Panasonic, a leader in digital technology, is delighted to announce the launch of their second digital single-lens reflex camera (SLR) – the DMC-L10 with an interchangeable LEICA lens. The DMC-L10 features an advanced 2.5-inch free angle LCD for full time live view that offers 270 degree rotation and a versatile shooting style. A 10.1-megapixel Live MOS Sensor provides beautiful images with delicate gradation and wide dynamic range. Dust reduction with a Supersonic Wave Filter system prevents dust from attaching to the sensor to degrade the pictures. The superb image processor, Venus Engine III, boasts high quality image rendering and a high speed response.

Four Thirds System – Developed Exclusively for digital SLR

The DMC-L10 adopts the open format of the Four Thirds system for its lens mount – so the L10 can be used with lenses made by a variety of manufacturers, giving users a host of equipment options. Drawing on leading technologies while defying any stereotype ideas in SLR cameras, Panasonic’s DMC-L10 is designed to help you make the most of your photographic creativity.

One of the DMC-L10’s real talking points is the LEICA D VARIO-ELMAR 14-50mm / F3.8-5.6 / MEGA O.I.S. lens. Sold as a complete kit – the combination of the world renowned Leica lens, with Panasonic’s excellence in digital photography – makes an impressive proposition.

Full-time Live View for a New Digital SLR Shooting Style

The full-time live view function on the LCD proposes a dramatic change in the shooting style of digital SLR cameras. The DMC-L10’s 2.5-inch large LCD offers 270 degree rotation and a versatile shooting style even in situations when looking into the viewfinder is not easy – so you don’t need to get down on bended knee, or lie flat on the ground – you can see the subject even while holding the camera up high. This free angle LCD also features an Intelligent LCD function that offers an automatic brightness level control function according to the light condition, under the strong sunlight or in darkness, to secure clear view anytime.

The full-time live view gives users more shooting flexibility and greater convenience not previously achieved by conventional digital SLR cameras without live view capability. Not one to rest on its laurels, Panasonic introduces another first for a digital SLR camera by incorporating a Face Detection and Intelligent ISO Control function. The face detection system detects human faces (up to 15 human faces can be detected simultaneously) and sets a focus and appropriate exposure to capture a face clearly and beautifully lit. The Intelligent ISO Control function detects and meters the movement of the subject and sets the suitable ISO setting and the shutter speed according to the amount of the movement to suppress the generation of motion-blur in the picture.

The live view enables the user to check the outcome image in advance after compensating the exposure or adjusting the white balance. The white balance can be adjusted in the area of two-axis of coordinates precisely. Furthermore, the DMC-L10 provides options of picture taste with a function called Film Mode. Each analog film has its characteristics, for example colour, contrast, gradation and these effect the outcome of the picture, they are ways of expression. With the DMC-L10, the Film Mode allows you to choose the one that takes the best advantage of the scene or the subject you take out of a total of nine film modes including Standard, Dynamic, Nature, Smooth, Nostalgic, Vibrant, Standard B/W, Dynamic B/W and Smooth B/W, with the capability of fine adjustment of contrast, sharpness, saturation and noise reduction. All these settings can be confirmed before you take the picture.

Users can also change the aspect ratio (4:3, 3:2 and 16:9) according to the situation. As a leader in the flat panel market, Panasonic has been proposing further enjoyment of photography, by viewing the dynamic photos you take in HD (high-definition) 1920 x 1080 resolution image size on 16:9 wide screens.

In conventional digital SLR cameras, the live image could be seen only through the view finder and the LCD existed just for the playback of images once taken. But with the DMC-L10, any trials of setting, adjustment and effect can be checked beforehand, ensuring the picture will be just as the user intended.

Apple iPod Video 80GB

The ideal companion for any music and video junkie it has 80GB of storage giving you enough room for a library of music and video plus there's enough battery life (up to 20 hours) to deliver hours of entertainment. Vibrant 2.5" color LCD display, intuitive, customizable menus, and the innovative Click Wheel.

