E-TEN M550

The upcoming M550 is targeted at mobile users who are looking for a cellular-enabled Windows Mobile 5.0 device yet don’t won’t to pay for extra options like integrated Wi-Fi or GPS. It is essentially an older M500 model with the latest OS pre-installed and some visual tuning.
The novelty is powered by Windows Mobile 5.0 software for Pocket PC Phone Edition and supports quad-band 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS Class B cellular connectivity. Under the cowl it has a 400 MHz Samsung S3C 2440 processor with 128 MB RAM and 64 MB ROM (130 MB total available to the user).
The handset features a 2.8-inch full color QVGA (240 x 320) screen, SDIO expansion slot, built-in Bluetooth, and a 1.3-megapixel camera with flash (up to 1280 x 960 resolution). I am a bit disappointed because M550 still maintain its 1.3 megapixel camera.
The M550 measures 111.7 x 60.7 x 22 mm and weighs 170 g. The standard 1440 mAh Li-Ion replaceable battery allows up to 4 hours of talk time or up to 200 hours of standby.

BenQ-Siemens Q-fi EF71

The BenQ-Siemens Q-fi EF71 is one of the first mobile phones within BenQ-Siemens' Q-fi range of music-focused devices. Q-fi products feature easy-to-use music entertainment with easy access to music functions and a plug and play, all-in-one solution for mobile music lovers. Clad in "stellar aluminium", the BenQ-Siemens EF71 comes with an attractive minimalist design with some very sleek external media controls. Besides, it also comes with a multimedia player that supports MP3, AAC and WMA formats. It can take video clips at up to 30 fps, and it can be used as a webcam when connected to a PC via a USB cable. This got to be a "WOW" factor for those mobile user that always online with their laptop anytime, anywhere. You can even doing video conferencing with your friend using MSN or Yahoo Messenger. BenQ-Siemens Q-fi EF71 specifications are summarize as below:-

Tri-Band GSM 900/1800/1900
Dimensions: 90 x 47 x 18.5 mm
Weight: 100g
Standby time*: Up to 225 h
Talktime*: Up to 3 h
Battery: Li-Ion 750 mAh
Antenna: Integrated
Main display: 262,144 TFT, 176 x 220 pixels, 2.2 inches
Sub-display: White OLED, 128 x 64 pixels
Storage: 24 MB
Connectivity: USB, Bluetooth, GPRS
Camera: 2.0 megapixel, 9x digital zoom
Memory Slot: MicroSD
Processor: TI
Java
Music player
Webcam
USB charging supported
It should be available in Asia from July 2006.

5 Megapixels Phone Coming Soon - LG KG920

LG is coming out with a 5 megapixels camera phone soon. I guess camera phone will be slowly became our digital camera as well in years to come. This definitely makes our life easy. LG KG920 is expected capture the Singapore market in this July and will be push within the Asia Market by end of 2006. Basically, the function as stated below:-
5-megapixel camera-phone with strobe flash;
2-inch QVGA 180-degree twist design screen;
QVGA-quality video at 30fps;
Bluetooth;
8MB memory with miniSD slot;
Video on demand;
MP3 player;
M-commerce support
Anyone who has comments on this phone is welcome to post your comments here.

Crazy Toy - Hop Pop

The Hop Pop are the latest toy crazy from Japan. These adorable animals pop their heads up and down in response to sound or interaction. They are a totally cute and unique conversation piece for any desk. Available in duck, panda, frog, rabbit, monkey, or bear. Generally they react to sound in the same way and so pop in unison.

