Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

We’ve all seen it happen time and time again. What was hot and happening even six months ago, is suddenly a dinosaur. It’s the nature of the ever-evolving technology game. Which is why industry giant Intel may just be well served by sitting up and taking note that the maker of cell-phone chips Qualcomm, just may be a major force to be reckoned with these days. 

With a latest innovation, the Snapdragon, Qualcomm packs a rather mighty punch in a tiny package. An engineer for the company demonstrated a palm-sized circuit board capable of displaying high-definition video. While a fairly high quality video image is nothing new to write home about, what did make it pretty special was it’s microprocessor chip, the Snapdragon. This micro-chip drives the display with less than half the power of a similar chip recently introduced by Intel. Qualcomm designers further sweeten the deal by saying that it will also cost less.

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Does the keypad lock on your phone annoy you? Well, you just might think different after you hear this. A soldier in Afghanistan accidentally called his parents while he was in the middle of a heated battle. The result was a terrifying voicemail that included the son yelling about needing more ammo and his gun having problems-and cutting off just as another soldier yelled “INCOMING!” His parents were understandably shaken but managed to get a hold of their embarrassed son, who assured them he was okay. Thank goodness there was a happy ending, but am I the only one wondering which provider offers battlefield coverage? Talk about great cell coverage! We also have to mention the thanks that should go out to the soldier, hopefully his next call will be a little less stressful for those at home. Keep reading to listen to the chilling call…

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Startup BillShrink aims to assist cell phone users in finding the cheapest available plan with various add-ons to suit your individual personal needs. With so many cell phone plans available on the market, users often find themselves ending up with something that they don’t actually need. Often times wasting tons of money for add-ons they paid for and will not actually use. BillShrink hopes to address that problem and aims to help users avoid spending money they do not need to.

So, how does BillShrink plan to help users minimize cost on cell phone plans? By analyzing individual usages and needs. Users will be asked to enter their cell phone number and password associated with the account. BillShrink’s technology will then analyze usage patterns of that particular mobile account, taking into consideration the most-called contacts and networks, user’s average phone bills, calls per minute made by users, and some personal information such as user’s home zip code. After analyzing these data, BillShrink will then present a comparative list of less expensive plans available for the users.

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You’ve got to hand it to the Japanese, their passion for weird gadgets is really boundless. If you don’t believe me, just take a look at this new SoftBank 815T PB mobile phone introduced by Softbank and TV Tokyo.

Developed by Toshiba, it’s practically the first Transformers-inspired 3G mobile phone equipped with 2.0-megapixel camera, a secondary 0.3-megapixel camera, 2.4-inch QVGA screen, music player, IrDA, and a microSD card slot. 

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ZTE, the largest telecom equipment manufacturer in China, has officially entered the competitive U.S. mobile phone industry with an entry-level mobile handset, ZTE C88. Its subsidiary ZTE USA Inc. will carry this flip phone in partnership with MetroPCS. Just like any Chinese company entering the market, it is positioned as a “cost effective option for consumers who want a high quality, full featured handset at an affordable price point.”

The cost of ZTE C88 ranges from $129 to $149, depending on the promotions being offered. Unfortunately, it is not available nationwide as MetroPCS only operates in Atlanta, Dallas, Miami, Sarasota, Orlando, LA, San Francisco, Tampa, Detroit, and Sacramento. 

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Perhaps one of the simplest mobile phones to show its sleek, proud face at the Consumer Electronics Show is the Sanyo S1 Palmtop. It can hold its own even in the face of the amazing and dazzling strides made in the world of wireless technology. The Sanyo S1 Palmtop is for those among us who believe in simplicity and desire a phone that geeks might consider primitive; one whose primary selling point is reliability in getting connected for voice and basic e-mail.

Sanyo’s goal is to provide to all consumers a more comfortable life; a life in harmony with the environment. The S1 Palmtop lives up to that standard with every little breath that it takes. It is ultra sleek and weighs only 2.5 ounces. It is just 11mm thin, wrapped in a silky, soft-touch finish and feels like it belongs in your hand. Despite its size, the S1 Palmtop boasts a robust 24mm speakerphone, integrated Bluetooth wireless technology, large, colorful LCD screen and a voice-activated Wireless Backup allows users to easily manage the phone’s contacts list in case the phone is lost, stolen or damaged.

The Sanyo S1 Palmtop is ultra-slim, stylish and sophisticated and reflects Sanyo’s commitment to becoming an indispensable element in the lives of people all over the world.

Read [New Launches]

Well, thanks to T3, the UK gadget blog that likes showcasing half-naked women with it’s gear (don’t worry, we don’t mind), got a peek at the sexy unboxing of the LG Prada phone. The Prada is LG’s iPhone contender with many similar features to that of the iPhone including its sleek and stylish exterior, as well as the popular touch-screen functionality.

The Prada phone was declared vaporware by some, but the above video proves that wrong. The phone’s style is amazing, and definitely a contender to the iPhone. I’m looking forward to this phone as I don’t know how long it will be until the iPhone is released in Canada, and one of the main features I was looking forward to was the touch screen. I can live without a 4/8GB iPod built into my phone for now.

The Prada phone will retail for around $800 and, in my opinion, is the only worthy touch-screen phone until the iPhone is released.

Read [T3] via [Gizmodo]

We got glimpses of the phones last night at CES Unveiled, but today was the true unveiling. The SCH-i760, SGH-A727-A and the F300, also named the “Ultra Music.”

So Kevin Rose let down his guard and seems to have let the first batch of “truthful” iPhone details slip right out. I am trying to decide 1. if the details are true and 2. if Apple wanted him to leak so people actually get excited for the handset at this year’s MacWorld. Here are some of the details that he let fly (watch the vid for the rest):

• 2 batteries, one charger. One for the MP3 player and one for the phone.


• All three major cellphone carriers.


• 4GB and 8GB.


• Slide-out keyboard and touchscreen.


• Out in January.

In our busy world where continuous communication is a must it surprises me that it took this long for a company to come out with a fully waterproof cellphone. The Sony Ericsson SO902iWP comes equipped with a 1.3 mega-pixel camera. C’mon a waterproof phone with a camera...I have been waiting for this almost as long as I’ve been waiting for a pen that writes underwater (more on that in my next post).

So why should we care about a phone that is waterproof? Who actually needs to make calls in the shower, the jacuzzi, or the hotel swimming pool.... Do I really have to get into it? This very basic looking phone with a “creamsicle” color scheme to it has not yet been release in America but has since launched in Japan. So this begs the question, what are the Japanese doing that their market lends itself for a demand of waterproof phones?

Read [Gizomodo]