text2fans.com- All about mobile phone and telecommunication

Samsung S8500 Wave leaks again, reveals dazzling specs

admin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:15:29 +0000

That first Bada-running handset by Samsung is certainly impatient to go public. After we saw it advertised on billboards yesterday, it now made a live appearance and revealed a large part of its specs sheet.

Apparently the Samasung S8500 Wave would be a pretty well spec’d handset with its 1 GHz CPU. Its 5 megapixel autofocus camera may not sound like much but the 720p video recording certainly is something. A tempered glass will protect the 3.3” AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display.

Samsung S8500 Wave

The list of noteworthy features of the Samsung S8500 Wave continues with 2GB of internal memory, microSD card slot, Wi-Fi connectivity supporting the latest n standard and 3G with HSDPA. And all this goodness will be packed in an aluminium body only 10.9mm thick.

Samsung S8500 Wave

We are now only one day away from the Samsung S8500 Wave official announcement, which should take place tomorrow in Barcelona.

Source

Toshiba roll out two super-slim smartphones, TG02 and K01

admin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:09:27 +0000

Toshiba TG02

A leaked roadmap we told you about a few months ago, claimed the TG02 was to be splash resistant. Unfortunately, there is still nothing official on that.

When it comes to the other new Toshiba device, there are lots of questions waiting for an answer. What we can tell you about the Toshiba K01 at this point is it packs a side-slide QWERTY keyboard and a 4.1″ AMOLED capacitive touchscreen of WVGA resolution. Its design has been redone since we last saw it but – what’s more important – size is now different as well. The K01 was said to be 15mm thin but it actually is even slimmer – only 12.9mm. How about that?

Toshiba K01

Sadly, there is still no word on the pricing and availability of either handset.

Intel Atom may be the next big thing in the smartphone market

admin — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 11:47:21 +0000

Everyone knows that the Intel Atom dominates the netbook market, but what about smartphones? As it turns out they have some pretty major plans there too. Their Moorestown system on a chip and Moblin OS will be available in early 2010 and will give them a good starting point for their march towards market domination.

Since our web site is primarily about mobile phones, we should clarify some of those things. First off, “system on a chip” or SoC means that all the chips with various functions normally found on a computer motherboard have been packed into a single chip, saving both space and power – both critical for mobile devices.

The Moorestown platform is a SoC with 45nm Atom CPU, graphics and video encoder/decoder. It will support all the major mobile phone technologies such as 3G, WiMAX, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth and even mobile TV.

Intel also announced today that they will license HSPA/3G technology from Nokia and they jointly develop oFono – an open source telephony software solution. While oFono probably won’t develop into a full-blown OS, but will instead be integrated in Moblin and Maemo.

Moblin and Maemo are both Linux variants, the former developed by Intel and tailored specifically for Atom CPUs, the latter developed by Nokia for ARM processors.

It’s not just Nokia – Intel is also working with another big name in the mobile phone world, namely LG. Together LG and Intel are working on a MID that is powered by Moorestown and runs Moblin, plus LG is working with Ericsson to bring 3G capabilities to said MID. The MID will feature voice functionality, so it seems to be a likely candidate to be the mythical “Intel phone”.

Anyway, Intel did a short demo of the new Moblin UI, which Intel says is designed for multitasking. It organizes things into “zones”, which group a program’s windows but also allow you to drag a window from one zone to another.

If this new paradigm proves successful, it will rival the “cards” of WebOS and it can also run GNOME applications (GNOME is one of the two most popular Linux desktop environments), giving it immediate access to plenty of apps get go (think Firefox, etc), not to mention a huge developer base.

Here also are two videos demonstrating the new OS for you to enjoy:

Source: GSMArena.com

LG GD510 Pop review: Mobile pop culture

admin — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:23:03 +0000

It looks like LG have been playing their own version of will it blend. There’s no need to tell you they’re not playing for fun – they’re rather trying to squeeze some more cash off a couple of hot-selling handsets. So, here’s the deal. Get your blender, throw in an LG Arena and a Cookie and set the speed to “budget”. And there you have it – an LG GD510 Pop – ready to be served to the happy masses. The “pop” LG are going for is definitely “popular”, as opposed to the “popstar stuff” some of you may have hoped for.

You can go ahead and call it the new Cookie, or the low-cost Arena, but the LG Pop is quite obviously keen to have its own purpose and personality. The optional battery cover fitting a solar panel and the all-round eco-friendliness are one way for it to stand on its own two feet as a phone.

