Council meeting number #2 opens up and this week the council reviews Google’s Nexus One, HTC’s Touch HD2, FunkyBall Worlds for iPhone, a bunch of new Windows Mobile applications and more.

Joining us this week is PocketNow.com with some great stuff directly from CES.

PocketNow.com took a spin of the Google Nexus One, an Android handset made by HTC with a large 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen and Android 2.1 with speech functionality and fast 1 GHz Snapdragon processor at pocketnow.com.

During CES keynote speech, Microsoft implies that Windows Mobile 7 may be headed sooner than expected in February to Mobile World Congress…

This week Windows Mobile was treated with big news on both the hardware and software sides. The much anticipated Crayon Physics game finally made its way to Windows Mobile.

As if that weren’t enough, it’s now confirmed that the HTC HD2 will be coming to the US exclusively on TMobile in the spring.

Speaking of the gigantic HTC Touch HD2, MobileSpoon had a chance to spend the night with HD the second. Read more about it in the HTC Touch HD2 Review.

With so many things going on, how about taking a short break to learn a few things you didn’t know about cell-phones?

If you thought 1GHz on the HD2 was good then meet dual core Snapdragon 8X72 (twin 1.5GHz scorpion processor )

More : http://www.1800pocketpc.com/2010/01/08/qualcomm-dual-core-1-5ghz-snapdragon-coming-in-2010.html

This week at JAMM, we let down our hair to try out the exciting FunkyBall Worlds for iPhone, testing our maze driving abilities and causing Doug to “spend” 100 hours of his time so far.  Check out the Quick Look for Funkyball Worlds here.

Additionally, we learned how to ease our hectic lives just a bit with SBSH Software’s highly useful PhoneWeaver 2 for Windows Mobile.  Check out the the full review of PhoneWeaver 2 here.

- MobilityDigest
- 1800PocketPC
- The Mobile Spoon
- JAMM – Just Another Mobile Monday
- PocketNow.com

Site owners, wanna join the Smartphones Council? Contact us.

I know you are all excited by the Google Nexus One, but there is another device that deserves your attention. I am talking about the The Motorola Backflip.

This new Moto has a capacitive 3.1’’ touchscreen, Android 1.5, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3G connectivity and a 5 Mp camera with LED flash. Not impressed by the specs? Well go on and give a look at the YouTube video and images below.

The touchpad on the back of the screen (image courtesy of BGR) 

The camera and flash are inserted in the keyboard (image courtesy of BGR) 

Here is the press release:

LAS VEGAS – CES – Jan. 6, 2010 – Today Motorola, Inc. announced the latest addition to its Android™ portfolio: BACKFLIP™ with MOTOBLUR™.  The Motorola BACKFLIP, which combines the social saviness and personalization of MOTOBLUR with the multitasking performance of a smart phone, will be available in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia beginning in Q1 2010.  The unique reverse flip design makes it easy to enjoy videos, music and photos, and the QWERTY keyboard allows you to blast through e-mails, texts, news feeds, social network messages and more.

“Since introducing our first MOTOBLUR-based device, we’ve remained focused on differentiating the Android experience and bringing it to new carrier partners around the globe,” said Sanjay Jha, co-CEO of Motorola and CEO of Motorola Mobile Devices. “BACKFLIP maximizes the multi-tasking and multi-functional potential of MOTOBLUR with its unique design elements, making it as smart as it is social.”

MOTOBLUR is Motorola’s Android-powered content delivery service created to make phones more personal and socially smart. It is the first and only solution to sync contacts, posts, messages, photos and much more—from sources such as Facebook®, MySpace, Twitter, Gmail™, work and personal e-mail, and LastFM—and automatically deliver them to the home screen. Content is fed into easy-to-manage streams allowing you to spend less time managing your life and more time living it.

BACKFLIP is designed around the MOTOBLUR experience and provides multiple features to keep phone conversations moving. Multi-tasking has never been easier with BACKFLIP’s reverse-flip QWERTY keyboard and high-res 3.1” HVGA screen—letting you see more and respond faster.  Navigate quickly and easily through menus and features with the new and unique BACKTRACK™ feature. BACKTRACK is a touch panel located on the other side of the device, offering you a new way to scroll through—the Web, texts, e-mails and news feeds without obscuring the home screen.

The truly original design allows BACKFLIP to create new ways to enjoy photos, music and more. In the reverse-flip, tabletop mode, listen to music or view videos hands free. The digital picture frame mode lets you show off your latest adventures. You can even turn BACKFLIP into a bedside alarm clock for your morning wake up call.

BACKFLIP comes fully equipped with the MOTOBLUR features you know and love. The full HTML browser on BACKFLIP’s 3.1” high-res, touch display will be sure to impress, and, with 3G speed and Wi Fi access, you will never be out of the loop. Android Market™ gives you access to more than 18,000 apps and widgets, so you are free to customize BACKFLIP to your liking. Capture the moment with BACKFLIP’s 5 MP camera with flash and easily upload to your favorite photo sharing or social site. Additional extras such as aGPS and stereo Bluetooth make BACKFLIP the complete package.

Finally, MOTOBLUR provides end-users with convenience and peace of mind, as lost devices can be located from a secure personal information portal and even remotely erased if necessary.  Then, one user name and password brings back your contacts, messages and connectivity to your previously configured networks and email providers.

BACKFLIP with MOTOBLUR will be available in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia beginning in Q1 2010. For specific regional availability and pricing, contact your local Motorola representative. To experience BACKFLIP, please visit www.motorola.com/backflip.

