Several Windows Phone 7 handsets are already getting ready for distribution when the OS finally comes out later this year. According to some reports, Microsoft might be releasing the new mobile platform as early as September, which means that by now, several Windows Phone 7 based handsets are already well within the production stage.
LG is definitely in the lead with their device progress. In terms of public presence, the LG Panther is an exceptionally great handset that is practically finished as far as consumers are concerned. The device has been spotted quite early on in pictures, showing that LG has started work on their WP7 device quite early. Recent news on the Panther shows that the QWERTY keyboard toting smart phone is pretty much ready for the OS to be installed.
Of course, the Korean manufacturer is not the only company that is preparing a Windows Phone 7 handset. Taiwan based HTC has been a long time partner for Microsoft, even before the days that HTC became a major industry partner for Google and the Android OS. HTC’s ties with Microsoft go as far back as the Pocket PC days. The HTC Mondrian (also rumored to be the same device as the HTC Gold) and HTC Mozart will be the new WP7 handsets for HTC.
Samsung, Dell and Asus are also among the names that were announced to be working on Windows Phone 7 devices as well. Considering that the launch of the new platform is coming soon, it is expected that these companies have devices that are more than ready.
Also, the developer version of the OS seems to be getting mixed reactions from users. While some appreciate the new design direction that Microsoft is taking, there are those who feel that the OS still needs more work to compete with the Android and Apple iOS.
Archive for July, 2010
UK iPhone Users Advised: Contact Network about High Roaming Charges
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
If you have been out of the country for any given amount of time and have spotted an increase in your mobile bills, then it might be a good idea to sit down and have a quick talk with a representative from your network service provider and discuss the details of the roaming charges that are present in your bill.
This is the latest advice being given out to UK iPhone owners, as a recent spike in the number of customer complaining about larger than usual bill charges that have been added on to their monthly bills after having spent time outside of the UK. What is slightly alarming is the fact that networks do not seem to have much of a problem with refunding clients who have already paid the excess amounts or are willing to write off any excess charges – which indicates that the problem might be something that networks are already familiar with and are simply not disclosing to the public.
The case is reported to be centered specifically on owners of the Apple iPhone handset. Not surprisingly, the biggest number of complaints arises from subscribers in the O2 network, but this is simply because O2 has the largest number of iPhone users in the UK. As some of you may remember, the local mobile network had exclusivity for the Apple smart phone for almost two years (which ended around October of last year). There are also complaints from subscribers from iPhone users on other networks as well.
According to experts, most smart phones – not just the Apple iPhone – have an option that enables or disables data roaming. This is an often ignored feature that users should familiarize themselves with and use when traveling in or out of the country. However, the excessive iPhone roaming charges appear to have affected even users who have turned off data roaming.
Nokia Fans: N8 or N9?
Monday, July 26th, 2010
Nokia smart phone fans are going to be given quite an unusual choice between the Symbian^3 based N8 and the MeeGo running N9. This is pretty interesting, but not a good thing for Nokia. Having two products cannibalize each other’s sales would mean less profit for the company and the Finnish manufacturer’s sales are already in a state of slumping down.
Nokia needs to have both devices to be successful. Not only because they need the sales, but also because the two devices are part of their flagship phone lineup: the Nokia N-series handsets.
The cause for the almost consecutive launches of these two smart phones is due to the delays in the production and development of the Nokia N8. While the Espoo based company has not released the details as to why they keep pushing back the release of the phone, we do know that it is definitely not good for the Nokia N8. As impressive as the specs on the smart phone is, there is little doubt that the device would be overshadowed by the Nokia N9 which runs the Nokia and Intel developed Moblin operating system.
The N8’s original launch date was supposed to be last April. However, the delays have pushed it back all the way to this month, July. There is no confirmation that the phone would actually be launching at all. T-Mobile UK and Vodafone have pre-registrations for the handset open for interested buyer, but until they can pin down a date, the most that the smart phone community can do is wait and see what Nokia tries out.
Delays for N-series handsets are not uncommon. The N97 was originally delayed by a full ten months –and Nokia still came out with a product that had a very unstable operating system. The firmware of the N97 was too unstable for many users. Hopefully, the N8 will be free of similar problems.
Windows Phone 7 to be Distributed to MS Employees
Monday, July 26th, 2010
These days, it pays to be a Microsoft employee. Not only is the company continuously growing –the employees are also getting plenty of free stuff. The latest addition to Microsoft’s bag of goodies is a Windows Phone 7 handset.
As of now, no specific details on what the free smart phone is, though some believe that this could be based on the same devices that were distributed to developers, which means that there are going to be three various handsets. The devices vary according to their manufacturers: Asus, LG and Samsung. So far, none of the devices Microsoft is giving out has been seen on images so it will be hard to verify if the developer devices are the same.
