MoPedia

Google Nexus One Boot Animation

2009-12-15T01:39:00.001Z

Source:
Engadget

Nexus One: First Google Phone?

2009-12-15T01:01:00.004Z

There has been a lot of frenzied activity surrounding the leaked info of the supposed 'Google phone'. The Nexus One, as it is called, has been in the rumour mills for a long time but has finally revealed itself in glorious pictures. This is not just any new phone but this is said to be the first phone by Google themselves. Although it is manufactured by HTC, it will only display the Google brand.

The phone started life under the codename of HTC Dragon or HTC Passion but now is known as the Google Nexus one. It will feature the next version of Android v2.1.

Not a lot is known at the moment but from initial observations it can be seen that the new version of Android will feature some cool new additions including 3D application tray and a card like preview of all homescreen pages similar to the Palm Pre. It will also include Google Navigation (in US) and a newly released feature called Google Goggles, which allows you to search for information on certain objects just by taking a picture of them.

Other notable features include:

Android 2.1
Snapdragon CPU
3.7" AMOLED display
WiFi
5MP camera with autofocus
Scroll wheel similar to HTC Hero?
Quad band GSM

There are some rumours that Google may even decide to sell this phone directly, bypassing the operators. From the screenshots it looks like T-mobile may get in on the action. The phone will reportedly come unlocked, allowing the user to continue with their existing GSM network. The Nexus One may be available as early as January 2010 but that may be a tad optimistic.

Source:

Engadget

Star Size Comparison

2009-12-15T00:42:00.003Z

Blogger Finally Supports Read More Function

2009-12-06T15:48:00.006Z

If you have visited my site before, you may have noticed that I have changed things around a bit. I have replaced my highly customised version of the default minima template, which has served me well for a long time, with something which is hopefully more modern, elegant and simple.

During the painful process of transferring all the custom code and widgets over I realised that Blogger had finally added a feature which I had to previously hack my template to enable. The feature I am talking about is the read more function.This allows you to cut or truncate part of your post on the front page allowing readers to click on a link to view the full post.

I haven't been actively Blogging for a while now so there were quite a few other surprises including a brand new post editing interface.

There is a 'Insert jump break' button at the top right corner of the post editor which inserts a line into your post at the point where you want the 'Read more' link to appear.

If you click on the 'Edit HTML' tab you will see that Blogger adds  to your post. This is the location of the 'Read more' link. You can manually add the code yourself if you want.

To enable this feature, you will need to log into Blogger and go to the 'Settings' tab. Under the 'Basic' settings scroll down to the 'Global Settings' part and select the 'Update editor'.

If you are using an original Blogger template the read more function should work just fine. However , if you obtained your template from somewhere else you may need to also follow the steps below to enable the feature.

Go to the Layout tab and then click Edit HTML
Before you do any editing to your template code you should always download a backup
Expand your template

4. Find this code: <data:post.body/>

5. Insert the following code below the above code

<b:if cond='data:post.hasJumpLink'>
<div class='jump-link'>
<a expr:href='data:post.url'>Continue Reading

>></a>
</div>
</b:if>

6. Click Save Template and you are done.

Notice that I have 'Continue Reading' instead or 'Read more' but you can change that to anything you like.

Mininova Alternatives

2009-11-26T16:59:00.010Z

Mininova has deleted all 'copyrighted' torrents from their site. They decided to do this after a failed attempt at filtering out certain torrents. Unfortunately, they had no choice but to carry out this drastic action as they had lost a court case and were ordered to remove all offending materials or face a massive fine of up to 5 million euros. It's not quite all over for Mininova, they are possibly going to make an appeal but I wouldn't get your hopes up if I were you.

This is a massive blow to the file sharing community because Mininova was the biggest collection of user submitted torrents. A lot of people like myself will now be looking for alternatives. Of which there are plenty, so have a look at the sites below and see which you like best.

1) Btjunkie

2) Torrentz

3) ISOhunt

4) Torrentreactor

5) Torrentbox

6) Seedpeer

7) Bitenova

8) Vertor

9) Torrentzap

10) Fenopy

11) Monova

12) ExtraTorrent

Obama Advocates Indefinite Detention Without Trial

2009-05-23T14:58:00.003+01:00

I knew it was too good to be true, it looks like Obama will turn something immoral into something that is legal. He plans to detain people, possibly for an indefinite amount of time and without trial, for crimes they might commit in the future.

Fundies Say the Darndest Things!

2009-05-22T11:07:00.004+01:00

While I was browsing around the net looking for something to take my mind off revision I came across a site called fundies say the darndest things. It's a site with collections of quotes from all over the internet from people trying to argue against science. And by 'people' I mean mainly religious people. Although, non-religious people do say stupid things they don't have a collective agenda against science and reason. Some of these comments are funny but a lot are just plain disturbing, the stupidity of some people out there never ceases to amaze me. Below are some of my favourite comments.

