It’s a pretty interesting offering since it is mostly the China phones that are the ones promoting TV tuners in phones. It’s possible Samsung was looking at how much traction it could get from that market.

There’s no WiFi here nor 3G connectivity but the Analog TV might catch the attention of a lot of people (especially those who are inclined to buy CHina phones for their TV functionality).

Nevertheless, the introduction of a TV function in a phone by a large brand like Samsung could pave the way for more handsets with similar offerings in the future. The Samsung S5233T should be priced within the range of the earlier Samsung Star phones. Smart MyTV already has this offering but that didn’t seem to get a lot of traction though (primarily because of very limited handset models supporting it).

Anybody out there interested to watch analog TV on their phones?

Join the Norton Inner Circle and get the chance to win a new Lenovo ThinkPad Edge: http://bit.ly/aupah7

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Last time we saw touchscreen phones selling within the vicinity of Php11,000 was with the LG Cookie and Samsung Star, both of which were huge hits.

Samsung Monte (S5620)
3.1-inch screen @ 240×400 pixels
Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate
3G/HSDPA 3.6Mbps
Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP
USB 2.0,
WiFi 802.11 b/g
FM Radio with RDS
233MB internal memory
up to 8GB via microSD
3.15 MP camera @ 2048×1536 pixels
GPS with A-GPS support
TouchWiz 2.0 Plus

The Monte has social networking integration with live updates and GPS is supported by Google Latitude. The handset should be out in stores by now.

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So it was a bit of a surprise when I was contacted by their distributor, CosmoTech, to check out their Viliv line-up.

They showed me the 7-inch Viliv X70 mobile internet device last week and was able to borrow the 5-inch model, the Viliv S5. This neat little device sits between a smartphone and a netbook and comes with all the features you’d hope for.

Specs: Viliv S5 Premium 3G
4.8″ touch screen @ 1024×600 pixels
Intel Atom Z520 1.33GHz
1GB DDR2 RAM
32GB SSD
WiFi 802.11 b/g
3G/HSPA
Bluetooth 2.0
GPS
USB, TV & VGA out

The Viliv S5 runs Windows XP out of the box and has a 30Wh battery that promises 200 hours of standby time or 6 hours of video playback.

So far, the MID performs really well and very responsive running Windows XP and the screen got haptic feedback. I still need to play around with it for some time before I can post a full review. The suggested retail price of the Viliv S5 3G is Php49,990 while the Viliv S70 is Php56,990.

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This means you can now buy virtual goods on FarmVille, make your stalls in Restaurant City more spiffy or top up your chips on Poker using your Globe GCash. That’s on top of other current options such as Facebook credits, credit cards and Paypal.

Starting March 24, 2010 you will see Boku/Paymo as an option to purchase virtual goods on Facebook games operated by Zynga and PlayFish. When you used “Mobile Payments” as an option, it will allow you to choose Globe GCash and then you can just top up any amount (max of Php40,000 per day) using you GCash MPIN.

Popular Zynga games on Facebook includes FarmVille, Mafia Wars, Cafe World, FishVille and Poker. Popular games by PlayFish includes Restaurant City and Pet Society.

Globe has over 1 million GCash users with a gross monthly transactions of 3.5 billion to 4 billion. GCash users can also do transactions on any other sites or games that are powered by Boku/Paymo. It remains to be seen how much transactions will be generated with GCash/Boku over Facebook games. Zynga made an estimated $300 million in revenues in 2009.

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Nokia C5
2.2″ screen @ 240×320 pixels
up to 16GB via microSD (2GB included)
HSDPA 10.2 Mbps, HSUPA 2 Mbps
Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP
3.15MP autofocus camera, LED flash
Symbian OS v9.3 Series 60 rel. 3.2
Stereo FM radio with RDS
GPS with aGPS support and Ovi Maps 3.0

What’s conspicuously missing is WiFi connectivity. Li-Ion battery is also rated at just 860mAh.

Is the Nokia C5 an attempt to bring the smartphone to the masses? If the expected retail price of Php8,500 is any indication, it looks like it. Should be out before end of 2nd quarter.

