Technology, Data Recovery, Cell Phones, Latest Gadgets, Game Reviews

Nokia, the top mobile phone manufacturer comes with the powerful N-series phones with impeccable features. These phones let you get unlimited entertainment with a set of multimedia functionalities. The multimedia phones of Nokia N-series come with stylish designs and offer ease of use. With these amazing handsets, you can access information, get pleasure from entertainment features and share the captured pictures while on the move. The stylishly designed phones are loaded with features that will enrich your lives. The N-series devices are appealing a lot to people as they are designed to satisfy their digital and personal needs. These handsets are powerful pocket computers offering multitude of multimedia features.

The latest handset, Nokia N97 is an ultimate phone with the latest technologies and features. This advanced handset offers everything from an enhanced music player to latest business features to hi-end Java games to high resolution digital camera. This superb handset includes a 20GB hard disk offering storage for music, videos and documents. The powerful 5-megapixel camera with 2.4X optical zoom, 3-inch and TFT-LCD touch screen display, FM radio with 3D stereo speakers and dedicated media buttons are among the host of features of the handset.

This amazing multimedia gadget is equipped with brilliant features and is sure to appeal you with its astounding multimedia applications. The huge memory allows you to store a large amount of data. The camera offers DVD quality photographs. The 3-inch TFT-LCD touch screen display, stereo speakers, EDGE, Bluetooth, music player with 24 hours of playback and embedded Java games add to the remarkable list of features. The music player delivers crystal clear sound. The connectivity features of the handset include EDGE, Bluetooth and 3G HSDPA. Get around 4 hours of talk time with 24 hours of music playback capabilities with this astonishing device. The camera has the capability to take pictures with flash and it also records videos.

With online mobile shops becoming a trend, people prefer to buy mobile phones online. Since these shops save time and are convenient to use, more and more people tend to shop online now a days. You can easily find your favorite handset with a deal that suits your lifestyle and budget in these shops. These gadgets can be availed with a variety of beneficial mobile phone deals.

A stunning blend of elegance and high-performance features that brings the revolutionary RAZR form to the pinnacle of ultra-premium cool. With lavish 18k gold plated accents, engraved details and a black snakeskin pattern, this exclusive edition RAZR is sharper than ever.

With 2GB of memory1, the RAZR2 Luxury Edition packs an incredible amount of music, pictures and video inside a design that's unbelievably slim. It maximizes your music, browsing2, imaging and email2 experiences with a powerhouse processor built for fast connections. A large interactive external screen, and an intuitive user interface with a customizable main menu provide the complete luxury experience.

It's not just elegant and fast, it's tough. This phone is loaded with a stainless steel internal frame, seamless casing and chemically hardened glass. It's a combination of elements that give the Luxury Edition exceptional durability and unrivalled style.

SUMMARY OF FEATURES
Exclusive edition featuring at least 18k gold plating on medallions, navigation key, and hinge.
Music player includes stereo micro-USB headset and a compatible Bluetooth enabled headset.3
2GB of on-board memory1 with a storage capacity of up to 1000 songs.4
Opera Mobile Browser 8.5 provides a full HTML browsing experience.2
High Speed USB 2.0 gives you fast data transfersSC.2
2.2" internal screen, providing twice the resolutionSC of the original RAZR.
MotoSync™ makes it easy to organize your corporate phonebook, calendar and emails.2
Integrated Bluetooth wireless technology facilitates imaging, printing and peer-to-peer gaming with compatible devices.3
CrystalTalk™ technology helps deliver clear voice quality in noisy environments.

Apple® today announced that it is adding a gorgeous new pink iPod® nano to the lineup of the world’s most popular music player. The much-requested pink iPod nano is available immediately in an 8GB model for $199. iPod nano features a two-inch display which lets users watch the brand new iTunes® Movie Rentals, or TV shows and music videos purchased from the iTunes Store. iPod nano delivers up to 24 hours of audio playback or five hours of video playback on a single charge* and is encased in a beautiful all-metal design made with anodized aluminum and polished stainless steel, which is also available in silver, black, blue, green and a (PRODUCT) RED special edition.

“Customers are going to love the gorgeous new pink iPod nano,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPod Product Marketing. “The pink iPod nano is perfect for people who want a great new color this spring, or who are searching for a special Valentine’s Day gift.”

iPod nano features an enhanced user interface that shows off album artwork and photos like never before and includes Cover Flow®, so you can scroll through your entire music collection by album cover artwork using the Click Wheel. Customers can also buy music, video and games for their iPod nano from the iTunes Store or check out the latest iTunes Movie Rentals.

Pricing & Availability
The new pink 8GB iPod nano is available worldwide immediately for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) and joins the other 8GB models available in silver, black, blue, green and a (PRODUCT) RED special edition. The 4GB iPod nano in silver is available for a suggested retail price of $149 (US). Both the 4GB and 8GB iPod nano for Windows or Mac® are available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. All iPod nano models include earbud headphones, a USB to 30-pin cable and a Universal Dock Connector.

After much rumours on the net about the 16 GB Apple iphone now it has been officially released!!!

Apple® today added new models of the iPhone™ and iPod® touch which have double the memory, doubling the amount of music, photos and videos that customers can carry with them wherever they go. The revolutionary iPhone now comes in a new 16GB model for $499, joining the 8GB model for $399. iPod touch now comes in a 32GB model for $499, joining the 16GB model for $399 and the 8GB model for $299.

Both iPhone and iPod touch feature Apple’s revolutionary Multi-Touch™ user interface and pioneering software that allows users to find and enjoy all their music, videos, photos and more with just a touch of their finger. All iPhone and iPod touch models include the latest software enhancements announced last month including the ability to automatically find your location using the new Maps application*; create Web Clips for your favorite websites; customize your home screen and watch movies from the new iTunes® Movie Rentals. Both iPhone and iPod touch feature the world’s most advanced mobile web browser in the world with Safari™ and great mobile applications including Mail, Maps, Stocks, Weather and Notes.

Today at Mobile World Congress 2008, Microsoft Corp. announced that Sony Ericsson will deliver a new Windows Mobile phone, the XPERIA™ X1, which blends mobile Web communication and multimedia entertainment, to meet consumer demand for a premium mobile experience for work and play.

The XPERIATM X1 combines a 3-inch clear wide VGA display and a full QWERTY keyboard within a quality metal-finish body. With Windows Mobile® inside, the XPERIA™ X1 lets you choose from a dynamic range of activities at anytime and anywhere; from enjoying your favourite entertainment content to working efficiently on-the-move. Access a world of experiences simply by touching the XPERIA™ panel on the screen.

“XPERIA™ represents the first brand that is truly borne from within Sony Ericsson. It represents our vision for a premium, energised communication experience,” said Dee Dutta, Head of Marketing, Sony Ericsson. “This launch, and the announcement of the X1, further strengthens the overall Sony Ericsson brand and places us at the forefront of mobile convergence.”

The sleek new Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 includes all the productivity that Windows Mobile provides, along with great features like a 3" touch screen (800×480), an innovative arc-slider full querty keyboard and a 3.2 mp camera.

The eagerly-awaited successor to the the popular N95 was at last unveiled in Barcelona this morning. Details of the N96 - the latest addition to Nokia’s smartphone range - were leaked before the weekend, and they weren’t too far off the mark.The dual-slide handset sports a 2.8in display, 16GB of internal memory that can be further expanded with an optional Micro SDHC card - like the new Nokia 8GB Micro SDHC card.

N96

The N96 also offers a DVB-H TV tuner for live TV broadcasting in select markets and it supports most common video formats including MPEG 4, Windows Media Video and Flash Video. And the handset features a "kickstand" on the back that allows the device to stand alone for hands-free viewing.
Hands-free viewing

It also features media keys, a 3.5mm headphone connector and built-in 3D stereo speakers plus the Nokia Maps application with Assisted GPS, a five-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, flash and video light and video capture. It has Wi-Fi and HSDPA connectivity.
The N96 is expected to begin shipping in the third quarter of 2008 with an estimated pre-tax sales price of approximately €550.


N78: now with "novelty" features

In addition to unveiling the new flagship N96, Nokia has also announced the N78 handset, designed to take advantage of the new Ovi suite of Nokia services. It features A-GPS, with free Nokia Maps, Wi-Fi and 3G HSPDA connectivity, a 3.2-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, and support for Micro SD memory card, currently available up to 8GB in capacity.
According to Nokia, the "novelty" features of the N78 include the geographical tagging of photos and an integrated FM transmitter that allows music to be played on any FM radio, in a car or at home.
The N78 is expected to be available during the second quarter of this year, with an estimated pre-tax retail price of around €350.

Today at Mobile World Congress, Motorola, Inc. introduced its latest device with both cellular and Wi-Fi network compatibility, as well as two new W series handsets that emphasize value and quality. Motorola will also showcase other recently announced products, including the award-winning ROKR™ E8 and MOTO™ Z10 at Motorola Booth Space, Hall 8, Fira de Barcelona.

ffordable New Handsets for Everyday Communications
Motorola is also adding two handsets to its robust W Series of dependable phones for staying connected at a great value. The new Motorola W161 and W181 devices allow consumers to have clear conversations in noisy environments with patented Motorola CrystalTalk™ technology. The two new candy bar devices also feature FM radio (optional headphones required), a large display, excellent battery life and an office-quality speakerphone.



Availability
MOTO Z6w is expected to be available in Q2 2008. The W161 and W181 are expected to be available in Q1 2008. ROKR E8 and MOTO Z10 are expected to be available in the first half of 2008. The Motorola EQ5 and EQ7 are expected to be available in Q2 2008.

