Nokia C5-03 has arrived on UK shores, but unlike Nokia’s recent touchscreen efforts, it’s running good ol’ Symbian S60, rather than the newer, more polished Symbian 3, now officially renamed as Symbian.

Nokia C5-03 is a delightfully sturdy, slim phone. It feels smaller than its 105.8×51x13.8mm dimensions, thanks in part to the smooth curve of its plastic backing – which somehow doesn’t feel remotely tacky. The front is all screen, while the sides are unsullied by ports, and the physical buttons below the screen sit so low as to be invisible when looked on from the side, but are still easy to press.

But! Just as we thought we’d laid that ghost to rest, we discover it’s resistive. Resistive touchscreens are typically cheaper to produce than capacitive ones found on most smartphones, and accurate to exact touches.

The problem is of course, that you don’t get exact touches with a fingertip, and since there’s no stylus included with the Nokia C5-03, you soon encounter problem number one. Never mind the lack of pinch to zoom gestures: it’s almost impossible to type.

Nokia C5-03 might be doomed before it even shipped courtesy of its operating system, Symbian S60 5th edition. It’s here complete with all the frustrations you had with on the Nokia 5800 more than two years ago. Obnoxious screen pop ups when you try and turn the Wi-Fi on, screen whiteouts that last seconds when you tilt the phone or leave an app – it’s all here, and it feels like Nokia has done nothing over the course of two years to correct it. One of our rants from last year can be read here, and still very much applies.

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AT&T F160 illustrates that point beautifully. Sure, as a simple midrange handset, it certainly isn't recommended for power texters or multimedia geeks and with its matte black appearance, it's far from showy.

What it does, however, is competently deliver on features and design with a light, slim, and comfortable body; a responsive keypad; good call quality; and useful usability touches. Best of all, the AT&T F160 is free with a two-year contract, making it an ever more valuable no-fuss phone for callers. The AT&T F160 costs $149.99 without a contract. For ZTE, which has produced several clunkers (like the maligned ZTE Agent), the F160 is a welcome step in the right direction.

ZTE's shadowy AT&T F160 is a nondescript, mostly matte black chassis with subtle design features--slightly rounded corners and a couple of silver accents. Like many ZTE phones, it's tall and lean--4.8 inches tall, 1.9 inches wide, and 0.4 inch thick. We can't think of many pockets or purses too shallow for its lanky profile. The F160 also is light, just a hair under 3 ounces, but without feeling wispy or fragile. Easy to grab up with a soft-touch backing, the F160 feels comfortable in the hand and on the ear.

The 2.4-inch screen seems a good size for the phone's thin face. Its 240x320-pixel QVGA resolution is standard, but with 262,000 colors, it also looks bright and colorful. Navigation is straightforward, with a grid menu that pops up when you press one soft key, and a very handy list of shortcuts for the camera, calling history, and so on that pops up with a press of the other soft key.

Settings let you change the wallpaper, backlight duration, and screen brightness, plus set a boot screen greeting. We just hope you're happy with the font style and size, because it doesn't appear that you can change them.

Below the screen are the two soft keys, the Send and End buttons, and the Clear and Shortcuts key. The latter makes it easy to toggle between screens, like your Menu and the Home screen. A four-directional navigation toggle also is present, along with its central select button. We had no complaints getting around.

The alphanumeric keypad buttons are wide and rather short; however, they're gratifyingly responsive and the domed centers make them easy to press and to dial by feel. Two multifunctional buttons preside over three tasks: locking the screen, turning the phone to vibrate mode, and changing the text mode. Sure, phones with full QWERTY keyboards are better for accomplished texters, but the F160's congenial keypad and easy automatic predictive texting make composition manageable.

As for the other external features, the spines hold the volume rocker, a camera shutter button and Micro-USB charging port, and a 3.5 millimeter headset jack. On the back is a 3-megapixel camera, and beneath the back cover is the microSD card slot that can take up to 8GB external memory. Unfortunately, it's only accessible once you've removed both the back cover and the battery.

Features
Despite the F160's unassuming look, it has more goodies than you'd anticipate, thanks in part to AT&T's bundled services. There's room in the F160's address book for 500 contacts, and each entry can host your contact's name, multiple phone numbers, multiple e-mail addresses, a street address, and a ringtone. Twelve ringtones come on the phone, but you can sub in your own via the microSD card, or buy ringtones in the AT&T store. Ringback tones, while a separate purchase through AT&T, are another option. Unfortunately, attaching a photo ID to your contact isn't--an odd omission for a camera phone.


