[26 December] This just in from GPS And Co, the all new ASUS M930, much like the Nokia E90, it features a full qwerty keyboard when opened. We don’t know much about the specification, initial release indicated that the ASUS M930 features a Marvel PXA270M / 520Mhz processor. Network wise, it supports Tri-band GSM (900/1800/1900 Mhz), GPRS, EDGE and 3G (2100 Mhz) HSDPA @ 3,6 Mbps. Other known specs includes WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, 2.3 mega-pixel camera, support for 32GB microSD card and Windows Mobile 6 Professional OS.
Judging by the looks, it looks a lot more sleeker and chic than the Nokia E90 and of course initial specs are very attractive. As usual, we’ll follow on this and will update if more info on the final specs comes in.
Following my last post on the import version of the Motorola Q9, MOTO Q9H Here in Hong Kong, the Motorola Q9 is officially launched in Hong Kong as the Motorola Q9H. Price tag on it is HK$3,980 and the specs are as follow -● GSM Quad-band / GPRS / EDGE
● WCDMA 2,1GHz / HSDPA 3.6Mbps
● Windows Mobile 6 standard
● 256MB ROM、96MB RAM
● Support microiSD slot @2GB
● 2.4″ TFT screen
● 11.8 mm thick
● 2.0 Megapixel camera
● Windows Media Player which supports MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV.
● Supports 2.5mm earplugs
● Video recording via Windows Media Player, player supports MPEG4, H.263, WMV, H.264
● USB 2.0 Full Speed adaptor
● Push Mail support
● Bluetooth 1.2 / A2DP
● Opera browser, Attachment Viewer or Editor, Voice Recognition, File Manager, Voice Notes, VPN capability and Anti-Virus protection
EverNote for PocketPC and Windows Smartphone is finally out. Yet to test drive it but will do so this week and let you all know how it goes.
Features -
Create new notes wherever you are: Tap notes in or write with your stylus whenever inspiration strikes
Take snapshot notes: Take snapshots with your mobile device’s camera and save the images as notes
Record audio notes: Record an audio note and play it back whenever you like
Access all your notes anytime: Your notes are stored locally on the mobile device and can be accessed anytime
Search all your notes: Search through text notes right on your mobile device. Transfer snapshot notes between your mobile device and desktop to take advantage of EverNote’s advanced image and text recognition.*
Have a consistent user experience: We’ve adapted the desktop UI for Windows-based mobile devices, so that you have a consistent experience across platforms.
1. The form factor. There’s something quite satisfying about using the slider on this phone. The sliding action is smooth and spring assisted, and you can use it to end and answer calls.
2. Heat-sensitive buttons. Never have we seen a Windows Mobile phone with heat sensitive buttons, until the i620. The sensitivity was prefect, and I hope that we see more WM devices with heat-sensitive buttons.
3. Rotary scroll wheel. The center-placed rotary scroll wheel is a brilliant idea. It’s easy to use for right or left handed users, the speed is fast but not too fast, and it’s a space saver by not having to have a side scroll wheel also.
I hate…
1. No GSM850 band. For some of us in the US, lack of the GSM850 band means that this phone won’t work over a UMTS network. That’s a killer.
2. Flat keyboard keys. In order to make the screen slide over the keyboard, Samsung had to flatten the keys of the keyboard. This makes them a bit difficult to use, even after a few weeks of usage.
3. Low speaker volume. Even at maximum volume, I had trouble hearing callers many times when using the handset. The speakerphone provided louder audio, but not as loud as the BlackJack.”
The much anticipated Samsung i608 (the 3G blackjack with video call capability) is finally launched in Hong Kong and I got to play with it for a bit today. My first feeling towards the phone, ubber-plastic. The phone have the most awful plastic feel to it (maybe that’s why it’s so light, @ 105g). It is very thin, @ 11.8mm and it fits nicely when tuck into my front shirt pocket. Apart from that real plastic feel, the other major bum factor (trust me, there’s a few) is the what Samsung does so well, and that is not incorporating the industry standard mini USB adapter. Instead, one is stuck with their proprietary USB charging cable and that means you probably need another one if you are planning to have one at home and one in the office and trust me, you need an extra one as reviews on local forum indicated that the i608 is a battery hungry master.
“Battery is really a problem of Samsung, the standard battery can’t last for 2 days if you use if frequently. Yesterday I use it for ~30mins voice call, ~30mins WiFi, 15mins game….then it is down to 50% by 8PM….”
The biggest bum factor regarding the i608 is that when used as a HSDPA (1.8 Mbps) modem connected to the notebook via the USB, the phone would not be charged up like the HTC’s phone (that I think is a major design flaw), imagine how long it would take to drain the i608 when used as a modem.
Well, so much for the bumming factors. During the promotion launch , you’ll get a free Executive Pack which includes a Plantronics Explorer 220 Bluetooth Headset, a Plantronics Designer Case, and a 1GB microSD™ memory card. Still not too bad a deal if you’re really looking for a WM6 smartphone, with a nice keypad and all the freebies. The going price is HK$4,280. For more info and full specification, check out Samsung’s press release here.
