Style & Handling
Give or take a fraction of a millimetre difference in the width and length, the iPhone 3G looks virtually identical to the original. The chief difference is the new glossy black, slightly bulbous rear plastic casing, which replaces the brushed stainless steel of the first edition.
This looks and feels a lot better than it sounds, and enables Apple to include the new 3G chipset and the GPS receiver. Despite being larger than many smartphones, the handset still feels great in the hand and the iconic touch-screen interface looks as good as ever.
User Friendliness
Thanks to the large display and ingeniously designed touch-screen user interface, there is no better phone than the iPhone 3G for web browsing, game playing and for viewing photos, videos and music files. However, it must be said that the virtual keypad and QWERTY is not as easy to use for numbers and texts as mechanical alternatives.
Feature Set
The 3G iPhone fills in the gaps that are missing from the original to complete an excellent feature set. The most obvious improvement is the addition of 3G (it’s actually the faster HSDPA) data speeds. You can also download new applications to the iPhone 3G from the pre-installed App Store link.
There’s a suite of enterprise functions, including push-email, calendar and contacts, as well as Microsoft Exchange, which wasn’t available on the original. However, our favourite new addition is the navigation function, which is made possible by a built-in GPS receiver. Navigation with Google Maps and the 3G iPhone’s large touch-screen is a treat.
Performance
The iPhone has always performed admirably, but it’s gone up a notch or two with its new improved features. The addition of 3G makes a real difference to web browsing and download speeds while using the mobile network. We were also very impressed by the phone’s navigation performance.
Battery Power
The battery stood up well to an intensive weekend of full multimedia use, so we have no complaints on this score.
Sony Ericsson C702 Review
Thursday, August 14, 2008Nokia 6220 Classic Review
Style & Handling
The design is a run-of-the-mill candybar, though it is a good size and feels tough enough to take the odd knock.
User Friendliness
As with most Symbian Series 60 smartphones it's a breeze to get to grips with, although we did find the keypad to be a tad creaky and thus a little unresponsive.
Feature Set
As well as A-GPS, the 6220 Classic boasts 3.6Mbps HSDPA, a five-megapixel camera complete with xenon flash, a 3.5mm headset port and expandable memory of up to 8GB.
Performance
The camera complete with Carl Zeiss lens and xenon flash is a real bonus, particularly as the phone is billed as a navigation device. Thankfully that is excellent too with a fast accurate location fix and clear easy to use maps. Downloads are fast thanks to the HSDPA connectivity.
Battery Power
A miserly 150 minutes talktime and only 250 hours standby.
reviewed by 3g.co.uk
Nokia N81 8GB Review
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
The new member of Nokia's Nseries, Nokia N81 8GB, is obviously a multimedia-oriented device. We all have great expectations from Nokia high-end line-up, and the Nseries has always offered a wide range of devices that can fulfill even the most fastidious user needs. Nokia N81 targets youngsters looking for a device that can offer them many hours of gaming and music, but also to those that loved the N95, but didn't have the money to acquire one. At first glance, Nokia N81 8GB can be considered the handset that will make the transition to the first Nokia mobile phone to feature a touch UI.
Nokia N81 8GB was announced in August 2007 and officially launched on the market in October, the same year. The phone can be acquired for about $450 USD, which is pretty low for an Nseries device. The simple version (without the 8GB of internal memory) can be bought for only $400 USD.
visit http://news.softpedia.com/news/Nokia-N81-8GB-Review-90809.shtml
Nokia N78 review
Sunday, June 22, 2008"Another familiar touch is the Nokia N78's square D-pad which features a touch-sensitive Navi-wheel"
It may be a world leader in mobile phone design, but Nokia isn't above taking some tips from the competition and putting its own spin on them.Take the latest N-series 'multimedia computer' for example. The Nokia N78 is an extremely sleek looking handset with a keypad that at first glance resembles the touch-sensitive minimalism of LG's Chocolate series, with illuminated symbols shining out from behind a flush black fascia.
But the similarity ends there, because in use it turns out that you have to physically depress the edges of the plastic fascia to access the buttons underneath. It certainly lacks the wow factor of the touch sensitive option, but, actually, it works very well indeed, and is more accurate and less prone to accidental pushes than most touch pads.
Another familiar touch is the Nokia N78's square D-pad which features a touch-sensitive Navi-wheel‚ run your thumb around the edge and it will move the cursor around the screen, skipping through the menus with ease. It might not look like an iPod scroll wheel, but it behaves exactly like one. And like Apple's innovation, the best thing about it is that it works intuitively and extremely well.
The numeric part of the N78's keypad is another matter however. Four thin strips of raised plastic underline the minimalist look (as well as the numbers) but you'll need pinpoint precision from your thumb to get the most out of it, which kind of takes the fun out of texting.
A final design nod comes with the dedicated applications button next to the D-pad. This takes you to a virtual page-style menu which you can then flick through with the N78's Navi-wheel - not unlike the scrolling system of album covers on the iPod Touch.
Sat nav and camera
The Nokia N78 comes with a built-in assisted GPS transmitter which will not only tell you where you are, but with the Nokia Maps feature (plus a goodly selection of world maps included on the supplied 2GB microSD card) you can use it to plan routes and get info about landmarks. Voice navigation is also available though you'll need to pay an upgrade fee after the first three months.
Cleverly, the A-GPS will automatically add location metadata to any photographs you take, otherwise known as geo-tagging, which will be included when you upload the pics to Nokia's Share On Ovi online sharing service or indeed any other sharing site such as Flickr, YouTube or Facebook.
The dedicated shutter button on the side gets you into camera mode in a couple of seconds and the 3.2 megapixel snapper with Carl Zeiss lens takes a perfectly good picture - sharp and clear with pretty good colour tone - plus there's plenty of settings to play with. The LED flash works rather better than the average camphone photo light but you'll still need to be close to your subject to get the most out of it. The N-series editing suite is all present and correct offering effects, text, cropping and pic rotation as well as red eye reduction.
Music player
The N-series music player has been a consistent winner for Nokia, and this one has a couple of tricks up its sleeve. It displays cover art if available and scrolling through the menus is made easy with that iPod-style Navi-wheel. There's an FM transmitter that allows you to beam your music to your car radio, iTrip style, and Nokia's class-leading FM radio is included as is a new internet radio service, with access to several hundred stations around the world. Best to use it with Wi-Fi though, if you don't want to run up some obscene data charges.
The supplied headphones are okay but fortunately there's also a 3.5mm jack plug so you can add your own. The stereo speakers meanwhile are on either side and at opposite ends of the handset, which looks a bit strange, but the theory is that by keeping the speakers as far apart as possible the stereo image will be enhanced. The sound is certainly better than most phone speakers, though of course a bit light on bass.
