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Nokia's N9 official: a luscious slab of MeeGo coming later this year
Stephen Elop said that Nokia would unveil its first MeeGo device this year, and he just made good on his word with the N9 (also known as Lankku). Just as we spotted earlier, the N9 is a solid slab of 3.9-inch AMOLED screen (854 x 480) sans a keyboard or physical switches of any kind (well, aside from that oh-so-necessary volume rocker and camera button). The phone comes with 16GB or 64GB of onboard memory and 1GB of RAM wrapped in a polycarbonate shell that's colored all the way through, so dings and scratches won't show -- unless the wounds run deep, of course. An OMAP3630 1 Ghz processor does the computing while a PowerVR SGX530 GPU is around for graphical grunt work. Connectivity comes courtesy of quad-band GSM and penta-band WCDMA radios, plus Bluetooth 2.1, NFC, and GPS. There is also a dedicated camera button for the 8 megapixel wide-angle shooter, which is capable of aperture F2.2 for low light picture taking and true 16:9 720p video recording. Oh, and it's an AF shooter, not EDoF. The entire thing measures 116.45- x 61.2- x 7.6-12.1mm and weighs 135 grams, with a battery capable of lasting up to 50 hours (music), 4.5 hours (720p video), or between seven and 11 hours (GSM yappin'). You'll also get gratis turn-by-turn drive and walk navigation with voice guidance in Maps, a dedicated Drive app, proximity sensor and a choice of hue: black, cyan, and magenta. Other hardware specs include 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, an ambient light sensor, compass, orientation sensor, a micro SIM slot, tethering support and a 3.5mm "AV connector." It'll be humming along on MeeGo 1.2 Harmattan, with apps being compliant with Qt 4.7 and HTML5 support bundled in. As for software? Aside from Angry Birds Magic, Galaxy on Fire 2, Real Golf 2011 and OpenGL ES 2.0, those who take the plunge will be greeted with a Webkit2-based browser, pinch-to-zoom support, unified notifications for Facebook, Twitter and RSS feeds in the Events view as well as social networking profiles and status updates merged into phone contacts. MeeGo touts a user interface simplified to three home views -- events, applications and open apps -- with a swipe gesture able to take you back to the home view. For those looking to expand upon what's loaded from the factory, Ovi Store access is included, but we've no idea what kind of pricing will be affixed. We'll be getting a fair bit of hands-on time with this guy in just a few hours, so keep it locked here for our first impressions! %Gallery-126768%
Huawei MediaPad revealed: world's first 7-inch Android 3.2 tablet, dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm CPU
It's here folks -- the planet's first Android 3.2 tablet. Huawei just introduced a downright luscious new slate over in Singapore, with CommunicAsia being the launchpad for the 7-inch MediaPad. It's the first high-profile 7-inch tablet we've seen in quite some time, and somehow or another, it's managed to leapfrog most of the currently shipping Honeycomb tablets with a build of Android we've only ever joked about. Huawei tells us that Honeycomb 3.2 is essentially the same as 3.1, but specifically tailored to 7-inch tablets as opposed to 10-inch. Packed within the MediaPad's 10.5mm shell, there's a 217 pixels-per-inch IPS capacitive touchpanel, GPS, 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera, 5 megapixel rear-facing camera, 802.11n WiFi, a battery good for around six hours of life and a bona fide racehorse as a processor: a dual-core 1.2GHz chip from Qualcomm. If all goes well, it'll ship in the United States in Q3 2011. It's a fair bit chunkier than the newfangled Galaxy Tab 10.1 (8.6mm), but still slimmer than the original Tab, which clocked in at 11.98mm. It weighs in at 390g (0.86 pounds), supports full 1080p playback, includes HSPA+ (14.4Mbps) 3G support, offers 8GB of internal storage (as well as a microSD slot) and comes pre-loaded with Facebook, Twitter, Let's Golf and Documents To Go. There's also a Bluetooth module, an HDMI output for catching those high-def flicks on the go, and the Flash 10.3 player ensures that those websites won't be a problem. Unfortunately, the company's left a great deal to the imagination -- like pricing, which is being "sorted with retail partners and providers" -- and all we've got for system RAM is a promise that it's "working with partners on specifics." Oddly enough, the company has "no current plans" to produce a WiFi-only model, which definitely puts a damper on those who aren't interested in ponying for carrier data. You can bet we'll be digging for more, but even with the surrounding mystery, calling us "excited" would be a severe understatement. Update: There's a demo vid just after the break, and the first eyes-on shots have emerged from the conference. %Gallery-126693%
Huawei teases MediaPad, gives its other tablets a complex
Huawei stopped just short of using the word "magical" when it sent out a note teasing its forthcoming MediaPad tablet (it's probably for the best, we're told some other company has that market cornered). The Shenzhen-based manufacturer did promise a device "guaranteed to transform" your entertainment experience, however -- hyperbole that's not particularly surprising for a company with a propensity for spicing up public statements with quotes from our 16th president. Not a heck of a lot to announce in the spec department, aside from this being Huawei's "smartest" and smallest tablet -- and certainly it does seem pint-sized in the above shot, or else that's a watch face worthy of Flavor Flav. We'll know more when the company webcasts the official announcement on June 20th, ahead of Singapore's CommunicAsia conference. In the meantime, how about an old fashioned Honeycomb upgrade, to keep the S7 Pro's spirits high?
