Sony Ericsson’s Walkman series of phones have been established as feature phone, with Music as its signature feature. Bu this series had failed to make a mark for themselves as Smartphones. It seems Sony Ericsson is trying to change that image.
Sony Ericsson has announced their plans to build W8, first Walkman series phone to be built on Android Mobile Operating system to transform it into a Smartphone.
Before think about a powerful Smartphone with powerful music playing capability, catch to be noted is, W8 will be built on Android 2.1 (which is also popularly known as Éclair) version, while Android 2.2 (Froyo) is current running version in the Market and we are also seeing new phones on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) version.
So now with current existing configuration W8 is going to be a Smartphone interfaced through 3-inch, 320 X 480 pixel touch screen and running on a not so fast enough 600 MHz processor with not sufficient enough 168 MB RAM and above all will be running on outdated version of Android Mobile Operating System. Sounds like using a pretty old generation phone right?
But all does not sound to be so dull. It has one of the powerful music playing capability (its brand carries the same) with suite of music apps and services.
HTC has announced plans to overtake iPhone vis-à-vis its release of Sensation as against iPhone5
Trying to make it ahead of iPhone, HTC Sensation would be released before the iphone5. Formerly known as the Pyramid, Sensation would hit the UK market in May, before the rumored iPhone 5 launch date of June 2011.
Sensation, which has hit our radar since the start of February this year has been announced. The important features that grace the smart phone are the Qualcomm MSM8260, a system on chip clocking 1.2 GHz.
The Sensation also has a 768 MB RAM , a microSD card reader with around 4GB onboard storage (1.1 GB free storage) and comes with a 4.3 inch display with Gorilla Glass. This display gives Sensation 540×960 pixels similar to that of HTC Desire HD.
Augmenting the features is an 8 MP camera that can shoot full HD videos with full surround sound. This sound goes up to 30FPS plus a front facing VGA camera. Also included is a nifty video trimmer tool that allows cropping of clips to the perfect size.
The details haven’t yet been published on the HTC website but it surely is on the way to rock the market.
Smarter than a smartphone and turning the tables on the tablets, Galaxy S II is set to hit the markets
Taking a cue from the competition and trying not be left behind, Samsung has announced the roll out of its latest device. The Galaxy S II smartphone would be available from May 1st in the UK.
This comes in the wake of the news report in February that the phone would be available as early as 31st March from www.play.com. The date, later, changed to 6th May. And of course, there is the added benefit – reduction of price by £100 to £499.99, SIM free.
The competitor site clove.co.uk put the handset at £528 on pre-order, but not on any specific date. The news just quotes that the first stock is expected during May. Trying to match the price of play.com, another website Expansys.com has also reduced its price from a massive £629.99
The Galaxy S II is the latest addition to the ultra-popular Galaxy S family. Slimmer, lighter and faster, Galaxy S II is a mere 8.49mm thick, weighs only 116g and has a huge 4.27-inch Super AMOLED Plus touchscreen.
The device comes pre-loaded with the latest Google operating system – Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Also bungled are a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM. And of course adding value is an 8MP camera capable of recording HD 1080p video.
The best features of Galaxy S II make it worth the wait. Keep glued to this space!
All network providers and retailers have decked up to accept pre-orders for HTC Flyer, which is expected to be available for delivery from mid of April this year. The price of the HTC Flyer starts from £ 600 onwards.
HTC Flyer is the first Tablet range device from HTC, which already established itself as Premiere Smartphone manufacturer. The device is interfaced with 7-inch wide screen and is equipped will all expected tablet device features. The device is available in two flavors. One being WiFi and 3G enabled and other being only WiFi enabled. The later one is not available for pre-orders right now, but is supposed to be cheaper than the other one and tentative pricing of the same is £ 423. Both of them are built over Android 2.3 and augmented by HTC Sense User Interface.
News is that current Android 2.3 version of the device will be upgraded to Android 3.0 Honeycomb, which is Android Tablet Operating System, in future. This is built over processor as speed as 1.5 GHZ speed, which supplemented with 1 GB of RAM and comes with 32 GB of internal memory, which can be extended through MicroSD expansion slot.
This is not considered to be direct competitor for Apple iPad, but another release from HTC, which is supposed to be 10-inch HTC tablet may compete with Apple’s equivalent.
It is no secret that Nokia C3 is one of the most popular handsets; and neither is the fact that HTC’s facebook phone ChaCha is the next ‘phone-on-the-block’. ChaCha has made many heads turn in this year’s Mobile World Congress to give enough indications of a catch-up on Nokia C3.
