Platforms

SGH-Z130: Samsung ‘Web friendly’ 3G Handset Imminent
Scheduled for release at the beginning of July is Samsung’s “Web friendly” SGH-Z130 3G handset.
The all-swivelling beastie features a rotating, high-resolution LCD screen (176×220 pixels), with full Web browsing support offered by the well regarded NetFront Browser by Access (as previously seen on Sony Clie PDAs).
As is the norm these days, a 1.3-Megapixel (1152 x 864 pixels) digital camera has been poured inside the SGH-Z130’s slim-ish dimensions (112x46x20mm, 120g), with all the multimedia tick boxes neatly crossed off:
Video recorder? Oh yes!
Music player with MP3/AAC/AAC+ support? Of course!
All jingling, jangling and beeping 64 polyphonic & MP3 ring tones installed? Absolutely!
Embedded wallpapers and Macromedia Flash? C’est naturellement!
There’s a fair bit of memory on board to handle all the multimedia fluff, with a total of 88.5 MB storage offering 80 MB for Image/Sound/Video, 4 MB for Java, 3 MB for Email and 1.5 MB for MMS with just enough room left over for 200 SMS messages.
The handset comes with built-in Bluetooth support (v1.1) and works with 2100MHz UMTS 3G as well as the 900/1800MHz GSM bands.
Sadly, despite the phone’s strong Web-focus, there’s no Wi-Fi on board and USB connectivity is stuck at Ye Olde v1.0.
The built in NetFront browser supports OMA Browsing 2.2, WML, HTML 4.01 and cHTML, and its “Rapid-Render” incremental rendering technology is claimed to accelerate the presentation of Web pages.
As with earlier versions of Netfront, there is a handy option to render Web pages to fit smaller screen widths, saving a ton of pesky horizontal scrolling.
NetFront is being touted as the only mobile browser to provide integrated support for Adobe Reader LE and the popular portable document format, PDF.
‘The SGH-Z130 is one of the most innovative 3G handsets on the market today, and ACCESS’ advanced NetFront browser technology extends this innovation by providing a comprehensive mobile Internet browsing experience,’ insisted Chulhwan Lee, of Samsung. ‘ACCESS and Samsung will continue to collaborate to bring advanced mobile Internet browsing solutions to mobile end-users throughout the world.’
SGH-Z130 specs
9 June, 2005
V600i 3G UMTS Phone From Sony Ericsson and Vodafone
Rather immodestly self-declared as ‘beautifully designed’, Sony Ericsson and Vodafone have announced their new V600i 3G phone.
Designed to take advantage of Vodafone’s live content streaming, the none-more-black phone ships with a veritable bucketload of multimedia features to keep even the most attention-deficient consumers entertained.
The phone sports a ‘direct video telephony button’ for quick access to the movie/video calling applications, with the 1.8 inch – 262.000 colour TFD screen acting as a viewfinder.
Naturally, there’s a camera on board, with Sony Ericsson bolting on a 1.3 MegaPixel jobbie with an active lens cover for quick snapping and protection
The V600i offers full 3G functionality, with Vodafone hoping that users will form a crack-like addiction to downloading the audio, video, gaming and other lucrative mobile wares for sale on the Vodafone live! portal.
Subscribers can also take advantage of the content streamed from the Vodafone live! site, including live sports and music videos.
As is de rigeur these days, the phone can be customised with downloadable wallpapers, with the 32MB internal memory capable of storing a whole symphony of irritating ‘individual’ ring tones.
There’s also a built in FM radio with a 3D Java gaming engine offering multiplayer gaming via Bluetooth.
But – hey! – life’s not all about fun and games for time-poor, cash rich execs, so there’s a suite of business applications onboard which can be synchronised with PCs via USB.
Cutting edge office hipsters keen to perfect that Nathan Barely look can also take advantage of the V600i’s Bluetooth support and strap one – or, what the heck, maybe even two – daft Bluetooth hands-free units to their ears.
The V600i will be available in Vodafone stores from early Q3 2005 onwards.
