Micromax X111 Mobile India: Price, Features & Reviews

Micromax X111 is the latest launch from Micromax mobiles. Micromax X111 is a bar style single SIM mobile. The catchy looks and light weight adds panache to the handset. The stylishly colored phone weighs about 69 gm is one of the lightest phones it is class.

Micromax X111 Mobile Key Features & Specification:
* The form factor is Bar Style
* Single SIM (900/1800 MHz)
* Dimensions:88x48x11 mm
* 3.5cms color CSTN display (128 x 128 Pixels,)
* 5-way navigation key
* Stereo FM Radio
* Hands free
* Antenna Embedded
* Built-in memory of 32MB
* Calculator
* Alarm
* 480mAh battery offers talk time of 1.5h and stand by time of 4 days.

In addition to the list of innovative features; Micromax X111 offers some exciting video games and FM radio, for entertainment purpose. Micromax X111 is priced at Rs. 1,310 /- and it is available in two colors namely silver and golden.

BY: Amrith K. A.

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Hands-on LG GW620 InTouch Max review

As promised, here's my full hands-on LG GW620 InTouch Max review. The LG InTouch Max is a new Android phone from LG that's aimed firmly at the budget end of the market. Competing with the likes of the T-Mobile Pulse and HTC Tattoo, it's got no end of competition.

To help give it an edge, LG have endowed it with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a 5 megapixel camera.

Is it enough though? Is the LG better than the competition, or has its cheap price rendered it useless?

Find out after the jump!

(Disclosure: LG loaned me this handset for review. My opinion's unbiased, though, as you can see from a previous review I did with the Nokia N97, which Nokia sent me last year)

LG GW620 InTouch Max Overview

The InTouch Max looks nothing particularly special from the outside. It's a standard touchscreen smartphone, and looking at the outside reveals the USB slot, microSD card slot, 3.5mm headphone jack and 5 megapixel camera with LED flash.

On the front are three buttons – a home button, a back button, and a navigation pad. Its overall shape is nice and smooth, and should fit into your pocket perfectly easily.

One nice touch of the InTouch Max is the slide-out QWERTY keyboard. This is extremely usable, with keys that are big enough to use comfortably with your thumbs, with enough room between keys to stop you hitting the wrong key accidentally. All the keys are where you'd expect, and there's nothing to get in the way of your thumbs while typing.

Indeed, although the InTouch Max is a budget smartphone, its keyboard is much more ergonomic than many smartphones costing a lot more.

What you'll like about the LG InTouch Max

The LG GW620 InTouch Max has a lot going for it. True, at its heart it's just a standard Android phone that hasn't been altered all that much, but for the price, it's a cracking bargain.

Here are just some of the reasons why the InTouch Max is the perfect budget smartphone.

• Decent 5 megapixel camera beats other smartphone cameras
• Physical QWERTY keyboard makes text entry a breeze
• Pre-loaded QuickOffice lets you view Microsoft Office documents, while the keyboard makes editing them a snap
• Super-fast 7.2Mbps HSPDA makes the mobile Web come alive
• Pre-Loaded Moxier apps sync with your work's Microsoft Exchange server, letting you view your Outlook email on the InTouch Max as easily as your GMail
• LG's SNS app integrates Facebook and other social networks into your contact manager
• Fast, responsive touchscreen means you can do whatever you want without getting frustrated
• Small and slim, the InTouch Max will fit into your pocket without leaving a conspicuous bulge

In short, the InTouch Max does pretty much everything you'd want from a smartphone. It's not the prettiest phone in the world, and its user interface certainly hasn't had a lot spent on it, but it does everything you need it to do very well indeed.

And did I say it's a bargain?!

What's not so good

Due to its budget price, the InTouch Max has cut a few corners. Its touchscreen is only resistive, for example, rather than capacitive, and so isn't quite as responsive as some other touchscreen phones. That said, it's an extremely good resistive touchscreen, and so responsive that you don't need a stylus, unlike the Nokia N97.

In addition, the video recording of the InTouch Max is a bit poor, while the user interface is pretty uch the stock Android interface.

None of these downsides are deal breakers, though, particularly if you're looking for a workhorse smartphone that does the job exceptionally well for a bargain price.

LG InTouch Max's multimedia features

The InTouch Max features both a 5 megapixel camera and a video recorder. The camera works well and comes with a variety of settings, letting you adjust things such as white balance. The pictures it takes both indoors and out look godd, though the LED flash won't work too well in dimly lit surroundings.

LG have tried to add a bit of flair to the gallery app, but frankly, they needn't have bothered! You can slide between images easily with your finger, but the transition effects are a bit poor, the overall user interface is just the standard Android interface, and with only a 3″ screen, you can't make out all that much detail anyway!

In addition to the camera and video camera, there's also an MP3 player, but again this is nothing special. LG also threw in an FM radio, but you'll be using the InTouch Max more for its smartphone features than its multimedia features.

The LG InTouch Max's smartphone features

It's with its smartphone features that the LG InTouch Max really shines. Its fast and responsive, its physical QWERTY keyboard really is excellent to use, and with both QuickOffice and the Moxier app built-in, you can work on your documents and stay in touch with your works email no matter where you are.

So whether you're making last minute changes to your presentation or simply writing urgent blog posts, the InTouch Max is the perfect tool for the job.

LG GW620 InTouch Max video review

Enough with the waffle – here's my video review of the InTouch Max (apologies for the dodgy editing – YouTube have recently restricted their videos to 10 minutes in length, but I only found this out after I'd sent my review copy back!)

LG InTouch Max vs T-Mobile G1

In many ways, the InTouch Max shows how far the Android platform has come since the first Android phone, the T-Mobile G1, was launched in 2008. Not in terms of features – both phones offer up pretty much the same in terms of hardware and software – but in terms of the actual device itself.

