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i Phone 4 Review

admin — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 10:39:57 +0000

So the i phone 4’s eagerly awaited release date is nearly upon us and the hype surrounding it seems to be well justified with sales on pre-order phones going through the roof in its first few days. Apple have once again listened to the consumer and once again they have come up with a phone that never ceases to amaze and wow people.

Available in a massive 16GB or 32GB handset the i phones capabilities are clear to see, with its predecessor the original i phone 3 only available at 8GB. The 480-by-320 resolution and 163 ppi of the i phone 3 has been made to look fairly ordinary by the 960-by-640 resolution and 326 ppi i phone 4 handset but the one function that hasn’t been changed is that both handsets rightly retain the Multi-Touch option.

Video calling has become an exciting addition on the i phone 4 and the face time option allows you to video call another i phone 4 at the touch of a button. (Just locate the face option on your desired contacts profile and you are the push of a button away from video calls) Imagine the possibilities for working Dads missing kids birthdays, Moms with alternative obligations missing sports day or exiled relatives missing family occasions.

The camera has been stepped up a gear with a number of improvements and additions, going from the 3 megapixel available on the i phone 3 to a 5 megapixel on i phone 4. The camera retains the autofocus and tap to focus options but now also also boasts an LED flash, backside illumination sensor and front camera with VGA resolution.

The video option has also received an upgrade with state of the art HD video recording now available and an LED light whilst still retaining the useful tap to focus option whilst recording.

Under the High technology banner the phone has many of the useful settings of the i phone 3 including GPS but apple have added a whopping 5.8Mbps HSUPA as well as 3-axis gyro, Apple A4 processor and dual-mic noise suppression.

Aesthetically the phone is more pleasing too with domed back being replaced by a more squared off look and a brushed steel coloured casing around the outside edge to give the phone a more robust look without taking anything away from the slick design that has made the phone a firm favourite.

The major gripe of most i-phone users has been addressed too with talktime being raised a massive 2 hours from 5 on the i phone 3 to 7 on the i phone 4 on 3G or from 12 to 14 on 2G. Standby time remains the same at upto 300 hours but internet use again is improved from 5 hours on the i phone 3 to 6 hours on the i phone 4 whilst in 3G mode or upto 10 hours on Wi-Fi as opposed to 9 hours on the i phone 3.

Audio playback has also increased by an amazing 10 hours from 30 hours on the i phone 3 upto an impressive 40 hours on the i phone 4 with video playback maintaining the 10 hours of video playback previously offered on the i phone 3.

i phone 4 at a glance;

Size: 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3mm

Screen:

3.5″ 960 by 640 pixel resolution

Memory:

16GB or 32GB flash drive

Battery:

Standby time (maximum):

300 hours

Talktime (maximum):

7 hours on 3G

Camera: 5 Megapixel

Acer P400 Review

admin — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 10:34:54 +0000

The Acer P400 is to run on Windows Mobile 6.5.3, a system soon to be abolished for windows 7, and its due out at a time when all the buzz and hype is surrounding the i phone 4. So what has the poor old Acer P400 got going for it?

At first glance the P400 looks very much like the i phone 4, with the shiny black finish, chrome finished edge and narrow grill that covers the ear piece, perhaps a clever marketing ploy by those marketing people at Acer hoping to dupe consumers into buying the P400 by mistake instead???

There are obvious differences though, notably the rubber casing covering the battery of the phone that makes it easier to grip and giving it a solid enough feel giving the build quality a box a tick.

So the handset feels fine to grip but the battery is weak at only 300 minutes talk time and the screen is a little small compared to some of its competitors at just 3.2-inches and has a disappointing 320×480 pixels, but in fairness it is bright, sharp and more importantly the screen is nice and resp0nsive.

Texting is simple enough with the impressive full QWERTY Keypad and as a a 3G handset the speed that it reacts to instructions is swift. The disappointing factor is that Acer have only installed Internet Explorer as their browser so viewing sites can be a little awkward with the small screen. (We recommend you download a new browser that allows for greater viewing pleasure on such a small screen)

There are impressive options on the handset which include A-GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and the ability to geotag photos. The camera is nothing ground breaking at a basic 3.2 megapixels and no flash but it is simple to use if not outclassed with ease by its competitors.

There is a 3.5mm jack for headphones which will please those that use their phone to listen to their favourite Music. The handset comes with a reasonable impressive set of headphones.

