Now how cool is this concept… This is a device I could take out to the lake with me!

This ‘Cheers’ mobile phone concept by Tryi Yeh is truly one of a kind. The device is powered by a green alcohol-cell, which would be much more energy efficient according to the designer. There’s also a function button on the top of the device which allows you to easily access any of the phone’s functions. This one would be all touchscreen as well, with no buttons to speak of other than the function button/booze cap on the top of the device.

‘Cheers’ to Tryi on this one. Never seen anything like this before… and I want one… ‘What are you talking about officer!? Nah, that’s my cell phone!’

[Via: Tuvie]

I’m currently rockin’ the Jawbone PRIME, but whenever a new bluetooth headset arrives, I always take notice. While the Nica Bluetooth Headset is just a concept at this point, the design by Maverick certainly made me stand up to take notice. You can’t help but notice the overall roundness of the device, a device that promises to bring ‘a breakthrough in acoustics for maximum comfort and secure attachment’. I have to admit, that earloop does look comfy. The Nica will also attach magnetically with its car and desk docking unit.

Well done Maverick, the Nica is certainly one stylish and modern looking device… if solid sound quality and noise reduction technology could be built-in to this bad boy, it could be a winner. More images below.

[Via: Tuvie]

The Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre’s biggest downfall is the network technology that it uses - the US-only CDMA standard. That fact alone limits the Palm Pre to the US. American GSM users and just about everyone else on Planet Earth will have to wait for Palm to launch the GSM variant that we spied in Barcelona.

The good news is that the GSM Pre may not be too far off. A newly leaked set of pics shows the Palm Pre clearly rocking a SIM card under the battery cover. The removable SIM bodes well for a near-term release of the GSM Palm Pre. Sooner is better than later.

[Via: Ubergizmo]

With the launch of the myTouch 3G coming at us fast on T-Mobile (pre-orders July 8th, availability in August), more and more spy shots are due to leak out. Case in point, the shots of the ‘Merlot’ myTouch 3G I happened to stumble upon today. If you’re sick of the never-ending flow of black and white devices, the red, errmm, sorry, ‘Merlot’ version of the myTouch 3G might be a worthwhile change for the Android fanatic in you.

There she is, the T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) Magic in Red… Oops, sorry, I mean the T-Mobile myTouch 3G in Merlot. My bad.

[Via: TMoNews]

Ok lets see… Yeah we’ve got Bell and Telus, yeah… oh, and Sprint and Verizon has been all up in the news in the last little bit.. Who are we missing… What? Alltel is on the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Tour scene as well!? Yep!

Looks like good ‘ol Kevin over at CrackBerry has scored a few ’spy shots’ from a source that wishes to remain anonymous. Notice the Alltel branding on the 9630, in all its glory. No details on pricing or launch date, but I think we can safely say the device will be coming real soon… and should hit us somewhere around the $199.99 price point.

[Via: CrackBerry]

There’s no doubting that my bud Phil over at PreThinking is in love with his Palm Pre. I always knew it, but this latest exploit simply confirms it. After Phil picked up the matte Touchstone battery door, his glossy cover was of no use to him. To his delight, a reader (@spckeishou) stepped up and offered laser engraving services via the Sprint (NYSE: S) Studio he happens to work at. The rest, as they say, is history.

The results and even a video are all available after the jump >
Read the full article »

Earlier this morning, we reported on HTC’s announcement of their new HTC Hero.  We posted a bunch of pics, video, and some solid information regarding the new device.  When the news broke on the Hero, I knew that’s what this morning’s breakfast meeting, which HTC was holding with a small group of journalists, was all about.  With camera and hands at the ready, I set off the get some 1-on-1 time with their latest smartphone.

The first thing mostly everyone notices when you first see the HTC Hero is the Teflon coating of the device.  The Teflon was actually in development for a year and the reason for the coating was due to its durability and ability to be cleaned very easily.  It has a good grip and doesn’t feel like it would slip out of your hands with normal use.  The HTC Hero also feels incredibly light.  A lot of thought was put into the design of the phone as the form of the device follows its functions.  When you are using the device, the overall structure of the Hero feels comfortable in your hand, as well as during calls.

The screen, which sizes up to 3.2 inches, also has an anti-fingerprint coating which allows you to poke at the device with minimal fingerprint smudging.  If you do create a smudge, you can simply wipe the screen with your shirt to clean it with little effort.

