Latest Mobile Phone News

Following the announcement that Nokia will be using Windows Phone 7 within a year, the E7 should be among its last Symbian-powered phones. Don’t get too emotional, now…

This handset combines all of Nokia’s current strengths and weaknesses. Made from anodised aluminium, it’s a well-constructed, chunky slider with a full QWERTY. Those elements have a reassuringly old-fashioned feel to them. Giving less of a warm, nostalgic glow are a 680MHz processor that’s noticeably slower than rivals, giving sluggish multi-touch, and an operating system that feels archaic next to Android, iOS or WP7. Symbian is not a pleasure to use, and the range of apps at the Ovi Store remains of lower quality and quantity than at Android Market or the Apple App Store.

The four-inch screen’s resolution is only 640×360, so movies lack the detail of the Incredible S or iPhone 4. Being AMOLED, it does produce excellent contrast areas and off-angle viewing, however. The E7 does have one killer feature and that is its eight-meg/720p camera. Stills are excellent, and you can tweak white balance, sharpness. ISO and contrast. There’s also an LED flash. The HD video capture is smooth with natural colours, too. I Iowever with its other deficiencies, including a battery that needs charging every night, the E7 is hard to recommend to anyone other than die-hard Nokia fans.

Popularity: 14%

Next off HTC’s conveyor belt of phones that sound like superheroes is the Incredible, a Froyo-powered smartphone – an update to Gingerbread is coming soon – that sports a sizeable four-inch, 800×480 LCD screen. We must be getting used to slightly larger smartphones because despite the big screen it never feels oversized. However, its resolution is lower than the iPhone’s. blacks and whites aren’t as true as on that or the E7, colours are a touch over-saturated and reflections make it tricky to view in direct sun. That’s where the niggles run out, though. HTC’s Sense interface, including Friend Stream which aggregates updates across all your social networking platforms, makes the Incredible S effortless to use, helped by the lGHz Snapdragon processor. It’s every bit as slick as ihe iPhone 4 and leaves the E7 and Bold for dead.

There’s no iTunes Store, but Amazon’s MP3 Store makes for a very fine alternative, and Android Market, though lagging behind the App Store, is far better than it used to be in terms of quantity of good gear. It still sucks to use. mind you. The music player is again no iPod, but it’s functional, with a useful “find video” link to YouTube. The eight-meg stills are among Android’s best yet, though not as good as the Neo. E7 or iPhone. The dual-LED flash is prone to burning out detail. The 720p video footage just doesn’t look HD quality: next 10 the Nokia and iPhone it appears soft and blocky. With ?1 battery lasting into the second day, a big screen and Android’s intuitive interface, the Incredible S is another great 11TC Android handset. However, despite coming out almost a year after the iPhone 4, it still trails just behind it.

Popularity: 6%

Not a big change from the Xperia X10 in many ways, the Neo does benefit from being one of the first with Android 2.3 Gingerbread. It also has an unusually good camera for a smartphone, as Sony Ericsson draws on Sony’s camera expertise again. The bright, sharp, 5.7-inch, 854×480, multi-touch “Reality Display” – can’t anyone just call a screen a screen these days? – is impressive. Colours lack the punch and contrast of AMOLED and resolution is a tad below the iPhone, but poor-light visibility is good. Battery life is good for such a small phone – it’s just 13mm deep -but struggles to reach a second day. The reskinned Android 2.3 is packed with cool features. You can pinch the screen for an overview of open widgets and drag items on lop of one another to create folders, iOS style.

Social networking widget Timescape displays your friends’ updates as cards that you can flick through, in a way that might be described as gimmicky by some. Powered by a 1GHz processor, the Neo feels quick and pleasingly responsive, if not as fast as the HTC Incredible S or iPhone 4. The Neo comes with an eight-megapixel camera. That’s the same on paper as the HTC Incredible S, but with a scaled down version of Sony’s Exmor R sensor aboard stills are notably better. The iPhone and N8 offer generally comparable results, but the Neo is betler in low light. The 72op video capture is also good, being colourful and smooth, though again not as sharp or detailed es the Apple or Nokia. You can output it to your TV via HDMI or stream it easily over Wi-Fi, thanks to DLNA support. This isn’t the most luxurious of phones, but the latest version of Android and excellent photos make the Neo good value for money.

