Written on 10/27/2009 07:51:00 AM by poison_ivy
If you're like me and checking HTC's website everyday just to see if they've finally released their official Windows Mobile 6.5 update for the HTC Diamond2, then all of us are probably still disappointed to find none.
Well, thankfully, someone over at HTCPedia has come upon the Official, yes, that's OFFICIAL WinMo 6.5 update for the HTC Diamond2 or Topaz. The updates come in six different languages: English, Russian, Norwegian, Danish, ELL, and SVE. I still haven't downloaded it though but will definitely do as soon as I have time.
News from Modaco
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Written on 10/21/2009 02:05:00 PM by poison_ivy
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I've just started saving a couple of weeks ago since I have my eye on the Nokia N900? Why? Well, full flash support and a desktop-like UI seems pretty nice to have on a mobile phone. Luckily, thanks to some friends, I got to play around with the Nokia N900 and before you and I waste that much money on it, let's find out if it's worth our hard-earned bucks.
Design
The Nokia N900 is a slider phone, or internet device if you must but it doesn't have that tilting mechanism like on the N97. Looking at pictures of the N900 on the internet, I initially thought that this mobile phone/internet tablet is going to be like a brick to carry around. It's actually shorter than my Omnia HD though thicker but only by a few centimeters. There camera on the back has a slider to protect the lens, just like the N97. Since the N900 is has a resistive touchscreen, you might need a stylus occasionally so Nokia added a stylus which can be found on the bottom of the mobile phone.
The keyboard is a bit cramped but it provides a nice tactile feedback when pressed. Overall, the design of the Nokia N900 is pretty solid and they made up for the lack of tilting screen by providing a kickstand in the back.
User Interface
The Maemo OS on the Nokia N900 sports three homescreens, just like Samsung's latest TouchWiz UI. And just like Samsung's TouchWiz, you can place different kind of widgets and shortcuts on your homescreen. The UI is pretty slick and a real eye candy thanks to its dedicated graphics. You can choose which wallpapers you put on each homescreen or you can choose a panorama picture so you have one long homscreen, like on the Samsung Genio.
The touchscreen is pretty responsive and there's a kinetic scrolling on all lists, unlike Symbian S60. Maemo even has a task manager which let's you use multiple applications or switch between open applications which is pretty cool.
Although the menu screen looks a bit like S60, again, the Nokia N900 is not a Symbian device. I guess Nokia is just trying to make it easier for those S60 users converting to the N900.
Messaging, Multimedia, Applications
The messaging application is also similar to S60, at least, when you're typing a message but your SMS/chats are shown as threaded messages. There's a separate application for email.
I have to tell you, the way Nokia dolled up Maemo is amazing. I love the music and video players. They're very classy and uses lots of animations. Samsung's Touch Players should take a page from Nokia. Audio through the speakers is pretty loud and has satisfactory bass but then again, you should check it out yourselves because as I keep mentioning, I'm not really an audiophile. There's also an onboard 3.5mm audio jack
I wasn't able to test whether the Sheet to Go or Word To Go applications is fully functional or like with other S60 devices, you have to purchase the full version but there are office applications on board.
Web Browser
Now here's the reason why I want to buy the Nokia N900 in the first place: its browser. Nokia keeps boasting that it has full flash support. Now I REALLY want that to watch YouTube videos, visit websites loaded with flash animations, and most importantly to play Facebook games. I'm addicted to Facebook games but carrying around a netbook is still too big for me. Skyfire doesn't do it for me because flash games on Skyfire is just TOO slow. So I'm really looking forward to the Nokia N900's browser. Safari would have been the perfect mobile phone browser if only it supports flash.
Anyways, Nokia delivered on its promise to have full flash support on the N900. Thankfully, flash on the N900's browser is not as slow as Skyfire. Rendering web pages is actually pretty fast though not quite as snappy as the Safari browser on the iPhone. As with Facebook games, well, Icy Tower won't load and in Farmtown, I can't move around on the farm because ther's no mouse to click and drag the screen around. I haven't tried any other flash games but so far, I'm liking the Nokia N900's browser but my friend told me that after a while there seems to be a memory leak going on and browser speeds would bog down if there's been too many applications open or if you leave the browser idle for a long time.
