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"Eclipse" concept phone keeps it simple
Never mind the MOTOFONE -- this is how you do simplicity in style. "Eclipse," a concept for an ultra-basic handset shown on Product Design Forums, would stand 9 centimeters tall when open and collapse down to an eminently pocketable 5.5 centimeters. Besides SMS support and a phone book, the trick display -- which relies on a pair of side buttons to triggers its pop-up action -- is the only "feature" to speak of. Package these suckers for prepaid accounts at $10 a pop (aw, what the heck... $15, even) and we think they've got some takers.[Via textually.org]
V7 offers up budget-minded Navigator 1000 GPS unit
V7's making sure you know exactly what its target market is by announcing a budget-minded GPS unit to accompany that $349 LCD panel it just tossed out. Entering a fairly saturated entry-level GPS market, the Navigator 1000 features a 3.5-inch touchscreen monitor, 320 x 240 resolution, turn-by-turn directions in 23 robotically-spoken languages, an SD slot, SiRF Star III GPS receiver, photo viewer, rechargeable Li-ion battery pack, MP3 / AVI / MPEG4 playback, and even mounting hardware to rig it up in your ride. Distributed by Ingram Micro, this unit is pre-loaded with maps of the US and Canada, sports "1.8 million POIs," and comes with a stylus pen to keep those fingerprints from taking over your screen. Although you won't find Bluetooth / handsfree functionality here, the Navigator 1000 should prove to be a fairly solid GPS unit for around $340.
Magellan RoadMate 2200T GPS unit reviewed
Let's face it, getting lost trying to find grandmother's house is no way to enjoy your holiday travels, but considering the coinage you're dropping to drive there, financing a GPS unit could be an issue. Enter Magellan's RoadMate 2200T, which provides a no-frills alternative to the fancy (and pricey) navigation units also out there. While the screen size and list of extra are both short of breathtaking, reviewers at GPS Magazine were thoroughly impressed at the value presented in this $400 device. Noted as a "strong performer," the crew admired the newly-revamped routing engine, and found that its Exit POI, Route Exclusion, and SmartDetour functions were all well implemented. Also, they found the actual map screen "among the best they'd seen," stating that it presented information in a useful and easy to read manner. However, a low-end unit typically drops the ball in at least a few areas, and the 2200T was found to have an "essentially useless" MP3 player, as it can only be used when not navigating your routes, a volume control "awkwardly buried in the menu system," and text-to-speech performance that doesn't live up to the TomToms and Garmins of the world. Regardless, the RoadMate 2200T was deemed satisfactory in the areas that matter most, and while we'd still eye a few other options before making any snap judgments, these folks felt it was simply "the best GPS in its price category."
Nokia unveils low-end 1325 / 1265 handsets for international markets
Nokia seems to be on its own campaign trail, releasing a few new phones each time it makes a stop in a new country. Not too long after taking the wraps off four new handsets over in Amsterdam, the firm is unveiling two new low-end handsets that are getting ready to hit the international front. At the 3G World Congress in Hong Kong, Nokia announced the forthcoming availability of two new candybar-styled CDMA mobiles, stripped down and ready to rock. The 2.5-ounce 1325 features a 64k color screen, wallpaper / ringtone customization, speakerphone, 90-second voice recorder, 3.5 hours of talk time, and up to 6.5 days of standby time. The 1265 goes way back, by offering up a monochrome screen, 60-second voice recorder, predictive text software, speakerphone, alarm clock, and the same battery life on both fronts as the slightly more luxurious 1325. Both of this units are slated to hit "select markets" within China, Asia-Pacific, Middle-East Africa and Latin America during "Q1 2007," but the presumably low prices still remain a mystery.[Via I4U]
CDMA phones to get ultra cheap, too
Anyone else notice that most of the fanfare surrounding the concept of the almost-free unsubsidized handset has been largely restricted to the GSM camp? Sure, we have occasional CDMA examples like Kyocera's K122 and K132 -- but with all due respect to Kyocera, cooler looking GSM goodies like the MOTOFONE have been generating just a bit more buzz. No worries, though; a handful of scrappy Korean startups are looking to correct the imbalance, committing to deliver $30 handsets utilizing CDMA2000 1x radios (no EV-DO, we're guessing) to India starting in December of this year with other Southeast Asian countries hopping on the bandwagon in '07. According to Rose Telecom, one of the startups involved in the initiative, the phones should take another dive to the $20 mark in 2008. We can almost sense American prepaid MVNOs expressing interest already.Update: A resourceful reader has pointed out that Motorola's also offering a CDMA variant of the MOTOFONE, which clearly raises the bar for style in the CDMA emerging markets segment. The Korean folks still look to have a slight edge on pricing here -- but with Motorola having suggested that we'll be seeing $15 handsets by '08, they may not for long. [Thanks, Rich]
Samsung abandoning low-end market in India?