There's 70MB of memory onboard, and incidentally that 2GB microSD card comes preloaded with ten so-hip-it-hurts tracks from the likes of Matthew Corbett, Sarah Howells and the James Taylor Quartet.
Performance
We didn't have many problems with the Nokia N78 and generally found it a delight to use but there were a couple of niggles. For one thing, the keypad, while never looking anything less than gorgeous, is rather fiddly to use. Pressing the bars rather than the numbers requires pinpoint dexterity - those with builder's thumbs need not apply.
Also, the need to press right at the edge of the handset to hit the call end and cancel buttons (if you're holding the phone in your right hand) makes the handset awkward to hold and we dropped it more than once (sorry Nokia - it seems pretty sturdy though).
And while we're complaining, the N78 doesn't appear to have fixed the well-established Symbian issue of running slowly when you've got several apps open. It's easy enough to shut down any apps that might be running in the background by using the applications button but still, why should we have to?
But these minor carps aside, the N78's a lovely phone to use. Especially the N-series‚ speedy zoom-assisted browser which allows you to switch between landscape and portrait modes while using a fast 3.6Mbps HSDPA connection. And if that's not nippy enough, you can also connect to broadband via Wi-Fi.
Battery life was respectable rather than stellar, giving us a little over three days with moderate use.
Nokia may well have been inspired by its competitors for some of the best bits of the N78 but it's integrated them beautifully into an eye-catching handset that combines good looks with a wealth of practical and genuinely useful features.
Nokia N78 info
Typical price: £360 SIM-free, from free with contract
Pros:
Classy looks
3.2 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens and flash
Quality music player with FM and internet radio
Sat nav and maps
2GB microSD card supplied
Cons:
Fiddly keypad
Slow when running multiple apps
Verdict: The N78 collects some smart design tricks and very clever, good quality functions in a sleek and very more-ish package
source: www.knowyourmobile.com
Read More......
Nokia E51 Review
Friday, June 20, 2008
One of the latest Nokia Eseries' handsets available on the market, Nokia E51 is the perfect successor of the older E50. Furthermore, Nokia E51 comprises all the E90 Communicator's technical features in a slim candy-bar design. Based on Symbian operating system, Nokia E51 is the perfect tool for businessmen, as it features rich communications skills, perfectly completed by a stylish design. Nokia developed a wide range of Eseries handsets, which targeted different customers that had various needs: enhanced messaging, mobile office, Communicators and high-end business devices. The last were and still are the best choice for the 'ultimate businessman' on the go.
Announced in September 2007, Nokia E51 was made available on the market two months later, in November 2007. Nokia also launched a camera-free version of the E51 in February 2008. Anyway, Nokia E51 can be bought for around USD 350$, depending on the location and plan.
Design
Instead of searching for a design that will make the handset stand out from the crowd, Nokia decided to center upon the sturdiness of the device. The stainless steel that covers the edges of the front faceplate and the entire back cover makes the phone feel compact and durable. Size-wise (114.8 x 46 x 12 mm), Nokia E51 is neither too large, nor too heavy (100g, including battery) to carry. These traits make it a perfect fit for almost any pocket or hand. Nokia took care of the ergonomics of the device, thus the business candy-bar is very comfortable to use. The sturdiness of the phone is fully reflected onto the few external keys that are placed on different sides of the handset. All of these are too rigid to use, but not impossible.
he Power key is again present on the top side of Nokia E51, while on the right side of the phone, there's a voice command button flanked by the two volume keys. All external keys have been covered by a rubber-like finish, which makes them even more unyielding. On the bottom side, there are miniUSB, 2.5mm jack and charger ports. The left side of the device integrates a small Infrared port that is barely visible. Above the screen, there is a small ambient light sensor and the in-call speaker. The keypad layout looks pretty standard for a Symbian device with few exceptions. One of these is the lack of the 'Pencil' key and the replacement of the S60 icon with another one that looks like a house.
Besides the usual numeric keys, the keypad also contains some specific buttons such as: D-pad, two selection keys, Menu key, Calendar key, Contacts key, Messaging keys and, Call and End keys. Right under the D-pad, there is the Clear key, which also changed the logo from 'C' to one that looks like that on the Backspace keys of every PC. The keypad is extremely responsive and the tactile feedback is at the highest. It has been a real pleasure to text SMS or emails, even tough it doesn't have a QWERTY keyboard. In fact, Nokia E51 features so many shortcuts and dedicated keys that users won't even feel the need of a touchscreen or QWERTY keyboard. Any important function or menu can be accessed with only one hand and at first touch.
The back of the phone includes a 2 Megapixel camera that lacks autofocus and flash, but instead has 4x digital zoom and the capability to record clips. Above the camera, on the plastic part of the back cover, there are the Nokia logo and a small loudspeaker. The stainless steel part of the phone is surely a fingerprint magnet, but a swipe on the surface will solve this issue. Overall, I believe Nokia kept the same standard bar design that has been a main characteristic for its business phones, but with the addition of the stainless steel and rounded sides transformed the E51 into a stylish, compact and solid business mobile phone.
Design
Instead of searching for a design that will make the handset stand out from the crowd, Nokia decided to center upon the sturdiness of the device. The stainless steel that covers the edges of the front faceplate and the entire back cover makes the phone feel compact and durable. Size-wise (114.8 x 46 x 12 mm), Nokia E51 is neither too large, nor too heavy (100g, including battery) to carry. These traits make it a perfect fit for almost any pocket or hand. Nokia took care of the ergonomics of the device, thus the business candy-bar is very comfortable to use. The sturdiness of the phone is fully reflected onto the few external keys that are placed on different sides of the handset. All of these are too rigid to use, but not impossible.
The Power key is again present on the top side of Nokia E51, while on the right side of the phone, there's a voice command button flanked by the two volume keys. All external keys have been covered by a rubber-like finish, which makes them even more unyielding. On the bottom side, there are miniUSB, 2.5mm jack and charger ports. The left side of the device integrates a small Infrared port that is barely visible. Above the screen, there is a small ambient light sensor and the in-call speaker. The keypad layout looks pretty standard for a Symbian device with few exceptions. One of these is the lack of the 'Pencil' key and the replacement of the S60 icon with another one that looks like a house.
Besides the usual numeric keys, the keypad also contains some specific buttons such as: D-pad, two selection keys, Menu key, Calendar key, Contacts key, Messaging keys and, Call and End keys. Right under the D-pad, there is the Clear key, which also changed the logo from 'C' to one that looks like that on the Backspace keys of every PC. The keypad is extremely responsive and the tactile feedback is at the highest. It has been a real pleasure to text SMS or emails, even tough it doesn't have a QWERTY keyboard. In fact, Nokia E51 features so many shortcuts and dedicated keys that users won't even feel the need of a touchscreen or QWERTY keyboard. Any important function or menu can be accessed with only one hand and at first touch.
