We have covered the Meizu M8 here and on a podcast but here is an article I came across on The Phonereport. The most-awaited ‘iPhone clone’ of 2008 has began shipping. The Meizu M8 is available at US$478 with 8GB of internal memory, and dual band connectivity.
This app adds itself to the Palm OS5 (Garnet) helper library as default handler for web URLs and makes it the default web browser across programs. It also allows copying URLs to the clipboard, allows access to the on-screen keyboard on smartphone devices using ‘Shift’+\’Menu’ and shares the same CreatorID as Blazer to even fool the dumbest apps. More details after the break.
Lets start of by telling you about the deal that Sonim has just signed with car manufacturer Land Rover. Together they`ll produce co-branded rugged mobile phones and the first models will see daylight next year. The first two models should be available by mid-2009 named the Land Rover S1 and Land Rover S2 G4. A third one is expected to hit the market a bit later in 2009. The companies plan to contract with some of the top operators and to spread their phones in 40 countries.
Just as the latest Sonim XP3, all Land Rover handsets will be submersible and should withstand salt, fog, humidity, transport and thermal shock. They are also supposed to survive a 1.6-meter drop to concrete.
Land Rover S1
Next is the news of their latest handset the Sonim XP3 which aint the best looking mobile phone but will be a treat for anyone in a job where they have to face extreme conditions like the building trade.
Sonim XP3
Sonim XP3 Specifications:
- GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900
- Dimensions: 118.8 x 56.3 x 24.6 mm
- Weight: 140 g
- Display Type: TFT, 65K colors
- Size: 128 x 160 pixels, 1.77 inches
- Vibration
- GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 – 48 kbps
- Bluetooth v1.2
- miniUSB
- WAP 2.0/xHTML
- Shock, water and dust resistant
- Drop-to-concrete resistance up to 2m
- Water proof up to 1m
- Organizer
- Alarm clock
- Calculator
- Voice memo
- Stopwatch
- Count-down timer
- File manager
- Built-in handsfree
- Standard battery: Li-Ion 1180 mAh
- Stand-by: Up to 220 h
- Talk time: Up to 5 h 30 min
Posted by: John
[source]
On the 27th of October we gave you the news of a leaked dual sim handset from Samsung named the S9402 DuoS. Today we can reveal that it’s official but it does have a name change.
The dual SIM Samsung S9402 will now be called the Samsung Ego and will pack a 2-inch AMOLED display, and a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with face recognition.
Samsung Ego
The Samsung S9402 Ego is made by a new exotic liquid metal alloy developed by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Compared to titanium this new material seems to be more than perfect for the body of a high-end gadget like the new Ego. It turns out that the liquid metal is 3 times stronger and 1.6 times more flexible. It withstands 1.8 times more pressure, has 3 times better vibration absorption and 100% lower thermal conductivity.
Samsung Ego
Everything else in the Samsung S9402 Ego is exclusive too – content, menu, ringtones were created especially for this model and won’t be found in any other of the company’s devices.
Samsung Ego
The Samsung S9402 Ego is expected to hit the shelves (Russia first) this month at an estimated price of 1400 euro (around 1800 US dollars) which is just a bit less than what Motorola expects to get for their Aura and a lot more than the price of a Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte.
Samsung Ego S9402 Specifications:
- GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900 – SIM 1
- GSM 900 / 1800 – SIM 2
- Dimensions: 115 x 48 x 16 mm
- Weight: 140 g
- Display Type: OLED, 256K colors
- Size : 240 x 320 pixels, 2.0 inches
- Vibration
- microSD (TransFlash), up to 8 GB
1 GB user available memory - GPRS
- EDGE
- Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP
- USB
- SMS, EMS, MMS, Email
- WAP 2.0/xHTML
- Camera: 5 MP, 2560?1920 pixels, autofocus, image stabiliser, video, flash
- Liquid metal body
- Dual SIM
- Java MIDP 2.0
- MP3/AAC+/MPEG4 player
- Stereo FM radio with RDS
- Document viewer
- Voice memo
- Built-in handsfree
- Standard battery, Li-Ion 960 mAh
- Stand-by: Up to 280 h
- Talk time: Up to 3 h 30 min
Posted by: John
[source]
Our latest podcast is now available to download, in episode 16 we discuss various HTC stories, Skyfire browser, new Android phones and various iPhone apps, news and much more. You can subscribe via iTunes, RSS or download the mp3 file here. Full show notes after the break.
