Best Phone Blog

The great marketing maxim that you shouldn’t be tinkering with a successful product goes out the window with the HTC Desire Z. The Taiwan-based leader in smartphones HTC did just that. It took its highly successfully HTC Desire released this March and decided it can reach more markets by adding a full QWERTY keyboard in a slider form factor.

HTC didn’t sacrifice much of the slim profile of the Desire as its QWERTY version has a 14.2mm profile making it one of the slimmest QWERTY sliders on the market.

Feature Desirability

Apart from that, HTC traded the beefy muscles of the older Desire’s 1GHz Snapdragon for a less endowed by just as capable 800 MHz Qualcomm MSM7230 under the hood. At least you now get the latest Android v2.2 to run the HTC Desire Z. You give some, you lose some, right?

But for all intents and purposes, the two are almost identical, with the same 3.7-inch capacitive touchscreen display all the bells like proximity and accelerometer sensors, Swipe and multitouch input technologies, 480 x 800 resolution and 16 million colors. The display is S-LCD which is no less as good as the AMOLED in the first early batches of the Desire which now uses the same screens, thanks to Samsung’s inability to meet the HTC needs.

The new Desires features quad band GSM on 2G with class 32 GPRS/EDGE connectivity speeds and a dual band UMTS on 3G with HSDPA at 14.14 Mbps and HSUPA at 5.7 Mbps data speeds. Local data transfers get WiFi 802.11 b/g/n for hotspot surfing, Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP, microUSB v2.0 and an in-built GPS receiver with A-GPS.

Imaging gets a 5-megapixel shooter with autofocus, LED flash, face detection, geo tagging and video recording at 720p high definition. Mobile entertainment starts with its Stereo FM receiver with RDS, a 3.5mm audio jack and wireless A2DP stereo listening option.

HTC puts in a generous 1.5 GB of user memory coupled with a 512 MB RAM for its OS files. You also get a 32GB microSD support. A 1300 mAh Li-ion battery delivers up to 9.8 hours of call time on 2G, 6.6 hours on 3G with a standby time of 430 hours.

There are plenty of great reasons to own a good mobile phone. But there is an additional functionality that all new phone buyers should always consider: social networking capabilities.

In this day and age, almost everyone is expected to own and maintain a social networking account, a Twitter profile and of course, have access to instant messaging. Add into that the recently semi-established norm of owning an email address and you have all the reasons to buy a good phone that can address all of these.

Fortunately, picking up a Nokia X3 Touch and Type contract will get the job done.

Connectivity is Power

There is little doubt that having integrated Facebook and Twitter functions are quite commonly found in many high end devices –but in the mid to low end market, having these features and the ability to easily connect online is often a mad game of trial and error.

When it comes to entry level devices, it becomes an impossible hunt. This is why the Nokia Touch and Type is able to shine amongst its competitors. This handset has both 3G and WiFi capabilities as well as integrated social networking tools.

Great Form Factor

Of course, being a low to mid range handset, the Nokia Touch and Type is hardly the most powerful device around. But it is quite practical.

The phone’s keypad is unique with the special layout of having a four column setup. While it is not the first of its kind, it is a design that many people are not used to. Fortunately, learning to type fast on this handset is quite easy and there are no known issues with the way the buttons are arranged.

Another great thing about this phone is the 2.4 inch resistive touch screen that makes navigating the user interface or using social networking tools extremely easy. The same touch screen/keypad combination is also used on the C3 and you’ll be pleased to know that some great Nokia C3 Touch and Type deals are available, too.

September is just a few months away and so is the launch of Windows Phone 7 (if earlier rumors are to be believed). The new platform from Microsoft is quite different from the previous Windows Mobile operating system and so is the target user base.

WP7’s main focus is on social networking, and while some users might appreciate the new approach, other could say that Microsoft has taken it too far.

There is nothing wrong about social networking on a smart phone; in fact, one can pretty much expect it. Integrated features for Facebook and Twitter are so commonplace that some smart phone buyers already consider if a basic feature. However, Microsoft has taken it one step further by choosing to replace certain aspects of the handset with social networking features –namely, the contact list.

