nokia500 images

The Nokia 500 is an entry-level smartphone and that’s what Nokia are good at. It won’t deliver super multimedia but it will open those internet pages for you and do it the way a true modern smartphone should – with multi-touch support. It’s the complete smartphone experience with the speed of a 1GHz CPU, solid connectivity, free SatNav and multi-tasking, all in a much friendlier Symbian Anna fashion.

Nokia 500 at a glance:

• General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz, HSDPA 14.4 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar
• Dimensions: 111.3 x 53.8 x 14.1 mm, 73 cc; 93 g
• Display: 3.2-inch 16M-color nHD (360 x 640 pixels) TFT capacitive touchscreen
• Memory:2 GB of inbuilt storage, microSD card slot (up to 32GB)
  

  nokia500 images

• OS: Symbian Anna OS
• CPU: ARM 11 1GHz processor, 256 MB RAM
• Camera: 5 megapixel fixed-focus camera with geotagging, VGA video recording @15fps
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, stereo Bluetooth v2.1, microUSB port, 3.5mm audio jack, GPS receiver with A-GPS
• Misc: Accelerometer, Stereo FM radio with RDS, Flash lite 4.0, changeable colored back-panels, proximity sensor
• Battery: 1110 mAh Li-Ion battery, quoted for up to 7h/5h talk time in GSM/HSDPA mode and 500h/455h standby.

With an upgraded processor, penta-band worldwide coverage and improved data speeds, the Nokia 500 means business. But it knows its target audience and tries to stays relevant with the feature set and customization options including exchangeable back covers

It keeps an eye on budget too. The all-plastic finish, garden variety TFT display, fixed-focus camera with no flash and VGA-only video are compromises that had to be made. It still looks like a viable option – a young, affordable smartphone with a good speed boost and colorful personality.

nokia500 back preview

Looks like an easy one to get along with. We guess we can cut the courtesies and move on. We only have time for a short preview anyway.

samsung s8600 wave3 image

The screen felt instantly familiar when we picked up the Samsung Wave 3 – no surprise, since it’s the 4″ WVGA SuperAMOLED of the I9000 Galaxy S, one of our all-time favorites. It beats the smaller SAMOLED of the first one and the SC-LCD screen of the second one too – score one for Wave 3.

Tapping on the metal back of the Wave 3 also made us realize what the Galaxy S and S II missed out on – it’s possible to be both thin and all-metal.

The Samsung Wave 3 borrows more than the screen from the Galaxy S, here’s the spec overview:

Samsung S8600 Wave 3 at a glance

• General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 900/2100 MHz, EDGE, HSDPA 14.4 Mbps and HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar
• Dimensions: 125.9 x 64.2 x 9.9mm, 122g
• Display: 4″ 16M-color SuperAMOLED capacitive touchscreen with 480 x 800 pixels resolution, scratch-resistant glass surface
• Platform:Bada OS 2.0
  

  samsung s8600 wave3 image

• CPU: 1.4 GHz processor
• Memory: 2GB user accessible internal memory, microSD card slot
• Camera: 5-megapixels auto-focus camera with LED flash, 720p video recording @30fps; VGA video-call camera
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n with WPS support and Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, Glonass (region specific), 3.5mm audio jack
• Misc: NFC support, accelerometer for screen auto rotate and motion controls, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, FM radio with RDS, DivX/XviD support, multi-touch input and pinch-zooming gestures
• Battery: 1500 mAh battery

The S8600 Wave 3 bets on proven specs and stylish looks – not a bad strategy, we think. As good as the I9000 Galaxy S was, it did lose points on being all-plastic.

samsung s8600 wave3 image

The Wave 3 has solid multitasking chops and the Bada app store has been building up content. The 1.4GHz CPU will deliver top-notch performance if the Galaxy S Plus is any indication.

LG OPTIMUS 3D

And while the other manufacturers are still mulling it over, LG is taking the lead. The first ever mobile phone with a 3D display – the LG Optimus 3D – was announced back in February at the MWC and is now available.

In one swift stroke, LG caught the competition off guard. It seems the Optimus 3D holds all the cards right now. There is barely a phone that can compete succesfully on all levels. Although the screen and pair of cameras are the key features, it has everything to become a bestseller even without the 3D trickery. Starting with the dual-core processor and latest-gen graphics, through the capable camera and connectivity package, and the snappy Android Froyo (hopefully, soon to be replaced with Gingerbread).