Skype have released a new beta version for Windows Mobile that they claim gives improved sound quality, better stability and a more familiar interface. If your a Skype user then it may be worth giving it a whirl, full details and links to download after the break.
A nice piece of news here for Blackerry fans in general ad those on the O2 Network in particular.
Blackberry Curve 8900
9 December 2008 10:09
O2 to Launch BlackBerry Curve 8900 smartphone in the UK
O2 today announces that the new BlackBerry® Curve™ 8900 smartphone will be available for pre-registration in the UK from December 10th and pre-order from December 22nd from the O2 website: www.o2.co.uk/blackberry. The BlackBerry Curve 8900 will be available to customers from 5th January 2009.
A sleek, new twist on a classic style, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 is the thinnest BlackBerry® smartphone yet. With its powerful communications functionality and rich multimedia capabilities, the smartphone enables people to remain productive and entertained while on the move.
The new BlackBerry Curve 8900, as well as being an exceptional phone with email, messaging, organizer, web browser and multimedia applications, also features built-in Wi-Fi®, GPS including BlackBerry® Maps, a fast processor and a dazzling hi-resolution display that gives users an enjoyable and exceptional communications experience.
The stylish new BlackBerry Curve 8900 has a full featured media player that supports media streaming and can play all your favourite songs and videos. With a 3.2 megapixel camera, auto focus, digital zoom and flash, you can take sharp, print quality pictures that you can send straight to friends or post directly onto the Internet.
Steve Alder, General Manager Group and UK Devices for Telefónica O2 UK said “The BlackBerry Curve 8310 was one of our fastest selling handsets and we are pleased to offer our customers yet another fantastic smartphone from RIM, the BlackBerry Curve 8900. It is ideal for both business customers and consumers who want the functionality of a smartphone in a sleek, slim form that feels great in your hand.”
The BlackBerry Curve 8900 is approximately 110 grams and 109 x 60 13.5 mm. Its large, striking, 2.4 inch HVGA+ display projects vivid colour and makes information easier to read.
The BlackBerry Curve 8900 will range from free to £234 depending on tariffs and is supported by O2 for BlackBerry® Enterprise Server and BlackBerry® Internet Service.
For corporate users BlackBerry Enterprise Server tightly integrates with IBM® Lotus® Domino®, Microsoft® Exchange and Novell® GroupWise® and uses advanced encryption and IT policy controls to enable secure, push-based wireless access to email and other corporate data.
BlackBerry Internet Service is designed for smaller businesses and individuals. It allows customers to access up to 10 supported corporate and personal email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts such as, Yahoo! Mail and Google Mail) from a single device.
Technical Data
• Preloaded DataViz® Documents to Go® allows users to edit Microsoft® Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the handset
• A sleek, new twist on a classic style with a large 2.4-inch, HGVA+, 480×360-pixel display with light sensor
• 3.2 megapixel camera, with variable zoom, auto focus, image stabilization and a powerful flash that also provides continuous lighting when recording video
• Built-in assisted and autonomous GPS
• 256MB Flash memory and a microSD®/microSDHC® memory card slot that supports up to 16 GB of additional storage
• A 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, support for Bluetooth® 2.0 stereo audio profile (A2DP/AVRCP) and dedicated volume controls
• Quad band support for GSM/GPRS/EDGE on 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• 512 MHz processor
• It features a full QWERTY keyboard and is the thinnest full QWERTY BlackBerry smartphone
• Extend your wideband coverage with its built-in Wi-Fi support (802.11 b/g)
• 1400 mAh removable/rechargeable battery with 5.5 hours of talk time and 356 hours/15 days of standby time
We will of course be getting a hands on with this device really soon so watch this space for our review and our un boxing video.
