HP Launches Touch Pro Tablet

By Georgina Enzer 

HP has launched three new products to enlarge its HP webOS line. The products are its first webOS tablet device - the HP TouchPad, the HP Pre3 smartphone and the smaller HP Veer smartphone.


The HP TouchPad has a 9.7-inch capacitive multi-touch display, virtual keyboard and support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1 beta in the browser as well as access to webOS applications. "Today we're embarking on a new era of webOS with the goal of linking a wide family of HP products through the best mobile experience available," said Jon Rubinstein, senior vice president and general manager, Palm Global Business Unit, HP. "The flexibility of the webOS platform makes it ideal for creating a range of innovative devices that work together to keep you better connected to your world."

The TouchPad is designed to be used either alone, or as a companion device to a webOS smartphone. Calls can be answered and viewed from the TouchPad and a user can touch an enabled webOS phone to the TouchPad to share web URLs. The device has the HP Synergy feature, designed to enable users to sign into Facebook, Google, Microsoft Exchange, LinkedIn and Yahoo! accounts and information from a users contacts, calendar and email automatically populate the TouchPad.


WebOS allows users to run multiple applications at the same time and shows your activities as cards on the screen. This is designed to allow the user to easily navigate between the functions they are using, such as Facebook, a music player and IM chat. TouchPad also features a webOS communication suite powered by HP Synergy, designed to keep a user connected, the solution includes email, instant messaging, contacts, calendar, videos and a front-facing camera for video calling.

The TouchPad also features Wi-Fi, GPS on the 3G model, Bluetooth 2.1, a 1.2GHz processor, the option of either 16 GB or 32 GB of internal storage and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel webcam for live video calling.


A Micro-USB with USB 2.0 is also included. The device measures in at 190mm x 242mm x 13.7mm and weighs 740g. Amazon.com has announced that it will be launching a free Kindle app for HP webOS tailored for TouchPad, designed to give users access to more than 810,000 titles from Amazon's Kindle Store.

HP is also working with Quickoffice to include the Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite. The TouchPad also comes with VPN support to connect to corporate networks and the device has built-in HP Touchstone technology for easy charging.

The HP TouchPad is scheduled to be available later in the year and both pricing and availability will be announced at a later date. HP has also released the HP Pre3 smartphone, which features a 3.58-inch touchscreen, a 1.4GHz processor and a full slide-out keyboard. "In the suite of webOS products we're introducing today, Pre3 is our premier phone, designed for the speed of business," said Rubinstein. "It enables professionals to accomplish more of their important workday tasks while easily keeping their fingers on the pulse of their personal lives."




The phone, which runs on HP webOS features eight or 16 gigabytes of internal storage, support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Wi-Fi, integrated GPS, Bluetooth 2.1 and Wi-Fi router functionality for up to five devices using HP mobile hotspot. The device also has a 5MP camera with autofocus and an LED flash and a front-facing camera for video calling. Weighing in at 156g, the device measures 111mm x 64mm x 16mm.


Pricing and availability is scheduled to be announced later in the year. The last device announced by HP is the HP Veer smartphone. This device is HPs smallest webOS smartphone to date, measuring in at 54.5mm x 84.0mm x 15.1mm and weighing in at 103g.

The Veer has a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard, similar to the Pre3, an 800MHz processor, a 2.57-inch glass display, eight gigabytes of internal storage and a five-megapixel camera with geotagging.

"While much of the industry is trending toward larger and larger devices, we believe there's also a whole lot of room for thinking small," said Rubinstein. "Veer bridges the gap for a new generation of smartphone users, proving they really can have it all without sacrificing the size they want."

The phone also has Wi-Fi, integrated GPS and Bluetooth 2.1 with Wi-Fi router functionality for up to five devices using HP mobile hotspot.

Specifications :

• 8.9 inch screen, 1024 x 600 pixels resolution, capacitive with multitouch and N-trig digitizer
• 1.86GHz Intel Atom Z540 processor
• 2GB of RAM
• 64GB SSD
• Intel GMA 500 with Broadcom Crystal HD  for Full HD decoding
• Wifi and Bluetooth
• 1 x USB, 3.5mm headset jack and SD card slot
• Frontfacing webcam and 3MP camera on the back
• Accelerometer for automatic screen rotation
• 2-cell 30 Wh battery (5 hours estimated runtime). Battery is non user replaceable
• Desktop dock with 2 x USB, headset and HDMI port
• Carrying case with holder for digitizer pen (the pen doesn’t dock inside the slate itself)
• Windows 7 Professional OS
• size: 226 x 150 x 14.7 mm
• weight: 680g

Buttons layout :

Now, let’s do a walk around and see what the buttons and openings on the sides of the device do. Front: the front-facing web-cam for video conferencing is placed in the upper left corner. Back: it hosts only the 3 megapixel digital camera. Bottom: docking connector in the middle and two stereo speakers on both sides. Left: SD card slot opening, keyboard button that brings up the Windows 7 keyboard when pressed, microphone. Top: USB port and CTRL+ALT+DELETE button on the right side. Right: On/Off slide button and 3.5 mm headset jack.

Preloaded software

Thankfully, HP has understood that a business device doesn’t have to come with tons of apps pre-installed that eat up processing power and occupy space on the internal SSD, so we have few things to slow down the Windows 7 installation, and the most notable is Evernote, the note taking, synchronizing and sorting program, which features versions for most of current used OSes, desktop and mobile versions included.

