Archive for August, 2008
You may not be able to afford it, but you’ll probably still want to know that TAG Heuer’s Meridiist phone is now available at London store Selfridges. 3,300 Euros will get you a phone that has been meticulously built by hand, an external steel case complete with a leather trim back cover, 1.9-inch QVGA display, 2 megapixel camera and Bluetooth. The phone will be available in 15 other countries throughout the world before we greet 2009.
Documents made public by the FCC today show a version of Nokia’s 6650 clamshell 3G smartphone sporting an AT&T logo. The 6650, announced overseas in March, sports a stainless steel cover, HSDPA data, GPS, 2 megapixel camera, QVGA display, and memory card slot. The smartphone runs the latest version of S60: 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2. The version announced in March supported WCDMA 850/2100, for use in Europe, Asia, and Australia. The version just approved by the FCC supports WCDMA 850/1900 instead.
One of the most annoying things that can happen when you’re out and about is to run out of phone battery, and there’s very rarely a plug socket around you can hook your charger up to.
It is these times that this little gadget was created for. It might look like a pen, but actually, open it up, pop one AA battery in and it becomes a portable charger that can charge your phone for up to 100 minutes - no mains power required.
That will give you around 20 hours of standby time or two hours of talk time, depending on your handset.
It comes with five different adapters for various mobile phones, such as Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson. And the finishing touch? Put the pen back together, and it actually works as a pen. Marvellous - how very James Bond.
BlueAnt has announced its V1 Bluetooth headset billed as the world’s first voice controlled headset. The headset is the first to use the new Bluetooth 2.1 specification and it utilizes BlueGenie Voice Interface and BlueAnt Voice Isolation Technology.
The V1 can respond to voice commands like "Pair Me," "Redial", "Call back," "Answer/ignore Call," and more. The headset also understands the "What Can I Say" command and will list the voice commands it responds to.
The headset can pair with up to eight devices, comes with foam tips and different sized ear gels, weighs less than .35 ounces, and has up to 5 hours talk time or 200 hours on standby. The headset retails for $129.95.
Nokia, the leading handset maker, has been a favorite of ours for two reasons –- it ruthlessly promoted and added Wi-Fi connectivity to its handsets and added VoIP functionality to its devices.
Carriers did not view these technology developments too kindly since it prevented them from extorting exorbitant amounts of cash for costly long distance connections, leading to the rise of mobile-VoIP players such as Truphone, Fring and Gizmo Project.
But now the Finnish giant seems to have developed cold feet, and some of its new handsets, such as the new N78, are not VoIP compatible anymore. Many of these new phones are not on the list of Nokia’s VoIP compatible handsets. It is not clear how the older phones are going to be impacted. A reader tipped us off about this apparent change in the latest N-series phones.
Sky has just introduced this morning in Korea its latest HSDPA slidephone, the IM-S370. We’ll have a nice phone with 2.6-Inch WQVGA screen, 1.3MegaPix Camera (slightly light), micro SD port, Multimedia player, GPS, T-Map, Bluetooth, FM Radio, M-Banking … As usually, it’s only available for our Korean friends, too bad…
If you were thinking this post is about some kind of lazy/technological way to smoke cigarettes without the use of your hands, you’d be wrong (but wouldn’t that be great). It’s actually about a headset shaped and decorated like a packet of Marlboro Reds. One for the smokers me thinks. It seems unlikely any non-smoker would willingly walk around promoting the wonderful I mean unhealthy habit that is puffing on a cigarette.
Apple stores nationwide are now stocking the Aliph Jawbone 2 Bluetooth headset. This follow-up to the original Jawbone offers a smaller, slimmer design, and is available in several different colors.
The Aliph Jawbone 2 uses patented NoiseAssassin technology, which is designed to block outside noise and only carry your voice through to the other person. This is especially useful in loud situations such as the airport or a busy shopping mall.
The Aliph Jawbone 2 is available today in Apple’s retail stores and online through Apple’s website, priced at $129.95.
Verizon Wireless and LG today added the cool looking LG Voyager Titanium phone into their portfolio of touch-screen phones. The Titanium Voyager doesn’t bring too many new things when compared to the old black one (which, by the way, is now out of stock). The main difference (besides the color) is that the new Voyager comes with Verizon’s Visual Voice Mail and V CAST Music with Rhapsody services pre-installed. “Boasting the same stylish dual-screen design and features of its predecessor in black, the Voyager in Titanium has a lustrous titanium finish and also supports two of the hottest services from Verizon Wireless - V CAST Music with Rhapsody and Visual Voice Mail”.
Verizon Wireless customers can access a library of more than 5 million songs with V CAST Music with Rhapsody, purchase full songs over-the-air and download the master copy of the songs to their PCs free of digital rights management software. Customers can also sync favorite tracks, albums and playlists from their PCs to their Titanium Voyagers using the included USB cable. Also, it looks as if Verizon has dropped the Visual Voice Mail subscription price to $2.99 a month per line. Visual Voice Mail allows customers to better manage their messages on their new Voyagers. Customers can delete, reply and forward voice mail messages without having to listen to prior messages or voice instructions. Visual Voice Mail is the ideal tool for the busy mobile professional who may need to prioritize which messages he or she listens to first. This is good, but we still would much rather Verizon offer the visual voice mail without a monthly fee at all. The LG Voyager in Titanium is available at the same price for $149.99 after a $50 rebate and a new two-year contract.
GN has launched the Jabra BT2050 Bluetooth headset with a simple design - and simple price tag of £20.
With the design centred around an "elegant" silver disk, the BT2050 offers two wearing styles - with or without earhook - and comes in two sizes.
Offering automatic pairing, call ending by touching the disk and up to 4 hours talk time, the features are as light as its 8 gram weight.
Measuring just over 4cm in length, the BT2050 is available now from O2 stores across the country priced at approximately £19.99.