Phones

O2 XDA Zinc reviewed

We know that a lot of you have been following the progress of the XDA Zinc eagerly awaiting its launch here in the UK which is said to be later this month. Well to give you a quick Zinc fix the people over at Kaitech.hk have a review of the device for your reading pleasure.

Just before you head off to the review I should warn you that it’s not all rosy and that the device appears to be somewhat buggy:

Matt

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone, Pocket PC, Tracy & Matt, XDA Zinc, O2, ASUSTek, Mars 2, SPV]

Kaiser problem

I’ve just been given a Kaiser to play with and I’m having some difficulty with it!

Whilst I like how thin and light the device is I’m finding the touchscreen a bit small and although I have managed to key in a phone number I cant work out how to make the call.

Anyone have any ideas?

Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Windows Mobile blog, HTC Advantage, HTC Kaiser, HTC P4550, Tracy & Matt]

HTC P6500 appears

Yes it’s yet another new device from HTC, this time it’s the HTC P6500. The P6500 rather differnt to the devices that we have come to expect from HTC. The d-pad looks rather unusual.

The HTC P6500 (aka HTC Sirius) has an anticipated release date of August 2007. With the 3.5″ Screen the overall size is expected to be about the same as the HTC BlueAngel.

HTC P6500 Specification:

Note the larger than average screen size is still only QVGA and the seeming lack of 3G/HSDPA. There are also rumours that the P6500 includes a biometric fingerprint reader!

Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Windows Mobile blog, HTC Advantage, HTC Sirius, HTC P6500, Tracy & Matt]

HTC P4550 appears

Another new device from HTC, this time it’s the HTC P4550 (aka HTC Kaiser). The P4550 is another device believed to be part of the 2007 line-up.

The HTC P4550, an HTC Kaiser based device, supersedes the HTC TyTN and is expected to arrive in Q2 2007.

HTC Kaiser (P4550) specification:

Note the beefed up 2.8 Megapixel autofocus camera and built in GPS inside the 18mm thick chasis!

Latest pre-order information can be found HERE.

Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Windows Mobile blog, HTC Advantage, HTC Kaiser, HTC P4550, Tracy & Matt]

Orange SPV M700 GPS

Edit: Our Orange SPV M700 review is now online!

A lot of you have been asking us about the GPS on the Orange SPV M700 so I thought I would just clear this up.

I can confirm that the Orange SPV M700 definitely 100% has a built in GPS unit. I already have an SPV M700 which we are in the process of reviewing and I have been using the GPS.

It’s probably worth pointing out too that other HTC Trinity based devices (HTC P3600 / Dopod D810 / Dopod CHT 9100 etc.) also have the built in GPS but some of them have the unit disabled in the ROM. We have mentioned before that it is possible to replace the ROM on any Trinity device with a differnt ROM that will enable the GPS, a number of people have already done this successfully.

I’ve been asked this a lot of times already but NO you cannot load the Trinity ROM on to another device (ie. the Orange M3100) in order to “enable its dormant GPS” because the HTC Hermes does NOT have any GPS hardware built in!

Matt

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Tracy & Matt, Orange, M700, HTC Trinity, HTC P3600, SPV, Orange SPV M700]

Samsung i718 appears

While it shouldn’t be long before the i600 is available in the UK another device from Samsung has appeared on the web. This time it’s the Samsung i718.

The i718 is a rather beautiful looking, thin device but when you look beneath the surface it might start to loose it’s appeal. To begin with there is no 3G or HSDPA, no WiFi and strangely, at a time when everyone else is moving to WM6 this device is said to be WM5! That said, the specification could well be different in the released version.

Samsung i718 Specification:

Matt

[Post tags: smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Tracy & Matt, Samsung SGH-i718, Ultra Messaging, Samsung Windows Mobile blog]

Pay for burgers with your mobile?

Just when you thought you had heard just about every use for a mobile phone along comes another scheme!

Visitors to fast food outlets in Japan will soon be able to pay for their burgers with their mobile phones as Japanese mobile phone operator DoCoMo is teaming up with McDonalds to offer electronic payments and special promotions for mobile users.

Using mobile phones to pay for goods is a massive growth area as operators look for new ways to make money.

Japanese mobile owners are already leading the way, paying for food and train tickets via their handsets.

In the UK, YourRail is working with Chiltern Railways to offer commuters the chance to buy tickets with their mobile phones.