Just take a look at these side by side photos of the InTouch Max and G1, and see for yourself just how much smaller the InTouch Max is compared to the G1. Both phones are just as usable as each other, but the InTouch Max has the better keyboard, better camera, is faster, much lighter, much smaller overall, and doesn't have the ridiculous chin of the G1!

Oh, and the InTouch Max is also much cheaper!

Should you buy the LG InTouch Max?

So is the LG InTouch Max the phone for you? Well, it depends what you want from your smartphone. If you're looking for red-hot hardware, the best specs and more gadgetry than the Gadget Show, you should look elsewhere. Equally, if you're looking for a beautiful user interface, then the HTC Tattoo would be perfect.

But the killer feature of the InTouch Max is, without doubt, its combination of its low price, its cracking responsiveness and ease of use, and its physical QWERTY keyboard. This combination makes the InTouch Max the perfect smartphone for you if you're looking for a no-nonsense phone that'll let you work without getting in your way, and all for a budget price.

In other words, the InTouch Max is not a fashion statement, but as a cracking smartphone that's genuinely usable – and for a superb low price – it's hard to fault.

Highly recommended for smartphone users on a budget.

Nokia N8 Price, specifications

Nokia has recently launched its first device Nokia N8 with the new version of Symbian^3 OS. The most amazing feature on the Nokia N8 is its 12-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics , Xenon flash and a large sensor which promises a better image quality. Users can enjoy HD-quality video with Dolby Digital Plus surround sound in this handset.The Nokia N8 has a 3.5-inch capacitive Touchscreen display with Multi-Touch and Gestures support and there's 16GB of inbuilt storage, expandable up to 48GB.HDMI connector in Nokia N8 allows you to connect the cellphone to your HD TV and share your media with friends.The Nokia N8 comes with access to the full range of OVI services.The Nokia N8 comes with free global Ovi Maps walk and drive navigation.When comes to the connectivity Nokia N8 has GPRS, EDGE, 3G with HSDPA, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.Social networking is another key feature of Nokia N8.People can share videos and photos, and view live feeds from Facebook and Twitter in a single app directly on the home screen.The Nokia N8 provides multiple, personalizable homescreens which can be loaded with apps and widgets.The Nokia N8 phone offers access to Web TV services that deliver programs and news.

Key features of Nokia N8

• Capacitive touch screen
• Accelerometer with Proximity sensor
• Ambient light detector
• Weight : 135 g
• Dedicated camera and volume keys
• Handwriting recognition for Chinese
• Ring tones: mp3,Video ring tones
• Capability to serve as data modem
• Support for MS Outlook synchronisation of contacts, calendar and notes
• 1200 mAh Li-Ion battery
• Talk-time upto 720 mins
• Standby time upto 390 h
• FM Radio
• FM Transmitter
• MicroSD memory card slot
• Micro USB connector and charging
• Bluetooth 3.0
• HDMI
• Automatic switching between WCDMA & GSM bands
• HTML support for email
• Email web widget for home screen
• Support for streaming video
• Use the touch UI to play games
• Use the accelerometer to play games and so o

It is available in silver white ,blue ,green,dark grey in anodized aluminium casing.

PRICE AND RELEASE DATE of Nokia N8

It is available in select markets during the third quarter of 2010.The new Nokia N8 smartphone is priced around Rs.22,000 in India or just 370 EUR

Samsung i8910 Omnia HD Review: the smartest feature phone around

The Samsung i8910 Omnia HD in this review is a superb combination of high-end feature phone and slick touchscreen smartphone. If you demand the very best features from your phone, but you don't want to lose the ease of use of a touchscreen, the Omnia HD is quite possibly the only phone you need to consider.

At its heart, the Omnia HD is all about video – and high-def video at that. Capable of recording and playing HD video at 720p, the Omnia HD gives you the best quality video of any mobile phone on the market, and shows it off in superb style with a super-clear 16 million colour AMOLED screen.

That's not the end of its talents, though – not by a long shot. With superb 8 megapixel camera, GPS and slick touchscreen interface, the Omnia HD is perfect if you can't decide between a high-end feature phone or a touchscreen smartphone – the Omnia HD gives you both!

Read our full Samsung i8910 Omnia HD review to see just what this mighty phone can offer you.

Samsung i8910 Omnia HD Overview

Imagine having a phone with the best video recording features of any phone on the market in your hards right now. Imagine not just watching HD videos on a glorious crystal-sharp AMOLED touchscreen, but recording HD videos as well – again, right from the phone in your hand.

Couple that with a tonne of other superb features, serious power and storage, and a slick touchscreen interface, and you've got some idea of what it's like to own the Omnia HD

It's based on the same Symbian S60 Fifth Edition platform as the Nokia N97, yet it's better than Nokia's phone in so many ways. Its interface, for example, is based on Samsung's TouchWiz interface that's used in most of its touchscreen phones, but it's been jazzed up a bit to cope with the Omnia HD's enhanced set of features.

And it's this feature set – combined with its ease of use thanks to the touchscreen interface – that really sets the Omnia HD apart from the competition.

That's the promise of the Omnia HD. Our mission is to see how well it lives up to it!

What you'll like about the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD

The first thing you'll love about the Omnia HD is the screen, simply because it's so clear, with stunning colours and superb contrast. It's a 3.7″ AMOLED touchscreen display, which is perfect for showing off video – which is just what Samsung intended, as the Omnia HD, as its name suggests, is all about video.

Remarkable 720p Video

Not just playing back video on its gorgeous screen – the Omnia HD can also record 720p HD video at 24 frames per second as well, which, although maybe not quite up to the standards set by your average Blu-ray player, is still better quality than that of any other mobile phone on the market.