LG OPTIMUS 3D

No more teasing, here is the full feature list.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM and 3G support
• 21 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• 4.3″ 16M-color capacitive LCD stereoscopic touchscreen of WVGA resolution (480 x 800 pixels)
• Android OS v2.2 Froyo with LG 3D UI
• Dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 proccessor, PowerVR SGX540 GPU, TI OMAP4430 chipset
• 512 MB RAM
• 8GB internal storage
• Dual 5 MP autofocus cameras, LED flash; stereoscopic 3 MP pictures, face detection and geotagging
• 1080p@30fps video recording, stereoscopic 720p@30fps videos
• Wi-Fi b/g/n and DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS
• microSD slot up to 32GB
• Accelerometer, proximity sensor and an auto-brightness sensor
• Front facing camera with video calls
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v3.0
• microHDMI port
  

  LG OPTIMUS 3D

• Smart dialing, voice dialing
• DivX/XviD video support
• Office document editor
• Innovative gesture controls
• Adobe Flash 10.3 support
• Dolby Mobile and SRS sound enhancement

Main disadvantages

• No FM radio
• Less than impressive camera performance
• Very limited third-party 3D apps
• Unimpressive with the screen’s outdoor performance
• Performance not quite as convincing as other dual-cores
• No dedicated camera key

LG Optimus 3D is far from perfect, but there is no such device out there anyway. The thing of utmost importance here, beside the Optimus 3D being the first of its kind, is that it does an excellent job at it right away. You know most tech pioneering gadgets are nice concepts but rarely turn out polished enough to make a difference. Well, the Optimus 3D is no tech demo. It works as it is supposed to – there are the 3D menus, the 3D gallery, the 3D pictures and videos and finally, real 3D games. And the best part is that they look awesome.

NOKIA N900 IMAGE

here is a review for those who want to know much more about noki n900.

Key features

• 3.5″ 65K-color resistive touchscreen of WVGA (800 x 480 pixel) resolution
• Maemo 5 OS
• State-of-the-art Mozilla-based web browser with Adobe Flash 9.4 support
• Slide-out three-row full QWERTY keyboard
• ARM Cortex A8 600MHz CPU, PowerVR SGX graphics accelerator; 256 MB of RAM
• Quad-band GSM and tri-band 3G support
• 5 MP autofocus camera with dual-LED flash and active camera lens cover
  

  NOKIA N900

• WVGA (848 x 480 pixels) video recording @ 24fps
• 10 Mbps HSDPA and 2 Mbps HSUPA support
• Wi-Fi and GPS with A-GPS
• 32GB onboard storage
• DivX and XviD video playback
• Foldable kickstand
• microSD card slot with microSDHC support
• Built-in accelerometer
• Proximity sensor
• 3.5 mm audio jack and TV-out
• FM Radio receiver, FM transmitter
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v2.1
• Solid audio quality
• Kinetic scrolling
• Contacts integration of Skype, Google Talk and other VoIP services
• Great build quality

Main disadvantages

NOKIA N900 preview

• Large and heavy
• UI only works in landscape mode (for now)
• No video call capabilities, smart and voice dialing
• Outdated camera interface and features
• No preinstalled voice-guided SatNav application
• No voice recorder, no MMS, and no handwriting recognition
• No FM radio application (despite that the hardware’s there)
• Limited third-party software availabilty
• Limited 3G support in the US (no AT&T)

In our preview we saw the Nokia N900 as a lean and mean browsing machine. This price range though has little to no room for one-trick ponies. The chubby phone/tablet will have to play its best and that’s where Nseries come in. Of course, the Maemo has still to catch up with Symbian in terms of system expandability but the N900 is an Nseries handset and all-round service is implied.

NOKIA N900

One thing to definitely note about the Nokia N900 is the WVGA screen, which is not too frequent to see in other smartphones – platform limitations are hard to get around. There is of course the Vodafone 360 H1produced by Samsung and running LiMo, which even adds 16M-colors support, but it’s very much a niche device. Now add the QWERTY keyboard, which turned out pretty comfortable despite the three-row layout, and things are starting to get there.

