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Kyocera shows off preposterous, beautiful EOS folding OLED phone concept


We're big fans of reality and feasibility, we swear, but something like this "EOS" concept phone Kyocera was showing off at CTIA is just too good to pass up. The handset folds up into what could roughly be described as a wallet shape, but folds out into two configurations: portrait QWERTY mode (pictured), and full-on widescreen OLED display (after the break). Samsung was showing similar screen-folding folding abilities, but a much less impressive handset, at CES. Things get even wilder, tough, with Kyocera envisioning shape memory keys that can morph flat when not in use, and a kinetic charging method based on piezoelectric generators and Mary Poppins. Sure, our great grandkids are going to have a good laugh at us for thinking this is lovable, but they always were a bunch of theoretical brats. Kyocera plans on implementing some of the concept ideas into its "near future" lineup of devices. We'll see how that pans out.

[Via Inhabitat, photo courtesy of Jeffrey Sass]

Barnes & Noble working on an e-book reader of its own?


Everyone else is doing it, so why not Barnes & Noble too? That's the talk following last week's CTIA at least, where mysterious "insiders" were reportedly abuzz about the possibility of a B&N e-book reader that, like the Kindle, would supposedly be tied to a cellular carrier for some Whispernet-like connectivity. According to one of those insiders, Barnes & Noble had apparently first been in talks with Verizon about a partnership, but those seem to have fallen apart for one reason or another, and it now looks like Sprint (Amazon's partner, coincidentally) is the top contender. Some "observers" apparently still aren't ruling out AT&T as a possibility, however, especially in light of its recent expression of interest about getting into the e-book reader game. No word about the actual device itself just yet, but there's no shortage of ready-made options out there (like Plastic Logic's e-reader above) should B&N decide to go that route.

[Thanks, Tim]

Michael Bay strikes again, pulls out Samsung cellphone at LG promo event


We're not sure what LG expected when it invited Micheal Bay to speak about the company's promotional support of Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen at CTIA, but let's be honest -- they probably should have known dude was going to blow something up. Unfortunately for the gathered LG employees, this time Mike-Mike delivered a figurative explosion, telling the crowd "I don't know anything about mobile phones. In fact, look at my phone -- it's a thirty-nine dollar Samsung." Ouch -- that's roughly the equivalent of throwing a Ford in with the rest of the Autobots. Making matters worse, LG president of mobile products Juno Cho tried to salvage the moment by offering Bay his personal phone, but was rebuffed because "all my contacts are in the other one." Yeah, that's probably not the best way to play it -- although we're guessing Samsung's already angling for TouchWiz to feature prominently in Transformers 3.

[Via Gartenblog]

LG's GD900 video tour (and shenanigans) at CTIA


We've been fairly intrigued about LG's GD900 since we had a glimpse of it behind glass at Mobile World Congress this year. We were finally treated to a proper tour by LG's Martin Valdez who not only did a bang up job of demonstrating the set but covered up what may be an early build firmware bug with such aplomb he deserves an award for his performance. Notable here is the clear keypad that acts as input device for typing, text recognition, gestures, and the full-on gorgeous UI. While we wouldn't expect this to be a monster seller at the carriers, it will get LG some attention. So sit back, relax, and enjoy a few minutes with LG's transparent beauty and a great showman, Martin Valdez.

PCD tempts with its twisting TXT8030


PCD's showed a fun twist at CTIA with the admittedly awkward looking TXT8030 by designing the handset's lower section to rotate with business up front and party in the back -- yeah, like a mullet. One one side is a QWERTY pad and on the other speakers and the music controls. We also hear the display is a 2.2-inch number, memory is expandable via microSD, it packs a 1.3 megapixel shooter, and the tale of the tape registers 4.5 inches long by 2.4 inches wide, and about a half an inch thick. No thoughts on pricing or availability, but this CDMA twistset may show up somewhere someday.

Fake Nokia N97 is fake, tiny, buggy... and fake

What do you get if you stick a Nokia N97 in the dryer on high heat for an hour, rip the keyboard off with your bare hands, and replace S60 with a seemingly random stream of digital puke? Probably something akin to this little bugger, we'd reckon. Nothing worked, the display was wigging out, and we'd gotten it to the point where all we could do was draw red lines and watch random blocks of noise appear on screen -- awesome by Keepin' It Real Fake standards, yes, but not awesome if you're actually trying to make a call. Our recommendation: don't get any closer to this thing than the video you're about to watch after the break.

