Offering 9 hours talk time, the compact bar-shaped mobile phone includes a speaker and comes pre-loaded with Bollywood Ring tones.

Sony Ericsson P1i Mobile Picture

The Sony Ericsson P1i is an exciting new smartphone that is to undoubtedly reign in the current Sony Ericsson portfolio. Powered by Symbian OS and featuring a QWERTY keyboard, a touchscreen TFT display with QVGA resolution and a 3.2 megapixel camera with auto focus, it represents the next level of the development of UIQ smartphones. As such, it seems that the Sony Ericsson P1 will be the flagship of Sony Ericsson smartphone line overrunning even the Sony Ericsson P990 and we were more than curious to find out how it performed in real life.
Sony Ericsson P1 official pictures

Key features:
Symbian 9.1 OS with UIQ 3 user interface
QWERTY keyboard
2.6″ 262K colors TFT touchscreen display
3.2 megapixel camera with auto focus
Memory Stick Micro M2 memory card slot
UMTS, Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth, USB, Infrared
Secondary camera for video calls
Walkman-grade MP3 player and FM radio with RDS
Jog Dial navigation
Main disadvantages:
Awkward keyboard
No HSDPA support
No EDGE support
A P-series or a M-series one?
The Sony Ericsson P1 bears the design line of the already available Sony Ericsson M600. The same form factor but without a QWERTY keyboard was used in the music-oriented Sony Ericsson W950, too.
Sony Ericsson P1
Sony Ericsson M600

Naming the device P1 seems rather logical, since the next SE super smartphone should have come as P1000. But 1000 sounds really trite, so choosing the device model to be P1, is a good move. Rumors had it that the device would be called P700, and even our test handset reported being P700. We guess that the decision must have been taken in the last moment. The Sony Ericsson P1 seems more of an upgraded M600, but then again we suppose that the wide range of features it boasts motivated including it in the P-series. So the P1 would definitely be the flagship among Sony Ericsson smartphones, but hardware wise, it seems to be powered by the same 208 MHz processor as seen in M600, W950 and P990.
The P-series evolution

We were very excited when we got the opportunity to make a review of the eagerly awaited Sony Ericsson smartphone P1. It turned out though that the test handset is obviously a rather early prototype since we experienced frequent crashes in various situations and applications. Nevertheless, we have a great deal of confidence that these will be fixed in the final version.

The retail package will include a desk stand, a USB cable, a stereo headset, a protective pouch, a spare stylus, and a 512MB Memory Stick Micro M2 card. Of course, as with any other mobile phone, the contents of the retail package remain strictly market and country dependant.

Silver framed
The P1 smartphone measures 106 x 55 x 17 mm and weighs 124 g. The central place in the body is taken by the large 2.6″ touchscreen TFT display. Above the display you can easily see the eye of the frontal VGA video call camera. Next to it, right in the dead center is the in-call speaker grill. Below it is the QWERTY keyboard that is almost a Sony Ericsson trademark - we haven’t seen a similar design in the common mobile market. Three or four characters share each key and it depends on your pressing its left or right side or pressing it in a combination with the ALT key, that determines which character gets printed. A clever design, no doubt about it, but we would see if it’s user-friendly enough to serve its purpose.
Video calls camera • Sony Ericsson P1 keyboard

The left side of the Sony Ericsson P1 features a hand strap eyelet, a Jog Dial and a hardware back key, which comes in handy when used in combination with the Jog Dial. The Jog Dial wheel itself is a three-way navigation solution - scroll up, scroll down and press to select or activate.
Left side view: strip eyelet, Jog Dial, Back key

The bottom side of the device is bare - it hosts only the usual Fast port and a microphone aperture.
Bottom side view: Fast Port and microphone

The right side incorporates the camera shutter key, the Memory Stick Micro card slot and a shortcut key, which can be assigned several available applications. The default one is to start the Web browser.
Right side view: camera shutter key, memory card slot, personal shortcut key

The top side of the device features the Infrared port and the On/Off key.
Top side view: Infrared port and On/Off key

