Android Mobile Phones

Checking Call Phone Calls With Reverse Phone Lookup Database

2011-10-31T21:48:00.000-07:00

Reverse cell phone lookup is especially beneficial for knowing the identity of a person; in case you have missed out on some call made from an unsaved or anonymous number. The missed call might have been very important for you, but on the reverse case it may be made as a prank call. To know the identity of such a person, what you are required to do is to refer to a reverse cell phone lookup company to make out the details. Although personal identity is never meant to be made public, but this Internet based company do so on urgent cases with a small fee to be made for the process. No matter from where the call has been done, landline or a cellular phone, reverse cell phone look up easily looks for the required information needed by its client. Cheapest Mobile Phone Contracts

Chose a good reverse cell phone lookup directory

Seek for a directory service that is trustworthy. You may not obtain it in natural cases as revealing identity is against the privacy norms; however, certain private detective or journalists keep such contact for their job or diverse business purpose.

The directory should be made compiling of unrestricted number of private or public numbers. They also include the restricted base cell carrier data.

Steps to do the search:
• To find details of a number visit one reverse phone lookup service providing website first.
• They might require you to register for some fees.
• Place the number about which you want to enquire or the right place and click on search for a customized search of their directory.
• If you are lucky, the directory will contain the number and all the personal identity information of the user using that phone number will pop up in the screen.
• The information that you will receive will be, the user’s name, his age, the service provider company, the address on which the provider has billed him, the service and even his previous address too.
• The reverse cell phone lookup company may also perform a background check concerning the criminal records or records of any divorce filed from the official sources if required by their client, in this case you.

Some company will direct you to information about the number to clear its authenticity. However, the information may be vague and to know properly about the person in details, you will be required to pay a small fee to retrieve more information about the number user. Use reverse phone lookup database now.

New Tech News New technology tips and news all about Mobile computers laptop with specification details price in india.

Sell my mobile Compare Mobile phone recycling with www.mobilephonerecycling.com, the easiest and fastest way to get cash for phones and sell my mobile online today.

Blackberry Curve 8310

2011-08-14T23:44:00.000-07:00

Blackberry Curve 8310 - Specification and details for Blackberry Curve 8310. All specifications are categorizes as General and multimedia. Blackberry Curve 8310 reviews and mobile phone rates are available. Blackberry Curve 8310 price and details. You can also sale out your Blackberry Curve 8310 in used condition.

Further more, it is combine 3 Mobile phone customer service, get mobile offers, new mobile phone specification and mobile phone free stuff. This is a plate form working as a cell phone shop for popular brands like Nokia, Vodafone, Samsung, Sony Ericsson Apple iphones, 02 mobile phones, three mobile phones that is famous as 3 mobile phones.

BlackBerry Curve 8310

Featuring a metallic finish, clean lines and soft edges, the BlackBerry Curve 8310 is the smallest & lightest BlackBerry smartphone ever to come with a full QWERTY keyboard. The BlackBerry Curve 8310 is designed to simplify your life in a friendly, personal and easy-to-use package. It’s your connection to everything that matters.

Dimension

107 x 60 x 15.5 mm

Weight

111 g

Battery

Talk time Up to 4 h, Stand-by Up to 408 h

OS

BlackBerry OS

Memory

64 MB flash memory + Extendable microSD (TransFlash)

Connectivity

Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB, GPRS, EDGE

Display Size

320 x 240 pixels (Trackball navigation)

Display Colour

65K colors

Operating Frequency / Band

GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900

Browser

HTML

Colors

Silver

Entertainment

Media player (Videos/Music), Games (builtin + downloadable)

Camera

2 MP, 1600×1200 pixels, flash

Other Features

QWERTY keyboard, Integrated GPS, BlackBerry maps, Voice dial, Built-in handsfree

Ring Tones

Polyphonic (32 channels), MP3

Messaging

SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging

cheapest international calls Offering cheap international calls to destinations all over the world. A better alternative to international calling cards and phone cards. Quality, convenience and transparency are what we stand for.

blu-ray authoring

LG Optimus 2X

2011-08-09T23:29:00.000-07:00

LG has traditionally focussed on the entry-level mobile phone market with handsets like the Optimus One, but its latest Android phone — the Optimus 2X — aims to compete at the top end of the market. Along with a powerful dual-core processor, the LG Optimus 2X has a 4in display, an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p full HD video recording and an HDMI-out port.

Read our LG Optimus 2X vs. Apple iPhone 4 smartphone showdown and check out our roundup of other top Android smartphones.

LG Optimus 2X: Design and display

The LG Optimus 2X is a very well constructed smartphone. It features the combination of a glass front, metallic sides and quality-feeling plastic on the back. First impressions are very positive, and the Optimus 2X looks and feels like an expensive handset from the moment you pick it up. We particularly liked the rear battery cover — it has a brushed metal rectangular strip in the middle that features an etched 'with Google' logo, and the brown plastic has a soft, rubberised feel that doesn't easily scratch or mark. The Optimus 2X feels sturdy and rigid, and there are no signs of any rattles or creaks. The camera lens protrudes slightly from the back so the phone doesn't sit flat on a table or desk.

The LG Optimus 2X has a power button on the top, and volume keys on the left side, along with a bottom-mounted micro USB port and a top-mounted headphone jack and HDMI-out port. The power and volume buttons are perfectly positioned and provide great tactility when pressed, while the HDMI-out port is covered by a plastic flap that is easily removed. Below the display are four backlit, touch sensitive Android keys — menu, home, back and search. The keys are relatively responsive, even if we prefer physical keys.

The LG Optimus 2X has a 4in IPS display with a resolution of 800x480. It displays vibrant colours and crisp text, and has excellent viewing angles. We were also left impressed with its performance in direct sunlight. Our main complaint stems from its responsiveness, as the Optimus 2X's screen felt rather sticky — it often required a firmer press than it should have to be activated, while gentle swipes across the screen sometimes didn't register. It's not a huge issue once you get used to it, but the Optimus 2X's touchscreen definitely feels less responsive than most competitors.

LG Optimus 2X: Software

The LG Optimus 2X comes with Google's Android 2.2 (Froyo) operating system, but LG has promised it will be upgradeable to the latest version of Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) in the coming months. The Gingerbread version of the Android platform will equip the Optimus 2X with a refreshed user interface, an improved keyboard layout, better text selection and gyroscopic support for 3D gaming.

LG has skinned the standard Android UI with its own overlay and many of the changes are positive. We particularly liked the music controls that are integrated into the notifications slide-down bar, the revamped contact pages, and the cartoonish-looking weather, clock and calendar widgets. LG's on-screen keyboard is also excellent and is very similar in both look and feel to the iPhone layout. However, LG's Facebook and Twitter apps are much inferior to the standard Android versions, and the entire LG overlay isn't as slick or smooth as we feel it should be — especially given the Optimus 2X is powered by a dual-core processor.

LG Optimus 2X: Other features

Along with a 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor, the LG Optimus 2X has an 8-megapixel camera that doubles as a 1080p full HD video recorder, HDMI-out, DLNA and 8GB of internal memory. These top-end specifications put it in line to compete with other powerful Android smartphones like the HTC Desire HD, and the Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc.

The LG Optimus 2X's 8-megapixel rear camera takes still photographs with excellent levels of detail and sharpness, and possesses good colour reproduction. The lack of a camera shutter key is slightly annoying, but the on-screen button does a relatively good job in its place. The LED flash is powerful and bright, but does tend to wash out colours in low-light situations. Video recording is also excellent, with high levels of detail and decent sound quality.

The LG Optimus 2X comes with an HDMI-out port, meaning you can connect it directly to a high definition television, but LG doesn't include a HDMI cable in the sales package. Along with DLNA connectivity for wirelessly sharing media content, the Optimus 2X is well equipped for multimedia sharing.

The LG Optimus 2X has a microSD card slot, along with a reasonably impressive 8GB of internal memory, and is powered by 512MB of RAM. Unfortunately, the LG Optimus 2X has below-average battery life. Most users will get around 24 hours of life out of the Optimus 2X's 1500mAh battery before it needs a recharge, but heavy users may need an injection of power before then. Our review unit often ran out of power before a full day.

The LG Optimus 2X will initially launch through retailer Harvey Norman for $649 outright, and will then be available via open distribution as an unlocked handset "in the near future." Alternatively, Australian online store MobiCity sells the LG Optimus 2X outright and unlocked.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini

2011-08-06T03:51:00.000-07:00

It seems a little odd to be reviewing Android 2.1 as if it's a new release when we expect Android phones to arrive with 2.2 or higher these days, but it's still a welcome update for Sony Ericsson's tiny little telephone. Obviously the hardware is still the same – click through to the later pages to read about the software enhancements now on offer in the 2.1 update.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini should be nothing more than a shrunken version of the Xperia X10 – but in reality it's a whole new phone that gives Android a complete makeover.

Oh yes, it's small. Sony Ericsson isn't joking when it says the Xperia X10 Mini is the same size as a credit card. Obviously it's a lot thicker, but the overall size and weight of the super-small Android phone is about equivalent to a packet of Swan matches. It is tiny.

The exterior is smooth with only three buttons on the face of the phone – Menu, Home and Back – and there's no D-pad or joystick whatsoever here.

The combination screen lock and power button is on the top edge, with a volume up/down toggle and dedicated camera button on the right-hand side.

On the bottom edge sits a 3.5mm headphone jack and the micro-USB connector, which requires a sharp, unbitten fingernail to pull open the little rubber stopper that stops pocket fluff build up. It's a simple, straightforward layout.

People who are afraid of buttons won't find the X10 Mini an intimidating experience.

Inside the box of this unlocked version direct from Sony Ericsson sat the phone, a 2GB microSD card, a micro-USB connector, headphones with inline pause button and five alternate-colour snap-on back panels.

Supplied colours will vary depending on who you buy yours from, as the company's fixed up a few exclusive deals for bundling different colour cases with the networks.

But there's no battery in the box – that's permanently fixed inside the phone. You're not able to replace it yourself, as it's locked within the core of the handset beneath a few layers of circuit boards, behind those funny star-shaped screws.

It's very light and could possibly do with feeling a little heavier, if only so it doesn't blow out of your hand in a breeze. But for a phone so affordable – currently going for around £140 on PAYG deals – the X10 Mini has a remarkably high-class feel about it.

Motorola Atrix 4G

2011-08-05T02:20:00.000-07:00

Motorola Atrix is currently leading the list of best Android smartphones. It has a beautiful sleek design and 5mp camera. It is also known as mini laptop because it features dual core processor and 2.2 Android OS.

Specification:

CPU: Dual Core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, ULP GeForce GPU, Tegra 2 chipset.

Display: TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 540 x 960 pixels, 4.0 inches

Memory: 16 GB storage, 1 GB RAM, external memory up to 32GB.

Battery Time: Up to 250 hours and 9 hours talk time.

HTC EVO shift 4G

2011-08-03T02:18:00.001-07:00

Another glory set but HTC called EVO shift. This smartphone is another one of the most wanted smartphones in the world. It contains Android 2.2 (froyo) with 5mp camera and huge storage option.

Specification:

CPU: 800 MHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 205 GPU, Qualcomm MSM7630 Snapdragon chipset

Display: TFT capacitive touchscreen, 65K colors, 480 x 800 pixels, 3.6 inches

Memory: 512 MB RAM / 2048 MB ROM, 2GB in external memory included up to 32 GB

Battery Time: up to 146 hours with 6 hours talk time.

Sumsung Epic 4g

2011-08-03T02:08:00.000-07:00

Sumsung Epic 4g

Samsung Epic is the one fastest smartphones and it has also dominated HTC recently but failed to make an impact over Motorola who is currently leading the whole market. Samsung Epic contains the Android 2.1(éclair) operating system and has many other power packed features that willrock the user.

Specification:

CPU: 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor, PowerVR SGX540 GPU, Hummingbird chipset

Display: Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 480 x 800 pixels, 4.0 inches

Memory: 512 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM, up to 32gb extended microSD option

Battery Time: up to 300h with 6 hours talk time.

Norton Mobile Utilities Beta

2011-07-27T04:53:00.000-07:00

Norton Mobile Utilities Beta (for Android)Since its introduction for DOS nearly thirty years ago, Norton Utilities has carved out a space for itself as definitive utility software for the PC. With Norton Mobile Utilities Beta (Free), Android device owners now have the power to analyze, organize, and optimize the software on their smartphones. Whether you're uninstalling apps, stopping them in their tracks, tracking mobile data usage, or unpacking detailed information about your mobile phone and OS, Mobile Utilities is your Swiss Army Knife.

Granted, it is an economy model. Its four applications—Device, Usage, Installer, and Apps—are a far cry from the 14 featured in the original Utilities Suite written for DOS and Windows 3.1, and its capabilities are largely available already. However, Norton Mobile Utilities is a free app (the software for DOS cost $80). Unifying a host of otherwise disparate tools in one app backed by the Norton name, Mobile Utilities deserves a spot on your smartphone.

Device
For Android propeller heads, the Device module is your toolbox. Want to know about your phone's CPU? (My Galaxy S has an "ARMv7 Processor rev 2 v71"). Or perhaps the temperature at which it runs? (80.6 degrees Fahrenheit for me). How about the signal strength of your service provider? (My T-Mobile service: "-73 dbm 20 asu," for what it's worth). And that's just the System Information screen.

Norton also includes some terrific real-time charts that'll help you visualize your battery and CPU usage, memory, network up and down speeds, and internal storage capacity. Most of it's overkill, but for the technically-inclined, Norton serves up more detailed information than you'll find in your Android Settings, though it still cannot rival the specificity of SeePU.

Usage
If Norton Mobile Utilities Beta's Device module is for the geeks, Usage is for everyone else. Mobile data plans aren't cheap, so any tool that lets you track your talk, SMS, and data usage deserves a mental bookmark. Norton lets you specify a plan, add a billing start date, and enter voice and data caps. Because you can browse previous usage (I went back to the start of May), Usage makes for a penny-wise roamer. There's also automation in Usage that Norton doesn't deliver elsewhere. For example, under Settings I set up a Usage Alert that would automatically notify me if I exceeded three-quarters of my usage (as defined by my plan).

Installer
Installer will be incredibly useful for 10 percent of Android device users and incredibly confusing for the other 90 percent. The reason is, you don't need it if you get apps from the Android Market. However, for those who dare to dip outside the Market and either transfer rogue apps from their desktop or download them directly to their phone as .APK files, Norton Mobile Utilities' Installer will spare you headaches. If you have a .APK file on your SD card, Installer finds it and lets you install it by tapping the name (it will even delete the .APK if you ask it to). I tested it using the PCMag 2011 Fastest Mobile Networks field test software, the Sensorly's Field Test. It made the process easy, though most Android users will probably never know or care.

Apps
Of Norton Mobile Utilities Beta's four modules, the Apps component has the broadest appeal. It's not that Norton Mobile Utilities does that much more than is already included with "Manage applications" (Settings/Applications/Manage Applications), but rather that it makes that functionality deeper and easier to find.

When I opened the Apps module on my Galaxy S Android phone, I could easily see that four of my eight applications that were running. Clicking "Show System" adds system processes (34 for me) to the mix. Norton lets you quit apps individually by clicking an "X," or end them all by tapping "Stop Running Apps." I can see how the ability to batch-quit could be useful if you're a bit of an app hoarder and all those Angry Birds are egging your phone's performance. Also useful is the ability to open, uninstall, or reveal detailed information (including the version number, location, permissions, memory usage, and even battery usage) about an app simply by clicking it.

While I think the batch-quit functionality deserves praise, I would have loved to see the Apps module do more. As it stands, there isn't a distinction between apps or services, so I'd warn against tampering with system "apps." Along the same lines, I would have loved to see Norton bring un-delete to Android (remember the original version of Norton Utilities for DOS had UnErase). As it stands, the Apps module feels more like Norton's take on Advanced Task Killer—useful if unremarkable.

Utilities Made Easy
Don't think of Norton Mobile Utilities Beta (for Android) as heir to the company's comprehensive desktop utility software. It doesn't need to be. Despite the capability of today's smartphones, thankfully there isn't the need for such maintenance. Instead Mobile Utilities makes sense as an "app." It's free, simple, and gathers tools otherwise scattered across system settings and third-party apps. Already a solid beta, Norton Mobile Utilities should also get even better: The company intends to add storage optimization, greater widget customization, and monthly Wi-Fi usage monitoring in the coming weeks. However, if you want a useful maintenance tool for your Android device, don't bother waiting—download Norton Mobile Utilities Beta (for Android) today.

More Mobile Utilities:
• Norton Mobile Utilities Beta (for Android)
• The Missing Sync for Android 1.4
• doubleTwist 2.6
• Google Android 1.5
• Apple iPhone OS 3.0

GateGuru for Android

2011-07-27T04:50:00.000-07:00

GateGuru (for Android)
Pros
Clean UI. Integrates with Tripit and Kayak for flight details, Gowalla, Foursquare, Twitter, and Facebook for sharing. Checkpoint wait time estimates. Tips, reviews, and deals. Airport maps.
Cons
Tips would be more useful if GateGuru added recommendations from established location-based social networking sites such as Foursquare. Airport maps deserve a shortcut on the home screen.
Bottom Line
GateGuru (for Android) is an app to pack: It will help you navigate airports, anticipate wait times, find the freshest food, and travel with greater confidence.

Imagine this grim scene: You have a three-hour layover at LaGuardia and the unenviable choice between the Auntie Anne's or the sports bar—which option is least apt to inflict irreversible damage on your stomach lining? With GateGuru (for Android) you can use your smartphone to save yourself the plight of past LaGuardia travelers. User-submitted reviews help you ferret out the best grub, tips enable you to spot a deal on that day-old pretzel, and airport maps and checkpoint wait times will spare you from extending your tenure. Add integration with social networking sites for real-time status updates (to satiate your friends' schadenfreude) and tie-ins to KAYAK and Tripit for flight details, and GateGuru proves a gracious travel companion in the least hospitable airport.

Credentials, Connections, and High Flyers
Of the app's four main modules—Trips, Account, High Flyers, and Airports—you'll probably spend most of your time taxying the Airports section, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't go exploring. While GateGuru doesn't require users set up an account to use the app, if you're interested in managing travel and social networking tie-ins, you can sign up through the Account section ("User") of the app. From here you can also connect with Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and Gowalla to share updates on the social networks or sign into Tripit or KAYAK to see your flight information from GateGuru ("Connect"). You can even post your own suggestions ("Reviews & Tips") or tabulate the points you've earned through activity ("Scores").

The Trips and High Flyers sections build on those features. In High Flyers, you can access the leaderboard and view Global champs (forget Mayors, "60MinuteMan" is "Captain" of GateGuru) or filter to your Facebook friends. Meanwhile, Trips automatically retrieves itineraries from KAYAK or Tripit (registered through Accounts).

Plenty of Coverage
As useful as the previous modules may be, Airports is the hub of the app, and indispensible to your LaGuardia layover. GateGuru includes impressive airport coverage, especially for the domestic traveler: Despite cautious international support (just 6 in Asia and 7 in Europe), GateGuru has entries for 94 airports in the United States. You can either browse the entire list ("All"), filter by your location ("Nearby"), or search by an airport code or city name ("Search"). Clicking on an airport—I used New York LaGuardia Airport for my testing—opened a fresh screen with tabs for Terminals, Checkpoints, Reviews, and Tips.

Sony Ericsson C510

2011-07-01T23:59:00.001-07:00

The Sony Ericsson C510 is a stylishly designed mobile phone and is packed full of the highest quality imaging technologies. The C510 is the most affordable Cyber-shot mobile phone to date making it more accessible to the consumer. Measurements for this exciting and fashionable phone are 107mm x 47mm x 12.5mm and weighs only 92g making for a great handset to be used with ease and to be carried or stored easily. With the 2.2 inch TFT screen displaying over 262k colours with screen resolutions of 240 x 320 pixels any photos taken will look crisp and very clear. We believe the Sony Ericsson C510 mobile phone will be hard to put down, what with call times available of up to a massive 10 hours plus video call time up to over 2 hours with stand-by time of up to 400 hours.