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Local online store eBuyStore puts the retail price of the Nokia X6 at Php19,350.

Announced last September 2009, the Nokia X6 has a 3.2-inch touchscreen, 32GB of storage, and boasts of 35 hours of music playback. Not really very slim at 14mm. It has 3G/HSDPA, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth and a 5MP Carl Zeiss optics.

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This Palm Pre-look-alike runs Android OS 1.6 and it ain’t bad-looking either.

According to Engadget, the ZTE Smooth has a 2.8-inch QVGA screen, WiFi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth and GPS. And at only $146, this looks like one hot item to consider (probably the very first Android smartphone under $200) when it comes out in August 2010.

Hat tip to Chadd.

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The LG eXpo was announced last December 2009 and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 1 GHz processor.

LG eXpo GW820
3.2″ display @ 480×800 pixels
SnapDragon 1GHz processor
5MP camera
up to 16GB via microSD
WinMo 6.5 Pro

It runs Windows 6.5 Professional although it’s not sure if it can be easily upgraded to Windows Phone 7 when it becomes available.

The eXpo comes with an optional LG Mobile Projector so you can project your documents form the Pocket Office (Word, Excel, PPT, OneNote and PDF Viewer).

The LG Mobile Projector just snaps in and uses the built-in battery of the GW820 to power up the lamp.

On the other hand, this LG Mobile Phone got the most oohs and ahhhs from the group. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev wears one of these. There were very few units released (I think it was 500) in Europe and were all sold out within 10 minutes, even at a retail price of $1,290.

LG Watch Phone GD910
1.43″ touch display
HSDPA 7.2Mbps
3G video call
Water Resistant
Speech Recognition
Text-to-Speech Capabilities
Bluetooth 2.0

The watch phone comes with a Bluetooth headset for making 3G video calls.

Then, there’s the LG GW620 which is powered by an Android OS 1.5.

LG Eve or LG InTouch Max GW620
320 x 480 pixels, 3.0 inches
HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, HSUPA
WiFi 802.11 b/g
5MP autofocus camera
150MB internal memory
up to 32GB on microSD

This was announced last September 2009 and is being tested now by a Korean Engineer in the Philippines for official release very soon.

See more photos in the Gallery.

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HTC Desire
Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 1 GHz processor
3.7 inches AMOLED touchscreen @ 480 x 800 pixels
576 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM
up to 16GB on microSD
HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, HSUPA 2 Mbps
Bluetooth 2.1
WiFi 802.11 b/g
5 MP autofocus camera w/ LED flash
Stereo FM Radio
GOS with aGPS support
Android OS, v2.1 (Eclair)

Expected to the released on the 2nd quarter of 2010 but price is not yet final. But if ever, I bet it will near Google price on the Nexus One which is $529.

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Although there’s no phone yet to speak of, expect to see new WinMo7 models by March 2010. The biggest surprise of all is that the company is putting on hold developments for the current WinMo 6.5 and did the Windows Phone 7 from scratch.

Actually, they’ve lifted a lot of the design and UI from the Zune HD. And as someone who’ve been using the Zune HD and enjoyed the interface, I can say that it will be pretty interesting how it will work out as a phone UI. It’s a huge departure from the old Windows Mobile interface, that’s for sure.

Microsoft is even promising that all Windows Phone 7 handsets will have a dedicated hardware button for Bing which can do search anywhere on the phone and the web. This is basically the same Search button you see with Google phones.

It will also be interesting to see if Microsoft can push its Zune Marketplace to match even that of the Android Market or the iTunes App Store. If you own an HTC HD2 now running WinMo 6.5, they you should be able to upgrade to Windows Phone 7 when it comes out.

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Sony Ericsson XPeria X10 Mini & Mini Pro
2.55″ touch screen @ 240×320 pixels
Qualcomm MSM7227 600MHz
128MB internal memory
up to 16GB via microSD card
3G/HSDPA
WiFi 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth 2.1
5MP autofocus camera w/ LED flash
GPS w/ aGPS support
Android OS 1.6 w/ TimeScape UI

The main difference between the two, as seen on the video above, is the slider, full-qwerty keyboard on the X10 Mini Pro.

