Lumix DMC-LX2

Just as Canon decided to drop RAW-format support from its compact enthusiast model, the PowerShot G7, Panasonic comes along and decides to add that very feature to its G-series competitor, the Lumix DMC-LX2. It’s packed with other amateur-oriented features as well, including a variety of focus modes, all of the essential metering and semi-manual exposure options, a wide-angle lens, and an overstuffed information display.

The DMC-LX2 was unique in that it was the first to incorporate a 28 mm wide angle LEICA DC lens, 16:9 wide CCD and 16:9 wide LCD. Not only that, the LX2 is also has full manual controllability with a joystick allowing users to easily enjoy creative shooting.

Here are a few of the technical specifications for the Lumix DMC-LX2 :

• Street price: $449.99 approx.
• 10.2MP
• 4x Optical Zoom, 4x Digital Zoom
• 28mm wideangle lens
• Focal length: f=6.3-25.2mm
• Aperature Range: Wide: F2.8 - F8, Tele: F4.9 - F8

Things I like
I was a little sceptical when I first picked up the Lumix DMC-LX2 purely because of the design. It doesn`t look like it`d be that great of a camera but luckily Panasonic proved me wrong. THe DMC-LX2 is a solidly built camera with a number of great features that any amateur enthusiast would want. I think the thing I like most about this camera is the fact that it shoots natively in 16:9 wideangle. The LX2 can also crop the images to shoot in 4:3 and 3:2 aspects.

I also like the quality of images that this camera produce. While their not as stunning as the Powershot G9 or other high end point and shoot cameras they are still very good.

Things I don`t like
For its fairly expensive price tag I would have wanted a little better performance from this camera. Don`t get me wrong, it produces great pictures and is very fast but it just isn`t at the level of the G9 or equivalent. The LX2 can only shoot 1.1 frames per second in its continuous shooting mode.

The other thing that I don`t like (and this is getting very frustrating), is the lack of an optical viewfinder. When will companies realize that if you`re shooting outside on a bright sunny day the screen becomes practically useless. While this 2.8 inch LCD screen isn`t as bad as some of the others it still becomse hard to see in direct daylight.

Pros:

• Great camera
• Wideangle lens
• Lots of manual controls

Cons:

• Mediocre continuous shooting
• Doesn`t live up to its price tag

Final Thoughts
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 is a good choice for an enthusiast looking for a powerful camera that can fit into a jacket pocket. There are other options that might be a little cheaper but in general the DMC-LX2 is a great choice. Rating: 3/5

Sony Ericsson W910

Sony Walkman series has a new member in its family: The Sony Ericsson W910. The Walkman series takes music in cellphones to a new level and sets benchmarks for other phone manufacturers to follow.W910 brings in lot of hardware and software front along with gorgeous looks that also won it the handset of the year award from the Mobile World Congress at the Global Mobile Awards.

Sony Ericsson W910 specifications:

• Dimensions: 99 x 50 x 12.5 mm
• Weight: 86g
• Display: 2.4″ QVGA resolution
• GRPS,EDGE,3G
• Bluetooth with A2DP
• 2 MP camera
• FM radio with RDS
• Motion Sensor
• Approx. price: 400$

The large display combined with sexy looks makes this mobile a strong competitor against Nokia slider phones which are not so popular among users.Sony Ericsson it seems like as if it has got most things right in this mobile.The packaging includes the standard accessories like charger,USB data cable,2GB M2 Memory Stick,installation CD and manuals.A new accessories included in the package is a M2 card reader which does come in handy as it works without the need to install the PC suite.

Design,Display and Keypad

The phone has been made from a highly refined material which shows naturally when you hold it in your hands.Although it is a slider phone but it is surprisingly thin at 12.5 mm.The phone fits perfectly into the hand and has a nice grip.Below the huge display are the dedicated call and end keys along with other navigation keys.Light sensor has strangely been placed besides the right soft key.The slide open reveals the alphanumeric keypad which is very ergonomic and a boon for SMS junkies.The keypad lighting looks spectacular at night.The weight of the phone at just 86g makes it light on your pocket.

The large 2.4″ display is an improvement both in size and clarity over previous Sony Ericsson phone like Sony Ercisson K850.The display has ample brightness and contrast.Also it has fair amount of visibility in sunlight though it does not come close to Nokia phones in this matter.

The keypad as I already mentioned is top-notch and is almost flawless.The surface of keypad is absolutely flat but that in no ways affects your typing speed.The keypad has high responsiveness and gentle tapping of keys is enough to make them respond.

