Mobile Review

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 09:22:00 +0700

NETWORK

Technology : GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G

LAUNCH

Announced : 2021, January 14
Status : Available. Released 2021, January 29

BODY

Dimensions : 165.1 x 75.6 x 8.9 mm (6.5 x 2.98 x 0.35 in)
Weight : 227 g (Sub6), 229 g (mmWave) (8.01 oz)
Build : Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus), aluminum frame
SIM :
Single SIM (Nano-SIM and/or eSIM) or Dual SIM (Nano-SIM and/or eSIM, dual stand-by)
IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins)
Stylus support

DISPLAY

Type : Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1500 nits (peak)
Size : 6.8 inches, 112.1 cm² (~89.8% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution : 1440 x 3200 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~515 ppi density)
Protection :
Corning Gorilla Glass Victus
Always-on display

PLATFORM

OS : Android 11, One UI 3.1
Chipset :
Exynos 2100 (5 nm) - International
Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 5G (5 nm) - USA/China
CPU :
Octa-core (1x2.9 GHz Cortex-X1 & 3x2.80 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x2.2 GHz Cortex-A55) - International
Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 680 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 680 & 4x1.80 GHz Kryo 680) - USA/China
GPU :
Mali-G78 MP14 - International
Adreno 660 - USA/China

MEMORY

Card slot : No
Internal :
128GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM
UFS 3.1

MAIN CAMERA

Quad :
108 MP, f/1.8, 24mm (wide), 1/1.33", 0.8µm, PDAF, Laser AF, OIS
10 MP, f/4.9, 240mm (periscope telephoto), 1/3.24", 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS, 10x optical zoom
10 MP, f/2.4, 70mm (telephoto), 1/3.24", 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom
12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, Super Steady video
Features : LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama
Video : 8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS

SELFIE CAMERA

Single : 40 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/2.8", 0.7µm, PDAF
Features : Dual video call, Auto-HDR
Video : 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps

SOUND

Loudspeaker : Yes, with stereo speakers
3.5mm jack :
No
32-bit/384kHz audio
Tuned by AKG

COMMS

WLAN : Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
Bluetooth : 5.2, A2DP, LE
GPS : Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO
NFC : Yes
Radio : FM radio (Snapdragon model only; market/operator dependent)
USB : USB Type-C 3.2, USB On-The-Go

FEATURES

Sensors :
Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support)
ANT+
Bixby natural language commands and dictation
Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified)
Ultra Wideband (UWB) support

BATTERY

Type : Li-Ion 5000 mAh, non-removable
Charging :
Fast charging 25W
USB Power Delivery 3.0
Fast Qi/PMA wireless charging 15W
Reverse wireless charging 4.5W

Apple iPhone 12 Pro

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 3 Nov 2020 11:22:00 +0700

NETWORK

Technology : GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G

LAUNCH

Announced : 2020, October 13

Status : Available. Released 2020, October 23

BODY

Dimensions : 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4 mm (5.78 x 2.81 x 0.29 in)

Weight : 189 g (6.67 oz)

Build : Glass front (Gorilla Glass), glass back (Gorilla Glass), stainless steel frame

SIM :

Single SIM (Nano-SIM and/or eSIM) or Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) - for China

IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 6m for 30 mins)
Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX certified)

DISPLAY

Type : Super Retina XDR OLED, HDR10, 800 nits (typ), 1200 nits (peak)

Size : 6.1 inches, 90.2 cm2 (~86.0% screen-to-body ratio)

Resolution : 1170 x 2532 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~460 ppi density)

Protection :

Scratch-resistant ceramic glass, oleophobic coating

Dolby Vision
Wide color gamut
True-tone

PLATFORM

OS : iOS 14.1

Chipset : Apple A14 Bionic (5 nm)

CPU : Hexa-core (2x3.1 GHz Firestorm + 4x1.8 GHz Icestorm)

GPU : Apple GPU (4-core graphics)

MEMORY

Card slot : No

Internal : 128GB 6GB RAM, 256GB 6GB RAM, 512GB 6GB RAM

NVMe

MAIN CAMERA

Quad :

12 MP, f/1.6, 26mm (wide), 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS
12 MP, f/2.0, 52mm (telephoto), 1/3.4", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 2x optical zoom
12 MP, f/2.4, 120˚, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/3.6"
TOF 3D LiDAR scanner (depth)

Features : Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR (photo/panorama)

Video : 4K@24/30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, 10‑bit HDR, Dolby Vision HDR (up to 60fps), stereo sound rec.

SELFIE CAMERA

Dual :

12 MP, f/2.2, 23mm (wide), 1/3.6"
SL 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor)

Features : HDR

Video : 4K@24/30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS

SOUND

Loudspeaker : Yes, with stereo speakers

3.5mm jack : No

COMMS

WLAN : Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, hotspot

Bluetooth : 5.0, A2DP, LE

GPS : Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS

NFC : Yes

Radio : No

USB : Lightning, USB 2.0

FEATURES

Sensors :

Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer

Siri natural language commands and dictation

BATTERY

Type : Li-Ion 2815 mAh, non-removable (10.78 Wh)

Charging :

Fast charging 20W, 50% in 30 min (advertised)
USB Power Delivery 2.0
Qi fast wireless charging 15W

Stand-by : Up to 17 h (multimedia)

Music play : Up to 65 h

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 27 Oct 2020 10:46:00 +0700

PHONE SPECIFICATION :

NETWORK

Technology : GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G

LAUNCH

Announced : 2020, August 05

Status : Available. Released 2020, September 18

BODY

Dimensions : Unfolded: 159.2 x 128.2 x 6.9 mm - Folded: 159.2 x 68 x 16.8 mm

Weight : 282 g (9.95 oz)

Build : Glass front (folded), plastic front (unfolded), glass back, aluminum frame

SIM : Nano-SIM and/or eSIM - Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified)

DISPLAY

Type : Foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+

Size : 7.6 inches, 180.8 cm2 (~88.6% screen-to-body ratio)

Resolution : 1768 x 2208 pixels (~373 ppi density)

Cover display: 6.23", Super AMOLED, 816 x 2260 pixels (25:9), Corning Gorilla Glass Victus

PLATFORM

OS : Android 10, One UI 2.5

Chipset : Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865+ (7 nm+)

CPU : Octa-core (1x3.09 GHz Kryo 585 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 585 & 4x1.8 GHz Kryo 585)

GPU : Adreno 650

MEMORY

Card slot : No

Internal : 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM - UFS 3.1

MAIN CAMERA

Triple :

12 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.76", 1.8µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS
12 MP, f/2.4, 52mm (telephoto), 1/3.6", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 2x optical zoom
12 MP, f/2.2, 123˚, 12mm (ultrawide), 1.12µm

Features: LED flash, HDR, panorama

Video : 4K@60fps, 1080p@60/240fps (gyro-EIS), 720p@960fps (gyro-EIS), HDR10+

SELFIE CAMERA

Single :

