The Real Difference between the Apple iPhone and iPhone 3G

Finally, Apple has introduced a smartphone. The Apple iPhone 3G not only comes with high-speed mobile network access, but it is also possible to download new applications to the device. The capability to enhance the product by installing additional software makes the iPhone a worthy contender in the smartphone market. Advanced features, like A-GPS, Wi-Fi, 3G HSDPA, Bluetooth, and above all, the fantastic touch screen should make the iPhone a popular device for those who are looking for a high-end smartphone.

The Apple iPhone - launched one year ago – looks practically the same as the iPhone 3G. The differences between the first and second iPhone models can be found inside the unit.

Mobile network:

As the name implies, the iPhone can access high-speed 3G mobile networks built on the UMTS/WCDMA technology. The difference between the 2G GSM network and the 3G network is that even an entry-level 3G network provides data transmission rate of up 360 Kbps. If HSDPA technology is available - the iPhone 3G has HSDPA - the maximum data rate is 3.6Mbps.

Audio:

Audio quality during phone calls has considerably improved. Also the loudspeaker has better sound. The iPhone 3G comes with a standard 3.5mm stereo plug so you can use any headphones for listening to music. There's a built-in microphone for phone calls in the headset that's included with the product.

Battery life:

When the 3G mobile network connection is used for Internet access, the battery life is shorter than when Wi-Fi is used. This is peculiar behavior on a smartphone, and may indicate that updates will be on the way. Typically, the most energy-hungry method for Internet access on a smartphone is Wi-Fi, then 3G, and the least power hungry is GSM (GPRS or EDGE).

Software and Services:

With the built-in GPS receiver, maps are available for navigation. Photographers can post their pictures on shared maps on the Internet because GPS can save the exact location where the images were captured.

MobileMe (formerly .Mac) is a significant new service that will help iPhone owners to keep their data safe and in sync with their computers. You sign up to the service and make the initial sync on each Windows PC, Mac, iPod Touch, and iPhone you want to be in sync with other devices. Every time you create a new calendar entry on your PC, or snap a new picture on the iPhone, the information is automatically stored on your account on MobileMe server. Then, it is pushed to each device you have registered for MobileMe service. The same applies to email, notes, and other files. Annual subscription for individual account costs USD 99.

For free sync/backup service that works with iPhone, we recommend Zyb that can sync calendar, contacts and notes.

Corporate email users who have an Microsoft Exchange system at work, can read and send email on the iPhone using the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync feature.

App Store for application downloads

Apple wants to control all software downloaded into iPhones for security and business reasons. The company has designed App Store, a dedicated online store that offers free and for-sale applications for the iPhone. You don't have to connect the iPhone to a PC for syncing with iTunes, because App Store can be accessed over the air.

The iPhone can't, however, run Java applications that are popular on other smartphones and mobile phones.

Tip: If you are contemplating the bits, bytes and prices of data plans, make full use of the iPhone's Wi-fi capability. If you have access to a Wi-Fi hotspot at home, in the office, at the campus or at the mall, you can use Wi-Fi for all your Internet and email access instead of 3G or 2G mobile network. This way, you can minimize data usage via mobile network and you can subscribe to a smaller data plan.

Apple iPhone 3G Key Features and Specifications:

• 3.5-inch touch-screen. Display resolution is 480x320 pixels. The display can viewed in landscape and horizontal position.
• Multi-touch technology allows control gestures like zoom in/out using two fingers simultaneously.
• Quad-band GSM world phone for networks operating in 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz frequency bands. EDGE data connectivity.
• As a dual mode phone, it can connect to 3G UMTS/WCDMA networks operating in 850, 1900, 2100 MHz frequencies, where available. High-speed data download (HSDPA) via 3G network provides maximum rate of 3.6Mbps (HSDPA may not be available even if 3G UMTS is available).
• WLAN for connecting to the Internet via Wi-Fi hotspots.
• A-GPS (Assisted GPS). A GPS receiver that can pick up satellite signals faster if something happens to be blocking clear view to the sky.
• 2-megapixel digital camera. No video recording. Pictures are marked with geographic position obtained from GPS (an activity also known as geotagging).
• Music player can play songs saved in MP3, AAC, Protected AAC, AIFF, Apple Lossless, Audible, and WAV formats.
• Video playback of H.264 (640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second), MPEG-4 (640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second) movie formats.
• Stereo headphones with microphone. iPhone has 3.5mm stereo plug.
• Text messaging (SMS) and email. No built-in picture messaging (MMS) feature.
• Browser software for viewing Web (HTML) pages.
• Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR feature for high-speed data transfer between compatible Bluetooth devices.
• USB 2.0 interface for hooking up the phone to a Mac or Windows PC via cable. iTunes 7.7 or higher required for data sync.
• 8 GB or 16GB of internal storage space. No removable memory card.
• OS X, a Unix-based operating system software is powering the iPhone.
• The 8GB model is available in black only, but the 16GB model comes in black or white.
• Battery life: talk time up to 10 hours on GSM network and 5 hours on 3G network. Standby time up to 12 days. When used as an iPod MP3 player, audio playback up to 24 hours and video playback up to 7 hours.
• Dimensions (height, width, depth): 4.5 x 2.4 x 0.48 inches / 115 x 62 12 mm. Weight 4.7 oz./133 g

In addition to the smartphone unit, the package includes stereo headset with microphone and a button for answering calls or muting audio, dock connector to USB Cable, USB Power Adapter, user guide, screen polishing cloth, and SIM eject tool.

Acer Aspire One Mini Laptop - Between PDA and Notebook

The world has taken yet another step towards truly mobile computing. One of the major PC manufacturers, Acer, has designed a mini-laptop, which is about the size of a mass-market book. Yet, it has a qwerty keyboard and 8.9-inch screen. The Acer Aspire One also comes with Wi-Fi, 3G, hard disk or flash memory for storage, and Linux or Windows operating system.

A mini-laptop is a perfect companion for anyone who regularly has to carry a computer. Maybe it is to a friend's house, to a hotel, to the college, or just the short distance from study to kitchen. The point is that the device is so small that you don't hesitate to take it with you. Ultra-portable PCs may lack a CD drive, huge storage space, or processing power to edit videos, because these features have been sacrificed for ultimate portability.

Our own experience with a mini-laptop is that a few missing features is worth the sacrifice for anyone who wants to have a laptop at hand practically anywhere they go. Typically, new individual usage patterns start to emerge with a tablet or ultra-portable PC. Someone may use a mini-notebook for instant messaging, reading news, posting blog entries, someone else for video chatting and viewing YouTube clips, or listening to music.

Acer Aspire One key features and specifications:

• 8.9-inch color screen in 1024 x 600-pixel resolution. It is a backlit CrystalBrite LED display.
• Qwerty keyboard.
• WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g Internet connectivity from hotspots.
• 3G or Wimax for high-speed mobile connectivity. It is good to keep in mind that Wimax is a future wireless technology, and not yet widely available.
• Linpus Linux Lite orMicrosoft Windows XP Home operating system software.
• Memory card slot that can read and write SD, MMC, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, and xD cards.
• 8GB of flash memory or 80GB hard drive for storage space.
• Webcam, Acer CrystalEye, capable of live video streaming and video conferences.
• VGA, Ethernet, and USB ports.
• 512MB or 1GB of RAM memory.
• Intel Atom processor.
• Available in four colors: dark blue, white, golden brown and pink.
• Dimensions of the unit: width 24 cm, height 17 cm.

Source: InfoGadget

Samsung i780 Review

The Samsung i780 is Samsung’s newest thin, QWERTY smart phone that runs Windows Mobile. Before being officially announced, the Samsung i780 was aptly called, the Blackjack II, after all, it is the second of Samsung’s Windows Mobile Device and still retains the Blackberry-like form factor.

