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First 1.1Mpixel 192MB SmartPhone
Daath writes "It just came to my attention, that LG Electronics announced a SmartPhone with 192MB memory and a built in 1.1 Mpixel CCD camera. It's a slide-down type phone, running on a 400MHz Intel X-Scale processor with a 2.8" 262K color TFT LCD. It runs MS PocketPC 2003. Personally I think it blows the SE P900 away. Ok, time to wipe the drool off the keyboard! ;)"
They can put 192MB into a phone but they can't make the phone any smaller.
Call me when it fits in my pocket.
I bet if god needed cellular service, he'd have a phone like that
Take that!
However, it looks like a great unit from a technical perspective. However the styling looks like it was done by a bus manufacturer in downtown Seoul.. urgh.
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Don't get me wrong, it has nice features, looks good, more memory is always a plus, but frankly I don't need or want a camera in my phone. And since I work somewhere that cameras are specifically NOT allowed (a rule that is enforced by many men with BIG guns), the camera makes this completely useless.
Why can't a cell phone company make something with all the features of say a SE P800 or 900, or even this one without a camera? At this rate, I'm going to be stuck with my T68i for years to come, and when it dies, I'll be SOL.
What is the battery life on this thing? How hot does it get when you're using it? How expensive is it? What standards does it support? What kind of range can you expect to get out of it? This article is a little light on the important statistics for the cell phone part of the device.
I read the internet for the articles.
This looks really nice. I had to get rid of my Danger Hiptop (TMobile Sidekick) because of the incredible bulk. This looks like a great replacement for it, although lacking the nifty keypad and "cool" swivel-screen. And of course, the PDA functions of it should be a lot more refined than the Hiptop.
I don't see any specifics stating it will be GPRS capable. Anyone have any insight?
The news item linked in the post doesn't mention whether it is a GSM or CDMA phone, or available as both. Anyone know? LG makes phones for both technologies.
The current PDA:s using XScales have horrible battery lives. Look at the ones from HP, Dell, etc.
I want to be able to use a gadget like this the way I use my cell phone now. Charge it once a week or so. A device like a PDA or a cell phone is something you should be able to trust while travelling. If you forget to charge a PDA one day, the next day you shouldn't have to worry about not using it too much. The P900 seemed like a better alternative with respect to this.
I'm also somewhat confused by this new trend of attaching everything to cellphones and making it suck.
So lets look at my options right now:
Cellphone with a sucky camera.
Cellphone with a sucky PDA.
Cellphone with sucky games.
Cellphone with sucky web browser.
Cellphone with a sucky mp3 player.
All of these costing in the area of $500+. Now please tell me how is this better than getting a free cellphone and a REAL PDA or a REAL camera?
For $500 I can get the following:
Apple iPod - top of the line 40 gigs.
Olympus C750 (10x optical, 4.0Mp, upto 512Mb xD cards)
GBA - And enough games to make my eyes bleed.
iPaq - 400Mhz, bluetooth etc..
So at which point does the cell phone become a good deal?
Oh but it's all in one! I only have to carry the cell phone. Lame. Look at how HUGE that cellphone is, carrying that thing alone is a pain, adding an iPod or iPaq would make no real difference but so many other advantages.
If the phone was $200 sure, good deal. But paying $500 for inferior devices maeks no sense to me.
In Soviet Russia, the television watches YOU!
You call that impressive?
I hook up my 11 megapixel Canon EOS 1Ds to a laptiop with slott-in GPRS / GSM card. That gives me an 11 Mpx (nearly-)mobile phone.
On a more serious note: As a photographer, I think the whole videophone / cameraphone thing is a ridiculously bad idea. I have been using an Sony Ericsson t68i for years, and it syncs with my laptop via bluetooth. Brilliant, and it does everything I would expect from a simple PDA (calendar and syncs perfectly with my address book, even stores my notes), and telephone, in a minuscule package.
Blah, progress.
The Mini Repository - more links
whoa... tell me where you can get all those for only $500.... last I checked the 40gig ipod was $500 by itself.
And just why do you need to generate 2048x1536 images on your cell phone? That's twice the resolution of most people's monitors, and well above most quality monitors(1600x1200).
Plus, concidering you're probably going to be sending these images over the 3G network, where you'll be charged by bandwidth, I'd prefer to send a smaller image that gets the point across rather than a 4MB monster.
I don't see the point in anything higher than 1.5-2MP unless you're printing out your photos. They are too large to use as desktop wallpapers, too large to email or put on the web, and I HATE scrolling to see a whole image.
Bigger is not always better.
no comment
For $500 I can get the following:
Apple iPod - top of the line 40 gigs.
Olympus C750 (10x optical, 4.0Mp, upto 512Mb xD cards)
GBA - And enough games to make my eyes bleed.
iPaq - 400Mhz, bluetooth etc..
First off, you cannot get ALL that for 500 bucks.
Second, not everybody wants to wear a fucking bat-belt for all their gear.
Where's my lobbyist? Right here.
have a crappy knife, a crappy magnifying glass, a crappy saw, crappy tweezers... but their business has been going gangbusters for decades. So I'd say you're not necessarily a dying breed, there has always been a market for "do everything, crappily" devices.
"Stop throwing the Constitution in my face, it's just a goddamned piece of paper!" - George W. Bush Nov. 2005
Personally, I think this new phone looks pretty sweet. Yeah, it only has a 1mega pixel camera, but if i'm at the mall and my kids do something cute its good enough for a 4x6 print. Better than nothing. Sure, my 5 megapixel camera would take a better picture but I always carry my phone and PDA but not my camera.
