Monthly ArchiveJune 2007
iPhone 28 Jun 2007 04:18 am
iPhone Detailed Video Review
Walt Mossberg wrote a very complete review on the iPhone
based on two weeks of use.
I also loved his video review of the iPhone (below)
So what do you think of the iPhone and will it live up to its incredible Hype ?
Uncategorized 27 Jun 2007 08:14 am
iPhone insecurity
Apple hasn't always treated security researchers with respect. Maybe that will change with the release of the iPhone and Leopard OS.
Uncategorized 26 Jun 2007 07:01 am
Buyer’s Guide: smartphones for business
Want to work on the move but don't want to lug a laptop? You'll need a smartphone of some kind that lets you do email, open business documents and browse the web, among other things. Here are ten recent contenders.
Nokia 21 Jun 2007 01:01 am
Nokia N76 – Razr Killer ? Review
Nokia released a Clam Shell version of the N75, the N76
Nokia announced that the Nokia N76, a stunning multimedia computer with excellent photography features and integrated stereo speakers for optimized audio pleasure, is now available in the US, Europe and the Middle East Region.
Nokia is also pleased to announce that it is working closely with EMI Arabia to bring the latest in Arabic music to new owners of the Nokia N76 in selected markets. Consumers who purchase the Nokia N76 in this region will have as part of the Nokia N76 sales package, a special 1GB SD card with 11 compilation music tracks from EMI Arabia, enhancing their mobile music experience.
The Nokia N76 is a new multimedia computer that brings the complete Nokia Nseries experience to a sleeker body, with little compromise. Using premium materials to enclose world-class Nokia Nseries features and experiences, Nokia has created a perfect blend of style and substance.
“We did not want to compromise any of the key Nokia Nseries experiences when we designed the stylish Nokia N76 multimedia computer,” said Neil Gordon, Vice President Sales and Channel Management, Middle East and Africa, Multimedia, Nokia. “Nokia Nseries consumers are cutting edge technology users and with them in mind we want to offer intelligent and entertaining multimedia functionality in an easy to use, ultra slim package”
This latest addition to the Nokia Nseries portfolio brings a wide range of multimedia experiences to consumers, enabling them to create, consume and connect, using music, videos, images and the internet.
Musical talent
Nokia Nseries music fans will appreciate the dedicated one-touch keys on the Nokia N76, which let you quickly and easily control the device’s music features without having to flip open the device, for instant tunes wherever you are. Holding up to 1500* tracks the Nokia N76 works with industry standard 3.5 mm headphones and supports the popular Windows Media DRM for optimal use.
Surf in style
Viewing the 2.4”, up to 16 million color screen in landscape mode brings a familiar feel to surfing the web on a mobile. Navigate web pages quickly and easily with the Nokia Web Browser with Mini Map and enjoy easy access to popular internet services like Ikbis and Amazon for searching, shopping or sharing.
Nokia’s answer to the RAZR is similar to the N75, but comes unlocked at a premium price. Does the lack of carrier support, or interference, affect the device?
The Nokia N76 is suspiciously similar to the Nokia N75, though the former is available unlocked while the latter is available only through Cingular. The difference between the two phones are obvious at first glance, but beneath the surface, what truly separates them is the difference between buying a carrier-supported phone, and buying what is truly a European import, sold to American customers. Most egregiously, the phone supports 3G networking in Europe, but cannot surf AT&T’s HSDPA network stateside.
Design – Good
The Nokia N76 is a very slick phone from Nokia, an obvious attempt at borrowing some of the design cache that the RAZR still hold, which may unfortunately be none. The phone is a slim, flat flip phone, with a keypad even flatter than the Motorola phone. Mirrored surfaces attract fingerprints the first time you touch the phone, and the display sits so close to the keypad when closed that prints on the screen from the keys appeared after less than a day’s use. The phone looks good, but not great, and could probably have been improved by rounding out some of the edges, as it has a very square look. Navigation is a problem, thanks to the small five-way button and soft keys up top, but dialing wasn’t too bad, as number keys are given more space.
