Sony Ericsson unveils the Xperia ray, Xperia active and txt

The Sony Ericsson Xperia ray is an old friend of ours previously known by its code name, Urushi. The 9.4mm slim smartphone weighs in at just 100 g and packs a 3.3" BRAVIA screen of FWVGA resolution (854 x 480 pixels).
Sony Ericsson Xperia ray comes with an 8.1 megapixel autofocus camera with an Exmor R backlit sensor, capable of capturing 720p video. It's only got 300 MB of user-available memory but the microSD card slot lets your expand that by up to 32 GB.
As is to be expected, the Xperia ray connectivity departments is well geared with dual-band (900/2100 MHz) or tri-band(850, 1900, 2100 MHz) 3G/HSPA, quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, microUSB and a 3.5mm audio jack.
Sony Ericsson Xperia ray will be available globally in selected markets from Q3 (our previous tipster mentioned the end of September) in four distinct colors - black, gold, white and pink.

Sony Ericsson Xperia active

The Sony Ericsson Xperia active has SPORTS written all over it (proverbially!). It's a dust proof and water resistant Android smartphone with scratch-resistant screen with wet finger tracking support. Wait what? Yeah, its touchscreen would work just fine registering your sweaty fingers during workouts. Awesome, right? Wait to hear the rest of the specs.
The Xperia active runs on a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and packs a 3-inch Reality display (with Mobile BRAVIA Engine) of HVGA (480 x 320 pixels) resolution, a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash and 720p video recording, 320MB internal memory and microSD card slot (with 2GB pre-installed card).
The Sony Ericsson Xperia active has a bag full of connectivity tricks too - there is Wireless N with DLNA support, quad-band GSM and dual (or tri)-band HSPA network support, GPS with aGPS and digital compass, Bluetooth, FM radio with RDS and a 3.5mm audio jack is onboard.
The Xperia active runs on the latest Android 2.3 Gingerbread and will come with lots of pre-installed sports apps and is compatible with ANT+ technology for real-time heart rate monitoring much like other Sony Ericsson handsets.
As we said, the Xperia active is dust proof and water resistant and can swim in up to 1 m of water depth for good half an hour. The screen will successfully track your fingers if they are wet from sweat or otherwise. But there is more, Sony Ericsson has included lots of goodies in the retail package to help your phone in your active life - an extra exchangeable back cover, detachable sports ear hooks for the handsfree headset, a wrist strap for your Xperia active and an arm band case.
Sony Ericsson Xperia active will launch in Q3 this year with the pricing yet to be announced.

Sony Ericsson txt

The last announced phone is the Sony Ericsson txt It's a socially-oriented feature phone with 2.6-inch (non-touch) display, a full hardware QWERTY keyboard, an SMS shortcut for instant texting option and a "Friends" app showing the social updates of your top five friends.

The info on the Sony Ericsson txt is pretty scarce so far. The only other available detail is the availability - Q3 this year.

LiveDock and LiveSound

Sony Ericsson has also announced two new accessories compatible with the latest generation of Xperia devices - the LiveDock (a simple docking station for charging) and LiveSound. The latter is a new tangle-free hi-fi headset with a key, which can control some compatible apps (like you can control the iPod/iPhone player with the single key on its headset). Both accessories will become available in Q3 too.

Nokia N9

General	2G network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
	Announced	2011, June
	Status	Coming soon

Size	Dimensions	116.5 x 61.2 x 12.1 mm, 76 cc
	Weight	135 g

Display	Type	AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	480 x 854 pixels, 3.9 inches
		- Gorilla glass display - Anti-glare polariser - Multi-touch input method - Proximity sensor for auto turn-off - Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate

Sound	Alert types	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes
		Dolby Mobile sound enhancement; Dolby Headphone support

Memory	Phonebook	Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
	Call records	Yes
	Internal	16/64 GB storage, 1 GB RAM
	Card slot	No

Data	GPRS	Class 33
	EDGE	Class 33
	3G	HSDPA, 14.4 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.7 Mbps
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n
	Bluetooth	Yes, v2.1 with A2DP, EDR
	Infrared port	No
	USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0, USB On-the-go support

