Mobiles Lifestyle

The Google gurus have released a major revision to their mobile web app for Android phones and iPhone/iPod touches running OS 2.2.1. This newest incarnation sports an improved interface, more consistent performance, faster message access and it supports robust batch actions like archiving multiple messages.

Using Google’s Gears, email is cached on the device and then actions (like starring, deleting or archiving) are applied to the cached version of the message immediately but sent to Gmail’s servers in the background whenever there is a network connection available. So, if you’re dealing with a slow connection speed you can still access recently read messages or compose mail.

One of the most obvious improvements is the “floaty bar” (Google-speak) which is essentially an animated smart dropdown menu that keeps up with you as you scroll allowing you to mark, read and star email no matter how long the list.

To make mobile life even simpler, Google has provided a nifty method to create a button on your device’s home screen so your Gmail account is easily accessible without having to fire up an Internet browser first.

It’s been less than five months since the initial release of the BlackBerry Storm 9530 on Verizon Wireless but the blogosphere is already hot with information about anticipated upgrades for a second generation Storm, generically referred to as the Storm 2. According to all the rumors, the new device is set for release in September.

The addition of Wi-Fi to the Storm 2 is the leading news, just as the omission of Wi-Fi from the original Storm was the leading complaint. The reason, or excuse, depending on your opinion, generally revolves around the contention that VZW’s EVDO Rev A network is fast enough and sufficiently ubiquitous that Wi-Fi isn’t necessary. Nobody really buys that argument if for no other reason than the Storm is to be BlackBerry’s and Verizon Wireless’ answer and show stopping competitor to the Apple iPhone 3G from AT&T. If you expect to prevail in the rarified air of the best of the smartphones, you don’t enter the competition by leaving off popular features. Beyond that, we all like the options that Wi-Fi affords like simultaneous voice and data transmission.

Though September is still a long way off in smartphone time, other rumored improvements for the Storm 2 directly address the other chief complaints about the device: general operating system sluggishness and the much maligned SurePress screen. The new screen, reputed to be renamed TruePress, is being touted as an “enormous” improvement, “really pleasurable,” and “near-HD quality.”

BlackBerry has addressed OS issues from the start with software patches that have helped considerably. To make operation even more fluid, the Storm 2 is said to be equipped with a RAM upgrade and, dare we hope, a quicker processor. If speculation is on target, a 5.0-megapixel, auto-focus camera is also slated to replace the 3.2-megapixel offering in the current device.

The X1 is an arc-slider phone with the Windows Mobile 6.1 Operating System. It is Sony Ericsson's first mobile phone to feature Windows Mobile . Device also has Java virtual machine (JBed) and supports JavaME that is claimed to have richer set of features than typically available.

The phone features a three-inch touchscreen overlaying a keypad which emerges when the user slides the touchscreen face upward, much as in the HTC TyTN II, although the X1's touchscreen slides out in an arc. Its touchscreen is a 65,536-color TFT WVGA display. It has a 3.2 megapixel digital camera which records video at thirty frames per second in VGA (640x480) quality. There is also a secondary front facing camera for videoconferencing that is of QCIF format. Connectivity options for the phone include: mini-USB; wireless LAN 802.11b/g; Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, FTP, and HID; EDGE; and quad-band GSM, UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, and HSCSD. The X1 has 512MB of internal memory (400MB free), which is expandable to 32 gigabytes using High Capacity microSD cards, although currently only cards up to 16 gigabytes have been released by SanDisk. The phone also features A-GPS for navigation.

The X1 ships with Opera Mobile pre-installed.

Standard features on the X1 include push email, an RSS feed aggregator, and handwriting recognition.

It is also able to use the GSM network feature Alternate line service.

The device is powered by Qualcomm's ARM 11 MSM7200A CPU, which runs at 528 MHz. The device's memory is 256 MB RAM.

Specifications

Display

• 3" touchscreen with a resolution of 800x480 pixels (WVGA)
• 65 thousand color TFT display

Device colors

The phone is available in 2 colors

• Solid Black
• Steel Silver

Physical Attributes

Dimensions: 110.0 x 53.0 x 16.7 millimeters; 4.33 x 2.09 x 0.66 inches
Weight with battery: 158.0 grams; 5.57 ounces

Battery

Lithium-Polymer, 1500 mAh.

Talk time:
GSM: 10h
WCDMA: 6h
WCDMA video call: 3h

Stand by:
GSM: 20.8 days
WCDMA: 26.7 days

Connectivity

The Xperia X1 supports an ‘always on’ 3G broadband Internet connection with high-speed data transfer. This enables audio and video streaming, Web surfing, multimedia messaging and email.

Connectivity options include :

• 3G broadband
• HSDPA with download transfer rate up to 7.2 Mbit/s
• HSUPA with upload transfer rate up to 2.0 Mbit/s
• WiFi
• Bluetooth, with a range of 10 meters
• GPRS modem for dial-up Internet
• Synchronization and content sharing with PCs
• USB mass storage
• USB cable support

Networks

• Quad-band GSM / GPRS / EDGE: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
• Tri-band UMTS / HSDPA / HSUPA: UMTS 850 / 1900 / 2100 X1a, UMTS 900 / 1900 / 2100 X1i/X1c

The new Nokia’s 5730 XpressMusic is targeting to music-enthusiast that comes include a sideways-sliding QWERTY keyboard that comfortable enough to typing a text message. What make this phone special than other Nokia’s device is that the 5730 have include a contacts bar feature that can houses up to 20 contacts, N-Gage service, and variety of applications such as Facebook, Photos, Ovi Contacts, Maps, messaging and more. Nokia says that they will ship the 5730 XpressMusic on quarter-three of this year with a price tag of €280 (about $359).

Nokia 5730 XpressMusic Specification :

• Network: GSM 850/900/1800/1900,WCDMA 900/1900/2100
• User Interface: S60
• Dimensions: 112 x 51 x 15,4 mm (L x W x T)
• Weight: 135 g
• Display: 2.4 inch QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) with up to 16 million colors
• Battery: Nokia Battery BL-4U,1000mAh Lion
• Memory: up to 100 MB internal memory, support for up to 16GB microSD memory card
• Talk time: Up to 5 hours
• Standby time: Up to 300 hours
• Music playback: Up to 25hours
• HSDPA cat6 (max download 3,6 Mbps)
• GSM GPRS/EGPRS multi slot class 32, max download 296 kbps; upload 177,6 kbps
• WLAN IEEE802.11 b/g with UPnP support
• MicroUSB, 3.5 mm AV connector
• Bluetooth wireless technology 2.0 with A2DP & AVRCP
• FM stereo radio with RDS
• 3.2 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and 8x digital zoom with flash
• Secondary camera, VGA