Gadget Chain Blog

  Palm has unveiled a new smartphone that's targeted to a wider cell phone market with their $99 device. The design is similiar to the Blackberry Pearl and Treo but is $200 -$300 less than the heavy hitters.

The Centro launches in mid-October with Sprint as a exclusive carrier.

Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/palm-shares-jump-new-centro/story.aspx?guid=62FD1EEB-07ED-4B48-88E5-C0C32230A2ED&dist=SecMostRead

I don't know why T-mobile US don't publize their upcoming phones. Atleast, advertise new phones several months in advance. For example, if found out about the Blackberry Curve several months ago (see post).

Now, it appears T-Mobile US will have the HTC Juno & HTC Kaiser in October 2007.  Check out the source.

With competition from other providers, it makes perfect sense to advertise your upcoming phones T-Mobile. Case in point. The iPhone was advertised by AT&T months before it was released and was a success. Just my 2 cents...

Here recently (past year or so) I've been really dissappointed in T-Mobile lack of quality inventory of smartphones and lack of 3G. Overall, I've been very satisfied with the voice service. Last week I signed up for the data plan (EDGE + T-Mobile Hotspot) after they cut the price to $19.99 per month. I was almost ready to hang up my T-Mobile hat and jump to AT&T to get the AT&T Tilt (aka HTC Kaiser).

Today, I read that the FCC has documentation of the HTC Kaiser manual and other docs with T-Mobile Today screen photos and mention of myFavs and T-Mobile Hotspot in the US.  And to boot it appears this device with support T-Mobile's 3G.

Hopefully, we can see this device in T-Mobile US towards the end of the year. I am so ready from my T-Mobile MDA to the HTC Kaiser.

Way to go T-Mobile!

Source: http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2007/09/18/htc-kaiser-coming-to-t-mobile-usa/

Product Category: Microsoft® Windows Mobile® 6 Professional Device
Manufacturer: HTC
Where to Buy: Expansys / Mobileplanet [Affiliate]
Price: $789.95 USD
System Requirements: ActiveSync 4.5 (For desktop sync), GSM service provider & data plan.
Specifications: Hardware only: 112 mm x 59 mm x 19 mm, 176 g. 400 mhz processor, 256 MB ROM, 128 MB RAM, 2.8'' TFT-LCD, 3 Megapixel Camera, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, GPS, Video Conference Camera.

Pros:

Read on for the full review!

HP will soon be releasing a powerhouse smartphone - the HP IPAQ 610 Business Navigator.  Comes equipped with Windows Mobile Professional 6, a 520MHZ Marvell processor, 256MB RAM, 128MB ROM, WIFI (b/g w/ WPA2 security), GPS, Bluetooth 2.0, 3G (Triband HSDPA 3.6/7/2), and Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE. 

The HP 610 uses a microSD card and sports a Smart Touch Wheel, 3 -way thumb wheel, touch screen, and 12 key numeric pad. Also it comes preinstalled with the standard Windows Mobile apps (Pocket Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Internet Explorer, Windows Media Players, Bubble Breaker, Microsoft Live Messenger, and more.

The dimensions are 2.37 x .69 x 4.6 in (60.3 x 17.5 x 117 mm). and weighs 5.1 oz.

Rumor circulating the NET says the HP IPAQ 610 will be available thru AT&T in the coming weeks.

source: http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/215348-215348-64929-314903-215381-3544505.html

iPod touch unboxing

T-Mobile Germany will distribute the iPhone for €399 ($554 US) and will pay Apple a share of the iPhone sales.

Apple will give details about the iPhone availability in Europe.

I'm sure many T-Mobile USA customers would attempt to purchase the iPhone from T-Mobile Germany to use in the USA.

I'm sure there's some language select feature to change from German to English.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118982724199028580.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Cool! T-mobile USA lowered the T-Mobile Internet & Hotspot plan from $29.99 to $19.99. In fact, it looks like the entire T-Mobile data plan has been revamped. 

I've always held back on subscribing to T-Mobile's Edge because I could get 3G for the same price and I'm rarely near by a T-Mobile Hotspot to make it worth $29.99. I even tried getting just the data plan only for $19.99 but was told that it was impossible to separate the data plan from the HotSpot.

PC Magazine (PCMAG) recently reviewed the iPod touch and its no surprise they gave it rave reviews.

We all know about the wonderful features of the iPod touch. Multi-touch display, CoverFlo, browser,  WIFI and etc. Yet, I think its interesting to list the cons as noted in the PCMAG review.

Cons:

• Can't purchase video via Wifi.
• Earbuds suck.
• Can't turn off Starbucks feature

There's no doubt regardless of the cons this iPod touch overshadow the iPhone. I only wish they added bluetooth 2.0, Skype, Google Talk, front video camera for video conferencing, and RSS reader. What a shame. It's such a sexy and enticing device.

Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2182719,00.asp

A few days ago, I noted that Amazon was selling the HTC Touch. They even had a picture of the official HTC Touch. Now, it is being sold as the HTC Touch P3450, totally different products I must add. Similiar specs yes but the P3450 does not have Touch-Flo technology like the HTC Touch.

Don't get it twisted. This is the HTC P4350 (see specs on HTC's website)

I've been with T-Mobile USA going on 7 years now and I am beginning to feel like it's time to move on. For one, they continue to lag behind the power curve when it comes to providing quality solid smartphones. I remember when I joined T-Mobile (what was then Powertel/Voice Stream) how they were one of the first providers in the U.S to have the Windows Mobile smartphone.

