News

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 global media launch

This evening we’re off to another Sony Ericsson event in London. This time we’re attending the ‘Global Media Launch’ of the Xperia X1 being held at Tent London.

I’m not sure what the format of the event will be but I’ll definitely be reporting back to you with any news that I can get my hands on. Hopefully there will be a few video ops. too!

If there is anything specific you would like me to find out about the Xperia X1 or anything else to do with Sony Ericsson, drop me a line and I’ll try and get some answers!

EDIT: Just on my way back from the event now. It was a good evening and we had some excellent oportunities to talk to Magnus Andersson as well as a number of other people from SE. I’ll have a post with some news and video for you tomorrow.

Posted by: Matt

Windows Mobile 6.1 SMTP issues

Do you have a Windows Mobile 6.1 powered device and use either POP3 or IMAP4 with SMTP? Have you encountered problems sending email or seen the error message below?

If the answer to either of the questions above is yes then read on as what you are seeing is actually a bug that affects all WM 6.1 powered handsets!

Background

I first discovered this problem a few months ago while using my HTC TyTN II. I have access to two Exchange servers but, as you’ll probably know, you can only set up one Exchange activesync partnership per device. So for the other account I have to use IMAP4 and send over SMTP.

I’ve been using the setup for about 18 months and it works perfectly well for me, well until HTC released the WM 6.1 update for the TyTN II it did.

I installed the 6.1 update on the TyTN II and set up my Exchange and IMAP4 accounts. Was able to receive email with both accounts, no problem. All was well until I tried to send an email from my IMAP4 account (through SMTP). Upon trying to send mail I simply got presented with the error message above. I checked the account settings, they were all correct, but still unable to send mail.

I then restored the original WM 6.0 ROM to the TyTN II and the problem went away! This lead me to think that there was a problem with HTC’s implementation of the 6.1 ROM. However later test revealed this to not be the case.

I set up my IMAP4 email on my new HTC Touch Diamond and was able to send one email, but subsequent emails then failed with the same error message. Deleting and recreating the account allowed me to send one or two more emails before it then failed again. One sending failed the account never works again!

So I contacted one of our friends at Microsoft to try and work through the problem.

Having worked with the guys at Microsoft for the past 6 weeks or so (including the top Outlook Mobile chap in the US) and having sent them my TyTN II to test we have discovered the following bug affecting ALL Windows Mobile 6.1 devices.

You can see more in the email excerpt from Microsoft below:

We are done with it and just checked in a bug fix last week to address what turned out to be a severe product bug that will affect all WM 6.1.x devices until they receive a fix or upgrade to WM 6.1.4. Your help both made us aware of the issue before it bubbled up through the forums and your device actually did help us debug the issue.
 
We are driving the issue with our response team and pushing to make a fix more broadly available independent of a device update.
 
More details on this bug:
Symptoms:
At some point sending e-mail stops working for a given e-mail account.
This will happen if the there is *any* failure to connect to the SMTP server – ever. After that point the user cannot send mail with that account again.
 
Recovery:
The user must delete their e-mail account and recreate it each time this happens.
There is no way to prevent this from reoccurring.

So as you can see, the problem is pretty severe and affects all devices with WM 6.1. The work around, if you can call it that, is to delete the affected account and recreate it.

I also suspect that this bug is related to the problem that many people report with GMail on their mobile and the reason why you must delete and recreate an email account if any of the account credentials change.

Microsoft are working on the problem at the moment and are hoping to make an independent update available. Let’s hope that it will be available in that format rather than part of a full ROM update as I suspect that it will take time to filter through the manufacturers and the operator supply channels.

If you are affected by this issue then do drop me a line and I’ll endeavour to keep you updated with the progress of the fix.

EDIT: Please see this post for a potential fix to the problem!

Posted by: Matt

The unveiling of the worlds first Google based Android handset

With Google showing off an HTC Dream like handset at the recent Google Developer Day in London it now looks set to be officially released.

Google Developer Day

OK so it not such a secret now as it was a few months ago but it does look like the official release and press day will be this coming Tuesday at a press event in New York City. Just what this device is we can only assume (HTC Dream)?

Anyone Seeing the Resemblance?

It will be the usual day out at the press release with Google & T-Mobile being there since it was decided that T-Mobile should be the first network to get their hands on the Android based handset.

Unfortunately I have no passport or an invite to the press event but I do promise to keep you updated through the wee hours of the UK morning with updates on the 23rd.

As for the hands on treatment I am going to try working my Scottish charm on the guys over at HTC to see what they can offer us in way of a shot of this device. I will be sure to keep you all updated.

