Penny Mobiles – Mobile phone news, reviews & information
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The Nokia 3720 Classic is one of the new phones to hit the mid to low range of the price spectrum later this year. Not only is the phone tough phone on the outside, but is also quite functional as well. The Nokia 3720 Classic has been specially designed to be able to withstand a range of weather elements that could possible destroy an ordinary phone. The phone is the ideal choice for anyone prepared to compromise on the features of the phone for the sake of having a tough reliable all weather companion.
The Nokia 3720 Classic has a sealed leak proof design which protects the internal circuit components of the phone. You can pick the color of the outer casing to showcase your personality! The battery cover of the Nokia 3720 Classic is locked into the phone with a screw which protects both the internal circuitry as well as the phone’s delicate components. This means that you don’t have to worry about using the phone in wet muddy environments. The phone can even be used in extreme temperatures with little to show for it.
The battery life of the Nokia 3720 Classic is exceptionally good and will last for a good couple of days even with heavy use. The Nokia 3720 Classic also has an LED flashlight which completes the image of rugged mobile phone. There are additional features such as Nokia maps which come preinstalled on the 1GB memory card that comes with the phone. The large and bright screen of the Nokia 3720 Classic measures 2.2 inches diagonally. The screen is sufficient to view web pages on though images may appear to be slightly dull. The Nokia maps are perfect for anyone who is looking to find their route especially if the terrain you are on seems quite unfamiliar.
Nokia 3720 Classic Links:
The Motorola ROKR ZN50 automatically raises the bar for top class media phones. The music playing handset can definitely replace your stand alone music player. The sound engine of the Motorola ROKR ZN50 is such that, sound played over it is even clearer and louder that you would expect for a phone of its class. There is no other music phone in the market right now with a better design. This is not only one of the first futuristically attractive phones in the market, but is also one of the first phones released by Motorola which has the capability of competing with Nokia and Sony Ericsson effectively.
The Motorola ROKR ZN50 does not have a range of top class connectivity features. This and the fact that the camera of the phone is pretty mediocre does put people off the phone, but this is hardly what you would expect to get with a phone that falls in its price range. The media features on the Motorola ROKR ZN50 are actually quite decent as you can store and play a range of media formats without any problem.
The Android operating system used in the Motorola ROKR ZN50 makes the phone almost as user friendly as a Google Android phone. The customizable 3 home screen panels are also characteristic of a Google phone. Flipping one panel to go to the next one is just a tiny finger flick away! Thus navigation through the menu of the ROKR ZN50 is as easy as you can imagine. Accessing even obscure features such as the calendar or notes is easy using the main menu. The whole system on the phone is very intuitive. The built in GPS receiver with the software to run it properly is very useful as it adds to the utility of the phone by making it a navigation tool as well.
Motorola ROKR ZN50 Links:
The LG Louvre GC990 is one of the new camera phones to hit the market later this year. The 12 MP camera on it is the best of its class. Not only is the resolution of this device outstanding, but it is also unmatched in terms of photo and video editing options. In addition to the top class still shots, even videos can be recorded with HD resolution at 30 frames per second. This 12 MP camera utilizes Schneider-Kreuznach optics. This professional lens ensures that all photos captured have excellent detail and clarity. The auto touch focus feature allows you to focus on an object in the screen by just touching it! This feature enhances your photo taking ability even further, as it allows you to focus on any point in the viewfinder that you wish to focus on. You can even zoom in on a section of your view finder this way. Dim light photography is also equally good in terms of resolution as the xenon flash illuminates the object extremely well, even if you capture the shot in pitch darkness.
The LG Louvre GC990 also allows geo tagging. This means that you can tag an image with geographical coordinates after you capture the image. The zero shutter lag feature is also useful as it allows you to capture photos in real time without any shutter lag. This makes the camera on the LG Louvre GC990 as good as any top class stand alone camera.
With GPRS, EDGE, and Wi-Fi, you have nothing to complain about in terms of connectivity features. The LG Louvre GC990 even allows you to access DLNA. The onboard GPS receiver only adds to the utility of the phone by making it an invaluable navigation tool as well.
LG Louvre GC990 Links:
Out of the new touch screen phones that are in the market right now, the LG BL40 Chocolate stands out in terms of usability and appearance. The block form factor makes it easy to carry the phone around in even the smallest space. Featuring a 4 inch TFT display with a top class resolution, you can watch your media at a quality close to cinema screen quality. The dual screen user interface is one of the most interesting features as this allows you to run 2 applications on the phone at the same time without any sort of time lag or delay. You can even check on the status of both the applications thanks to the dual screen.
