Nokia N9

The Nokia N9 was hottly anticipated and yet, sadly, this illusive handset won't be widely available to the majority of you readers. Simply put, when we hold the Nokia N9 in our hands, we're holding a piece of history. MeeGo, the culmination of decades of Nokia mobile software development, is now offically canceled So why are we reviewing the Nokia N9?

The hardware, both an evolution of the critically acclaimed Nokia N8 and an insight into what we might expect with the next chapter of Nokias. With its edgy plastic build, 1GHz processor, 3.9" AMOLED screen, 8MP camera and not least of all, MeeGo, the enigmatic Nokia N9 is both a proud tribute to yesterday and an optimistic insight into Nokia's tomorrow.

 

Design:

Undoubtedly, Nokia has churned out some fantastic hardware in recent years. Take the N8 and E7, respectively at the top of their game when it comes to product design with beautiful annodised alluminum chasis' and confident, bold shapes that just work in the hand, in the pocket and to the eye. We therefore have high expectations from the Nokia N9's AMOLED bevelled glass display,high-grade coloured plastic encasing,not to mention the slab's abundance of personality.

Beginning with the display, even before you set a finger upon the Gorilla Glass, as the light bounces off the beveled edges, the Nokia N9 begins to come into its own. With the phone locked, the convex beveling accentuates the natural curves of the device, while the deep, AMOLED black screen gives way to a light, typographic time display.

Double tap the screen to reveal the wallpaper, our chosen being a beautiful bokehing of light against a dark backdrop. At WVGA resolution, this 3.9" Clear Black AMOLED display delivers a crisp, vibrant image, and accurate colour with the wallpaper looking every bit as evocative as you might hope.

 Interacting with the curved glass is a sensory treat, slick, smooth and contoured for an edge to edge recess with every swipe. All in all, a definite highpoint of the Nokia N9. The one criticism we would have relates to viewing angles.Tilt the device a few degrees and a blue hue takes hold, so while detail retains its integrity, color unfortunately doesn't.

 The Nokia N9 can be rested flat or stood up in portrait thanks to its dramatic flat top and bottom sides. Pick up the handset and there's no cold, steely reception. Instead, the Nokia N9 greets with a nostalgic, reassuring room temperature warmth. In the face of the plastic casing, the phone feels thoroughly modern and solid. Maserfully crafted, curvaceous, laden with flush elements and a minimalistic, buttonless fascia, the Nokia N9's design comes together harmoniously and with intent.

 Hidden on bezel below the screen: the front facing camera (strange, isn't it). On the right side is the volume rocker and lock/power button, at the base, the loudspeaker and on the top-side, the microSIM card slot, the hinged micro USB cover and 3.5mm headphone jack. On the back of the Nokia N9 lies the 8MP camera with dual LED flash. There is no removable battery or expandable memory which is unfortunate, though given the strong design, we can see why Nokia made this decision.

Simple, engaging and playful.Nokia have played to their strengths with their N9's design. Available in three colors, black, cyan and magenta, all finished to the highest degree, if you care about how what you pull out of your pocket looks, then you'll revel in revealing your Nokia N9. From an ergonomic point of view, the handset also feels rich, and sits well in the hand. The bottom right hand corner may be a tad edgy forprolongedcomfort against a palm, however for standard use, this handset is at the top of its game.

HTC Radar 4G for T-Mobile

The HTC Radar 4G for T-Mobile has just arrived for me as the FedEx guy furiously hit my buzzer and decided to play Morse code with it, but that’s another story. The HTC Radar 4G was just announced with full pricing details this morning, and I’m excited to review this phone because it’s a departure from the usual, somewhat boring Android business I’ve been swamped in recently. I think I’ve reviewed like fifty Android devices alone this year. So, I’m glad to have this Windows Phone 7 device in my hand. (Click on the thumbnails for a bigger image, and click again for an even bigger photo.)

Why’d I do an unboxing and a photo gallery? Well, because I am excited. There isn’t much in the box, and there isn’t a whole lot to see right now. After all, I’d just gotten the phone. But anyone who knows me I also knows that I love the white smartphones, and I’m fond of HTC’s build quality and design, so I thought I’d throw some pictures up on here as a teaser. It’s pretty lightweight and almost the same size as the iPhone 4/4S, and its thickness feels about the same, too. The hardware is solid.

