Mobile Phone Reviews - GSM MAG

Leaked BlackBerry 9800 To Be Unveil Next Month

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:15:51 PDT

Canadian smartphone designer Research In Motion has announced that in a PR style reminiscent of Apple, there will be an event next month that many believe is the super-secret BlackBerry 9800’s official launch.
BlackBerry 9800 is Research In Motion’s first sliding device and the latest rumors around the Internet suggest that the company already sent out invites to an event to be held on August 3, next Tuesday, during which it might unveil nothing else than this long rumored sliding mobile phone. And because the wireless carrier AT&T would also be present at the event, word has it that this first BlackBerry slider would hit the North American shelves via AT&T. All these rumors on the upcoming availability of this device have started to emerge ever since last year, but now it seems that they are finally getting close to proving true. Unfortunately, details regarding the carrier are scarce for now, but previous rumors suggested that the real launch date of the device at AT&T would be on August 15.

Furthermore, BlackBerry Cool posted an article recently, reading that the BlackBerry 9800 would be in fact the whipped cream of the event, especially because the BlackBerry OS 6 logo can be seen on the invites sent out to media. Besides, everyone expects the device to come packed with the mobile phone maker’s new BlackBerry 6 operating system, regardless of its final name, whether it will be called BlackBerry 9800 Slider or BlackBerry Torch, as some rumor addicts spread the word. The way the organizers are preparing the event and the way things are supposed to be, reminds us a lot of the last year’s release of BlackBerry Bold 9700.
In addition, a video appeared on YouTube showing the device in action. If you see tis video, you surely agree the phone looks impressive. The 9800 is expected to have a 3.2-inch touchscreen boasting a 360×480 resolution. The handset should arrive sporting the popular BlackBerry QWERTY, though in a sliding form factor this time and the camera is expected to have auto-focus and flash, with five megapixels being suggested. Wi-Fi, GPS, EDGE, and Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP should also be available on the upcoming handset.
However, it seems that the device will not be launched only in the United States. According to BBLeaks, users of Vodafone UK may soon also be able to get their hands on it as well. But this will probably happen later in fall, in September or October. The source of the rumor also points out Telefonica, Orange, T-Mobile UK and O2 are currently testing as well.
But after all, nothing is certain for the time being. Only August 3 should make things clear for everyone.

Bell Canada Announces iPhone 4 for July 30

admin — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:07:59 PDT

A month ago, the Canadian mobile carrier Bell announced that it will distribute Apple’s latest smartphone. Now, according to their website, the carrier will fill in its shelves with iPhone 4 by the end of this month, more precisely on July 30. However, Bell is not the only carrier to bring the magical smartphone on Canadian ground. Two other major carriers, Rogers and Telus, have also announced to launch the device but nobody knows exactly when it will happen. Bell is the last operator that updates its website with the iPhone 4 offering, but it’s the first that also discloses the exact date of the launch.
Apple’s latest creation has some undeniable highlights. It packs an Apple A4 chip designed by Intrinsity and manufactured by Samsung (Cortex-A8 CPU integrated with a PowerVR SGX 535 GPU at 1Ghz). It offers its users 16 or 32 GB space for storage, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n connectivity and Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP support, 512 MB RAM and HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps. The 5-megapixels camera with autofocus, LED flash, touch focus and geo-tagging will definitely not disappoint, while the GPS with A-GPS support, the digital compass, the TV-out, the MicroSIM card support only and the active noise cancellation with dedicated mic as well as the scratch-resistant glass back panel will be found useful by everyone.
Moreover, Apple iPhone 4 features a 3.5-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen (640×960 pixels resolution) with 16 Million colors, scratch-resistant surface, multi-touch input method, accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate, three-axis gyro sensor and proximity sensor for auto turn-off. The display on the iPhone 4 has been designed by Apple and has been manufactured by LG. The screen is marketed by Apple as the “Retina Display,” based on the assertion that a display of approximately 300 ppi at a distance of 12 inches (305 mm) from one’s eye is the maximum amount of detail that the human retina can process.
For those still unfamiliar for what iPhone 4 can offer, the Bell’s website will give full information. Also, if you live in Canada and you want to make sure you will not lose the launch date, you should subscribe to Bell Canada’s emailing list to get updated news about iPhone 4.
Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that Canadians have serious doubts about this wonderful smartphone that has already created considerable controversy in the U.S. due to some reception problems that have sparked lawsuits against the manufacturers, Apple Computer Inc. Last Friday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs called a news conference to defend the iPhone 4, where he conceded that the phone had a problem. But, he insisted that the problem was one that also affected other smartphone manufacturers. So will Canadians welcome this device with their opened arms as the Japanese did? It remains to be seen.