Sony Ericsson also added its own layer on top of the Adroid OS and calls it the TimeScape UI (very much similar to what HTC did with the Hero using HTC Sense).

So for those eagerly waiting for the Xperia X10 to arrive in the Philippines, hopefully there will be three of them coming in all at the same time.

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Being first to market with the Bold 9700, Globe is offering a pre-paid price of Php28,995.

If you are on Globe Post-paid, you can get the Blackberry Bold 9700 for free starting at Plan 3500. If you want unlimited data surfing with it, there’s a BlackBerry Plan 3799. Post-paid subscribers also get a free Enjoy Philippines kit we featured here before.

If you want the pre-paid option, just get it for Php28,995 and then subscribe to unlimited internet with an additional Php1,200 per month on Super Surf.

You can read the review of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 here.

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The Acer Liquid isn’t their most powerful smartphone to date as the neoTouch that came out earlier had a Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 1GHz CPU running Windows Mobile 6.5.

Acer Liquid
3.5″ capacitive touchscreen @ 480×800 pixels
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8250 768MHz
256MB RAM / 512MB ROM
up to 16GB on microSD
3G/HSDPA 7.2Mbps/HSUPA 2Mbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g
5MP AF camera
GPS w/ aGPS support
Bluetooth w/ A2DP
Android OS v1.6 with Acer UI 3.0

Acer’s laptops have been tested for build-quality for many years now but their smartphone line has yet to be proven. I think they got the Acer DX650 locally but haven’t bumped into one of the units ever.

The Acer Liquid was announced November of 2009 and released last December but has yet to reach the Philippines. We’re not really sure if Acer Philippines will release the unit locally but it’s nice to see a non-HTC smartphone running Android these days. So far, we only have the HTC Magic and HTC Hero so having another competing product is always good for the market.

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First, let’s get one thing out of the way — the Nexus One wasn’t really manufactured by Google. HTC is the company behind it, the same phone manufacturer that did the Google G1. Google’s involvement is with the design concept and software integration. It’s an interesting partnership since HTC also promotes its own Android-powered handsets like the HTC Magic and HTC Hero.

The Nexus One has a solid design — combine a thin form factor, sexy curved edges with a polished finish and you get an almost perfect body. What’s a bit disappointing is the color tone used in the finish of the handset — the brown and dark gray combo turned out drab, bordering on ugly. Had they gone with a brushed-metal finish, it would have turned out nice (like that of the HTC Hero).

There’s not much physical buttons here — besides the optical trackball and power button, the only other button present is the volume rocker on the left side. There are dedicated touch points engraved on the bottom of the capacitive screen for Search, Home, Menu and Back. The bottom end houses the micro-USB port aligned with small metal contact points that’s used to connect to the optional dock (sold separately). At the back is the 5MP camera and LED flash.

The 3.7-inch screen is impressive — bright and crisp AMOLED display with resolution of 480×800 pixels. The screen real estate is large enough for comfortable viewing of web pages, Google Maps and watching videos. What the screen really is missing is multi-touch especially for browsing, viewing photos and navigating the maps. However, there are reports that the handset is capable of multi-touch and can be activated by a software update (The UK model has multi-touch and it is rumored that Google had a secret deal with Apple to temporarily disable multi-touch on the Nexus One for the US due to patent issues).

The Nexus One is powered by QualComm’s SnapDragon processor running 1GHz and you can really feel the responsiveness and how quick tasks and applications run on this handset. I’ve used the HTC Hero beside this unit and you can really spot the difference between the 528MHz and the 1GHz CPU. I’ve also tried the HTC HD2 (same 1GHz CPU) run WinMo 6.5 smoothly. The CPU performance really adds to a better over-all experience.

The connectivity options worked just fine — 3G/HSDPA, WiFi 802.11 b/g and Bluetooth. There’s no noticeable problems with 3G on both Globe and Smart, contrary to earlier reports in the US. What’s telling is that the Nexus One does not have native controls to turn on/off mobile internet — Google really expects you to have connectivity all the time. Good thing there’s a 3rd-party widget/app you can install to control this (saves on data charges and battery life). On the contrary, I have that widget built-in with the HTC Hero. The handset does not recognize the 3G network so APN settings have to be manually inputted.