Sony Vaio UX

Sony's illustrious history of tiny handhelds dates back to the original GT- and U-series, long before July's announcement of the sizzling special edition UX90 with solid state storage. Industry watchers long expected innovative Sony to posit an impressive entry to this season's spate of ultra-mobile PCs. But, the new UX-series goes beyond those elevated expectations.
The Vaio UX-series is a 1.15 pound (520g) Windows XP machine featuring an Intel Core Solo 1.2ghz processor, shock-resistant 30gb HDD, every imaginable I/O port (including a port replicator), and a 4.5" 1024x600 glossy TFT with remarkably high pixel density. In addition to its touchscreen, controls include a slide-out backlit keyboard, mouse controls, magnification, screen capture, and fingerprint reader. Connectivity includes wifi, Bluetooth, and a CF card slot for wireless. (The UX180 has no slot but includes a Cingular EDGE connection module.)
In the UX90-SSHDD, Sony replaced the hard drive with 16GB of solid state memory. This is a pricey option, but has myriad advantages: it is lighter, extends the battery life, meaningfully improves boot time and system speed, and is much less prone to data loss due to physical damage. This is a great solution for organizations that need durable portability.
The UX-series is Skype- and videoconference-ready, with a 360k pixel camera facing the user. And, it is ideal for moblogging and video capture, thanks to its second (1.3-megapixel) camera facing outward.

SonyEricsson M600

The SonyEricsson M600 is a remarkably thin (15mm), stylish, and powerful 3G smartphone. In addition to its 3G (UMTS) band, the M600 is a global tri-band GSM phone.
The M600 has all the features one might expect from a smartphone: read and edit Office documents, full email client, built-in RSS reader, built-in media player, and more. And since the M600 runs Symbian OS, it is easy to add your own favorite programs. And although the M600 is a great productivity tool, be careful about the included Vijay Singh 3D Golf video game--amazing graphics for a phone, and highly addictive.
The M600 has a smart-QWERTY keyboard, as well as a touchscreen with handwriting recognition. (Its primarily competitor, the Nokia E61, has no touchscreen but does have wifi.) Its large 240 x 320 touchscreen, is especially impressive given its 4.21 x 2.24 x 0.59 inch (107 x 57 x 15 mm) footprint. There is 80mb of built-in memory, which is expandable using an optional “MemoryStick Micro”. Unfortunately, it's not a camera phone. :(

The world's thinnest phone Samsung X820

Samsung continues its aggressive innovation. The world's thinnest phone is the new candybar shape Samsung X820. At only 6.9mm (0.27 in.) thick, the X820 is almost unnoticeable in any pocket. And despite its size, the X820 features a 2-megapixel camera, MP3 player, and Bluetooth.

Linux Based Gaming Device/Media Player

This is an outstanding handheld entertainment device. It plays video games (including many of your long time favorites), movies, music, displays photos, and even e-books. The GP2X keeps life simple because it supports all major media formats. It is well-designed and fits your hand comfortably. It has TV-out, so you can play games or watch movies on your plasma, as well as the internal screen; the GP2X even resizes video for best fit automatically.There is 64mb of internal memory, and an integrated SD-slot (2gb SD cards are available separately). The thing that really sets the Gamepark apart is the company's embrace of the open source community. There is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to available software--for example, the GPL Quake engine has already been released and is free. (Click here for an extensive, and growing, list of available software. http://archive.gp2x.de/cgi-bin/cfiles.cgi) Developers note: the GP2X runs LINUX; compilers/SDKs are freely available and more information can be found at the GP2X Developers' Wiki http://wiki.gp2x.org/wiki/Main_Page.

Pantech PG-8000

Pantech makes high-quality, well-designed handsets to capture the market currently. Their PG-8000 is a newly released 2-megapixel phone that is conceived to be "camera first, phone second". It look like a digital camera rather than a mobile phone from the picture. However, it has the features like 8.4 MB built-in memory, storage card enable, Bluetooth v1.2, GPRS (Class 10), Infrared. It use WAP 2.0 / xHTML for its web browser, 256,000 colors for graphic & video, 2.0 MP for video & flash. PG-8000 Multimedia Player is supporting MP3 / AAC / MPEG4. The talktime is about 3.5 hours and Standby time at 200 hours for the battery life. It is 99.8 x 51.8 x 16.1 mm in size and weight at 0.23 lbs / 106 g. This is another great choice for camera phone lover.