HP Slate 500 vs Apple iPad

I guess you’ve understood our point on this matter: the HP Slate is not meant as a competitor to the Apple iPad, but just a device that can meet the productivity demands of enterprise customers. That doesn’t mean Windows 7 fans (yeah, the OS that lives up on over 95% of computers has fans) won’t get the HP Slate 500, which at 800 dollars is just about the same price as the 64 GB iPad. Plus it comes with the docking station and carrying case by default. A minus is lack 3G connectivity, which should have been included by HP, but that’s a minor annoyance for many, as you can hook up a USB dongle at any time into the tablet. Also on the cons, we have to note the lack of a fingerprint reader, something business devices enjoy for a while.
My personal note? I would have probably bought the HP Slate 500 if the price would have been around the 400 dollars mark, for which now high end netbooks are selling.

 

Dual Touch screen Phone launched

Sprint, Kyocera's Echo Phone gives Android new hardware

Sprint and Kyocera introduced the dual-screen Echo smartphone, running Android 2.2. But can the unique-looking device combat the iPhone 4, plus other Android upstarts?

More screens means greater efficiency. That’s the theory behind installing two of them side-by-side on your desk at work, or a Wall Street maven’s bank of flat screens in their workspace.

Laptops are starting to get in on it, too, whether in the form of an upcoming Acer laptop with dual touch screens, or other manufacturers’ models whose screens telescope out for a wraparound effect.

Now, evidently, it’s time for the dual-screen philosophy to make its way to smartphones. On Feb. 7, Sprint hosted a high-profile event in New York City to debut the Kyocera Echo, an Android smartphone with two 3.5-inch WVGA touch screens connected by a hinge.



All in all, the Echo is 4.53 inches long, 2.23 inches wide, and 0.68 inches thick.

Depending on that hinge’s angle, those screens can perform multiple functions. Slide one over the other, the Echo looks and feels like a somewhat thicker single-screen smartphone.


Slid flat and side-by-side, the smartphone offers a 4.7-inch screen (broken by the hinge) for displaying movies and other media (each screen offers 800x480 resolution).

One screen tilted at an angle to the other allows for typing on a virtual keyboard, on one screen, while viewing, say, e-mail or Facebook on the other.

The two screens can also run two applications “simultaneously and independently,” as Sprint CEO Dan Hesse told the audience at the New York City event. In other words, there’s high potential for versatility here. For business users, the smartphone will support Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, in addition to POP and IMAP e-mail accounts.    

The Echo relies on Android 2.2 and a 1GHz Snapdragon processor as the foundation for its various functions. That’s generally the standard for Android-based smartphones these days, and it suggests the Echo will be able to perform with the same speed and power as other devices in its class. For the particularly gadget-happy, the Echo can act as a WiFi hotspot for up to five devices.

In a Feb. 8 conversation with eWEEK, Sprint and Kyocera executives seemed intent on separating the Echo from other plus-sized devices walking the line between tablets and smartphones, such as the Dell Streak. The Echo’s “tablet mode emulates some functionality of a tablet, but it’s not a tablet,” said David Owens, Sprint’s vice president of consumer acquisition. “It’s a phone first.”

Those executives offered eWEEK a brief up-close look at the Echo, including a run-through of its video-playing capabilities (using “Avatar,” inevitably), e-mail (you can sort through an e-mail box on one screen, while viewing individual e-mails on the other) and games (The Sims).

Sprint likely hopes the Echo’s form-factor will distinguish it within an increasingly crowded Android smartphone market. Certainly the carrier needs a new top-tier smartphone in the spirit of last year’s Evo 4G or Epic 4G, powerful devices in their own right but ones that, given the rapid pace of smartphone evolution these days, risk looking antiquated.

Indeed, with rivals busy rolling out 4G capability, once touted by Sprint as its primary competitive differentiator, the company needs something altogether new and shiny to maintain its market niche—and evidently, that means dual screens.

It also means stretching the battery life. Kyocera apparently plans to ship the phone with two batteries, alongside a charger capable of charging the phone and a second battery at the same time.

The Echo will arrive sometime this spring for $199 with a two-year contract and a $100 mail-in rebate. Whether it manages to wrest market share from the Verizon iPhone, Windows Phone 7 and its Android cousins remains to be seen. One thing’s for certain, though: Sprint and Kyocera will have one of the more unique-looking devices on the market

(Source: eWeek)

Smart phones overtakes PC's

NEW YORK For the first time ever,smart phones such as the iPhone are outselling personal computers,according to a report by research group IDC.Worldwide,consumer electronics makers shipped 100.9 million smart phones in the last three months of 2010,an 87 per cent jump from a year earlier.PC shipments were weaker than expected,edging up just three per cent to 92.1 million.

The two trends aren't necessarily related,said IDC analyst Ramon Llamas.Smart phones and PCs serve different purposes,and consumers generally need both.PCs remain important for writing papers,editing photos and creating other kinds of content.

PC sales are,however,have been hurt by competition from tablet computers.

This is the graph which shows the growth of Smartphones in the coming year.

