Todays & Tomorrows Technology

Sony Ericsson have announced a new entry-level cellphone, the T715, offering 3G connectivity, a 2.2-inch 240 x 320 LCD display and a 3.2-megapixel camera. The handset differs from the usual run-of-the-mill consumer device by adding Exchange ActiveSync support to the normal IM, MMS and SMS messaging; it also comes loaded with Google Maps.
The T715’s A-GPS is used for directions and also for geotagging photos. Sony Ericsson have loaded on a YouTube viewer and the NetFront browser, which take advantage of the handset’s quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE and HSPA (both a 2100MHz UMTS model and a 850/1900/2100MHz UMTS model, the T715a, will be released). Internal storage is 90MB, augmented by microSD card, and the whole thing weighs 96.5g and measures 91.5 x 48 x 14.9mm.

GSMHelpdesk.nl had a chance to go hands-on with the T715, and you can see some of their live photos in the gallery below. The shots seem to confirm that it’s quite a chunky device, but they praise its full feature-set and media functionality.

As well as the somewhat VAIO-esque Mini 5101 netbook they announced this morning, HP have also got a new ProBook full-sized notebook for you to consider. The HP ProBook 4310s has a 13.3-inch display and the same styling as the rest of the S-series the company announced back in April; there’s also optional Gobi WWAN mobile broadband, DDR3 memory and a full-sized keyboard.
Under the hood, there’s a choice of Intel Celeron CPUs up to 1.9GHz, or Core 2 Duo CPUs up to 2.8GHz. RAM is up to 8GB, while storage is either up to 500GB of 5,400rpm HDD or 500GB of 7,200rpm HDD; you also get a choice of DVD burner or Blu-ray optical drives.

In addition to the optional WWAN there’s WiFi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 and gigabit ethernet, and you can also specify a standard modem if you’re feeling retro. Ports include three USB 2.0, HDMI, audio in/out, an ExpressCard 34 slot and an SD/MMC card slot. There’s a 2-megapixel webcam and microphone array.

Graphics are courtesy of either Intel’s GMA 4500MHD chipset or ATI’s Mobility Radeon HD 4330 with 512MB of its own memory. Other options include a fingerprint reader and a choice of XP, Vista or Linux OS. The HP ProBook 4310s is expected to arrive on July 20th, priced from $799.

HP have announced a new netbook, the Mini 5101, and like their original entrant to the market they’ve gone with business-friendly materials targeted at “on-the-go professionals”. The HP Mini 5101’s 10.1-inch display is clad in anodized aluminum, while the lower case is made from magnesium alloy. Inside, there’s the usual Intel Atom processor, in this case the 1.66GHz N280, paired with up to 2GB of RAM and up to a 320GB HDD or an 80GB SSD.

Two display options are available, a standard 1024 x 600 or an HD-capable 1366 x 768 16:9 panel, with graphics via Intel’s GMA 950 chipset. Ports include three USB 2.0, VGA, ethernet, audio in/out and an SD/MMC card reader, while there’s also WiFi a/b/g/n, optional Bluetooth 2.0 and optional EVDO/HSPA WWAN. A 2-megapixel webcam lurks up in the screen bezel, along with stereo microphones.

The whole thing weighs from 2.64lb, and measures 10.3 x 7.09 x 0.91 inches. It’s being offered with either Windows XP Home, SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 or FreeDOS, as well as either 4-cell or 6-cell batteries. Pricing starts from $449, and you can pick up the HP Mini 5101 from July.

AT&T have announced the Motorola Karma QA1, an entry-level slider with full QWERTY keyboard and homescreen access to Facebook and MySpace. Aimed, unsurprisingly, at teenagers and young adults, the Karma has a 2.5-inch 240 x 320 display, 3.6Mbps HSDPA, a microSD card slot and 2-megapixel camera with video recording functionality.

There’s also A-GPS, and AT&T load their Navigator PND app onto the handset. The media player supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, RealAudio, XMF and MIDI files, together with H.263 and MPEG4 video, and the Karma has both a 3.5mm headphone jack and A2DP stereo Bluetooth 2.0 support. You can also access AT&T CV video.

