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Fido's rebrand complete, yellow figures prominently

by Sean Cooper, posted Nov 4th 2008 at 8:58AM


Fido, Canada's other GSM carrier -- though, wholly owned by Rogers Wireless -- has finally found its new identity. The faithful, straightforward, and trust-inspiring pooch is still present in the new look and feel as well as the hammer-like subtle use of yellow. New plans being launched include "all-in" price plans starting at $15, a $25 deal with unlimited text messaging, and all feature per-second billing and no system access fee. The new site's up now if you're inspired to switch up your plans a bit and we have to say, if the fine type's not too fine, things are definitely looking rosy for budget-minded consumers up north.

Philips offers up Xenium X500, new name, same face

by Sean Cooper, posted Sep 25th 2008 at 8:10PM


If you happened to catch the oddly -named 9@9k about a year ago, you'll likely notice that the "new" X500 seems like a twin with a minor bit of cosmetic work. The X500 features two-month standby and 16 hour talk time, tri-band EDGE, 1.3 megapixel camera, microSD expansion, and an FM radio with RDS support. The only bit of cool we see going on here is the nifty "Up to 2 months standby" written on the screen, and we expect that's not a feature the phone actually has. The Philips Xenium X500 is set to ship to Russia, Turkey, and Romania, at some point in the future, and honestly, with the care-o-meter registering about zero on this set, we may just never find out.

Leak Sauce: is this Sony Ericsson's new Cybershot "Kate"?

by Sean Cooper, posted Sep 25th 2008 at 5:30PM


Now this is what we call a proper spy shot! While we can plainly make out Cybershot branding, nothing else is apparent as the photographer is seemingly attempting to capture the essence of blur and shake. Evidently Sony Ericsson's Kate is set to replace the K770 in the Cybershot line, though sadly, we lack any info about just what exactly its specs will be -- if, indeed, it's real. The folks at cellphonesail mention that it has a unique lens cover a la Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T2, and that's really all that is mentioned, though being a Cybershot, we can expect a decent cam. Typical of Sony Ericsson leaked sets, we'll likely start to see a flow of info in the near term as this is purportedly shipping in Q4 this year.

[Via SEMC Blog]

HTC's Touch HD gets official for O2 Germany

by Sean Cooper, posted Sep 25th 2008 at 10:37AM


That didn't take long, we only got wind of this set a couple weeks ago and it's already landed in exclusive-style at the O2 Germany's feet. Arne over at the::unwired had a chance to play with the device -- sans branding -- and while nothing is divulged as to date and pricing, we're betting on pricey. Interesting to note that the Touch HD won't be branded as an XDA device, this is apparently a first for O2 and its smartphone line. Of course we're sure our mail will balloon with news as we get closer to the yet-unknown release date, so please, do check back.

First pics of Motorola's Q11?

by Sean Cooper, posted Sep 25th 2008 at 6:40AM


It may just be that the Motorola Q11 we chatted about in early September is a real set, is coming to market, but unfortunately doesn't seem to be as Alexander-like as we'd hoped. Apparently packing Windows Mobile 6.1, WiFi -- hip, hip, hooray! -- GPS, and Bluetooth, it does indeed seem to be a step up from the Q9 floating about now. No thoughts on release date, carrier availability or pricing, but we're just happy to see Motorola's up to something. Now how about you use some of the wasted real estate at the bottom of that device and make that display a wee bit bigger, OK Moto?

[Via UnwiredView]

Skyfire mobile browser 0.8 reaches public beta, still rocks

by Sean Cooper, posted Sep 24th 2008 at 9:22PM


We love Skyfire's mobile browser, it does what it's meant to do and more importantly, it adds to your mobile web world with all the dynamic content you're used to on your desktop. Skyfire gets all this done by doing all the grunt work on their servers, then passing only the joy down the pipe to you -- so no Flash is no problem. This release piles new features in compared to the first we peeked at, and they've opened the doors wide in a public beta for all to enjoy for the Windows Mobile version -- well, if your phone number starts with a 1 -- this time. Features like contextual zoom, which figures out what part of the page you want to zoom in on when scrolling past it -- which worked really well with Viddler videos for example -- faster launch times, able to be set as default browser, search from your home screen, content download, and the list just goes on. But don't take our word for it, the price is still $free and what's to lose but a bit of time.


The T-Mobile G1

by Sean Cooper, posted Sep 23rd 2008 at 9:40AM Breaking News


T-Mobile's newest set was officially announced today at a press conference in New York. Set to launch on October 22nd for $179 on T-Mobile in the US on a two-year stint, or $399 contract-free. Starting in early November all you folks in United Kingdom will have access and Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and the Netherlands can expect their release in the first quarter of 2009. The G1 features WiFi and 3G radios, a 3-megapixel camera, and support for the Android Market and Amazon's mobile MP3 store, giving owners apps and tunes on the go. Existing T-Mobile subscribers get first dibs, with orders being accepted starting today. Here's a quick rundown of the specs:
  • HSDPA 1700 / 2100 plus quadband EDGE
  • WiFi
  • 3D graphics acceleration
  • 3-megapixel camera
  • 256 MB integrated storage, 1GB microSD card included
  • Android Market for on-device app purchases
  • Amazon MP3 app for on-device music purchases
  • Push Gmail support with full HTML client
  • Bluetooth (but no A2DP)
  • Google Maps with Street View
  • No Microsoft Exchange support
  • No desktop synchronization -- it all happens over the air
  • 350 minutes talk time over 3G, 406 minutes over GSM
  • 402 hours standby over 3G, 319 hours over GSM

T-Mobile's data coverage maps now have added 3G flavor

by Sean Cooper, posted Sep 22nd 2008 at 8:08PM


Check it out, from this zoom level Chicago's looking flush as far as T-Mobile 3G is concerned -- yeah, that's right, it seems they've gotten to a point where they're actually willing to show it off. We're betting T-Mobile's Android-based G1 announcement that's set for tomorrow was the impetus for this update, and we suspect we'll learn more about the network then. Feel free to put the site through its paces in your neck of the woods and let us know if you're one of the lucky places. Hit the read link to play with the map, but make sure you tick the "data coverage" option at the bottom of the page first.

