Bout damn time! T-Mobile officially announced the myTouch 3G today. It’ll drop next month and is quite the improvement over the Google G1. It’ll of course use the Android OS but will come packed with a nice big 3.2-inch display, WiFi, a 3.2-megapixel shooter and Exchange support. It’ll ship in black, white or merlot and should retail for $199.99 with a two-year contract. Overpriced? Maybe, but this is T-Mobile’s only shot at a standout phone this summer.
You know, this is a sweet mockup or whatever, but I’ve got a few issues with said cellphone gun. First off, it appears to be using a Nokia from 1998. Where is the functionality in that? Secondly, no touchscreen? Good luck selling it in today’s market. Lastly, look where the mic and headset are placed. I sense that many a dead bird will come out of talking on the phone frantically. Besides, I’ve seen way better uses for a pistol.
A rumor is going ’round the web today that suggest T-Mobile and Google will be releasing a new device called the G2 in January. I just got confirmation from my inside source at T-Mobile who says the device is indeed real and is coming soon. As for specs, he couldn’t confirm any of that with me but here’s what it’s supposed to feature:
(more…)
Thanks to a shitty economy and the greater powers that be, we’re not going to CES this year. For me, it’s a nice break from an outdated technology show full of nothing but crap. However, it’s also a decent time for a company to announce something big and Microsoft might be doing just that. An analyst at Global Equities Research is claiming that Steve Ballmer will launch a Zune phone during CES 2009. The phone will rip off both the iPhone and the Danger Sidekick that T-Mobile offers. It’ll feature a slide out keyboard similar to that of the G1 and I have no doubt in my mind that Microsoft will find a way to fuck it all up.
Just sayin’.
It seems like only yesterday I was using my 350 MHz HP desktop. It was the creme of the crop at the time and ran the original Half-Life like a champ. Combined with my 3DFX Voodoo 3 graphics card, I was set. Fast forward to the end of 2008 and Asus is unveiling a PDA phone with an 800 MHz Marvell CPU. You’ll also secure a 2.8-inch touchscreen, HSDPA 3G with GPRS/EDGE/GSM, 802.11b/g WiFi and a three-megapixel camera.
Come to think of it, this blows almost every non-Apple PC I’ve ever owned. I suppose Dylan was right when he said “the times are a changin’.”
Nokia has formally launched its latest handheld device, the E63, as a budget alternative to the E71 and a competitor to RIM’s Blackberry. The E63 sports a 3.5mm audio port, a two megapixel camera with LED flash in addition to a microSD card slot for extra storage and a redesigned QWERTY keyboard with a smaller space bar and some extra character keys. Nokia also plans to give all E63 owners free access to 1GB of space through Files on Ovi, which allows you to access files on your computer from your phone via the Internet.
But what exactly makes the E63 so budget friendly? Simply put: the E63 swaps the part-metal casing of the E71 in favor of a plastic casing. This drops the price of the E63 to $251, making it an affordable smartphone in the wake of the Blackberry. As of now, no release date has been announced but it’s only a matter of time before one shows up on eBay.
Normally, we don’t post about new cellphones on Gearfuse. The one exception is when we feel a cellphone boasts above-average features that will help its user and the Motorola ZN5 is no exception. It has a built-in 5-megapixel camera that’s optimized for low light shooting conditions. Also featured is a Xenon flash, auto-focus, panorama shooting mode and a 2.4-inch LCD. Quadband GSM with EDGE rounds it out and the phone can take up to 4GB of additional memory.
At $99, it’s a decent buy considering the camera. If you’re the kind of person who likes to moblog or take pictures on the go and send them back to Flickr, etc., then the ZN5 is right up your alley. T-Mobile customers can now get excited over a phone that isn’t the G1.
When driving in New Jersey, you’ll notice one thing: no driver follows the cellphone law. I try to, but I usually find fiddling with a headset and a phone much more distracting than operating just the phone itself. New Jersey is not the garden state, it’s the motor state. It has more drivers than any other state and many of them are just plain bad at commuting. The headset law only makes it worse.
It’s retarded laws like this that make a Bluetooth steering wheel a must have. It works just like a Bluetooth headset, it’s compatible with Bluetooth phones and allows you to receive or reject calls, redial the last number and use speed dial right from your steering wheel. Seriously though, you’re still going to have to keep your eyes on the road. Quick glances, people; that’s the trick.
Out of left field comes an announcement that ASUS is producing a Google Android-equipped cellphone. There’s not many details available on the device, except that it’ll launch during the first half of 2009. Until then, all we can do is wait and kill time by photoshopping Android screenshots onto HTC devices.
Tomorrow, you can be like Vince and get a hold of Google’s G1 phone. Walmart will start selling the G1 phone at a discounted price starting Wednesday. It plans to sell the phone for $148.88 in 550 different stores, competing with T-Mobile’s price tag of $179.99.
But alas, with cellphones there is always a catch. Whether you’re a new customer or an existing customer eligible for an upgrade, you’ve got to sign up for a two-year agreement. That’s how they get you. That’s how the cellphone companies get all of us. The corporate fat cats win again, I want my G1!
