If you read my 10 Things I Hate About Smartphones post last week, you’d discover that I hate Windows Mobile and that, even though they run Windows Mobile, I love HTC. So with that piece of cognitive dissonance in mind, I present my review of the Cingular 8525 aka the Hermes, a Windows Mobile Pocket PC smartphone with fold out QWERTY keyboard and touchscreen. It costs $399 with contract. → Read More
Cash back bonanza holy moly! We’ve got two scoops in one, all based on a flickr screen grab. Sometimes Cingular auto-tragically publishes stuff it don’t mean to. Oops, Cingular! We found this graphic on flickr. Cingular, the orange fan of all things with the words “Treo” and “GSM,” is set to launch not just the anticipated Treo 680 this winter, but also the formerly European-only 750w. It shares a similar form factor with the 680, but runs Windows Mobile 5. That means that Cingy is set to give us two QWERTY, touchscreen Palm presents for Xmas. Not just that, they’re also offering camera-free versions for security-minded enterprise deployments. Can you say boring? We knew you could. Speaking of the new-and-QWERTY, (yes, I love hyphens,) look for an American GSM rendition of the Samsung i320, as well. This Motorola Q/T-Mobile Dash/Whatever Else Windows Mobile 5 QWERTY not-a-touchscreen competitor will be here by the end of the year, with some sort of rebate. It’ll be known as the “BlackJack,” which is a name a little too badass for any smartphone. Great Rebates from Cingular → Read More
Cash back bonanza holy moly! We’ve got two scoops in one, all based on a flickr screen grab. Sometimes Cingular auto-tragically publishes stuff it don’t mean to. Oops, Cingular! We found this graphic on flickr. Cingular, the orange fan of all things with the words “Treo” and “GSM,” is set to launch not just the anticipated Treo 680 this winter, but also the formerly European-only 750w. It shares a similar form factor with the 680, but runs Windows Mobile 5. That means that Cingy is set to give us two QWERTY, touchscreen Palm presents for Xmas. Not just that, they’re also offering camera-free versions for security-minded enterprise deployments. Can you say boring? We knew you could. Speaking of the new-and-QWERTY, (yes, I love hyphens,) look for an American GSM rendition of the Samsung i320, as well. This Motorola Q/T-Mobile Dash/Whatever Else Windows Mobile 5 QWERTY not-a-touchscreen competitor will be here by the end of the year, with some sort of rebate. It’ll be known as the “BlackJack,” which is a name a little too badass for any smartphone. Great Rebates from Cingular → Read More
If you’re one of the more than 58 million Cingular Wireless customers in this country, on November 6 you’ll have the option to listen to audio streams of 25 of XM satellite radio’s commercial-free music channels on your handset. For a service charge of $8.99 per month (you didn’t think it would be free, did you?) subscribers will get a helping of the service’s most popular channels: The 70s, 80s and 90s decades channels, Top 20 on 20 (Top 20 Hits), Lucy (Classic Alternative Hits), The City (Hip-Hop/R&B Hits), XMU (Indie Rock), Bluesville (Blues), America (Classic Country Hits) and Viva (Latin Pop Hits). This adds to the news that came down yesterday that the carrier will add access to Web music subscription services from Napster, Yahoo and others for playback on its phones. So does this mean that Cingular’s rumored “iPhones” will be able to playback tracks from iTMS and music subscription services and XM radio? Someone tell me, please??? If so, I’m switching my service to Cingular today. Cingular confirms music plan for U.S. cell users [reuters] → Read More
<img src="http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/she claims is the legit, honest-to-gawd deal for the Palm Treo 680 for Cingular. You can get yours for less than $200 in less than 2 weeks. Sweet, yah? Previously, this same mole had indicated that Cingy and Palm weren’t finding any agreements in the pricing of the anticipated smartphone. Palm wanted to produce a bare-bones, consumer Treo, something that would give them (and the Palm OS) the market share it’s missing. Thusly, it wanted to forgo certain software packages to save money, as certain professional features (Documents to Go, BlackBerry Connect, etc.) wouldn’t be much use to the newly forged “casual smartphone user”. Cingular, on the other hand, is said to still have the mindset that smartphones are for business