Reviews

By December 8, 2009 Read More →

Nokia 3720 Classic Review

With all the latest fancy smartphones these days that do just about everything except for washing the dishes, we need to now and again come back down to earth and check out the more basic/entry-level phones.

Nokia has provided us with their 3720 Classic. A stylish yet simple looking phone that should do the basics such as call and text, and as Matt mentioned in the unboxing video into, it is built to be robust and is water, dust and shock resistant with an IP54 rating.

3270_angled_right The Nokia 3720 Classic

 

What’s in the box?

  • Nokia 3720 Classic handset
  • Battery (BL-5CT)
  • Headset/handsfree
  • Mains charger
  • Manual

For more information you can check out Matt’s Nokia 3720 Classic unboxing video

 

Nokia 3720 Classic specification:

  • Dimensions: 112 x 51 x 15.4mm
  • Weight: 94g
  • Battery: Talk Time: 7 hrs / Standby Time: 450 hrs
  • Display: 320 x 240 pixels/2.2"
  • Network: 2G: 900/1800/1900 (Tri-Band)
  • Camera: 2 mega-pixels (auto-focus)
  • Video: 11fps Video Recording (QCIF)
  • Music: Supported formats: MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+ & WMA / FM Stereo Radio (RDS)
  • Messaging: – SMS – MMS (with video) – E-mail (POP3, SMTP, IMAP4) – Instant Messaging (MSN)
  • Memory: 20MB (internal) / microSDHC (external)
  • Connectivity: microUSB / Bluetooth (2.0)
  • Navigation: Nokia Maps
  • Features: Water, Dust & Shock resistant
  • Opera Mini Web Browser
  • Flash Lite 2.0 Support

 

General:

Front – First, there is the 2.2″ screen (320×240 pixels). Below this are the left and right soft keys and then the call and end buttons (the ‘end’ button is also the ‘Power . In the middle is a typical d-pad for navigation through menus and the select button in the middle of this. Lastly, the is a basic phone keypad.

3720_front Nokia 3720 Classic – front view

 

Left-hand side – There is absolutely nothing on the left side of the phone. This keep the phone as simple as it was designed to be.

3720_left Nokia 3720 Classic – left-hand side view

 

Right-hand side – Again, very simple. The up/down rocker button can be seen here, and near the bottom of the handset is the loop hole for attaching a wrist strap/lanyard.

3720_right Nokia 3720 Classic – right-hand side view

 

Bottom – The charger socket is located here. The rubber cover encases microUSB and headphone sockets.

320_bottomNokia 3720 Classic – bottom view

 

Back – The back cover is secured with a screw which can be loosened with a small coin. The microSD card, sim card and battery are located under this cover. You can also see the speaker grill, camera (2MP) and flash.

3720_back Nokia 3720 Classic – back view

 

Highlights:

  • Simple stylish design
  • Robust build (water, dust and shock resistant)
  • Clear display
  • Flash for the camera
  • Good call sound quality

 

Lowlights:

  • Quite complicated for an entry level phone
  • Camera quality is quite poor
  • No dedicated camera button
  • USB cable not provided in box
  • No 3G

 

Review:

The Nokia 3720 Classic is one of Nokia’s entry level/basic mobile phones. The idea is that it is a simple to use, plain-looking mobile phone that does the basic things that you would want a phone for.

Nokia have done well with the design of the 3720. Some of the entry level phones that are on the market look quite dated, but this one is actually quite stylish. What I really noticed what the solid and robust feel to it. It gives the impression that it could definitely stand up to a bit of rough handling! Made to be water, dust and shock resistant, it has secure covers and rubber seals in order to keep out the elements.

To look at this phone objectively I took the approach of keeping a family member in mind who doesn’t really use their mobile phone except for the odd text or phone call.

 

3720_angled_leftThe  Nokia 3720 Classic

I was nicely surprised with the display. It’s bright and clear – even in bright sunlight.

The Nokia 3720 comes with the Series 40 6th edition user interface. This is where I think Nokia could have made a change. This user interface is one that has become familiar with Nokia phone users. It looks great, and for the smartphone users out there it seems very simple to use. But, there are people out there looking for an entry level phone. People who have rarely used a mobile phone or haven’t used one at all. Taking this into account the 3720 is actually quite complex. I actually think that it has the potential to put people off from choosing this as their first phone.

For me, texting on this phone was great. The large keys and clear display make it a very easy task. Again, I think that many of the options when texting can over complicate things and make a beginner texter want to just call the person they want to get in contact with or not bother at all!

The main menu can be viewed in either a grid mode or list mode and is quite straight forward. You can access the usual applications and tools here such as messaging, contacts, media, calendar, etc.

You are also provided with the Ovi store, Opera web browser, email and instant messaging, which means the 3720 Classic offers many ways to keep up to date with applications and your social life. This could be seen as a bit of a waste though as people looking for a very basic phone would most likely steer clear of the more technical applications.

One thing I feel I should mention here is that web browsing on this phone is not user friendly in the slightest. The smaller screen and lack of capability to view in landscape mode make web pages a pain to read and navigate through. The rendering of the pages seems to take an age as well.

 

The camera is only a 2MP camera. Not the most advanced compared to many camera phones, but you can take pretty good pictures when the light is right. Just don’t expect to be able to enlarge the photo without loosing some of the quality. The fixed focus means that photos taken with the camera are very average looking – but if a camera phone is what you are looking for I guess you would buy a camera phone! In saying that, if you have any pictures that you copy onto the phone from your pc, viewing them on the 3720 is quite good. The clear and bright display really does the phone justice here.

 

The music player is very standard and does the trick. Straight forward, and I would think that it would be quite easy to get used to for a new mobile phone owner.

The audio quality for music playback using the loudspeaker is not brilliant but is good enough. The earphones that are packed with the phone are very average.

There are a few pre-installed games on the phone – great for killing time on the train.

 

Connectivity on the 3720 includes GPRS/EDGE, Bluetooth and USB. Not a huge range but it keeps the phone simple.

 

Nokia have stated on their site that the 3720 is “resistant against dust, splashes, drops and shocks”. Now, I was a bit dubious about trying anything here and handing Matt back a dusty, scratched and possibly soggy phone – so, I had a good look on the web. It’s amazing what people have tried! From light splashes of water to submersing the handset in a glass of beer, and from a short drop onto the floor to running over it with a car!! (Please do not try this at home!) Well, the result seems to be a pretty hardy phone!

 

As I’ve mentioned a few times, this has been designed to be an entry level phone so I can’t forget to mention the main function – phone calls!

The sound quality is very good on the Nokia 3720. People that I called when using this phone commented on the clarity as there seemed to be hardly any background noise even when I was walking about in a noisy shopping centre. The reception seems to hold well with this phone too. I know it depends some what on the general reception in your area but it performed great compared to other phones that I have tried out. The speaker phone worked well too. The sound came through loud and clear.

 

Conclusion:

It’s a nice change to have a look at an entry level mobile phone as all you really see these days is the smartphone and touchscreen phone market battle.

Although I like my fancy phones with all of the bells and whistles I found myself really liking this phone. It it nice to hold and robust enough to make you not worry about dropping it.

I did find myself looking at a few apps thinking that some of the features could really confuse an absolute mobile phone newbie. But, over all, this is a good entry level phone from Nokia.

 

 

Reviewed by: Emma

Posted in: Reviews
By December 7, 2009 Read More →

BlackBerry Bold 9700 Review

Also being called the Bold2 the Blackberry Bold 9700 is the new version of the original Bold 9000. Although there are not too many major software changes there are a few hard wear ones. Is the 9700 an improvement?

 

Blackberry Bold 9700 Review

Blackberry Bold 9700

What’s in the box:

  • Device
  • Battery
  • Charger
  • USB Cable
  • Headphones
  • Case
  • Software/Manual

See also at Matt’s Blackberry Bold 9700 unboxing video – a closer look at the hardwear and a tour of the UI.

The ten second review:

Device: Blackberry Bold 9700

Price: £396.75

Summary: A hardcore messaging device that does pretty much the works.

Best of: Keyboard, Wi-Fi, 3G.

Worst of: Web Browser.

