CDMA and GSM

Rumors have been floating around for a few weeks now, but today Pharos has officially unveiled two new additions to their Windows Mobile GPS smartphone lineup—the Traveller 117 and 127. Generally, another GPS-enabled phone is nothing to get all that excited about, but tri-band 7.2Mbps HSDPA, 2-megapixel cam / front VGA cam and a VGA touchscreen (on the 117 / QWERTY on 127) isn’t half bad for an unlocked Windows Mobile 6.1 phone priced at $530. As for the GPS itself, Pharos Smart Navigator throws in traffic updates, dynamic POI and FollowMe services and can be purchased separately for $100. Both phones and the software will be available starting on December 1st.

Pharos Debuts Hybrid Navigation Services on Sleek New GPS Smartphones
Pharos Traveler 117 and 127 offer full-featured navigation and lightning fast 3.5G connectivity on an unlocked, Windows Mobile handset Read the rest of this entry »

For me the Blackberry has always been somewhat of a daunting proposition. With the business like design and email centric focus, the Blackberry has always tended to be quite an uncompromising beast and personally, I’ve been one to steer clear. Now with the release of the Blackberry Bold, Blackberry claim to have released a phone that promises to appeal to the business user and the standard consumer alike. A Bold claim (I promise I wont use that joke again) but can Blackberry stick to it? Read on for our full hands on review…

When the Blackberry Bold first turned up on our doorstep I was keen to get to grips with this smartphone having never owned one before and having had only fleeting experiences with previous models. On picking up the Bold, the first thing that strikes me is the premium design. The phone is comprised of a smooth black finish, a silver border that surrounds the outside of the phone and stylish black leather on the back. The front of the phone is divided between the full QWERTY Read the rest of this entry »

This is a Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional device, giving access to Microsoft’s latest mobile operating system and all the built-in applications that come with it. That’s a pretty crowded marketplace these days, but we think that the Zest has enough going on to make it stand out a little from the competition.

The display is definitely worth mentioning - the 2.8″ 640 x 480 pixel touch-sensitive panel is a much higher resolution than most of the competition that only manages 320 x 240 pixels. VGA-resolution displays are still less common than we predicted, but we feel that this will quickly become the new standard.It may not be the most exciting phone to look at, but the O2 XDA Zest certainly seems to have hidden depths. A relatively compact Windows smartphone, the XDA Zest has a VGA resolution display, GPS, WiFi, 3.5G support and a 3 megapixel camera. This isn’t an expensive device - the O2 XDA Zest will even be available to pay-as-you-go customers for £250 - but there are surprisingly few compromises. One of them is that the Zest is only a European-style tri-band GSM phone with single band 2100 MHz UMTS / HSDPA support, but then most of these phones won’t stray too far from Europe in any case. Read the rest of this entry »

T-Mobile G1 with full QWERTY keyboard

The T-Mobile G1 is made by HTC. We’ve been closely following HTC’s rise to fame as the premier Windows Mobile smartphone manufacturer on the planet. HTC makes some seriously high-quality hardware that never fails to impress us - with solid build quality and a penchant for the high-tech, HTC devices deliver on sensory and practical aspects. As such, we expected the HTC-made T-Mobile G1 to be a robust handset packed with the latest mobile technology.

Did the T-Mobile G1 live up to the high standards that we’ve set for HTC smartphones?Specifications: Read the rest of this entry »

Today, BlackBerry Bold finally went on sale in the US, offered by AT&T for $299, with a 2-yr contract agreement. But this day also marks the announcement of RIM’s high-end smartphone in one of Asia’s most populous countries: Pakistan.

The Bold will reach Pakistani mobile users via Ufone, Pakistan’s second largest mobile carrier, and EMS (Emitac Mobile Solution), one of RIM’s strategic channel partners.

Although the QWERTY-equipped smartphone should be on sale across Pakistan starting today, RIM didn’t say how much it costs.

Anyway, Ufone will probably sell the Bold with several plans and contract agreements, so its price should depend upon them. Those not yet familiar with BlackBerry Bold should know that the smartphone features, among others: Read the rest of this entry »

Motorola and Verizon Wireless today launched what they call the “first interactive clear flip, full-touch phone”: Motorola Krave ZN4.

Previously known as Motorola Blaze, Krave ZN4 is Moto’s first touchscreen handset that gets to be released in the US. Its design reminds me of the Ming series that Motorola is selling in China, and I have to admit that the Krave is quite a looker.

Motorola wants to target two categories of users with the new Krave ZN4: people who like touchscreen phones and people who are into clamshells.