Camera	Primary	8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, dual LED flash
	Features	Geo-tagging, face detection, touch-focus
	Video	Yes, 720p@30fps
	Secondary	Yes

Features	OS	MeeGo OS, v1.2 Harmattan
	CPU	1GHz Cortex A8 CPU, PowerVR SGX530 GPU, TI OMAP 3630 chipset
	Messaging	SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
	Browser	WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, RSS feeds
	Radio	No
	Games	Angry Birds Magic (NFC), Galaxy on Fire 2, Real Golf 2011; downloadable
	Colors	Black, Cian, Magenta
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support; Ovi Maps
	Java	Yes, MIDP 2.1
		- MicroSIM card support only - SNS integration - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - Digital compass - TV-out (720p video) via HDMI and composite - NFC support - Dolby Digital Plus via HDMI - MP3/WAV/eAAC+/WMA/FLAC player - MP4/H.264/H.263/WMV player - Document editor (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), PDF viewer - Video/photo editor - Voice memo/command/dial - Predictive text input (Swype)

Battery		Standard battery, Li-Ion 1450 mAh (BV-5JW)
	Stand-by	Up to 380 h (2G) / Up to 450 h (3G)
	Talk Time	Up to 11 h (2G) / Up to 7 h (3G)
	Music play	Up to 50 h

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 preview: First look

Introduction

By losing an inch of screen diagonal and reducing the weight to something you might actually be able to hold longer than 5 minutes, the Galaxy Tab 8.9 hopes to convert more people to the tablet cause. Those who found the 7” Galaxy Tab too limiting and the 10.1” slates too heavy to take anywhere other than your couch will certainly appreciate the effort.
This could be the next evolutionary step in Android tablets. An ultra-slim slate with powerful hardware, lower weight than we expected and an impressive screen created by the world’s number-two-soon-to-be-number-one manufacturer. It definitely looks like a winner on paper (and not the Charlie Sheen kind, mind you).

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 3G at a glance:

• General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 850/900/1900/2100 MHz, HSDPA 21 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
• Form factor: Tablet
• Dimensions: 230.9 x 157.8 x 8.6 mm, 470 g
• Display: 8.9" 16M-color WXGA (1280 x 800 pixels) IPS TFT capacitive touchscreen
• CPU: Dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 proccessor, ULP GeForce GPU, Tegra 2 chipset
• RAM: 1GB
• OS: Android 3.1 Honeycomb
• Memory: 16/32/64 GB storage
• Camera: 3.15 megapixel auto-focus camera with 720p video recording; LED flash, 2 megapixel front facing camera, video-calls
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 3.0+HS, standard microUSB port,GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack, FM radio, HDMI TV-out (through an adapter), USB host (adapter required)
• Misc: TouchWiz customization, telephony, DivX/XviD codec support, built-in accelerometer, multi-touch input, proximity sensor, gyroscope sensor, Swype text input

Android tablets may have been off to a slow start, but no one can deny that they’ve been improving at an amazing rate. Only a few months after the release of Honeycomb we already have at least a dozen intriguing tablets, including the Transformer with its detachable multi-functional keyboard, the Acer ICONIA Tab A500 with its competitive price and the XOOM with its hopefully-soon-to be-enabled LTE connectivity.
Yet the not quite polished Android 3.0 OS has been holding all those tablets back. Lagging, lack of support for all the features (like the USB host or microSD card) and low number of optimized apps used to be the deal-breakers.
Well, Google has already addressed most of the performance issues with the 3.1 update and developers have been hard at work on delivering those apps so iOS might finally get itself some proper competition.
Good timing for the Galaxy Tab 8.9 then, which may as well see its prospects soar.

Samsung Infuse 4G review: Extra legroom

Introduction

In America, it is widely believed that bigger is better. Or so Samsung must have thought when they decided to launch the phone with the biggest and brightest screen first in the United States, and with the biggest network – AT&T. The Samsung Infuse 4G is definitely meant to stand out – its 4.5” Super AMOLED Plus screen is nearly unmatched on the market, and a beauty to look at. It makes 4-inchers look petty and irrelevant.

Despite its humongous screen, the Samsung Infuse 4G has an impressively thin body. At 8.99 mm, it is only a tad thicker than a Galaxy S2. It does have an excuse though – it’s packing a larger screen than the current Samsung flagship. That’s the spirit.