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Internet Tablets is going to attract everyone. The company has readily admitted that it's for a certain audience--gadget lovers and early adopters--and we certainly agree with that statement. However, with every successive model, we also see more appeal in such a device. The latest model, the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet, features some nice improvements, including a full QWERTY keyboard and integrated GPS. There's also a more robust Web browser and improved interface, courtesy of the latest Nokia Internet Tablet 2008 operating system. And while these are all welcome additions, we ended up slightly disappointed when we found the keyboard to be a bit cramped and that you had to pay an extra $130 for driving directions. As such, we don't think the N810 is necessarily worth upgrading to from Nokia N800 Internet Tablet (you can download a software update from Nokia to get the latest OS) but if you're making your first foray into the mobile Internet devices, the Nokia N810 is a sleek and Web 2.0-friendly choice. The Nokia N810 Internet Tablet is available now for $479.99.

With each iteration of the Internet Tablet, Nokia has improved on the design, and the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet is no exception. It carries a smaller footprint than the N800 at 2.8 inches tall by 5 inches wide by 0.5 inch deep but weighs the same at 7.2 ounces, which is admittedly on the heavier side. Still, it's compact enough to slip into your bag or purse, and the sleekness combined with brushed metal finish makes it one sexy device. The N810 is sure to garner a few stares from onlookers.

On front, there's a 4.1-inch QVGA touch screen that displays 65,000 colors at an 800x480 pixel resolution. It was a pleasurable experience checking out Web sites and viewing images, thanks to the sharp definition and vibrant colors. It's readable in various lighting conditions, and there's an ambient light sensor that will adjust the screen's brightness depending on your environment. The user interface is a bit different than the N800, and while it's still not completely intuitive, it's easier to navigate and the applications are neatly organized by category. You can also customize the home screen with various themes and background images, and you can conveniently drag items around the page to create a layout that suits you.

To the left of the display, you'll find the Webcam, a Home screen shortcut, a back button, and a status LED. The navigation control pad that was found on the N800 has been relocated (more on this in a bit), but we missed having this on the front of the device to more easily operate the device. You can use the included stylus to maneuver through the menus and select items. The touch screen is responsive, though there was a bit of lag but this was more of a performance issue rather than a problem with the touch screen.

The top of the unit has a key for minimizing/maximizing the screen, a zoom in and out/volume rocker, a power button, a lock switch, and the stylus. Along the right spine, you'll find a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack and power connector, and there are speakers on both sides of the device. On the bottom, there's the miniSD card expansion slot and the battery cover release. Like the N800, there's a kickstand so you can prop up the N810 on a flat surface, but we found that when we went to put it back, the kickstand would sometimes catch the edge of the expansion slot cover and pull it open.

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The Black Phone comes preloaded with the entire Black Album on a Multimedia Card for MP3 playback. Also exclusive to the Black Phone are Jay-Z True Tones (ring tones that sound like real music) and wallpapers. Registered owners of the Black Phone will receive weekly text messages and monthly voice messages from Jay-Z for a limited time.

The Black Phone will be available for approximately $124 (after mail-in rebates) beginning Friday, December 19 at select Sam Goody and Media Play locations nationwide.

"Technology now provides us with the opportunity to deliver music in new ways. The Black Phone is at the forefront of the future which includes buying music instantly and taking it with you wherever you go," said Jay-Z. "Teaming with Nokia to develop the Black Phone provides me with a deeper connection to my fans through my music and mobile messaging."

An entrepreneur at heart, Jay-Z has risen to the top of the rap genre since starting his own record label, Roc-a-Fella Records, which was a risky strategy at a time when the practice simply wasn't done or on such an ambitious scale. His debut album, Reasonable Doubt, became a critical favorite and received gold single status. But it wasn't until his third album, Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life, that Jay-Z transcended critically acclaimed status and achieved mainstream success. By the end of the '90s, he was among
the world's most recognized rappers. With the much-anticipated recent release of the Black Album, Jay-Z has hovered in the number one spot on the Billboard charts for several weeks.

"The Black Phone represents Nokia's commitment to music and developing devices that match the lifestyles of consumers," said Nada Usina, general manager of Nokia's Entertainment and Media business unit. "This relationship pairs the leader in mobility with a leading artist to deliver music and the
full fan experience in a unique new way. Jay-Z has always been a trendsetter and he is continuing that by being the first artist to distribute his music and connect with fans in a mobile environment. This is a move to watch."

The Black Phone will be available exclusively in stores at Sam Goody and Media Play starting Friday. Sam Goody, the mall-based music retailer, and Media Play, the music, movies, books and games superstore, will carry the Black Phone in approximately 400 retail locations.

"The Black Phone bridges the music and lifestyle preferences of our trend-conscious customers. This is an innovative beginning to how Musicland will build relationships with our customers on the go," Musicland CEO Eric Weisman said.

