BIC Phone Is No Throw-Away Gadget

Bic is an awesome gadget company. I’ve been using their quality ball-point pens and even a disposable razor or two for years. I’m not quite sure if I can trust them yet when it comes to anything too technological. I mean, they don’t really have a reputation as a tech company. But luckily, with this dip in the mobile market pie, Bic has a little help from their friends.

Bic has teamed up with Orange France to release the first ever Bic Phone, a cell which is sold with a pre-charged battery and made to be thrown away after a chunk of usage. The Bic Phone comes with a SIM card already set-up and roaring to go, with activation being the only needed step. Each Bic Phone will also offer 60 minutes of free talk time. But you can always add more minutes if you’re so inclined.

Bic is an awesome gadget company. I’ve been using their quality ball-point pens and even a disposable razor or two for years. I’m not quite sure if I can trust them yet when it comes to anything too technological. I mean, they don’t really have a reputation as a tech company. But luckily, with this dip in the mobile market pie, Bic has a little help from their friends.

Bic has teamed up with Orange France to release the first ever Bic Phone, a cell which is sold with a pre-charged battery and made to be thrown away after a chunk of usage. The Bic Phone comes with a SIM card already set-up and roaring to go, with activation being the only needed step. Each Bic Phone will also offer 60 minutes of free talk time. But you can always add more minutes if you’re so inclined.


Don’t be turned away so easy. We don’t want you to worry that Bic hasn’t had any help along the way with hardware. As it turns out, Alcatel manufacturers the phones themselves, with the telephone number included in the packaging. So while it might be an extremely low-end phone (it’s made for strictly calls and texting only), at least Bic has a known hardware co-dependent backing them up.

The Bic Phone will be available in France starting August 7. There will be two color choices: Citrus Orange and Lime Green. The phone itself will cost €49 (£39/$80). It’ll be interesting to see how the disposable phone idea works, especially from a name not associated with the mobile industry at all up until now.

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New 3G Apple iPhone

GADGET fans queued from the early hours in the city centre this morning to be sure of getting their hands on the new 3G Apple iPhone.

Rumours of limited supplies meant dozens were happy to wait in the rain outside O2 and Carphone Warehouse stores for the chance of being one of the first with the new technology.

The new version of the iPhone has faster download speeds for surfing websites, as well as more memory and extra applications like GPS.

And the proud owner of the first iPhone in Manchester was 34-year-old IT manager Darren Sellers, who waited outside the Market Street O2 store from 4.45am.

He said: “We have all been talking about it at work. Lots of people have been waiting for the 3G version.

“I am out here queuing because I tried to pre order one online but I wasn’t quick enough.

“I will use it for email and surfing the web.

“It can also tell me instantly if any systems go down at work.”

Also in the queue was 36 year old holiday company director John Pollard, from Prestwich.

GADGET fans queued from the early hours in the city centre this morning to be sure of getting their hands on the new 3G Apple iPhone.

Rumours of limited supplies meant dozens were happy to wait in the rain outside O2 and Carphone Warehouse stores for the chance of being one of the first with the new technology.

The new version of the iPhone has faster download speeds for surfing websites, as well as more memory and extra applications like GPS.

And the proud owner of the first iPhone in Manchester was 34-year-old IT manager Darren Sellers, who waited outside the Market Street O2 store from 4.45am.

He said: “We have all been talking about it at work. Lots of people have been waiting for the 3G version.

“I am out here queuing because I tried to pre order one online but I wasn’t quick enough.

“I will use it for email and surfing the web.

“It can also tell me instantly if any systems go down at work.”

Also in the queue was 36 year old holiday company director John Pollard, from Prestwich.

He said: “I go all over the world with my job and I need access to the internet and email.

“I already have an iPhone, but with 3G version the internet will run three or four times faster so I won’t need to travel with my lap top.”

But with queues of up to 50 people at each store, and rumours that there might not be enough iPhones to go around, it looked likely that some would be leaving disappointed.

An O2 spokesman said: “We havn’t got specific numbers for each store, but on average each one is getting a few dozen.

