BlackBerry Z10 review

BlackBerry Z10

Introduction

It’s been a long time coming but BlackBerry (formally RIM) has finally unveiled its latest phones, the BlackBerry Z10 and the keyboard-touting BlackBerry Q10. The latter won’t be arriving for a little while yet but we’ve spent a couple of days with the Z10 to find out what it’s all about.

Both these new handsets run the brand new BlackBerry 10 operating system, which BlackBerry hopes  will rival Android, iOS and Windows Phone, and in doing so give the company a truly independent foothold on the smartphone market, as opposed to going the Samsung/HTC/Nokia route and using other manufacturer’s software.

It’s a risky move as the market is already somewhat saturated with interface choice so many punters would rather not have their choices widened. Moreover, these days phones are very much more defined by their hardware features than what software they run – after all, we all expect these interfaces to just work – so will BlackBerry’s tactic succeed?

We’ll be taking an in-depth look at every nook and cranny of the new BlackBerry 10 software in a later feature but for now it’s the overall experience of the Z10 we’re going to focus on.

Already available to buy here in the UK already, it’s available on all the major networks on both contract and pay as you go, and it’s even on EE’s 4G network. In fact, it will support all future 4G networks too. It doesn’t come cheap though. You can pick the Z10 up for around £480 on PAYG or for free from £36pm. That’s about £100 more than a Samsung Galaxy S3 on PAYG and about £5pm more.

Blackberry Z10 – Design and Features

Straight out the box, first impressions of the Z10 are rather good. Sure, it’s not going to win any design awards but its staid, utilitarian styling feels smart, functional and business like – just as you’d want from Blackberry. That said, it does lack a certain something to really make it feel premium. The main culprit is the back which is plastic and has a dimpled finish. It looks okay but there’s no flare.

Perhaps more important than style is the feel of the phone.  With the BlackBerry Z10, BlackBerry hasn’t followed the current trend for enormous phones with enormous screens. Instead its latest handset sports a 4.2in display which means the whole handset is a pretty comfortable size. By all means, it’s larger than an iPhone 5 but all its other headline competitors are noticeably larger still.

That said this isn’t the most efficient phone when it comes to space around the screen. With large top and bottom bezels the whole phone’s dimensions are 130 x 65.6 x 9mm, which puts it at the same height as the 4.5in screen touting Nokia Lumia 920. Nonetheless, 9mm is reasonably impressive as slenderness goes and, at 137.5g, it’s by no means a chunky monkey in the weight department. Plus, we quite like the look of the symmetrical bezels – it’s very iPhone like – and the overall balance of the phone is good.

Other points work in this phones favour when it comes to handling comfort. That dimpled back has a soft-touch plastic finish that feels nice and… well, soft and provides a good amount of grip too. And yet, despite this grippy surface, the phone remains easy to slide in and out of a pocket – a gripe we sometimes have with phones finished in this way.

Even more important than the finish of the back is that it can be removed. Using the notch, which doubles as the speaker output, on the bottom edge of the phone, it’s easy to get a fingernail under the cover and prize it off. Just as with the Samsung Galaxy S3, the back is simply a slim bit of flexible plastic held in place by a few clips so it’s easy to remove and replace. In fact, in some cases we’ve heard it’s a little too easy to remove as on some handsets the bottom edge in particular has started to come loose of its own accord. We’re yet to notice any issues but will keep an eye on this over the coming weeks.

BlackBerry Z10 - Features continued

As you’d hope, with the back off you can access the battery (to easily replace a dead one with a charged one) and microSIM slot but crucially there’s a microSD slot too so you can expand the phone’s storage. There’s 16GB built-in and up to 32GB more can be added, with a possibility of up to 64GB cards being supported in the future.

Also, on the inside of the back cover is the NFC aerial which connects to the phone through a couple of gold contacts. This will allow the phone to be used for things such as contactless payments, reading NFC tags on posters and quick syncing with Bluetooth or other wireless accessories.

