Samsung F200 (SGH-F200)

The Samsung F200 is a mobile phone styled like an MP3 player. It follows on from the similar Samsung "Blush" X830 and is basically a slightly cut-down version of the SGH-F210 announced at the same time.

This is a very narrow handset that looks just like an MP3 player when folded up. However, rotate the display and you'll see that the SGH-F200 has a hidden numeric keypad. One key difference (if you'll forgive the pun) between this and the X830 is that the keypad follows a much more conventional layout. It's quite lightweight too.. the Samsung F200 weighs just 76 grams and measures 90 x 33 x 20mm.

The SGH-F200's display is an unusual 128 x 220 pixel panel in 262,000 colours. Internal memory is just 5MB, but the standard sales package includes a 512MB microSD card, and the Samsung F200 can take up to 2GB of memory expansion. The SGH-F200 also supports stereo Bluetooth, as well as a wired stereo connection.

Of course, this looks like an MP3 player because it is an MP3 player, or to be more precise the Samsung F200 is an MP3 / AAC / AAC+ / WMA player with an FM radio thrown in for good measure. It also supports various Digital Rights Management (DRM) formats. The F200 also supports a music library and music setup wizard application.

The small screen isn't ideal for web browsing, although the SGH-F200 does have a WAP browser. Remember that Samsung are one of the few mobile phone manufacturers who make MP3 players, so you can expect the F200 to be quite usable despite it's unusual format.

Unlike the F210, the SGH-F200 doesn't come with a digital camera.

Although the Samsung F200 does look very much like an MP3 player, it does also make phone calls. It supports tri-band 900/1800/1900 MHz GSM and has GPRS.

Price and availability are not known at present, although the F200 should be somewhat cheaper than the F210.

Sony Ericsson "Unique" Mobile Phone

This Sony Ericsson phone concept by Karsten Willmann has all the basics of “phone concepts 101″ down. You’ve got the high contrast OLED display. You’ve got the really thin form factor. And then there’s the number key pad and soft keys sitting nearly flush with the surface.

But what’s really interesting is the bulge protruding from its center-back, hiding a camera and flashlight. Lay it on a table and the screen stays angled just enough so legibility isn’t an issue. source:yankodesign www.creative-brain.com

Sony Ericsson W910 Preview

Introduction:

The unique chance to spend some time with Sony Ericsson W910 – the newest Walkman phone of the brand, announced just a week ago at Berlin, as the manufacturer’s “next big thing”. W910 moves the Walkman series to the next level, featuring slim and sexy slider design, new software tweaks, large display and functionality of a high-class device.

[Keep in mind – this is a prototype, and there will probably be a lot of changes in the final version that will hit the markets in Q4 this year. We won’t do an in-depth review, just a preview due to the fact this is not a final product.]

Design:

When we first saw the W910, we immediately took it for a slider-W880 – just like it, the new one is very slim (12.5mm/0.5”), has small keys, and aggressive but sexy look, thanks to the deep red color of the housing. Another version replaces the red with black, and looks calmer, but in our opinion less attractive.

You can carry the slim slider in a pocket with no worries, and you will appreciate the weight of 3 oz (86 grams). It also sits comfortably in the palm, and sliding it up to open is a real pleasure – the spring assisted mechanism is very strong and its only drawback is the sound it produces – a relatively loud bang, as the one of a Nokia E65.

The display is with size of 2.44 inches, has 262k colors and QVGA resolution. It is very bright unit, and put next to the 6120 classic makes the latter look as a phone from a previous generation – it is darker and the colors are not that vivid, the image doesn’t look alive, as they on the W910. But this display also has drawbacks – the colors. In the Nokia display with 16 million colors we can see graceful transition from one hue to another; with the W910 we have choppy frames. That lack of colors can hardly be noted looking at normal images – as we’ve said, they look very well. The preloaded images with the phone make its display look superb!

The keyboard, with the navigation keys on the upper slider and the 12 numeric buttons on the bottom one. All of them are in red color, merging with the look of the phone as a whole, but the silver directional pad, with the music functionality shown on it. The two soft keys are combined in common shape with respectively the answer/reject keys. They are very small, but are pressed softly and have good relief. If you have big fingers – it would be a problem, but otherwise, they work fine. Still, we don’t encourage making some of the most used keys that small.
The shortcut and clear keys, which are a step bigger.

The numeric keys on the bottom slider are totally flat but we may live with this, if they were not hard to press and lacking any tactile feedback. We hope those problems will be changed in the commercially available unit, but it is not sure.

