One of the most exciting handsets the season - the LG KM900 Arena - returns to our office and this time it is going to stay a bit longer. After getting off to a flying start in both sales and reviews the Arena certainly looks like the next big thing from LG. In these tough economic times no company can afford too many blunders so it better live up to those high expectations.
The LG KM900 Arena grabbed our attention for the first time back in February at the MWC and even more so last month when we previewed it. Let's see if it's third time lucky and if it will be able to completely sweep us off our feet in a full review.
Key features:
3" 16M-color capacitive TFT touchscreen of WVGA resolution (480 x 800 pixels)
S-Class Touch UI
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
3G with HSDPA (7.2 Mbps)
Wi-Fi and GPS receiver with A-GPS
5 megapixel autofocus camera with Schneider-Kreuznach optics, LED flash, geotagging
D1 (720x480 pixels)@30fps, VGA@30fps, QVGA fast-motion video and QVGA slo-mo video
8GB built-in storage
Hot-swappable microSD card slot
Standard 3.5mm audio jack and TV out
USB Mass Storage
Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP
Accelerometer for screen auto rotate
Multi-touch input
3D hardware accelerator
DivX and XviD support
Dolby for Mobile audio enhancement
FM radio with FM transmitter
Office document viewer
Smart dialing
Main disadvantages:
Poor sunlight legibility
Inadequate flash performance
No voice-guided GPS navigation software available
No standard USB port
Records video in 3GP file format
Maximum email attachment size is 1MB only (both ways)
Limited DivX/XviD video support
The LG KM900 Arena is the pioneer of the new UI designed by the South Korean company, boldly named S-class. Promising fluidity never seen before and uncompromising looks and functionality, it is starting to take the world by storm. We doubt that it will be of a measure equal to the hurricane created by the iPhone's UI but the whole package might well surprise us.
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PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
After trailing the gaming race for two generations with "me too" consoles, Nintendo is taking a much different approach with its new system. The Nintendo Wii--formerly known as the Revolution--makes use of special motion-sensitive controllers that allow you to swing a sword, throw a punch, or drive a car with a flick of the wrist rather than with the push of a button.
PRODUCT DETAILS
General
Type Game console
Height 1.75 in
Weight 3.84 lbs
Media Type Nintendo Wii disc, Nintendo GAMECUBE disc
Processor
Type IBM Power PC
Instruction set Risc
Memory / Storage
RAM installed size 512 MB
Video
Video Output ATI Hollywood
Connections
Input/Output connections
(4 pin USB Type A), 4 x Game controller, Composite video output, S-Video output
Expansion Slot(s) Total (Free) Memory, 2, 1
Type Game console
Height 1.75 in
Weight 3.84 lbs
Media Type Nintendo Wii disc, Nintendo GAMECUBE disc
Processor
Type IBM Power PC
Instruction set Risc
Memory / Storage
RAM installed size 512 MB
Video
Video Output ATI Hollywood
Connections
Input/Output connections
(4 pin USB Type A), 4 x Game controller, Composite video output, S-Video output
Expansion Slot(s) Total (Free) Memory, 2, 1
Music
If a picture says a thousand words, think of what all the album art in your collection might say. With Cover Flow on iPod touch, you can flick through your music to find the album you want to hear. And when you do, a quick tap of the cover flips it over to display a track list. Another tap starts the music.
Video
The 3.5-inch display gives you video like nothing you've seen before on a portable device. Watch your favorite movie. Catch up on television shows, anywhere. Enjoy video podcasts. Play music videos. All using multi-touch technology that lets you bring up onscreen controls and go widescreen (or back to full screen) with a tap.
Photos
iPod touch holds up to 20,000 photos you sync via iTunes. Flick to scroll through thumbnails. Tap to view full screen. Rotate for landscape format. Or perform some sleight of hand by opening two fingers to zoom in. You can even play slideshows, complete with music and transitions. Set any photo as your wallpaper to personalize your iPod touch...with a touch.
Safari
With Apple's Safari browser built in, iPod touch is the only iPod that gives you wireless access to the web, everywhere you go. See websites the way they were designed to be seen. Sync your bookmarks or add a few as you go. Search the web using the touchscreen keyboard. Zoom in and out by tapping the multi-touch display.
YouTube
Got a bit of a YouTube addiction? iPod touch feeds it from anywhere with a special YouTube player built right in. Watch featured videos, check out the most viewed, search for something specific, then bookmark your favorites for future reference. It's all the fun of YouTube--pocket-
size.
iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store
With iPod touch, you can discover new music anywhere. Built-in wireless capability gives you access to the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, where you can buy songs with a tap. Browse New Releases, What's Hot, and Just Added lists. Or find exactly what you're looking for with a quick search. Tap a song to preview it or tap Buy to purchase it. From anywhere.
