Archive for November, 2009
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30
Nov
2009
The Keyboard Toting Samsung Genio QWERTY
This messaging based Genio phone comes as the third of the Genio series (after the Pro and the Touch). Samsung has shown that they can also deliver a GSM device with good specialization –though it is lacking in overall functionality.
The Genio QWERTY’s full keyboard is portrait oriented and takes a while to get used to, but it is still usable. The only drawback is that people with large fingers will never be able to truly maximize this device (unlike BlackBerry devices such as the Curve or the Bold 9700). Price-wise, the QWERTY makes for a decent messaging phone for being such a good cheap alternative to other devices.
QWERTY Specs
Samsung Genio QWERTY reviews will be fast to point out the interchangeable screens (second to the keyboard that is). It’s a nice feature; even if it is not new -as many other devices already out there have interchangeable covers as well. Still the Genio series does a good job of being a phone for teens and young adults.
Missing in the device are 3G and WiFi functions; which can be a real downer for anyone who likes staying online and connected (many people who like messaging do). Still, the device supports EDGE and it’s a decent alternative to being stuck with GPRS.
The 2.2 inch screen displays decent graphics, perfect for viewing videos and other media. Speaking of media, music playback on this phone is a nice plus, supporting some often used formats. It even has an FM radio player.
The 2 mega pixel camera is an excellent choice for this device, delivering decent quality images perfect for MMS and uploading.
Buying the Genio
There are plenty of Samsung Genio QWERTY deals that offer the device for free. The phone is offered by Vodafone, T-Mobile and Orange UK on both contract and pay as you go plans.
27
Nov
2009
Qualcomm Delighted As EU Drops Investigation
Qualcomm has showed its excitement over the decision of the European Union to halt the investigation of the company.
The EU recently initiated an antitrust investigation into the company’s affair following series of complaints from high profile telephone giants like Nokia, Ericsson and Panasonic. The complaint was that the American company was utilizing its market power to stay ahead.
It is now respite for Qualcomm as the European Union has formally decided not to continue investigation into the licensing of the CDMA and ECDMA standards, the rights to which were acquired by Qualcomm.
Don Rosenberg, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Qualcomm Inc said Qualcomm is extremely pleased to learn of the European Commission’s announcement.
“After an extensive four-year investigation into Qualcomm’s practices, and despite the coordinated nature of the complaints made against it, the Commission has terminated its investigation with no finding of a violation.
“Throughout the investigation we have fully cooperated with the Commission, while steadfastly maintaining that our business practices have enhanced consumer welfare.
“Indeed, during the length of the investigation, the wireless industry and 3G in particular has flourished; benefiting consumers with technological advances, greater choices and lower prices.
“Qualcomm’s technology and innovations have been at the forefront of these developments and our licensing model, driven by our enormous investments in research and development, has facilitated worldwide competition in our industry.”
27
Nov
2009
Giffgaff – First People Powered Mobile Network
Giffgaff for new Sim-only network has been released today and it hopes to be “the first powered people network”. It raises the exciting aphorism that it is run by s forward thinking organization that actually listens to the hues and cries of its customers.
Giffgaff coiled its name from an old Scottish phrase which means “mutual-giving” is actually inspired by the socially minded phenomena such as Wikipedia. Giffgaff also gives room to Giffgaffers (see what was done?) to indemnify the cost of their top-up through active participation in their online neighbourhood.
Owners of Giffgaff themselves are out to keep an open mind as the mode of activity and the form it could take. They offer useful advice to other participants, employing new members as well as doing Giffgaff’s marketing.
Giffgaff, which is also an MVNO, will also function like piggyback and ride on the back of O2. The deal prevented Giffgaff from owning their own mast, call centres and advertising budgets. Giffgaff will in turn dish out some of the gains to their customers much similar to how Virgin mobile also sold capacity on T-Mobile’s network.
This kind of pact had been carried out with varying success in the past and the first commercially MVNO has been Virgin Mobile who did sell capacity on T-Mobile’s network.
At the other side of the scale, Mark and Spenser Mobile made a complete mess of it nevertheless Giffgaff seems certain to offer something genuinely thrilling and ultimately of value to the United Kingdom consumer.
In the past, Giffgaff’s proposition had been given a lukewarm and lackluster response,solely due to the absence of price-plan information and uncertainty over O2’s coverage but now Giffgaff has released a more succinct list of call charges today.
Pioneering Giffgaffers will enjoy free UK web browsing for up to the first six months although voice mail isn’t free.
26
Nov
2009
Quick Review: Palm Pixi
They may have been having problems before, but considering how well the public has accepted the Palm Pre, the mobile phone manufacturer can take it a little easy Still, Palm’s new device shows that the company wants to be more than just safe, they want to get their devices out there. The Pre will naturally take its place among the high end device of today, and the Pixi will not be far behind.
