Sony Ericsson are on the move recently and the Aino is very much part of the agenda. But living in the shadow of the Satio and X10 is not much fun we guess. So, the Sony Ericsson Aino is keen to live a double life. At first glance, it’s a touchscreen PMP, but on a second look it’s a regular slider phone with an extra big screen. It’s not the ultimate PlayStation phone but it does have Remote Play, to wirelessly pair with Sony’s PlayStation 3.

As far as feature phones go, the Aino has pretty much everything – excellent connectivity, full-featured navigation, a great camera, plenty of internal storage and a simple-but-snappy touch media menu.

By the way, don’t let anyone tell you touchscreen functionality is limited to the proprietary Sony Ericsson multimedia menu. We were pleasantly surprised with Opera Mini, which seemed to quite agree with the Aino touch system. Touchscreen navigation is all there and it performed very smoothly. This means touch controlled Java games might work as well.

All right, this was just a single little secret revealed. Let’s take a closer look at what else the Aino may be hiding there.

Key features

* 3″ 16M-color capacitive touchscreen, 240 x 432 pixels
* Quad-band GSM support
* Tri-band 3G with 7.2Mbps HSDPA, 2Mbps HSUPA
* 8 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash; geotagging, touch-focus, face detection, image stabilization; VGA video recording @ 30fps
* Some degree of touchscreen functionality – touch-enabled media and camera interface
* Touch works in Java apps as well, e.g. Opera Mini
* Built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS; Trial version of Wisepilot navigation software
* Wi-Fi with DLNA
* FM radio with RDS
* Stereo Bluetooth 2.1
* microSD card slot
* Wireless Bluetooth headset with 3.5 mm audio jack and nice headphones, desktop docking station and 8GB microSD card in box
* Remote play for Playstation 3

Main disadvantages

* No standard USB port
* No 3.5mm audio jack (but there’s one on the Bluetooth headset)
* Touch control is limited to camera, gallery, multimedia players and some Java apps
* Media library updates very slowly in the touch media menu
* No DivX/XviD support
* No xenon flash
* No camera lens cover

The box contents are a sweat deal too – the matching desk stand and wireless headset would fetch a pretty high price as a separate purchase, but with Aino they are part of the experience. And the 8GB microSD card in the box should be enough for most people.

Uncomfortable questions start to emerge though – the Remote Play feature doesn’t really do much more than DLNA and is useless with anythingbut PlayStation3. The touch functionality sounds great but not having it in the built-in browser sucks.
But asking these questions is missing the point. If you owned the original PlayStation, then upgraded to PlayStation 2 and have the 3rd version sitting next to your BRAVIA set, well this love letter in the shape of Sony Ericsson Aino is addressed to you.

Design
The phone designed for a business man must meet certain standards of mobile dress code, without pretentiousness and brightness. The device should not attract attention. All these requirements and wishes fully correspond to a new Fly B600 business mobile phone.
The dimensions of this phone are 110×49x14 mm. Weight is also proportional: only 110 grams. The device easily fits in pockets of trousers or a jacket.
The front panel is made of a high-quality plastic. The back part of Fly B600 is made of a soft (it seems rubberized) plastic. Camera protrudes from the shell and has no cover. Thus, you will have to put the phone either on screen or on the lens of the camera – decide which one you need less.
I think that serious buyers can find any drawback in this phone.

Display
Asian manufacturers have accustomed us to the fact that their phones have displays above average. And if you’re skeptical you expect good performance from the screen of B600 but I have to disappoint you. Executed on TFT-technology, the display shows up to 260 thousand colors and has resolution of 240×320 pixels (2.4 inches). As a result, the screen takes up the most space; keypad and the speaker are simply lost in the background.
The first thing that your eye catches is that the display is very, even too bright. But the real shock comes after a short jogging on the settings. Colors are juicy and bright, the image is perceived well, did not catch on for anything. Such a display is perfect for working with text and calendar.
The only thing that upset me are its viewing angles. They are sufficient for comfortable work; however, the image is badly tarnished vertical even when rejecting a couple of degrees.

Keyboard
Dark and light gray buttons harmoniously complement each other.
The screen took so much space that the bottom row of keys, could hardly find a place, and moved gracefully as the fourth column in the right lane. Of course, such a decision is unusual for most users, but it is not so critical that the next day at the level of reflexes fingers themselves find the right path.
Buttons should be sufficient for comfortable work, have an average course and allow you to quickly and carelessly work with any text.
Additional controls are buttons to access the camera on the right end (horizontal shooting mode) and the usual rocker for volume control, on the left side. In addition, one should mention the three connectors (they are all closed strong enough plugs) – expansion slot for memory cards microSD, mini-USB (it also serves to connect the charger) and 2.5-mm headphone input (TV-out).

Menu
The menu of Chinese phone is almost always quiet horror. No eastern colors, all is very succinctly.
The main menu shows 12 icons; with the upper line the system information is available in both the substantive and in any sub-menu. Chapters are arranged quite comfortably and that is important – it is logical. There was only one question. It is unclear why the album is under “Entertainment”, but Video album in “Multimedia”. Agree that it can be called only a minor drawback.
Separately I want to note the high level of localization is another issue of Asian phones. All menu items are transferred without errors, absurd reductions as a result of which it is impossible to understand. Well, the font is very nice; the eyes do not get tired.

