The HTC Leo is definitely one of the most talked about Windows Mobile 6.5 handsets coming this year. With a large and impressive touchscreen display and its famous Snapdragon processor. We’ve heard several rumours for months now about possible release dates, however as it is now available for pre order online it seems we are finally getting close.
Various online stores in the Netherlands are already letting customers place advance orders on the HTC Leo, as well as listing a price tag for the mobile phone – which is currently sitting between 522 Euros and 592 Euros, depending on which sites you visit; all however list a fourth Quarter release date.
Although this only proves useful in terms of working out a price on the device, which will likely loosely line up with the $800 price America saw, there will likely be more information available soon with the impending launch date for the UK. While nothing is official yet there have been mumblings that the fourth quarter release could come as soon as the 12th of October; or a fortnight from now.
If the HTC Leo is indeed going to hit shelves in October the competition will be incredibly fierce, although that would likely be the case anytime during the period leading up to the holiday season. We are seeing countless traditional, low end, high end, social networking and as well as Windows Mobile OS and Android powered mobile phones flooding into the UK, providing great opportunities to thrive in the competition or be left behind for a “better model”.
The HTC Leo will undoubtedly have an official announcement made about its upcoming release shortly, so check back with us soon to find out more.
Archive for September, 2009
UK Customers To Get HTC Leo In October
Monday, September 28th, 2009Philips Creates Long Life Mobile
Monday, September 28th, 2009
To be honest with you, I can’t recall the last piece of technology Philips made that really caught my eye, I mean sure, there was an MP3 player a few years back, whose name I cant recall, but beyond that I don’t know the last time I saw an ad, read a news story or even walked past something in a tech display at a local shopping centre with “Philips” plastered across it.
However, it seems that there may be a return on the horizon – although they aren’t exactly famed for their mobile phone making abilities, Philips may have just hit the nail squarely on the head with their latest, and quite possibly greatest, creation.
The handset, known as the Philips Xenium K700 is a touchscreen mobile phone that offers a huge standby time – and we do mean huge. This device can last literally a month on standby – a feature made even more impressive by the fact that the battery is only a slim 1000mAh. What we are left with is a thin, classy looking model that has a never before seen ability to be left off charge for unbelievably long amounts of time – and we’re very impressed with that.
The handset is a standard, not a smartphone, and it actually uses a small aerial. When it faces the stiff competition of the new mobile phones being released by Motorola and LG, both at low end prices, it is unlikely it will fare too well – at least not with the younger crowd. However there may well be a place for it with the older generation who just want a mobile phone in there car or purse in case of emergencies that they wont have to charge every few nights.
Impressive features or not, a month is a very long time.
The Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition Rises from its Xpress Music Cousin
Sunday, September 27th, 2009
Mobile phone leader Nokia releases a re-tuned Nokia 5800 touchscreen smartphone but without its “Comes With Music” preloaded apps. Instead, you get one of the best navigation features in the market. So out with the Xpress Music branding and in with the Navigation Edition, the new handset comes pre-installed with a lifetime license for its navigational guidance system that you can listen to as it’s voice-driven. It also gets the latest Ovi Maps. These should appeal to the more tech savvy navigation geeks who want pinpoint accuracy of wherever they want to go that they have no idea how to get to. It also packs useful information like as weather reports and local traffic situation and warnings.
Nokia 5800 features
Apart form its upscale GPS features, the new Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition sports the usual 5800 features. It’s a quad band GSM with 3G/HSDPA/HSUPA for no-wait browsing, messaging and downloading over the internet with a slim monoblock dimension weighing a pocket friendly 109 grams. It runs on the latest Symbian OS S60 release 5.0.
- It sports a gorgeous 3.2“ QVGA TFT resistive touchscreen display supporting 16 million colors and a proximity sensor that turns off the touchscreen when putting the handset against your face in a call. There’s also the usual accelerometer for automatic portrait and landscape viewing with the corresponding tile of the handset.
