Sony Ericsson Does the Wrong Thing With Boomboox Walkman Phone

Oh, Sony Ericsson, why? Why have you just made the metro a little bit more miserable, and the streets just a touch more mean? Are you so desperate for cash that you are willing to risk a "Do the Right Thing" style riot just to sell a new phone?

The W395 Walkman phone is aimed squarely at the "youth" market, a fact easily gleaned from the publicity material featuring the phone alongside a skateboard. But the real gimmick, the thing that will attract youngsters like knives and anvils to Wile E Coyote's giant electromagnet, is the set of stereo speakers on the back. The press release doesn't even detail these speakers, instead relying on this visceral description:

Powerful built-in stereo speakers with high quality bass [emphasis added]

There is more in there -- a 12.5 hour battery life when playing music, a 2MP camera with which to capture urban unrest and a supplied 1GB memory card to store the recorded mayhem. But really, it's all about those speakers. In fact, Sony Ericsson should have just called the phone the "Radio Raheem". At least it doesn't need 20 D-Cell batteries to work (NSFW).

Press release [Sony Ericsson]

Screen Grabs: Fringe’s Olivia Dunham investigates zombies with Samsung BlackJack II

Given the scrutiny which Barack Obama underwent, you'd expect Fringe's Olivia Dunham -- who's responsible for matters far more serious than "fixing economies" and "creating domestic stimulus packages" -- to use some sort of highly specialized Sectera Edge for work. But given that AT&T sponsors her program, we suppose the FBI has made an exception here. As you can see, she (and her partners) were recently caught wielding Samsung's BlackJack II (and getting perfect reception on AT&T) while investigating the spontaneous morphing of humans. Turns out, this nifty little live video trick helped lead to some resolution in her life, but we'll spare you the spoilers.

Gold iPhone 3G Hits eBay Circuit

Recession? What recession?

This 24-karat gold iPhone 3G has made its way onto the auction site eBay in hopes that it’ll draw a high bid. While I don’t doubt it will, whoever ends up winning must not be affected by the current economic crisis. You can buy it now for a mere $1016.72, which is pennies for people like Bill Gates and Bernie Madoff. There’s even a gold Apple logo on the back of the device for good measure.

Link [via]

Toshiba TG01 with 4.1-inch WVGA touchscreen: a world’s first Snapdragon

Finally, an honest to goodness Qualcomm Snapdragon device is about to land in the form of the Toshiba TG01. The 9.9-mm thin handset will feature a 4.1-inch WVGA (800 x 480 pixel) touchscreen display, HSDPA data, GPS, WiFi, a microSD slot, and custom Tosh 3D GUI to hide the Windows Mobile 6.1 uglies within. Most notable is that 1GHz Snapdragon chip that Toshiba claims makes the TG01 considerably faster than any device currently on the market with the promise to "revolutionize the mobile entertainment world." Perhaps that's where the DivX support comes in? We'll see when the TG01 is unveiled at Mobile World Congress in less than two weeks followed by an expected summery launch. One more picture after the break.

Update: Oh man, the hands-on photo galleries from the London launch are coming up over at Pocket-Lint and Electricpig, the latter with head-to-head pics of the TG01 against the 12.3-mm iPhone 3G chubster and BlackBerry Bold. She's definitely a slim-lined beauty but we have our doubts about that stripey UI. Hey Tosh, where's the Android OS we saw running on Snapdragon at CES?

[Via Pocket-Lint and Stuff.TV]

Continue reading Toshiba TG01 with 4.1-inch WVGA touchscreen: a world's first Snapdragon

First Acer smartphone

There's bound to be more, but the first leaked Acer handset expected to be unveiled at Mobile World Congress is no more than a rebadge of a device obtained through its acquisition of E-Ten. The Glofiish DX900 was announced in mid-2008 with dual-SIM support, GPS, a 3 megapixel camera, and a 2.8-inch VGA touchscreen riding a Windows Mobile 6.1 OS -- that all stays the same. In other words, if the leak is accurate, then this particular device will see a new logo and that's about it. Still, the MWC invite specifically said "smartphones launch" so we're not corking the fat lady just yet.

[Via Unwired View]

Dell Planning Smartphone Launch

The timing is right for Dell to make a stab at the smartphone market – the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona starts in a couple of weeks – and the Wall Street Journal reports that Dell may be about to just that.

Or not. The leak from which the WSJ gleaned this information says that Dell may just give up and abandon the launch. To me, this is hardly a proper rumor -- you or I could have come up with it: "Rumor -- Dell may or not release smartphones next month."