10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1.22µm
Cover camera:
10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1.22µm

Features : HDR

Video : 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps, gyro-EIS

SOUND

Loudspeaker : Yes, with stereo speakers

3.5mm jack : No

32-bit/384kHz audio
Tuned by AKG

COMMS

WLAN : Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot

Bluetooth : 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD

GPS : Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS

NFC : Yes

Radio : No

USB : USB Type-C 3.2

FEATURES

Sensors :

Fingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer

ANT+
Bixby natural language commands and dictation
Samsung DeX (desktop experience support)

BATTERY

Type : Li-Po 4500 mAh, non-removable

Charging :

Fast charging 25W
Fast wireless charging 11W
Reverse wireless charging 4.5W

MISC

Colors : Mystic Bronze, Mystic Black, Thom Browne Edition

Models : SM-F916B, SM-F916U, SM-F916U1

Samsung Galaxy Note 20

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 18:30:00 +0700

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 smartphone was launched on 5th August 2020. The phone comes with a 6.70-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1080x2400 pixels and an aspect ratio of 20:9. Samsung Galaxy Note 20 is powered by a 2.4GHz octa-core Samsung Exynos 990 processor that features 4 cores clocked at 2.4GHz and 4 cores clocked at 1.8GHz. It comes with 8GB of RAM. The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 runs Android 10 and is powered by a 4300mAh non-removable battery. The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 supports wireless charging, as well as proprietary fast charging.

As far as the cameras are concerned, the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 on the rear packs a 12-megapixel primary camera with an f/1.8 aperture and a pixel size of 1.8-micron; a second 64-megapixel camera with an f/2.0 aperture and a pixel size of 0.8-micron and a third 12-megapixel camera with an f/2.2 aperture and a pixel size of 1.4-micron. The rear camera setup has autofocus. It sports a 10-megapixel camera on the front for selfies, with an f/2.2 aperture and a pixel size of 1.22-micron. The front camera also features autofocus.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 runs One UI based on Android 10 and packs 256GB of inbuilt storage that can be expanded via microSD card (up to 1000000GB). The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 measures 161.60 x 75.20 x 8.30mm (height x width x thickness) and weighs 192.00 grams. It was launched in Mystic Bronze, Mystic Gray, and Mystic Green colours. It features an IP68 rating for dust and water protection. It bears a glass body.

Connectivity options on the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 include Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/Yes, GPS, Bluetooth v5.00, NFC, and USB Type-C. Sensors on the phone include accelerometer, ambient light sensor, barometer, compass/ magnetometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, and in-display fingerprint sensor. The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 supports face unlock.

Asus ROG 3 ZS661KS

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 21:28:00 +0700

For the third year in a row, Asus has been unwavering in its quest to deliver "The ultimate smartphone gaming experience". A task that it takes so extremely seriously that the ROG Phone line has become the ultimate embodiment of a halo product for the professional mobile gaming niche as a whole. By any measure, each consecutive ROG Phone model simply pushes the envelope so hard that it goes beyond just being a great gaming phone - it sets the bar for the entire industry.

Asus has figured out how to make a gaming phone that also excels as a regular smartphone. The ROG Phone 3 is one of the fastest phones on the market right now, and its killer battery life and simple interface make it a great device for anyone.

Even though the design of the ROG Phone series hasn’t changed drastically over the last two years, its in-your-face styling has become more subtle with time. The first generation had some bright orange accents with visible air vents, which became a single vent in the second generation. WIth the ROG Phone 3, Asus opted for a transparent cooling chamber with fewer sharp lines.

The RGB-illuminated ROG logo is still present on the back of the phone. That’s a staple for the series, and I’m a sucker for RGB accents on any device.
Overall, the rear is quite clean, though that’s looking through the lens of other gaming devices. It’s still clearly a design targeted at gamers.

Vivo X50 Pro

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 21:11:00 +0700

The Vivo X50 Pro focusses on design and a high-quality camera system — and delivers what it promises. The phone is built particularly well, and the hand-feel is exemplary. The gimbal camera works as advertised and delivers silky smooth video and quality low-light images from the primary camera. The Snapdragon 765G chipset might appear a bit meh, but most users should find the trade-off in additional battery life to be worthwhile.

Overall, the phone is a solid daily driver for someone who isn't too fussed about top-tier performance or with the bloated Funtouch OS.

Now, back to the rear camera - it's a quad-setup with a custom 48MP Sony IMX598 primary on the said gimbal system, then there is an 8MP ultrawide shooter that doubles as macro cam with impressive focus distance - just 2.5cm. Next comes a 13MP portrait camera with 2x optical zoom. And finally, there is an 8MP sensor behind 135mm periscopic lens for 5x optical zoom. It seems vivo spared no resources on the rear camera and it has everything that's cutting edge and then some!

The main camera is the only one that can shoot in all resolutions and framerates, and the gimbal stabilization is always active. You can also enable electronic stabilization for the so-called Ultra Steady Mode. The X50 Pro runs on the Android 10 with Google-fied Funtouch 10.5 UX. The latest vivo interface seems to be a step in the right direction - clean and clutter-free.

Oppo Reno4 Pro 5G

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 21:01:00 +0700

Oppo Reno4 Pro 5G is officially announced in June 2020.

The device runs on Android 10.0 + ColorOS 7 that provides fast performance of the device without any lags. The smartphone is integrated with a big screen of 6.55 inches AMOLED capacitive touchscreen. The screen of the device is protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 6.

The display has 402 PPI density and it provides 1080 x 2400 pixels resolution. Additionally, the smartphone comes with HDR10+, 90Hz refresh rate, and 500 nits typ. value (advertised).
The smartphone features a triple camera on the rear side 48 MP (wide) + 13 MP (telephoto) 2x optical zoom + 12 MP (ultrawide) dedicated video camera. While on the front camera there is a single camera that consists of 32 MP (wide).

It is fueled with a Non-removable Li-Po 4000 mAh battery + Fast charging 65W, 60% in 15 min, 100% in 36 min (advertised) + SuperVOOC 2.0. The phone is pack with 8 GB + 12 GB and the internal storage remains 128 GB + 256 GB.

The Oppo Reno4 Pro 5G includes sensors such as Fingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, and compass.

