Michael Hell | Fone Arena

Meet the Fone Arena Team – Asad Rafi!

Welcome to a new interview series here on Fone Arena, something we wanted to do for quite some time now. We invite you to (virtually) meet the team working behind the scenes, we invite you to meet the Fone Arena Team! Each week I will conduct a new interview with one of our authors, in which you’ll get to know us a bit better.

Starting off this week, is our friend from Pakistan, Asad Rafi! Nice to meet you Asad!

Who are you? Introduce yourself!

Hello, my name is Asad Rafi. I am a 17 yr old boy who lives in Pakistan, and sometimes in USA. I am a very big fan of everything related to tech world. Besides blogging, I study and read books, actually most of the time surfing on the net and learning about different things. In my free time, I watch movies, listen to songs and play football but it’s so hard to get free times these days! You can catch me on Twitter @asadrafi.

Tell us a little bit about your “mobile career”. What did you do prior to FoneArena?

I started my career as a blogger 2.5 years ago, when I was just 15. Well, before that I never heard about blogging but then one of my friends told me about it, he is also a professional blogger. I created my first blog with Blogger.com. In the beginning, it was very hard for me because my first language is not English, and I was also new in blogosphere. When I started my career, I was used to write about gadgets, computers, cameras, cars and mobile phones. But then I choose mobile phone as my specific class. I started with a very small blog of my own, and then I moved to another blog. After few months, I joined AndroidSPIN which is a good and famous blog related to Android. I worked for more than 5-6 months there, and then I joined Fone Arena last year. Fone Arena is currently the best place and I love working here. All my co-workers are awesome and very supportive especially Varun Krish, who always supports and guides me. Besides Fone Arena, I am also Editor of HomeShopping.pk, which is Pakistan’s largest online retailer.

Which Device(s) do you currently use?

At the moment, I have an Asus K52 F laptop. Other than that, I have a Sony Ericsson W350i, and some other devices. Now I am looking forward to extend my gadget library by adding some new devices. I am planning to buy a smartphone in the upcoming days, and after that, I might buy my first DSLR camera too. But if anyone wants to gift me, then most welcome 😛

Your favorite OS at the moment?

My favorite OS is Android OS, and it will stay as my favorite OS forever. I started my mobile career by writing about Android phones only but after joining Fone arena, I also started writing about other phones. I used to have an Android phone, but don’t have it at the moment. I am looking forward to buy a new phone, and it will be none other than an Android powered phone. If you talk about phones, then I also love the iPhone 4. I don’t like the iOS, but I am a fan of iPhone 4 hardware. The hardware is so amazing, the Retina Display and the amazing looks. Well, I am not including the death grip. I wish that the iPhone 4 could run Android OS officially, but I know that’s never going to happen.

What was the coolest thing that ever happened to you, involving mobile phones?

Well, that’s hard to tell. Let me tell you some of them. Getting selected as a writer for Fone Arena was one of the best things ever happened. I didn’t sleep that night, and I was so happy. It was a very big moment for me. The second is when I bought my first laptop because it was my dream to have a personal laptop. And now I am waiting for a lot of coolest things to happen…

Where do you see mobile phones in the future?

If we have a look on the past, then mobile phones have improved a lot. Few years back, mobile phones were only used to make calls, but now they are everywhere. People are checking their mails, chatting, sending mms, playing games, taking pictures, uploading them and a lot of other stuff. I can say it without any doubt that mobile phones are slowly taking place of computers. Mobile phones are getting stronger and stronger each day. Recently, LG launched first phone with Tegra 2 processor and a full 3D display. After few years, we are going to see phones with some powerful graphic and processing speeds. So it means that smartphones are going to be changed into superphones, or I think they are already changed. I think mobile phones are changing and getting better and better. Like we have seen type of concept phones in movies and also on the web, and I am sure that these phones will be real after a short period of time.

I also want to talk about tablets. Tablets are around us from long time, but after the launch of Apple iPad, tablets are getting popular and common. A lot of big companies are working on tablets, and recently Motorola and Samsung announced new tablets. That shows that we are going to see a tough competition between tablets in future. As Apple iPad 2 is also around the corner, so I can guarantee that this year we are going to see some good tablets. Desktop era will be ended soon and portable laptops, tablets and mobile phones will replace it.

And last but not least, how would your dream device look like?

