While the Nokia N900 will be a major hit across Europe and Asia, there’s little chance that it will be able to compete with smart phones in the United States. Despite that, Nokia still has a large fan base across the country and many tech enthusiasts would love to pick one of these up. While I still haven’t heard back from Nokia for a review unit, call me if you’re reading this, you guys can enjoy this high resolution photo gallery. If you want to pick one up, it’s already available for pre-order through Amazon.com. You can also get the N900 through Dell.com for a little cheaper ($440) if you use Bing.com for 20% Cashback.

Links: Nokia USA N900

Download:
black-friday-2009-tech-buying-guide.xlsx (~116 KB)
Download is only a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet. We don’t distribute spyware/malware/adware.

I should also mention that Skatter Tech did not create this list, only modified it. I found it on Gophn.com who updated the FatWallet.com list. I’ve stripped out everything that doesn’t have to relate to gadgets for all you geeks out there! I’ll do my best to add any new information thought the next few days.

Related Links: BlackFriday.info | BFAds.net | FatWallet.com | SlickDeals.net

It all starts with the hardware. It’s shocking. With a 600MHz processor and 1GB of RAM, the phone resembles the configuration of a high end laptop just about 10 years ago. The 3.5 inch display packs 800 x 480 pixels, just a bit short of what the Droid offers. But it’s also has 32GB of on-board flash memory and even offers 16GB microSDHC card expansion. There’s also a 5 megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss lens, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, HSPA 10Mbps, a FM Transmitter, and a microUSB data port.

As for the software, which has recently been a trending topic in regards to smart phones, the Nokia N900 runs on Maemo 5. If you haven’t heard of it, that’s because it’s fairly new. It’s a Linux-based open source OS and it deviates from using Symbian, which is found on just about every other Nokia phone. And of course, it’s quite powerful with multi-tasking, a Mozilla-based browser that supports Flash and AJAX, multi-protocol instant messaging, VoIP Skype support, and a consolidated all-in-one contact manager.

That’s just touching the surface of what this phone has to offer. An unlocked version of the Nokia N900 is already up for Pre-Orders on Amazon for $559. While I try get in contact with Nokia for a review unit, please enjoy some product shots of the phone that were included in the official press kit:

Pre-Order: Nokia N900 for $559
Links: Nokia.com N900

LG VX8560 Specifications:

• Provider: Verizon Wireless (CDMA 800MHz / 1.9 GHz)
• Form Factor: Flip phone with external display
• Display: 2.2 inch, 320×240 pixels, & 260k colors
• Media: MP3, WMA, & Unprotected AAC(+)
• Imaging: 2.0 mega pixel camera & camcorder
• Connectivity: Bluetooth, GPS, & microUSB
• Others: microSD, FM Transmitter, & 3.5mm headphone
• Size / Weight: 3.87″ H x 1.94″ W x 0.64″ D (inches) / 3.4 oz
• Battery Life: 4.5 hours talk time & 350 hours standby
• Price: $100 with a new 2 year agreement

The Body – 4/5 stars
The Chocolate 3 is fairly compact and can fit into most pockets. It is a bit too long when flipped open and will reach past most people’s ears and mouth in both directions. This is the first officially branded Chocolate phone which isn’t a slider, but rather a flip phone. It retains some elements from its ancestors such as the click wheel on the front, unfortunately it isn’t touch sensitive. The front side of the phone also features an unusually large 1.76 inch display which has a beautiful rotating interface. The camera is also on the front and allows taking self portraits using the external screen. The microSD card reader, the Music key, and lock button can be found on the right side of the phone. The left side contains the 3.5mm headphone jack, the volume toggle, voice command key, and the microUSB port. The inside of the phone is quiet basic; it has a standard numeric keypad, four way navigation, two soft keys, and the Send/END buttons. The only real downside I encountered was finger print magnet nature of the shinny metallic finish on the front side. Other than that body of the phone is well built and should last.

The Display – 3/5 stars
The 1.76 inch external display with a 176 x 220 pixel resolution looks excellent, but unfortunately only in doors. Due to the glossy finish, it is quite difficult to view outdoors or when covered with fingerprints. The 2.2 inch internal display is fortunately much better and looks quite sharp with its 320 x 240 pixel resolution. There’s nothing too impressive here, but is just fine for most simple tasks.

The Interface – 4/5 stars
Verizon once again has used their standard interface on this phone, but it’s got a couple of special themes as most phones do today. Browsing through the menu system was smooth and clean. Navigation was consistent and easy to follow. The external display has a couple of functions: music player, photo gallery, the camera, calendar, and messages. This secondary interface was actually quite polished for once. It easy to use and performed as expected. It was quite easy to take self portraits and listen to music. But regarding the internal interface, there’s not much that has changed in the past couple of years, so hopefully we’ll see something more revolutionary in the near future. All you get with this phone is the standard icon menu which opens up into the classic tabbed interface.

Messaging & Contacts – 4/5 stars
The Chocolate 3 is a fairly decent phone for messaging. Although it has just a numeric keypad, the software allows text, picture, and video messaging. The standard Verizon Wireless Mobile IM client for AOL, MSN, and Yahoo is also available. Email can be accessed through either the WAP browser or the Mobile Email client. The phone supports 1000 contacts with plenty of extra fields for extra numbers. The Chocolate also has the standard call history views for displaying missed, incoming, and outgoing calls.

Music Playback – 4/5 stars
Since the VX-8560 is a music phone, you would expect it to do quite an excellent job at playing music. Although this might be the best Chocolate 3, there has not much improvement that has been made in this area over the past couple of years. To start listening to music, you can just hit the Music key on the side, which will quickly launch the player. As always you can browse your library in different by Albums, Artists, Genres, Songs, or Playlists. There were also some preset equalizers which may help some music sound better. The Chocolate 3 supports pushing the music app into the background allowing performing other tasks. The music is also automatically paused and resumed when a call is received. The player flows between the external and internal display smoothly. So if you start playing a song with the phone open, the interface will move over to the external display when closed. Overall it is a fairly decent player for a phone, but once again there was room for a lot of improvement.

FM Transmitter – 5/5 stars
Lots of people still don’t have an auxiliary port or an iPod connectors built into their vehicles. Most of those people use a FM transmitters to listen to music from their portable device on their stereo. The Chocolate 3 doesn’t need any extra accessories to broadcast music on a station since it’s got that component built right in. All you’ll have to do is find an open frequency, set it on the phone, tune into that channel. The quality was pretty good during most test runs. It is obviously not comparable to Satellite Radio, CDs, or a wired media player; however this is probably the next best thing for many. The only downside might be that battery life takes a steep hit when using this feature. LG claims 24 hours of transmitting FM if the phone is placed into the “music only” mode.

Syncing Music & microSD – 4/5 stars
The LG Chocolate 3 supports up to 8GB microSD cards, which is great for those planning to use it as their music playback device. 8GB cards have also come down in price and can be purchased for as low as $30 through some major online retailers. When you connect your phone to your machine using the included microUSB to USB cable, you can enter the data or sync music mode. The data mode will turn the microSD card into a mass storage device so you can add or remove content directly onto it. The sync music mode will allow syncing media with Windows Media Player 11. Unfortunately Vista users will have no choice but to install the horrid V Cast Music Manager to get the phone working with WMP11. If files are placed directly into the music folder, the phone will manually re-index them the next time the music player is started. So to put all of that together, the phone can be synced as a media player device, a mass storage device, or by using a microSD card reader.

Speakers + Headphones – 4/5 stars
The 3.5mm standard headphone jack is the main feature that gives the Chocolate 3 the ability to call itself a music phone. Users of this phone can now plug-in their own headphones without the need of any additional adapters or a special headset. The playback quality is decent. Audiophiles won’t even consider it; however the majority of people probably won’t be able to tell the difference between the Chocolate and an iPod for instance. The speaker is quite loud and is fairly clear; however I probably would never use them for listening to music. As for the speakerphone functionality, it works just great.