Key Features

• Quad-band GSM and quad-band 3G support
• 21 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA support
• 4.5" 16M-color Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen of WVGA (480 x 800 pixel) resolution
• 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, 512 MB of RAM
• 8 MP wide-angle lens auto focus camera with LED flash, face, smile and blink detection
• 720p video recording at 30fps
• Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g and n support
• GPS with A-GPS connectivity; Digital compass
• 16GB internal storage, microSD slot
• Accelerometer, gyroscope and proximity sensor
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Charging MHL microUSB port with USB host and TV-out (1080p) support
• Stereo Bluetooth v3.0
• FM radio with RDS
• Great audio quality
• Super slim and lightweight at 8.99mm and 139g
• 1.3MP secondary camera, video-call
• Full Flash support and GPU-acceleration enable 1080p flash video playback in the web browser
• Document editor
• File manager preinstalled
• The richest video format support we’ve seen

Main disadvantages

• All-plastic build
• No dedicated camera key
• Super slim body has poor grip when taking pictures
• Single-core processor
• No 1080p video recording despite having the same camera unit as the Galaxy S2
• Sheer size raises questions about single-handed use
• Non-hot-swappable memory card slot
• The device ships with Android 2.2 (Froyo), not the latest Gingerbread

Certain comparisons are not in the Samsung Infuse 4G’s favor. It looks like a flagship, but it’s not quite there. The Infuse just doesn’t have the raw processing power of the Galaxy S2. What’s fair’s fair though – it does look even more impressive.

Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 review: Utility droid

Introduction

Samsung’s QWERTY messengers have not exactly been setting the world on fire. They have done well though to set the scene for this one. The Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 follows on the heels of Omnia and Corby. It puts Android in a time-tested form factor and is ready to entertain upgraders coming from dumbphones and PocketPCs alike.
The Galaxy Pro has a clear objective – deliver the full Android experience, a good social package and hassle-free messaging. What does it need to meet those tasks? Well, a comfortable QWERTY keyboard obviously, possibly a touchscreen, enough processing power and at least some basic shooting skills to capture the important moments. Of course, a messenger is nothing without a proper OS and this is where the Android Froyo comes in. But let’s see what else the Galaxy Pro has to offer.

Key features

• 2.8" 256K-color TFT capacitive touchscreen of QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) resolution
• Full four-row QWERTY keyboard
• ARMv6 800MHz CPU, 270MB RAM, 180MB of user-available storage
• Android 2.2.2 (Froyo) with TouchWiz 3.0 UI
• Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G support
• 7.2 Mbps HSDPA
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g, n with hotspot functionality
• GPS with A-GPS connectivity; digital compass
• 3.15 MP autofocus camera
• QVGA video recording @30fps
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v3.0
• microSD slot (up to 32GB, 2GB in box)
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Document viewer out of the box, paid editing
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• Light and compact
• Smart dialing

Main disadvantages

• The QVGA screen looks bad and limits the choice of apps
• Portrait homescreen ported to landscape takes some time getting used to
• QVGA-only video recording
• No shutter key
• No Adobe Flash support in the browser
• No secondary video-call camera
• No ambient light sensor
• No dedicated video player app
• No multi-touch
• Android 2.2 Froyo, instead of latest Android 2.3 Gingerbread

It should be clear by now the Galaxy Pro B7510 isn’t your typical Android powerhouse for HD video, quality imaging or heavy-duty internet browsing. Gaming is out of the picture too. To be honest, the Galaxy Pro doesn’t quite make the grade as a BlackBerry competitor. To make up for it, it is social and friendly – and a great texter too. Virtual keyboards have been getting better but the Galaxy Pro’s superbly laid-out keypad is the prefect addition to Gmail.
So the Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 it is and, although this is not the typical Android package, let’s hope the experience is up to scratch. With a handful of Samsung Ch@ts, Corbies and Omnia messengers gone almost unnoticed, we’re about to see if our Galaxy Pro here has what it takes to leave a mark. Our traditional hardware check-up is due right after the break..