Just below the On/Off key is the slot for the stylus. It’s more obvious when you take a look at the back of the handset.
Sony Ericsson P1 stylus

Speaking of the back, there is a certain thing down there that can really attract your attention. We are talking about the lens of the 3.2 megapixel camera which features autofocus and as you may have probably noticed, a dual LED flash. We saw that kind of flash used in Sony Ericsson K550. Obviously, Sony Ericsson are keeping the xenon flash for their high-end cameraphones only. Right above the camera lens is a silver line that in fact covers the loudspeaker.
Camera lens • loudspeaker cover

When you remove the battery cover, you will see the standard Sony Ericsson BST-33 950 mAh Li-Polymer battery that is rather frequently used by the manufacturer in a number of different handsets. According to official numbers, the battery should provide the P1 with enough power to keep it going for up to 350-440 hours of standby time or up to 5-10 hours of call time depending on whether you would use it in a UMTS network which takes its toll on battery life. Unfortunately, we could not test the phone’s battery life since we used the phone heavily during our tests and thus the battery life we experienced was not indicative for the real-life performance of the handset. The SIM card slot of the P1 is not your regular Sony Ericsson one and the card itself slots into a place next to the camera lens.
Removing the battery cover and the battery

The Sony Ericsson P1 is nice to work with both your left and right hand. If you use the Jog Dial you would need the stylus rarely since it represents a rather adequate navigation solution. We enjoyed using the P1 and it surely feels nice when held in hand.

Sony Ericsson S500i

“The slim S500i keeps you in harmony with the world around you. Slide the S500i open to reveal materials and patterns inspired by nature.” Sounds like Sony Ericsson’s marketing guys have been hugging too many trees! They’ve even coloured their phone green. Hey, cut those trees down and put some phone masts up! Let’s slash and burn our way through the forest of hype and discover what the S500i is really all about.

First thing to say is that we like the S500i, despite our sarcastic introduction. You look at the phone and the first thing that strikes you is its glossy black finish and smooth, slim form. You pick it up, (wiping away the fingerprints that have just appeared on the gloss surface), slide it open, and the thing springs into life, with beautiful wallpaper artwork and themes created especially for the S500i. The background and themes will even change according to the time of day or the season. The keypad is flat and shiny: probably not the best for texting, but pleasing to the eye. The best is yet to come though: wait for an incoming call and the phone really comes alive with sensational lighting effects. The S500i is available in a choice of colours : Mysterious Green and Spring Yellow. Both will stand out from the crowd, for sure. It’s a stunning phone, designed for the pixie in all of us.

In addition to looks, the S500i has gadgets too. It’s a mid-range phone, so it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of the top-of-the-range K810i or the Walkman range, but it has everything that most users will want. The most impressive feature is probably the crisp high-resolution display. This is a bright active matrix display that you can view easily outdoors and it does justice to the artwork and themes of the S500i. The phone also has a 2 megapixel camera with video recording capabilities. 2 megapixels is now considered average for a phone, and this one is nothing special, lacking autofocus and a flash. Still, it’s good enough for snaps and video clips.

Although it’s not a Walkman phone, the S500i does have a good quality music player, with support for Bluetooth stereo headsets. The built-in memory is small (12 Mbytes) and can store a handful of MP3 songs only, but you can buy a memory card to expand the storage to 1 Gbyte - enough for around 250 songs. Transferring music (and other data) between the phone and a PC is very easy using the USB connection, with drag and drop convenience. You can plug in compatible headphones, or use a Bluetooth stereo headset if you prefer.

The phone also has some useful extras such as a sound recorder, flight mode and personal organiser functions. It has fast internet access via EDGE, support for web browsing, email and RSS feeds. It’s also a quadband phone, so you can use it worldwide.