The back of the phone includes a 2 Megapixel camera that lacks autofocus and flash, but instead has 4x digital zoom and the capability to record clips. Above the camera, on the plastic part of the back cover, there are the Nokia logo and a small loudspeaker. The stainless steel part of the phone is surely a fingerprint magnet, but a swipe on the surface will solve this issue. Overall, I believe Nokia kept the same standard bar design that has been a main characteristic for its business phones, but with the addition of the stainless steel and rounded sides transformed the E51 into a stylish, compact and solid business mobile phone.
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Display and Camera
At first glance, I was a little bit disappointed by the size of the screen (only 2 inches), but when I started using the phone to browse the Web or the menu, I was amazed by its image quality and forgot all about size. The TFT display supports 16 Million colors and 240x320 pixels resolution, and is one of the best on the market. The screen is well protected against scratches by a special glass and it is perfectly visible outdoors in strong sunlight. The old benchmarks used revealed almost maximum performance, which says it all, even if the Finnish-manufacturer over-optimized its device against these tests.
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I'm not sure why the 2 Megapixel camera has been included but since it's there, let's see what it can do and what it lacks. Well, it can take pictures and record movies, but it doesn't have any flash, autofocus or macro capabilities.
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The camera can take pictures with a maximum resolution of 1600x1200 pixels and record clips in QVGA standard (MPEG-4 format) at 15fps (320x240 pixels resolution). The quality of the pictures is average, which was expected, as we're talking about a business phone.
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The snapshots taken are extremely sharpened and a little bit low on color contrast. Sharpening the pictures to the extreme loses some of the vividness of colors and makes the pictures look a little bit 'dull'. White balance (Sunny, Incandescent, Fluorescent), Colour tone (Sepia, Black & white, Negative) and Night Mode can be accessed from the camera interface, but they won't help improve the quality of the pictures.
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Still, users that don't care too much about the camera can choose to buy themselves the free-camera version of this handset. The samples below reflect clearly the quality of the pictures in good light conditions.
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Menu and Software
Nokia E51 candy-bar runs Symbian operating system version 9.2 and is based on S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1. The Feature Pack 1 provides 3D graphics hardware support, over-the-air (OTA) firmware support, Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR support, Flash Lite 2.0, screen turning feature that permits the user to turn the screen to landscape or portrait mode (very useful for browsing the Internet), as well as a better organization of the file cache.
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Nokia E51 bar is one of the fastest and most stable phones that come with a Symbian operating system. If you are a Symbian-freak, you'll be happy to find that Nokia E51 won't freeze or lag behind. For business purposes, Nokia included the QuickOffice application, Adobe PDF, File manager, Organizer, Active notes, Calculator, Converter, Zip Manager, Printers. The handset also features a Search tool which searches the files on the phone's memory (Messages, ToDo's, e-mails, calendar events, notes, contacts) and returns results very fast. QuickOffice package will only let users read documents, but you won't be able to start your own documents unless you upgrade the application (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
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The phonebook has almost an unlimited number of entries as all the contacts can be saved onto the phone's memory. Symbian OS and Java compatible third-party applications can be installed with ease on the phone through the USB connection, just check the requirements. Navigation on the Web can be a real joy because of the high-quality display and HSDPA and WiFi connections. The business phone even supports four pre-installed themes, which can change its look entirely.
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Communication
Nokia E51 features HSDPA connectivity for those in need of fast data transfer speeds, but also EDGE and GPRS class 32 technologies as a cheaper version of the HSDPA. Users won't have any problems with either of the connectivities as data transfer speeds are way over the charts: 1051 Kbit/s download and 305 Kbit/s upload with HSDPA and 144 Kbit/s download and 79 Kbit/s upload with EDGE. These are the highest results that we managed to attain with a Nokia handset, after having used Nokia N95 and N95 8GB devices.
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Wi-Fi 802.11g with VoIP over WLAN support is also on board and works even better as a free option for Web browsing instead of the HSDPA connectivity. Furthermore, Nokia E51 features miniUSB v2.0 and Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP and EDR profile support and IrDA (115 kbps), which makes it the ultimate communication tool.
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Impressive to the last, Nokia E51 includes an Internet browser that displays webpages perfectly. No matter the size, webpages fit into the small screen and look amazing. The virtual mouse cursor makes the browsing experience even better. A mini-map can be activated to help navigating around complex websites where lots of scrolling down/up or left/right is required. Users also have the possibility to adjust the zoom level to their needs.
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Nokia features four different message editors, one for each of these types: SMS, MMS, audio message and e-mail. The phone is fully compatible with POP3, IMAP4 and SMTP accounts. Also as mobile email, the E51 supports various solutions including Mail for Exchange, Visto mobile and Seven Always-on.
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The quad-band phone has worldwide coverage and is GSM900 / GSM1800 / GSM1900 / GSM850 / HSDPA network compatible. This will simply enlarge the market of the phone and will attract consumers all over the world. Nokia E51 has a mediocre in-call sound, but is extremely good on signal reception.
Processor and Memory
Nokia's E51 smartphone runs a very good ARM11 family processor working at speeds up to 369 Mhz. Practically, this is the same CPU that was embedded in Nokia N93 model and Nokia 6290 a little while ago. And that’s another reason to believe that Nokia E51 approaches the high-end series through its performance.
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The business phone comes with 130 MB internal memory (96 MB SDRAM memory), which can be expanded through the microSD slot card up to 8GB.
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I have tested the phone with a 4GB card by transferring some data through miniUSB cable and everything worked fine. This should be more than enough for a businessman who wants to carry all his documents into a pocket-sized device.
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Multimedia
This is the only department where Nokia E51 lacks consistency. Even if it hasn't been developed as a multimedia tool, Nokia E51 provides a limited multimedia experience. The mediocre sound quality and the poor music player interface don’t recommend the device as an MP3 player.
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The music player is compatible with MP3, AAC, WMA, AMR-NB and AMR-WB formats and features five pre-defined Equalizer settings: Bass booster, Classical, Jazz, Pop and Rock. If these are not enough, the phone offers the possibility of adding new customized settings. Music library is automatically scanned after each USB synchronization with the PC and new music files are added. Users can sort the files by artist, song or album and can define playlists. Nokia E51 supports Bluetooth with A2DP profile, which allows listening to music on a wireless stereo headset.
Other multimedia offerings include Visual Radio that can store up to 50 base stations, video streaming and playback in H.264 (MPEG-4), 3gpp and Real codecs. Videos are played using the integrated RealPlayer and can be watched in portrait, landscape or full screen.
Battery
The handset includes a Li-Polymer (1050 mAh) BL-5F battery. The talk time that I found on Nokia's site says that it should last about 4 hours and 20 minutes in talk time mode (only GSM) and about 13 days in standby mode (GSM only). For a heavy user, this phone will need recharging every two days, while for a medium user, one recharge in 4-5 days will be enough. The phone has great functionality, and features a big screen and HSDPA, which will both kill the battery even faster. Nokia E51 is a low "battery drainer", which means that it's even more fitted for business use.
