TechBower » Cell Phones

Still the best?

Andrew — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 03:35:04 +0000

As you all probably know Apple came out with the new iPhone known as the 3G. Is it worth the hype? From my point of view, of course it is, Apple made it. Others might disagree, which is not a problem. I do have to give props to HTC, LG, and Samsung for coming out with products that are comparable to the 3G. Not, I don’t care what you say, the 3G can’t be touched! I don’t give any credit to any of them because they stole the layout from Apple. They did put their own little touch to the interface, but overall they copied it straight from Apple. The only mobile device corporation that is in the running with the 3G is Blackberry. Yes, I know Blackberry devices aren’t touch screen devices, but the OS that Blackberries are equipped with are very compatible with any computer you have. News has been released that Blackberry is coming out with a touch screen Blackberry, so I will be looking forward to reading about that. Anyways, Apple really worked to improve the speed and how the applications worked compared to the old iPhone. They truly listened to the consumers and did all they could to improve the phone to make it the best device consumers could possible get. Some attributes that Apple improved are the Maps and GPS application, iPhone in Enterprise, the 3G speed of course, and the application store. The new GPS application used a combination of Wi-Fi, cell tower, and 3G. Some added features that are equipped with the application are finding your location and of course points of interests (POI). Also, you can find directions to any place your heart desires. The last feature and probably my favorite is seeing traffic. Your iPhone can let you know where traffic is and is also capable of finding an alternate route to your destination. Next we have Enterprise. Apple really stressed the business part of iPhone through Enterprise. Enterprise is an application that stresses push technology. In Enterprise, you are given push email, contacts, and calendar. The second you change an appointment or meeting on your calendar, it changes it wherever you can access your calendar. This works great for the business world because it is instant. Apple introduced the application store when they came out with the first iPhone and the iTouch. It started to grow as companies made applications. Since the 3G has come out, the application store has been on a huge and fast growth spurt. The reason for such a fast and large growth spurt is because Apple has created an application that helps you create your own application. So basically you can make any application you would like by using the application creator that Apple has added to the iPhone. I can’t wait to read about the new Blackberry because I honestly think it will give Apple a run for its money.

Did LG really make another Chocolate?

Andrew — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 03:31:08 +0000

Unfortunately that answer is yes. LG did make another chocolate cell phone, except this time, it’s not a slider. To me, the third chocolate is the same as the past two, minus the camera quality and memory upgrade. Other than that, the only physical difference is the first and second chocolates were sliders and the third and newest one is a flip. Oh, I did forget one feature that makes them completely different. The third phone has an FM transmitter. Wow! Man LG made a huge breakthrough by adding that feature now didn’t they. It almost seems like LG isn’t even moving forward with the Chocolate series. I mean who listens to the radio these days from devices? I can understand a car, but a mobile device? Come on people!!! One thing LG did do to move forward is add the 1 GB internal memory card. Okay enough ripping on LG because they did just come out with LG Dare, which I heard is giving the fellow touch screen devices a run for their money. Obviously LG’s focus wasn’t on the new Chocolate, but other than that, LG does make some of the best mobile devices out on the market today.

LG Dare Review

admin — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:05:10 +0000

Will the touch screen devices ever stop coming? Apparently not, and LG is determined to unseat Apple as the king in the touch screen phone department. But instead of coming out with just one superb device LG has taken a different approach and released a bunch of formidable devices that lack one major thing: Multitouch input and a killer user interface.

The Dare is one such device. Just released on “The Network” (Verizon) the Dare hopes to challenge not only the iPhone but also the just released Samsung Instinct (Sprint’s version of the iPhone which is selling like hot bread).

DESIGN:

The design of the phone is reminiscent of all the touch screen devices that have been released lately. The device has a 3 inch display and only three dedicated keys. It is comparably smaller than the iPhone and even the Samsung Instinct which beat it in terms of screen size. The device carries a nice stainless steel border which gives it a nice grip and weighing 3.76 ounces it’s pretty light yet does not feel like a cheap piece of plastic. The devices screen supports 240×400 pixel resolution and 262,000 colors. Not exceptional but still very good for its class.

The phone has a microSD slot along with a 3.2 megapixel camera which carries a LED flash.

SOFTWARE:

The software on the device is a slight improvement to most of the phones that are released on the Verizon network. While Verizon phones are known to be pretty good they do lack one major thing, a user friendly interface (thanks to V mobile). Fortunately the LG Dare improves on that.