Sony Ericsson C510 Review – Camera & Imaging

Now we'll get down to the real feature that is at the heart of this fantastic mobile phone and that is the Sony Ericsson's C510 imaging qualities. The 3.2 mega-pixel camera function comes with the highest of quality features which include 3.2x digital zoom to zoom on the more distance of objects, Face Detection meaning the phone will automatically focus on the faces in the photo, Smile Shutter this feature will the camera automatically take a photo when the subject smiles, there is a Photo Light to brighten those darker surroundings, Photo Fix this feature will adjust the light and contrast after the picture has been taken, Auto-Focus, Geo Tagging and Picture Blooging allowing the user to put their photos on-line in seconds. Recording video footage is also a great a feature as the C510 mobile phone has video recording capabilities. With the video function there is a photo like the camera light to brighten dull and dark environments plus the Video Blogging technology enabling the user to share their footage with friends and family by putting them on-line within moments. Enjoying video streaming is possible also on the handset. There is an illuminated short cut key that offers fast and easy access to the camera feature. To view any images captured on the elegant Sony Ericsson C510 mobile phone in either portrait or landscape mode the user just simply needs to rotate the handset.

Sony Ericsson C510 Review – Music Entertainment

For entertainment quality besides the brilliant 3.2 mega-pixel camera feature the user can enjoy the built-in music/media player system on the Sony C510 mobile phone. There is an FM Radio with RDS technology, Bluetooth Stereo with A2DP technology, Album Art, Mega-Bass to really give those tunes more a kick and tone, Muisc Tones in MP3 and AAC music formats, PlayNow enabling the user to download music straight to their phone and TrackID allowing the user to record a few seconds of a track and have all the details of the artist and album sent to the handset within seconds. The user can make their new C510 Cyber-shot mobile phone sound unique by choosing a ring-tone of their choice with Music Tones function. There is only 100 mega-bytes of built-in internal memory with a memory card support for a Memory Stick Micro M2 which will provide a huge amount of storage space for all the users photo's, videos, music and downloads.

Sony Ericsson C510 Review – Internet & Connectivity

Accessing the internet from a mobile phone is a way of life these days and more and more people are using their mobile phones facilities. The C510 uses the built-in WAP 1.2.1, WAP 2.0 XHTML, Web Feeds and Access NetFront web browsing technologies all which a speedy connection to net and a marvellous quality of service. Connectivity technologies included to provide a smashing service and speedy data and transfer rates are Synchronisation, Modem, Bluetooth, USB Support, USB Mass Storage and PictBridge. The networks supported on the C510 are GSM-GPRS-EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 UMTS/HSPA-850/1900/2100 enabling the user use their C510 mobile phone whilst abroad.

Sony Ericsson C510 – Messaging Services

Sending a message is a great way to stay in contact with friends and family the user can choose from the following options of services. SMS, MMS (multi-media messaging), Instant Messaging with the assistance of Predictive Text Input, Exchange ActiveSync and Emailing. Which ever service the user chooses they can get their messages, pictures or even videos sent in no time at all.

Sony Ericsson C510 Review – Gaming & Applications

Another form of entertainment to the user is the gaming facilities supplied on the fabuloous Sony Ericsson C510 mobile phone. The user can choose to play the Java and 3D games available and with the Motion Gaming technology the user can really get into the game interactively. YouTube has become ever so popular and now users can access this site instantly from their mobile phone and can enjoy viewing and save clips.

Application tools are a fantastic way to stay organised and stay on route to any destination with the tools available on the Sony C510. The Google Maps feature ensures the user will be get lost, the Tasks, Timer, Alarm Clock, Flight Mode and Calculator tools to name a few are all there to benefit and assist the user with most tasks at hand.

Sony Ericsson C510 Review – Summary

The Sony Ericsson C510 Cyber-shot mobile phone really is a competitor with camera phones. Ok the Sony Ericsson C905 mobile phone features an 8.1 mega-pixel camera the C510 really does feature the same highest imaging technologies along with the Sony Ericsson C902i. The Sony C510 has style and elegance packed full of the latest technologies and entertainment qualities and is more affordable than other leading mobile phones.

Sony Ericsson Aino

2011-07-01T23:56:00.000-07:00

Sony Ericsson Aino, the long awaited PS3 phone with its large 3 inch touch screen and the ability to stream content from your PS3 wherever you are. Sony announced this device in May 2009 and is said to be “coming soon”. The exterior is found not to be outstanding nor does is have the wow factor. The Sony Ericsson Aino is available in obsidian black and luminous white colour choices. When the Sony Ericsson is in its closed position it has an unassuming look. Is this the phone of your dreams or does it leave you wanting more? The device is made that bit more tempting with its Remote Play Feature which was initially developed for PSP. The unfortunate thing is that this is not a real PSP phone as the user is not able to actually play games only allowing the user to turn the PS3 on and off using their Sony Ericsson Aino. The SE Aino has the ability to enable users to control and access media content on Playstation 3 just about anywhere from their phone.

The bundled charging stand allows the Sony Ericsson Aino to connect automatically to a Playstation 3 gaming system. Users can access music, film, TV shows on their PSM via the Aino. Sony Ericsson have made the Aino that bit more tempting by including WI-FI® for both high speed internet connections and GPS.

The large 3 inch display of the Sony Ericsson Aino is the first to sport a widescreen and touch screen display but the touch screen is only usable in the multimedia part of the menu and with the camera interface. There is an impressive 8 mega pixel camera with the usual benefits of 16x digital zoom, auto focus, flash, face detection and video record. The Aino includes stereo Bluetooth, A-GPS and an 8GB microSD™ card. Sony Ericsson have chosen to have a microSD™ card slot, does this mean the end of the memory stick? The Sony Ericsson Aino is the third phone from the company that has the touch screen feature, following the Xperia X1 and the Satio. The Sony Ericsson Aino draws its power from a 100 mAh Li-Po battery, giving 13 hours GSM talk time, 4 and a half hours 3G talk time, 380 hours GSM standby and 1.7 hours 3G video call time. The SE Aino weighs 134 grams and is 15.5 mm thick, so its fat as well as heavy.

Sony Ericsson Aino - Construction and Design

The Sony Ericsson Aino has the look of a full touch design and is rather compact. There are no keys on the front panel and has the slimness of other touch screen devices. There are touch screen functions but these are limited when using some multimedia parts of the menu. These functions have been seen before in the LG KF750 Secret. The fast port is on the left side and the volume rocker, (which doubles as a zoom lever) and the camera button are on the right side. The microphone pinhole and the loudspeaker grill are on the bottom of the device. On the top of the Sony Ericsson Aino handset is the lock key. The camera is located on the back of the device but is not protected with a lens cover. When the slider is fully opened you reveal a key pad and the Sony Ericsson Aino handset then becomes an incredibly long handset.

Sony Ericsson Aino - Applications

The touch screen capabilities of the Sony Ericsson Aino are limited to a new and specially designed multimedia menu. The user interface is Flash-based. The Aino at first glance looks like other Sony Ericsson phones of the past 24 months, and like the Sony Ericsson Yari the interface has had updates. The Sony Ericsson Aino is equipped with the latest Walkman player 3.0 as does the Sony Ericsson Yari. The FM radio has touch optimised user interface and is possibly the best amongst mobile FM receivers. The Aino Camera menu is operated by touch and according to press info the Aino should be able to take 8 mega pixel photos and capture VGA video at 30 fps. The interface is similar to other touch camera user interfaces like the Xperia X1 and G900. The Sony Ericsson Aino has an integrated GPS receiver that has the function of assisted start. Wayfinder is the navigation software that comes with the Aino and Google Maps™ 3.0 is also included.

The Sony Ericsson Aino has the same web browser as the Yari, an updated version of the NetFront 3.5 mobile browser. Web pages are accessed quicker and zoom levels are found to give comfortable reading. The NetFront 3.5 web browser operates in full screen mode with features such as mini-map, enter an address, favourites and downloads.

Sony Ericsson Aino - Summary

Overall we really like the Sony Ericsson Aino, with its compatibility with the PS3 it is bringing something different to the mobile phone market. But just because it has this feature the phone has not been compromised in other areas. It still has a decent camera and will let you browse the internet.

Samsung C3050

2011-07-01T23:48:00.000-07:00

Samsung C3050 is a revolutionary slider mobile phone from Samsung. It is a truly attractive mid range mobile phone with all features you can expect for the price you are paying. It weights only 86g and you will never even remember that you have a mobile phone in your pocket. For a slider phone, the dimensions of 97 x 47.3 x 14.9 mm are truly attractive. The C3050 supports quad band 2G GSM networks and hence, it can be used worldwide. If you are looking for a stylish phone with basic multimedia features without much of technical options to enjoy using the phone, then Samsung C3050 is right for you.

Samsung C3050 has a 2-inch TFT screen that can display 65K colors. At 120 x 160 pixels resolution, you can get brighter images under good lighting conditions. As with any slider phone, you can find the call keys and D pad navigation pad at the bottom of the screen. The C3050 looks and feels pretty small and the outer frame makes the screen look much smaller. The phonebook can store as much as 1000 entries with the ability to store 30 calls for each type of call log. As with any mid range phone, if you are going to use the Samsung C3050 especially for calling purposes, you will be impressed by the call quality. The Speaker on the phone also performs well.

There is a primary VGA camera that can be used to take decent quality pictures. There is no self portrait mirror or LED that can be normally expected from a Samsung phone. However, since the camera is not a megapixel camera, Samsung might have eliminated the additional features. You can't expect anything more than basic quality images from a VGA camera. However, since the Samsung C3050 is just for basic mobile phone users, you must be satisfied with this camera.

The messaging features of Samsung C3050 are good to use. Just slide this Samsung handset to start using the alphanumeric keypad with well placed keys. The MMS and email messaging facilities are also available. GPRS and EDGE support with Samsung C3050 makes it possible to browse the Internet. The WAP browser is simply basic, but it should be convenient for you to browse some websites and take a look at the mails you have got. As with any modern day mobile phones, the Samsung C3050 supports both polyphonic and MP3 ringtones. You can use the stored ringtones or get more tones from your friends or using the Internet. Bluetooth connectivity enables file sharing between devices in a specific range and you can use USB to connect the phone to a computer.

The Samsung C3050 does not disappoint you when it comes to entertainment option because you can find an FM radio on it. This can be used to listen to your favorite channels wherever you go. There are games available on the C3050. If you want more, you can always use the Internet to download more. The internal memory is just 15MB which is definitely not sufficient for an passionate mobile phone user, but you can use the microSD slot that offers an extension of up to 8GB memory.

The battery used in the Samsung C3050 is a standard Li-Ion 800 mAh battery providing 340 hours of standby time and 7 hours of talk time. As the Samsung C3050 is not essentially a multimedia phone, the battery is sufficient even for those who get frequent calls. The mobile tracker feature of Samsung C3050 deserves a special mention since not all midrange mobile phones have this feature. The organizer applications are just basic and useful. The Samsung C3050 is a great midrange phone for those who can't afford other high end phones, but still need a phone with all features.

Wi-Fi Motorola Xoom

2011-07-01T23:40:00.000-07:00

The good news is that the 3G-less Xoom will be available from March 27and will cost $599, a price match to the equivalent iPad 2. The bad news is that Motorola still hasn't fixed some of the issues with the Xoom, and the 3G version still costs more than the equivalent iPad.

The Wi-Fi only Xoom comes with 32GB of on-board storage and costs just as much as a 32GB Wi-Fi iPad: $599. Although Motorola pushed for a price match, the entry price for a 16GB iPad is $100 cheaper at $499. Motorola didn't introduce a third model of the Xoom with only 16GB of storage, but perhaps it should have, considering the $499 iPad is the model flying off the shelves the quickest.

Spec-by-spec comparison of five competing tablets.Pricing aside, Motorola still hasn't fixed some of the issues with the Xoom meant to give it an edge over the iPad. Motorola's press release says a beta version of Adobe Flash 10.2 will be available as a download, not preloaded onto the Wi-Fi Xoom. Last week Motorola announced the 3GXoom will get a software update that will support an upcoming Adobe Flash Player 10.2.

Essentially though, the original Xoom still has no Flash support, a month after the original tablet was released. However, Adobe said a beta version of Flash Player 10.2 for Android will be available on March 18 for current Xoom owners, and it will probably come bundled on the Wi-Fi-only Xoom later this month.

Motorola also didn't address another ardent issue: SD card support. The Xoom touts memory expansion via SD cards, but the slot is still unusable due to lack of software support. Again, Motorola gave no clear indication whether this issue would be addressed by the time the Wi-Fi only Xoom arrives next week.

Motorola's Xoom does indeed have better cameras and more RAM memory (see a comparison chart) than the iPad 2, but Apple's tablet is much thinner and lighter (some reviewers called the Xoom obesein comparison). Finally, the iPad 2 has the advantage of a more mature App Store, with thousands of apps in comparison to a few dozen on the Xoom. This is why even the price-match Wi-Fi Motorola Xoom won't trump the iPad 2 any time soon.

Motorola Xoom 32Gb 3G

2011-07-01T23:35:00.000-07:00

The Motorola Xoom is the first Android 3.0 tablet to hit the market. That makes it the first Android tablet to ship with an OS that's designed especially for big screens, and that's why it's so exciting. Every tech gadget must be judged solely on what it provides, its purpose in life, and whether it will help you accomplish tasks and enjoy your media. With the Motorola Xoom, it's too easy to make constant iPad (and iPad 2) comparisons. Can you purchase movies as easily? Does the screen get as grimy? Does it cost more?

Read: Android 3.0 review

Yet, the Xoom is the first Android 3.0 tablet, the first really powerful tablet with a dual-core processor, and a sleek, 10.1-inch slate that is easy on the eyes.

Our colleagues at T3.com grabbed some Motorola Xoom video footage which you can watch below.

There's no question the Xoom is a brilliant tablet, one that is incredibly flexible in terms of media you can put on the device.

With a 5-megapixel front camera and a 2-megapixel rear-facing camera, 32GB of local storage (plus a potential for more SD storage after the next software update), 1GB of RAM, 4G support once the LTE roll-out starts and after a software upgrade, and 10-hours of battery life, the Xoom has the hardware specifications to make you sit up and take notice.

Plus, the new Android 3.0 tablet interface lives and breathes in the open source world.

Frankly, the Motorola Xoom blows the Samsung Galaxy Tab out of the water, and that is saying something. We'll keep our iPad comparisons to a minimum (hey, if you wanted one of those you would have bought one by now, right?) and ratchet down our comparisons to the iPad 2 which ships in the UK on 25 March.

The Xoom is the best Android tablet around and a device that is well worth serious consideration.

However, before we go any further, we need to address pricing - the Motorola Xoom is currently available for pre-order for £499. The 3G version is set to cost £100 more at £599.

The next-best Android tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, costs £399.00 without a contract, which is quite a bit lower than the Xoom. And, the Apple iPad 2 will start at £429.00 for the Wi-Fi-only version, so the Xoom is expensive.

Yet, our overall impression testing the device is that it is a notable upgrade from every other Android model, including the Dell Streak series. The heart and soul of this tablet is the new Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) OS, which ran lightning fast in our tests on the Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor.

And we mean fast: finger swipes registered quickly and accurately, and the few games available ran smoothly.

Android 3.0 is a brilliant interface for tablets – much more flexible than iOS in that you can drop widgets all over your homescreens, and more responsive and even better suited for reading books and playing games.

The Xoom even touts this fact in the Google Books app: there's a cool page flipping animation.

The Xoom has a decidedly PC-like UI in that you can press a button to see all open apps (unfortunately, you can't selectively close them from here but you can close apps through a memory manager under the settings screen), click the clock to see notifications and access settings, and move objects around the screen easier.

Motorola Wilder

2011-07-01T23:30:00.000-07:00

Motorola Wilder touchscreen budget phone is teenager-proof

Motorola's bodacious new Wilder touchscreen phone will be available from the Carphone Warehouse this July, priced at an awesomely modest £49.95. It's targeting the feature phone at teenagers, throwing around phrases like "get into the action" and "live life for the moment" in a bid to make it appear cool. It makes us think of Billy Wilder, which probably says more about us than we'd like.

For a fifty quid phone it's reasonably kitted out. A 2.8-inch touchscreen adorns most of the front, but there's also a separate notification bar at the bottom for displaying information. We can see why that might work on a clamshell like the Motorola Gleam, but it seems a little superfluous here. There's a 2-megapixel camera with video recording. Most party-hearty teenagers will be quite happy taking blurry pictures of illicit late-night shindigs with that -- let's not forget it's still a better camera than the first few iPhones came with.

The nondescript (but not Android) OS has a number of built-in apps including social networking favourites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace (all the places teens don't use any more), YouTube, plus a range of games and apps including Tetris, Game of Life, Need For Speed and Soundhound. The Opera Mini Web browser is built in, but there's no 3G or Wi-Fi, so surfing and video watching could be painfully slow. There's no mention of being able to add new apps, so we're guessing that's about it. It's rounded out with an FM radio and MP3 player and up to 32GB storage on memory cards.

The Wilder is splash and dust-resistant which means it should withstand the rigours of being attached to a moist, dirty teenager. We don't have details of which tariffs the phone will be available on, but presumably parents and teens alike will want something cheap and text-heavy. Will cheapo phones such as the Wilder and Vodafone Smart appease techie teens or will they hold out for an iPhone, Atrix or HTC Sensation? Check out the video and see what you think.

LG KS365

2011-07-01T23:23:00.000-07:00

The latest offering from the house of LG is KS365, which is a mobile phone with touch and slide functionality. The combination of full QWERTY keyboard along with bright touch screen display makes LG KS365 quite an appealing handset. The features of the handset can be easily accessed with mild finger touches, while the texters will enjoy the power of fast typing. The design of the mobile phone is eye-catching, and it is available in vibrant colours such as red, blue and pink. It seems that feminine gender will find this device more attractive than men. The manufacturer does not disappoint its male customers either as it has introduced another model called the GD550, which is all black and metallic-finish device.

Apart from exciting looks, LG KS365 includes certain key features such as shortcuts to social networking, mobile internet, microSD™ card slot, integrated media player, 2 mega pixel camera, and a lot more. The intention of create this device seems to provide the users with fun and easy-to-use kind of experience. However, do not expect any high-end mobile functionality as the handset lacks 3G and WLAN. The mobile may not be as feature-rich as LG Cookie Music but it definitely has its own charm that will curve its own niche.

LG KS365 – Network and Connectivity
No matter a phone is equipped with high-end features, it will not be accepted by the users if the network reception is not good. As of now, there are no such reports on KS365 that it is having network problems. The users are enjoying conversations without any unwanted disruption of connection. However, the network support is nothing extraordinary as it just supports 2G network of GSM 900/ 1800/ 1900. The absence of 3G might restrict its reach, but it seems that the manufacturer has deliberately done so to maintain the affordability of the handset. It has got a browser support of WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML and supports mobile internet. It has access to class 10 GPRS and EDGE that provide the connectivity speed of 32-48 kbps and 236.8 kbps respectively. As there is no HSDPA or WLAN, do not expect high speed browsing with LG KS365. For transferring data to other compatible devices, one can use USB v2.0 and Bluetooth® v2.0. It means that exchanging media files and some applications can be done conveniently.

LG KS365 – Display and Design
The KS365 is one of the most vibrant and attractive looking mobile phone released by LG this year. The handset is available is stunning set of colors like pink, red and blue and the combination of colors with its touch screen display looks amazing. This is a touch and slide device, and it can be slid-open by pushing the screen towards left. On sliding the phone, the full QWERTY keyboard appears, and its colorful presence enhances the appeal. The front panel of the phone includes the display screen and below that you will find seven major functioning keys along with the navigation button. The navigation button is placed at the center and between that the ‘OK’ key is placed. The other six keys include Select, Back, Call, End, Menu and Clear keys. The display screen is of 2.4 inches, and it provides touch screen dialing facility. The display boasts 256,000 colours and a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels. The phone measures 101.5 x 51 x 16.8 mm and weighs 111 grams, which shows it is quite convenient to carry.

