Camera Phones Plaza

The FCC approved Samsung SGH-i610 – a tri-band (900/1800/1900 MHz) GSM phone supporting UMTS 2100 MHz band, which is the frequency used for 3G in Europe and Asia; for non-3G areas, it supports GPRS and EDGE. The phone resembles the D830 in design but its 2 megapixel camera with auto-focus that is located on the back.

The i610 features a hybrid QWERTY keyboard similar to the SureType keyboard on many RIM handsets, including the T719 from Samsung. It also has a 2 Megapixel auto-focus camera, both of which are Windows Mobile firsts. The i610 features a second camera for video calling, Micro SD card slot, stereo Bluetooth (A2DP), an FM Radio, and a 2 line monochrome external display.

In addition to the standard Smartphone suite, the Samsung i610 also includes an RSS reader with a podcast player and Picsel viewer for opening attachments on the phone. Samsung is also launching the i600, a big brother to this phone with a full QWERTY keyboard and Wi-Fi as well.

Via phoneArena.

The new Sony Ericsson W850i heralds the next phase in the Walkman phone evolution. As the eighth member of this successful musical family, this handset not only sports a Sony Ericsson first but also a more advanced Walkman player that hints at a far more exciting and enhanced experience for the mobile music fan.

3g.co.uk made a review of this phone and here are their impressions. The W850i is essentially the successor to the W900i. While we liked the W900i at 3G, there were some discrepancies that, thankfully, its inheritor has ironed out, and even ditched. Firstly, the W900i arrived from the old school 3G-camp; its hulking chassis meant it wasn’t matey with the trouser pouch. The W850i is far more compact, closely resembling the Nokia 6280 in size and weight.

As a 3G phone the W850i is graced with two-way video calling capabilities. With a front-loaded VGA camera, the performance doesn’t really deviate from other similar specced 3G handsets. The inevitable pixelation and drag appears but it isn’t too shabby. As with most Walkman phones the strong built-in speaker redeems its performance. Conversation are very distinct through the rear speaker so you won’t need the headphones to hear the chit chat.

The W850i is also graced with a rear two-megapixel camera lens that shoots photos in a maximum 1600x1200-pixel resolution. However, a few omissions mean it doesn’t rank alongside the likes of the W810i and K750i. Admittedly, like the W810i there’s no lens cover but unlike its 2.75G compadre it lacks auto-focus and resolution has been down-sized slightly from 1632x1224 pixels.

Merit points are clawed back with a built-in LED light that works okay in low-level environments but otherwise you’re looking at the V630i for picture quality comparison. While the snaps are of decent quality, alongside the likes of the aforementioned fellow Ericssons, they can appear a little washed out.

The Sony Ericsson W850i is by no means a disappointment, perhaps just a little underwhelming, but it still remains another worthy addition to the Walkman tribe. Perhaps the tantalizing thought of the upcoming 4GB flash memory-toting W950i is nagging at the back of our minds and this is the next Walkman phone we’re really getting excited about.

Read full review on 3g.co.uk.

Today Nokia announced three new fashion phones from the 73' series, the 7390, 7373 and 7360.
The first one, the Nokia 7390 will be Nokia's first 3G fashion phone will feature a 3 megapixel camera, WCDMA offering high speed streaming and will be available in Bronze Black and Powder Pink at an estimated price of EUR 450.

Nokia 7390



The Nokia 7373 will be an exquisit phone, with tribal markings and phone jewellery. The phone will feature a 2 megapixel camera, music, video player and twin stereo speakers. It will also be available in Bronze Black, Powder Pink and Black Chrome, all that at about EUR 350.

Nokia 7373



The Nokia 7360 will be an elegant and compact mobile phone, with metal, leather and transparent surfaces.It will have a leather effect that wraps around the phone, meeting ceramic surfaces and metallic details. The Nokia 7360 comes in two colour options. Chrome Black and a girlish Powder Pink and will be available at an estimated retail price of EUR 200.

Nokia 7360



Here is the official Nokia Press Release:

Nokia 7390: Professional elegance with a modern edge
This sleek, elegant fold phone, consummately blends precision technology with groundbreaking design. As Nokia's first 3G fashion phone, the Nokia 7390 combines exquisite materials and design innovation within a fully featured phone. The 3 megapixel camera and WCDMA high-speed connectivity is subtly hidden within ceramic-inspired shell and leather panels. Ideal for a 24/7 lifestyle, the Nokia 7390 is available in two colours, a Bronze Black version provides a masculine feel, echoing cigar parlours and oak-panelled studies of a by-gone era. The Powder Pink model is a daring combination of ceramic white and powder pink, a colour palate currently found on fashion catwalks and furniture fairs.