====================================================================
"One of the most basic laws in the universe is the Second Law of Thermodynamics. This states that as time goes by, entropy in an environment will increase. Evolution argues differently against a law that is accepted EVERYWHERE BY EVERYONE. Evolution says that we started out simple, and over time became more complex. That just isn't possible: UNLESS there is a giant outside source of energy supplying the Earth with huge amounts of energy. If there were such a source, scientists would certainly know about it." [emphasis added]
====================================================================
[Replying to 'as for not seeing evolution it takes several million years... incase you missed that memo...']

"several million years for a monkey to turn into a man. oh wait thats right. monkeys dont live several million years. "
====================================================================
"I'll do my own humorous summary
"Debating with an atheist"
Atheist: I deny the existence of air
Facilis: what?? You're breathing now. Air is the necessary precondition for breathing.
A: No. I see no reason why air is necessary for breathing. I am breathing now and i don't believe in air.
F: It the impossibility of the contrary. What else could you be breathing.
A: That is just an air of the gaps fallacy.You just insert air into the gaps since you do not know how people breathe.
F:But how else can you account for breathing?
A:I'm just breathing because that is the way it is. I'm still going to deny the existence of air."
====================================================================
You can read more comments like the above over at fundies say the darndest things.

Windows 7 vs Ubuntu Jaunty 9.04: Boot Time

2009-05-19T22:44:00.003+01:00

When I heard Microsoft were giving away Windows 7 free for a year I decided to put it on my EEE PC 1000H and see what it was like. There has been a lot of buzz surrounding it, people were claiming it was much better than Vista. I was very surprised at how fast it run on my netbook, I had tried Vista previously and can remember how slow that was. I also had Ubuntu Jaunty already installed on the system so I decided to time both OS's boot time and see how they fared.

I expected Jaunty to be faster since Ubuntu put in a lot of effort to make things speedier but it turns out so did Microsoft. Both system booted in almost exactly 25 seconds, see for yourself in the videos below.

Windows 7 booting:

Ubuntu Jaunty booting:

I have to give Microsoft credit for Windows 7, it felt faster overall and it looks great too but after using Ubuntu for so long it felt a little awkward using Windows again. While the 25 second boot may seem impressive now, just wait until October when the next version of Ubuntu, which promises to be even faster, will come out. Sorry about the video quality I used my Sony Ericsson P1i to record it.

Runcore Pro IV: Super Fast SSD

2009-05-04T17:30:00.003+01:00

JKK Mobile has managed to get hold of soon-to-be released 2.5" Pro IV SSD drive from Runcore and from the video and speeds tests it looks super fast.

Check out the video below.

For more information on the specs, pricing and availability goto JKK mobile.
JKK Mobile

Samsung I7500: 5 Megapixel Android Phone Official

2009-04-28T12:00:00.005+01:00

So the rumours turned out to be true. Samsung have made their first Android based phone official. The I7500 has a far more impressive feature set than the lackluster offerings from HTC.

The device features a 3.2" AMOLED touch screen and the first decent speced camera for an Android based phone. The I7500 should offer smartphone enthusiasts who also want a decent camera an alternative to the Iphone and G1.

Full Samsung I7500 specifications:

Expected Release Date: June, 2009
Dimensions: 56 x 115 x 11.9 millimetres
119 grams (battery included)
Operating System: Google Android 1.5 (Cupcake)
CPU: 32bit Qualcomm MSM7200A
CPU Clock: 528 MHz
ROM capacity: 7.5 GiB
RAM capacity: 128 MiB
Display_Type: color AM-OLED , 16777216 scales
Display Diagonal: 3.2 "
Display;Resolution: 320 x 480
Microphone(s): mono
Loudspeaker(s): stereo
Audio:Output: 3.5mm
Cellular Networks: GSM850, GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900, UMTS900, UMTS1700, UMTS2100
Data Links: CSD, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA
Call Alert: 40 chord melody
Vibrating Alert: Supported
Speakerphone: Supported
Positioning Device: Touchscreen
Directional Pad: 5 -way
Expansion Slots: microSD, microSDHC, TransFlash
USB 2.0 client, 480Mbit/s
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
Wireless LAN: 802.11b, 802.11g
Built-in GPS module
Assisted GPS, Geotagging
Main Camera: 4.9 MP
Autofocus (AF)
Optical:Zoom: 1 x
Macro Mode: Supported
Built-in Flash: mobile light (LED)
Secondary Camera: 0.3 MP
Built-in accelerometer
Battery:Capacity: 1500 mAh

This phone has the looks and specs to be an awesome device and is the first Android phone that I might actually buy.

Pop Idol Kenya

2009-04-17T18:06:00.000+01:00

Check out more videos by elRizLoco (youtube)

Nokia Photo Browser Available for Symbian S60 Smart Phones

2009-04-15T18:37:00.000+01:00

The cool Nokia photo browser which until now was only available for the 5800 XpressMusic has now been released for all Symbian S60 3rd edition phones.