“There will be numerous restocks in the coming weeks.”

Sarah Henderson, a 44-year-old company director from Rochdale, said: “I wasn’t going to queue but I heard that they only had 30 in the shop.

“I have been here since 7am.”

It costs anywhere from £159 with a £30 a month contract for 18 months, to free if you sign up for a £75 monthly fee.

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CECT N96 almost a Nokia

Talk about a blatant rip off - CECT isn't new to the phone clone scene, and here they are with yet another rip-off, this time taking on the form factor of the Nokia N96. Surprisingly, it looks extremely close to the real thing, and will feature the following specifications :-

* Tri-Band 900/1800/1900MHZz
* 2 megapixel camera
* Bluetooth stereo connectivity
* Dual 3D stereo speakers

Talk about a blatant rip off - CECT isn't new to the phone clone scene, and here they are with yet another rip-off, this time taking on the form factor of the Nokia N96. Surprisingly, it looks extremely close to the real thing, and will feature the following specifications :-

* Tri-Band 900/1800/1900MHZz
* 2 megapixel camera
* Bluetooth stereo connectivity
* Dual 3D stereo speakers
* 3" 262k color LCD display
* Video and audio playback
* microSD memory card slot

Definitely won't be able to hold a candle to the real Nokia N96 in terms of specifications, as you can see above

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Palm Treo 800w caught with its keys showing

This little bundle of plain-vanilla familiarity is seemingly the first live picture of Palm's upcoming Treo 800w for CDMA networks, known internally as the Zeppelin -- you know, the obsolete airships that had a tendency to spontaneously combust. Specs on this one are starting to shore up, with Windows Mobile 6.1, EV-DO Rev.

This little bundle of plain-vanilla familiarity is seemingly the first live picture of Palm's upcoming Treo 800w for CDMA networks, known internally as the Zeppelin -- you know, the obsolete airships that had a tendency to spontaneously combust. Specs on this one are starting to shore up, with Windows Mobile 6.1, EV-DO Rev. A, GPS, a 320 x 320 touchscreen (still novel by classic WinMo standards) and a typical Treo look and feel that doesn't diverge terribly much from Palm's tried, true, and well-worn formula. Sprint's looking solid to pick it up come late July, but with those HTCs around the corner, just how much love at the register is this thing gonna get?

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Helio Mysto Review: Slick Slider Doesn’t Do Photos or Video Well

A follow-up to Helio's excellent Drift handset, this svelte cell retains its predecessor's capable built-in CPS radio, robust software bundle, and slim profile. Just don’t expect much from this phones camera or its video playback abilities.

Weighing just 3.3 ounces, the Mysto is light and compact. Sliding the screen upward reveals a well-spaced, comfortable numeric keypad. Like all Helio phones, the Mysto works over Sprint's voice network. Call quality was fine, but I ran into some audio dropouts in testing. The handset supports fast 3G networks, which is a big help when you are surfing or streaming video

Unfortunately, video looks awful. Even though I could watch an MPEG-4 version of Casino Royale in its native 320-by-240 resolution, it played at an unacceptable 2 frames per second.

A follow-up to Helio's excellent Drift handset, this svelte cell retains its predecessor's capable built-in CPS radio, robust software bundle, and slim profile. Just don’t expect much from this phones camera or its video playback abilities.

Weighing just 3.3 ounces, the Mysto is light and compact. Sliding the screen upward reveals a well-spaced, comfortable numeric keypad. Like all Helio phones, the Mysto works over Sprint's voice network. Call quality was fine, but I ran into some audio dropouts in testing. The handset supports fast 3G networks, which is a big help when you are surfing or streaming video

Unfortunately, video looks awful. Even though I could watch an MPEG-4 version of Casino Royale in its native 320-by-240 resolution, it played at an unacceptable 2 frames per second.

The music player fared much better. It handled MP3 and unprotected AAC tracks at a wide variety of bit rates, although it couldn’t recognize some WMA files I tried. Using the included wired stereo earbuds-and-mic combo, I heard surprisingly detailed sound. Sadly, the 2-megapixel camera took blurry, washed-out, unusable photos.

