The Meizu MX is an odd duck. A Chinese-only smartphone that may (or may not) be reaching our shores, it’s hard not treating it like an oddity washed up on the beach rather than a shipping device. It is a 1.4GHz phone with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage and has an 8-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi support, and GSM/GPRS/EDGE/CDMA/HSPA+ built-in. It also has a micro SIM slot (which is putting a damper on my testing right now) and micro USB port. It will cost about $450 in Asia when it’s launched January 1st.

That it arrived at my home in a DHL box straight outta Hong Kong, however, suggests that there will be some US availability. This should be pleasing to folks who want a powerhouse Android phone that looks strikingly unlike any of these huge-screened, battery-hogging RAZRs, Galaxies, and LTE devices that are currently littering the phone landscape.

The obvious comparisons are, well, obvious, so I won’t go into them here. In short, this phone looks strikingly similar to another well-known cellphone until you turn it on. The screen is pixel-dense – 960 x 640 of them, to be exact – and beautiful and Meizu has a patented indicator system that changes the two “buttons” below the screen based on phone state. For example, when the left button is supposed to send you back, it turns into an arrow while at the home screen it is a sigle, simple dot.

The phone will get an Ice Cream Sandwich update in the next few weeks (at least according to Meizu) and the current os, a modified Android 2.3.5 called Flyme, is a strange departure from the standard experience. For example, there is no clear “apps” screen and instead apps appear on the “desktop,” much like another phone we all know and love.

In the Darwinian world of Android phones, the Meizu MX is a highly-evolved device that should make Android fans’ mouths water. I’ll take a closer look over the next few days and report back and here’s hoping it hits our shores this year.

In line with RIM’s planned “cost optimization program,” the company is moving a number of executives into positions of greater power and will lay off 2,000 of its estimated 19,000 person workforce.

In an effort to consolidate product efforts, the company is also moving former COO of Product Engineering, Thorsten Heins, into a position that makes him also COO of Product and Sales. Current COO, Dan Morrison, is retiring after a period of medical leave.

All product engineering functions, including both hardware and software teams, are being consolidated under Thorsten’s direction. This consolidation of product engineering functions is expected to both produce greater efficiencies and help to accelerate new product introductions in the future.

Patrick Spence will take the role of Managing Director, Global Sales and Regional Marketing.

In slightly related news, the company has just purchased web-based video editing service JayCut. JayCut is based in Stockholm, Sweden.

What’s interesting about these moves? Well, each of the new directors have been tasked with turning around a sinking ship and it seems that, in the face of increased scrutiny, they’re throwing some smiling new faces at the problem. Sadly, the company is also dumping two thousand “redundant” faces, a move that points to more than just reactive cost-cutting.

That was a long sayonara: in November 2008, Nokia decided to pull the plug on their Japan operations, at the same time announcing they will re-enter the market with their luxury sub-brand Vertu. They started offering those phones (and the services that come with them) in September 2009, but now decided to give up on this business in Japan, too.

Nokia had been operating two Vertu stores in Japan, one in trendy Shibuya, the other in the upscale district of Ginza. But now the company can’t get out of the country soon enough: both stores will close by the end of this month, just before the contract with local partner NTT Docomo expires in August.

Nokia’s Tokyo office will stay open until the end of the year to take care of refunds and other things, as Japanese business daily The Nikkei has learned over the weekend.

I called Nokia’s Vertu plans in Japan “nonsense” in 2009 already, and especially in the light of the smartphone boom this country is currently seeing, no one can be surprised about big N’s decision.

The haptic display, which is manufactured by Kyocera, is still in prototype mode. Apparently, KDDI currently aims at developing a thinner multi-touch version before offering the screen to manufacturers of cell phones.

What’s interesting is that the company says there are three different sensations the display can recreate, two for clicking on numbers or letters and one for pushing icons (for example, the screen can recreate the sensation of pushing soft buttons if the user prefers it that way).

This video (in English, shot by Diginfonews in Tokyo) provides more insight:

They have been talking about this for years, but Sharp today officially announced they will bring their AQUOS PHONE brand to countries outside Japan. The press release (in English) is rather vague (no dates, prices or exact target markets), but Sharp says there will be a “global smartphone” that can be used anywhere, including China.

Sharp also explains that all AQUOS phones will come with an HDMI connection, DLNA support, and an advanced graphics engine.