Meanwhile,smart phones are getting a boost from falling prices.It's not uncommon to find brand-new models on sale.Smart phone sales are also getting a push from growing interest in Google's Android software,which powers dozens of phones made by HTC,Samsung,Motorola Mobility and others.

"Android continues to gain by leaps and bounds,helping to drive the smart phone market,"Llamas said.
People also tend to replace their phones much more often than they do their computers.Consumers might wait three to five years to replace computers,some of which are protected under warranties that last several years.

LG Optimus 2X Android phone ( 1-GHz dual-core processor )

South Korea's LG Electronics unveiled the LG Optimus 2X, a smartphone with a dual-core processor. 

This uses Nvidia's (Nasdaq: NVDA) Tegra 2 processor, making for faster, smoother Web browsing and a better multitasking experience, LG said. The Optimus 2X will be released with Android 2.2; it will be upgradable to Android 2.3 later. LG will offer the Optimus 2X in South Korea next month. The device will then be shipped to Europe and to other countries in Asia.

LG Optimus 2X Specs

• 1Ghz Dual-core Processor (NVIDIA Tegra 2)
• 4-inch WVGA screen
• 8GB memory (up to 32GB via microSD)
• 1,500 mAh battery
• 8 megapixel rear camera and 1.3 megapixel front camera
• HDMI mirroring
• 1080p MPEG-4/H.264 playback and recording
• Android 2.2 Froyo (upgradeable to Android 2.3 Gingerbread)

CPU

The Optimus 2X uses a 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 processor.
This is claimed to be the world's first mobile dual-core CPU. It is a dual-core ARM (Nasdaq: ARMHY) Cortex A-9 CPU.
The Tegra 2 includes an ultra-low power GeForce graphics processing unit (GPU). This lets it offer up to two times faster Web browsing and up to five times faster gaming. The GPU also includes what's claimed to be the world's first mobile 1080p HD video processor.

Step Back, Optimus Prime

Multi-core smartphones and mobile devices such as PC tablets may be the norm in the future, Carl Howe, director of anywhere consumer research at the Yankee Group, told TechNewsWorld.
"It's a question of offering performance at lower power," Howe explained. "You get the same performance but at a lower clock speed, which consumes less power."
Further, a multicore device gives users plenty of power in reserve.
"You'll have more horsepower when you need it, and when you're doing routine things, you might be able to turn off one core, which is a typical strategy for dual-core devices," Howe pointed out.
Over time, mobile devices will go the way of the desktop and incorporate an increasing number of cores, Howe predicted. "Dual-core isn't the end here; you'll see quad-core and eight-core processors," he elaborated.
However, that alone won't make for better mobile devices.
"The real gotcha is the software," Howe stated. "Typically chip manufacturers give OEMs software to help manage multiple ports. How effective that is will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer," he added.
"The software that enables the parsing of tasks and processes has to be developed and done accurately or it's not gong to make that much of a difference," Will Stofega, a program director at IDC, told TechNewsWorld.

Best Motorola Android Phones for the Last 1 1/2 Years | ListFav

Best Motorola Android Phones for the Last 1 1/2 Years | ListFav

HTC HD7

By Vlad Savov 

The screen that just keeps on going meets the OS that refuses to fit on a single display. Yes, Microsoft's Windows Phone 7, like Windows Mobile 6.5 and Android before it, is getting treated with a 4.3-inch display from HTC for its launch party. The aptly titled HD7 is, by virtue of Microsoft's stringent hardware requirements, mostly just a stretched-out version of its WP7 contemporaries: it offers the standard 800 x 480 res, 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon, 576MB of RAM, and a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with a 720p movie mode. So what sets it apart? HTC will have you believe its Hub enhances the buttery smooth WP7 software, while outside the shell there's a handy kickstand for landscape lounging and you do of course benefit from an enlarged canvas for your finger inputs. Join us after the break to discover how much that matters in day-to-day use, along with the rest of our thoughts on the HTC HD7.

Inside

The US (exclusive to T-Mobile on November 8) and UK (an O2 exclusive, available today) variants of the HD7 will pack 16GB of non-expandable storage whereas most other countries will have to settle for 8GB. You might consider that something of a limitation, and indeed if you have to have every episode of every season of House on your mobile device, maybe you'll feel the squeeze, but T-Mobile is coming to the rescue with Slacker Radio and Netflix apps preinstalled on the US HD7, while the Zune Pass all-you-can-listen music buffet service (coming to Western Europe right around now) can turn the cloud into your music collection guardian.

What we're more concerned about, however, is the Qualcomm QSD8250 chip that resides within the HD7's confines. This was a celebrated 1GHz part back when it graced HTC's own HD2 this time last year, but today... not so much. And speaking of the HD2, it's pretty outrageous that HTC has gone and matched its spec almost entirely. Sure, the externals have been tweaked, the physical buttons have been dismissed in favor of capacitive keys and you've now got a slightly different frame around your jumbo display, but as far as the internal hardware is concerned, it's nearly the same phone. We imagine this was probably out of HTC's hands since Microsoft insists on the particular trio of WP7 buttons and has also been the one to mandate the processor within, but it still leaves geeks like us feeling less than overjoyed. After all, if not for a bit of red tape, we could just as well be reviewing the HD2 right now.