The Google Android OS 2.1 has a number of improvements in it compared to version 1.5 which I am using on the Hero. However, they’re mostly cosmetic upgrades — live wallpapers, slightly new UI and better contacts list, among others. Using GMail is way better as the Contacts list automatically fills up the recipients filed as you type in the email addresses, a feature I didn’t have with the Hero.

The apps in the Android Marketplace is now more appreciated than ever, with applications and widgets running much better. I have yet to purchase a paid app though so that will be for another entry in the future.

The virtual keyboard is comfortable to use and responsive. Text input is still a pain in the first few weeks of using the unit. It gets better as you add more terms into the built-in dictionary. The predictive text gives you multiple choices at a time but you need to teach it which terms to include in the dictionary. The voice-to-text feature is nice, especially for searching. Unfortunately, my diction/accent doesn’t help a lot with the translation.

One other feature of the Nexus One that got my attention off the bat was the performance of the camera. The camera is snappy and has fast focusing. The photos have good white balance and color saturation too. Here are sample photos I took:

Video recording is almost as impressive and nearing HD quality (720×480 pixels at 20fps).

At the same time, video playback is smooth and not jumpy although the player is very simple and doesn’t support fit-to-screen to maximize viewing size. Random skipping from scene to scene is a snap and the audio is always in sync with the video. Audio volume is decent but not loud enough for open playback.

As for battery life, the Nexus One scored low in this aspect. I’d say one and a half days on regular use but expect to re-charge the handset at the end of the day, especially if you’re into mobile GMail and Twitter. Always bring the charger cable with you.

There are some stuff and features I missed from the HTC Hero with HTC Sense UI and Android 1.5 that I’ve been using for months:

• I missed the HTC Sense UI. It’s a nice addition on top of the Android UI. I missed the customizable calendar widgets and weather widget.
• The Calendar app on the HTC Hero is better compared to the Nexus One in terms of usability. It’s more visual and a lot less like the boring Google Calendar.
• The Nexus One only has 5 panels while the one on the HTC Hero has 7 (due to HTC Sense UI, Android 1.5 has 3 panels by default). That’s one point there for the HTC Sense.
• The optical trackball auto-scrolls the panels on the go with the Android 1.5. With version 2.1, the trackball selects widgets/icons in a row of the current panel before it scrolls to the next panel. Doesn’t make sense from a usability stand-point — I don’t need the trackball to select an icon/app/widget, I use the touchscreen.

The Nexus One is a great handset. The 1GHz SnapDragon is the heart of it all, if you asked me. This is more evident when doing a lot of multi-tasking. And for $529, I think it’s a steal. The Android OS 2.1 didn’t bring much to the table aside from eye-candy compared to the older versions of Android.

Update: The official Google Nexus One blog posted an entry that a software update will be available starting today. This includes a fixed to enable multi-touch functionality. Coolness! The update is not yet available on my unit though.

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Both devices are powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 1GHz processor. Really the main difference between the two is Windows Mobile 6.5 and Android OS 2.1 (the HTC HD2 is ready for WinMo 7.0) but it’s fairly safe to say that WinMo fans and Android fans are divided in the middle (so, try to write off the OS for a moment here).

So I ask you — if looks could kill, which of the two will slice you like a samurai?

We’re not going to do a proper poll anymore, just hit the comment button below.

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The handset still runs Microsoft’s latest Windows Mobile 6.5 OS and got a bit of face-lift and upgrades:

3.2″ display @ 800×480 pixel
Qualcomm MSM 7200 528 MHz processor
HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, HSUPA 2 Mbps
110MB storage, 256 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM
up to 16GB with microSD expansion slot
8MP camera with LED flash, AF and IS, WVGA @ 30fps video recording
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth 2.1 w/A2DP
GPS with A-GPS support
TV-out
1500mAh Lithium Polymer battery
Windows Mobile 6.5

The Xperia X2 will have a retail price of Php29,500, way lower than the price of the Xperia X1 when it was launched back in 2008 for Php42,500 (See my review here. Disclosure: that handset was given to me by SE.).

