hyp4mhz.com

Month: December 2009

  • Nokia 1209 Review
    Welcome to the Nokia 1209 review.  The 1209 is probably the most basic and cheapest mobile phone you can probably buy new and 'outright'.  The 1209 has features top end mobile phones had 6 years ago!  Of course in 2008 we expect a lot more.  You can buy one from as little as $19 outright if you look hard enough. However you must remember that the 1209 is bargain bin material that would probably not look out of place in your average shopping center isle right next to the bargain toilet paper!  Mind you in some parts of the world namely developing countries this is amazing technology and no-one can knock that. The Nokia 1209 is mainly sold completely unlocked or outright and even as a pre-paid.  You can make calls and text messages and a few customization features like backgrounds and ring tones and a flash light.  There's not much memory for saving anything though.  It does not even have a FM radio. It's also got a tiny colour screen with ancient CSTN LCD display.  Using one of these phones really shows how far technology has progressed in such a short time. Overall we can see a few of uses for the Nokia 1209 in most parts of the world.  A first phone for the kids to stay in touch or an emergency phone when your expensive main mobile phone breaks down or you are not vaguely technically inclined and don't need to do anything more than talking.   There isn't much more to choose from at this end of the 'purchase' outright phone market. Mind you if you afford a few more dollars the models to choose from expand dramatically.  Just check out the brand pages for more! Specifications
    • Nokia 1209
    • Network GSM only Dependent on country
    • Design Candy Bar L102 x W44.1 x D17.8 mm Weight 78 grams
    • Display/s External CSTN 96 x 68
    • Camera None
    • Video Camera None
    • Connectivity None
    • CPU
    • Memory N/A MB available to user
    • Ring tones Midi
    • Features Flashlight SMS JAVA MIDP 2.0 Speaker Phone/Hands free Battery BL-5CA 700Ah Up to 14 days Standby, 5 hours Talk Time
    • Package contents User Guide Travel charger
    • Price history From $19 AUS 2009 (Outright)

  • Nokia 5130 XpressMusic Review

    hyp4mhz
    Welcome to the Nokia 5130 XpressMusic review.  It was released earlier in 2009 but we only got a chance to see it in the flesh while comparing the T106 recently.  The Nokia 5130 XpressMusic is considered a lower end phone in terms of pricing.  Although not comparable to the Telstra T106 we did anyway! It runs the Nokia's mass market S40 operating system so - the screensaver and powersavers we develop will work on them!  As far was we are concerned the S40 is a fast and simple operating system. It's the small brother to the similarly named and more expensive 5310.  Hence the functionality is limited even compared to other higher end S40 based mobiles.  However what you do get is a still reasonably featured phone for playing music, making calls and texting, organizing your life including a fully featured alarm so you can wake up on time for everything.  Perfectly targeted to the younger crowd. The 5130 XpressMusic is not an iPod Touch by any means but as a standard mobile phone focused on playing music it does a great job. The standout feature is a proper 240x320 pixel screen that looks good.  It also has the industry standard 3.5mm earphone jack and the sound processor is music focused.  Although it does have a web browser this is not a 3G phone so your experience will be a bad one.  At least it has something for emergencies. There is not much else we can say about it - typical good but entry level Nokia mobile phone.  So if you want a phone that can do most things and want your music to sound good then this model may suit. However there are better ones out there that do much more for around the same price the catch is that the models are older than this one.  Eg. 6300.  Older is sometimes better. If you are considering the 5130 it may also be wise to look at alternatives from other manufacturers. Specifications
    • Nokia 5130 XpressMusic
    • Network Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800 /1900 MHz)
    • Design Candy Bar L107.5 x W46.7 x D14.8 mm Weight 88 grams
    • Display/s External TFT 240 x 320
    • Camera 2MP main camera Picture format: JPG
    • Video Camera 176 x 144 pixel Movie format: MP4
    • Connectivity Micro USB Bluetooth V1.2 - Supports FTP / HFC / A2DP
    • CPU
    • Memory 30 MB available to user Up to 2Gig MicroSD Flash cards
    • Ring tones AAC, eAAC, eAAC+, MP3, 64- Midi, WMA, WAMR, MXMF including video
    • Features SMS, MMS, WAP, EMAIL JAVA MIDP 2.0 Featured music player FM radio Speaker Phone/Hands free Customizable backgrounds and screensavers Picture Viewer Voice memos Voice command Calender and organizer Battery BL-5C 1020mAh Up to 12 days Standby, 6 hours Talk Time
    • Package contents XP/Vista Compatible PC suite Personal hands free kit Travel charger
    • Price history From $199 AUS 2009 (Pre-Paid)

