OMAP 3630
Latest
Verzo Kinzo unboxing and impressions (video)
Yes, the Verzo Kinzo is real! That Americano-Czech Android smartphone with mid-range specs that went on sale in November with a ludicrous $459 price tag only to be hastily relaunched earlier this month for a slightly more digestible $359 is not a giant farce. (Well, maybe it is.) It left the ethereal world of rendered computer graphics and landed in our mitts just in time for the holidays. To be specific, we received the pricier $384 Verzo Kinzo Plus GPS package, which includes a voucher for Sygic's off-line navigation app and a gaudy, Star Trek-inspired car holder. After spending a few days with the handset we are able to report that it isn't particularly impressive in this day and age but isn't completely horrible either -- not to mention the faux-Vertu packaging and branding which are rather, well... unique. So why not grab some leftover eggnog, and join us after the break for our unboxing and impressions?
Verzo launches Kinzo Android smartphone, on sale today for $459
Remember the Kinzo, that mysterious Android smartphone from Verzo we teased you with this past summer? Well it looks like the Americano Czech company just launched its stylish, custom-skinned, FroYo-powered (?) device. Originally slated for a late-September release, the 12.3mm-thick handset -- designed by Novague -- goes on sale today on Verzo's website for $459 (€420) contract-free. This buys you a 4.3-inch WVGA glass-capacitive TFT display, a 1GHz TI OMAP 3630 processor, 512MB of RAM, a five megapixel AF camera (with LED flash), a VGA front-facing camera, tri-band UMTS support (AT&T-compatible), quad-band GSM support, WiFi b/g, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR plus the usual array of sensors. Power comes from a 1590mAh battery, and a microSD slot provides storage (an 8GB card is included). No word yet on essential features such as a compass, HSPA, or support for the Android Market. The manufacturer plans to differentiate itself with free shipping, refined packaging and a full set of bundled accessories, including a leather case, quality headphones, a car charger and a car holder. While details about the Verzo GUI remain vague (tweaks appear to be primarily cosmetic), each Kinzo will include offline navigation software by Sygic. An app called TellME will provide "the basic means of communication between the users and the Verzo brand". The company wants to establish a strong relationship with its customers by letting the community of owners suggest and vote on improvements to its product. Winning features will be incorporated into the next software update. Curious about this elegant mid-range Android smartphone? Check out the picture gallery below, and hit the break for the full specs, a promo video, and the obligatory PR. %Gallery-139148%
Nokia N9 review
MeeGo to be folded into Linux-based Tizen OS, slated to arrive in 2012 Want a Nokia N9 in the US? Expansys has some, but it'll cost ya Motorola Droid 2 stars in its first video, touts 1GHz CPU and 512MB of RAM? It's taken a long time for Nokia's MeeGo-packing N9 to make its way into our top-secret labs (the N9 moniker was first applied to early E7 prototypes), but it's here in our dirty little hands, at last, and it's glorious -- well, as glorious as a stillborn product can be, anyway. The N9 is the latest and greatest in a long line of quirky, interesting, yet ultimately flawed touchscreen experiments from Nokia that includes the Hildon-sporting 7710, a series of Maemo-based "internet tablets" (770, N800, N810, N900) and most recently, the N950 MeeGo handset for developers. What makes the N9 special is that it represents Nokia's last flagship phone as an independent player. MeeGo is already dead, and future high-end devices from the manufacturer will run Windows Phone and use Microsoft's services. So, is this the company's final bittersweet hurrah? Did MeeGo ever stand a chance against Android, iOS and Mango? In its attempt to stay relevant, is Nokia throwing out the baby with the bathwater? Most importantly, how does the N9 fare in today's merciless dual-core world? Find out after the break. %Gallery-137175%
Motorola Shadow glimpsed in the wild: 4.1-inch screen, 8MP camera, OMAP3630 processor?
Leave it to the very same poster who teased the Motorola Shadow's Getting Started manual, wnrussell of Howard Forums, to provide a pretty clear shot of the device itself -- yep, that's a HDMI out port -- and reveal some purported specs. Here's the claimed technical details: 4.1-inch screen, TI OMAP 3630 processor (a 720MHz ARM Cortex A8), 8GB internal storage, 8 megapixel camera. Yeah, we can buy all that, especially since he's clearly got the device in hand -- so now it's up to Verizon to let us know when we can do the same. [Thanks, Erik]
