LG today introduced their first Android-based smartphone that will be available in the fourth quarter of this year in selected European markets. The announcement of LG’s first Android-powered smartphone comes only a week after the company announced that it would be introducing three new Windows Mobile smartphones in the next few weeks. Previously known as “Etna”, the LG GW620 is a QWERTY-slider that has a 3-inch touchscreen display with a 5-megapixel autofocus camera, Wi-Fi and GPS. Sadly, there is no info on when this handset will be available in the US market. We will keep you posted. [LG via Upcoming Cell Phones]
The Nokia Twist (model 7705) is a square-shaped phone that comes jam packed with a swivel-out QWERTY keyboard. As a Verizon phone, the Twist provides you access to V Cast music and video. The handset also supports visual voice mail. Additional features include a full HTML browser, a 3MP camera, and a “post to blogs” function for easy uploading of your media to the internet. The phone retails for $100 after a $50 mail-in rebate. [Nokia via Upcoming Cell Phones]
Still remember the LG BL40 Touch Chocolate that we mentioned back in July? South Korean cell phone maker LG Electronics has officially confirmed that LG Chocolate LG-BL40 would become available for purchase on the European market starting mid-September 2009. The handset delivers a 4-inch wide screen with a 21:9 aspect ratio, support for 7.2 HSDPA for fast Internet browsing with the elimination of side scrolling due to the wider screen, a panoramic multimedia experience, the Dual Screen UI (shows two types of content at the same time), simplified touchscreen navigation, one-touch copy and paste, a wide range of personalization options through wallpapers, themes and ringtones, a slim shape with glossy black finish, as well as a smooth, elegant surface provided by the curved scratch-resistant glass encasing the device. [Akihabara via Upcoming Cell Phones]
The Russian luxury cell phone manufacturer Gresso has recently announced the release of a new collection dubbed Gresso Grand Monaco. Inspired by the F1 racing, the Gresso Grand Monaco phones is made from “titanium superalloy” with a high-tech ceramic and carbon. Other materials include steel and hand-polished 42 K sapphire crystal. Available in “Metallic Ceramic Black Carbon” and “Metallic Ceramic Black Carbon”, the phone also boasts flat keypads and supports GSM/GPRS/EDGE connectivity, a 2MP camera, Bluetooth, e-mail and “an outstanding menu design”. The Gresso Grand Monaco is priced at $2,100 a pop. You can purchase this luxurious handset via Gresso’s official website. [Gresso via Upcoming Cell Phones]
AT&T has joined once again with Nokia to release the Nokia Surge, an entry-level S60 handset with slide-out QWERTY keyboard and 3G connectivity. The phone comes jam packed with a 2.4-inch (240 x 320) LCD display, a 2MP digital camera, A-GPS with AT&T Navigator support, and AT&T Video Share for video calls. In addition, the phone also supports a full messaging suite, including IM, SMS, MMS and email. Its JuiceCaster feature allows you to upload and share pictures and videos from the handset to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr. The browser has Flash support for streaming video, and various mobile music download options such as Napster, eMusic and XM Radio.
The Nokia Surge will be available on AT&T from July 19th, 2009 for $79.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate. It will require a two-year agreement on both a voice plan (minimum $39.99) and data plan (minimum $30), which adds up to $1,759.75 over the course of the contract. More
Sony Ericsson’s upcoming “Kiki” has been unveiled. The phone features a unique transparent glasslike display that allows images projected on it can be viewed from both sides of the handset. The cell phone also has a smooth surface keypad on the front, where the numbers should appear only when the phone is turned on. There is no further info about this handset. We will keep you posted. [Mobil.nu via Upcoming Cell Phones]
Samsung has released not one but four new handsets from its mid-range phones series, which is dubbed as the Samsung S6700, C5510, M2510 and M2310. The M2310 comes with only a poor VGA camera and the M2510 features a 1.3MP camera. Both of these handsets have dedicated music controls. The Samsung C5510 is a dual band 3G handset that comes equipped with a 2MP camera with fixed focus, and a 16GB of storage capacity. The Samsung S6700 is a slider with HSDPA, GPS, a 3MP camera with auto-focus and dual LED flash, and 120MB of storage space. No word on pricing so far. [Samsung via Upcoming Cell Phones]
National Geographic and Cellular Abroad have collaborated to launch a new dual SIM handset which is dubbed as the National Geographic Duet Travel Phone (model name D888). The handset features a National Geographic pay-as-you-go SIM card that allows you make affordable calls from no less than 185 countries, and receive free calls in over 80 countries. The phone also supports a secondary SIM card of your choice. Sadly, this Tri-band GSM (900/1800/1900 MHz) phone lacks of 3G support. Other features include a 2.8-inch QVGA display, a mobile TV, Bluetooth, an FM radio, a VGA camera with video recording, a 1GB MicroSD card, and a pre-loaded National Geographic content (ringtones, videos, wallpapers). The National Geographic Duet Travel Phone is now available at Cellular Abroad, Amazon, Expansys USA and various other retailers for around $199. [UnWiredView via Upcoming Cell Phones]
The HTC Touch Diamond2 will be released in Taiwan sometime later this month. HTC offers this new handset for a hefty $650 (after conversion) with an 8GB microSDHC memory card. There is no info on whether the HTC Touch Diamond2 will make its way Stateside or not. [BoyGenius via Upcoming Cell Phones]
The MOTORAZR2 V9 Ferrari Special Edition was made using a combination of plastic, metal and glass with a gloss black finish that attracts plenty of fingerprints. Priced at $384, the handset will be available in Malaysia. According to its characteristics phone practically no different from the normal version of the phone. The MOTORAZR2 V9 Ferrari also features special edition Ferrari screensavers, wallpapers and ringtones. [Newlaunches via Upcoming Cell Phones]