The screens on the phone are fantastic, and we would expect no less from Nokia. The internal screen was a bit dim, but it could have been the dark theme we were using, and colors showed great depth and contrast. The external screen lights up from under the mirrored exterior, a nice effect. The phone’s interface is standard Symbian Series S60, which grows on us every time we use it, thanks to its polished, modern look. Still, organization could be better, though this iteration is an improvement from the N75 (eg. the radio is now under “Applications,” instead of “Tools”).
As petty complaints, we found the battery cover difficult to slide open, and had a spot of trouble with the SIM card slot. The SIM card must first be placed in a tiny sled, which then slides into the slot. To remove the sled, you pull a plastic tab, and in removing our card from a review unit, the tab broke off. It seems an overly-complicated way to handle the SIM.
Calling – Very good
Call quality on the N76 was notably better than on the N75, on both AT&T’s network and T-Mobile in lower Manhattan. We didn’t encounted the slight static we saw on the N75, and the sound was a bit cleaner overall. The speakerphone on the N76 is among the most clear we’ve heard, though it could have been louder. Still, we’ll take clarity over volume any day. Nokia’s PC suite did a fine job integrating our contact lists from Outlook. In the phone’s push to talk option, we find the first of many features that may be easy to implement for European users, but which could be difficult for AT&T customers stateside. Though we’re not PTT subscribers, in browsing the application on the phone, we’re skeptical that we could get it working on AT&T’s PTT service without considerable help, a situation U.S. customers might not be used to. We’re not a country known to ask for help, after all. For talk time, we got almost four and a quarter hours on the phone, which is more than the 2.75 that Nokia promises, but less than we’d like from EDGE-only phone.
Messaging – Good
Again, the Euro-centric N76 falls short of what we’d normally expect on a carrier-specific phone. Though the phone does have an IM application, it comes with no presets for any of the instant messaging networks that are popular in the States. E-mail is available for POP and IMAP accounts, but also lacks any presets. We never thought we’d ask for some carrier intervention on a phone, but here we wish Nokia would add some pre-loaded settings to make the features easier to use for an American audience. SMS messaging was good, though the keypad was a bit flat for fast typing. Still, the screen was sharp enough to display text quite legibly, and MMS messages were just as easy to send as we’d expect. The phone also has plenty of options for sending messages over Bluetooth or the Web, and printing options for MMS messages.
Camera – Mediocre
We’re sorry to report that the camera on the N76 is just as poor as that on the N75. With such respectable optics on the higher-end N-series phones, this is really an embarrassment for Nokia. Images were blurry and a bit washed out, and only the most distant landscape shots were acceptable, though details were foggy. Again, Europeans get to utilize the user-facing camera for video calls, though U.S. audiences are only teased by its tiny lens, above the internal screen, which can only be used for self-portraits.
Audio – Good
Compared to the N75, music and audio handling on the N76 is a win and a loss. The phone features a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is a win, but loses stereo Bluetooth. The jack is poorly placed at the top of the phone, so it interrupts the clamshell from opening fully, but we didn’t mind so much, as the phone is certainly usable only mostly open. Still, it seems like an amateur design flaw. We liked the hardware, and not touch sensitive, buttons on the face, especially the fact that they can be used to access and control a variety of features and menus, from the music player and radio to some basic messaging features. The phone’s speaker, though not stereo, was also very clean, with a better sound quality than we expected to find from the phone. It wasn’t excessively loud, and it didn’t distort at higher volumes, which surprised us.
Web browsing – Very good
In our initial Web browsing tests on AT&T’s EDGE network, we could not achieve a data connection in our East Village offices. Replacing the review unit at our rep’s Midtown Manhattan office seemed to solve the issue, but when we got back down to Astor Place, we had the same problems. Swapping the AT&T SIM with a T-Mobile SIM solved the problem, so we suspect the issue has to do with carrier reception. Even the T-Mobile SIM showed less reception than we were getting on our T-Mobile Wing, so the phone may also be to blame. Perhaps all the metal in the shell is causing interference? In any case, once we got the data connection to work, Web browsing was as good as we’d expect from a Nokia phone. Nokia’s excellent mini-map works on this phone in the default browser, as opposed to the N75, which hides the Nokia browser in favor of the AT&T WAP app. Dig for the Nokia browser if you have that phone, it makes all the difference. Unfortunately, like the N75, the N76 lacks GPS. Fortunately, unlike the AT&T phone, which comes with no accessories, the N76 comes with everything you need, including a microSD card and a lanyard-style stereo headphone setup with a microphone that fits the 3.5mm jack.
| Pros:
Slick, shiny design. Great sounding calls. Good music player with dedicated hardware buttons. Rich, colorful displays. |
 |
|
|
iPhone 21 Jun 2007 12:48 am
Google boss endorses iPhone
Interesting development : will we see Google apps running on iPhone ?
