Gizmodo: swivel

Rumor: Swiveling Swiss Army-Style Nokia Phone Due Out From Verizon This Summer

Jack Loftus — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 12:15:00 EDT

The image mockup is from a person who claims "hands-on time," but the rumor is all Nokia/Verizon Wireless: A swiveling phone could arrive just in time to get creamed by a new iPhone this summer.

BGR claims the rumor and mockup comes from a trusted source, but regardless eat some salt, roll your eyes, and just enjoy this for what it is. A random Easter Sunday unconfirmed rumor. Did I say it was a rumor yet?

Good. Anyway, the tipster reports that this will resemble a "swiveling E71-type handset" that will be launched by Verizon Wireless sometime in July/August. The OS is "S40 and not S60."

This concludes our rampant rumor and speculation for the day. Time to feast on something a bit more tangible, methinks. Like an egg. Or some rabbit. [BGR]

New Nokia Smartphone Patent Features Swiveling Widescreen and QWERTY

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:15:00 EST

A new patent from Nokia shows a pretty interesting new design: a full widescreen that can swivel behind a QWERTY keyboard so only half the screen is visible.

When held in one position, the phone looks a lot like Nokia's traditional QWERTY candybars, but the screen can swivel up and out to present a widescreen, presumably for media or web browsing, apps that need a lot of screen real estate. It's a cool way to combine the appeal of a giant touchscreen with the utility of a QWERTY keyboard, except unlike sliders like the T-Mobile G1 or the Sidekick, the keys are always available on this concept. The screen can also apparently rotate side to side, though I'm not really sure what use could be had from that.

It's just a patent, and I'm sure there are a number of reasons why this idea won't come to fruition (how is that screen attached?). But I like the idea and maybe we'll see elements of it in future products from Nokia. [BGR]

Samsung SGH-X830 Swivel Cellphone Coming to Verizon?

Jason Chen — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 15:45:02 EDT

The Samsung SGH-X830 and SCH-U470 cellphones are Samsung's weird swivel phones with the weird dual column keys that we never thought would make it anywhere outside of Korea. But Phone Arena is saying that Verizon—a Korean cellphone manufacturer-friendly provider if we ever saw one—will be bringing the phone sometime in 2008. That's right, following up the LG Chocolate and LG Shine will be this Samsung whatever it's called (we're guessing Swizzle Stick). [Phone Arena via Crave]

Swivel USB Hub, Card Reader

Travis Hudson — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 17:30:58 EDT

Nothing tickles me pink more than a small, cute and efficient device. Save space, and USB ports on your desk with this miniature USB hub and card reader. Each USB port can swivel outwards up to 90 degrees. The entire shebang is even small enough to throw in a laptop or accessory bag. $18. –Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via Chip Chick]

Fujitsu's Concept Tablet PCs

Jason Chen — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 18:10:02 EDT

Shown off at CEATEC, these two Concept Tablet PCs look like something even sexier than MacBooks and MacBook Pros. First there's the Turn Tablet PC, which is a large PC with a magnetic screen and a stylus that runs Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. It includes a standard keyboard and touch-pad, with a slot-loading DVD drive on the front.

The second is a smaller UMPC-like device with the swiveling screen and a PSP/PS3-like UI. We're not exactly sure what the swiveling screen is for, but it sure does look cool. Plan on seeing these in your local Circuit City around the year two thousand and never. – Jason Chen

CEATEC - Fujitsu Concept PC [Akihabara News]