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Pantech’s doublEye features Picture-in-Picture camera
Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Portable Audio / Video,
Often, we find that when we bring you with news on a new mobile phone, we typically see the same features as other phones. At least Pantech‘s newest, the doublEye or IM-U490S has one unique feature: the ability to take still photos and shoot videos simultaneously. It does so using a Picture-in-Picture feature, and the phone has all the usuals, including a 3-megapixel camera, microSD card, 2.6” QVGA display, support for widgets, and about 130 MB worth of memory. It is available only in Korea for about $328 from SK Telecom.
Read More 
| Unwired View
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LG Whistle LV7500 phone lets you get creative
Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Smartphones, Design,
Every once a while, you’ll encounter a great device, but it won’t be available anywhere where you live. Case in point: the Whistle phone from LG, which is releasing in the South Korean market.
I’m not certain why it is called the Whistle, as it emits no piercing sound other than its ringtone. Clearly, its biggest selling point is the 115 LED lights on the front panel, which will allow the user some pretty creative options that you see in the photo. The phone measure in at 102.8x51.5x14.9, packs in an internal 2.4-inch QVGA display, and the LED panel on the outside is 5x23.
Other features include automatic international roaming service in 18 countries and a car diary function, all for a price of $322.
Read More | AVING
Apple releases iPhone OS 3.1 beta 3 build 7C116a
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Software,
Hey iPhone developers, Apple has just released iPhone OS 3.1 beta 3 build 7C116a, and it’s available now in the iPhone Developer Portal now. The download is 307MB. iPhone SDK 3.1 beta 3 build 9M2808 is also available immediately, with different versions for Leopard and Snow Leopard. Get to downloaded, and let us know what you find!
Palm Pre for $99, thanks to Best Buy error
Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Hot Deals, Rumors,
Looks like Best Buy is the latest company that has to deal with a mis-printed price, as they’ve had the $199 Palm Pre listed at half the price.
This morning they posted an ad for a $99 Pre. Internet sites everywhere went ablaze at the sight of this deal, but a tweet by John Bernier, Best Buy marketing manager, said that the “error is being corrected.” Too bad, but if you were able to get ahold of one for $99, Best Buy will honor that price.
Read More | PreCentral
Samsung Comeback and Gravity 2
Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds,
Samsung has been busy once again, this time with some new mobile phones, the Comeback and the Gravity 2. T-Mobile has announced that these phones will be hitting their network soon.
The Comback is a 3G handset that opens up for a QWERTY keypad, MP3 playback and microSDHC slot, as well as a 2 megapixel camera. The Gravity 2 has pretty much the same features, but it slides up to reveal its QWERTY. The price for the Comback is about $130 (for 2-year deal with $50 mail-in rebate), but the price of the Gravity 2 is to be announced.
Read More | BGR
Cricket TXTM8 phone optimized for SMS-only
Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Wireless / WiFi,
I believe that there is an entire generation that uses their mobile phone for text messages only, and it would appear that Cricket is prepared for it with the TXTM8.
The TXTM8, or text-mate, is a messaging phone with a full QWERTY keyboard. Don’t ask me where that keyboard is in this picture (we’re guessing slider,) but I’m told that it also comes with a customizable homescreen that allows users access to web content such as news and weather. Other features include a 1.3 Megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, a music player, and microSD slot.
Interested? The Cricket TXTM8 is available now for a price of $140.
Read More | Cricket TXTM8
Samsung S9110 touchscreen watchphone
Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Smartphones, Wearables, Wireless / WiFi,
Here’s a look at the world’s thinnest touchscreen cellphone, the Samsung S9110, which also happens to be the second watchphone produced by a major player. The first is the LG GD910 announced at CES last January.
The S9110 is supposed to be the “world’s thinnest” at 11.98 mm thick, and it sports a 176x220 1.76-inch touchscreen glass display, Bluetooth 2.1 integration, Voice Recognition, e-mail with Outlook sync, music player, and speakerphone. The watch has 40MB of internal memory.
All this can be yours for about 450 Euro ($638 USD). It is planned for a release in France later this month.
Read More | Samsung S9110 Press Release
DYA Phone mobile concept
Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Smartphones, Design,
What you are looking at is a mobile phone concept by tech designer Aran Mun, affectionately called the DYA Phone, but we think it looks more like a DIY phone. After all, who but a user would come up with a phone covered in elastic paint that protects it from damages?
Not only that, but who would come up with a phone with a set of ordinary looking, out-of-place buttons? Quite frankly, this thing looks like a mess, and the user experience would be fairly intolerable. What do you think?
Read More | The Design Blog
Excuse me, is that a SB6309 Cigarette Lighter phone?
Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Accessories, Smartphones, Rumors,
We haven’t really covered many cigarette-related products here at Gear Live, and this next product is one that my source cannot confirm its existence. This SB6309 Lighter Phone has a feature that would have been on all the cellular phones of the sixties: a cigarette lighter. Of course, this was back before we learned that cigarettes are bad for you (presumably).
All the user/smoker has to do is slide back the cover and light their cig on the red hot square. Hopefully, the cover is good, or this device will literally burn a hole in your pocket.
Well, I think I’ve finished making all the jokes I can about a product that may or may not exist. The only “fact” that I know for sure is that it comes in red, brown, and black. I wonder if the red is Marlboro red. Okay, I still had one cig joke left in me.
Read More | Seabright via Engadget
Verizon Wireless opts to end handset exclusivity agreements (with a catch)
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Handhelds, Wireless / WiFi,
Verizon Wireless announced this morning that their President and CEO, Lowell McAdam, has sent a letter to lawmakers on Capitol Hill announcing that “Effective immediately for small wireless carriers…any new exclusivity arrangement we enter with handset makers will last no longer than six months - for all manufacturers and all devices.” At first glance, that’s kind of a big deal. After all, handset exclusivity is something that can be very financially beneficial to a carrier (see AT&T and iPhone as one such example.) So here’s the thing, when you re-read that statement, you discover that this exclusivity thing will still be in effect as it pertains to AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint. It’s only the small wireless carriers, those with 500,000 customers or less, that will be able to pick up handsets that are exclusive to Verizon Wireless after a six-month period. Still, it’s better than nothing, but the cast majority of non-Verizon Wireless mobile customers won’t benefit from this news.
In other words, this is a blatant attempt by Verizon Wireless to look like the nice guy while the FCC and congressional inquiries into exclusive handset deals proceed. This isn’t much progress at all. It’s just a political play that we can guarantee wouldn’t have happened if lawmakers weren’t taking a peek behind the curtain. What’s more, Verizon is hoping that other carriers will follow their lead with this move, specifically AT&T with the iPhone.
You can see the entire letter after the break.
Click to continue reading Verizon Wireless opts to end handset exclusivity agreements (with a catch)
Read More | Verizon Policy Blog
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