Samsung SGH-T819 Review

Introduction:

Even though the 3G network hasn’t been activated yet, T-Mobile has released three 3G capable handsets, the Samsung T639, Nokia 6263, and Samsung T819. The T819 is the latest of the three and the one we’ll be taking a look at today. It’s a low level model so there isn’t anything to shock or attract you. Instead, it’s there for those who want something simple and not too complex.

The package contains:

* Samsung T819
* Charger
* Headphones
* Get started manual
* T-Mobile manual
* Samsung T819 manual


Design:

When you first look at the T819, it seems very elegant. The front has a nice glossy material to it while the rest is a more dull brownish color which doesn’t take away from it. The construction feels very solid for what it is and the only play we noticed was at the bottom portion of the upper half when the handset was closed.

The screen does a great job for what it is. While it looks to be small when compared to the rest of the front, it’s still fairly large. Colors seem very lively and bright regardless of the environment. With the brightness set to only the half-way mark, we had no difficulty making out the picture in very bright environments even when the sun was shining directly at it.

The keypad and buttons are just all over the place when it comes to comfort. The buttons are well laid out but they are just too cramped to be used comfortably. The D-pad and the keypad suffer the most from the small size. There were times when we managed to press the surrounding buttons to the D-pad when trying to navigate.

The keypad is not only cramped but very frustrating to use at time. The keys are almost completely flush with it and the material that’s used to differentiate them just isn’t enough. We found ourselves pressing the wrong keys when looking at the handset so forget about texting or dialing without looking at the keypad.

source : http://www.phonearena.com/

Liquid Camera Lenses Coming for Cell Phones

Seiko Instruments Inc. (SII) announced today plans to develop, manufacture and market Varioptic's Liquid Lens products, offering a cost advantage for auto-focus.

Varioptic's liquid lens feature many advantages over competing technologies in terms of cost, size, robustness, power consumption, silent operation and speed. These advantages position liquid lenses particularly well for the emerging camcorder phone market where continuous auto-focus for video is a "must-have" feature.

Commenting on this agreement, Christian Dupont, CEO of Varioptic said: "We are delighted to have signed this agreement with SII. SII's unique position as the number one Backup button battery and Capacitor supplier to the leaders in the cellular phone market meets perfectly Varioptic's objective to become the leading supplier of high quality image solutions for mobile devices. SII's proven expertise in the production of low cost miniature mechanical assemblies make them an ideal partner of Varioptic."

SII production capacity plan is expected to reach 0.5 million units per month by 3Q of 2008 and will expand mass production capacity according to market needs. This agreement builds on an existing production capacity for Arctic 314 and Arctic 416 liquid lenses designed for 5.0-megapixel, 1/3-inch and 1/4-inch format camera modules.

source : http://www.mobiledia.com/

AT&T Debuts BlackBerry Pearl 8120

In rolling out the latest BlackBerry smartphone for its wireless network, AT&T on Friday said it has combined business-grade communication and multimedia functionality, with built-in Wi-Fi access as a kicker.

The BlackBerry Pearl 8120 features the usual e-mail and messaging capabilities, including a SureType keyboard enhanced with word completion, built-in spell-checker, and user-customized dictionary. The new smartphone can also handle simultaneous voice and data access when connected to a Wi-Fi network, AT&T said. The new Pearl can connect to Wi-Fi 802.11b/g networks.

The phone's display has 240-by-260 pixel resolution that supports more than 65,000 colors. The phone is also equipped with a 2-megapixel camera with video recorder, media player, 3.5-mm stereo headset jack, and an externally accessible MicroSD/SDHC memory slot for additional storage. It's built with Bluetooth 2.0 support to work with headsets, car kits, stereo headsets, and other Bluetooth accessories, the carrier said.

AT&T also touted the globetrotting features of the new Pearl handset. The smartphone can keep users who are abroad connected with wireless e-mail, Internet access, and other mobile applications in more than 145 countries, AT&T claimed. Users can make or receive voice calls in more than 200 countries.

The Pearl 8120 is available now for $200 with a two-year contract, unlimited data plan, and $40 voice plan, AT&T said. Customers who want personal e-mail access and Web browsing will pay an additional $30 a month for the BlackBerry Personal Unlimited, with a qualified voice contract. Unlimited corporate e-mail and data access via BlackBerry Enterprise Server are available for as low as $45 a month when a qualified voice plan is also chosen. Customers who travel overseas will need the BlackBerry International Unlimited data plan, starting at $65 a month with a qualified voice plan.

