Cell Phone Hub

Filed under: Cellphones, Features, Gaming, Podcasts

Sure, the Xbox 360 Elite was finally announced, but we've got a fair bit of interesting cellphone news this week, too. Check out Samsung's UpStage, finally launched; or the long-awaited Helio Ocean dual-slider QWERTY featurephone -- not bad eh? And then HTC had a whole slew of gear, too, from their first UMPC to the Advantage's US launch. We won't only be talking about cellphones this week, but if you're not down with mobile gadgets then you might want to snag our enhanced RSS and skip some chapters, because we've got some CTIA stuff to catch up on.

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Hosts: Peter Rojas and Ryan Block

Producer: Trent Wolbe

Music: Solvent - Instructograph (Ghostly International)

Program:
00:50 - Xbox 360 Elite and 120GB drive now official
07:22 - The Helio Ocean
12:31 - Sprint announces Samsung UpStage, 99 cent songs over the air
17:15 - HTC Shift -- the cellphone company finally goes UMPC
19:46 - HTC Advantage coming to US... under the HTC brand
23:29 - HTC 6800 / Titan hands-on
25:36 - HTC S720 vs Vox and TyTn hands-on
26:02 - Hands-on with the Samsung Ubicell
34:15 - How-to: Upgrade the drive in your Apple TV

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Contact the podcast: 1-888-ENGADGET, Engadget (Gizmo Project) or podcast at engadget dawt com

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

Yep, it's a coffin. Mobile phones have become such a critical part of our daily lives, and apparently they're becoming a critical part of our deaths now, too -- but if you're going to spend the rest of eternity inside a single phone, do you really want it to be a Nokia 7250? Seriously?

Chris: "Giving 'Early Termination Fee' a whole new meaning."
Ryan: "Nokia: connecting dead people."
Paul: "Of course it comes with an FM radio!"
Sean: "Though it will never pass the pocket test, the coffin does include the rarely used AG2GP (Audio Grave to Grave) Bluetooth profile."
Evan: "*Casket will only work in certain graveyards, $200 reburial fee applicable"

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

For some odd reason -- and a most fortuitous one for us -- the rebate team never seems to quite get in sync with the launch team for a good percentage of handset launches, giving us tantalizing glimpses at the future of cellphones now and then, or at least a model name to go on. This time we've got all we could ask for out of this common snafu, since friendly tipster AJ managed to track down a rebate form for the much-rumored Sidekick ID on T-Mobile's site that not only promises a handy $50 to whoever can navigate its tricksy questions, but also gives us a likely sounding April 18 launch date to mull over, along with our first full-on "press shots" of the phone. The cute, pared down exterior is further complemented by a selection of primary colors, as seen above, making this a likely pick for the budget-minded "I don't need no stinkin' EDGE data" fashionphone set. In fact, with prices like these ($99.99 after a $50 rebate), why not just buy 'em all to mix and match with your outfits? You know you want to.

[Thanks, AJ]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

We know you're starting to get a little tired of the aerial on that 700p of yours; no, seriously, we feel your pain. You're looking longly at that 680 over there, but the leap over to Cingular -- and to GSM, for that matter -- can be a treacherous one indeed for some users. Happily, the 755p is coming just in time to save the day before you all go out of your gourds, and for a Garnet-based EV-DO piece, she's looking mighty purty. A reader wrote in to describe his recent brush with the 755p to us, and came away with the impression that it's slimmer, lighter, and easier to hold thanks to concave surfaces on the phone's sides. A couple launch keys on the front side have disappeared (leaving only two), the stylus is a little lighter, and although the camera is still a mere 1.3 megapixels, pictures are apparently of a much higher quality. Music to a weary 700p user's (or, better yet, a 650 user's) ears, eh? See you in the next couple months!

[Thanks, James]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

According to CNET, Cingular [aka, the new AT&T] has "confirmed" June 11 as the release date for Apple's iPhone. Keep in mind that confirmation in this case is unofficial as it supposedly comes from a front-line sales support person. See, after a call to Cingular's customer service, CNET was transfered to sales where they were told of the magical date. Of course, all this makes perfect sense as the 11th also marks the kickoff of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference where Steve and Co are always keen to announce new wares.

[Thanks, Adam]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

When you think about it, Vertus and Ferraris have a lot in common: just as Ferraris give a select few the opportunity to spend an insane amount of cash on an object that provides little more value than a, say, $1,000 used car, Vertu offers a product with little additional value (and in some cases, less value) than phones offered free from carriers. Of course, you can't put a price on status, so getting these two status symbols to hook up and co-brand a device seems like a match made in heaven (more appropriate than a Ferrari-branded Moto, for example). The "Ferrari Challenge" rendition of the Ascent -- in red and black leather -- is limited to 1,947 examples (can that many people in the world really afford this thing?), each featuring a couple well-placed Ferrari logos and some weird thing on the back that's apparently supposed to look like a brake pedal. Look for it to grace your local Vertu retailer in July -- but please don't use it while driving, lest you destroy your real Ferrari, k?

[Via Autoblog, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

Prepare to have your feathers ruffled Apple fanboys, John Dvorak -- a name synonymous with curmudgeon -- has called on Apple to "pull the plug on the iPhone" and pass it along to some other "suckers" before it's too late. His case? Essentially, as a newcomer "there is no likelihood that Apple can be successful in a [cellphone] business this competitive." Echoing similar sentiments already shared by Palm's Ed Colligan. Of course, we've already witnessed a newcomer step into the mobile handset business, which Dvorak describes as a "buzz saw waiting to chop up newbies," and emerge as the boutique, go-to provider for high-end handsets -- heard of HTC? Hell, you don't have to be a fanboy or even an iPhone fan to feel the retch of nonsensical nausea welling within. Look, we're not saying Apple's success is guaranteed by any stretch, but let's call this rant what it is: shameless attention whoring. Well, he's got it.

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

Hey, hey, just three weeks after we got word, out pops the Nokia XpressMusic 5700. Just like the XpressMusic 3250, the 5700 gets its multi-media on via a quick flick of the base. This UMTS S60 twister brings a 2 megapixel shooter with up to 2GB of MicroSD storage. The focus here, though, is music so it packs WM DRM support with a "dedicated audio chip" to keep the music flowing, integrated stereo speakers, Bluetooth A2DP, and 3.5-mm adapter to fit your favorite headphones. Hitting Europe in Q2 for a pre-VAT price of €350.
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

A survey of cellphone users in Australia, conducted by Panorama and released by Nielsen Media Research, has proved what pretty much everyone already knew: people are likely to base broad, stereotypical assumptions about you on your cellphone, just like they do with everything else you use and wear. We're guessing this breaks down a bit differently in Aussieland, but here's how mobile users tend to associate down under:

Nokia: Family-minded, middle aged managers, balance seekers, health conscious
Motorola: Fashion conscious, under 24, fun seekers, individualistic
Sony Ericsson: Ambitious young men, professionals, success driven, individualistic
LG: Favorite of mums, stay-at-home parents, success driven, harmony seekers
Samsung: Young women, career focused, success driven, fun seekers

The upshot of this research is that since most phone service providers rate the same, people are for the most part picking a carrier based on phone selection -- again, we're not exactly floored by the analysis here. Now all that's left is how to pigeon hole HTC and Palm users. We're thinking "good looking, fun loving, Engadget reader" would be a nice start.

[Via textually.org]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!