Music
Finding and playing music on iPod is simple. Use the Click Wheel to adjust volume, navigate songs, or browse the Music menu by artist, composer, album, song, genre, or playlist. Want to mix things up? Click Shuffle Songs. iPod makes your music look as goo

Movies

Now you can watch a movie while waiting in line for tickets to one. Download movies from the iTunes Store, then sync them to your iPod to watch anywhere, anytime. The iPod's gorgeous display — now 60% brighter — makes your movies pop. And than

TV Shows

There's always something good on iPod. Browse thousands of episodes of your favorite TV shows on the iTunes Store, buy them for just $1.99 each, then sync them to your iPod. Watch last night's episodes this morning, or buy a whole TV series and play a poc

Podcasts

The iTunes Store features thousands of free podcasts — radio-type shows you subscribe to — including indie favorites and offerings from such big names as ABC News, Comedy Central, ESPN, PBS, NPR, and many more. Browse and subscribe to podcasts

Audiobooks

The digital shelves of the iTunes Store are stocked with thousands of audiobooks, including such exclusives as the entire Harry Potter series. Download what you want, sync to your iPod, and catch up on your reading. Browse audiobooks in their own menu on

Games
Now that the iTunes Store features iPod games, you can keep hours of fun at your fingertips. Download brand-new and classic games — including Bejeweled, Texas Hold 'Em, Vortex, Mahjong, Mini Golf, PAC-MAN, Tetris, and Zuma — for just $4.99 eac

Photos
iPod holds up to 25,000 photos you can sync from your Mac or Windows PC via iTunes. Use the Click Wheel to scroll through photo thumbnails the same way you scroll through song titles. To see a photo full-screen, click the center button. You can even view

Extras

Calendars, contacts, and the World Clock appear in the Extras menu, along with a few more handy items. Take the Screen Lock, for example. Spin the Click Wheel to choose a four-digit combination and protect your iPod from prying eyes. If you forget your co

Search

With up to 20,000 songs on your iPod, you need an easy way to search and enjoy your collection. A brand-new, built-in search function lets you use the Click Wheel to type out the name of the song, artist, album, audiobook, or podcast you're looking for, a

Settings

Customize menus, check capacity, change your language, change how your iPod sounds, and more, all from the Settings menu. Click About to see how many songs are on your iPod and how much room you have left. Click Main Menu to select what items appear in yo

New Sony Ericsson K550

GSM Arena baru saja menuliskan review yang lumayan bagus untuk keluaran Sony Ericsson yang terbaru "the baby Cyber-shot – the K550. Ponsel ini lumayan kecil, dengan tebal 14 mm berfitur quad-band GSM / GPRS / EDGE device (850, 900, 1800, 1900), lengkap dengan fitur2 mantap yang termasuk 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth , M2 slot untuk menambahkan system memory -- a 512 MB card, dan juga FM Radio.

Key features:
2 megapixel camera with auto focus
Active lens cover
M2 memory card slot (comes with a 512MB card)
FM radio with RDS
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
Bluetooth support
Multi-tasking
Small size

LG KE820

Here is a candybar close to a credit card in size. Despite the small size, it can boast with a 2MP camera with autofocus and video recording capability, an audio player working with MP3, AAC, AAC+ and AAC++, also there is FM-radio, Bluetooth (A2DP), expansion connector for microSD, support for EDGE (class 10)? 64-tones polyphony and a 2" screen with the resolution of 176x220 pixels showing 262K colours.
  • Class: fashion
  • Position in the line: above LG KE600
  • Rivals: Samsung SGH-P310
  • Description based on official information
  • General features
  • Announced in 2006, official announcement on the 23 October 2006
  • GSM 900/1800/1900
  • Battery type Li-ion
  • Colour screen, high-contrast, up to 262000 colours (TFT), the resolution of 176x220 pixels, 2"
  • Weight: 81 gramms
  • Dimensions: 95x52x9,9 mm
  • Memory
  • Phonebook for 1000 names + SIM-memory
  • Call lists
  • Expansion connector for microSD
  • Call management, ringing tones
  • Vibracall
  • Polyphony, 64-tones polyphony
  • Fast dial for 8 numbers
  • Automatic call redial
  • MP3 files as a call melody
  • SMS
  • Predictive text input
  • Smiles
  • Concatenated messages
  • Message templates
  • Sending and receiving graphical messages
  • Multimedia
  • FM-radio
  • Audio and video player
  • Works with MP3, AAC, AAC+, AAC++, MPEG4, H.263
  • Menu colour schemes
  • J2ME (MIDP 2.0)
  • Camera
  • Integrated 2.0 MP camera (the maximum resolution of 1600x1200 pixels)
  • Autofocus
  • Digital zoom
  • Records videoclips
  • Connectivity
  • GPRS class 10
  • EDGE class 10
  • WAP 2.0
  • MMS
  • Bluetooth (A2DP)
  • Synchronization with PC (USB Mass Storage, Bluetooth)
  • Organizer and extras
  • User profiles
  • Dictaphone
  • Date, time, world time
  • Calendar
  • Once and daily recurrent alarm clock, reminders
  • Timer, stopwatch and calculator.

