Gizmodo: 3Gsm

Motorola Teaser Vid for Upcoming Z12 Media Phone?

Adrian Covert — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 19:59:33 EST

A Motorola teaser video popped up on YouTube, complete with people lugging around TVs, laptops, CDs and DVD players. The spot ends with the statement "It doesn't have to be this hard." Word on the 'nets is this vid is for Motorola's Z12 phone, which is said to have significant multimedia features (mobile video, 5 MP camera, 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, etc...). Expect to hear more on this at 3GSM in Barcelona next week. [Electronista via Ubergizmo]

Dell, Google May Make Joint Android/Google Phone Announcement at 3GSM

Jason Chen — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:15:52 EST

"Senior industry sources" are making the bold claim that Dell and Google are going to announce a joint effort to make THE GOOGLE PHONE at the 3GSM conference in February. That sounds unlikely to us, and with Dell's history of putting their name on other people's gadgets (the iPod, for example), if anything it's probably just another manufacturer announcing that they'll make an Android phone. What else could be announced at a phone conference? [MarketingWeek]

My favorite 3GSM iPod Substitute: More Shots of the Sony Ericsson w880 Walkman Phone and Friends

Louis Ramirez — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 07:04:31 EST

In my mad dash to get to Spain (I had a little over 24 hours to pack, find a hotel, etc), I forgot to charge my iPod. Now if I woulda had one of these mobiles by my side, everything would've been alright. Granted, none of these phones would have lasted me the full 6+ hour flight from NY to Barcelona, but they would've put a temporary end to the crying moppet behind my seat on the airplane. Here are some of my personal favorite Sony Ericsson phones that were revealed at the show. Until I see the iPhone, I think these are the best music phones out there period. – Louis Ramirez

Big and Proud: More Impressions of the Nokia e90 and the iMate Ultimate

Louis Ramirez — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 05:57:08 EST

I'm pretty superficial when it comes to my cell phones. I like them thin and stylish—drop them in your pocket and forget they're there. They gotta be smart too, I won't settle for any crap interface (although since I'm on Verizon, that's tough to do). So you'd think I'd be all over Samung's new Ultra series, right. Eh, not really. They need more carbs. Much to my surprise, I ended up falling for these two fatties instead. Nokia's E90 and the locked in glass iMate 7150. The E90 is huge. No doubt about it, but the over-sized keyboard feels great. As for the iMate, it's kinda like an E90 with WM6 (size-wise). Take a look and see what I mean. – Louis Ramirez

Locked in Glass: Five 3GSM Phones We'd Snatch in a Heartbeat

Louis Ramirez — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 11:14:55 EST

It's the final day here at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, and of all the phones I've seen, after the jump are the five I'd like to take back home with me. That is, if they hadn't been locked up in glass and/or under tight supervision.

NTT DoCoMo D800iDS
Yeah, they're ripping off the Nintendo DS, but where else will you see a phone with two touch-screen displays. Unfortunately, the D800iDS was not only under glass, but it wasn't even turned on. Lame.

LG Prada
It doesn't get any sexier than this, folks. Miss Spain finalist. Prada. LG. Touch-screen display. Part of my heart will stay at the LG Barcelona booth forever.

Samsung F700
I arrived at 3GSM with dreams of holding the touch-screeny F700. Well, Samsung had a nice big bucket of ice waiting for me cause not only was the F700 a no-show, but they wouldn't even let me touch the prototype.

Samsung FGH-F520
The only company to smack me twice, Samsung's second slider, the F520, was also locked under glass, and no matter how many times I pleaded, they just weren't having it. The sucker remained under the glass (and turned off) during the entire show.

iMate Ultimate 7150
A full VGA screen, QWERTY keyboard, and WM6. This smartphone is oozing with style and power, but unfortunately the goons at iMate had it locked and secured, denying me a grope. – Louis Ramirez

The Beauty Behind the LG Prada Phone

Louis Ramirez — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 07:07:49 EST

It's day 4 here at 3GSM and the LG booth is once again packed with beautiful people and geeks alike. Everyone clamming to get some one-on-one time with the LG Prada lovechild. But today we come to you with some dirt on the LG Prada guardian, she's none other than Miss Barcelona 2003 semi-finalist, Laura Ocano Fernandez. If you'd like to see who beat Fernandez to the 2003 title, hit the jump. But in my eyes, Fernandez is the true winner cause she gets the highly-coveted responsibility of keeping the LG Prada's beautiful screen from being smudged up by the chubby digits of geeky tech journalists like myself. Gizmodo ES has even named her Miss Gizmodo and has more pics of her lovely hands here.

