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Pioneer's AVIC-F500BT GPS monstrosity slips through the FCC
So Pioneer's cramming a 5.8-inch 800 x 480 screen into this AVIC-F500BT "portable" navigation device, and just got themselves some FCC approval for shipping it over to the States. In addition to that gargantuan screen, the F500 really excels at connectivity, with Bluetooth for hands-free calling, an optional traffic antenna, and some ND-BC2 add-on to hook the unit up to a rear view camera. You can also use it to control your iPod, but there's an SD card slot if you want to handle those tunes with the F500. No word on price or availability, but this unit sells as the NavGate 500 over in Europe for a whopping 699 Euro -- about $1100 US. Ouch.[Via NaviGadget]
Samsung Ultra Video F500 gets FCC hookup
Odds of an official US release are slim to none, but we still figure this is an FCC approval worth noting. The F500 is the big brother of the Ultra Music F300 and the UpStage, emphasizing its video capabilities in addition to comprehensive audio support. Unlike the F300, it also features a UMTS radio, but since GSM 850 and UMTS 850 / 1900 are all left out of the equation, we don't care too much this side of the pond. Instead, it seems our best hope here might be for Sprint to have another moment of brilliance and commission a CDMA version.
Samsung F500 Ultra Video officially becomes DivX-certified
Although Samsung dropped the news on its newer F500 handset becoming the "world's first" DivX-certified handset when it was launched a few moons ago, DivX has made that statement certifiable, as the video codec and tech company announced today that the Samsung SGH-F500 "Ultra Video" would be the "world's first" handset with official DivX certification. If you've been waiting to get all those DivX movies and, umm, TV shows onto your handset for portable handset viewing, the Sammy F500 may be your ultimate golden handset, at least for 2007 or so. So, it's official -- let the DivX video start pouring from that F500 (when you get one, that is).
Samsung's F300 and F500 Ultra phones
Samsung -- the company for which no phone is too thin or too small -- used ITU Telecom World 2006 in Hong Kong as an opportunity to announce (among other things) a couple new multimedia powerhouses that are both thin and small. The F300 (alias "Flipper," perhaps) is a music-oriented handset that looks like an ordinary MP3 player on one side and a diminutive phone on the other, rocking 100MB of internal storage with microSD expansion up to 2GB, a 220 x 176 display, 2 megapixel cam, FM radio, Bluetooth with A2DP, and a triband GSM radio with EDGE all crammed into a 9.4 millimeter shell. The F500 is more sufficiently equipped for the heavy lifting that comes with video duty, directly supporting DivX on its 2.4-inch QVGA display. Like its F300 little sibling, it features dual faces -- one for phone, one for fun -- but packs a more aggressive 400MB of memory (in addition to whatever you manage to add via microSD). It also adds UMTS and a nifty swivel that allows the phone to be placed upright on a surface for video use, though all the added goodies add a full 1.3 millimeters over the F300's thickness. It's not clear when either device will hit store shelves, but in light of Samsung's little "oopsie" with their CES press release, we're hoping to hear more in the next month or so.[Thanks, Jason K.]Read - F300 Ultra MusicRead - F500 Ultra Video