Video hands-on after the cut

The Karma has a full HTML browser, with a dedicated shortcut key, together with threaded messaging, mobile email support including Yahoo!, AOL and Windows Live Mail, and can send and receive SMS and MMS messages. There’s also a speakerphone, speech recognition, CrystalTalk active background noise filter and voice-memo recording.

AT&T will be selling the Motorola Karma QA1 from June 28th, priced at $79.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate. You’ll also need to budget for a minimum of a $39.99 voice plan and $20 data or messaging plan.

Novatel Wireless’ MiFi intelligent personal hotspot was one of our top 5 gadgets from ShowStoppers back in April, and had floored us a few months earlier in Barcelona. Having released their CDMA EVDO Rev.A MiFi 2200 on Verizon and Sprint to very positive reaction, the company is now launching its GSM 3G HSPA model, the MiFi 2352. As well as the ability to share a single mobile broadband connection among up to five WiFi users, the MiFi 2352 brings a few new tricks to the table; check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.


For the full rundown of what’s in the MiFi box, check out our video unboxing. Basically, in its SIM-free form as you see here, Novatel Wireless supply a global power-adapter with various plug inserts, a USB to microUSB cable, rechargeable 1,530mAh battery and a small printed Getting Started guide. The MiFi 2352 supports various connection speeds, from quadband (850/900/1800/1900MHz) GPRS/EDGE up to triband (900/1900/2100MHz) UMTS HSUPA/HSDPA. Network-depending, you can theoretically see up to 7.2Mbps downlink rates and up to 5.76Mbps uplink rates.

There’s no driver disc, because there needn’t be any drivers. As standard Novatel require no connection manager – the software Verizon supply with their CDMA MiFi is their own decision; Sprint’s version uses no such app – presuming you’re using the 2352’s WiFi connection. Setup is as speedy as dropping in your SIM, holding down the single button until the lights begin blinking, and then waiting for the MiFi to start spitting out a wireless connection. The default SSID is a sensible “MiFi_2352″ and by navigating to “http://www.mifi” you access the device’s locally-hosted homepage showing the number of connected clients (up to 5 are supported simultaneously), connection details and battery status.

Since sharing a capped HSPA data connection via an unsecured WiFi network seems a recipe for overage charges or disconnection, the first step for most users will be accessing the admin pages and setting up WEP, WPA or WPA2 encryption. Thankfully that’s straightforward with the MiFi’s basic but speedy UI; there are also options for MAC filtering and recording various logs of WiFi connections and modem events. The MiFi can be loaded with up to six “internet profiles”, each with corresponding settings to a different SIM; that way, if you regularly switch between carriers (say, if traveling) then it’s simple to flick between the presets.

As on a full-sized router, there’s also port filtering support, the ability to set custom permitted applications, port forwarding, a switchable DHCP server and VPN pass-through support. Unlike a normal router there’s also an optional power management setting which can shut the MiFi down after between 2 or 60 minutes of idle time. Once you’ve made all the tweaks you want, you can backup the settings to a connected computer.

We first heard about Huawei’s E583X wireless modem back in February, and now the company has been showing it off at CommunicAsia in Singapore. A MiFi rival, the E583X – also known as the i-Mo – packs an HSPA modem and WiFi router into a palm-sized battery powered box.
Runtime is tipped at up to 5hrs, after which the E583X recharges from a USB port. You can also leave it plugged in and use it as a standard USB modem, though only with that one computer. As with the MiFi it supports up to five simultaneous WiFi connections and has a microSD card slot, though the Huawei apparently only supports microSD access via direct USB connection, not by any WiFi client as on the MiFi.

Still, it looks to be a little smaller than the MiFi, which may sway some users who are short on space. We’d say this one will come down to which carriers offer the Huawei and which plump for the Novatel rival; the E583X is set to land in Europe come July, though there’s no word on which networks have signed up.

