Search Results for: nokia

Best Smartphones of 2012

August 26, 2012 by Rogue

This summer we’ve seen some very impressive devices from the top phone manufacturers. In this article we’ll take a look at what we think are the best smartphones of 2012.

Samsung Galaxy S III

This smartphone is at the top, or near the top, of everyone’s smartphone rankings, and with good reason. You can find it on virtually every major carrier in the United States. Even the folks at Apple, known for this, have not been able to achieve this level of carrier adoption. The hardware is great, although perhaps not innovative enough. Some great software features include Smart Stay, Direct Call, Smart Alert, and the S Voice system for voice commands. With a competitive price and plenty of power under the hood, the Samsung Galaxy S III is definitely one of the best, if not the best, smartphone of 2012. [Read more…]

Google Android 2.2 Froyo: What’s New?

May 24, 2010 by Ade

So over at the recently-concluded Google I/O conference, Google unveiled Android 2.2, or Froyo, to the world. Now with people eagerly waiting for iPhone OS 4.0, Android 2.2 amazingly showed that Google can beat Apple, and if Google manages to get the products they announced out (oh my lord I want me some Google TV), there is a huge possibility that Apple may play catch-up soon.

Okay, so Android 2.2, called Froyo, is out. What makes it stand out? What features are going to make people dump their iPhones and go for Android handsets? Here are the top new features of Google’s smartphone operating system, taken from ZDNet:

– Improved security with the addition of numeric pin or alpha-numeric password options to unlock device. Exchange administrators can enforce password policy across devices.
– Remote wipe: Exchange administrators can remotely reset the device to factory defaults to secure data in case device is lost or stolen.
– Exchange Calendars are now supported in the Calendar application.
– Auto-discovery: you just need to know your user-name and password to easily set up and sync an Exchange account (available for Exchange 2007 and higher).
– Global Address Lists look-up is now available in the Email application, enabling users to auto-complete recipient names from the directory.
– Portable WiFi hotspot: Certain devices like the Nexus One can be turned into a portable Wi-Fi hotspot that can be shared with up to 8 devices.

Honestly, this has made me all the more excited to get an Android phone once my current phone – a Nokia E63 – dies on me. What do you think?

Give us a 4-inch smartphone with multiple OS support

May 10, 2010 by Ade

Finally, Nokia’s Design by Community project is almost finished. If you don’t remember what the project is about, it is Nokia’s push to create the “ultimate concept device,” and they utilized Nokia fans so they’d know what people want.

Now they have a mock-up of the winning phone, and if Nokia manages to create this, I am going to be excited for this. You see, Nokia fans have dictated that the winning phone should have a 10mm thin Monoblock form factor. Also, it should have a 4-inch capacitive screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio, open source operating system, unlimited multitasking, Wi-Fi 802.11 n/b/g, USB 3.0, HDMI, Dolby surround sound, and an 8MP camera with 4X optical zoom, dual LED and Xenon flash, and HD video recording. Users also want the concept phone to be able to run multiple operating systems, which means if Nokia is able to create this phone, we should be able to switch between Symbian and MeeGo.

Now I’m actually suprised by the feature requests. Everything seems so… modest and realistic, and they are all on phones everywhere. I just haven’t seen all these features combined on one phone before. Well, except from multiple OS support. Now if Nokia comes out with a phone that lets me switch between operating systems as much as I please, we’d have a winner in our hands.

Now here is a mockup of the concept phone, created by Unwired View:

The operating system on the phone is an early version of Symbian^4, by the way.

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The new iPhone has been leaked

April 19, 2010 by Ade

So, the lucky guys at Gizmodo were able to get their hands on an iPhone 4. There’s a bit of a story behind their acquisition. Apparently, Apple has been testing the new iPhone in the wild already, and one of Apple’s employees have, well, misplaced one. A lucky soul found the iPhone in a bar in Redwood City, and was sent to Gizmodo. Wow.

Now, we really can’t be 100% sure that this is indeed the new iPhone. But there are lots of clues that point to it being real. There really is an Apple employee who reported that he lost a prototype iPhone. It was covered in a rubberized casing so it can be disguised as an iPhone 3GS. Right now, it looks like it’s a major departure from previous iterations of the iPhone. Let’s start with the design of the phone itself. Gone is the curved back that defined the first three iPhones. It’s now flat at the back, and if you don’t see the front of the iPhone, you’d think it was made by Nokia or something. I won’t go as far sa to call it ugly, but I’m not exactly a fan of the new look.

