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Zii Trinity smartphone concept handled on video
It's an all too brief look, but it's infinitely more than we've seen so far. CNET Asia has managed some hands-on time the Zii Trinity concept smartphone. Quite a looker, and here we also get a glimpse of it next to the good ol' Zii Egg. As noted by the narrator, the bottom proprietary slot can be swapped for microUSB or mini-HDMI, there's a notably-sized 5 megapixel camera on the back, as well as one on the front for video conferencing. Enough talk, take a gander for yourself after the break. [Thanks, kumar]
Zii Trinity mobile platform packs 1080p punch, looking for OEM love
Ready to start lusting after a new smartphone? If Creative has its way, you'll soon be enjoying Full HD video on a 3.5 / 4G device, with built-in WiFi, 5 megapixel autofocus camera, accelerated 3D graphics, and mini-HDMI and Composite video outputs. The newly announced 3.1-inch, multitouch-capable Zii Trinity has been designed by Creative subsidiary Ziilabs, and will be licensed out to clients who'll be able to customize a Zii-optimized Android install and Plaszma interface. As if we haven't got enough smartphone ecosystems knocking about already, this also marks the introduction of ZiiLife, which aims to be both a content delivery and productivity suite. Powered by the ARM-based ZMS-05 or ZMS-08, the new handset actually seems destined to perform plenty of KIRF and grey market duties, judging by Creative's "strategic partnerships" with Chinese manufacturers, but that might be no bad thing as, according to Gartner, the grey market is booming right now.
Creative to show off 'Zii Android mobile phone' next month at Chinese summit
We've been saying all along that we'd love nothing more than to see someone throw a 3G chip into Creative's Zii Egg and sell it as a pretty strong smartphone, but so far we've been hit with little to no indication of interested parties making that happen. So when we spot phrases like "Zii Optimized Android Phone platform" and "the line-up of devices on display includes a Mobile Phone platform" on an informational site for the ZiiLABS Showcase happening early December in China, our interested are definitely piqued. The event is geared towards companies who'd like to use the Plaszma platform for their products, and with any luck, some debonair decision-maker will give Zii phone a chance. [Thanks, Kyle]
Zii EGG SDK roadmap revealed, some important features not coming until end of year
Remember back when Sony introduced Rolly to stunned silence followed by a protracted effort to determine exactly what the hell it was, an effort that arguably continues to this very day? Yep, that's kind of where we're at right now with the Zii EGG, and nothing in the SDK documentation we've received today -- the same documentation paying developers are just now getting -- is helping us flesh that out. We can tell you that it's well-equipped -- there are proximity sensors and accelerometers on board, it's got native support for Flash Lite, voice recognition, and 3D acceleration and it'll eventually have support for Creative's X-Fi audio tech -- but really, that's like saying "the Rolly is well-equipped." What does it mean? Here's what we do know: out of the gate, it seems the EGG will only be running Creative's homegrown Plaszma OS, though Android support is forthcoming. The Plaszma SDK is being rolled out in three phases spanning the rest of 2009, and some pretty important stuff -- Bluetooth support, for example -- won't even be available to developers until the third phase, which is a pretty strong indication that Zii-powered products intended for consumer consumption probably won't be around in time for the holidays. For the moment, there isn't any indication on when devs will have access to Android support libraries, which we think might be where Zii's true value lies, because let's be honest -- the world realistically doesn't need another target platform for mobile. Interestingly, Creative is using Zii to actively target China-based devs that it says "may not have brands but have an insatiable appetite for ready-to-go technologies, and can adapt these technologies very quickly to new market opportunities" (in other words, KIRFers) through its "Shanzai program," a mix of prototype boards and support packages that it says will help small businesses bring products to market faster. If that means we can get the next great N97 clone running Android in record time, we're all for it. Check out the full Plaszma SDK roadmap in the gallery below. [Thanks, Joe]
Creative Zii EGG gutted for expanded FCC report
Now that the cat's out of the bag on Creative's Android-powered Zii EGG, the FCC has gone ahead and released its full report on the touchscreen handheld, after giving us a teaser early last month. Now online are external and internal photos, for the gadget fiend who likes to see products gutted, and a user guide that conspicuously fails to mention its "Android" or "Plaszma" platforms at any point in the guide. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but we've got hope someone can cram a 3G chipset in that array of circuitry. Hop on through the read link to peruse the expanded report for yourself. [Via epiZENter]
Zii EGG prototype gets a hands-on demonstration
Our interest was fairly piqued last week when Creative officially unveiled the Zii Egg handheld which we'd seen earlier at the FCC. Details are still a bit vague in some areas, but we know that the Zii Egg is really aiming at developers for its "Plaszma" platform. The Zii Egg also runs Android, though will not come pre-installed on the device instead coming as a download once the device is shipping. CNET Asia just got a chance to have a sit down with a pre-production model of the handheld, and here's what we're noticing in the video. The hardware, which looks pretty great, doesn't look very heavy or substantial to us -- which is not to say it looks cheap. The 10-point multitouch capacitive touchscreen was not operable at the time of the demonstration, but it sure sounds promising, and there also wasn't any real display of the software or applications as of yet. It looks like Creative will be filling its pre-orders for the Zii Egg in the second half of August, so we don't have too long to wait to see what this thing is all about. Hit the read link for the video.
Video: Creative Zii EGG 3D gaming demo
Now that the gang at Creative have 'fessed up to the Zii EGG first seen at the FCC earlier this month, we imagine we'll be encountering this bad boy quite often over the coming months. If you need your StemCell Computing fix right now, we have a video that showcases the newest developer platform running a racing game in all of its accelerometer-packing, 3D OpenGL ES-enhanced glory. Peep for yourself after the break.[Via EpiZENter, thanks Michael]
Creative debuts Android-powered Zii EGG for developers and OEMs
It's hard to know where to begin with this, but Creative has confirmed that Zii EGG handheld we saw pass through the FCC a few weeks ago, and proceeded to slap every odd marketing term the company has come up with over the past few years on it. The Zii EGG runs the new "Plaszma" platform, which has something to do with "StemCell Computing" and allows developers to simultaneously develop for Plaszma and Android. Since for now the Zii EGG is aimed at developers and OEMs, it runs fairly vanilla Android on top of Creative's ZMS-05 chip. The hardware itself is rather impressive, with front and rear facing cameras, HD playback, 1080p video output, OpenGL ES support, X-Fi audio processing, 32GB of built-in memory and a full SD slot. Other more "run of the mill" features include WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and a 3-axis accelerometer. The 320 x 480 screen sounds strictly ordinary, but on top is some 10-point multitouch capacitive input -- Synaptics' new ClearPad 3000 if we had to guess.The big drawback here is the lack of cellular data, but hopefully somebody can solve that before long. The Zii EGG is a developer platform, after all, but Creative says the platform is "market-ready" for picking up by OEMs for production -- hopefully they aren't far removed from shoehorning a 3G chipset in there somewhere as well. The Zii Plaszma Starter Kit bundled with the Zii EGG can be had for $400. A video demo is after the break.[Via DAP Review]
