Samsung Pixon

Introduction:
It’s an 8-megapixel camera, it’s a multimedia player… it’s the new Samsung Pixon. The latest model from the Korean company falls in the highest-class and is a direct rival to the Renoir by LG. It’s also one of the many contenders for the title “King of the multimedia phones”, which is currently held by the iPhone. Under the Pixon’s hood you’ll find many features, including an 8-megapixel camera marketed as “better than an actual camera” and multiple video file formats in order to play clips without having to convert them.



Design:
The Pixon is advertised as the slimmest 8-megapixel phone, though certainly not the slimmest of all. iThough it shares the same form-factor as the iPhone and OMNIA, the Pixon is considerably thicker than its two rivals. Unfortunately today’s technology has not reached the level needed to hide an 8-megapixel module and a whole bunch of extras in an extremely slim body. Do not think that Pixon is “fat”, but it doesn’t have the same profile as the fashion conscious phones on the market. Since the lens and the bottom are also protruding (resembling a regular camera), when placed next to INNOV8 it is nearly as thick, but feels slimmer in the hand.




Software:
In contrast to OMNIA, the Pixon is not a smartphone and uses software similar to the one used in F480. We weren’t happy with it when we did the review, but at first glance here, we noticed some changes so we’ll see what’s the story now.

Samsung INNOV8

Introduction:
Ever since the cell phone was invented, there has always been a trend to follow and the competition for the best one has been on. In the beginning, the manufacturers have tried to develop the technologies in order to diminish the size and weight of the units. Once gotten down to a pocket size, the phones transform into more and more complicated devices, trying to become mobile computers, assistants, cameras or multimedia players.



Design:
Design-wise, INNOV8 is the typical high-tech model. In contrast to G810 it doesn’t look as a business device but reminds us that it’s a gadget with many options. Because of that, and due to the similar size it has, INNOV8 resembles the rival models of Nokia to a certain extent, despite the fact that it has nothing in common with their design language. The small markings, indicating various specifications of the device (16GB, Wi-Fi, GPS, DivX) are noticeable here as well, so your friends looking at your new acquisition in awe, will know what it sports without you even telling them.





Similarly to a bunch of other cameraphones, INNOV8 resembles a pocket device when closed. On its back, there is a clearly noticeable bulge for the lens and the flash, and the right side (top one when used as a camera) houses three-way switch for choosing the mode (picture, video or preview) and the camera shutter. A strange decision on behalf of the manufacturer was made, to put the volume rocker on the opposite side, which makes zooming in/out quite hard when holding the phone in a horizontal position. It’s nice that the protective lens cover opens automatically once the software is started, and in contrast to K850 there is no glass, which is easily scratched, making it pointless.




Software:
As we’ve mentioned above, like G810, INNOV8 also runs on Symbian S60, made popular by the countless Nokia smartphones. Here, we have the latest version (3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2), seen as well in the top Finnish model N96. Samsung has added its own graphic themes, so you can change the style of the interface, to be similar to the other models of its series. Naturally, this only changes the phone visually and deep within, it remains the typical S60 smartphone, which is not a bad thing at all

Nokia N96

Introduction:
The Nokia N96 has a pretty hefty reputation to live up to. The N95 was a true powerhouse, and the finest converged device of its time. With a 5 megapixel camera, 3G data, the powerful S60 UI and eventually 8GB of internal memory there were few devices that could compete with it, and arguably no one could do it as well. Then along came a little device out of Cupertino and the cellular landscape changed. Not one to be reactive, Nokia has stuck to its guns with the retooled N96 and delivered an upgraded device that once again aims to sit atop of the mobile industry; improvements include 16GB of internal memory with microSDHC expansion and an integrated DVB-H tuner for mobile TV. But is it enough to compete with the almighty iPhone?



Design:
Though definitely inspired by the dual-sliding N95, the N96 is a much more modern and sleek device. Like the N81 everything on the device is flush with the exception of the directional pad and Multimedia key, giving the N96 a much more modern and minimalist appearance than its predecessor. The sharp corners of the N95 are now smoothly rounded, and the keys are only apparent when illuminated.




Performance:
The N96 retains the same 128MB RAM/256MB ROM found on the N95 8GB, but upgrades the processor from the 332MHz ARM 11 found on the original to Dual CPU ARM 9 running at just 2x264MHz.

We were not able to run our own tests, but according to Nokia the battery life is actually decreased from 5 hours of talk time on the N95 8GB down to a mere 3.66 hours on the N96. It is listed at 14 hours of music playback or 5 hours of video (4 hours of DVB-H TV.)




