Senin, 21 April 2008

Hot Handphone

New iphone 3G

We all suspected it, but now it is confirmed: someone very, very close to the 3G iPhone launch has told me that Apple will announce their new model at the WWDC Keynote on June 9th. The second-generation iPhone will be available worldwide right after the launch (the worldwide release date is July 11, starting at $199) and not at year's end, as previously thought. The new model will also herald new sales policies in some countries.

In Spain, for example, the 3G iPhone will be available for sale at the June 18th (according to our sources, the release date was changed at the last moment by Apple, and it's now July 11) grand opening of Telefonica's megastore—an Apple Store-like shop located in the company's historical building in Madrid's Gran Vía— with nationwide availability the next day or after a few hours. The other European countries with iPhone availability will have similar launch schedules.

According to another source involved in the launch, the 3G iPhone will no longer be available at a fixed price point—at least in some countries, and its launch will also bring new sales policies, although these have not been completely specified yet.

The move is a logical step, since the iPhone has clearly solidified its position as the cellphone to beat during the last 12 months, and companies in the cutthroat European cellphone market need to use it as an incentive to capture clients aggressively.

This most probably means the new 3G iPhone will be integrated in the usual marketing systems of carriers, with point-based trade-ups, discounts for carrier switchers and other service-based subvention packages.

Blackberry Bold

You may know it as the RIM BlackBerry 9000, but on Sunday, Research In Motion officially took the wraps off the highly anticipated smartphone, complete with a new name. The "Bold" is in reference to the smartphone's gorgeous display, but it's also bold in that it represents a number of new moves for the company. Oh, BlackBerry Bold, how do we love thee? Let us count the ways.

The bold and the beautiful
As we just mentioned, the device gets its name from its screen. The BlackBerry Bold features a half-VGA (480x320 pixel resolution) and a 65,000-color display. During some initial product testing, research group participants repeatedly called the screen "bold" and "brilliant." The Brilliant moniker didn't really jibe with the company, thus the BlackBerry Bold was born.

So just how bold is it? Well, RIM stopped by our office late last week to show us the device, and let me just tell you, I was absolutely blown away. I can pretty much say I've never seen a better-looking display on a smartphone. Colors pop off the screen, and it's really amazing how sharp and crisp everything looks on the display.

We watched a couple of videos, and for the first time, we didn't notice any of the pixelation or blurriness that you typically get with phones. In addition, the menu interface has been revamped with a much more modern look and icons. Also, as you can see from the images, the BlackBerry Bold boasts a new design. It's more elegant than models past, with curvier edges and a silver trim that complements the black casing.

If you turn it over, you'll also notice that the back has a leatherette texture. No more slick plastic. RIM will sell replaceable backplates in different colors, including blue, gray, and red, if you want to individualize your phone a bit. The BlackBerry Bold measures 4.5 inches tall by 2.6 inches wide by half an inch deep, and it weighs 4.7 ounces.

Kevin Michaluk at Crackberry.com took a gamble, buying one on eBay, and posted a hands-on review. He made a good comparison of the device to the Motorola Q9h.

Finally, the BlackBerry Bold has a QWERTY keyboard that RIM likened to a modernized Curve keyboard, but I'm not really seeing it. Instead, it reminded me more of the BlackBerry 8830.

Now, I know some of you 8800 series users had issues with the keyboard, but I tried it out, and it's pretty easy to use--relatively large buttons with some spacing between the keys.

(Credit: RIM)

Wireless smorgasbord
There's a heaping of wireless options on the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) BlackBerry Bold, but the most appetizing and notable item is the HSDPA/UMTS (850/1900/2100) support.

It's the first such equipped BlackBerry, and we all know that it's been a long time coming. RIM says the delay for bringing such a device to the market is that it wanted to make sure that battery life wouldn't be sacrificed at the expense of including the 3.5G technology. Hey, whatever the reason, we're just finally happy to have it.

You also get integrated Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g), Bluetooth 2.0 with full A2DP support, and built-in GPS (enhanced and assisted).

Horsepower
The RIM BlackBerry Bold is equipped with a 624MHz Intel PXA270 processor, whereas previous BlackBerrys had 312MHz processors, so technically, you should enjoy smoother and faster performance.

During our briefing, there were a few hiccups in performance, but we're going to keep our fingers crossed and chalk it up to the fact that it wasn't a final unit. There's also 128MB of flash memory and 1GB of onboard memory, which is all supplemented by the microSD/SDHC expansion slot (supports up to 16GB cards).

Multimedia, Web, and other good stuff
You still with me? I know this post is getting a bit lengthy, but there are just a few more highlights to note. First, the Bold includes an improved Web browser (thank goodness), with the option to view pages in a full desktop HTML style or a mobile version, and you can now more easily navigate pages with the trackball, which acts like a mouse cursor, and zoom in and out.

