HTC Magic gets manhandled

HTC Magic gets manhandled, is really quite sexy, I argued, when the T-Mobile G1 was launched, that it wasn’t the perfect phone. You may well remember. The design was a bit… well, not that pretty, and despite the Android operating system, I wasn’t a massive fan of the phone. However, you may also remember that I said the G1 wasn’t a make-or-break device for Google Android, and that it was future phones that were actually the exciting ones to look out for.

Phones like the second HTC Android phone, the HTC Magic.

Well, thanks to Engadget Mobile, we now have some more pictures of it being manhandled, and my incredibly accurate prophecy is coming true, ’cause the HTC Magic is really quite lovely. The main reason for it looking so much better than the G1 has to be the fact it’s keyboard-less, being more akin to the HTC Touch HD in design. And that means it’s thinner. However, they’ve also changed the surface texture, giving it a glossy finish, instead of that ever-so-slightly odd matte finish on the G1.

Overall, the reason I like it so much is because… well, it feels like a modern phone design, whereas the G1 always felt a tiny little bit like an old design they’d taken out of the ‘not used’ bin, and applied to the first Google Android phone.

Oh, and that sliding screen on the G1, the way it used to kind of swing out, not slide in a straight line, always got on my nerves for some reason…

Of course, in terms of software between the two, they’re both functionally identical, except for one big difference, in that the HTC Magic runs a new development called ‘Cupcake’. Or, to us mere mortals, it has an onscreen keyboard, with the makers having realised that a phone without any way to enter text and numbers is a bit rubbish, since the G1 didn’t have a software keyboard, and neither did ‘pre-Cupcake Android’.

All in all, then, I reckon the HTC Magic (and you just know the one in the pic is begging to be called the Black Magic… now that’s a cool name…) is a much more enticing phone than the G1. I’m not quite as excited about it as I am about the Palm Pre, and I’m nowhere near as excited as I am about the Sony Ericsson Idou, but this is definitely one to keep an eye on!

UK Networks to remove Skype

One of the cool features you’ll find on a fair few modern mobile phones is Skype. It’s even had an entire phone named after it (no prizes for guessing it was the 3 Skypephone)! However, it’s not the only phone to have this well-known VoIP service built in, because Nseries phones are getting in on the action, too, most notably the Nokia N97, where Nokia plan to have it linked in to the contacts, so you can Skype someone (snigger, that still sounds rude to me), straight from your phonebook.

There may just be a tiny hiccup in that plan, though, because it doesn’t sound like the UK networks are particularly happy about that, according to IT Pro Portal…

Most vocal in their criticism have been O2 and Orange, and when you think about it, it’s easy to see why they’re kicking up a stink. If you’re making calls through Skype, then you’re not making normal voice calls, and they lose the revenue they’d make from you making normal voice calls. Theoretically, that could lead to them deciding not to sell the Nokia N97, which, let’s remind the world, is already generating massive amounts of buzz before it even goes on sale.

Meanwhile, T-Mobile are being smart, and thinking the same as I would (and this is where I reckon O2 and Orange are missing out on a trick). Sure, you may get a hit on voice calls, but just look at Three: they have the Skypephone range as one of their key products, and what having Skype built in actually seems to do is make for more loyal customers, who spend more through your network!

It’s an interesting battle that’s shaping up, and I can’t wait to see how it plays out. On the one hand, the networks want to maximise the amount of money they can from people, and don’t want Skype screwing their profits. On the other hand… the Nokia N97 is one of the most anticipated phones ever, and surely any network would be daft to not sell it!

Ooh, an interesting Catch 22, there. I’m intrigued how this one’s gonna play out.

Obama allowed to keep Blackberry

Obama allowed to keep Blackberry, gets a tank for a work phone :

Not long after Barack Obama won the election to become the 44th US President, there was a whole debate going on about whether he’d be allowed to keep his beloved Blackberry, since it seemed unlikely he’d be able to (no previous President had a mobile phone, due to it being a matter of national security). Well, according to Mobile Crunch, we have our answer. President Obama WILL be keeping his Blackberry!

He just won’t be able to use it for official business, which is fair enough, because it’s no different from me using a Sony Ericsson X1 as MY phone, and having a W950 as my work phone.

Ah, except it’s a slightly different situation to me having two mobile phones. Y’see, the reason Obama has to have a dedicated work phone is for security, so that classified info can’t be hacked, and so that he can’t be tracked with it. So, simply giving him another Blackberry won’t cut the mustard.


That rules out a Blackberry Storm, then.