Buy it now from: Clove Technology

Blackberry Bold 9700 Specification:

  • Memory – ROM:  256MB / RAM: 128MB
  • Display – High resolution 480×360 pixel, Transmissitive TFT LCD, 2.44″ (diagonally measured)
  • Network – 2G: 850/900/1800/1900 (Quad-Band) / 3G: 850/1900/2100 (Tri-Band)
  • HSDPA (3.6Mbps)
  • microUSB
  • 3.5mm Audio Jack
  • Bluetooth (2.1)
  • Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11g)
  • 35 key backlit QWERTY keyboard
  • Trackpad – Located on front face of device, ESC Key to the right, Menu to the left
  • Integrated GPS with A-GPS
  • Includes BlackBerry Maps
  • MicroSDHC
  • 3.2 mega-pixels (auto-focus)
  • LED Flash
  • Image Stabilization
  • Video: 30fps Video Recording (480 x 352)
  • Talk Time – Up to 6 hours (GSM), Up to 6 hours (UMTS)
  • Standby Time – Up to 19 days/456 hours (GSM), Up to 15 days/360 hours (UMTS)
  • Battery – 1500 mAh Removable/rechargeable Cryptographic Lithium cell
  • Dimensions – 109 x 60 x 14.1mm (4.29 x 2.36 x .56 inches)
  • Weight – 122g with battery

 

General:

 

The top of the Blackberry 9700 appears to have no buttons but there are actually two. The first locks the device and the second puts it into standby mode.

Top

Blackberry Bold 9700 top

 

The bottom also appears to have no buttons and that’s because there are not any! Both the top and bottom are extremely smooth.

Bottom

Blackberry Bold 9700 bottom

 

Housed on the left side of the device is the 3.5mm headset jack, a shortcut button and the microUSB port. This shortcut button is preset for voice dialling.

Left

Blackberry Bold 9700 left side

 

On the right side is another shortcut button. This one is preset as the camera button. There is also an up/down volume rocker.

Right

Blackberry Bold 9700 Right side

 

The rear of the handset contains the camera lens and flash. You can also see the nice leather battery cover with the Blackberry logo on it.

Back

Blackberry Bold 9700 rear

 

And of course the front of the device houses the full QWERTY keyboard, send/end keys, a back button and a Blackberry menu button

Front

Blackberry Bold 9700 front

 

 

Highlights:

  • 3G/Wi-Fi
  • QWERTY Keyboard
  • 3.5mm headset jack
  • Multiple push email accounts
  • Optical Track Pad

Lowlights:

  • Web Browser
  • Cheap looking supplied headphones

 

 

 

Review:

 

Straight out of the box I was amazed at what a nice looking device the Blackberry Bold 9700 is. The combination of jet black plastic and shiny metal give the Bold 9700 a really sweet look. Like the original Bold 9000, the 9700 has inherited the leather battery cover which helps give it a luxurious feel.

The device is fairly lightweight but doesn’t feel as robust as some other handsets. Only time will tell if the 9700 can withstand heavy daily usage.

The Blackberry Bold 9700 is a few millimetres smaller in both height and width compared to the 9000. Thickness is the same but this new Bold really feels a lot smaller. Its now about the same size as the Blackberry Curves. The one concern I did have prior to receiving the Bold 9700 was that this reduction in size may make typing a little harder. I was wrong. The keys on the 9700 are the same design as on the 9000 which in my opinion are a lot better than on the Curve models. I have never owned a Blackberry myself and have only reviewed one, the 8520, and I can honestly say I took to typing on the 9700 like a duck to water. I do prefer a hard keyboard over an onscreen one and I instantly found myself getting as few errors as I do on my HTC Touch Pro2. I was most impressed.

The other major difference between the original Bold and the new 9700 is that RIM have replaced the trackball with a optical track pad. This is the same as I used on the 8520 and a real joy to use. I have played with friends Blackberries which have the trackball and I found the new track pad to be better to use in every way. Hopefully this will now stop millions of Blackberry users complaining that their trackball has stopped working as they are prone to getting dust and debris inside them. This new move by RIM is fantastic and I would imagine the trackball is now history.

As you would imagine the track pad can have its sensitivity altered. This will allow you the choice of speed that it moves. I did test it out on its highest setting but it was way to fast and totally uncontrollable!

 

Messaging has to be the main reason that people use a Blackberry. This was my first time setting up email on a Blackberry and after the nice people at Orange gave me a few tips I was off to a flying start. It could not have been much easier to be honest. It was just a case of registering the device and then inputting the email account details onto the Orange Blackberry site and that was it. The accounts appeared on the Blackberry. Now, the beauty of the Blackberry is you can have multiple push email accounts which I think makes it unique and it works perfectly.

 

So lets see what else is different compared to the 9700s daddy. Well the screen is obviously smaller but of a better resolution . This time 480 x 360. It looks pretty sharp. We have lost some internal storage though, which is a shame. The Bold 9000 came with 1GB but now we are down to 256mb on the 9700.

The camera has been upgraded to 3.2 mp with auto focus but I will cover that in more depth later in the review.

Apart from the above, I think the features are more of less the same but now in a new shell. I am most defiantly not a Blackberry expert so I may be missing a few things!

 

In terms of performance in all other areas I have been really pleased with the Blackberry Bold 9700. I have been using the device as my primary handset for nearly a week now and I have become addicted!

As a phone the 9700 does a great job. Accessing contacts is simple. Just start typing their name and up they pop. Getting contacts onto the phone was easy for me. As I use Microsoft Outlook I set the Blackberry desktop software to sync with Outlook so in a matter of minutes all my contacts were on the handset. Perfect!

The calendar on the Blackberry is also nice and easy to use and this again syncs with Outlook, making the transition to using Blackberry as simple as can be.

One thing on all Blackberries that has never been great is web browsing and this is the one main area that I feel let down. Coming from a big touch screen device I knew that using the browser would be “pants” but its not been as bad as I thought it would be. Of course compared to handsets like the iPhone, HTC HD2 and the Samsung Omnia2 its totally rubbish but I think you need to decide what is of most importance to you when thinking of switching to a Blackberry. If you are constantly browsing or using your phone as an in-car satnav then a Blackberry is probably not right for you (apart from the Storm or Storm2). If messaging is what you do most then this could be the device you need.

Connectivity on the Blackberry Bold 9700 is great. Its a 3G device and also has Wi-Fi. I think this is what will get a tonne of Blackberry Curve users switching to the Bold2 as none of the Curve models were 3G. God knows why but at least now there is a solution.

I have managed okay with the browser. To be honest I have not spent as much time browsing as I did on my touch screen phone but I can do pretty much everything on the Blackberry that I could do before. The downside is that the screen is not as big and if you need to zoom in you will find yourself scrolling left and right just to read a sentence. But as I said before it was better than I thought it was going to be.

If social networking is your thing then you will be pleased to know that Blackberry is pretty good when it comes to that sort of thing. There are some fantastic apps to help you stay in touch with your buddies.

Facebook has to be the top one at the moment and the Blackberry Facebook app is not bad. Compared to the windows version I would say its better as it keeps up to date. I found the windows one lagging behind a lot. As well as seeing your friends status updates you can also see news feeds, photos and links. Uploading photos to the app is also dead easy and its an all round decent application.

Like on most operating systems there are numerous Twitter apps and Blackberry is no different. I found Ubertwitter to be the best one and it worked faultlessly.

I’m not a massive Twitter user but tweeting from the Blackberry was easy-peasy.

I also installed Windows Live Messenger as Matt and I use it all day to communicate and I also found a good Facebook chat app so I could IM my Facebook buddies.

 

One of the first things you need to do when you have your new Blackberry is download Blackberry App World. Although its not on par with Apples iPhone app store its not bad. There is some decent stuff in there and the prices are reasonable. Of course there are loads of free apps as well . Its easy to navigate round App World and you are given a lot of info about the apps before you download, including screen shots. The graphics are not great for gaming but you must remember that a Blackberry is primarily a messaging device.

 

Media on the Blackberry Bold 9700 is taken care of nicely. I put a few movies onto my MicroSD card and they played straight away. Although not the biggest screen viewing is possible thanks to it being so crisp and bright.

Viewing photos was fine and dandy. With the vibrant screen the pictures look fantastic. A simple swipe of the optical track pad moves pictures left or right so you can either view all pictures in a grid or just view full screen and scroll smoothly to the one you want. Nice.

The 9700 has a built in music player and the quality it produced was surprisingly good. Using the external speaker the music was loud but not of great quality. Using the supplied headphones made things a lot better although they don’t feel the best made bit of kit. Once I plugged in my own JVC headphones (which only cost about £12.00) Guns N Roses rocked! The quality was super good and after I found the equaliser and turned up the bass I was rocking my socks off. If you listen to music you will be more than pleased with the results the Bold 9700 produces.