For me that's okay. I'm a Windows Mobile user and I'm used to always closing my applications if I don't want any memory leaks.
Another problem with the N900's browser is its zoom interface.Doubletapping on the screen doesn't really get you anywhere. They have that swirl to zoom feature wherein you draw circles clockwise to zoom in and counter clockwise to zoom out but that too slows down your browsing experience. The best way to zoom in on webpages on your N900 is to use the volume rocker but even that takes away the fluid user experience because reaching for the rocker is a bit awkward. It would be nice if on the next update they take a page from the Omnia's browser and put in a zoom bar on the right of the screen.
Camera
The Nokia N900 has a 5 megapixel camera with dual led flash. I wasn't very excited with the sample shots I've taken. Anyways, you can judge the picture quality yourself from my Motorola Milestone and Nokia N900 comparison review.
Problems/Complaints
Now I understand that the Nokia N900 is first and foremost, an internet tablet so naturally, you'll have to use it in landscape mode, but since Nokia decided to put in a phone, they have to realize that smartphone users would gravitate to this device and some of us are used to using our smartphones in portrait mode. This can be pretty annoying at times and it would take a while for me to get used to that.
Also, I've heard that the Nokia N900 doesn't have MMS support. Some may argue that it's already an internet device and I can always use my email but still, it's also a mobile phone and it's just surprising that Nokia decided to left this out considering that all their 3G phones support MMS.
Conclusion
I'm actually quite happy with the Nokia N900, however, those are just my first impressions with my few hours with it and that was also how I felt with the Nokia N97, until user reviews start pouring in and they described their problems with the Nokia N97. Also, the N900 that I tested is still a pre-release version so hopefully, some kinks would be ironed out. Maybe if I could convince my friend (yes, you, Mark) to loan me the N900 for a week, I could provide a much better conclusion and decide whether I would finally splurge my hard-earned cash on the Nokia N900 or if not, I could always go for the HTC HD2 or the Samsung B7610.
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Written on 10/19/2009 03:18:00 PM by poison_ivy
The 26th, the expected availability date of the Blackberry Storm 2 is only a few days away but if you're just itching to get one then Vodafone has put the the pre-order page for the Blackberry Storm 2. Along with that is other new handsets of Vodafone for October like the Nokia N97 Mini which is expected to be available on the 29th as well as the Vodafone 360 Samsung H1 which will be available on the 30th.
The Blackberry Storm 2 is the much anticipated follow up to the Blackberry Storm, RIM's first touchscreen mobile phone while the Nokia N97 Mini is Nokia's much improved N97 in a more smaller package. The Vodafone 360 Samsung H1 is a mobile phone Samsung specifically tailored for Vodafone with a LiMO OS. Links to the pre-order pages below:
Blackberry Storm 2 Pre-order
Nokia N97 Mini Pre-order
Vodafone 360 Samsung H1
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Written on 10/17/2009 12:03:00 PM by poison_ivy
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After reviewing the Samsung Genio Touch, here comes another Genio mobile phone from Samsung: the Samsung Genio QWERTY. The Samsung Genio QWERTY retained the colorful back cover of its sibling, the Genio Touch but has foregone the touchscreen for a Blackberry-like QWERTY keypad. Well, let's check out the Samsung Genio QWERTY.
Design
The Samsung Genio QWERTY is somewhat similar to the Samsung B7330 OmniaPro I've previously reviewed. Supposedly, the Samsung Genio QWERTY will have interchangeable back panels. That's cool except that Samsung made the colors of the QWERTY keyboard and the directional keypad match the back cover so I don't know what this mobile phone would look like having a pink back panel and a yellow keyboard.