CTIA Roundup, Day Three

CTIA Wireless 2009 has drawn to an anticlimactic close today, concluding one of the less memorable, less action-packed CTIAs in recent memory. Friday was as much about skedaddlin' out of town as quickly as possible as it was about making news and launching new products for exhibitors, but that doesn't mean we didn't unearth a few gems for you. No need to thank us, seriously -- click on!

Wistron's Snapdragon-powered PurseBook gets demoed
NVIDIA is showing that wacky Mini 1000 / Tegra mashup at CTIA, but Qualcomm's not far behind with its own creative ways to repurpose smartphone silicon into MID and netbook-class devices.

Inventec's mirasol-equipped V112 smartphone goes on display
We couldn't get the thing to turn on -- prototype buffoonery, zapped battery, or a classic case of trade show jitters, we figure -- but Inventec's curious V112 was on display inside Qualcomm's booth at CTIA.

Nokia E71x struts its stuff on video
We were never able to track down an E71x with a SIM and an active AT&T Navigator account, but it's pretty clear from our time with the device that AT&T has left its S60 3.2-based core pleasantly untouched.
Also check out:

Wistron's Snapdragon-powered PurseBook gets demoed

NVIDIA is showing that wacky Mini 1000 / Tegra mashup at CTIA, but Qualcomm's not far behind with its own creative ways to repurpose smartphone silicon into MID and netbook-class devices. Making an appearance at Qualcomm's booth was a prototype PurseBook from Taiwan's Wistron, which stuffs a Snapdragon chipset into a device looking (and weighing) a little bit like a VAIO P. That's where the similarities to the Sony box ends, though, because Qualcomm sees the PurseBook (and devices like it) hitting in the $299 to $499 range -- we'd like to see them even cheaper, truth be told -- and you won't be running Vista here. Instead, you've got a pretty slick Linux distro from ThunderSoft that'll edit Office docs, give you a desktop-class web experience, and connect with social networks, which are the three things most of us spend 90 percent of our PC face time doing anyhow. It's not going to replace your laptop by any stretch, but with a claimed 8 hours of battery life, we could totally see packing this thing as an ultra-lightweight alternative for day trips. Qualcomm expects the PurseBook and devices like it to ship in 2009 -- as does NVIDIA, so we're definitely lining up for a sweet battle royale here. Follow the break for video.

Inventec's mirasol-equipped V112 smartphone goes on display

We couldn't get the thing to turn on -- prototype buffoonery, zapped battery, or a classic case of trade show jitters, we figure -- but Inventec's curious V112 was on display inside Qualcomm's booth at CTIA. Why Qualcomm, you ask? Well, Qualcomm owns Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, which has been pushing its mirasol display tech for several years now; the main draw is that it's super high-contrast which eliminates the need for a backlight in many situations where a traditional LCD would need a little help, and the WinMo-powered V112 uses a small mirasol strip as a secondary display surrounded by nav controls. Even though we weren't getting any Windows Mobile action, we did manage to engage the mirasol display (also known as "the cool part") where we saw an example of what the V112 might be able to do without turning on the battery-destroying LCD up top: show basic status information and the current time. It's a good idea; we're not sure that the V112's implementation is perfect since there's zero tactility to the d-pad, but you've got to start somewhere, and mirasol could use as many commercial implementations as it can get.

Pre Sprint Navigation app demoed on video


It's not quite a flood, but there's been a steady trickle of Pre news out of CTIA this week, and the latest is this video demo of the Sprint Navigation app. It's pretty familiar stuff if you've ever used the carrier's TeleNav-powered navigation on a device like the Samsung Instinct, but does have a nice coat of webOS interface sheen to it, and let's face it -- we'll take all the Pre demos we can get. Video after the break.

