Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro SK17i Specs

Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro SK17i

Gadget Mobile Technology : Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro SK17i Specs - The device features a 320x480 3.0" capacitive touch screen Reality Display driven by Sony's Mobile Bravia Engine. Powered by a 1 GHz processor, this phone has 512 MB RAM, which should be sufficient to handle most applications. Wireless connectivity options are aplenty with WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, and there is even support for DLNA.

A 5 MP rear camera with LED flash, capable of 720p video capture along with a front VGA camera for video calling constitute the integrated optics. The phone comes with a 1200 mAh battery with a claimed talk time of up to 5.8 hour. This is a compact phone with dimensions of 92 x 53 x 18 mm and weighing just 136 gm.

Samsung Nexus S Specs

Samsung Nexus S

Gadget Mobile Technology : SamsungNexus S - Samsung have not historically been a manufacturer that pushed the boundaries of innovation. They appeared to be more focused on creating mobile devices to compete, not devices that redefined the market.

Fortunately, this appears to be changing. Samsung over the past year or so have launched some of the most compelling devices on the market. So, when it was announced that they would be the manufacturers of the next Nexus phone for Google in 2010, I was rather excited.

I have been using the Nexus S for a few months now, picking one up before its South African launch in Britain. After using it for this period, I can say, with certainty, that it is one of the best devices on the market.

Design and Build Quality:

From my experience Samsung Mobile, overall, do not build quality devices. They look cool for a few months but then the chrome starts to peel and bits just up and falloff. Generally, their devices feel cheap, and downright unappealing.

The Nexus S is Google’s official Android developer device; it appears that Samsung had to adhere to Google’s strict build quality standards. As a result the Nexus S is a superbly built device. From the way it sits in your hand to the magnificent curved touchscreen the entire package is extremely well put together.

The most innovative aspect of the design has to be the curved touchscreen. When I say curved I really do mean curved. The screen has a concave curve that aids with typing on the onscreen keyboard and navigating the menus. Originally, I thought this was a bit of a gimmick but after using the Nexus S’s curved screen then going back to the iPhone’s flat touchscreen there was a notable difference, favoring the Samsung. Typing on the curved screen was faster and the whole experience felt more natural.

The entire device is made from plastic, high quality plastic, but plastic nonetheless. This makes it feel less cutting edge, than the iPhone or most HTC’s that use aluminum and glass as part of their construction.

Insides:

It is fast, very fast. The Nexus S has a 1Ghz ARM processor and a dedicated GPU, translated this means that the Nexus S has the latest, most powerful insides of any smartphone currently available on the market.

The camera is a little disappointing; it rocks a full 8-megapixels but is useless in low light and takes an age-and-a-day to focus on your desired target, by which time they have most likely decided to go home. However, if the light is perfect and the planets are aligned the camera can pull off some amazing shots. But I cannot see the point of a sometimes-awesome camera when the iPhone 4 and the Sony Ericsson Arc’s cameras do a sid job 100% of the time.

Another disappointing element was the MP3 player, which is dull and flat. It also refuses to go loud; you are left listening to rock at a level that your gran would deem acceptable – which is not at all the point!

That’s it really; the camera and the MP3 player are the only two things I can fault on the Nexus S. As the rest of the phone is fantastic, the processor and GPU and the other inside bits all manage to be frugal enough that a day of battery life is possible. That is, provided you don’t use it for navigation.

OS:

Here is the kicker. You need to be a bit of a geek to love this device. The reason is simple. The Nexus S comes with stock-standard Android 2.3, which for your run of the mill human being can be pretty dull and uninspiring to use. It can do everything you need, like sync calendars to your Google account and run apps from the App Market but is a wholly uninspiring piece of software.

This is the very reason why HTC, Sony Ericsson and all other Android players overlay the OS with their in house modifications. With the Nexus S you have to modify the device. Most of these modifications, like the home screen, are available from the Android App Market. Nevertheless, you have to enjoy geeking out and trying different home screens, contact managers, task managers, widgets, and social applications to really enjoy this device.

Android is a truly customizable OS, which for some is awesome and others less so. The advantage of this customisability is that if you know what you are doing you can build yourself a perfectly customised device. The disadvantage is that not many people may bother, or not know what to do!

