Cell Phone News

Gigabyte News
Subscribe to the Gigabyte RSS Feed

User interface galore: Gigabyte g-Smart S1200, Toshiba TG01, Sony Ericsson Idou and LG KM900 Arena

By Dusan Belic on Saturday, March 7th, 2009 at 4:17 AM PST
In Devices, Gigabyte, LG, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba

Check what I’ve found on Vimeo – cool videos exploring UIs of 4 cool devices. Among the demos you’re about to see are such popular devices as Gigabyte g-Smart S1200, Toshiba (OTCPK: TOSBF) TG01, Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) Idou and LG KM900 Arena. First comes the g-Smart S1200, while the rest is following after the jump. Enjoy!

Read the full article »

Gigabyte GSmart S1200 officially official

By Dusan Belic on Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 8:38 AM PST
In Announcements, Devices, Gigabyte, Mobile World Congress 2009, Windows Mobile

Gigabyte GSmart S1200

We told ya it’s coming, and voila… it’s here. I’m talking about Gigabyte’s GSmart S1200, WVGA touchscreen-equipped Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone.

As expected, the new device sports an iPhone-like, all-touchscreen form factor, measuring 105.5×52x11.4 mm. Aside from the large, 3.1-inch touchscreen, the S1200’s specs also include HSPA radio, GPS receiver, WiFi, BLuetooth, 3 megapixel camera with auto-focus, Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM)’s 528 MHz CPU, 256MB of ROM coupled with 128MB of RAM (why not more?), 1010 mAh battery, and of course a microSD memory card slot.

Exact price and release date are unknown, at the moment. We do, however, know that the GSmart S1200 will go on sale during Q2 2009. Likewise, we’ve heard users will be able to upgrade the device with Windows Mobile 6.5, once Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) releases the new version of its mobile OS.

[Via: Unwired View]

Gigabyte’s GSmart S1200 Windows Mobile smartphone coming to Mobile World Congress

By Dusan Belic on Thursday, February 12th, 2009 at 3:59 AM PST
In Devices, Gigabyte, Mobile World Congress 2009, Rumors, Windows Mobile

Gigabyte GSmart S1200 Windows Mobile smartphone

Gigabyte is preparing to roll-out new phones at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. We’ve heard the company will unveil the 0.43-inches thick (or that’s thin) GSmart S1200, the all-touchscreen device that runs Windows Mobile 6.1 with Gigabyte’s own UI called Smart Zone on top of it. We don’t have much details at this stage, except that it boasts Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM)’s 7200A 528MHz CPU under the hood. Guess the rest of the specs include such things as WiFi, GPS, 3G, some camera, and who knows what else.

In addition, there’s a rumor Gigabyte will also show its new business offering. Even less is known about this one, aside from the fact that it will be “something very different to what they have before.” Intriguing…

[Via: Engadget Mobile]

Gigabyte begins shipping its Windows Mobile smartphones

By Dusan Belic on Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 at 8:34 AM PST
In Devices, Gigabyte, Windows Mobile

gigabyte logo Gigabyte begins shipping its Windows Mobile smartphones

Gigabyte Communications has finally started shipping its announced-at-Computex smartphones. More specifically, we’re talking about the MW702 and MS802 models here, which will reportedly start selling in Hungary anytime soon. Afterwards, the company plans to launch the MS802 in the Taiwan and who knows where else.

The Gigabyte MW702 and MS802 are all-touchscreen equipped devices which run on Windows Mobile 6.1…

[Via: DigiTimes]

Gigabyte G-Smart t600: usage review

By Ben Robinson on Sunday, August 24th, 2008 at 6:08 AM PST
In Gigabyte, Mobile TV

Gigabyte G-Smart t600

The Gigabyte G-Smart t600 is an interesting device – I’ve had one for a couple of weeks, and so thought I would share some thoughts:

 

The packaging of the device is good (as with the MS800), and included the mains charger, extra stylus, and stereo headphones/hands-free. Not as loaded as with the MS800, but serviceable nonetheless

The device is solidly constructed – I am really getting to like the build quality of Gigabyte devices, it seems they have spent some time making sure that it feels good in the hand, and there is no creakage!