Looking round the sides of the Z10, on the left it’s something of a surprise to see two rather similar looking sockets. One is the familiar microUSB for charging and connecting to a computer while the other is a microHDMI port. These were popular a year or two ago as a means of easily connecting your phone to a TV or computer monitor, for watching video, flicking through pictures, or even showing a presentation on a big screen, but nowadays most phones use an MHL port. MHL uses the same connector as microUSB but it also allows output of video with an appropriate adapter. Neither way is necessarily better but MHL means there’s one less hole in the side of your phone.

Meanwhile, on the right edge are a trio of buttons that should be familiar to any regular BlackBerry users. The top and bottom ones are the volume buttons while the central one performs a number of functions; tap it and it will play/pause music or holding it down will kick start the voice command voice-controlled assistant.

Up top is the power/screen lock button alongside the headphone jack and the second microphone which is used for noise cancelling. On phones likes this which have no other buttons underneath the screen, we normally prefer power/screen lock buttons to be on the side of the phone so you only need one hand to unlock it. But BlackBerry has got round this by allowing the phone to be unlocked by performing an upward swipe gesture from the bottom edge of the screen. This works surprisingly well as it’s both responsive yet not easily activated by accident, so there’s no danger of unlocking the phone from inside your pocket.

BlackBerry Z10 - Screen

Looking more closely at that screen, it’s an LCD model with a decent resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels, which gives it an iPhone 5 rivalling 356 pixels per inch (ppi). This sharpness is combined with strong, realistic colours, excellent viewing angles and that effect that modern screens have of appearing like the image is on the surface of the glass, not below it.

It’s not quite flawless, though.  For some reason maximum brightness is rather low. In fact the overall brightness range is quite limited. Comparing to an iPhone 5, we found that the minimum brightness on the Z10 was only equivalent to about 1/5th brightness on the iPhone 5 (i.e. the iPhone 5 could go much darker) meanwhile full brightness on the Z10 was equivalent to about 4/5ths brightness on the iPhone 5.

There’s an argument for saying that the BlackBerry presents a more sensible everyday range of brightness settings but equally there are some occasions where it’s genuinely useful to drop brightness to almost nothing to save battery or have it super bright when in bright daylight conditions.

Comparing to something like the AMOLED screen of the Samsung Galaxy S3, the Z10 also lacks a little bit of the punchiness of that screen but we actually prefer the more ‘natural’ looking colours of the Z10.

Read More

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Review

Undeniably one of the surprise tech stories of 2011, the Samsung Galaxy Note sold in bucket loads proving that the niche product actually had mass appeal.

Having already served up the improved S-Pen technology with the bigger screen surroundings of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 ‘phablet’ brings more inches, power and multi-tasking prowess to the party with a device that fits snug in the pocket.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2: Build

Taking clear design cues from the Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone, think of the Note 2 as a kind of super-sized version of the flagship handset, swapping straight lines for sleeker curves and a white paint job "inspired by ‘nature", so the marketing blurb tells us.
At 9.4mm thick, it’s slimmer than the original Note (9.65mm) but not as slender as the Samsung Galaxy S3 (8.6mm), but at 182.5g heavier than the original Galaxy Note (178g).

In terms of the key physical features, you’ll find the rounder home button at the bottom of the screen flanked by two capacitive buttons. The power button is situated on the right edge of the device with the volume rocker on the opposite side while the charging micro HDMI cable port sits at the bottom of the handset.


The 3.5mm headphone jack sits at the top and hiding at the bottom right hand corner is the new, more accurate S-Pen. At the back sits the 8-Megapixel camera with flash alongside it and the loud speaker at the other end.

Behind the replaceable cover you’ll find the microSD card slot which can expand storage to 64GB and the microSIM slot which will give you phone functionality.

Putting this to your ear to make a call is still likely to draw strange looks, but the more curved design actually makes it feel not so abnormally large in the hand. It does seem more suited to a handbag, manbag or inside jacket pocket than a pair of jeans though.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2: Features

Android 2.3 Gingerbread out of the box, the first Galaxy Note is now Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich friendly but the Note 2 actually has Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update out of the box.
Samsung’s TouchWiz UI is overlaid on top bringing seven homescreens instead of the Android standard of five, its own web browser, app drawer and branded apps like S-Suggest and S-Planner scattered all over the place.
You can also reap the benefits of new Jelly Bean features including Google Now and expect a speedier UI performance and reduced lag thanks to Project Butter.

