Hasta La Gadget!

Sick of your friends saying you look fat in those jeans? Apparently, NTT DoCoMo feels your pain and aims to swap out the peer criticism with smartphone objectivity. Shown off in advance of CEATEC Japan 2011 (an annual electronics trade show), the operator took the wraps off several mobile-based accessories, ranging from gamma ray and UV light monitoring phone cases to a breathalyzer-like add-on for measuring body fat (you paying attention, HTC Rhyme?). There were also a couple of applications on hand for checking photos of food against a calorie database à la Google Goggles, and an AR implementation for weather services on tablets. It’s not clear whether the Japanese carrier actually intends to release these innovations to the mass-consuming public, but as with all things tech in that corner of the world, they’re sure to get it before we ever do. Jump past the break for a video peek at Nippon’s creep towards a Hitchhiker Guide-style wireless world.

Continue reading NTT DoCoMo’s mobile accessories smell your breath, tell you to put the burger down (video)

NTT DoCoMo’s mobile accessories smell your breath, tell you to put the burger down (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechCrunch  |  Penn-Olson  | Email this | Comments

ViewSonic has revealed its latest Android phone, the V430 — though you’d be hard pressed to tell who made it from looks alone. Putting the incognito design aside, vital statistics include a meaty WVGA 4.3-inch screen, and a 5 megapixel primary camera paired with a VGA front-facing camera, all chugging along on a 1GHz Snapdragon processor. ViewSonic has cut down to only three buttons below the screen, a change from the four-button setup we’ve seen on its previous Android tablets and phones. Sadly, the Android version number has been similarly reduced — the V430 is apparently running Android 2.2, not the Android 2.3 Gingerbread deliciousness we’ve come to expect from Google-powered smartphones in 2011. The V430 looks set on launching first in Russia, but no word yet on whether it’ll board the Trans-Siberian across to Europe and beyond. Price is also Russian secret.

Froyo-based ViewSonic V430 smartphone appears in Russia, anonymity almost guaranteed originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Unwired View  |   | Email this | Comments

We recently stumbled upon the latest smartphone that LG’s preparing for its home country, and wow, this plus-sized beauty is sure to turn some heads in South Korea. The device is known only as the LU6200, but it packs a 4.5-inch AH-IPS display at 720p resolution, a dual-core 1.5GHz Scorpion CPU, an Adreno 220 GPU, along with an 8 megapixel AF camera and connectivity to the U+ LTE network (which supports a maximum theoretical download speed of 75Mbps). Further, users will find a 1.3MP front-facing cam, 1GB of RAM, 4GB built-in storage, an 1,830mAh battery, 801.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0, along with support for DLNA, MHL, WiFi Direct and NFC. Specifically for the Korean market, the handset can also receive digital radio and TV broadcasts through terrestrial DMB. LG has launched a teaser page for this Gingerbread-powered smartphone, for which pre-orders are said to begin on September 26th — although, there’s yet no word on the pricing. It’s certainly intriguing, though we’ll gladly wait for a stateside version before raiding our piggy bank… again.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

LG teases LU6200 with 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, 720p HD display, Gingerbread and 75Mbps LTE originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Sep 2011 16:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Moveplayer (translated)  |  LG U+ (Korean)  | Email this | Comments

There’s a new BlackBerry coming to town, and as you’re likely aware, it’s the first touchscreen-based Curve from Research in Motion. The folks BGR happened to score a few still shots of the pint-sized companion, where it’s situated next to its larger Torch sibling for comparison. The specs remain the same since we last checked in with the device, though as a quick point of clarification, its HD video capture is limited to 720p — as if you really expected full 1080p. We can’t include all the snapshots here, but it’s rather obvious this isn’t your father’s BlackBerry. If you’ve got a burning desire for these curves, you’ll find a full gallery in the source link below.

BlackBerry Curve Touch 9380 ‘Orlando’ poses for the masses, invites you to look… but not touch originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 03:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  BGR  | Email this | Comments

It looks like the LG Marquee’s gearing up for its coming out party. We first caught wind of the Optimus Black clone when it surfaced in blurrycam form at a Radio Shack briefing, running what appeared to be vanilla Android, and branded for the Now Network. Well, thanks to a leaked press shot over on PocketNow, we can clearly see that the device is, indeed, sporting a lightly-skinned version of the pure Gingerbread experience, with Sprint ID replacing the browser in the phone’s launcher. Cosmetically, you’ll also notice the new grey-colored chassis has a striped band sweeping down the battery cover, although the camera placement remains similar to its European cousin. Aside from that, the only other notable difference is in the design and arrangement of the capacitive buttons. The specs seem to fall line with its elder LG stablemate, as the handset packs a single-core 1GHz processor, 2 megapixel front-facing / 5 megapixel rear cameras and 4-inch NOVA display. The only question that remains is whether you’re willing to forgo impending beastliness for elegance this October when it’s rumored to launch.

Update: Sprint’s made it official. The LG Marquee’ll be available for pre-order online on September 20th, and will go on sale October 2nd for $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a two-year contract.

Continue reading LG Marquee steps out in leaked press shot, coming this October? (updated: it’s official)

LG Marquee steps out in leaked press shot, coming this October? (updated: it’s official) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 11:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  PocketNow  | Email this | Comments