LG GD510 Pop official photos

Apart from that, the Pop is just another midrange touchscreen. And this is by no means a guilty verdict. The LG Cookie used to be just another touchscreen too. Certainly not now – over 5 million units sold later. The Pop is perhaps setting its hopes high as well. Let’s see if the classic unisex design, the feature mix and the affordable price tag can do it for it too.

Key features:

3.0″ 256K-color TFT LCD touchscreen display (240×400 pixels)
3.15 megapixel fixed focus camera, QVGA video @ 15fps
Quad-band GSM support
Bluetooth with A2DP and microUSB v2.0
microSD card memory expansion
Standard microUSB port
FM radio with RDS
Widget interface and LiveSquare homescreen
Accelerometer sensor for automatic screen rotation and turn-to-mute
Landscape on-screen QWERTY keyboard
Office document viewer
Smart dialing
Nice battery life
Optional solar panel battery cover
Allegedly affordable price

Main disadvantages:

No 3G support, no Wi-Fi
Display has poor sunlight legibility
No DivX/XviD video support
Camera lacks autofocus and flash
Video recording maxes out at QVGA@15fps
No standard 3.5mm audio jack

There’s something about the styling of the Pop that might misguide users to expect Arena-like functionality. In fact, the only Arena stuff inside is the S-Class-styled main menu – the rest of the interface is like on the LG Cookie. The important features for the mass user are there but the expected price bracket doesn’t really imply high-end specs.

Many people might miss the camera autofocus and 3G support. And yes, some would have been delighted to get Wi-Fi support on the spec sheet. To us, the most important omission – given the potential target audience – is DivX/XviD support. Anyway, the reason for all that is more than clear: specs are sticking to the basics to keep the price tag comfortably low.

LG GD510 Pop live shots

We guess, there’s no reason to construe the GD510 Pop as an upgrade to the LG KP500 Cookie. The Pop is simply the next LG handset to try and tap on the demand for basic affordable touchscreens. An inevitable response to what Samsung are doing with the Star, the Preston and the Corby. To set it apart from the Cookie, the Pop was given some of the LG Arena styling, an optional solar panel and has taken an altogether greener stance.

We praised the Cookie for its handling and style, and the Pop has quite a lot to live up to. The first impression is promising enough though. The Arena-like looks and absolutely minimalist exterior may receive a warm enough reception.

More on the LG GD510 Pop coming up after the jump. We can safely say the LG Pop looks above its class but let’s see how it handles.

Palm Pre review: A Pebble in your hand

admin — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 18:39:26 +0000

pany but the Palm Pre is not the kind to walk around a with “Will work for food” sign on its neck. No sir. It’s looking to elbow its way through a crowd of apples, androids and PocketPCs.

Palm Pre official photos

Are we talking the mother of all comebacks here? We honestly don’t know. But it looks like a debut of the same magnitude as the iPhone OS, Android and Maemo. The Palm Pre seems to have all the things that made the iPhone so special: multi-touch display, an Application Store, fluid and creative UI and a good web browser. But Palm didn’t stop there – the webOS is all about multitasking – to an extent that gives quite a point to those who wouldn’t call the iPhone a proper smartphone.

The webOS and all the touchscreen gadgetry will sure keep us busy enough. It’s the interface and the handling that will earn the Palm Pre its deserved share of admirers. But before we power up this multitasking monster and start navigating its new and unique system, let’s look at the package itself.

Key features:

3.1″ 16M-color TFT display of 320 x 480 pixel resolution and excellent sunlight legibility
3 megapixel fixed focus camera, LED flash
Quad-band GSM support
Tri-band UMTS support with HSDPA
ARM Cortex A8 600 MHz, PowerVR SGX graphics chip
256 MB RAM
Sliding-out full QWERTY keyboard
Palm webOS is an innovative multi-touch user interface, heavy on multitasking
Touch-enabled Gesture Area
Built-in GPS receiver
Wi-Fi
8 GB of onboard storage
Accelerometer, proximity sensor
3.5 mm audio jack
Bluetooth with A2DP support
Application Store for direct apps download and installation
Office document viewer

Main disadvantages:

No video calls over the 3G network
No memory card slot
Glossy plastics look cheap, love fingerprints
Camera has no auto focus… nor any settings at all, disappointing image quality
No video recording unless hacked
Web browser lacks Flash support, but it’s on its way
No DivX/XviD video playback support
No Bluetooth file transfers
App Catalog available in a limited number of countries
Small and fiddly QWERTY keyboard keys
No onscreen keyboard, portrait typing only
No smart dialing

The specs ring the iPhone bell and you may think the Pre is just another copycat – you’ll be wrong. The Palm Pre is pushing a brand new OS and doesn’t keep a stiff upper lip like some other smartphones – that goes to you Symbian and WinMo.