LG KS365 – the Memory
Another crucial element of a mobile phone is its storage capacity. KS365 boasts a decent memory that can store up to 1000 phone book entries and call records of fifty dialed, received and missed calls. However, for storing different applications and media files, the phone definitely needs the power of additional memory support, and it is available in the form of microSD™ card slot that allows memory capacity to expand up to 16 GB. You will not get any memory card at the time of purchase, and hence you need to buy it separately as per your requirement. The support up to 16 GB is quite decent in terms of the features and functionalities of the handset.

LG KS365 – the Camera
The importance of multimedia features is immense in the mobile phones. These devices are not just used for communication, but also as entertainment tools. Therefore, the devices are capable of playing music, videos and click images. LG KS365 is also loaded with some multimedia features and the prime feature among them is its camera. It comes with a 2 mega pixel camera with 1600 x 1200 pixels resolution. It is a quite ordinary camera as nowadays you will find numerous phones with high-end camera features. However, it seems that the phone is made for the budget-conscious buyers, and hence these features are kept moderate. The camera cal record video at QVGA @15 fps and there is no secondary camera.

LG KS365 – Music and Video Player
Other vital media features of LG KS365 is music player and video player that are integrated with the handset. The music player of the phone can play MP3 and eAAC+ files while the video play back is capable of playing MP4 and H.264 files. Both these media players are easy to use and provide good functionalities. Connecting the phone with a headphone enhances the music listening experience for the users. The music lovers can enjoy stereo FM with RDS as well.

Overall, LG KS365 is a good mobile phone if you desire an eye-catching handset with minimum features. However, the affordable price tag should go in its favor and the young section of buyers, especially students may show more enthusiasm to buy this device.

LG KS360

2011-07-01T23:20:00.001-07:00

LG KS360 - messaging on the move

The LG KS360 mobile phone is a stylish and compact slide designed handset that comes available in a choice of various fashionable colours which include, black & red, black & silver, titanium & bright blue or a white & soft pink enabling the user to really reflect their personality. Once slid open, what appears to be just a simple looking slide design mobile phone reveals a full QWERTY keypad which is a fantastic surprise to this funky looking handset. The LG KS360 mobile phone comprises a very large 2.4 inch TFT screen displaying 262k colours with 240 320 pixel resolutions making for colourful viewing. The KS360 mobile phone also features touch screen dialling enabling the user to make calls with the minimalist of effort. The handset is such a neat and compact size, it will fit comfortably in any pocket, with dimensions of 101.5 x 51 x 16.8mm and weighs a respectable 108g. Other members of the LG family include the LG KF600 Venus and LG KF700.

LG KS360 - Camera & Imagery

The LG KS360 only features a 2 mega-pixel camera without FLASH which is fairly disappointing for such a stylish and new mobile phone. The camera features a Fixed-Focus function along with Photo settings. The user can use their LG KS360 mobile phone to record video footage which can be instantly played back on the TFT display screen. The video recorder records in MPEG4 and H.263 video format files. The user can benefit from the video settings function to really make most of their camera video imagery.

LG KS360 - Music Player

The LG KS360 has a built-in music player system that supports popular music formats such as, MP3, AAC, AAC+ and eAAC+ formats. The music player system enables the user to keep entertained and listen to their favourite tunes while on the go. Why not jazz up and personalise the LG KS360 mobile phone with a ring-tone, as the selection of ring-tones available on the KS360 include, MP3 tone and 64 polyphonic ring-tones. The LG KS360 mobile phone comes equipped with 15 mega-bytes of internal memory, which isn't a lot of memory at all for a mobile phone these days, but there is a MicroSD™ memory card slot enabling the user to add up to a further 4 Gigabytes of memory. 4 Gigabytes of memory will provide the user with enough memory for around 500 photos depending on resolution.

LG KS360 - Internet & Connectivity

The user can surf the net on their LG KS360 mobile phone as an HTML/XHTML & WAP browser technologies are all provided with this trendy handset. The user can also make the most of the fast and speedy data transfers and speedy connections with the EDGE and GPRS technologies, and connecting to other compatible devices with the Bluetooth® and USB technologies is also straight forward and simple to operate. The KS360 mobile phone operates on a Tri-band network and covers GSM-900/1800/1900 which will enable the user to use their mobile phone while abroad.

LG KS360 - Messaging & Applications

The LG KS360 comes with the usual messaging services we have come to expect with our mobile phones these days which include, SMS, MMS (multi-media messaging), Emailing with the additions of Predictive text and Instant messaging. The emailing service is great for those who do like to use their mobile phone as a business tool also, as it can keep them in touch and up to date with the work load while away from the office.

LG KS360 - Application Tools

Application tools are a great asset on a mobile phone as they are all fantastic features that can help out when necessary, some of the applications provided on the LG KS360 mobile phone include, Touch Screen Dialling, Alarm Clock, Calendar and a QWERTY keyboard. For a full detailed listing of the tools provided please check out the specifications list below.

LG KS360 - Gaming

The user can really keep boredom at bay for those long and dull journeys especially the trains with the embedded Java and downloadable games on the LG KS360. The games are a great source of entertainment and amusement, but please check before downloading any games as there may be a small cost involved for this particular service.

LG KS360 - Summary

While the LG KS360 looks cool and funky and features a superb and surprising QWERTY keyboard, we are a little disappointed in the camera feature/function and the music player system, especially as these features are not as good as other mobile phones that are available on the market, and surprising considering the LG KS360 is geared towards the younger consumers. But none the less it is an ok mobile phone with definite style without too much fuss and complications.

LG KM570

2011-07-01T23:17:00.000-07:00

LG KM570 Cookie Music
LG has announced its new handset called Cookie Music (KM570) for its European market. Earlier, according to some reports, it was speculated that the device will be called Cookie Gig, the website of the company reveals that official name is LG KM570 Cookie Music. The handset is targeted towards the mid-range of customers with interesting and standard characteristics. There is a microSD™ slot to insert the memory cards, FM radio, Bluetooth® connectivity, 5 mega pixel camera, 3 inches touch screen display and Adobe Flash Lite 3.0 for limited Flash support. We will check out about the specifications in details in the later section of this review. When other leading manufacturers are churning out latest models like Nokia C6 and Sony Ericsson Zylo, Cookie KM570 Music is also geared up to make a good impact on the market. Let’s check out what’s in store.

LG KM570 Cookie Music – network and connectivity

Every mobile phone requires good network and connectivity options to perform its basic functionalities. There might be plenty of features in a handset, but if it could not get proper network support, then the communication capability will be hampered tremendously. In terms of network, Cookie Music KM570 by LG comes with the support of both third generation and second generation network. The users of the 2G network will get the support of the quad band GSM 850/ 900/ 1800/ 1900; while the 3G network users will get the support of the dual band HSDPA 900/ 2100. Now, let’s find out what LG KM570 Cookie Music in terms of connectivity. Like any other handset, the new LG Cookie Music comes loaded with the connectivity options of GPRS and EDGE. The specifications are Class 10 GPRS with the speed of 32 to 48 kbps and Class 10 EDGE with the speed of 3.6 mbps. The users can also enjoy high speed browsing as 3G HSDPA with the speed of 3.6 mbps is included in the handset. There is no Wi Fi in LG KM570 Cookie Music. Now, transferring data is another crucial aspect for the mobile phone users. The handset comes with 5 mega pixel camera and also with good music features. Therefore, the users can share the high quality music files or images with the users of other compatible devices. For this purpose, they can make use of USB v2.0 and Bluetooth® v2.1 with A2DP. While USB data transfer is made by establishing cable-based connection and for wireless connectivity, Bluetooth® is used.

LG KM570 Cookie Music Review – the look and display

One of the crucial aspects of the mobile phones that influence the purchasing decision greatly is the look. The best of features appear pale if the handset is not attractive. This is a basic concept. It is very important to draw the attention of the consumers and for that the look plays the vital part. When people are drawn with the attractive look, then they can be lured further with the features. Is the new music phone LG Cookie KM570 attractive enough to draw people towards it? Let’s check out. This one is a stylish touch screen device with the screen size of 3.0 inches. The display type is TFT capacitive touch screen with 256,000 colours and the resolution of 240 x 400 pixels. Other highlights of the display are inclusive of accelerometer sensor for UI auto rotate, S Class Touch user interface, and handwriting recognition. The majority of the display is covered by the touch screen display. At the top of the display, the logo of LG is featured and at the bottom, the major functional keys are present.

LG Cookie Music – the memory

Memory is one of the most crucial features for any mobile phone. Adequate memory back up is a must for a LG phone to support its distinct features. Think of a mobile phone that comes with a solid music feature, but it is unable to store enough music files because of insufficient memory storage capacity. The good music features are simply of no use. Therefore, we need to find out how LG KM570 performs in terms of memory. Let’s begin with the internal memory first. It has 4GB internal storage capacity, which is impressive and definitely store more than the phone book entries and call records. In addition to that, the memory can be expanded by using a memory card in the microSD™ card slot. The expandable capacity is up to whopping 32 GB. Therefore, the users of Cookie Music by LG can enjoy smooth flowing of all its features and functionalities.

LG KM570 Cookie Music – the camera

Camera has become the most integral part of any mobile phone. These days, it is simply impossible to think a standard mobile phone without camera feature. It gives a great handy experience to the users to capture everyday moments without any need to carry a separate camera. The usefulness of the camera has increased tremendously and therefore, the mobile phone manufacturers are implementing good camera options in the handsets. The camera feature of this new LG Cookie Music is one of its biggest highlights. The handset comes loaded with a 5 mega pixel snapper that is capable of clicking images with 2592 x 1944 pixels. This is an auto focus camera and it can record videos. There is no secondary camera in LG Cookie Music KM570.

LG Cookie Music Review – The music and videos

Music is the key highlight of the mobile phone. It comes with a built in music player that is capable of playing diverse music formats such as MP3, WMA, and AAC. The users of the mobile phone can also enjoy plying videos in the handset. The video play back is supportive of MP4 and H.263.

HTC HD2

2011-07-01T23:01:00.000-07:00

The HTC HD2 is sheer beautiful with a full touch screen interface. However, its beauty is not just limited to its looks; its features are excellent too. The mobile phone is touted as the second version of HTC’s Touch HD, which is a hugely popular device. Feature wise both the mobile phones are quite similar, but HD2 comes with certain upgradations and that it why people are eager to find out more about the handset. The first thing that you will notice about this phone is its huge touch screen, which is even bigger than its earlier version. The screen size of Touch HD is 3.8 inches and that of HD2 is 4.3 inches. In addition to that, the Touch HD features mini USB connector while HD2 comes with micro USB connector. The new mobile phone runs on the latest version of Windows Mobile 6.5, which is not the case with the older version. The new Operating System, USB connector and the size of the touch screen are the three major differences between these devices; however the other features including the design are almost same.

HTC HD2 Review – The Display

The big touch screen is its major highlight and this is going to catch everyone’s attention. Not just the size of the screen; the display of pictures, videos and even texts are just awesome. Unlike the other similar devices that use QVGA screen, the HTC HD2 comes with WVGA screen, which ensures utmost clarity in images and vibrancy in colours. The TFT capacitive touch screen of 4.3 inches provides resolution of 480 x 800 pixels and 65,000 colours. Other prominent highlights of the display includes accelerometer sensor for auto rotate, ambient light sensor, auto turn off proximity sensor, multi touch input and Sense user interface. The Sense UI is integrated in the handset so that the entire elements of interface appear so large that they can be accessed easily by using fingers. In spite of such high end features, the mobile phone is quite easy to carry and handle. It is a light weight device that weighs only 157 grams along with the measurement of 120.5 x 67 x 11 mm. The elegantly stylish handset is the pride for its owners.

HTC HD2 – Beneficial for business and regular consumers

The HTC HD2 offers a rare and excellent combination serious mobile computing and entertainment. That is the reason why this handset is equally suitable for the business executive and the fun loving general consumers. Top-notch office presentations can be easily handled by this mobile phone while at the same time it can effortlessly play movies and music.

HTC HD2 – What it is made of

The HTC HD2 is a strong and powerful handset in every aspect. The device comes with 448 megabytes of random access memory and 1GHz Snapdragon CPU powers the device. It runs on Windows Mobile 6.5 and its operations are dependant on the 4.3 inches WVGA touch screen display. This is also the first windows mobile that shuns the customary resistive units and brings in capacitive touch screen.

HTC HD2 – Network and Connectivity

Network and the connectivity features are probably the most needed aspects in the mobile phones. Without proper support of networks and adequate connectivity, it is very hard to match up steps with this fast paced world. That is why, the HTC HD2 includes excellent network support such as quad band GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 networks and dual band UMTS with 7.2 Mbps HSDPA and 2 Mbps HSUPA. This makes the device a genuine player in the 3G market and in addition to that, the inclusion of GPS, Wi Fi, USB and Bluetooth® makes HTC HD2 a fascinating device in terms of connectivity and network features also.

HTC HD2 Review – Camera

This is one aspect in the HTC HD2 mobile phone that has both good and bad sides. The good one is that it includes a 5 mega pixel snapper, which can click some fascinating shots in day time. The problem in the camera feature however lies in the fact that there is no flash. This is a big let down as the simple mobile handsets these days feature camera with flash. No flash means that there is no clarity of the images that are taken in the bad light conditions.

HTC HD2 – Music and Video Player

HTC HD2 comes with integrated music player to satisfy the wants of the music lovers. It can play music files of different formats such WAV, WMA, eAAC+ and MP3. Like the music player, the video player of the device is also impressive as it can also play diverse types of videos that include DiVX and XviD along with WMV, MP4, H.264 and H.263 player. HTC HD2 supports good memory back up so that the users can enjoy more and more music and videos. The handset is loaded with internal memory of 448 MB RAM and 512 MB ROM. Also, there is microSD™ (TransFlash) card slot for expanding memory up to 8GB.

HTC HD2 Review – Battery

When the device shows such vibrant and diverse features, it is important that it get proper power backup. Hence, the quality of the battery plays a key role to maintain the performance of the handset. The HTC HD2 comes with standard Li-Ion 1230 mAh battery, which runs up to 490 hours in the 2G mode and up to 390 hours in the 3G mode. In the 2G mode, the battery can ensure talk time up to 6 hours and 20 minutes while it lasts around 5 hours and 40 minutes in the 3G mode. The handset's battery can also support non stop playback of music up to 12 hours.

Overall, HTC HD2 is quite an attractive handset that is loaded with several high end features to satisfy the need of the diverse users. We have many more htc reviews so feel free to look around.

HTC HD Mini

2011-07-01T22:42:00.000-07:00

The HTC HD mini is a Windows mobile phone, which is based on HTC Sense. It promises to provide excellent performance like HTC HD2, but the form is more compact this time. There is a great demand of HD2 in the market and that is the reason why the makers of the mobile phone have thought of bringing in the similar feature-rich phone in more compact design. The handset looks stunning and its large display is a sort of eye-catcher. The handset is very fast and super responsive as well, thanks to the Windows 6.5 operating system. Overall, HTC HD mini is sleek, stylish and easy to use. It definitely seems to be one of the most promising mobile phones, announced in the Mobile World Congress 2010.

HTC HD mini – Brings in the HTC Sense interface

The usage of HTC Sense ensures the workability of the mobile phone in the more natural and simple manner. This outcome is the result of certain basic principles of HTC Sense, which are Make It Mine, Stay Close and Discover the Unexpected. All these principles are very well incorporated in the HTC HD mini and therefore, it provides smooth, simple and natural performance, all the way.

HTC HD mini Review – the network and connectivity

From every angle, it seems that HTC HD mini is a promising device. However, the basic requirement of any mobile phone always remains good network support and uninterrupted call flow. Therefore, needs to be promising in terms of network features. The handset is supportive of both 2G and 3G networks. If you are interested to use the 2G version, you can get network coverage of the quad band GSM 850/ 900/ 1800/ 1900. The 3G users, on the other hand, will get coverage of the dual band HSDPA 900/ 2100 support.

Like the network, data transferring is also very important. You can transfer data to/from other compatible devices by using wire-based connectivity and wireless connectivity as well. For wire-based connectivity, you can use the microUSB v2.0 and for wireless connectivity, use Bluetooth® v2.1. The browsing speed quite fast as it is a Windows 6.5.3 mobile, and because it features HSDPA at 7.2 mbps and Wi Fi 802.11 b/g. In addition to that, there is Class 10 GPRS with 32 – 48 kbps speed and Class 10 EDGE with 236.8 kbps speed. Overall, the features of network and connectivity support in HTC HD mini are quite impressive.

HTC HD mini – the memory

All the basic features along with the options of network and connectivity are attractive in HTC HD mini. It is a promising smart phone from the house of HTC and therefore, it comes with a wide range of applications and features. These applications and features can smoothly perform, only if there is a support of good memory back up. The internal memory of the mobile phone comes with a 348 MB RAM and 512 MP ROM. This internal memory is enough to store unlimited entries of call records and phone book entries and fields. However, only the support of good internal memory is not enough and therefore, the company has featured the expandable memory option with microSD™ card. The memory of HTC HD mini can be expanded up to 16 GB. The memory feature of the mobile phone is similar to another new handset by the same company, called HTC Legend.

HTC HD mini Review – the look and the display

HTC HD mini is visually stunning with full touch features on the front panel. On top of the display screen, you can notice the logo of HTC, while at the bottom, there are vital widgets like call key, home key, Windows access key, back selection key, and the end key. If you flip the phone reverse, you can find the camera lens on the centre-top position. Just under the camera lens, the logo of HTC is provided. There is a slight change in the design from HD2 in the back panel. Here you can find four screws in every corner. The colour of the mobile phone is black, and it looks quite attractive with the full on touch screen display in the front. The touch screen provided in the HTC HD mini, is also one of the best. The type of the touch screen is TFT capacitive with 65,000 colours and resolution of 320 x 480 pixels. Some of the major highlights of the display include Sense user interface, accelerometer sensor for auto rotates, proximity sensor for auto turn off, and multi touch support. The phone appears very compact and looks solid in palms. The overall measurement of the handset is 103 x 57.7 x 11.7 mm and it weighs just 110 grams, which is amazing as well.

HTC HD mini – the camera

Camera is a vital inclusion in the mobile phones. When a phone is of high standards like HTC HD mini, then the expectation from its camera increases as well. HTC haven’t disappointed in this field also as the mobile phone brings in a 5 mega pixel snapper that is able to click high quality shots. It is an auto focus camera and provides resolution of 2592 x 1944 pixels. Video recording is possible with this camera and there is no option for the secondary camera in the handset.

HTC HD mini Review– music and video

Like the camera, the other two major entertainment factors are also attractive in the HTC HD mini. The users can enjoy the good quality music player that supports different files such as MP3, AAC+, WAV, and WMA9, whereas, the video lovers can enjoy playing diverse video files in the video playback. Video files supported include MP4, H.263, H.264, WMV9, and DivX.

In addition to that, the users of the HTC HD mini also get easy access to the popular social networks like Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr along with A-GPS support, digital compass, and stereo FM with RDS. Li-Ion 1200 mAh powers HTC HD mini.

HTC Gratia

2011-07-01T22:26:00.000-07:00

HTC seems to be on a verge to announce the new mobile phones as it announced its latest Android™ device, the HTC Gratia. Within weeks of announcing HTC Desire HD and HTC 7 Surround, the company has revealed its plans to bring the latest device that will run on the updated version of Android™ (v2.2- Froyo). It has been speculated that the price tag of Gracia will be around 3000 Euros. The device had already made appearance in the US market with a different name (HTC Aria), and it is expected to hit the European market by the year-end.

HTC Gratia seems to be a good combination of functionality and style. The compact and stylish device comes with a flawless and soft wrap around cover that eradicates the hard corners. The device weighs just 115 grams, and its length is over ten centimeter, which assures the fact that it can be handled quite easily. Other major highlights of the handset include Qualcomm CPU at 600 MHz, Bluetooth® 2.1, Wi-Fi® b/g, GPS, a digital compass, proximity sensor, and ambient light sensor.

