Cingular launches LG CG300 clamshell

Cingular launches LG CG300 clamshell: "Filed under: Handsets, LG, Cingular, GSM All it takes is a single domestic launch to remind us of the generally boring state of affairs for us phone types in the US, and Cingular is providing just such a launch in their new CG300 clamshell from LG. Sporting a so sexy VGA camera with flash, and the unheard of dual color displays, the phone really goes for the gold. Luckily there is the standard Bluetooth support, and the phone also works with Cingular's recently launched Push-To-Talk service. The quad-band GSM phone is available now and with a 2-year contract can be had for $50 after a $50 mail-in rebate."

Motorola A1200/MING Linux-based smartphone

Motorola A1200/MING Linux-based smartphone: "Filed under: Handsets, Motorola, Linux We first caught a glimpse of the Motorola A1200 back in December. It has since been rebadged the MING which apparently means something like 'open' in Chinese or 'nasty' if you happen to be mingin' in the UK -- guess that's why this pup is heading to the greater China market first, eh? In a schizophrenic fit, Moto claims to be targeting business users with this device yet lists it under the 'entertainment series' of handsets on their .hk site. No matter, the MING delivers both. See, Moto runs Linux on an Intel PXA270 processor deep below that sweet transparent flip and then packs in distractions such as a 2 megapixel camera, music player, FM radio, and Bluetooth with A2DP support for true stereo thumpin'. That large touchscreen LCD, the Pocket Office Suite of applications, integrated business card scanner (using that 2 megapixel shooter) and optical-character recognition software are sure to keep executive-types grinnin' too. These should be available soon in Hong Kong but pricing and availability (and a new name) for the rest of world remains a mystery. More pics after the break

Sanyo's new W41SA flip phone scans handwriting

Sanyo's new W41SA flip phone scans handwriting: "Filed under: Handsets, Sanyo, KDDI, EV-DO, CDMA We can't say this new handwriting scanner that Sanyo is including in their new W41SA will revolutionize the industry, but it is kind of neat. Pretty much you just take a picture of some writing and the phone blocks out everything else and overlays the text on a picture. Yeah, not exactly monumental, but an interesting feature, and a good compliment to the 2.3-inch QVGA LCD and 1.3 megapixel camera. The phone also rocks the EV-DO, FM, and miniSD to keep things interesting. They top it all off with TV remote functionality, but Sanyo still keeps things slim at 0.8-inches. The phone is available now through KDDI in Japan.

Nokia Announces T-One: Voice and Data at Home and On the Road

Nokia Announces T-One: Voice and Data at Home and On the Road: "Nokia is using its and E60 and N80 (pictured at left)) devices to study whether you really can have it all: voice and data on both fixed lines and on the road. The Finnish phone giant has gotten together with the Deutsche Telekom group and announced T-One, an integrated dual-mode telephony system that's aiming to bring you the best of both worlds. The coolness here is that once this is available, you'll be able to access exactly the same voice and data connections wherever you are, at home or out there in the real world, by using a T-Com HotSpot, which is presumably a whole lot bigger than a WiFi hotspot.

Nokia didn't announce when this dual-mode service would be available to mere mortals, but with its N80 and E60 devices—convergence phones that are able to support SIP-based Internet calls and GSM, WCDMA and WLAN networks—the company is well-positioned to make this happen. Sign us up.

Vodafone's mystery video phone is the Sharp 905SH

Vodafone's mystery video phone is the Sharp 905SH: "Filed under: Handsets, Multimedia, Sharp, Vodafone


After ogling Vodafone's new video phone a few days ago without having a whole lot of hard info, we're pleased to see that the company has released some deets and pics to fill in the gaps. Turns out the model no. is 905SH, and the 2.9-inch 16:9en has a 240x400 resolution. The phone also has Bluetooth, a 2 megapixel camera, a miniSD slot and can receive One Seg Japanese digital TV broadcasts. Don't expect to see this outside of Japan anytime soon. Or ever."

