Change the Pearl Color of your BlackBerry!

The Pearl at the middle of the Blackberry 8100 is a mesmerizing sight. But wouldn’t it be much cooler if the white backlight can actually change color? Presenting Color Your Trackball, the cute application that lets you change the color of the trackball at the middle of your BlackBerry real estate.

Colors include blue, red, green, pink, aquamarine, and yellow. You can also select an option that allows you to keep the backlight on for up to 120 seconds.

You can download the application here.

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Cheap Way To Boost Cellphone MP3 Player Audio

All you need is an empty glass. Just stick your phone into the glass as indicated in this photo and let the good times roll.

Still not loud enough? Then get a pail used to keep beer in and stick the glass inside.

Oh baby let the good times roll…

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Multimedia Phone MOTORAZR maxx Ve

(credit: newlaunches)

As a multimedia cellphone, the MOTORAZR maxx Ve comes with music/video downloads and stereo bluetooth for your convenient in listening favorite music without the cable hassle. This slim and excellent phone design equipped with extra features such as GPS/LBS connection and EV-DO. It also utilizes integrated 2MP camera for instant shooting. Just wait until July if you want it, I mean “if you want to buy it”, there is no princing info yet. [via newlaunches]

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Nokia N95 Ships Worldwide

There you have it folks, the Nokia N95, a 5.0MP cameraphone with enhanced 3D graphics and GPS is now shipping and will be available worldwide starting next week.


Nokia N95 Specs:

* HSDPA / GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
* Bluetooth 2.0
* WLAN 802.11g
* GPRS / EDGE / HSDPA (3G)
* Symbian OS 9.2, S60 rel. 3.1
* 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, VGA quality video
* GPS Navigation with 100 maps built in
* TV Out
* 160MB internal memory with up to 2GB expansion (128MB microSD card included)
* 3.5mm audio jack
* MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA player

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Tamagotchi Cellphone

(credit: pcworld)

As far as i remember, the Tamagothci is a popular game in the midle of 1990s. The game was introduced in Japan and then spread to the rest of the world. The game concept is just like the original game: “Hatching your virtual pet and smother it with love and repeat”. This game phone is brought to you by Bandai in collaboration with PlayPhone, and will be available for your kids this summer. [via gizmodo]

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Helio Ocean GPS Enabled Phone

(credit: navigadget)

Helio introduced Ocean, a sliding phone. The phone comes with qwerty keyboard and numeric keypad. As GPS enabled phone, the Helio Ocean utilizes Google Maps and Geatoag aplication to mark a place with related picture, thank to the integrated 2MP camera which you can use to take a picture and assign it directly to related coordinate. Available in black color, the phone expected costs $295 this spring. [via navigadget]

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LG Shine Special Edition: Another Gold Plated Phone

(credit: LG)

It’s a classic and universal acknowledgement that gold is always identical with luxury. I have announced you some of gold plated gadgets such as Nokia 8800, earphone, and MP3 player. And now LG’s turn, they also bring this paradigm to today digital lifestyle. Yes, LG has been introduced the gold plated of its LG shine in Korea with code nameLG Shine special edition. Still there is no information about the pricing and the availability outside Korea yet. [via slashphone]

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Sony-Ericsson Pre Introduced New Music Phone SE W660i

(credit: electronista)

As a music phone, it has features that most of portable music player provide such as music jukebox, trendy button, and LCD display. I like the design, its red rose color, and its gold line border around its cover. The W660i comes with 2mpx built-in camera and additional VGA camera for 3G video calls. Regarding storage, it’s equipped by 512MB memory stick and a card slot for additional storage. The phone will be displayed during CeBIT, so don’t miss it! [via electronista]

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New Smartphone Toshiba T911

(credit: akhihabaranews)

The new Toshiba T911 will be available in Japan this month and comes with built-in Yahoo button to expand your experience in the world of mobile web. Available in 4 different colors, the Toshiba T911 features 3 inch TFT screen which support up to 480×800 resolution and 260K colors. This smartphone weighs only 145g and equipped with almost latest technology features such as 3.2 megapixel built-in camera, 3G connection, and Bluetooth. Regarding storage, The T911 which utilizes software bank mobile service has 1GB of internal memory which almost keep all of you mobility file. [via TechEBlog]

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Motorola LAZR: Pewpewpew!

