Mobile Phone News

Filed under: Handsets, Sony Ericsson, Windows Mobile, HSDPA, UMTS

The lucky chaps over at Boy Genius Report have managed to get their hands all over Sony Ericsson’s latest and greatest — the hotly anticipated Xperia X1. Early word is that the 800 x 480 screen, optical joystick, and speedy HSDPA Dat. are all very welcome, but the keyboard (which looks like it would be a joy to type on) leaves a lot to be desired. Of course, the OS should come as no surprise, and they don’t seem to have any shots of Sony’s “panel interface,” so for at this time you’ll have to make do with some nice looks at the exteriors of the device. Hit the read link and check it out yourself.

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Filed under: Software, Sharp, T-Mobile, Danger

Boy Genius Report has published a laundry list of changes, additions, and fixes expected in the long-rumored OTA firmware update for the Sidekick LX, and if the list is even close to accurate, let’s just put it this way — we think it was worth the wait. Highlights include comprehensive video support, stereo Bluetooth, significant enhancements to the IM client, cross-application keyword search, and an integrated spell checker, among many other things. The site claims that the rollout will kick off on the 25th, and if past updates are any indication, it’ll take a little while for the goods to get pushed out in batches. Patience, friends — or barring that, be sure you have at least friend with an updated LX you can swipe come next week.

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Filed under: Handsets, GSM, CDMA, Apple

Last time we checked, the iPhone 3G was GSM through and through — four bands of GSM / EDGE plus three bands of UMTS / HSDPA, to be exact. So how precisely is it that an exclusively CDMA carrier, Jamaica’s MiPhone, could be carrying it? Even MiPhone’s international roaming agreements are all with CDMA carriers (Alltel, MetroPCS, Sprint, and Verizon in the States, for example) so it’s pretty freaking unclear how — or what — they plan to launch down there. We’ve cooked up a few possibilities for how this could play out:

• MiPhone has negotiated a roaming agreement with a GSM carrier in Jamaica. Doesn’t seem like there would be any way to profit from this arrangement, though, since iPhone customers would be roaming 100 percent of the time.
• They didn’t get the memo that “WCDMA” doesn’t mean “CDMA”. Just imagine the blushing execs!
• Unlocked iPhone 3Gs will clearly be offered through MiPhone stores for use on other networks.
• There’s a mysterious CDMA version of the iPhone waiting in the wings. Doubtful. Very, very doubtful.
• CDMA support secretly lurks inside each and every iPhone 3G. Again, doubtful.

We’re working to figure out what the heck is continue in this place; we’ll update you once we know.

[Thanks, L8on]

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