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CTIA Fall 2006

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HTC Pearl Nokia Phones Nokia Browser  

Sep 15, 2006, 8:21 PM   by Eric Lin & Rich Brome

In Depth coverage of CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment 2006 in Los Angeles. Hands on with the Treo 750, Casio G'zOne, HTC S620 and Hermes, BlackBerry Pearl, Nokia E62, and more.

HTC was showing off all their new phones, but of the four recently announced, only the Excalibur (now called the S620) is due to come to the US any time soon. The S620 is surprisingly small. Pictures do not do it justice, and it is packed with features.

 

What it is not packed with is the JOGGR that was supposed to let you scroll through text simply by running your fingertip down a touch strip on the side of the screen. HTC tells us the first version didn't work as well as they had hoped. Instead there are touch-sensitive volume up and down keys in place of the full touch scroll strip. The company is hoping to improve the touch-scroll technology for use in future products.

Even though HTC had to remove one of the most unique features, there are still a few unique surprises in store. For example, the S620 finally eliminates the need to keep hitting the Alt key to type numbers or punctuation. Instead you simply hold down a key for a second to type whatever its alt character is.

 

With the launch of the Q, Motorola set the bar for Windows Mobile phones as far as packing features into a small, slim phone. But the S620 actually beats Moto at their own game. The S620 might not have an iconic name, or the iconic looks, but it has Wi-Fi and a keyboard that beats the Q's hands down.

Eric felt the keys on the S620 were a bit small (see the picture of his thumb mashing a couple of keys) and way too soft, but he was still able to type with better than 90% accuracy. Rich really liked the keyboard and thought it was small but perfectly usable. Either way it is a big improvement over the Q's tiny, stiff pucks.

 

It should be noted the S620s we were using had a T-Zones logo that the company had made attempts to obscure. This lends further credence to the rumors it will launch on T-Mobile sometime this fall.

The other HTC phone that is definitely coming to the states was code-named Hermes, but launched by HTC as the TyTN. The final TyTN design has cleaner lines and more keys than the original Hermes prototypes seen in the spring.

 

Cingular is due to launch their own version with a slightly curvier design more reminiscent of the original Hermes - but with the extra keys - this October.

 

Called the 8525, it will best the new Treo 750 in terms of wireless options, offering quad-band GSM, tri-band HSDPA (the 750 will initially only have WCDMA), Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. Although it has not been confirmed, it is very likely Cingular asked HTC to remove the video-calling camera and key.

Although it is not due to launch in the US, we spent some time with the P3300 GPS phone. HTC explained to us that the trackball and scroll wheel combo are meant to simplify using the device for navigation. You can use the trackball to move around the map quickly and the scroll wheel to zoom in and out without have to change modes or press buttons. The trackball is exactly like that on the BlackBerry Pearl, and the scroll wheel is unique in that it physically spins around the trackball.

 

HTC's new phones clearly show attention to design and detail that the company's previous efforts did not always exhibit. The company is not just strengthening its design, but also its brand. While HTC will continue to allow carriers to re-brand their devices, they are cutting off other companies from doing so. I-mate, UTStarcom and others will no longer be re-branding HTC's handsets as their own for resale. Although HTC will continue using its own Dopod brand for select Asian channels, its is killing off its QTek brand completely.

Comments

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This forum is closed.

willy_55

Sep 16, 2006, 7:41 PM

LG VX9900

Did LG display the VX9900 or talk about possible launch date?
Nope. ☚ī¸
...
Do any of you know where I could find info on the VX-9900?
willy_55 said:
Did LG display the VX9900 or talk about possible launch date?

😁 i found pictures of the vx9900 check them out!!!!! it's pretty cool!!!! tell me what you think!!!
polly
...
FAUguy

Sep 14, 2006, 6:16 PM

LG showing the VX8600

Was LG showing off the upcoming VX8600?
we still have not had the 8600 in our hands. the information and pictures we posted are all we have so far.
...
qwerthr333

Sep 21, 2006, 2:36 PM

gzone

I found this for the Japanese market, can't read it but it seem they have a digital compass. Great if you are mountain biking, like what the phone can do. Be Tough. Does anyone know if it's only for this newer version or was it ever on the previous version like the one coming to the US market?
thanks

http://gzone.jp/h/ »
qwerthr333 said:
I found this for the Japanese market, can't read it but it seem they have a digital compass. Great if you are mountain biking, like what the phone can do. Be Tough. Does anyone know if it's only for this newer vers
...
(continues)
...
cilvzwagent

Sep 28, 2006, 11:05 AM

How Waterproof Is it?

