Penny Mobiles – Mobile phone news, reviews & information

The recent MWC in Barcelona saw the unveiling of any number of interesting and impressive smartphones and devices from the top players in the industry, and Samsung were no exception, revealing a wide-range of fascinating devices – some of which that may have gone more unnoticed that others. This was, to many, what happened to one of Samsung’s newest creations – the E2370, a new entry-level phone that the Korean giant introduced at the Barcelona expo.

The E2370 comes without all of the shining lights and jangling bells of many of the smartphones seen at the conference and opts instead for a more basic and rustic appearance, with none of the dual on-screen touch-pad and slide-out QWERTY keyboards seen in many of the high-end devices. Despite many users’ preferences for high-end impressive specs it is highly likely that this new device will richly appeal perhaps to older users looking for a decent performer, unencumbered by the other features that they simply wouldn’t ever use.

The E2370’s standout point is its appearance: it comes complete with a striking rubber body that makes it largely shock-resistant – excellent news for those that require an incredibly durable phone. This means that there will be no problem if you drop it on a reasonably hard surface, unlike the other high-end devices that would be left scattered in pieces all over the place in many cases. It more that lives up to its durable image, and also not looking like a high-end device may even help not attract the unwanted attention of those looking to unlawfully deprive you of its services.

The device itself has been promoted by Samsung as a more rustic and straightforward version of the B2100 Explorer. Many in the industry have predicted that despite the fact that no end selling price has yet been announced for the E2370 it is unlikely to carry too weighty a tag, again in keeping with its appeal to more entry-level users. The device is fully IO54 certified and features a non-imposing 1.77-inch display as well as a microSD card slot that affords users the luxury of being able to ramp up the device’s memory storage capacity should they so desire.

Interestingly there is even a VGA camera on the device, which is something of a surprise in an entry-level device. This will doubtless further enhance its appeal at this end of the market, although the captured picture quality is not that great. Many feel that Samsung instead might have been better served users by opting for a lower resolution megapixel camera instead. Still, it is a good addition for a lower-end device, and entry-level users are sure to like having the facility.

AS far as connectivity is concerned the Samsung E2370 supports the GSM Dual-Band network, which allows it to be fully operational in the Asian and European markets. There is, however, no 3G support, although GSM 900/1800 is supported to allow overall connectivity to be decent – especially given the overall specs. There is also no capacity for Wi-Fi, although users can transfer data to and from the device wirelessly through the integral Bluetooth capability.

To look at it the E2370 appears to be a tough and rugged device, yet it somehow retains an air of charm with its eye-catching combinations. One nice feature is the orange keypad which affords it a feel of some exclusivity, a good touch on an entry-level phone as well.

The phone is also quite easy to hold and carry, with its dimensions of 112×49x19mm. Its internal memory is also pretty well in keeping with its entry-level status, and is capable of holding a maximum of 1,000 contacts in the device’s phone book. This capacity can, however, be upgraded via the integral MicroSD TransFlash slot. The music player is also functionally decent, with an ability to play MP3, WMA eAAC and MP4 files.

While the actual specs for the upcoming WP7 phone have yet to be compared, getting to know the different chassis to be used for the mobile platform proves to be a very telling event.

For one thing, we already know that Asus will be working closely with Microsoft on creating the MS branded device. While we are still confused as to whether the device is actually launching in October or by early 2011, we do know that the core chipset to be used by Windows Phone 7 would be Qualcomm. With the amount of onscreen animation and transition effects, it is likely that the Snapdragon 1GHz CPU will be used to run the device.

Anyway, it appears that WP7 will have three different chassis that will be coming out.

The first chassis is being called the type 1. This is basically the basic touch screen smart phone look with buttons below the screen. If you have seen any images of the WP7 user interface then this would be the phone it is slapped on. From the initial images, there will be “back”, “home” and another button.

The second chassis, called the type 2 is expected to have a slide out QWERTY keyboard hinting at a messaging-centric version of the WP7 device. Details on the type 3 chassis are still not available.