No LG Prada phone for ex-Tampax model (and Miss Spain '03), Eva Gonzalez. – Louis Ramirez

3GSM 2007: I Heart Motorola's Z8 Banana-Slider and Q9 Smartphone

Louis Ramirez — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 00:31:52 EST

Without a doubt, the Moto Q9 and the Z8 were the stars of Motorola's 3GSM booth. As a current Q owner, I can say the Q9 has some nice improvements. Most noticeably is the new QWERTY keyboard, which is spaced slight differently than the Q's, but just as comfortable to use. I'm not a fan of sliders, but the Z8 is also worth checking out. It's banana-shape design curves so that when you're on a call, the mic is closer to your mouth. What they call "HD video" is 30fps video, which took a few seconds to load/play, but otherwise ran flicker free.

3GSM: Battle of the Rotating Cellphone Screens

Louis Ramirez — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 20:40:27 EST

Look, we know these aren't coming to the US. But Asia's TV phones are too beautiful to not at least gawk over. And at 3GSM, there were plenty of mobiles with flipping, sliding, rotating screens, with my personal (clamshell) favorites being Sharp's AQUOS phone (which we had seen before) and NTT DoCoMo's upcoming F903iX Music phone. The Sharp phone has the better screen, no contest, but F903iX isn't as chubby, which being the superficial guy that I am, won me over. Check 'em out for yourselves. – Louis Ramirez

Heavy Breathing with NTT DoCoMo's Alcohol Phone

Louis Ramirez — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 19:30:14 EST

We've shown you NTT DoCoMo's breathalayzer cell phone before, but here it is in the flesh at 3GSM. The phone is aimed at limosuine and bus companies, so unless you're a true alchie who needs to be told when it's ok to drive, you're not getting this phone. So we decided to put it to the test and see how sober (or drunk) we were. . .

And I kept getting a 4. Which means I'm either dead or in a coma. (Or my stank breath killed the machine). Back to the cervezeria. – Louis Ramirez

Nokia CK-15W Bluetooth Display Car Kit

Travis Hudson — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 13:45:18 EST

Another product from Nokia announced at 3GSM is the CK-15W Bluetooth display car kit. This device can sync up with your Nokia or other-branded phone and allow for full control of the phone functionality on the 2.2-inch color display. Make calls, receive calls, see contact list info and more on the small, full-color screen. The CK-15W is slated for a first quarter release for approximately $235. Really, do you need any more high-tech crap in your car? Nokia thinks so. –Travis Hudson

Nokia CK-15W Bluetooth Display Car Kit [newlaunches]

iMate's Ultimate Series Run WM6 and Feature VGA Screens

Louis Ramirez — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 13:18:32 EST

Looks like HTC's X7500 might have met its match. This beauty here is iMate's Ultimate 7150. A tablet/handheld/UMPC type smartphone that not only runs Windows Mobile 6, but also rocks the eye candy with a nice 3.8-inch VGA screen. The GSM/EDGE phone supports HSDPA connectivity and comes with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The model you see here is only a prototype, so it was locked behind glass and guarded heavily by fat mean-looking men. Luckily, we did get to grope the 7150's little sibling, the JAQ4.

