It has been a while since the Samsung Galaxy Lite/Spica first popped up in our radar, but with the Korean company taking its sweet time bringing the mini-Android phone over to the UK, it seemed like the device would never be available locally.
Looks like T-Mobile has finally been able to snag the elusive Android and the mobile operator is going to offer the phone exclusively for a month (the phone is free on the £23 18 month contract).
The phone will be renamed Samsung Galaxy i5700 Portal for its UK launch and like its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy i7500, the phone will also use the Android 1.5 Cupcake operating system. Android fans will be happy to know that both Android phones are compatible for an upgrade to the newer version 2.0 of the OS.
For those who missed out on the details of this impressive little device, the Portal comes with a 3.2 inch TFT touch screen with a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels and a display capacity of 16 million colors. For a “Lite” phone, the screen is pretty big and hi-res, able to deliver nice quality visuals whether you are viewing images of watching videos. The camera is a 3.15 mega pixel snapper with autofocus (sadly no flash). Images can have a max resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels. The cam also supports geo-tagging and of course, video.
The battery is a massive 1500 mAh Li-Ion rechargeable that will keep your device running for 650 hours on standby from a full charge (which converts to over 11 hours of continuous talk time).
The phone will support your favorite headphones with the 3.5 mm audio jack and also has support for AGPS, micro SD cards (up to 32GB), and of course, Bluetooth accessories.
You can head straight to Mobile Choice UK for the rest of the news.
Archive for January, 2010
Samsung Galaxy Portal to Arrive through T-Mobile
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010HTC HD2 Gets New Battery with Stand
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
If you have ever tried watching a full length film on your mobile phone (or several episodes of a TV series), then you would not be unfamiliar with the feelings of tired and heavy arms from having to hold your mobile phone up for over an hour.
It is not that bad, but having the option to prop a phone up on your office desk would certainly be a great convenience. This is a great side bonus you will get when HTC launches its new extended battery for the HTC HD2.
Primarily, the battery is meant for increasing the usage time of your mobile phone. The original 1230 mAh battery already did a great job, but the new battery promises to deliver at least 9 straight hours of video playback –hence the stand!
The stand itself is a flip out panel on the back side of the battery. One small concern about the upgrade is that the new battery is thicker –though overall, the device will still be on the slightly slim side.
The new battery is expected to arrive by February, but if you know you need one, fClove already has preorders available for about 60 Euro.
The HTC HD2 has been making its way back to the spotlight since that time Vodafone pulled it out of the shelves (only available through business plans). T-Mobile has since picked up the device. With Windows Mobile updates coming one after the other (did any say Maldives?), expect to see a lot more use of the HD2 in the coming months.
So far, the only thing uncertain about the future of the HD2 is WinMo 7 –which is reportedly not compatible with old WinMo applications and skinning (like HTC’s use of the Sense user interface on the HD2 to make WinMo suitable for the capacitive touch screen).
Get more details at GSM Arena.
Will Microsoft’s Plan for Mobile Phones Really Work?
Monday, January 25th, 2010
LG originally announced that the company would be producing 20 mobile devices using the Windows Mobile operating system this 2010. Just recently, LG retracted the statement claiming that they would indeed be producing twenty handsets for the year, but less than half would be using the WinMo operating system. Officially, LG is lowering its support for Windows Mobile.
While Microsoft may be having plenty of success on the desktop and laptop scene with its Windows Vista and the new Windows 7 operating system, the same cannot be said for the software developer in terms of its performance in the mobile industry. When Windows mobile first popped into the scene with HTC’s high-end pocket PCs, it seemed that Microsoft had the perfect formula for many business enterprises, but when the ball game suddenly changed and the real mobile market shifted from the business sector to the general public, it seemed like WinMo does not have the functional charm of its desktop counterpart.
WinMo itself is falling behind in terms of technology. The most recently available version of Windows Mobile is version 6.5 which still used a stylus-centric user interface which made it almost impossible to be used properly on capacitive touch screens. The 6.6 Maldives update is being made to resolve this factor, but the real problem is that the system should have been made finger-friendly from the very beginning.
While many claimed that there is still hope with the upcoming (or rather, eternally delayed) WinMo 7, recent reports and news about the version’s incompatibility with old applications and lack of support for custom interfaces have raised questions as to whether version 7 can really save the OS.
On a lighter note, LG may be lowering its support for Windows Mobile, but the Korean manufacturer is still devoting some serious hardware to the OS. The upcoming LG Apollo is expected to be a monster of a mobile phone with its 1.3GHz processor, 1080p HD video recording and of course, the WinMo 7 OS.
Sony Ericsson Vizaz Coming to T-Mobile
Monday, January 25th, 2010
Images of the Sony Ericsson Vizaz have appeared in the past few days revealing the device formerly known as the SE Kurara in its full glory. The Symbian smart phone will come packed with 720p video recording capability and all the specs listed for the Kurara.
