As a member of the C-series, make no mistake, the C510 is first and foremost a camera phone. The C510 incorporates a 3.2 Megapixel camera capturing images at a maximum resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels. Images are enhanced further thanks to on board extras such as Autofocus which eradicates blurriness in your photos and a powerful LED flash which illuminates your subjects in low light conditions. The C510 also marks the first appearance of face and smile detection in a Sony Ericsson phone. Face detection will detect faces in a shot and ensure they are in focus, whilst smile shot will capture an image automatically when your subject smiles. The camera features are rounded off by Geo-tagging which uses a network connection to tag a photo to the location that it was taken so you can show your friends where you got that Kodak moment.
Away from the camera features, the C510 is a strong performer in connectivity
e would put the question to you, our loyal readers, and ask what do you want to know about the newHTC Touch Diamond2? What feature has got you hooked and wanting to find out more? What aspect has got you scratching your head in amazement? And so on…
HTC recently unveiled two new flagship devices, which I now have the privilege to tell you about, the HTC Touch Diamond2 and HTC Touch Pro2. Integrating innovative simplicity with unique style and an intuitive interface, the devices balance function, form and cutting-edge technology to personalise the communication and mobile Internet experience.
mobile communication experience that simplifies how we communicate with people in our lives whether through voice, text or email,” said Peter Chou, president and CEO, HTC Corp. “HTC is delivering the latest, cutting-edge sophistication in a broad portfolio of mobile phones that improve how people live, work and communicate.”
generation, with bigger and more responsive touchscreens, higher (WVGA) resolution, better battery life, and deeper interface changes. These handsets have always represented something of a standard to which WinMo phones are measured, and the tastefully restyled new versions, boldly called the Diamond2 and Pro2, play on their predecessors’ strengths, whilst trying to cut out any of their weaknesses.
6.1 to deliver more consistency throughout Windows Mobile applications and menus. Focused on making navigation easier and more intuitive, TouchFLO 3D brings important information to the top-level user interface, including quick access to people, messaging, email, photos, music and weather. As part of this improved Windows Mobile integration the touch focus areas have been enlarged to be more finger-touch friendly.
The Touch Diamond2 is crafted to fit perfectly in the palm of your hand. It incorporates a larger 3.2 inch high resolution wide screen WVGA 480×800 display than the previous 2.8 inch 480×640 display of the original for a greater viewing area in a design just 13.7mm thick. The phone also includes a new touch sensitive zoom bar for even faster viewing of web pages, emails, text messages photos and documents plus a brand spanking new 5 megapixel auto focus camera.
which results in greater flexibility but regrettably shrinks the initial internal memory to a some what less impressive 512MB.
The Pro2 is treated to most of the same upgrades. Its features a high resolution 3.6 inch widescreen VGA display, which is just .2 inches smaller than the monstrous TouchHD. This allows for a greater viewing area which is obviously a main focus as this handset lives to email. It also gets a louder speakerphone system and less-pixely camera than the Diamond2, but retains the larger battery and slide-out QWERTY keyboard that originally distinguished its dad from the Diamond.
created with distinct style and strength while delivering maybe the most powerful productivity experience available on a mobile phone. As with the Diamond it boasts HTC’s TouchFLO 3D operating system with all the trimmings, people-centric communication and push internet technology etc, making the Pro2 some what of a masterpiece.
February has been the month of the classic as far as Nokia are concerned. Earlier in the month Nokia were proudly showing off a trio of new Classic (which basically refers to the candy bar form factor) mobile phones in the shape of the 2700, 6303 and 6700 Classic. Now, the trio has become a quartet with the announcement of the Nokia 6720 Classic. The successor to 6220 Classic, the 6720 has a spec list that would be more at home on an Nseries mobile phone.
pocket friendly dimensions measuring in at just 110 x 45mm, 14mm thick and just 110 g in weight. With theses miniature measurements, you’d be forgiven for thinking the 6720 Classic might be a slouch in other departments. Not a chance though, the 6720 Classic is much more than just a camera phone.HSDPA connectivity gives you high speed web browsing and downloads, the built in GPS receiver features support for Assisted GPS which uses a
network connection to get a satellite lock even quicker, Nokia Maps 3.0 offers an excellent SatNav experience and all run incredibly smoothly on the Symbian operating system.
