Feb 18

Sagem Orga shows off pricey SIMfi prototype at MWC

Posted in: hands-on, mwc, mwc 2010, Mwc2010, Today's Chili, wifi

Sagem Orga was on the floor of MWC this week, a company that really doesn’t typically draw a lot of attention outside wireless industry suits who fly out to Barcelona to broker deals — at least, not until they do something totally insane like stuff a WiFi radio into a SIM card. We talked to the company a little bit about its coin-sized technological tour de force and we were shocked to learn that it doesn’t instantly nuke your phone’s battery — the gentleman running demos said that he was getting about a days’ worth between charges with occasional use. Of course, “occasional use” could mean anything, but he added that the card is currently throwing out a hotspot cloud of anywhere between 5 and 50 meters, and it could easily be reworked to stay within a much smaller radius which improves battery consumption in the process.

Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take any pictures of the actual SIMfi; this is just a dummy pictured above, but our demo guy took off the battery cover of his phone and we were shocked to find that the real thing looks no different from any other SIM (no, seriously). We guess that makes sense since it has to fit into a standard SIM slot, but it’s rocket science how they managed to fit all that circuitry into a board that tiny — in fact, we were shown an x-ray view of the card, and the number of chips, resistors, and miscellaneous pieces of technology in there is nothing short of mind-bending. It’s hard to say when (or if) we’ll see these on carriers around the world, but it’s going to be a little while — Sagem Orga tells us the prototypes cost a stout €5,000 (about $6,800) each.

Sagem Orga shows off pricey SIMfi prototype at MWC originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

No Comments
Feb 18

iWonder why the logo is upside down

Posted in: Android, hands-on, mwc, mwc 2010, Mwc2010, tablet, Today's Chili

Among Marvell’s many demos at MWC this year was a curious white tablet out of well-traveled ODM Foxconn — the so-called iWonder — that will see duty in China later this year. It’s got a pretty awful 10.1-inch display (resistive with nary a trace of meaningful brightness or contrast), but when you consider that they’re targeting an exceptionally thrifty price point in the low $100s, it’s actually a pretty reasonable package. It’s got Android 1.6, WiFi with a dedicated hardware on-off switch, an accelerometer (though it was totally flaky on the version we used), and a handful of touch-sensitive buttons around the bezel, including last- and next-page buttons for using the iWonder as an e-reader. Marvell touts that the tablet is using its reference design as a starting point — now the next trick is helping Foxconn find a decent LCD supplier. Follow the break for some video of the iWonder showing off its Donut prowess — if you can avoid the distraction of the curiously inverted logo, that is.

Gallery: iWonder why the logo is upside down

Continue reading iWonder why the logo is upside down

iWonder why the logo is upside down originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Feb 18

Beceem’s BCS500 4G modem splices WiMAX and LTE into one chip, sampling later this year

Posted in: 4G, lte, mobile broadband, MobileBroadband, motorola, mwc, mwc 2010, Mwc2010, Today's Chili, WiMAX

When we were told market research pointed to WiMAX and LTE standards for 4G connectivity coexisting, we didn’t expect they’d do it quite so closely. Beceem, the maker of the WiMAX chips inside “every device in Clearwire’s network,” is working on a 4G modem that can handle both WiMAX and LTE, with the added extra of being able to move seamlessly between the two networks in order to find the best signal possible. The mashup of the two standards makes sense in light of all the equivocation from Clearwire and Sprint on the subject of which one they’d prefer, and would be a more than welcome simplification of our collective 4G future. Anyhow, the latest development is that Beceem and Motorola are working to pair the BCS500 to the latter’s WiMAX 4G infrastructure, with the first dual-mode chips set to start sampling “later this year” and hit mass production in early 2011.

Beceem’s BCS500 4G modem splices WiMAX and LTE into one chip, sampling later this year originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourcePR Newswire  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: , ,
Feb 18

Alcatel OT-980 with Android hands-on, we feel frugal just looking at it

Posted in: Android, hands-on, mwc, mwc 2010, Mwc2010, qwerty, slider, Today's Chili

This is arguably one of the cheesiest Android devices we’ve ever handled — and yes, we’re including KIRFs in that observation — but you’ve got to give Alcatel some credit here for taking the platform to a form factor that’s entirely under-served and doing so with an affordable price point in mind. The company plans to aggressively target HTC’s Tattoo when the OT-980 launches in its usual non-US markets later this year with Android 2.1, full HSPA, WiFi, AGPS, compass, and a 2.8-inch display. The thing is a straight-up fingerprint magnet (and the harsh lighting certainly wasn’t doing it any favors), but that’s not really any different from the Pre that it vaguely apes. The only prototype Alcatel had on hand had a busted display — if you look closely, you can make out the UI, so it seems the backlight may have passed on to the giant circuitboard in the sky. That doesn’t speak very highly of the build quality here, but then again, this is an homage to the Pre, right?