Impressions
The only thing that impresses at first glance is the stainless steel material that covers most of the phone. That's because 'slim size' has become a standard for these days’ handsets, and E51 cannot stand out from the crowd just because it's slim. Anyway, for a business phone, Nokia E51 really looks stylish and will probably attract more buyers than its Eseries predecessors. Only after actual use, owners will understand what this little piece of technology can really do. Nokia E51 is a well-balanced phone that has been 'stuffed' with only the best technical features, which makes it one of the most powerful communication tools available.
The Good
There are many key features that Nokia E51 embeds, such as: HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, fast user interface, powerful CPU, microSD card, Symbian 9.2 OS Series 60 3rd edition UI with Feature Pack 1. Also, the fact that the phone doesn't freeze at all and is very fast makes it even better. Let's not forget about the low price (only 350 USD).
The Bad
Maybe the phone should've been launched without a module camera or, at least, a better one could've made a difference. A longer talk time is also needed to maximize E51's functionality. Some small improvements should've been added, such as: possibility of editing documents, charge via miniUSB and a better multimedia interface.
Sales package
Nokia E51 handset
1050 mAh Li-Polymer Battery (BP-6MT)
Nokia AC-5 DC charger
miniUSB connection cable (DKE-2)
Wired stereo headset (HS-47)
Eseries CD-ROM
Quickstart guide and User guide
read more at http://news.softpedia.com
New Nokia 6220 classic
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Free on Orange 12 month contract, the new Nokia 6220 classic is a Symbian S60 smartphone with a top notch 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens and a Xenon flash. Despite being packed with features and technology it’s also very easy to use. The keys are well spaced, the display is large - it looks like a regular phone, a classic design and it works well.
With A-GPS geo-tagging your photographs are stamped, not only with the time and date, but also with their exact location. The Nokia 6220 classic comes loaded with the new Nokia Maps 2.0 application, helping you to find the best routes or explore any city for restaurants, attractions and other points of interest.
With 3G and HSDPA, images and videos taken with the Nokia 6220 classic can be uploaded to your blog or to a photo sharing site such as Flickr. They can also be viewed on your big screen TV using the phones TV out port. The camera features on this phone are right up there among the best. Picture quality is excellent and video can be recorded at 30 frames per second. The Nokia 6220 classic also has a decent web browser, email, an FM radio with RDS, a good media player and expandable memory up to 8GB.
The Nokia 6220 classic is a dark horse and a future classic. It won’t get the same attention as an Nseries and it lacks Wi-fi. Nevertheless, it’s brilliant and fantastic.
Hands-on with Nokia N96
Tuesday, May 13, 2008Sales package:
* Handset
* Li-Ion battery (BL-5F)
* USB data cable (CA-101)
* TV cable (CA-75U)
* Remote control and headphones (AD-54, HS-45)
* Car charger (DC-4)
* Charger (AC-5)
Positioning
As a rule, the average consumer’s thought pattern isn't characterized by sophistication or depth – all he cares to consider when choosing a phone is index and functionality. Take the Nokia N95 for example – it is a do-it-all flagship, so the average Joe readily assumes the device that has one rung added to its index, specifically, the N96, should outdo the previous offering in every single way. The logic seems solid at a glance, but as we go deeper into the N96, it loses a fair share of its soundness.
Nokia has a clear-cut goal: to roll out a variety of solutions in order to settle down in different niches and for this they need similarly styled phones that pack in unique feature sets. Being resembling design-wise helps offerings that stand close together within the range appear identical to those who buy this trick, even though as far as philosophy and hardware are concerned, they couldn’t be more polarized. Basically, that’s the story of the Nokia N96 that got stuck with the “flagship” title, so now it is considered as the best S60-based solution around, which is not how things really stand. Effectively, it is a niche product that’s meant to open the range of similarly featured solutions, a feeler, if you like – dubbing an all-round new solution that hasn’t stood the test of time yet “the flagship” is somewhat reckless. Moreover, Nokia has never done such thing, but gossips care very little about that.
Read more http://www.mobile-review.com/review/nokia-n96-en.shtml
Review: Samsung SCH-u940 Glyde for Verizon
Friday, May 9, 2008
Samsung's SCH-u940 Glyde is the latest touchscreen device to be offered by the Korean handset giant. It goes on sale today at Verizon Wireless locations. The Glyde has a lot of the same cool technology that the LG enV2 and Voyager offer, but is far more compact in size. With specs like a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, EV-DO 3G data, an auto-focus camera, and a full touchscreen UI, the Glyde could be very appealing to those Verizon customers with a bit of iPhone envy.
Physical Aspects
The Samsung Glyde is a very good looking, if simply designed, messaging phone. The phone feels solidly built, and the slider that reveals the QWERTY keyboard has a very smooth and mildly sprung action to it. There are few hardware buttons on the Glyde, and only one on the face of the phone: the home key. On the right edge users will find the power/lock key, the volume control, and the camera shutter button. All of the buttons work well enough.
The back of the Glyde is plain except for the camera and its LED flash and self-portrait mirror. The rear cover can be removed to provide access to the microSD card slot and the battery (which doesn't need to be removed when swapping memory cards). The only other item of interest on the phone is the covered power/headset/USB port on the bottom left edge of the phone.
In order to fit into a device as compact as the Glyde, the keyboard design had to be compromised a bit. There are only 3 rows of keys on the keyboard, which means that the space bar has to be mixed in with the bottom row of keys. As such, the keys don't line up the same way they do on a full size keyboard. For example, the M key sits under the L key instead of the J key where it would typically reside. This will make blind typing a bit harder - at least initially. In spite of the poor positioning, the keys themselves have nice tactile feedback.
The WVGA (240x440 pixel) display on the Glyde is relatively large, at 2.75" across the diagonal, and more than bright and crisp enough. Like most finger touch screens on the market, with the one on the iPhone being an exception, the Glyde's display has a bit of give to it that is required for the touch sensing technology. A combination of that with perhaps some software issues make it a bit inaccurate to use at times, but more on that later. The other problem is its widescreen format, which we found to be less than optimal for most all tasks.
In the case of the Glyde, this oddball aspect ratio takes its toll on a number of applications in the phone, most notably the browser. The very short height of the display when in landscape mode gives users very little finger room for scrolling up and down in web pages. The display does allow the phone to stay narrow, but a wider display and an extra row of keys on the keyboard would have made the Glyde much more usable.
So while superficially the Glyde has a nice physical design, the compromises made appear to be a bit too severe for a device meant to excel at messaging and use a finger based touch interface.
Source: www.mobileburn.com
Nokia 3110 Evolve review
Monday, May 5, 2008
We review the Nokia 3110 Evolve, an environmentally friendlier mobile phone that's made partly from renewable organic materials. But is it really that green?
