HTC HD2: The best of three worlds

Yah I know it’s probably too late to review such as a phone but I’ll do it anyway coz it’s that incredible. When it came out it was a monster of a phone and I think it still is. It however ran the old windows mobile 6.5. The windows OS wasn’t so bad on it and due its fast processor (the fastest at the time) browsing the web and swiping through the phone was zippy. But as time moved by developers thought it wasn’t wise to leave all that hardware go to wasn’t and so they came up with the right operating system(s) for it. The HD2 was hacked to run android and impressively it can now run Gingerbread. Well, as awesome as that was, that wasn’t all and it was again hacked to run the latest windows, windows phone 7. I just hope the Mango update hits it too. Again that wasn’t all. It then became possible to run both android and Windows phone 7 on the same SD card. That means you can actually triple boot three operating systems. And for those who care Meego can also work here.
The phone packs a large 4.3 inch capacitive screen. There is 448 MB RAM and 512 MB ROM. The processor is a 1GHz Scorpion processor and there is the usual GPS, Wi-Fi and HSPA. The camera is decent at 5 megapixels with dual LED flash. The battery however is only 1230mAh and that worries me.
The cool thing about this phone is that it has decent features that can compete with the best smartphones at this moment but since it came out much earlier its cheaper. Then you get to replace your old OS with the best operating systems at the moment.

The Samsung Galaxy S 2

This is a phone like no other and calling it a phone just sounds wrong. The name galaxy is appropriate now more than ever. The galaxy S 2 is definitely on a league of its own. In the past all touch screen phones have been compared or mostly contrasted with the iPhone but this is one phone the iPhone looks up to. The galaxy S set the pace last year and even before we got the hang of it the galaxy S 2 set a new standard. This is mostly due to the fact that it has a dual core processor.
Specs wise the Galaxy S 2 has a large 4.3 inch screen with super AMOLED. The processor is 1.2GHz dual core Cortex A9 with 1GB of RAM. Graphics wise there is a Mali-400MP GPU and Exynos chipset. There is an 8MP camera able to record 1080p HD video. The front facing camera is 2MP. There is also full flash support and GPU acceleration for web browsing and the browser can also play 1080p videos. The phone is also extremely thin at only 8.5mm. There is also USB host support meaning that you can plug in your flash drive. Apart from that there is the usual HSDPA, Wi-Fi and GPS.
Just from the specs the phone is clearly a winner. The software given the honor is the latest Android 2.3 gingerbread. Despite all the features battery life is still decent. Web browsing is a pleasure on such a large screen. Gaming is smooth all the way due to the enhanced GPU and Google takes care of the rest when you visit the android market. The ability of the galaxy S 2 to play 1080p video leaves me with no words. This is probably the first phone you don’t need to hack to enjoy it fully. The features out of the box are simply overwhelming.
The galaxy S 2 shines in all departments. It is thin, light, extremely fast, user friendly. It also has excellent audio quality and also it runs android. All that praise has come from a Symbian fan boy so I don’t know what Samsung and android lovers will have to say about this super phone. The Galaxy S 2 will leave a legacy that will live on for years to come. It might take two more iPhones to make us forget the Galaxy S 2. This is one phone you will tell your kids about.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play

The next time you go to work just carry your playstation and when there is no work in the office just play on. While Sony liked the idea they didn’t prefer you carry your bulky playstation. So they decided to create the Xperia Play. This phone however targets the younger generation but since it’s a phone it can be used by anyone. The Xperia Play is a hybrid phone with playstation gaming including playstation slide out controls. The gaming aspect is closely related to the PSP while the phone is actually a beast of a phone featuring the latest android 2.3 operating system and high end specifications.
The Xperia play has a 4 inch screen just as the PSP. There is 400Mb of internal memory which is small but you can always insert an SD card. It has a 1GHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 205 GPU and Qualcomm MSM 8255 Snapdragon while the RAM is 512Mb. In terms of connectivity there is HSDPA, HSUPA, Wi-Fi and GPS for navigation. A 5 megapixel camera is also included.
In terms of gaming it is playstation one games that are currently available with playstation two games coming soon. There are about 50 games available so far. There are also new games such as the asphalt 6 and FIFA. Games look incredible on the Xperia Play and your phones will probably be always plugged into the mains since you won’t stop playing.
The Xperia play is probably what the Playstation Portable needed to become when it grew up. The Xperia play is one of those phones that you never put away. If you are not playing then you are probably browsing the web or using all the other goodies that the android 2.3 gingerbread comes with. For now the price tag is a bit hefty so you may want to hold on to your PSP.

