Archive for April, 2011
Motorola Atrix 4G review: Enter the Atrix
Introduction
It was the alliance with Android that put Motorola out of the woods. Like every partnership, it’s been a series of peaks and dips but every now and then the relationship between Motorola and Android goes beyond a mere marriage of convenience and well into a simmering love affair.
They did it with the MILESTONEs and the DROID X, the BACKFLIP and the DEFY. With the ATRIX 4G, Moto says it has no plans to live in the shadows of other big makers.
Motorola ATRIX 4G official photos
The Motorola ATRIX 4G is the first dual-core smartphone in the Motorola line-up. It’s also the first to flaunt a qHD touchscreen. That’s as solid as credentials get. Add the fact it’s the first handset for Motorola to support the fast HSDPA+ network (hence the 4G moniker) and you’ve got yourself a Droid that’s not afraid of what comes next.
Dual core is certainly the next big thing in mobile phones and the Motorola ATRIX deserves credit for being among the first – our bad really, this review isn’t exactly on time.
But there are other bold decisions that Motorola had to make. The HD and laptop docks for one – though the concept is not exactly original, Motorola is trying to make it mainstream. The added fingerprint scanner is not new either but well forgotten old does just as well. Plus, it will satisfy the privacy freak in all of us.
Anyway, the standard package is what we’re interested in and this is what our review will focus on. The optional extras can wait. The ATRIX is more important to us a phone (a dual-core smartphone, to be precise) than a wannabe laptop or a potential entertainment dock. Let’s waste no more time and take a glimpse of the ATRIX 4G’s key features.
Key features
- Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G with HSDPA and HSUPA
- 4″ 16M-color capacitive touchscreen of qHD (960 x 540 pixels) resolution, scratch-resistant Gorilla glass
- Dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 proccessor, ULP GeForce GPU, Tegra 2 chipset; 1GB of RAM
- Android OS v2.2; MOTOBLUR UI (update to Gingerbread planned)
- Web browser with Adobe Flash 10.1 support
- 5 MP autofocus camera with dual-LED flash; face detection, geotagging
- 720p video recording @ 30fps (to be upgraded to 1080p Full-HD )
- Wi-Fi ab/g/n; Wi-Fi hotspot functionality; DLNA
- GPS with A-GPS; Digital compass
- Fingerprint scanner that doubles as a power key
- 16GB storage; expandable via a microSD slot
- Accelerometer and proximity sensor
- Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
- microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP
- standard microHDMI port
- Smart and voice dialing
- Office document editor
- Active noise cancellation with a dedicated secondary mic
- DivX/XviD video support
- Lapdock and HD Dock versatility
- Web browser with Adobe Flash 10.2 support
Main disadvantages
- Not the latest Android version
- No FM radio
- Screen image is pixelated upon closer inspection
- Questionable placement of the Power/Lock button
- Poor pinch zoom implementation in the gallery
- No dedicated shutter key
- Doesn’t operate without a SIM card inside
The ATRIX 4G is certainly the most powerful phone Motorola has made so far. With a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB worth of RAM and the ultra low power GeForce GPU under its hood, the ATRIX 4G is set to win the hearts and minds of power users.
Motorola ATRIX 4G live photos
Garnish all this premium hardware with a 5MP camera with dual LED flash and a 4-inch capacitive touchscreen of qHD resolution of 540×960 pixels, and the ATRIX 4G is more than ready to play with the other dual-core kids.
As for us, we are about to take a closer look at the design and build of the phone and find out if it matches the premium hardware that resides within.
Nokia E6 hands-on: First look
Introduction
The E6 is Nokia’s latest business offer and it has just landed in our office. It’s the company’s first smartphone running the new Symbian Anna OS out of the box. The E6 is a touch phone with a QWERTY keyboard and it even has a higher pixel density than the iPhone’s Retina display.
It was a while since we’ve seen a high-end Nokia messenger. We are not trying to dismiss the previous E-series achievements, they’ve just became too conventional. Lucky for us the E6 brings a few interesting innovations to freshen up the lineup. It was about time!