The software has a 3-D interface and some nice effects to make viewing your images easier and prettier. It may not look as good on non touchscreen phones but it should be better than the current photo browsers available. Check out the video demo below:

You can download the software from Nokia Beta Lab.

LG GC900 Viewty Smart Announced

2009-04-15T17:47:00.010+01:00

Having been an owner of the first Vewity I am keen to see what improvements LG have made to its recently announced successor the LG GC900 Viewty Smart.

The first Viewty had a lot of problems including being underpowered which meant the software was very sluggish and a pain to use. The user interface was inconsistent and poorly designed. Worst of all for me was LGs support for their phones, fixing bugs and releasing software updates doesn't seem to be a priority for them. If there's software problems with a model they'll just release a new model with better software instead of fixing the old one. The only good thing about the first Viewty was it's brilliant 5 megapixel camera. Which included 120 fps video recording and slow motion playback.

The Viewty Smart increases its megapixel count to 8 but has dropped Xenon flash for LEDs. Like its predecessor, the Viewty Smart won't actually be a smart phone but run on LGs proprietary OS with their S-Class touch UI which I have heard a lot of good things about. Hopefully they will give the Viewty Smart enough processing power so that it does'nt lag like the older model.

Other LG Viewty Smart Specifications include:

GSM Quad-band (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) UMTS European/Asian 3G (2100 MHz)
Data: GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA 1.8 Mbit/s/HSDPA 3.6 Mbit/s/HSDPA 7.2 Mbit/s
3-inch WVGA touchscreen with 800 x 480 px resolution
8 megapixel camera with Xenon Flash, manual and auto focus, image stabilizer, face tracking, Blink shot, Smile Detection and high speed video recording.
S class 3D interface
MPEG4, WMV, AVI, DivX, XviD and H.264
microSD/microSDHC, up to 32GB
FM Radio
Built-in Wi-Fi
2.0, Stereo Bluetooth with A2DP
USB 2.0
A-GPS
Accelerometer
size: 100.8 x 55.8 x 12.4 mm
Weight: 3.17 oz (90 g)

The LG Viewty Smart is likely to come out sometime in June 09.

Samsung S8000: 5 Megapixel Android Phone

2009-04-14T22:21:00.000+01:00

I am a big fan of Android and I think it provides a decent alternative to Apples Iphone OS and Symbian which has not been delivering the goods in my opinion. That's why I'm happy to see apparent details of a 5 megapixel Samsung Android phone leaked recently.

Nothing is official yet but the Samsung S8000 is said to have the following features:

3.1" AMOLED touchscreen
5 megapixel camera with dual LED flash
FM radio with RDS
2 GB internal memory with microSD support
3.5mm audio jack
3G
WiFi
GPS with aGPS
Bluetooth 2.1
Support for DivX and XviD
Android OS

Once again I am glad to see Samsung pushing OLED technology forward which should give this phone a good battery life. The phone is also very thin, only 12mm.

The weird cube shaped button may suggest that Samsung will add their own 3D UI touch on this.

More info coming soon.

We are Linux

2009-04-12T23:02:00.004+01:00

The Linux foundation has just announced the winner of the "We're Linux" video contest. The video created by Amitay Tweeto, called "What does it mean to be free", was chosen by a panel of judges as the winner.

The contest was set up by the Linux foundation to get people to create a one minute video showcasing what Linux meant to them, essentially an "I'm a Pc, I'm a Mac" type thing. Linux doesn't get a lot of advertising or promotion in the public sphere, it's usually through word of mouth that people find out about and try Linux. The aim of this contest was to make people aware of Linux and to encourage them to try it.

I really liked the winner because it not only told people that Linux was out there and they had a choice but it also portrayed the core ideas and ethos of Linux. Linux is not just software but also a community of people who believe in sharing, the ability to use your OS as you want and making it better together for everyone. Here is the winning video:

The runners up:

Nokia 6710 Navigator Specifications

2009-04-10T23:24:00.000+01:00

Release Date: Q3 2009
Main features of Nokia 6710 Navigator:

User Interface: S60 3rd Edition
Dimensions: 104.8 x 50.1 x 14.9 mm (L x W x T), 2.6” inch outdoor optimized QVGA display
Weight: 117 g
Display: 2.6 inch QVGA (320 x 240 pixels)
5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and high quality flash
High speed Internet access (HSDPA/HSUPA and WLAN)
Around 50 MB for user memory, 2GB microSD card, support for up to 16GB memory
Built-in GPS: Nokia Maps 3.0 with integrated GPS, Assisted GPS (A-GPS) support
Integrated compass pedestrian guidance
Access to locations, maps and routes with Navigator key
Maps support in Calendar, Contacts and Gallery
Zoom area for easy browsing and easy zooming of maps and images
Drive and Walk navigation included with premium content such as real time traffic information, current whether, POI content eg movies, events etc.
Regional maps preloaded on the device
Navigation ready to use without SIM-card
Full voice-guidance

Sony Ericsson W902 Reviews

2009-04-10T22:44:00.000+01:00

In the past Sony Ericsson would just stick a crappy 3.2 megapixel camera on to their Walkman phones just so that they had a camera on them. Now they seem to be making an effort to try and merge their Cybershot and Walkman lines to produce some truly multimedia phones.

