Sony Ericsson Idou

It’s the big word on everyone’s lips and unlike all of the other blogs, forums and sites out there we have inside information on the power house of a phone!
After it debut at the World Mobile Conference in Barcelona, tongues have been wagging at the prospect of owning what could be the most ground breaking handset the worlds has ever seen.

So what is all the hype all about, you may ask?

Well not only will this phone be the one of the first 12 megapixel GSM camera phones (Samsung & LG may win the release battle) but its will also be the first device to run on the brand new open source Symbian operating system.

With Sony-Ericsson reducing their portfolio to fewer than 20 handsets this year the Idou is intended to be the star performer for 2009, reaping the accolades that the X1 attained in 2008.

As we have close ties with the people at Sony-Ericsson I was able to actually try out the first prototype of the Idou and to be honest there is not much that I can really tell you because it was such an early prototype therefore a lot of function were not operable.

However what can be said it that the Idou is a very light weight handset for it size. At first look at the back you can see close similarities to the C905 with the sliding camera cover.

Then on the front side, elements of the X1 are clearly visible with the wide and responsive touch screen.

The menu button, centrally located on the handset, drives you to a host of features such as internet, emails, media player and of course the 12 MP camera that produces exceptionally crisp images even in the prototype stages.

Unfortunately a lot of features were not fully operable but with a release date scheduled for October 2009, there is a lot of time to make developments and I’m sure that the next prototype will be a crowd pleaser.

Back to blogging

Yes after a long hiatus, we a back to blogging!

Much has happened since our last report way back in October so without further ado, let's get into some of the highlights of this quarter so far!

8 Mega-Pixel Battle

As the war of the smart phones continues with the eagerly awaited X1 destined to rack up global sales and topple the ever so dominant i-phone, yet another battle has begun, this time the race is on for the best camera phone.

Gone are the days of limited mega-pixel ranges with phones that are only capable of taking still grainy images.

Now for the first time we are seeing the emergence of 8 mega pixel camera phones, capable of recording high quality video, playing audio whilst being light weight and micro sized.

At the moment four 8 mega-pixel camera phones are hotly tipped for U.K. release and they are amazing to say the least.

See what you think of these mega-pixel giants from the brief summary below:

Samsung M8800

This year Samsung have really been hard at work pushing out some great phones, such as the Tocco, Soul and of course the mesmerizing Omnia. Now they have entered the mega-pixel race with not one but two 8 mega-pixel phones.

The first phone being the M8800, this touch screen beauty with its large 3.2 inch screen is capable of display 16 million colours and is rumoured to provide HDTV quality viewing.

This is no brick though, at only 15.5mm wide it wont bulge in your pocket and its rumoured to include some of the following software:

• CNN News & Sport,
• Accu Weather Forecasts,
• Google Search & Maps

With the large screen, multimedia abilities and improved touch responsiveness this handset looks very promising and I can’t wait to get hold of the full spec’s.

It’s not clear when the official release date is, or if it will be officially known as the M8800 or by the name ‘Samsung Bresson’ but what is certain is that this phone is definitely something to look out for.

Image courtesy of mobilegazette.com

Samsung Innov8

Next up from Samsung is the Innov8 or the i8510 as it is professionally known and this is one mind blowing 8 mega-pixel camera-phone.

Running on a Symbian 9.3 O/S the i8510 is a well spec’d phone, coming in 8 GB and 16GB variants, with 3G and HSDPA as well as Wi-Fi connectivity.

From just a glimpse at the brief spec list below, you can see how good this phone really is:

Dimensions: 106.5 x 53.9 x 17.2 mm, 140 g

Display: 2.8-inch 16M colour TFT, QVGA resolution (240 x 320 pixels)

Video camera: MPEG4 VGA@30fps, QVGA@120fps high-speed recording

Battery: Li-Ion 1200 mAh, Talk time: 8 h 30 min, Standby: 310 h

Memory: 128 MB RAM, 8/16GB flash storage, hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 16GB)

The Samsung i8510 also features integrated GPS and as for the 8MP camera, it holds an application that automatically geotags photographs in addition to the following:

• autofocus,
• mechanical shutter,
• automatic lens cover,
• dual Power LED flash,
• digital image stabilizer,
• auto panorama shot,
• face / smile / blink detection,

These features combined with the neat optical touchpad, 3D hardware accelerator, accelerometer functionality and DivX support make it a very desirable handset that seems to break even the biggest boundaries.