In conclusion, the Nexus S is one of the best smartphones currently available on the market, it presents the latest flavor of Android, always, being primarily an Android developer device, and a vanilla untainted Android experience which can be tarted up and modified to your heart’s desire, or not, you choose. It is somewhat reserved for the geeks – you know who you are.

Price of Samsung Nexus S

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc Specs

Gadget Mobile Technology : Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc Specs - Sony Ericsson is, finally, getting their act together. They have almost completely ditched Symbian and are focusing a ton of resources on Android development, and some interesting and different mobile phones based on Android.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc

This is a very good thing, Sony Ericsson have historically made rather good phones, but have taken far longer than the competition to adjust to the massive changes the iPhone started, in the cellular market.

Their latest line of Xperia devices has just hit our shores, and I was rather exited to get an Xperia Arc to review. After using the Xperia Arc for a few weeks, and overall loving the phone, I feel they may be a bit late to the party… again.

Build Quality:

Sony Ericsson have always made superb quality devices, The Arc continues this trend. While the chrome bezel may be a bit much for some, I believe it adds a certain suave character to the device.

The back of the device has a concave, well, arc. This makes it sit beautifully in your hand, making typing on, and using the touch screen, a very natural experience.

Sony Ericsson call the concave arc at the back of the device ‘Human Curvature’ that sounds a bit like a mannequin manufacturing company, but it does make the Arc one of the best built and best feeling Android mobiles currently available.

The build only gets better from there; the screen is marvelous, rocking an 854×480 resolution and very responsive touch feedback. Typing and playing games on the Arc is fast, smooth and just plain swish.

The 8.1 Megapixel camera complements the screen beautifully, and it appears that all the little enhancements Sony Ericsson have picked up from the Sony camera department have worked. Such as, Sony’s ‘Exmor R™ for mobile’ sensor, that adjusts the camera’s settings to get the best picture in low light. The way I see it is one the Sony Ericsson engineers’s girlfriends sent him low quality ‘naughty’ pictures and thanks to that, we now have a tech that improves pictures in low light. Debauchery: essential to technological development. Back to the point, the Xperia Arc has the best camera on a mobile I have ever used. It is clear, sharp, handles all lighting situations brilliantly and most of all it is unbelievably fast.

The other media features are equally as impressive. The sound quality from the media player is on par with the iPhone, which is really saying something. The dynamic range is superb, and it goes loud enough to really do some damage – which is a good thing!

Insides:

Here the Arc is somewhat lacking. It has a single-core 1Ghz processor, with a pretty decent graphics processor. It is by no means sluggish, but it is a generation behind everyone else. The closest competition to the Arc would have to be the HTC Sensation and that is rocking a dual-core 1.2Ghz processor and a mother of all graphics processors. The new technologies which the Arc lacks, result in devices, not only in better performance, but critically, better battery life, and a smoother user experience.

OS and Interface:

Rocking Android 2.3, the Arc is fully up to date with the competition. The overall impression I got using the Arc was it is an extremely smooth and slick device. The menu and launcher customizations add to the usability of Android and the Home screen is beautifully user customizable.

Sony Ericsson has toned down their TouchFlow and CoverFlow interfaces, in this latest version, which pretty much used to suck. Unfortunately they still do just a bit. Simply, I found it difficult to differentiate between TouchFlow and CoverFlow, they purport to offer enhanced management of contacts and incorporate all their social profiles. It fails though, focusing far too much on pretty graphics and not enough on usability.

So, simply turn it off. That is what I did. I used the standard Facebook and Twitter Android apps to sync my contacts social profiles and it worked beautifully. It also made the Arc a bit snappier as it freed up tons of memory.

Conclusion:

The Arc is a brilliant high-end Android device which may be a little late to the party. The OS is cutting edge and so is most of the hardware, but it is really hard to turn down the faster, if somewhat chunkier, but as well-built, HTC Sensation instead of the Arc? Overall the Arc will not disappoint, it does have a short shelf life.

If Sony Ericsson had launched the Arc at the beginning of the year, I would not hesitate to have called it the best Android phone on the market. They didn’t, launching the Arc now is squaring it off with devices a generation fresher. If I was spending real money and had to choose a high-end Android device, I would get the HTC Sensation or the Samsung Galaxy S II.

Now available in South Africa.

Price of Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc in South Africa

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