The keyboard is a bit cramped so those with big fingers would take a while to get used to the Samsung B3210. The screen is bit small for me and I don't know if I have just gotten used to AMOLED screens but the colors of the Genio QWERTY screen is a bit washed out for me.
On the right is the dedicated camera button, on the left, the volume rocker, and on top, something which I'm not used to seeing on mobile phones below 100 quid, is a 3.5mm headset jack, beside it is the microUSB port.
I had a hard time taking out and putting back the back cover. I'm used to sliding the back cover but it seems that on the Samsung B3210, you have to pop open the back panel. Putting back the back panel is a bit of a hassle and there are times when the back panel's not completely put in place.
Anyhow, the design of the Samsung Genio QWERTY is pretty much solid. The materials used doesn't look cheap and the back panel's sturdy.
User Interface
The Samsung Genio QWERTY's homescreen gives you some sort of sliding widgets. There are shortcuts arrange horizontally at the bottom of the screen and you can browse through it using the directional keypad. There's a Myspace and Facebook shortcut on the homescreen sliding widget too. The menu screen reminds me of the Samsung Lucido's interface. Menu's are limited to just one screen. There's a calendar app, messaging, phonebook, settings, settings, clock, music player, file explorer, fm radio, and a web browser.
Messaging, Music, applications, web browser
Messaging is the same as with Samsung's non-touchscreen mobile phones. I have pretty much big fingers so it wasn't easy getting used to the keyboard of the Samsung Genio QWERTY but after a while, you get the hang of it.
The music player is not that pretty but it plays MP3s, AAC, and WMA music file formats. The music player can show your album art and can also run on the background, replacing your homescren sliding widgets with just the music player. Audio quality is okay, audio through speakers is so-so but the 3.5mm onboard headset jack is definitely a plus for the Samsung Genio QWERTY.
I was expecting to see trial versions of games again on the Samsung B3210 but thankfully, the ones on my unit are full versions. I like the typing test game and this game would be really useful for those who are first time QWERTY users.
I actually didn't bother with the web browser. With no 3G and WiFi and only the Access Netfront browser, I wish you luck trying to browse web pages. However, if you do download the fabulous Opera Mini browser, even EDGE would do thanks to Opera Mini's server side processing, web pages actually render a bit faster.
Camera
The Samsung B3210 Genio QWERTY only has a 2 megapixel camera but like the Samsung Genio Touch, it actually produces decent images even without autofocus. Here are some sample shots below.
ConclusionBlackberry's are still a hit to teeners but come on, like the iPhone, not many tweeners could afford one. The Samsung Genio QWERTY offers a cheap alternative. The colorful back covers, decent camera and audio quality would make the Samsung B3210 Genio QWERTY worth your 100 quid.
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Written on 10/15/2009 05:30:00 PM by poison_ivy
Well, we all thought that the Blackberry Storm 2 will be exclusive to Vodafone, however, it seems that a trend is starting in the UK wherein mobile phones are no longer exclusive, thanks to O2 and Apple ending their exclusive agreement with the iPhone.
According to
The Guardian, the Blackberry Storm 2 will only be exclusive to Vodafone for a few weeks, after that, it's a free for all.
The Blackberry Storm 2 will be on sale in the UK on Oct. 26th. Of course, the "few weeks" is still unclear whether it would include the whole weeks of November and December. The Blackberry Storm 2 will be available for free with £35 a month tariff. Features include Blackbery's Surepress technology, a 3.2 megapixel camera, 3.5mm audio jack, and WiFi.
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Written on 10/14/2009 01:05:00 AM by poison_ivy
Okay, so I don't know if this is a mock-up or real but it seems two new mobile phones are on the way for Sony Ericsson: The Sony Ericsson Susan and Sony Ericsson Sunny. The videos seem to suggest that both mobile phones are water resistant, or maybe, like the C902, just splash resistant since the videos only show some splash of water and not the phones being submerged into water.