Looking at the HD7 and its Windows Phone 7 OS in isolation, however, we have to commend the final product. Whether we like the route by which Microsoft has gotten here, what we're looking at with all these launch devices is one hell of a smooth user experience. So, in spite of its aged hardware, the HD7 is by no means a performance slouch. Basically, we'd have preferred something beefier inside, but that's just because we like numbers, and we like them to grow higher, but in actual use the HD7 is more than nippy enough.

Display
Ah, the display. The HD7's meat and potatoes, its reason for being, the meaning to its life, the beating heart of its entire operation. If we haven't made it abundantly clear yet, the display is this phone's defining feature and also the thing that will most likely determine its commercial success. That's aside from the key determinant, of course -- the Windows Phone 7 experience -- but given that the OS has been so tightly regimented by Microsoft, you'll be able to easily jump aboard abother WP7 ship should the HD7 not rock your boat quite how you'd like it to. The trouble with its 4.3-inch panel, however, is that it does indeed both make and break the appeal of the HD7.

Camera
The camera on the HD7 was a weird one for us to get to grips with. On the one hand, focusing is pretty snappy and Windows Phone 7 does allow you to jump straight into the camera app from a locked screen (by holding down the shutter button). But our actual results were somewhat hit and miss. Sometimes, the HD7's camera would nail the white balance in situations where even a DSLR was struggling to guess correctly, but at other times it'd struggle to focus in relatively unchallenging circumstances. Aside from that, we have to take issue with WP7's inability to remember camera (or camcorder) settings. The HD7 defaults, weirdly enough, to shooting 480p video, which you have to switch up yourself... each and every time you use the video app. Maybe we're unenlightened on how to make our settings stick, but sure enough, each time we turned on the camera and wanted to shoot at 720p, we had to manually turn it on. Which was annoying.

Specifications

Weight

• 162 grams (5.7 ounces) with battery

Display

• Type: Touch screen with pinch-to-zoom capability
• Size: 4.3 inches
• Resolution: 480 x 800 WVGA

CPU Processing Speed

• 1 GHz

Storage

• Internal storage: 8 GB (Europe), 16 GB (Asia)

• ROM: 512 MB

• RAM: 576 MB

Connectors

• 3.5 mm stereo audio jack
• Standard micro-USB (5-pin micro-USB 2.0)

Sensors

• G-Sensor
• Digital compass
• Proximity sensor
• Ambient light sensor

HTC Hub

• Weather, Stocks, Converter, Photo Enhancer, Sound Enhancer, and more
• Downloadable apps and games

Multimedia

• See photos from your camera, Facebook® and Windows Live™ accounts in the Pictures hub
• Music and Videos Hub powered by Zune® lets you listen to radio, download music, and more
• Dolby Mobile and SRS surround sound

Audio supported formats:

• .m4a, .m4b, .mp3, .wma (Windows Media Audio 9)

Video supported formats:

• Playback:.3gp, .3g2, .mp4, .m4v, .mbr., .wmv (Windows Media Video 9 and VC-1)
• Recording:.mp4

Power & Battery

• Battery type: Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery

• Capacity: 1230 mAh

Talk time:

• WCDMA: Up to 320 mins
• GSM: Up to 380 mins

Standby time:

• WCDMA: Up to 320 hours
• GSM: Up to 310 hours

Network

Europe:

• HSPA/WCDMA: 900/2100 MHz
• GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

Asia Pacific:

• HSPA/WCDMA: 900/2100 MHz
• GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

Platform

Windows® Phone OS 7

Camera

• 5 megapixel color camera
• Auto focus and dual LED flash
• 720p HD video recording
• Built-in scenes include candlelight, landscape, and portrait match the environment of your subject

Internet

3G:

• Up to 7.2 Mbps download speed
• Up to 2 Mbps upload speed

GPRS:

• Up to 114 kbps downloading

EDGE:

• Up to 560 kbps downloading

Wi-Fi^®:

• Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g/n

Bluetooth^®

• Bluetooth® 2.1 with Enhanced Data Rate
• A2DP for wireless stereo headsets
• Other supported profiles: AVRCP, HFP, HSP, PBAP

Social Networking

• Facebook® and Windows Live™
• Share photos on Facebook® or Windows Live™ SkyDrive®

Location

• Internal GPS antenna
• Bing™ Maps

Special Features

• With kickstand
• Customize your phone with live tiles which dynamically update all key information right on the Start screen
• Choose from thousands of video titles and music tracks via integrated Zune® services
• Play console-quality video games with XBox LIVE® integration

The HD7 is pretty much what you thought it would be. It's that same 4.3-inch blueprint that HTC has exploited to great success with the HD2 and EVO 4G, applied to the brand new Windows Phone 7 operating environment. The first question you'll truly have to answer for yourself is whether or not you want to be aboard the WP7 gravy train. We remain staunch believers that a smartphone is only as good (or as bad) as its software, so decide on your OS first and your particular handset second. If you're still with us, we'd recommend the HD7 as a solid WP7 device choice, but with a few caveats.

The build quality is a step below the finest we've seen, landing the HD7 in the "passable" category, while the display may achieve a high level of brightness, but it goes to waste thanks to its poor contrast and viewing angles. For a device aspiring to woo us with its multimedia features, this, along with middling sound output from its stereo speakers, renders the HD7 a failure if measured purely by the boasts of its promotional materials.