The Camera – 2.5/5 stars
This phone wasn’t really made for taking pictures, but nonetheless it has a simple camera for snapping photos occasionally. It’s got some basic features such as changing brightness, resolution, digital zoom, and some color effects. Nothing is too interesting. The LCD screen which is the view finder will only display a small portion of a picture that is being taken, which is often annoying. The image quality was mediocre; my two year old LG enV was on par if not better than this phone’s camera. The only neat feature might be the ability to take self portraits using the large external display since the camera is already facing you. The phone can also record videos, but those are also not too pretty. One improvement was the gallery which offers many more options on ways to handle the images you have taken. Overall imaging is an extra feature; the music playback is the main focus of this phone.

Extras – 4.5/5 stars
A small feature which I loved was the power supply that was included with the phone. Instead of providing an addition data cable, the power supply is actually a USB cable in disguise. The cable can be unplugged from the head and can be plugged into a USB port to charge or sync data. As for software extras, the phone’s got the standard extra goodies such as Get It Now, WAP Browser, Bluetooth tools, Clocks, Calendar, Calculator, Tip Calculator, Alarm Clock, Notepad, Voice Commands and more.

Conclusion
This phone is a major improvement over the previous two Chocolate phones; however it now has a new form factor which may not be appealing to the owners of the previous models. This is an excellent mid-range phone and will not disappoint. Those who are looking for a high tech phone probably won’t find this too satisfactory. As mentioned before this is a perfect fit for those who are also looking for a phone that can playback music while on the go. The phone is available in stores and online for around $100 with a new two year contract. If you are eligible for upgrade you should be able to knock off $50!

Buy Now: LG Chocolate 3 for $69 (special via Amazon)
Links: Verizon Wireless

LG VX-8610 Specifications:

• Service Provider: Verizon Wireless (CDMA 800/1900MHz)
• Form Factor: Slider with attached Bluetooth headset
• Display: 2.2″ 262k Color QVGA TFT, 320×240 pixel resolution
• Imaging: 2 Megapixel camera and camcorder
• Media: MP3, WMA, AAC, and AAC+
• Other: Bluetooth 2.1 & microSD (8GB max)
• Dimensions: 4″ H x 2″ W x 0.7″ D (inches)
• Battery Life: 3.8 hours talk time & 330 hours standby
• Price: $180 with a new 2 year agreement

Body: 3/5 Stars
The LG Decoy looks sleek, with only four buttons (two programmable buttons, a “Speaker” button and a “Clear” button) and a joystick on the front. The back of the phone houses the Bluetooth headset, which makes a bulge, and to the right of the headset is the 2MP camera. The right side of the phone has a camera button, microSD slot, and a 2.5mm headset jack. I have no idea why they added a 2.5mm headset jack considering that one would purchase this phone to use with the Bluetooth headset. A 3.5mm jack for standard headphones would have been a better choice. The left side has two volume control buttons and a microUSB port. The only other folly might be that it is difficult to slid open the phone to access the keypad. There is no way easy way to slide the phone open without touching the joystick in the middle or touching the screen, unless you want to get more fingerprints all over it.

Display: 2/5 Stars
With regard to the brightness, contrast, and color representation, the display is excellent. The Decoy’s 2.2″ screen can display a 320×240 pixel resolution, which has been approximately the standard for the past few years. Unfortunately due to the high amount of “glossy-ness” of the whole front of the phone, the display becomes extremely difficult to read in direct sunlight. In addition, you’ll find yourself constantly wiping down the phone since it is literally a fingerprint magnet. But with regards to the display, if you are in doors, you probably won’t have any problems.

User Interface: 4.5/5 Stars
The LG Decoy has a slick user interface, the menu has only nine categories, however, you can dig down into the sub-categories and change and settings, send messages, media playback, recent calls, etc. The menu also has a nice feature where even after you’ve dug into a certain category you can change to a different one simply by moving the joystick left or right. The transitions to additional options when trying to, say, add another recipient to an SMS message, are subtle but create an overall better experience.

Media Playback: 3/5 Stars
The LG decoy supports the following codecs: MP3, WMA, AAC, and AAC+. Controls are pretty simple to use, with the joystick controlling most of the functions, such as play/pause, fast forward, rewind, next song, and previous song. The volume is controlled by the two side volume buttons, which are also used for increasing call or ringer volume. Sound quality is not exactly great when listening through headphones, but is better than the speakerphone quality. Though I would not recommend this phone as your primary music player, when on the go and nothing else is available, it will suffice.

MicroSD + Syncing: 3.5/5 Stars
The LG Decoy supports up to 8GB microSD cards, which should be more than enough space for the majority of users. Syncing music onto the phone is easy; just drag the files onto the card. You can either use a micro-USB cable and sync content using a program such as Windows Media Player 11 or use a microSD card reader to copy content into the automatically created folders on the card. The phone will automatically index the added content before beginning playback.

Speaker & Bluetooth Headset: 2/5 Stars
Looks like LG dropped the ball on the speakers for this phone. They start to crackle at about 60% volume and voices become high pitched at 100% when using the speaker phone. It was much worse than I had expected out of a phone. The Bluetooth headset, which is pretty much the defining point of this phone was utterly atrocious. It is extremely difficult to get the earpiece to fit comfortably in your ear. If it fits you’re lucky, however if it does not you are out of luck since no extra sized earpieces are included. The quality wasn’t exactly to great either. Overall the entire implementation was poorly execute. Another thing to keep in mind is that there’s a big ugly hole on the back of your phone when the headset has been removed. It looks as though something broke off your phone.

Digital Camera & Camcorder: 3/5 Stars
The LG Decoy has a 2 megapixel camera which doubles as a camcorder. Photos can be taken at a max resolution of 1600×1200 pixels, while videos can be taken at a max resolution of 320×240. The camera has many different options such as a timer, white balance, a night time mode, and even color effects such as negative mode, sepia, and black & white. There is about a five second delay from when you hit save and when you can take the next picture, so you’ll have to wait if you want to take lots of pictures in a row. The camcorder can record up to an hour of video on the microSD card, however only 30 second clips can be sent.

GPS VZ Navigator: 5/5 Stars
The VZ Navigator is probably the coolest feature of this phone, despite not being unique to the Decoy. The interface for the VZ Navigator, now on version 4.11, is simple and intuitive. The performance was surprisingly fast; it found my location in about ten seconds. It could even locate all the movies playing at every theater in my area and even show traffic conditions. The VZ Navigator also offers turn-by-turn directions with voice overs so it can be an extremely useful tool while driving.

Messaging (IM, Email, & Text): 3/5 Stars
This is not the best phone for texting since it does not have a QWERTY keyboard, but people will manage to use it for that purpose anyways. Mobile IM supports AIM, Windows Live Messenger, and Yahoo Messenger. Regrettably the web email function only supports MSN Hotmail, AOL Mail, and Yahoo Mail. The lack of Gmail support was disappointing. The phone lacks the Mobile Email client which most Verizon Wireless phones now have. Despite all that this is a pretty basic phone for messaging. If you are a heavy texter, you might want to consider another phone.

Conclusions:
This is a fairly mediocre phone and I wasn’t too impressed by what it had to offer. I do give them credit for begin implementing the concept of integrating a Bluetooth headset into the phone. The idea was great, however more effort should have been placed into making this a better phone. In addition a higher quality Bluetooth headset, possibly with noise cancellation, would have turned heads towards this product. For the price of $200 you can get a phone such as the LG Dare which has much more to offer in just about all aspects. My recommendation, however, would be to purchase a better phone and quality Bluetooth headset that fits your ear separately. If you are seriously interested in a phone with a built-in headset, this is the way to go. This phone is now available on Verizon Wireless’s website and in Verizon Wireless stores for $180 with a 2 year contract.

Buy Now (Limited Time): LG Decoy for $99 with 2 Year Contract (via Amazon)
Links: Verizon Wireless LG Decoy

“We are proud of the success and popularity of the Chocolate series of handsets, and are excited about the upgrades made with this new edition,” said Mr. Ehtisham Rabbani, vice president of product strategy and marketing for LG Mobile Phones. “The LG Chocolate 3 helps Verizon Wireless customers minimize the number of electronic devices they need to carry at one time, allowing for a large capacity of music storage and connection to a car stereo without any wires.”

