Written on 5/27/2010 02:20:00 PM by poison_ivy
Well, here we are, Samsung's first stab at its own OS: the Samsung Wave S8500. On this quick review, let's see if Samsung got it right the first time or whether it's time to go back to the drawing board.
Design
No doubt about it, in terms of design, Samsung did a good job. The Samsung Wave S8500 exudes sophistication with its slim profile and metallic finish. Holding the phone in your hand, you wouldn't want to put it down, the phone just draws you because of its elegant style. One of the new design features that I like on the Wave is the sliding microUSB cover. On previous Samsung phones, its an annoying plastic cover that protrudes whenever you forget to close it. I hope this is one design feature that carries over on future Samsung phones. The 3.3 inch Super AMOLED screen is very vibrant. Too bad, I'm only able to review this inside a coffee shop last night so I wasn't able to test sunlight legibility.
Features
The Samsung Wave S8500 has Samsung Bada OS. If you're already a Samsung user, there's not much difference here, the TouchWiz UI is very familiar except for some new widgets. Scrolling through the homescreens is fast and responsive. Samsung's Bada OS copied Android's drop down notification menu which is great but then it's not as smooth as on the Android OS.
Another interesting feature that the Samsung Wave took from Android phones is the social network integration in the contacts. You can link your contacts to your Facebook or Twitter friends, a good feature if you're into social networking. One feature that is lacking is smart dialing. If Samsung is intent on making their Bada OS a smartphone OS, they should definitely think of adding smart dialing.
The call feature is okay. You can hear the person on the other end of the line clearly although I wasn't able to test it in a noisy environment.
The keyboard on the Samsung S8500 is pretty disappointing. It's a standard QWERTY keyboard without any symbols on top so you have to press the symbol button in you want to input numbers and symbols. A simple press and hold would've been nice just like the keyboard on HTC's latest android handsets like the Legend and Desire.
With a Super AMOLED screen, the Samsung Wave should be a very good multimedia phone and it is. The music player has a good graphics interface and there are equalizers and SRS Surround sound as well. Audio quality is pretty good and watching videos is a joy on the Super AMOLED screen. Typical of Samsung to include DivX and Xvid compatibility. I wasn't able to bring my sample DivX videos so I don't know how big a DivX file the Samsung Wave could handle.
The 5 megapixel camera is not a disappointment. If anything, Samsung has already proven that they can make decent camera phones. Too bad I wasn't able to download any sample shots, same goes for sample video.
I expected a lot more out of the Samsung Wave's web browser. If the Bada OS is supposed to compete with current smartphones, Samsung should have put a little more effort on their browser. I guess I'm just used to the browser on Android handsets that I can't help comparing. There's no flash support and every website that you click via Google search is optimized for mobile which makes browsing non-intuitive and downright annoying. The browser can't compete with iPhones and Desires but I guess it can serve your light web browsing.
Conclusion
I'm a bit disappointed with Samsung's first OS. Sure, I mean, their app store is not yet fully functional but I expected the OS to be more refined especially the browser. I couldn't feel that I'm working with a 1GHz processor. Maybe TouchWiz is taking up more resources than usual but I do hope Samsung would refine some of the bugs with future OS updates, that is, if they're planning on update it. Overall, the Samsung Wave feels like a glorified feature phone and not a smartphone with its own OS. But then again, I'm sure we'll see more refinements in the future. After all, Samsung already invested a lot on Bada so its highly unlikely that they'll just leave it to rot.
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Written on 5/24/2010 04:20:00 PM by poison_ivy
Get ready for more Android mobile phones in the UK. The Samsung Galaxy S will soon show its face come June 1st and now, the little brother of the HTC Desire, the HTC Wildfire will be coming to the UK come June 15th.
Over at mobiles.co.uk's blog, they've already announced that the HTC Wildfire is now available for pre-order. The HTC Wildfire only has a slighly slower processor than the HTC Legend, clocking in at 528MHz with 384MB RAM, and a 3.2 inch screen.
HTC hopes to bring the Android to the mass market with the HTC Wildfire. Let's just hope that we'll see this on PAYG on some networks.
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Written on 5/21/2010 02:46:00 PM by poison_ivy
Well, it looks like the Samsung Galaxy S is really going to be available this June. Expansys has just put up their pre-order page for Sammy's flagship Android mobile phone. Their expected availability date is June 1st. If you fancy your mobile phones unlocked, you can grab one and have it on your doorstep by June 1st, that is, if Expansys could deliver on their promise, for £479.99.
For that price, you'll get the latest 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, a 4 inch Super AMOLED screen, PowerVR SGX540 3D Chipset, 5 megapixel auto focus camera with 720p video recording among others. For those who would rather have their Galaxy S subsidized, Vodafone has this mobile phone on their coming soon page although the exact date for release is still unannounced.
