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  Phones Review

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  h1 a:hover {background-color:#888;color:#fff ! important;} div#emailbody table#itemcontentlist tr td div ul { list-style-type:square; padding-left:1em; } div#emailbody table#itemcontentlist tr td div blockquote { padding-left:6px; border-left: 6px solid #dadada; margin-left:1em; } div#emailbody table#itemcontentlist tr td div li { margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:1em; } table#itemcontentlist tr td a:link, table#itemcontentlist tr td a:visited, table#itemcontentlist tr td a:active { color:#000099; font-weight:bold; text-decoration:none; } img {border:none;} Phones Review New scarlet variant of the Sidekick Slide from T-Mobile Posted: 17 May 2008 12:46 PM CDT This was probably expected anyway, Motorola and T-Mobile has released a new variant of the Sidekick Slide mobile phone to replace that rather drab pulverized shade of purple with yes you've guessed it, a rather drab pulverized shade of red, or scarlet at they call it. You can probably guess the Sidekick Slide Scarlet doesn't change a thing other than the colour of the Sidekick Slide; it still has the same old QVGA display, same old 1.3 megapixel camera, and the same old trusty microSD slot, and Hiptop. Same usual features of strong email, and instant messaging, Bluetooth, web browser, built-in music player, MySpace and MyFavs Mobile integration. What else is there really to say about the Sidekick Slide Scarlet? Not that much really, same old same but with a different colour. Personally I think it is about time they put some other type of new slant on this tired mobile phone, the continually changing of the colourful appearance just doesn't really do the trick at getting the Sidekick Slide up there with the rest of the more technologically advanced mobile phones. Cost wise the T-Mobile Sidekick Slide Scarlet will set you back $199.99 on contract, and personally I'd go for something else if you are prepared to spend $199.99, after all give it a couple of months and we will be seeing yet another new Sidekick Slide hitting the shelves in yet another new colour, but still with everything else very much the tired old same. In closing on this one, in the immortal words from Gone with the Wind (Rhett Butler to "Scarlet") … "Frankly my dear I don't give a damn!" Source – engadgetmobile Pricing and release dates leaded on the BlackBerry Bold mobile phone Posted: 17 May 2008 11:36 AM CDT For all those Research In Motion BlackBerry fans out there who are dying to get to grips with RIM's latest QWERTY mobile phone, RIM's new hot BlackBerry Bold, you can now mark your calendars and get your saved bucks out from your special hiding place because the Research In Motion BlackBerry Bold's release dates and pricing have filtered onto the world wide web this morning. As most probably expected AT&T is to gain the BlackBerry Bold, also known as the BlackBerry 9000 before anyone else in July with the price tag of $300.00. Then later in September T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon customers can grab hold of the BlackBerry Bold. The strange thing is though; T-Mobile subscribers will have to fork out an extra $50.00, which does seem a little unfair. Spec wise it seems the BlackBerry Bold is aimed squarely at taking on the iconic Apple iPhone, for example the BlackBerry Bold's half VGA 480 x 320 resolution display is the same as that on the Apple iPhone. This higher resolution should mean a much sharper and clearer interface giving better quality video and images while allowing more room for larger web page surfing. Another thing is videos ripped for the Apple iPhone should also work on the BlackBerry Bold as well as long as they are not protected. Research IN Motion says the BlackBerry Bold's LCD is fused to the under-surface of the lens, and to be honest we are not sure just how that innovation will pan out. RIM's BlackBerry Bold features a 624 MHz processor, which is also along the lines of the Apple iPhone, and we are hoping RIM put that chip to good use in driving a graphically improved UI. As for the BlackBerry Bold's camera, it's a 2 megapixel with flash, and also has stereo speakers for music playback and speakerphone. The Bold's improved audio includes an equalizer for the media player and a large audio sweet spot when placing the mobile phone to your ear. Of course those release dates and prices above are not official so things may probably change but they give a ballpark figure as to what one can expect once the BlackBerry Bold hits the shelves. Source – infosyncworld HTC Touch Diamond Palls up camera-wise with the Apple 3G iPhone Posted: 17 May 2008 09:31 AM CDT The latest high-end smartphone unveiled by HTC is of course the HTC Touch Diamond; well apparently the HTC Touch Diamond is to have a lens camera similar to that of Apple's second generation iPhone, which according to popular rumours should be released sometime in June or July, (this is of course presuming said rumours hold some truth in the matter). Digitimes, quoting the Chinese Economic Daily News website has said HTC has reportedly signed an agreement with Largan Precision, who apparently will provide camera lens for all HTC Touch Diamond mobile handsets to come on the market. Based in Taiwan, just