So, what he’s actually going to be using is the Sectera Edge, a phone that’s more secure than any on the planet, that gives him one touch access to his own secure internet, the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet), and that’s been certified by the NSA. Blimey, that’s even more James Bond-ish than James Bond’s phone! Of course, it’s been not just hit but battered to death by the ugly stick, but given that it’s probably more secure than Guantanamo Bay (which, incidentally, Barack Obama has pledged to shut down), I reckon we can forgive it for looking like a tank. Seriously, take a look at this bad boy…

Actually, there’s a reason it looks like that, and this, right here, is why I really, really want to get me a Sectera Edge. Look at the name above the screen; no Nokia or Sony Ericsson badges here. Nope, this is made by General Dynamics, not a name you’ll be familiar with seeing on mobile phones.

But you see it on other things.

Like the Abrams M1A2 main battle tank, for instance.

Or the Stryker armoured combat vehicle.

Or the GAU-17 Minigun. You know the one. It’s the one that fires upwards of 3,000 rounds a minute. You know, that rotary thing, that Arnie used in Predator and Terminator 2. Oh, and it was in The Matrix, as well.

Now do you see why I want one…?

Criminal ‘not-at-all-a-Mastermind’ steals top secret

Criminal ‘not-at-all-a-Mastermind’ steals top secret prototype phones from Sony Ericsson :

Now here’s a story you don’t come across every day, courtesy of the Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog. Anybody who keeps their ear to the ground knows that you sometimes see leaks of upcoming mobile phones on the net. Well, a man from Sweden has gone one step further, and taken it upon himself to steal a big, hefty load of prototype phones from Sony Ericsson themselves.

Oh, and when I say a big, hefty load, I mean about £61,000-worth!

Quite apart from wondering how the hell big the guy’s overcoat was to fit all those mobile phones underneath, one has to question the thought process that went through the guy’s head. I suspect that if his brain had gone into second gear when he was planning his little caper, it should have, really, come up with this train of thought:

“I know, I’ll nick a load of phones from Sony Ericsson, and get some of their prototypes, that SE fans will go nuts over, but that none of the other manufacturers will want to buy off me, and that I’ll not be able to fence before the police catch me and Sony Ericsson tear me a new one…”

Yes, genius plan there, Mr Swedish Criminal. There’s no report on what mobile phones were nicked, obviously, since Sony Ericsson’ll keep that very close to their chest, but if they were prototypes, logic dictates they’d be of interest. Also, there’s no report on what the police said when they found the haul, but if it didn’t include the words “whoa, look at that, 12 megapixels!” I’ll be severely disappointed.

Of course, while I can’t condone what the thief did, and think that he’s a complete numpty for even contemplating it, I’d have killed to see what mobile phones were in his haul. Next year’s successor to the Sony Ericsson X1, maybe? Or perhaps the 12MP successor to the Sony Ericsson C905 that you just know they’re going to make? Perhaps even the SE Android phone that’s surely on its way?

Tell you what, I’d have killed to be one of the arresting officers, I’d have got to pepper-spray someone, hit them repeatedly with a nightstick, possibly taser them, and see next year’s mobile phones…

The top five reasons why the Nokia N97 will rock

The top five reasons why the Nokia N97 will rock :
You’ve probably noticed this in the past (and trust me, you’ll continue to notice it in the future), but here at Mobileshop, when we see an upcoming mobile phone that we really like the look of, we want to shout about it to the whole world. Especially me. Seriously, I have co-workers here, who’ve considered gaffer taping my mouth shut.

Well, if you’ve seen this blog recently, you’ll know there’s one phone in particular, due out later in the year, that I reckon looks raaaaather nice. So nice, in fact, that I seem to remember using the phrase ‘the canine’s conkers’ to describe it, since that was the only phrase that seemed to do it justice. It is, of course, the Nokia N97.

It seems I’m not the only one who’s excited about the Nokia N97, due to a post on The Nokia Blog, where the writer lays out very simply why it’ll be brilliant (well, and the 5 things that could make it not be good, but that’s by the by). And you know what? I agree with his main argument, which is very simple (despite the name of the post - ‘5 reason not to buy the Nokia N97′ - and the fact he points out reasons it could fail):

The Nokia N97 is one flagship phone. It’s five flagship mobile phones, all in one. So, if you want the top 5 reasons why the Nokia N97 will rock the kasbah (and it will):

1. Nseries-esque hardware (incredible camera, GPS, super-fast web).
2. It’s the new touchscreen flagship, picking up the baton from the Nokia 5800.
3. It’s taking over as the new Ovi Portal flagship.
4. It’s picking up and going with the N-Gage baton, making it a top-end handheld games console as well…

…and since I want to be different, for my 5th reason…

5. Just look at it. Honestly, if this thing were a car, then to quote a Mr J. Clarkson, it’ll snap knicker-elastic at 50 paces…

One thing I do have to do, though, is refute the list of reasons why you wouldn’t buy it (not just because I’m argumentative… well, ok, a bit because I’m argumentative). Sure, there all valid concerns, about things like whether the battery life on the Nokia N97 is up to the task, whether it will have an iPhone-esque App Store, and whether it’ll let you use one login for all parts of the Ovi and N-Gage portals, without continuously logging in… but I’m going to share my thoughts on it, which I can sum up in one sentence…

No-one will care, they’ll buy it on the name, and the looks, and the hardware/touchscreen.