Asides from the music components, the LG VX-8560 (“the real name”) also remains quite a robust phone. It sports Bluetooth v2.1, V Cast Navigator, 2.0 mega-pixel camera/camcorder, Mobile Web/Email/IM, Speakerphone, Voice Commands, and many more features. Although battery life with playback hasn’t yet been officially benchmarked, they do advertise 4.5 hours of talk time. The LG Chocolate 3 is now available for purchase on VerizonWireless.com and in Verizon Wireless Stores. The phone will cost new customers $129.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and require a new two-year contract.

Links: VerizonWireless.com

P.S. – (07/15/08) – We just got a hold of the Chocolate 3, so expect an in-depth review soon! And a special thanks to the Verizon Wireless PR folks who have been extremely helpful!

LG VX9100 Specifications:

• Provider: Verizon Wireless (800MHz / 1.9GHz CDMA )
• Form Factor: Laptop-like w/ QWERTY keyboard
• Internal Display: 2.4-inch 320 x 240 pixels
• Media: MP3, WMA, AAC plus WMV, MP4, 3GP
• Imaging: 2.0 mega pixel camera and camcorder
• Other: Bluetooth, microSD (8GB max), stereo speakers
• Battery Life: 320 Mins Talk-Time or 520 Hrs standby
• Dimensions: 4″ H x 2.13″ W x .65″ D (inches)
• Price: $130 after $50 rebate plus a 2 year contract

LG enV2 Body: 4/5 stars
The enV (VX9900) was a more compact version of the LG V (VX9800) and now the enV2 is even smaller. The phone is quite small and can fit in just about any pocket. It’s a bit heavier than I had imagined (4.23 oz), but it’s still lighter than the enV. The enV2 is a whole lot shorter and thinner than the enV, however it is slightly wider. Both the front and back are pretty flat and all edges are smooth and rounded. It’s a pretty good looking phone and is easy to handle as well. On the front you’ll find a tiny display at the top and improved numeric keypad right below. The backside of the phone has the removable battery and the 2.0 megapixel camera. The right side of the phone has the 2.5mm headphone jack and microSD card reader/writer while the left side has the volume toggle keys and the camera button. As for the inside of the phone, the top portion features the 2.4-inch display with stereo speakers on the sides and the bottom portion has the QWERTY keyboard. And finally a micro-USB port can be found on the bottom under a socket cover for charging and data transfer. The only thing that I found disappointing was the extremely small screen on the front which has been rendered almost entirely useless. I feel that there would have been more to gain by making the keypad a bit smaller and by adding a larger screen.

The Screen(s): 4/5 stars
In terms of brightness and colors, both the internal and external displays are top notch. The internal screen is much bigger and brighter than the one on the enV. It looked quite good especially when I was able to view images I had taken in a full screen mode, which the enV didn’t allow. Watching videos on the internal display was quite decent as well. The external screen is now a rectangular strip which doesn’t offer enough room to perform most tasks. The external display on enV was more of a square and it’s menu system was quite fulfilling. Both screens were bright enough to be visible in direct sunlight.

User Interface: 4/5 stars
After messing with the internal interface of the phone I’ve got to say there’s a lot of improvements. Everything was quick and easy to learn and use. The interface will be quite familiar for previous enV owners. The phone also offers a layouts for messaging or multimedia, in case you plan on using one or the other more. I personally opted for the standard menu interface. Some of the stylish curves seems to have eaten up some screen estate which could have been used for displaying more information, however it wasn’t a problem. Overall the internal interface has been improved and works smoothly. The main fall back of the phone would have to be the external interface which I feel is a disaster. First off to get into the interface you’ll have to unlock the keyguard using the OK button. Next since there are no true soft keys, the up and down buttons launch the your contacts and message, respectively. The clear key which is usually centered on most phones has been placed at the top right which was quite awkward to use. The top left button is now the ‘Music’ button which should have just been one of the two customizable soft keys. The contacts list can only display two contacts at a time, however you’ll survive since it has a search function. The phone allows sending a text messages from the tiny front display, however the interface is confusing and slow. Even viewing ‘recent calls’ was quite tedious. If LG had offered a larger display and Verizon had built a better interface this would have had potential.

Media Playback: 4.5/5 stars
The interface for playing back music on the enV2 is pretty much the same as what it was on the enV. There doesn’t seem to be too many changes. I do however feel that it is about time that the player got a new look. Despite that caveat, the has and continues to player run without any problems. For those who have not used the interface on a previous phone, it allows searching or browsing by Songs, Albums, Artists, or Genres. It supports MP3, WMA, and AAC formats. It’s good news for both iTunes Plus and Amazon MP3 customers since all that content will be compatible. The V CAST Video also has been improved, streaming seems to function smoother than before and there wasn’t as much frame rate drops as there was on the enV. If you want to add your own video clips onto the phone, you can do so easily using 3rd party software and converting the content into WMV, MP4, or 3G2 formats.

MicroSD + Syncing: 5/5 stars
The LG enV2 doesn’t have too much room for storing content on it’s internal memory, however it has a microSD expansion which solves the problem. The phone now supports up to 8GB microSD cards, which should be plenty for the majority. Syncing music onto the phone is also a cinch. You can either use a micro-USB cable and sync content using a program such as Windows Media Player 11 or use a microSD card reader to copy content into the automatically created folders on the card. Even those with limited computer knowledge should be able to figure it out easily!

Speakers & Headphones: 5/5 stars
LG has once again improved the speakers on the enV2, making it better than those on the enV. I’m glad they improved on this, I was worried after I heard the speakers on the expensive LG Voyager. The speakers are clear at even full volume and manage without beginning to crackle. The sound great both for listening to music and when used as a speaker phone. If you plan to use headphones you’ll need to purchase a 2.5mm to 3.5mm converter to use with standard headphones. Listening with headphones will satisfy the average consumer, however don’t expect top notch music playback out of this phone.

Digital Camera: 4.5/5 stars
The main improvement in the digital camera on the enV2 would probably have to be the speed it takes pictures at. The enV constantly lagged and it often took forever for the camera to focus, snap, and save the image. The enV2 acts almost instantaneously. There are few disappointments with the enV2 such as the loss of the build in flash, which made a big difference for closeups taken in under-lit situations. The camera is also still a 2.0 mega pixel which was the same as what was on the enV, so no improvement there. And finally the lens cover has also been removed leaving the camera exposed. The video mode functions smoothly as well, there were no problems there. The front screen can be used to take photos and can also be used for self portraits when flipped open, however due to the small screen size, only a small strip of the full image will be visible. Overall the enV2’s camera functions as it should with some speed improvements, however the camera hasn’t been upgraded and there are no new features.

GPS VZ Navigator: 5/5 stars
I have to mention this feature, since it is one of my favorite part of Verizon Wireless phones. The VZ Naviagor, now on version 4, now includes tons of new features including traffic alerts. The interface is quick and easy to use and the phone can detect your exact location in a matter of seconds. It’s actually much more accurate than the locater on the Apple iPhone. The application will be an addition to your monthly bill unless you have a premium plan. The maps offer live turn-by-turn directions with voice overs which actually state the street names. Address can be saved into the phone. The local search can help find businesses or restaurants instantly. The program also displays the phone number of the address and can dial the number for you. And finally it can lookup movie showtimes near your location and assist in booking tickets. The new version also locates the cheapest gas in near your location.

Messaging (IM, Email, & Text): 5/5 stars
This is a great phone for those who message a lot. It’s got a built in chat client which supports AIM, MSN, and Yahoo!. The software now allows viewing your full contact lists, which was previously limited. The new Mobile Email client supports Yahoo Mail, Windows Live Hotmail, AOL/AIM Mail, and Verizon. If you use another provider, you can just enter the POP3 or IMAP servers and it should work perfectly. The Email Client also can be setup to notify you each time an email arrives in any of your inboxes. The text messaging component is vastly the same, but there are some improvements. The inbox and outbox is no longer limited to 50 messages. (In addition the phone can now hold 1000 contacts.)