HTC Desire S review: Droid cravings

Introduction

Powerful hardware, large high-res screen and the latest Android version in a solid metal body– the recipe did wonders for the original Desire so no wonder HTC are in no mood to experiment with the sequel. Take the best and make it better pretty much sums up the game plan. Oh well, we’ll take quietly brilliant even if emphasis is sometimes on quiet. In other words, the Desire S is a phone we’re ready to like. But make no mistake – it’s not meant to be the flagship its predecessor was.
HTC has the Sensation to send against the heavyweight competition. The new Desire is given a different, though no less important role. Ideally, it should be the smartphone that has broader appeal, the one to offer as reward to loyal upgraders. The phone to give you – wait for it – more bang for your buck than we’ve come expect from HTC.
Here’s what it puts on the table summarized.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G support
• 14.4 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• 3.7" 16M-color capacitive LCD touchscreen of WVGA resolution (480 x 800 pixels)
• Uses the best screen from HTC so far (along with the Incredible S)
• Android OS v2.3 Gingerbread with HTC Sense
• 1 GHz Scorpion CPU, Adreno 205 GPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 chipset
• 768 MB RAM and 1.1 GB ROM
• 5 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and geotagging
• 720p video recording @ 30fps
• Wi-Fi b/g/n and DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS
• microSD slot up to 32GB (8GB card included)
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v2.1
• Smart dialing, voice dialing
• Front facing camera, video calls
• DivX/XviD video support
• Compact aluminum unibody
• Gorilla glass display
• HTC Locations app
• HTCSense.com integration
• HTC Portable Hotspot
• Ultra-fast boot times (if you don’t remove battery)

Main disadvantages

• No dedicated camera key and no lens cover
• Poor camcorder performance, jerky 720p videos
• Below-par sunlight legibility
• Wi-Fi signal degrades when you cover the top part of the back panel
• microSD is below the battery cover

Those coming from the original Desire will certainly notice the absence of the optical trackpad and that now capacitive keys replace the hardware buttons. It’s a different way of interacting with the phone but by no means less comfortable. Other than that, the new smartphone certainly does well to upgrade the original. You get more RAM, a slightly more compact and lighter body, which is still solid enough thanks to all the metal, along with the latest Android and a more powerful GPU.
Video-chat enthusiasts will cheer the front-facing camera, while those who want lots of apps installed on their smartphones will appreciate the extended built-in memory.
The bad news is the Desire S is – in more than one way – running against the clock. A year is a really long time in cell phone terms and there’s no guarantee the updates are enough to make it competitive in a market that’s embracing dual-core and pushing beyond the 1GHz mark.
The easiest way to dispel the doubts would be to sail smooth through this review. So why wait – unboxing coming up right after the break

Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II preview: Second encounter

Introduction

Having earned its place in the Android hall of fame, the original Galaxy S can start thinking about retirement. And these won’t be thoughts of fear and worry. With a replacement on its way, the veteran can look forward to getting the respects it deserves.

And what a replacement it is. Samsung’s Galaxy lineup is home of some of the world’s finest droids. But the I9100 Galaxy S II is special. The forerunner was in contention for the Best Droid title and more than once got a hand on it. But it was only a matter of time for the competition to eventually catch up and even get ahead. The Galaxy S II aims to put Samsung back in the lead.

Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II at a glance:

• General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 850/900/1900/2100 MHz, HSDPA 21 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
• Dimensions: 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.5 mm, 116 g
Display: 4.3" 16M-color WVGA (480 x 800 pixels) Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen, Gorilla Glass,
• CPU: Dual-core ARM Cortex A9 1.2 GHz processor, Orion chipset
• GPU: Mali-400MP
• RAM: 1GB
• OS: Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
• Memory: 16/32GB storage, microSD card slot
• Camera: 8 megapixel auto-focus camera with face detection, touch focus and image
stabilization; Full HD (1080p) video recording at 30fps, LED flash, front facing camera, video-calls
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 3.0+HS, standard microUSB port,
GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack, FM radio, TV-out, USB-on-the-go
• Misc: TouchWiz 4.0 UI, DivX/XviD codec support, built-in accelerometer, multi-touch input, proximity sensor, gyroscope sensor, Swype text input

The success of the original Galaxy S was based on four key features: the big Super AMOLED screen, the processing power, the 720p video recording and the ever evolving Android. The Galaxy S II is not just a cursory update – it upgrades all the key ingredients of its predecessor. The Super AMOLED Plus looks better and is more power efficient. The powerful dual-core processor and faster graphics make the Galaxy S II a silky smooth performer in web browsing and media.

