itgalaxy

Monday, August 29, 2011

Nokia 100/101

   Nokia has announced last week a low-cost model which will arrive in two different versions: a single SIM (100) and a dual SIM (101). This is not the only main difference between the two models. Both will run the S30 Symbian version and will have a few multimedia features like FM radio, MP3 player. The 101 can support a micro-SD card up to 16 GB and has a loud speaker. Both phones will have a 1.8 inches screen, strong battery (with up to 25 days of stand-by performance) and a very low price - under 25 Euros.



Saturday, August 27, 2011

Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo V

   Sony Ericsson have announced two days ago their new medium range smartphone, an upgraded version of Neo - the Neo V. Now the upgrade or downgrade better said is a minor one as only the camera is different than the old Neo has. Instead of a 8 MP camera, the Neo V (five) has a 5 MP performance. It appears that there are issues with manufacturing 8 MP cameras for Sony Ericsson since the great Japan earthquake. Other technical specifications have not been upgraded except some software improvements:

-- DISPLAY:  LED-backlit LCD, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 480 x 854 pixels, 3.7  inches, scratch- resistant surface.
-- CPU:  Qualcomm Snapdragon Scorpion 1 GHz processor.
-- GPU:  Adreno 205
-- MEMORY:  512 RAM.
-- STORAGE:  320 MB for internal, microSD card slot up to 32GB.
-- CAMERA:  Primary - 5 MP, 2592x1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, HD video recording with 720p,  Secondary - 2 MP, video chat, video calling.
-- CONNECTIVITY:  3G HSDPA, HSUPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP, micro-USB port v 2.0, HDMI port, 3.5 mm headphone jack, A-GPS.
-- SENSORS:  Accelerometer, Proximity
-- BATTERY:  Li-Po 1500 mAh
-- MULTIMEDIA:  Sony Mobile BRAVIA® Engine and Exmor R™ for mobile
-- OS:  Android Gingerbread (2.3.4), Timescape UI, Adobe Flash 10.1 support.
-- APPLICATIONS:  Google Apps, Office Suite Pro, social apps, PlayNow, TrackID, xLOUD.

   The real upgrade this phone has is a software one with extra functions for the camera like 3D sweep panorama functionality from Sony and swipe text input which works the same as Swype for messaging. The new version of Gingerbread allows video chatting in Google Talk. The same software upgrades will be received by all Xperia series phones.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Nokia 600 - pictures






Nokia 600

   Nokia 600 is about the same phone with 700 but is made for music mainly. The design reminds me about the Xpress Music series from a few years ago. It is presented to be a smartphone which delivers big sound and big personality in a small package. I like that has a built-in FM Radio antenna so you can listen without headphones among other features:

-- DISPLAY: 3.2 inches TFT capacitive touch nHD 640 x 360 pixels screen.
-- CPU:  1 GHz.
-- STORAGE:  2GB for internal, microSD card slot up to 32GB.
-- CAMERA:  Primary - 5MP led flash camera, video recording up to 720p.
-- CONNECTIVITY:  3G, HSDPA, HSUPA, Wi-Fi 802.11, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, micro-USB port, 3.5 mm headphone jack (AV connector with TV-out), A-GPS, NFC.
-- SENSORS:  Accelerometer, Proximity, Ambient Light, Compass.
-- BATTERY:  Li-Po 1200 mAh
-- OS:  Symbian Belle, Adobe Flash, HTML 4.1.
-- APPLICATIONS:  OVI apps, social networking, OVI Maps, Web TV widgets, World Traveler and Torch, Vlingo, Microsoft Communicator Mobile, Shazam, Adobe PDF Reader, TuneWiki, Angry Birds Magic, Fruit Ninja with NFC. 

   The phone is capable of over 60 hours of continuous music playback time and has a powerful loud speaker. Looks like a low-cost device so I believe the price will not be high.

Nokia 701 - pictures






Nokia 701

   The 701 is another Symbian Bell smartphone from Nokia which reminds me of the C7 in terms of design but looks more stylish, elegant than the 700. The technical specification are a bit more advanced but comes with the same single-tap NFC connectivity:

-- DISPLAY: 3.5 inches IPS-LCD capacitive touch nHD 640 x 360 pixels, ClearBlack Corning Gorilla Glass.
-- CPU:  1 GHz.
-- STORAGE:  8GB for internal, microSD card slot up to 32GB.
-- CAMERA:  Primary - 8MP dual-led flash camera, video recording up to 720p.
Secondary: VGA video call.
-- CONNECTIVITY:  3G, HSDPA, HSUPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, micro-USB port, 3.5 mm headphone jack (AV connector with TV-out), A-GPS, NFC.
-- SENSORS:  Accelerometer, Proximity, Ambient Light.
-- BATTERY:  Li-Po 1300 mAh
-- OS:  Symbian Belle, Adobe Flash, HTML 4.1.
-- APPLICATIONS:  OVI apps, social networking, OVI Maps, Web TV widgets, Vlingo, Microsoft Communicator Mobile, Shazam, Adobe PDF Reader, Asphalt 5 with NFC, Angry Birds Magic. 

   It appears that Nokia 701 has the world`s brightest mobile display with high performance for indoor and outdoor use. The case is made of stainless steel with satin texture - this is what I loved on my only smartphone from Nokia about 3 years ago: the E71. The Symbian Belle allows six different home screens which you can customize for best usage and we should see this in the next few months as the model will be available starting with Q3 this year.

