Sony Ericsson Vivaz Review

Introduction

Sony Ericsson is an alliance of two tech giants and with phones like the Vivaz it shows. It’s a gadget all the way, one that will galvanize geeks and charm the regular user.

Eight megapixel still images and 720p video with continuous auto focus make the Sony Ericsson Vivaz a predator of point-and-shoot cameras. The Vivaz is not just a cameraphone though, it’s a smartphone as well – a tricked out Symbian running on a 720MHz CPU with a 3.2” nHD display to show it all off. That’s all in a package more compact than any combination of a stand-alone camera and a phone you can think of.

Key features

3.2" 16M-color resistive touchscreen of 640 x 360 pixel resolution

8 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, face and smile detection, geotagging and touch focus

HD 720p video recording @ 24fps with continuous auto focus

Symbian OS 9.4 S60 5th, topped with a custom-brewed homescreen and media menu

720 MHz CPU, PowerVR SGX dedicated graphics accelerator

Quad-band GSM support

3G with HSDPA 10.2Mbps and HSUPA 2Mbps support

Wi-Fi and GPS with A-GPS

microSD card slot (up to 16GB, 8GB card in the box)

Built-in accelerometer

TV out

Stereo FM Radio

microUSB and stereo Bluetooth v2.0

Web browser has full Flash support

Preinstalled Wisepilot navigation software

Office document viewer

Decent audio quality

Main disadvantages

No camera lens protection

No auto mode for the flash/video light

LED flash not powerful enough

The S60 5th edition UI isn't to the best in class standards

No proximity sensor sensor to lock the screen during a call

No DivX or XviD support out-of-the-box

No smart or voice dialing

No office document editing (without a paid upgrade)

No stereo speakers

No digital compass (magnetometer)

Videocalling uses only the main camera (no secondary one)

The feature list leaves very little to complain about, so is it time retire your old compact camera and make the jump the Vivaz? That’s what we’ll try to find out. As for its performance as a smartphone the list of key features suggests smooth sailing most of the way.
This post is sponsored by:ASPA Mobile Phone Repair
Three Kings, Auckland 1041
Tel: 09 625-2068, Mob: 0211138880
Skype: aspamobile
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Samsung S5620 Monte Review

There are so many affordable touch phones on the market right now that it’s getting very hard to choose. We present to you the Samsung S5620, which brings high-end connectivity to the table in a modern, compact package.

The Samsung S5620 Monte packs the connectivity triumvirate – 3G, Wi-Fi and GPS. Those are paired with an excellent web browser, as good as any we’ve seen on a feature phone. Unfortunately, there’s no voice-guided navigation to put the GPS receiver to full use. Of course, things like SatNav software are regional with Samsung so you might get a different deal.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves, check out the rundown of the Samsung S5620 features:

Samsung S5620 at a glance:
General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 900/2100; 3.6Mbps HSDPA
Form factor: Touchscreen bar
Dimensions: 108.8 x 53.7 x 12.4 mm, 92 g
Display: 3-inch WQVGA TFT capacitive touchscreen, 240 x 400 pixels
Platform: Latest TouchWiz UI, Smart Unlock
Memory: 227MB integrated memory
hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 16GB)
Camera: 3 megapixel fixed focus camera, Smile Shot
QVGA video recording at 15 fps; video call camera
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, GPS receiver with A-GPS
Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, standard microUSB port, 3.5mm audio jack
Misc: Accelerometer for screen auto rotate and turn-to-mute, DNSe
FM radio with RDS
Social networking integration – Facebook, MySpace, BeboBattery: 1000 mAh Li-Ion battery

The Samsung S5620 Monte is a couple of notches higher than the most popular entry-level touch phones of the day with its 3G and GPS. The extensive social networking integration makes this phone a great tool for today’s ultra-connected young crowd. The ActiveSync support that comes with a handy widget, the push notifications from Emoze and the document viewer will likely keep the S5620 in your hand during work hours too.