Palm Pre in our hands

But so much for the resemblance to iPhone. It’s a completely different form factor, there are some novel navigation solutions and there’s a QWERTY keyboard and multi-tasking. The Palm Pre is a fresh and exciting addition to the world of smartphones.

The webOS may have learned a lot from the iPhone OS, but it certainly is trying to do things its own way. The Pre is obviously limited much like the first iPhone and earliest Android handsets.

It’s not the list of do’s and don’ts that makes this phone though. It’s not the capacitive, multi-touch-enabled touchscreen, it’s not the QWERTY keyboard. The Pre hopes to be a symbol of a company’s rebirth and promises an exciting time for touchscreen. And it’s got a darn good reason to be hopeful: the webOS.

We’ll get there but let’s take this one step at a time. The Palm Pre gets unboxed, handled and described right after the jump.

Nokia 5230 review: Foot soldiers get smarter

admin — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 18:35:11 +0000

Introduction

When touchscreen handsets start to take over the lower segments of the market you know the rules of the game have changed. The Nokia 5230 is a smartphone but it doesn’t mind rubbing shoulders with the common run of handsets. So, it’s free to explore grounds where few smartphones have ever gone, let alone full touchscreen gadgets.

Nokia 5230 official photos

The land of affordability was the last territory for touchscreen phones to settle in and not quite the place smartphones would call home. So it was, but Nokia just won’t wait for a special invitation when a niche is wide open. And they’ve got quite a fleet already of low key touchscreen smartphones that’s certain to make an impact. The Nokia 5530 XpressMusic had a great bang for the buck and the 5230 is welcome to try and beat the bargain.

Cheap is nice but free is even better – and we guess the 5230 will be available both ways through retail stores and carriers. But let’s see what it has and what’s been left out.

Key features:

3.2″ 16M-color TFT LCD 16:9 touchscreen display (360 x 640 pixels)
Symbian S60 5th edition
ARM 11 434 MHz CPU, 128MB RAM memory
Quad-band GSM support
3G with HSDPA 3.6Mbps support
Built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS support; Ovi maps
2 megapixel fixed focus camera with and VGA@30fps video
microSD card memory expansion, ships with a 4GB card
FM radio with RDS
Bluetooth with A2DP and USB v2.0
Standard 3.5mm audio jack
Accelerometer sensor for automatic UI rotation, motion-based gaming and turn-to-mute
Ovi integration (direct image and video uploads, Ovi Contacts)
Landscape on-screen virtual QWERTY keyboard
Excellent audio quality
Price tag on the cheap side
Changeable color battery covers (two extra ones available in-box)
Plectrum dongle available in the retail package

Main disadvantages:

No Wi-Fi support
Display has poor sunlight legibility
Default font size is a bit small due to the smallish but high-res screen
3rd party software is still somewhat limited
Extremely limited camera
Doesn’t charge off its microUSB port
No smart dialing
No DivX/XviD video support out of the box
No TV-out functionality
No data-cable or memory card in retail package
No office document viewer
Below par speaker volume

It’s pretty obvious where Nokia are heading with the 5230. In this price range it is impossible to give users every available feature, so the Finns are at least giving them a choice.

There is Nokia 5230, 5530 XpressMusic,and that basically means you can choose between Wi-Fi and 3G with GPS. You can have them all in a single device too, but for a price premium (5800 XpressMusic). Custom made phones to completely match one’s taste and needs are not yet an option. You don’t get to choose the level of equipment like you would when buying a car. So, until that becomes available – if ever – we cannot see a better dealing with the problem than Nokia’s approach.

Nokia 5230 at ours

The R&D costs to release three similar models are probably low enough and there may be plenty of users to find the given choice absolutely adequate. What’s left to see is if there are any differences in performance or is it just the level of equipment that sets those three handsets apart.

