PDA Review

‘The BlackBerry 8707v Wireless Handheld makes it easy to stay connected while on the go. You get uncompromising email, browsing and voice performance in one thin, stylish, lightweight handheld with a full QWERTY keyboard.

The key addition with this model has to be the embedded 3G modem however, which really shows true device convergence.’

Read more at BlackBerry 8707v

MobileWhack has news on the BlackBerry 8700f which will be released in Belgium shortly:

‘A quad-band phone, the 8700f would operate on a GSM/GPRS/EDGE network and has features like QVGA 320 x 240) LCD screen, smart dialing, conference calling, speed dial, call forwarding, and Bluetooth connectivity. It also has a unique light-sensing technology that automatically adjusts the brightness of the screen and keyboard according to lightning conditions and a 64 MB of flash memory, 16 MB SDRAM and an Intel(R) XScale(R) cellular processor.’

‘The folks at Microsoft, never known for straying away from a fight, have been quietly working on improving its mobile windows operating system to directly challenge BlackBerry’s market leadership. I recently spent a few weeks playing around with the Palm Treo 700w, one of the first smart phones to use Microsoft’s new mobile operating system.

“The addition of a Treo as a licensee of Windows Mobile expands our addressable market by delivering a Treo with an operating system already in use by many businesses. Palm’s strategy is to focus on the customer and user experience — it is about creating the best solutions for our collective customers,” said Joe Fabris, director of wireless marketing for Palm Inc. “Palm has earned huge accolades for the Treo family of smartphones and it’s great that Palm is delivering their hallmark features and Palm Experience on the Windows Mobile platform.”‘

Read more at United Press International - Hi-Tech - Treo vies with BlackBerry for top spot

PCWorld reviews the Pharos GPS-525 and writes - ‘The Pharos Traveler GPS 525, a Windows Mobile Pocket PC with a built-in GPS receiver and Wi-Fi adapter, is the first device I’ve seen that offers all this. But its odd usability and performance glitches make me hesitate to recommend that you spend the $600 it costs. The price isn’t out of line for what you get, which is one reason that I really wanted to like the Traveler GPS 525. It racks up huge cute points for its diminutive size (4.3 by 2.3 by 0.7 inches) and exceptionally light weight (4.4 ounces with batteries). And its full complement of wireless support, including Bluetooth as well as Wi-Fi, is icing on the cake.’

PC Mag reviews the Verizon XV6700 and writes - ‘Boo. Hiss. Verizon’s XV6700 could have been the best PDA/phone on the market today, with a great balance of small size, robust features, and decent call quality. Unfortunately, Verizon’s decision to cripple the gadget’s Wi-Fi abilities should send power users running to Sprint, which has a better version.’

Read more about the Verizon XV6700

‘Dopod International launches the Dopod P10Q- a sleek, chic and slender PDA with built-in WiFi and GPS. The Dopod P1OO’s slender, antenna-less design makes it the perfect business companion.

“Dopod envisions rapid and exciting developments in mobility. More than ever, consumers in Malaysia are demanding quality communications solutions. Dopod is very positive about the growth potential of the market here. Building on our successful trend-setting for handhelds, and through extensive product R&D, we aim to satisfy the consumers’ needs for an empowered mobile lifestyle, ”said Jeffery Luo, Senior Sales Director, Dopod International Corp. ‘

Read more at Dopod Introduces Dopod P100

Pocket Lint reviews the LOOX N520 PDA and writes - ‘With Sony out of the market, Fujitsu Siemens Computing with the Pocket LOOX family provide the only credible competition to the HP iPaq range: and the N520 proves just how credible. Big and bright screen, that stays that way in sunlight because it’s trans-reflective, powered by Windows Mobile 5, and complete with a good selection of utility software. ‘

Read more reviews of the Fujitsu Loox N520

Fifth Media Sdn. Bhd. announced today that the new AXIA A308 PDA Phone will be unveiled to the international market at the CeBIT exhibition in Hannover next month. Described as being a quad-band device offering GSM, GPRS and EDGE connectivity, the AXIA 308 also features Wifi connectivity. It is also the world’s smallest PDA Phone on the Microsoft® Windows® Mobile 5 operating system. “The AXIA A308 represents an obvious next step in mobile device consolidation. The device user gets full access to traditional cellular services from just about anywhere in the world, with its quad-band capabilities. Its compact size and built-in Wifi will set this device apart as a business tool,” said Mr. Bernard Bowiz, Chief Technical Adviser of Fifth Media Sdn. Bhd. “With the increasing proliferation of Wifi hotspots, the AXIA A308 will also offer a more cost effective way for users to access the Web,” adds Mr. Bowiz.

‘BlackBerry maker Research in Motion said Friday it agreed to pay $612.5 million to patent holding company NTP to settle a long-running dispute that had threatened to shut down the popular wireless e-mail service for its 3 million users.

Canadian-based Research in Motion (Research) announced the settlement late Friday ahead of a U.S. judge’s expected ruling on damages in the case.

Under the settlement, NTP granted RIM the right to keep running its BlackBerry business, the company said in a statement.

“The agreement has been finalized and NTP’s lawsuit against RIM has been dismissed by a court order,” the Canadian company said. “The settlement means no further court proceedings or decisions about damages are necessary.”’

Read more at Blackberry maker, NTP settle patent dispute for $612.5M

Pocket PC Thoughts has news on the The Mio P350 and P550 Pocket PC’s and writes - ‘French site, Mobinaute, has details on two new Mio GPS Pocket PCs, deemed to be successors to the A201. The P550 will feature a 400MHz processor, integrated GPS (SiRFstar III), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, an SDIO/SD/MMC slot, and Windows Mobile 5.0. The P350 is the baby-brother version, lacking both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. No word yet on an official release date or price, but more will be revealed at CeBIT next month.’