You know, I’ve been reviewing gadgets for the past 5 years – it may be considered a long time for some, but highly unlikely to reach veteran review status soon. The thing with reviewing devices is that one tends to get stuck in the game of tech specs where the premise of “mine is bigger than yours” seems to win out (thus proving that the worldwide tech scene may just really be a man’s world). However, technical specs doesn’t seem to be the way the game is played anymore. In the same way that the smaller Japanese cars have a great following compared to your huge Fords, sometimes, form factor and the smaller, almost insignificant details DO matter.

Perhaps the best example of this would be the RAZR line of phones from Motorola. In terms of user interface and durability, I’ve heard many a complaint with this particular model (ironically, the other phone models from the same brand are A-OK). And yet it still seems to be one of the fast selling phones in last year’s market. It’s all about the form factor for a significant market share.

I guess all I wanted to say was that I’ll never laugh again when a company introduces a new sub product like this Pink BlackBerry Pearl, where there really is nothing new about the phone sans the color scheme, which mind you is quite killer.

Post from: Cellphone9

We’ve previously talked about the Verzio Duplii and Twinn, one of the more elegant dual SIM solutions to come out in Asia. At CES 2008, we are seeing dual SIM smartphones – like this one from Haier. Although there is already a big advantage in using dual SIM cards for regular phones, having two SIM cards for smartphones offer an additional value – you see, not all mobile phone plans are made the same. Having dual SIMs allows you to choose which number to use for data and for calls. By competence, some carriers usually offer better data plans than free calls and SMS while the other half offer the exact opposite.

Should telcos take this new development into account in the future of brand planning? Telcos have always built their brand around lock in exclusivity which actually get circumvented with unlocking software. I’m not sure how common this was in the US before the proliferation of the iPhone, but in Asia, it was pretty much an open secret. I think telcos should start bending down towards non-exclusive post paid line deals.

Post from: Cellphone9

With barely an iPhone update from today’s Keynote, Steve Jobs might just have to announce the 3G iPhones at a later date.

He probably might announce the iPhone SDK, 3G iPhones and iPhone availability in another press conference that may just coincide with CTIA Wireless this April 2008. But then again, it is not like Jobs to join in on a convention to announce new products. I think the delays are mostly due to securing additional partner telcos in Asia, as the Western mobile market is rather different compared to what we see in the East. The fact of the matter is that the business model for post paid line acquisitions lean more towards how the iPhone is being sold in the west.

Another thought does occur to me — one reason why the iPhone is taking its time for launch is because the iTunes Store does not fully support all the countries in Asia. For instance, back here in the Philippines we don’t even have iTunes Store purchasing power because you need a US billing address. iTunes forms a huge part of Apple’s business model as this will be the conduit for serving iPhone apps as well. When we see the store extend to even more countries in Asia, that’s when we will see the iPhone.

Post from: Cellphone9

Hey guys, I think these would make really good gifts for your significant other. You’re quite sure she has a mobile phone so why not get her a bag for it? I never understood how women can have a small purse and put it into another bag that’s just a wee bit bigger. It’s sorta like a concept you borrow from those Russian dolls. Still, I must admit that the bags look rather elegant, and if you aren’t in the mood to put your mobile phone, it may make for a great carrying case for your pet hamster.

Post from: Cellphone9

Some consumers are the perfect target for things like this. Nokia sent over an email a few days ago exposing how owners of NOKLA phones are sending them to NOKIA service centers for repairs. Because of the inferior design quality, these phones tend to break. The problem with consumers is that they tend to mistake the NOKLA brand for real Nokia phones because of the way the “L” looks like an “i.” So that I don’t confuse you, I’m putting the NOKLA brand in all caps.

Here are three ways to tell if your NOKIA phone is legitimate:

Warranty
Nokia mobile phones bought in the Nokia Store or from its authorized dealers have a blue 12-month limited warranty sticker from Nokia Care slapped on the top or side parts of the phone’s box.

A Nokia Care Tamper Proof warranty sticker is also found in the mobile phone’s accessories such as the charger, battery, memory card, or data cable.

Stamp of Approval
All Nokia phones bought from the Nokia Store or any of its authorized dealers have a Tamper Proof Type label at the back of each mobile phone along with the NTC logo and the Type acceptance number as part of one sticker. Also found in the back of the mobile phone is the Nokia tamper proof Warranty Seal.

Battery
To see if your battery is the real thing, you have to make sure the hologram label reflects the Nokia Connecting Hands at one angle and the Original Enhancements logo at another angle. When you angle the hologram on the left, right, down and upsides of the logo, you should see 1, 2, 3 and 4 dots on each side respectively.

Post from: Cellphone9

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Motorola release a music phone. The new ROKR E8 combines what we’ve seen with the LG Chocolate line and the iPhone – a smooth glass like surface to give off the sleek look. As you use the phone in music or phone mode, the UI lights up pertinent parts of the handset for you to touch. It also features an incomplete scroll wheel design that makes music browsing ala iPod.

The ROKR E8 has gone a long way from the ancestral E2. Formerly, the rather bulky design is now sleeker and more RAZR-like.

Post from: Cellphone9

2009 UPDATE: Motorola has announced for 2009 the new Motorola W233, an eco-friendly version of the W230.

UPDATE: Motorola has announced an upgrade to the W230, called the W388. It is an incremental upgrade to the low end phone, now sporting a VGA camera and a little bit more memory.

As an aside, the “W” naming scheme is a bit of a throw off as one might think that this is a Sony Ericsson phone. Motorola has released a new line of entry level phones in the W230 and W270. No fancy bells here compared to the RAZR line. Both phones stress a relatively high memory expansion bundle of 2GB but cut down on other features. Essentially, both phones are entry level handhelds.

Do you like the W230? If you’re opting for a higher end music phone, you can check out the Motorola ROKR E8 with ModeShift technology. Motorola has released a cheaper version of the ROKR E8 with a better user interface and real estate, the ROKR EM30:

If you’re looking for a high end cameraphone from Motorola, you can check out the Motozine ZN5 that comes with Xenon flash, wireless Internet and Kodak imaging technology.

Post from: Cellphone9

So you’ve always wanted to be Darth Vader. You’ve probably done this several times – walk up to a motion sensitive door and flick your hand as the glass door slides open. Well, Windows Mobile 7 does exactly that. No, not open doors – but the built in camera does more than take your photos. The camera is motion sensitive, allowing you to make simple hand gestures to execute a few basic commands.

This is rather interesting as the iPhone as well as other phone manufacturers are slowly taking the accelerometer route ala Nintendo Wii. Windows Mobile is begging to do something different. It’s too early to say anything now – remember the critics that put down the Wii’s motion sensitive concept – they may be eating their words.

Read more about this development here.

Post from: Cellphone9

According to Crave, passengers will not know they are on a test flight. That’s funny too because imagine the in flight radio going on announcing “by the way welcome to a special test flight to see whether we can send SMS without crashing the plane.”

Post from: Cellphone9

With gaming becoming a core model in mobile phones (just look at the repackaged Nokia N-Gage platform), there is still an unadmitted obtrusion to the entire gaming experience turned miniature: phones aren’t really made to play games.

Zeeto’s Zeemote concept might change that as the Bluetooth enabled controller that resembles the Wii nunchuck finally received funding worth $6.9 million.

Post from: Cellphone9