Sony-Ericsson Philippines is doing a promo so you can get the unit for just Php28,500 if you reserve it before the release date (see details here).

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And yes, the Eclipse also has the Dual-SIM feature!

The Eclipse is a touchscreen smartphone with WiFi and even GPS. I didn’t get the full specs but we’ll update this once I get the specs sheet from them.

Cherry Mobile wants to get a real foothold in the smartphone market so it’s introducing the Cherry Eclipse at a very low price of Php9,999. It’s not yet available in stores but should be out very soon.

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First, and this is pretty obvious, the phone is pretty fast — you can really feel that processing power kicking from inside. Having used the HTC Hero running 528MHz, the 1GHz SnapDragon CPU really does make a difference.

Second, is brown the new black? I honestly didn’t like the brown tones on the Nexus One. The brown looked okay on the Hero since it’s got a brushed-metal finish but the matte finish on the Nexus One made the brown dull and cold. But that’s just me.

Lastly, I missed the HTC Sense UI. The Nexus One has the Android widgets but I liked the eye-candy of the HTC Sense UI and the native widgets better.

As predicted, I spent just under Php28k for the unit, all in all. Not bad considering I got the HTC Hero from HK two months ago for Php30k. That makes my primary and secondary phone an HTC-made handsets. The Android OS really changed the playing field here.

Okay, enough of the first impressions. Will post a full review by next week.

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I haven’t formally reviewed the previous generation BB Bold 9000 but having tried it a couple of times before and basing on the specs, one can make the conclusion that there’s not much can be done on the BB Bold 9700 except for a number of tweaks and optimization.

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 sports almost the same exterior as its predecessor — glossy, black-piano finish in front, rubbery lining on the side with a streak of silver and a nice leather back panel. The leather gives the handset a touch of class but also helps secure a nice grip when using the unit.

RIM tried to cut some fat around the unit so a couple of millimeters were shaved off the dimensions to make it more compact. This move somehow sacrificed a little screen real estate (2.44″ from the previous 2.6″) but improved on the pixel resolution (480×360) which explains why the display is clear, crisp, and bright.

The physical keyboard, one of RIM’s strongest features in most of its handsets, is maximized on space and layout. It might look a bit cramped at first but it’s just enough and comfortable for two-fingered typing. RIM shaped the individual keys with a chiseled edge, half of which faces the left and the other half facing the right. This is actually a clever and practical move — your thumbs get some sort of traction over the keys and helps prevent from slipping and hitting the wrong keys.

Again, RIM has fully transitioned it’s old and problematic trackball and replaced it with a touch-sensitive trackpad. This is probably the most welcomed change made on BlackBerry handhelds lately and it does seem to perform well.

The Bold 9700 is fully equipped with connectivity options you’d ever need in a smartphone — WiFi, 3G/HSDPA, Bluetooth and GPS navigation. Browsing on the unit seems fast on both 3G and WiFi and the pages rendered well but you’d wish you had more screen real estate there. And while the GPS navigation is usable, it hasn’t gone to the same level what Nokia recently did with their free turn-by-turn navigation.

The BlackBerry Bold 9700’s newest competitor would be the Nokia E72 and while they’re neck-and-neck in terms of the major features, the E72 has a few additional features up its sleeve. Battery life is impressive and lasts at least 3 days on single full charge (it’s got the same 1500mAh rating as the E71 and E72).

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 also missed a couple of things, some of it is due to geographical limitations:

• First, the BlackBerry App World is still not available in the Philippines. The Apps would have added a huge plus point on top of the BIS. Give it already to us, RIM.
• The 3MP camera is still a bit inadequate but if you compare it to another business phone like the Nokia E72, they’re just at par so no big deal there. It’s really hard to find a business phone that’s got good optics nowadays. I think it’s just positioning and they really intended it to be that way.
• No FM tuner, a feature that’s becoming a standard all mobile phones in all categories. It’s time for RIM to equip all their future handsets with one.