Following on from the Note 10.1 the advanced smart pen is based around the same tech found in the Wacom digitizer which means you can expect improved pressure sensitivity while you are being creative.
When you pull the S-Pen out from its compartment, it will instantly launch a selection of optimized apps and it is likely that S-Note will be your first port of call.

Previously just a place to doodle and take notes, the application feels more useful in its latest guise adding the ability to add videos and pictures to documents, support handwriting recognition and Wolfram Alpha integration for working out formulas.
Other S-Pen apps include S Planner (calendar) and integration with the email client, but it is likely that S-Note is where you’ll appreciate how handy it is as a brainstorming tool.

Multi-tasking is another feather in the Note 2’s impressive bow for those who are so busy they need to have two applications running at once on the same screen that can interact with each other.
We got to play with various features including Air View which let’s you hover over functions to preview but the Multi Window mode was only available as a software update after our playtime with the Note 2. Stay tuned for details on that.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2: Camera

In the camera department, there’s a respectable 8-Megapixel rear-facing snapper with auto focus that can be adjusted on the screen and an LED Flash.
Interestingly, the front-facing camera which is capable of HD recording is now just 1.9-Megapixels down slightly from the 2-Megapixel one on the original Note. You can expect all picture editing modes and features seen on the S3 including Face Detection and Best Photo to be on board as well.

The flash is pretty bright on first use as unsuspecting pictorial targets found out but does manage to pick out colours impressively. Things can get a little blurry the more you zoom in, but it is up there with some of the best smartphone snappers on the market.

The f/2.6 aperture aids low lit photography and while it is not quite as impressive as the f/2.4 aperture found on the iPhone 5, it still does an admirable job of picking out objects in the night. It’s perhaps worth noting the HDR mode which aims to pick out more detail in images is also included but we didn’t notice a substantial difference from pictures taken in normal camera mode.

At a maximum 1080p for video recording, the Note 2 certainly fares better than the Note 10.1 in this department and is more on par with the shooting performance of the S3 with the nice addition of being able to take pictures while filming.

On the connectivity front, it is much of the same with new additions including Bluetooth 4.0 up from Bluetooth 3.0 and Samsung’s take on NFC, S Beam which means you can ‘bump’ phones with another S-Beam packing handset to transfer files like music and videos. However it wasn’t quite as easy as it sounds when we tried it out.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2: Screen

The screen has got bigger, 5.5-inches bigger (up from 5.3-inches) to be precise but it’s still HD Super AMOLED quality which means you can expect deep blacks and brilliantly vivid colours on a 16:9 ratio display making it ideal for watching movies.
The resolution may have dropped from 1,280 x 800 to 1,280 x 720 and spread across a bigger screen, but it still delivers excellent levels of clarity particularly for video. With a screen that big, it’s good to have some added protection and with Corning Gorilla Glass 2 should help protect against everyday bumps and bruises.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2: Performance

Swapping a dualcore processor for more power-hungry 1.6GHz quadcore innards plus 2GB of RAM, the Galaxy Note 2 is significantly zippier than its predecessor which makes it ideal for the new multitasking features and is lightning quick loading up web pages and flicking through home screens.
With 4G capability, things can only get speedier as well, so hopefully it will be added to the list of 4G ready smartphones.

In terms of call quality, the Note 2 put in a decent performance and thanks to the noise cancelling tech and dual mics on board, delivers the kind of clarity to ensure everything comes through loud and clear on both ends of the phone.

