Gallery: Sprint shows fall dumbphone lineup, new "One Click" user interface

Dvorak: Apple should pull the plug on the iPhone

by Thomas Ricker posted Mar 29th 2007 @ 8:38AM

Prepare to have your feathers ruffled Apple fanboys, John Dvorak -- a name synonymous with curmudgeon -- has called on Apple to "pull the plug on the iPhone" and pass it along to some other "suckers" before it's too late. Hell, you don't even have to be a fanboy in this case to feel the retch of his nonsensical nausea welling within. His case? Essentially, as a newcomer "there is no likelihood that Apple can be successful in a [cellphone] business this competitive." Echoing similar sentiments shared by Palm's Ed Colligan. Of course, we've already witnessed a newcomer step into the mobile handset business, which Dvorak describes as a "buzz saw waiting to chop up newbies," and emerge as the boutique, go-to provider for high-end handsets -- right, HTC? We're not saying Apple's success is guaranteed, but let's call this rant what it is: shameless attention whoring. Well, he's got it.