Gallery: Alcatel OT-980 with Android hands-on, we feel frugal just looking at it

Alcatel OT-980 with Android hands-on, we feel frugal just looking at it originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 09:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Feb 18

Chumby prototype with Marvell innards spotted at MWC 2010

Posted in: hands-on, mwc, mwc 2010, Mwc2010, prototype, Today's Chili

Even though they don’t make retail devices, the booths of component makers like Qualcomm, Broadcom, TI, and Marvell at trade shows are often great venues for actually seeing retail devices — these guys have to help showgoers make the connection between a boring chunk of silicon and an end product if they’re hoping to score orders, after all. Indeed, Marvell’s tent at MWC this year is a veritable cornucopia of Good Things, and we couldn’t help but notice that they’re showing what appears to be one of Chumby’s not-for-sale reference designs sporting an 800 x 600 display with an 800MHz Marvell Armada core (hence the appearance here in the booth). For the record, we’re told this is a successor to last year’s reference platform known as “Silvermoon” that had been running on a 1GHz PXA168 and that there’s a chance it’ll be available in retail form later this year. The UI’s attractive, but not really as multi-functional as Sony’s Dash — you can think of this as more of a giant Chumby One, really, with some extra screen elements designed to take advantage of the significantly higher resolution. There’s no guarantee this’ll ever be produced — or if so, when — so for the time being, our video UI tour after the break is about as close as you’re going to get.

Continue reading Chumby prototype with Marvell innards spotted at MWC 2010

Chumby prototype with Marvell innards spotted at MWC 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 09:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

No Comments
Feb 18

Sony Ericsson CEO: Google asked us to build the Nexus One, we refused

Posted in: Android, Google, mwc, mwc 2010, Mwc2010, NeXus, nexus one, NexusOne, smartphone, Smartphones, Sony Ericsson, SonyEricsson, Today's Chili

Aw, why don’t these CEOs say stuff like this in press conferences? Sony Ericsson’s head Bert Nordberg has shared with Swedish publication Sydsvenskan the rather salacious news that his company was asked to build the so-called Google phone before HTC… and it turned down the opportunity. Fearing brand dilution or something equally crazy, Nordberg states that Sony Ericsson is committed to building only its own-branded hardware and will not be a subcontractor to anyone. Haughty words from a company whose own Android device is still a good couple of months away from hipsters’ pockets, but we’re sure Bert knows best. After all, it’s not like HTC got a ton of positive press and brand awareness out of its partnership with Google, and it’s exceptionally clear that SE doesn’t need a dime of additional revenue. Oh, wait.

[Thanks, Michael N]

Sony Ericsson CEO: Google asked us to build the Nexus One, we refused originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSydsvenskan.se  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: ,
Feb 18

Motorola MT710 quick hands-on

Posted in: hands-on, motorola, mwc, mwc 2010, Mwc2010, Today's Chili
We’ve already had a quick look at the Korean Motorola MOTOROI, and we figured it was only fair if we gave the Motorola MT710 a fair shake, too. The MT710 is running the Android-based Ophone OS on some pretty sweet hardware including an 854 x 480 FWVGA resistive touchscreen display — to help with Chinese handwriting recognition we’d bet — replacing HSPA 3G with TD-SCDMA for 3G, and a pretty slick housing accented in reflective and red metals. Of course the MT710 isn’t meant for our market, but we’re still encouraged to see how many Android sets are cropping up here at the show and indeed from Motorola.

