Latest phones and cell review

Sizzle up your summer with the latest slider phone from Verizon Wireless and Pantech. Today, the companies announced the Pantech Jest, comes with social networking, 2 megapixel camera, 2.6-inch display and simple UI.

The Jest is available online today for free through a special online promotion. It will be in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores beginning July 5 for $69.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement.

With all this talk of Android lately, we’re happy to see that there’s still some companies out there that haven’t jumped on the bandwagon (yet). Pantech’s still out there, making specialized devices like the best of them, and today they’ve worked together with AT&T here in the United States to bring the Pantech Ease out of its testing phases, and into the real world. It’s a messaging device, aimed primarily at those who love to text and type more than they like to talk.

The Ease is designed to make, and keep things simple in your day-to-day life. We love the concept, but we have to see some irony in the fact that in their hope for ease-of-use, they decided to go with a touchscreen interface. The Ease features a 3.2-inch touchscreen, with a landscape slide-out keyboard thrown in for good measure. Features wise, you’ll have access to AT&T’s 3G network, AT&T Navigator, speec-to-text, and a pedometer.

So how is Pantech getting that ease-of-use thing handled? Well, they’re including an “easy mode,” and “advanced mode.” The former features larger text, streamlined menus, as well as larger buttons to touch on that touchscreen. It’s meant for featurephone novices, as well as senior folk. A good idea, to be sure. If you’re interested in picking up the Ease, it will become available on June 20th for $120, after a new, two-year contract gets signed. You’ll also send in a $50 mail-in rebate.

Press Release:

For experienced mobile phone users, the ins and outs of wireless devices are second nature, but for some, ease-of-use is paramount. AT&T* today announced the Pantech Ease, the first quick messaging phone from AT&T with menus and features designed for users who seek simplicity in their wireless device. With a large and comfortable touchscreen, Ease will be available for new and existing AT&T customers online at www.wireless.att.com and in AT&T stores nationwide June 20.

Ease is the latest offering in AT&T’s focused initiative to deliver a streamlined mobile experience. The handset is also the first simplicity-centric phone to feature a full keypad and touchscreen to keep customers better connected with family and friends. With the original Pantech Breeze having launched in 2008, the Pantech Breeze II in May 2010 and now Ease, AT&T is committed to customers who want the latest technology in a convenient form.

“Ease emphasizes our commitment to meeting the needs of all AT&T customers,” said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president, Devices, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “The first quick messaging phone targeted for simplicity seekers, it fulfills our goal to create a highly functional device for everyone – from children to great-grandparents.”

Ease’s uncluttered design contributes to its straightforward user experience. Ease offers a bright 3.2” full touch screen display, a full keyboard, intuitive menus – all at an affordable price. And, while it is easy to use, Ease is not just a basic phone. The handset can also be switched from Easy mode to Advanced mode for a more traditional quick messaging user experience with a quick settings change. Customers of all types may enjoy the Easy mode, especially seniors.

“The seniors market remains a significant opportunity for the operators to expand their businesses. But as iGR’s research has found, the challenge is to provide a solution that meets the specific needs of the seniors with sufficient functions and capabilities yet is easy to use and intuitive, ” said Iain Gillott, president of iGR, a market research consultancy focused on the wireless and mobile industry. “Our research has shown that seniors primarily want to make calls, to send and receive photos in text messages, to get driving directions and to read their email. And they want an attractive design that would make their family members envious – the Pantech Ease, with an easy-to-use interface developed collaboratively by AT&T and Pantech and attractive yet senior-friendly form factor, seems to address those needs squarely. ”

Ease will be compatible with AT&T’s High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) 7.2 Mbps technology. This technology provides a considerable boost to the nation’s fastest 3G network when combined with expanded backhaul.

”AT&T customers have come to rely on Pantech’s ability to create phones that meet their unique lifestyle needs,” said Jim Berridge, vice president of sales and marketing, Pantech Wireless. “Ease is a phone that incorporates the latest customer requests – a touch screen – yet does so in a manner which is easy to use. We have a winner with Ease and we’re confident that customers will be impressed with both the design and functionality of this handset.”

