Hasta La Gadget!

Ready for even more rumors about Windows Mobile 7 and Microsoft’s mysterious “Pink” smartphone project? Good, cause we’ve got a few — and the first is potentially huge. ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley says her best understanding of “Pink” is now that it’s a Microsoft-branded phone running a custom UI on top of Windows Mobile 7, developed by what’s left of the Danger team and targeted at the Sidekick market. Yep, Microsoft-branded — as in, the exact thing Microsoft has been denying for ages now. What’s more, Redmond wouldn’t be letting third parties use this new UI — Pink would be manufactured only by Sharp or Motorola, who’ve made Sidekicks in the past. It all makes sense, even if it does feel a bit like MS is knifing its partners in the back — companies like HTC and Samsung have been equally aggressive in layering their own UIs like TouchFLO 3D and TouchWiz on top of WinMo, but it’s another thing entirely to compete against Microsoft itself, especially now that AdWeek says Microsoft’s selected an agency to develop a Pink ad campaign. Yeah, things are starting to get a little wild — we haven’t even mentioned the open questions of whether the Zune HD is running Tegra because it’s based on Windows Mobile 7 Chassis 1, or whether Pink will launch on Verizon, or whether Zune will appear on other phones, or… you get the idea. Hey Microsoft — you want to clear any of this up by shipping some products?

Read – ZDNet
Read – AdWeek

Filed under: Cellphones

Microsoft’s “Pink” smartphone to be Microsoft-branded? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you want to get HD in your handheld, NVIDIA’s Tegra processor is the hot way to do it at the moment, and we’ve got reasonably concrete sounding rumors from disparate sources that a handset containing one of the chips is currently under development by a “top five” smartphone builder (we’re guessing it’s not Apple), and that it’ll be out sometime before the end of the year, selling at T-Mobile and AT&T for just $199. The details of the device beyond that are scant, with Android being a possibility but Windows Mobile looking more likely, and a continued pledge of battery life of rated for “days and days” of mobile multimedia. We like the sound of that.

Read – NVIDIA Tegra phone due from “big five” firm
Read – Rumor: NVIDIA Tegra phones in Q409?

Filed under: Cellphones

NVIDIA Tegra smartphone due from a “top five” manufacturer before 2010? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is it cooler than Sprint’s Snap? That’s for you to judge, but whatever the case, Verizon has now announced its own version of HTC’s latest WinMo Standard handset. The so-called Ozone features WiFi, global roaming capability, VZ Navigator and visual voicemail support, a QWERTY keyboard (which feels great if it’s anything like its cousin’s), and a beefy 1500mAh battery that we’re betting will keep this thing going all day and then some. The best part, though, might be the price: it’ll be just $49.99 on contract after rebate when it launches online on June 29 and in stores on July 13.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

HTC Ozone comes to Verizon June 29 for under $50 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The spotlight this week may be pointed at the iPhone 3GS—and with good reason—but it’s not the only flavor of smartphone ice cream. Here’s a quick path to more info about all smartphones (and no dumb ones!)

• The four big carriers, the four best smartphone platforms, the best information you’re going to get on the subject anywhere: Smartphone Buyer’s Guide: The Best of the Best

• Got a few smartphones already in mind? We probably reviewed them:
Palm Pre (WebOS)
iPhone 3GS
BlackBerry Bold
BlackBerry Storm
T-Mobile G1 (Android)
T-Mobile myTouch 3G (Android)
Samsung Omnia (WinMo)
Note: There’s no Nokia Symbian smartphone on this list because at the moment in the US, there’s no handset we feel confident to recommend.

• Since surfing the web is one of the biggest reasons to choose a smartphone—and one of the biggest differentiators between smartphones—it’s worth it to glance over the Mobile Browser Battlemodo, and its little sister, the Windows Mobile Browser Battlemodo.

• If you’ve already whittled it down to Palm Pre vs. iPhone 3GS, check out our roundup of reviews and news stories for each: Pre vs. 3GS: How To Make the Right Decision. Or you could just skip to this sweet flowchart.

• OK, OK, so you’re set on that durned iPhone, but which one? The $99 3G? Or $199 step-up 3GS? $100 is a lot to think about (even if it amounts to less than two months of actual service): 3GS vs 3G Feature Chart Comparison

Nokia certainly took its launch lineup seriously ahead of CommunicAsia’s grand opening in Singapore this week with the launch of the 5530 XpressMusic and E72, and considering that, we’re willing to bet that Sony Ericsson would want to make a similarly big splash when it holds its press conference on Wednesday — but what could it be? The Satio and Aino are already out there, so it seems like the odds-on favorite for announcement here would have to be the well-leaked XPERIA X2. If the leaks turn out to be spot-on accurate, we’re definitely not sold that the phone’s any better-looking than the X1 it replaces, but then again, it’d be awfully hard to argue with an 8.1 megapixel cam and OLED display running Windows Mobile 6.5, even if you’re not a WinMo kinda person. The action kicks off at 4:30PM Singapore time, which works out to a torturous 4:30AM for you New Yorkers — so just how badly do you want to see it possibly unveiled, eh? And more importantly, how peeved will you be if it isn’t?

[Via WMExperts and Electronista]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Sony Ericsson launching something at ComunicAsia this week — XPERIA X2, maybe? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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