Cell Phone Hub

By its very nature, stereo Bluetooth gear is never going to look quite as cool as its wired equivalent — but if we look back on the early days, we’re making progress. Jabra’s new over-the-ear HALO should appeal to some with its relatively convenient folding design, and as an added bonus, it kinda looks like you’re wearing a futuristic hair beret when you slip it on. How can you argue with that? Following an announcement earlier this year, the HALO’s now available at Best Buy locations for $130 promising 8 hours of music playback, 13 days of standby, seamless transition between calls and tunes, and an innovative corded mode with a 3.5mm jack. It’s tough to say whether you’ll get odd stares wearing these day in and day out — but if you’re not willing to find out the answer to that the hard way, we certainly are. Selfless, we know.

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio

Jabra’s HALO now ready to make stereo Bluetooth look a little less ridiculous originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 08:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It’s apparently still not 1,000 percent official, but that A3300 we spied not long ago from Motorola is looking a lot more real now that we’ve got pictures that look like they’ve been taken with something remotely resembling pro photography gear. sina.com.cn is reporting that the full-touch WinMo phone has sprouted a “c” on the end of its name, a shout-out to the CDMA radio it’s packing as it prepares for a launch on China Telecom’s EV-DO-based 3G network. Other goodies on board include a 5 megapixel cam, WiFi, AGPS, and a WQVGA display — and no, unless you’re in China, you probably can’t have it since Moto’s all about Android now.

[Via motorolazine.biz]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Motorola A3300c coming to China Telecom with WinMo, 3G? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 04:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hey, we knew this was coming — but we’re hearing murmurs that actual AT&T BlackBerry Bold owners are starting to get their visual voicemail updates rolling out to them. The voicemail features allow you to store up to 40 messages at a time, and add numbers to contacts from voicemail. We’ll let you know all ot the perks of software update v4.6.0.508 when we get it up and running on our own Bold, but hit the read link for AT&T’s rundown (warning: it’s a PDF).

[Via Boy Genius Report]

Filed under: Cellphones

AT&T hits BlackBerry Bold users with visual voicemail originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Could this be it? Motorola’s heading out to San Francisco to host an Android-centric event early next month. We’re not being told what’s on the docket just yet, but if we had to guess, it’s probably some combination of the Morrison and Sholes that have leaked over the past few weeks. The invitation says “Save The Date,” but you know what we’re thinking: this is really “Save The Company.” Make or break, Moto. Let’s do this.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Motorola holding Android event on September 10, awesome new handsets in store? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ok S60 5th edition fans, here you go: another touchscreen Nokia slate to admire before it could be leaked by Eldar Murtazin. The new 5230 brings a 3.2-inch touchscreen riding HSDPA data, A-GPS, 2 megapixel camera, microSD expansion, and Bluetooth 2.0 with the promise of 33 hours of music pumped over its 3.5-mm audio jack. It will launch in two flavors in Q4: a €149 model and €259 Comes with Music version. Backside pic and video demonstrating the importance of long pink finger nails for navigating its resistive touchscreen after the break.

Note to Nokia: you really should review your marketing videos more carefully unless the severe lag / unresponsiveness seen when scrolling at 36 seconds is a feature.

