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Keepin' it real fake, part CCXXXVIII: Palm Pre knockoff doesn't know what it wants to be when it grows up
Yes, this was only a matter of time, and we're a little surprised we didn't see one earlier. Regardless, this is the Palm Pre knockoff we've been waiting for. Seemingly called just iPhone +QWERTY -- this KIRF is being marketed as just that -- a real business phone with a hybrid identity blending the BlackBerry and the iPhone. And really, that's not too bad of a description for this little dude, we guess. Boasting analog TV, Bluetooth, and an FM radio, it runs the much-loved OPhone operating system, and can be had for 600 RMP (about $88). There are two more shots after the break. Hit the read link for a full peek.[Via PMP Today]
LG GW880 leaks out, runs Android on China Mobile
It's sort of interesting that China is where all the Android action seems to be going down lately, but here we are, staring at the LG GW880 -- essentially the company's first Android phone. Of course, "Android" in this case means China Mobile's custom WiFi-less OPhone platform, which means we'll probably never see this guy outside of the Middle Kingdom, but it's a fair look at what LG's handset designers think an Android set should look like: 3.5-inch WVGA touchscreen, 256MB RAM, GPS, and a five megapixel camera. Honestly? We're hoping LG has grander plans for those other Android phones it has planned for this year -- we'll just have to wait and see. Hit the read link for a few more shots in the meantime. [Via Slashphone]
Dell Mini 3i breaks cover for most complete photo shoot to date
It may have been briefly, sort of official before Dell decided to do some backtracking earlier this month, but it looks like the company's China-bound Mini 3i smartphone has now made yet another public appearance, and Sina has thankfully delivered what looks to be the most thorough hands-on with the phone to date. That, as you can see above, also includes a peek at the phone's Android-based and China-centric OPhone operating system, which ditches the familiar Android Clock in favor of new, different clocks -- and a slew of other interface changes. Hit up the link below to get started.
Lenovo's O1e takes the O1 down a notch or three
The O1 isn't even out yet, but a new filing with China's regulatory folks suggests that Lenovo's already hard at work at a lower-cost version that would swap out metal bits for plastic ones and kick the camera down from 5 megapixels to 3. On the plus side, buyers still make out with 8GB of internal storage and quite possibly China Mobile's homegrown Android skin, so it can't be all bad, right? Then again, this remix could be for a different carrier altogether, in which case we might be spared Open Mobile System's uncomfortably iPhone-esque home screen -- and really, that'd be just fine with us.
Philips' Android-powered V900 for China Mobile shown off as OMS launch draws near
In China, excited about Android, and finding yourself a bit let down by Dell's first smartphone outing? Chin up, kid -- maybe Philips has your number. The company already has an established Asian phone business with its Xenium line of ridiculously energy-efficient handsets, and as suspected, it turns out it'll be one of China Mobile's launch partners as it kicks off its Android-based Open Mobile System next month alongside Lenovo, Dell, and HTC subsidiary Dopod. What you're looking at here is the V900, and like all OMS devices, it runs a highly customized Android build that's taken on a vaguely iPhone-esque appearance; other features include WiFi, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a 3.2 megapixel camera, and -- if you squint really hard -- the momentary believe that you're actually holding a Touch Diamond2. Looks-wise, we think we prefer every other OMS launch phone, but it's good to see that there'll be plenty of options on the shelves. [Via HTC Phones, thanks Micah]
Dell Mini 3i is like totally not official, man
Oh, how we love PR people and their eternal clarifications on things. Apparently, the Dell Mini 3i's apperance at a China Mobile event on Monday was merely a proof of concept, and -- wait for it -- "it wasn't officially, formally introduced so much as it was waved around." Thank you, Dell, for our quote of the week. Unwilling to yet commit to the handset and specs on display, Dell is saying that it was there to support China Mobile in its role as a development partner rather than to promote any retail products. We wouldn't read too much into this supposed refutation -- if the phone were indeed a concept, that'd have been made clear at the show (and it wasn't based on the original report), and what we're experiencing now feels very much like post-event spin. [Via Mobile Review]
Lenovo's Android-powered O1 'OPhone' due next month
Good news, kids! It looks like Lenovo's O1 "OPhone" handset is finally ready to hit the shelves over on the Mainland sometime next month. Truth be told, the story arc of this Android-powered 3G (TD-SCDMA) handset has been quite the emotional roller coaster: Some were riveted by the sleek, sexy physical design of the thing, while others were repelled by its intensely KIRFish UI. China Mobile is obviously hoping for big things from the little guy -- and getting it into stores before Unicom gets the iPhone sorted can't hurt. Either way, it looks like someone's just taken a bite out of iOrgane's market share!
