Best mobiles -

2010: the year of the smartphone

Now is the time for predictions. From fashion trends to technology insights, the new decade has spawned a sea of blogs, articles and opinions on the subject. But what trends are Telstra’s product managers tipping in 2010? Richard Fink, Telstra’s Director Tool Management, takes a look at what’s set to be hot in the fast moving world of mobile tech.

First off it’s clear 2010 will be the year smartphones become a consumer must-have. Aussie businesses were fast to adopt email-capable mobiles like the BlackBerry. But 2010 will be the year mobile applications and exciting new devices push smartphones well and truly in to the consumer space.

Expect some impressive devices from all the top manufacturers in the first half of `10– as well as more features at lower price points as competition hots up.

Perhaps the most compelling thing about smartphones — other than getting your email on the go — is their ability to run apps downloaded to your phone.

Also expect 2010 to be the year the Android operating method becomes over a niche player with offerings from most of the major tool manufacturers. A mature operating method as well as a rapidly growing ecosystem of applications means Android is now a compelling consumer offering.
We’ll look at our mobiles as much as they speak on them

Apps are mini programs that run on mobiles. In 2010 more Aussies will download them than ever and head online on their mobiles.

Today there's over 100,000 iPhone apps on Apple’s iTunes store, up from 10,000 a year ago. That means you can set your iPhone up to do anything – be it order a pizza, watch Mobile FOXTEL from Telstra, or access your online banking account.

In 2009 leading handset and program makers set up their own app stores. These were giant name developers. BlackBerry App World, Nokia Ovi Store and Windows Marketplace all launched. Android Market (Google’s apps store that was launched over a year ago) already boasts around 20,000 apps.

So in 2010, expect to see a mass of useful, entertaining and simple fun apps – both free and charged-for – obtainable on a diversity of smartphones from all the major manufactures.
Socials media apps will be massively popular

Using your mobile to get online in general will boom . Mobile net is so popular with Telstra’s customers that traffic on our Next G mobile network is doubling every 8 months.

Social media apps in particular will take off with improved mobile experience, and convergence with your on-device contacts. We’re already seeing a huge appetite for social media sites on our Next G network. The number of users visiting Facebook alone over doubled between January and October. The availability of these apps across more tool types will spur further growth in the use of services like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.
Getting online on your mobile

In all it’s an exciting year ahead. Over to you, what are do you think is set to be hot in 2010?
Top 5 developments for mobiles in 2010

This year, mobiles that pack better web browsers, bigger screens, more intuitive touch controls and fast mobile net speeds will deliver the best mobile net experience on phones yet. Reading the news, catching up on sport and/or streaming YouTube clips on the go will be less hard than ever.

1. Rise of the smartphone – three in three phones bought by Australians in 2010 will be smartphones
2. Apps become popular across a range of tool types – social media apps
3. Processing power of smartphones will double – with some matching the grunt of laptops obtainable a few years ago
4. Mobile net use will boom as new devices pack better web browsers and use these faster processing speeds
5. The range of phones powered by the Android operating method will expand dramatically

First it gave you new service plans, and now T-Mobile offers a new cell phone. We first saw a variant of the Sony Ericsson Equinox, aka the T717, at the CTIA show last April. Like its T707 sibling the Equinox has a thin design with a glossy skin, a hidden external display, and a circle design on its front face. Though the T707 comes in several colors--the green hue is the most unique--T-Mobile only has a black version of the Equinox.

The midrange feature set includes a 3.2-megapixel camera, a music player, stereo Bluetooth, an FM radio, a personal organizer, USB mass storage, PC syncing, a voice recorder, and a speakerphone. It also supports T-Mobile's 3G network and Sony Ericsson's gesture control feature, which allows you to control some calling functions and the alarm clock by waving your hand across a sensor.

The quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900) Equinox will be available October 28 for $50 with service.

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EDIT FROM FRENCIL:

Wow!