The W902 is one of those Walkman phones which tries to be a decent camera phone. Although, it's still primarily designed as a music phone, the W902 packs a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus, image stabilistaion and geo-tagging (using cell towers).

Full features of the Sony Ericsson W902:

Sony Ericsson W902 General Specifications

Status: Available since September, 2008
Phone dimension: 110 x 49 x 11.7 mm
Phone weight: 99.8 g
Phone color: Volcanic Black, Wine Red and Earth Green
Battery: Standby Up to 380 h
Talk time Up to 9 h

Sony Ericsson W902 Network and Technology

Operating system:
2G network: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G network: HSDPA 2100
Browser: WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML (NetFront)
GPRS: Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
Messaging: SMS, EMS, MMS, Email, Push Email

Sony Ericsson W902 Multimedia Specifications

Display size: 240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inches
- Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate
- Dedicated music keys
Screen type: TFT, 256K colors
Camera: 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, auto focus, flash, video (QVGA 30fps), secondary video call camera
Card slot: Memory Stick Micro (M2), 8 GB card included
- 25 MB shared memory
EDGE: Class 10, 236.8 kbps
HSCSD: Yes
USB: Yes, v2.0
3G: HSDPA 3.6 Mbps
WLAN: No
Bluetooth: Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
Infrared port: No
Ring tones: Polyphonic, MP3, AAC + downloadable
Vibration: Yes
Games: Yes + downloadable
Phone book: 1000 x 20 fields, Photo call
Call records: 30 received, dialed and missed calls
Java MIDP 2.0
Walkman player
FM radio with RDS
Camera images geo-tagging (cell ID)
TrackID music recognition
SensMe
Shake control
T9
Image viewer
Picture editor
Organizer
Built-in hands free
Voice memo
Standard battery, Li-Ion

Reviews:
Check out the links below for full reviews.

GSMArena.com review of SE W902:
"Sony Ericsson W902 is a neat and attractive mobile phone, with solid multimedia and imaging skills. It's got an excellent music player, a bright and lively display and, most of all, it's the first Walkman to take 5 megapixels photos. The relatively slim design and the 8 gigs worth of storage are a welcome bonus.

Unfortunately, the Sony Ericsson W902 has a rather small screen, while the mediocre camera quality and poor video recording are not quite in line with the high asking price. Plus, it risks getting outshined by upcoming Walkmans that feature GPS and Wi-Fi, like Sony Ericsson W715.

The Walkman branding and features may entice enough people to spend their buck but hardly justify the 100 euro premium over the almost identical Sony Ericsson C902.

Our overall impression of Sony Ericsson W902 remains positive and we enjoyed the time we had with it. But we can't ignore the obvious: it's anything but competitive with that 300+ euro price tag. We hate to say it but instead of making the best of the unique Cyber-shot Walkman blend, the W902 will be hoping for a late comeback as a reasonably priced and reasonably dated all-rounder."

CNET UK review of SE W902:
"The W890i's successor -- the W902 -- offers the best camera we've seen on a music phone, with a decent interface and a solid, attractive design. It loses marks for not having a real headphone socket, but if you want a full-featured music phone, it's one to check out."

Phonearena.com review of SE W902:
"The design and the built quality of Sony Ericsson W902 are at good level. According to us, it main targets the male audience because of its “rough” and aggressive look. Sony Ericsson has not forgotten about the ladies and brings them the W595.

The W902 has a great display and music capabilities. This definitely makes it worthy for a high-class music oriented phone, but let’s not forget it also has a 5-megapixel camera. It doesn’t make perfect pictures, but it still is better than the W890. Overall we liked the W902 and would recommend it if you’re looking for a phone from this class."

Intel Promises 2 Second Boot with Moblin

2009-04-10T17:12:00.005+01:00

Moblin is Intel's Fedora based distro specifically engineered for netbooks such as the eeepc range.

Currently at the early alpha stage, Moblin is already able to boot within 20 seconds but a 2 second boot seems a bit unrealistic. Intel engineers have managed to do some remarkable things so far, let's just hope they can achieve this.

Check out Phoronix.com's test of Moblin against Ubuntu Jaunty.

I had a little play around with Moblin on my eeepc 1000h last week and unfortunately I didn't experience any lightning fast boot times. In fact it was slower than Ubuntu Intrepid which boots in about 30s. It was obvious that it was alpha stage software from the look of the UI but I didn't experience any crashes, although it did fail to boot once. Wifi worked out of the box. I found the fonts to be hard on the eyes and I also couldn't get update to work at all.