Verizon are wising up to the fact that data subscribers want to keep using their WWAN modems even when outside the reach out EVDO Rev.A networks, hence this: the USB1000 Global Modem. As well as CDMA service while in the US, the Verizon USB1000 supports triband HSPA for when you’re abroad; there are also global data plans for regular travelers.
The USB1000 Global Modem itself is priced at $149.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and assuming you’re willing to sign a two-year agreement. After that, you can choose from a range of pay-per-use or monthly plans, depending on your likely usage. GlobalAccess Monthly starts at $129.99 for 100MB in 31 destinations ($0.005/KB after that) plus 5GB in the US and Canada ($0.05/MB after that); alternatively there’s a $219.99 plan which gets 200MB in those foreign destinations.

If you’re traveling less often, the GlobalAccess Pay Per Use plan might be more cost-effective. Verizon require a 5GB monthly US data plan, at $59.99 per month, but after that you’ll pay $0.002/KB in Canada, $0.005/KB in Mexico and $0.02/KB in more than 175 other destinations.

The flexibility is good, but we can’t help but think that you’d be better off picking up a pay-per-use SIM card in whatever country you’re traveling to, and using a local network direct rather than roaming. That certainly seems like it would work out cheaper than Verizon’s service.

It hasn’t taken hackers long to enable unofficial tethering on iPhone handsets running OS 3.0, and its taken carriers even less time to put out the predictable dire warnings regarding anyone found using such hacks. UK carrier and official Apple iPhone partner O2 have issued a statement suggesting that anybody found using tethering without their official “Bolt On” package will be charged or disconnected.

“Internet rumours suggest that some customers have modified their iPhone to enable Internet Tethering without the purchase of the Internet Tethering Bolt On. Any use of this particular feature without the purchase of the Bolt on is specifically prohibited under our terms of service.

Under those terms we reserve the right to charge customers making modem use of their iPhone or disconnect them. If customers wish to use the Internet Tethering feature on their iPhone 3G or iPhone 3G S, we recommend taking the Bolt On which is available from Friday 19 June” O2 statement

The carrier has been less forthcoming about how they will check for unofficial tethering use, though it seems likely that anybody with high traffic rates will stand out and be investigated. Like other carriers, O2’s so-called “unlimited” iPhone data package actually has a 3GB limit, and they closely monitor traffic for signs of P2P or VoIP use.

Arguably, O2’s stance is more understandable than, say, AT&T. At least the former offers a tethering package in the first place – albeit an expensive one, charging £14.68 ($24) for 3GB per month or £29.36 ($48) for 10GB – whereas AT&T won’t offer official tethering at all until later in the year.

LG have announced a new QWERTY smartphone, and it looks as though they’ve been cribbing some design ideas from Nokia. The LG GW550 runs Windows Mobile 6.1 and has a 2.4-inch QVGA display, 3-megapixel camera and 7.2Mbps HSDPA / 2Mbps HSUPA with support for the 850/1900/2100MHz bands.

Otherwise there’s quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE, stereo speakers and a 1,300mAh battery. Up front there’s a VGA-quality camera for video calls, and the whole thing measures 116.3 x 61.5 x 12 mm.

No word on when we could see the LG GW550, nor for how much, and nor indeed where – LG are keeping such details to themselves. However given the OS we’d presume it’ll be launching sometime soon, over the summer, before Microsoft release Windows Mobile 6.5.

The Acer Aspire One 531 range has finally reached the US, making its official appearance on the company’s regional website and even, we’re hearing, making it out to retailers. Several versions of the 10.1-inch netbook are available, including integrated 3G on two of the models.

Common to all versions is the Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz processor, a 160GB hard-drive 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 display, webcam and WiFi b/g. The Acer Aspire One Pro 531h-1791 throws 2GB of RAM and Windows XP Pro into the mix, while the Aspire One 531h-1440 and 531h-1766 get only 1GB of RAM and Windows XP home, but add integrated 3G. The only other difference between the two 3G-enabled models is the warranty: one year on the 1766 and two years on the 1440.

