Nokia N96 gets in-depth review months ahead of release

Mere mortals will need to wait until the third quarter of the year -- if not longer, depending on their region and tolerance for some probable price gouging in the early going -- to get their hands on the mighty Nokia N96. On the other hand, Mobile-review apparently knows the right hands to shake and eyes to wink to get hold of a prototype unit extraordinarily early, and they're taking full advantage of the opportunity. A few hours of your time devoted to the novella of a review will net you a deep understanding and appreciation for the N96's strengths and follies, but in a nutshell, the site seems to come away with a pretty ambivalent opinion of a device that should be knocking everyone's socks off -- especially for a sticker price that'll hover in the $800 arena. Problems included a penchant for picking up dirt and fingerprints (the price you pay for a beautiful glossy face, we suppose), a cramped nav key layout with the tricky touch-sensitive Navi Wheel front and center, audio performance that wasn't bad but was expected to be far better in light of the dedicated DSP, and a "shovel"-like feel in the hand, a symptom of the phone's generous dimensions. Everyone owes the production version of the N96 a chance to show its true form when it's released later this year -- and hey, at least Nokia's got a checklist of things that need improvement in the prototype now -- so we're keeping our chins up that this'll still make the N95 8GB a proud daddy when it comes time to hand over the crown to the Nseries kingdom.

Nokia's NAVTEQ acquisition draws probe from the EU

It may have won approval from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and NAVTEQ shareholders alike, but it looks like the EU's European Commission needs a bit more time to think over Nokia's acquisition of the company, and it's now launched an "in-depth" probe into the matter. According to Reuters, the Commission said that the "proposed merger raises serious doubts with regards to ... competition concerns," although it was quick to add that the decision to open the inquiry does not prejudge the result of the probe. Among other things, the probe will apparently attempt to asses whether whether the purchase would affect the cost of maps for other companies providing navigation services on cellphones. If all of this has a familiar ring, it should, because it wasn't all that long ago that the EU launched a similar probe into TomTom's similar acquisition of map-maker Tele Atlas.

ASUS Eee PC desktop finally revealed?

The scoop wire was running late tonight and these shots of Asus' upcoming Eee Desktop made their way to our inbox just now, so we thought we'd give you the digital relay on the skinny... literally. Though it's hard to get a sense of size here, this thing is obviously svelte. We don't have firm details but since this is an Asus "Eee" product, we can assume it follows the same mantra of "Easy to Learn, Easy to Work, Easy to Play". Maybe a beefed up Linux distro and application bundle? We'll see...

We should caution you that these are not "official" pictures per se. In fact, we can't really comment on the source of these pics except to say that they are indeed shots of an Asus Eee PC Desktop product that should be arriving to market some time in the next quarter or so.

Top 10 Most Expensive Mobile Phones in the World

Until recently, the vast majority of mobiles had been priced between £100 and £300, with only Vertu, a division of Nokia, manufacturing uber-premium phones. With prices starting at around £4,000 Vertu phones are only for the filthy rich, and the super famous. However, Vertu’s monopoly of the luxury phone market is coming to an end with the launch of several new luxury mobile makers, including Gresso, Mobiado and GoldVish. Other mobile phone manufacturers are also partnering with luxury brands to produce a range of premium mobile phones, such as LG and Prada, D&G and Motorola, and now Tag Heuer and Modelabs. Finally, there are the ridiculous, super-expensive one-offs, made purely for headline grabbing, such as Goldvish’s “Le million”, worth a cool $1,000,000, see below for details!

1. Goldvish “Le million” = $1,000,000 (£540,540)


Goldvish

A PR stunt it may be, and they surely can’t be expecting to sell any, but the Goldvish “Le million” is officially the most expensive mobile phone in the world, according the Guiness Books of Records. There’s even been talk of a $1.3million phone, but this has fewer diamonds than the Goldvish so I can’t see where the extra expense comes from! The “Le million” is a one off, featuring a blinding 120 carats worth of VVS-1 grade diamonds, according to designer Emmanuel Gueit. If $1 million is out of your price range. the Geneva-based Goldvish also offer several other diamond-encrusted 18k gold models in your choice of rose, yellow, or white, starting at a much more reasonable $25,600 (£13,837). ;)

2. Vertu Signature Cobra = $310,000 (£167,567)

Vertu Cobra

Vertu is now taking orders for the Signature Cobra, designed by French jeweler Boucheron, but you had better be quick as only 8 are being made! The Cobra will feature one pear-cut diamond, one round white diamond, two emerald eyes and 439 rubies. Vertu will also be offering a “cheaper” version, ruby free, at $115,000 (£62,162).

