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SLVR L7c rumored for Sprint
According to PCS Intel's sources, it looks like Motorola is about to add to its alphabet soup, bringing its SLVR franchise to Sprint as the "L7c." As in the RAZR's CDMA metamorphosis, the SLVR L7c should pack on a little girth when compared to its GSM brethren, but it'll still slot into Sprint's lineup as their thinnest phone. Besides the obvious CDMA innards, the L7c adds GPS and allegedly swaps the L7's VGA camera for a beefier 1.3 megapixel shooter. No word on a release window, but you know we'll have our ear to the ground and keep you posted.
CDMA Motorola SLVR coming to Verizon this summer
We all know that Moto can be a little stingy with the CDMA love (how long did it take for them to release a CDMA RAZR?), but a reliable source just passed along the news that they'll be rolling out a CDMA version of the SLVR sometime this summer. Verizon has first dibs, but there's no word yet on what colors they'll be offering or whether or not their version of the SLVR will sport iTunes-compatibility like the one that's currently available from Cingular (which is pictured above). Then again, it is Verizon we're talking about here, so we'd guess that the iTunes thing probably isn't happening.
Motorola's SLVR goes Red for Africa
It wasn't too long ago we were hearing rumblings about Bono's humanitarian organization Red getting together with Apple to do an iPod. That obviously didn't (yet) materialize, but you can get another vaguely Apple-co-conspired device through Red if you were thinking of a SLVR. For each phone sold, Red's delivering to The Global Fund for African AIDS programs a £10 ($18 US), then 5% of call charges will also trickle through to the charity. We can only hope that with overhead on retail, Moto, Red, and the charity, a decent amount makes it through to the actual cause, but hey, if you're buying a phone anyway it's better than not buying Red at all, right? Unfortunately it's UK only for the time being (go fig), so if you're really concerned with the health and welfare of the Dark Continent, perhaps you should consider some more direct methods of donation.[Via textually]
Pink SLVR L7 available through Cingular
While not quite as hot as the $75,000 diamond-encrusted version, Cingular new pink SLVR L7 will surely find a market among the hoards of people that seem addicted to devices in that most feminine of colors. Even though its sporting a different shade, this model has the exact same features as the black L7 -- iTunes, Bluetooth, EDGE, MicroSD, and a VGA cam -- and costs the same too, priced at $199 with a two-year service agreement and pledge of eternal loyalty to Cingular/AT&T Wireless.
Motorola patent would allow seniors to rock regular cellphones
We've seen a slew of cellphones designed for use by senior citizens, but they always tend to be big, bulky, and/or rather unstylish -- what if Grandpa is a little hard of hearing, but still wants to impress the hunnies on the shuffleboard court with his handset? Well Motorola may have a solution for the fashion-conscious senior by way of a patent application it just filed, which envisions an audio processor for regular cellphones that boosts the volume if being used by a member of the AARP crowd. Even better, the phone would be able to automatically detect when it was being used by an elderly individual, thanks to speech recognition software that analyzes the tone and pace of the speaker's voice. We used to laugh at the Boost Mobile commercials featuring those hip senior posses, but if this Moto patent is any indication, a world of RAZR- and SLVR-sporting old folks may be right around the corner.[Via Mobiledia]
Samsung's SGH-T509 reviewed
The Samsung SGH-T509 we expect to hit T-Mobile anyday now just nabbed a "very good" rating over at c|net. While that uber-thin, 0.39-inch shell might draw in the eye, in the hand it "feels fragile" (though it emerged from a couple of drop tests without any damage) and suffers from "mixed call quality." However, those good looks, a "bright vibrant" 1.8-inch TFT display, solid feature set, EDGE support, and tested 4.5 hours of talk time resulted in a 7/10 rating from the reviewer who calls the T509 "a step above" that other slim candybar, the Moto SLVR L6.Update: Thanks to tipster Alex for pointing out that T-Mo is now offering-up the T509 -- giddy up.
Motorola "Capri": the real RAZR slider?
The Motorola rumor mill is in full grind mode lately, with word of an impending slider version of the RAZR, called the "Capri," coming hot on the heels of the "Canary" photos that have been fluttering around lately. According to Cnet's Alpha blog, the quad-band GSM Capri will be no thicker than the SLVR, sport a "high-resolution" CCD (what that means for cameraphones is unclear -- 1.3 megapixels? 2.0? 3.2?), and also a TransFlash slot, probably for storing tunes. Although no pics of this rumored model are available yet, Cnet speculates that it will be quite similar to the Korea-only MS600 (pictured, also referred to as the "RAZR slider), which is a bit thicker than the SLVR but takes many of its design cues from the trusty RAZR.[Thanks, Hitechy and Corey]
The $75,000 Motorola SLVR
We can't help but think the jewlers involved here could've found something a bit more snazzy to glue 260 diamonds and a platinum plate to, but that's just us. This extra extra shiny edition of the SLVR was recently shown at the Fresh Art "Zoom" Exhibition, and sells for a mere 75 grand. It seems quite ironic that after spending enough money to ice up a $75,000 version of the SLVR they couldn't manage more than cameraphone pics to promote it, but perhaps it's a subversive method to make their product appeal to the everyman. Right.