If bought with a two-year AT&T data plan, the 3G models can be had for as little as $150. Elsewhere, the AOP531h-1791 is listed at around $466.20 at PC Super Store, while the AO531h-1766 is listed at Amazon and Radioshack for around $449.99.

Novatel Wireless’ MiFi 2352 is the third of the company’s “Intelligent Mobile Hotspots” that we’ve unboxed here on SlashGear, but unlike Verizon’s and Sprint’s the 2352 is a GSM/UMTS device rather than EVDO Rev.A. Launching today on Telefonica Espana [pdf link], the MiFi 2352 features 7.2Mbps HSDPA and 5.76Mbps HSUPA, sharing that connection out for up to five WiFi b/g clients. We caught up with Novatel in London today, to find out what else makes the MiFi 2352 special; you can also see the first video unboxing of the portable 3G router after the cut.


As with the Sprint and Verizon models, the concept behind the MiFi 2352 is simple: pay for one 3G mobile broadband connection, and share it between your various WiFi-enabled devices. The MiFi 2352 supports triband HSPA (900/1900/2100MHz) and quadband GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900MHz) together with A-GPS, WiFi b/g and WEP/WPA/WPA2 security. There’s also a microSDHC slot, which you can use to share files between the WiFi clients.

Novatel are particularly proud of the MiFi’s ability to quickly serve up a landing page. The complexity of that page depends on the carrier: Sprint and Verizon have used the default setup system (and Verizon also use a connection manager, though Sprint’s MiFi does without) whereas Telefonica have gone one step further and created a new landing page with full microSDHC access, shortcuts to the carrier’s support pages and widgets. Right now the widgets include geotagging and geosearch, but Novatel talked about cloud-based storage back at CES and it seems likely that an enabling widget for that will arrive soon enough.

The ASUS Eee PC T91 has made its official debut on the company’s US website, and according to one dealer it’s apparently set to hit stores this week. The 8.9-inch convertible touchscreen netbook is already available in the UK, with Intel’s Z520 1.33GHz Atom processor, 1GB of RAM and a 16GB SSD.

There’s also ASUS’ Super Hybrid Engine, which can be used to boost battery life to up to 5hrs, and optional HSDPA cellular connectivity. Standard wireless includes WiFi draft-n and Bluetooth. Other options are a TV tuner and GPS receiver.

So far we’re unclear on how much the Eee PC T91 will cost in the US. UK pricing for the convertible netbook is around £449 ($684) but the company has not yet commented.

Computex 2009 may have finished last week, but the final few glossy surprises are just now emerging. One of the last new netbooks we’re seeing from the show is, strangely, one of the most attractive; the J&W Minix 811 is tipped as the thinnest netbook there, despite packing an internal 3G modem.

The dimensions are aided by the fact that the Minix 811 is made from aluminum alloy, rather than plastic. That’s on the plus side; the negative part is that J&W could only find space for a tiny little 3-cell 2,200mAh battery pack. No official word on battery life, but estimates suggest around 2.5hrs of runtime; there’s also talk of a 6-cell pack, though that wasn’t at the show.

Inside there’s a 10-inch 1024 x 600 resolution display with non-glossy finish, and OS is to be a choice of Linux, Windows XP or Windows 7. The keyboard is rated highly, but we’re not sure what processor lurks inside; an Atom N-series seems likely, either the N270 or N280. No word on pricing or specific availability.

Further details regarding the Samsung GT-I8000 have emerged, and it seems that you’re looking at the Samsung Omnia II (or Omnia2; the nomenclature isn’t decided yet). Packing a 3.7-inch WVGA 800 x 480 touchscreen - that’s tipped to use an AMOLED panel - the Omnia II has an 8.1-megapixel camera with dual LED flash and VGA video recording at 30fps.

Connectivity is tipped to include 3G UMTS, WiFi, Bluetooth and miniUSB, while there’s also GPS and a microSD card slot. The UI is prompting discussion: some are saying that it’s unchanged over previous iterations of Samsung’s Windows Mobile TouchWiz overlay, while a video demo said to be of the Omnia II shows a new, cubic arrangement.

