Harman Kardon Guide+Play GPS-500 Does Nav and HiFi

Harman Kardon has announced their GPS-500. This is a small GPS device that also has media functionality. This GPS unit includes a hi-fi music player (with FM transmitter), video player, 2GB of internal storage with optional SD expandability and support for MP3, MP4, WMA, ASF, WAV and OGG. The 4-inch touchscreen and software doesn't look too shabby, either—nice and clean. It will be hitting the shelves later this month for $500. – Travis Hudson

(c) www.gizmodo.com

How the iPhone avoided being leaked

by Christopher Grant

We all knew Apple was going to announce the iPhone at yesterday's Macworld keynote, but we didn't really know, y'know? Despite years of anticipation, false starts, and promised rumors, we can't decide if we're more impressed by what Apple managed to pack into the iPhone's slender frame or their ability to keep the entire thing an absoloute secret. Fortune takes a look at the process, covering the highly secretive cooperation with cell-carrier Cingular, the unusually distributed effort within Apple itself, and the increasing strain placed on the personal lives of employees tasked with long hours and strict confidentiality. Perhaps most interesting was the creation of "bogus prototypes" that they used with not only Cingular executives but with Apple exployees themselves. Lucky for us, an insider deep inside the core of Apple sent us this cameraphone snap of an early prototype featuring a (now absent) external antenna.

(c) www.engadget.com

Sharp 770SH 3G phone

CES 2007 - Truth be told, very little separates the 550SH and the 770SH. Both cellphones share almost the same specifications, with the main difference being the size and form factor. While the 550SH comes in a candybar design, the 770SH opens up its clamshell with a very satisfying click. Instead of the 1.9" TFT LCD display that you find on the 550SH, you get a 2.2" Mobile Advanced Super-V LCD instead. I compared the screens between both phones, and the 770SH looked a wee bit better but it probably would not matter to the casual user. Loading captured images took approximately 2 to 3 seconds per shot, which can be frustrating for those who are used to speedier software. As with the 550SH, it is currently available in Europe and will be offered by Cingular and T-Mobile sometime in the near future. Overall, it really depends on how you prefer your handset to come in - candybar or clamshell?

(c) www.ubergizmo.com

Pantech goes two up with IM-S150 and IM-U150

Pantech is now offering two new handsets in Japan namely the Pantech IM-S150 and the Pantech IM-U150. The former handset is widely acclaimed for being extremely well designed and have had the good fortune of winning the iF Design Award of 2007 as well. Features on the S-150 include megapixel cameras, MP3 players and wireless internet. The IM-S150 features a screen, incorporating dual TFT LCD of 260,000 colors. It is also equipped with a 1.3 mega-pixel camera with flash and 64 polyphonic ringtones. Users can send photos and phone numbers to other mobile phones through its infra-red data association (IrDA) function. The IM-S150 will be launched in Korea this week under Pantech's SKY brand, the leading Korean premium mobile phone brand. The IM-S150 is 7.8cm in height and 3.7cm in width and weighs only 80g. The latter, i.e. the U150 is simpler yet elegant. The touch wheel design has been tried out with the U150. The U150 also has a surprisingly different color for the backlight - purple which ligths up depending on the movement of the finer on the touchwheel. The Pantech U150 phone will also enjoy 1 GB of memory, 3D surround sound and an integrated MP3 player.

(c) www.phoneyworld.com

MySpace on Your Cingular Phone

MySpace.com and Cingular Wireless announced an exclusive partnership to offer enhanced MySpace functionality to all Cingular customers via their mobile phones. The deal marks MySpace's largest-scale mobile partnership and gives Cingular's customers exclusive access to MySpace Mobile's tool set including the ability to edit MySpace profiles, view and add friends, post photos and blogs, send and receive MySpace messages, and more from the mobile phone.