Samsung Galaxy S20

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 08:50:00 +0700

Samsung Galaxy S20
NETWORK Technology GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE

NETWORK	Technology	GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE

NETWORK	Technology	GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE

LAUNCH	Announced	2020, February 11
LAUNCH	Status	Available. Released 2020, March 06

BODY	Dimensions	151.7 x 69.1 x 7.9 mm (5.97 x 2.72 x 0.31 in)
	Weight	163 g (5.75 oz)
	Build	Glass front (Gorilla Glass 6), glass back (Gorilla Glass 6), aluminum frame
	SIM	Single SIM (Nano-SIM and/or eSIM) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
		Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified) IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins)

DISPLAY	Type	Dynamic AMOLED 2X capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	6.2 inches, 93.8 cm² (~89.5% screen-to-body ratio)
	Resolution	1440 x 3200 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~563 ppi density)
	Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 6
		HDR10+ Always-on display 120Hz@FHD/60Hz@QHD refresh rate

PLATFORM	OS	Android 10, One UI 2.5
	Chipset	Exynos 990 (7 nm+) - Global Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 (7 nm+) - USA
	CPU	Octa-core (2x2.73 GHz Mongoose M5 & 2x2.50 GHz Cortex-A76 & 4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55) - Global Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 585 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 585 & 4x1.8 GHz Kryo 585) - USA
	GPU	Mali-G77 MP11 - Global Adreno 650 - USA

MEMORY	Card slot	microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot)
	Internal	128GB 8GB RAM
		UFS 3.0

MAIN CAMERA	Triple	12 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.76", 1.8µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS 64 MP, f/2.0, 29mm (telephoto), 1/1.72", 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS, 1.1x optical zoom, 3x hybrid zoom 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide), 1.4µm, Super Steady video
	Features	LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama
	Video	8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS & OIS

SELFIE CAMERA	Dual	10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3.2", 1.22µm, Dual Pixel PDAF
	Features	Dual video call, Auto-HDR
	Video	4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps

SOUND	Loudspeaker	Yes, with stereo speakers
	3.5mm jack	No
		32-bit/384kHz audio Tuned by AKG

COMMS	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
	Bluetooth	5.0, A2DP, LE
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO
	NFC	Yes
	Radio	FM radio (Snapdragon model only; market/operator dependent)
	USB	3.2, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector, USB On-The-Go

FEATURES	Sensors	Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
		Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support) ANT+ Bixby natural language commands and dictation

BATTERY	Type	Li-Po 4000 mAh, non-removable
	Charging	Fast charging 25W USB Power Delivery 3.0 Fast Qi/PMA wireless charging 15W Reverse wireless charging 4.5W

Lenovo Vibe K4 Note

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 09:06:00 +0700

Build and Design: 6.5/10. The K4 Note features a curvy design, compared to its predecessor. The design aimed at better ergonomics ensured a firm grip. In fact, we quite liked the looks. The company did boast of a metal body during the launch, but the device seems to get only a metal frame and the rest is all plastic. That doesn’t mean the device looks cheap, rather we loved the looks. However, we doubt we’d say the same about its build quality.

The front side stares back at you with a 5.5-inch display, similar to what we’d seen in the K3 Note. Stereo speakers take position above as well as below the display, and you will also find three touch buttons that do not illuminate. Then there’s a front camera and a notification LED on the upper right corner. The right edge shows the power and volume buttons, upper edge has audio jack, lower edge gets the microUSB slot and the left edge is smooth sans any buttons or slots.

Turn the device around and you will find the rear snapper and right below it is the fingerprint sensor. The removable plastic back shows two SIM slots and a microSD card slot. The device dosen’t feel bulky at 156 grams (thanks to the plastic) and measures 153.6 x 76.5 x 9.2 mm dimensions. The company has bundled a back cover, again cheap plasticky, but you won’t find any bundled headphones. Unlike the 5.5-inch handsets we’ve got to spend time with lately, the K4 Note offers better one hand use. Also, in terms of looks and build quality, it seems better than the recently reviewed 5.5-inch Coolpad Note 3 that falls in a similar price bracket.

Features: 7/10. The Lenovo K4 Note has maintained the same 5.5-inch fullHD display as its predecessor, with a pixel density that goes up to 401ppi. It gets a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The dual SIM device supports 4G and comes powered by an octa-core Mediatek MT6753 processor clocked at 1.3GHz, and coupled with 3GB RAM. We have got a unit with 16GB onboard storage, out of which roughly around 9GB was available for use. However, the expandable slot supports up to 128GB to ensure you get the device loaded with all your data.

It runs Android Lollipop along with a layer of the company’s Vibe UI on top. The device gets a 13MP rear snapper and a 5MP front-facing camera. The company also includes fingerprint scanner, making it fall among the handful of devices adopting the feature in this price range. We prefer this position of the sensor, which is just below the rear camera module, making it easier to unlock using the index finger. The connectivity options include Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G, GPS with A-GPS and NFC. Finally, a 3300mAh battery completes the package.

Display: 7/10. The Vibe K4 Note sports a 5.5-inch display with Full HD resolution, just like the K3. The company had touted it to be a killer display with 1000: 1 contrast ratio, 450 Nits brightness, user controlled color balance and a layer of Gorilla Glass 3.

There is no evident change in the display that would distinguish it from some other 5.5-inch devices with Full HD display. But the viewing experience and display quality seemed good, and there is nothing much to complain about. The display is bright and reproduces vivid colours, ensuring legibility even in bright outdoors. We had taken to reading a few quick e-books, and it was quite a good experience, be it while travelling in bright light or in dim light just before hitting the bed.

Software: 7/10. The K4 Note runs rather older Android 5.1 Lollipop with a layer of the Vibe UI on top. Following in the steps of most its fellow Chinese vendors, there is no dedicated app drawer and apps are strewn across pages. However, it does give you the option of an Android launcher that offers an app drawer. Adding to it, there are some neat themes to choose from the Theme Center.

The user experience is pretty slick and fluid. What may annoy you is the ample bloatware present. It includes some apps like Amazon Shopping (though, we love this one), Shareit, Skype and so on, that you won’t be able to uninstall. Like other Chinese vendors, the notifications section has been spruced up for more handy shortcuts. Moreover, you can decide which shortcuts you want to view in the notifications bar. It includes an option called Secure zone that allows you to set certain apps in the secure zone that can be accessed only with a different pin/password. You can also opt for an all-time onscreen button that lets you switch with between secure zone and open zone.

Apple iPhone SE

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 09:45:00 +0700

Anyone that owned an iPhone 5 or iPhone 5S will immediately feel at home with the iPhone SE, as the two handsets are identical from the outside. With the slick metal body and squared edges, the impressive thing is that the design looks as fresh today as it did when it was first introduced.

Weighing 113g and at 7.6mm thick, the iPhone SE is exactly the same size as the 5S and is compatible with the same range of cases and covers. While this makes the SE the lightest iPhone currently available, it's actually the thickest.

This doesn't particularly matter, as the thickness makes the handset easier to grip, and it means that the camera sits flush with the rear of the case. Besides, it's the overall size of the handset that counts here, and the iPhone SE is comparatively tiny by today's standards, slipping easily into any pocket. There's plenty of colour choice, too, with the SE available in silver, space grey, gold and rose gold cases; there's a bit of something for everyone.

Display

Moving back to a 4in screen, Apple has continued with the iPhone 5S' resolution: 1,136x640. This is one of the lowest resolution phones available, but it's important to put this into the context of display sharpness. On this display, the pixel density of 326ppi matches that of the iPhone 6S, which has a resolution of 1,334x750. Both phones are definitely sharp enough, and text looks clear and is easy to read.

