Keeping an eye on stylish
gear and technology.

The people over at the Dial-a-phone blog took a tour across London yesterday to check out the expected chaotic masses of iPhone craving customers just a couple of hours before the phone was due for launch at 6:02 pm.

Well, the crowds weren’t there. Actually, besides the iPhone ads in the windows all of the Phonehouse, O2 and Carphone Warehouse stores looked like nothing was about to happen. The Apple Store did have a waiting crowd though, about 15 people willing to fight the cold to be the first Brits to own a legal iPhone.

What’s up? Where’s the Jesus Phone fever? Didn’t the hype make it over the Atlantic? Did all the early-adopters get their units from elsewhere?

I wonder how it’ll look like when it launches in Sweden…

Dial-a-phone: iPhone Crowds? Don’t believe the hype!

(Thanks Patrick!)

Sony Ericsson presented the W960i this summer and now it’s finally about to hit the shelves. This slim 3G-phone offers a whopping 8 gigabytes of storage (meaning about 8000 eAAC+ songs), a 3.2 megapixel camera with auto focus and 3x digital zoom, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and USB 2.0 connectivity, 3-click music downloads and FM-radio.

SonyEricsson: W960i Product Page

Here’s LG KS20, a slim and stylish 3G smartphone that pretty much looks like LG’s answer to the iPhone. It’s powered by Windows Mobile 6 and among the features we find a full-front 2.8" QVGA touchscreen, 3.6 Mbps HSDPA, EDGE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a full Web browser, natural handwriting recognition, a 2 megapixel camera with 2x digital zoom (along with a low-res camera on the front for video calls), FM-radio and MicroSD-based storage.

I don’t know how Windows Mobile 6 measures up against iPhone’s Mac OS X but being a long-time fan of LG phones I sure wouldn’t mind giving this one a try (hey LG, send one over!).

The release date is set to Monday 12 November 2007 in all major European markets.

Keep on reading for more pictures:

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As long as there’s portable devices and people with excessive amounts of money there’ll be blinged out models of just about everything, Goldstriker International - a company that encases pretty much anything in gold - now offers two unlocked 8GB iPhone models sporting .999 hardened 24 carat gold encasings.

Either get the full one for £699.95 (about 1,500 USD) or save a couple of bucks by getting the part gold model for £499.95 (about 1,000 USD).

Goldstriker International: Apple iPhone struck in 24ct Gold (£499.95 - £699.95)

Ah, good things come to those who wait; the Neonode N2 will be launched in Sweden soon. Telenor has struck an exclusive deal with Neonode and on November 7th this shiny pebble of a touch-screen phone will be available in their webshop.

For those still unaware of this Swedish little wonder it’s a tiny cell phone with a very precise optical touch screen, 2 megapixel camera, MP3/WMA/WAV player, Bluetooth, video playback (MPG/WMV), a 2" LCD-display (176×220) and up to 32GB of file storage on a MicroSD card.

Telenor Sweden: Neonode N2
Neonode.com (Official site)

Read on for a slightly crummy Neonode N2 touchscreen interface video:

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Here’s the 3 Skypephone by 3 and Skype. Besides standard cell phone features like a 2 megapixel camera, mp3 player, mobile TV, Java/3D games, USB + Bluetooth connectivity and web surfing this handset offers complete Skype integration. That means free Skype calls and instant messaging wherever you might go, as long as you have access to 3’s internet services.

It’ll be available in glossy black and white with blue and pink trim and will be launched sometime before christmas in the UK, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Macau and Sweden.

3skypephone.com (Official Site)
Three.co.uk: Skypephone (Preorder, £49.99)
Skype: Press release

Citizen:Citizen’s ccPhone is a limited edition of modified 8GB iPhones. Instead of a shiny metal back plate these ship with a jet black and matte surface along with matching artwork, video and music. They’re serious about the limited part though, there’s only 50 units available so you better hurry up if you want one.

I guess it’s no surprise that standing out from the crowd will hurt your wallet a bit though. Expect to pay about $2200 for one of these.

ccPhone: Limited Edition Black iPhone (€1500, about 2,165 USD)
Citizen:Citizen Official Site

Here’s Samsung G800, the world’s first cell phone to sport a 5 megapixel camera with 3x optical zoom and Xenon flash (the smaller G600 also sports 5 MP though).

That being the main feature it also feature 3G/HSDPA, a VGA-camera for video conversations, a 2.4" QVGA display, RDS-radio, USB 2.0 and Bluetooth connectivity, Ice Power digital amplifier from Bang & Olufssen and blog support. As for storage you get to pick between microSD and microSDHC memory cards.

The G800 will be available in November to an estimated price of 590 Euro (about US$850).

Read on for more pictures:

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A large display on a device you wear in your pocket and annoying scratches. It’s more a question of when the two will meet up than if. Here’s Belkin iPhone ClearScreen Overlay. A really simple (and transparent) way to protect your iPhone from at least some of the hazards of everyday use.

Belkin.com: iPhone ClearScreen Overlay ($12.99)

Porsche and Hummer has their own cell phones, so why not Audi? Here’s the Audi Mobile Device, presented as part of the future A1 model (Metroproject Quattro).

This Wi-Fi and touch-screen enabled device docks nicely in your vehicle and functions not only as a 3G UMTS cell phone but also as a navigation unit, audio/video player, remote control and authorization system for your car. Cold day outside? Why not connect to your car while having your morning coffee in the kitchen and tell it to turn on the heating system and it’ll be nice and toasty for you when its time to go.

Continue reading for a close-up image:

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