  • Nokia N97 Review

    hyp4mhz
    The Nokia N97 is the current top of the range model you can get in 2009.  The design is different from most of the  others in that it has a tilting screen and PC like keyboard.  This is a short review of the N97 because that's not our focus at the present. It also runs our screensavers and powersavers BUT the ones we currently have are not optimized for the N97 huge screen size.  We'll definitely make one specific for the phone in the near future. What the phone can do or its functionality out of the box is what this phone is about and here it does not disappoint.  Its packed with every current feature you could possibly want in a mobile phone at present.  a nice big screen with various statuses including email, weather and news.  Every productivity application you could want in a mobile computer like PDF reader, MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint editor, A-GPS leading edge mobile web browser that easily displays Flash content and the list goes on and on. Unfortunately there are certain issues with N97.  Although top of range it is made largely made of plastic and while the quality of the materials are good but its not the best .  The tilting mechanism works with a solid click, likewise the keyboard and touch screen and there's a nice metal surround but it feels dated compared to the often compared Apple iPhone.  In a top range phone you expect construction quality as well as functionality.  They should have used the designers of the Vertu range of phones from the start. Other issues include an OS which is simply not as consistently smooth as the iPhone and that the 3rd party apps on the N97 are not as clever.  In time I'm sure they will improve but for 2009 it does need a bit more work.  Finally, the seemingly 'dual' menu system took us a while to get used to. The N97 is a Symbian S60 based operating system means that it is stable phone and it includes multi-tasking.  Multi-tasking meaning that you can run multiple programs at the same time.  The iPhone does this is part but not the full feature like the N97.  It is strange how those saying how multi-tasking phones are the future yet with the event of the iPhone they have strangely gone quiet. Another issue is the complexity of all the functionality packed into the phone.  The N97 is so customisable that it makes it difficult to use if you are not familiar with other Nokia phones.  Thing to can change include the overall theme, the media that can play almost any format, the changeable fully featured mobile web browser, the system that includes all current forms of electronic messaging including instant messaging it is all there.  The main screen widgets are a upcoming industry standard I think... It is just more difficult to find the function you want.  Admittedly once you get used to it it all works really well. You can get additional and free applications for the N97 through Nokia's OVI store or the numerous internet stores.  Unfortunately since they don't individually monitor application code some of the apps are not a reliable as they should be.  It is tied heavily to the internet like most top end phones and so you better have a decent data plan. We noticed the standout feature of the phone is the call quality.  You and your caller sound perfectly clear easily superior to virtually all the phones we tried.  The really showed how the Apple iPhone's call quality was noticeable bad. To conclude the Nokia N97 is probably the only really fully featured phone out of the box you can get by any manufacturer.  It does have a few flaws caused by the only initial menu system but with familiarity it works.  We won't bother with too many specifications since it honestly has everything most people could possibly want for 2009 anyway.

  • Game Review – Lava Lava

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    NAME: Lava Lava
    VERSION: 1.0
    COMPANY: Fugu Mobile
    PLATFORM: JAVA
    GENRE: Shooting
    SIZE: 224KB
    TEST PHONE: Nokia 6500
    RATING: 7/10
    DEMO:

    Welcome to the Lava Lava game review. I couldn’t get a screen shot so its blank!

    If you’ve played Missile command before then Lava Lava will be vaguely familiar.  Instead of missiles you will be faced with shooting down lava lumps exploding from a near by volcano.  You start off at Mt Fuji then Mt Merapi th Mt Kilamanjaro and so forth.

    The gameplay is unique for me because I’ve never played a game with this system.  Essentially there are bits of lava you have to shoot down and they are represented by numbers on the keypad.  To destroy the lumps simply press the corresponding key.  Sounds simple but its not because the game speeds up dramatically!    You have to last for a predetermined time limit to progress.

    The game’s graphics are basic and likewise sound.  The graphic background changes according to the stage and there’s some background animation.  Despite the low end graphics the gameplay makes up for any complaints.

    Overall its an entertaining game but there’s not much to it.  You will get bored relatively quickly but some may be sucked in by the challenge of pressing the numbers as quickly as they can.