China Mobile's OPhone SDK goes gold
In China, Android's well on its way to mutating into an entirely different beast thanks to China Mobile's OPhone initiative to standardize the carrier on a smartphone platform -- and with devices like the lovely (well, from a distance, anyway) Lenovo O1 backing up the effort, we'd say they've got a fighting chance of making the whole thing work. Of course, any good smartphone platform needs developers, and developers need an SDK; to that end, China Mobile has just unleashed version 1.0 of its OPhone developers' site on the world. It looks like they're positioning the so-called OPhone Software Developer Network as a central hub -- a place for devs to come for the software and stay for the conversation, with access to software tools, official documentation and communities where hardened programmers can exchange dramatic stories of software engineering survival in the field. It remains to be seen how successful OPhones will ultimately be at the cash register, but at least China Mobile appears to be doing everything it needs to on the back end to get quality apps in the pipeline -- and that's a start.[Via Cloned In China]
China Mobile's 7-inch Android slate gets rendered
We've nothing much to go on outside of a few good renders and a smattering of machine translated paragraphs, but it sure sounds as if China Mobile is entertaining the idea of bringing a 7-inch Android-based tablet to its airwaves. As the story goes, said slate would boast China's homegrown TD-SCDMA 3G connectivity, support for video calling, a full-fledged web browser and an OPhone operating system -- which is essentially a customized version of Android for the Chinese market. Sadly, no further information was given, leaving us to wonder what kind of innards are scheduled for implant and what kind of price tag / release date we're looking at. Oh, and those "call" and "end call" buttons are pretty darn evident, leading us to believe that China Mobile might actually expect you to use this as your primary mobile. Can you say... Sidetalkin'? [Via Pocketables]
Philips V808 smartphone to run Android-based OPhone OS on China Mobile
Well, at least some of the mystery is solved. If a machine translated source is to be believed -- not to mention a healthy gathering of screengrabs -- Philips' elusive V808 smartphone will be a China Mobile exclusive. As with other Android-based phones on the operator, it'll be the reworked OPhone OS handling the dirty work, which basically means a carrier-customized app market and a few other tweaks that seem to be frowned upon in the Chinese community. We're also told that the phone will lack support for 3G, WiFi and multitouch, leaving us grieved, lugubrious and lachrymose. C'mon guys -- why hamstring a good thing?[Via Cloned In China]
Move over, Lenovo: HTC Magic-based OPhone confirmed for June on China Mobile
Shots of that China Mobile-customized Magic in the wild have proven spot-on now that the Wall Street Journal has confirmed HTC's plans to begin offering the device starting next month. The phone will join hardware from Lenovo as a member of China Mobile's OPhone initiative, which is looking to offer a carrier-customized Android experience on surprisingly awesome handsets. Of course, awesomeness always comes with a price, and when the Magic launches in June, it's expected to run something in the range of 5,000 yuan ($732) -- a princely sum for a phone that should run no more than $450 or so totally unlocked in other locales. Just how bad do you want Android, punk? [Via CNET]
China Mobile planning to subvert Unicom's iPhone launch with the OPhone?
We've known for some time that China Mobile was planning to launch the KIRFy OPhone from Lenovo. Now, with word on the street that China Unicom has snagged the iPhone in that provider's home turf, a report from DigiTimes is suggesting that China Mobile might be trying to undermine the competition's supposed June iPhone launch by dropping the OPhone a month earlier. That sounds sensible enough, but are people there so eager for iPhone they'd jump on the imitation rather than wait another month for the real thing? We'll find out soon enough.[Image courtesy of modmyGphone]
Lenovo's Android-powered OPhone gets hands-on video treatment
It's always nice to get an update on one of our favorite KIRFs as of late. Lenvo's Android-powered OPhone has popped up in a hands-on video, showing off its mock-iPhone OS interface and all the doppelganger apps / features -- weather, stock, calculator and even a near-identical push notification window. Surprisingly, it's actually pretty well put together and includes some things we wish our legit Apple phone would do, like on-screen widgets and an option to change backgrounds. It'll be a cold day in Hell before we see this serial patent infringer outside of China, so for now you'll have to get your OPhone kicks by checking out the video after the break.[Thanks, Neerhaj]
Lenovo's Android-powered OPhone shows itself again. Launch imminent?
