HTC is likely to beef up its cameraphone department

While known for its superb business and sleek fashion phones, the innovative Taiwanese HTC stated , from BGR, that it would try to improve its cameraphone department.

Eric Lin of HTC said it would not compete in the megapixel race, as hyped by the flamboyant-yet-unproven Idou.

As quoted from BGR :

"We've seen plenty of research that says 5-6MP is the sweet spot for a camera phone, so would it make more sense to put a bad-ass 5MP sensor in one of our phones?

Clever. Intelligent. Why not create a killer imaging smartphone, with working 4x optical zoom, great macro support, and all the standard features and quality of digi-cam that will drop our jaws? Certainly bigger megapixel does not equal better images. And who needs that 12 MP loaded into our printers, or our commonly used Microsoft Picture Viewer.

I personally think megapixel race is worthless. People are not stupid, and they can buy great 10 or 12 megapixel digicam with much much higher image quality and peace of mind, than speculating in an exotic device like Idou. However, there are always early adopters, and these people will surely flock to idou.

HTCs are truly smarter. It may be small, but I belive it will continue to release carefully thoughts smartphones, not only bigger and stronger ones.

Source : BGR Read More......

Sony Ericsson Xperia 2 Has Some Rumors Spread By Sony Ericsson Managing Director of UK and Ireland

Oh, please. Another hype spread out deliberately by Nathan Vaultier, Managing Director of Sony Ericsson UK and Ireland, at MWC 2009.

While it is perfectly okay and common to generate buzzword as part of marketing tactic, but his statement should be clearer than this vague rant(quoted from BGR) :

"The Xperia brand is not just about Smartphones, it's about the latest and coolest thing in mobile phones. The next product will be very different to the Xperia X1, aimed at a different product segment and also enhancing the user experience."

Considering the failure of Xperia 1, the Xperia 2 would better be a really cool device, with reasonable price and killer features. And let's stop the hype-generating statement. We want a great phone. period.

While the Idou is also hot on the talk, yet its promise of "Entertainment Unlimited", in my humble opinion, is simply unrealistic. Samsung OmniaHD deserves to use this slogan much much more than Idou. Allright Idou will have 12 mp, but so what. Entertainment is about audio visual experience, and Samsung OmniaHD with HD recording and playback simply delivers the hippest entertainment up to date.

Source : BGR Read More......

Elektrobit, The Perfect Phone for Seamen, Satellite Phone and GSM Phone In One Windows Mobile Device

Elektrobit, or trilobit, or trilobyte. Whatever. But a new smartphone called Elektrobit features a unique ability : transfer network from GSM to Satellite network, to GSM again, seamlessly. Best of it, it also sports HSDPA, WiFi, and encapsulated in Windows Mobile 6.1 Smartphone.

Love it? If you are a seaman, then most likely you will. But Engadget said this phone is said to have uncomfortable keypad. Still, satellite phone with no huge external antenna, and the ability to switch networks on the fly, is really a neat technology applied.

Design speaking, it is quite ugly. But seaman doesn't need beautiful, glossy, diamond-etched phones. They need phones that work and can withstand bad weather for communication.

No news yet where it can be bought. Perhaps here, at the official website. Read More......

Philips Tapster Is Really A Sexy Bluetooth Wireless Headset

Never before I had seen a bluetooth wireless as sexy as this. Meet the cute Philips Tapster. It looks minimalist, and it spells no-nonsense, but it promises hip features : touch control, and also better engineered product to make sure you hear the clearest voice.

You can answer a call just by gentle stroke, and controlling volume with taps. But I still don't get it. How many taps to increase volume, and how many taps to decrease volume. Of course we don't want to be deafened with it.


Shinyshiny said:

The Tapster features a FullSound chip which decompresses your music files by using its smart algorithm to give you full bodied dynamic sound. It's also A2DP compliant which means you can use it to stream music from any Bluetooth device.They've incorporated an angled acoustic design to deliver powerful sound straight down your lugholes, and seal you off from distracting ambient noise. Add to that Ever Clear technology (a fancy way of saying sound isolating properties) and they've created a smart headset which should provide you with super sharp audio,

Though I must confess I don't comprehend what that paragraph really means, but as you read it also, it promises better sound quality and better ergonomics, which means less pain in the ears hopefully.

No info on price and availability yet. Read More......

Pre Will Be Exclusive For Sprint Until The End of 2009

Are you excited about the upcoming Palm Pre? Well, you'd better add a new phone number with Sprint, if you are really a gadget-freak, and can't wait until 2010 to use it. Because right now, Pre will be tied exclusively for Sprint until 2009.