In any case, the Windows Phone 7 seems to be nearing completion and it looks like Microsoft is really up for a September launch date. The original plan was to get the first WP7 device out by the holiday season. The schedule has been moved earlier, slowly, from the end of the year to October and then September.
From what we have seen with the developer devices, the new users interface is exactly what Microsoft promised it to be. Smooth, cohesive and all the functions are nestled in simple to access commands. Users can accomplish tasks over various menus without having to return to the home screen –giving this handset a very complete feel.
However, we do have some reservations about how the handset handles the use of Facebook integrated contacts –it fills up the entire people page, which means that there is currently no way to segregate contact lists for users. This will prove to be very annoying especially for those who keep their contact lists for phones and online friends separately. It will still be some time before the final product launches, so hopefully, Microsoft will fix this issue before then.
Fixing Apple’s Image After iPhone 4 Issues Cost £114 million
Monday, July 26th, 2010
To sustain their free bumper program, Apple will be investing about 114 million GBP into manufacturing new cases to giveaway. With about 3 million users and counting, Apple’s supply is hardly enough even if they stopped selling their supply of bumper cases on their online store.
The announcement regarding the company’s budget overages to supply users with their free bumper cases came from Apple’s own Peter Oppenheimer in a talk discussing the performance of the mobile industry giant. This analysis was focused on what went on during the last three months and Oppenheimer stated that the 114 million GBP expense was not going to be included into the company’s figures for Q3.
The outspoken Chief Executive Officer over at Apple, Steve Jobs, was the one that delivered the news about the free bumper cases to their loyal customers. This was done in order to pacify any users who were angered by the controversial reception issues. Unlike other mobile phone units, the iPhone 4 had an uncanny tendency to drop calls when the lower left portion of the device comes in contact with human skin. In short, the reception issues were caused by poor planning of the iPhone 4’s antenna position. This flaw makes the unit hard to use by left handed consumers.
Upon analyzing their product’s issues, Apple found out that recalling every single iPhone 4 out in the market will net them a total of 1 billion GBP in expenses. Compared to the 114 million GBP, they will suffer more losses from the latter and thus they have opted for the most cost effective solution.
The free bumper giveaway will be available for iPhone 4 owners up to the month of September this year. What lies in store beyond that month is anyone’s guess but rumors are already surfacing about an iPhone 5 with superior reception.
Nokia C6 Available Now
Friday, July 23rd, 2010
According to recent news, the Nokia C6 smart phone is finally available in the Finnish manufacturer’s UK based online store. The device can be bought for a very low price of only 289 Pounds Sterling, SIM free. The device is also available on varying contract plans from both Vodafone UK and T-Mobile. The offers on both networks are pretty close so it all falls under the consideration of which coverage users would prefer to have.
But why the Nokia C6 –because the handset is actually everything that a budget limited user would need from a current generation smart phone. In this day and age of Android devices and BlackBerry smart phones, sticking to a tried and tested operating system like Symbian is still a good option.
Despite the firmware still based on the older S60 OS, the features are excellent and users are able to adapt easily to controlling the system. At 160 grams, this smart phone is also a little light.
The handset itself is a pretty great smart phone. It lacks any distinguishing marks on the casing, and the simple button layout on the front does not take the focus away from the screen. Speaking of the screen, this handset comes with a 3.2 inch TFT resistive touch screen display. Despite using resistive technology, the phone still manages to provide quick and accurate touch controls to users.
The ARM 11 CPU might be considered slow, but even at 434 MHz, users will be able to run most apps without any significant problems in performance.
For a camera, the device wields a nice 5 mega pixel snapper –pretty standard for a touch screen smart phone. It is packed with autofocus, LED flash, face and smile detection, and geo tagging capabilities. The handset supports GPS, WiFi, 3G, 2G, Bluetooth and all the usual smart phone features.
Demand for Apple iPhone 4 Sustained
Friday, July 23rd, 2010
It seems that despite the relatively bad publicity Apple got at the end of last Friday’s emergency conference, people are still dazzled by the stylish new form of the iPhone 4 to realize that they are purchasing a broken smart phone –that or nobody really seems to care as owning the latest Apple handset is the in-thing for this generation.
Steve Jobs and his crew at Cupertino are still adamant that the iPhone 4 has no problems whatsoever, and if this denial is based on the sheer number of sales the iPhone 4 generates, then we doubt that they would ever change their tune anytime soon. According to Apple’s chief of operations, retailers are still calling in constantly in order to acquire more units of the latest Apple smart phone. At this point, the company is literally selling every handset that they can produce.
Return rates are still a major statistic that Apple loves to point out; chief of operations Tim Cook parrots Jobs’ statements regarding the lowered return rates for the iPhone 4 when it comes to the antenna issues. They insist that there were more 3G units that were returned. While it is easy to believe this data, the lower return rates do not immediately imply customer satisfaction. Not all dissatisfied iPhone 4 owners are willing to refund their smart phones.
