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Oregon Scientific unveils InstaForecast, Weather Center and 3D Pedometer
We've never really looked to Oregon Scientific for the innovation side of things, but the company has some at least semi-interesting releases for CES 2008. The InstaForecast i300 and i600 (pictured) display live weather forecasts from around the world, syncing with your computer to pull the data over the internet. The Professional Weather Center brings things a bit closer to home, with all the hardware to gather your own weather data in your backyard and display it on a screen indoors. Finally, the AnyWear 3D Pedometer does the whole step counting thing, but packs some timer and alarm functionality to beep along to your steps. No word on price for the i300, i600 or Pedometer, but the Pro Weather Center will run you $419 whenever it hits.
WM6 upgrade official for Samsung i600; BlackJack version imminent?
The whole Windows Mobile 6 upgrade issue for Samsung's BlackJack is a little murky at the moment seeing how the BlackJack2 just got announced (come on, you just know AT&T would love to use Windows Mobile 6 as a selling point on the new model), but we're cautiously encouraged here. The i600, the BlackJack's European cousin, has just been blessed with an official WM6 ROM -- which, coincidentally, we're hoping looks nothing like the WM5 screen shots in Samsung's promo pic. So yeah, go grab it if you're lucky enough to be on an i600; meanwhile, adventurous i607 types can keep skulking around for an unofficial upgrade until AT&T gets its act together.[Via MoDaCo]
Samsung's i600 headed Orange's way
For those of you stickin' with the Orange and waiting in tense anticipation for the "world's slimmest" 3G QWERTY smartphone to head your way, the wait is just about over. Thanks to a pre-release page on Orange's webstore, the i600 is being boasted about in all of its uber-skinny glory before it actually becomes available, and unsurprisingly packs a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, speakerphone, video telephony, WiFi, Windows Mobile 5, and all the usual amenities that you're already so well aware of. No word just yet on an actual sale date nor a price to go along with it, but we'd suggest pinching those pennies (or should we say, pence) for an "any day now" release.[Via CoolSmartphone]
RIM and Samsung make nice on naming dispute
And by "make nice" we mean they probably exchanged large amounts of money behind closed doors to keep this lawsuit from getting out of hand. RIM's lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for Central California in December, alleges that not only does Samsung's BlackJack phone cause consumer confusion, but the very fact that Samsung called the phone i600 in Europe proves that it was specifically targeting the US-centric BlackBerry types. RIM, in a statement Wednesday said that the settlement includes "immediate provisions for the protection of RIM's valuable trademarks," and that it "does include limitations on use of the Blackjack trademark, withdrawal of the trademark application for Blackjack, Cingular's retention of common law rights in the Blackjack trademark, and certain reasonable measures to avoid confusion in the marketplace." So it sounds like Samsung won't be getting much more mileage out of this naming convention, though the deliberate "Blackjack" misspelling by RIM -- with that lowercase "j" -- has to grate on Sammy just a little bit, unless of course that was part of the deal. So, can we all just get along now?[Thanks, Marty H]
HTC Cavalier does battle with Samsung's i600
The 3G-enabled QWERTY smartphone market is finally starting to get a little crowded -- and that's a very good problem to have. Of course, that makes picking one out a bit more challenging (trust us, we're still not complaining) and it always helps to rock out with a nice, old-fashioned comparo now and then to separate the wheat from the chaff. This time around we have the Samsung SGH-i600 (alias i607 BlackJack in these parts) going up against the as-yet-unannounced HTC Cavalier, successor to the Excalibur / T-Mobile Dash. On paper, the two are nearly dead ringers for one another, with the major differences being a 2 megapixel cam on the Cavalier (versus a mere 1.3 megapixel piece on the i600) and a slight thickness advantage on the Samsung. Ultimately, the reviewer had the Cavalier coming out on top -- despite the fact it's not even available yet, suggesting the test was conducted with a preproduction unit -- though the i600 was nipping at its heels throughout. Bottom line: it seems like QWERTY lovers are going to be happy with either one, and with the HTC still at least a month or two from release, our impatient selves will take what we can get.[Thanks, @t0mic]
Samsung's Ultra Messaging i600 gets official: "world's thinnest" 3G QWERTY Smartphone
Samsung just went and officially took the wraps off the i600 we already caught struttin' around Europe a few months ago. The WinMo 5.0 Smartphone picked up the Sammy "Ultra" branding as well as the angular QWERTY found on the i607 BlackJack and preferred by dancing German Sprockets. However, unlike the Blackjack, the i600 packs in 802.11b/g WiFi and a second VGA cam up front. Fully packed, we're looking at GSM/EDGE UMTS/HSDPA, MS Push email, RSS reader, speakerphone, Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR and A2DP stereo audio support, and 64MB RAM / 128MB ROM on-board memory with microSD expansion. More importantly, it's quad-band GSM contrary to earlier reports and measures in at a qualified, "world's thinnest" 11.8-mm (0.46-inches) / 99-grams (3.5-ounces) which is slimmer than Cingular's lesser Blackjack yet weighs the same. Super. Now the rub: although FCC approved, the Ultra Messaging i600 is only announced for Asia Pacific and Europe thus far -- sometime in Q1, 2007.[Via AVING]
