Nokia N9 video demo, first impressions

So now it’s clear why Nokia went for WP7 instead of Android — because they’re still banking on the Meego OS and the Nokia N9 is a testament that they can still kick ass.

The Nokia N9 is an impressive handset — both inside and out. The design is similar to what they did with the Nokia N8 but this time, there are no buttons on the screen. The AMOLED display is brilliant and the 3.9-inch glass somewhat curves towards the edge to give it a continuous feel.

The unibody is made up of polycarbonate which makes it light but tough at the same time. The material is already colored from production so it’s not just coated by inherent to the body (if you scratch it, the inherent color remains). You still feel that heft, probably due to the massive glass display and it’s relatively thin too — starts at 7.6 on the edges going to 12.1mm in the center.

The specs is the best one Nokia has pushed out their doors:

Nokia N9
3.9-inch AMOLED screen @ 854×480 pixels
ARM Cortex-A8 OMAP3630 1.0 GHz
PowerVR SGX530
1024MB RAM
16GB and 64GB internal storage
Bluetooth 2.1
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
3G/HSDPA 14.4Mbps
Near Field Communication (NFC)
8MP autofocus camera with Carl Zeiss optics (f/2.2 aperture)
720p HD video recording @ 30fps with stereo sound
2 x LED flash
2nd front-facing camera for video calls
1450mAh battery
Meego 1.2 Harmattan

The Meego 1.2 OS has been re-built to give it a fresh UI. I tried it on the N900 before and didn’t liked it very much. However, the Meego 1.2 OS on the Nokia N9 showed a whole lot of improvements. With the ARM Cortex-A8 processor and generous 1GB of internal RAM, the UI is very snappy and has a lot of tricks and nice, smooth transition effects up its sleeve.

In it’s true multi-tasking capability, you can switch between applications in a single swipe or load pages and pages on the browser at the background while doing something else. You can download thousands of apps and games straight from Ovi store and use them with the N9.

The Near Field Communication (NFC) works flawlessly when we tested it out with Nokia’s portable speakers and headsets (both have NFC support as well) so you ca use the technology right off the bat.

The handset comes in 3 colors — black, blue and pink. One thing that people might find as a bit of a disadvantage is that the 1450mAh Li-Ion battery is built-in and not user-replaceable, just like what they did with the N8.

Nokia has not specified the exact date nor the suggested retail price but promises the N9 will be out before end of the year. I’m guessing it will be the same SRP as the N90 when it first came out or probably near the 23k price of the N8This article originally appeared at -

This article originally appeared at - yugatech

Nokia N9 with Meego announced!

Probably the biggest announcement during the Nokia Connection 2011 here in Singapore is the upcoming Nokia N9. See photos and video of the demo after the jump.

The Nokia N9 will run on Meego 1.2 Harmattan with a refreshed user interface.

Nokia N9 specs:
3.9-inch AMOLED screen @ 854×480 pixels
ARM Cortex-A8 OMAP3630 1 GHz
PowerVR SGX530
1GB RAM
16GB and 64GB internal storage
Bluetooth 2.1
WiFI 802.11 b/g/n
3G/HSDPA 14.4Mbps
NFC
8MP autofocus camera with Carl Zeiss optics
720p HD video recording @ 30fps with stereo sound
2 x LED flash
2nd front-facing camera for video calls
1450mAh battery
Meego 1.2 Harmattan

The device seems thinner than the Nokia N8, ranging from 7.6–12.1mm in thickness. This unibody design is made of of polycarbonate with inherent colors so even if you scratch it, the colors will remain.

This article originally appeared at - yugatech

BlackBerry Bold 9900 in the flesh!

I managed to get a sneak peak and got a few shots of the upcoming BlackBerry Bold 9900 yesterday. It’s not yet out in South East Asia and they would not tell exactly when it will be released so this is just some sort of a media preview.

The device looks pretty impressive both inside and out. It still has that BlackBerry design signature but no more of the thick, clunky form factor — it’s relatively thin at 10.5mm.

It’s still a bit awkward when you have a full qwerty and a touchscreen paired with each other but looks like that’s the direction nowadays (the Nokia E6 also has the same).

There’s not much real-world NFC applications available but we were able to test it out yesterday and worked as expected. The specs in itself is already impressive.

BlackBerry Bold 9900 specs:
• 2.8″ capacitive touch screen display (640×480), 287 dpi resolution
• QWERTY keyboard, optical trackpad
• 1.2 GHz processor
• 768 MB RAM
• 8GB on-board memory,
• microSD slot supporting up to 32GB
• NFC technology
• 5MP camera w/ 720p HD video recording
• Orientation Sensor (Accelerometer), Digital Compass (Magnetometer), Proximity Sensor
• GPS with aGPS support
• Dual-Band WiFi – 802.11 b/g/n @ 2.4 GHz and 802.11 a/n @ 5GHz
• Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
• 1230 mAh Li-Ion battery
• BlackBerry 7 OS

The Bold 9900 is also the first handset from RIM to sport the new BlackBerry 7 OS. It’s interesting since RIM has also released BB 6 OS last year, giving the BB 7 OS a quick turn-around.

