Nokia N8 with Nokia Belle

I am pretty certain that many of you would have been able to install Nokia Belle on your existing Nokia N8. Well, it was something which I have waited a long time to do so. Let's face the fact, Nokia Belle on the Nokia C7-00 looks good; the menu speed has increased tremendously and certainly connectivity has improved. Moreover, it gives the user a fresh new UI which is remarkable.

As you all know, I have a Nokia N8 with me to test out installing Nokia Belle just for fun. According to some forums after doing some extensive research, the latest firmware version of the Nokia Belle is 111.030.0607 so I have taken the risk to flash the Nokia N8 to Belle.

It did not take long to flash the N8 as all you need is some important softwares with some common sense. What you need is (a) Pheonix Software; (b) Anna OS for the N8; and (c) Belle OS for the N8. The whole flashing would only take you around 10 minutes to do but you need to bear in mind that I am not responsible if you brick your phone! I will provide you with a link to all the necessary websites to download the files together with the instructions.

My first impression on Nokia Belle was: "Wow"! I could not imagine the Nokia Belle could run on a single core 680mhz ARM cpu! This is just perfect! After flashing it, I would recommend users to reset the N8 before using it. I have to give a two thumbs up to Nokia this time for the Nokia Belle. I am quite happy with it because after flashing the N8 with Nokia Belle, the menu speed has increased and it takes a shorter time for me to install an application from the Nokia Store, as compared to the Anna OS previously where you will see a circle kept on turning round and round for some time before the application will be installed completely.

With Nokia Belle, it opens up a user to a different kind of UI. Obviously the icons are different (much smoother now) and you can slide down from the top (just like an Android and iOS 5) for any notification. The best of all would be the silky smooth firmware, although not an official firmware, can offer to a user! Nokia should not wait for next month before releasing the Nokia Belle on existing mobile phones. They should release it right now!!!

At this moment, even though I am quite happy with the UI of Nokia Belle, I am trying to flash it to other languages so I am still working on it. Watch this space as I will be back!

Link

Enjoy!!!

Update:
2000hours - Seems like if I were to just flash the three chinese firmware files onto the N8 will cause a speed decrease on the N8 so I've managed to flash the three files to support Chinese and the original core Nokia Belle file. After doing so, the OS is now as good as new! It is so much faster now! I love it!

07/01/2012 - Most of the applications will run but Skype does not seem to run past the registration page. I don't know why. When I tried to log on to skype.com/m to download the application, it states that the device is not supported. Oh well, at least I have Nimbuzz installed.

Perfect Mobile Device

It has been said that technology will always be on the move and there is nothing to stop it from improving. I have to agree with the statement. If you could recall ten years ago, nobody would have thought about using computers fitted with quad core cpu or even dual core gpu! Well, it has since moved on. Similarly, it goes the same to mobile device too. It all started off with Motorola's chunky mobile phone and then Nokia took over with their 'Matrix' style mobile phone. Not long after that, we had a fierce battle between Motorola and Nokia. Nokia seems to have won the race until Apple came along which changed the whole scenario.

These day, we are talking about dual core cpu on a mobile phone e.g. LG Optimus 2X, Samsung Galaxy S II and the Motorola Atrix. These dual core mobile phones are equipped with up-to-date gpu to speed up games and play demanding 1080p video files. The only question remain - which is the best?

Let's start off with Motorola. Ever since the mobile arm was separated from its parent company, they are moving towards the positive direction. They enjoy good mobile phone sales throughout the world and nothing is going to stop them from progressing. I believe that it is time for them to release better mobile phones to compete with other manufacturers like HTC and Apple. Recently they have released the Motorola Atrix which will allow customers to attach the mobile phone to a netbook. Users will be able to access their Atrix using the Motorola dock station. I like it! However, the attached software is nowhere flexible as you are chained by Google. Besides Atrix, one worthy mobile phone to mention is the Motorola Defy. It is a rugged mobile phone but lacked proper software to run the mobile phone so it is not so perfect then. I would give it a pass for Motorola unless you are well verse with Google.

Moving on to HTC. The company is making lots of profit lately as they have been releasing lots of new mobile device by the month! This is just fantastic! However, it is not all bed of roses as their mobile phones are marred by tiny speakers and bad battery life, not to mention the Android OS which is bound by Google. I'll give it a pass even though their first dual core cpu mobile phone will be release very soon.