World's Thinnest 1.3 Megapixel Camera Phone

If you are looking for a slim and tiny camera phone, NEC L1 might be your favorite choice. It is the thinnest 1.3 megapixel camera phone in the world. Although NEC L1 is still slightly bigger compare to VK2020, but the the camera phones range, it should be ultraslim enough compare to other currently.
The amazing aspect of the L1 is its speed; some tiny phones seem to lack processing power leading to slow response-time. But the NEC L1's response is instant. The made-in-Japan L1's rock solid quality and fast response time make it a joy to use.
Another neat feature is an included cable that allows you to use any headphones for handsfree; use the Amadana 117 bamboo earphones for style, or use noise-cancelling headphones to combat a noisy environment. There is also an integrated 1.3-megapixel CCD, 26mb internal storage, integrated Bluetooth, external OLED display, and an MP3 player. Please note that the L1 has English menus but a Chinese file structure (ex. the folder containing MP3s has a Chinese name). Besides, there is a useful software suite (English) loads your own videos, photos, and sounds/MP3 files, to use as ringtones.

VK 2020 The Tinnest Handsets in The World

VK Mobile's VK2020 appears much like a Motorola SLVR L7. This is VK Mobile's 1st thinnest handset, and also one of the thinnest handsets in the world. It measures only 8.8mm (.35") in thickness, significantly thinner than the SLVR L7's relatively beefy 11m waistline. It is also 19mm shorter and 2mm narrower. For those of your keeping score at home, that equates to 95mm x 47mm x 8.8mm (3.7" x 1.9" x .35"). Don't forget the fact that it weighs 53g (1.87oz), just slightly more than half that of our review SLVR that comes in at about 101g. This thing is tiny.
It support for Bluetooth and a whopping 1GB of built-in flash RAM for storing music files and photos. The music player supports the MP3 and AAC formats, and the built-in camera takes VGA resolution photos. The VK2020 is available in two different tri-band GSM versions, one that supports 900/1800/1900MHz, and one that supports 850/1800/1900MHz. The VK2020 makes use of the same 1.5", 260k color OLED display as does the VK5000. The display works pretty well and has a resolution of 128x160 pixels. JAVA MIDP 2.0 support rounds out the package. The keypad that the VK2020 uses is eerily similar to Motorola SLVR L7. I believe this mobile will capture lady market as it's slim and stylist. Unfortunately, it's not a Camera Phone.

Eten G500

Another PDA phone by Eten after Eten M600. This model (Eten G500)is expected to launch in Q1 2006.

General Network: GSM 850 / GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900
Size Dimensions: 119 x 62 x 23 mm
Weight: 186 g
Display
Type: TFT touchscreen, 65K colors
Size: 240 x 320 pixels, 42 x 57 mm
- Handwriting recognition
Ringtones Type: Polyphonic, MP3
Customization: Download
Vibration: Yes
Memory Phonebook: In shared memory, Photo call
Call records: Yes
Card slot: miniSD
- 128 MB Flash ROM, 64 MB SDRAM
- Samsung S3C2440 400 MHz Processor
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
HSCSD: No
EDGE: No
3G: No
WLAN: No
Bluetooth: Yes, v1.2
Infrared port: No
USB: Yes
Features
OS: Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0
Messaging: SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
Browser: HTML (PocketIE)
Games: Yes
Camera: 1.3 MP, 1280x960 pixels, video, flash
- Embedded RoyalTek GPS
- Pocket Office(Word, Excel, Outlook), eBooks
- Windows MPlayer 10
- Organiser
- T9
- Voice memo
- Built-in handsfree
Battery: Standard battery, Li-Ion 1440 mAh
Stand-by Up to 220 h
Talk time Up to 4 h
Comments: It should be enable with 3G technology seems this gonna be a new
mobile phone trend in local market.

Upcoming Newgen T-4

Newgen T-4 offer a touch screen solution to let you write on it. The phone works in GSM network and its camera module is hiding in the slider. You can start the camera mode by pulling the slider to show the camera lens. The biggest disadvantages of this phone is definitely the battery life, it only get 120mins talk time and 100 hours standby time. I believe, this is definately a good phone and will capture the market eyes once the battery life has been improved.
At a glance
Phone type Dualband
Networks GSM 900, GSM 1800
Connectivity options GPRS, WAP, USB
Weight w/battery 89 g
Battery type(s) supported Rechargeable 720mAh Lithium-ion battery
Max. talktime (in hours) 2 hours
Max. standby time (in hours) 100 hours
Additional functions Touch screen with pen input and handwriting recognition; English/Chinese handwriting recognition; English/Chinese dictionary and translator; PIM functions; eZi text input

