November 9, 2009

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 Review



With the X10 Sony Ericsson have gone from zero to hundred in a split second. While they may know their way around high-end devices, pulling off an undertaking such as the XPERIA X10 must have been a special challenge. And they have yet to get to the finish.

The thing is that Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 is the first Android smartphone by Sony Ericsson. It's also a Snapdragon first for the company, and they've even come up with a first of its kind proprietary Android UI. Making the X10 a reality seems like a long way full of potential pitfalls for a company that hasn't still recovered from its financial woes.

But the XPERIA X10 or Rachael, or X3, or whatever it has been called in the long months of development, seems like a device that's worth all the hard work.

Even more so, X10 will not be a solitary device but more of a high-flying start for a full-blown platform of Android devices with their own distinct interface and user experience. That kinda sounds familiar. A year and a half ago, we were again there listening to Sony Ericsson presenting the XPERIA X1 in much the similar words. Well, let's hope they'll have better luck with starting off and developing this new part of their portfolio this time.

We had the pleasure of attending a very limited press event held in London, at which Sony Ericsson presented their latest and greatest before they showcase it for the general public. Much like attending a press-only movie screener we had the opportunity to gather some first-hand impressions of what is probably going to be the Sony Ericsson flagship next year. But before making our first go at the XPERIA X10, let's recap its features.
Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 at a glance:

* General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 900/1900/2100 MHz, HSDPA, HSUPA
* Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
* Dimensions: 119 x 63 x 13 mm, 135 g
* Display: 4" 262K-color TFT capacitive touchscreen, 854 x 480 pixels
* Platform: Qualcomm QSD8250 Snapdragon 1 GHz processor
* OS: Android 1.6 (Donut)
* Memory: 1GB storage, 256MB RAM, microSD card slot, 8GB card included in the retail box
* Camera: 8 megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash and face detection
* Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack
* Misc: Sony Ericsson custom social networking and media UI, built-in accelerometer

There have been numerous leaks about the XPERIA X10 so chances are you already know most of those specs well enough. As to the few new ones, let us assure you that some of those came as a surprise to us as well.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 unveiled Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 unveiled Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 unveiled Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 unveiled
Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 presentation for the press

Take the Android OS version, for instance. Despite all the hopes for getting the latest and greatest of the Android crop, Sony Ericsson are serving a cold meal to all the gadget lovers out there. They refused to comment any further on the matter but perhaps all is not lost. Our best guess is they'll have some hard time adjusting their proprietary UI for Android 2.0 (Eclair) so they prefer to stick to 1.6 for the time being in an effort to get the XPERIA X10 out in the market as soon as possible.

And the current plans for the X10 availability say Q1 2010. Yup, missing the holiday season and shipping the handset during the tight-pocketed January and February is certainly the last thing they'd like to do, but proper product development obviously demands it.

Speaking of which, the Sony Ericsson X10 units presented at the event were devilishly fast in all Android tasks and applications, but the proprietary UI by Sony Ericsson clearly needed a lot more work.

But let's not waste any more time and jump into the physical details of the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10.
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October 27, 2009

Kingston SSDNow V 40GB Review, Forget about HDDs as your OS partition



The market for Flash-based Solid State Drives has matured significantly over the course of the last years, as new technologies have enabled increased performance and capacity as well as better pricing policies and reliability, when compared to some of the initial models. SSDs are becoming more and more an alternative for computer users looking to boost their system's performance, taking advantage of the read and write specifications of these compact and energy-efficient storage solutions. On that note, there are a number of SSD products out there and more to come along the way, providing users with new alternatives for boosting their system's performance.

Such is the case with one of Kingston's latest products, a new SSD that has just been launched as part of the company's SSDNow V series, specifically designed for mainstream users looking for a way to improve boot times and application startup. Featuring a capacity of only 40GB, the new SSD from Kingston is said to have been designed as a choice for desktop PC users looking for a high-performance drive that can be used for installing the operating system and some of the most accessed applications.

Kingston, as you might already know, is one of the most recognizable brands in the market for Flash-based storage solutions and a leading provider of memory solutions. The company debuted on the growing market for Solid State Drives with the adoption of a co-branded series of Intel SSDs. Having learned from that experience and looking to further expand its presence in the market, the company later announced the debut of its own series of SSDs, with the launch of the new V-series.

The model that we will be testing today has been specifically designed to host just 40GB of capacity, making for an ideal choice for a desktop computer's first partition. The performance specifications of this storage solution clearly indicate that it hasn't been designed to replace a PC's hard drive, but rather the OS partition, enabling users to increase their system's overall performance with faster boot times and speedier applications.


Now, without further ado, we shall proceed to the technical part of our review, providing you with more detailed specifications on what this SSD has to offer. We will go through the manufacturer's specifications and claimed performance stats, compare them with our results and then try to draw a conclusion on what this new SSDNow V solution has to offer.

Manufacturer's technical specifications:

Sequential Speed: up to 170MB/sec.
read 40MB/sec. write
Performance: enhances productivity; makes users more efficient
Innovative: 2.5-inch form factor; uses NAND Flash memory components
Silent: runs silent and cool with no moving parts
Reliable: less likely to fail than a standard hard drive
Shock Resistant: no moving parts; handles rougher conditions than a hard drive
Supports S.M.A.R.T.: Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology
Guaranteed: three-year Kingston warranty, 24/7 tech support
Capacity1: 40GB
Storage temperatures: -40° C to 85° C
Operating temperatures: 0° C to 70° C
Vibration operating: 2.17G (7-800Hz)
Vibration non-operating: 20G (20-2000Hz)
Power specs: Active: 0.15W (TYP); Sleep: 0.06W
Life expectancy: 1 million hours MTBF

The Kingston SSDNow V 40GB Solid State Drive is the second such solution from the company we were presented with the chance to benchmark and put through its paces. However, this is truly our first review of a Kingston-made SSD, which is why we were interested to see what the manufacturer has managed to achieve without the help of the Santa Clara, California-based chip maker, the world's leading vendor of high-performance processors, Intel.

Before we head on and talk about the testing platform and the applications we used to benchmark the performance of Kingston's new SSD, we do have to mention a couple of things. As you'll see on the cover of the SSD, this product is clearly intended for use as a desktop storage solution, more specifically, as a replacement for the system's OS partition. The 40GB SSD is accompanied by a desktop upgrade kit and looks to provide consumers with faster boot times and increased application responsiveness. Although you can use it in some of those high-end notebook PCs, with dual storage drives, Kingston clearly indicates this product as a solution for desktop PC users, who can take advantage of the system's other HDDs for storing less important applications and other digital content.

The platform, for the various benchmarks we went through with the new SSDNow V drive, was a Dell Optiplex 740 desktop PC, featuring an NVIDIA GeForce 6150 chipset, coupled with an nForce 410/430 MCP and an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ processor, running at 2.2GHz and coupled with 1,5GB of DDR2 memory and an 80GB Western Digital, 7200RPM 3.5-inch hard drive. As Microsoft's much-anticipated Windows 7 operating system has just received its official market debut, we wanted to see how the new SSD took advantage of the optimizations enabled by Microsoft's much-anticipated OS.

With that in mind, we proceeded to testing the drive's performance using some of the most popular benchmark applications, currently available. We used the HDD Test Suite in PCMark Vantage, HD Tune, the suite of HDD tests available in Lavaly's Everest application, as well as the increasingly popular ATTO Disk Benchmark.

The SSDNow V 40GB drive from Kingston is essentially a 2.5-inch SATA-enabled storage solution that has been specifically designed for use in today's mainstream and high-end computer systems. It comes with a rather useful bundle, which includes a desktop upgrade kit, namely the necessary 3.5-inch brackets and mounting screws and the SATA power and data cables. That, alongside the small SSD, will enable users to install the drive inside their desktop PC, much in the same way as any other traditional 3.5-inch hard drive.

The bundle includes everything you need to set up the drive inside your desktop PC chassis. With a regular Phillips screwdriver you will easily mount the provided 3.5-inch brackets on the back side of the SSD, while the additional mounting screws will enable you to install the drive inside the 3.5-inch internal bay. The SATA power and data cable sure come in handy, especially for those users that have to make do with the cables that are available in the chassis and which are usually taken by the available hardware.

As it is featured with a traditional SATA interface, the drive will immediately be recognized by the operating system and the system's BIOS. Initializing the drive is as easy as on any other traditional hard drive, so theoretically you shouldn't have any issues with the installation process of the new part.

Talking about performance, as you can see in the screenshots below, the drive is capable of delivering the promised read and write speeds, so you'll pretty much get what you paid for. In HD Tune, it managed to deliver an average read speed of 197.4MB/s. Things were pretty good in the ATTO Disk benchmark as well, while in PC Mark Vantage's HDD Test Suite, the low-capacity SSD managed to score an impressive 30271 points.

We wanted to test the boot times and the drive's performance when dealing with some of the most widely used applications, but we had little time to do a fresh install of Microsoft's brand-new Windows 7 operating system. We will, however, update the article as soon as we have the stats, once we will have the performance details.

One more thing that we liked about the new SSDNow 40GB storage solution was that Kingston will provide users with a rather useful bundle, which includes the aforementioned 3.5-inch brackets and mounting screws and the SATA power and data cables, but also a rather useful hard drive cloning software, available on the installation CD.

