Tag Archives: FeaturePhone

Nokia announces the 207 and 208: 3G data and month-long standby for $68

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Nokia announces the 207 and 208, calls them its 'most affordable 3G devices yet'

Smartphone sales may have surpassed featurephone sales earlier this year, but that's not stopping Nokia from releasing devices like the 207 and 208. Both feature a 2.4-inch QVGA screen, 3G (HSPDA, up to 7.2Mbps) connectivity, a stand-by time of over 30 days and a $68 price tag before taxes and subsidies. Where they differ is that the 207 has no camera (for security-conscious work places) and only comes in a single-SIM variant, while the 208 features a 1.3-megapixel camera and is also available in a dual-SIM flavor. Nokia wants to point out that these devices use microSIM cards, not traditional full size SIM cards, making them ideal as a second phone for when you want to "leave your smartphone at home." Meanwhile, if you're willing to sacrifice 3G, the 110 and 112 are even cheaper. Or, if you don't mind spending a little more, Firefox OS phones deserve a look too.

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These boots were made for talkin’: O2 teams up with artist for ‘walkie talkie’ footwear

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These boots were made for talkin' O2 teams up with artist for 'walkie talkie' mobile footwear

Sorry, Ms. Sinatra, but the headline parody was all too obvious to ignore. As part of its mobile device Recycle program, which allows users to trade in old handsets for cash, British telco O2 has commissioned local designer Sean Miles to give discarded featurephones a new lease on life. The end result? Four footwear designs - made from the likes of Christian Louboutins, Nike Airs, Hunter Wellingtons and a classic Brogue men's shoe -- replete with a fully functional phone embedded in the sole. We know exactly what you're thinking: Why would anyone want to hold a shoe to their face? Whether it's for the love of the arts, a penchant for public ridicule or a closer whiff of the ground below, we can't say for sure. What we do know is that this truly "mobile" kit(sch) will be up for auction later in March at a planned exhibition. But that won't be the last you'll see of Miles' unholy meshing of tech and apparel -- the artist also plans to branch out into gloves and handbags as part of the fuller O2 Recycle Collection. You paying attention, Weird Al? This one's for you!

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Via: The Sun

Source: PSFK

Sprint confirms pay-as-you-go service, promises not to throttle speeds or cap data

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Sprint confirms pay-as-you-go service, promises not to throttle speeds or cap data

Word of a Sprint pay-as-you-go service crossed our desks just yesterday in the form of a leaked slide, and now Big Yellow has confirmed to FierceWireless that the effort, dubbed Sprint As You Go, will launch on January 25th. The Now Network's new initiative will offer a $70 monthly plan for smartphones and a $50-a-month plan for feature phones. Both options won't offer premium features such as WiFi tethering and Sprint Navigation, but Sprint says customers will see neither hide nor hair of data caps or speed throttling. As for hardware, the smartphone tier includes the LTE-enabled Samsung Victory at $250 and the LG Optimus Elite for $150. On the feature phone end of the spectrum, Samsung's Array and M400 handsets are available on the service (presumably ringing up at $80 and $50, respectively). Angling to take advantage of Sprint's new offer? You'll have to forgo online shopping this time, as the firm is making the offer available exclusively through it's brick-and-mortar Sprint Stores.

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Via: PhoneDog

Source: FierceWireless

Hands-on with the Asha 205 and Nokia’s Slam quick-sharing feature (video)

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Hands-on with the Asha 205 and Nokia's Slam quick-sharing feature (video)

Feature phones don't grace our pages too often, but when Nokia said it had a new Asha to show us, we thought we'd go take a look. We've been following the Asha range since it launched a little more than a year ago, but we were also interested to see Nokia Slam in action, a new Bluetooth quick-sharing feature with Android compatibility. There were no touchscreens in sight as we were introduced to the Asha 205 -- a Series 40 QWERTY handset with a social angle aimed primarily at emerging markets, but also at those who either don't have the cash or the need for a top-of-the-range device. Bearing that in mind, we gave the phone a brief once over, looking at what it does for roughly $62 (excluding taxes, etc.), rather than what it lacks compared with smartphones at higher price points. During the meeting we also glanced over the Nokia 206, which shares many of the same features but isn't part of the Asha family due to its numpad input (see the video and gallery for more details). Head past the break for our thoughts on the Asha 205, and a demo of Nokia Slam in action.

Gallery: Asha 205 and Nokia 206 hands-on

Continue reading Hands-on with the Asha 205 and Nokia's Slam quick-sharing feature (video)

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Opera Mini for BlackBerry and feature phones catches up with download manager update

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Opera Mini for BlackBerry and feature phones catches up with download manager update

A mere six months since its last update to feature phones and Blackberrys, Opera Mini has refreshed itself again, this time offering up an improved download experience, both in regards to speed and file management. The new web browser is available to download now, with users able to pause and resume their downloads, customize exactly where files are saved and -- would you believe it -- download multiple files at the same time. But in all seriousness, it's hard to complain as Opera continues to roll out additional functionality for its data-savvy browser even on humbler hardware. Those looking for a quick install should point their phone's browser to m.opera.com.

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Source: Opera Mini

Samsung GT-S3752 Duos gets snapped with dedicated ChatON button by Mr. Blurrycam

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Samsung GT

If SammyHub's blurrycam tipster is to believed, Samsung will soon be swelling its Duos line of dual-sim handsets with the (purported) GT-S732 you see before you. Presumably, the feature phone will sit at the floor of any pricing table since it's packing a meager 2-megapixel camera, 2.4-inch display and a 1,000mAh battery. Notably the handset includes a WiFi radio, which puts us in mind of a messaging-centric handset -- which explains the presence of a dedicated ChatON button beneath the screen. We'll keep our ears to the ground to find out if it's likely to make an appearance on these shores -- but we won't get our hopes up.