3. Sony Ericsson Black Diamond = $300,000 (£162,162)


Sony Ericsson Black Diamond

Apparently the Black Diamond will be available in 2007, not from Sony Ericsson but by a company called VIPN. Initially only 5 unique numered pieces will be available for the unbelievable price of, wait for it… $300,000.

With regards to the specifications, don’t expect anything remarkable for your money. It will have Quad-band with Wi-Fi, an Intel 400Mhz processor running windows mobile 5, and a touch sensitive 2? screen. It will also include internal memory of 128mb and will come with a 2Gb SD card for external storage, plus a respectable 4 Megapixel camera.

The designer Jaren Goh has used some pretty impressive materials for the build, featuring titane with polycarbonate, mirror-finish cladding and diamonds.

4. Vertu Diamond = $88,000 (£47,567)

Vertu Diamond

The Diamond is Vertu’s premium range of high-end mobile phones. As the name suggests the handsets in the Diamond range are diamond-encrusted handsets made from platinum. Only 200 of the handsets are being produced, the most expensive believed to be worth an estimated £50,000.

5. Motorola V220 Special Edition = £28,000 ($51,800)


Motorola

Austrian designer Peter Aloisson, has taken a standard Motorola, studded it with 1,200 diamonds and added a keyboard inlaid with 18 carat gold. The outcome is a £28,000 handset, suitable only for footballers and film stars!

6. Gold Edition Nokia 8800 Phone = $2,700 (£1,459)


Gold Nokia 8800 Mobile Phone

If you have $2,700 to spare, you can now buy the Nokia 8800 in 24K gold. However, be warned, if you think you’ll be getting a better phone for your extra cash, you wont! The features found on the Gold Edition are the standard 8800 features, which are pretty basic. It includes a 0.5 Mega pixel SVGA camera, 64 MB of internal memory, 64 voice polyphonic rigntones, FM Radio, Mp3 Player, video recording and 180 mins talktime. However, the Gold Edition does includes a special edition box and charging dock!

7. Mobiado Professional EM (wood) = $1,900 (£1,027)

Mobiado

The Mobiado Professional EM, is a wood-clad upgrade of their earlier Nokia-based phone that includes a 1.3 megapixel camera, music player, FM radio, Bluetooth, and according to Mobiado it’s the first production phone with Titanium buttons. Only 200 are being made and each one has its limited number engraved on the back. At $1,900 however, you’re still paying an awfully high premium for a fairly basic phone encased in wood!

8. Bang & Olufsen (Samsung) Serene = $1,250 (£675)




Bang and olufsen serene mobile phone

Bang & Olufsen hooked up with Samsung to design the sleek but unconventional Serene. Its not a bad looking phone and it even has a built-in motor to assist you in opening and closing the phone. It’s not very practical however, requiring a special screwdriver to access the battery and the SIM card, and its circular keypad will take some getting used to. Also, for some strange reason they have positioned the camera lens on the side of the device, which will make it difficult to align snapshots via the viewfinder on the display.

9. Lamborghini 8800 Sirocco from Nokia = $To be announced


Lamorghini 8800

The Lamborghini Nokia 8800 Sirocco is another special edition, like the previously launch Aston Martin branded Sirocco. It will ultimately be a standard 8800 Sirocco but with the addition of the famous Lamborghini logo engraved on the font and the back, plus ball bearings from the auto company to in the slider phone mechanism. The Lamborghini phone will be a limited edition with only 500 being made. It will also feature Lamborghini graphics as wallpapers, screensavers, ringtones, and even has a short documentary video about the Lamborghini.

10. Gresso Luxury Phone = £expensive


Gresso

The Russia based Gresso, is a new entry into the luxury phone market. Their aptly name “Gresso Luxury Phone” is made of gold and African Blackwood. Apparently they will be releasing a collection of five models called the Black Aura collection, and the designer is a “well known” Italian designer. Currently there are two versions of the African Blackwood phone, one with pink gold highlights named the Gresso Blackwood Gold Edition, and one made entirely of African Blackwood. In addition to the two African Blackwood phones Gresso also make a phone made entirely of pink gold named the Gresso Gold phone. Initially, the phones will be on sale only in Russia.

