Citrix held their iForum 2009 this week in Singapore. Among the announcements came news that Citrix was working on their Receiver application for Android. Citrix specialises in virtualization and remote access software for business. This allows a central server to deliver applications over the internet to a number of devices. Citrix Receiver is currently available for iPhone.
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| eXpansys Friday Deals: Selected deals between 11am and 4pm, 31st July 2009 | |||||
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*Voucher codes do not apply with these deals. Limited to 2 units per customer, available while stocks last. |
Posted by: Matt
[ Post Tags: expansys, deals, special offers, tracyandmatt.co.uk ]
ZiiLABS announced Tuesday they were launching Plaszma, their new open standards development platform. At the heart of the news was the Zii EGG StemCell Computer, a new device capable of running Android. The press release was filled with marketing fluff and hard to follow, but I have attempted to break down the top points and what this means for Android.
The Traxdata EZ Drive YEGO is a 4GB flash memory USB storage device which doubles up as a two-port USB hub. Quite a nice concept so we’ll see if it’s practical.
Traxdata EZ Drive YEGO 4GB
Technical Details:
. USB Flash Drive
. 2 Port Hub
. Unique and Funky Design
. Conforms to USB Specification 2.0
. Backwards compatible with USB Specification 1.1
. Supports PC Windows 98SE/2000/ME/XP/Vista, Mac OS 8.6/9.x/10.x, Linux Kernel 2.4 and above
. True Plug & Play Connection to the USB port
. Non-volatile memory, no battery required
. Data to be preserved up to 10 years
. Supports Booting from HDD
. Optional partition and security function provided
. LED light indicates usage status
. Power Supply: Powered via USB port. No external power or battery needed
. Power save: Support power saving mode to reduce power consumption
Review:
The general concept of the Traxdata EZ Drive YEGO is great! It’s a USB memory stick (in this case 4GB) and a 2 port USB hub so that you still have the capacity to plug in other devices whilst using the memory stick.
This review model didn’t come in any real packaging but I’m guessing there isn’t much with it anyway as it’s a ‘Plug & Play’ device. From looking around on the web it looks like it would come in plastic packaging, and this ‘Y’ shaped gadget comes in a few different colours too.
It’s very lightweight yet feels solid enough that it could withstand a few bumps.
As a memory stick it functions just as you would expect. With the ‘Plug & Play’ connection the computer takes a few moments the first time you connect it to your pc to set up the relevant drivers needed and then you are ready to use it. Copying files to and from the device is straight forward, and as it is a USB 2.0 connection the file transfer speed is quite fast.
This one has a 4GB capacity. To give you a rough idea of how much will fit onto 4GB – it will hold approximately 1639 photos (based on a 5MP camera and a file size of 2.5MB) or 1000 songs/66 hours of music (obviously this will depend of the file size again).
As mentioned, it is also a 2 port USB hub. You can see in the pictures where the sockets are. This is a great idea so that although you are using a USB port on your PC you are still able to plug other USB devices in.
I tried it out and it worked perfectly. No issues at all. But, there is one small issue that you may encounter which depending what kind of PC or laptop you are using. If you have two USB ports side by side you won’t be able to use the other port when this is plugged in due to its shape. Not to worry though as there are the two ports on the device of course! But, some laptops have vertical USB ports. If your laptop in on a desk or table you will find that the ‘Y’ shape makes it impossible to plug in, so you would need to have the laptop on your knee or a laptop riser in order to use the USB device.
Traxdata EZ Drive YEGO 4GB
Conclusion:
The Traxdata EZ Drive YEGO is a nifty little device letting you save data onto the memory stick without it hogging the USB port you have plugged it into. It doubles up as a 2 port USB port which essentially frees up the USB port you are using as well as providing you with an extra port.
The only real issue is the ‘Y’ shape. I’m not talking about the look of it – it actually looks quite good and unique. What I mean here is that the ‘Y’ shape can actually be impractical depending on the location and/or orientation of your USB port.
Over all, a good device. Just have a look at where your USB ports are before considering purchasing a Traxdata EZ Drive YEGO!
Reviewed by: Emma
You may recall that we unboxed and reviewed the Sony Ericsson C905 recently so when we are asked if we would review the Sony Ericsson C903 a few days ago my initial reaction was that this would just be a cut down version of the C905. Despite there being some obvious similarities between the two handsets the C903 looks fairly different. The C903 has only a 5MP camera where the C905 is 8MP and the C903 has a more plastic feel to it.
