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Ask Slashdot: Info On Upcoming Handhelds?

Posted by timothy on from the what's-small-and-upcoming dept.

FullBandwidth writes "Seems like some intrepid Slashdotters are always getting scoops on the soon-to-be-released handhelds (phones, tablets). What's the best way to get technical information and release dates? Apparently in the U.S., the vendors have to submit a certain amount of documentation that then gets published on the fcc.gov website, but I'm not sure if many of us have time to pore over that site. Are there reliable sites or RSS feeds dedicated to what's the bleeding edge of mobile computing?" I glance at Liliputing more days than I don't, partly because of frequent links to new handhelds and tablets as they hit the FCC. Where else should people look?

37 of 71 comments (clear)

  1. Sites by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    I use these two sites which give a fair heads up on the mobile world.
    They both follow the fcc and their postings.

    mobile.engadget.com
    BGR.com

  2. Remaining anonymous obviously, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I work for a rather large specialized company who's name you would instantly recognize. (I'm posting through several proxies)
    Anyhow, the R&D group does quite a few "lunch and learns" about upcoming products and ideas and there are certainly some amazing things on the 2-3 year horizon. COMPLETELY TRANSPARENT Tablets! Like a thick piece of glass with a nub on/off switch at the top... the display colors are washed out, but that will get fixed before release. Also phones with built-in wifi access points will become more popular so as long as you have a phone, you can tether your laptop off it.

    1. Re:Remaining anonymous obviously, but... by interkin3tic · · Score: 1

      COMPLETELY TRANSPARENT Tablets! Like a thick piece of glass with a nub on/off switch at the top...

      So you're saying there will soon be a lucrative market for a case which is opaque black or white, so that you can actually get contrast and read what is on the screen? I get annoyed trying to read on my smartphones' reflective screen in sunlight, can't imagine how annoying it will be when I also have to worry about light -under- the tablet.

    2. Re:Remaining anonymous obviously, but... by Grizzley9 · · Score: 2

      I'm gonna go out on a short limb and say your post is fake or you work for a pretty crappy company if worthless changes to tablets and MOAR wifi in phones is all you got. I don't think multiple proxies were needed.

    3. Re:Remaining anonymous obviously, but... by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      Yeah. Pretty much any phone with wifi can act as a wifi access point. A transparent tablet is just so much vaporware. First you need transparent wires, batteries and antennas.

    4. Re:Remaining anonymous obviously, but... by danlip · · Score: 1

      Yeah, even never understood the appeal of the transparent terminal window, it's the first thing I turn off. I transparent tablet is a cool SciFi gimmick but not something I would want.
       

    5. Re:Remaining anonymous obviously, but... by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      Then the tablet is not totally transparent. Then it has an opaque border.

    6. Re:Remaining anonymous obviously, but... by DQKennard · · Score: 1

      That makes it harder to lose when you put it down. Damn it! where did I put that tablet?? Hey, dude, Skype my tablet so I can see the alert glow.

  3. Uh yes by jon3k · · Score: 4, Informative

    Boy Genius Report and/or Engadget.

  4. Engadget by JStyle · · Score: 2

    Engadget. They reliably stay current on all new tech, review newly released portables (and sometimes before release), and filter out the crazy rumors that other sites seem to thrive on. They have a specifically mobile site as well: http://mobile.engadget.com/

    They have RSS, and RSS via tag, I use google reader to capture everything android. Subscribe to: http://www.engadget.com/tag/android/rss.xml ... and this is available for any tag on the site. I believe you can filter tags out of the main site as well, handy for those Apple keynote days if you're not interested.

  5. Re:macrumors.com by YodasEvilTwin · · Score: 1

    You win an internet, good sir.

  6. Sorry, no more new handelds! by ctrl-alt-canc · · Score: 2

    The new patent war involving Apple vs. [Samsung | Motorola | Google | Nokia | Blackberry | The rest of the puny world] is going to keep consumers away from the market, as well as to force companies to be very cautious developing new devices, due to litigation costs. I am not happy with idea of blasting up patent system, since creativity and innovation should be properly rewarded, but what is happening is plain insane. I had some interest into handelds, but I decided I will be happy with my old paper books and my cellphone: I don't want to take the risk of buying a costly device that becomes obsolete due to a patent war.

    1. Re:Sorry, no more new handelds! by mcl630 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The new patent war involving Apple vs. [Samsung | Motorola | Google | Nokia | Blackberry | The rest of the puny world] is going to keep consumers away from the market

      While I agree the number of patent lawsuits going on, as well as these companies buying up patents to "arm" themselves against each other is quite disconcerting, the sales numbers for smartphones and tablets suggest they're not "keeping consumers away from the market." The typical smartphone buyer is probably unaware of or only vaguely aware of the patent fighting.

