Best Phone Blog

The HTC HD2 is out and its making waves with fans of the Winmo operating system. As a device that runs Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional on a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, the HD2 stands as one of the best WinMo phones available on the market. The best feature of the HTC HD2 however, is the 4.3 inch capacitive touch screen display with an impressive resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. The whole packages makes the HD2 a sought after device. Originally announced as the HTC Leo, then later as Touch 2, and now as the HD2, this device has been changing its names a lot but not its features.

HTC HD2 for O2

Some might be speculating if O2 will carry the HTC HD2; and the wait, is over. Right now, O2 is offering the HTC HD2 for free on plan.  At 40 Euro per month, it’s a great deal and you only need to sign up for one contract. If O2 is not your thing, Vodafone also offers the HTC HD2 for similar rates. For everyone else, there’s always the option to turn to retail.

HD2 Hardware Specifications

The HTC HD2’s biggest asset is its 4.3 inch screen. The display resolution of 480 x 800 pixels is stunningly crisp and clear, and the actual screen brightness delivers visual joy. The Snapdragon processor has 1 GHz of power, more than enough to run the Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional operating system and the HTC Sense (HTC Sense is an improved version of the HTC TouchFlo interface). The 1230 mAh battery provides excellent battery life for both talk times (up to 6 hours) and stand-by (over 400 hours).

Overall, the whole phone weighs in at 157 grams. Slightly noticeable, but it will hardly put a strain on you. All in all, the HTC HD2 is an excellent mobile phone that combines an OS with good features with an excellent proprietary interface; and it has an amazing screen too.

If you have been yearning for a stylish mobile phone and have no heart for the techie-looking styles of most mobile devices, then LG has got quite a mobile phone for you.  The BL20 Chocolate is a phone that earns its fame for its impressive visual appeal. The design of the phone, its colors, button layout and overall appearance are so strikingly good that getting this device purely for its looks would be a reasonable action. Of course, LG is no slouch and they have put in some pretty impressive hardware and features on this device. The LG BL20 has great functionality and even greater form, a perfect fit for the most visually discerning mobile phone enthusiasts.

Hardy Hardware

When you have a phone that looks really good, you start wondering whether the manufacturer may have sacrificed features. With the BL20, LG still delivers excellent functionality. BL20 reviews are quick to point out that despite the phone’s fashionable purpose, it does not lose out in terms of practicality. The device has a 2.4 inch screen, a 5 mega pixel camera, support for 16GB microSD cards (and lower) and a battery with an amazing 450 hours of standby time (that is approximately 5 hours of talk time).

This is a serious 3G device with a great look exterior. Expect to do your web browsing via 3G HSDPA (or if not available, on GPRS or EDGE) and make full use of several of the fancy widgets that are already included in the device.

A Good Comeback

The BL20 new Chocolate phone is a good step for LG. Combining product releases like these with their other top-tier devices goes to show the design sensibility and engineering know how that has made LG the third largest mobile phone manufacturer. With the current direction of their Chocolate series, it is exciting to wonder what the next mobile phone to carry this name will be.

Toshiba TG01 is now officially the first smart phone to hit the US mobile market with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1Ghz processor. This Handset was released simultaneously in a series of European markets in July and its distributor confirms that it has been in ever increasing strong demand in Spain, France, UK, Germany and Italy. Using these statistics, Toshiba also launched it in Taiwan although there are rumours that it is planned to be launched in the US Mobile market through the Telephone Giant Verizon Wireless.

This mobile phone comes with Microsoft’s Windows Mobile Operating System on board. Although it was initially released with Windows Mobile 6.1, Toshiba has also released a WinMo 6.5-based version to the mobile market. Also an update to the new OS has been delivered as an addition to the older model. It also showcases a large touch screen display and a powerful processor.

According to Yasahiro Yamada, who is the general manager of overseas sales and marketing, “the company (Toshiba Communication) is also geared towards improving its handset offerings by introducing new models by the next year which may feature QWERTY keyboards and multimedia oriented devices.”

The Toshiba TG01 has been sold for a retail price of $647.There is no immediate information as to whether the gadget will be exclusive to a carrier although there is a likelihood of this springing up in the near future since the handset is expected to be released to the American market under Verizon wireless airwaves.

