O2's Atom Life and Flame official pictures released

At a press briefing held in Singapore on Tuesday, O2 showcased two new PDA-phones, the Xda Flame and Xda Atom Life. Both handhelds are expected to be launched in the region within the next two months.

According to O2's country manager Low Han Thong, the Atom Life will come with support for 3G and HSDPA, and will feature a large onboard memory. CNET Asia had a look at the prototype display unit and found it came with 1GB storage memory, a miniSD card slot, QVGA display and 2-megapixel camera. A white version, targeted mainly at the female crowd, is expected to be launched at a later date. (Click here for larger images of the Xda Atom Life)

The Xda Flame, which has been circulating on the Web for a while now, is also confirmed for an Asian launch. It is expected to come with a large 3.6-inch display (VGA?), microSD slot, 2-megapixel camera (with flash) and Nvidia GPU (similar to the one deployed in Sony's PSP). Rumor is that Flame will also be equipped with 2GB of memory. (Click here for larger images of the Xda Flame)

We are expecting more incoming information from O2, so do check back for updates here. In the meantime, you can read more about O2's Xda Zinc and Graphite here.

LG shows off Prada phone

It's official. After months of speculation and supposed leaked photos on the Web, the Korean company has finally announced it will be launching the KE850, or as it is more commonly known, the Prada Phone by LG. A result of collaborative efforts with fashion house Prada, the new handset is touted as the world's first completely touchscreen mobile phone, generating comparisions with Apple's iPhone.

Whether this apple-to-Apple observation proves counterproductive to LG's Prada branding remains to be seen. For now, official specs list the triband handset as sporting a wide touchscreen display, a simple, yet uncluttered design, a slim form factor and an onboard 2-megapixel camera.

While the Prada Phone doesn't feature the smart phone capabilities of the iPhone or 3G/HSDPA connectivity, the former comes with most of the standard cellular features such as Bluetooth, USB 2.0, onboard music and video player, microSD card slot, FM radio as well as document viewer. Its biggest advantage is that it will be available in Asia far earlier than the iPhone which has a 2008 launch date planned for this part of the world. According to LG Singapore, the Prada Phone will ship to Europe in late February, with Asia following in March. It is expected to retail price at US$776 (based on reports from our sister site CNET.com).

Sony Ericsson screens its Bravia TV-phone

We've been feeling the Walkman and Cyber-shot love from Sony Ericsson phones. With the success of the mobile merger with its parent's music and photography lines, the handset manufacturer has been unstoppable. So we weren't too surprised when it announced that it was yanking yet another Sony brand for a mobile makeover. Meet the Bravia TV-phone, which uses a display based on the Bravia technology.

Scheduled for launch this June, the Japan-only SO903iTV offers a 3-inch widescreen with a slide function for horizontal TV viewing. There's also time-shift video recording for a more complete TV experience, aside from the standard 2-megapixel CMOS camera and microSD card slot.

Now all we have to do is cross our fingers really hard, and what do you know? Pigs might fly, and a similar TV-phone model could be coming soon to our fair shores.

Check out the other new DoCoMo phones here.

NTT's Nintendo DS-like mobile

We had a case of deja vu recently when we saw NTT DoCoMo's D800iDS handset. Like the Nintendo DS portable gaming console, the phone comes with dual internal displays, one of which is a touch-sensitive screen that lets you input data via a stylus instead of a conventional keypad. Perhaps as a tiny mark of acknowledgement to Nintendo, the model name sports a "DS", although DoCoMo will tell you it stands for "direct and smooth" and does not have any relation whatsoever to any Nintendo product.

As with most NTT DoCoMo handsets, there are no plans to bring the D800iDS to other parts of Asia when it launches in February. The D800iDS' touch panel also recognizes handwritten input and there is a 1.3-megapixel camera onboard.
Check out the other new DoCoMo phones here.

iPhone accessories out already?

Even though the Apple iPhone will only be launched in the US this June and in Asia come 2008, one vendor has apparently decided to get a jumpstart in the potentially lucrative accessories market. Out soon will be possibly the world's first protective cases for the handset.

Incipio already has three accessories listed for the iPhone on its Web site, among them a black leather flip case, black leather zipper case and black horizontal pouch carrying case. Earlier during Steve Job's keynote speech at Macworld, the Apple head honcho also offered attendees a sneak peek at a pair of headphones and a Bluetooth headset.

If this is a sign of things to come, we can certainly expect a lot more iPhone accessories to be announced closer to its US launch date.

Click here for larger images: 1 / 2 / 3 (Photo credit: Incipio)

Crave is...

The name says it all. Crave is our blog about cool gadgets and other crushworthy stuff.

Drop us an email if you have tips or suggestions.

Crave for...

» Mobile Phones (2240)

» Digital Cameras (988)

» Notebooks (1238)

» PC & Peripherals (1312)

» Handhelds (585)

» Printers (83)

» Home AV (1147)

» Music & Play (896)

» Gadgets (1488)

» Future Tech (396)

» Green Tech (172)

» Lifestyle (157)

» Luxury (22)

» Home Appliances (58)

» Cars (99)

» Games and Gear (248)

» Software (96)

» Web (119)

Previously...

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

Hot Topics

Subscribe to
Crave

What's Hot

apple apple inc. apple iphone apple ipod asia battery camera game google inc. iphone microsoft corp. microsoft windows mobile phone photograph singapore smart phone software sony corp. video

Today on CNET |  Reviews |  Crave |  Blogs |  CNET TV |  Digital Living |  Downloads