Reviews related to : Mobile phones
In the space of a few short years mobile phones have evolved from luggable brick to slick, slim multi-function gadget. Nokia led the field for many years - but more recently have faced fierce competition from those that want their phone to be a fashion statement as well as make phone calls. Sony Ericsson are now very popular along with phones like the LG chocolate.
With Apple now jumping on the bandwagon with their own iPhone we can expect another leap in style (over substance?) We'll see!
First impressions do not always work out as you might expect but I have to admit that the Sony Ericsson K660i did not flatter to deceive and was one of those products that lived up to its initial appeal.
click image to enlarge Measuring 104 x 47 x 15mm and weighing 95g, the Sony Ericsson K660i candy bar style phone is predominately black in colour with silver trims around the edges and a wine coloured bar highlighting the non-keypad controls. If this colour scheme does not appeal then the phone is also available with a lime bar on white. Situated above this bar is the handset's 2.0-inch TFT QVGA screen capable of displaying 260K colours.
This is MP3/phone as the face when closed has controls designed especially for working with music files. A recent survey said those under the mid twenties never tend to listen to more than thirty seconds of any track; this phone would be idea for them.
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It is 10.5x4x1cm, flip it open and add 4cm to the length, it weights 72grams. It should fit in the palm of all but the smallest hand. The screen is 3x3.8cm, the whole colour scheme is matt black with and orange band, orange W for Walkman at the base and three interlinking circles on the area below the screen with the centre on in orange.
A somewhat different offering from LG, run your finger across the bottom part of the face and you can make your own music. This is a slim slider phone with a 3mega pixel camera with flash.
click image to enlarge the KF510 phone from LG is 10x5x1cm and weights a tad over 100grams. Push the slider up and the 10cm length is increased by 3cm and this reveals the 12 keys of the keypad. The right side has a metallic plug covering the input point charging, and proprietary earbuds and transfer cables. Also on this side is the on/off slider and combined camera/MP3 button.
Answering the call and donning my secret agent guise (actually it was no different from my normal appearance as that is the best way not to attract attention), I made my way to Sony’s secret bunker to discover about the company’s latest gadgets.
As I descended the numerous flights of stairs to this underground location, I couldn't help but hope that maybe one of the new gadgets would be available to help me climb the stairs on my return journey. Unfortunately it was not to be but there were several other goodies that will tempt you to part with your cash in the forthcoming months.
Lets return to the subject of nomophobia (after all my spell checker has been taught this word so I might as well make use of it).
Skypephone S2
Nokia E71 click image to enlarge Obviously believing that this fear of having no mobile connectivity should be
consigned to yesterday's dustbin, the mobile media company 3 has promised a
number of new products and initiatives that will be relieve this complaint.
A small pebble like clamshell, the U9 is available in pink, purple or graphite (black) with a glossy smooth finish and curved edges this
phone feels great to hold.
The pink and purple varieties are most definitely aimed squarely at the female market, and in case you're not convinced Motorola provide a Pink or Purple test to help you choose your colour - question two asks whether you'd rather date Prince William or Prince Harry ( ). you can take the quiz here! The Motorola U9 is a quad-band phone that comes with a raft of features for those that prefer the clamshell format. Measuring 90 x 48.
The boss of LG in the UK made a great joke of telling journalists prior to the announcement that the name of their new phone was Secret. He was of course correct it is called ‘Secret’.
click to enlarge It is 10x4.5x1cm when closed, when the screen moves upwards to reveal the twelve key keypad this increases the first figure by 3.5cm. The phones weight is 110grams. It is matt black with a silver band and controls and the back is a fine checkerboard pattern of grey and black weaved to look like tweed. The viewable screen area is 5x3.7cm. The left side has the dual headset and charger port.
Surprisingly, as the chosen location was known as The Music Room, Sony Ericsson did not include any new models in its Walkman range.
It doesn't seem all that long ago since I last reported on the latest announcements from Sony Ericsson. Actually it was just over four months ago - doesn't time seem to fly by or maybe it is as a result of the onward drive to pump out new handsets and accessories by mobile phone companies. This time Sony Ericsson's product announcements cover new handsets, modems, headsets, gaming and a photographic competition.
With camera phone resolution improving it will soon be a phone camera. This unit has a three mega pixel offering and a good quality image would just about be printable at A4 without pixelization.
This phone is small enough to sit in the palm of an adult, in it's closed state it is 10x5x1.5cm push the screen upwards and reveal another 4cm that hides the keypad. It is matt black (it also comes in a rather smart black box) with a silver/grey stripe round the edge and the only immediately obvious control is a silvered wheel on the back left edge. Look closely in good light and several other buttons become visible on the edges.