The number of PCs in use worldwide has surpassed 1 billion and there are one and a half billion internet users globally. At the same time there are more than 4 billion mobile subscribers, indicating the vast growth potential for mobile internet, especially considering that 58 percent of the world's installed PCs are in markets that account for only 15 percent of the world's population, meaning that for a majority of the potential users the handset is their main internet terminal. 

• This report discusses significant trends and initiatives in usage and applications of mobile internet during 2008, and what development can be expected in the coming years. These are exciting times: the mobile web is coming of age, patterns and preferences in user behaviours and preferences are emerging and it is possible to start discerning market trends and with greater detail predict coming development. 
• The global migration to 3G is also picking up pace and the base of WCDMA 3G subscribers more than doubled during both 2006 and 2007. By June 2008 there were more than 235 million WCDMA subscribers, representing a 6.4 percent penetration looking at all mobile subscribers worldwide, and 11 percent if only considering WCDMA markets. Furthermore the number of EVDO subscribers was about 100 million in mid-2008.
• Faster networks alone are however not enough to stimulate the uptake of mobile Internet. Even among the 3G subscribers in the Western world, the share of mobile Internet users remains low. This confirms that it is vital that service providers, operators and handset manufacturers ensure that the overall experience of the first-time user is smooth, intuitive, reliable and confidence-inspiring. Berg Insight recommends that services are designed so that there is a straight-forward and guided way to access attractive contents for the first-time user, bypassing complex applications and advanced features until the user is ready for them. One way of achieving this is through free broadcasting services or widgets, making attractive contents available with one click on a running teaser-banner.
  
  Mobile surfers in Western markets are to a large degree fixed Internet users that use the mobile device as an alternative channel. There is a larger degree of mobile Internet users among the general population of internet users than there is in the general population of mobile users. It is therefore important for mobile service providers and operators to recognize that it is the PC and what users see and come across there that to a large degree inspires and motivates what they do on the mobile internet and what they expect from services there. The report discusses significant internet trends that application designers and providers need to consider regardless of from which terminal their users access their services. One such trend concerns how social services become more sophisticated and content sharing is evolving into content collaboration; another one is that information is increasingly becoming available for free while filtering and attention are value-added features that come with a price.
  
  When introducing mobile services that are established in the fixed world and marketed as such, customers will expect to find familiar content titles and similar features. As exemplified in the report, service providers should not be afraid to exploit cross-over recognition to attract fixed users to the portable net. Berg Insight believes that any operator trying to limit access and keep the user from his or her favourite Internet sites and applications will lose in the long run.
  
  But to create new user behaviours it is not enough just to be present on both fixed and mobile with the same features and look-and-feel, but the fixed and mobile qualities should complement each other. Berg Insight believes that presence is a key feature that has the potential to transform mobile applications for communications, such as instant messaging and e-mail, as well as for example social networking and advertising. With presence and location information connected to e.g. the entries in the phone’s address book, we can imagine one single application to integrate all communications and social functions, which adapts to the availability of different contacts, selecting appropriate communications modes depending on context.
  
  Currently the mobile Internet market is fragmented between operators, Internet players and content aggregators trying to find a way to get on to the small screens, but in a not too distant future, handset-embedded browsers and automatic re-directs to mobile-adopted sites will make the surfing experience smooth regardless of terminal. Then the users will select and stay with mobile services that give them what they have come to expect from the Internet (browsing, e-mail, IM, media, networking…) with the addition of inherit differentiators of surfing-on-the-go - such as instantaneity, personalisation, location, efficiency in presentation - into added value. The challenge for service developers and providers will be to design, package and introduce these features so that they become a natural and easily accepted evolution of online communication, which will require a deep understanding of how users communicate and how they interact with mobile technology. It will be crucial that in an already complex networking environment, adding e.g. presence as a mobile feature increases control and simplifies, not the opposite.
  
