Mobile Phone News:

Just a heads up, and a bit of a shout out to a new mobile phone that we’ve been waiting to see for a while now, and that’s the LG Secret (or, if you’re in the mood for numbers, the LG KF750 Secret). It’s finally become available to buy.

And, why am I so excited about that?

If you want the easy answer it’s because it’s spankin’ gorgeous! I mean, come on, just look at it. Ok, I’ll grant you, me sitting here drooling over it probably isn’t the most useful review, but at least you now know how much I like the looks.

And let’s be honest, there is an awful lot to like about the looks. It starts with the fact the LG Secret has a tempered glass screen which, research suggests, is really hard to scratch. So, that’s one massively cool bonus you get on the Secret. How about the fact it’s also got a battery cover/back bit made out of carbon fibre? Lightweight, strong, cool and never seen in mobile phones before. So, another massive plus point, there.

All that comes about because it’s part of LG’s elite ‘Black Label’ range, a range that previously held such beauties as the Chocolate and the Shine. Well, it’s clear to see the tradition of striking looks has carried on this new addition to the line!

But it’s not just about looks. The LG Secret isn’t, as my old dad would put it, all mouth and no trousers. If you think it looks like a supermodel, and looks like you shouldn’t be able to do anything exciting or useful with it, ten you’re very, very wrong, because there’s a really simple way to show you how technically-amazing the LG Secret is. It’s a simple equation, watch:

LG Viewty + even more, better cool stuff + sliding keypad = LG Secret

That’s right, what you’re looking at is the spiritual successor to the breakthrough Viewty, a mobile phone that made everyone go, “Awhuh?” when it was released. And instead of cutting out features, they’ve taken what made the Viewty so great and built on top of it in the LG Secret.

So, you get a 5 megapixel camera (yep, based on the Viewty’s camera, but with a new secret weapon… more on that in a sec). You get a touchscreen, to use with the gawd knows how many different multimedia options. And you get the internet, on your mobile phone, at broadband speeds. Not only that, but you get al of that amazing stuff wrapped up in a body only 11.8mm thick, making the LG Secret nearly (but not quite, the upcoming Sony Ericsson C902 has this crown) the thinnest 5 megapixel camera phone you can get.

But it does have a couple of secret weapons. (Secret, geddit? Geddit?)

First up, is the accelerometer, a piece of technology that’s ludicrously cool, despite having a long-winded, hard to remember name. What it boils down to is that the LG Secret, much like the iPhone and the Sony Ericsson K850i, knows whether it’s being held upright, or on its side, or on its back, and so on. And even better than that, you can play games on the phone, and instead of controlling the action with key presses, you control it by tilting the phone about. Very clever stuff!

But there’s one more secret, and it’s in the camera. Specifically, it’s in the video bit of the camera. Not only do you get the same high-quality video from the Viewty in the LG Secret (and yes, that includes slow-motion), but LG have squeezed in another video mode. Time-lapse, or as they call it, fast video. That’s right, time-lapse, as seen in nature programs, when you see flowers growing really quickly. All in all, that’s really quite stunning!

No doubt about it, the LG Secret’s one hell of a phone, so if you’ve been waiting for it to come out (and I know several people who have), get it checked out!

And because I’m feeling generous, some videos of it in action. Prepare to be amazed.

Product Presentation:

Motion Games:

Fast Video (Time-Lapse Mode):

Like the LG Secret? Think it looks amazing? Or think Technical Markus, yet again, needs to get out more? Or have you had a chance to play with one, and want to let everyone know what it’s like? Whatever the case, leave us a comment and have your say!

According to The Register a glitzy London hotel was the setting for the launch of HTC’s new handset, The Diamond. It’s the latest phone in a long line of heavyweight contenders to try and grab the crown from the iPhone - following a recent announcement from HTC, it seems as though Apple will have quite a fight on its hands.

The Diamond is roughly the same size as Apple’s iPhone, the display’s resolution is a much larger (480 x 640), although the HTC device has a smaller, 2.8in touchscreen. Again, similar to the iPhone, users can view the album covers of their music and flick across from image to image - the phone’s internal accelerometer (I feel like I should say that in a deep manly voice!) allows images to be viewed either horizontally or vertically with a flick of the wrist (sound familiar….?). Other features to mention are the built in A-GPS that you can use with your choice of satnav software and 3.5G data allowing speeds up to 7.2MBps accompanying high upload speeds via HSUPA (where’s Technical Markus when you need him hey?). There’s also built in WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, an FM radio and 3.2MP camera.

