samsung wave s8500

The first handset to ship with
Samsung's new Bada operating
platform is the Samsung Wave
S8500, a slim touchscreen
smartphone with a large 3.3"
Super AMOLED display and a fast
1GHz processor.
We've looked at Bada briefly
before, and we feel that the
world doesn't really need
another mobile phone operating
system, but then Bada is really
just an extension of what
Samsung have already been
doing, and the launch of Bada
allows third party developers to
add their own applications to
make Samsung handsets even
more appealing.
The Samsung Wave handset
itself is a fairly typical slabby
device, although it is very slim
and the brushed metal casing
gives the handset an elegant air.
The 3.3" screen is large, although
there are smartphones with
much bigger displays. Flip the
phone over and there's not
much on the back apart from the
5 megapixel camera and flash.
Samsung's AMOLED displays are
well-known for being very
bright and clear, with the Wave
Samsung have gone further still
by eliminating many of the
different layers of material
normally used with a
touchscreen display. It's
complicated stuff, but Samsung
assure us that the Super AMOLED
display used on the Wave will be
very impressive indeed. The
panel itself displays 800 x 480
pixels, making it ideal for web
surfing or video playback.
Underneath the slim casing, the
Wave supports WiFi, 3.5G high-
speed data, GPS, HD (720p) video
recording, microSD memory,
Bluetooth v3 and USB
connectivity. There's an FM radio
and 3.5mm audio socket as well,
and overall it's hard to see
anything missing in terms of
specifications. The large 1500
mAh battery should provide
adequate talktime, but Samsung
have not said what it is.
Most of the buzz with this
handset is about the software,
and this version of Bada comes
with the new TouchWiz 3
interface, plus a set of social
networking applications, web
browser, email client and
support for Exchange
ActiveSync. More applications will
be available for download once
they are written - and Samsung
are spending a lot of time and
money to encourage developers
to write for the Bada platform,
which is promising.
It's certainly a nice looking
device, and powerful too.
Perhaps by the time the
Samsung Wave launches in April,
there might even be a library of
applications available for it..

HTC Legend

The HTC Legend is a tablet-style
Android smartphone hape keren, following
up from the HTC Hero with a
number of improvements all
around.
Launched at the same time as the
HTC Desire, the HTC Legend is
more compact and comes with
the same 3.2" 320 x 480 pixel
display that the Hero had.
However, the design has been
reworked to look more elegant
(more of which later) and the old
trackball has been replaced by an
optical one with a clickable
surround.. not that Android really
needs such a thing anyway. On
the back is a 5 megapixel camera
with autofocus, LED flash and
geo-tagging support.
This is an Android 2.1 handset,
and as usual HTC have added
their own feature on top such as
the Sense UI that we have seen
before. Inevitably, it has been
given some new social
networking features called
"Friend Stream" which brings
together updates from friends
on Twitter, Facebook and other
social networking sites all in one
place.
This is a very elegant looking
handset, with a combination of
aluminium and plastic "bumpers"
that make it look absolutely
fabulous. The HTC Legend is
certainly going to attract the
right kind of attention when you
take it out of your pocket to use.
HTC say that the Legend is made
out of a single piece of
aluminium which should add to
the robustness and "wow factor"
when you look at it. It still retains
the distinctive "bump" that other
HTC Android devices have,
although originally that was a
design feature to protect the
trackball which is now optical
rather than mechanical. The black
sections are there for practical
purposes - the WiFi, cellular and
GPS antennae are all hidden
underneath plastic sections
because metal housing would
tend to block the signal.
Inside the HTC Legend is a 600
MHz Qualcomm 7227 processor,
which is pretty much standard
for this type of handset..
although we do wonder how
well it will cope with the
processor demands of Android
2.1. Internal memory is 384MB of
RAM which should be enough for
most users. It's a slim device at
112 x 56 x 12mm, but perhaps a
little on the heavy side at 126
grams. The 1300 mAh battery is
quoted as giving up to 6 hours
talktime on 3G and 23 days
standby time.
This is a 3.5G device with
maximum download speeds of
up to 7.2Mps and uploads of up
to 2Mbps. 802.11 b and g WiFi is
supported, and of course there's
Bluetooth and USB for local
connectivity. The HTC Legend
has the usual multimedia player,
plus an FM radio and a useful
3.5mm audio socket too.
Slated to be available in Europe
from April onwards, the HTC
Legend will provide stiff
competition for other
smartphone manufacturers, and
should appeal to customers who
want something that's as elegant
as the iPhone but quite different
at the same time.

