Samsung Galaxy Ace Hugo Boss edition (luxury gadgets)

 Samsung Galaxy Ace Hugo Boss edition

Samsung has renewed its partnership with fashion brand Hugo Boss – first seen in the Samsung F480 – with the launch of a new Hugo Boss Samsung Galaxy Ace.
The phone features an overall matter black finish and the back of the device features a specially treated and textured pattern.
The user interface has been customised and the device features special edition wallpapers and screensavers along with the whole altered look of the user interface.
Galaxy Ace Hugo Boss edition features a 3.5 inch 320 x 480 pixel display. The phone also features a 5 megapixel rear camera.
It has 160 MB of internal memory and comes loaded with a 2 GB storage card (it can support up to 32 GB). It provides up to 5 hours of talktime with the standard battery.
So far the Hugo Boss Samsung Galaxy Ace has only been confirmed as launching in France and will carry an expected price tag of approximately 300 Euros.

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Samsung Stratosphere/Review

Samsung Stratosphere

Product highlights
*  $149.99
*  Verizon's ultrafast 4G LTE speeds
*  QWERTY keyboard
*  Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, and VPN support.
*  5-megapixel camera that takes good photos

A glossy, all-touch black face with rounded shoulders that still looks elegant in its minimalism. Here the soft-touch finish gets a pleasant, slightly nubbly texture that's reminiscent of suede. The Samsung Stratosphere is Verizon's first LTE phone to also have a keyboard.
Fits right into the middle of the pack in this age of "jumbo phones," and is neither too large nor too small. It's still a bit on the heftier side at 5.8 ounces, but the weight adds a sense of durability that's to be expected in larger phones with greater mass.

The 4-inch WVGA (800x480 pixels) Super AMOLED screen is still impressive, with bright, saturated color that leaps off the display.

The Stratosphere runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread using Samsung's TouchWiz interface.With the drastically revamped Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich right around the corner, and the strong graphics and smart contributions from HTC's Sense interface, Samsung needs to offer something more beautiful or dynamic to make the interface truly compelling.

Customizable home screens right out of the box, your choice of some nice backgrounds, the "leap" screen for viewing all your home screens in one view, and a horizontal-swiping treatment to the app tray.
Swype is a virtual keyboard option on the Stratosphere, but you have to choose it if you want it, since Samsung's keyboard is the one that comes preloaded by default.
Above the screen is a front-facing VGA camera for self-portraits and video chats. Below the screen are four touch-sensitive buttons for the Menu, Home, Back, and Search. The power button lives on the right spine, and on the left is the volume rocker. Up top you have the 3.5mm headset jack, and on the bottom is the Micro-USB charging port. The back has the 5-megapixel camera lens, and beneath the back cover is the microSD card slot. The Stratosphere generously comes with 4GB of external memory preinstalled.
The keys are backlit, fully separated, and rubbery; angled in slightly that snaps back when touched. Samsung has also added a handful of convenience keys, like ones dedicated to Search, Back, Menu, and Home, plus keys to pull up a blank text message, the browser, and four directional navigation arrows.
E-mail, texting, multimedia messaging, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth support (3.0), and GPS. There's also contact-importing and access to a range of Google services, from Gmail, maps with turn-by-turn-navigation, to Google Places, Talk, Search, and YouTube. Essentials include a calendar, a calculator, a clock (plus alarm clock, stopwatch, and timer), an HTML WebKit browser, and a memo pad. Android's basic music player is also onboard, along with a handful of other Google services.

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HTC Rezound announced

HTC Rezound

HTC and Verizon Wireless have announced a new Beats Audio-integrated Android 2.3.4-based smartphone, the HTC Rezound. The new Verizon-exclusive droid supports the LTE network and will be HTC's first Beats Audio-improved offering in the U.S. market. It's also the company's first smartphone to incorporate a 1280 x 720 (720p) resolution screen.

The Rezound is quite a highly spec'd smartphone and may be a tough rival for the likes of the Motorola RAZR or Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Utilizing 720p resolution in its Super LCD display results in an impressive pixel density of 342 ppi (pixels per inch). For comparison, Samsung's Galaxy SII has a pixel density of around 218, while the iPhone 4's display is 326 ppi.
The new arrival will be sold with lightweight Beats headphones with built-in microphone and on-cable remote.
The Rezound offers an 8-megapixel camera located at the back equipped with autofocus, dual LED flash and an f/2.2 28mm wide-angle lens. A BSI sensor for improving low light performance is also present. The front facing camera comes with 2-megapixel resolution.
Processing is provided by a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm MSM8660 CPU and 1GB of RAM. There's 16GB of built-in memory for user files and an additional 16GB via the bundled micro SD card. Connectivity options include GPS/a-GPS, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, micro USB, or audio jack. The Rezound works in hotspot mode, allowing it to share an internet connection with up to ten devices over WiFi.
Running the latest HTC Sense 3.5 UI, the Rezound initially will be Android 2.3.4-based, although Verizon Wireless ensures that an Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) update is on the way and will be available by early 2012.
Purchasing the HTC Rezound will be possible via Verizon Wireless contracts only by November 14, at a price of US$299.99 with a new two-year customer agreement. No word on availability in other countries at this point.