NavGenius PND looks like a GPS, is really a covert location tracker


Those sadistic souls over at Lightning GPS are at it again, making the lives of parents and promiscuous children awesome and horrible, respectively. Just in case NavTrac's RTV10 PND isn't enough to keep your mind at ease when Johnny (and his track record of poor decision making) is out and about, there's the newly announced NavGenius. At first glance, this here navigator is about as vanilla as they come, but underneath the shell is a dedicated tracking module which enables the owner to monitor every turn, stop and donut from the web. Heck, you can even re-route vehicles from any connected computer, and the owner can get an SMS should the driver exceed a certain speed or break a customizable perimeter. All that's required to shatter the last pinch of trust you actually had with your offspring is $599.95 up front and $39.95 per month for the tracking service -- which you only pay until they wise up and take a Louisville Slugger to the device.

CTIA Roundup, Day Two

Day Two of CTIA Wireless 2009 was marked with little news -- most of the big stuff hit yesterday -- but that doesn't mean there wasn't plenty to see. We wrote a bit about Motorola's surprisingly awesome Evoke, LG's and Samsung's latest contributions to AT&T, and a couple of watch phones that you may (or may not) want on your wrist -- so if you haven't had a chance to catch up on the day's festivities, read on, won't you?

NVIDIA's Franken-Mini is half HP, half Tegra, no Intel
And now, a little visit to the "Why not?" department.

Motorola Evoke QA4 hands-on with video
When you look at the Motorola Evoke QA4, the last thought that springs to mind is RAZR, and that's such a good thing.

Sony Ericsson's T707 hands-on with video
Sony Ericsson's presence at CTIA this year is a rather quiet thing, but we did catch up with them at Ericsson's booth as we were hell bent on seeing its newest, the T707.

Samsung Propel Pro video hands-on, now with more keyboard
A number of folks wanted video of AT&T's Samsung Propel Pro and a better view of the keyboard.

Neutrano's Nutec WristFone watch phones at CTIA
If this guy looks serious, it's because he is -- serious about bringing you some awesome watch phones
Also check out:


Neutrano's Nutec WristFone watch phones at CTIA

If this guy looks serious, it's because he is -- serious about bringing you some awesome watch phones. Canadian firm Neutrano is working with Chinese OEMs to import, tweak, and certify some of those watch phones that we've unfortunately been spending more time reading about than actually using -- and while they aren't going to appeal to everyone, the stainless steel version is the closest thing we've seen to something we'd consider wearing this side of an LG. Fans of chunky, stylish wristwatches should be able to pass it off as a fashion statement of sorts -- your friends don't even have to know it's a phone, really. When you get a call, the thing's got to come off your wrist and be held up to your ear unless you've got a Bluetooth headset ready to rock, but worry not: Neutrano's also showing a model of its Nutec WristFone that pops off at the base of the wristband so you don't need to unstrap it from your wrist. You pay for that convenience with some extra bulk (and we'd argue that this is the geekiest, ugliest model of the bunch), but we'll admit, it's pretty trick. Everything's controlled over touchscreen; you've got character recognition for entering text messages and a row of shortcuts silkscreened across the bottom of the display, and the detachable model also features an integrated keypad (think Casio calculator watch) to make entering phone numbers a little less painful. Neutrano is targeting June for these at a price somewhere between $300 and $400, and the company's president is still actively deciding on colors, band styles, and software features, so sound off in comments if you've got any hot ideas for 'em. Oh, and check some video of the phones in action after the break!

Samsung Propel Pro video hands-on, now with more keyboard


A number of folks wanted video of AT&T's Samsung Propel Pro and a better view of the keyboard. We just couldn't get it the first night and coupled with the horrible lighting, the results would have been miserable anyway. So we did one better and combined both in one well lit video. We checked the device's browser, too, but sadly the signals in the building weren't helping us out. Enjoy the tour right after the break.

MSI X-Slim X340 photographed, benchmarked in mysterious hotel room


We've seen plenty of photos of MSI's X-Slim X340 floating around as of late -- but these ones -- which were taken in a Las Vegas hotel room at CTIA, are pretty interesting, artistically speaking. More interesting, however, is the fact that the lucky chap from Laptop Magazine also did a little preliminary benchmarking of the laptop as well. He found the display to be quite satisfactory for viewing videos from any angle, though the speakers (housed on the bottom of the system) produced disappointingly weak sound, and that performance-wise, the CULV CPU is speedy enough to run Windows Vista without any hitches. Applications also loaded quickly, and things like multiple browser tabs didn't strain the system either. They're planning on running the full battery of benchmarks at a later date, but hit up the read link for further impressions. Also, there's one more snap after the break.

[Via Slashgear]
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