News

It would appear that Vodafone here in the UK have a fine selection of devices “coming soon”.

Vodafone

As well as the Nokia N97 Mini & E72 they have a couple of great offerings from Sony Ericsson, The Xperia2 and Satio. These handsets are all going to be in great demand but the one im looking forward to testing out is the HTC Tattoo. We have covered the Tattoo previously and I think it will be a great option in particular for PAYG customers wanting a low cost Android device.

HTC Tattoo

All the above devices are shown on Vodaphones website as coming in October apart from the Xperia2 which should be November. Watch this space for future updates.

Posted by: James

HTC have this week released bug fixes for there two top of the range Windows Mobile devices.

TP2 & Diamond2

The first which is available for both devices is a caller I.D update and the second is for the Diamond2 only and fixes a LED flashing light issue.

Both updates can be found at HTC’s website under the support section. (Please read carefully before updating).

Posted by: James

Many of our US readers will already know this news and the handset itself but for me it was a first on both counts.

Samsung have quietly released the second version of their 5 million unit selling Star handset.

A Terribly Designed Flyer

The latest version of this phone features the inclusion of WiFi (hence the name change) and that’s about it. No other changes have been noted even down to dimensions and features.

In what seems to be a teen based handset the Samsung Star WiFi will be available in black, silver, pink and white colours with retail price being around $250.00.

Posted by: John

I’m not sure what to make of this news yet simply because I think it’s still got me in a state of shock.

According to leaked pictures of what could be the recently WiFi certified I8305 Riedel, it looks like Samsung are about to release a Linux powered mobile phone in the UK.

Linux Based Samsung Mobile Phone

LiMo (Linux Mobile) seemed to be a forgotten dream until these pictures were revealed over at Boy Genius Report.

A Look At The O/S Menu

It could well be the success of the other open source project (namely Android) that has spurred on the LiMo foundation to work with Samsung in releasing this handset or it just could be the fact that it took that long to get it ready. Either way as a Linux user I’m well happy.

Here is what we know about the handset so far:

• Touchscreen with Haptic Feedback
• OLED Technology
• 8mp camera
• Access to the Vodafone People service

What is Vodafone People? I asked the same question (not being a Vodafone customer myself). Well Vodafone people will feature things like active contacts, location-based services and access to social networks which sounds very much like the MotoBlur service offered on the Android driven Motorola Cliq to me.

It looks like the device is to be announced on the 24th September at a press conference in London.

Posted by: John

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It turns out that I got it slightly wrong (there’s a surprise). Despite the Sign on the table saying Etna it turns out that LG’s first ever Android driven handset is actually named the LG GW620.

Although I got the name wrong I was 100% correct in saying that the phone will have a 3 inch touch screen, a slide out QWERTY keyboard and a 5mp camera.

“The LG-GW620 will appeal to first-time smartphone customers by offering a new and different kind of user experience,” said Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “Our objective is to provide a wide selection of smartphones to satisfy the diverse preferences of today’s consumers. This Android phone is just one of many smartphone models we plan to introduce worldwide in the years ahead.”

Not much else is known as yet but as you can see we now have some better images and we know that the phone is expected to be released in Europe in the fourth quarter of the year.

Posted by: John

A few days ago we spoke about the new Motorola CLIQ which will launch soon on the T-Mobile network in the USA. Turns out that the CLIQ name wont make it over here though and that the device will be sold everywhere else as the Motorola DEXT. It’s otherwise the same handset with the same Android OS, just under a different name.

A visit to Motorola’s UK website reveals some other interesting information about the DEXT including an announcement that the DEXT will launch on the Orange network here in the UK in early October. Much sooner than we anticipated!

Check out the specs. page on the Motorola site, it looks like being quite a cool device!

Hope to have our hands on one of these within the next few weeks. We’ll keep you posted!

Posted by: Matt

Well I guess that’s down to personal views but it certainly is now official that globally they carry more Android phones than any other network.

The release of the new Motorola CLIQ now gives T-Mobile 3 handsets on Google’s highly praised Operating System (G1, G2 and CLIQ).

Motorola CLIQ

The Motorola CLIQ which is due to be launched in the US (not sure when) will be the first Motorola handset to feature MotoBlur which pulls information like email messages, text messages, Facebook updates, Twitter feeds, and pictures together in one place on the main screen.

Motorola Cliq Specifications

• Carrier – T-Mobile
• Price – To Be Announced
• Released – To Be Announced
• Keyboard – Slide-out
• Operating System – Android featuring MOTOBLUR
• Processor – 528MHz MSM7201A
• Screen – 3.1-inch (est.), 320 x 480
• Headphone – 3.5mm
• Touchscreen – Capacitive
• Camera – 5MP with AF
• Bluetooth – 2.0
• Exchange – ActiveSync
• Storage – 256MB, microSD
• Battery – 1400mAh
• Weight – 163g

With the Android Market now having a very basic Facebook application it will be interesting to see how the MotoBlur version compares.

Posted by: John

On the 13th September Nokia will start selling their new 7705 Twist(TM) in the USA.

The Nokia 7705 Twist(TM)

This mobile phone is designed so that you swivel the top of it round to reveal a full qwerty keyboard. You’ll see what I mean if you have a look at the photos.

The Nokia 7705 Twist(TM)

If you’re interested, here are a fewof the specifications:

• Dimensions: 2.71" x 2.71" x 0.59"
• Weight: 3.44 ounces
• 2.4-inch, 262K TFT QVGA screen
• Usage time: up to 270 minutes or Standby time: up to 312 hours
• 3.0 megapixel camera/camcorder with flash and autofocus
• 2.5 mm headset jack
• HTML browser
• Support for Mobile Email, Mobile Web Mail, Chat and Blogs
• Media Center-capable for downloading games, ringtones and more

For more info you can check out Nokia’s USA site

Posted by: Emma

Yes you did read that title correctly! We’ve had our hands on the Samsung i7500 Galaxy for a while and have been working on the review. Yesterday James, who’s doing the review, came to me to ask where the Android Market was on the i7500 and why couldn’t he find it?

My Initial reaction was that he must be going blind and that it must be on there. However, upon further inspection I can confirm that there’s no Android Market on our i7500. This has been further confirmed by other owners that indeed it is missing from the ROM for some reason! We have an EU retail model on review.

Having spoken to friends in Europe we know that the German version of the i7500 that’s available on the O2 network in Germany does indeed have the Market installed.

So the big question is why not on the EU retail version? Today I placed a call with Samsung and asked the questions; Why no Android Market on the EU model and can this be installed later somehow?

I’ve been told that I’ll have a reply to these questions later today so please do follow this thread on the forum for updates and let me know what you think and if the lack of Android Market would stop you buying the Galaxy – it would stop me. Bit like buying an iPhone with no App Store!

If you are already an i7500 owner I’d love to hear from you!

Posted by: Matt

We recently reviewed both the Omnia HD and the Nokia N97 and found them to be good devices. Now with software updates due shortly both handsets will give an even better user experience.

The Samsung updates include a new QWERTY keyboard, 3D task switcher like on the Omnia2, new widgets and bug fixes for the web browser and media player.

The Nokia will receive kinetic scrolling, the keyboard will show an alternative character when the key is pressed and held,  music player improvements and a few new widgets.

Samsung i8910 Omnia HD

Nokia N97

The Samsung update has already been released in Russia and Hong Kong so im sure it wont be long until we see it here in the UK. Unfortunately Nokia users will have to wait until next month for their’s.

Release confirmation will be posted in our forum.

Posted by: James