Amazon Kindle & Kindle Touch

  Amazon have announced their new e-Reader products Today from the popular Kindle series which are smaller, lighter and more affordable. The Kindle e-Reader (picture above) is the most compact, lightest and cheapest from Amazon. It has an advanced 6 inches e-ink display and can turn the pages 10 times faster or download these through wi-fi connection. The QWERTY keyboard is no longer present and the price starts at 79 USD.

   The Kindle Touch has an e-ink multi-touch screen (the same 6 inches size) which increases the battery life. This version supports text-to-speech and mp3 files for audio books - all can be downloaded through the wireless connection. Kindle Touch has a new feature named X-Ray as lets customers see all passages across a book that mentions ideas, fictional characters, historical figures, places, topics as well as detailed descriptions from Wikipedia, Amazon encyclopedia with a single tap. The price for this starts at 99 USD. 

There is a 3G version which can offer free 3G connectivity but the price starts at 149 USD.

   I believe the new Kindles will have a real success in e-Readers market, the same as iPad did in the tablets market.

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Huawei Honor

   Huawei have announced their new Android smartphone. Huawei may not be very well known to common users - only as they are manufacturing operators branded phone (like Vodafone, Orange etc) and their main competitor is ZTE. However in the recent years they started to make phones branded with their name in search for their own place on the market. The Honor packs about the latest technology as you can check below:

-- DISPLAY: 4-inch capacitive touch 480 x 854 pixels screen

-- CPU:  1.4 GHz processor.

-- MEMORY:  512 MB RAM.

-- STORAGE:  4GB for internal, microSD card slot up to 32GB.

-- CAMERA:  Primary - 8 MP camera, video recording up to 720p.

Secondary - 2 MP, video chat, video calling.

-- CONNECTIVITY:  3G, HSDPA, HSUPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, micro-USB, 3.5 mm headphone jack, A-GPS.

-- BATTERY:  Li-Po 1900 mAh

-- MULTIMEDIA:  touch sensitive buttons.

-- OS:  Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread, Adobe Flash support.

-- APPLICATIONS:  Google Apps, social networking.

   Their announcement is very poor in giving more details like what type of display has (AMOLED or LCD). The phone does not look bad and we hope they will release more information soon.

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Samsung Omnia W - pictures

Samsung Omnia W

   Samsung have announced Today their new and first Windows Phone 7 Mango smartphone - the Omnia W. The device has an elegant and simple design with a Super AMOLED 3.7 inches screen. The display and 5 MP camera are making it a middle range Windows phone. 

   Most important technical details are:

-- DISPLAY: 3.7-inch Super-AMOLED capacitive touch 480 x 800 pixels screen

-- CPU:  Qualcomm Scorpion 1.4 GHz processor.

-- GPU:  Adreno 205

-- MEMORY:  512 MB RAM.

-- STORAGE:  8GB for internal.

-- CAMERA:  Primary - 5MP led flash camera, video recording up to 720p.

Secondary - VGA, video chat, video calling.

-- CONNECTIVITY:  3G, HSDPA, HSUPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, micro-USB, 3.5 mm headphone jack, A-GPS.

-- SENSORS:  Proximity, Ambient Light Sensor, Accelerometer, Magnetometer, Gyroscope.

-- BATTERY:  Li-Po 1500 mAh

-- MULTIMEDIA:  touch sensitive buttons.

-- OS:  Windows Phone 7.5 Mango.

-- APPLICATIONS:  Windows Apps, social networking, Windows Live Skydrive, Now, RSS Times, Photo Studio, Mini Diary, Fun Shot, Wireless Manager.

   I like the Windows applications such as the cloud service which offers 25 GB free storage through Skydrive and the office documents editing through Office Hub. What I do not understand at Windows phones is why most of these do not have a micro-SD card support. Samsung Omnia W will be available in Europe starting with end of October.

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HTC Rhyme - First look video

HTC Rhyme - pictures

HTC Rhyme

   HTC has announced Today in New York an Android smartphone designed and created for ladies. The phone is a middle range one with unibody stylish and elegant design. The truly new things are the accessories which will be included in the package for USA which are a docking station, a 'sports armband', a Bluetooth headset and a 'Charm cable'. The charm cable has a small cube which will light up for any incoming calls or messages and of course will be noticed by ladies. So this means that men will no longer wait forever for a lady to answer a call :).

   Most important specifications are:

-- DISPLAY: 3.7-inch Super-LCD capacitive touch 480 x 800 pixels screen

-- CPU:  Qualcomm Scorpion 1 GHz processor.