Other hardware specs include an unspecified Qualcomm processor and 150MB of internal memory. There’s also some confusion over the display specifications, as at least one source tips the AMOLED panel to support up to 16.7m colors while at present Windows Mobile will only support 65,000 colors.

Nonetheless, this looks to be an interesting follow-up to the original Windows Mobile Omnia i900. There’s talk of it being announced at a Samsung event on June 15th.

Apple have announced the iPhone 3G S, a super-fast version of the iPhone 3G where the “S” stands for “Speed”. Packed into the same casing as the existing 3G model, the 3G S has a 3-megapixel camera with autofocus, auto white-balance and the ability to record VGA resolution video at 30fps. It also supports 7.2Mbps HSDPA, network depending, and has a faster processor that, Apple say, makes everything on-average twice as fast.



iphone 3gs official 480x222

Specifically, messaging is 2.1x faster, games are around 2.4x faster, Excel is 3.6x faster, Javascript is 3x faster and the NY Times loads 2.9x faster. Battery life is rated at 5hrs 3G talktime, 9hrs WiFi internet browsing, 10hrs video playback, 30hrs audio playback, or 12hrs 2G talktime.

Videos are saved in with photos in the Pictures app, and can be played, edited and sent by email or MMS. There’s also a built-in digital compass and Nike+ support, while Apple have also boosted hands-free usability by introducing a voice control mode. Holding down the home button calls up a new voice control menu, which allows voice dialing together with control of iTunes. You can instruct the iPhone 3G S to play certain tracks, play “more tracks like this” and ask for a verbal confirmation of what music is currently playing.

The iPhone 3G S will go on sale alongside the iPhone 3G 8GB, which has a price cut - effective today - to $99 in the US on AT&T. The iPhone 3G S arrives in US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and UK on June 19th; in the US, it’ll be priced at $199 for the 16GB model and $299 for the 32GB model.

It feels like we’ve been waiting a long time for the HTC Touch Pro2 to arrive, though really it was only announced back in February at Mobile World Congress. The flagship smartphone - which packs a 3.6-inch WVGA resistive touchscreen, 3G HSPA, WiFi b/g and a full QWERTY keyboard - is the second half of HTC’s two-part Touch refresh, along with the Diamond2, and you can see our video unboxing after the cut.

First impressions of the HTC Touch Pro2 are good; it’s a solid, weighty phone (the full specifications say 178.5g) and not exactly small at 116 x 59.2 x 16.65mm, but it feels well made and sturdy. The metal screen bezel is a nice design element, though we’re glad to see the rear panel is matte rather than the fingerprint-grabbing gloss of the Diamond2.

Software is the usual Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro - with a 6.5 upgrade catered for with the requisite buttons - together with HTC’s TouchFLO 3D UI. That’s had a neat upgrade to deal with the Pro2’s horizontal orientation when the keyboard is out, and of course includes the People-Centric tweaks we appreciated on the Diamond2. The keyboard itself is tactile and has an impressive amount of button-travel considering the size; we’ll be battering away at it some more before giving our final opinion. Until then, enjoy the unboxing video and short demo below!

Forgive me if my Pre and iPhone 3GS lusts wane a little, I’ve just seen NTT DoCoMo’s latest super-phone, the Fujitsu F-09A. Packing a 3.4-inch sliding and rotating touchscreen, 8.1-megapixel camera with autofocus, smile-detection and high-speed FOMA and 3G GSM connectivity.
The F-09A is also perhaps the first phone to include an integrated exercise monitor, tracking physical activity and working with the handset’s GPS and compass to track progress and offer mapping. Integrated TV can be watched in widescreen by rotating the display by 90-degrees.

There’s also Bluetooth and a full internet browser, media player and the usual NTT DoCoMo treats that Western users can only dream of. No word on how much it will cost when it arrives in Japan on June 10th.