At least Nokia is making some effort at environmental sustainability with its 3110 Evolve. Nokia's already got more eco-friendly cred points than most high-tech technology manufacturers, with Greenpeace ranking it among the best in its regular Guide to Greener Electronics for its reduction in the use of toxic chemicals.
Now Nokia has released the 3110 Evolve, the most environmentally-friendly mobile you can currently buy. Its green credentials include the use of bio-covers, made from 50 per cent renewable material, an energy-efficient charger that cuts out when the phone's fully charged, and compact packaging made from 60 per cent recycled materials.
Clearly, it's not a 100 per cent eco-friendly phone, but it's a start, as Nokia acknowledges.
Anyone thinking of going greener with this phone should be aware that the 3110 Evolve is not one of Nokia's most advanced handset, although it has more than a hair-shirt set of features and functionality. The 3110 Evolve is similarly specced to Nokia's earlier 3110 classic model.
The 3110 Evolve is a standard tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE model rather than a 3G device. It does have a camera, but it's a basic entry-level 1.3-megapixel shooter. The display too is rather basic - a 1.8-inch, 128 x 160 pixels, 262,000-colour screen that's lacking in the detail department and is one of the most disappointing elements (it's not an eco-issue either - the 3110 classic has the same screen).
On the plus side, there's a decent multi-format music player built in, supported by MicroSD card expansion, and it comes with a stereo headset. An FM radio included too. The 3110 Evolve also supports video streaming, as well as record and playback for video.
A Nokia XHTML browser is part of the spec, but Nokia has also loaded up the 3110 Evolve with a handful of interesting web-based applications that are becoming standard on its mid- and lower-tier mobiles based on Nokia's regular Series 40 operating system. These include the excellent Opera Mini browser, the Yahoo! Go widgets-style info, news and updates app, and Nokia's own WidSets widgets software.
Design and handling
Nokia's designers haven't come up with a radical new look for the 3110 Evolve. In fact, the phone is quite plain and worthily functional. The glossy black numberpad has nice, fat keys that are clearly labeled for easy pressing, with a similarly straightforward control D-pad arrangement.
Around the sides and back panel, the casing is made from unpainted bio-sourced organic materials. Its drab grey look may not be exactly eye-catching, but the fact that it cuts down on fossil fuels used in the manufacturing process may impress your more green-thinking friends. The feel is a bit textured but in reality you'd be hard pressed to tell it apart from normal plastic. A small green icon on the back of the phone is the only obvious visual clue to its key selling point.
The phone is light enough, at 87g, and has an average 108.5(h) x 45.7(w) x 15.6(d)mm frame. Around the sides, there's an infrared window (for old school connections), plus a covered miniUSB socket next to a separate 2.5mm headphone socket (an easy-to-source adapter will be need if you want to plug in standard 3.5mm jack headphones).
The charger socket is normal Nokia, even though the charger is slightly different to the norm - it's a new AC-8 high efficiency charger that minimises 'no-load' energy consumption. Put simply, unlike most chargers it doesn't waste energy if you forget to unplug it from the socket once the phone's charged and unplugged.
While this may seem a tiny amount of power-saving, Nokia estimates that globally, if all Nokia phone users unplugged their chargers when no longer needed, it would save the equivalent amount of energy needed to power 100,000 average-size European homes.
Features on display
The lower quality screen doesn't present the Nokia Series 40 interface in the same slick way as models higher up the Nokia range. You do get Nokia's Active Standby display option, presenting info updates onscreen plus icon-marked shortcuts to selected features (pre-loaded or your choice). The screen looks cluttered with this on, but you can have it on or off, with just a green and pleasant theme in the background if you wish.
It's definitely worth having a play with the music player - provided you have a MicroSD card inside to expand the tiny 9MB of internal user memory (it slots in behind the battery pack). You can use cards up to 2GB, although you should check whether your phone will come with a card - it's not part of the standard in-box package. There's no mini USB cable supplied either, complicating the transfer of tracks from a PC. You can use use Bluetooth or copy tracks via a card reader.
Tune playback through the supplied headphones is good enough to listen to regularly. The player serves up a decent quality audio performance that's perfectly acceptable for music on the go. The player interface is intuitive too, with a run down of typical MP3 player categories (artists, albums, genres, composers and track lists) under which songs are arranged. You can have the player playing in the background too while you play with other phone features, and there's an average quality loudspeaker for sharing your musical tastes.
The FM radio's another welcome addition to the musical mix. Again, it's straightforward to use, and listenable through the speaker.
Imaging quality
The limited quality of images from the 1.3-megapixel (1280x1024 pixels) camera on the 3110 Evolve means users keen on getting high quality snaps with their cameraphone should look elsewhere. Most phone's with the 3110 Evolve's level of features typically come with at least 2-megapixel shooters
The camera here is a point-and-shoot snapper that does an efficient job within its limitations. There's no flash or autofocus capability. You do thought get a full screen viewfinder and a standard set of Nokia Series 40 camera setting adjustment options and effect plus an 8x digital zoom. There are also in-phone editing tools.
Colour quality is pretty good, and shots look reasonable for a 1.3-megapixel camera in decent light, but detail is limited if you, and image capture processing is slow. There's no flash, so low-light shooting is poor with dark and grainy results.
There is a video capture option, but this too is limited to basic 176x144 pixels quality and delivers poor results if you watch it anywhere other than the phone screen.
The 3110 Evolve's web browsing experience isn't great either with the standard Nokia browser, running on GPRS or EDGE data speeds and formatted on a low resolution display. Mobile internet fromatted pages come across OK though. The Opera Mini browser offers a decent alternative for viewing full web pages rendered for the small screen, while the WidSets and Yahoo! Go apps offer regular updates, information, news, emails and mapping from the web without having to negotiate the browser.
Nokia has included the usual spread of office tools and functionality, including an email client, plus a couple of games to keep you entertained. You can sync up the phone via Bluetooth (or infrared), or invest in a miniUSB cable to make it quicker and easier.
Battery life
It's all well and good saving power wastage through the charger, but you'd also hope the 3110 Evolve would be energy-efficient in day-to-day use. Nokia claims the battery pack here can provide up to 4 hours of talktime or up to 370 hours of standby, which is the same as the 3110 classic, and a decent running time.
Call quality was perfectly acceptable too, with no strange noises or problems of any sort, and good quality audio presentation.
We expect that the 3110 Evolve is the first of many mobiles from Nokia (and other manufacturers) to put more emphasis on using sustainable materials and eco-friendly production methods. Of course, recycling phones when you're upgrading is another issue where mobile buyers themselves can make an immediate environmental contribution.
