Archive for November 30th, 2009

By November 30, 2009 Read More →

Motorola Milestone unboxing

 Motorola-MILESTONE-Droid-Germany-1

Speaking for the Motorola Milestone, JKKmobile has an unboxing for you. I find jkk to be one of the best unboxings, frank, honest and thorough. Very much worth watching. Check it out after the break:

Posted in: Phones
By November 30, 2009 Read More →

Droid Nears Its Million-Device Target

Motorola-Milestone-Droid

An article caught my eye on Gigaom today and it pleased me. It seems the Motorola Droid is selling well, it’s a bit of a hit. Soon to bed hitting pockets here as the Milestone the new Android device runs the much touted 2.0 version of Android. A big step up, a good looking device and great potential. Read on for the whole article,

Motorola and Verizon’s $100 million marketing push seems to be paying off: The much-ballyhooed Droid smartphone made by Motorola and powered by Google’s Android 2.0 OS is inching toward its goal of a million devices sold during the fourth quarter of 2009. The two companies have thus far sold between 700,000 and 800,000 Droids, according to data collected by RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Sue.

Posted in: Phones
By November 30, 2009 Read More →

Nokia refutes reports it may sell its handset business

Nokia-logo-hands

Nokia insists its handset division is a core part of its business

Reports that Nokia may sell its handset business as part of a drive to develop its internet service offerings were denied by Nokia today.

The reports came on the back of an interview with Nokia marketing head Anssi Vanjoki. Internet sites reported that, in an excerpt from the interview with German magazine Wirtschaftswoche, Vanjoki said a sale of Nokia’s handset business cannot be ruled out as part of Nokia’s move to transform itself into an internet services provider.

He added Nokia should, ‘never say never’ to the possibility. However in a statement today Nokia said: ‘There has been news quoting Anssi Vanjoki that Nokia is considering to outsource its mobile phone production. This statement does not at all correspond with what Mr. Vanjokisaid nor what has been published in the original interview. Our logistics and manufacturing are an important competitive advantage, and a core part of Nokia’s business .’

In the same interview Vanjoki said Nokia needed to speed up Nokia’s transformation into an internet services provider in the face of competition.

[Source Mobile Today]

Posted in: Phones
By November 30, 2009 Read More →

Devicewire.com free Xmas delivery offer

Our pals over at Devicewire.com just sent us an email letting us know about their Christmas delivery offer. In the run up to Christmas, if you spend over £50 you’ll get free standard delivery on your order.

When you place your order simply enter ‘FREEDELIVERY’ in the promo box during checkout and you’ll not pay for delivery.

Oh and please do not forget to enter tracyandmatt.co.uk as the referrer when you place your orders!

 

Posted by: Matt

Posted in: News
By November 30, 2009 Read More →

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 unboxing video

If you’ve been following closely you’ll know that a few weeks ago I went off to one of the XPERIA X2 launch events in London where I got to play with the handsets as well as speak to some of the nice people from Sony Ericsson.  On Friday SE send over a pre-release sample of the X2 for me to look at so I have an unboxing video and tour for you.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X2

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X2

 

The Xperia X2 is quite similar to the X1, it’s a similar size and the same form factor as the original even the keyboard mechanism is pretty similar. There are some change though that go be on the cosmetic. For starters the X2 has Windows Mobile 6.5 and a MUCH nicer QWERTY keyboard. The camera has been upped to an 8.1 megapixel unit and also now includes an LED flash.

Of course these aren’t the only changes but we’ll talk more about the two handsets when we get to the full review. For now have a look at the brief video below and do remember that this is not the final product, the box and contents will change I am sure!

