Mitsubishi's Symbian-powered D702iBCL for NTT DoCoMo

Mitsubishi's Symbian-powered D702iBCL for NTT DoCoMo
Fashion phones not your cup of tea? Looking for something a little more business oriented perhaps? NTT DoCoMo has you covered with their D702iBCL FOMA smartphone, brought to you by the good folks at Mitsubishi. The D702iBCL sports NTT's MOAP (Moblie Oriented Applications Platform) UI sitting atop Symbian 8.1 along with a QVGA display, all while coming in at a relatively sprightly 130 x 47 x 16.8mm and 97g. A camera is conspicuously missing, but being that this is a business phone, that's just as well.

O2 Atom Exec gets the full rundown

O2 Atom Exec gets the full rundown
CNET has gone ahead and upgraded its preview of the O2 Atom Exec to a full review, and it appears they've come away with a very positive impression of the refreshed non-HTC -- yes, non-HTC -- Pocket PC. To refresh your melon, the Atom Exec is O2's Asia-only update of the Atom, adding an extra 64MB of ROM (for a total of 192MB), boosting the device's PXA272 core from 416 to 520MHz, and toning down the glossy finish to a more matte one. CNET concludes that the Exec is a great device thanks largely to its roomy ROM and snappy performance, but that it probably isn't worthy of an upgrade for owners of the original Atom. European Atom owners: feelin' any jealousy here?

Sony Ericsson's K750i comes in red

Sony Ericsson's K750i comes in red
Sony Ericsson didn't really strike us as too huge on the whole re-release that device in a new color strategy, but starting, well, last Saturday it would appear our UK pals can snag a lipstick red K750i from Carphone Warehouse. As for the rest of us, we'll just have to live with what we've got now: the K750's far more advanced successor, the K800.

CKT's sporty yet boring 6689

CKT's sporty yet boring 6689
It sure looks an awful lot like just about every other mid to low-end Samsung around, and the CKT 6689's specs aren't nearly as blistering as that fire engine red shade encasing its 2 megapixel camera, MP3 and MPEG-4 playback, and MicroSD slot. We really hope there isn't something you find to be positively irresistible about this phone, since it's dubious this thing will ever make it outside China.

Cingular to offer video sharing while talking

Cingular to offer video sharing while talking
Cingular's announced that it plans to launch a new service "within the next year" that'll let users share videos while talking on their cellphone, something that you may remember was being tested earlier this year. Assuming Cingular hasn't gone on a completely different route, the service will make use of what's known as the IP Multimedia Subsystem (or IMS), which is a UMTS implementation of (SIP). It's nifty to be sure, but we're guessing Cingular will have to make the service really affordable for most people to be able to justify adding yet another expense to their monthly bill.

The Mac phone. No, not really.

The Mac phone. No, not really
Some people have quite a bit of spare time on their hands, some have an undying obsession with all things Apple, while others profess their appreciation of the customizability of Symbian devices. Apparently these all came to a head in the Mac phone, the resulting collision producing quite a little hack on the 6680 if we ever saw one. Ok, now who's gonna make us a Windows phone? Oh, wait.

ROK Player goes Windows Mobile

ROK Player goes Windows Mobile
It's been a while since ROK and their ROK Player declared they were going after the mobile video market selling MMCs loaded with shows; they eventually came back claiming they were going to launch their BLCX SlingBox killer, which is certainly slightly more practical for getting your TV onto your wireless device -- but they missed that June 1 rollout date, too. What they do have, though, is a 2.5g streaming video solution for Symbian, which can now also count Windows Mobile users among those who have access to ROK TV content. While we're doubting any 2.5g connection in the world is going to provide video as demonstrated by ROK above, they do indeed have a decent enough little lineup going on if you were looking for a way to get some mobile video going on that EDGE-enabled HTC of yours.

China first to get Motorola ROKR E2

China first to get Motorola ROKR E2
The ROKR E2, which has been fermenting in Motorola's labs for a good six months is finally ready for public consumption, it seems, and China is the lucky first country to be blessed / cursed with its presence. On sale now at GOME outlets across the country, the E2's specs (QVGA, USB 2.0, 3.5mm jack) soundly put the E1's to shame, but with the E3 already in the pipeline -- not to mention the countless music phones available now from other manufacturers -- it's anybody's guess whether savvy Chinese buyers will give a hoot.