 

With built in A-GPS you wont be getting lost with the Bold 9700. It comes pre-installed with Blackberry Maps which is much the same concept as Google Maps. I also tried Nav4All which is a turn by turn navigation tool and it worked perfectly. Its never going to replace a stand alone satnav but for those times you are out and about on foot it will certainly come in handy.

 

No one is every going to buy the Blackberry Bold 9700 for its camera but it actually does a good job. At 3.2mp its not going to produce the best pictures in the world but the powerful LED flash helps a lot. Certainly does a better job than the camera on the Bold 9000. The camera interface is dead simple and fool proof really.

 

 

Conclusion:

So is the Bold 9700 an improvement over the 9000. I should say so. As long as web browsing is not what you do most and you like a QWERTY keyboard then the Blackberry Bold 9700 is in my opinion a fantastic phone well worthy of its price, although in time I am sure most carriers will supply it free on contract.

I liked it so much that this review device is not going back. I have dipped my hand into my pocket and I am keeping it. We cant bare to be parted!

I never thought this would happen as I am a big Windows Mobile fan but the Blackberry Bold 9700 just does everything well and its so easy and quick.

I have also just upgraded my girlfriends phone and she now has a Bold 9700 coming!

Good job RIM. Lets see if the Storm2 is as much of an improvement as the Bold2 is?

 

Posted by: James

Posted in: Phones, Reviews
Tags: ,
By December 6, 2009 Read More →

Sanyo Xacti FH1 review

Does the Sanyo Xacti VPC-FH1 camera live up to full HD expectations?

Hi everyone, this is my first review so please be gentle. When Matt told me I would be getting a full 1080p HD camcorder for my first review I was really looking forward to it and at roundabout the £400 mark, one that was quite affordable in the growing market of full HD cameras and the latest in the already popular Xacti series. Let’s see if it’s as good as I’d hoped.

The Sanyo Xacti VPC-FH1 

The Sanyo Xacti VPC-FH1

What’s in the box?

  • Sanyo Xacti VPC-FH1
  • Battery
  •  Hand Strap
  •  Lens cap
  •  Mains Charger
  • USB Cable and USB adapter
  • Component AV Cable
  • Remote Control
  • Easystart manual and software/manual disc

Check out Matt’s Sanyo Xacti VPC-FH1 unboxing video for a more detailed look at the camera.

 

Sanyo Xacti VPC-FH1 specification:

Effective pixel count/Camera element

Stills: Approx. 8.0-Megapixels
Videos: Approx. 5.31-Megapixels (in Full HD/HD mode), Approx. 2.00-Megapixels (in SD mode)

Camera element

1/2.5 inch CMOS sensor, Approx. 8.1-Megapixels (total)

Recording media

SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card (up to 32GB)

Recording file formats

Photos: JPEG (DCF*1, DPOF*2, Exif Ver2.2*3)
Videos: ISO standard MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 (.MP4)
Audio: 48kHZ sampling, 16bit, 2ch, AAC

Resolution (pixels)

Photos

12M: 4000 x 3000*4, 8M-H: 3264 x 2448 (low compression) 8M-S: 3264 x 2448 (standard compression) 6M[16:9]: 3264×1840 2M[16:9]: 1920×1080 2M: 1600 x 1200 0.9M[16:9]: 1280×720 0.3M: 640×480

Continuous shots

8M: 3264 x 2448 , 6fps/Max 9 photos, 4M: 2288 x 1712 , 12fps/Max 15 photos

Videos

Full-HR: 1920 x 1080 (60 fps/ 24Mbps) Full HD: 1920 x 1080 (60fields/sec 16Mbps)
Full-SHQ: 1920 x 1080 (30 fps/ 12Mbps) HD-SHQ: 1280 x 720 (30 fps/9Mbps)
TV-SHQ: 640 x 480 (30 fps/3Mbps)
Web-SHR: 448 x 336 (240 fps/8Mbps) Web-UHR: 192 x 108 (600fps/8Mbps)

Lens

10x optical zoom lens; Aperture: F=2.0(W) – 2.8(T)
Focus distance: f=5.95 to 59.5mm;
Galvanometer method structure, Auto focus: 9 groups, 12 elements (4 aspheric elements, 8 aspheric surfaces), Built-in neutral density filter
Photos: f=35.7-357mm(=35mm) Optical 10x zoom
Videos: f=41.7-666.9mm(=35mm) 16x Adv. zoom

Photo range

Standard: 50cm to infinity (wide), 1.0m to infinity (tele) / Super macro: 1cm – 1m (wide)

Digital zoom

Shooting: 10x max., Playback 62.5x max. (12M mode, depending on the resolution)

Low light sensitivity (video)

Approx. 6 lux (Auto mode, 1/30 sec.)
Approx. 2 lux (High-sensitivity/ Lamp mode, 1/15 sec.)

Stills sensitivity

Auto (ISO 50 – 200), Manual (ISO 50/100/200/400/800/1600/3200, Switching system)

Digital Image Stabilizer

Photos: Digital Image Stabilizer (Multi-Calculation method),Videos: Digital Image Stabilizer (electronic)

Audio

Microphone: Built-in stereo, Speaker: Built-in monaural (L+Rch mixed output)

LCD monitor

3.0 inch, Low-temperature polysilicon TFT color widescreen LCD display, Approx. 230,000 pixels (7-level brightness, 285 degrees rotation)

Languages

English/ French/ German/ Spanish/ Italian/ Dutch/ Russian/ Portuguese/ Turkish/ Thai/ Korean/ Simplified Chinese/ Traditional Chinese

Interface

AV output (Video: HDMI/D/ S-Video/ Composite video(NTSC/PAL) Audio: Stereo sound)
USB 2.0 (high-speed mode compatible)

Power source

Lithium-ion battery x 1 (DB-L50 included: 1900mAh) AC-adaptor

Power consumption

When using battery: 4.3W (when filming videos)

Approx. battery-use time

Photos: Approx. 355 shots (CIPA standard), Continuous video filming: Approx. 135min./Continuous playback: Approx. 350 min.

Dimensions/Volume

53.3 (W) x 57.3 (H) x 105.0 (D)mm (maximum dimension, excluding protruding parts)
Volume: Approx. 253cc

Weight

Approx. 299g (main unit only), Approx. 342g (including battery, Approx. 41 g, and SD card, Approx. 2 g)

 

SD Memory Card Type

Video Recording Time (Total Time)

Full-HR

Full-HD

Full-SHQ

HD-SHQ

TV-SHQ

Web-SHR

Web-UHR

Audio Memo

16 GB

1 hr 28 min.

2 hr 11 min.

2 hr 54 min.

3 hr 51 min.

11 hr 06 min.

4 hr 19 min.

41 hr 19 min.

261 hr.

 

SD Memory Card Type

Number of Photographs

12M

8M-H

8M-S

6.0M [16:9]

2M [16:9]

2M

0.9M [16:9]

0.3M

8M Cont.

4M Cont.

16 GB

4,020

4,020

5,940

7,920

21,700

22,700

41,600

99,800

5,940

11,800

 

General

Front –     Lens, flash and stereo mic’s left and right side

Sanyo Xacti FH1 front view 

Sanyo Xacti FH1 front view

 

Side  –     Right side has hand strap and lens cover holder, left side has Viewing screen which when opened reveals the on/off switch plus USB, Component/AV and HDMI sockets as well as the SDHC card holder

Sanyo Xacti FH1 left side view 

Sanyo Xacti FH1 left side view

 

Screen – The screen is a 3.0 inch, Low-temperature polysilicon TFT color widescreen LCD display, approx. 230,000 pixels (7-level brightness, 285 degrees rotation)

FH1-open-angled 

Bottom –  Underneath is the battery pack cover which slides off and the tripod screw

Top      –  On top is zoom rocker switch and small speaker grill

Controls – Controls are at the rear of the camera with the stills record button on the top left and the video record on the  top right with a set joystick and menu button. Underneath that is the AC adapter socket which has a rubber grommet type cover and the unlock latch for the battery cover.

FH1-back 

Sanyo Xacti FH1 back view

 

Highlights

  • Good build quality and looks
  • Value for money
  • Light and easy to use
  • Good quality video and stills
  • Remote Control

Lowlights

  • No HDMI lead (optional extra)

 

 

Review

I don’t know about you, but being a bloke I tend to get things out the box and see how much I can do before referring to the instruction manual, this was no exception to that rule. I am pleased to say that it was all very user friendly and I managed to use all functions of the camera and navigate the menu system without any need for instruction.  Big plus point for Sanyo.