The estimated retail price of the Nokia 7390 is expected to be approximately EUR 450, excluding taxes and subsidies.

Nokia 7373: Metropolitan style, fluid form
Ethnic patterns and a compact swivel design gives the Nokia 7373 its fresh look and perfect grip. Elaborate tribal markings provide a unique point for contemporary design interpretation, where form and decoration are married seamlessly together. This results in finely tooled surfaces, exquisite detail, embossed finishing and further decoration when the mobile phone is opened, proving that the Nokia 7373 is a veritable treasure chest of reference and culture.

The Nokia 7373 is available in Bronze black, Powder Pink and Black Chrome, with a wide array of complementary graphical themes. The estimated retail price of the Nokia 7373 is expected to be approximately EUR 350, excluding taxes and subsidies.

Nokia 7360: Subtly styled, elegantly compact
The Nokia 7360 is an elegant and compact mobile phone, subtly styled with accents inspired by metal, leather and transparent surfaces. The innovative use of materials gives this mobile phone its unique character, which evokes modern design classics. A tactile inlayed leather effect gently wraps around the phone, meeting smooth ceramic-inspired surfaces and glistening metallic details. The Nokia 7360 comes in two colour options. A chrome and black original that is strong, streamlined and reliable. The Powder Pink girlish, charming and undoubtedly the phone that Lewis Carroll's Alice would have used had she needed to make a call from Wonderland.

The estimated retail price of the Nokia 7360 is expected to be approximately EUR 200, excluding taxes and subsidies.

The renewed L'Amour Collection is a universal journey of romance, a fusion of technology with traditional craft and a union of ancient art with modern communication. Each model from the L'Amour Collection is expected to begin shipping this fall.

Technical highlights:

Nokia 7390
- WCDMA (3G) offering high speed streaming, video calling
- 3 Megapixel camera with autofocus and integrated flash
- Music player with one-button access

Nokia 7373
- 2 megapixel camera
- Music, video player, twin stereo speakers
- Complementary fashion headset, pouch and phone jewellery

Nokia 7360
- Stereo FM radio, integrated camera, MMS
- MP3 ring tones
- Nokia Xpress Audio Messaging

Via Nokia.

BenQ-Siemens’ last sojourn into girly-phone territory, the CL75 Poppy, launched late last year, was a pastel pink clamshell with a poppy tattooed on its front.

That handset apparently did so well that it has been updated and the Benq-Siemens EF61 Mia is its replacement. You can buy it SIM free for £129.99 plus £4.50 delivery (inc VAT) from BenQ-Siemens’ online store.

Siemens pushes the EF61 as a handset with a screen that doubles as a mirror. It also suggests that you can use the phone to decide what shoes will go with your new outfit by sending your best friend an MMS. While this isn’t going to float every woman’s boat BenQ-Siemens clearly thinks there are enough fluffy-heads out there to warrant a Poppy update.

The EF61 is a smallish clamshell tri-band handset (88 x 46 x 23mm) that’s very light at only at 99g. Its physical design is somewhat reminiscent of Motorola’s PEBL in its rounded, bar-of-soap like looks. It feels rather nice in the hand, and has obviously been designed with smaller mitts in mind.

Flicking the clamshell open is no problem thanks to its hand-friendly size, though there is no groove to help you get a finger hold between upper and lower sections, and those who like an expensive, spring loaded feel to their flip mechanism will be disappointed.

With the clam opened you get to what is one of the key marketing features of the EF61 Mia - that mirror like main screen. Whatever you may think of the idea, it actually works rather well. You switch the screen on and off using a dedicated button sitting beneath the navigation key, and when it is off, you really can use the screen as a mirror.

So, to the camera. On the plus side, there isn’t a huge shutter lag. You get a self timer, three white balance settings, a fair few pre-set scene modes such as landscape, sunny, sunset, snow and even text, effects such as sketch, negative, sepia and embossed and a nine shot multi shot mode. When viewing a picture you can record voice clips, which are then associated with them.

These features lift the camera from the realms of the truly mediocre into something you might want to use. However, the camera lacks a flash and so it’s not what it could be when it comes to indoor shots.

