Nokia X3 review: Music X-three-M

Introduction

The Nokia X3 is our first glimpse into the new Xseries and we’re excited to see how things have changed since XpressMusic ran the show. And they have changed, the new angular look is a testament to that. The S40 on the inside has changed as well, throwing Ovi Store and basic multi-tasking into the mix.

Nokia X3 official photos

Currently the Xseries is composed of two completely different phones. The Nokia X6 is a touch phone running Symbian, and the X3 is an affordable Series 40 slider. It packs stereo speakers, excellent audio quality and a built-in FM radio antenna for a complete sonic experience. All right, we said affordable, so don’t go looking for top-notch gear beside the obvious full music package.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves and let’s take a look at the Nokia X3 pros and cons.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• 2.2" 262K color QVGA display
• 3.2 megapixel fixed focus camera
• S40 user interface, 6th edition; rudimentary multitasking
• Stereo FM radio with RDS; Built-in antena (so it plays on the loudspeakers even if you don’t plug the headset)
• Stereo speakers
• Standard 3.5mm audio jack
• Up to 26 hours of music playback
• Bluetooth (with A2DP) and microUSB port
• microSD card slot (16 GB supported, 2GB included)
• Rich preinstalled application package
• Ovi Store, Ovi Maps and Ovi Share

Main disadvantages:

• No 3G connectivity
• Smallish display with poor viewing angles and sunlight legibility
• Slider action has an unpleasant plastic-on-plastic friction
• S40 interface feels clunky and out of date
• No true multitasking
• No smart dialing or an office document viewer
• A bunch of software bugs
• Video recording maxes out at QCIF@15fps

The specs look like nothing to be excited about but a shortish feature list never tells the whole story. So, think before you go “Nah, it sounds lame”, because you’ll be wrong about sound. We spent several days with it and now we’re ready to tell you the story behind those specs, the good, the bad and the ugly, the whole thing.

More Nokia X3 photos

Do we have your interest? Good. Jump to the next page where we open the box and take a look at the Nokia X3. After the hardware inspection we’ll try to explain what the deal is with this multitasking-but-not-quite situation.

NOKIA X3

Android OS versions breakdown and updated mobile Google web apps, HTC releases own widgets

The Android family keeps growing with more and more handsets, so Google has just launched the device dashboard. Their mobile web apps are also now better, faster, stronger, and HTC released new Sense UI widgets for the Hero and Droid Eris.

Android devices graph shows OS versions shares

The newly released Android devices graph is based on devices, which have accessed the Marketplace within the last two weeks and will be updated periodically. As you can see the 1.5 devices have a share of more than a quarter of all devices but the main target for developers should probably be version 1.6.

Android 1.6 devices account for more than half the market. But ver. 1.6 smartphones do not share one and the same displays and they vary from QVGA up to WVGA resolution.

Google tweaks its web apps for speed

Today Google also updated their mobile web apps and now it should load up to three times faster for certain devices. The new Gmail features include full label support, swipe to archive, smart links, faster address auto-complete, outbox, enhanced refresh and auto-expanding boxes. Google claim they've pushed the mobile web browser capabilities and HTML5 to the max. To try it, just head on to www.google.com on your mobile browser and hit apps.

GMail on iPhone

And HTC jumps up and offers some free Sense UI widgets

Meanwhile HTC made another move for differentiating their Android devices. They've released a few new widgets compatible with the HTC Hero and the CDMA-based HTC Droid Eris. The available widgets for download are Tip Calculator, Today in History, Dice and Battery.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 and HTC HD2 knock on T-Mobile door

Two Snapdragon-powered phones with large touchscreens are taking the first steps to the pockets of T-Mobile US consumers. Yep, the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 passed through FCC testing and it and the HTC HD2 both are on their way to T-Mobile USA.

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 has obviously passed through the scrutiny of the Federal commission, but the interesting part is the 3G test. The tested UMTS bands were I, IV and VIII, or in other words 900/1700/2100MHz. That definitely points in T-Mobile's direction.

WMExperts bring the second bit of good news for T-Mobile customers - they got the ROM image for the US HTC HD2 and it seems heavily bound for T-Mobile as well. They also share some of the versions of the apps that will be available inside - ROM version 2.01, Windows Mobile 6.5 build 21896, Opera Mobile 9.7, TeleNav GPS navigation 5.5.34 and Teeter 2.0 (hooray!).

The rumored release date for the HTC HD2 in the US is March 2010. The release date for the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 on the other hand is anyone's guess.

Source: FCC, WMExperts

iPhone hits Vodafone UK on 14 January, rewards for pre-ordering

Vodafone UK will start offering iPhone 3G and 3GS from 14 January. You can grab a 16GB 3GS for free on 45 pounds monthly on a two-year contract. All those who pre-order it will receive free Vodafone calls for as long as the contract goes.

Remember the really short Vodafone press statement that announced plans for an iPhone launch? They've finally come up with more details. Vodafone will launch the new generation Apple iPhone 3G and 3GS on 14 January.