BlackBerry Curve 9360

 BlackBerry Curve 9360 has been spotted on the BlackBerry software download section for MTS Mobility carrier, by the folks over at MobileSyrup, which confirms that its upcoming availability.
Although no details about the phone's release date and price options emerged yet, it is expected to go live in the following weeks with a low price tag attached to it.
In this regard, MTS offers the old BlackBerry Curve 9300 with BlackBerry 6 operating system on board for only $29.99 (22 EUR) with a three-year agreement and a minimum $44.99 (32 EUR) voice and data plan.
Aimed at customers who cannot afford one of the high-end BlackBerry 7 smartphones, such as the Bold 9900, Torch 9810 or Torch 9860, BlackBerry Curve 9360 promises to deliver the same level of user experience.
The newest RIM smartphone offered by MTS is the Torch 9810, which is now available for purchase for as low as $149.99 (108 EUR) with a new three-year agreement and a minimum $44.99 (32 EUR) voice and data plan.
Given these prices, we can safely assume that the Curve 9360 will be priced at around $100 (72 EUR) with a new three-year agreement.
The smartphone runs RIM's latest BlackBerry 7 operating system and offers the same traditional full portrait QWERTY keyboard along with touch-sensitive optical trackpad.

In addition, the Curve 9360 is equipped with a single core 800 MHz processor and packs 512 MB of internal memory, 512 MB or RAM and microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 32GB).
Unlike BlackBerry Bold 9900 that features a touchscreen display, the Curve 9360 comes with a standard 2.44-inch display with 480 x 360 pixels resolution.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the latest collaboration between Samsung and Google, and is the first smartphone to ship with the new Google Android 4.0 ("Ice Cream Sandwich") operating system.
Android 4.0 combines elements from the Android 3.0 OS that runs on tablets and Android 2.3 from smartphones to create a unified operating system that can be used on either type of device. On immediately obvious change is that the Galaxy Nexus no longer has any physical buttons on the front as these have been replaced with on-screen virtual keys instead.

      Nexus handsets have always been a bit special. The original HTC-built Google Nexus One was initially a bit of a sales disaster, but Google re-focussed it as a handset aimed at developers and Android enthusiasts where it would always be the first handset to have the latest version of Android made available.. and this turned it into a niche success. This was followed up by the first Android 2.3 device, the Samsung Nexus S, and now we have the third generation Nexus device which opens a new chapter in the Android story.

      

Apart from several cosmetic changes, Android 4.0 offers better task management, advanced NFC support (including file sharing), voice typing (although probably not a patch on Siri on the iPhone 4S), Google+ integration and an unlock feature that uses facial recognition. We don't know if any manufacturers intend to offer an upgrade path to Android 4.0 for existing handsets, and as we said yesterday the OS is a key differentiator between the Galaxy Nexus and something like the new Motorola RAZR.
Samsung have a good reputation for producing powerful handsets at the moment, and the Galaxy Nexus is certainly an impressive beast when it comes to hardware. Perhaps the screen is the most impressive component - a large 4.65" 1280 x 720 pixel Super AMOLED panel that is both larger and with a higher resolution than almost every other smartphone announced to date, apart from the Samsung Galaxy Note.
Inside is a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor with 1GB of RAM. Internal flash memory is either 16GB or 32GB depending on model, but there is no mention of a memory slot. One the back is a 5 megapixel camera with 1080p HD video recording plus a 1.3 megapixel camera on the front for video calls. Although 5 megapixels doesn't sound like a lot, Samsung have added their own magic to it including a continuous shot panorama mode and all sorts of clever effects.

   

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is available in two sort-of-4G versions, an LTE version and an HSPA+ version. For GSM/HSPA users the maximum download speed will be 21Mbps, if your carrier supports it. 802.11b, g and n WiFi is supported, as is NFC technology. Inside is a large 1750mAh battery, and the whole handset measures 136 x 68 x 9mm and weighs 135 grams.