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Nokia N9/ Review

Nokia N9

Price: $650+ (no contract)

Love at first sight -- this is possibly the most beautiful phone ever made.  N9 is in a class of its own in terms of design. It manages to be elegant by virtue of its minimalism yet remains unmistakably Nokia. The impeccable proportions belie the handset's 12.1mm (0.48-inch) thickness thanks to tapered ends reminiscent of its more ornate predecessor, the N8.
It all starts with a colored-through polycarbonate monolith, which is machined (not cast) to form the N9's unibody. The finish looks matte and feels similar to anodized aluminum, but is significantly more durable. Our review unit came in black but cyan and magenta versions are also available. The back is slightly convex and features an oval chrome-finished (and scratch-prone) pod that's flush with the body and houses the slightly recessed eight megapixel autofocus camera. A dual-LED flash is offset to the left of the lens. The front is almost all screen with no buttons, and just a tiny slit for the earpiece on top. Curved Gorilla glass flows into the bezel like liquid spilling onto a flat surface. The 3.9-inch FWVGA (854x480) ClearBlack AMOLED display is phenomenal, rivaling Samsung's Super AMOLED -- text and graphics just appear to float on the panel, further refining the experience.

You'll find a silver Nokia logo along with proximity and ambient light sensors at the top edge of the screen, and a charge indicator LED and front-facing camera at opposite ends of the bottom portion of the glass. The sides of the handset are rounded, and the right edge incorporates both a chrome volume rocker and a power / lock key. A speaker and microphone are located along the bottom, and the top side hosts a silver-rimmed 3.5mm headphone jack plus a precisely machined door protecting the micro-USB connector and flanked by the micro SIM tray. The battery is sealed and there is no microSD card slot, but the N9 comes with either 16GB or 64GB of built-in flash storage. Fit and finish are top-notch, and the 135g (4.76oz) device feels solid and comfortable in hand, with almost the exact same footprint as the familiar iPhone 4.

Peek inside, and you'll be catapulted a year back to the glory days of TI's OMAP 3630 SoC (popularized by Motorola's once mighty Droid X), which combines a single-core 1GHz Cortex A8 CPU with a PowerVR SGX530 GPU. In the N9, this chipset is paired with 1GB of RAM, making it Nokia's highest specced phone to date, and promising to offer plenty of muscle without obliterating battery life, at least on paper (more on this later). Digging further, you'll find Nokia's signature pentaband UMTS / HSPA (14.4Mbps) 3G radio, a quadband GSM / EDGE 2G radio for legacy networks, NFC and the usual suspects -- WiFi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, GPS / AGPS. Strangely, there's no FM receiver or transmitter on the menu, unlike many of Espoo's past offerings. The N9 also features a full array of sensors, including ambient light, proximity, orientation (accelerometer) and compass (magnetometer).
The N9 takes wonderful pictures. Color balance and exposure are spot-on, and shots always contain a huge amount of detail, thanks in great part to the superior . Its powered by Eight megapixel sensor, Carl Zeiss F2.2 wide-angle autofocus lens, dual-LED flash and 720p HD video recording .
Wrap-up
The N9 delivers a double punch with gorgeous hardware and brilliant software. It's arguably the first competitive flagship phone to come out of Espoo since the launch of the original iPhone. This is the handset that puts any lingering doubts about Nokia's engineering chops to rest.  It's difficult to recommend a platform with no future, but the N9 is everything Nokia's long time fans have been waiting for, and you could have it today.

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Motorola RAZR introduces the new DROID RAZR

MOTOROLA DROID RAZR

In its day, the Motorola Razr  was by far the best-selling cellphone in America. Then came Apple with its iPhone, and since then Motorola has struggled in the cellular business. The original Razr was overrun by more recent smartphones, which browse the Web, send texts and emails, tell you where you are, and, in the case of the iPhone 4S with its Siri "virtual assistant," talk back to you.
Now Motorola is back with a new Razr, trying to recapture the magic of the original. The new phone is sleek. It's cool. It's thin. And it's a smartphone, running on the Android software marketed so successfully by Google -- which, as you may recall, announced in August it was buying Motorola Mobility.
Will it succeed? You, as a consumer, will be the final judge, of course. Early reviews are positive.
"Yes, it's another Android phone," writes Kevin Kelleher of Fortune, "but it's one that incorporates the sleek design elements in the hardware that made Motorola's Razr line of clamshell phones the last iconic phone before the rise of the smartphone."
But plaudits don't necessarily sell phones, as Kelleher agrees. "So it's just as easy to say Google will regret buying Motorola as it is to say it will look back on the deal as a shrewd move," he writes."
Others have their doubts.
"It's a solid Android device, but it's not going to be that blockbuster that the original Razr was," said Roger Entner of Recon Analytics.
"The huge difference the original had was its thinness," said Entner. "It's just that everyone else has it now too."
The smartphone marketplace, which changes quickly, has just changed dramatically. The new iPhone, Apple said, sold more than 4 million units in its first weekend, and is by far the top-selling handset. Android phones are more widely sold in the U.S. than phones with Apple's operating system -- but Android is spread among many brands.
Apple is also fearless about advertising the iPhone. Entner said it's spent more than $100 million a year on ads, compared to about $30 million for any other brand.
The Razr certainly won't make or break Motorola or its giant new owners at Google. But if you're in the market for a new smartphone, will you be attracted by the Razr of past years? The battle begins when the new Razr rolls out, probably on Nov. 10.
"The Motorola Razr is even made with Kevlar fiber," says its promotional material, "because a phone this arresting deserves protection."

