review

The 5-megapixel Touch HD is an exciting endeavor for High Tech Computer Corporation (HTC) and the first device to overpower the iPhone in nearly every technical aspect.  Starting with the 5-megapixel camera, the 3.8-inch 800 x 480 resolution touchscreen to the 288MB of RAM for multi-tasking, the Touch HD is a powerhouse.  Our friends at Technophone have had the device for a week now and have put together some of their first impressions along with a few sample photos to help us determine the quality of the 5-megapixel camera.

Here are some of the highlights of their coverage:

• WOW effect: 10 (to make a comparison iPhone was 9 and Diamond
• The materials used are excellent, it is nice and solid the rear is not as polished or iPhone Diamond, then there is no risk of scratches.
• The screen is touch sensitive .. here too close to the iPhone, despite having two technologies of different touch.
• You move in the menu so agile and immediate. There are no annoying slowdowns and expectations.
• The external speaker has a good quality when you receive a call or a text message sounds good and strong there is no risk of losing the call.

When it comes to imaging, the 5-megapixel camera was described as, “Images are not bad, but I was expecting something more, especially in view there is too pastel effect”. We’ll let you be the judge from the sample photos above. Continue reading

There are few things not to love about the Nokia E Series and this afternoon we had a chance to photograph the E71.  The device features a 3-megapixel camera with autofocus, full QWERTY keypad, WiFi, 3G and dimensions that could make the iPhone jealous, we have to admit it is love at first sight.  While we wrap up our full review on the E71, we thought it might be nice to brighten your Friday with a photo gallery, enjoy.

Nokia E71 Specifications:

Android Community member, kaziko, has had a chance to get his hands on the upcoming T-mobile G1 for an early review.  Unlike the units seen at the T-mobile Press Event last month, kaziko was able to pick up a final build in retail packaging just like the units we will be receiving on October 22nd.  Kaziko described the G1 by simply saying, “It’s a sidekick on massive steroids … If it had a box on the left side it would feel exactly like a Sidekick”.  The review wraps up with a nice Q&A session that should address nearly any question you have about the G1 and get you ready for launch day.  Below is a summary of the finer points, but hit the link for the entire review.

PRO’s:

• The device is fairly quick to startup compared to other HTC devices.
• It is very light considering what’s inside.
• The slide out keyboard works well and doesn’t have a flimsy feel to it.
• The Android Market works just as well as the iPhone’s App Store.
• There are already a lot of useful apps to download from the Android Market, including a free ringtone maker.
• The earpiece is fairly clear when making and receiving calls, you hear absolutely no static.
• The speaker is relatively loud compared to other HTC devices.

CON’s:

• The G1 has a big memory leak somewhere, and has to be restarted in order to get it running smoothly again.
• The battery charger makes the bottom of the phone extremely hot.
• No virtual QWERTY keyboard included.
• The phone doesn’t run as smoothly as you would think, programs sometimes stutter trying to start up.
• There is no folder system like that found on other HTC devices: finding your files requires you to search around in one of the various programs associated with the file type you’re trying to view.
• Video playback is very limited. The G1 would not play .mpg or .wmv files which are pretty much the standard when it comes to videos downloaded off the net.

Via AndroidCommunity

The Storm is coming and a few lucky gadget lovers have had their chance to get some one on one time with BlackBerry’s first ever touchscreen device.  With a launch coming in a matter of weeks for Verizon Wireless, the Storm’s real world performance has been a bit of mystery and confusion especially when it comes to the click-able screen.  Gizmodo’s Matt Buchanan put it best by saying,

No matter how many times your fingers dance on the screen like you’ve been trained on every other touchscreen, nothing will happen. At least, not until you push the screen all the way down and you feel a click. Yes, the screen is a giant button, one you have to punch for basically every action, even every letter you type, completely breaking the touchscreen paradigm. Surprisingly, it works.

Continue reading

There is no doubt that Nokia delivers some of the best optics for their camera phones but as rival, LG, continues to improve their imaging and breaks into the 8 megapixel range, the race for the top camera phone is heating up.  Today we are looking at two devices in the 5 megapixel range, the Nokia N95 8GB and the LG KC550.  Both devices features high end optics, autofocus, flash and VGA video recording (LG KC550 can also do 720×480 but only at 15fps).

Nokia N95 8GB: 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, video(VGA 30fps), flash, secondary CIF videocall camera

LG KC550: 5 MP, 2560 x 1920 pixels, Schneider-Kreuznach optics, autofocus, flash, image stabilizer, video(640×480@30fps,720×480@15fps)

A Game of Pixels

Despite both phones offering 5 megapixel cameras, there is a slight advantage in total pixel count for the N95 8GB (2592 x 1944) versus the LG KC550 (2560 x 1920).  Despite many websites reporting that the two devices actually offer equal pixel count, with two phones delivering such similar features and real-word results, any difference in specifications is important.