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Written on 10/14/2009 12:41:00 AM by poison_ivy
Okay, so I'm a bit pissed that HTC decided to let HTC Touch Pro2 users get first dibs on Windows Mobile 6.5 update but I sure hope that the Diamond2's 6.5 update is not far behind.
Anyways, for those who own the HTC Rhodium aka the Touch Pro2, you can now download the official Windows Mobile 6.5 update on HTC's European website.
Also, for those who own the HTC Snap, you can also find your ROM upgrade on HTC Europe's website. Download links below. News from
Smartphone Thoughts
HTC Touch Pro2 Windows Mobile 6.5 ROM updateHTC Snap Windows Mobile 6.5 ROM update
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Written on 10/13/2009 06:26:00 PM by poison_ivy
Looks like Vodafone is bombarding its customers with new mobile phones this week. The Sony Ericsson Satio, HTC Tattoo and LG GM750 are now available and ready to buy at Vodafone's website.
But that's not all, when you buy the HTC Tattoo and LG GM750 online on Vodafone's website, you get an extra 300 minutes per month. That's pretty cool, plus, let's not forget that Vodafone's return policies are more lenient towards those who buy online so better grab yours now.
The Sony Ericsson Satio, HTC Tattoo, and LG GM750 product pages can be found below:
Buy the Sony Ericsson Satio here.
Buy the HTC Tattoo here.
Buy the LG GM750 here.
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Written on 10/12/2009 05:03:00 PM by poison_ivy
Who would've thought that fashion phones and business phones can go together? I certainly wouldn't be calling the HTC Touch Pro2 a fashion phone. Well, Samsung has just came up with a business phone that fashionistas will also be lusting for: the Samsung B7620 Armani mobile phone.
Basically, the Samsung B7620 is like the pretty version of the yet to be released Samsung B7610 OmniaPro. Some of the differences between the Samsung B7620 and the B7610 includes, a tilting screen and 8GB of internal memory on the B7620 and an onboard 3.5mm headset jack on the B7610 OmniaPro. GSMArena already has a preview of the mobile phone on their website.
Another fashion phone to hit the scene is the Nokia N97 Mini RAOUL. This edition is very limited as only 1000 RAOUL edition mobile phones will be made. It's already available in Singapore so if you happen to be there, grab one for yourself because it's a real eye candy.
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Written on 10/10/2009 06:00:00 PM by poison_ivy
I've finally gotten my hands on the
Motorola DEXT though only for a few minutes. I've thoroughly wanted this to be my first Android phone but after a few minutes with it, well, here's what I think.
DesignThe Motorola DEXT is a bit too chunky for me, it's even bulkier than the HTC Dream. I have two Motorola phones which are more than 2 years old and aside from some paint peelings and scratches here in there, I'm glad to report that those two mobile phones are still complete, intact and pretty much useable. That's why I'm a bit surprised with the build quality of the Motorola DEXT. The slider mechanism is a bit wobbly and I'm worried that over time, it might come off. I think there are some other reviews which says that their Motorola DEXT suffers from the same problems so I was surprised that it wasn't isolated with the units they were testing.
The Motorola DEXT has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard which even though the buttons are somewhat cramped, still manages to be quite useable.
User InterfaceI was pretty excited about the Motorola Blur. I was hoping it could match the HTC Sense. However, I was disappointed that all the Motorola Blur really is is widgets for your social network contacts. Now for those addicted to Facebook and Twitter, this is good news but for those who, like me, only uses Facebook to play games, well, then the Motorola Blur UI is pretty much useless. However, screen responsiveness is really top notch. Everything is snappy and yes, very much comparable with the iPhone. Although the Motorola DEXT has a capacitive screen, it doesn't offer multi-touch which is really a bummer. The UI also lags a bit when multiple applications are open.
The Motorola DEXT's UI is limited to the homescreen which means you get Android on everything else. Now there's really not much problem with that except that I hoped Motorola would do some more with the UI, like add their own icons perhaps, kinda like what Samsung does with their WinMo phones.
