Samsung Wave mobile phone | Gadget review

A crisp, bright screen makes this smartphone appealing – but Samsung's new in-house operating system doesn't

What is it? Samsung Wave GT-S8500 – the first device to run Samsung operating system Bada

Category: Hardware and software, given the newsworthy nature of operating systems these days..

You'd use it for... On the move, personal or business. It's not going to intrude on BlackBerry's ground as leading high-performance business mobile device, but the Wave sits happily as a phone suited to staying up to speed while on the move.

First impressions: what is it like to look at, to hold, to use? Perfectly good look and feel to the phone, a sturdy but slender shell encasing a fairly high-spec bit of mobile kit. It's when you activate the screen things start to go downhill.

The home screen – quite separate from the screen of apps – has six iterations as you swipe your finger right-to-left, inching across a background of some picturesque eastern European town square.

Each of these five modules is for housing a quick access single widget – but the access isn't so quick after four or five swipes of the finger. Navigating from the home screen to your downloaded apps directory takes another click. Granted, the software is snappy and quickly responsive, but these things all pile up in the "pointless" file.

And you can't swipe up to the URL bar in the browser, forcing you instead to press an on-screen button. Seems needless.

What does it really do well? Mobile internet has a well-suited clean font, made all the more appealing by the crisp super AMOLED screen. Put the Wave side-by-side with an iPhone 4 and a 3G – you'll see the difference. FYI: guardian.co.uk looks better on a Wave than a 3G.

Keyboard keys appear far too close together, but typing seems to work fine if not more usable than on the iPhone. When browsing the web, pinching zooms are clunky and not instantaneously responsive.

Video playback is impressive, on the eyes and the ears. Creating media is a good experience too, the 5MP camera shooting strong video and stills taking allowing nifty features like user-directed focus.

What's the cost? Around £300 sim-free; a 24-month contract, free handset, will set you back between £25-£45 per month.

What's it up against? A smartphone market with less wiggle room than the App Store. It's a relatively ruthless market out there for high-end devices, software increasing in consumer importance at a rate of knots.

With Bada, Samsung is late to the party and forgot to invite its marketing muscle. For this reason alone, Wave falls short of the majority of recently-released Android devices – Samsung have plenty of work to do before the release of Bada-powered Wave 2.

Blind us with the tech specs, then: Quite a few headline tech specs come with the Wave: the 5MP video/still camera will draw the punters - 5x zoom for stills and 720p video recording make the feature more than adequate; the Super AMOLED screen is a turn on, but likely only to the techies.

As light as any iPhone, the Wave is slimmer but only at a stitch. At 3.3 inch, the Wave screen limits its viability as a comfortable-to-use mobile internet device. With 2GB internal memory as standard, most users will require a MicroSD card (up to 32GB capacity).

What's it good for? Taking and sharing decent-quality stills. It would be good for accomplishing tasks quickly if there weren't so many naggingly bad points of user experience making pretty much any task an exertion.

What are its failings? One word: Bada. A few more words: the cramped feeling while using SMS, the uneconomic use of the 3.3 inch screen made worse by the majority of the screen having a black (or very dark) background even when running apps.

Will I have to read the manual? Does anyone still read manuals? If new to Samsung, you may need to Google "Help! I've accidentally locked my Samsung Wave – what now?"

How long is the battery life? With its 3G signal sensor turned off, the battery will last you over 24 hours from full – more than can be said for any iPhone before 4.

What's its USP? The Wave's USP would have to be the Super AMOLED screen which, on this score alone, puts it near top of the class for smartphones. That said, I don't know one single person who's been sold a phone on screen specifications – and it's not great marketing fodder either.

Rating out of 10: 6.5

Finally, is it worth it - yes or no? Not at the current price. There are countless devices (and countless yet to be released) doing a better job and with a better operating system. Don't hold out for the Wave 2.