The right side houses holes for a strap, volume rocker, slot for M2 card and the camera shutter key. On the left side, alone is the standard Sony Ericsson multi-purpose connector. We are not very happy with this, as some accessories designed for most phones of the brand won’t work, as it is with the W880.

Interesting solution is the battery cover, which has a Lock, in order to be stable. It is small and thin piece of plastic, but thanks to the locking mechanism it stays still, doesn’t wobble.

Nokia introduces three New Mobile Phones

Nokia 6121 classic and Nokia 6120 classic

Nokia 3500 classic

Nokia introduces three versatile mobile phones targeted to mid-range market,Nokia 6267, Nokia 3500 classic and Nokia 6121 classic.

Today, during its annual Nokia Connection event in Singapore, Nokia expanded its portfolio of affordable, well-designed mobile phones for the mid-range market with the introduction of the Nokia 6267, Nokia 3500 classic and Nokia 6121 classic. The new devices offer a range of easy-to-use features and are designed for mid-range market, the industry's broadest audience. These new mobile phones are expected to begin shipping in the third quarter 2007.

Nokia 6267:
Keeping it simple. Easy-to-access music, videos and photos With dedicated media keys and multimedia applications, the colorful Nokia 6267 places a premium on keeping it simple, so that listening to music, watching videos and sorting through photos is a breeze. The Nokia 6267 includes an enhanced music player and dedicated keys to make listening to music uncomplicated. Capturing events and playback of video clips and stills for family and friends is also easier and impressive with the new high speed video capability and two cameras, including a 2 megapixel camera with flash and 8X digital zoom. The Nokia 6267 utilizes 3G technology for fast downloads, Internet browsing and video calls. The sleek and compact fold phone also offers a large keypad and high resolution screen, calendar, organizer, and support for up to 4GB of expandable memory to store movie clips, images and music. The Nokia 6267 has up to 6.5 hours of talk time and up to 12.5 days of standby time. The anticipated retail price of the Nokia 6267 is EUR 240, before taxes and subsidies.

Nokia 3500 classic:
Affordable mobile technology in a timeless design
For consumers who are looking for an easy-to-use, stylish yet affordable mobile phone, the Nokia 3500 classic offers traditional features in a timeless design. The sleek, comfortable Nokia 3500 classic will be available as a collection of vibrant colours with eye-catching keymat split line colouring. The metal frame around the phone accentuates a sophisticated design language and offers protection as well. The Nokia 3500 classic comes with an FM radio, 2 megapixel camera, instant messaging and space for 2,000 phone contacts. It offers up to 3 hours of talk time and up to 12 days of standby time. The anticipated retail price of the Nokia 3500 classic is EUR 135, before taxes and subsidies.

Nokia 6121 classic:
A versatile smartphone for 3G technology
The Nokia 6121 classic, a fast and versatile smartphone in a compact design, supports quadband GSM and WCDMA 900/2100 technology. With a 2-megapixel camera and 4X- digital zoom, flash and panorama mode, taking high-quality photos is fast and easy. Additionally, the Nokia 6121 classic also features a second camera in the front that adds a personal touch to calls by making use of the video call feature. The Nokia 6121 classic utilizes HSDPA technology providing faster and easier downloads, Internet browsing, video streaming and receiving emails with attachements. The Data Transfer application allows consumers to transfer contacts, calendars, photos, videos and files from their previous Nokia to their new Nokia 6121 classic. The anticipated retail price of the Nokia 6121 classic is EUR 260, before taxes and subsidies.

Nokia 6267

New Sony Ericsson Touch Screen Concept

How about this new Concept for a Sony Ericsson Touch Screen phone that someone has dreamt up.


Nothing is known of the origins or inspiration behind this concept?So all we can do is sit back and admire the design which is actually quite good.

LG to Launch Google Phone

The Google phone is pretty much an LG Chocolate with Google apps integrated.

Google's strong search services are just one click away with our phone as we put a hot key that directs users to Google services in a fraction of a second," LG official Choi Je-wook said.

"In addition, the phone provides other Google services such as e-mail (G-Mail) and map-viewing (Google Earth). We hope this will be a grand slam," Choi said.

The device sports a red-on-black color scheme not unlike LG's popular Chocolate phone, but it's larger, sporting a 2in widescreen LCD, the better to view Google's web properties, accessed through a fast 3G connection.