HTC DESIRE

Launched at the same time as the
HTC Legend, the HTC Desire is an
Android 2.1 handset with HTC's
Sense UI loaded on top and
improved social networking
support included, but the Desire
comes with a much bigger
display and packs in a lot more
pixels.
It looks a little like the HTC
manufactured Google Nexus
One, and indeed the
specifications are very similar.
But the HTC Desire isn't simply a
Nexus One with HTC branding, as
there are a number of
improvements.. but you will
have to wait until sometime next
quarter to get your hands on
one.
Inside is a 1GHz Snapdragon
processor, which is about as fast
as a mobile phone processor will
go. The 3.7" 800 x 480 pixel
display uses OLED technology to
ensure that it is bright and clear,
and with this sort of resolution
and processor power, the Desire
should be ideal for web surfing
and video playback. Internal
memory is an impressive 576 MB
of RAM which should allow
plenty of applications to run at
the same time.
On the back is a 5 megapixel
camera with autofocus and flash,
the sort of thing that most rival
Android devices also offer.
There's a multimedia player,
microSD expandable memory, FM
radio and a 3.5mm audio socket.
At 135 grams in weight, the HTC
Desire might seem a little on the
heavy side, but for a large
screen device such as this it is
fairly average, the Desire is also
a little on the large size physically
coming in at 119 x 60 x 12mm,
but again this is fairly typical.
The large 1400 mAh battery can
power the Desire for up to 6.5
hours talktime and 15 days
standby time on 3G.
Unlike the Nexus One, the HTC
Desire has been overhauled with
HTC's Sense User interface which
gives a slightly more polished
look and feel. HTC have also
developed an application called
Friend Stream which integrates
all the social networking updates
from your contacts in one place.
Flash 10.1 support is built in as
standard, and of course as this is
an Android device then you can
add more applications as you
wish. The user interface
supports multi-touch use as well.
HTC say that the Desire should be
available in April, although no
guidance was given on price, we
would guess that it will be fairly
expensive though and be
something in the region of €550.