Popularity: 68%

After blowing us away at CES the Motorola Atrix gained the coveted top spot in 7~3′s Hot 100. First and foremost it’s a powerful, dualcore smartphone. Add a series of docks, however, and it becomes a multimedia hub or even a 11.6-inch laptop. You can also “transform” it into an alarm clock, but maybe that’s not quite so cool. Solid and well built, the Atrix runs Android 2.2 (Froyo) and exudes a restrained air of competence and power, a bit like a top-class bodyguard. It dresses all in black like one, too. The four-inch. 960×540 touchscreen is responsive, bright, with bold colours. There’s less fine detail than on the iPhone 4, but the slightly large’ size and very pure whites do go some way towards making up for that. The dualcore processor means it never feels slow.

You can quickly swap between open browser windows, maps, games and video playback without it batting an eyelid. At the moment there aren’t many games or apps that make the most of the extra processing oomph, but that should change. Another plus is Motorola’s Motoblur, which adds very neat integration with your social networks, as well as some handy apps Dock the Atrix in the Lapdock or HCMI-connected Multimedia Dock, select the Webtop mode and things get seriously next-gen.On the bigger screen, app shortcuts are arranged along the bottom. You can also add bookma-ks or web apps; settings are accessed in the top corner. If you prefer something more familiar, Mobile View displays a mini version of the Atrix’s home screen.

There, you can click any app as normal and use phone features including calls – a pop-up box indicates an incoming call and you get decent call quality through the mic and speaker – contacts and mail It’s easy enough, even if it’s unsurprisingly not as slick as a proper laptop OS. You can read and edit email attachments using Quick Office, access web-based apps such as Google Docs and Sugar Sync and if your business uses Citrix, you can remotely access a fuII Windows desktop, so you can open and use PowerPoint and Word documents – a very simple yet powerful feature. The docks also give you a full-screen Firefox browser. This works a treat on both our 42-inch TV and Moto’s 11.6-inch Lapdock. s:reaming T3 com. YouTuhe and BBC iPlayor at speed over the N Wi-Fi. Motorola’s slick Entertainment Centre also makes a good fist of showcasing your phone’s media -files.

Popularity: 6%

The year 2011 is set to be a bumper one for the smartphone. We now have mobiles with dualcore processors. Hot 100 list-topper the Motorola Atrix 4G sports one, as does the Samsung Galaxy SII. Screens are getting bigger and better, app stores continue to swell and cameras continue their oh-so-gradual improvement. Though IOS 4 remains at the top of the pile for many in the tech world, Android now matches it in most respects, while Windows Phone 7 has promise aplenty and BlackBerry and Symbian have their fans too. We’ve got handsets of all five types here for you. It’s time to get smartphone.

Popularity: 3%

According to a report by market research firm Gartner, mobile phone sales during the first quarter of 2011 stood at 427.8 million units as compared to 359.6 million during the same period last year. According to the report, smartphones accounted for 23.6% sales of mobile phones during Q1 2011 which is 85% more as compared to the corresponding period last year. Sales of smartphones stood at 100.8 million units. While Android phones sold more than 32.6 million units, sales of Symbian and iOS stood at 27.6 million and 16.9 million units. BlackBerry sold 13 million units while Microsoft sold 3.6 million phones. Except for Microsoft, all manufacturers recorded increase in sales during Q1 2011. However, the report had something for Microsoft to cheer about. It said that joining hands with Nokia will provide the required momentum to the sales of handsets equipped with Windows Phone 7 operating system. Nokia will also be looking forward to stop its slump of market share across the globe by tying hands with Microsoft.

Popularity: 2%

It was touch-and-go for a time, but the touch-screen interface has finally become mainstream. In the past it was relatively tough to round up 10 good touch-screen products. These days, high-quality touch-screen interfaces have made their way into PCs, tablets, phones, PMPs, digital cameras, and a host of other devices.

The introduction of the original iPhone back in 2007 sparked a touch-screen revolution in the smartphone space. With its gorgeous 3.5-inch Multi-Touch screen with support for pinch and zoom, well-designed, finger-friendly interface, and top-notch mobile Web experience, the iPhone served as a prime example of the potential of the keyboard-free phone.

