Android App Review: Exchange by TouchDown

Posted on 11th March 2010 by garret in Droid News | Tags: , , ,

Name:  Exchange by TouchDown
Publisher: Nitrodesk
Price: 5 day free demo, $19.99 for the key

Description:
With TouchDown™, your office email, calendar and contacts are available right at your fingertips. You can choose how long to retain your email on your phone. You can choose to download ALL your exchange contacts to TouchDown™ any time you want, but get all changes automatically every time you check your email.

You get quick access to your day’s agenda, optimized for viewing on your phone. You can choose to dismiss past events to simplify the view. (Taken directly from the TouchDown website)

Introduction:
While Android’s integrated corporate E-mail and calendar functions will be sufficient for most users, in our organization we found them to be lacking in a few areas. First, there was no task syncing with the Exchange server. Second, E-mail attachments were unable to be downloaded to our handset. This led to some searching for alternatives. That’s when we came across Exchange by TouchDown.

After installing from Android Market, and starting the application, just click the gear button to access the setup wizard. If you’re your own IT department, you should know all of the answers right away. If not, contact your IT department.  Once setup, Exchange by TouchDown will handle all of your corporate E-mail, calendaring, contacts, and tasks.  If you’ve had E-mail and calendar setup on your handset previously, you’ll either want to disable them or remove them completely.

Pros:
E-mail, task, contact, and calendar syncing
Supports syncing by Exchange 2003, Exchange 2007, ActiveSync, and USB to Outlook
Downloads E-mail attachments
Easy to use once setup
Four widgets (universal, E-mail, calendar, tasks)

Cons:
Price (while most companies that can afford an Exchange server won’t notice the hit, users purchasing the software themselves will)
Setup can be difficult if you’re not aware of the settings
Would like more widgets with more size options (I find 3×2 annoying)

Features Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Usability Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Setup Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Widgets Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Final Thoughts:
While this application was nice while I tested it, I found that I personally didn’t need the extra features.  I’ve uninstalled it.  Out of the four users in our organization, only one runs TouchDown.  That being said, for 25% of the DROID users in our organization, there was a need, and TouchDown met it with flying colors

Steven Brady is the operator of Android App Review. He loves his Android phone and writes about his software findings. For review WITH screenshots, head on over to Android App Review. All the latest happenings with the Nexus One at Nexus One News.

Something Revolutionary ? The Emblaze Mobile First Else

Launched in London this week is the new Emblaze Mobile First Else smartphone.  It doesn’t ring as loud a bell as an HTC or Blackberry smartphone, but you have the promise of a very capable and remarkably unique handset that, if the Israel-based Emblaze Mobile company plays its cards well, could give the major players a run for their money.

The Smartphone Challenge

Emblaze is not new to the business as it’s been there over the last decade, providing its markets with low cost featured phones and providing mobile telephone technologies to other companies as an OEM.  Recently, it embarked on an ambitious project called “Monolith” teaming up with Japanese Access, known for its NetFront browser and co-developer for the Palm OS.

The result of this 2-year joint technical collaboration is another new Access-flavored Linux-based operating system called Else Intuition to run the new First Else smartphone sporting a slab design inspired by the monolith slab in Stanley Kubrick’s movie 2001:A Space Odyssey.

The challenge for the Emblaze Mobile First Else is convincing the tech savvy smartphone market that it is as good, if not better, than the emerging Android smartphones sweeping the market. The world of smartphone may still have room for the new Else Intuition side by side with the Android and other platforms that are slowly losing favour in the market.

For sure, the First Else’s UI is nothing like any UI in the market today. It sports a unique menu set arranged in a dial-up-like fashion and is designed to be operated with just one hand courtesy of its gesture-sensitive multi-touch capacitive touchscreen and a persistent control points on the right side of its large 3.5-inch WVGA display.

The new handset is not wanting of upscale features found only in expensive smartphones.  You get a 3/3.5G data connectivity on a quad band GLSM handset powered by the same Texas Instrument OMAP 3430 engine that is found in the iPhone 3Gs, Nokia N900 and the Motorola Droid.