It's a good choice for Helio fans who want a good-looking phone that doubles as an MP3 player, but the Mysto isn't enough to bring me over from another carrier.

Helio Mysto Review
Price range: $149

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Two display LG cell phone with a touch screen

One of the first LG cell phones with a touch screen LG KF600 Venus. It has been created in continuation to Chocolate series. However, the main screen is not touch sensitive it's only the small one that can be controlled by touch.

Venus has two displays in the front and that makes it different from other LG mobile phones. The bigger display on top is a 2" 240 x 320 pixel screen. The second display is a 1.5" screen with resolution of 176 x 240 pixels and is called "InterractPad". This is where you can press buttons with your fingers. I think this idea is very interesting and somewhat useful.

The number of buttons and functions displayed on the lower screen can be different which helps simplify controls on the phone as opposed to two soft buttons, two hard buttons and a 4 position joystick with OK button as it used to be in older phones. Now the controls may be customizable by users.

Speaking of the technological aspects of LG KF600 Venus it's a pretty nice phone with decent features built in. Bluetooth and MP3 player have become standard features in modern mobile phones and KF600 is not an exception. It has 64 MB of built in memory and a microSD card expansion slot which is enough for this model.

As for the camera it has a pretty good 3.15 megapixel camera that can shoot photos and videos. The picture quality is very good as always it was in LG mobile phones, so no problems here.

Connectivity - one of the main features for some people. Venus will allow you to view office documents and e-mails right on the phone itself. It has a quad band GSM, features USB 2.0 for PC connections and EDGE for fast internet.

In general LG KF600 Venus is a good cell phone but it does not have some features that I would want to see in it. For example a top spec camera and 3G connectivity are missing here however I would like to see it in my next cell phone.

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BlackBerry Delayed Until August

A technical glitch in an upcoming BlackBerry release will prevent an iPhone-Blackberry showdown in June, according to Fortune. AT&T will delay the launch of the BlackBerry 8900 from June to August after concerns about call quality, the magazine reported Thursday, citing unnamed sources. The 8900 will be Research in Motion's first 3G BlackBerry for AT&T, and it had been expected to make its debut right around the same time as Apple is expected to launch a 3G version of the iPhone. UPDATED 6:10pm PT - The device would be the first 3G BlackBerry for AT&T's network, not in general, as the BlackBerry Global Edition launch last year runs on Verizon's 3G EV-DO network. Thanks to mrtokyo below for pointing that out.

A technical glitch in an upcoming BlackBerry release will prevent an iPhone-Blackberry showdown in June, according to Fortune. AT&T will delay the launch of the BlackBerry 8900 from June to August after concerns about call quality, the magazine reported Thursday, citing unnamed sources. The 8900 will be Research in Motion's first 3G BlackBerry for AT&T, and it had been expected to make its debut right around the same time as Apple is expected to launch a 3G version of the iPhone. UPDATED 6:10pm PT - The device would be the first 3G BlackBerry for AT&T's network, not in general, as the BlackBerry Global Edition launch last year runs on Verizon's 3G EV-DO network. Thanks to mrtokyo below for pointing that out.

RIM and Apple are the two major smartphone companies in the U.S., and that head-to-head competition is expected to intensify when Apple releases the enterprise-friendly software update known as iPhone 2.0 in June. RIM has a lock on the corporate smartphone market in this country, and has been making inroads into the consumer market. Apple is taking the exact opposite tack, going after consumers with the initial iPhone release and announcing plans to put a suit on the iPhone in March.

Fortune speculates that the delay might be an excuse for AT&T to avoid having two competing 3G models on display at the same time in its retail stores, which makes some sense. As the largest wireless carrier in the U.S., however, AT&T is used to balancing phones from multiple vendors.

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CTIA 2008 - HTC Touch Dual out in US soon

At the recent CTIA 2008, US cell phone lovers will be glad to know that the HTC Touch Dual will debut in US in the next few weeks. The HTC Touch Dual is a close cousin of the earlier HTC Touch with the new Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional and a slide-out keypad. It also features Wi-Fi, 3G, and the interesting TouchFLO user-interface which is close but not as good as the Apple’s multi-touch on iPhones, IMHO.