ZDNet: Apple’s much-vaunted iPhone received a ringing endorsement from the chief executive of Google, Eric Schmidt, after he claimed that the handset was a perfect platform for the search specialist’s hosted applications.
Speaking at an event in Paris on Tuesday, Schmidt was questioned on whether, as Google’s boss and an Apple board member, he had any insights into future collaboration between the two companies. “What you are really asking is to see my iPhone,” he quipped before producing a handset from his pocket. “iPhone is a powerful new device and is going to be particularly good for the apps that Google is building. You should expect other announcements from the two companies over time,” he said.
The iPhone fully incorporates Google’s search and mapping services. Users can make phone calls directly from Google Maps.
Key to Google’s belief in the potential of the iPhone is Apple’s decision to integrate support for the Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) web-development technique.
Nokia & iPhone 21 Jun 2007 12:46 am
iPhone vs Nokia N95, Palm Treo 750 , BlackBerry and Samsung Black Jack
Apple released a comparison chart between it’s upcoming iPhone and leading competitors, including
Nokia N95, BlackBerry Curve, the Treo 750 and the Black Jack
iPhone 21 Jun 2007 12:43 am
Apple iPhone gossip, pros and cons
Apple is to release the iPhone on June 29th , as everybody knows by now
Here are some Pros and Cons of the iPhone:
Pros:
- It’s Smaller Than You Realize and it’s Got Style to Spare
- Multi-touch Tech and Sleek, Simple Interface
- Music-player, Movie-player, Internet Browser and Phone in One
- It Plays YouTube Movies
Cons:
- It Doesn’t Ship with an Instant Messenger Program
- The Keyboard is Unproven
- Its Storage Capacity Rivals iPod Nano, not iPod
As expected, Apple used WWDC as the stage to announce a third-party development solution for the iPhone, putting to rest fears that the handset would be a closed (read: non-smartphone) platform. Calling it a “sweet solution” for allowing devs to get their wares onto iPhones across the globe without sacrificing stability or security, Apple is using its full Safari-based browser to let folks code up true, Web 2.0-compatible apps that can be accessed and updated on developers’ own servers. Though any apps that third-party developers put together will run under Safari, they’ll be totally customizable and maintain the platform’s unique look and feel. Better yet, they won’t require any special SDK — Jobs claims that a working knowledge of modern web standards is all we’ll need to code up custom iPhone goodies to our hearts’ content.
I-mate | Treo | O2 & Samsung 16 Jun 2007 02:01 am
Samsung SGH i600 Review
Samsung releases another one of its Ultra Series Ultra-thin phones, this time tackling the high-end market with a Windows Mobile (5.0 though and not 6.0) and a Qwerty keyboard
This is the first Samsung smartphone that features 1.8Mbps high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA). In addition, 3G UMTS, GSM/GPRS/EDGE connectivity is supported, along with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It also supports web applications such as podcasting and RSS Reader.
The design of the Samsung Ultra Messaging i600 is similar to 3 other popular pocket PC phone the market, the Motorola MotoQ, the T-Mobile Dash and the HP iPAQ hw6915. What is common about these 3 devices, in terms of design, is the built in QWERTY keyboard on the front. The dimensions of these pocket pcs and smart phones differ. The thinnest of all is the Motorola MotoQ but the most compact and small (both in height and weight) is the Samsung i600. The difference in thickness with the Motorola MotoQ is only a matter of 1.5 mm something which is not important at all. As you can see from the comparison table below the Samsung Blackjack has the same height as the T-Mobile Dash, has the smallest width (58 mm) and it is 5 mm thinner than the HP iPAQ hw6915 and only 1.5 mm thicker than the MotoQ.
