Zii Trinity smartphone concept handled on video

It's an all too brief look, but it's infinitely more than we've seen so far. CNET Asia has managed some hands-on time the Zii Trinity concept smartphone. Quite a looker, and here we also get a glimpse of it next to the good ol' Zii Egg. As noted by the narrator, the bottom proprietary slot can be swapped for microUSB or mini-HDMI, there's a notably-sized 5 megapixel camera on the back, as well as one on the front for video conferencing. Enough talk, take a gander for yourself after the break.

[Thanks, kumar]

[NirvanaFlames Posted Dec 3rd 2009 10:44PM]

Oh Cool, I wonder when it'll come to the US.

[agentlotek Posted Dec 3rd 2009 10:48PM]

Why not just take their nice looking "Zii Egg", slap that cellular chip into it and sell their own Android phone?

[agentlotek Posted Dec 3rd 2009 10:50PM]

...Just cut out the middle man.

[GoGreenRangerGo Posted Dec 3rd 2009 10:55PM]

Man, I hope this platform/device comes to America.

And does anyone know what processor its running?

[AlthalusTheThief Posted Dec 3rd 2009 11:30PM]

@GoGreenRangerGo

There's a list of specs here with processor specs as well

http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/01/zii-trinity-mobile-platform-packs-1080p-punch-looking-for-oem-l/

[Ameen Posted Dec 3rd 2009 11:33PM]

@GoGreenRangerGo Dude, isn't it obvious that its a post about Creative Zii ? FYI, It is running a ZMS-08, the "stem-cell" computing chip that is capable of 1080p recording, 1080p display, etc

[GoGreenRangerGo Posted Dec 3rd 2009 11:38PM]

@AlthalusTheThief

Why thank you, kind sir!

[kasimi Posted Jan 5th 2010 10:27AM]

@AlthalusTheThief

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARM_architecture

[Rizzo Posted Dec 3rd 2009 10:56PM]

Damnit, How do I become a prototype tester??

[Gaarrbanzo Posted Dec 3rd 2009 10:57PM]

What he said

[Maj Posted Dec 3rd 2009 10:57PM]

Does anyone else think the three round buttons ruin the phone design? They just stick it, it's always the first thing I noticed.

[bigboy Posted Dec 3rd 2009 11:04PM]

@Maj

I agree starts to look like a Nintendo controller. They should have been color matched.

[HardToBelieve Posted Dec 5th 2009 10:42PM]

@Maj

I wish they lit up so that they could be stoplights in mobile racing games. Red. Yellow. Go!

[WestCoastG Posted Dec 3rd 2009 11:00PM]

Wait, I don't get it. What is this "platform" they will be trying to sell?

[Junzhi Posted Dec 3rd 2009 11:57PM]

@WestCoastG

Basically they designed it already and will be selling the design to manufacturers to build and sell to 3rd parties.

At least that's how I understand it from what I've read so far

[grydlok Posted Dec 3rd 2009 11:02PM]

I not an Apple iPhone guy but come on. That back plate looks just like one. Creative you can't still be mad because you had the PMD in your hands and you blew it.

[McPOW Posted Dec 4th 2009 8:37PM]

@(Unverified) Dude, this isn't a product. This is just a demo case holding the innards which they sell to 3rd parties to package and sell.

[tonicboy Posted Dec 3rd 2009 11:04PM]

Eh, I'm not a big fan of the aspect ratio. It looks wider than 16:9, but why? Also, way too much bezel. Everything else about it is pretty cool, though.

[Teslanaut Posted Dec 3rd 2009 11:14PM]

Want PMP. Please Zii/Creative.

[Johnny Rockets Posted Dec 3rd 2009 11:17PM]

My god, anyone else thinking the same thing?... Why so much wasted space on the top and bottom? That's pretty useless / ridiculous.

[Mr Oos Posted Dec 3rd 2009 11:32PM]

@Johnny Rockets

Yeah TonicBoy mentioned that above, too. I totally agree. Ever notice how much better prototype renderings look? It's usually because there is nearly no bezel to speak of. Just glorious glorious screen real estate.

[McPOW Posted Dec 4th 2009 8:38PM]

@Johnny Rockets this isn't a final hardware design/product. Its a tech demo. ie, this case will never be sold to anyone, its just there to hold the guts together to demo it.

[AlthalusTheThief Posted Dec 3rd 2009 11:40PM]

1080p running out of HDMI on a phone running Android!
*Schwing!*

They need to mash the Trinity and the Egg together.
Then they'd have a seriously sexy phone/media device.
Though i think we should wait to see what happens when someone is close to bring it to market, so we know how it's going to perform in a real world situation.

