Glassy Glassy Concept Phone



Phones are meant to be pretty solid in their build, considering how often it is bandied about, and we believe that handsets ought to be able to withstand a couple of unintended drops to the floor without breaking or cracking. Well, the Glassy Glassy phone concept is otherwise, since it comes with double glass layers (hence its name), which also translates to having to carry around a tissue handy so that fingerprints can be wiped off each time you want to use the phone. We guess a protective cover of some sort will sell especially well if the Glassy Glassy ever makes it to mainstream consciousness, but we'd be pretty content if it didn't.

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Sagem Orga develops SIM card with A-GPS



If you don’t have a device already equipped with A-GPS and you don’t want to upgrade or spring for a stand-alone unit from the likes of Garmin or TomTom, what do you do? Well, the only other option was a Thomas Guide, really. Now, Sagem Orga, the large smart card maker, has decided to make a SIM card with integrated A-GPS. While it was originally intended for emergency use, handsets without current GPS technology can enjoy the the same benefits as more modern and capable handsets. Whether it will be as accurate as devices already carrying GPS is yet to be determined. We imagine these new SIMs will be huge among carriers as they allow carrier navigation services in countless handsets that aren’t GPS-equipped from the factory. From the Sagem Orga press release:

Sagem Orga and BlueSky Positioning’s new approach incorporates a highly accurate GPS receiver and a proprietary antenna into the SIM card, enabling mobile operators to deploy both legally-mandated and commercial applications quickly and cost-effectively for all mobile devices.

Judging from the press release, it looks like a win-win situation for everyone. Hopefully these new SIM cards will be making their way to local carriers and into handsets soon. Anyone without a GPS-enabled handset excited about this? Anyone still have a handset without GPS?

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Nokia reveals phone testing routine

Ever wondered what kind of testing the hardware of the phone gets before being released on the market? Today Nokia released a video showing more details about its testing facility and the testing process itself. The footage is from one of the 11 Nokia test centers documenting some of the more than 200 mechanical tests that each phone goes through before hitting the shelves...



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Aptina producing cellphone image sensor that shoots HD video



It sounds like your camera phone's video capabilities may get exponentially more awesome in the near future. Aptina -- a division of Micron that manufactures one out of every three sensors for mobile phone cameras -- has announced the high resolution 5 megapixel MT9P013. There are better sensors out there already, but this one will also be able to record 720p HD video at 60 frames per second, and 5-megapixel video at 15fps. The sensor is going into production in January of 2009, according to Aptina, so it shouldn't be too long before we start seeing much better quality amateur films out there in the world.

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Samsung concept phone unfolds to hypnotize onlookers with flexible OLED



Cellphones are caught in this awkward spot where they've got to be small -- like pocketable, doesn't-look-ridiculous-on-your-face small -- and yet somehow big enough to pack an expansive, pretty display that's capable of displaying a lot of stuff at once. That's a paradox that has forced manufacturers into some curious form factors over the years, but ultimately, if you want to somehow cram the desktop viewing experience into a device the size of a pack of cigarettes, you're probably going to need something that projects, rolls, or folds. That's where Samsung's new concept phone shown off at the FPD International show in Yokohama comes into play, opening like a book to reveal a flexible OLED big enough to handle those cute puppy videos that no plain-vanilla, 2.5-inch display can do justice. There's no word on when a so-equipped handset might see production -- but we think it's appropriate that it's being shown off in Japan in all places, if you catch our drift. Follow the break for a video of the display in action.



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First pics of Motorola's MOTO QA30 QWERTY slider



Sliders are typically known for offering the best of both worlds: the sophisticated, clean looks you want hiding the ugly, QWERTY keypad you need. Motorola's bucking that trend with the chunky MOTO QA30, looking rather utilitarian open or closed and featuring the sort of squat form-factor that didn't exactly woo us on the UTStarcom TXT8010. The 2.5-inch 320 x 240 screen is a bit on the small side, but an integrated 3.5mm headphone jack and stereo Bluetooth 2.0, plus support for up to 32GB microSD cards, should make this a reasonably good choice for anyone needing a texting-friendly handset that can serve up some tunes. No word on price or availability, but we'd guess "affordable" and "soon."

