Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

It looks like Verizon will be introducing a third variety in their Q9 lineup, and as of now its being code named “Napoleon.” It does however have something special in store for worldwide business travelers as it will not only offer CDMA EV-DO Rev. A support but it will also include full GSM support, meaning you can take and use this worldwide.

The Q9 Napoleon will be running Windows Mobile 6.1 and feature a 320 x 240 display, 2-megapixel camera with flash, Wi-Fi, stereo speakers and ship with a 1500mAh battery. In addition to the added support on the inside, the new world edition Q9 has also gotten a little face lift with a new shiny bezel around the edges.

Also, just good measure they have included a fingerprint scanner on the back, I guess when traveling worldwide you should never have your data unsecured.

As of now, no pricing or release information has been let loose, but as usual we will keep you posted when we find something out.

Via [BGR]

Earlier today we saw what AT&T has in store for use device-wise for the remainder of 2008 and now it is Verizon’s turn, and it looks just as exciting as the AT&T lineup.

Beginning in August, it looks like we can expect to see the UTStarcom TXT8010. Also coming in August is the Nokia 2605 Mirage and the Samsung SCH-U440 which are both expected to be released on the 8th, then the Motorola VU30 is expected in mid-August and the Samsung SCH-U430 is expected in late-August.

Moving on from there we also have the Samsung SCH-U310, Nokia 7205 Intrigue and Palm Treo 800w. Finally we also have the Motorola Blaze ZN4, which has no specific date, however it is expected sometime before September 22.

MORE »

The touchscreen based devices just keep coming, and seem to be getting more and more interesting. The latest to hit the open, or at least leaked status is the Motorola Blaze, which seems to be a mix-match of already announced phones. While it does have a good look, we cannot help to feel that the large plastic covering is somewhat reminiscent of an old and outdated PDA design.

While a full touchscreen device, the Blaze is not a smartphone and will be running a custom OS for Verizon, however, it still does offer a decent set of specs. The Blaze will feature haptic feedback, a 2-megapixel camera, EV-DO Rev. A support, GPS, Bluetooth, MobileTV. As of now we can be pretty sure, thanks to the big Verizon logo of where the Blaze is headed, but we are still left wondering how much it will retail for and when it will become available. Hopefully, the Blaze will fall on the lower end of the pricing spectrum.

Keep reading to check out another image of the Blaze, this time with the front lid closed. It was also noted that, while the functionality is limited, you can still use the handset with the lid closed.

MORE »

As expected T-Mobile has officially unveiled the Motorola ROKR E8, which will be available beginning July 7. The ROKR E8 will feature a touchscreen keyboard with a vibration feedback that will change and offer different keys depending on the feature you are currently using. Otherwise the E8 will be a candybar style handset with a 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, 3.5mm headphone jack, FM radio, 2GB of internal memory with a microSD card slot that will allow for 8GB more and is myFaves compatible.

The ROKR E8 will set you back $199, which comes along with a two-year agreement. Overall a decent little handset, but for $199 one has to wonder why, compared to some other more full featured models that are currently available it sounds a little pricey.

Read [T-Mobile] Via [Engadget]

The MING A1600 phone has been circulating in rumors previously, and a little over a month ago, it was approved by the FCC. Also, Motorola has announced the MING A1800, which is set to accompany the A1600. The A1800 is pretty much the same as the A1600, however the main difference is that it comes with a one key difference - it can connect to both GSM and CDMA networks simultaneously.

To recap, the Motorola MING A1600 comes with a 2.4-inch TFT touchscreen display, comes with a stylus, runs on Linux, has quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support, a 3-megapixel camera with auto focus, Bluetooth, microSD expansion up to 4GB, microUSB connectivity, an integrated FM radio and of course one of the more notable features, integrated GPS.

As previously mentioned, the MING A1800 offers the same features as the A1600, and also allows for GSM and CDMA to be used at the same time. No word on exact pricing or availability, but the A1800 shouldn’t cost too much more than the A1600, and both of these phones are set to first hit the Chinese market.

