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

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

By RICHARD BAUM – Reuters

Do you check your BlackBerry during work meetings? Do you do it furtively under the table, while your colleagues are distracted by a presentation?

Do you leave it in front of you so you can give it the occasional peck whenever it buzzes? Or are you bold enough in the board room to hold it up while you type your replies, a practice that’s provoked comedian Jerry Seinfeld to respond, “Can I just pick up a magazine and read it in front of your face while you’re talking to me?”

Unless you work in a company that bans BlackBerry use in meetings, you’ve seen all these behaviours. Most likely, you’ve been that person. But is it bad etiquette? Don’t the pressures of time and overflowing inboxes make this a necessary evil of the 21st century workplace?

Other journalists who have taken time out from deleting email to investigate this burning issue have concluded that polite society abhors the employee whose eyes wander from the PowerPoint presentation to the new email alert.

But as someone who struggles to ignore the siren buzz of the BlackBerry, I demand leave to appeal this collective ruling by the media’s finest minds. After all, every new technology that transforms communications encounters resistance from the old guard.

Surely the cool kids accept that it is possible to concentrate on a meeting and accept email requests for other meetings at the same time?

It didn’t take much Googling to find some research that confirmed my hunch: while 68 percent of the baby-boom generation born before 1964 think that the use of smartphones during meetings is distracting, just 49 percent of the under-30s see a problem.

As this 2008 LexisNexis survey helpfully points out, that’s less than half. If the person running your meeting is a Generation Y-er, there’s a better than even chance that she won’t mind you checking your email.

Still, most of us have bosses who are too old to skateboard to work. What does Generation X think of BlackBerry peckers? I asked John Freeman, a member of that demographic and the author of The Tyranny of Email:

“You never have everyone’s full attention in a meeting any longer, and I think that’s why meetings are becoming so ineffective,” he wrote in a non-tyrannical email.

“Whether it’s the lot who try to thumb under the table, or those who brazenly do it in the open, the message, from a significant group of those gathered, is – I have other things to do. Which totally defeats the purpose of meeting: you want to create a sense of group purpose. And on top of that it’s rude.”

But John, I can multitask. It may look like I’m updating my Facebook status under the table, but a co-worker has sent me an urgent question and I can answer that and concentrate on your presentation at the same time. Surely I can get an expert on multitasking to back me up here.

I called Clifford Nass, a professor of communication at Stanford University in California. Nass was part of a group that researched the concentration skills of students who frequently multitasked while consuming media. Did he find that those of us who listen and email at the same time are an elite brigade of hyper-efficient workers? Not exactly.

“The more you multitask, the worse you become at it,” he said. According to the Stanford team’s research, there’s a cost to memory and attention when you switch from one task to another. And that cost increases for people who multitask heavily.

So the science suggests that the appearance of not paying attention when you check your email in a meeting mirrors the reality: however much you think you’re paying attention to two things at once, you’re not.

And yet the BlackBerry sits there in my pocket, calling to me throughout the meeting: Check me! Check me! What can I do?

“You have to become more cognisant that what you’re doing is likely to be offensive to others,” said Robert Gordon, who coaches adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Gordon, who is based in Toronto, says the strategy for executives struggling with ADHD is to separate them from their distractions. So in the case of a BlackBerry, that means shutting it off.

I make a final plea. Rob, there are parts of many meetings that aren’t relevant to me. What if I check my email then?

“Then the onus falls on the person calling the meeting to be more focused on the agenda,” he said.

So there’s the answer. It’s not my fault I’m rudely checking my BlackBerry. It’s your fault for not making the meeting more interesting. And that’s just plain bad etiquette.

This article found on www.stuff.co.nz

By ASHER MOSES – SMH Last updated 05:00 20/03/2010

The BlackBerry Storm 2 is Research in Motion’s second attempt at devising an iPhone-killer, but in rushing to join the touchscreen phone bandwagon the company has forgotten what made BlackBerry handsets so popular in the first place.

For consumers, the Storm 2 will struggle to keep up with the iPhone and the soon-to-be-launched array of more advanced multi-touch devices such as the HTC Desire, Samsung Wave and Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X10.

And business users accustomed to the QWERTY keyboards and long battery life of previous BlackBerry models may struggle to adapt to this new touchscreen model.

But before I begin, I must admit that I have been a CrackBerry addict since long before they had built-in cameras, apps, MP3 players and other features to appeal to the consumer market.

As those around me began upgrading to whiz-bang new touchscreen phones like the iPhone, HTC HD2 and Android devices, I resisted the urge to make the switch.

