Filed under: Handsets, LG, GSM, EDGE

Announced during Mobile World Congress earlier this year, the LG KF510 is expected to be hitting retail late this month. Slated for release in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, it would seem the small touchscreen slider is taking everywhere but here by storm — an HSDPA-free storm we’d like to add. As a refresh, the KF510 packs a 3 megapixel camera, VibeTouch haptic feedback, comes in either Stardust Dark Gray or Sunset Red, and all packed in a 10.9 mm-thick metal housing. No mention on pricing and exact ship dates, though we’re sure your provider will be filling you in on those bits and bobs as soon as they have ‘em to hand out.

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Filed under: Handsets, RIM

The last we’d heard, the Indian government had ruled out the threat of a Blackberry ban if RIM didn’t allow it to snoop on messages, but it looks like some overzealous bureaucrat is getting his way after all: the Department of Telecom has issued a 15-day deadline for RIM to either open up for the G-men or get shut down. RIM says it won’t comment on regulatory issues as a matter of policy, but it looks like the Indian government is playing hardball, with Telecom Minister A Raja saying that national security will not be sacrificed at any cost. Hmm, hear that? That’s the sound of over 400,000 Indian Blackberry users desperately grabbing at their devices to get another swift fix — something tells us this isn’t going to end well.

[Via Cellpassion]

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Filed under: Handsets, RIM

The last we’d heard, the Indian government had ruled out the threat of a Blackberry ban if RIM didn’t grant it to snoop on messages, but it looks like some overzealous bureaucrat is getting his way after all: the Department of Telecom has issued a 15-day deadline for RIM to either open up for the G-men or get shut down. RIM states it won’t comment on regulatory issues as a matter of policy, but it looks like the Indian government is playing hardball, with Telecom Minister A Raja saying that national security will not be sacrificed at any cost. Hmm, hear that? That’s the sound of over 400,000 Indian Blackberry users desperately grabbing at their devices to get another swift fix — something tells us this isn’t going to end well.

[Via Cellpassion]

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Filed under: Handsets, Samsung

While Samsung is a perennial innovator when it comes to hardware, software has never been the company’s strong suit. Lucky for us, the new TouchWiz UI Samsung is building for its touchscreen phones is a significant step in the right direction, and the new AnyCall Haptic SCH-W420 looks to be the perfect way to show it off. Centered around a 16:9, 3.2-inch screen, the phone includes DMB, a 2 megapixel camera and Bluetooth 2.0. Haptic feedback in the form of vibrations help out with the UI, and home screen is customizable with widgets. The feature set seems to be squarely targeted at the consumer, but the price sure ain’t — the phone is launching in Korea starting at 700,000 KRW and ramping up to 800,000 KRW ($700 to $800 US). Video is after the break.

[Via Engadget Spanish]

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Filed under: Handsets, LG

Well lookie here, LG just announced a followup to its LH2300 Touch Web phone. This one’s for the twisty-fold clamshell fans — a design which makes it look positively Japanese superphone-like. In fact, we’re pretty sure it’s just the Casio W53CA with LG branding and new Hello UI for Korean consumption. Interesting given that Korea certainly isn’t lacking in mega-spec’d phones. Anyway, given the Exilim underpinnings it’s no surprise to find a 5.1 megapixel CMOS sensor, 28-mm lens, color correction, 9-point auto focus, and built-in anti-shake technology bunged into the backside. The LCD measures 2.8-inches (down from the LH2300’s 3-inch LCD) yet still manages the same 800 x 480 pixel resolution for DMB television and landscape or portrait web browsing. Inside the little 18.9-mm thin handset you’ll find 4GB NAND / 1GB SDRAM and microSD expansion for all your snaps and VGA / 30fps video. Coming to a 3G, CDMA network near you in April… just long as you live in South Korea or Japan.