Conclusion:
This is a great phone for those who love to message others wirelessly since it has a QWERTY keyboard. The phone is also a great improvement to the enV with a whole new look and a compact design. I wasn’t too fascinated by the maroon color, but I found the black version to look a whole lot better. It does lack some features such as a flash, a lens cover, and auto-focus all for the camera. It also doesn’t yet have a HTML browser. The main complaint I have would have to be the tiny external display, but if you set that aside the rest of the phone is quite impressive. The phone is also quite affordable and will be of interest to many Verizon Wireless customers looking for a new phone. The phone is now available on Verizon’s website and in Verizon Wireless stores for $130 after a $50 rebate and 2 year contract.

Limited Time Deal: LG enV2 for $50 with a 2 Year Contract
Links: Verizon Wireless | Data Sheet (.pdf)
Related: LG VX9900 Review | LG VX10000 Review

Nokia N95 8GB Specifications:

• Type: WCDMA 850/1900 + WiFi
• Display: 2.8-inch with 320×240 resolution
• Form Factor: Two-Way Slider
• Battery Life: 5 hours talk & 12 days standby
• Main Camera: 5 megapixel w/ flash & auto-focus
• Storage: Built-in 8GB Flash Memory
• Special: WiFi, GPS, 2nd Camera, Home Network
• Other: Bluetooth and Standard Headphone Jack
• Dimensions: 3.9″H x 2.09″W x 0.83″D
• Price: $550 – $650 for an Unlocked Version

The Body – 4/5 stars
From looking at the images, you’ve probably realized that this isn’t exactly the best looking phone. It’s a bit bulky and definitely doesn’t look attractive. Keep in mind the reason you are probably purchasing this phone is for it’s features. On the front of the phone you’ll find the large 2.8-inch display with four-way controls, send/end buttons, the left/right soft keys, and a couple other short cuts. Above the screen is the secondary camera with its flash for video conferencing and self-portraits. Sliding the screen up will reveal a numeric keypad while sliding it in the opposite direction will reveal multimedia controls. The power button can be found on the top of the phone while the mini-USB and charging connections are on the bottom. A standard 3.5mm headphone jack can be found on the left side of the phone besides an infrared transmitter. A volume toggle, media button, and camera key are all on the right side. The 5 mega pixel camera is on the back above the battery compartment which also holds the SIM card.

The Screen – 5/5 stars
The N95’s 2.8-inch screen can only display at a maximum of 320×240 pixels, but is extremely bright and sharp. Just about anything displayed on the screen such as the menus, photos, or videos all look wonderful. The screen also looks great out doors and glare isn’t as bad as it is on other phones. And for those of you wondering if the screen is touch capable, it isn’t. Although I felt it would have been neat for such a large, the control system is fairly easy to use once you get a hang of them.

User Interface – 5/5 stars
For a first-time user of the Symbian OS it took a little bit of time figuring out how everything in the phone work. But once you learn the general stuff, everything becomes quite easy. Just about every place you want to go in the phone such as the phone book, email, or browser are all individual applications. You can open them up and close them when you are done. Running too many at once can slow down or possibly crash the phone. Most of the apps have a similar layout. The left soft key just about always brings up a context menu of options to perform including quitting. The four-way pad is to browse through the menus and the center button is usually the ‘Enter’ key. The home screen is also quite informative as it displays shortcuts to the phone book, email, web browser, clocks, and camera. It also will show alerts, upcoming calendar events, connected access points, the time, signal strength, and battery life. Overall I loved it a whole lot more than the Windows Mobile OS which I dreaded to use on the HTC XV6800.

Office Suite – 5/5 stars
I also discovered that the Nokia N95 had a built in Office Suite with support for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDFs. I was able to quickly transfer a couple of documents onto the internal storage device with a USB cable then view them on the phone. Although the formatting on some them got distorted and others were slow to load, it would indeed be quite need to have these document views on a phone. To create new documents or modify current ones, you’ll have to buy the full $70 QuickOffice Suite. As for email, the phone supports the IMAP, POP3, and SMTP protocols. The interface is neat and easy to use. Push email is also supported by using the widely popular corporate Microsoft Exchange Server.

Digital Cameras – 5/5 stars
The Nokia N95 8GB has a 5 megapixel camera, which is the most powerful camera I have used on a phone. I only wish it had some optical zoom, which it didn’t. It does have a digital zoom, however this means quality is lost the further you zoom in. The phone takes photos quite instantly, however I noticed some lag when it tries to auto-focus and when saving the photos to the memory. The built-in LED flash is also quite bright and can easily make photos taken in under lit places a whole lot better. The quality of the photos themselves were pretty darn good. The colors looked natural in outdoor situations while the images were well focused and sharp. I was shocked to see how many options the camera settings offered. There were 6 scene modes including an Auto and a Custom option. The Flash can be turned off, always on, or set to reduce red-eye. There’s a self timer to take group photos. A burst mode to continuously take photos is available in addition to an option to take photos at a set time interval until the space runs out. The color tone, white balance, sharpness, contrast, and ISO can all be customized as well. Moving on to the .3 mega pixel camera on the front, it is plentiful for video conferencing since too much bandwidth can’t be transfered anyways. The quality is incomparable to the camera on the back and barley any customization settings are offered for the secondary camera.

Multimedia Playback – 5/5 stars
Once again, the N95 beat my expectations regarding music, video, and photo management. Starting with music, I was able to immediately start syncing my DRM-Free Mp3s in Windows Media Player 11 with the Nokia N95 without any additional software. I was also able to manually drop music onto the phone’s mass storage device and the files were also automatically recognized if placed in the right folders. The phone supports playback of AAC, MP3, and WMA files. I loved the music player interface as it was quite powerful and allowed me to browse by Songs, Artists, Albums, Genres, and Composers. Browsing through was quick and smooth without any hiccups. And with a 3.5mm headphone jack I was able to use my own Shure SE210 earphones. The built in FM radio was also a neat addition in case you get bored listening to your 8GB of music! To make things even better the phone also has a built in podcasting client. I was quickly able to download and start listening to the latest episode of TWiT through my WiFi network. (Can also use 3G data network!) Moving onto Video, the phone runs Real Player which has an excellent 3GP and MP4 decoder turn it into a great portable media player. I was also able to playback iPod Formated movie trailers and even DiggNation episodes without needing to re-encode the content into a special format. Everything worked as it things should without any horrible twists.

Speakers & Headphones – 5/5 stars
The Nokia N95 has a set of stereo speakers which was the best that I had seen on a mobile phone. The quality was clear and crisp. Even with the volume turned up to the max, it remained clear without beginning to crack like most phones do. The audio playback quality through the headphones was excellent. I wasn’t able to tell apart it apart from when playing the same song on my iPod Nano.

N-Gage Games – 4/5 stars
I had a chance to play some demo games available on the phone and the quality was quite impressive. The graphics was much better than I had expected a mobile phone to have the power to handle. The games are by no means as good as those on the Sony PlayStation Portable, but are much better than games available for most mobile phones. The games seemed a bit pricey, but it’s still a plus that they are available for purchase and that the phone can handle and support playing them.

Phone Functions – 5/5 stars
The phone comes with all the standard functions of most phones on the market. These features include an excellent phone book with pretty much no capacity limit, speaker phone, conference calling, bluetooth headset with stereo support, speed dial, voice commands, text messaging, email, calendar, calculator, notepad, voice recorder, and more! With a 3G Network, Bluetooth 2.0, GPS, and WiFi (b/g) the phone is almost always connected to something. Despite this it has a impressively powerful battery and manages it’s power saving quite well with the ambient light sensor. The phone had better signal in most locations versus the phone I usually carry. Call quality was pretty clear and crisp. WiFi signal strength was quite strong as well. The Bluetooth in the phone supports more profiles than any phone I have ever used meaning that it should connect to just about any device you can think of. The phone also supports the new DLNA media sharing protocol so once I connected my phone to my home network, I was able to access music, photos, and videos on the phone from my laptop and even my Sony PlayStation 3.