The handset has only one display, on the inside: a 2.8 inch TFT touchscreen one with 240 x 400 pixels. This can be accessed both when the phone is open and closed, thanks to the interactive clear flip cover designed by Motorola. In fact, the clear flip kind of functions like a secondary touchscreen with a 240 x 320 pixel resolution, which is pretty cool. art from what is mentioned above, Motorola Krave ZN4 also offers: Read the rest of this entry »

Today Windows communicator producers do not have much space for invention – it is either lowering the price or making Windows systems more functional. Here the GPS system came to be very useful: it is easy to build in additional chip in the rather large body phone and the big display is another advantage for GPS. Rover N6 was created by this principle and is equipped with built in GPS receiver.

Let’s start with the package. The black box is simple with the phone Rover N6 image on the front side and the technical features on the back side. The ear phones are provided to go in the package with the button turning on the incoming calls. The ear phones also serve as the antenna when listening to the built in FM radio. The sound quality is acceptable and the ear phones high quality should not even be estimated. The FM radio interface is not very convenient.

The communicator is performed from soft plastic which reminds of a thin layer of rubber when you hold it in your hand. Due to this Rover N6 does not fall off the hand and can be comfortably placed on the car front panel. Read the rest of this entry »

The Motorola Q certainly knows how to make an impression. Ever since its introduction almost a year ago, this smart phone has generated a lot of buzz for its ultrathin form factor. Of course, Motorola generated a lot of the hype itself by touting the Q as the “thinnest QWERTY device in the world.” And now after a number of delays, the Q finally is here, and thankfully, it delivers in performance and style. It offers good call quality, an outstanding multimedia experience, and the tools to keep business users productive on the go, such as Windows Mobile 5 Smartphone Edition, EV-DO, and e-mail support. For the ultimate road warriors who need full functionality for editing documents from the road, however, they may want to opt for a Windows Mobile Pocket PC phone, such as the Palm Treo 700w. That said, however, it’ll be hard to resist the Q’s sexy packaging. Is this a good marketing strategy by Motorola? Definitely. For now, the Moto Q will be sold exclusively through Verizon Wireless for a fair price of $199.99, along with a two-year contract and a $100 instant rebate. Verizon’s BroadbandAccess service plans start at $79.99 for 450 anytime minutes with unlimited data usage. Motorola said it would start GSM/UMTS trials by the end of the year. Read the rest of this entry »

Considering the avalanche of Razrs, Krzrs, and Rizrs that we’ve endured over the last three years, we can’t tell you how enjoyable it is to review a Motorola handset that’s so completely different (we also love that Moto didn’t drop any vowels from the Ming’s name, but that’s another story). Make no mistake that the A1200 would stand out in any smartphone crowd, mostly because of its diminutive size. At 3.77 inches by 2.94 inches by 0.85 inch, it’s much smaller than the Palm Centro or the RIM BlackBerry Pearl, and at 3.63 ounces it won’t weigh you down. What’s more, it fits comfortably in the hand and the rounded edges give it a streamlined appearance. We like the red color scheme on our review model, but it comes in a more minimalist silver hue as well. Read the rest of this entry »

The iPhone 3G boasts a few additions while keeping virtually the same form– it adds 3G HSDPA for much faster wireless data and a GPS. Smaller but important improvements include better speaker sound, a more hand-friendly curved back and a non-recessed headphone jack that doesn’t require and adapter for larger headphone plugs. That’s all quite nice, but nothing so revolutionary that a million folks would snarf up the new iPhone in the first weekend, right? Wrong. The iPhone 3G, this time sold around the world and not just in the US, brought out buyers in droves. Lines at the US AT&T and Apple stores were longer for the 3G than the original iPhone.What’s so special about the iPhone? It’s that Apple voodoo of great looks, extreme ease of use, fun-factor and now, business savvy. As Steve Jobs said at the original iPhone’s announcement, “it’s the best iPod we’ve ever made”. The iPhone does everything an iPod does and boasts a 3.5″ 480 x 320 pixel display (huge by phone standards) for extremely watchable video playback. It syncs easily to desktop PIM applications (Outlook in Windows, the Mac OS Address Book and iCal in Mac OS X). Loading music and videos is just as brain-dead easy on the iPhone as an iPod. It has WiFi, the best web browser on a mobile phone, plays youtube mobile videos. . . and gee, it makes phone calls. It’s available in 8 and 16 gig capacities and the 8 gig comes in black while the 16 gig is available in black or white. Read the rest of this entry »