The JAQ4 doesn't have a VGA screen (QVGA), but it does come with built-in GPS, a QWERTY keyboard, an FM radio, and Windows Mobile 6. It's pretty lightweight, like the Moto Q, though not as thin. Looks-wise, it got hit with the ugly stick one too many times, but otherwise I've seen fuglier. Both the JAQ4 and the 7150 are expected to make their debut back home in the States in June.

iMate

Hands-On Video Of Nokia'a Mobile YouTube Service

Gizloco — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 07:20:53 EST

At 3GSM, Nokia shows off how it plans to change the course of human history with its Video Center mobile YouTube service, first noticed on Monday. Since being able to watch all those high quality YouTube videos is of such great import in the grand scheme of things, I suppose being able to view them on-the-go is the next logical step. And if you're too busy to watch the videos live, you can download them to the cellphone's memory and view them later. Thank you, Nokia. We are forever in your debt. – Nicholas Deleon

Nokia Video Center Hands On [CrunchGear]

3GSM's Smallest Mobile: the Neonode N2

Louis Ramirez — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 23:10:19 EST

And here is Neonode's latest baby, the N2, all wrapped up in its blanket. There's pretty much no way this phone will ever get U.S. citizenship, but if you love ultra-small gadgets, it doesn't get any smaller than this. The finger-stroke navigation takes a lot of getting used to (especially in a handheld that's the size of an old-school beeper) and holding it up to your ear makes you feel retarded (because it's so small). But props to Neonode for fitting all that gadgetry inside this little matchbook. Bonus pic after the jump. – Louis Ramirez

One Night Stand with the HTC X7500

Louis Ramirez — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 22:47:49 EST

HTC was showing plenty of love for Windows Mobile at their 3GSM booth. Their number one star, however, was the X7500, the UMPC, laptop, smartphone hybrid that's seen more name changes than Prince. Spec-wise, we all know what the X7500 has to offer, so I won't rehash that. Instead I'll talk about what it's like using one cause after a quick date with the X7500, I have more gripes than I do love for it.

First off, the keyboard. I'm glad that HTC included one (unlike a lot of UMPCs out there that don't), but for me personally, the keyboard isn't as sturdy as I'd like it to be. The keys are nice and big, they're spaced evenly, but my problem is that it's awkward to use (mainly because of the way the keyboard juts out) and it takes me forever to type out a sentence on it. To be honest, I never got a comfortable grip with it.

Now the cool thing about the X7500 is that there's more than one way to navigate around the interface. Don't like the keyboard? Well, because it attaches to the display magnetically, you can easily fold it back against the display (the same way you'd fold the cover of a paperback) and use either the stylus or the little nipple ball (on the upper left corer) to navigate. I found this was a lot more comfortable and natural.

Another gripe. Weight. The X7500 ain't making any rounds on the gadget catwalk. In fact, I found that it was a lot chunkier in real life than it appears in photos. Your pants pocket is not where this phone will travel (no matter how baggy they are). It's almost like carrying an old school Game Boy (the black and white one). Overall, it's an impressive machine, no doubt. But for me it's one of those Frankenstein devices that's too big to be a killer smartphone and to small to be used as a laptop. – Louis Ramirez

Quark Smartphone: Nvidia's iPhone Crusher

Louis Ramirez — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 21:16:57 EST

True video iPod or iPhone killer? To be honest, Nvidia's Quark smartphone has the makings of both. Unfortunately, it's only a concept, but if this is the ace up Nvidia's sleeve, we're psyched. First off, the Quark is a smartphone with a 3-inch touch-screen display. Aside from the power/hold switch, there are no moving buttons on this baby. Media-wise, it can play videos, music, and double as your digital photo album thanks to a 3MP camera that sits on the backside. Sounds cool, but you're probably wondering—where does Nvidia fit into the picture? Well. . .

The processor behind this concept phone is the GoForce 6100, a chip that Nvidia reps told me marries a GPU and CPU into one. House the 6100 inside a smartphone and you have enough horsepower to make every mobile out there weak in the knees. Nvidia says that the Quark is just the tip of the iceberg as to the kind of devices the 6100 can power. I say—if this is a sign of what's to come, I can't wait for the future. – Louis Ramirez

Shots of The LG Prada (?) Running Windows Mobile 6

Gizloco — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 08:31:05 EST

We told you so. Here are actual shots of the LG Prada phone running Windows Mobile 6... though is that really the Prada phone?

