PdasNews.com

BlackBerry 9500 Thunder Pictures Leaked

Dimitris S. info@pdasnews.com — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:00:00 MDT

"That's right folks an anonymous tipster has sent us shots of the highly anticipated BlackBerry Thunder. The Thunder also known as BlackBerry 9500 will feature a huge 360x480 touch display and will apparently run on OS 4.7. This device will be a great multimedia player and could bring CDMA carriers true iPhone competition. The Thunder will run a carrier music store which similar to the iPhone's iTunes store and will allow users to purchase songs from their device. The display on the Thunder most likely will be a glass surface similar to the iPhone. The BlackBerry Thunder will also feature a portrait media player for watching movies and videos taken with the handset. Well that's it for now..." via blackberrysync.com

Samsung releases the SGH-i200 Windows Mobile Smartphone for Open Market

Dimitris S. info@pdasnews.com — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:00:00 MDT

"Unveiled back in February already, Samsung today announced the open market availability of the SGH-i200 Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard smartphone.Featuring triband GSM/GPRS/EDGE at 900/1800/1900 MHz and singleband UMTS/HSDPA at 2100 MHz (up to 3.6 Mbps) as well as Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (including A2DP), the i200 unfortunately lacks WiFi and GPS. On the back the i200 sports a 2.0 megapixel camera with face detection technology and smile-shot functionality; while on the front it has an additional VGA camera for UMTS video telephony. The non-touchscreen measures 2.3", supports QVGA resolution and includes a light-sensor.At a size of 116 x 50 x 11.8 mm, the smartphone weights - including the 1100 mAh battery - 102 gram only. According to Samsung, the device has a standby time up to 280 hours and a talk-time up to 3.3 hours.In addition to the typical Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard applications, the SGH-i200 includes Microsoft Office Mobile, Windows Live Messenger and ClearVueWithout a contract, the Samsung SGH-i200 is now available for 399 Euro." via theunwired.net

DreamLife - The Life Information Manager Review for Symbian UIQ3

Dimitris S. info@pdasnews.com — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:00:00 MDT

"The need for a better Calendar application on UIQ 3 can be justified by the availability of 2 alternatives, namely AquaCalendar and Agendus. Both are highly capable applications and packed with features. However, the boys who brought us DreamConnect felt the holes were not quite filled yet. The problem with these third party calendar replacements is the design. Look at Agendus for UIQ 3, for example. It was ported from the UIQ 2 version with no effort from the developer to improve on the design and follow UIQ 3 design philosophy.
The DreamSpring Team, led by Malcolm Lithgow, now offers us DreamLife, a solution offering not only calendar and todo replacements, but contact management as well, in line with their philosophy in providing a complete solution for Life Information Management instead of Personal Information Management." Read more here:

LG Dare Review at phonearena!

Dimitris S. info@pdasnews.com — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:00:00 MDT

"The Dare isnt necessarily an upgrade to the Voyager, as both are targeted to different consumers. Unlike the Voyager, which has a large clamshell design with dual displays, mechanical QWERTY keyboard, 2MP Camera, and Mobile TV service, the Dare is much sleeker and sexier, with only one display, more robust user interface, multitasking, and 3.2MP Camera. It also comes on the heals of the release of the Samsung Glyde, which didnt do so well under our testing last month. Not only is the Dare competing against those devices, but also with the Samsung Instinct for Sprint and Apples upcoming iPhone 3G for AT&T. The true winner here is the consumer, as they now have several options to choose from, with each new device trying to out-do the other." Read more here:

Samsung OMNIA Preview at phonearena!

Dimitris S. info@pdasnews.com — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 00:00:00 MDT

"As weve already mentioned, the model is based on Windows Mobile 6.1, but the manufacturer has made big software personalizations. Their main purpose is to facilitate the work of the user, by offering him navigation and menus that he is familiar with from the non-smartphones.
The homescreen is divided in three tabs with the main one housing the clock, call log shortcut, messages and e-mails. The other two are intended for speed dialing and frequently used settings (like activating the motion sensor, the mouse cursor, Bluetooth and WiFi). Here, the interface is dependant on themes, in the same style as in Soul, but at least for now the rest of the menus do not change in the same way. The promised widgets, similar to F480, are not present in the prototype. Instead, there is a submenu with shortcuts where you can place 11 applications of your choice, by dragging.Similar interface, divided into tabs is not something revolutionary and weve seen it in the latest HTC models. OMNIAs main menu, which is activated by the button on the right side or from the home icon on the start screen, is something absolutely new. It has large, beautiful icons and it looks like the menu of a regular phone. This feature gives you access to all functions and makes the standard Windows menu pointless. Some of the submenus, like the Phonebook and the alarms, have also been personalized, and all programs are united in a list. Still, most of the applications have kept their appearance, standard for a WM6.1 device." Read more here:

First N. American Carrier Commits to the HTC Touch Diamond

Dimitris S. info@pdasnews.com — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 00:00:00 MDT