The review begins on the next page, and all of you bargain-hunters are welcome to unboxing and hardware check up.

Samsung B7610 OmniaPRO review: Pro toolbox

admin — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:42:50 +0000

Introduction

Now that we have the B7610 OmniaPRO running on the much-awaited Windows Mobile 6.5, we’re finally up to speed. Omnia smartphones have a pretty wide reach already and they are known for their WinMo customizations and feature-rich specs sheets. The B7610 OmniaPRO however was the first family member to sport a full hardware keyboard and by the looks of it, Samsung have done a great job.

Side-sliding or not, the B7610 OmniaPRO is definitely a capable device in both hardware and software equipment. The QWERTY keyboard however is a convenience tool usually reserved for the competition’s high-end offerings, so you can bet the OmniaPRO will have to tackle some really capable contenders. But you can easily tell, it a tough nut to crack as well.

Samsung B7610 Omnia Pro official photos

Key features:

Quad-band GSM support and 3G with HSDPA
3.5″ 16M-color (65K effective) AMOLED display of 800 x 480 pixel resolution
Work & Life mode switch key
Full side sliding QWERTY keyboard
800 MHz processor with dedicated graphics accelerator
5 megapixel auto-focus camera with dual-LED flash and D1 video recording at 30 fps
Windows Mobile 6.5 fully skinned with TouchWiz UI
Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, standard microUSB port
Standard 3.5mm audio jack
2GB built-in storage, 256 MB RAM, microSD (up to 32GB), 8GB card included
Wi-Fi with DLNA
GPS receiver with A-GPS
Built-in accelerometer for UI auto-rotate and turn-to-mute
TV out functionality
Nice audio output quality
Large capacity Li-Ion 1500 mAh battery

Main disadvantages:

Bulky and heavy
65K color limitation of display has color gradients banding
Poor sunlight legibility
Comes with OmniaLITE-grade HSDPA speed, and no HSUPA support
microSD card slot under the battery cover
The display and back pannel are finger print magnets
Performance under WinMo 6.5 not a good as it was under 6.1
No preinstalled SatNav software
No voice dialing
No web Flash support
No stereo speakers

Samung B7610 OmniaPRO at ours

Who is the OmniaPRO is a multiple choice question. And there is more than one correct answer. The original Omnia has produced such an offspring choosing names became a problem. They even had to name one of the kids after the uncle. If you’ve been keeping track, you’d know the OmniaPRO has an Armani-branded alter-ego – the B7620. But well, Giorgio was lucky. The B7610 OmniaPRO less so.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with the name except that there are another couple of Pros in the family. And perhaps too many of them in other houses.

We’ve never had a doubt about the quality of the Omnia genes but such a strong and versatile lineup perhaps exceeds the most optimistic scenarios. Samsung are obviously not only trying to update their portfolio but confront their key market rivals by matching competing devices spec for spec.

The B7610 OmniaPRO will be engaging the enemy on the high end of the performance and pricing scale. And that’s where even the smallest details count. The B7610 doesn’t have a unique defining feature like the Omnia HD to give it an edge against some unforgiving rivals. So, it will have to squeeze every bit of performance out of its system. It can count though on Samsung’s solid record in multimedia and interface customization.

Speaking of which, the custom-made TouchWiz looks and feels better than ever. So much that it’s worth the spoiler. And the mode switch for toggling Work and Leisure is keen to make a point that this here Pro knows good fun too.

So, the B7610 OmniaPRO will be trying to make its mark. And so will be Windows Mobile yet again. Because the OmniaPRO is certainly not running against PocketPCs only – the competition’s finest will stand on its way. That’s Symbian, and Android, and Maemo.

Sony Ericsson C901 review: Cyber-shot reloaded

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:23:34 +0000

At first, you might think that the Sony Ericsson C901 is just another 5-megapixel cameraphone. Well, that’s not terribly exciting in the current market bustling with 8-megapixel snappers, and probing the boundaries at 12. But you’d be wrong. Be it for the simple reason that the C901 is one of the few handsets out there sporting a Xenon flash. And the one on the C901 is special enough to help it stand above the crowd of cameraphones.

Another thing to note is the eco-friendly GreenHeart version which is interestingly enough, is the only flair or C901 that can currently be found on the Sony Ericsson website.

The C901 GreenHeart is trendy for being partially made of recycled materials (though, technically both devices are identical). You can find out more about it here.