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The Aspire One is also fairly well constructed. The hard, candy-colored exterior (it comes in a number of hues; my favorite: Sapphire Blue) is fairly polished and feels solid to the touch--certainly tough enough to withstand being tossed in your bag. And a huge, well-secured bezel keeps the 8.9-inch, 1024-by-600-pixel display in place. The screen itself, though, is a little too glossy. Even with the brightness cranked up, you might find it tough to see outside. Then again, many full-priced, full-featured notebooks stumble with the same problem.

Now, when I think of the average netbook (as some people call this class of mini-notebook)--certainly ones in the $400 price range--the word that comes to mind is "compromise." You get Linpus Linux Lite, not Windows XP. You get OpenOffice.org instead of Microsoft Office. You get an 8GB hard drive and 512MB of RAM. It just doesn't sound like a great deal.

Then I used it. I was genuinely surprised at the relatively smooth sailing that comes with the OpenOffice.org suite (after the 10-second load time for OOO 2.3). I didn't mind the locked-down launch page for the Aspire One. All the basic tasks I'd likely throw at the machine were all right in front of me, on screen. Firefox 2 is the default browser--no surprise there. The built-in messenger client supports AIM, MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, and Google Talk accounts. A serviceable RSS reader is built in as well. Wi-Fi connectivity isn't an issue on this little laptop, either. A quick toggle flick, and it's connecting without a hitch.

Performance aside, you'll need some more room to grow. Aside from the standard-issue USB ports, ethernet jack, and VGA out, the Aspire One comes with two storage card slots. Why two? One is tasked for "storage expansion"--pop in an SD card, and the mini-note will format the flash storage to serve as extra internal hard-drive space. The other slot serves the usual purpose: for files you want to transfer from a digital camera or other device you have on hand.

If you're not sold on the storage space--or on Linux, for that matter--Acer will also offer a slightly pricier, XP-loaded flavor of the Aspire One (though the company hasn't revealed exact pricing, expect this version to cost around $600 sometime this fall). It'll have an 80GB hard disk and 1GB of RAM.

Just think of the Ocean or a lavender field. It will immediately make you feel better. This is the power of colour. The Aspire One Happy comes in four delicious colours that fill your life with excitement and joy: Candy Pink, Lavender Purple, Lime Green and Hawaii Blue. Colours that make you think of summer all year round. Colours that make your life shiny. Choose your colour of joy.

Keep in touch with your social networks, finish your school projects while you’re on the bus, check your e-mails or surf the net. With 8 hours of battery power life, integrated Wi-fi connection, you can get online in just few clicks and stay connected all day long. You can also share photos and music in a matter of seconds via Bluetooth®. Need more? Then can chat face-to-face with your friends with the Acer Crystal Eye webcam and built-in microphone.

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Then there's also the kickstand, which exhibits some lateral wiggling action we're not too fond of and does not sit flush with the phone when retracted. Beyond that, just to get all our bugbears off our chest, the pair of speaker recesses turned out to be absolute dust magnets and cleaning them out wasn't the easiest thing in the world either.

What we're more concerned about, however, is the Qualcomm QSD8250 chip that resides within the HD7's confines. This was a celebrated 1GHz part back when it graced HTC's own HD2 this time last year, but today... not so much. And speaking of the HD2, it's pretty outrageous that HTC has gone and matched its spec almost entirely. Sure, the externals have been tweaked, the physical buttons have been dismissed in favor of capacitive keys and you've now got a slightly different frame around your jumbo display, but as far as the internal hardware is concerned, it's nearly the same phone. We imagine this was probably out of HTC's hands since Microsoft insists on the particular trio of WP7 buttons and has also been the one to mandate the processor within, but it still leaves geeks like us feeling less than overjoyed. After all, if not for a bit of red tape, we could just as well be reviewing the HD2 right now.

Looking at the HD7 and its Windows Phone 7 OS in isolation, however, we have to commend the final product. Whether we like the route by which Microsoft has gotten here, what we're looking at with all these launch devices is one hell of a smooth user experience. So, in spite of its aged hardware, the HD7 is by no means a performance slouch. Basically, we'd have preferred something beefier inside, but that's just because we like numbers, and we like them to grow higher, but in actual use the HD7 is more than nippy enough.

The HD7's meat and potatoes, its reason for being, the meaning to its life, the beating heart of its entire operation. If we haven't made it abundantly clear yet, the display is this phone's defining feature and also the thing that will most likely determine its commercial success. That's aside from the key determinant, of course -- the Windows Phone 7 experience -- but given that the OS has been so tightly regimented by Microsoft, you'll be able to easily jump aboard abother WP7 ship should the HD7 not rock your boat quite how you'd like it to. The trouble with its 4.3-inch panel, however, is that it does indeed both make and break the appeal of the HD7. Allow us to explain.