The S500i offers a good level of functionality, including all the essentials, and looks beautiful. It’s unlikely to be a huge seller, so it should appeal to people who want to stand out from the crowd and own something a little bit special.
Features of the Sony Ericsson S500i include:

2 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom
Video camera
Display: TFT LCD, 262,144 colours, 240 x 320 pixels
Music player with support for Bluetooth stereo headsets
PlayNow™ (download music and games)
Polyphonic ringtones / music ringtones
Sound recorder
Speakerphone
Messaging: SMS, MMS, Email
3D Java games (pre-installed & downloadable)
Animated wallpaper
Personal organiser functions (Alarm clock, Calculator, Calendar, Notes, Phone book, Stopwatch, Tasks, Timer )
WAP, EDGE
Web browser, RSS feeds
Memory: 12 Mbytes plus Memory Stick Micro™ (M2™) support (expandable to 1 Gbyte)
Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB mass storage
Vibration alert
Flight mode
Quadband
Size: 99 x 47 x 14 mm
Weight: 94g

Sony Ericsson T650i Mobile Picture

The exciting new Sony Ericsson T650i pleases the eye, in a wink. A far descendant of the legendary Sony Ericsson T610/T630, the T650 is dressed to kill and packs in some serious high-tech ammo. It’s all there - 3G, TFT display with QVGA resolution, stereo Bluetooth, FM radio, a cracking 3 megapixel camera - and all those are fitted into a bar-shaped handset measuring only 12.5 mm in thickness. You may have heard of Sony Ericsson W880, well… meet his big brother. A serious promise, indeed! But we at GSMArena.com rarely take things for granted - join us as we get our hands all dirty while we put the Sony Ericsson T650 through its paces.
Sony Ericsson T650

Main features
Slim and stylish
TFT display with a QVGA resolution
3 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash
Memory card slot with hot-swap support
3G support with video calls
Walkman-style music player
FM radio
Main disadvantages
Only 16MB internal memory
No EDGE
Records video in ancient QCIF (176 x 144 pixels) resolution only
An inspiring example of how a modern bar-shaped mobile should look, the Sony Ericsson T650 impressed us as soon as we set our eyes on it. The comparison to the Sony Ericsson T610/T630 will obviously be totally out of place here, since these handsets are more than outdated. You can look at the appearance of the T650 as more of a revival of the T-series, slammed into oblivion by the K-series. The probable reason for placing this new contender in the T-series could be that the K-series will be reserved for Cyber-shot handsets. Who knows! When we look around for competition, it is more than obvious that the T650 will be hitting hard on the Sony Ericsson W880 market share. We did like Sony Ericsson W880 when we reviewed it several months ago - at just 9.5 mm it surely looked the part. The Sony Ericsson T650 obviously hasn’t been on the same diet, but at only 12.5 mm thickness and with a sleek metallic finish, it doesn’t lose on looks either. Furthermore, it outperforms the W880 on a number of aspects. The Sony Ericsson T650 is a clear winner when it comes to comparing specs, but rest assured, we won’t just rely on that. It’s time that we roll up our sleeves and get on with project “Sony Ericsson T650 review”.

Metal on the outside, plastic from the inside
The Sony Ericsson T650 will be selling in two distinct color variations - light green and dark blue . The one we got to test is obviously the green one. The T650 has a nice metallic body - exactly as advertised. Make a note here; we’ll get back to that aspect later on in the review. The handset measures 104 x 46 x 12.5 mm and weighs 95 g which provides for a nice feel when held in hand.

Above the display you can see the speaker dead center. The video calls camera is located on its right, while the ambient light sensor is on the left. The TFT display measures 1.9″ in diagonal which isn’t quite what you’d expect in a higher mid-range tier handset. Just so you get a dimensional perspective, the W880 has a 1.8″ display, while the K800 sports a 2″ one. The manufacturer claims the Sony Ericsson T650 display is mineral-glass covered, which should prevent scratches. The keypad on the T650 has a great styling, the keys are small, and yet comfortable. Most of the Sony Ericsson users out there would be happy to see that Sony Ericsson have ditched the infamous navigation joystick and have replaced it with a sleeker D-pad.
Getting into the details

The right side of the T650 incorporates the usual Fast port used for attaching the charger and all peripherals. The Fast port is getting relocated on the side of increasingly more Sony Ericsson handsets. We suppose that it has something to do with its increased use for plugging stereo headset for listening to music.

