Gizmodo: asia-only

Lenovo i921 Smartphone

Travis Hudson — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 16:43:41 EDT

In their latest venture into the smartphone world, Lenovo's latest addition is the i921 smartphone. Akihabara is reporting that this phone will possibly run Windows Mobile 5. It also operates on the GSM network and includes a QVGA screen, Bluetooth, 2-megapixel camera and MiniSD expansion. Unfortunately Lenovo's mobile phone adventures are restricted to the Asia market only, for the time being.

The Lenovo i921 PDA phone [Akihabara]

Samsung SCH B340: Slim and Sassy

johnb — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 13:44:43 EST

It's not every day that you see an ultra-slim phone with a built-in DMB receiver, and it's even rarer to find one with "Artificial Intelligence" which, I believe, translates poorly out of Korean. Apparently "AI" means that the phone can vibrate along with MP3 music. Damn. And here we are trying neural networks and Turing tests.

Not much else exciting. OLED screen, TV-out (??) and a fat form-factor round out another phone we will never see.

Samsung continues to amaze - now a DMB slimmie (SCH B340) [PhoneyWorld]

Shiro Soccer Ball-Shaped MP3

tgrumet — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 08:54:37 EST

Well, it's different, that's for sure. The Shiro AS 1GB MP3 player is shaped like a soccer ball, which complements perfectly the round speakers we talked about previously.

It's actually an attractive piece of gadgetry, though it doesn't seem like the perfect shape for your pocket. It's 1.5-inches in diameter and has six buttons on its circumference for all your basic controls, which may not bode well when you're searching around in your pocket to change a song or up the volume.

Other than its interesting shape, it's got some nice features, including FM, voice/FM recording, timer/stopwatch functions. However, with only 10 hours of battery life, it may not be going for longevity. Singapore only this April.

Shiro AS (1GB) [Cnet Asia]

Reversing Atomic Wall Clock

johnb — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 13:50:11 EST

This is a very cool clock from the depths of Asia. This Citizen wall clock has three distinct modes. It can run as a normal 12-hour clock, a 24-hour military time clock, and a backwards-running 12-hour clock for telling the time in the mirror. As it is an atomic clock, it's set by signals from various observatories around the world and seems to be tuned to a specific set in Japan. This means that when you plug this clock in, it will automatically set itself.

Looks like it will be about $132, but don't expect it on our shores any time soon.

Babelfish Translation [Funshop via RedFerret]

Lenovo Jumping Into the Smart Phone Market

Travis Hudson — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 15:47:47 EST

We have some juicy details emerging about the Lenovo's recent foray into the PocketPC Smartphone market. This is the ET980 phone that will be available around March of 2006. The phone will run on Windows Mobile 5.0, have a 312MHz processor, 64MB of RAM, miniSD expansion and even sport a 4-megapixel camera. Appears to only be heading to the Asian market for the time being, but with Lenovo's popularity here in the states, this phone should make its way over eventually.

Lenovo ET980 PocketPC phone [UberGizmo]

Gigabyte g-Smart Windows Smartphone Drops

gizmodo.com — Wed, 21 Dec 2005 11:18:33 EST

Know what I like about the g-Smart Windows Mobile Smartphone? It has an FM tuner (old school) and a TV (future-iffic!) built-in. The jet black design packs 802.11b WiFi, a QVGA 65k color screen, 2.1MP camera with video recording, and a miniSD slot for additional storage. It can also do push e-mail like a Blackberry. This one might even make its way over to US shores, but don't put your order in just yet.

GIGABYTE g-Smart Windows Mobile phone [Mobile Whack]

TI Makes High Speed Mobi Phone Chips For Asia

tgrumet — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 10:40:45 EST

It's great to hear that Texas Instruments is making a high-speed wireless chip, but it's a big downer to hear that it's mainly for Asian markets. Of course, I guess if we actually had technology they could put the things into, it would help, but still, this is a Texas-based company, for god's sake! The chip is based on W-CDMA and will support video and the Internet, pitting it against other big companies that have been offering similar chips, such as Qualcomm. TI developed the chip with NTT DoCoMo and I'm sure the Japanese phone company will substantially help with the business plan. But the big news here is that with this move, there could be a drop in 3G technology, maybe between 10 and 30 percent, according to TI Vice President Alain Mutricy. So great for us, if we ever actually get it...

