Mobile Phone Review

Nokia X6 16GB; cheaper, new colours, less memory

noreply@blogger.com (~AJ~) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:30:00 -0800

The Nokia X6 16GB, Nokia's first Symbian touchscreen phone with a capacitive touchscreen, is now being released as a cheaper 16GB model and a fresh new range of colours. The phone also comes without the Comes With Music service.

The rest of the specs are unchanged, so there's the same 5-megapixel camera with twin LED flash and support for the recently updated Ovi Maps with free navigation (for the life of the device).
The X6 16GB hits the high street on February 24th and is available for pre-order at 9am tomorrow (Wednesday January 27th) via the Nokia online store at £299 SIM-free. It will also be available free of charge on tariffs starting at £25 per month.
The new finishes are;

All black
All white
White with pink highlights
White with yellow highlights

The phone will also ship with pre-loaded games Spore by EA Mobile, Asphalt4 and DJ Mix Tour by Gameloft.Nokia X6 16GB - available soon for £299 SIM-free, or free on £25 a month tariffs.

LG launches ultra-thin LG Mini (GD880)

noreply@blogger.com (~AJ~) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:24:00 -0800

The LG Mini is the smallest and thinnest 3.2-inch touchscreen phone on the market today, although you'll have to wait until April to get your fingers on it.

What phone could be without a heap of social networking tools? Well, obviously not the LG Mini! The phone will support popular services like Twitter and Facebook, with the addition of Social Network Connect that provides automatic updates on the home screen.
The superthin phone has a 3.2-inch, 16:9 ratio, touchscreen that extends to the edges of the phone. LG claims it gives the handset a finish that is 'as smooth as ice'. The button-free front fascia also keeps it looking simple.
On the rear of the phone is a 5-megapixel camera with face detection (but no flash, sadly), support for multiple file formats for multimedia, GPS, Wi-Fi, FM radio and 3G with HSDPA for fast downloading.
More information will follow nearer its release date in April.
LG Mini (GD880) the thinnest 3.2-inch full touchscreen phone on the market - available from April 2010.

MWC: Samsung unveils Wave; first Bada phone

noreply@blogger.com (~AJ~) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:18:00 -0800

Samsung Wave - first Bada handset

The first phone to use the new open mobile platform, Bada, has arrived in the form of the Samsung Wave (S8500). It’s part of a new series of handsets that will aim suit every lifestyle, suggesting many more offerings throughout 2010.

The Wave comes with a brand new ‘Super AM-OLED’ display, measuring 3.3-inches, that is brighter, clearer and less reflective than other OLED displays. As a result, the phone screen is far easier to see in bright sunlight, compared to earlier models. Measuring 800x480 pixels, it’s ideal for applications and multimedia alike - utilising a mobile version of the Digital Natural Image engine featured on Samsung’s LCD and LED televisions.
A great screen needs a great operating system, and the Wave features TouchWiz 3.0 - a vastly improved user interface that now has fully customisable menus and home-page. You can adjust the home screen layout to get instant access to Twitter, Facebook and loads of other social networking services. Alternatively, the screen can be changed into a media player, or used with Quick Panel to aggregate applications into one page.
After the speedy 800mhZ Jet, the Wave will be powered by a 1GHz processor, with a boost for 3D graphics and video performance. Connectivity includes Wi-Fi with wireless-N support, as well as Bluetooth 3.0 that offers incredible data transfer speeds - two firsts from Samsung.
For imaging, the Wave has a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash. It can also record (and play) HD video. The camera interface includes a number of features, including smile shot, beauty shot and touch autofocus.
Using the Bada platform, a growing number of applications can be downloaded from the integrated application store, or online. Samsung will be announcing more about Bada applications and services during MWC, starting on Monday February 15th.