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Special Gadgets/Porsche Design P'9981 Blackberry Smartphone

We're not going to tell you that it's the most advanced phone around, but if you've got your heart set on a CrackBerry, there's no better choice than the Porsche Design P'9981 Blackberry Smartphone ($TBA). This unique handset features a forged stainless steel frame, a sculpted QWERTY keyboard, BlackBerry OS 7 with a special Porsche Design UI, a 1.2 GHz processor, 8GB of on-board memory with microSD expansion, NFC support, HD video recording, and hand-wrapped leather back cover, all of which will have your boardroom buddies turning green with envy.

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Nokia Debuts Their First Windows Phones

It’s nice and early in London, and Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has finally put to rest months of speculation by unveiling Nokia’s first batch of Windows Phones at the Nokia World conference. It’s been a long time coming — news of a Nokia/Microsoft partnership first broke back in February — but Nokia has at long last debuted the Lumia 800 and the Lumia 710.
Lumia 800
It’s been hinted at for months now, but the handset formerly known as the Searay has finally been revealed as the Lumia 800. Stephen Elop has called it the “first real Windows Phone” — quite a lofty claim, but does the hardware live up to it?

The 800 sports a curved 3.7-inch WVGA ClearBlack AMOLED display, a single-core 1.4GHz processor, and 512MB of RAM. Mobile photographers will find much to like about the 8-megapixel camera with a f/2.2 Carl Zeiss lens, and the 16GB of onboard storage should hold quite a few cat pictures. The specs won’t exactly set anyone’s world on fire, but the design might: like the N9 before it, the Lumia 800 features a stunning unibody design that’s shaped out of a slab of durable polycarbonate material.

The style-conscious among you will also be glad to know that the Lumia 800 comes in three colors: black, cyan, and magenta. Surprisingly, the Lumia 800 is already on its way to France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK in time for a November launch. Customers in Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan will be able to nab one by the end of the year, but domestic Windows Phones fans will have to wait until early 2012.
Lumia 710
The 710 (formerly known as the Sabre) is the chunkier of the two, but that doesn’t mean it’s a slouch when it comes to hardware. It repackages the same 1.4GHz processor as seen in the Lumia 800, and pairs it with a 3.7-inch WVGA screen, and a 5-megapixel rear camera. It’s meant to be Nokia and Microsoft’s effort to capture a more budget-conscious audience, and it’s heartening to see Nokia give it the same performance potential as their more premium offering.

Though the 710 only sports 8GB of internal storage, it beats out its brother by including a microSD card slot that can accept up to 16GB of additional flash storage. It also bears the distinction of being one of the few Windows Phone with physical navigation keys, which is sure to please fans of tactile feedback.

Expect to see it hit shelves in both stealth black and crisp white, with multiple colored backplates to please the chromatically indecisive. It looks like the Lumia 710 will be headed first to Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan, alongside its more expensive brother.

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Nokia N900/Review

Price: $649 (preorder)
Official Site: Maemo.Nokia.com
Specs: 6.34 oz; 2.35” x 4.37” x 0.71”; Wi-Fi, HSPA; 800x480; 600MHz processor; 1GB RAM; 32GB-48GB internal memory
Company: Nokia

What do you get when you combine two of the hottest electronic trends like mini netbooks and touchscreen smartphones? The answer would be Nokia’s new N900 phone and its custom-made operating system, Maemo. Designed as a loose follow-up to Nokia’s N97, the Nokia N900 has a bit of an identity crisis between a smartphone with a desktop OS, or a portable computer with telephone capabilities. Either way, this search for identity has created an excellent entry in what could easily be a new cell phone subgenre. Although the price is still shrouded in mystery, this drool-worthy gadget will start to roll out on North American shelves for T-Mobile beginning this fall.
With its 3.5-inch touchscreen and slide-out QWERTY keyboard, the Nokia N900 appears to have a lot in common with several other of the latest smartphones to be released. However, as you start to unravel the bulk of the details and specifications for this gadget, more and more unique features move to the forefront.