This is where Microsoft might have stepped on a proverbial landmine. For most people, the friends list on Facebook is a collection of friends, family and “random acquaintances that would really help boost the number of people you get to play with on Facebook’s gaming applications”. That said; it is common that a mobile phone would have a more personal list of contacts. Microsoft takes away that distinction by placing everyone in a linked Facebook account into the smart phone’s contacts page.

Since the process is automated and there is no way of preventing it, the only other thing that people can do is to not associate a Facebook account in the OS.

Still, the OS manages to shine in many other aspects. The new UI design is both unique and impressive. But most old school users might not be able to adapt to the bleeding effect of the cut off text on top of the pages. The large empty space on the side might also throw off some users –especially those who want to fill up the entire screen with content.

Running out of batteries is a social phenomenon –it happens during the most unfortunate of circumstances. At least, that is how most of us remember it. The truth is, mobile phone batteries run out of charge regularly; even if the device is not being used, if it stays on standby long enough, the battery will eventually have to be recharged. But people do not always observe the rates at which their batteries drain, which is why it happens all too often that many forget to charge their devices or simply find themselves in an hour long trip with only 30 minutes of power left.

In order to ensure that a user are able to fully utilize a phone’s charged up battery, here are a few simple tips to keep the energy supply last longer.

First off, set things on low. Mobile phones have plenty of settings; speaker volume, ringer volume, LCD lights and more. If you need it, use it; but unless you are really hard of hearing, setting a ringer volume on a lower setting will help conserve energy (and it is also more polite to lower down the volume when in certain locations too).

The screen is one thing that many people tend to ignore. There are often settings for how bright the screen should be (especially for touch screen devices) as well as how long the backlights stay on. Lowering the duration of time that lights stay on as well as the overall brightness will conserve energy.

Second, stay offline. If you really do not need to see the latest live updates to your social network, it is best to disconnect from 3G. Not only will this save energy, it will also save you from exceeding the monthly data bandwidth.

There are many more ways to keep a phone from using up too much energy, but what matters most is keeping aware of how you are using that energy and knowing when you should recharge.

It seems that the famous social networking tool (or to be more technically correct, micro-blogging device) Twitter has been having a few technical problems recently.

According to reports, the system was having availability and refresh issues on various areas and territories with the new features being added in as well as the improvements in Twitter’s overall performance. Despite the many complains that went up over the weekend, the micro blogging company says that everything is fine now and users can go back to their daily tweets.

Come to think of it, a slight performance hiccup over the weekend is not really a serious issue, particularly, when the symptoms were more of intermittent issues as compared to actual service removal. Yet, many people were reacting so quickly to it. It appears that our society is far more reliant on Twitter than originally thought. In fact, if Twitter can get a reaction like this, who knows what will happen if Facebook stays offline for about three full days?

In other Twitter news, it seems that mobile phone users who are fond of location based services such as Foursquare and Gowalla would be happy to know that the micro blogging site is about to launch their own Twitter Places function. The service will be combining both the phone’s GPS data with the Twitter app allowing users to add a location tag to their tweets.

While many are excited at the great possibilities that can be done with their new feature, there is concern as to what Twitter will be doing to the GPS data. While it is presumed that the feature will not automatically get user info when not allowed, there is always the possibility data mining.

In any case, the Twitter service has already been restored and according to the latest updates, users should no longer have any issues to deal with.

Chances are, you have already heard of Foursquare, a smart phone application that lets people log in their attendance or presence in establishments all over the world. The point of the app is simple: check in enough times and earn badges. These virtual badges commemorate many visiting highlights –such as the 20th time a user has checked in to a bar.

It’s a basic concept, but some establishments are now rewarding users depending on the number of badges they earn for that place. More often than not, Foursquare users have to ask the staff if they have earned anything for their badges. Of course, in order to do this, a user must have a smart phone with GPS capabilities.

Now, another location based service is also promising actual rewards for checking in and these promises are actually constant. Looptstar is a new location based service that works pretty much like Foursquare, but has official industry partners; which means that the rewards are already stated beforehand.

These real life incentives come in different forms, visiting the Gap store twice will grant users a purchase discount on the second visit. Checking in other locations will net users free downloadable content (usually music MP3s and other similar media).

