I’m not sure what to make of this news yet simply because I think it’s still got me in a state of shock.
According to leaked pictures of what could be the recently WiFi certified I8305 Riedel, it looks like Samsung are about to release a Linux powered mobile phone in the UK.
Linux Based Samsung Mobile Phone
LiMo (Linux Mobile) seemed to be a forgotten dream until these pictures were revealed over at Boy Genius Report.
A Look At The O/S Menu
It could well be the success of the other open source project (namely Android) that has spurred on the LiMo foundation to work with Samsung in releasing this handset or it just could be the fact that it took that long to get it ready. Either way as a Linux user I’m well happy.
Here is what we know about the handset so far:
Touchscreen with Haptic Feedback
OLED Technology
8mp camera
Access to the Vodafone People service
What is Vodafone People? I asked the same question (not being a Vodafone customer myself). Well Vodafone people will feature things like active contacts, location-based services and access to social networks which sounds very much like the MotoBlur service offered on the Android driven Motorola Cliq to me.
It looks like the device is to be announced on the 24th September at a press conference in London.
It turns out that I got it slightly wrong (there’s a surprise). Despite the Sign on the table saying Etna it turns out that LG’s first ever Android driven handset is actually named the LG GW620.
Although I got the name wrong I was 100% correct in saying that the phone will have a 3 inch touch screen, a slide out QWERTY keyboard and a 5mp camera.
“The LG-GW620 will appeal to first-time smartphone customers by offering a new and different kind of user experience,” said Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “Our objective is to provide a wide selection of smartphones to satisfy the diverse preferences of today’s consumers. This Android phone is just one of many smartphone models we plan to introduce worldwide in the years ahead.”
Not much else is known as yet but as you can see we now have some better images and we know that the phone is expected to be released in Europe in the fourth quarter of the year.
On top of the price reduction for the Acer M900 Clove are now dropping the price of the Acer F900 to £169+VAT
Overview of Acer F900
The Acer F900 was developed with a 3.8 inch WVGA touch screen and new easy-to-use on screen touch keyboard, to take data and web browsing to a new level. The Acer F900 is able to display more information on screen while offering an excellent mobile browsing experience. The new custom user interface makes the use of the Acer F900 very quick and simple, providing quick links to contacts, email messages, bookmarks, calendars, date and time, world weather and music.
First Android Device Signals LG’s Two-tier Smartphone Strategy
Seoul, September 14, 2009 – LG Electronics (LG), a global leader and technology innovator in mobile communications, reinforced its aggressive strategy in smartphones by announcing the first Android mobile device which will give LG a broader and more dominant position in this expanding market.
The announcement of LG’s first Android-powered smartphones comes only a week after the world’s third largest mobile phone company announced that it would be introducing three new Windows Mobile smartphones in the next few weeks. These developments underscore LG’s commitment to offering greater consumer choice in the expanding smartphone category.
We just received new information that suggest the launch of Android 2.0 might be coming later than we were expecting. I have been reporting that the Motorola Sholes would be the first phone to feature Android 2.0 and that it was widely expected to launch in late October. New documents I have seen now list early December as the launch date for the Motorola Sholes and Android 2.0.
There has been no official release date given for either launch, so I’m not sure if it is fair to call this a delay. I have often wondered how Google could deliver Android 2.0 in its final form by the end of October. I believe the hardware is on track and that the software is the main reason for this new launch window. Google has no public roadmap or deadlines for Android 2.0 and I suspect this was done on purpose to avoid criticism of a delay.
Ever since the Sony released their HDR-FX1000 HD Handycam I’ve wanted to get my hands on one to review. As you are no doubt aware, I record a LOT of video for the website and although I am quite pleased with the results from the Sanyo HD1000 that I use at the moment I wanted to see what a proper high-end camcorder could do.
The Sony HDR-FX1000 HD Handycam
In terms of what I use a camcorder for most, unboxing videos, the main problem with lower spec. camcorders is that in order to get the best picture quality you need to record in fairly bright conditions. Not a problem in itself, however, when you consider that most of the products that I am reviewing/unboxing have extremely shiny screens then recoding in bight conditions so that you can see the device does no lend itself to being able to see what’s on that shiny screen. Recording is often a compromise.