All the usual Android feature are here too, including GPS, DLNA support and a wealth of applications. And because this is a Nexus phone you can expect to be among the first for new releases of the operating system as well.
This is quite an expensive device, Samsung's recommended retail price is around €600 when it starts to ship in November. Carphone Warehouse will be offering it in the UK for about the same price at the Apple iPhone 4S when taken with a new contract.
For that sort of money we would expect the Galaxy Nexus to be a bit more of a looker - it's a fairly typical Samsung design and it's nowhere near as attractive as some rivals. Still, most people interested in owning a Nexus handset will be more interested in the operating system and brilliant display.. looks are not everything, after all.

HTC Sensation XL

The bigger brother to the new Sensation XE, the HTC Sensation XL is just what the name suggests - an extra large version of the already powerful Sensation smartphone.

The key feature here is the 4.7" 480 x 800 pixel Gorilla Glass touchscreen display, coupled with a 1.5 GHz single-core processor and 768MB of RAM and 16GB of non-expandable flash memory. On the back is an 8 megapixel camera with a large 28mm lens and dual LED flash, capable of 720p HD video recording. On the front is a 1.3 megapixel camera to make video calls with.
In many ways, the HTC Sensation XL can be regarded as the Android version of the forthcoming Windows-based HTC TITAN, another powerful big-screen smartphone.
This is an Android 2.3 smartphone with all the usual features that you'd expect to see from an HTC Android device. The Sensation XL includes Beats Audio for improved sound quality.. sound quality so good that HTC spent $300m securing the rights to use it.
Despite the large display and fast processor, the HTC Sensation XL isn't quite the monster that the Samsung Galaxy Note is when it comes to size and performance, but the HTC is certainly a nicer looking handset with significantly better audio capabilities.

 

All the usual Android features are here such as GPS, WiFi, 3.5G connectivity, Bluetooth, USB support, a 3.5mm audio socket and a massive library of applications available from the Android Market. With the fast processor and large amount of RAM, you can be sure that the Sensation XL will cope with everything that you can throw at it.

 At 162 grams and 133 x 71 x 10mm, the Sensation XL is a little on the large and heavy side, but that's the price you pay for a big display. Inside is a large 1600 mAh battery which HTC say can provide up to 6.8 hours talktime and 15 days of standby time on 3G, but you may get substantially less depending on what you use your phone for.
It's a shame that the Sensation XL doesn't have expandable memory. Although there's 16GB of internal flash, after the OS has taken some of it there is less than 13GB available for the user. That is quite a lot, but recently Apple raised the stakes with a massive 64GB of memory in the new iPhone 4S.

 

This is a powerful and very desirable device, but it has the misfortune of being the first major product announcement after the iPhone 4S. Although the Sensation XL's big screen is something the new iPhone can't manage, we feel that Apple's new iOS 5 makes Android 2.3 look a bit old-fashioned. Also, next week we may be seeing the first Android 4.0 launch with a new Nexus handset from Samsung, and the rumours are that the end of the month may see the first official announcement of Nokia's new Windows Phone line. So, impressive though the XL is, the competition has become more intense.

Samsung Champ Duos E2652

Samsung Champ Duos E2652 is a dual-SIM touchscreen phone with GPRS support. It has 1.3MP camera with video recording, dual speakers for better sound output, and Sound Alive feature for producing 3D sound effects. Other features include email support, multiple IMs including Windows Live, Palringo, Bluetooth messenger, access to Facebook & Twitter, and 16GB expandable memory.

Nokia N8

Nokia's reputation as a leader in the smartphone market has been under increasing pressure in recent years, as a string of 'high end' handsets have failed to capture the minds and wallets of the phone-buying public.
So to fix that, Nokia's gone back to the drawing board to bring out the Nokia N8, featuring a new OS and a huge amount of high end tech packed under the hood.

If you're in the market for a new smartphone, you can check out our quick video guide to what to look out for:

Having announced the phone back in April, Nokia has been holding off on release to make sure the user experience is as good as possible.

But it needs to be very good indeed seeing as most other brands announce a phone then release it within weeks – we've been waiting nearly half a year for this one.

The underlying software has been improved and Symbian^3 builds on the previous iterations of the OS seen on the likes of the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and Nokia X6, but adds in multiple home screens, widgets and an improved UI.
Hardware-wise, Nokia has pushed the boat out too with the new N8, offering a full metal chassis with anodised scratch-proof paint to give the phone a really high end feel.
It really is scratch-proof - rubbing keys on it produced no ill-effects, although the slider switch on the side can get its paint rubbed off over time.