The P400 is a decent handset but then lets be honest, with some of the handsets being released at the minute does decent really cut it?

P400 at a glance;

Size: 115 x 59 x 12mm

Screen: 3.2″ 480 x 320 pixels

Memory:

256 MB. Expandable with microSD card

Battery:

Standby time (maximum):

400 Hrs(3G)

Talktime (maximum):

300 min(3G)

Camera: 3.2 Megapixel

Nokia N8 Review

admin — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:18:04 +0000

It would be easy for us to sit here raving about the massively impressive 12 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics because it allows you to take stunning pictures in terrible conditions or shoot film, edit and perfect it all in high definition before sharing it with your friends and family via the T.V. with the HDMI adapter that this handset supports. (All films will be viewed in high quality HD 720p resolution and will sound equally as good with integrated Dolby Digital Plus technology)

However that wouldnt be fair to a handset with so much more to offer users, including massive integrated social networking abilities, online TV capabilities, quality GPS, superb personalistaion options, enough memory to download thousands of applications and music playback that will run for upto 50 hours of music none stop, pretty impressive hey?

So how does it look because surely Nokia have sacrificed the looks of this phone to cram all this into a house brick handset? Well no actually they haven’t. The stylish anodized aluminium casing is available in a variety of colours including silver white (Our personal favourite), Dark Grey, Orange, Blue and Green. The handset is dominated by a good sized 3.5″ screen which is AMOLED and delivers a crisp HD image.

Personalisation options are rife on the N8 and you can add your own widgets to create three live home screens. Switching between home screens is swift and simple and further widgets can be downloaded on the Ovi Store to enable you to constantly upgrade and improve your handset.

The design guys at Nokia have gone to town on the social networking capabilities of this handset, as with all the latest releases, and the N8 pools all your Facebook and Twitter updates into one easy to access application which allows you to share your photos and videos as they are taken and you will even get live updates on your home screen as they happen so there are no excuses for not staying in touch.

With the N8 users get free Sat NAV covering over 70 countries worldwide. Its simple to use and supports Ovi Maps with voice guidance which will tell you exactly how to get where you need to be whether that be on foot or by car.

As with all Nokia phones this handset is simple to get to grips with and navigated around the various applications is simple so we would fully expect this good looking phone to sell like hotcakes to the army of Nokia fans.

N8 at a glance;

Size: 113.5 x 59 x 12.9 mm

Screen: 3.5″ 16:9 nHD (640 x 360 pixels) AMOLED

Memory:

Internal memory: 16 GB
MicroSD memory card slot, hot swappable, up to 32 GB

Battery:

Standby time (maximum):

390Hrs(3G)

Talktime (maximum):

720min(3G)

Camera: 12 Megapixel

Motorola Dext Review

admin — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:51:56 +0000

The Motorola Dext is a decent looking handset in the standard format that most android phones seem to appear these days, oblong block with a black case and the face dominated by a large screen. (Although this screen is only 3.1″) The fully customisable home screen gives users a real feeling of ownership as they can amend it to really reflect who they are and what they are about.

A lot of the sales pitch behind the Dext focuses on the power of MOTOBLUR technology which is Motorolas application that allows users to update all of their favourite social networking sites in one swoop as well as see callers name, number, status and profile picture. (If social networking sites are synced) Only MOTOBLUR has Twitter, Facebook™ and synced together from the home screen of the users handset enabling status update’s with ease and with continuous back up’s you will never lose them.

You can also use MOTORBLUR to open your e-mails and texts with the unique Messages widget and you will even be greeted with your contacts profile pictures if you have them synced with the social networking side of the application.

The slide out QWERTY keyboard is easily accessible, simple to use and well designed making typing messages, emails, status updates and geo tagging simple. The email browser is minimalist in design and has a useful “magnifier” option allowing you a close up of those all important e-mails from business colleagues. Not quite as impressive as the i-phones pinch & zoom option but it is certainly a useful application.

However, Motorola have set their stall out with this one to go heavy on the social networking market and the fact that the keyboard is effective and the applications have some clever touches added are simply an added bonus to this handset. Making sure the social networking fans were satisfied with MOTOBLUR was always going to be key in Motorolas thinking when designing this handset and we have to say they have got it right.