In addition to this impressive range of specifications we think it looks great as well. The back of The Diamond is very much like another big seller; Nokia’s 7900 Prism, but you could argue that this is simply a “coincidence”, call it a play on a theme - the zigzag effect is similar to that of a diamond… but then I am a girl so possibly looking in to this a little too much! Haha.

Now, I don’t get excited about a new handset very often, but the vid below shows that it IS a goooorgeous phone!! As is very similar to the Apple model, and after playing around with friends iPhones and having endless fun just flicking through the album covers, I have to say I’m rather impressed with this phone. Although, that being said, as marvellous as this all sounds, what I reeeeeeeally want to know is; will the HTC Diamond come with a real diamond to boot? We offer gifts with our deals, granted they’re along the lines of a free wii etc but the ultimate gift with this little beauty would be a diamond necklace… or diamond earrings…. or a diamond ring…. or….

HTC have said that The Diamond will be available in the UK next month; however a price has not yet been decided. They also confirmed that all five major UK networks will be selling the phone - shame they can’t confirm that you could get a REAL diamond as a free gift though….

Check out the vid and let us know your thoughts. What d’ya think of the handset? And what would be your ultimate free gift?

It’s been no secret that there has been a lot of news, recently, about Motorola’s problems in the mobile phone market. There have been many, many news stories, where people have expounded at great length, about what they feel is the imminent demise of Motorola.

Is it necessarily the case, though? Perhaps we need to take an objective look at the situation, and see if we can work out some rational conclusions. In which case, I shall switch off my humour mode, and treat this story with the seriousness it deserves.

One of the key issues facing Motorola is to do with its line of mobile phones; specifically, the perception that Motorola phones are samey and boring. A mere few years ago, it’s fair to say that Motorola changed the landscape of the mobile world with one handset. The RAZR. It proved mobile phones didn’t need to be bulky or ungainly, but could be elegant and slim.

The problem is, though, that Motorola haven’t deviated very much from that design blueprint ever since. Even the Motorola RAZR2 V8 looks broadly similar to the old RAZR. And there’s the problem. Not that Motorola make boring mobile phones, because they make some very, very nice ones, but that the public’s perception of their products is as ‘boring’. Which is an unenviable position for them to be in, because let’s not forget, people’s perceptions affect what they buy, and if your product makes them go “meh”, they won’t buy it.

After all, Siemens went down the pan, because their mobile phones were perceived as being poorly built and unreliable (it didn’t help that in Siemens’ case, however, the perception was accurate).

Motorola didn’t help themselves, either, with their poor showing at the Mobile World Congress, showing only 1 top-end handset, and 2 budget mobile phones that no-one really cared about. But there is one territory where Motorola still has a massive penetration, and that’s the USA (a market where, significantly, Nokia aren’t as powerful. An opportunity, right there, methinks…)

One could argue that in America, the market is being kept artificially backwards, because service providers like AT&T and Verizon are selling purely on tariff, and locking people into 2 year contracts with an out-of-date phone. That certainly seems true according to Ewan’s travels through America on SMS Text News, but as we’ve seen the iPhone is rapidly changing the American mobile marketplace. So, the landscape is changing, even there.

Let’s hope new CEO Greg Brown can get Motorola to change with it, because it’d be a real shame if they die out altogether. Even if they’re bought by another company, I get the distinct sense they do have some great ideas hidden away.

They just need to get out from under the safety blanket of the RAZR brand. Then they could rock the world again.

Leave us a comment and have your say.

Well, we’ve said it, Intel has said it, in fact everyone’s saying it. The future of the internet, nay of the very world we live in, is mobile. Devices that will do everything a normal PC can do, but in smaller, easier to carry bodies, whilst on the move. That’s the dream, anyway.

Well, the dream has got some chance of coming true, and dragging into being are two specific devices (I say ‘devices’ not ‘phones’, because in a very definite way, one of them isn’t a phone…)

Sony Ericsson X1 Xperia

First up, a device we’ve already spoken about (and this one is a phone): the Sony Ericsson X1 Xperia. This is another one of those convergence devices we’re starting to see a lot more of, combining all the best bits of a laptop, with all the best bits of a phone.

So, you get a unique ‘arc-slider body’ (where sliding out the keyboard makes the screen tilt up at the same time), a frankly gorgeous metal body, HSDPA (with speeds up to 3.6Mbps), and a whole new ‘panel interface’ whacked on top of the latest version of Windows Mobile by Sony Ericsson themselves.

And basically, it’s stunning. I mean really stunning. As in, “I want one now, that’s it, I’m mounting a raiding party on Sony Ericsson’s R&D labs to get one” stunning.

And that’s before I even start talking about the built-in GPS, which is the big thing I’m looking for on top of normal smartphone features.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again… Damn you Sony Ericsson for making me want to spend even more money!