Conclusion:
On the whole we are impressed with the N96. It offers noteworthy upgrades to its forerunner, such as the DVB-H tuner (not usable in the States) and 16GB of internal memory with further expansion, and the design is also greatly refined. Running S60 Feature Pack 3 gives the N96 the flexibility to handle most anything the user throws at it. With an overall capacity of 28GB of memory (and theoretical capacity for 48GB) and a large screen it serves as a worthy PMP replacement. The camera and camcorder on the whole was very good, and would do as an everyday point and shoot.

Nokia 6210 Navigator

Introduction:
Does it happen to you frequently, to be travelling in a new area not knowing where exactly you are? You are tired of consulting with the map and planning trips? The 6210 Navigator by Nokia is a solution to your problems. It is the second generation from the “Navigator” line, following the 6110 and is one of the first phones of the manufacturer to employ the Symbian S60 OS with the latest 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 interface. In addition, the new entry is equipped with a built-in magnetic compass, integrated maps depending on your region and a free six-month navigation license. If you are travelling overseas, you can download the necessary maps on the go, thanks to the high-speed HSDPA (3.6 Mbps).




Connectivity:
Nokia 6210 Navigator is a quad-band GSM with dual-band high-speed (UMTS/HSDPA 900/2100 MHz) 3G support, but 850/1900 MHz and 850/2100 MHz versions will be offered as well. Unfortunately, there is no built-in Wi-Fi.




Performance:
Nokia 6210 Navigator runs very fast, but not as fast as one of the quickest Symbian phones we have seen, Nokia 6120 classic. There is a light lag when the accelerometer rotates the screen, but you’ll get used to it.

According to the official data, the battery should provide up to 3.7 hours of talks, 244 hours in standby mode or 6.2 of using the GPS. Compared to all the other phones, the first two values are low, but the time it allows you to use the GPS deserves a praise.



Conclusion:
If you are looking for a user-friendly, navigation phone, 6210 Navigator is a good solution. However, you’ll have to live with the partial maps for some regions which can be a huge drawback. An alternative option is 6220 classic. It is in the same price range and functionality-wise, the differences between the two are that the latter is equipped with a 5-megapixel camera and offers three (as opposed to six) months of free navigation. We would’ve preferred the second option, because of the higher class of the camera.

HTC Touch Pro

Introduction:
Touch Pro – the name clearly hints that we are dealing with a phone, created for work. The HTC model with the richest functionality is based on the popular Touch Diamond, but adds some to the specifications, sports a hardware QWERTY and is larger of course. It is the successor of the Tilt and targets the QWERTY dependent audience.

The very box shows the desire of the leading Windows Mobile manufacturer to raise the bar even higher. It reminds us of a diamond, it’s made of quality materials and houses classy accessories.



Design:
The front view of the Touch Pro is identical to the beautiful Touch Diamond, and on the back, it is similar, but it’s not shiny and the diamond pattern has a smaller relief. The main difference between the two is visible from every other angle. Pro has a “waist” of 0.7”, meanwhile, Diamond measures at only 0.5”. This definitely wouldn’t bother you when holding the “fatty” in your hand, but the contrast becomes apparent when you carry it in your pocket. In addition, you’ll feel the weight, which has been increased by 50%.




Performance:
As we’ve already mentioned, we are not happy with the fact that there is lag when navigating through the TouchFLO plug-in, and sometimes the phone performs inadequately. We believe that this will be fixed soon, but on the other hand HTC shouldn’t release products which are not finalized.
The overall sound quality during a talk is good although the incoming sound is below the necessary level. The sound in the speaker is moderately loud and the voices are muffled. Nevertheless, the collocutor will hear you very loud and clear, which is of utmost importance for a business phone.




Conclusion:
Touch Pro did live up to our expectations: it offers all features seen in Touch Diamond, including the same TouchFLO 3D interface, adding an extremely good hardware keyboard, which makes writing a pleasure. Unfortunately however, it doesn’t bring anything else to the table, becoming just another “old” device. If you have to have the keyboard, is a very good solution, and if not, then the slim Diamond is a better choice.

Nokia 7310 Supernova

Introduction:
The Supernova line was announced by Nokia with the idea to offer budget phones, balanced between an attractive appearance, features and price. Similarly to the higher classes, here the main thing for the design is not only to be easy to use but also to be striking and become the reason for the consumer to purchase it. Bold colors are used, including electric green and pink as opposed to the basic boring grey, black and white; a phone with such a panel rarely remains unnoticed, and that’s exactly what the creators of Supernova wanted to avoid.




Design:
The design language of 7310 is typical for the Supernova line and is something new for Nokia. All three color variants have a pattern on the panel, but when touched the plastic reminds us of the low price of the phone.

The numeric keypad and the area around the display are silvery and shiny, which not only creates an interesting contrast but also transforms 7310 in a pocket mirror. We’ve seen this effect in other phones as well, but here, it is very well expressed. It’s a bit darker than the conventional mirror and you’ll have to clean it from the fingerprints, but it’ll do the job. As a result of this of course, suffers the display, making it totally useless in direct sunlight (even if it’s not too bright). Because of the glass, the image is pale even indoors. The QVGA resolution is good and overall is OK for this display, but compared to other models the quality is poor.