Gallery: Motorola MT710 quick hands-on

Motorola MT710 quick hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 07:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

No Comments
Feb 17

Vodafone 150 lays claim to ‘world’s cheapest phone’ title, ST-Ericsson works on thrifty 3G

Posted in: hspa, mwc, mwc 2010, Mwc2010, Today's Chili, vodafone

There are only two possible reasons for why a gadget freak like you would want a cheap phone: you’re either a very sensible person (who probably got mugged once), or you’re saving up for the phone of your life. Oh, who are we kidding? We all want a nice phone for next to nothing, right? The legendary Motorola MOTOFONE came close, but check out these new bad boys — the sub-$15 Vodafone 150 and the sub-$20 250, produced by TCL. Fine, they may look more like toys than your everyday eye candy, but you do get five hours of battery, SMS, two games on that mini monochrome screen, and even an LED torch on the back — and what’s more, the lowly 150 is claiming the holy grail “world’s cheapest phone” title that every manufacturer with an interest in emerging markets would kill to own. For an extra $5 there’s even a larger screen in color (!), not to mention FM radio. If you want one, you better start flying walking to either India, Turkey or Africa where the phones will be launched over the next few weeks, or you can just gaze at Fonehome’s hands-on video of the 150 after the break.

On a similar topic, ST-Ericsson has launched the U6715 mobile platform with 7.2Mbps HSPA modem for Linux-based OSes (Android and MeeGo, to name a couple), and expects participating manufacturers to deliver sub-€100 (about $137) smartphones in the first half of 2010. Apparently, the trick is to use “structurally-less expensive silicon, without compromising the end user experience.” With a 1000mAh battery, the platform will deliver up to 40 hours to musical entertainment — twice that of the Nexus One with 1400mAh — and up to seven hours of 3G talk time on one charge. Pretty sweet at first blush, except there’s no mention of what the CPU would be clocked at. Regardless, all we want is some smooth video playback from the “elegant and powerful multimedia engine” — is that too much to ask?

Continue reading Vodafone 150 lays claim to ‘world’s cheapest phone’ title, ST-Ericsson works on thrifty 3G

Vodafone 150 lays claim to ‘world’s cheapest phone’ title, ST-Ericsson works on thrifty 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Fonehome  |  sourceVodafone, ST-Ericsson  | Email this | Comments

No Comments
Feb 17

General Mobile’s Touch Stone: how can something so wrong be so right?

Posted in: Android, hands-on, kirf, mwc, mwc 2010, Mwc2010, Today's Chili

General Mobile — maker of the DSTL1 dual-SIM Android phone — has always walked a fine line between KIRF and originality with its phones, and its latest batch is no different. Normally it’s easy to resist a device widely regarded as a knockoff (for most of us, anyhow), but in the case of the newest model here, General Mobile’s actually managed to answer a question HTC’s failed to so far: where the hell is the HD2 with Android? The so-called “Touch Stone” (deep breaths, Palm) rings true to many of the actual HD2’s specs, from the 5 megapixel camera to the 4.3-inch capacitive WVGA display, but this sucker adds an “optional” analog TV tuner (which won’t do countries with digital transitions any good) and Android 2.0 atop an ARM9-based PXA935 core. Sadly, this phone doesn’t quite exist yet — we were shown a dummy model today with the promise of retail toward the end of the year, at which point HTC and others will undoubtedly have phones like the Supersonic on the shelf. If you’ll excuse us, we need a cold shower, but you’ll find more shots of the Touch Stone along with the Cosmos (launching soon) and Cosmos 2 dummy (launching… well, eventually) in the gallery.

Gallery: General Mobile’s Touch Stone: how can something so wrong be so right?

General Mobile’s Touch Stone: how can something so wrong be so right? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Feb 17

Myriad Dalvik Turbo hands-on: Android apps just got fast

Posted in: hands-on, mwc, mwc 2010, Mwc2010, Today's Chili

Even on the latest round of Snapdragon-powered models, Android apps don’t typically seem to exhibit the same level of buttery-smooth prowess as their iPhone equivalents. There are a variety of reasons for that, but the most damning seems to stem from Google’s choice of the Dalvik Java runtime, which — to put it simply — trades performance for diminutive processor and memory footprints. You may not have ever heard of Swiss company (and OHA member) Myriad, but it sprung to life through the merger of Esmertec and Purple Labs and claims to have software running on an astounding 2 billion phones worldwide — in other words, these guys know a thing or two about phones — and they’ve applied their expertise to tighten up Dalvik and make it burn rubber. Follow the break for video!

Continue reading Myriad Dalvik Turbo hands-on: Android apps just got fast

Myriad Dalvik Turbo hands-on: Android apps just got fast originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

No Comments