ASUS P750

Seriously, ASUS, what in the heck were you thinking? If you're going to imbue your P750 with a feature as hotly desired (particularly in the Windows Mobile world) as VGA resolution, what could possibly possess you to not merely gloss it over, but to artificially downgrade your high-end beauty to plain old QVGA? Blasphemy, we say -- and thankfully, some of the folks responsible for first noticing ASUS' indiscretion have come out and fixed it. Members Sorg and GreateVK from asusmobile.ru have crafted a rough fix, and say that a final version should be available to everyone within a week. If that's not an awesome (and unexpected) present to P750 users around the world, we don't know what is.

Sony's 25 megapixel Alpha A900

We already spent some time grappling with Sony's monster full-frame Alpha A900 prototype at PMA, but the company's displaying an updated version at the Photo Imaging Expo in Japan, and reps are apparently now saying that the 24.6 megapixel DSLR will be launched during IFA in August or Photokina in September. Other than that, there's not much we didn't already know -- which means there's really not that much at all -- but there are some more shots of this nifty clear-bodied display unit at the read link for your ocular delight.

Dell's Latitude E6000 and E5000-series

Our week o' Dell scoops continues with what Dell calls its "mainstream" and "essential" series of Latitude E-series laptops. While the enterprise-ready, mainstream series packs just about everything (and more) that you could hope for in a balanced spec-for-size lappie, the essential series is only essential if you're on a tight budget and just can't live without the comparatively low-end chub. The 15.4-inch E6500 and 14.1-inch E6400 models will replace Dell's D830 and D630 whereas the "essential" 15.4-inch E5500 and and 14.1-inch E5400 carry on the low-end tradition of Dell's D531 and D530. With any luck, these will be Dell's first Montevina / Centrino 2 class machines if they all hit the targeted June release date as planned. AMD fans will see the E5500a and E5400a configurations at about the same time. So what can you expect under the hood? Well, just look at the 5.1-pound E6500 which reads like a suit's, geek fantasy:

* UWB, Bluetooth 2.1, mobile broadband
* Integrated GPS, yes GPS
* New 84WHr slice batteries for "all day" computing
* LED backlighting, 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution, discrete nVIDIA graphics and DisplayPort out
* Hard, Hybrid, and Solid State disk drive options with eSATA jack for more
* Optional camera and mic
* Plenty of security options including contact-less smart cards and encrypted hard disks

Vertu Constellation, now in Mixed Metal flavor

Stainless steel, gold -- how is one exceptionally well-to-do individual to decide? Now one doesn't have to, all thanks to Vertu's Mixed Metal edition of the Constellation. While lacking the 3G data of its Ascent Ti cousin, the Constellation at least has the common decency to rock four bands of GSM reception plus EDGE data, giving users at least a fleeting hope of exploiting the phone's customized version of S40 to its fullest. Then again, virtually anyone within Vertu's target demo couldn't care less about the radio or the operating system; in this rarified air, it's all about the preciousness of the metals, and this particular version of the Constellation seems to deliver by mixing in gold accents (real gold, naturally) with the stainless steel theme. Interested parties should tap their Swiss accounts or prepare to sell their souls, firstborns, or some combination therewith.

Like the XV6800, but not: shots of Verizon's branded XV5800

We've been patiently waiting for a national US carrier to launch a version of HTC's Libra for nearly a year, and by golly, it looks like it might finally happen (and not in the hideous green Verizon was showing back in the day, either). The UTStarcom-sourced XV5800 lies somewhere between the Vox and the S730; although it shares 3G functionality with the S730, it's from the same vintage as the Vox (its GSM cousin) and has launched on a number of carriers. No word on a price or release date just yet, but it'd be a nice Festivus gift if we got 'er before the end of the year, yeah?

Toshiba's 815T PB on Softbank threatens humanity

We kind of wish this was fake -- and we're tentatively overjoyed that it's not -- but we can't help but feeling a little freaked at the Toshiba 815T PB on Softbank, developed to coincide with a new show featuring (you guessed it) robo-phones called Ketai Sousakan 7. Yeah yeah, QVGA, 3G, 3.2 megapixel camera, that's all well and good, but our latent fear of cellphone brain cancer kind of just went out the window.