The new phone also supports AT&T Mobile Music subscription services and AT&T unlimited Push to Talk for an additional $10 a month.

source : http://www.informationweek.com/

Apple, Google Gear Up For Developers

Apple's annual software development kit (SDK) for the iPhone, Apple said this week there has been over 100,000 downloads of the software. WWDC is June 9-13. Conference attendees will likely be exposed to final, or very near-final, features of the finished SDK, which is due out by the end of June. It's clear from the program that Apple expects interest from developers working on some pretty flashy applications, though not based on Adobe's Flash animation format, which the iPhone currently doesn't support.

The agenda says attendees will be able to learn from Apple graphics and media engineers about media-rich mobile applications and cutting-edge handheld games for the iPhone. Sessions will include techniques to animate user interfaces, render interactive 2D and 3D graphics in real-time and how to support video download and playback.

In addition to the iPhone, there will of course be plenty of sessions related to Apple's bread-and-butter Macintosh line and "Leopard" OS X 10.5 operating systems. A third track is focused on IT issues like setting up, integrating, deploying and managing Leopard, Leopard Server, and iPhone OS technologies in heterogeneous environments.

Google's new marquee event

Google's two-day Google I/O "Web Forward" conference is a new event slated for this May 28-29 in San Francisco. A Google spokesperson said its Developer Day will continue to be held, but the company plans to take it on the road as a worldwide tour set of events. "We expect Google I/O to be a marquee event and a hot ticket," said the spokesman.

Five tracks are planned, including a focus on Google's new Android mobile phone and OpenSocial social networking platforms. Java and Ajax tools, Web APIs (define) and other programming tools will be covered as well as sessions on developing applications that leverage Google Maps.

More information on where OpenSocial, currently being deployed in a 0.7 release, is going will be covered in a session "What's Next for OpenSocial." The "Building an Android Application 101" session is designed to help developers new to the platform.

The Google spokesperson said to stay tuned for news between now and the event that promises to heighten developer interest further. "We have some exciting stuff in the pipeline," he said. "We haven't put all our cards on the table yet."

source: http://www.internetnews.com/

Puretracks Will Launch Consumer-Friendly Music Service On BlackBerry

Puretracks, a Toronto-based digital music provider, is launching a music service for BlackBerrys that could help make RIM’s (NSDQ: RIMM) enterprise-focused devices more consumer-friendly. RIM will be under increasing pressure as Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) gears up to launch Microsoft’s (NSDQ: MSFT) ActiveSync on the iPhone, enabling enterprise users to get email, calendar and contacts pushed to the iPhone. Enabling Blackberry devices to do more consumer services may widen the appeal of Blackberry devices, and enable some users to carry just one device for both their work and personal lives.

Puretracks is partnered with Universal, Sony (NYSE: SNE) BMG, Warner, EMI, and independent labels worldwide. The store will debut in the U.S., but there’s no word on how much the tracks will cost, or if Puretracks will partner with carriers or go direct to consumers. Puretracks, which is building the service with the help of Magnet Mobile Media, will show off the DRM-free service tomorrow at SXSW in Austin before launching at CTIA next month. The music store will be available on the BlackBerry Pearl, the BlackBerry Curve and the 8800 series, which already have music players embedded into the phones.

source : http://www.moconews.net/

Sprint Offers Green LG Rumor for St. Patrick's Day

Sprint has declared its new green LG Rumor as the Official Wireless Phone of St. Patrick's Day. Not only does it feature a new green color scheme, but it also comes in environmentally friendly packaging. This popular handset features a slide-out QWERTY keyboard in addition to the standard numeric keypad found on the front of the device.

The green LG Rumor is the first device from LG to feature environmentally friendly packaging, using 70% post-consumer waste. There is also a pre-paid return envelope included for recycling your old handset through Project Connect, which uses the proceeds to fund Internet Safety classes for kids.

The LG Rumor also features a microSD card slot and supports Sprint Navigation for GPS enabled directions. A 1.3 megapixel camera and Bluetooth are also on board.

source : http://www.mobileburn.com/

Easing up mobile phone market

The Commerce Commission says it's trying to make it as easy as possible for new players to enter the mobile phone market.

It has recommended that the Minister of Communications not regulate the price that companies charge each other for mobile roaming.

Roaming is when the customers of one network travel out of the range of that network and their calls are carried by another network.

The commission says government intervention is not needed because Vodafone and newcomer NZ Communication have reached a working agreement.

Commission director of telecommunications Osmond Borthwick says the deal set an industry standard, and will make it easy for companies starting out.

