ctia

Hands-on with the Motorola Z9

Though Motorola announced today that its Z9 slider phone was going to AT&T, we got the opportunity to examine the Z9 last night before CTIA began. Our initial impressions are a bit mixed (check out our Z9 slide show for more images). The Z9 is certainly an attractive handset with a slim profile and a solid feel, but it doesn't break very much new design ground. For the past two years Moto has been under enormous pressure from many camps (us included) to come up with something completely new, but the Z9 doesn't stray very far … Read more

Motorola unveils the H690 Bluetooth headset

Motorola introduced the Motorola H690 Bluetooth headset today, which is a successor to the Motorola H680 from last year. It looks almost the same design-wise, but the H690 boasts noise-reduction technology that was absent from the H680. It has dual microphones and echo cancellation, which promises better audio performance. The H690 also comes with "TrueComfort" ear buds for better comfort, as well as the usual headset features like voice dialing and a battery status indicator. The rated talk time is 5.5 hours and standby time is up to eight days. The H690 is expected to debut in … Read more

Motorola Z9 goes to AT&T

Motorola announced during the first day of CTIA that its Z9 slide phone is landing at AT&T. The Z9 is the first Motorola handset to support AT&T's Video Share service and is the first cell phone ever to offer AT&T Navigator GPS service. Other features on the quadband (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) handset include dualband (HSDPA (850/1900) 3G, voice dialing, Windows Media Player 11 with support for AT&T Music, stereo Bluetooth, a speakerphone, a microSD card slot, an Opera 8 Web browser, and a 2-megapixel camera.

Though Motorola has … Read more

ClarityLife phone unveiled

Cell phones may be ubiquitous, but not every cell phone is appropriate for every person. That's why over the last couple of years, a small but growing market has begun to address the cell phones needs of senior citizens. These handsets ditch fancy and unnecessary features in favor of simple designs and basic communication functionality. Previously we've seen it in the Samsung Jitterbug and the UTStarcom Coupe, and today we see it in the new ClarityLife. Unveiled in as Vegas on the first day of CTIA, the ClarityLife has all the hallmarks of a senior-friendly cell phone. It'… Read more

Kyocera CTIA slide show

Kyocera kicked off CTIA this morning by unveiling three new cell phones. The Kyocera Neo E1100 is the most high end mode trip. It offers a sleek flip phones design with a few unique touches on its front face. The feature set isn't terribly advanced but you will find Bluetooth, a 1.3-megapixel camera, a 262,000-color display and a speakerphone. The Kyocera Mako S4000 is a trim flip phone with a VGA camera, voice dialing and a speakerphone. It won't wow high-maintenance users but it does more than just make calls. Finally, there's the Adreno S2400. … Read more

Kyocera goes square with the Adreno S2400

Kyocera chose CTIA to unveil is new Adreno S2400, a low-end flip phone that offers a simple design and functional features. Be advised there's not a lot of whizbang functionality here; rather, the Adreno is all about making calls. That's hardly a bad thing, though, and we like that the S2400 offers Bluetooth 1.2 and voice dialing. You'll also find text and multimedia messaging, basic organizer features, a speakerphone, a WAP Internet browser, voice memos, a vibrate mode, and a 500-contact phone book.

On the outside the Adreno won't win any design awards, but that'… Read more

Kyocera's Neo E1100 shows some style

During the last two CTIA shows, Kyocera has demonstrated a talent for unveiling new cell phone with a bit of design pizzazz. Last year it was the Kyocera E5000, and this year it is the Neo E1100. Sporting an extremely minimalist design in basic black, the E1100 is a thin (0.66 inche) flip phone with a glowing blue "lightpipe" down the center of its front face. Though you may think there's no external display, there is a hidden screen that runs vertically to the left of the lightpipe. Typically we're not big fans of hidden … Read more

Kyocera unveils the Mako S4000

Kyocera's new Mako (pronounced like the auto bodyshop) S4000 is one of three new handsets that the manufacturer introduced today at CTIA. It has a simple design with a thin profile (0.67 inches) and a decent set of midrange features. The basic black exterior shows a color external display that sits above a small speaker which features a retro mesh design. It's a unique touch, and Kyocera mentioned that the speaker won praises during the Mako's user testing.

Inside you'll find a 262,000-color display with a shiny silver keypad and navigation controls. The controls … Read more

With GSM phones, Kyocera goes global

After years of producing only CDMA cell phones, Kyocera announced today that it would neglect GSM user no longer. At CTIA the company unveiled four GSM handsets, all of which are destined for the Latin American market. They range from the feature-rich to the basic and functional while offering a selection of designs. Here's a roundup of the four new models.

Kyocera E4600 A slider phone vaguely reminiscent of a Motorola Rizr, the E4600 is the flagship model of the series. It offers an MP3 player, a 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, an expandable memory slot, a 262,000-color display, and … Read more

Sound ID HD300 turns it up to 11

Sound ID fans rejoice: the company has just announced the Sound ID HD300, a Bluetooth headset that hopes to succeed the SM100 in audio clarity. Its predecessor, the Sound ID SM100, earned high marks from CNET editors and our readers for its amazing noise-reduction technology, thanks to Sound ID's medical roots in the study of the human ear. The HD300 improves upon the SM100 with a new technology dubbed NoiseNavigation, which promises to automatically reduce wind and background noise plus allow for greater audio clarity. Other features include PersonalSound, which lets you choose from three common "listening modes,&… Read more