For those who missed the big news, WP7 is made around the motto “the phone is not a PC” which led to the reinvention of the traditional mobile phone operating system into a new dynamic user interface never seen before.  Those who saw the new OS would agree that WP7 features more animations that the Apple iPhone OS and Android mobile platform.

Get to know more about the different chassis types for the Windows Phone 7 series at Softpedia.

For those who have been following the Android phone market for some time a number of new devices have been seen to grace the shelves from time to time, ranging anywhere from huge power horses featuring up to 1GHz processors and massive computing potential to turn phones into virtual netbook computers to smaller devices looking to use the Android’s systems to offer some flexibility on minimal power. The XPERIA, Sony’s first venture into the Android phone market, was seen by most to fit into the first category of “big and powerful”, though for most people was simply too big and bulky to be of practical use. Enter the X10 Minis – Sony’s newest Android balance between size, power and flexibility to wow users.

Coming in at a fraction of the size of the original XPERIA released last year with the largest model – the Pro – measuring a mere 90×52x17 millimeters the new Minis are absolutely dwarfed in comparison. This small size has led many people to worry about the phone’s overall speeds as well as hardware has had to be scaled down to 600MHz, though this is more than enough to ensure speedy usage and blazing fast app speeds thanks to the overall reduced processing draw the compact design affords.

For most people looking at the “mini” tag on a touchscreen based device one of the major concerns they may have is on actual capabilities for messaging and data input, and rightfully so – anyone who can get their hands on the X10 Mini tends to feel that the screen is simply too small to accommodate most users with bulkier fingers. In order to compensate this the Mini Pro, in Sony Ericsson style, has an integral slide-out QWERTY keyboard that allows for direct typing into the phone and, even though it is still somewhat cramped compared to what some users may be used to, affords for much more comfortable tactile responses that even cynics find appealing.

Rounding off the Mini’s features is not only it’s processing power but its other functions as well. Coming equipped with a 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus and LED flash in addition to GPS for geotagging and the slew of connectivity options found on most smartphones these days means that you can not only keep in touch no matter where you are in the world but also share your information and exact location easily and effectively. The Mini and Pro also come equipped with a new feature of Sony’s, Timescape, that affords instantaneous notifications whenever an update is posted to your social media account of you receive a new e-mail or message, meaning fewer time is spent going online to manually check your messages and status updates. This is a great feature for social networkers and business professionals alike, though for some they may feel that the pop-up notifications are a big cumbersome on the Mini’s shrunken screen due to the fact that not much free space is available at any given time.

With the screen’s smaller size a big concern for developers the Sony Ericsson team has taken this into consideration as well and added in four customizable shortcuts that allow users to set their favorite programs or apps up to be run with a simply touch – thus cleaning up the home page and making room for updates. This small addition has helped sway those who have been on the edge in the past about the device over to believers and make them avidly await the upcoming release. Unfortunately as of yet no set date has been confirmed, however given Sony Ericsson’s relatively quick turnarounds after announcements these days consumers can most likely expect to see the Mini duo hitting the market sometime in the second quarter of this year.

Rumors are in: it looks like Microsoft might be limiting the availability of the Windows Phone 7 series to specific MS branded devices. According to an Australian podcast, the images of the WP7 feature the interface being displayed on a generic looking smart phone. This is considered to be the type 1 chassis.

Right now, it is expected that many mobile phone manufacturers have been given the specs for the type one. From what we can tell, it’s a standard touch screen smart phone look. There is no doubt that the processor speed and the phone’s graphic hardware capabilities will play a crucial role in the success of the device. The new WP7 user interface is graphically intensive and uses far more dynamic elements and animations than the Google Android or the Apple iPhone OS.

The type 2 chassis for WP7 is rumored to be loaded with a physical keyboard. From what we have seen of WP7 and from the various comments of MS spokespersons, it is improbable that the new OS ever be used in non touch devices, but one with a keyboard is always a welcome sight.