Ah, but… the thing is… it’s got competition… there’s something else begging me to spend cash on it…

HTC Shift

This is it, no messing about, no compromises. And as you look at the HTC Shift, as our write-up suggests, no doubt you’re thinking, “Wow, what a chuffing huge phone!”

Well, stop it.

Because it’s not a phone.

No, we’re dealing with a very different beastie here, because the HTC Shift is not a really big phone, but a really small laptop PC. That might sound like some kind of empty boast, but in this case, it’s bang on the money. You see, as a device, the HTC Shift not only features Windows Mobile 6 (granted, it’s in cut-down form… but you’ll see why…) but also the full-on, full-fat version of Windows Vista Business (and as you can see from the photo, that’s in a body smaller than a hardback book!)

Now, that’s really a rather clever design decision, because it means you get all the raw power of Windows Vista when you need it, and when you don’t, you press one button, and it switches to the low-power version of Windows Mobile (known on the Shift as SnapVue). Which of course means you can stay connected without having to use Windows Vista and crucially, without it eating your battery.

So, pretty damn clever, then!

Oh, but it gets better, because as well as the two versions of Windows, you get the full version of Office (perfect for working anywhere), and Windows Media Player 11 (stunning videos and music on the go? yes, please!) And to store all that stuff, the HTC Shift comes with a honking great 40Gb hard drive built in.

Oh, and it’s got some serious protection and security, too. If you’re worried about your Shift getting nicked (since, let’s face it, it IS a small laptop, and you can fit loads of important data on it), you’d not be alone. HTC worry about these things, too, which is why the Shift has a built-in fingerprint reader. That’s better than passwords and PIN’s… you have to actually provide your own fingerprint as the way to unlock the phone!

In fact, I can only see one feasible problem with that, which is if your arm gets lopped off. But then, if it does, using your Shift will probably be the least of your worries…

All in all, then, what we have in the HTC Shift is quite simply the ultimate all-in-one solution for mobile broadband (because, yes, it also connects at up to 3.6Mbps). If you haven’t got a laptop, and you want broadband internet on the move, the HTC Shift is perfect. If you have got a laptop, but you want something more compact, then the HTC Shift is perfect.

Basically, I’m stunned by how good the HTC Shift is, and I really can’t wait to get my grubby paws on one! In which case, damn you, too, HTC, for making me want to spend money on the Shift.

STOP MAKING SUCH NICE DEVICES WHEN I HAVE NO MONEY!

Leave us a comment and have your say!

We had a comment from a reader yesterday, asking for a comparison of the JCB TOUGH PHONE and the Samsung Solid. Well, since we’re always ready to listen to our readers, here it is!

Always the way, isn’t it? You wait ages for a rugged, strengthened mobile phone to come along (last one I had a play with: Nokia 5210), then two come along at once! And so, we have a new battle of the heavyweights taking place. Forget Ali vs. Foreman, forget the Rumble In The Jungle… this is the real prize fight.

Except, when you think about it, it isn’t, really…

Let me explain, by first going through the stats of our two contenders. On paper, the Samsung Solid is the more advanced. Yes, it has the rugged shell, yes, it is rated to IP54 (for a guide to what that means, see below), meaning it’s very resistant to dust and water. And it manages that without sacrificing features, because it has a built-in camera (albeit a bog standard VGA one). Oh, and of course, it has a flashlight built in, and it can send emergency messages if it all goes pear-shaped and you need some emergency assistance really rather quickly.

The JCB TOUGH PHONE doesn’t have any of that, and it’s rated to IP53, which on paper at least, implies it’s not as resistant to the elements as the Solid. But, you see, the thing is, when you actually see it in action, it is as resistant. Easily as resistant. Substantially more resistant than anything I’ve ever seen, actually (Don’t believe me? Check out our earlier video story about the TOUGH PHONE…), thanks in large part to the steel sub-frame that I’m absolutely sure the phone has.

Which brings me back to my main point. When you really think about it, they’re not fighting each other at all, because they’re targeted at very specific groups. The JCB phone was designed specifically for the building trade (as if that wasn’t blatantly obvious from the name), although it’s spread into other areas, for people who want a no compromise, only-high-power-ammunition-can-kill-it mobile phone, and aren’t fussed about frills.

On the other hand, the Samsung Solid, when you factor in the flashlight and emergency messages, seems to be designed more for people like ramblers or potholers, who live life hard, off the beaten track, and want fun while they do so. So, in that respect, they’re not really competing, because they’re both evolved to fill different niches, so they should be able to coexist rather nicely.