The video player will also playback HD video in tonnes of different formats, including MPEG-4, WMV, H.263, H.264, XVid and DivX. It's processor, an ARM Cortex-A8 CPU running at a storming 600 MHz, is more than up to the task of playing the videos back without any jitter as well, even at bit rates of up to 8Mbps, which is stunning.

With 16GB of storage built-in, and a further 32GB available if you plug in a microSD card, you can play pretty much any video in any format – just upload it onto the Omnia HD and watch it in seconds.

If it's the best video of any mobile phone you're after, look no further – the Samsung i8901 Omnia HD is the best in class, so you might as well buy it now!

High-end 8 megapixel camera

Samsung haven't just given you a great video phone, though – they've also equipped the Omnia HD with a tonne of other features as well.

If it's the camera you're more interested in, for example, you'll find an 8 megapixel camera on the back of the Omnia HD, complete with the following features:

• auto-focus
• LED flash
• geo-tagging,
• face detection,
• Smile Shot
• exposure compensation
• large range of adjustable ISO settings
• adjustable sharpness and contrast

The camera's so good because it uses the same unit found in the Pixon 8, which was one of the best camera phones on the market when released, and still beats many mobile phones on the market today.

So again, if the camera is important to you, the Omnia HD's camera tops every other smartphone's camera unit on the market today. So again, stop reading, if it's a great video and camera phone you need, go buy an Omnia HD!

Share your media

If you love not just capturing media such as video and photos, but sharing it as well, the Omnia HD is perfect for you. Not only is it equipped with 7.2Mbps HSDPA for super-fast downloads, and HSUPA for fast uploads, it also supports DLNA and UPnP.

What are these, you ask? Technologies that let you share your pics and videos across any other DLNA-equipped device. For example, you can see your Omnia HD's pics on your DLNA-equipped HDTV or digital photo frame, swap videos from your PC to your Omnia HD, or even browse all the media on your Omnia HD from your PS3 or XBox 360.

Just plug your Omnia HD into any DLNA-equipped device via the included video-out cables, and whatever's on your Omnia HD can be seen on the attached device.

Music, maestro!

The Omnia HD uses Symbian S60 Fifth Edition, which is also used by Nokia's 5800 XpressMusic. Because of their shared roots, both phones have exactly the same music player, which has a great set of features and is extremely easy to use.

In fact, because of the Omnia HD's bigger and clearer display, and its much better user interface, the whole music experience on the Omnia HD is much better than on the Nokia 5800, despite the 5800 being a dedicated music phone.

The Omnia HD will play music in loads of different formats, including MP3, AAC, AAC+, Enhanced AAC+, MIDI, and XMF. It also comes with 5.1 channel sound, various sound effect, an equalizer and visualizations. There's even a CoverFlow-like display of album art for when you're choosing your tunes.

Blending feature phone features with smartphone smarts

One of the great benefits of the Omnia HD is that it blends feature phone features with smartphone smarts.

So not only do you get aGPS built-in, for example, you can also use mapping applications like Google Maps exactly as you would on any other touchscreen phone. The Omnia HD's touchscreen is capacitive, so moving maps around and zooming in and out is super-slick and ultra-responsive.

The same is true for the Web browser. It's the same Web-Kit-based browser found in most Symbian-based phones, such as Nokia's N-Series. On the Omnia HD, though, it's even easier to use thanks to the stunning clarity of the screen and the super-responsive touchscreen.

Add to all this the plethora of smartphone apps that are bundled into the Omnia, inlcuding the ability to read and edit Microsoft Office documents via the QuickOffice app (though you have to pay extra to get the app's full features), and the Omnia HD can deservedly be called a smartphone – particularly when compared to the Nokia N97, which it trounces!

What's not so good

The Omnia HD has a few minor quiblles, largely focusing on its user interface. Although it's a version of Samsung's TouchWiz, it's still based on Symbian S60, which is getting a bit long in the tooth. Equally, the TouchWiz tinsel isn't quite so polished (or intuitive) as other recent smartphone interfaces, such as those from HTC or Motorola.

That's said, it's leagues ahead of the Nokia N97's, so it's not exactly a bad user interface. You just wouldn't buy the phone because of the interface, which is pretty much the direct opposite of the iPhone. But then, you'd never buy the iPhone because of its features, and you most certainly would the Omnia HD!

Video of the Samsung Omnia HD

See for yourself the power of the Omnia HD's video capabilities, and just check out the quality of that screen:

Think your mobile phone's good with video? It's not even close to the Omnia HD!

Summary

The Samsung i8910 is a superb phone that blends the best of the feature phone with the touchscreen slickness of the smartphone, with no compromise between the two.

Whereas most smartphones offer you a slick interface with weak features (such as the 3 megapixel camera of the iPhone 3G S), while most feature phones do the exact opposite, the Omnia HD gives you the best of both worlds – a slick touchscreen user interface, powerful processor, glorious display and the best video capabilities of any mobile phone on the market.

If you're looking for a superb multimedia phone with unbeatable features, complete with the wow factor and with no compromises, then put the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD at the top of your list.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 review – the best featured smartphone on the market

It's been a long time coming, but here finally is our Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 review. Sony Ericsson have taken an age to get the Xperia X10 out the door, which is why the X10 review has taken so long. But it's here now and ready to buy on loads of different networks.

Yes, that's right – demand for the X10 has proven so strong that nearly every network out there, including Three and Virgin Mobile, have signed it up and are now competing to offer it you for the best price.

The big question is, though – is the demand well placed? Is the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 as good as we all want it to be (and as good as its features suggest it should be)?

Read our full Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 review to find out.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10's Unique Features

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is the first Android phone released by the company, and has been designed to put Sony Ericsson back on the map as the best smartphone manufacturer on the market.