Apple® today introduced Aperture™ 2, the next major release of its groundbreaking photo editing and management software with over 100 new features that make it faster, easier to use and more powerful. With a streamlined user interface and entirely new image processing engine, Aperture 2 also introduces new imaging tools for highlight recovery, color vibrancy, local contrast definition, soft-edged retouching, vignetting and RAW fine-tuning, and lets users directly post their portfolios on the .Mac Web Gallery* for viewing on the web, iPhone™, iPod® touch and Apple TV®. At a new low price of $199, anyone can easily organize, edit and publish photos like a pro.




Aperture 2 delivers powerful new imaging tools for getting the most out of each photograph. Apple’s next-generation RAW image processing is at the core of Aperture 2 offering uncompromising image quality and precision controls that let users fine-tune the image profile for each of their cameras. New tools for improving and enhancing images include Recovery for pulling back “blown” highlights, Vibrancy for selectively boosting saturation without adversely affecting skin tones, Definition, which offers local contrast for adding clarity to images, Vignette & Devignette filters for providing professional visual effects and a true soft-edged Repair and Retouch brush for quickly and easily removing blemishes, cleaning up sensor dust and cloning away problem areas.

Pricing & Availability
Aperture 2 is available immediately for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. Owners of previous versions of Aperture can upgrade to Aperture 2 for just $99 (US). Full system requirements and more information on Aperture 2 can be found at www.apple.com/aperture.

Rumours were circulating today that Microsoft is set to dump HD DVD and bring out a Blu ray Xbox 360 by as early as May 2008. The move will allow the Company to go head to head with the Sony PS3 gaming console which has been credited with being one of the main reasons that retailers have preferred Blu-ray over Toshiba’s HD DVD.

Insiders at Microsoft in the USA have told SmartHouse that Microsoft has already configured a standalone Blu-ray player that can be connected into an Xbox 360 and that subject to internal marketing and sales approvals the model could be on sale within 3 months.

The Company has also been working on a built in Blu-ray player however insiders are claiming that Microsoft see the HD format battle moving online with consumers offered 1080p movie and content files as a download as opposed to having to buy a HD DVD or Blu-ray disc.

Both Intel and Microsoft have been supporters of the HD DVD format that is set to be killed off this week.

Microsoft has announced a new contest where they will be giving away an 8GB Zune everyday until March 31, 2008. Entry is free, but will require you to log in using your mobile phone and send an email (or receive a text) using your Windows Live account. Overall it sounds pretty simple:




You could win a Zune every day until March 31, 2008 here’s how:
1.Select “Hotmail” on your mobile phone menu, Or
To make it even easier, click here and enter your mobile number — we’ll send you a text with the link.*
2.Sign in to Hotmail with your existing Passport or Windows Live ID.
3.Send an e-mail to WINAZUNE@live.com with “Go Zune” in the subject line.

Here is the contest page

Today at the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC), Logitech the world’s leading developer of force feedback gaming wheels, announced the Logitech® Driving Force™ GT racing wheel, the official wheel of Gran Turismo™. Featuring powerful force feedback and an innovative 24-position real-time adjustment dial for on-the-fly control of brake bias, traction and damper settings, the Logitech Driving Force GT gives gamers the most accurate and authentic PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) racing experience.


“We’re excited to be working with Polyphony Digital again to deliver a wheel that will satisfy the needs of car enthusiasts, like me, around the world,” said Ruben Mookerjee, Logitech’s director of product marketing for gaming. “People who love the striking realism of the Gran Turismo racing series will discover that Logitech’s latest wheel will allow them to experience the cars the way they were meant to be driven. With the Logitech Driving Force GT, you’re not playing games anymore – you’re racing!”

Pricing and Availability
The Logitech Driving Force GT wheel is expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe beginning in May. The suggested retail price is $149.99 (U.S.).

Microsoft Corp will stop making video players based on the HD DVD standard for its Xbox 360 game system, a move that comes days after Toshiba Corp pulled the plug on the high definition movie technology.

The move, announced on Saturday, follows recent decisions by Hollywood studios such as Time Warner Inc’s Warner Bros and retailer Wal-Mart to exclusively back Sony Corp’s Blu-ray, a high-definition video technology rival to HD DVD.

Microsoft had been one of the biggest backers of HD DVD along with Intel Corp ut the tide turned against HD DVD after Warner Bros, which had supported both, defected to Blu-ray last month.

Microsoft said it does not see the decision having any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or its position in the market. It pledged to continue product and warranty support for all Xbox 360 HD DVD players that it has already sold.

Microsoft, in a statement on its GamerScoreBlog, posted by marketing executive John Porcaro, said it did not "believe this decision will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace."

The bundling of movie players is a key added feature in the battle for dominance in the next-generation video game console market, where players like Microsoft and Sony see their devices as hubs for delivering games, movies and Web content to living room television.

Sony’s PlayStation 3 has a Blu-ray player built in.

"HD DVD is one of the several ways we offer a high definition experience to consumers and we will continue to give consumers the choice to enjoy digital distribution of high definition movies and TV shows directly to their living room…," Microsoft’s statement said.

Microsoft, which previously said it would consider supporting Blu-ray technology should consumers want it, did not say if it would make Blu-Ray players.

Windows Vista SP1 x86 (FULL) is now on the TechNet Subscriber download center. It’s the 32bit fully integrated version of the OS. I just downloaded it, burned a DVD and have the install running in a Virtual PC 2007 virtual machine. Finally!!!



My download took minutes. Being first helps. It flew down the fiber pipe to my house at 1.8meg per second. I wish all my downloads were that fast. Your mileage will vary. I’m planning on "enhancing" my VM first thing. I’m going to enable IIS7, then drop PHP, MySQL and Wordpress on it. When I get it working, I am going to do a screencast on the process. Getting ready to record how to do that with Windows Server 2008 in a few minutes. Enjoy!

[UPDATE for 2/25/2007] I compared the size of the .ISO I downloaded from the TechNet subscriber download area to the one I pulled directly from the internal build server. Exact match on number of bytes. Golden goodness. I am also very happy with it’s performance in the VM. I’m told most of the speed is coming from Intel VT. Rock and roll baby.

To be clear, my host environment is a Lenovo ThinkPad T61p running Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 x64. I’m running the x64 version of Virtual PC 2007 although very little of VPC 2007 is actually x64. I am using the VM additions from Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 (13.813). The VM is of course the x86 version of Windows Vista Ultimate SP1.

Apple® today updated its popular MacBook® and MacBook Pro notebook lines with the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, larger hard drives and 2GB of memory standard in most models. In addition, MacBook Pro includes the latest NVIDIA graphics processors, now with up to 512MB of video memory, and Apple’s innovative Multi-Touch™ trackpad, first introduced in MacBook Air™. All Mac® notebooks include a built-in iSight® video camera for video conferencing on-the-go*, Apple’s MagSafe® Power Adapter that safely disconnects when under strain and built-in 802.11n wireless networking for up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g.**

The new MacBook Pro features the latest Intel Core 2 Duo technology with up to a 2.6 GHz processor with 6MB of shared L2 cache; up to 4GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory and up to a 300GB hard drive, plus NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics with up to 512MB of video memory. Every MacBook Pro now includes a trackpad with Multi-Touch gesture support for pinch, rotate and swipe, making it more intuitive than ever to zoom and rotate photos in iPhoto® or Aperture™ 2 or browse web pages in Safari™; an illuminated keyboard that makes it ideal for dimly lit environments such as airplanes, studios or conference halls and a built-in ambient light sensor, which automatically adjusts the brightness of the keys as well as the brightness of the display for optimal visibility.

Microsoft has surprised everyone by saying that it will shortly make a first beta of Internet Explorer 8 generally available and not just to the developers, according to a staffer at IT Week who wishes to remain anonymous.
In a mail-out to previous testers, Microsoft said it would make the pre-release code available to the "general public" but pointed out that it is "focused on the developer community". Microsoft had already stated in the past that the main advances in IE8 will focus on compliance with web standards, security and user interface options, something the web developer community feels that IE7 failed to live up to.
The company has long been the target of criticism for not following standards in its browser but, as numerous critics have noted, any effort to make IE standards compliant runs the risk of breaking existing sites written for earlier versions. Microsoft will attempt to compromise by offering developers the option to stay in or out of the web standards mode.
IE 8 is scheduled to be demonstrated for the first time in public at the MIX ‘08 conference in Las Vegas that starts on the 5 March.

There is a new Atomic Clock that is out that can tick 430 trillion times per. second. Did I say that right you ask? Yes. It’s very much true. It really does click 430 trillion times per. second.

This clock was designed to be very accurate. It was developed by some Physicists at the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics. They actually designed it so well that they believe it won’t lose a second of time in more than 200 million years from now.

The old Atomic Clock only had an 80 million year accuracy rating and this new Atomic Clock sure beats it well. Plus it has a really groovy design.

I really enjoy the design and look of this new Atomic Clock. What do you think about it?

A new product called the iCache (why not just
iCash?) is scheduled for release during the 2nd quarter of 2008. The concept
is simple, and although I personally don’t see the benefits, it’s bound
to become a successful product.
What Is The iCache?

The iCache will provide the ability for credit card owners to
synchronize all of their credit cards into a single card. The iCache card will
assume the roll and take on the signature of a desired credit card.
Instead of dealing with an excessive amount of credit cards, consumers will
have the convenience of carrying around a small electronic device (the
iCache) and the special corresponding iCache card.
How Does The iCache Work?