The Bold 9900 looks and feels more elegant compared to the old model. The thinner design also makes it better to hold for a more comfortable grip.

This article originally appeared at - yugatech

Huawei MediaPad: Dual-core on Android 3.2

Bumped into several familiar Singaporean media friends who happened to just have just finished covering the Huawei event this afternoon where the company launched the Huawei MediaPad, a 7-inch 1.2GHz dual-core Android 3.2 tablet.

The Huawei MediaPad could be the first tablet to run Android 3.2 and with specs that could match Samsung’s Galaxy Tab.

Huawei MediaPad
7″ IPS LCD capacitive display
Qualcomm SnapDragon 1.2GHz dual-core
8GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
3G/HSPA+ 14.4Mbps
Bluetooth 2.1
mini-HDMI output
5MP autofocus camera
1.3MP front-facing camera

The MediaPad can also do 1080p Full HD video playback and promises up to 6 hours of battery life. Unfortunately, Huawei did not say how much the tablet would cost once it is released. Expect it to be launched in the Philippines too before end of this year.

More on this when I visit the Huawei booth at Communicasia on Wednesday.

This article originally appeared at - yugatech

Asus ROG G53SW in the flesh!

We’ve had a couple of week with this 3D gaming laptop from Asus — the Asus ROG G53S, running the 2nd-generation Sandy Bridge processor from Intel. The 15.6″ LED screen is capable of running up to 120Hz refresh rate.

This 4kg gaming rig can also do 3D games and comes with an active 3D glasses whenever you need it.

Fortunately, Asus pre-installed Call of Duty: Black Ops just to show off its 3D gaming capability. The built-in Blu-Ray player can also be used to play 3D movies which you can watch on the laptop or out straight to a 3DTV via HDMI port at full HD 1080p.

Asus G53S specs:
15.6″ LED display at 1366×768 pixels
Intel Core i7 2630QM @ 2.0GHz (4 cores, 8 threads, 2.9GHz Turbo Boost)
8GB DDR3 RAM
NVidia GeForce GTX 460 1.5GB GDDR5
2 x 500GB SATA HDD (1TB)
2x Blu-Ray drive
5-in-1 card reader
2MP webcam
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 2.1+EDR (optional)
GigaBit LAN
1 x USB 3.0 port
3 x USB 2.0 ports
8-cell battery, 5200mAh 74Whrs

The processor and graphics got impressive sub-scores on WEI with the CPU at 7.4 and the GTX 460 at 7.1.

We tried playing several of the pre-installed games and was impressed with the performance of the laptop. The active 3D glasses were a little cumbersome and works as expected with very little eye-strain even after prolonged periods of use.

There’s a dedicated button on the top left side of the keyboard that switches between 2D and 3D anytime you need it.

The unit retails for about Php104,995 in stores. Not the cheapest in its category but definitely a great gaming laptop both in design, specs and capabilities.

This article originally appeared at - yugatech

Mach Speed Trio A1000 4GB MP3 Player

Priced at only $30.63, the Trio A1000 from Mach Speed is another budget-friendly MP3 player for you to take home. The player sports a small OLED display, a 4GB of internal storage, a voice recorder, a USB port and a built-in rechargeable battery (up to 8 hours of music playback

This article originally appeared at - ipods.techfresh

SANSUI V618 Android PMP

SANSUI has unveiled another one of its upcoming Android PMP namely the V618. The player sports a touchscreen display, a 256MB DDR2 RAM, a microSD card slot, WiFi and runs on Android 2.2 OS. Unfortunately, there’s no word on pricing and release date yet.

This article originally appeared at - ipods.techfresh

Kanex AirBlue Portable Bluetooth Music Receiver

The Kanex AirBlue is a portable Bluetooth-based music receiver that simply enables you to wirelessly play, listen and control all your favorite media from your iPod touch, iPhone or MP3 player through your home stereo or speakers. You just need to connect the receiver to your home stereo system with the included cables, and then pair your device to the AirBlue. The AirBlue receiver uses Bluetooth v2.1 with EDR to provide you with high fidelity and premium sound. The AirBlue has a rechargeable battery that provides up to 10-hour of operation time. $49 is all you need to bring home the Kanex AirBlue.