Cingular and Radio Shack get Moto SLVR L6
If you dig the shape and style of the SLVR L7 but don't want to hand over $200 just for the dubious privilege of being able to store 100 songs on it via iTunes, you may want to head over to Radio Shack, which currently has an exclusive on the $50 (with Cingular service plan) SLVR L6. The cheaper phone has the same form factor as its iTunes-enhanced sibling (though it's clad in SLVR, er, silver, instead of black), and has most of L7's other features, including Bluetooth connectivity, EDGE, and a VGA camera. At $50, if you really can't bear to be without 100 iTunes-based songs, you can always use the $150 you've saved to pick up a refurbed 512MB shuffle and 100 songs on iTMS, and come out even.Update: Thanks to several commenters who point out that the phone's actual features don't match those claimed on Radio Shack's promo site. So, if you're looking for EDGE, a music player or several of the other claimed features, look elsewhere. If you're looking for something that approximates the appearance of the original SLVR for a quarter of the price, go for it! (And while you're at it, let Radio Shack know that you're not too happy about them playing fast and loose with the specs.)
iTunes phone upgrades only for non-U.S. phones with < 100 song limit
I hope no one ran out and bought a ROKR or slick new SLVR after last night's post about the ability to upgrade iTunes phones. Turns out it was more or less a false alarm - at least for those who already have a phone with a 100 song limit. Eddie Cue, iTunes' product manager, got in touch with Engadget to let them know that yes, the upgrade exists, but it's only for non-U.S. iTunes phones that unfortunately had a song cap set at less than 100. Apparently, some phones were set as low as 25 songs, so this upgrade was meant to bring everyone up to the same, yet highly limited, 100 song cap.I have to agree with Ryan's Engadget post though: if Apple wants to make any headway with this whole musicphone idea, that silly 100 song cap needs to go.
Apple removing the iTunes phone 100 song cap?
I can neither confirm nor deny the legitimacy of this, but TUAW reader Jake sent us a tip with an iTMS screenshot detailing an upcoming possibility of removing the 100 song cap on iTunes phones. From the screenshot it looks like Apple might soon offer the ability to purchase what I would assume to be a software upgrade to remove the software-based 100 song cap on the phone.Jake claims to have followed a number of code snippets he found in the latest iTunes update, version 6.0.3. Check out his post for the full details on the steps he took, and check out the actual page in the iTMS. For now, however, I don't know anyone with a ROKR who could take this one step further. If anyone can confirm this page in the iTMS is real, is brave enough to plug their ROKR in and click OK, feel free to sound off. If this is true, it could be a sign that Apple and Motorola are finally listening to the market and removing a silly limitation that should never have existed in the first place. One can only hope.
Motorola SLVR with iTunes now available from Cingular
Motorola has unleashed the SLVR with iTunes for Cingular, a slim new candybar style phone that borrows from their runaway-hit RAZR design. As Engadget notes, it's selling for $199 (better than the ROKR's initial $249) with a 2-year contract, comes pre-installed with a 512 MB card and that oh-so-loved ceiling of 100 songs. Once again, Motorola included a non-standard headphone jack, forcing buyers to use an annoying little adapter in order to be able to plug in a regular set of headphones.Even though the SLVR phone itself certainly seems to be a nice upgrade from the bulky and sluggish ROKR, it still doesn't strike me as a serious music phone offering. The many reasons and theories for this have certainly been discussed since the ROKR's introduction, so I'll spare you a rehash. While some might be quick to bash Motorola for breaking their promise that the ROKR 2 won't suck, just remember: this isn't technically the ROKR 2, so there's still hope. But what do you TUAW readers think of this? Is this the killer iTunes phone you'd sell your own dog to get your hands on? Or did Motorola and Apple miss the train again?
Engadget CES iTunes Phone coverage
Engadget is over at CES today / this week, so make sure you check over there for some gadget goodness. They currently have a few posts on some gadgets that were once known as iPhones: the Motoroa SLVR with iTunes and the ROKR E2. Check out both posts for a slew of cool pics, and check back later with Engadget for more details on all these devices and more.I, for one, don't like iPhones. Give me a Razr and an iPod and keep them away from each other so they don't cause interference, and I'm happy.