However, with a 12MP camera with Xenon flash bolted on the back, it's not a super-slim device - it fits in the hand well enough but the dimensions 113.5 x 59 x 12.9 mm aren't going to rival the likes of the iPhone 4 and the Samsung Galaxy S, especially when being forced into more tightly fitting trousers.

The Nokia N8 also doesn't have a removable battery either - the full metal chassis is completely enclosed so unless you've got a very particular screwdriver, you're not getting in to replace any innards.

To that end, Nokia has put two hinged gates on the side of the N8, giving access to the microSD card slot and the SIM card port - both are quite hard to pull open (which isn't a bad thing as you're probably not going to be opening them very often) and clicking cards in can be tricky too without long fingernails.

The rest of the Nokia N8 continues the higher-end feel: the 3.5-inch capacitive OLED screen really pops with colour (although doesn't quite match the impressive sharpness of Samsung's Super AMOLED) and the minimalistic design sees only one rather functional-looking button on the front, eschewing the extra soft keys Nokia has implemented for so many years.

The top of the N8 is where it mostly happens though - there's a mini HD port, the 3.5mm headphone jack and the power switch, which is also used to quickly change profiles when buzzing through the N8's interface.
The bottom houses the charger port - and it's a standard 2mm 'new Nokia charger' port, which initially seems like an odd choice when you can also charge through the microUSB port too, like all other phones, even when connected to a PC.
We can only assume that Nokia has done this so that when you're streaming over USB on the go (more on that later) you can keep charging the phone too.

Samsung Galaxy S II T-Mobiletional details.

At the GigaOM Mobilize 2011 event today, T-Mobile unveiled two new smartphones during its keynote, one being the HTC Amaze 4G and the other being the long anticipated Samsung Galaxy S II. Although the device was first announced back in August, many details on T-Mobile’s version of the popular Samsung handset remained a mystery. Hence, the carrier took this opportunity today to reveal and confirm some additional details.

One of the specs that seemed to noticeably be left out of T-Mobile’s Samsung Galaxy S II marketing materials thus far was the type of processor. Rumors had spread earlier this month that the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II would sport a powerful 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, and that turns out to be true. The carrier confirmed today that its Samsung Galaxy S II will be powered by a 1.5Ghz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 processor. The handset will come running Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread and will have NFC enabled.
The device will also allow customers to access various mobile entertainment services including Netflix, T-Mobile TV, and in Mobile HD2, Samsung Media Hub, and YouTube. It will support DLNA and HDMI-out for compatibility with most HD TVs and its 4.52-inch Super AMOLED Plus touchscreen will make it the largest screen available right now to T-Mobile customers.
The T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II will be available for pre-orders starting October 10 and will be available T-Mobile retail stores and select dealers starting October 12. The device is priced at $229.99 with a new two-year contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate.

 

Sonim XP3300 Force

The Sonim XP3300 Force has been around for a while, but it recently hit the headlines when it was officially certified as the world's toughest phone, when it survived a 25 metre drop onto concrete without breaking.

The Sonim XP3300 Force is a premium, ultra-rugged GSM phone specifi­cally designed to enhance mobile workforce productivity and safety for professionals with the toughest jobs in the world, ranging from transportation enterprises to utility fi­eld managers, backed by Sonim's industry-leading 3-Year Comprehensive Warranty.  

Building on lessons learned from serving half a million workers in the most extreme environments, the Sonim RPS certifi­ed phone was engineered to handle any working condition. The Sonim RPS go far beyond MIL-SPEC ruggedness, so managers can be assured of minimum downtime, keeping critical business processes running smoothly. Even wastewater 2 meters deep is no challenge for this IP-68 rated, water and dust proof handset, which can also be dropped from 2 meters onto concrete. The 2 inch high-resolution display is protected by a class leading 1.5mm thick Corning® Gorilla® Glass lens for the highest scratch and shock resistance.