Admittedly, there’s not much improvements you can do on a handset which many BlackBerry users deemed almost perfect. If only they could offer it a little more affordable like the Curve 8520. Good thing though is that you can now have this unit and use a prepaid SIM from Globe or Smart and just subscribe to the prepaid BlackBerry service.

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The Nokia N70 took 9.2% share of ad request from the Admob network in the month of November 2009. here’s the top 10 handset in terms of usage for internet browsing:

Nokia N70 – 9.2%
Nokia 6630 – 5.0%
iPhone – 3.0%
iPod Touch – 3.0%
Nokia 6680 -2.8%
Nokia 6120c – 2.8%
Nokia 3110c – 2.6%
Nokia N73 – 2.1%
Nokia 6300 – 2.0%
Nokia 6600 – 1.7%

Nokia’s first touch screen phone, the 5800XM, came in at #18 with 1.1% of requests. The Sony PSP which used to be in the top 20 has dropped from the list. Only Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch are the non-Nokia model that made it to the list.

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The new Maps menu takes one click to calculate the best way to walk or drive to your destination, and to find your position, find places, find local Lonely Planet and Michelin listings, entertainment, or events nearby.

Best of all, the Maps can work even if you’re offline since the map data is already downloaded into your mobile phone (there’s be instances that map data is partially downloaded or new data needs to be downloaded from time to time).

The Ovi Maps with GPS navigation is currently available for the following handset models:

• Nokia E72
• Nokia N97 Mini
• Nokia X6
• Nokia E52
• Nokia E55
• Nokia 6730 Classic
• Nokia 6710 Navigator
• Nokia 5800 XpressMusic
• Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition
• Nokia 5230

No luck for owners of Nokia N97 and Nokia N900 though. The installation file is about 27.5MB and can be installed via the Nokia PC Suite. You can download it here.

See some screen shots here:

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The Motoroi packs a 3.7″ screen @ 480×854 pixels, UMTS, GPS WiFi and 8GB memory expandable with a microSD card. The device features an 8MP camera with Xenon flash that can record 720p video. Runs Android OS 2.0 too.

It’s currently available in South Korea but may arrive in the US by March. Works on a CDMA network at the moment and no GSM version yet. Like the Droid, I’m not expecting this one to be released locally but you should be able to get it in one of them Hong Kong electronics shop.

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The most prominent feature of the LG BL40 is its slim and tall form-factor, a character that easily gets a lot of attention in public.

The phone is pretty sexy — slim and tall with a glossy black finish all around. With a dimension of 128mm x 51mm x 10.9mm, it’s got an odd form-factor usually gets a mixed first impression. It’s a little on the heavy side but that’s because they used glass and metal in the body, except for the back cover which is plastic. See complete specs here.

The lock screen can be unlock via swiping the wallpaper upwards or clicking the power button once. However, I find it easier to go from sleep mode to active mode by clicking on the music button (wake up) and swiping the wallpaper up (unlock).

The front side does not even have any physical buttons at all (and confuses a lot of people when you hand it to them for the first time). On top is the power button and 3.5mm jack and at the mic is at the bottom end. The left side has the latch-type slot for the micro-USB port and a dedicated music button while the right side has the volume control and dedicated camera button.

Inside the LG Chocolate BL40 is the familiar S-Class UI which we’ve seen and tried in the LG Arena and LG Crystal. Most of the time, it responds quite well and runs smoothly except on some occasions when you feel a bit of lag. Aside from the rotating 3D cube that serves up 4 desktop panels, you can pull down a quick menu by tapping the top edge of the screen. The quick menu gives you access to most common functions such as WiFi, Bluetooth and Alarm controls as well a Profiles, Calendar and Events.

The strength of the LG Chocolate is really with multimedia. The 21:9 widescreen aspect ratio and 800×345 pixel resolution produces some form of cinematic viewing experience on a smaller scale. You’ll especially notice this when watching widescreen movies (not much with photos though, unless they’re panoramic shots).