None of those 5 reasons not to buy the phone will stop people actually buying it, I predict, least of all Nokia fans. And if I’m wrong, well, you can dip me in sulphur and call me Susan…

Oh, and my thanks go to The Nokia Blog for writing such a good blog post, and getting me all inspired in the first place!

Control your mobile phone by, erm, blowing on it

Control your mobile phone by, erm, blowing on it…

After the Zumba phone, that you control with your voice comes a brand new innovation, this time from Korean manufacturer, Pantech. This time, though, it’s not your voice. Nope. According to Cnet Asia, this particular phone technology lets you control your phone by, erm, blowing on it.

Hmmm, ok…

Well, to be fair, it’s not just about controlling the phone by blowing on it, the whole system is actually called the Emotion Engine (oddly, the same name as the chip in the PS2), and brings a couple of new control methods to the party. First up is a feature letting the phone’s camera recognise movement, and so tell when the phone’s moving without needing an accelerometer, like you’d get in something like the Nokia 5800. Ok, granted, Sony Ericsson have talked about doing something similar for ages, but Pantech have pulled it off first.

Next is a part of the system Pantech call the ‘camera engine’. This would work by using the camera on the back of the phone, and by you waving your finger (or a ’stick’, it says in the source article) in front of that camera. The phone picks that up, and replicates it on screen, giving you a virtual proddy, pokey finger, controlled by your own waggling in front of the cam.

Finally, we come to the ‘blow engine’, the bit where you control your phone by blowing on it. Well, on the mic, technically, where you’d speak into normally. It’s said that the phone can recognise the difference between you blowing on it and the actual wind hitting it, and when you think about it, it’s actually quite a cool, if mental, idea. Imagine things like being able to turn off the phone by ‘blowing it out’ like a candle. Or maybe a sailing game where you blow to make your boat move.

That’s even more innovative than the pinchy motion iPhone users love, I’d say!

The next-generation Curve Blackberry 8900

In the world of mobile email, there’s one undoubted king: Blackberry. It’s fair bet that if you mention email on mobile phones, the first reaction of people is going to be Blackberry. We’ve reached the stage where it’s nearly hardwired in, especially since they’re not just the preserve of businessy types, nowadays.

Who’d have thought, when we saw those little blue and black email boxes (which weren’t exactly what you’d call pretty, let’s be honest), back in olden times, that they’d grow up and evolve to become the svelte beauties RIM (Research In Motion) populate the Blackberry range with today!

So, with their march into the consumer world continuing (Storm, and Bold, anyone?), there’s a new version of one of their business arena stalwarts, that takes the classic Curve series, and makes it all… well… gorgeous. Taking a definite design cue from the Bold, the Blackberry 8900 has a similar sweeping QWERTY keyboard, and the same ’stretched out across the whole front’ style of the four navigation keys. But then, the general shape of it is more like a hybrid between the between the previous Curve and the Blackberry Storm.

The question, though, is that with the Bold and the Blackberry Storm on the market, both of which are arguably (well, in some people’s opinions; more on that in a sec) better looking than this version of the Curve, why would you want to get a Blackberry 8900? Well, the answer comes from the Curve heritage it’s picked up from the 8310: ease of use. Yes, the Bold and the Blackberry Storm may have marginally better looks (and even that’s debatable, depending on your taste in phones), the Blackberry 8900 is the most satisfying to use. The gaps between the keys make the keyboard FAR nicer to use than the Bold, and although the Storm’s touchscreen is innovative (what with being a moving, clicky screen), it apparently makes your thumbs hurt by being an absolute pig to press down on.

The Blackberry 8900, meanwhile, looks good, and keeps the essential ease of use that’s always been present in Blackberry’s Curve line (which, I reckon, was always far nicer than the Pearl series). Or, in other words, if you want a phone to do email on, the Blackberry 8900 is the canine’s conkers…

Do you have a Blackberry 8900? Is Technical Markus right to say it’s the best email phone ever? Or does the Bold outclass it? Leave us a comment and have your say!