It has WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR, mini USB 2.0, GPS, accelerometer and primary sensors 3.5mm headphone jack, and a high end 5-megapixel autofocus camera with image stabilization. There’s an internal Flash memory of either 16 GB or 32 GB but without expandability options.  It has a generous 1450 mAh LI battery but the talk times remain unreleased

Lastly, Emblaze Mobile knows the value of having an online apps store like what iPhone has.  It knows too well that iPhone’s success has been largely due to its hundreds of thousands of apps and games downloadable to make the handset as exciting to use as it was when taken out of the box the first time.  It has readied its apps store with an API it is releasing with the handset for developers to start developing mobile application software on its new platform.

Availability

Emblaze Mobile has recently renamed itself as Else Ltd.  It can be a bit awkward referring to the new smartphone as Else’s First Else.  But that’s just how it should be called.  It is expected to debut in the UK this spring and made available to the European and US markets thereafter.  Else Ltd is already talking with various major network providers in Europe and the US.  Pricing has yet to be announced though we expect this to be anything affordable.

You can visit Best Mobile Contracts to see all the latest mobile deals available. You can also look at the best Emblaze Mobile First ELSE contracts on offer. They also compare the best deals for mobile broadband

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Lg Intouch Max Gw620 – The World?S First Lg Android

Posted on 10th March 2010 by garret in Droid News | Tags: , , , ,

After all the other big phone makers have joined the Android bandwagon with the notable exception of Nokia, we now have the 2nd largest Korean phone maker LG Electronics releasing its first – the LG InTouch Max GW620.  Whew, quite a long name.

Announced sometime back in September last year, the GW620 was launched in November.  It is now available in Britain from T-mobile at a mere ₤20 a month on a 2-year contract with unlimited data as well as from Virgin Media for ₤22 a month on a shorter 18-month contract with unlimited text and data.

It comes in three color choices – black, gray and blue.

20,000 Apps

This is LG’s answer to the increasing popular demand for Google’s open source Android OS for mobile phones.  It still uses the older Android 1.5 “cupcake” but it could be open for upgrading to the latest version.

LG’s Sales and Marketing Director John Barton has intimated that this launch effectively ends its “expensive and exclusive applications” for mobile phones and opens up an “impressive  20,000 plus applications which are easy to download, and of which 65% are free – and this selection is growing every day.”

That’s mostly the edge of Android phones over other smartphones in other platforms like Windows Mobile or even some Linux-based OS and is following on the example of the iPhone with its popular Apple online application store which never fails to make the iPhone as good as new right out of the box with newer and more exciting apps every time.

Smart Feature Set

In some markets, it is also known as the LG Eve and sports a full QWERTY side slider body measuring a relatively hefty 109 x 54.5 x 15.9mm at 139 grams.  It houses an impressive feature pack that while not outstanding, is at par with other upscale Android smartphones having the same full QWERTY slider functionality like the Motorola Droid.

Hardware wise, this is a 3G smartphone with HSDPA at 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA for sensibly high speed internet access that greatly benefits its social networking updating capability.  It’s also your basic quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE on 2G.  There’s WiFi 802.11n/g, Assisted GPS as well as local data connectivity options such as Bluetooth 2,0 for wireless and microUSB 2,0 for wired data synching.

TheLG InTouch Max GW620 carries a 5-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, image stabilization, face detection and Geo-tagging as well as an upscale 30fps frame rate on its D1 (720 x 480) video recording.

A bit disappointing is its smallish 3-inch display that uses a mere resistive touchscreen technology and a low QVGA resolution when other Android handsets sport larger screens with wide-VGA resolution and capacitive touchscreens.  But we won’t quibble for a very reasonably priced contract.  A gravity accelerometer is standard for auto-rotate viewing.

