Both the Xperia arc S and the Xperia neo V come loaded with Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread and they’re initially being sold through Sony Store locations across the country. Some time next month, they’ll also pop up at other retailers and e-tailers, including Newegg and Amazon.

The cheaper of the two is the Xperia neo V. It has a 3.7-inch display, 5MP rear camera, a front-facing videocall camera, your choice of three colors, HDMI-out, and the 3D sweep panorama technology. All this is wrapped up in a $349.99 package. The Xperia arc S also does the 3D sweep thing, but it bumps up to 4.2-inch “Reality” display with Mobile BRAVIA, as well as an 8MP camera with Exmor R, a 1.4GHz processor, and your choice of four colors. That carries an MSRP of $549.99.

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These days, companies are battling in the smartphone arena with faster processors, sleek designs, and more robust apps. Cameras sensors are also seeing a lot of upgrades, and that’s about to get a bit more competitive by the people at Panasonic. Apparently, they’ve got a 13.2MP Lumix phone in the works.

We already know about the Lumix brand when it comes to Panasonic digital cameras, but this is the first time they’re using it in the cell phone realm. It’s kind of like the whole Cyber-shot thing going on with Sony. I don’t think it’ll push more phones into the hands of consumers, but it probably won’t hurt either.

Beyond the 13.2-megapixel CMOS sensor, the upcoming Lumix camera phone is rumored to get a 3.3-inch LCD, 17.7mm profile (definitely thicker than most thin phones these days), and room for “its expanding imaging equipment.” Does that mean they’ll have additional lens, adapters, and other accessories for this thing like how they would for a real camera? Panasonic traditionally uses Leica lenses, could it be a Leica lens toting smartphone? The site also mentions a “folding mechanism” which means its going to be a clamshell.

[Engadget via Panasonic Japan, Lumix Phone]

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As you may recall, Rogers announced that it would be carrying this phone earlier this month and now the slick slider is ready to hit store shelves. You get that crazy 8-megapixel Carl Zeiss camera, integrated flash, and all the smartphone functionality you’d expect from an N-series Nokia.

Rounding out the specs are the 8GB of internal memory, built-in GPS, integrated Wi-Fi connectivity, 3G data speeds, and dual-slide form factor. If you don’t really want a touchscreen or a hardware QWERTY keyboard, the N86 could be just the ticket.

Find it at your favorite Rogers outlet for $99.99 with a qualifying three-year service agreement. Choose to go without a contract and it’ll run you $499.99.

Source: Rogers

The post Rogers Starts Selling Nokia N86 8MP Camera Phone appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

It’s not like this announcement came out of left field. Early last week, we caught a leak about some ultimate webphones from Rogers and now this is coming to fruition. The best part is that the Nokia N86 is going to be really affordable too.

Easily the single-biggest selling feature on this slider phone is the inclusion of the 8-megapixel camera. That looks like one truly outstanding camera, but since this is an N-series handset, you get all of that smartphone functionality too. YOu don’t get a touchscreen or a QWERTY keyboard, though, so typing might be a bit of a struggle.

There’s no specific word as to when Rogers Wireless will start selling the Nokia N86, but they do mention a $99.99 contract price and a release date in time for the holidays.

Source: Intomobile

The post Rogers Wireless Announces Camera-Happy Nokia N86 appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Also known as the SCH-W880, the AMOLED 12M looks a lot more like a standalone digital camera than it does a cell phone. For example, the camera barrel actually extends out of the body to provide you with true 3x optical zoom.

You’ll also notice the very camera-centric jog dial on the side (or top, depending on your perspective) for switching between the different shooting modes. This really is like a real camera. It can even shoot 720p at 30fps. The AMOLED 12M also offers Touch Auto-Focus for selective focus via the touchscreen display.

Rounding out the specs are WCDMA 2100, a 3.3-inch WVGA AMOLED screen, xenon flash, T-DMB mobile TV, Bluetooth 2.0, 4GB internal memory, microSD expansion, and a 1,100 mAh battery. Look for the Samsung SCH-W880 in Korea in mid-October.