The Samsung i8510 is currently available on limited networks.

The LG KC910 Renoir

Boasting such phones as the Prada, Viewty and the Secret, LG proudly enters the race with the phenomenal LG KC910.

Just like the Samsung M8800 the KC910 is yet another multimedia power house, with the ability to play DivX and Xvid movies, without the need for additional coding plus it boasts to be the first handset to incorporate a "Dolby Mobile" audio enhancement system, abolishing the days of distorted audio.

The LG KC910 is just 14mm thick and has a 3in touch screen but of course the most impressive feature has to be the 8MP camera.

With Xenon flash and a large Schnieder Kreuznach lens, the KC910 shows that images are its being and maintains this stance by incorporating manual focus modes, image stabilisation, face tracking, smile and blink detection in addition to the ability to capture video at 120fps.

The KC910 may not be a smart-phone but it looks like a real contender in the 8MP race.

The KC910 will be available during the third quarter of 2009.

Sony-Ericsson C905

The word on the web is that the C905 is the most advanced camera phone yet and with its 8.1 million mega-pixels supported with Xenon flash, maybe the rumours are true.

Face-detection, image stabilisation, GPS ‘photo tagging’ and autofocus all come as standard but what is good about this phone is that it really acts like a digital camera.

Features such as Sony Ericsson’s multishot "BestPic" which allows you to select the best image from a range of images, just add to its distinction.

There is even a tripod kit (IPK-100) available to purchase for those who have that higher level of perfection and with 160Mb of internal memory plus a 2GB memory card included in the box there is more than enough space for you to capture the world around you.

This sliding handset has a 2.4" TFT display measuring 240 x 320, which is some what smaller than some of its competitors but with Google Maps, GPS, WiFi, HSDPA, Stereo Bluetooth and an FM radio at hand this certainly makes up for the difference.

There's also a version of the Access Netfront web browser, push email support, instant messaging, photo blogging support and a great multimedia player.

The C905 will be available from October 2008.

For more information and to pre-register visit se-store.co.uk

Sony-Ericsson G750

The G750 in the new handset from Sony-Ericsson designed for the internet generation in mind.

To start the G750 is a sliding quad-band handset with GSM UMTS 2100, GPRS, EDGE HSDPA data, plus WiFi, Bluetooth and USB connectivity at heart.

If you compare its camera to the likes of handsets such as the C905 there is competition but the 3.2 megapixels that it does offer with LED flash is not half bad.

Geotaging of photographs is possible but more importantly the video clips and images taken can be directly uploaded to ‘You Tube’ instantly.

The G705 sports a nice QVGA (240 x 320 pixel) screen capable of displaying 262,000 colours but surprisingly unlike other phones on the market this is not touch-sensitive.

Its redeeming factor to this is that the G705 offers auto screen rotation (Accelerometer) that works even in a browser, a real handy feature when you are out on foot and in desperate need of ‘Google Maps’, yet another element it supports.

The G705 also has an email client, and can support Microsoft ActiveSync and instant messaging.

As standard with most handsets there is a media player and FM radio at hand, in addition to the usual array of Sony-Ericsson multimedia enhancements.

Weighting in at just 98 grams and measuring 95 x 47 x 14.3 mm, the G705 provides up to 4 hours talk time and 14 days standby time on 3G or 10 hours talk time and 16 days standby time on GSM.

With a 1GB memory card as standard in the box, the G705 is most certainly one well equipped handset.

The G705 will be available in "Silky Gold" and "Majestic Black" and is due for release in Q4 2008.