Image quality isn't quite as good as Apple's more expensive iPhones, though, but it's a close-run thing. In fact, the iPhone SE's screen performs better than stated: Apple claims maximum brightness of 500cd/m2 and a contrast ratio of 800:1, but I measured the phone at 577cd/m2 and a contrast ratio of 892:1. While this contrast ratio still isn't great, its colour accuracy coverage of 94.6% of the sRGB colour gamut does go some way to make up for it.

Samsung Galaxy A3

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 09:40:00 +0700

The Galaxy A3 is powered by a quad-core, 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor paired with 1.5GB of RAM. This is more than capable of running Android 4.4, but it also means it's no faster than more entry-level handsets such as Motorola's £110 2nd Gen Moto E. Its Geekbench 3 scores of 474 and 1,418 in the single and multicore tests are almost exactly the same as the Moto E's 470 and 1,397. The A3 also scored a similar figure in Futuremark's Peacekeeper browser test, finishing with 670 compared to the Moto E's 625.

As a result, opening apps and menu settings take roughly the same time to open on both phones. Web browsing is a touch faster on the A3, but there's no denying this is still a little sluggish considering the A3 is twice as expensive SIM-free. It's certainly not as quick as the £200 EE Harrier, which has a faster Snapdragon 615 chip. That being said, the A3 isn't the only mid-range phone to get lumbered with a Snapdragon 410, as it shares the same chipset as HTC's £210 Desire 620. In this sense, at least the A3 has design and screen quality on its side, as the Desire 620 pales by comparison on both fronts, even though both of them have similar performance.

Graphics performance was pretty slow, too, as it only produced 111 frames (or a stuttering 1.8fps) in the offscreen Manhatten test in our GFX Bench GL benchmark, which is one frame less than the Moto E. Admittedly, this is a very demanding test, as even the Galaxy S6 can only produce 1,429 frames (or 23fps). In practice, the A3 handled real games such as Blizzard's Hearthstone with almost no trouble at all. Battle animations and speech bubbles were occasionally a little jerky and sometimes took a second to load, but it wasn't enough to put us off playing.

Display

It's a shame the 4.5in screen only has a low 960x540 resolution, though, as this makes web browsing a little hard on the eyes, particularly when viewing desktop sites. There are plenty of jagged, pixellated app icons on the main home screen as well, and text occasionally wasn't quite as sharp we would have liked.

Still, we had no complaints about the quality of its Super AMOLED display, as our colour calibrator returned a perfect sRGB colour gamut score of 100% and a perfect black level of 0.00cd/m2. Likewise, its contrast levels were off the charts, so images had excellent clarity.

Lenovo Vibe Shot

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 21 Apr 2016 16:55:00 +0700

Lenovo Vibe Shot Specification

Also known as Lenovo z90-7, Lenovo Vibe Max

NETWORK	Technology	GSM / HSPA / LTE

LAUNCH	Announced	2015, March
LAUNCH	Status	Available. Released 2015, June

BODY	Dimensions	142 x 70 x 7.3 mm (5.59 x 2.76 x 0.29 in)
	Weight	145 g (5.11 oz)
	SIM	Dual SIM (Micro-SIM, dual stand-by)

DISPLAY	Type	IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	5.0 inches (~69.3% screen-to-body ratio)
	Resolution	1080 x 1920 pixels (~441 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes
	Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 3

PLATFORM	OS	Android OS, v5.0.2 (Lollipop)
	Chipset	Qualcomm MSM8939 Snapdragon 615
	CPU	Quad-core 1.7 GHz Cortex-A53 & quad-core 1.0 GHz Cortex-A53
	GPU	Adreno 405

MEMORY	Card slot	microSD, up to 128 GB (dedicated slot)
	Internal	32 GB, 3 GB RAM

CAMERA	Primary	16 MP, f/2.2, OIS, autofocus, triple-LED (dual-tone) flash, check quality
	Features	Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, panorama, HDR
	Video	1080p@30fps, check quality
	Secondary	8 MP, f/2.2, 1080p

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes

COMMS	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual band, hotspot
	Bluetooth	v4.1, A2DP
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS
	Radio	FM radio
	USB	microUSB v2.0

FEATURES	Sensors	Accelerometer, proximity, compass
	Messaging	SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
	Browser	HTML5
	Java	No
		- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - MP4/H.264 player - MP3/WAV/WMA/eAAC+ player - Photo/video editor - Document viewer

BATTERY		Non-removable Li-Po 3000 mAh battery
	Stand-by	Up to 456 h (3G)
	Talk time	Up to 30 h (2G) / Up to 21 h (3G)

MISC	Colors	Crimson, Pearl White, Graphite Grey
	Price group	7/10

TESTS	Display	Contrast ratio: 1728 (nominal), 3.113 (sunlight)
	Camera	Photo / Video
	Loudspeaker	Voice 66dB / Noise 65dB / Ring 71dB
	Audio quality	Noise -83.0dB / Crosstalk -94.5dB
	Battery life	Endurance rating 54h

Nokia C5-03

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 10:52:00 +0700

When touchscreen became affordable its popularity skyrocketed – affordable smartphones are all the rage now. The Nokia C5-03 is the result of both these trends and while it borrows a lot from the C6-01 in terms of design, its pricing is a good deal lower.

The Nokia C5-03 is a grandson of the best-selling Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and though it might be the last hurrah for Symbian^1 it tries to deliver the same level of satisfaction on the bang for buck meter.

Key features :

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
Tri-band 3G with 10.2 Mbps HSDPA and 2 Mbps HSUPA support
3.2" 16M-color TFT LCD resistive touchscreen of 640 x 360 pixel resolution
5 megapixel fixed-focus camera and VGA video @ 15fps recording; geotagging
Symbian S60 OS
600 MHz ARM 11 CPU and 128 MB RAM
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g; UPnP
GPS receiver with A-GPS support and free lifetime voice-guided navigation; free city guides and traffic information
Digital compass
40MB on-board storage, microSD expandable up to 16GB; 2GB card included
Built-in accelerometer
Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
Stereo FM Radio with RDS
microUSB port (charging)
Flash and Java support in the web browser
Stereo Bluetooth 2.0
Very good audio quality
Voice commands

Main disadvantages :

Symbian S60 hasn’t aged well
Relatively limited 3rd party software availability
Screen has poor viewing angles and behaves badly in the sun
The camera is a fixed-focus unit with no flash, shutter key or lens protection
No office document editing (without a paid upgrade); No PDF viewer
No proximity and ambient light sensors
No DivX or XviD video support out of the box
No video-call camera
No smart dialing

The C5-03 is a very eco-friendly gadget – 80% of the phone body is recyclable, while half of the packaging comes from recycled material (and all of it is recyclable in turn).

It’s a low-price phone with some high-speed connectivity with 10.2Mbps HSDPA and 2Mbps HSUPA. The C5-03 also packs the fastest CPU available on a Nokia S60 device – at 600MHz the old but efficient Symbian just flies.