That's a tall order, not least because as well as the iPhone, Palm Pre and Windows Mobile smartphones that are already out there, there's also a never-ending array of existing Android devices from the likes of HTC and Motorola, each of which is also aiming to be the best smartphone on the market!

So how are Sony Ericsson hoping to compete? In two ways:

• Killer features – the Xperia X10 comes with the best range of features of any smartphone. Not only is the specification high (8 megapixel camera, qidescreen DVD quality video recording, 4″ screen, 1GHz processor, et.c, etc.!), but the quality of the features is also first rate
• Brand new user interface and social media apps – Sony Ericsson have taken the time to create their own software for Android, and have come up with Timescape and Mediascape – two apps that together provide a brand new user interface that collects all your social media info into one place, and makes your tunes, music, photos and videos accessible from one app, whether they're on the phone or on the Web.

So, superb features and tight integration with the mobile Web. Sounds like a promising start!

Actually it is – if you're looking for the best specified smartphone on the market, with camera and video features that are better than any other smartphone around, then stop reading and buy the Xperia X10 now – it's that simple.

If you're looking to see how the Xperia X10 compares to its rivals, though, then read on.

14 Things you'll love about the Xperia X10

Sony Ericsson have put everything they've got into the Xperia X10, and have ended up making it one of the most well-specced – no, make that the most well-specced – Android phone on the market.

Just check out some of these features:

• the fastest mobile Web browsing of any phone around, with 10.2Mbps downloads (HSDPA) and 2mbps uploads (HSUPA) – that's faster than most people's home broadband connection!
• watch videos, browse the Web and browse through your pictures on the Xperia X10's stunning 4″ capacitive touchscreen display with 16 million colours and a resolution of 854 x 480 – seriously, you couldn't get a better looking display
• Take superb photos with the best in class 8 megapixel camera
• Fantastic widescreen video quality lets you shoot widescreen videos at 30fps that look like they're shot from a camcorder
• Never lose your photos again – the Xperia X10 supports geo tagging and automatic face tagging
• See what your friends are doing across the Web all in one place, with the new Timescape social media interface
• Seamlessly browse your online and offline pics, videos and tunes from the same app – MediaScape – whether they're stored on your phone or on Web sites like Picasa and YouTube
• Get access to related info wherever you are thanks to the X10's contextual Infinity button
• run all your apps without even a hint of slowdown, thanks to the super-fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz CPU
• fantastic 3D games thanks to OpenGL graphics acceleration
• store your entire media library on the phone, with 1GB storage built-in, expandable to 32GB thanks to the standard microSD card slot. You even get an 8GB card bundled with the X10
• huge range of expandability potential, thanks to Sony Ericsson finally using standardized components – as well as microSD, there's also a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, letting you use whatever headphones you want.
• don't worry about running out of power – the X10 comes with a 1500mAh battery, which is bigger than most smartphones, and good for up to 10 hours of solid talking
• all the usual Android loveliness you'd expect – WiFi, aGPS, accelerometer, compass, proximity sensor, Gmail, Google calendar, search, Maps, etc., etc.!

That's a long list of compelling features, and easily puts the Xperia X10 towards the top of the smartphone charts. Indeed, if there's one thing that sets the X10 apart form its rivals, it's the quality of its features. You don't just get a large camera, for example, you get a large camera capable of taking pics as well as a dedicated camera phone.

The X10, then, is the real deal, with quality to match its features. So what else have Sony Ericsson added to the X10's mix?

Cutting edge multimedia

Best in class 8 megapixel camera

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 sports a whopping 8 megapixel camera, which is by far the biggest of any smartphone currently sale. Better than that, though, the quality of the camera is also great. The 8 megapixel camera isn't just a marketing gimmick – it's a genuinely good camera that lets you take some cracking pics in all manner of different conditions.

There's a range of different options that let you get the best from your pics as well. The X10 supports smile detection, image stabilization, face detection, macro mode, and will let you focus on objects just by touching the area of the screen where you want the camera to focus.

More impressively, the X10 has mutliple autofocus, enabling it to focus on more than one spot. This is a feature normally only found on dedicated digital cameras, and shows how serious Sony Ericsson are with the quality fo the X10's features.

You can also geotag your photos, and even let the X10 automatically tag faces – not only does it come with face detection, it also supports face recognition, and if you've already tagged a face, it'll apply the same tag whenever it recognizes the face in other photos. Brilliant!

Excellent widescreen video camera

Many mobile phones will claim they can shoot video at DVD quality, when what you actually get is a jittery pixellated image that's hard to watch on the PC, let alone on the TV.

The X10 is different. Not only does record in widescreen, but its genuine 30 frames per second recording shows no jitter, no delay, just great looking video.

Again, the video recording of the X10 is the best you can get on any smartphone today. Just another example of the quality Sony Ericsson has built into the X10.

Superb new user interface

Sony Ericsson have taken Google's Android mobile OS and given it a whole new user interface. Just like Motorola did with MotoBlur, and HTC with Sense UI, so Sony Ericsson have provided their own polish to Android in the form of Timescape and Mediascape, two new apps which collectively provide a whole new user experience.

Timescape – a social media aggregator

Sony Ericsson's Timescape aggregates all the info from your friends and presents it to you in an attractive way with lots of flashy animations and nice transition effects.

And by info, I don't just mean contact details such as phone number and email address. I mean phone calls, text messages, Twitter updates, Facebook statuses, new pics from Flickr or Picasa, tunes they're listening to, videos they've uploaded – you name it, Timescape will show it!

Where it gets interesting, though, is what you can do with this info. Timescape presents the info as an animated timeline of tiles, with messages, photos, videos, status updates, tweets, even tunes played, all stacked together one on top of the other, with the most recent bit of info on top.