Being the second device to use the Web OS, the Pixi sports a smart style and cute size to appeal to people. Size however, does not equate to a weakness in terms of hardware. The Pixi has enough specs to go on par with mid-level 3G devices.
Everything But WiFi
Palm Pixi reviews will tell you that it is a wonder how the Pixi managed to cram all the awesome hardware in. We wonder that too. The Pixi is a very slim .43 inches, that’s even slimmer than the iPhone; but it still has a full QWERTY keyboard on the face and a 2.63 inch capacitive touch screen to boot. The camera on the back is a trite 2 mega pixels, but considering the limitations of space, it’s a wonder this phone actually has a camera in the first place.
Most impressive is the 8GB of storage -Palm is being honest that after software installations, 7GB is usable. Yes unbelievably impressive. Users will need the space though. With the size restrictions, this device also did away without having a micro SD card slot. It does have a micro USB for backups and data transfers.
Where to Get
Palm Pixi deals are currently not yet available in the UK, though O2 has expressed that they are interested in the device, they have not made any further comment about this WeBOS gadget since September.
25
Nov
2009
Spotify to Join Hands with Symbian
For users of Symbian handsets, there is more good news a few days ahead of Thanksgiving Day. Spotify, a music-streaming service, has now been made available on their handsets. This feature is available for paying subscribers only.
There is a mobile client already available with Spotify. However, it is limited to the iPhone from Apple and other devices that are compatible to Android.
Even though there is no denying the fact that Spotify may not have too much popularity in the market and comes out with fewer headlines, you will also have to agree that they are running on almost half the smartphones running across the world. And by the look of thing, Spotify needs Symbian to expand their business, as they are looking to add more customers to their account.
It is quite a difficult job for turning a freeloading user of Spotify into a Premier Subscriber. However, the company is not making money through advertising. This is why it is important they maintain sustainability, as it will bring about the desired upgrade. One of the steps, which can make this application to be quite enticing, is to come out with a mobile version.
Client server of Symbian is still in the beta stage, at least that is what the official reports say. However, if you pay a visit to the Spotify website, you would find a number of handsets that are compatible to Symbian.
Whatever may be the outcome of this deal, one thing is for sure that the result is going to change the face of smartphone industry for a long time to come.
24
Nov
2009
Appreciating the BlackBerry Storm 2 9520
There is a running advice with technology, that a person should only acquire a new item when the final version is released. This bodes well for software (avoiding the bugs in Beta versions), cars (avoiding problems with the first edition model), computer parts (wait for the best deal parts with excellent specs) and of course, mobile phones. In the case of the BlackBerry Storm, the first in the series held many problems that were yet to be addressed. Obviously, hope now comes in the form of the Storm 2. A look at the new Storm shows that the device has shed most of the flaws that plagued the original.
Screen Issues and Hardware
BlackBerry Storm 2 reviews praise the new 3.25 inch screen from improving on the infamous SurePress technology -which is basically another way of saying that BlackBerry used a transmissive touch screen instead of a capacitive or resistive touch screen. The good thing is, not only is the new transmissive screen able to detect taps more accurately, it also supports multi touch for a faster onscreen keyboard typing experience; with the exception of having to press two keys close to each other.
Aside from the touch screen, the device also features a 3.2 mega pixel camera with flash and auto focus. It’s a mid-tier camera, but considering that the device does not focus much on taking images and videos, it works just fine. Media playback, on the other hand, is a pretty well polished feature that supports various file types as well as BlackBerry Media Sync.
The Storm 2 brings Wi-Fi, a feature that was not present in the previous incarnation (mostly due to the fact that it was not a standard then).
Buy the Storm 2
Get BlackBerry Storm 2 deals from Vodafone UK and get the phone for free with 35 Pounds per month plan.
21
Nov
2009
Mobile Phone Review: BlackBerry Bold 9700
If you have not seen the images yet, take a look at this video from Vietnam. The BlackBerry Bold 9700 truly is a beautiful 3G smart phone focused on messaging capabilities above all other features. The phone follows the original Bold 9000 in name, but closely resembles the Curve in terms of looks and hardware.
Features of this phone
The Bold 9700 has a 2.44 inch screen that can display 480 x 360 pixels of resolution. BlackBerry Bold 2 reviews note that the display is more than sufficient for typing messages and quick mobile browsing. The mobile phone also has a 3.2 mega pixel camera.
Users might initially find the 256MB of on board memory very limited, but thanks to the microSD card slot, this storage can be expanded to fully fit personal files and other data. This extra storage can be put to good use by storing large media files. The Bold 9700’s media playback capabilities support many file types and the phone boasts of up to 35 hours of music playback.
One new feature of the Bold 9700 comes from the Curve, the track pad navigation input is a great new way to move about your device. The old track ball navigation used in older BlackBerrys was good, but the pad is far more effective, and it does not attract as much pocket lint as the track ball. Navigation is smooth and efficient, the Bold 9700 also responds fast to input commands as well.