Features-wise, this is also a totally different monster. Here’s Gizmodo’s roundup of the new features:

What’s new
• Front-facing video chat camera
• Improved regular back-camera (the lens is quite noticeably larger than the iPhone 3GS)
• Camera flash
• Micro-SIM instead of standard SIM (like the iPad)
• Improved display. It’s unclear if it’s the 960×460 display thrown around before—it certainly looks like it, with the “Connect to iTunes” screen displaying much higher resolution than on a 3GS.
• What looks to be a secondary mic for noise cancellation, at the top, next to the headphone jack
• Split buttons for volume
• Power, mute, and volume buttons are all metallic

What’s changed
• The back is entirely flat, made of either glass (more likely) or ceramic or shiny plastic in order for the cell signal to poke through. Tapping on the back makes a more hollow and higher pitched sound compared to tapping on the glass on the front/screen, but that could just be the orientation of components inside making for a different sound
• An aluminum border going completely around the outside
• Slightly smaller screen than the 3GS (but seemingly higher resolution)
• Everything is more squared off
• 3 grams heavier
• 16% Larger battery
• Internals components are shrunken, miniaturized and reduced to make room for the larger battery

What do you think? Is this the real deal or a really elaborate hoax that Gizmodo fell for hook line and sinker? If this is the real thing, what do you think of the changes?

The Microsoft Kin: Wait, what about Windows Phone 7?

April 14, 2010 by Ade

So Microsoft just announced not just one but two new phones. Calling them Kin One and Kin Two (no, seriously), these are Windows Phones designed specifically for people who are actively navigating their social lives. Brought to life through partnerships with Verizon Wireless, Vodafone and Sharp Corporation, KIN is designed to be the ultimate social experience that blends the phone, online services and the PC with breakthrough new experiences called the Loop, Spot and Studio. KIN will be exclusively available from Verizon Wireless in the U.S. beginning in May and from Vodafone this autumn in Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.

The thing is, didn’t just Microsoft announce Windows Phone 7? And isn’t everyone like praising Microsoft’s new phone operating system to high heavens? So why is Microsoft going to release another phone that’s social network-centric, but has no app store – or even any ability to create apps at all? And why make one that is competing with Windows Phone 7? It really sounds like a dumb marketing strategy, but when you take a closer look at it, it’s actually brilliant.

According to Engadget:

Last year, something like 200 million smartphones were sold. Lots. But that’s only one sixth of the total phone market of 1.2 billion phones, as reported by Gartner.

No matter how fast the iPhone market is growing, and how badly Microsoft wants to get back into that business, there’s other action to be had. And if Kin’s cost is kept low—both the handset price and the monthly data fees—then going after Samsung and LG and Nokia, hoping to draw people away from their cheap generic phones, could be easier than fighting Apple and Google (and BlackBerry and Palm). If so, then there’s success to be had, too.

Ah, there we go. The Kin is made for people who would like to be connected with their social networks all the time without worrying about apps to install or anything of that sort. I can see it now: a Windows Phone 7 phone for me and my needs, and probably a Kin for my 16-year old cousin who only wants to tweet and post to Facebook. Sweet.

You can test drive MeeGo now

April 7, 2010 by Ade

The merger of Nokia’s Maemo and the Moblin Project, MeeGo, that new-ish Linux distro made for mobile phones, TVs, and netbooks, has finally released the first beta of the new operating system. The build images are meant for developers or those who are comfortable working in a terminal since the build won’t come with any user interface. The images currently work with any Intel Atom-based netbook, Atom-based handset (Moorestown) or Nokia’s N900.

From Engadget:

Sadly, the MeeGo user experience — the good stuff, that is — isn’t included here, so if you flash your N900 you’re going to end up booting into a terminal console, but hey, some of you sickos are into that sort of thing, aren’t you? Next up for the team is a release billed 1.0 that will come in May, and we’re told details on the road to that version will be unveiled over the coming days. Take care of yourselves if you go for it, alright?

However, if you’d like to get your hands dirty with code, you’re free to download the 392MB image file so you can test it yourself so you’d just get an idea on what MeeGo is like. Make sure to run it from a USB drive though!

Download MeeGo here.