HTC Gratia – The HTC Sense Experience

HTC Sense is a popular interface that many HTC handsets combine. Gratia is also loaded with it and hence it will provide you with excellent benefits. The device will work in a more natural and personal way, and you will get access to several features that come unexpected to you. This interface also provides an application called Friend Stream that will help you to stay connected with your friends. With this application, all the updates of different social networks will get organized in a single flow of update, which will help you to remain connected with your friends easily.

HTC Gratia – Network and Connectivity

The importance of network and connectivity is massive for any mobile phone. The basic requirement for the mobile phones is to establish communication and for that there must be a good network support. HTC Gratia also includes good network support with its quad band GSM 850/ 900/ 1800/ 1900 and dual band HSDPA 900/ 2100. In terms of connectivity, the basic connectivity options are provided by Class 10 GPRS and Edge where the speed of GPRs is 32 – 48 kbps and EDGE is 236.8 kbps. However, it is quite natural that this level of speed is not enough to access and use the high-end features and applications of the device. Therefore, HTC includes the power of Wi Fi 802.11 b/g and 3G HSDPA that supports speed up to 7.2 mpbs. Transferring data and files to/from other compatible devices is also included within the connectivity feature. HTC Gratia comes with Bluetooth® v2.1 and microUSB v2.0 for this purpose.

HTC Gratia – The Appearance

The appearance of Gratia is smooth and attractive. The edges of the device are smooth and its soft covering brilliantly complements its high-end display. The frontal portion of the display is dominated by the screen and the touch sensitive keys. These keys are positioned at the bottom of the screen and on top of that, the logo of HTC is placed. The phone measures 103.8 x 57.7 x 11.7 mm and it weighs 115 grams only, which shows that the device can be easy handled and carried.

Now, let us focus on the display of the handset. The display is definitely among the best features of the device. Gratia comes with a 3.2 inches TFT capacitive touch screen that boasts 256,000 colours and a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels. Other prominent highlights of the display includes Accelerometer sensor for UI auto rotate, Proximity sensor for auto turn off, HTC Sense UI, flip to mute call, optical trackpad, and HTC Sense UI.

HTC Gratia – the Memory

Gratia is a smart phone that runs on the latest version of Android™. This means the device is loaded with several top features and applications. To ensure that these features and applications run smoothly without any interruptions, it is essential that the memory capacity of the device is good. With a poor storage capacity, you cannot expect to enjoy features of the phone perfectly. Therefore, Gratia comes loaded with a good memory option. Its internal memory is 512 MB ROM and 384 MB RAM, and there is a card slot where you can insert microSD™ card and expand the memory up to 32GB, which is huge. I addition to that, you will also get a 2 GB microSD™ card free at the time of purchase.

HTC Gratia- The Camera

There are many mobile phone users that are fascinated with the camera feature. Some people purchase a device only because the integrated camera is of good quality. HTC Gratia’s camera feature is quite decent as it provides a 5 mega pixel snapper with diverse features such as auto focus, face detection and geo tagging. The resolution of the camera is 2592 x 1944 pixels and it can click some nice quality of images. You can take the photos and directly upload in your favorite social network. You can record videos with the camera, but there is no secondary camera for video calling.

HTC Gratia – The Music and Videos

After the camera, the most popular multimedia features are music player and video playback. There are numerous users who love to turn on the music player to play his/her favorite tunes, while many people prefer watching videos on their mobile phone. HTC Gratia integrates excellent music player that can play diverse music files such as MP3/ AAC+/ WAV; while the video playback can stream MP4/ H.264 files. HTC Gratia is powered by a Li-Ion 1200 mAh battery and it seems to be a promising device.

HTC tablet

2011-04-01T22:41:00.000-07:00

We’ve talked about the HTC tablet a few time here at AllTouchTablet.com, but we didn’t have a serious rumors like this one for some time now. I know that HTC didn’t said anything at the London press event which I’ve attended a while ago, but Digitimes has news that HTC is working hard on an Android 3.0 slate that’s supposed to arrive in Q1 2011. That’s good, as we know Google said Android 3.0 will be the OS made for tablets, not the current 2.2 Froyo.

The rumor comes directly from the Taiwanese manufacturers, the ones likely to build the HTC tablet, who’s meant to compete with the iPad and the Samsung Galaxy TAB, so definitely there’s a slate tablet, one that we hope will bear the HTC Sense custom user interface, that no only looks good, but now is integrated with HTC Sense online cloud computing services that make backup and restoration of your most important data a breeze.

Also, from hardware point of view, the Tegra 2 chipset, which is likely to be used by HTC, will surely give the tablet fantastic multimedia capabilities. Add to that 2GB RAM, a 32 GB SSD, a HD ready screen and you’ll understand why the rumored price is 800$. Hope HTC will bring the price down to Earth till launch time. All we have to do now is wait till 2011, which surely will solve the unavailability of tablets problem experienced in 2010.

Motorola Android Tablet

2011-04-01T22:34:00.000-07:00

The Motorola XOOM Android tablet goes on sale in the US tomorrow, and a number of tech web sites are publishing detailed reviews of the XOOM in advance of the launch. The XOOM will be the first tablet to ship with Google Android 3.0 and Verizon Wireless will offer a 3G capable version of the tablet for $599 when you sign up for a 2-year contract, or for $799 if you go contract-free. It sounds like there are still a few kinks to work out. The microSD card slot, for instance, is currently non-functional. And as expected, Adobe Flash isn’t working yet, although Adobe promises it will be available soon.

But by all accounts the XOOM has great build quality, a good high resolution display with decent viewing angles, a super-fast processor, and good battery life.

Here’s a summary of some of the early XOOM reviews:

SlashGear: The tablet is a bit heavy for one-handed use, but build quality and performance are good. The battery lasted 14 hours in SlashGear’s test while playing video, and surfing the web over WiFi and 3G.
Engadget: The tablet is speedy, but slows down a bit when switching tasks quickly or copying files. The speakers sound a bit distorted at loud volumes. And the tablet appears to be designed primarily for use in landscape rather than portrait mode. The battery lasted for nearly 8.5 hours of video playback. Engadget concludes that the tablet feels like more of a laptop replacement than an iPad does, but the software still needs some work.
Android Community: Android 3.0 is different enough that you’re best off thinking of it as a new OS, rather than the same thing you run on a smartphone – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
jkOnTheRun: The rubberized back and touch experience are good, but the button layout is somewhat awkward.
CNET: The on-screen keyboard is easy to use in both portrait and landscape. The screen isn’t as bright as the iPad’s thought.
MobileCrunch: Build quality is good, but the battery is not user replaceable. The Tegra 2 processor feels faster than the iPad’s A4 chip… until you open too many apps and things start to get slow. Apple’s limited multitasking support might give the iPad an edge here.
Laptop Magazine: The tabbed web browser makes surfing the web a much better experience. Video chat using Google Talk is better than Qik, but the quality isn’t quite as good as Apple’s FaceTime.
PC Magazine: The screen is great but the user interface is a bit complicated and Android Market still trails the App Store in terms of apps. PC Mag rules that while the XOOM is the best Android tablet available, the iPad is still a better device.

It seems like a lot of reviewers are having a hard time avoiding comparisons to Apple’s iPad, which isn’t surprising since the iPad is currently dominating the tablet market. But the question of whether the year-old iPad or the brand new XOOM is the better buy still seems to be up in the air.

On the one hand, the XOOM beats the iPad hands-down on specs. It has a dual core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, a high resolution 1280 x 800 pixel display, front and rear cameras, expansion ports, and more. On the other hand, the iPad has more apps and it doesn’t slow down or crash when you’re running too many of them at once.

Of course, it’s probably not fair to compare the XOOM to the first generation iPad, since Apple is preparing to launch its second generation iPad next week.

The Motorola XOOM is also just the first Android 3.0 tablet to hit the streets. We can expect to see many more from companies including Asus, Samsung, and Toshiba later this year.

ASUS Eee Pad

2011-04-01T22:27:00.000-07:00

ASUS Eee Pad Android Tablet

With an outrageous number of Android tablets being launched this year(I think at least a 100!), consumers will have a hard time choosing which one is for them and probably wondering what is the best Android tablet to buy. Btw, last year was the year of 3D HDTVs, this year’s obviously year of Android tablets. Another factor you should remember is that many will fail (in my opinion) but remember what I(and Adobe) said last May, that a “slew” of Android tablets will be coming soon. Well, I wasn’t too far off, the number of Android tablets outnumbered anything else at CES this year. Anyways, one of the “best” Android tablets I saw at CES 2011 in my mind is the Eee Pad Slider.

Virtually all new Android tablets at CES 2011 used the same hardware with Tegra 2 processor (a dual-core 1Ghz processor) or something similar. Meaning that in the end to the end-user, it will boil down to price

There are plenty of 10" Android tablets coming onto the market this year, and a handful of Android 'netbooks' with keyboards.

The rather clever Asus Eee Pad Transformer gives you the choice of both, plus extra-long battery life.

On its own, the 10.1 WXGA tablet (which has a resolution of 1280 by 800 for the extremely glossy and fingerprint-attracting screen) will get eight hours of battery, thanks to the dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor.

As well as the usual Wi-Fi n and Bluetooth it has GPS and multiple sensors (including ambient light). Connect it to the QWERTY keyboard base and you get an extra eight hours of battery.

The Eee Transformer connects to the keyboard through a docking port on the bottom of the screen, and there's a high lip at the back and a lower one in front to hold it in place and act as the hinge; when you want to grab it back off again, you slide the large latch and it pops out.

CONNECT: The Transformer is thin and sleek, with a central docking port to connect to the keyboard

This seems reasonably sturdy and robust and we had no problem sliding it in place and popping it back out. The lip at the back also helps balance the weight of the screen so it doesn't all tip over backwards.

The curved corners and slightly angled bezel match the sleek lines and curved corners of the tablet section, which has a waffle-patterned back to give you more grip (the less obvious dot pattern around the edge of the screen echoes the texture).

HINGE: The tablet slides between these two supports - on the left is the sliding latch

Asus doesn't have the final weight for the keyboard; it feels similar to the 680 gram screen (a little heavier with 3G) but even together they're lighter than many netbooks (which these days are packing a hard drive and fan to weigh them down, as well as a hefty battery). Even with the keyboard attached, the Eee Pad Transformer is still thin (it's 13mm on its own) and the keyboard also protects the screen handily when it's in your bag.

EIGHT HOURS: The keyboard base doubles the battery life

The 1.2 megapixel camera is placed so it's on the top of the screen when it's docked in the keyboard and the 5 megapixel camera on the rear is behind it; that may not be as convenient for taking photos but it makes sense to use the keyboard as a stand if you're doing a video call rather than having the tablet shake around in your hands.

TEXTURE: With the keyboard in place, the Asus Transformer looks rather like a netbook with an extra camera

The keyboard base also has more ports; the Transformer gives you a microSD slot (which supports SDHC), mini HDMI and the docking port, but the two USB ports are on the keyboard (hidden away behind covers), along with a full size SD/MMC memory card slot.

As well as the physical volume and power buttons there's a rotate button - but no sign of the physical buttons some OEMs like Toshiba still have on their Honeycomb prototypes. Of course the familiar Home, Back, Search and Menu buttons are still on the keyboard.

BUTTONS: Power, volume and rotation

There's also a touchpad on the keyboard base, which may be more convenient than reaching across to the touch screen all the time, and a row of function keys above the number keys, to turn Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and the touchpad on and off and control volume and media playback (the keyboard on the Asus Slider is similar, but doesn't have the touchpad or the function keys).

What you don't get - and what you'll tend to find yourself expecting because of the netbook form factor and the fact that there's a Ctrl button on the keyboard - are keyboard shortcuts like copy and paste.

SLIDE IN: The Transformer slides into place and locks

Unless you're Motorola, the Honeycomb tablet you're showing off at CeBIT is a prototype. That's certainly the case for the Transformer that we got to try out; the hardware looks very polished but the software isn't finished and still had a number of bugs and issues; it wouldn't run the Zinioe Reader software or most videos (although the Transformer will have Flash and play 1080p HD video when it ships) and didn't have final features like Android Marketplace or the 3D Google maps.

3D MAPS: Honeycomb will come with a new version of Google Maps but it's not on the prototype we looked at

What Asus was mainly showing off was the ability to customize multiple home screens with widgets, using Asus's standard oak tree background image, the new on-screen taskbar and the automatic rotation as you turn the tablet.

TASKBAR: The new look of Android 3, with taskbar, on the Asus Transformer

Asus marketing manager John Swatton told TechRadar that the Asus Eee Transformer UK release date would be in the second quarter (maybe as early as April but probably not before Computex in May) with Honeycomb, although he suggested that it might also get a subsequent update to give it a custom Asus interface.

CUSTOMISED WIDGETS: Honeycomb home screens in action

While the Asus Eee Transformer price hasn't been finalised, he told us it's likely to cost between £379 and £399, depending on the amount of storage (16, 32 or 64GB) and whether it includes 3G or just, with a probable £479 price tag for a bundle including the keyboard.

FUNCTION: The extra functions on the keyboard, including switching to an external screen

COVERED: The cover protecting the USB ports on the keyboard

NETBOOK: Transformer and keyboard together

SD CARD: The full-size SD slot on the keyboard

ON SCREEN: The Android 3.0 keyboard fits the screen

TWO IN ONE: Transformed back from netbook to tablet

Acer Android Tablet

2011-04-01T22:23:00.000-07:00

Acer is now planning a dual-screen, 10-finger multitouch Android 3.0 tablet that will later join the Windows 7 and Android 2.2 tablets unveiled at an Acer press conference on Tuesday. What's more, the gadgets will all sport the same newly announced ClearFi interface for crossplatform content sharing, but the sharing will work on Acer devices only. I was there at the global launch in New York City to hear about Acer's mobile device strategy for the years going forward, and to get a bit of hands-on experience with whatever new products ended up getting shown that day. During a formal press conference, Acer officially announced not just the anticipated Windows 7 10-inch tablet – which is already enabled with two screens and 10-finger gesturing – but also single-screen Android 2.2 tablets in 10-, 7-, and 5-inch versions.

Just afterward, the vendor delivered demos on the display floor, including sneak peeks at an upcoming Revo home multimedia server and an accompanying dedicated remote unit also supportive of multitouch.

While priding itself on technical innovation, Acer also recognizes that different users want different types of devices. A user's gadget picks are expressions of "personality," Acer officials said, during a presentation delivered on a mock runway in a refurbished warehouse.

Acer – a vendor now hovering around the top of worldwide PC market share – resembles a supermodel in some ways, suggested Smartphone Unit President Aymar de Lencquesaing. Acer is both "happy" and "hungry," he said.

Going forward, Acer intends to release a wide range of mobile devices such as tablets and phones, and to provide common multimedia content across all Acer devices through ClearFi, according to Gianfranco Lanci, president of Acer.

More specifically, ClearFi will act as the basis for both a new downloadable multimedia content center and a cloud-based offering for storing your personal files online.

During a press Q&A, Gianpiero Morbello, corporate VP of marketing and brand, acknowledged that – initially, at least – users of new Acer gizmos won't be able to share personal files stored in Acer's cloud with friends and family members who don't own Acer devices.

Speaking with me later, Jim Wong, Acer's global president for IT products, described Acer's ClearFi as a software abstraction layer that will run on top of multiple OS on Acer's hardware.

Dual-screen tablet for Windows 7 first, Android 3.0 later

John Miedema, senior product manager for notebooks in Acer Europe Services, told me that Acer's growing army of mobile devices will also include a 10-inch double-screen Android tablet much like the Windows 7 tablet launched on Tuesday.

This still unannounced Android device will likewise support "full" hand gesturing. Acer, though, will wait until Android OS 3.0 before moving ahead with this particular Android alternative, Miedema said.

In my hands-on with the Windows 7 dual-screen tablet, the product turned out to be nothing if not innovative, although I can't say it's well suited to all purposes.

First impressions: Acer Iconia

At first glance, the device – which is also known as the Iconia -- looks a lot like a laptop, except that a second TFT LCD screen consumes the space where the hard keyboard would ordinarily live.

Yet you can also display and use a soft QWERTY keyboard – or any other supported app – on the second screen.

Miedema contended that although Toshiba also produces the Libretto W100, a dual-screen, multitouch-enabled tablet, Toshiba's only works with gestures using two fingers or less.

In contrast, Acer's "full" hand gesturing supports gestures involving up to ten fingers, along with the palm. Through a built-in, software-based scroll wheel, you can even create your own gestures.

Miedema also showed me some of the other built-in multitouch-capable apps that Acer plans to ship with the Iconia, including the Social Jogger Portal, for viewing feeds and Twitter from FaceBook and Twitter on one of the two screens, and My Journal Web Clipboard, for capturing clips from Web sites with your fingers.

Although I didn't have time on Tuesday to start learning how to invent new gestures, I played around with some of the more standard types of gestures, pinching content to push it around on the two screens, and double-clicking with a single finger to expand a window.

A handwriting recognition app figured out the meaning of my scrawl right away. When I printed the word "shell," it came up with about 15 possible interpretations, but "shell" headed the list.

While the software and gesturing environment worked smoothly, I couldn't help but notice that this tablet seems heavy when you pick it up. Indeed, the Iconia weighs in at 2.7 pounds, he said.

I was also a little concerned about breakage over the long haul, even though the senior product manage assured me the Iconia will be made of the same sort of material already used in Apple's iPhone 4, for instance.

I noticed that Acer has opted to leave out some ports, such as the SD slot that appears on the new Android 2.2 tablet. Miedema explained that Acer made this decision due to the amount of space taken up by the second glass panel.

To me, the Iconia seems to make more sense as a portable home-based gaming machine, or a desktop PC replacement device, than as a gadget you'd take along on a lot of business trips, or tote back and forth from school.

Also on the way: Dual-mode remote for home multimedia server

I checked out some of the other new gizmos, as well. Acer's new 5-inch Android tablet doubles as a phone, noted Acer's Jacki Tsai, during another demo Slots include a spot for a SIM chip. (In the demo, though, Acer showed the 5-incher running on Wi-Fi only.)

Also, unlike some of their rivals, which come with Android 2.1 but await 2.2 upgrades, Acer's 5-, 7- and 10-inch single-screen Android tablets will ship with Froyo pre-loaded.

In addition, any of Acer's newly announced tablets, whether for Android or Windows, can also be used as a remote control unit for Acer's upcoming Revo multimedia server, although Acer's dedicated remote for Revo is really one-of-a-kind. The multimedia server and dedicated remote are the latest additions to Acer's expanding family of Revo multimedia hardware.

Like the Windows 7 tablet, the dedicated wireless remote also supports both multitouch gestures and a software QWERTY keyboard. On the pint-sized remote, you can't run these two interfaces simultaneously. But you can quickly flip a switch to move back and forth from one mode to the other.

Actually, the Revo multimedia player and its dedicated remote are already shipping in parts of Europe. But the two products are still unannounced for the US, and they got their first official showing on this side of the Atlantic at the press conference on Tuesday.

Acer will release its four newly announced tablets in Europe, too, but US shipment is expected to follow in the second quarter of 2011. Meanwhile, Acer will also shop the gadgets around to US wireless carriers, Acer officials said during the press Q&A.

Lenevo Lepad

2011-04-01T22:18:00.000-07:00

Lenevo Lepad Android Tablet

Lenevo, the largest Chinese computer maker who's mostly known for its Thinkpad line of laptops here in the US, will be entering the tablet market along with Samsung and Apple.

The company revealed in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, that it plans on releasing an Android tablet dubbed LePad in the US by next year. Lenovo's COO Rory Read made it clear, that it will not ship unless the devices comes pre-installed with Google's Gingerbread operating system update, which has yet to be released.

This adds to an already growing list of company's looking to take on Apple and its iPad tablet. HP, Samsung, RIM, Dell all plan on dropping their own tablets. No pricing or exact shipping date was given, as usual.