[Via SlashPhone]

Best Buy spills the beans on Telus' HTC Touch Pro and Touch Dual

by Sean Cooper, posted Sep 22nd 2008 at 2:38PM


We absolutely love it when stuff like this happens, the FCC do it -- well we might add -- and now it appears Best Buy wants in on the game at Telus's expense. While it comes as no surprise that Telus is snapping up the HTC Touch Pro, we honestly weren't thinking they'd have the Touch Dual on their radar, too. Curiously, the image gaffe doesn't mention dates and pricing, but seeing as it is in this week's ad, Telus might well be fleshing out those details in a day or two. Stay tuned.

[Via Boy Genius Report and thanks, RileyFreeman]

Palm Treo Pro to get real for AT&T?

by Sean Cooper, posted Sep 22nd 2008 at 1:15PM


File this under rumor -- at least for now -- but Palm's quarterly earning report coughed up the usual financials and news that the Treo Pro's heading to an American carrier. While none were specifically mentioned, speculation has it that due to the Palm's relationship with T-Mobile -- or lack thereof -- AT&T's the Treo Pro's potential new home. We've not gotten anywhere near a release date or pricing, yet, but WMExperts is speculating December looks good for the big party. Holiday gift giving ideas anyone?

[Via Boy Genius Report]

RIM's BlackBerry Javelin 8900 gets pitched through an early review

by Sean Cooper, posted Sep 22nd 2008 at 10:35AM


The zany folks at CrackBerry have done the planet a kindness by posting up a short review -- though, it's anything but -- of RIM's newest unannounced set, the BlackBerry Javelin 8900. If you skim through the bit, you'll see words that hint they may like it, like "tight, sexy package" or "outperforms', though, reading more closely, we think they've completely fallen in love. The Javelin is compared to both the Curve and the venerable Bold and solidly trounces the Curve everywhere from screen, speed, OS, functionality, camera, form, and well, you get the idea. Even compared to the Bold it still stands out as being smaller, packing a better camera, more device memory, and even a higher resolution display. All these impressions are based on an early revision of the set, so we expect it'll get "awesomer" -- or something -- once it gets to retail. Follow the read link to get to the dirt, in this, the first of two parts on this new set.

Samsung's Armani 2 Night Effect is well branded, lacks style

by Sean Cooper, posted Sep 21st 2008 at 8:19PM


Well it seems Samsung and Giorgio Armani weren't happy to see an end to the battle of the designer phone, so here they are again with yet another garishly branded phone. The Samsung Armani 2 Night Effect eschews tech and cool form for a lovely blue wraparound light, quad-band EDGE / HSDPA, 3.2 megapixel camera, FM radio, 120MB of memory with expansion via microSD, and Bluetooth for accessory connectivity. This handset should see the light of day in Europe come November with South East Asia and the Middle East getting their soon after.

[Via UnwiredView]

LG's KC910 Renoir detailed in pics, is high art

by Sean Cooper, posted Sep 21st 2008 at 4:00PM


Yeah, we've seen the PR, ogled the specs, but real honest-to-goodness pics are doing nothing but make our grins bigger. LG's KC910 packs everything under the sun into its newest and flashiest handset, from an 8 megapixel cannon to Dolby Mobile, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, 7.2Mbps HSDPA, this will be a tough review unit to return if we get our paws on one. Apparently still slated for an October release, we've no word on pricing, but you can expect it to sting dearly off-contract. We'll be following this set really closely, so do swing back and we'll be sure to tell ya what we find out. Follow the read link to get the pics

Mozilla's Firefox mobile kinda gets announced, release date sometime in 2010

by Sean Cooper, posted Sep 21st 2008 at 9:24AM


Well the mobile browser world will likely be in for some serious churn now that Mozilla's Firefox, codenamed "Fennec", is throwing its hat into the ring. Mozilla's Tristan Nitot commented that not only is the mobile browser in the works, but that its expected to arrive for Windows Mobile, Symbian, and Linux. Though, the rub here is that we'll need to wait until sometime in 2010 to see this live, and honestly, we may have HTC handsets integrated into our minds well before then. Oh, while we used a pretty pic of Firefox hugging on the iPhone, don't hold out any hope that it'll actually arrive for that device -- that goes for Android too, sadly -- we just thought the colors look kinda nice together

[Via UnwiredView]

LG's Secret gets new color choices, mums not the word

by Sean Cooper, posted Sep 21st 2008 at 5:35AM


LG's Secret has arrived in Korea with an entourage of gems and precious metals in a couple flashy new colors: Ruby Violet and Titan Gold. If you're willing to plonk down 690,000 Korean Won (about $600) for this newly minted affair, the Ruby Violet is heading to Europe while the Titan Gold stays in Asia. Shame, we were eying all that DivX at 120 fps, carbon fiber, tempered glass, and 5 megapixel tech with a certain twitchy feeling in our Credit Card fingers. Follow the read link for a pile more pics.
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