Interface,Loudspeaker and Shake Control

The interface on the phone is a mix of old and new.Though the basic navigation system remains the same, SE has made it more refreshing.Flash themes are also supported now on the device.We get to see the brand new Walkman 3.0 music player.Also features like auto rotate are slowly making way onto SE phones.The interface is still as fast as has been the case with other SE phones always.

The loudspeaker has very high level of volume and you won’t miss a call even on a busy trafficway! We will get to sound quality of the music files later.The speaker has taken the competition to a new level.

An amazing new feature developed by SE is Shake Control. Shake Control detects the movement of your hand is a particular direction and responds to it in an appropriate manner.For example in music player flicking your hand either left or right will make the phone go back to previous track or next track respectively.Shake Control can also be used during gaming and hence you can experience the “Wii” fun!!

Camera and Music Player

The camera is a downpoint of this phone.Lack of autofocus and flash is a major disappointment.Also 2 MP camera and 15fps video recording mar the experience further. The camera is controlled by the Cyber-shot SE v2.0 application which is excellent and has immense options to play around with but unfortunately you would not make much out of it through this camera.The photo quality is poor and has very less details.Lack of flash makes the camera useless in low lights.The video recording isn’t any better at 15fps.The secondary camera is good when compared with other secondary cameras.

The phone supports the MP3, AAC, AAC+, E-AAC +, WAV, WMA, M4A and MIDI file formats.The player has preset equalisers including the MegaBass equaliser.Thats for the usual part.But another new application that makes it debut is SenseMe.What this application does it basically sort your music tracks based on your mood that is directly related to tempo of the tracks.But for this to work you have to make use of Media manager which is much slower compared to direct transfers.The audio quality of the phone is breathtaking and it justifies the Walkman tag that has been bestowed upon it.

Browsing and Organiser

Browsing on a 2.4″ screen is brilliant.The sites turn out very well but you will not have much options to play around with as the bundled browser ie. NetFront 3.4 can not be compared to likes of Opera Mini.

The organiser has almost all the standard functions such as ,Alarms, Applications, File manager,Video call, Tasks, Notes, Synchronization, Calendar,Timer, Stopwatch, Calculator, and Code memo.The Alarm has good customization options and you can also play around with Calendar with adding tasks and scheduling them.MusicDJ, VideoDJ, TrackID and voice recorder sum up some of the other applications under the organiser.

Pros:

• Large Display
• Good Keypad
• Extremely thin
• High volume speaker
• Shake Control and ShakeMe
• Walkman 3.0
• M2 USB card reader bundled

Cons:

• Bad Camera
• Overpriced
• Shaky Sliding mechanism
• Non-Symbian

Final Thoughts

SE W910 offers exceptional music playing capability.The large screen and great keypad combined with gorgeous looks make it a deadly combination.The bad camera is a big disappointment and this will seriously hamper the sales of this otherwise brilliant phone. ShakeControl and ShakeMe features are excellent additions to the device.M2 card reader was a good addition to the package.Buying this phone if you don’t use cellphones for imaging tasks else looks out for other options.

My rating: 3.5/5

Canon PowerShot SD950

Here at Digit Geek we’ve reviewed a number of Canon PowerShot cameras. This may be because Canon makes really great cameras or we’re just obsessed with this line, but whatever the reason is, there is one thing we can say about the PowerShot cameras, they rock!

The Canon PowerShot SD950 IS is no different than any of the other PowerShot camera’s we’ve reviewed. It’s a solid camera with a number of great features. The SD950 features a high-resolution 12.1 megapixel CCD, an Optical Image Stabilizer and 3.7x optical zoom. There are also a number of other great features like face detection software, red-eye correction, and the software that’s included to transfer pictures is great as well.

Here are a few of the technical specifications for the PowerShot SD950:

• Street price: $360
• 2.5″ LCD screen
• 12.1 MP
• 3.7x optical zoom lens
• Face detection and Image Stabilization
• 15-1/1600 sec shutter speed
• 1.5 fps continuous shooting

Things I like
Let me start off by saying that I really like the design of the PowerShot SD950. The titanium casing looks very sleek and it also gives the camera a very sturdy feel (which I like). The SD950 has improved a number of things over it’s brother/sister, the SD750. The resolution has increased by 5MP, the optical zoom has increased by .7x and theres an optical viewfinder instead of the larger screen. All of these changes have increased the value of the PowerShot SD950.

I especially like the optical viewfinder because it means you no longer have to rely on the LCD screen, which can become useless in direct light. I also like the face detection software that’s included with the SD950. While it doesn’t work in low-light conditions and is sometimes a little buggy, in general, it works very well. Face Detection adjusts the flash to correctly illuminate the people in the picture to provide the best balance between the people and the overall scene, eliminating the common problems of over and underexposed faces.

