Yesterday Google finally offered the Nexus One unlocked and contract free for $529.  Fresh on the heels of the aforementioned news comes word that Sprint has also adopted the Android based smartphone.  As of now Sprint is mum on the launch date, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to push it out before the end of March to help boost their Q3 numbers.  Then again, that might negate some sort of deal, as they’ve been pushing the smartphone on Big Red as ‘coming soon’ for sometime now.

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T-Mobile officially launched the Cliq XT, which is essentially the Cliq without the keyboard.  If you’re so inclined you can grab the MOTOBLUR powered phone for $129.99 after signing 2-years of your life away.

Features:

• Touchscreen
• 5 megapixel camera
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• MOTOBLUR for social networking, etc
• Proximity sensor
• WiFi
• Android OS
• microSD card slot
• LED camera flash
• FM radio
• GPS

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According to online reports, the HTC HD2 will arrive in T-Mobile stores and online on March 24th.  On contract it will set you back $199, where as off you’ll drop $450.  Specs include a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen, Windows Mobile 6.5 with HTC sense, microSD card slot for expansion, 3G connectivity, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, 3.5mm headphone jack, GPS, 1GHz Snapdragon processor and 1230 mAh battery.

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You can now score the Nexus One completely contract free.  Just pop in your AT&T or T-Mobile SIM card and you’re set to go.  Price to you: $529.  Or you can still grab one from T-Mobile for $179 on contract.

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The price is $699.99 – $300.99 coupon (C9J5VBFJW1BQ36) + free shipping = $399!

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In this particular day and age, with climate change and global warming being plastered across the news and media, Nokia couldn’t have chosen a better time to let slip details about a self-charging mobile phone.

How it actually works is fairly straight forward. Energy from other components in the phone such as the radio transmitter create energy, which is collected and stored in the battery within the phone. This stops energy being wasted and makes a fairly efficient phone. Further details become slightly harder to understand but is related to piezoelectric elements, adding more energy to the battery after collecting energy on rails within the phone that hit a capacitor.

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Cell phones have come along way in the last 30 years.  In fact, it’s a bit difficult to believe that they’ve been around that long.  As a tween my father had one of the first cell phones, the brick (pictured above), but I’ll always associated that with Zach from the ‘Saved By The Bell’ TV show.  Below is a short list of gaming changing handsets.  Feel free to chime in and suggest other phones as I’m sure I missed some ‘watershed’ devices, but hopefully this is a good catch all.

One of Motorla’s first flip phones.  It truly did usher in a new form factor.  Course battery life still sucked and the form factor was far from pocket friendly, although a leap and then some above the gray brick.

The Motorola Startac was truly a game changer.  It was the first phone that you could slip into your shirt’s front pocket, which if you recall, was how Motorola marketed the phone.  I had one, but don’t remember how battery life was.  I do remember having a plan with 35 anytime minutes.

The Nokia 8810 wasn’t as small as the Startac but somehow provided affirmation that the market was ready for other form factors; in this case the slider phone.

Blackberry’s first email/cell phone.  In the beginning they had an email only device, but does anyone remember that?

This is kind of a jump in years, but I seem to remember the N-Gage being this big deal.  In any case it turned out to be a huge failure and was called ‘the Taco’.

The Palm Treo was a big deal and according to friends and colleagues was the best device on the market.  We all know what happened after that.

The Motorola Razer wasn’t more advanced than many phones previous to it, but since it offered a super sleek format and had a sexy appeal everyone wanted one.  When it first arrived they were $500.  All I could see was Startac.

Yup, we’re already at the iPhone.  But truly, this was the next game changer.  When it first hit the market it cost $600 for an 8GB version.  Of course, there was no contractaul requirement when you bought the device, but it was locked to AT&T.

Well, that’s what I got. What do you think?

The price, after the coupon is$279.99 – $105 coupon (82K3?W?VS1P7WH) + free ship = $174.99!

Don’t forget Dell’s $105 coupon: 82K3?W?VS1P7WH (expires: 3/13)

They’ve got it for $349.99 – $120 coupon (2HBF22GQ4Z6MVL) + free shipping = $229.99 shipped!

