by Patrick Altoft on December 2, 2008
Nokia has announced the Nokia N97 today and already people are wondering if it has the feature set to become an iPhone, Blackberry and Google Phone killer all rolled into one.
With a 5 megapixel camera, HSDPA and qwerty keyboard it beats the iPhone in terms of features hands down. For mainstream users who want a decent camera and Blackberry/Google Phone style keyboards this is a dream device.
Nokia expects the handset with a large touch screen, retailing for 550 euros ($693) before taxes and subsidies and due to reach market in the first half of 2009 will bolster its N-Series smartphone offering.
ere’s a run-down of the specs: tri-band HSDPA 3G support; 802.11b/g Wi-Fi; aGPS and stand alone GPS; 3.5-inch touch resistive touch screen that measures 640 x 360 pixels in a 16:9 widescreen format; 32GB of built-in memory, with support for another 16GB with the addition of a microSD card; 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, LED flash and video capture at 30 frames per second; on-board accelerometer and compass; and support for Flash Lite 3.0 and Flash Video in the browser. Not bad. Not bad at all.
As for the hardware, the preview units we saw were literally built by hand and the product managers couldn’t stress enough that they are many generations away from being final. That said, the hardware was very good. The hinge that slides the top half of the phone open was solid and had no side-to-side play. The keyboard was spacious and comfortable to type on. The buttons all felt good, and the materials were quality all around.
Via
by Patrick Altoft on November 27, 2008
The Sony Ericsson C905, recently seen in the Bond film Quantum of Solace, is already one of the biggest selling phones in the UK, having topped sales charts within days of it going on sale.
Available in metallic finishes of either gold of silver or in the standard black finish, the C905 features an 8 Megapixel Xenon flash-assisted camera in its arsenal, along with 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, an MP3 player and capacity for memory expansion of up to 8GB via the M2 memory card slot.
Image from mobile-phones.co.uk
by Patrick Altoft on November 27, 2008
According to industry insiders the Samsung Pixon is tipped to be one of the top selling phones, potentially selling more handsets than the Tocco.
With a fantastic 8MP camera to rival the LG Renoir and a screen measuring 3.2-inch, the touchscreen is a 240 x 400 resolution-boasting WQVGA TFT LCD number. The camera has a 16x digital zoom, auto-focus, face detection and geo-tagging, and there’s even a dedicated photo browser to view and share your pics.
by Patrick Altoft on November 24, 2008
Earlier this month Sony Ericsson announced the Sony Ericsson W705 Walkman phone - the latest high end music player in the Walkman range.
The quad-band W705 (aka RIKA, the G705 clone) with UMTS/HSPA 900/2100 support shares the same Clear Bass / Clear Stereo audio quality found in the W980 Walkman while packing DLNA-certified WiFi, shake control and SensMe music manipulation, a 2.4-inch display, 4GB of bundled memory card storage, an FM radio, 3.2 megapixel camera, Google Maps, and an accelerometer for what’s quickly becoming a ubiquitous auto-rotating display feature on cellphones.
It also packs Bluetooth, allowing it to stream audio out to the newly announced MBS-900 Bluetooth 2.1 channel speaker with integrated FM radio. You know, if you’re a fan of compressed audio and short battery life.
More info, via Slashgear:
The Bluetooth speaker, meanwhile, supports 2.1 channels with integrated stereo speakers and subwoofer. Connectivity is either wireless or via a 3.5mm input; we’re thinking you’ll get better quality sound from the latter. The MSB-900 has a monochrome OLED display for track titles and music settings, plus has an FM radio. Music is automatically muted when the phone rings.
The Sony Ericsson W705 (and the W705u) will be available in selected markets in Q1 2009, pricing to be announced, in red or silver. The MSB-900 will also be available from Q1 2009.
by Patrick Altoft on November 17, 2008
We are hearing rumours that the Samsung Pixon is coming to Phones4U stores this week, possibly on Thursday. Initially it’s likely the handset will be on the Orange and O2 networks.
The Pixon was supposed to arrive in October so it’s a couple of weeks late. Samsung have been doing quite a bit of marketing for this phone so it will be a popular handset.
Apparently this is going to be one of Samsungs hottest phones and most retailers are predicting it could be the top selling Samsung for the next 6 months. Certainly if the success of the Tocco is any thing to go by they won’t be far wrong.
by Patrick Altoft on November 13, 2008
Gadget Venue has a post up today about the Nokia E63 which was unveiled by Nokia this week.
The exact release date has yet to be confirmed but the specs of the phone reveal a real competitor to the E71 Business Phone.