android HTC nexus one

The Google Nexus One is
Google's first own-branded
smartphone, bringing their
particular spin on the Google-
backed Android operating
system. It's a highly
controversial move from Google
that may bring some disquiet
amongst its partners, but on the
other hand it could give the
relatively new Android OS a
major marketplace boost.
The Nexus One is made for
Google by HTC, and if you look
you can see some design cues
from phones like the Touch
Cruise 09 combined with the
trackball most recently seen on
the HTC Hero, although the
hardware specification most
closely matches the HTC HD2. The
overall approach is a sleek,
elegant handset that manages to
avoid the standard black slabby
design that so many rivals have.
The 3.7" 800 x 480 pixel AMOLED
display is one of the highest
resolution Android screens on
the market, beaten slightly by
the Motorola Milestone. The usual
Android control buttons are on
the front of the screen, very
much like those on the Milestone,
but one unusual feature is the
roller ball which isn't really even
necessary for most Android
users. It's a very slim device at
just 11.5mm thick, but the overall
footprint is very similar to the
iPhone and Milestone.
On the back is a 5 megapixel
camera with autofocus and flash,
again similar to the Milestone, the
maximum video capture
resolution is 720 x 480 pixels at
20 frames per second.
Inside is a 1GHz Qualcomm
Snapdragon processor (as found
on the Toshiba TG01), combined
with a large 512 MB of RAM
which should ensure that
applications run smoothly on the
new Android 2.1 operating
system. This hardware
specification should cope with
anything you can throw at it,
including high resolution video
playback. The usual multimedia
features are present, and the
Google Nexus one also comes
with a 3.5mm audio socket.
One
unusual
feature is
that it is
possible to
get your
Nexus One
custom
engraved
when you
order it,
something
that Apple
have done
before.. but
something that might hamper
you if you want to sell it on later.
Inside this is a tri-band 3.5G
device with WiFi, GPS with a
compass and a microSD slot, so it
should work on most 3G
networks worldwide, although in
the US it will be offered on T-
Mobile rather than AT&T. HTC
know exactly what they are
doing with connectivity, so there
should be no need to worry
here. Maximum download
speeds on HSDPA are 7.2 Mbps
with HSUPA uploads of up to 2
Mbps. Also, there's a large 1400
mAh battery that Google quote
as giving up to 7 hours talktime
on 3G.
As for the new Android 2.1
operating system, it is really only
an incremental update to version
2.0 as found in the Milestone and
DROID, although Google have
taken the opportunity to
improve it here and there.
Perhaps the most obvious thing
is that the App Tray slider has
been replaced with a new "home
icon" which works slightly
differently. Version 2.0 has only
been out for just over two
months, so this new version has
followed on very rapidly and is
one of the main selling points
for the new Nexus One.
For some reason, the Google
Nexus One seems to be a big
deal with the media. The fact is
that the phone itself is just an
evolutionary upgrade to existing
HTC phones, with another
evolutionary upgrade to the
software. From the point of view
of the actual device itself, the
Nexus One is hardly a revolution.
But what has happened is that
Google has changed its
relationship with its partners.
Until now, Google was merely an
enabler - a key partner in driving
Android forward and providing
applications and back-end
integration to make it appeal to
customers. Manufacturers such
as HTC, Motorola, Samsung and
many others compete with each
other, but not with Google.. until
now. This change in direction
could prove troublesome,
because it is possible in the long
run that Google's partners will
feel that Google itself has an
unfair advantage. Compare this
with Microsoft's hands-off
approach to Windows Mobile -
Microsoft makes the software,
but has never competed in the
hardware market to avoid this
type of conflict of interest, and
yet Google have decided to do
what Microsoft dare not do.
Perhaps it is no big deal - the
Nexus One is made by HTC after
all, a company that has happily
partnered with other companies
in a similar way many times
before. So, if the Google Nexus
One is a huge success then it will
certainly be a boost for HTC,
however Google may well
choose to go with a different
partner for future handsets, so
perhaps it actually will be a big
deal for future generations of
Googlephone when it comes to
manufacturing partners.
Still, there is very little that
partners can do. Motorola in
particular has bet the barn on
Android with the CLIQ / DEXT,
DROID and Milestone handsets
with more to come during 2010..
so they have very little choice
other than to put up with direct
competition from a company
that is meant to be its business
partner.
Perhaps one thing that might
make Google's rivals breathe a
sigh of relief is the fact that
Google seem to be selling the
handset directly rather than
through retail outlets, a SIM-free
device is $529.. but if you are
importing into Europe then you
will probably end up paying
taxes on top of that, meaning
that the handset could end up
costing around £425 or €500
depending on the country that
you are in.