Where to Get
BlackBerry Bold 9700 contracts are currently available on UK carriers like T-Mobile and Vodafone. To get this device for free, simply sign up for the 35 Pound per month plans. There are also other shorter term plans but with higher monthly fees. Orange Mobile will also be launching this device at a yet to be confirmed date.
20
Nov
2009
Microsoft Confirms Windows 7 Mobile UI
Rumours that Windows Mobile 7 announcement is scheduled for the first quarter of the new year was confirmed by the Vice President of Microsoft Office, Kurt Delbene. He also stated specifically that the launch will take place during Microsoft MIX 2010 conference in March.
This turns out to be good news since the rumour has been confirmed and we can now expect the launch of Windows Mobile 7 in less than half a year. I really hope it won’t exceed another six months before it runs on actual device. There is a very great likelihood that the release date cannot be earlier than the third quarter of next year being rumoured.
Microsoft has also delivered the beta versions of both desktop and mobile Office for 2010. What this means is that if you own a device running Windows Mobile 6.5 then you can download the beta version free of charge from Windows Marketplace.
Another juicy story is the simultaneous posting and removal of a screen shot of Microsoft Office Mobile 10 on its official web page. It displays a UI, similar to what we all saw a few months ago stating it was from Windows 7. Well, for now it still looks unkept, and no one can say for sure if it actually originated from Windows 7 or a cooked-up interface to deceive users.
The UI makes it easy to take documents fromyour smartphone back to your computer to enabling emailing to others
We can only just hope and await the next Windows Mobile installment scheduled for the first quarter of next year. (March to be precise)
20
Nov
2009
LG GM750 Brings More of Windows Mobile 6.5
Microsoft’s launching of mobile phones using the Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional brings together an assortment of mobile devices, some are impressive and some others are not much. The LG GM750 stands as a pretty good device, but still unimpressive when compared to other devices.
LG’s GM750 stands as the second coming of the old GM730 -with a few minor hardware changes and the fact that the GM750 uses Windows Mobile 6.5 instead of 6.1. It is an interesting note however, that the 6.1 OS on the GM730 can be upgraded to version 6.5 as well.
Windows Mobile version 6.5 marks the debut of the Marketplace (the Windows Mobile applications store). The app store has long been wished for by Windows Mobile users as it would extend the functionality of any device.
Where to Get
LG GM750 deals are available at Vodafone, as they are the first company to release the LG GM750 in the UK. The device is available for free on several plans. Until Decemeber, Vodafone will be the only carrier to offer contracts for the GM750.
Specifications of the Phone
GM750 brings more than just Windows Mobile, it also uses the LG S-Class user interface. While the S-Class is not as impressive as the HTC Sense, the S-Class is still leagues better than the standard Windows Mobile interface.
The touch screen phone is responsive and navigating the S-class feels smooth. The 240 x 400 pixel resolution is perfect for watching videos on the go –though you would prefer to hold the device in your hand instead of mounting it as you would with devices with much larger screens. The lack of a physical keyboard also makes some tasks harder, such as typing in the Office for Mobile.
LG GM750 reviews often note the nice features being offered by Windows Mobile. The Office for Mobile, Windows Media Player 10 and other windows applications are very useful. Even if the actual Windows interface is not so well designed, the functions that Windows Mobile brings are really extensive.
19
Nov
2009
Quick Review Acer neoTouch F1
The Acer neoTouch F1 has a 3.8 inch wide VGA resistive touch screen, possibly the largest resistive touch screen to be used in a mobile phone. The resistive touch screen makes for compatibility with a stylus which is perfect for navigating Windows Mobile. Windows Mobile 6.5, like its predecessors seem to be designed better for the stylus than for finger input. The 5 mega pixel camera takes excellent quality images, and thanks to the LED flash, shooting indoors or in low-light areas is made much easier. The camera can also take VGA videos as well.
Windows Mobile 6.5
The phone supports HSDPA, GPRS, EDGE and wireless land for internet access. Browsing is done through Windows’ Internet Explorer Mobile. Along with the browser, Windows also delivers various features such as Office for Mobile that can create, edit and view Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents easily; though this can be hard to use since the virtual keyboard is not as well designed as those found on other touch screen phones. Windows Mobile 6.5 now supports the Windows Marketplace for purchasing and downloading applications. The Marketplace currently boasts updated anti-piracy features as of its last update.
1 GHz Snapdragon Processor
The biggest feature of the Acer neoTouch is its Snapdragon processor with a speed of 1GHz. While there have been no confirmed extra features that Windows Mobile is capable of achieving on such a fast processor –other than running smoother and faster. This alone is good enough for many people who complain that the Windows Mobile operating system is too clumsy and too slow to respond to fast inputs. There is a possibility that we could expect some proprietary Acer applications that make use of the processing power of the F1.
The Acer neoTouch phone is currently available on both Orange Mobile UK and on O2 and you can get it for free or half price on various plans.
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