Functions
Although we have determined that this phone is suitable for business people. Thus the phone should support applications which business man needs. First, it is an organizer. Menu of Fly B600 consists of a calendar, tasks, alarm and world time. Calendar is comfortable enough, you can assign notes (point of the problem “duplicate this feature, and made, apparently for faster access) to the date and time, while adjusting items such as: light, repetition, timing, number of repetitions. The only drawback of the calendar is the weekly view.
The user provides three independent alarms, each of them can choose the time (including on the day).
Business phone should have a convenient phone book. Again, and this parameter B600 demonstrates enviable results.
Your phone can store up to 1000 contacts together with name and number there are 5 additional fields of information where you can indicate birth date and picture, video clip, tune and add to the user group.
The phone book displays contacts, both from the internal memory, and located on the SIM-card.

As we see, business indicators of the phone are up to date. But there are also additional functions. For example, an MP3 player with good mid-level (headset included, but the 2.5 mm input lets you connect via an adapter and more serious headphones).
There is FM-radio, a simple photo editor, composer, Java (games and programs in Java is not preinstalled), calculator, converter units and currencies.
But what is most interesting is that this phone has some exceptional abilities. First recall the aforementioned TV-out (cable included). Easily connecting your phone to your TV provides great opportunities for both presentations and to view photos in the family.
By connecting the telephone to a computer via miniUSB cable (included, but not with a standard connector), you’ll see a menu of three items: use your phone as a modem, a flash-drive or as Web-camera.

Fans of honor on the road will appreciate the availability of reading “electronic books”. Settings are enough for comfortable reading. Of course, you can find a replacement in the ranks of Java-applications, but the existence of such a function is inherent, whatever one may say, plus.
Finally comes the function that you’ve encountered only in smartphones running Symbian and then as an alternative software. This is the background sound, overlay tube during a call. You can adjust the volume, duration and interval. You can choose from 10 preset or 10 of your (possible record with voice recorder) ringtones.
When you activate this feature you can lay on the couch, honestly say that standing there in traffic and the phone will simulate car horns, noise, uproar, and all that you want. Of course, it’s not fair, but – rather funny.
You can connect your phone with the rest of the world through the miniUSB cable, Bluetooth 1.2 (support SPP, DUN, OPP, FTP, A2DP profiles, and remote control) and GPRS (WAP 2.0, built-in POP / SMTP-client).

Camera
A 3.2 megapixel camera with flash and autofocus is already a matter of respect, though photos are not of the best quality.
As we have already mentioned, you shoot in a horizontal position.
The camera cannot turn into a camcorder. The latter is a separate program and is available from the “Multimedia” menu. Rollers can record the entire free memory at resolutions 176×144 and 352×288. Codecs are MPEG4 and H.263. Video has good quality, it is quite enough for viewing on the phone and share with friends. As for the camera, it works very slowly. When shooting with a maximum resolution (2048×1536 pixels) by pressing the capture button to direct the photograph, is about a second or two, during which you are sure to slightly move the phone, and this guarantees blurry picture.
It is noteworthy that when shooting from 1600×1200 and less, you can not notice such things. There is a problem with low productivity of the processor.
You can save your photos or video in 87 MB internal memory and microSD memory card (not included) up to 2GB.

Conclusion
Even though the phone has two stereo speakers, it is virtually inaudible in the city noise.
The situation could partly rescue the vibration, but it is very weakly expressed, as in the pocket of pants, it is hardly felt.
It is very uncomfortable to type SMS-message. For example, standard things such as capital letter after full stop.
You can find a few more minor soft-roughness and irregularities. But let us remember the low price of the novelty above opportunities. Thanks to TV-out all the deficiencies can be forgiven at once.
Despite the huge display, Li-Ion battery (940 mAh) copes with its task. Telephone works up to 4 days at 20 minutes of talking time and use of various functions. But even with such a very decent performance, the manufacturer added the supplied spare battery, just on the safe side.
As a result, Fly B600 is very pleasant and worth much money. If you want a modern, reliable, functional assistant in the cheap price range, Fly B600 definitely can rightly be considered one of the best mobile phones.

Last year Samsung released E900 model of a slider phone. The success of the model depends totally on the price, design and functionality of this mobile phone. These three features are the main characteristics that attract buyers when choosing the phone.
Today we’ll talk about the successor of E900 – J600E primarily designed for women. Modern eye-catching design must come to taste of a every fashionable woman. If we talk about the inner content, it has a solid intermediate level.

Design
Considering Samsung J600E as a whole, while stressing the major pluses, it turns out that the strongest side, of course, is its design. The exterior is certainly designed for women, although to some extent for men too. The four available colors (blue, pink, silver, gray) consider it to be a unisex direction of mobile phones.
Today, ergonomic device can not be expressed in one thing. The dimensions of this mobile phone are quite fashionable: 91×45x18 mm and 99 grams.
As you can see, Samsung J600E is a little bit elongated and narrowed (in the form of rectangle).
In the hand the phone is excellent. The navigation buttons are located above the thumb, so the process of opening this phone should not cause any difficulties.
Returning to the design of Samsung J600E, we’d like to mention the successful combination of slightly shiny metallic colors.
Top, bottom and back of the phone are deprived of any kind of controls, connectors and other things. But on the left side there are slots for charging the battery and headset, shortcut key for the quick access of the camera.
Both slots are closed with plastic plugs which give the impression of a long-playing mechanism. The right side turned on to be “poorer” and can boast only about volume buttons and a memory card slot.

Display
At first sight, the characteristics of the screen J600E look quite decent. Indeed who would have thought that the TFT-matrix with the support of 65 thousand colors and a resolution of 128×160 pixels will disappoint.
The problem lies in the ratio of the diagonal of the display and the resolution. As we can see in J600E, a 1.9-inch screen with 128×160 pixels resolution is very small. Hence there is grainy and generally unpleasant sensation of viewing images.
Many claims about the screen arise when typing and surfing on the menu – the quality of display animations, pictures and photos leave much to be desired. As for the brightness and contrast, there is virtually no claim, moreover taking into account its characteristics they are even good.