The iCache’s electronic portion is initially used to capture all your
credit card’s magnetic signatures. Once the magnetic pattern is stored
in the device, those patterns are transferable to the iCache’s
corresponding card, pictured above. Fortunately for consumers, the creators of
the iCache had security in mind. Not only are credit card’s magnetic
sequences encrypted on the device, but to apply the previously stored
magnetic patterns requires the user’s finger print. Before the electronic
display lists previously synchronized credit cards, the user puts the
finger of their choice over the scanner, and vuala! With the iCache card
inserted into the electronic device, the iCache is able to write the
magnetic signature to the iCache card, allowing the user to use the
desired credit card as if it were the real deal.
So… What Are The Benefits?

Some may see the iCache as a relief simply because the need to carry
around all those credit cards will become extinct. Instead, credit cards
can remain in the safety of the consumer’s home. This will definitely
prove beneficial to people like Paris Hilton (if she can figure it out),
but small timers like myself with just one credit card, eehh, I’ll
pass. There’s more information on their web-site at http://www.icache.com.

Bold new research on the effect of cell phone radiation on body tissue has the cell phone industry in an outrage. Finland’s Radiation Nuclear Safety Authority [FRNSA] conducted a safety study on the effects of cellular radiation on the skin. Ten Volunteers willingly subjected their forearms to a cell phone antenna’s Radio Frequency Modulated Electromagnetic Field. [RF-EMF] The volunteers were under the radiation exposure for one full hour.

There study group was then examined for signs of radiation burn and or alteration of the epidermal structure as compared to non radiated skin areas. Dariusz Leszczynski an analyst commented “even if the changes are small, they still exist.”

This research finding was published on Monday to the journal of BMC Genomics, the analysis was through and identified at least eight separate skin proteins as affected.

We can confidently say that times are changing for the Zune. The underdog of portable music players has pulled up a seat at the cool kids table alongside Apple’s iPod fleet. The 80GB Zune boasts a bigger screen than its predecessor, a new wireless synching capability, and an easy-to-use gesture Zune Pad. In fact, the 80GB Zune and Zune Marketplace have the goods to be our new daily music device and PC listening software combo of choice.

The Zune’s audio and video playback performance is very good to excellent. As with all portables, the bass is a bit lacking, but a good set of aftermarket headphones will make a big difference. The built-in equalizer presets are all too similar to do much good, but the overall sound of the Zune is very satisfying. Photos and videos appear clear, although darker areas of videos showed some pixelation. Microsoft preloads the Zune with a selection of songs, music videos and movies, so you’re ready to go right out of the box. Granted, we didn’t recognize many of the songs or artists, but this is still a nice bonus.

The Zune is a bit larger and heavier than the latest 30GB iPod, but its bright, beautiful color screen is a half-inch larger (measured diagonally) than the iPod’s. When you’re watching videos on a screen that small, every extra bit of real estate counts.Rounding out the package are a USB cable, a carrying case, headphones, and a 14-day trial membership in Zune Pass, Microsoft’s $15-per-month, all-you-can eat music subscription service.

Audio was clean and crisp – although the hard drive is distractingly audible at times. The on-player interface is easy to use and handsome, especially the large album art while track are playing.Video performance is very good, with the screen size really helping. Color was strong, brightness more than adequate in our test environments. I’m still dying for DivX support without transcoding, but hey I’m just happy to watch
Battery life didn’t meet the published specs of 20 hours for music and 4 hours for video with the Wi-Fi turned off. My rundown test on music was 18 hours, and video was 3.5 hours, which is, you know, fine.So call it a 6, with points off for HD noise and uninspiring battery life.

For video, the Zune is compatible with WMV, and the included software will convert MPEG-4 and H.264/AVC for playback. However, it won’t play video from Unbox, Vongo, Tivo to Go or other similar sites, and there is no support for DivX. It can only display JPEG pictures.

Features:-

Storage Capacity:-80.0 GB
Number of Songs:-20000.0
Main Storage Type:-Hard Drive
Audio Format:-MP3, WMA, AAC
Video Format:-MPEG-4, H.264, WMV
Screen Size:-3.2 inch
Interface:-USB 2.0
Outputs:-Headphone Jack
Additional Features:-FM Stereo Tuner
Power Source:-Rechargeable via USB cable
Width:-2.4 in.
Depth:-0.5 in.
Height:-4.3 in.
Weigh:-4.5 oz.

The stress in our day-to-day lives could take a heavy toll on our health and happiness, if we do not try to reduce it. One way we can do so is to go for recreational activities. However, all said and done, many few of us can afford to take out time to go for outdoors activities such as a game of cricket. Given the circumstances, mobile phone games, or games that can be played using gaming consoles, take on added significance. Nintendo wii is one such gaming console that has captured the interest of people in different parts of the globe.

As a matter of fact, the Nintendo wii is one of the most affordable consoles that is currently available in the market. This easy to use console comes with controllers with special motion sensing capabilities. These special controllers enhance the “thrill and fun” of the games quite significantly.

The Wii and Game Cube games can be loaded from the front. There is a special “slot” that can be used for the purpose. An owner of this console can use it to enjoy photos in compatible television sets using a channel that is optimized for photos. Moreover, users could also go for Internet connections and enjoy online shopping as well as updates on news and weather using special channels for these purposes.

A regular network cable port is conspicuous by its absence. In-built wireless capabilities and a USB network adapter are used to run the different games and other options. The game play in the Nintendo wii console is quite interesting. People from all ages are able to enjoy games – albeit from different genres. And the best part is that one can move and remain active while playing many such games. Games such as boxing, tennis, and bowling, for instance, involves a lot of moving and swinging.

The graphics is of DVD quality. The Nintendo Wii console can be used by different members in a family. Users are able to create Wii profiles and take on the challenges that these games have to offer.

A few days ago, Sony announced its NW-A820 Walkman player for release in Asia in March. Its European/US brother, the NWZ-A820, is now available for preorder on Sony Style for a few countries like Germany and Sweden. As expected, it doesn’t seem to be listed with noise canceling features like its Asian brother has, but on the positive side it’s bundled with decent quality IEMs - most likely the same MDR-EX082 as the NWZ-A810 comes with.]

Even when the Bluetooth is enabled, the battery is still capable of supporting the player for 7 hours video and 15 hours music playback. Speaking of video playback, the Sony Walkman NWZ-A820 can support 30 fps of it. The device can support a variety of media formats such as copyright-free AAC, Linear PCM, MP3, WMA for audio; AVC and MPEG-4 for video; and JPEG for picture files. Files can easily be transferred from your PC to the player via drag and drop. The device also boasts four ‘Clear Audio’ Technologies for maximum listening experience.

The clear, bright 2.4-inch QVGA screen on all models supports super-smooth video playback at up to 30 frames per second with excellent contrast and colour reproduction. For extra flexibility, videos and photos can be viewed in any screen orientation (left, vertical, right) to suit personal tastes. Photo collections can also be viewed as slideshows accompanied by your chosen music track.

The NWZ-A820 series of Walkmans support WMA, AAC, MP3, Linear PCM music formats, JPEG files for photos and high quality video codec’s like AVC (H.264/AVC) Baseline Profile and MPEG-4 video files. Certified for Windows Vista, the new range also carries Microsoft’s ‘PlaysForSure’ logo, indicating compatibility with a wide range of certified online content providers. It’s easy to transfer files from a connected PC to the NWZ-A820 series via Windows Media Player 11, simple drag-and-drop file management or using supplied Sony Media Manager for WALKMAN software.

Support for Bluetooth stereo means streaming to a Bluetooth stereo or speakers is a built-in option as is the hook up with the supplied Bluetooth headphones, in this instance Sony DR-BT21Gs.The player will accept dragged and dropped files from Windows PCs or there is Sony’s Media Manager for Walkman software bundled in. Sound quality is apparently assured thanks to in-house Sony technologies while the interface is claimed to be easy to use and intuitive with “super-quick” scrolling.

The NWZ A826K (4GB) and NWZ A828K (8GB) come supplied with Sony’s DR-BT21G Bluetooth headphones to create a truly ‘Wireless WALKMAN’ package for the ultimate in high quality, wire-free listening on the move. Pricing details haven’t been made public yet.

The NWZ-A820 series is offered in a choice of four color variations (black, silver, gold, and pink), and will be available in three storage sizes. The NWZ-A829 (16GB) can store up to 62 hours of video plus sound or 3,800 songs, the NWZ-A828 (8GB) just 30 hours 40 mins of video/audio or 1,850 songs while the entry-level versions, the NWZ-A826 (4GB), can store up to 15 hours of video or 925 songs.

The Nokia 3120 classic offers no-nonsense functionality and features familiar to the Nokia brand.also having Video calls, web browsing, music downloads, email and very slim. The Nokia 3120 classic is expected to begin shipping in select markets in mids of 2008 with an estimated retail price of $300.

Nokia 3120 classic key features:

1. Familiar Nokia design with a good user interface, large tactile keypad,which is good for typing mails as well as messeges with a great quality 2 inch QVGA display.

2. 2 megapixel camera with flash, as well as a video conference camera

3. Music player with up to 4GB of memory and support for most common formats (MP3, MP4, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, etc.)which is very good for these days,when these formats really trouble peoples.

4. Push email client and instant messaging

Delicious colors including graphite,white, deep red and also avilable in brown
3G connectivity for fast and easy download, web browsing and video streaming

Latest cell phone comes from Sony Ericsson called G900.Sony Ericson G900 offers additional features like G700,

Features:
1. 5-megapixel
2. Touch auto-focus camera. By “touch auto-focus,” it means focusing the camera would take a simple tap at the touch screen.