The large touchscreens (a whopping 4.3-inches in the case of the HD2) and multitude of apps had nothing on the BlackBerry in the two key areas that matter most to me: the messaging features with physical QWERTY keyboard and the battery life.

The hardware QWERTY keyboard on the Bold 9700 is so impressive that I have on occasion filed stories from it, instead of taking my laptop, while I’m often able to get around 2-3 days out of the battery in moderate use.

With the new Storm 2, both of those key advantages have vanished. People who are constantly firing off emails using the device (read: most BlackBerry users) will find typing on the touchscreen software keyboard slower and more error-prone than on BlackBerry handsets with hardware keyboards. But, of course, typing speed and accuracy improves with practice.

And on the battery side, you’ll need to be charging the device every evening, just like with the iPhone. After relatively heavy voice and email use during a work day, followed by an evening engagement, my Storm 2 review device powered down due to low battery before I got home.

Granted, the Storm 2 is a major improvement over the original Storm. It’s sleeker (though still on the chunky side at 160 grams), nowhere near as buggy and offers a new touchscreen interface that is far easier to use. But I was still left with the feeling that the menu system and general interface was designed for the original, keyboard-driven BlackBerry models, with touch support just tacked on over the top.

Unlike the first Storm, the Storm 2 has an electronic touchscreen (3.2-inch) rather than a mechanical one, however, pressing on the screen to type letters or open applications still gives a tactile “click”.

You feel the screen pushing in when pressed (except when the phone is locked or switched off), which will initially feel foreign to those who are used to just tapping on the surface of the iPhone and similar devices. But, thankfully, the entire screen doesn’t wobble, which was the core downfall of the first Storm.

Basic multi-touch on the keyboard and in third-party apps is supported. For instance, users can push shift while simultaneously pressing a letter to capitalise it, or use two fingers to easily select blocks of text for copy and pasting. But iPhone and Android-like gestures, such as pinching to zoom images and web pages, are not available.

The web browsing experience on the large touchscreen is far better (and faster) than previous BlackBerry models but the lack of support for multitouch gestures and Adobe Flash puts it at a disadvantage compared to some competitors. The browser also generally doesn’t feel as though it has been optimised for touch, and I found myself often hitting the wrong links on crowded web pages.

The other key differences between the first and second iterations of the Storm is that the latter has built-in WiFi and a less clunky on-screen keyboard. A full touchscreen QWERTY keyboard is offered and the phone automatically shifts into landscape mode when turned on its side, offering much larger keys than when in vertical mode.

But business users will no doubt prefer a hardware keyboard and I was a little frustrated when the phone on several occasions refused to flip into landscape mode. Furthermore, even in the landscape QWERTY keyboard, only one punctuation mark, a period, is offered, and users have to tap into a separate menu to get commas, @ or question marks.

The row of buttons along the bottom of the device – call, end, back and menu – are temperamental and occasionally don’t respond.

On the plus side, the BlackBerry has finally joined the app revolution, and users can browse App World to choose from a selection of around 5000 apps, ranging from Facebook to games to office productivity tools. But only free apps are available to Australians via App World, with RIM unable to say when paid apps will be offered.

Furthermore, the number of available apps pales in comparison to the 150,000 on the iPhone and the 30,000 on the Android Market. Google’s Android mobile platform is emerging as a key player and the number of apps has doubled in the last three months.

But unlike the iPhone, the Storm 2 is capable of true multi-tasking, with users able to hold down the menu key to switch between several open applications.

The Storm 2 includes a respectable 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus, a flash and video recording – far better than the iPhone’s camera. It also comes with built-in GPS and 2GB of internal memory which can be expanded to up to 32GB using the microSD memory card slot.

The push-email and security features on the BlackBerry are unparalleled but the main users of such features, mobile workers, will struggle with the Storm 2’s touchscreen.

Meanwhile, consumers who aren’t as reliant on mobile email are probably better off checking out the iPhone or the forthcoming range of new Android handsets, particularly the HTC Desire, which launches next month.

The Storm 2 isn’t a bad phone by any stretch but I can’t help but come away with the feeling that in rushing to join the touchscreen revolution, RIM has ended up with a device that is a jack of all trades but master of none.

* The BlackBerry Storm 2 is available in New Zealand through parallel importers.

Article courtesy of Stuff.co.nz

http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/gadgets/3476817/Review-BlackBerry-Storm-2

Article courtesy of stuff.co.nz – http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/gadgets/3348912/Top-10-mobiles-for-2010

OPINION: Judging by the announcements at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week, 2010 is going to be the year of the Android. Google’s mobile platform was everywhere, with most major phone makers announcing new Android phones and a range of Android tablet devices and netbooks on diplay.