More info: Samsung Mobile

Specifications:
Network

2.5G (GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE) : 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
3G (WCDMA/ HSPA) : 900/2100 MHz

Display

3.3” WVGA (800x480) Super AMOLED with mDNIe

Camera

5.0 Megapixel camera w/ LED Flash, Touch AF
Face/Blink Detection, Lomo Shot, Vintage Shot, Beauty Shot,
Smile Shot, Panorama Shot, Geo-tagging, Photo Editor

Video

HD video playing & recording
5.1ch Mobile Theater
MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV,DivX, XviD Video Editor

Audio

Music Player with DNSe & SRS Sound Effect
Find Music, DISK UI
3.5mm Ear Jack
FM Radio/ Recording
30 hr Playing Time

Value-added Features

Integrated Messaging ‘Social Hub’
Samsung Apps (*Availability of Samsung Apps differs by country)
TouchWiz 3.0 w/Integrated phonebook, Voice & Motion UI
Dolfin Browser 2.0 / One Finger Zoom (up to x10)
A-GPS, On/off Board Navigation(3D Map), LBS
SMS/ MMS/ Email/ Video Messaging/Exchange ActiveSync
Accelerator Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Digital Compass
BPP(Basic Printing Profile), OPP(Object Push Profile), PictBridge (USB Printing)
Offline & No SIM Mode, Voice Command,
RSS Reader, Communities & Mobile Widgets

Connectivity

Bluetooth technology v 3.0
USB v2.0 (Full -Speed)
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n

Memory

2GB/8GB + microSD (Up to 32GB)

Size

118 x 56 x 10.9mm

Battery

(Standard) Li-Ion, 1,500 mAh

RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700

noreply@blogger.com (~AJ~) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 09:27:00 -0800

The RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700 looks nothing like its predecessor. Gone is the wide, masculine body, and in its place is a more svelte, compact smartphone that should fulfill RIM's hope of attracting both men and women, and consumers and professionals. At 4.29 inches tall by 2.36 inches wide by 0.56 inch thick and 4.3 ounces, the Bold 9700 is certainly more pocketable and is even smaller and lighter than the BlackBerry Tour. It feels solid in the hand and features a similar leatherette backing as the original Bold to give it a classy touch. In addition, the chrome edges and lines between the keyboard rows add to the handset's appeal.

Given the smaller size, you do lose a little bit in screen real estate. The Bold 9700 has a 2.44-inch display (compared with 2.75 inches) but its 480x360-pixel resolution at 245 pixels per inch certainly keeps things clear and sharp. It's the same as the Tour's, and while we did miss having the larger screen when viewing Web pages and videos, overall we had no complaints. Text was easy to read, and images looked crisp with vibrant colors.
The user interface is largely unchanged, though BlackBerry OS 5.0 brings some slight refinements. For example, the calendar has an easier to use system for creating new appointments with drop-down lists, and you can set your alarm clock using a spinning wheel. The home screen and main menu will be familiar to previous owners, though; you can customize the home screen with different themes and background images as well as six different shortcuts.
Below the display, you get the standard BlackBerry controls: Talk and End keys, a menu shortcut, and a back button. However, like the BlackBerry Curve 8520, the Bold 9700 replaces the traditional trackball navigator with an optical trackpad. The move from trackball to trackpad is surprisingly easy, and we were impressed by its responsiveness (you can also adjust its sensitivity to your liking through the Options menu). Scrolling through lists and navigating menus feels smoother using the trackpad and you can select an item simply by pressing down. RIM plans to use the trackpad in all its future devices, and that's fine by us. Like we mentioned earlier, the transition from one to the other felt easy and natural; plus, perhaps this will eliminate the issue that some users have had where the trackball stops working for whatever reason and needs to be replaced.

Just below is the Bold 9700's 35-key full QWERTY keyboard. Though not as spacious as the original Bold's, the large and comfortable buttons are ideal for typing both short text messages and longer e-mails. The individual keys have raised ridges so they're easier to use compared to completely flat buttons, and they provide a nice springy feedback. If anything, they were just a touch stiff to press, but overall, we're very happy with the keyboard.
On the left spine, there's a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microUSB port/power connector, and a customizable shortcut key. You get a second convenience key on the right side, which is designated to the camera by default, and a volume rocker. The top holds a mute and lock buttons, and the camera and flash are located on back.

Features
The RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700 marks the first 3G (UMTS/HSDPA 900/1700/2100) BlackBerry for T-Mobile. The carrier's been on a tear lately to launch its 3G network in new markets, which now reaches 170 million people in more than 235 cities nationwide. It still trails behind the other major service providers in terms of coverage, but it's certainly good to see T-Mobile ramping up its efforts and bringing more 3G handsets to the lineup, particularly full-featured ones like the Bold 9700.
Like the RIM BlackBerry Storm 2, the Bold 9700 is shipping with BlackBerry OS 5.0 (version 5.0.0.330 to be exact), which brings some enhancements to the messaging and calendar capabilities as well as to the BlackBerry browser.