MessagingThe Motorola DEXT is a message-centric mobile phone. Your Facebook, Twitter contacts can be linked with the messaging feature so you can choose whether you want to Tweet your contacts or just send them a text message. This is good advantage again, for those whose life revolves around social networking, and those with unlimited data plans.
Web BrowserBrowsing on the Motorola DEXT is quite good and pretty fast. I haven't quite browsed that much Android mobile phones so I was surprised that browsing on the Motorola DEXT is almost comparable with iPhone's Safari. Of course, it doesn't have flash support which is too bad.
Audio qualityI've always found that Motorola makes phones with great speakers, I mean, they're the pioneer for surround sound on mobile phones, right? My aging Motorola V6 Maxx still trumps some of Samsung's latest mobile phones when it comes to audio quality, speaker-wise. The same is true for the Motorola DEXT. Audio quality through the speakers is pretty good, better than some Samsung mobile phones. The music player is standard on all Android phones and you can view your Album Art for all your music.
ConclusionAfter being silent for these past few months, you'd expect that the Motorola DEXT would put Motorola back in the game, right? Well, for those into social networking, this is definitely a must-have mobile phone. The Motorola Blur UI makes social networking a breeze. You'll also get a nice web browser and pretty decent music playback. I'm just a bit torn with the MotoBlur. Obviously, those who are addicted to social networking are mostly tweeners but you can't really expect them to shell out £35 a month for the next two years to get the Motorola DEXT for free or around £450 for an unlocked version, only business users can afford that kind of dough. So putting MotoBlur on a smartphone is not really that great of an idea. Still, it's an Android phone with a physical QWERTY keyboard, a good option other than the aging HTC Dream which is currently the only Android mobile phone with a physical keyboard in the market, until the LG GW620 shows up in the next month of course.
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Written on 10/10/2009 08:15:00 AM by poison_ivy
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Samsung has dominated the cheap touchscreen phone market thanks to the Samsung Tocco Lite and the
Samsung Omnia2 as well as the Samsung i900 is doing quite well in the high end smartphone department. Now it's time that they try to dominate the mid-range touchscreen phone market as well. Nokia already has some pretty solid mid-range handsets such as the Nokia 5530 and the Nokia 5800 so Maybe the Samsung OmniaLite will be a best seller too? Let's find out.
DesignThe Samsung B7300 Omnia Lite took its design cues from the Samsung Tocco Ultra Touch. Both mobile phones have a slim form factor although the former is a tad taller because of its 3.0 inch display. Although design-wise the Samsung Tocco Ultra Touch and the Samsung OmniaLite shares the same look, apparently, Samsung decided to scrimp on the materials used on the OmniaLite. While I like the Tocco Ultra Touch's brushed metal-lilke finish, it can't be found on the OmniaLite. In fact, the plastic lining looks cheap and the plastic cap on the USB connector looks flimsy. It reminds me of cheap China-made toys. Aside from the cheap plastic lining, there's not much to complain about the build quality of the Samsung OmniaLite. The MicroUSB port is located at the top on the left side is the volume rocker, and another menu button, on the right side you have the lock button, microSD slot, and the dedicated camera button.
User InterfaceThe B7300 will probably ship with Windows Mobile 6.5 as my unit is equipped with that OS. The Omnia Lite still has Samsung's TouchWiz Interface which is very similar to the Samsung Omnia 2. It also has three homescreens and has that animated task switcher which reminds me of the Xperia X1 panels. Like the Omnia 2, the Omnia Lite is heavily customized and you have to turn off the TouchWiz interface to get access to some of the familiar windows Mobile screens and menus. Unlike the Omnia 2, the Samsung B7300 Omnia Lite doesn’t have that cube interface so the dedicated cube button is replaced with a menu button access your personalized menu screen. The QWERTY keyboard is now similar to the Touch Diamond2 wherein the keys are assigned an letter and a symbol/number. Although the screen is smallish, I didn’t have problems with the QWERTY keyboard and thankfully, I didn’t press any buttons twice or anything.