Coupled with the FM Transmitter function (LG Arena has this too), you can also broadcast the audio of your movies to your FM stereo or car stereo to get that enhanced viewing/listening experience. The earpiece doubles as a speaker in front and puts up good sound quality with enough volume for open playback.

The display is bright, crisp and renders videos and photos very nicely. Last time I’ve seen this nice a display was with the Zune HD sporting an OLED display. The multi-touch works well with flipping and stretching/zooming around photos although the accelerometer doesn’t quite often catch up the handset orientation. Did I mention that since it’s shiny all over, expect a lot of smudges and fingerprints on the device too?

The built-in camera has a 5MP resolution and takes decent photos. However, video recording quality isn’t even close to decent which is a little odd since the LG Arena and LG Crystal takes decent to nice videos. Okay, so the two others take HQ videos while this one is only SD quality @ 640×480 pixels. The iPod Nano takes a much better videos, IMO.

The photos are a little washed out but the macro shot looked nice.

The built-in browser is decent and simple but with support for multiple windows (tabs) and runs Flash natively. Rendering pages on the screen at the vertical position is cramped but you get the full screen view at the horizontal position, thanks to that 800 pixel resolution. Access via WiFi and 3G is fast but not that very impressive. The battery is only rated at 1000mAh but lasts a full two days on normal use.

LG tried to emulate some sort of multi-tasking function so you can run various applications all at once on top of the running widgets but one can easily hit that limit (which tops at around 4 or 5 running apps). Not enough RAM perhaps — which is probably why they added a huge “End All” button in the task menu (fair enough).

There are a number of features on the handset that LG could have improved on:

Processing Power. While most of the tasks and functions are quite responsive, there’s a noticeable delay or lag when running multiple tasks. This is pretty common to most phones (and even on Android handsets) but the unit sometimes feels a little underpowered.

Apps and Games. While there are a dozen or so Java games pre-installed in the handset (mostly developed by LG Electronics), the rest are just demo games. These are pretty nice games similar to what you’d find in the Wii or iPhone but the selection isn’t that expansive. The apps are also sparse — only had GMail, Google Maps and WisePilot for LG. LG should do their own app store soon. (Update: They got some sort of Application Store here.)

Usability Issues. While I really liked the form factor, there were some minor usability features that I sometimes find uncomfortable. This usually happens when the confirmation button (OK, Send, etc.) is placed on the top of the UI which forces you to navigate using both hands instead of one. The virtual alpha-numeric keys are cramped but that’s compensated with the nice and widely-spaced full qwerty keyboard on the horizontal orientation.

The LG BL40 is one feature-packed and capable handset. It’s a nice addition or upgrade to LG’s previous touchscreen handsets like the Arena and Crystal. With a piano-black, glossy finish and red accents at the top and bottom end, I’d say the LG Chocolate Black Label Series 40 (LG BL40) was specifically created for the ladies. Owning one of these is more of a fashion statement than anything else. As for the price tag, it costs as much as the LG Crystal at Php27,900.

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I realized there’s nothing in this world these Chinese factories cannot make so why not a cheap phone with Android OS in them?

It doesn’t need to be touchscreen but the basic specs that we’re seeing in the gray market will do: Dual Active SIM, QWERTY keyboard, WiFI, 3G, a TV Tuner, 256MB internal storage for Android App and up to 8GB microSD Card.

If they can do that and have Android OS 1.5 in them then still sell it for under Php5,000, now that’s gonna be something. They don’t even have to put a fake Nokia logo in them to sell these stuff.

But then again, because of poor quality control and lack of warranty, it’s still risk. Still an Android phone for under Php5k, I’ll try it!

Update: I heard Torque Mobile is doing a Pinoy Android dual SIM phone? Is that out already?

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The BlackBerry Bold 9700 is more like a re-fresh of RIM’s BlackBerry Bold 9000 back in 2008 but in some respects, it looks like they’ve just focused on replacing the problematic trackball navigation with the new touch-sensitive optical trackpad.