What about Samsung then? Samsung is a good brand but their proprietary OS e.g Bada needs more fine tuning. To be fair, they have good hardware but short of good software to run it. In the end, you would have to give up apart from having the Samsung Galaxy S II! The beast is worth while using it as it is fast and furious and it does not break your hand (it is light). It has everything you need and it runs on the latest Android OS. Wonderful! Apart from Samsung Galaxy S II, I don't think there is a worthy mobile phone unless you are talking about the Samsung Wave II.

What about Vodafone then? Hum... I will give it a pass. ZTE? Well, I would try ZTE Blade or the Orange San Francisco as a back up mobile phone. It is cheap and cheerful at £99 on Pay as you go.

Nokia? Well, they have a fantastic PC Suite and free Ovi maps of the world; fantastic hardware especially on the Nokia N8 with 12MP digital camera but they have not release any mobile device with dual core cpu!!! What is going on with Nokia? Moreover, their Symbian ^3 OS should have an update to "Anna" a.k.a. PR 2.0 but it has yet to materialise via a Nokia updater. Shame on you Nokia!

Last but not least, we have Apple. It comes as no surprise as the Apple Iphone 4 is the benchmark of all mobile phones. This is because the iOS is stable and fast! It is only an disappointment on their restrictive file system and the not-so-good 5MP camera where it is nowhere near the quality of the Nokia N8. Kudos to the Apple team for releasing a good product every time!

Well, will there be a perfect mobile phone? I don't think so...

False Economy

Whenever Apple release a new product, it will definitely be a hit and it will be short of supply. As a consumer, you will be wondering the reason why. Well, after doing a research, it is not surprising to see the reason behind it.

Let's start by introducing the brand itself. Apple has maintained a good reputation with its products. They managed to release a product which is for the nitch and technology savvy. You would be able to witness yourself - From Ipods to Ipads - They are in short supply. Where are the goods? You would not understand 10 million Ipads flying off the shelves in a matter of days, don't you agree?

What if you can't get an Apple product in the store? Where are you going to get it then? Shop online is the key!

Most of the goods being purchased by individual companies or a group of companies would most probably end up selling online. This is true because as the Apple store is running out of stock, not all stocks have been purchased by consumers. There are many third parties who will be selling them for a quick buck online. If you notice, there are seller who are trying to sell a 16GB Ipad2 with wifi and 3G for £600!!! That is more than the £499 if you were to buy from Apple! That is pretty bad though.

I do agree that Apple is a reputable brand and the OS on their devices is stable. However, they and the rest of the consumers fall victim to some group of people who are trying to make a quick profit. If you are a consumer, be patient and buy it off from Apple or from Phones4u or via Carphonewarehouse but never from online who sells it at a mark up price.

Google Nexue One - Battery Life

I have mentioned about Google Nexus One's keyboard, speed and its capabilities including its beautiful 3.7" AMOLED screen. However, what about its battery life then?

We know that the Android 2.2 Froyo supports multitasking. If you do want to kill all the running apps, you would have to manually kill it or you could kill all with the help of an app called KillApp. I have also read up about the in build 1400mAh battery from HTC which, to some people, is rather insufficient to last for a day. I was advised to charge the battery for eight hours for the first time and then discharge it fully before recharging it again. I would be able to achieve the optimum usage state after a few recharge. Hoever, to my horror, the battery die not live up to it's name.

Just imagine that you have finished recharging the battery and put it on standby for 8 hours. After that, you would then start using it to surf the Internet for a while before making a quick 10 minutes call. Out of a sudden, you realised that the batter level has gone down to 90 percent. A quick Skype call for 10 minutes lost another 5 percent of the juice. Picture this as it is now lunch time and you need to check some information on the Internet. After surfing the net for 30 minutes, the batter level has gone down to 40 percent. By the time you have finished work (on standby from 2pm-5pm), the battery is now dead. My question to you is how would someone be able to get the Google Nexus One to last for one day running on the standard HTC batter?

