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The Samsung S7070 Diva - A Woman's Touch

Mike Filed Under: Labels: , , , , ,
Released in the UK next week, this is the new S7070 'Diva' touch screen phone from Samsung.

When it comes to phones, it seems that tech savvy ladies are often overlooked when it comes to handset design. Samsung have noticed this, and instead of just repackaging a handset in a shiny pink fascia they have decided to offer a whole lot more for the discerning lady.

Haute Couture

The phone's design is fashionable, but understated. The front of the phone is finished in an impressive silver and white with a raised diamond shaped navigation pad and just two 'call' and 'end' buttons. The 2.8" touchscreen is framed in chrome, giving the phone a touch of class.

Turning the phone over reveals a pearl, almost Chanel style 'quilted' back cover. The serenity of the back cover is only disturbed by the opening for the camera lens and a grille for the phone's speaker.

Striking Features

Inside too, the phone doesn't disappoint. There are some great specialist apps included that will appeal today's busy woman.

As you would expect from a modern touch screen phone, social networking plays a big part. With 'live updates' from all the major sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

Also included is a 'fake call' function; great for when you want to get out of that awkward date girls!

For more pressing engagements the S7070 offers a shopping list tool, making light work of even the most grueling retail therapy sessions.

The phone's camera also has some interesting features, including several effects that can be applied to images. Most interesting is the 'Lomo' effect, giving images a surreal artistic edge.

The phone uses the same intuitive TouchWiz 2.0 interface as the excellent Tocco Lite phone, so it will be familiar to anyone who has used Samsung's touch screen phones before.

All in all, it's great to see Samsung matching proven technology with some innovative new features.

The Samsung S7070 is available from Mobiles.co.uk - The low cost channel of The Carphone Warehouse.

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Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 - Android Enhanced?

Mike Filed Under:
Dropping in Europe late February 2010 is the latest in Sony Ericsson's Xperia range, the X10.

Unlike the previous X1, the X10 eschews the Windows Mobile OS and is instead Android 1.6 (Donut) based. I think it's fair to say this is almost certainly the most hotly anticipated handset based around the Google OS since it's inception.

Hardware wise, the X10 is a big hitter - take a look at the specs on this bad boy:

CPU: Packing the same 1Ghz 'Snapdragon' RISC CPU as the Google Nexus One is sure to give the phone some poke when it comes to handling Android and multiple apps.

Screen: A whopping 4 inch WVGA capacitive touch screen displaying at 480 x 854 resolution. No multitouch sadly.

Camera: Nothing short of 8.1 megapixels of snapping goodness, autofocus, geotagging support and face recognition (more on this later).

Email: As well as the usual POP3 support, SE has kept one eye on their reputation for delivering good business phones and has included Microsoft Exchange support out of the box.

The Rest:
  • A-GPS Support
  • Wi-Fi
  • 3.5mm Headphone Jack
  • microSD card slot.
  • microUSB connector
  • Stereo Bluetooth
  • 1500 mAh battery
Size wise, the X10 is not a small handset, but at 119 x 63 x 13mm and weighing in at 135g it compares favourably with the likes of the iPhone and Blackberry offerings.

User Experience

If there's one thing that Sony Ericsson likes it's their snazzy interfaces, and the X10 is no exception. Although it is indeed powered by Android, the familiar interface is hidden behind SE's own interface which they call Nexus UX - User Xperience.

The UX interface puts great emphasis on social networking and communication. The days of the traditional 'contact' being a name, a number and maybe an email address are gone. In the X10 SE have included an application called Timescape, and in the app your contacts are linked to their online services such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, and all your recent communications (Texts, Emails, Calls etc) are accessible direct from the one 'contact'.

Also included with the X10 is a powerful media management application called Mediascape, a one stop location for your music, videos and photos.

Speaking of photos, the X10 has one more trick up it's sleeve. The camera software on the X10 uses powerful algorithms to 'recognise' the faces in the photograph (up to 5 faces per photo). Once a person is recognised they are automatically tagged in the image, allowing you to quickly locate all the photos of you significant other, or the dog!


Of course, you're not just limited to the apps installed on the X10 - let's not forget this is an Android phone - giving you access to the thousands of apps on the Android Market.

All in all, this looks like one hell of a phone and is certainly one for my wish list - So, Sony Ericsson, if you're reading this, any chance of a late Christmas present? ;o)

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 will be available in Europe from 28th of February 2010 and will be available in silver and black.

Check out the best price for the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 at Mobiles.co.uk - The low cost channel for The Carphone Warehouse.



