Here is a nice, quality review of the Motorola Cliq. Good views on an interesting phone. D-pad is good but the keys are “mushy” on the qwerty keyboard. The build quality seems to be of a lesser standard unfortunately. MotoBlur interface looks confusing but is actually quite well thought out. See the video after the break.
Samsung seem to be getting a lot of mileage from the Omnia brand, this time launching the Omnia II complete with the new Windows Mobile 6.5 OS. This is the first non-HTC device that we’ve seen with WM 6.5 so it’ll be interesting to see what they have done differently.
The Omnia II (GT-i8000) is similar in size and design to the HTC Touch HD, virtually the same size screen and almost the same form-factor, however, Samsung have given the Omnia II more power with a 800mHz CPU and obviously have it powered by WM 6.5. Samsung have kept their desktop widgets that have proven to be popular on the original Omnia and have skinned the Start menu and settings screen in a similar way to HTC to the point that there is virtually no need to be exposed to the Windows Mobile screens and menus if you don’t want them.
James will be reviewing the Samsung Omnia II over the next week so please do feel free to post your question over on the Omnia II forum post if there is anything specific you would like to know or that you would like covered in the review.
Have a look at the unboxing video below to see the handset in a little more detail and to have a quick overview of the OS and UI.
NOTE that the handset in the video is a pre-release model and you’ll see that it has Windows Mobile 6.1 installed – the final retail version will have Windows Mobile 6.5 and our review will be of the 6.5 version. Sorry for the confusion!
Samsung Omnia II specification:
Posted by: Matt
It has been a long, long time since I used a Motorola handset so I was pleased when they announced the Motorola Dext recently and even more intrigued to learn that it would be a Google Android device. Originally announced in the US as the Motorola Cliq for some reason it’s called the Dext in the UK.
The Motorola Dext is a decent looking handset with a sliding QWERTY keyboard. It’s good to see another Android powered device with a QWERTY as the G1 is becoming a little dated now. The Dext looks a little like some LG handsets that you can find on the market too with its three button arrangement below the screen.
It’s good to see more Android handsets hitting the market. We’ll be reviewing the Dext over the next week or so and will have the review online for you soon. Don’t foget to head over to the Dext forum post if you have any questions about the Dext. Until then have a look at the unboxing video below for a quick tour of the handset and a little look at the OS.
Motorola Dext (Cliq) Specification:
Posted by: Matt
I really hope someone at Apple sees these concept interfaces from Ocean Observations. They’ve taken the best elements of the Pre’s card system, combined them with Cover Flow, and created an awesome vision of multitasking on the iPhone.
The Nokia N900 was the stand-out device from Nokia World back in September, and we’ve been tracking the Maemo 5 smartphone ever since. Imagine our surprise, then, when a pre-release N900 dropped onto the SlashGear test bench today; the hardware is final, so the 5-megapixel autofocus Carl Zeiss camera is onboard, together with HSPA, WiFi b/g, a 3.5-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen and slide-out QWERTY keyboard.
The Nokia N900 is currently available to preorder in the US and UK, priced at $649 and at £499 respectively. Early suggestions give a October 19th release, though Nokia UK are currently suggesting the N900 won’t arrive until November 2009.
The Sony Ericsson W395 was first announced back in February this year and is part of the Walkman family. Is it a worthy music device though?
What’s in the box:
Sony Ericsson W395 Specification:
General:
The top of the W395 contains only the memory card slot.
On the left is just the Charging port.
The right hand side houses the up/down volume rocker and also the camera key.
The back of the device has only the camera as a feature but it also has some nice logos!
The front of the device is where the action is at.
Highlights:
Lowlights:
Review:
To be honest I have never been a huge fan of Sony Ericssons but that doesn’t mean I wont give this device a honest review. The handset certainly feels nice in the hand, extremely lightweight and well balanced when in its open position. Build quality feels reasonable although the battery cover does feel a little flimsy.
The keys on the front of the device are nice and easy to use. They are evenly spaced making light work of finding the one you want without looking at the device. The centre key is surrounded by a D-Pad which has a nice purple light set behind it. Looks great in the dark!
As expected there are dedicated music keys. The one on the top left takes you straight into your music folder to allow you to choose a track and the other music key, bottom left, drops you into the music player itself. The music quality using the stereo speakers is certainly loud and of not bad quality. The purple light flashes when music is played, cool! With the headphones plugged in I was a bit disappointed. The quality was not great. In fact it was worse than most other phones I have tried and that’s a lot! Considering this is meant to be a music device its a bit of a poor show. The headphones may contribute to the bad sound but as Sony Ericsson insist on using there own USB connecter thingy I could not try the device with my own headphones. Also the headphone connector is massive and adds a good bit of bulk to the width of the device. Pretty flashing lights though!
For those of you that like to listen to the radio on a mobile device you wont be disappointed as the W395 has one and it works fine, although the sound quality isn’t great.
The camera was to be as expected, not great. With no flash low light images are a no no.
