Samsung Galaxy S2 specs and photo leak before MWC starts

The Samsung Galaxy S2 is out in the open a day early - specs, photo, the whole shebang. A Korean website slipped up and we now know everything about the next-gen droid, plus info on the Galaxy Tab 2, which reportedly will be 10-inch this time around.
The Samsung Galaxy S2 has grown a bigger screen, another core and somehow gotten thinner in spite of all that. The phone runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread on a 1GHz dual-core processor.
The Galaxy S2 screen has a 4.3” diagonal. The phone is just 8.49mm thick and weighs 116 grams. The photo on the left also leaked and the S2 looks just like we expected it to.
The connectivity specs of the Samsung Galaxy S2 are very curious - “4G” (actually HSPA+), Wi-Fi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0+HS. The 802.11a standard uses the 5GHz band rather than the more common 2.4GHz so perhaps the WLAN radio of the Galaxy S2 will be dual-band for the other protocols too. There's also Bluetooth 3.0+HS, which should support 24Mbps data transfers (unlike the non-HS BT3.0, which as we found brings no speed improvement at all).
Update: We just got a tip that the screen of the Galaxy S2 will be curved, much like the one on the Google Nexus S. We found that to be a pretty nice feature so it makes us all the more eager to take the S2 for a spin.
As for the tablet, it’s the Galaxy Tab successor - a 10.1” Honeycomb tablet, with dual-core 1GHz CPU, 8MP camera with FullHD video capture and stereo speakers.
One final bit of info was in the leaked article - version 2.0 of Samsung’s Bada OS is getting launched at the MWC as well.
Well, we guess we can check two things off our “What to expect from the MWC” cheat sheet.


Source 1, Source 2

Nokia X2-01 review: Loads of attitude

Introduction

Good build, QWERTY keyboard and one-touch access to music: the Nokia X2-01 has the right ingredients to serve and entertain. And if you’re looking to buy cheap, it’s an offer that’s hard to beat.

 
 
 Nokia X2-01 official photos

Nokia has long made the low-end their fortress and X2-01 must be following a strategy that’s proven to work. The Nokia X2-01 is a music phone for the young with emphasis on Facebook and messaging.
With its combination of features and form factor versus price, the Nokia X2-01 has a market segment of its own. It’s another foot soldier in Nokia’s offensive in becoming the world’s number one QWERTY phone manufacturer.

Key features

• Entry level QWERTY messenger bar
• Quad-band GSM/EDGE connectivity
• 2.4" 256K-color QVGA TFT display with great sunlight legibility
• VGA camera with QVGA video recording at 24fps
• Series 40 UI, 6th edition
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• Bluetooth 2.1 (with EDR)
• Standard microUSB port
• microSD card slot (8GB supported, 2GB included)
• 3.5mm audio jack
• Good audio quality

Main disadvantages

• No 3G
• Piss poor camera
• No smart dialing
• No USB charging

We are ready to turn a blind eye to some of the disadvantages. 3G is not essential in this price range and so is a decent camera. The S40 is not the best-looking feature phone interface but it would’ve been a lot easier to live with if it had smart dial, some document viewer capabilities or basic multitasking.
Cost-cutting is key for the X2-01. Nokia obviously presumes the target audience doesn’t really need those things. The X2-01 is all about simplicity and ease of use plus some great build quality. This entry-level messenger will not be bothered by comparisons.

Nokia X2-01 live shots

Don’t hesitate to follow us along as we check up the exterior and internals of the X2-01 – we’re about to find out exactly what you’re getting for your hard earned cash.
Editorial: Normally, phones like the X2-01 stay under our review radar as they rarely excite much interest in our readers. However, the Nokia X2-01 is special. Its Daily Interest rating has hit 35% at the time of writing this. That’s an impressive number for a low-end handset – it equals the daily interest rating of the Google Nexus S and the Motorola DEFY combined. Obviously Nokia X2-01 has somehow managed to attract our visitors’ attention.