Rating: 3/5

MetroPCS offers BlackBerry Curve 8530

Want to get a BlackBerry but you are not quite sure where to start? Well, why not begin with MetroPCS as they offer the BlackBerry Curve 8530? This new smartphone will be available with unlimited talk, text, Web and data service, just in case you’re interested to keep in touch with family and friends round the clock without worrying too much about the final monthly bill. Features include Wi-Fi connectivity, e-mail, and turn-by-turn GPS navigation, where all of the mentioned will cost you a mere $60 monthly, where it already includes the whole range of applicable taxes and regulatory fees. When totaled, it is nearly half of what consumers would fork out in this day and age for other smartphone service plans at different carriers. Sounds like good value for money to us, considering the current economic climate.

At $60 a month, MetroPCS’ BlackBerry service plan delivers exceptional value, where you will be able to take advantage of popular IM services as well as the ever famous and faithful BlackBerry Messenger, not to mention keeping your status updates right up to the second through a range of social media networks. Apart from that, you will also be able to access the latest content including games, ringtones and wallpapers via the @Metro App Store and BlackBerry App World. While it might not be as comprehensive as Apple’s App Store, at least it is better than nothing. With special MetroPCS applications such as Metro Navigator, Metro Back-up, Premium Directory Assistance and Metro Banking, you can be sure your life will be made a whole lot easier.

Other hardware specifications include a full QWERTY keyboard for easier text messaging and email composition, while an optical trackpad keeps up with the times since the good old trackball tends to gather dust over time. It is rather unfortunate that the digital camera maxes out at just 2-megapixels, complete with zoom and video recording. Interested? Might be a good start for those who are trying to figure their way around in the world of smartphones.

Press Release

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Introducing Foolish Gadgets because not all gadgets are cool
[ MetroPCS offers BlackBerry Curve 8530 copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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ZAGG has a new solution for the antenna concern connected to the iPhone 4

ZAGG is a name that most of us are familiar with, as the company has already made its mark with its range of invisibleSHIELD, ZAGGskins, and ZAGGsparq brands, offering all round protection to your precious mobile device without making it look bulky in any way. Well, the company is back with a brand new protective skin for the famous Apple iPhone 4, and they have certainly done their homework by completing independent testing to determine whether these new protective skins products are able to help improve antenna concerns which has plagued the Apple iPhone 4 for quite some time since it was released. Nice to know that they have succeeded, so you will be able to hold your spanking new iPhone 4 in any way with it well protected without looking as though it has put on additional weight in any way.

According to Brian Packer, VP of Marketing for ZAGG, “We are thrilled to offer this solution to help customers get the most out of their iPhone 4. Nobody wants to hide that amazing device behind a bulky case just to save the signal, and by using the invisibleSHIELD or ZAGGskins, they don’t need to.” His sentiment is echoed that way simply because conclusions from internal tests, independent lab tests and research with consumers in the wireless industry point towards the invisibleSHIELD and ZAGGskins doing their bit in preventing a loss of signal strength which has been attributed to placing the hand over the antennas on the lower left-hand corner of the handset.

If you are interested to give your iPhone 4 the most discreet form of protection possible, the invisibleSHIELD Full Body Maximum Coverage will retail for $24.99 a pop, while the ZAGGskin is going for $19.99. The Complete Sides Only Coverage will specifically target the antenna concern, where it will set you back by $9.99. Seems that there is a solution for everyone with an iPhone 4, depending on the type and amount of protection you want your smartphone to have.

Press Release

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Check out the Coolest Gadgets 2008 Gift Guides, Christmas shopping made easy.
[ ZAGG has a new solution for the antenna concern connected to the iPhone 4 copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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AT&T announces Sharp FX quick messaging phone

Hmmm, looks like the Sidekick is not quite dead yet with AT&T announcing the availability of the Sharp FX quick messaging phone this coming July 25th. This will be the first quick messaging handset from Sharp on the AT&T network, while making it the latest AT&T Mobile TV-capable device that is lined up to rock and roll in the US market. What you get here would be a whole full touchscreen for your fingers to slide all over, not to mention a slide-out QWERTY keyboard which will definitely make life a whole lot easier if you are one who wants to send out text messages and emails in a flurry while not having gotten used to a virtual keyboard just yet. Of course, instant messaging and social networking also comes into the picture with the Sharp FX to make sure you will never be left behind at all times, while an MP3 player, a 2-megapixel digital camera with camcorder capability and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity rounds off the list of features.