With the extra screen estate and array of new power-sapping features, it’s perhaps no surprise that the Note 2 hosts a bigger 3,100mAh battery (up from 2,500mAh) to cope with the extra demand.
We did have some issues with regards to the battery life of the Galaxy Note, so thankfully that has been improved dramatically and we found running applications like Twitter and Facebook throughout the day, browsing watching HD video the Note 2 managed a healthy 12 hours before reaching critical levels.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2: Verdict

There’s not really many places you can fault the Samsung Galaxy Note 2. It’s made a significant improvement in most departments and does more with the design to hide some of its hulking size. We loved the S3-inspired design, the improved S-Pen integration and overall speedier performance thanks to the quadcore processor and addition of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

It really does come down to the issue of size. It’s a great performing smartphone but you are going to have to accept looking a bit silly putting this against your ear in public. We still feel that the S-Pen technology is more suited and beneficial to a larger device like the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet, but if you're sold on the super-powered stylus and can deal with the inevitable stares, this is a great smartphone.

Read More

Samsung Galaxy Note II LTE Titanium - Review

Why choose the Samsung Galaxy Note II LTE Titanium?

• Ready for superfast 4GEE

  The Samsung Galaxy Note II LTE is 4G ready. When it's paired with 4G coverage and a 4GEE plan, it'll mean you can share photos and videos on Facebook and YouTube super fast. Things like multiplayer gaming and streaming films or TV on the go will all become possible. So there'll be no stopping you.

  Perfect viewing

  With an incredible 5.5" touchscreen and great sharpness and clarity, the Samsung Galaxy Note II LTE is perfect for watching films and gaming on the go. The screen is also great for setting up photos with the 8 megapixel camera or video-chatting with the 1.9 megapixel front camera. Plus, despite the huge screen, it's still slim enough to fit comfortably in your hand and neatly in your pocket.

  Easy multitasking

  True multitasking is a reality with the Samsung Galaxy Note II LTE, thanks to a quad-core processor and some super smart features. Air View lets you browse through photos without opening up folders, while Popup Note means you can scribble down directions or phone numbers with your S Pen while you're on a call. 

Specifications :

Imaging

• 8.0 Megapixels Camera
• Camera flash
• Video camera
• front camera

Connectivity

• 3G
• Bluetooth
• GPRS
• Built-in GPS (Software required for Sat Nav use)
• Mobile broadband
• Internet on your phone
• NFC
• Sat Nav software included
• Sync with PC
• WiFi
• 4G

Messaging

• Instant Email
• Personal email
• Picture messaging (MMS)
• Predictive text
• Text messaging

 Entertainment

• Audio player
• MP3 player
• Video player

Miscellaneous

• Accelerometer
• Alarm clock
• Calendar
• Handsfree included
• Java enabled
• Personal organiser
• Vibrating alert
• Video calling
• Voice activated dialling

Power

• Talk time (up to): 16 hr
• Standby time (up to): 890 hr
• Charge time (up to): 3 hr

Read More

Dual Sim Android Phones - Review

Dual SIM phones have been around for quite some time. After their initial introduction, many phone manufacturers adopted this emerging design. Currently all phone manufacturers have their own unique Dual SIM models available in the market at different costs. Samsung, a top electronic gadgets manufacturer was never left behind explaining the entry of Samsung Dual SIM phones into the market.

Such phones are advantageous to different types of users. Business people find it useful as they can have a line for business and another for friends and family. Users can also enjoy the exciting offers of more than one network companies on the same phone.

Below are some of the best Samsung Dual SIM phones currently available in the market together with their unique features.

First we have the Samsung Galaxy S Duos. This model shares the same design with the famous Samsung Galaxy S III. However, it has less capable internal features compared to the latter. From a physical perceptive its screen is smaller, actually 4 inches with a 480 x800 Pixels resolution. Other exceptional features of this dual SIM phone include the 512 MB RAM and 4 gigabits of internal storage memory. The phone is also able to support and run on the Android 4.0 Ice Cream sandwich Platform.

Secondly we have the Samsung Galaxy Y Pro DUOS. This model is a dual-SIM version of the original model which features a QWERTY keyboard. The major difference is that it has a front facing camera. Other unique features of this model include the 832MHZ processor, a microSD card slot, a 3.2 megapixel camera at the back, a 2.6 inch QVGA display, HSPDA, GPS and Wi-Fi. The Model runs on the Android 2.3 Gingerbread platform.