Well, what we all want in our dream device is power and performance, not to forget the X-factor. The device should be blazing fast and beautiful. The device should have a medium size design, not that big and not that small; it should be like Desire or Samsung Galaxy S. The device should have an amazing and crystal display and have some awesome sound. And the important thing that it should have is good battery life, because I don’t want a phone with awesome features and poor battery life. Last but not least, the device should run Android OS. Well, I think I am going to see this type of device in near future, or not?

Reminder: Bring Dropbox to your Symbian Device in 5 easy Steps!

Lately I’ve seen a lot of people complaining about the lack of a dedicated Dropbox Application for Symbian. Sure it would be nice to have one, as the apps on both, Android and iOS are really well done. but it seems most people don’t know that you can have a much much better way to browse your files on Symbian than the mobile web app. What better than having Dropbox integrated directly into the Filemanager? It’s easy, it’s free (if you have a free Dropbox account) and its very fast to setup! And here’s how its done: Continue reading “Reminder: Bring Dropbox to your Symbian Device in 5 easy Steps!”

Thoughts from Hell: The Latest Sony Ericsson Android Devices!

Last Tuesday I was invited to another Sony Ericsson Press Event at a Rink in Vienna, dubbed “Sony Ericsson on Ice”. The purpose? Oh, nothing more than getting my hands on the brand new Sony Ericsson Android Devices, that debuted on CES and MWC 2011. Yes thats right, all the new goodies were lined up, in order to get SE some well needed Attention. We all know that Sony Ericsson wasn’t exactly the top Contender after the last Phones, like for example the horrid Xperia X10. The new devices looked quite promising, so after a short introduction from Mr Burtscher, Product Manager of Sony Ericsson Austria, i got my hands (and Camera) on the Devices for a few Minutes. And here’s what i have to say about them:

Check out all the Pictures below and much much more in my 61 Photo strong Flickr Set “Sony Ericsson on Ice”

Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo:

Starting off with the Xperia Neo, probably the most basic of the bunch. A capacitive 3,7″ Multitouchscreen and 854 x 480 Pixel resolution, featuring the brand new “Mobile Bravia Engine”, promising a better Multimedia Experience on your Display. The Vivaz look-alike features an 8,1 Megapixel Camera with Sony Exmor R for mobile CMOS-Sensor and a LED-Flash. Videos can be recorded in 720p/30fps with continuos Touch-Autofocus. All of the new Smartphones are running Gingerbread aka Android 2.3 with Sony Ericssons UI on top. Furthermore there is a 1GHz Snapdragon Processor inside, HDMI connector and a 1500mAh Battery. Compared with the others, the Neo is a rather unspectacular phone, which looks and feels a lot like the Sony Ericsson Vivaz, but offers a way better User Experience than the Symbian-powered Vivaz. The Device felt snappy and responsive, although if you load it up with those shiny widgets, you do get a bit of a lag at Times. Its nicely shaped, with SE’s human curvatures-Design, and feels good in the hand although its mostly build of plastic, which gathers quite some Fingerprints. If they get the whole Device lag-free and price it right, this could be a Hotseller!

Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro:

If you compare the Specs, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo and Xperia Pro are almost the same. In Fact the Pro is the same Device as the Neo, featuring the same Display, same Processor, same Battery, same OS etc. What makes the Pro (very) attractive though, is the nice 4-row slide-out, physical QWERTY Keyboard. Said Keyboard is very well spaced, i immediately felt right at home. No matter if opened or closed, the Slider felt good on the Pro. With so little QWERTY-equipped offerings from the Competitors, the Xperia Pro could quickly become a good choice for everyone who doesn’t like the virtual Keyboard options. Interestingly, although the Pro has the Keyboard Slider, its only 0,5mm thicker than the Neo, which makes me wonder why the Neo couldn’t be a bit more thinner? An interesting bit is the new “Type and Send” Feature: You slide out the Keyboard, start typing whats on your Mind, and only then decide what you wanna do with it. SMS, MMS, Mail or Facebook Update? Sounds fine to me and i can see myself using this a lot, however I did not get this to work yet. More on that as soon as i receive a Trial Device by SE.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play:

The most leaked, most reviewed-before-made-official Phone on this Planet, Ladies and Gentlemen i give you: the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. Specwise the Play differentiates itself from the Neo and Pro with a bigger 4″ Touchscreen but only a 5MP Camera with LED Flash. As the Name already says, the Playstation-certified Xperia Play is all about Mobile Gaming, which gets clear as soon as you open the Slider. Hiding underneath are the full-blown gaming controls you know from your Playstation Controller, complete with 2 Shoulder Triggers and 2 touch-sensitive Trackpads. I got to play a Demo of Star Battalion, a Space Shooter which ran smooth and almost no stuttering, although you would expect them to run lag-free on Demo Devices. To be honest with you, I’m not a Gamer. Never really was, except of the awesome Angry Birds of course. While I think the Play will certainly have his Fans, I just cant get excited about it. The Device is 16mm thick, which is quite a Whopper, just too much for an everyday Device. It’s an Approach in a new Direction for Sony Ericsson, and I really hope it pays off for them, as they have some big Partner Names on Board already. I just know that the Xperia Play is not a Device i’d buy. But then again, thats just me. What do you think?

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc:

Already introduced in Las Vegas at the CES this Year, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc caught my Attention immediately and although I’m not an entirely huge Fan of the Sony Ericsson Android Overhaul, i was eager to get my Hands on the Arc as soon as possible. And what can i say, this is one hell of a slim Smartphone, wow! I had the Samsung Galaxy S before and thought this is as slim as it gets, but Sony easily topped the SGS there, with a sensational 8,7mm on its slimmest point. The Phone itself has a very nice curved Form Factor and although its made of Plastic, it feels nicely in the Hand. I can’t say this often enough, this is just so thin. If you have the Opportunity, get your Hands on one and experience it yourself. And although only 8,7mm thick, SE has still managed to cram in a 1500mAh Battery (i hope all the other Companies (minus Samsung) are watching), the same 8.1 MP Camera with LED Flash and the Exmor R Sensor, 720p Video recording with touch-autofocus, a 1GHz Processor and a 4,2″, 854 x 480 Pixel Screen with the same Mobile Bravia Engine on Top. Impressive. Like all the other Devices, the Arc is powered by Android 2.3, which worked generally fine, but did have some Lags here and there. Again those are Observations i did in approx. 15 Minutes with the Device, I will get a better Judgement as soon as i get my Hands on retail Trial Units.

Coming out of this Evening I gotta say that Sony Ericsson didn’t exactly hammer the Competition, but they produced 4 fine Devices that should sell nicely. The Neo is a rather basic, but well equipped Candybar Device, the Pro sports a nice 4-row slide-out QWERTY Keyboard, the Play approaches the Gaming Audience, while the Arc impresses with it’s insanely slim Form Factor and sexy Looks. I’m definitely looking forward to some Trial Devices by SE here, especially to see if the Sony Ericsson UI on Top of Android has improved since the X10. Which one do YOU like the most?

Check out all the Pictures below and much much more in my 61 Photo strong Flickr Set “Sony Ericsson on Ice”

The Nokia N8 goes for a Dive in Australia!

Never afraid to try something awesome, my good Friend Chris Stobbs took his Nokia N8 out for a dive lately. Yes, a dive! He explains in the Video Info that “This is a video I created using only the N8 and an overboard underwater case. All editing was done on the N8.” I love it, and if anyone wanna gift me a ticket to fly to Australia and join Chris in THAT awesome looking water, i would definitely appreciate this! 🙂

Nokia N8 Review Week – Day 1 – Hardware

Hello and welcome everyone to the Nokia N8 Review Week here on Fone Arena! Each day of this week, one of our Team members will cover one area of Nokia’s imaging flaghsip with all the do’s and dont’s. This should make for an exciting week and we’re all looking forward to that! Today is monday, my name is Michael Hell, and i’ll tell you a bit about the Nokia N8 hardware and what you can expect of it. Enjoy reading along and if you have any questions on that matter, leave a comment! Continue reading “Nokia N8 Review Week – Day 1 – Hardware”

Nokia C7: 2 hidden features revealed!

I’m trialing the brand new Nokia C7 theses days, and gotta say i really like the phone! I won’t spoil too much in detail for now, but i wanna say this: if you’re up for a classy, stylish phone with great material quality, the C7 is something you should definitely have a look at. I met with Christoph from Nokia Austria today for a relaxed tech chat and he showed me two cool features i didn’t know about the Nokia C7 yet! While the first one, is not exactly spectacular, the second one definitely comes in handy!

