SmartPhone Reviews

Samsung has added a new "toy" to its Ultra portfolio with the introduction of Ultra Smart F700 smartphone. The Ultra Smart is a part of Samsung's Ultra portfolio which has a full touch screen as well as QWERTY key pad. It reproduces the recent trend in telecommunications industry of touch screen user interface and, for users who are not yet familiar with a touch-screen-only user interface, it also implements a QWERTY key pad and VibeTonz technology which allows them to feel the buttons accompanied by responsive vibrations.

A "Drag and drop" method of touch screen was acquired for easier menu navigation along with music play list control for an expanded multimedia experience. Volume, play lists, brightness of screens as well as other menu control can be controlled utilizing the touch screen.

As speed is becoming crucial for data communications, Samsung has included the latest trends in mobile to the Ultra Smart F700. The Ultra Smart reflects the latest speed of 7.2 Mbps under the HSDPA network. Once the 7.2 Mbps HSDPA network completely deployed, F700 users can download an mp3 song (about 4MB each) in 4.4 seconds. A full HTML browser along with the QWERTY key pad enables easy access to the internet for e-mail and data services.

Using the new F700, business and creative professionals are able to view content on a stunning 2.78" color display. The device features first class entertainment with a top-of-the-line 5 mega-pixel camera with auto focus and Bluetooth. With 7.2 Mbps HSDPA, it makes it easier to watch videos, listen to songs, share high-quality photos, or catch up on email on the move.

"The introduction of our Ultra Smart F700 reflects the needs of today's consumers by including features such as touch screen, enhanced connectivity to mobile internet, and access to an array of multimedia content," said Geesung Choi, President of Samsung's Telecommunications Network Business. "The Ultra Smart F700 is a good example of how mobile phone will evolve in the future. Samsung will focus on bringing products that reflect and pursue our position as a premium leader".

Samsung F700 Specification:
Network & Data: 3G UMTS 2.1GHz, EDGE Class 10, GPRS Class10, HSDPA
Band: Tri Band (900/1800/1900 MHz)
Operation System: Proprietary
Java: CLDC 1.1, Java MIDP 2.0
Weight: 139g
Dimension: 112x 56x15.9 mm
Camera Resolution: 3.0 Megapixel
Digital / Optical Zoom: 3x Digital Zoom
Brightness: 6x Brightness
Video player: 3GPP, H.263, H.264, MPEG4, WMV

Mobile business has become synonymous with BlackBerry, and the 8300, also known as the BlackBerry Curve, is one of the most universal, multipurpose business smartphones seen on the market. Whether you use your smartphone strictly for business or for an entertainment, the Curve is up to the task.

This shiny and glossy BlackBerry has smooth lines and metallic casing. But the most striking thing, is what’s inside—this small device is packed with practical applications.

Productivity and efficiency.
The 8300 uses a 312 MHz Intel processor, the same PXA901 "Hermon" processor used in other BlackBerry devices. Although a 312MHz processor might sound slow by notebook standards, the processor keeps the operating system moving quickly and applications run without any lag. BlackBerry is known for its high efficiency and business tools and the BlackBerry Curve is no exception. The Curve’s operating system includes personal information management (calendar, task list, etc.) as well as a calculator, alarm clock and airplane mode. And supplementary, the curve is compatible with third party software so there are tones of applications to meet your needs.

Technical Specifications.
This magnificent style phone has a full QWERTY keypad making it easy to respond to emails or even edit documents like Excel and Word. The Curve makes full use of its nice 320-by-240-pixel LCD, pushing the full potential of the QVGA screen when viewing videos or photos. The main system screen and most applications have a graphics-heavy appearance that rivals the look of lower resolution notebook screens. The 2.4-inch screen also provides enough space for the applications and web sites with lots of images. Built-in digital cameras are now common among smartphones, but the two megapixel camera in the Curve is more useful than many others. The Curve comes with 64MB of internal flash memory, which is sufficient for most applications and uses. However, anyone storing music files, video, or a large number of digital image files should think through purchasing a microSD card. The smartphone features a simple mini-USB plug for charging and data connectivity, located on the upper left edge of the case below the headset jack. The 1000 mAh battery in the 8300 is rated for about 4 hours (240 minutes) of talk time, or 17 days (408 hours) of standby.