  It is important to not overlook the emerging markets which comprise the majority of the world’s mobile users and is the fastest growing one. Surveys consistently show that the largest interest for data services over mobile handsets is found in emerging markets, where undersupplied fixed infrastructure makes the portable phone a viable utility for many practical applications, not just communication but also banking, entertainment, commerce and similar. However, since these users often do not come from a PC background, and often do not have PC-based internet experience or any fixed access alternative, their expectations are fundamentally different and the markets consequently behave differently.
  
  Similarly, there exists in all geographical markets a significant segment of mobile users without PC background or access. With the right easily understood, service-focused introduction, the familiar and non-intimidating mobile phone is well positioned to enable data services for communications, media sharing, information and similar. In areas with mature mobile usage this segment, comprising for example elderly, has generated a substantial market, not only in adapted mobile terminals and services, but also in peripheral mobile-centric equipment such as printers and speakers.
  

Hi everyone :
On April2008 Microsoft unveiled its latest update for the Windows Mobile operating system. With this update - Windows Mobile 6.1 - Microsoft aims to improve upon one of the areas where Microsoft falls behind top competitors RIM's BlackBerry OS, Symbian, and the iPhone OS, namely: user-friendliness. And with such neck-and-neck competition between all the mobile OS makers, Microsoft (who's currently only unequivocally topping Palm's mobile OS) needs to do everything in its power to keep its mobile customers happy and woo the rest of the mobile community their way.


Simplification was paramount in designing Windows Mobile 6.1, with less cluttered, more task oriented screens, modeled after the successful Windows Media Centre. Among the improvements are:

1. * more readable font;
2. * threading of SMS and email messages (much like on the iPhone), instead of displaying them all on a single screen;
3. * cut-and-paste on non-touch screen smartphones (on Windows Mobile smartphones with touch screens, cut-and-paste already works);
4. * new Vista-like interface for the Home screen that uses horizontal tiles which expand when clicked to reveal more detailed information;
5. * a dedicated task manager that displays CPU usage listed by process and overall as a whole;
6. * ability to change the Master Security Code;
7. * Recent Programs displayed when the Start menu is pressed;
8. * a total re-haul of the system's web browser, with a display that looks more like Internet Explorer or other PC web browsers, with the entire web page able to be viewed on a single screen or in segments by zooming in to user-selected areas;
9. * auto-complete of email addresses entered into the "To:" field;
10. * ActiveSync Exchange email auto-configuring;
11. * Wi-Fi status indicator.

Business users will also enjoy the ability to enroll a domain in Settings, allowing for mobile access to various company resources.


On the downside, Windows Mobile 6.1 (like its predecessor) can only be used with a keyboard or a stylus - even the Windows Mobile touch screen phones. Microsoft still hasn't made it so that people can use their mobile OS by simply touching their screens with fingers alone (even though Apple seems already to have mastered it).


Current users of certain Windows Mobile 6 smartphones - like the AT&T Tilt and the HTC Mogul - will be able to upgrade their mobile OS to Windows Mobile 6.1. One of the first new smartphones already bundled with Windows Mobile 6.1 is the WiFi-enabled Motorola Q9.


Devices running on Windows Mobile 6.1 are scheduled to start shipping in May.


Review Smart Phones - provides up to date information on the latest smartphones. You will find in depth smartphone reviews as well as the latest news and rumors surrounding todays best smartphones.

Asus Eee PC S101, a luxury netbook?

Try Dell Mini 12: netbook netbook or not.?

In two short years, the market of mobile telephony has witnessed many changes. Major players like Nokia or Sony Ericson had to make room for the invading Apple's iPhone, while others are dying brands like Palm, whose arrival of Pre will be saving. It is in this context that Google attacks the market with a mobile operating system, Android, which has yet to find its audience. Fans of the first hour can be reassured that the newcomer is not without assets to satisfy fans of mobility. In a few months old barely environment Google has proved that he was able to compete with the best mobile systems. On the other hand, compared to OS in the market for several years, Windows Mobile and Symbian, the gain of ergonomics looks very important.