Sony Ericsson
Vodafone
8 June, 2005
Laptops Out Sell Desktops In US
Sales of laptops outstripped the number of desktop PCs for the first time ever, according to Current Analysis.
Based on monthly sales in the US, the survey by ‘competitive intelligence’ experts Current Analysis says that notebook sales accounted for 53 per cent of the total personal computer market last month, whizzing up from 46 percent during the same period last year.
The survey was based on sales from a sampling of electronics retailers in the US (so it’s more of an educated guess than a scientific study) but it does reflect the growing mobility of consumers.
The report concluded that demand has been driven by falling laptop prices and increased performance, with Sam Bhavnani, senior analyst for Current Analysis adding, “Just a few years ago, the performance of notebooks was nowhere near where it is today.”
Once back-breaking beasts with a battery life measured in nano-seconds – and a price tag to make grown men weep – modern laptops are now faster, slimmer, more capable and, crucially, cheaper (laptop prices have fallen 17 per cent against a smaller 4 per cent fall for desktops).
It seems that computing consumers like to feel connected too, with 95 percent of laptops offering wireless connectivity – up from 80 percent last year.
“There used to be a time when people expected a reply to an e-mail within a couple of days. Now they expect a response within 24 hours. People want to stay connected wherever they are,” insisted Bhavnani.
Bhavnani predicts that notebooks will continue to devour bigger shares of the PC market, while sagely adding, “You’re not going to see the desktop go away, though.”
His barely-revelatory statement was backed up an announcement from Mike George, VP of consumer business for Dell US, who today revelaed that Dell will be launching a “luxury” range of computers, with their hoity-toity desktop and notebooks selling for between $1,200 (~£660, €979) and $3,500 (~£1,925, €2,855).
In the US, Toshiba rule the laptop roost, enjoying a hefty 26 percent of the market (according to NPD Group/NPD Techworld), followed by Hewlett Packard, with 21 percent; IBM, with 17 percent; Compaq, with 11 percent, and Sony, with 7 percent.
Current Analysis
6 June, 2005
ThinkPad X41 Tablet From IBM/Lenovo Announced
The Lenovo Group has officially announced the first ever ThinkPad tablet, the ThinkPad X41.
The laptop offers a swiveling, writable slate and a full-size keyboard in a slimline (1.14 inches thick) package weighing an easily-luggable 3.5 pounds.
Lenovo claim that the X41 is nearly 20% lighter than other competitors and delivers longer battery life. When in tablet mode, the X41’s 12.1-inch screen swivels to cover the keyboard – a design that has proved more popular than the slate Tablet PC design, which has no built-in keyboard.
Chinese powerhouse Lenovo bought IBM’s PC business in a deal that surprised some. This makes it pretty interesting to see that they are stepping up their game so strongly.
Although the format has had a few false starts in the past, Rob Herman, program director for Thinkpad marketing, says that their Tablet PC is in response to increasing demand from Thinkpad customers in markets such as health care workers.
The growth of Tablet PCs – once described as the future of mobile computing by Microsoft – has so far been slow, with total sales only representing a tiny fraction of the PC market.
Although users seem to like the ability to enter information using a digital pen, the wallet-lightening price has put many off, so it’ll be interesting to see how the X41 fares.
Although its $1899 (~£1,040, ~€1,550) price tag isn’t exactly bargain basement stuff, the price is similar to what other vendors charge for ultra portable notebooks.
The X41 is reasonably specified, although there’s nothing here to get the heart racing, with an Intel Centrino chip running a low-voltage Pentium M processor and wireless chip.
The basic configuration offers an Ultra Low Voltage Pentium M 758 processor, a fairly stingy 256MB of DDR2 RAM, a 20GB hard drive, with an optional docking station required for reading and writing CDs or DVDs
The anti-reflective and anti-glare screen claims to provide 170-degree viewing, and an optional integrated fingerprint reader offers extra security for the terminally paranoid and distrustful.
Battery life is claimed at 2.6 hrs (4-cell) up to 6.3 hrs (8-cell) – up to 8.5 hrs with an optional bolt on extended battery.
The ThinkPad X41 Tablet will be available from 14 June onwards.