As for multimedia, the smartphone is equipped with a 2-megapixel camera with video-recording capabilities and up to 5x zoom. The media player also continues to support numerous audio and video formats, including MP3, WMA, AAC, DivX4, and WMV3 files, and the phone is equipped with a 3.5mm headphone jack. By the way, the Bold has some pretty powerful speakers--none of that weak, tinny junk.

Oh, and hey, what's this? It's makes calls, and sends and receives e-mails, you say? Yes, you'll still get all of the voice and messaging features of previous BlackBerrys, and the handset will also come preloaded with Dataviz's Documents to Go suite, for document viewing and editing.

"When and where can I get one?"
Now that we've totally built up the device, and you're ready to run out and buy one, here's the letdown: the BlackBerry Bold isn't available quite yet. It's currently going through carrier certification, and although RIM wouldn't officially name the service provider, based on the 3G bands, you can pretty much guess who it will be (hint: starts with an A and ends with T&T). And while pricing will also depend on the carrier, RIM is guessing that it will be in the $300 to $400 range, and expected worldwide availability is "this summer."

OK, that's it! My fingers are tired from all the typing, so now it's your turn. Clearly, I'm pretty amped about the smartphone. Of course, the true test will come when we finally get it in for real-world testing, but from everything I've seen so far, the RIM BlackBerry Bold has huge potential. But what do you think? Hot or not? The commenting floodgates are open, so have at it.


New Mobile Phone From Sharp

WS020SH

Since it's the first device to be released in Japan with Windows Mobile 6.1, we could say that, somehow, the new Sharp smartphone is the Touch Diamond of Japan. Although it's not as fashionable as HTC's device, Willcom 03 has a plus: a full QWERTY sliding keyboard.

The smartphone comes with a 3 inch TFT touchscreen display, with an 800 x 480 resolution and 65K colors, and an illuminated touch-sensitive flat keypad that can morph to suit the user's needs: it has a "cursor key" mode that allows you to easily browse through the phone's features and a "dial key" mode that has the role of an alphanumeric keypad. Moreover, details like battery life and network signal are not displayed on the phone's screen, but above it, thanks to the same "illumination" feature used on the morphing keypad. All these make the new Sharp quite unique when compared to all the other Windows Mobile smartphones on the market.

Besides the above mentioned goodies, Wilcom 03 also features: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, IrDA, mobile TV capabilities (external antenna included), a 2 Megapixel camera with auto focus and video, secondary front-facing camera for video calls, a powerful Marvell PXA270 processor at 520 MHz, 128MB of SDRAM, 256MB of Flash memory, USB, microSD card slot and so on. The battery included in the handset is capable of providing up to 6 hours of talk-time and up to 420 hours of stand-by time.

The new Sharp smartphone is available in Japan via Willcom, the fourth largest mobile operator in the country, and it will probably never see other markets than the Japanese one. Anyway, in case it will, users should know that Willcom offers the device for 35,520 yen, which is about $345 or 220 Euros.




DM002SH

Disney Mobile has already shuttered the doors to its US-based MVNO operations, but that doesn't mean the Disney-branded network operator isn't going to give it its all in Japan. With network time leased from Japan's Softbank, Disney Mobile is looking for a more successful Japanese-run this time around.

As such, Disney Mobile has announced its second branded handset in Japan - the Sharp DM002SH clamshell. For all those Disney fans out there, the Disney Mobile Sharp DM002SH boasts a Cinderella theme that should appeal more to the female demographic for obvious reasons - like coming pre-installed with loads of Cinderella-themed media (ringtones, wallpapers, etc.).

The Sharp DM002SH features a 2.6-inch QVGA display, OLED external display, 2 megapixel camera, microSD slot, and one-seg TV. And, with a choice of Pink Diamond, Clear Crystal or Brown Topaz (Pink, Silver, or Gold) colors, the Disney Mobile Sharp DM002SH should keep Disney Mobile customers happy. Look for Disney Mobile to go live with this beauty on June 7th.


General



Factor Clamshell
Network
Colour 2.6-inch QVGA Mobile ASV (240 x 400 pixels)
Rating -
Weight(g) 111.1
Width(mm) 1.93
Height(mm) 4
Depth(mm) 0.64
Memory(MB) 50 MB
Tones
Talk Time(hr)
Standby(hr)


Features


Infra -
Bluetooth Yes
WAP -
GPRS -
Camera 2.0 Mega Pixel
Video -
Java -
Mp3 -
Radio -
Expansion
Misc

General



Factor Clamshell
Network
Colour 2.6-inch QVGA Mobile ASV (240 x 400 pixels)
Rating -
Weight(g) 111.1
Width(mm) 1.93
Height(mm) 4
Depth(mm) 0.64
Memory(MB) 50 MB
Tones
Talk Time(hr)
Standby(hr)


Features


Infra -
Bluetooth Yes
WAP -
GPRS -
Camera 2.0 Mega Pixel
Video -
Java -
Mp3 -
Radio -
Expansion
Misc

This Is the rival of Apple iphone