LG KE970 Shine

LG continues their Black Label series but this time the black is replaced with a bit of silver shine. The new LG KE970 Shine is the first of the truly shiny devices of the Korean manufacturer that landed on our test site. Packing some serious horse power, the LG KE970 Shine is among the most advanced GSM handsets by LG and certainly one of the most attractive – armed with a 2 megapixel camera with auto focus, a QVGA TFT display, a microSD memory card slot and a number of other goodies it is sure to grab your attention. Read on for more on that exclusive device.

Key Features:

• Stylish all metal design with mirror finish display
• QVGA display resolution
• 2 megapixel autofocus camera with Schneider-Kreuznach lens
• Scroller navigation
• microSD memory card slot
• Office documents viewer

Main Disadvantages:

• Problematic scroller response
• Shoots video in QCIF resolution only
• Fingerprint magnet

Samsung I7500

For today's show and tell, Samsung's first Android phone is serving Cupcake. The Samsung I7500 a.k.a. Galaxy is the first Google-powered device to come with a 5 megapixel camera and that's just the tip of much improved multimedia skill.

This is just a preview and it should serve to whet your appetite as the I7500 prepares to launch. As soon as we get our hands on a final version, we'll grab our tool bag and make an out-and-out review. For now, we'll just share our first impressions of the device.

Samsung I7500 Galaxy at a glance:

• General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, HSDPA 7.2Mbps, HSUPA 5.76Mbps
• OS and CPU: 528MHz CPU with 128MB RAM running latest Android OS v1.5
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar, no keypad
• Dimensions: 115.0 x 56.0 x 11.9 mm, 119 g.
• Display: 3.2" capacitive OLED touchscreen, HVGA resolution (320 x 480 pixels)
• Storage: 8GB, hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 16GB)
• Camera: 5 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash and geotagging
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, microUSB v.2.0, 3.5mm audio jack
• Misc: Accelerometer sensor, FM radio with RDS, Gesture lock
• Battery: 1440 mAh battery

Samsung F490

The Samsung F490 follows a trend that we welcome - touch-based user interface and a 5 megapixel autofocus camera. Add a widescreen 3.2" TFT display and a slim profile, and it already sounds like a juicy deal. We've already reviewed the Samsung Armani phone - that was based on the same Touch UI. However the Samsung F490 seems like the most mature Touch product of them all avoiding most of the mishaps of the previous products. So, buckle up as we test drive this baby in the GSMArena fast lane.

Samsung F490 resembles Samsung F700 but it lacks the hardware QWERTY keypad of its sibling. Just by looking at it, our guess is it's obviously aiming to put pressure on the LG Viewty, that is already available and gathering momentum. We'll see about that later on with an impromptu feature comparison.

Samsung i780

The Samsung "i" line of smartphones have taken quite a lot of different shapes and seen OS implementations ranging from Symbian to Windows Standard and Pro. There are, however, five birds of a feather that do stand out with QWERTY keyboards and uniform design. Samsung i320 was the pacemaker, followed shortly by Samsung i600. There are of course the US-oriented Blackjacks Samsung i607 and Samsung i617.

Now, the subject of our review Samsung i780 is in that bunch but not quite, being the only PocketPC in the lot. Other Windows Mobile Pro devices seem nowhere in sight for the near future, with the two most recent i-series announcements both running on Windows Standard. The QWERTY slider Samsung i640 has just been released, while the low-key Samsung i200 is still cooking.

The full-QWERTY Pocket PC Samsung i780 sure takes after its forerunners but is keen to bring to the table more processing power, 3.6 mbps HSDPA topped with WLAN support, and that square touchscreen display. This smartie is also a tad above the other fellows in terms of design, if you will.

Samsung U900 Soul

If there is one device by Samsung to keep the crowd at fever pitch these days, it would be the Samsung U900 Soul. The latest addition to the hugely successful Ultra lineup is surely the fattest in terms of features among its siblings. Gifted with great design and nicely improved user interface, U900 Soul had us itching for a test drive ever since our first rendezvous in Barcelona.

We are now busy exploring Samsung U900 Soul with a full review coming up in the weeks to follow. But here's something for the most impatient of you in a neat little preview with our first impressions of the handset.

How about kicking it off with a few shots of the Spirit of Ultra (yep, that's what the SOUL abbreviation stands for). To start with, U900 Soul is one of the beauties on the market these days. The fair amount of metal used surely benefits both design and feel.

HTC Touch review

Introduced several months ago, the innovative HTC Touch is the device, after which the world of Windows Mobile will probably never be the same. Chic, smart and versatile, the HTC Touch brings together an array of communication, entertainment and business capabilities enabling mobile consumers to balance work and fun. HTC Touch initiates an intriguing line of smartphone devices to feature the innovative TouchFLO technology with finger sweep control, making full use of the HTC Home application add-on. One of the smallest Windows Mobile devices is up to every standard with the package including Wi-Fi, 2.8" touchscreen TFT display, 2 megapixel camera and rich business applications. Since Apple managed to move a cool one million iPhones in some two and a half months, HTC Touch strikes back with officially reported 800,000 units sold in Europe/Asia since the launch of the device on July 5th. The HTC management admits this result beats even their most positive forecasts.