IBM Thinkpad
Lenova
6 June, 2005
LC-65GE1 AQUOS: Sharp’s 65″ ‘World’s Biggest’ LCD TV Sells In Japan
First shown off at the CEATEC show in Japan last year, Sharp has announced that it will be launching its gargantuan 65inch LCD set in August this year – the biggest in the world.
The digital leviathan, snappily named the LC-65GE1 AQUOS, features a full-spec high-definition LCD panel with a room filling 1,920 H x 1,080 V pixel resolution capable of displaying digital content in Hi-Vision, the Japanese 1080i HDTV format.
The house-challenging Sharp TV features a 4 wave length back light to improve on the colour display quality with the built-in speakers powered by a 1-bit digital amplifier.
Coming in two tasteful finishes – Titanium and Piano Black – the wall-mountable leviathan serves up a feast of connectivity options, including HDMI, DVI, FireWire (IEEE-1394) and a CableCard slot.
Monster LCD screens are prone to suffer from ‘smearing’, which results in onscreen artifacts being displayed by fast moving objects, but Sharp claims that its QS (Quick Shoot) Technology improves moving video responsiveness, making it perfect for watching high-speed full-motion video and fast moving footage (like a Cardiff City strike. Sort of).
The company are big on waving their green credentials around with gusto, and were quick to point out that the LC-65GE1 has a power consumption of ‘only’ 619 W.
This is less than PDP televisions of the same 65V-inch class, but it’s hardly likely to impress Greenpeace activists.
The monitor also uses materials which can apparently be recycled, although we’re not sure what you could make out of them.
As is often the case lust-spawning objects, there’s a double whammy of a sting for anyone fancying installing one of these monolithic beasts in their Hackney bedsit.
The first killer blow is the price: a thumping great 1,680,000 Yen (~£8,565 ~US$15,570), with the knock out punch being price and availability: the company is only manufacturing 300 units a month and you’ll only be able to buy it in Japan.
The Sharp Aquos LC-65GE1 goes on sale in Japan on 1st August.
Sharp press release (in Japanese)
3 June, 2005
i-mate PDA2 Skype Pocket PC Released
Dubai-based Microsoft Windows mobile specialists i-mate have added the HTC-manufactured i-mate PDA2 to their popular range of Pocket PC phones.
Sporting a nippy Intel processor running at 520 MHz – the fastest available for Pocket PC phones – the tri-band GSM/GPRS handset has been designed for “heavy data processing” and comes with 128 MB RAM and 64MB ROM.
This phone is already available in the UK by O2 operator as the O2 Xda IIi, but is only now being offered by i-mate – the biggest distributor of HTC-made phones.
The unit comes positively festooned with connectivity options, offering GSM/GPRS (900/1800/1900Mhz, Class B, 10 slots), Bluetooth and Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi).
Memory can be expanded through a SD/MMC slot, which is compatible with SDIO peripherals.
The handset features a 3.5″ QVGA transflective (TFT) touch screen with both landscape and portrait modes, plus a 1.3 mega-pixel digital still and video camera.
The man-sized Pocket PC phone comes preloaded with Skype for cheap VoIP (Voice Over IP) calls, as well as standard Pocket versions of Word, Excel and Outlook Inbox and Windows Media Player 10, providing better integration with Windows Media Player on desktop or laptop PCs.
The i-mate is powered by a 1300mAH battery with a slot provided in the cradle for charging a spare battery.
Memory can be expanded through a SD/MMC slot, also compatible with SDIO peripherals.
Conveniently, all the accessories available for its predecessor, the i-mate Pocket PC, are compatible with this new model, although upgraders should be disappointed to learn that the device runs Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition and not the recently-announced Windows Mobile 5.0 OS.
With the release of Windows Mobile 5.0 OS set for Autumn this year, we’d advise potential purchasers to think twice before shelling out for this unit as it appears that there will be no OS upgrade available.
“The i-mate PDA2 is one of the most powerful and expandable mobile devices on the market. The efficiency gains to be had could mean the device pays for itself in no time” insisted Jim Morrison, Founder and Chief Executive of imate
“An outstanding feature of the i-mate PDA2 is its ability to be customized with innovative business applications to deliver remote access to a company’s core systems in real-time,” continued Morrison in full sales flow, “Our devices are highly scalable and can be configured to match the needs of a wide variety of industry applications like field and sales force automation, and asset management.”