The HTC Touch Dual US version will have a 400MHz Qualcomm processor, 256MB of ROM and 128MB or SDRAM, a 2.6-inch touch-sensitive TFT-LCD screen, 3G, HSDPA, and GSM/GPRS/EDGE connectivity, as well as Bluetooth, a MiniUSB port, dual cameras and a MicroSD card slot.

Here is the full press release:

Debuting in the United States, the HTC Touch Dual Incorporates an Intuitive Touch Screen, Slide-Out Keypad and Windows Mobile 6.1 Software

HTC offers customers an enhanced mobile experience through the introduction of Windows Mobile 6.1 software updates for a variety of HTC devices.

LAS VEGAS — April 1, 2008 — HTC Corp. (TAIEX: 2498; “HTC”), a global leader in smartphone design and manufacturing, revealed that the popular HTC Touch Dual™ will debut in the United States this quarter. Announced today at the Cellular Telecommunication and Internet Association (CTIA) Wireless 2008 spring conference, the HTC Touch Dual™ combines an intuitive touch screen with integrated TouchFLO™ technology and slide-out keypad and Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional software, making it easier for customers to communicate on the go.

“HTC has witnessed incredible support and demand for the Touch product portfolio, and we are pleased to provide our customers with the opportunity to experience additional iterations of the Touch product family,” said Jason Mackenzie, vice president of HTC America. “The Touch Dual will be among the first devices in the United States to run Windows Mobile 6.1 and will be followed by a range of 6.1 updates for several other HTC products.”

Software Upgrades Available on HTC Devices

In partnership with Microsoft and key mobile operator partners, HTC will continue to extend the functionality of many current HTC devices both in the United States and abroad by providing Windows Mobile 6.1 updates. Windows Mobile 6.1, an update to Windows Mobile 6, provides new timesaving features, easier phone navigation and management, stronger security safeguards, and support for Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008. Some of HTC’s most popular smartphones including the Touch by HTC and Mogul by HTC from Sprint, AT&T Tilt, Alltel Wireless’ HTC Touch and PPC6800, and the HTC TyTN II, will be among the first of many devices available for a Windows Mobile 6.1 upgrade.

Supporting existing customers and enhancing their experiences continues to be a focus for HTC; Sprint and HTC recently provided an update for the popular Mogul by HTC, making it the industry’s first EV-DO Rev. A-capable handset while also enabling additional GPS functionality.

“Windows Mobile enhances people’s lives by providing them with an experience that keeps them close to what’s important to them — anywhere, anytime,” said John O’Rourke, general manager of the Mobile Communications Business, Microsoft. “HTC has a history of providing a great selection of popular Windows Mobile phones, and we are pleased to bring the latest in software to a range of its products around the world.”

HTC Touch Dual Availability and Features

Best Buy will be the first to offer the HTC Touch Dual, which will be available through select Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile retail outlets, online at BestBuy.com and htc.com.

“At Best Buy we are committed to providing customers with a wide selection of high quality handsets,” said David Ryan, director of merchandising, Best Buy Mobile. “We look forward to adding the innovative HTC Touch Dual to our current lineup of unlocked phones.”

Taking user control to a whole new level, the HTC Touch Dual combines an intuitive touch screen and keypad within a stunning design. The versatile device offers an interactive cube interface for quick and easy navigation to e-mails, text messages, calendar appointments and contacts. Features include the following:

* TouchFLO™, a touch-screen technology that allows finger-touch scrolling, panning and photo zooming
* Slide-out 20-key keyboard for quick dialing, text messages and e-mail
* Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
* Microsoft Office Mobile for working on documents and getting your Outlook e-mail
* Live HTC Home™ featuring time and weather display, quick launcher, and one-touch ring-tone settings
* 2 megapixel camera for shooting photos/videos and a second camera for video calls
* Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900Mhz) and HSDPA (850/1900Mhz) connectivity

Come Visit HTC America at Booth 1624
At CTIA Wireless 2008, HTC will show the latest lineup of HTC devices, including the Touch Dual. Those interested should stop by booth #1624, located in the C hall, to see the latest innovations from HTC.