Nokia E6 official photos
The E6 is Nokia’s first handset with VGA resolution and also Nokia’s first QWERTY bar with a touchscreen. Its pixel density is even higher than the Apple’s Retina display. The E6 doesn’t stop here though – it packs the same camera module as most of its Symabian^3 siblings – an 8 megapixel fixed-focus sensor capable of HD video recording. Add the new Symbian^3 update – Anna – and we might have a potent business or messaging phone if not else.
Nokia E6 at a glance:
- General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz, HSDPA 10.2 Mbps, HSUPA 2 Mbps
- Form factor: Touchscreen bar
- Dimensions: 115.5 x 59 x 10.5 mm, 87 cc; 133 g
- Display: 2.46-inch 16M-color VGA TFT LCD capacitive touchscreen
- Memory: 8GB storage memory, 1GB ROM, hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 32GB)
- OS: Symbian Anna OS
- CPU: ARM 1176 680 MHz processor, Broadcom BCM2727 GPU; 256 MB RAM
- Camera: 8 megapixel fixed-focus camera with dual-LED flash, geo-tagging; 720p video recording@25fps
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP, microUSB port with USB on-the-go, 3.5mm audio jack, GPS receiver with A-GPS, HDMI port
- Misc: Accelerometer, Stereo FM radio with RDS, Flash support in the web browser, proximity sensor, Battery: 1500 mAh Li-Ion battery
As you can see the E6’s hardware is not top of the line, but we can assure you it’s perfectly fine for what it’s meant – replacing the Nokia E71 and E72 business messengers. The new Symbian Anna has lots of optimizations and seems to work seamless inside the E6. Surely, the E6 won’t attract everyone, but it has enough features to prove worthy.
Nokia E6 at ours
Nokia also put some work on the design and the E6 turned out to be quite a looker manufactured with premium materials. Jump on the next page to explore more about that.
Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc review: Android de Triumph
Introduction
The Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc is back for a second round and this time it will stay a while longer. The company’s new flagship did great in our preview and we’d gladly have more of it.
The statement just couldn’t have been stronger and clearer. The new BRAVIA screen and the impressively slim and fit body are exactly the way to treat a flagship. Android Gingerbread too is as good as it gets in the smartphone world these days.
Just months ago that combination would’ve equaled a license to kill – which the Arc would’ve used without second thoughts. But the competition is insanely intense today and no one is given a second to think.
Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc official photos
It takes more than a few outstanding features these days, and they’d better be backed by solid performance across the board. Omissions are not easily forgiven so the Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc better stay focused.
Key features
- Quad-band GSM /GPRS/EDGE support
- 3G with 7.2 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
- 4.2″ 16M-color capacitive LED-backlit LCD touchscreen of FWVGA resolution (480 x 854 pixels) with Sony Mobile BRAVIA engine
- Android OS v2.3 Gingerbread
- 1 GHz Scorpion CPU, Adreno 205 GPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 chipset
- 512 MB RAM
- 8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and geotagging
- 720p video recording @ 30fps with continuous autofocus
- Wi-Fi b/g/n and DLNA
- GPS with A-GPS
- microSD slot up to 32GB (8GB card included)
- Accelerometer and proximity sensor
- Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
- Stereo FM radio with RDS
- microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v2.1
- Voice dialing
- Adobe Flash 10.2 support
- microHDMI port
- Ultra slim (8.7mm at its thinnest point)
Main disadvantages
- Display has poor viewing angles
- No front-facing camera
- Main competitors have dual-core CPUs and better GPUs
- No smart dialing
- microSD card slot is not hot-swappable
- Camera key isn’t particularly comfortable
The Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc is a sweeping update of the X10. A new generation chipset, more screen estate and a microHDMI port in a well done facelift make the Arc an easy pick even over a Gingerbread-powered XPERIA X10.
The Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc live pictures
However, in-house competition is by far not the XPERIA Arc’s biggest problem. Competitors have moved so much forward over the past year or so that the question really is whether Sony Ericsson have managed to keep the pace.
More Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc beauty
LG and Samsung have already gone dual-core and got Full HD video recording, while Sony Ericsson – and HTC – are so far choosing to focus their efforts elsewhere. This review should help us answer – among other things – the question of who made the right call and who will have to play catch up.
We start with the unboxing right after the break.