The Nokia 3110 Evolve is a small step forward rather than the real totally-green deal. As such, though, it will attract those looking for a more eco-friendly phone. It's a reasonably well equipped device which will provide some users with all they need from a mobile. The camera is a let-down, though, and the low resolution display impacts on the look and feel of the phone's menus and functions. The lack of a USB cable and memory card in the box is another disappointment.
There is a decent music player and radio inside here, and a smattering of welcome additional applications that mean you won't suffer disproportionately for choosing the greener option. More feature-hungry eco-mindful mobile users will have to hold on until Nokia greens up its higher range handsets though...
Source: www.knowyourmobile.com
Review: Nokia N810 Internet Tablet with GPS
The third generation Internet tablet from Nokia bears a great deal of similarity to the N800 it replaces. But it adds two key features: a GPS and hardware keyboard. This handheld computer has a fantastic web browser with support for Flash 9 and AJAX, email and RSS. It weighs 8 ounces and is as big as a large-ish PDA. Other features include a 4.1" touch screen, 400MHz processor, a Linux-based OS, Bluetooth, WiFi and a PDF reader. It's not a PDA and not a cell phone, but rather a mobile Internet device, media player and a GPS.
Read more at http://www.mobiletechreview.com/Nokia-N810.htm
Mobile Review: Sanyo Katana LX
Sanyo started making the Katana series phones back in the summer of 2006 for Sprint to offer their customers a thin flip phone that’s flashy looking with decent phone specs. The Katana II came out as Sprint’s entry-level feature phone and the Katana DLX as higher tier feature phone last year. Sanyo and Sprint announced the Katana LX this spring at CTIA as their new entry-level feature phone, although Sprint continues to sell both the Katana II and the Katana DLX at the moment. The Katana LX is essentially an aesthetic update to the Katana II with mostly the same technical specs: it’s a digital dual band PCS phone with Sprint Vision 1xRTT (not EVDO) support, a VGA camera, Bluetooth and aGPS. The Katana LX comes in three colors: Liquid Graphite, Elegant Pink and Pacific Blue.
Design and Ergonomics
The mirror-like finish on the Katana LX gives the Katana line a classy update. The front facing speaker and the camera integrate with the phone fluidly, and the OLED external display adds a cool factor. Standby info and caller ID are displayed on the flip and when you are not using it, the display disappears into the mirror. The only drawback of the front cover is that fingerprints mess up the look completely. With the exception of the front cover, not much else has changed in design. The flip phone has a 2” main display that supports 65K colors (same as the Katana II). The plastic number keys are large enough to dial easily and have faint backlight. The call send, call end and dedicated speaker key remain above the number keys. The biggest change comes from the menu keys: they are now surrounding the five-way d-pad in a dome-like shape. The d-pad is easy to use but the thin menu keys require some attention to operate. The side buttons and ports include a dedicated camera launch key, volume keys along with charging port and 2.5mm headset jack.
Phone Features and Reception
The Sanyo Katana LX is a digital dual band CDMA phone that operates on Sprint’s 800/1900MHz network, and it has support for Sprint’s Vision for data. The phone has good reception and has never dropped a call in both well-covered areas and spotty coverage areas. The voice quality is actually very good and volume is loud through the earpiece and through the speakerphone. The speaker sounds a little blown when the volume is turned to max, but you likely won’t need the volume to be that high in most environments. The Katana LX supports common call management features including call waiting, three-way calling, call forwarding, airplane mode and has a contacts database. You can also store up to 98 speed dial numbers and 300 entries in contacts. Each contact can have 6 phone numbers, email address, URL, home address, memo and unique ringtone and caller ID. Additional tools include calendar, voice memo (up to 3 minutes and 100 entries), alarm clock, world clock, stopwatch, countdown timer and calculator. For voice dialing, the Katana LX bundles VoiceSignal’s excellent Voice Command software. Voice Command doesn’t require pre-recorded voice tags and works over Bluetooth too.
Sanyo Katana LX
It’s hard for EV-DO users to get used to the slower 1X data speed on the Katana LX, though if this is your first time web browsing on a phone, the Katana LX doesn’t feel too bad. The phone comes with a WAP 2.0 Access browser which covers the basic WAP sites and news portals, web-based email (AOL, Windows Live, etc.) and web-based IM services. And as long as you access only WAP sites, the page download speed is actually quite acceptable. For those who like to customize their phones, the Katana LX can download ringtones and screensavers over the air. In addition, you can also download applications (such as TeleNav maps) and games over the air. Applications download smoothly.
Navigation and Games
Unlike the Katana DLX, the Katana LX isn’t a music phone. For downtime fun, the Sanyo offers gaming. You can run the games as soon as you have downloaded them, and pay either a $3.49/month subscription fee or $6.99-7.99 to purchase a game. We tested various games including Resident Evil Genesis (Capcom), Speed Racer (Glu), The Sims 2 (EA), Platinum Solitaire by Gameloft and more, and all games ran smoothly. The low-resolution screen makes some games look worse than on phones with higher resolution, but the d-pad feels good a game control in most games.
Deals and Shopping
One thing Katana users have always enjoyed is navigation services, and the Katana LX is no exception. The phone comes with aGPS and supports Sprint Navigation powered by TeleNav. Make sure you turn on the location-based services on the phone and you can download the TeleNav navigation and map software. Sprint charges $9.99 / month for the Sprint Navigation services and you get an 8-day free trial on the Katana. While Sprint Navigation generally has very good performance on EVDO-enabled phones, it loads slowly on the Katana LX. The GPS data download speed was so slow that it couldn’t keep up with our travel in real time or accurately pinpoint our locations. The navigation options such as routing options, map view and driving directions are all there and the speakerphone is very handy for using the navigation while driving though the volume in voice guidance isn’t the loudest we’ve heard on a phone. In addition to Sprint Navigation, the phone also supports other location-based services such as the Sprint Family Locator and Safety Checks.
Camera
Like the Katana II, the Katana LX has a VGA camera with digital zoom and can take photos but not videos. VGA camera phones are really outdated in a market that’s crowded with 1.3 megapixel and 2 megapixel feature phones. Even though the photo quality on the Katana LX is better than that of VGA camera phones from 2-3 years ago, the images lack in detail and color. Indoor shots look hazy and outdoor shots look murky. Colors don’t look bright or saturated and the overall colors look a little too cool. The Katana LX offers brightness and color tone settings, a self-timer, multi-shot mode and fun frames. Since there is no expansion card slot, you can send the photos to other phones via Sprint Picture Mail or email them.