This eye-catching petite smart phone, aimed at the younger generation, packs more than a punch when compared to Nokia C3 – which in its own way has made its way into the bags and pockets of the youngsters.
C3 runs on Symbian 40 – simple, old but stable. However it isn’t as faster than or as secure as Version 2.4 (Gingerbread) which drives ChaCha. When it comes to the hardware, ChaCha weighs in a decent 120 g compared to C3’s 114 g. Though you can’t pick out a winner, HTC is always known for hard-wearing, premium devices which give it that slight edge over Nokia.
When it comes to Social networking, C3 is pre-loaded with Communities application – an aggregation of all your networks to the home screen. ChaCha takes it a step forward and provides native support for Facebook, Twitter in addition to hardware Facebook Key which allows sharing with a single press.
Connectivity wise, ChaCha scores over N3 since N3 doesn’t have the 3G functionality which is very much the ‘in-thing’ in today’s smart phones. Need we say more?
No wonder then, that ChaCha has impressed one and all in the Mobile World Congress. ChaCha encompasses all the core elements of today’s smart phones and provides those extra features that keep it afloat.
Samsung Galaxy ACE, new kid on Samsung Galaxy range of Smartphone, is available on Three network with a very affordable price tag. It is available at £ 30 on contract and £ 199 on Pay As You Go plan. Samsung Ace is a new Stylish Android based Smartphone running latest version of Android Mobile Operating System, Froyo.
Samsung Galaxy Ace is interfaced through Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface, which customizes default look of Android and helps it to look different from other Android based Smartphones. This TouchWiz user interface makes 3.5 inches screen of 16m color displaying capability and of 320X480 resolutions even better. It has one single home button similar to Apple’s iPhone 4 and two other buttons for navigation purposes.
The Smartphone has all high-end networking capabilities like 3G capability, Wi-Fi support and also don role of WiFi hotspots enabling you other home devices to connect to internet through it. With the option of charging through USB, which can be used to connect it to computer or Laptop as well, the Smartphone comes bundled with 2GB microSD memory card.
With all the expected features bundled together. Samsung Galaxy ACE is definitely one of the most high profile releases in this year.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro would now be available on the carrier T-Mobile. As per latest information that went with it, it is confirmed to be in stock.
Contrary to the expectations set forth by its big name, the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 Mini Pro is one of the smallest handsets in the market. It may be compact but packs a punch that belittles its miniature presence. The 2.5 inch touch screen and a full QWERTY keypad make it perfect for typing out messages at speed. The handset, which comes equipped with Android 2.1, would be available in both Black and White. Xperia X10 Mini Pro packs the customizable interface full of pre-loaded Google widgets. Not that all, but Xperia X10 Mini Pro also boasts a 5 megapixel camera, social networking integration, and up to 16GB storage.
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro is now available to order on pay monthly deals with T-Mobile. The handset is also available to order on O2, Orange, Three and Vodafone. The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro is also available to order on Pay As You Go with O2, T-Mobile and Vodafone.
Sony Ericsson would never leave things in the open for their own course! Sony Ericsson is on a mission to prove to the world that it still has what it takes to succeed with their Android phones offerings. After being announced at CES 2011, the Xperia Arc has since made several appearances. With each of these appearances, the interest in the market has only increased.
To augment the increasing interest and to create more buzz, the company has shared more pictures and video samples taken with the phone’s amazing 8-megapixel camera. These can be viewed at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc-9DZW7UFU
It’s pretty clear that the Xperia Arc is not like your typical camera phone. With its Exmor R back-illuminated sensor technology, coupled together with the phone’s f/2.4 aperture value – it has the ability to come out with quite magnificent pictures. The phone also scores in the fact that pictures taken in low-light environments are exceedingly magnificent– as is evident in the samples.
But that’s not all. The Xperia Arc is also capable of recording HD video. The fact that Xperia Arc uses the mobile version of BRAVIA engine also helps, allowing the phone to capture high quality images with reduced noise and improved sharpness.
When Sony announced that they will put more focus on Android phones in 2011, we guess they really meant it. This is one phone putting things aside and waiting for! Watch this space for updates.
If the reports are to be believed, the most hotly anticipated smart phone from Dell – Venue Pro Smart phone running Windows Phone 7 would be available to UK users by Wednesday. This has been listed in the latest update from online retailer Expansys.