Cingular beefs up the low end with Nokia's 6102i

Cingular beefs up the low end with Nokia's 6102i
If you're looking for a virtually free clamshell on Cingular, you have an impressive selection to choose from, with entries from Sony Ericsson, Samsung, LG, Pantech, Motorola, and Nokia all in the mix. They've gone ahead and re-upped that selection just a bit by replacing the aging 6102 with the 6102i, which adds Bluetooth but otherwise sounds about the same as its predecessor: you get dual color displays, VGA camera, speakerphone, and EDGE support for next to nothing on contract (we show $9.99 after rebates in the Midwest). Now, how's about adding a couple Nokias on the high end while you're at it, Cingular?

Philips' S900 touchscreen candybar

Philips' S900 touchscreen candybar
Philips got busy with a Korean touchscreen candybar, or so it would appear. Their new S900 probably isn't soon going to see the light of day outside select Asian markets, but it's got handwriting recognition, a 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, MiniSD, mini USB, and an unfortunate QQVGA display. Just thought you'd like to know, ok?

Lenovo releases the Superman i750, Phone of Steel

Lenovo releases the Superman i750, Phone of Steel
Much to our surprise, it looks like China will beat out US carriers on bringing a co-branded Superman phone to coincide with the upcoming release of Superman Returns. Lenovo is rolling out a special edition of its i750 candybar to mark the occasion, bundling the phone with a cornucopia of forgettable Superman-themed trinkets. Unfortunately, there's really nothing super about the phone itself -- just your average tri-band GSM piece with 220 x 176 display, 1.3 megapixel camera, and MiniSD slot, though the TV out is a bonus. If you happen to be in mainland China, you can pick up your own piece of Superman history starting the end of June for 1500 Yuan, which rings up just shy of $190 USD.

EA to bypass carriers, sell mobile games direct

EA to bypass carriers, sell mobile games direct
Feel like you're getting held down by the man every time you check out your carrier's content portal and can't find the game you're looking for, simply because they chose not to carry it? EA feels your pain, too -- though more from the revenue-sharing perspective -- and they're looking to do something about it. Their Mobile division has announced they're hard at work designing a solution for buying mobile games (like Will Wright's upcoming "Spore") on your PC direct from EA and downloading the purchased binary to your phone from there. Obviously, they're looking to make the process as painless as possible; no amount of foolproofing could make a two-step process involving two devices as easy as downloading a game directly through your WAP browser, but hey, if this is what we have to do to get our Spore on, you'd best believe we'll be digging our cables out of the drawer.

ASUS adds a slider and flip

ASUS adds a slider and flip
Personally, we have a softer spot in our hearts for ASUS' smartphone offerings, but they're doing their best to win us over on their, uh, less smart offerings with the J208 slider and M310 clamshell. The M310 offers the discerning consumer a scary, HAL-like camera lens sporting 2 megapixels of autofocus resolution, a QVGA internal display, and MicroSD slot in a music-oriented 90g chassis with external player controls. The more attractive of the pair, the J208 brings a 2.0 megapixel shooter (without the 2001 drama), 64MB of internal flash, a MicroSD slot, and a 220 x 176 display in a 17mm thick package; we would've liked to have seen QVGA, but we're not going to lose sleep over it since we're betting these tri-band GSM units are Asia-only.

Nokia adds low-end 3G 6151

Nokia adds low-end 3G 6151
Not a week ago, we were talking about GSMA's "3G for all" project to bring UMTS to the world's poor, and although Nokia's new 6151 doesn't promise to hit the $30 unsubsidized mark, they are using the similar-sounding "3G for Everyone" tagline to hype the phone. The candybar 6151 joins NEC in the largely uncharted territory of low-end 3G action, filling the bill with a 1.3 megapixel shooter, 30MB of internal flash with MicroSD expansion, FM radio, PTT, and Bluetooth, all sitting atop S40. The phone looks to drop for about €240 unsubsidized, which works out to $300 -- not quite fit for developing countries yet. North America gets left out of the party with the phone's lack of UMTS 1900 and GSM 850, but the 6151 should start trickling into the hands of underprivileged phone aficionados across the remainder of the globe in the third quarter in your choice of black, pearl white, orange, light blue, or lime green.

Nokia announces 1110i for "first time users"

Nokia announces 1110i for "first time users"
Apparently there exists a market somewhere for bargain-basement phones, devoid of even the most basic features, that look like they've been sitting in a warehouse somewhere since 1999. Wherever you folks are, Nokia's got you covered with their latest ultra low-end offering, the 1110i. A modest update for the similarly-designed 1110, the 1110i rocks a freshly updated version of S30, 96 x 68 1-bit display with green backlight, 20-tone polyphony with "MP3-grade tones," EGSM 900 / 1800 support, and that's about it. At just €45 ($57) unsubsidized, what's there not to love? Available starting Q3 in areas friendly to dual-band coverage.