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As promised the Motorola Backflip, AT&T’s first Android phone, has officially gone on sale.  Head over to America’s fastest 3G network and you can score one for $99.99 after a 2-year contract and a $100 mail-in-rebate.  Oh yeah, you’ll have to purchase at least a $30/month data plan to be eligible for the rebate.  Hold out a few weeks and Wirefly and co will be carrying it for free if not half this price.

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What will surely be the perfect compliment to the motor home in your life is the STAR-Lady’s Phone.  God awful ugly, heck even fugly doesn’t do this piece of kit justice.  But looks aside, it has a half way decent feature set that includes a 1.8-inch QVGA touchscreen, 2GB of storage, media player, FM radio, a VGA camera and Bluetooth.

Chinagrabber sells them in a variety of seashore like colors for $137.

[via PMPToday]

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It’s $579.99 – $200 instant discount + $0 shipping = $379.99 shipped!

When Toshiba announced the TG01 handset I think it was pretty fair to say that more than a few folks were excited.  Today, they introduced the second iteration of the handset, and such as iterations are, there isn’t too much to go gaga for.  The TG02 now runs Windows Mobile 6.5 and a newly designed 3D interface.  But outside of that it still sports the same 9.9mm slim body, 1Ghz Snapdragon processor and 4.1-inch touchscreen, which isn’t anything to complain about, it just isn’t anything to boast about.

Full release after the ‘leap’

TOSHIBA DEBUTS NEW HANDSETS AND LEADING MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES AT MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS 2010

· Toshiba previews wide-screen TG02 entertainment phone and K01 with sliding QWERTY keyboard

· Fast 1GHz processors and wide, high-quality capacitive touchscreens on both handsets

· Toshiba’s latest laptops and its vision of multiple interacting devices demonstrated first-hand on the Toshiba stand

· New mobile technologies, including Resolution+, LCD control and VoiceTranslation showcased at Toshiba’s Innovation Hub, Hall 8, Stand 8A111

BARCELONA, 15th February, 2010 – Toshiba Information Systems (UK) Ltd, Mobile Communications Division, today debuts two new mobile handsets for the first time at Mobile World Congress 2010. Expanding Toshiba’s mobile handset range, the TG02 and K01 will offer capacitive touchscreens and fast internal processors, joining Toshiba’s highly successful TG01 Windows® phone, which launched in 2009. Toshiba’s drive to lead innovation in the mobile arena will also be showcased with the display of new mobile technologies, combined with a first-hand demonstration of its multi-screen solutions.

Two new handsets added to Toshiba’s mobile range
The TG02 builds on the super-slim form of the Toshiba TG01 Windows® phone, and is the ideal device for users who demand high-quality entertainment on the go. Sleek in design, the TG02 features a wide 10.4cm (4.1″)[i] VGA capacitive touchscreen, offering a fast, responsive user experience, while the same internal image tuning technology as used on the TG01 delivers rich, high-quality visuals in a slim (9.9mm1) and portable device – making it ideal for viewing movies and images while on the move.

A newly designed and highly-intuitive 3D menu system on the TG02 makes it easy for users to browse though the handset and access a range of entertainment features. Based on the very latest Windows Mobile® 6.5 platform, the TG02 enhances the user experience with its quick and easy operation. An internal 1GHz[ii] processor also makes the TG02 an ideal device for internet browsing, enabling users to quickly access and load websites or stream content.

Joining the TG02 at MWC is the impressive new K01 – a stylish, powerful and easy to use media device optimised for mobile messaging. Featuring a slide-out QWERTY keyboard that makes typing easy and comfortable, the K01 also offers Toshiba’s first-ever Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) capactive 10.4cm (4.1″)1 wide-screen – providing bright colour, contrast, lower power consumption and faster response times than ever before. The K01 also features super-slim design, measuring 12.9mm1 front to back, making each handset portable and stylish in equal measure.

The new user interface lets users quickly browse to their favourite features, saving time and making the mobile experience more enjoyable. The K01 also features a fast 1GHz2 processer and storage can be expanded up to 32GB[iii] using microSDHC cards, allowing users to store their favourite movies, music and games with plenty of room to spare.

New Toshiba technologies at the Innovation Hub
As well as showcasing the new additions to its mobile line-up, Toshiba will be displaying a range of new mobile technologies in a special area within the Toshiba stand called the Innovation Hub.