Future Phones 2010 - 2014

Top smartphones of 2010

Top Smartphone

Smartphones offer greater functionality than regular cell phones, with the ability to access the Internet, download email, work with document attachments, sync data with personal and corporate computers, send instant messages, play music, show streaming video and scout out locations with GPS - in addition to making phone calls.

Now lets check the top 10 smartphone in market.


1. T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide

An Android smartphone for first-time users

• Superb QWERTY keyboard
• Easy-to-use interface
• Good call quality

• Clunky slider mechanism
• Sub-par camera
• Weak battery

  
Review:
The T-Mobile MyTouch 3G Slide is an entry-level Android device geared for first-time smartphone users. Reviewers praise its midrange feature set, top-notch QWERTY keyboard and exceptional ease of use. Chris Ziegler at Engadget.com considers it "among the best" QWERTY Android sliders, and CNET's Bonnie Cha says T-Mobile's customized user interface "brings a more consumer-friendly look and feel" to Android. However, experts also say the Slide's features can't compete with powerhouses like the HTC Droid Incredible (Free with contract) or HTC EVO 4G (*Est. $190 with contract). Nevertheless, for those transitioning to smartphones, the MyTouch 3G Slide may be a sound choice.
Thanks to a hardware redesign and a software makeover, the MyTouch 3G Slide is "more than just a re-warmed" MyTouch 3G, says Lisa Gade at MobileTechReview.com. The Slide has a larger 3.4-inch touch-screen display with pinch-to-zoom support, a new QWERTY keyboard and bigger 600 MHz processor. Critics praise the bright, responsive screen, and Kenneth Butler at Laptop Magazine says the QWERTY keyboard "hits the sweet spot." Cha likes its spaciousness, but says the slider can be clunky to open. The Slide runs on Android OS 2.1 (Eclair) with two user interfaces: one from HTC and the other from T-Mobile, which users say is more user-friendly. In addition to a guided set-up process, the Slide has Android's multi-panel home screen, Google apps and MS Exchange support. The HTC Sense interface adds five customizable home screens and apps like Friendstream, which combines Facebook, Twitter and Flickr updates. The T-Mobile interface features My Modes, which lets you personalize the home screen for work or home, the Faves Gallery (which keeps track of your 20 favorite people), and the Genius button for voice-recognition searching and messaging, a barcode reader and an bundle of recommended apps.
Focus on messaging
For the most part, the enhancements impress reviewers. MobileTechReview.com's Gade says "it's a pleasure to see a midrange phone get the current goods," while PCMag.com's Sascha Segan likes how it focuses on messaging. But Laptop Magazine's Butler says the Motorola Cliq (Free with new contract) does "a better job of integrating social networking."
The Slide is also a good multimedia phone, according to Segan. It includes a standard Android music player, free DoubleTwist syncing software, a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a YouTube video player. While the 5-megapixel camera gets lukewarm reviews for sub-par image quality, the Slide's browser "notched decent page load times," says Butler. Reviewers report excellent call quality with clear volume and reliable 3G coverage, but battery life -- the most common complaint among users at CNET -- falls short of its rated 7.5 hours in tests at CNET, Laptop Magazine and PCMag.
Laptop Magazine's review provides the most complete comparison to rival smartphones such as the Google Nexus One and HTC Evo 4G. Other professional review sources, including MobileTechReview.com and PCMag.com, make fewer comparisons with rival smartphones but nevertheless deliver thorough evaluations, while user reviews at CNET help to illustrate some of the Slide's drawbacks.


2.  T-Mobile Garminfone

An Android smartphone with excellent Garmin GPS

• Outstanding navigation
• Navigates even in dead zones
• Easy user interface
• Includes dash mount/charger

• Older version of Android
• Runs slowly at times
• Blurry photos and video in some tests
• May be too basic for advanced users