There are a number of other great shooting modes like Color Accent, Color Swap, Stitch Assist, and Macro mode that make this camera a great buy. The image quality is also extremely good, rivaling some SLR’s.

Things I don’t like
There is really only two problems I have with the SD950. The first problem is the fact that there is no way to manually change the exposure of a photo. This can limit the type of shots that you can take and can be very frustrating at times.

The other problem I have with the Canon PowerShot SD950 is its sluggish performance. The camera took 1.3 seconds to start up and capture its first JPEG. After that, it took a slightly sluggish 2 seconds between shots with the flash turned off and 3.5 seconds between shots with the flash turned on. In continuous shooting mode, the SD950 IS fell just short of its cousin, the G9, clocking an average of 1.6 frames per second.

Pros:

• Nice design
• Great picture quality
• Large resolution
• Optical Viewfinder
• A number of great shooting modes

Cons:

• No manual exposure control
• A little sluggish at times

Final Thoughts
The Canon PowerShot SD950 IS is a great camera. It’s nice design and great image quality will leave you wanting to take more photos but you’ll have to wait longer to take those pictures. Overall the image quality and the shooting modes far surpass the sluggishness of the camera and it’s well worth the price tag. Ranking: 4.5/5

Canon PowerShot SD950

Here at Digit Geek we’ve reviewed a number of Canon PowerShot cameras. This may be because Canon makes really great cameras or we’re just obsessed with this line, but whatever the reason is, there is one thing we can say about the PowerShot cameras, they rock!

The Canon PowerShot SD950 IS is no different than any of the other PowerShot camera’s we’ve reviewed. It’s a solid camera with a number of great features. The SD950 features a high-resolution 12.1 megapixel CCD, an Optical Image Stabilizer and 3.7x optical zoom. There are also a number of other great features like face detection software, red-eye correction, and the software that’s included to transfer pictures is great as well.

Here are a few of the technical specifications for the PowerShot SD950:

• Street price: $360
• 2.5″ LCD screen
• 12.1 MP
• 3.7x optical zoom lens
• Face detection and Image Stabilization
• 15-1/1600 sec shutter speed
• 1.5 fps continuous shooting

Things I like
Let me start off by saying that I really like the design of the PowerShot SD950. The titanium casing looks very sleek and it also gives the camera a very sturdy feel (which I like). The SD950 has improved a number of things over it’s brother/sister, the SD750. The resolution has increased by 5MP, the optical zoom has increased by .7x and theres an optical viewfinder instead of the larger screen. All of these changes have increased the value of the PowerShot SD950.

I especially like the optical viewfinder because it means you no longer have to rely on the LCD screen, which can become useless in direct light. I also like the face detection software that’s included with the SD950. While it doesn’t work in low-light conditions and is sometimes a little buggy, in general, it works very well. Face Detection adjusts the flash to correctly illuminate the people in the picture to provide the best balance between the people and the overall scene, eliminating the common problems of over and underexposed faces.

There are a number of other great shooting modes like Color Accent, Color Swap, Stitch Assist, and Macro mode that make this camera a great buy. The image quality is also extremely good, rivaling some SLR’s.

Things I don’t like
There is really only two problems I have with the SD950. The first problem is the fact that there is no way to manually change the exposure of a photo. This can limit the type of shots that you can take and can be very frustrating at times.

The other problem I have with the Canon PowerShot SD950 is its sluggish performance. The camera took 1.3 seconds to start up and capture its first JPEG. After that, it took a slightly sluggish 2 seconds between shots with the flash turned off and 3.5 seconds between shots with the flash turned on. In continuous shooting mode, the SD950 IS fell just short of its cousin, the G9, clocking an average of 1.6 frames per second.

Pros:

• Nice design
• Great picture quality
• Large resolution
• Optical Viewfinder
• A number of great shooting modes

Cons:

• No manual exposure control
• A little sluggish at times

Final Thoughts
The Canon PowerShot SD950 IS is a great camera. It’s nice design and great image quality will leave you wanting to take more photos but you’ll have to wait longer to take those pictures. Overall the image quality and the shooting modes far surpass the sluggishness of the camera and it’s well worth the price tag. Ranking: 4.5/5

Dell M1530

The Dell M1530 is another member of the XPS series which is known to blend together glamorous looks with blazing performance.The Dell M1530 is a truly value for money laptop and with recent price reduction it has become a hot buy with the consumer.