Sony Vaio VGN-P11Z a netbook in particular format
While the market for netbooks appears advocating the status quo technology, some manufacturers are trying to hold their own game is the case with Dell, for instance, with its Mini range including the Mini 12, or from Asus, with its Eee PC S101. Sony, meanwhile, did not immediately thrown into the battle were delivered MSI, Asus and many others. And with almost a year behind everyone that the Japanese company announced at CES this year, the Vaio VGN-P11Z. A year of reflection, a year to mature a product that would stand out from the competition? This is what we'll see.

In the bowels of the Vaio VGN-P11Z








The small size of the computer associated with a keyboard that retains some ergonomics requires some sacrifices. This is why you will not find a touchpad on this notebook. He is replaced by a trackpad fashionable Dell. As well tell you right now, we're not fans of this type of device: the time taken to point to a specific element is much larger than a mouse or a touchpad. However, one supplied by Sony is accurate and handy. The webcam placed in the top right corner of the screen is however a fairly average quality, since the resolution does not exceed 0.3 megapixel.



If we look a little on the ends of the Vaio, it is a USB socket, audio output and the outlet on the left side, while the right side also has a USB connector and a rather unusual .
A USB socket, audio output and the outlet on the left side ...


This decision is in fact support an additional module supplied by Sony and which contains a VGA connector and an Ethernet. The trick to relocate the ports that are not always necessary displacement is fairly well found, although the appearance of the module in question somewhat spoils the aesthetics of the Vaio.

Sony Ericsson C905

Phone overview
The C905 is a phone fairly upscale. It is seen in its fact sheet that does not overlook anything: quad, 3G/3G, Bluetooth, WiFi, A-GPS, modem ... Côté communication, this phone will charm the most discerning! Even finding the multimedia part, where the C905 knows almost everything: music, videos, radio, video games ... The finishing C905, combining metal and plastic soft confirms its elitist aspirations. Note however that the first test model we received was obviously already spent several hands and was rather poorly lived thing scratches, varnish chipped keys, display bugs ... yet can not draw any conclusion whatsoever have already seen many other old phones to make and not knowing the fate that had undergone this phone. The housing of the C905 is quite compact but surprisingly heavy: the slice is 2 cm at the target! The phone, type slider, has a 2.4 inch TFT screen 240 x 320 pixel display 262 000 colors. Very bright and nice! Finally, side menus not change, it is always clear and well designed. The regulars will find their marks immediately, others will feel quickly at ease.

Ergonomics and reactivity

From comfortable, it also feels great when moving the controls of the camera that lies dormant in him. Simply slide the lens cap in brushed metal and the phone starts the camera mode. The grip is excellent for a phone. Overweight of C905, ungracious for a high-end phone, plays in his favor. And unlike the Player Ultra, it is not necessary to have made the keyboard. Similarly, the controls are all on the top, arranged like a real camera, zoom left and right trigger. Between the two, Sony Ericsson has lodged a button for quick access to viewing content and another to switch between the photo and video modes. The icing on the cake, the manufacturer issued the directional pad shortcuts typical cameras (focus, measure expo, flash and self timer), with the usual icons backlit in blue. On the left edge of the device (the top of the phone), the two small buttons that are used normally to quickly access the phone's media are here to give two other shortcuts: choice of scenes and modes of shooting. Finally, the menus are modeled on those of Sony Digital Cameras: A banner at the bottom of the screen where you move to access various settings. Ergonomics yours!