3. Also, with Camera Multi-Shot, hold down the camera key and take as many pictures as you like.This is very latest thing in any cell phone.
Scroll through all of the photos on your phone with touch control and even edit them there with the Touch photo album and editor.
4. Access your favourite Web pages when you’re in a Wi-Fi hotspot and view them on the large 2.4” display. Use the stylus or your finger to zoom-in or pan around
the page. When you’ve barely got a moment to spare, get RSS feeds direct to your phone for the latest updates; news, football scores or whatever you are in to.

Codename Tyra turned out to be a cool handset. Just like the G700, the Sony Ericsson G900 cell phone will be available on the mid of 2008.

Introduction
At the start of this year Samsung introduced a new mobile.The Samsung U600 also known as the Samsung Ultra Edition 10.9. As this Samsung U600 review shows, Samsung have managed to unleash another "world's slimmest" mobile on the world. The Samsung U600, you know that this is the world's slimmest sliding mobile phone, at just 10.9mm thin.Unlike other slim phones, the U600 has not been compromised in terms of features. Samsung seem to have the knack at the moment of making incredibly thin phones with features that actually work. within the 10.9mm of the U600, you will get a great quality 3.2 Megapixel autofocus digital camera with flash, a great quality MP3 player and a microSD card with extendable memory and touch sensitive keys, FM radio, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP support for streaming your music to other compatible devices.

Samsung U600 Overview
The U600 is the successor to Samsung's extremely popular D900 model. It's launched in colours such as misty-blue, pomegranate red, and a variety of other colours, all of which helps the U600 look professional without being too business-like. The screen on the U600 is a good size, at 2.2 inches, and is capable of showing 262,000 colours; this Phone also having sunlight mode that brightens the screen for better viewing in direct sunlight. Samsung U600 have the touch sensitive keys. The touch sensitive keys are turned off automatically after they have not been used for a while, so that you cannot end telephone conversations by accident. The main keys slide down when you need them using Samsung's super-smooth slide mechanism, which is always satisfying to fiddle with, and feels like it'll last 1000 years! LoL

Samsung U600 Camera
The camera on the U600 is a surprisingly good 3.2 megapixels. I say surprising not just because of the size of the pixel count in a phone this slim, but also because the quality of the camera is actually good. It gives you enough control over the camera's settings to take good shots as well, including a macro mode.The camera is situated on the back of the phone, as is typical for this type of form facto, and the lens is well protected when not in use. Unfortunately,In U600, there's no proper flash, just a weak LED photo light, Which is not very good. Again, though, this is common amongst most types of camera phones, and it's only the high-end phones that come with proper xenon flashes. Fortunately, the quality of the pictures taken in sunlight is just as good as those of the Sony Ericsson K800. Even more impressively, the U600 comes with autofocus, which is rare on most types of camera phone.

Samsung U600 music features
The U600 comes with an MP3 player with a great sound and a great interface that's almost as good as the interface on Sony Ericsson's Walkman phones (which is high praise!). The sound quality should be good - it's provided courtesy of a digital power amplifire that was developed specifically for Samsung by Bang and Olufsen. All devices also feature a dedicated music interface to make navigation and listening easier with Quick PC Sync software installed to make the creation and selection of playlists as easy as possible. The MP3 player can play a range of different media formats, including MP3, AAC, and also Windows Media files. Although the U600, internal Momory is only 60MB, but you can add morethrough the use of a microSD card. The U600 supports up to 2GB of external storage in this way, which should be good for hundreds of tunes. The only downside to the U600's MP3 capabilities are the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack, meaning you have to use the headphones supplied with the phone - which, unfortunately, are pants.

Samsung U600 connectivity
The U600 is a quad band GSM phone that unfortunately doesn't support 3G. That said, it does provide a web browser, but with slow GPRS speeds, you're not going to be doing much web surfing. You can also connect the U600 to your PC via USB, which not only lets you sync your data between your PC and phone, it also charges the U600 while it's connected, which is a neat touch. You can sync the usual stuff - Outlook contacts, playslists, etc., and one of the biggest advantage of using this phone is you can use the U600 as a modem, letting your PC connect to the Internet through it (though again, you'd only want to do this in an emergency, given the slow data transfer rates). One nice feature of the U600 is that as well as being able to transfer media files between PC and phone, you also use it to store files of any type. You simply copy your files from your PC over to the U600 via Windows Explorer, and then onto another PC if you want. In this way, the U600 acts as a USB drive - and one with 2GB of storage as well, which isn't bad!
Samsung U600 reviews from across the web




CNet have reviewed the Samsung U600, and are overall very pleased with it, rating it 8 out of 10. They write that "...niggles about the lack of built-in 3.5mm headphone jack or adaptor and the fiddly touch-sensitive keys aside, the Samsung U600 is a good thin phone with plenty of features that we enjoyed using." Trusted Reviews have also reviewed the Samsung U600, and they rate it 7 out of 10, concluding that "The SGH-U600 is a fairly accomplished phone. It certainly packs in lots of features. Samsung should have provided TV-out cables though and while the thin slider format is really appealing, the touch sensitive buttons are an absolute nuisance."

U600's business card scanner
The U600 comes with the usual array of applications that you'll never use. One novel feature, though, that could actually be quite useful, is the ability to take a picture of a business card, and then get the U600 to read the appropriate details from the picture (business name, phone number, etc.), and enter them into the appropriate fields of your address book. This is genius, and apparently works extremely well.

Summary of the U600
Samsung would appear to have a hit on their hands with the U600. Slim phones are definitely the latest craze at the moment, and there's none slimmer than the U600. In addition, it provides the features that people actually want - 3.2 megapixel camera, MP3 player, USB drive capabilities - and that are of extremely good quality. In other words, despite being the world's smallest slider phone, the U600 is definitely one of the best phones of modern era.

FFDSHOW is a DirectShow decoding filter for decompressing DivX, XviD, H.264, FLV1, WMV, MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, MPEG-4 movies. It uses libavcodec from ffmpeg project for video decompression, postprocessing code from mplayer to enhance visual quality of low bitrate movies, and is based on original DirectShow filter from XviD, which is GPL’ed educational implementation of MPEG4 encoder.

Features:
- various compression methods:
· MPEG 4 compatible (Xvid, DivX 4, DivX 5) using libavcodec or XviD
· Divx 3 compatible, MSMPEG4v2, MSMPEG4v1
· WMV1/7, WMV2/8
· H263, H263+, H264
· HuffYUV in YV12 colorspace
· MJPEG
· MPEG 1
· Theora (not for regular use, format isn’t stabilized yet)
· MPEG 2 by using mpeg2enc code from MJPEGtools project
· all Windows Media Video 9 supported encoders with output to asf/
wmv file or AVI
- all common encoding modes: constant bitrate, fixed quantizer, fixed quality, two pass encoding (depends on compressor features)
- for libavcodec and XviD detailed selection of motion estimation method
- minimum and maximum I frames interval
- minimum and maximum quantizer selection, quantizer type and trellis quantization selection for libavcodec
- adaptive quantization (aka. masking) for libavcodec and XviD, single coefficient elimination
- selectable compression of starting and ending credits
- two curve compression algorithms for second pass of two pass encoding - thanks to XviD developers
- second pass simulation: although not very precise, still helpful for tweaking advanced curve compression parameters
- ability to use libavcodec internal two pass code
- image preprocessing with ffdshow image filters (latest ffdshow version must be installed)
- graph during encoding: if your encoding program doesn’t provide one
- B frames support: from one to eight consecutive B frames
- support for MPEG 4 quarterpel and GMC
- selectable interlaced encoding
- decompression

Download FFDShow from here

Apart from the development in gaming consoles, there has also been a great many developments made where gaming accessories are concerned, and which are taking gaming to whole new levels of enjoyment for the players.

The Nintendo Wii is a console that is not only affordable, employs new and exciting technology, but is a product that the whole family will love. The Wii hopes to help Nintendo maintain its market presence, as well as bring new enjoyment and delights to those that buy it.

The Nintendo Wii comes with its own set of must have accessories and details are provided below of 3 of these.

Wii Remote

This is priced at $39.99 and is a one handed remote control which is sensitive to pointing and movements as well as being user friendly. This golf broadway remote wireless has built in functions and works by using a short range Bluetooth radio. You can use a maximum of 4 controllers at a maximum distance of 5 meters from the sensor bar. Not only is the remote multi functional, it is also allows ambidextrous use. The design of this accessory is such that experienced players will be able to hold a remote in each hand (or a Nunchuk in one and a remote in the other). Because of its advance technology the remote can sense movement and orientation, as well as being able to identify linear motion along three axes, the optical sensor can determine the direction.

Nunchuk

This is priced at around $19.99 and this accessory can be plugged into the Wii remote. It has an analog stick with 2 buttons and can be used when playing such games as Red Steel or The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. This accessory has motion sensors which permits gamers to perform specific character actions such as a spinning slash attack. According to reports, this accessory is the going to become the most popular and certainly the one that gamers “must have”.

Classic Controller

The classic controller is another accessory for the Wii and will have a price tag of $19.99. It is a classic style expansion controller and can be used at the same time as the Wii remote allowing you to play traditional games with a traditional gaming pad. It can be used to play existing games, virtual console games as well as multiplatform games. This accessory connects to the Wii remote through a cord.

The next generation of game consoles have now arrived, but of the three (Nintendo Wii, PS3 and Xbox360) which is going to win?

