Day: August 22, 2006

“The KG920 is one funny looking device, reminding me of a 1960s impression of a future walkie-talkie. The design is one of a kind, and you either like it or hate it. It is ironic that neither the front nor the back looks too much like a phone. The front looks like a lab machine full of buttons, and the back looks like a digital camera, with a manual lens cover, LED lamp, and Xenon flash. The device is definitely not the smallest around, but at the same time, it might not be as big as you think. In fact, it is just about the same size as the Nokia N73, and as heavy as a Sharp 903. The exact measurements are shown in the table to the right.The KG920 consists of two parts joined by a rotating hinge. The top part includes the screen on the front and the battery on the back, and the lower part houses the keypad on the front and camera module on the back. As opposed to the rotating Nikon cameras and the Nokia 3250, the lens is directly behind the keypad, instead of on the edge of the device. If you wish to take self-portraits, you can simply rotate the camera around 180 degrees. The screen and the camera will now be on the same face. If you are a keen photographer, the rotating mechanism also allows you to take pictures from a very low angle. I am happy to report that the hinge feels extremely solid, just like the rest of the phone. With the included Xenon flash, the KG920 is also great for party pictures. ” Read this interesting review here:

“Sony Ericsson today announces the Z610; a stylish 3G phone that blends performance with stand-out design. The sleek mirror finish on the front cover gives the phone a jewel-like quality that is complimented by a hidden ‘magic mirror’ display which can only be seen when in use.Its advanced feature set includes a 2.0 Megapixel camera and broadband-speed 3G connectivity. With such a unique design and a choice of three eye-catching colours – Luster Black, Rose Pink & Airy Blue – Z610 is the clamshell to be seen with.The magic of the Z610 is revealed when a call comes in or the user receives an SMS or MMS. The hidden external display illuminates, giving the effect that the caller-ID information is floating on the face of the phone itself. The distinctive design of the Z610 is matched by a feature set that lets the user get the most from their mobile phone. The Picture Blog application allows the user to share photographs with friends and family, via an online ‘blogsite’, within just a few clicks. Simply take a shot with the Z610?s 2.0 Megapixel camera and upload (or blog) the images directly to the site.The Z610’s 3G capability, coupled with its large 2.0 inch screen, makes video calling and accessing the Internet a pleasure; and with support for Push Email and RSS feeds that deliver the latest news updates direct to your mobile, it’s so much more than a pretty face. Z610 is available in selected markets from Q3 2006.” More photos at slashphone.com

“Samsung announced to release its 8GB super music phone ‘SCH-B570′ through SK Telecom, which can store up to 1600 songs (4MB song), 16 PMP movies (400MB), or 20,000 pictures (300K picture).It features professional audio functions like 5.1 channel virtual stereo and 3D stereo sound.’5.1-channel virtual stereo’ means that users can choose stereo sound by controlling the location of five speakers on the screen.‘Morning-call motion recognition snooze function’ is another noticeable feature; when the phone makes an alarm in the morning and if you shake it a few times, it starts to make sound automatically after a few minutes.The SCH-B570 enables users to enjoy S-DMB or other downloadable PMP movies with PIP feature as well as various multimedia content such as psychology test, Chinese character dictionary, and motion recognition games.” More photos of this great phone here:

“Being a standalone personal media player just doesn’t cut it anymore; you’ve got to have plenty of extra functionality in there before you’ll get anyone’s attention. Just as a cell phone isn’t complete without a camera anymore, it seems that GPS units aren’t complete without video these days (at least in Korea). The XPIN MX-430 from DK EMD is the latest in this line of thought.Under the hood, you’ll discover a SiRF-III chipset to keep you going in the right direction, but as soon as you’re sure you’re taking the right route, it doesn’t take much to switch on over to the DMB watching capability of this puppy. You can even check out your own DivX collection.There’s a 4.3-inch touchscreen LCD on board to accompany the 2GB of flash memory found within. For expansion, they’ve turned to the postage stamp-sized SD cards, and it actually boasts twin antennas: one for GPS, the other for DMB.Look for the XPIN in Korea by the end of the month, with an asking price of 548,000 KRW (~US$568).” via mobilemag.com