Samsung's 9.9-millimeter SGH-D830 clamshell

Samsung's 9.9-millimeter SGH-D830 clamshell
So Samsung's showing off a super-slim new flip phone at CommunicAsia 2006 in Singapore called the SGH-D830, but other than its RAZR-killing 9.9-millimeter thickness, they're declining to reveal any of the details that we so desperately need to know. Does it play music? We can't say. Is it i-mode compatible? Maybe, we see an "i" on there. How many megapixels is the camera? Again, you'll find no answers here. Shame, shame on you Samsung, for teasing us with a model so thin and yet so mysterious.

Hands-on with the Sidekick 3

Hands-on with the Sidekick 3
Engadget Mobile has a bunch of hands-on shots with the new T-Mobile Sidekick 3.
As promised, our initial impressions of the new T-Mobile Sidekick 3...First off, the Sidekick 3 is really just an evolution and enhancement of its predecessor (just as the SKII was with the original Sidekick). It's about 20% smaller (it's definitely more pocketable), and finally has Bluetooth, a memory card slot, and a better camera,

Just as the Sidekick II was with the original Sidekick, the Sidekick is at heart just an evolution and enhancement of its predecessor. The big improvements? Bluetooth, a memory card slot, a better camera, more memory, a music player, and a trackball. There haven't been any major changes in the UI (mainly a few tweaks here and there), and you may or may not like the new keyboard (we liked it, but you'll just have to try it yourself and see), but the biggest disappointment is the display, which is still a paltry 240 x 160 pixels and still looks sorta washed out to our eyes.

When it rains, it pours: Telus gets some Nokia love, too

When it rains, it pours: Telus gets some Nokia love, too
It seems Motorola isn't the only manufacturer spreading joy north of the border this week. Our colleagues at Engadget Chinese brought word of Nokia's new CDMA slider late last year: 24MB of shared flash, 2.0 megapixel camera, and QVGA display all sitting atop S40 3rd Edition, making the 6265i Nokia's flagship CDMA piece. Not bad for a company known far better for its GSM efforts, and at least Qualcomm won't get all bent out of shape when this one goes on sale. Available now for our friends on Telus for $99.99 with a 3-year (yikes!) contract.

[Thanks, Gerald and Bernie]

Qtopia dual-mode phone drops in France

Qtopia dual-mode phone drops in France
We first told you about Wistron NeWeb's GW1 dual-mode candybar with tri-band GSM and VoIP over WiFi back in January when we caught wind of it at CES; now, it looks like they've picked up a launch partner. Rebranded as the "Twin" by French MVNO Neuf (that's "Nine" for you non-Francophones out there), the phone appears to be hit with the basically the same ugly stick that afflicted the GW1, but never mind that -- the big draw here is dual mode, which Neuf will offer at regular mobile rates through customer's Internet connections and its own hotspots. Also of note is that the Twin / GW1 runs Qtopia for folks looking to make an escape from more traditional smartphone platforms. The Twin is available unlocked and without contract for €200 or €1 when purchased with a Neuf Internet connection and phone plan.

Vodafone Germany takes the guesswork out of Orb setup

Vodafone Germany takes the guesswork out of Orb setup
If you've been curious about Orb but you're sweating the installation process or you're worried that your carrier might frown upon your indulgent use of data, life just got a little easier -- if you're on Vodafone Germany's UMTS network, that is. Their new "Vodafone-Mein PC" service, which is in public trial through September, includes a PC installer that reportedly does just about everything for you -- just add content and you're ready to roll. The service communicates with Vodafone's Live! portal, which you then access via your compatible, UMTS-capable handset. If the service flops, Vodafone is reserving the right to drop it following the trial period, but if it takes off, they're reserving the right to charge a few euros, too. If Vodafone's bandwidth wasn't already saturated with streaming Knight Rider and Baywatch reruns, this might just do the trick.