The Sense UI running on the Hero puts a lot of focus on three particular points: complete personalization, keeping connected, and discovering the unexpected.  Personalizing the Hero is as easy as downloading new widgets which can give users a more custom feel of their own Hero over anyone else’s.  Searching for a person’s contact information across multiple venues is also possible with Sense.  This seems like a natural progression since being able to pull up a contact, seeing all of their information and being able to contact them through txt, email, or even Facebook will save people a lot of time.  The Sense UI also has a bunch of little nuances that give the user a surprise here and there to enrich their experience with the Hero.  An example of that would be when accessing the weather, if rain is forecast, a windshield wiper will clean water droplets from the screen.

All in all, it feels like a great device and will give competing manufacturers a run for their money.  No date was given for an official US launch for the HTC Hero, but we were told we should expect it to hit this Summer.

Earlier this morning we learned that T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) customers can begin placing pre-orders for the myTouch 3G on July 8th… With the device set to ship sometime in early August. Naturally, when announcements like this are made, it’s only a matter of time before a flurry of ’spy shots’ hit us. Much as I expected, the good folks at BGR were tipped off by one of their ‘ninjas’ with pics of said device.

If you’re geared up for the myTouch 3G and are looking forward to the pre-order, go ahead and flick through the images below.

[Via: BGR]

It’s been done many times over already, so I figured I might as well jump on the bandwagon. It’s iPhone 3G S unboxing time!

Being in California, I was one of the last people on planet Earth to get their hands on the iPhone 3G S, what with time zones being what they are. Why should I let some time zone technicalities keep me from pretend-unboxing my new iPhone 3G S?

The iPhone 3G S of choice for me was the 32GB White iPhone 3G S. My 16GB iPhone 3G is Black, so I figured I might as well spice it up a little. As you can see from the pics, the iPhone 3G S packaging is identical to the iPhone 3G’s box, “iPhone 3G S” branding excepted. Aside from the “32GB” storage capacity printed on the back of the iPhone 3G S, it’s fairly difficult to distinguish the faster, more capable iPhone 3G S from its iPhone 3G forebears. A little “S” badge (we preferred ours blinged-out) would have been a nice way to inject some model differentiation into Apple (NSDQ: AAPL)’s newly-expanded iPhone lineup.

Once you get past the fact that the iPhone 3G S looks exactly like the iPhone 3G, the “S” proves itself deserving of the new moniker that Apple says “stands for speed.” Websites load with more snap and urgency, putting that 3G data connection to good use. And, with added RAM, I can surf the web to my heart’s content without worrying about bogging down the iPhone. And, speaking of not bogging down, iPhone apps launch without any of the hesitation that plagued previous iPhones.

As for the iPhone 3G S-only features - they rock. A simple tap of the video-camera icon switches to the auto-focusing camcorder mode. The compass is geeky-cool, but really hasn’t yet shown off its potential. Ever since we first laid eyes on augmented reality concepts back in the day, it was clear that magnetometer-equipped (digital compass) smartphones with integrated GPS  hardware had the potential to change the way we communicate and navigate the meta-world around us. As Stefan so aptly pointed out, the digital compass may be the single-most compelling feature on the iPhone 3G S. Better battery life, faster load times, video recording/editing, more RAM and 3D graphics all be damned - it’s all about the compass.

Enjoy the unboxing pics. iPhone 3G vs iPhone 3G S comparison coming soon!

Surely Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) co-founder Steve Wozniak could get his hands on a the new iPhone 3G S without waiting in line, right? I mean, you would have to think someone at Apple would gladly have a 3G S delivered straight to the Woz… That’s what most would think.

However, this morning in San Jose at the Valley Fair Apple Store, MacRumors member djrayz was surprised to find the one and only Woz on the scene! Around 4:30 in the morning Woz showed up and very politely asked if he could be first in line. The lineup obliged and the Woz was the first to get the 3G S shortly before 6 in the morning. What a guy.

I’d probably be more than a little miffed if it was anyone else, but for the Woz one can’t help but let him do what he pleases. djrayz was also lucky enough to have Wozniak sign his new iPhone 3G S box, so he’s one of the few (I’m sure he signed more than a few more!) to have the iPhone 3G S ‘Woz’ edition Cool stuff.

[Via: MacRumors]