Among the other features that can be found in the Sharp FX include :-

• AT&T Address Book, which syncs contacts to an online address book so customers can access and manage their mobile contacts from their handset – or their PC. Synchronization occurs automatically when any change is made, so contact information is always backed up.
• The att.net mobile browser that supports full HTML surfing and also makes it easy for customers to customize their home page, navigate quickly to popular content and find local information.
• AT&T Navigator, which provides turn-by-turn directions, traffic alerts with one-touch rerouting, 3D moving maps, integrated speech recognition and more.
• AT&T Social Net, which lets customers access multiple social networking sites from one application
  The ability to send photos and videos captured on their mobile phone to an Online Locker where customers can easily store, manage and share all their media.

As for AT&T Mobile TV subscribers, they are able to enjoy around-the-clock access to full-length live and time-shifted programming ranging from FLO TV to content from ABC Mobile, Adult Swim Mobile, CBS Mobile, CNBC, CNN Mobile, COMEDY CENTRAL, Disney Channel, ESPN Mobile TV, FOX Mobile, msnbc, MTV, NBC 2Go, Nickelodeon and the movie channel Crackle. Of course, all of the mentioned isn’t free since you will need to fork out $9.99 monthly for the service, although new subscribers will receive the first seven days of their subscription for free.

Press Release via Engadget

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Check out the Coolest Gadgets 2008 Gift Guides, Christmas shopping made easy.
[ AT&T announces Sharp FX quick messaging phone copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Motorola i1 is new Nextel Direct Connect Smartphone

Fancy an Android-powered Nextel Direct Connect Smartphone? Well, you can get your digs with the Motorola i1, a spanking new Android-powered smartphone which won’t cost you more than $150, albeit coming with a 2-year contract. This is a world’s first just in case you were wondering, where it will hit the market in the US this coming July 25th. The Motorola i1 is no pushover when it comes to smartphones in terms of ruggedness, as you can tell by its solid body construction that adheres to military specifications when it comes to protection against dust, shock, vibration and blowing rain, making the Motorola i1 an ideal smartphone for folks who work and play hard. There is one downside to all of this though – the Motorola i1 runs on Android 1.5 which frankly, is old hat and won’t even support most of the more modern apps available these days, making us wonder just what Sprint is up to.

Of course, not all is doom and gloom even with Android 1.5 running on it (although we would have liked to have an assurance of an update coming our way in the near future), as the Motorola i1 will come with a range of robust business and entertainment applications that can be downloaded off the Android Market thanks to its integrated Wi-Fi capability. You will be able to reorganize your life better thanks to applications such as Scan2PDF Mobile 2.0, Unit Converter – ConvertPad and RealCalc Scientific Calculator and Facebook or Twitter support. Not only that, there are Sprint partner applications that is available for businesses on the Motorola i1 which include the Xora mobile workforce management solution which enables businesses to have real-time visibility into field operations, while helping to automate payroll and job workflow processes.

Apart from that, you can also access your Microsoft Office files on the go thanks to Microsoft Document Viewer, with a 5-megapixel camera to capture beautiful moments when you do not have a dedicated digital camera handy. A 3.1″ HVGA screen, microSD memory card slot and Flash 8 support are part of the other specifications. You up for a new rugged phone? We admit, for a rugged handset, it is quite the looker.

Press Release

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Introducing Foolish Gadgets because not all gadgets are cool
[ Motorola i1 is new Nextel Direct Connect Smartphone copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Vlingo unveils SuperDialer for Android devices

Vlingo is a name synonymous with intelligent voice applications that are capable of transforming words into action, where the company has rolled out a spanking new feature known as SuperDialer, targeting Android-powered devices in the process. Of course, as we all well know, Android devices are mostly smartphones, but many of them also come in portable media player or tablet form factors. Well, you can’t call anyone out of a tablet or portable media player, so it is safe to assume that the SuperDialer, as its name suggests, will work only on smartphones. First of all, a little bit of history lesson – the original voice dialer from Vlingo connects users with people from a personal address book, while its new and improved SuperDialer expands on that functionality by accessing an infinite phone book to bridge a connection with any business, anywhere, anytime.