like HTC, Largan Precision has a huge experience in producing photo camera lens, and supplies the lens which is presently integrated by Apple in the Apple 2.5G iPhone. Another thing, it is almost certain Largan Precision will supply the lens for the Apple 3G iPhone as well. Taking this into consideration it should mean that the new Apple 3G iPhone camera should be pretty much just the same as that of the 3.2 megapixel camera packed into the HTC Touch Diamond. Back on the 6th of May came the official announcement of the HTC Touch Diamond which seems to be their most advanced mobile smartphone to date with the HTC Touch Diamond sporting amongst other high-end features, a unique TouchFLO 3D interface, tri-band GSM and Dual-band HSDPA connectivity, a 2.8 inch touch-screen display with 240 x 480 pixel resolution, handwriting recognition, WiFi, GPS, Windows Mobile 6.1, Opera Web browser, music and video players, and 4GB of built-in memory, and all this is packed into a stylish, slim casing with a stunning diamond design on its rear. The Apple 3G iPhone on the other hand is to apparently have similar features along with a wider display, which should be in the region of approximately 3.5 inches. So I would say it's fairly clear that the Apple 3G iPhone and the HTC Touch Diamond are going to be in direct competition with each other on the lucrative" Touch-screen mobile phone market." At this moment it is impossible to judge which of these two mobile phones will actually be the most successful, no doubt only time will tell, and I reckon what it all boils down to in the end is the good old Windows verses Mac war, what do you think? Source – softpedia So just how does Apple keep their iPhone 2.0 a secret? Posted: 17 May 2008 08:46 AM CDT Apple has been able to maintain a certain amazing reputation for being able to take their products all the way through the development stage and even to the point of having millions of items ready to ship, and all without a single leak making it out into the light of the internet. So how do they manage it? With the first generation Apple iPhone they managed for a whopping 30 months of development with manufacturing partners, as well as carriers like AT&T and even the might of Google as they too developed applications for the Apple iPhone. However during all this 30 months not one significant leak, not a whisper of a leak made it out; in fact even when the Apple iPhone was unveiled some Apple senior managers were also seeing it for the first time, unbelievable? Just like most major technology firms, Apple has the usual binding contracts with their employees, and no doubts it spells out in no uncertain terms that contributing to any leak would result in their dismissal and prosecution. However, what is the really astounding thing is 3rd-parties such as manufacturing partners and the like gain access to these innovative mobile phones long before they are officially unveiled, and yet details still manage to go un-leaked. Apparently, when the original Apple iPhone was unveiled, Apple employees were even prevented for informing their own families about the ultra top secret project they had been working on. Apple's head of marketing, Phil Schiller, and one of the very few Apple executives involved with the iPhone project from the beginning stated he too had to keep any knowledge of the iPhone development project from his wife and children. Apparently when he left his home for the official unveiling, Schiller said his son inquired, "Dad, can you finally tell us now what you've been working on?" Steve Jobs paused during the keynote to actually acknowledge the sacrifices and strain that the past months has brought not just for Apple employees who managed to keep the secret really well, but also for their families, he said with obvious sincerity: "We couldn't have done it without you." So in closing I just have to say, I still have no idea how they manage to keep such a tight lid on things. So if you have any clue drop us a line. Source - dialaphone Aliph Jawbone 2 Bluetooth headset hands on review plus 3 videos: The good and bad Posted: 17 May 2008 08:11 AM CDT Update: Yesterday we told you about the all new Aliph Jawbone 2 Bluetooth headset (See Here) so today we thought we would give you the low down on it. Before we start below this review there are 3 videos of this headset for you to watch and enjoy. First of all let me say what is good about the Aliph Jawbone 2, well it is highly fashionable there is no questioning that plus it is very comfortable to wear and probably has one of the best noise-canceling and voice-enhancement technologies than any other headset which gives you true quality. The bad points on this headset are that it does not have a volume rocker and the LED light is right on top of the talk button. Overall this has to be the best headset on the market in design and sound quality. The Aliph Jawbone 2 Bluetooth headset costs $129.99 and this will give you Over 4 hours of talk time, over 8 days standby time, range of up to 33 feet (10 meters), 80% charge in 35 minutes, 100% charge in 1 hour, choices of Black / Silver / Rose Gold and supports Bluetooth® 1.1, 1.2, and 2.0, oh and it only weighs 10 grams. The Aliph Jawbone 2 to me has no negatives what so ever really in the grand scale of things and in that I mean there is nothing really