Opera Mobile 10 and Mini 5 released

March 17, 2010 by Ade

I have a Nokia E63, and believe me, the WebKit-based default Nokia browser just can’t cut it when I need to go online if I need to check out a couple of things. I’ve downloaded and installed quite a number of browsers, and I really had a hard time looking for one browser that’s good enough. Fortunately, we have Opera Mobile 10 beta, which was pretty light, fast, and really functional. Tabbed browsing on a phone? You got it.

So when I heard that Opera is finally releasing the final stable versions of Opera Mobile 10 and Opera Mini 5, I went to their site and downloaded it right away. How could I not download it? It’s one of those apps that I really love using.

Now here’s a few snippets off Opera’s press release:

Today, Opera Software released the final versions of Opera Mini 5 and Opera Mobile 10. Now, nearly any mobile phone can support an Opera-driven Web experience, complete with unmatched speed, style and cost savings. Simply go to m.opera.com/ to download it directly to your phone today.

Today’s release puts the finishing touches on the Opera mobile-browsing duo. The focus is on delivering the best Internet experience on nearly any mobile phone, along with a unified look and feel and innovative favorite features, such as Speed Dial, password manager and tabbed browsing.

“Keeping in mind the needs and wants of our 50+ million users, we have emphasized speed, desktop-like functionality and data savings in our mobile browsers. Today, we have made it even easier for everyone to surf, search and socialize on the Web,” said Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera Software.

Download Opera Mobile 10 and Opera Mini 5 by going straight to m.opera.com on your phone.

Firefox Mobile released… for Maemo

March 3, 2010 by Ade

For those waiting to bring Mozilla’s rendering goodness with them on the go because they feel that heavy contenders for mobile browsers like Opera Mobile and Safari for the iPhone isn’t just cutting it, well, luck is on your side. The much-awaited Firefox Mobile 1.0 is finally out, but for those unlucky to not have a Nokia N900 will have to wait a bit because this new contender in the mobile browser war is available only for Maemo.

From Download Squad:

Like the desktop version of Firefox, version 1.0 of Firefox for Mobile looks to set itself apart from other mobile browsers with the inclusion of browser add-ons.

Mozilla’s Weave Sync add-on is already available for Firefox for Mobile, and in the blog post announcing the new browser’s release Mozilla point out some third-party add-ons that they anticipate will be useful in a mobile context, including AdBlock Plus, URL Fixer, TwitterBar, language translators, and geo guides.

I love the fact that Mozilla is also going to let us bring add-ons anywhere, but we all know that add-ons are the leading causes of crashes for Firefox. They give us additional functionality and make Firefox better than any other browser out there, but it perceptibly slows down the browser 30-40% on some pages. I sure hope they manage to pull off something that’ll let let us choose mobile-ready add-ons that won’t impact the mobile experience that much in terms of speed and reliability.

What do you guys think? Do you think a vanilla browser is good enough already or should we push for the full Firefox experience for mobile?

We can expect to see Symbian ^3 soon

February 3, 2010 by Ade

Nokia seems to be pushing ahead with Symbian even though rumors abound of Nokia’s move to switch the entire N-Series from Symbian to Maemo. Right now, there’s new of Nokia skipping development of Symbian ^2 so that they can go ahead and proceed with Symbian ^3. And the good news is that we might be able to see Symbian ^3 this year, as Nokia is aiming to release v3 by the third quarter of 2010!

According to Digitimes:

The Symbian version 4 is believed to be based on the Qt cross-platform application development framework developed by Trolltech, which Nokia acquired in June 2008, said industry sources. The Qt will allow software developers to develop application software supporting Symbian and Maemo platforms simultaneously, added the sources.

For terminal end products, Nokia will continue to offer Maemo-based mobile computing devices, Symbian S60-based smartphones as well as Symbian S40-based feature phones, with the prices for Symbian S60-based models likely to be more competitive in 2010, Hsu said.

By 2011, smartphones based on the Symbian S60-platform will account for 55% of Nokia’s total handset shipments, followed by Symbian S40 feature phones at 35% and Maemo-based devices at 10%, according to sources who are familiar with Nokia’s product roadmap.

I can see Nokia using Symbian on its low-end consumer phones, but if they want to have an edge over the up-and-coming Google Android phones – just about every other phone manufacturer is making one – they really have to step up and make more Maemo-based phones, soon. That doesn’t mean I’m not interested to see what they’re planning for Symbian ^3, though.

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