Starbucks Music
You walk into a Starbucks. Order your latté. While you wait, you hear a song wafting from the loudspeakers. You love it. So you get out your iPod touch and buy it over Wi-Fi. Just like that. The iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store on iPod touch tells you what's playing in select Starbucks and lets you buy it along with other featured Starbucks content. So you can sip, shop, and listen.
Multi-touch
iPod touch features the same revolutionary interface as iPhone. Built to take full advantage of the large 3.5-inch display, the multi-touch interface lets you control everything using only your fingers. So you can glide through albums with Cover Flow, flick through photos and enlarge them with a pinch, or zoom in and out on a section of a web page. And iPod touch features a touchscreen QWERTY keyboard perfect for browsing the web in Safari, searching for videos on YouTube, finding music on the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, entering calendar events, or adding
new contacts.
Ambient Light Sensor
The iPod touch display has an ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts brightness to suit the ambient light in your surroundings. The result? A better experience for you and battery-saving efficiency for iPod touch.
Accelerometer
An accelerometer detects when you rotate iPod touch from portrait to landscape, then automatically changes the contents of the display, so you immediately see the entire width of a web page, your music in Cover Flow, or a photo in its proper aspect ratio.
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Logitech QuickCam Fusion is a high-end Webcam that delivers true 1.3-megapixel images, superior video quality, and clear, echo-free audio. QuickCam Fusion's next-generation image sensor uses Logitech RightLight technology for great performance even in low light conditions, and its sleek shape provides a lower lens position for more personal, eye-to-eye contact.
QuickCam Fusion also features a built-in microphone with Logitech RightSound technology--to ensure that your audience can hear you as well as they see you. RightSound makes headset-free conversations a reality by canceling unwanted echoes that can occur during video calls. You can talk naturally to your friends and family without tangled wires getting in the way.
PRODUCT DETAILS
True 1.3 megapixel sensor with RightLight™ 2 technology
Live video capture Up to 640x480 pixels
Still image capture True 1280 x 960; up to 4 megapixels (software enhanced) ***
Frame rate Up to 30 frames per second
System Requirements
IBM® or compatible PC
Windows® 2000, XP, Windows Vista™
Pentium® P4 1.4 GHz or AMD Athlon® processor 1 GHz (Pentium® P4 2.4 GHz or better recommended*)
Key features:
Great design and slim body
Touchpad navigation
2.2" 262K-color TFT display of QVGA resolution
3 megapixel camera with autofocus
microSD card slot with hot-swap
USB v2.0 and Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP
FM radio
Good web browser
Main disadvantages:
No 3G support
Tri-band only
Poor file management
Video recording maxes out at QVGA resolution
Inadequate display legibility in direct sunlight
Touchpad navigation just for the sake of having it runs a serious risk of failure. LG sure did know that and they seem to have a good enough background to step on. Plus, the steady improvements of user interface are a more than welcome effort. Nice and easy handling is notably gaining momentum with LG devices and the KF510 is surely another small step forward.
Great design and slim body
Touchpad navigation
2.2" 262K-color TFT display of QVGA resolution
3 megapixel camera with autofocus
microSD card slot with hot-swap
USB v2.0 and Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP
FM radio
Good web browser
Main disadvantages:
No 3G support
Tri-band only
Poor file management
Video recording maxes out at QVGA resolution
Inadequate display legibility in direct sunlight
Touchpad navigation just for the sake of having it runs a serious risk of failure. LG sure did know that and they seem to have a good enough background to step on. Plus, the steady improvements of user interface are a more than welcome effort. Nice and easy handling is notably gaining momentum with LG devices and the KF510 is surely another small step forward.
After numerous recent rumors, the Tag Heuer luxurious mobile phone is finally officially announced. The oddly named Tag Heuer Meridiist is a high-roller fashionable handset and a perfect match of the Swiss-made Tag Heuer timepieces.
We must admit that its name sounds noble, but it's awfully hard to spell (maybe we should type it wrong intentionally just for the sake of scoring high on the inevitably numerous wrong Google searches, hehe). But we digress.
The Tag Heuer Meridiist mobile phone is made from watch-making stainless steel and has two unscratchable 60.5 carat sapphire crystal displays. The most notable achievement about the Meridiist is probably its battery life - besides 7 hours of talk time it is said to offer almost unmatched standby time of 672 hours (or 28 days). We wonder how it would manage to achieve those numbers.
The Tag Heuer Meridiist is armed with a 2 megapixel camera, a primary 1.9-inch display with QVGA resolution and a secondary OLED one with a resolution of 96 x 76 pixels. The secondary display is rather unusually placed on top of the device and is used for displaying the time (with Swiss precision, you can bet) and your incoming call ID.
The Tag Heuer Meridiist will also be available in several modifications of the back panel - leather, steel, plastic, etc. It's obviously not a feature-packed handset, but instead a piece of luxury - and as such it might just snatch some of the scarce Vertu market.
Now it might be interesting for you to know that the actual manufacturer of the device is a French company called Modelabs. They are also the manufacturer of the Levi's phone, which you might have seen.