Web Browser – 5/5 stars
The N95 features an impressively powerful web browser. Sometimes web pages took a bit long to render, but in general they rendered a whole lot better than on most phones I have seen. I still feel the iPhone’s Safari browser is superior to this one in most aspects. However the N95 topples the iPhone’s browser in some aspects such as supports for the Flash player. This means YouTube and a whole slew of other streaming videos can be viewed from within the browser. The browser works by accessing either a WiFi access point or using the Cell Phone network, both of which functioned well.

GPS and Maps – 5/5 stars
The phone has a built in GPS which can be utilized for many different purposes. The N95 allows locating yourself on a map, getting directions, looking for points of interest near by, and much more. I didn’t have a chance to test the turn-by-turn directions, but I would expect it to work as advertised. The phone also has a cool feature to tracking your jogging and it takes it to a whole new level by recording pace, distance, time, altitude, speed, and steps taken. (Displays pretty-looking data graphs too!)

Included Items – 5/5 stars
The Nokia N95 comes with a couple accessories in addition to the power supply. Nokia includes a USB cable for data transfer and syncing media. A pair of headphones and a small wired controller to control music playback. The phone is also capable of video output using the included composite cables. Other than that Nokia provides a CD with some software, a couple of manuals, and a quick start guide. For the price that this phone goes for, I wish they would have also thrown in a case.

Conclusion
Overall the Nokia N95 is now one of my personal favorite phones. It is definitely not for everyone and most people will probably never get to using even half the features it offers. But for those who are looking for a high end smart phone, the N95 8GB will not be a disappointment. The only thing I felt that this phone lacked and that I should mention is the fact that it lacks a microSD expansion. Although it has 8GB of on board flash storage, it would have still been a nice addition. The phone offers more battery life talk time than most phones. With a powerful office tools and media playback tools the phone covers just about all grounds. The only downside might just be the high price of $600. The phone is currently not available through any service providers in the United States. However that doesn’t mean it won’t work here. You can just go ahead and purchase the North American version from a site such as Amazon. And for service, you can sign up to a calling and data plan from AT&T and insert the SIM card you receive.

Links: Nokia N95 8GB (nokia.com)
Purchase: Unlocked Nokia N95 8GB (US) – $580

The Apple iPhone will be getting another competitor very soon with the launch of the Samsung Instinct for Sprint. The phone features a large 3.1 inch touch-screen display with tactile feedback to improve the interface experience. The Samsung Instinct utilizes Sprint’s network to allow owners access to GPS Navigation with Traffic, Live Search, Sprint TV, and Sprint’s Music Store. In addition the phone features EV-DO Rev. A, which means it can be used as a modem with your computer brining speeds of up to 3.1 Mbps for downloads and 1.8 Mbps for uploads.

“Instinct brings customers what they want with the immediacy they want. Every decision during the development process focused on simplifying the user experience,” said John Garcia, Senior VP of Product Development and CMO for Sprint. “The end result is a great-looking phone that makes the value of Sprint’s fast NOW Network come to life, but most importantly, it is fun and easy to use.”

The phone also takes some moves out of the iPhone’s play book with features such as visual voicemail, but also has stuff the iPhone lacks such as a powerful voice-activated dialing and actions. The Samsung Instinct sports a POP3 client, multi-tasking capabilities, Bluetooth 2.0, a web browser, a 2.0 mega pixel camera/camcorder, and micoSD expansion of up 8GB. For convenience the phone uses a standard 3.5mm headphone jack and a standard USB cable for syncing music/data. Sprint has not yet set decided on either the pricing or the date for this phone, however we do know that monthly plans will begin at roughly $70 which might be a bit too much for most consumers. There’s a lot of iPhone-like phones coming out, not to say that the iPhone was entirely original either, but most of them such as the LG Voyager have failed to perform in most factors.

Links: Samsung Instinct From Sprint (nowisgood.com)
Download: Samsung Instinct Data Sheet (.pdf)

“We know the texting audience wants a mobile device that is compact enough to slide easily into pant pockets and handbags without compromising the integrity of the phone’s features. The slimmed-down enV(2) offers everything consumers loved about the enV with the added benefit of a larger, more spacious internal screen with large easy-to-text keys.” said Ehtisham Rabbani, LG.

The enV also has a built in Email Client and a Instant Messenger Client (AIM, MSN, & YAHOO). It is a fully functioning MP3 player and can support holding up to 8GB on a microSD. The enV2 is about .4 ounces lighter and about .10 inches thinner than the LG enV. The front of the enV2 is reminiscent of the Samsung UpStage, which was partially a disappointment. Overall the enV2 has a entirely new look compared to the enV, however it doesn’t seem to have any new features. The phone will be available next month for $130 after a $50 mail-in-rebate and a two-year contract.

Links: Verizon Wireless

UPDATE: Full VX9100 enV2 Review Here!

We just got a hold of the brand new LG Venus (aka VX8800), which I though I’d unbox before we publish our review this week. The phone will be available online and in Verizon Wireless stores later next week. As for this phone, it very compact compared to the LG Voyager and it’s loaded with a ton of features. The phone has two screens, the bottom one is touch sensitive. The phone has a dedicated button to start playing your music, a 2 mega-pixel Camera/Camcorder, Bluetooth, and microSD expansion. Plenty more details, information, and our full take on the phone will be included in our review this week. Keep reading for more unboxing pictures of the LG Venus.

In the box you’ll find a CD with drivers and software for transferring your music library onto the LG Venus, a quite large User Manual, a Quick Start Guide, and the Power Cord.

The phone was a whole lot shinier and smaller than I though it would be! I like it!

A neat little pouch for protection and a USB cable are also included with the LG Venus.

I couldn’t think of anything better to compare it to, than the hot new LG Voyager.

I haven’t played with this phone too much just yet, but I’ll get you guys the full scoop within a day or two. So sit tight! Also if you do happen to have specific questions, ask them in the comments and I’ll do my best to include it in the review! Meanwhile check out our LG Voyager Preview.

http://skattertech.com/media/2007/11/lg-voyager-preview.flv

So far it has been looking pretty darn good. It’s no iPhone for sure, but its still got a lot of other neat features including Mobile TV and microSD expansion to offer. We also received the LG Venus yesterday, so check back for some un-boxing photos of that phone in addition to our full LG Voyager review today!

Yesterday LG Electronics announced the availability of their new phone titled “Rumor” for Sprint customers. The LG Rumor sports a full QWERTY keyboard, email access, and instant messaging services (AIM, MSN, & Yahoo!). The phone also boasts access to social news websites such as Facebook. The unit is available in white with silver or black with blue.

“We are excited to introduce Rumor by LG because it is great-looking, easy-to-use and very affordable,” said Danny Bowman, Sprint VP of Product Development

The LG Rumor will also support Sprint’s new messaging services which allows sending texts to landlines phones. (recipient hears the text in audio) Other neat features include a built-in fully functioning GPS navigation system with on screen turn-by-turn directions. As for now standard features it includes a 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, microSD (4GB), MP3 player, and access to Sprint’s music store.

The Rumor by LG will be available later this month for $79.99 after a 2-year-contract and a $50 mail-in rebate. It’s going to be interesting to see how this stands up to LG’s enV which we reviewed last year. LG is also releasing an iPhone competitor, the Voyager, which is being launched on Verizon’s network and will be easily over double the price of the Rumor. We’ll try to get a hold of one of these so check back!

Links: LG Rumor FactSheet | Sprint.com
Related: Sprint LG Muziq (Review)

The LG Voyager:
The Voyager by LG also known as the VX10000 features a large external 400×240 pixel touch-screen and a full-functioning QWERTY keyboard (plus another regular screen) once flipped open. Instead of the standard BREW browser found on most Verizon Wireless phones, the Voyager will feature a true HTML browser. They haven’t specified what type of browser the phone has just yet, but hopefully it will be on level with the iPhone’s Safari browser. The VX10000 also supports VCAST Mobile TV, plays music (mp3/wma/aac), takes photos with a 2.0 megapixel camera, has high-speed broadband access, microSD expansion (8GB max!), bluetooth, stereo speakers, and plenty more. (check back for a full review)

The Venus by LG:
The Venus is a unique phone since it has two displays right on the front. The upper screen shows data, while the smaller square screen below is touch sensitive (has vibration feedback!) and is used for navigation. The phone itself remains a slider revealing a physical keypad below. (similar to the LG Chocolate) The LG Venus also supports microSD expansion, plays music, has Get It Now features, and even has a 2 megapixel camera. If you are wondering if this a replacement for the fairly new Chocolate, as far as we can tell, Verizon seems to be planning to sell both devices.

