We don't hear too much from Emblaze Mobile around these parts, just the occasional
boastful proclamation about revolutionizing mobile communication. So, color us surprised when we got wind of an entirely new and impressive sounding handset due to ship in just a month. The Edelweiss (named after a flower representing purity) is a 3G, touch-screen handset with internal GPS and either 8 or 16GB of storage. That may
sound familiar, but what this has over the competition is a massive resolution of 854 x 480, more than twice that of the iPhone and greater even than the previous high-res handset king, HTC's
Touch HD. Right now Herr Edelweiss is due only to release in Russia, but if it lives up to it promise we'd certainly expect to see it elsewhere. Oh, and that other project to revolutionize mobile communication? They're still working on that too, dubbing the Linux-based device "Monolith" and promising release sometime in the first half of next year.
posted Sep 30th 2008 8:49AM
Another new mobile phone. Y--A--W--N.
Then, why exactly are you here, reading this article? Stupid.
Another new troll comment Y--A--W--N.
Another new wanker Y--A--W--N
It would only be trolling if I'd posted the comment on Engadget Mobile, where the story belongs.
There's a lot of mobile phone news and not all of us are interested in it. Do those of you who are, want to have your own blog and for all the posts to appear on Engadget as well? Or are you too lazy to click over? Enlighten me.
I was pretty sure this was a tech blog first and foremost... so a new anything with the highest resolution whatever... well, that smacks of news to me. ;)
This!, should bave been the first Android handset... and not that ugly turd coffin G1
Looks really nice. Is it running Android? The clock-widget (like the ones seen in Android demos) makes me think it may be. Just not 100% sure :).
Seconded, even though if they did that, everyone would have said iClone!!! But I really don't care...
I dunno about their press photo though. It looks 10 feet tall.
In Russia,phones touch you!
hahaha *trails off*
Nice phone, i cant think WHERE they got their inspiration.
Very interresting. I'm definately gonna look it up in reviews.
That is one ugly promo picture.
Oh God.... those small articles on the screen look like heaven. I love it....This is how the first Android should have been... screw the keyboard.
New Life Mission: Buy, format, install Android.
Kinda looks like the Omnia.
The HW certainly looks nice, but I still haven't seen a Linux-based full-touchscreen handset that looks good or functions well once you get past the default screen.
There is also an issue with the screen resolution,rendering speed and power consumption. While 853x480 (of the Nokia 5800's 640x480) would be nice to have the iPhone's 480x320 is quite adequate and not worth an increase if the page rendering and battery time is noticeably lower.
Strange how back in the day, when I got a 800 by 600 monitor for my computer, I said the same thing about it being adequate.. Then the same when I got a 1280 by 800 laptop and.. now I am running a dual screen 1600 by 1200 setup and saying exact same thing. There is no reason why I will need any more resolution that this....
Have you seen NVIDIA's Tegra? It doesn't seem to take any hit on battery consumption and it is infinitely more powerful than anything on the market now. The rez is amazing and very welcome. It's just a shame US never get these phones.
Tegra hasn't gone into production yet. Wait for it around mid-09... on WM7 devices.
And yes it will be a revolution.
'edelweiss' stands for bumbling nazis, aristocracats, pretty nuns, the Swiss Alps......pure music.
You forgot to mention that the phone's spec's and its photos were kindly provided by Putin's own propaganda ministery.
You forgot to mention that the phone's spec's and its photos were kindly provided by Putin's own propaganda ministery.
@Engadget writers... sigh.... do you just word these titles to encourage iphone flame wars? I think we are at a point now where the words "iphone killer" "iphone competitor" and "iphone clone" need no longer to be uttered. Its you iphone-fanboys that write this stuff that is killing us all softly. The last phone to self-proclaim its iphone-pouncing status was the Instinct.. and it fell on its face. What makes the criteria for being compared to an iPhone? Is it any full screen touchscreen phone without keyboard? I think PDA's had that market a long time before the iphone. And then PDAs became PDA phones. So with the exception of the Meizu M8, which is an actual iphone-clone, no other phones need to be belittled by being compared to the iphone. So lets just let phones be phones.
Hi, are you blind or something? Are you not wearing your glasses? LOOK at that phone. I dare you to tell me with a straight face that it doesn't look like an iPhone. Rectangular, check. Full touchscreen, check. All black and glass on the front, check. Slightly rounded slit at the top for the speaker, check. Chrome trim around the whole thing, check. Volume up and down buttons on the upper left side, check.
