Verizon Cell Phones

Today Motorola announced its next-generation push-to-talk technology that works with CDMA EVDO Rev. A networks, rather than iDEN. The PTT over cellular, or PoC, system uses a special piece of software on the phone to make PTT calls work ...
(follow link to read)

This phone, inspired by the multiple layers of wooden sandwich in plywood, is of multiple slider design. Inside, and separated by tabs, are a printer, projector, gamepad and sliding downward, a dialpad. It's as cool as it is impossible to build, and so KDDI labs should feel proud for making an imaginary device with so much character. [KDDI via Cscout]

Crashing problems aside, I am loving the App Store. I have no problem spending money on an app, but there are definitely a surprising number of quality freebies out there. With that in mind, I am kind of curious to know how much money iPhone owners have been willing to drop on apps given all of the free choices.

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A few months ago a rumor floated around that LG was planning a second coming of the Prada phone with features like a 3-inch touchscreen, 5MP camera, a front mounted camera for video calling, 7.2 Mbps HSDPA, a full HTML browser, microSDHC, and a slide-out QWERTY. Obviously, we can't confirm any of that information by this grainy photo—but it does back up the QWERTY keyboard, which keeps the rumors on track at least. It also doesn't do anything to discredit a possible 4Q release date. [BGR]

Over at BoyGeniusReport there's a bunch of images that seem to be leaked shots of an upcoming Nokia N-series cellphone, the N79. It's faintly similar to the N82, and supposedly has a 2.4 inch QVGA screen, and a 5-megapixel camera beneath with flash. BGR suggests we may learn more on Monday, from Nokia itself. There's also a bunch of confusion over whether the pics are real, but they certainly seem it to me, complete with its strangely pinstriped rear shell. What do you think, guys: Real or no deal? UPDATE: It looks like are pics of a Chinese-made knockoff of the N79. Oh well. [BGR]

The KDDI AU Design Project bunch over in Japan have stumped up with this latest concept phone for music cellphones of the future. And it blends two things we like a Giz: funky cellphone tech and Transformers. In fact Box To Play is less "robot in disguise," and more "hi-fi in disguise" because when it's a phone, it's a normal phone—keypad, camera and such—but when it transforms it's its own speaker system with a graphical visualizer around its faces. Neat, and exactly the sort of innovative design I'd like to see in future phones. Check out the movie of the concept in action at the KDDI link. [KDDI AU]

We've seen pictures from the factory coming loaded on new iPhones before, but this is the first time we've seen what appear to be intentional snapshots loaded on a new iPhone. Surprise: the person who put your iPhone together is a cute girl!

The photos were found on a new iPhone shipped to the UK, and one of the pictures was even set as the home screen. Aaaaaaadorable! [MacRumors Forums]

Over at BoyGeniusReports is this leaked shot of what's allegedly the CDMA version of HTC's fabby Touch Diamond cellphone. And oh boy, oh boy... that's one phone that's not been on a diet: compared to the GSM version sitting on top of it it's one big ugly fat fellow. Apparently it's actually "more comfortable to hold," but you've got to wonder about the weight of the gizmo, and the tightness of your pockets. [Howardforums via BGR]

Following up on rumorage that pre-sales for the HTC Dream/G1 would start Sept. 17, TmoWorld says they've got the full skinny on T-Mobile's Android debut party: Supposedly, pre-orders will be online only for eligible post-paid customers—lasting through
Oct. 3—who will get the phone on Oct. 13, the public launch day. TmoWorld says the subsidized price will be $199 w/ a two-year contract (no one-year option).

Price seems to be the blurriest bit of info, possibly because it isn't totally set yet. For instance, TmoNews, who has a more proven record, says it might be $150 for upgraders. (One scenario: It's $150 for pre-orders, $200 for eligible people with new two-year contracts. But that seems a little overly complicated.) Monthly plans will be $35 w/ unlimited data/messaging or $25 for unlimited data/400 messages. Most of this sounds about right—not too far off the mark, anyway. [TmoWorld]

The Android 0.9 SDK r1 Beta represents the first formal release on the path to Android 1.0 and it is available now for download. Outside of the normal bug fixes, users will notice some major UI updates—including a new widget-enhanced home screen, a tab to pull up apps, a camera and a media player. There are also a whole slew of API upgrades that should significantly enhance usability. Any further changes between this version and the final release version are expected to be small, but keep in mind that apps created with this version may not be compatible with 1.0. UPDATE: Check out our extensive video tour of the OS. Screenshots of the new UI added.

[SDK Download and Release Notes Thanks Jeff!]