I like the looks of the camera especially in gloss black which has a glittery paint finish on the main body of the camera with silver round the lens. You can also have it in gold as well if that takes your fancy. The Xacti FH1 feels solid, robust and comfortable in your hand with your thumb falling nicely on the rear controls.  These controls are large and nicely spaced out and you get used to them very quickly which is great when you need to record the action fast.

The 3″ screen is sharp and clear and makes framing your shots easy. The menu system is very straightforward to use and even gives you a simple menu option for a less detailed format. You can even adjust white balance , exposure etc for the more manual touch and has 9 point or single spot focus and autoflash. It has face recognition/ face chaser technology  which keeps track of up to 12 faces at any one time which is great for group or family shots. The FH1 also includes video and image stabilisation, a must for any kind of movement while recording.

I tested the video and stills out on my 46″ Toshiba LED TV and were very pleased with the results. I used the supplied component leads and also dropped the SDHC card straight into my PS3 which outputs in 1080p just to see if there were any difference, but both ways resulted in great picture quality and clear sound with the camera switching from high to low light very well.  The stills are 8mp (12mp interpolated)  and were good quality  with nice colours and sharp focusing although you have to get used to pressing the stills button down halfway, waiting breifly for focus then pressing all the way down to take a picture with a shutter sound effect, the clever bit is being able to take stills while recording video. I also like the included remote control, very handy when playing back through your tv still sitting in your favourite chair.

The only thing that disappointed me was a lack of an included HDMI cable, especially when there is a HDMI socket on the camera, it is an optional extra (VCP-HDMI02) as well as a battery charger (VAR-L50) and spare battery (DB-L50).

 As far as recording time goes I used an 8 Gig SDHC card which will give about 1 hour recording time in full HD (more info in specs). Battery life is also very good with an average of over 2 hours this includes recording video, taking pics and playback through the screen and TV output. The 10x optical zoom with 16x advanced zoom and 160x digital zoom works well and is  smooth and progressive with the super macro mode working well for close-up work.

 

Software

A Sanyo Xacti software CD is included with:

  • Arcsoft Total Media Extreme for full hd playback and editing
  • Arcsoft Panorama Maker 4 for easy panoramic photo stitching
  • Xacti screen capture 1.1

 

Conclusion

In conclusion I really love this camera and would have no problem buying it myself or recommending it to anyone else. Apart from the unincluded HDMI cable I cannot find any real faults as it did exactly what it said on the box , a small, easy to use full HD Dual camera at a very reasonable price. What more can I say ?

 

Review by: Charlie

[ Post Tags: Camcorder, Video Cameras, sanyo Xacti FH1, VPC-FH1, tracyandmatt.co.uk ]

Posted in: Reviews
By December 3, 2009 Read More →

Vodafone 360 review

The 360 H1 is Vodafone’s foray into the world of application-based mobiles, and the next in the long line of iPhone contenders. So with the iPhone coming to Vodafone very soon is the 360 worth the time and effort and what does it offer users in terms of connectivity and functionality.

Vodafone 360 review

The Vodafone 360 Samsung H1

 

What’s in the box?

  • The Vodafone 360 Samsung H1 handset
  • Battery
  • MicroUSB wall charger
  • Headphones and wired headset adapter
  • USB to MicroUSB sync cable
  • Manual and Warranty card

 

Vodafone 360 (Samsung H1) specification:

  • Display: AMOLED – 16M colors, 480 x 800 pixels – 3.5 inches
  • Operating System: LiMo OS
  • Processor: ARM Cortex A8 600 MHz, PowerVR SGX graphics
  • Memory: Internal: 16 GB / Card slot: microSD (TransFlash) up to 16GB
  • 2G: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
  • 3G: HSDPA 2100
  • Camera: 5 MP, 2560 x 1920 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
  • Alert types: Vibration; Polyphonic(64) / MP3 ringtones
  • 3.5mm audio jack
  • Dimensions: 115.9 x 58 x 12.9 mm – 60 cc
  • Weight: 134 g
  • Battery: Standard battery – Li-Ion
  • Talk time: Up to 10 h (2G) / Up to 6 h 40 min (3G)
  • MP3 / video player
  • Organizer
  • Stereo FM radio with RDS
  • GPS with A-GPS support
  • 3G / HSDPA
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
  • Bluetooth: v2.0 with A2DP

 

General

The Vodafone 360 H1 looks every part the exciting new communication device offering some great innovative features sure to keep even the latest tech savvy social butterfly. Now I am fairly sure Vodafone would not appreciate the tag of iPhone clone however if manufacturers continue designing phones in a style, which was perfected by the iPhone, then unfortunately this tag remains. If this is a style perfected by Apple I suppose Vodafone have no need to change it and for the most part it works with the 360 however I am personally not a massive fan of the plastic back, it seems a little cheap.

The front of the H1 houses the large 3.1″ touch screen along with three navigational buttons. Call buttons along with a quick launch contact key and applications page shot cut.

360-front

The Vodafone 360 front view

 

The right of the device is home to the dedicated shutter key and also a rather helpful and colourful search quick launch key.

The Vodafone 360 right view

The Vodafone 360 right view

 

The left of the H1 features a two-way volume rocker and also the mini USB connector, which is cleverly hidden behind a sliding panel keeping it safe from dust etc. while improving the overall design of the phone.

The Vodafone 360 left view

The Vodafone 360 left view

 

The back of the 360 has the 5 megapixel camera along with that all, important flash. The back also features the obligatory Vodafone branding.

The Vodafone 360 back view

The Vodafone 360 back view

 

The top of the device has the dedicated standby button and a much welcome 3.5mm headphone socket.

The Vodafone 360 top view

The Vodafone 360 top view

 

 

Review

So 360 is a new service being launched by Vodafone, which aims to bring the world together, well maybe not the world but your contacts at least. Basically it is their way of bringing all your contact together in one place whether this is through social networking sites or your mobile contacts. The idea and purpose of this is to encourage people to communicate in a new exciting way. But does it do this? Well the short answer is ‘yes’ but the slightly longer answer is ‘yes, but it is far from perfect’.

Now although this is not a review of the service, as the Samsung H1 is currently one of the few phones able to use the service it seemed wrong not to mention it. And also the phone has clearly been designed with 360 in mind and not the other way around. Looks wise as I mentioned earlier the H1 is not an unattractive device however I am personally not a massive fan of the silver plastic I feel for a device of this status it should try a little harder to warrant the price tag with its looks.

The H1’s emphasis on connecting people and contact is apparent right from the start after unlocking the phone using the completely original cough slide to unlock feature you will be greeted by a either a mass of coloured heads or if you have particularly photogenic friends a collage of your friends for you to scroll through in a 3D depth rich layout. Navigation on the H1 was something I found surprisingly easy. The introduction of this new style for Vodafone had me worried that it may come with a lengthy learning curve however after just a few clicks you will soon find yourself flicking through your features with great ease.

This ease of use is due largely to the navigational buttons at the bottom of the device a quick click of the contact button will allow you to switch between the colourful and creative collage of contact or a more conventional list view and the same applies for the apps button switching between either a gird or list view of all your favourite applications.

The H1 houses a hefty 5 megapixel with an LED flash, which is certainly a welcome addition. I was pleasantly surprised with the image quality of the H1 and would even go as far as to say it rivals some dedicated digital cameras of a similar resolution out there on the market today. The various different modes including panoramic and smile, and with video capabilities the H1 may well have your current digital camera shaking with fear as it positions itself as a rival to the modern camera striving to do it all.

The H1 also features an easy to use music player and what makes this player so much easier to enjoy is the 3.5mm headphone jack and my joy was even more profound after discovering it is located on the top of the device, which allows the H1 to sit comfortably in the pocket without a protruding cable.

Applications wise the H1 has a fair amount to offer including YouTube and Facebook apps and with many more available through the 360 store it seems like Vodafone are set to bring their own offering to the already fit to burst apps market. However it is difficult to judge at this point but things look promising. Connectivity wise the H1 is fairly standard stuff, Bluetooth, GPRS, 3G etc. however the inclusion of WiFi is certainly a very welcome addition. The large touch screen makes using applications and things like web browsing enjoyable and easily navigated with little trouble.

So one thing that many have said about the iPhone and to be fair other devices focused more on apps than communication is that although they may be a great source of entertainment on the move when it comes to them operating like a phone they disappoint. The H1 however for me anyway really did seem to take a step closer to combining great feature rich applications while still maintaining its primary use as a mobile phone. The speakerphone is crystal clear and using the phone in the traditional way isn’t bad either with minimal muffling and clear sound throughout the call.