BenQ-Siemens Launches CL71 Slider in 2Q

BenQ-Siemens CL71 is quite a slim slider (17.8 mm) with multimedia functionality. It is packed in metal-looking shell. Its LCD features a 2” diagonal, 262K colors, it doesn’t support QVGA resolution, but involves IPS technology, which ensures a wider viewing angle.
The device is meant for GSM/GPRS networks. It is equipped with a 1.3-megapixel camera with 3x digital zoom, burst shooting opportunity (4 shots in a series) and video capture (clips lasting up to 10 minutes). When the slider is closed, you can’t see the camera lens, to see it you should slide one half against the other. Besides the phone has an MP3-player, a slot for microSD cards (up to 512 MB), Bluetooth interface. The CL71 will become commercially available in 2Q 2006.

The specs of BenQ-Siemens CL71:
Standards - GSM (900/1800/1900 MHz) and GPRS
2” TFT LCD, 176x220 pixels, 262K colors
1.3-megapixel camera with 3x digital zoom
Video format - H.263/AMR
MP3-player
Bluetooth 1.2 and USB 1.1 interfaces
24 MB of internal memory
Slot for microSD (TransFlash) cards
Wap 2.0 and Java MIDP 2.0
SMS, EMS and MMS
Li-Ion 750 mAh battery
Talk time – up to 144 minutes
Standby time – up to 170 hours
Dimensions – 90x46.3x16.5 mm
Weight - 110 g

Samsung is going to come out a extremely thin mobile phone SGH-P300. The P300 shares a footprint no bigger than a credit card and is just look like a calculator.
At just 87.5 x 54.5 x 8.9mm (think credit card size), the P300 is extremely thin. So it's amazing Samsung's engineers have managed to stuff this skinny 65g number (137g with case) with most of the multimedia bells and whistles. Onboard is support for triband capability, a 1.3-megapixel camera with flash, about 80MB of built-in storage, 4MB for Java applications, Bluetooth connectivity, MP3 player, dictaphone, speaker and alarm clock. It even packs a 1.8-inch (176 × 220-pixel) 262k-color TFT LCD display, which delivers the vivid colors expected of a Samsung even while under bright sunlight.
With a phone this slim, it's pleasant to discover that the 800mAh Lithium-ion battery is removable. But what's far more interesting is the leather cover the phone "docks" into. In an out-of-the-box creative effort, Samsung has integrated a 400mAh Lithium-polymer battery into the case to extend the battery life. There's even a camera window in the case so you don't have to remove the P300 to snap those shots.
The onboard speaker proved surprisingly loud and clear, though not as full in sound quality as the Walkman phone series.

Netgear go Mobile Phone Market

Netgear's Wi-Fi phone cuts the cord for Skype fans
VoIP service lets you make free phone calls around the globe, but it usually forces you to sit close to a PC and wear a clunky headset. Netgear and eBay-owned Skype hope to change that by releasing a Wi-Fi phone that makes calls without a computer. This shiny white handset comes with Skype software installed, aiming to make setup simple: Just get within range of a Wi-Fi network, turn on the phone, and log on to your Skype account. SkypeOut customers can also ring non-VoIP users via their landlines or cell phones. Pricing is expected within the first quarter of this year, at shipping time.
But if you're already irate when your cell phone calls drop out, expect more pain trying to talk via VoIP on a flaky Wi-Fi network. Thus, Netgear is pitching its RangeMax WPN824 Wireless Router as the latest gadget to eliminate Wi-Fi dead zones and interference.
Several other handsets join the flurry of Skype-related releases at CES this week. However, the Netgear model doesn't add extra monthly fees to the phone service. eBay-Skype is also announcing a partnership with Kodak that allows Skype users to share photos, a tool that users of Yahoo Messenger with Voice already enjoy.