Design

The Samsung i780 is a solid device, though larger, wider, and heavier than the Samsung i600. The Samsung i780’s larger form factor is understandable since it houses a larger screen. The screen on this device is touch sensitive, has 65k colors and is one of the first devices I’ve seen that has a 320 x 320 screen resolution. The Samsung i780 is not made from cheap plastic materials, the back cover alone has a somewhat leathery look and feel to it.

Features

Before I get to the Samsung i780’s feature, let me give you a run down of its specifications. The Samsung i780 is 3G, EDGE, HSDPA, and GPRS capable. This phone also has a 2 mega pixel camera with 2x digital zoom, WiFi, built-in GPS, 256MB or ROM, 128MB of RAM, Marvell PXA 310 processor up to 624 MHz power, and is powered by Windows Mobile 6.
The Samsung i780 is one of the more powerful Windows Mobile devices I’ve seen. It has three input options: Touch Screen, Touch Sensitive joystick, and of course, the QWERTY keyboard so users would have a variety of choice in handling the Samsung i780. You can use the touch screen with the included stylus or you may opt to use your fingers since the screen of this device isn’t recessed into the casing. The most innovative feature I’ve seen on the Samsung i780 is the touchpad or touch sensitive joystick. With conventional phones, you have to press the joystick but on this device, you have to swipe your fingers around the touchpad so you can gain access to a pointer. This allows you to handle the device with one hand but would take some time getting used to.

What really excites me about the Samsung i780 is its processor and RAM. While Samsung’s online information or any other specifications of the Samsung i780 online doesn’t reveal what kind of processor it houses, a little Google search revealed that it runs on the Marvell PXA 310 which is capable of around 624 MHz of power, almost similar to the processor running on the iPhone. This plus the fact that the Samsung i780 has a 128MB of RAM means that running a multitude of applications would be a breeze on this device and hang-ups would be kept to a minimum, which is something I can’t say about HTC’s windows mobile devices.

Conclusion

The Samsung i780 is one powerful device. HSDPA, WiFi, GPS and Windows Mobile 6 makes this phone a dream come true for Windows Mobile fans.

HTC Shift

The HTC Shift has just been released in the US and I think Sprint will be the one providing the mobile broadband feature. Here in the UK, the HTC Shift has long been launched by Orange.

This Ultra Mobile PC is like a Laptop and PDA in one since it is running both Windows Vista and Windows Mobile. It even has separate specs for the Laptop and the PDA. UMPC specifications for the HTC Shift include 7 inch touch screen, Intel A100 800Mhz processor, fingerprint reader, integrated web cam, integrated Intel GMA950 integrated video chipset, 1GB DDR2 RAM, 30GB hard disk drive, Bluetooth, HSDPA, and WiFi. The PDA specs include a 400 MHz Qualcomm processor, and 128MB of RAM.

Browser for Pocket PC

Opera Mini

The Opera Mini is the first web browser that I've found that blew me away. It was introduced during the iPhone hype and every windows mobile user wants a Safari Browser on their mobile phones. Well, I stumbled upon the Opera Mini during my search for a pocket pc version of the Safari browser. The Opera Mini is a java application so you have to run it on the midlet manager of your windows mobile device.

Pros:

* Fast rendering of web pages
* Smooth zooming
* Can view web pages on desktop mode or single column mode
* Smooth scrolling when using touch interface on touch screen phones


Cons:

* No tabbed browsing
* Data passes through servers so careful when visiting secured pages
* Cannot view flash-based sites
* Cannot copy and paste text

NetFront Browser 3.5

I've come across NetFront Browser during my regular visits to some windows mobile forums.

Pros:

* Supports tabbed browsing
* Smooth scrolling with touch screen phones
* Supports Java and Ajax
* Can copy and paste text
* Can easily switch away from scrolling mode so you can easily click on links



Cons:

* Mediocre page rendering
* Doesn't support flash-based websites


Skyfire Beta

I was one of the lucky ones to have the first Skyfire Beta release since most of the guys at the windows mobile forums still haven't gotten their copy even though they have signed up before I did.

