Archive for August 30th, 2008
Posted by: admin in Mobile
Nokia has released two promo videos for two newly announced smartphones - Nokia N79 and N85. As you’re about to see, both devices are quite capable and it’s hard to pick the favorite one. At the end, it’s a matter of personal preferences. Which form factor do you prefer - dual slider or a candybar?
Here’s the Nokia N79 promo video:
And the Nokia N85 promo video follows after the jump.
[Via: SymbianFreak]
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Posted by: admin in Mobile
AT&T will be adding a new rugged handset to its offering. According to always highly informed Boy Genius, the Samsung a837 will be joining AT&T’s team in an effort to compete with Verizon’s Casio G’zOne phones.
We don’t have the full specs, but we do know the military-spec grade device will sport push-to-talk support, Bluetooth, quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE along with dual-band UMTS/HSDPA, 1.3 megapixel camera, built-in GPS. As for the services supported, Video Share and AT&T Navigator will be included in the mix.
The Samsung a837 will hit AT&T’s offering around September 15th, though pre-orders might be starting on the first of the month. Expected priced is in the $99-$150 range.
[Via: Boy Genius Report]
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Posted by: admin in Mobile
Recently I have had opportunity to have “extreme possession” of the MS800 device from Gigabyte (labelled under the “G-Smart” brand). Below are some brief highlights, pointer to the specs, and the G-Smart website itself:
Initial impressions were that the G-Smart devices come in a professionally put-together set of packaging. Included are in-car charger, USB cable, spare pointer, instructions, wired stereo headset, and multi-country component mains charger - a nice set of accessories. A case wouldn’t have got amiss, but it’s not a showstopper
The device itself is well-made - nice construction, and plenty of time and effort obviously spent avoiding the serious “creak” problems that many plastic-bodied devices have:
The O/S is WinMo 6 Pro - on top of this G-Smart have layered their “Smart Touch UI”, which is another attempt to make a finger-based input possible, rather than using a Stylus:
This isn’t entirely a success - whilst it is quite well-integrated with the traditional Win Homescreen, when you’re utilising the carousel, it doesn’t react as accurately as you might expect. Compared to a certain “i” device, it’s not in the same league.
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Posted by: admin in Mobile
Having had the 8800 Arte for a few weeks now, one major concern of mine is trying to make sure it’s beautiful little case doesn’t get scratched - it has a very shiny finish, so anything that happens to it drop-wise, could potentially ruin it.
In that respect, I invested in a couple of cases, to try and figure out what the ideal solution is here - a combination of looks, protection, practicality, and cost were the criteria for assessment….
Nokia’s own 8800 Arte case (left in pic) - well, you do get a case from Nokia. It’s “free” in the pack, and is nicely constructed. But to my mind, it sucks a bit. First of all, it’s VERY tight on the device, which is never good for casings or buttons. Second, the method of getting the device out of the pouch is via an internal drawstring - which obviously rubs the case as it contacts it, to pull it out. Overall, I wasn’t that impressed
PDair leather case (middle in photo, from Mobilefun.co.uk) - It’s strange to think that of the many cases available for the 8800, only a few (that I could find) are made specifically for it - with a case that doesn’t fit, you are going to get rattling of the device inside, plus potential damage. So PDair’s £20 custom-made case is more of what I wanted. The belt loop is made from a leather hook (rather than a clip-on catch), which is easier to fit, but also easier to come off. The case does look really professional, and doesn’t impede you sitting down. Only downside I could see is that the top of the case exposes the phone, so if this were to come off and land upside down, you could still have a scratched phone. A minor point really, and a great solution overall!
Phone sock (right in pic, from Mobilefun.co.uk) - the sock came as part of a coloured 3-pack, costing £4.95 - bargain! The sock hugs the device nicely, and really is more of a protector from surfaces, and the insides of pockets, than a case. But it does it’s job very nicely, and can act as a neat “coaster” for your device when out on a table. Much more casual than the PDair, it’s a cheap and actually quite cheerful solution, which again I thought fitted a niche well!
Overall then, from a professional perspective, the PDair works well. The socks work nicely when you’re out with friends, and a belt clip isn’t appropriate. I won’t be using the Nokia case, because of my concerns about the ejection mechanism strap fouling the device….