DROID 2 New Details Emerge Through Video

admin — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 15:46:04 PDT

DROID 2 (aka the Milestone 2 in the UK) has recently emerged in a video walkthrough, revealing new details. DROID 2 is the second Android-based mobile phone Motorola and Verizon are expected to soon bring to the North American market and it has been leaked a couple of times before together with DROID X, which is almost officially revealed. The first leaks were pretty scarce so everybody was expecting more info on this device to emerge and so the new video comes as good news, although you cannot put your hands on the device yet.
The video presents Motorola DROID 2 in comparison with DROID and so it seems that the new model has managed to overcome the lacks of the original model, with more improved featured. DROID 2 will land on shelves with a new 1GHz TI OMAP3630 processor (not from Qualcomm but from Texas Instruments that adopted the 45nm technology), which has been coupled with 512MB of RAM, offering increased performance levels for the successor of the DROID. It will come around with a sliding QWERTY keyboard, the same as its predecessor DROID, and very different from the DROID X that is equipped with only a touchscreen display.
The d-pad has been removed, the soft buttons on the front were modified to fit MotoBlur options and the smartphone will have a 3.7-inch touchscreen display, which is larger than the iPhone’s 3.5-inch touchscreen display, and a 5-megapixel photo camera on the back. Droid 2 has a 8 GB internal memory and it will come packed with a microSD memory card of 8 GB.
These are good news, regarding the fact that the first DROID hasn’t been very appreciate by users.
Those who grabbed the first DROID were disappointed by its size, a little large for a smartphone, and by the fact that the battery didn’t last as the company promised. DROID 2 is smaller and thinner and the golden strip from DROID has been replaced with a silver one on the new model. Besides, the flat keyboard on the original DROID has been widely criticized for being too hard to use, and Motorola took the complaints very serious as the new DROID will have larger keys made convex.
Like its predecessor, the Motorola DROID 2 is said to run on Android 2.1, but chances are that it will arrive on shelves with Android 2.2, if not immediately, at least soon after the launch. The device is expected to become available for purchase by the end of the summer.

Apple Predicted To Sell 100 Million iPhones By The End of 2011

admin — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 05:09:11 PDT

The iPhone that debuted in 2007 has become the most famous Smartphone in the entire world and its popularity will continue to rise with the release of the iPhone 4, a faster, thinner model by the end of the month. It seems that Apple’s expectations have exceeded as the company received more than 600,000 preorders for the iPhone 4 that will be released in the U.S. and four other countries on June 24. And as if their success and continuously increasing profit is not enough during this rough financial crisis the world is confronted with, Apple is predicted to sell 100 million iPhones by the end of 2011.
At least this is what Morgan Stanley analyst, Katy Huberty, has claimed in a new research. He said that the company will more than triple iPhone ownership (iPhone 2G, 3G, 3GS and the new iPhone 4) in the next year and a half and that it will have a 30 percent upgrade rate for existing customers by selling at least 42 million iPhones in calendar year 2010. He also claims that if the rate hits 50 percent, sales will grow to 48 million, a very respectable number. In 2011, Huberty expects another 19 million upgrades.
“We see the iPhone installed base rising from approximately 30 million subscribers at the end of 2009 to over 100 million by the end of 2011,” said the analyst in a report last week. “Upgrades will emerge as a key demand driver in the coming years. We believe there are several key drivers of iPhone upgrades including: 1) Redesigned hardware with many new important features, 2) ‘Stickiness’ of the installed base due to App store and iTunes, 3) 57% of U.S. installed base is not fully upgradeable to iOS4 (i.e. no multitasking), 4) Early upgrade incentives from AT&T and 5) Maturation of the installed base. We would also point to AT&T’s introduction of tiered data pricing (that potentially reduces iPhone total cost of ownership by 20%+) as a possible driver of the strong initial pre-order activity.”
Whether or not Huberty’s predictions will come true, remain to be seen. However, his predictions might turn out to be exact regarding the fact that Apple raised $4.62 to $271.87 at 4 p.m. New York time in trading and that the company’s shares have advanced 29 percent this year. Currently, Apple holds about 28 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, according to Nielsen.

Nokia N8 Leaked Again With Specs

admin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 07:02:08 PDT

An image of the device leaked a while back but the Nokia N8 has been leaked once again, with new specs. The device is said to capture 720p HD video recording and 12 megapixel stills (which is said to be similar to the Sony Ericsson Satio 12 megapixel shooter), HDMI out, multitouch controls and of course, Nokia’s first Symbian^3 operating system and UI.