to complain about, it is sexy, light, has very good sound quality and the new ear hook design is very comfortable indeed. The noise-canceling technology has been upgraded to give you clear, no interference listening, it has been upgraded from Noise Shield to Noise Assassin technology which has been thoroughly tested by the military and approved by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), the U.S. Department of Defense’s independent research branch. Ok at $129.99 it is expensive but hey you get what you pay for and it beats using your mobile phone whilst driving doesn't it now. The styling is nice with its diamond pattern on the front which basically gives you a three dimensional texture, the Aliph Jawbone 2 is so much better than the predecessor because it is 50 percent smaller. What we really like is the fact you cannot see the controls on the Jawbone 2 but you can feel them, you must know that there is no rocker volume controls because the headset automatically adjusts the volume dependant to the environment you are in and this is thanks to the Assassin technology, you can however turn the Noise Assassin off by simply pressing the Noise Assassin button, the Noise Assassin button also acts as a singular volume control, meaning you have to cycle through different volume levels to get to the right volume. All that said, we would’ve preferred a volume rocker anyway, for ease of use. When you buy this product you will get different size earpiece covers and different ear hooks as well which will give individuals a better fit. Now please watch the 3 videos provided below, and please do comment we would love to know what you think of the all new Aliph Jawbone 2 Bluetooth headset. Enjoy. You can also visit the product page here. Today Screen Functionality on Apple iPhone from Intelliscreen Posted: 17 May 2008 07:39 AM CDT Unfortunately the Apple iPhone lacks many features that have come to be accepted as standard by many mobile phone users, and one of the features the Apple iPhone is lacking in their first offering is a functional "Today Screen" whereby at-a-glance useful information is viewed on the display by the user. However, being lacking doesn't mean the first rendition of the iconic Apple iPhone can't have one, as the prolific iPhone developer community has easily proven in the past, and come up with many new developments. So enter the intelligence of Intelliscreen, who along with a touch of jailbreak wizardry can put email, SMS text messages, news, calendar information, and weather direct on the Apple iPhone's locked-screen which is the "Slide to Unlock" screen if you like. Intelliscreen will display the most up-to-date data in categorised panes on a user's Apple iPhone locked-screen. So, in other plain and simple terms, with the application installed, you don't need to unlock your phone to access this data. Each of Intelliscreen's panes allows the user to scroll through current information conveniently on the iPhone's display while giving the user the option to launch the mail, SMS text messages and calendar along with many other applications with a quick swipe through the information pane. Of course the user will require to jailbreak their Apple iPhone to allow Intelliscreen to work. So just hit this friendly Apple iPhone Jailbreak Guide and get jiggy with this great 3rd-party Apple iPhone application. Next add the http://www.intelliborn.com/repo/Intelli.plist application repository to your Installer.app's "Source" list. Then locate "Intelliscreen" and simply install it; however, please be warned that this is only beta software. Source –intomobile Iron Man shoot-em-up game on your mobile phone: Are you a super hero? Posted: 17 May 2008 07:28 AM CDT Marvel Entertainment and Hands-On Mobile are bringing you the ultimate superhero Iron Man to your mobile phone, this new mobile phone game is based around the awesome film which is fantastic. We all know that this is not the first time Hands-On Mobile has brought us mobile games based on movies because they have already given us Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer and X-Men: The Last Stand and apparently they are making a mobile phone game based on the new Hulk movie. The new Iron Man game is a vertical scroller shoot-em-up; we have put a couple of screenshots below for you. Players of this game will be able to visit many locations including those that were in the film itself and then to top it of just go round shooting the hell out of everything that moves. Iron Man the movie is probably one of the best super hero movies that I have seen in a long time and would recommend everyone to go see it, anyway back to the game. In the Iron Man game you are an invincible man with repulsor rays and the devastating unibeam, yes you are the Armored Avenger in this shoot-em-up game. Some of the key features in this game are as follows - Stunning vertically scrolling shoot-’em-up with a Marvel-ous twist!, Take on giant boss characters and the ultimate challenge of Iron Monger!, Based on the live-action movie starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and Terrence Howard, Huge explosions and masses of enemies on land, sea and air, 4 levels of non-stop action based on the summer blockbuster! And Pick up power-ups as you fight, and augment the Mark III armor for maximum firepower. For more