The E63 should operate in exactly the same way as the E71 as it runs Symbian 9.2 S60 version 3.2 software too, however the new touch sensitive Navi-Wheel which encircles the traditional d-pad should make it even easier to flip between menus and screens.
Full Features:
Size
- Form: Monoblock with full keyboard
- Dimensions: 113 x 59 x 13 mm
- Weight: 126 g
- Volume: 87 cc
- Full keyboard
- High quality QVGA display
Display and 3D
- Size: 2.36″
- Resolution: 320 x 240 pixels (QVGA)
- Up to 16 million colors
- TFT active matrix (QVGA)
- Two customisable home screen modes
Security features
- Device lock
- Remote lock
- Data encryption for both phone memory an microSD content
- mobile VPN
Keys and input method
- Full keyboard
- Dedicated one-touch keys: Home, calendar, contacts, and email
- Speaker dependent and speaker independent voice dialling
- Intelligent input with auto-completion, auto-correction and learning capability
- Accelerated scrolling with NaviTMKey
Colors and covers
- Available in-box colors: Ultramarine Blue and Ruby Red
Connectors
- Micro-USB connector, full-speed
- 3.5 mm standard AV connector
Power
- BP-4L 1500 mAh Li-Po standard battery
- Talk time (maximum): GSM up to 11 hours; WCDMA up to 4h 40 min
- Standby time (maximum): GSM up to 18 days; WCDMA up to 20 days;WLAN idle up to 170 hours
- Music playback time (maximum): 18 h
Memory
- microSD memory card slot, hot swappable, max. 8 GB
- 110 MB internal dynamic memory
by Patrick Altoft on November 13, 2008
Apparently the Nintendo Wii Fit could be the most popular toy this Christmas after topping the search volume charts for October.
The popularity of Nintendo’s Wii Fit, which accounted for one in six searches for a video game during October, has helped online searches for video games overtake those for consoles in the run-up to Christmas. Judging by the search data, it looks as if the current generation of consoles – the Wii, Playstation 3 and X-Box 360 – have started to mature.
The chart below illustrates the volume of searches for three portfolios of search terms over the last three years. The first portfolio contains search terms related specifically to the consoles themselves, while the other two contain terms relating to actual video games and games console accessories. As you can see, last Christmas was the big year for actual console searches, but this year we haven’t seen a similar pre-Christmas uptick. However, searches for video games themselves have continued to increase, implying that this Christmas there will be more searches for console games than the actual consoles themselves.
Via
by Patrick Altoft on November 10, 2008
Kieron is full of praise today for Dial-a-Phone offering an extra £10 commission on the Blackberry Storm.
Affiliates sending confirmed leads will get the extra £10 on top of their normal commission level and there is a selection of creatives to use.
by Patrick Altoft on November 6, 2008
The Blackberry Storm is now the most popular and eagerly anticipated handset in the UK so we decided to compile a list of the Top 10 Offers for those of you interested in getting your hands on the BlackBerry Storm.
The official UK retail partners are Phones4U & Dial-a-Phone (click to view their full lists of offers).
The Top 3 Deals:
- £35 per month, Free handset, 600 minutes, unlimited texts from Dial-a-Phone
- £40 per month, 600 minutes, 3000 texts, free 8GB memory card, free handset from Phones4U (18 or 24 month contract).
- £40 per month, 600 minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited internet & email, free handset Dial-a-Phone
If you spot any better deals please post in the comments.
The Blackberry storm is already set to the the top selling handset of the month and will rival the iPhone as a business handset. Lots of business users already love their Blackberries so switching to the Storm will be a better option than the iPhone for them.
Features of the Blackberry Storm can be seen below:
- 3.25″ Touchscreen (480 x 360)
- Accelorometer
- Visual Qwerty keyboard
- 3.2 Megapixel Camera
- Integrated GPS with A-GPS functionality
- 1GB Onboard memory with MicroSD support
- 624 MHz Processor
- 3G
- EDGE
- Built in Handsfree
- Bluetooth
- 3.5mm Stereo Headphone Jack
- Mini-Usb connectivity
Sources:
Blackberry Storm Review
Blackberry Storm Announced
by Patrick Altoft on November 5, 2008
The Blackberry Storm isn’t even in the shops yet (although you can order online and buy it at Phones4U stores on Friday) and yet it’s already overtaken the iPhone, Nokia N96 and the Google Phone as the most popular handset people are searching for online.
I captured the data below from our companies Hitwise account to illustrate the growth in search traffic for the Blackberry Storm. Click for the full size image.
The big question is - can the Blackberry Storm maintain this level of interest for the next 6 months or longer like the iPhone has?
