It’s times like this when we think, that it is time to dump our iPhone 3G down the toilet and time to get 3GS! This app, released just yesterday (yeah! we are tracking all new releases daily), works only in iPhone 3GS.
The timing, really couldn’t be more perfect. Just as no less than Apple VP Phil Schiller
has started making comments on the record about App Store rejections, Apple yanks another very popular one from its store. Sex Offender, an app to locate sexual predators in your area, had been consistently in the top 10 paid apps for weeks. And now it’s gone — not just off of the list, but off of the store.
The Secret of Monkey Island was the big one. Whenever a new adventure game – retro or otherwise – appeared on the iPhone, it’s song was lost in the white noise of, "Where’s Monkey Island!".
But now that LucasArts’s immortal point and click classic is out of the way, developers can reach a little deeper into the adventure archives to blow the dust off some other retro treasures such as Simon the Sorcerer.
At first it strikes you as another iPhone clone, but then once you get your hands it and turn it on, it becomes something else altogether: an iPhone clone for spies. The ePhone i9s is a touchscreen iPhone-lookalike with two new features added. A touch-sensitive numeric keypad that becomes invisible when not in use and a nifty accessory: a wireless spy camera. Besides that, it’s a dual-SIM phone with Bluetooth and JAVA. Price is only $114. There is another pic after the break.
If you are a regular visitor to tracyandmatt.co.uk then you’ll know that we’ve look at wide selection of camcorders recently, both HD and SD models. This week we got our hands on the Panasonic HDC-SD10 and the most striking thing about the SD10 (and it’s bigger brother the TM10) is just how light it is, weighing in at just 227 grams it’s actually one of the worlds lightest HD camcorders, weighing not much more than some mobile phones we’ve seen recently!
You might think that the diminutive size and weight of the SD10 would mean that there was a trade-off in terms of features and specification but that’s not really the case. You get 1080i and 720p recording modes, a high-res touschcreen LCD monitor and a 16x optical zoom to mention just a few of the nice features.
So we’ll be taking a closer look at the Panasonic HDC-SD10 over the next week or so and we’ll have a written review online for you. For now have a look at my brief unboxing video below for an overview.
Panasonic HDC-SD10 specification:
Posted by: Matt
Another fine example of iPhone peripheral ingenuity over at Cnet. This, must have, will help you work out if you have drunk over one pint at the pub. Or if you were plastered the night before and what time you can get in your car in the morning.
Innovation in the App Store has been rampant, but worthwhile development in third-party devices (save a few battery backups/boosters) has been sparse. iBreath, a Breathalyzer and FM Transmitter for the iPod (and unofficially for the iPhone), is a new and notable exception
Nice little video from Pocketnow. A good old, fashioned browser war with the other top platforms. Using a Hero currently I am enjoying the browser experience. Loads quickly and the embedded flash seems to work quite well. It’s not really surprising which device wins but all three do have excellent web browsing experiences.
[from pocketnow]
In the recession we’re all feeling the pinch. Cutting back on some of life’s luxuries has become necessity as people look to tighten their purse strings and manage their outgoings. But one area that is surviving the cutbacks is in communication technology.
The C903 s yet another offering in the worryingly large Cybershot range from Sony Ericsson. It has been seen by many as the little brother to the C905 and in many ways I would have to agree, a smaller price tag, a drop from 8MP to 5MP and the presence of the somewhat familiar Sony Ericsson navigation.
That said the C903 does manage to maintain its own personality and looks, well sort of, it is a slider like its older brother but does still have a unique look and styling.
Whats in the box?
Note that there was no USB transfer cable in the box with the review device so I don’t know if this was simply missing or if this handset simply doesn’t come with one.
Have a look at Matt’s Sony Ericsson C903 unboxing video for more.