So, it’s time we checked what the Nokia N900 can do for you and where it can possibly fail. A new OS (new to phones anyway) should be able to at least come close to the current crop of smartphone platforms and show a high enough development potential. For what we saw in our preview, the Maemo and the N900 may as well be even more ambitious. But if you take nothing for granted you’ve come to the right place

htc sensation image

HTC has a flair for big names but Sensation sure is something else. The name simply sticks. We’re talking a monster 4.3″ S-LCD screen with qHD resolution (540 x 960). If the bump in resolution doesn’t mean much to you, picture this – the Sansation’s 4.3-inch screen has the same pixel density as a much smaller 3.7″ screen with regular WVGA resolution.

The 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon chipset with the new Adreno 220 graphics bodes no good for rivals. But hey, that’s the news we’ve been waiting for. A battle is brewing and dual-core domination is the prize.

Before we let the excitement of benchmarks cloud our minds, let’s get the laundry list out of the way. Here’s what the HTC Sensation has to offer and what didn’t work all that well.

htc sensation preview

Key features

• Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G support
• 14.4 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• 4.3″ 16M-color capacitive LCD touchscreen of qHD resolution (540 x 960 pixels); Gorilla glass
• Android OS v2.3 Gingerbread with HTC Sense 3.0
• 1.2 GHz dual Scorpion CPUs, Adreno 220 GPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8260 chipset
• 768 MB RAM and 1 GB storage for apps
• 8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash; face detection and geotagging
• 1080p and 720p video recording @ 30fps
• Wi-Fi b/g/n and DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• microSD slot up to 32GB (8GB card included)
• Accelerometer, proximity sensor and an auto-brightness sensor
• Front facing camera with video calls
  

  htc sensation a new look

• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v3.0
• MHL TV-out (requires MHL-to-HDMI adapter)
• Smart dialing, voice dialing
• DivX/XviD video support
• HTC Locations app
• HTCSense.com integration
• HTC Portable Hotspot
• Ultra-fast boot times (if you don’t remove battery)
• Office document editor

Main disadvantages

• Serious “death grip” issue with Wi-Fi radio
• Less than impressed with the screen’s outdoor performance
• Performance not quite as convincing as other dual-cores
• No dedicated camera key
• microSD is under the battery cover
• No unibody construction as advertised

You’ll notice that “unibody” is not on the feature list – the back cover is certainly interesting but this is by no means a unibody. Let’s not let that sully the great impression though – the Sensation is one of the most powerful droids around and it’s on the shortlist if you’re looking for the ultimate in smartphones.

The 8MP camera with 1080p video recording begs for a camera shootout. And the high-res S-LCD unit calls for another display test. So that’s a lot of testing we have ahead of us.

But before we get busy, we need to give credit where it’s due. HTC have been perfecting their interface designs for years and the latest Sense UI 3.0 is laced with equal amounts of useful features and eye candy.

With all the tests and benchmarks that await us, we just have to let the HTC Sensation out of the box.

samsung galaxy si9001 plus image

It makes sense to play this card once again, with probably enough people willing to go for a flagship without busting the piggy bank. And the Galaxy S Plus is a flagship through and through, make no mistake. It’s just not this year’s flagship.

This one met a couple of dual core predators and lived to tell the story. It may’ve been a near death experience alright but the Samsung I9001 Galaxy S Plus has nothing to be ashamed of.

Samsung I9001 Galaxy S Plus at a glance:

• General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 900/1900/2100 MHz, HSDPA 14.4 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
• Dimensions: 122.4 x 64.2 x 9.9 mm, 119 g
• Display: 4.0″ 16M-color WVGA (480 x 800 pixels) SuperAMOLED capacitive touchscreen, Gorilla Glass
• CPU: 1.4 GHz Scorpion processor, Qualcomm MSM8255T Snapdragon
• GPU: Adreno 205 GPU
• RAM: 512 MB
  

  samsung galaxy si9001 plus

• OS: Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread)
• Memory: 8 GB storage, microSD card slot (up to 32 GB)
• Camera: 5 megapixel auto-focus camera with face and smile detection, touch focus; HD (720p) video recording at 30fps, front-facing VGA camera, video calls
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 3.0+HS, standard microUSB port,
• GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack, FM radio, TV out
• Misc: TouchWiz 3.0 UI, DivX/XviD codec support, built-in accelerometer, multi-touch input, proximity sensor, Swype text input

n overclocked single-core chipset doesn’t hold a candle to dual core CPUs but the Galaxy S Plus will be held to a different standard. It was out of its depth in our latest shootout but – as far as we’re concerned – it did well where it matters.