Keyboard
Tactile keyboard today does not surprise anybody. However, this feature is still a tasty morsel. In the case of J600E it seems that touch buttons are the only available solutions to the problem of visual excellence.
When the buttons are inactive, they are totally invisible, when the phone is opened or activated by the keyboard, all four sensory start flashing in a pleasant blue color.
Is it convenient to use the touch keypad, or it is just an extravagant whim of the manufacturer? This becomes clear very quickly. The sensitivity of the buttons is high. A light touch is enough. However, during navigation, or when writing messages you can easily press on them, in consequence of which there happens an abolition of the selected operation.
The navigation button has a nice ribbed structure and the relatively slow speed, combined with a strength of character.
Against the background of the touch keypad, the numeric keypad looks a little boring. Standard eleven separate keys are arranged in a nice and clear way.

Other Features
Menu is standard for the latest generation of Samsung phones. It is convenient, comfortable, but without any novelties. First submenus seem somewhat irritating, but soon, the user can really find freedom in controling it.
One of the interesting features is the communication capabilities. USB and Bluetooth 1.2 provide connectivity (up to about 50 KB / s). For the Internet there is WAP, GPRS and EDGE, this is also rather poor. Wired Headset in collaboration with MP3 player and FM-radio will open the doors to the world of music.

In the literal sense there is nothing outstanding (compared with everything we have met before), but the sound quality is very decent. There are five games preinstalled on the device, three of which have already been well introduced in Samsung phones, they are “Miner”, “Tetris” and “Sudoku”.
The phone has about 20 MB of memory available to user. But you can add megabytes with the help of microSD cards (not included in the set, but they are not expensive).
The device without recharging will operate three days, and in the mode of an active use you have to charge it in a day.

Camera
The general concept of J600E is expressed in the camera. Instead of the almost standard 2-megapixel camera, we have only 1,3 megapixels. In reality the phone is not bad, but, remembering the same E900, ot is somehow offensive.
Maximum image resolution is 1280×1024 pixels. As always, there is a certain minimum set of options with which you can influence the final result of the image. In addition, there are modes: multi-shooting, matrix and night mode. I can not get away from the simple effects such as: black and white, negative, sepia, relief, sketch, orange and others. The display in the viewfinder does not even think slowly, and the resulting images are recorded as fast as the phone memory and on the card.

As for the quality of the photos, they are somewhere between good and excellent, of course, in relation to the cameras pf this class.
Video recording formats are MPEG4/H.263 (AMR, 352×288, 15 fps), which is quite enough.

Conclusion
This is a beautiful, high-quality phone and a cheap phone from Samsung, if I may say so.
So, if you want a stylish and prominent model without unnecessary features, then J600E is definitely what you need. The only thing which I’d like to notice once again is the display. It is not bad, but is rather peculiar, so be sure to pay close attention to the screen. Otherwise, the phone is not bad and is worth money.

There are too many mobile phones in the market, but a few of them are protected from external influences. And in this case it is double pleasant to see a new sport (the phone can be given such a definition) mobile phone C702i, especially from such famous manufacturers as Sony Ericsson.

Design

In our case Sony Ericsson C702i is similar to the congener of the class of monoblocks from “SonEric”, which differs only with its back lid made of the soft-touch-plastic with a screw fixing it. It (i.e., screw) can be seen in the protected models from other manufacturers, so the idea is not new.

Around the perimeter of the shell there is a thin rubber pad, which, under the dense contact with the lid, protects the innards from moisture phone.

By the way, here you will not see the steel frame (which absorbs shocks, as in the frame jeep), as in the legendary Siemens M65.  Buttons have a modest size, probably because the small buttons are water resistant.

Less space – less problems. However, the user has a problem – the swing is very tight, and adjust the sound during a conversation is uncomfortable.

The button of the camera is very soft and there is no claims concerning camera button. Power button is located at the upper end, it is microscopic and doesn’t let the phone to turn off accidentally.

You need some time to get used to the buttons. In general it’s much more difficult to control then mobile phones from Samsung.

You should dial very carefully. Instead, we get an interesting design of the keyboard and even the bright lights, but, the convenience of dialing leaves much to be desired.

Screen and camera

The screen with standard-resolution (320 x 240) for many phones, made for TFT-matrix is very good. Images are bright, rich, natural colors are transmitted, without distortion. Font is also large, perfectly readable. You don’t need to stain eyes as the menu icons are also big and well visible.

Camera Lenses and mirror for self-photo is closed by a sliding lid. Once you open it, the camera switches over 2.5 seconds, another 4 seconds it takes to balance. It seems that this is a good result.

Autofocus works well. By the way, you should keep in mind that the lights do not have autofocus, so in the dark it is very difficult to remove.

The interface is already familiar to the camera equipment series Cyber-Shot. It has a function of geo notes which is likely to be useful to fans of travelling.

During the shooting the right number of buttons (perhaps you have noticed the small icons on the buttons) perform the duty to quickly switch modes, the flash, setting the timer. The camera works quickly, saving the 2-MP shot into the internal memory or card.

GPS-navigation

Navigation is represented by a well-known program of Google Maps, an advantage of which includes the availability of maps of many cities. However, the navigator has also a disadvantage- it remembers the GPRS-traffic. That is the unit with the help of GPS-receiver sets your location, then you are invited to download the map of the area. Every movement on the map or zoom (increase) leads to additional load data. The accuracy of the definition is very high.

