Though CES Unveiled was a modest 3 hour event, both Samsung and Motorola were promoting their latest wares. And, interestingly, the two phones I found most compelling have landed on T-Mobile. The Motorola ZINE ZN5 ($99) is a straight forward candybar non-smartphone. What makes it special is a Kodak-branded 5 megapixel camera… and the poster-sized sample prints Moto displayed looked beautiful. I’m hoping to get my hands on a loaner, especially given the handset’s video recording features. On the smartphone side, Samsung continues to encroach on Apple’s touchscreen dominance with the Behold ($149) – this TouchWiz device is more compact than the iPhone and Samsung Sprint Instinct, but packs a 5 megapixel shooter.
While visiting Sling’s table, I spent some time with their still-under-development Blackberry client. The Slingbox software’s currently in private beta, but is looking good – especially on the gorgeous Bold screen. Hopefully the wait won’t be much longer. And speaking of the Blackberry Bold, I saw a few of these newly available (in the US) handsets in the crowd. Along with one G1 and an army of iPhones.
In terms of my next phone, I’ve been holding out for the Blackberry Curve replacement (8900/Javelin) which just cleared the FCC. Although an initial review pans the 3.2 megapixel camera that I was banking on, the aforementioned SlingPlayer and forthcoming Slacker application still make it a compelling mobile multimedia device.
I was able to play with a BB Bold today. The screen is awesome and while the bold is bigger than my curve, I really liked it – almost made my curve feel old…..
Also heard that we’ll see an AT&T BB Storm in Q1 2009…. Does that sound right to anyone?
After seeing those BB sling player pics, it makes me wish they would update the windows mobile player with a more usable interface. I find its just too crowded and trying to do too much on too small a space…But it does work so I cant complain too much
Sling on BB Storm!?! One more reason I may pick it up.