PhoneReport v2.0 - latest news, specs, reviews, interviews, and analysis

Review: Blackberry Video App

Antony Pritchard — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:18:13 +0000

Streaming internet videos on a Blackberry smartphone has never been easier. It has been possible through the browser to go to YouTube's mobile site, but an actual self-running application has never been available, until now.

All RIM devices can now get the app for free, by simply restarting. It is an instant and mandatory update that will appear on the main menu screen, which can then be downloaded and installed. It is a fine addition to the standard software that comes on Blackberry devices.

The application seems almost too good to be the first version of it. It's simple, yet sleek and works incredibly well. The front page has three buttons: Search, Popular, and channel. These are pretty well self-explanatory for any frequenters of the site or even the web in general, and are easy enough to use for any one who isn't familiar.

The search capability works perfectly. Navigation between videos is simple and works like a charm. It shows top videos by most viewed, rated, or recently watched and added. Streaming works well over 3G and Wi-Fi.

Basically, this is great app for viewing online video. There are already too many 'apps' that serve as nothing more than links for the browser. A YouTube app is exactly what all Blackberry fans needed.

Nokia Re-emerges in the CDMA Segment with the 6316s, 3806 and 1506

Sushant Ghargi — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:53:41 +0000

BEIJING, China - World's largest handset manufacturer Nokia has re-inforced its already impressive CDMA lineup with the announcement of three new CDMA handsets - Nokia 6316s, Nokia 3806 and Nokia 1506 in China.

Addressing the press at the launch event, David Tang, Vice President of Nokia China said, "Nokia is boosting its leadership in the CDMA market by updating an already strong line-up with products that appeal to a wide range of customer needs."

Tang also commented that "Of these devices, the Nokia 6316s is bringing exciting 3G services to life for users in China. Building on previous collaboration over the Nokia 8208, this is yet another success story resulting from our close relationship with China Telecom."

Nokia 6316s

The 3G-capable Nokia 6316s is the most impressive of the three, with onboard GPS, a 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and a 2.2" display with QVGA resolution. The

compact slider device comes pre-loaded with applications such as QQ, Email, web browser, as well as try-and-buy applications mobile navigation and mobile stock.

A multimedia device with web browsing, music, imaging and GPS, the Nokia 6316 brings elegant design and average functionality together in a compact sliding device. The stainless-steel on the handset achieves both style and ease of use with a a 2.2"display, a 2 megapixel camera and Bluetooth.

The device will be available in three colours: black, gold and red, and will start shipping in the first quarter of 2010.

Nokia 3806

The candybar Nokia 3806 is a multimedia-dedicated handset with its 2 megapixel camera equipped with video recording features. The device also features a 2.2" display with QVGA resolution, a microSD memory card slot for memory expansion, and Bluetooth 2.1.

Apart from its media capabilities, the device also comes pre-loaded with Health Assistant, a companion application that helps one manage different stressful aspects of life and thus helping the individual lead a healthy and happy life.

The 3806 is surrounded by a silver rim, which not only enhances the aesthetics of the device but also adds some durability to the build. Unfortunately phones with the glossy material such as on this one are notorious for being "fingerprint-magnets", and requiring constant clean-up.

Available in three colours piano black, pure white and rose gold, the device will start shipping in the first quarter of 2010.

Nokia 1506

The simplest of the three devices announced today, the Nokia 1506 is also the manufacturer's most affordable Nokia handset.

Designed for simplicity, the monoblock design of the 1506, with its high-gloss colours and metallic navigation key make it standout in the entry-level segment.

Further, the built-in voice recorder, integrated handsfree speaker and long lasting battery make it an enviable choice in the low-end segment.

Available it two colours black and plum, the device will start shipping in December 2009.

Review: Blackberry OS Theme of the Week

Antony Pritchard — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:17:02 +0000

Indigo is a Storm exclusive theme from eveek. The blue and gray based theme is a particularly unique one in the sense that it dismays the typical setup for the front screen of a Blackberry device.

There is no dock, no top menu, and no room for a custom wallpaper. Instead, the theme utilizes a circular rotation menu. On the front menu, 11 (yes 11, though it would make more sense if it were 12) icons surround a middle blue orb that shows the time and date. The theme is customizable as these icons are the first 11 apps and folders listed in the main menu. When selected, the icons aren't necessarily highlighted, but get a blue orb over them. This isn't exactly an attractive way of doing things, but it works.

The main menu is made completely of gray with a cracked concrete texture. This is the biggest negative of the theme. So much blends together and becomes difficult to recognize.