The XP3300 Force has enterprise class GPS capabilities for optimized accurate real-time location tracking, and is ready for Mobile Resource Management applications developers*. The 2 MP camera with a bright LED fl‑ash and digital zoom captures critical job site information while worker safety is enhanced by strong antenna performance, very long battery life and active noise cancellation. Sonim has further improved the reliability, speed and available memory for JAVA applications. The Sonim JAVA Application Manager (JAM) store offers a range of pre-tested and certifi­ed third party workforce management applications for download. NoteVault, for the construction industry, records and transcribes voice notes to track last minute change requests and verbal safety reports right from the work site, making good use of the noise cancellation, GPS tagging and image capture capabilities of the Sonim XP3300 Force

The XP1300 Core has comfortable keys and controls.

The beefy volume rocker sits on the phone's right spine above a control that activates the bright flashlight on the rear side. A programmable shortcut key is on the left side below the aforementioned 3.5mm ports. You can also program the toggle for one-touch access to your favorite features. You'll have to remove the battery cover to access the microSD card slot, but that's understandable in a water-resistant phone

Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X10 Mini Pro

The lack of a pink option when it comes to Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X10 Mini Pro, has swayed some consumers into choosing the X10 Mini over the mightier X10 Mini. However those who want a pink smart phone will no longer have to ditch the QWERTY keyboard in favour of the color availability.
The Xperia X10 Mini Pro is now available in pink and has been spotted on a UK online retailer, Additions Direct. It is available for £199 on the O2 network. It doesn’t appear to be in stock at the moment but, should be delivered within the next 14 days. The company also sell the standard black X10 Mini Pro, which again is on the O2 network. Likewise, it usually retails for £199 but, is currently on offer for £179.

When the keyboard is slid away out of sight, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro looks exactly the same as the Xperia Mini.
The three physical buttons of last year's X10 Mini Pro have been replaced by one bigger, chunkier Home button, with new capacitive touch buttons for Menu and Back either side of it.

 

As with the Xperia Mini, it's a change for the better. The Home key is big enough to find without fumbling, while the touch buttons are sensitive enough to work every time, also without fuss. The change makes the Mini Pro look a little more stylish than the X10 Mini Pro, too, with the glass of the screen extending right down to the base of the phone.

 

There's one extra bit of functionality revealed by the front face of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro - there's a second front-facing camera in here, producing low-res video and stills for web chats.
The connectivity options have been jiggled about to accommodate the sliding QWERTY keyboard. The top of the phone has the USB connector, which is covered by a little plastic stopper, plus the power and headphone jack, leaving the bottom of the phone completely featureless.

The right-hand edge houses the volume up/down rocker, while there's a nice, sensitive, two-stage shutter button for controlling the camera at the bottom.

The back is the same as the Xperia Mini. The snap-on cover has a matte, rubberised finish, making it easy to grip in the hand, plus the silver logos, trim and 'HD' text give it a nice designer appeal.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro features the same Bravia Engine and Reality Display combination as the Xperia Mini, with the result being a sharp, bright display running at 320 x 480 (HVGA) resolution.
Text is readable and icons clean and clear, while it's perfectly usable outdoors if you shove the brightness up to maximum.

As you may have noticed, the word "pro" is mobile phone manufacturer shorthand for saying "has a QWERTY keyboard", so there is... a QWERTY keyboard.

he keyboard's sliding mechanism is solid, with the phone snapping open and shut in a reassuringly stiff manner. The keys are backlit, featuring a similar rubberised coating to the back of the phone, so they have a rougher, grippier feel to them than the ones on last year's X10 Mini Pro.

There's a useful selection of alternate characters accessed by pressing the blue button, plus you can pull up a selection of awful smiley faces and the even more special special characters by tapping the Sym button.
There's also a four-button cursor key array, a shortcut to the keyboard settings menu and a tiny status display in the Android notifications bar, alerting you if Caps Lock is on or if you've double-pressed and therefore locked the alternate character function.

LG Thrill 4G

The first announced 3D phone was the European LG Optimus 3D, but here in the US, it’s actually the HTC EVO 3D that’s spreading the word regarding the novel feature into the minds of consumers, as it hit Sprint's shelves a couple of months ago. Very soon though, AT&T’s variant of the Optimus 3D - the LG Thrill 4G - will follow the same path, but unlike its rival, its allure is found elsewhere outside its 3D capabilities. Instead, it’s aiming to win over the hearts and minds of people by simply tantalizing them with its superior on-contract price of $99.99. Regardless of that, will it be enough to lure people in and wholeheartedly accept the novel 3D features?

