handset

Google's open-source mobile platform: the best of the blog chatter

There are so many good (and bad) things to say about Google's decision to open up the mobile market with an open-source mobile software platform that I'll just let others do the talking:

Sergey Brin (via OpenDotDot):

As I look at it I reflect, ten years ago I was sitting at a graduate student cubicle. We were able to build incredible things. There was a set of tools that allowed us to do that. It was all open technologies. It was based on Linux, GNU, Apache. All those pieces and many more allowed us to do great things and distribute it to the world. That is what we are doing today, to allow people to innovate on today's mobile devices. Today's mobile devices are more powerful than those computers I was working on just ten years ago. I cannot wait to see what today's innovators will build.

And they will all build on open-source technologies, just as Google has. Why? Because reinventing the platform wheels, piece by piece, vendor by vendor, is inane and inefficient.

Jonathon Schwartz:… Read more

Mystery phone: the Haier Sterling

At first glance, you'd think the Haier Sterling is a joke--at less than 4 inches from end to end, it looks like a child's toy. But you'd be wrong. It not only turns heads, but it delivers too. You realize that when you turn it on and hear the loud, clear sound of glass breaking.

It features a 1.8-inch color screen, 1.3-megapixel camera, integrated headphone jack, FM radio, room for 500 contacts, Bluetooth and a microSD slot. Talk time is 3 hours; standby time is up to 200 hours. But what really distinguishes it is … Read more

Ferris wheel phone stand spins its wheels

Because it isn't disruptive enough when a bunch of cacophonous ringtones sound off in the office at once, we present you with the Ferris Wheel Phone Stand.

Place your phone in this holder and there'll be no mistaking it when you get a call. The wheel spins, the red and green LEDs flash, and a not-so-soothing round of "Rock-a-Bye Baby" fills the air. (And your co-workers may just want to have you sacked.)

You can buy the gadget (and watch a video of it) on USB Geek. For $27, you'd think they'd include a … Read more

Phone speakers go back to the future

As mobile phones continue their evolution as uber-devices for music and everything else, they've struggled with such things as external speakers--with some particularly strange ideas surfacing along the way. But here's an interesting twist: Why not make a pair that resembles the speaking end of an old Ma Bell analog receiver?

That's our impression, anyway, of these new portable Philips speakers made for Nokia handsets. Gadgetizer says the mini-system, which comes in black or white, also has an FM radio built into the dock. All it needs is an old-fashioned dial for navigation. Of course, if … Read more

Photos: Samsung's global phone launch in U.K.

Last night Crave attended the global launch of several Samsung handsets, including a 5-megapixel camera phone, the Samsung G800. In true Samsung style, the event held at the British Museum was huge, and packed with exciting products.

The true star of the show without a doubt was the G800. It packs a 5-megapixel camera, 3x optical zoom, auto-focus, xenon flash, face detection and wide dynamic range optimisation.

This beast of a camera phone takes Samsung's phone portfolio closer to a standalone digital camera than ever before. Impressively, it also packs HSDPA (3.5G) for fast access to the Web … Read more

Skype mobile phone unveiled in the U.K.

Today Skype and 3 announced a mobile phone that will allow users to make free Skype-to-Skype calls and send free instant messages over 3G, in addition to making normal phone calls and browsing the Internet.

3's Skype phone also packs a 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, an expandable micro SD card slot (up to 1GB) and weighs a pocket-friendly 85g. The star feature however, has to be the ability to make cheap Skype calls.

You can call friends or relatives anywhere in the world via Skype and not spend a penny, or have to be tied up to a laptop or … Read more

Using the phone to pay for bus rides

As part of a public experiment, some commuters in Singapore need only tap their mobile phones for bus and train fares.

They're part of the Near-Field Communication (NFC) phone trial jointly organized by Singapore service provider StarHub and partner EZ-Link. According to the press release, the trial is the first public NFC trial in the Republic and possibly one of the largest of its kind in the world.

Since the middle of last week, 1,000 selected trialists have been given a handset from Singapore phone manufacturer iWOW and a Sony PaSoRi card reader (EZ-Link card reader) which they … Read more

Walkie-talkie phone has split personality

Maybe Motorola is onto something with this walkie-talkie stuff. After all, it's one of the few functions the iPhone doesn't have (yet). And unlike the T.J. Hooker-style units of years past, some of the new models are barely distinguishable from fashion-conscious mobile phones.

In fact, according to SlashGear, Motorola's new i425 handset serves as both phone and walkie-talkie, with GPS features thrown in for good measure, all in a black or white case that's a half-inch thick and weighs 3.88 ounces. It's available from Sprint's Boost Mobile service on a pay-as-you-go … Read more

Photos: Hands-on with the Porsche phone

Porsche Design's mobile phone isn't just a piece of rubbish with a Porsche logo on it--it is in fact a rather nifty clamshell handset.

Crafted out of sturdy aluminium and mineral glass, the Porsche P'9521 isn't for the faint-hearted, weighing 137g and measuring a somewhat chunky 47mm wide, 90mm tall and 18mm deep.

Inside, this phone packs enough features to scare off any other car-inspired phones--including a fingerprint reader, which doubles up as touch-sensitive scroll interface for navigating through the menu or your pictures.

On the back, the Porsche P'9521 sports a 3.2-megapixel camera … Read more