Dext at a glance;

Size: 114 x 58 x 15.6 mm

Screen: 320 x 480 pixels

Memory: MicroSD up to 32GB

Battery:

Standby time (maximum):

13.5 Days

Talktime (maximum):

6 Hours

Camera: 5 Megapixel

HTC HD Mini Review

admin — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:15:24 +0000

Whoever coined the phrase ’size doesn’t matter’ was obviously holding a HTC HD Mini in their hand at the time.

Although it doesn’t follow the recent HTC trend of operating on Anderoid 2.1, and instead has to make do with the slightly outdated Windows 6.5.3 system, this phone is still an impressive little pocket rocket that will be a useful mobile addition to any consumers life.

The smart looking handset is a unique design that is simple yet impressive. The casing encloses compact form and carries clean lines and is an elegant construction in all that means the HD mini doesnt look out of place in a teenagers hand or on a desk at work.

The HD mini handset features HTC Sense a user experience that is simply jam packed with useful applications.

The personalisation options on this handset allow you to create your ideal phone by adding shortcut’s to your most important contact’s, web site’s and most utilised applications for your ease on the home screen. You can also prioritise your essential applications by arranging the key phone features and their tabs to suit your needs. Interaction with your contacts is also easily accessable as they are formatted into contacts rather than applications so all communication with a certain person will be easy to locate at any given time.

A great deal of emphasise has been placed on making the systems on the HTC HD Mini as simple as possible and there are many functions that can be used, and skipped between, with ease at the touch of a button. From email to a voice mail, going from e-mail conversation to a multi party conference call within just a couple of taps, tap your way into a conversation, share your own bright ideas and most recent pictures or even post your GPS location for others to come and meet you within a matter of taps.

There are other equally smart touches to the HD Mini that make users realise that there has been a lot of thought go into the design of the applications on this handset. The clever little things such as the animated screen paper that reflects your location, a ringing tone that knows when to get louder if it feels it hasnt been noticed or detects it is in a confined space where the tone may be muffled, and lowers when it is raised and realises that it has been picked up. Similar to the i pod your music player will search the net for the album cover and places it in your library.

On the business side of the coin the HD Mini has capacitive touch technology, for easy touch control, which makes access and reading of work documents like word documents, web pages, PDF’s , e-mails, pictures simple. Using the e-mail options of the handset to make contact with business colleagues or updating the calendar so you don’t miss that all important meeting is also simple with the user interface tweaked to ensure maximum responsiveness when using your fingers to update whatever it is you need to keep on top of.

HD Mini at a glance;

Size: 103.8 x 57.7 x 11.7 mm

Screen:

3.22 320 x 480 HVGA

Memory:

microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
Supports up to 32 GB

Battery:

Standby time (maximum):

340 Hours

Talktime (maximum):

435 Minutes

Camera: 5 Megapixel

LG GW620 Review

admin — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 11:34:23 +0000

The LG GW620 is LG’s first Android smartphone and is aimed at the hoards of social networking fans that insist on having access to their social networking accounts wherever they are, at all times.

This is an android handset but in true LG fashion it is aimed at the cheaper end of the market and in truth there are some aspects to the phone that reflect this. The touchscreen navigation on this handset is more of a push screen as it will not respond well to light touches and the lack of a stylus, again seen as a budget restraint, doesn’t really help matters.

The size of the screen again points towards budget restraints, at 3″ the screen is smaller than most of its competitors, but it is a respectable size still and the picture is certainly more than adequate so as long as you aren’t planning on using the handset to view film’s on a regular basis this shouldn’t be too much of a drawback.

There may be issues relating to the responsiveness and size of the screen but the integrated full QWERTY keypad that slides out from the side of the deceptive handset is certainly as impressive as the screen is unimpressive. There are subtle contour’s to the keys that make for easy key recognition when entering text ensuring that the keypad is a pleasure to use.

Users may expect to see a virtual QWERTY when the handset is in its original state with the slide out keypad locked firmly behind the face of the phone but there is only the numeric pad required for dialling etc.

Personalising your phone is simple with a series of applications to suit your lifestyle that include social networking sites, games, weather and news. The impressive keypad gives the impression of a pocket PC more than a mobile handset and keeping in touch with all your friends and family is simple with status updates from your favourite social networking sites as they happen with Linkbook.

