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Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 does a good job looking pretty at launch event
It's one thing to see the X1 (or any phone, for that matter) all dolled up for perfect, clinical press shots, but it's quite another to see it doing its thing in the wild. The WinMo-based superphone is still many months away from release, but a few lucky individuals -- Sony Ericsson employees, that is -- had the opportunity to show it off at the company's Mobile World Congress press event this evening in Barcelona, and it's hard to argue that the thing is simply beautiful. Whether it's usable and feels as good in the hand as it looks in pictures is a question that we won't be able to fully answer until we have a retail unit sitting in front of us, but for now, we're about as optimistic as we could be.
CSR shows off eGPS, says it's superior to A-GPS
There's not too many deets on this just yet, but apparently, UK's CSR is getting set to showcase a technology known as eGPS (enhanced Global Positioning System, if you couldn't guess) at Mobile World Congress 2008. According to the firm, it delivers a "universal positioning capability that will not only work reliably indoors and in zero GPS signal conditions, but greatly speed time to fix in poor GPS reception areas where most handsets are used." More specifically, it can "exploit data available from the cellular network to speed GPS fixes and provide complementary, fast, and reliable location sensing when GPS signals are weak or unavailable." Best of all, the firm is hoping to add eGPS capabilities to handsets for under $1 per unit, and it's also using the stage in Barcelona to trumpet a single-chip GPS receiver with embedded Bluetooth and FM radio. Unfortunately, mum's the word on when this stuff will actually find its way into mobiles. [Via NaviGadget]
Two for the Cyber-shot crowd: Sony Ericsson intros C702 and C902
So that rumored K820 has turned out to be the C902, and that waterproof model? Not so much waterproof -- just "splash and dust resistant" -- and it's the C702. Starting on the bottom, the 3.2 megapixel C702 touts one-handed camera use for those spur-of-the-moment shots when you're doing something, like, totally extreme that would necessitate the use of a splash resistant phone to begin with. GPS also finds its way on board, and Sony Ericsson is bundling Google Maps for Mobile (good call) to get the mapping done. Moving up, the C902 is a 5 megapixel beast with autofocus, face detection, a generous flash, and 160MB of storage before you add anything on with the Memory Stick Micro slot. Both models feature Cyber-shot branding and will be available in the second quarter; they'll come in two versions -- one with UMTS 2100 and one rocking quadband EDGE alone. Look for the C702 in Speed Black and Cyan Blue, while the C902 will do its thing in Swift Black and Luscious Red (pictured).
LG KF700 tidbits leak out ahead of official announcement
As we discovered in our time with it, the Viewty's touch interface can be a tad... shall we say, trying at times. Unwired View has caught a couple glimpses of LG's KF700 in Barcelona ahead of the company's press conference, and it looks like the situation's improving. First up, the KF700 adds an honest-to-goodness slider with a physical keypad for entering numbers the old-fashioned way (and text, too, we'd imagine), a jog dial for changing phone modes, and rudimentary gesture support for flicking your way through lists. It'll also feature HSDPA -- naturally -- and will very likely sport 3.2 megapixels of shootin' pleasure. More on this little gem tomorrow, we suspect.
Is this the Sony Ericsson K820i?
When you hear "K" and "Sony Ericsson" in the same phrase, the camera is usually the first thing that comes to mind -- and if these alleged shots of the K820i turn out to be legit, that's a fair association to make. The K820i appears to be a pretty stunningly gorgeous candybar featuring a 5 megapixel cam (with the requisite Cyber-shot branding, of course), camera controls across the sides of the display, and a sliding cover for the lens. Something tells us we'll know more about this one very shortly.[Thanks, Khattab]
Sony Ericsson's high-end G700i leaked?
Alright, we've got to admit, this looks like a pretty real press rendering to us, so we're going to bite. This here is allegedly Sony Ericsson's G700i, one of two members of the all-new "G" line allegedly being introduced at Mobile World Congress this week; if the previously-leaked specs hold up, it'll include a 3.2 megapixel camera and a 2.5-ish inch display but lack WiFi, which is where its G900i big sib comes into the picture. Seeing how Sony Ericsson's MWC press conference is within shouting distance at this point, we'll have this all sorted out soon enough.[Via SEfanatics]
LG introduces unusual S60-based KT610 clamshell
It isn't terribly often that LG dabbles in the wide world of Symbian, so when it does, there's reason to take note. The KT610 features a 2.4 inch VGA (yes, VG frickin' A) display that flips up to reveal a QWERTY keyboard. It runs Symbian 9.2 and S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 (we'd have preferred FP2, but what can you do) and also includes integrated GPS and support for HSDPA up to 3.6Mbps. We don't have pictures of this hot little number just yet, but hopefully we'll catch it on display at Mobile World Congress in the next day or two.Update: Found itty bitty pic and more specs: 2.4-inch QVGA main, 1.45-inch 160 x 64 pixel external display; 2 megapixel camera; Bluetooth 2.0; and May 2008 availability.
