Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Sagem Unveils "Ice Cold" Mobile Phone

The SAGEM my721X “So Ice” mobile phone reflects the lifestyle of consumers who wish to surround themselves with top-quality objects selected for both their esthetics and their utility.

Made from brushed aluminum and enhanced with a “soft-touch” material finish, the So Ice” mobile phone is simply oozing in elegance, as underlined in the large highdefinition TFT screens with 262,000 colors, 2 inches. He is slim (106x52x12.6 mm), light (90g) and compact.

This phone is different not only in his design but also in the technologies employed: 3.2 megapixel camera with 6x digital zoom suitable for both photos and videos, plus music player, MMS, WAP 2.0, FM radio with RDS, Bluetooth, microSD TM card reader.

It uses tri-band technology and has a battery life: 3 hours of talk-time, 6 hours of music playback, and 200 hours on standby.

The SAGEM my721X “So Ice” will be released towards the end of May 2008.

news source : http://www.3g.co.uk/PR/April2008/6025.htm

Saturday, April 26, 2008

i-mate Ultimate 8502 Review

Look and Feel

It’s not the prettiest smartphone we have ever seen, but the offset mini joystick on the front fascia does give it an air of individuality.


Ease of Use

The QWERTY keyboard is tiny, but its keys are nicely raised from each other so they are reasonably easy to hit.


Features

There is no GPS, but it does have HSDPA and Wi-Fi, and you can send the screen’s contents to a TV or projector via a provided cable.


Performance

There were no performance issues noticed during testing. It is easy to navigate using a combination of mini joystick, side-mounted scroll-wheel and touch-screen.



Battery Life

The battery life is quite strong for a Windows Mobile Professional device. You should get a couple of days between charges unless you thrash the Wi-Fi and 3G.

news source : http://www.mobilechoiceuk.com/Phone-review?product_id=349

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Sony Ericsson announces two new HSDPA handsets

Sony Ericsson has introduced two new HSDPA phones into its line-up, the Z780 and G502.

The Z780 is a clamshell and the better equipped of the two, with built-in A-GPS for sat nav, as well as HSDPA for accessing your email and internet at high speeds. The pre-loaded Google Maps application gives users a satellite view of the local area plus listings for local restaurants and hotels.

The handsets also features a 2 megapixel camera with Photo Fix, RSS data feeds, automatic email set up, picture and video blogging and a music player with Mega Bass, PlayNow and TrackID. Sony Ericsson says the handset, which comes in Grand Onyx and Amethyst Silver, will be available in selected markets from Q2 2008.

Meanwhile, the G502 also features HSDPA data speeds and Google Maps, but you'll have to plug in Sony Ericsson's HGE-100 GPS enabler if you want satellite assisted navigation.

The handsets also feature an RSS desktop, automatic email set up, picture and video blogging, a 2 megapixel camera and a music player with PlayNow and TrackID.

The G502, which comes in Champagne Black and Brilliant Hazel, will also be available from Q2 2008.

news source : http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/Sony_Ericsson_announces_two_new_HSDPA_handsets.html

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Nokia 5220 XpressMusic Unveiled with New Asymmetrical Design


Nokia today announced the 5220 XpressMusic, an affordable music phone with a unique, asymmetrical design.

Compatible with the recently launched Nokia Music Store, the 5220 XpressMusic offers easy music side-loading. With Nokia Music Store, consumers can choose from more than 2 million tracks from both major and independent labels; international and local artists and browse, download, stream and sync either to a PC or side-load directly to the 5220 XpressMusic.

Additional features on the 5220 XpressMusic include up to 24 hours playback time, dedicated music keys and a 3.5 mm audio jack. A built-in lanyard makes the it easy to carry.

"Our XpressMusic range of devices continues to deliver the combination of superior music experiences and fresh, innovative designs," said Jo Harlow, Nokia Vice President. "Today's additions to the XpressMusic range up the ante with new ways for consumers to access their media as well as interact and share content with friends and communities anytime, anywhere."

The Nokia 5220 XpressMusic is expected to begin shipping in the third quarter of 2008 with an estimated retail price of 160 EUR ($250 USD) before taxes and subsidies.

news source : http://www.mobiledia.com/news/65930.html

Monday, April 21, 2008

Samsung launches "Soul" in Europe


Samsung Electronics on Sunday announced the launch of the previously announced 'Soul' mobile phone, calling it the company's flagship product in the first half 2008. Beginning later this month (and next), the "Soul" will be available in France, UK, and Germany through major European mobile operators and in most of GSM supporting open markets. The tri-band phone features a 5-megapixel camera with a 4x digital zoom, face detection, image stabilizer and Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) as well as 7.2Mbps HSDPA data access for advanced 3G network support. Soul is available in three different colors: 'Sterling Steel,' 'Soul Gray' and 'Platinum Silver" for €400.