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Nokia E72 review: The business of messaging (Mobile Phone Blog, Auckland, Review, Tech, News)

Nokia E72 review: The business of messaging (Mobile Phone Blog, Auckland, Review, Tech, News)

Nokia E72 is one of those handsets everybody is talking about long before their release. There may be nothing much to talk about - after all everyone knows what to expect of the Eseries and they have never let us down. But still, savoring the next batch of Eseries steel is always a pleasure.

The Finns keep feeding business ammo to the market and there's nothing out of the usual at first sight. We already tasted the new Eseries generation and the E52 and E55 were the usual good healthy meals. The E72 though needs to be nothing short of delicious.

There's no need to tell you the Nokia E72 walks and talks business. The big one though has greater responsibility to carry. We guess the E72 will not fear being judged against the best messengers in its class. But it will certainly look back to a haunting shadow within its own family. The Nokia E72 can certainly go where the E71 would not venture. But it's not only the equipment (of which the E72 has aplenty) that makes a winner.

Key features:

Quad-band GSM support

3G with HSDPA 10.2Mbps and HSUPA 2Mbps

Landscape 2.36" 16M-color display of QVGA resolution

Comfortable full QWERTY keypad

Optical trackpad on the D-pad

Symbian 9.3 OS, S60 UI with FP2

600 MHz ARM 11 CPU and 128 MB of SDRAM

5 megapixel auto focus camera with LED flash

Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, UPnP technology, DLNA support

Built-in GPS receiver, A-GPS support, digital compass

Accelerometer for turn-to-mute

250 MB of internal memory, microSD expansion, ships with a 4GB card

Standard 3.5mm audio jack

Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP support and microUSB v2.0

FM radio with RDS

Remote Wipe

Great battery life

Office document editor (including MS Office 2007)

User-friendly Mode Switch for swapping two homescreen setups

Smart dialing

Full Flash support

Great audio output quality

Lifetime Nokia Messaging subscription

Main disadvantages:

Optical trackpad is not as handy as we'd like

Limited camera features, no geotagging, video recording maxes out at VGA@15fps

No DivX or XviD support (can be enabled, possibly requiring a purchase)

No TV-out functionality

No dedicated camera key (trackpad compensates for that)

Poor loudspeaker performance

Eseries are always trying to get more skills on their resume. But the one that's supposed to be the next big thing in its class is really pushing it. Nokia didn't have to try and experiment with the E72. Build muscle on the E71 was their main objective. And by the looks of it they did more than well. The E72 promises richer experience and superior skill. But it will still be expected to deliver more than the sum of its parts if it wants to prove anything to the standard-setting E71.

The Eseries spirit is all there - and we guess in-house competition is always in the picture. The E72 is bold and impressive, but manages to keep its cool too, as befits a conservative business handset. Armed and dangerous or polite and elaborate - the E72 will be whatever you want it to be. So, make up your mind, and take the jump. We're unboxing and feeling the cold Eseries steel in our hands.

This post is sponsored by:ASPA Mobile Phone Repair
Three Kings, Auckland 1041
Tel: 09 625-2068, Mob: 0211138880

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The new Samsung S9402 Duos

The need to divide work to private life pushes many people to use two SIM to be activated differently during the day. To do this type of work is particularly handy with a dual SIM phone, like the new Samsung S9402 Duos. This is a candybar phone design measuring 115 x 48 x 16 mm with a total weight of 140 grams. The AMOLED screen size 2 “has a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels for over 260,000 colors, while the camera is 5 Megapixels with autofocus, image stabilizer and flash LEDs.

Samsung S9402 DuoS features a 2-inch AMOLED display, a 5 Megapixel autofocus camera, Bluetooth, 1GB internal memory, FM Tuner and a microSDHC card slot. The 5 Megapixel camera offers image stabilization, Smile Detection, WDR and LED flash.

The Samsung S9402 DuoS is not a 3G phone. It supports:

• Triband GSM (900/1800/1900 Mhz), GPRS/EDGE connectivity on 1st SIM card
• Dual band (900/1800 Mhz), GPRS/EDGE connectivity on 2nd SIM card

Connectivity using the EDGE protocol, while the internal memory of 1 GB is expandable through microSDHC cards. Not missing the FM radio, audio components with Bang & Olufsen and bluetooth. Devoted to high-end market, for now do not have information on price and availability.

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