Thirdly, we have the Samsung Galaxy Y DUOS. Unlike the previous model this one does not feature the QWERTY Keyboard. This model is actually the Dual SIM version of the original Galaxy Y. It features a larger display, 3.14 inches, and a 3MP camera. All its other features are common with most Android phones including the FM Radio, microSD card slot, GPS, Wi-Fi among others.

Another wonderful Samsung Dual Phone is the Samsung GALAXY Ace DUOS. This model features a larger display, approximately 3.5 inches. Other excellent features of this model include the 832MHZ processor, a 3 GB user memory, a microSD slot that supports up to 32 GB memory card, 512 MB RAM and a 5MP camera. This model runs on the Android 2.3 Gingerbread platform.

Finally we have the Samsung B5702 DUOS. This model features a 2.4 inch display with 240×320 pixels of resolution. It is able to support an 8 GB microSD card. Other important features include the GPRS, GSM, Bluetooth, FM radio among others. It uses a Standard Li-on Battery with a standby time of approximately 122 hours.

Other excellent Samsung Dual phones that have not been mentioned above include; Samsung Galaxy Pocket Duos S5302, Samsung Galaxy Grand I9082, Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos GSM, Samsung Duos C3312, Samsung E1207, Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos, Samsung Guru E1282, and the Samsung E2252, Samsung C3322.

Read More

Sony Xperia V review

Introduction

It won't be long before those full-HD five-inchers start stealing the show and the older Xperia generation should be preparing for life in their shadow. It doesn't mean though that the Xperia V cannot hope for a good time.
We don't see why a phone with dual-core Krait and an LTE connectivity shouldn't enjoy life in the midrange. OK, the upper midrange - but the Xperia V isn't easily caught off guard. Of course, people are not as easily impressed today as, say, a year ago. Yet, a select few phones are willing to offer 1080p videos and 13MP stills, while putting an HD touchscreen at your fingertips.

Sony Xperia V water-resistant phone

And there's more to the Xperia V than that. It's more durable than your average smartphone without looking like an army bot. You should've figured it by now, what we have here is a dust and water-resistant Xperia T with 4G connectivity and a tad smaller screen. Oh, well they needed to make sure the wetsuit would still fit the user.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM /GPRS/EDGE support
• 3G with 42.2 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• LTE Cat3 DL 100 Mbps UL 50 Mbps
• 4.3" 16M-color capacitive LED-backlit Reality LCD touchscreen of 720p resolution (720 x 1280 pixels) with Sony Mobile BRAVIA engine 2; Scratch-resistant glass
• Android OS v4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean coming up
• IP57 certified for dust and water resistance, up to 1 meter immersion for 30 minutes
• Dual-core 1.5 GHz Krait CPU, 1 GB RAM, Adreno 225 GPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8960 chipset
• 13 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and geotagging, Superior Auto mode
• 1080p video recording @ 30fps with continuous autofocus and stereo sound
• VGA front-facing camera
• Wi-Fi a/b/g/n with DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct and hotspot
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
• 8GB of built-in storage, microSD card slot
• microUSB port with MHL and USB-host support
• Stereo Bluetooth v4.0
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• Voice dialing
• Deep Facebook integration
• PlayStation Certified, access to the PS Store
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• NFC connectivity

Main disadvantages

• No JellyBean at launch
• Relatively modest battery capacity
• Video recording fails to impress
• No hardware shutter key
• Comes across as overpriced

The one thing that doesn't help Sony look particularly good is the tardy arrival of the latest software. The Xperia V is still to get Jelly Bean - and it will most likely be JB 4.1. There have been reports of Sony pushing back the Xperia V's launch on certain markets to put the latest software in. That makes sense but is perhaps part of the reason for the limited supply, that's been keeping prices quite high.
A bit of a vicious circle there, not too good for Sony, but hopefully not for long. Hopefully, the Xperia V should be getting the Jelly Bean treatment as early as February.