Source: Slashphone

The post Samsung AMOLED 12M is More Camera than Phone appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Easily the most notable feature on this handset is the 12.1-megapixel camera embedded into the rear. This has to be one of the highest resolution cameras to ever get integrated into a mobile phone. This isn’t anything to sneeze at either, since it comes with autofocus, xenon flash, and 12x digital zoom. Thankfully, there’s a sliding lens cover too.

In regards to the non-camera features on the Sony Ericsson Satio, you find a huge 3.5-inch 16:9 wide aspect touchscreen display (640 x 360 pixel), 128MB of internal memory, microSDHC expansion, FM radio with RDS, aGPS with turn-by-turn directions, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi.

The Satio is no smartphone, but it’s sure looking sharp as one feature-rich feature phone. Since it’s been able to jump through the first set of FCC hoops, it probably shouldn’t be too long before the Satio is ready for a retail launch, right?

Source: BGR

The post Sony Ericsson Satio 12MP Camera Phone at the FCC appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

From the front, the Altek T8680 might look like a fairly standard cell phone from a a company that may not be familiar to you, but swapping around to the back reveals quite the impressive difference. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think that you were looking at a regular digital camera.

That’s because the Altek T8680 comes equipped with an impressive 12 megapixel camera, complete with 3x optical zoom. That sounds just about as good as most consumer-level cameras these days. Topping out the features are a dedicated image processor, F3.0-F5.6, and up to ISO 3200. You’ll also notice that they opted for CCD over CMOS for the sensor, offering reduced image noise and improved light sensitivity.

Running through the non-camera part of the spec sheet, we discover that the T8680 gets a 3″ QVGA touchscreen, FM tuner, tri-band EDGE, stereo Bluetooth, VGA video, and TV-out. The whole shi-bang sells in Taiwan for about $440.

Source: Intomobile

The post Altek T8680 = More Camera Than Cell Phone appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

This is the first 8MP camera phone from Nokia and it should be available in the United States “within the next few weeks.” Regarding the camera, you get a shutter speed of up to 1/1000 of a second, an F-stop range of 2.4 to 4.8, and a wide-angle lens for shots that are a little closer to home.

Outside of the photog-happy features, the Nokia N86 also gets a slide-out numeric keypad, S60 3rd Edition FP2, 2.6-inch AMOLED QVGA display, quad-band GSM, tri-band UMTS, 8GB internal memory, Wi-Fi, and aGPS. The UMTS side of the equation appears to be AT&T-friendly as well.

If you were to find the Nokia N86 overseas, you’d likely find that it is retailing at around the 375 Euro range. At the time it was announced, the exchange rate would have placed it at US$474, but today’s exchange bumps that to US$530. Unfortunately, you’ll be paying neither of those prices.

I guess Nokia is anticipating the exchange rate to continue heading the way it is, because the Nokia USA price for the unlocked N86 is $558. Not cheap, but this is top shelf goodness.

Source: BGR

The post Nokia USA Flagship Stores to Sell Nokia N86 Camera Phone appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

It’s still just a concept phone at this point, but the specs on the LG Louvre GC990 can easily solicit some drool from the shutterbugs in the crowd. For starters, you get Schneider-Kreuznach optics that are good for taking 12.1 megapixel still photos. That’s a lot of resolution.

The pocket camcorder market currently dominated by the Flip may also have some competition here, since the LG GC990 Louvre is also capable of shooting 720p high-definition video. That’s just as good as the Flip UltraHD and Flip MinoHD.

This is no smartphone, so don’t expect too much in the productivity and apps departments. However, you will get TV out, Wi-Fi, GPS, DivX/xVid playback support, and a 3.2-inch (touchscreen?) display. They say that this is a “great example of the type of mobile technology innovation LG is developing.”

There are no confirmed plans to bring the Louvre to market, but LG is showing off what may be possible in the very near future.

Source: Intomobile

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