You know what, it might be easier if you try to tell me what part of that phone DOESN'T look like an iPhone. And you're bitching because Engadget called it an iPhone competitor?
... are you just stupid or something? Look at it real hard and explain to me how it's not an iPhone competitor, or how it's not an iPhone clone for that matter. I ask this because I think it will be funny and I could use a laugh.
I never said it didn't resemble an iphone.. i said it didn't need to be stated anymore. The form factor is a rectangle, with a Touch screen. The OS looks like Android, there are no "squares" like iphone has. The bezel looks like the Samsung f490, and it could easily be a clone of the Instinct or the Dare. I mean we don't sit around saying every flip phone looks like the Motorola Startac do we? Or every candybar phone looks like a Nokia 5190? Its been 3 years since the iPhone came out. Yes there are rectangular phones that have touch screens. There were rectangular PDA's with touchscreens too. There was the PPC6700 that had a rectangular form with a touchscreen. Tho none of them are capacitive. And What about the iphone? There were touchscreen phones before it came around. The only thing different the iPhone brings is the little "squares" and a Mac OS. Just because it took something as basic as a rectangle doesn't make it unique or original.
Last I checked, Asus EEE looks like every other laptop. It opens and folds in the middle via the use of a hinge. Do we call the Asus a "thinkpad clone" ?
Do we call Pepsi a "Coke-clone" ?
Do we call Lee Jeans a "Levi's Clone" ?
Do we call burger king a "Mcdonalds clone"?
With the exception of the Meizu M8, who self-proclaims their iphone-clonage by words and straight up mimicking, the usage of the title should be used sparingly. Even if there was some inspiration, the sheer fact that no other OS or hardware has even come close the a Mac & Capacitive makes them just regular phones that follow the trends of society.
Well you didn't disappoint, I got a laugh out of that. You should pull your head out of your ass before it's too late. You cited the Instinct and Dare as examples of how it doesn't look like an iPhone? And where do you think the Instinct and Dare got their styling cues from? Seriously, you're killing me over here. And then you blather on about generic rectangle shapes, ignoring the very specific details I pointed out.
Stop being an anti-Apple fanboy. Your levels of denial are reaching critical, and you still won't admit that this Emblaze phone looks exactly like an iPhone, even though a blind person could tell you they look exactly the same. As far as all your "Apple wasn't the first one to use a touchscreen" BS, did anybody say they were? Has Apple ever said they were the first company to use a touchscreen? No, and no. Stop responding to points I didn't make, thanks.
If you can't tell that this is an iPhone clone, you probably can't tell that the sun is yellow or the sky is blue, either. There is no excuse for this level of denial. Oh, the iPhone was released June 29, 2007. That's not anywhere close to 3 years unless your math is extraordinarily bad.
Well I can't argue with your wonderful personality here, and you seem to be showing your intelligence and fantastic reputation here replying to others. So while I'm afraid I can't stoop to your level, I will reply that I personally think WinMo is impractical would like to have an iPhone, but that has nothing to do with the topic at hand and I've made some valid, and intelligible points, and that is where I will leave it.
Sure, you've made valid and intelligible points like "Its you iphone-fanboys that write this stuff that is killing us all softly" and " What makes the criteria for being compared to an iPhone?" when it should be blatantly obvious why this phone is an iPhone clone. I mean come on. Look at it. Hello? Anybody home?
Oh and then there's your insightful gems like "Do we call Pepsi a "Coke-clone" ?" And this is after I explained in great detail exactly why this phone is an iPhone clone. Are you serious? Are you that bad at reading, or looking at pictures for that matter?
@Zak : It's amazing how every gadget must be a copy of Apple's.
"Rectangular, check. Full touchscreen, check. All black and glass on the front, check. Slightly rounded slit at the top for the speaker, check. Chrome trim around the whole thing, check. Volume up and down buttons on the upper left side, check."
Hmm, my Sprint Katana phone has volume up and down buttons on the upper left side too, and I've had it more than a year. ZOMG! What a copy!
Candybar style is the obvious way to go, if you want a decent sized finger-friendly touchscreen phone. So being "rectangular" and "full touchscreen" and "black" also classifies it as an iPhone copy? I guess I could give you credit for pointing out the iPhone's ugly chrome trim, and the speaker split, but the other things were dumb. Especially rectangular and having volume buttons.
Even if it has a very similar candybar style like the iPhone, the UI obviously looks different enough.
Come on Zac, say what you really mean.