Bluetooth
The Katana LX has Bluetooth v2.0 and supports Headset, Hands-Free, Phone book access, Object push for vCard, GAP/SPP/GOEP and DUN (Dial-up Networking) profiles. We tested the Katana LX with several Bluetooth headsets including the Jabra BT8040 and the Plantronics Explorer 330, the phone paired with all easily. The Katana LX could certainly hold conversations but don’t expect crystal clear voice on either incoming or outgoing end. Voice quality was average in our tests: voice wasn’t very clear and had some digital distortions and the DSP wasn’t hugely effective. Volume was loud through headsets and voice command worked flawlessly with all the headsets. Range between the phone and the headsets was good, reaching 20 feet. Other Bluetooth features you can take advantage of include object push for contacts and business cards (but not photos) and dial-up networking for using the phone as modem for laptops, although the slower data speed isn’t very desirable for most users.
Battery Life
The Katana LX comes with a standard rechargeable battery that’s 840 mAh in capacity, a small bump from the 820 mAh on the Katana II. The battery is user replaceable and you can charge it using the included charger (120V). Battery life is very good since most applications on the Katana LX aren’t power hungry and the phone doesn’t support EV-DO. The claimed talk time is 4.8 hours and that seems to be on target. An extended battery can provide 7.4 hours of talk time, but neither Sprint nor Sanyo has it for sale yet.
Conclusion
The Katana LX brings good looks to Sprint’s entry-level phone line. The mirrored, modern design in available in three colors and offers a basic feature phone package that includes voice dialing, a VGA camera, gaming, Bluetooth and aGPS. While the Katana LX is still a voice-centric phone, it does give you games, ringer and applications download over the air. But if you're feature more than fashion consious, the Samsung M520 and LG Rumor on Sprint offer more for the same price.
Pro: Better looking than the last gen Katana phones. Good reception. Bluetooth works with all headsets and the phone has great battery life.
Con: VGA camera is dated. GPS has slow performance on Vision. Can’t send photos over Bluetooth, no microSD card slot.
Price: $49.99 with 2-year contract after rebate. $249.99 without contract.
Web site: www.sanyo.com, www.sprint.com
this review originally published at
Phone Review: “Nokia 5610”
Saturday, May 3, 2008
General
2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network UMTS 850 / 2100
UMTS 850 / 1900 - US version
Announced
2007, August
Status
Available. Released 2007, October
Size
Dimensions 98.5 x 48.5 x 17 mm, 75 cc
Weight 111 g
Display
Type TFT, 16M colors
Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inches
- Downloadable themes
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, MP4, WMA, AAC, video tones
Customization Download
Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook 2000 entries, Photocall
Call records Yes
Card slot microSD (TransFlash), up to 8GB, hotswap, buy memory
- 20 MB internal memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
HSCSD Yes, 43.2 kbps
EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps
3G Yes, 384 kbps
WLAN No
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
Infrared port No
USB Yes, v2.0 microUSB
Features
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML (Opera mini)
Games Snake II, Rally 3D, Music Guess, Towerbloxx, order now
Colors Red, Blue
Camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofocus, video(VGA 15fps), flash; secondary QVGA videocall camera
- Java MIDP 2.0
- Stereo FM radio with RDS
- MP3/MP4/AAC/eAAc/WMA player
- Nokia sensor
- World Clock II
- Converter II
- T9
- Stopwatch
- Built-in handsfree
- Voice memo/commands
Battery
Standard battery, Li-Ion 900 mAh (BP-5M)
Stand-by Up to 320h
Talk time Up to 6h
Source: gsmarena.com
Sony Ericsson T303 review: Small is beautiful
Key features
* Very compact, sturdy build
* Smooth sliding mechanism
* FM radio with RDS
* MP3 player, TrackID music recognition
* Bluetooth v2.0
* 1.3 MP camera
* 1.8" 65K-color TFT display, 128 x 160 pixels
* 500 phonebook entries, photocall
Main disadvantages
* Meager 8MB of built-in memory, no memory card slot
* Poor screen quality
* USB for charging and mass storage only
* No zoom in picture gallery
* No A2DP Bluetooth profile
Source: gsmarena.com
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Samsung FlipShot Review
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Upon removing a brand new Samsung FlipShot from the box, the user will be greeted with a bevy of phone mysteries. How can a device so tiny function as both a cell phone and a digital camera? Will both photo and call quality be up to par? And, perhaps most importantly, just where does the battery go?
The first question is left up to the experts, and the second question to the rest of the review. As for the third question, the entire front panel of the phone lifts off in order to provide access to the battery slot without interrupting the seamless design of the camera face. With even this smallest of details taken care of, the FlipShot promises to be, at the very least, an excellent entry into the field of design.
With an innovative design and an excellent 3.0-megapixel camera, the FlipShot should please cell phone photography enthusiasts. Others, especially those who enjoy watching phone video, will most likely enjoy the phone's high-quality 262K-color internal screen. The remainder of users should be satisfied with a nice-looking phone that offers the standard Verizon phone experience, including organizational applications, 500-entry Contacts list, and a wide variety of messaging options.
Design
The "flip-and-twist" camera design of the FlipShot is, of course, its big selling point. This design feature is explored in further detail in the Camera section of this review. In this section, it is enough to say that this aspect of the design is both easy and fun to use, and certainly stands out as the outstanding feature of this phone. The rest of the phone's design is more than satisfactory, combining a simple black and silver color scheme with a compact functionality.
At 96 x 46 x 19 mm and 110 g, the phone is a little bulkier than some of its ultra-slim contemporaries. However, the phone is in no way bulky, and for what is essentially a two-in-one device, the FlipShot packs a whole lot of functionality into a small package. Although it is average in size for a cell phone, it is certainly on the smaller end of the digital camera size range. The device fits easily into hand in either vertical phone mode or horizontal camera mode.
Samsung FlipShot ClosedThe "front" of the closed phone (which, of course, is flipped towards the inside of the phone in camera mode) offers no design surprises. The sleek blackness of the front panel is interrupted only by the small external screen and by silver lettering heralding the names of Samsung and Verizon, and announcing to the world the cryptic message of "3.0-Megapixels." As an added fun bonus, hidden keys below the external screen control the phone's music player. A touch in the center of the glassy black panel illuminates a small red play / pause button, whereas touches to the left and right illuminate the back and forward buttons. When not lit up, the buttons leave behind no trace that they ever existed. With its mix of black, silver, and glassy smoothness, the front panel looks cool, and the screen and hidden buttons add to its usefulness.
The back of the phone doubles as the front of the digital camera. Other phones have pulled off this trick before, but usually using the smaller external phone screen as the camera viewing screen instead of twisting around the larger internal screen like the FlipShot. As mentioned above, although the battery is stored under this panel, there is no battery case seem. Instead, the back of the phone offers a smooth black plate with the Samsung and Verizon logos engraved into two separate corners. There is no special embossing or painting of the logos, making them blend unnoticeably into the jet black continuity of the panel. The camera lens hovers off to the right / top, trailed by a floating translucent ovaline flash. Since the lens / flash are on the top when the phone is oriented vertically, users needn't worry about them awkwardly interfering with their phone-gripping. Functional and simple, the back panel gets the job done with a little bit of class.