This month, the company announced a total of six AQUOS PHONE handsets in Japan across three carriers. The two most interesting models are the AQUOS PHONE SH-12C (with 3D cameras, Android 2.3, and a naked-eye 3D display with QHD resolution/pictured) and the world’s first clamshell Android phone, the so-called AQUOS PHONE THE HYBRID 007SH.

To recap, the LOOX F-07C comes with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 4-inch LCD screen, a 5MP CMOS camera, and is powered by a 1.2GHz Intel Atom CPU that’s under-clocked to 600Mhz (full feature set here).

It turns out Docomo is trying to market the device as full mobile PC/cell phone hybrid and that it takes 3 seconds to switch from computer to phone mode after pushing the button.

Here’s the video:

If you thought Android and clamshell handsets won’t fit, think again: Sharp today introduced [JP] the so-called AQUOS PHONE THE HYBRID 007SH, a flip phone running on Android 2.3. It’s the first of its kind (at least by a major company), but that’s not all the device has to offer.

Sharp actually squeezed a ton of features into the phone:

• Android 2.3
• 3.4-inch naked-eye 3D LCD touchscreen with 854×480 resolution
• 0.7-inch OLED sub-display
• 16MP CCD camera with 1,280×720 HD video recording support
• waterproof body
• IEEE 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0+EDR
• GPS
• digital TV tuner
• digital wallet function (Felica/RFID)
• infrared port
• Micro HDMI interface
• Blu-ray recorder connectivity
• microSD/SDHC slot (shipped with a 2GB card inside)
• W-CDMA, GSM
• size: 113×51.8×19.3mm, weight: 140g

In other words, this thing is quite a monster.

The keyboard section can also be flipped to the back, so you can use the phone like this:

The AQUOS PHONE THE HYBRID 007SH will be distributed in Japan by mobile carrier SoftBank starting next month. An interesting experiment to see how Japanese consumers will react to a smartphone in a form factor they have been used to for over a decade.

The world’s most advanced mobile nation, Japan, sees more than 100 different cell phones each year. Market research firm Gfk Japan [JP] has analyzed which the best-selling models in the first quarter of this year were and recently published its findings in the form of a top 10 chart.

And according to Gfk, in terms of units sold, the iPhone 4 has been the most popular cell phone in Japan between January and March this year. Only 2 of the top 10 are feature phones (which is not really that surprising anymore), the rest are iPhones And Android handsets.

Here’s the full top 10 (feature phones in italic):

1. iPhone 4（16GB）
2. iPhone 4（32GB）
3. Samsung Galaxy S
4. Toshiba REGZA Phone T-01C
5. Sharp IS03
6. Sharp LYNX 3D SH-03C
7. Toshiba IS04
8. Panasonic P-07B
9. Sony Ericsson Xperia arc SO-01C
10. Kyocera Kantan Keitai K005

Via IT Media [JP]

Following Docomo yesterday, Japan’s second biggest mobile carrier KDDI au has unveiled [JP] a total of 12 new cell phones today. Their line-up consists of six smartphones (all Android) and six feature phones (well, what the Japanese call feature phones), all of which are listed up below.

KDDI Smartphones

iida INFOBAR A01
(click here for a complete feature set and videos)

Sharp AQUOS PHONE IS12SH
(4.2-inch naked-eye 3D display with 960×540 resolution (“QHD”), two 8MP CMOS cameras, 3D video recording in 720×1280 resolution, Android 2.3 – more here, also offered by Docomo)

Sharp AQUOS PHONE IS11SH
(3.7-inch naked-eye 3D LCD with 960×540 resolution, Android 2.3, MSM8655 Snapdragon (1.4GHz) CPU, 8MP CMOS camera, infrared, e-wallet function, digital TV tuner, UI designed by Ocean Observations, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth)

Toshiba REGZA Phone IS11T
(4-inch LCD with 854×480 resolution, Android 2.3, MSM8655 Snapdragon (1.4GHz) CPU, 8MP CMOS camera, infrared, e-wallet function, digital TV tuner, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, QWERTY keyboard, DLNA support)

Sony Ericsson Xperia acro IS11S
(Japanized version of the Arc, just with infrared, e-wallet function, and digital TV tuner – also offered by Docomo)

Casio G’zOne IS11CA
(3.6-inch IPS LCD with 480×800 resolution, 8MP CMOS camera, MSM8655 Snapdragon (1GHz) CPU, Android 2.3, rugged/water-proof body, Japan version of the G’zOne COMMANDO)