Quikboy: Seriously? You still don't get it? I never said every new gadget is a copy of Apple's, did I? No, I said THIS PHONE is a copy of Apple's. Why? Well if you look at the picture you can see why, unless you are literally mentally retarded. It's because it looks exactly like an iPhone, that's why. Not sort of like an iPhone, not sharing a similar form factor as the iPhone, not looking vaguely like an iPhone. It looks EXACTLY LIKE an iPhone. Do you get it yet?
The Sprint Katana doesn't look like anything like an iPhone. Do you really think it does? Do you need glasses? For those of you who still can't see why I say this phone looks like an iPhone: What exactly is wrong with you? Do you need your eyes checked? I'm curious to know which part of "it looks exactly like an iPhone" that you don't understand. Are you incapable of seeing the similarities simply because I'm the one telling you about them? Do you have selective vision or something? Just wondering what you have to block out in order to argue that this phone doesn't look like an iPhone.
Ah, well now that you mention it, and so kindly encourage our intelligence and need for glasses, it does kinda look like they maybe are copying off of the MyOrigo! In fact, they were here first! Apple you cloners!
http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/12940
Zak, go get a hooker... cause you really need to get laid.
Why does the weather part say Tokyo?!? isnt it frm russia?? guess all the cool phones (except for the iPhone) is made here in japan!
Can any of these iPhone competitors offer anything other than black surrounded by silver. There's other ways to look pretty without copying the iPhone.
Ding ding ding, that is the correct answer.
ZaK:
If you class this phone as an iPhone clone then you also have to accept that the iPhone is really just an XDA clone. Apple were not the first by along measure to bring in a full touch screen phone. What they did first was make a really useable interface and get some good PR.
Oh god, the retards are out in full force today.
An XDA clone, really? Can you show me an XDA that has that exact rectangular shape with rounded edges, a full black and glass touchscreen face with chrome trim, the rounded speaker slot at the top and the volume up and down buttons on the upper left side? Yeah, because that's why this phone is an iPhone clone, not because it has a touchscreen.
No go ahead, show me this XDA that looks exactly like an iPhone that was out before the iPhone was released. You have pictures of it, I assume, right?
ZaK:
Thank you for your speedy and polite reply.
I sha'n't show you an XDA that looks the same as the iPhone because there isn't one, as I'm sure your extensive research has shown. However, the basic form factor remains the same.
I think, however, you miss the core of my point: I am merely stating that what is unique to the iPhone is the usabilty of its interface. However, since its dawning a large number of its users throw the phrase "iPhone clone" at any phone with a similar form factor, ignoring the fact that that such a form factor was already in use in the market.
There are only so many ways to vary a phone that is basically a big touch screen. Therefore, all of the touch screen phones will look similar to the iPhone. This does not make them clones anymore than the iPhone is a clone of the XDA.
I look forward to another intelligent and insightful reply from you.
Yes, there is no XDA that looks like an iPhone, that was in fact my point. Thanks so much for pointing it out again. As far as the core of your point, the usability of the interface is not in question. The problem here is people's reluctance to call a spade a spade, or in this case an iPhone clone an iPhone clone.
This is not a case of calling a phone with a "similar form factor" an iPhone clone. This is a case of calling a phone that looks *exactly* like an iPhone an iPhone clone. I know the difference is subtle, but can you grasp it? It's not the form factor. As I've explained twice already, it's the very specific details of this phone that make it an iPhone clone, not a general form thing. Can you seriously not see what I'm talking about? The same dimensions, the same chrome trim, the same buttons on the left side even? That's not a "similar form factor", that is a CLONE. Look harder at the picture if you need more convincing.
And no, all touchscreen phones don't look like the iPhone. The N85/95 don't look like the iPhone, the Experia doesn't look like an iPhone, the T-Mobile G1 doesn't look like an iPhone, etc. etc. This phone DOES look like an iPhone. In fact it looks almost exactly like an iPhone. Any normal person with a pinch of common sense can see that. If you continue to deny that it's an iPhone clone, I can only assume that you don't have any common sense, and your comprehension skills are nonexistent.
@ All replying to Zak. I don't understand why you guys are trying to get through to this guy. There is a saying that goes, "If you try to teach a pig to sing then all you will do is frustrate yourself and annoy the pig" The guy is getting an "F" in tactfulness and is just acting like a douche. Just probably lacks attention. As an example of his "needing to seek attention" he will reply to this string.