The Good

Kingston's SSDNow V 40GB does provide an interesting choice for consumers, which are being prompted to consider it as a solution for their desktop PC, more specifically as a replacement for their main OS partition. While there are many low-capacity or low-priced storage solutions already available on the market, the performance specifications and speed of the new Kingston SSD do make it a noteworthy alternative. Performance is everything you'd expect it to be, that is if you don't plan on using the drive as the main storage solution for a small, portable computer system The bundle is what you should go for with the drive, as the price difference isn't that significant to give up on the aforementioned software and tools.

The Bad

We haven't talked much about the pricing of the new drive, but this is basically where we've got our mixed feelings. It will go on sale for an MSRP of US$123 with the included bundle, while the standalone offering is US$117. That said, the Kingston SSDNow V-series 64GB MLC-based SSD with desktop bundle is currently available at Newegg for US$158.99 and will provide you with increased storage capacity but with a lower read speed of 100MB/s and write speed of 80MB/s. The bundle is pretty much the same for both drives, but the 64GB model appears to provide a better alternative.

It's up to you to choose between a higher-capacity SSD for approximately US$30 more and a 40GB model that offers an impressive read speed, optimized to become your new OS partition. The choice would be easier if the price tag for the 40GB went a bit lower, somewhere in the US$100 range.


Overall impressions

Kingston's new SSD does look to provide computer enthusiasts with a rather interesting choice when looking for a desktop storage solution. The drive's overall performance is impressive, but it's certainly not a choice for those looking to expand their system's storage capacity with a faster drive. Pricing isn't really that bad, but with the 64GB costing nearly as much as the 40GB model, the choice is rather difficult.

Sales package:

Kingston SSDNow 40GB SSD
3.5-Inch brackets and mounting screws
SATA power and cable
Hard drive cloning software
Installation Guide (CD)
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October 21, 2009

Nokia 5730 XpressMusic Review



Nokia's XpressMusic series adds another device to its portfolio, Nokia 5730 XpressMusic, a smartphone that combines business and multimedia features. While the phone may look like an ordinary bar handset, the surprise comes from the fact that it comes with a full QWERTY keyboard. More goodies included are two game-dedicated keys placed above the display. Nokia 5730 XpressMusic is a mid-budget device stuffed with lots of features that will surely meet any user's demands. Either it's music that you wanna listen or games that you wish to play, Nokia 5730 has it all and even more. Other highlights of the smartphone include Wi-Fi, GPS receiver, N-Gage support, 3.5mm audio jack port, 3.2 Megapixel camera, FM radio with RDS support and many more.

Nokia 5730 XpressMusic was announced in March 2009 and was available on the market starting June 2009. The device can be acquired in any of the available colors – Red, Monochrome, Blue or Pink – for a very good price, of only $340 USD.



Design

Nokia 5730 XpressMusic doesn't stand out from the crowd through its design, as it rather looks cheap, since the manufacturer chose a cheap plastic, which is common to mid-budget handsets. You might think that this hurts the phone's design, but in the end it's the user who decides if he or she likes it or not. The candybar form is also specific to XpressMusic series, but this is somewhat contradicted by the full QWERTY keyboard attached, which can transform the handset into an authentic slider.


The rounded shape of the phone gives him some ergonomic value, but this is where it stops. Nokia 5730 XpressMusic measures 112 x 51 x 15.4 mm and weighs 135g (including battery). The front plastic used for manufacture is shiny and very well polished, while the one on the back is rather mat. This means that the front part of the handset will be covered with fingerprints and grease as soon as you start using it. There's no solution to this, so you will just have to live with it. Anyway, the handset features a 2.4-inch TFT display, which is not protected in any way.

Just above the screen there's a secondary videocall camera, which can also be used to take snapshots. Opposite to the secondary camera there's a small ambient light sensor, while in between there are two controllers used for N-Gage games. The small keypad below the display is easy to text with, except for the contextual keys, which are difficult to use. The specific Symbian and the C (Delete) keys are very small and very hard to press. The same goes for the two soft keys, which are also somewhat hard to work with. The big D-pad button can also be used as Enter key to control the various menus of the phone.


The full QWERTY keyboard can be used when the phone is slid. It features 39 very flat keys with a very good backlighting. The first row near the sliding mechanism is a little bit harder to access if you have bigger thumbs, but that isn't such a big disadvantage. The keyboard is very nice to the touch and the keys are responsive, but its flatness makes the texting experience somewhat weird.

On top of the slider there's a 3.5mm audio jack, while on the bottom there's a small charger port. The right side of the handset features a dual-volume key and a dedicated camera key. The left side features a small microSD slot card and a microUSB port, both covered by a plastic stripe. One of the main traits of the handset, which defines it as belonging to the XpressMusic series, is the 3-dedicated music keys, which have been placed along the left side of the display. These are meant to control the music player without the need of browsing deep into the phone's menu.

The back side of the phone includes a 3.2 Megapixel camera with flash and autofocus. There's no protection for the camera module, so scratches are possible. All in all, Nokia 5730 XpressMusic is a mid-budget device that can be very easily used as a candybar or slider, if need be.


Display and Camera

Nokia 5730 features a 2.4-inch TFT display, supporting 16 Million colors and 240x320 pixel resolution. Besides its medium size, the screen is pretty good, in accordance with Nokia's standards. It's readable in the sunlight and features good brightness and nice colors, but it is not protected against scratches in any way. For more in-depth info regarding performance, check out the benchmarks below.

The 3.2 Megapixel camera features LED flash, auto-focus capabilities and Carl Zeiss optics. Unfortunately, the camera module lacks any protection, so scratches might appear after one month of use, but hopefully this won't drag down the picture quality. The maximum resolution that users can set to take pictures is that of 2048x1536 pixels. Movies can be recorded in VGA resolution at 30fps, while clips can be saved in MPEG4 file format.

The interface is pretty much straightforward and limited in choices, with settings like Scene modes, Sequence mode, Color tones, and White balance. An interesting fact is the possibility to customize the Settings bar on the right with shortcuts that will give you quick access to various settings of the camera.

As you can see from the samples, the camera is decent and takes good pictures. Not bad, but not very good either. I think decent is the word that can define pictures taken with 5730's camera. There is little noise in taking the snapshots, contrast is very good, and color rendering is accurate enough thanks to the processing software of the camera.


Menu and Software

Nokia 5730 runs Symbian 9.3 operating system, with S60 3rd Edition and Feature Pack 2 interface. Besides the usual improvements added by FP1, you'll now be able to add your favorite contacts on the new Contacts bar that appears on top of the screen. Each contact is represented by a small avatar (thumbnail) chosen from the Gallery or by taking a picture with the camera. Clicking on any of the contacts added will bring up a list with various options that will enable you to edit the contact, send a message, call or add feed.



The last one means that you'll be able to add feeds instead of contacts, so you can quick access it from the Homescreen. The screen is more populated with a bar that usually shows your emails, as soon as you set up your mail account. The last row of shortcuts contains by default: Music player, N-Gage, Message, Gallery, Web browser and Facebook. These shortcuts are fully customizable, as more others can be added instead of the default ones. Another new feature that has been introduced by FP2 is the availability of animation when browsing the menus.



The Search utility has been improved with a new function called 'Say and Play.' Basically, you can pronounce any artist or song name by using the built-in speaker, and the phone will start playing the correct file, if the respective word is included in the song's metadata. The device only recognizes English language or English pronunciation, in case you thought of other language names. Nice features, but they didn't work too well. Furthermore, you have quick access to the task manager, as the function appears now at the top of every pop-up menu. The phone also supports the latest version of Adobe's Flash Lite 1.5, the interoperable platform that enables the accelerated development and delivery of rich graphical mobile content, and includes audio file playback and streaming capabilities that provide audio and music enhancements to both mobile gaming and multimedia experience.

The handset also includes some useful applications, such as Search, Alarm clock, Calendar, To-do list, Notes, Calculator, Countdown timer, World Clock, and Stopwatch. The menu is fully customizable and you can designate any MP3, MIDI or AAC file as ringtone. Moreover, Nokia's integrated browser has not changed, but it offers a great Web navigation experience. There's also a payment application called 'we:offset' and the usual AcuWeather. The phonebook can store an unlimited number of contacts, as long as you have enough storage memory left. The fonts can be customized, though only those displayed when opening Contacts, Web browser and messaging sections.

If you are looking for games, Nokia 5730 XpressMusic doesn't contain any, but you can download some trial games by using the N-Gage platform integrated. The phone is compatible with Java MIDP 2.1 applications, but also with any Symbian S60 3rd Edition software.


Communication

Nokia 5730 XpressMusic is a quad-band GSM (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900) handset, HSDPA (3.6 Mbps) compatible, which features GPRS class 32 (100 kbps), EDGE 32 class (296 kbps), High-Speed Circuit-Switched Data (57.6 kbps) and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, UPnP technology. Tested on the EDGE and 3G networks, the handset performed a little bit above average, as you can also see in the screenshots.


When connecting the USB cable, you'll be able to choose among five modes: PC Suite, Mass storage, Media transfer, Image transfer and Connect PC to web. All five of them are intuitive and easy to use, so there's nothing more to add here. The process of synching is very fast, browsing and transfers are made very quickly between phone and PC.

Other connectivity tools include Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP and EDR support, and microUSB 2.0 for PC synchronization (charging). The Bluetooth connection reaches easily almost 135 KB/s, so you'll be able to transfer data fast. The built-in GPS receiver supports A-GPS function and works flawlessly together with the newly renamed Ovi Maps.