The Vizaz will come with plenty of features in the form of applications. Web based apps such as Google Maps will make full usage of the device’s AGPS support. Thanks to the Google Map’s free navigation services, you can use this phone as your walking and driving guide. Social networking and media sharing applications are also present in the phone. There are applications for both Facebook and Twitter which would be very useful for anyone who loves to stay connected with friends. Applications for YouTube and Picasa will let you upload and share video and image files with your contacts. You can also geo-tag images before uploading.
As an HD capable phone, the Vizaz will play back a wide variety of video file formats such as WMV, Real Media, MP4 and 3GP. Naturally, the camera can take videos at 720p (1280 x 720). The 8 mega pixel snapper comes with both LED flash and auto focus as well as SE’s face and smile detection features. If the 3.2 inch TFT touch screen is a little too small of a viewing display, you can take advantage of the device’s TV-output port.
The internal memory of the phone is only 75 MB, making use of a microSD card will be crucial if you want to record HD videos –the phone can support up to 16GB microSD cards and an 8 GB card comes included with the device.
The phone will be available in four different colors, silver, red, blue and black. You can get this device this March when it gets released alongside the XPERIA X10 through T-Mobile.
WinMo 7 SDK on the Way, More Details Revealed
Friday, January 22nd, 2010
The new operating system for mobile from Microsoft is certainly generating quite the buzz these days. While WinMo 7 may already have a few detractors due to some initial details that has been revealed (mostly about incompatibility issues), many are still quite excited with the new OS and are looking forward to getting to try it out.
First up on the news is that WinMo 7’s software dev kit is on the way to many a developer’s labs. The tentative mid-2010 release of the SDK is in line with rumors that the OS will be publicly released later this year. The release of the SDK would ensure that developers would already have apps for the new OS.
App support is definitely going to be a primary concern for the new OS as many of the reviewers who tested version 7 have said that it will not support applications made for older versions of Windows Mobile. That means if you have favorite applications on your phone, you would have to purchase and download a new version of the application that is compatible with the new OS. This little tidbit hurts particularly for the more expensive applications.
Putting on a brave front is the announcement that WinMo 7 will no longer allow the use of a custom user interface similar to the HTC Sense. As many might already know, the HTC HD2 which used the WinMo 6.5 OS was a success for its use of the Sense interface to make using Windows Mobile easier. Hopefully, WinMo 7’s UI is a good as Microsoft thinks it is.
MS has also confirmed report that Windows Mobile 7 will have to versions, a more general public use Media edition and a specialized Business Edition version that looks geared to compete with the BlackBerry OS’s enterprise centric features.
Kurara Renamed as Vivaz, to Launch on Q1 of 2010
Friday, January 22nd, 2010
There has been little news of the Sony Ericsson Kurara as of late. The Symbian HD-video recording phone has been staying out of the spotlight and the last we all heard of this device is that it was going to get a second version called the Sony Ericsson Kanna. The Kanna is expected to have all the specs of the Kurara with one major addition: a QWERTY keyboard. The new slider phone is set to be launched later this year.
As for the Kurara, it seems like the only reason we have not heard of its further development was because it was already ready for launch. Sony Ericsson just recently unveiled images of the device and have also released its’ new name, the SE Vivaz.
The renamed media phone will come with all the features that were originally announced such as a 3.2 inch WVGA TFT touch screen that has a resolution of 360 x 640 pixels and can display up to 16 million colors. The phone will also have the 8 mega pixel camera with auto focus, LED flash and HD video recording at 720p.
The news that this device will be launching on time this first quarter of 2010 is very promising for Sony Ericsson. Recently, the company has been delaying one major phone release after another that it is hard to expect them to deliver the devices on time. This brave announcement that the Vivaz will arrive early may just be the sign that SE has reached that turning point.
The early release of this Symbian HD phone can also be a sign that SE is regarding its other HD competitors seriously. The recently confirmed line up of high end smart phones for 2010 include lots of devices that have 720p to 1080p video recording such as the HTC Bravo and the LG Apollo.
GTA: Chinatown Wars Now iPhone’s Number 1 Game
Friday, January 22nd, 2010
It has only been a couple of days since the release of Rockstar’s mobile port of the original NDS and PSP title; Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. Within this past two days, the game has rocketed all the way up to the number slot, beating previous favorite Call of Duty: World at War Zombies (a game based on the bonus Zombie mission from the PC version of Call of Duty: World at War).
The Grand Theft series has seen plenty of success on the consoles and on the PC. While previous installments for handheld platforms have met with only a moderate degree of success such as the “City Stories” series (Vice City Stories, Liberty City Stories); the new Chinatown Wars installment focuses on a redesigned world with a redesigned visual look.
Unlike previous portable GTA games based on the old GTA III world, Chinatown wars follows the city layout of new GTA IV version of Liberty City. Even more radical in this version is the used of Cel shaded 3D graphics, a long leap from the old traditional 3D look.
Gameplay wise, the game focuses using the touch screen commands for handling event commands such as breaking into a car (which varies according to the type of car, basic hot wiring for jacking old models, and some light hacking for the newer vehicles with electronics) and disarming or arming bombs. As one might expect, the iPhone version plays a lot more like the NDS version as both devices have touch screen controls; the PSP version uses a different system.
