Smart Phones of today

Rim and Verizon Wireless have just announced RIM’s first touch-screen device, the BlackBerry Storm. The phone is equipped with dual-band CDMA radios for use on Verizon’s EV-DO Rev, 3G network in the U.S., and quad-band GSM/EDGE and HSPA 2100MHz for 3G coverage when roaming in Europe.

The BlackBerry Storm also comes with multiple Bluetooth profiles support, stereo playback, a 3.26-inch touch sensitive display, that measures 480 x 360 pixels. The phone is also equipped with a 3.2 megapixel camera with flash and auto-focus, and it includes includes a full QWERTY keyboard-when used in landscape mode-and a SureType keyboard-when held in the portrait orientation. It also has standard GPS and a-GPS, and it will come with BlackBerry Maps.

The BlackBerry Storm also has a 3.5mm headset jac, media player for music and video, full HTML browser, 1GB of on-board memory and supports microSD cards up to 8GB. It comes with other applications too, like E-Mail, Microsoft Docs viewing and editing, and messaging features.

The BlackBerry Storm will be launched in collaboration with Vodafone and it will be available in the U.S., Europe and Australia, starting with November.
The BlackBerry Storm, exclusively from Verizon Wireless and Vodafone, also includes the following features and functions:

• BlackBerry Internet Service, BlackBerry Unite!, BlackBerry Professional Software and BlackBerry Enterprise Server support for seamless integration with corporate email systems and the security and IT policy controls that enterprise customers require
• Edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the handset
• 3.2 megapixel camera, with variable zoom, auto focus, and a powerful flash that also provides continuous lighting when recording video; the camera records video in half-VGA resolution (480×320) or at 176×144 for MMS
• 1 GB of on board memory storage and 8 GB microSD memory card included in expandable memory card slot
• Media player that can find content on the handset in an instant, display pictures and slideshows quickly, play movies smoothly in full screen mode in any orientation, and manage an entire music collection; playlists can be created directly on the handset and there’s an equalizer with 11 preset filters – including “Lounge”, “Jazz” and “Hip Hop” for customized audio ranges when using wired headphones or external speakers
• Sleek, elegant design with contoured corners, stainless steel back and chrome side-accents that frame its large (3.26″), touch sensitive, glass lens display; its exceptional 360 x 480 resolution at 184ppi, offering the highest resolution display ever introduced on a BlackBerry smartphone, is crisp and colorful with clarity that’s easy on the eyes
• A sensor automatically adjusts to ambient light for ideal screen viewing and an orientation sensor allows customers to use the handset in a portrait or landscape position
• Additional details related to availability and pricing will be announced in the coming weeks. To learn more, visit www.verizonwireless.com/storm.
• Virtual keyboards are also available in AZERTY, QWERTZ and other configurations to support different language groups.

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i always thought there won’t be VOIP on the iPhone due to contractual agreements with the carriers. so i was surprised to see fring get an iPhone/iPod Touch release. the catch of course is, that i can only be used on WIFI but not using G3, and what a joke that is. never the less fring has shot up to number 1 in the free application list at the app store. at least here in switzerland. since i have used fring for awhile on my symbian phone, Nokia N95, i thought i’d compare the two implementations:

fring on iPhone/iPod Touch

positive:
the graphic interface is awesome

negative:
VOIP limited to WIFI, and therefore dependent on the solidity of the WIFI connection
can’t run the application in the background, when i close the application i disconnect from the service
the oh soooo annoying auto-correction feature can’t be switched off when typing IMs

fring on symbian

positive:
lets me chose if i want to use WIFI or my mobile connection
has a hide feature, meaning it is still running in the background while i am doing other things
i can type IMs with my keyboard similar to text messaging, auto-correction i can switch off

negative:
the graphical interface is atrocious looks extremely retro and fuzzy

basically the iPhone implementation is pretty to look at but other than that pretty much unusable. i love pretty things so i might still prefer to use it, if say i am next door waiting for someone to log onto skype. but nothing else makes sense.

(btw. i installed this on my iPod Touch, knowing full well that i can’t use the skype call function, which i could only use if i jailbreak my iPod. but fring is a decent IM client as well, it lets me add icq, yahoo, msn, aol accounts and use my iPod touch to be available for IMs.)

Fring Turns Your iPhone Into a Free Skype Phone

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If you’re anxiously waiting to try out the upcoming T-Mobile G1 handset powered by Google’s Android platform then you should head on over to a dedicated T-Mobile G1 web portal where you can virtually try out the handset and some of the features through an online emulator. It allows you to rotate the new G1 360 degrees to get a really good look at all angles of this device. The 360 allows you to slide the screen up to reveal the full Qwerty keyboard.