The free voice-guided navigation is the single biggest advantage of Symbian-powered Nokias, one that is still unmatched by any other brand or platform. The Nokia C5-03 is a trusty SatNav unit, which will work anywhere in the world and free of charge – you can download all the maps you need (won’t cost you a thing) and Ovi Maps don’t need a data connection to work.

Navigate to the next page for a tour of the Nokia C5-03 hardware – but first, we make a stop at the retail box and the 360-degree showroom.

Samsung S8500 Wave

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:13:00 +0700

Enter a new platform. With a boom. With a bang. A Bada kind of bang. Another of the big guns wants to play by their own rules. Samsung’s second spot in global market share was hard fought but it will be a while before they as much as wish the same for the Bada. They’ve been a consistent innovator over the last couple of years but getting baby Bada up and running must be quite a challenge.

The Samsung S8500 Wave is Bada’s carrier vessel and it certainly looks interesting. It seems to have the right thing to make it newsworthy: slim profile and an absolutely gorgeous screen. But is it enough to make it a success?

Over the past years new touchscreen platforms have been spreading like wildfire but not all of them have managed to catch on as well as their developers must have been hoping. Android fares well but still hasn’t quite overcome its growing pains, while the well settled Symbian platform is still coming to terms with touchscreen.

Samsung S8500 Wave at a glance

General:GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 1900/2100 MHz, EDGE class 10, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA 2 Mbps
Form factor:Touchscreen bar
Dimensions:10.9 mm thin
Display:3.3" 16M-color Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with 16:9 aspect ratio and 480 x 800 pixels resolution, scratch-resistant glass surface
Platform: Bada OS
CPU: 1 GHz processor
Memory: 2GB internal memory, microSD card slot
Camera: 5-megapixels auto-focus camera, 720p video recording
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack
Misc: Accelerometer for screen auto rotate, proximity sensor for screen auto-turn-off, ambient light sensor, FM radio with RDS, DivX/XviD support
Battery: 1500 mAh battery

The S8500 Wave is among the best spec’d Samsung phones we’ve seen and it seems every aspect of the overall performance will have to pull its weight. Samsung are keen to focus attention on the young Bada OS, and that might as well bear future fruit. However, if the young platform fails to perform as expected, its shortcomings will be harder to forgive.

In the geeks' world 720p video recording and 1 GHz CPU are probably the best remedies for a few usability issues. However they rise the cost of the device and that in turn prevents some people from purchasing it. And in a market where smartphones come in all tastes and flavors you really want to get you device in as many pockets as possible.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves and make hasty conclusions. We’ll hopefully know more about how Samsung will pitch the first Bada phone to the users so let’s waste no more time. Join us after the jump for the hardware inspection.

Sony Ericsson Vivaz

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:07:00 +0700

Sony Ericsson is an alliance of two tech giants and with phones like the Vivaz it shows. It’s a gadget all the way, one that will galvanize geeks and charm the regular user.

A whole bunch of point-and-shoot cameras today boast 720p video recording, but are they not an endangered species feeling enormous pressure on both sides? For one, there are compact video recording DSLRs pushing down with competitive price tags, and then cameraphones are eating into compact camera territory with comparable still image resolution and video capture.

Eight megapixel still images and 720p video with continuous auto focus make the Sony Ericsson Vivaz a predator of point-and-shoot cameras. The Vivaz is not just a cameraphone though, it’s a smartphone as well – a tricked out Symbian running on a 720MHz CPU with a 3.2” nHD display to show it all off. That’s all in a package more compact than any combination of a stand-alone camera and a phone you can think of.

High-end smartphones have a long history of trading compact size for cramming in one feature more than the competition. The Sony Ericsson Vivaz strikes a perfect balance between being compact and feature-full – great news for anyone who doesn’t appreciate the recent craze of smartphones the size of a table… umm… tablet.

Key features

3.2" 16M-color resistive touchscreen of 640 x 360 pixel resolution
8 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, face and smile detection, geotagging and touch focus
HD 720p video recording @ 24fps with continuous auto focus
Symbian OS 9.4 S60 5th, topped with a custom-brewed homescreen and media menu
720 MHz CPU, PowerVR SGX dedicated graphics accelerator
Quad-band GSM support
3G with HSDPA 10.2Mbps and HSUPA 2Mbps support
Wi-Fi and GPS with A-GPS
microSD card slot (up to 16GB, 8GB card in the box)
Built-in accelerometer
Turn-to-mute
TV out
Stereo FM Radio
microUSB and stereo Bluetooth v2.0
Web browser has full Flash support
Preinstalled Wisepilot navigation software
Office document viewer
Decent audio quality

Main disadvantages

No camera lens protection
No auto mode for the flash/video light
LED flash not powerful enough
The S60 5th edition UI isn't to the best in class standards
No proximity sensor sensor to lock the screen during a call
No DivX or XviD support out-of-the-box
No smart or voice dialing
No office document editing (without a paid upgrade)
No stereo speakers
No digital compass (magnetometer)
Videocalling uses only the main camera (no secondary one)

The feature list leaves very little to complain about, so is it time retire your old compact camera and make the jump the Vivaz? That’s what we’ll try to find out. As for its performance as a smartphone the list of key features suggests smooth sailing most of the way.

HTC HD2 with 576 MB RAM

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:58:00 +0700

It must have been annoying for the T-Mobile USA subscribers to have to wait three months longer than everybody else to get the HTC HD2. Well it seems their patience will be rewarded with an upgraded version of the device packing 576MB RAM and 1GB ROM. This definitely looks like a good spot for landing Windows Mobile 7 when it eventually becomes available.

And the good news doesn't end there. The T-Mobile USA will receive a 16GB microSD cards in their HTC HD2 retail boxes, instead of the 2GB available in the European/Asia packages.

The rest of the HD2 specs remain intact, but it doesn't change the fact T-Mobile will offer the most powerful HTC HD2 ever made. The rumored requirements for Windows Mobile 7 include 1GB ROM, so it might turn out that the T-Mobile's units will be the only ones to get the OS upgrade when available.
HTC USA

Samsung B5310 CorbyPRO

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:28:00 +0700

Introduction
The S3650 Corby was just the beginning of a lineup that appears to have no visible end. There is a Corby for the touchscreen addicts, a Corby for the music buffs, Corby for the heavy texters, Corby for the young, and one for their parents. That’s pretty much everyone, don’t you think? We guess there should even be a Corby for the bored-with-the-Corby.

The founding member of the Corby wasn’t announced so long ago, but so much has been changed. Well, if you put the S3650 Corby and the recently announced B5310 CorbyPRO side by side you'll notice one thing that hasn't changed at all: design. But on the inside they are very different, indeed.

The Samsung CorbyPRO is meant for a different range of users altogether. It combines great texting and the intuitive touchscreen control tops that up with a nice connectivity package (such as HSDPA, Wi-Fi, GPS and a 3.5mm audio jack) and all that is delivered at a bargain price.

