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Philips' Xenium K700 doesn't look much like a phone
We can't put our finger on it, but for some reason, this Xenium K700 from Philips -- rumored last month and pictured here in clean press shots for the first time -- doesn't really scream "phone" to us. PMP we could see, possibly a low-end point and shoot camera, but not so much "I'm planning on holding this to my face and talking." Maybe it's the recessed lip below the screen? Anyhow, this should be an interesting one for anybody looking to eke a month of standby out of a full touchscreen phone, and the WQVGA resolution, 3.2 megapixel cam, and dedicated GPU are all pretty nice, too. What's amazing is that the incredible power management (a Xenium hallmark) comes from a mere 1,000mAh battery, but part of the explanation comes from the weaksauce triband EDGE radio. When are you gonna do up some global HSPA phones, guys? [Thanks, Vlad]
Oh, by the way: August 4, 2009
Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of mobile for Tuesday, August 4th, 2009: Following the G'zOne C731 Rock, Casio's C741 Brigade for Verizon has nabbed FCC clearance. Not much is known about the phone -- we can assume it'll be ruggedized to one degree or another -- but one interesting tidbit is the inclusion of VCAST TV support, something Verizon's been getting lax on as of late. [Via PhoneArena] Have you seen a white / silver Samsung i7500 Galaxy? Now you have. [Thanks, Ruben W.] China's regulatory peeps have had the good fortune of seeing a couple new Philips Xeniums in their midst, a K700 full touch model and an X501 candybar. Philips has yet to announce either unit, but you can bet they'll last until the next ice age on a single charge. [Via Unwired View] Microsoft's MSDN -- its official developer network -- has published a case study on porting an iPhone app to Windows Mobile. A year ago, you'd have been more likely to see case studies going in the other direction, but, you know, times are changing. [Via Tweakers.net] Digia put together a nice little web browser for UIQ called @Web, but then UIQ sorta went away -- so they're back at it again, this time on S60 5th Edition in beta form. S60 does a decent job browsing out of the gate, but @Web's got some interesting UI elements that might make it worth a look. [Via All About Symbian] We don't see much of it in the States, but Samsung's got a whole brand -- DuoS -- for dual-SIM capable handsets. Mobil.cz has dug up a new model in the series, a low-end candybar dubbed C3212 that'll run the equivalent of around $195 and go on sale in Russia later this summer before expanding to other European markets. [Via Mobile Phone Helpdesk] Value brand Cricket is adding yet more value to its unlimited voice plans that start at a bargain-basement $40. The $40 price point now includes web access; $45 gets you unlimited email, backup, and 30 roaming minutes a month, and $55 ups the roaming to 200 minutes.
Philips new Xenium X550 and X810 are, as usual, battery champions
You might remember that reasonably attractive -- but EDGE-impaired -- Xenium X800 full touchscreen phone out of Philips last year, and it looks like they've got a successor lined up nearly a year later. The X810 (pictured top) looks a whole lot fresher than the model it replaces and adds a sliding numeric keypad, EDGE (we would've preferred 3G, admittedly), and is said to feature a 3.2 megapixel camera and WQVGA display. Like all Xeniums, it takes battery performance to the extreme with a claimed one month of standby time. Moving downmarket, the X550 candybar shares some of the X810's styling cues and also features the 3.2 megapixel cam, but loses the touchscreen for a standard QVGA unit; like its big brother, it'll allegedly go for a month on a charge. It seems the X550 can be yours with a quick trip to China, while you'll find the beefier X810 hanging out in Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey. Book your flights, folks. Read - Xenium X550 Read - Xenium X810
Philips goes touchscreen with Xenium X810
While the recent flood of Xenium handsets aren't apt to hit American shores anytime soon, we may actually hop a flight to toy with the Xenium X810. Unlike most of its siblings, this here device is actually intriguing, boasting a 400 x 240 resolution touchscreen display, 3.2 megapixel camera, FM radio, 45MB of built-in memory, a microSDHC card slot, Bluetooth, quad-band GSM connectivity and a USB port. As with all Xeniums, this one also goes for days and days without a recharge; in fact, it should last up to a solid month in standby mode. So, has anyone else wondered why no other major cellphone maker is utilizing these miracle-working batteries?[Via UnwiredView]
Philips Xenium X700 ain't too fond of its AC adapter
The word Xenium immediately sets off thoughts of frolicking in Dutch fields for days without nary a care in the world with respect to battery life, and the cute little X700 aligns perfectly with those whimsical thoughts. The latest flip phone in Philips's growing arsenal of longevous devices can reportedly last a full month in standby on a single charge, and furthermore, it boasts a 2.4-inch QVGA display, 3.2 megapixel camera, FM radio, microSDHC card slot, Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0 and quad-band GSM connectivity. Of course, the call time is just 450 minutes, but hey, all the more reason to just hit "silent" time after time.