The bottom part of the T650 sports only a microphone pinhole and holes for attaching a neck or wrist strap. For that purpose you would have to remove the back cover first. The top part of the mobile features the On/Off key and a sliding release key for the back cover. The On/Off key is really minute but that doesn’t pose any usability problems.
Side Fast port • Microphone pinhole • On/Off key

The left-hand side of the T650 nests the dual volume key and the camera shutter key. They are all made to blend seamlessly into the handset design. The slight elevation plus the nice tactile feedback provide for a great user-friendliness of the controls.
Camera shutter key and dual volume key

The back side of the body has a nice brushed metal finish and the back panel represents one whole piece covering the back entirely. At the bottom you can see the loudspeaker grill. The camera lens and the LED flash are located on the top. The camera is advertised as having a 3.2 megapixel resolution but, as with some other Sony Ericsson products, its effective megapixel count is exactly 3.15 megapixels. The lens is located within a bulging black frame, which in our humble opinion spoils the sleek looks of the device.

Obviously without it the engineers wouldn’t have been able to fit a 3 megapixel module into the body. The immediate result from such a solution though might mean that the camera lens cover would easily get scratched or smudged with fingerprints.
Backside: whole back plate • loudspeaker • camera lens

Removing the back panel reveals something that we hinted at earlier on. Although the body of the Sony Ericsson T650 seems and feels metallic, underneath it’s plain plastic. Not a bad solution we might say - handsets with all metal structure usually pay a certain weight penalty and they go way over the 100g marker.

Now back to our lab mouse. When you release the back cover by sliding the release key located on the handset top side, several things may attract your attention. The M2 memory card slot is located on the left, not far from the Fast port. It allows (for) quick hot swapping of memory cards as you don’t need to remove the battery. The device can host Memory Stick Micro cards with a capacity of up to 1GB. The SIM card slot is located next to it. The SIM is removable with the battery off only. Forgive us for stating the obvious, we just couldn’t help it.

The Sony Ericsson T650 gets its juice from a Sony Ericsson BST-33 Li-Poly battery with a capacity of 930 mAh. Battery times are not yet officially published, but our test handset managed to endure almost 4 days of fair usage in a 3G network - so expect a decent overall performance from this puppy.

samsung u600

The Samsung U600 is the first of the second-generation Ultra phones to hit the shops and is the replacement for the enormously popular Samsung D900 ultra-slim slide phone. At just 10.9 mm it’s even thinner than the D900, making it the slimmest slide phone available. As well as making it thinner, Samsung have shaved a couple of millimetres off the width of the phone, which is a very welcome improvement, as flat wide phones are not as ergonomic to use as conventionally-sized phones. It’s also 10g lighter than the D900, making it an extremely lightweight phone indeed. You can hardly feel the presence of this phone in a jacket pocket! A visual makeover serves to differentiate the U600 from the D900 in the looks department. One important change is that the external buttons (the ones that you can see when the slide is closed) have been made into touch-sensitive buttons (like the Samsung E900). Touch sensitive buttons look cool, but are not to everyone’s taste - read our user reviews of the Samsung E900 for a flavour of these! We feel that Samsung have made a mistake here and the touch-sensitive buttons will alienate a certain percentage of users. If you don’t want to take the risk then stick with the D900, which is a very safe choice.

Inside the phone, not a lot has changed - at least from a user’s perspective. The camera has been uprated from 3.0 to 3.2 megapixels. The battery is less powerful than the D900’s, but Samsung claim that battery performance has actually been improved due to a new technology called OPUS (Optimized Power Usage Solution). In our experience, the battery life is only 2-3 days. User memory has been reduced slightly from 70 Mbytes to 60 Mbytes.

