Tag: Handset
Next Google phone will be designed for business
Google executive and Android main-man Andy Rubin has discussed what to expect from Google's next handset, revealing the company plans a more business-orientated handset next. Unlike the HTC built Nexus One, this business orientated handset would likely feature a full…
CES 2010: Google Nexus to get built in Spotify?
Google and Spotify have been in talks to bring the music streaming service to the search giant's flagship handset, the Nexus One, according to Tech Crunch. If the source is to be believed, the plan would be to package in…
Android struggling in Europe
New research from IDC shows that, despite the buzz floating around Google's Android mobile platform, European consumers are steering clear of phones packing the OS. The research shows Android's market share to currently be 5.4% in Western Europe. Though this…
Leaked: Image of the HTC Hero, aka the 'G3'
An image has surfaced on the internet, on the ‘Code Android Singapore’ website, of the HTC Hero. This device is a followup to the HTC Magic, and is referred to by many as the G3 because it runs Android – Google’s mobile phone operating system.
It’s a lot squarer than the HTC Magic, and it looks like the infamous chin from the G1 has returned. There’s no trackball, either, which could indicate that G1 users haven’t been overly fond of it as a control mechanism. Also in the shots, though, may be a slot for a 3.5mm headphone jack. That would be a fantastic addition to the handset.
(via Code Android Singapore)
Palm Pre Mini on the way too?
An interesting nugget of info popped up on the web this morning about Palm’s Pre and the company’s plans after the device is launched. It looks like they’re “very far along” in the development of a second Pre-like device that’ll be smaller and lighter.
There’s not much in the way of details just yet, except that this will most likely be targeting a completely different sector of the market to the Pre. There’s no word on whether it’ll have a physical keyboard like its big brother – the smaller devices get, the more uncomfortable physical keyboards are.
It looks like the device will be out in late 2009, possibly as soon as Autumn. We’ll have to wait and see whether it gets showed off at IFA in late August, but they’re unlikely to officially unveil it there.
(via TechCrunch)
Samsung announces Tocco Lite
Samsung’s Tocco did rather well last year, but its touchscreen interface hasn’t been a hit with absolutely everyone. Since then, though, it’s released the Tocco Pro and today it’s launching the Tocco Lite in an attempt to widen the market that give it a try.
The Lite is very much just a downgrade of the original handset. For starters, there’s no mention of 3G connectivity, which in 2009 is rather surprising. The 5-megapixel camera has been downgraded to 3.2-megapixel, and the onboard memory is now just 50MB. That’s still upgradable via an SD card to 8GB.
Alongside the spec decrease, the price will have gone down too. But Samsung hasn’t told us how much that’ll be just yet. I’ve emailed them. If they let me know, then you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll tell you, too.
Samsung Mobile
Nokia 5800 Star Trek edition beams down
It’s a handset, Jim, but not as we know it. Nokia are releasing a limited edition version of the 5800 ‘Tube’ with Star Trek branding all over it, to coincide with the release of J.J. Abrahms’ Star Trek movie.
Available exclusively from Phones 4U stores, the handset will include four special animated screensavers, three wallpapers, eight ringtones, including ‘red alert’ and ‘phazer shot’, and there’s also a special ‘Phazer’ application.
It’ll come in blue, red and black/silver, and will be free on £25/month contracts from May 1st. No word on how much they’ll be charging for Data, or whether it’ll have N-Gage functionality. Beam me up, Nokkie.
Android 1.5 to hit G1 owners in May
T-Mobile G1 owners yearning for an onscreen keyboard, video recording and Latitude for Google Maps need yearn no longer. Well, not much longer anyway. Android 1.5, better known as ‘Cupcake’, will be hitting handsets in May.
T-Mobile has sold 100,000 G1 handsets since its launch in October, six months ago. That might not seem like much compared to the iPhones dominance of the smartphone sector, but it’s not bad for a completely new OS, brand and device. It’s T-Mobile’s most popular handset, too.
The Cupcake update will be delivered over-the-air to phones, so you won’t have to do anything except maybe hit ‘yes’ once or twice. The onscreen keyboard should help ease complaints that you have to flip out the QWERTY to enter even small bits of text.
T-Mobile has also announced that it’ll be releasing a second Android handset in 2009. This isn’t the G2, or the HTC Magic, which is coming out on Vodafone and will be available this weekend to people who’ve preordered.
No, it’ll be completely new device. A device that we know absolutely nothing about – because T-Mobile won’t tell us anything. Damn them. When we find out, we’ll let you know.
T-Mobile
Rumour: Samsung Omnia Pro with QWERTY keyboard
On top of dropping Android handsets into the rumour mill this morning, Samsung’s also throwing in an entry into the rumpus that’ll be occurring this summer between the HTC Magic, new iPhone, Palm Pre, and Nokia N97.
The Omnia Pro is just a rumour at the moment, but what a rumour – a 3.5″ AMOLED display and 5-megapixel camera combine with a slide-out QWERTY to make a tasty set of specs. Apparently it’ll be running Windows Mobile 6.1, but that’ll be upgradable to 6.5 when it’s released.
Best of all, it’s on the cards to cost very little – just €500. Whether that’ll give it an advantage in a market that’s more focused on specs than price remains to be seen, but the “current economic climate” should help.
(via Engadget)
Samsung launching i7500 and S8000 Android handsets
Phones don’t just jump straight from ‘unheard-of’ to ‘rumoured’ to ‘confirmed’, there’s a whole host of grey area in between. Samsung has two phones on the way that’ll be running Google’s Android OS, and they’re both about half-way between ‘rumoured’ and ‘confirmed’, i.e. pretty much certain.
The i7500 will be out first, in June, and will be just 11.9mm thick. It’ll feature no hardware keypad at all, so it’ll be rocking the latest version of Android – “Cupcake” – which packs an on-screen keyboard.
Other than that, it’ll have a 3.2″ capacitive touchscreen, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a 5-megapixel camera, 3.5mm headphone jack, microSD card slot and 8GB of internal memory. Specs-wise, it’s basically an N95 8GB with a touchscreen and Android welded on.
Interestingly, the price seems to be set (in Germany) at just €300 (£270 or so), which is rather cheap for a handset with those specs. That’s what dumping proprietary operating systems will do for you.
Then there’s the S8000 which, as the name suggests, is an upgraded version of the i7500. It’s got a 3.1″ AMOLED touchscreen running at 480 x 800 resolution, meaning that the colours will look incredible while still consuming very little power.
Specs-wise it’s nearly identical. GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a 5-megapixel camera, and 3.5mm headphone jack, but only 2GB of internal memory and no mention of an SD card slot. It will again be running Android, which takes us to two of a promised ‘more than three’ Android handsets from Samsung this year.
(via Unwiredview, i7500 and i8000)