The site lists the price of this much-delayed (yet highly anticipated) SIM-free slider handset, which was among the first wave of phones running Microsoft’s new operating system, at £439.99.
The appeal of this smart phone would definitely be with the business users. The large 4.1 inch Amoled display made of toughened Gorilla glass, 1GHz Qualcomm 8250 SnapDragon processor, 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity and a full Office Mobile suite pre-loaded makes it an attractive option for the business users.
However, it certainly isn’t with a downside. The handset has a small 8GB on-board memory and may be a little awkward, especially when fully extended by sliding out the QWERTY keyboard.
Having already delayed the launch in the U.K., Dell would be hoping for a smoother passage this time. The previous issues of battery and Wi-Fi, as Dell expects, need to be a thing of the past for Venue Pro’s success story this time.
The company has already noted that the problems stemmed from two errors in the manufacturing of the smart phones. Multiple users reported that handsets returned an error message when they tried to access protected Wireless networks. Subsequently, Dell attributed this to a “Software glitch” and added that certain handsets contain batteries which were wrongly labelled as ‘engineering sample’ units.
According to latest analyst research reports, Windows Phone 7 will be the fastest growing platform in 2011 thanks to its “unique and very desirable take on the smart phone user interface”.
But, it has a mountain to climb given the runaway success of the iPhone and Android platforms. The market is awaiting with bated breath the release and the further future of Venue Pro. We will keep you posted!
The wait seems to come to an end – or so it appears according to the latest reports. With the BBC iPlayer set to land on the Apple iPhone and iPad within a month, the industry is abuzz with excitement.
The apps that were announced little over an year ago, and given a nod by the BBC trust around six months back, are one of the long awaited by the iPad owners; particularly those who cited the promised iPad app as a reason for spending out on Apple’s tablet
Now, according to PaidContentUK, the apps will be available from the App Store by the end of February. This coincides with the date that project head, the Beeb’s Future Media and Technology director Erik Huggers leaves and moves on to his job at Intel. The news will come as a relief to those mobile viewers who have struggled with accessing the content through their Safari browser on Apple devices.
In terms of functionality, most of it is under wraps as of now. The apps are likely to have social networking features integrated largely with an interface similar to the user-friendly offering already provided by the iPlayer website. It still, however, is unknown if it would boast exactly the same line-up and availability of content.
The iPlayer app for iOS devices is likely to only be available to UK viewers. So, be ready for the ride!
The face of the social networking – facebook has come out to publicly deny that they are developing a “Facebook phone” with the world-renowned South Korean smart phone manufacturer HTC. This has come on the heels of the rumours that have been doing rounds for some months now. The most recent one has also suggested that HTC was developing two high-end smart phones on the Android OS.
However, Dan Rose, Facebook’s head of business development, tried to put to rest the latest speculation. He indicated that HTC were simply utilizing the features of Facebook’s public API’s, and added, “The rumours around there being something more to this HTC device are overblown”
It is everybody’s knowledge that Facebook is trying hard with mobile manufacturers to improve accessibility and usability with Facebook, both normal service and apps. But, there seems to be no official plans for a branded Facebook mobile device, at least for now.
Sceptics point to the case of Google – which remained adamant for years that no Google-branded phone is on the anvil, until shortly before releasing the Nexus. But, the “Facebook phone” is surrounded by too much hype and too little substance.
Facebook still remains on top of the social networking groups. But, as the recent trends have shown, they would be going the wrong path if they do not innovate and keep the user engaged. Will “Facebook phone” be part of this engagement? Watch this space
HTC has recently announced availability of its new mid range phone, HTC Gratia, across UK by this February.
HTC Gratia is positioned to be mid range Smartphone, but yet is a powerful. This Compact Yet Powerful handset from HTC is built based on Android Mobile Operating System. Version of this Android Operating Systems is believed to be Android 2.2. The handset has 3.2 inch touch screen with 480X320 pixel resolution. It is powered with a 600 MHz processor, which is decent enough for a phone of this size. Cherry on the top of this phone is its supportability of Adobe’s Flash, which comes through Android 2.2 Operating System. This Flash supportability enables users to watch Streaming Video. Only point on the other side for this phone is its 600 MHz processor, which does not allow users to enjoy the Flash support of the Android version. It makes the flash based video streaming, considerable slow.
This mid range HTC based phone is crafted with care and it shows up in its Compact and Elegant design. Available in attractive colors, the HTC Gratia also have attractive bright colored interiors, which make the phone even attractive. Its supportability of e-Mail on go through support of Microsoft Exchange is another feather in its cap.
