Nokia N900
Initially available at £469.99 SIM Free, the Nokia N900 is the first-ever Linux-based mobile phone and could possibly be the manufacturer’s most advanced handset to date.
For a start, it’s a lot faster than most in bringing up applications and runs on the new Linux-based Maemo browser which means you can get 24-hour connection with wireless broadband, Wi-Fi and HSPA connections. Being powered by Mozillla technology, the device displays websites exactly as they are seen on a PC with a full browsing history available and, for the more myopic, there’s a zoom facility that adjusts text to the size of your screen. The panoramic, touch screen is used to switch between applications and can also be customised with short cuts, widgets and applications up to four different desktops, or if an email needs to be typed, you can swiftly slide out the QWERTY keypad and bang it out straight away.
The 5-megapixel camera with high-quality Carl Zeiss optics comes with tag clouds to label and share photos with friends. With Maemo OS and Adobe Flash 9.4 support, online videos and interactive applications are a synch and the Nokia N900 is capable or recording 16:9 video with a resolution of up to 848×480 pixels at 25 fps. Plus, you can watch your favourite videos on the high-resolution WVGA screen and display your photos with stunning clarity.
Communication wise, you can make voice calls, VoIP calls as well as SMS, emails and instant messaging. With up to 48GB of memory available via a microSD card, other features include a GPS receiver with Ovi Maps to find your way in over 150 countries, an FM transmitter, 3.5mm audio jack with TV-out function, Bluetooth and DivX/Xvid video playback support.
And priced at £469.99, now seems like an excellent time to get your mitts wrapped around the Nokia N900 before everyone else does.
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Orange is to launch iPhone
Orange has announced the launch of the Orange iPhone which will be available from November 10th, 2009 and is hoping to grab as much of the market share from O2 as possible by improving on the user experience and increasing availability.
Not content with being the fastest GSM iPhone ever, the easy-to-use touch screen delivers web pages and emails instantly with improved performance and updated 3D graphics that enhance the whole gaming experience. Video recording functions mean you can shoot high-quality video in portrait or landscape and edit accordingly before posting on sites or sending to your friends via email. A new 3-megapixel camera combines a built-in autofocus and pictures can be viewed in portrait or landscape format simply by rotating the handset, with a zoom facility and geo-tagging option available. The iPhone can also be used to sync with photos already on your Mac or PC so you can share them with anyone wherever you are in the world.
With a digital compass and voice control, users can choose from more than 85,000 applications available through the iTunes App Store and the phone will cost £96.50 for a 32GB iPhone 3GS handset on a £44.04 per month, two-year contract.
As more than a quarter of a million people have registered an interest on the Orange website the iPhone looks set to be the must-have gadget for Christmas. Just as well then that Orange has assured customers that there won’t be a supply issue. In addition, they plan a 3G mobile broadband network covering more people in the UK than any other operator and have committed to providing the best-in-class applications in an attempt to cash in on the market before Vodafone starts selling the iPhone in 2010.
The Sony-Ericsson Satio is available to buy now
The Sony Ericsson Satio places all everything at your fingertips with an exceptional 12.1 megapixel camera, a superb widescreen for unparalleled TV and video viewing and a full range of multi-media playback options and it’s out now.
Featuring a minimalist and economical design, the phone is surprisingly lightweight considering all the technology that’s packed into it. It’s undoubtedly an industry-leader with Xenon flash, intuitive touch-focus and face and smile detection so you can capture that perfect moment every time. The stunningly sharp shots can then be viewed on the 3.5 widescreen display. Controls are easily accessed too via the touchscreen with zoom buttons doubling up as volume up and down keys and a front facing video camera.
Once you’ve taken your photos you can tap directly into music, games, movies, mobile videos and TV with sharp, high resolution images in 16 million colours.
The frontage of the phone is minimal with only a hang up, call and menu key but you can customise your home page as you wish to call up your favourites with one touch. There’s also a Walkman and stereo FM radio, HSDPA and built-in GPS navigation, a port for USB and headphone connection, Bluetooth and Smartphone – the phone’s features are simply too numerous to mention. And, if you’re racking your brains trying to remember the name of a certain song - simply ask the Sony Ericcson Satio – it features a TrackID that will instantly name any tune for you.
