MobileCrunch Archive

  • Fujitsu and Toshiba to merge cell phone units, go international

    Fujitsu and Toshiba to merge cell phone units, go international

    Posted on June 17, 2010 | No Comments
    We reported last week that two of Japan's top cell phone makers, Fujitsu and Toshiba, were in talks to merge their cell phone businesses. And today, we have the rumor confirmed. Under the agreement, Toshiba will spin off its handset unit and Fujitsu is expected to take the majority stake in the joint venture (between a whopping 70 and 80%, according to reports in Japanese media). Read the rest on MobileCrunch.

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  • Confirmed: Motorola i1 will be Boost Mobile’s first Android phone

    Confirmed: Motorola i1 will be Boost Mobile’s first Android phone

    Posted on May 24, 2010 | No Comments
    Back at CTIA 2010, Motorola announced the world's first rugged Android handset with iDEN push-to-talk functionality: the i1. At launch, Motorola was only willing to spill the beans on one carrier who'd be getting the handset: Sprint. We just unearthed some pretty irrefutable proof that someone else will be getting the i1: Boost Mobile. Yep -- say hello to the first pre-paid Android handset in the US.

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  • The Next-Gen iPhone shows up in all white – think it’s real?

    The Next-Gen iPhone shows up in all white – think it’s real?

    Posted on May 23, 2010 | No Comments
    Once the leaks start, they just don't stop. After the first (and massive) leaks regarding the fouth-gen iPhone made their way out, more and more shots have been unearthed. As of late, however, a new variation has been poking its head up: a white-faced model. While a few different shots have made their way out over the past few days, these ones are easily the clearest and most complete we've seen so far.

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  • Photo gallery: Japan’s SoftBank shows 13 Twitter-powered cell phones

    Photo gallery: Japan’s SoftBank shows 13 Twitter-powered cell phones

    Posted on May 18, 2010 | No Comments
    We've shown you the summer cell phone lineup from KDDI (Japan's No. 2 carrier) yesterday. Today, Japan's third largest carrier, SoftBank Mobile, showed its own summer lineup during a special press conference, and all of their 13 new models have one thing in common: they all come with Twitter pre-installed. The buyers of these cell phones will be able to access Twitter either via a pre-installed app or through a pre-installed widget on the homescreen. The background is that SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son himself is a huge Twitter fan (he has almost 300,000 followers) and believes Japan is set to become Twitter country. And in fact, by some measures it's already No. 2. Photo gallery of all the 13 new Twitter-powered cell phones over at MobileCrunch.

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  • LOL! Some1s stealing ur car!: Viper SmartStart for iPhone gets push notifications

    LOL! Some1s stealing ur car!: Viper SmartStart for iPhone gets push notifications

    Posted on April 23, 2010 | No Comments
    We've written about the Viper SmartStart system before. It's the $30-per-year iPhone/BlackBerry app that, when paired with a $500 component in your car, ensures that you never have to worry about strenuous nonsense like turning a key to start your car or unlock your doors ever again. Up until this point, its been a one way deal. You can tell your car to turn on and fire up the AC, or use your alarm to scare the hell out of people in parking lots miles away - but what if your car wanted to talk back to you? Now it can!

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  • HTC tells Palm “It’s not me, it’s you”, backs away from acquisition

    HTC tells Palm “It’s not me, it’s you”, backs away from acquisition

    Posted on April 23, 2010 | No Comments
    NOOOOOOOOOOO. There I was, letting myself get excited about possibility of HTC acquiring Palm. I mean, can you imagine webOS on HTC-made hardware? I'd buy one for each hand. Alas, those hopes and dreams have been dashed.

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  • New market study shows iPhone continues to be big in Japan

    New market study shows iPhone continues to be big in Japan

    Posted on April 23, 2010 | No Comments
    A lot has been written on how the iPhone performs in Japan, the world's most advanced mobile nation, but the general consensus in this country now is that it sells very well (even though both Apple and provider SoftBank Mobile refuse to break down Japan-specific sales numbers). It's rumored that the number of iPhones sold in Japan has passed 3 million. There are reasons for this success (super-low pricing, aggressive marketing, Apple's pre-iPhone brand popularity in Japan, clever product positioning by SoftBank, etc. etc.), but we're talking about a country in which basically every cell phone is a smartphone, a country where you'd be hard-pressed to find a handset without a digital TV tuner or e-wallet function, for example.