GSM/UMTS-handset BenQ Siemens EF81

Siemens Mobile division, over the past half-year of existence, has developed and released a number of products, at that the main aim, in order to maintain fading away sales, was copying a successful opponent. Though for this role, for some reasons the company chose Motorola – without hesitation, Siemens adopted the experience, provided by the already announced models and got down to developing its own analogues. Thus Motorola SLVR L7 received a junior model in the appearance not of L6 handset, but of Siemens S68.


Model SXG75 copied one of the at long last cancelled Motorola’s models. And now a device, aimed at the 3G networks, to be precise Motorola V3x, with a short delay, gets an analogue - BenQ Siemens EF81. On one of the forums, visited mostly by fans of the taken up brand of Siemens, model EF81 was endowed with the following statement - «this is the slimmest device – Siemens managed to do something that Motorola could not materialize in V3x». And they are more likely to be correct, since it’s always easier to copy something rather than create a product of your own. Those companies, which use ideas of other, as a rule can’t release a device in time; therefore it obtains an appearance of a secondary product, though for undeveloped brands it’s a way up, another opportunity to consolidate their positions. Having known the technical specifications and capabilities of the competitor, one can overcome and improve them, slightly adjust price positioning – and that’s it, a recipe of stable, though not enormous sales. But the designers and developers at Siemens have sense humor for sure, as they decided to apply the theme of “Star Wars: Attack of the Clones” to the appearance of the device. As to the clones – they do attack, actually, and we can make sure of that.

Standard kit:
  • EF81 handset
  • Li-ion 950mAh travel charger
  • Headset Stereo HHS-150
  • Data Cable USB DCA-140
  • User guide, CD-ROM including synchronization software

Motorola Q9h smartphone pictures

The Motorola Q9h Smartphone is a really sleek design with larger keys phone from the mobile giant. Key features of this smartphone include Windows Mobile 6, HSDPA high-speed data, and large internal memory plus a memory card slot.


Motorola Q8H Specs:
Modes- GSM 850 / GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900
WCDMA 850 / WCDMA 1900
WCDMA 2100 in place of WCDMA 850/1900 on Euro-Asia versions
Weight- 4.73 oz (134 g)
Dimensions - 4.65″ x 2.64″ x 0.46″ (118 x 67 x 11.7 mm)
Form Factor Bar
Internal Antenna
Battery Life- Talk: 6.5 hours (390 minutes)
Standby: 480 hours (20 days)
Battery Type- LiIon 1170 mAh
Display Type: LCD (Color TFT/TFD)
Colors: 65,536 (16-bit)
Resolution: 320 x 240 pixels
Platform / OS Windows Mobile Standard (Smartphone)
version 6
Processor ?
Memory 256 MB (built-in, flash shared memory)
Phone Book Capacity shared memory

Toshiba Tecra M9

The Toshiba Tecra M9 is a business-grade notebook competing against the Dell D630 and Lenovo T61. It is an update to the older Tecra M5, using the latest 800MHz Santa Rosa Intel platform. Compared to the Lenovo T61, HP 6910p, and Dell Vostro 1400, its starting price of $1,349 is slightly higher from the rest. Let's see how this notebook stands up to the rest in the pack.


