Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

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it does have a good look, we cannot help to feel that the large plastic covering is somewhat reminiscent of an old and outdated PDA design.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.

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There has been a lot of hype surrounding Sony Ericsson’s newest Windows Mobile QWERTY device, the XPERIA X1. From hands on experience it seems to be really worth the wait.

Combining mobile communication functionality with remarkable multimedia features, the XPERIA has practically been the most-awaited Windows Mobile device for this year. The X1 has a whopping 3-inch wide 800 x 480 touch-screen display, an optical joystick (can you say “whoa!”), 3.2 megapixel camera, A2DP Bluetooth, aGPS, WiFi, and is expandable with microSD (it has 400MB onboard). It also has that QWERTY keyboard to take prime advantage of the Windows Mobile 6 operating system.

As a phone, it’s got quad-band GSM/EDGE, and 900/1700/1900/2100MHz UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (or 850/1700/1900/2100MHz in what must be a US-bound model).

The design is cool and very easy on the eyes. The keyboard touch and feel may flatter it a bit, as the response is not that great. All in all, there’s quite a bit of potential in the XPERIA, and people are going to be pleasantly surprised when it releases this second half of 2008.

Read [BoyGeniusReport]

HP boasts of putting our digital life at our fingertips through their latest offering – the TouchSmart PC.

Media manipulation on PC’s isn’t anything new – uploading home videos, editing photos and listening to music have been staples of most home PC’s for several years. Touchscreen technology has also enjoyed considerable interest, in light of Apple’s iPhone. Mix them together and package them as a “total home PC” and you’ve got yourself a winner.

HP’s TouchSmart PCs come with a 22-inch diagonal hi-def widescreen display powered with a “software designed specifically for touch.” A tap or sweep at the sleek piano-black finished screen gives ready access to hands-on digital entertainment.

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Now that the iPhone 3G news is beginning to settle in, we are starting to get more and more non-Apple related news, with that comes a few additional details about the upcoming BlackBerry Thunder.

To begin with, there are two things to keep in mind; first, this information is still unconfirmed so its likely to change and second, the name Thunder is just a code name which will change in time.

Moving on we are hearing more chatter that the Thunder is still on track for Verizon and expected to become available during Q3 of this year. Other features are rumored to feature the SIM card slot and a microSD card slot under the battery, and that it will offer support for CDMA 1x, EV-DO, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS and HSPA.

Via [BGR]

The upcoming BlackBerry Thunder finally has a live shot, and while it does not cover all the internal specs, it does give us a good idea of what we have in store for us on the outside. Aside from the large touchscreen display, the Thunder has just about all the convenience (button-wise) as any current BlackBerry model. From the image we can see it has the standard send, end/power, menu and escape keys that you would expect. It also has a lock key in the upper left, a play/pause key on the upper right, as well as a left and right convenience key and external volume controls. It also clearly confirms that it will be headed to Verizon—at least initially. 3G iPhone who?

Via [BGR]

As announced earlier, Canadian wireless carrier Rogers Wireless has brought the LG Vu TU915 to our Canadian friends to play with. Users can either opt to get the phone with a 3-year contract for CA$279, with a 2-year contract for CA$329, with a 1-year contract for CA$379 or pay $429 and not have any service agreement.

Whichever they decide to choose, users will be treated with some pretty good features with the LG Vu TU915. These features include a 3-inch WQVGA touchscreen display with virtual QWERTY keyboard, 2-megapixel camera with auto focus, zoom, and brightness controls, music player with 4GB of storage, HTML browser and HSDPA network support. Of course, this is in addition to the ultra sleek and slim body design of the LG Vu TU915 which measures only 13mm in thickness.

And since it is released under Rogers, that means users would have access to Rogers MusicStore where they can play, purchase and manage their favorite digital music even while on the go.

Via [IntoMobile]

We have recently seen the images and those gave a nice look at what appears to be a cross between a slightly more grown up Treo and a Centro. Those images did also give us a nice side shot that showed what appeared to be an on/off switch for the Wi-Fi and these recently leaked specs are indeed highlighting Wi-Fi as a feature, something that has been long lacking with the Treo lineup. Of course as with any leaked specs, these are highly unconfirmed and come courtesy of a “good friend.”

With that said, the details are set to include the previously mentioned Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g along with GSM, EDGE and UMTS HSDPA 3.6 support, a 2-megapixel camera, assisted-GPS, a microSD card slot which sadly is located under the 1500 mAh battery, a micro-USB connector for both power and sync, Bluetooth 2.0 EDR + A2DP, 256MB NAND-Flash with about 175MB available for the user, 32MB SDRAM, a 320 x 320 touchscreen display and running Windows Mobile Professional 6.1.

The new Treo, which is the 850 is also codenamed the Skywriter. With a solid set of specs, this should make anyone looking for a new Treo happy, but aside from the addition of Wi-Fi it just may not be enough to convince current Treo users they need to upgrade. Still waiting on any information regarding pricing and availability.

Via [TamsPPC] Via [Gadgets On The Go] Image [BGR]

Samsung has just formalized its entry into the touchscreen mobile phone arena with the release of the SGH-F480, aka TouchWiz. This was the same phone that Samsung touted during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona not too long ago. And according to Samsung, the SGH-F480 is just the first in a series of touchscreen mobile phones that it plans to introduce in the market. But before we get all too excited about the SGH-F480, we ought to know that the phone will be available only to the European market upon release. Although Samsung promises to bring this as well to other countries.

Anyway, what does the SGH-F480 have in store for us aside from its touchscreen features? Design-wise, one can easily see from the press photo alone that this is very similar in design as the iPhone, except for the control buttons at the lower portion of its screen. Ignoring its iPhone-like external features, the SGH-F480 might be a good mobile phone after all. It features a 2.8-inch TFT LCD, 5-megapixel camera with auto focus, CMOS video lens, 250MB of internal memory with memory card slot for storage expansion of up to 8GB, 3G for high-speed internet connectivity, and an FM radio.

Via [Akihabara News]

Just yesterday we learned that we could expect the BlackBerry Bold to be available with AT&T in July and Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile following in September, now it looks like RIM will not be satisfied with just one hot new handset hitting the market.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the upcoming and still un-pictured full touchscreen BlackBerry Thunder will be hitting the market in Q3 2008, which would mean that it would be September at the latest. Assuming this time frame is accurate it would seem as if RIM really wanted to make a big statement and lasting impression on the mobile community. Now if we could just get some more details and a real image of the Thunder, because while the Photoshop mock-up from BGR is nice, its just that, a mockup.

Read [Wall Street Journal] Via [Gizmodo]

LG Korea has officially announced the LG KF600 aka “Bikini” phone with touchscreen features. This new phone will come in either the HSDPA model (LG-SH640/KH6400) or the Revision A model (LH6400). Now, before we get really excited as to what this new phone has got in its arsenal, you may notice its resemblance to the previously released LG Venus, that’s because this new phone is just an upgraded version.

Basically, the LG KF600 pretty much carries the same features as the Venus. It has the InteractPad which replaces the physical navigation keys with context-specific virtual keys. Plus a 3-megapixel camera with video recording, MP3 player, FM radio and Bluetooth.

Currently there is no information on whether the LG KF600 will be released internationally, and possibly to replace the current LG Venus. The Bikini retails between $478-$574 in the Korean market.

Via [Aving USA]