The camera is excellent - Samsung’s best yet - with a high-resolution 3.2 megapixel resolution, LED flash, autofocus and digital zoom. It doesn’t match the Sony Ericsson K800i or the Nokia N95, but it’s still one of the best cameras on a phone. Our only complaint about the camera is its slowness in taking a picture - a delay of one or two seconds means that fast moving subjects are hard to photograph. There’s also a good quality video camera. The display is high resolution (240 x 320 pixels) with 262,144 colours and is excellent. The music player supports a wide range of formats - MP3, ACC, ACC+ and e-AAC+ - and has very good sound reproduction. You can use the stereo headset supplied by Samsung or a wireless Bluetooth headset. You can also listen to music through the built-in loudspeaker which features a Bang & Olufsen digital power amplifier. The player is easy to use with playlists of up to 30 tracks. With 60 Mbytes of user memory, you can only store around 15 music tracks, so to use your U600 as a music player, you’ll need to buy a Micro SD card - a 512 Mbyte card costs around £15 and will enable you to store over 100 tracks. The largest memory card possible is a 2 Gbyte card, with storage for around 500 songs. A PC data link kit is included in the sales package, for transferring music from a PC.

Other features that we like include the messaging options, with support for email attachments and a document viewer for viewing (but not editing) MS Office, PDF and HTML files. We like the EDGE connection for fast downloads, the quad band operating frequency, wireless photo printing with PicBridge™-compatible printers and the TV-Out connector for viewing your photos and videos directly on a TV.

Most of all, the U600 works as a lightweight, ultra-slim, look-at-me, sexy-slider kind of phone. It’s got the 3 megapixel camera and the music player to back up the looks too. The phone isn’t as user friendly as it could have been without the touch-sensitive buttons, but really it would be mean of us not to award a full 5 stars for the U600. Perhaps 4.5 stars sums up our real opinion.

Demand for the U600 is already sky high at launch, and this has driven prices down. You can probably find the best bargain by starting a new contract rather than upgrading on your existing contract (it’s easy to port your phone number to a new network). Some of the best deals are available from Dialaphone, currently offering a free U600 with with up to 12 months free line rental, or a choice of free gifts including an LCD TV or an XBOX 360. Alternatively, use our deal finder at the top right of this page to source the best bargains. Vodafone are offering half-price line rental if you buy direct from them. You might be surprised just how affordable this top-end phone is already. The U600 is now available on Pay as you Go too - the lowest price we’ve found is £139.95 from the Carphone Warehouse.
Features of the Samsung U600 include:

3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, flash and 4x digital zoom
Video camera (MPEG4 format)
Display: TFT, 262,144 colours, 240 x 320 pixels
Music player (MP3, ACC, ACC+, e-AAC+ formats) with digital power amp
64-voice polyphonic ringtones / MP3 ringtones
Voice memo recorder
Integrated handsfree speakerphone
Messaging: SMS, MMS, email (POP3, SMTP, IMAP4, SSL, TLS)
T9 predictive text
Document viewer for MS Office, PDF and HTML files
Mobile printing via Bluetooth (PicBridge™)
Java games
Flight mode
Personal organiser functions
Memory: 60 Mbytes plus MicroSD memory card slot (expandable to 2 Gbytes)
Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0, TV-Out
WAP 2.0, GPRS Class 10, EDGE
Quad band
Size: 103 x 49 x 11 mm
Weight: 81g
Talktime: 4 hours
Battery standby: 270 hours

n a nutshell: If you liked the 8800 Sirocco, you’ll love the Nokia 8600 Luna . It’s a similar look and feel to the classy Sirocco, but more futuristic in style, with a smoked glass sliding cover to protect the keypad. The features have been upgraded, with a stunning 16 million colour screen, a 2 megapixel camera, MP3 player, built-in radio and quadband. The memory is limited to 128 Mbytes (enough for 30 songs) so don’t throw away your iPod, but for looks and exclusivity, the 8600 is hard to beat.
Released on 30 May 2007, the Nokia 8600 “Luna” is exclusive to the Carphone Warehouse. It’s a stunning black slide-design phone with looks reminiscent of the equally expensive 8800 Sirocco phone. The body is made of stainless steel, with a smoked glass sliding cover to protect the keypad when not in use.