Our review system had the following specifications:
  • Windows Vista Business (32-bit)
  • Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7500 (2.20GHz, 4MB L2, 800MHz FSB)
  • Mobile Intel P965 Express Chipset
  • Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN (802.11a/g/n)
  • 1GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM (maximum capacity 4GB)
  • 120GB Fujitsu MHW2120BH
  • 8x DVD (+/-R double layer) drive
  • 14.1" diagonal widescreen TFT LCD display at 1440x900 (WXGA+, Matte)
  • 128MB NVIDIA Quadro NVS 130M
  • Bluetooth version 2.0 plus Enhanced Data Rate (EDR)
  • Type II PC-Card Slot
  • 5-in-1 media card reader
  • VGA out
  • Mic/Headphone connectors
  • IEEE-1394 (FireWire)
  • Three USB 2.0 ports
  • Serial Legacy Port
  • Dimensions (WxDxH Front/H Rear): 13.2" x 11.1" x 1.43"
  • Weight: 5lbs 4oz w/standard battery
  • 75W (15V x 5A) 100-240V AC adapter (15oz)
  • 5100mAh Lithium Ion battery
  • 3-Year Standard Limited Warranty

Gateway M-6816

The Gateway M-series notebooks provide multimedia performance in a sleek, stylish design. Packing Intel Core 2 Duo processors, plenty of RAM and large-capacity hard drives these budget notebooks are certainly attractive to many consumers looking for a portable multimedia center for bringing movies, music and digital photos on the go. But do the latest notebooks from Gateway offer more than good looks? Let's take a closer look.


  • Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)
  • Intel Core 2 Duo processor T5250 (1.5GHz)
  • 15.4" Ultrabright WXGA TFT LCD
  • 2GB DDR2 system RAM
  • 160GB PATA HDD (5400rpm)
  • Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 (up to 384MB shared)
  • DVD+-RW SuperMulti dual layer drive
  • 10/100 Ethernet
  • Wireless LAN: Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g
  • 1.3 megapixel webcam
  • 5-in-1 memory card reader
  • ExpressCard 54 slot
  • 6-cell Li-Ion battery (2400mAh)
  • Dimensions: 1.1 - 1.5" (H) x 14.00" (W) x 10.00" (D)
  • Weight: 6.29 lbs
  • Warranty: One Year Parts and Labor Limited Warranty

Fujitsu announces palm-sized LifeBook U810, ultra-portable LifeBook T2010

Fujitsu to release ultra-compact notebooks for the mobile-minded consumer.

Fujitsu claims the LifeBook U810 notebook, weighing in at 1.56 pounds with a 5.6-inch LED display, is the world's smallest tablet convertible. It uses an Ultra Low Power Intel A110 processor powered by a standard 4-cell battery, delivering up to 5.5 hours of computing time. The U810 comes bundled with Vista Home Premium, Vista Business or XP Tablet PC Edition 2005.


Fujitsu has also released the LifeBook T2010, an ultra-portable tablet notebook weighing in at 3.5 pounds. The 1.3-inch chassis features a bi-directional swiveling 12.1-inch pen-enabled display and a spill-resistant keyboard. For those convinced their password won't stave off prying eyes, a fingerprint sensor for encrypting sensitive files with a finger swipe is included. The T2010 manages an impressive battery life of up to 9 hours, 11 with the optional extended battery. Driven by Intel's Core 2 Duo Ultra Low Voltage U7600 Processor, the T2010 comes bundled with either Vista Business or XP Tablet PC Edition 2005.

The LifeBook U810 notebook, available in September 2007, will retail at $1,000. The LifeBook T2010 notebook is available now and starts at $1,600.

Nokia N800 Internet Tablet

Smaller than a laptop, larger than a smartphone, with Wi-Fi networking and a powerful, video-ready browser, will the N800 help you clear your device clutter?

Design:

The Nokia N800 Internet Tablet is a smooth slab of brushed aluminum around a wide, 4.1-inch touch screen. Only a couple of buttons break the surface, a three-way Escape, Switch, and Home key and a 5-way navigational button. A kickstand swings out from the bottom and places the device at about a 45-degree angle on a tabletop. Near the top, the back swells to allow for a VGA camera on a retractable stalk that pops out from the side and swivels to face the viewer, or you can twist it 180 degrees around back. Under the kickstand, you'll find a mini-USB port, and the first of two SD card slots. The second slot -- yes, you read that right -- is under the battery cover, but completely accessible and hot swappable. They can each take a 2GB card, or up to 4GB together, although with SDHC cards reaching 32GB and beyond, we wonder why Nokia didn't opt for a one-car garage.

