Archive for March 23rd, 2009

By March 23, 2009 Read More →

Windows Mobile 6.5 latest build caught on video

image We mentioned last week how Microsoft had dropped the honeycomb layout of the new program launcher in Windows Mobile 6.5. Well Brandon over at Pocketnow has flashed up his HTC Touch HD with a new build from xda-developers and sure enough the honeycomb has gone. Also worth mentioning is that the UI is starting to look a little more polished. Take a look for yourself after the break.

Posted in: Phones
By March 23, 2009 Read More →

AT&T finally ready to sell the Nokia E71, only 9 months late to the party

After nearly a year of availability around the world, AT&T is finally done with its pre-release testing and will begin selling the Nokia E71x this week. A Scheduled release date of March 24th puts America only one day away from the official carrier release of the best business device that has ever come out of Finland. The E71x is basically the same as the E71, and features GPS, HSDPA, a front facing qwerty keyboard in a slim and sexy package. At $200 dollars this is a little pricey, but if you are in the market for a business device and don’t want a Blackberry, this is the phone for you. Let’s just hope AT&T didn’t cripple all the great features.

Source: Boy Genius Report

Posted in: Phones
By March 23, 2009 Read More →

Blackberry Curve 8900 review

The Curve 8900 (also known the RIM Javelin) at first glance seems similar to the Bold 9000, but it seems to be a step up with some new features and a step down in size!

As with most of the Blackberry family the Curve 8900 is aimed at business users and techies alike.

8900_angled_right

The Blackberry Curve 8900

 

What’s in the box?

  • RIM Blackberry Curve 8900
  • Battery
  • Mains Charger (UK/US/EU)
  • Stereo Headset
  • Pouch Case
  • Data Cable
  • Software CD
  • Manual
  • 1GB Micro SD card

Check out Matt’s Blackberry Curve 8900 unboxing video for more info.

 

Blackberry Curve 8900 specification:

  • Dimensions: – 109 x 60 x 13.5 mm
  • Weight: – 109.9g
  • Display: – 480 x 320 pixels/2.4 inch
  • Network: – GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 (Quad-Band)
  • Camera: – 3.2 mega-pixels (auto-focus)
    – 5 x Digital Zoom
    – LED Flash
  • Video: – Video Recording
    – Supported formats: DivX, XviD, MP4, H.263, 3GP & WMV
    – Video Streaming
  • Music: – Supported formats: MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+ & WMA
  • Messaging: – SMS
    – MMS (with video)
    – E-mail (POP3, SMTP, IMAP4, MS Exchange, BES, BIS)
    – Instant Messaging
  • Memory: – 256MB (internal)
    – microSDHC (external)
  • microUSB
  • 3.5mm Audio Connector
  • Bluetooth (2.0)
  • Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11g)
  • GPRS Class 32
  • Navigation: – AGPS
    – BlackBerry Maps


General

Front – 2.4inch screen, QWERTY keypad, ‘call’ and ‘hang up’ buttons, Menu button, trackball, ‘back button

Blackberry 8900 front view

Blackberry 8900 front view

 

The handset is powered on by holding down the red ‘hang up’ button.

Top – on the top of the handset are 2 buttons. From the picture below, the left side is a mute button and the right side is a keypad lock.

Blackberry 8900 top view

Blackberry 8900 top view

 

Back – 3.2MP camera, light/flash, battery casing, speaker. The micro SD card slot is under the battery cover as well.

Blackberry 8900 back view

Blackberry 8900 back view

 

Right – Power/USB, Right convenience key, Volume control buttons (also used as zoom with the camera function), 3.2mm stereo headphone socket.

Blackberry 8900 right side

Blackberry 8900 right side

 

Left – The voice command button.