PhoneDaily also have a review (in Chinese) out on the phone, click here for the article. The phone sure looks sweet but my take on it is a no no. Proprietary USB for charge and headphones, what were they thinking, thought the manufacturer already learned the lesson by now.
Not the Palm Centro, although they look very much alike. Review from the::unwired here. Mind you, this is just an entry-level phone, it lacks WiFi, quadband GSM, triband UMTS and HSDPA but nonetheless, a fun phone given the size.
[11 September] The Treo 500 will run on WM6, and will feature a 240×320 touch screen, 150MB memory on board, UMTS, Micro-SD expansion, a 2-megapixel camera and Bluetooth 2.0. The M500 will be released in Europe on 12 September. [link]
[Updated: 13 September] via Mobilitysite
Treo 500v Features and Benefits
All-in-one smartphone with messaging, email and web
Full keyboard for fast and easy typing
Automatic delivery of Hotmail/MSN, Yahoo!, and Gmail, email as it arrives
Large, high-resolution screen
Internet Explorer Mobile full-featured browser
Access to Google Maps and eBay
Vodafone live! for news, sports, and entertainment on the go
3G/UMTS network
Planner with address book, calendar, to-do lists, and more
View Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Adobe PDF files
Windows Media Player Mobile for music and videos
2.0 megapixel camera captures video too
150MB of memory, expandable with microSD expansion card
Windows Mobile 6 Standard software
Microsoft Direct Push technology for delivery of Outlook email
Bluetooth wireless technology
Device available in two colours: glacier white and charcoal grey
[10 May] Once again, the guys at GSMArena got us the latest review of the Sony Ericsson (SE) new flagship right before the launch of the new SE line both in London and Shanghai just hours ago.
“The Sony Ericsson P1 is an exciting new smartphone that is to undoubtedly reign in the current Sony Ericsson portfolio. Powered by Symbian OS and featuring a QWERTY keyboard, a touchscreen TFT display with QVGA resolution and a 3.2 megapixel camera with auto focus, it represents the next level of the development of UIQ smartphones. As such, it seems that the Sony Ericsson P1 will be the flagship of Sony Ericsson smartphone line overrunning even the Sony Ericsson P990 and we were more than curious to find out how it performed in real life.”….(more)
PhoneDaily got us some nice pics of the new rundown including the P1, check out SE’s new line of phones here (in Chinese).
[Updated: 14 May] Caught this vid from MobilitySite over the weekend on some of the P1’s new features.
[Updated: 20 July] 7-page long review on the Sony Ericsson P1 up on phonearena.com, link here. Very thorough, tons of pics and good comparisons made. The part I really like is the software review with the page-by-page screen capture.
[Updated: 26 July] Imported ones at Mongkok going for HK$4,980.
[Updated: 6 August] Unboxing vid of the P1 via Gear Diary, link here.
[Updated: 7 August] Spike from Honkie Town got himself a new toy, the Sony P1i. Hope he can tell us more about the text input on the keypad.
“I had been thinking about waiting for a new phone until the release of the HTC Kaiser. But I’m fed up with Windows Mobile as a phone OS. The need for constant reboots is ludicrous beyond words. So with the release of the Sony P1i, I return to Symbian. After just a few hours and minimal time to play with it, I think I’m okay with it. Only 3 band GSM and single band UMTS. The WiFi is 802.11b, not g. Camera is 3.2 meg with autofocus, nice. I can get used to the keyboard. ” [extract from his post, Not Much Going On]
[Updated: 9 August] Found another review on the Sony Ericsson P1 on Gear Diary, link here.
[Updated: 13 August] Price update, HK$4,680 off local carriers and for the imported ones (English & Chinese OS), HK$4,280.
[Updated: 14 August] As usual, great quality pics can be found from Mobile01’s review, this time on the Sony Ericsson P1i, link to the review here. In addition, I also linked the Chinese version of the review here, 體驗霹靂手機 - SonyEricsson P1i.
A very nice hands on review of the BlackBerry Pearl 8100 was posted by Julie on The Gadgeteer earlier this month. Link here. Seems to me the BlackBerry 8800 from my previous post is a better buy. Check out both reviews if you’re planning on getting either one of them.
Steve Jobs finally introduced the long-waited, long-rumoured Apple iPhone at the MacWorld Expo and Gizmodo had did it again with the complete coverage.
Let’s take a look at the full specs:
Screen size: 3.5 inches (Very nice, big enough for movies playback)
Screen resolution: 320 by 480 at 160 ppi
Input method: Multi-touch
Operating system: OS X
Storage: 4GB or 8GB
GSM: Quad-band (MHz: 850, 900, 1800, 1900)
Wireless data: Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) + EDGE + Bluetooth 2.0
Camera: 2.0 megapixels
Battery: Up to 5 hours Talk / Video / Browsing, Up to 16 hours Audio playback
Dimensions: 4.5 x 2.4 x 0.46 inches
Weight: 4.8 ounces / 135 grams
Apple Official iPhone Press Release iPhone will be available in the US in June 2007, Europe in late 2007, and Asia in 2008, in a 4GB model for $499 (US) and an 8GB model for $599 (US)