Firstly let us have at look at the Nintendo Wii.

This is the most unusual of the three consoles that we are looking at. It comes with an IBM Broadway Processor and ATI Hollywood GPU. Although not as powerful as the Playstation 3 or the Xbox 360 the Wii’s unique game play system and its remote controller make all the difference to playing games with this console.

The controller has the advantage of the player being able to use it as a sword, baseball bat, golf club and even a steering wheel which results in the games being more active and the player is getting some form of exercise to boot.

Another benefit of the Wii is that it has a great load of applications available for it such as Avatar: The Last Airbender, Call of Duty, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Need for Speed: Carbon as well as Wii Play and Wii Sports. They will also being releasing in the future Super Smash Bros Brawl and Pokemon Battle Revolution.

Finally the Wii is backwards compatible with the Nintendo GameCube and can be connected via wireless link to the Nintendo DS or DS Lite, as well as people being able to download Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo, NES, Sega Mega-Drive (Genesis) and Turbo Grafix 16 games for a small price that they can keep and play on this console.

Next we will look at the Xbox 360.

This comes with 3.2GHZ IBM Power PC tri-core processor as well as a 500MHZ GPU. This console is particularly attractive to gamers because of its powerful running speeds, the fast paced online action, and the mind blowing graphics.

Another point in the Xbox 360’s favor is its cost. A core system will set you back $299.99 while a premium system will cost you $399.99. This system has been priced between what you would pay for a PS3 (the most expensive) and the Nintendo Wii (the cheapest).

However a disadvantage of the Xbox360 is, because it does not have a processor in it from the original Xbox, you can not play original Xbox games on it without obtaining additional emulation software from the internet.

Finally let’s look at what the Playstation 3 has to offer.

This is the most expensive of these 3 consoles and it will not be available in Europe or Australia until March 2007. However the Playstation 3 does come with the following for the $499.99: you get 20gb while the $599.99 version has 60gb along with a new Sixaxis controller and Blu-Ray drive. It also has a Cell Broadband Engine (3.2GHZ), IBM Power Based CPU (which is almost equal to the Xbox360) and a 550MHZ RSX GPU. This hardware is perfect for those who like Racing and FPS games.

The PS3 is also compatible with the PSP (Playstation Portable) as well as being compatible with Playstation and Playstation 2 titles and future firmware updates will then make it even more compatible.

So you will have to decide what you want. Do you want the more expensive but powerful PS3 or the average priced yet powerful Xbox360? Or may be you lust after the cheap but unique and highly backward compatible Nintendo Wii? The decision is yours at the end of the day.

Gaming on the Nintendo Wii

The Nintendo Wii is the latest game console system and is the successor to the Game Cube.

This system is no larger than 3 DVD cases and integrates several innovative features which will provide you with a whole new gaming experience. Plus up to a maximum of 4 players can use Wii remotes during one game and according to independent testers this makes gaming much easier either for first timers or those more experienced gamers.

With the freedom of the wireless facility it allows players to become more involved and engaged in the action of the game that they are playing, while traditional “rumble” features and standard controls are also included with the remote. But there are the added benefits of new features as well.

You may if you wish purchase additional accessories such as the Nunchuk controller that comes with other control features. Plus the peripherals that come with the Game Cube are well matched for use with the Wii. In fact the Wii includes a Game Cube Memory Card slot, 4 ports for Game Cube controllers as well as a 512MB integrated memory.

The Wii allows for interactive play, so not only can multiple players use the wireless remotes, but you can also play against those around the world by communicating with them during networked play. This is because the Wii has Internet connectivity (even when the power is turned off). Also you have the added benefit that it connects wirelessly and can communicate with Nintendo DS systems.

A great advantage of the Wii is that it features new parental controls which means that once an age level has been set on the system games with ratings above that level, it can not be played without an override password being entered. Nintendo will be releasing games in North America that will use the ESRB rating system.

So whether you are a serious gamer or just a casual one, the games which you play are key to your experience. Many Wii users will have the option to choose from games that have been developed by Sega and EA Games. But the real innovation where the Wii is concerned is that you are able to download games. Wii users will have access to hundreds of downloadable games that were originally developed for other Nintendo systems such as the Nintendo 64 and the Super Nintendo.

Nintendo have also stated that the Wii will be backward compatible with most other peripherals as well as all Game Cube software. This compatibility is achieved through a set of ports on the top of the console (behind a panel).

Below are some of the games which are already available for the Nintendo Wii and do not forget that Nintendo Game Cube games are also playable on the Wii.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Call of Duty

Cars

GT Pro Series

Madden NFL 07

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance

Need for Speed: Carbon

Rayman Raving Rabbids

Trauma Center: Second Opinion

Wii Play

Wii Sports

As you can see, where the Wii is concerned, you are the one that controls what you play, and how you play it.

Because there have been a number of complaints from users that the Wii strap cord breaks too easily, Nintendo have offered to replace them (3.2 million of them).

Shortly after the console went on sale in Canada a number of gamers began reporting cases that the wrist strap had snapped during game play.

Kris Abel CTV’s technology expert is reported as saying “A lot of people are saying that the strap has not been well made, and is actually snapping and people are throwing their controllers into their televisions and breaking their $3,000 plasmas”.

A spokesman for Nintendo has stated the offer being made was “not a recall” and the current wrist strap is perfectly safe and has passed all the required tests. They are, though, allowing people to return them in order to provide their users with peace of mind when using their Wii.

Nintendo have now already begun to ship new Wii remote control accessories that include the updated strap.

Nintendo was hoping to begin shipping replacement straps directly to their customers in December 2006, and those customers should allow between 5 to 9 days for delivery of theirs in the US and Canada.

What a player using the Nintendo Wii is meant to do is grip the Wii remote and have the wrist strap there as a secondary measure. But Nintendo have reported that “We have found that some consumers get more excited playing Wii Sports than we could have imagined. This has resulted in a very small number of the wrist straps breaking. We have replaced the broken wrist straps and continue to reinforce with consumers the safe and fun use of our products”.

Because of the problems relating to Nintendo Wii wrist strap they did not think this would adversely affect the sales of the product.

The Nintendo Wii is the newest game console and is about the size of 3DVD cases stood beside each other. It comes with a front loading disc assembly that is able to take not only regular size CD’s, but Wii discs and the smaller Game Gube discs as well.
It is driven by a PowerPC Processor from IBM and it really nothing more than a powerful version of the Game Cube that it is replacing. It also comes with a newly developed onboard graphics engine (made by ATI) and 512mb flash memory for storing games. It also allows you to connect an external memory card to it for more storage. Also the Wii has built in Bluetooth enabling which allows up to 4 cordless Wii controllers to be used at any one time so the whole family can play together (a family that plays together, stays together). In addition it has 4 Game Cube controller jacks along the top so that if you want it can be used for corded play. Plus it has 2 USB ports for additional peripherals as well as 2 Game Cube memory card ports so you are able to load and possibly save Game Cube games to and from the Wii.

Another additional benefit of the Wii is that it has Internet access and there is USB. You can get an Ethernet adapter which in turn will give the Wii network capability should you want access to online features.

However, the Wii, although it can take a standard CD, is not designed for playing back DVD’s (unless Nintendo make some changes), and this is a disadvantage for this system as all the others have a DVD playback feature.

Maybe this is a marketing ploy on Nintendo’s part, as they would prefer it to be home gaming center rather than a home entertainment center.

The biggest benefit for most people, where the Wii is concerned, and those people who already own some Nintendo console such as the Game Cube, Nintendo DS etc, is that it has backwards capabilities. Can you imagine the money a family will save because they know that the kids Game Cube and Nintendo DS can also be used with the Wii and the whole family can play the games together?

A major advantage of the Wii is its parental control feature that comes with an update and prohibits the younger users from playing games that are considered unsuitable for their age level. Should your child attempt to play a game, th Wii reads the content rating encoded in the games data, and if the rating is greater then the age limit set on the Wii system, then the game will not load until the appropriate password is correctly entered. But unfortunately, this feature does not affect those games specifically designed for the Game Cube.

So overall the Wii looks like a very good investment for a family. It is a very valuable game system as Nintendo are committed to producing games that are targeted to adults as well as for children to enjoy. Plus with its parental control option it means you can have a say on what games you kids play.

The Nintendo Wii is setting out to make waves in the world of video gaming. It is doing this by changing the way in which we play games as well as giving people the opportunity to send text messages or leave messages directly from the Wii’s console. But really the Wii is setting itself apart from the other consoles on the market because of its remote controller.

There are many video game veterans around who will remember the annoying figure in the Nintendo original game “Duck Hunt” who would often appear when they were struggling with the game. This mean and vindictive dog would appear and laugh at the player when they continued to miss the birds that were coming at them faster and faster. However if the Nintendo Wii had been around at the time then, many would have been able to avoid the dog or would not have had to blame him so much for their shortcomings.

With the emergence of the Nintendo Wii, the gaming industry will be set alight with a remote controller that has motion detection technology and puts the player right in the game. Imagine what it would be like if you could finally become one of those funny looking figures in a Nintendo game. The Wii can provide this for you. If the game calls for swinging (like when using a golf club) you hold the Wii controller in your hand and then swing like you would if holding a golf club, and this is where Nintendo takes over.

What happens next is that the controller sends a signal to the sensor bar that is placed in front of the TV (you can be up to 30ft away from the bar). What is great about this console is that you and your family will get a little physical exercise while playing a game in the comfort of your own home with the great games that are provided in the Wii Sports package.