While it looks exactly like the phone of the moment, it doesn't appear to carry any identifying remarks, Prada logos, etc. Rumblings point to LG developing two different, near identical looking touchscreen phones: the Prada that we all know and love and a phone optimized for Windows Mobile 6. We'll have our man on the scene scrounge for more info on this little development. – Nicholas Deleon

My iPhone Exclusive: LG Prada running Windows Mobile 6! [My iPhone]

LG Says Apple Copied the Prada Phone. Also, Apple's Mother is Obese

Jason Chen — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 16:10:41 EST

It seems that LG's not taking all this "iPhone clone" talk lightly. LG's Head of Mobile Handset R&D, Mr. Woo-Young Kwak, had this to say when the press uttered the painful phrase one too many times:

We consider that Apple copycat Prada phone after the design was unveiled when it was presented in the iF Design Award and won the prize in September 2006.

Let's just say they were both developed at around the same time and neither of them took significant design details from the other, shall we? – Jason Chen

LG R&D Head Officially Arguing "Apple Phone Copied Prada Phone" [Telecoms Korea via Textually]

Top 10 Phones of 3GSM

Noah Robischon — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:45:37 EST

The 3GSM World Congress only started today. But like children who can't keep secrets or hold their bladders, every handset maker announced its new lineup in "me first" fashion. Which is why we're able to bring you this top 10 list of the most outlandish, impressive and iPhone-like phones of the show. Starting with number 10...

10. Possio GRETA
When it comes to ballsy innovation, no touchscreen or banana phone beats this combination fax machine, printer, copier, scanner and cellphone in one. Why they painted it the color of maroon nail polish is a question that can probably only be answered by a regional manager for Dunder-Mifflin.

9. Motorola Q9
The Jay Leno chin is gone, the color is much, well, blacker, and it's a true global phone. Sometimes it's the little things that make all the difference.

8. RIM Blackberry 8800
The jury is still out on SureType, so RIM took all the best features of the Pearl (including the nipple-like navigator) and combined them with a full QWERTY keyboard. Crackberry-licious.Gallery.

7. Nokia 6110 Navigator
A GPS phone with 3.6 Mbps throughput will keep you one step ahead of pursuers, that's for sure. The $600 price tag, however, means that you are being chased by debt collectors. Gallery.

6. Samsung U100
Two words: Wafer thin. 5.9mm. Gallery.

5. LG Prada
The LG Prada is so hot right now it could take a crap, wrap it in tinfoil, put a couple fish hooks on it and sell it to Queen Elizabeth as earrings. It's going to be break-dance fighting with the Samsung U100 later tonight. Gallery.

4. Motorola Z8
A hinged slider phone that automatically switches into landscape mode? Everyone is going to want to try it once. Gallery.

3. Nokia N77
The great thing about Nokia is that they can take a bunch of features that everyone has seen before—mobile tv, push-to-talk, FM radio, micro SD slot—and freshen it up by turning the phone sideways. Gallery.

2. Samsung SGH-F520
This side-to-side and up-down slider with a touchscreen wins the award for the most iPhone-competitive handset at the show. Its Achilles heel? It will probably never be released outside of Korea.

1. Neonode N2
This phone, which uses an open software platform, probably has a snowball's chance in hell of being used outside of the homebrew mobile phone club. But the 3-inch tall, gesture-controlled phone is also a true harbinger of phones to come.

–Noah Robischon

Asus Smartphones Bring Windows Mobile 6, Competition to HTC

Jason Chen — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 12:45:53 EST

With the arrival of Windows Mobile 6, it seems like many Asian manufacturers are getting into the Smartphone game. Asus, the traditional motherboard (and various other devices) manufacturer goes toe to toe with HTC with a large line of WM6 phones.

There are a handful in various shapes and form-factors, but the most notable one could be the Asus Aries—an HTC Excalibur/Motorola Q-like device with a QWERTY on the bottom. It has WM6, f course, and Tri-band UMTS, a 2-megapixel camera, a scroll wheel (not like that lousy touchpad thing on the HTC Dash/Excalibur), a secondary camera on the front for video calls, and a 520Mhz XScale processor. It's impressive on paper, and should be an interesting alternative to HTC's offerings.

Check out the rest of the Asus phones in the gallery.

– Jason Chen

Asus's Latest WM6 Phones [Gear Diary]

ASUS Aries Windows Mobile 6 Standard Phone on the way [Mobile Top Soft]

Samsung SGH-F520 Cellphone Slides Up and Down, Side to Side: Rubik's and iPhone Clone?