I have tried many ways to improve the battery live like disabling 3G, disabling Bluetooth and if I want to surf the Internet, I will be using wi-Fi instead. I have also installed a KillApp software but it does not work! I don't want to root the mobile device as I want the warranty of the phone to remain intact. I just can't manage it to last at least between 8am-5pm.

After searching through the Internet, I have found many other unhappy Google Nexus One users where most of them complaint about the battery life. I was being advised to get an OEM 3200mAH battery from either Seidio or Mugan which will do the job. However, with the 3200mAH battery, I will have to make do with a new back door which I don't want. I don't really like it though. Moreover, it seems that the original 1400mAH battery from HTC is the most efficient of all.

Well, I guess Google Nexus One customers will have to ensure that the device is always on charge whenever it is possible. Shame...

iOS4 - Worthy Upgrade?

I have been quite excited over the fact that Apple has finally launched the iOS4 for their Iphone and Ipod Touch. After downloading and installing it, soon, I found out that the iOS4 is not a worthy upgrade from 3.1.3. Well, how did I come into that conclusion then? It is simple - user friendliness.

The Iphone 3Gs has been a buzz among netizens lately. Companies like O2 and Tesco have come up with a scheme to allow customers to hardware unlock the device for good without breaking the bank. I have done some homework and here are my findings...

Apple needs to sell off their old stock just in time for their Iphone 4 to be launched on 24th June 2010. The new Iphone 4 is so much cheaper than the previous generations. One good example will be the ability of customers to buy an unlocked Apple Iphone 4 directly from Apple for £499 (16GB version) and £599 (32GB version) without a contract. O2 has reduced their handset price for customers who are eager to get their hands on an Iphone 4 as compared to previous generations. The questions is - Why?

Often than not, Apple has been a torn in many people's eyes for releasing Iphones without an unlocked version. That, however, initiated people like GeoHotz and MusleNerd from the Dev Team to be creative and come up with unofficial unlocking softwares and to jailbreak Iphones. This has been a hit among Iphone customers. As far as I am concern, one of the most effective way of Apple getting rid of them would be to introduce unlocked Iphones. That is why Apple has agreed to sell unlocked Iphone 4 over here in the UK and also in Canada.

Iphone is quite a niche market. It caters for certain group of individuals only. Personally, I find that the strongest point of one getting the Iphone will be the ability to use the apps. The apps market is just perfect! I love it very much! However, not all are bed of roses.

The Iphone 4 with the installed iOS4 will not be able to convert someone who is a diehard Nokia fan like me. Steve Jobs has mentioned in his keynote about the advantages of the iOS4 during the WWDC lately. Like many other people, I have tried the official version of the iOS4. After meddling with it for a day, I have come to a single conclusion - the iOS4 is not a worthy update to the 3.1.3.

I would prefer the old firmware because I could not see  the benefit of using the iOS4 as a whole. No doubt that one could change the wallpaper and zoom in when using the camera,  multitasking is NOT something which the iOS4 can come up with a fight with Nokia...

On the whole, I don't like to use the Apple Iphone. Do you know why? The battery life on the 3Gs could barely last for one day if you are always surfing the internet and running on 3G service. Worst of all, if you are listening to the Ipod on the Iphone 3Gs, think again as you would never be able to come close to the official figures given by Apple in relation to the standby time and the talk time.

Another point which I want to make is that Apple will NEVER be able to compete with Nokia in relation to multitasking on their Iphone. Irrespective of whether the Iphone 4 has a 1Ghz cpu and 512MB of ROM, it could not multitask even with the iOS4!!! Do you know why? I have tried multitasking and it does not work!

For £499, you could get a brand new Nokia E72 (unlocked) and a Toshiba 16GB microSD card and you will still have £200 balance in your bank account! With a longer lasting battery on the E72 and a device which will not burn your ears and very happily to connect via bluetooth over several devices at one time, forget about the Iphone...You can tether easily without the need to pay if you use Nokia devices. Besides, multitasking is superb on the Nokia E72!

A bonus for all Nokia customers!!! Now that Nokia maps is free, why do you need to pay for a Sat Nav app on your Iphone? Jump ship to Nokia!!!

HTC

Correct me if I am wrong. I do think that HTC is making a big name in the market but it is also important that they keep up with the technology. Since realeasing the T-mobile's G1, they have released many mobile devices on both Windows Mobile and Andriod. These days they are less dependent on Windows Mobile.