Ease takes into account user experience design principles to ensure an easy-to-use experience.

Streamlined, Targeted Menu – Navigating the phone’s features is straightforward with the Easy Mode, which minimizes scrolling and highlights the features customers want to access most.
Large Font – Ease uses a highly visible large font. Additionally, users can increase or minimize the font of received messages with either touch or physical zoom in or out keys.
Easy-to-Use Buttons – Well spaced, backlit buttons on the device respond with a tactile click when pressed, and remain illuminated while in use. Specialized buttons such as the Quick Contact key provide easy access to top 3 contacts and voicemail and the “Say A Command” key allows a user to make a call, start a text or open an application with their voice.
Camera – Activated from the home screen menu or with the dedicated camera key on the side of the phone, the 2-megapixel camera with 7x zoom can quickly switch between picture taking and video recording, allowing users to capture life’s moments as they happen and share them easily with family and friends.
Specialized Tools – The Ease comes with a number of specialized apps to make the users’ life easier. Users can track their steps and see up to a seven-day history with Pedometer. Readout mode audibly announces callers, text message senders and reads out text message text and Voice Mode allows users to dictate a message instead of typing it.
In Easy Mode, the Ease also boasts quick access to:

AT&T Mobile Browser – combines full HTML browsing with unique customization features so customers can easily surf the Internet; view location-aware local news and weather; and read the latest headlines from popular news, sports and entertainment sites.
AT&T Navigator – offers turn-by-turn voice and onscreen driving directions, automatic rerouting, real-time traffic monitoring and more. AT&T Navigator is available for $9.99 per month, and new subscribers receive their first 30 days of their subscription for free.
AT&T Address Book – syncs contacts to an online address book so customers can access and manage their mobile contacts from their handset — or their PC. There is no additional charge to use AT&T Address Book.
Ease will be available at AT&T retail stores nationwide and online at www.wireless.att.com on June 20 for $69.99 (Pay $119.99 and after mail-in rebate receive $50 AT&T Promotion Card. Two year service agreement and a minimum $20 messaging or combination of messaging and data plans required.)

Even if AT&T is going through the motions of changing their entire identity (again), that’s not stopping them from keeping the ties to their old ways firmly in place. At least, not when it comes to their “quick messaging” devices, that is. This time around, we’ve got a new addition to the Pantech lineup, with the Link hitting store shelves this coming Sunday.

The press release, which is in full below, does a great job of explaining why you should want the device. Just like every other quick messaging device out there, it’s got a full QWERTY keyboard, which should make it comfortable enough to get in touch with your friends via text, email, picture mail, or Instant Messaging, among other methods. It has a relatively large LCD screen to make everything you want to see nice and crisp. And, on the back you’ve got a 1.3MP CMoS camera, making sure you’re able to snap up all those fleeting moments in your life.

Probably the best feature of the device, even if it is only for a limited time, is the $9.99 price tag, after a mail-in rebate. Oh, but you will have to add at least the $20 messaging plan, or some kind of messaging plan and data plan to get the rebate. So, pick your poison. As we mentioned in the title, the device will be ready to get into your pocket in AT&T stores, as well as AT&T’s website, starting Sunday. Anyone out there going to pick this up?

AT&T AND PANTECH CONNECT WITH THE NEW “LINK”

Latest Quick Messaging Phone Sports Slim Profile, Full Keyboard,
and Contemporary Design

ATLANTA – Apr. 16, 2010 — Pantech Wireless, Inc., – the U.S.-based subsidiary of Pantech Group, one of Korea’s largest mobile phone manufacturers – announced today that “Link” is available to AT&T* customers in stores and online on April 18. Link is Pantech’s latest addition to AT&T’s portfolio of quick messaging phones (QMPs), a fast-growing category of phones popular for full keyboards, advanced services and full browsers. By featuring the full keyboard under an ultra thin (under 10 mm) frame, and a suite of AT&T services including AT&T Social Net and the new AT&T Mobile Share, Link proves that it is the slimmest way to stay connected to your social life.