Performance with the H1 is something which for such a feature packed device surprised me there is little to no LAG when scrolling through contacts or applications and using the touch screen qwerty keyboard is a breeze so no complaints there. Battery life for the H1 is quoted at up to 10 hours 2G-talk time, which is not bad for a device with so much to offer, and I had little trouble with rapidly depleting battery in the time I spent with it. The phone is a fair size however not too clunky to slip in your pocket and the weight is a comparatively light 134 grams compared to other similar devices.

360-angled-right

 

Conclusion

The H1 or the Samsung Vodafone 360 H1 to give it its full title is a phone full of promise however at this time it is certainly more promise less fulfilment. The 360 platform is one which excites me and if carried out properly could be a real success for Vodafone however at this time it is a little like when you first got Facebook or MySpace its great and has so much to offer however it is a service which relies heavily on your friends and contact being a part of it as well, and given that the H1 is one of the few devices able to use the 360 platform until it is rolled out onto more common devices it will remain a phone of great potential and not a device that delivers the before mentioned potential. A great phone for those wanting to be the leader of the pack who is not concerned with having to wait a while for others to catch up.

 

Review by: Nick

Post Tags: [Vodafone 360, Samsung H1, LinMo, tracyandmatt.co.uk]

Posted in: Phones, Reviews
Tags: ,
By December 2, 2009 Read More →

Samsung B7330 Omnia PRO review

Yes, it’s another Omnia! First we had the Omnia, then the Omnia II, then the Omnia Lite, then the OmniaPRO B7320 and now the OmniaPRO 7330. Blimey, so many Omnias! Anyway, the B7330 takes on a different form factor to all the others. This one has a front facing QWERTY keyboard. Can it compare though with the likes of the HTC Snap and the numerous Blackberry’s?

 

Samsung B7330 Omnia PRO review

Samsung B7330 OmniaPRO

What’s in the box:

  • Device
  • Battery
  • Charger
  • Headphones
  • USB Cable
  • User Manual
  • Software

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

The ten second review:

  • Device: Samsung B7330 OmniaPRO
  • Price: TBC
  • Summary: A front facing QWERTY messaging device with some nice top end features.
  • Best of: QWERTY Keyboard. MyPhone, Orange Maps
  • Worst of:No 3.5mm headset jack, Navigation pad
  • Get it now from: Orange

Samsung Omnia Pro B7330 specification:

  • Operating System – Windows Mobile 6.5 Standard
  • Memory – 4GB + 2GB + Micro SD (up to 32GB)
  • Display – 2.62″ 65K 320 x 320 TFT LCD
  • Operating Frequency – GSM Quad band / HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, (850/900/1800/1900MHz)
  • WCDMA Dual band/ HSUPA 2.0 Mbps (900/2100MHz)
  • Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR
  • USB 2.0 HS
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
  • A-GPS
  • MicroSDHC (Up to 32GB)
  • FM Radio wih Auto Tuning
  • 3.2 MP AF + CIF (VT Camera)
  • Video Recording – 320 x 240 (QVGA)-12fps (MAX, QVGA), 12fps (MAX, QVGA) H.263+AMR NB, MPEG4+AMR NB, ASF, Real One, PVX, WMV
  • QWERTY Keyboard
  • Talk Time – Up to 4 Hours
  • Standby Time – Up to 400 Hours
  • Battery – Li-ion 1500mAh
  • Dimensions – 114.9 x 59 x 10.8 mm
  • Weight – 109g

General:

The left side of the device houses the up/down volume rocker as well as the microUSB socket.

Samsung B7330 Omnia PRO review-left

Samsung B7330 OmniaPRO left side

On the right is the dedicated camera key and the microSD card slot.

Samsung B7330 Omnia PRO review-right

Samsung B7330 OmniaPRO right side

Both the top and bottom of the OmniaPRO are flush with no ports or buttons.

Omnia-pro-bottom

Samsung B7330 OmniaPRO bottom

On the rear of the handset the camera lens and speaker grill can be found. No flash though!

Omnia-Pro-back

Samsung B7330 OmniaPRO from the rear

Highlights:

  • QWERTY Keyboard
  • GPS
  • Orange Maps

Lowlights:

  • No 3.5mm headset jack
  • No camera flash
  • Navigation Pad

Review:

The Samsung B7330 OmniaPRO is a decent looking handset. I have previously used both the Samsung i600 and i780 which are all part of the same front facing QWERTY keyboard family and the OmniaPRO is probably the best looking.

The device feels pretty well made, although very plastic like most recent Samsung releases. Although the Samsung B7330 OmniaPRO is a Windows phone it is non touch screen and so is running windows mobile 6.5 standard like on the HTC Snap. Windows mobile is not the most popular OS and the standard edition even less so. Saying that, it works well but is just not the most flashy OS.

The OmniaPRO comes with several option for a home screen. The best one in my opinion is the standard windows 6.5 screen. Like on the touch screen devices it consist of a list of features that you can move up and down to use. In addition each feature can then be toggled left or right to reveal more options. Not the best experience but its okay.

 

Screen01

Windows Standard

There are however many different options when it comes to home screens on the OmniaPRO. Check these out:

Screen02 Screen03

Screen04 Screen05

Screen06

Once again, which you use will come down to personal preference. Some of the screens are a bit dated but all function well.

Although the keyboard on the Samsung B7330 is nice it is not as nice to use as on the HTC Snap or some Blackberry’s. The keys are a good size and feel nice but using them just doesn’t feel as smooth as on the other handsets.

Omnia-pro-keyboard

Samsung B7330 OmniaPRO keyboard

The major let down I found with the hard wear on the B7330 was the navigation pad. Getting around the menus is okay although it does require a firm click. But where it doesn’t work well is the web browser. The Samsung B7730 OniaPRO comes pre loaded with internet explorer. Normally this browser performs ok but the issue I had with the navigation pad was that it only allows you to move up/down/left & right. Most other similar devices I have used allow for diagonal movement of the onscreen mouse arrow. Without this diagonal option its a real pain selecting an on screen option in the browser. So much so I hated using it. Everything I wanted to do took twice as long as on my HTC Snap and it was really frustrating. Why Samsung did not use the optical track pad like on the original Omnia and i780 baffles me but its too late now!

So what else is this OmniaPRO good for? Being a Windows Phone I love the calendar options and I find it great for organising meetings etc. With Microsoft’s MyPhone app built in to the device you can sync the phone and the calendar schedules appear on MyPhone on the PC. As I have mentioned in a few previous reviews MyPhone will also sync contacts, sms, pictures and videos. Its free and I love it!

Messaging on the OmniaPRO is simple pimple. You can set up one email account with Active Sync and this will push mail to you as its sent. In addition you can also set up multiple other email accounts but these will not be push email. You can set the phone to sync with the server every 5, 10, 15 minutes etc to retrieve mail.  Its dead easy to set up and performs beautifully.

The OmniaPRO has GPS built in and the good news is that this Orange version comes pre-loaded with Orange Maps. This is a free service and will download the maps as you need them. For a free turn by turn navigation service its great and if you are not in a position to purchase one of the more popular navigation tools such as CoPilot or TomTom then Orange maps is a god send. I have tested on several devices and I have not got lost once!

Of course a Windows phone would not be complete without Office Mobile. As always this includes Word, Excel, OneNote and PowerPoint. All of these accept PowerPoint can be created from scratch. If you could do with viewing docs while away from your office this is a great tool and one that I personally use daily. As the Samsung B7330 OmniaPRO can take a microSD card of up to 32GB you can get a hell of a lot of word and excel docs on the phone.

If you like to download apps then the OmniaPRO has Windows Marketplace built in. Its early days but there are some pretty good apps in there and the next year will be interesting.

Also included is Windows Live so you can instant message your best friends just like on your PC. This is a great form of communication and Matt and I use this constantly all day.

The camera on the B7330 was actually better than I thought it would be. Although there is no flash and its only 3.2mp in daylight it produced reasonable shots. The camera interface is easy to use and the auto focus works quickly. Not bad.

Photo-0003 Photo-0001

Samsung OmniaPRO B7330 Camera Samples

Watching video on the OmniaPRo is nice thanks to the nice big screen (well its quite big for a device with a QWERTY keyboard!). As with all Windows phones it comes with Windows Media Player. This will obviously not play all formats but you can download other players such as Coreplayer, which will play most. This way you can convert your DVDs to MP4 and watch them on the phone. Once again with support up to 32GB that means a lot of movies.