Key features

Quad-band GSM/EDGE
Dual-band UMTS support with HSDPA
2.8" resistive TFT touchscreen of QVGA resolution
Four-row side-slide QWERTY keyboard
150 MB onboard storage, microSD card slot (up to 16GB)
3.15 megapixel fixed-focus camera with smile detection, QVGA video @ 15fps
FM radio with RDS
Find Music recognition service
TouchWiz and Cartoon UI
Social networking integration with direct file uploads
GPS with A-GPS support
Wi-Fi and GPS
3.5mm audio jack
Accelerometer sensor for screen auto rotation
Office document viewer
Excellent web browser
Push email
Smart unlock
Replaceable rear covers (Fashion Jackets)

Main disadvantages

Disappointing sunlight legibility
The camera has no autofocus or flash
Video recording maxes out at QVGA@15fps
All preinstalled games are trial versions only
Google Maps is the only GPS navigation app
microSD slot is under the battery cover

The original Corby was all about design, about touchscreen, about budget. The CorbyPRO, on the other hand, has managed to keep all that but goes much further by adding some killer features that are well above the S3650 league.

For instance, now you get UMTS support with HSDPA which will dramatically boost web browsing. But the really big news here is Wi-Fi support. It is a great addition to the comfy QWERTY keyboard and the numerous social networking services that the phone gives you access to.

Strangely, the latest of the Corbies also has an integrated GPS receiver. You can use it for image geotagging as well as for navigation. Unfortunately, if you decide to use your CorbyPRO into a GPS nav device you'll have to solely rely on the preloaded Google Maps app or on a third-party Java alternative.

And when it comes to the Corby basics, we shouldn't forget to mention the 2.8" touchscreen. Well, it turned out to be resistive this time around but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The colorful UI is also aboard and, unfortunately, so is the fixed-focus camera (3-megapixel this time).

Motorola Milestone

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:06:00 +0700

Introduction
Motorola must have enjoyed the feel of ropes against their back. There's no other explanation for the MILESTONE. They obviously needed to be pushed against the ropes to remember what made them the world's largest manufacturer. It's been a long road for them, with plenty of milestones. But that last one marks the end of a particularly steep downhill stretch.

We haven't seen an Android phone generate so much hype since... the first one, the T-Mobile G1. The Motorola MILESTONE seems to be the powerhouse that the Android family needed and obviously many customers were looking forward to.
Here's what we mean.

Motorola MILESTONE at a glance:

General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 900/2100 MHz, HSDPA 10.2Mbps; HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
Form factor: Full QWERTY side-slider
Dimensions: 115.8 x 60 x 13.7 mm, 165g
Display: 3.7" 16M color capacitive TFT LCD touchscreen of WVGA resolution (854 x 480 pixels)
OS: Android 2.0
Memory: 133 MB internal memory, 256 MB RAM, microSD card slot (up to 16GB) , 8GB microSD card included in the retail package
CPU: ARM Cortex A8 550 MHz processor with dedicated graphics accelerator
Camera: 5 megapixel autofocus camera with dual LED flash and D1 video recording at 30 fps
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5mm standard audio jack
Misc: Accelerometer for screen auto rotate, Motonav navigation software, digital compass, Proximity sensor for auto turn-off, Multi-touch input and pinch-zooming gestures
Battery: 1400mAh Li-Ion battery

The first Android 2.0 handset oozes with power. It's a milestone for Motorola, but perhaps for Android too: we're certainly looking at the most complete all-round device to ever do the droid walk. Given the huge potential of the platform, it's no wonder Motorola and the MILESTONE are enjoying this kind of interest.

Yet, there are quite a few new droids waiting around the corner so being the best is one thing but staying the best takes quite a push. There is little evidence to suggest that Motorola will come up with a successor any time soon, so the MILESTONE better open a gap on competitors or it won't be in the same league as the handsets to come in the first half of next year. The company's future is more or less hinging on the MILESTONE and it's as simple a case of make or break as it gets. And the handset's first weeks of sales bode well.

We are already working on a detailed review of the Motorola MILESTONE, but until it is ready we will give you a short preview to keep you warm through the holidays. It might be useful if you are considering getting one any moment now.

Samsung S5550 Shark 2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 13:40:00 +0700

Introduction
Samsung introduced a new line of lower mid-range handsets, which should help them maintain their increasingly strong position in the segment. The three Sharks bring decent overall functionality to people that don't have too great of a budget or any desire to jump on the touchscreen bandwagon.

We now have the pleasure of introducing you the Samsung S5550 Shark 2. The Shark 2 is the best spec'd handset of the newly announced carnivorous bunch but shares the aircraft-inspired design with the others..Still, idesoite its compact dimesnions, it's relatively chubby and does look like a phone Samsung could have easily produced in the entry level segment a couple of years ago.
But you know, this stranger with a predatory name could be hiding more gems other than the one below its display so let's have a look at the main features of the Shark 2.

Samsung S5550 Shark 2 at a glance:

General: GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 900/2100 MHz, HSDPA 3.6 Mbps
Form factor: Slider
Dimensions: 101.8 x 48.7 x 14.8mm, 99g
Display: 2.2-inch 262K color AMOLED display with QVGA resolution (240 x 320)
Memory: 106MB integrated memory, hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 8GB)
UI: Proprietary Samsung UI with direct uploads to social networking sites and basic multi-tasking
Camera: 5 megapixel auto focus camera with LED flash, face detection, smile shot,wide dynamic range; QVGA video recording @ 30fps
Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, proprietary Samsung connectivity port
Misc: FM radio with radio recording, DNSe 2.0 (Digital Natural Sound Engine), document viewer, Palringo Instant Messenger (Gtalk, AIM, ICQ support), Fake call, Find music recognition service
Battery: Li-Ion 960 mAh battery

As you can see the compact slider offers decent all-round functionality, without trying to blow your mind away. Of course, the 2.2" display looks smallish when compared to some of the competitors but we hope Samsung will compensate for that with a lower price tag.

The Shark 2 was never meant to be a handset that will give you boasting rights in front of your friends. However its down-to-earth approach helps it get an excellent score on the bang-for-buck test and if you are a no-nonsense buyer that still looks on the mobile phones primary as a mean of communication that is what matters the most.

Nokia X3

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 21:00:00 +0700

Introduction
The Nokia X3 is our first glimpse into the new Xseries and we’re excited to see how things have changed since XpressMusic ran the show. And they have changed, the new angular look is a testament to that. The S40 on the inside has changed as well, throwing Ovi Store and basic multi-tasking into the mix.

Currently the Xseries is composed of two completely different phones. The Nokia X6 is a touch phone running Symbian, and the X3 is an affordable Series 40 slider. It packs stereo speakers, excellent audio quality and a built-in FM radio antenna for a complete sonic experience. All right, we said affordable, so don’t go looking for top-notch gear beside the obvious full music package.

