Month: July 2011

HTC Wildfire S Review
Welcome to the 2011 HTC Wildfire S review page. The new HTC Wildfire S released in mid-2011 is the update to the original and one of the cheapest Android based mobile phones you can get in 2011. However in our opinion the Wildfire S even better and one of the best of the cheaper Android OS based touch screen phones. All the criticisms of the original version have been addressed and we think this will be the benchmark at the low to mid range market for smart phones on the market. Unfortunately you can't get a Wildfire S on Telstra pre-paid just yet (July 2011). However we guess that it will once they run out of the older Wildfire. The Wildfire S is priced around $350 outright, it is currently $390 from Telstra. Update November 2011 The Wildfire S is now available as a $199 pre-paid package.

The 2011 Wildfire S uses the Android 2.3 operating system and is feature packed in terms of hardware and software capability for a relative cheap mobile phone. It comes with A-GPS, Wi-Fi, and all the usual environmental sensors. In terms of operation the Wildfire S works with minimal delay and noticeably smoother than the older model. It also includes a App which allows the phone to be used as a Wi-Fi router/modem by other devices like tablets. Honestly, its not that far of 800Mhz CPU eqquiped models.

The Wildfire S construction brings it up to date with the top range HTC Sensation along with the capacitive touch screen and the faster CPU. The screen resolution has also been increased and now looks very good.

The short time we had to test the Wildfire S we all agreed that it is a mini version of the current top end HTC Sensation. Based on the expected lower outright price for the Wildfire S we can't think of another phone in this price range that is as good - for the time being.

The only criticism that can be made is aimed at the Android OS being a tad difficult to initially work out and of course the need to sign up with Gmail to use even the most basic functions like the calendar. Along with that the Wildfire is an internet centric phone that requires a data plan with the phone. Signing up for anything is optional on Nokia and iPhone.

Overall the Wildfire S is a probably the best phone and must buy (and the new benchmark compact Android mobile phone) if your after a small and well made phone that can do almost everything you want. However the price must be right whether purchased outright, on a plan or as a pre-paid package.