And so your response is to insult me rather than try to prove me wrong? Wait, I'll use your language so you'll understand: You're getting an "F" in tactfulness and you're acting like a douche. Surprised? You could have responded to my posts by countering the points I made, but noooooo. I will take that to mean you're unable to counter anything I said, or really to respond in any way other than to insult me. Because you're so much better than me, obviously. Haha.
Let's take a look at EXACTLY, as in "exactly like an iPhoe"
Is it made of EXACTLY the same material as the iPhone? Is it made to the EXACT measurements?
If not, then please take back your CLONE argument.
Zak:
Many apologies for the tardiness of this reply. It seems the first time I attempted it, it got lost in the vagueries of the internet. A shame since I had an irrefutable argument which I have now forgotten. As such I think I shall just have to bow out and disagree with as, I suspect, there is no rationally based argument I could put forward to make you change your position.
I look forward to any other discussions we may have and your colourful assertations as to why my opinion is incorrect.
Why your opinion is incorrect? What exactly is your problem, Matt? Do you just not read what I write, or do you not read what you write? Or both? Here, let's go through it line by line since you seem to be incapable of putting two and two together.
"I am merely stating that what is unique to the iPhone is the usabilty of its interface. "
That wasn't my argument at all. You were responding to something I never said.
"However, since its dawning a large number of its users throw the phrase "iPhone clone" at any phone with a similar form factor"
That isn't the case here. As I have pointed out 3 different times now, this phone looks EXACTLY like an iPhone. It's not a "similar form factor", it is a CLONE. Look at this phone, and look at the iPhone. See what I'm talking about yet? Every external feature on this phone is exactly like the iPhone, all the way down to the chrome trim, the rounded speaker and the side volume buttons. Your argument would only be valid if the only similarities between this phone and the iPhone were the form factor. That is not the case, obviously.
"There are only so many ways to vary a phone that is basically a big touch screen. Therefore, all of the touch screen phones will look similar to the iPhone."
See above. As I've said many, many times now, the touchscreen is not the only "similar" feature to the iPhone. And as I've also said, all you need to do is LOOK at it. You don't even have to take my word for it. Have you looked at this phone? Have you looked at an iPhone? Can you see that there are more similarities than just having a touchscreen? For example, the fact that this phone looks exactly like an iPhone down to almost every single detail should be a big fat clue.
In order to prove me wrong, you would have to prove that this phone does not look like an iPhone. So please go ahead and do that, I'll be waiting to see your results.
Sorry Brian. If you can't tell by simply looking at the two phones side by side that the Emblaze phone is a copy of the iPhone, I don't know what to tell you. Get your eyes checked, maybe? Tell you what, look at the G1. That is not an iPhone clone. It's pretty obvious that it doesn't look like an iPhone. Right? The Experia isn't an iPhone clone either. Same reason - because it doesn't look like an iPhone. Do you see where I'm going with this?
This phone is an iPhone clone. Not only does it share the same form factor, it shares the same visual details such as the chrome around the edge, the same shape and placement of the speaker, the same glass on black motif that other phone makes have proven is not necessary to make a phone. It's all that plus the dimensions are roughly the same.
You need to understand that I shouldn't have to explain this to you. You should already know all this by simply looking at it. So why don't you? I'm not talking about other touchscreen phones. Most of them don't look like the iPhone. Apple did come up with the iPhone design, and this phone is a near exact copy of it. But you still don't seem to think it is, why is that? Are you in denial or something? You really can't see how this phone looks just like the iPhone if you put them side by side?
But go ahead and keep saying this phone did not take its design from the iPhone in any way. I'm sure it's what... just a coincidence? Yeah we'll go with that. It's just pure luck that they made a phone that just happens to look exactly like an iPhone. Yeah, that's the ticket.
my god, zak. I'm going to go down the line of why it's not like an iphone for you, simply because you can't seem to figure it out yourself.
SD card port on left side
no dedicated volume controls on left side
no single home button
totally different OS
looks taller
looks less rounded
just because it's black and has silver edges doesn't make it an iclone. my old LG Chocolate was black on the front, and the special edition had a silver trim on black.
phone producers have been doing the same look as the iphone much longer before it came out. Hell, look at the LG Prada. It was announced two months before the iphone, complete with pic. so it's an iclone even though it came out before the iphone?
there are so many other full touchscreen phones before the iphone, also. apple did not come up with this design.
if you really want the answer, ask yourself the same question. How does this phone look like the iphone, other than being a rectangle and using a color scheme that is nothing new.