Bad Venue Pro! Bad! Naughty! It looks like Dell’s rebellious son, the WinPho7 powered Venue Pro, has again decided to turn against those that only want to bring it love; this time, its issue is with the humble SIM card.
Jump on past the break for the full, sordid tale. → Read More
If there’s a special someone in your life that’s into smartphones as much as you are, then you should have a gander at this:
Starting this Black Friday, T-mobile are including their entire line of Android devices (including the Galaxy Tab), as well as the WinPho7-powered behemoth that is the HD7, in a buy-one-get-one-free promotion.
Jump on past the break for all the grisly details. → Read More
Joining the Optimus party that T-mobile and Sprint have been getting down at since October, and that US Cellular is still on his way to (Verizon is reportedly partying, but at an entirely different address to the others), Metro PCS have now launched their own version of LG’s cheapest Android handset, dubbing it the Optimus M. This is a momentous day for Metro PCS, too, as it is their very first Android-powered handset. Aw… happy days. The Optimus M will be available tomorrow, November 24, for a hefty $230 — significantly more than the $30 that T-mobile want for the device (or the $1 that Walmart are asking for it) — but that nets you a contract-free $50 unlimited talk, text, and web plan. The Optimus M runs Android 2.2 atop a 3.2″ touch-screen, and has a 3.2MP camera ’round the back. Those interested can check the full press release here. → Read More
Call it typical herd behavior: yesterday, we reported that both Sharp and Panasonic are preparing Android-based smartphones (to be sold in Japan and worldwide), and today we see another major Japanese cell phone maker jumping on the Android bandwagon. → Read More
To say Japanese cell phone manufacturers are late in jumping on the smartphone bandwagon would be an understatement. In Japan, the iPhone eats their lunch, and internationally, things look even worse. In fact, Sharp, Panasonic, Kyocera, Hitachi and other makers have basically stopped selling phones of any kind outside Japan years ago.
But now two of the biggest players in Japan, namely Sharp and Panasonic, seem to be ready to enter the smartphone market – and on a worldwide level. → Read More
About ten days ago, we reported about Sharp’s 003SH, the company’s new 3D smartphone, which will go on sale in Japan next month. And now, thanks to our friends over at Diginfonews, we can see the device captured on video. Japan’s biggest mobile carrier, NTT Docomo, will brand the device as “Sharp LYNX 3D SH-03C” (that’s how the device is being referred to in the video). → Read More
We’ve already shown you some cool cell phones Japan’s biggest mobile carrier, NTT Docomo, plans to roll out in the next few months (see the list below for a recap). But there were quite a few more worth mentioning in the company’s new winter line-up (in English). Here are all of them (I left out simple updates, rebranded versions etc.). → Read More
The Biscuit and wooden cell phones Sharp yesterday announced for the Japanese market weren’t the only ones worth mentioning. Big S also unveiled [JP] the SH-05C, a handset featuring a built-in projector that’s usable for up to 120 minutes on a full battery charge. → Read More
That wooden cell phone wasn’t the only silly cell phone Sharp introduced today in Japan. It was actually joined by a slightly sillier handset, the so-called “Bisqui Phon”. Yes, it’s shaped like a biscuit for some reason. Sharp seems to like manufacturing these things. → Read More
No comment on the branding, but Sharp will soon [JP] produce a cell phone whose body is made entirely of wood, namely Japanese cypress. According to Sharp, the handset is not a joke product but actually built for long-term usage, meaning buyers won’t have to fear mold and other things. → Read More
Toshiba in Japan has announced [JP] their first Android cell phone today, the Regza T-01C (Regza is also the brandname for the company’s flat panel TVs). Big T says they used the “Mobile Regza Engine 3.0″ for the phone’s touchscreen, which is sized at four inches and features 480×854 resolution. → Read More
<img src="http://www.mobilecrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Picture-5.png" /
Japan's No. 3 mobile carrier, SoftBank Mobile, has unveiled its cell phone line-up for this winter and spring yesterday. We already blogged in-depth about the two most interesting models, Sharp’s naked-eye 3D Android phone, but here’s the full line-up (not including simple updates of existing models we already covered before). → Read More
In September, we blogged on CrunchGear about Sharp’s entry into the Android tablet sector (the company is currently readying a 5.5-inch and a 10.8-inch version). Strangely dubbed “Galapagos”, the tablets, which will be available in Japan starting next month, will soon be joined by two smartphones carrying the same name. → Read More
Last week’s airplane terror incident has raised new concerns over how much sense it makes to have Wi-Fi and the ability to use mobile phones on aircraft. While the companies that provides these entertainment options have said there’s nothing to worry about (well, besides them worrying about losing money), other security experts argue otherwise. → Read More
KDDI, Japan’s second biggest mobile carrier, has today announced its cell phone line-up for the coming winter and spring. The company has shown not only three smartphones and two new iida “designer phones”, which we covered here, but also 14 new feature phones, some of which boast impressive specs. → Read More
Japan’s second biggest mobile carrier KDDI has just announced its cell phone line-up for the coming winter and spring. The company unveiled no less than 19 new handsets today: three smartphones, 14 feature phones and another two “designer phones”, which will be marketed under KDDI’s sub brand iida.
Here are all the main specs for the new smartphones and iida handsets (the feature phones follow in a separate post). → Read More
Remember Modu? A few years ago these guys took MWC by storm, promising a tiny phone that fit into different sleeves that offered various functions like game playing and movie playback. Why not have one phone that’s good at all of those and didn’t use the sleeves? We still don’t know, but Modu is still kicking and they just released the Modu T.
The T is a Java-powered 3G miniphone that is apparently the “lightest phone in the world,” not that people have been concerned about weight thus far. Regardless, it appears to be available overseas and an upcoming Android model, called the W, should be considerably more interesting.
Regardless, you’ll probably never see it in the wild so enjoy looking at it here. → Read More
We all know that texting and driving at the same time is both incredibly dangerously and incredibly stupid. If you don’t agree, you’re wrong. But what the U.S. Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, wants borders on the ridiculous. If he gets his way, a federal law would be passed that would outright ban the presence of phones inside cars. Land of the free, etc. → Read More
Earlier this week, we blogged Sharp’s new Android phone, the IS03. On paper, the handset has a lot going for it: a nice 3.5-inch touchscreen with 960×640 resolution (same as the iPhone 4) with a combined memory LCD, a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, a 9.6MP CCD camera, Wi-Fi, and Android 2.1 as the OS. → Read More
If you thought the 13MP sensors you’ve seen lately in some Japanese cell phones were enough, think again. Sony today unveiled the 1/2.8-inch back-illuminated Exmor R IMX081PQ CMOS sensor (pictured on the left), which boasts 16.41MP. Needless to say, it’s the first of its kind. → Read More