In a reaction to Steve Jobs’ generalizing statements and naming of specific handsets during the conference, various mobile phone makers have made public reactions. Research in Motion was the first to give a reaction, followed by Samsung over the weekend and HTC at the start of the week. Nokia and Motorola, despite not being named directly in the conference, have also expressed that their handsets do not suffer from the same antenna issues as the Apple iPhone 4.
Vodafone’s Froyo Update for Nexus One Now Available
Friday, July 23rd, 2010
The very first handset to ever get the Android 2.2 Froyo update is the Google Nexus One. However, not all Nexus owners were able to update their devices to the latest Android OS. Those who got their Android smart phones under Vodafone had to wait for a while before a special version of the update has been made available.
According to Vodafone the wait is finally over. The Nexus One’s Android 2.2 update is now up and fully running. This new version of the Android operating system provides massive performance boost to the system and its browsing capabilities. It also supports the new Flash Player 10.1 from Adobe –giving the device access and full support for all Flash content on the internet.
The kernel management has been optimized, making the user interface run smoother and faster. Google states that overall performance has been increased three fold. Browsing online has also been fixed; Java now loads much faster and surfing the internet can be around two to five times faster than before (of course, not considering the connection speed that is).
Froyo also brings a few additional features such as tethering and using the handset as a wireless hotspot (which users are warned to always disable when not needed, as it could compromise data and of course, drain battery power). Exchange support has also been streamlined and several other features have been added in as well.
The Nexus One is currently only available through Vodafone UK. The old Google online store for the handset has been taken down just recently. App developers will still be able to order the handset directly from Google.
This high end Android smart phone comes with a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU, a 5 mega pixel camera (with autofocus, LED flash and geotagging) and a 3.7 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen display.
Three New Smart Phones Now On Vodafone
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010
Mobile network operator Vodafone UK has announced that it has three devices that are now offered on various plans.
At a two year, £25 monthly tariff, the BlackBerry Pearl 3G is being offered for free. The plan includes 300 minutes of talk time, unlimited messaging and 500MB of data. LG’s Android Optimus smart phone and the Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro handset will be free at £20 per month, also on a two year contract. The plan gives 100 minutes of talk time, 500 MB of data and 500 text messages.
With two new Androids and a BlackBerry handset, anyone looking for a good budget deal on a decent smart phone will certainly enjoy the choices being offered by Vodafone UK.
The SE Android, X10 Mini Pro is undoubtedly the best looking handset of the bunch. It still retains most of the design features of the original XPERIA X10, but on a smaller scale. The slide out QWERTY keyboard also adds and extra notch to the device’s form factor, making it a great choice for heavy texters and email users. In terms of specs, the X10 Mini Pro is virtually identical to the X10 Mini. Both phones come with a 2.55 inch TFT touch screens, 600 MHz CPUs and 5 mega pixel cameras.
Among the three handsets, the Optimus from LG is the least impressive in terms of specs, so unless you are not really fond of having a physical keyboard, then the X10 Mini Pro is a better choice –since they are available on similar contracts.
The BlackBerry Pearl 3G definitely has that unique look that only RIM can deliver –and the BB brand by itself is already impressive which makes it worth the slightly higher price tag (though in terms of monthly consumables, the Pearl offer has great value). Users might take a bit to get used to the unique button layout configuration (it curves down towards the center of the handset).
Nokia’s N8 Now on T-Mobile
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010
The Nokia N8 has not yet been released, but mobile network operator T-Mobile UK has announced that pre-registration slots for the upcoming Symbian N series handset are already available. So anyone who has been dying to try out the Symbian foundations’ latest operating system might want to check out T-Mobile’s official website.
For those who are on a different network, there is no immediate need to switch carriers just yet. It has also been announced that Vodafone UK will also be offering the Nokia N8 on its contracts and tariffs; details are expected to be released by the end of next week –here’s to hoping for pre-order slots to be made available.
Anyway, some tech fans might be wondering why there is very little hype or fuss surrounding the Nokia N8. The handset itself is pretty impressive; it is a media centric device that focuses heavily on HD video recording and playback. The new UI for the Symbian^3 is quite dynamic and feels a lot more like the UI layouts we see in newer platforms. Despite all this, the media attention with Nokia seems to be focused elsewhere.
This is because of the fact that the Nokia N9 smart phone will be launching shortly after the N8 and it will be featuring the MeeGo operating system –which is a combination of the Maemo OS from Nokia and the Moblin OS from Intel. Not only does the N9 come with an all new OS, but it also shares very similar specifications to the Nokia N8.
However, this does not mean that the Symbian Foundation has already hang up its gloves and quit. In fact, it has just been recently known that the Symbian^4 operating system is in the works and some initial screenshots of the official OS running on an emulator have popping up online recently.