Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Sony just recently shipped it’s 4.5 millionth Cyber-shot camera phones (model K790/K800) and has now updated the product selection with the K810/K818 Cyber-shot phone. It is a 3.2 megapixel camera including auto focus and Xenon flash which includes applications such as Photo fix help to improve the quality of your pictures after you have taken them, illuminated icons to the side of the main keypad which light up in camera mode, and more. These models support UMTS 2100 (GSM 900/1800/1900), red eye reduction, BestPic, Picture Blogging, and USB 2.0. This model will be available in Q2 2007. In addition, the K818 is a GSM variant intended specifically for China where 3G services are not established. Both will be available in two stylish colors: Noble Blue and Golden Ivory.

The K550 Cyber-shot phone delivers the benefits of the Cyber-shot phone in a compact (14mm thin) form factor. Equipped with a 2.0 megapixel camera with auto focus plus LED photo light and active lens cover. Add to this Bluetooth technology, Memory Stick Micro (M2), PictBridge and Picture blogging and you have a camera phone that takes the complexity out of sharing quality images with friends and family. Simply by sliding open the lens cover, the camera is activated and the Cyber-shot menu appears in the phone’s screen, which at 1.9” serves as a clear viewfinder. Available in Jet Black or Pearl White in selected markets from Q1 2007.

We have tried to stay clear of the iPhone rumors the past few weeks/months/years since they really are just that...rumors. While I believe an iPhone is coming, since it was supposed to come 4,5,6 times by now who really knows when it will happen. Regardless, for the first time we are hearing reports that their may eventually be two different models: one standard phone and another smartphone.

The smartphone would include, like most smartphones, include a qwerty keyboard, Wi-Fi, email, web browsing, camera, and music capability. The standard handset is expected to be a candy-bar style phone with a 3-megapixel camera, 2.2-inch display, and some iPod/iTunes capabilities. Most agree that Cingular will be the launch provider with a date around January 2007. Until then let rumors be rumors and go on listening to your iPod.

if you want to dwell on the subject, question whether Apple will release a mobile OS or use someone else’s operating system.

Read [Think Secrete]

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]

Adding more 3G devices to their portfolio, Nokia took wraps off of the 6288, a 3G slider with a 2 megapixel camera and video capabilities. The handset ships with a 512 MB memory card, and a great screen QVGA 262,144 color (320x240 pixels) for videos or as a photo viewfinder. The Nokia 6288 has dedicated camera and zoom buttons so you don’t have the awkward feeling when you are taking a picture. Videos can be edited and sent via MMS and email, or printed via Bluetooth to any compatible printer.

The Nokia 6288 weighs 115g and is available in white or black for 325 EUR (in Europe). No word on an American model yet.

Read [Nokia] Via [Fosfor Gadgets]

Samsung and T-Mobile sure know how to throw a launch party. Wednesday night I was MIA here at Gadgetell but in full effect (whatever that means) at the Trace launch event in downtown, NYC. The Samsung Trace (SGH-t519) is the slimmest bar phone currently available in the United States, measuring just 0.33” in width and weighing 2.5 oz. 

Exclusive to T-Mobile, the handset comes with a MP3 player, Bluetooth, a 1.3 megapixel camera with video, speakerphone, airplane mode, and a microSD memory expansion slot.  The 1.5 x 1.2-inch (220x176 pixels) screen with 262K colors is a widescreen format that is surrounded by a champagne colored housing. The quad-band (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) Trace supports GPRS/EDGE high-speed connectivity and only costs $99.99 after discounts rebates.

Product Page [T-Mobile]

Those of you dying for some Chocolate but don’t do slider phones your wait has shortened. We though that the LG U830 shown in Berlin was going to go sweet but it looks like the flip phone will be slightly altered to be the the Black Sapphire MG810. It will have a 1.3 megapixel camera, 176 x 220 internal display (and 96x 96 external), media player that supports MP3 and AAC, Bluetooth, FM radio, 128MB of flash memory, and GRPS.

We’ll keep you posted as the cocoa comes in.

Read [Engadget]

Inspired by, “the forces of nature and the sculptural beauty of the body,” Nokia unveiled its latest ultra-premium mobile phone, the Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition. Now Nokia certainty knows how to milk a good thing with this 8800 series phone. First it won a Red Dot design award, then we reviewed the 8801 version (whatever that means), next the 8800 got blinged out, and Nokia drops a even sexier model.

The Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition draws its name from the powerful desert-born wind that originates in the Sahara when a warm, dry air mass collides with the cooler, maritime air of the Mediterrean. The striking organic shape of the Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition references the inherent strength of the human form, a concept further implied by stainless steel polished surfaces and a scratch-resistant glass display window. Like its namesake, the Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition consists of two variants - light and dark, the light inspired by the hot, dry air mass, the dark by the cooler, humid one.

From the sapphire coating of the 262,000 colour display to the distinctive slide mechanism which reveal a upgraded 2 megapixel camera, or even its extended battery life, every seemingly minor detail of the Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition is honed to perfection. The Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition also features a complementary Bluetooth headset (but we are sure that you are paying for it within the huge price tag of EUR 1000).

The new Nokia N80 Internet Edition offers wireless LAN (WLAN), WLAN wizard, web browser, support for internet calls, a 3.0 megapixel camera, and quadband GSM WCDMA, and a host of other internet services not found on other Nokia devices.