Philips' Xenium X530 treats batteries with kid gloves
We're not sure what's up with Philips' aversion to 3G, but the EDGE trend apparently continues with its latest, the Xenium X530 flip. Per usual for the Xenium series of phones, the X530 features gorilla-like battery endurance that'll supposedly give you some 850 hours of standby time and 8 hours of talk time -- and otherwise, the specs are all as good or better than what we're used to seeing out of Philips including an honest-to-goodness QVGA display, a 1-inch OLED on the outside, Bluetooth 2.0, FM radio with RDS, and microSD expansion. No word on a release date, but considering the lack of GSM 850, North Americans can just go back to their battery-destroying smartphones and their stupid wall outlets.[Via Unwired View]
Philips' Xenium X710 swallows 1900mAh battery whole
If there's one thing Philips' Xenium line is really good at, it's ridiculously long claimed talk and standby times; and if there's one thing it's really bad at, it's 3G. Personally, we'd rather recharge an HSPA phone once a day than an EDGE phone once a week, but for those who don't share our love of high-speed data -- particularly those in Russia -- we give you the Xenium X710, complete with dual SIM slots and a respectable 3 megapixels of autofocus power. It's got Bluetooth, an integrated FM radio, and microSD expansion, too, not to mention an unabashedly clean, simple look that does a pretty good job projecting its low-end aspirations. [Via Unwired View]
Philips intros snazzy Xenium 9@9q Dragon / Phoenix handsets
Philips' Xenium line is known for being able to last an incredibly long time without a recharge, and the outfit's newest duo continue the trend. The special edition Xenium 9@9q mobiles -- dubbed Dragon and Phoenix -- both feature rather snazzy designs and can reportedly last up to a month in standby mode. The most fantastic aspect is probably the subtle light-up indicators on the outside of the clamshell, and yes, we're serious. Still, a phone with such longevity might actually be worth 4,999 rubles ($172), but only if you place an inordinately high amount of value on the aforesaid indicators.[Via UnwiredView]
Philips Xenium X620 is ready for those late night break-up calls
No one ever said you had to be awesome at everything, and hardly anyone understands this better than Philips. Seriously, the only thing even remotely stellar about the company's family of Xenium handsets is the marvelous battery life, and even though the X620's 2.4-inch display is only QVGA and the USB is only 1.1, how can you possibly argue with a talk time of 12 hours? As in, half a day. Other specifications include a 3.2-megapixel camera, a video record mode, MP3 / WMA player, a microSDHC slot, Bluetooth, quad-band GSM connectivity and EDGE data. As these handsets usually do, this one isn't apt to leave the borders of Russia and China, though there's no mention of price for either of those markets.
