Phones

A closer look at the LG VX9400 with V Cast Mobile TV

As we mentioned earlier here and here, Verizon has indeed partnered with Qualcomm's MediaFlo to bring us live television on Verizon phones. The service is dubbed V Cast Mobile TV, and one of the first phones out of the gate with it is the aforementioned LG VX9400.

At first, we thought the phone looked rather large and unwieldy, but when we took a closer look, we were surprised at how good it looks, especially the screen. The 2.5-inch display really makes a difference when viewing TV shows. There's a dedicated TV button that switches on the Mobile … Read more

Cingular to bring video calling, with the LG CU500v

You'll probably see more about this as CES 2007 progresses, but Cingular (or is it AT&T?) announced a new video calling service, which makes it the first carrier in the U.S. to offer live mobile video calls. The video calls are one-way for now, however, meaning only one party can stream the video while the other party watches. The first phone to feature it is the LG CU500v, which is a slightly upgraded version of the HSDPA-capable LG CU500. I received confirmation from an LG representative that existing LG CU500 users can simply upgrade the … Read more

Verizon Wireless to bring TV to phones

CES 2007 has barely begun but Verizon Wireless should strike an early blow today by announcing it will soon bring full-length TV shows to its phones. Though the company is waiting for a 12:30 p.m. press conference to break the official news, the New York Times reported the plan yesterday. And indeed, Verizon employees wearing "Verizon TV" badges have been scurrying around the Palms Hotel, where the announcement will take place.

According to the Times, the service will be available by the end of March and will feature shows from NBC, CBS, Fox, MTV, and possibly … Read more

LG VX9400 with Verizon's MediaFlo expected

With the Verizon press conference a few hours away, we have a little sneak peek into the big announcement that's about to unfold. We're expecting to see the LG VX9400 to debut as the first MediaFlo phone in the U.S., meaning it will be the first phone to receive full-length programming of television shows via a dedicated broadcast network.

Unlike that of Verizon's own V Cast, which mostly shows short clips via its EV-DO network, MediaFlo aims to offer high-quality, end-to-end television programming from media channels like NBC, ESPN, and CNN. It won't have as … Read more

More Fastap phones coming this year

At least that's what one Digit Wireless representative would have us believe. Fastap is a relatively new technology that incorporates raised and lowered keys into a single keypad to facilitate quicker text messaging without the need for a full QWERTY arrangement. The first commercial phone to offer this keypad was the LG AX490 from Alltel, which we reviewed late last year. We felt it required a bit of learning curve to pick up, and it is not as quick as one would expect.

That said, it's good to know that Fastap may be incorporated into new cell phones … Read more

Turn your phone into a projector

So you like the idea of watching TV or movies on your MP4 player or cell phone, but the screens are just too small for you to make an accurate call on instant replay, especially if your next paycheck is on the line with the game's outcome. All that could change with new technology from Microvision, which claims to have built the world's smallest projector.

The company's Pico Projector, which is planned for release at this week's Consumer Electronics Show, is designed to be embedded in handheld products to project "photos, videos, movies and TV … Read more

Bluetooth device worthy of Isadora Duncan

Iqua has made a Bluetooth bar (for lack of a better word) phone that attaches to the back of your car's headrest.

The L-shaped device allows users to be hands-free, and free of an ear piece in their ear, while driving and talking on a cell phone. As Gearfuse points out, the headset does offer stereo speakers. The $179 phone has a battery worth 10 hours of talk time, 650 hours of standby and comes in black or silver.

Sorry, but we just don't see Iqua's reasoning behind the Iqua Snake2 HHF-601. Wouldn't a device like … Read more

Moto Q headed for Sprint, but where's the beef?

Today, Sprint announced the addition of the Motorola Q to its lineup, with availability starting later this month through its business channels and online and then everywhere in mid-February. The Sprint-branded Q is dressed in a sexy-cool charcoal-gray casing and supports the carrier's On Demand and NFL Mobile services, but beneath the surface, Sprint really didn't beef up the Windows Mobile smart phone with any worthy upgrades. It won't even work with Sprint TV, which would have been great considering the Q's nice screen. Le sigh. Even more bad news, at Laptop Magazine, they got their … Read more

Turn your cell phone into a personal trainer...for a price

I went to the gym yesterday and was initially surprised to see how packed it was. At first I attributed it to the fact that there are probably plenty of people who are still taking a day or two off from work after the holidays. Then I remembered, of course, it's the beginning of January, and people are still idealistic about keeping their New Year's resolutions. Even the ones who swear they're too good for resolutions are probably trying to do something about that holiday-party pudge.

Consequently, many a company is currently trying to capitalize on this … Read more