HTC has recently announced the release of its first Business Oriented Smartphone built on Window Phone 7 (popularly known as WP7), Windows based Mobile Operating System. Yes we are talking about HTC 7 Pro. It is going to be allowed in UK by February.
HTC 7 Pro is going to be first Business Oriented phone based on Windows Phone 7 (WP7) mobile operating system. It is interfaced through a 3.6 inches wide screen, which has QWERTY keypad under its slide. It is powered with a 1 GHz processor, which will be fast enough on Windows Phone 7. It is also powered with Microsoft Outlook emailing application and support Microsoft office documents.
Though labeled as Business Oriented Smartphone, it also has multimedia and entertainment capabilities, which any mobile user expects its phone to be supporting. Though the pricing of this mobile handset across UK is still under wraps, it has confirmed the availability by February.
Recently early this month, Motorola has announced about its new to be launch, Motorola Atrix. Motorola has branded this Smartphone as most powerful Smartphone ever available in market. Full specification of the phone is recently out.
Atrix is interfaced through big 4 inch touch screen, which supports resolution of 540X960p. The phone is equipped with a dual core 1 GHz NVDIA Tegra 2 processor, which LG has already announced to be available with its LG Optimus 2X. This fastest processer will be augmented with sufficient 1 GB of internal RAM, which makes it fastest phone. This 1 GB RAM is augmented with 15 GB internal memory, which can also be extended up to 32 GB memory in form of MicroSD.
Motorola Atrix is also equipped with two cameras, rear facing camera of 5 megapixel camera, which is supported by dual LED flash and front facing camera is of 0.3 megapixel VGA camera, which supports Video calling. Other important features are Bluetooth 2.1, 3.5 mm headphone socket, microUSB ports, DLNA support and HDMI 1.3.
Though market has news about its US launch as March, it does not have any news about its UK launch, but this will be one Handset, which is worth waiting.
After it has announced its readiness about first 3D Tablet LG G-Slate ahead of Mobile World Congress, LG is also getting geared up to announce first ever Three Dimensional Mobile phone. LG has named this 3D phone as LG Optimus and if everything goes as per planned, LG is going to make this announcement during the same Mobile World Congress.
Few trade analysts have spotted this new 3D phone on the one of the websites of Carphone Warehouse, but it has been removed swiftly before any analysis is made or any inferences are drawn. Though there is no more information available in the market, some analysis can be done with pictures and limited information available.
Looking at the picture of LG Optimus 3D, it can be inferred that, it is equipped with 3D enable touch screen, which allow users to view 3D movies, experience 3D gaming and will be even fitted with a 3D camera, to capture 3D images. This 3D capable handset will be available on latest version of Android, Android 2.3 (also popularly known as Froyo).
LG Optimus 3D will be built on NVDIA’s Tegra 2 3D processor, which will make this fastest mobile handset as it will be powered with 1.2 GHz processor.
Samsung has come up with a miniature version of Samsung Galaxy S, as per speculation, which will be known as Samsung Ace or Samsung S mini in UK. With this new clan is Samsung Galaxy family, Samsung is expecting to reach out to the customer base, which senior Galaxy could not do. The mini version of Galaxy, has made its first appearance on Samsung’s Indonesian website.
This mini Galaxy is truly mini in nature. Measuring 112m length and 59mm breadth Samsung Mini will change the perspective of the users, who are addicted to bigger sizes of their Smart Phones. But sometimes, this small size acts negatively also. 3.5 inches touch screen s not the only small thing in Samsung Mini. Its resolution is also pretty low, which is 320X480 pixels. Such low resolution sometimes makes the content on the screen looks to be considerably small, which makes it hard to read.
Keeping these small things aside, Samsung Mini is a cute mini pack of dynamic features. It is built on the latest version of Android mobile operating system (Android 2.2, which is popularly called as Froyo) and is powered by 800 MHZ processor, which also makes it faster. It is equipped with all required networking capability like 802.11n WiFi and HSDPA. It is also equipped with 5-megapixel camera, which is augmented with an LED photo light.
Though the price or release dates are not yet known, definitely this mini version will definitely be most anticipated release.
Sony Ericsson is planning for biggest ever of its Campaigns to launch its recent intelligent Smartphone Sony Ericsson Xperia Arch and other new products from Sony Ericsson for this year. Sony Ericsson is pinning all its hopes on this launch, which it thinks will set it on to right growth path again.
