New entry-level Nokia 1508 (CDMA)

Today Nokia announced the 1508 bar-style phone for CDMA networks. It has CDMA 1x data, and an FM radio for listening to music, though its headset jack is 2.5mm in size. It uses a microUSB port for charging, and runs the Series 40 user interface with BREW 2.1 and support for BREW applications. It will come in red, navy blue, and black. No carriers have announced plans to sell this device, but it is compatible with Alltel, Sprint and Verizon Wireless' networks.

New Samsung SCH-W480 Camera Phone

Camera phones may not offer the same level of performance as regular digital cameras just yet, but with innovations like the Samsung SCH-W480, they're really starting to get pretty darn close. For starters, this slider phone comes equipped with a 5.0 megapixel CCD camera that happens to have 3x optical zoom. The lens is internal, so you don't have a nasty thing jutting out the back either.

To keep everything nice and protected, there is a sliding cover for the lens on the back. The user interface on the large color display is much like what you'd get on a regular camera. Features and functions include a self-timer, macro mode, flash, auto-focus, and face detection.

Rounding out the specs on this apparently Korea-only handset are 7.2Mbps HSDPA, WCDMA/GSM global roaming, Bluetooth, media player, and microSD memory expansion. Pricing has been set at about $580.

Samsung Z400 Direct Connect phone now available

Samsung Mobile today announced the availability of the Samsung Z400, providing Nextel Direct Connect functionality for Sprint's network. The durable clamshell handset passed rigorous testing to meet military standards specifications (MIL-STD 810F) for resistance to dust, shock and vibration and is housed in a rubberized coating to reduce scratching and improve grip. The Samsung Z400 measures 3.7 by 1.9 by 0.96 inches and weighs in at 3.5 ounces.

The Samsung Z400 operates on the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network, offering a variety of push-to-talk services, and is Samsung's first Nextel Direct Connect capable handset. Beyond calling and push-to-talk capabilities, the Samsung Z400 features a 1.3-megapixel camera, speakerphone, SMS text messaging, Bluetooth connectivity and built-in GPS.

When it comes to Direct Connect features, the Samsung Z400 supports PTT Missed Call Notification, Call Alert with text and Group Connect. The Call Alert function sends a repeating alert to any other Direct Connect user to let them know you're trying to reach them, while the new Text feature enables you to send canned text messages to other Direct Connect phones. With Group Connect, you can connect with up to 20 other Direct Connect subscribers at once, as well as creating and managing groups dynamically on the phone or online.

The Samsung Z400 also supports DC permissions (block/allow incoming one-to-one PTT calls and Call Alerts). Lastly, the handset supports TeamDC, allowing the user to communicate or coordinate activities with up to 35 Direct Connect subscribers (groups can only be created and managed online).

The Samsung Z400 is now available in select Sprint markets for $150 with a two-year contract. A $50 mail-in rebate is available when signing up for a qualifying plan.

Sony Ericsson C905 would be a 8.1-Megapixel Cybershot Phone?

According to the Unofficial Sony Ericsson blog, the upcoming C905 phone will be the flagship Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot phone. Here's why it's so good. There's a 8.1-megapixel camera with "auto focus, face recognition, a new feature called Smart Contrast, image stabilization, BestPic, red-eye reduction, xenon flash as well as photoflash for both photos and videos." There's also location tagging with GPS, an accelerometer, 2.4-inch QVGA display, TV-out, Wi-Fi, DLNA support, Bluetooth and USB 2.0 transfers. Yeah, sounds pretty insane. We'll see if this one turns out to be true and whether they can fit all of this tech into that small body.

New LG VX8610 "Decoy" slider

The follow up to LG’s Chocolate VX8550 slider phone on Verizon, the Decoy VX8610, is set to finally show its face on June 16th.

The Decoy rids itself of the awful touch-based front controls and replaces them with regular physical buttons and a d-pad. The new cellphone is rumored to have a removable Bluetooth headset, which is definitely cool. The Decoy also includes a 2 megapixel camera, plenty of storage room thanks to a microSD expansion slot, and a large QVGA (320×240 pixel) display.

Evidence is showing that the CDMA slider will be available for US$179.99 with a two-year service agreement or US$249.99 with a one-year agreement, after a $50 mail-in rebate.

New Asus P320 Mini GPS Smartphone released

Asus may be best known for its Eee PC these days, but the Taiwanese manufacturer is also well ensconced in the world of Windows Mobile smartphones as well. One of the newest handsets to come out of Taiwan is the Asus P320.

Running on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, the Asus P320 comes packed with Bluetooth, WiFi, EDGE/GPRS, USB, 2.0 megapixel camera, 2.6-inch touchscreen, and integrated GPS navigation. You'll have no trouble finding your way around town, because the built-in GPS module "allows timely, faster satellite pinpoint and download for users and their location." Also, unlike other Windows Mobile smartphones, the P320 comes with an Auto Cleaner function that fully closes applications rather than just leaving them to run in the background.

To be sold in your choice of pink, black, or white, the Asus P320 Mini GPS PDA phone retails for around $390 and is available now.

New Samsung L870 on the base of Symbian

Nokia Wednesday said it has strengthened its collaboration with Samsung with the launch of the business style L870, bringing the total count of announced S60 devices to 79.




The announcement was made at the two-day S60 Summit which opened Wednesday in Barcelona.

"S60 Summit offers the S60 stakeholders an opportunity to share and discuss the S60 future trends and business opportunities," said Matti Vanska, Vice President, Mobile Software Sales and Marketing at Nokia.

In this event, S60 further demonstrated the extended capabilities announced in April at Web 2.0 in San Francisco.

The evolution of S60 Web Run-Time offering allows creation of personal and context aware widgets with access to information and functionalities from the user's mobile device.

This enables the development of exciting new services and mash-ups by combining the power of the Web with the power of the S60 platform.

S60 is also expanding its support for open source innovation through Open C++, bringing support for Standard Template Library and other popular platform-independent C++ libraries to the S60 platform. The implementation of these technologies was demonstrated by several companies at the S60 Summit expo.

S60 Wednesday also announced the opening of the Ambassador website. The S60 Ambassador program encourages and engages the early adopters consumer segment in discussion and sharing information on S60-based products, services and applications.