Everything is simple and affordable. The start from rest takes less than 5 minutes, but the sensitivity of the receiver leaves much to be desired (this is done in order to save energy).

Wayfinder Navigator navigation program is available on the phone. This is a trial version for three months, implying a subsequent purchase of a license. Softina itself may be interesting for some users, but not everybody will be eager to buy something when you have already paid once for the phone.

Music and Entertainment

The music player is the same as in previous models of devices from Sony Ericsson, so there is not anything new. There are quite simple equalizers, the expansion of the stereo, but without noticeable distortion. The volume is high.

In good headphones you can listen to your favorite tones. There is an opportunity to sort music. The phone displays album covers, the work in the background is also present.

Radio is a standard one, nothing special. It catches chanells good (slightly better than the Nokia 3120 classic), RDS works properly.

The phone has a memory for 20 channels, with no shortage of high-sensitivity receiver. As player, FM-receiver may be phased out in the background.

Incidentally, there is a calendar of training, where you can find detailed information about each day of a healthy (or not) way of life.

There are two games. First – Brain Juice, where you need to guess the number of objects of different colors and shapes. This game is very funny and is brightly decorated.

The second game Foto QuestFishin, is a real underwater camera. Your task is to photograph fish, for which points are accrued. The game is beautiful, the best way to kill some time.

Connection

C702i can be charged from USB, which is traditional for devices from Sony Ericsson, but the speed of data transfer from PC to phone is high, so the file size of 5.58 Mb, has been in the phone for 4 seconds.

The speed of data transfer via Bluetooth is 78-85 Kb/s, which is also very good. The device supports BT 2.0 EDR.

Conclusions

The mobile phone is good, with a bright appearance. Its functional abilities, although not unique (although there is a GPS), but are more than enough for many users. Of course, some concern is the poor quality of spraying plastic, overcrowding dial keys, and … well, the high price.

Touch phones literally are flooding the market of mobile phones, even if we consider only products of Samsung. Thus, following the models of S5230 and S5600 an interesting device appeared – Samsung S8000 Jet. The model is very reactive. It is a smartphone with a branded phone firmware, designed to satisfy almost any user.
Many fans of Samsung brand have grown accustomed to touch screen phones with large display and three buttons beneath it. Someone likes such phones, somebody appreciates their unique design.
When the model has not been brought to the market yet, it was called Cubic in honor of interesting three-dimensional cube on the display. However, the official name of the new item is Jet, because Samsung S8000 is installed inside the 800-MHz processor.

Appearance

This phone is similar to Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. That is quite normal for the size and appearance of the touch screen phone. Let’s look at the back cover and see that it is glossy, respectively – slippery. Yes, it is made of decorative strips (looks nice), but the fingerprints quickly bring all the beauty away. The cover can be easily removed, as there is a projection.
The front panel bears only three buttons, camera for videocalls and sensor approximation.

Screen

Excellent display is one of the main features of this model. Here is an AMOLED-display with a resolution of 480 x 800 and the palette of 16 million colors. The display is one of the best on the market: large viewing angles, vivid, saturated colors, high definition. In a sunny day the information is read well, images and pictures can be seen without problems.
In response to a touch the device slightly vibrates, and, of course, the strength of vibration can be adjusted by a 5-point scale.
The screen is interesting because it reacts as a stylus. A light touch is enough to manage the screen; you do not need to push it. It is also comfortable to type the text with a pen
Regarding to the number dialing, you can see that the virtual keyboard is very huge; you can dial the number on the fly.

Menu

In fact, Samsung S8000 Jet has two disadvantages – the so-called standard and cube presented on the screen in 3D and calling with a single button. Each facet is responsible for a multimedia application or media. And as you add content to the phone (pictures, videos, music, album covers), it automatically appears on the facets. Accordingly, when clicking on an album cover the song title will appear, one more click – will launch the player.
Cube spins funny, smooth, graphics are not hindered. Under the cube there are six icons for launching applications.
By the way, the standard menu is already familiar from the previous models S5230 and S5600. Here it, of course, is redesigned, but the general features are common. As usual, the main screen can be “occupied” with widgets. You can also download more widgets from Samsung’s official web-site.
You can scroll the desktop, as in model S5230, at each of the screens may be their own widgets. This is convenient. The side bar widget is hidden in the tray after 10 seconds of inactivity. It is also convenient. At the bottom of the screen constantly displays a bar for calling the virtual keyboard, a directory, the service of SMS-messages, and the menu. Again – nice.
Arrangement of the menu is of high-quality, icons are well traced, and their color palette is chosen with the taste. As we already know the information is well readable in any light.
It’s already traditional for Samsung devices; the profiles are made by a human that is beautiful and convincing.
For creative work the simple image editor is perfect. You can choose the color, the thickness of the line, the tool, choose a background color.
Phone can access the network through GPRS or using Wi-Fi.

Keyboard and Directory

Virtual keyboard, as we know – comes with one click on the button. When you hold the phone vertically, you can see a normal telephone mode when you hold the phone in the horizontal position, it automatically overturns and becomes a QWERTY-layout. There is a button “space”, on which, along with the typical signs, is written – “space”.
In the phone book is shown a list of contacts – names on the left, icons on the right (to send SMS or call a friend), as well as a slider to scroll the list.
One contact has a lot of contact fields, and each subscriber can have his/her own type of vibration, and the date of his/her birth. You can select the memory (phone or SIM-card), in which will be recorded the information.
And someone will like the function “Photocontacts”, where you just need to click on an image and make the call.