    2. Re:Sorry, no more new handelds! by Dr+Max · · Score: 2

      Samsung, Motorola, Google and Nokia should team up combine patents, then block all apple's products and see how they like it.

      --
      Rocket Surgeon.
  7. Re:macrumors.com by tepples · · Score: 1

    And guess what: "not affluent" describes most of the public.

  8. Re:macrumors.com by cforciea · · Score: 1

    But 80% of the population all thinks that they will be in the top 1% someday, so that has to be worth something!

  9. Re:macrumors.com by interkin3tic · · Score: 1

    On the other hand, if you are one of the following, you can get an Android, Windows Phone, or Symbian devices: uneducated not affluent unwashed wearing a ponytail under 21 writing a manifesto about being fed up being among the dregs of society

    I remember when many of those applied to if you were a mac user...

    Waitaminute, that's still the case!

  10. FCC doesn't post everything. by Anonymous+Freak · · Score: 1

    Companies can request that the FCC not publish their requests until after a certain date. Apple does this all the time, usually to have the information unpublished until the day AFTER release. So FCC posts alone aren't enough.

    But, yeah, plenty of websites out there that track these things.

    --
    Another non-functioning site was "uncertainty.microsoft.com."
    The purpose of that site was not known.
  11. Phandroid by mcl630 · · Score: 1

    In addition to mobile.engadget.com as others have suggested, there's www.phandroid.com. As the name suggests, it's Android specific, but has lots of good previews/reviews of upcoming/new phones and tablets. They do have an RSS feed.

  12. your rights online by decora · · Score: 2

    has been part of slashdot since the beginning.

    most of the great scientists did not pretend their field of endeavor was separated from society by some kind of impermeable wall, where they didn't have to care about things like freedom of speech or the uses that governents and military had for their creations.

    im not talking about lunatics ranting and raving in the asylum, im talking about Albert Einstein, Carl Sagan, Andrei Sakharov - the Galileos and Copernicuses of our day.

  13. Phone Feature Wishlist by eepok · · Score: 1

    I build the desktops I want. I found the tablet I've always wanted. I'm yet to find the phone of my dreams.

    Do Note Want:
    *** Smartphone
    *** Internet Connectivity - Not even the option for it. It's a (fee) trap!
    *** Touchscreen - Buttons just work.

    Want:
    1) Phone
    2) Address book and speed dial
    3) Text-messaging
    4) QWERTY Keyboard
    5) Simple MP3 player (along the capabilities of bare-bones WinAmp)
    6) Video and Still Camera with flash
    7) MicroSD card slot
    8) 3.5mm headphone jack
    9) Micro-USB jack (for charging and data transfer)
    10) Bluetooth
    11) Two separate batteries in the phone (both charged at the same time). One feeds the phone and texting, the other feeds the camera and MP3 player. Because I want to have my phone in an emergency regardless of my listening to music.

    Bonus points: Full user control of text font, color, background, and ring tones both in-phone and through a simple desktop application.

    I'll pay $150 for this phone before 2-year contract discounts.

    1. Re:Phone Feature Wishlist by nadamucho · · Score: 1

      I can give you a list of about a dozen phones which fit the bill, other than number 11. You'd be better off with an external Li-Ion battery like Energizer/XPAL. They come in many sizes, the smallest of which holds enough juice to charge an average smartphone to full at least once, in my use usually twice. You may also look into the inductive mats. The battery capacity is reduced a bit, but if you are typically listening to your music in your car or at your desk, you can leave the phone on the mat and it will stay juiced up.

    2. Re:Phone Feature Wishlist by eepok · · Score: 1

      Nice of you to respond to that in a completely different thread. You said it was an "u820". So I looked up u820 and found: http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/samsung-reality-sch-u820/4505-6454_7-34078840.html which is a smartphone.

      And I don't want a smartphone. I want a combination of devices (Camera, Phone, MP3 player, Text Messager) that would use the same processor with a double power system to protect the most important function-- communication. That doesn't make a smartphone.

      In fact, those things are standard on all "feature phones" except feature phones also come with game (demos) and are constantly trying to convince you to go their crippled versions of "the internet" to complete unnecessary tasks.

    3. Re:Phone Feature Wishlist by eepok · · Score: 1

      Of course! Why didn't anyone in the world think of that? I must be a complete fool... look at the battery icon. Jeez.

      Or I could just use my separate MP3 player and not have any problem to begin with! Well, wait. Then that's more pocket clutter. So I'll get a phone with an MP3 player!

      But what if I'm caught up in music walking down the road and kill my phone because I've listened to too much music (the device being kept in my pocket and not in front of my face). Oh, carry a spare battery? Good idea! Wait... pocket clutter...

      You see what I'm getting at?

      Imagine a phone/camera/mp3 device that just does what you want, doesn't have power-sucking graphics that you don't want, and doesn't try to up-sell you to a dozen different net-based costs! Imagine if all the engineering effort was just focused on providing great reception, great audio quality, great photo capabilities, and great battery life while preserving the most important function!