Performance:
As we’ve mentioned above, Nokia 7310 Supernova is relatively slow during menu navigation, which we consider as a drawback, easily noticeable in the daily use. Despite not being a serious problem, it will be annoying for some.





Conclusion:
Is Nokia 7310 Supernova worth it? It really depends if you like its appearance. The unconventional image is its key feature, having pleasant, rarely used colors and a slim body. Nevertheless, the materials used for the make, remind us of the low class that the phone belongs to. In theory, Supernova offers multiple functions, but all of them have a mediocre performance, which makes using the device as anything different than a phone pointless. If the music player offered decent quality in addition to the user-friendly interface, the Nokia would have been an attractive model but now we consider it only a handset with an interesting design and mediocre functionality. The alternatives are 5310, which has good musical capabilities and 6301, offering a metal panel and a business image

LG KC 550

Introduction:

The cell phone market offers a variety of models, targeting the different consumer groups. Some people look for music centric devices, others are interested in such that have advanced Internet capabilities, cameras etc. In this review, we will discuss a model targeting the last group.

This is LG KC550, the first budget 5-megapixel cameraphone from a leading manufacturer. It is a mid-level slider and is equipped with Schneider-KREUZNACH autofocus lens, which places it next to the pretentious cameraphones. The manufacturer claims that the model has a fast processor for faster picture viewing and reproduction of videos in DVD resolution (720x480 pixels). In addition, the LG has a built-in TV-out and an accelerometer with which to play the preloaded games.




Design:
The design resembles the one of the modern digital cameras and is more convenient for taking pictures than attractive. The materials used to make the phone create a nice feeling of a quality product.

The TFT display is 2.4” with resolution of 240 x 320 pixels and supports 262K colors. In darker environments, they are well-saturated and lively, and the screen is even brighter than usual. Unfortunately, due to the mirror like effect, it is almost useless in direct sunlight.




Interface:
HomescreenFor homescreen background, you have preloaded static and flash animated wallpapers. Part of the second type rotate influenced by the accelerometer, but the more interesting thing here is that you can use one of the games (Dart, Maze or Magic Ball) for a background and play it.




Conclusion:
As a 5-megapixel cameraphone, LG KC550 performs worse than the best ones available on the market. However, the pictures are good for such a low price. Multimedia wise it has the advantage to reproduce videos in DVD resolution on a big screen via the TV-out.

At the end of the day, the combination of a “not so bad camera”, good multimedia features, and affordable price, transform KC550 in a quite good offer for the average user. The closest alternative in price is Viewty, which delivers a similar picture quality but on a larger screen and DivX support. However, if you are only interested in a good camera and not such functionality as we mentioned above, Samsung G600 is a better choice at an even lower price.

Samsung SGH-F400

Intoduction:
Nowadays, you can often see people on the street with earphones or just playing music from a loudspeaker. For that purpose, some of individuals do not use music players but their mobile phones. With F400, its stereo loudspeakers and the Bang&Olufsen ICEpower amplifier, Samsung targets precisely that group. It is a dual slider, presented by the manufacturer with quite a few superlatives and should provide a “highest-quality sound”, immediately making it an attractive solution even for the most pretentious consumers.




Design:
It looks like a cute phone for young people, but that’s it. Unfortunately, the materials used for the make create the feeling for something cheap when you hold it in your hand. At least it is comfortable, despite its size and weight.




Interface:
Samsung SGH-F400’s interface is nice and user-friendly. It is similar to the one seen in the other models of the manufacturer and nothing will surprise you. Only when choosing the Violet scheme, the main menu changes its appearance similar to the Espresso theme in G600.

The phonebook can store up to 1000 contacts, including multiple numbers for each, e-mail, additional information, picture, ringtone, group and date of birth. Unfortunately, there is no second name search. .





Performance:
Samsung F400 is fast without any lag during the “walks” in the menus and when starting various applications.

Unfortunately, the sound quality during a talk is average. You and the collocutor will hear everything with a good volume, but the voices will be monotonous and quite sharp at times. Also, there is a permanent background noise. The most annoying thing however, was the inexplicable fading away of the sound at your end of the line, because it makes every word hard to understand and the collocutor will have to repeat everything. On top of that, the loudspeaker is useless.

Sony Ericsson W595

Introduction:



Design:
The phone’s appearance is quite nice and the gentle gradation of its shapes is notable. This makes it look monolith when closed.

The 2.2-inch QVGA display supports 262k colors. The miniature light sensor can be found over it.
On the D-Pad, there are markings of the functions it has in the musical player as well as a camera shortcut. The keyboard has an interesting shape as if carved out.



