The latest smartphones let you email, take photos and surf the web, all at the touch of a screen.

Today’s smartphones are smarter than ever. Just about anything you can do with a computer you can do on a smartphone and it also works as an in-car sat-nav. Oh, and you can make phone calls, too.

The latest smartphones are designed around sharp displays and slick touchscreen interfaces. Some say Apple’s iPhone 4 leads the way but others believe Android-powered rivals such as the HTC Desire HD and Samsung Galaxy S stand toe-to-toe with Apple’s wondergadget. Apple rules iPhone software with an iron fist, ensuring stability, while Android gives phone makers and users much more flexibility.

Microsoft’s clunky Windows Mobile phones are popular in the business world but have fallen out of favour since the rise of the iPhone. Microsoft fought back with the release of Windows Phone 7, a consumer-friendly touchscreen overhaul available on new phones such as the HTC Mozart, Samsung Omnia 7 and LG Optimus 7Q.

The Optimus 7Q is interesting in that it is one of the few new smartphones to feature a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. The trade-off is that it’s thicker and heavier than other smartphones. Most smartphones only feature an on-screen keyboard for entering text, often assisted by predictive text and auto-correct. On-screen keyboards are fine for bashing out quick messages but if you’re looking to do a lot of typing, then you might want to consider a smartphone with a slide-out physical keyboard.

The BlackBerry started off as a glorified pager but has also undergone a consumer-friendly makeover in recent years. The BlackBerry Torch 9800 is the first device in Australia to run the new touch-friendly BlackBerry 6.0 software. The Torch doesn’t have a physical QWERTY keyboard on the front – rather, the keyboard slides down from beneath the screen or you can use the on-screen keyboard. Other BlackBerry models include the Curve and Bold, with full QWERTY keyboards on the front, and the slim-line Pearl, which has a stripped-down keyboard.

Nokia’s E series phones, such as the E72, cater to business users, while its high-end N series phones, such as the N97, are targeted at consumers. While the N series phones are packed with features, the clunky Symbian S60 interface falls far short of the user experience offered by competing smartphones. Nokia attempted to remedy this with the release of the N8 smartphone, with its software revamp known as Symbian^3.

The N8 also features one of the best phone-based cameras on the market and includes impressive features such as HDMI video output. Unfortunately, the N8 has been praised for its features but canned over the cumbersome Symbian^3 interface. Nokia has indicated it intends to reserve Symbian^3 for its camera phones and switch to the coming Linux-based MeeGo operating system for its high-end smartphones.

What to look for

A smartphone should be judged as much on user experience as features. The success of the iPhone is proof of this. Android and BlackBerry have followed down this path, with Microsoft and Nokia chasing behind.

Some competitors have caught up with the iPhone in terms of usability but Apple still leads the way when it comes to the ecosystem, offering a vast range of applications via the iTunes App Store. Also, a wide range of accessories is available, including car kits and docking stations with built-in speakers.

Google’s Android Market has matured to the point where you’ll find apps to meet most of your needs but it still trails behind Apple. Also, some Android Market apps won’t run on the tiny Android phones with screen resolutions below 480 x 320.

BlackBerry, Nokia and Windows Phone 7 also have fledgling app stores. Unfortunately, old Windows Mobile apps won’t run on the new Windows Phone 7 devices. Nokia’s N8, powered by Symbian^3, will run old Symbian S60 apps but apps aren’t transferable between Nokia phones, so if you’re upgrading, you’ll need to buy all your apps again.

Article from www.stuff.co.nz

By Daniel Ionescu, PCWorld
Oct 22, 2010 11:13 am

Windows Phone 7 Reviews Wiegh In: Too Little, Too LateThe first reviews of Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 7 are in. Smartphones running the new OS will soon join the millions of iPhone and Android phones, but do they stand a chance? Reviewers are sceptical about the immediate success of Windows Phone 7 devices, as they are missing too many features, but still see a chance for Microsoft’s shiny new user interface.

What’s missing in Windows Phone 7 are features that were not included in some early version of the iPhone, or Android, namely copy/paste, multitasking or Adobe Flash support. Apple and Google however, had a couple of years head start to work on these issues, most of which are now solved. So is Windows Phone 7 offering too little too late? Here’s what the first reviews are saying.

PCWorld’s Ginny Mies spent some time with Windows Phone 7 devices, and thinks Microsoft has done “an excellent job” with the user interface, performance and functionality. However, Mies notes, the absence of features like copy/paste, third-party multitasking and Flash support “are big disappointments and set the OS behind both the Android and iPhone OSs.”

