Camera Phones Plaza

Named by the "Time" magazine as the invention of the year 2007, the iPhone, a multimedia GSM smart phone, carries on the Apple legacy of being revolutionary in its field. iPhone is not just a regular smartphone as it combines other two features:  a widescreen iPod, and a breakthrough Internet device. Ever since the launch of this device, millions of people have fallen in love with its dedicated applications that make life more fun.
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Although it is an extraordinarily device, like any software-governed gadget, it has an unpleasant part. Many users have encountered problems when dealing with syncing  iPhone and Microsoft Outlook. The main problem was that the events entered on the iPhone would not transfer to Outlook.  However, the other way round- from Outlook to iPhone-there weren't any problems. This issue appears to be related to recurring events older or corrupt PST files.

As a solution it is recommended to export your Outlook data to an Excel file. Afterwards, you must create an Outlook profile and data file of the correct form which must be populated with the data from the Excel file.  You can find a step by step procedure below:

1)The first step is to export the calendar from Outlook to an Excel file

2)Follow the path: Control Panel- Mail- Create a new profile & Outlook data file. Here you must select the  Office Outlook Personal Folders File (.pst) and  not the Outlook 97-2002 Personal Folders File (.pst) as the new file type. Then, you have to associate de new profile with the new data file as its default.

3) The third step is to select the new profile with the "Always use this profile" option from Control Panel- Mail.

This procedure also resolves syncing issues with contacts.

Another solution to the synchronization between iPhone and Microsoft Outlook is detailed below:

1)      Clear out the Deleted folder

2)       Select your Calendar, then follow the path : View->Arrange By->Current View->Recurring Appointments

3)       Select an item in the window displaying the recurring events, then press Ctrl-A to select all events (this will highlight all the events in the window). Afterwards, press "Delete" on your keyboard to delete de selected items. Prompts will be displayed to ask you if responses should be sent to meeting organizers. It is suggested that these are chosen to be  "Deleted without sending a response" as they will be restored later.

4)      Make sure that all the items have been deleted. The window should display the message: "There are no items to show in this view".

5)      Connect iPhone and start ITunes. Make sure that your settings are configured to Synchronise your Calendar and other options: Left column- Devices-iPhone-Info tab. Form the "Summary" tab chose "Sync".

6)      This last action will result in "Calendar" and "Home" being shown in. Then:  Left column->Devices->iPhone->Info tab Calendars->Selected calendars. Now, your iPhone will display non recurring items in the calendar.

7)      In order to restore the deleted recurring items, select the "Delete Items" folder. Now, you must select all items using Ctrl+A and, with your mouse, click on the selected area and "drag" the items to the Calendar icon shown on the left hand side of the screen.

8)      Once the recurring events have been restored, it is recommended to sync your iPhone once more.

9)      After this last step, your Outlook calendar may be changed to your normal preference. You can do this following the path: Calendar-View-Arrange By-Current View-Day/Week/Month.

Both these options are proven to solve the synch iPhone and Microsoft Outlook problems, but the last one is recommended by a former Apple employee.  All in all, iPhone is a unique device, with innovative hardware features and the world's most advanced mobile operating system.

Samsung B7320 Omnia PRO and B7330 Omnia Pro, are not the only models, from Samsung's portfolio that are competing with the BlackBerry devices. These two models both include a QWERTY keyboard within a candy bar form factor. However, Samsung has planned to steal as many customers as they can from the Canadian manufacturer. This competition started two years ago when BlackBerry decided to create phones with more appealing features, but still sporting the QWERTY keyboard. Therefore, other manufacturers, such as Samsung decided to include QWERTY keyboards within its products.
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Even so, BlackBerry lacks a side slider QWERTY phone, while Samsung has at least two, one business orientated and the second one based on the business model, but equipped with a designer logo. Samsung B7610 Omnia PRO was first announced in June 2009 and released in September 2009. This phone sports a more HTC look, than BlackBerry look. However, the B7610 Omnia Pro looks great, conservative but stylish. It's conservative because the front, left and right sides are all black, while the back cover sports a patterned style (flame waves). The front cover sports a glossy black material around the huge display, while the front keys sport a metallic look, similar to the frame included on the sides. The materials used within this phone are extraordinary, and the build quality is flawless, worthy of Samsung logo.

