Smartphones might be all the rage, but that doesn’t mean messaging phones don’t provide a decent solutions to many mobile communications needs. To that end, Sprint has announced it is launching the Sanyo Incognito on November 30, with full retail sales beginning December 6. The Incognito features a glossy black, streamlined form factor sports an external OLED status display, but reveals a full QWERTY keypad and a 2.6-inch QVGA display when flipped open. And forget sticker shock: the Incognito will run just $49.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate…so long as its purchased with a two-year service agreement.
Category: Mobile
AT&T’s Seth Bloom Speaks Out on Verizon’s “Deceptive” Ads
The battle between Verizon wireless and AT&T over Verizon’s ads mocking AT&T’s 3G coverage has been a contentious one. AT&T took Verizon to court claiming the ads deceived the customers. While it lost the first round, being denied an injunction, AT&T will have another chance to plead its case at a December 16 hearing.
AT&T’s public relations representative, Seth Bloom (an employee with Fleischman-Hillard), contacted us, looking to give us his company’s views on the debate. We were happy to get some interesting responses to our questions. Our dialog is given below:
AT&T Debuts HP Mini 110 Netbook with 3G Connectivity
The idea of buying a subsidized netbook PC with built-in 3G mobile access might seem like a nifty way to stay in touch with colleagues and friends on the go…and AT&T is hoping consumers will act on that initial feeling when it offers up an HP Mini 110 netbook PC for $199 beginning next week. AT&T is subsidizing a bit of the cost of the netbook to make it more appealing to consumers, but it’s important to bear in mind that the netbook pricing only applies with a new two-year service plan, and those run at least $35 per month.
Nokia N900 Drops to $480 at Amazon.com
Amazon has another great holiday smartphone deal for you: The online retailer is dropping the price of Nokia’s N900 to $530 minus another $50 (after mail-in rebate) for a $480 take home price. The N900’s US retail price is $649 without the carrier subsidies making this pretty little smartphone quite the splurge. This unlocked cell phone has not been
Bang & Olufsen’s BeoCom 2 Gets a Holiday Makeover
The BeoCom 2 is an intriguing phone with its curved design and aluminum casing. For the holiday season, Bang & Olufsen is updating its BeoCom 2 in a number of bright and bold colorways. Apparently these phone went through a unique and timely process to achieve their new holiday hues. The process was devised using a strong lacquer that is used on cars to avoid scratches during the finishing phase of the automobile. Bang & Olufsen says these new color schemes have given its quirky phone even more character than before.
Holiday Gift Ideas: Incase Chrome Slider Cases
It’s not just Google showing off its Chrome today, Incase’s popular iPhone cases are now available in new metallic colors. The Chrome Slider Case is available in four shiny shades: Black, silver, gold and copper. The Chrome Slider Cases are compatible with the iPhone 3G (8GB & 16GB) and iPhone 3GS (16GB & 32GB). Incase says these new cases are durable, lightweight and allows users direct access to all device features. The interior casing consists of rubber guardrails for shock absorption and each case comes with an S-Stand for upright viewing. The Chrome Slider Case is priced at $34.95
Incase Combo Charger: Portable, Multitasking iPod Charger
The convenient iPod/iPhone travel charger from Incase just got an upgrade. The new Incase Combo Charger has dual USB ports and a 12V input for your car. The Combo Charger also features hideaway flip-out wall socket prongs. Incase says this lightweight charger is compatible with the iPhone (3G & 3GS), iPod Nano (4th & 5th generations), iPod Touch (2nd generation), and most forms of the iPod classic. The multitasking charger is priced at $39.95.
Here are some of the Combo Charger’s main features:
- Fastest possible charge from both USB ports
- AC compatible with worldwide voltage capacities
AT&T Gives Verizon a Taste of Their Own Medicine
After losing a request for injunction, AT&T is fighting fire with fire by launching its own personal jab at rival Verizon “There’s a Map for That” Wireless. Although the judge for the ad campaign lawsuit admitted Verizon’s commercials were “sneaky,” he basically handed AT&T a box of tissues and told the company to “walk it off.” Well, they did– looks like AT&T walked themselves right into an abandoned warehouse with Luke Wilson and shot this commercial.
AT&T will have a second chance to argue its case, but as for now, it looks like the ad war is on.
Nokia’s High-end Smartphone Future with Maemo, not Symbian
Finland’s Nokia is still the largest mobile handset manufacturer in the world, but its influence in the high-end (and high-profit) smartphone market is increasingly falling short of competitors like RIM and Apple, in part because Nokia can’t seem to capitalize on features and capabilities consumers want in a smartphone. But Nokia is determined to forge ahead in the smartphone marketplace—and the company is placing its best on the Linux-based Maemo mobile OS, rather than the tried-and-true Symbian OS that has powered most of the company’s devices for years. At a gathering in London, Nokia marketing executives told Maeomo developers that Nokia plans to drop Symbian from its high-end N-series Internet-capable mobile devices by 2012.
Amazon Drops Sprint’s Palm Pixi Down to $25
Amazon is on a holiday sales roll this week. Amazon.com is now offering the Palm Pixi for $24.99 with a Sprint service plan. The webOS -based phone is Palm’s slimmest smartphone and has an 8 GB internal memory, 2-megapixel camera/camcorder, Bluetooth stereo music, and about 5 hours of talk time and up to 350 hours (14.5 days) of standby time. You also get free 2-day shipping when you purchase this item plus a service plan from Amazon, making this probably the best Palm Pixi deal out there. Mobile experts suggest the Pixi will soon be a freebie when purchasing a service plan from Sprint– this new Amazon post is just one step closer to that conclusion.