Chinese tech site IT168 posted exclusive images of what is supposed to be next Nokia’s full touchscreen device with minimal set of hardware controls. According to the photos, the handset itself looks like an improved and keyboard-less variant of the Nokia N97 with intended to offer larger screen: 3.5-inch WVGA screen with resolution of 480×800 just like on the Nokia N900.

Nokia N8 Images

Since its first leak, the N8 was said to launch in May, then the launch date was pushed to April, then to mid-July and now to September. So if the device intrigued you, you will have to wait longer if rumors prove true. However, GSMArena received a tip from a person working for O2 UK who claims that the device is on the stock update for the carrier. It’s interesting that even though the handset hasn’t been released on the market, it is already very criticized. According to Mobile-Review, which managed to get hold of a Nokia N8, the new Symbian^3 OS is a “disappointment” and legendary insider Eldar Murtazin reports that the much hyped successor to Symbian S60 5th edition, as seen on the Nokia N97, lacks the innovation that both Android and iPhone brought to the fold.

Moreover, it looks like the upgrade isn’t as good as everyone seems to expect it to be and in addition to this, there are reports of no significant improvements in speed when compared to competition or to existing rival platforms on any of the Nokia N8 prototypes he tested. The Nokia N8 is apparently running fast but once its memory gets filled up it starts to lag. Murtazin goes so far as to jokingly accuse Nokia employees of sabotaging the company’s brand from the inside, else it might be “impossible to explain” why the N8 exists at all. Electricpig.co.uk writes that Symbian 3 on the Nokia N8 looks near identical to Symbian on the Nokia N97.
This definitely doesn’t look good for Nokia but those are impressions based on an early pre-release sample of the Nokia N8. Hope dies last so perhaps the Finnish company will resolve these issues before the official launch.

Apple’s iPad 3G To Launch April 30

admin — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 07:20:41 PDT

Apple has just announced that its iPad 3G+Wi-Fi will be available from April 30 in the US. The iPad that has been described as a “light communication device” and “iPhone OS media player” will go on sale at 5PM and will be available to those customers who have pre-ordered the tablet, plus in Apple stores.
There will be three separate models available to customers, starting with a 7-inch display which was then junked for a larger, 10.7-inch capacitive touchscreen running at around 720p resolution. Of course, the price tag will be different for each of the prototypes. The cheapest is the 16 GB edition, ringing up at $629.00. The middle-class users should go for the 32GB model, which comes with a price point of $729.000, whilst the most expensive iPad will cost $829.00, bringing its purchaser 64GB of memory. Despite the price, all three models are meant for internet browsing, media consumption, gaming, and light content creation and unlike many older tablets, they use fingertips for input instead of a stylus that prevent electrical conductivity. Each will be Wi-Fi and 3G ready, but each will have different sized hard drives, which resemble an overgrown iPhone. The hardware will come in two different versions as the company claim at the beginning of the year.

The iPad, which is currently being assembled by Foxconn, the same company that manufactures Apple’s iPod and iPhone, will hit the US market packed with a lot of apps: Safari, Mail, Photos, Video, YouTube, iPod, iTunes Store, App Store, Maps, Notes, Calendar, Contacts, Google Maps and Spotlight. The iPad also syncs with iTunes on a Mac or Windows PC. it has a built-in Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR interface that offers support for HSP, A2DP, and HID profiles. It runs the iPhone OS, e-book readers.
Furthermore, all three models use an internal rechargeable lithium-ion polymer battery, designed to be charged with the included USB 10 W power adapter. Apple claims that the iPad’s battery can provide up to 10 hours of video, 140 hours of audio playback, or one month on standby.

The use of 3G network will be granted only by AT&T with month by month data plans. Thus, the provider will offer its users the possibility to choose between a plan that offers them a limited amount of data usage (250MB) for $14.99 and a second plan that offers unlimited data usage for $29.99 a month.

Microsoft Announced KIN One and KIN Two

admin — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 04:35:38 PDT

This week, Redmond-based Microsoft Corp. officially unveiled to the world two new Windows Phones, namely Kin One and Kin Two, both aimed mainly at those users who want quick access to social-networking services like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter and are actively using social networks. “We built KIN for people who live to be connected, share, express and relate to their friends and family. This social generation wants and needs more from their phone. KIN is the one place to get the stuff you care about to the people you care about most,” said Robbie Bach, president of the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft previously named Turtle and Pure, the two Pink phones from the company are the result of a partnership with Verizon Wireless, Vodafone and Sharp Corporation. “Working closely with our partners, we saw an opportunity to design a mobile experience just for this social generation - a phone that makes it easy to share your life moment to moment,” said Robbie Bach.