OKWAP's WM2005 Smartphone slider

OKWAP's WM2005 Smartphone slider
Despite the seemingly exponential popularity of sliders over the past couple years, Windows Mobile Smartphones have seen shockingly little action in the form factor (heck, even Pocket PCs have managed to join the party). Taiwan's OKWAP is looking to change all that, parading their adorable little K728 at this year's Computex. The tri-band GSM device (sorry, yanks) sports some unusual specs for a Smartphone, including a 400MHz Samsung core, generous 128MB of flash, 2.0 megapixel camera, MiniSD slot, AKU2 with all the trimmings (A2DP included), and a 220 x 176 touchscreen. Yes, that's right, a touchscreen -- Smartphone doesn't officially get down like that, so we're assuming OKWAP rolled their own touch support. Given the unusually healthy spec sheet, you might be led to believe this Smartphone is secretly aspiring to be a Pocket PC, but the K728's diminutive 93.5 x 46 x 24.5mm and 107.8g weight suggest otherwise. More not-for-US-release eye candy after the break.

Q fans, good news: it'll cost $50 and have UMTS by 2007

Q fans, good news: it'll cost $50 and have UMTS by 2007
For those Q fans in the audience, we've got some good news (especially if you haven't made the jump yet because that $200 price point is still a little high, or because you just can't bear the thought of switching to Verizon). Apparently Ron Garriques, Moto's Executive Vice President, Mobile Devices Business, told Bear Sterns that the Q's sales performance can be compared to the steep, successful initial launch of the RAZR, and that they not only hope to drop the price to $50 after carrier subsidy by the end of 2006, but they'll be launching a UMTS version when Verizon's exclusivity contract on the device ends (as we've been expecting). Yeah, that'd be the same UMTS version that it was supposed to be around from the get go. Still, we're assuming that exclusivity will last a good half year (quite literally a gadget lifetime to wait for us), after which time the UMTS Q will head to some mysterious, unknown network. Guess Ron wasn't too firm a believer in Moto's supposedly newly adopted announce-when-you-ship methodology, eh?

Nokia's N92 DVB-H handset in World Cup trial

Nokia's N92 DVB-H handset in World Cup trial
Although announced way back in November, Nokia's flagship N92 DVB-H phone still isn't shipping. Of course, that hasn't kept it from making the occasional appearance at DVB-H pilots across Europe. And with Germany (and the world) now fully consumed by the World Cup, yet another German DVB-H pilot project has launched with local operators E-Plus, O2, T-Mobile, and Vodaphone pumping out that mobile digital feed. The pilot consists of 14 television channels (and six radio) broadcasting live matches and other programming to "guests" using a variety of DVB-H handsets (presumably from LG, Samsung and maybe even BenQ-Siemens), including the N92. The pilot is being held in the largest German cities and will run until August 31st, except in Munich where it ends on July 31 allowing ample time to prepare for beer drinking season. And in case you're wondering, the N92 is expected to hit Europe mid-summer for an unsubsidized price of €600 ($758); beaucoup bucks for a service offering in trial-mode everywhere 'cept Finland and maybe Italy.

The M81: BenQ-Siemens gets in touch with its sporty side

The M81: BenQ-Siemens gets in touch with its sporty side
Apparently, the folks at BenQ are looking to make a run on Nokia's "active lifestyle" category of phones, unleashing the shock / splash / dust-resistant M81 today in Munich. Besides the navigation (GPS module sold seperately) and weather clients, built-in flashlight, and relatively tough exterior clad in "high-quality synthetics and rubber," not much differentiates the device from your typical midrange candybar: 900 / 1800 / 1900 GSM with EDGE data, 176 x 132 display, 1.3 megapixel camera, music player, and MicroSD slot in your choice of Graphite Black or Steel Blue. The M81 starts shipping to joggers and snowboarders in August.

Samsung ZV50 now on Vodafone Germany's "UMTS Turbo"

Samsung ZV50 now on Vodafone Germany's "UMTS Turbo"
Speed freaks, rejoice: another carrier's customers are ready to be comforted by HSDPA's warm embrace. The Samsung SGH-ZV50 has dropped on Vodafone Germany, and although we're seeing some mention of the term "UMTS Turbo," let's be honest with each other and take this phone for what it is -- Voda Germany's first HSDPA handset. Data rates, which can be piped to the device of your choosing via USB or Bluetooth, are claimed to top out at 1.8 simultaneous-voice-callin' megabits/sec. Other than the blazing data speeds, the 105-gram handset itself isn't anything too spectacular, serving up 30MB of internal flash, QVGA display, and a MicroSD slot with a 64MB card thrown in the box. Without contract, the ZV50 will run you a whopping €799.50 -- yes, a shade over one grand US -- but that comes down to €229.50 with a signup.