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Blackberry Bluetooth Watch
Making the BlackBerry even more accessible, the Blackberry Bluetooth watch will allow you to receive calls, access your emails, texts, update your Facebook at the lift of a wrist.
As fans of the Blackberry already know, including Barack Obama, the Blackberry is the definitive gadget of the decade. Now RIM says a new Blackberry Bluetooth watch is being released in the very near future. The watch will be backed up by a new branded headset in a black chrome shell with BlackBerry logo and buttons complete with noise reduction technology, thus enabling you to talk to your bank manager whilst on the move.
In the words of Antoine Boucher, vice president of RIM; “The form of silicone liner Alpha 1 is an extremely convenient; it may be the best solution on the market”
The Blackberry Bluetooth Watch will give alerts when emails, texts, Facebook posts and tweets are incoming and enables voice activated control. There’ll also be a wireless connection to upload and transfer music and videos– oh, and it’ll let you tell the time too.
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The HTC HD2 Windows Phone launch in late October
HTC has announced the HTC HD2; its first Windows phone handset with HTC Sense, featuring a 4.3 inch capacitive touch-screen display. It will be available from selected operators across Europe in late October 2009.
One of the most advanced phones around the HTC HD2 incorporates the flexibility of Windows with ease of access and ability to synchronise email accounts. The extraordinary response from the 4.3 inch capacitive display completely changes prior expectations of a Windows Mobile. Running the latest Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional operating system and a 1GHz processor, the HTC HD2 also incorporates HTC’s ‘Sense’ highly accessible user interface. The default touch-screen presents major heading bars like pictures, music, emails and text messages which can be accessed with a tap but uniquely, features a multiple response and is able to react to more than one touch command at a time.
Multiple email accounts can be easily accessed and managed with Microsoft’s new ‘My Phone’ service providing automatic back-up and organisation of photos, music, contacts and text messages. The phone is also well suited to web browsing with zooming and scrolling easily enacted. With a 5Mp camera located at the back that has autofocus and a dual-LED flash, the HD2 also has an optional in-car kit for use with sat navs.
App can be downloaded from the new Windows Marketplace for Mobile, created to rival Apple iTunes App Store and Google Android Market. Novelty features include an animated weather app that provides localised reports that appear as soon as the HD2 is switched on. Another exciting feature is that should the HD2 be stolen, the user will have the ability to view the phone’s last location, locate it on a map and lock and erase the content.
With the UK price yet to be confirmed the HTC HD2 looks to be a winner whatever the cost.
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Sony Ericsson W995
Sony Ericsson’s new Walkman phone leads the way in market technology. Small and slim, its slider mechanism makes it easy to use and in a stylish, brushed black metal casing, it looks good too.
It more than satisfies all your media requirements but also has an 8.1 megapixel camera which delivers crisp, top quality photos with image LED flash, stabiliser, auto focus and face and smile detection. Other functions include geo-tagging which allows you to tag your photos with descriptions of where they were taken and live photo blogging so you can upload your pictures or videos straight onto social network sites or update your status any time you want.
With built in HSDPA and Wi-Fi, speeds are pretty impressive and other features include Bluetooth and an M2 memory card slot that’ll let you store up to 16 GB of stuff. Instant access to YouTube can be gained with up to 69 films available from PlayNow™ arena movies, with a 256K TFT colour screen, the quality of viewing is excellent and three free film downloads are available per month. There’s even a stand available that lets you watch the movie at a 45 degree angle.
Also incorporating latest version of the Walkman® 4.0 player, you can save and play hundreds of tracks with the musical quality for which Sony Ericcson is renowned. It’s possible to create playlists according to genre, tempo and mood. Don’t know what a song is? Simply ask TrickID and you can find out. As you can turn the radio function off, it’s also possible to use it on flights and in hospital and there’s also a docking station for the attachment of a speaker.