However, with the launch of Windows Mobile 7 in the near future, they are going to release a 1.3Ghz Snapdragon cpu on Windows Mobile 7. I'm not sure whether this is going to be true but nobody can predict the outcome especially when you are talking about HTC. They have released many reputable mobile devices throughout the years. A good example will be the controversial Nexus One which did not really do well in the number of units sold. I guess they have relied too much on selling in just a few markets.

Apart from the Nexus One, they have the HTC Desire and the HD2 which I quite like. Most of the recent mobile devices released by HTC supports the Andriod platform. I think it is a trend to phase out Apple's dominance.

The Andriod apps market have increased tremendously. Recently it was mentioned that they will surpass the Apple's apps market. I am always delighted with it because this is what I called competition. Without competition, the world will not create a better and more advanced products for consumers to use.

With HTC, I am just quite afraid of the standby time of their devices. With the HD2, you can't run the device for more It sucked the juice out of the battery. That is why HTC have released an extended battery for the HD2 but it is still quite rare in the market. I am sure that people owning a HD2 will be really pleased. Anyway, good for HTC but it will not be good for consumers who is using a HTC device at the moment because their devices will not be worth as much as it was first purchased by them. This is a problem with people releasing so many new products in a year.

Palm Pre

I am not surprised when I read the report about the sales of the ever awaited Iphone killer - the Palm Pre. Sales of the Palm Pre is not great as reported. Well, what can I say about the Palm Pre? The OS itself does not even allow me to bluetooth the device to my laptop which I can happily do so on my Nokia E72. I just could not understand the sheer disappointment which I have to endure as I thought that with the cpu power equivalent to the Iphone 3GS, it will be an Iphone 3GS killer. Well, not really.

It was reported that the sales of the Palm Pre was only lukewarm in the UK and Ireland. I don't see why. Why would sometime take onboard a mobile device which does not have the capacity or functionality as good as the Iphone 3GS? It is not that I like the Iphone 3GS. It is just the fact. I have no preference towards the Iphone nor the Palm Pre. I just think that they are just two crippled mobile devices.

Money should have been spent on other more worth while mobile devices like the HTC instead.

We have another problem - O2 is charging a lot more for the Palm Pre, not mentioning the Iphone 3GS. Why bother about O2 when you can get it on Vodafone, Tesco and Orange? Take a pick!

HTC HD2

HTC has come a long way since its inception to become one of the best PDA/smartphone manufacturers in the world. I would have to say that I've started noticing it when O2 launched their XDA Orbit and EXEC PDA/phone years ago. Back then, the most criticised feature of a PDA/phone will be the battery standby power and the OS. Usually, a PDA/phone will only have around 24 hours of juice if you keep on using it throughout the day. When it comes to the OS, it is no other than Microsft Windows Mobile 5.

Time has come to reveal a true champion - the HTC HD2. It is probably the only one to be able to exceed the expectation of a consumer for now. Look at the specifications of the HTC HD2. It comes with a 4.3" capacitive screen, loaded with 512MB RAM and 448MB ROM; bluetooth 2.1+EDR, wi-fi, a memory slot, Windows Mobile 6.5, mp3 player and it is capable of voice recording and video recording at 720p!!! That will be a first for HTC because there has never been a HTC phone that could superceed the Apple Iphone! The heart of the HTC HD2 is an ARM Snapdragon 1Ghz CPU! That is simply marvellous!!! It is almost twice as fast as the Iphone 3GS and certainly normal recording is much better than the Iphone 3GS! It comes with a 5MP digital camera with a flash.

I have to say that you guys need to go to your local Vodafone shop to experience the HTC HD2. I have played with it for a while and the menu speed is so much better than the 4.1" Toshiba TG01! The HTC HD2 is slimmer than the TG01 and lighter than both the TG01 and the Iphone 3GS! The best of all is that the HTC HD2 could be yours for free on Vodafone's £40 a month for 18 months or £35 a month for 24 months. It's your call guys.

I do believe that it will be much better for you to take out a contract online or give Vodafone customer service a call. This is because you will get an additional 300 minutes and free internet apart from the 900 minutes and unlimited text (on the £40 a month, 18 months contract). I don't think that you will get the same deal if you were to take out a contract in a shop.

