Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

Ok, so the iPhone’s finally got cut and paste, or at least will get cut and paste sometime this Summer, but Apple continues to ignore that other glaring omission on their uberphone. Who cares about an App Store when I’ve got all this annoying stubble on my face? And A2DP? That’s not going to get me looking presentable for a big meeting. So as of this point I’m ditching the iPhone and switching to the Cool758 which Solomobi.com is currently selling for a mere $112.

Not only does it have dual SIM card slots, an FM radio and other standard cellphone crap, but removing a cover on the bottom reveals its true innovation, a built-in electric razor! I guess Apple is going to have to play catch up once again if they have any hopes of competing with this bad boy. (Standby time: 220-260 hours, Talking Time: About 2-3 hours, Shaving Time: Probably about a half hour.)

[ Solomobi.com - Cool758 ] VIA [ Digital Drops ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Didn’t get the response you were hoping for from the last text message you sent? With these Cell Stickies, created by Fiona Carswell, you can just peel off a response, attach it to your cellphone’s screen and see the reply you really wanted. As Fiona puts it, “For people who go to great lengths to see what they want to see…”

They unfortunately don’t appear to be available for purchase, and if they were, the design is obviously only compatible with the iPhone.

[ Fiona Carswell - Cell Stickies ]

By Andrew Liszewski

While it’s not a name-brand phone by any stretch of the imagination, the Cool8800C handset available from Solomobi has a few features that might make the purchase worth the risk. Not only does it support dual-SIM cards that work at the same time, but it’s also got an analog TV tuner and pretty much every other feature you’d expect to find in a modern cellphone like ebook reader, FM radio, MP3/MP4 support etc.

But the most obvious and unique feature is the flip out screen and keypad which reveal another screen underneath and a set of dedicated gaming controls. Now you’re limited to only playing classic NES titles, but it comes with 3 already built-in and you can load other ROMS via a trans-flash memory card. I’m almost tempted to shell out the $140 to pick one up, except for the fact that it only supports GSM 900/1800 frequencies.

[ Solomobi - Cool8800C Flip-Phone ] VIA [ Boing Boing Gadgets ]

By Luke Anderson

Last year I found the perfect new apartment to move into. It was much larger than my previous abode, had a two-car garage, a pond view and the price was right. Unfortunately after I moved in I found that it wasn’t quite perfect. Despite the fact that AT&T had great coverage in the entire city, I was lucky to manage a single bar of service. I live in something of a valley surrounded by trees, which means I’m probably never going to get great service. They added a new tower and upgraded to 3G, but I’m still rarely able to get a decent signal. So do I move? Do I switch carriers and hope that I get a better signal (and give up my iPhone)? No, it looks like I’ll be able to (hopefully) get my hands on a femtocell and get a better signal.

If you’re not familiar with the term femtocell, it’s basically a small device that hooks into your router (or it is built into your router in some cases) and uses your internet to boost the wireless signal. AT&T has finally jumped on this bandwagon and announced the AT&T 3G MicroCell. Hook one of these up to a broadband connection and it will provide up to 10 phones a strong 3G signal. Of course only 4 of these 10 registered devices can actually be used concurrently. Pricing and availability have not yet been disclosed, but you can bet that I’ll be first in line to get one. I’ve been forced to pay Comcast a hefty fee for their crappy VoIP service, and I can’t wait to ditch it.

[ AT&T ] VIA [ SlipperyBrick ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Being ‘international’ guests at CES meant that David and I couldn’t really use our iPhones for checking email or the web while in Vegas, lest we return home to massive roaming data charges on our phone bills. So Peek was kind enough to supply both of us with one of their ‘Simply Email’ devices during our stay so we could stay on top of email when our laptops were buried in our bags. The Peek is definitely a unique device as it seems to go against the current trend of convergence when it comes to mobile devices. It does email, a little bit of text messaging, and that’s basically it. Overall the devices performed as advertised, and it was definitely nice having access to email no matter where we were during the show, but if you’re thinking about picking one up for yourself, it’s important to be aware of the Peek’s limitations beforehand. More after the jump.

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By Luke Anderson

I have a problem that recurs almost every winter. No one can get through to me cell when I’m driving, since I just toss my phone in my coat pocket. I usually have my music loud enough that I don’t hear the ringer, and the vibrating is useless. I’ve been better about it since I picked up my iPhone as I tend to plug it into my stereo (and thus my music is muted when a call comes in). Well if you tend to run into a similar issue of missing calls in the car, you might invest a few bucks in one of these Mathmos Badges.

These are actually meant for attaching to a bag or piece of clothing, however, I think with a bit of work you could affix it somewhere in your car. Sure, it might be a bit cheesy looking, but if your calls are important it just might be worth it. You can pick one up for about $9, the only catch is that they don’t work with 3G phones.

[ FindMeAGift ] VIA [ UberReview ]

By Evan Ackerman

Bluetooth headsets are not generally at the top of my list of interesting things to write about, but since I’m actually in the market for one, I kept my eyes open at CES to see what I could find. I’ve got a hands free speaker thingy for my car, but I really need one for my bike.

The BlueAnt Q1 looks like it might be perfect for talking while biking, since it features a second microphone on the outside which allows for active noise cancellation. When it comes to wind noise, the Q1 is supposed to be able to completely cancel it out at speeds of up to 10 mph… I like to think I’m a more aggressive biker than that, but I imagine that even at higher speeds there’s still a substantial improvement in call quality.

The other nice thing about the Q1 is its voice recognition engine. You can give the headset verbal commands, which it will recognize and respond to with its own voice. Beyond basic voice dialing, you can ask it things like whether or not it has a good Bluetooth connection with your phone or how much battery it has left, and it’ll answer you (video of that here). Clever.

The BlueAnt Q1 should be available at the end of March for about $130; we’re hoping to get a review unit before then and we’ll let you know how well it works.

[ BlueAnt ]

By Evan Ackerman

Back in September, we wrote about Chinavision’s projector phone. We stumbled across what appeared to be this exact phone on the show floor yesterday, except it was called the Logic Bolt, by a company called Logic Wireless. According to an article at PC Mag, Logic Wireless found “an existing company that made a prototype of the projector-phone. [They] took over the exclusive rights and redesigned all the features of the phone.” I’m not sure what they mean by “features,” but it kinda looks exactly the same as a Chinavision model except with tweaked guts that do include an upgrade to quad band GSM (from tri band) but no other changes that I can easily identify.

Anyway, here’s the specs: quad band GSM, QVGA (320 x 240) touchscreen, VGA (640 x 480) integrated projector and speaker, 3 mpx camera, 4 gigs storage expandable with microSD, 3 hours talk time and 2 hours projection time, accepts inputs from VGA and RCA sources with included adapter.

From the sound of things, the current version of the Bolt isn’t exactly a production model, although it will be for sale. A much smaller/better version is in the prototype stage and will be unveiled at CeBit Germany later this year. It may include a physical keyboard and will likely run either Windows Mobile or Android. So, um, yeah, don’t buy one of these anytime soon I guess.

Rumor has it that the phone is going to be available on T-Mobile, and that it’s going to cost $100 (subsidized) or $400-$600 straight up. Or you can (still) get a kinda the same model from Chinavision for $265.50.

Thanks to PC Mag for the additional info

By Andrew Liszewski

Luke already covered the Cell-Mate cellphone headset yesterday, but today I managed to force my way through the crowds to get a hands-on with the device. Yep… It’s a metal headband with a velcro mount for holding a cellphone… Thankfully even the guy manning the booth didn’t take it too seriously.