Our first impressions of the 8600 are good. The 8600 manages to look more sophisticated than the Sirocco - it’s a more futuristic appearance with less bling. The stainless steel body and the solid 140g of weight make the 8600 a good phone to hold in your palm (if you don’t mind carrying a phone this heavy.) The smoked glass cover looks suitably mysterious, but you can access many of the phone’s functions using the exposed exterior buttons even with the phone closed. Slide the glass down and you will see a neat keypad, that in our opinion is a nicer keypad to use than the Sirocco’s - it’s less fiddly, especially for man-sized fingers. The display is far superior to the Sirocco’s screen too. It has a high resolution of 240 x 320 pixels and a stunning 16 million colours, and is very easy on the eye.

Inside, the phone is very well featured too, although not at the cutting edge of technology. The camera has 2 megapixels and performs rather averagely when compared with other camera phones in the over-£200 price range. There’s a music player and an FM radio too, which is nice. The 8600 is compatible with an (optional) Bluetooth wireless headset. The music player is a handy feature but won’t ever replace your iPod as there is insufficient memory. The internal memory of 128 Mbytes is sufficient to hold around 30 songs only and cannot be expanded with a memory card. Connectivity is good: as already mentioned the 8600 supports wireless Bluetooth connectivity, and can also handle USB. Usefully it’s a quadband phone, so you can use it anywhere in the world, and battery life is reasonable.

In summary, we feel that this is an excellent alternative to the 8800 Sirocco phone - it costs about the same, and being exclusive to the Carphone Warehouse and with only limited numbers in stock it’s going to be just as exclusive. In many ways it’s a better phone with an improved LCD screen, a better keypad and the benefit of quadband. On the negative side it lacks a memory card slot and is rather heavy (just like the Sirocco), but the Nokia 8-series phones are about looks and exclusivity first and the 8600 offers both of these.

Features of the Nokia 8600 include:

* 2 megapixel camera
* Video camera
* Display: 16 million colours, 240 x 320 pixels
* Music player
* FM radio
* Polyphonic ringtones / MP3 ringtones
* Speakerphone
* Messaging: SMS, MMS, email
* Java games
* WAP, GPRS, EDGE
* Web browser
* Memory: 128 Mbytes
* Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB
* Vibration alert
* Quadband
* Weight: 140g
* Talktime: 3.5 hours
* Battery standby: 264 hours

Brilliant QVGA display, HSDPA, 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, memory card and many other functions in a fashionably slim shape.

Key features
sleek looks and high quality body construction
touch-sensitive keys beneath the display
Up to 3.6 Mbits/sec download speed over UMTS + HSDPA
scroll navigation
camera with 3.2 megapixel resolution and autofocus
QVGA display
microSD memory cards
seamless synchronization with Outlook and Outlook Express
good software for PC
Main disadvantages
the glossy surface of the display reduces legibility
records video in ancient QCIF (176 x 144 pixels) resolution only
no FM radio
no call filtering
a single black, non user-configurable theme in the main menu
Samsung U700, a.k.a Samsung Ultra 12.1, is one of the four slim models in the Ultra Edition II Series. The number indication 12.1 refers to the body thickness in millimeters. The U700 model is the slimmest slider ever to support high-speed data transfers over HSDPA.
Samsung U700 or Ultra 12.1

Before we start our review, one fact cannot go unmentioned: Samsung altered the original design of Samsung U700 at some point between the official announcement and the actual market launch - an unusual move, indeed. The phone we explored at this year’s 3GSM congress had a dark-colored body and a completely different keypad. Ultimately, the overall design of the body remained untouched, but black became silver, the keypad went completely the other way, and the display was covered with shiny glass.
The initial design, presented at 3GSM 2007

Tempting splendor
One should be careful labeling the Samsung U700 a fashion phone, given its rich functionality and remarkable options. Yet, as it usually happens, its design will be the first thing to grab the attention. The model we tested proved a real eye-catcher wherever we went. If you think the pictures in this review manage to convey the beauty of the Samsung U700, be warned that in reality, the phone looks even better.
Samsung U700 looks spectacular even though it’s all made of plastic

Samsung U700 owes its smart and elegant looks to a combination of a number of important elements: sliding construction, slim and solid body and glossy finish. In addition, to follow suit with the design features of the phone’s front panel, Samsung has replaced the standard mechanical buttons with touch-sensitive keys.