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Nokia E71 The Hidden Gem

Nokia E71 - the hidden gem in Nokia’s range of mobile phones

It’s always the flashy phones that get the publicity, isn’t it. Consider Sony Ericsson; the X1 Xperia and the C905 get all the hype, while the W902, possibly the best Walkman phone ever made, gets none of it. It’s the same with Nokia, too. Phones like the N96, N97 and 5800 have got loads of people shouting, to the point where other phones don’t get a look in.

Which is a shame, really, because having had a play with the Nokia E71, today, it’s one of the nicest phones I’ve had a go on in absolutely chuffin’ ages!

Now, I know what you’re thinking; it’s a Blackberry, innit. Well, yes, it does share some design traits with the Blackberry form factor. I’ll concede that. Oh ok, and it’s made to fit into the same niche as Blackberrys do. That doesn’t mean the Nokia E71 is any less of a phone because of that, though. The QWERTY keyboard takes messaging to a whole new dimension, whether it be email or text messaging, and I found it really nice to use, after a learning curve that can be measured in minutes. It’s laid out cleverly, software-wise, too, with a new home key (with a house on it) replacing the old yin-yang menu key previous Symbian-powered Nokia phones have had. The E71 also lets you have two separate home screens, one for work, where you can set it to show emails and tasks, for example, and one for home, where you could set it to show camera and music shortcuts.

All of this is possible, because it’s powered by Symbian S60, making it easily as powerful as its more famous Nseries siblings, and although the screen’s smaller than on those, the fact it’s in landscape mode makes it incredibly appealing to look at, in a quirky kinda way. Kinda like Alyson Hannigan. And the fact I always preferred Alyson Hannigan over Sarah Michelle Gellar in Buffy should be a massive hint that I’m pretty much assured to prefer this to the N96.

Not sure how well it holds its own against the Nokia 5800, though…

Anyway, the Nokia E71 is powerful, it looks gorgeous, it’s got a 3 megapixel camera that really does produce some brilliant photos, and it’s downright lovely in every respect. Oh, and shockingly thin for a phone this powerful.

Ok, granted, it might not have the big star power of the Nokia N97, or be as all-round, jaw-droppingly awesome as the N97, but you can guarantee it’s a damn sight cheaper, and if you get a Nokia E71, I’m tellin’ ya now, you will not regret it. Just ask my compadre Gary. He’s just got one, and his only regret is letting me have a look at it, as I’m now refusing to give it back…

Do you love the E71 as much as Techy Markus? Or do you think it’s a cheap Blackberry rip-off? Leave us a comment and have your say!

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iPhone vs. Nokia 5800

iPhone Killers - Chapter 3: iPhone vs. Nokia 5800
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the third chapter in out iPhone Killers season! After its successive victories against the LG Renoir and Samsung Pixon, the iPhone’s quoted as being ready to take on its next challenger.

Well, actually, it was quoted as saying, “Hut, hut, hut, bring it on, raaarrgh,” but you get the idea.

Today, though, the iPhone’s really got its work cut out for it, because it’s taking on a brand new phone that’s already shipped a million handsets. Not bad when it only went on sale in the UK last Friday (yes, ok, it sold most of those overseas, since it got released in places like Russia before the end of 2008). It’s one of the most anticipated mobile phones of all-time, and everyone has been talking about since it was announced by Nokia…

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for its toughest fight yet, as the iPhone takes on the Nokia 5800!

Half A Million Handsets Shipped In A Month

Nokia 5800 - half a million handsets shipped in just ONE month, If there was ever any proof needed that the Nokia 5800 is going to be a massive, massive seller, it’s arrived today in the shape of the Q4 sales report from Nokia CEO, Olli Pekka Kallasvuo, according to Engadget Mobile. It turns out that even before it gets released in the UK, whilst it’s been pushed in other countries like Russia, a huge big shedload of Nokia 5800s has been shipped by Nokia.

500, 000, to be exact…

In just one month…

Crikey, that’ a lot! Just goes to show, though, how popular Nokia are, and how popular touchscreen phones have become. Touchscreens are taking over, but I said, aaaaaaaaaaaaaages ago, that the Nokia 5800 would be one of the biggest selling of the lot, purely because it came from a certain company in Espoo, Finland. The iPhone may have some cool factor, but Nokia’s still the big boy in this marketplace! So, a big congratulations to Nokia, you’ve earned it by making the 5800 such a damn nice phone!

