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Smartphone
Something for everyone with NTT DoCoMo's new mobile phones
By Darren Quick
21:50 November 16, 2009 PST
Japan’s biggest mobile phone operator, NTT DoCoMo, has unveiled a raft of new phones – 19 in all – along with a 3G-capable digital photo frame. The new lineup includes the waterproof F-02B (complete with snap-on perfume holder), four models packing a 12.2-megapixel camera and the world’s first phone with a separable two-module body. Read More
Acer Liquid puts Android 1.6 on Qualcomm's Snapdragon chipset
By Tim Hanlon
17:02 October 14, 2009 PDT
There's already one smartphone running on Qualcomm's Snapdragon chipset, the Toshiba TG-01, but being Windows Mobile-based, it's a little harder to get excited about than the Acer Liquid - Acer's first Android-based phone running on Android 1.6 (aka Donut). Read More
Flash 10.1 coming to Windows Mobile, Palm Pre, BlackBerry, Android and Symbian
By Darren Quick
21:36 October 5, 2009 PDT
Adobe claims that Flash content is present on more than 85 percent of the top 100 websites, and that approximately 75 percent of all web-based videos use Flash. In good news for the growing numbers of people accessing the Internet on their mobile phones, Adobe has unveiled its Flash Player 10.1: Full Flash software to bring an integrated Flash experience to browsers on Android, BlackBerry, Symbian, WebOS and Windows Mobile smartphones – but not iPhone. Read More
SurroundSense uses your phone's sensors to figure out where you are
17:02 September 30, 2009 PDT
Smartphones use GPS locating for a variety of functions but mainly they're used on the road where their accuracy - only within 10m - is basically a case of 'near enough is good enough'. But try using one indoors. They don't work! Nor can they distinguish between two adjacent environments, however different. And 10m can make a big difference inside a shopping complex or multi-roomed office block. In a research jointly sponsored by Microsoft, Nokia, Verizon and the National Science Foundation, a group of computer engineers from Duke University is working on achieving better indoor localization using a combination of sounds, lighting and accelerometer data picked up by a mobile phone. They hope it will supplement the use of GPS systems, which most users know, have their limitations. Read More
LG announce the LG-GW620 Android powered smartphone
By Mick Webb
15:24 September 20, 2009 PDT
LG has announced the release of its first foray in to the Android powered world of smartphones, the LG-GW620, aimed at meeting the demands of both first time and existing smartphone users. Read More
Nokia's E72 smartphone is a credible upgrade from the E71
07:21 September 6, 2009 PDT
Nokia's E72 incrementally builds upon its excellent predecessor, the E71. Improvements and refinements can be seen all over the device, including a faster 600MHz ARM 11 processor (versus the 369MHz E71), a new touch enabled D-pad, 5MP camera, and an update to the already best-in-class keyboard. Read More
Nokia's N97 gets a little brother, the N97 mini
03:45 September 6, 2009 PDT
Another key announcement to emerge from Nokia World in Stuttgart was a new version of their flagship N-series multimedia device, the N97 mini. The N97 mini owes its diminutive size to a reduction in the overall keyboard size made possible by removing the D-pad and adding navigation keys to a slightly redesigned keyboard. Read More
Hands on: Nokia's N900 Internet tablet may be their best 'phone' ever
23:21 September 3, 2009 PDT
So Nokia has gone and done it. It's been years since anyone has built a handset that I felt was a "must have" executive device, and Nokia has delivered with their upcoming N900. Based upon their previous N-Series Internet tablets, the N900 is a Linux based device with a large 800x480 display, but adds a quad-band 3G radio where previous products have been limited to WiFi only for communications. There's also full support for Exchange syncing, and a customized version of the Mozilla browser used in the desktop version of Firefox. With a slide-out three row qwerty keyboard and a large screen this device is ideal for corporate e-mail, and does a credible job of displaying formatted e-mail as well as a full weeks worth of calendar entries at a time. Dave Weinstein reports from Stuttgart, Germany. Read More
Samsung jet - smartphone or not?
