Hasta La Gadget!

In another line of firsts for Google’s Android mobile operating system, General Mobile is likely to launch a new Android handset that will support dual SIM cards.

SIMs or Subscriber Identity Modules store the data that identifies the user information to the telecom service provider. A dual-SIM capable phone allows users to have two numbers on a single handset, making it especially convenient for business users and road warriors who would like to have one number for work and another for personal use.

General Mobile says its upcoming handset called DSTL1 will be shown at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona next month.

The current form factor of the General Mobile phone may not entirely be compatible with Android, says Android Authority, for its features such as the lack of the five-button configuration required to run the OS. Which means the handset design could change slightly.

Otherwise, the phone’s specs are fairly routine. It has a 3-inch touchscreen display, Wi-Fi, GSM/EDGE support, a 5-megapixel camera from Sharp and is reasonably lightweight at 4.75 oz.

As you may be aware, the Davos conference for the super-rich and powerful is going on in Switzerland right now, and throwing all those egos into a room together can lead to some testy moments — like today, when Michael Dell asked Vladimir Putin how the US could help Russia improve its IT infrastructure. Putin’s response? “We don’t need help. We are not invalids. We don’t have limited mental capacity.” Saucy! Vlads followed up by pointing out that Russian scientists mainly focus on software, not hardware — interpreted by many as a further slap at Dell. Any bets on whether Mikey D replied by saying that if he were in charge, he’d shut Russia down and give it back to the people?

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Putin to Dell: “We don’t need help. We are not invalids.” originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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These days, it’s pretty tough to find an iPod dock that differentiates itself from the crowd. Then again, Universal Remote Control isn’t your average iPod accessory maker. Designed specifically for the custom install crowd (but aimed at anyone who appreciates tight home integration) is the PSX-2 Personal Server. Put simply, this doodad enables users to control their iPod like never before by providing users a method of “exploiting all of the iPod’s features, including some obscure and rarely-used ones,” with any ole IR remote. The device provides “hundreds of discrete IR codes that cover virtually every iPod function, and even functions that aren’t available on the iPod itself, such as commands for each of the iPod’s EQ settings and the ability to perform alpha searches.” Sure, it’ll set you back $399, but that’s a small price to pay for giving your universal remote one more reason to hang around.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio, Portable Video

URC’s PSX-2 iPod dock enables control via universal remote originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you got an HD-capable digital camera or camcorder over the holidays, you might be wondering which Web sites can handle those massive files you’ve been recording. Over on Webware, we put six big video-hosting sites head-to-head to see which one handled HD video the best.

Included in the …

Whoa, whoa — calm down hiptoppers. Don’t act like you didn’t know a new Sidekick was coming in the year two-thousand and nine. Actually, there is a fair reason to celebrate here, ’cause if these specs are true, the Sidekick LX 2009 will be a surefire winner. A reader over at HipTop3 reportedly came across this image above while taking an online survey, which — as your eyes have no doubt confirmed — shows off the very first 3G / GPS enabled Sidekick ever. Specs wise, it’ll supposedly boast a 3.2-inch WVGA display (854 x 480), a 3.2 megapixel camera, microSD card slot, easy access to YouTube, MySpace and Twitter, turn-by-turn navigation and video recording capabilities. Sadly, there’s still a sliver of a chance this could all be a hoax, but we know your brain isn’t letting itself accept that fact at the moment, now is it?

Filed under: Cellphones

Sidekick LX 2009 outed in survey, could possibly be real originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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