Nokia N95 8GB Sample Pictures

Below you will find several sample pictures taken with the Nokia N95 8GB.  The first photo was taken at ISO 250 with flash, the second was taken at 125 ISO no flash and the third was taken at ISO 100 no flash.  All three pictures were impressive with accurate lighting and did not demonstrate excessive brightness, also known as ‘white haze’.

LG KC550 Sample Pictures

Below you will find several sample pictures taken with the LG KC550.  The first photo was taken at ISO 100 with flash, the second and third photos were taken at 100 ISO no flash.  All three pictures were impressive, but with the flash we noticed a moderate amount of ‘white haze’.  While the ‘white haze’ can be adjusted with image editing software, for out of the box purposes it is worth noting.

Final Thoughts

Both the Nokia N95 8GB and LG KC550 feature impressive cameras with high end optics and adequate flash.  Neither device significantly outperformed the other in daytime lighting conditions, but at times the N95 8GB took dimmer pictures without flash.  If you are solely basing your decision on which device to purchase based on the camera,  The LG KC550 has a slight edge for non-flash situations, while the Nokia N95 8GB delivers less ‘white haze’ for low-light shots.

Images Courtesy of fony.sk

The Wall Street Journal’s All Things Digital first broke news with an early Sprint HTC Touch Diamond review, but quickly became a review for All Things iPhone.  Today with the news that Sprint’s HTC Touch Diamond would go on sale this month, September 14th, a few other websites were able to secure a unit to test.  The first website was MobileBurn which just completed a thorough review breaking down the Sprint Touch Diamond and ultimately giving it a “Recommended” rating:

While we haven’t given it the complete thrashing that we usually subject cell phones to, we have every confidence that the HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint will impress people. It has a slick top-level user interface and is jam-packed with features. We find the new design to be better than that of the original, and are glad of the larger battery that it contains. Text input is still a bit of a mixed bag, as it was with the original, so people really should spend some time in a Sprint shop with the device before plunking down their hard earned cash. It’s a good solid device for people that want something touchable, but perhaps need the business sense that a Windows Mobile device provides. We give it an easy “Recommended” rating

EngadgetMobile, on the other hand, had a chance to play with the Sprint HTC Touch Pro. The most important realization that they identified was the thickness of the Touch Pro and Touch Diamond side by side.

Now here’s the important part: after spending considerable time with both this and its QWERTY-free counterpart, we can definitely say that this one shouldn’t simply be considered a “better Touch Diamond.” The Diamond murders the Pro for total pocketability, sex appeal, and feel in the hand — so you’ve really got to ask yourself just how badly you need that keyboard before you pull the trigger one way or another.

Whether you end up with the Sprint HTC touch Diamond or Touch Pro, there is little doubt that the devices will fail to impress.  Despite heavy bias towards the iPhone 3G at the moment (ourselves included), seeing the Touch Pro on camera has only glorified a device that we were eager to own.  To be completely honest, the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 seemed to be the only device on our radar earlier this year, but the sleek style of the Touch Diamond and the QWERTY keyboard of the Touch Pro have us eager to own both of HTC’s latest creations.

Source: EngadgetMobile, MobileBurn

Once again our friends at WOM World have delivered the goods and this time we have the Nokia BH-503 Stereo Bluetooth Headset for review.  Over the past couple weeks we put the BH-503 through the ringer while using it with our Nokia N82 and the verdict is in.  The BH-503 joins a vast portfolio of Nokia Bluetooth accessories that include speakers, car kits and mono headsets.  With heated competition from Samsung’s SBH500 which many consider the standard for Stereo Bluetooth Headsets you might be surprised by our findings.

Specs and Features

The BH-503 is a Stereo Headset which supports stereo audio streaming and player controls on the side headphone with support for Bluetooth A2DP and AVRCP, it also includes a built in mic and built in DSP for making and receiving phone calls.  with Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR and support for headset and hands-free profiles, the BH-503 is nothing short of versatile.  For the record you can pickup the BH-503 in either silver or black so there’s no problem if you currently have a 8GB Nokia N95 or new N96.

Design and Style

Honestly we have not been big fans of any of the designs for Stereo Bluetooth headsets since we prefer not to draw attention at the gym, but to Nokia’s credit the N82 matched with the BH-503s looks clean.  At 5.9 x 2.95 x 6.1 inches and 3.7 ounces, we did not have any problem taking the headphones to the gym and listening while we did cardio.