On the one hand, the enlarged panel really makes your daily smartphone tasks so much easier. Yes, in terms of pixel density it's no better off than the more diminutive phones it's vying against, but the magnification of those pixels was a definitely improvement for us, allowing us to read webpages without necessarily having to zoom in on them every time, and also making navigation and text input appreciably easier. It's worth reiterating, perhaps, that this was simply our experience and others may find the large screen overwhelming and its contents unnecessarily inflated. What we're saying is that this just felt like the ideal size to us, not too large (hello, Streak!) and not too small (Motorola Flipout, anyone?).

In fact, on a couple of occasions we honestly got carried away reading on our commute and simply forgot we were using a phone. It felt more like browsing on our desktop with the added bonus of being able to scroll by flicking our fingers. It was a terrific sensation, even if it only lasted for brief moments, and of course it's not something we can confidently say you'll be able to experience on the smaller devices in the Windows Phone 7 stable. The Samsung Omnia 7 and Dell Venue Pro might come close to that, but the HD7 clearly sits at the top of the pile when it comes to taking your Windows experience on the move without resorting to a tablet or a laptop.

The camera on the HD7 was a weird one for us to get to grips with. On the one hand, focusing is pretty snappy and Windows Phone 7 does allow you to jump straight into the camera app from a locked screen (by holding down the shutter button). But our actual results were somewhat hit and miss. Sometimes, the HD7's camera would nail the white balance in situations where even a DSLR was struggling to guess correctly, but at other times it'd struggle to focus in relatively unchallenging circumstances. Aside from that, we have to take issue with WP7's inability to remember camera (or camcorder) settings. The HD7 defaults, weirdly enough, to shooting 480p video, which you have to switch up yourself... each and every time you use the video app. Maybe we're unenlightened on how to make our settings stick, but sure enough, each time we turned on the camera and wanted to shoot at 720p, we had to manually turn it on. Which was annoying. As to the video output itself, it's quite presentable stuff, although the sensor does tend to search for focus even when we're keeping it steady on an unmoving landscape. All in all, the HD7's camera and video recording seem par for the (somewhat mediocre) smartphone course.

The first thing to note is that HTC adorns the bootup sequence for its Hub with an outrageously extravagant and almost instantly annoying animation that pummels you with oncoming cloud and sun symbols to remind you that yes, there's a weather app coming up in there. Once you get inside, you're faced with a stock updater, that climate-monitoring utility we just mentioned, and some other tidbits like Notes and a Photo Enhancer. HTC promises it'll keep adding more functionality as things go along and we've got no reason to doubt that. For now, we couldn't care less about stocks or the weather, so we decided to play with the other two apps.

Notes is a quirky, stylized take on your usual note-recording app. It gives you a board that you can "pin" little post-its to, which in turn age relative to their, erm, age. We could frankly take it or leave it, there's a character limit on each note so if you're a wordy sort of missive writer, it'll immediately discourage use, while its stylized elements feel somewhat forced and unnecessary. It's cute, and maybe some weird demographic that appreciates animated transitions more than rapid and easy data input will appreciate it more, but it wasn't for us.

What can we say that we haven't expressed already? The HD7 is pretty much what you thought it would be. It's that same 4.3-inch blueprint that HTC has exploited to great success with the HD2 and EVO 4G, applied to the brand new Windows Phone 7 operating environment. The first question you'll truly have to answer for yourself is whether or not you want to be aboard the WP7 gravy train. We remain staunch believers that a smartphone is only as good (or as bad) as its software, so decide on your OS first and your particular handset second. If you're still with us, we'd recommend the HD7 as a solid WP7 device choice, but with a few caveats.

The build quality is a step below the finest we've seen, landing the HD7 in the "passable" category, while the display may achieve a high level of brightness, but it goes to waste thanks to its poor contrast and viewing angles. For a device aspiring to woo us with its multimedia features, this, along with middling sound output from its stereo speakers, renders the HD7 a failure if measured purely by the boasts of its promotional materials.

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With smartphones fast becoming a viable option at the low-end of the market. On the one hand, most users are expecting smartphone features such as touchscreens and WiFi from their feature phones. At the same time, some folks still want an affordable, solid device that focuses primarily on making calls and sending text messages, with the occasional foray into entertainment and data-based communication.