The KU-580 has an FM radio and an MP3 player - controlled with dedicated playback keys - along with Bluetooth stereo and 3D sound enhancement. LG even said it has a song-writing app for budding musos. There's a two-megapixel camera on the back and a smaller snapper on the front for video calls. source:mad4mobilephones

Apple is Working on New Versions of the iphone

Apple is already developing cheaper iPhones to widen the products market appeal, says an analyst.

American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu believes Apple is reacting to the market pressure to make such a move. Historically, he cites the manner in which Apple introduced the iPod mini and iPod shuffle to widen the addressable market for its media player range.

"Apple needs to round out its iPhone product line at lower price points (similar to iPod) if it expects to replicate the success of its iPod with sales of 100 million units," the analyst told clients.

The analyst also claims to be "picking up" news of: "lower cost iPhone prototypes for release at unspecified future dates". source:macworld informationarchitects

(Please Note:Picture is Only for illustration and does not respresent Actual products).

Levi's launch Mobile Phone

Jeans manufacturer Levi Strauss & Co has launched a mobile phone,In tune with its young consumers, the Levi's brand is adding a fashionable, steel mobile phone to its range of lifestyle accessories.

The Levi's® phone embraces mobile technology and enables young people to connect, enjoy music, exchange images and videos whilst on the go.

The functional essence of the Levi's® brand's design philosophy is perfectly captured by the phone's compact design and sturdy riveted steel casing. A unique detachable chain provides a clever design solution that allows users to fasten their phone to their jeans or bags.

"Technology is at the heart of today's youth culture and mobile phones are the ultimate accessory. Adding a mobile phone to our collection is a natural progression for Levi's®, a brand that is driven to meet the desires of young people", says You Nguyen, Senior Vice President of Levi's® Product.

The Levi's® phone is offered in metallic silver, black and brown copper. Stylish feminine "shiny silver" and "shiny sand" editions, featuring a 'mirror' screen have also been created for the fashion forward.

"As pioneers of the connection between fashion and technology, we wanted to create an accessory that combines design aesthetics with consumer needs. We are confident that this phone lives up to the promise of the Levi's® brand", adds You Nguyen.

The Levi's® phone is under license by Paris-based ModeLabs Group. It will be available in selected stores throughout Europe as of September 2007. eu.levi.com/mobile

Announcing the Nokia 5700 XpressMusic!

Nokia have announced the arrival of their stylish new 5700 XpressMusic phone. On first sight you may think its an update on the Nokia 5300, but you’d be wrong as its actually an update on the now ageing Nokia 3250. Remember that phone?…the one with the swivelling bottom? With eye-catching looks the 5700 has been pretty well toned up from the 3250 in most aspects I must say.

It’s now a 3G smartphone, which includes GPRS, HSCSD, EDGE and 3G on the data front, so keeping on top of things isn’t a problem. The camera has stayed the same at 2MP unfortunately, however there is the added benefit of a larger screen that supports up to 16 million colours.

As with the 3250 the 5700 also has the unique swivel designed bottom for switching between modes - music player, smartphone, camera, and video calling. It now actually looks rather appealing compared with the dull looks of its predecessor the 3250!

The 5700 comes with a fairly modest 35MB of built-in memory by today’s standards, but at the same time has the capacity to store up to 2GB via the microSD card slot (that’s probably around 1500 music tracks!). Enough to store all your music, pics and videos then! Oh and for music listeners there’s a dedicated audio chip to boost music performance…fantastic! Formats supported include AAC, eAAC+, MP3, MP4 and WMA, which you can enjoy through the stereo loudspeakers, a bluetooth headset wirelessly, or by simply plugging your favourite headset into the standard 3.5mm connector!

The 5700 also has an FM radio and runs on the Symbian S60 Operating System. It has trimmed down to 17mm, and weighs only 115 grams - that’s a good 15 grams lighter than the 3250!

Samsung i400 - A stylish smartphone!

Samsung have just announced their latest smartphone, the i400, and you have to admit it’s a lot prettier than a blackberry!

The stylish slider is based on the Symbian S60 platform which allows users to add their own applications to the phone as you might to a pc, and it can support up to 4GB of memory when using a memory card. It has full web browsing and bluetooth connectivity, a 2 megapixel camera and an impressive 2.3″ display to showcase its business and multimedia functions.

3GSM 2007 Round-Up

The big players Nokia, Samsung, and Motorola all had new handsets to show off, however none from Sony Ericsson, which did come as a bit of a surprise.
Lots of new handsets then, so lets crack on with it …

Nokia

Probably the most highly awaited phone from Nokia at this years event was the Nokia E90 Communicator. It replaces the old Nokia 9500 business model, with up-to-date features such as a 3.2 megapixel camera, 4″ screen, full QWERTY keyboard and all the latest in high speed connectivity. It looks set to be popular already.