As you may have noticed the keyboard is placed reversed, so that it is always exposed together with the screen when the phone flip is closed. The 5 Mp camera and flash are placed in the bottom left portion of the keyboard, near the shift key. Then, a touch panel is placed on the back of the screen to allow you to interact with the system without the need to touch the front facing touchscreen.

Good to know that someone is willing to explore new way to interact with devices, but I hope Motorola has done some usability testing before putting this out…

Via: Boy Genius Report

Via: Android Phone Fans

I have become a pretty big fan of relative newcomer Skyworks, and their iPhone games.  They do a fantastic job with detailed graphics and animation, while bringing what should be very familiar games to your iPhone/iPod Touch, often with a unique twist.

The latest entrant to their growing library of games is Slapshot Frenzy, which is based on hockey (as the name would imply).  In this one, you control two offensive players trying to score as many goals as possible. 

In Free Skate mode, it is just you against the goalie in a single period.  Classic Mode adds two defensive players trying to stop you, but also extends the game to three periods.  Since you only control the offense, the action only takes place on half the ice.  If the puck is shot passed the red line, then play stops and you will reset at center ice.

This game has fantastic action and, like I said, really nice animation (including a zamboni which clears the ice between periods).  I did, however, find it to be a bit difficult to control the players.  In order to move them around the ice, you will need to drag them with your finger.  I had two problems with this.  First, the players never seems to drag quite where I wanted them.  Second, my finger/hand was always getting in the way of the action.  It would have been better if they had included an on-screen control pad in the lower corner as many other games have done, allowing you to control the players without blocking the view.

Despite these inconveniences with the controls, however, I found this to be an incredibly addictive game.  I really liked the fact that Skyworks took what could have been an extremely complex game, and boiled it down to its most basic components.  There is no complicated play calling, just skate, pass, shoot (and really there is very little need for the passing either).  Like Funkyball World, which I reviewed yesterday, Slapshot Frenzy is one of those games which can fill the various free seconds you have during the day, or wile away a few hours.

Unlike Funkyball, however, I was disappointed by the save feature.  Games like this, which you use to fill those empty moments rely heavily on the ability to save a game midstream.  Because, let’s face it, when you finally reach the front of the line at the DMV, they will not wait for you to finish your game before arguing with you about whether or not to smile in your drivers license picture.  I found that when I saved and exited, the game would save my position in the game, but erase my score, resetting to zero.  Hopefully that is just a bug which can be easily fixed in a future update.

Finally, like all Skyworks games, you can track your high scores locally or compare scores online using the global leader board.  I really like these global leader boards, although I do always feel a pang of disappointment upon learning that my all time best score is not even close to enough to make the top 50 in the global high scores.

Slapshot Frenzy was developed by Skyworks, and is available from the iTunes App Store for the bargain basement price of $0.99.  Or try out the Lite version for free.

Plastic Logic debuted the first e-reader designed for the business user, the QUE proReader.  Let’s take a look at QUE’s (pronounced Q) hardware specs:

-8.5 x 11 inch form factor

-10.7 inch shatterproof plastic touchscreen

-WiFi and 3G (via AT&T)

-o.33 inches thick

-Available in 4GB & 8GB versions

The functionality is the where the business users will see their most important features.  The QUE will give people access to their presentations, documents, and e-mails.  Of course, there will also be access to top magazines, books, and newspapers.  Several big publications will work to optimize their content for the QUE. 

Check out this list:  the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun, San Jose Mercury News, Contra Costa Times, Oakland Tribune, Huffington Post and The Sporting News Today, Barron’s, Fast Company, Forbes,  USA TODAY, the Financial Times, Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News, MIT’s Technology Review, Popular Science, and IDG publication titles, including Macworld, PC World, CIO, Network World, and Computerworld.

The most interesting development is that Plastic Logic is partnering with Good Technology to develop QUE mail and QUE calendar.  This will enable mobile professionals to have email and calendar updates from a broad range of popular email and calendaring services, including Yahoo!, Google, Windows Live, and Microsoft Exchange, automatically pushed directly to their QUE devices over WiFi and 3G networks.  Plastic Logic plans to have these ready to go by fall of 2010.

Pricing is where I see a possible issue:  4GB is $649, and the 8GB is $799.  You can currently pre-order the QUE at the QUE store, and later on from Barnes & Noble.  That is a big price tag.  With the new netbook/e-readers arriving, will you really want to shell out this kind of money when you get something with the same functionality for $200 less.  All of the publications are nice as well, but I can’t imagine those papers and magazines will limit themselves to one format.  It wouldn’t make sense with all the Kindles and iPhones in the world.  I’ll be curious to see how this works out.

AT&T finally made its jump into the Android pool.  They announced that they will be releasing five Android phones during the first half of 2010.  Three of these phones will be exclusive to AT&T.  First one is from Motorola powered by MOTOBLUR with a unique form factor.  The second phone is Dell’s first smartphone, which is currently only available in China.  Finally, their third exclusive with be an HTC Andorid phone.  The Motorola and HTC are not much of a surprise.  Both companies have expressed a strong commitment to Android.  However, it will be nice to get a close look at the Dell phone when it arrives.

My big question is, what does this mean for the iPhone?  Is AT&T trying to gather more high-end phones in their camp for fear of losing their iPhone exclusivity?  How about their network?  Can it handle even more traffic?

Via phandroid