Music

The phone has a 3.5-mm standard input, and hence to the S8000 is easy to connect your headphones.
The volume is high; you can listen to music on a noisy street or in subways. Ten preset equalizers are good, but it is very inconvenient you cannot create your settings. By one click you can turn on / off mode 5.1 Surround.
There is a standard distribution of content, when you enter the folder “albums”, the device displays the album covers.
If you are in the playback mode, turn the phone, it will start showing the album cover.
Radio is quite normal for Samsung touch phones. You can record the MP3-files, and start the function of guessing music. Like a music player, radio works in the background mode.
The maximum time of recording of the Dictaphone is one hour, the minimum – one minute. The recording quality is satisfactory.
There are 10 pieces of alarm, with the possibility to adjust the response and selecting the type of alert. Do not forget to activate the mode “Auto power”, disabling the phone at night. Otherwise, the alarm will not work.
The navigation is represented by Google Maps and Java Navifon, which after three months working, requires money. To pay or not, it is the private matter of each user.

Camera

The camera with a resolution of 5 MP and autofocus with a couple of LEDs and a flash – is not uncommon.
The interface of the applications is horizontal, all the icons are large, it’s easy to work with them, and to work with the camera is also convenient.
Thirteen scenes of shooting are enough for most users, but for fans of technological innovations there is a feature definition of the face, coupled with the recognition of a smile and wink.

Without turning the camera off, you can get in a photo album, with one-click, and there you can zoom the picture which is very simple – with a touch on the screen, followed by retention. The function is very funny, and works well. Of course, you can enter the gallery from the main menu. Here you can find sorting pictures by date, by color (we have met such function in S8300), by file name.
You can evaluate the quality of images yourself. Please note that we had a non-profit model, the camera in it can be a little worse than in the releasing device.

Conclusions

Samsung S8000 Jet left a pleasant impression. We have been testing a non-profit model, but it was smart in terms of work. In fact, it’s easy to work with a touch screen, but only after a 3-4-day of practice.
In addition, the price is expensive, of course, and those who want to buy a device with a touch screen can choose something less expensive, for example, Nokia 5800, without penetrating into the fact that these are different products.

Specifications of LG GС900 Viewty Smart
Networks: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 1900/2100 MHz, GPRS/EDGE, HSDPA
Screen: 3- inches touch-screen TFT, capacitive technology, resolution 480 х 800 pixels, 16 millions of colures
Camera: 8 Mp (the resolution of the photo 3264 х 2448), optics Schneider-Kreuznach, video record D1 (720 x 480 @ 30 fps), no protective shutter.
Memory: 1,5 Gb build-in memory+ slot microSD HC (to 16 Gb)
Services: Bluetooth 2.1, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, A-GPS, FM-tuner с RDS
Other: 3D-interface, S-Class, accelerometer, illumination sensor, Dolby Mobile, ТВ-out
Accumulator: changeable, lithium-ion, 1000 mAh
The claimed time of off-line operation (GSM): till 330 hours in the waiting mode, till 5.5 hours in talking mode
Gabarites: 108.9 x 56.1 x 12.4 mm
Weight: 102 g
Sell start: end of July 2009

The Design and Ergonomics
LG Viewty Smart is a compact and light mono block with a big touch screen. Basically it is a typical combination, but not for a powerful camera phone. At present time it is the thinnest (12.4 mm) and the lightest (102g) 8 Mp mobile phone. As a result it is a real pleasure to use the novelty. Viewty Smart perfectly lies in the hand, it doesn’t bother in the pocket and it is simply ergonomic in every possible way. On the other hand it is a loss of a style. If Arena can boast of glass and metal, our hero is simpler in that sense, its case is completely of plastic. Therefore it is less durable. Two colors of Viewty Smart are accessible – black and grey, both look good.
In comparison with LG Arena the set of management elements has changed, it turned out in the style of iPhone – one mechanical button to return to the screen of “fast” start. The admirers of the Apple brainchild will obviously be happy. The rest of the elements are standard (the on-off button of the camera, swing of volume etc.). There are some changes on the end surfaces, too, the biggest one is the refusal from 3.5 mm of an audio socket which was decided to be left only for multimedia Arena. From the point of view of marketing it is an absolutely right position, however, it adds no usability. The biggest loss is, certainly, on a level of metal and glass in the case in comparison with Arena.

Services
The services are presented by version 2.1 Bluetooth module with EDR, and also Wi-Fi 802.11. Profile A2DP is supported and it allows to use stereo to Bluetooth-set with the phone (the quality is usual, nothing special here), and the speed of data transmission reaches 800 kb/ps. In the options of Bluetooth there is a mode of invisibility, a restriction of time detection, a list of profiles. There is TV-exit with standard options (as it was marked, the cable is not included in the package), demonstration of the image takeout to TV can be watched in our video. It was the program realization of Wi-Fi that one would not like. For example, if you do not have the established connection yet, the browser will not offer to activate the module; the absence of the connection will be simply verified –similarly to “children’s” diseases of Nokia and others. There are restrictions on Wi-Fi while SIM-card is absent (for example, the functionality of the E-mail). We do hope, the future insertions will correct the similar small troubles.
Against the iPhone background the screen of LG Viewty Smart looks small, but 3 inches is an objective norm for today. Elements are well optimized for a finger, they are quite small (for example, the reproduction line in the player) they are redoubled with separate buttons, no problems occur. In the model GC900 a capacitive TFT-display is used with high resolution 800х480 points which makes the image maximally accurate for the average diagonal, the granularity is imperceptible (unlike in the same iPhone). 16M colors are displayed, the quality of picture is not bad (the color rendition gives way to iPhone; the image seems rather turbid in the comparison). The corners of review are excellent, according to this parameter LG Viewty Smart is one of the best touch phones in the market. But in the sun the display behaves not the best way, under direct beams it is difficult to make out anything. It’s a perfect analogy to Arena.
In LG Viewty Smart 1.5 Gb of memory is set –according to the measures of modern phones it is not much, but it is not little either. For more demanding users an expansion with a microSD to 32 Gb is provided with support to “hot” replacement. The memory cards aren’t included in the Arena package, 1.5 Gb are supposed to be enough for base needs, and it is true.

