More on BB Storm 9500/ 9530
Why is this gadget so intriguing to me? One of the Gadget Review magazines asking the somewhat strange question - a rather similar to the one I was about to ask: What makes STORM BlackBerry? Yes, what?
Research In Motion (RIM) the manufacturer which creates BB might deliver the same. Is it the screen size? Color quality? A 3.5 G HSDPA functionality? Design? Overall performance maybe? Well, could it be that all the above answers correct? YES. Like other brands that tend to have a full-screen surface (Samsung OMNIA, Nokia XPress Music 5800, LG Prada, iPhone, SE Xperia X1, HTC Touch HD, etc.), BB Storm employ the maximum multimedia experience by maximizing the screen size, and this is where the uniqueness plays its part: BlackBerry is the business PDA-Phone, or rather smart-phone, no need the cutting-edge multimedia sophistication, yet, another thing - an important thing - is missing. The Wi-Fi capability. One BB Storm model, 9530 is produced for European and US markets, bundled with the Verizon subscription plan, is not equiped with Wi-Fi due to its capability vof working in both GSM and CDMA systems, thanks to its Qualcom MSM 7600. With this processor, the device could work on CDMA 2000/ 1 eEV-DO complete with HSDPA/ ESGE/ GPRS/ GSM. For some, this is the minus point of BB Storm, for others, practicality is more important. BB is always a 'push-email' king of all gadgets, and it works very well in this area. Why should BB Storm be like another iPhone? WHY? (AC Mahendra K Datu)
TaboraWORLD is committed to share with the readers the information of gadget technologies being contested. The idea is to educate gadget users with the basic knowledge before they acquire/ purchase gadgets fit to their need, and not wasting money for things they may not need.
Panasonic Video Camera S10
Is smaller more beautiful? Probably in most cases it won’t turn out to be true. But the mini camcorder launched by Panasonic called Panasonic's SDR-S10 will tell you all differently. Weighed at only 0.40 lbs or around 182 grams, it turns out to be the giant killer. With it's black color and and it's "water resistant, capability" ... well, it’s affordable, too, (around US$399). It's also drop-protected from a height of four feet - so feel free to knock it off your table every once in a while - just don't drop it off the ski lift. The choice of SD/SDHC memory cards for video recording made it possible for the company to pack a full-fledged camcorder into PDA-sized body (slightly thicker but slightly narrower than a Treo), and it echoes the company's drift away from traditional removable media like cassettes and DVDs. The SDR-S10 encapsulates Panasonic's flash memory strategy in a slimmed-down body design optimized more for ease, style, and speed than performance or video quality. It's a quirky camcorder that makes the kinds of compromises you'd expect to see in an ultra-compact - but it's also one of the smallest, coolest-looking cams around. We think the SDR-S10 will serve the YouTube generation well, even if Panasonic die-hards shake their heads at its pedestrian imaging and uptown looks. (AC Mahendra K Datu – from various resources)
Spec. Summary: Optical Sensor Size and Type1/6" CCD / Optical Zoom 10X / Digital Zoom 700x / Digital Still Camera Function Available / Focal Length 2.3 - 23 mm / Focus Adjustment AF/Manual / Anti Shake System Available / Display Size2.7" / PC Connectivity USB 2.0 / Memory: SD Memory Card / Flash card / Batery: Li-ion / Power Consumption 2.9 w / Dimensions (WHD) 2.48'' x 1.22'' x 4.49'' / Weight: 182 g
HTC Touch HD.
Priced around US$ 950 – US$ 1000. HTC Touch HD is the latest member of HTC Touch family, released on the first quarter of 2009, just barely months after HTC Touch Diamond and HTC Touch Pro (with sliding keypad) being launched and stormed the market as contender to its rivals such as iPhone 3G, Samsung OMNIA, Nokia N97 and Nokia Xpress Music 5800, not to mention the BlackBerry STORM which has rivals face-to-face with its own brother, BlackBerry BOLD. All the just mentioned names are the ultimate business machines that fit into our pocket but may not so into our wallet. Priced at the average of US$ 1,000 each, young executive might think it’s just way too dear to have such gadget for business. But it may not be the case for HTC Touch HD. The trend of giving the whole-screen-surface pioneered by iPhone, HTC Touch HD offers the superb performance of multimedia enjoyment through its clear super-bright wide screen (3.8 inches TFT-LCD). Web browsing? We might think that technology will find its breakthrough to its internet navigating experience. Its 5 MP camera will give HTC Touch HD a boost above the rest. Its integrated TouchFlo 3D Software will give us the vibrating sensation as if we really press the physical keypad. What more? It virtual QWERTY keypad will minimize the mistake when we press ‘way too small’ virtual button by zooming-in the pressed button. Great, isn’t it? This gadget is powered with Windows Mobile 6.0. Specification summary: dimension: 115 x 62.8 x 12 mm, weighed at ‘only 147 g, network: HSDPA (7.2 MBPS)/ WCDMA/ QUADBAND, and connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, USB 2.0. HTC Touch HD has secondary VGA camera for video-calling. (AC Mahendra K Datu)
BlackBerry STORM.
