Phones

T-Mobile may snap up Sprint-Nextel

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T-Mobile may put in a bid to acquire Sprint-Nextel in the next few weeks according to a UK source.

I don’t see the point of this other than to be able to tout huge numbers of customers. Sprint is still losing money, particularly after their purchase of Nextel. As far as technologies go, integration will be a pain. Sprint is still CMDA while Nextel still has an iDEN network, and T-Mobile runs a GSM network. Plan to lose a lot of money on this venture T-Mobile; just don’t make it painful for me, the little customer.

via PC World

Motorola 1st Android handset, the CLIQ, appears on T-Mobile

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Motorola’s first Android handset, the CLIQ, makes its first appearance on the T-Mobile network. The CLIQ is a slide-out keyboard handset with a 320×480 3.1″ HVGA screen that operates on WCDMA and GSM networks. Other notable features include the accelerometer, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, a microSD card slot, touch screen, 802.11b/g WiFi, 6 hour battery life (325 hrs in standby) and of course, all of the various Android applications and features.

Motorola already has other Android handsets in the pipe, and Google has already announced that there will be at least 18 Android handsets by the end of 2009 and certainly more next year.

via Engadget

Palm Pre’s little sister, the Pixi, to appear around holidays

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Palm has just announced the next phone with their new webOS, the Palm Pixi. The most noticeable difference is that the Pixi is a candybar phone with its full QWERTY keyboard fully visible, unlike the Pre’s slide out keyboard.

The Pixi is amazingly thin (0.43 inches) with a slightly smaller touchscreen (320 x 400) than the Pre. One of the things being touted with the Pixi is the ability to replace the backplate with customized designs. Expect the Pixi around the holidays probably in the $100 region, and again on the Sprint network.

Google’s Android OS to appear in more than just cell phone handsets?

2 Comments / Home Automation, Miscellaneous, Phones / By /

Android appears set to start appearing in more than just cell phones. A few reports point the way. Although Google appears mum, one touchscreen manufacturer, Touch Revolution, says they’re working on Android-based devices for quite a few companies. Another company, MIPS Technologies, reported this week that they’ve ported the open-source Android to their architecture, which is used on their home devices.

What types of devices? Well, the sky’s the limit really. Think landline handsets, kitchen Net-appliances, DVRs, even photo frames. It’s possible some of these devices may start appearing this year.

10 Touchscreen Smartphones compared

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PC World has a nice rundown of 10 touchscreen smartphones including some upcoming models. The phones run the gamut from the iPhone to the Samsung Omnia II and all the major US carriers.

Apart from its Windows Mobile OS, the Samsung Omnia II really has a nice set of specs. Now if only it ran Android… Hey Google and/or hackers, can you get on that? Meantime, Verizon users can get their hands on an Omnia now for $99 with a 2-yr plan.

If only we here in the US weren’t so caught up in cut-throat competition, then perhaps GSM might be a standard and phones wouldn’t be locked into specific carriers. Then you could get the phone you really wanted and use it on whatever network you had. If only…

Loopt comes to Sprint Instinct phones

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Loopt, the social location mapping app, has now been ported to Sprint Instinct phones. So if you’ve got one of those phones, you can find out what your friends are up to when they’re near by.

Loopt is already available for over 100 different devices including (some) Blackberries, Android phones, iPhone and iPod Touch.

Loopt is available for free on the Sprint Instinct family of phones by texting “GET” to 56678 (LOOPT).

Google Voice to add number portability?

Networking & Internet, Phones / By /

For those of you have GrandCentral (now Google Voice) accounts, you already know what a great service it is. Since Google bought them, they’ve revamped the service and added lots of new features. However, having to change your number is a bit of a showstopper, particularly for folks who have lots of contacts and trying to inform them all of your # change would be a major PITA.

The potentially good news is that Google may add number portability to the service later this year, so says TechCrunch who got that info from a Google employee. This would be the single biggest thing that drives new customers Google’s way.

By the way, if you’re interested in helping out the cause, you can suggest to Google features you’d like to see in GVoice.

via TechCrunch

New iPhone 3G S model and OS update announced. Rolls out middle of Jun 09

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Also announced at Apple’s WWDC was the latest update to the iPhone OS to 3.0 which will come out in less than 10 days on Jun 17. Oh, but that’s not as big as the new iPhone 3G S model being released 2 days later.

The iPhone 3G S 16GB will be $199 and the 32GB will be $299, while existing 8GBers will sell for $99. New in the 3G S is a digital compass, video recording, voice control and a better camera.

Engadget has some (painfully) detailed coverage of today’s keynote with screenshots, or you can see the whole presentation on Apple’s site.

Palm Pre pretty much sells out on launch day

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The general word is that most Palm Pres have sold out. Released yesterday, many Sprint and Best Buy stores were sold out before noon and then were only busy putting people’s names on waiting lists. While the lines may have not been as long as when the iPhone first came out, the hype that Apple built up prior to its release was certainly an order of magnitude larger. No matter.

A very rough average of the number of units doled out to the 1200 Sprint, Best Buy and Radio Shack seems to be somewhere around 50. This works out to only 60,000 units [disclaimer – this is a WAG]. This seems like a very small number. I hope they’ve got another shipment coming soon, like in the next week.

On the bright side, new owners seem to be quite happy with the new smartphone gadgets. Congrats Palm. Now get moving on producing more units!

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