Sharp W61SH

Shield your eyes if it pains you to see the incredible kit customers of Japanese carrier KDDI au are entitled to, because we've got another doozy in the mix here. The rather wildly colored W61SH is yet another phone bearing Sharp's AQUOS branding to call out the emphasis on display goodness, featuring a 2.8 inch display with a 2000:1 contrast ratio -- perfect for all that one-seg mobile TV you'll be enjoying. Grab it in black, white, or our favorite, hot pink.

Gold looks without gold prices: Sagem's my220x

Squint a little, and you might think this is a two or three hundred dollar handset. Then you unsquint, see the Sagem logo, and say, "ahh, nevermind." No offense to Sagem, either; we think they make some decent looking phones -- not that we'd really know how they work here in the US -- but let's be honest, their specialty lies on the low end of the spectrum. The my220x candybar was released a few weeks back across the pond and appears to be making quite a splash on account of its tastefully applied gold accents and exceptionally low price. It's being sold for £14.99 (about $30) or less in retail outlets -- an aggressive price, yes, but without even a VGA camera to its name, just be forewarned that the gold trim is the fanciest feature of this simple candybar.

Pearl 8100, original RAZR on their way out of AT&T stores?

Grab your Kleenex, folks, because we've heard today that a couple of seemingly timeless pillars in AT&T's lineup might be breathing their last few breaths of in-store air. First up, the Pearl 8100 is due for replacement on all the networks that still offer it, with the 8110 and 8120 models taking their place depending on individual carriers' dispositions toward WiFi, and we're hearing that AT&T will be phasing out the older units this month in preparation for an April launch of the GPS-equipped 8110.

Next -- and here's a shocker -- rumor has it that AT&T is also starting to close the door on the original Motorola RAZR V3. Not to worry; naturally, you'll still be able to get those great circa-2004 looks by picking up a V3xx, but the old-skool units appear to be on the verge of overstaying their welcome. Frankly, the writing's been on the wall there for a year, if not longer, so we're not sure that this is much more than a formality. We'll keep you updated on this one as soon as we here more.

Sprint launches entry-level Sanyo S1

From Sprint's roadmap to the FCC to a Radio Shack shelf near you, Sprint has decided to launch the entry-level Sanyo S1 right on time. Equipped with nothing more than a dual-band CDMA radio, speaker phone, and Bluetooth 2.0, it leaves much to be desired for all but the most basic tastes. You can catch the uber-thin candybar at Radio Shack now $220 full retail, $95 on a one year, or free after a two year contract.

Pantech's curvy SKY IM-S300

In its domestic Korean market, the IM-S300 slider from Pantech's SKY division is apparently being touted as the "Romantic Wave," and we guess we're hard pressed to disagree. The wavy buttons front and center look really cool -- usability aside, of course -- though the 1.3 megapixel cam leads us to believe that physical design is where the high-endedness ends on this one. If you happen to be around Seoul, grab it for something in the range of 400,000 won (about $430) in black or white (with pink accents, no less).

NTT DoCoMo rolls out high res Panasonic P905i Viera phone

Last we saw Panasonic's P905i handset it was bunched in between a slew of other phones NTT DoCoMo was touting, but now that the phone is finally on sale it's getting the spotlight to itself for a little while. In case you missed it, the real stand-out feature on this one is the phone's Viera image processing and 3.5 inch, 854 x 480 screen, which should get put to good use thanks to the ample supply of PMP features including, of course, a 1seg TV tuner. Otherwise you can expect the usual 3G capabilities, along with a 2 megapixel camera, 1GB of built-in memory, and support for theDCMX iD mobile banking service. No word on a price just yet, but you can probably guess if it's in your budget or not.

Palm emulated on the iPhone: finally we can leave that IIIc at home

StyleTap, the folks behind the CrossPlatform Palm emulator for Windows Mobile have built a proof of concept version of the software for the iPhone / iPod touch. They're not committing to releasing any such product, and aren't releasing the software as a beta or anything like that at the moment, but the video demo of the software in action is certainly promising. All the apps are rather responsive, the device benchmarks a good bit faster than the Tungsten | T, and Apple's keyboard is even integrated into the proceedings quite nicely. Video is after the break.