He says the arrangement is very similar to what would have happened if the sector was regulated.

source: http://tvnz.co.nz/

LG's Glimmer for Alltel

It appears that Alltel is set to launch a new device, known as the LG Glimmer, soon. The Glimmer is a slider handset that sports a large 2.8" touchscreen display and 2 megapixel camera. It also is capable of 3G data speeds, thanks to its support of Alltel's EV-DO network, and comes equipped with Bluetooth and a microSD card slot.

The Glimmer weighs in at a slightly hefty 127g (4.5oz) but still features a rather thin 15mm (.6") profile. While Alltel has yet to formally announce the device, LG's Korean offices put out a press release that spoke of its impending release.

Source: http://www.mobileburn.com/

Sony Ericsson releasing even more phones with the T303

Fresh from its mammoth phone splurge at last month's MWC, Sony Ericsson has released yet another new phone, this time at CeBIT 2008. The new Sony Ericsson T303 isn't quite as fancy as some of the other phones it announced recently, such as the all-singing, all-dancing XPERIA X1. In fact, it's just a basic entry-level phone with minimal features but a rather fancy design (well, fancy for an entry-level phone, anyway).

Sony Ericsson today unveiled the T303, an attractive phone that is small and neat enough to carry with you on every occasion. This compact slider phone has been given the high-end treatment, with a mirrored screen, metal housing and chrome finish.

“The T303 is a great addition to the Sony Ericsson T-line of products, combining premium finish and materials with a good feature-set to deliver ‘style with substance’.” said Lykke Tærsbøl, Senior Designer at the Sony Ericsson Creative Design Centre. “The balance between shape and size in combination with the design makes it a truly eye-catching product. Our aim was to create a phone that would function equally as a daily companion as well as something to show off on a night out.
Sony Ericsson T303 - Style at its best

• Provides pocket-sized convenience
• Promises premium good looks thanks to a metal and chrome finish
• Does the basics well, whether that’s camera, Bluetooth™ or FM radio
Big in looks, mini in size

The T303’s diminutive size is distinctive for all the right reasons. Because it doesn’t take up much room, it’s perfect for those nights out when space is limited and not everything can come out with you. The T303’s compact size means that this phone will always be one of the chosen few.
Chic and smooth, reflecting your every move

The T303’s metal and chrome finish makes it hard for those around you not to be impressed by its premium appearance. Its soft shape and smooth sliding mechanism make it a feel-good experience that you can enjoy every day. And the mirror glass display on the front of the phone goes yet further in making the T303 even more stand-out in its appearance.

Picture perfect

The T303’s megapixel camera is ready to take pictures in an instant. So if you come across the perfect shoes whilst out and about, but want a second opinion, just one quick snap and you can send a picture message to one of your friends. You can use Bluetooth™ technology to transfer photos wire-free from your phone to a compatible computer, and then email them to any number of helpful style-advisers. Or just to send the photos of a day’s adventure directly to a friend’s phone.
Play-as-you-go

With life being ever more hectic, it’s essential to be able to slow down the pace and take time out, whenever you get the chance. The T303 comes with a built-in FM radio, meaning you can tune in, chill out, and let time just pass you by. It also has its own media player and comes preloaded with Sony Ericsson’s TrackID™ feature. Record a clip of a song in a bar or café and find out instantly what track it is and who sings it.
Accessorise

With such a good-looking phone, you’ll want to keep it that way. The Protective Case IDC-22, part of Sony Ericsson’s Design Collection, gives you the opportunity to develop your stylish look still further. Not only will it help keep your phone looking good, but it also has room for all of those essentials…your credit cards, keys and your T303.

The Sony Ericsson T303 release date is mid 2008.

source: http://mobilementalism.com/2008/03/04/s

Nokia Signs US$2 Billion Deal Mobile Phone Deal In China

Nokia (NOK) has signed an agreement for China P&T Appliances' China Postel Mobile Communication Equipment Company to purchase mobile devices valued at approximately US$2 billion from Nokia in 2008.

In addition, both parties have agreed to strengthen strategic ties, especially with regard to channel development, resource investment, and marketing management.

"As the largest mobile phone manufacturer in both the global and Chinese markets, Nokia considers China a strategic market and a significant base of manufacturing, R&D, and innovation" said David Tang, vice president of sales, Nokia China. "With its impressive product portfolio, in-depth localization strategies, successful channel construction, and constantly improving brand loyalty, Nokia has been a leader in the Chinese mobile phone market since 2004."

As a subsidiary company of China P&T Appliances, China Postel has become a provider of mobile phones and is actively involved in China's telecom service industry. With a comprehensive distribution network for both products and services, China Postel has been the leading distributor on the China mobile phone market for many years, and enjoys a current market share of nearly 30%.

source: http://www.chinatechnews.com/