Lenovo LePhone
(Credit: Phonescoop)Lenovo has announced a new smartphone today called LePhone specifically for the Chinese WCDMA market. It has a really nice 3.7-inch 480x800 pixel display plus a completely touch-based interface for navigation -- no buttons here. It also boasts a 1 Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a 3.5-mm headset jack, 3G data, WiFi, A-GPS, plus a 3.0-megapixel camera and camcorder. The big news however is that the LePhone runs a specially customized version of Google's Android operating system which Lenovo is apparently calling the OPhone. It has integrated Twitter and Facebook applications plus an interesting proprietary 9-pin dock connector that lets you latch on an optional external keyboard. We don't know too much else about the Lenovo LePhone, but we probably won't get to get too close to it anyway -- a representative from Lenovo has said that it has no plans to release it in the U.S. market.
HTC HD2
(Credit: HTC)LAS VEGAS--Ever since the HTC HD2 was first introduced at CTIA Fall 2009, the big questions on everyone's mind has been when will it be available in the U.S. and who will the carrier be? Well, we finally got the answer on the eve of CES 2010.
During his keynote address, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced that the HTC HD2 will be coming to T-Mobile but didn't really provide specific details about availability date or pricing. The smartphone, however, is expected to ship some time in the Spring and you can sign up for alerts on T-Mobile's Web site.
The HD2 runs on Windows Mobile 6.5 and is the first Windows phone to feature the HTC Sense interface. In addition, the device offers an impressive 4.3-inch capacitive touch screen, a 1GHz Snapdragon Qualcomm processor, a 5-megapixel camera, and all the other features you'd expect in a high-end smartphone. We'll be meeting up with HTC later this week so hopefully we'll get some ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
Pong unveils a BlackBerry Curve case that blocks more than 60 percent of the phone's radiation.
(Credit: Pong Research)As the debate rages over precisely how cell phone radiation emission affects the human body, BlackBerry Curve owners who prefer to play it safe may want to look into the BlackBerry Curve Case by Pong Research.
Unveiled at CES in Las Vegas on Wednesday, the protective cell phone case--which looks much like any other cell phone or MP3 player case but at $49.95 costs considerably more--has been verified by FCC-certified labs to reduce users' exposure to radiation by more than 60 percent. It fits models 8300, 8310, 8320, and 8330.
Back in September, Wired covered the development of the case with phrases such as "paranoia placebo" and "tin foil hat," what with radiation being the very thing that makes your phone, well, work.
However, after taking the case to a radiation-testing lab, the editors announced in late October that it does, in fact, seem to work. Note to logophiles: scientists who have trouble ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a cheapskate. (I even have a blog that says so.) Needless to say, when it comes to buying games for my iPhone, I tend to choose titles that are free or supercheap.
In fact, my buying habits work like this: If a game I want costs 99 cents, I'll usually grab it without a second thought. If it's $1.99 or $2.99, I'll sometimes pull the trigger, though not without some hesitation. Anything that costs more, I rarely pony up for it.
Am I alone in this regard? To find out, I created this poll. Cast your vote, then read on for more discussion.
I suspect most people will choose, "It depends on the game." And, sure enough, some games offer relatively limited replay value, and therefore should be priced lower than games you're likely to play endlessly.
On the other hand, why should I balk at spending, $5 for an iPhone game that's every bit as good as a $50 PlayStation game? (PlayStation 2, anyway.) I'll drop five bucks for a Starbucks coffee and cookie, which last all of 10 minutes, but not on a game I might play for weeks. Why?
Maybe it's because I'm spoiled by all the great freebies, like Tap Tap Revenge 3, Unblock Me, and Traffic Rush. Or perhaps there's less perceived value in a game that runs on such a small screen.
... Read More
Pioneer drops the CD drive with its MVH line of receivers.
(Credit: Pioneer)LAS VEGAS--Pioneer is taking steps into a segment of the car audio market that up until now has been monopolized by Alpine, with its first ever mech-free receivers, the MVH-P8200 and the MVH-P8200BT.
The V in MVH means these receivers can play back video.