Moblin uses XFCE desktop environment which fooled me into thinking it was GNOME for the first few seconds but the differences become visible quickly. Being used to GNOME and Ubuntu I found the UI a little strange. However, it is alpha and Intel plans to completely re-design the look and feel of the interface to something more modern. The video below shows some of the ideas they are playing around with.

I only had Moblin on my netbook for a day, I replaced it with the beta version of Jaunty which is working perfectly. Currently I can't see myself using XFCE but with a 2 seconds boot I think I can live with it.

Update: Just found this video of Moblin booting in an incredible 5 seconds! See for yourself.

Samsung i7110 Review

2009-03-25T22:52:00.000Z

I am glad to see Samsung are pushing forward OLED technology in their handsets. The i7110 has a brilliant 2.6" AMOLED screen which is perfect for viewing pics taken with its 5 megapixel camera.

There is dual LED flash along with 120fps video recording capability. It's not quite as impressive as it older brother the i8510 but can comfortably compete with other 5 megapixel rivals.

Due to its use of OLED for the screen the i7110 offers a massive 11 hours of talktime. Another interesting feature is the FM transmitter which will let you transmit songs directly to your car radio for example. The i7110 runs on the Symbian S60 platform. One big dissadvantage of the phone which I should mention is the lack of a dedicated camera button which slightly reduces its usefulness as a camera phone.

Full Samsung i7110 features:

5 Mega-pixel camera with Autofocus, Flash, Face detection, Image stabiliser, Geo tagging & Camera settings
Video Recorder
Video Player with H263, H264, DivX, MPEG4 & WMA formats
Video Editing
TV out function
3G Video calling & Second camera
Picture Wallpapers & Screensavers
2.6 inch display with 262k colours & 320 x 240 pixels
Music player with MP3, eAAC+, WMA, AMR & Real formats
Built-in RDS FM Radio with FM Transmitter
Polyphonic & MP2 Ringtones
SMS, MMS, Email, Push Email & Instant messaging
Predictive text Messaging
Java™ games, FIFA 2008 game & Downloadable games
Personal organiser with Phonebook, Alarm Clock, Calendar, Document viewer & Calculator
Trackball Navigation key
OS Symbian Operating System
AGPS function & GPS Navigation
50 Megabytes of memory with MicroSD™ memory card slot
3G HSDPA, Bluetooth® with A2DP, Micro USB & WLAN WIFI Connectivity
GPRS & EDGE Technology
HSDPA & Quad band 1900 GSM, 1800 GSM, 900 GSM, 850 GSM Networks
WAP 2.0 XHTML & HTML web browsers
GSM Talk time 11 hrs
3G Talk time 6 hrs
Standby time 430 hrs
Size 12.9 x 52 x 118mm

Reviews:

GSMArena.com review of Samsung i7110:
"While not on par with the Samsung i8510 INNOV8, the i7110 has quite a capable camera on board. The i550 is easily outperformed by 2 extra megapixels and the comfortable camera key.

The camera also has digital image stabilization, and the proprietary Samsung Wide Dynamic range, which is used to lighten up shadows in high-contrast scenes. The extra features include geotagging, automatic panorama shooting, face detection, and even blink detection to help you avoid blink shots (which tend to be quite a lot)."

Techradar.com review of Samsung i7110:
"The 5MP camera takes some decent snaps, however it pales in comparison to the i8510, which is possibly the best phone camera out there at the moment. That said, it takes a lot of cues from its bigger brother, and would hold its own easily against any other handset in the 5MP category.

Overall, we were very impressed with another Samsung offering. While it's hardly earth-shattering as a handset (though the screen is worthy of an honourable mention), it does everything right, something which only Nokia used to be able to do consistently."

Sony Ericsson C901 Specifications

2009-03-25T22:32:00.000Z

One of the biggest problems with the Sony Ericsson C902 was the tiny 2.0" screen which is far too small for a 5 megapixel phone. With the announcement of the C901, Sony Ericsson are going back to try and improve things.

The C901 will also have a 5 megapixel camera but the screen is now 2.2", which still is a bit small but it's an improvement.

There isn't any fundamental differences between the C901 and C902, both have a slim and sleek candy bar design. This seems like a small incremental update and there is nothing wrong with that.

Sony Ericsson C901 features:

Camera

5 megapixel
Autofocus
Xenon flash
Photo fix
Smile Shutter
Smart Contrast
Snapfish
Video recorder
Video stabiliser
Geo tagging
Red-eye reduction
Video calling (main camera only)

Music

Music formats MP3, AAC
TrackID
PlayNow
MegaBass
Bluetooth stereo (A2DP)
Album art
Media Player

Entertainment

FM radio
Walk Mate (step counter)
Java
YouTube application
3D games
Motion gaming

Connectivity

USB suport
Synchronisation
Modem
Bluetooth
Google Maps

Internet

RSS reader (web feeds)
WAP 2.0 XHTML
Access NetFront web browser

Messaging

SMS
MMS
Email
Exchange ActiveSync support
IM (Instant messaging)

The C901 will be available sometime in the second quarter of this year.