-- GPU:  Adreno 205

-- MEMORY:  768 MB RAM.

-- STORAGE:  1GB for internal, microSD card slot up to 32GB.

-- CAMERA:  Primary - 5MP led flash camera, video recording up to 720p.

Secondary - VGA, video chat, video calling.

-- CONNECTIVITY:  3G, HSDPA, HSUPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, micro-USB, 3.5 mm headphone jack, A-GPS.

-- SENSORS:  Proximity, Ambient Light Sensor, G-Sensor, Digital Compass.

-- BATTERY:  Li-Po 1600 mAh

-- MULTIMEDIA:  touch sensitive buttons.

-- OS:  Android 2.3 Gingerbread, HTC Sense 3.5 UI, Adobe Flash 10.2 support.

-- APPLICATIONS:  Google Apps, social networking, HTC Watch.

   The Rhyme will be available at the end of September in USA and at the beginning of October in Europe and Asia. The new Sense interface offers a new modern menu access design.

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HTC Sensation XE

   HTC has announced this week their first Beats Audio technology smartphone. This is an upgrade made to the Sensation with a faster processor and an improved battery life. Also it will arrive with a Beats headset, their value being somewhere at 100 USD. Most important technical details are:

-- DISPLAY: 4.3-inch Super-LCD capacitive touch QHD 960 x 540 pixels screen

-- CPU:  Dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.5 GHz processor.

-- MEMORY:  768 MB RAM.

-- STORAGE:  1GB for internal, microSD card slot up to 32GB.

-- CAMERA:  Primary - 8MP dual-led flash camera, video recording up to 1080 (MPEG-4/H.264).

Secondary - VGA, video chat, video calling.

-- CONNECTIVITY:  3G/4G WiMax, HSDPA, HSUPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, MHL port (micro-USB & HDMI), 3.5 mm headphone jack, A-GPS.

-- SENSORS:  Accelerometer, Proximity, Ambient Light Sensor, Gyro Sensor, G-Sensor, Digital Compass.

-- BATTERY:  Li-Po 1730 mAh

-- MULTIMEDIA:  touch sensitive buttons, SRS virtual surround sound, Beats Audio.

-- OS:  Android 2.3 Gingerbread, HTC Sense 3.0 UI, Adobe Flash 10.2 support.

-- APPLICATIONS:  Google Apps, social networking, HTC Watch.

   The price will rise a little due to the Beats headset but the good news is that Sensation XE will be in stores at the end of this month. I am already thinking in buying it but I will decide after I see the phone in reality.

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Samsung Galaxy Note - pictures

Samsung Galaxy Note

   On September 1st Samsung have announced a new product under a new category. I am not sure where this should fit because in my opinion is not a smartphone and is not a tablet in the same time. They say is a smartphone but with a 5.3 inches screen size? Galaxy Note has advanced pen input technology through the S Pen which should work like the one on the HTC Flyer tablet. I am not going to remind again about the Dell Streak 5 inches and I will wait to see how Note will manage. Most important technical details are:

-- DISPLAY: 5.3-inch Super-AMOLED capacitive touch 1280 x 800 pixels screen

-- CPU:  ARM Cortex A9 dual-core 1.4 GHz processor.

-- GPU:  Mali-400MP

-- MEMORY:  1 GB RAM.

-- STORAGE:  16/32 GB for internal, microSD card slot up to 32GB.

-- CAMERA:  Primary - 8MP led flash camera, video recording up to 1080p.

Secondary - 2 MP, video chat, video calling.

-- CONNECTIVITY:  3G, HSDPA, HSUPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, micro-USB port, 3.5 mm headphone jack, A-GPS, NFC (optional).

-- SENSORS:  Accelerometer, Ambient Light Sensor, Proximity, Digital Compass, Barometer.

-- BATTERY:  Li-Po 2500 mAh

-- MULTIMEDIA:  pen input.

-- OS:  Android 2.3 Gingerbread, Samsung TouchWIZ.

-- APPLICATIONS:  Google Apps, social networking, Samsung Kies, Social Hub, Reader Hub, Music Hub. 

   This tablet/smartphone has a user interface dedicated to S Pen which allows sketching, handwritten notes or drawing. Also it has a SSL VPN connectivity application from Juniper Networks for a secure remote access to corporate networks. From my point of view Note has a too small display to be used with a digital pen. Is it just me or smartphones are getting bigger and bigger screens...  