NEC develops real-time Japanese-to-English mobile translation software

We've already seen the idea of data-to-voice translation passed around, but NEC's latest software is far beyond the drawing board. Reportedly, the firm has developed a system that can understand around 50,000 Japanese words and translate them to English text on the mobile's display in just a second or two. The software was made compact enough to "operate on a small microchip mounted in a cellphone," and was designed especially to help users convert common travel phrases. Notably, it would be technically possible to make the English translation vocal, but according to NEC spokesman Mitsumasa Fukumoto, the firm isn't looking into that possibility at the moment. No word on when we'd see this technology hit the masses, nor if any other language combinations were in the works, but this would certainly make touring English-speaking locales a lot less strenuous for Japanese speakers.

LG VX9700

Can't leave the comforts of your speedy, reliable network, but aren't ready to carry the brick-like Voyager to appease that touchscreen hankering? Verizon might finally have a solution with the LG VX9700, which just passed the FCC. The above leaked image of the phone shows it to be similar to LG's Prada phone, but apparently there's no designer branding to be had here -- just like AT&T's upcoming Prada-inspired LG Vu. Other than that, erm, innovative menu, rumored infos include a 3.2 megapixel camera, micro USB, microSDHC, and an on-screen QWERTY keyboard for text input. Word is the phone was slated for the end of the month, but now might be delayed until April. We suppose we'll be finding out soon enough.

Verizon launches Kyocera KPC680 EV-DO Rev. A ExpressCard

Still waiting around to hop on the Rev. A highway? Although last week would've been a swell time to do so, now's not too bad either, and Verizon Wireless customers have yet another option at their fingertips. The Kyocera KPC680 ExpressCard is available now for anyone interested, and enables BroadbandAccess users to reach average download speeds of 600kbps to 1.4Mbps and upload speeds that range from 500kbps to 800kbps when situated in a Rev. A area. Additionally, this thing sports a "breakthrough" (ahem) antenna design that "moves the antenna away from the device as it is opened, providing greater sensitivity, dual external antenna ports for signal flexibility and a compact form factor." Get yours now for just $49.99 after a mail-in rebate and throwing your John Hancock on a two-year agreement.

HP iPAQ 610 series soldiers on outside US

So apparently HP just has a very special form of hatred for its native soil, because that iPAQ 610 series with that nifty touch sensitive scroll wheel embedded in the keypad now appears to be canceled only in the US. This bittersweet news comes courtesy of British retailer Devicewire, which reports that it'll have examples of the iPAQ 614 available to its customers as soon as next Monday for the princely sum of £389.99 (about $765). That's fine, though, HP, whatever. We didn't want your stupid iPAQ anyway.

Acer snaps up Glofiish-maker E-Ten for $290 million

It's barely been a month since Acer dropped a big chunk of cash to buy up 75% of Packard Bell, but it looks like the company still had plenty of money left to throw around, as it's now parted with a hefty $290 million to buy up 100% of Glofiish smartphone-maker E-Ten. According to Acer itself, the boards of both E-Ten and Acer approved the deal unanimously, and they expect the acquisition to close sometime during the third quarter of this year. Any other details, however, are expectedly light, including any word on how future devices would be branded, with Acer chairmen J.T. Wang only saying that the "acquisition of E-TEN increases Acer's global footprint by giving us a strong and highly credible presence in the mobility segment." No word on any future moves by Acer just yet but, given its recent spending spree, we wouldn't be surprised if it tried to expand that "global footprint" even further.

Verizon Wireless introduce the Casio G'zOne Type-S

OK, Friday's caketaker for silliest name in a leading handset has been awarded to Verizon and Casio for the teen racer-esque named G'zOne Type-S; after all, this isn't a car, it's a mobile phone. The second in the G'zOne line from Verizon, the new and improved Type-S (aside from being much, much, faster from 0 - 60, we hear) also brings an internal antenna -- this is key to a nice looking set in our humble opinion -- Bluetooth, a VGA cam, and VZ Navigator, but sadly lacks the rumored expandable memory. The G'zOne can stand up to some pretty extreme "Military-grade" punishment and is tested as such with repeated drops from five feet, humidity tests, submerged in water, and even dust testing. This rugged fella drops in Verizon stores today (unless your local store started selling them way, way early, which we'd been hearing) and can be had for $149 after $50 rebate on a 2-year term.

BenQ Siemens' crazy SL98

Remember this little gem? We're pretty sure the SL98 "reverse slider" went the same way as BenQ Siemens itself -- south, that is -- but there's been at least one more chance here to get in on one of the world's most bizarre form factors. eBay's German outpost recently turned up a listing for an SL98 prototype with a 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, microSD slot, and QVGA display -- and while we don't know if we trust the mechanism to work flawlessly on some funky early hand-built handset, how the heck else are you going to get one? Sadly, the auction has already ended -- but maybe, if you're really lucky, the buyer will relist with a premium tacked on.