Business men and women across the globe rejoice!Nokia have fleshed out their Eseries business range with the announcement of two new phones ate Mobile World Congress; the much talked about Nokia E75 and it’s smaller sibling the Nokia E55. A firm favourite with professionals and companies alike, the Eseries gained popularity thanks to excellent reliability, excellent build quality, high end features and classy design. And the two newest additions to the range don’t buck the trend.
letters on it for, what Nokia claim, a faster to learn and quicker to use interface than a standard alpha numeric keypad. Messaging is at the forefront of the E55; Email is easy to read, manage and send directly from the phone without the need to connect to your home or office PC. The E55 also features extensive calendar and task management functionality meaning you can organise your personal and profesional life all in one pocketable device. Running Symbian series 60 means you can customise, install third party applications and make the E55 your own.
The Nokia E75 offers a slightly different proposition to the E55. From the front the E75 looks like a fairly standard candybar phone but nudge the slide mechanism and you’ll find a full QWERTY keyboard lurking within. As if the keyboard didn’t give it away, the E75 is all about messaging. The E75 offers an email experience like that found on a desktop PC or Laptop with the ability to sort emails by size, date and sender.
At this weeks Mobile World Congress event, held in Barcelona, HTCshowed commitment to the Android platform with the announcement of the HTC Magic. Currently the only mobile phonemanufacturer to launch an Android device with the T-Mobile G1, the Taiwanese company have doubled their Android range with the Magic. As to be expected, the Android is a touchscreen mobile phone, incorporating a 3.2 incher with familiar perks such as an Accelerometer for auto screen rotation and Handwriting recognition. To look at, the HTC Magic does look remarkably similar to the T-Mobile G1, so why all the excitement? What’s new?
Away from the OS, the Magic does look quite similar to the G1. The phone features HSDPA and Wi-Fi connectivity for high speed web browsing, a built in GPS receiver for SatNav services and location based applications, a Built in MP3 player and expandable memory for all your storage needs. A 3.2 Megapixel camera with Autofocus is included though unfortunately it lacks a flash of any kind so photos in low light are pretty much out of the question (unless you carry a torch round with you). And then apart from the usual suspects such as Bluetooth and the like, that’s pretty much your lot.
Samsung certainly like firsts. After taking the title of first 8.0 Megapixel camera phone, the next landmark they have in their sights appears to be concerning video capture. But can they really have revolutionised mobile video recording simply by adding two letters to an existing phone? Well, when those letters happen to be H and D, you’d certainly be forgiven for thinking so. And so with the unveiling of the Samsung Omnia HD, Samsung are certainly a contender for best announcement at the Mobile World Congress (along with Sony Ericsson and the impressively spec’d Idou).
current best in class, the HTC Touch HD (and the Omnia actually earns its HD title).
sensor for auto screen rotation, Bluetooth, an MP3 player, video player with support for DivX and XviD, a 3.5mm audio jack and an FM radio. The Omnia HD will launch with two different internal memory capacities; 8GB and 16GB. Don’t worry as which ever you choose, both can be expanded by a further 16GB thanks to a microSD memory card slot.
With the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic serving as proof that Nokia are more than capable of producing a world class touchscreen phone, people are now looking towards the future and Nokia’s next take on the touchscreen market; the Nokia N97. With a spec list to die for, the Nokia N97 is hardly short of admirers. An all new touch based Symbian operating system, 32GB on board memory (plus expandable), 5.0 Megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, HSDPA, Wi-Fi and GPS SatNav; if this list of features doesn’t impress, nothing will. The problem we have had with top of the range Nokia phones in the past is that Nokia whet our appetite with the next big thing and then take an age to actually launch it (see Nokia N96 for proof!).
y two and a bit months away! Whilst teasing us once again with the all singing all dancing touchscreen phone, this time at the Mobile World Congress event currently running in Barcelona, Nokia hinted at a late May launch. The N97 is dressed to impress with a 3.5 inch touchscreen display featuring all sorts of niceties such as an Accelerometer, Handwriting recognition and a proximity sensor. And for those not wanting to abandon buttons completely, slide the phone and you’ll find a full QWERTY keyboard and navigation keypad which slides out in a similar fashion to the Sony Ericsson Xperia.
Nokia have shown a softer, gentler side compared to the macho Symbian front that usually represents the Finnish manufacturer. To coincide with Valentines day Nokiahave decided to play Cupid, launching a website that gives you the chance to send a text to the one you love completely free. Too shy to announce your undying love for that special someone? Fear not, the mobile phonetext service is completely anonymous so you can text your beloved without worry.
