Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

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.

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Nokia has just put up a flash demo of the latest in its N-series phones, the N96 which is slated for release sometime this quarter. Like we already know, the N96 sports a dual-slide design, a 2.8-inch screen and supports high-quality videos in various formats. In addition the N96 also features a 5-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, flash, video light, video recording at 30 fps, A-GPS for geotagging of photos and 16MB of internal memory.

As this seemed to be not an official announcement, expect Nokia to delete the flash demo once this news spreads out. If you don’t get to watch it, don’t worry because like what happened with other Nokia mobile phone models, once a flash demo leaks out, and Nokia deletes it, for sure Nokia will issue an official announcement in no time at all. Also, rumor has it that the N96 will retail in the ballpark of $870.

Via [SlashPhone]

While we have recently seen the official announcement for the 7610 come from Nokia it has also just made its way through the FCC. Coming along with a nice clear image, we are really just confirming the specs. The Nokia 7610 will feature quad-band (850/900/1800/1900Mhz) GSM support, a 3.2-megapixel camera, FM radio with RDS, 64MB of internal memory and a microSD card slot for additional storage.

One interesting item to note is the colorful set of stars that are hidden underneath the back battery cover, possibly that is one the the design patterns for the optional XpressOn cover-plates.

Read [FCC] Via [IntoMobile]

Nokia’s follow-up on two promising phones which it announced last week are four mid-range phones which put more emphasis on aesthetic design rather than functionality. Three of these new models belong to Nokia’s new Supernova series, the 7610, 7510, 7310 and 7210. Geared for the fashion conscious consumers, all four handsets can be personalized through their exchangeable covers allowing users to match the style of their Nokia phones to their present moods.

First up is the Nokia 7610; featuring a slide design, a 3.2-megapixel camera with dual LED flash and 8x digital zoom, instant messaging, TV out, a dedicated music key, FM radio, an MP3 player and direct access to Nokia Music Store. The 7610 will have three Xpress-on covers and it will be available in Q3 with a retail of $353.

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Nokia has just released an updated version of OS2008, the operating system for both the N800 and N810 Internet tablets. Going by the codename of “Diablo” it consists of a few small bug fixes, some small updates and also a few new features.

The updated version is free for all current N800, N810 owners, however this update still requires users to “reflash the device in order to install this release.” One of the nice features is that this update brings the promise of future updates to come over-the-air, which means this should be the last reflash. Moving forward any OS updates, or applications updates will be offered via a notification on the home screen.

In addition the OS2008 update will also add a new email application called Modest, an updated mailbox setup wizard, as well as Chinese character support. The smaller fixes included the operating system in general, openssl and an improvement to the browser panning.

Sounds like a good time for current owners to upgrade, as always we would suggest backing up anything important before you begin the process, just in case.

Read [maemo] Via [Mobile Burn]

Nokia has just released one of its N-Series handsets, the N78 to the US mobile market. And while we accept the fact that this is a worthy addition to the slew of smartphones already available, mainly because of its rich and powerful features, some may find its $560 price tag a little bit on the expensive side. But if you are a Nokia fan and you wouldn’t mind spending that much for a new N-Series Nokia phone, take a gander at what the N78 has to offer.

The Nokia N78 features a 3.2-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and automatic geotagging, a-GPS, an integrated FM transmitter, digital music player, high-speed HSDPA connectivity on North American 850/1900 MHz networks, support for Nokia Maps and Share using Nokia’s Ovi site, as well as a touch-sensitive keyboard and microSDHC card slot. Keep reading to check out another image of the Nokia N78…

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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]

T-Mobile has just added two new offerings, the Nokia 6301 and the Samsung SGH-t339, both of which fully support T-Mobile’s HotSpot @Home service.

Aside from supporting T-Mobile HotSpot @Home and myFaves, the Nokia 6301 also features a music player, stereo Bluetooth connectivity, a 2.0-megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom and video capture, microSD slot, IM support for AIM, ICQ, Yahoo! Messenger and Windows Live, a speakerphone and FM radio. This tri-band (850/1800/1900) phone supports GSM, GPRS, EDGE and UMA network. In addition, the Nokia 6301 sports a 240 x 320 pixels resolution TFT screen.

The Samsung SGH-t339 has almost all of the Nokia 6301 features except for its 1.3-megapixel camera and a smaller TFT screen at 176 x 220 pixels.

Both the Nokia 6301 and Samsung SGH-t339 will be available beginning today online and at all T-Mobile retail locations.

Read [Business Wire]

The Nokia E series has been known for feature-packed offerings for business professionals. With the new E71, the Finnish mobile giants promise all that you would come to expect out of an E-series phone – the pleasant surprise is that it’s one of the thinnest phones Nokia has ever produced.

As Nokia finally gives out details of its new QWERTY phone, you will see that the slim design doesn’t necessarily compromise on features – there’s still WiFi connectivity, HSDPA, A-GPS, a 3.2 megapixel camera, AND the smaller front-facing camera for video chat. While the E71 gives up a little on screen size from its predecessor the E66 – 2.36-inch QVGA screen, just a fraction of an inch smaller – the E71 manages to put in an extra battery to its package, giving it a relative advantage in talk time.

Most people who have come to love the E-series will immediately notice the smaller screen, but will actually be happy to find out that it doesn’t compromise on resolution (same number of pixels as the E62). And with the extremely pocket-able size, the E71 is sure to be hit. 

A rumored $500-ish release price isn’t really that friendly, and Nokia doesn’t have any info on carrier subsidies just yet. But it will be available with full 3G US bands sometime Q3 of this year, so watch out for it.

Read [engadgetmobile]

Its been a while since we first saw the Nokia N78 begin to show up online, it hit the FCC back in mid-March and since then it has always been touting a built-in FM transmitter as an included feature. Considering the music capabilities of the N78, that should be a welcomed feature, while playing music through an FM transmitter over your car stereo is not always a perfect solution, its easy to set up and very convenient. Sadly new details are beginning to surface that are claiming that at least some of the Nokia N78’s will not include the FM transmitter.

While Nokia has not offered up any official comment, it is speculated that it was left off due to legal reasons as it is against the law to operate a radio transmitter without a license in some areas. From what we can tell, the Nokia N78’s will ship without the FM transmitter in France, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Ireland and Italy.

Via [IntoMobile]