Filed under: Handsets, Motorola, Verizon Wireless, EV-DO, CDMA

If there’s one thing Motorola knows how to do, it knows how to make rugged push-to-talk phones. With eons of iDEN experience under its belt, it’s hard to argue Moto doesn’t have the right stuff in that department. As iDEN makes room in the PTT limelight for EV-DO-based systems, it was starting to look like the durability of the devices was going to take a hit in favor of fashion, but the V750 looks ready to buck the trend. Previous press shots we saw didn’t really do a very good job of conveying the upcoming Verizon device’s rugged nature, but from freshly leaked promo materials, we see that it’ll meet military specifications for shock, vibration, sun exposure, temperature, altitude, and dust. That’s quite a list, and it’s a massive ol’ heap of peace of mind for a good many Nextel customers planning on making the leap.

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Apple recently filed two patents that show how they plan to use the iPhone’s wireless technologies to solve two each day problems: dropped calls and lost keys. They way they’re going to handle dropped calls seems pretty complicated (to me anyway), but its end result is simple. If you’re about to lose your Wi-Fi connection or […]

Apple recently filed two patents that show how they plan to use the iPhone’s wireless technologies to solve two each day problems: dropped calls and lost keys.

They way they’re going to handle dropped calls seems pretty complicated (to me anyway), but its end result is easy. If you’re about to lose your Wi-Fi connection or drop a call, it will alert you so that you can make corrective measures if you select.

Apple also wants to use Bluetooth technology to help you find lost items. Just like with cordless phones, if you lose your headset, you press a button on the iPhone and the lost item will begin to flash and make noise. They plan to sell accessories with this feature built-in and they also plan to sell a tiny Bluetooth device that could be attached to nearly anything, like your car keys or dog.

Via [crunchgear]

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Filed under: Handsets, LG, Vodafone, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTS

Alright, Vodafone’s making this too easy: going to its link for the LG Secret is currently producing a “Sorry, we could not find the product requested” error, which only serves to reinforce the phone’s stealthy name. We’re figuring they’re just working out a few technical details on their end, but at any rate, LG’s fashionable 5 megapixel slider should now be available from Voda retailers in the UK, offering a 2.4 inch scratch-resistant display, carbon fiber shell, HSDPA, and all the other spoils that go with being a high-end device these days. It clocks in at just 11.8mm to boot, which should be slim enough to make it a secret in your pocket, too. Looks like the carrier’s selling it for anywhere from free to £250 (about $491) depending on the plan you choose, so cost shouldn’t be a concern (upfront cost, anyway) if you absolutely must have this one.

[Via MobileBurn]

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Via Engadgetmobile

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Filed under: Handsets, Motorola, GSM, EDGE

So wait a second, let us make sure we’ve this right: buzz has been building for many months around this supposed Motorola superphone — the ZN5, ZINE, or whatever it’s called — with the hope that it could be just the phone to bring Moto back from the brink. The darned thing’s clearly been in the labs for ages, so they’ve got to be doing something extraordinary back in there, right? Eh, not so much. First of all, it tops out with EDGE data as expected, which is utterly inexcusable for a device in this class. Granted, it’s got WiFi, but we would’ve expected these guys to spend the few extra bucks, upgrade the chipset, and get MOTOMAGX freaking working with HSDPA. But wait, we haven’t even gotten to the best part: that 5 megapixel camera back there? Yeah, no autofocus. Extraordinary. Hop on over to Boy Genius Report for some more photos of a phone we’ll never be owning.

Update: Whoa, yeah, the ZN5 is supposed to be a candybar. Is this the slider equivalent?

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Via Engadgetmobile

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Filed under: Handsets

Remember that U800 we peeked in the middle of last month? Turns out, that very mobile is the one pictured above, though it now has an official moniker to round things off. In an attempt to migrate the Spirit of Soul (Samsung’s words, not ours) to the candybar design, the Soulb was born. The handset checks in at 9.9-millimeters thick and features a 3-megapixel camera (with Power LED flash), document viewer / editor, web browser, multimedia player, Bluetooth 2.0, FM radio (with RDS support), 1GB of internal memory and a microSD slot just in case. It’s also noted that the Soulb will be available in Soul Grey, Platinum Silver, Metallic Black, Soul Pink and Amethyst Violet for an undisclosed price, but things aren’t looking too swell for North Americans. Germans will get first dibs when it lands in “early June,” while just about every region save for NA gets it shortly thereafter.