More could be seen here. Enjoy!

Intel Atom on your Smartphone?

I just could not imagine having a mobile phone powered by an Intel Atom. Can you imagine that? I don't think I can. It is something which is too far fetch but it is not impossible. I don't think so. The technology is well advanced nowdays so it is not impossible to see that such technology will be trasferred from a netbook to a mobile phone. Don't you think it will be great? You will have smaller motherboards, increased in efficiency and the best of all, increased in battery life even with bluetooth and 3G switched on?

Right now, it is really impossible for a smartphone to last for a day with constant use of wi-fi and bluetooth on a PDA. While we have the infamous SnapDragon cpu rated at 1Ghz, it consumes a lot of power. Look at Toshiba TG01 for example. It has a 4.1" screen and it does not last more than a day if you keep on using bluetooth and also wi-fi throughout the day. I am waiting to see whether it is impossible for us to have a more efficient battery for future mobile phones packed with nice features like usb 3.0. It will be a good start, don't you think so?

Intel Centrino 2

I am pretty happy with the way how new and improved laptops could be. Newer models of the laptop featuring Intel’s Centrino 2 suggest that it has an in-build turbo mode to accomplish what overclockers have been trying to do by tweaking the laptop to enable the whole system to run faster without damaging much of the cpu or the motherboard.

As you all know, Intel has done it again! I was playing Need For Speed: Carbon and I’ve managed to clock my laptop’s speed to 2.8Ghz instead of 2.4Ghz! That is an increase of 400 MHz as compared to the stock speed! I am really impressed! Couple with the world renowned 1GB ATI HD 4570, the laptop flies! The Dell Studio 1555 which I am using right now is living up to its expectation. One can really utilize the full potential of the laptop in question. What is important is that you need to be gentle with the laptop and that is about it. The cpu exhaust fan is located at the back of the laptop so it will not be a problem if you want to put the laptop on your bed. Please make sure that you don’t block the ventilation hole at the back of the laptop.

Right now, Intel will be releasing the new and upgraded version of the 45nm cpu to include four cores into one. It is just like the mobile extreme cpus which is currently featured on many Alienwares and also Rock laptops. However, such cpus take up lots of heat and so the laptop will be heavy when OEMs have to accommodate larger heatsink and fans to drive the heat away. Until now, two companies have released two Core i7 laptops.

You would have known, both laptops are pretty heavy. It will be not too long before Intel will be able to release the mobile version of the Core i7 later this year or the latest, in 2010. I will be looking forward to hearing from them. In the mean time, I think I’m quite satisfied with my Intel P8600 cpu. It does not come with 6MB of L2 cache but it is alright. I will be waiting for the Intel P9600 cpu. It comes with a 6MB of L2 cache with better efficiency in its TDP as compared to its bigger brother, the T9600 which takes in around 10W more for its TDP.

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Review

I have always been a big fan of Nokia although I went side track of getting an Iphone 3G myself not too long ago. The smoothness of the Mac OSX on the Iphone 3G makes life very easy for an end user. However, there are some disadvantages of using the Iphone 3G too. I don't really like the paltry digital camera and not being able to record movies, let alone at 30fps. The second thing which I have to complain is that the Iphone 3G is terribly expensive. It is more expensive if you are looking at the Iphone 3GS (Just think about blowing £540 on the 32GB Iphone 3GS makes me sick).

Besides the above problems with the Iphone, there is another major obstacle from Apple. One can't simply do teethering as and when they like unless they pay for a fee. I think that is such a rip off. I have come about to try an Iphone 3GS alternative - The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.

Don't be deceived by the sheer lightweight of the phone. It is by no means lightweight in functionality. After using it for one week, I have to say that it is still not as good as the Iphone 3GS in a few areas but nevertheless, I don't feel pressurised in blowing a big hole in my pocket. That is why I have decided to write a review regarding the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.

Size

The 5800's demension is 111 x 51.7 x 15.5 mm. With it's weight hovering around 109g, you don't really feel that it is too heavy to put it into your pocket and feeling that you are dragging it as you are walking along. You do feel that there is something in your pocket but yet, you do feel it is not a burden to you at all.