Sporting a huge screen and running open source (Motorola did turn a smash hit of the Linux-powered Ming), the LAZR is a huge clamshell phone that may only appeal to those with deep pockets - figuratively and literally. Other rumors say that this phone has no Transflash expansion but comes with 512MB of internal memory. I’m trying to understand the whole concept behind the LAZR as it appeals to the male market. Case in point would be the bimbo video that sorts comes to market the phone. Oh, and since she’s using it in the bath, I’m assuming its waterproof — not!


Kudos to Motorola! In a time where its so hard to think of desirable product names, you guys still have it in you to invent words that work with “ZR” buzz.

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The Crumpler Thirsty Al

Available in several sizes from small to extra large, the Thirsty Al is the eccentric geeks’ choice for small gadget protection. Since small gadgets usually equate to cellphones, the Thirsty Al brings forth a two tone approach to extra protection. In this feature, I decided to take pictures of the Medium sized Thirsty Al I recently bought which I can use to clip onto my belt (eww too geeky!) or to my bag shoulder strap (ahh better!).

The Thirsty Al comes in a variety of two toned colors. Once opened, you will also notice a smaller sleeve which is big enough to store memory cards or business cards or your wad of used chewing gum, when necessary. The Thirsty Al retails for about US $16.00 and can be ordered from Crumpler Store.

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Tip: Recording a podcast on your mobile phone

If you’re the type who wants to do mobile podcasts and record interviews, you may want to forego the bulky hassle of bringing along your laptop and your microphone. A tape recorder will always do but why not try recording your podcast straight from your mobile phone. If your phone supports 3GP video recording, this is what you do:

Step 1
Make sure you have a black cloth with you. Run the video recorder application and place it in between the conversation.


Step 2
Cover the phone’s video screen with the cloth so that the phone will technically be recording “nothing.”

Step 3
Use an audio extractor like this certain application to extract the audio from the 3GP file.

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3GSM World Says: Sony Ericsson K800 and Samsung D900 true winners!

Curious about who won what for the 3GSM World Congress? Here is the list of winners for the 3GSM Awards this Valentine’s Day.

samsung-d900.gifIn the phones category, the best GSM handset was awarded to the Samsung SGH D900. This phone won because of its slim form factor, bright screen and stable user interface. This phone simply “works” as it comes packed with 60MB of internal memory and microSD expansion for storing photos, videos and music. The autofocus 3MP camera tops the phone as icing to its already impressive list of features.

sony-ericsson-k800-cyber-shot-is-wilma-2.jpgNow the best 3GSM handset goes to the Sony Ericsson K800 CyberShot wins a dozen roses for being the best 3GSM handset for 2007. Again, a high quality 3MP camera, fast operating system and a compact form factor are what truly makes this phone shine.

Should companies take hint as to what makes a phone a winner in this beauty contest?

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Nokia E90: All it lacks is the coffee maker

Announced at the 3GSM World Congress

Announced at the 3GSM World Congress this February, the Nokia E90 promises to be the flagship smartphone integrating high speed HSDPA connectivity with the enterprise form factor of the Communicator series. This phone also abandons the old Communicator Operating System and opts for the more mainstream S60 platform. This allows consumers to maximize on the wide array of applications built for S60 phones.

Here is a summary of the technical specifications of the E90:


* Symbian OS v9.2, S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 1
* GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 / WCDMA 2100
* Network Data Support: HSDPA, WCDMA, EGPRS, GPRS, HSCSD, CSD
* Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR, Infrared, Mini USB 2.0,
* WLAN Support: 802.11b/g, WPA, WPA2 (AES/TKIP)
* GPS
* Dimensions: 132 x 57 x 20 mm
* Weight: 210g
* Primary Screen (internal) - 800 x 352 - 24 bit colour depth
* Secondary Screen (external) - 240 x 320 - 24 bit colour depth
* Primary camera - 3.2 megapixel camera, 20x digital zoom, Auto Focus, red-eye reduction, flash, self timer
* Secondary Camera - 320 x 240
* Memory Card: Micro SD - Hot Swappable
* Stereo Handsfree Speakers
* Visual Radio

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What makes a phone sexy?

