Aside from the environment-friendly phone, W233 which Motorola is launching at CES 2009, the company also announced the new ruggedized Tundra VA76r. This new Motorola phone is a 3G clamshell device featuring a form factor and design which can withstand any environmental conditions. Geared for the mobile phone users who have active lifestyles, the Motorola Tundra VA76r provides fast access to the Internet either through 3G network or AT&T’s Mobility Push to Talk service.

Having passed the US 810F Military Specifications (MIL), the Tundra VA76r is certified to withstand drop, dust, vibration, humidity, severe temperatures and rain, so you can bring the phone anywhere you go. But that’s not all to the Tundra VA76r’s features though. It also features Motorola’s CrystalTalk Plus technology which delivers crisp and clear conversation  during phone conversations. And with a touch of a single button using PTT technology, users can quickly connect to a single person or a group of contacts. In addition, the Tundra VA76r also features AT&T’s Navigator which provides turn-by-turn directions to new locations.

Other features of the Motorola Tundra VA76r include text messaging, mobile web browsing, AT&T Music, 2 megapixel camera, 100 MB internal memory, up to 4GB optional removable memory, and Bluetooth. It also lets you do multi-tasking, allowing you to run more than one application at a time, allows you to do simultaneous voice and data use, and address book locking.

Other specs of the Motorola Tundra VA76r include:

• 5.9 hours Talk Time, 14 days standby time
• 1130mAH battery
• 850/900/1800/1900 MHZ (GSM/GPRS/EDGE), 850/1900MHz (UMTS/HSDPA)
• GPRS/EDGE Class 10 data transmission
• 2.2-inch internal display

The Motorola Tundra VA76r is slated for release on January 13 under AT&T for an SRP of $199.99 after a $50 rebate and comes with a two-year contract.

As the tech world is rocked once again by the CES 2009 event happening in Las Vegas almost all major technology companies are beating each out in releasing new product announcements here and about. While its major rivals are seemingly quite, Motorola is takes the lead with the launch of its new “green” phone called the MOTO W233 Renew. And when we say green, we mean both literally and otherwise.

The MOTO W233 Renew is by all means an environment-friendly product as its housing was made from plastics from recycled water bottles and it was certified to be a carbon neutral device. To put it in another way, the MOTO W233 helps you to reduce your personal carbon footprint when you use it, ensuring that you are adhering to the environment-friendly adage – Re-use and Recycle. Aside from this, Motorola has also reduce the packaging size of the MOTO W233 and even its in-box materials are environment-friendly as well, with the printed manuals made from recycled paper and written using vegetable-based inks. With a reduced packaging, transport emission will be reduced as well. Topping these environment-friendly features of the MOTO W233 is an in-box postage-paid recycling envelope that you can use to send your old mobile phone to Motorola for recycling.

Now here’s a quick rundown of the MOTO W233’s specs:

• SMS, MMS
• optional 2GB removable memory
• WAP browser
• USB Connectivity
• 850/1900 GSM Bands/Modes
• 1.6-inch CSTN display
• User removable housing
• 9 hours talktime, 18 days standby time

The MOTO W233 is slated for a Q1 release, initially under T-Mobile USA.

Via Motorola Media Center

Emergency Distress Beacon is another clever iPhone app from Cinn Dev, the same iPhone development company that made Dogtag, blogged about yesterday.

It’s a simple application that sends an e-mail with your latitude and longitude in case you need rescuing. Could come in useful in cases of emergency.

Consumers are being warned to be on the lookout for fake iPhone Nanos, despite the real thing not even being released, reports the BBC. Image from Gizmodo.

It was rumoured that Apple might be announcing a new, smaller iPhone at this year’s Macworld conference.

As a result, counterfeiters in the Far East started producing replica iPhone Nanos, replete with Apple logo.

However, no such thing was announced, meaning the only iPhone Nano you can buy is fake.

Fake iPhone Nanos started appearing in Thailand just after Christmas, replete with “official” Apple logo and iPhone branding and there are reports that they have started to appear in European shops.

Caveat emptor.

In an effort to cash in as more consumers look for environmentally friendly products, Motorola has unveiled a new mobile phone created from recycled water bottles.

[via DailyTech]

Here are the Top Ten Stories, by popularity, from Dailywireless.org logs.