On the front case, above the display you get beside the "Samsung" logo and the earpiece, the ambient light sensor, the proximity sensor, and the second video camera that enables video calling. Under the display you can find three keys, the back key, the call key, and the end call key. The full keyboard slides from the right to left. The QEWRTY keyboard includes good sized keys, but lacks space between them. However, Samsung successfully created a great keyboard, which delivers excellent feedback, which can easily be used when typing in a hurry. The keyboard sports a backlight so the typing process is very comfortable within any light environment conditions. With a height of 112.6 mm, wide of 57.8 mm, deep of 16.2 mm, the B7610 Omnia PRO weights about 159 grams.

The above values should make you understand that this Samsung phone is by far portable or light. Samsung included within the B7610 Omnia PRO a 3.5 inches AMOLED resistive touch screen with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels, capable of rendering 16 million (but the effective value doesn't exceed 65000 colors).  Beside the common by now accelerometer sensor for auto rotate, you also get an advanced R touch screen display. The performances delivered by this phone are almost similar to what an entry level netbook has to offer, with the Samsung S3C6410 processor with 800 MHz and a dedicated graphics accelerator, and 256 MB RAM. Therefore, the Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional (upgradeable to Windows Mobile 6.5) will run smoothly on B7610 Omnia PRO.

With the excellent hardware specs, this phone can easily be considered a true business device. The onboard memory has a value of 1 GB, expandable if using the micro SD memory cards, or the Trans Flash memory cards, up to 32 GB tested. The connectivity department is ensured by the Class 10 GPRS (4+1 / 3+2 slots) with a varying speed from 32 Kb per second to 48 Kb per second, Class 10 EDGE with a maximum speed of 236.8 Kb per second, HSCSD, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, version 2.0 micro USB connection, HSDPA with a 3.6 Mb per second speed, and the Wi-Fi connection with 802.11 b/g profile.

Samsung also included within the B7610 Omnia PRO a 5 megapixel digital camera with a maximum photo resolution of 2592 x 1944 pixels, featuring auto focus, dual LED flash, wide dynamic range, panorama shot, geo tagging, image stabilization, and face and smile detection. This digital camera is also capable of video recording within the VGA mode, 640 x 480 pixels with 30 frames per second. it is nedless to say that this phone with the latest Windows Mobile operating system packs all the possible applications, including an extended music player, an extended video player, a photo editor, pocket office - including editing and viewing Word documents, Excel documents, and view Power Points presentations and PDFs.

Samsung included in the B7610 Omnia PRO a lithium Ion battery with 1500 mAh, capable of 580 hours in standby in the 2G network (GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900) and up to 480 hours of standby in 3G network (HSDPA 900 / 2100). In the talk time department, the B7610 will provide up to 12 hours in 2G network and almost 7 hours in 3G network. Overall, this product is certainly interesting to say at least, since Samsung delivers a complete business phone with a form factor that lacks in the BlackBerry's portfolio. The second Samsung phone to be presented in this article is based on the B7610 Omnia PRO. However, this phone is orientated to the business customers that demand the ultimate style within their devices. The latest Samsung phone released with the "Giorgio Armani" logo is not just a nice looking phone, but a rather powerful phone even for the business users. For the time being it was only announced in October this year. The release date is still unconfirmed.