Update: Jed commented to let us know U.S. Cellular recently featured this phone in an ad, dubbed the HINT and listed as being available as December. So, now you know what "soon" equates to, at least.

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NVIDIA Tegra-based smartphone in the works at Microsoft?



Seeing their arch-rival Apple enter the mobile phone game and having fantastic success with the iPhone and iPhone 3G is likely chapping Microsoft’s hide to no end. The all-too-real rivalry between the two companies has sparked speculation that Microsoft is developing their own iPhone-competing mobile phone. And, the latest rumors to surface indicate that the Redmond-based Microsoft is indeed working on a new cellphone.

Word on the street has it on “well placed sources” that Microsoft is developing a new mobile phone based on NVIDIA’s all-in-one NVIDIA Tegra mobile chipset. The NVIDIA Tegra mobile platform was debuted earlier this year at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and the newer Tegra 650 chipset is expected to integrate an ARM CPU, a HD video processor, an imaging processor, an audio processor, and an ultra-low power GeForce® GPU in to a mobile chip that is “up to 10 times” more efficient than the competition.

Microsoft is expected to debut their new mobile phone powered by the NVIDIA Tegra chipset at next year’s Mobile World Congress 2009 Barcelona. Shipments of the new MIcrosoft handset are expected to follow shortly thereafter.

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Motorola's Hint QA30 gets official



We weren't particularly impressed when we got our first peek at MOTO's QWERTY-sliding Hint QA30 yesterday morning, finding the form factor to be a little too squat for our tastes whether open or closed. Today the phone has been given the official treatment and, while things look a little better in a new set of glamor shots from Motorola (no more Alltel branding on the UI), the "innovative" design still doesn't look particularly comfortable to carry or to use. Now that we can make out the buttons on the front we see that they'll serve as controls for the media player when closed, again making us think this should be a good choice for your family's texting-addict rocker. The specs we got before are confirmed, the one exception being that the microSD support tops out at 8GB, not 32GB -- better turn down that bitrate, son.



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Hugo Boss Samsung F480 phone is coming for Christmas

The list of the fashion houses getting a new mobile phone for their name brands just got the new entrant.

Following in the footsteps of Prada and Giorgio Armani, Hugo Boss is getting their own branded handset. And just like Giorgio Armani, Hugo Boss decided to team up with Samsung.

Only instead of designing the new phone from scratch they decided to go the easy way. The new Hugo Boss Samsung phone will be based on F480 TouchWiz handset.



The specs of the Samsung Hugo Boss F480 phone will remain the same and will include 5 mpx camera, 2.8″ touchscreen, 3G/HSDPA connectivity and other goodies.

Though the handset cover and the software inside the phone, including the icons and wallpapers of TouchWiz interface, has been redesigned to the Hugo Boss style. The phone also includes a collection of ringtones that “reflect Hugo Boss style”.

And of course, there will be a Hugo Boss styled Bluetooth headset  to go with the new phone as well.



Hugo Boss Samsung phone should go on sale in Europe through Hugo Boss retail outlets in December. It will be also distributed via PhoneHouse/ Carphone warehouse properties online for 479 €.

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 Skinny Phone Concept Fits Tight Jeans Pockets



We all know just how tight jeans pockets can get, so designer David Turpin of France has come up with this Skinny Phone concept. It slides sideways to reveal a QWERTY keypad, but otherwise no detailed specifications were revealed. We can safely say that technology has not advanced to such a point yet, although it would be nice to have something so slim inside our pockets without bulging out like an eyesore, although battery life would be a main concern here. Nothing too skinny is recommended though, since that could break rather easily (or at least it gives out such an illusion).

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