Psst....Neo, is That a Smartphone You're Holding?

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.com.com/2009-1088-984352.html?tag=lh#10' target='_blank'>http://news.com.com/2009-1088-98435....html?tag=lh#10</a><br /><br /></div>"Samsung may be poised to introduce a new cell phone related to "The Matrix Reloaded," the sequel to the popular "Matrix" movie scheduled for U.S. Release May 15. Curious readers can submit their e-mail addresses to receive additional information at <a href="www.thematrixphone.com">www.thematrixphone.com</a>. The URL was registered Jan. 16, 2003, and lists a Samsung contact address, according to records in the WhoIs database. The phone could be announced as early as March 17, when Samsung, Microsoft and wireless carrier Sprint PCS plan to host a "Matrix-themed party" during the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association trade show in New Orleans."<br /><br /><img src="http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com/rl_img/posters_six_carrie_crpd.jpg" /><br /><br />Pocket PC Thoughts reader Peter West, had a very interesting idea. There's a lot of buzz about this new "Matrix Phone" being made by Samsung. Samsung is a Smartphone partner...and Microsoft is part of the launch party. Coincidence? I think not dear Watson! I agree with Peter: the Matrix phone will be the first CDMA Smartphone to hit the market, and will likely be available in the channel in April. Uh-oh...I think I hear <a href="http://www.aboutfilm.com/movies/m/matrix-weav.jpg">Agent Smith coming for me...</a> 8O

[mar2k]

More like Agent Gates.......

[Chairman Clench]

Pocket PC Thoughts reader Peter West, had a very interesting idea. There's a lot of buzz about this new "Matrix Phone" being made by Samsung. Samsung is a Smartphone partner...and Microsoft is part of the launch party. Coincidence? I think not dear Watson! I agree with Peter: the Matrix phone will be the first CDMA Smartphone to hit the market, and will likely be available in the channel in April.

Sorry, but I don't think so. Check out www.mobile.burn.com for pics of the "Matrix Phone". It doesn't look like it has a directional pad or a large enough screen to be a Smartphone.

It is a shame, though... maybe you should be in charge of Samsung/MS marketing... it seems like it would have been a perfect fit to merge the Matrix, Samsung, Smartphone, and CDMA together. Having it in a "hip" movie like the Matrix Reloaded would diminish the "geek" factor of the smartphone and would have been a great way to sell it.

[Jason Dunn]

Sorry, but I don't think so. Check out www.mobileburn.com for pics of the "Matrix Phone". It doesn't look like it has a directional pad or a large enough screen to be a Smartphone.

Auuuuuuuuuuuuugh...........no no no!!! What IS that monstrously ugly thing?? 8O :pukeface:

That's the kind of thing you beat off attackers with, not make calls from.....augh. :?

My plan was such a GOOD one too. :cry: :lol:

[Chairman Clench]

Auuuuuuuuuuuuugh...........no no no!!! What IS that monstrously ugly thing?? 8O :pukeface:

That's the kind of thing you beat off attackers with, not make calls from.....augh. :?

My plan was such a GOOD one too. :cry: :lol:

:D I couldn't agree with you more!!!!!!!!!!!! It is UGLY! It makes me extra happy to have a T68i.

[bdegroodt]

Auuuuuuuuuuuuugh...........no no no!!! What IS that monstrously ugly thing?? 8O :pukeface:

That's the kind of thing you beat off attackers with, not make calls from.....augh. :?

My plan was such a GOOD one too. :cry: :lol:

If that thing has a direct line to Tank, I'm in!

[rlobrecht]

If that thing has a direct line to Tank, I'm in!

How about a direct line to Trinity? 8O

[acronym]

that looks like something you'd get in a happy meal, or in a box of cereal.

[Steven Cedrone]

I think this thread should be changed to: "Psst....Neo, is That a Piece-of-crap-holdover-from-the-90's phone You're Holding? :wink:

Steve

[rbrome]

I agree on both points here so far:

First, it is quite possibly the most hideous-looking mobile device ever conceived.

Second, it does not meet the user interface requirements for a Windows Powered Smartphone. AFAIK, all MS Smartphones are required to have a 4-way d-pad (or joystick), two softkeys, talk, end, home, and back buttons.

However, other than the above, such a development would make a lot of sense... The marketing tie-in makes sense, (The Nokia "Matrix Phone" was a huge success,) and a Samsung MS Smartphone for Sprint makes a lot of sense, too.