Over the years of writing technology reviews of devices I always come upon the following six word phrase when reading or writing product descriptions:

“It has a sexy form factor”

But is this the real meaning of sexy when we take a look at phones? I honestly think that the word “sexy” has more to do with the aesthetic value of the unit (hence the form factor element) more than anything else. The Motorola KRZR for instance is sexy because it is small and thin. But I would never buy it as it lacks several sync features — practical features that outweigh the sexy.


Are there instances where sexy should take priority over features? What does it mean for a phone to be sexy anyway?

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Windows Mobile 6 Being Given Away: Proof that hell indeed has frozen over!

In an unexpected move that would usually seem like a regular day for the open source community, Microsoft decides to give away Windows Mobile 6 to the hardware manufacturing community (as well as order a new set of chairs for Steve Ballmer). Now it is really up to these phone developers to decide whether their phone brands will be eligible for a FREE upgrade.


Windows Mobile 6 is just beyond the hill. And it may even look more attractive now that it might even be given for free.

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Blackberry Pearl Hands On

The Blackberry Pearl is the latest handheld device from RIM. This device has been cut clean — it is smaller than most fashion phones, lighter than the rest and it comes with a few new features which truly makes the Blackberry an attractive lifestyle device. The stigma of the Blackberry was that it was labeled as a “corporate device” because of its bulky design and the no-camera feature.

The Pearl has the following highlights:

* 1.3MP camera
* 1 1/2 days worth of battery life
* Built in GMail Chat and Yahoo! Messenger
* Voice recognition dialing (you do not need to pre-program recordings)
* Video playback
* EDGE connectivity
* Light sensor (detects low light levels and switches on the backlighting)
* Trackball navigation (a small trackball at the center serves as the navigation, replacing the joystick)

With the addition of a camera, enterprise IT departments can actually have the camera feature disabled from their servers for security purposes. Cool!

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The best way to piss off IM contacts during office hours

With the Pearl, built in Yahoo! Messenger is always a boon. Since I don’t hold straight hours in the office (I’m a “full time” consultant) I get to go out more. Of course, you don’t really need a Blackberry to do this (IM via GPRS / EDGE) so the best way to piss off office folk would be to watch Frank Miller’s 300 on the opening day (it opened here in my country today) and state the obvious on your IM status.

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Cell Phone: Art and the Mobile Phone at Baltimore

The museum is the first US exhibit to showcase an entire collection devoted to the cell phone. The show, dubbed Cell Phone: Art and the Mobile Phone, features more than 30 international artists, from video great Nam June Paik to new media collective, Informationlab. The mix of programmers, mixed-media and urban artists highlight the impact of cell phones on everyday life. The exhibit, on display until April 22, shows off a mash-up of camera phones, videophones, global positioning systems, Bluetooth technology, ring tones and messaging tech.

WIRED did a coverage of the “cellphones turned art” show over at the Baltimore Museum. You can view the full gallery here and the full article here.

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HTC S310 Windows Mobile Smartphone

The S310 is HTC’s budget smartphone running on Windows Mobile 5. In spite of its being labeled a budget device, HTC was able to pack some neat features into this handy smartphone. Features include:


* Windows Mobile 5
* Quadband
* GPRS and EDGE compatibility
* Microsoft Push Email
* Windows Media Player supports MP3, MWA and WMV
* 1.3MP camera
* A2DP Bluetooth Support (you can use this with Bluetooth headsets)

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Google Phone Knows You Better than Your Ex

Here’s the scoop from Phoneyworld:

The application is near scary in the fact that it shall be able to know you better than anybody else and then pre-empt searches based on this data, which would include your likes, dislikes, time of the day and location and suggest to you that since you are likely to be hungry at this time of the afternoon, and since it is a holiday, you would perhaps be better off going down to the nice mexican place just around the corner from your current location for a quick meal.


In other words, Google will be embedding Spyware onto their phones.

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The Blank OLED Phone: Ultimate in Phone Customization

This is the Blank, a touch screen OLED phone that is … well … blank. To facilitate the ever changing fickle taste in fashion and personalization, the Blank concept allows owners to use the touch screen as a slate to place their own custom designs.