  • Telstra F858 Review

    hyp4mhz
    Welcome to the Telstra F858 T2 ''EasyTouch' mobile phone review. The Telsta F8458  is based on the same operating system as the other Telstra/ZTE models so expect the same experience.  However it would appear that it is a relatively more stylish phone than the older F256 and the ugly T7.  Although branded an 'EasyTouch' the keys are much smaller than the newer T2 model. Based on a clam-shell or flip phone the construction is best described as OK.  It is not flasher to look than the other models but still a bit toy like. The screen size is smaller than the newest models which also counts against it.  As usual  based on our other Telstra phones it will probably be reliable though.  This model was released in late 2008 but we didn't get around to writing up anything about it till now! The functionality offered by the phone is no different from the other related models so you get all the basics for voice and video calls, texts, music, pictures, contacts, calendar, FM radio and internet.  You have to purchase other apps to get more interesting stuff.  Like the other phones in the Telstra/ZTE product range the web browser is next to useless on all but the Telstra WAP site. There are some enhancements to the OS interface by the inclusion of a 'Active' menu bar on the the home screen but that about it.  It is not as fast as the new models like the T2. All the latest Telstra branded mobile phones are now Windows and MacOS compatible.  However you must install the new 'JoinME' application on your PC or Mac before it you can Sync or backup data.  The 'JoinME' software is included with the phone and is relatively simple to use.  With the software installed you can also use the phone as a wireless broadband modem but you'd better have a decent data plan for that. Despite being a 3G or NextG phone it also has all the GSM and UTMS frequencies, including the more popular 2100mhz.  So you should be able to use the phone anywhere in the world for voice and data. Conclusion All up the Telstra F858 is OK if you want something different to look at compared to other Telstra branded phones but the new models are probably better looking then this one.  Even a T90 ot T106 would cause a stir style wise than the F858. Specifications
    • Telstra/ZTE F858
    • Network Tri-band UMTS 850 / 2100 / MHz 3G HSDPA 3.6 Quad-band GSM 850 / 900/1800 /1900 MHz
    • Design Rugged - Standard L98.5 x W50 x D18 mm Weight 105 grams
    • Display/s Intenal TFT 176 x 220
    • Camera Dual cameras 2MP auto-focus main camera
    • Connectivity USB Bluetooth V1.2 - Supports FTP / HFC / A2DP
    • Memory 64MB internal memory 40MB available to user Up to 2Gig MicroSD or Trans Flash cards
    • Ring tones MP3, MMF, MIDI, Vibration
    • Features FM Radio SMS, MMS, WAP, EMAIL MyWords predictive text JAVA MIDP 2.0 Speaker Phone/Hands free Customizable backgrounds Picture Viewer Video calling Voice memos Calender and organizer 180Hrs Standby, 180 minutes Talk Time 830ha
    • Package contents XP/Vista Compatible PC suite Mac OSX Compatible software Personal hands free kit Travel charger USB cable User manual
    • Price history Approx $xxx

  • Telstra T2 Review

    hyp4mhz
    Welcome to the Telstra T2 ''EasyTouch' mobile phone review. The Telsta T2 is based on the same operating system as the other Telstra/ZTE models so expect the same experience.  However it has been designed to target people who are upgrading from older mobiles non-3G mobiles or those who this is the first mobile phone. The operating system has been given a new 'theme' without flashy graphics.  It reminds me of the Nokia's of the late 90's.  The simplified menu system has been redesigned with large and easily recognized icons for the various features.  Although it does look simple all the basic features of a standard mobile phone is available.  The simplicity is only surface deep because there are quite a number of other menus that aren't all that simple to use after the in initial one. Based on a clam-shell or flip phone the construction is best described as sturdy.  The rubberised  rear of the case feels good but doesn't wear well.  Overall it is not flashy to look at but is quite sturdy.  It is much better than the older T7 though. Based on our other Telstra phones it will probably be reliable though.  The keys are big so that it is easy for the less dexterous to use.  The screen is a standard 2.4 inches although they would like us to think this is large for a phone - it isn't.  Strangely it has a smaller battery than the other models. The functionality offered by the phone is no different from the other related models so you get all the basics for voice and video calls, texts, music, pictures, contacts, calendar, FM radio and internet.  You have to purchase other apps to get more interesting stuff.  Like the other phones in the Telstra/ZTE product range the web browser is next to useless on all but the Telstra WAP site. If you've ever used a hearing aid you'll also know the squeaking feedback whenever you use a phone - apparently they have solved it and it is hearing aid compatible.  I suggest you try one first with your hearing aid to make sure its does work. Just activate T-Mode in tools menu for the function to work. Furthermore if Telstra where serious in catering for the older folk then they should have included an AM radio - at least for Australia to cater for country residents and a radio that does not need to have the headset connected to get a radio to work. All the latest Telstra branded mobile phones are now Windows and MacOS compatible.  However you must install the new 'JoinME' application on your PC or Mac before it you can Sync or backup data.  The 'JoinME' software is included with the phone and is relatively simple to use.  With the software installed you can also use the phone as a wireless broadband modem but you'd better have a decent data plan for that. Despite being a 3G or NextG phone it also has all the GSM and UTMS frequencies.  So you should be able to use the phone anywhere in the world. Conclusion All up the Telstra T2 is a perfect mobile phone for people new to or who haven't upgraded in years.  It is not flashy to use or look at but it does work.  Nice big buttons and sturdy construction phone.  This is the better choice than the F858 despite lacking the front music buttons.  Good phone. Specifications
    • Telstra/ZTE T2
    • Network Tri-band UMTS 850 / 1900 / 2100 / MHz 3G HSDPA 3.6 Quad-band GSM 850 / 900/1800 /1900 MHz
    • Design Rugged - Standard L101 x W51 x D17.6 mm Weight 110 grams
    • Display/s Internal TFT 176 x 220 Mono-exterior display
    • Camera Dual cameras 2MP auto-focus main camera
    • Connectivity USB Bluetooth V1.2 - Supports FTP / HFC / A2DP
    • Memory 64MB internal memory 40MB available to user Up to 8Gig MicroSD or Trans Flash cards
    • Ring tones MP3, MMF, MIDI, Vibration
    • Features FM Radio SMS, MMS, WAP, EMAIL MyWords predictive text JAVA MIDP 2.0 Speaker Phone/Hands free Customizable backgrounds Picture Viewer Video calling Voice memos Calender and organizer 180Hrs Standby, 180 minutes Talk Time 900ha
    • Package contents XP/Vista Compatible PC suite Mac OSX Compatible software Personal hands free kit Travel charger USB cable User manual
    • Price history Approx $xxx