The controller allows you to control your character’s movements along with the action that is happening in the actual game. It does not matter whether you are skateboarding (Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam) or Swimming (Sponge Bob Square Pants: Creature from the Krusty Krab), as you control every aspect of your players movements just as you want them to happen in the virtual world of gaming.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is the latest video game to come from Nintendo’s critically acclaimed “The Legend of Zelda” series for use on both the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo Game Cube. The Wii version was released on the day that the console was launched (November and December 2006) and made this the first Zelda game to be debuted alongside the launch of a Nintendo console. The version for the Nintendo Game Cube was released in December 2006.

The main protagonist in this game Link who was initially an assistant at a farm like village but who travels to Hyrule (where the game is set). There he encounters a number of different enemies and with the help of Midnas (a creature) fights the twilight that is spreading across Hyrule. The Legend of Zelda: “Twilight Princess” is the first game in the Zelda series to have a “T” rating by the ESRB because of the animated blood and fantasy violence that is contained within the game.

What is special about the Wii version is that it uses the “point and click” of the Wii remote as the “fairy” cursor for the player to be able to access menus, as well as being able to use various tools such as the Hero’s Bow, Claw Shot and Fishing Rod. You can also use the Nunchuk attachment analog stick for movement as well. For the player to swing the sword, the player needs to make a slashing movement with the Wii remote while a jab with the tilt sensitive Nunchuk will cause Link to perform one of his secret moves known as the shield attack. If a player wishes to use Link’s Spin Attack they need to swing the Nunchuk horizontally. In order for a player to use items, the games allows them to equip the items to the right, left, and down positions by the D-pad using the item screen when that item’s respective direction button is pressed, and this item is then switched into the B button for easier use. The built in speaker on the remote is also great, as it is used for sounds such as the bowstring being drawn and released as well as for Midnas’s laugh and the classic “Zelda Chime”.

During this game in the Zelda series, Link learns more moves than other previous games in the series and will also share similar moves when between human and wolf form. For example if an enemy is on the ground, the Link can either finish them by plunging his sword into them when in human form, or when in wolf form, rip out their souls. Also, when Link is wolf form, his sense of smell is heightened. But with such abilities there are disadvantages to being able to be either wolf or human form. Unfortunately, while in wolf, form he cannot utilize items or open any doors with handles until he has transformed back to being a human.

Since its release there have been a number of positive reviews in respect of the game and most of the reviews have praised it art direction. However, some reviewers at GameSpot complained about the feeling of “tacked on” Wii controls and out dated graphics because of the game primarily being designed for the Game Cube platform, but they did say it was the best Game Cube game of 2006 as well as being the best Wii game. It has also been nominated as one of the ten for Game Spot’s “Game of the Year” award.

Nokia, the leading mobile phone manufacturer of the world lately joined the race of making the slimmest flap phones.

They finally lunched the Nokia N76 with Symbian OS 9.1.

It is an intelligently designed phone has all the ingredients to be accepted by the high-end mobile users. This sleek phone is bound to create some ripples among the high-end mobile enthusiasts worldwide.

Nokia N76 has some cool features like shortcut key which allow playing of music and taking pictures without opening the phone. (See the picture right).
It also has a 2 megapixel camera with 20x digital zoom for taking up to 1600X1200 pixels high clarity pictures.

It also has an integrated Flash. Video calling and video sharing are two of the exciting features of Nokia N76. It can also be effectively used for video streaming, storing and downloading. Videos are captured in QVGA resolution camera and can playback up to 15 fps with up to 4X digital zoom. This makes taking videos a sheer pleasure.

It has a internal memory of 26MB and can be extended up to 2GB with a miniSD memory card.
With a large 262K color display and EDGE facility you can surf the web faster with Desktop like features.
The phone is equipped with integrated FM radio, Music Player which supports mp3, wav and aac files and also has a Real Player for playing rm and 3gp files. The wide screen of the phone enables the users to view the downloaded and recorded video clips in larger size. This enhances the viewing pleasure of the users.



Nokia N 76 support various email protocols such as SMTP, IMAP4, and POP3. This is apart from the regular features such as Chatting, MMS, Picture messaging etc. Other common Nokia features include calculator, voice recorder, Bluetooth, integrated hands free speakers etc. With Nokia N76, it is also possible to video conference. It is also possible to use software like Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express. Nokia N76 has a talk time of up to 2.75 hours and a standby time of up to 8.5 days. It comes with a standard Li-ion 700 mAh battery.

Nokia N76 is expected to maintain the popularity of the Nokia N Series mobile phones. It is stunning looking phone loaded with tremendous features.

Available Memory Cards for Nokia N76:
Micro-SD card
Micro SD memory
Memory Stick Micro
M2 memory
M2 card

This is the toy taht’s got Abhishek rocking.Motorokr e6 from Motorola is an out-and-out entartainment phon.With an expandable memory of up to 2GP, what more can one ask for? The phone has a 2.0 mega pixel camera with 8x digital zoom and CIF and QVGA video capture for up ti 5 hours with full screen video playback.There are also built-in MP3 player and FM radio, and dedicated music keys.The phone doubles up as a PDA too, capable of reading business cards, accessing e-mails and viewing documents and PDF files. All this comes in a stylish 14.5mm casing with a 2.4″ 240×320 TFT touch screen.

Available Memory Cards for Motorokr E6:
Micro-SD card
Micro SD memory
Memory Stick Micro
M2 memory
M2 card

• The HP iPAQ hw6965 Mobile Messenger provides the features and solutions you need for an outstanding mobile e-mail and messaging experience
• Having the ability to read, respond to, and manage e-mails while you’re on the road or in long meetings, has a significant impact on your ability to stay productive
• The HP iPAQ Mobile Messenger provides all the essentials to keep your business running when you are away from the office: phone, e-mail, and more secure access to business-critical information
• Instant messaging allows you to communicate in real time to get answers or make decisions fast, and view the online and offline status of your contacts


This incredibly light (179.45 g, including battery) handheld is a must have for pocket pc lovers. It runs on Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC, Phone Edition. It come pre packed with Mobile Versions of Microsoft® software are included (Word® Mobile, Excel® Mobile, PowerPoint® Mobile and Internet Explorer Mobile),
Microsoft® Outlook™ 2002 for Pocket PC. With large 3.0″ 64K TFT touch screen and 416 MHz Intel® PXA270 Processor everything feels really good including PC like web browsing. It also has a Built-in SXGA, HP Photosmart 1.3 MP camera for capturing images up to 1280 x 1024 resolution. This marvelous gadget has Integrated quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, WLAN 802.11b, Bluetooth® 1.2, IrDA for seamless connectivity. Memory capacity is 64MB for SD-RAM with 45MB inbuilt memory can be extended up to 2GB with 4-bit miniSD memory card.

Available Memory Cards for HP iPAQ HW6965:
Micro-SD card
Micro SD memory
Memory Stick Micro
M2 memory
M2 card

The word “communicator” was made up by Nokia and identified a whole family or devices armed with QWERTY-keyboard. That didn’t hamper other manufacturers in their attempts to position their solutions after this device and name their products in a resembling way. It quite another matter, though, that back then those were pretty unsophisticated devices that were miles behind Nokia’s communicators in terms of capabilities. One could recall a Motorola-branded communicator – model A100, which was a basic device for typing SMS messages. By acting in this vein, the companies unintentionally disclosed the gap between own affairs and the developments of the market’s best company, which started on a long-term outlook. Because communicators were always the eye-catches and hype-generators, however meagres battery life, huge size, super-functionality as it seemed to most users and the heftiest price tags out there put many off. When the phone market was only emerging, such products occasionally ended up in the category of status phones (effect of price), enterprise solutions, though were used in the way they were meant to by few.

Sales package:
Nokia E90 Communicator
1500 mAh Li-Pol battery (BP-4L)
Wired stereo-headset (HS-47)
Charger(AC-4)
USB data cable (DKE-2)
512 Mb microSD memory card
User Guide
DVD ROM with software .

The core idea of Nokia E90 lies in compatibility, both in terms of hardware and software, with current S60-based smartphones. After all, it is an S60 3rd edition Feature Pack 1 solution. The concept of Nokia E90 is unique in a way – the developers have adopted the best from both words and crossed in one devices standard S60 smartphones and the communicator range. All previous communicators with the clam closed had interface of platform 40 or ordinary phone counterparts – integration of the interface with the communicator mode, when the device was open, didn’t run deep (phonebook, organizer – that was about it). Nokia E90 brings about some fundamental improvements – both standard and third-party applications work in closed (phone mode, or better to say, smartphone), and flipped open modes. A simple example – you launch the browser and start viewing pages on the outer screen, then decide to write a quick reply on a forum, flick open the communicator and see exactly the same page, yet scaled up to fit the bigger resolution of the main display. You can fold the device open and closed, switching between the screens, as many times as you won’t – there is nothing wrong with that.

Nokia-branded communicators were one of the first devices to feature full thumbboards, petite dimensions and folder type design. The advantage of this form-factor is obvious – it is vastly reminiscent of usual notebooks, which creates deja vu effect for consumers. None of the vendors has released devices sporting such design – there is only a handful of models not too far off from it, but that’s all. An obvious strength is the ability to fold back the top part with the display and get access to the keyboard. The flip-open Nokia 9500 provided a 120-degree angle, which was most adequate when the communicator was on a table and you were punching in a text. In Nokia 9300/9300i they forwent that trait, and enabled the user to set the halves at any angle, up to 180 degrees. At that there was no position, in which the device would have fixed the halves.

