The only drawback to the X10 Mini is that fact that the operating system used in the device is only the Android 1.6 operating system. So far, there is still no update to version 2.1 Éclair, and rumors are pointing at a potential September release date for the update (as that was the same announcement for the original XPERIA X10 which also uses Android 2.2).

With version 2.2 Froyo already out for the Nexus One, it certainly seems that the Android fans of Sony Ericsson are going to be left behind. Hopefully, an update to the new OS will be released pretty soon.

At just 83mm tall and 50mm wide, the X10 Mini is truly living up to its name. It is not as slim as some might like, but at 16mm, it is more than easy to grasp in the hand comfortably. Despite the small size, the phone still packs a pretty good touch screen display, and at 2.55 inches, this 240 x 320 pixel screen provides sufficient viewing space for browsing online or viewing short videos.

The camera is a 5 mega pixel snapper, which is not much of a down grade from the original 8 MP camera. It still packs a pretty impressive image resolution and its 30FPS video recording capabilities is more than enough for many users.

The device runs on a Qualcomm MSM7227 600 MHz CPU –sufficient for many apps, but not quite sufficient for running really resource heavy functions. Overall, the X10 Mini is a great package, and anyone who wants the same set with the addition of a slide out QWERTY keyboard need only wait a while longer for the X10 Mini Pro.

Bookmark It

There is no doubt that many of the spinners at Sony, HP and others are already working out a good angle to handle the media fallback; other companies such as Apple are simply turning a blind eye to the whole mess (in fairness to the Cupertino based company, they already have a lot on their plate to handle), but the general consensus is that what Foxconn is doing is wrong.

Indeed, there is something morally lacking when companies find themselves having to pay for extremely cheap labor practices and still sell their devices for expensive prices. But if Foxconn does change its company rules –increase salaries and benefits, as well as improve the working conditions, the financial repercussions of such a move will certainly drive up the manufacturing costs. In the long run, this will raise the retail value of many big name brand products.

The many employees of Foxconn work 12 hour shifts for extremely low salaries, hardly any benefits and live lives that practically turn them into nothing but mindless drones churning out bits and part of gadgets that will eventually be assembled (most probably by their other colleagues). According to reports, they eat their meals in a very military like manner and the overall atmosphere is tense and depressing.

The most ironic thing is that this has been the standard way of life for many workers in many other manufacturers; but with the continuous growth of suicides in Foxconn, the spotlight on this manufacturing company is not going away any time soon.

Bookmark It

Anyway, moving on to the topic at hand; Spotify is bringing a new element to their service –social networking. Users can now link to other users in order to share playlists. Many consider this the new face of mix tapes in the digital age. No longer do we need to sacrifice a cassette tape to record low quality recordings of our favorite songs so that our friends can listen to our recommended tracks, they can just take a quick look at the songs we currently have in our playlists.

Aside from connectivity with other users, Spotify has also been busy enhancing the way users can organize their favorite songs and tracks. A new ‘starred’ option has been enabled –similar to Gmail’s “starred” function; it allows you to instantly get a quick list of all tracks tagged with your star.

Also, if you happen to have songs that are not included in Spotify’s library on your device, the playlist will instantly recognize your locally stored music files so that you can include them in your current playlist. This is a great convenience for those who purchase music from different sources. With all these new updates, Apple’s iTunes really feel outdated.

Read more about the new features on Spotify at Pocket Lint.

Bookmark It

The Sony Ericsson Cyber-Shot Mobile Phones

Sony has long been the king of consumer electronics. Forever pushing the limits of technology forward, their company has produced the world’s best entertainment systems, televisions, gaming consoles, music players and even handheld devices. The Sony VAIO computer series is also some of the most fashionably powerful devices on the market. It comes as to no surprise that their line of high-resolution digital cameras, the Cyber-Shot series is among the best in the world.

The Sony Ericsson Connection

With Sony venturing into the mobile phone industry, it comes naturally that they are bringing their existing technology into the mobile phone industry. The Sony Walkman, which is the first line of electronic devices that allowed for portable music playback, has been given its own line of mobile phones that focus on music playback with radio functions. The same goes for camera technology. With most mobile devices equipped with cameras and other functions, Cyber-Shot has found its way to be integrated into the line of Sony Ericsson mobile phones.