As opposed to a typical 360 x 640 resolution cell phone screen, the Nokia N900 rocks a significantly higher 800 x 480, giving you a picture more akin to your laptop rather than your phone. In order to effectively run this advanced mobile device, Nokia has had to do away with the standard Navi-Key format, and replaced it with a new robust operating system called Maemo 5.
Features such as a live dashboard that allows open tasks and messages to be viewed simultaneously really give the Nokia N900 a huge leg up in functionality over other smartphones. The Maemo 5 system also supports the Firefox 3 web browser and instant-on software updates for your N900.

While the Nokia N900 undoubtedly has a weight problem for a smartphone, the added heft is a necessary evil in order to handle the impressive feature list. In addition to the WVGA touch-resistive screen and full QWERTY keyboard, there is also a built-in stand that can flip down from the back of the phone and is perfect for when you want to watch a video clip or movie in high resolution from your desk.
The digital camera on the Nokia N900 is also anything but an add-on, thanks to its highly technical Carl Zeiss optics, 5 megapixels and dual LED flash. It was also a great move on Nokia’s part to put a slide-out lens cover over such a rich camera, so the usual pants pocket dust, lint and fingerprints are not a worry on the Nokia N900.
One of the areas that Nokia is going to really have to work on is with downloadable applications. Thanks to the iPhone, app support is a huge key to phone success now, and the N900 does not ignore this. There will be at least a dozen applications ready at launch for the N900, ranging from games to Twitter programs, and the hope is that this software library will continue to grow exponentially in the near future.

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Google Nexus One/Review

Price: $529 unlocked; $179 with contract
Official Site: Google.com/phone
Specs: Depth: 0.45”; 4.58 oz; Processor: Qualcomm QSD 8250 1GHz; Capacity: Up to 32GB 
Company: Google & HTC

The Nexus One (built in partnership with HTC) sells for $529 unlocked or $179 with a two-year service plan.
With no physical keyboard, and a spacious 3.7-inch OLED touch-sensitive screen, the Nexus One draws almost immediate comparisons to the Apple iPhone. However, unlike the current king of smartphones, the Nexus One is slightly thinner, lighter and comes with a removable battery, 4GB microSD storage card (expandable to 32GB), USB charger and microphone headset. It can be said without any reservation that this is the finest smartphone display screen ever released. The 800 x 480 resolution blows away anything else available today, showing off visuals that are bright, bold and just a pleasure to look at.
Unlike an Android phone such as the DROID, the Nexus One has four functional touch buttons and a trackball below the screen for more efficient control. One of the big improvements on the Nexus One phone over the competition is with the camera, which has a streamlined and faster application and five megapixels with a very sharp flash.

The big highlight of the overly impressive Nexus One package has to be the unveiling of the Snapdragon 1GHz core processor. With enough power to run your old laptop, the Snapdragon is more than capable of handling multiple applications, 3-D graphics and heavy browser use all at the same time. Unlike previous Android phones, or really anything else on the retail shelves today, the Nexus One shows no slowdown or stutter when you push the device to its limit.
Of course, all of this mind-blowing power and tech bling comes at a price, and that shortcoming is the battery life. With an on time that feels brief even by iPhone standards, it is easily possible to kill an entire charge in way under the advertised seven hours. Google does take some internal measures to try to extend the battery life, like auto adjusting brightness and turning down the processor when it is not in heavy use, but you should still be prepared to have a charger at arms length whenever possible.
The Nexus One is a superior effort among both Android phones and smartphones alike, and with the backing and application support of Google, the first great phone of 2010 is here.

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Motorola DEVOUR/Review

Motorola DEVOUR

Price: $100 with contract
Official Site: Motorola.co
Specs: 3MP camera; 389 mins of talk time; Android 1.6; 3.1" HVGA; 5.89 oz; 8GB microSD
Company: Motorola

 The Motorola DEVOUR joins the DROID and the Eris as the third Google Android-powered phone for the Verizon network. Positioned as a midrange smartphone, the DEVOUR has a few new features and some scaled specifications that Motorola has targeted for an audience interested in a “younger brother” DROID device. The key bullet point for the DEVOUR is MOTOBLUR, which keeps you constantly connected to all of your social media networks. The Motorola DEVOUR is available for $99.99 with a new two-year contract, but it is possible to locate an even better price on the smartphone through some bargain hunting on sites like wirefly.com.

Taking an aesthetic cue from the current generation MacBook Pros, the Motorola DEVOUR goes for the single-body aluminum-and-black-casing look. The style of the DEVOUR is without question one of its strongest aspects, and the phone looks fantastic both turned on and off. The slide-out QWERTY is a step up from the one used on the DROID. The buttons are hard, slightly domed, spaced out nicely, and are overall much more ergonomically comfortable. While the build quality is certainly in line with high-end Verizon phones and the DROID, the hardware on the DEVOUR is clearly more budget-minded.