After that, every major manufacturer took its own stab at the touch-screen smart-phone. Some succeeded, and some, well, not so much. RIM’s first touch-screen handset, the BlackBerry Storm, for example, was panned in our original review for a buggy, imprecise touch interface that was difficult to use. It took a major firmware upgrade six months later for us to recommend the Storm.

Four years later, though, there’s no shortage of innovative, easy-to-use touchscreen smartphones. In fact, each of the major U.S. carriers offers a number of handsets that ace the touch-screen interface. If you’re looking for a phone with a touch screen and you’re willing to say farewell to the physical keyboard for good, look no further than our10 favorite touch-screen phones

AT&T

Apple iPhone 4. Apple’s iPhone 4 adds a gorgeous screen, a terrific camera, and a faster processor to add to the already-awesome iPhone app experience, but voice calling still isn’t this phone’s priority.

HTC Inspire 4G. The HTC Inspire 4G, AT&T’s premiere Android phone Cat least for now) can hold its own against the iPhone 4 and other top smartphones.

Motorola Atrix 4G. Motorola’s Atrix 4G, the unique bleeding-edge superphone that can transform itself into a PC, shows how we’ll likely be using our mobile devices in the year 2020. But to get a taste of the future, you’ll have to pay, and deal with some bugs along the way.

SPRINT

HTC EVO 4G. If you live online, the EVO offers a big, beautiful, and powerful window to the world. The first WiMAX phone in the U.S. is a terrific platform for streaming media and Web browsing, and it gets your laptop online with Sprint’s 4G network.

LG Optimus S. The Optimus S is the best budget Android phone we’ve seen, a well-tuned, feature-packed touch-screen slab with   ^ all of the functionality most consumers and small business p users need.

T-MOBILE

T-Mobile myTouch 4G. The T-Mobile myTouch 4G combines a classy body with a big, beautiful touch screen and the latest software to offer the most you can get from Android today.

Samsung Galaxy S 4G. The Samsung Galaxy S 4G, with its faster data connection, refreshed styling, and Android 2.2 OS, is a stellar perform- k er that doubles as a great laptop modem.

VERIZON WIRELESS

HTC Thunderbolt. The HTC Thunderbolt, the first 4G LTE smartphone for Verizon Wireless, has the fastest Web speeds we’ve ever seen, but be prepared to carry an extra battery.

Motorola Droid X. Motorola Droid X takes the crown for the most powerful Android smartphone away from the HTC Droid Incredible.   L The huge 4.3-inch, 854-by-480 screen makes maneuvering * the phone’s excellent interface with your finger a breeze.

VERIZON WIRELESS

Apple iPhone 4. Our lab tests show that Verizon’s iPhone 4 is just as good as the popular AT&T model, if not slightly better. If you’ve been lusting for an iPhone, but AT&T’s network coverage doesn’t work for you, the Verizon iPhone will be your savior. But if you didn’t want an iPhone before, there’s nothing new here to change your mind.

Popularity: 4%

The first 4G LTE cell phone for Verizon Wireless, the HTC Thunderbolt, is the fastest Internet phone ever, and it wins our Editors’ Choice for the top touchscreen srnartphone on Verizon Wireless. But that scorching speed has a price: It burns up the phone’s battery, so you’ll need to bring a spare. At 6.4 ounces, the Thunderbolt looks and feels huge, but it’s classy looking. There’s a small 1.3-megapixel camera next to the earpiece, and a larger 8-megapixel shooter on the back, along with a kickstand, so you can prop the phone up on a table or a desk.

Verizon’s LTE network currently runs in about 40 metro areas, and it’s constantly expanding. The monthly $30 smnartphone data plan costs the same as a 3G data plan does. And for now, you get unlimited data. Upload and download speeds were incredible; I grabbed a 99MB episode of The Colbert Report from Bitbop in four minutes. As a voice phone, the Thunderbolt is just fine. RF reception is on the good side of average. Voice quality is strong; the earpiece is loud and there’s an unusual amount of side-tone, the reflection of your own voice in your ear that prevents you from yelling. If you need a lightning-fast phone and don’t mind paying a premium, the Thunderbolt is for you. Just make sure to buy a second battery.

Popularity: 2%

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 is BlackBerrys return to the shape we’re all accustomed with, the Torch being a slight move away from the typical BlackBerry aesthetic with a slider QWERTY board and a full touch screen.