Posted by: John

Over 2 Million views on YouTube!

I just went over to have a look at our YouTube channel and videos and was surprised to discover that our collective 99 videos have been viewed over 2 million times! Apparently that puts us in the top 40 YouTuber’s in the UK. I’m sure it wont be too long before we exceed the 100 videos mark as well!

So a quick thank you to everyone that has watched our videos, we definitely appreciate your feedback so if there is anything that you think we should be doing differently then please do let us know.

If you haven’t seen our YouTube channel then you can find it here, some of the videos go back almost two years already!

Posted by: Matt

HTC Touch 3G Unveiled

Well it looks like the guys over at HTC are churning out their devices in a mass way. We now see another new release in the shape of the HTC Touch 3G.

HTC Touch 3G

Are they now showing that the iPhone is not the only trendy looking touch phone on the market with this device which will be running on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional?

The HTC Touch 3G comes with HTC’s next generation TouchFLO covering over the sizeable cracks in Microsoft’s long serving Operating System.

Various Views of the Touch 3G

Connectivity wise, the Touch3G comes with HSDPA/WCDMA (Europe/Asia: 900/2100 MHz) offering up to 384 kbps up-link and 7.2 Mbps down-link speeds, and quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate and A2DP for stereo wireless headsets and IEEE 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi. Naturally, there’s GPS and A-GPS onboard.

There’s a 3.2 megapixel camera for stills and video onboard with a microSD slot for expandable storage, plus HTC’s ExtUSB 11-pin mini-USB 2.0 and combined audio jack forcing users to fiddle about with proprietary headphone connections. Maybe one day…….soon, HTC and the others will realise that people want 3.5mm audio jacks!

The rounded, pocketable phone (102 mm X 53.6 mm X 14.5 mm) weighs in at 96 grams and is powered by a Qualcomm MSM7225 528 MHz processor supported by 256MB ROM and 192 MB RAM, with the 1100 mAh battery promising up to 360 minutes for WCDMA/400 minutes GSM talk time and a standby time up to 450 hours for WCDMA and 365 hours for GSM.

The exact release date is still unknown and but we expect to see this in shops sometime in September / October / November (ok, so I just don’t know) so why not head over to either Clove or Devicewire and pre-order yours now?

The device will come in sophisticated black, noble gold, sparkle blue and modern brown and the official stats on the handset are:

• Size: 102 x 53.6 x 14.5 mm
• Weight: 96g
• Connectivity: GSM/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz & WCDMA / HSPA: 900/2100MHz.
  • HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
  • HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
• Software/Operating system: HTC TouchFLO with Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional
• Display: 2.8 inch QVGA screen
• Camera: 3.2 megapixel
• Internal memory: 256 MB flash; 192 MB RAM
• Memory card: microSD™
• Bluetooth®: 2.0 with EDR
• GPS: GPS/AGPS
• Interface: HTC ExtUSB™ (mini-USB and audio jack in one; USB 2.0 High-Speed)
• Battery: 1100 mAh
• Talk time: WCDMA: Up to 360 minutes*** / GSM: Up to 400 minutes
• Standby time: WCDMA: Up to 450 hours*** / GSM: Up to 365 hours
• Chipset: Qualcomm® MSM7225™ 528 MHz

Posted by: John

HTC Touch HD now official

Just days after the first images of the HTC Touch HD leaked out on the web HTC have officially announced the device with a full press release (below) and by adding the product to their site.

The Touch HD is one device that I am very excited about but it looks like it’ll be on the large side, I suspect along the lines of the HTC Blue Angel in form.

Devicewire already have the HTC Touch HD listed on their site and are expecting to have them in stock from the 10th November! No word on pricing at the moment but head over to their product page where you’ll be able to check the price and get availability updates.

The HTC Touch HD (Click images to enlarge)

NEW HTC TOUCH HD^TM RAISES BAR FOR MOBILE INTERNET AND ENTERTAINMENT

Large, 3.8 inch wide-screen VGA display, HTC TouchFLO^TM 3D, desktop-class broadband browsing and a 3.5mm audio jack and more provide the ultimate entertainment combination

Taoyuan, Taiwan — September 16th, 2008 — HTC Corporation, a global leader in mobile phone innovation and design, today unveiled its latest handset, the HTC Touch HD^TM, an entertainment focused mobile handset that will transform how people experience multimedia on the move. Integrating a large 3.8 inch wide-screen VGA display (WVGA), a standard 3.5mm audio jack and a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus, the HTC Touch HD^TM is the perfect device for multimedia fans.

