Pantech

Pantech seems to have a thing for slider phones, if the Matrix, Matrix Pro, and the Helio Ocean 2 are any indication. The latest Pantech Aladdin continues that trend with a candy-bar form factor and a number keypad that actually hides a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Unlike its other slider handsets, though, this QWERTY keyboard slides downward instead of sideways.

Other features of the Aladdin include threaded SMS conversations, a 1.3-megapixel camera, A-GPS, stereo Bluetooth, and 3G. The Aladdin is slated to come out later this year (by the end of summer, it seems), but there's no real confirmation … Read more

The super basic Pantech Breeze from AT&T is available in basic black starting Wednesday.

Slated as a phone for seniors, the Breeze is great for anyone who wants a simple phone for making calls and not much else. Both black and white versions have a VGA camera and three one-touch quick call keys for your convenience, and both are available for $29.99 each with a two-year service agreement.

Most push-to-talk phones are of the rugged variety, but there are also those that are slimmer and more compact. Verizon Wireless and PCD have released the CDM8975, which is exactly that.

This push-to-talk device also features a 1.3-megapixel camera, a speakerphone, a microSD card slot, Bluetooth, and more. It's only $99 after a two-year contract and a $50 rebate. Strangely, apparently the rebate will only come in the form of a debit card. Not sure why Verizon decided to do that, but there it is. The CDM8975 will be available March 9.

(Via Engadget Mobile)

Pantech has just announced the Pantech Matrix Pro, a dual-slider smartphone with Windows Mobile 6.1. If you think Pantech Matrix sounds familiar, it's because Pantech released its non-smartphone cousin, the Pantech Matrix, a few months ago as a dual-slider messaging phone. The Matrix Pro is also Pantech's second attempt at a smartphone, after the rather sad Pantech Duo of two years ago. Also note that Pantech is the manufacturer behind the Helio Ocean and the Helio Ocean 2, which have a similar design.

Like all of its dual-slider handsets, the Matrix Pro slides up vertically to reveal … Read more

Remember that Helio Ocean 2 we mentioned last week? Well, we got our hands on it and reviewed it.

It has the same dual-slider form factor as the original and, of course, the same bulky shape, but it has a couple of improvements over the first Ocean. First, it now has a unique optical-sensor touch pad, which makes scrolling through menus and long Web pages a lot easier. Second, the keypad and keyboard buttons are improved: they're a lot more tactile and easier to press now.

But perhaps more interesting are its features: it has all of the EV-DO … Read more

We told you about the Pantech C630 last week, and this week, we managed to put it through its paces.

Though it might not look like much at first glance, the humble Pantech C630 actually houses a host of high-end features. Features include 3G, access to AT&T's broadband services like AT&T Cellular Video and AT&T Mobile Music, GPS, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and stereo Bluetooth.

We're not big fans of the joystick toggle, and the screen is a little small, but these are just minor details. It's not a flashy phone … Read more

Even though it's only two weeks from the holidays, Pantech saw fit to debut its latest multimedia phone, dubbed the Pantech C630. A candy-bar handset, the C630 has plenty of advanced features like a 1.3-megapixel camera, 3G, GPS, Bluetooth, a microSD-card slot, and access to AT&T's broadband services like AT&T Video Share and AT&T Mobile Music. But perhaps the most attractive part of the C630 is its price: it's only $39 after a two-year service agreement and a mail-in rebate. The Pantech C630 will be available Friday, December 12 from … Read more

Before collapsing under the incredible blogger peer pressure and buying an iPhone, I was a user of Helio's Ocean. The thing was great. It did everything the iPhone did and still outperforms it in some ways (MMS and video capture, anyone?), and Pantech's engineers used the dual-sliding idea to create the Pantech Duo for AT&T last year.

Sadly, the Duo was all hardware. Running Windows Mobile 6 meant that while it had a lot of things it could do, they weren't going to be as easy as you'd like. But now, thanks to the FCC, … Read more

Thin phones just never seem to fade away, even when it comes to the latest trend of messaging phones. Take the Pantech Slate, for instance. Pantech claims the Slate is the world's thinnest messaging phone at around 0.38 inch thick, which isn't too much of a stretch considering there aren't too many of these messaging phones around in the first place.

Still, we like its slender design and we found the keyboard to be very spacious and the raised keys are quite conducive to typing out quick text messages. The Slate doesn't have much else … Read more