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Nokia Unveil New Symbian for 2010

Mike Filed Under:
Nokia has given us a sneak peek into their plans for 2010, and central to this year's efforts is a radical overhaul of the Symbian OS.

Whilst it is a worthy and robust OS, Symbian has been criticised for it's interface, often seen as falling short of slicker UI's such as Android, WebOS and iPhone.

With this in mind, Nokia have set their sights on vastly improving the user experience on it's forthcoming Symbian handsets.

"The Symbian OS is not the problem" says Kai Ostamo, Nokia's EVP for Devices, "What we need to work on is the UI, and that's exactly what we are doing"

Speaking at Nokia's Capital Market Day in Espoo, Finland; Ostamo continued: "We will re-engineer the user interface, delivering two major milestones. The first of which will arrive before mid-year. The second will be with us by this time next year (Q4 2010)".

It's anticipated that the first milestone will be the release of Symbian OS 3, whilst the second will be the development of Symbian OS 4.


Ostamo also promised to reduce clutter in the interface and, in what will come as a relief for many Symbian users, introduce multitouch using large capacitive touch screens. He also offered an impressive promise - the new UI will be up to three times faster than current high end models.

Also on the cards is a much improved browser and overall internet experience, with better site compatibility and an improved flash implementation.

Check out the best price for the latest Symbian phones at Mobiles.co.uk - The low cost channel for The Carphone Warehouse.



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HTC MyTouch Fender Edition

Mike Filed Under: Labels: , , , ,
Staking an early claim for best looking fashion phone in 2010, HTC have produced the beautiful MyTouch Fender Edition in a fetching guitar wood grain.

This limited edition version of the MyTouch comes with a 16Gb microSD card and an all important 3.5mm headphone jack.

Also bundled is an improved music player app from HTC themselves.

So far the Fender-phone will be available on T-Mobile US from the 20th of January 2010.

There's no news yet of it being released in other territories, but surely they can't keep this axe wielding maniac from the masses?

T-Mobile certainly think it will sell, and have roped in a certain Mr Eric Clapton to promote the handset.

One things for certain; 'Darling, this looks wonderful tonight'.

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Apple iPhone - Meet Your Grandpa Newton

Mike Filed Under: Labels: , , , , , , ,
Kids today eh? Don't know they're born.

They pull out their shiny new iPhone and access the internet and email without a second thought. Thanks to Apple's revolutionary handset, more people than ever are accessing the web on the move.

But if you think this is the first time Apple have built a revolutionary device, you'd be wrong.

Think Different

22 years ago, Apple's then-CEO John Sculley sat down with his senior hardware and software designers and proposed a revolution in personal computing. Sculley's vision was of a hand held device capable of replicating some of the more common functions of a standard home computer.

Undaunted by the almost science fiction nature of the concept, Apple's engineers began work, and before long the Apple Newton MessagePad 100 was born.

The MessagePad 100 was the first PDA and an incredible device for it's time. It sported a monochrome touch screen, and it's operating system, Newton OS featured stylus input and handwriting recognition (although sometimes inaccurate!). It also had a PCMCIA (PC Card) slot, allowing for expansion such as storage and network connectivity.

Software in Newton OS included a calendar, a sketching application, contacts and scientific calculator.

As revolutionary as it was, the MP100 was hampered by its reliance on AAA batteries. Heavy Newton users would always have a spare pack hidden somewhere!

Apple continued the product line with the Newton MP110, MP120 and MP130 and introduced Newton OS 2.0. The new OS allowed for the device to be used in landscape mode and an optional hardware keyboard was produced, allowing for desktop like word processing without the need for a laptop.

The real breakthrough came with the introduction of the Newton MessagePad 2000 and 2100 models. These featured a larger, backlit screen, Newton OS 2.1 and a very fast (at the time!) 162 MHz StrongARM SA-110 RISC processor. The Newton 2k devices were true laptop replacements, and were fitted with rechargeable NiMH battery packs, giving 30 hours of use without backlight and 24 hours with the backlight in use.

Newton OS 2.1 was also employed in the eMate 300 - a MessagePad in laptop format. The eMate was designed for use in classrooms due to it's ease of use and fun yet robust design.

Whilst the Newton comes from a different time than modern iPods and iPhones, it's influence has still played a massive part in shaping Apple's success with their handheld products. The interface in the original iPod for instance was designed by the same team that designed the Newton OS interface.

I have been privileged enough to own an MP100, MP120 and MP2100 over the years, and I still miss them. It seems I'm not the only one - Project Einstein is working towards getting a working emulation of Newton OS on newer hardware such as the Nokia N800.