The company is hoping that the PDA2’s companion Website, which offers 24/7 technical advice, support and value added services such as free hosted Microsoft Exchange e-mail, games and patches, will tempt users to fork out for what has to be seen as something of an understated upgrade.
Morrison clearly thinks it’s a deal maker,”Over and above the advanced features of the device itself, the real difference is in the i-mate value added services we offer and global warranty play a key role in i-mates strategy to deliver the ultimate mobile experience.”
The i-matePDA2 will be available online and in stores from the beginning of June 2005.
Club i-Mate
HTC
3 June, 2005
Sidekick II Released By T-Mobile Germany
The mobile Internet handset – developed by Danger and manufactured by Sharp Corporation – will be made available on service contract for £68.70 (~€100, ~US$125).
For just £10.30 (~€15, ~$18.84 USD) a month, users can enjoy unlimited data use when combined with any of T-Mobile’s voice plans, with the monthly data charge being waived for the first month for new T-Mobile Sidekick II customers.
The feature-stuffed handset includes a mobile phone, push email, instant messaging, HTML Web browser, text-messaging, calendar, address book, an integrated digital camera and the option to download applications and content.
Users will also get access to a Web-based, online account to manage their data from the desktop.
“The T-Mobile Sidekick II’s ease-of-use and complete set of voice and data applications have made it the featured product in our ‘Internet in your pocket’ initiative,” said Michael Schuld, Vice President Terminal Management T-Mobile Germany.
Beating at the heart of the T-Mobile Sidekick II is Danger’s “hiptop” software and services infrastructure.
Claimed to deliver a “superior mobile Internet experience to end users”, the thin client/server system takes care of the secure transmission of data between the network and the device, accelerates Web-page downloads and automatically opens files sent via email.
“Danger’s popular mobile Internet experience, combined with T-Mobile Germany’s excellent network, customer care and marketing might is an ideal match,” PR-ed Hank Nothhaft, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Danger.
Also known as the Hiptop 2, the 130 x 66 x 22 mm (5.1″ x 2.6″ x 0.9″) handset features a flip Transflective TFT 240×160 pixel screen and an integrated VGA (640 x 480 pixel) camera.
The tri-band (900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS unit comes with 32 MB RAM and 16 MB Flash, with a built in speakerphone and Lilliputian QWERTY keyboard.
T-Mobile are also releasing a “trendy” version of the Sidekick, resplendent in distinctly un-macho pink sparkly bits.
But that’s not for us. Oh no.
Hiptop 2
T-Mobile Germany
2 June, 2005
JVC MP-XV841 MiniNote Review: Small is beautiful
The JVC Mini Note (MP-XV841GB) is what’s known as a sub-notebook, but for such a small system it’s packed with features. What is immediately noticeable is the fantastic screen which is extremely bright and sharp and in a widescreen format (about 9 inches across diagonally) perfect for playing DVD’s on the move. The screen resolution is 1024 x 600.
It’s powered by a 1GHz Pentium processor (Centrino) with speed-step technology, so it slows down to save battery when you don’t need the processing power. Unfortunately the base system only comes with 256MB of memory which is just about enough to run Windows XP (Professional, which came with the unit), though another 512MB can be installed by the user by removing a few screws in the base and inserting and clipping in a single expansion card.
The internal drive plays DVD’s (and comes with WinDVD so you can watch them) and also writes CD’s (both CD-R and R/W). There’s 2 USB ports, an i.link (or IEEE-1394/Firewire) port, 10/100 Ethernet, a V.90 modem, microphone and line out jacks. The in-built microphone is OK for Internet chat type applications and the stereo speakers have a virtual surround sound. You can plug in an external monitor with a supplied adapter, there’s a PC Card slot and a slot for an SD memory card. Not forgetting the built-in WiFi for connecting to wireless networks or hotspots. The disk drive is 40GB split into a drive C: and D:
The docking station/port replicator which comes with is plugs into the same connector as the external monitor, giving you 4 USB ports, an Ethernet socket (LAN), standard VGA connector and an optical digital out so you can listen to your DVD’s through an external surround sound decoder.
