HTC Thunderbolt review -- Engadget

HTC Thunderbolt review -- Engadget: "At a quick glance, without any background information, your eyes might tell you that the HTC Thunderbolt is little more than a Verizon remake of Sprint's EVO 4G and AT&T's Inspire 4G. After all -- like its contemporaries -- the Thunderbolt features a spacious 4.3-inch WVGA display, 8 megapixel camera, and dual-LED flash. In reality, though, the Thunderbolt is something more: from the Inspire, it borrows a better, crisper display with a wider viewing angle and a newer-generation (though still single-core) Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. From the EVO 4G, meanwhile, it borrows a cool integrated kickstand and the addition of a second '4G' radio, making this a spec Frankenstein of sorts -- the best of both worlds. Of course, instead of Sprint's WiMAX for that 4G radio, the Thunderbolt grants you access to Verizon's LTE network -- a network so fresh, it still has that new-network smell. There's a lot of horsepower here."

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Nokia C2-01 review: A little something - GSMArena.com

GSMArena.com: "Little cash in your pocket and a good phone on your mind. Is the Nokia C2-01 it? A still camera, 3G and a memory card slot sound like we’re on the right track. In contrast to the C2-00, this one omits the dual SIM handling but there are other goodies to make up for that.

It’s a cheap phone alright, nothing too flashy, nothing to shout about. But the Nokia C2-01 deserves some credit for squeezing a number of nice little features into its budget. 3.2MP still imaging does sound refreshing after reviewing a VGA primary camera recently. Data speeds top EDGE and a microSD card slot means there’s more than enough room for your music collection. A 3.5mm audio jack too perhaps is better than expected for the price you pay."

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Issue 4 of iPad-only mag Project available for free - Phone Arena

Phone Arena - Good news for all of you who want to try out Project - the iPad-only magazine - and try it out for free. That's because the new issue of Richard Branson's offering is now available in the App Store and it costs... well, not a single cent.

It's not often we feel like we want to thank the guys at American Express, but it seems the right time has come, as the Project folks say this promotion is only happening because of AmEx. Anyway, the really important part is that issue 4 of this mag features Eric Bana on the cover, and you can download it for free from the iTunes link below.

Besides Mr. Bana, here's what else you can expect from this Project issue:

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Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570 Review: Right on the mini - GSMArena.com

Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570 Review: Right on the mini - GSMArena.com: "Minis are supposed to be the cheaper, stripped down version of the bigger and superior gadgets. There’s a long list of bigger and superior siblings for the Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570 to choose from but it has its own two feet to stand on.

So, the Galaxy Mini is the last shake of the bag. It will never get to rub shoulders with the big and scary smartphones. But it’s not all bad you know. Not bad at all actually for what basically is an entry level smartphone with complete connectivity, social networking, internet, Android apps and music. It’s the right kind of device for smartphone newbies. A good option if you just don’t want to spend a truck-load of money on a smartphone.

Key Features:

1. Quad-Band GSM and dual-band 3G support
2. 7.2 Mbps HSDPA
3. 3.14” 256K-color QVGA TFT touchscreen
4. ARMv6 600MHz processor, 384MB RAM
5. Android OS v2.2 (Froyo) with TouchWiz v3.0 UI
6. 160MB internal storage, hot-swappable MicroSD slot, 2GB card included
7. 3.15 MP fixed-focus camera with geotagging
8. GPS receiver with A-GPS
9. Stereo FM radio with RDS
10. 3.5mm audio jack
11. Document editor
12. Accelerometer and proximity sensor
13. Swype text input
14. MicroUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth 2.1
15. Social network integration
16. Good build, youthful styling

Main disadvantages:

1. Low screen resolution limits choice of apps
2. Fixed focus camera
3. No secondary video-call camera
4. No flash, no dedicated camera key
5. Poor video recording QVGA @ 15fps

The Galaxy Mini was not made to impress. It was made to serve and be simple to use. It’s a solid little smartphone that has all the important ingredients. It can do most of the things your Galaxy S can, just without the stuff that pushes the price up."

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Nokia E7 vs LG Optimus 2X vs Apple iPhone 4 - Phone Arena

Nokia E7 vs LG Optimus 2X vs Apple iPhone 4 - Phone Arena: "The Nokia E7, LG Optimus 2X and the Apple iPhone 4 are one of the best and most current representatives of rather different mobile operating systems – Symbian, Android and iOS. It's a long shot to compare the three as they are so different, but it gives us a bird's eye view of how the mobile industry has changed in the last few years.

The Nokia E7 has the worst timing of the three, appearing right after Nokia announced its decision to slowly phase out Symbian, and replace it with Windows Phone. Still, it is an extremely well-crafted device, and its anodized aluminum chassis feels very solid in the hand, all the while it manages to keep a fairly slim profile, considering it carries an excellent chiclet-style physical keyboard.

The LG Optimus 2X is basically a big slab, but the curved battery cover edges, and the soft touch plastic on the back make it comfortable to hold. The iPhone 4, on the other hand, has exceptional looks too, but it achieves it with a steel and glass frame, while still having one of the thinnest profiles out there.

The displays utilized are also very different. First we have the 4” ClearBlack AMOLED on the Nokia E7, which offers the widest viewing angles, high contrast, and nice, saturated colors, plus it has a polarizing filter on top to aid in sunlight visibility, since it is not as bright as the LCD screens on Apple's and LG's handsets. Its main downside – the low 360x640 resolution.

The iPhone 4's so-called Retina Display is much smaller than the one on the E7 at 3.5”, but it has the highest mobile display resolution out there – 640x960 – and is one of the brightest too. And, finally, the display on the LG Optimus 2X is a solid 4” IPS-LCD with 480x800 pixels, making it a good choice if you'd rather have a bigger screen with standard resolution than the smaller one on the iPhone 4."

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Intel's x86 chip will power 6-8 Android devices this year - Phone Arena

Intel's x86 chip will power 6-8 Android devices this year - Phone Arena: "Notebook makers are claiming that Intel is planning on combining their x86 chipset with the Android operating system. Particularly as Microsoft has decided to use ARM platforms, Intel's cooperation is fitting, even though they have their own MeeGo OS.

Several Taiwan notebook makers, including Inventec and Compal Electronics, say that the Intel x86-powered Android devices could be announced as soon as April. That announcement would likely take place at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing, April 12-13. If they can't be ready by then, they're expected at the Computex Taipei conference later in the year.

If Intel does in fact use Android with their processors, it could mean a tremendous cost-savings for the end user. Without licensing fees, those Taiwanese notebooks could offer competitive alternatives to Windows-based netbooks and other mobile OS tablets.

The sources propose that these new partnerships, which are a departure from the traditional Wintel (Windows + Intel) market, will improve the overall health of the PC ecosystem. Of course, in addition to an Intel/Android notebook, we're looking forward to more of their Intel/Chrome OS solutions expected around mid-2011."

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Apple iPad 2 Gaming Test - Phone Arena

Apple iPad 2 Gaming Test - Phone Arena: "Already deemed as a venerable gaming machine in its own the regard, the iPad 2 will undoubtedly kick things up a notch, as it should, thanks to upgraded internals found under the hood. If 3D gaming is more your kind of thing, then the 1GHz dual-core Apple A5 processor is an inviting evolutionary step forward that should bring along some graphically rich titles down the road once developers begin to take advantage of it. In the meantime though, we decided to check out the kind of graphics prowess that the iPad 2 has to offer – and more importantly, how it compares to its brethren."

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