ASUS P320 breaks cover at CeBIT

Alongside decidedly flashier announcements, ASUS has also chosen CeBIT to debut its diminutive, modestly-specced P320, a Windows Mobile 6 Professional piece sans 3G that we first spied last month. It's not going to turn any heads, but hey, that's what the ZX1's all about; the P320 is really here to get down in the trenches, get dirty, and get some work done, all while making sure it doesn't dwarf the hand it's in. We'd prefer, oh, any other color besides flesh tone, but thanks to a positively miniature 99 x 55 x 13.35mm outline, 2 megapixel camera, and WiFi, we might just be willing to overlook it. What's more, there's no mention of GPS on the spec sheet, but we're going to venture a guess the necessary circuitry is on board thanks to a side button conveniently labeled -- you guessed it -- "GPS." Check more pictures after the break, or just hold out for a release whenever ASUS gets around to it. Your call.

Ireland and Austria get iPhones, and the shaft

As we expected, Apple just loosed the iPhone into Ireland and Austria. €399 nabs the 8GB model while €499 takes the 16GB unit home. T-Mobile has the honors for Austria as it does in Germany while O2 carries the flag in Ireland as it does in the UK. Interestingly, Irish subscribers are not entitled to Visual Voicemail or free WiFi even though they are offered by O2 UK -- neither country offers an unlimited data plan. Tsk tsk. Regardless, early adopters from those countries already had their unlocked iPhones months ago which makes the launch just a formality at this point.

LG enV2, Motorola W755 in glorious detail

For any enV owners out there who managed to not splurge on a Voyager, it looks like you could end up being rewarded here something fierce. Verizon's true enV replacement, the VX9100, has now found its way into some glamorous press shots -- and while we're sure that reaction's going to be mixed, we're really digging the super-simple candybar appearance when the QWERTY clamshell is in its upright and locked position. Looks like it'll come in at least two colors to start -- black and maroon -- and we're also hearing that the name "enV2" is being tossed around in Verizon's documentation (surprise, surprise). Careful observers will note that the phone is sporting a USB port (either mini or micro, we're not sure) on the side, a promising sign that we'll finally be able to ditch those custom LG chargers in the not-too-distant future.

We also got hold of a portion of the Motorola W755's user guide -- nothing too inspiring, we suppose, but if there's one thing Verizon needs, it's another midrange flip. We kid, we kid.

Future N-Gage titles could utilize integrated GPS, camera

Truth be told, we could sort of see this one coming -- after all, why wouldn't N-Gage developers seek to use a handset's built-in functions to enhance gameplay? Nevertheless, the folks at Nok Nok were able to pick the brain of Will Shen, N-Gage Head of Production in North America, and found out quite a few tidbits about the future of the platform. Reportedly, Mr. Shen went so far as to confirm that it is "looking at creating games that harness the power of [a mobile's] built-in camera, GPS receiver and any relevant skill [that it] may possess that could help inspire and execute innovative games." Granted, location-based titles aren't anything new in the grand scheme of things, but Shen also noted that his team is looking to "focus on innovation" rather than "gimmick gaming." Marvelous -- now let's get this stuff rolled out en masse, shall we?

Motorola's Z6CX offers global roaming

Motorola's Z6 keeps losing features. No, seriously, hear us out: it all started out as the Z6tv, a decent slider with support for Verizon's MediaFLO-based VCAST TV. Fair enough, a solid consumer phone. Then Moto had to check the TV tuner at the door in exchange for GSM support to make the Z6c. That's all well and good, and we suppose you could argue that the Z6c didn't lose features -- it just traded them -- but here's a new one for you. The Z6cx unceremoniously ditches the 2 megapixel shooter in an effort to appease the very market the Z6c was designed to appeal to: world travelers who are probably spending at least part of their time in offices where cameras are frowned upon. Looks like the Z6cx can be had for the same $179.99 after contract on rebates as its more photo-friendly sibling, so don't expect any discounts there.