Yet, these past few years I've seen little or no progress in good inventory and service. What happened to the T-Mobile I used to love. The lack of 3G and poor supply of smartphones has really got me looking to drop my service with T-mobile when my contract ends in 6 mos.

Now I read today on Engadget about rumors that T-Mobile USA will be getting the HTC Juno soon.

What the heck is wrong with T-Mobile. At best they could have at least brought in the HTC Touch with Windows Mobile Pro. The HTC Juno is Window Mobile Standard.

Amazon.com is now selling the unlocked version HTC Touch for $539.99. 

http://www.amazon.com/HTC-Touch-Cellular-Phone-Unlocked/dp/B000SC1U18/gadgetchain-20

Given the recent $200 price cut for the iPhone, I envision a price reduction (say $100) for the HTC Touch unlocked in order to compete. I personally had an opportunity to play with this device for a week and I think its a nice alternative to the iPhone. Here's why!

It's a Windows Mobile 6 Pro device which means its completely customizable. There's tons of apps available for this platform. For instance, you can purchase a full screen keyboard app, not to mention tons of games, and office productivity software. Plus, it comes with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, & Outlook.

Although it doesn't have an internal 8gig flash drive, it does use a micro SD card which you can get a 4gig micro SD card nowadays.

If your looking to use this device for business, I would highly recommend looking for something more powerful. The 201MHZ processor gets kinda of sluggish when you sync tons of contacts, emails, & calendar appts with your exchange server. The Sprint version of the HTC Touch gets an upgrade to 400MHZ if you like Sprint. So this is clearly a consumer device.  

Overall, the device is very slim and sexy. It feels great in your hands and is a good smartphone to have if you're not a huge text messenger. However, you can purchase a minature bluetooth keyboard if that's the case.

Every since Steve Jobs announced the new Apple iPod touch, I've been seriously considering purchasing the iPod touch but what would I do with my Nokia N800 Internet Tablet. So I began weighing the pros and cons of each. Hopefully, this will help me decide if I rather get an iPod touch and get rid of my Nokia n800.

Here's short list of my pros & cons:

Cons

Pros

I had my Nokia n800 for nearly 2 months and I must say this device meets all my needs. It fits in my pockets and I can browse the web, chat via Instant Message, Skype, or watch live TV as long as I have a Internet connection. Not to mention, GPS to boot. However, I just can't get over the coolness of the iPod touch. It's hella sexy with the multi-touch and cover-Flo. I would like to use both devices and see which one I like best but for now I'm sticking with my Nokia n800. 

Yeah, you've seen it before, that's the iPod touch. But take a closer look at the upper-right corner of the display. See that little icon? Right, Bluetooth, as in the not announced Bluetooth radio in Apple's new iPod touch. Is this just a snafu from Apple's arts-and-charts team or something more say, AVRCP and stereo A2DP related? At this point, Apple's not saying and we don't know. But you'd better hurry up and click that Read link because that Apple-harvested picture won't be around for much longer.

[Via fscklog, thanks Tom]

Read -- iPod touch (with Bluetooth icon) on Apple's German website

Apple addes multi-touch interface to their new iPod -iPod Touch.

Basically an iPhone but without the phone interface. It includes WiFi capablities, a Safari browser and the ability the purchase directly from iTunes store.

The 16GB costs $399 and $299 for the 8GB iPod Touch.

Source: http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/

Apple dropped the iPhone price by $200 on Wednesday; making the 8gig iPhone available for $399. The 4 gigabyte iPhone will eventually be phased out.

With the drop in price, I can only envision sales growing as we approach the holiday season. Heck, I'm even considering the iPhone now after the price drop. Of course, this all depends on the price of the AT&T Tilt when it become available.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/09/05/ap4086678.html

I purchased my Nokia N800 Internet Tablet about a month ago to browse the Web whereever I go. It's true I accomplish this on my T-Mobile MDA to some degree. The problem is that Pocket IE doesn't support Java based websites so that eliminates one of the most important sites I visit very often- My virtual classroom at Capella University. 

I'm not here to blog about that feature. The coolest feature on the Nokia N800 is the ability to watch live TV, and streaming videos. Thanks to a FREE service called Orb. So what's Orb. In a nutshell Orb turns your home PC into your own personal broadcasting streaming service. If you have a PC with a TV tuner and/or tons of video, you can stream that data to your Nokia N800 anywhere anyplace you have a Internet connection.

The Nokia N800 can also serve as a VCR player by easily scheduling which shows I would like to record from the program schedule.

WOW! Well worth the price. GPS unit + Internet Tablet + Portable TV = Nokia N800.

I thought I share this review of the AT&T Tilt which will be available in the U.S. thru AT&T in the next couple of months (crossing fingers:).

Here's a snapshot of the features:

 
Comes with 3 megapixel camera, frontal camera for video conferencing, and GPS receiver.

A nice buit-in keyboard and adjustable screen to make it situp like a mini-PC.

Here's a closer look at the slide out keyboard.

Read the full review.

Multi-touch devices is where the future of computing is going. First the Apple iphone, and now the Microsoft coffee tabletop computer being referred to as the Surface. The Surface provides effortless interaction with digital content through natural gestures, touch, and physical objects like your bluetooth enabled cell phone or mobile device.

We should start to see Surface computing in restaurants, hotels, casinos, and retail locations towards the end of 2007 . Microsoft Surface partners such as Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, IGT,Harrah's Entertainment Inc., Starwood Hotels & Restorts Worldwide Inc, and T-Mobile USA stores will be the first companies to provide Surface computing.

Check out Microsoft Surface website for more information.