Web Browsing - Very good

The Web browsing experience on the N800 is excellent, better than on any mobile phone we've tested -- which is good, given that this isn't a mobile phone. That said, the surfing on the N800 isn't quite as good an experience as it is on our three-year-old Mac PowerBook. The Nokia's Opera browser can open any page, including video-rich YouTube and Google Video, stopping just short of the online batch organization features on Flickr, which it couldn't handle. Videos didn't play smoothly, which was a disappointment for such a large, wide-screened device. The video stuttered, running only a few frames per second, even though the sound usually came through clean. Complicated textual sites were no problem; The New York Times homepage, for example, looked exactly as it does on our laptop. Pages loaded quickly while surfing an open Wi-Fi network, and at a satisfying clip over a Bluetooth DUN connection. Over Wi-Fi, we had problems connecting to the WPA-protected network in our office, but our WEP network at home gave us no problems. For dial-up networking, the N800 found our Palm Treo 700p easily and fired up a connection without incident. Navigating the browser was simple; the tablet lets you pan by dragging the page with your stylus or finger. Though text was legible at tiny sizes, we would have preferred better access to the oft-used zoom feature, which was unfortunately tucked under some menu layers. The N800's RSS reader may not be as feature-rich as Google Reader, but it's clean and uncluttered, and it is handily accessible from the home screen in its own widget-like applet.

Our favorites: Fast-loading pages and easy panning by fingertip

Our request: YouTube support would be much better if the videos streamed smoothly

Multimedia - Good

With a couple of SD card slots, you'd expect some powerful sideloaded media features on the N800, but while it is capable of playing a nice range of files, the tablet's media experience is ultimately disappointing. The player itself is bare -- a white background with generic-looking blue text and icons. AVI and MPEG4 files looked clean, with no stuttering compared to their online counterparts, though we did see some artifacts and pixilation, especially on the fast-moving scenes in our "Mission: Impossible" clip. The device accepts normal headphones in its 3.5mm jack, and includes a set of headphones with a microphone for calls over Google Talk. Since our friends use Skype and iChat, we weren't able to test the N800's VoIP feature, but Nokia tells us that Skype compatibility will arrive later this year. Plenty of software is available for the N800, thanks to the Linux underpinnings of its Internet Tablet OS, but we were disappointed by the lack of bundled apps. We were especially bummed that the N800 doesn't come with a PC software suite for transferring files, music and tunes; instead, you'll have to drag-and-drop using Windows Explorer on your desktop.

Our favorites: AVI support means the tablet is taking Internet video seriously

Our request: A seamless, all-around media experience, from transfer to playback, to compete with iPhone

Messaging - Good

Without phone capabilities, don't expect SMS or MMS, but instant messaging is available for Jabber users, and e-mail is there if you have a POP3 or IMAP account. Jabber is an open-source IM network, which means Yahoo, MSN and AIM fans will have to start fresh. Also, we would have liked to see a more streamlined approach to e-mail. A few preset server names for some of the more popular e-mail carriers isn't too much to ask, is it? Typing on N800 is probably one of the coolest aspects of the device. When you tap a text field with your stylus, you get a small keyboard on screen. If you jab it with your finger, a much larger, finger-sized keyboard pops up. We enjoyed tapping away with the larger, comfortable keyboard, and we almost never found ourselves mistyping an address or contact name. The only complaint we had about typing on the N800 was that the keyboard obscures all but a small text field, although there's still enough on-screen text to help you remember what you started typing.

Our favorite: The large, on-screen keyboard is fun to use

Our request: Support for other IM protocols, pre-loaded account information for popular e-mail accounts

Odds and ends

Besides its obvious lack of cellular radio capabilities -- yes, we know the N800 isn't meant to be a phone, but finding wide-open Wi-Fi networks on the road isn't so easy these days -- there are a few other key features missing from Nokia's new tablet. A GPS radio would be a clever match for this device, which already has a large touch-screen and a powerful processor. Upcoming Skype support is nice, but Slingbox support would be even better. A2DP for stereo Bluetooth would be a natural fit, and would improve the sub-par media experience. Finally, the interface would be greatly improved for new users if Nokia would simply label buttons, or allow some sort of mouse-over technique to discern their functions. Eventually, we caught on, but the learning curve was a bit steep.