Sony Ericsson C903 specification:
General
As mentioned the C903 is a slider and although we have seen many slider from the cybershot range and Sony Ericsson in general the C903 still manages to establish a distinctive look easily recognisable with the range of colours available. As Matt stated in the unboxing the C903 does have a very plastic like feel and this is something which you would usually associate with perhaps cheaper products on the market however the C903 is not a particularly cheap phone and I have to say I was surprised that although the device is housed in this plastic case it still manages to maintain a solid, well built quality feel.
The C903 is is also somewhat weighty, not as heavy as the C905 but still fairly substantial and from experience this is something I have discovered with allot of Sliders, but overall I was impressed with the look and feel of the C903. As I mentioned the C903 comes in a range of colours and the one I reviewed was the very sleek looking piano gloss black model which I managed to keep surprisingly finger print free.
The Front of the C903 from Sony Ericsson is I think an extremely sleek and stylish looking device it offer clean symmetrical styling which is something I think Sony Ericsson do really well, so often you see a device with cluttered presentation which tends to just look messy. When Open the phone again remains clean and sleek with a brushed silver effect numeric pad which unfortunately for some does not include individual buttons but given the size of each key this should not present the average user with many problems. One thing I will mention is ‘shake’ on some slider when open the display panel can occasional feel loose and shake however with the C903 it feels very secure which just backs up the build quality of this device and although the plastic case hints otherwise the device is clearly a well though through well constructed phone.
The left side of the C903 continues the clean and sleek style with a simple Sony Ericsson proprietary connection input and although what looks like it should be a M2 memory card slot is in in fact just the Memory type logo allowing you to see where under the cover your card is which as you cannot access it externally seems to me a little pointless.
The right hand side of the device houses from top to bottom, volume rocker, playback and camera quick launch control and finally the dedicated 2 step shutter button. Again the silver stripe is present which does continue in some form around all sides of the C903.
The back of the device in true cybershot style features the quick launch lens cover which interestingly spans the length of the phone and slides down away from the shutter button which unlike other phones sets the C903 up for standard landscape shots instead of the phone favoured natural portrait which does make the phone feel allot more like a digital camera than other phones out on the market. The lens is accompanied by a dual LED flash.
Highlights
+feature packed high quality camera
+battery life
Lowlights
-no forward facing camera
Review
One of the issues with expanding a line of phones as rapidly as Sony Ericsson seems to be doing with the Cybershot range is that very quickly each new device struggles more and more to set itself apart from the last and this is something I certainly found with the C903. The problem is it does not feel that they have a place in the range and that they may be lacking somewhat when it comes to others for example want a decent camera go for the C905, want decent build quality at a lower price grab a C510 and this is a problem I found throughout using the C903 I just felt almost that I could do better elsewhere however despite this apprehension I decided that as every person deserves a chance so does every mobile phone so on with the review.
First of all style wise although not groundbreaking the C903 is a very decent stylish looking piece of kit, the clean, sleek design lends itself perfectly to the build quality which on a slider phone can often be shaky in more ways than one. The C903 is clearly a well though out phone design wise, buttons are easily accessible and everything is where you would expect it to be. As I mentioned earlier the numeric keypad is something which I am personally not a fan of what I am referring to is that the the C903 does not feature individual keys and although they are large enough to make them easy to use the fact that there is no clear divide between keys does lead to a few slips of the thumb, these keypads will require your full attention leaving very little opportunity for a sly text under the table.
The phone is as with any Sony Ericsson these days extremely simple to use as you would expect from a device like this, menu navigation is effortless and if you have used any Sony Ericsson is the past year I would not bet against you being to able to find your way around the phone with your eyes closed which is not necessarily a bad thing, although the C903 may throw a curve ball or two along the way. One addition to the main menu is the Location Services icon this acts as your HUB as it were for all things navigation, through this you are able to launch services and features such as NearMe, Google Maps, Navigation and the name tracker could possibly fill you with fear however it is in fact a harmless training aid allowing you to track, set and monitor a personal running or walking workout. NearMe was something I really liked on the phone as well, it acts in a similar way to Points of interest on a Satnav offering local attractions from the database. The phone comes bundled with all the Sony Ericsson associated software we have come to expect from simple features such as the organiser, calculator etc. to the more advanced video, photo and music DJ which are always nice to have.