The Motorola Milestone was a pretty successful Android smart phone by giving users a keyboard to play around with. It certainly makes users who like typing long messages very happy since onscreen virtual keyboards never match up to physical QWERTY keyboards. As for the last type 3 chassis, no final details are expected. Sources say that it will be a candy phone type device but that form factor does not match well with the user interface of WP7.

Reports currently indicate that HTC and Asus are working on WP7 devices. It is expected that the first WP7 device will be out as early as October.

Go to Engadget for more about the different WP7 chassis.

Nokia has been quiet these past few weeks, aside from the recent announcement about the X6 phone and the fact that they turned Ovi maps satellite navigation into a free service a few weeks before that, no one has heard much in the way of breaking news regarding the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer.

Now, as the winds of the mobile industry are picking up speed, a new teaser from Nokia has left us wondering what new mobile phone the company is cooking up next: Nokia has let it slip that they are working on a new Snapdragon smart phone.

Surprisingly, they are not going to be using the Maemo operating system. The new OS which was adopted by Nokia last year made its debut on the N900 and was a success in its own right. The phone did not have problems, firmware wise at least; the micro USB slot on the N900 was prone to getting misaligned.

Anyway, many may still remember the last announcement regarding the Maemo which stated that Nokia will be using the OS for all their upcoming N-series devices. This means that the new Snapdragon device from Nokia will not be part of the N-series. As to whether the recent announcement that Symbian will be going open source is part of the reason why Nokia chose to use Symbian still remains to be confirmed.

If this device pushes through, this will be another major open source platform on a Snapdragon handset. The Bada Wave and the many other Android smart phones will be providing the new Symbian device with plenty of competition once it comes out.

Lastly, the biggest surprise factor here is that Nokia and Qualcomm have had a long history of legal disputes regarding patents. This is one of the key times that the two are actually working together.

Read more about Qualcomm and Nokia at Know Your Mobile.

The Toshiba K01 comes with a 3.1 inbuilt camera that is able to support a wide range of features. Among the features that the Toshiba K01 camera supports include an optical zoom, auto focus and face detection capability. In addition, the phone also has an in built accelerometer. The Toshiba K01 has an in-built memory card holder that enables the user to expand the phones capacity to a massive 32GB. This feature is facilitated using the Micro SDHC technology. In that regard, enjoy you will be able to store plenty of your favorite games, movies and music and still leave enough storage space to spare.

The Toshiba K01 is an advanced from the previous model TG02.you will find that it mostly has the same hardware capabilities and features as the TG02. The people at Toshiba have gone out of their way to make this phone a truly unique and stylish gadget. They have made in such that it comes with an easy to use QWERTY keyboard. Even though this has increased the phone’s size, the additional features that are standard with the phone make up for this. Toshiba released the phone on 15 of February 2010. The Toshiba K01 is relatively new to the market. Toshiba is a world leader in making and developing further laptops and their accessories. Most people who have used this phone have not been disappointed. They have described it as elegant and sophisticated.

The Toshiba K01 comes with additional support control peripherals. The phone has an easy to use touch screen device referred to as a touch screen positioning device. The only setback that accompanies the keyboard is that it does not support a unidirectional pad. The phone comes with 4.1 inch wide touch screen that interactive and easy to use. The Toshiba K01 touch screen also has 10 interactive buttons data input and phone operation. The Toshiba K01 capacity touch screen is what we call a clamshell with a high resolution of 800*480 pixels. This phone was not designed as a smart phone but more of a multimedia and internet device in mind. The Toshiba K01 comes in seventy by one twenty nine by fifteen standard dimension. The phone has a digital frame feature. The Toshiba K01 operates using the 6.5 windows mobile operating system. The phone browse devices are responsible for the phone functions.

The Toshiba K01 has a 4.1 display diagonal capability. In addition, it also utilizes a stereo loud speaker. This comes in handy when you want to multitask but still be on the phone at the same time. Furthermore, the phone makes use of the 655536 type color transflective. The phone also utilizes a mono microphone making the other person on the other end listen to a crisp clear sound. The phone has a chipset microprocessor that has a massive speed of up to 100MH per cycle. The central processing speed of the Toshiba K01 utilizes a Qualcomm snapdragon which is also referred to as Qsd8250.