The interface carries some nice features like the ability to arrange most used applications (such as contacts, email etc…) and even the ability to drag them to the home screen after which they can be arraigned to the users liking. You are also able to select a contact and have one touch access to either call, text or edit their details, something that is very intuitive which the iPhone lacks.

Typing on the Dare is easy and carries a few features that other touch screen devices lack, such as the ability to copy and paste text (something the iPhone lacks). Handwriting on the device is good but it’s much better to use the included stylus instead of your fingers unless you have long nails.

The proximity detector (which locks the touch display when the phone is raised to the ears (a feature of the iPhone) is very good. Also very good is the light sensor which automatically adjusts the backlight display to conserve on battery life.

PERFORMANCE:

The device’s camera is great and took excellent photographs. Call quality is good with minimal ambient noises and static. Speakerphone quality si admirable for and there is little difference in quality when on the speakerphone.

Video playback is great and the EV-DO feature is grand with webpage’s downloading in mare seconds. Sound quality is good but if you’re interested in listening to your tunes on the phone you might want to get a stereo headset.

Talk time is 4.6 hours and the standby time is 15 days.

CONCLUSION:

To sum it up the LG Dare is a great touch screen device and is proof that with each new phone LG comes closer to delivering an iPhone worthy opponent.

Sony Mylo 2 Review

admin — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:31:06 +0000

First generation Mylo brought a lot of bang for the buck, but despite that still left a lot to be desired. Sony has learned from its mistakes and the second generation Mylo improves a lot on the original product.

DESIGN:

The design is a great improvement above the first generation Mylo. While the first generation looked like a cheap plastic toy the latest generation has done away with most the plastic parts that gave the first generation of the device such a cheap feel. But that has come with a sacrifice to weight (the new device weighs 6.8 ounces). Fortunately Sony has included a soft carrying case so it can easily be slipped into a handbag or backpack without getting scratched. In terms of size the device is 5.2 inches in width, 2.6 inches tall and 0.8 inch thick. Not exactly a cell phone competitor but then again Sony is not marketing this as an alternative to a cell phone which is a wise move since the device does not support any type of cellular technology. The device carries an impressive 3.5 inch diagonal touch screen WVGA display.

Navigating the device can be done via the slide out full QWERTY keyboard, touch sensitive controls that line the screen or the joystick that is located on the left side of the device. The placement is a little awkward since most users are used to operating a joystick with the right instead of the left hand.

The slide out QWERTY keyboard is an improvement over the last one. While the keys are a bit small, the spacing helps to fix that. The only major problem with the keyboard is the number keys are not highlighted so it takes a little getting used to before typing out numerals on the system without a hitch.

For those familiar with the Sony PSP you will find that the design of the Mylo 2 is pretty reminiscent of it especially with the location off on off switch, and Memory Stick Due expansion slot (which accepts up to 8GB cards).

SOFTWARE

The software is quite easy to use and the menus are self explanatory so navigating the device is not a hassle. The device now supports widgets which makes it easier to access the devices features. The device is essentially a messaging system and comes with dedicated support for Google Talk, AIM and Yahoo. It’s kind of sad that the system does not carry dedicated support for the biggest IM service which happens to be MSN. Which means anyone who is interested in using the Mylo w and mostly uses MSN Live Messenger will have to import their MSN contacts to Yahoo before being able to.

The system also supports such things as music playback (including WMA protected/unprotected) and to top it off YouTube.

PERFORMANCE:

Performance leaves much to be desired. While music playback is good it might not be on par with MP3 devices. The system does support features such as album art and the ability to make playlists quickly. Unfortunately video performance is not so great with the device only supporting MPEG-4 at the moment. On the other hand the 1.3 megapixel camera is quite good and is worthy upgrade to the original device.

CONCLUSION:

The Mylo2 is a hard sell because with a price tag of $299 it puts it in the range of most high end cell phones (including the new 3G iPhone). With lack of support for any other type of connection other than Wi-Fi (WPA and WPA2) it’s not practical if you are interested in using your device on the road. While it does support unlimited subscription to (available at 9,000 McDonald’s, 70 IHOP restaurants, and 600 hotels) it doesn’t compensate for its lack of cellular service (even Bluetooth would have been good).

So unless you are only interested in a messenger for HotSpot access the Mylo might not be your cup of tea at the moment.