Hasta La Gadget!

Don’t get us wrong, the concept of a truly dynamic keypad on a phone is awesome, and we’re sure that the concept is going to be going places in the next few years — we just don’t think that a handset that looks like this is going to be the one to light the fire. Pictures of the Alias2 from Samsung have filtered in after yesterday’s user manual leak, giving us a better idea of what the phone looks like; we still can’t put our finger on what technology the keypad is using, but given that we’ve heard that it’ll retain its layout with the battery out, we’re starting to think that it might be segmented E Ink. Active matrix E Ink would’ve been ten times cooler, but we imagine it’s not quite at the price point yet where it makes sense for a product in this range. Keep on keepin’ on with the innovative stuff, though, guys — just make sure it spends a little more time in the design department next time.

Filed under: Cellphones

Samsung’s Alias2 in live shots, still not looking awesome originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve stumbled across a… ahem, major national retailer’s stock sheet for the next few weeks, and things are looking up — particularly on AT&T, where we’ll have a couple of long-awaited releases. Let’s start with the unknown, though: there’s a “Jackfrost” due at the end of the month, and without even a manufacturer listed, it’s impossible to know what this thing could possibly be. More importantly, though, the long-rumored LG Zenon (which spikes the less-trademarkable “Xenon” spelling we’d seen before) is slated for mid-April, and the even longer-rumored E71x — which may simply be known as the E71 by the time it launches — should drop by at the beginning of next month. Moving over to Big Red, that Nokia 7205 Intrigue that’s been kicking around in spy shots since the early part of ’08 might finally launch in just a few days’ time. All told, we have a lot of emotional closure around the corner with these launches, don’t we?

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Verizon’s Nokia Intrigue, AT&T’s E71, LG Zenon, and others expected shortly originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In the unlikely event that you needed a few final shreds of evidence to be convinced that the CDMA version of the BlackBerry Pearl flip — the 8230 — is real, feast your eyes on this heavy reading. Just-approved FCC documents show a device outline that can only be described as that of a clamshell, and sure enough, the SAR report indicates CDMA and EV-DO on the 850 and 1900MHz bands, so yeah, if this isn’t the 8230, we can’t imagine what it’d be. The timing on this development really couldn’t be any better since we’re expecting it to hit both Verizon and Telus in the near term, so quick show of hands: who’s buying?

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

BlackBerry Pearl 8230 flips its way into the FCC’s heart originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For most, cellphone trade shows mean carefree gadget porn. For some, they’re an assault on beleaguered gadget egos. Last time we helped straggling WinMo users. Now, dear last-gen BlackBerry users, we’re reaching out to you.

Users of the Pearl, Curve and 88xx phones, despite being highly capable devices, are getting it from all angles; on one front, RIM left these handsets behind for OS 4.6, and the touchscreen Storm looks like it’s from a different planet. Other phone makers are moving into exciting new territory, releasing totally new hardware and software at steady clip. In short, it can be rough to own a last-gen ‘Berry, not to mention one of the older 7000 series handsets. But the theory here is the same as before—just because your handset is technically last-gen device doesn’t mean it has to feel like one.

Ditch the BlackBerry Browser for Good
RIM’s newest browser, bundled with 4.6x and 4.7x handsets, is good. It renders like a modern mobile phone should. NOT SO for the 4.5 and earlier browsers. They might be fine in the exciting world of WAP, but that’s yesterday’s mobile web.

Opera Mini: This feisty little browser has been backing up RIM’s stock software for years, and with good reason. It’ll run on almost any BlackBerry, with (old version) support spanning back to the ancient, black-and-white 5810, which was released in 2002. Opera uses server-side optimization to speed things up, but the end result is an experience that at least resembles browsing as we know it today.

Bolt Browser: Bolt, which I made note of a while ago for “not looking horrible“, is now available to the public, and it’s quite good. It uses server-side compression just like Opera Mini, but generally achieves more faithful results in a shorter time. Most of its magic lies in its rendering engine, the same soon-to-be-ubiquitous WebKit found in Mobile Safari, Mobile Chrome and the Pre’s new browser.