1. Menu Key Light turns red if you mute a call

Very handy feature for conference calls etc.

2. hidden LED Flashlight feature!!

This. is. awesome.

Video: Unboxing of the Nokia C7

I received a brand new Nokia C7 today (huge thanks to Nokia Austria), in the fantastic looking black charcoal colour. I got struck by the awesome feel again, the whole device is very nicely built and will definitely surprise you, if you think its just a cheap quality rip off. I decided to do an unboxing video for the first time in years, and also tested waters to film with my Canon EOS 500D. So go easy on me guys, i usually don’t do much videos, but definitely wanna get more into it 🙂 I’m gonna test the symbian^3-powered, Nokia C7 thoroughly in the next 3 weeks, which will result in one or more review posts! Until then, enjoy my unboxing Video of the uber-sexy Nokia C7!

Continue reading “Video: Unboxing of the Nokia C7”

Some Thoughts about the Samsung Galaxy S

I’ve been recently hooked up with the Samsung Galaxy S by the friendly people of Vodafone Austria’s press department, anxious to see if this Phone lives up to its hype. I know quite a lot of people who talk good things about it, so i just had to find out what all the fuzz is about. I’ve had quite some Experience with Android before, spanning from the T-Mobile G1, over the HTC Hero, Acer BeTouch E110 to my current HTC Desire, which i bought when i switched providers. While i always loved HTC for the good specs and it’s Sense UI (yes i love that), i usually had a hard time with their Entertainment Hardware, meaning camera, speakers and overall Multimedia Compabilities. Of course, the last term can be improved massively with Apps from the Market, but none of the other. Wit that, and my huge background with Nokia Devices, i went out and tested the Galaxy S for about 2 weeks now and here’s what i thought about it. Keep in mind, those are my personal opinions, which might differ from your own.

Continue reading “Some Thoughts about the Samsung Galaxy S”

The Nokia N8 – through @3dmg’s Camera!

Let me introduce you to Markus Gassenbauer. Markus is a very good friend of mine, hobby photographer (far more advanced than me) and interested in all kinds of Tech. We meet up every now and then for some tech talk and although he has an addiction to Android, Markus also likes Nokia. He was one of the lucky Guys to get invited to one of the Nokia N8 Demo evenings with me and was very surprised of how well it works. Although he doesn’t blog anywhere, he voices his Opinions on Twitter, where you can follow him as @3dmg. Last Sunday was one of the days where i met Markus again, to have a closer look at my orange Nokia N8. This resulted in a picture Gallery he did with his Canon EOS 550D, and what can i say, i let the pictures speak for themselves! Fantastic Stuff!

Make sure to check out the stunning full resolution pictures over on Markus’ Flickr Gallery!

Continue reading “The Nokia N8 – through @3dmg’s Camera!”

Nokia N8 hardcore gorilla glass test!

While still waiting for my own Nokia N8 to arrive, my friend Stefanos from the greek Pestaola Blog took Things to the Extreme. What did he do? PROPERLY testing the Gorilla Glass screen on his dark grey Nokia N8. He starts off with ordinary things like having coins and keys in a pocket and finishes off with.. well, watch for yourself!

Warning: this is not for the weak-hearted!

Exclusive: 89 Live Pictures from the Nokia N8 Camera

Alright, so i traveled to Vienna this Weekend and scored a Nokia N8. I already gave some Impressions back in may, when i first had my hands on the 12MP Imaging Flagship from Nokia. I can’t say that my impressions have changed much – if you love to create multimedia on the go, the Nokia N8 should be your first choice. Anyways, i’ve been using it the past 2 days and as you would expect, i took a load of pictures, just to see how well it actually performs. I don’t have an iPhone4 to put it against, but i think the results speak for themselves, no?

Continue reading “Exclusive: 89 Live Pictures from the Nokia N8 Camera”

Pics, Pics and more Pics: Nokia E7, C7, C6-01 and C3 Touch and Type!

To continue with my belated Nokia World Coverage, i thought i share you the pictures you aaaall want to see: Devices, Devices, Devices!!