So when thinking about getting a better camcorder for unboxings the HDR-FX1000 sounded like a good choice. Thanks to its 3 CMOS chips and the large Sony G Lens the FX1000 performs very well in lower light conditions. Whether or not this makes any difference to me in practice remains to be seen but I’m hoping for a big improvement in the video quality of my unboxings!
I’m going to spend the next few weeks reviewing the HDR-FX1000. I’ll be using it to record some videos and I’ll be sure to mention which videos I used the FX1000 for. I should have my review online in a few weeks time, it’ll probably take me that long to work out what all the buttons do. Have a look at the FX1000 unboxing video below for a quick tour of the camcorder and to see what’s included.
f (35mm conversion): Camera mode (mm): 16:9 Mode ; 29.5 – 590 / 4:3 Mode ; 36.1 – 722
Filter Diameter (mm): 72
Zoom Ratio (Optical): 20
Memory Stick PRO Compatibility: YES
Image Size: Max 16:9 Mode ; 1440 x 810 / 4:3 Mode ; 1080 x 810
Still Recording during Movie (Dual Rec): YES
16:9 Wide (Full) Recording: YES
InfoLITHUM System: YES
Continuous Recording Time with Supplied Battery and Viewfinder (min): 145
Max. Continuous Recording Time with Optional Battery and Viewfinder (min): 450
Progressive Recording Mode: YES
Rechargeable Battery Pack: NP-F570
i.LINK Cable: YES
LCD: Size (inch): 3.2
LCD: Pixels (dots): 921600
Viewfinder: Pixel (K dots): 1.126
Movie Format: High Definition, HDV (1440 x 1080) / Standard Definition, DV
Recording Media: miniDV tape
Movie Quality: SP / LP (Standard Definition only)
The full specification can be found on the Sony website.
Don’t forget to post your comments/questions on the Sony FX1000 forum thread, feel free to let me know if you want me to cover anything specific in the review too!
First there was DVD and additional content being offered on DVD like deleted scenes and additional information about movies. Then came the battle of Japanese monsters Godzilla and Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, or in other words: Toshiba (HD DVD) and Sony (BlueRay), that was won by Sony. Now comes new development in the area of home entertainment: iTunes Extras – something like additional content offered in DVD and BlueRay but without the disk, everything is over the Internet.
New version of this extremely popular version comes as separate app with number “2” in it. Of course the developer could release it as upgrade, but then he wouldn’t earn so much money.
Anyway Touch Physics is one of the most popular games in the app store and since you can advance to next levels by drawing totally arbitrary objects, it is providing more freedom for creativity than most other games.
A few days ago we spoke about the new Motorola CLIQ which will launch soon on the T-Mobile network in the USA. Turns out that the CLIQ name wont make it over here though and that the device will be sold everywhere else as the Motorola DEXT. It’s otherwise the same handset with the same Android OS, just under a different name.
A visit to Motorola’s UK website reveals some other interesting information about the DEXT including an announcement that the DEXT will launch on the Orange network here in the UK in early October. Much sooner than we anticipated!
Check out the specs. page on the Motorola site, it looks like being quite a cool device!
Hope to have our hands on one of these within the next few weeks. We’ll keep you posted!
LG are yet to dabble on the Android front but it looks like this may all be about to change.
Spotted at the IFA Trade Fair on a Vodafone stand, the Android Powered LG ETNA looks like very nice.
LG ETNA
Rumoured to be sporting a 5 Mega Pixel Camera and a 3 inch touch screen, this slide out QWERTY keyboard based phone looks rather nice.
One thing I did notice was the location of the Charge / Sync port which seems to be in typical LG fashion (on the side of the phone). I really wish LG would move this to the top or the bottom of the handset but on a positive note, it does look like this will be featuring the new standardised micro usb as apposed to the proprietary LG charger.
According to sources LG have said that the phone will be released nearer Christmas in Germany.
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