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Project E helps you communicate, make friends
We'll be honest, we see nothing wrong with just phoning someone up and venting your frustrations, but for those looking to insert yet another layer in their relationship, Project E could apparently help. This interesting prototype consists of a web-based backbone (Eco), a central hub (that Exo creature pictured to the right), and a wearable piece of jewelry (Evo). Essentially, these Bluetooth-enabled devices respond to gestural based inputs and can communicate your feelings to other Project E members, and just in case you're feeling adventurous, you can pair up your Evo with a complete stranger and immediately have them added to your aggravation contact list. All in all, this just smells all too tweeny for us to dig, but we're sure there's a niche out there somewhere willing to give it some love.
Nokia E90 hands-on gallery extravaganza!
It may lack the necessary internal gizmos to grant us 3G data this side of the pond, but that really didn't stop us from touching, holding, and loving Nokia's E90 Communicator just the same. Check out as we bring the latest, greatest QWERTY device out of Espoo from sealed box to power-up in the gallery here -- or if getting your hands on one of your own is more your thing, rumor has it Nokia should be launching it stateside within a couple months. 'Bout time!Special thanks to Wireless Imports for the hands-on time!%Gallery-5477%
Nokia's E90 launch party held in Jakarta
It's no secret that the actual launch of Nokia's E90 was imminent, and while you've had plenty of time to read reviews, stare at press shots, and drool over hands-on photo sessions, now it's time to party. A camera-wielding blogger was able to drop in on the fairly large launch event held in Jakarta and snap a few photos of geeks grappling to boot theirs up the fastest. Of course, we're sure you wish you were somewhere amongst the hordes, but feel free to leap on through for more of the action -- and to think, just under a month ago some impatient soul paid a whopping $5,000 for this bad boy.
First Nokia E90 Communicator auctioned off for $5000
If you'd been combing through all the hands-on pictures of Nokia's E90 Communicator hoping you'd be the first one on the planet to receive shipment, we're sorry to spoil your dreams. Apparently, Nokia has already auctioned off the very first E90 to be commercially sold in the world at a charity auction in Jakarta, Indonesia. Hartono Gunawan (center) took home the device after throwing down nearly $5,000 to be first on the worldwide block, and considering that the proceeds are going to UNICEF, we're sure that gaping hole in his wallet can now be filled with warm, fuzzy feelings. Of course, judging by the look on his face, we're wondering if this guy was already experiencing buyer's remorse.[Via Slashphone]
Samsung SyncMaster 225U integrates with Office Communicator 2007
Beating the rest of the field to the punch, Samsung dropped the SyncMaster 225U today, the first official product designed to interface with Microsoft's Office Communicator 2007 IM / VoIP / PBX "unified communications" suite we saw unveiled in beta form just a couple days ago. The 22-inch monitor has a pretty average panel -- 1680 x 1050 resolution, 5ms response time, a 700:1 contrast ratio, and just 300 nits of brightness -- but the real noise is in the built-in 2.0 megapixel webcam, microphone, and stereo speakers, which plug into the Communicator software and then serve as a replacement for that bulky deskphone in your office. No word yet on pricing or availability, but expect to see a slew of Communicator products in the future.Update: Samsung PR tell us that the SyncMaster 225U will be available in June for $449.
DS headsets thrown into ring, forced to fight to the death
Did you pick up a DS headset today along with your preorder of Pokémon Diamond/Pearl? What will you be using to take advantage of the online voice chat feature? Nintendo's official headset, Turtle Beach's Earforce D2, or Datel's Communicator? Or will you be slumming it with the handheld's built-in microphone?If you're still in the market for a headset solution, Nintendo Gal has posted a comparison chart and her analysis on the three products. Testing their comfort, durability, sound output, and recording quality, she was able to determine which one deserves our hard-earned allowance money. There are even recording samples available that you can listen to and weigh in on yourself.We're surprised that the Earforce D2 was judged as the best of the lot, but seeing that it's also the most expensive at $19.99 (Nintendo's headset is on sale for $9.99 at Amazon), it's good to know that you're not paying that premium for nothing. Turtle Beach's headset outclassed the official one in every category except recording quality, while Datel's Communicator was laughed out of the competition.