The B7620 Giorgio Armani is the styled twin brother of the B7610 Omnia Pro. In the design department, Samsung improved this phone, with a stylish look. Even so, the overall look (by details) is similar to B7610. The only form factor difference is that if needed the B7620 can flip its display with a consistent angle (not more than 145 degrees). However, the details make the difference. Therefore, you will easily observe the gold frame that surrounds the upper case, and the gold looking panel on the back cover. This phone is certainly luxurious but I am not sure about the design at all. Maybe too much gold within an economic crisis might make you feel seek as well. However, the QWERTY keyboard can be opened from right to left.

This keyboard is thankfully not gold, but black, and not metallic but rather a rubbery material, with excellent sized keys, sufficient space between them. Even more, thanks to the material used within the keys, you get a good grip when typing improving the overall usability of this phone. The feedback and key layout are similar with what B7610 has to offer. In terms of design, this phone looks nice if you like opulence. The build quality is remarkable, but the handling has a minus from me, because all the metallic body makes this phone too slippery. On the front cover you can find above the display, beside the "Giorgio Armani" logo the second video camera, the proximity sensor, and the ambient light sensor. Under the display, Samsung included the call key, the end call key and the back key. With a height of 118.5 mm, wide of 58.3 mm, deep of 16.4 mm, this phone weights even more than B7610, 164 grams.

The above values (in terms of dimensions) show once again that this phone is build based from the B7610 Omnia PRO. Samsung included within the B7620 a 3.5 inches AMOLED resistive touch screen with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels, capable of rendering up to 16 million colors (but only 65000 effective colors). The same processor, Samsung S3C6410 800 MHz with dedicated graphics accelerator, and the same RAM value are included in the hardware specs of the latest Giorgio Armani phone. Even more, Samsung decided to add the same operating system, Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional (upgradeable to Windows Mobile 6.5).

As expected this means you will get excellent audio and video player, photo and video editing, and business applications, such as Pocket Office for viewing and editing (only a few documents formats) Office documents and PDFs. The onboard memory was improved from 1 GB found on the B7610 Omnia Pro to 8 GB found onboard the B7620, expandable value if using micro SD memory cards, or Trans Flash memory cards up to 32 GB. The connectivity department is ensured by the Class 10 GPRS, Class 10 EDGE, HSCSD, Wi-Fi with 802.11 b/g profile, Bluetooth version 2.0 with A2DP, micro US 2.0 connections, HSDPA with a maximum speed of 7.2 MB per second with the HSUPA sporting a maximum speed of 5.76 MB per second. the B7620 also sports an excellent digital camera with a 5 megapixel value, sporting a maximum photo resolution of 2592 x 1944 pixels, including autofocus and LED flash. The same features found on the B7610 can be found on board the B7620. This camera can also record video within the VGA resolution, 640 x 480 pixels with 30 frames per second.

Samsung added the same Lithium Ion battery with 1500 mAh providing the same values of standby time and talk time, 580 hours in standby in 2G networks, 480 hours of standby in 3G networks, 12 hours of talk time in 2G network and 6 hours of talk time in 3G networks. For an average user these values mean at least 3 days of autonomy, depending on the usage. Overall, the Samsung B7620 Giorgio Armani is the overpriced model of the B7610 Omnia PRO. If you need to make a statement you can buy the B7620. However, the B7620 is not better than B7610. Even more, the B7610 Omni PRO is a more balanced phone, sporting a conservative look, yet modern, and sufficient specs for any user, either business or multimedia fan.

Is that time of the year when all manufacturers are rolling out as many devices as they can in order to consolidate their portfolio before the shopping season. It seems like this year, mobile phones manufacturers are launching as many phones as they can to compete with BlackBerry devices. The BlackBerry devices started to become one by one a market success. Therefore, the other manufacturers are trying to bring into their product the BlackBerry vibe, either for the business users or normal users who wants a top level (high end) phone. Samsung is one of the few manufacturers that are starting to release phones with full QWERTY keyboard, with both candy bar form factor and slide form factor.
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A Samsung phone that is attacking directly the BlackBerry share of the market is the B7330 Omnia PRO announced in September this year, with a release date of end of October 2009. This phone sports an excellent business design. Samsung successfully merged normal materials with nice finishes and created a conservative, yet styled design. The front case of the B7330 Omnia Pro includes a nice glossy frame that surrounds the display and a matte grey plastic frame with a full black keyboard (with ten red keys, the number keys).

