http://www.fonearena.com/blog The Mobile Blog Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:36:21 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45449/nokia-lumia-800-white-hands-on.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45449/nokia-lumia-800-white-hands-on.html#comments Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:47:24 +0000 jonchoo http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=45449 It seems apt that Nokia has chosen to announced a new colour Lumia 800 this week. Europe has been blankated by snow - so what better way than to celebrate than making official the white version. White is a popular colour for a phone, and while the previous versions has always looked so darn beautiful on the Lumia 800's Polycarbonate unibody shell, it just isn't quite as sexy as it is in white. Unlike its technicolour cousins, the white Lumia 800 features a glossy finish rather than matte. This means that it attracts fingerprints, and doesn't hide scratches nearly as well as matte. Why no matte? Well Nokia's explanation is that a glossy finish is easier to clean than a matte one - highly critical with a product of this colour. Regardless the glossy finish really compliments the snow white colour really well. While it does attract fingerprints, it isn't as apparent as I assumed it would be. In any case all four of the Lumia 800 features the exact same specifications, down to the 16GB storage - meaning, unlike the N9, there is no 64GB version. Still you can't argue that the white version does looks rather sleek, and would no ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45449/nokia-lumia-800-white-hands-on.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45457/nokia-lumia-900-white.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45457/nokia-lumia-900-white.html#comments Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:52:42 +0000 jonchoo http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=45457 Yesterday Nokia all but confirmed the white Lumia 800, which we will go hands-on soon. But they also showed off another Windows Phone device. Whether accidental or intentional, the Lumia 900 sans AT&T logo is featured, in plain sight, on their Facebook page. And in white. While Nokia has not confirmed the international variant of the Lumia 900, it is expected that the specifications will remain the same as the AT&T version, minus the LTE radio. As MWC is in the next couple of weeks, speculation is rife that Nokia will announce the GSM version of the Lumia 900, and this leak will only further confirm that. Via PocketNow ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45457/nokia-lumia-900-white.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45404/list-of-122-2g-licenses-cancelled-across-22-circles.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45404/list-of-122-2g-licenses-cancelled-across-22-circles.html#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:55:35 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=45404 We have put together a complete list of operators and circles which have been affected by the latest Supreme  Court judgement in India. If you are using a number on any of the networks in the affected circles below, you should move your number to another operator or you might loose your number for ever. Uninor (Circles Affected : 22) If you are using a Uninor number as your primary service , you have 4 months to move the number to another operator. Operating as a several companies - Unitech Wireless (South) Pvt. Ltd. , (East) Pvt. Ltd. ,(Delhi) Pvt.Ltd.,(West) Pvt. Ltd.,(North) Pvt. Ltd.,(Kolkata) Pvt. Ltd.,(West) Pvt. Ltd., (Mumbai) Pvt. Ltd.,(Tamil Nadu) Pvt. Ltd. Andhra Pradesh Assam Bihar Delhi Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu & Kashmir Karnataka Kerala Kolkata Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Mumbai North East Orissa Punjab Rajasthan Tamilnadu (including Chennai Service Area) Uttar Pradesh (East) Uttar Pradesh (West) West Bengal Videocon (Videocon Telecommunications Ltd) (Circles Affected : 21) Andhra Pradesh Assam Bihar Delhi Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu & Kashmir Karnataka Kerala Kolkata Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Mumbai North East Orissa Rajasthan Tamilnadu                                          (including Chennai Service Area) Uttar Pradesh (East) Uttar Pradesh (West) West Bengal Loop Telecom(Loop Telecom Ltd. ) (Circles Affected : 21) Andhra Pradesh Assam Bihar Delhi Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu & Kashmir Karnataka Kerala Kolkata Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra North East Orissa Punjab Rajasthan Tamilnadu                                          (including Chennai Service Area) Uttar Pradesh (East) Uttar Pradesh (West) West Bengal MTS (Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd.) (Circles Affected : 21) Andhra Pradesh Assam  Bihar Delhi Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu & Kashmir Karnataka Kerala Kolkata Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Mumbai North East Orissa Punjab Tamilnadu                                          (including Chennai Service Area)  Uttar Pradesh (East) Uttar Pradesh (West) West Bengal Etisalat/Cheers Mobile(Etisalat DB Telecom Pvt. Ltd. ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45404/list-of-122-2g-licenses-cancelled-across-22-circles.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45221/mobile-world-congress-2012-schedule-and-event-calendar.