The Samsung Juke:
The Juke has been primarily created as a MP3 player phone and it would be fair to give it that title since it has 2GB of built-in flash storage. If I’m correct, this is Verizon’s first phone with built-in memory. As for the music files it will play mp3, wma, and unprotected aac files. (supports iTunes Plus and Amazon tracks) The phone itself looks unusually long, and “flicks” open like switchblade to reveal a keypad. In addition it sports a VGA camera with NightShot, supports the bluetooth stereo profile, works as a navigator, and is available in blue/red/teal. This will likely be the most sold of the four.

Blackberry Pearl 8130:
The new Pearl from RIM features full wireless EV-DO broadband, GPS-based Navigation, music playback, stereo bluetooth for wireless headsets, a 2 mega pixel camera, a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, and a new improved interface. Although too much information hasn’t been provided just yet, but it is expected to be a major improvement to the current Pearl.

As of now, no pricing or exact date has been set by Verizon, however they are guarantying that all four of these phones will be available by Thanksgiving (Nov. 22nd)! We’ve got a short little video below with a quick view of each of the four phones. We are trying to get a Voyager unit for review, so check back!

Links: VerizonWireless.com/next

If you are a long-time Verizon Wireless customer, you should be quite aware that you have the ability to upgrade your cell phone every two years. Normally customers were offered a total of $100 towards a new phone if they agree to sign another two year contract with Verizon and had maintained a monthly plan of $30 or more. However this is no longer the case. With Verizon Wireless’s “New Every Two” plan, pretty much everyone with any sort of contract has to pay more to upgrade to a new device.

The new plan goes as follows: If a customer has had a monthly plan of $35 or more for 2 years , they then now qualify for only $50 towards a new phone after signing another 2 year contract instead of the previous $100. To receive a total of a $100 towards a new phone, as it was before, the customer must be paying at least $80 or more for their monthly plan for the entire two years or the last three months before becoming eligible to upgrade. Even though some may be eligible to get a $100, they will still be stuck with a new contract. In addition those who are thinking because of their family plan, everyone can new phones, WRONG, only the primary line will be eligible.

Verizon, in their defense, claims that the cost of cell phones has been “drastically” dropping over the last 10 years. I have to agree that prices of any electronic gadget does drop over time as it becomes cheaper to produce. BUT when the price of the new popular Motorola RAZR 2, which will be a hit during the holiday season, is on sale at a price of $250 with yet another 2 year contract, I have to disagree. What do you guys think? Is Sprint, Cingular, or T-Mobile handset upgrades any better?

Links: Verizon Wireless New Very Two | FAQs

Have you ever gotten a call and don’t recognize the number? Well with Sullr, getting information on that number couldn’t have been easier. Just enter the area code plus the 7-digit number and the caller’s name or business along with an address and map will be instantly provided. Free reverse phone number lookup services, such as this one, do already exist, however none are clean, Web 2.0 powered, and ajaxified like Sullr. In addition Sullr’s works from just about any mobile phone, just visit ‘wap.sullr.com‘ and get the same results.

At this time Sullr’s beta Web 2.0 service only works in Argentina, Belgium, France, Italy and the USA but they are working to add support for more countries. Just bookmark it and it’s sure come in handy!

Update: Spain and Luxembourg have just been added!

Links: Sullr.com
Related: Do Not Call

The Jabra BT5020 is arguably one of the best headsets on the market, offering a powerful set of features and remaining at a low price. Other than it’s ability to connect to two devices at once, the headset also boasts a whooping 10 hours of talk time and 300 hours of standby.

Jabra BT5020 Specifications:

• Wireless: Bluetooth v2.0 hands-free
• Battery Life: 10hrs talk | 300hrs idle
• Weight: 0.6 oz (16 g)
• Multi-Point: 2 devices max
• Notifications: LED / vibrate
• Charger: AC Adapter or USB Cable

Just like any other headset, the BT5020 is easy to control as it only has a few buttons: Volume Up/Down, Power, and Talk/End. The volume keys are a bit sticky and difficult to press while wearing, but shouldn’t be an issue once setup properly. With one simple twist, the headset can be adjusted to be worn on the left or right ear. Since the earbud slides up and down, the headset fits most people. Once placed over the ear properly, the headset stays in place quite well. When compared to other wireless headsets on the market, the BT5020 remains comfortable to wear even for extended periods since it’s extremely thin and light weight. Also since unit resides behind the ear, it isn’t too apparent.

On the tech side, the Jabra sports Bluetooth v2.0 which supports features such as auto paring, multi-point connections, muting mic, voice dial, redial, call reject, and call waiting. The LED light provides info about the battery life as well as flashes blue/green when receiving a call. It is easy to be notified of an incoming call in loud areas since the BT5020 vibrates in addition to beeping. The performance was quite impressive as the call quality remained clear even about 25 feet away from the paired phone, but began to crackle after 35 feet. Another neat thing Jabra did was to include a USB cable to charge the headset in addition to a standard AC adapter. (keep one at home and one at work)

For people who need to make long important calls, this is probably the best and most affordable way to go since the voice quality is clear, offers 10 hours of talk time, is comfortable to wear, and costs about $50. Other headsets near the Jabra BT5020’s range include the Plantronics Discovery 665 and the Aliph Jawbone, however these cost around $100-150 and offer background noise-canceling features. This headset will work great for most people, is quite durable, and it isn’t too expensive to keep people from using. As we mentioned, the BT5020 is available online for just $53.

Buy Now: Jabra BT5020 – $53 (no tax + free shipping)
Links: Jabra.com (BT5020) | Related: Samsung WEP200

Last week Sprint announced the availability of LG Muziq (LX-570), the successor to last year’s Fusic. To begin with, the main feature that sets this phone apart from others is the built-in FM transmitter, which allows broadcasting music muziq to your car stereo wirelessly! We’ve been messing with the phone for about a week and we have been pleased with its overall performance.

LG LX-570 Specifications:

• Provider: Sprint (1.9GHz/800MHz CDMA)
• Form Factor: Flip Phone w/ external controls
• Dimensions: 3.80H x 1.94W x 0.61D (inches)
• Weight / Battery: 3.14 oz / 4hrs talk-time
• Screens: Internal 176×220 | External 128×160
• Camera: 1.3 mega pixel camera w/ flash
• Storage: microSD up to 4GB (64MB included)
• Others: Bluetooth v1.1 | Multitasking Capable
• Special: FM Transmitter (88.1-107.9 MHz)
• Price: $80 via Sprint w/ New Plan

LG Muziq Body: 3.5/5 stars
The Muziq is a major improvement, when compared to its bulky predecessor the Fusic. The LX-570 is slim, compact, easy to hold, shiny, and lightweight. The Muziq shares a similar appearance with the LG VX8600 Chocolate flip-phone. Now for the drawback, the phone’s glossy finish attracts TONs of fingerprints and dust. The keypad’s buttons are nice and large for easy typing, however since they are flat typing without looking at the device becomes difficult. We also hated the fact that the volume toggle and camera buttons (side keys) were awkwardly placed on the upper portion of the phone, besides the screen, making them hard to reach. Finally the power port (also the data port) can be found on the left, while the microSD slot and the 2.5mm headphone jack are on the right.

Music Playback: 4/5 stars
You’d expect a phone called the “Muziq” to have a set of stereo speakers, but for some reason it doesn’t. After formatting the microSD card and loading about a 100 songs, the phone was able to get right into playing songs within a few seconds. The external display didn’t display album art, but showed the song name and artist. The main problem we found was that the UI for browsing through your songs was not exactly well developed. All songs are lined up in one long alphabetical list. (no search function) Since I had a 100 songs, it would take a 100 clicks to get to the last one. Although the phone allows sorting by albums, it’s still a mess. Sprint seriously needs to develop a new UI which is something like the ones available on most Verizon phones today. This means a decent search function as well as the ability to browse by albums, artists, genres, and songs neatly. The online music store has a large selection of music and songs can be purchased over the air for just $.99!