When the Lite was first announced around September, several fans have started to check if they could get the Galaxy Lite on contract. No surprise there, the released specs of the Galaxy Lite create a most impressive mobile phone worth having. As the name implies, the Lite is a successor of the original Samsung Galaxy, but with a much smaller internal storage and a downgraded camera. Still, at 1GB of internal storage and a 3.2 mega pixel camera, the Galaxy Lite still stands as a pretty good 3G device.

Where it Stands

Most Galaxy Lite reviews are pitting this mobile phone up against the T-Mobile Pulse and the HTC Tattoo. No surprise there as these three devices are this quarter’s budget Android mobile phones. Yes, while not commonly known, Galaxy Lite is an Android mobile phone. Its latest photos show the logo of the Android on both the front and back of the device (looks like they want to make it clear).

The PDA database lists the Lite to be running the Android 1.5 Cupcake. Aside from the cute Android logo print, the phone features a 3 inch AMOLED touch screen up front. The images it can display are some of the brightest and clearest among its competitors.

Lite Specs

The old i5700 Galaxy Lite video shows features and specifications that still hold true, with the exception of the bright green casing and the white front finish. Though there are some folks who might like those colours, Samsung has decided to go traditional and use a matte black finish for the phone. Inside, a Qualcomm MSM7201A will be providing 528 MHz of processing speed for this Cupcake phone. The Galaxy Lite conveniently supports WiFi, Bluetooth and micro USB connections. The removable battery is rated at 1500 mAh promising long hours of usage and standby time.

If you have not seen the new videos of Pulse; the pay-as-you-go Android smart phone from T-Mobile, then you should take long good look at this interesting mobile phone. There is a bit of roughness in terms of the actual hardware itself. Manufacturer Huawei is new to the mobile phone industry and they have only released this first Android device at the Mobile World Congress recently. Still, the team up of T-Mobile and Huawei brings the Google Android to a whole new market that it could never reach before. The pay as you go set up is not just unique, but it is also very cost effective.

Compromises in Quality

Not to be biased but having this mobile developed by Huawei may have been a smart cheap choice. Still, the cheapness shows in the final product as you see the interface response to controls is not as fast. It tends to lag a little and the overall phone is a little bit thick.

What is nice is that Huawei has adjusted the edges of this phone to give it a smoother appearance. The external finish is a nice smooth texture –that does not attract as much finger prints as you would expect. We agree with other Pulse reviews when we say that these little nuances are not a big deal.

Very Good Deals

What makes the Pulse stand out is that you can get some pretty good contracts for it. It is a pay-as-you-go mobile phone. Buyers should take advantage of the T-Mobile Pulse deals; of course, you could also opt to look for a package which offers unlimited internet access and messaging. This is not just the only cheap Android phone, it is probably the cheapest 3.5 inch capacitive touch screen 3G smart phone you can find these days.

If you have been looking forward to getting the HTC Click and cannot seem to find any new updates for it, it is because this HTC Android 1.6 Donut smart phone has been renamed to Tattoo. Do not worry though, aside from the name change, nothing else has been altered in the mobile phone. For the rest of you wondering what is so special about this HTC Android (HTC has been pretty prolific with creating Android smart phones), the Tattoo is more of a mid-tier mobile phone that provides great features, standard hardware and a really reasonable price. Reasonable, but still not cheap, you be able to find a good contract or deal for an unlimited internet access subscription.

Consolidation of Contacts

Contact information in your mobile phone can be consolidated with you internet profiles. The HTC Tattoo will support Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and several other social networking websites through web integrated applications in the Tattoo giving you quick access of updates, uploaded media, tweets, everything. If you have a favorite contact who keeps you constantly amused with their funny uploads, you can easily track all their shared media with the Tattoo. HTC takes the integration one step further by adding hotkeys on the device allowing you to instantly access these web integrated features. If you want to go check Twitter or make a Tweet of your own, a single touch of the Tweet button will bring you to the page you need.

Why Go for a Contract

As you may have expected, web access will give you the best features of this mobile phone. The Tattoo makes full utilization of both its web integrated applications and the many Google Mobile Web applications such as Google Maps, Google Mail and Google Talk. The best contracts for the HTC Tattoo are those that give you unlimited internet access.