LG GW620 at a glance;

Size: 109 x 54.5 x 15.9mm

Screen:

320 x 480 3.0″ HVGA 262K TFT

Memory:

Micro SD up to 16GB

Battery:

Standby time (maximum):

Talktime (maximum):

Camera: 5 Megapixel

Samsung Galaxy S Review

admin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 16:04:24 +0000

With its magnificent super amoled 4″ screen consumers may be fooled into thinking this is a small portable T.V. but it is actually the Samsung Galaxy S. A long overdue smart phone from Samsung with the ability to match its rivals at HTC and Apple the Galxy S handset is not too different looks wise to the i-phone 3G.

The Galaxy and Galaxy Portal were a step in the right direction but fell short at the final hurdle but Samsung appear to have hit the top corner with the Galaxy S. Aesthetically pleasing, powerful and user friendly they seem to have got it right in every area of the handset, or have they?

The handset doesn’t feel like the sturdiest phone you will ever hold and the buttons not the smoothest you will ever press but power up this little beauty and your feelings on the bad points of the handsets build fade away like Englands chance of winning the World Cup. The Galaxy S is a power house with a good mix of advanced hardware that allows it to compete with it’s competitors. There is a 1 GHz processor which allows for ultra-fast data transfer and there is generous 16 GB memory with the Micro SD card.

The oversized screen, or undersized T.V. depending upon your viewpoint, enables you to enjoy recording and watching videos, game play as well as reading e-books in a display of vibrant and sharp colours and it really comes into its own when utilising the integrated GPS system on the handset.

The clever social hub allows you to organise your phonebook seamlessly and integrates your email, IM, SNS and calendar accounts so you dont need to switch between the different sites to ensure you haven’t missed anything. Furthermore updating friends and family in groups is made easy with the Galaxy S’s messaging system that allows you to sync and manage your IM and SNS accounts from the same screen. To organise your life further via your handset select the widgets you want on the Daily Briefing application and Samsung boast that the Galaxy S will be transformed into your personal secretary as it organises and updates your personal information on a daily basis.

With further clever applications such as the Layar Reality Browser, Document Editor, AllShare and Wireless Tethering this phone is a real winner for all types of user and we are sure you will soon forgive its shortfall in the packaging department.

Galaxy S at a glance;

Size: 64.2 x 122.4 x 9.9mm

Screen:

Super AMOLED (C-type)
Resolution : WVGA (480×800)
4 inches

Memory:

2GB
microSD(upto 32 GB)

Battery:

Standby time (maximum):

750 hrs(2G), 576 hrs(3G)

Talktime (maximum):

803 min(2G), 393 min(3G)

Camera: 5 Megapixel

HTC Wildfire Review

admin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:24:59 +0000

Not too unlike the Desire looks wise the HTC Wildfire was designed with a younger market in mind, and in particular their desire to spend every waking moment on their various social networking accounts. (You can actually check Facebook, Twitter and Flickr all at the same time!!)

Its is with the use of HTC’s Friend Stream application that allows you to do this, showing all your friends’ Tweets, Facebook updates and latest Flickr photos all on the same screen at the same time. the application will automatically update itself and better still will update your own profiles all in one go.

With HTC’s clever next generation caller I.D. you will never forget to wish your friends Happy Birthday when they call and you will have your finger on the pulse of all their problems because not only does the wildfire relay who is calling you and what their number is but it tells you their Birthday and social networking status.

Users can utilise the People Widget to call, text or e-mail any group of contacts straight from the homescreen of the Wildfire and they can even send links to your favourite applications straight from your phone to theirs.

There are seven homescreens that you can customise to your liking and with the responsive touch screen controlling which screen you are on you are never more than a finger swipe away. The leap view application also allows you to view all seven homescreens as a thumbnail shot so that you can skip through the relative screens at the tap of a finger.

We’ve added our new polite ringer to the HTC Wildfire. Now, as soon as you lift it up to see who is calling, the ringer volume drops. And if you turn it over, it stops ringing altogether and quietly takes a message.

To ensure a smoother browsing experience the Wildfire comes with full Flash support which is great for viewing online videos, auto rotation of pictures, page resizing and pinch to zoom resizing.

Now that we have placed all this emphasise on the social networking capabilities of this handset we do feel it is only fair to inform you that HTC have also considered the business user with the addition of integrated Microsoft Exchange support which makes the synchronisation of your email and calendar easy. There are also the useful additions of reference tools such as the one touch dictionary, Wikipedia, a translator and the option to locate contact information for anyone employed by your company even if they are not stored as a contact on your phone.