Altek's Leo in the wild: point and shoot, Android phone, or both?
As cameraphone picture quality goes, the story is that it's not really about the sensor resolution, it's about the optics -- and if you want to go by that rule, Altek's beastly Leo should probably have your attention. Just because you've got a huge, telescoping lens doesn't mean it's any good, of course, but we'd argue that it's a good sign in a world dominated by tiny, plastic lenses atop 8 and 12 megapixel sensors of questionable heritage. Indeed, the Android-powered monster has bowed at CommunicAsia 2010 as promised, bringing a 14 megapixel CCD with an honest-to-goodness 3x optical zoom and 720p video capture, WVGA display, 802.11n WiFi, and HSPA for a Q4 '10 release. Amazingly, Altek plans on selling it for $499 -- unlocked, we assume -- and CNET Asia managed to score a few minutes with it this week. Follow the break for video from the event along with Altek's press release.
Samsung's Wave 2 and Wave 2 Pro slider join the bada OS party
Samsung's bada, heard of it? Samsung sure hopes so as it's betting heavily on the OS in its battle with Nokia to make cheap smartphones globally accessible. Today Samsung is introducing the Wave 2 (S5250) and Wave 2 Pro (S5330) QWERTY slider at CommunicAsia 2010. Both handsets are quad-band GPRS/EDGE (yup, no 3G) with 802.11n WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1, a 3.2-inch TFT LCD, 3 megapixel camera with video recorder, A-GPS, and 80MB of memory with up to 16GB of microSD expansion. The all important user experience is handled by the TouchWiz 3.0 UI and bada's "social hub" that tightly knits together all your communications with contacts, be that over email, IM, or social networking sites. Both phones will be available in Russia and South East Asia starting in August.%Gallery-95202%
Haier H7 Android handset set for September launch
Haier may not exactly be breaking any new ground with the outward appearance, but its new H7 handset is an Android phone (which still counts for something these days), and it's reportedly on track for a launch as soon as this September -- in France, at least. Unfortunately, the phone the company had on display at CommunicAsia 2009 was just a non-functional mockup, but the final model will apparently pack a 2.8-inch touchscreen, along with a 2-megapixel camera, built-in GPS, WiFi, and, most importantly, Android 2.0 (a.k.a Donut) -- assuming it's available by the time the phone launches. No word on any release plans beyond France just yet, but the H7 will reportedly run $150 -- on contract, presumably.[Via ModMyGphone, thanks Neerhaj]
LG's GW550 WinMo Standard phone bows at CommunicAsia
By and large, LG's announcements at CommunicAsia in Singapore this week have been straight-up rehashes of announcements from earlier in the year -- the GD900, for example -- but there was one diamond in the rough that should get a few people excited. The GW550 is the latest fruit of LG's strategic alliance with Microsoft to produce Windows Mobile phones, offering a 2.4-inch QVGA display, full HSPA with 7.2Mbps on the downlink, a 3 megapixel primary cam with a VGA sensor up front for video calling, and stereo speakers on board; the front cam immediately tells us that we can't expect this phone to drop as-is on AT&T, but we bet LG would just love to put something very similar up against the Jack. Any takers?[Via PhoneArena and Tech2]
Sony Ericsson event at CommunicAsia to be a snoozefest, no X2?
Look, we're not going to stop you if you insist on staying up until 4:30AM ET tomorrow morning to see what Sony Ericsson has in store at its CommunicAsia press conference, we just don't want you to walk away with a broken heart if nothing cool happens there, alright? Xperiancers is now reporting that the show will be little more than a recap on the company's recent announcements -- chiefly the GreenHeart stuff, the Satio, and the Aino -- which means the X2 may not be happening for a while yet. That's disappointing, yes, but no one's exactly calling the X1 a slouch in the spec department just yet, so maybe this is a strategic win for Sony Ericsson -- particularly with a big Rogers launch just around the corner.