Manufacturers clearly value the open-source nature of Android, which they can customise to their hearts’ content. But Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 is definitely a contender and it will be interesting to see what devices the phone makers can come up with by the end of the year.

Here are my top 10 mobile announcements and phones from the show:

Windows Phone 7 – There’s a lot riding on Microsoft’s next mobile operating system. For the last 18 months Windows Mobile has lagged newer rivals like the iPhone, BlackBerry and Android. Its market share has dropped.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was dry and lacked major new announcements, so I was skeptical about whether Microsoft could pull it off in Barcelona.

The jury is still out as we wait until Christmas to see some final handsets but from the early Windows Phone 7 prototypes at MWC, it’s clear Microsoft has wiped the slate clean and started fresh with a new platform and a revamped, innovative user interface.

The demo version I saw was an early version and slightly buggy but i’m impressed with the tight integration with social networking sites and online email and calendar sites. The inclusion of Xbox Live for multiplayer gaming and a Zune music player puts it squarely in iPhone territory.

But Microsoft’s insistence on manufacturers keeping its tile-based UI may limit phone makers like HTC, which has done wonders to dolly up Windows Mobile 6.5 with its Sense interface.

And the inability to upgrade existing Windows Mobile phones to Windows Phone 7 may frustrate those who recently shelled out for a 6.5 device.

Samsung Wave – Samsung is going out on a limb by introducing a completely new phone platform, banking on developers supporting it with enough interesting and useful apps to compete with iPhone and the open-source Android platform from Google.

It’s risky. But the 3.3-inch Super AMOLED touch-screen display is gorgeous and Samsung will have complete control of both the hardware and software, which has definitely been beneficial for Apple with the iPhone.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini pro – Looking at this handset in a picture is deceiving. While other smartphone makers are moving to bigger screens, like the HTC HD2’s giant 4.3-inch display, this one is tiny at 2.6-inch.The device measures just 90×52x17mm.

But big phones aren’t for everyone and Sony Ericsson makes it work with a good touchscreen user interface and the Timescape app, which puts friends’ Facebook posts, Tweets, messages and calls into a single stream. Other apps can be downloaded from the Android market.

HTC Legend – Most phones have a front and back that clip together but the Legend’s casing is machined out of a single block of aluminium. As soon as I saw it I wanted one. The Legend is an Android phone running HTC’s highly customised, intuitive Sense user interface.

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HTC Desire – It’s not as pretty as the Legend but while the Legend has just a 600MHz processor, the Desire offers a much gruntier 1GHz chip. It runs the latest version of Android, 2.1, and features a 3.7-inch screen – the closest you’ll get to the Google Nexus One, which hasn’t yet been launched in Australia. The Desire will be available in Australia from Telstra in April.

HTC HD mini – Think of this one as a smaller version of the giant HD2. Like its sibling, the HD mini runs Windows Mobile 6.5 and includes the unique ability to launch a personal WiFi hotspot, which users can connect to on a laptop to browse the web over their mobile’s 3G network from anywhere.

A very cool feature that I would love to see replicated by other manufacturers.

Samsung Beam – It doesn’t look like this phone will come to Australia any time soon but it’s worth a mention because it’s one of the first handsets to include a built-in projector for viewing content stored on the phone on any wall.

Samsung definitely gets points for innovation but the market for this one may be somewhat limited and the projector is only really effective in darker rooms. The battery is drained in about three hours with the projector on.

Asus-Garmin Nuvifone A50 – This is the fruit of a partnership between electronics maker Asus and GPS navigation specialist Garmin, so it’s designed to replace the GPS device in your car and double as your primary mobile.

It runs the Android operating system but the interface has been completely redesigned to the point that it barely resembles other Android phones.

Sony Ericsson Vivaz – The Vivaz has a QWERTY keyboard and 3.2-inch touchscreen but, unlike most phones, is also capable of shooting high-definition 720p video and includes an 8-megapixel camera.

Motorola Milestone – Motorola has been extremely quiet in Australia over the last few years but i’m hoping it comes to market with the Milestone, which is similar to the Droid that Motorola launched in the US.

It runs Android 2.0 and has iPhone-like multitouch support, with users able to pinch the 3.7-inch screen to zoom on web pages, maps and photos. The phones comes with Motorola’s turn-by-turn GPS navigation software, MOTONAV, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a 5-megapixel camera.

Asher Moses travelled to Barcelona as a guest of Samsung