Connectivity options of the LG BL40 Chocolate include class 10 GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA and Wi-Fi. All of these ensure that you can access the internet wherever you are. This makes the LG BL40 Chocolate ideal for you whether you are a music lover, a social networking addict or even both!
The battery life of the phone is quite decent as with moderate use, it lasts for a good 3-4 days. Transferring data across a short distance is easy via the Bluetooth chip built in the phone itself. In addition to all these features, the LG BL40 Chocolate also comes with an inbuilt GPS receiver. This allows you to use the phone, as a navigation tool, for hiking or even just simply to find your way around. Capturing your precious memories is another one of the many reasons to get the LG BL40 Chocolate, as the 5 MP camera captures photos with excellent detail. The best thing is that all these features are incorporated in a simple user friendly interface which is easy to manage.
LG BL40 Chocolate Links:
Out of the hundreds of smart phones launched into the market this year, the Blackberry Curve 8520 definitely stands out. With the key aim of attracting business users, the Curve 8520 more than just does this job. You get all the top class features that you would expect in a phone of its class.
One of the main advantages of the Blackberry Curve 8520 is the fact that it is slimmer when compared to other Blackberry devices. The thickness of 13.9 mm ensures that you can slip the phone into even the smallest pocket without any problem. The weights of 106 g might make the phone a little too heavy for some people, but anyone used to standard Blackberry devices should not have a problem with it. The screen of the phone is really good as it allows up to 65000 colors to be displayed at a 320 x 240 pixel resolution. The size of this screen is good enough for you to use it to display all your favorite media and is a feast for the eyes by any standard. The Blackberry Curve 8520 has a full QWERTY keyboard which lies below the screen making it easy for anyone to type out messages even if you are stuck with large thumbs!
The dedicated music keys on the body of the phone make it easy for you to access the media player when you want to listen to music. Storing a large music library is not a problem as you can expand the internal memory of the phone up to 16 GB using the microSD memory card slot. Connectivity options such as class 10 GPRS, class 10 EDGE, HSCSD and Wi-Fi complete the image of the phone as a social networking utility as well.
Blackberry Curve 8520 Links:
The Toshiba TG01 is being considered as one of the best phones to be ever unveiled, having been announced a long time before the MWC 2009 actually took place. There is good reason for the hype due to some monstrous specifications, which include the faster processor ever, the 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a monstrous 4.1 inch WVGA display and a super slim body of 9.9 mm.
However, one thing that is to be noted about the Toshiba TG01 is the size of the phone itself. Though it is unbelievably thin, the fact that it has a big screen means that the phone itself is quite wide and resembles an 80s tablet PC and might make you think twice of carrying it around in a jeans pocket due to its cumbersome nature. However, because of the size of the screen, it is great for someone who would like to watch movies on the go or for someone who like web browsing on a large screen.
The Toshiba TG01 has a 3.2 megapixel camera which doesn’t really have a variety of options to talk about. Though there are various resolutions, autofocus and a timer, which prove to be the saving grace of the camera, it is no match for the camera of the iPhone 3GS, which doesn’t have a big reputation as such. Also, due to the absence of night mode as well as a flash, there is no chance of you getting good snaps in the night time.
The video recording does get a facelift in the form of MPEG – 4 recording, which can be done in 2 different qualities, VGA or WVGA. However, there is a big downside to the video recording in the sense that it takes ages to start the video recorder by which that precious moment will have long passed!
The phone has been released in June earlier this year.
Toshiba TG01 Links:
The T-Mobile G1 Touch might, at first glance, just look like yet another bland phone from HTC, but just 5 minutes of usage will convince you that it is much more than that. In fact, it is one of the best phones around.
Starting off with the display of the T-Mobile G1 Touch, it is a tad smaller than that of the iPhone, but it is more crisp and clear than that of the iPhone.
This Google phone will require that you have a Google account before you are able to do anything, including activating the phone for use on the T-Mobile network. Since I wasn’t really on their G-1 plan (which is a 3G and EDGE package which gives me 400 messages free every month), I couldn’t really get the phone activated immediately for this review so I had to get some support from T-Mobile. I didn’t really realize the problem immediately, but only found out about it a couple of days after. Once you have activated the phone, you will be directed to the main screen, which basically has 4 default icons known as Dialer, Contacts, Maps and Browser.