Specifications
- HTC Wildfire S
- Network
  Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900
  Dual-band 3G 850/2100
  HSDPA 7.2 Mbits data speed (download)
  384kpbs data speed (upload)
- Design
  Touch screen
- L101.3 x W59.4 x D12.4 mm
  Weight 105 grams
- Display/s
  External 3.2 Inch TFT 320 x 480
- Camera
  5MP
  LED Flash
- Video Camera
  800 x 480 video camera 15FPS
- Connectivity
  Wi-Fi
  Bluetooth V2.1
- CPU
  600Mhz
- Memory
  Up to 512MB available to user
  MicroSD up to 32Gig
- Ring tones
  MIDI, MP3, Video, vibration and others
- Features
  A-GPS
  Proximity
  Compass
  Accelerometer (G-Sensor)
  Light Sensor
  FM Radio
  Music and Media player
  Organiser/Calender
  SMS, MMS, IM, Email
  FM radio
  Speaker Phone/Hands free
  Li-Po 1230mAh battery
  Up to 570 hours Standby
  Up to 430 minutes Talk Time
- Price history
  Under $199 AUS November 2011 (Pre-paid)
  Under $350 AUS 2011 (Approx outright)
July 31, 2011
Motorola DEFY Review
Welcome to the Motorola DEFY review. The DEFY was released in late 2010 into a very crowded Android based phone market. It's selling point was the ruggerised case and screen and a slightly faster 800Mhz CPU than the base models but slower than the top end models. It has been awhile since we reviewed a Motorola phone because since they started using the Android operating system they are basically the same apart of hardware variations. The once industry leading Motorola used to make really cool looking phones all the latest technology - hampered by the short sighted networks installing crap software that often made them poor to use. We can be thankfully for Apple for releasing us from the phone networks - unfortunately that meant that we are now being locked into the Apple 'network'. We like freedom so there must be a better solution our there - perhaps Android OS is our savior? Android in its standard form works really well but again Motorola has not understood that tinkering with the core of the operating system simply does not result in a better experience! Why couldn't they just put an App in? Maybe it was a model we tried but we came away thinking that the DEFY was not sluggish but more a tad unresponsive. Overall though it feels faster than the 600Mhz CPU but definitely slower than the 1Ghz. Th model comes with Android 2.1 so your missing a few features most will not miss. The DEFY can be purchased for any 3G network including Telstra 850Mhz NextG however outright DEFYs can also be bought for other networks. So before buying make sure you know which network it will In terms of construction the DEFY is light and solid but lacking any design flair. The ruggerised case feels good enough and hard wearing to carry around without extra protective cases but being completely honest it looks like a cheap phone. If you're clumsy, then its water and scratch resistance will help you out but you may need a case to hide it from the public. BTW the publicity pictures makes the phone look better than it actually is. There is nothing else exceptional about the DEFY but for the unnecessary Motoblur application which is annoying. We couldn't get it work properly for your information, some updates just wouldn't happen. Seriously Motorola, get your act together and put in a turn off button. If Motoblur does work it's still less useful than the dedicated apps or the web browser versions for Facebook, Twitter and other types of social networking accounts. Other than that the phone works as expected In the end we didn't want to write up too much more because we were already let down by the lack of any improvement to the interface compared earlier models. It is the only ruggerised Android which we've seen to date so this is the key selling point. However a decent case will make any other touchscreen closely match the DEFY. Overall only gave the Motorola DEFY a passing grade. Sure it does everything OK but that's it. We felt that the company wasn't even trying when it sent this one out to the public. Specifications
- Motorola DEFY
- Network Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 Dual-band 3G 850/900/1900//2100
- Design Touch screen
- L107 x W59 x D13.5 mm Weight 120 grams
- Display/s 3.7inch TFT 480 x 852
- Camera 5MP Auto focus LED Flash
- Video Camera 640 x 480 pixel main video camera 30FPS
- Connectivity Bluetooth V2.1 Wi-Fi Micro-USB
- CPU 800Mhz
- Memory Up to 2 GIG available to user MicroSD up to 32Gig
- Ring tones ACC, MP3, vibration and others
- Features A-GPS Accelerometer Sensor Ambient Light Sensor Compass JAVA Apps Music and Media player Organiser/Calender SMS, MMS, IM, Email JAVA MIDP 2.0 FM radio with RDS Speaker Phone/Hands free 3.5mm AV/headset Custom 3.7V 1540mAh Up to 9 days Standby Up to 6 hours Talk Time
- Price history Under $488 AUD 2011 (Outright)
July 23, 2011
Nokia E52 Review
Welcome to the Nokia E52 review. The Nokia E52 was released in late 2010 to cater for the customer who wanted a relatively featured business mobile that wasn't a touch screen. It comes with all the usual business software like word, excel and powerpoint editors, PDF reader, ZIP expander, Flash viewer, email software, a good web browser, Wi-Fi and A-GPS. It's plain exterior designs hides a powerful mobile phone. Like a few other Nokia's in the last 12 months we didn't bother writing about it because while it's a great phone there is nothing that we could promote as a key selling point... The E52's construction quality is typical Nokia which means very good. The keypad has the right amount of feedback and feels like it will last forever, the screen is bright and the sound quality loud and clear. However we did not like the lightness of the E52. It would be all too easy to lose the phone and not know it. The network reception for the E52 is noticeably better that the old RAZR 3V which has great reception, that we had along as a comparison, the RAZR showed 5 and the E52 2 more! (Meanwhile the iPhone was struggling at about half - as usual.) The E52 has a fast user interface and works at the speed you work at. There are also many customization options in terms of interface and hardware settings that you play with that it does get confusing but it is hidden away so that to most people it is not necessary to manually adjust - unless you really want to. The other features that you will enjoy using include Wi-Fi and the free navigation software and maps. Overall we liked the E52. It can do everything we wanted in a speedy and reliable fashion. However the Nokia E72 or E71 are still available at very reasonably prices so it is easy to over look the E52 because the other two are even better. Specifications
- Nokia E52
- Network Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900
- Tri-band 3G 850/900/2100
- Design Candybar
- L116 x W49 x D9.9 mm Weight 98 grams
- Display/s 2.4 inch TFT 240 x 320
- Camera 3.2MP Auto focus LED Flash
- Video Camera 640 x 480 pixel main video camera 15FPS
- Connectivity Bluetooth V2.0 Wi-Fi Micro-USB
- CPU 600Mhz
- Memory Up to 60MB available to user MicroSD up to 16Gig
- Ring tones MIDI, MP3, Video, vibration and others
- Features A-GPS Accelerometer Sensor Ambient Light Sensor Compass (Magnetometer Sensor) JAVA Apps Music and Media player Organiser/Calender SMS, MMS, IM, Email JAVA MIDP 2.0 FM radio Speaker Phone/Hands free 3.5mm AV/headset BP-54L 3.7V 1500mAh Up to 28 days Standby Up to 8 hours Talk Time
- Price history Under $xxx AUD 2011 (Plan only)
July 9, 2011