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Fujitsu Arrows μ F-07D hands-on (video)
It was only a few short months ago that Fujitsu's F-07D cropped up at the FCC and took a swing at the "world's thinnest" smartphone title. Since that time, the handset's taken on a new name -- the Arrows μ -- and has launched on NTT DoCoMo in Japan. Today at CES Unveiled, we got a chance to get up close and personal with the device which, despite hitting a high water mark for slim profile, doesn't exactly attempt to compete with high-end specs. Instead this Android 4-incher runs Gingerbread atop a single-core Qualcomm MSM8255 processor clocked at 1.4GHz and is complemented by 1GB of RAM, 5.1MP rear camera and 1400mAh battery. So, does it hold up to its slight reputation? Join us after the break as we answer that question and delve deep into our first impressions.
Pantech Pocket review
Hundreds of smartphones of all shapes, sizes and colors pass through the doors of Engadget HQ every year, so it's natural for a few oddball devices with crazy form factors to end up in our hands from time to time. The Motorola Flipout, LG DoublePlay, Kyocera Echo and Samsung DoubleTime are all instances of carriers trying something new, seeing what sticks. Of course, pushing out a phone with an unproven form factor is a huge gamble for a mobile provider, and as a result they only ship to stores in low volume and rarely receive any kind of marketing campaign at its launch. Indeed, the vast majority of these types of phones are low-end devices aimed at young adults and first-time smartphone buyers, but we still find it adventurous to take a break from the monotony of black slabs and try out something completely different. The Pantech Pocket is definitely unique -- not because it flips or slides a weird way or because it has two and a half screens, but because its 4-inch display, whose 4:3 aspect ratio promises 20 percent more horizontal real estate. Did AT&T's gamble on the display pay off? Is it worth the $50 that AT&T demands with a two-year commitment attached? Time to find out below. %Gallery-142128%
ZTE V881 is Blade's successor, adds modest bumps in specs
We saw the ZTE Blade V880 make its official outing at MWC in February, and given how quickly sequels to other phones have been coming out this year we'd say it's ripe for a successor. Enter the ZTE V881, a device that essentially adds a +1 to a few of its parent's specs: a 3.8-inch touchscreen at WVGA (800 x 480) resolution, a Qualcomm MSM8255 CPU clocked at 1GHz, 512MB of RAM and a 5MP rear camera. There's no availability date as of yet, but it appears poised and ready to cost around 1000 yuan (around $160) when that time comes. Head over to our friends at Engadget Chinese for a couple more pics.
Nokia announces the Lumia 800, the 'first real Windows Phone' (video)
Finally, here it is. The flagship device Nokia is counting on to bring a smile to our phone-loving faces, a sigh of relief to its shareholders, and a twinkle to the eyes of Finnish tax collectors everywhere. And, guess what? This heavily leaked handset might just live up to our high expectations. From the outside, the Lumia 800 is very similar to our beloved N9. Dubbed the "first real Windows Phone," this device is powered by a 1.4GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 CPU and is sculpted from the same 12.1mm (0.48-inch) thick piece of durable polycarbonate plastic, with tapered edges on the top and bottom to give it that industrial look and make it feel thinner than it really is. Sitting at the top of the device is Nokia's logo, just above the company's curved ClearBlack AMOLED (800 x 480) display, with a Carl Zeiss optics-enhanced lens around back. The Lumia 800 also packs 16GB of internal storage, 512MB of RAM and 25GB of free SkyDrive space, and features Nokia Drive, Nokia Music and ESPN Sports Hub baked into its OS. As for that OS, it's all about a fresh beginning: those bold squares you see on the screen are, of course, the sleek live tiles of Windows Phone Mango. The eight megapixel camera, meanwhile, packs an f/2.2 aperture, and is designed specifically for low-light environments. It seems pretty similar to what you'll find in the N9, and according to Nokia, it's simply a shooter that works for "ordinary people, under ordinary circumstances." You'll also find quad-band GSM support, with HSDPA download speeds of up to 14.4Mbps. Now, for the basics: the Lumia 800 is priced at €420, or about $585. It's already up for pre-order now, and is scheduled to roll out across France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK, beginning in November. It'll make its way to Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan before the end of the year, and will hit "further markets" sometime next year. Check out a few more pics in the galleries below, or head past the break for a design video, and the official PR. For even more details, check out the Lumia 800 product page, linked below. %Gallery-137537%%Gallery-137532% Dante Cesa and Sharif Sakr contributed to this report.