Showcased in Barcelona last February, Samsung says it named ‘Soul’ to honor the completion of its exclusive ‘Ultra Edition’ series with a full metal body and a premium finish and 12.9mm-thin form factor.

The slim, lightweight and stylish mobile phone offers a sleek combination of "highly styled design" and functionality, including advanced usability features that adapt to the user depending on the application: the navigation indicators on the keypad of the phone change according to the user’s needs, enabling simpler navigation of the menus simple, intuitive and direct, Samsung claims.

"The navigation panel’s icons change according to function. For example, when in music mode, music related icons will light up on the navigation indicators," the company said in a statement. "When in camera mode, camera related icons such as zoom and brightness icons will appear."

http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/04/20/samsung.launches.soul/

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Improved LG Viewty to come this year


LG has hinted that we could be seeing a new improved 'Viewty' phone in October 2008.

The manufacturer said a 'Viewty-style' phone, with 'possibly more megapixels' was in the pipeline and could launch around October this year, but stressed that an exact launch date was yet to be confirmed.

LG revealed its plans when talking to Mobile about its product roadmap for the rest of the year.

In addition to the LG K750 Black Label handset, which is set to be unveiled next week, LG said there would be a music phone launching 'around July', an imaging phone 'like the Viewty' around October and an 'design/fashion led phone' planned for November.

Meanwhile, the LG KF700 is already on sale.

http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/Improved_LG_Viewty_to_come_this_year.html

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

LG T80: Mobile Freeview for Nordic neighbours


It's a popular opinion at Crave that South Korean company LG Electronics has made significant advances in its game over the last few years. We find its mobile phones to be as titillating as Kate Nash, and its MP3 players, while not ground-breaking, are at least stylish and touch-sensitive, also like Ms Nash. Rowr.

Lucky for our Nordic neighbours, then, that LG's giving them a new model of MP3 player to enjoy. It's called the T80 and among the what-we-expected-in-2007 -not-2008 specifications, it supports DVB-T -- the digital TV technology that Freeview is built upon. "You mean I can get Dave on my MP3 player?" Well, yes and no... but mostly no.

Why? It's probably not going to come to the UK, despite LG needing to give us an update to last year's FM37. Come on, it's no big deal. Freeview on the move would be rubbish. We've seen it implemented in a mobile phone and it was awful.

TV aside, the T80 is an okay MP3 player, with MP3, WMA, OGG and WAV support, MPEG-4 video, a full 40 hours of audio battery life and a 400x240-pixel touch-sensitive display. With only 4GB of non-expandable internal memory and just two hours of DVB-T battery life, we don't feel like we're missing this year's most crucial product.

If you're itching for your quirky usage of TV technology fix, you can see people with televisions for heads in Encoded this week. -Nate Lanxon

news source : http://crave.cnet.co.uk/digitalmusic/0,39029432,49296497,00.htm

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Samsung miCoach Review


Look and feel

The Samsung miCoach is a lightweight slider phone with a robust plastic casing and a patterned grip-finish on the rear casing and around the joypad, designed to assist grips as you build up a sweat.

At 80g and similar in size to an iPod Mini, the phone is a good weight and shape to be held comfortably while you’re running and also tucks comfortably into one of those little Velcro arm straps. A volume control on the right-hand side of the phone is similarly grip friendly and the important key functions are clearly signposted with relevant icons like a runner and a music symbol.



All in all, the phone is as attractive as it needs to be. The Samsung branding is clear yet relatively subtle, and the phone feels sturdy enough to survive being dropped as you take the steps of your local municipal building two at a time as you reach the crescendo of your workout.


Features

Although many of the features, like the camera and data speeds are bog standard, the phone’s fitness function is first rate.



Samsung’s miCoach can be set to monitor a workout that suits your needs, whether you’re a serious athlete or a part-time jogger. And not only do you get running commentary on the progress of your workout at the press of a button, you can even choose the type of voice that delivers your stats. On top of that, the excellent music player is beautifully integrated with the phone’s fitness function.


Ease of use

With two well signposted keys providing instant access to the Workout and Music functions and an easy icon-based main menu, the miCoach is an easy phone to get around.



It’s also very easy to access and control the fitness and music functions while you’re mid-run with single or double key presses usually doing the trick.


Performance

Putting the phone’s average camera and web browsing abilities to one side, the Samsung miCoach is an excellent fitness-tracking tool.

Everything about the phone just works. It’s simple to set up and, once you’ve done so, provides very accurate data. The music player is great too and integrates beautifully with the phone’s fitness function.


Battery life

Although the miCoach is designed to offer low battery consumption, the battery is quite weak with only 150 minutes’ talktime and 250 minutes’ standby. Compared to the 500+ minutes that most Sony Ericsson phones offer, this is a little disappointing.


news source : http://www.mobilechoiceuk.com/Phone-review?product_id=333