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer introducing the new Windows Phone 7 devices. Credit: Microsoft

Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg is also not convinced about Windows Phone 7: “Overall, I can’t recommend Windows Phone 7 as being on a par with iPhone or Android-at least not yet.” He notes in his review he “couldn’t find a killer innovation that would be likely to make iPhone or Android users envious,” and sees “Windows Phone 7 as inferior to iPhone and Android for most average users. It’s simply not fully baked yet.”

ComputerWorld’s Dan Rosenbaum thinks Microsoft did the right choice “in choosing between the simplicity and elegance of the iPhone and the power and deep configurability of Android, Microsoft has plainly (and perhaps surprisingly) opted for the former.” He says the new OS is “genuinely innovative, but whether you should buy it on Day One depends largely on your appetite for new things.”

Reviewing for Engadget, Joshua Topolsky writes that Windows Phone 7 “is a good year behind market leaders right now, and though it’s clear the folks in Redmond are doing everything they can to get this platform up to snuff, it’s also clear that they’re not there yet.” Despite this, “Microsoft has done an outstanding job with lots of aspects of this UI, particularly when it comes to navigation and ease of use — but there are holes here as well,” Topolsky notes.

CNet’s Bonnie Cha debates that “It’s absolutely mind-boggling that Windows Phone 7 is missing some very fundamental features, like copy/paste, third-party multitasking, and universal search.” She concludes that “Microsoft’s long road to a comeback won’t be an easy one, but at least it’s now headed down the right path.”

Gizmodo’s Matt Buchanan is much more impressed however: “Windows Phone 7 is really great. A solid foundation, it’s elegant and joyful. True, a lot of that greatness is potential. But if anybody can follow through on their platform, it’s Microsoft.” He avoids recommending it over an iPhone or Android device right now: “In six months, after the ecosystem has filled out, the answer will be more clear.”

Article from PC World:  www.pcworld.com

Article from Stuff.co.nz: http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/gadgets/4173911/RIM-unveils-iPad-rival-PlayBook-tablet

Some questions and answers about foreign countries planning to ban the use of BlackBerry’s messaging and Web services:

Q: Which countries are involved?
A: India, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have threatened to shut down some BlackBerry services in their respective countries. Lebanon and Indonesia have said they’re considering similar moves, but have no firm plans.

Q: Which services would be affected?
A. In general, the countries are targeting BlackBerry’s corporate e-mail service and the proprietary chat service, known as BlackBerry Messenger Service. Phone calls, text messaging and BlackBerry’s consumer service, which is not encrypted, would not be affected.

Q: Why are they going after BlackBerry?
A: In short, the corporate version of the BlackBerry system is too hard to eavesdrop on. The e-mails and messages are encrypted while in transit, and even Research In Motion Ltd., the Canadian company that makes the BlackBerry, doesn’t have the keys to decrypt them. The system is designed to keep corporate and government secrets safe, but the countries are concerned that it could provide cover for illegal activity.

Q: What is encryption?
A: Encryption is the process of “locking” a message so that only the intended recipient can read it, using a digital “key.” It’s widely used on the Internet. Without it, online banking and shopping would not be possible, nor any other sensitive communications.

Q: What can RIM do?
A: Not much. It has built much of its reputation in the corporate world on rock-solid security. To give a government wholesale access to e-mails on BlackBerry’s corporate service, it would have to dismantle its whole system in the country and rebuild it in an insecure fashion. BlackBerrys would have to be modified to not encrypt messages. RIM’s customers would move to other systems that still offer secure e-mail.
There have been suggestions that some countries, such as the Emirates, would be partly mollified if RIM places a server within their borders, meaning e-mails between local BlackBerrys would not have to leave the country while in transit. That could assuage any fears that other countries can spy on locals’ e-mail, even though doing so would be difficult if not impossible. Still, having a server in their own country wouldn’t make it any easier for their law enforcement to read the e-mails.

Q: Aren’t BlackBerry e-mails accessible to governments anyway?
A: Possibly, but not in a fast, easy way. The e-mails exist in decrypted form on corporate servers, but those may be overseas, and it takes time to get access to them through a legal process with warrants. RIM stresses that governments can satisfy national security and law enforcement needs without compromising commercial security requirements.

Q: What options to do locals and travelers have if BlackBerry services are shut down?
A: If they need secure communications, there are plenty of options, pointing to the futility of banning BlackBerry services. Business travellers can use their laptops to get secure corporate e-mails, or they can carry other smart phones, such as iPhones and those running Windows Mobile. Others can use encrypted Gmail connections, or standalone e-mail encryption programs.

However, Indian Internet service providers say the government is set to go after Skype SA and Gmail operator Google Inc. next, for access to their encrypted services. That would amount to large-scale attempt to undermine secure communications on the Internet.

