No, it’s not exactly the fanciest thing in the world, but it could be perfect for those texting teenagers who don’t really need to have a real data plan. It’s the Samsung Chat GT-3500 and it happens to be on sale for 60% off, bringing the price down to a mere $59.99.

That’s not a contract price, thankfully, so the sixty bucks will get you an unlocked GSM cell phone that you can then use with your compatible carrier of choice. The Samsung Chat GT-C3500 comes with a 2.4-inch touchscreen display and a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard. That physical keyboard will be handy for people who do text a lot and don’t really like typing on touchscreens.

While it almost looks like there is Android on board, it’s really just Samsung’s TouchWiz Lite 2.0 UI on there. Other notable features include Bluetooth connectivity, a 2MP camera, and stereo FM radio with RDS. It’ll do FM recording too. Because it’s not doing the smartphone thing, the battery lasts a heck of a lot longer too. One Amazon review had it going for 3-4 days with “heavy texting and calling” and up to a week with lighter usage.

You can pick it up from Amazon for the aforementioned $59.99 price and that will come with the free super saver shipping too.

The post Get the Samsung Chat GT-C3500 for $59.99 Outright appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Yes, the newest hotness in town is the Samsung Galaxy S III, but you may not be prepared for the $700+ outright price to get your hands on an unlocked one. Go ahead and save yourself over $300 by picking up an unlocked Samsung Galaxy S II (SA-I9100) instead. The international version (SA-I9100) just went on sale for 44% off.

It may not be the newest kid on the block anymore, but there’s a good reason why the Galaxy S II received such overwhelmingly positive reviews by the Android community. You might remember my S II review last year where I gave it a 9/10. I still firmly believe that it’s a fantastic smartphone and if you’re not a fan of the supersized screens as of late, the 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display on here may feel much more comfortable and suitable.

This is the international version, so it gets the dual core 1.2GHz processor, 8MP camera, aGPS, 1GB RAM, 16GB storage, and microSD expansion, along with the usual suite of wireless radios like 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot support, HSDPA 21Mbps, and Bluetooth 3.0+HS.

You can buy the Samsung Galaxy S II from Amazon for just $449.90, which is $350.09 (44%) off the regular unsubsidized price of $799.99. And yes, that comes with the same free super saver shipping that you’ve come to expect.

The post Unlocked Samsung Galaxy S2 International Price Cut by 44% appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

As you may have heard, China Unicom has already inked a deal with Apple to be an iPhone partner in China. Note that I said that they are an iPhone partner and not the iPhone partner. That’s because the guys in Cupertino want to tap into China Mobile as well, seeing how that carrier has a customer base of 500 million subscribers.

Well, there’s a problem with that. China Mobile already has the OPhone smartphone platform and it has its own mobile applications store. These are in direct competition with the iPhone and the App Store, so negotiations haven’t been going all that well.

To circumvent this conundrum, Apple is reportedly in talks with Di Xing Tong. This is a third-party cell phone retailer and the idea is that Di Xing Tong could sell unlocked Apple iPhones that can then be used by China Mobile subscribers. This helps with Apple’s penetration and brand presence in one of the world’s largest markets.

Source: Intomobile

The post Apple to Sell Unlocked iPhones in China? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

I remember having a brief conversation with a friend of mine about the best smartphone on the market and he said that nothing can match the iPhone. I mentioned the Nokia N97 and he referred to it as some “Nokia crap.” Crap? Really?

According to one Nokia representative, “Our strategy is to get as many devices into U.S. carriers as possible. We want to be number one in the U.S.”

It’s good to see that Nokia wants to make a bigger splash in our pond and the carrier route is one way to do that. The AT&T partnership with Apple has worked out well for both parties, just like what T-Mobile was able to do with Danger and the SideKick line.

The other side of the equation involves consumer education. While cell phone enthusiasts are all too familiar with concepts like SIM cards and unlocked phones, the general public may not be quite so knowledgable. Many people assume that they have to sign contracts and they can only use the phones provided by their chosen carriers.

As such, Nokia has put together a brief video to educate the public on “unlocked” devices and the value that they can bring to the table. The Nokia online and flagship stores surely appreciate this attempt.

Source: E71Fanatics

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