While Looptstar promises plenty of actual rewards, some locations still have virtual bonuses –Starbucks grants an Honorary Barista title to the one with the most Looptstar check-ins; similar to the Mayor badge of Foursquare.

For now, the presence of these location based networks is still a novelty for many users. Even with their growing influence, Foursquare and Looptstar are still far from the industry giant Facebook. But if this trend keeps up and more and more businesses start recognizing the value of these location based services, it is not too hard to imagine that these apps will someday become the pioneers in the new frontier of social networking.

There is no doubt that our generation’s engineers and industrial designers are some of the most prolific that human civilization has ever seen. In the past few years, technology has grown at an exponential rate –one that has never been matched in any previous stage of civilization.

The mobile phone industry, and in a much wider sense, the telecommunications industry, has enjoyed a large period of growth. WiFi and 3G networks have brought better internet access and connectivity between people all over the world. The internet, email and most importantly, social networking, were no longer limited to access at home or at the office in front of a computer, people can just whip out their smart phones and instantly get connected to friends and family online.

Social networking is very influential; there are already several cases wherein people are finding themselves emotionally and psychologically reliant on being able to access the social networking site. There are people who are compulsive Twitter users too. It is ironic that as the best and latest technology seems to be able to adjust and cater more and more to the needs of society, it is humanity that is unable to cope with the technology that has been developed.

The signs have started to appear; children who are born and taught about the internet early find themselves being influenced more and more by online media and social networking than their own parents or through actual, physical contact with friends.

With the older generation of teachers and parents being brought up in a culture that lacked the devices we see and use today, there is a growing need to adjust teaching and social standards. The main reason why children are not prepared to handle the various problems that can be found online, the real fault lies with parents who are not properly equipped to provide the educational needs of children.

Considering that almost everyone has a smart phone and a Facebook or Twitter account these days, it is practically a given that anyone knows how to get online. However, getting online is just the first part, actually knowing what is safe to do on the internet however, is a completely different matter.

Fending off scams and phishing attempts is one thing but being able to determine bad user policies is the other. This is the current case that many people are having with the famous social networking website, Facebook (though you probably already know that).

What you may not know however, is that Facebook has the right to share your username, profile details and even friend lists on any site they wish to disclose the information to, and according to recent reports, Facebook is about to actually put that right into play. There will be predetermined web sites that Facebook allegedly trusts and will be sharing user information with.

For many, this may not seem like a big deal, but in fact, it is a threat to security for many users. Being able to control the privacy of an account within Facebook is already difficult, as figuring out whether how much visible you want to be can be quite the dilemma. Now, Facebook is adding in a new factor: external websites that would be given your data as long as you are still logged into Facebook.

The only way to deal with this now is to manually log out of Facebook before visiting other websites –a serious hassle for anyone used to checking Facebook while browsing other sites. With many of the current users already protesting this change in policy, we can expect to see a reaction from the social networking site within the next few days.

Read more about the new privacy policy at Bernama.

No matter how we look at it, being online is going to be a crucial part of day to day existence.

Already we can see the difference with people who have access to online resources to those who do not. Manufacturers are able to stay on top of business trends and have a more in depth look at the market to predict possible needs. Obtaining resources such as information is faster and more convenient online than having to go out and research at a local library. Even the simple act of getting in touch with friends and family has become something we rely on Facebook and email for.

The integration of the internet to our daily lives has been helped by computers and net books, but if there is one device to blame as to why we rely so much on online access, it is the smart phone.

The average smart phone these days has WiFi, 3G or both. Missing these features turns any smart phone into something undesirable. The mobile phone which we carry with us everyday has become not only a device for calling and messaging, but a way to get online anytime and anywhere.

Better technology has also encouraged going online as well.

Touch screen display has made using the phone easy and fun. Bigger and better resolutions are also one reason why most people no longer consider using the humble computer for going online –especially if all they want to do is check Facebook and send a couple of Tweets.

Speaking of which, it is the prevalence of social networking tools that has made everyone such online addicts. Many prefer to interact with others through their online profiles than in real life.

Get to know more about technology changed the way we live and learn at Pocket Lint.