Before testing out the music player on the OmnaPRO I was expecting a good performance like on most of Samsungs phones and I am pleased to say they have done it again. The speaker is not great but once the headphones are connected the Foo Fighters sounded awesome! One major disappointment though was the supplied headphones. Not only is there no 3.5mm headset jack on the device, which means you must use the supplied headphones, but these supplied ones are different to the headphones supplied by Samsung over the last year or so. They are not as good! I love my Samsung headphones but these new ones are totally different. Not only is the in ear design different but they look and feel really, really, really cheap and I cant see them lasting too long to be honest. What were you thinking Samsung, you silly billies. I’m not impressed.

Other features on the device:

  • Radio
  • RSS Reader
  • Pod catcher
  • Audio Notes
  • Calculator
  • Unit Converter
  • StopWatch
  • Alarms
  • World Clock

Conclusion:

So is the Samsung B7330 OmniaPro as good as the HTC Snap or Blackberry 8520, 8900 & 9700?

In my opinion – No! Its not a bad bit of kit but its not as user friendly as the others I have just mentioned. I just feel that whether you are buying sim free or upgrading your contract you will be wiser to choose another device. Sorry Samsung, better luck next time. And sort those earphones out, please!

Posted in: Phones, Reviews
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By December 1, 2009 Read More →

LG BL40 Chocolate review

LG have produced a new form factor for the BL40 – a long, slim design with a full 21:9 cinematic widescreen display. The second edition of the top selling Chocolate is here.

BL40-angled-left

The LG BL40 Chocolate

 

What’s in the box?

  • BL40 Device
  • 1000mAh Battery
  • USB Data cable
  • Earphones/mic kit
  • Userguide & software

 

Have a look at Matt’s LG BL40 unboxing video for more.

 

LG BL40 Chocolate Specification:

  • General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 1900/2100 MHz, EDGE class 10, HSCSD, GPRS, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
  • Form factor: Candy Touchscreen bar
  • Dimensions: 128 x 51 x 10.9 mm ( 5×2×0.4 inch )
  • Weight: 4.6 oz.
  • Display: Unique 4" TFT 16 million colors capacitive touchscreen with 21:9 aspect ratio and 800 x 345 pixels resolution, Multi-touch input method,
  • scratch resistant glass
  • Camera: 5-megapixels auto-focus camera with Schneider-Kreuznach lens, LED flash, geo-tagging, image stabilization, face detection, Smile Shot,
  • Blink detection, Intelligent shot, Beauty and Art shot, VGA video recording at 30 fps
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi (WLAN), Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, standard microUSB v2.0 port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack
  • Messaging: SMS, MMS, T9 text function, E-mail, Internet browsing
  • Entertainment: FM radio, Java, Audio player ( eAAC, MP3, WAV ), Video player ( DivX, H263, MP4, xVID )
  • Platform: Latest S-Class Touch UI
  • Other features: UI auto-rotate, Auto turn-off, Gesture controls, 3.5 mm audio jack, DMSE, Games, TV out
  • Internal Memory: 1GB internal memory
  • External Memory: microSD card slot ( up to 32GB )
  • Battery: Standard battery, Li-Ion 1000 mAh
  • Talk time: about 3.2 hours
  • Standby time: up to 250 hours


About the device

The most striking aspect of the BL40 is undoubtedly the slim, tall dimensions and screen. The front of the device is dominated by the extra large TFT touchscreen. Space remains at the top of the screen for the speaker grill and forward facing camera, and a simple silver LG logo sits below it. Its a minimalistic approach, made possible by the large screen. The dual purpose screen means menu command buttons don’t need to be hardware based – they just take up a percentage of the screen space.

LG BL40 front view

LG BL40 front view

 

The top of the device has a rather tasty orange/red finish, on which sits the power/lock switch, and a standard 3.5” audio jack. The orangey finish might sound odd – but it looks VERY nice indeed.

LG BL40 top view

LG BL40 top view

 

The side to the left of the screen houses the none-standard USB(ish) port, which covers both charging and data needs. Midway down the side is a dedicated music button, which whisks you directly to the music player within the OS.

LG BL40 left side

LG BL40 left side

 

The right hand side has a volume control, made up of two simple push buttons, and a two-stage camera shutter control – push half way to focus, depress to take a shot.

LG BL40 right side

LG BL40 right side

 

The bottom of the device again has the orange/red finish, and just a small mic on an otherwise empty panel.

LG BL40 bottom view

LG BL40 bottom view

 

The back of the phone has another grey LG logo towards the bottom, and the camera, with flash sits towards to the top of the device.

LG BL40 back view

LG BL40 back view

 

Highlights

  • That screen – Responsive and bright vivid colours make this one of the best displays you’ll find on a phone
  • Video playback – The 21:9 screen layout provides proper cinema-format widescreen – and movies do look pretty awesome on it!

Lowlights

  • Battery life – It’s not the worst I’ve come across, but at only 1000mAh it seems to run out far too quick.
  • Size/Shape – I’m totally sold on the long-and-thin shape. Yet.


Review

I guess the original Chocolate phone was a bit of a era-defining one in the none-smartphone world, and LG flogged a crazy number of units worldwide. Onc e again with the “new Chocolate” LG are trying to refine the phone. Clearly the USP here is the 21:9 full cinema widescreen display – no hardware buttons, just one large touchscreen covering all control needs itself. It actually works pretty well, and while other phones have already switched hardware buttons for touchscreens, the extra size here really helps.

The screen is visually stunning – despite being extremely slim, despite being an extremely large TFT size, its bright, colourful and very responsive to touch.

Just to get a rather disappointing area out of the way to start with – as it could well be connected tot that lovely screen – the battery is not great. I tried to get some information to back this up, but its hard work judging battery life when the phones own battery guage appears to have taken crack. It’s simply all over the place, with options basically consisting of ‘full’ or ‘empty’

Now I’ll admit I didn’t make many calls on the phone, but during light testing the call quality was perfectly acceptable, as was the speakerphone function. Callers reported dubious sound quality when I was using the mic in speakerphone mode, but I guess thats to be expected.

As usual with LG, the S Class OS is onboard, and personally I struggle with it. I like how they are trying to the best features of other more expensive phone, but in places the OS just ends up in a mess of dead end menu structures and page after page of similar sounding options. LG seem to constantly get the hardware side of things spot on, but I do think work is needed on on the software side.

I wouldn’t normally comment too much on the general phone functionality but its worth mentioning the messaging app, covering both sms and email. The long screen splits into a dual screen layout, and the messaging app mimics Outlook’s reading pane view. Your message list is displayed on the left, and the full message text of your selected item is shown on the right. I like it – a lot.

The lock screen takes the form of a large glass panel, which you ‘swipe up’ to remove, and unlock the device. However from this lock screen you can also use various built in – but customisable -finger gestures to take you directly to different areas of the OS. It’s actually a decent feature really. It’s of no detriment to the general purpose of the lock screen – I didn’t have any accidental unlocks, but does save time if you customise it to taste.

Because most phone networks don’t seem to be able to provide a decent signal to my house, I spent a lot of time relying on the WIFI, and bl40 didn’t let me down. It was fairly easy to set up – saving the network key automatically, and from then on – just working.

Although the built in browser gets the most out of the screen real-estate, I was interested to know whether Opera would install. Oddly it wouldn’t – despite the java engine launching correctly (with a on-screen keyboard taking up some of the screen), Opera itself wouldn’t install. Sticking with the internal browser did allow me to experience the multi-touch interface, and its not bad really. It’s got all the usual sweepers and pinches found on the iphone and android, but I found it to be a bit laggy, and very hard to find an acceptable zoom level at times. It also seemed to do some odd things when switching from portrait to landscape modes.

The 5 megapixel camera was somewhat disappointing in terms of pure quality, but the app itself, packed with features, was pretty impressive. There is an abundance of functionality, with multiple shooting modes, stabilisation and geo-tagging all ready to go. There is a manual focus option, but it is missing the iphone-style touch-to-focus method. Sadly despite the multitude of ISO and white balance options, photos suffered from noise even in bright conditions, and I couldn’t find a white balance option I was happy with. It’s suffers a bit with over-exposure, but this seems to affect quite a few camera phones, regardless of actual resolution. Video quality is acceptable without being anything to write home about.

