HTC promised that its HTC Tattoo would be available with custom-made covers to make the smartphone as unique as its user. Well, HTC just launched their TattooMyHTC website, offering pre-designed covers for €11.99. You can also “design your own” custom covers for for €14.99.
The Android-powered Tattoo should soon be popping up in custom outfits all around Europe.
Following on recently available pre-orders, the fabled Sony Ericsson Idou has just landed on British shores as the Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) Satio! The touchscreen Sony Ericsson Satio is the Swedish-Japanese phone maker’s first Symbian S60 5th Edition smartphone and it oozes high-end sex appeal. We had a chance to put hands-on the Satio back when it was known as the Sony Ericsson Idou, and it’s one helluva device – especially since it runs the so-old-it-hurts Sybmain platform.
Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) UK is the only carrier to offer the Sony Ericsson Satio at the moment, but Orange has the Satio tagged as “coming soon.” Underneath that high-resolution 3.5-inch touchscreen lies all the high-end smartphone bits that we’d expect to see from a 12.1-megapixel cameraphone monster – DNLA-compatible WiFi, GPS, and 3G data. The glossy-black finish highlights the 12.1-megapixel camera (with Xenon flash) while the 3.5-inch touchscreen plays video with aplomb. Did we mention it sports a 12.1-megapixel camera? Yeah, it’s awesome.
Vodafone is offering the Satio for free when purchased with qualifying 2-year contract. Have at it!
If you’re not lucky enough to live on the British side of the pond, keep yourself busy with our Satio hands-on gallery.
The Motorola MOTOBLUR service/UI is about to give HTC G1 fans a taste what Motorola (NYSE: MOT) is cooking up for their Android-powered CLIQ. Thanks to a clever Android hacker with access to the CLIQ’s firmware, the MOTOBLUR UI has been ported to the G1- the CLIQ’s keyboard-wielding Android cousin.
Motorola launched their Motorola CLIQ Android phone last month with a unique user interface, called MOTOBLUR, as a new way to keep tabs on your social media. Using Motorola’s servers, MOTOBLUR automatically pulls information from your social networks and RSS feeds and splashes that data onto the CLIQ’s homescreen. MOTOBLUR also keeps your contacts’ status updates and photos up to date.
What you see here is the HTC G1 running MOTOBLUR. You may remember Google (NSDQ: GOOG) throwing a bit of a fit over Cyanogen’s distribution of Google’s licensed Android apps. We have to wonder what Motorola thinks about their entire MOTOBLUR getting the “mod” treatment.
CTIA Fall 2009 isn’t the biggest show we’ve ever been to. In fact, this particular conference might be the smallest CTIA we’ve ever attended. But, that doesn’t mean there’s a lack of cool hardware to ogle on the showfloor. Take the Nokia N900 for example. It’s Nokia (NYSE: NOK)’s latest Nseries smartphone, and the first of the Nseries lineup to run a non-Symbian OS. Nokia tapped its Maemo development team to craft a version of the Linux-based operating system for the new Nokia N900 smartphone, and we have to say it’s light-years better than S60. Say what you want about Symbian, just don’t say it’s “good.”
Anyway, enough ranting about Symbian. The Nokia N900 is a true multi-tasking powerhouse. The N900 is powered by the same 600Mhz ARM Cortex A8 processor that you’ll find crunching numbers inside the iPhone 3GS. Nokia uses that awesome processor to bring serious multi-tasking to the Nokia N900. Take a look at the video below and you’ll see that the N900 we were playing with was running no less than six apps at the same time – no saved-state nonsense, this was legitimate multi-tasking. One of the apps (a game) even displayed an animated thumbnail showing the game in action while running in the background.
The UI is smooth and lag-free. Flick your finger on the touchscreen and you’ll be treated to a bit of kinetic scrolling. Maemo 5 supports widgets too, which means you can fill your three homescreen panes with all sorts of little info-windows that pull social-network information in real-time. And, as an added bonus, Maemo 5 runs a Mozilla-based web browser that boasts full Flash 9.2 support. This isn’t the crappy Flash Lite that some folks have been saying is a good alternative to real Flash support (even though it really isn’t). This is real Flash, running real fast and real smoothly.
As for the hardware, here’s a quick rundown. The Nokia N900 features a 3.5-inch WVGA capacitive resistive touchscreen, 5-megapixel Carl Zeiss camera (with dual-LED flash), 32GB onboard storage, 3G data, GPS, WiFi, FM radio and that speedy 600Mhz Cortex A8 processor. In a nutshell, it’s everything you’d expect from Nokia’s latest Nseries flagship.
You can pre-order the Nokia N900 from NokiaUSA.com for $649. Have at it!
