Gizmodo: music phones

Sony Ericsson MH907 "Motion Activated" Headphones

Danny Allen — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 06:51:02 EDT

They won't change how we listen to music forever, but these earbuds are pretty cool. Listen to music normally with one in each ear, but pull one side out and music automatically pauses. Calls are received/ended in the same way.

You don't need to press any buttons, as the earphones use Sony Ericsson's 'SensMe' technology to sense your body. They come in chrome and yellow/white, and will be available worldwide this week for about $55 (39 Euros). The one bummer: you'll need a Sony Erisson phone with a "Fast port" connector. You can check for compatibility here: [Sony Ericsson]

Samsung + Bang & Olufsen M7600 Pledges to Bring the Noise: Funk As Yet Unconfirmed

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 18:15:00 EST

Samsung teamed up with audiophiler Bang & Olufsen for the Helio Oceanesque M7600 handset. The internal B&O amplifier promises to make it a force to be reckoned with in the sound department. Specs:

- 2.8" AMOLED touchscreen (not sure if it's capacitive or resistive, hoping for the former)
- 3 MP camera
- DivX support
- HSDPA and GPS

The M7600 is rumored to hit European shores this coming May, with no hint as yet of a US release. It's not out of the question that the device might pack some quad-band 3G, but until we hear some rumbling, we wouldn't bet on it. [Boy Genius Report]

Samsung Releases a Trio of Music Phones

AddyDugdale — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 04:28:24 EDT

Samsung has launched three music phones that are "100 per cent music, 100 per cent phone," according to the Korean electronics giant. We've already seen the i450 which slides to reveal a speaker, and the skinny swivel-stick design of the F210, but this is the first time we've seen the F330, which has a full internet browser, as well as HSDPA, 2 Megapixel camera and music recognition. Full stats are below.

SGH-i450
HSDPA 3.6 mbps/ UMTS/ EDGE (900 / 1800 / 1900/2100)
2 Megapixel camera + VGA Camera
2.4" GVGA TFT display (262K Colors)
Symbian v9.2 / S60 v3rd Edition Feature Pack 1
Ice power audio technology (B&O)
Bluetooth 2.0 (A2DP), USB 2.0 HS
OMA DRM v 2.0 / MTP , FM radio, 3.5 mm ear jack
Touch wheel navigation
35 MB internal memory + micro SD
101 x 52 x 17.8 mm
360 ($507)

SGH-F330
HSDPA 3.6 mbps, 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz + 2.1 GHz
2 Megapixel CMOS camera + VGA Camera
2.1" QVGA TFT LCD display (262K Colors)
MP3, AAC,AAC+, eAAC+,WMA
Up to 20 hours' music playback time (Press release said 2-, but I'm guessing it's a misprint)
Music Library (Advanced music UI/GUI), Music Recognition
Bluetooth 2.0 , USB 2.0 High speed, MTP/WMDRM
Full Browser
24 MB Internal memory + micro SD
103 x 48 x 13.5 mm
260 ($366)

SGH-F210
GPRS/EDGE Tri-band (900/1800/1900)
2 Megapixel camera
1.46" 128x220 TFT display (262K Colors)
Music Library. MTP/WMDRM/ Music Recognition
FM Radio with RDS
Up to 20 hours' play back Time (up to 20hrs)
Bluetooth 2.0 / USB 2.0/ MTP/WMDRM
Multi tasking / Airplane mode
1GB Flash memory + micro SD
87.8 x 31 x 20.5 mm
280 ($394)

Both the F210 and F330 are being launched in Germany this month, followed by the rest of Europe, while the i450 will make its debut in Italy, before being rolled out to the rest of the continent. [Press Release]

Motorola Expands ROKR Music Phone Line with PEBL U9

Jason Chen — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 17:40:26 EDT

Just like with the MotoRIZR Z6, Motorola is taking an old phone and placing the ROKR moniker on it, essentially turning it into a badged music phone. This time they're taking the Moto PEBL U9 and making it a Moto ROKR U9.

It's got RAZR2-like music controls, mini USB headphones (no 3.5mm jack), and the same round PEBL design. PhoneScoop is guessing that the "9" in U9 will mean this is going to have 3G, like other 9-series phones from Motorola, but it's still unconfirmed. [Phonescoop]

Close Up With the W700i Walkman Phone

Gizloco — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 12:01:56 EDT

In the never-ending quest to make a round peg fit into a square hole, Sony-Ericsson is trying once again to get a music phone off the ground. This time, the W700i is their Trojan Horse. The titanium-colored phone maintains the simplistic styling of previous Walkman phones, but don't mistake that for weakness. It has 256MB of storage onboard, with the capacity to add more via Memory Stick Duos. The camera is two megapixels, plus it can do e-mail and has support for Bluetooth. Look for it in Q2 of this year, just don't ask us about the price since it's unknown as of yet.

Sony Ericsson's W700i Walkman phone [Tech Digest]

Press Release [Sony Ericsson]

NEC's Musical Cellphone Microchip

Noah R — Fri, 13 Jan 2006 11:37:35 EST

In response to the rapid increase in the number of mobile phones being used as music players in Japan, NEC Electronics has developed a dedicated SLI chip for audio. This is a companion chip made specifically to enhance audio in cellphones. It has a CPU dedicated to music play, a digital signal processor and a connection for an application processor. It functions with SD cards and supports copyright protection (CPRM). The chip also minimizes battery drain, thus enabling continuous music play for 50 hours. Sampling started yesterday, and mass production is planned for April. Sample price is $13. Hopefully we'll see these in stateside handsets before the end of the decade.

Press Release