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Sascha Segan from Gearlog has noted a strange rumbling from the T-Mobile booth at CTIA. Featured on many of TMo’s new phones is the that five dotted logo. The logo is said to represent an, as of yet, unannounced new service. T-Mobile says that the service will be “debuting soon.” Some possibilites include GPS, personal teleporter, self-destruct or some sort of digital media delivery service (OK I made half of those up, you can guess which). What do you all think it represents?
A Gearlog Mystery: What Is This Logo? [Gearlog]
Nokia today introduces us to a new GSM clamshell, the 6085. A fairly decent mass market phone, the 6085 has all the standard features you’d expect from a phone in this category, including a VGA camera, monochrome external display, Bluetooth and a bonus FM tuner.
What makes this phone interesting is that Nokia has decided to add features normally reserved for high-end phones, like support for Flash animation, a Micro-SD card slot and Stereo Bluetooth with MP3 playback.
This phone also supports EDGE, so look for it soon from either Cingular or T-Mobile, possibly positioned against VZN’s chocolate series.
As we mentioned before, we got a chance to look at the Sprint International Smart Device, the Samsung IP-830w, yesterday. It’s a CDMA/GSM smartphone with Windows Mobile and EVDO. It’s pretty hefty, but it’s a real world phone and includes a Sprint SIM card that has roaming agreements with multiple international GSM carriers.
For a brief bit this morning, Cingular had the HTC Star Trek up on their site as the 3125. The phone has a 1.3 megapixel camera, 200MHz TI OMAP processor, and runs Windows Mobile 5.0. It’s a clamshell form factor phone, with RAZR-ish design cues. Unfortunately this means no QWERTY keyboard for you to type on, but that comes with the territory.
The price was $149.99 with two-year contract while it was still up.
Cell phone application developers have a new tool for developing future products. Trolltech has launched their Qtopia Greenphone, an open Linux mobile device that allows you to write and install your own apps, or tweak the ones that Trolltech has already installed. They say this allows developers to be able “to utilize communication functions and features found in today’s sophisticated smartphones in developing their own innovative applications in addition to modifying those that Trolltech provides.”
There are currently three bundles you can choose from, ranging from $695 to $890 depending on what you’re making. It’s pretty expensive, but it packs some cool features like: Linux kernel 2.4.19, QVGA LCD color screen, Intel XScale 312 mHz PXA270, 64MB RAM & 128MB Flash, a Mini-SD card slot, Bluetooth, & Mini-USB. It looks pretty cool, too, for a candy bar anyway.
Boost Mobile, the hip-hop-themed pre-paid service from Sprint Nextel, has the tagline “Where you at?” This grammatically frightening phrase now has meaning, as Boost has partnered with Loopt to launch a mobile friend finder.
Just download the little Java app to your phone, set permissions, add your like-Boosted friends who’ve done the same and you’ll all be able to find each other on an on-screen map in real time. Scroll through locations and send messages, all using Nextel’s built-in GPS functionality.
You can then mingle together into a menacing, tough-looking gang of K-Fed look-alikes and “holla” things such as “whaddup?” and “you trippin’, dawg” and look foolish doing so.
Loopt, which works as it’s own app, will be free for current Boost members.
Verizon’s just launched the BlackBerry 8703e, an EV-DO capable BlackBerry device. The 8703e has your standard BlackBerry software that you either love or hate, and adds capability to tether your laptop to it to act as a modem.
The keyboard on the BB is a full QWERTY and not a half-QWERTY, as seen on smaller, candybar-shaped BlackBerries. This will be available for $349.99 with a two-year contract starting Sunday, September 17 online. If you’re looking to order this through business channels for your office, you’ll have to wait until September 18. In order to use the phone as a modem, you’ll have to sign up for BroadbandAccess Connect, which is $15 if you have a voice and unlimited data plan, or $30 if you only have a data plan.
If think access these fees are a lot, just think of all the money you’ll get when you sue your employer for BlackBerry thumb!
Just got a good look at the Toughbook line from Panasonic. I’ve always liked these things - nice round touchpad, great materials, excellent battery life - but take a look at this monster. This is the T5 ($1,899), an ultralight toughbook with touchscreen and - get this - a hand strap. You hold it like a book and rather than having a swivel screen, you just tap on the 12-inch TFT. Best of all, like all in the new series (T5, W5, and the Y5), it has embedded WAN from Cingular, Sprint, or Verizon.
The W5 is a 3-pound thin and light with built-in optical, similar to the previous Toughbook models.
The Y5 is a bit bigger with a 14-inch screen. We’ll have video of all three momentarily.
Netgear announced today that it has begun shipping preorders of the SPH101, its WiFi Skype phone. They’ll also be shipping to retailers soon. It’s a pretty sweet little phone, too, with a TFT display and no extra software required. If you want to buy one, it’s going for a paltry $249.99.
Nokia today introduces us to a new GSM clamshell, the 6085. A fairly decent mass market phone, the 6085 has all the standard features you’d expect from a phone in this category, including a VGA camera, monochrome external display, Bluetooth and a bonus FM tuner.
As we mentioned before, we got a chance to look at the Sprint International Smart Device, the Samsung IP-830w, yesterday. It’s a CDMA/GSM smartphone with Windows Mobile and EVDO. It’s pretty hefty, but it’s a real world phone and includes a Sprint SIM card that has roaming agreements with multiple international GSM carriers.
For a brief bit this morning, Cingular had the HTC Star Trek up on their site as the 3125. The phone has a 1.3 megapixel camera, 200MHz TI OMAP processor, and runs Windows Mobile 5.0. It’s a clamshell form factor phone, with RAZR-ish design cues. Unfortunately this means no QWERTY keyboard for you to type on, but that comes with the territory. 
Boost Mobile, the hip-hop-themed pre-paid service from Sprint Nextel, has the tagline “Where you at?” This grammatically frightening phrase now has meaning, as Boost has partnered with Loopt to launch a mobile friend finder.
Verizon’s just launched the BlackBerry 8703e, an EV-DO capable BlackBerry device. The 8703e has your standard BlackBerry software that you either love or hate, and adds capability to tether your laptop to it to act as a modem. 