Why the Cyber-Shot Surpasses other Devices

Sony is not a specialist in photography. That is reserved for industry giants such as Nikon and Canon, yet the Sony Cyber-Shot still packs some of the best hardware for digital cameras. This is due to the vast resources of Sony and their dedication to pushing the limits of technology. Cyber-Shot phones and cameras are known to be user-friendly, easy to use, easy to maintain and most of all, able to capture good images consistently.

Cyber-Shot in the Mobile Industry

Several models in the Sony Ericsson K-series incorporate Cyber-Shot technology. Mobile phones K800, K810, K550, K850 and K770 all have this. The new Sony Ericsson C-series is dedicated to Cyber-Shot mobile phones; this line will have far more excellent image capturing software and technology.

Bookmark It

Right. Read it again. Then try just once more. Now try and equate that tripe with a mobile phone. You heard us. A mobile phone. The Sony Ericsson Jalou, in case you were wondering.

Now, regardless of whether you think the above quote is actually in anyway true in relation to the fashion trends of 2010 (our guess is not even slightly, but then we’re a cynical lot), we’re more concerned about what that kind of language is doing in relation to a phone in the first place. Because a phone is a phone, not a piece of fashion.

A phone can be a fashion statement, yes. A phone can be an accessory, sure. A phone can even be something you buy more for how much people are going to be impressed by its looks as for what it can do to make your life better. But a phone is not, can not, never has been, never will be and never should be part of the fashion world. High fashion is over here (in London, let’s say), whereas mobile phone manufacturing is over here (in, say, a small industrial town in Korea). And we think most people know that. Most people aren’t looking for ‘jewel accents’ or ‘hidden depths’ in their phones. They’re looking for phones. For internet connectivity. For megapixels. For gigabytes.

Most people realise that. The chumps who’ve made the Sony Ericsson Jalou seem, however to have failed. Anyway, check out this Sony Ericsson Jalou review for more information, less cynicism. Or for the really brave, check out the video below.

Bookmark It

1) Nokia N97 deals – Yes guys it’s the big one, Nokia’s answer to the iPhone and we can tell you for free, that it isn’t the cheapest handset on the market. £40.00 per month on either T-mobile or Vodafone will get you 800 minutes and unlimited texts or 600 minutes and unlimited texts respectively. If you can afford it, then why not go for it?
2) Nokia 5530 deals – Vodafone wins out here offering 600 minutes and unlimited texts for a mere £20.29 per month. OK it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of the N97, but for that, you do get a line rental at half the price. Just promise us that you’ll consider it… please?
3) HTC Hero deals – I deliberated for a long time as to whether to put this one in at number 3 or 4 and in the end I went with number 3, simply because the magazines are going crazy over this little beauty. £25.00 per month with 400 minutes and 3000 texts is not a bad deal either on the Orange network.
4) Samsung Jet deals – I love this phone and it was hard for me to put it below the Hero, especially considering you can get this wonderful handset for a little over £21.00 per month on (you guessed it) Orange with 400 minutes and 3000 texts.
5) Blackberry Curve 8520 deals – No list would be complete without adding a Blackberry to the equation. It has to go in at number 5 simply because not everyone wants to send emails on holiday whilst sipping a long Island iced tea in the Bahamas, but with a deal on O2 offering £170 automatic cashback on a £35.00 per month tariff, I might justtake my emails everywhere I go.
6) Nokia N86 deals – The gamers delight, the Nokia N86 is packed with fun, hell it screams fun, perhaps that’s taking it a little too far, but it is an excellent little phone and for £30.00 per month you can get 600 minutes and unlimited texts on Vodafone. With that you can call and text all your mates to let them know your high scores.
7) Sony Ericsson W995 deals – I feel sorry putting the W995 in seventh place, partly because it is a truly amazing phone. What’s more you can get it for just over £21.00 per month. The thing is you will get it and in 3 months time you will want the Satio or the Aino and then you will blame me for putting it on the list and I just couldn’t handle the guilt.
HTC Diamond 2 deals – In at number 8 simply because it is a huge improvement over the original diamond and you can get it for below £30.00 per month on O2. If it’s a Smartphone you’re looking for, this one should be on the shortlist.
Any others we should have included? Get commenting and we will shout them out to the world.