BlackBerry Bold 9700
2.44′” screen @ 480×360 pixels
Full QWERTY keyboard
Touch-sensitive optical trackpad
256MB storage, 128 MB RAM
up to 16GB on microSD card
3G/HSDPA 3.6 Mbps
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP
3.15MP autofocus camera w/ LED flash
624 MHz processor
Blackberry OS 5.0
GPS with A-GPS support
Li-Ion 1500 mAh

Compared to the original BB Bold 9000, the screen is a bit smaller (2.6″ vs. 2.44″) because the overall dimensions have been downsized. However, the resolution has improved at 480×360 pixels over 480×320 which should indicate sharper display. RIM made it a bit smaller and lighter but not any slimmer.

There’s some improvements in the rated talk time and standby time too. The internal storage went down to 256MB from 1GB but compensates it with up to 16GB via microSD. The CPU also got a bump from 512MHz to 624MHz while the camera went up to 3.15MP from 2MP.

We’ll know how this handset performs in a week or two and hopefully I’d be able to take a hold of the old model to get some hands-on comparison.

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Not really sure why Lenovo would limit the release to China but aside from being a WCDMA smartphone, I guess they’re just testing the market. The Skylight OS used here is a customized Android OS for the LePhone.

Some of the feature details include a 3.7-inch touchscreen display (@ 480×800 pixels), Snapdragon 1.0GHz CPU, 3MP camera, WiFi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth and A-GPS.

If you look at one of the rendered photos above, you’ll see that the screen is detachable from the qwerty housing (similar to what they did with the IdeaPad U1). As such, the LePhone has a secondary battery (one below the qwerty and the other at the back of the display screen).

Check out the Lenovo Smartphone Product Tour below:

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Lenovo Skylight is the first ARM-based processor smartbook device based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chipset platform which combines the features of a smartphone and a netbook into one.

No Intel inside, no AMD. The processor used is the 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, same one used in the Motorola Milestone, HTC Touch HD2 and Google Nexus One.

Lenovo Skylight
10.1″ display screen @ 1280×720 pixels
4GB USB reader (up to 16GB)
1GHz Snapdragon ARM processor
WiFi 802.11 b/g
3G/HSDPA
1.3MP webcam

The Skylight runs on a customized Linux OS and boasts of a 10-hour battery life. And, at under 2lbs it’s very thin (18.9mm) and light. As for the price, it’s $499 and comes with an AT&T plan. I guess the unlocked version might sell for double that price.

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The Mini 5 will have 3G, Bluetooth, WiFi running a customized version of Android OS 1.6. There are two cameras — one is a 5MP at the back and another one in front, of smaller resolution, which obviously points to video conferencing. That 5-inch capacitive, multi-touch screen is just enough to make the HTC HD2 look like a little brother.

Photos via Pocket-Lint

Dell says this is just a technology concept (read: prototype) so the exact details are still sketchy and we might not even get to see it in stores any time soon. Still, I think a 5-inch MID running Android is just about right. This device falls under the same category as the Moblin-powered LG GW990.

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LG GW990
Intel Moorestown
4.8″ display @ 1020×480 pixels
512MB RAM
16GB
up to 32GB microSD
WiFi 802.11 b/g
A-GPS
HSDPA
5MP camera
Li-Ion 1850mAh battery
Moblin OS

Images c/o Engadget.

More details, including pricing, about this MID will come out before June 2010. Nice form factor, great processing power and promising OS — very eager to get my hands on this one.

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Motorola BackFlip
3.1″ screen @ 320×480 pixels
Full QWERTY keyboard
Qualcomm 528 MHz CPU
256MB RAM
HSDPA 7.2Mbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth 2.1 w/ A2DP
up to 32GB microSD card
5MP autofocus camera w/ LED flash
24fps video recording
GPS with aGPS support
Li-Ion 1400 mAh

No as powerful the the Droid but still an interesting one. The phone has Android OS 1.5 installed but can be easily upgraded to 2.0 when available.

If you looked at the photos closely, the full qwerty keyboard is on the other side of the phone but flips into typing position when rotated 180-degrees. That means the keyboard is exposed in the open at the back unlike the usual design where it’s hidden inside. The other side of the keyboard also serves as some sort of a touch panel.

No pricing information is available but said to be released in Asia by first quarter of 2010.

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