Some mobile phones cry out to be picked up and used. While the Nokia N82 does not fall into this category, it is not too unpleasant on the eye.
click to enlarge Adopting a chunky candy-bar style, this Nokia N82 3G Smartphone dimensions are 112 x 502 x 17.3mm. It has a silver fascia with a large screen that gives a 38 x 50mm viewing area. The screen can display 16.7 million colours producing a clear display in various lighting conditions and had the capabiloity to smoothly change between portrait and landscape mode depending upon which way round you hold the handset.
This is a rather different phone with a camera in fact although it will do everything a modern mobile phone does I think a more accurate description with be camera phone as it is a 5MP camera with both auto and manual focus as well as flash.
click to enlarge This phone has a huge TFT and as soon as you use it you think why don't other phones work this way. The controls are minimal and that means the screen icons often have more than one level of action. However most actions are intuitive so you should - even without a manual - manage to find you way about. The dimensions are 10x5.5x1.5cm and it weights just under 100grams. As stated there are few buttons. The face has three answer, cancel and end.
Few mobile phones today are simply that, and, the LG KF600 is certainly no exception. The surprise is often that they still make and receive phone calls. It has the Internet, plays MP3s and video, however annoyingly so far it refuses to do the housework.
click to enlarge For a slide phone the dimensions are not unusual at 10x5x1.5cm when closed, open the slide and nearly another 4cm is exposed. Initially this seems a little tall but that's because it has two displays. The top 4.2x3.2cm and after a .5cm blank area there is a smaller 2.5x3.2cm touchscreen area. The weight is just over 100 grams and mine was black with silver edges.
Nomophobia, the fear of having no mobile connectivity, is not a complaint that should affect those with the WP-SI device (hereafter referred to as the Skype phone) from 3.
This product brings together Skype capabilities with those of a 3G mobile phone in a single unit. While the white and blue colour scheme adopted by this device might not be to everybody's taste, other aspects of this mobile phone are more appealing. Measuring 100 x 44 x 13.6mm and weighing 86g, this Skype phone is of the candy bar style.
With the familiar orange “W” logo, there is no mistaking the W910i handset as being anything but another member of the Sony Ericsson family of Walkman phones.
Tastefully decked out in Noble Black or Heart Red (who thinks up these colours), the W910i is a slider-type phone. It has a display that certainly grabbed your attention. Taking over most of the front area, this 2.4 inch TFT screen is capable of showing 262K colours in 240 x 320 resolution presenting a clear and sharp display. Located just below the screen are a series of control and navigation options.
Time and the technology behind the development of mobile phones do not stand still as can be seen with this next handset.
Joining the ranks of mobile phones with a 5-megapixel camera is Sony Ericsson's K850i model. This candy-bar style phone adopts the standard Sony Ericsson arrangement of having the camera taking over the rear of the unit with the front housing the telephony functionality. However there are a couple of design aspects that might cause some initial confusion with the user.
To paraphrase a popular performer of an earlier generation, “I wanna tell you a secret”.
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Come wind, come rain, come shine (maybe there is a pointer there), whatever the vagaries of the weather in April, we try to bring you the latest news as it happens. In this case it was the launch of LG's next generation Black Label phone. First we had the Chocolate phone (including a white version) with its innovative touch panel.
With the tag line of “Entertainment on the go”, the Nokia N81 attempts to broaden the game-playing scope of the mobile phone.
Click image to enlarge!
The Nokia N81 mobile phone has a rather chunky appearance and adopts the slider style of unit. Measuring 102 x 50 x 17.9mm (L x W x D) and weighing 140g, this phone is predominately black with a matt silver band running round the sides. Supplied with 8GB of internal flash memory, the phone features an active matrix 2.4-inch QVGA 320 x 240 colour display capable of showing up to 16.
While some tend to change their mobile phone as often as their socks, others wait to see what the latest batch of new handsets has to offer.
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Sony Ericsson X1i Never the one to sit back and rest on its past achievements, Sony Ericsson has
announced a number of new models to its range of mobile phones. These new models join
the existing Cyber-shot, Walkman, web-enabled and current range of touch screen organisers
plus the new Xperia brand.
For anyone with poor sight a mobile phone is normally a nightmare, however this offering has large buttons and an easy to read display, ideal for anyone who wants just a phone.
The ITT EasyUse mobile phone is a light grey colour and the phone weights only 112grams it is 13x5.5x1.5cm and the monochrome 4 line display is 3.5x2.2cm. There are twelve large buttons (four rows of three) each 1.4x1cm and all have a large white numeral on a blue background. Above this are the green call button and the red end call button both with large white illustrations on them these are each 2cm long.
It sometimes surprises me how quickly mobile phones have come to be regarded as a fashion accessory rather than a useful tool.
According to my Concise Oxford Dictionary, one of the definitions of "prism" relates to "triangular, with refracting surfaces at acute angles with each other". The reason for this excursion into the realms of lexicography is a new mobile phone from Nokia's fashion brand. This is the Nokia 7500 Prism which, if nothing else, is certainly a distinctive and eye-catching model.
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