I mean, is it submersible, or just for instances if you get caught in a rainstorm or something like that? Waterproof electronics?? Who whould have thunk it? đŸ¤Ŗ
motoBOY

Sep 25, 2006, 9:14 PM

Wow...

Just a Q and solve all your problems... 😲
I meant just "buy" a Q...
3am

Sep 21, 2006, 12:21 AM

GZONE SPECS

A new pic with some revealing details in the background, enjoy.

http://www.extremetech.com/slideshow_viewer/0,1205,l ... »
Oh we can do much better than that:

http://www.richbrome.com/misc/gzone-specs.jpg »

😉
...
AshDizzle

Sep 21, 2006, 5:16 AM

G'zOne

Is it pronounced "jeez-one" or "jee-zone"?
i thought i heard it was "gee-zee-one" 😕
kingstu

Sep 15, 2006, 9:42 PM

Waterproof Phone

Is there a timetable for it's release in the USA? Is there any change of a GSM model being available for the USA or Europe. I really would like something like that as water damage has done in more than one phone of mine.
The phone has been rumored and demo'd for almost a year, but now it finally seems on track for a holiday-season release. SO yeah Christmas time 🙂


This is the most bad ass phone it perfectly matches my needs. WATERPROOF đŸ˜ŗ Damn!!!!

OUTSTANDIN...
(continues)
...
Waterproof with 2 megapixels. I was going to buy the Chocolate as soon as my new every 2 was available, but this is making me think twice about it.
I want to buy one of these as soon as it comes out.
terryjohnson16

Sep 17, 2006, 12:12 AM

T-Mobile Dash (HTC Excaliber) question

Is the screen really bright and crisp? Also how was the processor speed compared to the MDA?
AwpdsR

Sep 16, 2006, 9:12 AM

That Kyocera...

looked really cool! I wish it wasn't entry level cause that is one stylish phone!
JaxPhone

Sep 15, 2006, 6:36 AM

Nokia N73 to have WIFI?

Based on the below quote from the article, am I to assume that the Nokia N73 may soon have WIFI capabilities. Or does it currently have capabilities that allow it to go on the Net w/o WIFI?

>Other features of the new browser include...to make logging into sites less cumbersome on a numeric-keypad device like the N73.
the n73 has both EDGE and 3G data capabilities. it can get along online quite well without Wi-Fi. when we say that the N73 has a browser or that any device has a browser, it does not imply the existence of Wi-Fi. but to answer your question directly, ...
(continues)
terryjohnson16

Sep 14, 2006, 2:47 PM

T-Mobile S620 vs. T-Mobile MDA

Rich, which device do you see as a better device, the S620 or the MDA? When the MDA came out, it had issues, did you notice any with the S620? Also, since you saw the T-Zones logo on the bottom, that would indicate that thats the final version for T-Mobile and its ready? If so, how come on the back of one of the S620 pics, its says "FCC unapproved"? One last question: In the pic it shows 2 different colors of the S620. A black version and a black and gold version. Do you know if T-Mobile is getting the black version? Thanks.
jdmountford

Sep 14, 2006, 12:43 AM

What about Pantech

Pantech has some great stuff, but it all seems to go to the MVNOs. When will the carriers like Sprint and Verizon start seeing some great Pantech Phones? ANd I am not sure the upcoming Smartphone for Verizon counts as the specs are already dated.
They're not at the show, AFAIK.
tuolumne

Sep 13, 2006, 10:51 PM

Samsung at CTIA Fall?

Are they there showing off the new T-Mobile handsets?
No. There were at one press event, but mostly showing off existing CDMA phones.

T-Mobile has a booth, though, which I will check out in a minute...
jdmountford

Sep 14, 2006, 12:41 AM

Samsung PDAs

With there benig more and more secrecy in Mobile I am sure no one knows or can say, but I am curious why Samsung seems to be so quiet lately. Except for the 990 their phones have been wholly unremarkable. The 930 is nice but lets shave some size off of it. The I730 is old. Samsung didn't release their Smartphone update last year as they could not get carrier buy in?

Where is Samsung? Where is there innovation?

I am a true Samsung fan and watching is boring.
 
 
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