Sony Ericsson C901 official photos

Even after reading those lines many would say there is nothing so special about the C901, particularly as it’s not even selling worldwide! Well, we‘ve been inundated with requests that we review it and there’s nothing we like doing more than pleasing our loyal readers.

Key features

Xenon and LED flash equipped 5-megapixel cameraphone, videocalling
Lots of dedicated camera controls
Active camera cover
Quad-band GSM support
3G with HSDPA 3.6 Mbps
2.2″ 256K-color display of QVGA resolution
Accelerometer for screen auto-rotation
110 MB of internal memory, M2 expansion (up to 8GB)
Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP
Stereo FM radio with RDS
Motion-based games
Multi-tasking and task manager
Smart dialing

Main disadvantages

Video recording maxes out at QVGA@30fps
No document viewer
Memory card slot under the battery cover
Disappointing retail package contents

Sony Ericsson C901 live shots

The Sony Ericsson C901 is a great value in terms of image quality. Looking at the pictures we took with it makes us nostalgic for the time when Sony Ericsson camerphones set the pace and the others just followed.

Aside from the remarkable imaging though, the C901 is just an ordinary feature phone. And that isn’t a bad thing, since it does its job just fine. Very little to complain about, but at the same time not a huge list of features to get excited about either.

Anyhow, it’s about time we opened the box and started the review, don’t you think? Head for the next page to see what we found in the box and what we thought of the Sony Ericsson C901 design and construction.

Samsung I5700 Galaxy Spica gets official, packs 800Mhz CPU

admin — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 09:01:44 +0000

Samsung I5700 Galaxy Spica, or Galaxy Lite, if you prefer, is official as it gets. Not only is the I5700 the fastest gun in the Android crowd with its 800MHz CPU, but it’s also cheaper than the original Samsung Galaxy. But let’s start from the basics – the Samsung I5700 Galaxy Spica has been sitting in our rumor mill section for a while now and it seemed to be the baby brother of I7500 Galaxy, which we reviewed just recently. The “Galaxy Lite” certainly seemed to suggest it. The CPU is interesting because the original Galaxy ran the 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7200A processor. But with 800MHz the Spica beats even the Acer Liquid, which until now held the crown for speediest CPU in the Android world – a 768MHz Snapdragon. Liquid still has a lead in RAM – 256MB – versus the 128 of both Galaxy phones. Samsung I5700 Galaxy Spica (aka Galaxy Lite) is official The rest of the features are very close to those of I7500 Galaxy, save for the lack of internal memory and the camera. Galaxy Spica comes with a 3.2MP camera and support for microSD cards up to 32GB instead. The display is the same size at 3.2″ (though the press release is mum about whether it’s AMOLED and capacitive or not) as is the battery of 1,500mAh. The I5700 is a “Google experience” phone, so it’s connected to Google’s services. The Samsung I5700 Galaxy Spica will be available in Russia in November for 1,4000 rubles (320 euro or 480 dollars). There’s no word on availability in other locations but it shouldn’t be long now. Source (press release is in Russian)

SMSCountry.com – The Bulk SMS Provider

admin — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:34:05 +0000

SMS has grown as an effective medium of communication. Young people are hooked onto it, businessmen are using it to increase their revenues, while organizations are using SMS to inform about the latest developments. As the number of mobile phones are growing, the popularity of SMS is ever growing.

Why is SMS popular? Its personal, short and crisp, interactive and economical. An SMS is more likely to be read by the user. It is also less intrusive, as the user can read the SMS any time he/she wants. All these factors have made SMS a great tool to communicate, advertise and inform.

Businessmen, organizations and people from various walks of life are now using the bulk SMS services. Bulk SMS is a service which allows the user to send a number of SMS at economical prices. Bulk SMS can be used to inform about exclusive offers, send discount coupons, or can be utilized for short-term promotions. Organizations and educational institutions can use bulk SMS to inform about the happenings.

If you are thinking about bulk sms, choose smscountry.com. Smscountry.com enables its user to send SMS in 200 countries and across 550 networks. Apart from its quality service, smscountry.com also offers several tools to keep the task of sending bulk SMSing easy. Tools such as MS Excel Plugin and Excel Lite allow the users to send several messages in a single click.

Smscountry.com also offers 24×7 customer support. So, choose smscountry.com for reliable and quality bulk messaging service.