Samsung announce 32GB microSD cards, 64GB moviNAND, ASPA Mobile Phone Repair

Samsung have stuffed more memory in a tiny package than seemed possible a few years ago and announced their 32GB microSD cards. For integrated memory, they are readying chips with double that capacity - 64GB.

The previous best achievement in microSD cards capacity was 16GB but now that has been doubled. This feat of doubling the capacity of the previous generation seems to be the norm for flash memory.

These 32GB microSD from Samsung hits the 32GB limit of the microSDHC standard. The replacement standard is already in the works – the microSDXC standard. The microSDXC standard should allow microSD cards with a capacity of up to 2 TB to be released.

As for the chips meant for integrated memory, they’ll come in 64GB and will likely make their way to MP3 players and the new generation iPhone (3GS doubled the capacity of the 3G).

Mass production is expected to start next month and it won't be long until the cards reach the market. Compatibility of current devices with 32GB microSDHC cards and the future microSDXC cards is a completely different matter, of course.

This post is sponsored by:
ASPA Mobile Phone Repair
Three Kings, Auckland 1041
Tel: 09 625-2068, Mob: 0211138880

WordPress Blog
Skype: aspamobile
aspamobile@gmail.com

Nokia E72 review: The business of messaging (Mobile Phone Blog, Auckland, Review, Tech, News)

Nokia E72 is one of those handsets everybody is talking about long before their release. There may be nothing much to talk about - after all everyone knows what to expect of the Eseries and they have never let us down. But still, savoring the next batch of Eseries steel is always a pleasure.

The Finns keep feeding business ammo to the market and there's nothing out of the usual at first sight. We already tasted the new Eseries generation and the E52 and E55 were the usual good healthy meals. The E72 though needs to be nothing short of delicious.

There's no need to tell you the Nokia E72 walks and talks business. The big one though has greater responsibility to carry. We guess the E72 will not fear being judged against the best messengers in its class. But it will certainly look back to a haunting shadow within its own family. The Nokia E72 can certainly go where the E71 would not venture. But it's not only the equipment (of which the E72 has aplenty) that makes a winner.

Key features:

Quad-band GSM support

3G with HSDPA 10.2Mbps and HSUPA 2Mbps

Landscape 2.36" 16M-color display of QVGA resolution

Comfortable full QWERTY keypad

Optical trackpad on the D-pad

Symbian 9.3 OS, S60 UI with FP2

600 MHz ARM 11 CPU and 128 MB of SDRAM

5 megapixel auto focus camera with LED flash

Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, UPnP technology, DLNA support

Built-in GPS receiver, A-GPS support, digital compass

Accelerometer for turn-to-mute

250 MB of internal memory, microSD expansion, ships with a 4GB card

Standard 3.5mm audio jack

Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP support and microUSB v2.0

FM radio with RDS

Remote Wipe

Great battery life

Office document editor (including MS Office 2007)

User-friendly Mode Switch for swapping two homescreen setups

Smart dialing

Full Flash support

Great audio output quality

Lifetime Nokia Messaging subscription

Main disadvantages:

Optical trackpad is not as handy as we'd like

Limited camera features, no geotagging, video recording maxes out at VGA@15fps

No DivX or XviD support (can be enabled, possibly requiring a purchase)

No TV-out functionality

No dedicated camera key (trackpad compensates for that)

Poor loudspeaker performance

Eseries are always trying to get more skills on their resume. But the one that's supposed to be the next big thing in its class is really pushing it. Nokia didn't have to try and experiment with the E72. Build muscle on the E71 was their main objective. And by the looks of it they did more than well. The E72 promises richer experience and superior skill. But it will still be expected to deliver more than the sum of its parts if it wants to prove anything to the standard-setting E71.

The Eseries spirit is all there - and we guess in-house competition is always in the picture. The E72 is bold and impressive, but manages to keep its cool too, as befits a conservative business handset. Armed and dangerous or polite and elaborate - the E72 will be whatever you want it to be. So, make up your mind, and take the jump. We're unboxing and feeling the cold Eseries steel in our hands.