Wildfire at a glance;

Size: 106.75 x 60.4 x 12.9mm

Screen:

Capacitive touch screen with pinch-to-zoom capability
3.2 inches
240 x 320 QVGA

Memory:

microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
Supports up to 32 GB

Battery:

Standby time (maximum):

WCDMA: Up to 690 hours
GSM: Up to 480 hours

Talktime (maximum):

WCDMA: Up to 440 mins
GSM: Up to 490 mins

Camera: 5 Megapixel

Blackberry Tour 9630 Review

admin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:20:14 +0000

Launched as the replacement for the 8830 world edition the Tour 9630 has been designed with its predecessors faults in mind. Performance, features and design have all been highlighted as problem areas and work has gone in to ensuring any faults previously highlighted have now been removed. There is some concern voiced at the fact that BlackBerry have omitted the option of WiFi on this handset and there are further niggling issues that have been raised but as far as we are concerned the plus points of this phone far outweigh the negatives that it clearly has.

Rather than whine on about the issues that BlackBerry have got wrong lets tell you about where they have got it right. The Tour 9630 has a crystal clear display screen, although it is slightly small at 2.4″, a full QWERTY keypad and it has world-roaming capabilities, Bluetooth, a decent 3.2 Megapixel camera and GPS.

Looking at the face of the Tour users will see that directly underneath the display screen there is the BlackBerry famous Trackerball, love it or loathe it, as well as the call command buttons, a back button and menu shortcut key. Switching between applications is made easy by using the Alt and menu key at the same time which will allow users to view different applications easily and there is also an option which allows you to assign the switch option to the convenience keys which are located down both sides of the phone.

Like its brothers, the Curve and Bold, the Tour boasts an updated UI that is simple enough to navigate through. Users are able to customise the home screen to suit their personal preferences on themes and colours but should be aware when attempting to view their favourite applications that there are several menu icons that look similar so they are not always that easy to distinguish between.

Tour 9630 at a glance;

Size: 112 x 62 x 14.2mm

Screen:

Clear, high-resolution display
Half VGA+
480×360 pixel screen
Displays over 65,000 colors

Memory: 256 MB Built-in memory

Battery:

Standby time (maximum):

14 Days

Talktime (maximum):

5 Hours

Camera: 3.2 Megapixel

Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 Review

admin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 10:47:01 +0000

The Xperia X8 will hit the market shortly with a rather feminine look to it, the clever brains of the handset are encased by a white shell, that suggests that Sony Ericsson may be aiming this one at the female consumer. (Although this has not been confirmed by them and they wont be too upset to see any gender purchasing their latest release that’s for sure and have even made a white and blue shell available)

An impressive 3″ crystal clear touchscreen dominates the face of this handset with its four corner technology the handset offers users the ability to access whatever makes them smile, or whatever applications they use most on a daily basis, at the touch of a corner of the screen. Whether it’s catching up on the latest celebrity news, using the impressive satellite navigation system to get to your next meeting or simply watching videos that make you smile the choice is yours.With YouTube and PlayNow instantly accessable you can check out the latest viral funnies and what’s hot with just a touch in the corner of the screen to get what you want. Choose which applications you wish to display in the four corners of your screen and adapt them as and when required. You can add a widget and have it right there at your fingertips in the centre of the screen.

The X8 carries the impressive Timescape option that allows you to organise all of your communication with a contact in one view. Keep up to date with status updates on Facebook, Tweets and messages as they happen in date and time order. Using Android market there are applications and updates available for just about anything that you want to do. Obtain new widgets and download from Android Market™. Or simply utilise its services to enjoy the latest video clips on the impressive screen or plug your headphones in to catch up on your favourite musicians and artists.

The touchscreen type pad is easy to navigate and responsive so sending messages and catching up with the issues you need to keep on top of most is simple enough. The satellite navigation system again is simple enough to get to grips with and has the option of adding places of interest via geo-tagging. Users can use the infinite button to explore further, if you press the Infinite button while listening to a music track the handset will display further information and content relating to the track that you are listening too. WiFi connection enables users swift and easy access to the internet so you are never far away from checking that all important result or news story.

Xperia X8 at a glance;

Size: 99.0 x 54.0 x 15.0 mm

Screen: 320 x 480 pixels (HVGA)
16,777,216 color TFT

Memory: Internal memory: Phone memory 128MB*
MicroSD™ support (up to 16 GB)

Battery:

Standby time (maximum):

446 hours

Talktime (maximum):

4 hours 45 min

Camera: 3.2 Megapixel