Displays: 4/5 stars
Both the inner and outer displays are decent. The inner screen’s resolution (176×220 pixels) could have been higher, but doesn’t look bad. The outer screen is excellent mainly because it is much larger than the external displays found on most flip-phones. One thing we didn’t like was that we couldn’t find a way to reduce or increase the screen’s brightness.

Speakers: 3/5 stars
Once again for a phone that’s called the Muziq, you’d expect it to have a set of built-in stereo speakers (it doesn’t) . The quality is decent, however it begins to crack at loud levels. The speaker preformed pretty well during voice calls. The speakers aren’t the greatest for music, but if you use a set of bluetooth stereo headsets or even a wired one using the included stereo headset adapter, quality isn’t a problem.

Digital Camera: 4/5 stars
Although most phones will have a 2.0 megapixel camera by the end of this year, the Muziq still has a 1.3MP one. The photo quality was mediocre since the image was a bit blurry and colors were washed out. The camcorder allows recording clips of unlimited length (limited by the storage space), however only clips under 20 second can be mailed. The phone also has a neat little LED light which can be enabled while recording video clips. (same light flashes for photos) The camera and camcorder have a set common set of light filters, color tones. Self portraits can be taken via the external screen.

Interface: 5/5 stars
Ignoring the music playback portion of the UI, the rest works smoothly. Although the original “Sprint” theme enabled when the phone is first turned on looks horrendously ugly, the included “LG” theme is a lifesaver. The colors, fonts, text size, and icons all look great. The menus load up smoothly and quickly without any delay. The interfaces for the browser, call history, messaging, contacts, and settings are neatly laid out as well.

MicroSD and Sync: 5/5 stars
The microSD storage works like a charm and access to the card is easy. In addition as a BONUS the LX-570 supports the use of 4GB microSD cards, while most phones on the market still are limited to 2GB. When the included USB data cable is plugged in a menu pops up on the Muziq prompting to either Sync Music, become a Mass Storage device (a thumbdrive!), or function as a Modem. Sprint also bundles a CD with some software and drivers for Windows in case the phone isn’t recognized by your computer when connected. Syncing music with Windows Media Player 11 worked perfectly. Mac OS X users will need to directly transfer music to the microSD card using a SD card reader. Deals: 2GB microSD just $20

Bluetooth: 3/5 stars
While most phones being released today are now using Bluetooth v2.0, the Muziq is still using v1.1. (not even v1.2) Despite this it successfully paired with the Samsung WEP200, a Lexus IS250’s built-in handsfree system, and a HP dv6500t laptop. In addition it also supports the use of wireless stereo headsets. The only problem we had was that getting the devices to pair was a bit confusing. Unlike normal bluetooth phones and devices the Muziq first requires adding a found device to a “trusted list.” Then only after this can the two devices be paired by entering a pin.

FM Transmitter: 4/5 stars
To clarify for those who didn’t read the “FM” portion, the LG Muziq has a FM transmitter not a FM tuner. This means that you can broadcast the music on your phone to radios, however you will NOT have the ability to tune into your favorite stations. The most common use of this feature is to play your phone’s music through your car’s stereo. If you plan to do this a lot, you should probably purchase a car charger since battery life will drop drastically. The transmission feature works as advertised. Only annoyance we found was trying to find a clear frequency to broadcast on because it required us to go through multiple menus to try each station. (Once it’s set there won’t be any more hassle.) Transmission quality was clear and it worked best when within 5ft range of the radio.

External Controls: 5/5 stars
The touch sensitive buttons work as well. To activate the controls the keypad lock must be deactivated by holding down the camera button. Once activated, when a touch-sensitive button is pressed the phone vibrates providing feedback to the user. When playing music The red backlight is bright and the buttons are clearly visible. Only problem is that it takes a bit of getting used to since you keep hitting the wrong button when trying to navigate.

Email Client: 5/5 stars
We added this new category because this was one of the first phones we’ve seen of this price range to include a built-in push email client. Setup is extremely easy for average users since the phone already knows all the mail servers for AOL, Hotmail, Yahoo!, and Gmail, therefore only requiring a username and password. POP and IMAP users may enter their server information and login. The simple email client loads only a small amount of text/links. You will still need to get to a computer to view any images or other media. Accounts can be setup to push new messages to your phone as they reach your inbox or to be manually checked. The client also supports replying and sending new messages consisting of only plain text.

Other Info:
Sprint bundles a good amount of accessories along with the phone and the charger. They include a USB data cable for syncing music and other files, A adapter with a microphone for use with standard headsets, and a 64MB microSD card and SD adapter. The phone’s signal strength was also impressive and was one of the better ones we’ve had in a while (It maintained at least 2 bars in places where we usually get disconnected). The phone has a contact backup feature which is now becoming quite common for new phones. We were instantly able to retrieve all the contacts from a previous Sprint phone we had instantly from their network (Only downside is the $2/month). Another bonus with this phone is the ability to use J2ME apps. This allows access to a ton of free applications such as Google Earth, Gmail, GPS Navigators, Pandora, and thousands more!

Overall in a sentence this phone is pretty good for the price you pay, but isn’t exactly the best music player. Even cheaper phones from other service providers like Verizon have better playback interfaces. Also unless you really need a phone that’s got a built in FM transmitter, there are plenty of better phones available. I’d personally purchase a better phone and then buy a cheap FM transmitter to go along with it. This phone is now available from Sprint.com for $79 with a new 2 year contract and after a $50 Mail in Rebate. It’s a good deal considering the included a microSD card, USB cable, and headset adapter.

DEAL ALERT: LG Muziq for FREE! (w/ new Sprint Contract)
Links: Sprint.com | LG LX-570 Fact Card
Offical Product Shot: Front Side | Flipped Open
Help & Support: fourms.skattertech.com

Since the advent of Bluetooth, the sizes of the headset that have accompanied the wireless technology have begun to drastically shrink. This is arguably the greatest strength of Samsung’s WEP200. This is a typical wireless headset for cell phones and other bluetooth compatible devices.

Samsung WEP200 Specs:

• Wireless: Bluetooth 2.0
• Battery: 4hrs talk | 70hrs idle
• Weight: 9 grams
• Size: 1.5 x .75 x .75 inches
• Keys: Multifunction and Volume

The WEP200 has 3 basic buttons: a multifunction on the front and an up/down volume control buttons on the side. The device stays in one’s ear as a typical stereo ear bud, but Samsung includes a unique rubber loop to help prevent it from falling out. The device’s failure to stay secure in one’s ear is quite arguably the unit’s only major downside. As opposed to other headsets which have a piece of plastic that loops around one’s ear, the WEP200’s atypical ear bud design is very cumbersome to fasten properly. However, if it is properly secured, normal movements of one’s head does not seem to disturb its position to any great extent.

The included plastic case is about twice the size of the actual headset and it also serves as a charging base for the unit. However the downside of the case also doubling as the charger is that if the case is misplaced there is no longer way to charge the headset. Samsung provides a charger cable along with the headset, but if you happen to own a recent Samsung phone, the same power supply cord can be used to charge both the headset as well as the phone. This was quite convenient since it allowed me to leave one charger cable at home and the other at work.

The overall performance of the unit was impressive, possibly even surpassing our expectations. In a straight sight line, the unit was able to maintain clear connection with the phone for over 15 yards. However anything past that, the connection began to crack and the fidelity decreased rapidly. The multifunction button functioned as expected, press it to pick up or disconnect a call. However, with a complimentary Bluetooth 2.0 cell phone, the true advances began to appear. By simply tapping the multifunction button, a command section can be accessed that will either recognize a name in the phone’s address book or even dial a specific number. The voice recognition was fairly responsive, recognizing specific numbers over 80% of the time on the first try and picked up common Caucasian names with easy.