Shifting the boundaries of design and innovation
The HTC Touch HD^TM combines high performance capabilities with a stylish, sleek design that has made HTC a global leader in mobile phone design and innovation. Its large 3.8 inch WVGA touchscreen offers users stunning clarity and vibrant colours, providing an unrivalled experience when watching movies, browsing the Internet or even scanning through photos taken with the 5 megapixel auto focus camera.

The stylish new device also features HTC’s beautiful TouchFLO™ 3D user interface to provide quick and intuitive access to the people, messages and content that are most important. A standard 3.5mm headphone jack has also been designed-in, allowing consumers to use high-performance headphones with the device for the best possible sound quality.

“Today, Widescreen TV, Internet and video have become the standard so there is no reason to compromise when you leave the house, the Touch HD^TM delivers that uncompromising multimedia and Internet experience,” said Peter Chou, president and CEO HTC Corporation. “We are living in a time where the concept of entertainment has radically changed. The internet is so much more than just email and our customers expect to be able to access the Internet and high quality multimedia content no matter where they are in the world.”

Getting the most out of the Internet
The large high resolution, widescreen display combined with download speeds up to 18 times faster than standard 3G, enables the HTC Touch HD^TM to render websites quickly and in full-page width. This provides a comparable Internet experience to that of home broadband in terms of both speed and page layout. This true mobile broadband experience allows users to navigate more easily, leveraging the mobile internet in a variety of ways. For example, browsing to favourite websites, using Google Maps to find a restaurant for lunch, searching for and streaming video from YouTube or even catching up to the minute news, blog posts and video podcasts with the integrated RSS reader, will be more intuitive for consumers familiar with desktop browsing.

No compromise 
The HTC Touch HD^TM has been conceived for both business and consumer users alike, who demand style and performance and do not think the two are mutually exclusive. The HTC Touch HD^TM is the ideal handset for people who are embracing the mobile multimedia shift but who do not wish to forgo quality, simply by being on the move.

Availability
The HTC Touch HD will be available across major European carriers in Q4 2008 and be introduced in other global markets shortly following.

Key Touch HD specification:

• Size: 115 x 62.8 x 12 mm
• Weight: 146.4 grams/5.164 oz with battery
• Connectivity: Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHzWCDMA / HSPA: 900/2100MHz. HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
• Software/Operating system: HTC TouchFLO 3D with Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional
• Display: 3.8 inch Wide Screen VGA screen (480 x 800 WVGA)
• Camera: 5.0 megapixel with auto focus – Second Camera: VGA
• Internal memory: 512 MB flash; 288 MB RAM
• Memory card: microSD™ memory card (SDHC™ capable)
• WLAN: 802.11b/g
• Bluetooth®: 2.0 with EDR
• GPS: GPS/AGPS
• Interface: HTC ExtUSB™ (mini-USB and audio jack in one; USB 2.0 High-Speed)
• Battery: 1350 mAh
• Talk time: WCDMA: Up to 390 minutes*** / GSM: Up to 310 minutes***        
• Standby time: WCDMA: Up to 450 hours*** / GSM: Up to 390 hours***
• Chipset: Qualcomm® MSM7201a™ 528 MHz

EDIT: Our HTC Touch HD review is now live for your reading pleasure!

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 preview video and photos

As you probably know, we were at the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 today where we were introduced to the device as well as Johnny-X.

Paul (MoDaCo) and I managed to get a little bit of hands on time with the device so I took a few photos for you and we recorded a video tour for you to enjoy. There is another event for the X1 later this week so we will try to get more hands-on time and naturally secure a review unit!

Magnus Andersson showing off the Black and Silver Xperia

Black and Silver Xperia X1’s

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 showing off its keyboard

Paul gives us a quick tour of the Xperia X1 in the video below:

Sorry about the background noise on the video, the SE guys started packing up their kit while we were recording the video!

Our Xperia X1 review is now live!

As we should be getting more hands-on time later this week and will be meeting with Sony Ericsson and Magnus Andersson again, please do drop us a line if you want us to ask any specific questions!

Posted by: Matt

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 launch event

Today I will be heading over to Covent Garden to the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 launch event. As we now know, the X1 should be available from the 30th September but this event should give us a chance to get our hands on the device ahead of launch, and fingers crossed well have one to review shortly too!

We’ll be live blogging with our friend Paul O’Brien from MoDaCo and the live blog will be here in this post later on. Be sure to come back by about 12:45 when we hope to start coverage.

