Sony Ericsson z555 hits FCC
Added on 2008-03-10 09:12:00
by Mark Brezinski
 The z555, which we initially covered way back at CES, has just hit the FCC for approval. Assuming not much has changed since we last saw it, the z555 is a basic Sony Ericsson handset with a very pretty case (at least it was at the show; the picture at right is more of a mug shot than a vanity photo).
The front of the phone features a really cool OLED display that is embedded in the case. Looking at the front, if the OLEDs aren't lit up, you'd never guess they were there. Also, the z555 has an accelerometer so it can pull the typical Sony Ericsson tricks, such as shaking the phone to mute a call, or playing the role of a pedometer.
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CES 2008: Conclusions
Added on 2008-01-14 08:01:00
by Mark Brezinski
 So we're all back from CES, and we can definitively say it wasn't the best show for cell phones. We knew it wouldn't be CIAA, but the sheer dearth of anything interesting was a bit surprising. We made video previews for a few interesting handsets: Sony Ericcson's w760 and w350, Motorola's Z10 and ROKR E8, and Samsung's Serenata. We've written First Impression reviews on three of these: ROKR E8, Serenata, Z10. We'll be posting a First Impression review on the w760 soon as well.
Cell phones were certainly much bigger players at CES in the past. Why was there such a poor showing this year? Honestly, we think niche-oriented shows, such as CTIA or 3GSM, are the reason. With a huge show like CES that covers so many different fields of electronics, it's easy for smaller, more finesse-oriented gadgets to get lost in the shadows of the 150" plasma TVs and the giant trucks that are 65% speakers. CES seems to be more about flashy hardware than great software; it's hard for a tiny brick with a 2-3" screen to pull many eyes away from the grandeur of the rest of the show. We think the fear of being lost in the shuffle is causing cell phone manufacturers to stay away from general electronics shows, concentrating instead on niche shows like CTIA. When you only have other phones to compete against and all the press is there specifically for cell phones, your handset has a much better chance of getting noticed.
We'll be at the next CTIA, checking out all the phones that were too skittish to show up at CES.
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| Tags: CES, Motorola, Sony, Ericcson, Samsung, w760, w350, Serenata, ROKR, E8, Z10 |
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3 New Shades for Casio G'zOne
Added on 2008-01-10 15:37:00
by Tanya Palta
 The ‘Casio G’zOne Type-S’ phone which made an appearance at CES 2008 is now available in three trendy shades; matte black, burgundy and the original classic navy. The phone is one tough cookie as its shock, dust, scratch and humidity resistant.
The matte black version is available on Verizon Wireless and those who want to get their hands on the Burgundy version need to make a stopover at Circuit City.
[Via Aving]
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BlueAnt V1, World's First Voice-Controlled Bluetooth Headset
Added on 2008-01-10 09:45:00
by Tanya Palta
 Tired of all the same old Bluetooth headsets which are making an appearance at CES? Then we suggest the new BlueAnt V1 as it also claims to be the world's first voice controlled Bluetooth headset.
It sports the BlueGenie(TM) Voice Interface which uses advanced Voice
Recognition and Voice Synthesis technology. Hence one can control the headset using their voice without screaming their lungs out.
The headset will retail for $119.00 USD and some other features include; 6 hrs talk-time or 200 hrs standby, Voice Isolation' Standard Technology and Multi-point technology which connects two phones at once.
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Wide-angle, 8x zoom lens for handsets
Added on 2008-01-09 15:18:00
by Mark Brezinski
 The guys at Gizmodo managed to stumble across this little gem amidst the green screens and 150" TVs and sundry hullabaloo here at CES. It's a wide-angle camera lens that can be fitted on select cell phones. In addition the the wider angle, it will also allow 8x optical zoom. While the lens will work with multiple cell phones, the only compatible handset named was the iPhone.
[Story and pic via Gizmodo]
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The iRiver GSM Phone Announced at CES
Added on 2008-01-09 05:51:00
by Tanya Palta
 ASUS and iRiver announced the "iRiver GSM phone" at the CES whose sole rival would be you guessed it, the ubiquitous iPhone. Its quite apparent that iRiver wants to play their cards right and not fall in the trap of “contract phone”.
The "iRiver GSM phone" will be an unlocked GSM 3G phone and would feature a 3-inch, 480x272 touch screen and a Linux OS. Other features would include; a two-megapixel camera with camcorder, an Adobe Flash player, GPS and mobile TV.
"It would be ridiculous for the phone to be 2G or 2.5G at this time," said iRiver spokesman Owen Kwon. Kwon added that the phone will be "more affordable" than the iPhone.
[Via PC Mag]
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iPhone Hurts Mobile Gaming-Says EA Vice-President
Added on 2008-01-09 05:36:00
by Tanya Palta
 The iPhone always has its share of detractors and looks like the list is growing. At the CES Travis Boatman, vice president of worldwide studios for Electronic Arts’ mobile division talked about the iPhone and how it impacts gaming. He even calls the iPhone a replacement to the Razr (ouch that got to hurt). Go to Macworld for the full article.
“It’s a replacement for someone who had a Razr before. They still want their content but there’s no distribution platform in place so there’s a negative impact on the industry,” he said.
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Motorola ROKR E8 Officially Announced at CES
Added on 2008-01-07 03:48:00
by Tanya Palta
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Digital Life at CES 2008
Added on 2008-01-06 22:05:00
by Alfredo Padilla
 We dropped by Digital Life at CES 2008 and got to take a few shots of some goodies, including the new Samsung Serenata, HTC SMT5800 and Sony Ericsson's newly announced lineup and the Beyonce B'phone. Photos after the jump.
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Sony-Ericsson CES lineup revealed?
Added on 2008-01-06 19:06:00
by Alfredo Padilla
 Looks like some information about Sony-Ericsson's CES lineup has been released. There's not a lot to go on except a few photos but it looks like some stylish clamshells including the W760i, Z555i and W350i are in the pipeline. We'll see if this comes true soon enough. More pics are available here.
[Via: Engadget Mobile]
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Neonode N2 coming to the US
Added on 2008-01-06 17:17:00
by Mark Brezinski
Deep from the jagged fjords of Sweden, the Neonode N2 (site) will be released in the US later this year. The N2 contains a new touch screen technology called zForce, meaning there were 25 other forces that just didn't just didn't cut the mustard. The technology's main selling points seem to involve not necessitating much pressure and recognizes taps and swipes. This doesn't really set it apart from any other touch screen, but Neonode swears it's awesome and so is their new interface. The technology debuted in Europe late last year. It'll be at CES, where we are right at this very second, so as soon as we get our hands on it we'll post more info.
[Via Businesswire]
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