Via [NaviGadget]

I’ve been waiting for some kind of response from the big manufacturers to the iPhone.  Sure they’ve thrown some clones our way but nothing that puts them on the path to a true “iPhone killer”.  Today, they’ve shown they mean business by uniting the Symbian OS. 

Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and NTT DoCoMo have all joined forces to open up Symbian and work to encourage developers on the common platform.  By bringing together Symbian OS, S60, UIQ and MOAP(S) they will create one open mobile platform.  And they are working with carriers and other telecom giants like AT&T, LG, Samsung, STMicro, Texas Instruments and Vodafone to widen the net of users and developers.

This is a relatively big deal.  To me, it says, “we get the idea that software is king.” To the world, it says, “this is how we move forward.” And a lot of weight moving forward it is.  Going open source and royalty free they hope to attract all the developers who have iPhones royalties in their eyes right now.

This is definitely a step in the right direction.  As my Econ professors used to say, “competition is a good thing.”

Read [Sony Ericsson]

So, that new Motorola phone touting a 5-megapixel Kodak camera that we told you about not so long ago is actually true. Motorola has officially announced the new phone as the MOTOZINE ZN5, or more simply the ZINE ZN5. And like we told you before, this phone would feature a 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus, a Xenon flash, and some settings that would make it a good camera when shooting in low-light environment.

And since the ZINE ZN5 will have a Kodak camera, it goes without saying that it would have direct link to the Kodak online image gallery for viewing, storing and sharing with friends and family. In addition, it would also come with Kodak Easyshare Software to help users organize, edit, share, store and find photos on their PC’s. 

MORE »

AT&T subscribers with the Motorola Q9h smartphone will soon be experiencing a Windows Mobile 6.1 update of their own. This has been quite an anticipated development following the announcement that the Sprint Motorola Q9c will be having the latest Microsoft Windows Mobile OS from the Windows Mobile camp. After the recent Motorola Q9c revelation, AT&T has resolved in boosting the features of their Motorola Q9h smart phone, as well.

The link between the telecommunications company and the popular mobile operating system provider is evidenced by Motorola’s own website linking to the soon to be released firmware of Windows Mobile Standard 6.1.  More as it comes.

Read [IntoMobile]

A new slider style handset from Motorola, the ZN200 has shown its face thanks to the FCC. Having gotten its approval, they let a pretty clear image of the front and back side along with the user manual loose. While the ZN200 appears to be a nice looking handset, it certainly is not going to offer any real competition to the Motorola ZN5 camera phone that we are waiting for.

The ZN200 will be featuring a 2-megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom, video recording, USB connector, Bluetooth, 2.5mm headphone jack, an FM radio, Windows Media Player 11 and will offer dual band GSM (850/1900) support. While the handset is nothing spectacular, it should at least be moderately priced. The one real downfall is that while the display size was not listed, it appears to be rather small.

Of course, while we have seen this come from the FCC, we are still awaiting the official spec and pricing announcement to come from Motorola. Also no word on when this is expected to hit the market.

Read [FCC] Via [unwired view]

Motorola has announced its latest music tech phone gadget, the E8 Music Phone. The E8 features a ModeShift, which lets you navigate through the phone’s features. This shows how the buttons change as icons shift according to what feature the user is into. It allows for an easy-to-manage set of music controls. However, the E8 Music Phone does not display visible buttons when it is turned off. When switched on, it goes back to the where the user last left off.

It also has that standard phone interface when one is to make a call. Motorola declares it to be their first phone to have a haptic feedback feature. The E8 comes with 2GB of internal storage, and is expandable by up to 2GB, as well. It uses Windows Mobile 11 for easy drag-and-drop of music tracks onto the device. The phone works with a 3.5mm headphone jack, and offers the feature of an airplane mode to serve as a standalone music player.

Via [ShinyShiny]