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Virgin Mobile Shuttle is the carrier's first 3G phone.
(Credit: Virgin Mobile)Virgin Mobile and Personal Communications Devices (formerly known as UTStarcom) have announced the Shuttle, the carrier's first-ever 3G handset. Equipped with EV-DO, GPS, and a slew of high-end features, the Shuttle is one of the first signs of Virgin's Helio acquisition, in that it is enriching its rather basic lineup with strong full-featured devices previously associated with Helio.
Virgin Mobile's Shuttle has a slide-out design.
(Credit: Virgin Mobile)Indeed, the Shuttle will feature Virgin Mobile's first location-based services from uLocate, like Buddy Beacon, a friend-finder application found previously on Helio phones, as well as Where, an application that delivers local information such as nearby events and restaurants. Other features include a 1.3-megapixel camera, a 2-inch screen, video capture and playback, messaging, an integrated media player that supports both streaming and sideloaded music, stereo Bluetooth, SD card support, and support for Virgin Mobile's Contact Vault that lets you back up your contacts online.
Following the Virgin Mobile tradition, the Shuttle will be available without any contracts for only $99.99, which is a fairly decent price for a multimedia phone. With the Shuttle, Virgin Mobile is also introducing its first Mobile Web data packs, available in monthly plans or a pay-as-you-go. For the monthly plans, it's either $5 for 20 MB of Web surfing and unlimited VirginXL, or it's $10 for 50MB and unlimited VirginXL. For pay-as-you-go, it's $5 for 5MB of Web surfing only, $10 for 20MB and unlimited VXL, and $20 for 50MB and unlimited VXL. (VirginXL is a Virgin Mobile service where you can download games, graphics, and ringtones, as well as get access to streaming video from partners like MTV and Comedy Central).
It'll be available exclusively through Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile starting September 28.
Verizon Wireless G'zOne Type-S
(Credit: Verizon Wireless)Casio showed off its new G'zOne Type-S for Verizon Wireless in black and silver at the UTStarcom booth here at CTIA. It's almost exactly the same as the original rugged clamshell, but it now supports push-to-talk capabilities. The rest of the Type-S Casios will have this feature as well, it's just that the black and silver version is the first out the gate with it. It's saddled with only a VGA camera, but a rugged phone like this doesn't need a lot of bells and whistles. Verizon is offering it now for $99.99 after a discount and a two year contract.
Day two of CTIA 2008 is over, and it was quite a breather compared with day one. Our feet actually did not hurt at the end of the day! Here are some highlights from day two of the show.
Nokia kicks off the day by announcing two new basic CDMA/AWS handsets: the Nokia 1606 and the 3606, both of which are probably set for the entry-level to midtier market. Next, Senior Editor Kent German talks up the Samsung Alias, which we knew about before, but was officially trotted out at CTIA.
Sanyo also put out a few new devices, namely the Pro-200 and Pro-700, both are push-to-talk phones using Sprint's QChat service. It also introduced the Katana LX, which promises to be a shinier successor to the Katana II, plus it has a translucent OLED display. UTStarcom snuck in with a new basic handset as well--the CDM7126 is a AWS capable phone that will be available to both Cricket and MetroPCS in different designs.
On the smartphone front, rumors swirled around a phone that's not even at the show. Senior Editor Bonnie Cha waxed about the potential BlackBerry 9000 as well as a GPS-equipped BlackBerry Pearl 8110. And, as far as movie tie-ins go, the only product of that nature is the Iron Man branded LG Shine, which is clad with, we kid you not, a solid 18 karat gold battery cover. It won't be available for retail, and will only be available to a select few who are lucky enough to win it via movie-related contests. Which is fine, because we probably won't be able to afford it anyway.
In other news, Yahoo unveiled an upgrade to its OneSearch product, which CNET Download.com editor Jessica Dolcourt had the pleasure of trying out. Also, Vodafone CEO tells us something we already know--that the mobile Internet is for real and that consumers want it--not just some dumbed down version of the Web.
After the big Samsung Instinct announcement yesterday, Kent German wondered if the Instinct can truly take on the iPhone's dominance, and we invite you to chime in to provide your thoughts.
Rounding out the second day are SMS 2.0 (the capability to text in color), cell phones you can't have, and a pair of cute Samsung speakers. Stay tuned tomorrow as we try to wrap things up and let you know what we thought was the cream of the crop.
UTStarcom CDM-7126C for Cricket
(Credit: UTStarcom)
UTStarcom 7126M for MetroPCS
(Credit: Nicole Lee/CNET Networks)UTStarcom didn't have much of a presence at this year's CTIA, but it did sneak in an announcement of the AWS-enabled CDM-7126 handset for both Cricket and MetroPCS. The Cricket version is dubbed the CDM-7126C and the MetroPCS version is dubbed the CDM-7126M. They're both about the same, save for the look of the front surface. As for the phone itself, it's a pretty standard device, made for the entry-level market though it does have Bluetooth as well. The front surface is pretty unique in that there are LED indicators for incoming calls and text messages, as well as battery and signal strength without the need for an external LCD. The pricing and availability are not known yet, but we think both of these will debut pretty soon.
The UTStarcom Coupe has dedicated ICE emergency keys
(Credit: CNET Networks/Corinne Schulz)CTIA Fall 2007 isn't really the place for most cell phone manufacturers to announce new devices; in fact, many companies come here to reannounce devices that have already been, well, announced. That's how it is for the UTStarcom Coupe from Verizon Wireless, that back-to-basics emergency phone that we reviewed a month or so ago. UTStarcom has released a press release announcing that they're launching the phone today, even though it was out a while ago. As we said back then, the UTStarcom 8630 is a phone made for the elderly or older adults; it has a clear display, large keypad, plus dedicated keys for emergency phone numbers. There's really nothing new about the Coupe since its announcement a month ago, except for its price--no longer is it $19.99 with a 2-year contract; it's now $49.99 with Verizon Wireless contract. Guess that's one gadget that actually went up in price over time.
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