Pictures of Sony Ericsson Bravia phone

Samsung SGH-G600 joins the 5 megapixel club

Samsung are about to launch the Samsung SGH-G600, a new Ultra mobile phone that sports a 5 megapixel camera. Phones with 5 megapixels cameras seem to be the current trend at the moment, with Sony Ericsson releasing its Sony Ericsson K850i very soon, and Nokia having had its 5 megapixel N95 on sale for a few months now.

Of course, 5 megapixel cameras are nothing new - LG released the LG KG920 almost a year ago, while Samsung launched their 10 megapixel Samsung B600 in Korea last year - but the difference this year is that the cameras in the phones are actually taking good pictures.

Nokia E90 available end of July

The Nokia E90 Communicator that I've got my eye on should apparently be in the shops (well, Nokia shops anyway) by the end of July. I know this, because I asked the guy at my local Nokia shop, and that's what he said! He also said they will definitely have some in stock for demo, so unlike with Carphone Warehouse, I can actually try before I buy, which I see as slightly important, given that the phone costs £635! Nokia are selling it directly on a Vodafone tarrif, but they'll also sell it unlocked and SIM-free if that's your preference.

Sony Ericsson K850i vs Nokia N95 camera phone shoot-out

For camera phone lovers out there, there are two new beasts about to go head to head in the form of the Sony Ericsson K850i, which will be released soon, and the Nokia N95 super-phone.

Both phones follow a different design philosophy.

The Nokia N95 is packed to the teeth with features, including GPS Sat-Nav, HSPDA and Wi-Fi, whereas the Sony Ericsson K850i is first and foremost a dedicated camera phone.

Where they come clashing together, though, is in the quality and resolution of their cameras.

Both phones, you see, sport a 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus and a wide range of camera features to help you take the best picture.

Indeed, such is the quality of the photos that either phone can take that it's fair to say they're the best camera phones on the market today.

But which one is best? Only a Sony Ericsson K850i vs Nokia N95 shoot-out can decide for sure.

Nokia improves its GPS service on its Sat-Nav phones

Nokia have announced a software update for its GPS phones that improves the time it takes for the phone to lock onto the GPS satellites. The new service is called A-GPS (Assisted GPS), and fixes the biggest (and probably only) complaint with Nokia's GPS phones. Although the phones have great mapping features, the time it takes to find the satellite and actually be usable as a Sat-Nav is quite slow, but all that's changed now.

All new sat-nav phones will have the new service already installed, while owners of existing sat-nav phones (Noia 6110, N95 and the new E90 communicator) can upgrade their phone using Nokia's Software Updater.

Buying a smartphone - but not from Carphone Warehouse

The saga of my hunt for a smartphone begins. I went into my local Carphone Warehouse today.

"Do you sell the Nokia E90 Communicator?" I asked.

"The what?" was the reply.

"The Nokia E90 Communicator."

"E90 what? What's a communicator?"

"It's a Nokia smarpthone."

"Never heard of it!"...

Great start! Unfortunately, it gets worse...

Which smartphone should you buy?

Smartphones have become increasingly useful, so much so that I'm after for myself, and so I've been doing a bit of research into the market. What I've noticed, though, is that despite knowing exactly what I want from a smartphone, there aren't actually that many that give me what I'm after.

The following smartphone article, then, is a brief discussion of what I'm after, and then one or two rants on why the smartphone market isn't serving us users as well as it should! Oh, and I'll also be talking about the two possible contenders that might, just might, give me exactly what I need.

New Sony Ericsson Victoria on its way

There's a new rumour in town that Sony Ericsson will be launching a brand new handset next month, codenamed the Sony Ericsson Victoria. The new phone is rumoured to come with a 3.2 megapixel camera, although it may not bear the CyberShot brand, but it will be seriously thin - possibly Sony Ericsson's thinnest phone to date.

The camera lens will be set flush to the body of the phone to keep it as thin as possible. Colour will be a gold/mocha colouring, but there might be other variations. There's also rumours of a new HSDPA-enabled K530 on its way.

There's an announcement from Sony Ericsson scheduled for the middle of August, so as ever, we'll keep you posted on any new developments.

[Source: Se-nse.net]

Nokia-Nikon tie-up on the cards?

Camera phones have been steadily ramping up the megapixels over the past couple of years.

Gone are the days when phones sported poor VGA-quality cameras that had less than 1 megapixels.

Today's camera phones average 2 megapixels, while the top end models from the likes of Nokia and Sony Ericsson now offer 5 megapixels, and come with a raft of camera-specific features such as auto-focus, red-eye reduction and xenon flashes.

The upward megapixel trend is set to continue, as NEC have just announced a new chip that can process image data of up to 8 megapixels. The NEC CE131 comes with features to ensure the captured image data resembles the subject as much as possible, and can can correct camera shake to help prevent blurred pictures.

This is just the latest in a growing trend of improvements in camera phone technology. As the rest of this article argues, camera phone technology is now reaching such a high level that it is a direct threat to existing digital camera manufacturers, and could see some unlikely partnerships emerge.

LG launches LG Shine Titanium Black

LG are seeking to build on the success of the LG Shine by releasing a new model in titanium black. The new originally-titled LG Shine Titanium Black features the same features as the original LG Shine, but now comes in a cool black, as opposed to the existing LG Shine's shiny silver exterior.

More details of the LG Shine Titanium Black after the jump.