Texas Instruments offers new phone chip for Asia [Reuters]

NSFW Chair

johnb — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 17:00:33 EST

Luis sent us this video. It's a chair that is entirely too complex for its stated purpose. I mean, it looks like you can read a Manga comic and bone your lady wife at the same time with this thing without even breaking a sweat. Click on for some NSFW action and some really funny voice-over work.

NSFW Video

Manoi, Japanese Athlete Humanoid

Travis Hudson — Tue, 08 Nov 2005 11:59:49 EST

Manoi sounds like one of Godzilla's foes, but is actually a 1/5 scale athlete humanoid that looks like a character from a 1960s cartoon. The company behind this specializes in RC cars, and this is an extension of that business. The idea is that you (if you're Japanese) will buy a Manoi and enter it into tournaments run by the company 3 or 4 times a year — like people race RC cars in tournaments. And as with any self-respecting Japanese robot press conference, Manoi performed a little demo for reporters: it walked, stood on one leg, turned and the spot and "posed" in various ways. There isn't much detail on the specs, but it had better be impressive: Manoi goes on sale next May for 150,000 yen ($1,280).

Manoi [Kyosho]

Samsung Drops Fashion Phones

johnb — Fri, 16 Sep 2005 12:55:48 EDT

You can always count on Samsung to have a crazed-looking model holding up the latest in high technology. These phones, SPH-S3900 and SPH-S3950, are sliders with 1.3-megapixel digital cameras, dictionary, and mobile printing ability (?? I think it's just Bluetooth) come in several frosty colors and are aimed at the more fashion conscious among us.

Asia only at this point, but expect a version to reach our shore.

Samsung Introduces New Fashion Phones [SamsungHQ]

Bluetooth Router (Too good to be true)

Travis Hudson — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 13:23:13 EDT

There I go again, judging a book by its cover. I see a name like Bluetooth router and I practically wet myself getting excited. Now while this gadget is cool, it isn t that cool. This is a Bluetooth cell/telephone router. A Bluetooth enabled cell phone links up to this device wirelessly and then the calls are routed to a landline phone plugged directly into the device. Once you leave the range of the device the Bluetooth connection is broken and calls return to going straight to the cell phone. Not the most elegant solution, but a useful workaround nevertheless. This router, the STAP-1000, is available through manufacturer Enustech for 49,000(KRW) or around 50 bones USD.

Update: Hey, everyone! I'm well aware of the $150 Phonelabs Dock-N-Talk. The STAP is obviously cheaper, and we like the homebrew quality. Anyone out there know how to DIY this contraption? If so, send us the specs and we'll publish them with due credit given.

Bluetooth router: Cellular calls at landline rates [Via Aving]

Equalizer Wristwatch

Travis Hudson — Sun, 04 Sep 2005 14:17:26 EDT

The Cutting Edge Technology out of Tokyo is releasing the High Frequency Equalizer wristwatch. The manufacturers have really high expectations for this watch. They are claiming that people are going to go bananas over this and Tokyo Flash is going to limit sales to two per person. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but I doubt this is going to be the new Hello Kitty, it's cool, but not Hello Kitty cool. Only a single LED is used for the Advanced LCD display. This watch is available for 17800 (around $160 USD) and a PhD certificate is required upon purchase as proof that you can figure out how to read the thing.

High Frequency by Equalizer [Tokyo Flash]

Rakuten's Online Luxury Market

Travis Hudson — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 08:02:55 EDT

Online marketplace, Rakuten, has placed 24 products on their online shopping site targeted for the super-rich. The products are aimed towards individuals whose assets are worth over seven figures. Some of the products include a gem-encrusted Patek Phillipe watch worth $1.2 million, $100,000 dollar bonsai trees and even 56 bottles of Chateau Mouton Rothschild ranging from 1945 to 2000 for $250,000. Needless to say, most Gizmodo readers (and employees for that matter) need not apply, it's still neat than I could potentially spend more money than most people make in a lifetime with a single click.