The theme fits together well, but that doesn't necessarily mean all parts work well; there is one other odd problem: with every menu and screen, it seems that there is at least one of these weird blue meter things. They don't change, and don't actually do anything. They're just there. They seem to be a style choice, but aren't particularly good-looking, stylish, or anything for that matter. They're just simply there.

Still, random fake meters aside, the theme is a fairly effective and good looking one. Indigo can be downloaded for free at eveek.

Samsung Announces Bada, a New Mobile Platform

Sushant Ghargi — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:38:33 +0000

SEOUL, South Korea - Having received lukewarm response to its smartphones until now, electronics giant Samsung has officially announced a new mobile platform, Bada, which in Korean means "ocean" and refers to the endless possibilities of its mobile OS.

Samsung's recent smartphones Samsung Galaxy in the Android segment, and Samsung Omnia i8910HD in the Symbian S60 5th-edition platform have been market disasters, even with their above-par hardware specifications; the caveats being the manufacturers' incapability in building an ecosystem of their own around these platforms. While the Android ecosystem is open to a number of manufacturers, the S60's Ovi ecosystem is largely targeted towards Nokia devices, thereby leaving other manufacturers in the dark. With their smartphone segment going nowhere, it was high time Samsung took some initiatives to build an ecosystem around its mobile devices, and the latest announcement of its new platform complements the Samsung Application Store, launched earlier this year.

Samsung Bada will be officially launched in December this year, when it will be available for developers to create applications for millions of new Samsung devices. The manufacturer has assured developers that its new mobile platform will be one of the most developer-friendly environments, particularly in the genre of applications using Web services. Further, Samsung will also be working in close quarters with service operators by providing them with an easy-to-integrate platform for customizing their services to the end-users.

Dr Hosoo Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of Media Solution Center at Samsung Electronics said that "by opening Samsung’s mobile platforms we will be able to provide rich mobile experiences on an increasing number of accessible smartphones." He added, “Bada will be Samsung’s landmark, iconic new platform that brings an unprecedented opportunity for operators, developers and Samsung mobile phone users around the world."

Samsung will also hosting an official launch event for their new mobile platform in London, UK in December on the eve of which it will be releasing the software development kit (SDK) of Bada to developers worldwide.

BlackBerry 8520 Curve in White from Vodacom in South Africa

David Fein — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:23:27 +0000

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - Vodacom announced today that its BlackBerry 8520 Curve is available for a limited time in white.

The 8520 Curve employs the new trackpad, allowing touch sensitive and smooth scrolling navigation on the device. A full QWERTY keyboard, dedicated media keys (the first BlackBerry to have them), built-in Wi-Fi, quadband connectivity, advanced media player, and a 2 megapixel camera round out the major features of this offering.

BlackBerry and Vodacom are introducing the traditionally business-oriented black smartphone to new markets by emphasizing style with color choices and easy media access on reliable and market tested devices. Vodacom is not alone with the introduction of different colors for the Curve 8530, as so do Sprint and Verizon in the USA.

This is a development of interest for BlackBerry watchers; what has been a very traditional business-oriented device, in “business” colors (black and blue), moving toward the mainstream non-business markets with a rainbow of colors and devices available.

More information is available at the Vodacom website and at local dealers.

LG turns to Snapdragon for its Android Successor

Sushant Ghargi — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:56:01 +0000

SEOUL, South Korea- After receiving lukewarm response to its first Android device, LG GW620, the Korean manufacturer is all set to revamp its Android lineup with the fastest processor available for mobile devices today. Earlier, Sony Ericsson and Acer adopted Qualcomm's Snapdragon processor for their Android devices Xperia X10 and Liquid, respectively, highlighting the move towards faster processors this platform segment.

While the pioneer in Android handsets, HTC, is using Qualcomm's 528MHz processor in all of its Android devices presently in the market, it has moved to the faster Snapdragon processor for its Windows Mobile series with the HTC HD2. With the industry accepting the 1GHz processor as a standard in their upcoming devices, mobile devices are all set to become faster and better in the coming days.

Image Courtesy of Softpedia News

Not much is known about other specifications of this second Android device from LG, but rumors suggest that it will be launched in South Korea first and may eventually enter other markets at a later date. The device is believed to reach the Korean markets in the second half of next year, by which the Xperia X10 and Acer Liquid would have made inroads in the high-end Google Android segment.