Gigabyte G-Smart t600

On-device, we are running WinMo 6 Pro O/S, again with some Gigabyte-specific trimmings – the most interesting of these is the DVB-T tuner application – yes, I said that right, DVB-T!

This device, in theory at least, is equipped with a Multi-standard (Mobile) TV receiver – now here’s the big downside….. in my testing, I could not get the tuner to work at all, despite scanning ALL the DVB-T frequency blocks available in the application. Call me disappointed, I was really looking forward to this.

Specs-wise, there is a pretty good selection:

Gigabyte G-Smart t600 specs

The screen seems perhaps just a tad small, but other than that, the device is pleasureable to use. Much like it’s business-oriented stablemate, the MS800, the device is available independently through Gigabyte’s resellers, as oppose to through Operators. If you would like a UK list of resellers, go here. If you want to check out the t600 on Gigabyte’s website, go here.

Man, I would have loved to see DVB-T reception up and working……..

Ben

Gigabyte G-Smart MS800: usage review

By Ben Robinson on Sunday, August 24th, 2008 at 3:50 AM PST
In Gigabyte

Gigabyte G-Smart MS800

Recently I have had chance to have “extreme possession” of the MS800 device from Gigabyte (labelled under the “G-Smart” brand). Below are some brief highlights, pointer to the specs, and the G-Smart website itself:

Initial impressions were that the G-Smart devices come in a professionally put-together set of packaging. Included are in-car charger, USB cable, spare pointer, instructions, wired stereo headset, and multi-country component mains charger – a nice set of accessories. A case wouldn’t have got amiss, but it’s not a showstopper

The device itself is well-made – nice construction, and plenty of time and effort obviously spent avoiding the serious “creak” problems that many plastic-bodied devices have:

Gigabyte G-Smart MS800

The O/S is WinMo 6 Pro – on top of this G-Smart have layered their “Smart Touch UI”, which is another attempt to make a finger-based input possible, rather than using a Stylus:

Gigabyte G-Smart MS800 UI

This isn’t entirely a success – whilst it is quite well-integrated with the traditional Win Homescreen, when you are utilising the carousel, it doesn’t react as accurately as you might expect. Compared to a certain “i” device, it’s not in the same league.

 

On the upside however, it’s fitted with a SiRF Star III GPS system, has HSDPA, a 2.8″ screen, 2MP camera, and also Mini-USB, Bluetooth 2.0, and WLAN b+g. Oh, and a Micro SD slot!

So overall then, I would see this as a nice business device – it’s understated, has a good suite of functions, and is well-built. Unfortunately it is not currently carried by any of the Operators in the UK, which means you’ll need to buy it outright. Speaking of which, you can find the list of stores carrying the MS800 here.

Gigabyte G-Smart MS800

If you want to check out the Gigabyte website, you can go here.

Gigabyte t600 (DVB-T Mobile TV) review

By Ben Robinson on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 4:52 AM PST
In Gigabyte, Mobile TV

g2 Gigabyte t600 (DVB T Mobile TV) review

The Unwired has got a really nice, detailed review on the Gigabyte t600 device, which was been mentioned on IntoMobile a few times now. Whilst not having UMTS or GPS (which we are coming to expect as standard on high-end smartphones now), it does have a fully functional DVB-T tuner….

DVB-T I hear you say? Yes, indeed. This means that it is capable of picking up unencrypted Digital Terrestrial TV (DTT) signals. More than that, Gigabyte have been kind enough to include a software tuner utility, so that channels can be scanned and selected!

If this kind of device interests you, then go on over to The Unwired and have a read through – there are some great accompanying pics to go with the words too. I can’t help but think that for all the momentum around DVB-H, that including a simple DVB-T tuner in handsets does get round a lot of the network/infrastructure/device/costs issues that DVB-H currently has – and for that reason it gets a big thumbs-up from me!