Dress Your Interface Up Like a New BlackBerry, Or Pretty Much Anything Else
Pre-4.6 BlackBerry OSes share the same awkward aesthetic. It’s at once dry and businesslike, pastel and cartoonish. A relic for sure, but one that takes customization quite well. Plenty of themes are floating around on the internet, but loads of them cost money and nearly all reside in horrible, spammy website. Oh, and 95% of them are terrible. But that means that a few aren’t—here they are:

Go to Themes4BB. Seriously. Registration is required to access the forums, but once you’re done you have access to a huge number of free, occasionally decent BlackBerry themes for almost any model. The obvious iPhone, Mac OS and Windows skins litter the message boards, but the best will give your interface a near-full conversion. If feeling left behind is your problem, there are high-contrast 4.6-inspired skins for most models.

Fill Out Your App List:
While you’ve got a prime messaging device in your pocket, there are areas where the standard BlackBerry apps are lacking. We’ve covered browsers, but there are other apps that can have an equally transformative effect on your handset.

Google Apps: Aside from plethora of mobile web apps offered by Google, there are a few native ones as well. Google Mobile provides access to Gmail (possibly a bit redundant), GPS-compatible Maps (a must-have) and Google Sync, which will keep your contacts and calendars neatly paired with Google Apps.

VoIP: BlackBerrys have been sadly neglected by Skype, but that doesn’t mean VoIP is out of the question. iSkoot is a surprisingly functional 3rd-party app which uses Skype’s network and is able to make and receive relatively clear Skype voice calls, even over 2G networks. Truphone is a simple app that’ll route international calls at local call rates. Gizmo5 is one of the better of the sea of second-tier Skypes out there, and their VoIP app, which offers not just free calls to other Gizmo5 users, but instant messaging on a range of popular networks, is worth a download.

WebMessenger Multi-Protocol IM: Some BlackBerrys are blessed with a bundled AIM app; most aren’t. WebMessenger does a handy job of combining most popular messaging protocols into an easy interface. And honestly, what is your BlackBerry good for if not furiously typing short messages to all your friends through as many channels as possible?

TwitterBerry: Further facilitating the aforementioned HAVE QWERTY, MUST COMMUNICATE ethos is TwitterBerry, the preeminent Twitter app for any BlackBerry. The iPhone may have seized the attention of the Twitterati, but any BlackBerry, new or old, is better suited to the service that the Apple’s buttonless handset. TwitterBerry has the potential to bring upon the world heretofore unseen levels of oversharing, courtesy of you, last-gen BlackBerry users.

Viigo RSS Reader: Viigo is a fantastic RSS reader, able to consolidate any number of feeds—website content, Google Alerts, social networking sites—into a friendly, simple interface.

Dealzmodo Hacks are intended to help you sustain your crippling gadget addiction through tighter times. If you come across any on your own that are particularly useful, send it to our tips line (Subject: Dealzmodo Hack). Check back every other Thursday for free DIY tricks to breathe new life into hardware that you already own.

We’ve been hearing some idle chatter that RIM intends to redo its Pearl 8220 flip in a CDMA flavor any minute now — and RIM’s one of the best manufacturers in the game at spreading its wealth equally between the GSM and CDMA sides of the fence, so an 8230 model seemed like a foregone conclusion from the moment the 8220 was announced. Sure enough, we now have a shot of a Verizon-branded 8230 doing its thing — not really what Bold hopefuls on Verizon were hoping for, we’d imagine, but a solid consumer-grade offering nonetheless. The fella who posted the shot over on CrackBerry’s forums doesn’t know what colors will be available at launch, but mentions that he expects it’ll be “coming soon.” CTIA in April, perhaps?

[Via Boy Genius Report]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

BlackBerry Pearl 8230 caught in Verizon garb originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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