Ben
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Posted by: admin in Mobile
Back in Might, we wrote about Google’s apparent plans to introduce an Apple-like AppStore for its Android platform. Well that’s confirmed now, with the official Android Developers Blog posting an article on the subject.
First of all - it’s not a store, it’s a market, because they feel developers should have “an open and unobstructed environment to make their content available” (unlike Apple’s AppStore?). Second, being an open platform means there will be tons of apps available for the users. To help future Android-powered handset owners make decisions, Android Market will have a feedback and rating system similar to YouTube, enabling community to filter things out for the rest of us.
As for the developer, they will be able to swiftly put their apps available for the grab — the process is explained as easy as publishing a video on YouTube, consisting of three steps: registration, upload and description of the newly uploaded app. Additionally, Google will provide developers with a “useful dashboard and analytics to help drive their business and ultimately improve their offerings.”
Initially, the first beta version of Android Market will support free apps, only. Paid applications will be added later, and so will be other features like versioning, multiple device profile support, analytics, etc.
[Via: MobileBurn]
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Posted by: admin in Mobile
Call me a sceptic if you want but I don’t see that many people rushing to get themselves the HTC Touch Cruise, now that the Diamond is out. That being stated, I’m not quite sure why it took so long for HTC to push its previous-gen device through FCC’s approval process. Don’t get me wrong, the Touch Cruise is a neat device sporting basically all the nuts and bolts the Diamond has sans VGA screen and tons of memory. Plus, the Cruise also has the first-gen TouchFLO UI which nowadays looks everything but cool. HTC has spoiled us with the 3D version featured on the Diamond and Touch Pro.
Anyway, I guess AT&T whose 3G network can sing along the newly approved HTC smartphone will be introducing the device in the near future. Why wait, after all…
[Via: Engadget Mobile]
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Posted by: admin in Mobile
Pantech’s new phone wears two names. The first one is more techy and it’s “SKY IM-S730.” The other one, though, is let’s say more casual and seems “invented” to make the device more appealing to younger generations. It’s “Blue Wink” and no, we don’t have a slightest clue what that means nor how that name is perceived in South Korea, where Pantech released the new slider.
Specs wise, the SKY IM-S730 Blue Wink (guess we could make a single name out of it) sports a 2.6-inch QVGA screen, HSDPA support, GPS, FM radio, 1.3 megapixel camera, and a microSD slot. In addition, I think it’s kinda safe to bet there’s some media player app on board and it would be also fair to argue this phone will be available for free with a wink and with a contract. 
[Via: Engadget Mobile]
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Posted by: admin in Mobile
It’s a Windows Mobile update week folks. First we saw the AT&T Tilt getting the update, and soon afterwards the Verizon XV6800 was also blessed with the Windows Mobile 6.1 upgrade treatment.
Now another device is jumping on board - Samsung BlackJack II. Unfortunately, the update is almost or not yet ready - the server crashed as many people rushed to get their favorite QWERTY smartphone’s firmware up to date. Still the update pages are there and if you run either Windows XP or Vista, keep your eyes on these two links to grab the update as soon as it’s back online.
Hopefully, you’ll be able to update the BlackJack II in no time…
[Via: WMExperts]
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Posted by: admin in Mobile
 The popular provider of new and used automobile information Kelley Blue Book (kbb.com) has recently announced the launch of its website optimized for iPhone users. The free, feature-rich mobile site not only provides provides Apple’s handset and iPod Touch owners with the latest information, but also grants them to view videos, images, new vehicle reviews and submit free dealer price quotes.
To put it in other words - if you’re an iPhone/iPod Touch user in the midst of buying a new or used automobile, kbb.com is the resource to check out. You can do that from wherever you happen to be, even while on-the-go. Simply point Safari to www.kbb.com and take it from there.
Commenting on the announcement, Kelley Blue Book’s Andy Lapin said: “Whether the shopper is sitting at home or standing on the dealership lot, they can easily locate Kelley Blue Book’s new and used automobile information with a few easy stokes to ensure they are making the right choice and getting a great deal.”
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