Hasta La Gadget!

Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

Barring any disruptive portfolio shifts prior to its introduction, the Palm Pre will complete a new competitive handset dynamic that began with the introduction of the iPhone. Each of the four major U.S. mobile operators will be emphasizing a capacitive touchscreen smartphone. Curiously, none come from any of the top five global phone manufacturers. And even more curiously, each will be powered by a different operating system as the Pre at Sprint jockeys with the iPhone at AT&T, the BlackBerry Storm at Verizon Wireless, and the T-Mobile G1.

These signature handsets go beyond exclusives or even strong identification with the service provider. They bear the burden of attracting consumers looking for the coolest phone experience or at least minimizing the impact of the other signature handsets. In return, carriers lavish marketing dollars on them. Their role exemplifies a transformation of the market from the days when the RAZR was every carrier’s “it” phone and operators competed on their particular shade of pink .

The carriers’ selection of their signature handsets must be disappointing to Microsoft, which cannot claim a Windows Mobile device among them. Indeed, the single mobile operator Microsoft highlighted at Mobile World Congress as being an exceptional partner was France’s Orange. It’s not as if an operating system must be exclusive to the device as there are other BlackBerrys out there (although, as Verizon Wireless tirelessly notes, the Storm is the first touchscreen BlackBerry). And it is only an accident in time that has made the G1 the exclusive Android handset. It certainly isn’t about application support as incredibly all of the current signature handsets will have debuted without extensive third-party programs available.

Regardless, though, and despite efforts by HTC, Sony Ericsson and Samsung to skin Windows Mobile as well as Microsoft’s own improvements in Windows Mobile 6.1, there is a perceived cachet to these four signature phones that the best Windows Mobile devices are not yet delivering.

Continue reading Switched On: The “phonetastic four” versus Windows Mobile

Filed under: Cellphones

Switched On: The “phonetastic four” versus Windows Mobile originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget Chinese managed to score some face time with MSI’s new X-Slim X340 at a pre-CeBIT press event today, and we’re seriously impressed — just like the Atom-based X320, the X340 weighs just 2.8 pounds with a four-cell battery and 1366 x 768 13.4-inch screen, but it’s got more horsepower with a ULV Penryn chip and GMA4500 graphics with HDMI out. Not bad, especially if this thing comes in under $1000 like we’ve heard — we’ll keep an eye out while you check out the rest of the pics in the gallery.

Filed under: Laptops

MSI X-Slim X340 hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kensington promised us that the SlimBlade Trackball would turn us into “smooth operators,” and we certainly felt retro behind the ball — we hadn’t used a trackball since the original Kensington Turbo Mouse. Muscle memory issues and a loss of efficiency drove us back to our trusty MX Laser after just an hour or so, but overall the Slim Blade is a nice little peripheral with some slick drivers — mode changes pop up in an HUD, and spinning the ball latitudinally works like a scroll wheel — so if you’re a trackball fan, the gallery below is probably worth a long look.

Filed under: Peripherals

Kensington SlimBlade Trackball hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Engadget Spanish team just got their hands on the Samsung Show (the European, i7410 model) projector phone that we first caught a sneak peek of a CES. The Show’s projector is powered by Texas Instruments’ DLP pico technology, and though the fact that it packs a projector does increase the bulkiness of the phone as far as looks are concerned, the phone is still rather small and light. The Show can project an image of anywhere from five to fifty inches, with a 480 x 320 resolution. It’s got a 3.2-inch WQVGA touchscreen, the TouchWiz UI and also boasts a 5 megapixel camera. There are plans for this bad dude to hit Asia and Europe (but no word on if it’ll ever make its way to North America), but we still haven’t heard when, nor how much it’ll cost when it arrives. Check the video after the break.

[Via Engadget Spanish]

Continue reading Samsung Show hands-on and video at MWC

Filed under: Cellphones, Displays

Samsung Show hands-on and video at MWC originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We just stopped by TechnoSource’s booth at the Toy Fair to check out its just-announced Rubik’s TouchCube, a fully touch-sensitive update on the old classic Rubik’s Cube. The new model boasts a few features the old one did not (besides the lights and touchscreen), namely undo and hint options if you get stumped. Each of its six sides are touch-sensitive, and the cube’s got an internal accelerometer so that it only recognizes the touching going on on the top side of the cube. It also remembers your place even if you turn it off — great for those of us who will likely spend years trying to solve it just once. The Rubik’s TouchCube is going to hit shelves this fall for $149.99. Check the gallery and video demo after the break

Continue reading Rubik’s TouchCube hands-on and video

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Rubik’s TouchCube hands-on and video originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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