information on how to get this game please visit – Marvel Mobile Sony Ericsson sign Usher to lead Walkman campaign: Singer promotes W350 and W980 Posted: 17 May 2008 06:54 AM CDT Good news to all you Usher fans, if you love top celebrity singer Usher and also love Sony Ericsson Walkman mobile phones you will be happy to know that Sony Ericsson have just signed up the music sensation star to guide their campaign. Sony Ericsson are really stepping up to the plate in their music marketing campaign, SE has just signed up Usher who is a five-time Grammy award winner to promote two of their stunning mobile phones. The two mobile handsets will be the W350 and the W980. This new marketing campaign will start in June and onwards and will cover 20 European countries which include sponsorship rights for Usher's superb European tour which happens later in the year. Sony Ericsson have always concentrated on music with their Walkman phones and this is all great news, SE recently announced the process of expanding its PlayNow service, Sony Ericsson Music Marketing Manager John Bernard said the working with an artist such as Usher is the ideal fit for us. We all know how good Usher is and millions of fans follow him all around the world, this surely means good sales for Sony Ericsson which should put them at the top of the leader board of sales figures. We will update you more when the launch begins. Are you an Usher and Sony Ericsson Fan, and what would you love to see in this campaign? Source – Mobile Today Norton Security for Smartphones under £20: Windows Mobile and Symbian OS Compatible Posted: 17 May 2008 06:36 AM CDT You can now in Europe get the newly launched and first ever smartphone security software to protect you against mobile phone threats, the good news it costs less than £20. The new Norton Smartphone Security works with Symbian and Windows Mobile OS devices, the details on the key technology front include Antivirus, Firewall and SMS Antispam. So what are the benefits then? Well for starters it will protect you against viruses and other threats which will obviously prevent malicious threats from entering your smartphone and compromising your privacy, it will minimize SMS spam which blocks short text and of course multimedia messages from the bad unknown sources and even blocks what is called snoopware from turning on your camera, this prevents intruders entering your phone where they can export data from your mobile phone. The main features include – • Real-time protection: Enhanced firewall blocks hackers, intrusions, and denial-of-service attacks. • SMS antispam protection: Short messages (text and multimedia) from unknown senders are blocked. • Advanced protection: Award-winning Norton AntiVirus™ technologies automatically scan, detect, and quarantine harmful viruses, worms, and mobile spyware in individual files, file archives, and applications. • Easy-to-use interface: You can easily manage and schedule antivirus scans and protection updates*, set the firewall protection level, and manage which files are encrypted. • An activity log shows all recently logged events to help make you aware of potential risks. • On-demand scans allow you to check for viruses in individual files, file archives, and applications. • The device is protected against malicious code downloaded from the Web, sent via email or a Wi-Fi connection, or beamed via Bluetooth or infrared ports. • The application is optimized to preserve your smartphone's performance. • The Symbian® and the Microsoft® Windows Mobile® platforms are supported. • Product and virus definition updates are delivered wirelessly via LiveUpdate™. The operating system - Windows Mobile® 5.0 Pocket PC/Smartphone, Symbian™ OS 9 (Series 60 Version 3, UIQ 3.0) and Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional/Standard. The device requirements are as follows: Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone and 6.0 Standard: 1.7 MB of storage, Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC Phone Edition and 6.0 Professional: 1.8 MB of storage and Symbian OS 9 (Series 60 Version 3, UIQ 3.0): 1.1 MB of storage. The PC requirements are as follows: Nokia® PC Suite (for use with Symbian OS phones) and Microsoft® ActiveSync 4.1 or later (for use with Windows Mobile phones). You can find more information about Norton Smartphone Security which is available now over at www.symantecstore.co.uk Orange offering Apple iPhone in 10 countries: Confirmed expected coverage Posted: 17 May 2008 06:07 AM CDT Orange have pushed the boat out and have announced that they will be offering the Apple iPhone in more than ten countries later this year, the ten countries that will be included are Belgium, Dominican Republic, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Egypt, Romania, Slovakia, Jordan, Switzerland and African markets. So Orange and Vodafone offering the same thing basically but what we like is the fact Orange announced this is one little sentence, so to me it seems that the Orange PR team outdo them since they managed to tell us everything in one sentence. We all know about the highly talked about Apple 3G iPhone and that it will near enough have every single country covered but we have noticed that Spain is still not on this list, I would put money on it that O2 bags that one along with other countries. Now