ARM demoing Android prototype at Mobile World Congress?
According to Reuters, chipmaker ARM has plans to show off an Android-based "Google Phone" prototype at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The news agency is citing a "source" for this information, and both Google and ARM declined to comment, as if reading from some sort of industry script, though we're seeing and hearing a lot of buzz from MWC on new tech, so this would come as no surprise. Come on guys, we don't mind if the OS is still a little buggy... show us some hardware.
Sony Ericsson to intro new "G" line at MWC?
We have a hard enough time keeping up with Sony Ericsson's dizzying model naming convention as it is, but the standing rumor from SE World is that we'll see the introduction of a whole new series at MWC next week. The alleged "G" series, putting an emphasis on compact devices with touchscreens, will be kicked off by two models: the G700i "Josephine" with a display in the mid-2 inch range and a 3.2 megapixel camera, and the G900i "Tyra" that adds WiFi and a 5 megapixel camera. If it pans out, the mighty P series is going to get a run for its money -- as are Nokia's higher-end devices. Guess we'll just have to see if this one pans out, won't we?[Via IntoMobile and SEfanatics]
Motorola's MWC teaser: "It doesn't need to be this hard"
If only the same could be said of your recent woes, eh, Moto? The company's still doing its darndest to make a splash at MWC later this month, building up hype (or trying to, anyway) with a video showing folks struggling to carry around heaping piles of desktop technology -- piles of technology that presumably could all be replaced with small, simple, easy to carry wares being introduced at the show. There's no hint in the video of what exactly will be unveiled at MWC, but we anxiously await it, Moto, as do your shareholders. Check the full video after the break.[Via phoneArena]
Gigabyte's g-Smart MW700 and MS800 ready to rumble at MWC?
Not to be outdone by E-TEN, Gigabyte's ready to pull some aces out of its sleeve for Mobile World Congress, too. If you can really call these "aces," that is. According to Russian site MyBestPDA, the g-Smart MW700 and MS800 are getting all geared up for MWC debuts with Windows Mobile 6 (possibly 6.1), 256MB of ROM and 64MB of RAM, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, integrated FM tuner, and in the MS800's case, 3G data. Physically, both devices look the same -- which is to say very, very bland -- but then again, that's exactly how some Windows Mobile users like it. More on these devices, we presume, in a couple weeks from Barcelona.[Via Unwired View]
Samsung's G810 smartphone does Symbian, HSDPA, the dishes
Nokia really ought to keep on eye in the rear view mirror these days, as its Korean competitor is slowly creeping up from the back with entries like its latest media-oriented smartphone, the G810 -- a successor to the G800. The phone breaks from Samsung's fascination with Windows Mobile and goes the Symbian route, also touting HSDPA data, a 2.6-inch QVGA display, a 5-megapixel camera, GPS functions, WiFi, 150MB of memory (plus a microSD slot), and Bluetooth 2.0. The new handset is expected to be introduced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week, and will likely retail for around €580. If you've been brushing up on your Czech, hit the read link for more in-depth info -- otherwise, you might want to stick to the via.[Via Unwired View]
Nokia to flaunt S60 Touch UI at Mobile World Congress
Since its grand announcement last year, Nokia's next-gen UI for S60 has been little more than a pretty face teased to us by a handful of quick, glancing videos and overly slick ad campaigns; 2008's in full swing now, though, and the time has come for S60 Touch to get just a bit more real. The company has announced through its See into S60 blog that it'll be demoing the S60 Touch UI at Mobile World Congress this year -- a show that's creeping right up on us on the 11th of this month (yay!) -- and while there's no promise of exactly what's going to be demoed, they could demo just about anything and it'd be more than what's been demoed so far. Also on the docket is some info regarding "S60 sensor technologies," suggesting that S60 Touch devices will likely rely heavily on accelerometers and... well, you know, touch sensors to do their thing.[Via All About Symbian]
Telefonica announcing 3G iPhone, or 2G iPhone for Latin America, or nothing at MWC
We're all but certain that Apple wouldn't let a carrier run the show when the time comes to introduce the 3G iPhone to the world, but hey, we guess it could happen. After all, next month's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is pretty much the 800-pound gorilla of mobile trade shows, and we can't imagine Apple waiting until next Macworld to get it out the door. Two standing rumors tell slightly different stories about what exactly Telefonica plans on announcing at MWC: the first has Telefonica showing off the 3G iPhone and announcing that it'll exclusively carry it in Spain starting in July. The second, moderately more believable rumor says that Telefonica's Movistar unit will offer the plain ol' 2G iPhone in Spain almost immediately following a MWC announcement, with Latin American availability starting in May and phasing in over several months. Then again, Telefonica could announce that we're all idiots for believing any of this drivel, or they could just sit silently to themselves and announce absolutely nothing at all. We'll find out in a couple weeks.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Read - 3G iPhone?Read - 2G iPhone?