JVC include some reasonable software. Pinnacle Studio v9 which is a simple video editing package (supporting capturing video from your DV camera through the firewire port), Real Networks RealOne player, Norton Antivirus (with a 3 month subscription), WinDVD for DVD playback and CC converter a sound enhancing utility.
All work makes you a dull boy
The Mini Note is a full featured PC, though definitely aimed at the user on the move who wants to use the media friendly features – at a light weight. Unfortunately though usable, the keyboard is just too small to do real work and plugging in an external keyboard is definitely needed if you want to touch type (unless you have tiny fingers). The pointing device is a small nipple type in the keyboard and again is usable, though I didn’t find it particularly easy.
Summary
All in all it is a good system, the screen is one of the best out there, it’s got enough grunt to run most standard applications, but I found it too small to use as a desktop machine without external additions. For such a light and portable system it’s pretty usable for working on the move and watching DVD’s.
JCV MP-XV841 MiniNote
1 June, 2005
Vodafone 7100v Blackberry Review – email; Calendar; Phone
This is the third and final part of this in-depth review focuses on the mainstay of the Blackberry – email, calendar, or even using it to speak to people. The first part of this review, looking at
Usability: 3/5
Syncing: 4/5
Screen: 5/5
Web Browser: 4/5
Email/Messaging: 5/5
Calendar/PIM: 3/5
Software/Features: 2/5
Central Telephone Functions: 4/5
Overall Score: 3.5/5
26 May, 2005
Sony K750i: Pre-release Preview: It’s A Beauty
About a month ago I had the chance to spend two days with a pre-release version of the Sony K750i handset and as it’s now closer to the release of the handset, I thought an overview of the product might be timely.
Despite it being a pre-release version of the phone, the couple of bugs that I came across were pretty small and inconsequential and in general it ran very well.
The form of the phone was, for me quite petit, but that�s to be judged against a Nokia N-Gage QD, which isn’t the lightest of fellows. I soon got used to the size and placement of the keys, picking the use of the central joystick up quickly.
The navigation through the menus is very simple and effective, which is heavily aided by the quality of the good-sized display which takes up the same space as the keypad.
One feature I particularly liked was being able to soft-program the joystick “User Controlled Interface” Hurrah! I set it up to start the built-in audio recorder (quality OK, not great) when I pushed the joystick right, and turn on the bright/near-blinding light that is the flash.
Despite its very handy form (~10cm H, 4-5 cm W, 2 cm D from memory), it has some impressive features.
You morph it in to a camera by sliding the lens cover at the back of the device. Using the 2mpx camera you can easily captures clear pictures with vivid colours during light days.
When shooting in low light levels the quality is noticeably degraded, but what do you expect from a 1cm lens? To account for this they’ve provided a flash that can also be selected to flash SOS with retina-burning brightness!
Video recording is OK, given the devices restrictions.
The biggest news I’ve left to last. It’s also an MP3 music player, which having been using the W800 a lot recently, appears to offer the same functions as the much anticipated first Sony Walkman mobile phone.
It has a play/pause button at the top left on the side, and volume controls on the opposite side (the shutter button is also on that side).
I’d just assumed the K750i would have a ‘normal’ headphone jack, letting me choose the headphones that excited me, but the provided headphones had to be connected via a Sony-interface at the bottom of the phone. This brings obvious advantages, like them having a mic, letting to let you use them as a hands-free set.
Connecting a uploading content was relatively straight forward to setup and use. I can’t comment on its information syncing ability as this wasn’t available.
Conclusion (based on two days usage)
Despite having to get used to a new phone interface, I fell for the K750i over the short period of usage I had. Frankly it was a real struggle for me to give it back. I think this is going to sell by the truck-load (and that’s a lot of phones, because they very small :) ).
Summary
Compact, quality, capable music player and camera phone.
Rating
4/5

We understand the k750i will be released in the next month in Europe.
26 May, 2005