Skip to Content

New to the Mac? Check out TUAW's Mac 101
AOL Tech

sneak peek posts

LG GC900 Viewty Smart gets coddled, previewed


After being officially unveiled (twice) for the European market last month, LG's GC900 Viewty Smart has finally arrived into the loving hands of those at GSMArena. The unit you see above is actually a pre-production unit, but it was baked enough to warrant a full-scale preview until review units start to ship. One of the biggest reveals was this line: "It's not a smartphone or anything, no matter how much we would have liked that; instead, it's a regular full touch feature phone, but one with a really polished UI and top-notch imaging capabilities." Critics spent a good bit of time checking out the still-novel 8MP camera, and while they were generally pleased with image quality and color, they weren't so stoked about the phone's ability to capture video. Overall though, they couldn't help but gush about the "gorgeous display" and "best-of-class user interface," which definitely leaves us even hungrier to wrap our own digits around a finalized unit.

Samsung's Android-powered I7500 caught in smudgy Russian wilds


Frankly, if we were forced to choose between smudgy and blurry, we'd take the former each day of the week. Russia's own Mobile-Review has somehow already managed to wrap its paws around one of the newly released Android-based I7500s, and while it's not really a drastic departure from Sammy's other smartphones of late, it's still worth a peek if you're suddenly in the market for one. Check the read link for the goods.

[Via ForoAndroid]

Plantronics Voyager PRO gets purchased, unboxed early


Plantronics isn't planning to share intimate details about its Voyager PRO Bluetooth headset until April 23rd, but evidently its supply chain executives didn't exactly touch base with marketing before sending out stock to Best Buy. Jeff and John both managed to procure the $119.99 Bluetooth headset over the weekend, and we've got the shots to prove it. Based on the teaser site down in the read link, this here headset should be it's most advanced yet, but for a buck twenty, it better answer and respond to our calls without us having to intervene.

Update: Plantronics pinged us to say the price point here should be $99. Interesting.

[Thanks, Jeff and John]

Nokia's E63 spotted at Symbian Smartphone Show


There's really no point in Nokia keeping this one "behind closed doors," as the E63 -- for all intents and purposes -- is official. Look, we've seen the thing mentioned in a cluttered Nokia XML file, we've seen an atypically clear spy shot and now we're seeing it undercover at the London-based Symbian Smartphone Show. After the crew at Mobile Industry Review tracked down someone with the handset discretely hidden in their bag, they did manage to get this quote out of him: "It looks like an E71, but it's plastic." The casing was a bit thicker than the E71, but who knows if it'll get slimmed down before it finally ships. Speaking of -- Nokia, how's about a ship date now that we're onto you?

OpenMoko's FreeRunner interface gets peeked, inspected


For those folks who don't mind -- nay, who strongly prefer -- a terminal screen on their smartphone, we know you've already thrown down the plastic on OpenMoko's FreeRunner. If you're going insane waiting to get your hands on it, what better to do than read through a remarkably thorough writeup detailing the user interface and all the goop behind the pretty scenes that makes this thing tick? Oh, and if you're just now getting up the courage to see what the brouhaha is all about, you've chosen the perfect time to get schooled. See that read link? Hit it.

[Via BoingBoing]

John Mayer secures a BlackBerry Bold, makes world envious


See how easy it is everyone? All that's required to snag a BlackBerry Bold well before its public release is to become a Grammy award-winning artist, sell out shows worldwide, date a smattering of superstars and convince Fender to create and sell your own branded guitar. While you're off working on step one, John Mayer is living it up with his brand new BlackBerry Bold. Granted, he can't claim to be the very first with said handset, but it's likely the first completely legitimate edition let loose. Of course, once you've landed the Curve and MacBook Air before everyone else on the planet, snagging a Bold is just child's play.

Live shots of Sony Ericsson's Paris surface, Mr. Blur mysteriously absent


Enough of these overly pixelated, totally fuzzed-out captures of something supposed to Sony Ericsson's Paris -- we're looking at the real deal now. This definitely sexy slider has somehow fell in front of someone without hands a-shakin', and a smattering of distinct images are waiting just below in the read link. If you just like to be teased, the snapshots show a 5.0-megapixel camera and confirm that the keypad touts a two-character-per-button layout similar to the P1 -- but really, there's nothing like seeing it for yourself.