In terms of messaging, the phone offers standard SMS and MMS messaging solutions, accepting all available message types. The device also includes an audio message editor and e-mail support. The message client works with POP3, SMTP, and IMAP4 protocols, and supports more than one e-mail account. Additionally, it can download headers and supports attachments.


Processor and Memory

Nokia 5730 is powered by a single ARM11 family processor running at speeds of up to 369 Mhz. Compared to the latest Nokia handsets, which include more powerful CPUs (600 Mhz), 5730 might seem a little bit undergeared. Still, it acts smoothly while browsing menus, even when the music player is started. But don't try to open more than 2 applications as the device is not really meant for such a high level of multitasking.


The handset embeds 100 MB user free internal storage memory, 128 MB SDRAM memory. Bear in mind that just 85 MB are free executable RAM memory. Anyway, storage space can be expanded up to 16GB through the hot-swappable microSD slot card. The sales package also contains an 8GB microSD card.

Multimedia

Instead of being a complete multimedia solution for those looking for the perfect music phone, Nokia 5730 XpressMusic only offers a glimpse of how such a phone might be. The product comes with new wired stereo headset (HS-83) and remote control plug AD-54 with music controls, but better headphones can be added thanks to the 3.5mm audio jack.

The music player interface looks exactly like in previous XpressMusic series music players and supports an impressive number of file types (including MP3, WMA and eAAC+). Without impressing too much through its sound quality, Nokia 5730 could be a decent choice for those looking for a music phone with high-battery autonomy. The music player features an Equalizer that includes a Bass-booster setting, Stereo widening, Loudness and Balance.

The FM radio has a standard interface, and can automatically scan and save the available stations. It features RDS support and Visual radio. The Visual radio application can download all the local stations and save them to the handset with their names. Both functions, radio and music player, respectively, can be run in the background with no problems.

Nokia 5730 also includes Real player for playing video clips. The video player can be displayed in both normal and fullscreen modes. Unfortunately, the medium sized screen makes the whole experience rather frustrating.

Battery

The 1000 mAh Li-Ion (BL-4U) battery has an officially stated life expectancy of 300 hours in standby (270 hours for 3G) and of about 5 hours in talk time mode (4 hours for 3G). Also, Nokia states a music autonomy of almost 1 day (25 hours). While I wasn't able to achieve the 5-hour talk time promised, our test unit made it for about 3 days with medium use. This is a decent autonomy, a little bit better than other XpressMusic handsets and this is probably thanks to the bigger capacity battery.

Impressions

Nokia 5730 XpressMusic looks like an ordinary bar handset, until you discover its QWERTY keyboard. I would say that the phone might be a good choice for those youngsters who use their phones to text and listen to music a lot. A little bit sensible to the environment because of the cheap plastic, Nokia 5730 requires some level of protection from the user.


The Good

The slider is a very good solution for music phone fans, especially since it features goodies like Wi-Fi, GPS receiver and QWERTY keyboard. Nokia 5730 is good value for money and boasts a wide range of features, which makes it such a versatile device. A good music quality sound as well as a decent camera are also some of the qualities of the handset.


The Bad

Perhaps the 'ordinary' construction of the phone is what hurts it the most, as the technical features are up to the standards. Also I didn't like the cheap feeling of the plastic that was used to manufacture the 5730 handset. Otherwise, the device is a simple mid-ranged phone, but with lots of features.


Sales Package

Nokia 5730 XpressMusic handset
Battery BL-4U (1000mAh)
Wired stereo headset (HS-83) and remote control plug AD-54 with music controls
Micro USB cable CA-101D
8 GB MicroSD memory card (inside phone)
Travel Charger AC-8
Short User Guide
Mini DVD
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Sony Ericsson Xperia x1 review



Now that we’ve had some time to spend with the XPERIA X1, we’re going to break down the various features and give you our in-depth review. We’ll continue to update this post as we use the device more, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand what’s at hand — a brand new Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1! Full review is after the jump. Pictures will be added shortly.

Screen:

With a 800×480 VGA screen, you can’t really go wrong right? Right. We’ve got to say off the top that this is the best-looking screen we’ve ever seen on a Windows Mobile device. It puts all the others to shame. It’s not just that the screen has an amazing resolution, it’s that the screen is vibrant and clear as day. If your vision isn’t top notch you might have to increase the font size in settings because it gets a little small with that super high-res. Sunlight couldn’t phase it either as we had no problem using it on the go outside.

Audio quality

We didn’t put the speakers through our normal tests just yet to be honest. We tried a couple MP3s and they sounded good, not great. The speaker volume in general could have been a little louder and the sound could have sounded a little fuller. Speakerphone was the same. We’ll report back with more detailed findings.

Notification lights

If you’ve seen the Sidekick LX, you’ll know what we’re talking about. There are 4 independant notification lights on the four corners of the X1. These are LED lights that change through various colors. Unlike the Sidekick, you have complete control over the notification settings. Only want people to think you’ve got a UFO in your pocket when you’re getting a text message? No problem. There’s a lot to choose from to suit your own needs. The lights offer a nice touch and weren’t too over-powering and bright which we were afraid of. The kids will love it.

Call quality

Calls came in and out with crystal clear quality. The ear speaker was plently loud and the party on the other end said we sounded like we were on a land line.

Data Connectivity

Name something you’d like to see in a mobile device… HSDPA? Wi-Fi? GPS? The X1 has all of it. T-Mobile USA lovers will also be overjoyed at the fact that an AWS 1700MHz version is coming. Our unit had the 850MHz/1900MHz US 3G bands so we were rockin’ over HSDPA just fine. In fact, web browsing was abnormally fast. We didn’t find much of a difference between browsing over Wi-Fi or HSDPA. That’s probably due to the bottleneck of the phone in general, but it was a pleasant surprise.

Build quality

Another winner for Sony Ericsson. While the device isn’t the lightest phone on the market, we think it’s build quality is almost second-to-none. Maybe even iPhone status. It’s just so sturdy and well put together. We have to give HTC some mad props on this one. Could you please try and incorporate some of this newfound metal addition into some of your devices HTC? Please. The sliding mechanism was fantastic even though the device isn’t a normal “flat” slider. Major points for build quality.

Usability factor

This could be subjective depending on your view of Windows Mobile, but we found the X1 to be on par or better than any Windows Mobile device we’ve used. Baring the keyboard issue, (see below) there wasn’t anything that hindered us from taking full advantage of the device. When closed, the device gives you access to all necessary shortcuts on the bottom front of the unit. Slide it open and you’ve got access to everything you could want. People have wrote us and asked about how it is to use the phone when the QWERTY keyboard doesn’t have directional keys, but they’ve overlooked something — the optical joystick. This works wonderfully well and doesn’t have a learning curve. It’s a natural extension of what we’ve been forced to use in the past. There was a “cursor” menu in settings but no cursor showed up on the screen. You also have full control over the sensitivity of the optical joystick. Making phone calls was comfortable and we didn’t have any issues with people hearing us or us hearing them.

Keyboard

The keyboard is a sensitive area for many people. Anyone who follows us know we take it very seriously — we put them all through the ringer! So, it pains us to report, that at least with our particular unit, the keyboard wasn’t great. It didn’t take time to get used to it, it just didnt perform like the way we had hoped. The reason is because the keys almost are completely flush with the case and don’t give good tactile feedback when pressed. Odly enough, the spacebar was actually ok. It faired the best out of all of them. We understand why there really is no travel in the keys — there is a huge sliding mechanism right over them — but we would have liked to see a little more feedback when typing. They have this triangular pattern on top which does make it easy to feel them, but you don’t get a good response when actually pressing them down. The backlight on the QWERTY ‘board successfully helped us find the keys when it was nightime, but that still didn’t help when typing. We said this before, but if we had to compare the keyboard to anything, it would be Sony’s UX-series computers. It’s the same exact thing.
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October 6, 2009

Nokia 5630 xpressmusic Review


We believe contemporary, music smart phones need to deliver proper audio quality, be powerful performers, measure compact size and offer great Internet connectivity. Apparently, quite many people feel the same way, so Nokia has decided to give them joy releasing the 5630 XpressMusic. It runs Symbian S60 3rd Edition with Feature Pack 2 and sports 600 MHz ARM11 processor. It’s slim and compact and features N-Gage support. Sounds quite promising, isn’t it?


In the box you will also find a wall charger, phone purse (made of fabric), 4GB microSD card, pair of earphones, audio player wired remote, microUSB cable (too short), software mini DVD and user guide. We also happen to have great news for all fans of the nature – box itself is made from recycled materials only and the charger is of highest energy efficiency class.


Design:

On the outside, the Nokia 5630 XpressMusic looks like a blend of the two devices in the same lineup that we like best – the 5320 and 5310. The 5630 is only 2 mm thicker than the latter or in other words is really thin, especially for a smart phone.

Nokia 5630 XpressMusic Nokia 5630 XpressMusic Nokia 5630 XpressMusic
The Nokia 5630 XpressMusic is really thin

You can compare the Nokia 5630 XpressMusic with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

All buttons on the front of Nokia 5630 XpressMusic feel very comfy
We would have liked it far better if the screen was a bit larger, but we will have to make do with the current one that measures 2.2 inches and delivers QVGA resolution. Still, it comes with 16 mln colors and remains totally usable in direct sunlight, despite the fact screen gets slightly dim.

All buttons on the front side feel very comfy. The navigational ones are a bit small, but are prominent and make up for the size with enough travel. The keyboard sports large keys, aligned in distinct rows that are easy to feel with your fingers. Those on either side of the phone, volume rocker and camera shutter on the right and audio player controls on the left are all somewhat hard to press, because their travel is not pronounced enough. The microSD card slot is well hidden under a small flap and is also on the right hand side of the phone, while both microUSB and 3.5 mm jack are on the top.

