The great thing about standards, as some wit once said, is that there are so many to choose from. Mobile phones are afflicted worse than most technology – a multiplicity of standards, nested within one another like a messy set of Russian dolls filled with alphabet soup.
The ‘generations’ of mobile networks are fairly loose, but appear roughly once a decade: the first, analogue, 1G cellular networks around 1981, then digital 2G in about 1992. The latest, when it’s ratified, will be 4G – but to understand where it fits in, you need a bit of context. Read the rest of this entry »
California-based phone manufacturer Sonim may not be an instantly recognisable name but it’s no stranger to making robust mobile phones. It was behind the first JCB phone and currently builds the S1 for Land Rover. The XP3300 Force is Sonim’s latest and greatest, the toughest of the tough, the bravest of the brave, the Marshal Ney of mobile phones.
A real hard case: Sonim’s XP3300 Force
The XP3300’s credentials are pretty impressive – it’s certificated to survive a 2m drop onto a concrete surface and IP68 rated as dust-proof and good for a one-hour dunking in up to two metres of water. On top of that the operational temperature range is -20 to +55 degrees Celsius, the speaker grille is sealed with Gore-Tex and the casing is made from a tough-as-old-boots combination of rubber and fibreglass. Read the rest of this entry »
Sony Ericsson’s Xperia series got off to a rocky start back in 2008 but improved greatly with last year’s X10. The Xperia Arc is the company’s latest flagship offering that runs the latest Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS and features an 8.1Mp Camera with a low noise CMOS sensor and a high-end screen with a Bravia engine. Evidently, Sony Ericsson wants you to know it means business.
Indeed, the Xperia Arc is impressively slim at 125 x 63 x 9mm and 117g with a lightly tapered look to the back. This is a further refinement of that humanising curvature feature that Sony Ericsson started with the Vivaz. In addition, it has a very classy chrome and graphite look that screams quality handset. Read the rest of this entry »
Review Sony Ericsson tends to get the most publicity from its Cyber-shot cameraphones and Walkman music phones. Not unusual, that, but the company also has a large array of mid-range and lower end mobiles. A case in point: the S312. At £100 Sim-free or £69 from T-Mobile on pay-as-you-go, it fits right into that lower price bracket.
The S312 makes no pretensions to be a Cyber-shot. But despite being pitched as a bit of an all rounder, there is a greater emphasis on the Camera than you might expect from a low-cost voice-centric mobile.
To that end, it does steal a clever Camera idea from its higher end siblings. Hit the small round green button on the right side of the phone and you are into the Camera software. Obviously, that’s nothing new. But when you are in Camera mode the 3, 6, 9 and # keys double up as Camera and video shooting shortcuts, small icons to the far right of the key area reminding you of their functions. Read the rest of this entry »
Review LG’s first Chocolate was promoted as a style phone but now, several incarnations in, its become more than just a sweet talker. The LG New Chocolate BL40 looks like nothing else (except perhaps a bar of Cadbury’s Bourneville), with its 21:9 cinematic widescreen and elongated proportions. Yet, besides its unusual look, it also has a 5Mp Camera, Wi-Fi, HSDPA 3G, A-GPS, an upgraded S-Class UI with widgets and an FM radio, plus a host of other features.
Dandy candy: LG’s New Chocolate BL40
To our eyes, the BL40 looks lovely, with its glass front, glossy black plastic back, tasteful metal strip around the sides with some snazzy red trim on top and bottom. This distinctive look won’t appeal to everyone but get better acquainted with it, and there’s a lot to like. Initially, the dimensions of 128 x 51 x 11mm seem bizarre but we soon got used to its stretch limo aesthetics. At 129g it’s no lightweight, but at least feels sturdy and well made in the hand.
Around the sides the controls are rather stylishly built into that metallic strip and include a volume rocker, Camera shutter, music key, a micro USB socket covered by a plastic grommet and there’s a 3.5mm jack plug on top next to the power key. The back is plain except for the Schneider Kreuznach Camera lens and LED flash. Read the rest of this entry »