Android Tablets

2011-04-01T22:16:00.000-07:00

With Apple iPad revolutionizing the tablet market, Android OS by Google further spurred competition in the segment. With tablets gaining huge popularity worldwide because of their value rich features, several companies such as Samsung, Dell, HP, Lenovo among others are busy in conceptualizing tablets aimed to cater to the demands of the various sections of the society.

If 2010 saw a large number of Android tablets hitting the market, then 2011 is going to be no different. With several Android tablets in the pipeline, we thought of introducing you to top 6 Android tablets coming your way in 2011.]

Sony Ericsson Satio

2011-04-01T22:10:00.000-07:00

Sony Ericsson has finally launched the Satio, the phone it showed off back in February under the guise of Idou, packing the best of all its brands into one phone. But can the sheer range of gadgetry and a new OS be enough to lure customers back to the brand? Not content with being leaders in cameraphone and multimedia technology, Sony Ericsson has decided to put the two Walkman and Cybershot brands together in the new Satio. This means an industry-leading camera, a full range of multimedia playback options and it's based on Symbian S60 5th edition to boot. The overall feel of the handset is odd. Thanks to the sheer range of camera-related gadgetry on board the rear of the phone has a massive camera section bolted to the back, which makes it a little chunky.

Also read: 15 best mobile phones in the world today

But weirdly the phone didn't feel heavy at all – in fact we thought the battery needed to be put in, it was so light, but the power pack was snugly under the cover, so this is pretty impressive.

The Satio feels OK in the hand – it's not snug, but the 3.5-inch touchscreen (although sadly resistive rather than capacitive) is well positioned, and most of the functions are within a thumb's reach.

The front of the phone is very minimal – it's got a call, hang up and menu key, and that's about it. We would have quite liked to see a cancel/back button too, but that obviously wasn't on Sony Ericsson's agenda with the new Symbian OS it's packing.

There is a front facing video camera on there too for all that video calling fun everyone has these days, but it's down the sides of the phone where the button frenzy really begins.

On the left-hand side is the slider for unlocking the phone (which is in just about the right place for most hands), the standard Sony Ericsson port for USB connection, charging and headphone connection (boo!). Below that lives the microSD slot, which is covered by a nice hinged flap.

Over on the right side of the phone we get the camera controls, with the zoom buttons doubling as the volume up/down keys, despite having the 'proper' zoom icons on.

Below this is the photograph playback key, allowing quick access to your snaps in both camera mode and standby. There's also a video/camera swap hard key as well, which we're trying to work out if it has another function in other applications. It appears not to. And below that is the stylishly hewn shutter for the camera. This side of the phone is well put together, laid out in the right manner and given the Satio's penchant for touch operation, a welcome addition.

On the back we've already mentioned the massive camera section, and while the cover might be massive it still has a really pleasing action to it, uncovering the decent lens underneath.

It's not the most wieldy of phones, we'll admit, but given the sheer amount of technology under the hood we're happy to say this is pretty much the best job Sony Ericsson could have done.

In the box

The Satio is being tipped as a multimedia device, and to that end the box is filled with audio and visual goodies. We've already pointed out how very, very disappointed we are there's no 3.5mm headphone jack on the Satio, but Sony Ericsson has tried to temper that problem with a variety of headphone options in the box. The connector also comes with a music controller, which works pretty well for both media and as a hands free unit. The bundled buds are of a slightly better quality than the usual pin-thick ones Sony Ericsson puts in the box, but we quickly changed these to some better options.

However, if you do want to use them, there's a variety of ear buds to fit your ears, which we liked.

Video-wise, Sony Ericsson wants you to see the Satio as more of a multimedia hub, and to that end has popped a video out cable in the box (and a pretty rugged, rubberised one at that). It connects using the standard port on the side, and allows you to pump whatever you want to the TV from the phone.

Beyond that, there's a charger, a USB cable and a stylus – you might as well have this if you're using a resistive screen, and handwriting recognition works better with it. And there's no installation CD in the box – Sony Ericsson has placed that on the phone in the bundled 8GB microSD card. We like this idea a lot, as it just simplifies the process, so well done to SE.

Sony Ericsson K800i

2011-04-01T22:01:00.000-07:00

Sony Ericsson K800i Refurbished

In a nutshell: One of the best camera phones ever released, incorporating a 3.2 megapixel Cyber-Shot™ camera with autofocus and a bright xenon flash. Also comes with a music player, 3G video calling, expandable memory and wireless Bluetooth connectivity. The K800i can be your digital camera and MP3 player as well as a mobile phone. The only downside is that it's a bit heavy and bricklike. Stocks of the K800i are rapidly running out, so buy now if you want to secure this classic camera phone.

Review: September 2006. Last updated July 2009.

The Sony Ericsson K800i is the first 3G phone in Sony Ericsson's Cyber-Shot™ range of camera phones. It's the best of the Cyber-Shot phones so far, and in our opinion, the best camera phone available in the UK at the time of release.

Whilst large and a little brick-like, the K800i is beautifully built and finished. It's clearly a solidly constructed phone that should last well. The design is traditional and a bit square, but very nicely finished. The back of the phone shares many design features with the Cyber-Shot camera range and looks more like a camera than a phone. There's a cover for the camera lens, and annoyingly this has a habit of sliding off when the phone is in a bag or pocket, causing the camera to activate by itself. The keypad is well designed and easy to use, although the keys are quite small and may not suit someone with large fingers. The screen is large (2.0 inches) and of superb quality. The phone is heavier than average at 115g, but this isn't heavy for a 3G phone, and heavy phones are better at taking pictures because there is less camera shake.

At 3.2 megapixels, the K800i's camera has the highest resolution available at the time of writing (August 2006), but its the quality of the optics that really determines the quality of a camera, and the K800i doesn't disappoint. With autofocus and a real xenon flash (most camera phones have a weaker LCD flash that leads to poor exposure and red-eye), the K800i is a real digital camera, not just a toy. Picture quality is very impressive indeed, and is a match for many dedicated digital cameras. The K800i comes with a novel feature called BestPic™. BestPic takes nine pictures at a time, enabling you to choose the best. There's also a picture stabiliser, helping to eliminate camera shake. Naturally the K800i supports direct printing on PictBridge compatible printers, so you don't need a computer in order to print your pictures.

There's also a video camera, which also makes use of the picture stabiliser, helping to avoid shaky videos. It's not the best video camera around however, which is disappointing given the outstanding quality of the still camera. A video editor is included, so that you can edit videos on the phone. A second video camera is used for 3G video calling.

The music player on the K800i is of very good quality. It's an easy-to-use player that supports playlists. There's also a stereo RDS FM radio. Sound quality by the built-in speakers is good, but doesn't match that of the Sony Ericsson W900i. Stereo output to a normal or wireless headset via Bluetooth is supported.

As well as its outstanding camera and excellent music capabilities, the K800i is a genuine all-rounder. 3G enables 2-way video calling, fast music & video downloads and business applications such as email (although there's no Office document viewer). The K800i supports genuine multitasking, enabling you to talk and access other functions at the same time. A sophisticated web browser is built into the phone, displaying web pages with images as they look on a computer. You can subscribe to RSS feeds from your phone to get news, etc, and you can blog from your phone too. The K800i can act as a broadband connection for your PC, connecting via USB cable or wirelessly by Bluetooth.

The K800i is compatible with the Memory Stick Micro™ (M2™), enabling its memory to be increased to 1 Gbyte or more ( no memory stick is supplied in the sales package). This gives plenty of space for storing music and video. A wide range of connectivity options are available - Bluetooth, USB mass storage, infrared and Fastport (for connecting a charger, portable handsfree, cable or other accessory) - everything except WiFi in fact. Battery life is excellent for a 3G phone.

The K800i is an excellent mobile. Not only was it the best camera phone around at the time of release, but it's a good all-rounder. There are a few things missing, such as wi-fi and a document viewer, but there's no doubting that this is still a great phone from Sony Ericsson. Disadvantages include the large size, fiddly keypad, and the camera cover that slides off too easily. A bigger irritation is the PC software that is supplied with the phone - this is difficult to install and needs to be addressed by Sony Ericsson in future releases. But definitely a classic and one of our all-time favorites!

Features of the Sony Ericsson K800i include:

3G video calling
3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, xenon flash and 16x digital zoom
Video recorder (164 x 144 pixels, 15 frames per second)
Second camera for video calling
Display: TFT, 262,144 colours, 240 x 320 pixels
Music player (MP3, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+ and WMA formats)
FM radio
MP3 & AAC ringtones (72-voice polyphonic)
MusicDJ™ (polyphonic ringtones composer)
Messaging: SMS, MMS, Email
Speakerphone
Sound recorder
3D Java games
Web browser with RSS feeds & picture blogging
Flight mode
Personal organiser, File Manager, Phonebook
Memory: 64 Mbytes plus Memory Stick Micro™ (M2™) support
Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB mass storage, Fastport, Infrared
GPRS, 3G data transfer (up to 384 kbps download)
Vibration alert
Triband plus 3G
Size: 105 x 47 x 22 mm
Weight: 115g
Talktime: 2.5 hours (3G) - 7 hours (2G)
Battery standby: 350 hours

Sony Ericsson Elm

2011-04-01T21:56:00.000-07:00

The Sony Ericsson Elm is intended to let tree huggers make guilt-free phone calls on the move. Unlike previous entries in Sony Ericsson's eco-friendly GreenHeart series, however, the Elm and its Hazel sibling don't skimp on features. The Elm is available for £15 per month on a two-year contract, or for around £120 on a pay-as-you-go deal. You can also pick it up for around £170 SIM-free.

Treat 'em green

The Elm is one of only a few phones to wave the eco-friendly flag. No, it's not made from wood or parts of dead animals, but it does use recycled plastics, eco-friendly paint and a low-power-consumption charger. It also comes in comparatively small box, while a paper manual is dispensed with, in favour of an electronic manual on the phone itself.

Unfortunately, the Elm's approach to saving the planet can take a rather irritating form. Nannying pop-up messages reminding you to unplug your charger from the mains, and the screen's tendency to turn itself off prematurely, can become annoying.

Then there are the apps. Walk Mate counts your steps throughout the day, converting this exercise into the amount of carbon dioxide that you haven't caused to be emitted into the atmosphere -- Sony Ericsson is presumably under the impression that we normally ride a scooter around the office. A tally of burnt calories would perhaps be more useful.

The proprietary port on the side of the Elm gets our goat something rotten -- it means you can't use your own headphones or easily transfer media to a PC

Eco Mate offers pedantic advice via an environmental quiz, and Green Calculator measures how evil you are to the planet. The Elm means well, but do people really buy mobile phones to be told how to help the environment?

Slim and curvy

With its arched back, the Elm may remind you of a miniature version of a typical landline phone. That's not to say it isn't attractive, though. Its slim, black and silver, candybar-shaped body sits relatively well in your hand. The small, 56mm (2.2-inch), 240x320-pixel screen doesn't really stand up to comparison with the OLED screens on the market, but it's certainly sharp and usable for the applications offered, such as the YouTube one.

Despite its green credentials, the Elm doesn't skimp on features, improving on previous GreenHeart phones, like the no-frills Naite. There's a 5-megapixel camera with an LED flash, 3G and HSDPA support (up to 7.2Mbps), GPS, an Internet browser, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Java-based games, MP3 and AAC music playback, and an FM radio.

The 5-megapixel camera comes with a bright LED photo light (also usable as a torch) and takes relatively clear shots, thanks to its autofocus, although colours can be slightly dull. The camera also offers face- and smile-detection features, and you can geotag your photos thanks to the phone's GPS support. There's only 280MB of integrated memory, but you can expand that to a more satisfactory 16GB with a microSD card.

Indeed, you're rather forced to use a microSD card, due to the fact that Sony Ericsson doesn't supply a USB cord with the Elm. "No problemo," you might think. "I have plenty of USB cords." But the Elm has a proprietary port, so you'll have to either shell out for a specific cable, or transfer photos and music via a microSD card, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Why Sony Ericsson? Why?

Sony Ericsson Cedar

2011-04-01T21:50:00.000-07:00

With smartphones getting ever cheaper, the market for so called feature phones is rapidly dwindling. That said, if your priorities are still call quality, battery life, and ease of use, then something like the Sony Ericsson Cedar might be right up your street. Selling for around £50, it undercuts even the cheapest smartphones by a considerable margin, though currently isn't widely available on network deals.

The form factor of the Cedar is as classic as they come, with a 2.2in screen sitting above a cluster of navigation controls and a 12-button keypad. Dimensions are 111 x 49 x 15.5 mm so it's around 10mm shorter and narrower than you’re your average smartphone, though not the slimmest device going. Thankfully it's nice and lightweight at just 84g. Despite this feather-like leaning, the plastic body feels nice and solid with little discernable flex.

Styling is never likely to be a strong suite at this price but as these things

go, the Cedar looks very nice. You can get a few different coloured backs – though they seem pretty rare – but we have the silver version here. The gentle swoop it creates along the phone's side along with the overall curve of the back looks elegant and simple. Also, both front and back have a matt finish, which gives the overall look a muted feel and should help keep the phone looking good for longer than glossy rivals, as scratches won't show up as badly.

There are no immediately obvious causes for concern when it comes to connectivity either, with a headphone jack up top, microUSB on the left edge, and if you prize the back off you'll find there's a microSD card slot as well. You don't get a card in the box but it'll support up to 16GB ones. It's also worth noting that there is a volume control on the right edge, as these can sometimes be omitted on cheaper phones. Sadly, it's a little fiddly so is difficult to operate blindly. On the back is a camera but at only 2-megapixels and without autofocus or flash, it's next to useless in anything less than bright sunshine. This is what we'd expect for such a budget phone though.

The phone's screen is a 2.2in colour LCD with a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels. This actually means it packs in the same number of pixels as a number of budget smartphones, but thanks to its size it looks considerably sharper. Inevitably it's only so much use for watching video or browsing the web but otherwise it holds up well with punchy colours and decent viewing angles. The tough and perfectly flat plastic finish means it should resist scratches well and doesn't pick up reflections as much as more flexible, wobbly examples.

Sony Ericsson C905

2011-04-01T21:39:00.000-07:00

The Sony Ericsson C905 is a beautiful 3G camera phone which comes with high quality imaging & communication features. The C905 is a member of the Sony Ericsson C range which includes other camera focused handsets such as the Sony Ericsson C702i & the Sony Ericsson C902i. The C905 is a slide opening handset complete with a large colour screen which works as a perfect viewfinder when using the camera feature & the user can slide open the handset to reveal the neat keypad which is well spaced out for easy text & numeric enter. The handset has a sturdy feel as it weighs 136 grams & measures 1.8cm deep by 4.9cm wide by 10.4cm tall. The coloured screen is a TFT QVGA type screen which is 2.4 inches in size & takes up the front of this handset when in its slide closed position.

The user can access the navigation key & shortcut keys when the handset is in its slide closed position. The user has a choice of three casing colour options which include a sleek midnight black coloured casing, a subtle ice silver coloured casing or a sophisticated copper gold coloured casing. The C905 comes with 160 megabytes of internal memory plus it comes with a memory card slot for further memory expansion in the form of a Micro™ M2™ type memory card. The user can add the relivant sized memory card to suit their storage needs.

The main feature on the Sony Ericsson C905 is its amazing 8.1 megapixel camera feature, yes 8.1, that is not a typing error. The camera comes with many user friendly camera features to ensure the perfect picture is capture when using this amazing 3G camera phone. The camera is a Sony Ericsson cyber shot™ camera complete with a xenon flash for brightening up those dark surrounding. The user can use the 16 x digital zoom to get up close to their subject. The C905 comes with an auto focus feature complete with a face detection feature which will automatically focus on the subjects face when a shot is taken.

The 8.1 megapixel camera comes with an anti red eye feature & has a built in image stabiliser which avoids the user producing a wobbly image. The user can use the BestPic™ function when taking a photo which will allows the user to take up to nine shots when only pressing the capture key once then the user can chose the best picture out of the nine to keep or to add to their blog site. The Sony Ericsson cyber shot™ 8.1 megapixel camera supports video capture as well as still images. The built in image stabiliser allows the user to record a smooth video clip complete with a video light to brighten up the recording.

The C905 works on a GSM network which covers four GSM network bands as well as UMTS 2100. The battery can provide up to nine hours of GSM talk time or up to four hours 3G talk time from a fully charged battery. The battery standby time is between three hundred & sixty & three hundred & eighty hours from a full charge. The Sony Ericsson C905 comes with EDGE technology which provides fast date transfer rates for the user to enjoy when transferring files between their 3G phone & other devices.

The built in 3G HSDPA technology allows the user to experience high speed internet connectivity as well as enjoying a 3G video call feature. The video call allows the user to see their contact on the large screen & enjoy a face to face conversation with compatible contacts. The user can transfer files & data via the USB cable connection or using a wireless connection via Bluetooth® technology. The Sony Ericsson C905 comes with an Access NetFront™ Internet browser which provides the user with mobile Internet access on their handset.

The C905 comes with an A GPS navigation system which supports Google maps & allows the user to get directions & the best possible routes when making a journey. The use r can chat to other that are online using the built in instant messaging service which works just like the user's PC instant messaging service but this service is mobile. The user can create, send, store & receive emails, text messages & multimedia picture messages on their C905 3G camera phone. The messaging services are easy to use complete with easy to manage folders such as inbox, sent messages & much more. The Sony Ericsson C905 supports a variety of ringtones which include MP3, Polyphonic & AAC ringtones. The user can download new ringtones quickly using the PlayNow™ download feature which allows the user to download new tones in seconds. The user can tune into their favourite radio station using the FM radio feature for a fun listening experience.

The phone has a music player which supports most popular music playback formats & comes complete with album art display which allows the user to view album covers on their screen. The C905 phone comes with the popular TrackID™ music recognition feature which allows the user to record a few seconds of a song they like the sound of & the TrackID™ music recognition feature will provide the user with the name of the song, the artist & the album within a few seconds. The Sony Ericsson C905 is a desirable 3G phone complete with high quality camera & entertainment features to keeps it user busy.

Sony Ericsson C903

2011-04-01T21:27:00.000-07:00

Sony Ericsson C903 Refurbished

In a nutshell: Sony Ericsson's C903 is an entry-level 3G slide phone. It's a Cyber-Shot phone with a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash and autofocus, and also comes with an MP3 player and an FM radio with RDS. Connectivity is via Bluetooth or USB cable. Memory is generous at 130MB, plus support for memory card up to 16GB. Bonus features include GPS and a Walk Mate fitness tool. However, the reliability of the C903 is very poor and we don't recommend it.

Review: June 2009. Last updated October 2009.

The entry level class of 3G phones is already flooded with Sony Ericssons, and here comes yet another one! Sony Ericsson are very hit and miss with their phones at the moment, so we almost dread reviewing the C903.

This looks like standard slider fayre from Sony Ericsson. It's very glossy and is an obvious fingerprint magnet, and the build quality doesn't feel up to the job. At least the keypad is better than your average Sony Ericsson. The display is exactly the same kind that SE have been churning out for years now, although this one does benefit from an auto-rotate feature.

As a Cyber-Shot phone, we are anticipating a good camera, although experience tells us that these cheap Cyber-Shots rarely meet expectations. Although this one is rated at 5 megapixels and has autofocus, face detection and an image stabiliser, we can't help feeling that the Sony Ericsson K800i from 2006 was at least as good. The video camera isn't really up to much, with a maximum resolution of 240 x 320 pixels and 30 frames per second.

The other features include an MP3 player, FM radio with RDS, Java games with motion gaming, web browser, etc. There are two features that set the C903 apart from the many other Sony Ericssons in this price range: assisted GPS and the Walk Mate. The a-GPS comes with Google Maps and a 3-month trial version of the Wayfinder Navigator software. This is very much a budget GPS system, and you'll struggle with the small screen, but it's one of the few phones in this price band to offer GPS, so it's a nice bonus. Another nice bonus is the Walk Mate, which acts as a smart step counter, and is a nice feature for the health conscious among us.

The memory of 130 MB is certainly better than average, and the C903 supports memory cards up to 16GB. Connectivity is average, with Bluetooth and USB. Why do Sony Ericsson find it so hard to include a 3.5mm audio jack in their phones? HSDPA is available for fast internet access, although to be honest this isn't the kind of phone that will need a lot of fast downloads.

