The LiMo Foundation is one of the only direct Linux competitors to Android that Google will have to worry about. While their Open Handset Alliance has got many big players in their own camp, LiMo has quite a few as well. Today, they add eight more to the list, and some large names are showing up now. Today, Mozilla, Verizon, ... continued »

Talk about jealous; the guys over at Akihabara News have been sent one of Sharp's distinctive 922SH Communicator-style smartphones to play with, and despite the fact that I know the 1-Seg TV wouldn't work for me and that pink isn't really my colour, I really do want one too! For now we get to enjoy the unboxing, and they're ... continued »

Anyone with a weak stomach, look away now: Toshiba, never afraid of the bizarre, have taken insane nomenclature and frankly ridiculous purchasing schemes to their illogical conclusion with the FanFun 815T "Cosmic Shiner" on SoftBank.  Want to buy this limited edition, diamond studded clamshell?  Well, you'll have to pick up the April issue of Seven Hills magazine, snip out the unique ID codes ... continued »

I love seeing sensible besuited business people playing with toys, which is why these Toshiba 815T PB cellphones for Softbank - complete with stick-on robot limbs - fill me with such glee.  Akihabara were in Japan for the unveiling of the bizarre accessories, themed around a new sci-fi TV show called Ketai Sousakan 7; the handset itself is 3G with a 3.2-megapixel autofocus camera and QVGA ... continued »

It almost seems too cruel to flag up these SoftBank Mobile handsets, but many of them will be available unlocked for use outside of Japan if you have the inclination to find them and the money to buy them SIM-free.  Out of the fourteen new cellphones, I've picked out a few of my favourites - either for their form factor, ... continued »

Manufacturers take note: here's one surefire way to increase the average selling price (ASP) of your cellphones.  Encrust the damn things with 400 diamonds, courtesy of Tiffany's, and slap a 10 million Yen ($94,000) price tag on them.  Japanese carrier Softbank Mobile are doing just that, collaborating with the famed jeweller in the hope that their seriously eye-catching handset will ... continued »

The Full Face 2 wants to be an iPhone but fell short by a long shot. It has non-touchscreen an AVS 3.2-inch display with a resolution of 480x854. The display is large and beautiful for watching digital TV, but don’t expect the same touch features of the iPhone. Instead you’ll have to go old school and use ... continued »

Okay, so the Sharp 922SH you see here will likely never make it outside of Japan, making it yet another tease-telephone for the rest of us, but I'm a sucker for a handset with an extendable aerial.  That aerial, of course, is for the 1-Seg Mobile TV service, which should be a relatively enjoyable experience thanks to the large, 3.7-inch 480 x ... continued »