Pre has been gathering a lot of praises of good reviews around the net, among others by Gizmodo which highlights the wonderful messaging menu window :

I think this phone's biggest appeal will be the central role the internet plays in the OS. The way it pulls data from various web services, and melds it into its own framework is top notch. I think being able to text, and gChat and send IMs over AIM all from the same window is such a benefit to the user to not have to switch windows for 3 different apps for messaging. And obviously, you won't be talking to someone on a bunch of different messengers at once, but over a period of a week, you might have convos over these different services, and it's good to keep track of all these interactions in one place.

Also check out seven features that make Pre wins in a boingboing blog, though I think multitouch is not really useful.. And also checks out rather political yet gripping opinion by Chris Seibold at applematters.com, on how Palm Pre makes Apple tremble.

Well, interesting point by Chris Seibold is this :

Why the sudden interest in suing Palm? Perhaps Apple is seeing the Pre as something to be scared of. That seems to be the most rational reason and the most troubling. The next iteration of the iPhone should leave the Pre looking like it was copying yesterdays news but if the Pre is ahead of the next iPhone then Apple has a serious problem. Palm has done some great stuff but most of the great stuff was back in the 90's. There's no way Palm should be able to out engineer and out market Apple (someone will have to do both to make a legit iPhone killer). The Pre already has strikes against it, all the threats do is make the Pre more desirable. It is the phone Apple doesn't want you to have.

Let's see how Palm Pre changed the smartphone industry. But, I think we forget one simple thing here. Smartphones with Qwerty vertical keypad are, practically speaking, for geeks. And how many geeks are there in the world, in term of percentage. I always see the cellphone rivalries and debacles through marketing lenses, and Palm is a languishing brand, while Apple, Nokia, and other big players are not easily indestructible, and can fight back. It will all depend on how well the Palm Pre delivers its product performance.

Main source : Engadget, and other Palm Pre articles scattered in the www. Read More......

Vertus Releases Constellation Pure, A Gorgeous Ceramic Keypad Cellphone

Don't get me wrong. I don't love fancy and overpriced phones. But I am always amazed that there are always market for these kinds of phones. Brands like Vertu, Tag Heuer, Mobiado, are to name several leading brands in this segment.

Now Vertu breaks news again with its Constellation Pure series. The main selling point : ceramic keypads. Well yeah, so will the ceramic keypads smoothen our fingers and make texting easier? 99% of chance, they won't. But I personally think the white version is very beautiful one, to impress the typical spoiled American girls.

Now here comes the interesting part that screams quality :

The phones are built from steel, leather and ceramics – actually, the whole keypad and the earpiece is made out of ceramic materials. It’s said that Vertu’s designers spent two years in order to create the perfectly-colored ceramic.

Even better (oh time to rush and queue for the phone!) is what ModelVita has to say :

The backs of the individual keys have a special coating coated to prevent light penetration, and the holes were painted graphic to the perfect light dispersion over the entire lifetime of the phone sure. Each phone line is equipped with ceramic buttons and earpiece to provide a high gloss finish.

Hm.. steel, leather, and ceramics. Interesting combination. But ceramics are good conductors, right? So they mean they can deliver heat much more quicker. I wonder how this phone exterior feel cold when it's winter. What ceramics type is not specified. Well they better choose the best ceramics in the world to justify the astronomic €6,800 / $8,560 price tag.

Source : UnwiredView, ModelVita Read More......

Eco Charger From Carphone Warehouse Shuts Down Automatically When Your Battery Is Full

Now this idea is smart, though technically speaking it is simple.

A cellphone charger that shuts itself down when your battery is already full, presented by Carphone Warehouse. Though its physical design is aesthetically rather unpleasing, but the function is said to "save up to 300,000,000 kWh of electricity yearly – the equivalent of £85 million", assuming that all UK residents use this. An unrealistic assumption, however.

So care to buy one? It is £23. But speaking about environmental friendliness, so what will happen with your existing charger? Recycle it or what? It would be even greater for Carphone Warehouse if it provides trade-in with our current charger.

Source : UnwiredView, Pocketlint. Read More......

Hyundai MB 490i Dolphin Adopts Yamaha Speaker

Hyundai is the brand name of a car, a tractor, a ship (!). But wait, it now enters the already-crowded cellphone industry. And Hyundai's debut does not impress me, and you either. It features a Hyundai MB 490i, which looks like a dolphin. So what, if Nokia launches a cellphone that looks like a frog, will you buy it? I surely doubt.

Well, this guy looks desperate to make a dent in the market. However, there are some features worth mentioned. 240 x 400 touchscreen, plus Yamaha speaker, are not bad ideas. But the lack of keypad and only radio-knob-like control in the upfront, well that's quite unwelcome, I guess.

The back side of the phone in uninspiring at best.

So, what is that eye of the dolphin in the phone? I wonder how it functions, and whether it brings some value. Perhaps it is a dedicated web browser button or camera button, or media button.

I think this phone will sales will languish before it even spells its first ads. Yet, it's another nice attempt to add cellphone to our wonderful civilization.

Sources and image from : UnwiredView. Read More......