MySpace Mobile on Cingular provides features and functionality of the MySpace global community, translated for an easy-to-use and feature-rich experience on a mobile device. The rich feature set for MySpace Mobile on Cingular includes:
- Uploading Photos - Available on select Cingular handsets, MySpace Mobile allows Cingular customers to select photos stored on their mobile device and upload them to their MySpace profile. The same terms of service for MySpace also apply to the mobile sphere, including but not limited to inappropriate content and copyrighted material.
- Responding to Mail - Cingular customers don't have to wait until they are in front of a computer to read and reply to their MySpace messages. From their Cingular phones, they have the ability to send messages to their MySpace friends, read and reply to messages sent to them, as well as view and manage friend requests.
- Searching for Friends - MySpace Mobile allows Cingular customers to perform basic friend searches giving users the opportunity to "click-to-add "friends into their network. Cingular customers must simply locate a MySpace profile they wish to add as a friend, and then select to add this user as a friend. Customers will also have the ability to look through invites that are pending approval.
- Posting Comments or Blog Entries - MySpace Mobile allows Cingular customers to post new blog entries and make comments to other users' blogs or MySpace profile pages. To post a blog or comment, Cingular customers need simply view the appropriate section and click "Post" to create the entry. Users can save their work at any time, and any information entered will update both the mobile client and the online MySpace profile page.
- View Friends - Cingular customers have the ability to view the friend list of any MySpace profile. The Friend list contains a text listing of the friends, which when selected would show the profile picture along with a link to that user's MySpace page and the ability to add the friend to your contact list for quick bookmarking.
- View Groups - MySpace Mobile gives users the ability to view the group list of any MySpace profile. The Group list contains a text listing of the members, which when selected would show the profile picture along with a link to that user's MySpace profile and the ability to add the member to your contact list for quick bookmarking.
To experience MySpace Mobile on Cingular, customers can text: MYSPACE to 386 (FUN) to get the MySpace Mobile application on their wireless phones. The cost is $2.99 per month plus standard data usage charges.
In addition to the full range of new MySpace Mobile features, Cingular customers can still receive real time MySpace Mobile Alerts on their handsets which notify them, via a text message, when they receive postings to their MySpace page, such as updates or comments posted to their blog, friend invites, mail messages, comments to pictures, new bulletins and/or online status. MySpace Mobile Alerts have been available to Cingular customers since March 2006 and, to date, more than 75 million alerts have been received on Cingular handsets.

(c) www.mobiledia.com

Samsung Launches the Thinnest HSDPA Slider

Samsung today launched the SGH-Z720, the thinnest HSDPA slide-up mobile offering a 13.8 mm profile.

The Z720 enables mobile users to access more files and provides greater fidelity for streaming video content, powered by High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) for data transmission speeds at 1.8 Mbps - up to six times faster than 3G UMTS technology.
Integrating a 3.0-megapixel camera with auto focus for taking photos, the Z720 has wide dimension to allow for a 2.1-inch QVGA display. Utilizing 3G power, the Z720 also includes a second camera for video telephony. With a document viewer, voice memo and PIM features, users can also keep on top of their workload.
For convenience, the Z720 supports microSD external memory and is equipped with Bluetooth and USB connectivity. Also supporting Samsung's newest uGo and uTrack interfaces, the Z720 automatically responds to the user's environment and displays a city landmark of where they are located, adjusts the picture to represent day or night, and adjusts the time to reflect the location automatically. The uTrack interface sends an SMS message to a predetermined number to alert the consumer of changes in the mobile's SIM card, as well as the location to increases the chances of recovering a lost or stolen phone.
In addition, the Z720 is the first mobile handset from Samsung installed with Google mobile search and Gmail, which enables consumers to search for information, and manage their emails on the move. It includes a Google icon in the application menu, offering one-click access to Google search.
The Samsung Z720 has been launched in major European countries this month and will soon be available throughout Europe.
Samsung Z720 Specification
- Standard: GSM / GPRS (900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz) + EDGE + UMTS + HSDPA
- Camera: 3.0-Megapixel Camera + VGA Dual Camera (AF / 3x Zoom)
- Display: 2.1-inch 240 x 340 px 262K-Color TFT LCD
- Features: Video Recording & Messaging (MPEG4 / H.263)
- MP3 / AAC / AAC+ / e-AAC+ / WMA
- Digital Power Amp
- Bluetooth / USB
- Document Viewer / Google Search / Google Mail (Gmail)
- Speakerphone / Offline Mode / uTrack / uGo
- MicroSD external memory
- Size: 104.5 x 51.3 x 13.8 mm
- Weight: 80 g
- Samsung Launches the Thinnest HSDPA Slider Photo 1

(c) www.mobiledia.com

Cingular ups SMS fee to 15 cents

Cingular has announced a 50% price increase for the price for an SMS message. Starting January 21st SMS messages will cost 15 cents (this applies to both sending and receiving). Sprint made this same move back in October.

Despite the hefty price increase, Cingular customers will not be able to renig on their contracts. Sprint allowed users without a bulk rate SMS plan to cancel their contracts without an early termination free (usually around $200) after the price hike. Sprint did not reveal how many customers took advantage of that offer however.

Cingular will try to use this move as a way to get more customers to sign up for a bulk SMS plan. The base plan is $5 monthly for 200 messages and the top plan is $20 for 3,000. T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless still offer messages at 10 cents apiece.

(c) www.mobiletracker.net