Android Mobile Device

Aside from the beautiful Japanese women in the picture below, something immediately jumps out at me – the form factor of the device shown on the left.

It’s an Android device produced by Sharp, tentatively called the ISO1, that will launch on Japan’s second largest carrier – AU by KDDI. I can’t help but be terribly jealous of the form-factor, not necessarily because of the size, but more because the clamshell reminds me of the LG Voyager that once upon a time had my heart.

If you’re a regular Phandroid reader, you may recall some of my pleas to produce a Voyageresque Android. But let me put my emotions aside – the Sharp ISO1 has some features itself that make it a very attractive Android in its own right:

• 5-inch touchscreen
• 960×480 resolution
• 5.27 megapixel camera
• front facing 0.43megapixel camera
• TV tuner
• FM Transmitter
• Wi-Fi b / g
• IRDA support for Blu-Ray
• Bluetooth
• 4GB of internal memory
• Snapdragon processor (1GHz)
• Android 1.6
• 227 grams
• 83 x 149 x 17.9 mm

Cool lineup of specs, and despite the device’s “homely” looks when opened, I find myself oddly infatuated with the keyboard. Especially after seeing the relative size to the hand in the photo – although who knows how big that particular person’s hands are:

With all the mobile convergence going on, its hard to pinpoint what exactly you call a device. Is it a phone? A MID? A smartbook? A tablet? Maybe a netbook? I’m not exactly sure whta the ISO1 is, but without a screen on the outside of the clamshell, its definitely a MID/Smartbook, and I guess we’ll have to wait and see how AU positions it.

It’s hard to get a grasp for what the Sharp ISO1 is all about unless you position it against other devices to take a look at its advantages/disadvantages on a typical use scenario. Here it is next to the HTC Magic and iPhone 3GS:

Yeah. It’s a monster. Definitely not something you’ll be carrying around in your pocket unless you’re Shaq, but definitely something that could come in handy and is – outside of your pocket – still pretty darn portable. It’s hurt by the lack of multi-touch support but overall we really like the idea.

The developer version of the device, called the JN-DK01, will allow for alterations of the OS and deeper access to the system itself. Both versions should be made available in June and I’m wondering how the Japanese market feels about this. So far, the HTC Magic is the only Android phone available in the country, unless I’m mistaken. And if I am please correct me in the comments!

[Via itmedia, akihabaranews, sharp, crunchgear]

Aside from the beautiful Japanese women in the picture below, something immediately jumps out at me – the form factor of the device shown on the left.

It’s an Android device produced by Sharp, tentatively called the ISO1, that will launch on Japan’s second largest carrier – AU by KDDI. I can’t help but be terribly jealous of the form-factor, not necessarily because of the size, but more because the clamshell reminds me of the LG Voyager that once upon a time had my heart.

If you’re a regular Phandroid reader, you may recall some of my pleas to produce a Voyageresque Android. But let me put my emotions aside – the Sharp ISO1 has some features itself that make it a very attractive Android in its own right:

• 5-inch touchscreen
• 960×480 resolution
• 5.27 megapixel camera
• front facing 0.43megapixel camera
• TV tuner
• FM Transmitter
• Wi-Fi b / g
• IRDA support for Blu-Ray
• Bluetooth
• 4GB of internal memory
• Snapdragon processor (1GHz)
• Android 1.6
• 227 grams
• 83 x 149 x 17.9 mm

Cool lineup of specs, and despite the device’s “homely” looks when opened, I find myself oddly infatuated with the keyboard. Especially after seeing the relative size to the hand in the photo – although who knows how big that particular person’s hands are:

With all the mobile convergence going on, its hard to pinpoint what exactly you call a device. Is it a phone? A MID? A smartbook? A tablet? Maybe a netbook? I’m not exactly sure whta the ISO1 is, but without a screen on the outside of the clamshell, its definitely a MID/Smartbook, and I guess we’ll have to wait and see how AU positions it.

It’s hard to get a grasp for what the Sharp ISO1 is all about unless you position it against other devices to take a look at its advantages/disadvantages on a typical use scenario. Here it is next to the HTC Magic and iPhone 3GS:

Yeah. It’s a monster. Definitely not something you’ll be carrying around in your pocket unless you’re Shaq, but definitely something that could come in handy and is – outside of your pocket – still pretty darn portable. It’s hurt by the lack of multi-touch support but overall we really like the idea.

The developer version of the device, called the JN-DK01, will allow for alterations of the OS and deeper access to the system itself. Both versions should be made available in June and I’m wondering how the Japanese market feels about this. So far, the HTC Magic is the only Android phone available in the country, unless I’m mistaken. And if I am please correct me in the comments!

[Via itmedia, akihabaranews, sharp, crunchgear]

There are touchscreen only fans and hardware keyboard fans and some folks are adamant about having it one way or another. That’s why when an amazing mobile phone like the Motorola Droid – or in this case the Samsung Galaxy S – are announced, one knee-jerk reaction is to wonder what the phone would be like if they offered an alternate version. We’re all familiar with the practice of adding a slideout QWERTY and slapping a “Pro” on to the end of the name, and that is exactly what HDBlog.it are suggesting will happen with the Samsung Galaxy S.

The above picture is only a mock-up and is NOT real. But, rumor has it a phone that looks very similar to the Galaxy S will add the keyboard and start selling in late summer, after the original S has been on the market a couple months.

Is there any truth to the rumor? No way of knowing. Would you be happy if the rumor came true? Different question completely… and one that I’d love for YOU to answer.

View Poll

Whether it will ever exist? That’s merely a matter of opinion for folks like you and me.

There are touchscreen only fans and hardware keyboard fans and some folks are adamant about having it one way or another. That’s why when an amazing mobile phone like the Motorola Droid – or in this case the Samsung Galaxy S – are announced, one knee-jerk reaction is to wonder what the phone would be like if they offered an alternate version. We’re all familiar with the practice of adding a slideout QWERTY and slapping a “Pro” on to the end of the name, and that is exactly what HDBlog.it are suggesting will happen with the Samsung Galaxy S.

The above picture is only a mock-up and is NOT real. But, rumor has it a phone that looks very similar to the Galaxy S will add the keyboard and start selling in late summer, after the original S has been on the market a couple months.

Is there any truth to the rumor? No way of knowing. Would you be happy if the rumor came true? Different question completely… and one that I’d love for YOU to answer.

View Poll

Whether it will ever exist? That’s merely a matter of opinion for folks like you and me.

Earlier this month we saw the Gigabyte Codfish swim onto the Android scene with a 5MP camera, 3.2-inch screen, very few details and nothing official. The company DOES produce a line of mobile phones called GSmart but they all seem to run on Windows Mobile, with this “leak” being their first Android attempt. Consider the effort escalated as the Bluetooth SIG just listed the device.

Interestingly enough, the name seems to have changed from Codfish to Boston and the carrier (or company URL in this case) has been listed as Orange. Yet again, details are absent, but this is a solid sign that the Gigabyte Boston/Codfish GSmart Android Phone is on the way. And with a name like GSmart, don’t you think Android fits the company better than Windows Mobile anyways?