GN Netcom Intros Three New Wireless Headsets

GN Netcom Intros Three New Wireless Headsets: "Business professionals can look forward to a slew (well, three) of new wireless headsets from GN Netcom, which the company introduced at CeBit. Two versions of the GN9330--one for desk phones, the other for VoIP--accompany the GN 9350. The GN 9350 does the work of both version of the GN9330, but adds digital signal processing, a noise-canceling microphone and digital security encryption. Available via European distributors as of now, all three phones are plug-and-play while the GN9330 retails for $320 and the GN 9350 retails for $440."

Asus P525 smartphone with 2 megapixel cam

Asus P525 smartphone with 2 megapixel cam: "Filed under: Handsets, ASUS, Windows Mobile
Asus was showing off a business-oriented Windows Mobile 5.0 PocketPC Phone Edition-powered candybar-style handset at CeBIT last week, featuring WiFi, Bluetooth, and hopefully like its P305 sibling, UMTS. The P525 sports a 416MHz Intel XScale PXA270 processor, 64MB RAM, 128MB ROM, and 2.8-inch QVGA screen, along with a miniSD slot and hearty two megapixel camera. No word yet on which countries and carriers will see this model, or what the price is going to look like.

Cell Phone designed for Senior Citizens

Cell Phone designed for Senior Citizens: "

With all the emphasis on phones that are thinner and more feature-rich, Emporia is targeting a different demographic with the EmporiaLife handset. Think of it as the large-print Reader’s Digest version of the Razr. Big buttons and an easy to read LCD make it easy for someone with failing eyesight to operate the phone. Among the other features are a big red emergency button to call for help and the ability to run off AA batteries if the Li-Ion battery runs out of charge. The phone is even hearing-aid compatible. My Grandma’s first text message will be “U kds git off my lawn! l8r!

Samsung SPH-B5200 Gaming and DMB TV Phone

Samsung SPH-B5200 Gaming and DMB TV Phone: "Samsung has another DMB digital TV mobile phone on the start in Korea with gaming interface. The Samsung SPH-B5200 features a sliding design that lets users convert the phone into a wide-screen game pad with two cross gaming controllers. The SPH-..."

SanDisk e270 reviewed

SanDisk e270 reviewed: "Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
After SanDisk announced their superiority over every portable audio player manufacturer (except one), you might have thought they were getting a little too big for their britches. Well, CNET finally got their hands on SanDisk's e270 (the 4GB flash-based player from their e200 series) and ran it through its paces. Is the e270 going to give the iPod nano a run for its money? Well, maybe. With built-in voice recording, photo and video playback, a removeable battery, FM-tuner, and a MicroSD slot, SanDisk's feature set seems to one up the nano, but there are some caveats. CNET notes the scroll wheel isn't all that great, photos have to be converted using bundled software, you can only record WAV files, and some mechanical noise bleeds through the headphones during playback. Praising the e270's durability twice, CNET seems to be taking a not-so-subtle swipe at the competition. Either that, or the SanDisk is really just that durable.

Live from CeBIT: BenQ-Siemens, Motorola, DVB-H prototype roundup

Live from CeBIT: BenQ-Siemens, Motorola, DVB-H prototype roundup

Today, we found two additional unannounced DVB-H devices from Motorola (pictured) and Sagem at the T-Mobile Germany booth as the country, or rather, major cities in Germany gear up for the launch of digital mobile TV before the FIFA World Cup. We also learned the deets behind the telephony capabilities of that BenQ-Siemens device we brought you yesterday -- it's tri-band GSM/GPRS, features a 3.6-inch 640 x 480 262k color TFT display, 250 minutes talk time, 1.3 megapixel camera, USB-host mode, 64MB of memory with memory card expansion (which we can't see, but that's what they are saying), and a media player capable of MP3 / AAC and (unspecified) video playback. Pics of all three devices after the break.

Motorola PEBL Review

Motorola PEBL Review: "Our partners at Designtechnica review for you a pebble – oh, sorry the PEBL from Motorola. Quote: 'For a product as utilitarian as a cell phone, care should always be taken when inserting a gimmick that could limit functionality. To be sure..."