This article originally appeared at - ipods.techfresh

Arcam rCube Wireless Docking Station

The rCube portable high-end iPod and iPhone docking station from Arcam is now available for purchase at select Magnolia Audio Video outlets. What makes the rCube special is that it has the ability to stream music to up to four other iCubes in the vicinity. With a bunch of cubes, users can easily set up music to play in oddly shaped rooms without having to deal with any wires. Its battery provides up to 8-hour of battery life. The rCube retails for £499 ($797) in the UK.

This article originally appeared at - ipods.techfresh

Cool X4 Android PMP

Cool has come out with another Android PMP namely the X4. Priced at only 365 Yuan (about $56), the player is packed with a 4.3-inch display, a 4GB of storage, a microSD card slot, multi-format video playback support, WiFi and runs on Android 

 This article originally appeared at - ipods.techfresh

Flash-memory players

Flash-memory players

These are the smallest and lightest types of MP3 players, often no bigger than a pack of gum, and they typically weigh no more than 3 ounces. They have solid-state memory instead of a hard disk, meaning they have no moving parts and tend to have longer audio playback time than players that use hard-disk storage. Storage capacities range from 512MB to 64GB, or about 120 to 16,000 songs. (All song capacities listed here are based on a standard CD-quality setting of 128 kilobytes per second, which requires about

 1GB per 250 songs. You can fit more music into memory if you compress songs into smaller files, but that may result in lower audio quality.) Some flash-memory players also have memory-card expansion slots to add more capacity. These typically use Secure Digital cards, though some Sony players use MemoryStick media. Memory-card capacities range from about 32MB to 32GB. Memory costs have gradually dropped. Price: $40 to $500 for the player; $10 to $20 for a 4GB memory card.

YugaDeals: Sapido DSL+3.5G Router & Torrent Client

Our deal for this week is a DSL and 3.5G WiFi-N router from Sapido that works as Torrent client, Printer Server, FTP Server, Webcam server and network storage — everything you’ll need for in a network at home.

Tried the router last week and been using it as a back-up router at home. You can connect it to your DSL router and plug in a 3G dongle so that when the DSL is down, it will dial up to 3G and connect you back within minutes.

As a torrent client, you can hook up a storage device in one of the 2 USB ports (like a portable HDD) and then upload a torrent tracker (via local web) and the router will then download the torrent file straight to the attached device.

Even if there are only 2 USB ports, you can also connect a USB hub so you can add more devices into the network — a printer, a webcam, a dongle and a storage device.

This article originally appeared at - yugadeals

HTC Flyer lands, priced at Php36,990

Just got a note from a source that the HTC Flyer Android tablet is now available in stores and has a suggested retail price of Php36,990, making it the most expensive Android tablet available locally.

It’s a little curious they did not reveal the HTC Flyer during the launch of the Sensation last week (they’ll probably do a separate event for this one).

HTC Flyer
1.5GHz Qualcomm chip
4,000mAh battery
32GB of internal storage
up to 32Gb via microSD card
1GB of RAM
5MP camera
1.3MP secondary front-facing camera
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA
Bluetooth 3.0
HDMI out
Android 2.3

This article originally appeared at - yugatech

Huawei MediaPad in the flesh!

So I only had about an hour to go around CommunicAsia this morning so I headed straight to the Nokia booth. On my way back, I passed by Huawei and checked out the units on display, one of which is the newly launched Huawei MediaPad.

The 7-inch tablet is thin (10.5mm) and light (390g) with great display quality — not the brightest but it’s clear and crisp. The body composed of metal and plastic. I have to say it’s got a pretty solid build.

Didn’t really notice a huge difference in the UI but seems like Huawei has installed Android 3.2 in here. The navigation is smooth and the screen is pretty responsive though.

Huawei MediaPad
7″ IPS LCD capacitive display @ 1280×800 pixels, 217PPI
Qualcomm SnapDragon 1.2GHz dual-core
8GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
3G/HSPA+ 14.4Mbps
Bluetooth 2.1
GPS w/ aGPS support
mini-HDMI output
5MP autofocus camera
1.3MP front-facing camera
1080p video, Hi-Fi audio player
4100mAh battery, up to 6 hours

No word as to pricing or when this unit will be released in the Philippines but based on my previous conversations with local Huawei reps, this will have a 50-50 chance to land in the Philippines. But that really depends on how competitive their pricing is. My guess is under Php20k.

I’ve got some video clips but YouTube upload is a bit slow (and we’re now boarding to fly back to Manila). Will post more tablets, 3G/4G/LTE devices and Android smartphones from Huawei tonight.

This article originally appeared at - yugatech

Sony Ericsson outs Xperia Ray, Active

I was looking for the Sony Ericsson booth at the CommunicAsia earlier today but could not find it (some of our media friends were also flew in by SE there so I thought they must have something important to announce). Looks like it’s a couple of Android smartphones — the Xperia Ray and Xperia Active.

