Dredging up memories of flopped rumors from days gone by, Michael Dell, the founder of the computer manufacturer that bears his namesake, has hinted at the possibility that Dell is entering the handset business. More specifically, Dell could be poised to take a swing at the smartphone segment that fellow computer-maker Apple has so successfully [...]

Raised Braille-bumps on handset keypads are good for dialing a phone number and other simple tasks, but it can be a little more demanding to tap out text messages or do anything more complex by feel alone. To help the blind get more out of their mobile phones, Nobuyuki Sasaki, a former Tsukuba University [...]

Add Samsung to the list of mobile phone manufacturers that are unwilling to buy Motorola's ailing handset division. Sony Ericsson doesn't want anything to do with it, LG is staying away, and now Samsung's announced that they don't want to take a bite of Motorola's profit-free concoction. Choi Gee-sung, head of Samsung's mobile phone unit, told [...]

Well, maybe. Following recent buy-out rumors , Nomura International analyst, Richard Windsor, issued a note to clients that Motorola could be considering dumping their mobile phone business to concentrate on evolving into an “enterprise and government company.” Windsor also speculated that Chinese investors might buy-out the troubled handset manufacturing once-giant. However, this end-game is “unlikely as those [Chinese] vendors don’t have much of an idea how to fix Motorola’s problems.” Is Motorola really in that much trouble that they’re seriously thinking about folding-up their handset division and redirecting resources to the enterprise and government business that got them started all those years ago? If the recent downturn in Motorola’s stock and their piss-poor financial statements are any indicator, they very well could be in a heap of trouble. It would be a shame if the company that revolutionized mobile phone design with the RAZR didn’t see it through to the next decade. Especially after garnering all that acclaim at CES 2008. Of course, this is all speculation. Motorola might do well to trim down its handset business and refocus on improving the user experience. As they stand, Motorola has a huge lineup of mobile phones, and most of them suck from a UI perspective. Hey Moto, refocus your resources on making phones that are more intuitive rather than spending them on producing a huge range of products. You know what they say - “when the going gets tough, the tough concentrate on making more intuitive handset.” At least that’s how we think it goes. [Via: MarketWatch ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:Motorola Gets 'Higher' Than Anyone Else - Phone Call From Top Of EverestMotorola updates MC70 EDA with GPSMotorola's MC35 Has More Brain Than BeautyIs This The Motorola LAZR?Motorola Announces Moto Q Amp'd Edition

How many times have you unknowingly jumped in the pool (drunk, or not) with your cellphone in your pocket? We all know how well that works out. Oh, and toilets are notorious for claiming mobile phone lives , too (and, if you do dunk your phone, this might save it ). Don’t ask us how we know. Anyway, waterproof mobile phones may be the next big thing. P2i’s Ion-Mask coating technology turns any run-of-the-mill mobile phone into hydro-adventurer. While it may not enable you to go for extended dives with a cellphone in your pocket, the P2i Ion-Mask coating will endow your handset with the power to survive casual encounters with water. The Ion-Mask technology is based on research from the Defence Science and Technology Lab in England, and uses a special chemical that bonds to your cellphone’s (or other gadget’s) internals - repelling water off the actual electrical bits and pieces, rather than relying on seals or external cases to keep the water out of the inside of phone. We’re hearing that three top-tier handset manufacturers are already in talks to bring the technology to future mobile phones. All mobile phones should come standard with at least a passing level of water resistance. We don’t all need a handset that will go swimming with us, but it would be nice if the occasional toilet-drop didn’t drown your handset into oblivion. [Via: Telegraph ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:Bone conduction headphonesNew, Cheaper, Longer-Lasting Batteries on the wayNokia working on diamond-like coating for mobile devicesSamsung P318+ - official phone of the Gold Olympic GamesT-mobile Wing Flying In To Replace MDA?

