Remember the whole “Apple iTV” rumor that’s been circulating for the last 3-4 years? Well, there was an equally mythical Facebook phone rumor going around for about 2 years now and today, it became reality but not like you’d expect.
While highly unlikely, Isaac Royo’s iPhone 5 concept is interesting and while many might love the 360 speaker grill – I think Mr. Ive might not be down with it and Steve would have said: ” Isaac, you blew it!”
nTelos, a US regional carrier operating in: “Virginia, West Virginia, and portions of Maryland, Ohio, Kentucky, and North Carolina. nTelos Wireless began acquiring PCS spectrum in western Virginia and West Virginia in 1995 and began operations in Virginia in 1997 and in West Virginia in 1998…” operating on PCS CDMA network, has just got the iPhone (iPhone 4 & iPhone 4S).
The ASUS PadFone is an incredible 4.3″ smartphone featuring a Super AMOLED qHD display, the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.5Ghz dual core processor and an ultra-sharp 8 megapixel digital camera, all wrapped in an exquisite design optimized for AndroidTM 4.0. When placed inside the optional PadFone Station, it transforms into a 10.1″ tablet with five times the battery life.
Source: Tumblr
The Sony Xperia S is a much anticipated return to classic Sony Design and with the lack of “Ericsson” on the branding, it looks like Sony has turned over a new leaf. While the European Xperia S is the step brother to the American Xperia Ion, their similarities stop there and it looks like the Xperia S sports some breathtaking design – including the transparent stripe at the botton, revealing the radio antenna.
But let’s put beauty aside and talk about specs and how the Xperia S stacks up against other Android handsets – specifically if it is running ICS – Specs: 720p Zero-Air-Gap Display, 4.3-inch Chassis, 1.5GHz Dual-Core CPU, 12-Megapixel Rear Camera, Android 2.3 Gingerbread-Update To Ice Cream Sandwich, PlayStation certification – Full Specs Here. All in all, this phone is a strong showing for a Post-Ericsson Sony and a welcomed return to a company that has brought us so many great consumer electronic devices. Check out the hipster video below for more fun:
Source: Sony
After years and years of talk and few prototypes, Intel has finally come through on their promise of a smartphone chipset……well, Lenovo did it for them. Yesterday at CES 2012 in Las Vegas, Intel and Lenovo released the K800 (very imaginative name) built on Intel’s Midfield architecture. So what does this get you, besides a ridiculously skinned version of Android 4.0?:
- 1.6GHz Intel processor
- 4.5-inch 720p HD TFT
- 8-megapixel camera
- WCDMA HSPA+ 21Mbps
- 802.11n Wi-Fi
- Bluetooth 3.0
- GPS
- WiDi
While the K800 has a very obelisk look to it and it’s surprisingly thick shape isn’t exactly the best looking on the market – this is Intel’s inroad into the mobile phone processor market: Lenovo’s senior vice president and president of Mobile Internet said:
…the K800 smartphone will be available in China in the second quarter and will run on China Unicom’s 21Mbs network. The smartphone features the low-power Intel® Atom™ processor Z2460 with Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology, support for HSPA+ with the Intel® XMM™ 6260 Platform, and the Lenovo LeOS user interface for a localized experience in China…
So no European nor American showing for this year but we don’t know what else Intel has in store…..besides parading Will.I.AM all over the world on his crazy 12 city Ultra Book Tour. Shame on you Intel and someone save Will.I.AM before I see a fu#$ing “Will.I.AM Inside” processor sticker on some low budget laptop.
Source: Intel
Microsoft and Nokia are taking CES 2012 and America by storm – specifically with the Nokia Lumia 900. Nokia’s new handset is set to sell (AT&T) the 900 in the states, sporting Windows Phone 7.5 Mango. Possibly Nokia’s best handset in years, the 900 is going to be one of the best LTE devices on AT&T and their emerging LTE market. Here are the specs:
Source: Nokia
People like smartphones! Young adults love em’! This week, Nielsens released some interesting numbers…..if by interesting I mean “not surprising!” Before showing you the numbers, I think it’s fair to state that if given the choice, people would want a new/powerful/web connected phone rather than a neon blue flip phone with Snake. Ok, let’s have a look:
“…while only 43 percent of all US mobile phone subscribers own a smartphone, a mobile phone with a powerful operating system, the vast majority of those under the age of 44 now have smartphones. In fact, 62 percent of mobile adults aged 25-34 report owning smartphones…”
The greatest age of adoption is from the original “Internet Age” generation” or as the article has called them – “Generation App.” People in their 30′s grew up as computers became main stream and people in the 20′s experienced the Internet’s complet take over of our society. It’s only logical that Nielsen’s numbers would then in-turn, point to a mass adoption of high tech gadgets (Smartphones) by these very people.