Use the integrated Yahoo! Search for finding whatever you need and use the Mini Map function to manage the pages you find.  Browse through thousands of items at Amazon.com, or scroll though a book with Amazon’s MobiPocket Reader. You can also snap a photo and send it directly from your device to your Flickr...you get the point.

The Nokia N80 Internet Edition comes loaded with Nokia’s new Download! client, which allows you to see what new applications are available, as well as keeping other applications current.  The web browser with Mini Map makes browsing the internet the same way that PC web browsers display web pages. VoIP is integrated into the Nokia user interface, and the handset allows for compatible third party internet call applications. The Nokia N80 Internet Edition comes in two colors, patina bronze and pearl black, and is expected to be available from mid-September 2006.

The Sony Ericsson Z610 is a super stylish 3G phone that blends performance and design in one shiny package. The mirror finish on the front cover gives the phone a jewel-like quality that is complimented by a hidden ‘magic mirror’ (a.k.a. OLED) display which can only be seen when in use. Don’t let this Paris Hilton phone fool you, it has a 2.0 megapixel camera for snapping shots of your favorite celebrity friends, moblogging, an integrated RSS reader, push email, a Memory Stick Micro slot up to 1 GB, and of course the soon to be standard 3G, high speed connectivity. Their will be three mirror iterations – Luster Black, Rose Pink & Airy Blue. 

Product: Palm Treo 700p for Sprint and Verizon
Price: $399.99
Rating: Good 7.725/10.0
Pros: Palm OS, battery life, LCD screen, power house abilities, full mobile office via Documents to Go, EVDO, acts as a broadband modem.
Cons: Lacks a true power-off button, bulky, no Wi-Fi, web-page layout
Overall:The Treo 700p delivers more than a phone with email and internet. It is a well designed smartphone with a whole host of features for a true power user.

The new Treo 700p from Palm was a great follow-up product to the 700w (which launched on Verizon back in January). The classic PalmOS and Treo body, with a bundle of new features helped solidify the Palm brand name and even made for some sexy Peep Show shots. Over the past several weeks, we’ve had a chance to test both the Sprint and Verizon versions to see if they could stand up to the daily lives of hardcore tech bloggers.

Design – 6.5 - The 700p is designed almost identically like it’s cousin, the Treo 700w, and the OS hasn’t had any drastic changes anytime in the recent past--Treo 650. Oh and we’re still waiting for Palm to chop off that chunk of an antenna, but we won’t hold that against them. Now that we got that off of our chests, the 700p’s design is bulky and heavy, but still small enough to be your everyday phone. The combination of a touch screen with a full QWERTY keyboard makes navigating through the OS and sending emails a breeze. The layout of the keys is essentially the same as the 700w, minus the Windows button but it includes the familiar Palm buttons: phone, calendar, mail, and home.

Read on for the full review of the Palm Treo 700p.

Features – 8.5 - The device is equipped with Bluetooth (which makes having such a big phone not a big deal at all), a 1.3 megapixel camera, a 320×320 pixel color touchscreen, email, music player (PTunes), Internet access, and much more. Since the screen is small and makes some website look a little funky (but not Gadgetell mobile), they’ve got a nifty feature that lets you toggle between widescreen and optimized for browser views. Finally, the 700p is equipped with EVDO high speed data (running on PowerVision for Sprint). Both services allow you to use the device as a modem for your laptop with broadband-like speeds. Sprint offers it free and works via Bluetooth or a cable, while Verizon will charge you for this feature. On the the Verizon model I was using Versa Mail, which was not the best mail program I used, Treo Voice for voice recognition, Remote file Access, and Traffic for Treo. As we said, the Treo 700p does much more than make calls, send/receive emails, and brows the internet.

Performance – 8 - After rigorous testing, the Treo outperformed our expectations. Since we got a defective 700w review unit, we didn’t hold it to very high of standards. The EVDO makes the Treo experience ridiculously fast. If you were to pull up a website while you’re on the road (with someone else driving of course), you can do it, and it loads in a matter of seconds. It’s great knowing that you no longer have to phone-a-friend when you’re asked a trivia questions!  The 1.3 megapixel camera is quite the performer as well. We can’t even count the number of pictures that were taken during testing. It’s like having an acceptable quality digital camera in your pocket at all times. The OS on the device (if you’re not accustomed to PalmOS) is like the Mac OS of smartphones. It’s easy to navigate, and has everything you need right there when you turn it on. One annoyance that we found is that when the device is turned off all the way (phone is powered off and device is off as well), it is too easily turned back on. With a simple click of the power button (not even a hold like a normal cellphone), the screen lights up and the Palm functionalities can be accessed. In order to get the Internet and calling features, you need to hold the power button. This is really inconvenient on airplanes when you want to turn it off and have it stay off (so you don’t get yelled at by the flight attendant). Palm, if you’re listening, might we suggest adding a hold switch on the top of the device next to the vibrate switch (like an iPod)?

The Palm Treo 700p is a handy device in its software, but it’s still rather bulky (especially with the arrival of the Motorola Q). If you’re looking for a powerful tool that does much much more than stay connected throughout the day, give the 700p a try and we’re sure you’ll be impressed.

Editors Note: The categories were weighted in the following manner to reflect the importance of some features over others (in our humble opinion). Design 30%, Features 35%, and Performance 35%.