people, and should have the support (and price tag) that these high-end customers need. This tug of war has apparently been going back and forth for several weeks, with some sort of a compromise coming in the form of the Treo 680′s final price via Cingular being $175 with a 2-year unlimited data plan agreement. This is considerably higher than the original price the source had given us (free with a 2-year data agreement), though it’s still within the realm of “affordable”, at least as far as full-featured smartphones go. This price may indeed drop in the first few months after the Treo is unleashed, since pricing on this type of product generally does. In addition to the convoluted story and pricing information, our source also gave us his/her confidence that Cingular will make the Treo 680 available in a little over a week, on November 5. That’s plenty of time to send your favorite CrunchGear scooper one as his Xmas gift. → Read More
The Nokia E62 is an interesting little beast. It looks like Motorola Q but it uses Symbian S60 platform rather than Windows Mobile 5. Additionally, the E62 is available on Cingular, so it utilizes EDGE “high speed internet” rather than EV-DO. So far so good. The E62 is not a bad phone. It performs quite while in many of the most important categories. Its reception is clear and it is relatively easy to use. When paired with a Nokia BH-800 Bluetooth headset, the phone can be used virtually handsfree. → Read More
That’s not just a Nokia N75 in this photo, that’s a Nokia N75 with Cingular branding. Word on the tubes is that Cingy will be getting this 3G clamshell sometime in November. The N75, spotted here in the wild, is a musicphone, one from the line Nokia insists on calling “multimedia computers”, to which we say “whatevs”. Sure, it runs Symbian, so you can load all sorts of neato apps onto it, but we’re pretty sure that the preferred nomenclature is “smartphone.” Anyway, the N75 does boast an impressive list of features, such as a 2-megapixel camera, a 320×240 screen, external playback buttons, and a GB of memory (via microSD) included. With the Bluetooth and UMTS built-in, you’ve got a fairly high-end music phone for the American marketplace. We’re waiting to see what pricing is going to be like but don’t expect to see one of these in your stocking this year unless your last name is Hilton or Ritchie, in which case we pity you, knowing this phone won’t bring you the happiness you want or the fall from fame you deserve. Nokia N75 in the wild [Howard's Forums] → Read More
No less than five wireless technologies are hosted within the bowels of HP’s latest iPAQ, the hw6920, and Cingular customers will be the first to use every last one of them. On October 31 you’ll be able to get them from Cingular Wireless’ B2B sales organization for a paltry $359.99 each for business customers with a two-year contract and qualifying voice and data plans. It’ll also be available through HP’s Web site and channel partners. Cell service is of course provided on the carrier’s GSM/GPRS/EDGE wireless data network and then you get Wi-Fi, GPS, infrared and Bluetooth wireless. Just think of all the wireless fun you can have. I’m sure it does other stuff that makes it worth the money, but you can follow the links below to read more. HP Mobility [Company site] or Cingular iPaq [Product page] → Read More
Looks like Cingular’s going to be releasing their 8525 quite soonish now – we’re looking at the first week of November – much to the delight of smartphone lovers everywhere (on Cingular). In case you didn’t know, the Cingular 8525 is the successor to the Cingular 8125, with tri-band UMTS/HSDPA, quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, 400MHz processor, Windows Mobile 5, 64MB SDRAM, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 2.8-inch QVGA screen, and a 2-megapixel camera that’s optional. Cingular’s continuing their policy of offering two phone models, one with and one without camera for business who don’t want employees taking pictures of sensitive documents – as well as Louanne the VP’s sweet, sweet backside. HTC 8525 [Howard Forums via Engadget] → Read More