Also, not so shocking is the stranglehold that Android holds on the operation system marketshare (43% in the US) and Apple’s dominance in terms of manufacturer (28% US). Google and Apple are involved in essentially a two horse race for complete saturation of the American smartphone market, with Rimm, Samsung and others left for the scraps.
Source: Nielsen
The boys/girls over at 9To5 Mac are running a very interesting story concerning the iPhone 5 and it seems the rumor mill is starting to heat up, ahead of the upcoming release of Apple’s next gen handset. We have heard chatter about Apple moving away from the gorilla glass back panel for the iphone 5 and instead, using an aluminum backing – somewhat like the 1st gen iphone. The mockup picture above is a possible example at that metal rear piece. Moving back to the aluminum backing would solve the shatter issues some people were experiencing and strengthening the overall body of the phone but would reception suffer? I would think that with all the fuss over the iphone and antena reception issues, Apple would be sure to test the hell out of the phone, before bringing it to market.
Secondly, there is talk of a bigger screen, so a move away from the current 3.5in display and maybe closer to a 4 or 4.3 inch display. From the reports and rumors we’ve heard, the magic number seems to be 4inches – with the overall body style staying the same except for the display being edge to edge glass. I wouldn’t think Apple would change the resolution, as the current iPhone’s 960 x 640 display is the market leader is quality.
Thirdly, we expect Jobs & Co to drop that beautiful A5 chip, used in the iPad 2, inside the iPhone 5 – dual core (900Mhz) and 9x better graphics than the current generation iPhone. Of course, we will need a new OS as well and I’m guessing we’ll have chance to feast on iOS 5.0 during the June launch of the iPhone 5 – next stop, neural interface!
Source: 9To5Mac.com
Now that the honeymoon is over and the dust has settled around Nokisoft’s Mobile World Congress love affair, some interesting information is coming to light, especially from Bloomberg. I do have to warn you, the details are coming from: “two people with knowledge of the terms….” That aside, here are the details: Microsoft will pay Nokia $1 Billion greenbacks so that Nokia’s phone hardware have WM7 as their OS but then, Nokia will pay Microsoft a licensing fee for each handset “used”. So why the give and take? Well, essentially Microsoft wanted Android off Nokia hardware and the cash upfront deal was a sure-fire way of ensuring that Google got bounced and that, once the agreement is over, Microsoft recoups some of that cash pile back. I still believe that Nokia will get eaten up by Microsoft within the next 3 years – but here’s to this dysfunctional relationship…..I don’t want to see any police cars at the trailer park!
Source: BGR.com
It’s still early but that hasn’t stopped the die-hard photoshop geeks from putting together mock-ups of the so called iPhone 4 Nano. The image above was posted on 9 To 5 Mac and if anything Apple is planning comes close to his, they’re going to sell a crap-load! Especially if they can sell it for $199 off contract, 8GB Storage, 3G with front/back cameras – lights out! This is the device Apple needs to concentrate on, to push into the low end range market – where Android is absolutely killing them. Make it happen Jobs. NEXT!!
Source: 9To5Mac.com
Bigfoot, Aliens….Xperia! The Sony Ericsson Xperia is the most leaked mobile device in history and Engadget had it on stage, no more than 2 weeks ago. Anyway, let’s do this: At its core, a 1Ghz Snapdragon processor – Android 2.3 – 4-inch 480×854 display – Dual cameras (5 megapixel rear) 512MB of RAM and the all important slide down D-Pad and controls.
Build quality is a must. The slide out controls need to withstand abuse – come on, you’ve seen what kids do to these things! Release is this spring and pricing is not available but we do know that Verizon will be the official carrier. What does that mean? Well, we can guess that they’ll charge extra for every single thing you’ll wanna do on the phone. My guess, it’ll be over priced for the demographic it needs to hit. NEXT!!
Source: Sonyericsson.com
This week’s Hp event over-shadowed, if only for a minute, an even larger story: The Strategic Alliance of Nokia & Microsoft. The full scoop of their union is unclear but what we do know is that Nokia has adopted Windows Phone 7 OS, while Nokia will most likely take over hardware builds for future “NokiSoft” phones.
As for Nokia’s OS ecosystem, well…..Symbian is no more. It has gone the way of the DoDo and Palm. Meego’s future is still unclear and what makes it even more complex is that it was birthed by multiple partners, including Intel. That said, maybe the combined forces of Nokia+Micosoft+Intel (NokSoftTel) can do battle against Apple and Android. Let the holy war begin!
