The market for wireless-connected ebook readers is hotting up, and so we’re happy to welcome the latest entrant, txtr. Set to hit European and US markets from December 15th, the €319 ($477) device has a 6-inch 600 x 800 E Ink display, capacitive slider, accelerometer, USB 2.0, WiFi and “txtr Net”; like Amazon’s WhisperNet service, txtr Net is an onboard 3G connection which keeps ebooks synchronized between the txtr reader itself and a user’s online account.
Video demo after the cut
Sometimes a gadget comes along that is so pretty that, when you realise it has a spec-sheet more barren than the Sahara, you can’t help but tear at your chest and roar. LG’s GD510 “Pop” isn’t quite so bad as all that, but it’s a handsome 3-inch touchscreen phone – the most compact ever with such a screen-size, they say – with a brushed aluminum body that throws out most of the things we take for granted in today’s handsets. WiFi we can live without, but a handset lacking 3G? For shame!
Video demo after the cut
Femtocells aren’t exactly embedded into the public vocabulary yet, but the carriers are ramping up to make a pretty decent push for it. So far we’ve seen a handful of models from some of the bigger operator names, but now a Scottish firm, HSL, are promising a single femtocell that can support users on different networks.
Looks like Garmin aren’t going to take the rise in PND apps for smartphones lying down: an anonymous source has just officially outed specifications for the Garmin nuvi 1690 we’ve been seeing recently, together with its bigger siblings the nuvi 1820 and 1860. The 1820 and 1860 are the first two models from Garmin’s new nuvi 1800-series, with 4.8-inch WVGA touchscreens, WiFi and Bluetooth, and – in the case of the 1860 at least – a 3-megapixel camera with geotagging.
Details of the upcoming Garmin nuvi 1690 connected PND are quietly being outed, courtesy of both the FCC and the Bluetooth SIG (Special Interest Group). The latter have confirmed that the touchscreen satnav will not only have Bluetooth but go on sale in both Europe and North America, while the former have released the 1690’s quick-start manual [pdf link].
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Verizon Wireless announced today the upcoming release of the AD3700 global USB modem from ZTE. Locally, the device will utilize Verizon's EV-DO Revision A network, but globally it will open up its network capability and access EV-DO, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, HSPA, and UMTS, allowing Verizon wireless customers to use their new device in 175 countries.
A new Garmin PND , the nuvi 1690, has passed through the FCC [pdf link], and it seems to have learned some connectivity tricks from its nuvifone cousins. The nuvi 1690 includes not only Bluetooth but GSM/GPRS/EDGE connectivity, presumably offering real-time traffic downloads among other things.
RIM have officially announced the BlackBerry Curve 8520, the handset formerly known as the BlackBerry Gemini. Set to land on both T-Mobile USA and Vodafone UK next month, the Curve 8520 is the company’s latest non-3G smartphone, complete with a full hardware QWERTY keyboard, optical trackpad for navigation and a 2-megapixel camera.
There’s also a 320 x 240 display, Bluetooth and WiFi. A microSD card slot and 3.5mm headphone jack round out the specifications, while the battery is good for 4.5hrs of talktime or 17 days of standby. While many may scoff at the absence of high-speed cellular connectivity, the success of other 2.5G BlackBerry handsets such as the Curve 8900 shows there’s still a demand for straightforward, solid messaging-centric smartphones.
AT&T have announced that the BlackBerry Curve 8900 will go on sale in the US on Friday May 22nd. Priced at $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate, the Curve 8900 is the slimmest full-QWERTY BlackBerry to date, and packs quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE data, WiFi b/g and GPS, together with a 3.2-megapixel camera, 480 x 360 display and microSD/SDHC card slot (happy with cards up to 32GB).
Samsung have announced a pair of touchscreen cellphones, the Samsung Star S5230 and the Samsung Preston S5600. A 2.5G and 3G handset respectively, the Star and Preston both use Samsung’s TouchWiz GUI: the S5230 has a 3-inch WQVGA display, while the S5600 has a 2.8-inch QVGA panel.
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