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Sony Ericsson Z555i Review: Stylish Clamshell

Candybar phone of course has many fans, but Sony Ericsson has never forgotten clamshell phone line. Z555i is presented by Sony Ericsson to complement the line of fold phone product and sweet design product.

A statement of style, it is the slogan carried by Z555i. The design is unique with diamond pattern. Not merely expressing its user style, but also to draw the attention. This triband phone comes up in two color choices: Diamond Black and Dusted Rose.

But Z555i it’s not simply styles, inside it is be full of innovative feature, Gesture Control. Through this feature you can inactive the ring tone or "snooze" alarm function only by wave the hand above this 95x49x16mm gadget. I think it’s would easier compared to Shake Control at W580i.

Moreover, Dynamic Theme which will change the appearance according to season! Color and design from phone theme, system menu, and Home screen can change automatically every year changes. This is not impossible thing because it connected with Z555i calendar feature.

Z555i applies 2 screens. Inside, Sony Ericsson installs 1,9 inch TFT screen, 176x220 pixel. In the outside it use monochrome (128x36 pixel) screen which will hidden when phone isn’t in an active condition.

Other Z555i feature is standard. Besides 1,3MP camera, this 95 grams gadget also supports EDGE, FM radio and music file player feature. Its internal memory which only 12MB can be said too minimum even Sony Ericsson is offer expansion slot for Memory Stick Micro memory card type. Yes, these not yet 3G phones of course makes the style lover as main target.

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Samsung i450: Dual Slider Smartphone

After representing their newest fashionable phones some times ago, now Samsung is trying to present the smartphone portfolio. The newest product is Samsung i450.

The design concept is adopting Nokia N95 construction: “dual of slider”. Its mean, the up and bottom folder can be shifted at the opposite direction. Bottom side is present the key pad, while the upper is ornamented by great power speaker.

Do not like Samsung i620 which using Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0 Standards Edition for the Operation System, Samsung i450 is uses Symbian Operation System 9.2. And it’s including 60 v3.1 series. TFT screen with 262.000 colors sharpness uses as information display, while the phone resolution is 320 x 240 pixels (QVGA).

This smartphone can run in 3G/ HSDPA network, and has two cameras. The main it’s already powered with 2 megapixel cameras, meanwhile the addition camera has VGA type to execute video call feature.

Samsung i450 is provides 1 GB capacities storage media. There is also available the additional microSD card slot to keep your various multimedia file for example video (MPEG4) and song which having WMA, MP3, OGG, ASF and AAC format.

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Motorola Q9m (Verizon): Sophisticated, but Sluggish

This latest smartphone for Verizon pairs excellent call quality with a top-notch keyboard, making it a strong Windows Mobile choice. I just wish it felt a little quicker.

The Q9m’s keyboard is the biggest change from the old Motorola Q. The larger, rectangular keys are easier to settle your fingers on (which helps prevent mistyping), and they depress with satisfying clicks. All but the most ham-handed will fl y over this smartphone's keyboard.

A superior phone, the Q9m has very strong reception. The earpiece and especially the speakerphone are unusually loud and clear, and ringtones sound terrific.

Verizon has updated the Q9m with a lot of useful new software. At the head of the pack is DataViz DocumentsToGo for Windows Mobile 6, which lets you view PDFs and view, edit, and create Microsoft Offi ce documents. Also, it’s Word-, Excel-, and PowerPoint-compatible apps are refreshing oases of cutting and pasting. Verizon’s new media-player home screen is less accommodating, but you don’t have to use it.

The Q9m’s one problem is that it feels a bit laggy. When typing an e-mail message, I sometimes had to wait for the screen to catch up with my typing, and PDF files took quite some time to open. Still, the new Q is a powerful, flexible mobile office.

Price
Motorola Q9m (Verizon): $199 to $349.99 list

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