Louis Ramirez — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 12:05:47 EST

Samsung SGH-F520 is the iPhone fighter F700's lil' brother.
Kinda. It may have a lower model number, but it has a slightly bigger 3-inch touchscreen, and an insano side to side, up and down slider: Only a rubik's cube has more moves than this phone. The cam only has a 3MP cam, compared to the F700's 5MPs. We'd take either one, but they're both locked away in display cases here at 3GSM...wow, Samsung even matched the iPhone's look-no-touch cased in glass vapor launch.

Spec smatter after the jump.

900/1800/1900 MHz + 2.1GHz
Camera
3 Megapixel with Flash
262,144 TFT (3", 480x272)
Full Touch Screen Dual Slider
MPEG4/H.263/H.264/Real

EDGE/HSDPA
Flash Interface
Full HTML Browser

LG Prada Hands-On: So Stylishly iPhone-like, Only Pretty People Can Hold It

Louis Ramirez — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 11:51:54 EST

That's right. There was only one LG Prada phone to be had at the LG booth at 3GSM and the only person lucky enough to cop a feel was the LG Prada model, who insisted press only take pictures of her with the phone. Nevertheless, I did get some hands-on time with the phone and though I normally hate fashion phones, I thought this one is pretty cool.

The interface is really easy to use—it's quick and responsive, but the screen picks up smudges way too fast. In fact, the model kept swiping it down every minute or so. The phone's also pretty lightweight, though not in a cheap way. One thing that struck me was that unlike the iPhone, the LG Prada lacks a bit of color. The reason? Well, according to LG, they deliberately made color minimal cause the monochrome interface complements the "Prada experience."

So what's the conclusion? This is definitely a worthy competitor to the iPhone that we should keep our eye on.

LG Prada [Gizmodo]

Video of The Motorola Z8 In Action: Weird Curved Design

Gizloco — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 11:21:00 EST

Sometimes all the pictures in the world just don't do a phone justice. Case in point, the Motorola Z8. Motorola's demoing it over at 3GSM and letting ethically challenged journalists feel it up. Of note is the curved design and the fact that the interface doesn't completely suck, quite possibly a first for a Motorola cellphone. – Nicholas Deleon

Motorola Z8 Hands On [CrunchGear]

Motorola Q Goes Global with Moto q9 and Moto GSM

Charlie White — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 11:16:35 EST

Now people all over the world can be annoyed by the Motorola Q, with the Moto Q q9 officially rolling out in Barcelona with the ability to handle that quick like a bunny HSDPA connectivity. There's also a Moto Q GSM model debuting, so now you can connect up all over the world on the Q with quad-band GPRS and Edge capability. Plus, both of the these latest Q family members have the latest Microsoft Windows Mobile 6 software on board.

If you're familiar with the first generation Motorola Q, you might notice the styling updates in these new models, too, where no longer do you see that big honking Jay Leno chin on the thing, and the keys look like they're little easier to navigate as well. And of course, there's that obvious difference, where this one is available in that oh so cool black color.

If only Motorola had released this design initially, perhaps we'd be a bit more fond of our Motorola Q. – Charlie White

Press Release [Motorola]

Samsung's Dangerously Thin Ultras: The 12.1mm 3G U700 Slider

Adam Frucci — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 11:00:21 EST

Last but not least from Samsung today is the U700 slider, the thickest of the family at 12.1mm. It's got a 3.6Mbps HSDPA data connection, a 3-megapixel camera, and 20MB of onboard memory expandable via MicroSD.

Say it with me: it'll be available in Europe next month, with a stateside release unlikely. –Adam Frucci

Press Release [Samsung]

Samsung's Dangerously Thin Ultras: The 9.6mm U300 Clamshell

Adam Frucci — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 10:52:57 EST

Samsung's Ultra Edition II keeps on keepin' on with the U300, a 9.6-mm clamshell. It's got a 3-megapixel camera and 70MB of onboard space, although that isn't expandable via MicroSD for some reason. It packs a 2.2-inch LCD with 240x320 resolution and an external 96x16 OLED.