All the browser devices for the phone are found in the central processing unit. In addition, Toshiba K01 has a standard random access memory of 256 MB. The Toshiba K01 utilizes the GSM mobile technology platform. The GSM networks that the Toshiba K01 is compatible with include GSM 1800, GSM 900, GSM, GSM 850 and the GSM 1900. Furthermore, the Toshiba K01 can be used with a number of different data links. The phone supports Bluetooth and EDGE capabilities. The Toshiba K01 comes with a call vibrate and 64 chord call alert feature. With all these features, the people at Toshiba have really done a commendable job.

The mobile phone industry has seen a lot of mesmerizing innovative products from the phone manufacturing giant, Motorola. With the latest Motorola arrivals in the market, there is no sign that the company is about to stop or slow down. The latest piece of innovation genius from Motorola is the Quench. The Motorola Quench has outdone its predecessors in terms of hi-tech features that make it on of the most stylish phones around.

Motorola Quench has been designed using the Android 1.5 platform. It has a 65k TFT display, Its external colors are licorice and purple and it weighs 130 grams. This touch tablet phone measures 60 x 116.8 x 12.4 mm. it uses a 1420 mAh Lithium Ion battery which has a standby time of 450 hours. The phone supports some multiple networks. These include GSM 850, 900, 1800 and 1900, Edge Class 12, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, WCDMA 900, 1700 and 2100 as well as GRS Class 12.

The MOTOBLUR features that are to be found in this phone enable the user to have an easy and fun time operating on the phone. For instance, the caller ID settings are completely customized. Yu will be able to see the picture of the person who is calling you, his or her ID as well as their social network status. All your contacts in the phonebook will be synchronized according to their social networks. The phone also allows photo sharing through networks such as Yahoo, Facebook, MySpace, Last FM, Picasa and Photobucket. The home screen is also customizable. You will get updated RSS news widgets every now and then. The Happenings, Messaging and Status settings in the MOTOBLUR will notify you of different status posts.

The messaging options for this phone are many and easy to use. Text messaging or SMS is enabled by MOTOBLUR and the messages you receive will be delivered to your homescreen. EMAIL and IM are both synched with MOTOBLUR. The phone supports Instant Messaging by Yahoo Messenger, MSN, AOL IM and Google Talk. Yu can use SWYPE keyboards, Android and iTAP for predictive texts. That is not all; the phone also supports multimedia messaging. The audio quality for this phone is nothing but superb. The music player in the phone allows you to download music from various websites. You can also stream internet radio using the phone’s music player. Motorola Quench is also video capable. Some of its playable formats include WAV, WMV, AAC, MP3, MIDI, AAC+, among others. The video capture rate is 24 fps. Its playback rate is also 24 fps.

In terms of connectivity, the phone supports a full HTML web browser, and android Webkit and an Adobe Flash Lite. You can also enjoy Bluetooth and WiFi technologies from this phone. For data access, you can use high speed USB 2.0 with a Micro USB connector. The handset also supports navigation technology such as GPS, E-Compass and Google Maps. There is also a 3.5 mm headset jack on the phone.

The other features include voice commands, T-mobile and dedicated keys. The ring tone formats that the phone supports include AAC, eAAC, MP3, eAAC+ and AAC+. Some of the ringtones are preloaded, but there is enough space to download your favorite tunes. You can also download wall papers for the phone to add onto the preloaded ones. The phone also has a 5 megapixel autofocus camera that has a continuous digital zoom.

This all encompassing smart phone will offer you a wide range of satisfactory communication options. The Motorola Quench is a phone that you can always rely on for the most efficient communication purposes.

While it is very common for us in the mobile industry to see new devices and innovations being announced and released one after the other, there is a definite charm in being able to have a good idea of how the industry will be shaping up a few months ahead in time. Events like last January’s CES (held at Las Vegas) and Feb 14’s Mobile World Congress (held at Barcelona, Spain), has given us plenty of new things to look forward to.