Motorola RAZR2 V9m (Verizon Wireless) multmedia phone

Of all the RAZR2 phones that will be released before the holiday season, the two most similar are the Sprint and Verizon Wireless phones. Though there are differences between the two, and each certainly has its high points and lows, in terms of our testing, most of the important differences were negligible.
Design - Very good

We like the color of the Verizon Wireless RAZR2 better than the Sprint model. The copper has a nice warmth to it, and it complements the polished design. We prefer the dedicated speakerphone key on the Sprint version keypad to the confusing Camera / Camcorder toggle among the Verizon RAZR2's keys. See, we could really nitpick like this for days, but the designs are so similar, once again the RAZR is differentiated more by color and simple style choices than real functional difference. The Verizon Wireless RAZR2 gives you access to speaker-independent dialing on its touch-sensitive external screen, while the Sprint phone lets you watch Sprint TV. Ho-Hum.

To its credit, we've been playing with RAZR2s for a couple weeks now, and we still really like the style. It has a more adult styling, more metal than plastic, and a nice, comfortable weight to it. It feels well made, and we dig the big, smooth swivel. It's very classy. Let's hope Motorola and the carriers can keep the look fresh with some interesting styles and upgrades.

Calling - Very good

The Verizon Wireless RAZR2 sounded better than Sprint's V9m in our lower Manhattan offices. On the VZW V9m, we got a solid three bars of 1X voice service, but little to no EV-DO reception. Still, data seemed to be working fine, so perhaps the metering was simply off. We enjoyed the loud speakerphone, the easy-to-use Bluetooth, and especially the accurate speaker-independent voice dialing, accessible from the face, as we said. Conference calling on the RAZR2 functioned exactly as it did on the recent LG Chocolate update, which we found intuitive on the first attempt. Unfortunately, the RAZR2 also inherits the Chocolate phone's lackluster address book, which lacked many of the fields we crave, like address (since it is an address book, after all).

Messaging - Good

We liked the SMS app on the Verizon V9m, but some of the other messaging programs gave us problems. We couldn't log onto our hotmail e-mail accounts because the logon screen apparently doesn't let you enter capital letters into the password field, a necessity in our case (MOM). On the MSN Messenger app, the space key seemed to stick, and we had to press twice each time to get out of the autocomplete field. Probably a mistake on our part, but the default should be easier. We're getting more used to the ultra-flat, slick keys, but we'd still like something a bit finger-friendlier.

Camera - Good

We got some very strange colors out of our V9m's camera, mostly purple. Images were very noisy, blurry and pixilated around the edges. We noticed lots of ghosting around more distant objects. Also, again the default setting stymied us, as the camera twists into landscape by default. You can adjust to portrait, but it took us a moment to figure it out. The camera is accessible from the external touch screen, but for many options, like exiting the camera, you have to open the flip and work it from the inside. Editor functions were impressive, with red-eye reduction and some funny face filters. And, if you decide to send your pics, you can do so over Bluetooth or e-mail, no sweat.

Video - Good

Verizon's V Cast Video player on this RAZR2 definitely trumped the pinched Sprint TV player we saw on the other network's phone. Although content was similar, though Verizon Wireless lacks any long movie selection, the video quality on the VZW RAZR2 was better. Not perfect, and not as good as The Network's V Cast Mobile TV. Now that would make an interesting RAZR2. This phone, however, played videos smoothly, with good lip synching on music videos, though these did take a few minutes to download. We'd appreciate a better video player, with more robust options and faster scrubbing, but we like the stereo Bluetooth support in the video player, a feature many multimedia phones are still lacking.

Audio - Mediocre

Because we had a few other RAZR2 phones lying around, we happened to have a USB cable that would fit the new mini-USB port on the Verizon phone. Verizon Wireless still refuses to bundle a USB cable with their "music phones," but we were able to synchronize our RAZR2 with our Windows Media Player library. Or at least we tried to sync the two. Unfortunately, only a few songs came through, a random jumble from our long list, though we had plenty of space on the microSD card. Our own microSD card, of course, as Verizon Wireless doesn't include memory with their "music phones." In any case, the few songs that did synchronize sounded good, even over our stereo Bluetooth headphones (no headphones from Verizon either). Again, the music player can be accessed from the external screen, but the touch sensitive buttons lack robust control over the player, and we were always forced to open the phone to complete our tasks.