Dell XPS M1530 specifications:

• Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 (2.0GHz)
• RAM : 2GB
• HDD : 160 GB SATA 5400rpm
• Display : 15.4″
• Graphics card: Nvidia 8600GT
• DVD Writer
• Microsoft Vista Home Premium

Although you can choose components according to your needs and budget I chose this configuration as it is a bit future proof.Dell gives you warranty against accidental damage and it makes sense to buy 2 years additional warranty to extend total warranty to 3 years which is highly recommended as Dell customer service is great and you will surely recover the cost and more in 3-years time.

The Dell M1530 is based on the Intel P965M chipset and is a Santa-Rosa based laptop.The dimensions of the laptop are at par with other 15.4″ models available in the market.But the weight is definitely lower than most of them which increases it portability.You can choose from three lid color which are black, red or white.

Dell has taken measures to make sure the laptops has right color combinations in order to make the laptop looks glamorous and sexy which is truly the essence of XPS series! The keyboard has been made in silver with touches of black.The laptop also has touch-sensitive keys to control multimedia playback.The remote control fits snugly into the express card slot, so you do not need to worry about it when on the move.

The display has a native resolution of 1440 x 900 which is generally hard to find on other 15.4″ laptops.The LCD screen is a standard one but it is very thin.A power saving LED backlit display would have been icing on the cake.The display clarity is very good and the brightness and contrast levels are high enough to be usable in sunlight also.Some of the standard extras include a webcam , HDMI output, WiFi and bluetooth support.

The performance of the laptop is excellent as expected.The Core 2 Duo processor,2GB RAM,8600GT graphics card make for a pleasant gaming experience on the laptop.The laptop is butter smooth in multi-tasking and you would not notice any lag.The performance is at par with HP and Sony models having same configuration.The backup time depends on whether you choose the 6-cell battery or the 9-cell battery.Although the 9-cell battery will give you a significant boost in backup time but it will make your laptop bulkier and also raise the rear end of your laptop.Under moderate usage the 6-cell battery lasts about 3 hours.

Pros:

• Glamorous looks
• Light weight
• Optional Nvidia 8600GT
• Good performance
• Good battery backup
• Excellent customer support

Cons:

• A bit expensive
• Only 3 lid colors
• Less customization options available

Final Thoughts

The Dell XPS 1530 as I mentioned earlier is truly a value for money laptop.It combines sexy looks with great performance.Dell has managed to get almost everything right with this laptop and is justified in demanding a bit higher price.Dell excellent after sales customer support is another reason to buy a Dell.I would highly recommend this laptop to anyone looking to buy a 15.4′ laptop.

Canon Powershot G9

Before the advent of affordable digital SLRs, high-end point and shoot digital cameras were the driving force behind the exponential expansion of the digital imaging revolution. Canon digital cameras have been at the forefront of that high tech surge since the introduction of the Powershot G1 in 2000. Canon’s “G” models have always been aimed at photographers who want a responsive and relatively compact general-use digital camera with SLR like performance but without the SLR price.

The new Canon Powershot G9 is loaded with a number of great features such as RAW + JPEG images, an optical view finder, face detection, 6x optical zoom and image stabilization. It also has a number of shooting modes which make it feel more like a digital SLR instead of a point and shoot camera.

Here are a few of the technical specifications for the Powershot G9:

• Street Price: $499.99
• Resolution: 12.1MP
• Shutter Speed:15 - 1/2500 sec
• ISO range: 80/100/200/400/800/1600
• 1.5 Frames per second
• Optical Viewfinder and 3″ LCD monitor

Things I like
The PowerShot G9 is built like a tank. A lot of point and shoot cameras feel very flimsy when you’re taking pictures with them but that is definitely not the case with the G9. The extra weight doesn’t make it too heavy however, it just makes it feel sturdy enough. I also like the fact that this camera has 12.1MP resolution. You’ll be able to take your pictures and blow them up to whatever size you want without having to worry about pixelation or distortion.

I also like the fact that Canon included an optical viewfinder with the PowerShot G9. Nowadays it seems that smaller cameras leave out the viewfinder and put in a larger LCD screen but this is very annoying if you’re shooting in daylight because the screen becomes virtually useless. While the viewfinder isn’t the best, it’s better than nothing. The G9 also allows you to take movies with the camera so it’s very versatile.

Things I don’t like
The PowerShot G9 is rather expensive when you compare it to other point and shoot cameras like the Kodak Z712 or the Sony W80. I also don’t like the fact that this camera only has a 6x optical zoom. If you’re wanting to shoot anything thats far away you won’t be able to get that close without having to use digital zoom.

I also don’t like that you can’t use optical zoom while taking a movie. You’re limited to digital zoom and this can be frustrating because you do lose picture quality.