There are lots of comparisons to be made between the two handsets so I think they are best left to the full review but for now have a look at my brief unboxing video below.
Note that I mention the memory card support in the video and incorrectly stated that it supported MicroSD cards, in fact the C903 uses M2 memory cards.
Sony Ericsson C903 specification:
Packed full of features the C903 Cyber-shot™ will give you the best picture possible with Face Detection, finding up to three people in the frame at a time and Smile Shutter™ which automatically picks out beaming smiles. Snap up to nine images in quick succession using BestPic™, pick your best and delete the rest.
Show off your images with the crystal clear, auto rotating 2.4” display, send them to your blog or connect to your TV screen using the TV-out function and get up close and personal.
The C903 Cyber-shot™ also comes complete with aGPS – never lose track of where you took an image or where you are – simply tag your photos to a location or use the feature to find your way home or to the pub.
Posted by: Matt
It’s still a few months to go before we see the Archos 9 tablet on store shelves (October 22) but we would like to catch the complete specifications this early before handing our $500 to a retail store. You can’t find the Archos 9 specs list on the Archos site but some people in Europe managed to dig it up.
[via pmptoday, archoslounge]
Well it happened a little earlier than we al expected but today we started hearing reports that the HTC Hero has started shipping with many UK retailers receiving limited supplies today so if you haven’t already pre-ordered the HTC Hero you might want to get your skates on before they sell out. If other recent HTC devices are anything to go by there might be a delay between the first and second shipments!
The current deals on the HTC Hero that we are aware of are as follows:
eXpansys have the HTC Hero in stock for £399.99 with £30 of eXpansys vouchers thrown in – details HERE
SuperETrader have HTC Hero devices in stock for £395.60 with a free 8GB memory card – details HERE
Clove Technology have the HTC Hero in stock also for £395.60 – details HERE
Devicewire.com have the HTC Hero in stock also for £394.99 (or £10 less with our HEROTAM discount code!) and free delivery – details HERE
Posted by: Matt
The guys from Clove have just let me know that the HTC Hero has arrived into stock and is available from today for overnight shipping. The model they have is the white one and can be used officially on any GSM network in the UK.
You can order it now from Clove and hopefully we will be getting a review device very soon.
Introduction:
In June this year Samsung hosted launch events called “Samsung Mobile Unpacked” in London, Dubai and Singapore. This event saw the live launch of the Samsung S8000 Jet. The device is advertised as being “smarter than a smartphone”. Let’s see if Samsung are right?
The ten second review:
Device: Samsung S8000 Jet
Price: £320.85
Summary: A beautiful device jam-packed with features.
Best of: AMOLED Screen, User friendly.
Worst of: Video recording
What’s in the box?
Also have a look at Matt’s Samsung S8000 JET unboxing video for more.
General:
The top of the handset contains the 3.5mm headset socket and the micro USB port.
On the left hand side only a volume up/down rocker can be found.
The right hand side houses three buttons. The one nearest the top is the device lock button. The middle launches a cube style menu as well as motion features and the bottom key is a dedicated camera key.
On the front of the handset at the top are the secondary camera lens and also a light sensor. At the bottom are the send/end keys as well as a menu quick launch button.
The rear of the device contains the 5MP camera lens as well as the flash. The nice thing about the back is that at certain angles it looks black but when the light hits it right it has a deep red colour.
Highlights:
Lowlights:
Review
I was looking forward to the Samsung JET arriving on my doorstep. I have always been a Samsung fan and have owned more than ten of their handsets over the years. I was intrigued to see how the Jet compared to its main rival (which I would say is the LG Arena) and also if it was as smart as Samsung say it is. As I recently reviewed the Arena I was looking forward to the battle!
After opening the box for the first time I was pleased with the look and feel of the Jet. At only 99 grams the handset is very solid and just feels well made.
The design of the phone is just as good as the build. Its plastic casing is smooth and its rounded edges make it feel comfortable to hold.
The Jet comes with a case inside the box. This is only for protection and does not have a belt clip/loop. I initially thought this was a nice add-on but the case is made of thin plastic and feels cheap.
Using the Samsung JET was a real pleasure and a better experience than I imagined it would be. The AMOLED screen is absolutely stunning! Its colours are so bright and vibrant.
