T-Mobile Announces Motorola ROKR E8
T-Mobile has officially announced a new member of the family, the ROKR E8, meaning Motorola has officially made its first significant foray into North America with what we would term, its new generation.
What makes it the new generation? Well, the new Linux OS for starters, plus a unique profile, cool morphing keypad, excellent music capabilities and design and function that is totally unrelated to the RAZR (sorry, RAZR 2 V8…you’re out). Personally, given the extent of T-Mobile’s 3G network, we are not at all hurt by the absence of 3G on the E8. We hope this is just the beginning for Motorola (and their comeback?), this device certainly deserves to do well.
It will available July 7th, for $199.99 with a 2-Year Contract.
[via Engadget Mobile]
Samsung Glyde Pictures and Rumors
The Samsung Glyde which will some point be available at a Verizon Wireless Store near you may also be available… for FREE… at… BestBuy?
That’s an image picked up at EngadgetMobile and they were tempted to say it is a screen shot of BestBuy’s internal system. You’ll notice all those FREE, FREE, FREE listings and basically, the Glyde could be free at BestBuy with any new contract or contract extension.
We talked about BestBuy’s Cell Phone push with their Carphone Warehouse deal… but this would be pretty big news for them if Verizon doesn’t have the same offer. We can’t imagine that they wouldn’t but the Glyde doesn’t seem like the “Free” phone type.Could BestBuy be purposefully taking a loss to draw attention to their mobile sales department?
Right now it is all rumor and speculation so let’s move onto something that is real, hard (that’s what she said) evidence: Samsung Glyde pictures.
1,000 Carphone Stores to Open in US
You read that right… CAR phone stores. Apparently the Carphone Warehouse is one of Europe’s largest retailer of mobile devices, with 2,300 stores spanning the continent. Contrary to what their name suggests, they offer an incredibly wide range of mobile products.
Okay… before we continue… CARphone Warehouse? Really? You couldn’t have changed your name in the past twenty years to update yourselves a bit? I mean… do you drive around and see any stores called “Typewriter Depot” or “Fax Machine World”? Hire a New Marketing person maybe?
Regardless of their name, they’re about to make a monstrous entry into the United States. And by Monstrous, we mean as big as some of the first Carphones that ever existed. Big like THIS:
Alright… enough with the jokes. Because what Carphone Warehouse is doing is pretty darn serious. They’re partnering with BestBuy to unveil 1,000 stores across the United States. Some of them will be located within BestBuy stores and others will be standalone stores.
Apparently Carphone pioneered the Britain’s independent structure of one store offering all makes and models, allowing customers to truly compare prices, products and services. The company has taken it even further by leading the industry in after sale services… and profiting off them, too.
These are bright guys… and in this ever competitive industry perhaps they can help take BestBuy’s mobile department to the next level. However, we hope they’ll consider altering their name at least for the America’s. It’s one thing to grow up with a service that becomes outdated… but pushing the ancient name “Carphone” down consumers’ throats may not be the best way to make a cutting edge first impression.