Above the display you get beside the earpiece an ambient light sensor, and the second video camera that enables the video calling. Under the display you get the four way navigational key (up down, left and right) with the centered OK key. on the left side of the four way key you get one soft key, the home key, and the call key, while on the right side of the four way key you can find another soft key, the back key, and the end call key. All the navigational keys are well sized, easy to use, and made out of a nice material.

Under the navigational keys you can find the full QWERTY keyboard, with acceptable sized keys, made out of the same material, and that offers great feedback. However, unless you are really familiar with a QWERTY keyboard, don't try to type in a hurry because you just might write a completely different message. The top and bottom part of the B7330 Omnia PRO lack any ports, slots or buttons.

On the right side of this phone you can find the covered (with glossy black plastic) memory card slot and the dedicated camera key, while on the left side, Samsung included the volume controls and the combo port (or universal port) with the headset / charger / connectivity cable, also covered with the same glossy black plastic cap. The back cover of this phone sports a glossy black plastic finish, which makes the B7330 too slippery. Samsung included in the upper side, centered, the 3.2 megapixels digital camera lenses and the loudspeaker grill. Unfortunately the camera lacks LED or Xenon flash, but includes auto focus. Overall, the B7330 Omnia PRO sports a nice design with a good build quality.

The build quality is almost solid, but can't be considered flawless because of the back cover made out of a rather thin glossy plastic. With a height of 114.9 mm, wide of 59 mm, deep of 10.8 mm, the B7330 weights about 107 grams, making this phone easy to carry around. The B7330 Omnia PRO works in 2 G network - GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900, and 3 G network HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100. Samsung included a 2.62 inches TFT display with a resolution of 320 x 320 pixels, capable of rendering about 65000 colors. Thanks to the ambient light sensor, this display will provide sufficient brightness under any environment light conditions.

The 528 MHz processor and the 256 MB of RAM are more than sufficient to run the latest operating system, Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 standard. It is needless to say that this operating system is flawless. Some people prefer S60 software for their business applications, but in the light of day, the Windows Mobile 6.5 standard is the best solution for a business orientated phone. Neither iPhone OS 3.0 or Android have successfully achieved the level of the Microsoft operating system for mobile phones.

Samsung added about 270 MB to the onboard memory value, expandable by using micro SD memory cards or Trans Flash memory cards up to 32 GB. The connectivity is well ensured by the Class 10 GPRS with 4+1 / 3+2 slots, with a varying speed from the lower 32 KB per second up to 48 Kb per second, HSDPA with the higher value of 7.2 MB per second, HSCSD, EDGE Class 10 with a maximum speed of 236.8 Kb per second, HSUPA with 2 MB per second, Wi-Fi with 802.11 b/g profile, Bluetooth version 2.0 with A2DP profile, and USB connectivity.

Beside the front cover camera for the video calling, B7330 Omnia PRO includes a 3.15 megapixel digital camera with a maximum resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels including auto focus and geo tagging. This isn't the best camera ever embedded into a phone, but it is an average camera for a business phone model, since it is highly unlikely to see 8 megapixel cameras on business phones until the end of next year. By know you probably already realized that Windows Mobile 6.5 standard includes beside excellent audio and video player, Microsoft Outlook Mobile, Pocket Office, which enables you not only to view, but also to edit Word documents, Excel documents, and to strictly view Power Point documents, and PDFs.