 

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 unboxing video

 

Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 Specification:

  • Operating System – Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional
  • Processor – Qualcomm MSM 7200 528 MHz
  • Memory – RAM – 256MB / ROM – 512MB
  • Display – 3.2" VGA, 800 x 480 pixel, 65,536 colour touchscreen
  • GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
  • UMTS/HSPA 900/1900/2100
  • WiFi
  • MicroUSB
  • 3.5 mm audio jack
  • Internal GPS antenna with aGPS support
  • microSDHC memory card (up to 16GB)
  • Bluetooth stereo (A2DP)
  • Camera – 8.1 megapixel
  • Geo tagging
  • Full QWERTY keyboard
  • Optical trackpad
  • Talk Time -GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 – 10 hours
  • Standby Time – GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 – 500 hours
  • Battery – Standard battery, Li-Po 1500 mAh (BST-41)
  • Dimensions – 110.0 x 54.0 x 16.0 mm (4.3 x 2.1 x 0.6 inches)
  • Weight – 155g (5.5 oz)

 

Posted by: Matt

Posted in: Videos/Unboxings
By November 30, 2009 Read More →

Samsung Omnia Lite review

We have seen an influx for devices since the launch of Windows Mobile 6.5 and we also note that Samsung has been busy with their Omnia range. With the original Omnia being so popular are Samsung just jumping on the band wagon to promote all of their new toys or are they genuinely as good as the original?

The Samsung B7300 Omnia Lite

The Samsung B7300 Omnia Lite

 

What’s in the box?

  • Samsung Omnia Lite
  • Triangular standalone stylus with loop for phone attachment
  • Full User manual with over 150 pages
  • Getting started disc
  • Stereo headset with microUSB connector

Also have a look at Matt’s Samsung Omnia Lite unboxing video for more.

 

Samsung Omnia Lite specification:

  • Operating System – Windows Mobile 6.5
  • Processor – ARM 1176 667MHz processor
  • Memory – 250MB Internal
  • Display – TFT resistive touchscreen, 65K colours, 240 x 400 pixels, 3.0 inches
  • TouchWiz v2.0 UI
  • Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate
  • Operating Frequency – GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900  3G Network HSDPA 900 / 2100
  • 3G HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps
  • WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, DLNA
  • Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP
  • microUSB
  • GPS Integrated with A-GPS
  • microSD (TransFlash), up to 32GB
  • DviX/XviD/MPEG4/H.263/H.264/WMV9 player
  • MP3/AAC/WMA player
  • TV-out
  • Camera – 3.15 MP, 2048×1536 pixels, autofocus
  • Battery – Standard battery, Li-Ion 1500 mAh
  • Dimensions – 107 x 51.8 x 12.9 mm
  • Weight – 103 grams with battery

 

General

 

The top of the device you can find the microUSB sync/ charge and headset connector, no 3.5mm to be found on this device. There is also a very small and recessed loop for connecting the stylus or charms etc.

Samsung Omnia Lite-top

Samsung Omnia Lite top view

 

On the left of the Samsung is an up/down volume rocker and a customisable Menu which doubles as a voice recorder when long pressed. There is also a small reset hole.

Samsung Omnia Lite left side view

Samsung Omnia Lite left side view

 

On the busier right hand side there is a dedicated camera button, a covered microSD card slot and a screen lock key, which actually suspends the device rather than locking the screen.

Samsung Omnia Lite right side view

Samsung Omnia Lite right side view

 

Nothing can be found on the bottom apart from the mic.

Around the back of the Omnia lite there is a speaker grill underneath which is the 3.15 autofocus camera, no flash or mirror, however the back is shiny enough to see for portrait pictures.

Samsung Omnia Lite back view

Samsung Omnia Lite back view

 

On the front can be found a front facing camera lens, for video calling and an earpiece recess. Below this is the 3″ touchscreen, covered in the review.

Samsung Omnia Lite front view

Samsung Omnia Lite front view

 

Underneath the screen there is 3 buttons the talk/speakerphone button, next is what looks like an optical Dpad or joystick but turns out to be a nothing more than a back button and finally to the right of this is the end/power button.

