Smartphone Review

BY: AWright, Brighthand.com Contributor
The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic has quickly become a very popular Symbian S60-based mobile device for the Finnish company. In its first few months on the market, there have been over 2 million of these devices sold.

And while one can point to the similarity of the 5800XM to other famous touchscreen models such as the iPhone, Instinct, and Prada; none of these devices have demonstrated the sheer capability, or market friendliness that Nokia’s offering has. Maybe that is why, despite some glaring weaknesses, that its found a solid place in this reviewer’s pocket.
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BY: Ed Hardy, Brighthand.com Editor

The Xperia X1 is the first Windows Mobile smartphone from Sony Ericsson. It’s an ambitious start: a WVGA touchscreen, built-in keyboard, GPS, 3G, and a host of other high-end features.

Like many Windows phones these days, it offers an alternate user interface than that standard one from Microsoft.

It’s a well built and well designed device, and it’s only real drawback is its price. The X1 wasn’t released by any U.S. carrier, but  it’s available from retailers like eXpansys, who was kind enough to loan me a review unit.

Build and Design
When developing the X1, Sony Ericsson used a tried-and-true design. It’s a tablet with a large display on the front which slides aside to reveal a keyboard.

The display is beautiful, and very high resolution (800 x 480), but at just 3 inches isn’t especially large. This means that you’ll primarily be using the stylus to select items on the screen, not your fingertip. Still, it’s comparable to the display on one of its top competitors, the HTC Touch Pro.

The X1’s QWERTY keyboard is generously sized — it’s larger than the screen — and easy to type on. The combination of a large keyboard but a relatively small display makes this an outstanding device for mobile messaging, but a bit less ideal as a mobile video player or web browser.

Next to the screen are a pair of buttons that correspond to the “soft” buttons that are always at the bottom of the Windows Mobile display. While convenient, these are thin bits of metal that are actually slightly painful to use. Read More »

Since the dawn of time, Man has needed a method for finding his way around the Earth, without getting lost in the process. His efforts have progressed from simply strategies, such as marking trails and following stars, to the use of complex man-made devices like compasses and, more recently, global positioning systems, or GPS. Originally employed by the U.S. Department of Defense, the GPS Operational Constellation, which consists of twenty-four satellites set into orbit around the Earth, is now used by everyday folks, for everyday purposes.

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Sony and Ericsson have decided to inject another 300 million euros, about $324 million, to their 50:50 jointly owned Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, which makes handsets and smartphones that run the Symbian operating system.

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