The screen on the DEVOUR retains the capacitive touch technology of the DROID, but the lower resolution is hard to ignore. The inclusion of MOTOBLUR is a cool feature for Twitter and text message fanatics who crave instant updates, but it has yet to be reworked for Android 2.1, so the DEVOUR is locked into an older build. While an updated version is surely in the works, there is no current timetable for a release, and these types of updates tend to run way off schedule.
The camera on the Motorola DEVOUR is not one of the better offerings we have seen on either Android-powered phones and smartphones in general. At 3 megapixels and with no auto-focus, this is major step down from what is included on the DROID. The media experience remains pretty much unchanged from other Android products. There is the V CAST app with Rhapsody and DLNA support, but no killer feature to be found.

This would have been the perfect area for the DEVOUR to differentiate itself. The battery life on the DEVOUR is rated at almost 400 minutes of talk time, but like with any high-powered smartphone, you are going to want to charge it on a nightly basis. The DEVOUR seems best approached as a messaging phone, but the current price point is just too close to the DROID to really make it stand out in any way from the glut of smartphone offerings.

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Motorola Reveals Droid Razr: 'World's Thinnest Smartphone'

The Motorola Droid Razr, a Google Android powered gadget that the company claims is the world's thinnest smartphone.

Motorola Mobility revived its once best-selling Razr brand to tout its latest gadget, the Droid Razr, as the world's slimmest smartphone.
The company, which has agreed to be bought by Google for $12.5 billion, hopes to compete with arch-rival Apple's iPhone when it kicks off pre-orders at Verizon Wireless on October 27.
But the device, which sports a more powerful chip than the iPhone and a higher-speed wireless connection, costs $299 -- far more than $199 for the latest basic iPhone 4S.
NPD analyst Ross Rubin said that while the phone could put a dent in iPhone sales at Verizon Wireless, it would be unlikely to sell as many as Motorola's previous Razr, which sold more than 130 million units.
Only about 10 percent of U.S. consumers would buy a $300 phone, Rubin said. "That's a relatively small part of the market. At $199, it would be an explosive seller."

Outside of the U.S. market, the device will simply be called Razr. Motorola hopes to rekindle the popularity of its original Razr, which was the thinnest flip phone on the market when it debuted in 2004.
Motorola also introduced MotoActv, a combined music player, performance tracker and GPS device aimed at fitness enthusiasts. This device will start at $249 for an 8 Gigabyte version. A 16 GB model will cost $299, Motorola said.
Motorola uses Google's Android software to power its smartphones. The Droid Razr, sporting Corning glass, will be able to download movies from Netflix and comes with front-facing and back-facing cameras.
The phone, unveiled days after Apple's iPhone 4S hit markets, is the latest iteration of a line-up that helped stage a recovery for Motorola after years of market share losses.
Motorola's Razr was the most successful phone brand in the company's history. The height of its popularity was from late 2004 until late 2006, when the device started to lose its luster amid tough competition and heavy carrier discounts.
That led to years of market share losses as Motorola failed to come up with another hot device to replace Razr, after having focused on the brand for too long.
Motorola started to turn around in late 2009 with the launch of its first Droid phone sold through Verizon Wireless.
(FOXNEWS)

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Palm Pre

    Official Site: www.Palm.com
    Company: Palm, Inc.

Specs: 802.11b/g; GPS; 320x480; HVGA; QWERTY; IM, SMS, and MMS; 4.76 oz; Accelerom
Palm has possibly saved the company by introducing its best phone ever to the crowds at CES 2009. The Palm Pre is a slider that has a 3.1-inch LCD touchscreen, a brand-spanking-new operating system (OS) and a curvaceous body you won't be able to keep your hands off of.
The Palm Pre hits shelves this Saturday and while it fails in many aspects compared to the iPhone (the App Catalog is incomplete, auto correct is anorexic, battery life is lackluster, and it's full of bugs), it gives Apple something to think about with its Push Gmail technology. This means that e-mail goes directly to your phone as opposed to you having to tell your Pre to fetch it.

For a company that was so hot during the Palmtop craze, Palm stumbled its way into the smartphone market, to be sure. However, the company is making up for lost time with a device and an OS that are both beautiful and perfectly matched. On the physical side, there's a 3.1-inch multitouch touchscreen with a gestures area that lets you interact with content with the flick of a finger, à la iPhone. The slide-out keypad offers able thumbers a good, tactile alternative to onscreen typing. The features list includes all the usual suspects, like Wi-Fi, GPS and 3G networking, as well as a 3.5-mm headphone jack and stereo Bluetooth, a 3MP camera and 8GB of storage space, as well as a USB port.
But really, the hottest part of the new phone is the OS. Putting a legacy OS into such a pretty case would be like bolting a Yugo engine into an Audi. With WebOS, Palm is slipping into something a little more comfortable. Gestures lets you easily flip your way through contacts and open apps (as well as shuffling through them like a deck of cards). Also, Palm Pre’s WebOS seamlessly merges IM and texting into one window, which is a nice touch in today's chat-heavy world. At the bottom of the screen there’s a dynamic notification dashboard that brings up alerts and new IMs as they arrive; it also lists missed calls and running media. Essentially, WebOS on Palm Pre is a robust and very polished OS.