Lenovo's KIRF-tastic OPhone hasn't exactly been all that camera shy since it first dipped its toes into the Android waters in December, but it's now proudly showing itself yet again, and giving everyone their best glimpse yet at its China Mobile branding. What's more, while we've already heard that the phone is on track for a launch this quarter, the talk now seems to be that a release could be just around the corner, with some speculating that it'll roll out immediately after China Mobile's other Android handset, the Dopod G2 (a.k.a. HTC Magic). Hit up the link below for a few more pics, including a closer look at the phone's slightly familiar-looking UI in action.[Via ModMyGphone, thanks Neerhaj]
Lenovo KIRFs again with the OPhone UI
Alright, we have no idea why Lenovo's phone division is suddenly pumping out copycat handsets, but these supposed shots of the Android-based OPhone's UI look awfully familiar, don't you think? Combine that with the equally-fishy rip of Samsung's TouchWiz UI found in the recently-announced X1, and it more or less seems like Lenovo's running a high-end KIRF outfit over there -- no wonder this stuff never leaves China. [Via The Raw Feed]
Lenovo's Android-powered OPhone to hit China Mobile this quarter
Look out, China -- Lenovo's all-too-sexy OPhone is about to land in the hands of unsuspecting China Mobile subscribers, or so says Reuters, anyway. The planet's largest mobile carrier will reportedly launch the 3G handset sometime this quarter, though some reports are suggesting that development is being hampered as engineers struggle with creating a Chinese language version of the OS. Once launched, it will go down as the first Android-powered handset to operate on China's home-cooked TD-SCDMA 3G network, but there's no word on just how costly it'll be. Not like cost is really a concern here, right?[Via mocoNews, image courtesy of modmyGphone]
Lenovo's Ophone gets sized up against -- what else -- the iPhone
Okay, okay, we get it: everyone knows how big an iPhone is, so this comparison makes sense, we guess -- but both an original and a 3G? Seriously? At any rate, we'll just admire the latest in-the-wild shots of the Ophone, Lenovo's first Android device. We've seen shots of it before, but from this latest impromptu review, we learn that it's rocking a 624MHz CPU, mini USB interface, a 5-megapixel camera, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. We also learn that it's longer, wider, and thicker than the iPhones, though only by the slimmest of margins -- and when you take into account the considerable additional shooting power, we can cut it some slack there. Then again, we doubt we'll ever see one of these in the US of A, however, so it looks like we'll have to sit this one out and wait for another Android device to take our breath away anyhow.[Thanks, Jason]
More shots of Lenovo's Android-powered OPhone: 'love on the rocks, with no ice'
What goes down easy with a gorgeous cellphone that'll probably never leave China's borders? Stately rocks, of course. The Android-powered "OPhone" is quite the sight to behold, and while the Lenovo logo may not look quite right to American eyes, we're sure you could learn to love it in time. We're also finding out a bit more about the unit's internals, as it will include a 5-megapixel camera (with Auto Focus and flash), a microSD card slot, English / Chinese input via virtual keyboard, a video recorder and Bluetooth 2.0. Check the read link for a few more angles, and just in case you're wondering, no touchscreens were harmed during the shoot.
Lenovo's Android phone for China hotter than a G1 with a defective battery
What if we told you the most beautiful phone in the world was a Lenovo? Reactions to that statement are likely going to oscillate between "Lenovo doesn't make cellphones" and "impossible, considering this is the country that gave us the QKfone G998," -- but seriously, have a look. Even if you don't agree that it's one of the most attractive mobile devices you've ever laid eyes on, you're going to have a hard time making a cohesive argument that the Android-based slate doesn't run circles around the G1 for physical design. 'Course, that just makes it all the more maddening that it's apparently nothing more than an early model of the "Ophone," a handset designed to comply to China Mobile's Open Mobile System that combines Android's core with support and apps for the carrier's homegrown TD-SCDMA 3G network. Translation: we'll never see one outside China, so yeah, just lust from afar while you pray HTC and its comrades are busy cooking up some stellar gear.
