The Facebook phone has kind of dropped off the radar recently, especially with Facebook having a pair of announcements not too long ago, and none of them revealing a phone that integrates Facebook in a new and bold way. According to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG)’s recently filing, dating back to December 23rd, 2010, it looks like the rumors about the Facebook phone are going to pick up speed again, as a new device from INQ has popped up.
The INQ Cloud Touch is notable for being rumored as the Facebook phone, because it’s not the first time the company has been tagged as the manufacturer of the device. In fact, INQ is marked as bringing two Facebook phones into the market in the year 2011. But, since about September, it’s been pretty quiet on the FB phone front. The new filing from the Bluetooth SIG suggests that INQ is indeed working on an Android-powered handset, and Facebook is “built into its core.”
“INQ Cloud Touch is an Android smartphone built to make messaging faster and smarter. It’s designed around the way people naturally communicate and has Facebook built into its core. The homescreen features multiple entry points to different Facebook functions, while a dynamic widget displays a feed of status updates, albums, videos and photos.”
There’s certainly no confirmation at this point that this device really is the Facebook phone, or if INQ has just made an Android smartphone that has Facebook as one of its main features. There’s no telling when the manufacturer, or Facebook, will unveil any news regarding the device, so we’ll just have to sit tight and wait.
The Bluetooth SIG has a long history of promoting its members’ “special interests” by leaking valuable tidbits about their handsets before they’re announced. The recently unearthed LG C900 is the latest of these, being pegged for a launch date “around” September 28th by the SIG’s detail page on the phone. The QWERTY slider, which is referred to in C900N, C900k, and C900B versions, will be available in Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. Phone Arena conjectures that the launch date lines up with AT&T’s marketing materials timing and the slated Q4 launch of Windows Phone 7, so the C900 probably has a decent chance of being the first Windows Phone 7 phones to market if LG’s own GW910 or some more secretive set doesn’t beat it to the punch. Still, September is a bit earlier than any of the launch windows Microsoft has managed to let slip, and as far as we know Microsoft won’t even be accepting apps in the Marketplace before October.
AT&T came right out and confessed that it would be “the premiere carrier” for Windows Phone 7, and while it’s obviously far too early to say if that’ll be the case, this ain’t a bad way to start proving one’s point. Samsung’s Cetus (SGH-i917) was just recently confirmed to be one of the first commercial Windows Phone 7 devices last week, and now the always-disclosing FCC database has shed even more light on the phone’s intentions. Based on the mention of 850 / 1,900MHz frequency support — and that whole “SGH-i917 (ATT)” marking on the label — it’s pretty safe to assume that this 4-inch, AMOLED-packin’ superphone will soon be fighting with the iPhone 4 for shelf space. There’s obviously no indication of when Ma Bell plans on releasing this one to the wilds, but it’s typically not too far out after hitting this milestone. Giddy yet?
You’d probably assume that Samsung would have a difficult time overshadowing the Galaxy S right now, but all it really takes is a salacious Bluetooth SIG entry that leaves only the most important parts to the imagination. We’ve known for some time now that Sammy would be one of Microsoft’s closest Windows Phone 7 launch partners, and we’ve even taken the time to toy with a prototype earlier in the year. But a new Bluetooth certification is now all-but-confirming a name: Cetus. The SGH-i917 is apt to be North America’s first WP7 device from Samsung, a 4-inch smartphone with an 800 x 480 AMOLED display, 5 megapixel camera, a VGA front-facing camera, an FM radio tuner, inbuilt GPS, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, USB 2.0 and of course, Bluetooth. As for pricing, availability and form factor? “Not yet.”
Samsung’s first Windows Phone 7 device just broke cover, thanks to the Bluetooth SIG. And, just as we had imagined it would be, it’s a device that can definitely work well to steal some of our attention, even for just a bit. Also not surprising, is the fact that it’s going to be on par with their already released, well-received Galaxy S devices. So if you would, please welcome the Samsung Cetus into existence.
