iPhone attracts 1 million interested customers

CTIA 2007 -- During a keynote speech at CTIA, an AT&T executive noted announced that it has collected information from a million people who want to be contacted when the Apple iPhone begins shipping in June. The company isn't taking pre-orders, so it's hard to tell if the demand is from probable (and able) buyers or not, but AT&T seemed pretty pleased at the number. Apple hopes to sell up to 10 million of the advanced devices.

The same keynote presentation included the only appearance of the iPhone at CTIA. It was only for a few seconds, but attracted more photos and attention than any other part of the presentation. Apple's secretive approach to marketing is at least successful in terms of producing buzz.

SanDisk announces 4GB microSDHC card

CTIA 2007 -- SanDisk, in conjunction with Verizon Wireless, has announced a 4GB microSDHC card. microSDHC is the new High Capacity (HC) version of microSD, more information on that is available below. Two Verizon Wireless V Cast handsets are already compatible with the new standard, the LG VX9400 and LG VX8700. According to SanDisk, 4GB is enough for 4,000 photos or 16 hours of video. It also matches, in storage terms, one of the iPod nano configurations.

Verizon Wireless will launch the new 4GB card exclusively on May 1st. The retail price is just $129.99. It's not known when the card will hit other channels.



SDHC is the new designation for any microSD or SD-based card that is larger than 2GB and adheres to the new SD 2.00 specification that is required for cards and hosts to support 4GB to 32GB capacities. The specification was developed by the SD Association, an industry standards board, which also defined three speed classes for speed and performance capabilities. These cards adhere to the SD Speed Class 2 Rating specification which defines a minimum sustained transfer speed for SDHC cards.(3)

Samsung UpStage announced by Sprint

CTIA 2007 -- The Samsung UpStage is Sprint Nextel's latest effort in the expanding music phone niche. We first saw this handset at CES when it was called the Samsung Ultra Music F300, but since that was a GSM device there have been a few changes. The UpStage keeps the unique 2-face styling in an iPod nano-esque shape. Executives for Sprint joked that the name UpStage comes from Sprint's desire to steal Apple's iPhone thunder. Though the spec sheet shows the UpStage is not made to compete with a high-end product like the iPhone.

Features of the Samsung UpStage include:
EV-DO 3G data
Stereo Bluetooth 2.0 with spoken caller ID
1.3 megapixel camera
45MB built-in memory plus microSD card slot, 64MB card included
Petite size, 4.07" × 1.73" × 0.37"
Sprint Music Store for OTA downloads, new lower priced $.99 downloads
Sprint Music Manager application to load music onto device

Sprint expects to begin selling the Upstage in the first week of April. It will be priced at $149.99 with a new 2-year contract. Sprint looks to be betting big on the Upstage and will be aggressively marketing it.