You can smoothly scroll down this stack, looking at each item as you go. You can filter the stack according to type of info – text messages, for example, or Facebook status updates, or just tweets, etc.

If that's not enough, you can filter according to specific users, so you can see everything that they've shared recently. For example, you can see exactly what you girlfriend has been sharing with you, whether its texts, emails, tweets, photos, tunes – everything she's choosen to share with you, or share with the world.

Timescape doesn't just let you read other people's updates – you can also write your own messages or status updates, or reply to other people's, all from the same Timescape application. You can also interact with each bit of info in other ways. Press the tile and it'll take you to that person's profile, bringing in info from your contact book and Facebook, and seamlessly merging it all together.

It's this integration between the phone and the social media world that makes Timescape and the X10 such a compelling phone. Sony Ericsson have really thought long and hard about how best to combine the two, and they've really succeeded.

The ability to filter your info according to both application (Tiwtter, Facebook, SMS, etc.) and person is brilliantly useful. Combine it with the animated polish Sony Ericsson have given Timescape, and the way in which a person's info is compiled from across a whoel host of different sources, adn you've got a powerful social media app that's up there with the best of them.

Timescape on its own might be reason enough for you to buy an Xperia X10! Indeed Sony Ericsson are so proud of Timescape, you can even choose to use it as a dedicated homescreen, replacing the existing Android homescreen that you can also use.

But we've not finished there – not by a long way!

Mediascape – integrating your phone's media with the Web

In addition to Timescape, Sony Ericsson have also developed MediaScape, another neat app that pulls all of your media together in one place.

MediaScape is a music, photo and video gallery app that lets you select your media with some neat transitions and effects.

Where it gets a bit special, though, is the way it combines the media stores on your phone with media that's stored on Web sites such as Flickr. If you give the X10 your Flickr, Picasa, or YouTube login details, for example, it'll pull down all the images and videos you've uploaded, and let you see, at a glance, all the photos and videos you're hosting on those sites in the same gallery where you phone's photos and videos are stored.

In other words, yet more seamless integration between the X10 and the mobile Web.

Not one to miss a marketing trick, Sony Ericsson have also incorporated their online music store, PlayNow, into MediaScape. If you store your tunes on the X10, MediaScape will suggest similar tunes for you available to buy through Sony Ericsson's PlayNow store.

The infinity button is also present within MediaScape. Select a tune, for example, press the infinity button and the X10 will go away and automatically search for everything related to that artist. Picture, tunes, videos – whatevr you want.

A nice touch.

To Infinity and Beyond!

Wherever you look in the X10's user interface, you'll find an infinity icon. This provides one-touch access to info related to the screen you're looking at.

In the music screen on Mediascape, for example, pressing the infinity button when a track is playing will call up info on that artist, and let you see related tunes, pictures and videos, all with the swipe of a finger.

Just as usesful, when you're in Timescape, you can press the Infinity button on an individual message and see all the info related to the person who sent the message. Again, it's a huge amount of info that the X10 compiles – your entire phone log, text messages, photos, contact details – pretty much everything, and all aggregatd on the fly from across the Web and from your phone.

The X10 has done a superb job of integrating the Web and the mobile phone and making it easy for you to access it all as easily as possible.

Mobile Web browsing, Android and GPS on the Xperia X10

It should be noted that all of these features that I've covered so far are specific to Sony Ericsson – you won't find them on any other Android phone.

But in addition to these features, you also get the same fabulous Android features that come built-in to Google's marvellous mobile OS.

That means Google search, calendar, Maps and StreetView, full GMail integration, and more sensors than you can count! GPS is there, along with a digital compass, accelerometer, proximity sensor, plus WiFi, Bluetooth, microUSB and every other feature you'd expect a top-end smartphone to have.

You also get Android's Web browser. Based on Web-kit, the browser is super-fast (particulalrly with a 1GHz processor powering it and 10.2 Mbps download speeds!), and the large 4″ screen makes sliding Web pages around and zooming inot and out of them a breeze.

There's no multi-touch support, unfortunately, and it doesn't support Flash, but you can still watch YouTube videos on an external application.

The current version of Android on the X10 is Android 1.6, but Android 2.1 and 2.2 will be available as a free download later in the year. That's pretty exciting, as Android 2.1 is the same mobile OS used on the Nexus One., Google's own Android phone.

Things you won't like on the X10

The X10 has a few downsides, but they're really quite minor. One is the flash. It's only a LED flash, not a xenon one, so although it's OK, you won't get great pics in low light conditions. Audio quality is also not too great, although this won't matter if you plug in headphones (and with a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, you can choose whatever headphones you like).

Perhpas the most annoying aspect of the X10 is its lack of support for DivX and XVid video. This means you can't watch video recorded in either of these formats, which is a little limiting given that many videos use it.

You can convert these format into other formats that the X10 does support, so it doen's mean you can't watch videos at all, but with such a great screen and great video playback quality, it does seem like a missed opportunity.

Video reviews of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10

To get a feel for the Xperia X10 yourself, check out these video reviews.

Should you buy the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10?

So, the answer to the crucial question – should you buy the Xperia X10?

Yes!

And I'll say that again – yes! Sony Ericsson have done a superb job with their first Android phone, mixing top-end high quality features, a superb new user interface that blends the best of the mobile phone with the Web, and the superb Android mobile OS, all into one beautiful looking device.

And once Android 2.1 and 2.2 are available for free download in a few months' time, you'll get an even better phone. Just imagine the Nexus One, throw in Timescape and Mediascape, then add the 8 megapixel camera, widescreen video camera, super-fast 10.2Mbps downloads and beautiful 4″ screen, all being driven by a 1GHz processor, and you've got the Xperia X10.