The Nokia E61i and Nokia E65 were also announced as part of their business range of phones.
Next up comes my favourite looking Nokia phone I’ve seen for a while, the Nokia N77. It looks very similar to the N73, yes, but this one focuses on DVB-H technology which is on the up. Its large 2.4″ 16M colours TFT display is superb. It also comes with a 2MP camera and 3G.


The Nokia 6110 Navigator looks a complete navigation solution with Navigator application, 3G and HSDPA support and a decent TFT display. The phone looks somewhat of a cross between the Nokia 6280 and a SE W850i, but overall doesn’t seem too bad.
And finally Nokia wouldn’t be Nokia without bringing another classic - this time the 3110 which sports a 1.3 megapixel camera, stereo FM radio, Bluetooth, Infrared and tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support.

Samsung

Samsung’s main highlight was the announcement of their Ultra Line II range, comprising four new handsets - the Samsung U600, Samsung U700, Samsung U100 and the Samsung U300. Without doubt the big one was the Samsung U600 - now the world’s slimmest slider - boasting a great 3.2MP camera, 2.2″ TFT display with a QVGA resolution, microSD memory card slot … all squeezed into a case 10.9 thick!


Samsung also announced a host of other phones including these great lookers - Samsung F700, Samsung F520 and Samsung F510 (which is an updated version of the Samsung F500).

There were also quite a few slider phones which you expect from Samsung nowadays- the E740, E840, i520 - and an interesting clamshell also, the Samsung P110.
On a slightly different note, Samsung also showcased their new Mobile WiMAX technology - ‘Mobile WiMAX WAVE 2’. It’s a next generation mobile telecommunications technology created by a combination of Mobile WiMAX and 4G technology. It can realize 40 Mbps download and 12 Mbps upload transmission speeds at maximum, and that’s pretty fast if you ask me! It will take less than 0.7 secs to download a 3MB MP3 music file, and wait for this … less than an incredible 2 mins 45 secs to download a 700MB movie! That’s lightning quick!

Motorola

Motorola’s recently rumoured phones were brought to light with announcements of the Motorola RIZR Z8, Motorola SLVR L9, Motorola Q q9, Motorola KRZR K3, and Motorola W215.

Pick of the bunch would have to be the Motorola RIZR Z8 with its unusually flexible construction - just see below, as you slide it open! It comes equipped with a 2MP camera with red eye reduction, a 2.2″ 16M colours TFT display, stereo Bluetooth, 3G with video calls and most importantly, it’s HSDPA-enabled.

LG

LG’s Black Label series is proving to be very successful so far, first with the popular LG Chocolate phone, and now with their recently released LG Shine, so we were expecting another one or two gems to be unveiled.
Three handsets were announced, the LG KS10 - a HSDPA-enabled smartphone, the LG KU250 - a bar-shaped 3G mobile with modest dimensions, and the LG KU950 - aimed at the mobile TV market. The KU950 is the world’ first UMTS-based HSDPA/DVB-H phone, well supposedly. It’s also a great looking phone and features a neat 2.4 inch rotating screen. Unfortunately it only comes with a 1.3 MP camera, a real shame in my opinion.

And finally there were also a couple of LG shine variants on shown, namely an LG Shine clamshell and a candybar (the LG KE770). Both were not announced at the event, they were only showcased. Specifications for either are not known as yet … the clamshell handset doesn’t even have a model number assigned as yet… so we’ll just refer to this as the Shine Clamshell for now!

How girly is your mobile phone?

OK, time to name and shame. Who has got the girliest phone in Malaysia?

Through some very careful analysis of our sales data, we’ve been able to categories all of our phones according to the percentage of boy or girl owners.

There are some pretty startling revelations!

Who would have thought that pink phones are almost entirely bought by girls, or that boys love phones with loads of gadgets? Funny that.

There are a few surprises however. The Prada phone by LG, surely a shoe-in for the girliest phone award, is actually pretty popular among the guys! 47% of all Pradas are in fact bought by fellas.

And the LG Chocolate and Platinum Chocolate are big favourites with the ladies, who account for over 60% of all owners.

Here are the top tens! (percentages relate to the numbers of girl and boy owners respectively)

And for the guys…

The award for the girliest manufacturer goes to Samsung, while every single Sony Ericsson that we sell has a higher percentage of male owners than females.

How girly is your phone?