Continue reading Video: Nokia 5230 touchscreen seen lagging the competition

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio

Video: Nokia 5230 touchscreen seen lagging the competition originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Aug 2009 04:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Normally, we’d take a look at something like this and say, “yeah, could be real, could be fake.” Goodness knows there are enough mega-talented graphic designers in the world with the free time to craft this. Here’s the thing, though: this phone / MID hybrid — the latest in Nokia’s Internet Tablet series — has already been outed enough times so that we know this has to be a genuine press shot. If we had to guess, Espoo fashioned it in preparation for its Nokia World event in Germany early next month where the N900 will presumably be announced into officialdom; there’s no sign on when or how the T-Mobile USA version will be unveiled, but we’re getting pretty amped for it.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Nokia N900 puts on makeup, does hair for leaked press shot originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We’ve heard about a good number of these phones were bound for Verizon Wireless already, but if this leaked doc via Boy Genius Report is to be believed, we now have a much better idea when they should be within reach of consumer hands. First up is Samsung Rogue for sometime this month (we previously heard today, but that’s looking very doubtful at this point) for an estimated $370 subsidized. Next on the calendar is the “female centric” Nokia Twist 7705 in late September for $230, which more likely than not is the swiveling device we’ve seen on two prior occasions. Also due out next month is the Samsung Intensity for $130 (screenshot after the break). LG Chocolate Touch was rumored by Best Buy for today, but here it’s listed for an October debut, along with Storm 2, a “low cost QWERTY” HTC Razzle / Blitz 2 (XV6175, perhaps?), and the Motorola Sholes “Google Phone,” red D-pad likely in tow, all with TBD price tags. Rounding out the list in late November is the BlackBerry Curve 2, which we wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out to be the 8530. The first one expected for public is the Rogue, replacing the Alias 2 that just launched back in May. What gives Verizon, no love for e-ink textpads?

Continue reading Storm 2, Motorola Sholes, Nokia Twist dated for Verizon, according to leaked doc

Filed under: Cellphones

Storm 2, Motorola Sholes, Nokia Twist dated for Verizon, according to leaked doc originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As it turns out, Instinct HD really was the final name that Samsung decided for its Sprint-bound S50 / m850 Dash, at least as far as Best Buy is concerned. The “Weekly Ad Specials” listing confirms that the smartphone really does handle HD video, both recording and playback, with a 5 megapixel camera and a TV out connection for sharing. It’s also got visual voicemail, WiFi, and corporate calendar (likely Exchange and Lotus Domino) support. No price listed, but whatever it is will be effective from today through September 26th, so using our great powers of logic and deduction, we’re gonna predict it’ll hit stores sometime within the next month — bold assumption, we know. Don’t let us down, Sammy.

[Thanks, Benny L]

Filed under: Cellphones

Samsung Instinct HD pops up on Best Buy’s website with 5 megapixel camera, TV out originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Aug 2009 11:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Lackluster Gmail support has been a real pain point for BlackBerry users, and we’ve really been hoping that this new “Enhanced Gmail Plug-in” would solve all that. It’s out as of today, and we’ve certainly gotten some improvements, like support for archiving messages, marking spam and managing labels / stars. Unfortunately, these new management features are only live synced one way, from the phone to the Gmail server, so many of the actions that take place desktop side won’t be reflected on the phone once that particular message has been picked up by the BlackBerry Internet Service. There’s also the small problem of installing the thing: we haven’t been successful so far on two different BlackBerries, and you have to make sure to uninstall the existing Gmail Plug-in. Meanwhile, in BlackBerry Enterprise Server land, the Google Apps Connector has now gone live, which means Google Apps users get push Gmail and what seems to be much tighter Exchange-style syncing. Let us know if you get either of these things working with your particular setup.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

Read - Enhanced Gmail Plug-in now available
Read - Google Apps Connector for BES now available

Filed under: Cellphones

Enhanced Gmail Plug-in for BlackBerrys arrives, but only syncs one way originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Not to knock cellophane tape as a method for in-car iPhone navigation, but if you want to use the new TomTom app in a more proper setting, you’ll want the official TomTom car kit. In addition to enhancing the GPS signal and charging your iPhone, it’s also got hands-free dialing and a speaker that’s (presumably) better than the phone solo for giving directions. At a rumored price of just under $200 with software, it’s not a bad deal if you were planning to shell out $100 for the US maps, anyway. We’re still on the fence, but the hypnotic soundtrack of the promotion video is admittedly alluring. See for yourself after the break.

[Thanks, Arthur]

Continue reading TomTom’s iPhone car kit promo video is enticing, but still no mention of price or release date

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Transportation

TomTom’s iPhone car kit promo video is enticing, but still no mention of price or release date originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Aug 2009 03:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.