The Palm Pre is definitely cool. It's the right mix of features and eye candy to give the iPhone and Android guys a run for their money. The USB port opens up storage options for those who find the onboard 8GB a little anemic, and the stereo Bluetooth eliminates the need for headphone wires. Oh, and the integrated keypad is a real boon for anyone who hates typing on a screen. For a handset that has as yet to be priced and will be available exclusively from Sprint, it's not clear if this will be an iPhone killer or not. Likely, it won't be, but it might just carve out a sizable niche for Palm -- and save the company to boot.

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Special Gadgets/Palm Foleo

The biggest problem with smartphones is their tiny-ass keyboards. Their tiny-ass screens are a close second. Well, Palm is here to help. The new Palm Foleo ($500; Q3 2007) is a thin, laptop-like device designed to be a companion to your Treo. It connects via Bluetooth to your phone, allowing you to email, surf the web, and edit office documents with a 10-inch screen and full-size keyboard. The Foleo has built-in Wi-Fi, weighs only 2.5 pounds, and has a battery that lasts up to 5 hours

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HTC HD2/Review

Official Site: www.HTC.com Company: HTC Corporation
Specs: 4.3” capacitive WVGA (800x480) touchscreen; 1GHZ Snapdragon CPU; 512 ROM; 448 RAM; 5MP camera; Wi-Fi; Bluetooh 2.1; Windows Mobile 6.5

Touted as the best phone on the market currently running Windows Mobile 6.5, the HTC HD2 is a surprisingly attractive handset thanks largely to its unique blend of cutting-edge mobile hardware and customized software. In particular, HTC’s newly created Sense UI, which operates on top of Windows Mobile, should attract men looking for a more individualistic and straightforward approach to phone navigation. All bells and whistles aside, it’s still hard to recommend this device over competing smartphones from heavy hitters such as Apple, Motorola, RIM, and Nokia, or even non-Windows Mobile HTC handsets for that matter.
This is because even with the valiant effort on the part of HTC to push limits with the HD2, no amount of face paint or engine work can fully mask the inherent usability frustrations Microsoft has still yet to address in its Windows mobile platform. However, if you are dead-set on standing out from the pack of BlackBerry, iPhone and DROID owners out there, this may be your best bet.

In terms of specs, it’s hard not to be impressed with what the HTC HD2 packs under the hood. Powered by a lightning-quick 1GHZ Snapdragon CPU and 448MB of RAM, it has more than enough processing power to make HTC’s flowing Sense UI work in buttery smooth fashion. Other additional niceties thrown in the mix include: an auto-focusing 5-megapixel video/still camera with dual LED flash, GPS, accelerometer, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, and a variety of sensors to detect everything from the ambient light around the phone to its proximity to your head.
Despite these conveniences, the HTC HD2’s biggest attraction by far on the hardware side is its beautiful 4.3-inch, 800 x 480, capacitive WVGA touchscreen display. Thanks to its high resolution and deep color contrast, small text and images are clearly visible, making it very easy on the eyes even in relatively bright sunlight.
That’s good news considering HD2’s new Sense UI is quite a visually appealing take on Windows Mobile 6.5. In fact it’s such an overall aesthetic improvement on the operating system that many casually picking up the phone may not realize it is indeed still a Windows Mobile-powered device. Sense is far beyond just an attractive reskinning though. On the contrary, a significant amount of work was put in by the HTC team to integrate, revamp and even rip out applications or functionality deemed unnecessary. For instance, the home screen view has ingeniously been combined to not only feature the normal combination of a clock, calendar and application launcher, but also show off the local weather in a unique animated fashion that provides serious wow factor.

Looking at the device on paper from a pure specs point of view, it’s no question that the HTC HD2 is indeed a significant upgrade from previous Windows Mobile powered phones. Combined with the hard usability work conducted by HTC in its Sense UI, light hands-on use of the phone might even convince casual shoppers that it deserves similar accolades to those given to handsets like the DROID and G2. The reality is, however, that Windows Mobile does not have access to the plethora of unique apps being churned out for other mobile operating systems like Android or the iPhone OS. Nor does it exhibit the same crash reliability. In that light, it’s difficult to give the HTC HD2 the nod over other handsets in the next generation of high-performance smartphones. However, considering pricing and carriers have yet to be officially announced or its arrival in the U.S., there is a chance that competitive pricing could enhance its standing in our eyes.

