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Monday, October 6, 2008

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New HTC s740 Smartphone is Nice, But…

Aug 30

Written by: Mike Temporale
Saturday, August 30, 2008 8:00am

Earlier this week, HTC announced a new Smartphone called the s740. This new device is a non-touch screen version of the Diamond-like Touch Pro. Unlike most other devices these days, the s740 came as a complete surprise to many. The s740 sports a 528MHz processor from Qualcomm (could this be the fastest Smartphone we’ve seen to-date?), 256MB of ROM, 256 MB of RAM, Quad band GPRS, HSDPA/WCDMA , GPS, WiFi, and a 3.2 megapixel camera! Overall, the phone looks very nice with a standard 12 key layout on the face of the phone and a slide out QWERTY. (Real world picture from NewMobile’s quick hands on impression and pictures taken at the IFA in Berlin. Product specifications are taken directly from the HTC web site.)

However, if you’ve been using HTC Smartphones over the last couple years, the general design of this phone should be pretty familiar for you. It’s the exact design as the s710/720 Smartphones. Of course, this version has much better specifications and has some serious style. But underneath the same problems that lead me to hang-up on the s710 are still present in this new device. The whole “rotate-slide-wait” procedure every time you want to use the keyboard can get a little annoying - especially for those of us that do a lot of email from our devices. The keyboard design and layout leave a lot to be desired, in my opinion. I never did get use to the off center screen.

Instead of wasting their time with this device, I think HTC would have been much better off creating 2 other Diamond like devices. The first is a simple phone with the regular 12 key number pad. Just take this device, slice off the keyboard part and offer a super thin Smartphone. Heck, I would buy one of these just to drool at the thinness of the device! The other device would be more like the Excalibur / Cavalier devices that we saw years ago from HTC. Just rotate the screen 90 degrees and add a full BlackJack-like keyboard on the front. No silly sliders and no rotating.

Maybe I’m wrong, but you can’t argue with the increase in people using messenger style devices. Samsung, Motorola, and even RIM, all have devices that allow quick and easy access to the keyboard. I can’t imagine that all these companies are making these devices if there wasn’t a market for them. I want to see HTC return to the messenger field and make a device that I would be proud to carry.

Is The HP iPAQ 510 Really A Top Rated Smartphone?

Jul 28

Written by: Mike Temporale
Monday, July 28, 2008 10:30am

According to Expansys, the HP iPAQ 510 is among the 3 top rated Windows Mobile Smartphones on their site. The other 2, in case you’re wondering, are the Samsung BlackJack II and the Palm Treo 500v. I have no problems with the other two devices, they are both very nice handsets - yes, even the 500v. But the HP device is nowhere near top rated. When the device was released it was slammed by just about every major gadget site. The best thing it has going for it is the voice software that HP pre-loaded on it. From everything I read, it’s pretty amazing. Unfortunately, the device sucks at everything else. It’s running a lower resolution that we haven’t seen on Windows Mobile Smartphone (Standard) devices for years - 176×220. The device is also limited to the much slower EDGE network. That means there’s no enjoyment for fast 3G network when browsing the web or downloading emails. Surely there has to be another device that ranks better than this? Where’s HTC on this list too?

Playing Around with the Samsung i620 Slider Smartphone

Jun 22

Written by: Mike Temporale
Sunday, June 22, 2008 10:00am

The first thing you will notice when you pick up the Samsung i620 is just how small it is and how well it fits in your hands. Samsung is really on to something with this ultra small sliding form factor. It’s the right size for any pocket or purse, and it’s a lot of fun to hold and slide open/shut. I often found myself sliding the phone just for the sake of sliding it. The sliding mechanism is so smooth and the spring action really helps to pop the phone open. I’ve used other sliding phones, but never have they had such a nice slider/spring combination.

Once you held the phone and played with the slider for a good couple minutes, you’re going to start to wonder about the specs of this little guy. It’s a European-based Tri-band device, which means it supports GSM 900/1800/1900 frequencies. Which works great if you’re in the EMEA, but if you’re North American based, this device will have mixed results when it comes to cellular reception. If Samsung had managed to include one more band, then this phone would be a sure fire hit in North America. I’ve heard rumours that there is a North American Tri-band device that is going to be released in the fall of 2008, but at this point I haven’t been able to confirm anything. Aside from the cellular bands supported, the phone also features GPRS/EDGE/3G HSDPA at 1.8 Mbps, 64MB RAM, 128MB ROM, MicroSD support, Bluetooth v2 with A2DP, 2 Megapixel camera, VGA video-call camera, and measures 113mm x 59mm x 11.8mm with a weight of 95 grams. [more...]

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