The number 1 U.S. carrier released its company-branded GPS-enabled navigation service, AT&T Navigator. The new feature is available for all GPS-capable PDAs and phones and it provides audible and visual turn-by-turn driving directions, including built-in speech recognition (currently available only for BlackBerry devices) for address entry and points of interest search directly from your phone. The last option is activated when you press a single button on your phone and speak the name of the business or address you want to find and the Navigator will help you get there. The GPS service includes mobile access to YELLOWPAGES.COM, real-time traffic updates and route information, ETA calculation for every route, plus constant updates. The Navigator also provides both flow (average speed of traffic along your route) and incident information (auto accidents, freeway construction, etc.). Another interesting feature is the Gas By Price feature. It gives you directions to the nearest gas stations, sorted lowest to highest price.
read more…
Sanyo isn’t the only company contributing goodies to the opening volley of CDMA Direct Connect devices for Sprint — LG, Motorola, and Samsung all want in on the action, too. LG brings the LX400, featuring a 1.3 megapixel camera in a burgundy shell; it’s not our cup of tea, but folks looking for something on the non-rugged side of the PTT spectrum might find their soulmate here.
Motorola V950 is pretty notable since it marks Moto’s inevitable foray away from its own iDEN tech and toward something just a little more modern to support the push-to-talk functionality its users so deeply love. It’s a media powerhouse, too, thanks to external music controls, a microSD slot, stereo Bluetooth, and a 2 megapixel cam.
read more…
At the CTIA show in Vegas, Kyocera announced seven new phones, three CDMAs for the U.S. and four GSMs for Latin America.
The three CDMA phones are expected to launch in the third quarter of the year. They all are tri-band, supporting the AWS band.
-The Kyocera Neo E1100 has the most interesting design. It has a hidden OLED caller-ID display and a unique “light-pipe†on the front. The internal display is 2.2†with a QVGA resolution. It has a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth and BREW support.
-In contrast, the Mako S4000 has typical for its class design, two color displays (1†external and 1.8†internal TFT with 262k colors). It features Bluetooth, a VGA camera, WAP 2.0 and BREW.
The more youthful Kyocera Adreno S2400 clamshell phone focuses on the “retro cool” with a tactile finish and curved edges. Kyocera Adreno S2400 is a CDMA clamshell featuring 65k color STN display, Bluetooth, Speakerphone and Organizer.
read more…
Motorola announced of the Motorola Smart Rider phone, an in-vehicle solution featuring GPS navigation, interactive voice activation, Bluetooth wireless technology and clear audio quality. The Smart Rider phone uses GSM technology to enhance user experience so drivers can converse, navigate and tend to business. The Smart Rider increases convenience of communication:
- Bluetooth technology lets consumers move freely from the home or office into the vehicle while having active calls, contact information and other personal data transferred from the handset to the in-vehicle device
- User profiles grant secure access to personalized phonebook settings for up to three drivers on the Smart Rider phone
- Voice activation makes the phone hassle-free for drivers
- Built-in microphone and speakerphone ensures a clear, sharp sound
read more…
Microsoft hasn’t suddenly transformed its 30-inch, multi-touch Surface into a big-ass cellphone. It has, however, chosen AT&T to launch the world’s first Surface into retail. Shoppers in New York, Atlanta, San Antonio, and San Francisco will be treated to what amounts to the novelty (at least initially) of learning about a device (Samsung BlackJack II, pictured) by simply placing it atop the Surface. They’ll also have the ability to explore interactive coverage maps. Later, users will be able to drag ringtones, graphics and video and drop it into “the phones.” Note their use of “the” and not “your” phone in the press release.
read more…