This post is sponsored by:
ASPA Mobile Phone Repair
Three Kings, Auckland 1041
Tel: 09 625-2068, Mob: 0211138880

WordPress Blog, Skype: aspamobile, aspamobile@gmail.com

Samsung S5560 preview: First look (Mobile Phone Review, Tech, Report, News, Auckland, iPhone)

Ah, the futuristic appeal of touchscreens - consumers can't get enough of them. Enter the Samsung S5560. With a 5MP camera and Wi-Fi, it's two widgets ahead of the competition. The rest mostly follows the recipe for success from the S5230 Star cookbook, with a few tweaks to bring it up to speed

The Samsung S5560 lacks 3G connectivity but comes with Wi-Fi connectivity. It's hardly the solution that most carriers opt for (and carriers ARE the biggest cellphone contractors), but we guess Samsung have gone for pleasing the end client this time. In an effort to keep the price down, trading 3G for Wi-Fi is a compromise many users would make.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves, check out the rundown of the Samsung S5560 features:

Samsung S5560 (a.k.a Marvel) at a glance:

General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

Form factor: Touchscreen bar

Dimensions: 107.5 x 52 x 13.2 mm, 95g

Display: 3.0 inch WQVGA TFT resistive touchscreen, 240 x 400 pixels

Platform: Latest TouchWiz 2.0 UI, Smart Unlock

Memory: 78MB integrated memory, hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 16GB)

Camera: 5 megapixel auto focus camera with LED flash, image stabilization, WDR, face detection, Smile Shot, blink detection and QVGA video recording at 15 fps

Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, standard microUSB port, 3.5mm audio jack

Misc: Accelerometer for screen auto rotate and turn-to-mute, FM radio with RDS

Battery: 960 mAh battery

This phone is clearly a Samsung Jet wannabe - the styling, the camera, the Wi-Fi connectivity all make it a cheaper alternative to the Jet. Sure, tradeoffs have been made for the sake of a lower price, but if you've never owned a touch phone before, the S5560 makes a great introduction.

The timer on non-touch operated phones seems to be running down - touch phones seem to get the best features and the most hype. This makes it harder and harder to say no, especially now that their price is no longer prohibitive.

On the next page we do our Sherlock Holmes impersonation and take a close look at the exterior of the Samsung S5560.

This post is sponsored by:
ASPA Mobile Phone Repair
Three Kings, Auckland 1041
Tel: 09 625-2068, Mob: 0211138880

WordPress Blog
Skype: aspamobile
aspamobile@gmail.com

Nokia X3 review: Music X-three-M (Tech News Report, Review, Auckland)

The Nokia X3 is our first glimpse into the new Xseries and we’re excited to see how things have changed since XpressMusic ran the show. And they have changed, the new angular look is a testament to that. The S40 on the inside has changed as well, throwing Ovi Store and basic multi-tasking into the mix.

Currently the Xseries is composed of two completely different phones. The Nokia X6 is a touch phone running Symbian, and the X3 is an affordable Series 40 slider. It packs stereo speakers, excellent audio quality and a built-in FM radio antenna for a complete sonic experience. All right, we said affordable, so don’t go looking for top-notch gear beside the obvious full music package.

The Nokia X3 runs the Series 40 6th edition but it’s unlike any S40 handset we’ve seen before. For a brief, joyful moment, we thought Nokia have finally given in and added multitasking. The truth turned out to be different but still there were small steps taken in the right direction. And you should see what they’ve done with the Gallery – it’s only a notch bellow the S60 one.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves and let’s take a look at the Nokia X3 pros and cons.

Key features

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support

2.2" 262K color QVGA display

3.2 megapixel fixed focus camera

S40 user interface, 6th edition; rudimentary multitasking

Stereo FM radio with RDS; Built-in antena (so it plays on the loudspeakers even if you don’t plug the headset)

Stereo speakers

Standard 3.5mm audio jack

Up to 26 hours of music playback

Bluetooth (with A2DP) and microUSB port

microSD card slot (16 GB supported, 2GB included)

Rich preinstalled application package

Ovi Store, Ovi Maps and Ovi Share

Main disadvantages:

No 3G connectivity

Smallish display with poor viewing angles and sunlight legibility

Slider action has an unpleasant plastic-on-plastic friction

No accelerometer for screen auto rotation

S40 interface feels clunky and out of date

No true multitasking

No smart dialing or an office document viewer

A bunch of software bugs

V

ideo recording maxes out at QCIF@15fps

The specs look like nothing to be excited about but a shortish feature list never tells the whole story. So, think before you go “Nah, it sounds lame”, because you’ll be wrong about sound. We spent several days with it and now we’re ready to tell you the story behind those specs, the good, the bad and the ugly, the whole thing.

Do we have your interest? Good. Jump to the next page where we open the box and take a look at the Nokia X3. After the hardware inspection we’ll try to explain what the deal is with this multitasking-but-not-quite situation.