"When HTC unveiled the Touch Diamond in May, the company promised that it would be coming to North America later this year. The Canadian telecom Telus has announced it will be the first carrier on this side of the Atlantic to fulfill this promise by offering this Windows Mobile smartphone.Telus will launch a CDMA version of the Diamond later this summer for $150 with a 3-year contract. This model is often compared with the iPhone, and this relatively low price will help it compete with Apple's smartphone in Canada.This version of the Diamond will support EV-DO Rev. A high-speed networking, and this carrier is going to offer unlimited data plans like $15 per month for unlimited email and IM, or $30 for unlimited email, IM, and web browsing. More information is available on Telus' web site.
An Overview of the HTC Touch Diamond
This smartphone is an upgraded version of the very popular HTC Touch, and like its predecessor it doesn't have a hardware keyboard but instead is focused on its touchscreen.It runs Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro, but includes an updated version of HTC's overlay for this operating system that makes the device easier to control with a fingertip, rather than a stylus. Called TouchFLO 3D, this provides easier access to contacts, email, photos, music, weather and more.HTC has also added a web browser that's based on Opera, and a special version of YouTube is included.The Diamond has a VGA display, which is a much higher resolution than its predecessor, and a better 3.2-megapixel camera as well.It has 4 GB of internal storage but no memory card slot, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and a GPS receiver." via brighthand.com

Openmoko Declares Independence for the Mobile Phone

Dimitris S. info@pdasnews.com — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 MDT

"Openmoko, developer of the first open mobile computing platform today announced that on Friday, July 4, it will open the online store for purchase of the Openmoko Neo FreeRunner, a mobile device that the company says will help to enable ubiquitous computing for the 21st century. Shipping to customers will commence on July 7, 2008.The Openmoko Neo FreeRunner utilizes GNU/Linux and comes with core software for dialing, SMS and recording contacts. Openmoko will supplement these features with periodic downloads beginning with a software suite that takes full advantage of the phone's hardware platform. The new software, debuting at Linux world in August, will provide exciting new location based applications.Two versions of the phone will be available: 850MHz or 900 MHz Tri-band GSM to match frequencies in different countries. Black, oval-shaped and weighing 6.5 ounces, the Openmoko Neo FreeRunner features a 2.8" 480 x 640 VGA touchscreen, Wi-Fi (802.1 1b/g), AGPS, GPRS 2.5G, Bluetooth 2.0, two 3-axis motion sensors and comes with 128MB WSDRAM and 256MB NAND Flash." Read more inside..

BlackBerry KickStart to sell on T-Mobile for $49.99?!

Dimitris S. info@pdasnews.com — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 MDT

"You may want to take this news with a grain of salt. I know the first time I heard this information I was skeptical. Then I heard it again, and again and again. And now that I've heard the same bit of news from multiple sources / informants / ninjas / tipsters / little birdies I can't help but believe it to be true. So to the best of my knowledge... the BlackBerry KickStart will sell on T-Mobile for $49.99!
50 bucks on a standard 2-yr contract and T-Mobile is apparently aiming for an early-September launch. We've known for a while now that the KickStart will be a low-cost entry into the smartphone market with a real consumer focus (lots of accessories and doodads to dress it up), but I for one wasn't expecting the low-cost to be quite that low. At $50 the KickStart becomes a Palm Centro killer and a viable option to all of those current feature phone users out there looking to upgrade but are not quite ready to endure the $100 - $200+ sticker that is typically attached to a full-blown smartphone. $50 is CHEAP. Let's hope this info holds true as it will mean GREAT things for RIM. As more photos of the KickStart have surfaced in recent weeks, it seems to me that people have become a little less excited about it. This pricing makes it a whole new ball game, so allow me repose the question... At $49.99, is the BlackBerry KickStart a Yay or Nay? Beauty or Beast? " via crackberry.com

Matias Duarte, designer behind Sidekick and Helio, now developing Palm's next-gen UI

Dimitris S. info@pdasnews.com — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 MDT

"Engadget is reporting late today that Matias Duarte is now employed at Palm and is part of the team driving the design and UI of Nova, Palm's next generation operating system. Matias was formerly the Director of Design, at Danger where he was responsible for the user experience and interface design. He also held a similar position at Helio. According to his public LinkedIn profile, Duarte has been working at Palm since September 2007 and his own job description field is teasingly vague at quote "something new... :-)" Palm CEO Ed Colligan has been talking up Nova for a quite some time now. In the last quarterly conference call he enthusiastically remarked the new system software combined with the new "game changing hardware" designed for it, will usher in a "new era for Palm." The latest hints from executive comments point to a end of year developer unveiling of some kind, with products to follow in early 2009. " via palminfocenter.com

2G Wi-Fi-less WM smartphone from Samsung approaching

Dimitris S. info@pdasnews.com — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 MDT

"According to latest reports, Samsung is preparing a new Windows Mobile smartphone, which seems to be aimed at those who leave Web Browsing to the Desktop, given that 3G, nor Wi-Fi is present in the handset.
However, everything else you'd expect from a smartphone is still present - the specs are as follows:

Connectivity: Quadband GSM 850/900/1800/1900, with GPRS/EDGE support
OS: Windows Mobile 6.1
Screen: 2.8" QVGA - 320 x 240 touchscreen, with haptic feedback support
Camera: three megapixels
Memory: MicroSDHC slot - up to 4GB supported
Extras: GPS, Bluetooth and USB 2.0 connectivity, FM Radio
Dimensions: 107x59x13.8mm" via mobile-review.com