Users buy their ticket on the internet and it is delivered to their mobile phone in the form of a barcode. Gates are currently being installed at Marylebone station which will scan phones.

In Japan, DoCoMo set up a service which allows customers to use their handsets as a credit card.

I agree that this is a pretty good idea but I’m not sure that I like the idea that my mobile service provider would know so much about me and my spending habits.

Matt

[Technorati tag(s): DoCoMo, McDonalds, YourRail, mobile payments, Tracy & Matt]

Orange SPV M700 now official

Edit: Our Orange SPV M700 review is now online!

The Orange SPV M700 has been shipping for about a week now but today Orange released this official statement:

Today Orange announced the launch of the high performance and sleek SPV M700, perfect if you’re in search of a phone to help you work faster and more efficiently when you’re away from your desk. The SPV M700 offers Microsoft® Windows Mobile® 5.0 applications and incorporates Satellite Navigation so that you can always find your meeting venue in time. This follows the launch of the HTC S310 last week – the first Orange Pay As You Go smartphone.

The SPV M700 offers push email and enables high speed connectivity to information with 3G, which gives download speeds of up to 1.8Mbps where network support is available. The SPV M700 supports Microsoft Office applications including Excel, Word and PowerPoint, helping you to create and make last minute updates to documents whether you’re on the train or at home. The SPV M700 also supports EDGE networks as well as UMTS, GPRS and WiFi.

The M700 features a 2-megapixel camera allowing you to take high quality photos and videos as well as make calls via video conferencing. The M700 can even be used as a modem, by connecting it to your laptop with the USB cable.

The launch of the SPV M700 follows the recent announcement of the HTC S310, the first Orange Pay As You Go smartphone. This phone has been developed for people who love the freedom and control of a Pay As You Go but want a smarter phone that allows them to synchronize their work and personal life smoothly.

With its combination of music, video, pictures and internet on the go, the smart yet simple HTC S310 with Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 is ideal for personal use, yet it’s also great for day to day business needs. The HTC S310 allows you to synchronize contacts, calendar and emails and get instant access to important information while on the move.

Whether viewing photographs taken with its 1.3 mega-pixel camera or reading an email attachment, the compact HTC S310’s generous 2” LCD screen and sleek keypad makes it a pleasure to use and easy to navigate.

The SPV M700 is available from Orange stores and orange.co.uk and is free on contracts over £35. The HTC S310 is also available from Orange shops and orange.co.uk and costs £249.99

The SPV M700 is also available from free on business tariffs and business customers with also benefit from a free trial of Orange Sat Nav. The download provides customers with a free 7-day trial license, with the option of a lifetime license for just £95.

Matt

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Tracy & Matt, Orange, M700, HTC Trinity, HTC P3600, SPV, Orange SPV M700]

3G iPhone coming January 2008?

Apple will release a 3G enabled version of its iPhone as early as January next year according to Apple rumours website Appleinsider.com.

According to the site, “After threatening to drop a large-scale cellular service contract based on concerns that it would lock itself out of a trade-up to the iPhone, a Swedish firm has received assurances from its liaison at the provider that the coveted gadget would arrive as soon as September – and, startlingly, that a version of the handset with 3G wireless internet access would be in the provider’s hands as soon as January of 2008”.

The move, if true, would mean Apple would be releasing a second version of its yet un released phone just months after a UK launch and just 6 months after its US launch.

It would also mean that Apple would be able to offer iTunes music and film downloads and surf the internet quicker over the air via a 3G network without users having to rely on finding a Wi-Fi hotspot.

However there isn’t anything in the rumour that suggests a 3G enabled device could be coming to the UK or the US anytime soon.

Matt

[Technorati tag(s): iPhone, Apple, OS X, Cisco, Tracy & Matt]

HTC Hermes hard reset

Recently we have been getting a lot of emails from people asking how to hard-reset their Orange SPV M3100 or TyTN etc. so here’s how:

Hold down the two soft-keys (the ones below the screen) and while you have them held down you poke the reset button with your stylus. You’ll then see a message on the screen saying ‘press R to reset, X to exit’. Pressing the R key on the keyboard will hard-reset the device. It’ll now take a few minutes to reboot and load all of the operator customisation etc.

This procedure will hard reset the HTC TyTN, Vodofone v1605 and all other HTC Hermes variants.

Matt

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Tracy & Matt, HTC TyTN, HTC, Orange SPV M3100, hard reset]