Handhelds

For some reason, we’re quite taken with the Peek email-only handheld, and Gadling’s followup review of the love-it-or-hate-it device mostly reinforces that positive impression. The squared-off, Ideo-designed unit did its one task admirably well, sending and receiving emails using T-Mobile’s network with only slight delay, and the OS is minimal and easy to use. Sure, at $99 and $20/mo it’s still way too expensive for the typical gadget nerd who’s already packing a phone data plan and maybe a data card as well, but if you’re trying to keep things on the prepaid tip or looking to get a Luddite friend or relative on the mobile email bandwagon, the Peek is certainly worth a second, uh, peek.

Now that Uncle Walt has gone and opened the floodgates, details are starting to pour in on Sprint’s imminent release of the Touch Diamond, a device that should actually manage to get the carrier damn close to the top of the Windows Mobile pile (for a short while, anyway). PC Magazine is now reporting that it’ll be available on September 14 for $249.99 on a two-year contract after $100 rebate, a sum that would put it squarely in the “average” category for on-contract smartphone pricing in these parts. Of course, with the Touch Pro allegedly just around the corner, it remains to be seen just how much love this thing is going to get; nothing like a good, old-fashioned QWERTY-versus-touchscreen fight, is there?

We’re not sure which part of “you can buy a new, larger battery from Sony to extend your gaming time” John Koller didn’t mean, but evidently we (read: the world) had it all wrong. In a recent posting from the Director, he “clarifies” things by asserting that “the new PSP will have equivalent battery life to the current PSP, about 4 to 6 hours for games and about 4 to 5 hours for UMD videos.” He continues on to affirm that the new, brighter and altogether lovelier display does suck down more power, but Sony’s dutiful engineers apparently managed to “reduce the power consumption of the overall system” in order to counteract that. At this point, we’ll just wait for real world battery tests before believing anything.

[Via Joystiq]

Screen grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today’s movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com.

Yeah, we know a Screen Grabs about a commercial about technology is kind of cheating, but there are a couple of gaffes to point out here. First, Mr. Smug Surfer-Do “I Was In A Band But We Split Up Over Creative Differences” Verizon FiOS Guy is a total jerk, so we’re totally rooting for the Zach Galifianakis look-alike, even if his bandwidth might suck. Second, waving a Kindle around might make you look like you rock at your job, but we’re guessing a paper clipboard is about 100 times more functional for the actual task, unless you’re supposed to read self-help books to your customers. Bitter cable users who can’t get FiOS yet unite!

[Thanks, Don R.]

Before a single AT&T-subscribing soul dreams of jumping ship for Sprint just to pick up the Touch Pro in a few weeks, hold up: we can pretty much confirm that it’s coming to your neck of the woods, too. We’ve already seen some totally legit-looking shots of HTC’s hottest QWERTY WinMo piece in AT&T trim, but now we have some more damning evidence in the form of a Google cached page detailing the so-called Fuze on the carrier’s own site. As expected, we’ve got tri-band HSDPA, GPS, WiFi, and BlackBerry Connect waiting for us when AT&T finally decides to pull the plug on the Tilt and make this thing happen. Follow the break for AT&T’s poetic Fuze verbiage — and take your time, since there’s no indication that we’ll have this in stores in the next few days.

[Thanks, Fred]

HTC FUZE™(touch screen)
HTC takes Windows Mobile® smartphone design to the next level with the introduction of the highly desirable and elegant HTC FUZE™. The multi faceted HTC FUZE™ is a 3G tri-band HSDPA Windows Mobile smartphone brought to you by AT&T, which allows you access to the world and to a world of features. Going on a trip? Whether it’s a spring break cruise to the islands or a business meeting in Hong Kong, AT&T has you covered with the HTC FUZE™. With the largest international footprint of any wireless provider and the powerful HTC FUZE™, only AT&T customers can make and receive calls in more than 200 countries and on 75 major cruise ships. The HTC FUZE™ for AT&T also offers e-mail and Web browsing capabilities in more than 145 countries. The world is your office with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional and the HTC FUZE™. Get full access to your Microsoft Outlook mailbox, contacts, calendar, notes, and tasks; edit Microsoft Office documents or view Adobe® PDF attachments; or take advantage of support for multiple email applications including Microsoft Direct Push, Good™ Mobile Messaging, and Blackberry® Connect™.