We must admit that its name sounds noble, but it's awfully hard to spell (maybe we should type it wrong intentionally just for the sake of scoring high on the inevitably numerous wrong Google searches, hehe). But we digress.
The Tag Heuer Meridiist mobile phone is made from watch-making stainless steel and has two unscratchable 60.5 carat sapphire crystal displays. The most notable achievement about the Meridiist is probably its battery life - besides 7 hours of talk time it is said to offer almost unmatched standby time of 672 hours (or 28 days). We wonder how it would manage to achieve those numbers.
The Tag Heuer Meridiist is armed with a 2 megapixel camera, a primary 1.9-inch display with QVGA resolution and a secondary OLED one with a resolution of 96 x 76 pixels. The secondary display is rather unusually placed on top of the device and is used for displaying the time (with Swiss precision, you can bet) and your incoming call ID.
The Tag Heuer Meridiist will also be available in several modifications of the back panel - leather, steel, plastic, etc. It's obviously not a feature-packed handset, but instead a piece of luxury - and as such it might just snatch some of the scarce Vertu market.
Now it might be interesting for you to know that the actual manufacturer of the device is a French company called Modelabs. They are also the manufacturer of the Levi's phone, which you might have seen.
The Tag Heuer Meridiist mobile phone will be available in September 2008 in Tag Heuer boutiques and selected watch and jewelry stores. The price tag of the Meridiist will be somewhere along the lines of 3400-3900 euro depending on the chosen modification.
General 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 2100
Announced 2008, FebruaryStatus Coming soon. Exp. release
Size Dimensions 103 x 55 x 18 mm, 92 cc
Weight 125 g
Display Type TFT, 16M colors
Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.8 inches
Ringtones Type Polyphonic (64 channels), Monophonic, True Tones, MP3
Customization Download
Vibration Yes
Memory Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
Call records Detailed, max 30 days
Card slot microSD (TransFlash)
- 16 GB internal memory
- 128MB RAM, 256MB storage memory
Data GPRS Class 32, 107 / 64.2 kbps
HSCSD Yes
EDGE Class 32, 296 kbps; DTM Class 11, 177 kbps
3G HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, UPnP technology
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
Infrared port Yes
USB Yes, v2.0 microUSB
Features OS Symbian OS 9.3, S60 rel. 3.2
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, RSS reader
Games Downloadable
Colors Black
Camera 5 MP, 2592x1944 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, video(VGA 30fps), flash; secondary VGA videocall camera
- Built-in GPS receiver
- A-GPS function
- DVB-H TV broadcast receiver
- Dual slide design
- Java MIDP 2.0
- MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA player
- 3.5 mm audio output jack
- TV out
- Stereo FM Radio with RDS
- Organizer
- Office document viewer
- T9
- Push to talk
- Voice dial/memo
- Built-in handsfree
Battery Standard battery, Li-Ion 950 mAh (BL-5F)
Stand-by Up to 220 h
Talk time Up to 3 h 40 min
Sony Ericsson were first to make headlines at this year's Mobile World Congress, and continue to keep us busy previewing a bunch of debuting devices. Our series of quick hands-on sessions ends with a cameraphone. Sony Ericsson C902 is the new Cyber-shot squad member. The C902 designation does break a mold, as all previous Cyber-shot models belonged to the K-series. It's now C for Cyber-shot, nice and easy.
Sony Ericsson C902 has a surprisingly small 2" 262K-color TFT display of QVGA resolution. When the display is off, it does look like at least a 2.2 incher, but with the lights on the reason for this size is obvious - there are eight touch sensitive camera keys that backlight in blue around the display. More about them is to come later on.
As a camera-centric phone, Sony Ericsson C902 bundles up a 5 megapixel autofocus shooter offering a good range of niceties. Among them are face detection, image and video stabilizer, BestPic, auto-rotate, macro mode, photoflash LED, etc.
The camera itself is rather discrete, slumbering under a trademark sliding top. Once you slide it up, the camera is revealed and you are ready to shoot. The flimsy sliding mechanism (no spring assist or anything) in our beta version of the phone will certainly see improvements before the final version hits the shelves.
The multimedia package includes Media player with the Mega Bass equalizer preset, TV out, FM radio with RDS, TrackID. A 3D Need for Speed game is on top of the regular stuff in the entertainment sector. Bluetooth with A2DP makes sure music can be enjoyed on a wireless stereo headset.
The C902 is a global phone with quad-band GSM /EDGE support. The European version of the phone will also feature HSDPA (3.6 Mbps) for fast data transfers. The versions for America (Sony Ericsson C902a) and China Mainland (Sony Ericsson C902c) lack HSDPA support.
Sony Ericsson C902 has 160MB of internal memory and will feature a M2 memory card slot. C902 is quite compact, at only 10.5 mm thick, yet its full metal body adds to the total weight of 107 g.
Sony Ericsson C902 will be available from Q2 2008 in Swift Black and Luscious Red.
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