Not surprisingly, the LG Thrill 4G is an almost exact facsimile to its European counterpart with the exception of its obvious AT&T branding in the rear. Nowadays, its industrial design is undeniably commonplace at this point, but despite that, it’s still one solidly constructed handset. By today’s standards though, its overall size makes it feel unwieldy at times and doesn’t quite come off as compelling to some of the razor thin designs incorporated by the heavy hitters in the big leagues.

Samsung I9103 Galaxy R

The Galaxy S lineup is no stranger to versioning - the original Galaxy S relied on half a dozen different editions to achieve its market success. Its successor will obviously take a similar path as we just got its first body double in the face of the Samsung I9103 Galaxy R. With Tegra 2 stepping in for the Exynos chipset and SC-LCD taking the place of the new generation SuperAMOLED Plus, the Galaxy Z should be covering for the cases when the Galaxy S II is just slightly out of budget, while at the same time saving on the precious AMOLED panels.

Shortly after this preview was published we were contacted by Samsung, who clarified that the handset will be available in most markets as Samsung I9103 Galaxy R. We've fixed the preview accordingly.

Samsung I9103 Galaxy R at a glance:
• General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, 3G with HSPA
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
• Dimensions: 125 x 66.1 x 9.5 mm, 135g
• Display: 4.2" 16M-color SC-LCD capacitive touchscreen, 480 x 800 pixels
• CPU: Dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, GeForce GPU, Tegra 2 chipset
• Memory: 1GB RAM, 2GB ROM, 8GB storage, microSD card slot

• OS: Android OS, v2.3.3 Gingerbread with TouchWiz 4.0
• Camera: 5 megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash; face detection, geo-tagging; 1.3MP front-facing camera
• Video recording: 720p video recording
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack, FM radio
• Battery: 1650mAh
• Misc: Built-in accelerometer, multi-touch input, proximity sensor, Swype text input, Office document viewer/editor

Sony Ericsson Active

The Sony Ericsson Active is a tough Android Smartphone, designed for an active life. Built to last, the Xperia Active is water and dust-resistant and designed to handle whatever comes your way thanks to a responsive touchreen that even works with wet fingers. Running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) with a 1GHz processor on board, the Active is perfect for keeping on top of your social networks, running multiple applications and staying in touch with the people that matter through email and instant messaging. Also included is a 5.0 Megapixel camera, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and a built in multimedia player.

Sony Ericsson Txt

The Sony Ericsson Txt is a cute and compact phone that lets you textin the fast lane. With a full QWERTY keyboard with tactile, well-spaced keys, the Txt handles SMS, Email and Instant Messaging with ease. Read your messages clearly on the vivid 2.6 inch display and add photos to your messages captured with the onboard 3.15 Megapixel camera. Also included is a built in FM Radio, Bluetooth and an MP3 player with expandable memory helping you to get the most out of your phone.

Acer Liquid Metal

The Acer Liquid Metal is a stylish Android smartphone with a slender, curved design and vivid 3.6 inch touchscreen. Running Android 2.2, the Liquid Metal is powered by a Qualcomm 800MHz processor which allows for lightning quick navigation and multi-tasking. Android 2.2 supports free voice guided SatNav, Flash support in the web browser and has access to thousands of apps in the Android Market. The Acer Liquid Metal also features a 5 Megapixel camera with HD video, Wi-Fi, built in GPS and a full glass display supporting multi-touch for a fluid touchscreen experience.

BlackBerry Torch 450

BlackBerry's touchscreen operated Torch phone is great for social networking. It also offers the amazing instant messaging and email experience for which BlackBerry phones are renowned and an excellent QWERTY keyboard - all in a compact slide phone form factor.

BlackBerry phones are famed for their excellent physical QWERTY keyboards that make it fast and easy to enter text and mark them out as superb for emailing while you're on the go. The brilliant Torch is no exception. However, unlike earlier BlackBerrys, the Torch's slider form factor means that you can hide the keyboard away when it's not in use and use the touchscreen for accessing all the other great functions onboard.
And believe you me, you'll want to. Not least because the Torch doubles as a great social networking device. Live updates are seamlessly integrated, so that you can keep up to date with what's going on with your friends and family. Plus you can update your own profiles directly from your handset too.
Also onboard is Research in Motion's (RIM) highly regarded BlackBerry Maps mapping software. This combines with A-GPS support to give you peerless turn by turn directions and turn the Torch into a satellite navigation device that's easily the equal of dedicated sat navs.