Pros:

• Very sturdy
• A number of great features
• High resolution pictures
• Can shoot RAW + JPEG formats
• Optical viewfinder

Cons:

• Expensive
• Only 6x optical zoom
• No optical zoom while taking videos

Final Thoughts
The Canon PowerShot G9 is a solid point and shoot digital camera for those who want something compact to complement a digital SLR. If you don’t have enough money another option would be the Nikon Coolpix P5100, but the Canon PowerShot G9 is a very well built camera.

Nikon Coolpix P5100

Point and shoot cameras have been getting higher resolutions as the time goes on and it’s really anyones game as to when the resolutions will start to to even out. I’ve seen cameras as high as 21MP whereas my first camera had only 2.1MP. Today’s review has an astonishing 12.1MP which is pretty amazing considering it costs under $400.

The Coolpix P5100 is the latest in Nikon’s “Performance Series” with full manual controls, a place for an external flash and conversion lens compatibility. The P5100 follows the P5000 with the same 2.5-inch LCD screen and 3.5x optical zoom lens, but more resolution. This camera is basically a mini-SLR that gives you the ability to fine-tune your shots but without the bulk and heftiness of an actual SLR.

Here are a few of the technical specifications for the Coolpix P5100:

• Street Price: $399.99
• Resolution: 12.1MP
• Shutter Speed: 8 – 1/2000 sec
• ISO range: 64-3200
• Exposure Modes (P/S/A/M)
• Optical Viewfinder and Image Stabilization

Things I like
There are a number of things that I like about the P5100 and I really don’t know where to begin. I guess I should start with the fact that it has a 12.1MP resolution. This is almost unheard of for point & shoot cameras. While this may not sound that big to anyone keep in mind that the Nikon D40 (a Digital SLR) is only 6.1MP and costs $200 more than the P5100.

Not only does the Coolpix digital camera fit in the palm of your hand it has a number of great features that make it more of an entry level SLR than a high-end point and shoot. You can choose between full automatic mode where you just have to point and shoot or you can use a number of presets to get the right settings for the perfect shot. This camera felt very sturdy in my hands. A lot of times when I’m using the smaller cameras I’m scared that I’m going to break them but the P5100 felt hefty enough to ease my worries.

The image stabilization is also a huge plus since taking pictures at long ranges can tend to blur a little with even the slightest of hand shakes.

Things I don’t like
The thing I like least about Nikon’s P5100 is the LCD screen on the back of the camera. This screen becomes pretty useless in any direct sunlight. Luckily Nikon included the optical viewfinder so you don’t really need to use the screen but I think that it should have been made brighter.

The camera seemed a little sluggish to me when I was using it. It just didn’t have the quickness that most point and shoot cameras have. While it wasn’t slow enough to miss a picture it did come close a couple of times.

Pros:

• Excellent image quality
• A number of preset features
• Sturdy feel
• Image stabilization
• Decent price

Cons:

• Can’t see LCD in direct sunlight
• A little sluggish

Final Thoughts
The Nikon Coolpix P5100 is an excellent camera that I recommend you buy if you need a new digital camera. I really like the image stabilization feature and the ability to customize it makes it feel more like an SLR than a point and shoot camera. While the price isn’t considerably low it isn’t that bad. This is pure and simple, a great camera.

Apple MacBook

There are essentially three different types of laptops, gaming laptops, work laptops and everyday laptops. Today I’m going to review a laptop that’s a little more modest when it comes to features and price.

The MacBook offers a great compromise between size and portability for a reasonable price (the baseline white model costs $1,099). Even better, that low cost gets you a number of features also found on the more expensive MacBook Pro - notably, Core Duo processors, digital audio in/out, and the groovy MagSafe power adapter.

Here are a few of the technical specifications for the MacBook:

• Street price: $1099
• 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 13-inch widescreen
• 1GB Ram, 120GB hard drive
• Intel Integrated Graphics

Things I like
The thing I like most about the MacBook is that it has almost all of the great features of the MacBook Pro except it costs $1000 less. It has a built-in webcam, 1GB of ram and a 2.1GHz processor (only 0.3GHz less than the MacBook Pro). This laptop is also very light, it weighs approximately 5lbs so you won’t have to worry about carrying it around on campus or to work.

Another thing that I like is the fact that the MacBook uses magnets instead of a physical latch to hold the lid closed. A small notch on the front edge affords just enough room for your finger, and the lid and case separate very nicely. This just shows that Apple really looks at the small details.

Another thing that I like about the MacBook is the fact that it has a number of ports. It has a DVI/VGA port (although you’ll have to buy the adapter separately), digital audio in and out, a slot-loading DVD burner, a FireWire 400 and two USB 2.0 ports. Unlike the Pro they do not include the adapters to go from the laptop to DVI/VGA and this would have been a nice addition.