Now just imagine how big the sales figures’ll be when the Nokia N97 arrives…

Are you excited about the new Nokia 5800? You reckon it’s going to be the best thing in the world (at least till the N97 comes out)? Leave us a comment and share your excitement!

iPhone Nano on its way

Well, the rumour’s been going round for a while now, but it’s kicking up once again: according to the Boy Genius Report, there is an outside possibility we might be seeing a new, teeny-tiny version of the iPhone next year. In a not-so-shocking twist (since it’s based on the iPod naming structure), it’s rumoured to be called the iPhone Nano.

But how true are these rumours?


Well, they’ve been knocking about since August, and I’ll be honest, I haven’t reported on them before, because until there was something more concrete, I thought they were about as likely as Liechtenstein founding the first human colony on Mars. Until the new diminutive mobile phone was actually spoke about with some certainty, I would write it off as rubbish.

However, as BGR points out, there’s a new rumour going round, and it’s based on the website of a company called XSKN, who make cases and whatnot for mobile phones. They’ve now got up a product listing for silicon case for the iPhone Nano. Wishful thinking, in case Apple announce one? Well, maybe not, because XSKN have been involved in the history of the iPhone before, specifically with the iPhone 3G. Y’see, before the iPhone 3G was released, a company was promoting a silicon case for the iPhone 3G, which proved to be for the genuine article.

No prizes for guessing that company was, yup, XSKN.

So, they accurately predicted the launch of the iPhone 3G, due to having the physical specs for the mobile phone in their hands, which has to make one wonder whether they know something this time round, as wel.

Needless to say, we’ll be watching this with interest (especially Dan), and if/when Apple pushes the iPhone Nano out into the world of mobile phones, we’ll be there to talk about it, but frankly, if we’re talking about innovative, full-touchscreen, keyboard-less mobile phones, I’d still rather have the Blackberry Storm.

Nokia 1208
Thinnest qwerty mobile phone
Mobile phone radiation new device
Walking around world with google earth

Nokia 8800 Gold Arte

Another day, another luxury mobile phone, that can’t compete, features-wise, with its cheaper siblings! Today it’s the turn of… well, another version of the Nokia 8800 Arte, if I’m honest. Yep, today, thanks to Engadget Mobile, we get our first look at the Nokia 8800 Gold Arte.

Which is categorised and made special by being an 8800 Arte.
That’s gold.


Ok, to be fair to it, the 8800 Arte actually does have a reasonably decent spec, coming with a gorgeous 16 million colour screen, a really sharp 3 megapixel camera, and that cool thing where you can just turn your phone over to face down, to stop it ringing. And although it’s one of the most ostentatious mobile phones ever made, I have a bit of a soft spot for the 8800 Arte.

Despite the fact the Nokia 5800, which’ll cost a lot less on release (I’d bet my knicker drawer on it), can out-think it a thousand times over, that is…

However… I have no such soft spot for all the 8800 Arte’s silly siblings, whether they be Sapphire, Carbon, Gold, Diamond, Goose-feathers, Latex, Magma or Adamantium, so expect no such mercy on the Gold Arte. Quite apart from the fact it WILL cost more than my car did, just look at it. Covered in gold and sandwiched between hunks of white leather, front and back, if you use this particular mobile phone, there is no possible physical way you won’t look like a footballer’s wife.

Even if you’re a man…

So, in conclusion, if you really want a luxury mobile phone, get the standard Nokia 8800 Arte, a phone that doesn’t make you look like a badly false-tanned WAG.

Nokia 1208
Thinnest qwerty mobile phone
Mobile phone radiation new device
Walking around world with google earth

Next gen Mobile Phone Gaming

Next-gen mobile phone gaming - Metal Gear Solid coming to iPhone
What we are witnessing here, folks, is the first ever instance of me being jealous of Dan and his iPhone. The Register are reporting that video game giants Konami are going to be porting one of their biggest and most popular franchises over to the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Metal Gear Solid.
My favourite ever game series (after Destroy All Humans, that is).
On the iPhone.
Damn.


And yes, it has been confirmed by Konami themselves that Metal Gear Solid Touch is on its way, and will be a completely original game set within the MGS4 era (so, Old Snake, then). Control-wise, it’s apparently controlled through the touchscreen itself, rather than using the accelerometer, and the sniper view, shown in the pic to the right, looks mint. The question is, though, whether the iPhone can do graphics that well, and whether those screenshots are genuine shots of the game running, or a mock-up made by Konami.

The thing is, I’ve seen that the iPhone can run 3D graphics rather well, so it’s undoubtedly going to be in 3D, and as for textures etc, well, they’re going to be lower resolution and not as gloriously awesome as the PS3 version, but the iPhone can handle some quite high levels of detail, so you never know, it could well rock.

