itgalaxy

Friday, January 14, 2011

Motorola XOOM

   It appears that Motorola had the best mobile devices presented at CES. The XOOM is the most powerful Tablet PC with Android. This comes in premiere as the first product which runs Google Android 3.0 (Honeycomb). This is an Atrix 4G with a larger screen and acting like a tablet pc.
   So it has the nVidia Tegra 2 dual-core CPU at 1 GHz with 1 GB RAM memory, 32 GB as SSD internal storage which can be extended with and SD card (and not microSD). The HD screen has 10.1 inches with a 1280 x 800 resolution - I believe is excellent for reading ebooks. This tablet has a 2 MP front camera for video conference or chat and a 5 MP camera on the back assisted by a dual-led flash and with 720p video recording capability. For connectivity it has Wi-Fi, bluetooth, 3G (and 4G for the future) and a HDMI port. 
   The XOOM is a full HD decoding capable, can run the Adobe Flash Player 10.1 and the battery is not bad either with the 10 hours video playback performance. I like that there are some great accessories for this product like standard dock, speaker dock, wireless keyboard or protective gel case. 
   Motorola could have done better than this if this tablet would have had 8 MP back camera and NFC. But the tablet PCs are just starting to evolve. This is serious competition for iPad and if HTC will not lunch a product with at least the same features I believe the XOOM will be the first tablet PC that I will buy.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Sony Ericsson Xperia arc

   I am glad that Sony Ericsson rises a little, not that they were too down. But with the Xperia Arc they are knocking on the HTC, Samsung, Apple and Motorola`s back door. This model shows the true technology that Sony and Ericsson have to offer.
   Lets start with Sony. The 4.2 inches TFT capacitive multi-touch is a 'Reality Display' with Mobile Bravia® Engine. This screen has a FWVGA (854 x 480) resolution and delivers a crystal clear image for a great entertainment experience. And this is a shatter proof sheet on scratch-resistant mineral glass. The camera in the back has 8.1 megapixels with auto-focus LED flash, face detection and touch focus. But important is the Exmor R mobile sensor with the f/2.4 lens which enables the capture of high quality pictures and HD videos (720p @ 30 fps) even in low light. The camera also allows video light (this is missing on many smartphones), geo tagging, image stabilizer, noise suppression,  Last Sony part is the micro HDMI port just so you can share these pictures and HD videos on your big LCD/LED TV.
   Now the Ericsson part. The CPU is a Qualcomm Snapdragon (1 GHz) and Adreno 205 GPU (yes a graphic processor) working together with 512 RAM, 287 MB internal storage and up to 32 GB microSD card (arrives with 8 GB card). For connectivity we have HSDPA, HSUPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5 mm audio jack and micro USB.This hardware is handled by the new Google`s Android Gingerbread on a 1500 mAh battery. If you look at the design this is a super slim elegant phone - but not a fashion one (usually these do not have enough technology) which has a dedicated camera button on the side.
   So we have seen the Sony part and the Ericsson`s. Now what is missing from this phone is: low RAM memory (if you remember the Motorola Atrix has 1GB - why they can and SE can not?), no front camera, no NFC, no fingerprint reader, low battery and only 7.2 Mbps HSDPA. But above all that I believe this is a great entertainment smartphone as can run 3D games among others. I hope they will release it soon.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Motorola Atrix 4G

   Now this device has the features I was expecting to see and to have this year on a smartphone. This is the most powerful phone ever and has a great design also. Is definitely not a tablet but acts like a computer especially when you are using it with the 'webtop' application and if is connected to 'Motorola Laptop Dock' or to a HD TV through the HDMI port.
   What I like about this smartphone is not necessarily that arrives with a NVIDIA Tegra 2 1GHz dual core processor, but the fact that has 1 GB of RAM. Enough memory for all mobile applications you want. Internal storage is not so bad either - 16 GB, and you can add a microSD card to that up to 32 GB. The display is a 4 inches touch capacitive with Gorilla Glass and is the world`s first qHD (Quarter High Definition) with 24-bit color feature. In terms of connectivity - there is no 'world`s first' here - just a normal Bluetooth 2.1, Wi-Fi with DLNA, HSDPA, HSUPA, 3.5 mm audio jack and micro USB. Camera is a 5MP with Led flash and records video in 720p@30 fps and the 2nd VGA front one is for chat or video conference.
   Other 2 important things that I like at this phone are: the active noise cancellation and biometric fingerprint reader (I would love to see how that works) as great security protection. Regarding the software, Atrix 4G runs Froyo upgradeable to Gingerbread (and other future versions with that 1GB of RAM) included with the MOTOBLUR user interface (has live widgets) and HTML5 capability.
   In conclusion this is a great device. Is just that I see 2 things missing. One is the 8MP back camera, but the most important is the NFC (Near Field Communications) capability which can allow users to exchange contact data (like a poken device) or to pay with the phone. So this Motorola does not have it all as you perhaps thought. But I really would like to see this in my hands :).