KDDI Feature Phones

Sony Ericcsson S007
(3.3-inch TFT with 854×480 resolution, 16.2MP CMOS camera, water- and dust-proof body, infrared, e-wallet function, digital TV tuner, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, illuminated keyboard)

Toshiba T007
(3-inch TFT with 854×480 resolution, 12.2MP CMOS camera, waterproof body, digital TV tuner, infrared, e-wallet function, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth)

Casio CA007
(3.2-inch IPS LCD with 854×480 resolution, 8MP CMOS camera, digital TV tuner infrared, e-wallet function, Bluetooth)

Toshiba T008
(3.2-inch LCD with 854×480 resolution, QSD8650 Snapdragon CPU (1GHz), 8MP CMOS camera, digital TV tuner infrared, Bluetooth, waterproof body)

Kyocera K009
(3.2-inch LCD with 854×480 resolution, QSD8650 Snapdragon CPU (1GHz), 8MP CMOS camera, digital TV tuner, infrared, Bluetooth, waterproof body that’s 14.8mm thin)

Kyocera Kantan Keitai K010
(3-inch LCD with QVGA resolution, 5MP CMOS camera, waterproof body, simple design targeted at elderly customers)

Japan’s second largest mobile carrier KDDI au unveiled its summer line-up of cell phones today, and one of the 15 new models is particularly interesting: the so-called INFOBAR A01 [JP], which is part of KDDI’s designer sub-brand iida. The biggest selling points are the Android phone’s pretty unique design and UI.

First, the specs:

• 3.7-inch LCD with 960×540 resolution
• Android 2.3
• 8MP camera
• e-wallet function
• digital TV tuner
• infrared
• USB, microSDHC ports
• Bluetooth 3.0+EDR, Wi-Fi (IEEE802.11b/g/n)
• CDMA GSM
• 6-axis motion sensor
• size: 118×63×11.8mm, weight: 113g

And the UI is simply beautiful, as you can see in the video embedded below (it’s in Japanese, but that doesn’t matter too much in this case):

KDDI plans to start offering this Android INFOBAR in Japan this summer.

Update:
Our friends over at Diginfonews in Tokyo just posted this video (subbed in English) they took of the handset earlier today at the KDDI press conference:

We covered NTT Docomo‘s smartphone line-up for this summer here, but Japan’s leading mobile carrier also revealed 11 new feature phones today. And here are all of them listed up.

Sharp SH-11C
(3.2-inch LCD, 8.1MP CMOS camera, dust- and waterproof body)

Fujitsu F-10C
(3.3-inch LCD, 12.2MP CMOS camera with full HD video recording, dust- and waterproof body)

Panasonic P-04C
(3.1-inch LCD, 13.2MP camera with AF, waterproof body embedded with Swarovski white crystals)

Panasonic P-06C
(3-inch LCD, 5.1MP CMOS camera, available in 12 “pop colors”)

LG L-10C
(2.8-inch LCD, 1.2-inch PMOLED sub-display with 128×96 dots, 3.2MP camera, simple design)

Sharp SH-10C
(3.4-inch/naked eye 3D touch display, 16.1MP CCD camera with full HD video recording, HDMI)

Fujitsu F-09C
(3.5-inch/ naked-eye 3D touch display, 16.3MP CMOS camera with full HD video recording, waterproof body)

Casio EXILIM CA-01C
(3.4-inch/naked-eye 3D touch display, 16.3MP CMOS Exilim camera with full HD video recording, dust-and waterproof body, DLNA support)

Panasonic LUMIX Phone P-05C
(3.3-inch LCD, 13.2MP Lumix camera with full HD video recording, world’s first phone with optical “anti-shake”, DLNA support)

Fujitsu F-11C
(3.3-inch LCD, 5.1MP CMOS camera, fingerprint sensor, pre-installed business card reader)

NEC N-05C
(3.4-inch touch panel, 8.1MP CMOS camera, IEEE 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, waterproof body)

Japan’s biggest mobile carrier NTT Docomo has announced its summer line-up of cell phones today, and we have squeezed all their nine new smartphones (plus Fujitsu’s Windows 7/Symbian hybrid) into this article for your reading pleasure (click here for a list of all new feature phones).