Time will tell, but if it turns out as well as predicted, this could very well be the first thing ever to make me jealous of Dan and his iPhone.

Motorola’s masterplan for 2009

People have been saying for ages and ages and ages that Motorola need to pull something rather special out of the bag if they’re to recapture the glory they once had. They need to be launching some really rather shockingly good mobile phones to stop the rot that came from their complete dependence on the RAZR.

Well, if the concept pics on the Boy Genius Report are genuine, they may very soon be about to do that!

Now, I should point out that until I see these mobile phones confirmed by Motorola themselves, I’ll be considering them rumours, but it has to be said that BGR is convinced they’re the real deal, so they’re definitely worth keeping an eye on. Let’s hope they are genuine, because frankly, they look superb! More to the point, they don’t look like Motorolas.


So, what can we expect from Motorola in 2009? Well, first out the gate, according to the rumours, will be the Motorola Rush 2, a funkily-coloured, side-sliding, QWERTY keyboard job, that really comes across like a teeny-bopper-type messaging mobile phone, not unlike the Sidekick, but with a bright red keyboard. Next, there’s the Inferno, which possibly has the best codename ever seen on any mobile phones, ever. As for what it looks like, expect it to be similar to the Krave ZN4, a mobile phone that, erm, never appeared in the UK.

Next on the roster is that mobile phone up there in the pic at the top of this post, the Calgary, another side-sliding QWERTY mobile phone that also appears to have a huge touchscreen. Finally, there’s the Flash, which has to be a touchscreen mobile phone since it doesn’t have a keypad on it, anywhere. In fact, squint a bit and you’ve got a mobile phone that’s the spitting image of the HTC Touch HD, which can only be a good thing, as the HTC Touch HD rocks most assuredly (Trust me on that, my colleague Matthew’s just got one, and dear god is it nice)!

Don’t take my word for it, though, see for yourselves:

Nae bad looking at all, are they! Mind you, considering Motorola have been relying on the RAZR for about 1,400 years (a rough estimate of how long it feels), it’s about time we saw something new come along! And let’s not forget that Motorola have said their top-end mobile phones in the coming months and years will be powered either by Windows Mobile or Google Android, so it’s entirely possible that what we’re seeing, in amongst those four concept, is the next Android phone.

HTC Touch HD

Over the past few weeks, my colleague Matthew has been champing at the bit to get his hands on the new toy he’d ordered. It’s fair to say that despite his naturally reserved nature, he’s been as excited about it as I’d be if Sony Ericsson ever said to me, “Here, have a free X1 Xperia.” (I live in hope…)

Well, Matthew is now a happy bunny, because the HTC Touch HD he ordered from Mobiles.co.uk has arrived. And he is a very happy bunny indeed. Needless to say, the first thing I did when I saw him today was whinge at him until he gave in and let me have a play with it, since I’ve been waiting since it was announced to have a fiddle about with one.


But this isn’t a normal handset review, no sirree bobby. There are plenty of reviews of the HTC Touch HD out there that do that po-faced thing of describing all the features, and rationally looking at the benefits and merits of each individual component. This won’t be one of them.

It seems only fair to a mobile phone like the HTC Touch HD that I give you a rundown of how what I was actually thinking when I was fiddling about with it. And I won’t beat about the bush, I’ll tell you exactly what I think of the HTC Touch HD in one sentence:

Sweet lord jeebus, this thing is incredible!

Seriously, I expected it to be nice, but blimey, it even blew me away. Everything about it just oozes quality, and despite what some people are saying about Windows Mobile being rubbish and slow, and despite what some people have said about TouchFLO 3D not being a good interface, I can categorically state that they’re wrong. The HTC Touch HD is silky smooth to use, and thanks to that massive (in the flesh, it really is scarily big) screen, even standard Windows Mobile options are finger-pressable, so that you very rarely, if ever, have to resort to yanking the stylus out.

So, yes, I genuinely can’t see what people are on about when they say there are flaws with the interface. The HTC Touch HD is easily one of the nicest mobile phones I’ve ever had the honour of playing with. It does have some flaws, such as no flash on the camera, and the lack of a physical keyboard (although, it has to be said, I was shocked how easy to use the onscreen keyboard is), as well as the fact that the accelerometer doesn’t make the screen flip over on its side in the menus (which would’ve been nice), but in all honesty, the HTC Touch HD is simply one of the best mobile phones I’ve ever tried out, despite those. I still want the X1 Xperia (because I’m a Sony junkie), but crikey, this thing so very nearly made me change my mind…

Oh, and now that Matthew’s got his HTC Touch HD (from Mobiles.co.uk, seriously, they've got some cracking deals on it), then we have a treat on its way for you. I shall be playing with the HTC Touch HD this afternoon, and blagging Dan’s iPhone 3G off him, so later in the week, expect a proper, full-on, head-to-head shoot-out between these two touchscreen giants. And believe me, since they’re so evenly matched, this is going to be one hell of a fight.