Cingular today has launched a newly redesigned website. Gone is that horrid, unfocused, washed out orange-is-the-new-black they were pushing in exchange for a more bluish and white theme. It’s a welcome improvement. Here’s the fun, though: on Cingy’s homepage, you’ll notice the image above in the flash loop that plays. The attractive young lady in the image is holding a musicphone of some sort. It’s white and a clamshell, but a quick scan of the clamshell musicphones it offers reveals that the phone isn’t on the list. A mystery! This begs the question: Is it an just a generic phone some unknowing photographer handed the model (unlikely, as it would want you to see real phones it offers in action)? Is it an as-of-yet unreleased phone? And if so, which one? Line ‘em up, kids, let’s play the guessing game. The Cingular forums all over the Internets are buzzing on this one. Cingular’s new website [Cingular.com] → Read More
inescapable RAZR, the KRZR, is set to drop early next month on Cingular, according to Engadget Mobile’s anonymous tipster. Right now, the KRZR is only available via Verizon in the CDMA flavor, Cingular’s would be the first GSM version in the country. We’re sick and tired of the RAZR and its many varying forms, so anything sleek, stylish, and Moto to replace it, we’re all for. T-Mobile should be getting some KRZR love, as well, probably early next year. Look for prices around the $150-$200 mark when she hits the shelves, with a 2 year contract extension, of course. Cingular’s MOTOKRZR launching first week of November? [Engadget Mobile] → Read More
We probably shouldn’t be surprised at this, since Cingular’s been rolling out their HSDPA network nationwide for a while now, but the Samsung SGH-A707 HSDPA is going to be available here in the US. The black flip phone will have a 2-megapixel camera, MP3/WMA/WMA+DRM/AAC+/RealAudio playback, and stereo Bluetooth capabilities. Measuring only 0.69 inches closed, the phone has no release date or additional information, but look for it sometime soon. SGH-1707, the latest Samsung SHDPA for Cingular [Akihabara News via Uber phones] → Read More
, announced its new Treo 680. The new consumer-aimed smartphone is much like the 650 Cingular sells now, though it’s a slicker device. The 680 does away with the 650′s antenna, rounds out the corners, and comes in four fashion colors: Graphite, Cimson, Arctic, and Copper. The Bluetooth has been upped to version 1.2, and the phone app is modernized, as well. Sorry, no WiFi. The 680 also loses the top-mounted SIM card for the more standard behind-the-battery configuration, but the popular ringer switch stays, as does Infrared. Otherwise, the stats were pretty much in line with what we were expecting including the VGA camera, 320×320 touchscreen, 64MB RAM, Quad band GSM, GPRS/EDGE support, SDIO and all the other goodness the Treo is known for. In addition to the hardware and phone changes, most of the Palm-branded included software gets a bump, and new media features are included. For example, the 680 marks the first PalmOS-based Treo to support WMV/WMA natively. In addition, it has integrated support for Podcasts and streaming Internet radio. And Google is including a Google Maps app, with real-time traffic info. Palm hasn’t discussed particular pricing, as it’s set by their carrier partners (Cingular for now, perhaps T-Mobile? Don’t hold your breath), but they did note that they expected this new Treo to debut at a lower price point than any other Treo before. This is great news, as the Treo has always been considered by most to be a premium item. We’ll update as more information comes in. Treo 680 [Product Page] → Read More
Cingular took three telemarketers to court yesterday for making calls to their customer’s cellphones and for making their customer’s calling records private through “pretexting.” Cingular said Sebell conspired with a Dominican Republic business Florida Vacation Corporation, to make the calls in June and July 2006. Its second lawsuit alleges American Broadcast Systems Inc. of Seattle, Washington, used an autodialing system to send prerecorded messages about “free vacations” to customers. In a third lawsuit, Cingular said that Go2Prepaid LLC of Miami, Florida, also made unsolicited prerecorded telemarketing calls to Cingular customers using a similar system. Well, that is nice, though. That Cingular would care enough to stand up to those clowns is quite a feat. Why would they do it, I wonder? Cingular sues telemarketers for unsolicited calls [Reuters] → Read More
Palm today announced that it will be announcing (it keeps announcing when it’s going to make announcements, doesn’t it?) a new Treo at Digital Life in New York on Thursday. We’ll bet our bagel it’s the 680p for Cingular. Palm will also be offering a hands-on demonstration of the new Treo. Our intrepid reporters will be there to give you live coverage, so if you’ve been waiting for news of this new antennaless Treo, keep it tuned here. Press Release [Palm] → Read More