Interface S-Class 3D
Even the debut PRADA (model KE850) from LG had a very pleasant interface with a striking animation. After some years, the LG program platform in touchphones has strongly changed, and together with decoration, the functionality in Viewty was pleasing too. At last, in the last edition from KC910, KP500, KS660 and other touch novelties of LG it turned out to be ideal with interesting discoveries including the ergonomics. Undoubtedly among the abovementioned is for example the possibility to order widgets at the expense of the movement sensor — it is simply enough to shake the case. The similar trifles make the interface of the LG touchphones the best in the market of phones, closely approaching the manufacturer to the smart phones (Symbian, Windows Mobile and, of course, ubiquitous iPhone). In the new GC900 the company LG has surpassed itself, as the software-platform here comes to be almost the most important advantage.

The program stuffing
During the first load or change of the SIM-card, the phone suggests adjusting the time, date and also informs on some features of their management. It is possible to refuse phone adjustment during the first load, but to do it later is possible only manually as the launch of the auxiliary mode from the menu is impossible. In a sleeping mode, the information isn’t displayable, but by pressing any of the keys, the information on time and date is highlighted. To remove blocking it is necessary to press the virtual key; there is not a separate button on the end surface. In an expectation mode, in the bottom of the display there are four icons to access the main menu, a telephone number dialing, the menu of messages and a phonebook. The top part of the display is traditionally taken for the status information and displays the following icons: multitask mode, level of battery charge, current profile, alarm clock if it is established, a background mode of a player, Bluetooth (depending on an operating mode of the module and the connected sets the icon changes) and the level of the network charge, and also Wi-Fi. By pressing these pictograms it is possible to cause the full list with the status information about the necessary functions, appendices. If the musical player works in the background mode, then а running line appears under the status line with the information on a current composition.

The organizer looks as follows. There are standard applications – the calculator, the converter of currencies, dictaphone without a limit for the period of record. There can be several alarm clocks, the operation time, the days of repetition and signal type are adjusted for each one. The calendar has two types of display, for a month, week and day. There is a system of removal of the old events; new events can be of three categories: a meeting, anniversary and birthday. For them the theme, the beginning and termination period are also fixed, the signal with repetition possibility is established. For a meeting it is possible to establish the date and beginning and termination time, to add the description (138 signs), the place, and also to specify time of operation for a signal: concrete, for 15, 30, 60 minutes or 1, 3, 7 seven days. Signal repetition can be fixed on disposable operation, daily, weekly, monthly, annual or by will of the user – daily, weekly, type of month 1 or 2, type of year 1 or 2. For each of personal options are also provided the separate ones where it is possible to specify that it will be every other Tuesday of the month, or every 77th day of year, for example, etc. Last field allows choosing the date of the end of the event. For an anniversary, similar possibilities are accessible as to meetings. The only thing that they differ from each other is the badges which are marked while viewing the calendar. Unlike the previous two types of events, birthday has only time and a date of start, description, time of operation of a signal and repetition – once or every year, and also fixing of the end of the event.
The player is completely processed. A lot of effective animations present, everything turns, runs… The Vertical list is automatically packed from the found compositions. Sorting is possible according to the performer, the album, the genre, and also the choice of the selected or all the compositions. Here it is possible to make your own playlists. To add a folder or to lose a folder is impossible – as in iPhone. It is an unpleasant nuance for the multimedia device against the same SE surface at which all is ideal with a player. In the basic lists sorting alphabetically or by date is accessible. There is a search.

Visualization in LG Viewty Smart concerns only to the allocated composition, its five types are available. Moving in a composition by pressing with a finger it a proper place does not work, it is required to rewind. Mode Dolby Mobile is activated by pressing the specially taken out element is similar to video. As it was marked, the mode makes the sound louder and full, it works similarly to an equalizer. Except it, 22 equalizers are also accessible. Standard options of an order of reproduction are not lost, and neither the Bluetooth-set.
The calculator allows making not only elementary calculations, but also calculation of cos, sin, tan, ln and other mathematical values. Probably, the presence of the given possibilities for someone will be a useful addition to the general functionality of the device. Realization of world time does not have anything new in itself except visual registration. Here it is possible to choose current time zone, and to establish simultaneously display for no more than six cities. The converter of sizes includes a possibility to transfer from one to another, for such popular sizes, as: currency, the area, length, weight, temperature, volume and speed. The stop watch is absolutely standard.

Camera
If in brief, for available dimensions and weight of 8 Mp the chamber is unique that is why it is inappropriate to demand the maximum quality, it is prerogative of Renoir. There is no protective barn door, a flash is light-emitting diode. The module almost does not act over the case. Ready photos and video turn out to be good, but not more that. It is not necessary to demand from Viewty Smart best 8 Mp results, and it will not disappoint. We will especially note the interface; it has turned out the best way without discounts for mobility. We liked mode Intelligent Shot: there is an analysis of a subject, a background and illumination conditions thanks to what shooting will be made in the most suitable mode from seven presented. There is nothing special in it, it is simply auto tune of parameters of shooting, but LG has displayed the indicator of real time which lets know what occurs and supervises the process – it is a very pleasant counter. For other details and shooting examples it is recommended to address to our separate materials on chamber Viewty Smart.

