Posts filed under Previews

Just two short weeks after Microsoft announced its new Windows Phone 7 Series mobile OS comes news of the first Windows Phone 7 Series, er, phone! Made by LG, the new WinPho phone is a slider with a 5 megapixel camera that looks almost identical to the LG InTouch GW620.

OK, so there are a few differences – the InTouch has an extra row of keys (a row of dedicated number keys at the top), for example, and uses Android – but externally, at least, the two are remarkably similar.

Check out the video of LG’s new WinPho phone after the jump.

Sony Ericsson has decided to take its Xperia range of phones decidedly upmarket with the launch of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Pureness.

Whereas other Xperia phones are high-end smartphone affairs that come with virtually every feature you can think of, the Xperia Pureness is, well, pure! It’s a fashion phone first and foremost, and its main claim to fame is its stunning see through screen, which can be seen on both sides of the phone.

It’s easier to see than talk about, so check out the video after the jump.

A new video of the Sony Ericsson Idou has been released from Russian site Mobile Mail. Quite why the Russians seem to get advanced previews of the latest phones I’m not sure, but they do seem to get a heads up before the rest of us.

Whatever, the Idou is looking like one tasty new phone. Its main claim to fame is that it’s a 12 megapixel camera phone with a plethora of camera-oriented features. Not only will it be the best camera phone on the market in terms of megapixellage, it should also take the best pictures, and will certainly give the low-end dedicated digital cameras a run for their money.

What the specs don’t reveal, though, is what the phone is like up close – its overall size, usability and all round user experience. Fortunately, the video gives us some idea of what we can expect when the Idou is released in the second half of 2009.

More details, plus the video after the jump.

Although Sony Ericsson formally announced the Sony Ericsson W995 at today’s press conference at MWC 2009, the one thing everyone’s been clamouring to see more of is the Sony Ericsson Idou – a phone that still so much in development, the company hasn’t even given it an official name yet.

The excitement should be no surprise, though. Whereas the W995 is just an 8 megapixel CyberShot phone with Walkman MP3 player (and I can’t believe I’m being so dismissive of an 8 megapixel camera phone!), the Idou will be a huge 12.1 megapixel camera phone, complete with Wi-Fi, HSDPA, GPS and a full touchscreen user interface that actually seems to work.

Details are scarce, but Sony Ericsson let some of the assembled journalists have a play with a pre-production version of the Idou. Fortunately for humanity, they recorded their findings on YouTube; and fortunately for you, I compiled five of the best Sony Ericsson Idou videos, which you can see after the jump.

More new Android devices are just around the corner. General Mobile (who?!) will be showing off the General Mobile DLST1 Android phone at MWC 2009 in a couple of weeks, while T-Mobile’s Senior VP for Engineering and Operations, Neville Ray, has told Fierce Wireless that the company will be releasing more Android phones to succeed the G1 later in 2009.

As there’s no more details from T-Mobile on their new G2 (assuming that’s what it’ll be called), we’ll stick with the General Mobile Android phone, which, if it’s released as promised, looks like it’ll give the HTC-based G1 a good run for its money.

More details after the jump.

The world’s first Google Android phone, expected to be called the T-Mobile G1, will be officially launched tomorrow, and the blogosphere is buzzing with expectation. In anticipation of tomorrow’s announcement, here’s a list of 21 things we expect from the new Google Android phone…

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 is one of the most-anticipated new smartphones to come from Sony Ericsson in years. Previous smartphones from the company focused on their P-range, with the P900 and its successors perhaps the most well-known. Although these have always been well-regarded, I’ve also found them a bit too fiddly to use. You either had to rely on stylus-based hand-writing recognition, which only recognized a single character at a time, or a keyboard so small only a 5 year old child could use.

The Xperia X1 changes all that, as it comes with a slide out keyboard similar to other manufacturers’ smartphones (such as HTC’s range or the Nokia E90). Better still, Sony Ericsson have had the good sense of stuffing the X1 with every conceivable feature they could think of!

Read on for a sneak preview of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 in action.

Now here’s a phone that’s had me all excited ever since it was first announced at the Mobile World Congress back in February. The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 is a smartphone set to challenge the mighty Nokia E90. If looks are anything to go by, the XPERIA wins hands down, but as with any smartphone, it’s not the looks that matter, it’s the features and how easy they are to use.

Sony Ericsson are keeping tight lipped about the applications on offer with the XPERIA X1 for the moment, but they have released a set of specifications for the phone, if it’s incomplete.

Full spec of the XPERIA X1 after the jump.

LG will be releasing the third generation of its highly successful LG Black Label series of mobile phones on 24th April. The Black Label brand has been LG’s top designer brand for some time, and has featured phones that exude style and good looks while toning down the features. The new LG Black Label looks set to continue the trend for good looks, and it’s not exactly under-endowed when it comes to features either. Details are scarce at the moment, but LG have said it’ll come with a 5 megapixel camera.

The new Black Label phone hasn’t been named yet, and won’t be until the official launch. I’m betting they’ll name it Keith. OK, not the usual name for a mobile phone, perhaps, but “Keith the LG Phone! has a bit of a ring to it, doesn’t it?!

Actually, I tried to think of a more sensible name for it, but looking at it, nothing immediately springs to mind. The LG Chocolate looked good enough to eat, while the Shine was, well, Shiny. This new Black Label phone, though? I’m at a loss! So Keith it is.

Feel free to add your own name in the comments.

Everyone and his dog seems to be showing off GPS phones at CES this year. Now iRiver has jumped on the bandwagon by showing off a prototype of a new iRiver GPS phone that they expect to release by the end of 2008.

This will be the first mobile phone that iRiver have released, and they’re an unexpected entrant in what must be the most competitive of all hi-tech markets. However, having had great success in the MP3 and Personal Media Player markets, they clearly know what they’re doing, both from a technological perspective, and, just as importantly, a design and marketing perspective.

They’ve got a tough fight on their hands, but they should be able to build a niche for themselves.

More details of the iRiver GPS phone after the jump.