The Sony Xperia V at HQ
Elsewhere, the Sony Xperia V makes a pretty strong case for itself. The HD display is looking good, the camera on the back is ready to serve 13MP stills, there's LTE and the dual-core Krait is humming along. And the Xperia V is ready to take calls at the poolside or in the shower.
Sounds like an exciting package, and good-looking too.

more details continue as shortly..keep on touch with me

Read More

Sony Xperia Z Video Review & Technical Specifications

Sony Xperia Z Video Review :

 

Specifications :

Weight :

• 146 grams
• 5.15 oz

Dimensions

• 139 x 71 x 7.9 mm
• 5.47 x 2.79 x 0.31 inches

Battery

• Talk time (up to): Up to 11 hours [1]
• Standby time (up to): Up to 550 hours [1]

Display

• 5.0 inches TFT
• 16 million colours, 1920 x 1080 pixels

On the inside

• Google Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
• 1.5 GHz Qualcomm APQ8064+MDM9215M Quad Core

Camera

• 13.1-megapixel camera with Auto focus
• 2 MP, Exmor R, front facing camera (1080p)

Durability

• IPX5/7 (Water-resistant) & IP5X (Dust-proof) [2]

Read More

Sony Xperia Z -Experience the best of Sony in a HD smartphone

Xperia Z -Front and Back Side view

Xperia Z for up to half an hour and it won’t be damaged; taking it out in a sandstorm and the dust won’t get in. The design may be minimalist chic but this is a phone that realises even careful consumers can sometimes be rough. It’s the first I’ve encountered that’s both this rugged and this stylish.

Nonetheless, at its heart the Xperia Z is just another Android phone – standing out against the excellent Samsung Galaxy SIII, LG’s Nexus 4, made in conjunction with Google itself, and HTC’s One X+ is a challenge.

It’s one that in the brief time I’ve spent with the Xperia Z, Sony seems more than ready to take on. Its 5” screen is as good if not better than any currently on the market elsewhere, its camera is a 13MP beast that takes superb images in low light and normal conditions. But with its big display and its rectangular shape, the Xperia Z feels like a particularly big device. If you're used to the Apple iPhone, even in its latest incarnation, the difference is stark.

Perhaps most significant, however, is Sony’s bid to get users to engage with its content: recommending what you should watch from its vast library and allowing it to work as a remote control for your TV. If Sony can convince viewers, then the Xperia Z is a lot more than just a phone.

Super clear, super black

The OptiContras panel brings you clearer images when on and a seamless black look when off.

Stunning photos and videos in any light

Our smartphone cameras are built with the same expertise and components as leading Sony cameras, to bring you ultra-sharp photos and videos, wherever and whenever.

HDR video camera

Xperia Z has the world’s first Exmor RS mobile with HDR for video, so you can take beautiful stills and movies even against strong light.

13-megapixel camera

The 13 megapixel fast-capture camera and the next-generation Sony Exmor RS for mobile sensor makes Xperia Z the Android mobile that delivers crystal clear photos wherever, whenever.

Great in all light conditions

With Exmor RS for mobile and HDR, Xperia Z takes sharp photos and videos both in lowlight and strongly backlit conditions. The lowlight sensors on front and back make it the first dual Exmor R for mobile camera.

Superior Auto

Not a pro with settings? Superior Auto mode automatically activates HDR and noise reduction when they’re needed.

Smart, sleek & durable

No one knows how to best pack durability into a beautiful design like Sony. The slim 7.9 mm body, with its reflective glass surface, looks and feels slick, but Xperia Z is crafted to be water-resistant, dust-resistant and tough enough to handle whatever life has planned.

Water-resistant

How can we be certain? In order to get the high IP55 & IP57 rating, we submerge Xperia Z under water for 30 minutes – and make sure it’s good as new when it comes out. It’s also resistant to water jets!
 

Tough as metal

How solid does a precision engineered smartphone need to be? How about as solid as a car? Xperia Z’s frame is made from glass fibre polyamide, the same material that’s used as a metal substitute in automobile parts.