According to the company, the handsets are due to become available for purchase in the United States of America exclusively via Verizon Wireless starting the next month. In Europe, KIN will come sometime during fall in Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom via Vodafone, when the users will be able to enjoy a new OS, which will remind everyone of Windows Phone 7, and a very new UI, heavily focused on social networking, a new browser, capacitive touchscreen displays with multi-touch.

The Kin One has a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and the Kin Two an 8-megapixel camera. Kin One includes a QVGA display, slide-out full QWERTY keyboard, a square form factor and 4GB of internal storage. Kin Two boasts an HVGA display, a sliding landscape QWERTY keyboard and 8GB of internal storage. The Kin One has a mono speaker while the Kin Two gets stereo speakers, and of course both have a 3.5mm headphone jack together with an FM radio. In addition, they both include Nvidia’s Tegra APX 2600 chip for a high-quality multimedia experience, including 720p high-definition video playback and recording, Nvidia spokesman Bruce Chan said. And they both include support for 3G, WiFi and Bluetoothand they are being positioned as feature phones for “Generation Upload”.

The devices come with KIN Loop, Microsoft’s new homescreen, KIN Spot, a simple sharing solution, and KIN Studio (photos and videos are freed from the confines of the phone and presented in an online visual timeline so they are easy to view and share). Besides, these two phones are the first Windows Phone to feature a Zune experience: there will be Zune video and music support, including optional Zune Pass subscriptions, but no games.
Unfortunately, there’s no word on pricing as yet.

Puma Phone to Hit Stores in May, Puma 2 to Be Launched in 2011

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 04:58:50 PDT

Puma phone has been a hit at the Mobile World Congress back in February, and now, the French phone company announced that the Puma would hit European stores in the first half of May via Vodafone and Orange. Jérôme Nadel, executive VP of marketing and user experience at Sagem Wireless, described some of the company’s negotiations with Vodafone, where the carrier was concerned that the Puma services could clash with their own Vodafone 360 service. It seems that Sagem suggested that in fact theirs would be the first device to carry the brand.

Sagem Wireless’ latest version of their Puma phone has gone through several software refreshes since MWC. What is interesting, it runs a custom OS and houses a solar panel on the rear for topping up the battery. Navigation is via touch and gestures on a 2.8-inch 240 x 320 capacitive touchscreen, and there’s 3G, GPS, a 3.2-megapixel camera with flash and Bluetooth. The UI is split into three icon-led homescreen panes: activities on the left, a shortcut page in the center and more regular phone functionality on the right, which you can swipe between. Default on-screen controls are minimal, but you can swipe up from the bottom right-hand corner to reveal a contextual menu with more options. It is targeted at the sports/lifestyle customers and Jérôme Nadel described the Puma phone as an “active” device. It offers the usual pack of touchscreen functionality, but with the added benefit of sporting functions that include a pedometer and bike speedometer, which also uses GPS to track your course and can later show you where you ran or rode, together with a nautical compass that handily works on land as well as at sea.
The phone will go on sale with a suggested retail of £329.99 SIM-free ($501 when it will be released in North America in the first half of the year).
In addition, Sagem are looking to Android for their next-gen Puma phone, as Jérôme Nadel confirmed that Sagem are considering an entry-level version of the sports/lifestyle themed device that would run Android. Little is confirmed about the upcoming device but it seems that like the original, Puma 2 will still have access to the Sagem-developed cloud infrastructure of news, social networking and shopping (an online store where you can buy phone accessories and sportswear from Puma’s line), a feature that Sagem would reportedly like to re-brand and offer to “different niche customers”.
Puma 2 is expected to arrive no sooner than “sometime in 2011″ and it won’t be the only Sagem handset to run Android.

LG Launches Three New Cookies - Plus, Fresh and Pep

admin — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:36:37 PDT

LG launched three news handsets, Cookie Plus, Cookie Fresh and Cookie Pep. All the three Cookies come with full touchscreen display and are expected to be available for purchase in 50 countries at the end of this month.

The LG Cookie Plus, iced in 16 colours, is a mid-range phone and it will come with all the standard features you can expect nowadays from such a device. It will have a 3-megapixel camera (with the option to scribble on photos before sending them), widgets and apps, push email and Web browsing, a speed-dial home screen, cartoon-style interface and LiveSquare social networking capabilities, which assigns avatars to your friends and gathers all their twitterings into one place. The phone plays MPEG-4 video and supports MP3 playback and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Besides, it will come with 3G connectivity and support for playback and FM tuner.