Expansys
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Written on 5/14/2010 03:30:00 PM by poison_ivy
Well, this is a bit late considering that there are already a lot of HTC Desire reviews on the net but I need to do this to complete my comparisons between the HTC Legend vs. HTC Desire vs. Nexus One vs. Xperia X10. So anyways, here are my thoughts on the HTC Desire.
Design
The HTC Desire really does look like the Nexus One except that the Nexus One has a more velvety back cover. There are physical buttons on the front of the HTC Desire plus the optical directional pad in place of the trackball on the Nexus One. Now here's the first design glitch that I hated on the HTC Desire: the battery cover. As I've mentioned and if you read my other reviews, I hate pop up battery cover because it destroys my fingernails and the Desire has well, a pop up battery cover. I would have preferred the slider battery cover on the Nexus One.
I guess that's just the thing I hate on the Desire, otherwise, everything's okay. The physical keys have a tactile feedback and the optical pad is responsive.
Features
If you read my
HTC Legend Review, well, the HTC Desire is is similar in all respects except that there doesn't seem to be any live wallpapers on the Legend.
Because of the bigger screen real estate, it's easier to type messages on the HTC Desire. I had less mistypes on the HTC Desire compared with the other Android handsets I've handled. Also, this is one thing I don't get, when in the SMS inbox, on the Legend, I can't view the thumbnail images of my contacts but on the Desire, Nexus One and Motorola Milestone, I could. I wonder if that feature is turned off on the Legend?
The speakerphone on the Desire is a bit noisy but useable. The Desire has less of a problem finding a signal in my home compared with the HTC Legend. Although the HTC Desire doesn't have noise cancelling as the Nexus One, it does a good job of lessening the background noise when you're talking with someone on the phone, at least, when compared with the Legend.
The HTC Desire is responsive and scrolling is smooth but I really can't see that much difference on the Legend except that the Desire is a bit snappier.
The web browser is again, exceptional. Web pages render fast and smooth plus there's flash although like on the Legend, it's a bit buggy. YouTube videos are played through the YouTube player but other flash videos are played on the browser.
Watching videos is enjoyable because of the large screen real estate but again, I can't help missing DivX compatibility. Audio quality is good and HTC's media player is definitely much better compared with the stock media player on Android. Audio quality is great using the headphones.
The 5 megapixel camera, like on the Legend, is really awesome. I guess the days when I keep bashing HTC's camera on its mobile phones have ended. Sample shots below.
Conclusion
Well, what more can I say. With 1GHz processor and a bigger RAM, it looks like the HTC Desire is top of the heaps in the Android game and with rumors that it will soon get DivX 720p video recording, it looks like the Desire has the best bang for the buck. But with Android 2.2 Froyo on the horizon, one would wonder how long can HTC update the firmware of the Desire. We know that the HTC Hero, the first Android with Sense took a looong time before it could be updated to 2.l because of its custom UI so if you want the latest firmware on your phone better go with a stock Android interface like on the Nexus One.
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Written on 5/13/2010 03:54:00 PM by poison_ivy
So, can't wait to get your iPad and you want to pre-order right now? O2, Vodafone and Orange have already announced their iPad Price plans so if you're confused on which data plan would suit you, here's a breakdown of each network's iPad plans.
Vodafone
Currently, Vodafone is offering the iPad on 2 monthly price plans: £10 and £25 per month. With £10 a month, you get 1GB of data and with £20 monthly plan, you get 5GB of data. It's pretty basic and simple but Vodafone is the only network offering £9.99 data roaming charges and you don't get to be tied up for 24 months, you can cancel your subscription within 30 days.
O2
O2 offers 3 plans for the Apple iPad. First is the £2 per day and you get 500MB of data and will expire within 24 hours. The second is £10 per month plan and you get 1GB of data and the last is the £15 per month and you get 3GB of data. The £2 plan would be perfect for those who're not internet hogs plus O2 offers free unlimited WiFi access at any BT Openzone or Cloud hotspot on all their plans which makes the £2 per day plan enticing for those who're always near a Cloud/BT hotspot.
Orange
Orange is the only network offering the most monthly plan for the Apple iPad. The closest thing to a PAYG plan is Orange's pay for what you use which costs 5p for every 1MB of data download. Orange is also offering a daily plan at £2 per day with 200MB data and a weekly plan at £7.50 for 1GB of data download. Orange's monthly price plan is £15 a month for 3GB of data and £25 for 10GB data plan. Orange is also offering free WiFi access for their monthly subscriptions on all BT Openzone hotspots.
Conclusion
IMO, if it were me, I think O2's plans are enticing considering that they offer more free WiFi hotspots in the UK. If I were you, I'd take the daily plan and see how much usage I can use up in a month and then go from there.
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Written on 5/12/2010 01:44:00 PM by poison_ivy
So after all your Android hunting and research, you've decided to go with the HTC Legend which, if you want subsidize, you have to buy a mobile contract with Vodafone and if you want it unlocked you have to spend around £350 for it.
Anyways, so you have a somewhat expensive and gorgeous mobile phone with an aluminum unibody, what kind of accessories should you need? Well, here are my must have accessories for the HTC Legend.