On top of that, Samsung has really listened to the users. They’ve added a LED flash to the camera – and 8 MP sounds like they finally mean business. Not to mention the full HD videos were quite impressive. There is even more – the Galaxy S II has ditched the glossy battery cover in favor of a textured surface that makes the phone appear both more mature and durable.

The Galaxy S II is slightly bigger than its predecessor, but thinner and lighter. It’s a monster of a smartphone with a killer screen and premium imaging. You can bet the Gingerbread ticking inside feels right at home. And though this isn’t the first time we’re about to see it in action, we’d gladly spend more quality time with it.

Motorola Atrix 4G review: Enter the Atrix

It was the alliance with Android that put Motorola out of the woods. Like every partnership, it’s been a series of peaks and dips but every now and then the relationship between Motorola and Android goes beyond a mere marriage of convenience and well into a simmering love affair.

They did it with the MILESTONEs and the DROID X, the BACKFLIP and the DEFY. With the ATRIX 4G, Moto says it has no plans to live in the shadows of other big makers.

The Motorola ATRIX 4G is the first dual-core smartphone in the Motorola line-up. It’s also the first to flaunt a qHD touchscreen. That’s as solid as credentials get. Add the fact it’s the first handset for Motorola to support the fast HSDPA+ network (hence the 4G moniker) and you’ve got yourself a Droid that’s not afraid of what comes next.

Dual core is certainly the next big thing in mobile phones and the Motorola ATRIX deserves credit for being among the first – our bad really, this review isn’t exactly on time.

But there are other bold decisions that Motorola had to make. The HD and laptop docks for one – though the concept is not exactly original, Motorola is trying to make it mainstream. The added fingerprint scanner is not new either but well forgotten old does just as well. Plus, it will satisfy the privacy freak in all of us.

Anyway, the standard package is what we’re interested in and this is what our review will focus on. The optional extras can wait. The ATRIX is more important to us a phone (a dual-core smartphone, to be precise) than a wannabe laptop or a potential entertainment dock. Let’s waste no more time and take a glimpse of the ATRIX 4G’s key features.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G with HSDPA and HSUPA
• 4" 16M-color capacitive touchscreen of qHD (960 x 540 pixels) resolution, scratch-resistant Gorilla glass
• Dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 proccessor, ULP GeForce GPU, Tegra 2 chipset; 1GB of RAM
• Android OS v2.2; MOTOBLUR UI (update to Gingerbread planned)
• Web browser with Adobe Flash 10.1 support
• 5 MP autofocus camera with dual-LED flash; face detection, geotagging
• 720p video recording @ 30fps (to be upgraded to 1080p Full-HD )
• Wi-Fi ab/g/n; Wi-Fi hotspot functionality; DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS; Digital compass
• Fingerprint scanner that doubles as a power key
• 16GB storage; expandable via a microSD slot
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP
• standard microHDMI port
• Smart and voice dialing
• Office document editor
• Active noise cancellation with a dedicated secondary mic
• DivX/XviD video support
• Lapdock and HD Dock versatility
• Web browser with Adobe Flash 10.2 support

Main disadvantages

• Not the latest Android version
• No FM radio
• Screen image is pixelated upon closer inspection
• Questionable placement of the Power/Lock button
• Poor pinch zoom implementation in the gallery
• No dedicated shutter key
• Doesn’t operate without a SIM card inside

The ATRIX 4G is certainly the most powerful phone Motorola has made so far. With a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB worth of RAM and the ultra low power GeForce GPU under its hood, the ATRIX 4G is set to win the hearts and minds of power users.

Garnish all this premium hardware with a 5MP camera with dual LED flash and a 4-inch capacitive touchscreen of qHD resolution of 540x960 pixels, and the ATRIX 4G is more than ready to play with the other dual-core kids.

As for us, we are about to take a closer look at the design and build of the phone and find out if it matches the premium hardware that resides within.