If you are the kind of person who likes to work on the go and needs a mobile phone that can serve as a mini-desktop office, then the HTC Touch 2 is the perfect mobile phone for you. There are plenty of other mobile phones out there that cater specifically to messaging and typing applications, but office needs require more than that. This is where the hardware of HTC and the features of Windows Mobile provide you with all the features that you will need. Office based purchasers should consider looking up some HTC Touch 2 contracts for their companies if you plan on providing this mobile phone to your employees; and we certainly recommend that you do.

Windows Mobile Office on the Go

The most important feature of Windows Mobile, no matter what version is the Pocket Office. This gives you access and creation capabilities for Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations. These three file formats are the cornerstone of many office papers and presentations. Aside from Pocket Office, there is also Outlook for sending and receiving emails. New in version 6.5 of Windows Mobile Professional is the Windows Marketplace, an application store that allows users to get new applications for their mobile phones. This will increase the capabilities of your HTC Touch 2.

The Touch 2’s Overall Score

If you check other Touch 2 reviews, you will find that many other people have found that this mobile phone is best fitting for a specific purpose instead of being a multi usage device. Overall, it’s a great mobile phone with a decent OS and solid hardware capabilities. The only thing missing are additional web integrated applications but that should be fixed with the inclusion of the application store. Others might say that this device will be facing competition from the XPERIA X2, but the Touch 2 has a niche of its own.

The XPERIA series of Sony Ericsson has always been their high end line of mobile phones. Currently in the works for this line up is the Android XPERIA X10 and the X5 Pureness. Still, when you think high-end, a Windows Mobile phone is not the first thing you would like to see. After all, nothing maxes out the full potential of hardware like other operating systems. This does not mean that you cannot have a high end phone using the Windows Mobile operating system. In fact, thanks to the many built in features of WinMo, it makes for an impressive OS (despite being a little clunky to use).

Speed and Performance

The biggest flaw of WinMo operating systems is that they tend to slow down a lot. Sony has not been able to prevent slowdowns and it still is quite prevalent. What Sony has done is to take the practical approach and provide just the right amount of hardware for the OS. The Qualcomm MSM 7200 processor may seem like a slow choice, but the 528 MHz is just enough to get Windows running nicely. Any faster and you would still experience the slowdowns –but then you would be complaining that the hardware is wasted. With the MSM 7200, the performance is just right.

Balance in Features

The XPERIA X2’s software features are reliant on the OS while the hardware provides the means. Thanks to WinMo, there is a built in document editor and viewer, email, internet browser, games support and GPS functionality, Sony Ericsson provides the means for the phone with full QWERTY keyboard, 3.5 inch resistive touch screen, 8 mega pixel camera, and other 3G basics such as quad band support and 3G HSDPA & WiFi. The XPERIA X2 is slated to be released on the fourth quarter of 2009 so expect this phone to arrive any week now so keep an eye for good Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 deals.

Why did Blackberry even release the older version in the first place? Its latest versions to last year’s weakly received smartphones are so much better and should have been the ones most users are holding now. In fact, the lackluster performance of the Storm last year only tarnished the quality of phone devices from Blackberry. It was so full of bugs, disappointing operational features and didn’t have the much-demanded Wi-Fi.

Thanks for the stringent marketing campaigns of Vodafone in Europe and that of Verizon in North America, the Storm did have good sales. But more thanks to those who demanded for improvements to the software, inclusion of the Wi-Fi and larger memory capacity. Now the Storm2 is out to recover from the rather lame reviews that the older version got last year.

For starters, the operating systems are way much improved, making users appreciate the Storm2 being a touch-screen device. Text messaging, emails and other tasks are now a breeze with the unit. Plus, being Wi-Fi ready makes the device indispensable to business and corporate users. Then there’s the internal memory that integrated at 2BG and comes expandable to 16GB via microSD card slot.

The unchanged specifications include the touchscreen display, the 3.2 megapixel camera with flash and autofocus features, stereo Bluetooth upgraded to 2.1 and an integrated GPS. Its multimedia player supports Windows Media, MPEG4, H.263 and H.254 files and MP3.

As with other Blackberrys, this device’s email support will always be the strongest point preferred by business people and other consumers. Plus, the handy personal information management features helps in the device organization that comes truly helpful for busy people. Other needed applications could also be downloaded via the Blackberry App World.

For related information regarding this post, go to: Mobile Gazette