Garmin-Asus today announced the Garmin-Asus nüvifone A50, a touchscreen Android-powered smartphone with multiple location technologies and apps. It includes Garmin navigation with turn-by-turn, voice prompted directions for use in a car or while walking. Location features are designed into virtually every function including email, text messaging, and photos. The A50 has a 3.5-inch HVGA capacitive touchscreen display, QWERTY touchscreen, 3 megapixel camera, 4GB internal storage, an expandable microSD card slot, and accelerometer. It integrates Google mobile services with one-click access to Google Search by voice, Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, calendar, contacts and Android Market.
From the category archives:
Mobile Phones
Logitech Touch Mouse turns your iPhone or iPod touch into a wireless trackpad and keyboard for your computer, so you can point, click, scroll and type from afar, in any application, on a Mac or PC. It works over Wi-Fi and this could be a great way to control your computer when it’s connected to your TV and you’re lounging on the couch. And to make typing easier, text is displayed on the screen of your iPhone or iPod touch as you type, so you can see what you’re doing without having to continually look up and down. It features multi-touch trackpad with the option for two or three mouse buttons, two-finger scrolling, keyboard with Control, Alt, Command/Windows keys and is available in landscape and portrait modes. The app is available from the App Store for free.
Joby, a company known for its Gorillapods flexible tripods, launched a new app for iPhone 3G/ 3GS that enhances the iPhone’s camera functionality. Gorillacam features self-timer (includes audible countdown notification), continuous rapid-fire (up to 1.6 photos per second), 3-shot burst (three quick photographs with one tap), grid overlay and bubble level. Auto-save lets you keep shooting while your photos save in the background and time-lapse takes multiple photos spaced at an interval. Press anywhere turns the whole screen into the shutter button. You can also share photos without ever leaving the app. Gorillacam comes with a bunch of helpful tips on how to take better shots with the iPhone. It’s already available on App Store for free.
The LG eXpo will be available beginning December 7 for AT&T customers. It features the first 1 GHz processor in the U.S. and will be compatible with AT&T’s HSPA 7.2 Mbps technology. The eXpo supports an optional integrated pico projector – the LG Mobile Projector snaps onto the back of the device and allows sharing presentations, slideshows or even online videos straight from the mobile phone. Loaded with Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional, the new LG slider eliminates the need for pin codes and passwords with the “Smart Sensor” fingerprint recognition from AuthenTec, packs 3.2-inch touchscreen, full size QWERTY, 5.0 megapixel camera and supports up to a 16GB removable microSD memory. Enterprise customers will pay $199.99 for the eXpo and additional $179.99 for the projector.
iBiquity, the developer and licenser of HD Radio Technology, introduced Gigaware Navigation Control HD Radio Receiver accessory and the HD Radio application. The accessory/app combination enables iPhone and iPod Touch to tune into HD Radio broadcasts. Adding HD Radio Technology to the iPhone and iPod touch (compatible with models updated with 3.0 software) is a two-step process: 1) Buy the Gigaware HD Radio accessory, designed for and sold exclusively at RadioShack for an MSRP of $79.99, 2 ) download and install the free application from the App Store (under the Music category). The app enables you to preview content currently airing and directly select a main station or multicast channel stream, in addition to bookmark your favorite stations and multicast channels. An iTunes Tagging button on the Gigaware navigation accessory also allows to “tag” songs for future review and purchase via iTunes. It gives you access to more than 2,000 HD Radio stations on the air, and 1,000+ new FM multicast channels (HD2/HD3).
It is now official and will completely change the mobile and PND navigation market: Google announced Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0 devices.
It features 3D views, turn-by-turn voice guidance and automatic rerouting, but unlike most navigation systems, the Navigation was built from the ground up to take advantage of the phone’s internet connection.
And so Google’s navigation comes with recent map and business data (phone automatically gets the most up-to-date maps and business listings from Google Maps), search by voice (speak your destination instead of typing), traffic view (live traffic data over the internet), search along route (searching for a specific business along the route), satellite view (the same satellite imagery as Google Maps on the desktop) and Street View (shows the turn as you’ll see it, with the route overlaid).
Sprint today announced Nov. 15 as the first day of nationwide availability for Palm Pixi. It will cost $99.99 with a two-year service agreement, after a $50 instant rebate and $100 mail-in rebate.
Running the Palm webOS mobile platform, Pixi comes with two ARM cores chipset, 600MHz applications processor, and a separate 400MHz modem processor, 2.63-inch multi-touch screen with 18-bit color 320×400 TFT display, integrated GPS, 2-megapixel fixed-focus camera with LED flash, 3.5mm headset jack, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR with A2DP, 8GB of internal storage, USB mass storage mode, MicroUSB connector with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed, light and proximity sensors and 1150 mAh battery.
Also offers gesture area, full QWERTY keyboard, Palm Synergy, true multi-tasking, universal search and intuitive notifications, and adds Yahoo! integration to Palm Synergy, joining Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Exchange ActiveSync and LinkedIn.
Combined voice and data plans for the Pixi are priced starting at $69.99.
RIM today announced the sleek and powerful BlackBerry Bold 9700. It will be the first 3G-powered BlackBerry available through T-Mobile USA, and also the first smartphone from RIM that includes built-in support for both 3G connectivity and voice calls over Wi-Fi, T-Mobile informed .
Rumored as the Onyx, Bold 9700 comes with new BlackBerry OS 5.0, 624 MHz processor, 2.44” light-sensing display, 256MB Flash memory, built-in GPS and Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g), 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, flash and video recording, full-QWERTY keyboard, touch-sensitive optical trackpad and micro SDHC 2GB card.
It includes support for 3G HSDPA networks around the world and provides all well known RIM’s mobile e-mail and messaging solution, and access to social networking applications.
Many applications from BlackBerry App World are readily available directly on the 9700, such as Slacker Radio (free music), TeleNav GPS Navigator (turn-by-turn directions), and visual voicemail.
The new BlackBerry is expected to be available in November.
Samsung has finally announced long-expected world’s first phone with 12MP camera and optical zoom – the SCH-W880 (also called AMOLED 12M). Although we’re not sure whether it’s a cellphone with a great camera or a compact camera with mediocre phone functionality, it’s certain that ‘the device’ comes with 4000 x 3000 pixels sensor, 3x optical zoom, dual Xenon and LED flash, dedicated hardware buttons to control shooting mode, shutter and zoom, 720p video recording at 30fps, 800 x 480 3.3-inch AMOLED WGA screen and 4GB internal memory. It also supports face detection, touch auto focus and image stabilization. Smart Auto function will automatically select the scene according to environment. It doesn’t have WI-FI and GPS but rumors say Samsung will incorporate this features into M8920 – the international version of ALOLED 12M.
SCH-W880 is expected to hit the Korean retail shelves in October this year.
Here it comes! (Almost) all rumors confirmed. Yes, there’ll be 32 GB version available. Yes, a new iPhone is faster: “on average up to twice as fast”, 7.2Mbps HSDPA. Yes, it has better camera: 3 MP, with autofocus, macro mode and auto white balance. Yes, it can make a video: 30fps VGA with on-device editing capability, and send MMS (although AT&T won’t support it until “late summer”). And yes, the battery life is promised to be (a bit) longer. It features magnetic compass, enables voice control, voice memos and covers tethering. You will also get a real navigation system created in cooperation with TomTom. New iPhone goes on sale June 19th in the US and in August in other countries. Prices: $199 for the 16GB version and $299 for the 32GB.