Its multimedia support is par for the course with stereo FM as well as listening options on a 3.5mm headphone jack and Bluetooth A2DP support. Internal memory is relatively modest at a mere 150 MB but you get the usual microSD expansion slot for up to32 GB.  Its powerful 1500 mAh lithium-polymer battery powers the handset for up to 8 hours of talk time and up to 600 hours on standby when fully charged.

You can visit Moby1 to compare all the best mobile phone contracts. There you can compare all the latest LG InTouch Max GW620 deals on offer. You can also search through the best deals available for PAYG phones

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Still Interested In The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10

Very few smartphones have elicited as much interest and awe as the announced Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 made early November last year.  Feature wise, it’s everything people expect an upscale smartphone is, other than the fact that it is the most powerful Android handset running on the fastest CPU at that time.

Sony has missed its promised launch date, missed the holidays, missed the Chinese New Year and missed Valentine – occasions when it would have been easier to let loose some wads of bills for a truly remarkable smartphone rumoured to cost above the €600 price point.   Is it now too late?  That may be a matter of perspective.

At the recent World Mobile Congress held in Barcelona, the second quarter of the year will rain down not a few Android smartphones that will eclipse any technological or aesthetic edge the X10 now enjoys, on paper.  It’s now nearly 4 months from the official announcement and you only have one more month for the promised 1st quarter 2010 release of the X10.

We were not entirely surprised at the MWC  that Sony would already be releasing two X10 derivatives in the Mini and Mini Pro smartphones sporting a slightly inferior set of features, like a smaller screen and less powerful CPUs but still using the same Android 1.6 Cupcake when all the others are using the 2.0/2.1 Éclair version already.

Revisiting its Features

But as the first Android smartphone from the one of the top five mobile phone leaders on earth, it’s a worth the wait. We only hope the next 4-5 weeks before the quarter ends will see the X10 coming out.  The handset is now in the Sony Ericsson website confirming much of the features we’ve known since its announcement. Its feature set is worth revisiting if only to rekindle our appetite for it.

The X10 is powered by the 1Gz Qualcomm QSD8250 Snapdragon CPU now used in many high end smartphones.  Sony’s technical product edge here being eroded fast.
It runs on the older Android 1.6 Cupcake when its rivals in the same class are starting to use the newer 2.0/2.1 Éclair version. Nevertheless, the world is still eager what the Rachel or UX-tweaked Android can deliver.
There’s the Timescape and Mediascape which appears to integrate the various messaging and media options on the handset, respectively.
It has the jaw-dropping 4-inch WideVGA capacitive touchscreen with a scratch-resistant coating and an accelerometer for auto-rotate viewing.  At the moment, this makes the X10 the Android smartphone with the largest screen size with the Motorola Droid coming a close second at 3.7 inches.
Its 8-megapixel autofocus and touchfocus camera with LED flash remains challenged by only those new non-android phones having 12 megapixel cameras like the Samsung M8920.  But with its other features like video light, image stabilization, face/smile detection, 8x digital zoom,  WVGA video recording at 30fps,  geo-tagging from its GPS receiver and red-eye reduction, nothing comes close as having all the features in one package.

Everything else about the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10is as upscale as you can get with 3G/HSDPA, WiFi 82.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR and A2DP, a 1GB internal memory with microSD support for up to 16 GB, A-GPS with Wisepilot navigation, a digital compass with its magnetometer and 3.5mm headphone jack.

Pay a visit to Moby1 to compare all the best mobile phone deals. There you can find all the best offers for Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 available online. You can also search through the best Pay as you go deals on offer.

Android Looks Set to Exterminate the Mobile Phones Market

Many people have been waiting on baited breath for news from Google to make an official announcement about a rumoured “gPhone”, the internet search giant’s first attempt in the mobile phones industry.

This phone has been hotly tipped by industry insiders and internet geeks as the true opposition to Apple’s iPhone in the latest mobile phone war. Both companies have developed a perception of “hipness” in “techy” circles and seem likely to be direct competitors when getting the image-conscious buyer to buy the latest mobile gadget.