Screen

Something which I particularly like about Nokia is that they have set the standard of supporting up to 16.7 million colours on their mid range to high range mobile phones. The Nokia 5800 XM is of no exception. Couple with a 3.2" screen with accelerometer, it makes using the phone quite simple especially if you want to use your phone vertically or horizontally. The screen is bright and will work under sunlight so you do not have any problems with it.

Input Methods

Coming from the legendary Nokia E71 and also the Iphone 3G, a qwerty keyboard will most suit me. The 5800 XM does not disappoint. You can choose either a numeric keyboard, a full qwerty keyboard or a half qwerty keyboard (just like the Blackberry Pearl 8110 and 8120 or the upcoming Nokia E55) or just like a normal keypad which you will find on a typical Nokia mobile phone. I am quite impressed with the speed of the keypad when I am typing but I have to say that you need to press a little bit harder as opposed to the Iphone 3GS where it is more sensitive, hence you use less energy.

Power, Functionality and User Friendliness

When it comes to power source, the 5800 XM does not disappoint. It comes with a 1320mAh Li-Ion battery (BL-5J) which runs quite good on my 5800 XM. On an average, the 5800 XM will last around 2.5 days with bluetooth, e-mails and surfing the internet (including VOIP). I always use the 5800 XM to watch programmes on BBC's Iplayer when I am on the train. It is really useful. No doubt that users may be able to use their netbooks (around 10") for a better viewing on their bigger screens, they can't really use their netbooks to make a call as easy as a mobile phone can do (technically, one can use programmes like skype on the netbooks to make outgoing calls but it is rather a hassle). The 5800 XM is a true portable device which will be very kind to your pocket.

The 5800 XM is equipped with a whole range of applications for users to use. Users will have access to bluetooth, wi-fi, e-mail (including Microsoft Exchange), Quadband GSM (850mhz/900mhz/1800mhz/1900mhz) and Dualband UTMS (900/2100) - for Euro and Asian countries and UTMS (850/1800) for Latin and African countries. It runs on GPRS, EDGE and HSDPA (3.6Mbps) and features auto select on GSM networks. That is good, isn't it? Besides that, it comes in black, blue and red. Pick your favourite colour.

The 5800 XM comes with the latest Symbian OS 9.4 5th edition which features supports touchscreen. To me, the 5800 XM is by no means a direct alternative to the Iphone 3GS but it gives Apple a run for its money. Sound and music are generated by a pair of stereo speakers and Nokia is wise to include a 3.5mm audio out jack so users will be able to use better headphones like BOSE on their 5800 XM. Pretty cool, isn't it?

A 5800 XM user will have to apply a little pressure for the OS to register the input. This is by far means no problem as users will get used to it in due course. It was just like the very first time a person using the Nokia E71. The qwerty keyboard is small but all keys are raised so one will be able to master the art of typing quite fast in no time. Trust me with this.

I am not going to set the Iphone 3GS as a bechmark in every mobile phone review but in this case, it is quite appropriate as the Nokia 5800 XM is also a touchscreen phone. The big advantage of the 5800 XM over the Iphone 3GS is that you have a dual LED flash which the Iphone 3GS does not have. The next thing is that you can add more memory while you can't do so with the Iphone 3GS. The menu speed of the 5800 XM is fast and I do see no problem in running youtube on HD although the 5800 XM runs on a mere single core 369mhz ARM 11 cpu. The Iphone 3GS runs on a faster 600mhz Cortex A8 cpu with a brilliant 256kb L2 cache.

To conclude, I quite like the Nokia 5800 XM for now even though Nokia might be releasing an update to the Nokia 5800 XM which is called the 5800i XM. Early reports showed that the 5800i XM does not feature wi-fi. It is a shame as I think many people will expect it to include wi-fi. Nevertheless, with build in GPS and a digital media player on the 5800 XM will increase Nokia's mobile phone market share. It is so far the most popular Nokia mid range phone where the N97 is the most popular high range Nokia mobile phone for now.

Have your say!

Watch out Apple, here comes Samsung!!!

I am sure that you have heard of the newly launched Apple Iphone 3GS with the 'S' stands for 'Speed'. Specifications of the CPU is pretty impressive - 600mhz ARM Cortex A8 with in build GPU and double the memory and an impressive L2 cache. Couple with the flawless Mac OSX, it is next to perfection.