[Thanks, Kevin]

Motorola's ZN5 captured in pictures, no blur included


Sure, you've already treated your eyes to a few less-than-stellar images of the ZN5, but this candybar just got a whole lot clearer. A handful of new images have surfaced over at KeySJ, and they take you all the way around the handset itself and even give you a look at the interface. We know, we've probably already lost you to the read link below, but if you're somehow still here, then here's your unnecessary permission to head on down and indulge. Thanks for caring.

[Via JumpAMP]

First pics of CDMA BlackBerry Curve 8330 surface


We heard you poor souls loud and clear -- hoping, begging, praying for a CDMA Curve announcement during CES. Apparently, said device is on the way. According to non-blurry (gasp!) pictures over at BBGeeks, the CDMA Curve is rockin' a 8330 model number, integrated GPS, built-in camera and a temporary sticker on the back warning that what you're looking at is absolutely not for sale under any circumstances. Excited? You should be, now hit up the read link and take a peek.

Windows Mobile 6.1 gets played with, shown off


Not like Windows Mobile 6.1 is an elaborate mystery or anything -- heck, we even know all about the improvements it's slated to bring -- but there's nothing like a bucketful of screenshots surrounded by machine translated opinions to really revive that enthusiasm. Sure enough, the folks over at PocketPT were able get ahold of the software and show off just how it handled webpage zooming, threaded SMS conversations and Office 2007 documents. Still not convinced? Go on and hit the read link -- you skeptic, you.

[Via phoneArena]

Nokia's N96 spotted in the wild?


That, friends, is an N96. Or, at least we're led to believe so. Judging by five mysterious images that surfaced over at Mobile-Review, it appears that Nokia's N96 (which looks like a jazzed-up version of the N81, actually) has leaked out, and while no specifications are available, it looks as if this thing is packing a 5-megapixel camera (with the obligatory Carl Zeiss lens), a dual LED flash and a sexy black motif. Check out one more look after the jump.

[Via IntoMobile]

Motorola's A1600 MING 2 surfaces


What's that, you say? Reportedly, that picture you see above is the Motorola A1600, which could be the long-awaited successor to the A1200 MING. Granted, we've no proof to go along with it, but the design sure fits the mold. According to Chinese-based eNet, this bugger will sport quad-band GSM connectivity, a 3.2-megapixel camera (with autofocus), WiFi, assisted-GPS, a couple of built-in games, a "talking dictionary" and a Linux-based OS. Interestingly enough, that last tidbit certainly conflicts with other reports we've heard, but we suppose time will tell (look for a February launch) what system really ends up running the MING 2 show.

[Via UnwiredView]

First "real" snapshots of Meizu's M8 supposedly surface


We'll be the first to admit that the first "real" photographs of Meizu's M8 still appear mighty doctored, but hey, so long as the final product looks this good, we'll be content. Nevertheless, the firm has made available three supposed snapshots for us to drool over, and while we're far beyond the point of actually believing anything these guys say in regard to a release date, the latest news on that front has the finalized unit ready for testing by the year's end. 'Course, there's still no set date for actually getting it into the needy hands of consumers everywhere, but the most recent price estimates peg the 4GB M8 at 2,380CNY ($314) and the 8GB version at 2,880CNY ($380). Per usual, feel free to peep the other two snaps after the jump.

[Via MyMiniOne]

Verizon's product pipeline in the wild


We can take this picture and file it under "sneak peek" and "blurry" all at the same time. From what we can make out here, it seems Verizon sets in motion plans to launch several devices in the month of August. From the Motorola Z6tv at top left, to the Q9M (remember the iPhone killer?), the Motorola RAZR 2 (aka V9m), Samsung i760, and UTStarcom XV6800 should all be making an appearance this coming month. Let's hope Big Red can pull off these launches we can be a happy bunch!

[Thanks, HTC Kid and Omie]

Update: Thanks to everyone who submitted the new picture!

Nokia's 8GB N95 photographed in the wild


Unfortunately, we've no new details surrounding this elusive handset, but a few more pictures never hurt anyone. Go on, click through for a couple more glimpses at the 8GB N95 getting cozy beside a few of its soon-to-be rivals.




AOL News

Joystiq

Download Squad

TUAW

Daily Finance

Urlesque

Autoblog