Nokia E90 hits FCC with lots of 3G bands -- destination T-Mobile?
Wait up just a second, let us get this straight: after years of teasing Americans with 3G smartphone after sweet 3G smartphone -- none of which packed even a lick of compatibility on US bands -- Nokia's going to rock its newest undisputed king of the hill, the E90, with every band we could possibly hope for? Of course, we don't want to count our chickens 'fore they're hatched lest we get fooled again, but the presence of Nokia's latest QWERTY-based Communicator device in the FCC's trusted hands sporting WCDMA on the 850, 1700, and 1900MHz bands is a very promising sign, indeed. As a refresher, T-Mobile will be launching its WCDMA network this year -- the last of the four national carriers to go 3G -- on the freshly-minted 1700MHz band, leaving future users without much of a handset selection from which to choose (as in, zero devices so far and few on the roadmap). But hey, with phones like this seemingly sitting in T-Mobile's pipeline, that's just fine by us.
Nokia E90 Communicator reviewed
Our envy runs deep on this one -- My-Symbian somehow managed to score Nokia's new megaphone (well, not "megaphone," but you know what we mean), the E90, long enough for a comprehensive rundown. They seem pretty delighted with the device's feature set, and we can't say we blame them; what's not to like? Stand-out goodness included the revised keyboard with concave keys, full-function external display running S60 with full access to the phone's functionality, integrated GPS, and a fabulous internal display with 800 pixels of horizontal resolution. My-Symbian wasn't as pleased to see that some of Series 80's unique functionality disappeared along with the operating system itself, but on the whole, it seems that S60 has filled in the gap pretty smoothly.
Nokia's E90 communicator launched!
You saw the first photos right here on Engadget. Now, Nokia brings the official specs on their S60-series E90 Communicator. Like we heard, it brings quad-band GSM, WiFi, and HSDPA radios along with a 3.2 megapixel camera with flash (and second up front for video calls). Better yet, it does indeed pack integrated GPS and Nokia Maps for all you corporate jet-setters. Expect the E90 to hit in Q2 (volume shipments in Q3) for an unsubsidized price of between "750-800" -- they don't say but we're thinking that's euros or about $1000 of the green stuff. Damn, best put this one on the corporate account where it belongs.%Gallery-1584%
Nokia's E90 Communicator: first pics!
Check it QWERTY geeks, we've got a trio of clandestine snaps of Nokia's oft rumored, but never seen E90 communicator. As you can see from the pics, the E90 does indeed pack a dual-hinge allowing it to open like a 9500 or fold-up flat like the 9300. And while you're checkin' the cameraphone snaps, know this: according to our new best friend and source -- "Brando" -- it does indeed pump S60 at its core and boasts a solid 3.2 megapixel cam. But damn, you see that bigazz main display? Could that be the rumored 800 x 352 pixel resolution? We'll know soon enough -- 3GSM is next week where we're pretty sure this will see an official launch.Update: A bit more detail: HSDPA (yes), GPS (no), quad-band GSM (yes), WiFi (of course), internal display (800 x 352), external display (240 x 320). Both screens support 16 million colors and all applications can run on either screen -- launch an app on the external display, open and continue working with a massive increase in pixel-estate. Nokia's E90 Communicator: first pics! [Thanks, Brando]
Edgetech unveils unsightly mini internet machine, dubbed The Edge
We fully understand how hard it's going to be for anything to top this in terms of handheld sexiness, but Edgetech International must be using a design team stuck in the early '90s, and a marketing squad not too far removed from the Phantom confines. The firm's latest handheld, simply dubbed The Edge, is a smallish portable internet machine that bears striking resemblance to a old fashioned pocket organizer, and reportedly provides true wireless internet all the time. Claimed to be "non-carrier specific," Edgetech doesn't exactly expound upon how its fliptop machine can consistently pull in internet access from anywhere, and doesn't even feel the need to describe the specs for us. Nevertheless, we do know that it can purportedly enable subscribers to "conduct a wide variety of e-mail and voice mail options, all by voice command." The strangely mysterious device reportedly comes with a $200 pricetag, while the wireless connectivity runs you around $50 per month, but until our current selection of smartphones forget how to access those 2.5G, 3G, and 4G networks, we're good.[Via TGDaily]