 

Highlights

  • Neat, small form factor
  • High spec

 

Lowlights

 

  • Screen resolution
  • Screen responsiveness
  • Detached stylus

 

 

Review

 

On looking around for information the Lite is obviously priced for the mid range market, but without compromising on the spec. Out of the box it is small and neat, the chrome accents and strips mean the phone feels comfortable and solid to hold. In this world of massive devices this is totally the opposite, measuring in at 107 x 51.8 x 12.9 mm you have to say it is small, but on the plus side very pocketable. Matt went as far as describing the Omnia Lite as being ‘cute’ but I am not sure if that is a good thing or not.

The specs do look impressive with the inclusion of the 667 MHz processor, HSDPA, 3G, GPS and Xtra (similar to QuickGPS) and a reasonable autofocus camera etc. There has been no skimping here.

One the thing that I find hard to understand is that I imagine this device being targeted at the first time user and younger people, yet it can appear ridiculously complicated, I am a long time windows mobile user and I love to have apps and gadgets included in my phones to keep me interested, but as Samsung have included Windows mobile and their own TouchWiz v2.0 UI forget trying to find anything in a hurry. As you can see below the customisable menus offer, for me, a little too much choice, not forgetting that this list grows the more programs you add, I just can’t help feeling there must be a better way to get organised. 5 pages of menus are a little long winded. Although a lot of these are customisable and could be made quite minimal.

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One disappointment picked up my Matt in his unboxing was the screen resolution, I can see what he means when he talked about the sharpness not quite being there, we have by now got used to the fantastic screen from other Samsung devices, and unfortunately this is not one of them. The 240 x 400 pixels resolution and the small screen size gives an appearance or a slight blurring, hopefully you can see what is meant in the screenshots, don’t get me wrong it in no way makes the device unusable or anything like it, it is just not as sharp as it could be. On top of that it is also not as responsive as it should be at times, I found myself stabbing at the screen more than twice to get certain apps to work or close, quite often while hitting the ‘x’ that the appointments app would open which proved very frustrating, maybe I need smaller fingers? Or a stylus….

It also takes some time to get used to the screen being as small as it is, texting is fine with the use of Samsungs own on screen keyboard, but there are times when a stylus definitely comes in handy, the only issue is that there isn’t one onboard you have to have attached it, and this for me is far from ideal.

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Other functions are really as you would expect call quality was fine and the speaker works exactly as you would hope.

As mentioned earlier that camera seems to be pretty decent, as we expect Samsungs are a tad better than most these days, in my opinion, although the omission of a flash and mirror is a shame. Only 3.15 megapixel’s too but not that bad, it certainly will not replace you dedicated camera.

The battery on the Omnia was also as expected, good to see that the higher capacity 1500 mAh has been included as standard, and lasted a good day plus, dependant, as always, on what is being used and when. Overall, acceptable.

The GPS with Xtra also worked well, I trialled N Drive as well as CoPilot and Google maps and all where responsive and accurate, the only issue is the screen size being small to pick up any great detail.

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Conclusion

 

My time with the Samsung has been a mixed bag, the features and spec makes it very useable and easy to get on with in the main. Coupled together the small screen and the unresponsiveness make for quite a few frustrations as well.

I am sure that the compact, high spec phone will appeal to a lot of people, for me it was not the first phone I picked up in the morning for a day’s work, very capable and with all the goodies that you would need but just a few too many niggles that make it outstanding.

I am not really sure that I want a phone that was ‘Cute’, I think I will give the LG GM750 a look now, damn it! Isn’t that the same phone?

 

Review by: Steve

Posted in: Phones, Reviews
Tags: ,
By November 30, 2009 Read More →

Tweetie 2.1 for iPhone released – with support for lists, geotagging, gap detection

Loren Brichter, who has developed Tweetie is one of those developers who have hit the jackpot and got rich thanks to iPhone. Most of such developers are “one-trick-pony” and cannot reproduce hits after the first time. It looks like Loren is trying hard to keep his Tweetie Twitter client on top by releasing new Twitter features very quickly after they were introduced by Twitter.

Of course support for Twitter lists is our favorite new feature of Tweetie 2.1:

IMG_0482

… but gap detection comes close as second most favorite:

Posted in: Phones
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