That’s it. Game over. After spending some quality one-on-one time with the HTC HD2 (Leo) today, we’re convinced that the HTC HD2 is the “baddest Windows Phone” of the year. In fact, the HD2 might be strong enough to carry that title through much of next year. The powerful-yet-slim HD2 packs a 1Ghz Snapdragon chipset into a shell no thicker than your standard yellow No. 2 pencil, basically killing any hint of the lag we’re used to seeing with Windows Mobile.
What makes this new Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphone so great? Well, aside from its power-packed chipset and sexy design aesthetic, the HD2 is the only Windows Phone (so far) to sport a capacitance-based touchscreen (like on the iPhone and Android smartphones) that throws out pixels at WVGA resolutions across a whopping 4.3-inches of real estate. Then, add in the fact that the HD2 features a 5-megapixel camera (with dual-LED flash), integrated GPS, WiFi, microSD slot, FM radio, digital compass and a 3.5mm headphone jack, and it’s easy to see how the HD2 dominates the competition.
HTC also baked in some of their Sense design philosophy into the HD2’s TouchFLO 3D UI, focusing on personalization/customization, intuitive finger-based interface and media consumption. That all translates into a user experience that we’d frankly never expected from a Windows Phone.
We’re expecting to see the HTC HD2 make its US debut in Q1 of 2010. As for the US price, we’re not sure. But, we’re still willing to offer a kidney in trade.
[Update]
Photos color corrected and updated. Apologies for making your eyes freak out.
Samsung has officially gone Android. Today, at the CTIA WITE 2009 conference in beautiful San Diego, Samsung unveiled the Samsung Moment as their first Android phone to hit market. The Moment features a 3.2-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 3.2-megapixel camera (with autofocus and LED flash), slide-out QWERTY keyboard, GPS, WiFi and an optical mouse. There’s also a speedy 800Mhz processor lying within, ready to crunch numbers like it’s nobody’s business. The Moment will be only the third Android phone to sport a physical keyboard when it launches, putting in league with the HTC G1 and the Motorola (NYSE: MOT) CLIQ. Talk about being in good company. But, the real question is how does the Samsung Moment measure up?
We had a chance to put hands on the Samsung Moment, and it holds its own against the CLIQ. The keyboard slides out with smooth confidence. The camera is decent, especially considering it only packs a little over 3 million pixels onto its image sensor. The keyboard keys are a little small for our tastes, but provides reassuring tactile feedback.
Samsung will be bringing the Samsung Moment to Sprint (NYSE: S) on November 1st for $179.99 (after $50 instant savings and $100 MIR) when purchased with new 2-year contract. Check out the video and photo gallery below for a preview look at the Samsung Moment.
Big-screen lovers, capacitive touchscreen fans and smartphone users “in the know” will be happy to hear that the HTC HD2 (aka Leo) is almost here. HTC has today announced that their HTC HD2 will be launching later this month in select European markets. Boasting a class-leading 4.3-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen (a first for Windows Mobile smartphones!), blazing fast 1Ghz Snapdragon chipset (a first for HTC) and a 5-megapixel autofocusing camera, the HD2 packs some serious processing and multimedia power under its slim 11mm thick shell. And, as HTC’s first Windows Phone to sport the smartphone maker’s custom Sense UI, the HTC HD2 isn’t just a pretty face, it’s also easy to get along with.
The HTC Sense UI rose to fame as the Android-powered Hero’s slick homescreen interface. And, this is the first time we’re seeing aspects of the multi-pane Sense UI making its way to Windows Mobile, and it looks promising. The new Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional interface has been re-worked to play nice with finger inputs, but it took HTC’s Sense UI to polish it to a touch-optimized shine.
The HD2’s Windows Mobile-based Sense UI also brings along a couple additional features from its Android roots. For one, HTC’s Peep Twitter app makes the jump from Android to Windows Mobile. Another new feature is integrated support for photo uploads to Facebook and Twitter. Facebook also syncs up with the address book.
As for hardware, the HD2 is the first HTC smartphone to take advantage of the powerful Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) 1Ghz Snapdragon chipset. Paired with generous RAM stores, the HD2 should make quick work of anything you can throw at it. Hopefully, that also spells the death of the dreaded UI lag that WinMo users have been gritting through all these years. The 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen is as big as they come in the mobile space, and the 5-megapixel camera takes impressive photos. The feature-set rounds out with a heaping portion of smartphone trimmings – 3G, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth 2.0, microSD slot, FM radio and a digital compass.
An optional car mount kit turns your HTC HD2 into a fully functional turn-by-turn GPS navigation system. We can see a dash of Apple (NSDQ: AAPL)’s design aesthetic in the HD2’s car mount, but that’s just fine by us.
Suffice it to say that the HTC HD2 is going to turn heads on the street. Unfortunately, those streets will only be in Europe for the time being. Launch is expected later this month in the EU, with O2 in the UK possibly launching on October 12 and Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) Spain aiming for a November launch window. Additional markets should go live shortly after. Price? €649, but it’s not like it even matters. We’ll trade a kidney for an HD2. What about it, HTC?