However, the Iphone 3GS was launched back in July 2009. Now, it is August 2009. Samsung has landed ARM another job to produce a much updated Cortex A8 CPU - 45nm and with the speed of 1Ghz with inbuild GPU, just like the CPU on the Iphone 3GS but nearly double the speed of the Iphone 3GS and more memory too. Couple with the latest touchscreen UI which Samsung is improving on its mobile phone devices as we could see on the Samsung Omnia HD, it will be much better than the Iphone 3GS. Consumers will be able to record and playback true 1080p HD movies without any jerkiness on their mobile phones. Can you imagine that in the future? p>
Well, the 'Hummingbird', as what they called the CPU, will be a star of the decade. We have seen the launched of Toshiba's TG01 - a small PDA/phone with the size of a Nokia E71 but longer, managed to survive critics as to the functionality of the mobile phone. It is a smartphone, no doubt but what is more important is that the CPU is power efficient. It will enable the battery to last longer than before.

I am not surprised if other companies like Samsung will be able to launch new mobile phones incorporating the Cortex A8 CPUs to impress consumers. This will enable them to get more percentage in the already stagnant mobile phone pie. I really hope that Nokia will be able to release some good mobile phones with the ARM Cortex A8 CPU. It will be interesting to see the selling price of such phones. In fact, ARM is doing good. Bravo!!!

HTC Hero

I was really surprised to see that HTC is coming out with weird names like 'Magic', 'Touch' and now 'Hero'. I supposed 'Hero' is a better name compared to the many. Having said that, it is important to inform you all about the new touchscreen which is going to run on the Andriod 1.5 OS.

I have not much of an experience into playing with an Andriod PDA/phone except for HTC's 'Magic' on Vodafone UK. I find that the 'Magic' is really magical. It serve the purpose of the many. In fact, I have to say that the OS is quite competitive and it could, in time, be as good as the current Symbian OS!

No doubt that WinMo dominated the touchscreen devices since its inception but not anymore. We have the Mac OS X OS running on the Iphone; Symbian OS S60 running on many of the Nokia mobile devices and now, the Andriod OS. Not longer after this we might be seeing Andriod on an ARM based Netbook! This will be a first, don't you think so?

Coming back to HTC's Hero, it sports a quadband GSM with dualband UTMS. The screen size is 320x480, supporting 65k colours on a 3.2inch wide platform. It has many of the latest technologies including Bluetooth, wi-fi (802.11b/g) and it has a 5MP autofocus digital camera with a video camera in front. It is a far cry from the current Iphone 3GS where it does not have a front camera!!! What a shame Apple!!!

One thing good about the HTC Hero is that the screen is capacitative so it is similar to the Apple's Iphone. It has an accelerometer fitted and capable of downloading speed of up to 7.2Mbps (HSDPA). It has a digital compass, like the Iphone 3GS but the cpu is merely a 528mhz Qualcomm MSM7200A, unlike the ARM Cortex A8 on the Iphone 3GS which is faster at 600mhz.

I will be very surprised if the HTC Hero does not receive a good welcome from customers as it is quite slim, although not as slim as the Arena or Tocco. It is still a good PDA/phone. The HTC Hero supports external memory card for up to 16GB (for now) and it has 288MB RAM with 512MB ROM. It is pretty impressive!!! We'll see about it then. Right now, I am going to enjoy my Iphone 3G...

Marvell PXA168

Have you ever heard of 1Ghz CPU power on a cell phone or PDA before? The best that I have heard of is actually the 800mhz CPU power on an Asus P565 which was produced by Marvell. Now, they have released a better version of the CPU by increasing it to 1Ghz! Can you imagine 1Ghz on your normal PDA/phone? That is fantastic, right?

It is good that tasks can be executed as smoothly and as swiftly possible. However, the problem here remains - power hungry. I had the opportunity to have a test on the Asus P565 and the battery died in a day where my good old Nokia E71 will run for another day or two. With the version 200 firmware, the Nokia E71 rocks!!! I am so happy to see that there are many people who are really interested in the Nokia E71, so unlike in the UK whereby they are more interested in Blackberry phones. Shame!!! If you want to have more information on the Marvell PXA168, look no further but here.