(Credit: Pioneer)Tossing out the often-unused CD drive, the single-DIN MVH-P8200 has no moving parts--hence the designation "mech-free." The receiver was designed to work best with Apple's iPhone and iPod, but it should play back MP3, WMA, and iTunes AAC music files via USB and SD memory card. The USB port is located directly on the front face of the receivers and the SD memory card slot is located behind the removable front face.
In the case of the P8200BT, A2DP Bluetooth stereo audio-streaming and hands-free calling are also added as audio sources. Users can browse their media libraries on the P8200's 3-inch color TFT display using Pioneer's seven-way rotary encoder, which is a knob-joystick-button ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
(Credit:
AT&T)
LAS VEGAS--It's proving to be a big day for AT&T. In addition to announcing five upcoming Android devices, committing to more app development, and launching the Nokia Ovi Store, AT&T President Ralph de la Vega said the carrier would offer two Palm WebOS devices soon. He didn't elaborate beyond that, but perhaps we'll learn more at the Palm press conference on Thursday?
(Via Phone Scoop)
The Altec Lansing Compact imT320.
(Credit: Altec Lansing)LAS VEGAS--Having just released its portable inMotion Classic and inMotion Mix speaker systems just a few months ago, we thought Altec Lansing would have taken a break from its pursuit of the perfect portable iPod and iPhone speaker. Instead, it has just whittled things down for a new speaker dock called the inMotion Compact, due out in February with a retail price of $79.
The new speaker shares a resemblance to the Classic's backward-slanting design, but cuts the fat by excluding a remote control and FM radio and shrinking the speakers down from 3 inches to 2. For those who dig the portability and design, but lack an iPod or an iPhone, a 3.5mm line-input is offered.
True to its name, the inMotion Compact measures 4 inches tall by 9.6 inches wide by 1.8 inch thick, making it extremely portable. The design includes an integrated wrap-around cover that doubles as a kickstand. For power, you can run the speaker ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
The ways people use their iPhones are almost as diverse as the number of people using the device. Soon, you'll be able to add live TV to that list.
(Credit:
Flo TV)
FLO TV and Mophie on Wednesday said at CES that they are partnering to develop a series of products that will bring live TV to the iPhone and iPod Touch. The products are expected to ship in the first half of 2010.
The FLO TV service allows users to tune into mobile broadcasts while on the go. The service boasts many of the largest networks including ABC, Fox, MTV, ESPN, NBC, TLC, CBS, CNBC, CNN, and many others.
The partnership with Mophie puts a FLO TV receiver into the company's iPhone and iPod Touch case products. That gives users protection for the device and built-in access to TV programs.
As mobile users know, video tends to drain the battery of devices much quicker than other uses like browsing the Web or checking e-mail. This is another advantage of the Mophie partnership. ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
LG's Woo Paik talks about smartphones.
(Credit: Nicole Lee/CNET)LAS VEGAS--LG didn't reveal too much about its mobile phone strategy at Wednesday's 8 a.m. press conference at CES, but it did say it'll roll out even more smartphones in 2010 than in previous years, with a big shout-out to Windows Mobile 7 in the mix.
LG also proudly pointed out that it launched around 17 million messaging phones last year, so it's clearly not going to leave that category behind. In fact, it let slip that it'll be announcing two new feature phones tomorrow morning, so we'll definitely keep an eye out for that.
Aside from that, LG didn't announce anything too new phone-wise--it touted the LG BL40 Chocolate phone and the LG Expo with the pico projector, both of which were launched last year.
(Credit:
Josh Miller/CNET)
LAS VEGAS--We think mobile digital TV is going to be a hot topic at CES 2010 and Samsung and Sprint are kicking things off by announcing that they will showcase this technology on the Samsung Moment in the Washington D.C. and Baltimore areas during the first quarter of 2010.
The trial handsets will be equipped with Samsung's Mobile DTV Chip, which will allow Moments to receive live TV programming from local broadcast stations, and, unlike MediaFlo, there is no additional cost to the user. That's right: it's free!
The Open Mobile Video Coalition is promoting Mobile DTV within the U.S. broadcast industry and hopes to gain widespread market penetration in 2010. Samsung and Sprint will be doing live demonstrations on the Moment here at CES, so we're eager to check out the technology and see if this is truly the future.