Things I didn’t like
The thing I like least about the MacBook is the fact that Apple put an integrated graphics card in. If your going to do any gaming at all forget about buying this computer (even though most gaming is done on PC’s). The integrated graphics card is enough to get a screen resolution of 1280×800 which isn’t the best. It’s rather annoying when you’re used to a high resolution because the screen just doesn’t look as sharp.

The final thing I don’t like is the fact that the Black MacBook is essentially useless. It costs $200 more than the middle MacBook configuration and it only upgrades the hard drive (from 160GB to 250GB). The funny thing is if you upgrade the middle MacBook to the 160GB hard drive it’ll only cost you $100. So for $100 you can get the black colour which I think looks bad.

Pros:

• Fairly Fast
• Lots of features included with the MacBook Pro
• Inexpensive

Cons:

• The Black configuration is useless
• Integrated graphics card

Final Thoughts
The MacBook makes a great compromise between size and portability. If you’re in need of a laptop but don’t have enough money to buy a MacBook Pro then the MacBook is for you. It’s light weight and has a number of great features. I recommend buying this laptop.

The Sony Ericsspn K850i

Sony’s Cybershot series is well known for its excellent camera quality.Sony released quite a few Sony Cybershot phones some time ago and they take inbuilt camera imaging ability to a new level. 5 megapixel cameras are becoming the norm these days.Sony Ericsson K850i is a 5 megapixel phone thats is glamorous and stylish.This phone gives competition to the likes of N95 and N81 but it loses out to them as the former are powered by symbian OS.

Sony Ericsson K850i specifications:

• Dimensions: 102 x 48 x 17 mm
• Display: 2.2″ QVGA resolution
• 40 MB inbuilt memory
• GPRS,EDGE,3G,Bluetooth with A2DP
• 5 Megapixel camera,Xenon flash
• FM Radio with RDS
• Motion Sensor

The specifications of the camera are just awesome but it would have been great if Sony had incorporated WiFi capability.A cool feature to look out for is motion sensor.This phone not only is a major addition to the Cybershot series but to Sony Ericsson series as well.

Design and Keypad

The design is one of the most eye catching feature of this phone.The phone has rounded corners and has a completely new redesigned D-pad which adds a lot more functionality to the phone.The four way navigation key has been added around the buttons which is an innovative idea as it saves space and gives way for a larger screen without making the phone’s dimensions bigger.A set of three soft keys have been placed just below the display.Also dedicated call and end keys are there.The back lighting on the keypad looks brilliant at light.

The battery,SIM and memory card insertion into the phone has become an ease due to introduction of push-to-eject mechanism.And good thing is that the card slot can read both M2 as well as cheaper microSD cards. The top of the phone has ON/OFF key which also acts as a profile switcher.Dedicated camera keys are rare on a mobile phone but this one features them saying lengths about work put into the camera department of this phone.The ergonomics are top class in this phone and that not only includes the keypad ergonomics but the phone ergonomics and general, though it will take some time to get used to the new layout of the buttons.

Display and Interface

The 2.2″ display is crystal clear and has a improved levels of brightness and contrast and so are the saturation levels.Also in direct sunlight the visibility is quite good but not comparable to its Nokia counterparts.

The interface has got a new look and it refreshing on the eyes.The interface has a Media center and flash lite theme support.Flight mode is not supported by the phone.Multi-tasking is possible on the phone which has been a grudge with user for a long time.The TrackID feature is supported which is exclusive to SE phones.

Camera and Music Playback

The 5 megapixel camera has Xenon flash with autofocus and automatic lens cover.The camera application interface has been completely rehauled and resembles the T-series of its Cybershot digital cameras.The Xenon flash is powerful and this boost the phone’s capability in low light conditions.Upto ISO400 is available and there are various other options to play around with which include AF light,picture quality,stabiliser,digital zoom etc.The picture quality is excellent and comparable to both N95 and the N81.Video recording at 30fps at QVGA resolution is a delight.

The music playback has not been compromised but instead it has been enhanced with the inclusion of Music Player 3.0.The supported audio formats include MP3, AAC, and AAC+, eAAC+, WAV, WMA, M4A and MIDI.The sound quality is very good but the bundled earphones are top notch.Music playback is enhanced by lighting effects.The motion sensor is another cool feature which detects rotation of screen to adjust the display.