The clamshell flips open to reveal the standard format of screen-on-top and keyboard-on-bottom. There is nothing out of the ordinary here, and anyone who's used a Samsung / Verizon clamshell before should be right at home. In addition to numberpad, the keyboard features a 5-way navigation button, the standard assortment of Send, Clear, and End / Power buttons, and two dedicated softkeys. To the left of the 5-way key is a button that summons the camera and to the right is one that controls speakerphone. The camera's zoom key (along the side of the phone) doubles as a volume controller as well. Headphones and battery adapter connect to ports along the other side of the phone.
With its much-touted "flip-and-twist" camera screen, the FlipShot offers something new to the phone design scene. The rest of the phone's design is both sleek and functional, offering dual functionality of phone and digital camera in a small, compact package.
Out of the box, the Samsung FlipShot comes with a standard 880 Li-Ion battery, Power Cable, Wrist Strap, Quick Reference Guide and User Manual.
This review was written by Marisa Genuardi, published at www.mobiledia.com.
Phone Review: LG's Venus-like KF600
Tuesday, April 22, 2008The LG KF600 is a sibling of the North American LG Venus from Verizon Wireless, and represents the company's experiment to combine the touch interface with the traditional button-based interface. Just to add a little twist to the traditional touch-pad, LG replaced it with small touchscreen display that is able to morph with respect to the running applications. Today with this review, we will weigh this new experience between fashion and functionality with the KF600 from LG.
Physical Aspects
The LG KF600 has a minimalistic look that is heavily influenced by the Prada phone. With strong, heavy lines, a chrome rim, and two screens mounted underneath a front face that is absolutely flat. The displays might appear to be one, separated by a band at the lower half, but in reality they are two individual units - the main screen at the top, and a smaller touch-enabled one, which LG calls the InteractPad, located below. The front panel is actually a soft-ish piece of plastic, which is different from most touch-screen devices. According to LG, this was to prevent scratching, and indeed I haven't managed to scratch it by simply carrying it in my jeans pocket for a week. Another plus of the "flexible" plastic surface is that it improves the touch experience when combined with the vibra-haptic feedback; however we cannot help but doubt that such a soft surface is strong enough to protect the screens.
The color looks good on both the main 2" QVGA (240x320 pixel) screen and the 1.5" 240x176 pixel navigation screen below it. The color tone is almost identical, and this is crucial since both displays are to be used at the same time. The screens are sharp and bright, but to our disappointment, their visibility under direct sun is quite poor. This is, I guess, the price to pay for the KF600's sleek glossy front.
The KF600 is definitely not the thinnest slider in the market, but we really have no complaints when the engineers managed to squeeze two screens and a reasonable camera into a 14mm thick design - 101mm x 51mm x 14mm (4" x 2" x 0.5"). On actual handling, the KF600 feels quite sturdy, thanks to the textured plastic on the back that helps with grip. Sliding open the phone might be a little controversial, as you have to place your finger in the middle of the screen to grab hold of it to open the slider. The mechanism is spring loaded, movement is smooth, and it slides into place with a solid thunk. Sliding open the phone reveals a keypad that reminds us of the one found on the LG Chocolate. The keys are well spaced, tactile feedback is good, but the size is a bit on the small side, especially the last row of keys where it is so close to the rim.
Just like the front of the phone, the sides are also minimalistic in design. There are only volume keys and a music shortcut on the left, and the camera shutter key on the right. The handsfree and power connector share the same jack, and the microSD slot is hidden underneath the battery - no hot swapping cards. The 3 megapixel camera lens is left unprotected on the back, between the LED flash and the speaker grille holes.
All in all, the KF600 is well-designed for looks, but we would have preferred the front panel to be a bit sturdier. The glossy surface is also, unsurprisingly, a magnet for fingerprints. There is definitely room for improvement in terms of functionality: for example, LG shouldn't have hidden the memory slot underneath the battery or left the camera's lens unprotected on the back.
Source: www.mobileburn.com
Phone Review: Motorola Z9
Monday, April 21, 2008
There's no mistaking that the Z9 is a phone from Motorola. Its newer design language can be spotted from a mile away. If there's one thing about the Z9 that you're going to notice right away, it is the sheer size of the phone. Following the trends set by the RAZR2s, it is a large phone, perhaps one of the largest sliders we've seen. There are thinner, shorter, narrower phones out there, no doubt, but that doesn't mean the Z9 looks bad or doesn't work.
The Z9 definitely feels big in your hand, and I have decent-sized hands. People who have smaller hands will certainly not be able to wrap their hands all the way around it. It is also a bit on the heavy side. Perhaps this is a result of a higher percentage of metal materials in the build. This all lends an air of solidity to the Z9. The back and sides have a soft-touch paint job and all the edges are rounded. This make the Z9 pleasant to hold, despite its girth. There are no edges, ledges, rims or other protrusions to catch your fingers or palm.
With the bigger size comes a generous screen and easy to find and use controls. The top half of the slider is dominated by the large, brilliant screen. Under it is a circular D-pad that is about the size of a quarter. There is a silvery ridge that rims the D-pad and gives your thumb some indication that is has moved from the otherwise smooth surface of the Z9s top half to the D-pad. The D-pad is ridged slightly, giving it some texture. I though there wasn't enough of a physical indication to let you know that you your thumb have moved from the navigational part of the D-pad to the center select button. It's minute at best. You may or may not have the same trouble I did. Action and feedback is very good.
On both sides of the D-pad are six buttons, three to a side. On the left side is the soft key, dedicated Web key and send button. On the right, is the other soft key, the return/back key, and the end key. The buttons themselves are under the surface, but each has a small nub so that you can find them without looking. Action and feedback with all these keys is good.
On the left side of the phone is a dedicated music key and the volume rocker. The volume rocker is slightly easier to find and use, but the music button is not terrible, either. Both buttons offer haptic micro-vibration feedback when pushed to let you know you've activated them. Same goes for the dedicated camera key on the right side of the phone. The hatch for the micro-USB charge port is above the camera key. It presented no obstacles.
The battery hatch pops off easily by depressing the button on the back. The slot for the microSD slot is found here, and thankfully you don't have to pull out the battery to replace it.
The slider mechanism works excellently. Though there is no ledge to use to help pop it up and down, the top half of the phone slides up and easily. It feels solid and well built. There is just enough spring action so that it works smoothly. No plastic-y feeling here.
With the top half of the Z9 up, you'll find the standard 12-key keypad. It is made of a smooth glossy material that is only interrupted by the nubs to let you know where the keys themselves are located. These nubs felt a little less distinct than those in the navigation cluster. I found it more difficult to compose text messages without looking at the keypad. The keys are very widely spaced apart and this, in conjunction with only the nubs for physical feedback, slows down text entry to a small degree. The buttons do, however, offer good travel and feedback.
Source: www.phonescoop.com