Video: Samsung Show W7900 Projector-Packing Cellphone Actually Looks Pretty Cool
This currently Korea-only projector cellphone peeped up its head at CES, and now our friends at PopSci had a chance to play with the Show and its 10-lumen built-in DLP projector.
Yep it's a bit chubby, as any projector-toting phone most certainly will be, but it's not as horrible as some of the other projector phones we've seen. Aside from the 480 x 320-res projector that uses Texas Instruments' DLP tech, the Show also has a fine-looking 3.2-inch, 400 x 240 OLED touch screen, 5MP camera with LED flash, and Samsung's widget-based touch OS. It's dropping in South Korea soon, but there's of course no news on a US release.
Nokia reveals N97, its highest-end smartphone
Nokia rolled out its next generation of smartphones, with more power, more features and stronger specs. The Nokia N97's 3.5-inch touchscreen has a 640 x 360 (16:9) display, and gives you subtle buzzing haptic feedback with every touch. It's also packing a 5-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, shooting stills and recording 30fps video, all stored on a generous 32GB internal flash drive.
Oh yeah, the N97 is a phone, too, connecting with 3.5G (otherwise known as HSDPA), and also hooks up with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and A-GPS. Also like its predecessors, it has that slide-out Qwerty keyboard that we prefer over clumsy touchscreen typing. Alas, it's rather heavy and big, weighing a comparatively hefty 5.23 ounces and is 2/3 of an inch thick. Aside from that, we especially like that always-open window up front, showing off your chosen data.
Priced at around $697 before the usual discounts, too bad we won't be seeing this trinket in the real world until the second quarter of next year, which could mean the end of June for Europe, later than that in the U.S. If it just had a robust app store, multitouch capability, and were a little less bulky, this would be the perfect smartphone.
Novatel MiFi Intelligent Mobile Hotspot turns 3G into Wi-Fi in the palm of your hand
Mobile broadband is a wonderful thing, capable of giving you a decent 3G internet connection almost anywhere. This Novatel MiFi Intelligent Mobile Hotspot is about the size of a deck of cards, and turns 3G connectivity into Wi-Fi that connects you — and all your friends with laptops or any other Wi-Fi-friendly gadgets — to sweet broadband or to each other.
Sure, there's a clunky way to do that now, with a 3G modem hooked up to a portable router, but all that cumbersome paraphernalia can't match the simplicity of this palm-sized beauty. It's so new, Novatel hasn't even priced it yet, and of course, you'll have to pay a monthly fee for a data plan to use it, too. Might be worth it to create your own personal hotspot wherever you go.
Nokia N96 cell phone now shipping, whips iPhone 3G’s patootie but good
We have mixed feelings about our iPhones 3G, but generally we're crazy about them even though they crash a lot. A whole lot. Are we insane? Maybe we should wake up and see what a real cell phone is like. Case in point: the long-anticipated Nokia N96, doing things Steve Jobs might be bragging about by about 2012.
What’s so great about this $800 cell phone that's finally shipping? It has a 5-megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss lens and video recording, and its pictures are all geotagged by the onboard GPS. There are a couple of LED flash units keeping your snaps well-lit. It of course has 3G connectivity, and also rocks a pair of 3D stereo speakers. And hey, it can play Flash videos. And what’s that? Turn-by-turn GPS directions?
While it does have that excellent two-way slider — giving you a real physical keyboard in one direction and numberpad in the other — missing is that neato iPhone user interface. Still, I’m feeling a bit of buyer’s remorse setting in. I’ll console myself by repeatedly recoiling at the N96’s $800 price tag, compared to $300 for my 16GB iPhone 3G.