The LG Cookie Fresh, a follow-up to the pretty Cookie Plus, will have more of an emphasis on style baked in coming in 16 rubber-trimmed colours, but it will only come with a less impressive 2.0-megapixel camera. This will be a huge disadvantage for the Fresh, as mobile phone companies manufacture phones with larger and larger cameras into mobile phones (for instance, Sony Ericsson C905, Samsung SPH-V8200, Samsung i8510 all with an 8 megapixel snapper). However, the main reason the original LG Cookie has been so popular over the last couple of years is not the number of camera’s megapixels, but the fact that it offers a full touchscreen experience at a relative low price. And the LG Cookie Fresh is set to take that appeal even further. It offers S-Class interface, FM radio and 3.5mm headphone jack, email capability and built-in social networking applications. It does not support 3G and it will be hitting Europe at around €120/£100.

The LG Cookie Pep, bearing model number GD510, has already been launched in India, aiming the youth. “The all new LG Cookie Pep is in line with our strategy of introducing innovative gadgets and connecting with the youth through relatable propositions. As the name suggests, the phone will enable our young mobile users to have an unordinary fun experience. It delivers all the essentials in communication, multimedia and entertainment in a delightfully compact form. Cookie Pep will be actively marketed through a 360° plan and this will be our biggest campaign till date. I am positive that this phone will be an instant hit with the youngsters”, said Mr. Sudhin Mathur, Business Head, Mobile Communications, LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd.
It has a 7.62 cm Full Touch Screen, One Touch Social Networking Apps (Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Orkut, YouTube, Picasa), a 3 megapixel camera, MP3 player, Livesquare, Motion Silent, FM radio, video capture and audio recording, GSM / GPRS / EDGE / WAP / Bluetooth and an internal memory of 42 MB.
Prices for all three new Cookies are yet to be confirmed.

Nokia 5230 Nuron Gets Official and Goes to T-Mobile USA

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:27:33 PST

The Finnish phone manufacturer officially revealed the Nokia Nuron, also called the Nokia 5230, which is now going to T-Mobile USA, bringing free voice-guided navigation along with it. “Many of our customers are looking for smartphones that deliver a great mobile Web experience with access to games and applications, all at an affordable price,” said Travis Warren, director, product marketing, T-Mobile USA. “We are excited to partner with Nokia to offer our customers the Nokia 5230 Nuron, a 3G smartphone for the masses that delivers features like a full touch screen, free turn-by-turn navigation and a premium storefront for applications”.

It’s a touchscreen candybar, previously known as the 5230 XpressMusic and created after the popular Nokia 5800 XpressMusic but without the Wi-Fi capabilities with a fixed-focus camera of only 2MP. This new mobile phone, measuring 110.9mmm x 51.56mm x 14.47mm (4.37in x 2.03in x 0.57in) has a 3.2-inch 640 x 360-pixel resolution touchscreen, and is the first U.S. phone to come with the Ovi Store and free latest Ovi Maps preinstalled that offers free voice-guided navigation. Additionally, Ovi Maps makes it easy to discover great places to eat, concerts, movies and more with Lonely Planet guides. Other features include the ability to check the weather forecast and even share one’s current location on Facebook. With pedestrian navigation, Ovi Maps delivers the best routes through pedestrian zones and shortcuts as well as pathways through parks and buildings. The 3G-enabled handset comes preloaded with maps for the USA, Canada and Mexico but with the ability to access to over 180 country maps on the internet.

Moreover, users will be able to keep up with friends and family via IM, text, personal or work e-mail, because this Smartphone offers the ability to easily surf the Web with a full HTML browser.”The Nokia 5230 Nuron is a great product of our collaboration with T-Mobile USA and provides consumers with more compelling mobile experiences as they navigate, watch video, play games and social network,” said Mark Slater, Vice President, Sales, Nokia. “The Nokia Nuron offers U.S. consumers a unique and compelling mobile experience that caters to their everyday needs and enables them to connect to their passions with an affordable 3G touch smartphone.”

Other features include a 3.5mm headphone jack, a 1320mAh battery good for 7 hours of talk time over GSM networks, a GPS, Bluetooth v2.0, 70 MB internal memory and a microSD card slot for up to 16GB.
According to Nokia, the Nokia 5230 Nuron will become available in the coming weeks exclusively from T-Mobile, in their retail stores and online at http://www.t-mobile.com. The price should be relatively cheap, probably around $69.99 with a new agreement, or $179.99 without one.