Durable glass

The durable tempered glass on front and back is a lot stronger than conventional glass. And with anti-shatter film on the front and back, Xperia Z is anything but fragile.

Dust-resistant

Since we can’t take every Android smartphone outdoors, we bring the dust tests to our labs. Before we label Xperia Z dust-resistant, we hang it in a dust-test chamber and make sure its operation is unaffected.

OmniBalance design

The design is focused on creating balance and symmetry in all directions. Xperia Z has beautiful rounded edges and smooth, reflective surfaces on all sides, which are held together by an innovative skeleton frame.

One touch to entertainment

Discover the easy and fast way to wirelessly share music, photos, videos – or anything that’s on your smartphone screen. One-touch mirroring with NFC technology lets you easily see all the content on your phone, on your TV. Just touch your phone to your BRAVIA remote control and watch your game, photo or movie pop up on the TV screen. No cables, no buttons, no confusion.

The Sony smartphone that’s anything but mundane

A screen so immersive you can get lost in it, images so real you feel like you’re there, and a camera that lets you capture the moment whenever and wherever it occurs. See how Xperia Z takes you to new places, and lets you connect in totally new ways.

Smartphone with super power

The Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor gives you super-fast performance, unparalleled graphics and efficient battery use. Find your way on Google maps. Stream the latest YouTube clips with LTE. Or download the newest apps and run them without a hitch. Get it all when you want it – now.

Better battery life

With Battery STAMINA Mode you have more intelligent battery management and can easily improve your standby time by four times or more*. Your phone knows when you’re screen is off and shuts down the battery-draining apps you don’t need, then starts them up again when the screen is back on.

Entertainment audio

Xperia Z comes with a high quality stereo headset.
Sony MH-EX300AP headset has superior acoustic performance which helps realise sound true to the original recorded sound.
Get the most out of your music, games and films. An in-ear headset that’s designed for a premium comfort fit lets you enjoy quality entertainment audio. And when a call or message comes in, you’ll know.

A screen as impressive as HDTV – Full HD Reality Display

Feel like you’re there with the razor sharp and super bright full HD screen. Xperia Z brings you the highest level of HD available – 1080 progressive scan, for incredibly crisp pictures and no jagged edges. Expertise from our BRAVIA® TV engineers goes into our mobile screens, to bring you the same quality you’d expect from a top quality HDTV. The 5” full HD Reality Display also has very high pixel density – 443 pixels per inch, for razor sharp pictures – and superior brightness. And with the wide colour gamut it gives you the widest colour spectrum, so you can view every detail in vivid colour.

True Screen intelligence – Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2

The second generation of our acclaimed Mobile BRAVIA® Engine, Mobile BRAVIA® Engine 2 delivers an even better viewing experience by adding new real-time contrast optimisation to the sharpness enhancement, high-quality colour management and noise reduction. Mobile BRAVIA® Engine 2 is also able to analyse content type and adjust the image accordingly. Adding Mobile BRAVIA® Engine 2 to the Reality Display makes for the most intelligent smartphone screen – one that adapts automatically to display your content in the best way.

(1) Contrast enhancement

Contrast in images and video is enhanced by making the darkest parts slightly darker, which brings out details in the picture.

(2) Colour Management

Colour saturation is increased for specified colour ranges, which makes the colours deeper and more vivid. And the intelligent Mobile BRAVIA® Engine 2 software reproduces skin colour exactly as it appears to the naked eye.

(3) Noise reduction

Distortion and noise is reduced when streaming low-quality video from online sources, such as YouTube. Noise is reduced both to individual frames and between frames, for clearer viewing.

(4) Sharpness filter

Mobile BRAVIA® Engine 2 applies a sharpness filter to increase the overall detail level in the image. This is done by enhancing the edges and contrast without increasing noise

Here then i will share more technical details next review...

 

Read More

Latest News - Nokia ends Symbian era

Nokia ends Symbian era

Nokia confirms return to profitability as it also kills of its Symbian smartphone operating system.

 In its earnings announcement, Nokia confirmed that the 808  was the last new device.