If you're looking for a superb, highly responsive smartphone with the best features on the market, and a great new user interface, then look no further than the X10. In terms of features, it has no competition.

And if you're not looking for all that – why have you lowered your expectations when you can get it all with the X10?!

The X10, then, is a welcome return to form for Sony Ericsson, and is strongly recommended.

Samsung Diva S7070 review – the best looking budget phone money can buy

Samsung have just released the Samsung Diva S7070, a super-smart fashion phone that combines serious style with a range of social networking features – and all for a bargain price.

Aimed primarily at women, Samsung have done much more than spray the Diva pink – for a start it's actually white!

What they've done instead is focus on all the features that thousands of women told Samsung they wanted from their mobile phone, and packaged it up in a glorious-looking phone that looks perfectly at home nestled in your Hermes bag.

Are the features of the Samsung Diva enough for you though? And does it ooze just the right amount of style, or is it just too bling for you?

Find out after the jump with our Samsung Diva S7070 review.

LG Diva S7070 in more detail

As you can guess from the name, the Samsung Diva is a fashion phone aimed firmly at women, and so offers a nicely timed alternative from the raft of smartphones that have come on the market lately.

The Samsung Diva still gives you plenty of features, though, including touchscreen, a gloriously crisp display with 16 million colours, 3 megapixel camera, and all the social networking features you need, including access to Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and the like.

But because it's a fashion phone, you don't get overwhelmed with features. There are no apps, for example, or maps, or Microsoft Office support – just access to the features you need in a phone that's designed to look exclusive and beautiful in equal measure.

With a crisp sharp front with diamond keypad on the bottom, a diamond-patterned underside that houses the 3.2 megapixel camera, and sleek rounded design all dressed in sharp white, the Diva really is like no other phone on the market.

Indeed, Samsung are focusing firmly on the exclusive side of the Diva. They neither expect it to sell in large numbers, nor do they want it to, as they want the Diva to remain as an exclusive phone, so you can be sure that when you start using it, no-one else around you will have anything quite like it.

And best of all – it's extremely inexpensive! Because Samsung chose style over features, it really doesn't cost the earth. So if you fancy a unique gorgeous-looking fashion phone for a bargain price (or a tonne of free gifts, including laptops, XBoxes and HDTVs), then go and buy a Samsung Diva now.

Alternatively, read on, to see if the Samsung Diva has the right amount of features that you need.

Samsung Diva S7070 Features

The Samsung Diva S7070 gives you the following features:

• Take stylish photos with the Diva's 3 megapixel camera, complete with smile detection, face recognition and its unique Lomo beauty shot – which actually turns a photo of you or your friends into a glamourous portrait
• Organize your social life with built-in Facebook, Twitter, Bebo and MySpace widgets
• Listen to thousands of your tunes with the Diva's excellent MP3 player or FM radio, with crystal clear sound that to Samsung's DNSe sound-enhancement chip
• Access all of your phone's features easily thanks to Samsung's TouchWiz touchscreen interface
• View your photos in glorious colour with the Diva's 16 million colour screen
• Customize your homescreen with dozens of draggable widgets, including weather, gallery widget and media controls
• Escape from dull people with the Samsung Fake Call feature – press a button and the Samsung Diva will instantly ring, pretending someone is calling you so you can make your getaway.
• Organize your shopping thanks to the Diva's WishList and Shopping widgets

The WishList widget does seem a bit overtly girly – as if Samsung thought that a female phone simply must have something to do with shopping because that's what girls want! But all the remaining features make the Diva a great phone for 2010 – particularly when you see how cheap it is.

Is the Samsung Diva S7070 the right phone for you?

With the Diva, Samsung have cooked up a budget fashion phone with a range of features that make it extremely usuable, and amazing value for money. Its touchscreen display with 16 million colours is crystal clear and sets off the fashionable looks of the Diva to perfection.

As with all fashion phones, the Diva isn't overloaded with features. But it's got enough, and it's difficult to resist at the price it's on offer at.

So if you're after a gorgeous looking fashion phone with unique looks and a snazzy touchscreen display – and all for a bargain price – then go buy the Samsung Diva S7070 now, as it's clearly the phone for you!

LG GD900 Crystal Review – truly unique twin touchscreen phone

The LG GD900 Crystal in this review is a curious phone as it comprises two touchscreens in one: the standard touchscreen you'd expect to find; and another one on the keypad.

But then the keypad is also curious: it's completely clear. Crystal clear, in fact, hence the name!

Combine all this curiosity with LG's great S-Class user interface and you have a superb touchscreen phone that's choc full of novelty, and which really knows how to stand out from the crowd.

At least, that's how it appears on the surface – is it actually any good though? Read our LG GD900 Crystal review to find out.

LG GD900 Crystal overview

At first glance, the LG Crystal looks like any other touchscreen mobile phone, with a big LCD screen and little in the way of buttons. As soon as you see it, you'll just assume the buttons are all virtual, and are accessed by pushing a virtual keypad or touching various icons on the screen.

The reality is very different. The LG Crystal has a completely see-through keypad that slides out from below, letting you access its multiple features without getting finger prints all over its screen.

Oddly enough, you can, if you wish, get fingerprints all over its lovely screen, as the screen is fully touch sensitive, so you can access all of its features in the usual touchscreen way.

But then its keypad is also a full touchscreen – as well as a keypad!

What's going on?!

The benefit of multiple touchscreens

The LG Crystal is something of an experiment in phone design. Its a normal touchscreen phone when you want it to be, but you can also use the touchscreen keypad when you need to. You'll see how this can be useful when you start ot use the phone. The keypad doesn't just respond to touch, it responds to gestures as well, and it's this that makes it so innovative.