We’ve actually heard of the Cetus before, but back then it had a different model number than this time around. It was leaked in a UK cellphone roadmap, and sure enough the device is certainly real. Features wise, if you’re looking to buy a Windows Phone 7 device, this may be the one to start leaning towards. It will feature a 4-inch WVGA AMOLED display (which Samsung Hub believes it will be Super AMOLED, and we have no reason to disagree with that belief), WiFi, GPS, and an integrated FM radio.
Oh, and there’s a front-facing VGA camera, too. On the back, a 5MP version. It has a microUSB port, and it will rock Bluetooth version 2.1. Unfortunately there’s nothing on the internals at this point, but that should start trickling out soon enough. Now we just need a release date.
We’d already heard from Samsung itself at CTIA that we’d see the high-end Galaxy S complete with blindingly brilliant Super AMOLED display on American soil in 2010 — and considering that Sammy doesn’t play the unlocked, unbranded game in these parts, that means with certainty that it’ll be coming to a carrier. Here’s where it gets interesting: the Bluetooth SIG has recently certified a “full touch” device (read: no keyboard) from Samsung identified as the SGH-i897 with a 4-inch display and TouchWiz 3.0 — in other words, a dead ringer for the unbranded Galaxy S that’s identified as the i9000. Historically, Samsung models that start with SGH and end with a number 7 land at AT&T (it’s a tradition that goes back years) so it stands to reason that this i897 is destined for the orange and blue. Is AT&T actually planning on getting serious about solid Android hardware this year?
We were glad to see Bluetooth low energy actually added to the Bluetooth 4.0 spec, but of course the question remained: when are we going to get our hands on it? By Q4 this year, apparently — at least according to the Bluetooth SIG. But don’t expect any dramatic changes in battery life for most of your gadgets: while the low energy spec introduces connectivity to a host of lower-power devices that have in the past relied on proprietary technology (such as watches, pedometers, and cats), your traditional Bluetooth devices, such as phones and laptops, will consume roughly the same amount of power. Indeed, the low energy spec is merely throwing smaller devices (with smaller amounts of data to transfer) in to the mix: if you want Trans-Siberian Orchestra to sound as glorious as ever on your wireless headphones, you’ll need to push as much data (and hence draw as much power) with version 4 as you would with version 3. If you’ve ever heard “A Mad Russian’s Christmas,” you’d know what we’re talking about.
Ah, Bluetooth Special Interest Group, our second-favorite source for mobile leaks (next to the FCC, of course). Here’s two new entries care of Acer, both touchscreen devices with quadband GSM. The Android-powered E110 (pictured, right), however, also touts the AT&T-friendly 850 / 1900 frequencies and A-GPS. As for the P300, it’s got an unknown version of Windows Mobile, 802.11b/g, and Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR. That’s quite a bit of detail for two tiny entries — now let’s get Mobile World Congress started already, give Acer a nice platform to spill the beans.
The Bluetooth SIG’s device database isn’t typically the most helpful when it comes to tracking down specs and gorgeous, high-res photos — but often, it’s first way we hear of a new device, so we’ll take what we can get. Take this F350 from ZTE for example; from the single picture the SIG’s given us, we can’t even make out whether it’s a landscape or slider, a pivot, or a full touchscreen (doubtful) phone, but we can make out a shiny little Verizon swoosh three-quarters of the way down. It’ll apparently have a camera, voice command capability, Bluetooth (of course), and a 1X radio, but we’re not clear on whether that means it won’t have EV-DO. Now that we know Verizon’s working with ZTE, this makes quite a bit of sense, doesn’t it?
And here we have it: what’s likely to be the world’s first Bluetooth 3.0 phone courtesy of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). According to the filing’s description, the “compact and slim” Samsung GT-S8500 is a touchscreen slate phone with a “high resolution” 3.1-inch OLED sporting a TouchWIZ UI and quad-band GSM/EDGE radios. The advantages of the 3.0 Bluetooth spec approved in April are faster throughput (up to 24Mbps) and more frugal power usage — both welcome advances in modern media-playing handsets. Although it’s not stated we can assume an official launch in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress.
We were glad to see 
Ah, Bluetooth Special Interest Group, our second-favorite source for mobile leaks (next to the 