Sony Ericsson today announced the extension of its portfolio strategy to include support for the Open Handset Alliance “Sony Ericsson is excited to announce its membership of the Open Handset Alliance and confirm its intention to develop a handset based on the Android platform,” said Rikko Sakaguchi, CVP and head of Creation and Development at Sony Ericsson. “We believe Sony Ericsson can bring a wealth of experience in making consumer focused multimedia handsets with new user experience to the Alliance drawing on the successes of the Walkman and Cyber-shot sub-brands. Sony Ericsson is a strong supporter of open operating systems and we believe the Open Handset Alliance offers an exciting opportunity for a new and unique user experience only Sony Ericsson can deliver.” Membership of the Open Handset Alliance will complement the company’s existing Open OS strategy which is based on the Symbian and Windows Mobile platforms.
Acer Aspire One Review – Appliance computing
Another day, yet another small cheap portable computer. This time it’s the Acer Aspire One. After having been wowed by the MSI Wind of recent, I was keen to see how the Acer compared as it takes a different approach to the task of lightweight mobile computing.
The Acer Aspire One
What’s in the box?
Not a lot. Bearing in mind that this was a review machine, the contents of the box are not likely to be representative of retail machines.
1. Acer Aspire One
2. Mains charger.
General
Controls and ports:
Left side: Power jack, VGA port, RJ11 ethernet socket, USB2.0 port, SD card slot (marked as storage expansion)
Right side: Microphone socket, headphone jack, 2 x USB2.0 ports, multi-card reader, Kensington lock socket
Acer Aspire One Specification:
- CPU: Intel ® N270 Atom 1.6GHz
- Operating System : Linpus Lite v.0.5
- Chipset: Intel ® 945GSE
- System Memory: 512MB
- 8.9”LCD panel, 1024×600 pixels with LED backlight.
- 8GB Intel SSD
- Keyboard 80 key keyboard/Touch Pad
- I/O Port USB X 3,Mic in, Earphone out, D-SUB, RJ45, SD/MMC/MS/MS
- Audio Speaker x 2
- Integrated Acer Crystal Eye Webcam, supporting 0.3megapixel resolution
- Networking: Wireless LAN 802.11b/g, 10/100 LAN
- Protection: Kensington lock
- Battery: Li-ion 2200mAh
- Dimensions: 260 x 180 x 19-31.5mm
- Weight 1.15kg
- 1year RTB warranty
Highlights:
- Robust feel
- Simplicity.
- Linux stability.
- Sturdy screen hinge
Lowlights:
- Mouse glidepad and buttons
- Screen
- Dumbed-down operating system
Review
The review unit was the base A110L with 512MB of Ram and an 8GB solid state disk which retails for about £200 – £220 online.
In use the first thing to strike you is how quick this machine boots up. The operating system is a lightweight and optimised version of Linux that goes by the rather unfortunate name of Linpus. Together with a solid state disk they make any similar Windows-based netbook look positively tardy. From cold to rock ‘n’ roll takes 12 seconds. Portable computing is not quite instant, but it’s getting there.
The 512MB and 8GB solid-state disk might seem a bit lightweight these days, but it’s not that long ago when leading edge desktops had that amount of RAM, and 8GB is more than enough for a tight Linux installation. For this class of machine there’s sufficient applications installed for everyday tasks which left about 4GB of space for files. A machine like this is not going to be used for storing large numbers of files on, but mostly surfing, music and email so 4GB is enough, but for those of you who need more this can be augmented by popping a high capacity SD card into one of the two available slot.
