DualSlide
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Samsung Trinity dual slider coming to AT&T?
Samsung doesn't have many launched dual sliders to its name -- none that we can think of, actually -- but this summer looks to change all that. First, it looks like the Exclaim is going to be hitting Sprint pretty shortly in a pair of fun, fruity colors, and now, we've gotten word that a "Trinity" (not to be confused with the HTC Trinity) is undergoing testing for a planned August launch. As is usually the case with this form factor, you've got both numeric and full QWERTY slides, HSDPA, a 2 megapixel cam, and a 2.8-inch QVGA display -- in other words, a solidly low- to mid-range consumer device without a hint of smartphone to its name. Follow the break for a composite shot of the Trinity doing its thing.
Amazon gets impatient, offers Pantech C810 for AT&T
You know, if it weren't for retailers and the FCC, manufacturers' and carriers' employees would lead relatively stress- and hypertension-free lives -- but in this heavily embargoed, NDA'd, confidentiality agreemented world in which we live, bean spillage is an inevitable occurrence. We're not saying that's what's going on here, but we find it odd that Amazon would start offering Pantech's C810 dual slider Windows Mobile smartphone for AT&T with nary a peep from the carrier itself (not that we're complaining in the least). Even better, they're offering it for a cool $180 which seems really reasonable for a Windows Mobile 6 Standard device with UMTS in such a creative and useful form factor. Give us a holler in comments if anyone grabs it![Via Smartphone Thoughts]
Helio Ocean launches today
Get ready to spend the weekend mindlessly sliding the Ocean's dual keypads open and closed until you drive friends and family to the brink of insanity (trust us, it's pretty addictive). Yep, that would be this weekend we're talking about -- Helio's new flagship device finally makes its debut on its website and store shelves today for $295, followed by a second wave of availability in a variety of third-party retailers toward the end of this month. Of course, unless you're within driving distance of one of Helio's handful of flagship locations, actually finding one today might be challenging; might we recommend our hands-on to hold you over while you patiently wait for the parcel to make its way to your doorstep?
Hands-on with the Helio Ocean
Color us impressed. We got our first shot at Helio's upcoming superphone today, and from the all too brief time we had, we think this thing is gonna pack a punch. The dual slide mechanism was extraordinarily smooth -- one of the smoothest we've ever felt. It's big, but not unreasonably so for a handset of its capability and form factor, and the software build seemed slick and stable (the messaging app was killer, in particular). Click on for the Ocean in all its split-personality glory! Gallery: Hands-on with the Helio Ocean
The Helio Ocean
All hail the new king of Helio's lineup: "Ocean." That ain't really hyperbole, either; the Pantech-sourced device first seen in the FCC's claws a few months back easily has enough tricks up its sleeve to put it atop Helio's already impressive stable of featurephones. Most striking, of course, is the dual-slide design with QWERTY in one direction and numeric in the other -- a first, as best we can tell -- that gives users the best of both worlds without compromising much girth (21.8mm to be exact). Other unique goodies (besides the requisite EV-DO and GPS) include a contact list with integrated "presence detection" showing contacts' statuses on a variety of instant messaging services, Exchange Server and ActiveSync integration(!) for the suits out there, geo-tagged photo uploads with Helio UP, multi-client communications app for Yahoo!, AOL, MSN, Gmail, and email, and a click-free web search mechanism -- users simply begin typing from their home screen to seek out sites in its new full-HTML browser. The Ocean also has built-in Google Maps (as did the Heat and Drift), will rock out to PlaysForSure tunes for a claimed 15 hours (pretty frickin' impressive if that figure holds up), offer 200MB of internal storage with microSD expansion, USB mass storage mode, a 2 megapixel cam, and stereo Bluetooth support. Look for it to start showing up on shelves before summer sets in for $295. Gallery: The Helio Ocean
Nokia N95 reviewed
It might be a few months yet before we see Nokia N95s start to circulate amongst the general populace, but far be it from that to stop Nokialist from putting a preproduction unit through its paces. Other than a niggle about the d-pad -- the reviewer would've preferred a joystick, a la E70 -- the hands-on was overwhelming positive, despite the fact that the super-ultra-early test model in their hands lacked some hardware (GPS, WiFi) promised for the production version. As one might expect, the software (S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1, that is) is apparently the best thing since sliced bread, the dual slide is trick, the screen is gorgeous, and the 5 megapixel shooter is bananas. Sadly, about all the review has managed to do for us is make us want to lay our hands on this sucker a little more than we already did, but we're still in for a bit of a wait. Hang tight, folks.[Thanks, Phill]
Danger designing dual slider for Helio?
Before anyone does anything rash like bust open the piggy bank in preparation for the Helio Drift, wait just a minute and listen up. Word on the street is that an even hotter phone is around the corner for the scrappy, MySpace-friendly MVNO. Details are sketchy at best, but the rumor goes something like this: Pantech and Danger (yeah, the Sidekick folks) have hooked up to design a dual-slide handset -- think LG SH100, but with QWERTY in one direction and numeric in the other. For the record, it's worth noting that Helio's VP of "Experience Design" Matias Duarte previously served as Danger's director of design, so it's possible that Duarte either called on his former employer to hook him up, or more controversially, that the new design is simply Danger-like in appearance and function. We've heard the terms "sleek," "rounded," "rectangular," and "black" thrown around to describe the device, which should pack 150MB of internal storage, Bluetooth, and a 2 megapixel cam. If we just threw a wet blanket on your desire for the Drift, we're sorry. Not really, though.[Thanks, anonymous tipster]Update: Judging from Helio's recent trademark filings, this could be the "Mighty." Also looks like there will be a silver or white version of the Drift, aptly named the "Snow Drift."