In a move that has to have the MOTOFONE's product manager grinning from ear to ear, it seems Samsung has decided that the fight for India's low- and ultra-low-end market isn't worth fighting anymore. If Telecom Korea's unnamed sources are to be trusted, the increasing introduction of smartphones to the country (combined with ever-increasing demand for them) is apparently pushing prices on basic handsets down to the point where the Korean company is ready to take its ball and go home. Don't worry, though, India; Samsung's not leaving you -- not by a long shot. Besides the recent introduction of the SGH-P310 credit card phone there, the company apparently intends to continue launching "color and camera phones" to satisfy Indians' rising demand for upscale products.[Via Mobile Magazine]
Nokia 6030 hits T-Mobile
It took a good while, but Nokia's bottom-of-the-barrel 6030 candybar has finally found its way onto T-Mobile. We don't have much to say about the simple handset; T-Mobile's offering it on contract for a big, round goose egg, but by modern standards, we almost feel like "free" is too much to pay for a phone whose banner feature is its speakerphone. Now, if you'll excuse us, we need to go back to staring in awe at the N95's spec sheet.[Thanks, Steve T.]
Kyocera K122 and K132 bring ultra low end to CDMA
Handset announcements from the floor of this fall's CTIA have come surprisingly few and far between, but Kyocera took the opportunity to show off two new entry-level handsets targeted primarily at international CDMA markets. The K132 clamshell is the "premium" device of the two -- and we use that term very loosely here -- featuring a color display, speakerphone, support for the 800 and 1900MHz bands, and a "soft touch" finish. The bare bones K122 strips away virtually every nonessential feature, leaving a basic, single-band candybar with a grayscale display. In this whole emerging markets game, we'd take a MOTOFONE any day over the K122, though we suspect the latter will find its way into consumer's hands sooner; expect both the K122 and its K132 sibling to drop before winter sets in.
Alltel picks up pair of low-end clamshells
We've finally reached a stage where we're comfortable throwing the term "low-end" at a phone with Bluetooth -- and as such, we give you LG's AX355 for Alltel. The modest flip lacks EV-DO, but offers a speakerphone, 1.3-megapixel camera, and a black & white external display for $69.99 on a 2-year contract. Joining the AX355 is the AX390, another LG handset that also lacks EV-DO. The 390 drops the camera but shaves 10 bucks off the out-the-door price, coming in at $59.99 with contract. Both phones support Alltel's "Touch2Talk" PTT service and are available immediately.[Via phoneArena and Mobilewhack]
Virgin Mobile keeps it simple with Kyocera "Oystr"
Want Virgin Mobile service? Got 30 bucks? Kyocera's got you covered. The 3.5oz back-to-basics Oystr -- no "e" -- offers a color internal display, speakerphone, "Superphonic" ringtones, and that's about it. Some of us might be quickly overcome with a bad case of feature starvation, but at least the pearl white clamshell (hence the name) doesn't look half bad -- and for an honest $30 with no contract, we'll forego the typical grousing about the lack of external display.[Thanks, Roy]
Motorola launches i670 for Nextel
Moto sure is giving its iDEN-only product line a healthy sendoff before CDMA hybrid handsets start to drop later this year. Besides the upcoming high-end i880 and the virtually indestructible (we'll eat those words, we're sure) i580, Nextel looks to shore up their low end by adding the i670, a basic clamshell whose main selling point appears to be its "color display." Of course, no-frills is a big selling point among some Nextel clientele, so the phone should find its niche. Other features include Direct Talk (off-network walkie talkie) support, speakerphone, and a reasonable $49.99 price tag on two-year contract.[Via phoneArena]
RCA's H116 6GB DAP reviewed
Considering that exactly zero people were interested enough in the new hard drive-based RCA MP3 players we brought you last week to actually leave a comment, we doubt that even a glowing review from Cnet would convince you to pick up one of these models -- but that's a moot point, because Cnet really doesn't have many positive things to say about the 6GB H116 they put through its paces. As you'll recall, RCA is clearly targeting the low-end of the market with its new DAPs, as evidenced by their black-and-white screens, rather generic-looking designs, and most tellingly, their complete lack of extra features that might sway folks away from the iTatorship. In fact, the only real compliment Cnet is able to muster about their unit is the fact that it does what it advertises: play music -- but not very well it seems. Combined with the buggy controls and poor quality of the FM transmitter, the sub-par audio would seem to indicate that even for the low-low price of $170, you're still not getting what you pay for.[Thanks, Jen B.]