The Innovation Hub will display a range of software solutions developed by Toshiba to improve the mobile user experience. Visitors will be able to see a range of new technologies for the very first time, including the mobile implementation of Resolution+ image tuning technology fostered from Toshiba’s REGZA TVs. Re-developed for Toshiba mobile handsets, Resolution+ improves video playback by analysing image definition and intelligently upscaling video quality to offer a sharper, clearer and richer viewing experience.

Another key development which will be showcased at the Innovation Hub is LCD Control – a technology that ensures users can get the same high-quality images with no loss of contrast in difficult lighting conditions. For example, when using a mobile in bright sunlight, the reflection and effect on image contrast often makes using a handset for viewing videos and images difficult. LCD Control boosts contrast detail to levels that are unaffected by the bright lighting, providing a hassle-free way to check messages, write emails or even watch videos under daylight conditions.

Toshiba will also be demonstrating Voice Translation – a helpful programme that uses Toshiba’s Speech Recognition, Machine Translation and Speech Synthesis technology to translate different languages[iv], synthesize back into a voice and repeat back in real time, without the need for an internet connection. Originally developed for Toshiba notebooks, Voice Translation is an ideal tool for international business use or holidays, allowing users to communicate easily using their mobile phone, wherever they are in the world.

More Toshiba laptops and netbooks with embedded Mobile Broadband
Toshiba’s new line-up of Mobile Broadband-enabled laptops will also be showcased, including new versions of its recently announced 25.7 cm (10.1″) Toshiba mini NB300 and mini NB305 netbooks, featuring embedded Mobile Broadband modules. The availability of a mobile data connection with data rates up to 7.2 Megabit per second[v], together with an outstanding battery life of up to 11 hours and a light weight of only 1.33 kg, make these netbooks ideal as highly portable companions. In addition, Toshiba is also debuting Mobile Broadband-ready versions of the recently unveiled professional laptops targeted at small offices and companies, medium businesses and large enterprises: the Tecra M11, A11 and S11, and the ultra-slim Satellite Pro T110 and Satellite Pro T130. For consumers, Toshiba offers the Satellite T110 and Satellite T130 with embedded Mobile Broadband.

Toshiba’s multi-screen solution makes sharing media easier than ever
As well as debuting a new mobile line-up and showcasing it’s latest mobile broadband laptops and netbooks, Toshiba will also be demonstrating first-hand its vision for a world of multiple interacting devices that will allow users to share photos, music and movies across different screens at the touch of a button.

The Toshiba Media Controller (TMC) software allows users to stream content across connected multimedia devices with ease, regardless of screen size. Users can share media from their handset to a PC, notebook, or television, and vice versa across a network (whether a home network, enterprise network or WLAN), using the easy to set-up device. Toshiba is committed to offering users a connected world, where devices are used together to form a simple, effective media offering regardless of screen size.

Word is born!  Motorola’s Devour will hit the “indirect channel” retail outlets in blurring fury on February 25th.  After that VZW’s retail outlets will pick up the phone on March 15th.  There still mention of price, but a few hundos might be in order, even though BGR is reporting $99 as the magical price point.

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[via Slashgear]

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We’ve been waiting around for Garmin-Asus to provide some additional direction on their line of smartphones, and today the company officially announced the specs for their M10 and A50 phones.

For the most party the M10 sounds like your typical smartphone – touchscreen, WinMo 6.5.3, etc – but will of course provide turn-by-turn directions that should be unparalleled by any other handset.  Other specs for the handset include a 3.5 WVGA touchscreen display, 512MB of RAM, 512MB of ROM, 4GB of storage, WiFi b/g and HSDPA.  It will have a 1500 mAh battery and be equipped with a 5 megapixel camera.

The A50 on the other hand is an Android based handset and sports a smaller, but still useful 3 megapixel camera.  Other specs include GPS (duh), Bluetooth, a microSD card slot with 4GB of internal storage, 3G support and a 3.5-inch touchscreen.  Purportedly, the handset will support multitouch in the WebKit browser.

There still no word on a price or launch date for these handsets, but expect more details to emerge at the MWC.

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