Samsung’s Wave phone got a head start in exposure with plenty of its posters being put up just a day or two before the big event. Looks like the Korean manufacturer has gone all out to deliver its promise of making a “smart phone for everyone” –the new Wave phone is hardly lacking in features, it has a 1GHz processor, a super AMOLED touch screen and Samsung’s spiffy new proprietary operating system, the Bada. Open source and ready to go, the Bada made a pretty successful debut last Sunday.

Though when it comes to debuts, nothing comes as close to the amount of fanfare and critical reception of the new Microsoft mobile platform, the Windows Phone 7 series; the new name is a telling sign of how many things have changed for the OS previously known as Windows Mobile. Presenters onstage constantly repeated the phrase: “the phone is not a PC”, emphasizing heavily on their new approach to reinvent the way users see their mobile devices.

Google’s Android operating system also made a pretty heavy showing, in actual devices too. HTC and Sony Ericsson will be launching major devices this coming March as the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 and the HTC Desire will be going head to head. Both devices run on Snapdragon processors. The HTC Legend and the X10 Minis will be following shortly too.

See MWC product images at the Guardian UK.

There are plenty of new Android smart phones coming out this year; Sony Ericsson will be contributing three new devices to the lineup.

Heading the charge is the XPERIA X10. This smart phone was originally announced as the Rachel and is probably the first high-end smart phone to be announced at the end of 2009 (before the Bravo and the Nexus One anyway).  The device was the first Snapdragon powered Android smart phone to be confirmed and while it is confirmed to be using the old 1.6 Donut OS from the box, updates for the firmware are expected to be available by its launch this coming March.

The XPERIA X10 is an impressive device, but it is definitely not made for the general market. This is probably why Sony Ericsson previously announced that it would also launch the XPERIA Robyn –a smart phone based on the looks and features of the X10, but with lowered specs, a smaller size and a cheaper price tag. SE surprised the crowds at the Mobile World Congress by bringing out the X10 Mini –the Robyn fully completed.

The phone is small, sporting a 2.5 inch screen that makes it almost half the size of the original device. It will not be using the Timescape and Mediascape user interface on the X10; instead, it will employ the UX user interface that fully utilizes the whole display screen. Overall, it is an impressive low to mid range smart phone.

SE has also shown the X10 Mini Pro. A second version of the X10 Mini that comes with a slide out physical QWERTY keyboard that targets the heavy messaging market. Speaking of keyboards, the new Vivaz Pro is a keyboard version of the Vivaz too.

Get the rest of the news on the SE X10 Mini and Mini Pro at Stuff TV.

The only thing old about the new mobile platform from Microsoft is the name “Windows”.

This is great news, considering that most people actually hated the previous Windows Mobile operating systems; it is high time that MS brought about some serious changes. And from what Steve Ballmer has presented at the Mobile World Congress last Sunday, MS is on the right track.

It has already been confirmed that Windows Phone 7 will not be seen in an actual mobile phone until the holiday season, this certainly leaves MS with plenty of time to polish, finalize and perfect the new OS. Taking that into consideration, their current progress certainly shows they have learned what the mobile phone market wants and how to deliver it.

The new operating system does more than fix the problems of the old version, Phone 7 is meant to introduce an entirely new OS. Yep, it still carries the Windows name, but as we have seen, it is something entirely new.

The way the interface has been laid out is truly ingenious. There are several large screens, of which, only a portion is visible on your phone screen. Each visible pane has customizable spots called tiles (like widgets) which users can use to control visible content.

The screens are divided according to OS functions. “People” is for your contacts and network. Games will access the Xbox Live Games service (no games yet). Office brings the functionality of mobile office (though only SharePoint and OneNote were demoed). Music and videos gives media playback, playlists, and the Zune interface. Pictures allow for tagging, organizing and even sharing of images stored on the device. Marketplace will give you access to the app store.

Read and learn more about the Windows Phone 7 series and catch WinMo related updates at GSM Arena.