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LG debuts Optimus LTE Smartphone

Electronics giant LG has announced the Korean launch of what is claimed to be the highest resolution IPS (in-plane switching) display available on any smartphone. The Optimus LTE has a 4.5-inch, 329 pixels per inch resolution "True HD IPS" screen which is said to offer crisp, clear visuals and render colors in their most natural tones. Beneath the display, the smartphone is powered by a dual-core processor, runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and benefits from a large capacity battery.
Introducing its newest smartphone, LG points out that a recent report from Intertek showed that IPS display technology outperformed AMOLED for color accuracy, brightness, battery efficiency and performance. LG says that its True HD IPS technology - developed in association with LG Display - takes things up a notch with a distortion-free 4.5-inch, 1280 x 720 pixel resolution screen at an iPhone 4S-beating 329 pixels per inch. LG's Mobile HD Graphic Engine takes care of automatic color adjustment.

The super high-resolution Android 4G smartphone has a 1.5GHz dual-core processor supported by 1GB RAM, 4GB of internal storage with expansion via Micro-SD media and a 1,830 mAh battery. There's an 8 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash at the rear and a 1.3 megapixel webcam to the front and the device includes an HD Movie Editor. It's DNLA compliant for wirelessly sharing content with other compatible devices, and also boasts an HDMI interface.
LG says that availability in markets outside of Korea has not yet been determined - we'll keep you updated.

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Luxury gadgets/TAG Heuer Link Full Diamonds and White Lizard Smartphone

Swiss luxury brand, has presented the Link Smartphone a few months ago and it is now available for pre-order. Existing in various luxurious designs, the latest Exclusive model, the Full Diamonds & White Lizard, is particularly glittery.
Showing a 3.5-inch gorilla glass capacitive touch screen on the front, this phone has a total of 1007 diamonds around its stainless steel body. A majority of them is on the front, but a sizable number of them adorn the back cover and sides as well. Since white has been the primary color, the battery cover has a white lizard leather cover with animal patterns, which in total comes to around 2.53 carats of weight.

The phone has optimal security and shock proof construction couple with an Android OS with flash support, Google Map, Facebook integration and a 1GHz to run it all.  Another borrowed design from watches is the crown mechanism on the side of the TAG Heuer Link, which slides out to house the phone’s SIM card. Apps can be added via the Android Market, but out of the box are customised screen designs, widgets, animations, wallpapers, icons and ring tones exclusive to TAG Heuer.

The price for now is available only by request, but if you absolutely must have it then the Smartphone can be reserved exclusively on TAG Heuer.

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Samsung Omnia W Mango-based smartphone to hit the shelves in October

Samsung has revealed its first smartphone to run Windows Phone 7.5 (a.k.a. Mango), in the form of the Omnia W. Powered by a 1.4GHz CPU, the Omnia W boasts a 3.7-inch WVGA (800 x 480) Super AMOLED display and will likely compete with the recently announced Mango-based HTC Radar.

The Samsung Omnia W is actually quite similar to the HTC Radar, apart from its slightly larger 3.8-inch screen and a lower clocked 1GHz CPU. Utilizing 512MB of RAM, the Omnia W offers 8GB of built-in storage. Its 5-megapixel rear-facing camera comes equipped with autofocus, LED flash and 720p video recording. There's also a front-facing VGA camera. Connectivity options include HSPA, GPS, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA and Bluetooth 2.1 support.

The Omnia W comes equipped with the following software:
    Marketplace Hub - free and paid apps
    People Hub - Windows Live, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin built-in
    Picture Hub
    Music & Video Hub - Zune Experience
    Game Hub - Xbox Live
    Office Hub - Microsoft Office
    Samsung's Apps - Now, RSS Times, Video Call (3G), Photo Studio, Mini Diary
    Windows Live Skydrive (free 25GB of online-based storage)
    Tile-based Metro UX / IE9 mobile
    Bing Maps

Samsung's new smartphone will be rolled out by the end of October in Italy, and soon after will be available worldwide. While the press release does not mention pricing, according to Computerworld the Omnia W will be priced at EUR310 (US$418) before taxes.

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Luxury Gadgets/Mobiado CPT002 Aston Martin Concept Phone

Now, the Canadian luxury mobile phone maker Mobiado has unveiled  the CPT002 concept phone. Launching at the BaselWorld, the CPT002 will be more than just a phone, it will also help you control your Aston Martin vehicle remotely.
The CPT002 has a solid sapphire crystal, see-through capacitive touchscreen with platinum crafted sides which incorporates the battery, electronics and SIM card allowing for the display to be transparent. The phone functions as a key to the user’s Aston Martin vehicle, automatically unlocking the doors as the driver approaches. The phone also connects directly to the Aston Martin’s display while still remaining in the user’s pocket.
Delivering an immersive social network experience, the GPS capability of the handset works with its software to offer varied services. The FourSquare app wheedles with the GPS system to not only locate users’ cars but also their friends via an integrated map. Besides, customers can update their Facebook and Twitter statuses through cameras outfitted in the vehicle while apps like Airbag are of great use during emergency situations like an accident.