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Vodafone 360
Vodafone have announced the new Vodafone 360; the first truly integrated mobile internet service that consolidates and organises all your social life in one place.
Uniting friends everywhere, Vodafone 360 works on mobile phones, PCs or Macs and combines a single 3-D address book gathered from your phone, internet and social network accounts with instant access to social media sites. You can now chat on Facebook, receive status updates share photos, videos, games, music and maps and addresses or identify your location to chosen friends wherever and whenever you like.
The service links across all networks and works on a range of 100 popular mobile phones including two Vodafone 360 mobile handsets. Manufactured by Samsung and driven by Vodafone’s ‘proximity algorithm,’ these provide a tailor-made interface with a 3.5 inch high definition screen, 5 megapixel camera and LiMo operating system. You can access emails from your personal accounts like Hotmail and Gmail from your personalised web homepage with links to your favourite websites.
Contacts are organised into tiers so that the most frequently contacted are at the front, via a user-friendly, 3D visual address book; the Vodafone 360 People view. There’s also access to over 1,000 Apps, games and music. The Maps service includes a GPS that gives detailed directions which can be shared with friends so that you can meet up or search for specific locations and points of interest.
The Vodafone 360 integrates all contacts from your phone, Facebook, Windows Live Messenger and Google Talk and will soon embrace Twitter, Hyves and stuiVZ. Information, emails, tags and messages are automatically backed up and updated and synchronised wirelessly between the mobile and PC or Mac giving you the confidence of knowing that contacts can easily be recovered should you lose or change your mobile.
Vodafone 360 epitomises Vodafone’s new slogan ‘power to you’ that aims to put the customer in control. “The beauty of Vodafone 360 is that all the services work together and it’s easy to use,” says Pieter Knook, Director of Internet Services at Vodafone Group, “It enables customers’ digital lives.”
Sony Ericsson W705 Mobile Phone
This is the ‘Sony Ericsson W705 Mobile Phone’. This cool looking handset has a stainless steel face that comes in two-tone black and a sort of claret red colour.
The W705 is another lovely example of Walkman type handset. Connecting to the Internet is a breeze with the fast HSDPA technology. Users will also be able to use Wi-Fi through their home Internet connection or via hotspots went out about. There is a nice 3.15 megapixel digital camera included that has editing facility and Geo-tagging. Music of course is the main feature of this phone with the Walkman Music Player, and FM radio.
The ‘Sony Ericsson W705 Mobile Phone’ is a great looking phone that has a solid feel to it and offers its owners great entertainment and communication value.
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LG GD900 Crystal Mobile Phone
Available soon is the ‘LG GD900 Crystal Mobile Phone’. This handset is due to be released on 17 June 2009.
LG is taking cosmetic appearance to a new level with the release of the GD900. This handset has a slide out touchpad that rather uniquely is fully transparent. Further to that the touchpad supports handwriting recognition as well as gesture control. Gesture control allows users to gain access to the handset’s functions by passing a finger across the keypad. The screen is a generously sized 3.0 inch touchscreen and has vibrant colour rendition thanks to the 16 million colours it has on board. It has a stunningly detailed top of the range 8.0 megapixel camera that has autofocus, face detection and a range of editing features.
The ‘LG GD900 Crystal Mobile Phone’ is a first-class feature packed handset. It’s a truly desirable phone that anybody would be proud to own.
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Samsung F480 Tocco Mobile Phone
This is the ‘Samsung F480 Tocco Mobile Phone’. Tocco meaning ‘touch’ in the Italian language is the nickname that Samsung have christened the F480 with.
The Tocco is an ultra modern and exceptionally classy mobile phone handset. To keep it in pristine condition there is a leather case that comes with it. The large touchscreen includes Samsung’s new ‘hapatic vibrating’ technology. There is a top-quality 5.0 megapixel digital camera that has face detection, flash and autofocus. Staying in touch and communicating via the Internet is a simple matter using this handset and its browsing capabilities. It has fast download speeds of 7.2 Mbps.
The ‘Samsung F480 Tocco Mobile Phone’ is a high quality mobile phone that is packed full of the latest technology and simply looks superb.
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