LG KC780 Reviews

2009-03-23T17:28:00.000Z

The KC780 is LG's attempt at a budget camera phone. There are a few luxuries missing but the 8 megapixel camera almost makes up for it. Check out the reviews to find out more.

LG KC780 features:

8 megapixel camera with Schneider Kreuznach lens, autofocus and flash
Video recording
Display: TFT LCD, 262k colours, 240 x 320 pixels (2.4 inches)
Music player (MP3/AAC/AAC+/AAC++/WMA formats)
FM radio
Speakerphone
Voice recording
Messaging: SMS, EMS, MMS, Email
T9 predictive text
Document viewer (TXT, PDF, DOC, PPT, XLS)
Ringtones: 64 voice polyphonic ringtones / MP3 ringtones
Wallpaper
Javagames
Memory: 140 Mbytes plus microSD memory card slot (up to 8GB)
Connectivity: USB, Bluetooth
Internet: WAP 2.0, GPRS Class 12, EDGE
Vibration alert
Triband (GSM 900/1800/1900)
Size: 105 x 51 x 14 mm
Weight: 90g
Talktime: 3 hours
Battery standby: 250 hours

Reviews:

CNET UK review of LG KC780:
"LG isn't targeting gadget freaks with the KC780 -- this phone is about keeping things simple and taking pictures. That would be fine if the camera was excellent, but it's not. In the end, what you end up with is a basic slider phone with a large keypad. We know LG can do better and hope to see more impressive phones soon.

If you want to buy a good camera phone, we suggest looking for a Nokia N82, if you can find one, or a Sony Ericsson C905 -- one of the best camera phones currently available."

Trustedreviews.com review of LG KC780:
"The KC780's camera might shoot at 8-megapixels, and do so quite well, but it is not without its shortcomings, and the remaining features of this phone are somewhat limited and squarely rooted in the mid-range sector."

Sample camera shots available here.

Pocket-lint.com review of LG KC780:
"Overall the KC780 gives a good showing of itself as a budget handset, giving you the chance to capture reasonable images whilst out and about. There are a few quirks with controls of the camera, but navigation of menus and making calls presents no problem at all. The battery life is fairly average at 240hrs standby or 3hrs talk time."

Samsung G800 Reviews: First Camera Phone with Optical Zoom

2009-03-19T22:28:00.000Z

Reading the specifications you might think the Samsung G800 was designed to be a camera first and phone second. The 5 megapixel camera was the first to include an optical zoom. With so many camera phones around, this feature really makes the G800 stand out.

Samsung G800 specifications:

5 megapixel camera phone with 3x optical zoom, xenon flash and autofocus
Video camera with built-in video editing
Display: TFT, 256k colours, 320 x 240 pixels (2.4 inches)
MP3 player (MP3, AAC, AAC+, 3-AAC+, WMA formats)
Stereo FM radio
Speakerphone
Messaging: SMS, MMS, email (POP3 / IMAP4/ SMTP)
Document viewer
Java games
Personal organiser functions
Offline mode
WAP 2.0, GPRS Class 10, EDGE
xHTML web browser, RSS feeds, mobile blogging
High Speed Downlink Packet Access (7.2 Mbps, HSDPA) - 3.5G
Memory: 160 Mbytes plus MicroSD™ memory card slot
Connectivity: Bluetooth® 2.0, USB 2.0, TV-Out
Triband (GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900) plus 3G
Size: 102 x 52 x 19 mm
Dimensions: 101 x 51.1 x 18.8 mm
Weight: 134 grams

Check out the links below for full reviews.

CNET UK review of Samsung G800:
"We had high hopes for the Samsung G800 and it lived up to them in many ways. It's an attractive, solid phone that's easy to use and packs a good camera relative to the competition. But in certain areas we expected more -- the xenon flash, for instance, which is more like a very bright LED photo light than the extremely bright xenon flash on the Sony Ericsson K850i. The G800 is also on the chunky side and if you don't have large pockets then you may find it a little challenging to drag it around. We found it slightly too big to put in a tight pair of jeans but it should fit in your jacket pocket just fine. Given Samsung's thin phone pedigree, we expected something a little slimmer."

GSMArena.com review of Samsung G800:
"Samsung G800 is without doubt a strong contender in the cutthroat market share race. If you are looking for a dedicated cameraphone with a great camera, then you might have just found your next handset. It may not be the best looking mobile around, however it has its own brushed-metal style that some of us liked."

Sample camera pictures available here.