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45221/mobile-world-congress-2012-schedule-and-event-calendar.html#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:43:16 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=45221 Mobile World Congress 2012 also known as MWC takes place in Barcelona next month from Feb 27-Mar 1.It is the biggest mobile event of the year and FoneArena is going to cover MWC 2012 in full force. As I was adding events to my calendar , I noticed that many events were overlapping. I decided to create this MWC 2012 calendar and made it public so that it will help other attendees plan their show as well. We have included product launches , important keynotes and of course the parties as well ! In case you want to add any event to our calendar or make changes to an existing event , feel free to email us mwc AT fonearena.com The big events we are looking forward too are the press conferences from the mobile brands including Nokia, Samsung , HTC and Sony ( Ericsson ). Huawei also has grand plans for MWC. Note: Many brands including Samsung have not announced dates for their MWC press conference but they have something planned for sure. Make sure you choose the week of Feb26-Mar 1 in the calendar below for the events to show up. [HTML1] Please note that the above calendar is set to GMT+1 or ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45221/mobile-world-congress-2012-schedule-and-event-calendar.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44696/samsung-galaxy-note-review.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44696/samsung-galaxy-note-review.html#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 07:54:37 +0000 Dhruv Bhutani http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=44696 Phone or Tablet ? Samsung themselves have been unable to decide how to promote the Galaxy Note. With a massive 5.3" screen , active digitizer, the Galaxy Note is also the perfect note taking device. How does it cope up as a phone ? Read the FoneArena Galaxy Note review to find out. For starters lets give you an  idea about the size of the Note, thats the device next to the iPhone 4S. And here is  Note next to the Galaxy Nexus and the Galaxy S2 Hardware One look at the Galaxy Note and all you can notice is the screen. Massive , bright , gorgeous. The screen is the highlight of the device which is essentially a giant sized Galaxy S2. Much heavier than the S2 , the Note weighs in at 173gms compared to the light 116gms of the S2. The build quality is above average and the patterned back actually feels quite nice in hand. The Note is definitely one of the most powerful devices in the market at the moment and comes equipped with a giant list of features which includes : 146.9 x 83 x 9.7 mm, 178g Phone-Tablet hybrid formfactor 5.3 Inch 16 Million colors Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen at WXGA ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44696/samsung-galaxy-note-review.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44593/sandisk-64gb-microsdxc-memory-card-review.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44593/sandisk-64gb-microsdxc-memory-card-review.html#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 04:05:38 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=44593 Here is the FoneArena review of the SanDisk 64GB microSDXC memory card that was launched recently in India. SanDisk doesn't mention which class it belongs to, but after further investigation on some sites it is clear that it is a Class 6 Memory card. SanDisk promises read speeds up to 30 MB/sec.  We tested this card on some phones including Motorola Razr and Samsung Galaxy S2 and even on a year old Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and it works fine. Both the Razr and the Galaxy S2 comes with 16GB internal memory which makes the total space into 80GB to store all your Photos, Full HD videos and more. The Motorola Razr, Galaxy Note, Sony Tablet S and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 officially supports 64GB cards. Let's get into the detailed review and see how it performs on some benchmarks. Reed Write speed test using CrystalDiskMark Read speeds were around 20 MB/s and Write speeds were around 9 MB/s. Read Speed measured using HDTach Read speeds were steady at 20 MB/s. AnTuTu for Android Benchmark   Maximum Read speeds were around 27 MB/s and the Write speeds were around 19 MB/s with the Antutu app for Android. The speed varied drastically, and the increase in speed might be due to the app. SD Tools ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44593/sandisk-64gb-microsdxc-memory-card-review.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44681/aakash-tablet-ubislate-9-unboxing.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44681/aakash-tablet-ubislate-9-unboxing.html#comments Wed, 04 Jan 2012 06:58:48 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=44681 We take a look at the WiFi version of the Aakash tablet also known as the UbiSlate 7. It was available for pre-order for Rs.2499 and those who had placed the order are finally receiving the device.The device is powered by a Arm11 – 366Mhz CPU and is not the fastest tablet out there but the price tag is pretty impressive. If you covert the pricing to USD it costs around 47 USD approximately which makes it one of the cheapest tablets in the world and carries the Made in India tag ! It runs on Android 2.2 and uses a resistive touchscreen. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ds43EFwOcM It is aimed at providing an affordable tablet for students and this model offers only WiFi connectivity although we found a SIM card slot was present. One amazing feature which you can rarely find even in high end tablets is the presence of full-size USB ports which can be used to connect accessories and pen drives. There is also a microSD Card slot and the package comes with a 2GB card. If you are looking forward to purchasing this tablet , do check out our video. ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44681/aakash-tablet-ubislate-9-unboxing.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43578/htc-radar-review.