1. The Open Mesh Revolution (03/11): Michael Burmeister-Brown announces a new product and company designed to fill the void left by Meraki — Open-Mesh. The Open Source WiFi router/repeater does everything the original Meraki did — and more – for less.
2. Top iPhone Games (08/14): Today, game prices are lower and games are better.
3. Oceanic Fiber Cut (01/30): The first huge optical cable disaster. How is it that Flag Telecom, Falcon, and SEA-ME-WEA 4 cables were severed within hours of each other, although Marseille, France and Alexandria, Egypt, are hundreds of miles apart? Bad weather took the rap.
4. Android G-1 Reviews (10/16): On Oct. 22, T-Mobile and Google bring out the G1, the first hand-held computer that’s in the same class as Apple’s iPhone. The consensus: Not bad, with good potential for the future.
5. DTV Converter Box Coupons (01/02): Get yours before broadcasters end their analog signals on Feb. 17, 2009.
6. WiFi Gets A Roaming Standard: 80211r (08/28): The IEEE has been working on 802.11r for four years, and the concept has been solid since 2005, but the standard was formally approved and published by the IEEE this summer.
7. Cern’s Red Button Day (04/07): The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the new particle accelerator built to probe the origin of the universe, is the largest scientific instrument on the planet. When repairs are finished.
8. Penryn Laptops Roll Out (01/02): On January 6, 2008, Intel’s Penryn-based notebook processors rolled out. Turned out to be less eventful then the rise of the Netbook.
9. 2008 Olympics (08/06): The Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics took place on 8/8/08 at 8 p.m. Wow!
10. Three Submarine Cables Damaged (12/19): Bookends!

Nokia China has just announced the new mobile phone dubbed 6208c – a touchscreen mobile handset that supports pen/stylus input and was optimized to write Chinese characters and messages in the most natural way. The Nokia 6208c features a stylus which is conveniently tucked inside a slot at the back of the phone for easy access. This styles suits well with the 6208c’s large screen display.

The Nokia 6208c sports a stainless steel back cover made of premium materials and which more than make up for the phone being easy to use and comfortable to hold. The phone also supports different language settings aside from the Chinese language.

A complete rundown of the features and specs of the Nokia 6208c would give us the following key features,  a 3.2 megapixel camera, dual LED flash and 4x digital zoom, 13MB internal memory, support for optional microSD cards up to 8GB, a 2.4-inch screen display with 320 x 240 pixel resolution, keyboard and handwriting stylus pen for input methods, a dedicated camera and volume keys, video capture at 15fps, media player that supports various audio and video formats, 3 hours and 30 minutes talk time, 300 hours standby time, Bluetooth support, EDGE/GPRS/HSCSD network connectivity features, POP3 and IMAP4 Email support, web browsing, voice dialing and voice-driven commands, pre-installed games and more.

The Nokia 6208c runs is a series 40 mobile phone which supports JAVA and Flash applications.It’s a triband phone operating on  EGSM 900/1800/1900. It will be available in the first half of 2009 in selected International markets.

We have to agree with Phenom Communications Inc.’s when it announced that it’s new product the Phenom Watch Phone is the most innovative gadget in the world. Where else can you find a gadget that fits in an unlocked GSM cell phone, an MP3 and MP4 player, a digital and video camera? Suffice to say that all these functionalities are contained in a cool-looking compact watch? Believe it or not, it has happened and it sort of everyman’s dream gadget, right?

Like Mati Herbst, Phenom’s CEO said, “it was time to combine all the essential gadgets in one.” You might think that there are other cell phone models which has the phone feature, music and video player already – but that is exactly the point, those devices are cell phones or a better term would be smartphones. But the Phenom Watch Phone is more of a primarily a watch before it is a cell phone and the other functionalities it has.

Enough with the babbling and let’s get on to business. The Phenom Watch Phone features a 2GB memory, a touchscreen, built-in Bluetooh, USB port and speaker phone. It’s primarily a watch that has a main function of telling the time. But with just a switch of the SIM card, it transforms into something else – a watch phone which works with any carriers worldwide.

Another switch of the SD card, and the Phenom Watch Phone becomes a music or video player. The Phenom Watch Phone is perfect for teens, tweens, sports and outdoor enthusiasts, men and women.

Now here’s something more fun. The Phenom Watch Phone is available in various models including the SpecialOPS and Mi5 Watch Phones which are geared for the serious gadget lovers. Both watch phones are GSM cell phones, have touchscreen features, built-in microphones, speakers, MP3 and MP4 player and digital and video cameras. In addition these two watch phones also lets you take down notes using a stylus pen or even record dictation. The SpecialOPS even has a keypad which is located right on the watch band.

For women of all ages, the Glam and Stylist certainly fit into their lifestyle.  These two watch phones also features the same specs as the previous two models of the Phenom Watch Phone.

Two of UK’s best newsmedia have launched free iPhone aps, The Telegraph – covering the latest News, sport, finance, travel and motoring, and the BBC – offering all the news in print and pictures.

Watch >BBC app video demo. No video available for The Telegraph.

Next Mobile Web brings Craigslist to mobile phones with an iphone app called Craigsphone.

Users can post while on the move, upload photos and share location (SF bay area and Manhattan only, for now)

Watch the video demo:

craigsphone from Next Mobile Web on Vimeo.