Pocket-lint.com review of Samsung G800:
"Samsung has really pulled out all the stops in creating a mobile phone that is also a very good digital camera.

The camera's capabilities, performance and offering are the same if not more than an ordinary regular spec'ed digital camera (you can't share camera images to the web via HSDPA for example), except the megapixel count."

Stuff.tv review of Samsung G800:
"It's clear the 3x optical zoom beats its crude digital zoom counterpart, but it can't quite match the quality of standalone camera rivals. Picture quality remains consistent in close-up, but it sometimes struggles for focus in low-level lighting conditions.

In fact, this is a constant problem with the G800: it only really flourishes in natural light. But in these (good) conditions, it does delivers vibrant, colourful and detailed snaps.

Of course, there's a Xenon flash to help out in the gloom, but compared to the bulbs currently blinding us on the Sony Ericsson K850i and Nokia N82, the G800's is pretty feeble. It's definitely the most disappointing aspect of this phone.

Face recognition, however, works surprisingly well. Once you've taken your snaps there's also an embedded ShoZu app to post your pics online."

Trustedreviews.com review of Samsung G800:
"...G800 undoubtedly delivers to a better standard than many mobile phones I've reviewed. And with features like an anti-shake mode, face detection, a proper xenon flash and autofocus to help you out, taking photos you are happy to keep and to even to print is certainly within the G800's capabilities."

Samsung U900 Soul Reviews

2009-03-19T22:08:00.000Z

This really thin phone manages to squeeze in a 5 megapixel camera. The 2.2inch screen is surrounded by a sleek metallic casing giving it a sturdy feel.

The U900 features a unique but apparently difficult to use touch pad. The icons can change according to what you need.

The camera features face detection along side the usual auto-focus and image stabilisation but lacks Xenon flash.

Samsung U900 specifications:

5 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom, face-detection autofocus, image stabiliser and Power LED flash
Video camera (MPEG4 / 3GPP) / 3G video calling
Display: TFT, 16 million colours, 320 x 240 pixels
Music player (MP3, WMA, AAC, AAC+, e-AAC+ formats, OMA, WM digital rights management)
FM radio
Bang & Olufsen power amp
Ringtones: MP3 ringtones / 72-voice polyphonic tones
Messaging: SMS, MMS, email
Voice memo & voice mail
Speakerphone
Java games
Document viewer
Offline mode
WAP 2.0, GPRS, EDGE, 3.5G (HSDPA 7.2 Mbps), web browser
Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB 2.0
Memory: 100 Mbytes plus MicroSD memory card slot
Personal organiser functions
Triband GSM (900/1800/1900 MHz) plus 3G
Size: 106 x 50 x 12.9 mm
Weight: 112g

Check out the links for full reviews.

CNET UK review of Samsung U900:
"If it's pictures you're after, then the 5-megapixel camera takes decent snaps in daylight. We don't think it's as good as the Sony Ericsson K850i's 5-megapixel camera, however. The lack of a xenon flash means pictures in low light come out as clearly as a glass of Thames water."

Sample pictures available here.

Trustedreview.com review of Samsung U900:
"A front-facing camera caters for video-calling whereas the main camera - its lens protected under the back slide panel - shoots at 5-megapixels. There is an LED flash, self-portrait mirror and autofocus. Face detection helps the camera lock onto people and ensure they stay in focus.

Image quality was not the best I've seen from a mobile but very good indeed nonetheless. The coloured dish, photographed under standard household lights, is sharp and clear. The flower was photographed using the macro mode. There is a slight blurring of the image but the flower was moving around in a breeze as the photo was taken so this is not a surprise, really. And the beading of water droplets is captured nicely. Colour reproduction is very good in both photos."

GSMArena.com review of Samsung U900:
"The results showed that Samsung U900 Soul's camera was really up to the task, producing better pictures than the N95 8GB on most occasions. Samsung U900 showed lower noise levels, more precise exposure metering and better in-camera processing. Nokia N95 8GB strikes back with more reliable color balance and better edge-to-edge sharpness (thanks to its bigger lens). Considering that it wasn't a full-scale shoot-out, we didn't cover all the possible parameters but only the most popular. Announcing a clear winner wouldn't be fair to either contender but we can only say that we did liked the Samsung U900 results better even though it is still in beta.

As far as video recoding is concerned, Samsung U900 Soul didn't really manage to impress us. The highest resolution available is QVGA and this is no longer considered a great achievement. The videos might turn out usable on some rare occasions anyway. We can't help our disappointment as VGA recording would have been the icing on the cake for the U900 Soul's camera."

Samsung G400 Soul Reviews

2009-03-19T21:52:00.000Z

The Samsung G400 is a 5 megapixel clamshell with a sleek outer body. It is the only clamshell with a 5 megapixel camera as far as I'm aware.

Most of the body is made out of polished metal which gives it a very classy feel.