Pros:

• Excellent 5 MP camera
• Good display
• Xenon flash
• Good ergonomics
• Motion sensor
• Great sound quality

Cons:

• Not symbian
• No WiFi
• Prone to fingerprints
• High learning curve

Final Thoughts

The Sony Ericsspn K850i is revolutionary in itself.The phones manages to bundle almost all features and make use of them efficiently.The phone gives serious competition N95 and N81. The excellent camera combined with great music playback makes it a hit with general consumers but symbian addicts will definitely skip this one.Its time for Sony Ericsson lovers to upgrade!

Kodak EasyShare Z712

Digital SLR prices have been continuously dropping over the past few years. You can now get a very decent SLR for under $600. For most people this wouldn’t be that big of a purchase and would be well worth the cost, but what happens if you don’t have $600 to spend on a camera.

If you don’t have enough money for a SLR but want a better camera than a simple point and shoot, what should you do? What happens when you mix an entry-level SLR and a point and shoot camera? The Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS.

The EasyShare Z712 IS is a really good mix between a P&S camera and a SLR camera. It has a number of great features like a 12x optical zoom, a number of preset settings for different environments and lighting conditions and it lets you have a lot of control over your camera. The great thing about it is that it’s about a third of the price of a regular SLR camera.

Here are a few of the technical specifications for the EasyShare Z712 IS:

• Street Price: $299.99
• Resolution: 8.0MP
• Shutter Speed: 1/2–1/1000 sec
• ISO range: 80-1600
• SD/MMC card

Things I like
The thing I like most about the Z712 IS is its compact size. This thing is small compared to a SLR. Measuring approximately 4.1W × 2.9H × 2.7D in. you can easily shoot with one hand and it won’t take up an entire case. I like the size because it makes it perfect for spontaneous shooting. With my Nikon D40, I never carry it around unless I know I’m going to be taking pictures that day. I don’t have this problem with the Kodak EasyShare because I can just put it in my backpack and take it out whenever I need it.

The other thing I like about the EasyShare Z712 IS is its low price, at only $250 it’s very affordable. While it doesn’t have all of the features that SLR’s have considering the price it is well worth it. The 12x optical zoom is also impressive. Most point and shoot cameras only have a 3x optical zoom so the 12x is a nice addition.

Things I don’t like
While the camera does have a lot of excellent features, none of them are done overly well. The manual focus is pretty bad, its easier just have it on automatic focus and then tweak it a little bit. This is really annoying because focus is very important when it comes to taking good pictures and having the ability to manually focus a picture is needed. All of the other features are the same, they work but can be very annoying. I guess I’m just comparing it to a more expensive SLR but I think that if you’re going to put a feature in it should work well.

The final thing that I don’t like is the noise levels at high ISO. At 800 or 1600 ISO the noise level is just too high. While you can shoot at these levels because of the noise the pictures that are taken are almost useless. This can be very annoying if you’re shooting in a dark area.

Pros:

• Low price
• Small size
• Lots of features

Cons:

• Poor manual focus
• Lots of noise at a high ISO
• Most features aren’t done very well

Final Thoughts
The Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS has a very nice zoom and considering its low price makes it a very nice camera. Unfortunately the camera does lose its image quality at higher ISOs. If you don’t have enough money for a SLR I would recommend buying this camera. If you can however, spend a little more, I would suggest that you buy a SLR.

Nokia E51

Nokia E-series phones are aimed at business professionals who need to access mail and internet day in and day out and at the same time also not lose out on multimedia features.Nokia E51 is one of the latest offerings from Nokia in this segment and has many improvements over its predecessor Nokia E50.

Nokia E51 specifications:

• Dimensions : 114.8 x 46 x 12 mm
• Weight : 100g
• Display : 2″ QVGA, 16M colors
• 96MB SDRAM,130MB phone memory
• GPRS,HSCSD,EDGE,3G,Bluetooth,IR
• WLAN: WiFi 802.11g,VoIP over WLAN
• Symbian OS 9.2, S60 v3.1
• 2 MP camera

Design and Keyboard

The design of E51 is very business like and has no frills but a simple metallic body.The handset is quite slim at just 12mm and its 100g weight makes it light on the pocket.All this seems good but one major disappointment with E51 is the material used to make the back panel of the phone.The panel is very much prone to oily hands and you would hardly find it clean at any point of time.

The keyboard has been designed pretty ergonomic as expected and it does not disappoint.What does disappoint though are the navigation keys that have been made very tiny and have been cramped in small space and navigating through them is tough as you always tend to press a neighboring key.

Display and Layout

The E51 sports a small but crisp and bright 2 inch display having a resolution of 240 x 320.The small screen and high resolution makes the font size small but it is very much readable.The display has good clarity also in bright sunlight.

