Hasta La Gadget!

Nokia has just revealed its X3-02 handset, which does the unthinkable and marries a relatively standard 16-button keypad with a 2.4-inch QVGA touchscreen. Now, we might have our reservations about Nokia’s S40 OS being able to translate to a touch-friendly UI, but the beauty of this phone is that touch comes as essentially a free extra rather than the fundamental navigation paradigm. It’s augmented with 3G, 802.11n WiFi, and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity, and the whole thing is wrapped within a 9.6mm-thin brushed aluminum shell. All that, and the X3-02 will only cost €125 (before sales taxes and subsidies, as usual) when it launches later this quarter. See it on video after the break.

Update: Nokia has informed us the X3-02 uses a resistive touchscreen, no real surprise given its price.

Continue reading Nokia X3-02 Touch and Type puts a touchscreen on your Series 40 featurephone

Nokia X3-02 Touch and Type puts a touchscreen on your Series 40 featurephone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 05:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T came right out and confessed that it would be “the premiere carrier” for Windows Phone 7, and while it’s obviously far too early to say if that’ll be the case, this ain’t a bad way to start proving one’s point. Samsung’s Cetus (SGH-i917) was just recently confirmed to be one of the first commercial Windows Phone 7 devices last week, and now the always-disclosing FCC database has shed even more light on the phone’s intentions. Based on the mention of 850 / 1,900MHz frequency support — and that whole “SGH-i917 (ATT)” marking on the label — it’s pretty safe to assume that this 4-inch, AMOLED-packin’ superphone will soon be fighting with the iPhone 4 for shelf space. There’s obviously no indication of when Ma Bell plans on releasing this one to the wilds, but it’s typically not too far out after hitting this milestone. Giddy yet?

Samsung’s Cetus SGH-i917 sashays into FCC database, winks seductively at AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 13:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It ain’t the first hearing aid to sport Bluetooth, but it’s probably the first one to make you think seriously about tossing that Loud N’ Clear you purchased in a haze at 3:30AM last year. Operating on the 2.4GHz frequency, the ReSound Alera (and the accompanying Unite wireless accessories) actually allow those who are hard of hearing to pipe in audio from TVs, stereos, cellphones and PCs without any funky cables or fancy setup procedures. Better still, there’s no blockage of environmental noise, so folks can continue yelling speaking to their grandkids while Judge Judy tears someone’s soul apart in their left ear canal. There’s nary a mention of price (we’re guessing that doesn’t bode well for bargain shoppers), but there’s certainly a demonstration vid hosted up after the break. Just make sure to jack the volume to 11, cool?

Continue reading ReSound’s Bluetooth-infused Alera hearing aid: finally, you can toss that Loud N’ Clear

ReSound’s Bluetooth-infused Alera hearing aid: finally, you can toss that Loud N’ Clear originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 10:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s not guaranteed to make you any smarter, but having such an intelligent little bird upside your ear may at least give you a minor boost in confidence. A full 1.5 years after the original Q1 made its debut, BlueAnt is introducing its Q2 Smart Bluetooth Headset. Aside from being able to cancel out noise while traveling at up to 22mph (read: Usain Bolt’s average walking speed), the Q2 also touts a fully integrated text-to-speech feature that belts out news, weather, sports and the latest gossip from Microsoft’s Bing 411. And if you just so happen to use a smartphone with Android 2.0 or newer, it’ll actually read your text messages and emails aloud without you having to fish your handset out of your britches. It’s available now at AT&T stores for $129, and just in case you’re wondering, you can freak mall walkers out for five solid hours without needing a recharge. Not that we’d encourage such behavior.

[Original image courtesy of Ryan Pierse/Getty Images]

Continue reading BlueAnt Q2 Bluetooth headset enables noise-free calls during Usain Bolt’s sprints

BlueAnt Q2 Bluetooth headset enables noise-free calls during Usain Bolt’s sprints originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BlueAnt Wireless’ Q2 Bluetooth Headset does more than just relay voice. The headset, released yesterday, is more of a peripheral for your mobile phone that accepts voice commands, places calls for you, alerts you to SMS messages and reads them aloud for you (with the help of a companion Blackberry or Android app), and even announces the name of an incoming caller so you don’t have to look at your device. The Q2 also integrates with Bing 411 for quick access to news, traffic, and weather using your voice.

The Q2 doesn’t skimp on audio quality to bring you all of these feature: It has built-in noise reduction so your caller doesn’t hear background noise while you speak to them, and BlueAnt’s proprietary “Wind Armour” technology reduces noise from wind up to 22 miles per hour. The device even supports Bluetooth audio, so you can use the headset to listen to music, podcasts, and GPS information. All of these features will cost you, since the Q2 is designed to be a high-end headset. It’s available now at $129 list.