We thought successive versions of mobile phones were supposed to look different/better than previous versions. Apparently, Sharp never got that memo. The newest “wild” pictures of the Sharp Sidekick LX “Shuriken” are pretty disappointing – and a bit expected. But, then again, why change the tried and true formula that’s worked so well through three…
Samsung prepping new iPhone rival – Samsung Croix?
Could we have another iPhone-fighter getting prepped in Samsung’s R&D department? Well, if this newest rumor pans out, the Samsung Croix could be the South Korean mobile phone maker’s answer to Apple’s iPhone. The full-face touchscreen toting Samsung Croix is based on the Croix user interface that recently won the iF Communication Design Award 2007.…
Pregnant Indian woman burned by Nokia – non-recalled Nokia battery explodes and catches fire
These days we almost expect to hear about an exploding battery about every week. Whether it’s a mobile phone or laptop, batteries engulfed in flames no longer surprise us. But, the newest battery-exploding incident involves our favorite battery-recaller, Nokia. They’ve already had enough bad press with their BL-5C battery recall and now it looks like…
Samsung shows off SGH-i550 GPS phone at IFA 2007
What does that new Samsung SGH-i550 GPS phone look like in person? Well, thanks to the handy camera skills of Unwired View, we bring you live shots of the Samsung i550 from IFA 2007. Quick little rehash before we get to the goods. The Samsung SGH-i550 is a Symbian S60-powered smartphone with 3.6Mbps HSDPA, 3.2…
Google puts in patent application for SMS text message payment system
Wait, hasn’t this already been done before? Indeed it has. SMS text message-based payment system have been in use for quite some time now, and it seems that Google has been keen to the new trend for about a year and a half. The search giant has just published their patent application (filed Feb. 28,…
Samsung SGH-F330 shiny, sliding, musicphone beauty unveiled at IFA 2007
With the recently released Xpress Music phones from Nokia, No. 2 Samsung is going to have to bust out the heavy guns to compete in the musicphone segment. Enter the Samsung SGH-F330 slider that was unveiled at the IFA 2007 conference. Not only does this tri-band (900/1800/1900Mhz) handset rock UMTS on the 2100Mhz band (with…
Helio lays off 100 employees amidst strongest performance yet
It’s all about working smarter, not harder (or more expensively). Instead of banking on their recent success and going on a spending spree, Earthlink and SK Telecom-backed Helio is actually letting off 100 of it’s 700 employee-strong workforce – mostly in sales. The move comes amidst the strongest sales figures yet for the burgeoning MVNO…
Apple gets hit with another lawsuit – these class-action battery lawsuits are getting tired
Seriously, there’s another class-action lawsuit on file in an Oakland, CA. federal court. This one was actually filed by the same lawyer that filed on behalf of Sydney Leung a couple weeks ago – he’s obviously trying to cover all his bases in the hopes that one of his cases will net him some cash…
Pantech c810 dual-sliding Windows Mobile 6.0 smartphone to hit AT&T
If you’re a fan of the Helio Ocean’s two-way sliding, keypad/QWERTY keyboard configuration, you’ll love this. Boy Genius reports that the Pantech (the same company that makes the Helio Ocean, by the way) is bringing their Pantech c810 to AT&T in Q4 of this year. The dual-sliding smartphone looks and works much like the Helio…
Apple set to launch custom ringtone maker for iPhone music ringtones
It looks like Apple if starting to finally come through on their promise of expanding the iPhone’s feature set through updates. Those last two updates via iTunes have been somewhat of a disappointment – they offered nothing in the way of new features. But, as Apple Insider reports, the New York Post got wind of…