samsung galaxy si9001 plus back view

By the way, we should note that we have on our hands a pre-release unit clocked at 1.2 GHz – the market-ready units will have 1.4 GHz clock rates enabled. Even at the lower speed though, the new Galaxy S Plus outperformed the year-old original in most tasks we tested. The speed boost is there – now, let’s see how much of an upgrade we can expect elsewhere.

samsung galaxy tab 8.9 image

no objection over this one its different and awsume .this new tab is lighter then both op the previously tabs .it is an ultra slim tab with power ful hardware it has an attractive screen and display here is a glance of the new samsung galaxy tab.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 3G at a glance:

• General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 850/900/1900/2100 MHz, HSDPA 21 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
• Form factor: Tablet
• Dimensions: 230.9 x 157.8 x 8.6 mm, 470 g
• Display: 8.9″ 16M-color WXGA (1280 x 800 pixels) IPS TFT capacitive touchscreen
• CPU: Dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 proccessor, ULP GeForce GPU, Tegra 2 chipset
• RAM: 1GB
  

  samsung galaxy tab 8.9

• OS: Android 3.1 Honeycomb
• Memory: 16/32/64 GB storage
• Camera: 3.15 megapixel auto-focus camera with 720p video recording; LED flash, 2 megapixel front facing camera, video-calls
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 3.0+HS, standard microUSB port,GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack, FM radio, HDMI TV-out (through an adapter), USB host (adapter required)
• Misc: TouchWiz customization, telephony, DivX/XviD codec support, built-in accelerometer, multi-touch input, proximity sensor, gyroscope sensor, Swype text input

Android tablets may have been off to a slow start, but no one can deny that they’ve been improving at an amazing rate. Only a few months after the

samsung galaxy tab 8.9

release of Honeycomb we already have at least a dozen intriguing tablets, including the Transformer with its detachable multi-functional keyboard, the Acer ICONIA Tab A500 with its competitive price and the XOOM with its hopefully-soon-to be-enabled LTE connectivity.

Yet the not quite polished Android 3.0 OS has been holding all those tablets back. Lagging, lack of support for all the features (like the USB host or microSD card) and low number of optimized apps used to be the deal-breakers.

Well, Google has already addressed most of the performance issues with the 3.1 update and developers have been hard at work on delivering those apps so iOS might finally get itself some proper competition

nokia N8 image

The Finnish engineers often like to make a point about Symbian being the most resource-effective OS. We’ve seen it run reasonably fast indeed on even slower CPUs. This time though it’s Symbian ^3, so we’ll have to see it again to believe it.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• Penta-band 3G with 10.2 Mbps HSDPA and 2 Mbps HSUPA support
• Sleek anodized aluminum unibody
• 3.5″ 16M-color AMOLED capacitive touchscreen of 640 x 360 pixel resolution
• 12 megapixel autofocus camera with xenon flash and 720p@25fps video recording
  

  nokia N8 smart phone

• Camera features: large 1/1.83” camera sensor, mechanical shutter, ND filter, geo-tagging, face detection
• Symbian^3 OS
• 680 MHz ARM 11 CPU and 256 MB RAM
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
• microHDMI port for 720p TV-out functionality
• GPS receiver with A-GPS support and free lifetime voice-guided navigation
• Digital compass
• 16GB on-board storage, expandable through the microSD card slot
• Active noise cancellation with a dedicated mic
• DivX and XviD video support
• Built-in accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
  

  nokia N8 in orange colour

• Stereo FM Radio with RDS, FM transmitter
• microUSB port with USB On-the-go support
• Flash and Java support for the web browser
• Stereo Bluetooth 3.0
• Nice audio reproduction quality
• Smart and voice dialing
• Scratch resistant Gorilla glass display

Main disadvantages

• Symbian^3 is still behind Android and iOS usability standards
• No video light
• Camera interface is decidedly outdated
• Relatively limited 3rd party software availability
• No office document editing (without a paid upgrade)
• Video player has some issues
• Battery life is not on par with best in the business
• Battery is not user-replaceable

There’s certainly a lot of pressure on the Nokia N8. People are probably expecting more from it than the very guys who designed it. But the N8 was

nokia N8 in black colour

never meant to compete with the iPhone 4 or the Galaxy S. At least, that’s what Nokia will gladly have you believe.

You see, with the Nokia N8 it’s not about who the competition is. Not about the business benefits of a smartphone, not about the available apps. It’s about the best camera in the business. Now, we’ll have to see about that. Again.