Web browsing - Mediocre

The Web browsing experience on our RAZR2 was disappointing, especially since the phone choked on our homepage, claiming insufficient memory. Slashdot loaded fine, with a lack of color or mastheads, but text was properly formatted and styled. It looked a bit blocky, but was legible. Scrolling long, columnar pages took far too long, as the supposedly smooth scrolling we selected felt much more like jerky clicking. We also miss the alternative wide page views for Web site, and any sort of navigational aid, like a mini-map.

GPS Navigation - Very good

The RAZR2 V9m did a fine job wielding GPS with VZ Navigator. It tracked us well on our long commute into the New Jersey suburbs, and kept us on screen through turns and short tunnels. Maps seemed to load on the RAZR2 quicker than they did on the LG Chocolate phone, and we never had the problems with starting points that we experienced on that phone. (taken from infosyncworld.com)

Nokia 5300 XpressMusic

With stereo Bluetooth, dedicated music buttons and a sporty design, the Nokia 5300 boldly declares itself a music phone. Will it replace your MP3 player as well as your phone?


Design

Music is obviously a priority for the Nokia 5300 XpressMusic phone, even beyond the dedicated music and volume keys. The phone has a playful look, more rugged than compact. The red band that encircles the phone has a rubbery finish, and the buttons (especially those dedicated to music) have a tight, rubbery feel. The slide has a larger gap than you'll find on Samsung's thin, fashionable sliders, with exposed rails on the back and a 1.3-megapixel camera that remains visible when the slide is closed. The phone is quite thick; at 0.8 inches, it is only a tenth of an inch thinner than our Palm Treo 700p. The slide is spring loaded, and we liked the rubberized border around the screen that helps flick the phone open.

Music - Very good

Unlike phones that cram in music functions as an afterthought, the Nokia 5300 is a true music phone, with dedicated buttons that start the music with one touch. The music player is simple but effective, with equalizers and playlists. Nokia includes a low-end pair of stereo headphones with a microphone for calling, as well as a small (and easy-to-lose) adapter for attaching your own cans if you so desire. Stereo Bluetooth was easy to set up and use, but we can't say the same about Nokia's dreadfully unfriendly music management software. Not nearly as slick or intuitive as Apple's iTunes desktop client, the buggy and tricky-to-use Nokia music manager is just a single step above a folder hierarchy menu. Back on the plus side, our music transfers were speedy via USB 2.0 to the phone's microSD slot, and though we received a palty 256mb card with our review unit, cards up to 2GB are available. FM radio was easy to use, though we encountered a lot of static in our New York office.

Calling - Very good

The Nokia 5300 is quite capable when it comes to handling calls and contact lists. Voice quality was good, though callers complained of background noise as we made our way through the packed, noisy streets of Manhattan. Signal strength was always strong in New York using a T-Mobile SIM card. The speakerphone is among the loudest we've used, but while the phone sports speaker-independent voice dialing, we found performance on voice commands to be very poor; the phone didn't recognize a single name we spoke. Bluetooth and push-to-talk capabilities are present, and conference calling was not difficult. The contact list accommodated plenty of fields, though you must add them one at a time if you want more than a single name and number per contact. Through the Nokia PC studio, the phone syncs your desktop-based Outlook contacts.

Messaging - Very good

Messaging functions on the Nokia 5300 are better than expected. Text on the clear, bright screen looks rounded and clean, not blocky, and the SMS viewer shows up to 128 characters on incoming messages, just shy of the 160 we prefer. Typing on the phone is comfortable, with its wide, rubbery keys. Messages can be sent from your contact list, but the while-you-type searching requires you to search for surnames and will not find first names in your contacts. We would also prefer to be able to search directly from the "To:" field in the messaging app. E-mail setup was easy, especially with a range of preset accounts such as Gmail, Yahoo, and AOL, though the phone can also handle manually entered POP3 and IMAP4 accounts. (taken from infosyncworld.com)