As a rule, simple mobile phones are almost never equipped with a Wi-Fi module. For some reason, it is believed that this is for communicators or multi-functional smartphones only. However, people around the world use mobile phones to read news on internet sites, download ringtones, watch weather forecasts. All this they do through GPRS or EDGE. This situation is beneficial to operators of cellular communication, but has a negative effect on the thickness of the user’s purse.In the meantime, there are a lot of free Wi-Fi access points in major cities, but only owners of communicators, PDAs or laptops can use them. Sony Ericsson G705 solves this.

Appearance
The thin, lightweight, compact Sony Ericsson G705 (95,0 h47, 0h14, 5 mm/98 d) perfectly fits even in the breast pocket of a shirt. It lies excellently in the hand thanks to the uneven soft-touch plastic, of which the rear cover and the hand edge are made. In addition, the rounded edges of the rear wall allow to better hold your phone in your palm.
Sony Ericsson G705 is a vertical slider, and because of this its entire front panel is a large display, covered with a mirror protective coating, and a unit of control keys. The sliding mechanism itself has a notable gap – the shell halves are slightly relative to each other, but it has no effect on the effectiveness of the disclosure. The closer of the slider is a little bit tight, but on the other hand it does not allow the device to open accidentally.
At the top end there is the «Play» key, which provides a quick start for the MP3-Player.

Unfortunately, the key is too small, so working with it is uncomfortable. At the right end, buttons of volume adjustment and camera activation are traditionally placed. But the left side is occupied only by the interface connector.
According to tradition, it is responsible for connecting to the charger/ computer, as well as to «music» adapters, to which the user can connect headphones with a plug minijack 3,5 mm.
In general, the quality of the assembly of Sony Ericsson G705 is nice, as well as the quality of materials. Of course, only the fussy control below the display cuts the eye. It should be noted that in the collection of Sony Ericsson there is a slider which has a similar appearance – the model W705, positioned as a music phone.
Outwardly it is different exactly with the control buttons – in the W705 they most harmoniously fit into the overall concept of the phone.

Management
The control unit, located below the display, has already been mentioned. Just note that it consists of a large 4-positional navigation key with a central button to confirm and six additional buttons. They are enough not only for basic work with the phone, but for the quick start of any applications.
All buttons have a flawless operation, but also a strong backlash that coupled with the gap, found in the study of the sliding mechanism, weakly corresponds with the high value claimed for the device.
The digital keyboard is executed in a single plastic panel, very nice to touch.
The roughness of the wave-like keys is high and fingers do not slide off while typing numbers. In addition, accidental activation of neighboring buttons was not observed.
Only the dim lighting was disappointing, as only the right edge is bright enough.

Other Features
When removing the back cover it is necessary to move the locking lever, located on the lower end of the shell and hook the cover by a small ledge.
But even after removing the lock you have to detach the cover almost by the entire perimeter, as it clings to the shell in striking way.
The pleasant features include the fact that the phone supports M2 memory cards up to 32 GB (maximum capacity for this size up to date), whereas in the set there is already a card of 1 GB capacity. In addition, the internal memory of 120 MB in the tube for recording address data, text or photographs is more than enough.

Display
First of all, the phone display pleases with its large size. The diagonal is 2.4 “- almost like in modern communicators, but there is not a sensory substrate.
Instead the resolution of 240 x 320 pixels and the support of 262 thousand colors there is a new tool not only for surfing mobile web sites, but also to view photos or play videos and even movies. In addition, you can boast bright colors and large living angles of vision.

Communications
The device works not only for the entire range of GSM-networks (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), but also supports the UMTS networks (850/1900/2100 MHz). The transfer of Internet data is carried out, respectively, via EDGE and HSDPA. We have not tested the 3G, but the GSM was studied well enough to express the high sensitivity of the phone.
In addition, there is a bluetooth-module and what is more interesting, a full Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g, allowing you not only to connect to Internet networks, but also to organize home networks.
For this the new model has a DLNA-server that provides connectivity to any home equipment with embedded Wi-Fi modules. For example, you might organize a wireless network with your home router, and view photos from your phone in your computer. Connecting to an access point does not cause any problems – the phone clearly shows the visible networks on the screen. The user can only select the appropriate. But the work of Wi-Fi has been tested in one of the capital’s cafes with free Internet access. No criticism – websites loaded fast enough.

Wireless Modules
It must be said that by this model the company Sony Ericsson, following other leading manufacturers such as Motorola and Nokia, has decided to break the existing unwritten standards for «simple» phones. In addition to this Wi-Fi, the manufacturer has equipped the device by another two wireless modules. First – it is a usual FM-radio, using as an antenna the connected set. The interface of management program is stylish, familiar to other models of phones by Sony Ericsson.
But the second module in most cases is established only in communicators – it is a GPS-receiver. For navigation a good program Wayfinder Navigator is used, with the ability to save the downloaded maps on the flash-card of the device. In addition, you can use the well-known Google Maps.
But if you only want to know the exact location or speed, it is better to run a small utility, which provides only brief information about your location, and found companions.
The quality of the GPS-navigator is nice, but the connection is often lost. In the car, the navigator is stable only near the glass. The cold start time is approximately 5 minutes. It can be sped up, immediately after starting the device, by forcing the navigator to work in A-GPS mode, i.e. to determine its location by cells.