AT&T (NYSE: T) launched the HTC PURE late Sunday evening as the first Windows Phone (get used to seeing that more) to sport the new Windows Mobile 6.5 OS, and it’s taken us this long to get a proper hands-on video together. Our bad. To make it up to all of you, here’s a quick(ish) look at the AT&T-branded HTC Touch Diamond2, interestingly branded the AT&T PURE. As a bonus, you also get to check out some of the cool new features in Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional.
A few things about the AT&T PURE. It sports a glossy black finish and metallic accents that highlights the 5-megapixel camera. The front-facing camera is gone. It’s compatible with AT&T’s 3G network. And, it’s got curves. We like the curves.
Under the hood, we find the same GPS, WiFi, microSD slot, gobs of RAM and 3.2-inch WVGA touchscreen that made the Touch Diamond2 a formidable Windows Phone. As for the PURE’s resistive touchscreen, it almost feels more responsive than the Touch Diamond2. Maybe it’s just in our heads. Maybe Windows Mobile 6.5 makes it feel more responsive. Whatever it is, the PURE is pure finger-flicking fun.
Stay tuned for more AT&T PURE and Windows Mobile 6.5 coverage. In the meantime, enjoy the hands-on video.
Windows Mobile fans, your ship as finally come in (a few days early to boot)! The Windows Mobile 6.5 update has officially gone live a few days early with AT&T (NYSE: T)’s launch of the HTC PURE (Touch Diamond2) and HTC Tilt II (Touch Pro2), both powered by Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)’s more finger-friendly WinMo update.
The AT&T PURE is everything you’d expect to see from a lightly-branded HTC Touch Diamond2 (check out our review here). AT&T’s version of the Touch Diamond2 sports a glossy black finish, accentuated by a metallic strip along the backside that highlights the 5-megapixel autofocus camera. As for the guts, the AT&T PURE features a 3.2-inch WVGA touchscreen (resistive, but much improved), 3G data, GPS, WiFi, accelerometer, light sensor and microSD card slot – basically what you get in the HTC Touch Diamond2. We were impressed by the HTC Touch Diamond2 when it was powered by Windows Mobile 6.1, so the PURE’s WinMo 6.5 underpinnings are sure to impress.
For those that need a super-big display and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, the AT&T Tilt II should come in handy. The Tilt II sports the 3.6-inch WVGA touchscreen (resistive) and slide-and-tilt QWERTY keyboard that won our hearts as the best business smartphone in its class. Inside the Tilt II, sports the much the same feature-set as the AT&T PURE. The Tilt II camera packs just 3.2-megapixels (compared to 5-megapixels on the PURE), but makes up for it with a dual-speaker/dual-microphone speakerphone for noise-cancelled conference calls.
AT&T Tilt II
As for Windows Mobile 6.5, expect to see a revamped Internet Explorer Mobile that’s built on the same code that runs the desktop version of Internet Explorer. The Windows Mobile 6.5 interface has been refreshed to make touch inputs easier and more accurate – icons and buttons are bigger and thoughtfully laid out. Windows Marketplace for Mobile was expected to go live on October 6th, alongside Windows Mobile 6.5, so it’s not clear if the Marketplace is ready to rock. The press release mentions that Marketplace will be available “in 2009.”
Want an AT&T Pure or the Tilt II? Be ready to plunk down $149.99 (after $50 mail-in rebate) for the PURE or $299.99 (after $50 mail-in rebate) for the Tilt II, but only when you sign up for a 2-year contract with at least a $69.99 monthly plan. The AT&T PURE is available at AT&T retail store and online now, the Tilt II will be available in the coming weeks.
Shortly after catching wind of O2’s upcoming Touch HD2, it comes as little surprise that T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) UK will also be offering the Windows Mobile heavyweight. Code-named the Leo, the HD2 has been turning a lot of heads as the launch draws nearer. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the HD2, it will be rocking an impressive 4.3″ WVGA capacitive touchscreen, 1Ghz processor, 5 megapixel camera, 512 MB of RAM, Wi-Fi, GPS, and a 3.5 mm standard headphone jack. No word on date, but it stands to reason that T-Mo’s offering will be close to O2 (NYSE: TEF)’s rumoured launch on October 12, shortly after Windows Mobile 6.5.
CTIA Fall 2009 isn’t the biggest show we’ve ever been to. In fact, this particular conference might be the smallest CTIA we’ve ever attended. But, that doesn’t mean there’s a lack of cool hardware to ogle on the showfloor. Take 
Big-screen lovers, capacitive touchscreen fans and smartphone users “in the know” will be happy to hear that the HTC HD2 (aka 
AT&T (