This new function is easily accessible and a cinch to use thanks to Vlingo’s Tap & Speak home screen widget. Using it will instantaneously unlock reviews, ratings, maps and directions in addition to one-click calling. The use of Vlingo does away with the need to access a phone book, call 411 or search the Internet simply to call a business, as they can just speak their wish and the software will go ahead to transform words into actions. It boasts greater flexibility compared to other voice dialing services, where among the phrases you can use include “Call Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami Beach”, “Call dentist” or “Directions to Fenway Park”.

Of course, if calling’s not your thing, you can still use Vlingo for Android for a non-phone Android device. All you need to do is tap on the Vlingo widget to send text and email messages, search the web using Google or Yahoo! engines, update your Twitter status for friends and family to know just exactly what you’re up to, open built-in and 3rd party applications, speak into any application with the Vlingo Everywhere voice keyboard, and hear both incoming text and email messages while you drive thanks to SafeReader.

Too bad Vlingo works only with Android 2.x and above devices, where it will retail for $9.99 per purchase. Well, if it makes your life easier and more convenient, why not?

Press Release

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Introducing Foolish Gadgets because not all gadgets are cool
[ Vlingo unveils SuperDialer for Android devices copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Suzi Perry: ‘I would really like a teleporter’ | Celebrity squares

Gadget Show presenter Suzi Perry unveils her favourite gizmos

What's your favourite piece of technology and how has it improved your life?
I'm going to generalise and say the smartphone. Starting from Nokia's N95, I've had a bunch of smartphones since they came along – they're feature-rich and bring everything from the office to your pocket. They've made life so much easier.

When was the last time you used it, and what for?
I've got a BlackBerry Bold and an iPhone. I'm on the BlackBerry right now, talking to you, and I've been using my iPhone this morning to arrange a virtual sporting event.

What additional features would you add if you could?
I'd like a little projector built in, to project pictures on to any surface. I think we'll see them in the next year or two.

Do you think the smartphone will be obsolete in 10 years' time?
No, but I think it will move on. There will always be a need for a hand-held phone.

What always frustrates you about technology in general?
I think the industry can be seen as pretty geeky and quite nerdy. I've been working with Train2Game providing courses for people who want to work in the gaming industry. It's a sexy industry, the tech industry, and these days it's quite chic to be a geek.

Is there any particular piece of technology that you have owned and hated?
I did once throw a Motorola handset against the wall, because it drove me mad, but I think ugly, obsolete tech is terrible. For me, the Amstrad Emailer is the piece of tech I dislike the most.

If you had one tip about getting the best out of new technology, what would it be?
I'm a big embracer of new technology, but I do try to only buy tech that I'm going to use – I try not to be a magpie and swoop up everything shiny or new.

Do you consider yourself to be a luddite or a nerd?
I consider myself a she-geek!

What's the most expensive piece of technology you've ever owned?
I haven't really spent an enormous amount of money on anything... probably my MacBook Pro.

Mac or PC and why?
I'm in the 4% – I'm a Mac girl. I think over the years PCs have improved massively to meet the requirements and their ease of use. But for me, it's always a Mac – I love how it looks, I love the user system and all the software works so well together. And with my iPhone and my iPod touch, it all syncs really nicely.

Do you still buy physical media such as CDs and DVDs or do you download? What was your last purchase?
I'm a downloader. I have an Apple TV at home, which is fantastic for downloading and renting movies. I buy streamed TV shows, using the season pass on iTunes – I recently bought True Blood season two, Damages season three and 24 season eight. As for music, I downloaded Paul Weller's album, Wake up the Nation.

Robot butlers – a good idea or not?
Anything that does things for you is a good idea, but not yet. We're not ready.

What piece of technology would you most like to own?
I would like to own a teleporter and have it built into a 1950s American Airstream trailer. I love them. Inside, I'd like it tricked out fully with gadgets. Travel bores the pants off me and I have to do it so much.

• Suzi Perry co-hosts The Gadget Show on Five. She has also been working with Train2Game to launch its new artist and animator course

Mobile Phone or iPod socks – 6 different colours

Mobile Phone or iPod socks – 6 different colours

Price: New Prices From :- £1.64

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Product Group: CE

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