[dmshocker Posted Dec 3rd 2009 11:49PM]

Hey chubby.
It seems a little cheap.
Not wild about the looks of it.

[stewart Posted Dec 4th 2009 1:00AM]

good. Also try Android OS 2.0 Emulator on Windows.
http://www.zjtechlive.com/try-android-2-0-on-your-windows/

[Mikeo Posted Dec 4th 2009 1:35AM]

@cherryboom

You might need your brains checked at some institute.

[Atlantian Posted Dec 4th 2009 2:36AM]

did u see how fast that panel jumped up there i was like damn that's fast.............

[zaloz Posted Dec 4th 2009 2:57AM]

@Atlantian
Yes I did. But I noticed the malfunction of the screen too. When he tries to change the desktop the device showed the menu.. It needs to be debuged. He can't manage to close the menu!!

[poisonborz Posted Dec 4th 2009 5:35AM]

Strange how Creative still has money to develop such concepts... >:)

[Shinigami Posted Dec 4th 2009 8:08AM]

Good luck in making it to market in 3 months, Nvidia Tegra took years to get into 2 PMPs.

[Theli Posted Dec 4th 2009 8:13AM]

Having a 3.1 inch screen running at WVGA resolution, that thing must have some crazy pixel density. Anyway, I hope they'll use these specs (and Android 2.1) in the consumer version of the Zii.

[Mr Morgan Posted Dec 4th 2009 8:28AM]

Who's keeping creative alive? This thing is like an inch thick and looks like some kid glued buttons to an iphone.

i'm sure it's cool.. but, as per usual, still worthless when compared to an iphone.

[kspraydad Posted Dec 4th 2009 10:54AM]

@Mr Morgan Why do you not understand that this a workhorse prototype...it isn't a design meant for sale.

[Very Powerfull Codfish Posted Dec 4th 2009 11:43AM]

@Mr Morgan Yes, certainly, because nothing will ever beat the almighty iPhone. It has the best screen with the highest resolution on the planet, the fastest processor, and not to say, the best multitasking capabilities in the UNIVERSE.

Let us all praise it, for it is king!

[Mr Morgan Posted Dec 4th 2009 12:26PM]

@Very Powerfull Codfish

Android has a sloppy interface. sure you can make a super high resolution ultraphone that does desktop 3d gaming and blends you up a smoothie every morning but in reality i'd rather have a phone that's really good at everyday tasks.. The iphone is way better and way more consistant when it comes to everyday tasks. I've owned a g1 and loads and loads of windows mobile and palm phones, the build quality sucks, the interface sucks and they pretty much all around just suck.

so as it stands.. no. nothing can beat the almighty iphone...

the other stuff is really cool hardware wise, has a lot of good potential but currently the competitors to the iphone are just making ferraris without a steering rack, sure it's great to look at and it's super fast but in reality it's probably going to be pretty crappy to drive..

[kasimi Posted Jan 5th 2010 10:26AM]

@Very Powerfull Codfish

It uses the same ARM CPU...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARM_architecture

[Teqknowledgee Posted Dec 4th 2009 11:53PM]

If you take time away from all the comparison agains this (or any touch screen phone in general) you will note that this has great features which make it completely unique. HDMI, 1080 out to name a few.

I hate to say this though. The Zii trinity is far to thick. Consumers want quality. They dont care about price, thats what mobile providers are for.
I hate to say this as I stated that there shouldnt be compatison against apple products, but well, the truth is, if it isnt thinner than an iPhone, and doesnt have the features an iPhone has or more, then it wont make it in this field.
The mobile market can be a tough battle for a company like Creative, and it will indeed take alot more than a few ideas to get through. If Creative wants to survive in this field, they will have to make sacrifices, and grow connections with alot more people and industries than they do now.
They will need to be prepared to think outside of the box which is placed outside of the box, you know.. something completely new, something completely fresh.

[mocax Posted Dec 5th 2009 12:40PM]

who knows.... apple might pick this chip for their next iphone...

[kasimi Posted Jan 5th 2010 10:24AM]

@mocax

Apple iPhone already uses ARM CPU

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARM_architecture

ARMv6KZ ARM1176JZ(F)-S As ARM1136EJ(F)-S variable, MMU+TrustZone Apple iPhone, Apple iPod touch,

[HTCHD2 Posted Dec 7th 2009 11:01PM]

funny looking...iphone on andriod....the iphone is not even a good f&#%ing phone.. apple just keeps adding features the previous gen should have had...if you love apps which is why people like the iphone, buy an ipod touch (its cheaper)>>> i wonder what apple has in stock for us next year...iphone 4g i guess with 64gb, and better camera, which which the 3g should have had!

[kasimi Posted Jan 5th 2010 10:20AM]

More details.....

http://www.ziilabs.com/