Rakuten Launches Online [dottocomu]

Pantech PG-8000: It's a Phone Disguised as a Camera

gizmogo — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 18:23:51 EDT

We mentioned the Pantech PG-8000 a few months ago when it debuted at a Russian trade show. Well now it has launched in Korea. A refresher: if you thought the Nokia N90 looked freakishly like a camera, you haven't seen anything yet. The Pantech PG-8000 looks almost exactly like a compact digicam, save for a small number keypad at the back. It's a 2 megapixel camera with a huge 2-inch horizontal LCD display, truly giving it that digicam look. And just for kicks, it also throws in music playback functionality in there, supporting MP3, AAC, and even an FM tuner (We're betting that a lot more phones will have music playback to keep up with the rumored iTunes phone). The PG-8000 also has IrDA, Bluetooth, and the ability to sync it via USB. Pretty sweet... if you live in the region. No idea if this will make it stateside.

Pantech PG-8000: More a Camera than a Mobile Phone [I4U]

Samsung SV-L77DMB: Portable DMB-capable DVD player

gizmogo — Mon, 29 Aug 2005 13:42:56 EDT

More Samsung goodness. This time, it's the Samsung SV-L77DMB, a portable DVD player that's capable of playing DMB as well as these other formats: DVD, DiVx, VCD, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, JPEG, MP3, and WMA. It has a 7-inch TFT screen that has a 16:9 aspect ratio, TV out, auto preset tuning for DMB, bookmark functionality, and a battery life of 240 minutes. You can also get a car kit for in-car viewing, in case you want to increase your likelihood of an accident. No idea on price or availability so far, but we're guessing it's Asia-only.

Samsung SV-L77DMB a portable DMB-capable DVD player [New Launches]

Slimmer Than Your Average Phone - Pantech PG-1400

johnb — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 13:37:06 EDT

Pantech's latest slim phone offering is sure to convert the most ardent clamshell lovers. Each phone comes standard with a VGA camera, FM radio, MP3 ring tones and even a "speakerphone" function which blows most cell phones out of the running. Now you can drive and chat comfortably without having to worry about getting stopped by the cops or being tangled up in annoying headset cables.

Pantech Launches PG-1400 All New Stylish, Slim Bar-Type Phone [Digibuzz]

The Herbie-phone Looks as Good as Lohan

johnb — Tue, 23 Aug 2005 11:30:49 EDT

In another example of Asia kind of getting too excited about crappy movies, we introduce to you the Herbie: Fully Loaded phone. Yes, now you too can own the phone that may or may not be endorsed by Lindsay Lohan, that siren temptress in a Volkswagen. It's a pretty slick looking cellphone that comes with a "53" pouch, charging station, and lanyard. As far as the phone itself goes, it's got the usual features like a color screen, a camera, and supports MP3 playback. Plus it's got that whole dirty "Is she or is she not 18" vibe going. Wait... that's Lohan herself.

The Herbie phone [AkihabaraNews]

Astone Stainless Steel MP3 Players

johnb — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 14:52:31 EDT

I'm just sitting here digging this triangular MP3 player. Look at that thing. You could sit on it and not even notice. Each one is made of stainless steel (!!) and has an OLED display. But you really have to wonder what the Astone people are thinking. "Bob! We've got to get these shitty flash players out the door for Christmas. How can we differentiate them?" "Make one triangular?" "Run with that, Bob! That's the best we've got."

Triangular fun with circles and rectangles - Astone Allure series [DAPReview]

Asus J103 - The Bewitched Phone

johnb — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 13:52:27 EDT

As if Will Ferrell didn't have enough trouble, what with the sex tape and all, he's got to worry about the rest of the world promoting, seeing, and being disappointed by Bewitched. For example, we find the Asus J103, a phone featuring a beguiling cartoon Samantha propped on a broomstick. But who knows? Maybe Bewitched is now a cult favorite overseas, beating out Titantic, which I believe is still being sold by pirates all along the Pacific Rim.

The phone itself is nothing special. Standard tri-band GSM. It's the case that counts.

Asus J103 - The Bewitched phone [PhoneyWorld]

Dmobo M900 Mickey Mouse Phone

gizmogo — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 19:00:20 EDT

No, your eyes do not deceive you. This Mickey Mouse phone really is a true blue Disney phone; everything from its control pad to the external clamshell is adorned with that familiar form of Mickey's head. Even the software interface is riddled with Disney themes. It looks like it has a camera, tri-band GSM, and that you'll be able to SMS with it, but no idea on any other features this phone might have. It comes with a certificate of authenticity, so you know this thing is official. However, don't bet on this coming stateside any time soon, this looks to be set for an Asia-only market.

Dmobo M900 - The Mickey Mouse phone [Phoneyworld]