Blackberry 8900 left side

Blackberry 8900 left side

 

Bottom – The microphone is located here. The shape of the buttons on the QWERTY keyboard can be seen in more detail in these pictures

Blackberry 8900 bottom view

Blackberry 8900 bottom view

 

 

Highlights

  • The QWERTY keyboard has more defined buttons
  • 3.2MP camera with auto focus
  • Trackball
  • Narrower width making handling the handset easier
  • Sharp display

Lowlights

  • No 3G network support

 

Review

On first impressions the Curve 8900 looks similar to the Blackberry Bold. But, upon closer inspection its design is more streamline and sleek. The narrower width and lighter weight of the handset makes it easy to handle and gives more scope to one handed texting.

The casing is robust and stylish even though it is made of plastics (again, a difference from the Bold which had a faux-leather back to it)

The QWERTY keyboard’s buttons are smaller but the fact that they have been made more defined and spaced apart makes using the keyboard quite easy and making mistakes by hitting the button next to the one you want much harder.

Blackberry 8900 keyboard view

Blackberry 8900 keyboard view

 

Some people may disagree with me here, and maybe my smaller hands make the keyboard easier to use – it all comes down to personal preference in the end.

The trackball is great for navigating around the menus and browser and is not that difficult to get used to if you haven’t used one before. The sensitivity of the trackball can also be adjusted in the settings.

The Curve 8900 comes with a 3.2MP camera with auto focus – a definite improvement from the previous versions of the Curve. It takes good pictures for viewing back on the handset, sending through MMS, and small prints. Unfortunately the resolution is still not high enough for larger prints. The quality of the picture is lost if you try to enlarge the picture. The LED flash could also be improved as it doesn’t give off enough light for subjects further away in low light conditions.

Messaging has always been Blackberry’s forte. SMS, MMS, Emails, and Instant Messaging are supported. For data transfer, it supports GPRS and EDGE, but, as mention in the ‘Highlights and Lowlights’ section above there is no support for 3G. However, it does have WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, and USB connectivity.

Is not having 3G support a huge problem? I honestly didn’t miss it.

The built in web browser is simple to use. However, I’ve never been too much of a fan of web browsing on smart phones as there is always a wait while scripts load and there is no difference with this handset, even when using a WiFi connection.

Office viewers are built into the software for opening Word, Excel and Powerpoint files but the full version of the Office application would need to be purchased in order to edit or create files.

Other applications include a memo pad, a Task application, a calculator, and password keeper.

Maps software which works with the GPS function is also included.

The music player is capable of playing MP3, AAC, and WMA files and the built in speaker on the back of the handset gives surprisingly good quality sound as do the stereo headphones that come with it.

The video player is of high quality as well and shows off the sharp display.

Going back to basics – the general quality of the Curve 8900 when making/taking phone calls is pretty good. Although the reception is average the sound is clear and the microphone seems to be good at cancelling out a lot of background noise.

8900_angled_left

Conclusion

The Blackberry Curve 8900 is a definite hit with me. It’s easy to get used to even if you’ve never used any Blackberry phones before. The sound quality is good and the sharp display excels itself.

Messaging is easy to use even with the smaller QWERTY keyboard (I may be biased here as since I’m female my hands may be smaller than many who may read this!).

Setting up WiFi connections is simple and switching between connections can be done quickly.

Web browsing is the only downfall that I think is worth pointing out as hanging when scripts are loading happens frequently. This can happen with most smart phones but it seems that this is a little worse than others. But, apart from that you may feel that it’s not such a big deal as the average price is more affordable than the Bold 9000.

 

Review by: Emma

[ Post Tags: Blackberry Bold, RIM, Blackberry Curve 8900Orange, tracyandmatt.co.uk ]

Posted in: Reviews
By March 23, 2009 Read More →

Telefónica and Vodafone announce milestone pan European collaboration

image Telefónica and Vodafone, two of the world’s largest telecommunications operators, today announce a wide-ranging strategic programme to share mobile network assets across selected European operations.

As part of the collaboration, Telefónica and Vodafone are actively exploring opportunities to cooperate in related areas such as the provision of transmission services.

Telefónica and Vodafone will use the agreements to aid the roll out of their respective networks, enhancing service quality for customers in the longer term. The agreements will also reduce the environmental impact of both companies’ roll out activities, due to the consolidation of existing sites and joint build of new sites.

Posted in: Phones
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