  • Telstra T90 Review
    Welcome to the Telstra/ZTE T90 mobile phone review.  This is one of the newest models (late 2009) that has been released.  The Telstra/ZTE T90 as you see a is a ruggerized phone meaning it for those who drop phones or like to keep one handy for outdoor activities.  It's IP54 rated which means its much tougher than your average mobile phone.  The stand out feature is that it is one of the few ruggerised 3G capable phone. Sure its not designed to the extent as the Sonim XP3 for example, which also has GPS but the T90 looks as if it could. (The new T90 is not a  replacement for the Testra/ZTE F159 since the 159 has A-GPS) The T90's construction is solid and the edgy design makes it one of the best looking and practical phones in this category.  Sure the pictures does not reflect the actual physical phone but it is pretty close.   However it is still toy like but may just be a best seller based on this purpose.  It's a man's phone!  It is not a small phone but light enough and feels quite sturdy.  Not sure how the screen would stand up to scratches so an additional screen protector is probably essential.  The T90 is better than the F159 in this regard. The functionality offered by the phone is no different from the other Telstra or re-branded ZTE models so you get all the basics for voice and video calls, texts, music, pictures, contacts, calendar, FM radio and internet.  You have to purchase other apps to get more interesting stuff.  Like the other phones in the Telstra/ZTE product range the web browser is next to useless on all but the Telstra WAP site. They say the screen can be read in day light but we think it is a tad dim.  The F159 seems to have better go at day light visibility. Being a dedicated 3G or NextG phone it also has all the GSM and UTMS frequencies. So you should be able to use the phone anywhere in the world.  As a bonus it has better transceiver hardware so it can still pull a signal in areas where a normal mobile phone give up. All the latest Telstra branded mobile phones are now Windows and MacOS compatible.  However you must install the new 'JoinME' application on your PC or Mac before it you can Sync or backup data.  The 'JoinME' software is included with the phone and is relatively simple to use.  With the software installed you can also use the phone as a wireless broadband modem but you'd better have a decent data plan for that. Conclusion All up the Telstra/ZTE T90 is a perfect phone for outdoors adventure types, in particular trades people.  Although the underlying functionality is identical to most of the other Telstra/ZTE phones available but at least this one has a genuine selling point compared to most.  Unfortunately the outright price is quite high too. Specifications
    • Telstra/ZTE T90
    • Features IP54 standard compliant shock resistant water and dust protection
    • Network Tri-band UMTS 850 / 1900 / 2100 / MHz 3G HSDPA 3.6 Quad-band GSM 850 / 900/1800 /1900 MHz
    • Design Rugged - Standard L107 x W47 x D14 mm Weight 108 grams
    • Display/s Intenal TFT 176 x 220
    • Camera Dual cameras 2MP auto-focus main camera
    • Connectivity USB Bluetooth V1.2 - Supports FTP / HFC / A2DP
    • Memory 64MB internal memory 40MB available to user Up to 8Gig MicroSD or Trans Flash cards
    • Ring tones MP3, MMF, MIDI, Vibration
    • Features FM Radio SMS, MMS, WAP, EMAIL MyWords predictive text JAVA MIDP 2.0 Speaker Phone/Hands free Customizable backgrounds Picture Viewer Video calling Voice memos Calender and organizer 200Hrs Standby, 3.5 hours Talk Time 1000ha
    • Package contents XP/Vista Compatible PC suite Mac OSX Compatible software Personal hands free kit Travel charger USB cable User manual
    • Price history Approx $xxx Available only on a monthly plan.