Three homesceens of the Samsung B7300
Samsung OmniaLite Menu Screens
Phonebook, Messaging, Web BrowsingNow unlike the Samsung Omnia 2 which didn’t offer threaded messaging, the Samsung B7300 Omnia Lite does have threaded messaging. The messages are couched in speech balloons, similar to the iPhone. Also, like with the iPhone, you can type your messages in a smallish rectangular box at the bottom of the threaded message.
Samsung’s phonebook is pretty basic and has thumbnail images for your contacts. You can browse through your contacts using the scroll bar on the right.
For web browsing you’re given the choice between the reliable Opera browser or the new Internet Explorer that comes with Windows Mobile 6.5 Opera browser offers a much faster browsing experience and renders pages relatively quick. While Internet Explorer is a bit slow, it offers flash support so you can watch YouTube videos directly from the browser. Internet Explorer also became much more finger friendly, offering five large, circular icons so you can go back to previous pages, and to bookmarks, zoom, bring out the options menu, or bring out the keyboard.
Multimedia and applicationsThe Samsung B7300 OmniaLite supports direct DivX playback and it also supports XviD/MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV9 video file formats. Watching videos on the Omnia Lite is okay although the screen is a bit smallish.
Audio quality using the speakers is passable and good using Bluetooth stereo streaming. The Windows Media player didn’t undergo any major updates though and I still find myself using Samsung Touch Player more. There’s a built in stereo FM radio too.
Applications include a dedicated Facebook app, Smart Converter, Smart Memo, Smart Search (similar to the iPhone’s search function), a Digital Frame application (turn your mobile phone into a digital picture frame), video editor, Java application, RSS readers, etc. The OmniaLite also has a built-in GPS though I wasn’t able to test that since I don’t have any third party GPS applications.
Camera and Image QualityThe Samsung B7300 Omnia Lite has a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus. Camera options include smile shot, multi-shot, Portrait, Landscape, night shot, Panorama, and sports shooting mode, and geo-tagging. For a 3 megapixel camera, the Samsung OmniaLite offers pretty good pictures although low light conditions offers somewhat fuzzy pictures. Still, it’s very passable compared with the iPhone 3G’s picture quality. Sample images below:
ConclusionIf you fancy a smartphone but don’t want to spend that much on the iPhone 3G or Omnia 2, then the Samsung B7300 Omnia Lite may be the perfect phone for you. You can have all the features of a smartphone in a very affordable handset. Sure, the camera might not appeal to some but all the features of the iPhone 3G (minus the apps) can be found on the OmniaLite. Hopefully, Windows Marketplace or Samsung’s own App Store would add more applications in the near future for the Omnia Lite.
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Written on 10/07/2009 05:13:00 PM by poison_ivy
As WinMo lovers know, Windows Mobile 6.5 is already out and in a couple of weeks, almost all upgradeable handsets would tout WinMo 6.5 Well, here's another WinMo 6.5 or Windows Phone for you to check out: the Samsung B7610 Omnia Pro.
The Samsung B7610 OmniaPro quietly popped up at Expansys' website with a retail price of £449.99 including VAT. It's unlocked, of course and you're free to choose your favorite carrier and it can be used with Pay As You Go simcards as well.
UPDATE: I'm a bit confused. When I checked Expansys' website a while ago, they've listed the Samsung B7610 as available and shipping is normally "1-5 days" but now they still have the "expected release date Oct. 5" sign.
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Written on 10/06/2009 03:32:00 PM by poison_ivy
Although I've managed to get a feel of Windows Mobile 6.5 because the OmniaLite I've reviewed sports that OS, I'm reserving my review until I get an official and final build of the OS considering that the Samsung B7300 OmniaLite I've reviewed has yet to hit some markets (I'll try to finish the review within the week). Anyways, the big blogs such as engadgetmobile already have their impressions of WinMo 6.5 up and of course they're not impressed. I have to agree with them that WinMo 6.5 is not really a major update, it's like Microsoft did their own skinning of WinMo 6.1 but HTC did a better job with their TouchFlo 3D.