Pros:

* Supports youtube in browser
* Supports some flash-based websites


Cons:

* Slow buffering of youtube videos
* Doesn't support copy and paste function
* Slow rendering of web pages
* Slow zoom in and out function
* Data passes through servers

Opera Browser 9.5

The Opera Browser 9.5 is also in Beta. I was only able to download it from XDA-Developers.

Pros:
Fast rendering of web pages
Smooth Zooming functions
Has Copy and Paste Function

Cons:
Does not support Full desktop YouTube (I don't know whether the problem is with the version I've downloaded since a guy at Youtube has posted a video of him using Opera Browser 9.5 for watching youtube videos. The video was blurry so I can't really tell if this video is real or fake)


Conclusion:

Of the overall browsers, my personal favorite is Opera Browser 9.5. It's the only decent browser among the bunch that can render web pages faster and has a smooth transition of zooming in and out of web pages. However, I use this in combination with Skyfire Beta. Whenever I have to visit some flash-based websites, I use Skyfire Beta since it's the only browser among the bunch that supports flash-based websites.

So I guess there's still no perfect browser for the Windows Mobile platform. Hopefully, if Skyfire is able to address their rendering issues and is able to render web pages faster without the use of data servers, it would become the browser to beat not only in the Windows Mobile arena but in the mobile browser category. (AllSymbian.CN)

Imate Ultimate 9502

At the recently concluded Mobile World Congress, i-mate has announced the latest addition to their Ultimate devices: the i-mate Ultimate 9502. The i-mate Ultimate 9502 is HSDPA as well as HSUPA compatible, allowing for a rated uplink speed of 7.2 Mbps and downlink speeds of 1.9 Mbps.

The i-mate Ultimate 9502 is a feature-packed device and aside from giving you 3.5G speeds, the device also comes with WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. Aside from bringing you the best of the web through the i-mate Ultimate 9502's variety of connections, the device also features a built-in GPS. Every feature on this device is geared towards business individuals, the device runs on Windows Mobile platform which allows users access to Word, Excel and PowerPoint on the go applications.

Probably the best feature businessmen can find useful on the i-mate Ultimate 9502 is its Direct Video Out Features which allows the device to be connected to projectors or TV so they can display their PowerPoint presentations on the big screen. The i-mate Ultimate 9502's Direct Video Out feature also allows you to view video calls on the large screen.

Telstra, Australia's largest mobile network will be the first to release the i-mate Ultimate 9502 on March for a suggested price of AUD$1099. Europe will soon follow.

HTC Touch Diamond Review

So HTC has announced another new HTC Touch, the HTC Touch Diamond. Frankly, this is what, the fourth time that HTC had a go at being iPhone’s main competitor? So, is the fourth time a charm? Let’s find out. Just a word of warning to iPhone haters, I’m not Apple fanboy, but frankly, HTC is just trying too hard at making an iPhone copycat.

Design

The HTC Touch Diamond still has the same 2.8 inch screen as other regular PDA phones. What is wrong with upping it to 3 inch, HTC? The design of the HTC Touch Diamond is reminiscent of the Nokia Prism phones, with diamond like patterns on the back of the device. Unlike the iPhone, the HTC Touch Diamond has a circular directional pad, much like the one in HTC Touch Cruise. Since HTC didn’t copy the iPhone’s design right off the bat, I have to give them points for design. The HTC Touch Diamond is one gorgeous, sleek phone.

Specifications and Features

The HTC Touch Diamond is a HUGE improvement from other HTC phones. Instead of the usual 400 MHz processor, you will get a Qualcomm MSM 7201A 528MHz processor plus you get a 192MB RAM. You’d think that the HTC Touch Diamond’s interface would be faster with the RAM and processor and all, however, the interface is still quite sluggish compared with the iPhone but a much better improvement from the HTC Touch Cruise’s sluggish interface. To get an idea of what I'm talking about...

Read all entries at: PhoneReviews