Like all the other Ultra Edition II's, it's hitting Europe next month with no concrete plans to bring it over here. –Adam Frucci

Press Release [Samsung]

Samsung's Dangerously Thin Ultras: The 10.9mm Quad Band U600

Adam Frucci — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 10:42:38 EST

Next up in Sammy's Ultra Edition II line is the U600, clocking in at a not-quite-world's-thinnest 10.9mm thick. It's quad band, has a 3.2-megapixel camera, and 60MB of onboard storage expandable via MicroSD.

This one has the best chance of making it to the states due to its quad band connectivity, so keep your eyes peeled for it. It'll hit Europe next month first, you lucky Euros. –Adam Frucci

Press Release [Samsung]

Samsung's Dangerously Thin Ultras: "Thinnest Ever" 5.9mm U100

Adam Frucci — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 10:34:57 EST

Samsung's dropping bombs in Barcelona ― thin and expensive bombs. Their Ultra Edition II series is out of the gate, and they look pretty slick.

First up is the Ultra Edition 5.9 (U100), the "world's thinnest" candybar that we showed you a while ago. It's got a nice 3-megapixel camera and looks like it'd snap in half if you kept it in the pocket of some tight jeans. It's gonna hit Europe in March, with the chances of it coming stateside not exactly hopeful. Just keep them fingers crossed. –Adam Frucci

Press Release [Samsung]

Nokia Rolls Out 6110 Navigator in Barcelona: GPS Cellphone

Charlie White — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 10:20:51 EST

Is this a trend? In its second GPS-enabled cellphone introduced today (see also the Nokia E90 Communicator), Nokia rolls out its 6110 Navigator, a versatile little slider handset that can not only make and take calls, but can also assist the directionally challenged. Plus, if you want some really fast data access, it has HSDPA that can give you a 3.6Mbps throughput. How fast is that? Hey, that's quick as a cable modem, at least in PR-speak.

Nokia says it will give you 3.5 hours of talk time and GSM and 2.5 in 3G, but can stay on standby for 11 days if you keep your mouth shut. Should be rolling out in Q2, but it won't be cheap—with all these features packed into one little handset, it will cost you just shy of $600 without a contract.

– Charlie White

Press Release [Nokia]

Nokia N77 Now Official: Mobile Widescreen TV, 3G

Gizloco — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 09:50:46 EST

We had a really cryptic tip about the Nokia N77 last week, but now we have confirmation and actual pictures. It will indeed support mobile TV of the DVB-H variety viewable on its 2.4-inch screen, in addition to the EDGE, GPRS and UMTS standards. It only supports microSD cards up to 2GB in size, meaning that SanDisk's new 4GB beast can't be used here. Nokia also threw in Push-to-Talk and FM radio support. It'll hit Europe 2Q of this year for around $480. – Nicholas Deleon

Nokia launches N77, 6110 Navigator, and 3110 Classic [Pocket-lint.co.uk]

RIM BlackBerry 8800 Hands On

Louis Ramirez — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 08:43:46 EST

So here we are in Barcelona, Spain at the 3GSM World Congress where we plan on shining our spotlight on the coolest, newest mobile phones around, and what do we see first? RIM's hot new BlackBerry 8800—hanging from a metallic, octopus-like tentacle at the RIM booth. We knew the 8800 was coming, but now that we got some time to play with it, I gotta say—it's a huge improvement over the Pearl. (I was never a fan of SureType). The full QWERTY keyboard is big and easy to use (especially if you have big paws like me). There's also a QVGA display, a microSD slot, and though it's wider than the Pearl, I kinda like the extra junk in the trunk. And of course there's the signature white nipple sitting right in the 8800's midriff. Full gallery to come.

SanDisk Unleashes 4GB microSD Card: World's Largest, Plenty Fast

Gizloco — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 08:34:18 EST

SanDisk announced today the world's highest capacity microSD HC card, coming in at an impressive 4GB. (It was only six months ago that it released a 2GB microSD card.) Good thing, too, what with all those storage-hungry cellphones that are coming out of 3GSM this week. Not only does it have plenty of space, but it should be plenty fast too, since it complies with the new SD Speed Class 2 spec. Good thing, since current microSD card, I've noticed, can be a little on the slow side. Keep your eyes open for all 4GB sometime later this year. – Nicholas Deleon

Press Release [SanDisk via Fareastgizmos.com]

UPDATE: World's largest != world's first. Kingmax dropped a 4GB microSD card last month, too.