When we first received the box we were a little skeptical about the size and weight, but in practical use the size actually helps significantly when running on the treadmill as well as lifting weight on the bench.  Unlike traditional headphones, the Stereo Bluetooth headset was a welcomed change since we have grown very tired of worrying about a cable tangling around our arm or on the elliptical machine.

Setup and Bluetooth Connectivity

The pairing process is very simple, simply press and hold the multifunction key until the LED flashes blue and use your phone (Nokia N82 in this case) to pair the device with a default pass code “0000″.  If you are at all familiar with using any bluetooth headset, the BH-503 should not be a problem and you will be up and running in no time.

Once we were paired up we never lost connection with our phone even at 20 feet away.  The clarity of the audio was excellent with good volume levels and full bass.  There was a slight bit of digitized sounding bass when we were listen to heavy bass hip-hop/rap tracks, but this would be more important for the audiophile rather than the music lover.  If you are looking for a clear and loud Stereo Bluetooth headset, the BH-503 is a winner.

Battery Life

With a rechargeable battery, the BH-503 can be charged with the same charger as the Nokia N82 (also the N95, E51 and many other high-end devices).  The specs claimed an 11 hour playback time and standby of over 8 days and we couldn’t agree more.  We were able to take the BH-503 to the gym for 30 minutes a day, 7 days a week and didn’t need a charge all week.  It is safe to say that you will be more worried about your cellphone lasting during music playback than your headset.

Conclusion

When it comes to performance, the Nokia BH-503 is solid and it works excellent with the Nokia N95 and N82.  The sound is loud and clear and the choice of Black or Silver colors makes it an easy pair to style with your phone.  The only area we had a problem with was the price tag which is currently hovering just over $100 and similar devices from Samsung can be purchased for a bit cheaper.  What really sealed the deal for us was the battery life which seemed endless at times and we really struggled to drain out the battery during our 2 week trial.  If we could make any changes to the headset we would reduce the size of the earphones and work towards a sleeker look as long as the quality and battery life weren’t impacted significantly.

Bottom Line Rating: 9/10

The Nokia N82 set to re-invent the camera phone, while some call it the little brother to the N95 we prefer to call it the ‘gifted step brother’.  Thanks to WOM World, we have been given the opportunity to put the N82 through some rigorous testing over the past week.  We now bring you the raw and uncensored look at the Nokia N82.

Background

A little course in Symbian history tells us that the N82 is the successor to the N73.  Built on the S60 platform, the N82 was the first Nokia device to feature a Xenon flash.  Equipped with a 5.0 megapixel Carl Zeiss Tessar lens, the image quality of the N82 is nothing short of phenomenal.  While the N95 featured a LED flash and less than stellar capture speeds (in dark lighting), the N82 redefined the speed of the camera phone.

*Prior to using the N82, we were running the Nokia E90 Communicator and the Nokia N95-3

Screen

The 2.4 inch QVGA LCD screen on the Nokia N82 is bright and crystal clear just like the other N series devices.  Images and N-Gage gaming looks very sharp and even with max brightness we did not notice any significant strain on battery life.  While we would like to see higher resolution screens on the N series in the future, it might be overkill unless the screen size increases.  The flush screen is a real bonus when compared against N95, not simply for the easy cleaning but also for smooth styling.  Combine the flush screen with a built-in accelerometer (no out of box tweaking like the N95 requires) and Nokia found a winner.

Keyboard

Personally we have never been big fans of T9-style texting with the 12 key keypad, but we did manage to make due.  Coming from a long history of QWERTY devices, we found it difficult to keep up with typing speeds of our BlackBerry and iPhone.  On the positive side, it was much easier to type on the N82 than the N95 because of the added spacing between keys and the flush face of the phone.  If we had to choose between typing on the N95 or the N82 we would not hesitate to pick up the N82.

Data Connections (Radios and Wi-Fi)

While the Chinese market has a completely different hardware platform for the N82 (no Wi-Fi, no UMTS radio), we received the European model.  The Quadband GSM (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) and UMTS 2100 HSDPA 3G are the perfect combination for worldwide travel, but unfortunately here in the US you will be limited to EDGE data speeds.  While At&t runs off 850MHz/1900MHz 3G and T-mobile USA will use 1700MHz, the N82 will not be able to take advantage of either high-speed data network with the European version of the device.  However, in our speed tests (dslreports.com/mspeed) we were able to download the 100kb file at 192kbit/s using At&t.

The lack of 3G data for the US is something to consider if you live stateside and in our opinion it could be a deal breaker for At&t users living in 3G coverage.  For those of you using T-mobile USA, the 3G data network is only reaching 20 markets so the majority of subscribers would be more than satisfied with EDGE data.