Article from Stuff.co.nz

Article from: www.stuff.co.nz

The cost of mobile calls looks set to drop after Communications Minister Steven Joyce accepted a Commerce Commission recommendation to regulate mobile termination rates.
The rates are the fees mobile operators charge each other to route calls and texts to their networks.
The Commerce Commission will set prices and other terms mobile carriers must offer. The process will take “several months”.
Mr Joyce said the move will lead to more competitive mobile pricing plans for consumers.
“Following today’s decision I look forward to New Zealand mobile users enjoying more competition between operators and better prices,” he said.
Telecommunications Commissioner Ross Patterson said “the telecommunications industry has emphasised the importance of providing certainty over mobile termination rates, and completing the standard terms development process promptly will provide this certainty.”
“As soon as the changes to the Act giving effect to the minister’s decision come into force, the commission expects to commence a standards terms development process for MTAS,” he said in a statement.
The decision completes the Commerce Commission’s u-turn on mobile termination after Mr Joyce questioned their original recommendation not to regulate after a Vodafone NZ pricing plan raised the hackles of some officials.
In June, the regulator revised its assessment saying the Vodafone plan “undermined” competition and termination rates needed regulation.
It had earlier recommended Joyce accept the phone companies’ offer to lower termination fees to 6 cents by 2014 in a split decision.

Article from stuff.co.nz – http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/3988925/Mobile-calls-set-to-get-cheaper

By TIM HUNTER – BusinessDay.co.nz
Last updated 10:15 16/06/2010

The long struggle of mobile phone newbie 2degrees was vindicated today with the Commerce Commission’s decision to recommend regulation of mobile termination rates.

The move reverses the commission’s previous recommendation in February to accept commitments from Vodafone and Telecom to gradually reduce termination rates – fees telcos charge each other to connect calls on their networks.

2degrees chief operating officer Bill McCabe said the decision was a “positive prelude to real improvements in mobile call rates.
“We won’t see change until this decision is accepted by the Minister,” he said.

Telecommunications commissioner Ross Patterson said: “The Commission considers that cost-based mobile termination rates, when compared to the offers in the undertakings, will better promote competition in the mobile market and will be in the best long-term interests of end-users.”

A key influence on the commission’s rethink was Vodafone’s introduction in April of a new price plan, Talk Add-on, just two months after it had recommended against regulation.

The offer, since withdrawn, was promoted by Vodafone as “just 6 cents a minute to Vodafone NZ mobiles and landlines in New Zealand” and led communications minister Stephen Joyce to ask the commission to review its decision.

The use of “on-net” pricing, in which telcos charge much less for customers calling within their own network, is seen as a major competition issue. Because MTRs are priced well above cost, telcos can offer substantial discounts for on-net pricing where no MTRs are payable.

New entrants to the market such as 2degrees have few on-net customer calls and struggle to compete with on-net promotions such as Talk Add-on.

Responding to the commission’s announcement today, Joyce invited submissions and said he would decide in “a timely manner” whether to regulate.

Telecom and Vodafone had offered a gradual cut in MTRs from about 18c a minute this year to 6c a minute in 2014. If Joyce decides to regulate, those rates would likely fall faster and lower.

Article from www.stuff.co.nz

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By NICKY PHILLIPS – Sydney Morning Herald
Last updated 12:29 22/05/2010

RELAX: Your cellphone isn’t hurting you – probably.

Most children would remember being told that sitting too close to the television would give them square eyes.

Despite this comical myth there have been genuine concerns from scientists and the public about the effect various devices can have on people’s health.

A common concern of the past decade has been the effect things such as mobile phones, microwave ovens, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth devices and baby monitors, which emit electromagnetic radiation, could have on the body.

Yet the executive director of the Australian Centre for Radio Frequency Bioeffects Research, Rodney Croft, said that despite decades of research, there was little evidence to suggest that technology that emits electromagnetic (EM) radiation had a negative affect on the body.

In a study reviewing the average level of electromagnetic radiation given off by various electronic devices, Croft found faulty microwaves emitted the most EM radiation.

But these emissions were only about 10 per cent of the daily limit that was considered safe by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, a government organisation which sets the standards on EM radiation, he said.

”All of these technologies used EM radiation and if there was a notable health impact of one device, it would be relevant to all of them,” he said.

An international study which assessed the link between mobile phone use and brain cancer released this week found that overall, mobile phone users had no increased risk of two of the most common types of brain cancer over non users.

Bernard Stewart, the scientific adviser to Cancer Council Australia, said the results of the decade-long Interphone study were consistent with previous research.

He added that the study found that in patients with glioma – the most common and deadly form of brain cancer – the tumour was likely to be on the same side of the head as the mobile phone was used. ”While this does not prove a link between mobile phones and cancer, it does merit further research.”

This article was found on www.stuff.co.nz

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See what our clients have to say at our Client Comments page

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