The Nokia X3 runs the Series 40 6th edition but it’s unlike any S40 handset we’ve seen before. For a brief, joyful moment, we thought Nokia have finally given in and added multitasking. The truth turned out to be different but still there were small steps taken in the right direction. And you should see what they’ve done with the Gallery – it’s only a notch bellow the S60 one.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves and let’s take a look at the Nokia X3 pros and cons.

Key features

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
2.2" 262K color QVGA display
3.2 megapixel fixed focus camera
S40 user interface, 6th edition; rudimentary multitasking
Stereo FM radio with RDS; Built-in antena (so it plays on the loudspeakers even if you don’t plug the headset)
Stereo speakers
Standard 3.5mm audio jack
Up to 26 hours of music playback
Bluetooth (with A2DP) and microUSB port
microSD card slot (16 GB supported, 2GB included)
Rich preinstalled application package
Ovi Store, Ovi Maps and Ovi Share

Main disadvantages:

No 3G connectivity
Smallish display with poor viewing angles and sunlight legibility
Slider action has an unpleasant plastic-on-plastic friction
S40 interface feels clunky and out of date
No true multitasking
No smart dialing or an office document viewer
A bunch of software bugs
Video recording maxes out at QCIF@15fps

The specs look like nothing to be excited about but a shortish feature list never tells the whole story. So, think before you go “Nah, it sounds lame”, because you’ll be wrong about sound. We spent several days with it and now we’re ready to tell you the story behind those specs, the good, the bad and the ugly, the whole thing.

Sony Ericsson Elm

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:55:00 +0700

Introduction
The Sony Ericsson may be green at heart but it sure looks like a red hot package complete with imaging, connectivity and novel design. Makers are keen to ride the green wave and phones are rushing to catch up. It seemed Sony Ericsson's GreenHeart had a slow start. But after a nice and easy rehash and the no-frills Naite, the GreenHeart is getting a speed boost with the Elm and the Hazel. Eco-friendly materials are combined with top-notch features and the already must-have social networking.

The Elm is not the standard feature phone we've got used to seeing from Sony Ericsson. Its true power is well hidden inside and the exterior makes sure the Elm will take more than a casual look. This candybar packs all the connectivity you will ever need - Wi-Fi, DLNA, GPS receiver, Bluetooth, 3G support with HSPA and microSD card slot.

Sony Ericsson Elm at a glance:

General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 900/2100, GPRS/EDGE class 10, HSDPA 7.2Mbps
Form factor: Candybar
Dimensions: 110 x 45 x 14 mm, 90 g
Display: 2.2" 256K-color TFT display, 240 x 320 pixel resolution
Memory: 280MB integrated memory, hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 16GB)
UI: Proprietary Flash-based UI
Still camera: 5 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, geo-tagging, face detection, smile detection
Video recording: VGA @ 30fps
Connectivity: Wi-Fi with DLNA, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, GPS receiver with A-GPS and Wisepilot trial
Misc: Splash-resistant body, accelerometer sensor for screen auto rotation, SensMe, Noise Shield, Clear Voice and Intelligent Volume Adaptation, social networking integration with homescreen Widget Manager, HD Voice Ready
Battery: 1000mAh BST-43 Li-Pol battery

Surely, the specs above reveal the Elm's intention to give you a square deal besides the eco-friendly factor. In this quick preview we'll be trying to look beyond the promises the Sony Ericsson Elm is making. The handset we have is far from mature software-wise but the hardware is all there and the finish looks good. The trademark Sony Ericsson Flash-based UI is at its usual best but some of the promised extras will obviously have to wait for a more final unit and a proper review.

The Facebook integration is no news since the C901, but the Elm is keen to bring more - Facebook, Twitter and MySpace all a click away on your homescreen, courtesy of a novel widget system.

Since none of those are available on our test sample, we guess widgets and social networking will perhaps be the final touches to the Elm - and some of it will even be left to carriers themselves. But there's still enough stuff to check about an ambitious handset with a small environmental footprint and a long spec sheet.

Sony Ericsson Satio

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:45:00 +0700

Introduction
Sony Ericsson have long ago shown that they are not afraid of any challenge, producing handsets that have claimed a top spot on the market. There are still plenty of fans from those good old days that would love to see another market-leading device thrown their way.

A look at what's between the XPERIA X1 and the Satio is enough to tell you what Sony Ericsson have been up to for the past year. A top-dog Cybershot (C905) and an all-round Walkman (W995) were both compelling enough but none would be trusted to top the portfolio of a company that used to call the shots at the forefront of mobile technology.

So, Sony Ericsson might have been busy cutting costs, fueling the hype behind their new wave gadgets (Satio, Aino and Rachael) or experimenting with Symbian and Android. But there's little doubt about their full-time job. The Satio is a lot more than its mouthwatering features, full touchscreen debuting Symbian S60 or its 12 megapixel camera. It may be too much to say that all the company's hopes lie with the Satio but the burden on its shoulders is disproportionate compared to any other flagship device we can think of.

This review, by the way, is coming after a massive spoiler. But the good thing is we know the Satio is all geared and ready to face some serious challenges. An industry leading cameraphone, or top-of-the-line smartphone, the Satio has a clear view of its goal. But you can be certain that its path forward will not be covered in rose petals. Sony Ericsson are in dire need of fresh devices (and cash) and the Satio should not be anything but a bestseller. When you're trying to turn your fortunes around, you have very little room for error.

Key features

3.5" 16M-color resistive touchscreen of 640 x 360 pixel resolution
12 megapixel state-of-the-art autofocus camera
LED and xenon flash, active lens cover
VGA@30fps video recording
Symbian OS 9.4 with S60 5th edition UI, spiced up with a home-brewed homescreen and media menu
ARM Cortex-A8 600 MHz CPU, PowerVR SGX dedicated graphics accelerator and 256 MB of RAM
Quad-band GSM support
3G with HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA 3.6 Mbps support
Wi-Fi and GPS with A-GPS
microSD card slot (up to 32GB)
Built-in accelerometer
TV out
Stereo FM Radio
USB and stereo Bluetooth v2.0
Web browser has full Flash support
Preinstalled Wisepilot navigation software
Office document viewer

Main disadvantages

Xenon flash is not adequately powerful
The S60 5th edition UI isn't to the best in class standards
No 3.5mm audio jack or a standard USB port
No DivX or XviD support out-of-the-box
No smart or voice dialing
Playing flash videos in the browser easily depletes the available RAM
No office document editing (without a paid upgrade)
No stereo speakers
No digital compass (magnetometer)

There's very little to complain about looking at the list above, but the difference between a moderately successful handset and a blockbuster depends on all the performance you can squeeze out of those features. And with the Symbian S60 touch reincarnation hardly the most heralded OS on the market, the job gets even more complicated.

LG BL20 New Chocolate

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 04:40:00 +0700

Introduction
The Chocolate revival is no news and the LG BL20 New Chocolate is not a headliner in the sense of the unique and inspired BL40. But we're still about to have another sugar-coated meeting with an extraordinary handset, fresh off the LG design board.