Nokia sells hundreds of different phone models. Some designs are memorable, some are generic, yet somehow each remains instantly recognizable as Nokia hardware. The X3-02 continues this trend, and manages to be simultaneously appealing and understated. It's a tiny phone in a world of massive slates and sliders, with a footprint barely larger than the legendary Sony Ericsson W800 while maintaining the same ultra-thin profile as the iPhone 4. At first glance, it looks like just another candybar Nokia dumbphone, but with a bigger display. And this is where the Touch-and-Type moniker comes from: the front is dominated by a 2.4-inch QVGA resistive touchscreen paired with a 16-key numeric keypad below. Here Nokia decided to put the star, pound and zero keys in a column to the right of the number keys, with the call, email, music, and end keys in a row above the number keys.



Despite lacking autofocus and a flash, the 5 megapixel camera performs rather well in most situations. The X3-02 uses an EDoF (Extended Depth of Field) lens. As a result, subjects or scenes beyond about two feet (60cm) are always perfectly in focus, but just like a fixed-focus lens, closeup shots are always blurry. Looking at our sample pictures, color balance is fine, but exposure is somewhat constrained by the sensor, which appears overwhelmed in bright light. Noise is under control, and low-light performance is decent considering the small lens and sensor. Since there's no accelerometer or GPS, shots lack any orientation or geolocation data. The camera interface is basic and portrait only, but Nokia provides a surprisingly capable picture editor. While the X3-02 handles stills with aplomb, it captures VGA video that is best described as mediocre. The sound quality is poor, and the framerate is capped to a jerky 15fps.

While it's all very clever, several areas still require improvements. First, you'll find weirdly abbreviated descriptions like "Rest. fact. sett." liberally sprinkled all over the interface. These are confusing and detract from the overall experience. Second, relying solely on a numeric keypad for text input is just painful. We're aware that real estate is at a premium on the 2.4-inch touchscreen, but it looks like there's just enough room for a landscape QWERTY keyboard on the display. Third, Series 40 remains a dumbphone OS at the core, with no consistent notifications and no real multitasking. Nokia bundles apps for email and social networking, but only the latter dispatches notifications. Multitasking is limited to music playback and only functions when the camera is not being used. Finally, no GPS means Ovi Maps is not available and Google Maps is all but useless without a separate Bluetooth receiver. We're amazed that the X3-02 lacks even simple cell-based positioning.



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Jawbone’s newest Jawbone Bluetooth headset has arrived, the Jawbone ERA, evolving the discrete styling of the ICON and taking its place at the top of the company’s range. There’s more than just good looks promised, though; Jawbone has also slotted in a bigger speaker for HD Audio, together with an accelerometer for more intuitive control.

The Era is small, but a bit taller than the Icon, measuring 2 inches long, 0.6 inches wide, and just under an inch thick. Like the Icon, the Era sports a single multi-function button for answering, ending, and switching between calls. Pressing and holding the button initiates voice dialing by default, but can instead trigger MyTalk apps—more on those later. Pressing and holding the button during a call or other audio playback will slowly cycle the volume up and down; you release the button when you’re happy with the volume. (You can also adjust the volume directly from your phone.) The only other visible hardware control is an On/Off slider switch.

If that was all the Era offered, it wouldn’t be much different from the Icon. But the Era actually provides an additional control mechanism courtesy a built-in accelerometer. Using a gesture that Jawbone dubs “TapTap”—a double-tap anywhere on the device’s exterior—mirrors the basic functionality of the hardware button: you can answer, end, and switch between calls with a quick tap-tap. You can also achieve the same results by shaking the headset—assuming the Era isn’t yet in your ear, of course. Two quick shakes—a gesture Jawbone has christened “ShakeShake”—followed, one presumes, by a quick insertion of the Era into your ear is equivalent to a TapTap or a button press.

You can also use the accelerometer to enter Bluetooth-pairing mode by performing a quadruple shake—a.k.a., a double-ShakeShake. (The first time you turn on the Era, it automatically enters pairing mode—no shaking necessary. My iPhone paired with the Era easily.) Other actions, however—such as activating the useful spoken summary of your battery’s remaining talk time, or redialing the most-recently called number—can be activated only with a button press, rather than a shake, tap, or any other kind of jiggle.



While the accelerometer-based controls might seem gimmicky, I took to them rather quickly, even though I never found the Icon’s button difficult to access or press. In fact, the Era’s tapping gesture offers two benefits that I hadn’t anticipated. First, as someone with longer hair, I find that tapping is actually faster than moving my hair out of the way to find the Era’s physical button. Second, by using a gentle tap instead of a button press, I don’t risk jostling the Era out of my ear. That’s not a major issue with the Icon or other earpieces, but it’s nice to be able to avoid the risk completely. (Of course, tapping too hard on a device that’s inserted in your ear can sound awfully loud; thankfully, gentle taps work just as well.)