Key features

• HTC TouchFLO technology allows smooth finger scrolling and panning
• HTC Home application
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
• 2.8" 65K color touchscreen TFT display of QVGA resolution
• 2 megapixel camera
• Sturdy build, quality casing and compact dimensions
• Bluetooth v2.0
• Large and comfortable D-pad
• SIM card accessible without removing the battery

Nokia E51 review

Nokia offers a wide range of Eseries business handsets, including Communicators and enhanced messaging devices of different form factors. Each E series phone is optimized for different types of business users, but all feature the familiar and friendly S60 user interface over Symbian OS. The new Nokia E51 combines compact dimensions, rich communication skills, a comfortable keyboard and stylish design, aiming to be a classic and conservative all-round performer.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/3G (with HSDPA 3.6 Mbps), EDGE and GPRS support
• Wi-Fi, VoIP over WLAN
• Symbian 9.2 OS Series 60 3rd edition UI with Feature Pack 1
• 12 mm slim, elegant design
• 130 MB onboard memory, expandable via microSD cards (up to 4 GB), hot swap
• Very comfortable keyboard and D-pad
• Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP and IrDA (115 kbps)
• New Symbian key icons
• Fast user interface

Nokia N82 review

Nokia N82 is considered the next N-series bestseller and, guess what, it has already hit the shelves. Following the sweeping success of Nokia N73, it was a pretty sure bet that a worthy successor wouldn't take long to appear. As we see it, Nokia N82 fits that description perfectly and our eagerness to test it for you should come as no surprise. So join us as we explore the world of Nokia N82.

Key features

• 5 megapixel camera with auto focus and Carl Zeiss optics
• Xenon flash and active lens cover
• 2.4" 16M color QVGA display
• 128 MB RAM
• Wi-Fi with UPnP
• Built-in GPS receiver and A-GPS functionality
• Nokia maps application covering over 100 countries worldwide
• Convenient standard 3.5 mm audio jack on the top
• 3G (with HSDPA), EDGE and GPRS support
• Symbian OS 9.2 Series 60 3rd edition Feature Pack 1 UI
• TV-out functionality
• Automatic UI rotation
• Stereo speakers
• Large capacity battery

Nokia 2730 Classic

General 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network UMTS 900 / 2100
UMTS 850 / 1900 - American version
Announced 2009, May
Status Coming soon. Exp. release 2009, Q3
Size Dimensions 109.6 x 46.9 x 14.4 mm, 65 cc
Weight 87.7 g
Display Type TFT, 256K colors
Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.0 inches
- 5-way navigation key
Sound Alert types Vibration; Downloadable polyphonic, MP3 ringtones
Speakerphone Yes
- 3.5 mm audio jack
Memory Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall
Call records 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls
Internal 30 MB
Card slot microSD (TransFlash), up to 2GB, 1GB included
Data GPRS Class 32
HSCSD Yes
EDGE Class 32
3G Yes, 384 kbps
WLAN No
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
Infrared port No
USB microUSB, v2.0
Camera Primary 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels
Video Yes
Secondary No
Features Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML
Radio Stereo FM radio
Games 4 + Downloadable
Colors Black or Dark Magenta
GPS No
Java Yes, MIDP 2.0
- MP3/MPEG4 player
- Organizer
- Voice memo
- Voice dial
- Flash Lite 2.0
- Chinese-English-Chinese dictionary
- Windows Live Messenger (MSN)
-
- T9
Battery Standard battery, Li-Ion (BL-5C)
Stand-by Up to 396 h (2G) / Up to 408 h (3G)
Talk time Up to 7 h 20 min (2G) / Up to 3 h 30 min (3G)
Music play Up to 12 h

Nokia 6600i Slide

General 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network UMTS 900 / 2100
UMTS 850 / 1900 - American version
Announced 2009, May
Status Coming soon. Exp. release 2009, Q3
Size Dimensions 109.6 x 46.9 x 14.4 mm, 65 cc
Weight 87.7 g
Display Type TFT, 256K colors
Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.0 inches
- 5-way navigation key
Sound Alert types Vibration; Downloadable polyphonic, MP3 ringtones
Speakerphone Yes
- 3.5 mm audio jack
Memory Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall
Call records 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls
Internal 30 MB
Card slot microSD (TransFlash), up to 2GB, 1GB included
Data GPRS Class 32
HSCSD Yes
EDGE Class 32
3G Yes, 384 kbps
WLAN No
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
Infrared port No
USB microUSB, v2.0
Camera Primary 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels
Video Yes
Secondary No
Features Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML
Radio Stereo FM radio
Games 4 + Downloadable
Colors Black or Dark Magenta
GPS No
Java Yes, MIDP 2.0
- MP3/MPEG4 player
- Organizer
- Voice memo
- Voice dial
- Flash Lite 2.0
- Chinese-English-Chinese dictionary
- Windows Live Messenger (MSN)
-
- T9
Battery Standard battery, Li-Ion (BL-5C)
Stand-by Up to 396 h (2G) / Up to 408 h (3G)
Talk time Up to 7 h 20 min (2G) / Up to 3 h 30 min (3G)
Music play Up to 12 h