A phone that combines great Garmin navigation with a smartphone that's at least passable is bound to be a sought-after option. The Android-based T-Mobile Garminfone has its flaws as a smartphone, testers say, but if you want the best possible phone navigation, this is it -- and it's far better than Garmin's last attempt, the widely panned Garmin nuvifone G60 (Free with contract).
Navigation is "fantastic" with the Garminfone, says Tim Stevens at Engadget.com, and other testers agree. While other Android phones such as the Motorola Droid (Free with a new contract) include free turn-by-turn Google Maps Navigation, testers say the Garminfone is a better, more full-featured navigator -- especially since it can navigate regardless of dead zones, unlike the Google Maps version, which must be connected via cell signal to work. The Garminfone comes loaded with North American maps and 6 million points of interest. In a test at Laptop Magazine, it gets a stronger GPS signal than the Droid and is "pretty much identical to a dedicated in-car unit," reviewer Mark Spoonauer says. Directions in your own voice
The Garminfone speaks directions loudly, its 3.5-inch touch screen is easy to see, and testers appreciate the free dash mount/charger that comes in the box. Free traffic reports, weather information, gas prices and movie times are also included. Reviews say the Garminfone has a couple of neat extra features to play with, too. Garmin Voice Studio allows you to record directions in your own voice. And if a friend sends you a text message with an address in it, you can navigate directly there. The Garminfone even remembers where you parked. "This is brilliant stuff," says Jamie Lendino at PCMag.com.
As for handling calls while navigating, reviews say the Garminfone does a smooth job. When you hit the answer button, the Garminfone switches to speakerphone and mutes its navigation prompts while you're talking, although the screen keeps navigating. Everything switches back to normal once you hang up. Call quality is fine in Laptop Magazine's test, although PCMag.com's Lendino says that while callers sounded clear, they "complained that I sounded a little thin and distant."
Smartphone a bit poky and outdated
Smartphone features are where the Garminfone falters in reviews. It's not as powerful as other Android smartphones, such as the Motorola Droid X. With just 256 MB of RAM, "some operations felt sluggish" in PCMag's test. The Garminfone has 4 GB of memory, expandable via microSD card. It runs the older Android 1.6, not the current version, which means it can't run some of the latest Android apps. On the plus side, testers say the Garminfone's simplified interface makes it easy to use, although advanced users will miss some of the usual Android customizations; Engadget.com's Stevens says this is "not a phone for power users." The touch-screen keyboard with haptic feedback works fine in tests.
Lackluster camera
Web pages load quickly over T-Mobile's 3G network in Laptop Magazine's test -- four seconds for NYTimes.com, five seconds for CNN.com, six seconds for ESPN.com -- although sites without mobile versions take longer. Video and photos range from "decent" to "blurry," with a 3-megapixel camera that lacks a flash that Spoonauer calls "far from the cutting edge." PCMag.coms Jamie Lendino neatly sums up reviewer sentiment: "The Garminfone is the nation's best navigation phone, but there are better choices for a general-purpose smartphone."
Reviews of the Garminfone at Laptop Magazine, PCMag.com and Engadget.com are exceptionally thorough, giving the reader an excellent idea of how the phone performs and how it stacks up against the competition. A video review at CNET expertly critiques the phone and shows it in action.


3.  Motorola Droid 2

Droid 2 incorporates much-needed updates, but offers few new features

• Android 2.2 improves web browsing
• Easy, responsive navigation
• 3G mobile hotspot for up to five devices
• Improved slide-out keyboard
• 5-megapixel camera

• Stiff keyboard buttons
• Mobile hotspot costs extra

 While it certainly raises the bar for performance and features compared to the original Droid (Free with new contract), the Motorola Droid 2 for Verizon "takes only baby steps forward from the original, struggling to keep up with new titans like the Droid X," says Stewart Wolpin of DigitalTrends.com. What sets the Droid 2 apart is the addition of Android's 2.2 Froyo software, which adds support for Adobe Flash and 3G mobile hotspot capabilities for up to five devices. Hotspot capability will cost you an additional $20 per month for 2 GB of data. Internal changes include an upgrade from a 550 MHz processor to a 1 GHz processor, 512 MB of memory and better battery life (almost 10 hours of talk time, according to PCMag.com tests).
The Android 2.2 "perfectly replicates the desktop experience," PhoneArena.com editors say, thanks to support for the Adobe Flash player. (Most Android smartphones will get this update automatically.) Reviewers praise the Droid 2's toned-down Motoblur interface. PCMag's Sascha Segan says that it's "much less intrusive than Samsung's or HTC's" and will appeal to those looking for a "sparer Android interface." PhoneArena.com calls the Droid 2's screen "nothing that exciting" since the display hasn't changed from the original, but editors are pleased with its responsiveness. Segan rates performance "somewhat faster" than the HTC Droid Incredible (*Est. $80 with new/renewal contract) but "probably be a little slower" than the Samsung Fascinate, another Verizon Android phone.
Responding to complaints about the original Droid, the Droid 2 features a redesigned slide-out QWERTY keyboard that sheds the troublesome D-pad and incorporates bigger, raised keys. It's a bit of a letdown, however, as the keyboard is still "tight" compared to phones such as the Samsung Epic 4G, says PCMag's Sascha Segan, and it still has the "same stiff feeling keys," according to editors at PhoneArena.com. The Droid 2 retains the original Droid's 5-megapixel camera, 720-by-480-pixel video resolution and 3.7-inch TFT capacitive touch screen (854 pixels by 480 pixels). Segan notes that the camera "overexposes shots," though they're still sharp, and finds that the improved 30 frames-per-second video recording (up from 24 fps on the original) presents "smooth and sharp" videos. CNET's Bonnie Cha agrees that pictures are "bright," but feels video quality is "very hazy" even at the highest resolution.


4. Motorola Droid X

Verizon's Droid X leads the Android pack, but may be too big for some

• Huge 4.3-inch display
• Roomy virtual keyboard
• Speedy 1 GHz processor
• Excellent noise-canceling microphones
• Long battery life

• Too big for small hands
• No front-facing camera for video calling
• Sluggish Motoblur interface