Philips offers up Xenium X500, new name, same face
If you happened to catch the oddly -named 9@9k about a year ago, you'll likely notice that the "new" X500 seems like a twin with a minor bit of cosmetic work. The X500 features two-month standby and 16 hour talk time, tri-band EDGE, 1.3 megapixel camera, microSD expansion, and an FM radio with RDS support. The only bit of cool we see going on here is the nifty "Up to 2 months standby" written on the screen, and we expect that's not a feature the phone actually has. The Philips Xenium X500 is set to ship to Russia, Turkey, and Romania, at some point in the future, and honestly, with the care-o-meter registering about zero on this set, we may just never find out.
Philips Xenium X600 brings 2-month standby, little else
Well, the Xenium has ugly pegged, it also brags 2-month standby time and 16-hour talk time. Philips latest venture in triple band GSM / GPRS sets also packs memory expansion via microSD up to 2GB, a music player, and two displays. Not much else to share here friends, though, perhaps we'll get some pricing info and a release date soon. With that standby time, we're thinking this would be the perfect phone for the we-keep-it-in-the-glove-box set, and yeah, we're looking squarely at you, Mom and Dad.
Philips X800 low-end touchscreen phone details revealed
We already knew that Philips had plans to release the low-end touchscreen X800, but now we know just how low it was willing to go with this thing. Confirmed are the lack of 3G, EDGE (which still shocks us), and WiFi. Meanwhile, the 2.9-inch, 240x400 screen, only supports 256K colors, and the phone's browser is your basic WAP 2.0/xHTML. It does support Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, though, so that's a plus. Other bits: it will allow for expansion via microSD, support MP3 ringtones, and packs a USB port. In short, not a whole lot to see here. Follow the read link for a full spec list.[Via BoyGeniusReport]
Philips working on a 3-inch touchscreen Xenium X-Connect?
A couple things you should know about this purported Philips Xenium X-Connect before churning your gadget juices through the emotional Osterizer. First, it's clearly a product rendering. Second, Philips Xenium cellphones are primarily found in Asia Pacific region -- as such, a European or North American launch is likely out of the question. If the X-Connect is the real-deal, however, here's what we'll be missing: Windows Mobile 6, 3G UMTS/HSDPA radios, GPS receiver, AA/AAA battery backup, microSD slot, and Bluetooth 2.0 all powered by a 624MHz Intel processor beneath a 3.0-inch (presumably touchscreen) display. Still, as a broadly positioned "communication device," maybe we'll see Philips reach out to different geographies this time around.Update: Oh snap, this thing sure looks like the Xenium 800.[Via ToTouch, Thanks Giovanni]
Philips Xenium 9@9k offers up two months of standby time
We're still not entirely clear if Philips' Xenium 9@9k, you know, actually exists, but according to iDNES, this handset can last a whopping two months without needing a recharge. Granted, the Xenium line has traditionally boasted impressive battery life, but this particular iteration will purportedly last up to 1,440-hours in standby and 17-hours while yapping. Additionally, the tri-band GSM mobile sports an FM tuner, Bluetooth, a VGA camera and a microSD expansion slot. Beyond that, everything else gets lost in translation, but here's to hoping a few more manufacturers step up their game in the longevity department.[Via UnwiredView]
Philips' strolls out Xenium 9@9 phones with 40 day battery life
Philips' line of odd-named Xenium 9@9 GSM handsets will go pouncing around for more than a month according to the company. Yep, you guessed it -- an almost-untouchable 40 days of standby time (if you never use the thing, we guess) is what Philips is marketing these babies with -- along with 10 hours of talk time. Can you blame them? Who carries a home charger with them so that they can charge that ever-so-slim Li-Ion battery every 5 hours? We're more keen on a decent and realistic combination of talk and standby times from the marketing departments of cell handset makers, but we'll settle for the dream of 40-day standby for now. There are three separate handsets, from entry-level to what Philips calls a "smartphone" with a 128x160 pixel LCD. Although that low of a screen rez isn't that smart to us -- in fact, its rather prehistoric by now -- all three 9@9 handsets are now for sale at the Hong Kong website of Philips.