apple iphone 3GS

KOMPAS.com -
Tanpa menyia-
nyiakan waktu,
Apple langsung
mengumumkan
semua kejutannya
di hari pertama Apple's World
Wide Developers Conference
(WWDC) di San Fransisco, Senin
(8/6). Yang paling ditunggu-
tunggu pun akhirnya muncul
yakni model baru iPhone.
Model terbaru iPhone disebut
iPhone 3GS. Kehadirannya
menambah jajaran iPhone
sebelumnya yakni iPhone
classic, dan iPhone 3G. iPhone
3GS sudah menggunakan
sistem operasi iPhone 3.0 yang
juga diumumkan di ajang ini.
Salah satu fitur tambahan pada
sistem operasi baru ini adalah
kemampuan cut, copy, dan
paste yang belum bisa
dilakukan pada versi sistem
operasi sebelumnya.
Fitur baru lainnya voice control
yang dapat dipakai untuk
melakukan panggilan atau
mengetahui judul lagu yang
sedang dimainkan. Saat
pengguna menyebutkan nama
kontak atau nomor telepon,
voice control akan melakukan
verifikasi untuk melakukan dial
otomatis. Untuk mengetahui
judul lagu, katakan dan iPhone
akan menjawab.
Dibandingkan iPhone versi
sebelumnya, iPhone 3GS
dilengkapi hardware baru.
Misalnya prosesor lebih cepat
dan pilihan kapasitas memori
dua kali lipat. Daya tahan
baterainya juga lebih lama.
iPhone 3GS juga dilengkapi
kamera 3 megapixel yang
dapat dipakai untuk melakukan
rekaman video dan langsung
mengeditnya di perangkat
tersebut.
Bahkan Apple mengklaim
bahwa kemampuan membuka
aplikasi dan membuka halaman
web pada iPhone 3GS mencapai
dua kali lipat daripada iPhone
3G. Selain itu, kemampuan
grafisnya mendukung mode 3D
sehingga memberi pengalaman
bermain game lebih
memuaskan.
Selain itu juga ada fitur-fitur
interaktif seperti Nike + iPod
yang memberikan tools untuk
mendukung training fisik. Juga
kompas digital yang dapat
memberikan langsung
informasi arah.
iPhone 3GS tersedia dalam dua
model dengan pilihan memori
16 GB dan 32 GB dan warna
hitam atau putih. Untuk versi
16 GB dijual mulai seharga 199
dollar AS dengan kontrak
langganan AT&T selama dua
tahun. Sedangkan versi 32 GB
dijual mulai harga 299 dollar AS
dengan kontrak serupa. iPhone
3GS mulai tersedia iPhone 3GS resmi
tersedia di pasar
Indonesia mulai 18
Februari 2010. Pada
tahap awal,
Telkomsel sebagai mitra eksklusif
telah menyiapkan 5000 unit.
"Kami sediakan 5000 unit dulu
untuk bulan ini, kalau kurang
gampang ditambah," ujar Gideon
Edie Purnomo, VP Channel
Management Telkomsel saat
jumpa pers peluncuran iPhone
3GS di Plaza Senayan, Jakarta,
Jumat (19/2/2010).
Smartphone terbaru buatan
Apple tersebut tersedia di 31
gerai Grapari di 24 kota dan
gerai Halo Telkomsel serta mitra
penjualannya seperti Sarindo,
Oke Shop, dan Telesindo Shop.
Selama tiga hari ke depan, 19-21
Februari 2010, iPhone 3GS juga
dijual di arena pameran di
Atrium Plaza Senayan. Khusus
periode promosi ini, iPhone 3GS
bisa dibeli secara cicilan dengan
kartu kredit BCA, Bank Mandiri,
dan Citibank.
iPhone 3GS tersedia dalam dua
model, masing-masing dengan
kapasitas 16 GB dan 32 GB
dengan harga tunai mulai sekitar
Rp 7 juta. Telkomsel juga
menawarkan paket mulai harga
Rp 1,7 juta dengan kontrak
langganan setahun.
Dibandingkan versi sebelumnya,
iPhone 3G memiliki kelebihan
terutama di sisi hardware,
Prosesornya lebih cepat, resolusi
kamera lebih tinggi, dan fitur
baru seperti rekaman video.