The Samsung WEP200 is quite affordable costing only $39, although it is available for as low as $30 online. There are plenty of more expensive devices which offer a longer talk time and better voice quality available, but for this price it is quite reasonable. While its signal was very strong, its size was much less awkward than the traditional design, the in -cooperative- ear piece will lead to much frustration until you can figure out the best method of getting it in. The stylish WEP200 is probably better purchased for those who own phones with Bluetooth 2.0, otherwise even cheaper traditional models will provide the same hands-free experience.

Links: Samsung WEP200

Last week Sprint announced the availability of the Samsung UpStage (aka SPH-M620). Sprint was kind enough to provide Skatter Tech with a unit for review. The dual-sided UpStage is notable due to having a phone on one side and a iPod-like Mp3 player on the other.

Although the phone is extremely compact, at first glance, the front side of the phone looks dull due to the tiny LCD display. However everything changes after turning the unit around to the backside. In terms of basic features the Samsung Upstage features a 1.3MP camera, MicroSD, Bluetooth, and background Music Playback. As a bonus Sprint’s service allows access to 99 cent music downloads, Live TV, Internet Radio, Games, Web Browsing, and other Power Vision services.

Samsung SPH-M620 Specifications:

• Provider: Sprint Exclusive (CDMA)
• Form Factor: Dual-Sided Candy bar
• Dimensions: 1.73W x 4.07H x .37D inches
• Battery: Up To 6.3hrs Talk Time with Wallet
• Screen: Front 176×65 & Back 176×220 pixels
• Digital Camera: 1.3 MP with 5x Digital Zoom
• Storage: ~53MB Internal + MicroSD (2GB max)
• Sound: Standard Headphones with Adapter
• Others: Bluetooth v1.2 + 4hr Wallet Battery
• Price: $150 + Tax w/ New 2-Year Contract

UpStage Body: 5/5 stars
This phone is tiny, measuring only .37 inches thick, making it thinner than the Motorola RAZR. Although a bit larger, the phone resembles the shape and form factor of an iPod Nano. The front side of the phone has a Alpha-Numeric Keypad for making calls or text messaging. The back side looks like an iPod Nano, but with a large screen and an square touch pad. The phone is small enough to fit in most pockets and can be placed flat on its back or front. The phone almost doubles in size after placing into the battery wallet, which I assume most people plan to use. Although the case allows access to both sides of the phone, it still becomes quite tedious to keep switching back and forth. Despite the fact that the unit is harder to hold with the wallet, the flexibility of removing the case is an advantage.

Displays: 4/5 stars
The front display is extremely small only 176×65 pixels making it hard to read text. Navigating the front display is quite difficult since it can only fit about one-line of data on the screen at a time. Luckily most functions of phone are performed through the large/bright 176×220 pixel screen on the back side. Unfortunately since there is no keyboard on the back, you will find yourself having to “flip” back to the front side for data entry.

Music Playback: 5/5 stars
The UpStage supports playback of DRM-Free MP3s, WMA, AAC, and WAV in addition to music purchased through Sprint’s Music Store. Sprint now offers .99 cent over-the-air downloads of high quality tracks (with a data plan). Music can be sorted by Songs, Artists, or Genre in the interface, however due to the lack of a search function, scrolling through hundreds of track is tedious. We still prefer Verizon’s standardized music playback application, which works on most of their phones. One big bonus is the ability to “hide” the music playback app while listening to music and continuing with other tasks such as browsing the web or playing games. Album Art is displayed during playback in addition to the track title, duration, and artist/album. Also supports playlists & shuffling songs.

Speaker and Sound: 3/5 stars
For a “music phone” the lack of a decent set of stereo speakers might be problematic. The phone’s single (mono) speaker does a mediocre job, which functions as a speaker for calls and music. As the volume level increases, the sound begins to crack. Although this should be fixed in a future model, the issue should be non-existent since most people will use headphones for music. (Adapter for standard headphones included.)

Digital Camera / Camcorder: 2/5 stars
The camera on the UpStage remains a mere 1.3 mega pixels while most new phones on the market are now 2.0. When the camera is activated, you must flip the phone around and use the large LCD on the back as the viewfinder. From our results, the image quality was mediocre and images were blurry even in well lit situations. Video clips may be recorded for a duration limited only by MicroSD capacity, however clips longer than 30 seconds may not be mailed. The small front LCD functions as a tiny viewfinder for self-portraits.

Battery Life: 5/5 stars
Unlike the majority of phones on the market today, the UpStage does not have a removable battery. Instead, the UpStage has a battery built into the unit. Since the unit is small and the talk time is only about 2.5 hours long, Samsung provides a battery wallet with the phone. When the phone is in its case, the talk time increases by over 4 hours. (up to 6.5 hours) Since the case is easily removable, you’ll have the freedom to choose whether you want the additional battery life or light-weight phone to carry around.

Usability & Interface: 4/5
The interface on the front is a joke, it only allows performing four menu actions: view call history, find contacts, add a contact, or send a text msg. Other than that, the only other use of the front is to display caller id, date/time, battery life, signal, and Bluetooth status. The interface on the back is a different story. The back is controlled by using the square touchpad at the bottom. UpStage users must make up & down motions on the left/right sides and left-to-right motions on the top & bottom instead of using circular motions to navigate as you would do on an iPod. (Apple Patent!) In addition the top left/right corners act as soft keys while the other labeled parts are the Menu, Back, and End buttons. The only hark key is the center Select/Play button. Although navigating becomes quite easy after a bit of practice, data entry will remain a hassle. For example, while browsing the web (back side), you’ll have to flip over to enter the URL text and then flip back to view the page. Some applications support an onscreen keyboard, however you’ll find yourself flipping back & forth a lot.

MicroSD: 4/5 stars
Like most phones on the market today, the M620 supports up to 2GB MicroSD cards. Since Samsung intends this phone to double as a MP3 player, as a bonus, they include a USB data cable, which most cellphone makers do not. The included CD assists installing the necessary drivers. When placed in “Sync Mode,” the phone appears as a disk drive. Windows XP users can either manage data themselves or use the included application. Mac OS X users must manage the data on the MicroSD themselves since the included software is Windows Media Player based.
P.S. 1GB microSD cards cost only about $12. 2GB microSD for ~$25

Bluetooth: 5/5 stars
The Samsung M620 uses Bluetooth 2.0, which supports the use of Stereo Headphones for music playback, in addition to standard headsets. The Bluetooth can also be used for transferring contacts, printing photos to wireless printer, and to connect to computers for use as a wireless modem. Another new feature is Audio Caller ID, which reads out a name or phone number when using a bluetooth headset. From our testing, sound quality was excellent there were no issues with pairing devices or other features.

Sprint Power Vision: 4.5/5 stars
At this time most Chatting, Navigation, and Gaming apps are not yet available for the M620 due to compatibility issues because of the unique controls, however new working versions should be available soon. Applications such as Google Maps Mobile and Opera Mini work great. The On Demand section provides access to News, Weather, Movie Show Times, Maps and more. Sprint Power Vision offers access to thousands of clips and Live TV channels such as ABC, FOX, MSNBC, CNN, and Comedy Central (plus radio). One of my favorite features is the built in Podcasting client, which streams any podcast you choose directly to your phone without the need of a computer. Saves the hassle of having to sync new files.

Designs similar to that of the UpStage have been available in Asia for a while, yet this marks the release of the first dual sided phone in the U.S. Although we like this phone a lot for its new innovative and compact style, text entry remains a hassle and is probably the #1 problem. Other than that, another thing we found frustrating was that songs you own may not be used as ringtones. Anyways this is one of the best phones Sprint has had in a while, therefore if you are ready to upgrade you should consider this. The Samsung UpStage is available in Sprint Stores and Online now for $150 + tax with a new 2-year contract. In my opinion this is quite a good deal since Sprint includes the Battery Wallet, headset adapter, USB Sync Cable, and a 64MB microSD all of which is not normally included.

DEAL ALERT: FREE Samsung UpStage (M620)
Links: Sprint.com | SPH-M620 Spec Sheet
Product Shot: High-Resolution UpStage Image
Help & Support: fourms.skattertech.com