Nokia E90 features a hinge that holds the halves in two setups, but the former offers an angle of 100 degrees, which feels not particularly comfortable on a table. The engineers picked this way so as to secure the same 120-130 degrees when you work with device on your knees, where uneven surface make for the same experience. Locking the device in this position is required to make sure that when a train or plane starts jolting, it wouldn’t go all the way down to the second position. Some don’t hesitate to attribute this trait to the E90’s shortcomings, but this makes no sense – between the 100- and 180-degree setups you can bend it to any angle you want and then it is more likely to stay in this condition (if anything, you have to shake it so hard, that managing the communicator becomes impossible). The E90 snaps into two fixed positions with a click, which is a nice thing about the device.

The design of the side-mounted hinges indicates that all wires are embedded into them – in this respect the device has become more robust as well.

Flipping the device open with one hand is possible, but due to its being relatively heavy, you should use both hands. The E90 weighs in at 210 grams, compared to Nokia 9300i’s 172 grams. At that they have left the dimensions almost untouched – 132×57x20 mm against 132×51x21 mm. The casing is shaped in rectangular design, it is widen and because of that Nokia E90 visually feels clumsier. The materials used only strengthen your confidence in that, with the metal edging of the outside and metal battery cover.

LAYOUT :-

The layout of controls and display, with the clam closed, is standard. The outer screen sports QVGA resolution (240×320 pixels) and 16 million colors. The external sensor automatically tweaks backlighting level so as to make it fit the environment best, similar sensor works for the internal display as well. The picture quality the external screen puts up is good, yet turns out to be interior to other offerings by the company, being affected by insufficient brightness, which can’t be adjusted manually and therefore is one of the device’s drawbacks. On the other hand, this is a quality thing that plays a secondary role for the most part and its performance is not what everything is about. In the sun the display gets washed out, nevertheless the picture remains readable in most cases. Technically, it may be considered the main display, since you come to manage it when calling or reading messages. Regrettably, in many work modes the font size is relatively small, what is more, when reading mail all columns are so crammed that it is impossible to read anything. And this is what makes you sway towards using the communicator mode even more often.

Battery life :-

Nokia E90 utilizes a 1500 mAh Li-Pol battery (BP-4L), which is the most capacious unit for such products these days (in this generation only Nokia E61i can flaunt an identical cell). For comparison: Nokia 9300i employs a 1100 mAh unit (BP-6M). The increased capacity is chiefly due to more power-hungry displays, whose specs have been considerably enhanced at the cost of shorter battery life. If we are to compare the talk/standby times, both handsets will do equally well, which means that most of the extra power is consumer by the bigger internal display.

The maker claims that in standby mode the E90 can work up to 260 hours, while its talk time makes up 5 hours at best. Great numbers, especially on the paper, though in real life the battery life proves to be shorter by a wide margin.

Technical specifications of Nokia E90
Hardware-wise the model is almost a replica of Nokia N95 with two-processor OMAP2420 chipset, the main CPU – ARM11 running at 332 MHz, and 2D/3D-accelerator, whose power is used for video recording. Total RAM volume makes up 128 Mb, though for user applications there is only 80 Mb available. The inbuilt flash-memory (NAND) is 256 Mb, out of which about 120 Mb are user-manageable, this size can be easily augmented with microSD cards of up to 2Gb.

Bluetooth.
The smartphone sports EDR-enabled Bluetooth 2.0 and support for the following profiles:

BIP-ImagePush;
DUN-GW;
FT-Server;
HandsFree-AG (1.0);
Headset-AG;
OBEX;
OPP-Client;
OPP-Server;
SIM Access-Server.
It a shame, though, as it doesn’t have A2DP, which means that the E90 can’t beam sound to a wireless headset.

USB.
The E90 houses the miniUSB-socket (no charging-over-the-cable is available, though), on C connection you are free to pick from USB Mass Storage, PC Suite, and Modem or Printer (unlimited number of paired printers) modse. With USB ver 2.0 in its pocket, the handset presents you with about 800 Kb/s in USB Mass Storage mode.

Java.
No limits are set on application size or heap.

Performance.
We were expecting Nokia E90’s performance to be dependant on selected mode, in other words, that it would put up uneven numbers in phone and communicator mode, as the different resolutions of the two displays demand different resources.

Much to our surprise, nothing like that actually happened – results of all JBenchmark tests are identical for either mode. At that, faced off against the figures of Nokia E61i, Nokia N95, Nokia E90 ended up beaten by a wide margin, being three or four times weaker. For example, in the 3D test Nokia E90 put up 340 points in HQ and 356 in LQ (Nokia N95 – 1145 and 1012 respectively). In the second version of the kit, the gap made up 151 and 522 points. These vastly strange results can be explained only with one thing – from the very beginning the device models all interfaces for the inner display. In other words, the main conclusion we could draw on Nokia E90’s circuitry is quite a sensation: such ability to quickly switch between the modes is acquired through being initially tailored to handle the internal display and cropping the interface to fit the external screen. Roughly speaking, this process should look this way; if you do possess any information on how it all really works on Nokia E90, your letters or posts on our forum will be more than welcome. Thank you in advance.

Subjectively, the device’s performance is up to the typical level of S60-smartpohnes in phone more and is a tad lagging behind in communicator mode. In the latter mode, at times its takes the picture some time to pop up on the display; changing modes takes some time. At the same time, comparing the E90 with S80-powered solutions, it is safe to say that Nokia E90 is at least not second to them, and in some operation exceeds them speed-wise.

Camera.
We have been brainwashed for a long time that a business-handset, especially in Eseries doesn’t need to have a camera onboard. However the latest trend implies that imaging capabilities should be incorporated in such phones and that’s how come Nokia E90 ended up with a 3,2 Mpix CMOS-matrix. The quality of shots you get is excellent and pretty much in line with Nokia N93i, Nokia N73. In fact, in this aspect the E90 has turned out to be a really competent offering. On the downside the camera has no shutter and thus picks up smudge with ease. I should emphasize that the camera module used here is different from the one we see in the already existing devices, even though it allows acquiring snaps just as good.

Video.
The handset is capable of shooting video in a number of quality modes, with the best one putting up 30 frames per second at 640×480 (VGA resolution). But you always can reduce the FPS rate to 15 or get the resolution lower. All clips are captured in MPEG4, at that you can record sound simultaneously. While shooting you can take advantage either of the optical or digital zoom (up to x8 in this mode). Also, the optical stabilizer gets engaged, preventing the video from adopting trembling of the device. It seemed to me, that this function is just fine – after long shooting sessions there are no traces of camera’s slight movements left in the video clip. You can turn off sound recording, in case you don’t need it.

REVIEW OF SOME APPLICATION COMES PRE-INSTALLED ON E-90:-

Active Notes. The difference setting it apart from run-of-the-mill notes built into the previous handsets is really striking. They have adopted the concept of MMS messages, which means you are allowed to add various objects onto the blank – from text and contacts to snaps, voice recordings etc. A note can be put on the handset’s standby mode, but there isn’t much of a novelty about this option. This function gains a whole lot of points thanks to the ability to set a link to a particular note for any contact found in the phonebook (and enable displaying notes during a call). Just imaging – you have prepared a note with everything you are going to talk about during a call, bind it up with a number and that’s all – when you receive a call from that number or make a call yourself, that note automatically pops up on the display. A fetching feature that is worth getting used to. Whether it will become craved-for in handsets is to be determined yet, but the very idea is quite interesting.

Voice features. Text to speech (TTS). In the E90 they have applied text-to-speech technology, that enables you to listen to all your text messages and emails by pressing and holding the left soft-key. And it’s not only message that gets pronounced, there’s also sender’s name. In case there’s no such entry in the phone book, you will hear “Message from unrecognized number” phrase. System can pronounce numbers quite nicely, and here this solution was probably ergonomics-based. And it’s true, it is kind of hard to listen to a set of digits, you will not memorize phone number, and in case you will, it will not do any good either. A sort of positive simplification of the sound interface.

In TTS settings you can select language in which this application will work with, a wise solution. A lot of users set English as their Menu language, at same time they prefer reading messages in their native language. Other text recognition applications do not have such settings, and they’re strictly attached to menu language, this is definitely a disadvantage for them. For example some Samsung products are missing Russian voice pack, and as result there’s no voice dialing at all.

One of the best things about this algorithm is its modular concept; this means that its packets can be downloaded separately from main software. There is several language packs shipped in the sales package. As a rule, such files with voice packs are stored on memory card. Our sample had the following languages:

Dutch, voice Ingrid;
English (UK), voice Ellen;
French, voice Marie;
German, voice Nicole;
Italian, voice Silvia;
Portuguese, voice Isabel;
Spanish, voice Lara.

Each language pack is about 1.86mb big. As you have guessed, there can be several voices for every language, for example, a male voice, or female or childish (it’s not a trivial case for realization, as it may seem at first sight). This means that user will be able to choose the voice that will cast messages or exercises. A pretty neat addition that makes TTS functionality even bigger.

As for additional voice settings, you can select volume and speed. Speed can be adjusted from 1 to 10, in this case 1 will be very slow and 10 will remind you of a tongue-twister, as a result you will not be able to comprehend it at all.

Speaker-independent voice-dialing is quite good - you can dial any number from the phone book without having to train the phone with voice tags or whatever.