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Luxury Gadgets/Tag Heuer Link Smartphone

Combination of luxurious metal, alligator leather and Gorilla Glass screen features new Tag Heuer Link Smartphone. To produce phone’s casing, was used three metals, which includes 18K rose gold, industrial grade titanium, and stainless steel. Other options for enhancing the finish include the Black PVD (for the black and gold color option), rubber, calfskin, alligator, or lizard leather.

This world’s first luxury Swiss phone has a 3.5-inch display, covered in that ultra tough Gorilla Glass we saw at CES, 5-megapixel camera, 256MB internal memory and 8GB memory card and runs on Android 2.2 Froyo. It is virtually impregnable to water/dust and damage from drops.
The Tag Heuer Link Smartphone comes is either black leather and 18K rose gold or brown and titanium finishes. You will have to pay about $6,750, not including the charges for further customization.

Tag Heuer Link Main characteristics
• OS: Android 2.2 • Form factor: Bar type touch screen • Battery included: Li-lon 1400mAh
Messaging
• SMS / MMS / Email (Predictive Text Input XT9) • Image formats supported: JPEG / GIF / BMP
• Sound formats supported: MP3 / AAC / AAC+ / RA / WMA
Connectivity
• Stereo Bluetooth • AGPS, Wifi, WAPI • Compatible with any SIM card
Radio
• Edge & HSUPA (3G) • 4 Band GSM/Tri Band WCDMA
Storage
• Internal memory: 256 MB • Memory card: 8GB • Music play time: 11 hours
Photo & Video
• LCM Screen: TFT 3.5” • Screen resolution: 800*480 pixels – 16 millions of colors
• 5 Mega Pixel Camera Auto Focus • Video player and recorder
Applications
• Adobe Flash Reader • Google Search, Google Maps • GMail , You Tube , E-Blogger
Phone Materials
• 316L Stainless steel, Gold, Diamonds, Black PVD, Titanium, Rubber, Calfskin leather,
• Carbon leather, Alligator and Lizard

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BlackBerry Torch 9850 /Review

Starting at: $199.99

The good: The RIM BlackBerry Torch 9850's svelte design and sharp screen give it consumer-level appeal. Features like 720p HD video capture, world phone capabilities, and an enhanced operating system are welcome. Call quality is good as well.

The bad: The Torch 9850 suffers from the occasional sluggishness, and there are times when the touch screen isn't as responsive as we would like.

The bottom line: The RIM BlackBerry Torch 9850 for Verizon Wireless is a laudable midrange smartphone, but it faces stiff competition

RIM is once again making the rounds with its latest line of BlackBerry smartphones, with the Torch 9850 heading to Verizon Wireless after its initial launch with Sprint. The BlackBerry Torch 9850 marked a milestone for BlackBerry as the first-ever full touch-screen handset after the rather embarrassing mistakes of the Storm and the Storm 2. And we have to say, RIM made a decent effort here. The 3.7-inch display is sharp, and the 1.2GHz processor does a good job at improving overall performance. The Torch 9850 also ships with OS 7, which brings a number of under-the-hood enhancements like 720p HD video capture, voice-activated search, HTML 5 support, and more. The Torch 9850 is also a dual-mode CDMA/GSM phone, which makes it fit for globe-trotters.

As the Torch 9850 for Verizon Wireless has the same design and features as the one for Sprint, we'll focus more on slight software and performance differences that the Verizon version offers.

Software

One of the main differences between the Sprint and Verizon Wireless versions of the Torch 9850 is the bundled software. As you might expect, the Verizon version of the phone comes preinstalled with Verizon apps and services. They include VZ Navigator, Backup Assistant, V Cast Music, V Cast Videos, V Cast Song ID, VZWTones, and Bing search. Many of these can't be uninstalled. Aside from these apps, the rest of the phone's software is the same as the Torch 9850 for Sprint and other OS 7 handsets.

Performance

Clear call quality  although  a tiny bit of static is encountered occasionally. Otherwise, callers had plenty of volume and sounded quite natural.  Callers reported similar call quality, though  voice quality was not quite as natural and rich as that of a regular landline call. They could still tell we were on a cell phone due to slight distortions. On the whole, call quality was quite impressive. Speakerphone calls sounded good too, though it did have heavy echo effect at times.

The Torch 9850's battery has a rated talk time of up to 6.8 hours and a rated standby time of up to 13.4 days. According to FCC radiation tests, the Torch 9850 has a digital SAR of 0.9 watt per kilogram.

Conclusion

RIM finally made a full touch-screen phone that works. It makes for a great midrange handset with good multimedia features and performance. We welcome the speedy boost that the new processor provides as well as the new camera and browser technologies. Yet, it doesn't quite compete with the big leagues with its lack of a front-facing camera, no 4G support, and no dual-core processor. That's forgivable since this is a midrange device, but Verizon has priced this phone as if it were a premium product at $199.99 with a two-year contract. We do think the BlackBerry Torch 9850 represents one of RIM's better efforts to capture the non-RIM crowd, but we feel it needs to be more aggressive with pricing to really do so.

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