Settings and Features
The Sony Ericsson C905 is slightly more moderate than the Ultra Player for settings and features. But the key is there, accessible through the shortcuts described above or directly from the menu. The user has first choice of shooting: normal, intelligent contrast, BestPic, panorama or frames. In contrast smart phone uses a levels adjustment so as to balance the picture. Effective enough to produce photos without flash but treatment remains imperfect as it also enhances the bright areas in addition to leading the shadows. So the result is often overexposed. Panorama mode, limited to three photos, is all there is more classic: you take the first shot, then the phone displays on the screen throughout the captured image that is superimposed on the new frame for take the next picture. The assembly is automated. Step menu, 8 scene modes (auto, landscape, portrait ... etc.). Then comes a bunch of settings: image resolution, focus (auto, face detection, macro or infinity), flash (auto, red eye reduction, off), timer, metering mode (normal or spot), balance white (car + four possibilities) and effects (black and white, negative, sepia and solarization). The last menu entry brings to camera settings that more image: JPEG (2 levels), beam AF speed BestPic mode, display pictures after the shooting, stabilizer, geo-tagging, location of 'registration, and rotate photos of his trip.






What is missing in the C905? Not much. We would still appreciate the sensitivity settings of ISO or trio contrast, saturation and sharpness. Moreover, the option of marking through the Geographic GPS chip has proved far less effective than the Ultra Player, the C905 requires much more time to find satellites. And the video mode to the limited resolution of 320 x 240 pixels really pales beside the Ultra Player ...

Quality photos
The C905 does it better than the Ultra Player? Overall yes. Optics, barely wide angle (approx. 37 mm) is much more homogeneous. At the center sharpness is good on the edges, it is very correct, and without excessive distortion. Give expression to what the sensor of 8.1 Mpix. At this level, the difference is obvious. By cons, in terms of quality of treatment, we see by zooming to 100% on an image taken at ISO 64 textures that are already relatively smooth. And there is a perceived noise chromatic permanent, more or less visible depending on the brightness of the scene but this still! At lower sensitivities, the Ultra Player is doing better. However, even for prints in A4 rendering of Sony Ericsson will be better, thanks to its more serious approach. In low light conditions, the chromatic noise grows considerably but the smoothing is moderate and is for once quite normal at this level of sensitivity. The C905 does not apparently goes beyond ISO 400, but it is not very serious because its Xenon flash works well on a range of about 2-3m. Incomparably more efficient than the LED Ultra Player! White balance and exposure metering are generally fair, exterior and interior, although the color rendering tends slightly on the cold sunlight. Side digital zoom, the C905 is no miracle, interpolation is still as low quality. But at least the phases of zooming is fast and fluid (best for video). Finally, stabilization proposed by Sony Ericsson shows a little more effective than that proposed by Samsung, but still no common measure with optical stabilization.










Publishing Opportunities

The C905 comes with software Sony Ericsson PC Suite, Media Manager and Adobe Photoshop Album Starter Edition 3.2. The first used the management functions smartphone from the PC and the second transfer of media files on the phone (with conversion if necessary). The third is actually a very simplified version of Photoshop Elements, which contains only the part manager pictures (album classification, labeling ...) plus some editing features. Automatic adjustment of color levels, contrast and sharpness, cropping and red-eye correction. This brief but still better than nothing! The C905 also incorporates its own editing tools. Two methods. Either you use the Photo Fix which optimizes the image so fully automatic (I kind of lucky with Picasa). Whether you go by the publisher and PhotoDJ and access to various settings: auto levels, light balance, brightness / contrast, saturation, rotate, add effects and elements. Among the effects, we find the classical black and white or sepia, but the addition of a hue (color shift), solarization, negative transition, filters and creative cartoon, frosted glass and paint. In addition to being simple to use, these editing features have the advantage of being controllable for some of them (brightness / contrast, saturation, adding color ...). The result is more accurate and qualitative!







Conclusion
At least € 375 outside the package, the price of Sony Ericsson C905 up a notch compared to the Ultra Player. The fare difference is however justified by the presence of WiFi, but mostly by camera phone skills generally higher (quality lens, Xenon flash, zoom, fluid ...). With an increased responsiveness and image processing less smoothing in the low sensitivities, the C905 would have flirted with perfection. Meanwhile, the camera phone is clearly the comparative is closest to a DSLR in terms of ergonomics, an important aspect!