Mobile Phone Radiation New Device

New device will save us from the horrors of mobile phone radiation.
Ah, another day, another story designed to put the kerjiggers up people who use mobile phones, only this time, it comes with an added ‘we want to sell you stuff’ message, according to Engadget Mobile. Called E-waves, it’s a system that, according to creators Omega Pharma, will “counter potentially damaging radiation from mobile phones.”

Quite how it will do that is beyond me, since it’s described a tiny chip which goes… Well, no-one’s quite sure where you put it, whether it inside the mobile phone, or glues to your mobile phone’s battery cover, or what.


I was about to say I could think of a place it could be stuck, but I thought I’d best not. And I honestly can’t think of how a small chip can offset all the radiation a mobile phone allegedly gives off.

Allegedly, the E-waves chip can offset the radiation produced by mobile phones, and protect the user from that radiation, thus saving you from getting headaches and loss of concentration that the team behind the E-waves say are major side effects of using mobile phones. Oh, and it can also reduce the heating effect (that isn’t proved and might not even exist) of electromagnetic radiation inside the human body.

I cite that old chestnut, the ‘cooking eggs with mobile phones’ story, and state, yet again, that mobile phones cannot produce the levels of heat needed to cook an egg, let alone a human. Put it this way, if and when I get my X1 Xperia, I won’t be worrying about it making my face melt off.

If you feel the need to grab yourself an E-waves chip, expect to pay in the region of about £30-50, and if you do, please, please leave a comment and let us know how it works, because I cannot fathom it.

Walking Around The World With Google Earth

Going any places with google earth to the new place :




Walking around the world by google earth




Peta Indonesia dengan Google Earth



Palembang Lampung Jawa dengan Google Earth



Danau Toba di pulau sumatra diliat dengan google earth



Peta Jakarta dan seluruh indonesia, bahkan luar negeri , bisa melihat jalan dan rumah rumah. Peta tercanggih dari google earth.
Pulau jawa dan jakarta di lihat dengan google earth
( program untuk meliht peta dari google )


Google earth best functions :


Hebat kan bahkan bisa lihat sampai ke antariksa semua
asik kan ...software Google Earth

source -eli- : Original

Nokia’s newest next-gen mobile phone

They’ve only just announced the Nokia N97, but it seems Nokia may already have a new touchscreen mobile phone in the works, according to The Boy Genius Report. An image has popped up online, supposedly from a Nokia marketing pack, shouting about their next generation of touchscreen interfaces.

Notably, it looks nothing like the Symbian S60 Touch interface seen in the Nokia N97, instead being much more iPhone-esque in looks.

So, the question is, are we indeed looking at the next generation of Nokia’s touch-based mobile phones? Or is it just a concept picture? Or is the whole thing a colossal wind-up?

Will that phone ever see the light of day, or was it merely a rectangular box to Photoshop a screen onto, that is the question, and to be honest, I have no clue as to whether it’s actually going to appear as a real, physical mobile phone, but the image certainly looks kosher, leading many, including me, to think it’s at least genuinely from Nokia, and therefore shows something, even if it’s just the interface.

Mind you, that’d be no hardship, since the interface looks gorgeous. And a bit unprecedented, since it looks precisely eff all like the current incarnation of S60 Touch. Which says new interface, which possibly implies it’s our first glance at what Symbian Foundation mobile phones could look like?

Please note, that’s only wishful thinking on my part, there’s not a shred of evidence that’s what it actually is.

Other Google Android Phones

After the T-Mobile G1 - Other Google Android Phones are on the horizon.
Well, now the T-Mobile G1 has been launched, and now we’ve seen the queues forming to grab Google Android, it’s time to take a look at what other mobile phones are going to appear with that robotically-named operating system packed into ‘em.

Motorola

Given yesterday’s post about Motorola’s plans for survival, it should come as no surprise that one of the next Google Android mobile phones is going to be a Motorola. What may sound unusual is exactly what phone we can expect, as Motorola have said it will be a ’social networking smartphone’”.

I’m at a bit of a loss to work out precisely what that means, and I don’t think I’m the only one, although it certainly sound intriguing. We’re used to seeing smartphones, and we’re used to seeing mobile phones with things like direct access to Facebook on them. Hell, we’re used to seeing smartphones with things like that, too. So, what I’m at a bit of a loss to figure out is exactly what more they’ve added on to make this a dedicated ’social networking smartphone’.