Also, I found it difficult to avoid camera shake and the lens doesn’t produce the clearest or sharpest of images or the brightest colours. The sample shots, taken indoors at the highest resolution and quality available with the camera on auto settings, shows the kind of thing you might get from shooting typical indoor ‘snaps’.

The conclusion is that despite the misgivings, clearly enough people bought the Poppy for BenQ-Siemens to consider a follow-up. There are many small, light, brightly coloured handsets brimming with features, but I feel that the EF61 Mia’s screen-mirror trick will help it stands out from the crowd.

Read full review on TrustedReviews.

The Nokia 3250 is one radical looking phone. The most unique feature of the 3250 is its innovative swiveling keypad, which rotates 90 degrees to transform the handset into camera mode, and 180 degrees to transform it into a music player - revealing the four dedicated music buttons.

Sporting a 2.0 megapixel camera, the Nokia 3250 is a triband (900/1800/1900MHz) phone with support for EDGE networks. It comes with a 512MB microSD card in the box, and a remote control with in-ear canal earphones.

MobileBurn just made a review of this very interesting phone and here are some of their impressions. The Nokia 3250 is quite an unattractive phone. It is thick, and its design just seems uninspired; it makes me feel like I am holding a brick in my hands. The entire phone is made out of plastic, and some parts felt cheap.

However, our review unit did not present any creaks or squeaks, and the swiveling mechanism was solidly made. What I did not like about the 3250 was the amount of glossy surfaces used. The entire back of the phone was glossy, which made it impossible to keep clean, and photographing it was extremely difficult.

The main display on the 3250 is the same old 176x208 pixel resolution screen capable of displaying up to 262k colors. The new fonts found in the new Symbian OS need a higher resolution screen to really shine, they look blocky on the 3250. The screen is sharp and is readable under harsh sunlight though.

Twisting the keypad 90 degrees activates the camera mode. The camera on the 3250 does not have an auto focus mechanism. The Nokia 3250 can capture images in three different resolutions - 1600x1200, 1152x864, and 640x480. The 4x digital zoom is pretty worthless, as the 3250 does not crop images when zooming. The end result is blurred and noisy images.

The menu system in the 3250's camera function looks dated and not as user friendly as the ones found on recent S60 phones. Unlike the intuitive and user-friendly menus found on the recently reviewed N71, accessing any option has to be done by first clicking on the left soft key. The white balance options cover most of the situations that you could expect to encounter - Automatic, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, and Fluorescent. The Automatic white balance option worked very well, delivering spot-on color all the time. However, there is no macro mode in the 3250, and this makes it impossible to snap close-up pictures.

The Nokia 3250 records videos in two resolutions - 176x144 and 128x96 pixel resolution stored in 3GP format. Users can record in two different lengths - short and maximum. Unfortunately, the maximum length is only an hour's worth of recording. This is disappointing, since 512MB of external memory could have easily stored more than an hour's worth of video. A mute function allows you to turn off the microphone when recording a clip. Users can also toy with white balance (Automatic, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, and Fluorescent, as with still shots) and color tone (Normal, Sepia, Black & White, and Negative).

Overall, the pictures taken with the 3250 were of decent quality. Some outdoor shots were actually pretty good, provided that there was enough lighting. Indoor shots suffered in terms of sharpness, and there were quite high levels of noise when pictures were taken indoors with artificial lighting. If you are lucky, some of the pictures might be good enough for print.

The 3250 was designed to be a music phone, though unfortunately the music player application included is the standard one found on all the latest 3rd Edition S60 phones. Transferring your music files can be done via the Pop-port connector, which has USB 2.0 support.

The conclusion is that the Nokia 3250 isn't really a breakthrough device. Unlike the N91, which works and sounds as good as a dedicated music player, the 3250 feels like a sloppy piece of work. If Nokia had put more effort into designing a better music player application instead of just sticking with the usual S60 player, the 3250 might have been a more complete music phone.

Instead, Nokia decided to slap a radical twister design with music buttons onto an existing S60 phone and label it a music phone. Yes, it might sound unfair since the 3250 is priced at half of that of the N91, but the 3250 was designed to be a music phone, not merely a music playing S60 device. Every other S60 device can handle MP3s with ease, so what is so special about the 3250?

If you are on the look out for a music phone with dedicated music buttons running on Symbian, the Nokia 3250 receives a Recommended rating from me. However, if you do not need the Symbian OS, the Sony Ericsson W810i might just be a more attractive option with a sleeker and sexier design along with a much better camera.

Read full review on mobileburn.