Posts in Handhelds
Magellan Navigation sold to MiTAC
Bonnie Cha | Dec 16, 2008
On Monday, Magellan Navigation Inc., entered into a definitive agreement to sell its consumer products division to Taiwanese-based MiTAC International Corporation and expects the transaction to be finalized by January 2009, though no specifics were given about the financial terms. As part of the package, MiTAC, which also owns Mio Technology, makers of the Mio Knight Rider GPS and the Mio C520, will inherit the Magellan RoadMate and Maestro series of portable navigation devices and the Triton series of handheld GPS.
Though Magellan still has a decent retail presence in the US and comes in third behind Garmin and TomTom, the company has been slow to come out with new products and hasn't been able to keep up with the big two in terms of features, innovation, or support. Meanwhile, Mio has struggled with brand recognition in the States. Just how the two companies will integrate remains to be seen, but GPS Business News believes that MiTAC will do away with the Mio brand and build on Magellan's name and customer base. This would probably make the most sense, but either way, it's going to be an uphill battle.
(Official press release: Magellan)
Via CNET News
Garmin Nuvifone passes FCC
Bonnie Cha | Dec 16, 2008
(Credit: Engadget Mobile)
According to FCC documents, the Nuvifone (strangely tagged as the "Calf" from Asus) will support North American 850/1900MHz 3G bands, which means AT&T customers would be feeling the HSDPA love on the Nuvifone and not T-Mobile, whose 3G network runs on the 1700/2100MHz bands.
The Nuvifone, which was announced almost a year ago, is the first smartphone for GPS manufacturer Garmin, and originally had a release date of sometime in the Q4 of 2008. However, the company later delayed its release to the first half of 2009. Perhaps with the FCC approval, we might see the Nuvifone sooner rather than later, but we won't hold our breath.
Via CNET Crave, Engadget Mobile, FCC
Report: Android phone on tap for China
Jonathan Skillings | Dec 15, 2008
The Lenovo-badged "OPhone"
(Credit: ModmyGphone)
The site ModmyGphone is showing off a photo of a sleek gadget that it says is a joint effort of Lenovo, the PC heavyweight, and China Mobile, the largest cell phone operator in China:
The latest bit is, the phone is looking good and ready for testing. OPhone is a codename for phones that will be based on China Mobile's OMS (Open Mobile System) which is essentially Android + TD SCDMA (China's home-grown 3G standard).
Another site, ITProPortal, says that the smart phone, with "iPhone-esque minimalist features," is expected to debut in February or March.
Read more »
Sony Ericsson, HTC planning Google Android phones for 2009
Bonnie Cha | Dec 12, 2008
According to several sources, Sony Ericsson is planning on releasing an Android handset by summer 2009 and a company spokesman has gone on to say that the first models will be on the higher end while it will release more mass-market devices at a later time.
In addition, HTC is said to be working on a whole portfolio of Android devices, also with an expected release date of summer 2009. HTC was the manufacturer of the first Android smartphone, the HTC G1, which was a little questionable in the hardware department, but now that HTC has acquired One & Co Design Inc., for its handset designs, perhaps we'll see some sleeker devices? Either way, all very exciting stuff. Summer can't get here quick enough.
Via CNET Crave, Gizmodo, Phandroid, IDG.se (translation), and Business dk (translation)
Ballmer to talk Windows 7, not ZunePhone, at CES
Ina Fried | Dec 11, 2008
Multitouch has its serious side, but fingerpainting proved one of the more popular uses when Windows 7 was shown at WinHEC.
Photo by Ina Fried/CNET News
Instead, much of CEO Steve Ballmer's focus will be on talking about Windows 7 from a consumer perspective. Microsoft is pushing to have Windows 7 done in time for the holiday 2009 shopping season, so that means this CES is Ballmer's best stage to tout its benefits.
While the desktop operating system will be front and center, sources say to expect Ballmer to talk about how Windows is moving beyond the PC and into a world of PC, Web, and phone, a refrain we also heard a lot from Ray Ozzie at November's Professional Developers Conference, where the world also got its first good look at Windows 7.
Read more »
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