A Chinese gadget takes two “addicting” things and marries them into one “crazy” device: cigarettes and cell phones. Yup! About the size of an ordinary box of cigarettes, the Chinese made phone makes calls and holds cigarettes. I guess it makes a great hiding spot for the “quitters” still smoking in the closet. The phone can be purchased in various cigarette boxes, so if you fancy a Marlboro phone, you can have one.
GearFuse reports that the phone is dual GSM and has a microSD slot, MP3 player, VGA camera, and a colored LCD screen. The Cigarette Phone costs “a reasonable” $175.
The Nokia 6300i doesn’t look that special, but inside its got Wi-Fi and VoIP support. It’s capable of web surfing and application downloading. Up to 2,000 phone numbers can be stored on the 6300i, which can be listed side by side. As the replacement for the Nokia 6300, the 6300i’s feature list looks like this:
* GSM 900/1800/1900MHz
* GPRS/EDGE/WiFi connectivity
* 2-inch QVGA (320 x 240)TFT display
* 30 MB internal storage
* 2 megapixel camera
* Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP
* microSD memory card slot
* 2.5mm audio jack
* video playback and record
* Battery life: 340 hours stand by; 3.5 hours talktime
* Dimensions: 106.4 x 43.6 x 11.7 mm
* Weight: 93 grams
The Nokia 6300i will be available sometime Q2 2008 in graphite grey for 175 Euros ($272 USD). A 512MB microSD card is included.
The highlight of Samsung’s i458 digital audio phone is its Bang & Olufsen ICEpower audio module, providing its audio prowess. The i458’s 2.4-inch LCD, 3.5G (HSDPA) connectivity, Symbian S60 v3.1, 25MB of internal memory, 3.5mm audio jack, and microSDHC card slot (4GB max) rounds out the phone.
The Samsung i458 measures 101 x 52 x 17.8mm and weighs 110 grams. It should will come priced at 14,950 Taiwan dollars ($495 USD).
At 16.9mm thick, Fujitsu’s FOMA F1100 is relatively thin, equipped with a 2.6-inch QVGA screen, slide-out numpad, Windows Mobile 6 Standard, 3.6Mbps HSDPA, and wireless LAN (8022.11 a/b/g), 1.3 mega pixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0, and fingerprint scanner. Judging from the photo, it looks like it runs Opera as its web browser. Phone Mag is reporting that the F1100 will also work as a WiFi VoIP handset via NTT DoCoMo’s PASSAGE DUPLE service.
So, don’t hold your breath. I doubt the Fujitsu FOMA F1100 will make it Stateside.
Samsung has a haptic touchscreen phone soon to hit the masses, at least in Korea. The Samsung SCH-W420/SPH-W4200’s highlight is its UI that allows “drag and drop” functionality in its applications. For example, you can drag and drop photos in its photo viewer, essentially giving you the option to arrange all of your photos the way you want — all by touchscreen. The phone also gives users tactile feedback. For example, adjusting the phone’s volume simulates the same vibration and clicking noise of a real volume knob (see the video below). Lastly, the Samsung SCH-W420 supports widgets, allowing users to customize the main screen to their preference.
LG’s 3G HSDPA phone, the LG-SH240, is made from a combination of metal and silicon to give it that skin-like feel. No idea why someone would want a phone feeling like a “limb”. Personally, I don’t want to my phone feeling like I’m holding a flimsy dead hand. Fortunately, it appears only the keypad is made from silicon.
Spec-wise the LG-SH240 sports:
* Bluetooth
* 2 mega pixel camera
* video conferencing support
* MP3 player
* microSD card slot
* subway map (?)
* electronic dictionary
The LG-Sh240 has a retail price around 400,000 KRW, or $400.00 USD.
The MIU Hybrid Dual Portable Computer (HDPC) does everything your current UMPC does and more. Interestingly, MIU’s HDPC dual boots in either Windows CE 5.0 or Qplus Linux, hence, the ‘Dual’ part in its name. Measuring 163 x 67 x 24.5 mm, personally, I think the thing is an ugly, bulky beast, but you can’t ignore its features. MIU packed a cell phone, UMPC, GPS navigation, electronic dictionary, media player, VoIP, a PSP rival, digital camera, e-Book reader, mobile IPTV, and voice recorder (I wonder if I missed anything?) into the HDPC. Specifically, highlights include:
* 4-inch internal Samsung display (800 x 480 resolution)
* 2.2-inch external display (320 x 240 resolution)
* Up to a 1GHz VIA C7M ULV processor
* up to 4GB RAM
* up to 60GB HDD (or optional 4GB SSD)
* 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi support
* 3/5 megapixel camera with flash
* miniSD/microSD card slot
* Bluetooth 2.0
* PS2 mouse/keyboard connector
* built-in stereo speakers
* QWERTY keypad and joystick
* USB 2.0
* Battery life: 7 hours
Pics and pricing details of the “all-in-one wonder” after the jump.
It looks like the Samsung Muse (SCH-U700) is heading for Alltel customers. They’re getting a somewhat ‘ordinary’ phone, but still a decent one. In fact, it looks like the Samsung SYNC, which is currently in AT&T’s camp. The highlight of the Samsung Muse is its EVDO connection, but overall it features:
Features:
* 2.1″ QVGA TFT LCD display
* 64MB on-board memory
* 2 megapixel camera
* microSD slot
* Bluetooth
* Easy music controls below the external display
* GPS
* EVDO connection
* Access to Alltel’s XM mobile radio service
* Battery life: 230 minutes talk time / 215 hour standby
* Dimensions: 3.9 x 1.9 x 0.6 inches
* Weight: 3.4 oz
The Samsung Muse costs $89.99 after a two-year contract and $50 mail-in rebate with Alltel. Otherwise, it’s $269.99 contract-free.