“The energy at Pantech is high,” said Dave Ronis, Pantech’s newly appointed CMO. “We really enjoy working with AT&T customers to make sure that all of our handsets meet their ever-expanding needs. Link is one of the slimmest phones on the market, not to mention packed with all of the social media and picture and video-sharing features our messaging phone users want.”

Link’s specialty is messaging, and just like the name implies, its contemporary design is ideal for keeping people connected to the most important parts of their personal life. An extra-large LCD screen complements Link’s slim casing, and a full keyboard helps kick out messages in a snap – sending full texts, multimedia messages, email, and instant messages. Link brings you into contact with your online world at 3G speeds, allowing for profiles to be effortlessly updated with pictures and videos, and Web pages to be swiftly surfed. Making and managing playlists of favorite musical tracks is easy, and Link keeps you looking stylish in the process. Black and blue accenting combines with a high gloss finish to make the most of its sleek shape.

Link incorporates key features that help do it all:

· Ultra Thin Design – Measuring under 10mm, Link slides discreetly into the pocket of a favorite pair of jeans or summer button-down.
· Quick Access to Messages – A full QWERTY keyboard helps send a wide range of messages in seconds – stay in touch with friends via text, email, picture mail, video messages, email, and IMs.
· Easy Contact Management – AT&T Address Book is a service that allows users to manage and backup contacts via the Web at no additional cost.
· Web and Social Media @ 3G – Browse the Web at the speed of 3G, while using AT&T Mobile Share to view and upload photos to any number of social networking sites in one place.
· Music: Manage it – Use the onboard song equalizer to adjust the levels of music files, make and manage playlists using Napster® and eMusic® through AT&T Music.
· Video and Camera – An integrated 1.3MP CMoS camera incorporates a range of customizable resolutions and picture taking controls.

Quick messaging phone users more frequently look to their mobile phone for advanced services and apps and Link has some of the best. AT&T Social Net can be used to quickly view and update online profiles with one hub. AT&T Mobile Share makes it easy to store, view, and share pictures and video. Whenever on the move, running errands or hanging with friends, AT&T Navigator is there to guide you with turn-by-turn directions.

Link is available for a limited time for $9.99 with a rebate and a two-year contract at AT&T stores and online at www.wireless.att.com. A voice plan and a minimum $20 per month messaging or messaging and data plan are required. For more information about Pantech and its products, please visit www.pantechusa.com, or follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/pantechUSA or Facebook www.facebook.pantechusa.com.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

For more information and detailed disclaimer information, please review this announcement in the Pantech newsroom at http://pantechusa.com/press-releases.

About Pantech Wireless, Inc.
Pantech Wireless, Inc., an Atlanta, GA based subsidiary of Pantech Co., Ltd., researches, markets and develops wireless handsets and telecommunications products throughout North America as part of the Pantech Group. For additional information, visit the PWI website at www.pantechusa.com.

About Pantech
Pantech Group, through its affiliates – Pantech Co., Ltd., and Pantech C&I Co. – is one of Korea’s top three mobile handset makers. Pantech has received wide-ranging industry recognition for its innovative handset designs, and has also introduced a significant number of breakthrough technologies in the mobile phone industry. Established in 1991, Pantech collectively has approximately 2,500 employees and 8 regional sales offices worldwide. For more information on Pantech, please visit www.pantech.com.

While there may be some other keynotes happening right now, we don’t want to stop bringing you the latest information about the phones you might want to pick up. What we have here is four new phones from AT&T, along with a few more features that the wireless carrier is bringing to the table. These devices may not be the end-all of mobile phones, but they’re great for the mid-range devices that are both easy on the pocketbook, as well as the learning curve.

First up, we have the Samsung Sunburst. This device is a touchscreen device, with a 3-inch screen. There isn’t a physical keyboard on the device, so you’ll be looking at a pretty standard touchscreen keyboard, so definitely take that into account. It’s got a 2MP camera with video capture, so you can capture all the important moments. It has the standard GPS, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, but no WiFi. The device is going on sale March 21st, and will cost $40 after a $50 mail-in rebate.