My only two complaints about the Era’s control system mirror my complaints about the Icon’s controls. First, the power switch is difficult to access when the device is already in your ear, so I’m forced to remove the Era in order to turn it off and on. Second, I find that my iPhone needs an extra two seconds to enter Voice Control mode when triggered from the Era (although this may be an issue that’s out of the company’s control).

Like the Prime and the Icon, the Era comes packaged with an assortment of eartips and an earloop. After mixing and matching, I eventually found a snug, comfortable fit, and the plastic earloop is useful for added security. A bonus for large-eared people: There’s a new eartip included that’s larger than the biggest one included with the Icon.

Aliph claims battery life of 5.5 hours of talk time or up to 10 days of standby time—I haven’t yet had the Era for 10 days, but the 5.5-hour estimate matches with my early testing. You’ll need 30 minutes to charge the Era 80% of the way, and another 30 minutes to top it off. These numbers are all improvements over the Icon’s performance. (The Era charges via a micro-USB port; you can use the included AC charger or any powered USB port. Also included is a very short USB-to-micro-USB cable.)

Despite its innovative use of an accelerometer, the Era’s single biggest improvement over the Icon is its immediately noticeable superior audio quality. The Era employs a true wideband speaker that’s 25 percent larger than the Icon’s without changing the ergonomics of the earpiece, and the headset uses Jawbone’s NoiseAssassin technology for both inbound and outbound audio to automatically adjust volume and equalizer settings, catering them to your current audio environment.

The result is that, in my testing, calls, music, and YouTube audio all sounded impressively clear with the Era. Folks on the other end of phone calls reported that I sounded good, too. In fact, multiple callers indicated that I sounded better with the Era than I did when I switched to the iPhone’s built-in microphone. My chief complaint about the Icon was its mediocre audio quality, and, much to my delight, the Era corrects its predecessor’s flaw beautifully.

Like the Icon, the Era can connect with Jawbone’s MyTalk service, which lets you add Audio Apps and DialApps. (AudioApps customize the spoken voice that announces battery-status updates and the like; DialApps replace the “hold down the main button” voice-dialing functionality with 411 services, transcribed texts and status updates, and more). New for the Era is a Caller ID app that speaks the full names of your callers, instead of just their phone numbers. The app uses high-quality recordings of your contacts’ names whenever possible for better audio, though the app wasn’t yet available for testing at the time of this review.



You Can Download Jawbone ERA Manual User Guide Click Here Full Article and User Guide

When we began our review of the BlackBerry Torch (aka the Bold 9800), our hearts were all aflutter. The leaked shots we'd been seeing of BlackBerry Torch 9800 review: The BlackBerry slider is a design gamble that has definitely paid off, adding an excellent touchscreen to the

BlackBerry Torch 9800 - user opinions and reviews. Anonymous. one of the big differences i noticed was how much more memory the torch has over the 9780. Compare RIM BlackBerry Torch 9800 - sunset red (AT&T) prices, ratings, and specs to the top BlackBerry Torch 9800 Customer Reviews. Publisher: Brandon H Johnston. It's not just the product information that helps you decide on a purchase.



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wWe have models like the Nokia E63. Based on the popular business smartphone E71, a full keyboard is now available to everyone. Its appearance is more casual, replacing the metal with a high-quality plastic. Hopefully, the build quality doesn’t suffer from this and is still very high-end.

The colors are also more liberal and instead of the boring grey and black, here we find the fresher blue or red. The E63 has gotten a bit thicker and is now 13 mm, instead of the E71’s 10 mm. There is virtually no change in the other dimensions and as a whole the size is pretty decent for a QWERTY phone. Speaking of the keyboard, we have to mention that the keys are very handy, although a bit small. Unfortunately, once again, the bottom row of keys isn’t shifted to the right so you’ll have to get used to it in order to avoid mistakes. When it comes to buttons, we have to note the total lack of such on the sides – no volume rocker and no power key.

The E63’s display won’t disappoint you. It looks good indoors, as well as when exposed to direct sunlight, though in the latter situation the colors become a bit undistinguishable. Still, the image is clear enough and allows you to use the device with no real issues.

SMS messages have become the most popular mobile service. Who would have thought that people will write messages in a peculiar way on these small keyboards? Years later, phones are much more advanced and the variety is greater, but this service continues to hold the first place.

You Can Download Nokia E63 Manual Guide Click Here Full Article and User Guide

The Bold also offers UMA support for Wi-Fi calls, a faster processor, and an updated OS. The only major downside of the smartphone, and one that plagues all BlackBerry devices, unfortunately, is the Web browser. It simply doesn't stand up to the competition in terms of ease of use or functionality. That said, if you're after a powerful messaging smartphone, the RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700 certainly has our vote of confidence. It offers more speed and features than T-Mobile's other BlackBerry offerings and gets the upper hand on the T-Mobile Dash 3G with its UMA support. As of press time, T-Mobile did not reveal a specific release date but said the Bold 9700 would be available in time for the holidays for $199.99 with a two-year contract.

RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700 looks nothing like its predecessor. Gone is the wide, masculine body, and in its place is a more svelte, compact smartphone that should fulfill RIM's hope of attracting both men and women, and consumers and professionals. At 4.29 inches tall by 2.36 inches wide by 0.56 inch thick and 4.3 ounces, the Bold 9700 is certainly more pocketable and is even smaller and lighter than the BlackBerry Tour. It feels solid in the hand and features a similar leatherette backing as the original Bold to give it a classy touch. In addition, the chrome edges and lines between the keyboard rows add to the handset's appeal.



The user interface is largely unchanged, though BlackBerry OS 5.0 brings some slight refinements. For example, the calendar has an easier to use system for creating new appointments with drop-down lists, and you can set your alarm clock using a spinning wheel.

Bold 9700 replaces the traditional trackball navigator with an optical trackpad. The move from trackball to trackpad is surprisingly easy, and we were impressed by its responsiveness (you can also adjust its sensitivity to your liking through the Options menu). Scrolling through lists and navigating menus feels smoother using the trackpad and you can select an item simply by pressing down. RIM plans to use the trackpad in all its future devices, and that's fine by us.

You Can Download BlackBerry Bold 9700 Manual Guide Click Here Full Article and User Guide

Steve Jobs and Apple were in the planning stages of the iPhone, the first carrier they brought the device to was America's largest network, Verizon. Even if you haven't heard how the tale ends -- Verizon refused and Jobs took his multi-billion dollar ball to AT&T -- you surely know the outcome. The iPhone has soared to become the ultimate smartphone, the must-have accessory that everyone from celebrities to your mom wants -- nay, needs -- to have in their pocket. It's changed the landscape of modern cellphones, put a serious dent in the sales of competing devices (just recently overtaking the venerable RAZR as the best-selling domestic handset), and unquestionably raised the bar when it comes to expectations for features in new handsets.

It may seem unfair to open up the review of RIM's latest BlackBerry -- the Storm -- with a history lesson on the iPhone, but if you understand the market which Verizon and RIM hope to capture, then you understand the Storm, and it helps put this critique in perspective. The Storm, a widescreen, touchscreen device boasts many of the same features as the iPhone, but adds innovations like a clickable display, and comes packed with RIM's legendary email and messaging services. Mainlined into the biggest (and some say best) network in the States, the Storm is an almost deafening blast to the competition at first glance, but does it hold up on closer inspection? Read on to find out.



The Storm is a striking device. From the second you lay eyes on it, it's clear that a lot of time and care went into crafting this phone. The majority of the front panel is display, a large 3.25-inch (480 x 360) touchscreen sitting just shy of flush with a silver bezel that runs around the sides, top, and bottom of the device. The bands seem to be plastic, not metal, and trace the outline of the moderately thick (0.55-inch) phone, looping around the back, while the rest of the surface is a high gloss, piano black plastic. Below the screen are four familiar BlackBerry keys (phone, menu, back, and end / power), along the left is a convenience key and a micro USB port (RIM has eschewed the more common mini USB slot for the lower profile of the newer variation, though that seems to be the way the industry is headed), and on the right side is another convenience key, volume rocker, and (yay!) 3.5mm headphone jack. Around back, the battery cover is made from solid piece of brushed aluminum, and the camera and flash sit atop the plate, covered by a glossy plastic strip.

Unlike similarly stacked competitors (the iPhone and Instinct come to mind) the Storm doesn't just boast a capacitive touch display, it also utilizes a completely unique "click" technology called SurePress which actually allows you to click the screen down like a mouse button. The purpose of this technology, ostensibly, is to provide two aspects to touch screens which are currently lacking in most devices: the ability to "hover" without selecting or moving an on-screen element, and the physical sensation of "clicking" when you type or navigate.

BlackBerrys have garnered an almost mythic stature as the phone for email and messaging. One of the components of RIM's success for that model has been the inclusion of QWERTY keypads (and more recently the halved QWERTY SureType keyboards) on their phones. As any email addict will tell you, very few devices can compete. The slant from RIM's PR on the Storm is that the new clickable touchscreen delivers another high caliber typist's dream to their roster -- but that couldn't be further from the truth. Rather than the click making things easier, it actually makes them more difficult. As you press down to engage a "key," you're required to release before moving to another, which means that you can only type so quickly. In our tests, we were constantly frustrated by the staggering, laggy movement when trying to type with any speed. You have to let the click depress before you can strike another character, and that makes for a stuttery input process.