As with any BlackBerry, both are aimed at the business consumer primarily. Though, what we really want to know is which is better?

Well the Torch is very distinct for a BlackBerry with its slider keyboard on magnetic rails. It certainly still does follow the BlackBerry shape, but just not in the traditional way. The 9900 does stick to the traditional formula however. It’s a typical BlackBerry but also includes a touch screen instead of the standard non-touch LCD offering. One thing to note is the quality of the keyboard, which is a dream to use. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 12%

Apple, Google, Microsoft, RIM— and even Amazon—are all in the app business. Some much, much more than others. These virtual software stores are considered something of a retail revolution. You can find virtually any kind of software in each of these application repositories: They’re like department stores full of products right on your smartphone. They don’t sell towels, Tupperware, or toys, but applications are, as we know, incredibly versatile. They can do almost anything, and that’s where the trouble begins. Considering that this is all just software, how much trouble can you really get into with an app? In an app store as large as Apple’s (300,000 apps and counting), it’s easy to miss most apps—people tend to see the Featured and Popular ones. A search, though, can help you discover apps for all sorts of topics. We learned recently, for example, that all the major app stores, Apple’s, RIM’s and Google’s, feature apps.

Popularity: 2%

According to a report released by Strategy Analytics, Samsung Electronics Co emerged as the top seller of mobile phones in the North American market during the January-March period of 2011. Samsung sold 12.6 million units of cell phones in the United States and Canada which accounted for 27.4% of the market. LG Electronics came second with the company selling 7.8 million units of cell phones. Apple Inc grabbed the third spot to become the third largest mobile phone vendor in the North American market.

However, the first quarter did not prove fruitful for RIM and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc as market share of these firms fell to less than 8%. The report also said that Samsung And Nokia were the top cell phone vendors in western Europe during the first quarter of 2011. Meanwhile, Samsung also plans to lift global sales of its mobiles phone this year by about 7% to 300 million units. The global cell phone market is witnessing rapid increase and with emerging markets like India, several cell phone vendors are expected to notch up higher business and revenues in coming days.

Popularity: 33%

Let’s be honest – an Android-powered smart phone is pretty similar to another Android-powered smart phone. Google’s answer to handset OS systems is doing extremely well for the company, and devices using Android are growing in popularity, both with consumers and manufacturers. So the real question, if you’re going to avoid Apple and Blackberry, is which manufacturer to go with. There are many, of course, but Samsung has proven itself reliable when it comes to phones, so their products are likely a good bet. As an example, the Samsung Galaxy S provides the user with a light-weight option that still has a large screen. It’s a relatively thing devise, yet comes with all the bells and whistles, from crystal clear calling through to a surprisingly good camera built in.

The phone operation is largely touch-screen based, with only five buttons built into the device. The two touch-sensitive face buttons below the screen respond with a reassuring little vibration when activated, too. With a large number of apps preinstalled, it is a handy device, although it seems aimed more at play than work. It offers a decent battery life and solid performance, making it a good choice for some looking for a reliable Android mobile handset.

Popularity: 3%

April was a busy month for HTC, announcing no less than seven new devices for the South African market. Apart from the Sensation superphone (featured on p5) the Taiwanese manufacturer released the HTC Flyer tablet, two Facebook integrated smartphones and three new smartphones. All of which will be on the shelves in the next month.

HTC Flyer

The HTC Flyer is of course the Taiwanese company’s first foray into the tablet market. This 7″ tablet runs HTC’s Sense interface on top of Android 2.3 (Gingerbread, not Google’s 3.0 Honeycomb for tablets) and also includes HTC’s unique Scribe Technology. Scribe basically allows you to write on-screen with a special pen and either share your creations online or save it for reference. For the brief period that we played with the device it impressed with its speed thanks to the 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, while the new 3D interface of the Sense skin looks very smart.

Facebook on ChaCha and Salsa

Social network junkies are going to adore the ChaCha and Salsa, both coming with an integrated Facebook button. Press the button and you have access to the key functions of the Facebook services that are integrated throughout the HTC Sense experience, including updating your status and sharing your location or photos. Both devices feature Android’s latest Gingerbread 2.3.3 version, with the Salsa sporting a 3.4″, 480 x 320 resolution touch display. It was rather the ChaCha that grabbed our attention with its integrated QWERTY keyboard, slanted body and 2.6″ (480 x 320) screen. It is all the new Black-Berry Bold 9780 should have been and we got the impression that if the ChaCha featured services such as BBM and BIS it would have been really tough times for RIM.