The G1 emulator is very functional and fun to play with. The guide tab gives you 4 different options for viewing how the hardware of the G1 works. The first demonstrates how the screen slides up for use of the keyboard. The battery removal shows just how the back of the device is taken off to reveal the battery. Sim Card Insertion shows that in order to replace the Sim Card you must first remove the battery. However you do not have to remove the battery to insert or remove the MicroSD card. This makes accidentally loosing the card a lot easier and opens the opportunity of getting dirt inside the slot.Unfortunately, it’s not 100% accurate, given it shows their HSDPA network is actually available something that won’t be true for a very significant number of people who buy the next-gen handset. But it does give you the general feel of the device for those interested. Have fun and remember to order your G1, brown, black or white

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2008 has brought more 8 Megapixel camera phones than the world has probably expected, but if these are still not enough for you, wait and see what 2009 will come with. Apparently, Sony Ericsson, the one and only maker of Cyber-shot mobile phones, plans to raise the bar with a 12 Megapixel handset.

This should be the successor of Sony Ericsson C905, codenamed Shiho, which packs an 8.1 MP camera with autofocus, xenon flash and all the other features required for high-quality photography.

MobileMentalism has got tipped off about the new Sony Ericsson 12 megapixel phone codenamed Kokura and says that it’ll be based on TI3240 chipset, Symbian 9.4 S60 OS and will have iPhone like touchscreen interface.

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Nokia 5800 XpressMusic will be among the first devices to support Comes With Music, Nokia’s groundbreaking service which offers one year of unlimited access to the entire Nokia Music Store catalogue.
Taking advantage of touch screen technology, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic introduces the ‘Media Bar’, a handy drop down menu that provides direct access to music and entertainment, including favourite tracks, videos and photos. The Media Bar also offers a direct link to the web and to online sharing.

Because the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic supports Flash content, individuals can surf the entire web, not just pieces of it. In addition, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic offers all the music essentials, including a graphic equalizer, 8GB memory for up to 6000 tracks and support for all main digital music formats, and a 3.5mm jack. Built-in surround sound stereo speakers offer the industry’s most powerful sound.

‘As Nokia’s first mass-market device with a touch screen, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic turns a ‘user interface’ into a ‘human interface’ by truly putting people first. For example, we’ve introduced the Nokia Contacts Bar, which is like a digital RSS feed on your life,’ said Harlow. ‘By adding the benefits of touch screen technology to S60, the world’s leading smartphone interface, Nokia is taking the familiar and giving it a human touch. We have used touch technology where it really adds value such as the Contacts Bar, Media Bar and clever shortcuts from the homescreen to menu items such as calendar, profiles and clock.’

The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic also features a 3.2 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens and, with a single touch, images or videos can be shared via a favorite online community, such as Share on Ovi, Flickr, or Facebook. Music playlist song titles can also be shared through Bluetooth, MMS or online sharing.

The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic will be available worldwide beginning in the fourth quarter of 2008 for an estimated retail price of 279 EUR before taxes and subsidies. The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic featuring Comes With Music will be available early next year. Pricing details to follow.

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Features List

Contacts Bar -Person centric user interface with visualized contacts
Media Bar -Always an easy access to your favorite media
3.2 inch display
Stereo speakers with surround sound
Stylus and finger touch support for text input and user interface control
Powerful connections with 3G, HSDPA and WLAN
3.2 megapixel autofocus camera with Carl Zeissoptics and dual-LED flash
Front camera for video calls
Built-in A-GPS and Nokia Maps and voice guided navigation
Responsive touch screen with tactile feedback
Proximity sensor for preventing inadvertent touches and for saving power
nHDwidescreen quality video playback

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Specifications:

WCDMA 2100/900,GSM 850/900/1800/1900,HSDPA, WLAN
or GSM 850/900/1800/1900
or WCDMA 850/1900, HSDPA, WLAN, GSM 850/900/1800/1900
User Interface:S60 5th Edition
Dimensions:111 x 51.7 x 15.5 mm (L x W x T)
Weight:109 g
Display:3.2 inch nHD(640 x 360 pixels) with up to 16 million colors
Battery: Nokia Battery BL-5J,1320mAh Lion
Memory:81 MB internal memory, support for up to 16GB microSD memory card
CameraLens:Carl ZeissTessar
Image capture:Up to 3.2 megapixels(2048 x 1536)
Video capture:nHD(640 x 360) at up to 30 fps
Flash:Dual-LED camera flash
Talk time: Up to 9 hours (GSM),5 hours (WCDMA)
Standby time: Up to 17 days (GSM),17 days (WCDMA)
Music playback:Up to 35 hours
Video playback:Up to 5 hours (Mpeg4) 3 hours (nHD)
WLAN (IEEE 802.11 b/g)
MicroUSB, 3.5 mm AV connector
Bluetooth wireless technology 2.0 with A2DP stereo audio, AVRCP

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