Spanish start-up GeeksPhone prompted some guarded enthusiasm back in June, when they revealed their first-generation Android smartphone prototype, but they’ve come on a long way since then. Where the first handset looked distinctly Omnia-like, the reworked model – in the hands of Xataka – is a far slicker affair, complete with a slide-out keyboard.
You probably can’t tell from this photo, but you’re supposedly looking at a pre-release Motorola Tao – aka the Motorola Sholes – that’s fallen into the hands of someone over at HowardForums. They’ve been posting various shots, though nothing that shows the full hardware at present, but certainly enough to keep us interested.
Back when people were desperate to get their hands on the first Android phone, the T-Mobile G1, a pre-order event seemed a reasonable way to stoke the hype. Now that we’re a few models down the line, T-Mobile USA’s pre-announcement for a pre-order of the Motorola CLIQ smacks vaguely of desperation. As of October 19th, existing customers of the carrier will be able to order a CLIQ for $199.99 with a new two-year agreement, though they won’t actually get their new phone until November 2nd when it goes on sale generally.
Sharp’s NetWalker PC-Z1 may not be the device for everyone – after all, a 5-inch touchscreen clamshell MID with a tiny QWERTY keyboard and 800MHz ARM Cortex A8 processor makes it a pretty niche handheld – but most people can appreciate a mini-laptop so we’re pleased to see the first unboxing over at Pocketables. Jenn of course is no stranger to MIDs, in fact she has a UMID mbook M1 on hand to compare the PC-Z1 with.
Don’t let the sober looks fool you; Samsung intends mischief with their new Corby PRO B5310 and its non-sliding (but still QWERTY-toting) Corby TXT B3210 sibling. The company bizarrely decided that the best way to promote the two social-network focussed devices was to give four of them to well-connected Italians and then stage a massive paint fight. No, we don’t quite understand it either, but you can see the video after the cut.
iriver’s Story ebook reader has gone up for preorder, priced at the equivalent of around $281. Set to begin shipping on October 6th, the Story has a 6-inch E-Ink display, QWERTY keyboard and an SD card slot; iriver supply a 2GB card with the device, along with a case and two free ebook downloads.
Crystal ball, secret tunnel or loose-lipped mole; we don’t know how Gizmodo are doing it, but hot on the heels of the Microsoft Courier dual-touchscreen tablet leak comes shots of Microsoft’s two upcoming Pink cellphones. The Microsoft Turtle (the squarish model) and Microsoft Pure (the more traditional handset) are both manufactured by Sharp and will be co-branded, and like the Sidekick – which Sharp also manufactured for Danger – will be targeted at a messaging-friendly youth market.
Samsung may have only announced their new Windows Mobile 6.5 QWERTY candybar, the Omnia Pro B7330, yesterday, but already the hands-on reports are coming out of the woodwork. phoneArena have been playing with a prototype and come away full of hope for the production model; they reckon the B7330 mixes decent style, build quality and functionality to draw in the “my first smartphone” market.
Samsung have announced a new Windows Mobile smartphone and promised a lease of new life for several other existing models, each of which will get an upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.5. The new Samsung Omnia Pro B7330 is a straightforward QWERTY-toting candybar running Windows Mobile 6.5 Standard, and pretty much takes the core of the B7320 and slaps a 320 x 320 display and HSUPA support into the handset.
Meanwhile the five existing Samsung Omnia models currently on sale – which means the i8000, B7320, B7300, B7330 and B7610 – are all getting an update to the newest version of Microsoft’s smartphone OS, v6.5. That’s new handsets sold, incidentally; existing owners of the Omnia II, B7610 and B7320 will be eligible for an update from 6.1 to WinMo 6.5.
ITG have launched a preorder page for their distinctive xpPhone, promising support for “the global three major 3G standards” from its integrated 3G chip. Still unpriced, the xpPhone has a 4.8-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen, AMD processor, WiFi b/g and Bluetooth, together with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Unlike most smartphones, though, the xpPhone runs Windows XP.
JP
