The Motorola Atrix is an awesome 4G smartphone which can double up as a laptop or desktop. The unit can slot into a laptop dock which sports an 11.6 inch 1366 x 768 res display, two USB ports and weighs 2.34 pounds. Another optional extra is the desktop dock which allows you to use the 4G Atrix as an extra home computer. The desktop dock boasts three USB ports, an HDMI port and headphone jack. But what about the Atrix itself, well here are the specs on the unit
The Motorola Atrix sports a dual-core CPU, the first smartphone in the US to do so, and measures 2.5 x 4.6 x 0.4 inches. It weighs in at only 4.8 ounces and has a decent 960 x 540 res display.
Browsing around the Verizon website as we do from time to time, we came across the HTC Touch Pro SmartPhone which caught our eye. The Touch Pro is available for US$350 woth a two year contract and sports a QWERTY slider key pad, Windows Mobile 6.1 and of course HTC’s TouchFlo navigation. Here are some more details about the Touch Pro
* Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
* Microsoft Office Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, PowerPoint Mobile
* Opera Mobile
* Windows Media Player 10
* 512MB Flash/192MB RAM memory
* 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi connectivity
* Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity
* 2.8 inch 480×640 res VGA display
* Touch–sensitive LCD display
* Portrait and landscape orientation
* Slide Out QWERTY Keyboard
* 3.2 Mp camera
* microSD slot
* Text, Picture and Video messaging
* Wireless Sync capable
* HTC Touch FLO 3D Navigation
* 4.17″ (H) x 2.04″ (W) x 0.71″ (D)
* 4.94 ounces
* Up 250 minutes of usage time
* Up to 350 hours on standby
We also found this video from HTC themselves which gives you an idea of how the TouchFlo interface works. It looks quite impressive to us, but check out the video for yourself.
Not a bad looking unit to be honest, we’re all for QWERTY sliders, and the TouchFlo interface looks good too. If you’re after further details pop over to the Verizon site and check out the HTC Touch Pro.
T-Mobile has just unleashed the 2009 version of their WinMo smartphone, the Shadow. It actually looks kinda cool with its ‘White Mint’ body and cool looks are not normally associated with a smartphone, especially on a previous Shadow version. The unit has a slide out 20 key QWERTY keyboard and a 2.2 inch QVGA display. Here are the rest of the bells and whistles
* Wi-Fi and Mobile calling with seamless switching
* 2.0 Mp camera (video capable)
* Stereo Bluetooth connectivity
* MS Outlook synch
* Send and receive emails
* Picture and Text messaging
* Micro SD slot for memory expansion
* Yahoo, MSN and AOL Instant Messaging
* EDGE & Wi-Fi connectivity
* Music player
* 2.1 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches
* 5.3 oz
* Up to 7 hours of talk time
* Up to 7 days of stand by time
* 850, 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz quad band connectivity
The stand out feature of the Shadow has to be the price tag though. Rocking in at US$150 after auto rebate and mail-in rebate but of course with the obligatory 2 year plan. Not bad for a smartphone and a cool looking one at that. Yeah, we like the Shadow, but do you?
If you’re still having doubts, here’s a video clip of the T-Mobile Shadow at CES 2009 from MobileBurn
Although not available until February, there’s good news for T-Mobile customers hankering after the Blackberry Curve 8900. Come the second month of the year, the Curve 8900 will be available at T-Mobile sporting the following bells and whistles
* 480 x 360 res 2.44 inch display
* 3.2 mp still and video camera
* QWERTY keyboard
* 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi connectivity
* supports up to 10 email addresses
* built-in GPS
* Media Player supporting DivX, XviD (MPEG4 Advance Simple Profile), H.263, WMV3, .3gp, WAV, MIDI, AMR-NB, G711u/A, GSM610, PCM, MP3, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+, WMA9/10 Standard/Pro
* Blackberry Maps
* 109 x 60 x 13.5 mm
* 5.5 hours talktime
* 15 days standby
* Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity
Well, certainly a nice set of specs on the Curve 8900 but unfortunately no price tag yet. Over in Canada, they can get their hands on this little sucker for between $200 and $600 Canadian depending on the associated plan. This price range currently converts to a range of US$170 to US$500. If this simplistic conversion holds true, those prices are bad considering the functionality on the Curve. So start saving now as we think this will sell like the proverbial hot cakes come February!
Sony Ericsson have just announced that the Xperia X1 will be available on their Sony Style website from the 28th of November for US customers in an unlocked form. Are Sony being kind to their customers by offering the unlocked version only or did the likes of Sprint and AT&T decide they weren’t gonna touch this sucker with a proverbial barge pole? Well the X1 certainly stacks up in the spec front with the following array of features and numbers for you to drool over
* 800 x 480 res display
* 400 MB Phone Memory with MicroSD slot
* Networks - GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900, EDGE, UMTS tri-band, HSPA
* 110.5 x 52.6 x 17.0 mm
* 158g
* 3.2 mp 3x digital zoom camera
* Windows Mobile OS with Outlook Mobile
* Windows Media Player for your tunes
* Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity
* IM, MMS, SMS and email
* 500 hours of battery life on standby
* 10 hours of talk time
* QWERTY slider keyboard
This all looks very impressive, but then you’re brought down to earth with a big bump when you check out the price tag of US$800. Well the Xperia X1 is unlocked and does sport all the expected bells and whistles, but even so … 800 smackers? Not quite sure what Sony are playing at here, as there are plenty of cheaper smartphone options around at the moment. So we’re going to have give the X1 the thumbs down even with its slider QWERTY keypad!
Those lads over at idnes.cz have been at it again and have revealed details of the Samsung i740 smartphone, a feature-reduced version of the Omnia. So if you’re concerned about the impact of purchasing a smartphone on your wallet then check out what the i740 has to offer you.
* GSM (850/900/1800/1900) GPRS/EDGE connectivity
* Windows Mobile Professional 6.1
* Monahan LV 624 MHz CPU
* 2.8 inch 320×240 res QVGA touchscreen with haptics feedback
* 3 megapixel camera
* GPS navigation
* FM Radio
* microSD slot (up to 4GB)
* Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0 connectivity
* 107 x 59 x 13.8 mm
So what’s missing? 3G for starters along with WiFi connectivity and a QWERTY keypad, all of which we’d expect from a modern day smartphone. However the real kicker will be the price tag, and it looks like it could be low, so if a cheap smarty is what your after this could be your saviour, but if you’re into bells and whistles and have a bulging wallet move along please!
The LG Dare touchscreen smartphone is now available at Verizon’s online store. This supposed iPhone killer packs a decent set of specs to back up this claim, check them out for yourself
* 3 inch 240 x 400 res LCD touchscreen with tactile feedback
* 3.2 Mp camera (2048 x 1536 max res) and camcorder (640 x 480 max res)
* plays mp3, wma, aac audio files
* microSD slot for up to 8 GB of expanded memory
* Bluetooth connectivity
* 104.1 x 55.9 x 12.7 mm
* 106.6 g
* 360 hours battery life on standby
* 280 minutes battery life in use
Not bad and with a price tag of US$200 after discount with a two year plan, LG and Verizon have dared to put together a rather neat package. Whether it will truly be an iPhone killer we’re not so sure, but it certainly is another option to consider when looking at cheap smartphones.
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