- It has stereo FM radio with RDS receiver, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR with A2DP support for using wireless stereo earphones and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g for wireless local data connectivity at 54 Mbps.
- It’s got a 3.15 megapixel autofocus camera with Carl Zeiss optics and LED flash. VGA recording is at film quality of 30 fps. There’s a second VGA camera for 3G video calls.
- Its internal memory is a shared 128 MB that can go up to 16GB with its microSD expansion slot. Its sales packages comes with an 8 GB microSD card.
Availability
Estimated to arrive at a price point of €285 by the end of the 3rd quarter of 2009, the new Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition should appeal to the more tech savvy crowd more interested in navigation-assisted handsets. It even comes with a car charger and a mounting kit for your car.
Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition Links:
Taking Care of the Basics with the new LG GW550 QWERTY Smartphone
Saturday, September 26th, 2009
LG Electronics, the second largest mobile phone maker in Korea, recently released its LG GW550 QWERTY smartphone running Windows Mobile 6.1. It looks like the Samsung Blackjack or a Nokia E71. But this one from LG is a more modest handset with an equally modest price tab that should appeal to the low end of the market wanting a superb Blackberry-like business phone but without the high end price tag. And it does the job for a PDA messaging internet phone with just the minimal nod at the entertainment and imaging features that’s more upscale in other QWERTY smartphones costing more.
Low Cost Smart Features
LG just might have a winner in its hands with the LG GM550 that combines the best features on a business phone with exquisite styling you can find in mobile handset costing a lot more.
The new LG handset sports a 2.4“ QVGA TFT LCD screen with 65k color depth support, quite typical of mobile handsets in this form factor and using the Windows Mobile OS. It’s a quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and tri-band UMTS smartphone with 3G/HSDPA/HSUPA data connectivity support that allows high speed internet browsing, messaging and surfing.
It has a 3.2 megapixel fixed focus camera and a VGA secondary camera at the front for video calls in 3G. It has Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR, USB 2.0 and a microSD memory expansion slot.
It’s no stand-out. There’s no Wi-Fi, A2DP support for using wireless stereo headphones and its camera features are very rudimentary. But you get a very capable handset using high speed data connectivity to enable no-wait browsing, downloading, and messaging that defines a remarkably business phone experience on the road. This is LG’s answer to a high value high performing mobile phone without the frills and hefty price tag.
LG GW550 Links:
A Smartphone Touchscreen from LG – the GM730
Friday, September 25th, 2009
After its recently announced partnership with Microsoft, Korean LG is launching its next generation touchscreen smartphone with its Windows-based LG GM730. The new handset sports stunning looks that anyone can mistake it as another Korean fashion phone. But LG is positioning the GM730 as the preferred business smartphone with a set of sophisticated features for a market wanting the most advanced features to keep them busy on the road while standing out in the crowd.
After enjoying its launch in Australian and Asian markets this June, the new LG handset is announced to arrive initially in major European cities this August at the €400 price point and will come in three colors: Lime, Black and Pink.
Sophisticated Features for the Business Crowd
The new LG handset sports state-of-art messaging, browsing, imaging and PDA features LG hopes to woo the sophisticated and fashion-conscious business crowd with. Here are its salient features.
• You get high speed 3G/HSDPA/HSUPA support for fast no-wait surfing, emailing and downloading on the net apart from the fact that it’s a quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and a tri-band UMTS
• Its Windows Mobile platform allows true multitasking and its S-Class user interface enables you one-touch access to your favourite apps, sites, games and files while staying online or doing other phone tasks without leaving them,
• Your email can be actively synchronized with MS Exchange while your browsing benefits from its Internet Explorer 6.0 that gives desktop feel
• You get high speed local data downloads with its Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g at 54 Mbps.
Rich Multimedia Experience On the Road
The LG GM730 provides exquisite multimedia experience on the road starting with its facade-dominating 3“ QVGA TFT touchscreen display and a 5 megapixel autofocus camera using Schneider-Kreuznach optics with geo-tagging, LED flash, CMOS sensor and VGA recording with near cinema-quality 24fps.
