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.
Archos’ new PMP isn’t the only Android gadget SlashGear has been playing with recently. Last night saw the launch of the European version of Motorola’s first Android smartphone, the Motorola DEXT. Debuted last week as the Motorola CLIQ in the US, the QWERTY slider smartphone is set to arrive exclusively on Orange in the UK and France; so far all the carrier has said is “early October”, but SlashGear was told that the official release date is somewhere between the 5th and the 9th of October.
Hands-on gallery and video demo after the cut
Importers Dynamism have released pricing and specification details for the Viliv S7, the latest ultraportable touchscreen device from the Korean company. Coming after the surprisingly popular S5 and well-received X70, the S7 adds a QWERTY keyboard and uses a more traditional netbook-style form-factor; according to Dynamism, when it drops in the US it’ll be priced from $629.
LG have officially announced their first Android handset, the LG GW620, and with it a “two tier smartphone strategy” signifying the company’s intent to continue to offer Windows Mobile devices. The GW620 has both a 3-inch touchscreen and a slide-out QWERTY hardware keyboard, and avoids the heavy customization of HTC Sense or Motorola MOTOBLUR.
We’re still waiting for official word from Motorola and T-Mobile in the US as to when the new CLIQ Android smartphone will land, but that hasn’t stopped the manufacturer’s UK arm from getting a little more specific. The Motorola DEXT – which is how the handset will be branded outside the US – has been confirmed to arrive on Orange UK in early September, with preordering expected to begin on September 22nd.
After announcing the Motorola CLIQ with MOTOBLUR yesterday, we grabbed some hands-on time with the new Android smartphone and persuaded one of the company’s demo team to give us a ten minute walkthrough of its capabilities. There’s plenty to like about this distinctive new addition to the Android stable; we didn’t have as much time to play as we’d have liked, but our early impression is that the keyboard is well made, sturdy and tactile, and the capacitive display responsive and accurate.
Video hands-on after the cut
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