Samsung G400 specifications:

5 Mega-pixel camera with Autofocus, Flash, Face detector & Image stabiliser
Video camera, video player & Blogging
Additional camera for video calling
Internal screen 2.2 inch TFT display with 262k colours & 320 x 240 pixels, External screen 2.2 inch TFT touch screen display with 262k colours & 320 x 240 pixels
MP3, eACC+, AAC & WMA Music player
Built in RDS FM radio
Polyphonic & MP3 ringtones
Built in speaker phone
SMS, MMS & Email messaging
Google Mail
Predictive text
Built in Java™ games & downloadable games
Personal organiser including, phonebook, calendar, converter & to do list
MicroSD™ Memory card slot
3G HSDPA, Bluetooth™, A2DP USB & GPRS connectivity
Tri band 1900, 1800, 900, GSM & UMTS networks
WAP 2.0 XHTML, HTML web browser with RSS feeds
Size 15.2 x 51.5 x 102.8mm

Check out the links below for full reviews.

GSMArena.com review of Samsung G400:
"The picture quality of Samsung G400 Soul is impressive. We're especially fond of the image processing, with balanced in-camera sharpening, low noise and remarkable scene detail. You would only see such results in … well, the U900 Soul."

Sample camera pictures available here.

Phonearena.com review of Samsung F490:
"G400 mainly relies on the stylish design and the good multimedia functions. We were very happy with the 5-megapixel camera and with the music sound quality. Unfortunately, it has a large size, it’s hard to open single-handedly and the sound quality during a talk is lower than we would have liked it to be. If you are ready to live with those drawbacks and are looking for a stylish cell phone, Samsung G400 is just for you. An alternative option is Soul, which is better looking, more convenient to use and compact, but with weaker multimedia capabilities."

Samsung F490 Reviews

2009-03-19T21:30:00.000Z

The Samsung F490 came out at a time when it seemed as though every new touchscreen phone was labeled as an iphone killer.

The F490 certainly looks very impressive and with a 5 megapixel camera you would think it was an iphone killer. However, from reading the reviews it looks like it didn't live up to the hype.

Samsung F490 specifications:

5 Mega-pixel camera with Autofocus, Flash & Camera settings
Video recorder & video player with H264, H263, WMV & MPEG4 formats
Video calling
Video viewing on widescreen
Screensavers & wallpapers
3.2 inch TFT touch screen display with 262k colours & 432 x 240 pixels
Music player with MP3, WMA, AAC & AAC+ formats
Polyphonic & MP3 ringtones
Built in microphone & voice recorder
SMS, EMS, MMS, Email & instant messaging
Vibration alert
Predictive text
Built in games & downloadable games
Personal organiser includes, phonebook, calendar, converter, to do list, calculator, clock & document viewer
Built in speaker phone
130 megabytes of memory with MicroSD™ Memory card slot
3G HSDPA, Bluetooth® with A2DP, USB & GPRS connectivity
EDGE Technology
Tri band 1900, 1800, 900 GSM network
WAP 2.0 XHTML & HTML web browser
Google search
Talk time 6 hours
Standby 220 hours
Size 11.8 x 53.5 x 115mm
Weight 102 grams

Reviews:

Unwiredview.com review of F490:
"Frankly speaking, if you look at the specs, the quality of photos and speed of the camera, you can surely say that there can not be any competition here, because Samsung F490 loses on all fronts. It could be expected: after all, Samsung F490 is not a dedicated camera phone, and the 5 megapixel resolution is nothing more but a marketing gimmick."

CNET UK review of F490:
"A 5-megapixel camera didn't dazzle us either. Without the right optics or flash to support it, the advantages of the F490's high megapixel count are lost. It does take good shots for MMS pictures and small prints, but if you're out with your mates in a dark club and fancy taking a picture for posterity, don't expect it to come out."

GSMArena.com review of F490:
"Judging from our experience with the Samsung F490 we are quite sure that this fashionable handset will enjoy great market success.

Building on the capable hardware of the F700 and the iconic image of the Armani phone, Samsung F490 seems to be getting the best of both worlds. Clearly, it may seem a bit of an underdog compared to the LG Viewty, which has better video recording capabilities and DivX video playback. LG also packs a better battery and FM radio.

And yet, the Samsung F490 offers a great user interface and has the haute couture kick that the LG Viewty lacks. For the time being the F490 will be Samsung's flagship in the Touch UI arena. At least until Samsung F480 becomes available with a brand new Touch UI, more pocketable size and full of graphical goodies to blow away the gloomy colors of the F490. Till then Samsung F490 remains a nice pick."

Trustedreviews.com review of F490:
"There is a lot to like about Samsung's SGH-F490. The user interface is mostly well thought out, and the vibrating response really helps. A manual hold button is a godsend and HSDPA is great to have around. If you fancy the SGH-F700 but don't need the keyboard it could be ideal. Just don't buy it for the camera."