If there is one thing that readers of this site are likely to have lying around their homes it is old mobile phones and PDAs. I am sitting next to a drawer full of dead Windows Mobile devices (plus a couple I wish were dead) and I’m sure there are a couple of retired Palms somewhere near my desk.
As part of the BBC Children in Need appeal (yes, yes it has come around again quite soon - it always does) Regeneris are collecting unwanted Mobiles, PDAs and MP3 players that they promise to turn into cash they will then donate to the Beeb’s appeal.
£80 will be donated for working handsets with a 5 megapixel camera. If the handset is not working, the donation will be reduced to £20.
£20 will be donated for working handsets with a 3 megapixel camera. If the handset is not working, the donation will be reduced to £5.
£4 will be donated for working handsets with a basic camera or no camera. If the handset is not working, the device will be safely recycled.
It’s a triple-whammy, really - help a worthy charity, help the environment by recycling your gizmos and help clean up your house.
Australian manufacturer Kogan Technologies has announced that it is putting together a budget Android handset that it hopes to get on the market by December 15th.
Kogan Technologies is a Melbourne-based consumer electronics outfit that specialises in budget devices. The new phone will be a touch-screen affair (no built-in keyboard) with WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS.
Considering the release schedule though, the device does sound like it is rather early in the planning stage -
“We’ve got a few designs that we can easily choose from,” said CEO Ruslan Kogan, “It’s a matter of loading the Android system on to the phone, configuring it, making sure it works very well and then the manufacturing of the few thousands phones that we need to launch.”
Piece of cake!
Sob. It’s just so beautiful.
This lovely concept phone design by Tokyo-based designer Mac Funamizu is a little glimpse into a possible future where OLED displays totally envelope your handset, turning the entire surface area of the phone into a display.
It looks a little bit inspired by the latest batch of iPod Nanos (the ones you can shake to shuffle tracks), but with the design chops turned up to eleven.
Yes, we know that you will never hold this exact phone in your hand, but it is important to note that there is nothing impossible about this design - the OLED tech is a couple of years off at most. What it would cost is another matter, but.. just look at it! It’s lovely!
Now that the HTC has dipped its toe in the water with the G1, it won’t be long before other manufacturers start to reveal their own Android handsets.
Motorola has reportedly been showing its first Android effort to mobile carriers in the USA. The unnamed handset is described as “a higher spec G1, at a lower price”. Game on!
Intriguingly, as well as the expected slide-out QWERTY keyboard and touchscreen (multi touch.. please?) the new phone apparently will place a lot of emphasis on social networking. It’s not clear what this means, really - any phone can do Facebook/bebo integration, after all. I’m sure its not just a bit of marketing speak for ‘we are aiming for the youth market’. That would be ridiculous.
You know what would be great? A handheld device that lets you check your email. Yes, yes, we know there are several such devices around but all the Blackberries and iPhones and E91s and HTC Touches.. they are all hampered by the fact that you can do other things with them like make phoncalls or play games. Not so the Peek.
No wait, we have the the wrong way around.. it is the Peek that is hampered by the fact that there are loads of devices that do what it does and more, while it is just lets you check your mail. That’s it, there is no more.
It’s difficult to know what Peek are getting at with their self-titled debut. Is there really a market consisting of hyper-focused email obsessives who hate answering the phone so much they would rather spend $99 on a device that doesn’t do voice? Even corporate contracts seem like wishful thinking on the part of this new startup. Why pay a $20/month contract for such a limited device when you are likely to have to pay for a phone as well?
Maybe I have this all wrong, though. Anybody out there who thinks this sounds like a winner? Let us know in the comments, please.
Bic is famous for its ‘non rechargeable’ ballpoint pens and disposable safety razors. Now the French company is about to bring its flair for the throwaway to the mobile market with the launch of the Bic Phone.
Actually, it’s more of an Orange phone - they will be providing the hardware and network coverage - Bic’s contribution is more a question of branding.
For €49 (about 40 quid) you can buy a blisterpacked handset with a fully charged battery - good for 240 hours of standby or 4 hours of talk time - and a SIM loaded with 10 minutes of credit.
Two months after the first call is made the handset will become inoperable unless you register it with Orange. Registered users get another 50 minutes of calls and can buy top up vouchers.
As phones go, it’s pretty basic - talk, text and a built in FM radio - but it is quite small and available in two colours.
I have to say, I’m a bit sceptical that the ‘deactivate if not registered’ thing will work. I can’t think of any similar schemes where the gadget hasn’t been hacked to within an inch of its life within hours of release (google for ‘CueCat’ to see what I mean) so best of luck with that one, Bic.
Nokia design contractor Provoke Design has unveiled a few new concept designs it has put together for the ‘HARDCORE New Finnish Design‘ exhibition in New York later this month.
The Express will allow the user to ‘enhance his/her mindset instantly’ (it says here) by changing the colour of the handset electronically.
The Share “enables communication and sharing of information through personalized codes formed in subgroups of likeminded individuals” which is as perfect a rendering of purest marketing drivel as I have yet encountered. It just needs the word ‘paradigm’ as a sort of metaphorical cherry on the top of the nonsense cake. It’s something to do with skateboarding and geotagging, according to the press release.
The Feel is intended for use by couples - a bit like a phone version of one of those heart-shaped pendants in two halves. It features a tactile, haptic feedback system that lets two people communicate through simulated touch and achieve ‘deep communication’. Oo-er.
via Engadget.