That was the objective comparison between the two. Now for the subjective one:

I prefer the JCB phone, because it’s bright yellow, and you could brain a whale with it, and I want one. Now.

[Guide to IP ratings: the numbers after the IP are two individual scores for resistance to dust (1st digit) and water (2nd digit). So, IP54 means 5/6 for dust resistance, and 4/8 for moisture resistance (the ‘out of’ number for water is higher because it includes complete submersion in water, you see)]

Leave us a comment, and have your say on who you think would win!

Overview

Anticipation has been high for the Nokia N82, ever since it was announced. Here, finally, would be the phone to end all phones, the phone that does everything. It would be packed with features, look beautiful and essentially, it would do anything.

All along, this was to be Nokia’s big shot at utter genius; the phone that does everything right, that everyone loves and adores. Nothing but perfection is acceptable. It’s curious, as well, that during the run up to Christmas, and into this new year, the news of the Nokia N82 has been more or less overshadowed by the news of its elder brother, the N95 8Gb. Why is it curious? Because this is easily the more capable phone of the two.

As the evolution of Nokia’s famous Nseries of mobile phones, the N82 was always destined to follow a certain design ethos, specifically that of the Nseries as a whole: “discover, capture, share”. As a design ethos, it reflects the goals of the N-phones, but it focuses specifically on the later models, such as the N95, N95 8Gb and N82.

It’s a very enticing slogan, as well. being deliberately evocative, but without really telling you anything about what the phone actually does. Clearly, it will take some examination to dig into the wonders this phone can perform. We’ll come back to this notion of discover, capture, share later in this review, but first of all, let’s take a look at the Nokia N82 as a whole.

Read the rest of this entry »

Overview

As one of the first handset-makers to toy with the idea of cameras combined with phones (back in the days before Sony came along, and Ericsson built a clip-on camera for the T39), Sony Ericsson have a reputation as one of the guiding lights of the camera phone world. That reputation was cemented even further with the release of their first phone to carry the Cyber-shot branding, the K800i. That was the first phone that combined a phone with the high-end features of a Cyber-shot digital camera.

But now there’s a new kid on the block, a new Cyber-shot phone taking the brand to a whole new level. It’s the first 5 megapixel Cyber-shot camera phone to be released, and it goes by the name of “Sony Ericsson K850i”.

Expectations were very high for this phone, upon release, and as Sony Ericsson’s first 5 megapixel phone, it was always going to be very much in the spotlight. But the big question is: can the K850i live up to the hype, and actually be as good as everyone hoped it would be?

Read the rest of this entry »

Coming soon to the UK is the latest phone from LG, the LG Venus. Looking at this one alongside its siblings, I think it’s fair to say LG have gone touchscreen mad!

You see, while this may be a follow-up to the LG Chocolate, following the same sliding design, it’s far more advanced. The reason for that is what used to be a navigation key. If you remember back to the Chocolate, that had a nav-key in the middle, with touch-sensitive keys. The new LG Venus, however, has chucked out the idea of a hardware nav-key altogether, and gone with a second screen, juts below the main screen.

That might seem silly, until you realise it’s a touchscreen (told you LG have gone touchscreen mad). You access the phone’s functions by brushing and pressing against that second screen. But, of course, not all the features of the phone will have the same controls, and this is the beauty of having a touchscreen to control it, since the controls will morph and change to match whatever feature you’re using.

So, if you are using the mp3 player, then the screen will show you a play button, a stop button, skip ahead and skip back. If you’re on the LG Venus’s main front screen, it will show you your shortcuts to things like your phonebook or your inbox. Which is really rather clever, and works really rather beautifully. On the sliding bit, you also have a traditional keypad, for actually using the LG Venus as a phone.

And then, of course, you’ve got what’s inside the LG Venus. The specs we’ve seen set the camera at a nicely big 3 megapixels, big enough to give you some really gorgeous photos. You also get a rather rocking mp3 player, which should give your ears all the stimulation they need. And to up the storage space on your phone, whack in a bigger microSD memory card.

As we’ve all said before, though, the mark of a good phone is one that makes you feel good using it. Well, there’s no doubt there, the LG Venus delivers in spades!

As a man who loves both mobile phones and cars, I can categorically state that: “Oh god, I’ve been waiting for this phone to be released!” I’d heard a lot of rumours, and like anyone who’s kept their ears and noses to the ground, I’d seen the pics, heard the stories, and wanted to know more.

Ruddy hell was I in for a shock, when I saw just how good it is, and how well it melds form and function.

First up, the design… Well if any phone can claim to be made of space-age, supercar material, it’s this one, as it has a body made of aluminium, with a screen made of dark mineral glass. Which, and this is no exaggeration, looks spanking gorgeous! So, it’s fair to say it has a supercar body.