The back side of the Nokia 5630 XpressMusic features a rugged pattern that feels like rubber to your touch and feels quite pleasing. The 3.2-megapixel, double LED flash camera is here as well. Just like most makes in the same lineup, the phone looks youthful, but not flighty and light as both the 5320 and 5220. Aside from the red and black variety that you see in the pictures, the phone also comes with grey or blue trim.

As we mentioned at the beginning, the Nokia 5630 XpressMusic is a smart phone powered by Symbian S60 3rd Edition with Feature Pack 2. We can think of at least a dozen other phones running the same operating system, but it’s the first time we have seen a new home screen, aside from the standard vertical and horizontal icon rows. It’s called “contact bar” and looks quite similar to the one on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic that runs Symbian S60 5th Edition. As its name suggests, up to 20 contacts can be visualized on the screen and appear there with their assigned pictures. Selecting any turns call history and any messages you may have exchanged on screen. The same function is used to follow RSS broadcasts. Say, you create an entry, name it phoneArena then you can assign it a web-feed so as to see news updates right away.

There is an info field below the contacts that, by default, notifies you of new emails. A shortcut to the Ovi chat service that you can, logically, get on through your Ovi account is to be found right below. You can replace the latter with a Wi-Fi scanner or a function that shows timeslots of your daily schedule, provided you have filled in your Calendar. Unfortunately, all three cannot be visualized at the same time. There is the option to place a row of icons at the bottom to gain quick access to audio player, radio, internet browser, Internet searches, N-Gage web portal and phone gallery.


As you can see, most of the apps on the home screen are to do with the Internet. This is pretty normal, given the Nokia 5630 XpressMusic is much more than a music device. A quick look at the menus should be enough to convince you this is a device that can be easily used on social networks plus you will be able to feast your eyes on the new, pleasing icons, much in character of the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. Shortcuts to Facebook, MySpace and Hi5 in the phone are located in the internet menu along with options to share files through YouTube and Ovi Share. You can connect to the Web via 3G (HSDPA 10.2Mbit/s) or Wi-Fi. The Symbian browser is really good and opens even heavy pages without any issues but it cannot play general Flash content, despite the fact YouTube videos are supported.


The browser of Nokia 5630 XpressMusic opens even heavy pages without issues

If you can’t find anything amusing enough on the Internet, you can always chance your luck on the N-Gage portal. Games are purchased and downloaded from there and you can share your best scores with other players.
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September 15, 2009

HTC Touch2 Review

One of the first smartphones to feature the latest version of Microsoft's operating system for mobile devices, Windows Mobile 6.5 – HTC Touch2 is a mid-budget Pocket PC that targets the mass market. The device had been rumored since the beginning of the year, when the whole HTC line of devices for 2009 was leaked on the Internet.

Codenamed HTC Mega, the smartphone will be officially launched this fall under the name of HTC Touch2. Announced as a Windows Mobile device for the masses, Touch2 features a nice design that follows the same lines as its older predecessor, HTC Touch. We have received a test sample of the device that features an earlier Windows Mobile build, so we will mostly center upon the new features of the OS and less on its functionality.

Announced in September 2009, HTC Touch2 should be available on the market in October. HTC Touch2 is available in three different colors: Black, Brown and Silver. While we don't have any information regarding its price, I believe that 250 USD should be the right one for this mid-budget smartphone.

Design

HTC Touch2 looks small and slim at a first glance, the kind of phone that fits into any pocket. Its compact form makes it also resistant to soft drops, but don't think of it as a very durable device, as it's just a mid-budget phone. The whole front part of the phone is seized by the 2.8-inch touchscreen, while the back of the phone only features a 3-megapixel camera. Under the screen, there is a short set of keys that improves users' interaction with the phone's interface. Starting from left to right, these are: Accept calls, Home, Menu and Back, Reject calls. At the base of the screen, between the display and the key-set mentioned above, there's a grading scale that is used to zoom in/out when you open the camera interface.


HTC Touch2 features a resistive touchscreen, so you'll be needing a stylus, which has been placed to the right corner, on the bottom of the smartphone. There's also a miniUSB port near the stylus slot and a 3.5mm jack port on top of it. The left side of the device features a microSD slot and a long volume dual key. The camera on the back of the phone doesn't have any flash capabilities, but seems to be well protected with a metallic plate that has been embedded around it. There's also a small loudspeaker near this plate that protects the camera module.

The exact measures of the smartphone are 104 x 55 x 12.9 mm, while the weight of the phone including battery is of 110g. The plastic used for manufacturing doesn't look cheap at all, on the contrary. Still, the smartphone is surrounded by a silvery, plastic band, which will definitely peel off after intensive use. This will make the phone look somewhat bad when you will keep it in your hand. Anyway, HTC Touch2 features a simple, yet stylish, design, which will most likely appeal to the majority of customers.

Display and Camera

HTC Touch2 features a 2.8-inch TFT resistive touchscreen that supports 65K colors and a 240x320-pixel resolution. Being a resistive display has some disadvantages, like a low sensibility to touch, a low thumb-control functionality, a low visibility under strong sunlight, and the lack of the multi-touch feature. Still, this kind of display lowers the price of the phone, making it cheaper overall. That comes with more missing features, though. HTC Touch2 doesn't have the accelerometer function, so users won't be able to rotate the phone's image to landscape or portrait modes. Furthermore, the quality of the image displayed is a little bit on the mediocre side, as the contrast is not that good and the colors are a little bit washed.

The 3-megapixel camera is simple to use, as it doesn't have any complex features. Basically, you will only need to point and shoot what you want. There's no dedicated button for the camera, but you'll be able to use the touch button that appears on the display. You can zoom in/out by swiping your fingers on the grade scale at the base of the display.

The camera interface is simple and straightforward, as you can see from the screenshots. The maximum resolution that you can use for the pictures is of 2048x1536 pixels. Clips can be recorded in CIF mode at a 352x288-pixel resolution at maximum.


Unfortunately, there's no autofocus, flash or other standard capabilities, only basic settings such as: White balance, ISO, Brightness and Effects. Pictures are decent, but don't expect more than average quality. The pictures below show that Touch2 only features a mediocre camera, just as its price suggests.

Menu and Software

HTC Touch2 runs the new Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional operating system, featuring the second version of the TouchFLO interface. The latter has been stripped by any animation effects for transitions to messaging, email, photos, music, weather, and more. The test-sample device that we received features an older version of the operating system – build 21839, which has been improved and has already reached version 23047. The same innovative, touch-sensitive control for interacting with the device that was introduced with Touch Pro is also present with the Touch HD device.

While the TouchFLO 2.0 enables finger-swipe navigation through menus, the lack of an accelerometer sensor limits its functionality. You will only be able to use the swipe navigation when scrolling and less when browsing through the menu. Instead, you are presented with a new way of menu browsing. The small icons at the base of the Homescreen will help you reach the desired application or function very fast. Keep your finger pressed on any of those icons and then gently swipe to the left or to the right until you reach the window menu that you need.

The main menu of Windows Mobile 6.5 didn't impress me too much, but at least the white, boring background from the menu has been removed. Instead, you are now presented with three rows of settings, applications and functions, which have been placed in a serpentine, just like in the screenshots. Odd, at first glance, but I didn't find any real advantage, nor disadvantage. There's an aesthetic side to this, but as tastes differ, you might like it or not.

The navigation can be easily done without the need of a stylus, by using only the finger and swiping to the right or to the left on the Home screen, just as I have described above. The Start menu will not get you directly to the main menu of the smartphone and will not list the most used programs. To facilitate the writing method and to come to the aid of those who are used with various inputting methods, HTC has introduced three types of keypad layouts: Phone keypad, Compact QWERTY, and Full QWERTY. For business people, HTC has included the Office Mobile package, which now also comprises the OneNote Mobile application, besides the usual Excel, PowerPoint and Word Mobile programs.

The Notes application cannot be accessed when talking on the phone, unless you click the additional Menu button on the screen and choose the Create-note command. The touchscreen offers you a couple of nice functions, like zooming in and out when browsing the Internet or when viewing pictures. The zooming can be done by double-tapping on the screen. The Internet Explorer browser has been gifted with Adobe Flash Lite 9.0, but I have encountered some problems with various websites. I think that the newest builds have corrected the errors that I got when browsing some sites that were heavily animated.

The rest of the pieces of software included are pretty much standard for a Windows Mobile device, with several exceptions. The Touch2 includes the standard productivity tools: Notes, Tasks and Calendar; the Office Mobile suite with Word, Excel and PowerPoint; Adobe Reader (version 2.5) for viewing PDF documents; Voice Recorder; and the same, boring games, Bubble Breaker and Solitaire.

Internet-related programs include a Streaming Media application, which does exactly what the name suggests and is designed to be easily used with the finger; Windows Live Messenger and Live Search; Internet Explorer for Web navigation; MSN Money, Market and Microsoft MyPhone. The last two new features have been the highlights of the announcement that made the 6.5 version of the operation system official. Market, as the name suggests, is the place where you will be able to download applications compatible with Windows Mobile. Unfortunately, the function is not ready yet, so I cannot tell you anything about it. Check out the screenshots to see what's the degree of the development. The Microsoft MyPhone service enables you to synchronize and save your Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Text Messages, Photos, Videos, Music and Documents with your MyPhone account on the PC. Basically, you have access to everything that I mentioned above from your PC, and you'll be able to add new contacts, events and the likes on the PC and then synchronize it with your Pocket PC later.