Sharp Aquos SH8298U 3D smartphone goes under the knife, comes out in China
Same phone, different market -- that's pretty much what we're looking at above with Sharp's "new" 3D Aquos SH8298U. We first got our hands-on this device's twinner -- the Aquos SH-12C -- back at Computex, with that model sporting the Japan-only 1seg receiver, FeliCa (NFC) and 800MHz / 2100MHz bands. This time out, the OEM's made some subtle changes to its China entry, reducing the handset's storage from 8GB to 2GB, and packing it with GSM / WCDMA / HSPA radios. The rest of the spec list remains exactly the same, leaving this skinned Android 2.3 phone with a 4.2-inch qHD stereoscopic 3D display, dual 8 megapixel cameras, 512MB RAM and a 1.4GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon processor. If translated pressers are your idea of fun, go ahead and check out the source.
BlackBerry Colt to launch before end of 2011?
The BlackBerry Colt -- RIM's presciently named round three handset entry, or last grasp at smartphone dominance? You'll have to wait until the end of the year to decide, as this latest bout of insider hearsay points to a sooner-than-expected launch. Citing several trusted industry sources, Dutch website Tweakers.net reports that the Canadian electronics company is rushing its first QNX-based smartphone out to the mobile market ahead of its previously rumored 2012 Q1 launch. The phone, purported to lack BES, is said to pack a 4.3-inch display and a single-core (yes, you haven't misread that) 1.2GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 processor. We can understand if you're already underwhelmed. Releasing a single core device into an impending quad-core wireless world is one sure way for the company to castrate its young mobile buck. Still, with gossip being what it is, we'd advise you to take this news with a heavy lick of salt. You never know, those co-chairs up in Waterloo could still surprise us yet.
NEC MEDIAS WP N-06C announced in Japan, shows off slimness with waterproof body
Seriously, why does Japan get all the fun toys? The leaked brochure of this crazy thin NEC MEDIAS N-06C already got us all giddy last month, and now we have a launch date: fans of NTT DoCoMo will be able to nab this device around June or July, meaning owners need not seal this waterproof phone in a plastic bag before heading out for a summer swim. In case you missed the details, here we have a 7.9mm-thick Android 2.3 phone, which easily beats the chubby Galaxy S II at 8.49mm in terms of slimness; though to be fair, the N-06C packs about 9.7mm around its 5 megapixel camera. Inside this tight package you'll also find a 4-inch 854 x 480 LCD, a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8255, 512MB RAM, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, and microSDHC expansion. But enough with the specs -- head over to Akihabara News for some wet hands-on pics.
HTC Desire S review
This time last year, HTC had two Android smartphones for the mainstream: the 3.7-inch Desire, outfitted with the latest and greatest, and the 3.2-inch Legend, which was humbler in specs but offered the novelty of an aluminum unibody construction. After seeing that strategy pay off handsomely, the company's come back in 2011 with a similar proposition. The 4-inch Incredible S is now the higher-end device, while the 3.7-inch Desire S is the smaller, aluminum-shelled handset. What's curious this time, however, is that the Desire S has exactly the same 1GHz Snapdragon inside it, the same graphics, same WVGA resolution, and the same 768MB of RAM as the Incredible S. Throw in the fact it comes with Gingerbread preloaded and a few new tweaks to the Sense UI and you've got to wonder if this might not be the more, um, desirable of HTC's new Android duo. Only one way to find out, right? Full review after the break. %Gallery-120779%%Gallery-120778%
Sony Ericsson Xperia Play review
The PlayStation Phone. We've had quite the intimate history with this gamepad-equipped slider, learning of its secretive existence way back in August and then handling a prototype unit in January, so you'll forgive us for feeling sentimental and still entertaining our pet name for it. The Sony Ericsson marketing gurus renamed it the Xperia Play when it finally went official at MWC this year, but the PlayStation connection remains as strong as ever. Aside from the D-pad, iconic game keys, and two touchpads, this device comes with a little app named PlayStation Pocket, which will be serving up dollops of classic PlayStation One gaming to all those with a taste for it. Yes, the Sony influence is strong with this one, and the Android Market will be joining the fun with Xperia Play-optimized titles from third-party developers. So all we really need to know now is whether the Android smartphone underpinning this smash-bang fusion of old and new school entertainment happens to be any good. Shall we get Started? %Gallery-119806%
