Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on January 09, 2007 by CyberNet.

Big news today at Macworld. After years of anticipation, speculation, and rumors, Apple has announced the iPhone! Here are some of the features:

• 11.6 mm (thickness)
• 3.5 in. (width)
• Runs Mac OS X (access to Safari Web browser)
• Touchscreen display with multi-touch support
• 2 megapixel camera
• 8 GB storage
• Bluetooth with EDR and also WiFi
• Quadband GSM radio with EDGE
• EDGE or WiFi, the phone switches to WiFi when detected
• Google Maps: Satellite directions, traffic monitoring, and normal maps.
• Random access voicemail
• Widgets: Weather and stocks
• Photo album lets you scroll through images with your finger and you can zoom in/out by “squeezing” or “pinching” the screen with two fingers.
• The orientation of the screen (landscape or portrait) will automatically rotate based upon the orientation of the device itself.

One of my favorite features is the quick switching. While listening to your music using the iPod application on your iPhone, the phone rings.  As the phone call comes in, the music fades out, and the screen changes allowing you to answer.  While on the phone, you can even pull up photos to send in an email, and browse the web.  After you end the call,  the iPod continues playing where you left off. Amazing!

Also on stage with Steve Jobs was Jerry Yang of Yahoo and Eric Schmidt of Google.  A big part of this iPhone is the use of some of Google’s services, like the maps for satellite directions, and traffic. Yahoo is involved by offering free push IMAP email for all of the customers.

Now for the price: The 4GB model will be $499 and the 8GB model will be $599. They’ll start shipping in June! Note: As Nate the Great mentions below, it does require a 2-year contract.

News Source: Gizmodo

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This is the Android-based, 3-inch Sharp touchscreen, General Mobile DSTL1. And it is everything the T-Mobile isn’t: A stunning design and features combination that may convince regular consumers to choose the Android platform over iPhone.

Seriously, while the T-Mobile G1 leaves me completely in a blah state of mind, DSTL1 actually makes me horny in a “I wish this thing vibrates really hard” kind of way.

Look at it. It’s like the Battlestar Galactica designers took the iPhone design and passed it through their Colony-Design-a-thon, adding angled corners to it but keeping the same black glass, chrome accents, black plastic, circular home button, ear speaker grill, and volume controls. The result is a design which looks extremely familiar to the public, yet adds enough changes to appeal to people who want something cool looking, but different. And with better specs too:

Technology
Double SIM, Linux 2.6 Kernel
Platform
Marvell PXA 310 (624MHz)+NXP 5209
Bands
900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
Screen
TFT/ WQVGA/ 260K Colors/ 3.0″ Sharp Brand Touchscreen Display/ 240 x 400 pixels
Wi-fi
802.11 b/g
GPRS
Yes
EDGE
Yes
WAP
Yes, HTTP/WAP2.0 support
MMS
Yes
E-mail
Yes
Bluetooth
Yes / BT 2.0 + EDR, SPP, A2DP, AVRCP, OPP, HFP
FM Radio
Yes
TV
Java
Yes ( MIDP 2.0, CLDC 1.1 )
MP3/MPEG4
Yes/Yes
Face to Face videoconferencing
Yes

Weight
135gr
Dimensions
112 x 54 x 16 mm
Memory
4GB internal memory, 256MB flash + 128MB SDRAM ,”Up to 8GB T-flash Card Support”
Camera
5MP Auto Focus with Flash Sharp Brand Camera
Voice Recorder
Yes

Talk Time
240 minutes
Standby Time
150 hours
Battery
1200 mAh
Accessories
Extra Battery, USB Cable, Earphone, AC Charge Adaptor

Others
Word, Excel, Powerpoint and PDF document view MP3/ WAV/ MIDI/ AMR support 3GP, MPEG4, AVI (DIVX),QVGA recording 30fps, decoding 30 fps JPG/GIF/BMP/PNG Business card reader support Anti theft support Video chat support

Impressive. Apparently the DSTL1 it will be at Barcelona’s 3GSM in February and I will be there to see if all these features are the real thing and how much this beast will cost. But on paper and renderings, it may be the first phone that would make me drop my iPhone. The only “but” for me: It’s 0.63 inches thick (16mm). Too much of a brick after being used to the ultra-thin iPhone. [General Mobil via Android Authority]

It’s 2009, folks, so we figured we’d start it off with a bang (and about a gazillion comments in this post). George, a proud member of the USMC, is pondering what to do about a new smartphone, and given that your New Year’s resolution was undoubtedly to ditch your dumbphone in favor of a more sophisticated model, you’ll probably be interested as well.

“I am currently in the market for a new carrier and phone. I have Verizon now, but I am not all that happy with its service in my area. With the release of all the high end phones nowadays, one could get easily lost in the details. I currently have the LG Voyager; I like the phone, but I feel trapped and can’t do much with it unless I pay for every little thing. I would like a mobile with WiFi, camera (with flash if possible), touchscreen, etc. I would like to stay under $200 with a 2-year contract. Any advice would be wonderful.”

It’s tough, ain’t it George? There’s the G1, iPhone 3G, Bold, Storm — the list rolls on. So, let’s spark up a sane, intelligent conversation on the pros and cons of each, all while remembering that our ideal handset sadly didn’t arrive in time for Christmas. Interested in getting your own inquiry up in here? Send one over to ask at engadget dawt com.

Filed under: Ask Engadget, Cellphones

Ask Engadget: Best current smartphone for under $200? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 01:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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