AT&T have got a new smartphone out there, namely the Samsung Captivate. The Android based 4 inch AMOLED unit will set you back $200 with the usual two year plan or $500 sans plan. Here are the specs on what looks like a decent smartphone from AT&T
* Android 2.1 OS
* 4 inch 800×480 res AMOLED capacitive touch screen
* 5 MP Camera with 4x zoom
* 802.11x connectivity
* Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity
* GSM, UMTS networks
* GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA high-speed data
* 1 GHz processor
* Music player with streaming radio
* IM AOL®, Windows Live, GoogleTalk, and Yahoo!® Messenger
* POP, IMAP4, SMTP email
* 5 hours 50 min talk time
* 340 hours standby
* 4.5 oz
* 4.18 x 2.5 x 0.39 inches
* 16 GB internal memory expandable to 32 GB (microSD)
It certainly has all the features you’d expect from a decent smartphone. Here are a few reviews of the Samsung Captivate for you to mull over.
infoSync - 85% - screen, OS speed positives, iPhone 4 better negative CNET - 4 stars out of 5 - screen, 16GB memory positives, lack of apps and no flash negatives phoneArena - 8.5 out of 10 - screen, processor speed positives, photo and call quality negatives PCMag - 4 out of 5 - processor speed, syncing options positives, flash, lack voice dialing over bluetooth negatives
Pretty good reviews all round for the Samsung Captivate. If you’re keen then check out the product info ovet at AT&T.
* 3.2″ HVGA touchscreen with sliding QWERTY keyboard
* AndroidTM 2.1 (Eclair)
* 3.0 MP Camera/Camcorder with LED flash
* Full HTML Browser
* Stereo Bluetooth connectivity
* Video and Music Player
* Wi-Fi connectivity
* E911 Ready
* CDMA / EVDO
* 800 / 1900MHz
* Talk Time up to 8 hours
* Standby Time Up 18.8 days*
* 4.49″ x 2.32″ x 0.6″
* 4.59 ounces
* 4 GB microSD Card
We like the look of the Samsung Acclaim but the guys over at Android Police are most definitely under-whelmed with the features on the Acclaim. If you’ve taken the plunge on a Samsung Acclaim from US Cellular let us know what you think.
AT&T have just added the Pantech Pursuit to their cellphone lineup. The Pursuit is aimed at text-messaging users with a neat slider QWERTY keyboard under the display. AT&T are offering the Pursuit for a meagre $50 after rebates but require customers to have a $20 a month messaging plan over and above their two year voice plan. As well as a QWERTY slider, the Pursuit has a touchscreen interface, 2.0 MP camera along with mobile email and easy-to-use Quick Messaging.
* 2.8 inch 320 x 240 res 262K TFT LCD display
* GSM/GPRS/EDGE Quad-Band 850/900/1800/1900MHz
* UMTS/HSDPA Dual-Band 850/1900MHz 3G
* EDGE high speed data network
* Bluetooth connectivity
* Predictive text for fast typing
* Backlit Keys
* 930 mAh lithium ion battery
* Up to 5 hours talk time
* Up to 15 days standby time
* 4.58 ounces
* 3.67 x 2.51 x 0.58 inches
* microSD memory
* 2 MP 7x zoom camera
* Supported music formats MP3, MIDI, iMelody, WAV, MMF, WMA, 3GPA
* Text Messaging
* Instant Messaging (IM)
The Pursuit comes in two colours, blue and green with glossy black being a notable exception. So much for all the numbers, the burning question is what is the Pantech Pursuit actually like? Well, it has already acquired a 4.8 out of 5 rating on the AT&T website, while over at CNet it’s received a 3.5 score out of five from the editors and testfreaks give it nine out of ten. Negatives noted in the reviews included small screen and a low spec camera whilst positives include good design and interface.
We do like the look of the Pantech Pursuit, so if you’re up for a funky-looking slider touchscreen cellphone then AT&T may just have what you’re after. If you’ve already taken the Pursuit plunge, do let us know what you think.
We can’t find any details on Verizon’s website about the LG Ally (aka Aloha) but all the rumours are indicating it’ll be available from them on the 20th of May. Originally named Aloha, the LG LU2300 slider handset sports a SnapDragon CPU and a 3.5 inch AMOLED touchscreen. Here are the full details for you Verizon and LG fans out there
* 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250
* 3.5-inch AMOLED touchscreen at 480×800 pixels
* QWERTY keyboard
* Android 2.1
* 720p video out
* 5MP camera
* D-pad
* RAM capacity 512 MB
* ROM capacity 512 MB
* Mono speaker
* 3.5 mm audio jack
* Networks GSM850, GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900, UMTS900, UMTS2100
* microSD, microSDHC, TransFlash expansion slots
* USB 2.0 client, 480Mbit/s micro-USB
* 802.11b, 802.11g connectivity
No news on a price tag yet, but we would imagine it’ll be on the cheap side. The unit sports all the expected bells and whistles but on the looks front we just think it’s a bit, well, ugly. Brushed metal on the keyboard and the D-pad on the front of the unit? Just not quite what we expected from the usually stylish LG boffins. Oh well, may be the price tag will make it more attractive, guess we’ll find out on the 20th of the month.