Not that we don’t love the random doo-hickeys that The Sharper Image stores and catalogues try to sell us - ionic air purifiers, chair massagers, and alarm clocks are cool and all, but they don’t exactly hit the top of our “must-have” gadget-list. Still, TSI does very well for themselves by convincing a lot of people that the ionic air purifier is a $400 necessity for any truly “modern” home. And, as such, the crap-boutique has started to offer, of all things, mobile phones. These Chinese-sourced, generic handsets range from barely acceptable to downright nasty - with three out of four handsets proudly showing off their “The Sharper Image” branding. First up, we have the AMOI N810 Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional smartphone. The AMOI N810 is the most powerful handset in TSI’s lineup, and boasts a 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, touchscreen (it’s a “Professional” WinMo device, after all), and an integrated GPS receiver. Unfortunately, the powerhouse of TSI’s mobile phone stable (branded as the Sharper Image 101TSI ) is a lowly tri-band jobby with a GPRS data connection - a bit disappointing, given its $499.95 price-point. Then there’s the LG Chocolate rip-off (as only the Chinese knock-off market can do). Like the original Chocolate, the TSI-branded Sharper Image 005TSI is a music-oriented handset with a sleek, shiny black finish and touch-sensitive music control on its face. Unlike the Chocolate, however, the 005TSi rocks a touchscreen display in lieu of the slide-out keypad. And, with a 1.3 megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, and microSD card slot, this $299.95 is TSI’s most worthy cellphone offering. Rounding out the bottom of this barrel, we see the Sharper Image 008TSI black slider that should never have been, and the 007TSI super-generic silver flip-phone. Neither handset will be giving any mainstream offering a run for their money - with little more than a VGA camera, pitling little display, and some expandable memory storage (via microSD), the 008TSI and 007TSI redefine “low-end.” The Sharper Image 008TSI will run you $249.95, while the Sharper image 007TSI costs just $169.95. The Sharper Image is emphasizing the “unlocked” status of all their branded handsets, hoping to lure those not “in the know” into getting a device that’s capable of working on almost any GSM network. It’s just too bad these mostly disappointing handsets are, well, so disappointing. Who wants a handset with  “The Sharper Image” plastered in bold, white font on the front-face? Anyone? [Via: Engadget Mobile ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:World Poker Tour cellphones by Sony EricssonLG Chocolate shipments hit 10 Million!Gizmodo's number one tag of 2006 was CellphonesCarphone Warehouse sold 11,000 iPhone over the weekendIt's official - Apple has sold 1 million iPhones

Did Verizon Wireless jump on the Android-fueled bandwagon that is the Open Handset Alliance ( OHA ) while we weren’t looking? Well, we can’t find any official sources that would confirm Verizon’s membership as part of the OHA - but Gene Munster, a Piper Jaffray analyst recently released a note to clients that mentioned Verizon as being a member of the OHA. Now, we’re not sure if Mr. Munster was just a bit confused - which isn’t all that unlikely, seeing as how Verizon’s recently announced plan to open their network to “ any app, any device ” in 2008 vibes pretty closely with the Android-supporting OHA’s open-platform mantra. On the other hand, Munster could be privy to insider information about Verizon’s intention to join the OHA. It would make sense for Verizon to join the OHA - as we speculated might happen - seeing as how their new network policy isn’t more than a philosophical stone’s throw from the OHA’s own guidelines. And, the move would make even more sense with Sprint and T-Mobile’s membership and AT&T consideration in joining the alliance. We can’t imagine that Verizon would remain an OHA outlier if AT&T decides to make the jump and hop on-board the alliance - conversely, if Verizon decides to join the OHA, it’s more than likely that Verizon would follow suit. Can any US carrier expect to stay competitive as the singular non-OHA compliant wireless operator? Highly doubtful. Come and join the party, guys, everyone’s doing it . [Via: Apple Insider ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:AT&T considering joining the Google Open Handset AllianceVerizon set to open its network to 'any app, any device' in 2008Verizon XV6800 available for online/phone ordersVerizon Wireless Coupe - an entry level handsetGoogle announces open mobile OS Android and Open Handset Alliance