When you take a photo, for example, you can zoom in and out of a scene by circling your finger clockwise or anti-clockwise on the clear keypad.

The benefit of this is that you don't obscure the screen when interacting with the phone.

It's an interesting concept that makes for a truly novel phone that really stands out from all the other touchscreen phones out there. and because it's been out for a while, you can now some terrific Web-only deals on it.

And the reason for the keypad being crystal clear? None, really, other than LG knew they could do it, so they thought, why not?!

Things you'll love about the LG Crystal

What's the LG GD900 Crystal like as a phone, though? Is it actually any good?

Well fortunately, yes. It uses the same 3D S-Class interface that was first shown off on the high-end LG Viewty Smart and LG Arena phones. This has always been an extremely usable interface with nifty 3D transitions and animations, but being able to use it with two toucshcreens makes it even better.

There's also the usual range of features you'd expect from an LG phone, including the following:

• Unique twin-touchscreen design with a normal touchscreen and a separate one on the crystal clear keypad
• Innovative 3D S-Class user interface works even better with the twin touchscreens than it does on the LG Viewty Smart or LG Arena
• Take great photos in a range of different settings with its superb 8 megapixel camera, complete with auto-focus, LED flash, geotagging, face detection, smile detection and image stabilization
• Zoom in and out of a scene by spiralling your finger on the crystal clear touchpad
• Multitouch support lets you pinch and zoom into photos and Web pages, jsut like an Apple iPhone
• Show off the director in you with the Crystal's DVD quality video recorder that records VGA videos at 30 frames per second, and even offers time-lapse and slow motion video recording
• Vibrant 3″ screen with 16 million colours
• Super-fast Web browsing thanks to Wi-Fi and 7.2Mbps HSDPA
• Watch downloaded videos and ripped DVDs thanks to XVid and DivX support
• Cracking music playing abilities with its MP3 player, Dolby audio enhancement, FM radio and Bluetooth 21 with support for wireless music streaming
• Watch videos and pictures on your TV thanks to built-in TV-Out
• Accelerometer automatically rotates the screen when you move it betweeen landscape and portrait modes
• Control the Crystal with gestures on either of the two toucscreens.

Phew! So, yes, it is a good phone, and an entirely unique one at that (unless you can show me another phone with two touchscreens, one of which is completely clear?!)

Let's have a look at some of its featues in more detail

Fantastically fun video features

With DivX and XVid support, an 8 megapixel camera, DVD video recording and a plethora of other multimedia features, you'd think the LG Crystal would be a great phone for taking pics, viewing films and listening to music.

And you'd be right!

The video recording feature in particular is something to show off about as not only can it record at a resolution of 720×480 pixels at 30 frames per second, it can also record in slow-motion or by time-lapse, letting you slow down or speed up the action as you wish.

This lets you create all sorts of innovative effects. Want to see what your dog looks like when he's shaking himself down after getting wet? Record him in slow motion and see!

What about how snow builds up over time on a snowy day? Just make sure your Crystal is placed down in the same spot and put it in time-lapse mode. It'll then record frames of video over a period of time that you specifiy, which, when you play it back, will seem to speed up the action. A day of snow, for example, will magically appear in just a minutes.

There's all sorts of things you can play around with this feature, making the LG Crystal a genuinely fun phone.

Once you've recorded your video masterpiece, upload it onto YouTube with just the touch of a virtual button.

Mighty Music Features

Music's not exactly bad, either. As well as the MP3 player you'd expect, the Crystal also comes with an FM radio and Dolby audio enhancement to make your tunes sound even better.

There's 1.5GB of onboard storage, enough for hundreds of tunes, and there's a microSD card slot, which will let you add another 32GB of storage if you want to take your library up to thousands of tunes.

The music player isn't the most feature packed, but it does at least look good. Thanks to the S-Class UI, you can see the cover art of your tunes in a CoverFlow like way, with the CD covers flowing either horizontally or vertically.

There's loads of equalizer settings to help you get the most out of your tunes, and the Dolby Mobile setting really works, making your sounds much better than they would ordinarily.

The only downside is the lack of a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. You can get a 3.5mm adaptor, so you can still eventually plug your own headphones into the LG Crystal, but it's annoying not have a standard adaptor come as, well, standard!

Phabulous Photos with a stonking 8 megapixel camera

The photos you can take on the LG Crystal are also rather good. With an 8 megapixel camera with autofocus, the detail is excellent, and with features such as image stabilization, smile detection and face detection, you'll have no problem taking great pics in all manner of different environments.

The LG Crystal doesn't provide the same quality of photos as, say, the Sony Ericsson Satio or Vivaz, but then the phone isn't meant to be the last word in camera phones. It's a great feature phone that adds fun and novelty, rather than exceptional photography, and it lets you take great pictures of your mates wherever you happen to be with just a few gestures on your crystal clear keypad!

You can see an example photo taken by the LG Crystal below (photo courtesy of RegHardware)

As well as taking great pictures, the picture gallery on the LG Crystal is excellent. You can view your pics either as a flat grid, or in a 3D CoverFlow-like style, with swipes of the touchscreen (either one!) letting you scroll through the pictures to your heart's content.

Better still, the LG Crystal supports multi-touch, letting you pinch and zoom into and out of your pictures, just as you would on an iPhone.

Web browsing

Web browsing on the LG Crystal is good. You can pinch and zoom into Web pages, and although it's not as fluid as on the iPhone, it's still well implemented and works really well.

There's a nice history feature, which lets you see screenshots of previously visited pages, and you can pan and zoom around a page to your heart's content.

With WiFi and 7.2Mbps HSDPA, browsing is quick and painless. The only downside is that the LG Crystal doesn't support Adobe Flash, so you can't see YouTube videos within the browser. That said, there is a dedicated YouTube app, so you can still YouTube videos – just not embedded in a Web page.