By Darren Quick
22:57 June 15, 2009 PDT
Samsung is touting the new Jet as “smarter than a smartphone”. Not sure how “smartness” is measured, but the claim probably stems from the beefy 800MHz processor powering the phone. However, opting for Samsung’s own TouchWiz 2.0 platform instead of a traditional smartphone operating system means the phone is more likely to fill a niche between feature phones and smartphones. Read More
Smartphone feature: HTC Dream vs BlackBerry Bold vs iPhone 3G
04:06 April 30, 2009 PDT
Smartphones can seem just that bit too smart when you're trying to decide which one to buy - so many features and no way to thoroughly test them until money has changed hands and the shiny packaging is all over your kitchen floor. To shed a little light on the subject, Tim Hanlon over at The Mobiler has spent the last six weeks tirelessly hammering away at three standout Smartphones - the BlackBerry Bold, the iPhone 3G, and the HTC Dream (or T-Mobile G1). From web browsing and delivery times to spam filtering, keyboard performance, creating music playlists and much more, here's how they measure up. Read More
Ultrasound images a snap with a smartphone
By Darren Quick
23:56 April 27, 2009 PDT
Looks like smartphones are getting even smarter. We can already access our email, GPS navigate and use a wide range of business document formats, making them an integral part of a business person’s day. Now doctors might soon be packing a smartphone alongside their stethoscopes. Computer engineers at Washington University in St. Louis have coupled a smartphone with USB-based ultrasound probe technology to produce a mobile imaging device that fits in the palm of a hand. Read More
Today on The Mobiler
By Tim Hanlon
02:23 April 20, 2009 PDT
Today over at The Mobiler we've looked at Samsung's prediction that 29 percent of the mobile market will be made up by smartphones in 2012, using the iPhone as an ignition key for the Peapod electric vehicle, a custom homescreen for the BlackBerry Curve that makes it look like the Pip-Boy 3000 wearable computer from the hit RPG Fallout 3, a 3D PalmOS game running on the Palm Pre with MotionApps Classic emulator, the winner of Microsoft's Mobile Incubation Week, a launch date for Windows Mobile 6.5, and Dilbert taking on the dreaded Rebaterus. Read More
The Android handset war begins in 2009
By Loz Blain
15:45 March 16, 2009 PDT
While Apple's iPhone has enjoyed enormous success using a highly controlled, locked-down handset, operating system and application store, Google's touchscreen smartphone platform takes the opposite approach. Android is a completely open-source operating system, meaning that developers can write whatever abilities they want into it - and Google doesn't make or recommend any particular handsets. The HTC Dream (AKA the T-Mobile G1) gave Android a start in the market - but several big-name competitors are working on Android smartphones to be released sometime this year. The battle for Android handset supremacy is about to begin - let's take a look at the challengers. Read More
iPhone 3G King’s Button – the world’s most expensive phone
By Darren Quick
22:30 March 2, 2009 PST
World Financial Crisis? What World Financial Crisis? Austrian jeweler Peter Aloisson is probably hoping there are still some fairly well off people unaffected by the world's current financial ills as he has designed the world’s most expensive phone in the iPhone 3G King’s Button - yours for a measly USD$2.5 million and change. Read More
Acer jumps into the smartphone market
By Darren Quick
22:04 February 26, 2009 PST
Perhaps realizing that consumers really don’t have enough choices when it comes to mobile phones, Acer has decided to jump into the market with the introduction of a new line of smartphones aimed at both home and business users. Acer unveiled the first set of phones to make up their Acer Tempo Smartphone series at the Mobile World Congress held recently in Barcelona. Let’s have a look see at the specs. Read More
Nokia unveils N86 8-megapixel cameraphone with Carl Zeiss optics
05:01 February 19, 2009 PST
It looks like Nokia has pulled out all the stops in delivering a potentially paradigm shifting N86 cameraphone with a camera that they claim has SLR-like optics and is good enough to replace your current compact digital one. With 8GB of internal storage, and a lens system from Carl Zeiss, this device can capture still images at 8 megapixels, as well as 640x480 video 30 frames per second. The camera has a F2.4 aperture (so it's able to handle low light conditions) and includes a high intensity dual LED flash. Nokia is also using the internal GPS in the device to geo-tag all the photos. Read More
Windows Mobile 6.5 shoots for iPhone-esque usability
By Loz Blain
14:25 February 17, 2009 PST
When Apple's iPhone first hit the stores two years ago, it was a revelation in slick, simple user interface design that left competition reeling as it quickly achieved cult status. Such ease of use, however, comes at the expense of some functionality and configurability that many users expect from their smartphones, leaving the door wide open for platforms like Android, Symbian and Windows Mobile to go for the power-user market if they can just address their interface issues and build something slick and sexy that does what the iPhone can't. Gizmodo has shown the first hands-on look we've seen at Windows Mobile 6.5, which doesn't add a lot of new features, but makes WM much more finger-friendly and puts some surprisingly effective lipstick on the old girl. Read More
HTC announces 2nd generation Touch Diamond2 and Touch Pro2
15:02 February 16, 2009 PST
HTC has announced their next generation Windows Mobile smartphones. The two devices announced, the HTC Touch Diamond2 and HTC Touch Pro2, are both Windows Mobile 6.1 devices, but meet the new minimum hardware specs for compatibility with the upcoming Windows Mobile 6.5 release. These devices are hot! Both include a 800x480 WVGA display, with the Pro2 including a full qwerty keyboard and tilt up screen. Read More
Palm Pre: the next big thing in 3G smartphones?
