Two minutes of blurtastic video have bubbled up which give a basic tour of Windows Mobile 6.5 Standard running on a Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Q9h. One would easily expect that the newer Windows Mobile handsets are built with 6.5 in mind, but it’s great to see even older hardware can handle the new OS, too. There’s not much that especially catches the eye - in fact, the whole thing looks pretty samey, but we all know 6.5 is more of a facelift than anything else. The SDK for the “new” Windows Mobile has already been released, so you can expect the software soon - maybe late summer/early fall if the hardware rumours pan out.
None of you are going to buy this phone and I’m only writing about it to hit my post quota for the month so I can get a paycheck that will help feed my alcoholic tendencies and hedonistic weekends. With that nugget of knowledge out of the way, let it soak in for a moment what I just stated in the title: 40th anniversary of the moon landing.
America put a man on the moon, 40 years ago, and what do we have to show for it today? Why are we not setting our sites for Mars? Why are we not going to the moon on a routine basis? Why has America been the only nation to walk on the moon? Do these questions make you madder than hell?
Oh and the phone: no idea on price, but it will be over £1200 and come with some videos, pictures and ringtones relating to the moon landing. Do something crazy on July 20th, I’m going to try and find a space suit from a costume shop.
The QWERTY keyboard is no longer a stranger to iDEN circles. With the introduction of the Motorola Clutch i465, push-to-talk fans now have an affordable QWERTY messaging phone to use with the leading PTT carrier in the US. Following on Boost Mobile’s announcement, Boost’s parent company Sprint (NYSE: S) has today announced the Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Clutch i465 as a tough and affordable QWERTY messaging phone for use with Nextel Direct Connect Custom plans.
The Motorola Clutch i465 combines a rugged, yet slim(ish), exterior with a full QWERTY keyboard - the first QWERTY device in the iDEN portfolio. It features a new kind of text messaging service that uses Nextel’s class-leading push-to-talk network. “Group Messaging,” as it’s called, takes advantage of the Nextel Direct network’s strengths - allowing for instant text-communications with a large group.
Sprint says the Motorola Clutch i465 will be available later this Summer for 39.99 with a new two-year service agreement, $20 instant rebate and $50 mail-in rebate. Expect to see the Motorola Clutch hitting all Sprint retail channels.
Register to be notified when the Clutch becomes available on Sprint at this website.
Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE), Nokia (NYSE: NOK), Motorola (NYSE: MOT), NEC, Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM), Samsung, Texas Instruments and three other wireless heavyweights have all signed an agreement under the eye of the European Commission to adopt a microUSB standard on data-enabled devices. This will hopefully cut down on consumer waste when it comes to chargers, as well as make life easier when switching devices. The change to microUSB will probably be the biggest deal for Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), who have shoved people into using their inconvenient proprietary iPod plug for so very, very long. Charging seems to be the main focus of the agreement, though considering data-enabled phones are specifically targeted, it will also make syncing and transferring a heck of a lot easier. A move like this follows closely in the steps of North America - CTIA has already thrown in their support to get all mobiles running on microUSB chargers by 2012.
Motorola has already thrown in its few remaing chips with Android, with solid pictures of their first device bubbling up recently. Apparently wholly-owned Israeli subsidiary, Mirs, is working on the Android-powered Opus 1, which will be fairly limited in that data access will only be via Wi-Fi, and voice will be supported through iDEN networks. We’ve seen Android crammed into netbooks and other smartphones, but the whole spectrum of mobility hasn’t really been explored yet; maybe Motorola (NYSE: MOT) will find a good niche in industrial setting mobile handsets and pave the way with a custom-tailored Android build. The Opus 1 should be arriving sometime in 2010.
As an interesting side-note, Mirs was the first company to make a Kosher cell phone.
I usually don’t write up press releases regarding operator variants of devices that have long been released in Europe, nor do I care about the latest crippled handsets coming out of America, but this hockey puck is just too ugly for me not to riff on.
Motorola (NYSE: MOT) is practically dead, and creatively has been stagnant since the Motorola RAZR launch. The QA1 is supposed to save them. The hockey puck, officially known as the “Karma,” makes me want to push forward my time tables for when the company is going to go bust. The Facebook and MySpace shortcuts on the front are merely links to the mobile versions of said social networking services, but I do have to admit that the 3.5 mm headphone jack on top is a nice touch. You’ll be able to buy the hockey puck on June 28th, it will cost you $130 out the door, but there is a $50 mail in rebate you’ll get between now and when you’re a grandfather. You’ll have to maintain a $40 a month voice plan and $20 a month messaging or data plan to get this thing. That’s right, $60 a month, minimum.
Do yourself a favor. Buy an iPhone 3G. Stay away from this. Far far away.
The Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Morrison is an Android handset we’ve been hearing about since making its debut appearance on T-Mobile’s roadmap alongside the Bigfoot. Now we’ve got a nice full blown picture that seems to line up with the fuzzy thumbnail found on the leaked document. Still no word on specs or pricing, but the internal calendar placed the Motorola Morrison for a release during the ‘09 holiday season. Enjoy the eye candy for now, but odds are we’ll be seeing more detailed information trickle through the grapevine before long. As is, what do you guys think of the style? Looks a little Fisher-Pricey to me.
Motorola has launched the HX1 Endeavor Bluetooth headset, their first to make use of bone conducting technology. No, that doesn’t involve some magical, musically-inclined skeleton, but rather sensing the sound vibrations in your jaw as you speak to help cancel outside noise. This feature is activated by what they call “stealth mode” - just hit the button and bone conduction is a-go-go.
It’s not only headsets, like the Jawbone, that use this kind of technology - Pantech put out a bone-conducting phone awhile back, and others even tried stereo headphones for inbound audio. Motorola (NYSE: MOT)’s offer should do a lot to bring the idea of bone duction to the public eye, but there’s still a long ways to go before it starts becoming widespread. The initial launch for Motorola’s Endeavor HX1 will be in Asia this July. For a closer look, hit up Motorola’s minisite.
SouthernLINC Wireless has recently added the Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Stature i9 clamshell to its product portfolio. Touted as the single thinnest iDEN clamshell on the market, the i9 comes with 3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth support, media player, two screens (internal and external, which is touch-enabled), dedicated music-control keys and, of course, a microSD memory card slot.
And that’s all about we can say about it. It’s not a smartphone, but it’s cool looking device. This is especially true when you see “all the options” you have on any iDEN network in the world. You can get more information about the Moto Stature i9 and SouthernLINC’s offering from the carrier’s website…
The Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Evoke had gone up for preorder on Cricket Wireless late last month, but it’s now available to pick upfor $299. Having played with one for a little bit at CTIA, it’s a decent phone, but the combination of physical T9 keypad and on-screen QWERTY keyboard in landscape is what really make it an effective way to maximize input options while avoiding the bulk of a dual-slider form factor. The specs are pretty solid too, if you haven’t seen them.
2.8” WQVGA 240×400 display
Quad-band CDMA, EV-DO Rev. A
2 megapixel camera with 2x zoom
sGPS/aGPS
Integrated widgets and RSS
If you’re not down with Cricket, Alltel is also offering the QA4, only it’s for $99.99 and has a two-year contract tacked on.
Sony Ericsson (
Motorola has already thrown in its 
The Motorola (