WMExperts also has their own review and this one has screenshots as well as side by side screenshot comparison of the old WinMo 6.1 and the new 6.5 OS.
As for me, WinMo 6.5 looks okay enough. I mean, its a good alternative if I get tired of TouchFlo 3D but it's not really again, the update is nothing major. You're better off with the SPB mobile shell with some great skins.
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Written on 10/05/2009 08:12:00 AM by poison_ivy
At first, I was confused when I came upon the Samsung B7330 OmniaPro. I thought the 2009 Samsung Omnia line-up only consists of four handsets: the Omnia Lite, Samsung Omnia 2, OmniaPro B7320, and the B7610 OmniaPro so I had to check to make sure that I'm not re-reviewing the B7320. From the moment I got hold of the Samsung B7330 OmniaPro, I knew it was a different handset, to find out the difference, read on.
Design
I definitely prefer the Samsung B7330 OmniaPro's design over the Samsung B7320. For one thing, the B7330 is slimmer and has, I don't know, a more appealing design. Although the keypad of the B7320 is more evenly spaced, the B7330 reminds me more of my favorite Samsung i780. The B7330 is also noticeably lighter compared with other mobile phones of this design. I like the fact that Samsung decided to put the microSD slot outside of the mobile phone for once. I can't quite describe the Samsung B7330's build quality, it's so light that it almost feel like a toy but yet, the materials used are top notch so to sum it up, I just REALLY like it. Adding a touchscreen like the i780 would have been better.
Samsung B7330 OmniaPro and Samsung B7300 OmniaLite side by side
User Interface
Samsung B7330 Homescreen
The Samsung B7330 that I was able to test out has the Windows Mobile 6.5 Standard (non-touchscreen) operating system. I thought the 6.5 upgraded was just limited to touchscreen so it's nice that Microsoft is also upgrading the OS of non-touchscreen WinMo mobile phones. WinMo 6.5 standard homescreen is somewhat similar to the homescreen of WinMo 6.5 touchscreen mobile phones wherein you can scroll through different panels vertically. It's really not much of an improvement but old-school WinMo users would feel right at home.
ApplicationsApplications are the standard that you see on Samsung's WinMo mobile phones such as the streaming player, Smart Converter, Smart Reader, Adobe reader, a Podcast app and RSS feeds, Voicenotes, and FM radio. Some new applications you can find is the Fring app which comes preloaded so you can chat and interact with your friends and it supports all major social networking sites, a new marketplace icon which brings you right to Windows Marketplace, MSN Money, MSN Weather, and a Smart Search icon which is similar to the iPhone's search capabilities.
Menus on the Samsung B7330 OmniaPro
Messaging, Phonebook, Web BrowsingSamsung didn't feel the need to skin the messaging application on the Samsung B7330 an decided to just keep the old WinMo style which is good, at least for those who, like me, likes the old WinMo messaging application. Setting up your email account is a breeze thanks to the email wizard. The Phonebook is quite an improvement. You no longer get the boring names list like the old Windows Mobile but you get thumbnail photos of your contacts.
I was missing the YouTube app but you need not fret because Pocket Internet Explorer now supports flash. Browsing web pages is quite snappy although still not as smooth as browsing on the Safari, but hey, does Safari support flash? Not!
Audio, Video, Image qualityI wish Samsung put their own player on the B733o OmniaPro. The Windows Media Player is the same player as the one on WinMo 6.1, only Samsung skinned this like what they did with the B7320. Now there's a reason why I missed Samsung's proprietary player. First, because Windows Media Player doesn't support DivX files, and second, you have to convert and resize your MP4 files in order for it to show up right.