I suppose it's possible that the pics are of an early prototype - before they decided to make it an MS Smartphone. They could have since juggled the buttons around slightly to make it meet the MS requirements.

That's just pure speculation, of course, but if that's the case, hopefully they took that opportunity to revamp the whole style of it as well. It's really grotesque as-is...

[Jonathan1]

I still want one of those phone from the first matrix movie. Where the face of the thing was spring loaded. Too cool.

This thing.....ICK! Its like an HR Giger nightmare crossed with Star Trek first Contact borgafied thing. Thanks. I'll pass.

[Solarix]

Damn, they had to go and **** up something that could have been off the hook (pun not intended).

[derosnec]

OMG I'm blind... oh the pain.
Im sure it sounded like a good idea at the time...

[bdegroodt]

Maybe it's a trick to get you to part way with your email address for the real phone... :idea:

[Elad Yakobowicz]

If you go to the matrixphone.com site and compare it with the image, you'll notice that right before the flash file ends and loops again, they give a flash of a real-life photo of the phone. It's the same, as far as I see.

Reminds me of those big gray phones from back in the day, only with three colors (red, black, green) instead of two (black gray)

[bdegroodt]

In fairness to Samsung, how "Matrix" would it be for Neo to be carrying around a big silver shiny phone with a color screen (Aren't there only 3 colors used in the movie-Green, black and white :P ).

I look at the Samsung NEXiO in the post before this one and have to think there's more to the story that is meeting our eyes...and I think that the ultimate goal of Samsung is to get us wondering away. Well done Samsung.

[Jonathon Watkins]

8O WOW, that's nasty! I hope it's a fake. Next! 8O

[kidA]

In fairness to Samsung, how "Matrix" would it be for Neo to be carrying around a big silver shiny phone with a color screen (Aren't there only 3 colors used in the movie-Green, black and white :P ).

I look at the Samsung NEXiO in the post before this one and have to think there's more to the story that is meeting our eyes...and I think that the ultimate goal of Samsung is to get us wondering away. Well done Samsung.
agreed. the phone is incredibly hideous. but it's very matrix.

[R K]

I wonder if there's anyone that'd be singing a different tune once/if we find out that it's actually a Microsoft Smartphone in disguise.

It could be a flip-phone you know, maybe with the joystick on the side with the screen.

[Cipr0]

Sprints upcoming phones....(from howardsforums)

Click on the link below and download the PowerPoint presentation. Good stuff coming up:

http://members.cox.net/rjmoose/2003.ppt



Hitachi G1000 - Mid-May

Samsung i500 - End of April/May now

Samsung i700 - June now

Nokia 2285 - Mid-May

Sanyo SCP-8100 - Mid-April

Samsung A600 - End of April

LG 5450 - End of May

Sony Ericsson T608 - Mid-May

[T-Will]

Yeah that's sickening! :pukeface:

[Janak Parekh]

I still want one of those phone from the first matrix movie. Where the face of the thing was spring loaded. Too cool.
You mean the phone that didn't really exist - they took a Nokia 8110 and hacked it to have a spring-loaded feature. If you look at the phone now, though, it looks totally dated today. :)

--janak

[Yorch]

Maybe the phone opens up, kind of the Nokia 9210 Communicator and we have a full blown Windows CE device!!!


We could only dream :roll:

[Jonathon Watkins]

...We could only dream :roll:

No, that's thing's a nightmare! :wink:

[Trade Wind]

...it is using Windows CE 4.1? Why would Microsoft be involved in a launch party for a mobile device that doesn't run one of their operating systems?

It doesn't add up.

[st63z]

You need to soothe your nerves after seeing that phone, so feast your eyes on:
http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com/rl_cmp/animatrix_main3.html (or http://www.intothematrix.com ).

First of the 4 free (of the 9) anime shorts available. It's simply amazing the number of high-caliber anime studios/directors/producers the W. bros have convinced to do these shorts at the same time 8O

And just looking at the gallery clips you can identify the unique visual style of each of the respective studios, from past work (and obviously Osiris looks identical to Final Fantasy heh).

...I dunno, this 2nd Renaissance part 1 reminded me of Metropolis, which I'd seen not too long ago. You can d/l straight at: http://progressive1.stream.aol.com/wb/gl/wbonline/progressive/thematrix/us/med/Episode1l_dl.zip (137MB)

[dean_shan]

Why does it have to be so big? It's weird looking, kinda like the Jedi Communicators in E1. When I heard Matrix phone I thought "Sleek, shinny, black, cool". I hope the photos are fake and it turns out to be like the phone in my mind.