The T-Mobile G1 Touch does disappoint in one sense as the phone is fairly heavy due to the presence of the full – QWERTY keyboard, which can be revealed by sliding it sideways. The colour combination used for the keyboard is quite disappointing because, though the backlight shows up the silver present on the keys, the orange present on the ALT key is barely visible. The problem worsens if you are in a low – light area as you will surely not be able to see the ALT key.
The bundled apps are not so bad. There is an IM, built – in Calendar, web browser, integration with Amazon MP3, mobile YouTube, but the best among them was the Google Maps, which is absolutely amazing.
The Sony Ericsson Yari is one of the latest mobile phone to have been unveiled by Sony Ericsson in recent times and is set to be released during the fourth quarter of 2009. The phone makes use of gesture control software and is sure to be tagged as a game – centric phone. It has a normal slider form factor and comes enabled with 3.5G connectivity. The phone also has an accelerometer, which can be used to change the orientation of the screen according to how you are holding it. It can also be used when playing games. Gesture controlled gaming is the main feature of this amazing phone.
The Sony Ericsson Yari is surely one of the best phones around with motion and gesture gaming. There are the A and B buttons which are present in the phone as gaming keys. The phone comes pre-loaded with a game organiser known as Carousel and also has a game downloading service known as PlayNow. Carousel enables you to get access to the games right from the main screen. Get ready to immerse yourself into some serious gaming with a dynamic gaming experience.
The Sony Ericsson Yari utilises a 2.4 inch display which has a resolution of 240×320 pixels. Regardless of whether you are using the phoen for gaming or for multimedia purposes, the display is a real pleasure to use and makes your overall experience a great one. The phone is also a deviation from the norm, making use of microSD memory cards rather than the usual M2 cards. The stereo speakers complement the music player extremely well and ensures that you have a great music experience. Music Call is a great experience whereby you can share your favourite tunes with the caller at the other end while on a call.
Sony Ericsson Yari Links:
One of the most surprising absences during the CommunicAsia show, which was held in the end of June, was the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2, which is supposed to be only the second smartphone to be released by Sony Ericsson which will be running on the WinMo platform. It is also supposed to be the second in the series of XPERIA smartphones, the first being the X1.
Regardless of the fact that Sony Ericsson have still not officially unveiled the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2, there have been plenty of pictures and details leaked with regard to the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2. The most noticeable upgrades given to the X2 seem to be the bigger touchscreen, which is sure to be a hit among fans as it is nearly .5 inches (3.5 inches) bigger than the screen of the X1 (3 inches). The screen will be converted to an OLED display rather than the ordinary LCD screen.
Snapshots of the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 show that this phone will also have a full QWERTY keyboard which will can be revealed by sliding the screen to its right. The screen will also change orientation to landscape mode when the keyboard is slid out.
The X2 is widely expected to be released with the Windows Mobile 6.5 platform, which means that, since Microsoft is still working on the platform, the X2 surely won’t be released before fall.
Since mostly pictures have only been leaked, the details with regard to the Qualcomm processor have not been revealed yet. However, the one thing that is clear is that the processor is sure to be faster than that of the X1, and that the software will be tweaked to ensure a higher level of performance. 512 MB of RAM is present in addition to the memory card slot.
Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 Links:
The Sony Ericsson T707 Elle is more commonly known by its nickname, Elle. The T707 is one of the latest handsets which have been unveiled by Sony Ericsson and is set to be released during the course of this year. The T707 is, by no means, a high end phone as it has a fairly modest specifications sheet, making it a phone targeted mainly at the mid – range segment of the market. The phone also has a decent set of music features, but not enough to match a Walkman phone. The phone is quite light at 98 grams, meaning that it won’t feel like a brick in your pocket. The T707 makes use of a QVGA display which measures in at 2.2 inches. The device is set to be released in 5 colour schemes – purple, green, blue, black and orange.
The Sony Ericsson T707 Elle has support for 2G as well as 3G networks, thereby making it compatible for use wherever you go. The phone also has a wide array of connectivity options, the top most among them being the HSDPA connectivity, which enables you to surf the internet as well as download items at broadband speed. The bluetooth connectivity enables you to connect with and transfer data between 2 phones.
The Sony Ericsson T707 Elle has a fair amount of onboard memory which can be expanded to a maximum of 1 GB by inserting a M2 memory card. The camera of the phone is 3.15 megapixels and it has fixed focus, meaning that the pictures won’t be super clear, but it will be good enough for the occasional snap. The lack of autofocus on the camera hampers the quality of the pictures taken. The phone has a round display on the front panel of the phone.
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