To keep you entertained, a media player and web browser are installed, with high speed HSDPA support making for a smooth and satisfying mobile internet experience, as well as allowing you to access fresh content quickly.
Other features of the Torch include an attachment editor that allows you to work on documents created in all key Microsoft Office packages, a five megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash and support for microSD cards that enables the handset's storage to be boosted by up to 32GB.

Nokia 700 Zeta

Some reports have claimed that a new Finnish-made Nokia handset named as “Zeta” will be hitting the store shelves soon. Although there are still no official words about its pricing and availability, most of the device’s specifications have already been leaked out — including a large tough screen display, a black frame with red back casing, and a 5-megapixel camera with 2592×1944 pixels resolution and LED flash.

The Nokia 700 Zeta will be powered by a Symbian “Belle”, a brand-new version of Symbian Operating system, and is aiming to become the world’s slimmest smartphone. It comes with a 1 GHz processor, a 3.2 inch AMOLED touch screen, and a built-in NFC chip which gives the device the ability to utilize some smart cards for various wireless transactions.

In terms of connectivity, the Zeta is still a winner as it has better support for 3G, GPRS, EDGE, WLAN, Bluetooth and USB. It also features a secondary camera, which could be used for video calling.

Nokia N9

The N9 is said to be the first Nokia smartphone to run on a Linux-based MeeGo operating system. It is made up of polycarbonate materials, which gives the device a competitive hardware and notable technical specifications.

The anticipated handset features a 3.9-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 854 x 480. It has a protective glass that is made from Corning’s Gorilla Glass, and is powered by a TI OMAP3630 1GHz processor. One of the outstanding specs of the N9 is its 8-megapixel auto focus camera with a dual-LED flash that comes with Carl Zeiss optics and a 28mm lens, which could support 720p HD video (@ 30fps) recording. Aside from that, the smartphone is jam-packed with a 1GB RAM and new browsing capabilities.

Nokia N9 is also confirmed to be offering some cool applications, including the Ovi Store, Skype, Facebook and Twitter, Angry Magic Birds, Accuweather, Wi-Fi Hotspots, Foursquare and AP Mobile.

Sony Ericsson 715 mini

Ultra-compact smartphones may not be as popular as their large-screened counterparts, but that doesn't mean there isn't a nice, cosy place in the market for them, be it a bit smaller. At least, that's what Sony Ericsson tries to convince us in, by unleashing the successor of its last year super-mini, the Xperia X10 mini. The new model is identically named, except for the dropped “X10” part.

But how has the Sony Ericsson Xperia mini changed, in order to cater to this year's user requirements? Well, we guess the manufacturer has made the right moves by upping the screen size a bit, to 3”, as well as installing a faster, 1GHz processor. Is this enough to make the Xperia mini a worthy challenger in the mid-range Android space? Let us explore that!

In the box you'll find:

·                      Sony Ericsson Xperia mini

·                            Wall charger with detachable microUSB cable

·                            MH410 GreenHeart handsfree

·                            2GB microSD card

·                            Additional back cover in different color

·                            Lots of papers

Mobile 3rd Generation

 3^rd Generation

3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) specifications by the International Telecommunication Union. Application services include wide-area wireless voice telephone, mobile Internet access, video calls and mobile TV, all in a mobile environment. To meet the IMT-2000 standards, a system is required to provide peak data rates of at least 200 kbit/s. Recent 3G releases, often denoted 3.5G and 3.75G, also provide mobile broadband access of several Mbit/s to smartphones and mobile modems in laptop computers.

The following standards are typically branded 3G:

§                    the UMTS system, first offered in 2001, standardized by 3GPP, used primarily in Europe, Japan, China (however with a different radio interface) and other regions predominated by GSM 2G system infrastructure. The cell phones are typically UMTS and GSM hybrids. Several radio interfaces are offered, sharing the same infrastructure:

§                                The original and most widespread radio interface is called W-CDMA.

