Archive for 2008
Flutter has just been released in the App Store and this service gives you the ability to send MMS messages. What’s more and this is the best bit it does not need a jailbroken phone as this is an official application available through iTunes. It doesn’t help with receiving MMS messages, your still stuck with a web page link from your operator but at least its a big improvement to what we have. Full details and links after the break.
Looks like Sony Ericsson are going to be really pushing the launch of the Xperia X1, the guys over at the SEMC Blog have spotted some interesting advertisements which will shortly be appearing in the press. We have them after the break. Also don’t forget on the 15th of September to join the live in depth video demonstration and questions session online at 1pm GMT+1 if you want to see the device in more detail.
A few weeks ago we attended the Palm Treo Pro launch even in London and since then I’ve been trying to get my hands on a review unit. Finally managed to get my hands on one last Friday and have spent the last few days ‘playing’ with it.
The Palm Treo Pro
So far I’m quite happy with the Treo Pro, battery life seems really good and I quite like the fixed QWERTY keyboard rather than a slider. The OS is quite fast thanks to the 400MHz CPU and 128MB RAM.
I dislike the fact that it uses a Micro USB cable rather than Mini USB – every other device that I own, from Cameras to WM phones, has a Mini USB so this now means another cable to carry. I guess no big deal but it means I have to remember to take it with me if I think that I might need to charge or sync. Interestingly, when we saw the previews of the Treo Pro the other week, we commented that Micro USB cables were a lot easier to insert the wrong way and therefore damage the socket. We said that there needs to be an arrow or mark on the USB cable to show which way up. In the final version Palm sent me this week they have in fact done that!
The screen on the Treo Pro is a 320 x 320 touchscreen which is fairly unusual, I can think of only a few other devices that run at this res. This can cause problems with some third-party software so if you plan to use anything on the Treo you’ll want to check it’s compatible. The LCD screen also seems quite well set back from the flush front of the device. For me it makes stylus use feel a bit strange and somehow disconnected from what I see on screen.
I am possibly being a little over critical of the Treo Pro, overall I quite like the all in one design, the fact that it has built-in GPS and WiFi is good too. Have a look at the unboxing video which should act as a nice teaser before the review later on!
Palm Treo Pro specification:
- Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition
- Qualcomm MSM7201 400MHz CPU
- 256MB storage (100MB user available), 128MB RAM
- 320×320 transflective colour TFT touchscreen
- HSDPA/UMTS/EDGE/GPRS/GSM radio
- Tri-band UMTS — 850MHz, 1900MHz, 2100MHz
- Quad-band GSM — 850/900/1800/1900
- Wi-Fi – 802.11b/g with WPA, WPA2, and 801.1x authentication
- Bluetooth Version: 2.0 Enhanced Data Rate
- MicroUSB 2.0 for synchronization and charging
- Built-in GPS
- 2.0 megapixels, up to 8x digital zoom and video capture
- Removable, rechargeable 1500mAh lithium-ion; up to 5.0 hours talk time and up to 250 hours standby
- microSDHC cards (up to 32GB supported)
- 3.5mm stereo headset jack
- 60mm (W) x 114mm (L) x 13.5mm (D);
- 133 grams
EDIT: Our Palm Treo Pro review is now live!
Posted by: Matt
EB and TerreStar are working to bring to market the world’s first quad-band GSM and tri-band WCDMA/HSPA smartphone reference design with integrated satellite-terrestrial voice and data capabilities in a compact form factor. It will be a fully IP-based satellite handset reference design using high speed packet data. The smartphone reference design will have a touch screen and a full QWERTY keyboard and based on Windows Mobile.
If you are a regular on tracyandmatt you’ll remember that I recorded the Palm Treo Pro launch event a few weeks ago. At the time I mentioned that the Camcorder that I was using at the time didn’t perform very well in the low light conditions at the event and that I was looking for a replacement.
So over in the last few weeks I started looking for a new camcorder that I could use to record our unboxing videos but that would also be small and light enough to take out to press events without contributing too much to my already overloaded kit bag. I for the sake of convenience, also wanted a camera that recorded footage on to memory cards rather than DVD or Tape (yes the still make DV camcorders). I preferred to have camera that could record HD but this wasn’t essential, it was the recording quality that mattered most as our videos would always be scaled down for web-streaming anyway. Finally I didn’t want to spend a fortune on the camera; about £200 – £250 was ideal.
As you can imagine, there are a lot of models to choose from within the requirements set out above and it was difficult to decide which one would suit me best. So I decided it would be a good idea to perform a group test of some camcorders that fit the bill. Not only would it help me to select the model I wanted but would also make for an interesting series of posts here on the site.
The models that we short-listed (and were able to get hold of) are the Sanyo Xacti HD700, Panasonic SD7, Canon FS100 and Toshiba Camileo H10.