Being a cybershot phone it is important that the device lives up to the name of the Sony Cybershot range. I have never been disappointed by a cybershot shot phone when it comes to the camera and have often found them vastly superior to other camera phones on the market and I am pleased to say that the C903 does not let this record down. It is a 5 megapixel camera with a dual LED flash, on the surface nothing special but they seem to have a knack of getting the best out of every level of camera whether it be 3,5 or 8 megapixel the colours are always fantastic, sharp and defined and ease of use is another big pull for the Sony Ericsson cybershot range.
The C903 camera boasts a massive 16X digital zoom which although is not always the most effective option especially at close range to see it included on a mobile phone is a real bonus, the dual LED flash is great for taking shots in low light situations however something I have found with dual LED flashes is that they do tend to somewhat blinding when used to capture people in your shots, fine for scenery etc. however it almost becomes impossible to capture people without blinding them in the process. Playback allows for quick viewing of your photos enhanced by the C903’s built in accelerometer which can also be used in video playback. TV out is possible with the C903 however Sony Ericsson have not included the relevant cables for a phone costing around £260 is a bit of a disappointment. The usual camera modes and features are present on the C903 including of course macro mode, face detection and auto focus. Geotagging is also included on the device which is yet another fun feature that Sony Ericsson is making a habit of including. One thing that did surprise me as almost every phone I have encountered in the past year have included it is the lack of a forward facing camera meaning the C903 is not capable of video calling which for some may come as a bit of a set back.
Music playback is as you may expect from Sony Ericsson the people behind the walkman range very impressive, the navigation works in much the same way as the walkman range however will not have you stumped if you are unfamiliar with Sony Ericsson devices. Sound quality through headphones is crisp however the old problem of not only the large Sony Ericsson connection but also the fact they insist on placing in on the side of the device which just makes carrying the phone in your pocket an uncomfortable experience. The C903 also included an FM radio and the fantastic track ID and with the M2 card support of up to 16GB the C903 in unlikely to let you down storage wise.
The Sony Ericsson C903 is a 3G device and as a result extremely fast when it comes to web browsing the screen is a fair size and the accelerometer means using the phone to update your facebook status or check you email is an enjoyable experience however heavy usage browsing did become a bit of a problem just because of the amount of information that can be presented on the screen at once compared to the likes of the touch screen devices available today. And of course heavy browsing can impact heavily on battery life, speaking of which the battery life of the C903 in quoted at 10 hours talk time and 400 hours stand by which is highly impressive and although it will differ depending on the usage of the device you will certainly find yourself reaching for the charge less often than you may be used to. It always makes me laugh how the mention of the actual phone doing what a phone should do is now often left to the end of the review but that said the C903 has very clear speaker and I had no problem with muffling or stutter and the speaker is certainly loud enough for those apprentice style moments.
Conclusion
Overall the C903 is yet another solid offering from Sony Ericsson which will not disappoint however I was left as I said earlier feeling as though this phone as good as it is may be slightly unnecessary I feel that the cybershot range has now become a solid bet for those in the market for a new phone, they are all reliable devices which will not let you down and it more a case of pick the one you like the look of, a sad state of affairs or a great move by Sony Ericsson to give the customer a greater choice allowing for a more individual style perfectly matching the personality of the user.
Review by: Nick
Now I’ve heard everything is available on websites, but you don’t really care for websites, do you? You prefer having it all in apps, that bring additional benefits like offline-viewing and nice multitouch user interface and other fancy stuff.
Here we are reviewing an official (at last!) app for the biggest British website that offers properties for sale and rent – rightmove.co.uk. Yes, this is a British thing, so if you are not interested in Blighty – nothing to see here! Seriously.
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