Smart, Smarter, Smartest

Finally HTC introduced three updated models of previous HTC smartphones. The Wildfire gets improved in the form of the budget conscious Wildfire S, HTC’s smallest phones ever. Inspired by the HTC Legend smartphone’s aluminium design, the HTC Desire S boasts Qualcomm’s new 1 GHz Snapdragon MSM8255 processor and a 3.7″ (480 x 800 pixels) Gorilla Glass display and Android 2.3 Gingerbread, but unfortunately it does not include the new HTC Sense interface as found on the premium Sensation. The Incredible S, with its special contoured back, boasts the same processor as the Desire S and also some very impressive multimedia capabilities, such as surround sound, an eight megapixel camera, a front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera and 720p video recording.

Popularity: 7%

Garmin recently unleashed a brand new range of sleek GPS devices. The Garmin nuvi 3790 LT, also known not-so-humbly as the ‘Masterpiece’, stands out from the rest. Being just 8,7 mm thick the Masterpiece is the thinnest GPS available and can be easily confused with one of Apple’s smartphones. The front of the device is almost completely taken up by a full glass 4.3″ multi-touch display, sporting an impressive 800 x 480 pixel resolution. For the first time a Garmin device supports dual-orientation capabilities, meaning you can use it either horizontally or vertically, while also featuring multiple touch gestures, such as sliding, tapping and pinching to zoom in and out.

Excellent features

The Masterpiece aims to revolutionise your navigation experience with its slew of new features, of which the full voice-control impressed us the most. Not counting the mounting of the device, users can literally now set routes and follow them successfully without ever touching the GPS. The nuvi 3790 LT is activated by speaking a customisable ‘wake-up’ command, with the default being “voice command”. Users are then able to choose between a number of different options such as, “Find by Name”, “Find Address”, “Find Intersection” and so forth. After that users simply respond to the GPS’s prompts, with it asking you to name the town, street and house number where you’d like to go, for example. While no voice system is going to be perfect, we were genuinely amazed at the accuracy of the nuvi, working more or less without fault.

Integrated traffic

The nuvi 3790 LT also supports hands-free Bluetooth calling, allowing you to pair your phone to the device very easily. One of the best things about the Masterpiece is that it’s also equipped with an integrated traffic receiver and sports subscription-free Lifetime Traffic updates (for the i ifetime of the device). This allows drivers to receive up to date traffic i nformation on their current route, with the Garmin indicating how long your journey may be delayed, and suggesting alternate routes if available.

Conclusion

The Garmin nuvi 3790 LT truly is a masterpiece as far as in-car GPSs are concerned, sporting all the features you need, all the features you could want, and even those you never thought you’d need. It’s available for a recommended R4315.

Popularity: 4%

This app and hardware add-on for iPhone and iPod touch is an incredibly easy-to-set-up universal remote for all your home theater components. It also provides a better way to navigate and discover content you’ll actually want to watch. While it’s not your typical standalone universal remote, the Peel wins our Editors’ Choice. The Peel consists of three pieces: a mobile app for the iPhone and iPod touch (with Android and iPad versions coming soon); a 10-foot black cable that plugs into a power outlet and into your Wi-Fi router’s Ethernet port; and the Peel Fruit, a plastic, pear-shaped infrared blaster, powered by a C-size battery, that sends the Peel’s commands to your home-theater components.

The Peel app has a couple of cool features that don’t rely on any Peel hardware. Tell it the kinds of shows you like to watch, and mark shows as your favorites, or cut them so they’re never shown to you. As you watch TV, your recommendations get better and better thanks to Peel’s algorithm. With the Peel Universal Control, the app becomes even better. Find programming you want to watch, such as a basketball game, and a Watch on TV button shows up. Tap the button, and since the Peel knows your channel lineup, it flips straight to the game. Unfortunately, the Peel Universal Control won’t let you throw all your other remotes away—for some functions, it’s just not capable enough. But what it lacks in power, it makes up for in convenience—it’s incredibly easy to set up and intuitive to use, and once you’ve personalized it a bit, it’s an excellent way to find stuff to watch.

Popularity: 6%