All of the cameras record on to SD memory cards. The Sanyo and the Toshiba are capable of recording at 720p whereas the Canon and Panasonic record SD.
|
Sanyo Xacti HD700 |
Canon FS100 |
Toshiba Camileo H10 |
Panasonic SDR-S7 |
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Effective Pixel Count |
Approx. 7.1 megapixels |
1.07 megapixels |
10.48 megapixels |
0.8 megapixels |
|
Camera Element |
1/2.5 inch, 7.38-megapixel CCD (total) |
1/6" Interlaced CCD |
1/2.5 inch, 10.48 megapixel CCD |
1/6" CCD 800k Pixels |
|
Recording Media |
SDHC (up to 8 GB) |
SDHC (up to 16GB) |
SDHC (max cap. Unknown) |
SDHC (up to 16GB) |
|
Recording File Format |
Still: JPEG |
Still: JPEG |
Still: JPEG |
Still: JPEG |
|
Resolution (Pixels) Still: |
[10M] 3680 x 2760 interpolated |
1152 x 864 |
4608 x 3456 max |
JPEG size:640 x 480 |
|
Resolution (Pixels) Video: |
[HD-SHQ] 1280 x 720 (30 fps, 9 Mbps) |
standard-definition video resolution of 720×480
|
H.264 – 1280 x 720 – 30 fps |
640 x 840 XP (10Mbps/VBR) |
|
Zoom |
5.0x optical zoom lens |
37x optical zoom lens |
5.0x optical zoom lens |
10.0x optical zoom lens |
|
Digital Zoom |
Shooting: Max. 12x |
2000x digital zoom |
4x digital zoom |
10 – 700x Digital |
|
Focus |
Auto (Stills: 9-point AF), Manual |
Auto/Manual |
Auto |
Auto/Manual |
|
Sensitivity |
Still: Auto (ISO 50–400), Manual (ISO 50/100/200/400/800/1600/3200) |
1.7 Lux Minimum Illumination |
? |
2 Lux Minimum Illumination |
|
Self-Timer |
2 sec. or 10 sec. |
2 sec. or 10 sec. |
10 sec. |
No |
|
Flash |
Auto/Forced/Off |
No |
Auto/Forced/Off |
No |
|
Audio |
Microphone: Built-in stereo |
Stereo Mic |
Stereo Mic |
Stereo Zoom Mic, Wind Noise Reduction |
|
LCD Monitor |
2.7-inch, TFT color wide screen LCD, Approx. 230,000 pixels |
2.7” Wide LCD (123,200 pixels) |
2.7” Wide LCD (123,200 pixels) |
2.7” Wide LCD (123,200 pixels) |
|
Interfaces |
Via docking cradle: AV output (HDMI/component video/S-video/composite video, Audio: stereo sound), USB 2.0 |
AV output (S-video/composite video, Audio: stereo sound), USB 2.0 |
AV output (HDMI/composite video, Audio: stereo sound), USB 2.0 |
AV output (S-video/composite video, Audio: stereo sound), USB 2.0 |
|
Power Source |
Lithium-ion battery (1200 mAh) |
Lithium-ion battery |
Lithium-ion battery |
Lithium-ion battery |
|
Approx. Battery Life |
Stills: CIPA standard approx. 180 images |
TBC |
TBC |
TBC |
|
Dimensions |
73.7 x 109.0 x 35.0 mm |
58 x 60 x 124 mm |
56 x 117 x 65 mm |
41.0 x 59.0 x 102.0 mm |
|
Weight |
Approx. 189 g (main unit only), Approx. 214 g (including battery and SD card) |
260 g with battery |
340 g with battery |
Approx. 165 g w/o Battery |
|
Price (Amazon) |
£249.00 |
£215.00 |
£173.00 |
£228.00 |
Over the next few weeks, with Nigel’s help, we are going to be testing the four camcorders under real world, general use conditions as well as for the specific job I need them for. We’ll have an unboxing and a sample video from each camera as well as a short review and then we’ll have a final summary post at the end where we’ll pick the camcorder that we’ve decided to buy.
If you have any questions or comments along the way then please do get in touch through our contact page!
Part 2 of the group test is now live – check out the Panasonic SDR-S7 review!
Part 3 of the group test is now live – check out the Toshiba Camileo H10 review!
Part 4 of the group test is now live – check out the Sanyo Xacti HD700 review!
Posted by: Matt
Who’s leading in the market share for Q2 2008? Jkontherun has posted an interesting article and marketshare breakdown of smartphone adoption. The figures are surprising as RIM and Symbian were very much leading the pack in 2Q 2007 and have since managed to increase the gap. Have a look at the article after the break.
Steve Trotto over at Mobile Tech Moment has posted his latest podcast episode number 4. If you haven’t listened to it yet you should check it out. In this episode it’s all about the iPhone 2.1 update and early impressions of what it fixes and if it is the answer to our problems. He is joined by David Ciccone, J Doss and Bill all from Mobility Today. You can get all the details here.
The Kinoma Play software that we recently reviewed has received a second update to make it all run much smoother and faster. Check out our review here. If you are already using it then you can go to "Check for updates" and it will automatically install the update. If your not using it you definitely should give it a try as it is a great piece of software. Full list of fixes after the break.
The iPhone 2.1 software update in now available to update your iPhone 2G and 3G in iTunes. The iPhone 2.1 software update contains many bug fixes and improvements and is a highly recommended update. To get it, connect your iPhone to your computer using iTunes 8 and click Check for Update. Here are a list of updates.
We have some superb Friday deals for you from eXpansys. We’ve managed to get these products to a great price point and the deal won’t last long!
Normally £229.99 Special price only £99.99 inc VAT, save £130
BenQ E72 Smartphone Special UK Email Offer
Normally £99.99 Special price only £79.99 inc VAT, Save £20
OQO model e2 with Vista Ultimate
version: 1.5GHz, 1GB RAM, 60GB HDD, Vista Ultimate
Normally £1099.99 Special price only £699.99 inc VAT, save £400
OQO model 2 with Vista Business
version: 1.5GHz, 1GB RAM, 60GB HDD, Vista Bus, Office
Normally £1229.99 Special price only £764.99 inc VAT, save £465
* Special pricing only applies between 11am and 4pm UK time, normal pricing will resume at 4pm on Friday 12th September 2008. Deals available while stocks last. eXpansys/partner voucher codes do not apply with these deals, limited to 2 units per customer.
Posted by: Matt
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