Samsung's high-speed ZX20

Samsung brings GSM into the fast lane with its new Samsung ZX20 cell phone. It's one of the first cell phones in the US to support HSDPA networks, a 3.5G technology that's the next evolution of 3G UMTS networks. And when I say fast, I mean it. Although there's still no US carrier that operates a full-scale HSDPA network for cell phones, HSDPA data speeds should range from 384Kbps up to several megabytes. That's like getting the zippiest broadband network on your wireless device. Besides streaming video and audio, you'll be able to download large files and graphics-heavy Web pages in a flash.
Other features on the Samsung ZX20 look very promising. Included are a 1.3-megapixel camera with video (though I was hoping for at least two megapixels), a digital media player for AAC and MP3 files, Bluetooth 2.0, a speakerphone, a TransFlash card slot, text and multimedia messaging, instant messaging (AOL, ICQ, and Yahoo) and quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) world-phone support. My only complaint thus far is that the flip-phone design is a bit humdrum. Of course, I'll have to save my final verdict on the Samsung ZX20 when I can see it running on a widely available HSDPA network, which may take some time. Although Cingular now operates an HSDPA network for laptop users with a modem card, we're not sure when it will roll out to cell phones. And even when it does, it will be restricted to urban areas. T-Mobile, on the other hand, will take a little longer, with an estimated 3G launch in 2007.

Sony Ericsson K610i

Phone type: Triband
Networks: GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900
Connectivity options: 3G, GPRS, WAP, Java, Bluetooth, USB
Weight w/battery: 92 g
Max. talktime (in hours): 7 hours
Max. standby time (in hours): 400 hours
Additional functions: Push email (P-IMAP); modem; file manager; USB 2.0 mass storage drive; RSS feeds; NetFront browser
Expected: Q2 2006

Asia finally gets date with BenQ-Siemens

Goodbye Siemens, hello BenQ-Siemens
Ready or not, BenQ-Siemens is now official. Coming three days after its global announcement, the company has finally confirmed dates for the rollout of its phones in Asia. BenQ Asia Pacific Corp's vice president Philip Newton also revealed at today's press launch that customers can expect 30 percent of BenQ Mobile's portfolio to comprise 3G-based phones, with every three out of four products featuring a music player or FM radio, and every second phone offering at least a 1.3-megapixel camera. However, first up will be the final two Siemens-branded mobiles, the SL75 and S75, coming out in late January, followed by BenQ's S500 a month later. Handsets appearing under the joint marque--the Sony Ericsson-looking S88, the S68 and 3G-capable RAZR-like EF81--will make an appearance in Asia only between February and April. When asked how the company would create a clearly differentiated product proposition in a highly competitive and saturated market, Newton would say only that there will be "a lot of surprising adaptations to the mobile phones in the next 12 months", with "unique features and innovations that our customers are looking for". Newton also added that BenQ Mobile will adopt a "holistic approach to service marketing where customers can access information on warranty issues, product updates, etc., 24/7 online". To date, Siemens has two service centers in Singapore, which will now come under the joint brand name. The takeover of Siemens AG's Mobile Devices Business has certainly given Taiwan-based BenQ an instant leg up to becoming the world's fourth-largest handset maker. As BenQ Corp's CEO KY Lee explained of the acquisition: "BenQ had to sieze the opportunity afforded by Siemens to reach a scale that would otherwise take seven to eight years to achieve." Newton sees the move as complementary: "Our strengths were the same as their weaknesses, and their strengths were the same as our weaknesses." So can this newcomer follow the same path successfully carved out by another earlier partnership, Sony Ericsson? Only time will tell. But as far as ambitions go, BenQ Mobile has outlined its 2006 growth strategy, at least for Singapore, to be a Top 5 vendor in mobiles with a 5 percent market share, growing to Top 3 with a 10 percent share by the end of 2007.

Samsung to Introduce New YP-Z5 Flash Player at CES 2006

Samsung will be introducing their new YP-Z5 flash-based audio player at the 2006 CES convention in Las Vegas 2 weeks ago.The YP-Z5 will be available in both 2GB and 4GB capacities, and will feature a 1.8" LCD display, MP3 and WMA audio playback, JPEG photo viewing, DNSe Digital Natural Sound Engine 3D audio processing, and a 38-hour Li-ion battery.The YP-Z5 is expected to launch in February 2006 and retail for $249 USD (4GB) and $199 USD (2GB).