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  • Review: Motorola CLIQ XT

    Review: Motorola CLIQ XT

    Posted on March 31, 2010 | No Comments
    It can be said that Motorola just got its groove back. The Droid is probably one of the best phones out there, followed by the Devour, and they're constantly releasing a few good models every few weeks, which is better than some manufacturers can say. They've hit on a strong formula: build a nice phone, put Android on it, sell a few hundred thousand. Repeat. While the CLIQ XT isn't Motorola's best phone, it follows Moto's not-so-secret recipe without shaming the chef.

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  • How-To: Manually update your Verizon Droid to Android 2.1

    How-To: Manually update your Verizon Droid to Android 2.1

    Posted on March 31, 2010 | No Comments
    It's here. It's finally, finally here. After countless rumor-fueled false starts and delays, the Android 2.1 update has finally started rolling out to Verizon Droid owners. Unfortunately, it's only been rolled out to around 8,000 Droids at this point -- and considering that there are purportedly at least a million of these things floating around, that means the majority of people are still waiting for their update. Are you one of them? Fear not, friend! We've got all the details on how to manually update your Droid to the official, Verizon-and-Google-blessed build of Android 2.1.

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  • K01: Toshiba’s super-slim Windows Mobile slider phone

    K01: Toshiba’s super-slim Windows Mobile slider phone

    Posted on March 30, 2010 | No Comments
    Whereas Sharp decided to cautiously embrace Android, Toshiba still seems to be firmly in the Windows camp. After releasing the "iPhone killer TG01" on WinMo 6.5 last year, the company announced another Windows Mobile-based cell phone in Japan today (Toshiba is one of Microsoft's official "Mobile Partners", after all).

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  • Vertu to sell 4 golden cell phones in Japan (price: $215,000 each)

    Vertu to sell 4 golden cell phones in Japan (price: $215,000 each)

    Posted on March 26, 2010 | No Comments
    Nokia pulled out of Japan, one of the world's biggest mobile markets, as early as November 2008. But because this country is quite wealthy, the Finnish company decided to conquer Japan with their luxury brand Vertu [JP], starting operations in September 2009. Initially the plan was to market handsets priced between $16,000 and $50,000. But today Vertu Japan announced a "golden" handset with a price tag of 20 million yen (it's made-in-Japan gold lacquerwork, to be more exact). That's $215,000, with the price including free domestic calls. Buyers will be able to choose between four equally priced models: Kinko (pictured above), Kikusui, Nanten and Daigo (pictured below). The different designs stand for the different seasons of the year.

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  • Android 2.1 to hit the Motorola Droid very, very soon

    Android 2.1 to hit the Motorola Droid very, very soon

    Posted on March 16, 2010 | No Comments
    When it rains, its pours. We just found out yesterday that Android 2.1 hitting the Moto Droid sometime in March was a pretty sure thing, and now we've got an exact date. And the best news of all: It's really, really soon.

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  • Video: Android hacked in place of Windows Mobile on a Touch Pro2

    Video: Android hacked in place of Windows Mobile on a Touch Pro2

    Posted on March 11, 2010 | No Comments
    While a lot of people are pretty pumped about Windows Phone 7, there's are some people who definitely are not: everyone stuck on a now antiquated Windows Mobile 6.5 handset. Microsoft has already confirmed that if your phones running 6.5, it's not going to be running 7 any time soon. If you can't join'em, beat'em, right? There's a new project in the works which aims to breath new life into old Windows Mobile 6.5 phones.. by replacing the whole OS with Android.

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  • Sony Ericsson unboxes the Xperia X10, stomps on toes

    Sony Ericsson unboxes the Xperia X10, stomps on toes

    Posted on March 10, 2010 | No Comments
    You know what weirds me right the hell out? Companies doing their own unboxing videos. That's our job. I realize they're probably proud of their work and are just itching to show it off, but a new handset getting its first video unboxing by the company that made it is like a dad taking his own daughter to prom. Wrong? Not technically. Kind of awkward? Absolutely. Oh well. Sony Ericsson decided to debox the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 (their ultra-pretty, Snapdragon-powered Android phone) themselves. Go ahead and watch it after the jump -- I won't be too hurt.

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  • Streetfighter IV for iPhone: Capcom releases official trailer and screenshots

    Streetfighter IV for iPhone: Capcom releases official trailer and screenshots

    Posted on March 4, 2010 | No Comments
    As reported (and following Final Fantasy I and II, which are now available), the App Store will get another hit Japanese video game this month, Streetfighter IV. It will be the first mobile version of the Arcade game that so far was only ported to PS3, XBO360 and the PC. And today maker Capcom released the official trailer and a slew of new screenshots.

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