The operating system can best be described as a dumbed-down version of Linux. On boot-up you’re presented with a desktop, which is divided into four panels: Connect, Work, Fun and Files. Within each panel software is installed so, for example, in Connect we find a web browser (Firefox), an instant messenger application, an e-mail client (Thunderbird), Skype and Google Maps. In Work we find a word processor, spreadsheet application, a contacts database and calendar application. Everything you might need for computing on the move is there and, my only criticism is that adding to the suite is not easily possible unless you know your stuff because the o/s is locked down tightly. For Linux fans like myself this is disappointing as one of the things I like about Linux is its versatility, its ability to be customised, new applications compiled, installed or removed. This cannot be easily done with the Acer. There’s not even access to the command line which, is the backbone of Linux. In many ways though this is not a bad thing as it removes the potential (of which there is plenty with Linux) for completely screwing things up badly!
With a speedy and silent SSD, applications loaded very quickly indeed and there was little noticeable lag. In comparison to other netbooks running Windows XP Home the little Acer was noticeably quicker and a joy to use. Setting up a wireless network connection was simplicity itself compared to Windows machines. Sadly, it was unreliable. Sometimes it would connect and sometimes it wouldn’t despite all settings being correct. I never got to the bottom of the problem.
Typing is like on any other netbook, it takes some getting used to. I did find the Acer more fiddly and cramped than other netbooks that I have tried recently and there was too much flexing in the keyboard for my liking. It felt flimsy which, was highlighted by the left-shift key falling off. Having said that, it was obvious that the review machine had been through a bit of a hard life.
Aspire One glidepad and keyboard
The mouse glidepad was perhaps the only bit of hardware I disliked. It was small, imprecise and had the mouse buttons unconventionally either side of it. In use I found that the mouse pointer would suddenly veer off screen which caused no end of confusion. The pointer was small which didn’t help and there were no means of changing the speed, size or acceleration of it.
The 2200mAh battery should be more than capable of delivering enough life for the type of use the machine would be put to. Having an SSD means battery life is likely to be better than hdd-equipped competitors. The battery in our review unit was, unfortunately, unable to hold a charge for more than a few minutes – again evidence of the life the review unit has lead. Reports elsewhere state that using the machine for a couple of hours at a time seems to have virtually no impact upon the charge level. I’d estimate 3-4 hours use would be possible with more aggressive power management.
The display is a typical netbook standard 8.9” 1024 x 600 pixel item. It’s nowhere near as good or sharp as the MSI Wind’s display, but then again this machine costs a fair bit less so you pay your money and take your choice. Illumination is even and bright, but it lacks punch and the standard themes included with the o/s are dull. In fact, all colours are fairly dull, but the screen is fine for documents, surfing and mailing and not so good for photos and videos.
Conclusion
I liked the Aspire One. It feels quite well put together, the software is solid, reliable and well matched to the hardware so the machine is surprisingly fast and responsive. I am a little disappointed in the operating system and software suite insofar as adding to it is not immediately possible, but perhaps that is no bad thing because the upside of this is simple, utilitarian appliance-like computing. At about £200-220 depending upon specification it is good value and arguably more so than my current fave the MSI Wind, but is this enough to overcome the lack of Windows familiarity for many people?
Review by: Nigel
[ Post Tags: UMPC, laptop, Windows Mobile, Acer, Aspire One, tracyandmatt.co.uk ]
Today Skyfire, the makers of the exact-same PC-like browser for mobile devices, launched their beta in the UK and announced new updates aimed at making the browser easier to get, share and enjoy as the company readies the browser for general availability. “We are pleased to bring the Skyfire browsing experience to the UK,” said Skyfire CEO Nitin Bhandari. “Consumers in the UK have been promised the ‘real web’ on their phone ‘real fast’ only to be disappointed by slow rendering, no Flash support, error messages, watered down WAP pages or second-rate mobile versions of their favorite site.
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