Interface:
Main menuThe software is the latest offered by the company and is identical with the one of W902, announced at the same time. Thanks to one of the applications, you will be able to bring The King of Rock 'n' Roll to life on the homescreen by using the accelerometer. The other option available is to see how many steps you have made during the day, which is a quite interesting, especially if you are into sports.




Description:
Sony Ericsson W580 is one of the most successful models from the Walkman series of the manufacturer. A proof for that are the multiple color versions it is offered in. Not long ago, its successor was announced. It supports 3G, the camera now offers more options and its resolution has increased, there are stereo speakers and the interesting 'share jack', which will be a ...

Sony Ericsson W902

Introduction:
The key feature for all devices in Sony Ericsson’s Walkman series have always been its music features with the camera always staying in the shadows. Apparently, it’s time for a change and the new W902 is the messenger of a new era. It is a high class phone equipped with a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and „photo flash”, accelerometer and many musical features, which are in combination with the SE new headphones (HPM-77) included in the package.




Design:
The phone doesn’t have an attractive appearance, but the designers’ aspiration to add interesting elements is apparent. It looks massive and reliable, but it still is quite slim.

The display is 2.2 inches and supports 262k colors, which is standard for phones of such class. Interestingly, only the right edge is rugged and we see that as an attempt to freshen up the classic design. In addition, it helps the phone not to slide from your hands.




Interface:
The software is identical to Sony Ericsson W980’s or in other words, it’s the latest one offered by the company. The only application available to be placed on the homescreen is the „Standby World Clock 3D”. It has 3 changing clocks, indicating the time in London, New York and Tokyo and to our regret, these cities cannot be changed.




The Internet browser is also very promising, because it opens heavy pages without a problem and there is pan view as well, which greatly facilitates navigation. Thanks to the accelerometer, you can easily switch from portrait to landscape view. It is also used as a game control, which is quite entertaining.

Samsung OMNIA

Introduction:
Translated from Latin, the name of Samsung’s new model means “everything” and its main purpose is to fully satisfy the needs of the modern cell phone user. This is a phone with a unique combination of characteristics such as 5-megapixel camera, large touch display and GPS, taking advantage of the Windows Mobile 6.1 platform. In addition, this is the first device with a built-in support of not only DivX, but XviD video. The logical question „Can it cook?” comes to mind…




Design:
Nowadays, the design is everything. Even a very good product would quickly be forgotten if it doesn’t come in a shiny package. Luckily, OMNIA is well prepared in this aspect. It is one of the most attractive Windows Mobile devices.



Connectivity:
Samsung OMNIA is a quad-band GSM, which makes it a World phone, but regrettably, because of the single band UMTS, it is not suitable for high-speed Internet in the U.S. It supports GPRS, EDGE and HSDPA speeds with the last one getting up to 7.2Mbit/s, when used in Europe.

The phone packs a Wi-Fi b/g radio to allow for data transmission when off the cellular network. For data transfer on short distances, the phone supports Bluetooth 2.0.




Conclusion:
Samsung has done a wonderful job in creating an all-in-one device. OMNIA truly performed very well in every aspect and offers a wonderful combination of a 5-megapixel camera, media player, internet browser and GPS navigation. All that in an attractive package with quality sound during a talk, including the extensive organizing options characteristic for a smartphone.

The only more serious drawback is the interface, which should have been much easier to use for the mass consumer, and not only personalized Windows Mobile.

Samsung OMNIA

Introduction:
Translated from Latin, the name of Samsung’s new model means “everything” and its main purpose is to fully satisfy the needs of the modern cell phone user. This is a phone with a unique combination of characteristics such as 5-megapixel camera, large touch display and GPS, taking advantage of the Windows Mobile 6.1 platform. In addition, this is the first device with a built-in support of not only DivX, but XviD video. The logical question „Can it cook?” comes to mind…




Design:
Nowadays, the design is everything. Even a very good product would quickly be forgotten if it doesn’t come in a shiny package. Luckily, OMNIA is well prepared in this aspect. It is one of the most attractive Windows Mobile devices.


Connectivity:
Samsung OMNIA is a quad-band GSM, which makes it a World phone, but regrettably, because of the single band UMTS, it is not suitable for high-speed Internet in the U.S. It supports GPRS, EDGE and HSDPA speeds with the last one getting up to 7.2Mbit/s, when used in Europe.

The phone packs a Wi-Fi b/g radio to allow for data transmission when off the cellular network. For data transfer on short distances, the phone supports Bluetooth 2.0.




Conclusion:
Samsung has done a wonderful job in creating an all-in-one device. OMNIA truly performed very well in every aspect and offers a wonderful combination of a 5-megapixel camera, media player, internet browser and GPS navigation. All that in an attractive package with quality sound during a talk, including the extensive organizing options characteristic for a smartphone.