Now, if I can just get my contact at Gigabyte to send me one…!

[Via: The Unwired]

Gigabyte announces three new phones at Computex: GSmart MS802, GSmart MS802 and GSmart MS820

By Dusan Belic on Thursday, June 5th, 2008 at 4:02 AM PST
In Announcements, Devices, Gigabyte, Windows Mobile

Gigabyte GSmart MS802, GSmart MS802 and GSmart MS820

Gigabyte has unveiled three new Windows Mobile smartphones at this year’s Computex show in Taipei, Taiwan. All devices mentioned run Smart Touch graphic user interface on top of Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)’s mobile OS, to make things easier for the users.

Let’s briefly go through each one of the phones announced, shall we:

  • First comes the GSmart MS802, the device that is clearly a successor of the earlier MS800 model. It runs Windows Mobile 6 Professional, and among other things packs a 520 MHz CPU, WiFi, Bluetooth, and 3.5G support. Additionally, EDGE version will also be released and will be called GSmart MW702.
  • Then goes the GSmart MS808 model designed with mobile TV in mind. This baby supports virtually every mobile TV standard out there — including DVB-T, DVB-H, T-DMB, and ISDB-T. There’s also GPS on-board, 3.5G support, Marvell’s PXA310 624 MHz, 2.8-inch touchscreen, and Windows Mobile 6.1.
  • Finally, there’s the 2008 Taiwan Excellence Silver Award Winner – GSmart MS820, and its EDGE version – MW720. It’s powered by a 520 MHz CPU, and also sports a 2.8-inch touchscreen, and a 3 megapixel camera. Windows Mobile 6.1 is running the show.

Unfortunately, we’re still waiting for Gigabyte to update it’s English language site with the new smartphones information. In the meantime, Unwired View’s article helped us in preparation of this article. And so was the press release, which follows right after jump.

Read the full article »

GSmart’s new thumb-friendly Windows Mobile UI looks cool, kinda familiar

By Dusan Belic on Monday, May 5th, 2008 at 3:24 AM PST
In Gigabyte, Windows Mobile

Giga-Byte recently announced a newly developed user interface for its GSmart Windows Mobile smartphones called “Smart Touch”. The thumb-friendly UI is quite intuitive and flexible, but few icons located at the bottom of the screen make us think they borrowed an idea or two from Apple (NSDQ: AAPL).

Smart Touch allows users to add up to 16 most frequently used apps as shortcuts on standby screen. Four icons are visible at once and the rest of them are accessible by swiping across the screen. The center of the screen is reserved for a large clock, and there’s an icon for quick access to the user’s Today screen. Naturally, users can customize the look and feel of Smart Touch by changing theme, colors or even use their own images for the background.

Finally, if you’re interested to try out the new GSmart’s UI, you’ll have to wait for “after May” when the company will officially release it to the general public. One thing we’re not sure, though, is whether it will work on other, non GSmart-made, Windows Mobile smartphone. We certainly hope it will as the demo bellow looks promising. Enjoy!

[Via: the::unwired]

GIGA-BYTE brings GSmart t600 in France via Neuf Cegetel

By Dusan Belic on Saturday, March 22nd, 2008 at 8:00 AM PST
In Devices, Gigabyte, Windows Mobile

GIGA-BYTE GSmart t600

I’m not actually sure what’s GIGA-BYTE strategy when it comes to Europe, but they seem to struggle to push their phones in a big way. Lately they’ve announced the launch of the GSmart t600 Windows Mobile smartphone on French MVNO Neuf Cegetel.

We don’t have any information about the pricing yet, but we know one thing – the GSmart t600 is one great device. There’s the 2.6-inch VGA touchscreen, 2 megapixel camera, WiFi, Bluetooth, 520 MHz CPU, DVB-T digital TV receiver, microSD memory expansion slot and whole lot more. Windows Mobile 6 Professional is running the show…

Finally, it’s important to add the GSmart t600 will be available as a bundle Neuf’s service plan, under the commercial name of TWIN TNT.

[Via: the::unwired]