The fall of Nokia

This has been the most talked about topic of recent times. The company that dominated the phone industry and still marginally dominates is fast collapsing. When Nokia first decided to take up symbian OS it was the most genius of plans and that later on became their undoing.
Symbian is still the number 1 OS and millions of people including me fell in love with it. It was user friendly and so original but as time went by it became old and really needed an upgrade which was never forthcoming. Well, in case you are wondering what symbian is then it is the operating system found in Nokia smartphones. There is the version used in phones like E5, E72, and N95 and so on. There is also the version (symbian 1) used in Nokia 5800, Nokia N97, Nokia 5230. Finally Symbian 3 is used in the Nokia N8, Nokia C6-01, Nokia C7, Nokia E7, Nokia X7 and Nokia E6.
While Symbian did more than enough people were ONLY tired of the same old user interface while android had already brought forth customizable home screens. The android home screens were pretty and you could just swipe along without doing anything constructive. Nokia did try to intervene when they released the Nokia N900 which swept me and everyone else of their feet. It was simply perfect. It offered Unlimited customizable Home screens and it did not run on the tired symbian, instead it ran on Maemo 5 which Nokia promised would be upgraded to Meego. The only problem with Nokia N900 is that Nokia did not support it. As a result there were few applications and few updates. The N900 would have been the resurrection point.
Earlier this year Nokia decided to abandon Symbian and go with Windows Phone 7. I still don’t know how this will turn out but dumping symbian wasn’t the best idea considering Symbian was the heart and soul of Nokia. All Nokia needed to do was re-structure symbian and probably change its name. It was only after Nokia dumped Nokia that they decided to upgrade it. Nokia promised support for symbian until 2014 but Windows Phone 7 is now their new priority. Last week Nokia released the Nokia X7 and Nokia E6 which have the new update and as it turns out people love the update. The update will roll out to other Symbian devices such as the N8 in the coming months and symbian users can’t wait.
So the question arises, would it have been easier for Nokia to just upgrade Symbian than to jump the wagon and join Microsoft? There is also another twist to the story. Nokia had earlier partnered with Intel to make Meego which everyone including Android fans was waiting for. Meego would have been the Nokia priority instead of Symbian and everyone was OK with that but at the last minute Nokia formed a partnership with Microsoft and until now no one understands what happened. However, Nokia promised to make a Meego phone this year dubbed the Nokia N950 and am still waiting. Other companies including LG have seen the Meego potential and it is believed that LG will be making a Meego phone. Some people say that the deal with Microsoft may not be so good and Nokia might as well go back to Meego. Others also claim that Nokia had calculated all this and that Meego is a symbian update but if they had called it symbian no one would have been interested. Meego is a good platform and I will expound on it with subsequent posts and that is why everyone is waiting for it. It seems it’s only Nokia who sees that Meego would be an epic fail.
The way forward would be for Nokia to battle on all fronts. They should continue with Windows Phone 7 and at the same time invest on Meego. There should also be continued support for Symbian since the new Symbian “Anna” update seems to have made symbian users wag their tails in excitement. I am still a symbian/Meego fan and am ready to sink with the ship.

Nokia N8

I have held off reviewing this phone for quite some time since as a Nokia fan I had more to do in terms of convincing people about how brilliant this phones actually is. It is probably a lost cause reviewing this phone but I will give it a try.
Well, well, where do I even start? This phone goes beyond the mere specification sheet that I give to you when I review phones. It’s all about usability. The phone has an AMOLED screen of 3.5 inches and of course it is capacitive. There is 16GB of internal storage, 256MB of RAM and a 680MHz ARM processor. For game lovers like me there is a Broadcom GPU onboard. There is the usual GPS, Wi-Fi b, g and n, Bluetooth 3.0. Additionally there is USB on the Go and amazingly a mini HDMI port for connecting the phone to a HD television and viewing the phones content on the television. I almost forgot about the impressive 12 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and xenon flash. The N8 completely replaced a digital camera.
Specifications aside and hands on experience is even better. The phone has three customizable home screens while android phones have about 5. It all depends on the user, some like many while others are content with just one. The good news is that I managed to hack the N8 and I got 6 home screens but I reverted back to the 3 home screens. Customizing the home screens is easy and you can get social network and email updates on your home screens. This is nothing new really.
The N8 features a new music player characteristic of the new Symbian 3. Scrolling through the Albums is a pleasure just as the sound quality produced by the single speaker at the back. Still on media consumption the N8 can play divx/xvid files so there is no need for long conversion processes into MP4 file format. Playing videos on the 3.5 inch screen is brilliant. Still if you think the display is too small then you can connect the N8 to the television and watch your videos at the comfort of your couch. Playing games this way is also enjoyable and games such as Asphalt 5, Need for speed shift, GT motor racing among others will come to life. You may even replace your playstation for this although I don’t recommend it.
What can I really say about the camera? Photos taken by the N8 continue to impress. The N8 also records and plays back videos at 720p which is impressive. If you are into photography or you just love photos and taking photos then the N8 is the phone for you.
The only drawback of the N8 is that soon Nokia will be withdrawing support for Symbian which is about 3 years from. It isn’t a big deal considering other manufacturers don’t ever support their phones and in any case there are already thousands of N8 applications you can download on the internet. The OVI store is also growing fast and you find all the applications you need including HD games.
In conclusion the N8 is the safest symbian phone to have at the moment boosted by the fact that it has plenty of applications and a life changing update called Symbian Anna will hit the device soon and make it much more appealing.