The iPhone 3GS 32GB and 16GB are free on the 75- and 45-pound tariffs respectively, while the iPhone 3G 8GB sells for free on the 35-pound tariff.

Nothing surprising here, but the operator promises free Vodafone to Vodafone calls, along with 1GB of mobile internet for those who have pre-ordered an iPhone. People who have registered interest will receive email instructions how to pre-order it.

Source

Palm Pre review: A pebble in your hand

Introduction

It's not like we didn't tell you. And hey, it's not like we're on time either. But we guess better late than sorry goes both ways. Once a popular (mostly stateside) PDA and smartphone maker, Palm were going full blast from safe to sorry. So, did they try to put the brakes? Negative. They hit the U turn.

Many must've doubted Palm ever getting out of the twilight of their dwindling smartphone line. But we're not gonna give you all that crap about second chances. It won't be fair to the Palm Pre. It couldn't have been bleaker for the company but the Palm Pre is not the kind to walk around a with "Will work for food" sign on its neck. No sir. It's looking to elbow its way through a crowd of apples, androids and PocketPCs.

Palm Pre official photos

Are we talking the mother of all comebacks here? We honestly don't know. But it looks like a debut of the same magnitude as the iPhone OS, Android and Maemo. The Palm Pre seems to have all the things that made the iPhone so special: multi-touch display, an Application Store, fluid and creative UI and a good web browser. But Palm didn't stop there - the webOS is all about multitasking - to an extent that gives quite a point to those who wouldn't call the iPhone a proper smartphone.

The webOS and all the touchscreen gadgetry will sure keep us busy enough. It's the interface and the handling that will earn the Palm Pre its deserved share of admirers. But before we power up this multitasking monster and start navigating its new and unique system, let's look at the package itself.

Key features:

• 3.1" 16M-color TFT display of 320 x 480 pixel resolution and excellent sunlight legibility
• 3 megapixel fixed focus camera, LED flash
• Quad-band GSM support
• Tri-band UMTS support with HSDPA
• ARM Cortex A8 600 MHz, PowerVR SGX graphics chip

  

• 256 MB RAM
• Sliding-out full QWERTY keyboard
• Palm webOS is an innovative multi-touch user interface, heavy on multitasking
• Touch-enabled Gesture Area
• Built-in GPS receiver
• Wi-Fi
• 8 GB of onboard storage
• Accelerometer, proximity sensor
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• Bluetooth with A2DP support
• Application Store for direct apps download and installation
• Office document viewer

Main disadvantages:

• No video calls over the 3G network
• No memory card slot
• Glossy plastics look cheap, love fingerprints
• Camera has no auto focus… nor any settings at all, disappointing image quality
• No video recording unless hacked
• Web browser lacks Flash support,
• No DivX/XviD video playback support
• No Bluetooth file transfers
• App Catalog available in a limited number of countries
• Small and fiddly QWERTY keyboard keys
• No onscreen keyboard, portrait typing only
• No smart dialing

The specs ring the iPhone bell and you may think the Pre is just another copycat - you'll be wrong. The Palm Pre is pushing a brand new OS and doesn't keep a stiff upper lip like some other smartphones - that goes to you Symbian and WinMo.

Palm Pre in our hands

But so much for the resemblance to iPhone. It's a completely different form factor, there are some novel navigation solutions and there's a QWERTY keyboard and multi-tasking. The Palm Pre is a fresh and exciting addition to the world of smartphones.

The webOS may have learned a lot from the iPhone OS, but it certainly is trying to do things its own way. The Pre is obviously limited much like the first iPhone and earliest Android handsets.

It's not the list of do's and don'ts that makes this phone though. It's not the capacitive, multi-touch-enabled touchscreen, it's not the QWERTY keyboard. The Pre hopes to be a symbol of a company's rebirth and promises an exciting time for touchscreen. And it's got a darn good reason to be hopeful: the webOS.

We'll get there but let's take this one step at a time. The Palm Pre gets unboxed, handled and described right after the jump.

Broadcom VideoCore IV records 1080p video, takes 20MP photos

You hear a lot about camera modules on mobile phones, but not so much about the chip that does all the work of compressing the images and video. The new Broadcom BCM2763 VideoCore IV can handle photos up to 20 megapixels and record Full HD video among other things.

Of course, it would need a 20-megapixel sensor to do its 20-megapixel photo trick but the first devices using the Broadcom VideoCore IV are expected to come out in 2011. In two years, it's not unlikely some company will be pushing out its new 18MP or so camera phone. Because, you know, they already did 12MP and to the average consumer more is better.

The chip can also handle image stabilization, face and smile detection and take several images a second - we wouldn't expect anything less out of future high-end camera phones.

Even if 20MP image sensors that fit into mobile phones don't materialize, the Broadcom VideoCore IV can record 1080p video using H.264 High Profile (the codec used in Blu-ray discs).