The HTC FUZE™ is a powerful smartphone that features a large VGA touch screen that includes HTC’s one touch single handed operation TouchFlo 3D user interface for quick access to most used phone features. The HTC FUZE™ includes an AT&T defined 5 row slide out / slide away keyboard for quick text entry and ultra fast messaging. The HTC FUZE™ is one of the most integrated wireless smartphone on the market today. The HTC FUZE™ keeps you connected with email, text and instant messaging, Internet access, personal organizer, video, satellite radio, and more-all at broadband speeds. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS navigation, and Push to Talk round out the robust feature package making the HTC FUZE™ your “ultimate mobile smartphone”.

Get to your destination quicker using voice-guided directions and real-time traffic information from AT&T Navigator. When work is done, relax with AT&T’s Cellular Video (CV) service. Browse the web using a browser like the one on your desktop – zoom in and zoom out. Catch up on the most recent news or enjoy the latest music videos, HBO Mobile®, or sports on ESPN®. Download hot, new music with AT&T Mobile Music or stream XM Satellite radio.

Whether you’re a mobile professional or a professional mobile user, the HTC FUZE™ is the “ultimate mobile smartphone” that allows you to be in charge of your life at work and at play -virtually wherever you go

So the good news here is that Best Buy’s getting ready to open its arms to yet another HTC product that’s impossible to find by wandering into the brick-and-mortar store of the US wireless carrier of your choice; the bad news, though, is that it doesn’t seem to be the version we wanted. The Touch Diamond now has a Coming Soon page all its own on Best Buy’s site, which is just fantastic considering that neither AT&T nor T-Mobile have yet bothered to pick it up — but the problem is that the specifications make no mention of US 3G despite the fact that we know there’s just such a version floating around. Our hope is that we’ve just caught the big box with its pants down (wouldn’t be the first time) and they’ll look into carrying the real deal by the time “coming soon” switches to “in stock,” especially since they’ve given the Touch Dual the same courtesy.

[Thanks, Mark]

Not quite sure what happened of late, but extra long lasting batteries are all the rage now. With netbook manufacturers offering up extended cells left and right, it’s only fair that Sharp toss out a Willcom D4 with a super longevous battery, too. The Willcom D4 Ver.L (L stands for Long, loony) reportedly arrives with a lovely CE-BL58 extended battery as a standard accessory, and while the resource-demanding Office application isn’t included, that helps keep the price at ¥97,700 ($901). A fair trade for the hardcore traveler, we suppose.

[Via Pocketables]

It’s always good news when some sort of Touch Pro garners approval from that lovable bureaucracy we call the FCC, but this one has an extra-special place in our hearts: we’re pretty sure it’s the Fuze. Digging a little deeper into the documentation for the HTC model with code “NM8RPLT” reveals that it’s a Raphael, and it sports HSUPA 850 / 1900 — and if that doesn’t dovetail nicely with what we’re expecting out of AT&T any day, week, month, or year now, we don’t know what does. So tell us, FCC, how are AT&T’s customizations to TouchFLO 3D? Tasteful? Annoying?

Like a fiery car crash across the center divide, we just can’t divert our attention from the antics of Gizmondo. Gizmondoforums, the self-described “home of the Gizmondo fanbase” (really, they have enough fans to create a base?) is carrying this quote from Rich Jenkins, who along with Carl Freer co-founded Media Power, the company now in charge of Gizmondo:

“We are excited about the potential of Android and have been working on an Android version of the Giz…Android would be a TERRIFIC addition to the Gizmondo and enable a TON of open source development.”

Originally, the Gizmondo 2.0 gaming console was expected said to be WinCE 6-based and scheduled for an end of 2008 release. While this Android talk makes it all a bit more interesting, it certainly doesn’t make it any more likely to happen.

Sony isn’t exactly going for subtle in the invitation to its upcoming event on October 2nd. In addition to that picture up above — which is decidedly bookish, if you ask us — the press event is being held in “Bookmarks Lounge” at the “Library Hotel” in NY. If that’s still too obscure for you, perhaps the “join Sony Electronics as we open a new chapter on digital reading” will tip you off. Yes, Sony did recently improve the Reader’s software to work with more booksellers, but the hardware of the PRS-505 itself is nearly a year old, and Sony has found itself decidedly out-Kindled. Our money’s on a new Reader, or barring that, some subtle, Sony-esque potshots at Amazon for having the nerve to show up late to the e-book party and swipe all the glory. Those jerks.