Review: Blackberry OS Theme of the Week

Antony Pritchard — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:49:46 +0000

Vitreous is a theme exclusive to the BlackBerry Storm. The skin is a user-created one by the eveek.

Vitreous is a bright and clean theme, and has an almost futuristic feel to the icon set. In portrait mode, two docks are lodged on the sides. They consist of the first eight applications listed in the main menu. The docks have a low opacity so it doesn't completely separate itself from the wallpaper.

The default background (which is used in all screens) is clean and very good looking. This is an area where many themes fall short. Most default backgrounds are ugly, bland, or ridiculous looking. The wallpaper can, of course, be changed if the default one isn't preferred.

The theme is very user friendly and works well. Vitreous' biggest drawback seems almost silly that it wasn't included: In portrait mode, the only clickable icons are in the dock. Most efficiency-oriented themes allow the user to access the clock, options, connections, and main menu with various buttons on the front screen. Vitreous lack this very prudent feature, but it is something that might be updated in a later version of the very cool theme.

It is a free theme and can be downloaded at eveek.

Rich Content comes to BlackBerry, Courtesy of Adobe

David Fein — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:46:01 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO, USA - Research in Motion and Adobe Systems Incorporated announced today at the BlackBerry Developers Conference that Adobe Flash and Adobe Creative Suite content are now available for use by developers for the BlackBerry smartphone product line.

Jim Balsillie, co-CEO, RIM, is quoted in the press release stating that he feels there is "tremendous opportunity for RIM and Adobe to align our platforms to help developers create BlackBerry applications that are highly engaging and deeply integrated in order to deliver the best user experience in the market."

This collaboration should strengthen the BlackBerry product lineup in the near future with more applications, widgets, themes, and graphic content arriving faster with the use of the widely available Adobe development platforms.

Users will be able to import photos and videos from their BlackBerry Smartphones and edit them using Adobe’s consumer offerings including Photoshop Elements and photoshop.com.

Developers will have Adobe Creative Suite 5 and up at hand to create "optimized graphic assets" from Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe After Effects for the BlackBerry platform, importing them into BlackBerry development tools, like BlackBerry Java Plug-in for Eclipse and the BlackBerry Web Plug-in for Eclipse, for user interfaces and applications, and finally, themes can be generated with Photoshop and used with the BlackBerry Theme Studio.

David Fein to Author Daily BlackBerry Column at PhoneReport

Meraj Chhaya — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:11:26 +0000

RENO, USA and JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - Following the success of PhoneReport's BlackBerry-dedicated daily column, David Fein has joined the publication to renew the emphasis on this important player in the telecommunications market.

An expert in this field, Fein counts with a BSEE from the Wentworth Institute of Technology (Boston), and business experience for having worked in cities such as Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Nevada, and Bordeaux, France. He has also travelled in a business development role to most of the countries in Europe, all over the USA, Korea, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, India, and Israel.

Fein has been involved in multiple facets of the telecommunications industry as a subscriber since 1990, an infrastructure supplier to Motorola, Nortel, and Lucent, cell site acquisition for AT&T Mobile, and tower construction. His positions held include design and development engineer, business development, test engineer, general manager, sales and business development manager, and VP of engineering and operations. For two years he was the director general at a small amplifier company in Bordeaux, France, guiding its growth and development.

The new BlackBerry-affairs correspondents owns a BlackBerry 9530 Storm, which will be suitable to fulfil our readers with the latest software reviews.

Fein also appreciates American sports, electronic/electrical gadgets and home computing and networking. He will be working from Reno, Nevada, where he lives with wife.

Sprint Announces Release of its Blackberry 8530 Curve

David Fein — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:54:39 +0000

OVERLAND PARK, USA - Sprint has made the BlackBerry 8350 Curve available for its network. The device is not available in stores today, however, interested users can pre-register for delivery; actual ship dates have not been announced by the network.

What makes the Curve enticing is its connectivity options: CDMA and Wi-Fi are built-in. It is heavily oriented toward multimedia with dedicated hard keys for control of music playback, a 2 megapixel camera, installed applications for social networking, and a GPS receiver. The Curve 8530 also has the new optical trackpad instead of a trackball.

It will be available in three colors: black, purple, or red.

The GSM version of the Curve has been on the market for over a year, therefore this release completes the lineup for RIM. The Curve is now available for all the major cellular protocols, building on its success in Europe and other GSM regions.

The Curve 8530 does employ the latest operating system version 5.0, which is a great improvement over 4.7. Overall, this should be an interesting device to consider for the Sprint Network, versatile, oriented toward multimedia, and stylish.