360 Dashboard update in a week?
Xbox Live's Major Nelson discussed in his latest podcast that he has been playing around with the upcoming Xbox 360 Wireless Communicator on his development kit, which of course has "excellent" sound quality. Be sure and listen to the entire podcast. Near the end "e" from Microsoft gets a jab in on the PS3 by way of an article he read here on Joystiq. However, Major Nelson goes on to say that "even if you went to the store today and bought it, you couldn't use it until you have the fall upgrade to the dashboard." This is an extremely interesting little tidbit, because every online retail site that lists this for sale has a release date of October 31st -- which is also a Tuesday, the day new retail items are typically released.So, does this mean that the dashboard update is less than a week away? It is entirely possible that Microsoft could change the release date for the communicator to whenever they wish, but with two major consoles launching less than three weeks after the 31st it seems doubtful that they'd want to do that. What's more likely is that the fall dashboard update will probably appear sometime before the 31st, or possibly even that day. Microsoft is going to want to have every oar in the water pulling for the finish line through the rest of the year, and not dropping updates after the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii launches.Our prediction is -- drumroll please -- big dashboard update early next week. Mark your calendars ... in pencil.[Thanks, Josh and Thomas]Listen -- Major Nelson's "Show #199: The one about Gears and the maintenance" (around 1:16:30 in)
A moment of clarity for LG's VX9900
True, the handful of shots of the VX9800 Communicator successor over at Phone Scoop are only marginally better than the last batch, but we know there are some Verizon peeps out there waiting for this thing to hit retail. A little more eye candy never hurts, does it? Follow the link for the full spread![Thanks, Sunny]
LG's VX9900 caught in the wild?
Ok, you know the drill by now. HowardForums has a purported shot (on left) of the thinner, sexier successor to the VX9800 communicator, the LG VX9900 we first trolled from the FCC (pic on the right) back in May. We're still hoping for this QWERTY clam to roll on Verizon sometime this month as reported by our own Boy Genius or sometime between September 29th and October 13th according to the rumor jockeys ridin' the HoFo. Hell, let's just say any day now and leave it at that mkay?[Thanks, Scott and Sunny]
ROAD's Handy-PC S101 apparently real
It's one thing to see Photoshop upon Photoshop of a device that may or may not exist (just think of how many iPhone concepts we got inundated with), but it's quite another to see it in the flesh. It gives you that warm, fuzzy feeling to know that the hotness you're gazing at is something more than vaporware. Not to say spotting a handset in the wild guarantees its release -- far from it, in fact -- but still, ROAD's been offering us nothing more than ridiculously badass-looking drawings of their Handy-PC for the past year and a half, and we can hear the collective sigh of relief from Nokia Communicator fans everywhere as they lock eyes on this first in-the-flesh shot. As we previously reported, the specs on their production quad-band S101 model leave little to be desired as folding smartphones go, with 128MB of RAM, 64MB of ROM, a 2-megapixel shooter, 400MHz of the XScale PXA263 variety, and Qtopia's mobile Linux platform in a 210-gram package. Where do we sign up? Ahh, that's right, ROAD's site -- still no word on actual availability, but at least you can let out a little pent-up excitement by placing an "advance order."[Via Slashphone]
Nokia handsets to get iPass WiFi connectivity client
Owners of WiFi-enabled, Series 80- and S60-powered Nokia handsets will soon have "one-click" access to over 50,000 hotspots worldwide thanks to a new software client being developed in conjunction with trusted connectivity services provider iPass. Already available for Windows, Macintosh, and Windows Mobile devices, the iPassConnect client gives people an easy way to connect to any hotspot across some 28 different networks, including T-Mobile, Wayport, and The Cloud, offering both a consistent user experience and simplified billing. The first models to receive the iPass treatment will be the 9300i and 9500 Communicators, which should see the new software sometime this summer, followed by a version for E-series devices by the end of the year.[Via PC World]
