MonteCarlo
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ZTE Skate launches worldwide, attempts to stick landing in the US
The ZTE Skate -- spiritual successor to the Blade and current flagship -- is pushing on with its global roll-out and it looks like it may reach the US. Now on sale in Hong Kong, Brazil and Spain, the Skate is rolling down the French Alps and into France and the UK, where the Orange-branded Monte Carlo (a Skate in phone network clothing) is already available. With a different ZTE device set to arrive on Cricket soon, the electronics giant also intends to bring this 4.3-inch phone to the US in the near future, though there's nothing concrete on dates and prices just yet. According to ZTE's executive VP He Shiyou, the company is set to launch "a total of 30 smartphone models" by the end of the year. We fear the company may run out of flat-shaped names before the end of November. Head on over to our Chinese site for some hands-on shots.
ZTE Monte Carlo arrives a month early, now available on Orange UK
Okay, we'll just come out and say it: in the hierarchy of classy names, Skate doesn't hold a candle to Monte Carlo. As the flagship of ZTE's lineup at Mobile World Congress last February, it feels much more appropriately titled with Orange UK's branding. No matter what you want to call it, however, the handset's now available on the carrier's online store -- no doubt a surprise, since we weren't expecting the phone to show up on sale for at least another month. For a device aimed at the budget-conscious, it's got some worthy specs: it's adorned with a 4.3-inch WVGA display, an 800MHz CPU, Android 2.3 and a five megapixel shooter. Will it whisk you away to a luxurious city lined with beaches and gorgeous views? No, but the phone can pull up some pretty pictures of it on Wikipedia.
ZTE Skate coasting into UK retailers... in September
Oh, now it's on. Not too long ago, we learned the ZTE Skate Monte Carlo would be "coming soon" to Orange in the UK. While the citrus-flavored network has yet to pin down an actual release date -- or price -- Clove Technology, a mobile-centric reseller based in England, is telling its customers to expect a September 19th arrival and £250 price tag (subject to change, anyway). Naturally, the announcement of an actual, honest-to-goodness Skate falls in line with ZTE's recent announcement that it would begin selling its hardware -- replete with ZTE badging -- directly to UK consumers. If you've got the gamblin' spirit and are willing to put money on Clove, the pre-order madness has already begun. So, ZTE, who's claiming the coveted "First!" dibs?
ZTE Skate dubbed 'Monte Carlo,' will be classing it up on Orange in the UK soon
Odds are that mentions of the Skate caused your mind to immediately wander to roller derbies or marine biology, but that's clearly not the sort of imagery ZTE is looking to evoke with its forthcoming smartphone. After all, the Gingerbread device does seem a step up from the company's usual offerings, and therefore deserves a far classier name -- like the Monte Carlo. The rechristened phone will be arriving shaken, not stirred on Orange -- no word on an exact date at the moment, just "soon." The Android handset has a 4.3-inch screen, an 800MHz processor, and a five megapixel camera. From the looks of the Orange page, however, the giant Android drawing appears missing from the rear of the device. So much for class.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: magic airplane skin, Japan's nuclear leak, and the circuit board table
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. As the nuclear crisis at Japan's Fukushima power plant continues to devastate the region and one reactor sprung a leak releasing tons of radioactive water, this week Inhabitat reported that green algae could play a critical role in cleaning up the spill. We also brought you Japan's latest radiation-detecting robot, and we took a look at how fallout from the controversial crisis is affecting energy policy around the world -- China is cutting plans for future reactors in favor of solar fields while Germany may trade 17 nuclear plants for wind farms. In other news, green transportation went from the soaring skies to the deep blue sea this week as we looked at NASA's self-healing "magic skin" that will protect planes from lighting, and Sir Richard Branson unveiled a streamlined eco sub that will explore the ocean's depths. We also learned that the European Union is set to kick off an electric F1 racing championship just as Tesla took top place in the 5th Monte Carlo Alternative Energy Rally. Finally, we looked at two innovative technologies for enabling human movement -- a robotic exoskeleton that gives paraplegics the ability to walk and a prosthetic suit that lets people swim like mermaids. This week we also spotted several awesome example of green gadgetry - a colorful Legotron camera made out of everyone's favorite building bricks and a geek chic binary table constructed entirely from vintage circuit boards. We also spotted a concept for an energy-generating playground that harnesses the literal power of play.
Something old, something new: Spyker brings two models to CeBIT
We don't know what it is with boutique brands picking up year-old Haiers and passing them off as new wares, but it's a trend that appears to be picking up some steam. Spyker, the Dutch auto manufacturer, got into the phone branding game last year and is set to roll out a pair of new midrange models at CeBIT this week. The first model, LaTurby, has a name that's extremely fun to say (seriously, give it a try) -- but that's about all that's notable about it seeing how it's the Haier Sterling we saw last year with 1GB of internal storage, Bluetooth, and a 2 megapixel cam. The metal MonteCarlo slider looks a bit more interesting -- and more importantly, fresh -- and should have specs roughly in line with its more amusingly-named sib. No word on pricing or availability for these yet, but needless to say, we're thinking they'll be both cheaper and easier to obtain than a Spyker automobile.