If you’re looking for a fan of the Apple App store, look no further. For me, the App store offers the perfect blend of fun and functional applications designed to put a smile on your face and make day to day chores that little bit easier. So what’s next for the iPhone 3G? Having conquered public transport, what’s next for the App store? Simple, the iPhone 3G is going to teach you how to drive. The latest app, developed by ABEL Learning, claims to provide a “21st century solution to passing the theory part of the UK Driving Test”. The App promises to simplify the learning process of that troublesome theory test.
Following the leaked images a few weeks back, the phone formerly known as the S8300 has now been officially announced as theSamsung Tocco Ultra Edition. While admittedly quite a mouthful of a name, the Tocco Ultra earns its moniker as a marriage of two of Samsung’s most popular phones to date; the Samsung Tocco and theSamsung Soul. The Tocco Ultra features a 2.8 inch full touchscreen display which promises to deliver an unparalleled visual experience thanks to AMOLED technology. The touchscreen is further complimented by haptic feedback which confirms your actions with a light vibration, Accelerometer for auto screen rotation and a proximity sensor which puts the screen on standby when you’re on a call. The Tocco Ultra Edition takes its styling from the Soul; at just 12.8mm thick, this incredibly slim phone still manages to pack in an alpha-numeric keypad in a slide phone form factor. The worlds first full touchscreen phone with a slide out 3×4 keypad.
Ultra is a powerful Multimedia phone.
In the run up to the Mobile World Congress event (which starts in just over a week), the rumour mill seems to be working overtime linking mobile phone manufacturers to all sorts of weird and wonderful stories. The latest is thatSamsung will be launching an application store, similar to that of the Apple App store and Google’s Android Market, where customers can get their fix of all sorts of downloadable goodies. Not one to normally be taken in with these internet rumours, this one certainly seems feasible with the runaway success of Apples App store showing other manufactures that such a thing can work. Plus the image to the left sort of helps to make things look more official!
Series 60, while the Omnia is aWindows Mobile phone, the Pixon uses a generic Samsung UI and there is also rumoured to be an Android phone in the pipeline. So how can Samsung possibly hope to cater for all these different operating systems? Will we see four versions of the same app? Or will there be selected applications that are only available on a certain platform? This is certainly a stumbling block, one which both Apple and Google haven’t come across as both stick to one operating system.
When it comes to Touchscreen phones, LG are definitely at the forefront of the technology. With hugely successful phones such as the LG Viewty, the 8.0 Megapixel LG Renoir and the current top seller the LG Cookie, it’s safe to say that LG know a thing or to about touchscreen technology. And it would seem that they’re at it again with the LG Arena, with one leaked image already available and showing off what looks to be an incredible classy and stylish mobile phone.
Without a doubt the most popular style ofphone at the moment is the touchscreen mobile phone, coming in all different colours, sizes and with features to suit everyones need. And though a thousand and one different people will tell you that they weren’t the first to do it, the current popularity can certainly be attributed in some part to Apple and their much lovediPhone. Go back a few years and a touchscreen mobile phone would have been nothing more than a pipe dream, now touchscreen phones account for around 20% of all mobile phones on the market. So what futuristic feature could we look at now that could become the norm in the near future? What will be the touchscreen technology of 2010?
There are already a wealth of mobile phones that use an accelerometer which will rotate the screen to suit how the phone is being held; hold the phone its side and the screen will switch to landscape with varying levels of speed depending on the phone (theNokia 5800 and Apple iPhone are the current best in class - screen rotation is almost instant). Recent launches have also seen phones with limited motion sensitivity used in games (Sony Ericsson F305,LG KC780) and to control certain applications (Shake control on theSony Ericsson W910). But what about a fully motion sensitive phone? A phone that does away with buttons and any interaction with the screen, is this possible and could it work well enough to replace current input and navigation methods? We have seen how the Nintendo Wii has revolutionised Console gaming with motion snsitive controls, could we see the same in the mobile world?