Luckily a Quadband GSM radio and single-band UMTS are not the only data options on the N82, we still have Wi-Fi.  Data speed tests ranged between 1000kbps to 1200kbps when connected via Wi-Fi which is exactly where we’ve witnessed results of Windows Mobile, BlackBerry and other Nokia devices.  The inclusion of Wi-Fi is a big bonus if you plan on using an EDGE-only device.  We had no problems connecting to WEP and WPA protected networks over the past week and found the setup a breeze.

Camera

Being the first Nokia device to feature a Xenon flash was one of the best decisions we’ve seen Nokia make over the past 12 months.  Unlike the LED flash on the Nokia N95 which delivers cloudy night shots, the N82’s Xenon flash gives natural light in even the darkest settings.  Besides the superior flash, the entire camera application runs much faster and the overall performance is much faster in every lighting environment we tested.  With the N73’s 3.2 megapixel camera setting the bar before it, the N82 has simply blown away every other Nokia device we have tested.  For comparison we have put together a set of sample pictures we took using the Nokia N95 up against the N82

Nokia N95 Sample Pictures

Nokia N82 Sample Pictures

The overall clarity of the N82 in daytime settings combined with the Xenon flash for night time shots has raised the bar for what we expect in a camera phone.  While it was nice to have a 3.2 megapixel camera on our Nokia E90, the speed of taking pictures and the quality of the N82’s photos are simply on another level.

Email / Applications

A 5.0 megapixel camera is nice, but the primary purpose of a cell phone is ‘the phone’.  When we compared reception side-by-side between the Nokia N82 and Apple iPhone 3G we consistently had 1 to 3 extra bars on the N82.  We have always had great success getting solid reception with all of our Nokia devices and the N82 was no different.  When we paired up our Nokia N82 with our Samsung WEP 500 Bluetooth headset we had excellent clarity and a natural sounding voice from our caller.  We never experienced a dropped connection between the Bluetooth headset and the N82 and the devices paired with eachother once they were within close proximity.

A big feature on the upcoming BlackBerry Bold (already released for the lucky few) and the iPhone is full HTML email.  Unfortunately this is where the N82 and all current N series devices fall behind in their S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 platform.  While we always rely on Exchange mail and Nokia offers a free Mail for Exchange download, email on the N82 is in many ways similar to a standard flip phone (think Motorola RAZR).  On the positive side, Mail for Exchange caused very little battery loss and email was delivered instantly and contacts/calendar synchronization was seamless.

Our favorite piece of software on the N82 was the N-Gage gaming platform.  The device came pre-loaded with sports and racing demos that delivered some of the best quality gaming we have seen on a cell phone.  While we were not able to take advantage of the built-in accelerometer on the gaming, we hope that the N-Gage platform finds a way to tap into this capability to truly give the iPhone a run for its money.

Final Thoughts

If we were asked to rate the Nokia N82 on a scale of 1 to 10 as a camera phone we would not hesitate to give it a solid 10.  As an all-in-one device which replaces your MP3 player, camera, PSP/Nintendo DS and PDA we would give it a 7/10.  The main reasons why we would lower the score is that the Email client is a bit dated and we have grown to expect full HTML email.  The lack of a QWERTY keyboard really makes sending off long emails a tedious task and limits the ability to turn the N82 into an email machine.  The ideal user we see buying the N82 is someone who currently uses T-mobile USA or At&t and lives outside of 3G coverage.  The built-in accelerometer is excellent and we would really like to see the N-Gage platform tap into this feature.  If you want the best in camera phones, accept no substitute for the real deal Nokia N82.

If you are swimming in the Olympics or serving in Special Forces and need a cell phone that can withstand the most extreme conditions, the Verizon G’zOne Boulder should be at the top of your list.  With a 1.3 megapixel camera, EVDO Rev A blazing fast Internet, Push-to-Talk support and access to Verizon’s V Cast Music and Video all the major bases are covered by the Boulder.  Lucky for us, Cnet was able to get their hands on the Verizon G’zOne Boulder and the results are in.

Unfortunately, I ran into a few audio quality problems when testing the phone. There was quite a bit of static and echo, and a lot of my callers reported some crackling during calls. Of course, this may vary depending on the phone in your area, but this is what I discovered on the phone I received.

Besides the audio quality problems, the device performed well and withstood the toughest conditions.  The electronic compass was extremely accurate and the flash LED proved to be a useful flashlight during testing.  While the G’zOne Boulder will not win you any awards in style, the device fits a rare bread of cell phone users and if the audio quality problems can be sorted out, the Boulder will be a serious contender for those looking to go on next season’s Survivor.

Read on for the full review