Otherwise, there are a few great implementations of the screen -- copying and pasting, which is the norm on RIM phones, is fully represented here with elegant multitouch functionality. You just grab the beginning and end of a section of text you want to snag with two fingers, and a menu pops up along the bottom for copy / paste duties. In the browser, you can hover above a link with your finger before clicking it (a big help on crowded pages), and you can double tap (not click) to zoom into pages, though there's no way to back out other than hitting the minus magnifying glass. We don't think the technology used for the screen is a dead-end by any measure, but it has a long way to go before it's honestly competing with the iPhone for virtual keyboard domination.

On the messaging and email front, very little has changed here from earlier RIM phones, save for some of that visual flair. Particularly when it comes to email, the use of screen real estate and selection of fonts seems dated when compared with the iPhone. We won't complain about the email service itself, delivery of messages was rock solid (of course), but a quick glance at the iPhone versus a quick glance at the Storm provides a strong juxtaposition of design languages. Reading email on the BlackBerry was an inconsistent experience, and highlighted the feeling that not too much trouble had been taken to freshen up this UI and format it for the bigger screen. Under the hood, we found account management simple enough, but those looking for solid Gmail integration (like, say, all the people Verizon and RIM hope to lure away from Apple's camp) will be seriously let down. There doesn't seem to be any decent alternative for getting Gmail the way you're used to, save for Google's own app (which is remarkably good save for a few issues).

One of the nice things about the Storm is that it's not just capable of doing still photos, but can shoot video as well. Results are mediocre, allowing capture up to 320 x 240, with quite a bit of heavy artifacting. Still, knowing that you can pull this out to grab something reminds us -- yet again -- that this is a necessary basic for modern cellphones.

It's clear from the device itself and the massive promotional push that both RIM and Verizon are giving the Storm that they view this as a proper threat to the iPhone's dominance in the smartphone market. Over the last few weeks we've been bombarded with commercials, leaks, press releases, and special events all celebrating the arrival of the Storm, both here and abroad. So it seems fairly obvious that yes, the companies believe they have a real contender on their hands -- and in many ways they do. The selling points are easy: the phone is gorgeous to look at and hold, it's designed and backed by RIM (now almost a household name thanks to their prevalence in the business and entertainment markets), and it's packed with features that, at first glance, make it seem not only as good as the iPhone, but better.

You Can Download BlackBerry Storm Manual User Guide Click Here Full Article and User Guide

Good performance and battery life, responsive keyboard, three-year warranty, screen-brightness sensor from HP Compaq tc4200 Tablet PC. The key to its success is that its LCD lid swivels clockwise and easily folds flat for write-and-run operations; an adequate stylus pops out of the tablet's side. Unlike any other tablet, the tc4200 offers the same processor, hard drive, memory, and software as the ultraportable HP Compaq nc4200 Notebook PC, which should make deploying it in a corporate environment easier.

HP Compaq tc4200 is built around a magnesium base,an internal frame, and a laminated plastic wrist-rest area, all of which should help it stand up to the daily punishment of busy executives. The keyboard is firm, responsive, and logically laid out, with textured, reasonably sized keys, although the slightly undersized spacebar might cause problems.



HP Compaq tc4200's case is a mostly up-to-date system that marks the start of the third generation of tablets. HP offers a few choices of components for various needs and budgets; see our take on the tc4200 series for more information on configuration options. Our $2,099 (as of May 2005) test machine came with a 1.8GHz Pentium M Sonoma processor and 512MB of 400MHz RAM, expandable up to 2GB--although we have to wonder about those who think they need that much memory in a tablet PC. While the system lacks an internal optical drive, it does have a high-speed 5,400rpm, 60GB hard drive.

You Can Download Manual HP Compaq tc4200 Tablet PC User Guide Click Here Full Article and User Guide

Nokia has confirmed that it has finally, after a series of well-publicised delays, has begun shipping its Nokia N8 device to customers that pre-ordered the device.

The initial release date for the device was April, but April came and went and more delays followed. Nevertheless, this didn’t stop a hell of a lot of people pre-ordering the device and now, after months of waiting, their patience has been rewarded.

We got a Nokia N8 in last month and we really liked it – you can read the review here.

As we said, the device uses Symbian^3 (Nokia’s latest attempt at keeping up with Android and iOS), features a 12-megapixel processor, rapid processor and GPU and an absolute shed-load of storage.

But, the question still remains: is it good enough sway people away from Android, iOS and now, Windows Phone 7?

We don't know, but the initial sales figures will speak volumes about the success of the device and, more importantly, the new Symbian^3 OS.

The Nokia N8 will be available to customers in the UK at the end of October and is priced at around £419 depending on the retailer. Full Article and User Guide