But, like I said, there’s function in the form, as well. Open the phone up, and you’ll see it has a rotating screen, which doesn’t make as much sense until you spin it 180 degrees, then close it again. That beautiful glass screen is now on the outside, which makes it perfect for watching high quality videos, and forms a massive viewfinder for the built in 3 megapixel camera. And while we’re on the subject of the camera, at 3 megapixels, it is going to be giving you some pretty damn nice images, especially with the autofocus that comes on it as standard.

It’s got more megapixels than my digital camera, not that I’m bitter…

But there was one more surprise waiting for me in the body of the Porsche P9521, and I had no idea they’d included this feature. My jaw dropped when I found out they have included it, as well. And that’s biometrics.

Ok, that probably means something to about 3 people. It’s one of those words that sounds technical, but means naff all, unless you know what it is. Let me put it another way:

Fingerprint scanner…

So, yes, the Porsche P9521 has a built in fingerprint scanner. Now, for starters, that gives you a nifty little way off navigating the menus on the phone. No button presses, no sir, all you need are finger swipes. But… and it’s a big but… there is another aspect about having a fingerprint scanner: security.

Yep, it’s a James Bond style phone with fingerprint scanner. I LOVE that idea, as it does away with the concept of phone and pin codes entirely, and let’s you get into the phone by using your own, COMPLETELY UNIQUE thumbprint. In a world of identity theft, that’s awesomely comforting, as the only realistic way someone could steal your identity to get in your phone, with the Porsche phone, is to hack your arm off with a machete.

And if that happens, identity fraud will probably be the last thing on your mind…

So, final thoughts… Is the Porsche P9521 any good? God yes. Does it look sexy? Hell yes. Is it more like a 911 or a Carrera GT? Carrera GT, definitely.

All it needs now is a celebrity endorsement. Where’s Richard Hammond when you need him?? This’d be right up his street!

Ooooooooooh, that gives me an idea, too… All the Top Gear boys (let’s face it, Top Gear is easily the best thing on telly… I just wish the BBC’d stop taking it off for the ruddy snooker…) need their own phones. Hammond’s a Porsche nut, he can have the Porsche phone. Lambophone for the esteemed Mr Clarkson. And James May’s gotta have a Fiat Pandaphone, given that he adores Fiat Pandas!

Please note, that image just there doesn’t show real phones. The Pandaphone and Lambophone don’t exist. But it’d be nice if they did…

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[EDIT: As you can see in the comments, we’ve had a special request from the reader “Giles”, to knock up a Bugatti phone. Well Giles, we always listen to our readers, so feast your eyes on THIS!

- Technical Markus]

Ok, I want to know whose bright idea this was, to let me review a fitness phone. I mean come on; I’m known for being an idle sod. Oh, the delicious irony.

Anyway, the Samsung MiCoach… Well, basically, what we have here is a joint venture between Samsung and Adidas. We’ve seen these kind of joint projects before (Samsung Armani, anyone?), but I’ll wager you’ve not seen a joint venture like this before.

You see, it’s not just the Adidas name that Samsung have used. Adidas have, in fact, tweaked and had input in every aspect of the phone.

Because, folks, what we have here is no ordinary mobile phone, no sir. What we have here, in the Samsung MiCoach, is the first fully-featured, fully-reactive and adaptive ‘personal trainer mobile phone’. And because of that the accessories are a tad different than you’d usually get with a phone.

First up, you get a heart rate monitor, to, erm, monitor your heart rate (although if I was doing exercise, it would monitor I was dead). And next, a pedometer (from the Latin ped “foot” and metrum “measure”; look people expect me to be anal-retentive…), or as Adidas call it, a “foot pod”. Simply attach this to your laces (or whack it in the space specifically for it, if you’ve bought a new pair of Adidas trainers), and it measures the distance you’ve travelled, and how fast you’re going.

Sooooooooo, connect those items through Blue Robin ( a low-power-consumption version of Bluetooth, from what I’ve heard), set yourself a specific workout, and the MiCoach will jump on the case as your personal trainer, not just monitoring your performance, but crucially, TELLING YOU WHAT TO DO DURING THE WORKOUT. (Ohhhhhhhhhh, I hope you change the voice on it to be Windsor Davies!)

As well as that, you’ll have access to the dedicated website, micoach.com, where you can store your stats, program workouts… well, pretty much anything you’d need to do to get fit.

Do I think it’s a fabulous idea?

Hell, yes.

Will I ever use one?

Not a cat in hell’s chance…

[EDIT: You lazy sod… - John]