§                                The TD-SCDMA radio interface was commercialised in 2009 and is only offered in China.

§                                The latest UMTS release, HSPA+, can provide peak data rates up to 56 Mbit/s in the downlink in theory (28 Mbit/s in existing services) and 22 Mbit/s in the uplink.

§                    the CDMA2000 system, first offered in 2002, standardized by 3GPP2, used especially in North America and South Korea, sharing infrastructure with the IS-95 2G standard. The cell phones are typically CDMA2000 and IS-95 hybrids. The latest release EVDO Rev B offers peak rates of 14.7 Mbit/s downstream.

The above systems and radio interfaces are based on kindred spread spectrum radio transmission technology. While the GSM EDGEstandard ("2.9G"), DECT cordless phones and Mobile WiMAX standards formally also fulfill the IMT-2000 requirements and are approved as 3G standards by ITU, these are typically not branded 3G, and are based on completely different technologies.

A new generation of cellular standards has appeared approximately every tenth year since 1G systems were introduced in 1981/1982. Each generation is characterized by new frequency bands, higher data rates and non backwards compatible transmission technology. The first release of the 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard does not completely fulfill the ITU 4G requirements called IMT-Advanced. First release LTE is not backwards compatible with 3G, but is a pre-4G or 3.9G technology, however sometimes branded "4G" by the service providers. Its evolution LTE Advanced is a 4G technology. WiMAX is another technology verging on or marketed as 4G.

Mobile 2nd Generation

 2^nd Generation

2G (or 2-G) is short for second-generation wireless telephone technology. Second generation 2G cellular telecom networks were commercially launched on the GSM standard in Finland by Radiolinja (now part of Elisa Oyj) in 1991. Three primary benefits of 2G networks over their predecessors were that phone conversations were digitally encrypted; 2G systems were significantly more efficient on the spectrum allowing for far greater mobile phone penetration levels; and 2G introduced data services for mobile, starting with SMS text messages.

After 2G was launched, the previous mobile telephone systems were retrospectively dubbed 1G. While radio signals on 1G networks are analog, radio signals on 2G networks are digital. Both systems use digital signaling to connect the radio towers (which listen to the handsets) to the rest of the telephone system.

2G has been superseded by newer technologies such as 2.5G, 2.75G, 3G, and 4G; however, 2G networks are still used in many parts of the world

Capacity

Using digital signals between the handsets and the towers increases system capacity in two key ways:

§                    Digital voice data can be compressed and multiplexed much more effectively than analog voice encodings through the use of variouscodecs, allowing more calls to be packed into the same amount of radio bandwidth.

§                    The digital systems were designed to emit less radio power from the handsets. This meant that cells could be smaller, so more cells could be placed in the same amount of space. This was also made possible by cell towers and related equipment getting less expensive.

Advantages

§                    The lower power emissions helped address health concerns.

§                    Going all-digital allowed for the introduction of digital data services, such as SMS and email.

§                    Greatly reduced fraud. With analog systems it was possible to have two or more "cloned" handsets that had the same phone number.

§                    Enhanced privacy. A key digital advantage not often mentioned is that digital cellular calls are much harder to eavesdrop on by use ofradio scanners. While the security algorithms used have proved not to be as secure as initially advertised, 2G phones are immensely more private than 1G phones, which have no protection against eavesdropping.

Disadvantages

§                    In less populous areas, the weaker digital signal may not be sufficient to reach a cell tower. This tends to be a particular problem on 2G systems deployed on higher frequencies, but is mostly not a problem on 2G systems deployed on lower frequencies. National regulations differ greatly among countries which dictate where 2G can be deployed.

§                    Analog has a smooth decay curve, digital a jagged steppy one. This can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. Under good conditions, digital will sound better. Under slightly worse conditions, analog will experience static, while digital has occasional dropouts. As conditions worsen, though, digital will start to completely fail, by dropping calls or being unintelligible, while analog slowly gets worse, generally holding a call longer and allowing at least a few words to get through.

§                    While digital calls tend to be free of static and background noise, the lossy compression used by the codecs takes a toll; the range of sound that they convey is reduced. You will hear less of the tonality of someone's voice talking on a digital cellphone, but you will hear it more clearly.