By doing so, Samsung successfully completed the user experience. The on board Lithium Ion battery has a value of 1500 mAh. However, we must wait for the final version to hit the stores before jumping to conclusions regarding the offered battery. Overall, the B7330 Omnia PRO can be considered a good competitor against the BlackBerry, especially because it its line you can find more than one phone. The direct sibling of the B7330 Omnia PRO is the B7320 Omnia PRO. This Samsung model sports a better design, by all means. The B7320 Omnia Pro was first announced on May 2009, and released a few months later, in August 2009.

With a height of 111.8 mm, wide of 59.6 mm, deep of 12.6 mm, the B7320 weights more than B7330, 110 grams. Even so, it not a big phone, or impossible to carry around; more likely it's the other way around. The B7320 sports an excellent design, with a full brown metallic - plastic case. Samsung has successfully merged these two materials and created a beautiful look. The front cover sports around the display a glossy look, while the front frame is made out of brown metal. Above the display you get beside the "Samsung" logo, the ambient light sensor, and the second video camera for enabling the video calls.

Under the display you can easily find the navigational buttons, which look exquisite made out of a trans-lucid material (basically similar to plastic). However, the style overcomes functionality. Therefore, be prepared to press hard on those navigational keys in order to get a proper feedback. As you already imagined, the B7320 includes a four way key (up, down, left and right), with a centered Ok key made out of stainless steel. You get two more buttons in the navigational pad of the B7320 than in B7330.

Therefore, you can find two soft keys, the home key, the mute key, the call key, the lock switch, the back key and the end call key. Under the navigational keys you can find the same QWERTY keyboard from the B7330, with acceptable sized keys, including several empowering keys such as messaging, browser, sync, or even camera key. I suggest you take your time when typing a text for the first time with this keyboard, since you might need some adjusting time. You can find on the right side of this phone the micro SD memory card slot (covered with a nice brown plastic cap), while on the left side you can find the volume controls and the combo port, headset / connection / charger (covered with the same plastic brown cap).

On the back side of this phone you will get a 3.15 megapixel digital camera, and the loudspeaker grill. The B7320 Omnia PRO works in both 2G network (GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900) and 3G network (HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100). Samsung included in this model a 2.4 inches display with a 320 x 240 pixels resolution, capable of rendering up to 65000 colors. The available operating system is Windows Mobile 6.1 standard, upgradeable to Windows Mobile 6.5. Even more, you don't need to worry about hardware specifications, because this phone will run easily the latest operating system thanks to the Qualcomm MSM 7201A 528 MHz processor, with 256 MB of RAM.

The same business applications are also onboard, Pocket Office, Microsoft Outlook Mobile, Adobe Flash Lite, Windows Media Player 10, and others. The on board memory is only about 100 MB, expandable value using the micro SD memory cards or the Trans Flash memory cards, up to 16 GB.

The connectivity department is well ensured, but not as fast as the one found on the B7330, with Class 10 GPRS (4+1 / 3+2 slots) with a varying speed from 32 Kb per second and 48 Kb per second, HSCSD, HSDPA with a maximum speed of 3.6 MB per second, HSCSD, Class 10 EDGE with a maximum speed of 236.8 Kb per second, Wi-Fi with the 802.11 b/g profile, second version of Bluetooth including the A2DP profile, and second version of USB connection. The included camera on this model is a 3.15 megapixel camera with a top photo resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels including several features like auto focus, geo tagging, and face and smile detection. The Lithium Ion battery included within the B7320 Omnia PRO has a value of 1480 mAh, sufficient for 590 hours of standby time and up to 10 hours of talk time. For an average user these values mean about 3 days of autonomy.

Overall, the Omnia PRO B7320 is a more stylish competitor for the BlackBerry aiming the public that want the BlackBerry only for the connectivity, design, and QWERTY keyboard. The second phone, B7330 Omnia PRO is strictly aiming the business user who needs a business phone, with a conservative look, and a QWERTY keyboard. Even more, Samsung successfully delivers two candy form competitors for the BlackBerry devices.