Mulitmedia Features.
The media player included on the Curve makes it simple to enjoy your beloved media on the go. You can play video in pulsating color and high-quality music. The BlackBerry Desktop Media Manager, based on Roxio Media Creator, will help you operate your videos pictures and songs.

Voice/ Text Features.
The Curve offers standard cell phone features like speaker phone, three-way calling, conference calling and SMS and MMS messaging.

Internet Features.
BlackBerry Curve allows you to view webpages in their entireness. You can also use the Curve as a tethered modem, so it acts as the wireless modem for your laptop—an excellent feature for business trips when you’re stuck without a connection. And one disappointment - it doesn’t connect to Wi-Fi for faster Internet speeds.

Specifications:

Processor: 312 MHz Intel PXA901 Hermon processor
Operating System: BlackBerry 4.2.2 with Java support
Display: 320 x 240 (QVGA) transmissive/reflective LCD
Memory: 64 MB flash
Size & Weight: 4.2 inches long x 2.4 inches wide x 0.6 inches thick; 111g
Expansion: microSD card slot
Camera: 2 MP, flash, zoom, self-portrait mirror
Video formats: MPEG4 Part 2 Simple Profile, H.263, WMV
Audio formats: MP3, MIDI, AMR-NB, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+, WMA, WAV
Docking: mini-USB plug
Communication: Quad-band GSM/EDGE; Bluetooth 2.0
Audio: Earpiece; microphone; speakerphone; 2.5 MM headset jack
Battery: 3.7 volt, 1000mAh Lithium Ion replaceable, rechargeable battery
Input: QWERTY keyboard; multi-directional trackball; send key, menu key, escape/back key, and end/power key

The BlackBerry Curve is amazing all around smartphone. Smart and powerful, smooth sweeping lines awaken your senses making the smartphone simply irresistible. It excels in business functions, yet still has the tools you need to create, manage and enjoy your media.

The T-Mobile Wing smartphone is designed to entertain as well as keep you on task and up-to-date. The Wing is one of the first mobile phones to run Windows Mobile 6 Professional edition and it has Microsoft Mobile Office Suite for creating, editing and viewing documents.

The phone is extremely capable as well as fun with a nearly three inch screen and the ability to play music and video. The Wing comes with Microsoft's Direct Push technology that works via Microsoft’s Exchange Server for synchronizing Outlook. The mobile phone does not offer as many corporate connection options as the Blackberry, but if you use Microsoft Exchange Server you should me able to sync up just fine. This smartphone is Wi-Fi enabled so in the office, at the airport or hotel, or even at home with a wireless connection you should be able to surf the Internet easily.

The Wing has all of the basic productivity tools we were looking for and most of the travel, with the exception of built in GPS. As mentioned above it has the full Microsoft Mobile Office Suite so you can view, create and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents and it has an Adobe reader.

This mobile phone includes great email support, including Microsoft's Direct Push technology for real-time email and automatic syncing with Outlook. It is also compatible with Exchange Server and if you have Exchange Server 2007 you get advanced email functions like out-of-office replies and more. Like the iPhone, you can directly dial phone numbers inside email messages or go to web addresses directly from an address mentioned in an email just by tapping on the touchscreen. You can also view your emails in full HTML and view attachments. Of course it also supports POP3 and IMAP email and you can also easily set up the Wing to receive emails from multiple accounts.

The Wing is Wi-Fi enabled and can present full HTML webpages and emails. It supports common IM services like Yahoo, MSN, ICQ and AOL. The Wing can also be used as a modem for your laptop. In terms of Internet features and abilities it has each feature we were looking for.

Like most high end cell phones, the Wing has a two megapixel camera; it can also capture video in MPEG-4, Motion JPEG and H.263 format. The Wing camera has an 8x zoom and several other features, but in general has a typical camera for a cell phone.

The Wing also plays music, video and games. The single multimedia feature it is missing is the ability to play FM radio, but it can play streaming radio stations. However, the Wing does not support a 3.5mm headphone jack, so the sound quality may fall short compared to other phones.

The Wing is a bit on the heavy side, at six ounces, but otherwise it has a textured covering for a good grip that makes it easy to hold on to and it has a nearly three inch, 65,000 color and 240x320 pixel touch screen. For extra memory it has a microSD expansion slot for up to 2GB of storage, but we would like to see a little more RAM to make multitasking faster.

If you are a T-Mobile subscriber looking for a highly functional phone that is a bit more fun than a Blackberry, you should check out the Wing.