here are the confirmed expected Apple iPhone coverage (other than Canada and USA) – EUROPE – • Belgium – Orange • Czech Republic - Vodafone • Austria - Orange, T-Mobile • Germany - T-Mobile (already available) • France - Orange (already available) • Ireland - O2 (already available) • Portugal - Orange, Vodafone • Greece - Vodafone • Italy - Vodafone, Telecom Italia • Poland - Orange • Switzerland - Orange, Swisscom • UK - O2 (already available) • Turkey - Vodafone • Romania - Orange • Slovakia - Orange Other Countries Confirmed Are – • India - Vodafone • Africa - Orange, Vodafone • Dominican Republic - Orange • Latin America - America Movil (Claro) • Australia - Vodafone, SingTel (Optus) • Egypt - Orange, Vodafone • New Zealand - Vodafone • Jordan - Orange Some of these carriers obviously overlap, the good news is that the iPhone will not be an exclusive phone for say one carrier and indeed means the end of the exclusivity battle for the iPhone and will now all share the market, so to break that down it all means good competition to sell the iPhone which in return means much better prices. Lovely stuff we would say. Source: Orange Projectors in Mobiles promised by years-end from Texas Instruments Posted: 17 May 2008 06:02 AM CDT Mobile space is about to enter the world of Pico Projectors which will bring the convenience of projector technology to the mobile phone industry. The advancement on miniaturisation can now allow projectors to be scaled down in size to fit comfortable inside a mobile phone. Which means it shouldn't be too long before we can all begin projecting our most embarrassing images and videos across any wall from our mobile phone. What makes this prospect of mobile Pico Projectors a more solid notion is the senior vice president of Texas Instruments (TI); John Van Scoter, speaking in Taipei at a Texas Instruments forum on May 14th has confirmed that those mobile handset which feature Texas Instrument's projector tech will hit the market with Pico Projectors onboard sometime later this year which will mirror other Pico projector manufacturers. Yes, so that means before the year is out, we should be seeing a few mobile phone manufacturers shoving Texas Instrument's tiny projectors inside their mobile phones coming onto the market, and probably bumping up the price to suit. Providing things go great for the Pico projector market, Texas Instruments expects to begin seeing the popularity of projectors within mobile phones to rival that of the camera in mobile handsets within five to ten years time. Recently, well back in February, Texas Instruments unveiled their DLP Pico technology, which stands for "Digital Light Processing" with a view to bring the vivid colours and sharp images of DLP displays into the Mobile world. So there you have it, with any luck we just may be able to get hold of a projector mobile phone in time for the holiday season, and have some fun with the projector while drunk at some continental bar!! Don't embarrass yourself too much though. Source – unwiredview Phones 4 U UK facing investigation by Ofcom: Have they ripped people off? Posted: 17 May 2008 05:01 AM CDT Phones 4 U are being investigated by Ofcom, Phones 4 U who are a highly popular high street retailer in the UK are facing this investigation for alleged mis-selling, misrepresentation, so-called “cash back” offers and hidden charges which are proved to be unclaimable. Phones 4 U have over 440 stores in the UK and have generated sales in the excess of £755mn in 2007 alone which makes them a major player. Ofcom the UK Telecoms regulator have had a number of complaints about the alleged things said above. Ofcom has said that they will provide their judgment on its findings within 6 months, Phones 4 U have indeed said that they will comply with all the requests for information. Complaints were made both to Consumer Direct and Ofcom which is all part of trading standards and an Ofcom spokeswoman said that customers concerns which included Phones 4U staff allegedly misrepresenting tariff terms and cash back deals to customers and the full cashback conditions which makes redemption conditions too stringent, Phones 4 U are apparently offering mobile phone upgrades to customers without outlining costs. If these allegations are found to be right it would mean Phones 4 U will be indeed in breach of the Enterprise Act 2002, which deals with consumer protection which would in return making Ofcom seeking to bind Phones 4 U to a legal commitment to cease such activity. A Phones 4U spokesperson said: "We intend to cooperate fully with Ofcom in this matter and we are in discussion with them. "Phones 4U prides itself in maintaining the highest standards of customer service and if any instances where this has not been the case is brought to light, as a result of this enquiry, we will act accordingly." Please let us know if you have had any troubles with Phones 4 U? Source - FT.com You are subscribed to email updates from Phones Review To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.Email Delivery powered by FeedBurner Inbox too full? Subscribe to the feed version of Phones Review in a feed reader. If you prefer to unsubscribe via postal mail, write to: Phones Review, c/o FeedBurner, 20 W Kinzie, 9th Floor, Chicago IL USA 60610

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