In early November this anticipation was dashed as Google, along with an alliance of mobile phone-related companies, declared its mobile phone project was not for a single handset. Rather, the company is planning to develop a platform, or operating system, that will allow greater functionality to all mobile phones. The formation of the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), which includes such industry heavyweights as Samsung, Motorola, T-Mobile and O2’s parent Telephonica, is gathering to support Google’s venture, called Android.

Android is set to be the next multi-platform mobile software operating on many different handsets. It promises to bring not only an operating system but also middleware and key applications. Many of Google’s most popular applications like GMail and Google Maps already have mobile versions phone users can run through Java. Android intends to make applications like this more functional on mobile phones but also to provide a fuller internet experience on the go.

While mobile phones are seeing speed increases, they still struggle with web pages when browsing the internet with HSDPA and GPRS and often users are stuck having to view cut-down WAP pages instead. With the gathered intelligence from Google and other partners, the belief is that that all mobile phones will have the capability for full web browsing.

Aside from the internet focus, developers will be provided an easier platform to develop their applications for Android. Aside from Google’s own applications, it will be much simpler for independent software developers to make programs that not only work on multiple phones but also collaborate with other applications.

When asked at its announcement whether Android will turn into an actual gPhone in the future, Google said this is not a gPhone per se, but that Android provides the ideal breeding ground for their own mobile phones.

But while consumers are speculating over one particular phone they fail to see the possibility that Android will effectively create thousands of “gPhones”. So until the announcement of a specific Google-branded handset, everyone will just have to wait and drool over the fake pictures posted on websites for the next year or two.

Andy Adams is a technical writer who is working in the mobile communications and computing industry.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10

A successful product is often one that appears at the right time when the demand is there and no one else could meet that demand.  Advanced product announcements among mobile phone makers are often used to gauge this demand.  Even product leaks about new mobile phones on the drawing board can be used to gauge how the demand will be.

When the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 first leaked to the online mobile community, any marketing expert can already sense the demand taking shape from the anticipation generated by people in the online mobile forums.  And when it was finally announced in November last year, that demand reached fever highs and you know you have a successful product in your hands.

It was no different when the PS3 was announced.  But just like the PS3, the X10 got delayed and is now in danger of suffering the same lackluster reception the PS3 had when it finally launched more than a year after it was announced.

The X10 is now almost 4 months old on paper after its announcement. It missed the holidays, the New Year, the Chinese New Year and Valentine’s.  There’s not that much festive occasion between now and the end of the quarter to give anyone an excuse to buy the X10 at the speculated price of €600 – one of the highest for a smartphone. But still, it’s too early to tell and the leading Japanese mobile phone maker has 4-5 weeks before the 1st quarter of the year ends.

Taking Stock Once More

The Sony Ericsson website has the X10 prominently featured and that should be a hint that it’s forthcoming pretty soon.  The recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona showed a couple of X10 derivatives – the Mini and the QWERTY slider MiniPro which are watered-down versions.  But if anything, these new handsets prove the X10 could be out before the 2nd quarter release of these derivatives. It may be worth refreshing our memories of what the X10 promises.

What  comes to mind immediately is that the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is the first Android smartphone from Sony Ericsson, using the most powerful 1 GHz Qualcomm QSD8250 Snapdragon CPU that is now getting into a number of Android smartphone like the Acer Liquid and the upcoming HTC Desire revealed at the MWC.

There’s just this issue of an older Android 1.6 sticking out like a sore thumb when, after all the delays, the X10 could be using the newer 2.0/2.1 Éclair version its rivals in its class already use. We figure the Rachel UI renamed the UX (User eXperience) can’t be ported into the new Éclair and Sony is standing firm on the older version. At any rate, the Android world reserve its comment until it sees what the UX-tweaked Android has to offer.

The immediate stand out is its gorgeous display that remains unchallenged as the largest for an Android handset.  It’s a 4-inch WideVGA capacitive touchscreen with a scratch-resistant coating as well as a gravity accelerometer.