    4. Re:Phone Feature Wishlist by eepok · · Score: 1

      While I understand that you mean the best, it's just not what I want. I specifically don't want web access. At the risk of being cliche, here's a car analogy:

      Imagine you want a car with more cargo space than your 2-door commuter has and but still have sufficient power to zip around gleefully. The dealer says, "I know what you need- A Chevy Tahoe!..."
      --It has a massive engine for great acceleration
      --A HUGE rear cargo area
      --Fits 5 very fat people, 3 kids, and a dog.
      --The headrests are massive and you can install televisions in them and on the dash
      --There are 12 cup holders and 4 eating trays
      --And you can tow a boat!

      But you don't want to tow a boat. You don't like boating. You don't want to ferry around fat people as a hobby. You don't want a massive SUV to clog up your garage or the streets. You don't want the extra expense or distraction that comes with being able to watch TV in the car. You don't want to consume all your meals in your car.

      You want something small and focused. You want something that doesn't try to do everything "okay", but something that does the essentials very, very well.

      Instead, you want a 4-door hatchback. It has the cargo space you need. It's zippy on the road because there's not much weight to it. It fits neatly in your garage. It gets over 30 miles to the gallon. It fits 4 adults comfortably. If you need to move house, you can rent a truck for a day.

  14. Wireless Goodness by bradlinder · · Score: 1

    While I'll second the vote for Liliputing for completely selfish reasons (thanks Tim!), one of my favorite sites for FCC listings is http://www.wirelessgoodness.com/. It's a tech blog that posts nothing but discoveries found on the FCC website. They often catch things the rest of us miss.

  15. Re:macrumors.com by aztracker1 · · Score: 1

    I'd be happy to make it to the top10%

    --
    Michael J. Ryan - tracker1.info
  16. Re:Hah by ozmanjusri · · Score: 1

    You want information, but you're too lazy to find it yourself.

    Why the fake dismay? This IS Slashdot, after all.

    For the lazy people, if you're heterosexual go here:
    http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/

    Otherwise go here:
    http://www.macrumors.com/

    --
    "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
  17. For the Canadians out there... by AmbushBug · · Score: 1

    I mostly just follow Engadget as mentioned above and (since I'm Canadian) http://mobilesyrup.com/ which covers mobile news/releases releases in Canada.

  18. only multiple batteries are problematic by Chirs · · Score: 1

    Pretty much everything else is already available, except for the multiple batteries. Why not have one battery and have the option for the system to disallow anything but phone/text once it drops past a certain level?

  19. some RSS feeds: by bobstreo · · Score: 1

    http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheBoyGeniusReport

    http://feeds.feedburner.com/DroidLife

    http://feeds.feedburner.com/AndroidPolice

    reddit:

    http://www.reddit.com/r/android

  20. Phone Arena by RobFrontier · · Score: 1

    Phone Arena is another good one. http://www.phonearena.com/

  21. Re:Hah by Daetrin · · Score: 1

    Hey! That is completely unfair and uncalled for!

    I'm given to understand that a lot of straight women prefer macs. (Although i have no information on whether the corollary that homosexual women prefer androids is true or not.)

    --
    This Space Intentionally Left Blank
  22. Re:Hah by Dr+Max · · Score: 1

    Aren't all women a little gay (maybe its just wishful thinking). Something to do with the difference in relationship between mother daughter and father son.

    --
    Rocket Surgeon.
  23. jkkmobile by jones_supa · · Score: 1

    I don't know if YouTube is full of these, but here is a nice mobile gadget channel.

  24. Google news by Dr+Max · · Score: 1
    Its not as straight forward as go to this x site and read, but if you go to Google news and type in stuff that is inevitable, you can get a good idea what each manufacture is up to. It takes a bit of guess and work and substitution, for example you know the latest smartphones now are dual core 1 ghz so if you want a next gen phone a Google news search for dual core 1.2ghz up to X ghz, smartphone, os of choice; or maybe quad core phones and it will bring back many results.

    Its also helpful to search the manufactures of the parts involved in the phones. For example Nvidia have a road map for their next 4 socs (system on a chip), by looking up the next product code name you can substitute that in front of 'smartphone', and Google news will bring back information from all kinds of sources on all kinds of phones. This can be repeated for Qualcomm, Intel, Texas instruments, Samsung or screen and communication manufactures.

    --
    Rocket Surgeon.
  25. I highly recommend GSMArena.com by ryzvonusef · · Score: 1

    It has very through and more importantly, unbiased reviews on cellphones. I like the fact they provide rather scientific tests for audio and camera analysis of a device, as well 360 view.

    Also, as site focusing solely on reviewing cellphones, they also tend to have the latest scoop.

    --
    I am an ACCA student. Got a query on Accountancy/Finance? Maybe I can help!