Huawei U8230 Android phone officially launched at CommunicAsia
Remember that mysterious Huawei Android number from MWC? It's all grown up and officially launched as the U8230 now. Specs are still maddeningly ambiguous, however -- the only hard info we've got is a 3.5-inch touchscreen and a 1500mAH battery, which is said to be the largest battery "among Android-powered handsets currently available." Considering the only set that's really out there is the notoriously battery-poor G1, that's not such a radical claim, but we'd sure love to test this one out in person when this launches (perhaps on T-Mobile?) alongside the 2.8-inch Windows Mobile-powered C8000 later this year.
Sony Ericsson launching something at ComunicAsia this week -- XPERIA X2, maybe?
Nokia certainly took its launch lineup seriously ahead of CommunicAsia's grand opening in Singapore this week with the launch of the 5530 XpressMusic and E72, and considering that, we're willing to bet that Sony Ericsson would want to make a similarly big splash when it holds its press conference on Wednesday -- but what could it be? The Satio and Aino are already out there, so it seems like the odds-on favorite for announcement here would have to be the well-leaked XPERIA X2. If the leaks turn out to be spot-on accurate, we're definitely not sold that the phone's any better-looking than the X1 it replaces, but then again, it'd be awfully hard to argue with an 8.1 megapixel cam and OLED display running Windows Mobile 6.5, even if you're not a WinMo kinda person. The action kicks off at 4:30PM Singapore time, which works out to a torturous 4:30AM for you New Yorkers -- so just how badly do you want to see it possibly unveiled, eh? And more importantly, how peeved will you be if it isn't?[Via WMExperts and Electronista]
Samsung Omnia Pro B7610 slider gets official reveal
Samsung's being tight-lipped with the details, but at least it did us the solid of making its Omnia Pro B7610 (aka, B7610 Louvre) QWERTY slider official today at CommunicAsia. The phone on the right is the Omnia Pro B7320, which, if we're not mistaken, is just the Jack candybar already available to AT&T customers. Unfortuantely, Samsung isn't giving out any detail on the B7610 so we'll have to go on believing in the rumored 3.5-inch AMOLED display with 800x480 pixel resolution, 5.1 megapixel camera, 7.2Mbps HSDPA data, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, 1GB built-in with microSDHC expansion, and 800MHz processor driving Windows Mobile until they tell us something different.[Via Akihabara News]
Sony Ericsson F305 gets toyed with, previewed
Press / in the wild shots still not enough for you? Fret not, friends, as CNET had a chance to spend a few quality minutes with Sony Ericsson's F305 slider and write up a few paragraphs of impressions. For starters, they seemed to prefer the white motif versus the black, and while a trio of games will reportedly be available to take advantage of the Motion Gaming controls, only a fishing title was on tap for demoing. It was noted that the phone required "vigorous shakes" in order to get the job done, and unfortunately, critics were less than enthused by how the game actually looked. Nevertheless, it's probably worth a visit to see if SE's next shaker has the chops to earn a spot in your handset collection.
Coolpad showcases dual-band, dual-SIM handset at CommunicAsia
Dual-band? Check. Dual-SIM? Check. One phone? Triple check. Believe it or not, Coolpad has reportedly crafted a phone that's multifaceted like no other -- one that not only includes room for a pair of SIM cards, but includes GSM and CDMA radios. Furthermore, the unit can purportedly switch between GSM and CDMA accounts on a whim, making you wonder why on Earth this didn't arrive before you plunked down for a second handset. The mobile is supposedly going for anywhere between $100 to $1,000 (depending on model and "who you know on the inside"), but you'll have to trek to Indonesia, China or Africa in order to acquire one.
NHK demonstrates 8K display: 16x more detail than 1080p
Looks like NHK brought a prototype 33 megapixel, 8K Super Hi-Vision projection system to the auditoriums of CommunicASIA. Using a pair of LCoS projectors, NHK threw 7,680 x 4,320 pixels illuminated at 8,000 lumens onto a screen measuring 6.6 x 3.7 meters. The images were recorded from a prototype 8K studio camera -- as good as it gets until the first live SHV television broadcasts are demonstrated in September.