By Tim Hanlon
20:15 February 15, 2009 PST
Announced at CES 2009, Palm's Pre is a 3G smartphone set to take on the iPhone and the G1. Read on to find out why we think it's got a fighting chance of becoming the next "must have" handset. Read More
Toshiba announces the TG01 smartphone
By Tim Hanlon
22:38 February 3, 2009 PST
Toshiba plans to take on the smartphone market with their TG01, based on Qualcomm's Snapdragon platform running Windows Mobile 6.1. The 9.9mm thick device sports a 4.1-inch widescreen VGA (800x480) touchscreen, a GUI designed specifically for easy one-handed navigation, and the standard HSDPA 3G, WiFi, and GPS/aGPS connectivity options. Read More
HTC boosts GPS credentials on updated Touch Cruise smartphone
By Darren Quick
19:09 January 22, 2009 PST
HTC has announced an updated version of its HTC Touch Cruise smartphone that was released in January 2008. The new model Touch Cruise features a new look and expands on the GPS capabilities of its predecessor with the inclusion of HTC Footprints – geotagging software that not only allows users to geotag photos taken on the unit’s 3.2 MP fixed focus camera, but also lets them take notes and an audio clip related to that image to form a “digital postcard”. In addition to identifying each postcard with its specific GPS co-ordinates, Footprints also auto-names each postcard with its general location or area. Read More
Powcell's green smartphone-charging solution
20:56 January 21, 2009 PST
We live in an era where pocket-sized mobile devices can keep us in touch with almost every corner of the globe, but this golden age of communication can quickly turn sour when your battery dies, and it usually happens when you most need it. To combat this issue there are a smorgasbord of mobile recharging devices now on the market, with our favorites being those that use alternative energy to get the job done like the Solio or HYmini solar/wind charger. Now there's a new kid on the block in the form of Powcell, a charging sleeve for iPhone, iPod Touch and Blackberry Curve that draws on almost any light source to provide a power top-up on the go and reduce your dependence on wall sockets. Read More
MOTO Q 11 joins Motorola’s Q series of smartphones
By Darren Quick
00:08 October 17, 2008 PDT
Motorola has announced the latest addition to its Q series of smartphones. The MOTO Q 11 is a quad-band GSM phone with EDGE, (no HSDPA or 3G), and features a 2.4” 320 x 240 TFT 262K screen and full QWERTY keyboard. In the wireless department it features Bluetooth, integrated 802.11b/g WiFi, which uses Boingo Mobile to automatically connect to thousands of WiFi locations worldwide, and integrated GPS for navigation support for applications such as Google Maps. Read More
Motorola’s “Napolean” Q9 world phone
By Darren Quick
18:02 July 9, 2008 PDT
July 8, 2008 The folks at Boy Genius Report have got their hands on a new Motorola smartphone codenamed the “Napolean”. It’s a CDMA EV-DO Rev. A Q9 with full GSM world roaming capabilities, including the U.S. 850MHz/1900MHz bands. Features of the phone revealed so far include a fingerprint scanner, Windows Mobile 6.1, quad-band EDGE, 2 megapixel camera with flash, stereo speakers, 320×240 resolution screen, Wi-Fi, and a 1500mAh battery. BGR report the full QWERTY keyboard isn’t as good as the first Q9 or Q9m, and the d-pad is a little on the stiff side and difficult to use but the sound was good, and the screen seems to be the same as the original Q9s. The leaked phone is Verizon branded and will launch on Verizon, but BGR confirmed the phone also worked fine with an AT&T SIM. Read More
Samsung OMNIA brings a PC environment to your mobile
By Emily Clark
02:53 July 9, 2008 PDT
Samsung has unveiled its new all-in-one maxi-phone, complete with multimedia enhanced smartphone features. The OMNIA (Latin for “everything”) brings together your work and personal life by coupling high performance business content with style and a fun. Read More
John Wassner
- November 27, 2009 @ 01:40 UTC