Pouch/Leather Case
Yes, having an aluminum unibody, the HTC Legend's outer appearance could be easily scratched so a leather case, flip case, pouch or any form of outside protection is a must. Me, being a lady, I prefer a soft pouch made of microfiber so it could double as a cleaning cloth to wipe the screen.
Screen Protector
Now this accessory would depend on how you handle your personal things. If you're a very careful person, you can make do without a screen protector, just make sure you have a pouch or leather case. But if you're the type who just throws their mobile phone in the bag or keep it with your keys, then a screen protector is a must-have. Remember, scratches on the phone or screen would lessen its resale value.
Headset/earphones
If you're the type to listen to music on your mobile phone then a good pair of earphones is a must. Sennheiser usually makes good headsets ranging from budget, midrange to high end. If you really want to go all out and have around £1300 lying around, go for the Grado PS1000 headphones.
Spare battery
Although my HTC Legend lasted me around 3 days with minimal use, if you're an internet hog, better carry around a spare battery lest you want to charge nightly.
Car Charger
If you don't like a spare battery or you have the tendency to forget to charge your phone before you sleep, a car charger would really come in handy.
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Written on 5/09/2010 12:08:00 AM by poison_ivy
Looking for a 1GHz Android powered mobile phone? The Xperia X10, Nexus One, and HTC Desire not enough for you? Waiting for Samsung's Galaxy S aka Samsung i9000? Well, you probably don't have to wait much longer. A Philippine blogger who attended a meeting with Samsung and a local carrier says that the local availability of the Samsung Galaxy S will be around a month or two.
Well, since Samsung releases their mobile phones first either in Europe or Asia, we'll probably see the Samsung Galaxy S hit UK shores maybe late May or early June. And as if to bolster this rumor, according to phonedog, Phoneslimited has said that the availability could be as early as June 1 with a price of £549.99. The Philippine Samsung rep says that the price there will be Php32,000 or £435.55 converted to UK Pound. Before you protest, let it be known that the Philippine price is generally cheaper there than here (that's why I import most of my mobile phones in Asia).
Oh well, another Android phone to saturate the market.
Source: Yugatech, Phonedog
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Written on 5/07/2010 08:00:00 AM by poison_ivy
Wow. If Sony Ericsson's blog is to be believed then Xperia X10 owners can rejoice coz they'll see Android 2.1 update plus HD video recording on their X10 come 4th Quarter of 2010. Multitouch? Well, there's no mention of it in the blog but who knows? Then again Android 2.1 and HD video recording might be the "big update" that they were boasting about during the X10 launch here in the UK.
Aside from Android 2.1 and HD Video recording, the X10 will also get wireless home connectivity (DLNA) and improved Timescape and Mediascape. Of course, by 4th Quarter, Android 2.2 may have already been released, but at least that's just a .1 difference in OS firmware compared to what the X10 firmware is currently on.
HTC Desire users won't have to be envious as rumors have it that the Desire will also get an HD video recording update. So keep your fingers crossed.
Via: GSMArena
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Written on 5/06/2010 03:23:00 PM by poison_ivy
If you search for the Nokia N8 video reviews on YouTube, you won't see any actual reviews done by actual users but you'll see this official looking "hands-on demo". If you're going to base your purchase on this video solely, I have to warn you that you shouldn't believe anything you see, especially on this video alone. Could anything be more superimposed?
Even Nokia can't hide some of the blips that's still obvious from the early version of Symbian S^3. Not that I'm dissing the N8, it actually looks like a beautiful product. Let's just hope it won't be half-baked like some of Nokia's recent flagship handsets. Anyways here's the video demo of the Nokia N8 after the jump
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Written on 5/04/2010 01:58:00 PM by poison_ivy
Forget about comparison websites, the best broadband provider in the UK, according to an independent survey firm, uSwitch.com, is O2. Not bad, considering the company entered the broadband game only 3 years ago, surpassing old players such as AOL, BT, and Orange.
O2 won every almost every category including best value for money, best customer service, best technical support, and best quality of connection.
The basic broadband package from O2 is £12.50 a month but if you're an existing O2 subscriber, including those on Pay as you Go topping up at least £10 a month every three months can pay £7.50 for the basic package including unlimited downloads.
According to the survey firm, the continued success of O2 may be attributed to its customer service and cheap service.
Via: Guardian
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Written on 5/02/2010 05:38:00 PM by poison_ivy
Samsung and O2 UK has just announced the availability of the Samsung Monte Iron Man 2 Edition. As the name suggest, the Samsung Monte Iron Man 2 Edition features special Iron Man goodies such as the first Iron Man movie, the Iron Man 2 trailer, and some behind the scenes video, all stored on the SD card that comes with it.
As for the features, it's essentially the same as the original phone so you can check out my Samsung Monte Review for a review of the mobile phone. The Samsung Monte Iron Man 2 Edition is available on all O2 stores across the UK.
Via: GSMArena
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