Apple finally called an end to 'Project Newton' in February 27th 1998, but the plucky devices had left their unmistakable legacy, a legacy we still reap today.

Check out the best price for the iPhone on all networks at Mobiles.co.uk - The low cost channel for The Carphone Warehouse.



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Google Nexus One - iPhone Killer, Or Flawed Genius?

Mike Filed Under: Labels: , , , , , , ,
From the moment the first tentative specifications began to leak regarding the new 'Google Phone' people were already using terms like 'iPhone killer'.

We've all heard this incredibly overused term bandied about about practically every high end touch screen phone since the iPhone's inception, but so far nothing has been able to topple Apple's seminal handset from it's deserved position as top dog. Could this unholy alliance between internet giants Google and hardware guru's HTC finally deliver?


The Hardware
  • Android 2.1
  • 1GHz Qualcomm 'Snapdragon' CPU
  • 512Mb RAM (Expandable to 32Gb with microSD)
  • 3.7” 800 x 480 AMOLED Screen
  • 5 megapixel autofocus camera + LED flash
  • A-GPS & Digital Compass
  • Accelerometer
  • Wi-Fi (802.11A/B/G)
  • Bluetooth 2.1
The most obvious part of hardware is conspicuous by it's absence - a hardware keyboard. A soft on screen keyboard serves as a replacement, but reports suggest that this is sluggish and can lag behind when typing quickly. However, the fantastic Android Marketplace comes to the rescue, offering replacement software keyboards to solve this problem should you encounter it.

Another notable absence is multi-touch, a real let down for a device that is aiming to take a swipe at Apple's handset.

The Software

As you would imagine, the Nexus One is deeply integrated with Google's web based apps such as GMail, Google Voice, Google Calendar and Google Docs. The handset is very much a 'cloud device' - working with your info both on the phone, and on the internet. For people like me who use GMail and Google Bookmarks every day, this is a very appealing feature.

There's not a lot you can say regarding the software that ships on the device, since the majority of users will be dipping into the depths of the Android Marketplace to personalise the phone's functionality, a feature that helps it to be a contender against the iPhone.


As hardened Android afficionados can attest, HTC have a track record of not getting it quite 100% on the initial firmware release and the general concensus is that this handset will benefit from future firmware updates. However, HTC do listen to their customers, and I for one would not mind being an early adopter.

So is it an iPhone killer? Well, that depends - if you, like me use Google Apps extensively, the Nexus One is a really attractive device, and the Android Marketplace is arguably more 'flexible' for both users and developers than Apple's App Store.

But the device still has an aire about it that it will appeal to open source lovers who really want to push the device. If you want to play it safe, get an iPhone, if you want to try out new things the Nexus One is an attractive proposition.

Frankly, there is room in the market for both handsets and the Nexus One is a welcome addition to the Android phone stable.

Check out the best price for the Google Nexus One at Mobiles.co.uk - The low cost channel for The Carphone Warehouse.

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Nokia N900 - The Smarter Phone

Mike Filed Under: Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

The Nokia 'N Series' Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) have been around in various guises for several years, but in some ways they have been Nokia's 'Best Kept Secret' in terms of their unparalleled scope for customisation.

Running on a Linux based OS called Maemo the N700, N800 and N810 tablets were seized upon by the hobbyist and enthusiast market.

But now, with the introduction of the N900 device the MID has stepped out of the shadows, and introduced itself to the mainstream market.


The N900 is the first of Nokia's MIDs to be fully phone equipped - able to make calls over the air rather than being limited to VoIP clients such as Skype. That's not to say that you can't do that with the N900, the boffins at Nokia have managed to fuse the qualities of a mini computer with the technology from their award winning handsets.

As you may imagine, with such a wide range of functionality there will always be a trade off in device size. The N900 weighs in at 181g and has dimensions of 110.9 x 59.8 x 18 mm.

The size however, allows for some generous screen real estate; a 3.5in, 800 x 480 resistive touchscreen making the N900 a great device for multimedia playback, and with 32Gb of onboard storage there's plenty of room for your movies and music.

The device also offers a 3.5mm audio jack - a welcome addition for anyone wishing to use their own headphones.

A slide out QWERTY keyboard further adds to the devices pedigree, giving the weary road warrior the option of leaving her laptop behind in favour of the N900's all-in-one versatility.

But it doesn't stop there. The N900 boasts a 5mp camera with Carl Zeiss optics, auto focus and dual LED flash. The phone also has GPS, and can automatically geo-tag your photos when you take them.

The N900 stands out from it's less polished cousins by a country mile. The MID has come of age, and is no longer the preserve of the gadget lover.

It looks like Nokia have done it again.



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