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HTC Titan

   On September 1st HTC have announced another Windows Phone 7.5 Mango phone under the name Titan. Now this has a huge 4.7 inches display which makes me wonder how many customers will buy it. I remember the 5 inches Dell Streak which did not have too much success as was too big for a smartphone and too large for a tablet. We all know this is not a Dell and is a HTC but the screen size may have the same negative effects. The most important technical details are:

-- DISPLAY: 4.7-inch Super-LCD capacitive touch 480 x 800 pixels screen

-- CPU:  Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.5 GHz processor.

-- GPU:  Adreno 205

-- MEMORY:  512 MB RAM.

-- STORAGE:  16GB for internal, microSD card slot up to 32GB.

-- CAMERA:  Primary - 8MP led flash camera, video recording up to 720p, F2.2 lens, BSI sensor.

Secondary - 1.5 MP, video chat, video calling.

-- CONNECTIVITY:  3G, HSDPA, HSUPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, micro-USB port, 3.5 mm headphone jack, A-GPS.

-- SENSORS:  Proximity, Ambient Light Sensor, G-Sensor, Digital Compass.

-- BATTERY:  Li-Po 1600 mAh

-- MULTIMEDIA:  touch sensitive buttons, SRS virtual surround sound, 5.1 surround sound for video.

-- OS:  Windows Phone 7.5 Mango.

-- APPLICATIONS:  Windows Apps, social networking, HTC Watch, PeopleHUB, Zune, XBOX Live. 

   But it`s not just the screen size, the resolution is not a proper one for a 4.7 inches. Main advantages I can see are typing easily messages, emails or creating Microsoft Office documents with an ergonomic keyboard and viewing movies in high quality. The processor is a faster one and cameras are better too. Other than that this is about the same phone with the Radar. Despite the screen the smartphone looks great as all devices from HTC do.

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HTC Radar

   HTC have announced yesterday in London two new Windows Phone Mango smartphones. In this article I will talk about the middle range one - HTC Radar. This is an elegant uni-body aluminium device with multimedia options and 3.8 inches screen. The complete technical specifications are:

-- DISPLAY: 3.8-inch Super-LCD capacitive touch 480 x 800 pixels screen

-- CPU:  Qualcomm Snapdragon 1 GHz processor.

-- GPU:  Adreno 205

-- MEMORY:  512 MB RAM.

-- STORAGE:  8GB for internal, microSD card slot up to 32GB.

-- CAMERA:  Primary - 5MP led flash camera, video recording up to 720p, F2.2 lens, BSI sensor.

Secondary - VGA, video chat, video calling.

-- CONNECTIVITY:  3G, HSDPA, HSUPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, micro-USB port, 3.5 mm headphone jack, A-GPS.

-- SENSORS:  Proximity, Ambient Light Sensor, G-Sensor.

-- BATTERY:  Li-Po 1520 mAh

-- MULTIMEDIA:  touch sensitive buttons, SRS virtual surround sound, 5.1 surround sound for video.

-- OS:  Windows Phone 7.5 Mango.

-- APPLICATIONS:  Windows Apps, social networking, HTC Watch, PeopleHUB, Zune, XBOX Live. 

   I like the Windows Phone, although not that much as Android, because it has the office suite included which is great for document editing. This phone has many related applications like Bing Maps, Zune music services or XBOX live for gaming. What I find important at Radar is the 5.1 surround sound and the dedicated camera button. By the way the camera has F2.2 lens for real life capture and BSI sensor which works great in case of locations with poor quality light. This phone looks so good that I wish it would had Android :). But it does not and will be available in stores starting with October

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Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S - pictures

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S

   Sony Ericsson have announced yesterday their new and most powerful smartphone which is the upgraded version of Arc. The Arc S has mainly only an improved processor, in terms of hardware - the 1.4 GHz Snapdragon from Qualcomm. Other improvements are related to software and are the same ones from the recently announced Xperia Android upgrade which will arrive on Neo V first. The main technical details are:

-- DISPLAY:  LED-backlit LCD, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 480 x 854 pixels, 4.2  inches, scratch- resistant surface.

-- CPU:  Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.4 GHz processor.

-- GPU:  Adreno 205

-- MEMORY:  512 MB RAM.

-- STORAGE:  320 MB for internal, microSD card slot up to 32GB.

-- CAMERA:  Primary - 8.1 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, HD video recording with 720p, 3D sweep panorama  

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, TrackID, xLoud, PlayNow, social apps.

   The smartphone has access to Sony`s Entertainment Network services like Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited and the camera is 2D and 3D sweep panorama capable. I do know why there is this trend now for many smartphone manufactures to name their upgraded versions with 'S' - it`s just like a years ago when almost all phones were upgraded under the 'i' letter. 

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