Everything about the Motorola Droid X is big: its 5-inch chassis, 4.3-inch display, roomy virtual keyboard, fast 1GHz processor and long battery life. "It's a beast, but in a good way," says CNET's Bonnie Cha, while Lisa Gade at MobileTechReview.com calls it "lustworthy." Other reviewers are equally smitten. At PCMag.com, the Droid X snatches the best smartphone crown from the HTC Droid Incredible, while Engadget.com's Chris Ziegler says it "steals the spotlight" from Verizon's other smartphones (such as the Incredible). But David Pogue at The New York Times puts the Droid X's "best" title in perspective: "In this business, the state of the art changes as often as Lady Gaga changes outfits," he says, pointing out that several phones have been proclaimed the "best" Android phone in the past year.
The Droid X is slightly taller than the HTC Evo 4 (*Est. $190 with contract), Sprint's flagship Android phone, but it's a tad lighter thinner. "You feel as if you're talking into a frozen waffle," says Pogue, while Ziegler says it's "definitely not for the small of hands." The huge 4.3-inch touch-screen display appears "truly cinematic," says Gade. It packs a higher resolution and a wider aspect ratio than the Evo (16:9 vs. 5:3), says Ziegler, but experts say the Super AMOLED display on the new Samsung Galaxy S, another Android phone due out this fall, may be tough to beat. The Droid X's spacious virtual QWERTY keyboard has optional Swype technology, which lets you type by sliding from key to key, rather than typing. Critics say it's fast and accurate -- albeit a reach for small hands. Most reviewers say that the Droid X is a great choice for most, but note that users with small hands may prefer the slimmer Droid Incredible (*Est. $150 with new contract).

5.  HTC EVO 4G

4G Android smartphone hits a few speed bumps

• Huge 4.3-inch display
• First 4G network device
• Fast downloads and media streaming
• Doubles as a personal Wi-Fi hotspot

• Bulky
• Limited 4G coverage
• Extra monthly fees
• Convoluted video chat app
• Paltry battery life

The HTC EVO 4G "offers a big, beautiful, and powerful window" to the online world, says Sascha Segan at PCMag.com. As the first 4G (fourth generation) network device in the U.S., the EVO raises the bar with "much faster" web pages, e-mail and skip-free Internet video, says David Pogue at The New York Times. It also touts massive specs: a 4.3-inch display (larger than the iPhone's), hotspot abilities, speech recognition, Flash Lite, dual cameras, video calling, HD video and an HDMI port. Most reviewers regard the EVO as the most powerful Android smartphone, putting it in the pantheon with the HTC Incredible (*Est. $150 with contract) and Apple iPhone 4 (From $200 with contract). Still, the EVO isn't flawless, and Pogue says the "groundbreaking features come with enough fine print to give the White Pages an inferiority complex."
Sprint brands the HTC EVO as the "first" 4G device, even though only 32 metro areas have such coverage and the smartphone switches over to 3G otherwise. The phone uses WiMAX technology to access 4G, but it's solely for data downloads and not phone calls, and WiMAX technology fizzles in urban landscapes. Chris Ziegler at Engadget.com says "we found ourselves getting four bars of 4G walking down the street, then ducking into a coffee shop and dropping to just one or even no bars at all." Sprint also charges EVO owners an additional $10 a month for WiMAX. CNET's Bonnie Cha considers the extra fee reasonable, but says that "making it mandatory for everyone, regardless of whether you live in a 4G market or not, seems unfair."

6.  Apple iPhone 4

Apple iPhone 4 leads the smartphone pack, but not by much

• Brilliant high-contrast display 
• Powerful 5-megapixel camera
• Unrivaled app store
• Easy FaceTime video calling

• Limited multitasking
• Unreliable reception
• FaceTime restricted to iPhone 4 owners

Reviewers agree the iPhone 4 is the best yet, with huge upgrades to the iPhone 3GS (*Est. $100 with contract). Though its prowess remains undisputed, few critics are willing to peg it the absolute best out there, however. "The iPhone 4 deserves its place in the pantheon of cellphone gods, but as part of a distinguished group, not as a single overlord," says Sascha Segan at PCMag.com. With a level playing field, many critics feel that choosing the right smartphone boils down to a matter of personal preference. "iPhone is no longer the only worthy contender," says David Pogue of The New York Times. The iPhone 4 is available in 16 GB (*Est. $200) and 32 GB (*Est. $300) configurations. 
The buzzworthy feature this time around is FaceTime video calling, which allows you to make face-to-face calls using the VGA camera on the front of the iPhone 4 or the 5-megapixel shooter on back. The technology isn't new, but experts say Apple gets it right. "It's the first phone to make good video calls reliably, with no sign-up or set up, with a single tap," Pogue says, while other critics report it's easier than Android's Fring or Qik apps. However, FaceTime works only on Wi-Fi, and both callers must have an iPhone 4. "That makes FaceTime a special-occasion parlor trick rather than a general purpose solution," says Segan.

4G or Fourth Generation Networks

4G or Fourth Generation is future technology for mobile and wireless comunications. It will be the successor for the 3Rd Generation (3G) network technology. Currently 3G networks are under deployement. Approximatly 4G deployments are expected to be seen around 2010 to 2015.

The basic voice was the driver for second-generation mobile and has been a considerable success. Currently , video and TV services are driving forward third generation (3G) deployment. And in the future, low cost, high speed data will drive forward the fourth generation (4G) as short-range communication emerges. Service and application ubiquity, with a high degree of personalization and synchronization between various user appliances, will be another driver. At the same time, it is probable that the radio access network will evolve from a centralized architecture to a distributed one.

The evolution from 3G to 4G will be driven by services that offer better quality (e.g. multimedia, video and sound) thanks to greater bandwidth, more sophistication in the association of a large quantity of information, and improved personalization. Convergence with other network (enterprise, fixed) services will come about through the high session data rate. It will require an always-on connection and a revenue model based on a fixed monthly fee. The impact on network capacity is expected to be significant. Machine-to-machine transmission will involve two basic equipment types: sensors (which measure parameters) and tags (which are generally read/write equipment).