But let us now stop singing praises of the new Samsung beauty and put it to our keen and ruthless scrutiny. Samsung U700 looks great and feels solid and comfortable to handle. The constructional work is worth the highest praise. The sliding mechanism works reliably; no creaky sounds can be heard. When the phone is opened, its both parts hold together as if they are a monolith piece. When closed, however, it does show an insignificant unsteadiness.
The body of the phone with the sliding mechanism demonstrate perfect constructional work

To slide the phone open you’ll only need to push halfway; the rest is taken care of by a spring mechanism. There is no jut to push and slide; instead, your finger inevitably slides down the area of the round navigation key leaving unpleasant prints. By the way, fingerprints will always cause a grumble. The front plate is made of glossy mirror-like material, which elegantly encloses the navigation key to reach the top of the phone. The sides look polished chromium. The only matt area is the dark silver back plate.
Loudspeaker and video-call camera at the top of the mirror-like plate

Samsung chose to use plastic materials but managed to achieve exclusivity in the stylish design. The main shortfall, as in all other glossy-surfaced phones, is the inevitable fingerprints.

Scroll of the ring
The most attractive part of Samsung U700, when closed, is the round navigation key beneath the display. There’s both an aesthetic and practical function behind the choice of shape. The navigation key can be scrolled both ways notably easing the browsing of phonebook, messages or Internet websites. There’s a four-directional press too. The center of the navigation key confirms selected options; when pressed, it gently sinks beneath the ring level.
The four-way navigation key with a confirming center can even be scrolled both ways

A surprise lies in stock for the unsuspecting user. On the sides of the navigation key, the essential red and green receivers are placed. Yet, Samsung, inspired by the recent boom of touch-sensitive keys, has hidden no less than four keys under the hood. These are marked by pictograms of video call, application switch plus two context keys and appear illuminated in white as soon as the keypad is unlocked (to unlock the keypad use the center key). “Application switch” is kind of misleading, though. Samsung U700 does not feature real multitasking and the key can only switch to only three available applications - Calls, Messages, and Internet.

It takes longer to get accustomed to the touch-sensitive keys. Successful “presses” are acknowledged by a twinkle of the backlight of the respective key. The touch-sensitive keys react to the touch of fingers, as skin is a perfect electricity conductor. A key will not respond to the touch of a rubber, for example. The keys are automatically locked during a call, to prevent the user from unintentionally hanging up by simply touching the phone panel with a cheek.

Samsung U700 offers a secondary camera for video calls. The lens is located above the display. Right next to it is the curved etching of the loudspeaker. The top side of the phone only holds the switch on/off button.
Switch on/off button • audio input for the microphone

The U100 is the second of Samsung’s second-generation Ultra phones to arrive in the UK and is the replacement for the Samsung X820. The U100 replaces the X820 as the thinnest phone in the world! The U100 shaves 1mm off the already skinny X820, measuring an astonishing 5.9mm thin. At the same time, the U100 is a narrower phone, and this is a welcome improvement, as it makes the keypad easier to use, especially for people with smaller hands. But Samsung weren’t content just to make this the world’s slimmest phone - it’s also the lightest. At just 57g it weighs about half as much as a typical mobile. Really, when you put this phone in your jeans or shirt pocket, you’re going to forget that it’s there! The U100 is the ultimate for anyone who prefers their gadgets miniaturised!

The X820 was a popular phone, but never as popular as the slide-design D900, and we expect that the U100 won’t match the huge popularity of the U600 slide phone either. That’s partly because slide phones are the “in” look of the moment, but also because the U100 misses out on several of the features of the U600. We’ll compare the U100 with the U600 in a minute, but first let’s take a look at what the U100 has to offer.

The first thing that you notice once you’ve got over just how thin and lightweight it is, is the neatness of the design. The keypad is small, but easy to use and the phone is very ergonomic. However, if you’ve got large hands you might find it just a bit too small for comfort. The LCD display is a bright TFT display, the same as used on the X820. It isn’t the biggest screen around, for obvious reasons in a phone this compact, but it’s perfect for the size of the phone. Samsung’s new black & white user interface is easy to use and very smart in appearance. If you’re just using the phone for talking and texting, you’ll find it very easy to use.