For the multimedia part, the HTC Touch offers the Windows Media Player for audio and video playback, and Pictures & Video for browsing photos and video files and for modifying images.

Regarding the communications, the device includes Internet Sharing, which allows the smartphone to be used as a modem; the Comm Manager for enabling/disabling and changing various communications settings; Bluetooth Explorer for managing Bluetooth connections.

Then, there are a File Manager, a search tool, a ZIP utility, a tool for encrypting files on the memory card, Clear Storage for restoring all settings to their default values, an application for configuring the connection with the internal GPS unit, the JBlend Java emulator and the very useful Task Manager, which can be used to switch between or close running tasks and also to change the behavior of the "x" button, to make it really remove applications from the memory, instead of sending them in the background.

Communication

HTC Touch2 features quad-band support for 850/900/1800/1900 Mhz frequency bands. For wireless Internet connectivity, the HTC Touch2 offers both GPRS and the faster EDGE. In our tests, EDGE managed to attain a transfer rate of 184 Kbit/s for download and of 83 Kbit/s for upload, while the 3G+ band only reached speeds of up to 1,836 Kbit/s for download and of 307 Kbit/s for upload. Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g can also be used at available hotspots to speed up things and reduce data-plan costs.

For wireless data transfer between mobiles, the HTC Touch2 uses the latest Bluetooth 2.1 standard, while, for data synchronization with the PC, the device offers USB 2.0.

The smartphone also includes a built-in GPS receiver, which surprisingly works with the GoogleMaps application. To be able to take advantage of the voice-guide navigation, users will need to install the CoPilot Mobile Navigation software and download the necessary map. The localization works smoothly and the pin-point is made very fast, even if one is indoors.

HTC Touch2 is compatible with all email clients and protocols (POP3, IMAP) and can be synchronized with the PC. The device is also compatible with SMS, EMS, and MMS text features. Instant-messaging options include Windows Live Messenger, but other IMs can also be installed. The interface is pretty straightforward and user-friendly.

The in-call sound quality is above average, as I've seen better. The GSM signal is also good, as long as you don't keep the device set on the 3G band, as the reception is only average.

Processor and Memory

HTC Touch2 is powered by a Qualcomm MSM7225 ARM11 family processor, running at speeds of up to 528 Mhz. Overall, I haven't experienced any lock-downs, crashes, or lags. As the phone doesn't have any animations or transition effects, you won't have any problems when browsing the menus or running multiple applications.

The smartphone embeds a 256 MB RAM and 512 MB ROM memory. The storage space can be expanded up to 16GB through the hot-swappable microSD slot card.

Multimedia

In general, Pocket PCs haven't paid much attention to the multimedia capabilities, but the HTC Touch2 makes an exception, or at least it tries. First of all, HTC is now including an 3.5mm jack port, which says something. Secondly, the default application used for audio and video playback is more advanced, compared with older HTC devices, as it features a sound equalizer and a very nice user interface. The music player supports MP3, WAV, eAAC+, and WMA format files.


The music sound is very good, actually, especially that you have access to a wide range of equalizer modes, but you can also make your own settings. The Windows Media Player version 10 supports MP4, WMV, H.263, and H.264 video files.

The smarpthone also features the Radio FM function, which can auto-scan and memorize up to 20 base stations. The radio can be run in the background and listened to in the loudspeaker. There's also a YouTube client embedded, if you like to watch short movies. Overall, I had a good experience with Touch2's multimedia part, and I think the gap between smartphones and music phones is slowly coming to a close.

Battery

The HTC Touch2 is powered by a 1100 mAh Li-Ion battery, which, according to the official specifications, gives the device an autonomy of up to five hours and 30 minutes of talk time (six hours and ten minutes for 3G) and 500 hours in standby mode (370 hours for 3G).

In our tests, the battery depleted after four hours and 43 minutes of standard usage, with the backlight set to the maximum. Even though it is far from the official numbers, I would say that the battery's autonomy is satisfying.

Impressions

I've been pleasantly surprised by the new, mid-budget device in terms of design, but a little bit disappointed about the new version of the operating system. While, visually, there are some changes, I still think that Windows Mobile is far from Android and the iPhone in terms of performance, functionality and look. Still, HTC Touch2 is a good smartphone, but only if it sells for a cheap price, otherwise I think people will look for more advanced solutions and Android is so much better for now.


The Good

I would enlist here the ergonomic design of the device, the powerful CPU, which has been included into a phone that is meant for the mass market. Also, I was surprised by the high quality of the music sound, which is really something new for a Windows Mobile device. Adding a 3.5mm jack port is definitely an excellent choice and it offers users the possibility to put in their own headphones. I would also like to add that the new services offered by Windows Mobile 6.5, Microsoft MyPhone and Marketplace are a good idea, but the latter comes a little bit too late.


The Bad

Well, there aren't too many bad things that I feel I should mention here. Maybe a better camera would've raised the phone's desirability. While it's not that bad, the new operating system still doesn't make me want to buy the phone.


Sales Package

HTC Touch2 Pocket PC;
1100 mAh Li-ion battery;
Stylus;
User Guide;
Charger;
Mini-USB data cable.
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August 19, 2009

Olympus E-620 DSLR Camera,

Just the thing to get if you're rather new to the field of digital photography

I don't know just how many of you still remember our world before the advent of digital photography, but I'm pretty sure that most people from the younger generation wouldn't really know what to do if faced with a roll of film and a classic camera. Indeed, most of the world has gone completely digital nowadays, and the same happened with the big names in optics and photography, such as Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax and Sony. Of course, they're not the only digital camera manufacturers out there, but, without a doubt, they are the most famous.

Quite recently, we had the chance to take for a quick test one of Olympus' latest and most impressive offerings in the DSLR department, namely the E-620 model, which was officially introduced in early 2009 and established itself as an important contender on the entry-level segment, providing both a multitude of functions and features, a very slim body, an advanced Image Stabilization system (world's smallest DSLR with an IS system at the time of its launch), as well as fairly good image quality. In fact, as far as the specs are concerned, one might say that the body of the E-620 is close to semi-pro grade than entry level, but that's not the segment targeted by Olympus with this model.

Of course, given the particular segment it targets, the DSLR from Olympus is pretty good, although some of its features are a bit mainstream for the digital single-lens reflex community (for instance, the art filters, which should appeal more to the mainstream crowd rather than professional photographers). Naturally, the DSLR also has some shortcomings (which we'll be sure to detail over the course of this review), but there's no product out there that doesn't have at least a couple of features or characteristics worth criticizing.

Before going any deeper into this review, we'll have to issue somewhat of a warning. While you'll find quite a lot of technical information on the E-620, as well as some things on just what to expect when working with this DSLR, we've tried to talk more about the user experience and the quality of the photos rather that comparing this particular model with others available. It's not really a shopping guide, but rather a very honest “short walk-through” regarding exactly what you can expect from this DSLR.
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August 16, 2009

Mobile Action i-gotU GT-120 USB GPS Travel Logger




Without a doubt, the GPS system is one of the best things that mankind has ever developed, primarily due to the fact that it allows people to navigate a lot easier than before. I mean, since the appearance of GPS-enabled navigators, drivers find it a lot easier to reach their desired destinations, the most advanced products of this type available on the market also providing ways for them to route around traffic jams, accident sites, etc.

However, PNDs or personal navigation devices are by no means the only type of GPS devices out there. No, in fact, the GPS system can be used for tracking any object in motion, as long as it's located outside (is able to tap into the signals transmitted by the GPS satellites), or for taking geo-tagged photos, name digital pictures to which a set of precise geographical coordinates have been associated.

The two functions mentioned above represent the area of expertise of the device we've recently had the chance of testing, namely the i-gotU GT-120 USB GPS Travel Logger, developed by Mobile Action, a tiny device that looks quite innocent at a first sight, but which is actually able to carry out a lot of functions, with the help of the very interesting associate software application.

Hence, one can employ this GPS travel logger for recording their journeys and then display them onto Google Maps or Google Earth (since the software provides seamless integration with the aforementioned applications), create a blog of their journeys and even compliment the displayed roadmap with some photos, via the special geo-tagging feature. Of course, the device can be used for other purposes as well, such as property tracking, plus for surveillance activities (such as keeping tabs on one's kids/spouse, etc.).

And all of this can be done in a fast and easy manner, by simply connecting the device to one's USB port and then running the tripPC application developed by Mobile Action.
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Motorola ROKR U9 , Excellent clamshell design


Even if it has reduced its personnel to the lowest numbers in all the history of the company, the mobile division of Motorola still lives, and another phone faces the light of day. Motorola U9 is a mid-budget clamshell that targets those people that remained faithful fans of the brand. Small, sleek, but above all incredibly aerodynamic, Motorola U9 was launched in an effort to limit the disastrous financial results registered last year.

Thanks to PureMobile, we had the pleasure to receive the phone, thus we can offer you an extended review of the clamshell.

Announced in October 2007, Motorola U9 clamshell was effectively launched on the market in February 2008. The handset was released in a few nice colors such as grey, red, pink and gold. Motorola ROKR U9 can be bought for around 120 USD, depending on the location and plan.