This event is supposed to be bigger than its “Spark Something” event, which it has organized on 2009 to launch its Satio and Aino handsets. 2009 campaign was very successful and turns out £8 Million revenues to Sony Ericsson.
Xperia Arch is the center of this campaign and it is supposed to be fifth Android phone from Sony Ericsson. Name to this handset comes from its Arch shaped body, which is going to be thinnest mobile phone available phone available in the market, measuring 8.7 mm. Arch is built on latest version of Android mobile operating system, Android 2.3 (which is also popular as Gingerbread). Interfaced through 4.7 inch touch screen, Xperia Arch is equipped with 8.1 mega-pixel camera, which also allows HD recording. It comes with 1 GHz processor, which also makes it faster.
Another feather in its cap is Sony’s Mobile BRAVIA engine, which improves image viewing quality. Coupled to that is Sony’s Exmor R sensor, which improves video and image capturing quality even in dim light.
Packaging all these features, Sony Ericsson Xperia Arch, is definitely going bring back Sony Ericsson’s Success and Glory.
Samsung is living up to its tagline “Innovation is Fate”. In that direction is its efforts to release the successor to its super successful handset Samsung Galaxy S by next week. If all goes as per the plan, then Samsung Galaxy S successor Samsung Galaxy S2 will be launched on Samsung’s launch event on 13th February.
Samsung Galaxy S2 is codenamed ‘Seine”, which will be the fastest mobile phone ever built till now. Supposed to be packed with a Dual Core 1 GHz ARM Cortex A9 Orion Processor, augmented with 1 GB RAM makes it to be the fastest mobile ever built.
Rumors are that Samsung Galaxy S2 will be Tegra Powered, built on Nvidia Tegra 2 Chipset. The rumor is supported by a huge order of Tegra 2 chipset placed by Samsung recently. Another feather in cap for this Seine is its Mobile Operating System. It is being built on Android 2.3 (also popularly know s Gingerbread).
Coming to external package, S2 is equipped with a powerful 8 mega pixel camera that can capture high definition video with 1080p resolution, which is interfaced through 4.3 inch super AMOLED plus touch screen, which offers WVGA resolution and proprietary technology from Samsung.
This super gadget is supposed to be unveiled in Mobile World Congress, which is going to be held in Barcelona.
Sony Ericsson in serious efforts to do a image makeover, has invested a lot of efforts in building successor to its successful Sony Ericsson Vivaz. This new handset is known as Sony Ericsson Viva2, which is also known as Sony Ericsson Hallon. This is definitely one of the skillful devices crafted carefully by Sony Ericsson.
This stunning Smartphone is interfaced through a touch screen, which is slightly heavier than its predecessor, but superior in quality when compared to Samsung Vivaz. This high quality screen comes with as high resolution as 580X854 pixels and built using Sony Bravia engine, Sony’s patented technology, to give super clear clarity.
It is built on latest version of Android mobile operating system, Android 2.3, which is popular as Gingerbread. Instead of MediaScape, Sony Ericsson’s usual music app, this latest handset comes with Android’s default music, video and photo display and sharing applications.
The new kind of Sony Ericsson comes with superior video recording capability up to 720p and is supposed to perform flawlessly. It comes with 8-megapixel camera attached to it with Exmor R sensor, which was successful with Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc. Inside the handset is 1GHz Qualcomm processor coupled with 512 MB RAM, which makes it really faster gadget available.
Packed with all these features, Samsung Ericsson Hallon, is supposed to be available in UK market by April 2011 with price tag of £300.
Samsung Giorgio Armani Galaxy S, designer version of Samsung Galaxy S is currently available in UK. But bad news is only limited number of handsets are available across UK.
Samsung has teamed up with Giorgio Armani to come up with exclusive and designer version of Samsung’s one of the most successful handset, Samsung Galaxy S. The new exclusive designer version of this handset is named as Samsung Giorgio Armani Galaxy S.
As per the news, there will be only 800 proud owners of this designer handset, as this is a limited edition and only 800 handsets will be manufactured and these 800 handsets will be available through only 100 stores across UK. These stores started stocking up these handsets from end of last year.
This handset is built on latest version of Android, Android 2.2 (also popularly known as Froyo). The handset is packed in a beautiful padded brand box, which is augmented with gold pop-stud clip, with letters GA is engrossed on it. The handset is encapsulated in black colored case and back is embossed with waffle like design.
Considering all these, handset will definitely make owners, the proud owners.