Music player. Album Arts are supported, at that the player boasts standard interface. By and large, for a non-music-minded solution, the player in the E90 is pretty decent with the sonic experience provided being typical for S60 (in line with Nokia 3250, but generally, very average). Disabled A2DP-profile, available equalizers and standard music library lay out – that’s about it. The music players seems to be a quite adequate extra in the E90, meaning that occasional music sessions will be okay, though it doesn’t have what it takes to replace a stand-alone music player.

FM-radio. The E90 packs support for Visual Radio, while the FM-radio module itself is nothing out of the ordinary – no traits or issues, good reception quality. This is the first offering of such class to feature radio onboard, which is definitely a step forward.

Nokia Search. With this utility you can perform a local search in all folder contents found on the handset and memory card. At that you are at liberty to involve all the folders or stick your hands into certain categories (contacts list, notes, calendar notes, SMS, e-mail). The search is conducted by name, where you can use both letters and numbers. Such substitute-symbols as “?” for replacing only one and “*” for any number of symbols are also available. “Space” is used to separate two words and inverted commas – to search a concrete phrase.

The app comes in handy when searching for some phone numbers. You should put only a few digits and all matching variants appear on the screen. Using the option “Previous results” you can easily return to preceding results of the search.

And furthermore, it is very speedy - the results pop up on the screen in a few seconds after submitting the query.

Wi-Fi. There is a connection wizard to make sure that everything runs fine – it is accessible at the standby screen and allows you to quickly track all networks available, connect to them (WEP, WPA, WPA2 security protocols are supported).

Team Suite. The spotlighted application, which is, as of today, unique to this model alone. Having launched it, you see the list of teams, which you compose yourself and fill with contacts from the standard phonebook. For every team you can create group messages, hold conference-calls in one touch, initiate Push to Talk sessions. Speaking of its extra abilities – your colleagues are enabled to view communication logs, and there is a catalogue of links for a particular team. This application is an add-on over default functionality, with other phones; the same effect is achieved through more time-consuming actions and nothing more than that. The E90 offers a more gratifying way of doing that, especially to those who really care for such functionality.

Adobe PDF. A run-of-the-mill reader of Adobe PDF documents – installed on majority of models running on Symbian.

Quick Office. Probably, the most crucial change that many don’t pay necessary attention to, which is unfair. Unlike the entire range of S80 products, for S60 they have decided on using Quick Office (my eyes won’t go round if Nokia buys out this developer) as the default office software kit. Most products get a free version installed, that does not allow the users to edit office documents (for example, Nokia N95 is one of them), however Nokia E90 hasn’t had this ability cut. Although this software isn’t idea, it delivers the same capabilities as Windows Mobile.

ZIP. Another well-known utility for handing archives, creating compressed files etc.

Barcode Reader. This application can be installed on just about any S60-based smartphone; it allows reading codes from products packing. Nevertheless finds little application in real-life, on top of that, its quality leaves much to be desired.

WEB-browser. Honestly, I don’t want to bother you with another description of what operates as standard browser version 2.0. Saving for the display that makes navigation a much easier affair and allows you to view most resources without having to scroll horizontally, it hasn’t undergone any makeovers. A comprehensive review of the browser can be found here

Built-in mail client. The E90 retains the same client as all other Eseries devices, at that all attachments are opened in Quick Office, Flash Player, or the built-in browser. In fact, there are no limits set on size of sent or received file. Regrettably, today, when using Exchange Server, there is no way to create own hierarchy of folders in the client, but they promise to add this feature in future. The handset also boats support for Intellisync 8.0, which brings its functionality to the level of Windows Mobile devices, however, special tweaking and tuning is required. Also, for Nokia E90 there is a BlackBerry-client available. Wrapping it all up, in terms of email, today it is one of Nokia’s best offerings, especially in view of a full QWERTY-keyboard.

GPS-navigation. For a communicator, addition of GPS-receiver appears to be a soft of running-in of future technologies, attempt to keep up with the times, rather than a vital need. It is really interesting to read on various resources articles praising Nokia E90’s navigation front, conclusions that in this sense it is on a par with Nokia N95 and thanks to a bigger internal screen looks preferable for checking maps. It is good and smooth, if only all this refers to artificial environment of Nokia E90 – in a pocket of its tester. In real life, the limitations of Nokia E90’s GPS-navigation use outweigh its undisputable draws.

This department is powered by Nokia Maps (Smart2Go) software.

I don’t feel like going the same way again, reviewing the same abilities of the navigation software. I shall only note that voice-based navigation for in-car use is available only for a fee. The antenna is mounted underneath the keyboard, almost under the dedicated GPS application button. Subjectively, the cold-start time is a tad higher than that on Nokia N95, not to mention Nokia 6110. We didn’t do special tests, but when I was navigating simultaneously with Nokia N95, Nokia E90 and one more device in Munich, Nokia E90 was the slowest starter. At the same time, the navigation capabilities were up to other contenders; the only difference – after tunnels and dead space, Nokia E90 required more time to detect satellites, which automatically affected navigation quality. But even with that said, don’t think of this as the main letdown of the E90’s navigation department.

Imagine that you put the flip-open communicator on the panel board of your car, as this is the best way to make use of its huge primary display. And this will turn out to be dangerous for the handset, for there are no means for getting it firmly mounted on one place. Using the smaller display doesn’t make any sense – no bright backlighting provided. Or, you can turn to voice tips, but to do that you need to have Nokia E90 in your shirt pocket, which is not that easy either. Taking account of meagre battery life in navigation mode, the picture we get in the end is not all sunshine and rainbows.

It would be natural to assume that GPS-navigation will work out while walking. Indeed, but then you will really need to stock up with some extra batteries. And then you come to realize that the only things you can do is check city map in good quality, locate yourself on this map, and figure out where you head for. I doubt this type of navigation will cater for many. A partial way-out is use of an external GPS-receiver, with which you will do away with the battery life issue, though this doesn’t seem adequate or economically sound.

Comparison with Nokia 9300i
Exclusively for the previous owners of Nokia 9300i, which fit in the image of Nokia E90’s target audience best, I shall make a small face-off:

Build quality is better in Nokia E90 but for that it’s heavier
Full integration of the phone mode with communicator in Nokia E90
Two decent displays in Nokia E90
Thumbboard ergonomics is more preferable in Nokia 9300i
Battery life numbers are comparable, though Nokia E90 lacks a cradle, desk charger
Nokia E90 has got its display resolution boosted – from 640×420 in the previous models to 800×352
Soft-keys flanking the display
Support for UMTS-networks in Nokia E90 (HSDPA)
Camera
Enhanced music department
We could have concluded the list with more items, but briefly speaking, in spite of all missteps with the ergonomics, Nokia E90 looks like a winner here, being a device playing in a league of its own, superior in terms of both positioning and quality – a player of another league.

Impressions
On the reception front the handset does fine – everything is up to any today’s offerings. In the phone mode you hear what they say on the other end well, but it is a real pain to keep the phone in line with your ear for long sessions, you arm gets tired faster. All in all we have no grips with the E90’s reception quality. The inbuilt silent alert is not particularly strong, so its presence is rather a step towards those who craved for this feature in the past models. When in a belt base, the handset doesn’t produce enough vibration, so you will barely feel it. At the same time, the volume of ring tones is quite sufficient – the E90 notifies you with that equally well both in- and outdoors.

The concept of Nokia E90 was stated back when the first communicator Nokia 9000 saw release in 1996 – this is a device for handling email and browsing web pages. It is remarkable that many solutions created for the first communicator were then transferred onto all current Nokia-branded smartphones. Actually, this is such an exciting topic, that we will definitely release a dedicate article telling the story of communicators. The reason why we couldn’t squeeze it in here is that in this case it would’ve passed unnoticed.

At the same time for models retailed for about 800 Euro, the company is planning on using the “all-in-one” concept to its fullest by offering the most comprehensive suite of features. To some extent, our readers, and those who visit other resources, have already note the cross-points between this device and Nokia N95’s idea. But the conclusions they made, that these two are rivals on the market, are far from the truth – target audiences almost don’t overlap. Indeed, Nokia E90 looks fetching primarily to the enterprise segment, those who have mail and web-applications handling as their usual activities. Going for this device with the desire to get a “do-it-all” solution is not justified – ergonomics doesn’t live up to this bar and the hefty price tag can’t be helped. In this regard we feel confident to say that Nokia E90 will remain, much like its predecessors, a niche-aimed proposition, without any chances to reach Nokia N95’s popularity. Such solutions can’t be called “for the mass market” at all.

It is also interesting that promotion of S60-based smartphones as “multimedia computers” looks very artificial for almost all products, except for Nokia E90. Here the form-factor matches what we have come to expect from a portable PC, which is a big plus.

Release of Nokia E90 marks a new stage in the development of the communicator range – in a year’s time we will see at least one more device in this segment with slightly pared down functionality (missing GPS, for example), yet improved ergonomics. Starting from the next year, we can expect that the line of communicators will be getting more attention of both developers and consumers, since these devices will be offering greater quality of web browsing, email handling, while still being nearly beyond competition. The position of communicators on the market is very unique – they have no direct rivals. Only if we overlook many aspects, HTC TyTN may qualify as one, but in the end it is weaker in many ways, from camera to latent advantages in software. Though the main difference lies in the philosophy – those who buy HTC TyTN would hardly consider Nokia E90, as these are two different universes.

Bottom line. For its potential target audience, Nokia E90 is a very balanced and reasonably priced solution. It has no counterparts that have made it to the market, therefrom follows its low price flexibility and most improbable price shifts (if only the enterprise audience really doesn’t like it).

Available Memory Cards for Nokia E90:
Micro-SD card
Micro SD memory
Memory Stick Micro
M2 memory
M2 card