Design

Motorola ROKR U9 shines on so many levels when it comes to design. At first glance, the aerodynamic form of the device will catch your eye. The second trait that will get your attention is the shiny plastic used for manufacturing it. While the front part of the clamhsell, which features the secondary external display, is fully covered by this shiny, rich looking plastic, the back of the phone is made from a rubber-like material that feels great when you keep the gadget in your hand. The right side of the phone features a small Voice Recording key, which enables user to dial numbers by simply saying the name of the contact. On the left side of the clamshell, there's a dedicated camera button and a dual volume key.

The proprietary microUSB port has been placed on the bottom side of the device. The 2-megapixel camera on the front part of the clamshell is covered by a thin colorless plastic, which protects it against possible scratches. Also, you'll be able to use the touch sensitive music keys placed right under the small external display, but only when the music player is playing. The keypad of the phone looks standard and has pretty large keys. They have medium responsiveness, which means you must press them a little bit harder; otherwise, they offer a nice texting experience.

Control of the menu is done easily with the big D-pad button and the two soft keys. Besides the usual Back (Delete) key, Motorola also included a special multimedia key that opens up the music player when it's pressed. Right above the keypad, on the upper left corner, there's a small ambient light sensor.


The backlighting of the phone is great, so using it in dark areas won't create users any problems. The 2-inch main display doesn't touch the keypad thanks to the small rubber placed at the bottom of the keys. Motorola U9 measures 90 x 48.6 x 16.4 mm and weighs exactly 87.5g (including battery).

The clamshell mechanism is pretty sturdy, which makes the phone look solid. Even if it's a little bit harder, users will still be able to open the clamshell with only one hand. Overall, Motorola U9 seems to please through its nice form factor and lines, but let's see what's underneath this beautiful clothing.

Display and Camera

Motorola ROKR U9 embeds a very nice TFT (240 x 320 pixels) display, which supports 262K colors. The quality of the image is way above average, colors are very well defined making the contrast extremely vivid. When exposed under strong sunlight, the display performs very well, which means that you'll be able to use it outdoors too. The secondary OLED display supports 65K colors and 128x160 pixel resolution and can also be seen under the sunlight.

The 2-megapixel camera found on the front part of the clamshell doesn't have any features except for 8x digital zoom. The camera can be started by simply pressing the Camera button found on the left side of the clamshell. You can also set one of the shortcuts from the D-pad to open the camera interface. The preview of the picture cannot be seen in full screen. There are no additional settings for the camera, so as soon as you open up the module, you'll be able to shoot pictures. Saving snapshots takes little time, but requires extra handling of the menu.

As seen in the sample pictures, quality is above average, especially considering that this is a 2-megapixel camera. It seems to be highly dependent on light conditions and tends to lack sharpness and sometimes it will blur the objective.

Menu and Software

Motorola ROKR U9 doesn't have an operating system and features a very basic user interface. It seems to be a graphically updated Synergy GUI, which has been stripped of most of the advanced features. This makes the learning curve of the interface very short, as it has a very high accessability. The Phonebook can take up to 1,000 contacts, which have more fields that users can fill in: Email, URL, ringer ID, Picture or Birthday. The Recent calls category simply presents the calls history and it's very easy to navigate through Dialed calls, Received calls, Missing calls or Frequent calls with the big D-pad button. Messages category enables you to use a wide range of messaging solutions like SMS, EMS, MMS and Emails.

There's also an iTap dictionary that helps users type their messages faster that, of course, can be deactivated. The Office Tools category contains the network operator services, a simple calculator (which includes a currency converter), a task list, a rudimentary alarm clock, dialing services, notepad, calendar, file manager, Email, world clock, download manager and MotoSycn.

Games category only has Java software such as Sudoku, Motorola Text, Motorola Setup and Backup. The WebAccess category, just like its name says, gives users access to the Internet through different access points that can be set in advance or installed by the network operator. You can choose which access point to be used by default when you want to connect to the Internet through the Web Session option.

The integrated browser (Symphony 1.1) is rather mediocre and can be replaced with Opera mini if you want a better experience. The Multimedia category will give you access to the media Finder, Camera, Video Camera, Voice Recorder and Google. Connection offers users four connectivity options: Bluetooth link, USB Settings, Voice Networks and Data Connections. The last of the nine main categories, Settings, is the largest and you can do most of the important stuff from here. There are seven subcategories: Profiles, Themes, Home Screen, Call Settings, Phone Settings, Security and Network.


Motorola U9 includes Java MIDP 2.0 CLDC 1.1, with 900 KB free memory. That will enable users to install third-party Java applications in that small memory limit.

Communication

As a mid-budget device, Motorola U9 only features EDGE and GPRS class 10 technologies, which are more than enough for its price. Tests revealed a medium speed in data transfer speed: 120 Kbit/s download and 70 Kbit/s upload for EDGE.

The integrated Symphony browser can format the page of any site across the width of the screen, but can also display the image in full screen. Users will be able to save any website to favorites (directly in the phone's memory), switch off the image displaying or the Java scripts. The clamshell features Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP support.

In terms of messaging, the phone accepts standard text messages, MMS, flash and sound messages, as well as emails. The message client supports the usual POP3, SMTP and IMAP4 protocols.

The quad-band (GSM 850 / GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900) network compatible clamshell has good GSM signal reception. The sound's clarity is pretty low and muffled during call conversations. The vibration is somewhat mediocre in intensity and cannot be set to higher levels. That will surely make you miss a lot of calls if you set the phone on Silent.


Processor and Memory

The clamshell is most likely powered by an ARM9 family processor running at speed of up to 201 Mhz. Even though it's a medium power CPU, I have noticed that the phone is a little bit sluggish, especially when running more that one application.

Motorola U9 includes 34.5 MB internal memory, but only 25 MB are available to the user. The space storage can be extended to 4GB thanks to the microSD slot card, which has been placed near the SIM slot, under the battery.

Multimedia

The integrated music player supports a wide range of formats such as: MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA, OGG and AMR. It can be minimized and run in the background while you access other applications or functions of the phone. There are few settings that can be used: Equalizer, Spatial Audio, Shuffle, Auto-Repeat and Bass Boost. The music player can also be controlled using the touch sensitive music keys found under the external display, on the front part of the clamshell.

The sound quality is average, just like the music player interface. Moreover, it doesn't come with headphones in the sales package, or features a 3.5mm or 2.5mm jack port. I have also noticed that the phone will lag when the music player is run in the background and you try to browse the menu or open another application.


Battery

The 740 mAh Li-Ion battery is a little bit disappointing. Even if it has an officially stated life expectancy of 350 hours in standby and seven hours in talk time mode, it failed to attain more than two hours of continuous talk. Basically, a heavy user will need to recharge it everyday or at least once in two days.

Impressions

I have been pleasantly surprised by the clamshell's look, but not at all impressed by what it has to offer in terms of features. Even though it's just a mid-budget handset, I expected more than what it presently offers. I just hope that design will be more important for Motorola fans than the actual features.


The Good

I have praised the phone's design, which is a little bit unusual. Another positive trait of the phone could be the low price. I would also enlist here the presence of a microSD slot and the very nice OLED external display.


The Bad

I was disappointed by the battery's life expectancy and the very poor sales package, which doesn't contain anything but the phone. Also, I have noticed that sluggishness of the device, even when not running any applications at all.


Sales Package

Motorola ROKR U9 handset
Motorola Battery Li-Ion 740 mAh
Home Charger
User's Manual (English).
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July 19, 2009

Nokia N85, The N series lives on


One of the most acclaimed handset lineups, the Nseries from Nokia, got a new high-end device that strongly resembles the older Nokia N81. The fresh N85 kept the same slider form and keypad layout as its N81 predecessor, but this time, Nokia made an effort to get some stylish look into the handset. Also, the new Nseries device will be available on the market at a much lower price, even though it is stuffed with all the "goodies" of a usual high-end mobile phone. One of the best choices for those that are looking for a Nokia slider, the N85 is a much better pick than N81 as it lacks most of the latter's negative points.

Announced in August 2008, Nokia N85 was made available on the market in October 2008. The slider can be bought for around USD 500, but you can get it for less in case you opt for a certain plan. There are two colors available for users to choose from: Copper and Black.


Design

The Nokia N85 smartphone features a stylish slider form, but misses the 'wow' factor so needed for the latest phone to be able to have some success on the market. While most Nokia slider phones are not that appealing in terms of design, compared with other brands, users’ interest for quality is still more powerful. I think that Nokia N81 can be considered a failure in terms of design and functionality, thus I didn't expect to see another Nokia handheld with almost the same design. I was pretty reluctant at first, but after spending a few minutes with N85, I could notice the improvements Nokia did compared with previous sliders.

First of all, the feeling of cheap merchandise is gone now, as the new material used for manufacturing it is very shiny and well polished. This also has a bad side as it still catches fingerprints, like his predecessor did. Slimmer than N81, the new N85 smartphone measures 103 x 50 x 16 mm and weighs 128g (including battery). The big 2.6-inch display makes a good impression at first glance and is well protected against scratches. Above the screen, there's a secondary videocall camera, the earphone speaker, and a very small light ambient sensor. Below the display, Nokia kept almost the same layout of the keys as N81. Unfortunately, this doesn't go well in terms of ergonomics. The Accept and Reject calls key have been placed on the edge of both sides of the phone and are somewhat tricky to use.