LG's crazy KS360 shows no restraint
If there's one way to ruin an otherwise perfectly good handset, it's by equipping it with a disgustingly triband GSM / EDGE chipset. Fortunately, though, this isn't one of those otherwise perfectly good handsets, so we're not going to sweat it too hard. The KS360 from LG made its loud entrance at CommunicAsia this week, featuring a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 2 megapixel cam, stereo Bluetooth, FM radio, and a 2.4-inch QVGA display, all wrapped in a rather freakish red and black shell with globule-like controls. Asia's the target market for the device, destined for a wallet-friendly price tag where features like 3G and inoffensive industrial design are apparently optional. Yeah, QWERTY's always nice, but not when we find it physically difficult to look at the keyboard.[Via Unwired View]
Aztech's WL850MS wireless HD media streamer gets detailed
Believe it or not, Aztech's WL850MS was actually first mentioned way back at CES 2008, but it's just now finding the limelight at CommunicAsia. The well-spec'd unit supports 1080p media streaming over Ethernet or 802.11n WiFi, and you'll likely be thrilled to know that it boasts MIMO antennas for extended coverage and 2.4GHz / 5GHz dual-band capability. You'll also find four 10/100 Ethernet ports for multiple video recipients and a pretty swank enclosure, if we may say so ourselves. Word from Singapore has the unit retailing for around $263, but there's no telling how long we'll have to wait before seeing it on US soil.
Sony Ericsson reveals J132 / K330 entry-level candybars
Just when you thought Sony's barrage of new kit from CommunicAsia was finally slowing up, along comes another pair of handsets to prove us all wrong. First up is the simplistic J132, designed to do little more than talk, text, resist dust and tune into FM radio stations. Still, the 9-hours of talk time (450 in standby) is much appreciated. The K330 steps it up by including Bluetooth and a video capture mode, not to mention the 1.7-inch display, VGA camera and Health mate application. The J132 will be available in Night Black and Heaven Blue for "select markets" in Q4, while the K330 arrives in Gold on Black / Green on Black a quarter earlier. Keep an eye out for the J132a and K330a, both of which support GSM 850 / 1900 bands for the US market. %Gallery-25357%
Sony Ericsson births HBH-PV715, 720 and 740 Bluetooth headsets
Sony Ericsson's finishing off the onslaught today from Singapore with a trio of colorful Bluetooth headsets, perfect for anyone who doesn't mind talking straight ahead and receiving all sorts of weird glances from other patrons in the local mall. The HBH-PV715, HBH-PV720 and HBH-PV740 arrive in a variety of colors / patterns, boast at least 10-hours of talk time (and 700-hours in standby), and DSP / automatic volume adjustment. The units are aimed at value-driven, fashion-conscience and business-oriented consumers in order of mention, and while specifics (you know, like price) aren't stated, the trifecta will show up in "select markets" in Q4. %Gallery-25351%
Sony Ericsson pops out MD400 / MD400g HSPA USB modems
In case you couldn't tell, Sony's getting down at CommunicAsia. Next up from Singapore is a fresh pair of HSPA USB modems, the MD400 and GPS-packin' MD400g. Both sticks pull double duty as a M2 / microSD card reader, but it's not like we haven't seen that functionality tossed into similar units already. Nevertheless, these buggers support 7.2Mb/s download and 2.0M/bs upload speeds and feature a swiveling antenna to complement the built-in one, a retractable USB connector and compatibility with Windows and OS X-based machines. SE tells us that the currently unpriced duo will be available worldwide in Q4, with the biggest decision to come when choosing between Exquisite Ebony and Lustrous White. %Gallery-25347%
Samsung unleashes SGH-E950, SGH-E840, and SGH-J600
In a refreshing change of pace from Samsung's traditional black-slab design, we bring you this trio of hotness: the SGH-E950, SGH-E840, and SGH-J600 pictured above left-to-right. All are on display right now at ComnunicAsia and ready to ship in Southeast Asia before July is up. Of the three, only the E840 has a shot of making it Stateside with its quadband GSM, EDGE radios packed into the world's slimmest 10.6-mm slider. It features a 2 megapixel camera and up to 2GB of MicroSD to store your media. Nice and all but we'd love to get out hands on the tri-band GSM E950 instead. That black box on the face is actually a touch-sensitive display which fills itself with a variety of icons depending upon how the phone is being used. Interestingly, the FCC approved J600's main claim to fame is its "intense hues" of "mystical colors" like, say "dark gray" -- riiight, and dreary office cubicles are just tiny magical kingdoms for gifted marketing drones.%Gallery-4086%