The BL20 New Chocolate may not have the splendor of the BL40 but is definitely the spiritual successor to the original Chocolate series. Sequels are all over the place but the Chocolate series are somewhat different. LG have been so involved in touchscreen we're just realizing it's been more than a year since we last reviewed a regular phone of theirs. Anyway, the Chocolate series are back and we're about to see if the good old-fashioned recipe still works.

The latest BL20 Chocolate comes with a lively screen and handy touchpad navigation to add to the sliding keypad, meaning it nods to both traditional design and the new trend towards touch functionality. Other improvements include a better camera and fast 3G connectivity. But first and foremost it's a fashion phone, so this here Chocolate is about the icing, not the filling.

Key features:

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support, dual-band UMTS with 3.6 Mbps HSDPA
2.4" 262K-color QVGA display
Touch-sensitive navigation pad
5 megapixel autofocus camera with Schneider-Kreuznach optics, AF-assist light and LED flash
Standard microUSB port
Bluetooth (with A2DP)
Hot-swap microSD card slot (up to 16 GB)
Stealthy touchpad and classic chocolate looks
FM radio
Comfortable keypad

Main disadvantages:

Way too tall and big for its fashionable status
No accelerometer (hence no auto screen rotation)
Volume rocker and camera key have absolutely no press feedback
Piano black surface is a fingerprint nightmare
Memory card slot under the battery cover
Poor video recording
Slow scrolling in the image gallery
No document viewer
No sign of any social networking integration

OK, we may have a wee bit longer list of disadvantages here, but that's just because LG have spoiled us lately. They've been churning out better equipped handsets for quite some time and we didn't quite expect that minimalistic approach to a their latest fashionable handset. But then again, the BL20 is not an expensive all-in-one so in a sense, you get what you pay for.

If fashion and the wow factor are your key buying considerations, the extra features are not the most important thing perhaps. It's the unique design, looks and colors that will have people looking at your hands when you are on the phone.

Nokia N97 Mini

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 04:24:00 +0700

Introduction
The Nokia army of touchscreen smartphones gets larger by the hour and the Nokia N97 mini is surely one of the most interesting new recruits. The Finnish company has obviously reconsidered its priories and now focuses on optimization, rather than expansion with its flagships.

The original Nokia N97 was the first sign of that as it hardly offered any ground-breaking features, instead relaying on the good all-round performance. However the first high-end S60 touchscreen handset left enough room for another similar handset in the portfolio and Nokia feel that its downsized version is enough to fill the gap.

Key features

Slide-n-tilt 3.2" 16M-color resistive touchscreen of 640 x 360 pixel resolution
5 megapixel autofocus camera with dual-LED flash and VGA@30fps video recording
Symbian OS 9.4 with S60 5th edition UI with kinetic scrolling
Slide-out three-row full QWERTY keyboard
ARM 11 434MHz CPU and 128 MB of RAM
Quad-band GSM and tri-band 3G with 3.6Mbps HSDPA support
Wi-Fi and GPS with A-GPS
Digital compass
8GB onboard storage
microSD card slot with microSDHC support
Built-in accelerometer
3.5 mm audio jack and TV-out
Stereo FM Radio with RDS
microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v2.0
Web browser has full Flash and Java support
Nice audio reproduction quality
Office document viewer

Main disadvantages

The S60 touch UI is still inconsistent
Outdated camera interface and features
No DivX or XviD video support out-of-the-box
No smart dialing
No office document editing (without a paid upgrade)
No camera lens protection
No FM transmitter (though that may be stretching it too far)

Nokia N97 mini vs Nokia N97

More compact (113 x 52.5 x 14.2 mm, 75 cc vs 117.2 x 55.3 x 15.9 mm, 88 cc)
Lighter (138g vs 150g)
Smaller display (3.2" vs 3.5")
Less internal memory (8GB vs 32GB)
Smaller battery (1200 mAh vs 1500 mAh)
No lens cover
No FM transmitter
Arrow keys vs D-pad

The N97 mini has quite a task on its hands, constantly being compared to the moe high ranking Nokia N97 even though it comes later to the market. As usually happens in such cases, the price difference that would have been present if both handsets were launched simultaneously is reduced and the balance of powers has shifted.

Windows Mobile 6.5

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 02:46:00 +0700

The OS is half a phone's worth and there's little wonder everyone is trying to make it the better half. In the case of Windows Mobile the emphasis really is on everyone. Version 6.5 is up and running but is it the upgrade everyone was waiting for?

You don't get to see OS reviews on our homepage too often, but this is such an eagerly awaited release that we just have to see if it lives up to the hype. Windows Mobile did need a design and usability overhaul - and you don't have to trust us on that. Go check out what HTC, Samsung and SPB have been doing about it. Alright, Microsoft must've thought it's about time they did something too.

Rumors of a new WinMo release started to fly just about this time last year, but it was not until a few months later that the official confirmation was finally out. Meanwhile, the inevitable leaks were rather quick to tone down the premature enthusiasm of PocketPC buffs.
It seemed at that point that the changes introduced by the WinMo 6.5 were almost nonexistent. Well, early leaks have never been real trustworthy stuff, so as soon as there was official word from Microsoft part of the excitement started to return.
Promises of increased user-friendliness, better browsing and an app store were made and it once again seemed the 6.5 could be the thing everyone was waiting for. And those leaked screenshots were pretty neat too.

Truth be told, we were still pretty skeptical at that point but seeing manufacturers all eager to hop on the bandwagon made us hopeful again. At the time of the official release of Windows Mobile 6.5, four major manufacturers had already announced handsets that were either shipping with the new OS or eligible for a free upgrade.

We even took a couple of them for a spin already and if you have been keeping track you'd probably know what to expect from this article. The Samsung I8000 Omnia II was indeed an inspiring performer but there's no escaping the fact that a large part of its charm was in hardware (mostly the magnificent 3.7" AMOLED display and the fast CPU). From a software point of view we're more impressed with TouchWiz rather than WinMo 6.5. Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 didn't manage to win our hearts completely but still had a trick or two up its sleeve.

So now, we're bringing the Windows Mobile out of its third-party guises and focusing on the upgrades 6.5 claims to carry. What we've seen so far tells us the massive overhaul has been postponed. But let's see if the changes are enough to buy Microsoft time to bring WinMo 7 as close to perfection as possible.

It is a hard enough task now that the competition is keener than ever to bite off massive chunks of the WinMo market. So, even if Windows Mobile 6.5 doesn't convert new believers it should at least be able to stand its ground against overly-ambitious newbies. Android, Symbian S60 touch, WebOS and Mac OS X are all much younger than the WinMo platform but their rapid rise must've got Redmond by surprise.

Join us on the next page to see how Microsoft are trying to respond. And is 6.5 their way to play defense or are they keen to counter-attack.

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