In terms of weight, which is an important factor if you carry your mobile phone all the day with you, the Samsung SGH-i600 is the lightest of all. It weights just 99g while the Motorola MotoQ is 115g, the HP iPAQ hw6915 150g and the T-Mobile Dash is 120g.
The display of Samsung SGH-i600 is one of the disadvantages of this device. It is not a touch screen (the SGH-i600 is a smartphone and not a pocket pc phone – read below of the difference between the two versions) and its size is only 2.25 inches (diagonal). It can be consider a disadvantage because the other devices have a bigger display but this is the trade-off of having a small and compact device. The HP iPAQ hw6915 which is a huge device compared to the Samsung SGH-i600, has a diagonal display of 3.0 inches. The Motorola MotoQ has a 2.5 inch display and the T-Mobile Dash a 2.4 inch display. Nevertheless the quality of the display has nothing to be jealous off compared to the displays of the other devices. It has a resolution of 320×240 with 65k colors and it is bright enough both in text, images and videos.
The handset itself is extremely compact, measuring 11.3 x 5.9 x 1.2cm and weighing in at a very lightweight 105g. It feels robust and well made and it can certainly withstand the day-to-day bumps of a busy lifestyle – even just trying to crowbar the back cover off to put a SIM card in was a traumatic experience. The black casing has a tactile feel and provides a comfortable grip. It has a large, beautifully clear 2.3in colour screen, which offers 65,536 colours – the resolution’s 320 x 240 pixels – on a TFT LCD display. A key feature of the i600 is its micro QWERTY keyboard, which is surprisingly fat finger-friendly, unlike many of the micro keyboards found on similar devices.
Sadly, the headphone socket shares the charger connection point – which also doubles as the USB port, so you cannot charge while listening to music or using the headphones as a handsfree set. Navigating around the device is remarkably easy. Most of the main functions appear in the Start menu accessible by pressing one of the hotkeys on the left of the scroll wheel. These hotkeys offer a number of options when tapped, which change according to what’s on the screen. The Home key, as you’d expect brings you neatly back to the main window, that shows any due appointments, missed calls, emails and icons for primary applications.
There seems to be some confusion over what the difference actually is between a smart phone and PDA phone. Many manufacturers commonly interchange between the two terms with out any real consistency. Most smartphone devices have micro keyboards – but this is by no means a hard and fast rule. Typically a smartphone is a device that also features PDA functionality and runs a scaled down variation of Windows Mobile designed specifically for mobile phones. Thus they could be referred to as a phone first and a PDA second. Smartphones also generally have a longer battery life and cannot be customised quite as much. But if you primarily use only the calendar and contact features of a PDA anyway, something like the Samsung SGH-i600 is perfect.
Samsung claims up to 6.5 hours talktime purely on 2G and around 3.5 hours on 3G and an average of just over 300 hours on standby. With reasonable daily use, including logging on several times a day for roughly 30 minutes or so and listening to music on the tube journey to work, the i600 happily lasted a few days without requiring charge – which is what you’d expect from a device like this.
Windows Mobile 5.0 provided no problem in synchronising successfully with Microsoft Outlook, sharing the contact, task, and calendar data. The i600 can also synchronise email. However, constantly switching the T9 predictive text input system on and off might prove to be a pain, as most emails require a response and this makes it difficult to reply with more than a couple of lines.
Call quality was superb with more than adequate volume and, unlike many similar devices, you don’t feel like you’re talking into a pocket calculator. The i600 is a tri-band phone supporting 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz frequencies. Depending on whether your network supports HSDPA – we were using Vodafone, which does – you can also connect the i600 straight to your laptop where it will act as a broadband speed modem. Apple users will need to purchase a third-party piece of software to allow the phone to synchronise to their Mac. Naturally.
Verdict
The i600 is difficult to fault. Really. Compact and well-built, it is an ideal smartphone device. Even the tiny elastic-attached plastic covers to the different ports seem as though they might last as long as the handset itself. The micro keyboard might take some getting used to if you are unfamiliar with these types of devices and the mixture of grey and black colouring on the keyboard could cause a little confusion at first. It is a very good choice for those who want a mobile device powered with Windows Mobile 5.0 that has a design similar to the normal cell phones. It has 3G support, built-in Bluetooth and built-in Wi-Fi.
Thin and light, it won’t deform your jacket, however it does lack the touch-screen which makes Windows-mobile based phones easier to use ..