Type 9500 (GSM) for Europe, Type 9530 (GSM & CDMA) for USA . It's a 3G/ HSDPA, 112.5 x 62.2 x 14 mm business smartphone. Weighed at 155 g with screen of 360 x 480 pixel, a little inferior to what BB Bold can offer color-wise, 3.5 inches with accelerometer, 128 MB RAM, 1 GB internal memory. Its SurePress sensation when we press the virtual keypad will give a sensation of physical pressing. The STORM is powered with 624 MHz CPU. Connectivity: Blouetooth 2.0, GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA (3.5G) and USB 2.0. Operating System: BlackBerry. Camera: 3.15 MP with autofocus, video and flash. Standard battery: Li-ion 1400 mAh. Available applications: Built-in GPS, A-GPS function, BlackBerry maps, DataViz Document viewer/ editor, Java, Media player MP3/WMA/AAX+, with 3.5 stereo audio output jack and video player MPEG4/ 3gp/ H.264/ WMV and standard organizer as well as built-in handsfree. This gadget is also equipped with MicroSD Slot for the freedom of storing data/ files. Around US$ 950 – US$ 1000. (AC Mahendra K Datu)
XDA Advantage/ Flint (by O2)
3M Micro Projector (3M Mpro 110)
The gizmo is called 3M Mpro 110. As small as a candy bar cell phone, weighed only a bit more than 100 grams, it delivers the superb performance as projector. Handy and easily slipped into our pocket, 3M Mpro 110 answers the deemed demand of sheer mobility for young executives on-the-go. It works with any PC, Laptop, PDA, smart-phone or netbook. Projecting our presentation on screen as wide as 50 inches (diagonal), it will assure the professional presentation done in small meeting room, or even in the café during lunch or dinner. With 640 x 480 resolution, indeed this gadget is not a sizable competitor of standard LCD projectors carrying more that 1800 ANSI Lumens, but with its superb portability (well, good for Salespersons or Marketers on the go), size does not really matter. Out in early 2009 and available in all 3M stores and 3M official resellers, its price tag is somewhat too dear. Tagged at around US$ 600, many will think twice before digging deep their pockets. Bu who knows? (AC Mahendra K Datu)
Sony VAIO UX - VGN-UX57GN/L Ultra Mobile PC
It’s lightweight, a real contender for HTC Shift or XDA Advantage UMPCs. Nevertheless, the brand has spoken for itself. Sony Vaio UX – also takes a short cameo in the James Bond’s Quantum of Solace – has been dubbed the smallest UMPC. Weighed 520 grams and powered with Intel Core 2 Solo processor U 2200 1.20 GHz, this UMPC will assure a great performance and ultra mobility at once. Comes with the genuine Windows Visa ® Business (as per August 2007), this smart device completed with HDD password and HDD protection. Not enough still? Biometric fingerprint recognition will boost the security at higher level. This device is great in look and performance. Price-wise is also competitive vis-à-vis similar gadgets. (AC Mahendra K Datu)
Is there any iPHONE killer yet?
One thing is for sure: the competition is harsh and several manufacturers have launched what they claim could easily kill the iPhone 3G. HTC has thrown into the market HTC Touch Pro and HTC Diamon, Google and has done the same with its G1-T-Mobile powered with Android, while Samsung prepares two killer models: Omnia and Innov8. Nokia? The number one cell phone maker has jumped into the hybrid between smart-phone and PDA-phone market by throwing in Nokia 5800 Xpress Music. From two different corners Sony-Ericsson and Blackberry compete in hammering iPhone by launching their intelligent business gadgets: SE Xperia XI and both Blackberry Storm and Bold. The question is, who can kill such a ‘name’: Apple?
The problem with this particular competition is not just a war of technologies, rather a war of names. So the episode would be iPhone Vs The Rest! iPhone has its exclusive technology called ‘multi-touch’ which makes it a millimeter above the rest. However, its application store has made it even more millimeters higher: complete, easily downloaded and installed, and sure…. its prestige of being an ‘Apple’. Around the world millions of people of different skin colors and nationalities have sung together their ‘Apple Hymn’ or rather ‘Apple Anthem’ and make them distant from the rest who do not have nor use iPhone.
So, the very question is resounded again and again: is there any iPhone killer yet? Probably, only Steve Jobs and the late Peter F Drucker know the answer. (AC Mahendra K Datu)
Nokia 5800 (Tube) Xpress Music.
Many claim this smart phone is the real contender of iPhone 3G. Tagged at a lower price than the iPhone, and sold without any bundling with exclusive operators, it will likely sell better and faster than iPhone 3G. After all, Nokia is popular with throwing into the market a bucket of new models simultaneously. Weighed only at 109 grams, its portability and powerful entertainment as well as business functionality will make ‘Tube’ its nickname par excellence vis-à-vis the rest of similar class, even the iPhone as many claim. Specifications summary: Internal Memory 80 MB but the package comes with free 8 GB micro SD, this 3.5 HSDPA touch-screen cell phone is powered with Symbian OS v9.4 Series 60 rel. 5. With its superb specs, however, this cell phone is equipped with a ‘mere’ 3.15 MP camera, while many will expect it to be with 5 MP or even more. It’s not intended as a business cell-phone, rather a multimedia cell phone. Its Wi-Fi capability with UPnP technology will assure its web browsing functionality at your palm. Its screen size is a bit odd, 360 X 640, but its brightness is great. Is it really an iPhone killer? No one knows, but it’s really great gadget to have and to enjoy! (AC Mahendra K Datu)