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43578/htc-radar-review.html#comments Thu, 15 Dec 2011 09:24:57 +0000 Dhruv Bhutani http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=43578 The HTC Radar marks the beginning of the next generation Windows Phone 7 devices. The fledgling OS had previously failed to grab much of market share owing to its lack of several basic features including multitasking , copy paste but with Mango onboard , WP7 stands a definite chance to make a dent in the market. The Radar is one of the first few devices to natively run Windows Phone 7.5 ie Mango on it. Lets take a deeper look at it  in the FoneArena HTC Radar Review. Hardware One look at the HTC Radar and you will immediately recognize the design fundamentals kept in mind during the development stage. The phone hardware focuses on minimalism and does so by using a very calming  color combination of white and silver. It might not jump out seeking for attention but the phone is definitely very elegant.  The unibody construction of the HTC Radar is a solid combination of plastic and aluminum. The white plastic segments not only add to the  aesthetics but also let the phone maintain a good signal connection. The front of the phone is dominated by a 3.8" SLCD screen.  The screen is bright and vibrant. It retains good visibility even in ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43578/htc-radar-review.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44192/whats-on-my-nokia-lumia-800-windows-phone.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44192/whats-on-my-nokia-lumia-800-windows-phone.html#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 07:14:09 +0000 Michael Hell http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=44192 I have been using Windows Phone for roughly 6 months now and yes, I really like it. WP, although not perfect, has some features that really got me. There is room for improvement, and I'm perfectly happy in going that route, watching it grow and evolute. After the rather mediocre HTC Trophy I'm now using the Nokia Lumia 800, which simply is the best Windows Phone out there, period. One of the discussion points I have always faced, has been "but there are no apps on Windows Phone". Well, i call it nonsense here. The Windows Phone Marketplace is constantly growing, and is getting filled with not only apps from the known brands, but also quality 3rd party applications, with some really cool ideas. Since people are still learning and are getting into Windows Phone since Nokia has joined the party, I thought it'd be a nice idea to put all my currently installed apps together, and wrap them up into a nice post. Ready? Here we go: Rowi Rowi from Hidden Pineapple is simply said, one of the best Twitter clients available for Windows Phone. It perfectly adapts the Metro Interface, sports a ton of features, including Auto Name Complete, photo uploading, ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44192/whats-on-my-nokia-lumia-800-windows-phone.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44153/motorola-defy-review-2.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44153/motorola-defy-review-2.html#comments Tue, 06 Dec 2011 22:49:05 +0000 jonchoo http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=44153 The Motorola DEFY+ is an evolution of the original Motorola DEFY, which won our heart last year as the only complete smartphone that offers some form of physical protection against water, dust and the occasional drop. In a form that doesn't make it differ much from a typical smartphone. Read on to find out if this phone has what it takes to survive in the hands of a nefarious phones reviewer. Exterior wise, the DEFY+ looks exactly like the original DEFY. In fact not much has changed on the outside, if at all. The look is now almost recognizable Motorola. It is small, light and looks nothing like any rugged phones out there. Not only does it actually look cute, it is also stylish. You would not be embarrass to use this IP67 certified phone in a fancy bar for example as you would, say, a JCB Tradesman. In addition to the phone itself, included inside the DEFY+'s compact box are a large 1700mAh battery, microUSB cable, 2GB microSDHC card, headphones and USB wall charger. The headset looks rather ordinary and if you are serious about listening to music on the DEFY+, you would be best to invest in a better quality ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44153/motorola-defy-review-2.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43959/hands-on-blackberry-curve-9380.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43959/hands-on-blackberry-curve-9380.html#comments Mon, 05 Dec 2011 04:54:54 +0000 Dhruv Bhutani http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=43959 One of the more interesting devices out of RIM's three handset launch recently is the Blackberry Curve 9380. The device is being marketed as the first consumer oriented , mass market full touch Blackberry device.  The 9380 is a part of the consumer centric Curve series of devices and looks almost identical to the 9350 from the back. The front of the Curve 9380 is dominated by a 3.2" touchscreen. The resolution here is the same as that on the Curve 9380 ie 480x360. This results in a decidedly low ppi for a screen that size. The touchscreen is generally bright and responsive. The bottom of the devices has four backlit buttons. THe hardware buttons are separated by an optical trackpad in the middle. The back of the Curve 9380 is identical to its keypad enabled sibling , the Curve 9350. Smooth fingerprint-prone plastic is flanked by high quality matte black plastics on both sides. The camera remains a 5MP unit capable of VGA recording. We would've loved to see RIM add 720p video capture to the phone but that might be expecting a bit too much from the 800Mhz single core processor. The left side has a micro USB port and nothing else. Rather ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43959/hands-on-blackberry-curve-9380.