The LG CG225: Cingular gets another low-end flip
There are definitely LGs we'd rather see appear in Cingular's shipping lineup, but hey, the quad-band CG225 is free on contract after online rebate, has a VGA camera, dual color displays, and a speakerphone. The stub antenna is unfortunate, but all told the little clamshell doesn't look half bad -- and it's hard to complain about the price. Cheap backup phone, anyone?[Via MobileTracker]Update: Several readers have pointed out that the CG225's external display is not actually color, but rather black and white with a deceptive colored background. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Motorola launches Motomobile brand with low-enders
Looks like Moto's slipped us another couple of low end phones (and a new brand) this week at CommunicAsia, the W220 (which we've already seen), and the W210 -- the CDMA and GSM versions of the same device, so far as we can tell. Much like the W170, W208, and W375 we saw announced this week, these two should also have about two weeks of standby time and an FM radio. More interesting than the phones, however, is the new brand they're rolling out in conjunction with them: MOTOMOBILE (say, shouldn't that be MOTOMOBL?). Aimed at "connecting the next billion" -- referring, of course, to the 2 billion mark just reached by GSM phones -- we can surely expect to see hordes of cheapy, low-margin MOTOMOBL phones in the future.[Via RCR]
Motorola shows variety of entry-level phones
With the exception of the Q, it's been a while since we've had the good fortune of being able to talk about some genuinely new Moto handsets in the pipeline -- not counting the endless array of RAZR, SLVR, and PEBL variants, of course. That looks to have changed thanks to this week's CommunicAsia expo in Singapore, where Motorola's dropped a handful of clever-looking handsets for emerging markets (Nokia, pay attention here). First up is the W170, a roundish ultra low-end candybar sporting a 128 x 128 black and white display with blue backlight, 32 tone polyphony, speakerphone, and FM radio. Next up in the pecking order is the W208, which trades the black and white display for color at the same resolution and a slightly different case design. Finally, arguably the most interesting of the bunch, the W375 clamshell borrows design cues from its pricier cousins in the V3 line but eliminates the external display in favor of a series of status icons. Look for all of these to drop in Q3 and Q4, and if you ask politely, Moto might even drop some of 'em in the States thanks to GSM 850/1900 support.[Via Phone Scoop and Mobilewhack]
NEC e373 passes FCC muster
As we all know, FCC approval means virtually nothing for a phone's chances of seeing a US release, but we can dare to dream. The 900/1800/1900 tri-band NEC e373, just released on Italian carrier TIM, treads some moderately uncharted territory as a truly low-end UMTS clamshell, lacking an external display and expansion slot. To boot, the useless-for-anything-but-video-calling VGA camera and 32MB of internal memory make the phone all but useless as a multimedia device, but yeah, we have a soft spot in our hearts for hot-looking 3G clamshells, so we're going to give the e373 a mulligan this time.[Via Mobile Magazine]
Toshiba's Dynabook Satellite CW1 flies low
Toshiba just squeezed their new low-end Dynabook Satellite CW1 laptop onto the scene. A base model kitted out with a 1.6GHz Intel Celeron M420 processor, 14.1-inch WXGA display, 60GB disk, 512MB of RAM, ATI Radion Xpress 200M graphics, and dual-layer DVD burner will set you back, oh just $957 in Japan. Yeah, that kind of green will get you Core Duo power 'round these parts but that still constitutes affordable in the land of the rising sun. [Via Akihabara News]
Sprint launches four new handsets, one oldie
Sprint's launched four new low end handsets today; they'll run you less than a Benjamin with contract, so don't expect much. Clockwise from left: the free Sprint CDM-120 (aka UTStarcom CDM-7025) has a 1.5-inch 65k color display, speakerphone, and MP3 ringtones; the Samsung SPH-A580 has a 128 x 160 65k color internal display, grayscale external display, voice dialing, 1xRTT data, and should run you thirty after contract; the Sanyo SCP-3100 features a 1.8-inch 65k color internal display, VGA camera, and carries a $50-spot price tag; the highest end of the bunch is the multi-colored LG LX350, with Bluetooth, 1.3 megapixel camera, 65k color external OLED display and 262k color internal screen, which should run you $80. Not pictured, like George Martin, is the UTStarcom PM-8920, an oldie from 2004 brought back from the dead with 1.3 megapixel camera, and 262k color displays in tow -- now twenty bucks with a contract. Hey, you know what low end phones are great for? Mother's day. Just saying!
BenQ's E310 and C510 digicams
Looks like BenQ's got some new digital cameras today they were too ashamed to announce during the week. They ain't much to look at -- and probably aren't so hot to actually use -- but if you're one of the "fist adopters" BenQ claims to be going for here, you may want to avert your eyes. E310 is your basic 3.2 effective / 5.0 interpolated megapixel CMOS camera with a 1.5-inch LCD, and power source; the C510 is a 5 megapixel shooter with a 2-inch display and 16MB memory. Both use SD AAA and AA cells (respectively), and rock it old-school USB 1.1 style. Don't expect to pay too much for either, but don't expect to get too much out of your purchase, either.