Find your current phone too rigid and uncompromising? Wish your phone was more flexible…literally? Well say hello to the NokiaMorph concept phone. Launched alongside The Museum of Modern Art “Design and The Elastic Mind” exhibition, the Morph concept promises to deliver flexible materials with levels of transparency. So basically a see through bendy phone. Though maybe this is being a bit dismissive, the idea of being able to “morph”, change shape and adapt to the task at hand sounds quite promising. You have the morph on your wrist as a watch. The phone rings. You take it off, straighten it out and answer the call. Tell me that isn’t cool! Meanwhile, the transparency promises to deliver an all new aesthetic. And the best bit? The Morph concept phone uses nano technology to create self cleaning surfaces. Put simply - the phone cleans itself. The days of fingerprint-riddled screens could soon be coming to an end.
Ever had a picture or video on your phone that you wished you could share with a wider audience? Well you’re not alone, it seems someone at Samsung had the very same wish that now looks set to become a reality. The projector phone is fairly self explanatory, On the top of the phone we find a projector which projects whatever is on the mobile screen on to a nearby surface. Perfect if you want to show off a video or picture but don’t want to have to squint at a (relatively) small mobile screen. Best of all, the phone that this concept was running on at the recent CES show was little bigger than an iPhone and featured an equally impressive touchscreen interface. The bad news? The Samsung projector phone is only set to be available in Korea. But before you throw a tantrum, it’s worth bearing in mind alot of technologies that debut in the asian mobile markets do eventually find their way over to Europe. So Projector phones are definitely one to look out for in the future!
manufacturer Pantech have the answer. The Pantech Sky Wind phone responds to air blown at the microphone. Using what Pantech refer to as a “Blow Engine”, simply blow in to the mic and the phone will react accordingly. Change wallpaper with a puff of air, activate the camera with your breath and even blow out an on screen candle to adjust the screen brightness. Quite how the “Blow Engine” can interpret different actions for different tasks remains a mystery. Once again though, we can look to Nintendo who have succesfully incorporated blowing into the DS Lite as a feature for various games. Proof that it can be done.
Gone are the days when 6MB of on board memory and a 32MB memory card would suffice (reminiscing about my trusty oldNokia 6230). Now it seems that for any phone to be taken seriously it needs to pack a punch in the memory department, be it on board or expandable. Samsung tend to lead the pack with the i8510 and Omnia both packing 8GB internal memory and the option to expand it further. But the Koreans don’t have it all their own way; Nokia have the N96 with 16GB plus expansion, theApple iPhone 3G comes in 8GB and 16GB flavours and the HTC Touch HD, not to be outdone, comes bundled with an 8GB memory card. And this looks set to become the norm for future releases; the phone that everyone has their eyes on, the Nokia N97, is set to up the ante even further with 32GB of internal memory and a
MicroSD memory card slot.
have changed quite a lot since the days of old when the 6230 was king. Increasing the Megapixel count incamera phones increases the file size of captured images and they need to be saved somewhere. Giving a phone lightening quick HSDPA mobile Broadband is pointless if you don’t have the space for all those high speed downloads. And a phone with an MP3 player is never going to trouble a stand alone music player unless it’s packing Gigs of memory. When phones are announced with ridiculously high amounts of internal memory it is easy to dismiss it as the manufacturers engaging in a bit of oneupmanship. But when you consider what mobile phones are capable of, you’ll see why. Personally i run a Nokia N82 (bundled with a 2GB card) and have a separate MP3 player for music on the go. Come my next upgrade though, the MP3 player may find itself banished to a dusty shelf in favour of one of the new mass memory mobile phones that are on the horizon!
The Apple iPhone 3G is not short of admirers and you don’t have to look far to find someone proclaiming the iPhone’s superiority over its rivals. It’s easy to see why, with a seemingly never ending list of features with something to appeal to everyone. From the fantastic multi touchtouchscreen, the massive memory and iTunes support to the brilliant web browsing capabilities. But of all the innovations, i don’t think anyone expected the App store to take off as it has. With over 15,000 apps available and more always in development it seems the possibilities are endless. And what has Apple got in store for us now? Well they’ve only gone and solved the Rubik’s Cube!
be put to rest thanks to the new iPhone app CubeCheater. CubeCheater will solve any Rubik’s Cube (except for those that have been smashed to pieces in frustration) in one of two ways; either match up the colours on the screen to that of your cube or use the iPhones camera to take pictures of a few of the sides of your Rubik’s Cube. Once CubeCheater has all the information it needs, it will work out the answer and then show you a detailed diagram of the moves needed to solve the puzzle. And better still, the author of the App claims it should take less than 19 moves to solve any cube. So there you have it, surely the best App to appear on the App Store so far.
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