handset

At a swanky meeting yesterday, we got to play with Nokia's glossy new Xpress Music handsets, the 5320 and the 5220. Both are set to be affordable, mid-range models available from the third quarter of this year in the U.K. During our swift fondling sessions with the phones, we formed some early opinions.

Firstly, and most importantly as far as music phones are concerned, Nokia told us it has put brand-new audio chips inside these two new models to improve sound quality over previous handsets. This is a sensible decision, as more people are turning to mobiles as … Read more

Paris-based phone designer extraordinaire ModeLabs continues to make its mark on the mobile landscape in Europe, with diverse handsets ranging from an MTV-branded slider to Tag Heuer's "Meridiist," with varying degrees of success.

Its latest offering is a new Levi's handset--not the dubious red tag version seen recently--to be marketed exclusively by French telecom Orange. Unlike the original steel-case model, the new version is a slider that claims to be the first mobile phone with a design that "combines a metal and soft touch finish," according to Gadgetizer (PDF). What does that mean? Who … Read more

Nokia has announced two new models from its Xpress Music mobile phone lineup for Asia. The 5320 Xpress Music comes with a dedicated audio chip onboard and HSDPA connectivity, while the 5220 Xpress Music features a built-in lanyard. A built-in what, you say? Anyway, we're not sure how this looks since this is probably the first time we've hear of a phone with a lanyard that's not removable, though we suspect it's probably the eyelet Nokia is referring to. Both handsets sport dedicated music keys, 3.5-millimeter audio jacks, deliver up to 24 hours of playback … Read more

MTV is continuing to push its brand onto gadgets, though it seems to be more interested in Europe than anywhere else. A couple of weeks ago its logo showed up in an X-ray on a "multi-room box" distributed by U.K.-based Sky TV, and now it's coming out with a branded mobile phone in France.

The red 3G slider, from handset designer ModeLabs, has a 2.2-inch display, a 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and, of course, an MP3 player, according to Pocket-lint. Aside from the obvious logo, it offers exclusive access to MTV content, as well as … Read more

Several more companies on Monday agreed to sign their names to the Long Term Evolution (LTE) framework for the next generation of wireless technology.

The largest handset maker in the world, Nokia, was joined by Sony Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent, NEC, and NextWave Wireless. Part of the agreement on LTE means the companies will agree to license their patents "on fair and reasonable terms," which means keeping royalties for handset patents below 10 percent of the handset sale price.

"Today's announcement is a step towards establishing more predictable and transparent licensing costs in a manner that enables faster … Read more

Having gone a full 24 hours since we last complained about obnoxious loud-talkers on their Bluetooth headsets, we're feeling a pent-up need to vent. But instead, we may have found a way to exact delicious revenge instead.

Red Ferret has ferreted out the "T-1000 Cell Phone Jammer," which does exactly what its name indicates: This devilish device promises to surreptitiously "silence every other mobile phone in a 10-foot vicinity for up to an hour," kind of like a cellular version of the "Best Net Guard" for the computer or the "TV-B-Gone" … Read more

Tag Heuer has been threatening for months to get into the mobile handset game, even hinting about a branded watch phone. (Actually make that years, not months--the company's timetable for such a product began in 2004.)

The watchmaker may finally be preparing to make good on its protracted promise, as purported images of its new phone were posted on Le Journal Du Geek and are making their way across the blog circuit. The handset is reportedly named the "Meridiist" and comes with optional crocodile skin, which may be the most noteworthy aspect of the phone other than … Read more

It's hard to know where to begin in dismissing this telephonic atrocity. First, it's a prime example of the proliferating trend we refer to as luxury phones gone bad. As if that's not bad enough (and it is), this 24k "Signature Collection" handset from Alcatel is a special edition done for Sharper Image, which seems to be getting more tarnished all the time.

Making matters still worse, Luxurylaunches describes the specs as disappointing, with a "substandard 2-megapixel camera, flimsy keys, and small screen." Other than that, it's terrific. We were going to … Read more

Hummer is coming out with the second version of its branded handset, but it somehow doesn't seem to live up to the reputation of its nameplate. The original version seen last year at least made an attempt with a camouflage design, but the latest model from ModeLabs Group bears hardly any indication that it's related to the Hummer at all, at least in appearance.

The "HT2" appears to take a candy-bar form (apologies to macho Hummer drivers for the reference) as opposed to the original slider, but there may be other versions. The mobile phone does … Read more