BT have launhced a new mobile phone-cum-internet device that will also work as a landline handset.
The handset - the ToGo - has been described in the Times as being an ‘iPhone-style ‘ device, although frankly that is going a bit overboard for what looks like an early BlackBerry.
The ToGo comes as part of BT’s new Total Broadband Anywhere package and is able to switch between using your home landline, a Vodafone 3G connection or wifi to access the internet. It runs Windows Mobile 6.
The ‘use anywhere’ idea is nice (if reminiscent of the failed ‘Fusion’ product from a few years back) but at £23 per month plus phone charges it’s a bit pricier than your basic home broadband set up and the whole package just seems a bit lackluster.
Still, full marks for trying and it is interesting to note that the package seems focused on VoIP rather than traditional mobile or landline calls. I guess BT have finally decided to tackle Skype head on..
No, not Paul McCartney’s old band, O2 has got the latest HTC smartphone – the HTC Wings - and it’s out now.
The Wings (or HTC S730 to give it it’s product name) is basically an upgrade to the S710 (also on O2). But this doesn’t detract from it being a really attractive device.
The Windows Mobile 6.0 device has a complete suite of Office Mobile applications, letting you read and edit Word, Excel and PDF documents, and from the Live HTC Home screen, gives you instant access to email, calendar, messages and so on.
The slider has a full QWERTY keypad under the screen (as you’d expect from a HTC device these days), so you can type emails and send them quickly via the Wi-Fi/3G/HSDPA connection.
So what else has it got? Well, there’s stereo Bluetooth for relaxing with music when you’re not working, or you can watch videos on the 2.4-inch colour screen.
Devices like this might be a dime a dozen these days, but that doesn’t stop it being highly desirable if you’re a businessman (or woman) on the move…
If you fancy a change of scene while you are waiting for the new versions of Windows Mobile, why not use JGUI to give your version 6 handset a Vista makeover?
JGUI ’skins’ your phone and replaces the start page with something not unlike a Vista desktop - complete with little widgets for weather reports, the clock and an RSS reader.
The app is designed with landscape-mode Windows Mobile devices in mind (although it should still work if you have a portrait-mode phone, it just might look a bit more cramped). The freeware edition only skins your start page, while the full ($19.95) version skins the whole OS and comes with free updates.
It looks great, as you can see from this video (which features an unbelievably sl-o-o-w commentary that sounds as though the reviewer’s batteries are running down)
Online retailer Expansys has announced three new Sim-free E-Ten Windows Mobile 6 smartphones - the Glofish X600 (pictured), the X800 and the M800.
The X600 is the lowest-end device with GPS, GPRS and wi-fi in a small device measuring less than 10cmx15cm, coming in an eye-catching black and red design.
Meanwhile the X800 has HSDPA and GPS and is a bit larger than the X600. It also has a high-res 2.8-inch screen.
Finally, the M800 has a sliding QWERTY keypard, HSDPA, wi-fi and Bluetooth. It too has a 2.8-inch screen and built-in GPS.
Currently the X800 is available Sim-free for £369.95, while the other two devices are listed as ‘Coming Soon’ but are available for pre-order.
They’re all no doubt capable devices, but why would you want to spend up to £400 on a device when you can pick up an equivalent device like the HTC TyTN II for free on a contract?
HTC has officially announced the third device in its Touch range - the HTC Touch Cruise - which goes on sale this month.
The previous two - the HTC Touch and HTC Touch Dual - have been big hits for HTC. They were aimed at specific consumer segments, and now the HTC Touch Cruise is aimed at a different group again.
The Cruise is the first Touch device to include built-in GPS, as well as 3G/HSDPA, wif-fi and Bluetooth connectivity.
Other new features include the new HTC Home Screen providing one-touch access to messages, calendar and contacts as well as, for some reason, global weather reports. It also features Windows Mobile 6, TouchFLO controls, media player, three-megapixel camera, 128MB memory (plus microSD card slot) and FM radio.
The HTC Touch Cruise’s GPS software comes from TomTom offering either a taster city map, or the option to buy full maps covering all of Western Europe.
It seems HTC’s aim of releasing different Touch devices that will find an audience among all consumers is slowly becoming a reality.
O2’s latest smartphone, the re-badged HTC TyTN II (right) has a UK release date apparently - November 26.
The device will be called the O2 xda Stellar and its set to be one of the most high-end devices in O2’s line-up. As well as the normal things like a QWERTY keyboard, it also features Windows Mobile 6, HSDPA, a three-megapixel camera and GPS.
According to coolsmartphone.com, O2 is just trying to get rid of its stock of xda Trion handsets first, before it unleashes the Stellar.
Presumably this means the Trion didn’t sell as well as O2 was hoping. Does this mean that O2’s customers’ appetite for xda devices is waning? With a device as powerful as the TyTN II, surely this isn’t going to be the case?
Carphone Warehouse’s Ted Baker-designed mobiles have finally gone on sale, including the limited edition HTC Touch, renamed the Ted Baker Needle. HTC today said its Needle will go on sale in 785 UK Carphone stores, so presumably the Button (a Samsung handset) will also be on sale.
We’ve been featuring these handsets for what seems like forever, but now it seems they’re finally on sale.
The Needle is basically a purple HTC Touch featuring the TouchFLO technology and Windows Mobile 6 Professional OS. The Touch has proved a bit of a hit since launching in June, selling 800,000 devices in Europe and Asia. Ted Baker has stamped its mark on the device with a load of pre-loaded wallpapers and a tailored start-up animation.
Interestingly, HTC has said the release marks the start of a national retail deal between the two companies, which will see more exclusive HTC devices being made available through Carphone Warehouse.
Last week’s alleged leak of four ‘08 Motorola handsets caused a minor transatlantic spat across the internet, with US blog Boy Genius Report refuting Dutch site GSM Helpdesk’s original story.
Now both sides have come bouncing back into the ring, with GSM Helpdesk restating its belief (via Unwired View) that the handsets are real. The site also quotes Motorola marketing director Fergal Donovan as saying that, “the Motorola Skarven will become the new flagship of Motorola. Eight megapixel cameras and optical zoom will be the main points of Motorola in 2008. The Motorola Skarven will be a kick-slider, just as the Motorola RIZR Z8.”
But BGR has swung back with info from its ‘Motorola insider’, claiming that:
- The Z10 will be out before Christmas
- Motorola’s interfaces are shifting from Linux-based to UIQ
- There will be a 3G touch-screen and QWERTY entry-level smartphone that runs Windows Mobile 6
- There’ll be a high-end Moto with an NVIDIA graphics processor for 3D gaming and smooth video playback
- A touch-screen slider is in the works with a five-megapixel autofocus camera, GPS, QVGA 2.8″ screen, running UIQ 4.0
- Overall, Moto will release nine UIQ devices next year, two of them with 5MP cameras, and the remaining seven with 3.2MP cameras
So is the Skarven the ‘touch-screenslider with 5MP camera’? Is Genghis the ‘entry-level smartphone’? Whichever site is right, 2008 is shaping up to be a promising year for Motorola fans.
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