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Power to the pocket: The next generation of superphones - Yahoo! Shopping
Motorola Atrix 4G
The pitch: Plug Motorola’s Atrix 4G into its optional dock and the humble smartphone becomes a 13-inch notebook, giving you a full-size screen, keyboard, and even a separate battery to charge the phone as it sits.
Skeptic’s slant: The optional laptop dock will cost you $500, and because it doesn’t run Windows 7, it does a lot less than a $350 netbook would.
Availability: AT&T will open the Atrix 4G for preorder on February 13, and begin shipping units March 6 or earlier. The phone itself runs for $199 with a two-year contract.
Kyocera Echo
The pitch: When the Echo’s little 3.5-inch touchscreen starts to feel a little cramped, slide it apart and a second identical screen rises up to meet it, providing a combined 4.7 inches of glowing LCD. The two screens allow you to browse side-by-side websites, read an e-mail in one screen while you reply in another, and even play games like The Sims where one screen acts as a controller, similar to the Nintendo DS.
Skeptic’s slant: Not many apps will work with the dual-screen functionality right off the bat, and running two screens at once will cost you big time on battery life.
Availability: Sprint will offer the Echo for preorder within the next few weeks for $199 with contract, but it won’t begin shipping until spring.
Samsung Infuse 4G
The pitch: With a whopping 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus Screen and a body as deep as a pencil, the Infuse 4G will be both the largest and thinnest phone in AT&T’s portfolio. Thanks to HSPA+ 4G, it will also be one of the fastest on the network. And did we mention it shoots 1080p video?
Skeptic’s slant: Sprint’s 4.3-inch EVO 4G already dropped jaws (and stretched pockets) with its screen size. Is a 4.5-inch screen on a phone really practical?
Availability: Samsung’s Infuse 4G will arrive in the second quarter of 2011 exclusively on AT&T.
Motorola Atrix 4G
The pitch: Plug Motorola’s Atrix 4G into its optional dock and the humble smartphone becomes a 13-inch notebook, giving you a full-size screen, keyboard, and even a separate battery to charge the phone as it sits.
Skeptic’s slant: The optional laptop dock will cost you $500, and because it doesn’t run Windows 7, it does a lot less than a $350 netbook would.
Availability: AT&T will open the Atrix 4G for preorder on February 13, and begin shipping units March 6 or earlier. The phone itself runs for $199 with a two-year contract.
Kyocera Echo
The pitch: When the Echo’s little 3.5-inch touchscreen starts to feel a little cramped, slide it apart and a second identical screen rises up to meet it, providing a combined 4.7 inches of glowing LCD. The two screens allow you to browse side-by-side websites, read an e-mail in one screen while you reply in another, and even play games like The Sims where one screen acts as a controller, similar to the Nintendo DS.
Skeptic’s slant: Not many apps will work with the dual-screen functionality right off the bat, and running two screens at once will cost you big time on battery life.
Availability: Sprint will offer the Echo for preorder within the next few weeks for $199 with contract, but it won’t begin shipping until spring.
Samsung Infuse 4G
The pitch: With a whopping 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus Screen and a body as deep as a pencil, the Infuse 4G will be both the largest and thinnest phone in AT&T’s portfolio. Thanks to HSPA+ 4G, it will also be one of the fastest on the network. And did we mention it shoots 1080p video?
Skeptic’s slant: Sprint’s 4.3-inch EVO 4G already dropped jaws (and stretched pockets) with its screen size. Is a 4.5-inch screen on a phone really practical?
Availability: Samsung’s Infuse 4G will arrive in the second quarter of 2011 exclusively on AT&T.
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