New budget slider from Alcatel

New budget slider from Alcatel
We don't talk much about Alcatels on this side of the pond, but that doesn't mean they aren't holding down the low to mid range, with a full 14 cellphones in their current lineup. Latest among them is the OT E260, a GSM 900/1800 no-frills slider that lacks a camera (gasp!). For its lowly market segment, the E260 is a looker, sporting a simple glossy black face and weighing in at a svelte 90 grams. Besides a straight-outta-2002 102 x 80 color screen, you'll get 16-channel polyphonic ringtones, and that's about it.

Verizon's Chaperone offers invisible fence to parents

Verizon's Chaperone offers invisible fence to parents
We're still trying to get used to the idea of 8 year-olds toting cellphones, but operators have embraced their new clientele, developing phones and services tailored to their needs and the needs of their parental units. Verizon's young'un offering, the GPS-enabled LG Migo, will be the first device to operate with their Chaperone service, which launches on Monday. For $10 a month, Chaperone lets a curious parent check on their child's location, and for $20, Verizon can send alerts when the child crosses pre-set boundaries. We're hoping the Migo doesn't deliver a shock when an unsuspecting kid moves past their boundary, but it does look a little like a stun gun, does it not?

Nvidia intros Windows Mobile multimedia platform

Nvidia intros Windows Mobile multimedia platform
Nvidia has taken the wraps of its MobileMedia platform for Windows Mobile 5.0-based devices at Taiwan's big Computex trade show, promising to bring high-quality digital TV and video, 3D graphics, and high fidelity audio to PDAs and smartphones. At the heart of the MobileMedia platform is Nvidia's GeForce 5500 chip, which supposedly delivers "console-class 3D gaming," although they convienently don't specify which console -- we're guessing it falls somewhere below an Xbox 360 but above a Sega Genesis. As it turns out, we've actually already seen a couple of the smartphones based on the Nvidia platform, although no one was spilling deets at the time. Modeo's DVB-H smartphone (seen here) is just one of the devices already announced that has Nvidia tech on the inside, as is Samsung's i310 smartphone, as well as an unnamed device from ReignCom. Nvidia also announced that they've hooked up with Intel and Freescale to develop reference designs for Windows Mobile 5.0 devices currently in development that should be unveiled later this year.

Gigabyte debuts g-Smart i120 & i300 smartphones

Gigabyte debuts g-Smart i120 & i300 smartphones
Gigabyte is showing off two new Windows Mobile 5.0 smartphones at Computex in Taiwan this week, the g-Smart i120 and g-Smart i300. The i300 appears to be a slightly modified version of what was previously just known as the g-Smart i, a tri-band device (no EDGE, sadly), packing 64MB of RAM, 256MB of ROM, 802.11g, Bluetooth 2.0, GPS, a 2 megapixel camera, 2.4-inch QVGA screen, as well as a MiniSD slot and an FM tuner; what's not clear if it supports the same crazy rabbit ears for TV reception as the other g-Smart we saw a couple of months ago. The i120 takes a different approach, featuring a built-in keypad, but the specs are pretty similar otherwise, with tri-band GSM (900 / 1800 / 1900) and GPRS, 64MB RAM, 256MB ROM, 802.11g, Bluetooth (just 1.2 on this one), infrared, a 2.4-inch QVGA display, 2 megapixel camera, and, it seems, a TV tuner in addition to the FM (no evidence of rabbit ears though). Check the read link below for some more pics courtesy of Phone Daily.

New display tech could make mobiles "glanceable

New display tech could make mobiles "glanceable
We hesitate to bring up anything to do with the ongoing debacle that is SPOT, but the guys over at Microsoft's most left-of-center division helped popularize the concept of "glanceable" information -- ubiquitous, high-demand data (weather reports, for instance) that can be gleaned quickly and with little or no user input. Cellphones, despite the fact that they have ready access to such data, have been largely left out of the party; always-on displays are a backbone of the glanceable concept, and the dazzling, hi-res screens necessary to keep the modern consumer entertained drain far too much power to be left on when no one is interacting with the device. Manufacturers have taken baby steps to solving the power problem by introducing OLEDs, but more is needed. Qualcomm, when it's not busy filing lawsuits, has been working on its iMoD (short for Interferometric Modulator) technology, which uses an array of microscopic mirrors to stay highly visible in well-lit conditions. Meanwhile, Philips spin-off Liquavista is taking the electrowetting approach. Either way, we're all for always-on cellphone displays that afford us more than a few hours of standby, but both groups have yet to name any commercial devices in the pipeline. In the meantime, there's still a chance to jump on the glanceable bandwagon -- grab a handful of Ambient Orbs, turn down the lights, and soak in the psychadelic data.