HTC Magic is official!
Vodafone just got the world’s first touchscreen-only Android phone: HTC’s Magic. The phone comes with a 3.2-inch HVGA screen front and center, HDSPA, GPS, 3.2 megapixel camera (no flash), and a G1-style trackball. Details on pricing and availability will be unveiled for local Vodafone markets as they see fit, but pricing in Spain will be from 99 to 199 Euro, depending on contract. Initial markets to nab the phone will be UK (due in April), Spain, Germany, France and Italy, with more countries to follow, and the phone will be a timed exclusive with Vodafone. But at least this one will ship with a touchscreen keyboard out of the gate — it’s running Cupcake.
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Mobile World Congress: Microsoft Roundup
Microsoft announced four major new products at Mobile World Congress: Microsoft Recite, Microsoft My Phone, Microsoft Windows Marketplace and most important of all, Windows Mobile 6.5.
Microsoft Recite
First of all, Microsoft released a Technology Review of their new voice note taking app for Windows Mobile 6.0 and above. The special thing about this app though, is the ability to search your previously recorded notes with just your voice. Remember, it’s not a final product yet, and Microsoft is looking for your feedback. Read
Microsoft My Phone
As previously seen, Microsoft My Phone is a private beta MobileMe-like syncing service for Windows Mobile phones. If you want to enter the beta, register here.
Microsoft Windows Marketplace
Everyone’s copying Apple’s App Store. Seriously. Microsoft announced Windows Marketplace, a unified storefront for the over 20,000 Windows Mobile applications. As rumored, that means you’ll be able to get apps directly from your phone, and Microsoft has also promised new and better tools for developers in the future.
Windows Mobile 6.5
Last but not least, the most important announcement of all. Microsoft announces the new Windows Mobile: 6.5.The latest rendition of Microsoft’s mobile platform puts an emphasis on touch-friendliness with a honeycomb-style main menu that the company says is easier to finger than a traditional grid layout; a new lock screen that can be slid on different alerts to automatically call up texts, voicemails, and so on; a thoroughly-restyled cut of Internet Explorer Mobile that features a touchable zoom slider and frequently-used commands; redesigned menus that don’t need a stylus to actuate; fingerable home and contacts screens, and more. It’s not the thorough gutting of the platform many were hoping for, but for anyone thinking that Windows Mobile 6.1 can stand another facelift without ending up looking like Joan Rivers, 6.5′s clearly your baby. Sadly, Microsoft’s saying that no devices in the market today will receive official 6.5 updates, but don’t pull out your wallets just yet, though – the first devices with Windows Mobile 6.5 preinstalled should be available in the fourth quarter of the year.
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Mobile World Congress: HTC Roundup
HTC released 2 phones at this year’s Mobile World Congress: the HTC Touch Diamond 2 on the left, and the HTC Touch Pro on the right.
The Touch Diamond 2 comes with a huge 3.6-inch 480 x 800 LCD up front, and around back there’s a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus. The other main addition is a “touch zoom bar” below the screen. There’s also the new version of TouchFLO 3D running on Windows Mobile, but under the hood there’s the same old 528MHz processor, and the whole kit is actually a tad thicker a 0.54-inches. Still, memory is up to 512MB ROM and 288MB RAM. This phone should hit major markets in Europe and Asia in “early Q2 2009,” with more spots to follow later in the year.
Meanwhile, the Touch Pro 2 now has a 3.6-inch 800 x 400 screen, with 512MB of ROM, 288MB of RAM, microSD expansion, and a 3.2 megapixel cam. The phone still has a QWERTY keyboad, just like the old one. It’ll launch early in the second quarter in parts of Asia and Europe with other “major global markets” following in early Summer.
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Mobile World Congress: Samsung Roundup
Okay, so Samsung announced two phones at Mobile World Congress: The “Memoir ” OmniaHD on the left, and the M7600 Beat DJ on the right.
Here’s all we know so far:
The OmniaHD has a 8 megapixel camera (with Xenon flash, CMOS auto focus, 16x digital zoom, blink detection, face detection, anti-shake and geotagging inclusions) and a a 3.7-inch AMOLED display, while it can record a whopping 720p HD video, which makes it the first ever phone to do so. It has 3G, a full touchscreen, TV out function, TouchWiz user interface, integrated AGPS, full HTML browser. It’s coming to T-Mobile on February 25th (in the US) for a price of $249.99, with a $50 mail in rebate.
As for the Beat DJ phone, this Quadband GSM / HSDPA music phone sports a 2.8-inch AMOLED touchscreen display, GPS, 3 megapixel camera, and Bang & Olufsen amplifier. It’s also got codec support for DivX and XviD, microSDHC card slot for up to 16GB, Bluetooth A2DP, FM radio, and a very welcome 3.5mm headphone jack. As for those DJ features, the turntable-inspired “Disc UI” uses a spin wheel for navigation, and the included software lets you both create your own music and sounds as well as remix other songs by adding effects and filters. Unfortunately, mum’s the word on pricing or availability.
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GSM MWC: Sony Ericsson Idou Touchscreen released
Oh yes. Idou is just a name. It’s not a the final name yet. Looks like another Phone manufacturer fell for the “iPhone mockery/copy” style, just like HTC Touch Pro and the Nokia XpressMusic 5800.
But we do know about the specs. It’s going to run Symbian Foundation and comes with a 12.1 megapixel camera. That’s awesome. We do know that it will pack a 3.5-inch panel (640 x 320 resolution; no word on capacitive or resistive) and “full media consumption.” Nothing else just yet. Read
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