Camera
The camera, unfortunately, is not included in the strong points of the new model. It is based on CMOS-matrix 3.2 MP, has an LED flash, but, alas, has no autofocus, so the quality of the images is poor.
Photographing is carried out up to a resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels. The menu of the camera and its settings are well known from the other tubes of Sony Ericsson. Among the interesting features only the possibility of putting together the panorama of three shots can be noted, though the result is often of a very mediocre quality.
The photos have good color, but variegated noises. In addition, due to the lack of autofocus the frame details are at a low level, and it is better to forget about macro.
Below you can see samples of photos, the archive with photos can be downloaded here.

Time of autonomous work
The unit is equipped with a Li-Pol battery with a capacity of 950 mAh. In the normal mode of work (20 minutes of conversation per day, working with the address book, viewing news feeds via GPRS) the device will have to be charged no sooner than after three days. On the one hand, this rate is fairly high, but on the other – do not forget that the G705 has a number of energy units that “eat up” the battery power in a few hours. For example, when working in the networks of Wi-Fi the phone will require charging after just three hours. The same index of autonomous work will be demonstrated with the enabled GPS- navigation.

Software Features
The menu of the phone is a 3 x 4 matrix consisting of superbly worked animated icons.
There are four design themes, each of which is interesting in its own way. Address book, calendar, alarm clock and other office functions are already known from other models – no criticism to the manufacturer. It is better to see what applications are installed in the phone.
The main installed program characteristics are directed on the work with the Internet. For example, there is a utility for viewing clips from YouTube, or a good program for viewing the weather forecast.
But the original screensaver showing the time in different cities around the world, or the not less interesting customized pedometer does not require an access to the Internet.
In addition, there is a small editor to edit photos taken by the phone – to turn them into funny pictures, or even comics, “gluing” on them ready images (for example, an enormous moustache on your friend’s face). Games on the phone are only two, and rather simple too.
Well, the G705 media player is a standard solution, which is found today in any phone of Sony Ericsson.
The manufacturer does not position the new device as musical, but the sound quality is very decent if you connect good headphones. But it is better not to pull out the set headphones – just buy new ones. All the more if the adapter allows you to connect any headphones with a standard 3.5-mm jack.

Conclusions
The cost of Sony Ericsson G705 is about 13 thousand roubles. The price bites, especially in view of the application of not the most expensive materials and not the most accurate development of all its elements. So the cost of the apparatus is at the level of communicators, whose capabilities are incommensurably larger. You can, of course, argue that the G705 supports 3G, but in Russia, this possibility has not yet been greatly needed, not to say that it is generally needed only by those who are often abroad. So if in a couple of months, the cost of the new model will descend to about 10 thousand roubles, this device (with embedded Wi-Fi modules and GPS) can be considered an advantageous purchase.

Nokia 6600 slider is a bright representative of the class of future mobile devices. It can be described as an effective slider with a high IQ. The case is made from a high-tech alloy material that is worthy to apply in space industry. The key on the exterior side of the panel is a painted aluminum. Nokia 6600 slider has the right to be considered the smallest existing slider that has ever been made. Despite its small size, the device is worth being considered a smart phone and a multimedia center.

The surprising thing is the cost of the device that can be considered reasonable for such kind of smart phones. The external display becomes alive with a double touching, so you can reject an incoming call; turn off the reminder or alarm. Powerful digital camera of Nokia 6600 slide has a matrix resolution of 3.2 megapixels to 8 times zoom, Autofocus and flash. QVGA-display will recognize up to 16 million colors. While developing the Nokia Maps application (is expanded using the GPS-module, connected via Bluetooth), a Finnish manufacturer thought not only about drivers but also about pedestrians, because no one is safe from being lost.

General characteristics of Nokia 6600 slider

Standard connection: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz + UMTS 850/2100 MHz

Weight: 110 g

Dimensions: 93×45x14 mm

Talk time: Up to 4 hours

Standby time: Up to 340 hours

Antenna: Integrated

Battery: Li-Ion 1000 mAh

Display

Display Type: TFT, 16 million, 240×320, 2.2 ”

Lights: +

Sound

Polyphony: +

Vibrocall: +

Silent call: +

Loudspeaker: +

Coding of Speech: +

Call Management

Call Hold: +

Conference Call: +

Call Forwarding: +

Identification numbers: +

Keyboard

Joystick: +

Lights: +

Blocking: +

Sound indication: +

T9: +

Russian letters Input: +

User Interface

Adjustable profiles: +

Volume: +

Organizer

Hours: +

Alarm clock: +

Calculator: +

Stopwatch: +

Timer: +

Calendar: +

Notebook: +

Currency converter: +

Recorder: +

Synchronization with PC: +

Security

Time control conversation: +

Barring a challenge: +

Transferring data

SMS: +

GPRS: Class 32, 88 kbit / s

WAP: 2.0/xHTML, HTML (Opera mini 4)

Communication with PC: microUSB

E-Mail: POP / SMTP-client

Extras: EDGE Class 32, 296 Kbit / c; 3G – 384 Kbps; accelerometer

Memory

Memory: 18 MB

Additional features

Games: +

Java applications: MIDP 2.0

FM-receiver: Stereo

MP3 Player: MP3/AAC/AAC + / eAAC + / WMA

Flash Memory: microSD

Digital Camera: 3.2 MP, up to 2048×1536, Autofocus, flash, ext. camera for videophone

Video: VGA 15 frames / s.