The N8 already managed to put a dedicated digicam to shame in our recent blind test. But it will take more than that to get the thumbs up at the end of a full review. The camera is certainly impressive but it’s the overall balance and bang-for-buck that count most in our books here so the N8 better have more aces up its sleeve.

samsung c3300k champ image

o, why isn’t everyone running around with a Champ in their pocket? Well first off, the Champ does have all those features but they’re not top of the line – the camera is a lowly 1.3MP, there’s no 3G and there’s several other glaring omissions.

It may not be the ideal phone for you but if you’re looking for a phone for your kid, the Samsung C3300K Champ just might be it. The young lad or lass better learn their ABCs before they start pestering you for a new toy. And they can have fast Internet, a beefier camera and Wi-Fi when they buy their own phone.

The Champ still has plenty to get them excited about – an almost complete touchscreen experience thanks to TouchWiz Lite, social networking, FM Radio that plays without the headphones plugged in. Better yet, it plays on the stereo speakers. There’s a microSD slot as well to hold an extensive music collection.

samsung c3300k champ preview

Here’s the pros and cons of getting a Samsung C3300K Champ.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/EDGE
• 2.4″ resistive TFT touchscreen of QVGA resolution
• TouchWiz Lite with widgets and Cartoon UI
• 50 MB onboard storage, microSD card slot (up to 8GB)
• 1.3 megapixel fixed-focus camera with smile detection, QCIF@15fps video recording
• FM radio with program reminder; plays without a headset, too
• Stereo speakers
• Social networking
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, USB v.2.0
• Very low price for a full touch phone
• Pull-out stylus included
  

  samsung c3300k champ in pink

Main disadvantages

• Small screen
• No 3G
• Very basic camera
• No on-screen QWERTY keyboard
• No smart dialing
• SNS support is basic, works through the browser
• microSD slot under the battery cover
• No accelerometer for screen auto rotation

Let’s get one thing clear – the Samsung C3300K Champ is no Galaxy S. But it’s well-built and has all the features, be they not as good as on more expensive phones.

samsung c3300k champ in white

The Champ is cheap – at around 100 euro you wouldn’t worry much if the phone ends up lost or broken. Like we said – maybe not the phone for you, but perfect for a kid or young teenager.

NOKIA E5 PHOTO

The E5 has skill to match the E72 down to the last spec. OK, almost. Some features have sure taken a hit (what’s with the fixed-focus 5MP camera), but that’s something most people can live with considering the lower price of the E5.

Key features

• QWERTY messenger bar
• Quad-band GSM/EDGE
• Tri-band 3G with 10.2Mbps HSDPA and 2Mbps HSUPA
• Symbian S60 UI, 3rd edition FP2
• 600MHz processor, 256MB RAM; 250MB user-accessible storage
• 2.36″ 256K-color QVGA display of excellent sunlight legibility
• 5 megapixel fixed-focus camera, LED flash
• VGA video recording at 15fps
• Wi-Fi b/g; DLNA and UPnP support
  

  NOKIA E5 IN WHITE

• GPS receiver; Ovi Maps 3.0 with free life-time voice guided navigation
• Stereo FM radio with RDS, Internet radio
• Bluetooth (with A2DP)
• Standard microUSB port (charging)
• microSD card slot (32GB supported, 2GB included)
• 3.5mm audio jack
• Good email and social networking support
• Office document editor; PDF viewer; ZIP file support
• Good audio quality
• Reasonable price
• Microsoft Office Messenger support
• Quick Business and Personal homescreen toggle

Main disadvantages

• Non-hot-swappable microSD card under the battery
• Camera doesn’t have autofocus
• Poor video recording
• Low-res screen isn’t very good for browsing
• No native Twitter and MySpace clients
  

  NOKIA E5 BACK SIDE PREVIEW

The Nokia E5 is probably targeted at young people stuck in a corporate environment. Or maybe it’s caught in the trend of more and more companies betting on social networking to boost sales. Whatever the reason, the Nokia E5 has pretty extensive support for social networks and IM chatting to go along with strictly-business offerings like the Microsoft Office messenger.

No matter how good touchscreen input has gotten these last few years, a good old physical QWERTY is still the real deal. Which is why QWERTY messenger bars like the E5 can survive in a world dominated by touch phones.

NOKIA E5 live image

The high price associated with touch phones (at least the ones with a big enough screen to even consider heavy texting) makes the affordable Nokia E5 a sensible alternative – especially for users who think touchscreen doesn’t make sense in business.