LG Viewty

As nice of a phone as the LG Viewty may be, it gets a little boring in black after a while. Then, another little while after that, it gets boring in silver. It's cool, though, because LG's just released a pink version for its domestic market -- and it can keep doing this all day, if you catch our drift. The company is throwing around the term "Pink Beauty" for this particular version (which seems both appropriate and a little disturbing at the same time) and is targeting it squarely at the fairer sex. A little presumptuous, perhaps? Look for it to start selling tomorrow for 730,000 won (about $752).

BlackBerry Pearl 8120

Suddenly, our Pearl 8100s are looking just a little long in the tooth. AT&T rather unexpectedly pulled out all the stops today to rush its 8100 replacement to market today ahead of schedule, offering several enhancements that Sprint and Verizon customers have been enjoying on their 8130s for a few months now: an externally accessible microSD slot, 3.5mm headphone jack, and a refreshed 2 megapixel camera, for starters, but more shockingly, WiFi instead of the GPS found on the 8110 and 8130. The 8120 is available to businessfolk starting today and will run you a shiny new pair of Franklins out the door on contract.

Mixmeister Scratch brings scratching to the iPhone, vinyl still cooler

Among the items on the miles-long list of things made better (or at least more interesting) with a capacitive touchscreen, virtual vinyl scratching and beat juggling has to be somewhere on there. Physical records have a certain sexiness that'll carry on for many years to come, but you've gotta admit that there's an appeal to whipping out a couple iPhones (or iPod touches, if that's how you roll), plugging them in, and having an instant set of turntables at your disposal. We're not quite there yet, but MixMeister has taken the first step with a rudimentary scratch app that comes with a set of funky fresh samples and will also work with any music already loaded on your device. It's not released yet, but it looks like when it is, it'll work with all firmware versions -- jailbroken ones, we presume. Follow the break for a video demo.

General Mobile's DST3G does two SIMs the 3G way

It's not the prettiest thing we've ever seen, but like several of mysterious manufacturer General Mobile's models, the DST3G candybar supports exactly twice as many SIM cards as your average handset. The whole dual SIM thing is kinda played out at this point, though, so what other ace can you pull out of your sleeve to separate yourself from the crowd? For the DST3G, that ace just happens to be support for UMTS 900 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 (in addition to GSM with EDGE on 900 / 1800 / 1900), making it a world 3G traveler. Quadband 3G phones are rare enough as it is, but the dual SIM capability on top of that is just about unprecedented. Other goodies include a 2 megapixel camera, microSD slot, and QVGA display; look for it next month for a to-be-announced price.

Sony Ericsson W700

This isn't your typical Keepin' it real fake, normally these things are about impressing your friends and shocking your enemies, but not literally. The Sony Ericsson W700 clone Pretender 950,000V takes the concept a literal step further, as it isn't really a cell at all, it's a stun gun. Featuring a whopping 950,000 volts of juice, a two stage safety switch to prevent accidental discharge -- good thinking -- and even a 12 LED flashlight, and all for only $59. Cool idea for those living in dodgy places, but we'd like to see someone add an actual cell radio to this with remote discharge in the event it ever gets lifted from your person.

Asaki N95

It's just what you've been waiting for -- a Nokia N95 running Windows Mobile. It looks like the rumors were true after all! What's that? This is not a real phone? It's just an FM radio with a sticker on the screen? Oh bother. Yes folks, thanks to eagle-eyed tipster Eric, you're looking at the next evolution in gadgetry -- the Asaki N95 FM radio. We're not sure what the going price for this is, but we'd imagine slightly less than $779, though the real N95 doesn't come with those totally pimped-out headphones, does it?

Vodafone lining up the Samsung F490

Pocket-lint are reporting that Vodafone UK have confirmed they’ll be carrying the Samsung F490, the keyboard-free version of the F700v that’s already exclusive to the network. With HSDPA, a 3.2-inch 240 x 432 touchscreen and 5-megapixel camera with flash, the F490 has been hailed as a significant iPhone rival (although reviews have suggested it fares poorly in a comparison with the Apple handset’s multimedia, while the camera lacks the autofocus of other competitor, LG’s Viewty).

Vodafone Samsung F490

Nonetheless, Vodafone’s high-speed HSDPA network in the UK has been praised as one of the most comprehensive, and F490 users will undoubtedly put that 16:9 widescreen display to good use browsing the web and watching streaming media. The handset is just 11.8mm thick and has Bluetooth and haptic feedback, together with a microSD card slot to augment the 130MB of onboard memory. It’ll be the first touchscreen Samsung cellphone in the UK to feature the new, TouchWiz GUI.