The Samsung Strive is a vertical slider that offers a full, physical QWERTY keyboard. It’s another run-of-the-mill device, with a 2MP camera and video capture that works with AT&T’s Video Share service. The only real feature it has is the Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. It will only cost $20 on a new contract from AT&T, though, so that’s a good thing. It’s also coming March 21st.

The Pantech Link is a device that’s slim and small, and has GPS. There wasn’t much more released about this device though, which includes missing price and exact release date. It is mentioned that it is coming in the next few weeks. Finally, we have the Pantech Pursuit which offers a touchscreen device, but also slides to offer the full physical QWERTY keyboard. It has a camera, but no word on what kind of mega-pixel we should expect. It does offer face recognition though. It supports GPS and will be available in the Summer.

The features that AT&T have announced in tandem, range from a cloud-based back-up for your contacts, to the Video Share capability that we mentioned above. All of these features are included within the “Mobile Locker” name, and can be accessed by all of these phones when they become available. The mobile share services will cost $10 per month, so it shouldn’t break any backs.

[via AT&T]

Introduced for its Quick Messaging device line-up, AT&T has introduced Samsung Strive, Samsung Sunburst, Pantech Link and Pantech Pursuit today together with free online address book sync service.

The Samsung Strive will be available on March 21 in two color combinations, black/silver and purple/charcoal. Strive features a 2.0-megapixel camera and a vertical slide design to reveal a full keyboard for tapping out info on Mobile Email, instant messaging and social networking apps like AT&T Social Net with ease. The Strive will be available for $19.99 for a limited time with a two-year agreement and after $50 mail-in rebate.

The GSP enabled Samsung Sunburst featuring a widget bar to allow one-touch access tophone functions like creating a text message, in addition to direct links to social networking sites. Sunburst will also be available on March 21 for $39.99 after a two-year agreement and $50 mail-in-rebate.

Pantech Link — An ultra slim and light, full keyboard quick messaging phone. Link’s contemporary design makes it one of the sharpest in the popular, bar-style family of handsets. With black and blue accents, Link provides direct access to a fun and sought-after range of features such as Mobile Email, instant messaging, AT&T Mobile Share, AT&T Social Net, AT&T Navigator and more. Link will be available in AT&T stores and online in the coming weeks.

Combining a full touch screen with a vertical sliding keyboard, the Pantech Pursuit plays host to a set of cool and unique features via shortcuts on Pantech’s first touch user interface for easy, customizable access to apps and features like AT&T Social Net, AT&T Address Book, and social networking sites. Available in the summer in green or blue, the Pursuit will also support face recognition software and geotagging to get the most out of your pictures.

Together with the four new models, AT&T also offers the following services

AT&T Address Book — Syncs contacts to an online address book so customers can access and manage their mobile contacts from their handset — or their PC. Synchronization occurs automatically when any change is made, so contact information is always backed up. From the online interface, customers can import contacts from other Web-based address books, such as personal e-mail accounts, as well as send text messages to their contacts’ mobile numbers. There is no additional charge to use AT&T Address Book

Next Generation Messaging — Brings an advanced messaging experience designed by AT&T to the quick messaging phones category. The familiar text messaging experience is enhanced with group messaging and “reply all” functionality for up to 10 contacts, a threaded conversations format, a consolidated inbox, and enhanced multi-media display. AT&T designed the service based on research that revealed customers want features that help with social planning, improved message organization and better media integration — but are also simple to use.

AT&T Mobile Share — Helps customers quickly transfer photos and videos captured on their mobile phone to other destinations and allows customers to manage that content across the mobile and PC screens. With just a few clicks, customers can share videos and pictures in full resolution, up to 10MB, with their home computer, social networking sites, other people and a personal Internet-based storage locker from AT&T — all from their wireless handset. Customers can access pictures and videos stored in their AT&T Locker at any time from any Internet connection or from their handsets. AT&T Mobile Share is available for $10 per month for 50 media transfers; customers can also pay per use, at $.35 per transfer1. The service includes online storage of 250MB at no charge. Customers can purchase an additional 10GB of storage for $5 per month. Standard data charges apply for browsing the online media locker from the mobile handset.