As to be expected of Rockstar Games, GTA: Chinatown Wars’ story is delivered straightforward gangster movie approach with heavy language and mature themes. The plot is nothing new for fans of the genre –an action adventure with layers of intrigue and betrayal. The nice thing about Rockstar’s delivery is that most of the characters are both notable and memorable. If you have not gotten this game yet and you are itching for some fun and action, then this app should be next on your download list.
Sony Ericsson Vivaz
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
Sony Ericsson has just officially announced its follow up phone to the Satio. Now known as the Vivaz, some information regarding the phone had been leaked onto the internet under the name Kurara over the last few months. Like the Satio the Vivaz will be running on Symbian S60 5th Edition, although it features an 8.1 megapixel which is a step down from the Satio’s 12 megapixel camera.
While the camera’s megapixel count may not be as high as the one found on the earlier Satio it is still clear from the press release that the Vivaz is going to be an excellent camera phone. As well as features such as autofocus, image stabilisation and face detection, the camera will be capable of recording 720p HD video.
It is unclear just yet as to the nature of the screen as the press report that was inadvertently published (and then quickly unpublished) mentioned two differing specs. The 3.2″ TFT screen comes with a resolution of 640 x 360 and a colour depth of 16 million colours. Either way this should provide the Vivaz with widescreen proportions making it an ideal device for videos and fit nicely with its HD video recording capabilities.
The Vivaz will be running on an ARM Cortex A8 720MHz processor with PowerVR SGX graphics acceleration. The Vivaz is quad band GSM with GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth, USB and 3G connectivity. Other features reportedly on board include Wi-Fi, A-GPS and a TV-Out port at VGA resolution. Internal memory is rumoured to be a mere 75MB which is nowhere near enough to store even a single HD video, but with a microSD slot and 8GB microSD card included this should be of little concern.
Rumours have circulated that Sony Ericsson had not intended to officially announce the Vivaz just yet, as they seemingly removed the press release detailing the phone’s specifications shortly after publishing it. The press release is now back online suggesting this was little more than a technical glitch. The Vivaz should hit European markets some time towards the end of the first quarter. There is no new just yet on what Sony Ericsson Vivaz deals will be available but it has been speculated to go on sale for around £400 – £500.
Mobile Phones Changing the World of Software Development
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
If you are a developer, then you know that before the advent of mobile phone technology, getting software sold is one of the hardest things to do. Software takes a long time to produce. The coding, and bug testing phases, the revisions, all the effort needed would take anywhere from days to months of sleepless nights and the constant hammering on the keyboard (thanks to new user interface designs, we have eliminated the need for having to screen hundreds of lines of printed code looking for a single syntax error).
Even after the software is finished, getting it published and distributed is a very difficult task, even if it has all been planned out prior to the start of development. Packaging, box art, manuals and other details still have to be ironed out. The bottom line is that developers have had it hard for the past few years. Unless you were part of some larger company such as Microsoft, IBM, Apple and others, working in an indie studio meant praying that a publisher would eventually take notice of your work.
However, with recent advancements on the process of online digital retailing, getting developed applications sold has become much easier.
Online stores for mobile phone applications (App Store, Marketplace, Android Store, Ovi, etc) and gaming networks for PCs (such as Steam) and consoles (PSN and XBL) have allowed even indie developers to get their works instantly published and sold to people all over the world. In 2009, an estimated 4 billion Euros have been spent on downloaded applications and that number is still expected to rise.
Since most operating systems have been standardized and the template for the selling of digital content has been streamlined, it is now easy for developers to simply keep cranking out new applications and games for online distribution.
While the change did not happen overnight, software development has now become a more profitable business than ever before.
iSlate to Arrive on January 27?
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
With recent reports that Apple is looking for a UK network operator to subsidize their new tablet, it would come as to no surprise that the iSlate Tablet is finally ready for release –or so speculation would have us all believe.
Apple has yet to confirm what the big announcement or launch event will be happening on the 27th. So far, the marketability of a tablet device is based more on the hype of owning one rather than is the practical functionality. For many people who do not already have net books, the Tablet would be an excellent choice for quick access to the internet without having to open your desktop computer.
The portability of a tablet still leaves much room for improvement. If you can afford to lug around a net book case just to protect the tablet, why not just bring an actual net book instead? According to the recent reports about the iSlate’s specs, the average modern net book would be able to match the device. The iSlate would at least consume less power than the traditional net book. With Apple’s long experience with handling closed portable devices, let us hope that the iSlate does not fall victim to a similar incident like the iPod battery fiasco.
As to be expected of Apple, the company has been keeping quiet about their iSlate plans and what they are planning to present on January 27. If they do want to impress the public, they will certainly have to do more than launch the iSlate. After all, so many spec details are already out on the net, the public would hardly be impressed –like what happened at the launch of the Nexus One. There is however, a strong possibility that Apple might also be making an announcement about the upcoming iPhone 4G that people are expecting this coming April.