Only the Motorola Droid/Milestone comes close at 3.7 inches and also the upcoming HTC Desire.  Its imaging has few equals and there are only few with 12 megapixel cameras and high definition 720 video recording to take it down.

Otherwise, its 8-megapixel autofocus/touchfocus camera with LED flash, image stabilization, face/smile detection, 8x digital zoom,  red-eye reduction, WVGA video recording at 30fps with video light,  and geo-tagging from its GPS receiver are collectively unparalleled  among camera smartphones in any class or price point.

You can visit Moby1 to compare all the best mobile phone contracts. There you can compare all the latest Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 deals on offer. You can also search through the best Pay as you go deals on offer.

A Look At Where The Smartphone Industry Is Headed In 2010

The smartphone industry is mainly driven by Apple’s market share growth that has been 10x higher than its competitors within the last year. On the other hand, Apple has faced tough competition by key smartphone manufacturers. For instance, Nokia sold approximately 18,441,000 units in the Q2 of 2009, and RIM (Blackberry) sold approximately 7,680,000 units. During the same period, Apple sold approximately 6,900,000 units. Other key players in the smartphone industry are HTC, Fujitsu, Sony and Motorola.

Android OS

For many consumers, the main competition is between the iPhone and the Android OS that was launched in the market in 2008. According to a survey conducted by ChangeWave, 4,068 consumers believe that Motorola Droid is a direct threat to the iPhone and also one of the best smartphones available on the market today due to the native support for Exchange, the unified contact list and the exceptional new mapping and navigation application from Google. Besides, 21% of respondents who plan to buy a smartphone within the next 3 months they would prefer a smartphone that features the Android OS.

However, in the Q4 of 2009 the Android OS was ranked second in consumer preferences among the key mobile operating systems, after iPhone OS which remains the number one choice for operating systems.

iPhone

If one needed to put a hierarchy in the needs of consumers that are targeted by smartphones, then the most important would be (1) handling phone calls including battery life and call quality; (2) sending text messages; (3) handling email; (4) navigating phone numbers; (5) featuring web browsing; and (6) featuring advanced customization. And the truth of the matter is that the iPhone performs well or even shines in all of the above.

Although competition is tough, the iPhone is currently the landmark of the smartphone industry, for the most part because it features amazing technological advancements. Without neglecting the fundamentals of a phone such as calling and texting, the iPhone offers the in-between extras of other higher priced phones such as web browsing and Bluetooth, and a unique 3.5″ touch screen that packs the device’s exceptional technology. The latest model of the iPhone, the iPhone 3GS, runs twice as fast as any 3G model, from switching apps to opening attachments and sending text messages, and has a longer battery life although high-speed networks need more power.

Android OS or iPhone?

One of the reasons that the iPhone will continue prevailing in 2010 is because the iPhone features the touch screen. The Android OS comes with a QWERTY slider keyboard that, no matter how good it is, it cannot have the same on demand, streamlined, glossy feel of the iPhone.

Another plus for the iPhone is that its advanced technology and high quality parts allow anyone to create and publish games and apps to the Internet for download, thus offering the ability to create a huge variety of apps specialized for the iPhone alone. This means that as the iPhone’s popularity increases, the developers of an application will enjoy greater earnings.

iPhone or any other competitor?

For its fiscal Q3, RIM reported $3.9 billion revenues, up 11% from fiscal Q2 and 41% from the Q3 of 2008. Net income for Q3 was $1.10 per share versus 69 cents in the Q3 of 2008. Research In Motion (RIM), the company behind the BlackBerry, delivered more than 10 million mobile communication devices during the Q3 alone. Besides, the company estimates an increase of 6.8% to its subscribers from 4.4 million to 4.7 million.

On the other hand, for many consumers and telecom analysts, RIM delivers short. If they do not rewrite their OS from scratch, they are likely to be left behind in the mobile OS battle and 2010 will be a critical year for them.