[dean_shan]

...I dunno, this 2nd Renaissance part 1 reminded me of Metropolis, which I'd seen not too long ago. You can d/l straight at: http://progressive1.stream.aol.com/wb/gl/wbonline/progressive/thematrix/us/med/Episode1l_dl.zip (137MB)

I thought the short was good. Too bad you have to wait until May for the second half. I'm looking forward for the rest of the shorts and for the real deal, Reloaded! I think I'm going to miss school that day.:wink:

[st63z]

Why does it have to be so big?

But did you see the size of Amy's cell phone (CellMate) w/ which Kif kept calling and hanging up on her? ;)

It played a few nights ago on Cartoon Network, I believe...

P.S. Sorry for another OT, please mods don't drag me to the HOFS...

[Newsboy]

http://www.rit.edu/~jtc9331/thematrixphone.jpg

[Reinaldo]

Never say its too big. Remenber, there is no spoon. Hopefully there won't be phone either. Ewwww. That makes a @migo look like the thinest thing on the land. Yikes! Matrix? Isn't it supposed to be high-tech? Excuse me Samsung, I don't see any high tech. Anyone see it?

[Elad Yakobowicz]

The cars they ride in throughout the movie aren't exactly high-tech either ;)

Not in the first one anyway... as for the second one... just wait and see...

[antoni]

I think its cool, i'd buy one. :oops:

[Rok]

If you check out the new Siemens Xelibri line (InfoSync World) of mobile phones, you'll see that apparently there is some sort of lunacy virus spreading among the designers. Or they are smoking some heavy $hit indeed.

http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/3140.html

http://freeweb.siol.net/roklokar/shocked.gif

Talk about style, or complete lack thereoff. The Samsung Matrix phone (if it is indeed real) would at least suit Darth Vader perfectly :twisted:

Rok

[jayman]

I thought the obvious choice would have been the NEOnode:

www.neonode.com

The one and only Jayman

[aroma]

In fairness to Samsung, how "Matrix" would it be for Neo to be carrying around a big silver shiny phone with a color screen (Aren't there only 3 colors used in the movie-Green, black and white :P ).

I look at the Samsung NEXiO in the post before this one and have to think there's more to the story that is meeting our eyes...and I think that the ultimate goal of Samsung is to get us wondering away. Well done Samsung.

What??? Wasn't there also RED... as in a dress... 8O

As for the phone, I wonder if Fruit Loops will be including those in a box of cereal... :pukeface:

[Mojo Jojo]

The cars they ride in throughout the movie aren't exactly high-tech either ;)

Not in the first one anyway... as for the second one... just wait and see...

What do you mean? You have a problem with a 1966 Lincoln Continental with suicide doors?

:wink:

[GoldKey]

That phone looks like something the borg would carry. And even still, I think it is ugly.

[PlayAgain?]

I wouldn't buy that phone, but I think it fits the movie perfectly. That whole clunky, heavy industrial thing is exactly what this phone reflects.

Think of the bridge of the Nebuchudnezzer, it's hardly NCC1701-D now is it?

Try and think of the phone in the context for which it was designed and you'll find it doesn't look so bad.

[Jason Dunn]

...it is using Windows CE 4.1? Why would Microsoft be involved in a launch party for a mobile device that doesn't run one of their operating systems?

It doesn't add up.

That's what I keep thinking....why would MS be involved??

[Newsboy]

The screen does look big enough to run SmartPhone. I suspect that Samsung created this phone as a prop in a product-placement agreement with Warner Bros., and then decided to market the product along with the Matrix II and III.

[pepemosca]

Here are some good pictures of this phone:

http://www.thelastfreecity.com/comments.cfm?Item_ID=7954&Item_Type=articles

The phone will have 65K+ color TFT LCD screen, 40 polyphonic ringtone, automatic sliding earpiece utilizing piezoelectric motors (opens and closes with one touch of the button on the side). It's believed this might start out as a US exclusive only.

[Jonathon Watkins]

That phone looks like something the borg would carry.

Well, you should know! :lol:

And even still, I think it is ugly

Don't we all. :wink:

Still, again, why MS? I guess we will soon find out......

[bjornkeizers]

That's what I keep thinking....why would MS be involved??

No-one can resist a good train wreck, especially if it happens right in front of you. A case of corporate rubber-necking perhaps?