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Sony Ericsson W950i 4GB musicphone reviewed
Mobile-review has taken Sony Ericsson's upcoming W950i musicphone through their usual exhaustive testing, and although the translated-from-Russian review may be a bit difficult to fully comprehend, the plethora of screenshots and comparison pics alone make it a must read for anyone considering this Symbian-powered handset. Although its 4GB of flash memory and integrated RDS-enabled FM tuner clearly make this a music-oriented device, S-E's inclusion of the UIQ 3.0 interface along with a ton of productivity software (Opera, QuickOffice, PDF , along with the usual PIM suite) allow the W950i to easily do double duty as a smartphone. Easily, that is, for those of us who aren't diehard QWERTY-enthusiasts -- the flush keypad only offers regular T9 input along with the never-pleasant on-screen handwriting options -- or don't require WiFi and a camera in our pocket at all times. Still, the UMTS radio should suffice for most data needs, and music lovers will appreciate the A2DP-enabled Bluetooth and 13 hour real-world battery life, making the ~$740 W950i look like strong competitor for such storage-heavy models as the Nokia N91 and Samsung i300/300x when it hits stores in July.
Report: iPods stealing radio listeners
When I read this article at Podcasting News, I immediately saw myself. The very first iPod accessory I really fell in love with was my original iTrip FM transmitter, which I bought a couple of years ago. I have since replaced it with a RoadTrip, but one thing remains the same: It comes with me each and every time I get into the car. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've listened to terrestrial radio in the past 2-3 years. I don't know about your town, but where I live, radio programming stinks. Why should I sit through six or seven songs I don't like, not to mention all those extremely annoying ads, just to hear one I do? Plus, thanks to podcasting, I can get many of the great NPR shows that I enjoy.Apparently, I'm not alone. According to Bridge Ratings, terrestrial radio's penetration could drop from 94% to 85% by 2010. Nearly 30% of respondents between the ages of 12 and 24 stated that Mp3 player use accounted for their abandoning radio. While I'm not in that demographic, I certainly share the sentiment. My iPod blows radio away.So, what's your take? Do you still listen to radio when your iPod is around?[Via Micro Persuasion]
Kyocera K822 musicphone with A2DP
With the flurry of phone and mobile industry announcements this past week (Engadget Mobile even outposted the original once or twice), you'll have to forgive us if we didn't catch some of the more, um, run-of-the-mill handsets revealed at CTIA, but hey, that's what the weekends are for. Truthfully, the Kyocera K822 isn't really all that ho-hum, as it sports both a 1.3 megapixel camera and 30MB of memory complemented by a microSD slot for pics and tunes (MP3/AAC/WMDRM), packed into a clamshell design with dual color displays. Other niceties on this tri-mode CDMA model include Bluetooth 1.2 with A2DP, FM radio, and external media controls, as well as a pretty attractive $140-after-subsidies price tag.
Apple brings FM radio to the iPod
No, it's not as sexy as the iMac and MacBook Pro (I'm still not thrilled about that name), but today Apple announced the availability of the Radio Remote, which adds FM radio to the iPod nano and iPod with video.When connected to your iPod, a "radio" menu option becomes available. When selected, you're presented with an interface that looks like an analog radio dial. Search for a station within the range of 87.5MHz to 107.9MHz (US and Europe) or 76MHz to 90MHz (Japan). Also, you can save favorite channels for future reference and move from station to station with either your iPod's clickwheel or the wired remote.My feeling on this is "eh." The interface looks pretty cool, but I would have been happier had it supported satellite radio. The Radio Remote costs $49.00, works with the iPod with video and iPod nano and is shipping now.