The full coverage OLED has a number of other benefits over traditional phone screens as well, such as a much lower power consumption compared to LCD’s, a higher contrast ratio and the ability to customize the interface and eliminate unneeded functions from sight. When you want to text, bring up a full QWERTY keypad, when you’re dialing, only numbers appear on screen. The removal of a dedicated keypad also allows you to watch media in true widescreen format. [source]

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Samsung P300: The ugliest phone in the world

I was in for a shock after holding the Samsung P300 for the first time. It doesn’t look like a phone at all. It’s more like a cross between a paperweight and an old skool calculator. The picture on the right doesn’t do it justice. The phone is bulky, heavy and the keys are hard to press. Let’s not even talk about the user interface. Despite the bright screen, the phone is a tad disappointing compared to the other great phones that Samsung has released in the past weeks.


I dunno, dude. It really looks like a calculator.

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Sony Ericsson J110i: Frugal Phone Owner

Up and coming for the Asian market is the affordable Sony Ericsson J110i, a stripped down version of a phone with features you normally would expect with today’s quick releases. Nonetheless, the target market of the J110i are for those who have no need of the more interesting functions such as EDGE connectivity. This phone doesn’t even support MMS or have a camera. What you do get are predictive texting feature, an alarm clock and speaker phone functions. See? Talk about stripped down. At the very least, the phone has a hi resolution STN color screen.


The phone book allows you to store 200 contacts onto its internal memory. The phone also follows suite from most Nokia low end phones with the single icon UI on the screen.

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The Future of Cellphone Accessories is in the Lanyard

Apple is starting it. They filed a patent for the oh so typical lanyard you string around your neck to hang the iPod to make it do more things. Like flash lights to the beat of your heart when jogging or interface with other wireless devices. The future of the lanyard is now!

Apple’s documentation notes that the connector unit may include additional ports, jacks, connectors so that additional peripheral devices can be coupled to the handheld device (e.g., audio, video, data, power, etc.). In some cases, the connector unit may even include a wireless interface so that the handheld device can remotely communicate with other devices. In the case of a music player, the connector unit may for example allow the user to broadcast music to other music players.

Mainstream “lanyard” technology combines the technology of an FM radio transmitter with the set of earphones that plug into most phones. Nokia has been doing this for a while now and maybe, just maybe, it is time to reinvent the lanyard cable to do more than just act as a hanger.

Via TWiT and MacNN

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BlackBerry 8300 and 8320: No Faith in ShortType

The BlackBerry team have been busy. Very busy. They once committed themselves to designing an alternative to T9 text input called ShortType but have gone beyond this to go for the full QWERTY keypad and WiFi connectivity. The Boy Genius Report talks about the 8320 saying that it still uses a 2.5mm audio jack and has no GPS.

Nonetheless, BlackBerry has gone back to the slightly bulky executive design.

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If Motorola Buys Palm

This makes perfect sense to me for the following reasons:
1. Palm has been developing on an open platform with Access and so has Motorola with their latest line of open sourced smartphones such as the Motorola Ming A1200.

2. Palm’s success has been mostly due to the Treo handheld, a platinum award winning phone. They’ve canned their other devices such as the Lifedrive in Asia. They need a refocus in terms of manufacturing strategy and it takes a fierce competitor like Motorola to give them back this break. Motorola has been rather fierce in several world markets with campaigns stretching out to the really creative.


3. Motorola makes sleek handhelds with crappy operating systems. And yet they still end up becoming a market leader in the consumer division. Think of the benefits if they are able to integrate the Palm OS on a KRZR-like device for instance? You will have a good mesh between style and function, something that Palm was known to capitalize on in the past but couldn’t do so now due to the many times they have refocused and rebranded.

So all’s well that ends well. I just have one request if the buyout pushes through. Please, don’t change Palm’s name again. Please?

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Samsung BlackJack: A True Wireless Ace

The Samsung BlackJack claims to be the true winner in the wireless race as it features 3G connectivity, a “handily thin” real estate and push email. Let’s analyze this a bit. Devices such as Blackberry’s Pearl can surely be a close runner up because of the sleek design features and compact real etate. However, the lack of 3G and a full QWERTY keypad can cause some disappointment for power users. Though I personally don’t care much for 3G support (push email works fine on GSM although and EDGE proves to be sufficient for wireless email), the full QWERTY keypad makes the BlackJack rival Nokia’s E61 and E61i handhelds.


So as it is, the BlackJack’s game-breaker is Windows Mobile 5 and it pitts against the S60 operating system of Nokia E61i, which, put side by side essentially have similar features.

You can read a more complete review of the BlackJack here as it was tested on Cingular network from CNET.

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