The Future: Nokia also stated that 2011 and 2012 will be transition years for the company, which will include cuts in R&D, Jobs and waste. There was even some chatter about moving HQ to Silicon Valley but that is still in rumor form. What we are seeing in the union of Hp/Palm and now Nokia/Microsoft is the bridging of traditional (bellwethers) companies in order for them to enter the mobile space (future). You see the massive mistakes theses multi-billion dollar companies made in not projecting for the future, for not seeing the signs/trends and now, they are essentially buying themselves back in. NEXT!!
Side Note: Google’s Respond To The Above news, In Tweet Form: “Two turkeys don’t make an eagle.”
Source: ArsTechnica.com
Palm is no more…at least in Hp’s Eyes. Yesterday’s media even was a full Hp mobile event, releasing phones (Veer & Pre3) and a tablet (TouchPad) all with Hp branding. Jon Rubinstein did most of the MC’g during the event, making references to Hp’s vast empire and long hardware reach – after about 5 minutes, it was as if Palm never even existed. Now’s no time to get emotional – let’s talk about the good and bad…..
UPDATE: HP Event Video Added After The Break
The EU is pushing ahead with it desired plans for all phone chargers to be micro-usb by the end of 2011 – that means all OEMs – yes even Apple. To be honest, most manufacturers have switched over to micro usb already and out of the original signing companies to the pack, only a hand full have not switched….and they might not as micro usb adaptors are allowed under the agreement. Want more, check out the press release and creepy video.
Source: Europa.eu via Engadget.com
Apple’s newly granted patent could turn out to be the best thing to happen to wireless consumers since…..wireless. The patent addresses a kind of bidding process for wireless carriers, when approached by customers or potential customers. Essentially, a potential iphone user would use Apple’s mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) system to have multiple carriers bid on what plans they could or couldn’t not give that customer. Sounds great, as the eventual outcome would be much lower prices for customers and less power in the hands of monopolistic wireless carriers.
That said, what are the chances global wireless carriers sign up for this deal, especially if all the billing and charges are done by Apple through itunes? This will only happen if Apple’s mobile hardware continues to be in such high desire, that carriers will sacrifice traditional means and give in to Apple’s plans.
Remember the embedded SIM card idea Apple was throwing around? Might be part of the MVNO system, as the actual embedded SIM is programable and could be activated across multiple carriers without additional hardware (SIM). NEXT!!
Source: Appleinsider.com
A young boy from Milan, Italy fell off the waiting platform and on to the subway rails, distracted by his handheld device. It can be clearly seen in the video above that the boy was so engrossed in his gameplay, that he wonders right off the platform. Luckily for him, an off duty police officer jumped down to where he fell and lifted him to safety – thank God no train was due to arrive. We’ve seen the same thing with mobile phones (Below) and obviously this points out the real dangers of driving while using mobile devices, if walking is too difficult. NEXT!!
Source: Engadget.com
Want a hit commercial to launch a hot new product, it’s best to go with the whole dirty-back-alley-medical center theme. It’s my fav!! It looks like the new Xperia commercial is trying to get across that you’ll need actual human thumb to play – got mine right here but if I didn’t, I’d for sure ask the guy in the video for help. NEXT!!
Source: YouTube.com
You know “Incase”? If you have an Apple mobile device, chances are you’ve come across the California based case/accessories comapnay. They subscribe to something I deeply respect: aesthetics : and their latest iPhone 4 case is no exception. Named “The Ping Pong Cover” this union of utility + beauty is a symbol of hope among the phone sock and gel cases that line the shelves of most electronic box stores. Let this be a warning world, all cases are not created equal.
Source: Goincase.com
First up – Great get Engadget!! You guys are the best. Above, ladies and gentlemen, is the mythical playstation phone in all its “sneak peek” glory. While Sony ericsson didn’t go with the actual name “Playstation Phone” (most likely licensing issues) the phone has been branded with the “Xperia” name, following in the footsteps of the X10. The Play and the X10 share more than just names, as some of their specs are identical, which could be a good thing or a bad thing. Here is the break down:
854×480 – multitouch LCD screen
Gingerbread (Android 2.3)
Single-core processor that clocks anywhere from 122.88MHz to 1GHz
Adreno 205 GPU
512MB of RAM
1500 mAh battery
While the above specs don’t scream next gen phone, they are promising as Sony Ericsson will try to hit a great price point to increase possible saturation. You want more, Richard Lai’s article over at Engadget has it all – Check it out. NEXT!!
Source: Engadget
Facetime is great but not everyone has an iOS device, so really it’s not that great when you wanna call someone. Now Skype has more than 500 million users worldwide, so chances are your friends use it or can get it but how about video calls? The detectives over at Engadget stumbled across a help document titled, “How do I make video calls with Skype on iPhone?” Well, can’t be more clear than that and the world on the street is that this feature might show up during CES 2011 – possibly across Android, WM7 and others. Source Engadget
NEXT!!