Posts in Handhelds
BlackBerry Flip and Curve 8900 launched in Asia
John Chan | Jan 15, 2009
Research In Motion (RIM) has announced the availability of its first clamshell phone, the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220, in Singapore. This product was first launched last year and since its debut in North America, can soon be purchased on the island state from operator SingTel. It will cost S$488 (US$349.95) with a two-year mobile contract or S$768 (US$550.74) unsubsidized from authorized resellers at the end of January.
This product is already available in Hong Kong, India and Australia. RIM will also be rolling the Flip out in other Asia-Pacific countries but this will depend on when your local operator starts offering it for sale.
The BlackBerry Curve 8900, first announced at the recent CES 2009, has also been confirmed for this region. This smart phone looks like a scaled-down version of the BlackBerry Bold with its sharp display and identical QWERTY keyboard. A big difference is that it won't come with 3G, so users will probably be better off finding a Wi-Fi hotspot when surfing the Internet or downloading large files instead of doing it over the cellular network.
The 8900 will be available from all three operators in Singapore in Q1. Those in other countries should check with their local providers for specific launch dates. No pricing information for this model was given at press time.
Motorola axes 4,000 employees
Damian Koh | Jan 15, 2009
Motorola has said it will lay off another 4,000 employees this year and the biggest casualty will be the Mobile Devices unit with a headcount cut of about 3,000 while the remaining quarter will be from the corporate division and other business units.
This is in addition to the 3,000-strong workforce reduction announced last quarter and will, in total, help the US outfit achieve a cost savings of US$1.5 billion in 2009.
At the same time, Sanjay Jha, co-CEO of Motorola, added that the company is "making good progress in developing important new smart phones for 2009" and is "pleased with the positive response from our customers to these new devices".
Whatever it is, Moto had better move fast.
The company will be announcing its fourth-quarter results on February 3.
Is this HTC's 2009 lineup?
John Chan | Jan 13, 2009
The pink Hero and table-friendly Whitestone W.
(Credit: PPCGeeks)
Over at PPCGeeks, a forum member has posted a slew of images that are supposed to be HTC's lineup for 2009. Among the images are models that look like updates of current devices and quite a few with slide-out keyboards, too.
One that caught our eye was the Android Hero. This was decked out in pink and, if its name is any indication, will run Google's open-source operating system and not Windows Mobile. Another interesting specimen was the Whitestone W which has a kickout stand so the device can rest on a table and still have the screen comfortably in view, like a photo frame.
Very few other details were available, so take this bit of information with a pinch of salt. You can view the whole gallery at the discussion forum where it originated.
Via Gizmodo
New colors, prices and software for Samsung's WM devices
John Chan | Jan 12, 2009
In time for the upcoming Lunar New Year celebrations, Samsung has announced a new color for its Omnia Windows Mobile (WM) PDA-phone. Aside from the black and white variants, it will also be available in red, a color many Chinese Asians traditionally associate with good luck for the New Year. This will start to go on sale at the end of January.
The Korean chaebol has reduced prices so the 8GB Omnia will now go for S$828 instead of S$928. The 16GB version's price has also been revised to S$928 from S$1,098. Those who are keen on the special red version should take note that it comes only in the 8GB variety.
Another bit of good news is that Samsung has finally released the WM6.1 update for its SGH-i780 handheld. This was originally slated for a Q3 2008 release, but hey, better late than never. Users can bring their i780s to a Samsung service center to perform an upgrade. Take note that this will wipe out all data and applications on your device, so do a backup before taking it in. Those who want to get a brand new i780 will be pleased to know that its retail price has been reduced to S$498, a real bargain for a fully featured HSDPA WM6.1 phone.
All these changes are confirmed for Singapore but may be rolled out at different times for other countries in Asia Pacific. Call your local Samsung customer service hotline to find out more before taking a trip down to the service center or showroom.
Click for another image of the red Omnia:
)
Palm Pre details and what it means for Asia
John Chan | Jan 09, 2009
Would you buy the Pre if there was no slide-out QWERTY keypad?
(Credit: Palm)
- The Touchstone wireless charging dock is an optional accessory and will require a special Palm Pre back cover (another added cost) to work.
- 8GB of storage is built-in, but it's still unclear if there will be a card slot for augmenting that. The best bet is to assume that there's none till Palm mentions otherwise.
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