Nokia E61i Slinks Onto Barcelona 3GSM Stage

Charlie White — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 08:24:37 EST

Nokia rolled out its E61i at the big event at 3GSM in Barcelona today. This one is a cellphone that's geared up for serious emailing for corporate types. Its slim form factor (14mm thin) and 320x240 screen is aimed straight at the Samsung Blackjack and Motorola Q, and it should hit the streets sometime in Q2.

Also on board is a 2-megapixel camera, which might not go over well with some paranoid corporations, but those companies might like its Intellisync Mobile Suite 8.0 which Nokia says will allow the E61i to easily integrate with corporate e-mail environments. – Charlie White

Product Page [Nokia]

Motorola MOTOSLVR L9: Snoozeville Barphone

Brian Lam — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 07:54:53 EST

There it is, the evolution of a uninspired barphone. Improvements come by way of a 2MP camera, and FM radio. The remainder of the spec sheet will put you straight to sleep.–Brian Lam

MOTOSLVR L9 [Motorola]

Motorola MOTORIZR Z8: Banana Slider?

Brian Lam — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 06:59:13 EST

She runs a Symbian OS, the longtime fav of Nokia handsets, and this pretty Moto seems to be robust enough to run video on its 320 by 240, 2.2-inch screen at 30 frames per second. It's 15.3mm thick, which puts it behind the Samsung Ultra waifs. But it has HSDPA high speed cellular data capability, 90MB of users mem (expandable by 4GB using microSD, and a 2.0MP cam with 8x zoom, LED flash, and red eye reduction. Really, we just like its green trim and banana slide shape. Who has a flat face, anyhow?

–Brian Lam

Motorola MOTORIZR Z8 [Thanks Ben D.]

Neonode N2: iPhoneClone Navigates Using Finger Strokes

Brian Lam — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 06:53:36 EST

The Neonode N2 follows up the interesting but irrelevant original with an iPhone clone notable for its net radio stream capturing desktop software, and gesture-controlled screen. And, its super small, at 3" tall.

Here's the stat splatter, and how that gesture system works.

The gesture control promises a screen free from softbutton clutter, and that it'll be all but unusable by anyone but those initiated into the neonode's cryptic control system.

The device claims to have an open software platform (meaning: won't be picked up by us providers anytime soon) and because it does calendar and address book synching via Activesync, we have a feeling it's built on a Windows platform.

I expected counterattacks to Apple's offering but how fast did this little company develop this thing? It's more than likely that they'd been planning this touchscreen offering for awhile now. Unless it's vapor. (Where are those real photos?)

UPDATE: Photo courtesy of Vincent N.

Name:
* Neonode N2

Storage:

* MiniSD card

User interface:

* Neno user interface

Applications:

* MP3 Player (MP3, WMA, Wav), Calendar and Address book synchronized using ActiveSync

Telephony:

* GSM Quadband 850, 900, 1800 and 1900 Mhz bands, GPRS

Messaging:

* SMS and MMS

Bluetooth:

* Obex, Headset, FTP profiles supported

LCD:

* 2,0" (176x220 pixels) colour display. 65K colours

Audio:

* Stereo sound in headphones, Mono loudspeaker, Vibration engine

Image:

* 2 Megapixel Fixed Focus Camera, Still pictures, Video play-back (MPEG, WMV), Video Recording (MPEG4)

Dimensions:

* 47x77x14,7 mm (WxHxT) Weight: Approx 70 grams

Battery Capacity:

* Talk 4 hours, standby 200 hours

–Brian Lam

Neonode n2 [via slashphone]

3GSM Telecom Conference in Barcelona = iPhoneClone Launchpad

Brian Lam — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 05:54:34 EST

3GSM was a show I'd always been happy to cover from afar. It's not that I didn't want to visit Barcelona, of course. It's just that the news had always been less than spectacular for me, so It was a hard trip to justify to the bosses. This year, things are turning out to be more interesting than usual.