It is expected that users will require high data rates, similar to those on fixed networks, for data and streaming applications. Mobile terminal usage (laptops, Personal digital assistants, handhelds) is expected to grow rapidly as they become more user friendly. Fluid high quality video and network reactivity are important user requirements. Key infrastructure design requirements include: fast response, high session rate, high capacity, low user charges, rapid return on investment for operators, investment that is in line with the growth in demand, and simple autonomous terminals. The infrastructure will be much more distributed than in current deployments, facilitating the introduction of a new source of local traffic: machine-to-machine.

Key 4G technologies:

• Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)
• Software Defined Radio (SDR)
• Multiple-input multiple-output ( MIMO )

Initially DoCoMo planned to introduce 4G services around 2010. Recently DoCoMo announced plans to introduce 4G services from 2006, i.e. four years earlier than previously planned. NTT DoCoMo, Inc. announced that high-speed packet transmission with 1 Gbps data rate in the downlink was achieved successfully in a laboratory experiment using fourth-generation (4G) mobile communication radio access equipments.

The key enablers for the 4G are:

• Sufficient spectrum, with associated sharing mechanisms.
• Coverage with two technologies: parent (2G, 3G, WiMAX) for real-time delivery, and discontinuous pico cell for high data rate delivery.
• Caching technology in the network and terminals.
• OFDM and MIMO.
• IP mobility.
• Multi-technology distributed architecture.
• Fixed-mobile convergence (for indoor service).
• Network selection mechanisms.

Internet Protocol Version 6

Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) is a new suite of standard protocols for the network layer of the Internet defined by IETF to replace the current version of Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4). IPv6 is also called as Next Generation Internet Protocol or IPng.

IPv6 is designed to be an evolutionary step from IPv4. It is a natural increment to IPv4. It can be installed as a normal software upgrade in internet devices and is interoperable with the current IPv4. Its deployment strategy is designed to not have any flag days or other dependencies. IPv6 is designed to run well on high performance networks (e.g. Gigabit Ethernet, OC-12, ATM, etc.) and at the same time still be efficient for low bandwidth networks (e.g. wireless). In addition, it provides a platform for new internet functionality that will be required in the near future.

IPv6 describes rules for three types of addressing: unicast (one host to one other host), anycast (one host to the nearest of multiple hosts), and multicast (one host to multiple hosts). Additional advantages of IPv6 are:

• Options are specified in an extension to the header that is examined only at the destination, thus speeding up overall network performance.
• The introduction of an "anycast" address provides the possibility of sending a message to the nearest of several possible gateway hosts with the idea that any one of them can manage the forwarding of the packet to others. Anycast messages can be used to update routing tables along the line.
• Packets can be identified as belonging to a particular "flow" so that packets that are part of a multimedia presentation that needs to arrive in "real time" can be provided a higher quality-of-service relative to other customers.
• The IPv6 header now includes extensions that allow a packet to specify a mechanism for authenticating its origin, for ensuring data integrity, and for ensuring privacy.

IPv6 Features:

• New header format
• Large address space
• Efficient and hierarchical addressing and faster routing infrastructure
• Stateless and stateful address configuration
• Mobile support (Mobile IPv6)
• Built-in network layer security
• Better support for QoS
• New protocol for neighboring node interaction
• Extensibility

Addressing Format :

An IPv4 address is a 32-bit value that's usually written in "dotted quad" representation, where each "quad" represents a byte value between 0 and 255, for example:

127.0.0.1

This allows a theoretical number of 2^32 or ~4 billion hosts to be connected on the Internet. Due to grouping, not all addresses are available today.

IPv6 addresses use 128-bit technology, which results in 2^128 theoretically addressable hosts. This allows a really big number of machines to be addressed, and it will fit all today's requirements plus PDAs, cell phones, and even IP phones in the near future without any sweat. When writing IPv6 addresses, they are usually divided into groups of 16 bits written as four hex digits, and the groups are separated by colons. An example is:

fe80::2a0:d2ff:fea5:e9f5

This shows a special thing -- a number of consecutive zeros can be abbreviated by a single "::" once in the v6 number. The above address is thus equivalent to fe80:0:00:000:2a0:d2ff:fea5:e9f5 -- leading zeros within groups can be omitted.

Mobile IPv6:

Mobile IPv6 allows an IPv6 node to be mobile - to arbitrarily change its location on an IPv6 network - and still maintain existing connections. When an IPv6 node changes its location, it might also change its link. When an IPv6 node changes its link, its IPv6 address might also change in order to maintain connectivity. There are mechanisms to allow for the change in addresses when moving to a different link, such as stateful and stateless address autoconfiguration for IPv6. However, when the address changes, the existing connections of the mobile node that are using the address assigned from the previously connected link cannot be maintained and are ungracefully terminated. The key benefit of Mobile IPv6 is that even though the mobile node changes locations and addresses, the existing connections through which the mobile node is communicating are maintained.

Google Android the 3rd most popular smartphone platform globally

It has overtaken Apple iOS to take the third spot.

In the US market, Android is now the most popular smartphone OS. It has overtaken Blackberry OS to take the top spot.

The report further said that at current growth rate, Android is expected to become the second most popular smartphone platform globally.

Symbian is of course the number one player globally.