When we first reviewed the phone in June 2009 we wrote that it felt flimsy and we doubted that it would prove to very durable. A few months on and our user reviews confirm that indeed the C903 is about as durable as a cube of sugar in a hot cup of tea. Frankly, we're fed up with Sony Ericsson at the moment. They keep churning out run of the mill handsets, or handsets that look great on paper and then self-destruct as soon as you take them out of the box. The C903 has turned out to be one of the self-destructing kinds. As well as this, the user guide is rubbish and the battery life poor, and we think that you deserve something better than this. Thumbs down for the C903!

Features of the Sony Ericsson C903 include:

5 mega pixel camera with LED flash, autofocus, face detection, BestPic, image stabiliser, 16x digital zoom and Geo-tagging
Video camera with video stabilizer
Display: TFT, 262,144-colour, 240 x 320 pixels with auto rotation
Media player with Mega Bass
FM radio with RDS
MP3/AAC ringtones
Speaker phone
Voice recorder
Messaging: SMS, MMS, Email with Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync
3D Java games with motion gaming
a-GPS with Google Maps & Wayfinder Navigator (trial)
Walk Mate step counter
Animated wallpaper
Personal organiser functions
Flight mode
Vibration alert
Internet: Web browser, RSS feeds, blogging, HSDPA (3.6 Mbps)
Memory: 130 Mbytes plus support for Memory Stick Micro™ (M2™) (up to 16GB)
Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB mass storage, modem
Quad band (GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900) plus 3G (UMTS 2100)
Size: 97 x 49 x 16 mm
Weight: 96g
Talk time: 4 - 10 hours
Battery standby: 350 - 400 hours

Sony Ericsson C902

2011-04-01T21:21:00.000-07:00

Sony Ericsson C902 Refurbished

Do more than just talk with the multi-functional C902 Cyber-shot® camera phone. Packed with features, this device has a 5.0 megapixel camera with Auto Focus, Face Detection and a built-in xenon flash with red-eye correction. It's also easy to share your photos with friends using picture messaging6 or posting them to a blog.9 In addition, this phone is a full-functioning music player with a built in FM tuner. Also available in Luscious Red.

5 Megapixel camera

Stylish and slim with an innovative design, C902 gives you a true Cyber-shot® camera experience with a 5 megapixel camera. 16x digital zoom with auto focus, an image and video stabilizer, Photo flash, BestPic™ technology with light, Auto rotate, Face Detection technology and Photo fix are a few of the great features included. All these come together for high quality pictures. Photo flash will turn on automatically for pictures and you can now use light with BestPic™ technology and when recording videos. A picture can be easily shared with friends and family via picture messaging6, email9 or blog9. Pictures can also be transferred to another phone or computer using any available transfer method, such as Bluetooth® technology3 or USB cable. The camera is protected by a lens cover and the horizontal user interface allows for easier camera handling.

8 Camera touch keys

If you need to adjust the camera settings, onscreen touch keys appear above and below the camera viewfinder. They act as shortcuts to commonly used camera features such as shoot modes, scenes, time and more.

Face Detection technology

The camera brings an off-center face into focus if there are people in the picture. The camera will find and focus on a face and make it look sharp. No more blurred faces on your pictures!

Auto rotate

Capturing a portrait photo with a horizontal camera usually results in a picture that must be rotated when viewed. Auto rotate registers picture orientation when the picture is taken, whether in portrait or landscape mode, and saves this information with the picture. When viewed, the picture appears as the orientation with which it was taken.

Photo tags

Navigate through your captured photos and thousands of downsized photos transferred from your computer. View captured photos and video clips in an intuitive timeline view. Play animated slide shows with music and different moods. Tag your photos to find them faster. The built-in sensor in the camera ensures that all photos are rotated correctly.

BestPic™ technology with light

A unique function for Sony Ericsson camera imaging. Taking a single picture or even a burst of pictures does not always catch the moment, which may have been just before or just after the camera key was pressed. BestPic™ technology is designed to solve this problem. Press the camera key half way down and the camera starts capturing pictures. Press the key fully down, and nine pictures appear automatically. The pictures range from left (just before pressing the camera key fully down) to center (camera key fully down) to right (just after pressing the camera key fully down). The center picture is the default picture, but not necessarily the best one. Browse the picture series and save the best pictures. BestPic™ technology has been updated and can now be used together with light.

Motion Control Gaming

Play games on your phone in a new way with Motion Control Gaming technology. You can move your C902 to control gaming functions in a similar way as a game controller. Tilt the phone forwards, backwards, left or right to accelerate, decelerate, turn left or turn right. Additionally, with Java™, users can download9 new games and skill levels to further enhance their entertainment experience.

Sony Ericsson Mobile

2011-04-01T21:19:00.000-07:00

Sony Ericsson Mobile Phones

Whether you are looking to browse or buy a Sony Ericsson mobile phone, then this is the best place to start. We offer the cheapest Sony Ericsson phone deals available in the UK. Choose a Sony Ericsson phone either on a contract with O2, Orange, Vodafone, Virgin & T-Mobile or purchase the handset outright via the 'sim free' option and simply pop in your existing sim card into your new Sony Ericsson phone.

With more than half of the UK population owning a mobile phone, it's not surprising to learn that a large proportion are Sony Ericsson owners.

The complete range of current Sony Ericsson mobiles are shown on this page along with those that are coming very soon. Obviously those not yet released cannot be bought but they do give you an idea of what Sony Ericsson are going to release in the near future!

BlackBerry Bold 9780

2011-03-19T01:36:00.000-07:00

CrackBerry.com's Review of the newest BlackBerry Bold, the 9780, which puts the latest BlackBerry 6 software onto improved Bold 9700 hardware. Following up on our Unboxing and First Impressions, I have been using the BlackBerry Bold 9780 as my main smartphone for the past few weeks. And you know what that means... I now have a lot to say on the newest Bold from Research In Motion. Most of it is positive, afterall, the Bold 9700 was already an awesome device so one would only expect its successor to be even awesomer. But it's not all positive. Suprising to me, I actually found myself having some mixed feelings towards the BlackBerry 6 experience on the touchscreen-less Bold 9780. There have even been a few times when I wished I could downgrade the 9780 to run on OS 5.0 again (I know it sounds crazy, but I'm just being honest - you'll have to read the full review to find out why).

The existence of the BlackBerry Bold 9780 has also created a couple of burning questions for existing and new BlackBerry users out there. I've been getting literally the same two questions via twitter (@crackberrykevin) daily since the device was announced. Is it worth upgrading my BlackBerry Bold 9700 to the Bold 9780? Should I get the Torch or the Bold 9780?

It's December and the holidays are almost here, so grab yourself an eggnog, kick back and keep reading and I'll answer these questions and unload all the nitty gritty details on the BlackBerry Bold 9780.

Introduction - the new-ish-ist Bold

The BlackBerry Bold 9780 is the third Bold on the GSM side of the Bold family tree, following up the original Bold 9000 and newer Bold 9700. On the CDMA side (Verizon/Sprint), you have the BlackBerry Bold 9650, which was preceeded by the BlackBerry Tour 9630 which essentially was/is a Bold under a different name.

When you look at the plethora of BlackBerry device families (Bold, Curve, Torch, Storm, Pearl, etc.) and device models available, the analogy I like to use to keep things straight is to compare it to a car company. Specifically, I like to think of BlackBerry as the BMW of the smartphone world. Within the BMW family, you have your different BMW lines of cars (1 Series, 3 Series, 5 Series, etc.) with different body styles, engines, and detail packages available at a variety of price points. Regardless of which BMW you buy that best suits your needs, every model offers that Ultimate Driving Experience that BMW is known for. BMW tends to make minor changes from year to year on their vehicles, but every now and then will introduce a more major body style change. Everybody can tell a newer BMW from an old one based on major body style changes, but it takes more of an enthusiast's eye to pick out the year to year differences. You know what I'm getting at here...

When it comes to the BlackBerry Bold 9780, the best way to think of it is as the new model year of the 9700, in a year when not a lot has changed. From the 2008 to 2009 model year, big changes were made as the Bold 9000's bigger, blingier design was downsized into the more conservative Bold 9700 form factor. You don't need to be a BlackBerry enthusiast to see the changes between those to models. Going from 2009 to the 2010 model year, the changes from the 9700 to 9780 are much less apparent on the hardware side. Compared to the 9700, the 9780 gets a few internal hardware improvements and a slightly different paint job (on the dark version). Of course, the Bold 9780 does ship with BlackBerry 6 out of the box, while the Bold 9700 still ships with OS 5.0, but with BlackBerry 6 already unofficially available for the Bold 9700 and officially coming soon, this difference becomes moot point. When you take into account Bold 9700 owners can run BlackBerry 6 on their device and that the hardware differences between the 9700 and 9780 are pretty minor, it's no wonder so many Bold 9700 owners, even diehard BlackBerry owners, are wondering if it's worth upgrading to early or holding out for whatever new Bold will follow the 9780.

On the CDMA side of the Bold family tree, the decision to upgrade from the Tour 9630 to the Bold 9650 was much easier. With the Tour lacking WiFi altogether, rocking the old trackball vs. the slick new optical trackpad for navigation and not being upgradable to BlackBerry 6, you immediately have three strong reasons to want to jump up to the Bold 9650.

For GSM users though, the Bold 9700 already has the optical trackpad, WiFi (b/g), and supports BlackBerry 6. So while the Bold 9780 does offer some improvements, mainly more memory and a better camera, to many the 9700's lack of a lacking features makes the improvements in the 9780 seem pretty minimal for a device that is a year newer. It's almost as if the 9780's existence confuses the current BlackBerry landscape - it would have been nicer if RIM skipped the 9780 and went straight to the next generation of GSM Bold, one that adds a touchscreen and a bit more screen real estate into the mix. But I guess we'll have to wait for the 2011 model to come out to get that ;)

That all said, the BlackBerry Bold 9780 is here, it's the latest and greatest smartphone from RIM in the tradtiional BlackBerry form factor, so let's get to the details.

BlackBerry Bold 9780 Video Unboxing and First Impressions

[ youtube video link for mobile viewing ]

Official Features and Specifications

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 packs into it the following features and technical specifications....

BlackBerry Bold 9780 Key Features and Tech Specs
Size (LxWxD)	4.29" x 2.36" x 0.56" / 109mm x 60mm x 14mm
Weight	122 g / 4.3 oz (includes battery)
Operating System	BlackBerry 6
CPU Speed	624 MHz
Memory	- 512 MB internal flash memory
Expandable Memory	- 2GB microSD card included - Exapandable memory with support for microSD cards
Battery	- 1500 mAhr removable/rechargeable lithium-ion battery Talk time: Up to 6 hours (GSM or UMTS) Standby time: Up to 22 days / 528 hours (GSM), up to 17 days / 408 hours (UMTS) Music playbook time: Up to 36 hours
Display	High-resolution 480x360 color display
Camera	5.0 MP camera, flash, auto focus, face detection, image stabilization, scene modes, 2X zoom, video recording
Video Camera	Normal Mode: 640 x 480 pixels MMS Mode: 176 x 144 pixels
GPS	Integrated GPS with A-GPS (assisted GPS) ready
WiFi	Wi-Fi Band: 802.11b/g, support for UMA (carrier-dependent)
Bluetooth	Bluetooth v2.1; Mono/Stereo Headset, Hands-free, Serial Port Profile, Bluetooth Stereo Audio (A2DP/AVCRP) and Dial-up networkign (DUN)
Audio & voice	3.5mm stereo headset capable; Built-in speakerphone
Network	Tri-band 3G HSDPA networks: 2100MHz/1900MHz/850MHz Tri-band UMTS networks: 2100/1900/850/800 MHz and 2100/1700/900 MHz Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks: 850/900/1800/1900 MHZ

Compared to the BlackBerry Bold 9700, the biggest changes to the 9780 are as follows:

it ships with BlackBerry 6 preloaded
the camera is improved from 3.2 megapixels to 5 megapixels
internal flash memory (for running OS and apps) is doubled from 256MB to 512MB
video recording is improved in Normal Mode from 480x352 to 640x480
while it uses the same battery as the 9700, the GSM standby time rating jumped up from 21 to 22 days, while the music playback time rating actually decreased from 38 hours to 36 hours

Tech specs aside, the dark version of the Bold 9780 features a slightly different "look" than the Bold 9700. On the Bold 9780, RIM chose to scrap the chrome band around the phone in favor of a blacked-out look (which is definitely hawt!). On the battery door cover, the 9780 features a tighter pattern - it's less of a faux-leather look and more of a car dashboard look.

With the Bold 9780 using the same chipset as the Pearl 3G and Torch 9800, it also lacks Open GL support for 3D graphics. I was sad when the Bold 9700 didn't support Open GL, and am even more sad to see that a year later the next GSM Bold doesn't either. If you're not sure what that means for the graphics experience, check out this video review comparing Need for Speed on the Bold 9700 vs. Storm2. It'll be the same story for the Bold 9780. I really hope that the next GSM BlackBerry we see supports Open GL.

As for what carriers will get the BlackBerry Bold 9780, you can expect it to roll out everywhere the BlackBerry Bold 9700 is offered. The unit in this review is from Rogers in Canada, and you can already find the 9780 on T-Mobile in the USA. Expect it to hit AT&T (hopefully) soon too.

BlackBerry Bold 9780 Hardware Impressions

When it comes to hardware impressions, for the most part I could copy and paste what I wrote in my Bold 9700 review into my Bold 9780 review. And that's not a bad thing, as on the whole the BlackBerry Bold 9780 is one sweet piece of hardware.

Appearance, Form Factor and Build Quality

The Bold family is RIM's flagship line of devices in the traditional front-facing full-qwerty design that is synonymous with BlackBerry (Curve is the entry-level line). The original Bold 9000 was a fairly big device, with an extra 1/4" of width in the display and keyboard as compared to the 9700 and 9780. I still personally think the 9000's keyboard is the best there has even been on a BlackBerry, but there is no denying that the Bold 9780's smaller size hits the sweet spot of pocketability and ease of typing/use. It feels great in the hand, has a very easy to type on keyboard, and is small enough to carry in a pocket.

Build quality of the 9780 seems to be equally good to the 9700, and arguably appears to be even better. Though the phone is very light in weight, it doesn't feel cheap, and the blacked out look gives off an aura of understated luxury. I've always been a big fan of Swiss mechanical watches, and the blacked-out look has really caught on there in the past few years - the 9780 definitely pairs nicely with a blacked-out watch. Although the build quality does seem solid, unfortunately I was unlucky with the Bold 9780 that I picked up from Rogers in that it had a defective trackpad. At first I thought it was a software glitch as my symptom was that the cursor often wanted to scroll up by itself (which is super annoying and had me wanting to throw the phone through a window), but after a week of futzing around with it determined it was definitely hardware (I could never reproduce the glitch if I covered the trackpad entirely with my thumb, preventing any light from hitting it). Luckily the return process was easy and my second 9780 is performing all good so far. Over the years I've been pretty lucky with my BlackBerry Smartphones in terms of reliability -- rarely even having to clean or replace a trackball -- but in the past 3 months had a Torch completely die on me for no reason and now a faulty 9780 trackpad. RIM has manufacturing facilities around the world (Canada, Hungary, Mexico) and in the 25+ BBs I've used since getting my first 7290, so far the only devices I've ever run into hardware issues with have been made in Mexico. I'm not sure if it's coincidence or a QA issue or what, but I'm nearly to a point where I'm going to check that my next BlackBerry is a made in Hungary or Canada unit before I take it home from the store.

Looking around the perimeter and controls of the 9780, things are identical to the 9700. The top of the phone has hidden lock and mute buttons. I still love the way RIM discretely implemented these buttons, though on more than one occassion have run into BlackBerry owners who had their 9700 for months and didn't realize they were buttons - maybe they're a little too discrete! The left side of the phone makes room for the 3.5mm headset port, the microUSB charge/sync port and a left side convenience key. I love the left side convenience key - it still pains me that this is missing from the Torch, so I hope we see the left side convenience key return on future device models. The right side of the phone features the volume up/down keys and right side convenience keys. In case you're new to BlackBerry and not familiar with the concept of convenience keys, they are essentially application shortcuts tied to a button. By default they typically launch Voice Dialing (left) and the camera (right), but I typically change the left one up to either launch QuickLaunch or a Twitter client.

Bold 9700 vs. the Bold 9780 (Bold 9700 has chrome trim)

Like the 9700, the battery door on my 9780 was TOUGH to remove initially. It breaks in fairly quickly and becomes much easier to remove (but not too easy!), but I swear, the first time I had to remove the battery door I felt like I was going to break the phone. This really tripped me up when I first got my 9700 (see video below for how to remove it properly), but even on my 9780 and KNOWING how to remove the battery door it still was wayyy too tough. This is a pretty normal occurence with a lot of the 9700 and now 9780 owners I've spoken too - it doesn't make for a very positive out-of-the-box experience so I'd love to see RIM smooth it out a bit.

[ youtube video link for mobile viewing ]

All in all, when it comes to appearance, form factor and build quality, talking about the 9780 is the same as talking about the 9700.

Display

The BlackBerry Bold 9780 features the same non-touchscreen 480x360 pixel high resolution display that's found on the Bold 9700, Bold 9650, Tour and Curve 8900. Overall it's a solid display and is much nicer than the 320x240 display found in the Curve 3G or Curve 8530/20. If you're trying to decide between purchasing a new Curve or new Bold, the higher resolution display is definitely one of the reasons I would go with the Bold. The colors are much sharper and brighter and smooth, and in the web browser the extra pixels make a big difference.

That said, like a lot of other BlackBerry users out there, I'm anxiously waiting for the day when RIM puts a touchscreen into this form factor of device. A lot of new BlackBerry users first make the mistake of trying to tap the icons on the screen, but especially with BlackBerry 6 (more on this later) I've even noticed myself wanting to reach out and touch the screen. With OS 5 I've never really found this to be an issue. Maybe it's the fact I've used BlackBerry 6 on the Torch a lot with a touchscreen so it's habitual, or maybe there is just something about BlackBerry 6 that is more compelling for touch, but either way, I want my next front-facing keyboard BlackBerry to also have a touchscreen. It would have been nice for the Bold 9780 to be the Bold that introduced this, but it's looking like we'll have to wait for the next Bold to get this.

While on the topic of what I'd like to see in the next Bold, I'm also hoping they find a way to up both the resolution and the phsyical size of the display. When people didn't use the browser on their BlackBerry (because it was painfully slow to use), and before apps became the thing, the smaller physical size of the display wasn't really a concern - using that frontal real estate for a solid keyboard was more important. Now that BlackBerry has a good web browser and you're using the phone for so much more than emailing, texting and BBMing, the bigger the screen, the better (assuming your battery can still manage to last through the day - big displays tend to eat battery life). I'm sure RIM realizes this too, so will be curious to see how they address this on the next Bold.

Chipset / Processor

The Bold 9780 uses the same chipset and processor that's found in the Torch 9800, which is clocked at the same 624MHz processor that the Bold 9700 and 9000 were clocked at. Though software updates have greatly improved the performance of BlackBerry 6 on the Torch since its somewhat laggy debut, the same processor on the Bold 9780 seems to be even snappier at powering the OS right of the box. Maybe the lack of touchscreen contributes to the speed. As usual I'm sure things will get even smoother with software updates (the Rogers unit in this review shipped with OS 6.00.285, but at the time of this writing we've already seen OS 6.0.0.359 leak for the 9780).

Memory

The BlackBerry Bold 9780 doubles up the internal flash memory from the 256MB found in the 9700 to the now-standard 512MB found in devices like the Bold 9650, Torch and Style. This memory is where the operating system resides, where apps are installed and where things like browser cache and your email inbox eat up space. More memory doesn't really equal faster speeds, but running low on memory guarantees things will slow down. So compared to the 9700, on the 9780 you can load up more apps and do more on your device before you ever run out of room. Conversely, if you keep things on your Bold 9700 fairly "clean" you should find that BlackBerry 6 will run on it pretty smooth as well. Out of the box, my Rogers BlackBerry Bold 9780 had ~271MB of free space on it.