I was watching the Queen Mary 2 pass under the Golden Gate Bridge last Sunday with Lisa and NY-transferee Joe Brown. (Joe, formerly of Pop Science, took over some of my old beats at Wired Mag after I left.) We were strolling down at Chrissy Field, talking bout work when the topic of 3GSM came up.

Joe asked, "You sending anyone?"

I replied that I didn't think it was going to be interesting enough.

Joe said, "You kidding? The iPhone knockoffs will be there."

I simply shook my head. It's been 6 weeks. Maybe they'll be ready at CTIA.

Then this Samsung phone hit the news on Thursday, boasting all the best features of the iPhone (kinda) but making up for the shortcomings with a qwerty keyboard. I forgot that making hardware like the iPhone is child's play for these megacorps.

The next day, Editor Louis Ramirez volunteered himself to Spain, with no hotel room. He's crafty, I'm sure he'll be fine. The important thing is that Louis is going to be bringing us some great hands on time with all the iPhone knockoffs. So stay tuned.

And Joe Brown, I owe you a beer.–Brian Lam

Nokia To Intro N77 Consumer-Priced Mobile TV Cellphone Next Week?

Gizloco — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 09:47:19 EST

Big bad Reuters let it slip that Nokia will unveil at the 3GSM conference in Barcelona next week the N77, a consumer-aimed, moderately priced cellphone with TV capabilities. The N77, which should resemble other N7x phones like the N70 here, will be able to receive TV broadcast by way of DVB-H, a nascent mobile TV technology that is currently undergoing tests in several markets around the world. So what?

Nokia wants to jump start the mobile TV market, which up until now has really only taken off in Korea, if that. And no, we're not talking about downloading hot videoz picked out by your cellphone carrier, but actual programming. One problem seems to be that people just aren't that excited to watch video on their mobile devices if the screen isn't large enough. We should find out more once the Barça conference hits, hopefully with pretty pics of the phone, too. – Nicholas Deleon

Nokia to unveil mid-range TV phone at 3GSM: sources [Reuters]

HTC Star Trek Phone

tgrumet — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 17:00:48 EST

Though we've shown you images of the HTC Star Trek cellphone before, it's finally been formally announced at the 3GSM show. Also known as the i-mate Smartflip, it's a thin, clamshell phone that runs Windows Mobile 5. Specs include a QVGA display, quad-band GSM, EDGE data, 64 MB ROM / 64 MB RAM, a MicroSD slot, a 1.3 megapixel camera and Bluetooth.

We can see that this Star Trek-like phone is similar to the RAZR in design—including the soft brushed-metal keypad—but it is a smartphone and it appears to be well-made with a solid feel. No pricing information yet.

Smartflip [Phonescoop]

Samsung i320 Smartphone

tgrumet — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 13:58:56 EST

Here's another Samsung cellphone just announced at 3GSM in Barcelona. The i320 is pretty straight forward, running on Microsoft's Windows Mobile 5.0 with 120MB of onboard memory (with a microSD slot just in case you need to add more storage). It's uses tri-band GSM, supports Bluetooth and is capable of GPRS/EDGE where available.

Other features include a media player that supports MPEG4 / H.263 / H.264 / WMV video formats and MP3 / AAC / AAC+ / WMA / WAV / OGG audio formats and, strangely enough with all these big specs, only a 1.3 megapixel camera. Also dig the QWERTY keyboard and the light weight of just 3.4 ounces. Look for this around the second quarter of 2006.

Samsung i320 Smartphone [Mobilewhack]

Motorola W220 Mass Market Phone

tgrumet — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 09:15:20 EST

Though not the most remarkable clamshell cellphone Motorola ever put out, the W220 does have a certain funky look to it when its closed and includes a built-in FM radio as its big selling point. That, on top of the fact that it's built for the mass market and should come with a nice, easy-to-handle pricetag.

Other mundane features include a web browser, picture messaging, ad a phone book with room for up to 600 entries. And strangely enough, it comes with a large font capability, in case you've got bad eyes I suppose. Look for it around the 3rd quarter of this year.

Turn On, Tune In: Motorola Unveils Stylish New Mass Market Clam with Integrated FM Radio [Motorola]