Nokia 700 - pictures






Nokia 700

   Nokia has announced Yesterday their new version of Symbian - Belle - together with 3 new smartphones which will run this OS: 600, 700 and 701. All 3 devices have another thing in common and this the single-tap NFC pairing and sharing capability. I will start talk about the Nokia 700 model which is tagged to be 'the most compact touch screen monoblock smartphone in the world'. From the pictures I do not like the way it looks but the main features are not exactly low-cost:


-- DISPLAY: 3.2 inches AMOLED capacitive touch nHD 640 x 360 pixels screen.
-- CPU:  1 GHz.
-- STORAGE:  2GB for internal, microSD card slot up to 32GB.
-- CAMERA:  Primary - 5MP led flash camera, video recording up to 720p.
-- CONNECTIVITY:  3G, HSDPA, HSUPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, micro-USB port, 3.5 mm headphone jack (AV connector with TV-out), A-GPS, NFC.
-- SENSORS:  Accelerometer, Proximity, Ambient Light.
-- BATTERY:  Li-Po 1080 mAh
-- OS:  Symbian Belle, Adobe Flash, HTML 4.1.
-- APPLICATIONS:  OVI apps, social networking, OVI Maps, Web TV widgets, F-Secure, Vlingo, Microsoft Communicator Mobile, Shazam, Adobe PDF Reader, TuneWiki, Angry Birds Magic, Bounce Boing Battle. 

   The new NFC connectivity feature allows the phone to instantly pair with accessories like bluetooth headphones or speakers and allows multiplayer options in compatible games. As a conclusion the 700 is more like a medium range ultra slim device made for multimedia and fun. Now what I like the most on Nokia is the free navigation software which works really great - and this model has it.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

BlackBerry Curve 9350/9360/9370

   Blackberry has announced Today their new upgraded Curve model. Usually the Curve is RIM`s medium to low-end device and the new 9350 fits correctly in this category and is the first from this series with Blackberry OS 7. The design gives a more elegant, slim, stylish and ergonomic impression with only 11 mm thick. The main technical features are:

-- DISPLAY: 2.44 inches TFT 480 x 360 pixels screen, 246 ppi.
-- CPU:  800 MHz.
-- MEMORY:  512 MB RAM.
-- STORAGE:  512 MB (for 9350 only) 1GB for internal, microSD card slot up to 32GB.
-- CAMERA:  Primary - 5MP led flash camera, video recording, face detection.
-- CONNECTIVITY:  3G, HSDPA, HSUPA, Wi-Fi 802.11, Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR, micro-USB port, 3.5 mm headphone jack, A-GPS, NFC.
-- MULTIMEDIA:  optical trackpad.
-- SENSORS:  Accelerometer, Proximity, Digital Compass.
-- BATTERY:  Li-Po 1000 mAh
-- OS:  Blackberry OS 7, HTML 5.
-- APPLICATIONS:  BlackBerry App The Weather Network, BlackBerry Maps, Vlingo, Backgammon King, Aces 3D Breaker Classic, ScoreMobile, Blackberry Protect social apps.

   I believe you already know my opinion about Blackberry devices but I like their design especially in this case - the last Curve was looking very cheap. Also I am glad that Blackberry still exists (not like the HP webOS devices which are about to disappear these days) as the mobile world needs competition to get stronger and better, offering many options for users (of course RIM is strong on the market). An important detail to be mentioned for this phone is that has a hot swappable MicroSD card which may be great if you would like to exchange data.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman - pictures




Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman


   Sony Ericsson has announced Today the new Live smartphone with Android and Walkman capabilities. This is about the same phone with Xperia mini but I believe that looks better and is a little more user friendly through the Walkman dedicated hardware button providing instant access to music player and through the infinite button providing access to Sony`s Qriocity service for music and video content. The Live has a curved design, glossy finish and a mineral glass display as Sony Ericsson mentions in the announcement. Most important technical details are:

-- DISPLAY: 3.2 inches TFT capacitive multi-touch 320 x 480 pixels screen, scratch resistant mineral glass.
-- CPU:  1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon.
-- MEMORY:  512 MB RAM.
-- STORAGE:  320 MB for internal, microSD card slot up to 32GB.
-- CAMERA:  Primary - 5MP led flash camera, HD video recording up to 720p, face detection.
Secondary - VGA, video call, video chat.
-- CONNECTIVITY:  3G, HSDPA, HSUPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, micro-USB port, 3.5 mm headphone jack, A-GPS, DLNA.
-- MULTIMEDIA:  PlayNow, TrackID, xLoud, Walkman button, Infinite button.
-- SENSORS:  Accelerometer, Proximity, Digital Compass.
-- BATTERY:  Li-Po 1200 mAh
-- OS:  Android 2.3 Gingerbread, Sony Ericsson Timescape UI.
-- APPLICATIONS:  Google Apps, NeoReader, social apps, Skype, Wisepilot, Media Discovery.

   More than this the Live with Walkman has a deep Facebook integration which allows the user to access the social network from most used areas like music player, picture gallery, calendar or phonebook. No other important details are to be mentioned here except that will be available sometimes in Q4 and this is another Walkman phone from Sony Ericsson which I believe will have a fair price.