Now here’s the interesting form factor — not that it’s the first such device, but it’s the form factor I haven’t seen for a long time. The rumored Samsung i620 is set to replace the popular i600 model, and to come in the slider form factor. But the i620 is not like other slider handsets — when it slides down it reveals the full QWERTY Keyboard, thus producing the “wow” effect.

Aside from the full keyboard, there’s the HSDPA radio, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity options, 2 cameras – internal for video calls and 2 MP external with flash, as well as the microSD expansion slot. The TFT screen produces the standard QVGA resolution and can display up to 65k colors. Dimensions of 113×59x11.8 mm and weight of 95 g make the Samsung i620 one of the thinnest and lightest smartphones around. And, yes it will run the Windows Mobile 6! (via: slashphone)

The Sony Ericsson W660i, the one that “just begs to be touched,” passed the FCC hurdle and is ready for the U.S. market. Along with the stylish Walkman phone, users will also get a 512MB memory stick micro (M2), good enough for storing up to 470 songs in eAAC+ format. There’s also the “Track ID” for identifying songs from the radio, stereo Bluetooth (A2DP), as well as the 2 MP camera. According to Swedish-Japanese handset maker it will hit the shelves in Q2. We’re waiting… (via: mobilewhack)

Hype around the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) iPhone is like a never-ending storm of praise and criticism. The latest bit of praise comes from AT&T (NYSE: T)’s COO, Randall Stephenson, as he is set to take over as CEO this Sunday – saying , “I don’t know what your expectations are for the iPhone, but they’re probably too low.”

The CEO to-be, set to replace retiring CEO Ed Whitacre, also reiterated to Lehman Brothers analysts that the Apple iPhone garnered interest from over 1 million people in the US. Stephenson also mentioned that the upcoming FCC 700 Mhz wireless spectrum auction was prime frequency real-estate, but AT&T’s current spectrum position was secure and comfortable and “There’s no real sense of urgency for it.”

via: cellularnews

Ahh, the WiMAX Forum -

The WiMAX Forum is an industry-led non-profit organization comprising more than 440 companies committed to promoting and certifying interoperable WiMAX products. WiMAX products are designed to deliver wireless broadband services to both residential customers and businesses by creating economies of scale made possible by standards-based, interoperable products.

- a powerful group indeed. In the spirit of recent WiMAX related news, it just seems appropriate to mention that Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) has officially jumped on-board the Good Ship WiMAX. Good for you, Sony Ericsson! It’s nice to see that you finally agree to work with companies like Acer, Intel, and Motorola (NYSE: MOT) – just to name a few. Check out the full list of WiMAX Forum members here.

PRNewsWire has the official press release for you to peruse, but it basically states what you’ve already read here.

via: justamp

It looks like WiMAX is hotter than ever these days. Sprint (NYSE: S) and Nokia are probably grinning from ear to ear with this latest study. Research firm Maravedis has revealed, among other things, that WiMAX deployments around the globe have risen a whopping 85% – in the firm’s own newsletter, the WiMAXCounts Newsletter.

However, the technologies deployed varied from proprietary spec to year 2004- and 2005-draft specs, with the majority being proprietary equipment, so don’t get too excited about globally standardized WiMAX just yet. Still, the US, Spain, and Australia were the leaders in WiMAX deployments, with total WiMAX service revenues in 2006 of $322 million, and ARPUs of $40.76 and $145.54 in residential and business subscriptions, respectively

via: cellularnews

The world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer, Nokia (NYSE: NOK), has joined forces with China’s Beijing-based Tsinghua University for a new research center. This partnership is the first Nokia Research Center venture for Nokia in the Asian continent – Nokia has already setup research facilities in the US, Finland and UK.

Students at the Tsinghua University will be collaborating with the Nokia Research Center to develop a wide range of technologies – ranging from global to Asian specific. Professor Zhisheng Niu, Vice Dean of the School of Information Science and Technology at Tsinghua, stated that, “In some ways, the future of mobile technology is the future of all technology in China. The country has set itself the goal of developing indigenous innovation and, with four times as many mobile subscribers as Internet users, the opportunities within mobile technology are clear. In addition, a world-class communications network is essential to breakthroughs in all areas of science and technology research, rendering mobile technology doubly important. With this announcement, therefore, Nokia is not only promoting research in its own fields, it is actively facilitating and supporting an entire culture of innovation.”

Welcome to the Nokia Research Center club, Asia!

via: digitimes

Taiwan-based PChome Online’s subsidiary, Ipevo, has launched the Solo handset. The Solo Skype phone allows wireless internet calls without that annoying requirement to have a PC nearby. Ipevo is planning to make the Solo available in Taiwan starting June 11, and in the US by July. Universal Scientific Industrial (USI) will be manufacturing the Ipevo Solo with an Intel PXA270 CPU and Broadcom (NSDQ: BRCM) chipset.

The Solo will be available in Taiwan for about $150. Finally, the day of the USB tethered, PC-requiring, Skype phone is over! With the Solo, Skype-rs can connect straight to a broadband connection to get that sweet internet-calling goodness.

via: digitimes

Verizon has teamed up with Ford to sponsor a new reality TV show to find the next great film-maker – On The Lot. The show is being produced by Fox Interactive Media and will use Verizon (NYSE: VZ) subscribers as the exclusive voting-base. Lucky Verizon users can send in SMS text messages to vote for their favorite film-maker, a la American Idol. The SMS votes will be tallied by Telescope, the same company that handles the voting counts for American Idol. RCR News reports that, Verizon will get “exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from the show, including outtakes, contestant bios and more than 40 original short films to be featured on the show…The carrier is also sponsoring an online moviemaking challenge tied to the show. The grand-prize winner’s short film will be featured on Vcast Video.”

via: moconews

Samsung has introduced its new 4GB multi-chip package (MCP) for mobile phone applications. The new MCP chipset streamlines how handsets handle high-capacity memory – no more external memory slots, and no more additional memory interface software for NAND memory. With an integrated memory controller chip, the two 16Gb NAND memory banks work in tandem with 1GB worth of CPU-supporting DRAM and 2GB of general use memory. The new streamlined chipset provides the high-speed data transfer rates required by handsets, while supporting the handsets communication features.

We can’t wait for these chipsets to start hitting shelves, inside our favorite smartphones.

via: newlaunches

I hope their European competitors are watching closely.

I can’t wait to come home from work and watch the archived webcast.

Edit: I find it funny this device reflects, word for word, the usage model I proposed here, here and here.