Bookmark It

So, the main thing that’s interesting about the Sony Ericsson xperia X3 is that it’s the first Sony Ericsson phone to use the Google Android operating platform. All previous SE smartphones have used the Windows Mobile platform. And the way we want you to picture this is by thinking of at team like Wolverhampton Wanderers stepping up to the Premier League. Because as good a team as they are, Wolves last season were in the Championship and had to go and play against teams like Barnsley and Plymouth. Now though, they get to play against Manchester United and Liverpool, in front of millions of people on TVs around the world. And so, if you’re following, you should think of Windows Mobile as the Championship, Android as the Premier League. The former’s not a bad league, has some good features, but overall it’s nothing compared to the Premier. And there really is nothing that comes close to Android for mobile phones. It’s slick yet simple, feature-packed yet intuitive, and in this version, Sony Ericsson have even re-skinned it to make it all the most stunning and fun to interact with (see the video below)

So there we have it. One shoddy metaphor for one very decent phone. Check out this metaphor-free Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 review for a full list of specs, or have a look at these Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 deals.

Bookmark It

Lie number 1

“…the large 2.2” screen shows off websites in all their glory.”

Large? 2.2 inches? Large? Your girlfriend must have been really disappointed the first time you took your pants down buddy, because 2.2 inches is a long, long way from large.

Lies 2 and 3

“At the size of a credit card and with a high-class finish, the Sony Ericsson T715 adds a touch of sophistication to your life.”

Despite the healthy debts incurred on them, all of our credit card average about, say, 1mm in thickness. This thing is 14mm. 14. That’s thicker than most 3.5-inch-screen smartphones out there. And the t715 does not, in any way shape or chunky form add even an ounce of sophistication to our lives. It just adds a chunky phone.

Lie 4

“…this new mobile phone demonstrates the sophisticated design language consumers have come to expect from Sony Ericsson.”

THAT DOESN’T EVEN MEAN ANYTHING, YOU’RE JUST USING WORDS THAT HAVE NO MEANING YOU IDIOTS. IDIOTS!

Then we breath. Then we remember that the last time we did this lie-outing kind of thing we ended up on remand. So we close our inbox. Read this more considered Sony Ericsson T715 review instead. Watch the video below. Listen to some soft jazz. And breath. Just breath.

Bookmark It

• 12.1 megapixel camera
• Up to 12x digital zoom
• Auto focus
• Face and smile detection
• Geo-tagging
• Image stabilizer
• Photo fix
• Send to web
• Red-eye reduction
• Touch focus
• Video recording
• Xenon flash

So… your answer would be: as a cameraphone, right? Well, actually not. Sony Ericsson actually seem – at these still pre-release times, at least – to have taken the decision to market this more as a high-end media-playing phone. Which makes us very happy. As recent posts here have shown, we’re not a fan at all of phones pretending to be cameras. No matter how many megapixels you have on a phone, you’ve still got a tiny light sensor, and tiny light sensors mean crappy images (in relation to real cameras) no matter how many megapixels you cram into them.

So, what of the Sony Ericsson Satio as an all round media player? Well, it’s a bit of a cracker. With a really neat set of panels floating around the homescreen that gives you instant access to all your media playing/recording functions, this is clearly a phone that’s been designed with you in mind. Add to that the Sony Ericsson Satio’s 16:9 format, super bright screen, the ability to dual-download media and games to both your PC and phone, and a whole host of other funky features and you’ve got something that’s going to push a lot of buttons for a lot of people. More so for sure than the PSP-focused Aino, and certainly more so than the I’m-a-camera-honest-I-am Samsung Pixon 12. Seems like that’s an easy choice for you to make then… Have a read of this Sony Ericsson Satio review here, or just peruse this video instead

Bookmark It

1. PlayTVservice – If you own a Playstation3 you’ll know that you can watch certain free TV channels on it using the TV service function. Fair enough. What’s exciting with the Aino, though, is that you can now watch those same channels on the phone, just by linking up to the PS3 via the internet. So, sat on a beach in India? Want to watch Eastenders? Now you can… you sad individual you.
2. Remote Play – Initially a piece of kit that was intended quite rightly for the PSP, Sony Ericsson have now realised that it would work just as well on a phone. Basically, Remote Play lets you access all the PS3’s media content on your Sony Ericsson Aino. Whether you’re at home and hooked up via local network, or on that beach in Goa, you can access all your stuff in a jiffy.
3. Media Go – Simple but effective method of controlling and watching all the media on your home computer using the Sony Ericsson Aino itself. Again done via Wi-Fi. Nice.
4. Media Home – Synchronises your PC with your phone and makes sure they’re sharing all your fun files.

So there we have it. The Aino is one nifty little slider indeed. Have a squizz at this Sony Ericsson Aino review if you want a non-breakneck-speed run through of all those specs, or just pass some time in the company of this video if you’re feeling lazy:

Bookmark It