As you read on Fonearena, Nokia launched 4 new Devices at Nokia World. 3 of them are running on Symbian^3, while one of it, the Nokia C3 Touch and Type is running on the new touch-optimized version of S40. I had my hands and camera on all of them, but while i’m preparing impressions of all those Devices, i give you Pictures i did of the brand new Goodies.

Which is your favourite one? Nokia E7, with its FANTASTIC QWERTY? or maybe the C6-01 with the stunning CBD? Or will you go for the slim one? C7? 🙂

Continue reading “Pics, Pics and more Pics: Nokia E7, C7, C6-01 and C3 Touch and Type!”

Nokia World 2010 – Part1: #NokiaMeet!

It’s more than a week now since i returned back home from London, after 4 days that were the awesomeness of Nokia World. What you’re about to read are some of my personal Impressions, not of the Devices yet as i plan to pack this into a separate post. What’s left of my days in London? a TON of great memories, a bunch of friends who i finally met in person and a huge cold. 😀

Anyways, whenever i heard about the date and location of Nokia World 2010, i was sold. London is roughly 2 hours away from me by airplane, so its an easy deal to fly over. A first WTF moment appeared when Nokia announced that the Ticket for the 2-day event will cost you the fortune of € 700,–. Okay, i get the point that NW would be even more packed when it’s free, but 700?? eesh. Anyways, i was lucky enough to get invited by Nokia Austria directly (thank you so much Stephanie!!), so that was sorted out. Flight booked, Hotel booked, here we go!

My Friend Roman, who runs the austrian S60 Inside Blog scored an Invite from WOM World Nokia, so i didnt even have to fly alone. We met up in Vienna, at an unmercyfully early 3.15 in the morning and drove to the Airport Vienna. Checked in, Bags dropped off, Adapters bought, and we were on our way. Over in London i was lucky, the driver who picked up Roman agreed to take me with them. So I ended up at Roman’s Hotel, with literally no idea which direction my hotel was. When i finally ended up in my Hotel, i directly bumped into my Friend Nirave, who i met already in January this Year, when Hell was in London. lol. The second guy who i met was Dan Carter aka WorldofNokia. Now let me tell you a few words about Dan: I met this Guy for the first time back in Las Vegas, when we were both invited to the CES Event. He was the Guy i spend the most time with over there, and exactly 3 years later, Dan even took the time to travel to London with me and spend some quality time there. Dan Carter has gotten a very very good Friend for me throughout the years, so it was especially nice to meet him again and spend some great days with him. After some chill out time at the hotel room, i met Dan downstairs to have a snack from where we headed directly to the Nokia Meetup.

Dan Carter and me :) Continue reading “Nokia World 2010 – Part1: #NokiaMeet!”

Nokia World 2010 – Video: Damian Dinning and the N8 photobook

And here’s another Video from Nokia World 2010. This Time i met with Damian Dinning (or @phonedaz on Twitter), one of the People who were heavily involved in the AWESOME camera work on the Nokia N8!

What the Guys did, was printing a big photobook, with pictures taken with the Nokia N8. All the Pictures in the Book were absolutely unedited, just as they came out of the Camera. Unfortunately the Video isnt as sharp as i hoped it to be, but you can get the Idea. Nokia has really stepped up the Game here, not only beating all other smartphone camera, but also consumer cams, like pocket point and shoots etc. Being a hobby photographer like i am, the Nokia N8 is exactly what i want. period.

Damian was a very kind Guy, taking his Time to talk me through the whole book, as well as having a drink with us the day before Nokia World. Enjoy!

Nokia World 2010 – Video: Nokia Plug and Touch

Hi Guys, i’m back home from Nokia World and got immediately struck down by a heavy cold. as is half of Nokia World. To whoever did this to us, step forward to receive your deserved punishment! 😀

Anyways, i’m trying to slowly bring in all the Content from Nokia World, and i wanna start off with the coolest Thing by a long shot. Have you Guys seen Iron Man 2 and Tony Starks awesome Computer? Well, Nokia is currently working on something just as nice. What they did is plug in the Nokia N8 to a flat screen, with the camera pointing to the picture on the TV. The N8 Camera basically then reacts on everything thats happening on the big Screen with Gestures. For now this is only scroll and click, but possibilities are endless. As you can hear in the Video, this could be used on any TV, with any Type of Nokia Phone.

There is no word yet when we can expect this here in real life, but I WANT!! 🙂 Enjoy this little Video guys

What do you think?