Although rumoured specs from the Boy Genius Report include a 3.5 inch screen and slide-out QWERTY keyboard, theoretically putting it in high-end smartphone territory, if I’m honest, the words ‘Sidekick Slide’ are treacherously sliding towards my lips, here…

Samsung/LG

So, Motorola are all set to get into the Android game, but who else’ s mobile phones can we expect to see? Well, persistent rumours keep popping up now and again that the two Korean giants, Samsung and LG, are going to be making mobile phones built on Android. However, those rumours are unproven, so until we get firm confirmation from either of the manufacturers, I reckon it’s safe to assume those mobile phones are ‘fictional until proven otherwise’.

Of the big names, it seems only Motorola and HTC are definitely confirmed to be making future Google Android phones.

Hop-on/OpenMoko

No, I’d never heard of them till recently, either. Hop-on’s most well-known product (aside from their cloned mobile phones, one of which looks virtually identical to the Nokia 5310) seems to be that $10 disposable mobile phone over there, to the right, look:-

However, Hop-on now say they plan to storm into the top-end mobile phone market, with their first Google Android phone, due at some point next year. No word on what it’ll be like, or even whether it will happen at all, but Hop-on say it will come in at under $200 (roughly £123) when it’s released, making it the cheapest Google Android phone.

Meanwhile another name that’s hugely unknown in the UK, OpenMoko is alleged to be heading towards building Google Android phones, which does ring true, since their current mobile phones run on Linux, and Android is made essentially from, you guessed it, Linux.

Asus

The last name on the list might be surprising to some, but not to anyone who’s seen any of Asus’s previous mobile phones. Although it’s unlikely you will have done, since they sold them in Asia, not the UK. The name, over here, is far more familiar from their range of netbook-style EeePCs… or, as I tend to call it the EeeeeeeeeeeeeeebygumPC. Well, it’s rumoured their range of mobile phones is going to expand, to include Android. It’s also rumoured that they’ll share a branding with the EeePC.

What, the EeePhone’s on its way, then? Eee1, maybe?

Ooh, no, ePhone, that’d work!

So there we have the state of what we know so far. Other than HTC (responsible for the T-Mobile G1) and Motorola, it seems the list of people officially developing Google Android phones is limited to not very famous names, who’ve realised that you can use Android for free. So, where are the Nokias, where are the Sony Ericssons?

Well, I’ve said it many times before, and I just need to end this post with two words to answer that question:

Symbian and Foundation…

The first ever Google Android phone is available! Grab yourself the T-Mobile G1 today!

Nokia 1208
Thinnest qwerty mobile phone
Mobile phone radiation new device
Walking around world with google earth

The Next Generation GPS sat-nav Pants

News has come through to us today from The Age; apparently, lingerie-luminary Lucia Lorio has gotten right up the nose of feminists round the world with her new creation:

GPS-enabled lingerie…

Some feminist groups are up in arms, calling it the 21st Century equivalent of a chastity belt, but Lorio is at pains to point out that it’s purely designed for harmless titillation and fun, kinda like a modern version of hide and seek. Or catch me if you can. So, it’s being billed, in Lorio’s own words, as ‘a wink to women and a challenge to men.’ Added peace of mind for whatever comely wench wears it can be had from the fact that she chooses when and where she turns the GPS unit on, and therefore, when her paramour can track her.

Once you get over the initial bizarreness of the idea… well, it still seems bizarre, but apparently, some women in the company’s home territory of Brazil are buying it as a form of protection, which isn’t that surprising, when you consider that Brazil’s got the third highest rate of kidnapping in Latin America, just after Colombia and Mexico.

The question remains of how the woman’s other half is going to chase after her, since she could theoretically be miles away, and unless he’s got mobile broadband to get to her location relatively quickly, traipsing 3 miles is going to dampen one’s wanton ardour quicker than an ice cube down your pants.

Of course, if it’s just a website you have to log in to, to find her, then you could do that on something as simple as the Sony Ericsson X1, instead of a laptop, and since it’s also got Live Messenger built in, you can be in constant contact with her, exchanging scintillating messages, or more likely, telling her that next time, she can wear normal undies and get her backside round to your place, instead of sending you wandering round São Paulo for 3 hours. And of course, if she’s really wound you up, the danger is you’ll keep telling her you’re just round the corner, when all the time you’re at home, with your feet up sniggering, as you direct her to the shops…

And I’d like to point out that it took quite a lot of thinking to work out how to shoehorn mobile phones into this story.

Nokia 1208
Thinnest qwerty mobile phone
Mobile phone radiation new device
Walking around world with google earth