When you spend £200 on a phone you expect it to have more to offer than just its size, and the U100 has plenty up its sleeve. Despite its tiny size, it comes with a 3.2 megapixel camera, which takes pretty good pictures, and records high quality video clips too. However, just like the X820 the U100 has no flash or autofocus, so its not going to replace a dedicated digital camera. Likewise, the phone comes with a high quality MP3 player that supports a wide range of music formats (MP3, AAC, AAC+, e-AAC+ & WMA) and delivers good quality audio using a Bang & Olufsen digital power amp. However, it won’t ever replace your iPod because the memory of the U100 is limited to 60 Mbytes (enough for around 15 songs) with no option to add a memory card.

The U100 has good connectivity options, with support for wireless Bluetooth 2.1 and a fast USB 2.0 port. It also has a TV-Out connection which enables you to watch your videos or photos directly on a TV. It can handle all kinds of messaging, including email, has a fast EDGE connection to the internet, can browse web pages at a push, and has the usual range of personal organiser functions that you’d expect from a modern mobile. Battery power is something that’s definitely of interest with the U100, since its predecessor the X820 had fairly poor battery life. The U100 incorporates Samsung’s new OPUS (Optimized Power Usage Solution) technology that is designed to get better performance out of a smaller battery, and initial impressions are that battery life is OK.

It’s perhaps not fair to compare the U100 with the U600 slide phone, since the U100 is so much smaller. But we’re going to, because if you’re considering buying the U100 it’s an obvious question. The key thing to understand is that it’s not a fair comparison: the U100 is half the size of the U600, so you just can’t expect it to do as much. The point of the U100 is that’s it’s the smallest & the lightest. If you want a phone that will simply disappear into your pocket or handbag and that will gently wow you every time you pick it up, then the U100’s your phone. If you want more power from your phone, choose the U600. The U600 has a larger, higher resolution screen; it has a camera with autofocus and a flash; crucially it has a memory card so you can store lots more music and videos; and it’s quad band too. Although the U100 has a camera and a music player, they’re just there for fun. Understand this and you’ll be the happy owner of the world’s thinnest mobile!
Features of the Samsung U100 include:

3.2 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom
Video camera
Display: TFT LCD, 262,144 colours, 220 x 176 pixels
MP3 player (MP3, AAC, AAC+, e-AAC+, WMA formats)
Digital Power Amp (ICE power® Technology by Bang & Olufsen)
Ringtones: 64 voices, MP3 ringtones
Speakerphone
Voice memo recorder
Messaging: SMS, EMS, MMS, E-mail (POP3 / SMTP / IMAP4 / SSL / TLS)
Java games
Document viewer
WAP 2.0, GPRS Class 10, EDGE
Personal organiser functions
Phone book (1,000 entries)
Text / Photo / Video Caller ID
Memory: 60 Mbytes
Connectivity: Bluetooth 1.2, USB 2.0, TV-Out
Flight mode
Triband
Size: 105.5 x 50 x 5.9 mm
Weight: 57g
Talktime: 4.5 hours

The biggest difference between the Nokia Wahoo and the Motorola RAZR line is that the former comes with a SureType-style keyboard rather than the standard numeric keypad that you find on the RAZR. Presumably, this makes it easier to send text messages and that kind of thing. Nokia isn’t the first to offer a phone like this, because the Samsung Cleo is similar (but it’s got full QWERTY instead).

Among the rest of the features on the Nokia Wahoo are quad-band GSM, dual-band UMTS/HSDPA, dual displays, 2.0 megapixel camera with flash, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, aGPS, microSD memory card slot, music player, Kodiak PTT, and a 2.5mm headset jack.

Current word has it that the Nokia Wahoo will launch with AT&T, given the nature of the 850/1900 UMTS radio. I’m not sure if the Wahoo will be a smartphone in the traditional sense, but it could bea good competitor for the BlackBerry Pearl Flip.

Via BGR