The Navi-wheel has been improved and can now be used to browse the menu much easier. Still, this cannot be compared with the Android's or BlackBerry's roller-ball that turns the browsing experience into a real pleasure. The Shortcut key has been placed to the right of the Navi-wheel, while the Symbian menu key can be found to the left. The latter is only visible when backlighting is on, together with the two softkeys and the C (Backspace). The numeric keypad is revealed when you slide up the device. The keypad is not that impressive and can only be used with the tip of your fingers. Nokia N85 is a dual slider introduced by Nokia when launching Nokia N95 on the market. When it's slid down, it reveals four music dedicated keys that can also be used for playing various N-Gage games.

The right side of the phone features two stereo speakers, a dedicated camera key, a dual volume key and a Lock/Unlock key. The left side of the smartphone only includes a small microSD memory slot for storage space expansion. On top of the phone, there's a Power on/off button, a 3.5mm jack port and a small microUSB port that is used for charging or synchronizing the phone. The 5-megapixel camera on the back of the phone features dual led flash and Carl Zeiss optics. I have noticed that the phone lacks the usual charging port, so you'll have to use the microUSB port to charge the phone, either through the PC or you can use the charger that comes in the sales package. Overall, Nokia N85 will probably not attract people that are interested in design, but visual improvement compared with N81 is clearly one step forward for Nokia.

Display and Camera

Nokia N85 features an AMOLED screen that measures 2.6", supports 16 million colors and a 240x320 pixel resolution. The AMOLED screen features an accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate, but as with all AMOLED screens, it doesn't have eligibility under sunlight. Even if it can barely be used outdoors, the large display performs very well when the phone is used for Web browsing, movie watching, or gaming.


The screen seems to be somewhat protected against scratches by a thin plastic; still, you should be careful where you keep it. In terms of image quality displayed, it is excellent. Overall, the performance during various tests has been more than satisfactory.

The 5-megapixel camera embedded in this Nseries device seems to be much better than N96's, but also much lower in quality than N82's. Featuring Carl Zeiss lenses, auto-focus and dual LED flash, the module camera appears to be a little bit smaller than that of N95 (5.45, compared with 5.6). While not the best 5-megapixel camera on the market, compared with N96 camera, you can actually take decent pictures with N85.


The camera features geotagging and protection for the lenses. The user interface boasts extensive settings, much like Nokia's N95 8GB camera interface, but you can now choose what settings you want to be displayed on the toolbar. Camera activates pretty fast when you slide down the lid covering the lenses. The maximum resolution supported is of 2582x1944 pixels, while users can choose to shoot in five modes, as seen in the pictures.


There are no specially created functions for this camera, but, as you can see from the screenshots, all of them remain very easy to use. The same goes for the video camera, which can capture VGA (30fps) clips in MP4 format or 3GPP, depending on the quality you choose.

Menu and Software

Nokia N85 runs the Symbian 9.3 operating system, with an S60 3rd Edition and Feature Pack 2 interface. Feature Pack 2 brings both visual and performance improvements, which otherwise wouldn't be available for devices that only run Feature Pack 1, unless they're updated. This does not mean that you can get all the features of the FP2 on FP1 devices, as there are still exclusive ones that you can only take advantage of on an FP2 handset, such as Nokia N85 or N96. Besides the amazing Gallery with the geotagging feature, you'll get a new kind of Active standby layout. The latter enables users to bring up on the Home screen a lot more shortcuts than usual, such as game, application and link shortcuts. The new Task manager is also a specific FP2 improvement, and gives quick access to any applications running in the background. The Task manager now appears on top of every menu option that the user opens. Moreover, some cosmetic changes have been included, such as better menu transition effects and stylish icons.

The main menu can be accessed by pressing the left key, right next to the Navi-wheel controller. In addition to the usual options and applications that we find in almost all Symbian-powered handsets, Nokia N85 features Search and Maps utilities. Maps is used together with the GPS receiver and enables owners to use Nokia maps, localization and directions when they're on the go. Lots of maps can be downloaded from Nokia's website and then used to pick the shortest route from one point to another. Under the Office category, we find QuickOffice applications, used for reading Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. Users won't be able to edit any files without upgrading the application, which, of course, costs money. There's also a PDF reader, a notepad, a Zip archivator, and a currency converter.

You can now find the Calculator under the Applications submenu, while the voice recorder has been moved to the Media one. The Video center connects the phone to a bigger screen (projector, monitor, or TV) through the TV-out cable, in order to get a better view of the videos. The phone features a wide range of 3D games (trial versions) when the N-Gage menu is accessed.

The most thrilling feature of the device is the Motion sensor that grants it the Automatic rotation ability. This means that, every time you want to use your phone's screen in landscape mode, you'll only need to turn its upper left side down, and the interface will automatically reshape in landscape mode. Compared with N95, the accelerometer now works with all menus and applications compatible with this feature, which is a great asset.

The phone includes everything a user may need on the road or in the office, pre-installed on the handset: email, web, calendar, organizer, IM, office tools, messaging, applications manager, connectivity wizard, synchronization tools, GPS navigator, themes, profiles, and even more. Nokia N85 seems to be what its predecessor N81 should have been.


Communications

Nokia N85 is a quad band GSM (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900) handset, HSDPA compatible, which features GPRS class 32 (107 kbps), EDGE 32 class (296 kbps), High-Speed Circuit-Switched Data (57.6 kbps) and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g. Tested on the EDGE and 3G networks, the phone has performed pretty good, as you can see from the screenshots.

The WLAN wizard helps you search and define your WLAN network connection settings. Should you want to connect to the Internet, you must first define an Access point (EDGE, WLAN or 3G). You can do that by going to the Main menu / Tools / Settings / Connection / Access points, and define which access point to be used whenever a network connection is required (Main menu / Home network / Settings).

Other connectivity tools include Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP support, and microUSB for PC synchronization (charging included). The Bluetooth connection has reached speeds of up to 122 KB/s when sending, and 154 KB/s when receiving. When connecting the USB cable, you'll be able to choose from four modes: PC Suite, Mass storage, Image transfer and Media transfer. All of them are intuitive and easy to use, so there's nothing more to add here.

In terms of messaging, the phone accepts all available message types, but, given the not-so-friendly keypad, it will be hard to enjoy texting. Anyway, the handset includes no less than four message editors, one for each type: SMS, MMS, audio message and e-mail. The message client works with POP3, SMTP, and IMAP4 protocols, and supports more than one email account. Also, it can download headers and allows for attachments.

The quad-band (GSM 850 / GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900) network compatible slider has a very good GSM signal reception. UMTS signal reception is likewise excellent. The sound is outstanding at both ends, and loud enough. The vibration alert is also above average in intensity.

Processor and Memory

Nokia N85 is powered by a dual ARM11 family processor running at speeds of up to 369 Mhz. It's the usual CPU mainly used for Nseries handsets. I have noticed some lags and hiccups during games. This is definitely not a snappy device, but if you have had a Symbian phone before, it won't be noticed.

The handset embeds an 85 MB user free internal memory and 128 MB SDRAM memory. The storage space can be expanded up to another 8GB through the hot-swappable microSD slot card.

Furthermore, the device comes with an 8GB microSD card in the sales package, so there's no need for supplementary expenses.

Multimedia

Nokia N85 is a multimedia device, thus the 3.5mm jack port doesn't come as a surprise. The jack port enables users to attach any compatible headphone, which will improve their experience. The integrated music player looks very cool, and supports almost any type of music file you can think of: MP3, AAC, eAAC, eAAC+, WMA, M4A, as well as playlists. Files are automatically sorted by artist, genre, and albums, or by using the PC Suite.

The music player can be easily controlled with the Navi-wheel, but you can also take advantage of the four music keys, which are revealed when the phone is slid down. The included HS-45 Stereo Headsets do not make for a good addition to the sales package, that's why I encourage you to use different headphones. There's also the option to take advantage of the Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP support, which will enable users to listen music wirelessly.

The music player features all kinds of options and settings: Equalizer, Visualisation, Balance, Loudness, Stereo Widening, or Shuffle. Some of these are also available for the included FM Radio, which can memorize up to 50 base stations and features RDS and Visual radio capabilities.

The reception is excellent, and the quality of the sound likewise. Nokia N85 delivers one of the best music quality sounds, much better than its N81 and N96 predecessors, especially if you change the mediocre headset provided in the sales package.

Furthermore, videos can be played with the help of the integrated Real Player application. The video player is fully compatible with both orientations, namely landscape and portrait, and can run movies in full screen.

Battery

The 1200 mAh Li-Ion (BL-5K) battery has an officially stated life expectancy of 363 hours in standby (360 hours for 3G) and of about 6 hours and 50 minutes in talk-time mode (4 hours and 30 minutes for 3G). What we have got has been 4 days of use: approx. 2 hours of calls and 10MB of overall data transfer. While this might seem low at first glance, there are other Nokia devices that are doing much worse than this.

Impressions

Nokia N85 seems to be a good choice for slider fans, especially as it includes so many features at a decent price. While the offer on the market is quite rich, N85 will probably go unnoticed, as it doesn't have such an astonishing design. I would recommend the N85 as one of the best value for money options for a high-end device, in case you're not getting the new touchscreen smartphones from Nokia.


The Good

Everything stuffed into this smartphone works pretty much above average, except maybe the screen, which is low consuming (AMOLED), but can barely be readable outdoors. Nokia N85 is solid built and offered at a decent price, which should attract more people than the actual design. I should enlist almost all the technical features that the phone includes, but also the quality of music sound.


The Bad

I think the layout of the external keys, the Navi-wheel, which is still hard to control, as well as the AMOLED screen are the only letdowns of the device. Also, I was surprised to find that Nokia dropped the usual charging port and chose the microUSB port as the only method of charging. I don't understand this choice, as you will still need to carry two cables with you in case you cannot attach it to a PC.