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Samsung GT-S3752 Duos gets snapped with dedicated ChatON button by Mr. Blurrycam originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 19:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Micron first to market with phase-change memory modules for portable devices (video)

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DNP Micron first to market with phasechange memory modules, NAND asks it to get off its lawn

Look out silicon and magnetic storage, here comes glass. Micron has announced production of the first commercial cellphone phase-change memory (PCM) modules, a type of flash RAM that works by changing a crystal solid to an amorphous state. The 1Gb chips will share a circuit board with 512Mb of standard volatile memory, just enough to go in feature phones for now -- but the company claims it will eventually offer larger modules for smartphone and tablet storage as well. PCM could scale to much faster speeds than conventional NAND flash, since it doesn't require a time-sapping erase before rewriting -- and with read speeds of 400MB/s, it's already into regular flash territory while still just a first generation product. Once the tech gets even quicker, PCM could even replace volatile RAM, allowing more secure storage in case of a power loss and reducing device costs and power usage. That means the glassy new kid could eventually bump silicon-based storage altogether -- ending its 40-year plus reign as king of the memory substrates. To see some of the ways it trumps NAND, check the video after the break.

Continue reading Micron first to market with phase-change memory modules for portable devices (video)

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Micron first to market with phase-change memory modules for portable devices (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 16:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GreatCall outs Samsung-made Jitterbug Plus, for folks who want a phone without all the smarts

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GreatCall outs Samsungmade Jitterbug Plus, for folks who want a phone without all the smarts

Adding features to a senior-friendly phone kind of defeats the purpose, but a sleeker design, improved battery life and boosted speaker? Sure, we'll take it. That's what you'll get with the new Jitterbug Plus, a bare-bones mobile phone for users who really only need to make and receive calls, and perhaps check the occasional voicemail. Manufactured by Samsung, the no-frills r220 includes an incredibly straightforward interface, with clearly marked Yes and No button options and large, backlit keys, including a panic button that puts you in touch with a 5Star Urgent Response agent. This latest model also adds a very basic 1.3-megapixel camera, which lets you post photos to Facebook with the touch of a button (you'll need to forgo the Instagram filters, though). The Jitterbug Plus is available now in red or silver for $99 at retailers like Best Buy, Radio Shack and Fry's, along with the company's online store, however pricing is expected to jump to $119 shortly after launch. Overall, the device appears to be a great choice for seniors, though CNET called the phone "overpriced" in its review, which you'll find at the link below.

Continue reading GreatCall outs Samsung-made Jitterbug Plus, for folks who want a phone without all the smarts

GreatCall outs Samsung-made Jitterbug Plus, for folks who want a phone without all the smarts originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 01:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tonino Lamborghini launches ‘luxury’ phones for low-spec loving Russians with deep pockets

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Lamborghini launches 'Luxury' phones for lowspec loving Russians with deep pockets

Much like Porsche Design before it, this isn't strictly the auto-maker (in this case it's the son of the famous sports car mogul) releasing a phone. However, these are devices (three phones and a tablet) which bear the family name. Russian site Hi-Tech Mail got a good look at two feature phones (which look remarkably familiar,) the TL688 and TL820, sporting 2- and 2.4-inch displays, along with 3- and 5-megapixel cameras and 4GB and 1GB (expandable) storage respectively. Their main selling point evidently being the hand made gold plate and leather finish. There is a TL700 smartphone, too, which runs on not-so-sporty Android Gingerbread, with an unspecified Qualcomm processor, 3.7-inch 800 x 480 display and 5-megapixel shooter. This one ups the flash-factor some, boasting diamond processed metal and "elements" of crocodile skin.

The tablet is known as the Lamborghini L2800 and has a 9.7-inch 1024 x 768 resolution screen, 1.2GHz Qualcomm processor, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB onboard storage (expandable). How much does all this sense-defying technology cost? Well, the feature phones start at 60,000 rubles, (about $1,829) or you can snap up the Android for 30,000 more (about $2,743) and treat yourself to the L2800 tablet for a reasonable 75,000 rubles (about $2,286). Of course, you'll have to drive to Russia to get your hands on them, sometime in late August, but we're guessing if you're in the market for one of these, that'll barely dent the plastic anyway.

Gallery: Lamborghini Phones

Lamborghini Phones

Tonino Lamborghini launches 'luxury' phones for low-spec loving Russians with deep pockets originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 Jun 2012 13:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Opera Mini 7 comes to feature phones and BlackBerry, upgrade notifications in tow

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Opera Mini 7 comes to feature phones and BlackBerry, upgrade notifications in tow

Opera Mini 7 has been available via the Google Play market since the end of March, but if you're still milking a feature phone for all it's worth, you haven't been able to enjoy the latest version of the mobile browser. Opera Mini 7 is now available for basic phones and BlackBerry, allowing these devices to store an unlimited number of speed dials and access the new Smart Page feature for shortcuts to favorite sites. In addition to those new features, Opera Mini 7 includes several improvements and tweaks, including upgrade notifications and the ability to close tabs with one click on touchscreen phones. Of course, the browser still promises to cut down on your device's bandwidth usage, so your flip phone can keep on chugging.

Opera Mini 7 comes to feature phones and BlackBerry, upgrade notifications in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jun 2012 17:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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