Eclectic Electronics

Nokia jumping deep into the touchscreen phone market

Posted: 11 Apr 2009 11:00 AM PDT

Trying their hand at the touchscreen market a couple of years back, Nokia failed oh-so-miserably with its 6708. They haven’t released much touchscreen phones since that one. Recently, it looks like they’ve realized that more and more people are into touchscreen-based phones.

Rumor has it that Nokia will be adding three more touchscreen devices in addition to their N97 which is slated for a summer release. Hopefully, they get things right this time around.

I, for one, am not fully excited about fully touchscreen phones. There is just something about tactile keypad/keyboard response that I seemingly long for in a communication device. Having both a touchscreen and QWERTY input would be the ideal choice for devices but then the devices have to be thicker than usual because of the additional electronics.

[via Mobilewhack.com]

CrunchPad internet tablet leaked

Posted: 11 Apr 2009 09:20 AM PDT

TechCrunch plans to introduce a touchscreen-based internet tablet possibly called the CrunchPad.

The TechCrunch product features an Intel Atom processor along with a 12-inch capacitive screen. Capacitive, in simple terms, means that it will only respond to your fingertips. Word has it, that it will also include 4GB of internal memory (I believe storage would be a more appropriate word), WiFi, accelerometer for auto-rotation like the Apple iPhone.

More details and specifications will be provided by TechCrunch and its affiliated sites once available.

Rumored pricing is $300 or less. Not bad for a huge iPod Touch-like device. I believe its purpose will be mainly for browsing the web. I just can’t imagine typing a lot of stuff using that onscreen keyboard! Personally, I’d rather purchase a netbook or a laptop instead.

More of the leaked photos on CrunchGear.

[via Tech Ticker Blog]