As described above, the 3.5 audio jack means you can use your favourite earphones with ease. However, for a change a device manufacturer hasn’t just bunged in the cheapest plasticy headset they could buy. There’s a kit of different size rubber ‘buds’ and the earphone offer genuinely good quality sound. I’m sure it won’t be enough to please the real audiophiles, but they are much better than you’d usually get with a phone.

The music player is very much as any other – full playlisting ability, search by various different ID fields, Dolby Mobile support and various different visualisations – which do look pretty cool on the large screen.

Providing you get the aspect ratio right, you can’t help but be impressed by the video playback on the 21:9 screen. It’s large enough to be used to watch a film without eye strain, and as I keep saying, that screen is beautiful.

Oddly for such a fashion conscience phone, there appears to be only a limited number of skins (ok.. 2), and no ability to add or create your own. OS Customisation appears to be limited to the lock screen and menu background image. You can change the font size and style, but colour scheme editing is out.

BL40-angled-right

 

Conclusion

The BL40 has its problems, but has enough stand out features to hide these issues. The screen is obviously, and rightly its most impressive feature, whether using core phone functionality with the dual screen mode, or watching a film on the move. Just make sure you have an AC adaptor or spare battery!

The New Chocolate has enough high-spec goodies to be a head-turner, and it’s by far the best LG phone I’ve used. It’s definitely aimed at the video-friendly side of the market, and as a video-playback phone it does very little wrong. While it’s not perfect, and not right for everyone, it’s hard not to recommend what is a very good phone from LG.

 

Review by: Mark

Posted in: Reviews
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 29, 2009 Read More →

Elonex iGame iPod Dock review

Last week the Elonex iGame Family TV Games Dock arrived and after the brief unboxing video I connected it to the TV right away. Easy connection and setup as well as being quite attractive, what did we think of the iGame? Read on to find out!

The iGame 'console' dock and controller

The iGame ‘console’ dock and controller

 

The 10 second review:

Device: Elonex iGame Family Games Dock

Cost: £74.99

Summary: A cool looking iPod/iPhone dock with TV connectivity and cool sports games.

Best of: Watch your iPod videos on the big-screen and play some fun family sports games.

Worst of: Controllers a little plasticy and light, games sometimes hiccup, not the best picture quality.

Buy it now from: SuperETrader

 

What’s in the box?

  • The iGame iPod Dock
  • Wireless controller
  • Mains adapter
  • TV connection cable (composite video)
  • Batteries for the controller
  • Manuals and warranty card

 

See my iGame unboxing video for a quick tour of the hardware.

 

General

The main part of the package then is the iGame dock itself. It’s a circular plastic unit with a silver bar across the middle. The main unit has only three buttons, a power button, reset and a source button. Towards the front of the dock you’ll find a flap which neatly covers the dock connector when not in use.

igame-open

 

On the back of the dock you’ll find all of the relevant sockets for plugging the device in. On the left is an ‘iGame Card’ socket that looks like an SD card socket. Next to that the video and audio connectors for hooking up to the TV, using the supplied cable. Enjoy your TV in the bedroom with tv beds. Finally on the end is the socket for the power cable.

igame-back

iGame dock back view

 

So the other part of the kit then is the wireless controller. I’m sure almost everyone will agree that it has more than a passing resemblance to the Wii controller. It works in similar way to the Wii controller, it’s wireless and motion controlled but does not have the optical pickup on the front that the Wii-mote has. The unit takes 2AA batteries which are supplied and also has a built in vibrate function.

controller

The iGame wireless controller

 

Highlights

  • Good looking design
  • Great iPod conectivity
  • 10 fun games included
  • Bargain price

 

Lowlights

  • Don’t expect Wii quality gaming
  • Picture quality isn’t the greatest
  • Controller vibrate function annoying

 

Review

I have to be honest that when I first eyed the iGame and looked at the price I wasn’t expecting a lot from it. It comes in at a price point that’s not much more expensive than a regular TV dock for the iPod or iPhone but with the added gaming element I wondered if the overall result would be poor. So lets take a look.

Setting up the iGame really is a piece of cake. There’s a pretty detailed getting started guide but to be honest I don’t think that most people will need it. It’s just a case of plugging the unit in to the power cable and then in to the TV and switching on, it’s no more difficult than that.

When you first plug in and turn you are welcomed by iGame splash screen and a note saying ‘powered by Elonex’. The screen only appears for a few seconds before you are dropped in to the main menu. What you see on the menu when you first turn on depends on whether or not you have an iPod sitting in the dock.

Assuming that you have an iPod docked you’ll see a menu that lists the types of media on your device and then you can use the wireless remote to navigate through Music, Videos, Shuffle Songs, Settings and Now Playing. This is where you can set up play back of the media stored on the iPod then.

main-menu

iGame main menu screen

You need to think of the iGame dock in two parts really. One being the more traditional TV dock and the other the gaming element. The reason I say this is that as I already mentioned you can play back the media stored on the iPod and obviously play the games BUT where I was surprised here is that you don’t have to have the iPod or iPhone docked in order to play the games. I thought that the iPod would be an integral part of the game playing but that’s not the case so even if you didn’t own an iPod you could play the games on the iGame!

So looking at the media elements first the iGame brings the same sort of functionality that you would find on your iPod to the large screen. You can go in to music and look through albums, songs, and artists as well as podcasts etc. The menu system is well laid out and almost identical in structure to the one on the iPod itself so takes no getting used to.

Video playback is much the same you can go in a look at the various video sources that you have and then play them back on the TV. Bare in mind though that the resolution of your iPod screen is much lower than that of almost all TV’s so don’t the iPod dock to upscale these small movies to HD for you. Sure the video will fill the screen but depending on the quality of the source footage the results can vary greatly. I downloaded a music video from iTunes to use for testing and the results were acceptable, I’d happily sit through a movie played back on there but I’d make sure it wasn’t my latest favourite, that’s what Blu-ray is for!

DPP_2871

Music video on the iGame (anyone guess who this is?)

So media-wise the iGame dock is good. It’s handy to be able to navigate through everything from the comfort of the sofa with the wireless remote and audio playback is perfectly OK. I suspect that something like this will come in handy this Christmas with a house-full of guests!

 

On to the games part of the iGame. As I mentioned already I was surprised that you can play the games without an iPod being docked but you can! When you turn on simply press the triangle button on the controller to enter the games menu.

iGame game selection screen

iGame game selection screen

There are a total of ten games included on the iGame. A god selection of sports and puzzles games:

Tennis, Bowling, Trampoline, Table Tennis, Dart and Tanks are all motion controlled action games, where you might want to stand up to play them! If you want something more cerebral then there’s SuDoKu, Tangram and Firecracker that do not require the motion control but instead use the D-pad and buttons on the wireless controller.

As you enter each game you can choose either a male or female character.

players

The control method naturally depends on the game that you are playing. So for example, tennis and table tennis require a more sideways motion where bowling requires that you swing the controller in a more natural bowling motion. Watching someone play the Trampoline game is definitely amusing!

If you’ve ever played on the Wii then you’ll pick the games up right away, controls are pretty intuitive really but when you start each game it does explain how the controls work for that particular one.

The Bowling game

The Bowling game

The bowling game is definitely our favourite. Requiring you to swing the controller under-arm and press and release the trigger at the right time during the swing. Not as easy as it sounds.

Overall the game graphics are pretty good and most games are 3D. They wont compete graphically with the Xbox or even the Wii but then they could hardly be expected to! The games are fairly simplistic in that you play them win or lose then that’s it, there’s no complex unlocking of certain things when you achieve a high-score or the like but again that’s to be expected and is in some ways a benefit in that you can just pick a game, play for 10 minutes and then turn it off, they are not overly demanded of your time so you can play from literally 5 minutes to 5 hours if you want.

Additional games can be purchased online from the Elonex store and I guess that’s what we need the iGame card slot on the back of the unit for. I didn’t try to add games to the unit but I understand that new games are inexpensive to buy.

My biggest bug bare with the system was the vibrate function of the wireless controller. It’s an annoying buzzy thing inside the controller that cant be turned off it would seem. What made it worse was that almost every action in some games resulted in a buzz from the controller. Wish there was an option in the setting to turn this off but sadly there’s not one that I can find and in fact the settings menu is pretty sparse with just language and PAL/NTSC settings that are of any note.

 

 

Conclusion

Overall the Elonex iGame is an impressive product that provides good value entertainment and iPod connectivity. The games were able to keep two adults amused for a few hours one evening and we’ve been back to play for short periods of time since.