Audio quality is okay, not something you should jump up and down for. The speakers are loud although audio will become tinny on higher volume levels. There's no 3.5mm audio headset jack and Samsung's proprietary adapter also doesn't have a 3.5mm headset jack.
The Samsung B7330 OmniaPro has a 3 megapixel camera. This mobile phone actually takes pretty decent pictures even in low light conditions, even better than the 5 megapixel Diamond2. Like the B7320, camera options on the B7330 include smile shot, face detection, and it also has auto-focus. Here are sample photos/pictures taken with the Samsung B7330.
ConclusionSure, I fell asleep when I reviewed the Samsung B7320 but just looking at the Samsung B7330's design perked me up. No, the Samsung B7330 isn't just a reincarnation or a spin-off of the B7320, in fact, it's in its own class that I'm sure Samsung could market the B7320 and B7330 side by side in the same region. But since that's not going to be the case, those in Asia and stuck with the chunky B7320 might want to move to Europe just for the B7330's design alone.
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Written on 10/03/2009 08:11:00 AM by poison_ivy
Wow, we have a lot of new mobile phones to expect this October. It's the start of the fourth quarter of the year so expect we're expecting a lot of new releases. Here are some of them.
Nokia N900
For those who have the Nokia N97 and is willing to give Nokia a second chance, the Nokia N900 definitely seems like a powerhouse of a phone. It's running a Maemo OS so hopefully, any bugs and problems you encountered with the N97 won't be found here. To get an overview of this mobile phone, check out my Nokia N900 preview. It's expected to be released this October at a price of around €500.
Motorola DEXT
Motorola is trying to get back on the mobile phone game with the introduction of their first Android phone: the Motorola DEXT. For those who wants to try out Android but is waiting for the next Android phone with QWERTY keypad, well, Motorola just answered your prayers. Orange is expected to launch the Motorola DEXT this October and you can grab this free on contract if you agree to be strapped to the company for two years.
LG BL40
The LG BL40 is the epitome of a "candybar" design because it actually looks like a chocolate bar. If you want to grab this strange mobile phone, mobiles.co.uk already has this for pre-order and stocks are expected to arrive early October.
Sony Ericsson Aino
Okay, so 8 megapixel phones are so yesterday. Samsung already has a 12 megapixel mobile phone out so what makes the Sony Ericsson Aino tempting? The Sony Ericsson Aino is a slider/touchscreen phone with a 3.0 inch capacitive screen. It has a 8 megapixel camera, accelerometer, bluetooth, WiFi, and GPS. It seems ready to take over the Samsung Tocco Ultra Touch's market share and considering that the latter doesn't have WiFi, some people might be inclined to get the Aino. The Sony Ericsson Aino is available for pre-order at mobiles.co.uk and stocks are expected to arrive Oct. 5th.
LG GM750
The LG GM750 is a Vodafone exclusive and will be touting Windows Mobile 6.5 once it's released. Looks like a possible competitor of the Samsung Omnia 2 or the HTC Diamond2 considering all three mobile phones has almost the same specs. The LG GM750 will have 3G/HSDPA, 3 inch touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera, 528MHz processor, microSD slot, WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS. Again, expected release date is this October.
Nokia N97 Mini
If the Nokia N900 pushes through with its October launch date, I don't see how the Nokia N97 Mini can compete, unless Nokia decides to drop the price of the N97 Mini. The N97 Mini has similar specs to its big brother, the original N97 except that the former's size has been slightly reduced. Check my Nokia N97 Mini preview
Samsung Blue Earth
Tree huggers celebrate! One of the most gorgeous eco-friendly mobile phones would soon be available this October: The Samsung Blue Earth. The Blue Earth has a solar back panel and uses Samsung's TouchWiz interface.
LG GD510 Pop
The LG GD510 has only been recently announced and according to LG's pres release, we'll see this mobile phone around October. There's not much details about the specs except that it has 3.0 inch screen, 3G, Bluetooth and FM radio.
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Latest Mobile Phones,
Orange new phones,
Vodafone new phones
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