Here’s the complete list:

Smartphones:

Sharp AQUOS PHONE SH-12C
(4.2-inch naked-eye 3D display with 960×540 resolution (“QHD”), two 8MP CMOS cameras, 3D video recording in 720×1280 resolution, Android 2.3 – more here)

LG Optimus bright L-07C
(world’s brightest cell phone display (4 inches, 700cd/m2), 9.5 mm thin, Android 2.3, Japan version of the Optimus Black- more here)

Samsung GALAXY S II SC-02C
(more here)

NEC MEDIAS WP N-06C
(update of the world’s thinnest cell phone MEDIAS N-04C, still 7.9mm thin, body now waterproof, now with Android 2.3)

BlackBerry Bold 9780
(more here)

Sony Ericsson Xperia acro SO-02C
(Japanized version of the Arc, with infrared, e-wallet function, and digital TV tuner)

Fujitsu F-12C
(3.7-inch “Bright Color Liquid Display” with 800×480 resolution, Android 2.3, 8.1MP CMOS camera with HD recording)

Panasonic P-07C
(4.3-inch LCD with 854×480 resolution, Android 2.3, 5MP CMOS camera)

Sharp AQUOS PHONE f SH-13C
(3.7-inch LCD with 540×980 (qHD) resolution, Android 2.3, 8MP CCD camera, comes with a Qi-certified charging pad for wireless charging)

Hybrid:

Fujitsu LOOX F-07C
(Windows 7 / Symbian dual boot cell phone – more here)

It turns out the leak we blogged last month is true: Japan’s biggest mobile carrier NTT Docomo today officially introduced the Fujitsu LOOX F-07C as part of its summer line-up, and the device actually does dual-boot to Symbian and Windows 7 OS (not Windows Phone). Hardware-wise, the LOOX is pretty interesting, too.

Here are the main specs:

• Windows 7 Home Premium, 32-bit Japanese edition and Symbian double OS
• Microsoft Office Personal 2010
• slide-out QWERTY keyboard with trackball
• 4-inch LCD with 1,024×600 resolution
• 5MP CMOS camera
• 1GB memory
• 32GB eMMC
• 1.2GHz Intel Atom CPU
• 802.11b/g/n WiFi
• microSDHC slot (32GB max.)
• battery life in Windows 7 mode: 2 hours (after that, the device switches to Symbian mode automatically to save battery)
• size: 125mm×61mm×19.8mm, weight: 218g

Docomo will start distributing the LOOX F-07C in Japan this summer, but don’t expect the device to hit other markets anytime soon.

It’s not the first 3D smartphone from Sharp, but the AQUOS PHONE SH-12C big S unveiled [JP] is much cooler (if you think 3D in a phone is really necessary, that is). The company simply seems to have squeezed in everything they have into the Android device.

Here are the main bullet points:

• Android 2.3
• two 8MP CMOS cameras
• 3D video recording in 720×1280 resolution (shooting 3D pictures is naturally possible, too)
• 3.2-inch front camera
• 4.2-inch naked-eye 3D display with 960×540 resolution (“QHD”)
• interfaces: HDMI, microSD
• Wi-Fi (tethering is possible), GPS, Bluetooth, infrared
• e-wallet function
• digital TV tuner
• size: 127×64×11.9～13.8mm, weight: 138g

Sharp plans to start offering the AQUOS PHONE SH-12C in Japan on May 20 (in black and white). The company hasn’t said anything about pricing and possible plans for international distribution yet.

No doubt the Galaxy S II is a great smartphone, and it’s apparently set to sell really well, too. Samsung says [KOR] that global pre-orders for their flagship Android 2.3 handset have reached 3 million as of the end of April (which means they should have received even more by now).

Exactly one week ago, we reported that in Samsung’s home market of South Korea alone, the 4.3-inch AMOLED device was pre-ordered 200,000 times.

Big S also says that the Galaxy S II will eventually be offered in 120 countries through a total of 140 different carriers.

Take this with a grain of salt: Japanese tech blog Juggly is reporting [JP] that Fujitsu is working on a cell phone with both the Symbian and Windows 7 OS (not Windows Phone) on board. According to the article, the handset will be released by Japan’s biggest mobile carrier NTT Docomo as part of its summer line up.

Juggly even claims to know the name of the phone, LOOX F-07c, and also posts some specs:

• switch between Symbian / Windows 7 modes with the push of a button
• 32GB SSD
• 4 inch screen with 1,024×600 resolution
• Intel Atom CPU
• dimensions: 125mm×61mm×19.8mm
• optional USB/HDMI cradle

Again, the existence of the phone is not confirmed by Fujitsu or Docomo (which means the pic can be real or fake – my feeling is it’s real). As always, we will cover Docomo’s entire lineup when the company presents it.