The new Xperia line-up didn’t have the one with the picture that was leaked a couple of days back (that dual-core SE Xperia Duo). We can’t even say that the Xperia Ray is an upgrade to the recently released Xperia Arc but they are more like filling some gaps.

The Xperia Ray is a 3.3-inch handset with 8MP camera while the Xperia Active runs a 1GHz SnapDragon CPU and a smaller 3.0-inch screen with a low resolution of 480×320 pixels. Nothing biggie actually but an interesting handsets nonetheless.

This article originally appeared at - yugatech

ZTE T72 & Light Tab 2 Android Tablets

ZTE’s line up of tablets are both 7-inchers and supports both GSM and CDMA networks, with one looker much better than the other. The ZTE Light Tab 2 is for GSM network while the ZTE T72 is for CDMA.

The ZTE T72 (photo shown above) doesn’t look really nice up close and feels a bit chunky for a 7-inch tablet. We didn’t get the complete specs but the label beside it says it runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread (actually, the specs sheet is really lacking on this one).

ZTE T72
7-inch WQVGA display
16GB internal storage
EVDO, HSPA 800Mhz/1900Mhz
G-Sensor
GPS
2MP camera
Android 2.3 Gingerbread

They didn’t say any pricing information nor have a more complete brochure I could refer to.

However, this other one — the ZTE Light Tab 2 — has a more simple design. I think of it as a lighter and much thinner version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab P1000.

The specs are also lacking but what little details I got showed it’s got some promise (which will really depend on the price point.)

ZTE Light Tab 2 / V9+
7-inch capacitive display @ 1024×600 resolution
1GHz processor
HSDPA 14.4Mbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
3.2MP camera
VGA 2nd front-facing camera
Android 2.3 Gingerbread
389 grams

We’ve had initial contacts will local distributors of ZTE last week (as they were offering it for YugaDeals) so there’s a possibility this Light Tab 2 could be it. 

This article originally appeared at - yugatech

Nokia C2-03 Touch & Type Dual-SIM phone

Nokia’s dual SIM offerings are slowly crawling up the handset ladder with the Nokia C2-03 Touch & Type being the latest one announced in the recent Nokia Connections 2011 in Singapore.

Though not really the star of the event, we’ve managed to snapped a few photos for you here.

Nokia C2-03 Touch & Type specs:
2.6″ display @ 240 x 320 pixels
10MB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD (2GB included)
Bluetooth 2.1 w/ A2DP
2MP camera
FM Radio tuner w/ FM recording
Li-Ion battery 1020mAh

* No WiFi, no 3G connectivity.

Still a pretty basic feature phone but looks more stylish compared the the other Nokia dual-SIM phones. It’s got handwriting recognition (resistive touchscreen) and active SIM swap (just like the C2-00) so you don’t have to reboot the phone when you switch new SIMs.

The main reason why Nokia had delays in coming out with their dual-SIM is because they want to perfect how real, active dual-SIM should work.

The Nokia C2-03 will retail for $105 so that’s under Php5,000 when it reaches the Philippines (there’s no specific which month it will be release locally though). 

This article originally appeared at - yugatech

Nokia Sea Ray with WP7 Mango leaked

Just within a couple of days that Nokia officially announced the Meego-powered Nokia N9, this leaked video of Elop showing what could be the Nokia W8 (code named Sea Ray) appears on YouTube.

The Nokia Sea Ray looks very much like the recently announced Nokia N9 in terms of design and construction (plus a few more buttons) so I’m thinking it’s possible that the specs are similar as well if not better.

And since Nokia included their 8MP Carl Zeiss optics here, this could the the first WP7 phone to have a really nice camera (sadly, all of the WP7 phones I’ve used and reviewed don’t have really good cameras).

This article originally appeared at - yugatech
 

Huawei’s new 4G/LTE Pocket WiFi line-up

Huawei makes some of the most interesting little gadgets around and when I visited their booth at CommunicAsia yesterday, they’ve got a dozens of Pocket WiFi and USB sticks for all sorts of cellular network on display.

There were so many pocket WiFi devices and its iteration so I didn’t have to really check out every single one of them.

The one above is the Huawei WiFi E589 which supports LTE, 3G and 2G connections with speeds up to 50Mbps.

This one is the Huawei E398 which is an LTE USB dongle, similar to the one being used by Smart LTE Evolution.

The Huawei E365 is an HSPA+ modem, perfect for use with Globe’s HSPA+ network (Tonino Lamborgihini 10Mbps) and supports up to 21Mbps downlink speed.

This one, a Huawei Mobile WiFi Touch, has a touch screen interface but has the same specs as the regular Huawei E5.

And this last one does not only share WiFi via 3G but can also receive digital TV signal to share with your PC or laptop.

I’m hoping some of these devices will eventually reach the Philippines (my bet is on the HSPA+ and the LTE pocket WiFi). 

This article originally appeared at - yugatech