, which gives weight to the idea that T-Mobile is not just growing, but completely reinventing itself. And that is good. Why, you ask, is it good that the anemic T-Mobile is going to be reborn? → Read More
Looks like Gizmodo got more footage of another raucous party held in honor of a small piece of plastic and some wires. Boom-shaka-laka-ActivSync! Look for friend of CG, Vince, cursing his Vienna sausage at the end. HTC 3125 Launch Party in New York: Enjoy the Decadence [Gizmodo] → Read More
We were wondering when Cingular would step into the mid-range not-a-BlackBerry QWERTY battle royale, and that day is today. The Nokia E62 is now available on the Cingular site for $149.99 with a 2-year contract. This slim smartphone was actually introduced several days ago, but is now shipping, which is nice for those of you who actually want a physical phone. The BlackBerry-esque E62 totes a 320 x 240 screen and runs Symbian’s S60 Smartphone OS, an alternative to Windows Mobile and PalmOS that we don’t see as much in the States as we do in Europe. It also sports EDGE hi-speed wireless, a expansion card slot and Bluetooth. The E62 is aimed directly at the Motorola Q market, and Cingular is selling it with its BlackBerry Connect service, meaning you can have your (BlackBerry) cake and eat it, too. Nokia E62 [Cingular] → Read More
It doesn’t even exist and I’m already tired of it. Due to some creative code reading of the Apple iTunes 7.0.1 update release it has been concluded that there may or may not be an Apple-brand phone on the way. Also, there’s word of a Cingular and Apple agreement for a new phone, making Cingular the sole carrier through mid-2007. Here’s a quick recap from some of the random speculation out there: I personally find the notion of Apple doing a mobile phone utterly ridiculous, since there is no clear intersection between the two target markets and there is already far too much bloat on phones. Furthermore, Apple would have to deal with a lot of regulatory (and technology) issues that are not part of their core business. iPhone [Tao of Mac] “4301.022″ = ” ^0 was not copied because the video format is not supported by the mobile phone ^1 .”; “4301.043″ = “Are you sure you want to manually manage music and videos on your mobile phone? You will need to manually eject your mobile phone before it can be disconnected safely.”; “4301.045″ = “Are you sure you do not want to manually manage music and videos on your mobile phone? All existing content on the mobile phone ^1 will be replaced with content from your iTunes library.”; Significance of this? Either an iPhone is coming soon, or new phones that support iTunes video, music and pictures is on the horizon. iTunes 7.0.1 Has Buttloads of Mobile Phone Mentions [Gizmodo] Look, I’d love an Apple phone. On this point, I’ll be delighted to turn out to be wrong. I think cellphones are as ripe for a radical rethink as the online music store was when Apple set up iTunes. But let’s not go all wiggy every time someone passes around an iPhone rumor on the Web. Odds are, it’s just there to get you riled up. iPhone Rumors [Pogue's Posts] Meanwhile, insiders say Apple is internally estimating that shipments of the iPhone will top a staggering 25 million in 2007 alone. Motorola’s RAZR, by contrast, has sold more than 50 million units since its launch in late 2004. Apple is betting a phone with Apple’s iconic design, elegant interface, and iPod-matching functionality will be a strong draw for users who currently carry both devices on them. Apple iPhone to be Cingular-exclusive at launch [Think Secret] → Read More
Think Secret is reporting that Apple and Cingular have signed an agreement that allows the carrier to deliver the iPhone exclusively for six months in 2007. Other carrier will purportedly be able to carry the iPhone after the six month exclusivity arrangement. They’re also saying the iPhone will be a candy-bar, have a 2.2-inch display and a 3MP camera. It will, of course, be fully integrated with iTunes. I wonder if it’ll have HSDPA support, because Edge is worthless. Oh, Apple is also estimating that 25 million units will be shipped in 2007 alone. Apple iPhone to be Cingular-exclusive at launch [Think Secret] → Read More
