HTC’s Legend is to all intents and purposes the follow up to the very popular Hero. Like its predecessor it is an Android handset, and GPS, Wi-Fi and 3G are here as Android staples but, as you would expect, the Legend has a lot that is new, updated, enhanced and tweaked too.
Nice touch? HTC’s Legend
For a start, the Legend’s bold chassis design, revamped Sense User Interface sitting on top of Android 2.1, and an AMOLED capacitive touchscreen are the headline features that could combine to make HTC’s latest as popular as the Hero. Currently, the Legend is slated to be available on contract exclusively from Vodafone. You can also get it SIM free. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s taken a while, but LG has finally got around to releasing an Android handset. We’re pleased to see they haven’t just gone for a me-too ‘droid either – the GW620 is firmly aimed at the lower mid-range rather than the smartphone high end. It puts the focus firmly on social networking, with integrated SNS, a slide-out Qwerty keyboard, plus Wi-Fi, HSDPA 3G, 5Mp Camera and GPS.
Android enticer? LG’s InTouch Max GW620
The InTouch Max GW620 is a pocket-friendly 109 x 55 x 16mm with a 3.2in touchscreen – so it’s on the small side when compared the likes of the iPhone or media-tastic Android handsets like the Google Nexus One. It’s nice and curvy too, with sloping edges top and bottom and rounded corners, all of which helps it to sit very neatly in hand or pocket despite the inevitable depth lent it by the slide-out Qwerty keyboard.
It’s black gloss on the front, with an anti-slip rubberised coating on the back – ah, those little things mean a lot – together with a protruding Camera lens and LED flash. The touchscreen is set within a surround, which includes the LG logo, but no buttons, touch sensitive or otherwise, which seems like a waste of real estate. Read the rest of this entry »
The flourishing Android operating system has appeared on phones made by Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, LG and HTC. Now Google has launched its own handset, though it’s actually made by HTC, which has made the bulk of Android handsets so far.
Nexus One: hardware by HTC, software by Google
The thing about Android is that manufacturers can change the OS to taste. This has been a great bonus for Motorola, a company known for stylish, appealing phones but which has always had a dog of an operating system. Motorola has been able to tweak Android effectively to add social media smarts. Read the rest of this entry »
Tracking someone’s location using GPS technology is often regarded as sneaky or underhand, but what if you’re simply a paranoid protective parent craving the security of knowing your child’s whereabouts – day or night?
Intensive care: Race Telcom’s WiGoMo One and GPS beacon
Manufacturer Race Telecom aims to allay that fear with WiGoMo – a child-friendly handset-cum-tracker that relays its coordinates over GPS to an online parental portal where guardians can monitor the phone’s movements on an atlas akin to Google Maps.
The portal also gives parents remote access to the WiGoMo, allowing them to stop incoming and outgoing calls at specific times such as school hours, plus the option to switch off the phone’s 2.2Mp rear-mounted Camera.
To do all this, the WiGoMo comes with an external GPS beacon – roughly the size of a 10p coin and attaches to the phone with a mini coaxial connector. First, register the phone with the WiGoMo site to access the portal. From here you can define the location report frequency for every 15, 30, 60 or 180 minutes. Read the rest of this entry »
Samsung’s Galaxy Portal is the Korean firm’s latest dip into Android waters and for now it’s exclusive to T-Mobile. It’s been available in Europe since last year as the Galaxy Spica but, unlike most Samsung smartphones, this is pure Android. There isn’t the slightest hint of Samsung’s TouchWiz interface, so it’s effectively a clean slate, to do with as you will. In terms of features, it’s an avowedly midrange quad band handset, with a LCD touch screen, 3.2Mp Camera, Wi-Fi and AGPS.
T-Mobile UK exclusive: Samsung’s Galaxy Portal i5700
Glossy black and slim at 115 x 57 x 13mm and 124g, the Galaxy Portal is standard Samsung touchscreen fare. Beneath the screen Samsung has crammed in no less than seven buttons in a not terribly tidy configuration: menu and back, plus call start and stop surrounding a diamond-shaped navpad, with additional buttons for home and the web nudging in at the sides.
The web button seems a bit superfluous, since you can easily access the same function from the screen, but the home button proved invaluable, since the call stop key doesn’t double up as a home key, as you might expect. Around the sides are a volume rocker and Camera shutter button. Read the rest of this entry »