EU starts sampling the one charger to rule them all

The unified charger for all mobiles was proposed back in June 2009 and the European Commission finalized talks with the 14 major manufacturers about the unified charger. The charger has now begun sampling.
Manufacturers are now ready with the sample microUSB chargers and the implementation process has stared based on the specifications everybody agreed on in December 2010. The manufacturers that have signed the agreement are Apple, Emblaze Mobile, Huawei Technologies, LGE, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Qualcomm, Research in Motion (RIM), Samsung, SonyEricsson, TCT Mobile (ALCATEL mobile phones), Texas Instruments and Atmel.
Using a common charger will certainly make it easier for all users, which currently have to use to every different phone with a different charger. The environment is sure to benefit from it also, as approximately 4 000 tons of accessories are thrown away by users, yearly.
The new common European phone charger should hit the shelves this year. The European Commission has created a dedicated website for the new charger. You can find it at onechargerforall.eu.
Oh, and here's the somewhat gross video ad of the EU campaign. We honestly think they could have done better, creatively, you know.

By the way, if you're wondering what will happen with the proprietary port that Apple seem so keen on, the memorandum on the common charger allows for multimodal charging and also permits any of the companies to use a proprietary socket, as long as it supplies an adapter to charge the device with the universal charger. What that means is that Apple could either add a separate microUSB port on their next iPhone that can do the charging beside the original port, or they can add an adapter that would allow iPhones to be charged with a microUSB charger.
Source

LG Optimus 2X review: Double the potential

Introduction

Begun the dual-core revolution has. And there’s no scouting time – the offensive starts with the big guns. The LG Optimus 2X is not just counting on the fancy Tegra 2 name to generate the sales – it is a powerful smartphone through and through.

 

LG Optimus 2X official photos

The fancy camera with Full HD video recording alone is enough to bring any handset into the limelight and the fact that it’s not even the Optimus 2X key feature speaks volume. As far as hardware evolution goes, the Optimus 2X promises to be one of the biggest steps forward in the mobile phone industry.

Key features:

• Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G support
• 10.2 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• 4.0" 16M-color capacitive IPS LCD touchscreen of WVGA resolution (480 x 800 pixels)
• Android OS v2.2 Froyo with LG Home launcher
• Dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 proccessor, ULP GeForce GPU, Tegra 2 chipset
• 512 MB RAM
• 8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and geotagging
• 1080p video recording @ 24fps, 720p@30fps
• 1.3 MP front-facing camera with videocalls
• Wi-Fi b/g/n and DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS, digital compass
• 8GB internal storage and microSDslot for up to 32GB cards
• Accelerometer, gyroscope, and proximity sensor
• microHDMI port with HDMI mirroring
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v2.1
• Smart dialing, voice dialing
• DivX/XviD video support
• Innovative gesture controls
• Adobe Flash 10.1 support
• Dolby Mobile and SRS sound enhancement

Main disadvantages

• Despite similar technology LCD isn’t quite as impressive as the iPhone4 screen
• No dedicated camera key and no lens cover
• 1080p recording isn’t well polished
• No Android 2.3 Gingerbread at launch
• Audio quality is only average
• Below average speaker loudness

There are always a few compromises necessary with modern-day smartphones, but those are brought to a minimum with the Optimus 2X. You have a relatively good display (large, too), lots of oomph under the sleek hood and an excellent snapper at the back, plus all but the kitchen sink in the connectivity department.

 

 

LG Optimus 2X live shots

Or at least that’s what papers will make you believe. Our experience, however, has thought us better than blindly believing the fancy PR talk. The excellent first impression certainly helps the Optimus 2X cause, but we’ll only be able to recommend it wholeheartedly if it passes the test of a full review.

Samsung Google Nexus S review: Royal droid

Introduction

Another year, another heir to the Droid throne – and Google are trying to be democratic about it. Which is a roundabout way of saying they’re not monogamous. For the Nexus One, Google teamed up with HTC. This time around, they trusted Samsung to do the job, using the Galaxy S as a base.

 
 

Google Nexus S official photos

It’s only their second try and users are given a second chance to like the Royal Droid. A tall task it is – the very concept is fundamentally incompatible with the free and open source Android system. Royal blood is not a benefit in a free democracy. Google did learn it the hard way with the Nexus One.
Google’s second smartphone child has more than just an image problem to tackle. The Samsung Google Nexus S has to keep pace with the evolution of the platform. The “S” in the name may stand for many things – from second to superior. But with Android 2.3 Gingerbread inside, speed is not far from the truth either. Here’s what else the Nexus S has to offer in a nutshell.