[Via phoneArena]

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Attention Men of NYC- It’s Thursday, Might 29, 2008, and that unfortunately means tonight is the premiere of the “Sex and the City” motion picture. Your significant other has undoubtedly begun harassing you about it and she probably already bought tickets for it. If your lady friend really knew you or even liked you, she’d probably be […]

Attention Men of NYC-

It’s Thursday, Might 29, 2008, and that unfortunately means tonight is the premiere of the “Sex and the City” movie. Your significant other has undoubtedly begun harassing you about it and she probably already bought tickets for it. If your lady friend really knew you or even liked you, she’d probably be going with her pack of rabid girlfriends, but she really wants you to suffer, so you’re SOL. Luckily for all of us a couple Geek Squad agents went on some tour here in Manhattan that covers everything and anything SATC and what they learned should help you come up with an excuse to get out of going. They’ll even be at the premiere in Times Square tonight to help you lowly saps get out of seeing that wretched extended episode they’re calling a movie. Here are a few excuses to help save your life and a profile of each character so you can at least follow along if the lil lady has your jewels in a vise. But if that’s the case then you probably want to watch the motion picture, anyway.

Via [crunchgear]

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How to remove a magsafe power connector safely from a macbook

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Filed under: Handsets, Sony Ericsson, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTS

Hey, their catchphrase, not ours! Canada’s Fido has gone public with Sony Ericsson’s latest midrange 3G clam for North America — the latest released one, anyway — and they’re celebrating the occasion with a nice tiny package deal. Purchasers of the Z750i are entitled to a free Sony Ericsson Bluetooth headset — though it’ll take a three-year contract to win you the freebie, and we’re pretty sure Bluetooth will have been succeeded by at least three or four technologies during that eon. Meanwhile, your children, their kids, and their children will have all been born, man will have set foot on Pluto, and RAZR V3s will still be sold on carriers the world over. We digress, though; you can pick it up for $100 CAD (about $101) now on that three-year plan with a data package included. Silver appears to be the only color available at the moment, though we wouldn’t be surprised to see that palette expand in the near future.

[Via MobileSyrup]

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Via Engadgetmobile

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Microsoft seems to think the future of the computer doesn’t lie in traditional keyboards but in gesture-based controls, such as those used on the iPhone and its own Surface device. And the next version of Windows, for now just called Windows 7 or Vienna, will have much touchscreen and gesture support built in. While we’re still […]

Microsoft seems to think the future of the computer doesn’t lie in traditional keyboards but in gesture-based controls, such as those used on the iPhone and its own Surface device. And the next version of Windows, for now just called Windows 7 or Vienna, will have much touchscreen and gesture support built in.

While we’re still a few years away from all having Surfaces in our homes, Microsoft recently showed off a new, cheaper application of gesture control that could be integrated into monitors or laptops fairly easily. Is this what Microsoft wants to do? You bet. Microsoft knows that gesture-based input is hot, as iPhone’s popularity shows, and the surface and touch wall devices, when coupled with Windows 7, could change the way we use personal. If it works.

Via [crunchgear]

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Filed under: Handsets, ATT

A reader was sent a rather revealing “consumer survey” this week, and though the carrier (or manufacturer) responsible for commissioning it wasn’t revealed, we’re thinking AT&T might have been behind this one. Why’s that? Well, several phones — most real, one rendered — were shown during the course of the survey, and one of the devices was an AT&T-branded Pantech QWERTY slider that we’ve straight up never seen before, so unless there’s some funny business going on, no other carrier should have access to that intel. In fact, the whole survey was focused on text messaging and text-centric, QWERTY handsets, asking questions about what sorts of form factors and features customers would like to see to improve their messaging experience. Also pictured were a Sidekick Slide (presumably for comparison’s sake), a Samsung QWERTY slider sporting looks similar to the i620 and i640 (minus Windows Mobile, seemingly), and a rendered, unbranded device touting a gargantuan display and a number of available colors. The reader was asked what name they thought ideal suited this particular phone, and the choices were “Blaze,” “Quickfire,” and “Reveal.” Needless to state, we’re not so sure how we feel about putting an “AT&T Blaze” in our pockets — but if it happens, at least we know who to blame.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

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Via Engadgetmobile

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