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Filed under: Handsets, LG

Well lookie here, LG just announced a followup to its LH2300 Touch Web phone. This one’s for the twisty-fold clamshell fans — a design which makes it look positively Japanese superphone-like. In fact, we’re pretty sure it’s just the Casio W53CA with LG branding and new Hello UI for Korean consumption. Interesting given that Korea certainly isn’t lacking in mega-spec’d phones. Anyway, given the Exilim underpinnings it’s no surprise to find a 5.1 megapixel CMOS sensor, 28-mm lens, color correction, 9-point auto focus, and built-in anti-shake technology bunged into the backside. The LCD measures 2.8-inches (down from the LH2300’s 3-inch LCD) yet still manages the same 800 x 480 pixel resolution for DMB television and landscape or portrait web browsing. Inside the tiny 18.9-mm thin handset you’ll find 4GB NAND / 1GB SDRAM and microSD expansion for all your snaps and VGA / 30fps video. Coming to a 3G, CDMA network near you in April… just long as you live in South Korea or Japan.

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Filed under: Handsets, Samsung, CDMA

The Samsung SCH-r210 Spex is set to wow nobody at MetroPCS in the near future. MetroPCS isn’t coughing up any details, yet, but we’re hearing it packs dual-band CDMA plus 1700 MHz AWS, a 128 x 128 screen, and, ahh, text messaging. Obviously this handset is doomed for a shining spot on the near-free price schedule, though if you’re only looking for a handset that Grandma will appreciate, perhaps this’ll ring your bell. No word on release dates or prices, but we’ll likely hear more soon.

[Via PhoneScoop]

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Filed under: Handsets, Nokia, Symbian, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTS

Our sights are sort of irreparably set on the N78 and N96 at this point, but let’s not forget a killer handset out of Espoo that’s already launched, already available at retail, and holds its own in the technical arena: the N82. The 5 megapixel Nseries badass offers a candybar substitute to the N95, thanks to a 5 megapixel autofocus camera that’s ready to take the place of your average point-and-shoot — and the xenon flash actually one-ups the N95’s weakling LED unit. We really liked the original pearlescent white when we saw it in the flesh with our very own eyes, but if you simply must have something just a tiny meaner looking, think about this: black. Yep, the N82’s been relaunched in a rather menacing gloss black, and even better, it comes preloaded with the model’s latest firmware that offers photo geotagging out of the box thanks to the phone’s integrated GPS receiver. Grab it now for €400 (about $618).

[Via MobileBurn]

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Filed under: Handsets, Others, Windows Mobile, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTS

It certainly didn’t take very long for the apple to fall a long, long way from the tree. Just a handful of months after completing its spinoff from parent O2, MWg has started taking to rebranding existing handsets — in this case, a pair of UBiQUiOs. The QWERTY duo both run Windows Mobile 6 Professional, with the 501 model featuring a 200MHz OMAP750, 2 megapixel camera, and WiFi to get the bits flowing when the GPRS radio won’t do. The higher-end 503g (pictured), meanwhile, upgrades to triband 3.6Mbps HSDPA and swaps out the TI core for a 520MHz XScale. Not bad, we guess, but we liked the old days when these guys commissioned their own handsets from the ODMs — how are they supposed to stand out when they’re just slapping a silkscreened logo on a device that’s already in the marketplace?

[Via Cellpassion]

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Filed under: Handsets, RIM, Sprint, EV-DO, CDMA

After seeing how the Pearl developed from the 8100 into the 8130, we can only guess that RIM must get some sick kick out of playing its GSM and CDMA customers off against one another. Come on, you just know Sprint and Verizon were probably beating down RIM’s door the second the Curve was announced for GSM carriers across the lands, and if we had to guess, there’s probably been a mad rush on the part of said carriers to get the so-called 8330 into their labs, approved, and onto shelves as quickly as possible following its development. Right now it’s looking like Sprint would like (emphasis on “like”) to have the Curve available in all retail channels on the 20th of April, according to a release document being floated over at Boy Genius Report. Our hearts have been broken too many times to count on that date, but by golly, we’re hoping.

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