In terms of additional storage for media and photos, the Bold 9780 comes with a 2GB microSD card, which can easily be swapped out for other cards. It'll take a 32GB card all good.

Battery Life

Like the Bold 9700, THE BATTERY LIFE ON THE BLACKBERRY BOLD 9780 IS FRICK'N AMAZING! Of course, I do find myself doing a lot more web browsing on BlackBerry 6 than I did on OS 5, which eats into the battery a bit more, but all in all it's really solid. There's something really satisfying about going to bed at night seeing the battery level indicator still above (on lower-usage days way above) half full.

Phone Call Quality

This one often seems to vary a bit by carrier, but at least on Rogers for me the call quality of the 9780 seems hunky-dory (it's a word for real, look it up).

Camera and Video Recording

The BlackBerry Bold 9780 features the same 5.0 megapixel camera that is in the BlackBerry Torch, and I've found it's performance to be the same for me (photography is a skill I need to work on, so any pros in the audience can weigh in if they discover any differences). I went pretty in-depth on the new camera in my Torch review, so if you want further details here click on the link below to jump over to that section.

More Info on the 5 megapixel camera

Other Internals: WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, Speakers

Everything else on the hardware side is what you'd expect. On the WiFi front, the most noticeable difference to speed for the "average" consumer comes from the fact that the BlackBerry 6 web browser now automatically uses WiFi when available vs. on older operating systems in which you manually had to switch to the HotSpot browser. Unfortunately, the BlackBerry Bold 9780 only has WiFi b/g (no N support), which is really stupid to me considering both the Pearl 3G and Torch 9800 do have WiFi N. Doing some digging, the word is that the Bold 9780 is so closely based on the 9700 that upgrading to n was not easily done on existing architecture. So I guess if it's too hard to do you, you just skip it and wait till you're making a more major change to a device rather than an incremental one.

GPS and Bluetooth are there working as they should, and the speakers seem to be on par with the 9700. I noticed a few threads kicking around the CrackBerry forums where members mentioned they thought the speaker/speakerphone was better on the 9780, but I'm not certain of that. I'm not aware of any changes here... but could be wrong - maybe some tinkering was done.

BlackBerry Bold 9780 Accessories

For BlackBerry Bold 9700 owners who want to upgrade to the Bold 9780, the good news is that your BlackBerry Bold 9700's accessories will work just fine. Cases will fit, batteries will fit, and your charging pod will fit. It also means there is a large selection of accessories available at launch. Shamless plug time... Be sure to check out ShopCrackBerry.com for all your BlackBerry Bold 9780 accessory needs. We just rolled out free shipping on orders of $50 or more in the continental US, so you can't go wrong!

Browse BlackBerry Bold 9780 Accessories at ShopCrackBerry.com

Hardware Wrap-Up

All in all, the BlackBerry Bold 9780 hardware is as good or better than that of the Bold 9700, which by definition makes it a pretty awesome device. You can't argue with more memory and more megapixels, and I like the blacked-out look. Though you know the moment it hits Rogers or AT&T in white, I'll be picking that one up!

BlackBerry Bold 9780 Software Impressions

If you're looking to learn about everything that's new in BlackBerry 6, be sure to check out our super in-depth BlackBerry 6 Review. For this review I want to focus more on BlackBerry 6 as it pertains to the user experience of being on a non-touchscreen device with a smaller display and with a front-facing keyboard. Seriously, if you want the in-depth details on BB6, check out our BlackBerry 6 Review.

BlackBerry 6 Homescreen...

How much you love, like or maybe even dislike BlackBerry 6 on the BlackBerry Bold 9780 is going to be determined by your priorities (remember the Smartphone Hierarchy of Needs) and how much BlackBerry baggage you're carrying (ie. how long you've been a BlackBerry user for and how stuck in your ways you are). Dissecting this a bit further, I think:

First Time Smartphone/BlackBerry Owners and users who fit into the category of the consumer market are going to like the BlackBerry 6 experience a lot more than they would OS 5.0. Out of the box, the tutorial videos and new setup wizard get you up to speed more quickly, and the whole look and feel of the operating system is more modern and sleek than any BlackBerry of the past. The homescreeen views (All, Favorites, Media, Downloads, Frequent) expose more of your BlackBerry's capabilities to you, which get you using the device for more things than you normally would otherwise (yes you can use your BlackBerry as an MP3 player and watch movies on it!). The web browsing experience in BlackBerry 6 is much better than in the past too - so while the screen is on the small side compared to some of the smartphones hitting the market these days, you will be able to browse your favorite websites. And with a full keyboard right there all the time, you'll be pounding out BBMs, emails, texts, tweets and facebook updates like crazy.

The new WebKit-based browser in BlackBerry 6 is much improved and ads tabbed browsing

Long Time OS 5/4.x BlackBerry Users, heavy communicators and those who fit into category of enterprise user are also going to like BlackBerry 6 more than OS 5, but there's going to be a bit of a re-learning curve and are a couple of annoying things that'll drive you bonkers that you'll have to get used to (which hopefully RIM will address soon).

Let's start with the annoying part - the homescreen views. On a touchscreen, you normally open apps from the homescreen by by tapping on the icons, so accidentally scrolling between views is not an issue. However, with BlackBerry 6 on a non-touchscreen device, you have to scroll to the icon you want then press in on the trackpad. On the 9780, I constantly find myself accidentally scrolling between views while attempting to open specific applications (note, this can happen on the 9700/9650/etc. on BB6 too, so it's not a 9780 specific thing). Namely, my main messages app is always the first icon on the screen, so when I scroll quickly to it, I end up overshooting and change to the next view. Over the course of an average day, I've been finding myself accidentally scrolling to the next screen anywhere from 15 to 30+ times a day. Hitting the red end key does at least bring you back to the All view quickly when you get out of place, but I shouldn't be having to hit that all the time due to acciental scrolling. I'm not alone on this one either. It actually makes me kind of mad that RIM released BlackBerry 6 without having the ability to go back to a simpler homescreen experience, either via an option to disable homescreen views or by providing an alternative theme that does not have the views built in. Hopefully BlackBerry 6.1 will have this built in (to me this is HIGH PRIORITY! It got so annoying one day that it nearly made me want to go back to my 9700). In the meantime, theme developers will be able to address this once Theme Builder 6 gets updated and officially released - I'm sure we'll see the next #1 theme in the CrackBerry App Store will be a replica native theme that lacks the views). The other annoying homescreen change that is difficult for me to get used to is that it now requires two taps of the menu key (the one left of the trackpad) to open the full icon tray. On the teaser view (where you only see six icons at the bottom), I really think clicking that button once should open the "tray." Once the tray is fully open, then tapping the menu key again should pop up the menu options (Add Folder, Hide, Mark as Favorite, etc.). This also bugged me on the Torch, but I guess with the touchscreen use I found it to be less of an issue. On a non-touchscreen, it drives me bonkers. [ Update: So it turns out you can also evoke the full tray by scrolling down a long scroll down on the trackpad. It works, and really fixes this issue for me. It's not exactly intuitive though for discovery - seriously, I never stumbled upon this in literally weeks of use. Makes me feel like a rookie! ] These two gripes are likely of no-concern for 99% of the folks out there reading this, but for me there my two biggest issues with the BlackBerry 6 user experience on a non-touchscreen device. And for people who use their phone mainly as a communication tool and for one or two key apps, these little issues really do slow you down. The basic homescreen user experience feels less efficient.

I LOVE Universal Search

These two issues aside, power communicators and enterprise users will hugely appreciate universal search and the new web browser. Getting familiar with universal search saves a lot of time, and for a lot of people having a BlackBerry web browser that's now quicker and renders more accurately means they can now leave there laptop at home when they travel. Another homescreen improvement is the shortcut at the top for Managing Connections that saves time on toggling the Radio, WiFi and Bluetooth on and off. BlackBerry 6 also adds the homescreen message notification preview, which I've now determined to be a bit handy and a bit useless at the same time. I wish it could be customized more. I really like being able to preview my upcoming calendar appointments from the preview, but I find for messages themselves I don't really use it - if I have emails or tweets or anything else, I'm pretty much heading straight for the app as soon as my LED light blinks.

BlackBerry 6 on the 9780 Software Wrap Up

In a smartphone market where having a big touchscreen is all the rage, one of the key reasons a person buys a smartphone in this form factor in 2010 is because they are heavy communicators - they want that keyboard to be there all the time for quick, accurate typing (they don't even want to wait the 1/10th of a second it takes to slide out a keyboard a la the Torch nevermind typing on glass!) and they're willing to sacrifice the screen real estate to have that keyboard. The user experience here is focused around speed. And historically, that's what the BlackBerry experience has always been about. I remember David Yach, RIM's CTO of Software, at the first BlackBerry Developer Conference on stage talking about RIM's philosophy and the red light test - you should be able to pick up your smartphone and accomplish anything you want to do in the time you would spend waiting at a red light. He also put it another way... the BlackBerry experience is all about adding an hour to your day by giving you the ability to turn all of those one minute chunks of time we all waste into productive time.

With that philosophy in mind and ignoring my couple of gripes which slow things down a bit, BlackBerry 6 does a solid job of adhering to that traditional BlackBerry experience while expanding the use of the phone beyond the basics.

Addressing the Big Questions

Ok, let's tackle these two questions that I keep getting everyday....

Is it worth upgrading my BlackBerry Bold 9700 to the Bold 9780?

Carriers and RIM may honestly shoot me for saying this, but honestly, for the average person I'd say no. Going back to the BMW analogy earlier, it would be like getting out of the lease on your new BMW a year early to buy one a year newer that comes in a different color. You could pay the penalties and do it if you really want to and that would be fine, but you're probably better off waiting. This is especially true if you consider that the Bold 9780 revision was quite minor and that it's looking like the next revision to this device will have a lot more going on (bigger processor, touchscreen, etc.). And it's especially, especially true considering the fact you can load up BlackBerry 6 to your Bold 9700 if you want to. That said, if you're like me you're still going to run out and buy the newest BlackBerry no matter what ;)

I also find it interesting that carriers like T-Mobile and Rogers are not even listing the Bold 9700 for sale on their sites anymore. I think the reason for this is pretty clear - if they offered the 9780 and 9700, the price of the 9700 would have to be driven down since it's a year older, and at the lower price point is where they want to offer devices like the Curve 3G or 85xx where they have higher margins. The price of the 9700 would have to drop by quite a bit from a consumer standpoint being it's a year old, so it would be hard to justify the 9780's higher price (that camera and RAM can't cost that much), plus with the body/case design not really changing at all it makes much more sense to just transition straight to the 9780. So new customers won't even have the option to buy a 9700 or 9780 - for the most part they'll be going right into the 9780.

Should I get the BlackBerry Torch 9800 or the BlackBerry Bold 9780?

This one all comes down to priorities. If you're on a carrier where the Torch isn't offered (ie. T-Mobile USA), the Bold 9780 is obviously the winner. If you're on AT&T or Rogers or a carrier which carries both, then the decision becomes a matter of preference.

Key Reasons why I'd pick a Bold 9780 over the Torch: The Bold 9780 feels better in the hand, is lighter and more pocketable. The keyboard is also a bit nicer to type on. The Bold 9780's battery life is way better (it's a bigger battery than in the Torch, and the 9780's smaller screen size helps save the battery juice). I also prefer having the keyboard right there and not having to slide the phone open to get to it. It's more efficient.

Key Reasons why I'd pick a Torch 9800 over the Bold 9780: The bigger touchscreen makes everything in the BlackBerry 6 environment better. Navigating the OS by tapping is nice, web browsing with a touchscreen vs. trackpad is much nicer too. Once you get used to a big screen smartphone, going back to a smaller screen is TOUGH. Still has a keyboard, which while not quite as nice to use as the 9780's, is still pretty solid.

Which am I going to use? I can't decide. I've always been more the traditional BlackBerry user, so the 9780 is a bit more suited to my personality. But until I get the ability to kill the homescreen views on BlackBerry 6 on the 9780 (be it with a theme or a setting), I think I'd go Torch as it's kind of pulling me away from that total speed of use mentality anyways (and I'm sick of accidentally scrolling to the next view on the 9780). I think what I'm actually going to do for rest of this month, for a bit of nostalgia, is actually kick it on my old Bold 9000 for a while. I miss that keyboard! :)

What if it's my first BlackBerry? Good question. And a tricky one. Buying a phone always starts with picking your carrier (you need coverage where you work, play, live). Assuming you're on a carrier where the Bold 9780 and Torch are offered, it again comes down to your priorities. Getting a BlackBerry with a always-present keyboard (Bold 9780, Curve 3G) means you have the best communication tool on the planet (go for the Bold 9780 if the budget allows). While the Torch isn't quite as efficient as a communication tool, if you haven't had a BlackBerry before you won't know what you're missing in that respect - so going Torch is probably the best option. Having a bigger screen and a touchscreen really adds to the experience. You might just want to grab a spare battery for if you get low on juice at the end of the day from heavy device usage.

BlackBerry Bold 9780 Closing Thoughts

I tweeted the other night that I'm apparently incapable of writing a concise review as this Bold 9780 review was taking forever to pound out. Good ole @andrewmunchbach of BGR fame responded with this clever little tweet:

@crackberrykevin the fact that you couldn't fit your entire review into a tweet is surprising. "9700+512MB+5MP camera=9780" Done.

And yep, Andrew was right - you literally can sum up the 9780 in 140 characters or less. It's too bad that RIM didn't put more into this revision to make it a really exciting one to talk about, but the good news is the 9700 was an awesome device so any improvement to an already solid device is a good thing. I know I harped on a few things in this review, but at the end of the day the BlackBerry Bold 9780 is an awesome BlackBerry. But you know it wouldn't be a CrackBerry review unless I gave you all the back story and way too much info. Hope you enjoyed it!

BlackBerry Bold 9780 Summary

Pros

Blacked-out look is hawt!
Doesn't mess with the success of the 9700 - great feeling device, great keyboard
BlackBerry 6 - yay for webkit browser and universal search!
More memory and megapixels than its predecessor the 9700

Cons

Need a way to disable the homescreen views on BlackBerry 6 (a lot of accidental scrolling going on)
BlackBerry 6 really makes you wish there was a touchscreen and a bit more screen size to work with
No WiFi N support, when sibling devices like the Pearl 3G and Torch 9800 do have it
Doesn't mess with the success of the 9700 enough - hard to get excited about minor improvements
Another GSM BlackBerry that lacks OpenGL support - hard to get developers making 3D games when the GSM phones don't support it yet

Bottom Line

The BlackBerry Bold 9780 improves upon the already-awesome BlackBerry Bold 9700 by adding more memory, a better camera, and the new BlackBerry 6 operating system right out of the box. BlackBerry 6 brings with it a lot of improvements and new features, including a faster web browsing experience, but also makes you wish the 9780 featured a touchscreen - BB6 wants to be touched!

RIM BlackBerry Storm Vodafone

2011-03-19T01:26:00.000-07:00

RIM BlackBerry Storm by Vodafone

For the past 18 months, we've seen a multitude of manufacturers trying to create a touchscreen handset that can compete with the iPhone, most of which don't come close to the design or usability of Apple's device. But what I never imagined was that the best alternative to an iPhone would be a BlackBerry. The Storm is probably the most anticipated BlackBerry ever, not just because of the obvious comparisons with the iPhone, but also because it's the first touchscreen BlackBerry, which in itself is quite a milestone for RIM. The question is whether RIM can create a touchscreen device that's as attractive to the general consumer as it is to the corporate, mobile email junkie.

The answer to that question is quite complicated though. I do like the BlackBerry Storm, I like it a lot. But I also need to point out that it's not perfect, not that I've ever found a handset that is. But in this context, there are some issues with the Storm that simply shouldn't be there, and end up taking some of the shine off an otherwise excellent device, much as with the original iPhone in fact. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Let's cover the basics first.

The Storm looks great, finished in a mix of brushed metal combined with silver and black plastic. The edges have a rubberised coating that makes it really easy to get a good grip on the device, unlike the iPhone - especially the first generation model. The Storm is ever so slightly shorter than the iPhone, although it looks significantly shorted due to its tapered edges. It is, however, noticeably thicker, although this doesn't make it uncomfortable to hold, quite the contrary in fact.

The Storm is heavier than the iPhone at 157g compared to 143g for the original iPhone and 137g for the iPhone 3G. You can feel the extra weight in your hand, but again it's not something that bothered me. With dimensions of 113 x 62 x 14mm (LxWxD) it's clear that this isn't a small phone, but it's no bigger than any other decent touchscreen device.

Obviously the front of the Storm is dominated by the touchscreen, but I'll cover that later on. Below the touchscreen are four buttons - Call, End, Back and Menu. The Menu button is key here, since it is the traditional BlackBerry Menu button, which will bring up a list of options that are applicable to the current screen or application. There are two more buttons on the top edge - Mute and Lock. The latter will lock the handset and disable all inputs until the Lock button is pressed again.

BlackBerry PlayBook

2011-03-19T01:20:00.000-07:00

RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook ( hit the link for an overview ) has been a lot in the news recently and that’s partly because of a certain amount of unrest surrounding the product. Considering that the company’s marketing director will be stepping down from his position, I would say that it’s understandable that the company is facing certain issues at the moment. Despite that, during a recent UK event, Steven Bates, a RIM representative that was showing off the BlackBerry PlayBook stated that the company is still aiming for a March US BlackBerry PlayBook release date.

Although there were rumors of the BlackBerry Playbook not reaching us by the end of March ( even an April 10th BlackBerry PlayBook release date has been recently rumored ), it seems that we will be getting it this month after all. For users in Europe the BlackBerry PlayBook will be released sometime in Q2 with the UK being among the first countries in Europe to get it.

RIM: BlackBerry PlayBook US Release Date This Month, UK to get it in Q2

BlackBerry’s PlayBook is powered by a Texas Instruments OMAP 4 dual-core processor clocked at 1 GHz per core, 1 GB of RAM. It sports a 7 inch display with a resolution of 1024 by 600 and on the connectivity front it will come with Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, 3G and Bluetooth with GPS support.

Multimedia wise, the users of the BlackBerry PlayBook can rejoice as the tablet will come with two cameras, a 3 megapixel front-facing camera and a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera, all of this surrounding a QNX-based OS. Their claims are that the operating system running on the BlackBerry PlayBook is highly customized for graphics, multitasking and of course stability, but then again, that’s what everyone claims.

The reason for which this was a major concern amongst RIM and BlackBerry users was mainly due to the fact that the iPad 2 got announced just recently and with the Motorola XOOM also being around for a “bloody” tablet war, the RIM BlackBerry PlayBook might have missed its golden opportunity to snag some of those sales figures. Considering that it was probably the first tablet announced from the three, it’s easy to see why everyone is slowly but surely getting impatient.

All in all, if they do manage to set it up with some competitive pricing I would say that it’s got a solid chance against the two tablet monsters currently battling it out for supremacy.

Keep your eyes out for this one as the BlackBerry PlayBook release date is scheduled for this month in the US and for Q2 in Europe with UK being amongst the first on the list. Stay tuned for more!

RIM’s BlackBerry

2011-03-19T01:16:00.000-07:00

RIM’s BlackBerry Bold Touch Dakota Rumored

Research in Motion has long been a big player in the mobile world but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t faced stark competition. In fact, both Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS have been giving Research in Motion and their line up of BlackBerrys a run for their money for quite some time. While many say that RIM needs to do something fast in order to keep up, there is still a highly dedicated community support the BlackBerry ecosystem.

Such folk will be happy to hear that a device known as the BlackBerry Bold Touch Dakota or BlackBerry Bold Touch Montana has been spotted in the flesh, as seen above. This device, quite obviously, is to feature a 2.8-inch capacitive touchscreen with 640 x 480 resolution, 512MB of RAM, 6.5GB of built-in storage, a 5 megapixel camera, NFC, accelerometer, magnetometer and a proximity sensor. Additionally, this device runs on RIM’s BlackBerry OS 6.1.

