Cell Phone Hub

Remember when playing Quake III at a decent resolution required a $5,000 Alienware? Man, those were the days. Now, we can’t help but be thankful for a few special Nokia handsets (the N95 8GB, E90 and N82 in particular) that can all handle the game by their lonesome. In fact, the latest version of the software adds a few remarkably awesome extras. For starters, users can now take advantage of on-phone server support, meaning that your handset can actually host a Quake III multiplayer battle (and may we recommend the server name “trashaccident?”). Also of note, the devs have tossed in support for Bluetooth mice and keyboards. We know, right? Tap the read link for all the juicy installation instructions.

[Via Decoder, thanks Olli]

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming

Nokia Quake III gains on-phone server, Bluetooth keyboard and mouse support originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Nov 2008 01:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you’ve been gritting your teeth and letting the PR onslaught of the iPhone 3G, Storm, and G1 knock you around as you waited for Nokia’s entry into the widescreen, touchscreen superphone market — that wait appears to be nearing it’s end. Nokia has gone and gotten all official and release-y with it’s anticipated (if somewhat disappointing) 5800 XpressMusic… or as we know it, the Tube. According to the company’s PR, the device “is now, or will be soon” available in Russia, Spain, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Finland, “among others.” If you’ll recall, the phone boasts a 3.2-inch, 16:9 resistive touchscreen (hey, they throw in a guitar pick stylus), a 3.2-megapixel camera, 8GB of on-board storage, and the constant assurance that you’re using a phone once called the Tube. No word on price or plans, but we expect cheap, and lots.

[Thanks, Pdexter]

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia’s 5800 XpressMusic goes on sale somewhere in the world originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Nov 2008 09:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It’s not like Nokia was dominating sales in Japan anyway — far from it. So it’s not too big a loss to walk away from its near 1 percent market share when it’s sitting atop a (dwindling) 40% 39% share globally. According to Nokia vice president Timo Ihamuotila, “We have judged that we cannot continue to invest in product development just for Japan amid the current tough economic conditions.” Nokia will continue to sell its luxury Vertu branded phones though, presumably on that MVNO Nokia is rumored to be rolling out this spring.

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia pulls out of Japan, nobody notices originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Nov 2008 03:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We’ve heard that it’s been showing up on doorsteps and in stores for a few days now, but T-Mobile has just officially given the word that the G1 is now available in white to complement bronze and the especially personality-free black (not to say there’s anything wrong with that, black G1 owners). The price, hardware, and software are all the same, so if you thought this release might somehow magically bring a soft keyboard with it, think again. Any guesses what — if any — future colors we might see on this puppy?

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

T-Mobile G1 now available in frosty white originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As you probably learned in grammar school, there’s a time in every gadget’s life when it gets the Colorware treatment — and for the G1 and the Bold, the time is now. It’ll run you $150 to dress up your current T-Mobile handset, or the company will ship you a brand new one $725. Prices for the BlackBerry Bold run $139 and $674 for the makeover and the whole phone, respectively. Sure, that’s a pretty pile of change, but if you’d spent your formative years in the East Coast rave scene you’d know just how coveted and stylish a pink, blue and orange G1 really is. If the BlackBerry is more your speed, make sure you check out that sexy number after the break.

[Thanks, Ken]

Continue reading G1 and BlackBerry Bold get the Colorware treatment, finally feel at home with your bippies and lightsticks

Filed under: Cellphones

G1 and BlackBerry Bold get the Colorware treatment, finally feel at home with your bippies and lightsticks originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Whittling might have been a hoax and Blackberry massages just a ruse, but the Awethumb is all too real — and all too freaking amazing. Yeah, we’re not at all sure that these $8 plastic thumbguards — available in your choice of colors! — will actually protect you from repetitive stress or even make typing easier, but all the dudes and dudettes on the El train will know you mean business when you slip ‘em on. As an added bonus, lack of compatibility with the iPhone will allow you to express your disdain for touchscreens in a satisfyingly dramatic way — if you can’t rock it with an Awethumb, you’re not rockin’. Ah, to be young and ensheathed in plastic thumb protectors. Frankly astounding video after the break.

Continue reading Awethumb is amaathing!

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Awethumb is amaathing! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Peeped in spy pics on these Interwebs since June, Nokia just went official with the 6260 slide. Unfortunately, “slide” in this case reveals a numeric keypad not a QWERTY. Otherwise, it’s pretty much an iterative step beyond the 6220 classic. As such, we’re looking at a 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens, WiFi, and HSDPA/HSUPA data to quickly share photos and video on Nokia’s Ovi service with the promise of support for other photo and video sharing sites you might actually use. The 6260 slide also features Nokia Maps riding AGPS — a first for a mass market, Series 40 device. Ships in early 2009 for about €299 before taxes and carrier subsidies, naturally.

Update: Detailed specs just released show a 2.4-inch, 320 x 480 pixel display on this 15.4-mm thick slider with quad-band GSM/EDGE and tri-band UMTS radios and microSD expansion. [Thanks, L]

Gallery: Nokia 6260 slide

Read — Press Release
Read — Detailed Specs [Warning: PDF]

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia slips out 5 megapixel 6260 slide with AGPS, a first for S40 devices originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Motorola’s only — yes, only — touchscreen phone in the US market is on sale with Verizon, offering VCAST TV, two touch-sensitive surfaces (you’ll just have to read the hands-on to find out exactly what that means), and a 3.5mm headphone jack, among a host of other lustworthy features. But is the total package any good? Head on over to Engadget Mobile for the scoop on the Krave ZN4!

Filed under: Cellphones

Motorola Krave ZN4 hands-on over at Engadget Mobile originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If it’s just gotta be Windows Mobile then the HTC Touch Pro is about as good as it gets. After HTC jumped the gun yesterday, the Touch Pro is up and dancing the QWERTY slide on Verizon’s website exactly as rumored. $419.99 minus that $70 mail-rebate makes it yours for $350 with two-year contract. Right, $50 more than with AT&T.

[Thanks, Leindurstit]

Filed under: Cellphones

HTC Touch Pro breaks free on Verizon originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Some good news for iPod touch owners: one enterprising individual going by the nom de mod timmyj9 has figured out how to enable the Street View functionality in the media player’s version 2.2 firmware — albeit with some glitches. If your iPod touch is jailbroken, and if you enjoy this sort of illegitimate activity, feel free to hit the link below for some thrilling step-by-step directions. And if that wasn’t exciting enough for you, we’ve just espied a video that pits the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G against both a first and a second generation iPod touch in a fight to the death (or more accurately, TouchSport Tennis). Admittedly, this is not the most scientific of benchmarks, but the clip (after the break) clearly shows the 532MHz second generation iPod touch rocking the 3D graphics faster than its 412MHz iPhone 3G counterpart. As expected, neither the original iPhone nor the first generation iPod fare nearly as well as their siblings.

Read - Modification Enables Street View on iPod touch
Read - Second Generation iPod touch Faster than iPhone

Continue reading iPod touch gets Street View, beats iPhone 3G at tennis

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

iPod touch gets Street View, beats iPhone 3G at tennis originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.