I won't be buying another PDA until Internet connectivity is reasonably priced and available. I want to be able to check my mail, surf the web from anywhere and until that happens I don't think the sales of PDA's and smartphones are really going to take off.
I'm not entirely familiar with smartphones (other than the obvious) can their built in PDA's access the internet on demand?
"Thanks to the remote control I have the attention span of a gerbil."
My first computer had 64K of RAM and a 1MHz processor. My second computer had 2MB of RAM and a 25MHz processor. My third computer had 64MB of RAM and a 300MHz processor. ... and now they have a PHONE that's more powerful and has more memory than all three of my first computers combined - and it has a built-in camera too! I'm sure it'll be cheaper than any of the computers as well.
Advances in technology really amaze me sometimes.
-- Dr. Eldarion --
I know i know it looks good etc etc but at the end of the day good stats do not make for a good phone, i have a p800 and i will get a p900 when it comes out, and it runs on Symbian (do not spell that wrong when doing a search.....trust me)
thats means there is plenty of free open source programmes out there to keep you going for years, if i want a top camera i'll either take my kodak 3600 out (3.2mp) or my Fuji Finepix s603(6mp).
Think before you buy, good stuff to LG for making this but dont rush to buy until you see the test (a pointless statement i know but the general tone of the intro has made me think twice)
Kingdom of Loathing (www.kingdomofloathing.com) Addicted is me
Right. It's almost like Slashdot is made of more than one person or something. What's up with that?
I read the internet for the articles.
I've been carrying a Kyocera 7135 PalmOS SmartPhone for the last three weeks, as seen on TV. I like it -- it feels like a phone that does useful things, rather than like a PDA that can also make phonecalls. I get real wireless Web browsing on it, that's a given. The MP3 player gets a little choppy sometimes; I haven't figure out why yet -- but mostly it plays pretty well. The MMC/SD slot enables me to hook in all sorts of cool gizmos: VGA adapters, printers, keyboards, cameras, etc. Cost a little under $500. It's by far the most useful toy I've ever had.
I hope that after I die the one word people use to describe me is "resurrected."
But it is DOA .. check the keyboard .. (or lack thereof)
I can only image the comments had /. been around when the Swiss Army Knife was intruduced.
So it's got a sucky knife, sucky scissors, sucky saw, sucky file, sucky toothpick. Am I the only one who would rather carry a real knife, real scissors, etc...
Reality check! This device is not intended to replace a photographer's 5MP camera or the audiophile's iPod. It's like the Swiss Army Knife of electronics. When you are in the situation where that priceless picture presents itself and you don't have your 5MP camera in your pocket, you can whip out the phone and get a quick snapshot. When you are waiting at the doctor's office longer then expected and forgot to bring your iPod, you can listen to a few tunes off your phone. The reason the phone has been the host device for these functions is that it has become the ubiquotous (sp?) device that just about everyone carries.
Yes, 1.1MP is useless for 'real' photography, but what photographer ues a phone for his work? If you want good pictures, carry around your 5MP camera, not this. By your logic, laptops are useless since a 'real' PC has a 21" CRT. Walkmans/iPods are useless since a 'real" stereo has 18" subwoofers. Snubbed-nose revolvers are useless since a 'real" gun has a night scope and 26" barrel.
You (and several other people here) don't seem to understand the market these devices are targetting. They are not trying to replace the dedicated devices. They are catering to a niche market that wants a combination of decent (who cares if they aren't great) devices in a small form factor.
Is a DigiCam better at photography than this? Yes. Is a Palm a better PDA than this? Yes. It a GBA a better handheld gaming device than this? Yes. Do the type of people who would be interested in this device care about those things? NO!
From the linked page: "The single most important characteristic of the smart phone is that it represents the development of a smart phone...."
As opposed to all those smart phones out there that are actually lizards with antennas strapped to their backs, I suppose.
To me the Sony is the way to go. It looks like a good phone with some PDA features that I would probably use. I currently have an Ipaq 3970, that I hate and can't wait to replace with a phone like the Sony 900. Now the other product, looks like some PDA that they fit a phone around. It will still have all the same issues that the IPAQ has. Crappy OS, bugs and a battery hog. All that with the huge size to boot. It may be for some people, but for people like me that NEED a good phone and want SOME PDA functionality in it, the Sony is the way to go.
Now I just have to see if they have telnet and ssh for the Sony AND if anyone in the U.S. besides T-Mobile will support it. Man T-Mobile sucks also... I hope that Sony will work with Verizion, ATT&T or ANYONE but T-Mobile with their phone.
The more I learn about science, the more my faith in God increases.
My cell phone get covered in gunk from pockets, backpack, car seats, etc. My PDA is a palm V in the "armor" style case, and it still gets dust on it.
I wouldn't buy a digital camera that doesn't cover the lens, and I'm at least careful with the digi-cam.
If this thing is supposed to withstand the abuse of going with me everywhere, why can't it come with a lens cover?
--
Sorry, but I just looked at the spec. I own a P800 and from my experience, any PDA/Phone combo without bluetooth for handsfree is a serious design/Feature flaw. I have seen friends with Palm/Handspring devices fumble with "handsfree" wires everytime a call comes in. I have seen other people hold up a fat PDA to their heads and chatting. Neither beats leaving the phone in your pocket or briefcase while talking on the phone... And driving at the same time... with both hands on the wheel! Just some usability feedback....