Samsung Ultra Messaging i600 Specifications:
Network: HSDPA / UMTS, GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900MHz)
Camera: 1.3 Megapixel Camera and VGA Camera for Video Telephony
Display: 65536 Color TFT Screen (2.3”,320×240)
Features: Windows Mobile 5.0 for Smartphone, Multi-Format Music & Video Support
Bluetooth Stereo Music Profile (A2DP),
Connectivity: WLAN (802.11b/g), Bluetooth v2.0 EDR / USB
Memory: ROM 128MB / RAM 64MB
External Memory: microSD
Size:112 x 58 x 13mm
Nokia 16 Jun 2007 01:44 am
Nokia N73 Music Edition Review
“Take the music with you!” scream songs, adverts, marketing people and excitable shop staff whenever discussions move toward getting a new mobile phone.
But what if I don’t want to take the music with me? Or I’ve got an iPod that’ll hold more songs than if I lugged about a rucksack stuffed with 30 of this review’s subject, the N73 Music Edition?
That’s when the argument falls flat. Despite Sony Ericsson’s best efforts and those of the other major handset manufacturers (did someone say ‘Rokr’?), listening to music on your mobile phone is an uneven experience. You can’t fit much in, even if you’ve got a hefty 2GB memory card, the headphones and sound reproduction are never as good as a dedicated player and, to add to your woes, music playback drains the battery like nobody’s business.
In fact, it leaves us thinking that it would be better all round if, rather than adding MP3 player functionality to your Nokia, someone would add mobile phone functionality to your iPod. Just a thought, and one that’s been initiated by this, Nokia’s latest music-friendly N-Series handset, the N73 Music Edition.
Setting it apart from your standard N73 are a satin black case, a few extra bits of software and – if you’re lucky – an optional microSD card for storing MP3s on. Otherwise it’s the same as a standard N73 (which we think looks nicer in plum and silver, anyway). And we might have thus put it down, walked away and thought nothing more of it or its ordinary sibling.
Except for one fact: in a world increasingly dominated by directional pads, the N73 sets itself apart with its mini joystick, or thumbstick. And for us at Pocket Gamer, this is as close to the Holy Grail of mobile phone gaming as we’re likely to get outside of the pads on our beloved Sony Ericsson W550i or N-Gage QD.
A thumbstick offers a far greater degree of control over games, whether you’re into puzzles or frantic shoot-’em-ups, and leads to less frustration and accidental pressing of other buttons. It is, to be frank, a minor miracle. It’s also what raises the N73 in our eyes, positioning it as a great present-day gaming handset.
Indeed, the N73 has got everything you need: a crisp, bright and large screen, great sound, universal support from games developers and publishers, and a battery that will last more than a couple of days before you’re required to recharge. In short, it’s the business.
That’s not to say that it’s perfect, mind. The numeric keypad, which is more essential in some games than others, is on the small side and, with little definition between the keys, occasionally leads to fumbling and inaccuracy. The N73’s processor, its little electronic brain, is also a bit underpowered, meaning you’ll experience the odd wait when you move around the Symbian Series 60 v3 operating system, though you’ll not notice any such lag in-game.
It’s also heavier than we would have liked, too, but then it is a 3G handset and comes with all the benefits and drawbacks associated with third generation capability. The 3D performance is the biggest payback; you can run proprietary Symbian games and Java titles that feature 3D visuals and not worry about shoddy performance. It’s not up there with the powerhouse that is the N95, but then it doesn’t cost as much.
So, this is a great gaming handset and a phone with which it’s easy to live on a day-to-day basis. The Symbian software will be familiar to anyone who’s used a Nokia before, no matter how old, and the installed applications are comprehensive enough to include anti-virus software, an audio recorder, a 3D ring-tone function and PDF and office software support.
It’s all enough for us to heartily recommend it and, if you go for the standard N73 instead of this Music Edition, you’ll be able to save a few pennies, too.
Uncategorized 14 Jun 2007 04:00 pm
Samsung SGH-i600
Samsung's SGH-i600 is a decent keyboard-equipped Windows Mobile 5 smartphone with HSDPA, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth all present. It doesn't offer anything special, although some of the software extras are useful.