150 Ampere

Nokia has applied for a patent on a triple slider phone. The entire device is a three-layer deal. The drawings show a candy bar type phone that slides up, down and to the right. The right slide, which is the bottom layer of the device, reveals a QWERTY keyboard. The mid-layer upslide reveals function and control keys, while the downslide reveals a numeric keypad.

Depending upon the engineering, the two slide layers could allow a user to use the slide functions and the keyboard simultaneously. It seems somewhat unwieldy, since the keyboard and the control pads would be at 90 degrees from each other. The design is an extension of the company’s N95 device.

The triple slider is a long way from being in the consumer’s hands, but if you want to take a look at Nokia’s current lineup, swing by TestFreaks and take a look at what Nokia’s got. While you’re there, you can read the expert reviews on all of Nokia’s phones.

Nokia has postponed the release of its N-Gage First Access mobile telephone and gaming platform to the unwashed masses. It seems that in testing with about 1,000 users, they found an “issue” that needs to be addressed. First Access for the N81/8GB crowd won’t be available as planned either. The mysterious issue isn’t with the games, which are reportedly feeling just fine, thanks. If mobile gaming is where you’re at, the N-xx series of Nokia phones will allow you (when the service is deployed) to download games and play to your heart’s content.

We’ve looked at the Nokia N-xx platforms here before, but in case you want to have another look, head over to TestFreaks to see what they have going on.

As long as we’re talking about Nokia, rumor has it that the N96 has been spotted out in the wild. Nokia’s not confirming the sighting, but whatever it is, it sure looks nice.

If you’re looking for an affordable mobile with a lot of features, look at the LG Rumor. The candy-bar slider features a QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth support, a 1.3-MP camera/camcorder with a 2x digital zoom, a speakerphone, the obligatory MP3 player, and a microsSD memory slot. The Rumor allows you to access instant messaging services from AOL, Yahoo! and MSN, SMS messaging, and will also get you to Facebook. The phone comes in two colours: white/silver and black/blue. The phone clearly was designed to appeal to those who are big on staying connected but short on cash. The device is available now on the Sprint network for about USD$80. Check out the TestFreaks eval.

I have waited a long time for TestFreaks to open up their beta. I had the opportunity to view the private beta a while back but I forget to do a post about it. First of all I love the design it’s different then a lot of other standard sites out there, which is good. The site it self provides a great resource in many cases but I still think they could (and hopefully will) do a lot more than they are doing at the moment. I get a lot of reviews about each product but I’m missing a lot of essential product specifications about the products. So it’s not the only stop you will need to make yet in order to find out everything you need about your next camera or what ever. One interesting feature though is that they are showing prices from more than one price comparison site, that truly saves me time. Some products have a lot of information such as the popular iphone but others such as the digital camera Samsung S760 doesn’t have that much info. One thing that could make TestFreaks great would be some social functions, I think they need to stand out more from the other sites in their category.
On the positive side of things, when you find a product such as the iphone you will have so much reviews and information from other places that you get an extremly good overview about what everyone thinks about the product. If you want you could go to the sites listed on Testfreaks and check them out but you honestly don’t need to most of the times. I guess if I was buying a more complex product like an slr camera or an expensive TV I would like to read a complete review but for most products what you find on TestFreaks will be more than enough.

I’ll get back with more information about the site when there is more to tell but as for now you can see for yourself at www.testfreaks.com 

If you’ve got a mint burning a hole in your pocket, you might consider making a gift of one of Gresso’s Black Diamond or Royal Black Diamond mobiles. The phones are cased in African Blackwood. The Diamond features four rare black diamonds that weigh in combined at slightly less than half a carat. It also sports gold function keys, and a stainless steel cover. The Royal Black Diamond model also comes in a blackwood enclosure, and features a black diamond cluster weighing in at just over 2.5 carats. According to the company, the phones run Windows Mobile 6, come with 64 MB memory, expanded to 2 GB via a microSD card, and are dual-band GSM devices with a 320 x 240 LCD display. If you have to ask, you can’t afford it, but the phones will retail for €9,000 and €30,000 respectively.