• A front-facing VGA camera is there to support 3G video calls.
• You can use wireless stereo earphones with its Bluetooth A2DP support. Alternatively, you can use your hifi headphones with its industry standard 3.5 mm headphone jack.
• You get stereo FM radio with RDS receiver and a competent multimedia player supporting popular video and audio file formats.
There’s a generous internal memory that can be expanded from its microSD slot to store all your multimedia files while on the road.
LG GM730 Links:
LG Chocolate BL20 – Updated Specs
Thursday, September 24th, 2009
Earlier this week we revealed what we had been able to find out about the somewhat elusive LG Chocolate BL20 mobile phone; which has still not been officially announced even now, despite a leak of footage from a video promo. We are now pleased to bring you the handsets full specs, as promised, which have just been released into cyberspace.
The LG Chocolate BL20 sports a sliding QWERTY as we all expected, with some highly touch sensitive keys. However, something that is sure to shock everyone who has been following the BL20 news; there is no built in GPS receiver, and incredibly the device does not have Wi-Fi connectivity – which is sure to disappoint a lot of potential buyers out there.
On the plus side, it does have an ARM9 processor along side 128 MB of RAM and 256 MB of ROM, as well as a 2.4 inch screen which has support for 262 K colours and a 5 mega pixel camera with auto focus, built in flash and the ability to record video. Luckily the device does have email features, including SMTP, IMAP4 and POP3.
We can also confirm that the LG Chocolate BL20 boasts Bluetooth and USB 2.0, and has a microSD memory card slot which will support of to 16 GB of additional memory; In total the mobile phone weighs 115 grams.
Although nothing is set in stone yet, it is widely expected that we will see the LG Chocolate BL20 on shelves sometime before the end of the year, and are currently waiting on an official announcement to confirm or deny this. There is still on word on pricing either, but check back in with us in the coming weeks.
Samsung Omnia Pro Gets New Look
Thursday, September 24th, 2009
Samsung’s Omnia Pro, which runs the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system, was officially announced back in June. However, since then it has undergone some rather significant changes to design, which have now been finalized in time for its upcoming release, set to be on the 6th of October this year.
The handset, officially named the Samsung Omnia Pro B7610, has seen a couple of changes when it comes to the make up of the chassis; the navigation keys have been redesigned, while the camera flash has changed its position. There is also the change to the operating system to mention; initially the mobile phone was going to be running under Windows Mobile 6.1 OS, however, it has now been confirmed by Samsung that the device will be featuring the new and improved Windows Mobile 6.5 OS.
The mobile phone boasts a pretty impressive 800 MHz CPU as well as a 3.5 inch WVGA screen and a fast data transfer facility thanks to HSDPA technology. The handset also features Wi Fi connectivity so that users can easily get online almost anywhere, a GPS navigation system, an impressive 5 mega pixel camera and, for those of you who enjoy music on your mobile, enhanced DNSE 3D sounds; something that is rather innovative when compared to other recent releases.
The Samsung Omnia Pro B7610 also supports DivX and video playback – as well as the ability to make your own videos with the inbuilt 5 mega pixel camera. They may not be TV quality, but they will still look sharp and sweet on your mobile phone’s display.
UK May Get Palm Pre Early
Thursday, September 24th, 2009
The Palm Pre could be launched early in the UK, with rumours circulating that the decision has been made because of disappointingly sluggish sales in the United States – a prediction that comes after Palm’s financial results were seen for the first time last week.
Although the company reported results that were far greater than expected for the second quarter of this year, they have predicted that sales and revenue would drop by over 25% by the end of this quarter.
The prediction of a decrease in the number of US sales goes largely against the increase in manufacturing orders, however. The company says that it shipped a total of 823,000 smartphone handsets throughout the last quarter, only 375,000 of which were Palm Pre mobile phones, according to American analyst David Eller or TownHall Research.
