3200
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FireWire 1600 and 3200 approved by IEEE
While FireWire 800 gear is still pretty rare and we've only seen one piece of FireWire 1600 kit, the IEEE is still pushing the standard forward -- it's just approved the 1394-2008 spec, which includes both FireWire 1600 and 3200. Interestingly, the spec is fully backwards compatible with both 400 and 800 ports, but it remains to be seen which connector gets used more prevalently. We'll find out in October, when the spec is made available to manufacturers -- looks like that controversial 2010 launch of USB 3.0 just got upstaged a little, huh?[Via CrunchGear]
Pantech's 3200 heads to Canada by way of Telus
Say you're on Telus and you're looking for a fresh low-end flip. You'd like it to be Korean, but you're opposed to Samsung and LG. Pretty tough requirements to satisfy, eh? Pantech's swooping in to your rescue with their PN3200, a basic clamshell with 220 x 176 internal and 96 x 96 external displays, Bluetooth, a VGA cam, 64-tone polyphony, music player, and little ol' 1xRTT for data. Not a bad freshman effort for Pantech's entry into the Canadian marketplace, especially at $99.99 CAD on a 2-year contract.[Via Slashgear]
NES controller cellphone and "Zack Morris" Bluetooth headset mods
While mobile companies are doing their best to make cellphones as sleek and futuristic as possible, retro junkies keep taking them apart and turning them into ironic, yet functional, pieces of art like these. The first mod, from Grooveking.com, makes an old Motorolla DynaTAC 8000X or "Zack Morris phone" into a Bluetooth headset, that'll get 8-times the juice of a normal battery. The second project, from DIYHappy.com, takes an old NES controller (which has already gotten the Bluetooth treatment in the past) and fills it with the guts of a Nokia 3200 – yes, the American Idol phone. You need a little technical know-how to make these for yourself, but after you get the hang of it, all of your gadgets might end up crammed into NES controllers. Sadly, the Nokia 3200 doesn't have Bluetooth so you won't be able to use these two devices together, but we look forward to the future when our Xbox 360 controllers and Treos are turned into seemlessly-integrated retro kitsch.[Thanks Zack and Sam]
