Filed under: GPS

TomTom is really pushing the connected capabilities of its navigation devices with this new x40 LIVE series, which hit IFA this year as rumored. The GO 940 LIVE, GO 740 LIVE and GO 540 LIVE include a “new and extended” version of IQ Routes, which can adjust your route for predicted and actual road conditions, based on historical data and TomTom’s HD Traffic feature. The units include Safety Alerts for alerting to speed cameras, Fuel Prices, and Local Search, which is powered by Google and allows you to plan a route to your search results. Also onboard is voice command and control, letting you plan routes and make phone calls using only your voice. The series will be available in the UK, Germany, France, Netherlands and Switzerland this fall, starting at

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Filed under: Handsets, HTC, Sprint, CDMA

From the looks of it, Sprint has gone and gotten a decent chunk of its playbook leaked all over the interblogs, and it’s chock-full of titillating information. Thanks to slippery fingers and loose lips, we already knew that the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro were headed to the carrier, but now we have some solid dates (mid-September for the Diamond, October 19th for the Pro), and pricing ($549.99 and $579.99 unsubsidized, $249.99 and $320 with contract). Of course, this is all according to the above document, which admittedly could be the work of an extremely bored Photoshopper — but this jibes pretty tightly with a lot of other chatter we’ve been hearing.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: Handsets, Samsung, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTS

IFA typically isn’t considered the strongest show in the mobile world, which Samsung apparently saw as an opportunity to grab just a little more spotlight than it’d normally have. Okay, maybe “a little more spotlight” is an understatement, seeing how it trotted out no fewer than a dozen handsets at the show — and granted, none of them are groundbreaking taken alone, but the collective ends up making for a mighty showing. Highlights include the S7330 slider, featuring a Soul-like display in the d-pad; the rumored D980 DUOS which adds an extra SIM slot to the F480’s design language; the music-centric M3510 Beat; and this here beast of a phone, the B2700, looking like it’s more than ready to take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’. Overall, we would’ve liked to have seen a little more high-end fare in the mix, but we’ll take it.

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Filed under: Handsets, Others, GSM

Sonim has chosen IFA this week to show off its latest hardcore G’zOne killer, the in-your-face, take-no-prisoners LM801 candybar. Highlights of the rugged set include an integrated flashlight, laser pointer (for those times when you’re stranded in the Rockies and you need to blind you some bears, we figure), magnetic compass, barometer / altimeter, FM radio, and thermometer, all bundled neatly into a yellow shell that repels all the water and dust you can toss at it. Most carriers aren’t terribly talented at offering a rugged lineup, so we can think of a few who’d be well-served to investigate adding something like this into the mix — and seriously, what’s with no other phone having a laser pointer?

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Filed under: Handsets, HTC, Sprint, Windows Mobile, EV-DO, CDMA

Everything prior had been rumors, hearsay, speculation, and leaked documents — but now that Sprint has something out in the open, it’s going to be a whole hell of a lot more difficult to renege on that September time frame we’d all been pulling for. The carrier and partner Bluefish have thrown up a site taking names and email addresses to be notified when the Touch Diamond is available for purchase; no exact date is given (we wouldn’t be surprised if Sprint still hadn’t decided on that), but they do mention that it’s “coming in September.” That gives ‘em a full 30 days to make good — but if it just happened to roll out on September 2 like we’d originally heard, we don’t think we’ll be seeing too many complaints around here.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: Handsets, HTC, Sprint, Windows Mobile, EV-DO, CDMA

Everything prior had been rumors, hearsay, speculation, and leaked documents — but now that Sprint has something out in the open, it’s going to be a whole hell of a lot more difficult to renege on that September time frame we’d all been pulling for. The carrier and partner Bluefish have thrown up a site taking names and email addresses to be notified when the Touch Diamond is available for purchase; no exact date is given (we wouldn’t be surprised if Sprint still hadn’t decided on that), but they do mention that it’s “coming in September.” That gives ‘em a full 30 days to make good — but if it just happened to roll out on September 2 like we’d originally heard, we don’t think we’ll be seeing too many complaints around here.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: Handsets, Peripherals, Others, Samsung, ATT, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTS

So a few shiny new pieces of hardware are starting to show up in AT&T stores; nothing to get terribly excited about, really, but the recently-released USBConnect Mercury is one of the purdiest data sticks we’ve seen in a while, and it’s certainly a hell of a lot better looking than the USBConnect 881 of old. We also have an a237 here from Samsung (or a dummy of it, anyway) — not bad for a dirt-cheap flip, we suppose — and another unidentified Sammy with a hidden front display. Anyone want to hit us up with some knowledge on what that is?

[Thanks, Kal]

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Filed under: Handsets, Features, HTC, T-Mobile, Android

Sure, we’ve seen some blurry videos and a few stolen glimpses when Andy Rubin demonstrated this beast, but now we’ve gotten our hands on a slew of pictures showing off a very real T-Mobile-branded Dream in all its Android-running glory. Not only does this confirm the design spied in those FCC docs as well as show off that nearly-done version of Android, but it seems to confirm the fact that this will be headed to T-Mobile, and sooner rather than later judging from the looks of the above device. Needless to say, our inner-geeks are completely geeking out right now. Hit the gallery below for a handful of other views of the phone.

[Thanks, Michael]

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Filed under: Handsets, RIM, GSM, EDGE

Not that you won’t be able to buy this thing from carriers here shortly, but there’s just nothing quite like being the first on your block to own a new handset. For those with cash to burn and an insatiable desire to play with RIM’s forthcoming Kickstart 8220, look no further than eBay. Up for auction right now is an unlocked version of the aforesaid mobile, but it looks as if the final bid will end up well over a grand. Good luck (being patient).

[Via CellPhonesMarket, thanks ghengis]

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Filed under: GPS

We just went on a whirlwind tour of Navigon’s booth here at IFA 2008, and while a sea of barely distinguishable GPS devices has a tendency to send us into sudden and violent fits of napping, we thought we’d give you a look-see just in case you feel otherwise. The only real standout was the new 7200 (pictured), which has a flat, glossy front, and is a joy to touch — we’re not positive it’s capacitive, but it feels a ton better than the regular dull resistive touch of most GPS units out on the market. We also took a look at the 2200 and 2150 Max, as you can see in the gallery below. Knock yourself out.

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