Sales package

Nokia N85 handset
Nokia Battery (BL-5K)
Nokia Travel Charger (AC-10)
Nokia Video Connectivity Cable (CA-75U)
Nokia Connectivity Cable (CA-101)
Nokia Music Headset (HS-45, AD-54)
Nokia 8 GB microSD card (MU-43)
User Guide
Quick Start Guide.
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Nokia 5130 XpressMusic, Excellent value for money music phone

Nokia's XpressMusic series adds another device to its portfolio, which targets young music lovers with not-so-high budgets. The new Nokia 5130 XpressMusic is one of the latest mass-market mobile phones and it offers a complete music solution to those who are fans of the series. Before going into more details, I have to point out the fact that we will be seeing this device more like a music phone and we will not be so harsh regarding the other features that might interest users, such as: camera, GPS, memory, operating system, emailing and more. While including some of these features into the phone is a good idea, do not expect too high a quality from any of these, as the handset simply concentrates on the music aspect.

Announced at the beginning of November 2008, Nokia 5130 XpressMusic was made available on the market in February 2009. The candybar can be acquired for around

Design

In case you are familiar with Nokia's music phones, you'll definitely recognize the 5130 as belonging to the XpressMusic series. Even though it very much looks like its 5320 predecessor, the handset is made from a more stylish plastic that eliminates the idea of a cheap phone. The rounded shapes contribute even more to the nice feeling that you get when you keep the device in your hand. The aerodynamic shape will probably make you believe that it's smaller and slimmer than its 5320 brother, but the truth is that both devices are nearly the same in size. Nokia 5130 XpressMusic measures 107.5 x 46.7 x 14.8 mm and weighs around 88g (including battery). The shiny plastic that covers the insides of the phone, even though it makes it a fingerprint magnet, looks much better than the usual opaque plastic that is largely used for manufacturing the cheap handsets of the company.


The 2-inch display, while not the biggest, does its job well under almost any circumstances. The layout of the keypad is pretty relaxed, the keys being spacious enough and very responsive. I haven't noticed any controlling problems with the big D-pad in the middle; on the contrary. Around the main controller you'll be able to notice two available soft keys and the usual Accept and Reject ones. On both sides, in the upper part, the phone features a grid pattern that looks like two loudspeakers. In reality, only the left side sports some red LEDs that highlight the dedicated music keys when you start playing music. These lights are somewhat synchronized with the music sound, as they shine to the rhythm of the music.

The dedicated music keys have been placed right under these LEDs, on the left side of the device: Forward, Play/Pause, Back. On the right side there's a small microSD slot card and two volume keys. The 3.5mm jack port together with the microUSB and charging ports have been placed on top of the phone. The 2 Megapixel camera on the back doesn't feature any flash or autofocus capabilities, but that's understandable if we think about the target of the handset. The camera lens is somewhat protected by a metallic frame, but I don't think that it will be used too often anyway.

Nokia 5130 XpressMusic is definitely a win in terms of design. Much more attractive than most of its series predecessors, the phone will definitely bring the Finnish giant a big chunk of profits on the medium-to-low music phone market.

Display and Camera

Nokia 5130 features a 2 inch-TFT display, supporting 262 million colors and a 240x320 pixel resolution. Besides its small size, the screen is pretty good, in accordance with Nokia's standards, but performs a little bit lower compared with 16 million color displays. Its eligibility in the sunlight is pretty good, but forget about trying to distinguish any colors on the screen.

The 2 Megapixel camera lacks any advanced features, which makes it somewhat useless, as quality of the pictures is very low. No autofocus, no flash and very low video recording don't really recommend this phone for its camera.

The maximum resolution that users can set to take pictures is that of 1600x1200 pixels. The maximum one that can be used for movie recording is of 176x144 pixels (QCIF at 15fps). The basic interface of the camera only includes standard features that don't really change the quality aspects of the pictures. Moreover, the camera seems to be a little bit more sluggish than I anticipated. You can try to make some adjustments to your pictures by using some of the camera's settings: White balance and Effects.


Check out the samples below for a more accurate opinion about the quality of the photo snapper. I do not recommend getting this phone for its camera, but neither do I suggest that this is a negative point of the candybar.


Enlarge picture

Menu and Software

Nokia 5130 XpressMusic runs on an S40 5th Edition interface with Feature Pack 1, which is the latest user-interface coming from the manufacturer. If you owned a Nokia handset before and it didn't have a Symbian OS, then this candybar will probably feel the same. One of the most user-friendly interfaces on the market, the S40 seems unchanged on the surface, and offers the Nokia 5130 XpressMusic user an excellent experience. The phone's firmware include Flash 3.0, animated menus, submenus and icons.

Nokia's Series 40 5th Edition UI allows you to experience streaming videos, image rendering, mobile 3D graphics and scalable 2D Vector graphics. The Series 40 5th Edition also supports the latest version of Adobe's Flash Lite 2.1, the interoperable platform that enables the accelerated development and delivery of rich graphical mobile content, and includes audio file playback and streaming capabilities that provide audio and music enhancements to mobile gaming and the multimedia experience.


The handset also includes some useful applications, such as Search, Alarm clock, Calendar, To-do list, Notes, Calculator, Countdown timer, World Clock and Stopwatch. The menu is fully customizable and you can designate any MP3, MIDI or AAC file as ringtone. The candybar comes with Opera Mini browser installed by default, so the experience will be smooth.

The phonebook can store up to 2,000 contacts, and each can be filled with up to six different phone numbers. The fonts can be customized, but only those displayed when opening Contacts, Web browser and messaging sections.

Also, some Java games come preinstalled – Bounce Tales, Rally 3D and Snake III. The handset is compatible with Java MIDP 2.1 applications, but there is a limit to the size of any app that you might want to install on the phone, and that's the usual 1MB. This might be the case for most Java-compatible applications, but I noticed that I could run some files that were around 1.5MB in size. Nevertheless, not all Java apps will work on this mid-end device, so you might want to try that out for yourselves.


Communications

Nokia 5130 XpressMusic is fully compatible with GPRS and EDGE Class 32 but, as benchmarks revealed, it attained average scores in terms of data transfer speed (EDGE only 165 Kbit/s download and 63 Kbit/s upload); however, that may greatly vary depending on location and carrier.

The phone also features Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP and EDR for faster data transfers. Synchronization with PC is possible through the proprietary microUSB port, but charging through USB cable is not available.

In terms of messaging, the device accepts standard text messages, MMS (300 KB attachments), as well as emails. The message client works with POP3, SMTP, and IMAP4 protocols, and supports more than one email account.

The quad-band (GSM 850 / GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900) network-compatible candybar has a good GSM signal reception. The sound is above average in quality at both ends, and pretty loud.


Processor and Memory

Nokia 5130 XpressMusic is most likely powered by an ARM9 family processor running at speeds of up to 220 MHz. While not the fastest phone on the market, it won't lag more than its class competitors when browsing through the menus.


The candybar embeds 30MB of user free internal memory, which can be expanded as the phone features a microSD slot card. The handset comes with a 1GB microSD memory card in the sales package, and Nokia says that users can expand the memory up to 2GB, though I have tested it with an 8GB card.

While it really takes longer to read all the information on the memory card, it has been proved that it works with higher-capacity memory cards. Still, I experienced freezes when I tried to start the phone's camera, which had been set to store pictures on the memory card. I do not suggest using microSD cards higher than 2GB, but if you really want to do it, try to set the camera to store pictures on the phone's memory.


Multimedia

As a music device, Nokia 5130 XpressMusic should include advanced multimedia features to please target customers – music lovers. Seeing as how the company is already known for the fact that its XpressMusic-series phones include a dedicated audio chip for decoding MP3 files, there's no reason why we shouldn't have high hopes with 5130 model, even though it's only a mid-budget handset.


Battery

The 1020 mAh Li-Ion (BL-5C) battery has an officially stated life expectancy of 288 hours in standby and of about 6 in talk time mode. Also, Nokia states a music autonomy of almost 1 day (22 hours). Our test unit managed to play music continuously for around 19 hours. Moreover, talk time was pretty decent, as we only needed to charge the unit every 3 days, but after extensive usage.


Impressions

After getting a little bit bored by the XpressMusic series, I'm finally glad that I gave 5130 model a chance. I was impressed by the quality of its sonic experience, as well as its stylish design. Nokia managed to throw on the market a more-than-decent device at a very good price. I just hope that youngsters are not still disappointed by some older XpressMusic devices and give 5130 a chance, since they will be thrilled.


The Good

The first things I would like to mention here are the nice finishes, the easy-to-handle music controls, excellent music sound, and good shiny plastic that improves the usual XpressMusic design. Also, one of the most important things, Nokia 5130 XpressMusic can be bought for a decent price, while it offers excellent features.


The Bad

I would've liked to see a more decent camera and the possibility to add a better memory card. Even though some higher-capacity cards might work with the device, it doesn't officially offer support for these. I also think that the short microUSB cable that comes with the phone is a joke, as you can only use it while keeping your handset near the USB port.


Sales package

Nokia 5130 XpressMusic handset
Nokia Battery 1020 mAh (BL-5C)
Nokia Charger (AC-3)
Nokia Headset (WH-102)
Nokia 1 GB microSD card (MU-22)
Nokia Connectivity Cable (CA-101D)
Compact User Guide
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