Don’t try to compare this to the Wii. The games and controls are no where near as goods as the Wii but don’t take that as too harsh a criticism of the iGame, consider the cost here and what else if can do too.

This isn’t a product that I would add to my living room but certainly a good addition to a young persons bedroom setup and a worthy addition to anyone’s Christmas list!

 

Don’t forget this is one of the prizes you could win in our Christmas competition this year too so check out the competition post too!

 

Review by: Matt

Posted in: Reviews
By November 24, 2009 Read More →

HTC Tattoo Ink mini-review

You may have seen a while ago my review of the HTC Tattoo. Well, Orange recently sent me there own version of the the Tattoo and for some reason that I cannot think of they have changed the name slightly and called it the Tattoo Ink.

 

HTC Tattoo Ink

Orange HTC Tattoo Ink

 

Despite the name change and the new colour of the phone, yes blue!, they have made a pretty good job of rebranding the Tattoo.

Orange have added a few bits of software to the Tattoo and in my opinion made it a wee bit better.

First off is Orange Maps. I first used Orange maps some time ago and I actually really liked it so this is a huge bonus getting it pre installed on the Tattoo (Ink). Orange Maps is a free service as long as you pay over £30 per month and on PAYG its only £4.89 per month which I don’t think is too bad. All data is included in the costs as the maps are downloaded to your device as required. For an extra £2.45 per month you can subscribe to some premium features such as live traffic alerts, safety camera alerts and auto re-routing in case of heavy traffic. I have not tried these features but I am sure they work just fine.

 

Next up is Orange Messenger which is essentially Windows Live (MSN). I don’t remember this being on the HTC Tattoo so this again is a bonus.

 

Finally is Orange Photo. This is a service that enables you to upload your photos to the cloud. Here you can store up to 1GB of photos and in addition you can then organise them, arrange prints and turn the photos into fun stuff such as Christmas cards or fridge magnets.

 

There may be other changes but without the original Tattoo here its hard to remember. As you can imagine we get to play with a lot of phones!

So all in all a pretty good job by Orange apart from the name. Good job!

 

Posted by: James

 

Posted in: Reviews
By November 24, 2009 Read More →

Sony Ericsson Aino Review

Sony Ericsson are producing some nice looking handsets at the moment and the Aino looks pretty sweet too. Is it the perfect device for those of you that like the traditional slide out key pad?

 

Aino-dock

Sony Ericsson Aino with Dock

 

What’s in the box:

  • Phone
  • Battery
  • Charger/Dock
  • Bluetooth Headset
  • USB cable
  • Warranty/User Guide

You can view Matt’s Sony Ericsson Aino unboxing video for more.

 

The ten second review:

Device: Sony Ericsson Aino

Cost: £391.00

Summary: A smart looking traditional feature phone with some impressive features.

Best of: 3G, GPS, Wi-Fi, Camera.

Worst of: Keyboard, Video.

Buy it now from: Clove

 

Sony Ericsson Specification:

  • On Board Memory – Up to 55MB
  • Display – 3 inch- 240 x 432 pixels – 16,777,216 True Colour TFT
  • Operating Frequency – GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 & UMTS/HSPA 850/900/2100
  • Bluetooth technology
  • Wi-Fi
  • DLNA Certified
  • Google Maps
  • PictBridge Synchronisation
  • USB mass storage mode
  • A-GPS
  • MicroSD Slot
  • 8.1 megapixel camera
  • 16x digital zoom – Photo flash – Video recording – Auto focus – Face detection
  • Battery – Talk time GSM: Up to 13 hrs, Standby time GSM: Up to 380 hrs
  • Dimensions – 104 x 50 x 15.5 mm
  • Weight – 134 grams with battery

 

General:

A single button sits on the top of the Aino. This shuts off the screen.

Aino-top

Sony Ericsson Aino top

 

On the left side of the device is the Sony Ericsson propriety USB socket.

Aino-left

Sony Ericsson Aino left side

 

The right side house the up/down volume rocker as well as a dedicated camera button.

Aino-right

Sony Ericsson Aino from the right

 

On the rear of the handset is the camera lens and flash. In addition there is a nice Sony Ericsson logo.

Aino-back

Sony Ericsson Aino from the rear

 

The front of the device, when closed, has no visible buttons and only a speaker grill at the top.

Aino_front

Sony Ericsson Aino front (closed)

 

With the phone slid open there are tons of buttons.

Aino-angled-open

Sony Ericsson Aino open

 

Highlights

  • Wi-Fi
  • 3G
  • GPS
  • Camera

Lowlights

  • Keyboard
  • Video Camera
  • Music Quality

 

Review:

Out of the box the Sony Ericsson Aino feels very good. Its sleek, smooth and sits well in the hand. Its quite heavy but feels solid. Once opening the sliding keypad  the phone still feels solid but now big. From top to bottom it measures 15cm!

The Aino has a strange kind of form factor which will suit some but not others. When the device is closed the screen is touch sensitive and acts as a PMP with quick access to the camera, pictures, music, video and the radio.  This worked very well although it does not have the biggest screen for viewing pictures.

Open the keypad and the screen is now non-touch and you must use the phones buttons and track pad to navigate. Odd!

One thing I will say about the Aino is it has a lovely animated home screen. This consists of a black background with various coloured bubbles floating upwards. Its quite beautiful to watch!

On a downside, the buttons on the slide out key pad are way too small for me and too close to each other. I have not got big hands and I really struggled to navigate and type on the Aino.

When open, under the screen are two soft keys. Beneath these are the call send & end keys. Beneath them are the shortcuts and cancel keys. The track pad/wheel sits in between all the buttons and this can be used for up/down, left and right with a push button in the centre for selecting.

 

As you would have seen at the top of the page the Sony Ericsson Aino comes supplied with a charging dock and Bluetooth headset. There is not much I can say about the dock apart from it makes the device look good when its on charge. The Bluetooth headset however is a nice bonus as I saw this headset for sale the other day in an O2 store for £60.00.

So lets have a look at the main features on the Aino.

Using the web browser was a bit difficult. Although the pages looked good on screen navigating was a bit of a pain using the track pad. You get an onscreen arrow (mouse pointer) and this can be moved up/down/left & right. If the Aino had a track ball or optical track pad like on a Blackberry this would have much nicer as you can move diagonally, but this cannot be done on the Aino and I just found that selecting text was time consuming. The mouse movements were also jumpy which again didn’t help doing stuff quickly. The browser does auto rotate but using this with the track pad is a bit strange.

 

Most features on the Aino are very similar to on the Sony Ericsson Satio that I reviewed recently. Like the Satio the messaging applications are straight forward and setting up an email account is simple. The Aino is just let down buy its key pad.

 

The Sony Ericsson Aino comes with an 8.1MP camera built in and this was one of its better features. The photos I took in daylight came out rather well and once on the computer I was able to crop and zoom and still retain a good quality image. Low light photos are no problem. The flash on the Aino is more than capable of lighting up nearby objects. I was quite impressed. Not so impressive was the video quality and that’s all I am saying on the subject.

 

Listening to music on the Aino was surprisingly not all that special. The sound just lacked the wow factor which we have become used to on so many devices. Very disappointing. On the up side though the supplied Bluetooth headset is nice. It consists of standard in-ear headphones that connect to a bass unit which houses the controls. Would I buy the headset on its own – no, but for free its okay. I would have tried some other headphones out to see if the bad music quality was due to the supplied ones but as Sony Ericsson have used their propriety socket this meant I didn’t have any that were compatible

 

The last feature I am going to comment on is GPS. The Sony Ericsson Aino comes with A-GPS which is always good for a quick fix of where you are. I firstly tested Google maps and it worked a treat. Also built in is WisePilot, a GPS navigation program. The good news is I tried it and it seemed to work perfectly. The bad news is the maps are not stored on the handset but downloaded over the air as required, so if you are going to use it a lot then please make sure you have a decent data plan to prevent extra costs from your network provider. I liked WisePilot but I certainly wouldn’t give up using TomTom or CoPilot for it. Nice to have for emergencies though.

 

Conclusion:

The Sony Ericsson Aino is definitely suited to people who currently use this form factor of a slide out key board. It’s jam packed with features and seems to perform fairly well. As you have probably gathered it’s not my cup of tea but like most devices this all comes down to personal preference and what you are going to use the device for.  For a phone that does not excel in many departments it is rather expensive to buy sim free, but it does have that beautiful animated home screen!

 

Posted by: James

Posted in: Reviews
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