Via Asiajin

Oh, here comes controversy. The FCC has preliminarily approved the use of mobile phone signal boosters, but let’s say it’s only put one foot in the water. A 55-page notice of proposed rulemaking [PDF] has been put online that details what the FCC has in mind. The idea is to give consumers a limited ability to boost their mobile signal in times of need. Wireless providers, like AT&T, are none too pleased.

AT&T says the use of signal boosters could be nothing less than dangerous. It cites one incident off the coast of Florida where a a signal booster was used that led to 21 hours of interrupted service and nearly 8,000 dropped calls. (Insert your own AT&T-dropped-call joke here.) Police in Massachusetts have also had run-ins with signal boosters in the past, run-in that led to the interruption of their radio service. Signal boosters can also interfere with mobile 911 location services. Kinda dangerous.

AT&T wants the signal boosters to be pretty limited, if it has to be passed at all. They should never be activated in areas with high signal strength, and should only be used where there’s terribly low signal strength; they should be used to take the signal from 10 to 11, say, but from 2 to 7.

The FCC hasn’t given its final stamp of approval on the plan yet, and there’s a 45-day window where people can make their thoughts known.

Revolution in mobile-crazy Japan: Market research firm GFK Japan is reporting [JP, PDF] that more smartphones than feature phones have been sold in the country between March 28 and April 3. To be more concrete, 50.1% of all devices sold in Japan in that week were iOS, Android, Windows or BlackBerry phones (see chart).

GFK says that the main driver here was Android, with carriers having started to offer more and more models in recent months. Unfortunately, GFK doesn’t provide absolute numbers.

The report doesn’t come as much of a surprise, seeing Android phones have been topping the sales charts in Japan, for example the Galaxy S (in January) or the NEC Medias (in March).

This site [JP] provides a good, up-to-date overview of the smartphone situation in Japan.

The State Department tells TechCrunch government funded work is underway to build an Android version of this “panic button” app. No release date has been set. Another version designed to work on low-cost Nokia phones, more common in the developing world, is being considered. No iPhone app is planned for now.

The special app, first reported by Reuters, is part of an initiative to promote new technologies for social activists. So far, the State Department has funded $22 million in “Internet freedom programming.” The money goes to innovators in the form of small grants ranging from a few to tens of thousands of dollars. TechCrunch asked who was getting the money, but due to the sensitive nature of the project, the government won’t disclose names.

An open, competitive bid process was used to award the grants. While the government isn’t looking for more help building these apps, they may have future projects designed to advance “Internet Freedom” in other ways. Keep an eye on www.grants.gov for any additional info. Some of the past program objectives have included developing technology “to enable users in closed societies to get around firewalls and filters in acutely hostile Internet environments” and training bloggers and activists to safely and anonymously participate in online forums.

The effort is another example of how the administration sees the important role social media and technology has played in global politics. In 2009, the U.S. asked Twitter to delay maintenance work so real-time information about the Iranian protests could continue. The White House has also called on Egypt and Libya to restore internet blackouts.

The State Department says it’s not just writing checks. The government is trying to use venture capitalist techniques to produce the best results. No, the goal is not to make 10x on the investment. But, the government is supporting a diverse portfolio of innovation rather than just funding big established technologies. It’s providing knowledge and connections, not just cash. And they are investing to incubate a new community focussed on the intersection of technology and human rights.

Of course with any well intentioned program, there could be negative side effects. What happens if the panic button app gets into the wrong hands, such as drug dealers or terrorists? A State Department spokesperson tells TechCrunch it’s a legitimate concern and they are taking that into account when planning the distribution and publicity of the app. It seems TechCrunch readers won’t be a problem.

The NEC Medias is not only “the world’s slimmest smartphone”, it’s also selling really well. The handset, which we have shown you last month, was the best-selling cell phone in Japan between March 14 and March 20, according to market research firm Gfk Japan [JP].

To recap, the NEC Medias is just 8.7mm thick and features a 4-inch LCD touchscreen with 480 x 854 resolution, Android 2.2, a 5.1MP CMOS camera, a digital TV tuner, e-wallet function, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Version 2.1+ EDR, a microSDHC card slot etc.

Here’s the full top 10:

1. NEC Medias
2. iPhone 4 / 16GB
3. Sharp IS05
4. iPhone 4 / 32GB
5. Samsung Galaxy S
6. Sharp SH009
7. Toshiba IS04
8. Panasonic P-07B
9. Kyocera Kantan Keitai K005
10. Sharp IS03

Via IT Media [JP]