The layout is neatly organized by Nokia and leaves no room for complaint except for the navigation keys as already mentioned above.The ambient light sensor is on the right side above the display.The display and the keypad nicely blend into one another.The pencil key which is a standard on Nokia smartphones is missing but not its functionality as hash key takes over its function.The power key is at its traditional place on top right side.The volume keys have been placed in the middle of right side of E51 and a voice command key in between the two.These keys are not very responsive and require fair amount of force to activate them.

Music Player and Camera

Nokia E51 does not have a music player which will go down too well with music buffs.It does not offer high functionality as N-series music player.The interface is also very simple and feels boring.Music management is at the same level with other music phones and you can download tracks via the internet too. The supported tracks are MP3,WMA,AAC,eAAC+.The audio quality is good but not at par with music phones and that is understandable.

Camera is not what you will like to use too much.The camera is a mere 2 MP when 5 MP phones are getting released so fast.The camera also lacks autofocus and the basic flash which makes it completely useless for night pics. The pics have greenish appearance which is a bug and is likely to be fixed in future firmware updates.The photos have high noise levels and excessive sharpness. The video mode is limited to 15fps another disappointment. Overall its a camera for a few casual pics.

Connectivity, Browser and Organizer

Connectivity is the area where E51 score heavily.The integration of WiFi is cool but the icing on the cake is VoIP over it. Bluetooth also has A2DP so that you can enjoy music via wireless headsets.EDGE,3G,HSCSD are added benefits.

Browsing the internet with E51 is a pleasant experience.The mini-map feature is available like in Opera Mini and is very handy for navigating through large web pages.Virtual cursor,custom zoom level,3D view makes the browsing experience rich.You would not need to install a third part web browser!

Organizer is another strong point of E51.The scheduler is neat and has variety of tasks to configure.Adobe Reader and Mobile Office take care of your document files.Zip Manager has also been pre-installed to handle zip files.Other standard application include Notes,calculator,converter. Nokia Team Suite is a new application which handles your group conference calls,emails and text messages and does that efficiently.

Pros:

• Light weight
• Good amount of RAM
• Excellent connectivity options
• Fast performance
• Neat layout
• Great browser

Cons:

• Bad camera
• Fingerprint prone back panel
• Average music player
• Cramped navigation keys

Final Thoughts

The E51 is truly aimed at business class users and will not go down too well with general users.It has all the features needed in a business phone but it lacks ability in music and camera department.Hopefully Nokia will fulfill these in future versions of the phone.Buy this if you are not affected by its drawbacks.

Blackberry 7250

The Blackberry 7250 is definitely a phone from the past but even know I still like it. I’ve been using the 7250 for over 4 years now and it has yet to let me down. I’ve dropped it from 6 feet onto pavement and it merely scratched the case.

Here are a few of the technical specifications for the Blackberry 7250:

• Street price: Less than $100 (unlocked).
• Dual-band network support for 800/1900 MHz.
• Bluetooth support.
• Backlit QWERTY-style keyboard.
• Integrated address book, calendar, memo pad, task list.

Things I like
The Blackberry 7250 is by far my favourite cell phone that I have ever owned. A while back I reviewed another cellphone that I have, the Motorola V360, and even the the V360 is fairly new this 4 year old blackberry beats it in every way. RIM (the makes of the Blackberry) did an excellent job when it came to making a high quality cell phone. The 7250 has a great QWERTY backlight keyboard that makes sending emails and text messages a breeze. In comparison to the normal cell phone keyboard I can send messages about 8 times faster.

The other thing I like about the 7250 is the operating system on the phone. All of the applications are laid out in an easy to use fashion and you can get to anything on your phone in 3 clicks or less. The included scroll wheel also makes going through long emails or surfing web pages easy.

The main thing that I didn’t like about the V360 was it’s flimsy feel. Every time I used it I was worried about breaking it. Luckily with the 7250 you don’t have to worry about that problem. This thing is a tank and you could drop it off your house if you wanted to.

Overall I love the Blackberry 7250.

Things I don’t like
The only thing I don’t like is that the button to get to the phone is located on the top of the device. This means when you’re placing it into a holder or case you often accidentally hit the button. This isn’t that big of a problem but I would have liked to see the button located elsewhere on the device.

Pros:

• Excellent phone
• Fairly inexpensive
• Great operating system
• Sturdy feel to it

Cons:

• Phone button is located on the top and can be accidentally hit when placing the phone into a case or holder.

Final Thoughts
If you don’t have the $400+ to get a newer blackberry I suggest that you pick up the 7250. This phone is great because it has so many different applications and it only costs $100. I’ve been using it for 4 years and its my favourite cell phone so far. I recommend it to anyone who wants to pick up a low-cost blackberry.