Key features:

• Quad-band GSM and tri-band 3G support
• HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
• 4.0" WVGA (480x800) Super AMOLED Contour Display with curved glass screen
• Android OS, v2.3 Gingerbread
• 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A8 (Hummingbird) processor
• 16GB storage, 512 MB RAM
• 5 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and geotagging
• Front-facing VGA camera
• Wi-Fi b/g/n with DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS
• Portable Wi-Fi hotspot and stereo Bluetooth v2.1
• Near Field Communication chip
• Accelerometer, proximity and light sensors
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• microUSB port (charging)
• Adobe Flash support out of the box
• Latest Google Mobile apps

Main disadvantages:

• No microSD slot
• No 720p video recording
• All-plastic body, fingerprint magnet
• No DivX and XviD support (no actual video player) out of the box
• No dedicated camera key and no lens cover
• No FM radio
• No smart dialing
• Overly expensive for its feature set

As you can see, the Nexus S shares a lot of the Samsung Galaxy S components. Powered by the very same 1Ghz Hummingbird processor and having the same 512MB of RAM, it feels a bit quicker probably thanks to Gingerbread.
The fact aside that our review isn’t exactly on time, this hardware is so 2010, while the imaging department is surely from 2009. We wouldn’t fuss about it was it not for the Tegra 2 SoC and its 1080p video recording, which has the power to be the next big thing in the industry. The emphasis here being on next. Maybe Google should’ve thought of that and instead of rushing to release the Nexus S.
If they chose to wait a couple of months, a dual-core CPU could’ve made a lot of difference – especially with Gingerbread. The Nexus S would have been a beast just like its predecessor was, with the first droid powered by a 1Ghz processor on the market. With this hardware, the Nexus S is no more than an overclocked Nexus One.

 

 

 

 Google Nexus S live shots

But wait a minute – maybe not all is lost and the Nexus S will be salvaged by the software. Not only is it the first Gingerbread-powered phone to the market – it can also count on special treatment in terms of getting updates on time.
Anyway, when you have a second try at something the results are supposed to be better. Just like when parents raise a second child differently having learned from their past experience. Stick around to find out if the Google Nexus S is the definitive, all-muscle replacement of the Nexus One we’ve all been waiting for.

XPERIA Play is finally official, thanks to the Super Bowl ads

Sony Ericsson has finally made the XPERIA Play official through a creepy Super Bowl commercial. The presentation is still scheduled for 13 February, but now you finally know what to expect then. Oh, wait...
We've already lost count of the XPERIA Play leaks, pictures, videos, previews, benchmarks, etc. Sony Ericsson did the right thing teasing with the Super Bowl ad and making the XPERIA Play somewhat official. Really, it was about time.

Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570 Preview: First Look

Introduction

Mini phones are a hot commodity. They are desirable and fill a market gap of small, easy-to-carry devices, which can lift mountains despite their size. Now Samsung wants to have a go at that market with the Galaxy Mini S5570.

 

 
 
 

Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570 official photos

The Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570 is expected to be pretty affordable for what it has to offer and that’s always a good thing. Powering the device is an ARMv6 600Mhz, which doesn’t sound like much, but with Froyo 2.2 on top, it’s sufficient for everyday usage.
Here’s a list of what the Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570 will offer you.

Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570 – at a glance:

• General HSDPA 7.2Mbps, 900/2100 Mhz, EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 Mhz
• Form factor: Touchscreen phone
• Dimensions: 110.4 x 60.8 x 12.1 mm, 105 g
• Display: 3.2” capacitive touchscreen; QVGA (240x320) pixel resolution
• CPU: ARMv6 600Mhz processor
• OS: Android 2.2.1 (Froyo)
• Memory: 160MB storage, 384MB RAM, hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 16GB)
• Camera: 3 megapixel fixed focus camera
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack
• Misc: FM radio, built-in accelerometer, proximity sensor, Swype predictive input method, Social Hub

As you can see the major compromise in the specs sheet is the screen resolution. Android looks bad on QVGA screens. Samsung have done some sub pixel modifications to the fonts and icons to make them look good and more legible on the Galaxy Mini but we feel that will remain our primary grudge with the handset.
On the positive side, that compromise might as well mean that the Galaxy Mini will be among the most affordable Android smartphones on the market.

 

 

 

Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570 live shots

The Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570 feels nice in hand. It has a thin profile and the materials used are nice to touch.
We have the pleasure of getting a pre-release test unit and since it’s an early prototype, it’s not quite ready for prime time so we’ll be doing only a quick preview of the device instead of a full-fledged review.