LG has announced the LG LB3300 music phone, designed to muscle its way into the category occupied by the Sony Ericcson Walkman series phones.

The Rhapsody takes a bit of the iPhone with it’s click wheel navigation, combines it with a slide, throws in a pinch of its Chocolate predecessor and layers on the features you expect: 1 GB of internal memory expandable to 4 GB, mobile TV (DMB), Bluetooth 2.0 support and a media player. Currently, the Rhapsody comes in black or white, with a pink version to follow in the spring.

For now, LG only plans to release this version in Korea, but we suspect we’ll see this elsewhere in early 2008.

DoCoMo has announced a new kid-minder clamshell mobile phone available December 20 that includes 3G capabilities, a 100-decibel alarm (does it come with earplugs?) with two alarm sounds and a high-intensity LED. The phone also automatically notifies Mom and Dad when the alarm is activated and provides the handset’s current location. The child can also update his or her location without upsetting the alarm by pressing a button on the side of the phone.

The phone can be pre-programmed to switch itself back on if it’s been turned off and message another user on DoCoMo’s network. The phone also comes with a remote-control amulet that can be worn by the child, which can be used to set the phone off from up to 30 feet away. If the amulet goes out of range of the phone for more than five minutes, another alarm is sent. But wait! There’s more. The phone is waterproof and can withstand accidental immersion and water contact.

The phone has standby time of 400 hours, talk time of 3 hours and video calling time of about 2 hours. The specs don’t say what the 100 dB alarm time is. Suddenly, I can’t get “U Can’t Touch This” out of my head. (”Stop! Hammer Time!”)

I don’t know about you, but I see the basis for a new “Home Alone” sequel.

If you’re in the market for a mid-range digital camera, consider the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT. For less than USD$400, you can have a pretty impressive digital camera with a professional look and feel. The $400 price doesn’t include lenses, but if you already have Canon-compatible EF and EF-S lenses, the body will be what you’re after anyway.

If you’ve looked at the Digital Rebel XT before, you may have been turned away by the $900 price tag. Rest assured that this is the same model, priced to move! The Digital Rebel XT is part of the Canon EOS series of single lens reflex cameras and features an 8 megapixel sensor, which means that it will produce clear, colourful pictures. The camera also uses Canon’s own DIGIC image processors.

The camera body is lightweight - a true consideration if you’re going to be using long lenses. The Digital Rebel XT provides a 3-frames-per-second shooting capability, and will also provide a 14-frame burst. Canon throws in a 10-second self-timer as well.

The Digital Rebel XT provides auto-focus capabilities, several different user-selectable metering patterns, direct print support with PictBridge compatible photo printers, a USB 2.0 high-speed interface and is compatible with most Canon EOS system accessories including Speedlites. The camera also offers auto, manual and pre-set white balance functions for perfect color pictures.

The Digital Rebel XT provides complete manual control for focusing and exposure, in addition to providing auto-focus and auto-exposure capabilities. The ISO range for the camera falls between 100 ISO and 1600 ISO, and the exposure compensation provides up to ± 2 stops, in 1/2 and 1/3 stop increments. The Digital Rebel XT also provides Auto Exposure Bracketing.

The Digital Rebel XT is loaded with professional features and is sure to please professional and amateur photographers alike. With the newly re-designed price tag, there’s no reason to pass this one by.

Test Freaks has a big selection of digital camera reviews to check out before you buy.

Nokia has struck a deal with Universal Music that allows Nokia to bundle free access to Universal’s licensed music catalogue for one full year. Once the access has expired, customers can keep the music they’ve downloaded.

Neither company disclosed the terms of the deal, but analysts believe that Nokia is forwarding a per-handset fee and possibly an additional royalty fee for downloaded music. Universal entered into a similar deal with Microsoft to license music for the Zune. Universal receives a percentage of each Zune sold.

The music bundle will be available to consumers in the second half of 2008. Nokia is also in talks with other labels to include access to their catalogues in the plan. To date, users have not adopted music-to-the-handset models with any great enthusiasm. Analysts are waiting to see if the offer of free music reduces the amount of illegal downloading.