Eller is quoted as having said in a research note; “Our estimation of sell through at Sprint is no more than 375,000 units, which would leave one month of inventory in the channel,” before adding; “We cannot understand where these Pre handsets went.”
Matt Thornton of American analyst Avian has been quoted telling Mobile Today; “The North American market does not warrant that level of production. Given the bigger number, it suggests plans for an earlier launch than November into Europe or into other markets such as Latin America, where Telefonica has a presence.”
Telefonica’s O2 already has an exclusive arrangement to launch the Palm Pre mobile phone in the United Kingdom prior to Christmas, and although we had previously expected to see it surface in November it seems highly likely that it could be here as early as October.
Going Smarter with the new HTC Touch 2
Thursday, September 24th, 2009
Taiwanese mobile phone maker HTC has recently released the next generation handset in its popular Touch series – the HTC Touch 2. It is the first HTC smartphone to use the Windows platform with the new Windows Mobile 6.5 OS tailor fitted with the renowned HTC TouchFLO user interface.
Smarter Features
The new platform affords HTC fans new features long awaited in Windows-based mobile phones. It’s all about accessing the Windows Marketplace for Mobile online site that allows you unlimited downloads to suitable apps, games and media-rich files. In addition, you get the Microsoft My Phone service which enables HTC handsets to sync with photos, music and video files online as well as create automatic phone back-ups.
Delivering new features, the HTC Touch 2 expands the HTC Touch line of smartphones that have virtually all the functionality you need to stay in touch with your office, social networking friends, get entertained and do you messaging while on the road. It’s TouchFLO user interface includes a one-touch instant access to your Twitter, Facebook, Google Apps, YouTube, weather updates and your other often used application on the phone.
Its Windows Mobile 6.5 platform allows you to experience its powerful browsing and emailing capabilities complete with the facility to sync with MS Exchange as well as manage multiple email client accounts. A re-designed Internet Explorer Mobile browser display desktop-quality web pages with a zoom bar that reflows text, pan and zoom screen displays.
Of course, it still retains the many features that make the HTC brand a popular versatile mobile phone, like sporting a large 2.8: inch QVGA screen, 3.2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth with A2DP, 3.5mm jack, multimedia players, Wi-Fi and a generous 256 MB memory expandable through its microSD expansion slot.
Availability
The Touch 2 handset is expected to arrive in the market within the last quarter of 2009 starting this October 6th with European and Asian markets coming online. No information yet on pricing.
HTC Touch 2 Links:
INQ Chat 3G: The Affordable Blackberry?
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
Rumours regarding the highly anticipated follow-up to the award-winning INQ1 mobile phone have finally been confirmed. Alongside the Mini 3G, INQ have announced the imminent Q4 release of the Chat 3G which has also been placed in the fledgling category of social mobiles. While some may be quick to count it out as merely nothing more than a Blackberry knockoff, there’s actually more to this device as it hopes to fit into the big shoes it has to fill.
Screening the Mobile
One of the best features of the INQ Chat 3G has to be its wide home screen which has the ability to display Twitter and Facebook updates without the use of a dedicated client. The real time updates are made possible by its impressive user interface which happens to be an upgraded version of the one found in the INQ1. Although we weren’t able to actually test out the device, we are right to have high hopes if we take the INQ1’s impressive performance into consideration.
The actual screen is also much bigger than the one present in the INQ1 – 2.4 inches and QVGA-type technology.
Other Notable Features
The INQ Chat 3G will also be equipped with a purely functional 3.2-Megapixel camera that is still able to produce average quality photos. Aside from direct integration to social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, the device will also have support for push Gmail. This goes well with the new QWERTY keyboard present on the Chat 3G – a first in the entire INQ family.
With all those features on board, it would be easy to say that the INQ Chat 3G truly has the potential to be a more affordable version of the Blackberry for those who have an eye for the famed Smartphone, but not the wallet.
INQ Chat 3G Links: