Filed under: Handsets, Palm

Man, we can’t get enough Peter Skillman — check out this 25-minute Pre hands-on demo Palm’s VP of design did at CES. Sure, there’s some overlap with what we saw Matias Duarte demo during the announcement and the shorter Skillman video we saw yesterday, but there’s also some stuff that slipped under the radar — like the Touchstone’s “gecko feet” in action at 1:48, a kinda-sorta unboxing at 2:29, an impressive email / IM / SMS multitasking demo at 12:10, and a peek at the video player at 20:09. Skillman also confirms that the Pre will do MMS, but video recording capability and Touchstone pricing remain a mystery. There are also some friendly iPhone and BlackBerry comparisons — amusingly, he asks for a phone from the audience so he can show off the comparatively higher quality of the Pre’s screen and gets a little flustered when handed the super-high-density BlackBerry Bold. Whoops! Overall, though, it’s interesting to see Petey Skills basically just use the Pre for so long — he throws quite a bit at it, and it never seems to hiccup or slow down, which is definitely encouraging. Video after the break.

Continue reading Another Pre hands-on video with Palm’s VP of design

Another Pre hands-on video with Palm’s VP of design originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Design / animation studio Gridplane’s recently unloaded photos of a mockup it contributed to the Microsoft Xbox team in charge of revamping the Xbox user interface, which eventually became the New Xbox Experience, AKA NXE. There are a few things here we like — the design has a clean, other-worldly feel to it that’s semi-appealing. However, we’re not so into the milky haze that could have separated us from our beloved, fashionable avatar. Check out a few more shots of the proposed design after the break.

[Via Joystiq]

Filed under: Gaming

Gridplane releases hazy NXE mockup that never was originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Laura June

Filed under: Handsets, Motorola

We already knew Motorola’s Krave ZN4 lookalike was headed to South Korea, but now Moto’s done its official duties by making things extra official. Set to debut as the MOTOPRIZM, this vividly colored handset will sport the same fancy clear lid as the ZN4 along with a DMB TV tuner. For whatever reason, we’re kept far, far away from most of the other specs, though word on the street has it that said handset will boast a three megapixel camera and a patently stunning 840 x 480 display. Explain to us again why Asia always gets the upgraded kit?

[Via UnwiredView]

Motorola dishes the official MOTOPRIZM line in South Korea originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Handsets, RIM, Orange, GSM, EDGE, BlackBerry OS

Orange UK has chosen to Launch RIM’s BlackBerry Pearl 8120 as a PAYG number for all the would be messengers out there who prefer to remain sans plan. Price for this exclusive indigo set seems set at £145 (roughly $200) and should be landing in a shop near you in early February. Price of admission — handset aside — includes needing to grab an Animal package (Dolphin, Canary, Racoon, or Camel) and taking out a £5 BlackBerry internet service deal as well. Enjoy! At this point, pay-as-you-go is about where this set should be in terms of its age, you listening, Fido?

Orange UK gets pay-as-you-go BlackBerry Pearl 8120 originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 08:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sean Cooper

Filed under: Culture, Handsets

If you’ve a hankering for one of Subway’s finest come noon-time and find yourself in the 212 or 646 area (New York City) it’s only a text away. All you need to do to get started is set yourself up at the Subway Now site with a shop near you, your credit card details, set up a list of numbered favorite sandwiches, and get your hunger ready. Ordering is done by simply texting “menu” to Subway’s shortcode and then your favorite list will be returned, reply with your chosen item and you’ll get confirmation and a pickup time. Where’s the benefit in all this texting you ask? When you arrive at your chosen locale, you can skip the line, the wait, and even having to fork out any cash as it gets charged right to your card.

[Via IntoMobile]

Subway’s sarnies get shortcode ordering in NYC originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 05:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sean Cooper

Ready for this? The BBC is reporting on a “top-secret phone” developed by a 40-person strong ejector-seat technology company — IA Technology — from Hereford England. The Beeb calls it, “the world’s first fully accurate voice recognition system for mobile phones.” A bold claim (to say the least) from seemingly nowhere. The report starts with a dramatic lead-in, “It’s a secret world, much of which we can’t film,” before introducing us to the Zumba phone. A phone so secret that the BBC can’t even show us how it works. They do manage to demonstrate how it’s worn. A retro slug-on-the-ear type earpiece is removed from a thin slab sporting a display and circular dialer reminiscent of Bang & Olufsen fashionphones. The device relies upon a connection to an “Internet portal” (apparently called Zumba Lumba) that holds all your contacts. If the phone is lost or stolen “it is instantly useless to anyone else.” A lot of hype to be sure, especially with plans to deliver the Zumba to shops before Christmas. Hit the read link for the video and let us know what you think.

Filed under: Cellphones

Zumba Phone: the Steorn Orbo of cellphones? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 05:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

You know who’s blabbing again? That reclusive set of business people who always seem to be “familiar with the matter,” that’s who. This time, they’ve got the Wall Street Journal in a twist over renewed rumors that Dell is “preparing a move into cellphones as early as next month.” Next month, is of course the big cellphone coming out party known as Mobile World Congress in Barcelona — an event Dell has flat-out denied any intention to attend. Still, the evidence presented by the WSJ is pretty overwhelming. First, sources say that a variety of smartphone prototypes, including one with a QWERTY-less touchscreen and another with a sliding keyboard, have already been built running Android and Windows Mobile. Second, Dell’s smartphone team “spent much of last year” meeting with suppliers, carriers, and Asian phone manufacturers. Dell’s team includes the former head of Motorola’s phone division (Ron Garriques) and another Moto employee (John Thode) who heads up Dell’s netbook group. The latter being of interest since the iPhone and BlackBerry Storm are considered netbooks by their makers. Oh, and Dell still hasn’t made good on its purchase of Zing and its plans to build an all encompassing media ecosystem to manage your audio and video files across PCs and mobile devices. Sources do contend that plans have not been finalized and Dell may still abandon the effort. But with Acer making the jump into Smartphones next month and other non-traditional players having great success in the space at the expense of the former cellphone powerhouses, one thing is clear: PC guys “will just walk in” and figure this out. Right Ed?

Filed under: Cellphones

WSJ: Dell “preparing a move into cellphones as early as next month” originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 01:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

We thought we’d seen all that Palm intended to reveal about the magical company-saving Pre at CES a few weeks back, but quality footage continues to roll in — and it just gets even better when it’s being shown off by an exec instead of your standard-issue PR type. Peter Skillman, Palm’s design VP, does the honors here with a 4-plus minute overview of some of the cooler things the Pre has to offer, including a demo of the Touchstone inductive charger at about 2:26 in (curious fact: it apparently uses the “same technology that are in gecko feet” to stick to the table). At the 2:06 mark, he puts down the Nokia N95 for looking like a post-apocalyptic industrial design nightmare of exposed hardware and mechanisms (our words, not his), which is kinda funny since we’d never really considered the N95 as a Pre competitor. Finally, he wraps up with a quick look at the Amazon music store starting around 3:19 — and at a first glance, it looks a heck of a lot prettier than the one we get on the G1. Not to say we’re going to let the prettiness of the store affect how much DRM-free music we buy. Wait, yes we are. See the full video after the break.

[Via PreCentral]

Continue reading Palm’s VP of design shows off Pre features, scoffs at N95

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Palm’s VP of design shows off Pre features, scoffs at N95 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 22:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Chris Ziegler