Samsung’s going after the Asian cash-cow that is the Indian wireless market by releasing the CDMA Samsung Max as an open-market mobile phone offering. Hyundai Kim, Vice President and Head of the CDMA Division at Samsung Telecommunications India Pvt. Ltd., said, “We expect to fuel the growth of the Indian CDMA industry through the launch Samsung Max in the open market. Fully feature loaded Samsung Max is launched to serve the Multimedia needs of the CDMA consumer. The availability of CDMA phones in the open market will provide Indian consumers freedom to choose network operator’s of their choice.” The Samsung Max will be bringing a 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, R-UIM card support, expandable memory, FM radio, voice recorder, MP3 player, and a 1.9-inch display to Tata Indicom and Reliance Mobile subscribers. Customers will be able to choose either CDMA carrier as their wireless provider - such is the beauty of an open-market phone. Indians in Delhi and Mumbai can get their hands on the Samsung Max for Rs. 7,500, with several other large cities expected to get the handset by December 2007. [Via: JustAMP ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:Nokia owns 79% of the GSM market share in IndiaSamsung F700 coming to Verizon?T-Mobile launches Samsung T639 3G handset. T-Mobile 3G network to go live soon?Samsung C210 ultra-thin "Ultra 5.9" offically launchesT-Mobile launches Samsung T539 Beat

We’re glad to see Motorola starting to claw their way back to their days as a leader in the mobile industry. Moto just secured a significant portion of the top ten 3G handsets sold in the US this past Q3 2007, and they’re not going to just sit back and bask (which is the mistake they made with their initial successes in the Moto RAZR V3) in their achievements. Motorola has announced that they’ll be running a blitz on the mobile space by pushing some 20-30 handsets onto the market in 2008. While Motorola sits pretty as the 3rd largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world, their stance in Taiwan only measures up to a ho-hum 4th place. Motorola is gunning for the top-spot in the Taiwanese market with this new handset blitz. Bill Chen, newly appointed general manager of mobile device business at Motorola Taiwan, said that “In the coming year, Motorola will also stress strengthening its relations with channel partners in Taiwan and to pursue a balance between sales volume and profitability while gearing up efforts to boost performance.” If you’re looking forward to Motorola’s Android -based handsets, you might want to make yourself comfortable - as there’s no set timetable for the release of Moto’s new OHA -compliant handset. But, with about two handsets launching every month, Taiwan is going to get their fill of non-Android Motorola mobile phones. [Via: DigiTimes ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:Microsoft goes for 20 million Windows Mobile licenses next yearBrief: Sprint's Motorola Q2 with Palm OS - for sure not going to happenMotorola launches Motorola RAZR2 V8 "Luxury Edition"Motorola embraces Mobile Linux with new MOTOMAGX platformMotorola Cuts 4,000 More Jobs in Latest Cost-Cutting Attempt

The hype and hoopla surrounding Google’s entry into the mobile space has fizzled out somewhat. Google’s Open Handset Alliance (OHA) announcement was huge, there’s no doubt about that - but as far as staying power, that announcement has already hit the back-burner. AT&T is looking to fire up the hype-machine again with AT&T wireless chief Ralph de la Vega’s announcement that Big Blue is considering joining the Android-supporting OHA. AT&T’s entry into the OHA would mark the carrier’s intention to sell handsets with the Linux-based Android mobile OS. If AT&T were to join the OHA, smaller carriers like Sprint and T-Mobile USA could get shafted out of their open-handset advantage. Larger carriers like Verizon and AT&T are notorious for locking down their handsets to only run code sanctioned by the carrier - Sprint and T-Mobile’s participation in the OHA would have given them an edge against the larger incumbents by offering innovative handsets to their subscriber-base. But, if AT&T ships Android-based handsets, we could see an even larger gap between the top US carriers and smaller (relatively) outfits like Sprint, and T-Mobile. [Via: Electronista] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:Brief: Confirmed: Nokia in discussions with Google about Android, no decision has been made yetGoogle announces open mobile OS Android and Open Handset AllianceDetails on Google "Dream" Phone - could it be the HTC Omni?Nokia open to joining the Open Handset Alliance if it proves beneficialSymbian answers to Android threat: We've heard [...]