Web browsing is one area where the touchscreen keypad really comes in handy. You can use your finger on the keypad to control to a mouse, and use this to navigate around t a Web page (as well as using your finger on the Web page itself, and the multi-touch pinch and zoom!)

This makes navigating the Web simplicity itself, and again gives the LG Crystal an element of novelty that other phones just don't have.

Apps

Although the LG Crystal doesn't have an app store, it does come with an array of apps. Most of these are what you can think of as traditional phone apps – organizers, calendars, games, etc. – rather than the more recent smartphone apps.

The reason for this is that the Crystal isn't a smartphone. However, this isn't actually a problem, as most apps such as YouTube, Twitter, FAcebook, Flickr, etc., a;; have a Website equivalent, and with a 3″ touchscreen and fast download speeds, using them is no problem.

The apps that you do get are all rather useful in their own right. As well as a selection of games and organizers, you also get Picsel viewer, which lets you view Microsoft Office documents. As well as viewing them, you can also zoom into and out of them using the same pinch zoom multi-touch gesture that you use to zoom into photos and Web pages.

Overall user experience

So what of the overall user experience? Is the LG Crystal's S-Class interface good to use?

Happily, yes it is.The LG Crystal isn't a smartphone, but it is an extremely capable (twin) touchscreen phone. It's very responsive, there's minimal delay when switching between screens or apps, zooming into photos or Web pages is smooth, and the 3D user interface is actually rather appealing.

Add to that the novelty of the twin touchscreens, the multi-touch pinch and zoom gestures and all the other things you can do with the clear keypad, and the overall experience is actually fun. Very usable, highly novel, and one you'll love to show off to your mates.

Better still, it all actually works! There's nothing worse than a fancy new interface that's just a novelty, and which frustrates you at every turn even if it impresses your mates. You don't get that with the LG Crystal: you get a fancy new interface that impresses your mates, and which is extremely intuitive, repsonsive, and just plain great to use!

Things you won't like so much

The LG Crystal doesn't do everything well. The camera, for example, could be better, even though it's an 8 megapixel model. As we know, megapixels aren't everything, and the colours from the LG Crystal aren't quite as realistc as they could be.

Of course, if you want the best camera phone, you'd be looking at the Sony Ericsson Satio or Vivaz, or the Samsung Pixon 12, though, not the cheaper LG Crystal. For nights out, day to day photography, or other point and shoot pics, the LG Crystal is plenty good enough.

Another niggle is with the lack of 3.5mm headphone jack. Although you can buy adaptors, you shouldn't have to. It's not a deal-breaker, but it is a bit of a niggle.

LG GD900 Video Reviews

The best way to get a feel for the novelty of the LG GD900 Crystal is to see it in action. So here it is!

LG GD900 Crystal specifications

Specs now. Here they are in full:

Messaging

• Video MMS
• E-mail
• SMS/MMS

Basic Specifications

• Full Touch Slider (with Crystal Touchpad)
• Connectivity: HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, WEDGE, GPRS, UMTS 2.1G, 900 (or 2.1G/850), GSM( (850/900/1800/1900), EDGE
• Dimenions: 105 * 52.5 * 13.5mm
• Standard Battery, Max (mAh): 1000mAh, Li-ion
• Stand-by Time, Max (hrs): Up to 300 hrs
• Talk Time (hrs): Up to 6 hrs(2G), Up to 4hrs(3G)

Display

• External LCD (pixel)
• 3″ TFT touchscreen
• 16Mcolors
• Haptic with Vibration Alert
• Touch Screen Capacitive / Multi-touch/ 3D Active flash UI(S-class UI)

Internet

• WAP 2.0
• Browser xHTML 1.1, HTML 4.01 / Internet Full Browsing

Data Connectivity

• IrDA
• USB/PC Sync
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b,g
• Bluetooth (A2DP Ver. 2.1)

Applications

• PIM
• Scheduler/Alarm
• Phonebook (1000 names)
• Personalization
• Wallpaper/Screen Saver
• Picture/Ringtone Downloading
• Document Viewer: MS office, PDF, Text

Advanced Features

• Video Telephony
• Java (version): MIDP 2.0, CLDC 1.1
• MIDI (polyphonic): 64
• 2 touchscreen friendly built-in games
• Video On Demand/Audio On Demand
• Internal Memory: 1.5GB
• External Memory: MicroSD slot (TransFlash), up to 32GB
• Camera: 8.0 Mega Pixel AutoFocus

Multi-Media Players

• Audio codec: MP3, AAC/AAC+/E-AAC+/AMR-NB/WB/WB+, WMA/WMAPro, Ogg-Vorbis, AC3, MIDI
• Video codec: H.263: 4CIF(704×480@30fps, 704×576@25fps, upto 10Mbps), H.263+/MPEG4/H.264/WMV9(VC-1): D1(720×480@30fps and 720×576 25fps, upto 10Mbps)
• FM Radio
• Speaker Phone Mode

Accessories

• TV Out Cable

Summary

The LG GD900 is one of those rare phones that manages to combine genuine ease of use, practicality, a huge set of features, novelty, and above all, fun, all in one smart looking package. It is, above all, unique – no other phone offers twin touchscreen interfaces, with one of them being completely clear.

And it's not just a novelty – the LG Crystal's clear keypad actually helps, rather than hinders, when it comes to navigating the phone.

Add to that its great 3D user interface, cracking set of features, and tonnes of fun quirky features such as the video camera's slow motion and time lapse modes, and you've got yourself a phone that's guaranteed to keep you entertained and your mates green with envy. You can guarantee they won't have anything like it.

Strongly recommended.