Still it is the WSJ, and there are some more details. There may be two handsets, an iPhone clone (natch) and a Pre clone. Both will be offered with a choice of Windows Mobile or Google's Android OS.

It certainly makes sense for Dell to get into the smartphone game. With PC sales dropping through the floor in favor of cheap netbooks, the computer giant needs to make some money somewhere. In fact, I know a local bar which needs a waiter. Are you interested, Dell?

Dell Prepares To Dial Into Smartphone Marketplace [WSJ via the Reg]

Colorware gets ahold of BlackBerry Curve 8900

It was inevitable, really. RIM's BlackBerry Curve 8900 is now being offered up by the paint gun-wielding fools at Colorware, who will gladly ugly up your handset as you see fit. 'Course, you can put together a rather striking piece of work too, but make sure you get a second opinion on your dream color scheme before mashing the buy button. As for costs? A solid coat will run you a buck twenty-nine, but if you change up the top, bottom, frame or sides, you can count on that figure inching higher and higher.

[Via CrackBerry]

Take Cool Lomo-Like iPhone Pics With Quadcam

I can't help but get excited when I find new apps and accessories that make my iPhone camera photos crisp and unique. Because I'm constantly sniffing around in the App Store, I've found ways to take black-and-white iPhone photos for free, and now I can take pics that look like it came from a Lomo Oktomat or CyberSampler camera with a cool new app called Quadcam.



Quadcam allows your camera to take multiple photos within seconds of each other. You can adjust timing to get a rapid-fire effect, or choose to let the shutter snap in longer intervals. Plus, you can choose between four or eight single shots in one or two rows, and between black and white or full color. The best part is, it will only cost you $2 to get some pretty sweet results. Take the photo above for example. It was my first attempt with the app, and I think it looks pretty sick.

New Bill Asks For Cameraphones To Go Clickety Clack

Smile, say cheese and hold that pose till you hear the 'click'. A new bill introduced in the Congress by New York Republican Rep. Peter King requires mobile phones with digital cameras "to make a sound" when a photograph is taken.

The move is part of the 'Camera Phone Predator Alert Act' and the idea is to ensure privacy and safety of the public, especially children, claims the bill.

"Congress finds that children and adolescents have been exploited by photographs taken in dressing rooms and public places with the use of a camera phone," says the draft of the bill, which was introduced earlier this month.

If enacted the bill would require any mobile phone in the US to make a sound "audible within a reasonable radius of the phone whenever a photograph is taken with the camera in such phone." A mobile phone manufactured after the date the bill is enacted will have no way of disabling or silencing the sound.

The idea is not as astounding as it seems.Japan already requires all cameraphones including the iPhone to make an audible noise when taking a photograph.

But chances this bill will pass in the U.S. in its current form? Near zero. It has no co-sponsors and hasn't seen much traction. But if it does, be prepared for clicktones to be the next big thing after ringtones.

Photo: (curiousyellow/Flickr)

Obama to get Sectera Edge Blackberry?

  Barack Obama has been a keen user of the blackberry. Unfortunately it appeared that he would not be allowed to continue to use it. However, it seems like he might get to keep it after all. Speculation suggests that he will be getting a Sectera Edge… more on that after the jump.

The Sectera Edge is built by General Dynamics who are a defence contractor. Simply put, it’s a super secure version of a Blackberry. The smartphone was developed for the NSA and was designed to be a “secure mobile environment portable electronic device.” Some features of the Sectera Edge is it’s ability to use SCIP (Secure Communications Interoperability Protocol) along site HAIPE IS “High Assurance Internet Protocol Encryptor Interoperability Specification”. This will allow secure connections to government networks. Also the Sectera Edge can allow the exchange of secure email with government personnel.

As well as being super secure the phone can also switch to a normal unsecure mode by the touch of a button.

So, given all of that, could the Sectera Edge be secure enough for a U.S. president? It’s hard to say. One issue raised by my colleague Matt Hamblen at Computerworld is how the encryption would affect messages sent to non-government employees. (They would have to be given appropriate decryption technology to be able to read them.) A security expert also questions whether enemies could use the device to ascertain the president’s location, or even tap into his phone’s microphone and transmit his conversations.

The phone is rather cool and OTT for most of us regular users. Unfortunately we might never fully know what Blackberry Obama gets to keep as everything is just speculation here until it is announced (which I doubt it will be).

If you want to feel more secure for yourself and have $3350 spare then go and pick one up.

Via: GearCrave and PCW

Written by Gadget Venue.

Obama to get Sectera Edge Blackberry?

« Previous Page — Next Page »