“During our transition to Windows Phone through 2012, we continued to ship devices based on Symbian,” the company said. “The Nokia 808 , a device which showcases our imaging capabilities and which came to market in mid-2012, was the last Symbian device from Nokia.”

The manufacturer had previously noted that Q4 2012 was the “last meaningful quarter for Symbian”, and today’s confirmation was not a surprise to industry observers. Nokia's results confirmed numbers it released earlier this month while also adding that the firm is now back in profit.

The $585million profit was boosted by a decision to sell of its headquarters; the company now has £4billion in cash.

The 41-megapixel used technology that is now starting to appear appear in Nokia’s Windows Phone-based Lumia handsets

Read More

Review OF The HTC One SV

 

Introduction

The HTC One SV isn’t the most exciting phone ever to be launched but, with it available on EE’s 4G network, it currently offers among the cheapest ways to get free phone with a 4G contract here in the UK. But, is it a sensible purchase? Let’s take closer look.

Design

 HTC One SV has a smart and quirky design. From the front it has something of the iPhone 5 about it thanks to the slimmest of slim black plastic trims surrounding the glass of the screen. Meanwhile the back features a curved matt-white plastic cover and the sides are finished in silver. It‘s an arrangement that works very well giving the phone a reasonably classy, understated look much like the HTC One X.

There is one glaring issue, though, which is the slot cut into the screen where the earpiece speaker sits. It’s absolutely enormous with straight-cut sides (rather than sloping) so picks up dust and other detritus really easily. It even has multiple smaller holes deeper within it to really make sure that lint can’t escape. Although this shouldn’t affect the function of the phone, when full of muck it does look a bit crummy.

As for build quality, although largely plastic – aside from the glass screen – this phone still feels well made, and in fact puts the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S3 to shame for managing to make plastic feel premium. Little details like micro-drilled holes for the speaker really help create the sense that this phone is carefully crafted rather than thrown together on the cheap.

The form factor is also very nice. With a 4.3in screen this phone isn’t overly large, and thanks to rounded corners and a gently curved back, it fits nice and snugly in the hand. Also, when using it one handed, most of the screen and the buttons fall within reach of your thumb, making it comfortable to use. The only slipup here being that HTC has put the power button on the top edge where it requires a bit of a hand-shuffle to reach. 

Potentially of concern also is that HTC hasn’t followed Google’s latest guidelines for Android which stipulate that the main navigation buttons (Back, Home, Multi-tasking) should be on-screen as part of the interface (like on the Google Nexus 4) rather than separate buttons. Instead HTC has, like on the HTC One X, added three touch sensitive buttons below the screen. These are easy to reach and activate but we certainly don’t feel they’re any better than the standard Google method.

Overall, though, while the slightly quirky nature of the HTC One SV may not be to everyone’s taste, for a relatively low-cost phone, it’s off to a good start.

Features

Further enhancing this phone’s appeal is its removable back. Peel this off and access is granted to the battery, microSIM slot and microSD slot. So, if you’re able to get hold of a spare from somewhere, theoretically you can swap in a spare battery to keep the phone going for longer. Also, and perhaps more importantly for most people, you can upgrade the phone’s storage. There are 8GB of memory built in but up to 32GB microSD cards can boost this to a total of 40GB – plenty for a large music collection and still have room to take loads of photos and videos of your friends and family.


Elsewhere this phone has on its bottom edge a microUSB socket for charging and data transfer as well as the main microphone. Then on the right is the volume rocker while up top is the power button, headphone jack and second microphone which is for noise cancelling purposes

You’ll also notice Beats Audio branding on the back of this phone. As ever with most of HTC’s Beats Audio handsets, this doesn’t mean anything other than there’s a Beats Audio EQ setting that you can enable, which pumps up the bass, treble and overall volume for a more in your face sound.  It can add a bit of life to some more sedately mixed tracks but generally we preferred having it turned off.

Key Features: 4.3in, 480 x 800 pixel screen; 1.2GHz dual-core processor; microSD slot and 8GB built-in storage; Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich; 5MP camera with 1080p video 

Read More