Text messaging was fairly painless. The number pad on the phone is nice. The buttons are raised in the centre and dip on the edges to help guide you across them when speed texting.
Connectivity is a bit limited. No 3G or Wi-Fi means web browsing is slow and using the browser on the device felt like I had gone back in time about five years.
There are some quite nice applications in the organizer section. The calendar is decent and creating events is simple. As expected there is also an alarm clock, stopwatch, timer, tasks and calculator.
One feature that I wasn’t expecting to find on this device was flight mode. Good job Sony Ericsson – the kids can play there music on the plane.
Conclusion:
Overall I think the target market for this device is most defiantly children. If having never owned a mobile before then this is not a bad choice. At under £60.00 on pay as you go its reasonable and it must be popular as I found it for sale with all four major UK networks.
My main overall reservations about the W395 were that it just felt a bit dated and although its a Walkman phone the music quality was not what I expected. I’m sure you get what you pay for and it just happens to be that this is a low end device.
It’s been a busy week for new devices with the official announcement and launch of Windows Mobile 6.5 several WM6.5 devices have gone on sale this week. Perhaps one of the more high profile handsets is the HTC Touch2.
The Touch range and brand name has done wonders for HTC since the original HTC Touch was launched about two years ago HTC have almost become a household name, prior to the Touch few people, aside from Windows Mobile fans, would have known about HTC.
So we are reviewing the Touch2 this week and we’ll have the review for you shortly. For now, have a look at the unboxing video below to see the handset in a little more detail.
Slim, compact and functional is the new HTC Touch2. The replacement to the original and highly popular HTC Touch, the Touch2 builds on the original to bring more functionality and an improved user experience.
The HTC Touch2 is the first HTC device to come pre-installed with the new Windows Phone operating system, Windows Mobile 6.5. An improved mobile operating system, Windows Mobile 6.5 offers improved touch interface and user experience.
Never used a Windows Phone before? The HTC Touch2 could be an ideal first device.
With the Touch2 you can carry and store all your contacts, calendar appointments, notes and emails all in the palm of your hand. A small yet powerful smartphone, the Touch2has the tools and features you need whether you use the device for personal communication or business purposes.
A fast 528MHz Qualcomm processor ensures that the device responds fast to your taps on the 2.8inch touch screen, whilst the 512MB ROM offers plenty of storage for any data and additional applications you may load.
Complete wireless connectivity is provided through Quad Band technology, to ensure wherever you are you remain connected. When in Europe, you can be assured of even faster connection speeds thanks to the HSDPA connectivity.
Do not want to use the phone network for connection to the internet? No problem, just switch on the on board WiFi and connect to a wireless hotspot of your choice.
When the working day is over or you just want to relax a little, you can use the HTC Touch2 as a multimedia tool. Use the GPS receiver to navigate to friends and family. Store music on a MicroSDHC card, insert it into the device and use the Touch2 as a music player. You can even use your favourite headphones thanks to a 3.5mm audio jack.
HTC Touch2 Specification:
Posted by: Matt
I’ll be honest with you, this makes me want to buy one. It fully restores the epic feel for an ad that has been lost over the years as advertisers distract from the product and invoke a concept. Here was see the HTC HD2 doing things. Coupled with a great soundtrack and grand word usage it’s advertising at it’s best and gives the flagging Windows Mobile factor a lick of much need paint. Have a look at the video after the break.
WMExperts takes a look at the Xperia X2. The X1 was a nice device and impressed me quite a bit, so I’d saw this second will be something to marvel at. The panel interface looks a bit hot or miss at the moment and there seems to be a few usage problems. I don’t know that the Sim City style interface is anything more than a gimmick but as soon as it is available we’ll get it in for a full evaluation.
Another device with a sliding QWERTY keyboard hits the market, this time the GW520 from LG.
It does seem like every manufacturer is suddenly compelled to release their own QWERTY keyboarded handset and LG are no different. The GW520 has a similar Flash-based OS to many other LG handsets but has the obvious added benefit of a full, sliding QWERTY keyboard.
Having spent just a little time using the handset I have to say that the keyboard is quite impressive, LG have done a decent job here. But, for a handset that is clearly designed ad messaging and social networking it’s rather disappointing not to have built in WiFi.
James is reviewing the handset at the moment and the review will be on site over the next week or so. Feel free to direct questions at him via the forum. In the mean time have a look at the unboxing video below for a taster of what the LG GW520 has to offer.
In Touch.
Stay on top of the latest updates from friends with the LG GW520 and its social networking site integration. Get status updates, upload photo’s, or just send you own updates and let the world know what your up to.Message.
Stay in touch with friends and family with more then voice. Built in instant messaging (IM) support lets you connect with friends and send messages instantly. Support for personal and business push email lets receive messages the moment they are sent. The QWERTY keyboard makes it a breeze to compose messages. Whatever you need the LG GW520 is always ready.
LG GW520 Specification:
Posted by: Matt
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