In conclusion, the iPhone is likely to dominate the market in 2010 as well. Although competition is tough, the RIM’s limitation to deliver on long-term and the fact that Android is still experimenting with Google being on the lead for entering its own branded phone, leaves iPhone on the top.

Christina Pomoni has acquired her MBA Finance from the American College of Greece. Her advanced familiarity with financial statement analysis, capital budgeting and market research has been acquired through her professional career at high-esteemed organizations.

Android compatible freebie games

Posted on 7th March 2010 by garret in Droid News | Tags: , , ,

One of the first things people try to look for when they get a new phone are the included video games. While most of the Google Android smartphones do not have that many games built in, there are plenty of free ones available from the Android Market. Here are a few that you might want to cock a snook at:

Bubblewrap – Not so much a video game as a way of life, this frighteningly realistic bubblewrap simulator allows you to do everything you could ever want to do with a piece of bubblewrap, without having to waste any valuable plastic packing material.

Using the touch screen, you can press the various bubbles in the wrap matrix, which then visibly burst, accompanied by a popping noise and a vibration from the phone. A great way to work out your frustrations and wear down your battery.

CB Blackjack – The classic card game gets the smartphone treatment with this classy version by Hudson Soft. It can be played with the touchscreen or the trackball, and is easy to control with either device.

CB Klondike – If you are a fan of Solitaire, which has been available with Windows operating systems since the year dot, then you will probably want this version, which is by the far the best version for the Android so far.

Charlene Beachside Reversi (aka CB Reversi) – A classy adaptation of the classic Othello board game, controllable either with the trackball or the the touch screen. There is also a two player mode, and a helper mode for beginners.

Coloroid – The aim of the game in Coloroid is to turn the whole screen one colour by choosing adjacent colours for your swelling mass to adsorb from a list at the side of the screen. Recommended.

Divide and Conquer! – If you have ever played the classic mobile game Trap before, then you will know how to play Divide and Conquer, which is basically the same game, but given the touch screen smart phone treatment. The aim of the game is to segregate a certain proportion of the screen from some deadly bouncing balls by drawing lines with your finger.

Vodafone offer a huge range of mobile phones and price plans. If you like smart phones, you will love the HTC Magic with its fast internet for express browsing and downloads.

Verizon Samsung Cell Phones – Get Unlimited Phone Plans Verizon Expensive, But What Data?

Customers can either choose to pay 20 cents for each outgoing or incoming text message or they can subscribe to a texting plan Are data plans now required for some phones on AT&T and Verizon’s networks?Yes, AT&T and Verizon are each requiring midrange cell phone owners to subscribe to data services as part of their cell phone purchase. Now the list of phones that require this plan has grown and includes new activations of the LG Chocolate Touch, LG EnV, LG VX8360, Motorola Entice W766, Nokia 7705 Twist, and Verizon Samsung Cell Phones Alias2 Verizon Samsung Cell Phones – Great news for those who like Yap is: Verizon Wireless cut the price of its unlimited voice plan of $ 99.99 to $ 69.99 per month in January 18 Then when it’s time for a new phone, and they have to, which has used the Internet in your pocket because they move to a 4G phone, possibly with a cost.

Verizon Samsung Cell Phones – In general, I am more than a little surprised that Google has chosen to also avoid any other of his companies and hardware partners and go with an offer of branded products in partnership with HTC and T-Mobile, especially since the price is age subsidized telephone ago. Verizon, which has to be partnering with Motorola Droid only a few months ago, is probably very angry that AT & T announced (plans, has five terminals can be located in Hall Android), and Sprint And pragmatically, what other options have agents and hardware developers? Symbian, withering on the vine? Windows Mobile, which has disappeared from the speed and the next iteration v7 Steve Ballmer to Keynote barely mentioned in the night? To make Google in the driver’s seat with Android, and now seems intent on maximum return on your investment. showroom had a cell phone from Verizon is a similar device, a variant of the Samsung computer Mondi LTE and WiMax hand, that contact over the Internet. LTE Samsung has a digital camera and a digital photo frame not only upload the photos automatically with the framework, but also the transmission of live video from the camera to the frame.