Webcast
To start the countdown to the launch of Xperia™ X1, Sony Ericsson will host a live global webcast on September 15 at 13:00 GMT + 1, offering viewers the first in-depth demonstration of the handset. The web cast will also premiere the first episode of an alternative reality thriller Johnny X. To register to view the web cast and Q&A session with Xperia™ X1 Senior Product Manager Magnus J Andersson, please visit: www.sonyericsson.com/premiere.

“We are extremely pleased with the innovation and new user experience we have created for consumers on the Xperia™ X1,” said Rikko Sakaguchi CVP and Head of Creation and Development at Sony Ericsson. “The in-depth demonstration on the web cast will showcase how this handset is truly unique. The nine panel eco system puts the user in total control of the primary experiences available on the phone and allows consumers to personalise the panel interface to suit their needs and lifestyle. The Xperia™ X1 has the highest quality screen on the market, four-way navigation keys and optical joy stick to give a stressless browsing experience and, with its super fast processor and network speed the Xperia™ X1 really bridges the gap between personal, entertainment and work mobile needs.”

Johnny X Alternative Reality Thriller
Johnny X is about a young man with amnesia desperately piecing together his identity. The webisodic thriller comprises of nine episodes, created to demonstrate the rich, immersive and experiential elements of the Xperia™ X1.
The storyline follows Johnny X on his mission to rediscover his identity. As he finds out more about his lost life in a race against time, he updates his Xperia™ X1 with new content to piece together his personality and identity, reflecting how the phone can be personalized to suit users’ individual lifestyle and needs. Will Johnny X find out who he really is before it’s too late?
“Producing the Johnny X thriller has given us an engaging platform to demonstrate all the capabilities and features a user can experience with the Xperia™ X1 phone,” said Lennard Hoornik, Head of Marketing at Sony Ericsson. “The panel interface is a perfect way to reflect your personality and can be tailored and changed to suit your exact needs at any given time. No two Xperia™ X1 will ever have the same combination of panels on the phone; we are all individuals and deserve to have a phone that reflects that. ”
Over a three week period, one new episode of Johnny X will be posted online at www.sonyericsson.com/Johnnyx every Monday, Wednesday and Friday starting on Monday, September 22. Check out the trailer for the series at www.whoisjohnny-x.com

Global Launch
The official global launch of the Xperia™ X1 will take place at Tent London as part of London Design Week between September 18 – 21st. Journalists are invited to attend the official Tent London opening party on Friday evening 19 September 2008 to see the Xperia™ X1 and meet with Sony Ericsson spokespeople.

Check out this post for a couple of photos and some hands-on video of the Xperia X1!

Posted by: Matt

Friday Deals!

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!

MWg UBiQUiO 503G

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 12^th 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

HTC go HD with the HTC Touch HD – Follow Up

Following up from yesterday’s post by Matt it looks like the specs of the new device have now been leaked. I have spoken to HTC about this but they were not able to comment on this at the moment bud did reveal that there would be a few new devices being released over the next few months that have had no coverage yet.

System:
– 4-inch 65K TFT touchscreen with 480 x 800 pixel resolution
– 512MB ROM, 327MB available to the user
– 288MB DDR SDRAM
– microSDHC (up to 32GB)
– Built-in accelerometer

Connectivity
– GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900, UMTS900, UMTS2100
– CSD, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA
– mini-USB connector
– Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
– Wireless LAN
– FM radio with RDS
– 3.5mm standard audio jack
– GPS receiver Qualcomm gpsOne with A-GPS

Camera
– 5 megapixel autofocus camera
– No camera flash
– Video recording: 320×240 pixels(QVGA)@30fps
– Secondary VGA video calls camera

Battery
– 1350 mAh capacity

Based on Windows Mobile 6.1, the new HTC Touch HD measures 115 x 62.8 x 12mm (which is just about the iPhone 3G with 115.5 x 62.1 x 12.3mm). Boasting a large display at 4-inch with the overwhelming resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. It also seems to be running TouchFLO 3D.

HTC Touch HD

The HTC Touch HD (we don’t know whether that would be its retail name) is powered by a 528Mhz CPU courtesy of the Qualcomm 7201A platform. There are 512MB flash memory and 288MB of RAM.

Of course, goodies like GPS, Wi-Fi and HSPDA go without saying, but the HTC Touch HD also has a 5 megapixel camera (without a flash though). Unfortunately, video recording is not that high-end as it maxes out at QVGA@30fps.

The Touch HD is due this Christmas, so we could be in for some official announcement really soon.

Source: GSM Arena

Posted by: John