Smartphone Reviews

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Galaxy S II for AT&T leaks through Samsung's Facebook photos 1

Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S II for the AT&T network made a surprise appearance yesterday. To be dubbed the Samsung Attain, it was spotted in Samsung Singapore’s Facebook photos which were showing off the new dock for the device.

As you can see from the picture, the AT&T logo is prominently placed on the front. The keys below the display look different compared to the standard Galaxy S II. Instead of a mechanical Home button you now get a capacitive one and there is a dedicated search button as well.

While initially the device did seem like the Infuse 4G to us but then when we saw the side profile we noticed that the camera on this phone was jutting out of the case far more than the one on the Infuse 4G. In fact the camera on the Infuse 4G is completely flush with the body, unlike the one on the Galaxy S II. So the one you see above is undoubtedly the AT&T Attain.

For now, however, we have no information available on the launch date of the device but we will keep an eye out for that.

Samsung Infuse 4G goes to Canada with Gingerbread flavor 0

The Samsung Infuse 4G continues with its North American invasion. This time, the 4.5" screen beast is on its way to Canada, after it has gone through a couple of major changes which are bound to make it even more desirable.

As you can see on the promotional picture from Samsung's Canadian website, the device is announced to ship with Android 2.3 Gingerbread when it becomes available. A full HD camera recording is also listed, most likely as a result of the OS upgrade. This means that the Infuse 4G will be able to fully utilize the camera unit which it shares with the mighty Galaxy S2.

When we did our review of the AT&T branded, large screen handset, our two minor complaints were exactly the old Android version, and the lack of 1080p camera recording. Having fixed these issues, Samsung can rightfully claim (at least until the arrival of Galaxy S2) that the Infuse 4G is its true North American flagship.

There is no word on Gingerbread availability for the AT&T version of Samsung Infuse 4G. As always, we will keep our ears to the ground and keep you posted as soon as we find out.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro launch date pushed back to late July 0

Although it was announced back with the Xperia Arc, Neo and PLAY, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro is yet to see a proper launch date. Although the pre-booking for the phone began in the UK at the start of this month the actual launch of the phone has been pushed back to sometime late next month.

An online store in UK is currently accepting pre-orders for the Xperia Pro, which has been priced at £349.99 ($568) and the availability is being displayed as “late July”.

For those unaware, the Xperia Pro is virtually identical to the Xperia Neo, except for one thing. The Pro has a full sliding QWERTY keypad underneath the display. It also has a 3.7-inch, 854 x 480 display, 1GHz Snapdragon processor and 8 megapixel camera with 720p video recording and runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread. You can read about our hands-on experience with the phone here.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Nokia leaks C2-06 Touch and Type accidentally, dual-SIM fans rejoice 2

The first dual-SIM member of the Nokia Touch and Type family has just made its unexpected public debut. The Nokia C2-06 (or C2-02 according to some sources) appeared on the Nokia Conversation blog, starring on an image dedicated to the IPv6 transition of the company's OVI browser.

As you can imagine, given the nature of the leak, there were no phone specifications mentioned, but this image is more than enough to confirm the existence of the handset.

Before this confirmation, there was always the chance that the leaked prototype we saw earlier was just a dead project that will never see the light of day. Well, it's not.

Now this "accidental" appearance of the unannounced C2-06 could be either a PR move by Nokia attempting to generate more interest to the Ovi browser article, or just an honest mistake, but whatever it is, we are sure the dual-SIM fans around the world will be glad it happened.

It was only recently, that we saw the first Dual SIM phones by Nokia, the Nokia X1-01 and C2-00, finally ship.

So how about an official announcement now so we know what exactly to be looking forward to?

Monday, June 6, 2011

HTC ChaCha gets a CPU upgrade, makes status updates speedier 0

The Facebook-centered HTC ChaCha has just started shipping and its early adopters were treated to a nice surprise by the Taiwanese company. The CPU inside the Android smartphone has been quietly upgraded to 800 MHz from the previously promised 600 MHz.

There are no other changes to the hardware of the device, but a 33% improvement in the processor speed should have a pretty good effect on user experience by itself. The good news comes on the heels of the first software update that HTC released for the ChaCha and shows that the company plans to take good care of its first “Facebook phone”.

Now the future seems even brighter for the HTC ChaCha, which pulled off the seemingly impossible for a mid-range device stunt of standing out in the over-crowded Android market.

We are already eager to take the ChaCha for a spin so you can be sure that we will be doing our best to secure a test unit and give it the full review treatment. How about you, the Facebook fans out there - are you willing to give it a try? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.