Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

So, the much talked about Blackberry Storm isn’t due out until November. Yet somehow, (as always seems to happen), new photos are circulating the ‘Net.  I caught sight of some of them, and if these are real...apparently the Storm had a little bit of a design overhaul from the last shots that were floating around.

The Vodaphone-branded Blackberry doesn’t seem to be all that worried about wooing over the glitz and glamour crowd.  Nothing too foo-foo on this phone.  It seems to be geared for the typical, well....Blackberry user. A kind of straight-forward, get the job done sort of phone.

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Looks like there just may be two new E series Nokia phones in the works if images on the ‘Net are to be trusted - the upcoming E72 and E75. Apparently, preventing leaks from those doing proto testing, or having promo videos leaked onto the web before they are supposed to be, is a problem companies are seeing more and more often. These images were initially found on the ever-popular YouTube site, before tech and gadget fans started to discover them.

It appears the E72 has the benefits of the E60 with a side sliding form factor. With text messaging, email and sms being all the rage, the full QWERTY keyboard both styles feature will probably also be considered a bonus by many.

Obviously, at this point there is no word on release date or price. Stay tuned for more updates as they come in.

Via [symbianfreak]

The engineer blamed for causing last week’s deadly train collision was texting on the job, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.  Officials say Robert Sanchez, who was killed, ignored a stop signal and never hit his brakes, resulting in the collision that killed 24 other people and injured over a 100 more. As a result, the California Public Utilities Commission is meeting today and are expected to announce a ban on personal use of all wireless devices by train workers. California’s Metrolink already prohibits it’s employees from using cell phones on the job. The accident is a tragic reminder of why texting and driving don’t mix.

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MobileSphere recently launched a free voice messaging service called (very aptly!) Slydial, that connects you automatically to someone’s voice mail so you can leave a message when you don’t feel like going through the conversation mode, or are pressed for time.

Some of the scenario’s they present where Slydial could be especially useful are quite humorous, others very realistic.  Feel like taking a play day and you are calling in “oh so sick” and don’t want to actually talk to your boss? There you go. How about that “let’s just be friends” call that you’re too chicken to actually have the other person on the other end of the line listening to because you don’t want to hear an hour’s worth of sobbing? Uh-huh. Want to call and thank Great Aunt Bessie for the lovely birthday sweater she sent you, but don’t want to hear all about her aches and pains for a half-hour? Yep, you’re seeing where this could come in handy, aren’t you?

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This image is apparently the upcoming Nokia 7310 classic.  The phone, which is mainly for casual mobile phone users, is based on the S40 platform.

Aside from the normal calling and text messaging features, the 7310 will sport a 3.2-megapixel camera. The phone also has support for stereo Bluetooth, a built-in FM radio and a 3.5 millimeter headphone jack. Also, the device has room for expandable memory, through memory sticks as well as USB connectivity.  All of the S40 menu systems can be seen on the 7310’s 2.2-inch 16 million color display.

The 7310 Classic should be available in stores in a few months, but no word on a US carrier as of yet.

Via [unwired view]

Cellular South, currently available for customers in along the Alabama and Florida Panhandle coast line is looking to attract new subscribers. In a new promotion they are offering to pay any early termination fee that you may be charged by your current provider should you decide to leave. Sounds great, assuming you were unhappy with your current carrier and happened to live in the limited area that they cover. There are a few strings attached but nothing horrible, the credit is limited to $200 and they will not be paying you cash, the money goes towards your future bills with Cellular South. Aside from those few details, there was not any mention of how long this offer would be available.

While this offer will not apply to many of our readers, it does bring an interesting point that if a smaller cellular company is willing (and able) to pay termination fees from other providers how necessary they really are for the bigger guys. I mean they must be making enough even without them, of course without early termination fees we are likely to see prices of phones go up and subsidized models decrease in availability. Hopefully some of the larger carriers will take note and begin to further change their ETF policies.

Read [Cellular South] Via [Phone Scoop]

Noise-canceling headphones be gone! Who needs inferior products such as those when you can comfortably sit back with two calls simultaneously with the Jabra M5390 dual Bluetooth headset? Talk about trying to tell everyone around you that you are busy, and can’t be disturbed no matter what. This mind-boggling device, in my honest opinion, is so dumb that it’s brilliant!

With the Jabra M5390 dual Bluetooth headset, you can take calls from two different devices, like say a GSM handset and a Skype phone, at the very same time. It offers DSP noise canceling technology itself, although I’m not sure how well that would really work when you’re trying to listen to two different sounds at a time.

Other features include USB 2.0 connectivity via a Bluetooth dongle, and a range of 70 meters. That way, even if you accidentally cut off your ear and dropped it down the elevator, you’d still be able to hear your calls. Or not. And it stays on standby for nearly 60 hours, with talk time billed at 6 hours, give or take. But don’t rush out with your credit card yet, cause there still ain’t no pricing details on this baby. What? Of course it’s for sale, cheapskate.

Via [Crave]

Have you ever cursed at your notebook’s Wi-Fi card over dropped and lost connections? Have you ever wondered when Wi-Max would ever be a reality everywhere and come to the rescue? Have you ever used your cellular phone to provide a dial-up Internet connection for your notebook? (I can’t even begin to imagine the pain caused by that last one).

Well, be thankful that there are some intermediary steps that can be helpful before Wi-Max fully arrives. I consider WWAN’s (Wireless Wide Area Networks) to be such a framework. It differs from WLAN’s (Wide Local Area Networks) because it uses cellular networks to transfer data. Using 3G technology such as EDGE networks will allow notebook users to have the benefit of broadband connectivity and cellular network coverage. Although you won’t get super high speeds like standard broadband connections (according to 3G specs, about 384KBps data rate for mobile systems, and 2 MBps stationary, but real life applications might vary depending on provider), it is definitely a huge leap from using dial-up.

To do so, you would either need a notebook pre-equipped with a WWAN adapter, or buy an external WWAN adapter. There are currently a few notebooks starting to hit the market with built in WWAN adapters, such as the Sony VAIO T-Series and the HP nc6400.  Cellular networks such as Cingular, Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile all provide coverage for such connectivity. If you’re on-the-go quite a bit and need Internet connection all the time, this might be something worth looking into.

Read [CNet]
Read [PCWorld]