Samsung use there Touchwiz interface on the Jet. This contains the widgets bar on the left of the screen. From here you can drag and drop widgets of your choice onto the home screen. A nice additional feature is that you can swipe the home screen left or right to give you a total of three home screens. By adding widgets to these it can give you quick access to your most used features. For example: on one home screen I had the myspace, facebook and youtube widgets. The only downside to these are that they are not applications but links to the websites. Still a great feature if you use them a lot but not perfect. Could be “smarter” Samsung!
At the bottom of the screen are four on-screen shortcut keys. These are keypad, phonebook, messages and main menu. These work like a dream as the screen is so responsive.
Another shortcut option is the button next to the camera button. A short press of this button opens up a cube interface which contains easy access to the media features on the handset (photos, music, video, radio, games and internet). Although a nice looking feature I found this a bit of a novelty after a while and I could access these features just as quickly through the main menu. It looks nice though!
A longer press of the same button opens up the motion sensor. This teaches you how to use movement and taps to change music tracks etc. I couldn’t get along with this option and found it quite frustrating! Again, it sounds a nice feature but how many people are going to be walking down the street listening to music and then waving there phone around in the air just to skip a track. It may be quite funny to watch though!
Using the Samsung music player was a nice experience. Once opened the player is extremely easy to use with nice big on screen buttons and a graphic equalizer. If the phone is rotated into landscape the screen auto rotates and shows you the albums cover work. You can then scroll left or right to choose the album you wish to listen to.
The sound quality was not as good as I expected though. The supplied Samsung earphones are nice and I actually use these myself but I have had better quality on a lot of other devices. The speaker produced a decent volume but lacked the sound quality. This is one of the few areas where the LG Arena was much better.
Creating both SMS and email on the Jet is a quick and simple. The onscreen keypad is great as the keys are big and responsive. You also have the option to auto rotate the screen and this gives you a full QWERTY keypad. Although in this option the keys are smaller it is still easy to use and with the T9 option messages can be typed with minimal mistakes. The Jet also gives you the option to use handwriting recognition. This actually works well but if its speed you want then stick to using the keypad.
The Jet also has email capabilities. The only down side to this is that you need to input all the settings manually. This is something most “smartphones” do automatically. The upside to this is that you only have to do it once and once it’s done it works well.
The phone contacts menu on the Samsung JET is super cool. It will store up to 2000 contacts and each contact can have a photo attached. In addition there personal information such as email and home address can be stored. A nice feature.
The main menu on the handset is beautiful. The background in the menu is black and this really makes the colours of the menu icons jump out. The main menu consists of three pages and again these can be accessed by swiping left or right. As there are twelve icons per page its very easy to find what you want, unlike some other operating systems which will have you going into folders to find the feature you need.
Web browsing on the Jet is pretty nice. The pages render well and it gives you the option to tap the screen to zoom. Using the Jets Wi-Fi is an added bonus and the whole browsing experience was as good as any other “feature phone”. A nice feature is that you can have several pages open at the same time. By clicking an on screen button you can view the pages you have open and then scroll left or right to select the chosen page. This is actually better than on a lot of “smartphones”.
The 5MP camera does a reasonable job. Its pictures are not fantastic but are as good as you would expect. What really helps though is how easy the camera features are to use. The on screen option buttons make changing the cameras setting simple. There is a nice selection of “scene” modes to choose from. These include portrait, landscape, night, sports, indoors, sunset, dawn and a few more. A decent amount for getting the right shot. The flash on the Jet is pretty decent and has an auto option as expected. There is certainly plenty of space for keeping photos. The Jet has 2GB of internal memory with the option to insert a micro SD card.
Using the video recording option though was a bit of a let down. On screen the video recording look fine but once transferred to a PC they are grainy and a bit blocky. I used QuickTime to view the videos and even watching the videos at half screen size it was not good. Compared to the LG Arena the JET’s video recording was a major let down.
As expected the Jet has lots of additional features such as alarms, calendar, radio, voice recorder, timer, stopwatch, world clock and a few more. All worked a treat and were really easy to use.
Conclusion
Overall the Samsung JET is an amazing little phone. Its jam-packed with features and so easy to use. Although the camera and video features are not as good as on the LG Arena pretty much everything else is better in my opinion.
“Smarter than a smartphone” I don’t think so! It’s smarter than most other “feature phones” but compared to Windows Mobile, Symbian and the iPhone it’s a little bit behind.
If you want a good all round device without the business features then buy a Samsung JET. I would! In fact I think I may well get one for my other half!
Review by: James
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