As of Thursday you will be able to get hold of the Samsung Reality slider cellphone courtesy of Verizon Wireless. The Reality is a QWERTY slider with a 3 inch touchscreen display and sports the Communities Widget which allows you to update your status on your fav social networking site at the touch of a button. Here are the rest of the details on the Samsung Reality
* Colour options - Piano Black and City Red
* 3 inch WQVGA (240 x 400) full touch screen
* Horizontal slide-out QWERTY keyboard
* Text, picture, video and voice messaging; Mobile IM; Mobile Chat; Mobile Email; and Mobile Web Email
* 3.2 megapixel camera
* Bluetooth® technology
* Corporate Email support for Microsoft Office Exchange
* microSD™ card slot with support for up to 16 GB
* Access to social networking services
* VZ Navigator® capable
The Samsung Reality will set you back $80 after a $50 credit rebate as long as you purchase an appropriate two year plan from Verizon. It seems these days that the line between smartphone and ordinary cellphone is blurring and the reality is that consumers are now getting better units for less of their hard-earned cash. The Samsung Reality is just another example of this phenomenon in action and if you’re after a neat slider social networking unit, then the Samsung Reality may just be the answer for you.
We may have missed the HTC HD2 mobile phone when it appeared at T-Mobile but judging by the ‘Sold Out’ sign hanging on the unit at their website not many others did! This touchscreen unit with a speedy 1 GHz processor sure is popular with 21,000 units shipping in just 24 hours. Just in case there’s anyone left who hasn’t got one and is interested here’s the low-down on the HTC HD2 from T-Mobile
* 1Ghz Processor
* Touch Screen with On-Screen Keyboard
* 16GB Memory Card Included
* Direct access to Windows Marketplace
* 5 Megapixel Camera
* GPS built-in
* Messaging [Text, IM & Picture]
* Media Player
* Send and receive messages from personal and work e-mail.
* Real Web Browsing with Wi-Fi
* Stereo Bluetooth® Connectivity
* Video capture/playback
* 2.6 x 4.8 x 0.4 in
* 5.5 oz
* Talk time up to 6 hours
* Standby time up to 20 days
Rather ironically the HD2 will not be able to upgrade to Windows Phone 7, so a lot of people have rushed out and bought a soon-to-be out of date cellphone. Of course the HTC HD2 is here right now and the must-haves may not be be able to wait until ‘later’ this year for Phone 7.
Intriguingly we couldn’t find mention of a price tag on the T-Mobile website for the HTC HD2 but according to a post on PhoneReviews $200 will get you a unit plus a two year plan. We’re not convinced the HTC HD2 is great value at this price but obviously a large number of you are convinced otherwise!
Motorola showed the world its new Backflip mobile phone at CES and now you can get your hands on it for a $100. Oh yeah, as long as you sign up for a two year plan with AT&T. The Backflip takes the slider concept a step further with the QWERTY keyboard around the back of the phone when closed. A hinged edge allows the keyboard to be rotated out and around to position the keyboard underneath the screen just like a slider. But here’s the clever bit from the Motorola design boys - the back of the display section has a touchpad module which is accessible whilst the keyboard is flipped out. Otherwise the Backflip sports the usual bells and whistles with software that syncs with Facebook and the rest, full HTML web browsing, etc. Here’s a full list of those features and specifications.
* Always-on social networking synching with Facebook, MySpace and Twitter
* Touch pad, touch display, and back-flip QWERTY with table top mode
* Contacts, including status and pictures, auto-populate from social networks
* full HTML web browsing
* Android Webkit full HTML browser
* Wi-Fi: 802.11b/g
* 3G connectivity
* 3.1-in. HVGA (320 x 480 pixels) touchscreen
* Backtrack navigation tool behind screen
* 5 MP autofocus camera
* Text and multimedia messaging
* Google Talk and IM
* Supports AAC, H.263, H.264, MP3, MPEG-4, WAV, MIDI, AAC+ audio formats
* 3.5 mm headset jack
* USB 2.0 standard micro USB connector
* aGPS, Accelerometer and E-compass
* WCDMA 850/1900/2100, GSM 850/900/1800/1900, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps (category 7/8), EDGE Class 12, GPRS Class 12, aGPS, v2.0
* microSD slot, 2 GB preinstalled expandable up to 32 GB
* 133 grams
* 53.0 x 108.0 x 15.3 mm
* 1400 mAh battery
* 350 minutes of talktime
* 315 hours on standby
Quite an array of specs and we confess pretty impressive too. The unit is powered by Android 1.5 and when purchased with an AT&T two year contract will set you back $100 after rebates. The Motorola Backflip is available from March 7th and you can sign up now for email updates at AT&T’s website. Whilst we’re never convinced about the wisdom a contractual agreement we must admit the Backflip would certainly make us more likely to sign up for one.
We managed to dig up this video for you showing the Backflip in action from phonedog when they were at CES.
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