There’s no telling when exactly this device will make its way to market or even what it will be called but we’ll certainly keep you posted.

GoGear Muse 3 portable media player

2011-03-19T01:09:00.000-07:00

Philips introduces the new GoGear Muse 3 portable media player. Available in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB capacities, the new Muse has a 3.2-inch LCD display. It features the FullSound technology and sound isolation earphones that block out background noise to providing clear and detailed music experience. It also includes the Surround for Movie to deliver cinematic movie sounds. To avoid damage to your ears, the new player also features the SafeSound technology that analyzes your listening and informs you when volume levels and exposure may impact on your long-term hearing.

Once warned, all you have to do is press the ‘Safe level’ button and the volume is automatically adjusted to the safe sound level so you can enjoy your music at a safe volume.

Philips GoGear Muse 3 PMP Features

Dispaly screen: 3.2 inch touchscreen
Resolution: 480 x 320 pixels
FM radio
Internal Memeory: 8GB/16GB/32GB
Picture browser
Support Audio and Video Files : MP3, WAV, WMA, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, APE, MPEG4 SP/ASP, MPEG4 AVC/H.264 HP, RMVB, WMV9, JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF file support
Micro SD card
Rechargeable battery
Philips GoGear Muse 3 PMP battery

The new Philips GoGear Muse 3 PMP has a long battery life that offers up to 24 hours of music playback or 5 hours of video playback.

Harmony 8000 Hi-Fi System

2011-03-19T01:03:00.000-07:00

Philips Harmony 8000 Hi-Fi System Series

Philips 8000 series DVD component HiFi system is Hi-Fi system comes with new ClariSound speakers, which provide finest balance between natural sound, detailed precision and bass tightness. The Philips Harmony 8000 combines the finest materials like pure aluminum for the casing, real wood for the speaker boxes and glass fiber woofers, giving a unique design identity to the speakers. The system is designed with a 2 x 80W RMS Class-D digital amplifier, a CD player, a DVD player with an HDMI output and 1080p up-scaling and a USB 2.0 port, allowing you to play your favorite music from a USB thumb drive.

Harmony 8000, Philips announced a DVD HiFi system component products for Harmony’s new 8000 series for music lovers. Hifi speaker sets are equipped with new ClariSound, which offers “the best balance between sound natural, detailed precision and a steady bass.” Philips uses glass fiber cone woofer in a speaker to ensure a natural result of sound and instruments.

Harmony 8000 is perfect for music listeners who want to feel loyal to a clean sound naturan, Harmony 8000 is interesting.

Harmony 8000 is designed with digital amplifier 2 × 80W RMS Class-D and includes a CD / DVD player, integrated port for the iPad, iPod and iPhone and a USB port for music playback from USB storage devices.

JVC UX-FH5 Mini Compact Stereo

2011-03-19T00:59:00.000-07:00

JVC is ready to release the UX-FH5 compact stereo in August 2010. This mini stereo system boasts an FM radio, a CD player, a couple of 20W speakers, an iPhone/iPod dock and a video out for iPhone/ iPod. The JVC UX-FH5 will be available in black (UX-SH5-B), pink (UX-SH5-P), silver (UX-SH5-S) and white (UX-SH5-W). Pricing info is still unavailable at this time. so stay tuned.

The JVC UX-FH5 will be available in black (UX-SH5-B), pink (UX-SH5-P), silver (UX-SH5-S) and white (UX-SH5-W). Pricing info is still not available at this time. Stay tuned.

VC release the UX-FH5 compact stereo in August 2010. This mini stereo system boasts an FM radio, a CD player, a couple of 20W speakers, an iPhone/iPod dock and a video out for iPhone/ iPod. The JVC UX-FH5 will be available in black (UX-SH5-B), pink (UX-SH5-P), silver (UX-SH5-S) and white (UX-SH5-W). Pricing info is still unavailable at this time.

Harman AKG GHS-1

2011-03-19T00:50:00.000-07:00

Harman AKG GHS-1 Gaming Headset

The new portable gaming headset from Harman, the AKG GHS-1, which are designed to be a portable gaming headset with a range of features.It has a boom microphone that filters background noise as well as earcups that provide some passive noise isolation, ensuring your game is all you hear. The headphones sport a ’3D’ folding headband, and are available in black or white or in camouflage.

The Harman AKG GHS-1 headset offers a frequency range from 18 Hz to 24KHz, and claims 115db of dynamic sensitivity—if your ears can still detect all that, you probably haven’t been gaming enough. It also features the built-in microphone, controlled via a special remote placed right on the audio cable. The estimate retail price point for all of these versions being set at $79.95

The Harman GHS 1 headphones are lightweight and built to provide comfort and performance for the continuous use required of serious gamers. These headphones are equipped with a directional cardioid boom microphone to filter out background noise as well as an in-line volume control and microphone on/off switch, reducing the need to interact with the game console or other source.

The Harman GHS 1′s closed-back design provides an added level of comfort to your gaming experience and enhances passive noise reduction. The patented AKG 3D-Axis2 folding mechanism in the headband not only adds to the GHS 1′s performance fit, but it allows these headphones to fold away flat.

Klipsch iGroove SXT

2011-03-19T00:40:00.000-07:00

Klipsch iGroove SXT – iPhone and iPod Speaker System

Several years ago, Bose managed to accomplish what then seemed like an impossible mission: it released the then-pricey $299 SoundDock (iLounge rating: B+), then subsequently managed to convince millions of people to buy them. The secrets: austere, inoffensive design, competent sound, and strong marketing. Since then, many companies have been trying to create SoundDock killers, first at similar price points, and later at much lower ones.

Today, we review one speaker that’s decidedly in the SoundDock-alike camp—Klipsch’s iGroove SXT ($170)—and one that’s not, iHome’s iH80 OutLoud ($100). As different as they may be from one another, these speakers both draw obvious inspiration from the simplicity of the SoundDock, relying on limited on-unit controls, slightly more complex Infrared remotes, and easy-to-carry all-in-one designs to appeal to different users. iGroove SXT is, in essence, Klipsch’s best attempt yet to offer a lower-priced, different-looking, and similar-sounding alternative to SoundDock, and iH80 is iHome’s best-looking semi-portable speaker to date, with a cool rounded cube design similar to Griffin’s wireless Evolve system.

Klipsch has been through a lot since it entered the iPod speaker market; it aggressively targeted the SoundDock by name when it released higher-end (iFi) and similar, peer-priced (iGroove) systems, but neither product was able to dent Bose’s success. iGroove went through two iterations, later including iGroove HG, dropping in price and shifting in color from a champagne-hinted silver to jet black, but the Salvador Dali-style take on the SoundDock—it looked like a melted-down Bose—didn’t appeal as much to women as the cleaner Bose design.

iGroove SXT is a different animal. Though it still didn’t win over our female editor on looks, the design is a considerable improvement on the prior iGrooves, combining a silver-accented black plastic and fabric chassis with curves that are more conservative, attractive, and clean. Inside are two 2.5” full-range drivers and two 0.75” tweeters—a nice collection of hardware given the unit’s size and price—as well as a central Universal iPod dock with seven included adapters, and ultra-simple top-mounted power and volume controls. iGroove SXT’s sides have ports to let the drivers breathe, and its back has aux-in, power-in, and S-Video out ports. The design is clean enough that anyone can figure it out; the only question is whether you’ll like the shape.

Klipsch’s new remote control is also an improvement over past versions. From the top, it looks unspectacular, but a tapered shape, unusual solidity, and nice weight make it feel instantly comfortable and resilient in your hand. Simple play/pause, track, volume, power and mute buttons perform all the standard functions people have come to expect in Infrared remotes, and SXT’s has no major issues working at a 30-foot distance if pointed at the unit from a direct line of sight.

As with most of the SoundDock challengers that have emerged over the past two years, iGroove SXT takes only a modest step down from Bose’s sound signature while offering a $130 lower price. Without performing direct A-to-B comparisons between iGroove SXT and other speakers, we found its sound to be enjoyable at average volumes, rendering songs with a judicious amount of warmth and a roughly par level of detail to good $200-300 options. However, there was an increasingly apparent strain in the midrange and bass as the volume was increased to above-average and loud levels; this is not as strong of a high-volume performer as we’ve seen.

Only when it was compared against other speakers, such as the SoundDock, did its omissions become more obvious: though it is similar to Bose’s classically warm sound signature, with extra bass emphasis rather than a truly neutral presentation of music, it falls slightly short of the SoundDock in both highs and lows; music doesn’t sparkle or thump quite as much. As we’ve noted before, the SoundDock is a good speaker but not our sonic ideal, especially for the price; iGroove SXT is a step or two off Bose’s sound mark, but considerably less expensive, too. If it wasn’t for the presence of numerous competitors—Athena, Griffin, and others that previously released aggressively priced, great sounding $150-180 rivals to the SoundDock—iGroove SXT would be commensurately more novel and exciting.

It’s also worth noting that iGroove SXT looks great and works—mostly—with the iPhone. Oddly, inserting an iPhone into the unit’s dock doesn’t always trigger Apple’s “this accessory wasn’t designed for use with iPhone” nag screen, and if that happens, music plays only from iPhone’s speaker, and not from SXT. Similarly, the system isn’t shielded against TDMA noise, or truly “Works with iPhone” certified, so if you want something that’s 100% iPhone compatible, you’ll want to wait a while, but iGroove SXT does a nice job with iPhone music when the nag screen’s been triggered and Airplane Mode’s turned on.

Overall, iGroove SXT is a strong but not amazing new speaker option from Klipsch: we think it’s the company’s best iPod offering yet on performance for the dollar and aesthetic design, and hopefully a sign of great things to come in the near future. If the company rapidly updates it with complete Works with iPhone compatibility, look out: properly marketed, it could be a blockbuster.

A Note From the Editors of iLounge: Though all products and services reviewed by iLounge are "final," many companies now make changes to their offerings after publication of our reviews, which may or may not be reflected above. This iLounge article provides more information on this practice, known as revving.

Motorola Atrix 4G

2011-03-19T00:35:00.000-07:00

The Motorola Atrix 4G Smartphone

Atrix 4G is a smart phone from Motorola that looks very cool. Motorola Atrix 4G is powered with NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor. And soon 4G Atrix will operate in AT & T 4G networks. Motorola Atrix 4G provides 4 inch capacitive touch screen TFT 16 million colors with 540 x 960 resolution, more sharply than iPhone 4 or BlackBerry Storm 3. And this android smartphone (froyo) has supported HD (high definition).

In addition, Motorola Atrix 4G is also equipped with 5MP hi-res camera with aufotocus and LED flash. And the most interesting thing is the dock as a backrest that will appear along with this cell phone.

If attached to the dock, Motorola Atrix 4G will look like a laptop. When installed, Atrix 4G will be changed to "computer mode" and run the PC operating system interface, complete with Firefox, Adobe Flash, and so forth. In fact, users can also download PC applications such as in the real PC desktop.

If you need a wider screen, you can even connect the Motorola Atrix 4G with TV or other large screen media to run a computer process.

Motorola Atrix 4G network will be launched via AT & T in this first quarter of 2011.

Android Smartphones

2011-03-19T00:29:00.000-07:00

It’s time for an update on updates, yet again. And yet again this is about Android smartphones, two to be precise, both made by Motorola: the Charm and the Flipout. Both of these phones were launched running Android 2.1 with Motoblur. And they were both announced after Google had already introduced Android 2.2 Froyo (and shipped even more time after that, of course). Now if this somehow made you expect of Motorola to issue updates to Froyo for these phones, well, you were wrong.

Motorola has just updated its Android Software Upgrade News page, where it lists the planned updates (or lack thereof) for its smartphones, and it’s not good for the Charm and the Flipout. It turns out that they will both be stuck on Android 2.1 for the remainder of their lives. There will be no update to Froyo, or any other future Android version.

Why Motorola has decided to give up on the owners of these phones is unclear. Perhaps they have successors ready to be announced soon, or perhaps sales weren’t great. In any case, this is one more reminder that in the Android world, unless you buy one of the Nexus phones, this can happen to you at any time.

HTC Pyramid

2011-03-19T00:22:00.000-07:00

Even before the Incredible S was announced as the company’s new top-of-the-line set back in February, the rumored Pyramid was the upcoming. Here are renders of HTC’s three upcoming smartphone devices, Pyramid, Prime and Ignite, posted on Chinese site xda.cn. The Pyramid is an Android phone powered by dual-core processor. It has a 4.3-inch large 960×540 touchscreen, a 8 Megapixel main camera, a 1.3 Megapixel front camera. The Prime and Ignite, on the other hand, will be mid-range Windows Phone 7 devices. The former comes with a side-slide QWERTY keyboard, like the 7 Pro. Both phones will be equipped with 800Mhz processor and come with a 3.7-inch touchscreen and a 5 Megapixel camera.

The HTC Pyramid is a 4.3-inch device with a 1.2GHz processor and 540 x 960 qHD display, according to a report in XDA.cn, which is accompanied by the images located above and below. However, the blurb also states that this is an Android 3.0 Honeycomb device, which seems unlikely given that Honeycomb is supposedly reserved for tablets. The report goes on to allege 768MB of RAM and dual cameras: eight-megapixel rear and 1.3-megapixel front-facing. It's not entirely clear from the machine translation how many cores are supposedly present in the CPU.

We've heard of the Pyramid several times before, most concretely in an Expansys listing for the "Desire HD2" as well as earlier this morning in a screenshot from Telstra's internal systems. We expect HTC to reveal more on this handset, along with the newly-revealed HTC Ignite and HTC Prime, next week at the CTIA trade show in Orlando.

Samsung C300

2011-03-15T05:09:00.000-07:00

The Samsung C300 is a compact mobile phone which comes with good quality features for today's mobile phone user to enjoy. The Samsung C300 is also known as the Samsung SGH-C300 & is available in a silver coloured casing a black edition which is known as the Samsung C300 Black. The handset comes with a two tone colour casing which provides a matt & glossy finish which is highly attractive. The casing is neat & compact which measures 18.8mm in deep, 44mm in wide & 94mm high, which are the handsets slide closed measurements. The handset comes with a semi automatic slide open mechanism which is a pleasure to use. The slider handset feels solid to hold & looks like a top end of the market mobile phone device with its stunning design & easy to use slider mechanism.

The C300 comes with 2 Mbytes of internal memory which allows the user to save their contact details, messages & information on the available memory. The fitted battery provides up to 7.6 hours of talk time or up to 493 hours of standby battery time. The battery provides the user with a large amount of standby time which means the user will not have to recharge their handset too frequently.

The phone comes with a large 1.77 Inch screen which displays up to seven lines of text which the user can view when the handset is either open or closed. The screen has a screen resolution of 128 x 160 pixels & displays up to sixty five thousand colours. The phone comes with a text caller identification which allows the user to see who is calling when a call comes in. The Samsung C300 will store a record of missed & received calls which allows the user to access their frequent & missed callers easily. The mobile phone comes with a voice mail feature which allows callers to leave a voice mail message when the user can not take the call.

The Samsung C300 supports polyphonic ringtones which allows the user to choose a ringtone with realistic sounding melodies. The user can create & store a voice memo which is up to thirty seconds long. The user can store up to five voice memos at any one time on their Samsung C300 which is a useful feature for storing reminders. The phone comes with a handsfree speaker phone feature which allows the user to take calls over the phones speakers which leaves the user handsfree to continue with other tasks.

The uTrack feature will alert a preset number if the phones SIM card is changed. The uTrack feature will help the user recover their mobile phone if it is lost or stolen by alerting the user of the location of the handset. The phone comes with a SOS message feature which will alert the users emergency contact numbers when the user is in need of help. The user simple presses a single button & the emergency contacts will receive a message which alerts them that the user is in need of help. The Samsung C300 comes with a auto time setting feature which will automatically reset the local time when the handset travels to different time zones.

Samsung B7350 Omnia Pro 4

2011-03-15T04:55:00.000-07:00

People, I wish you have a good time in the past a few days, today, we just receive another two messages about phones from Samsung.During the CommunicAsia 2010, which is currently taking place in Singapore, Samsung presents the public several new machines, among them there is one which is codenamed as Samsung Omnia Pro 4 cellphone.

The machine looks more like a blackberry phone.As what you can say it features a small screen, yes, the Samsung Omnia Pro 4 features a 2.62″ TFT screen, which comes up with a resolution of 320 x 320 pixels, a standard 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus function, the phone is located in the inside, apart from the 3.2 megapixel camera, the phone also features a font (outside) camera, which could be used for video calls.I never try video calls before, because, some of my friends do not have phones which also support video calls, however, if you want to enjoy the fun of video calls, you can buy the Pro 4, it is a very nice option, besides, the machine also has the full QWERTY keyboard, which can be find easily(check the right picture).

Another thing about the Samsung Omnia Pro 4 is that this machine not only has one name, Samsung also gives it another name, like the B7350, so if you want to try another new phone from Samsung, you are able to consider the B7350, Samsung announced that the phone will be officially launched at some point in July 2010.So you guys still need to wait for a couple of weeks before having the B7350 on your hands.

What do you think of this machine, it looks like a middle phone.

Interesting search terms for this article:

Samsung OMNIA Pro 4

Samsung B7350

Omnia Pro 4

Other interesting Samsung products’ information, which we believe that you are interested.

Samsung SHW-A130K Review

Samsung N150 Plus Notebook

Samsung Galaxy 3 (i5800) Review

Samsung Captivate review

Samsung Galaxy Beam i8520 Review

Samsung champ C3300 Review

Samsung Omnia Pro 5 B6520 Review

Samsung Omnia Pro 4 B7350 Review

Samsung Seek M350 Review

Samsung messager touch SCH-R630

Android Mobile Phones

Checking Call Phone Calls With Reverse Phone Lookup Database

Blackberry Curve 8310

LG Optimus 2X

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini

Motorola Atrix 4G

HTC EVO shift 4G

Sumsung Epic 4g

Norton Mobile Utilities Beta

GateGuru for Android

Sony Ericsson C510

Sony Ericsson Aino

Samsung C3050

Wi-Fi Motorola Xoom

Motorola Xoom 32Gb 3G

Motorola Wilder

LG KS365

LG KS360

LG KM570

HTC HD2

HTC HD Mini

HTC Gratia

HTC tablet

Motorola Android Tablet

ASUS Eee Pad

Acer Android Tablet

Lenevo Lepad

Android Tablets

Sony Ericsson Satio

Sony Ericsson K800i

Sony Ericsson Elm

Sony Ericsson Cedar

Sony Ericsson C905

Sony Ericsson C903

Sony Ericsson C902

Sony Ericsson Mobile

BlackBerry Bold 9780

Introduction - the *new-ish-ist* Bold

BlackBerry Bold 9780 Video Unboxing and First Impressions

Official Features and Specifications

BlackBerry Bold 9780 Key Features and Tech Specs

BlackBerry Bold 9780 Hardware Impressions

Appearance, Form Factor and Build Quality

Display

Chipset / Processor

Memory

Battery Life

Phone Call Quality

Camera and Video Recording

Other Internals: WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, Speakers

BlackBerry Bold 9780 Accessories

Hardware Wrap-Up

BlackBerry Bold 9780 Software Impressions

BlackBerry 6 on the 9780 Software Wrap Up

Addressing the Big Questions

Is it worth upgrading my BlackBerry Bold 9700 to the Bold 9780?

Should I get the BlackBerry Torch 9800 or the BlackBerry Bold 9780?

BlackBerry Bold 9780 Closing Thoughts

BlackBerry Bold 9780 Summary

Pros

Cons

Bottom Line

RIM BlackBerry Storm Vodafone

BlackBerry PlayBook

RIM’s BlackBerry

GoGear Muse 3 portable media player

Harmony 8000 Hi-Fi System

JVC UX-FH5 Mini Compact Stereo

Harman AKG GHS-1

Klipsch iGroove SXT

Motorola Atrix 4G

Android Smartphones

HTC Pyramid

Samsung C300

Samsung B7350 Omnia Pro 4

Introduction - the new-ish-ist Bold