LG is not in the showroom of Verizon, but a statement Thursday that the company is a fast modem additional LTE in its booth at CES capacity of 100 Mbit / s discharge and 50 million bits of files – even faster than the optical fiber in the home, and much faster than Verizon’s first deployment of LTE. Sprint Curve 8530 is as fun as it is intelligent, with an emphasis on multimedia features like music and video player with dedicated buttons at the top of the phone, including a headphone jack for listening to 3.5 mm. CELL Toshiba TV: The TV does not require a remote control, but the crowd just wave their hands in the air to control the menu, fast forward movies, and the volume up or down. Blio E-Reader: The application blio e-Reader software, any laptop, netbook or a smartphone into a rich picture, a full color scanner off. The gadget like a laptop, which is independent of the keyboard, the screen is as big as the iPhone, and is ideal for reading digital books. Infoscape Intel: Intel multi-touch display, showed that between two and seven by seven foot high definition displays are constantly changing array of 576 blocks, each of them a picture, video or other piece of training Internet content 20,000 Source lines and more than 20 sources.

Check it out at Verizon Samsung Cell Phones.

Mother and writer

Symbian, Android or Windows – Which smartphone OS should you buy?

There’s a continuing battle going on between the various smartphone operating systems on the market, but which one’s best? Let’s take a look at the three front runners.

Sony Ericsson Satio

It’s fair to say that the Sony Ericsson Satio is easily one of the most hotly anticipated phones of the year. On the face of it, the big reason for the excitement is its 12 megapixel camera, and whilst that is a force to be reckoned with, there’s so much more to the Sony Ericsson Satio. It’s the first ‘Entertainment Unlimited’ phone, and that doesn’t just mean it combines Cyber-Shot and Walkman technology. On top of that, the Sony Ericsson Satio is also going to pull in social networking, high quality games and incredible video services to become a one-stop mobile entertainment hub. It promises far more than that, however, as the Sony Ericsson Satio is also powered by Symbian, giving it true smartphone capabilities, which will no doubt include its very own app store.

Motorola DEXT

The first important fact about the Motorola DEXT, and the bit that has made it so talked about, is its interface: Google Android, with MOTOBLUR riding on top. As it’s the first Android phone to focus on social networking as its key feature, the Motorola DEXT has garnered an awful lot of trade and consumer interest. It’s certainly more of a looker (especially in the interface, the newly designed MOTOBLUR UI) than previous Android phones, and that fusion of enhanced looks and the still-awesome power of Android makes the Motorola DEXT a very compelling phone indeed. If social networking is your thing, this is the phone for you.

HTC HD2

The Sony Ericsson Satio is easily the best camera phone on this list, and the Motorola DEXT has the edge in terms of interface, but why is the third phone, the HTC HD2, so much better? The answer lies within the processor hidden inside the HTC HD2, as it’s the first phone in the world to come with a 1GHz chip. Or, in other words, it’s little short of a laptop in the body of a mobile phone. So, the HTC HD2 promises to be faster and smoother than any other mobile phone on the market. Ally that with the unique 3D interface running on top of Windows Mobile, and you get a phone that truly is a joy to use. There’s also one other fact that can’t be denied…

Quite apart from it being hyper-fast, with an incredibly fluid interface, the HTC HD2 also has the biggest screen on the market, coming in at an unbelievable 4.3 inches. That’s a lot of real estate on screen, and it means that even previously fiddly menu bars are now finger-friendly, given the massive screen size. And as for the virtual keyboard on the HTC HD2, the extra size makes it little different from typing on a physical keyboard. Add in the rage of impressive features, including a 5 megapixel camera, broadband-fast internet access, a superb music player and GPS, and it adds up to a simple fact: The HTC HD2 is quite simply the best Windows Mobile phone, and maybe even the best PHONE, ever made, and it utterly canes the other two on this list.

Expert on mobile phones, having worked in the industry for over 7 years.