Image capture is just part of the BCM2763 VideoCore IV repertoire - it can also play back Full HD video as well and do it over HDMI. What's left is for the phone to use the Micro HDMI connectors, which are the size of microUSB, and you get a pocketable HTPC.

The last trick that the Broadcom VideoCore IV has up its sleeve is that it works as a GPU with 128MB LPDDR2 of dedicated RAM, for rendering 3D graphics.

Since it's targeted at mobile devices, the Broadcom BCM2763 VideoCore IV is built using a 40nm process. Broadcom estimates that its reduced power consumption will lead to 4-6 hours of video recording and 8-10 hours of video playback on most mobile devices, and up 16 hours if the video is played over HDMI. If the internal memory of the device can fit those 16 hours that is.

Source

BlackBerry Bold 9700 review: Dare you go

Introduction

Some handsets will work their socks off to have their fifteen minutes of fame, others are simply born into stardom. The BlackBerry Bold 9700 is certainly fortunate to carry a name that stands for popularity and excellence in the RIM family of phones. But this kind of fame can be less a blessing and more of a curse if the successor fails to live up to the standards set by its illustrious namesake.

BlackBerry Bold 9700 official photo

These high expectations have quite often turned otherwise decent handsets into a byword for failure. It's simply not enough to provide incremental improvements when upgrading an iconic handset. The iPhone somehow gets away with that, but Apple usually does. But for regular mobile phone manufacturers it takes something new and it certainly takes something better for the successor to achieve the same kind of success.

Key features:

• 2.44" 65K-color TFT landscape display with a resolution of 480 x 360 pixels
• Comfortable four-row full QWERTY keyboard
• Quad-band GSM support and tri-band 3G with HSDPA
• Wi-Fi and built-in GPS and BlackBerry maps preloaded
• 3.15 autofocus megapixel camera, LED flash
• 624 MHz CPU, 128 MB RAM
• BlackBerry OS v5
• Responsive trackpad navigation
• Hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 16GB)
• DivX and XviD video support
• Good web browser
• Office document editor
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• Decent audio quality
• Smart dialing
• Great battery life
• More compact body and lighter weight compared to the Bold 9000
• Good build quality

Main disadvantages:

• Many features are locked without a BlackBerry Internet Service account (plan)
• Mediocre camera performance and features
• No FM radio
• No video-call camera
• No TV-out functionality
• No built-in accelerometer
• No built-in compass

It's pretty obvious where the RIM R&D team is heading with the BlackBerry Bold 9700. It's hard to really overhaul a handset that was considered almost perfect by most of its users without testing their loyalty, so they embarked on optimization instead. It's not a bad formula for success to just keep the same functionality, stick it in a smaller, fitter body and improve the performance wherever possible.

Will the BlackBerry Bold 9700 have the span and impact of its predecessor?

One glitch or an important feature sacrificed to fit the compact package and the plan goes down the tubes. The smartphone market is increasingly competitive and smaller companies like RIM know they have little room for error. The new Bold 9700 looks fit and hot, no doubt about that. Let's see if it performs to our expectations, and yours.

Samsung S5560 preview: First look

Ah, the futuristic appeal of touchscreens - consumers can't get enough of them. Enter the Samsung S5560. With a 5MP camera and Wi-Fi, it's two widgets ahead of the competition. The rest mostly follows the recipe for success from the S5230 Star cookbook, with a few tweaks to bring it up to speed.

Samsung S5560 official photos

The Samsung S5560 lacks 3G connectivity but comes with Wi-Fi connectivity. It's hardly the solution that most carriers opt for (and carriers ARE the biggest cellphone contractors), but we guess Samsung have gone for pleasing the end client this time. In an effort to keep the price down, trading 3G for Wi-Fi is a compromise many users would make.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves, check out the rundown of the Samsung S5560 features:

Samsung S5560 (a.k.a Marvel) at a glance:

• General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar
• Dimensions: 107.5 x 52 x 13.2 mm, 95g
• Display: 3.0 inch WQVGA TFT resistive touchscreen, 240 x 400 pixels
• Platform: Latest TouchWiz 2.0 UI, Smart Unlock
• Memory: 78MB integrated memory, hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 16GB)
• Camera: 5 megapixel auto focus camera with LED flash, image stabilization, WDR, face detection, Smile Shot, blink detection and QVGA video recording at 15 fps
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, standard microUSB port, 3.5mm audio jack
• Misc: Accelerometer for screen auto rotate and turn-to-mute, FM radio with RDS
• Battery: 960 mAh battery

Samsung S5560 in our office

This phone is clearly a Samsung Jet wannabe - the styling, the camera, the Wi-Fi connectivity all make it a cheaper alternative to the Jet. Sure, tradeoffs have been made for the sake of a lower price, but if you've never owned a touch phone before, the S5560 makes a great introduction.

The timer on non-touch operated phones seems to be running down - touch phones seem to get the best features and the most hype. This makes it harder and harder to say no, especially now that their price is no longer prohibitive.

On the next page we do our Sherlock Holmes impersonation and take a close look at the exterior of the Samsung S5560.