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43724/nokia-world-2011-a-late-recap.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43724/nokia-world-2011-a-late-recap.html#comments Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:44:14 +0000 Michael Hell http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=43724 It was this time of the year again, where the heart of every Nokia Fan beats a little bit faster. Nokia Enthusiasts, bloggers, journalists and many more took the trip to London, to join Nokia and see what they have been up to. Same as last year, Nokia World has again been held at the Excel Center in London. I was lucky enough to get an invitation from the awesome people at Nokia Connects and Stephanie from Nokia Austria, and that itself made sure for a fun ride! This years showcase of everything Nokia promised to be a big one, with Windows Phone finally arriving in the form of something we can get our hands on, and since I'm a firm believer in the partnership between Microsoft and Nokia, I can't say I wasn't excited to finally get over there and see what the Finns are up to. Keep in mind, this will not be an in-depth analysis of what happened at the keynote, nor will i deep dive into the handsets (that will come later on), what you're about to read were my personal experiences, and how it felt to be part of the event. Ready? Read on.. When I ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43724/nokia-world-2011-a-late-recap.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43998/samsung-galaxy-nexus-unboxing-video.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43998/samsung-galaxy-nexus-unboxing-video.html#comments Mon, 28 Nov 2011 10:17:01 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=43998 The Galaxy Nexus is world's first phone to run on Android 4.0 which is also known as Ice Cream Sandwich. Google and Samsung unveiled the device in Hong Kong last month and the device went on sale in few markets earlier this month. The handset is priced at around 429 pounds in the UK.The box is unusually long and has the picture of the device  on the front and sides.A very simplistic design with subtle marketing material. No mention even of the specs on the outside.The unit we got was a Titanium Silver color. The device boasts of a 4.65 inch SuperAMOLED display with a 720p resolution.It is powered by a 1.2 GHz CPU and packs 16GB of inbuilt storage without an expansion slot. There is a 5MP camera on the back and a 1.3 MP front facing camera. It uses only a normal SIM card slot unlike other recent phones to hit the market like iPhone 4s,  Nokia Lumia 800 or Motorola RAZR.  Here is the unboxing video without further ado httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQs0wYIa6pM Box Contents Phone 1750 mAh battery Earphones USB datacable AC Adaptor Warranty information Quick start guide Sadly no Ice Cream Sandwiches was found in the box ! Initial Impressions First 15 minutes with the device  - Great hardware except ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43998/samsung-galaxy-nexus-unboxing-video.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43408/lg-optimus-pro-c660-review.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43408/lg-optimus-pro-c660-review.html#comments Mon, 28 Nov 2011 04:42:49 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=43408 Here is the FoneArena review of the LG Optimus Pro. It is a touch screen Android phone with a QWERTY keyboard. It became official in July in Italy and was available in India last month. It is powered by 800 MHz processor and runs on Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread). Hardware The phone has 2.3 inch (240 x 320 pixels) TFT capacitive touch screen display and a full QWERTY keyboard. The phone has nice curve shape and a good build quality. It is 12.9 mm thick and weighs 129g. There is a physical menu button, home button, back button and a search button below the display. The numbers are on the left on the QWERTY keyboard with an alt option to switch between alphabets and numbers / symbols. There are shortcut buttons on the last row of the keyboard for the upper case characters, browser, calendar and email. The delete key and the enter key are on the far right. The keyboard is not very comfortable to type if you have large fingers, but you can manage to get the words right if you have smaller fingers like me. The volume rocker is on the left side. The Micro USB port is on the right side. The power / lock button ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43408/lg-optimus-pro-c660-review.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43849/motorola-razr-xt910-unboxing-pics.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43849/motorola-razr-xt910-unboxing-pics.html#comments Tue, 22 Nov 2011 11:33:16 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=43849 Remember the good old Motorola RAZR ? Now the Moto RAZR is back in a sexy new avatar in the form of a incredible Android phone.The Motorola RAZR XT910 was officially launched in India only yesterday and here we have some unboxing pics of this beautiful device and a video is processing as we speak.The device  comes in pretty small square box with a touch of red to it. The RAZR XT910 is the GSM variant of the Motorola DROID RAZR which was launched on Verizon in the US. The device is powered by a 1.2 GHz Dual Core processor and packs 1 GB of RAM. The display is a 4.3 inch Super AMOLED Advanced display. It packs a 8MP camera which is capable of full HD 1080p recording. The handset is incredible thin at just 7.1 mm except in the top. Tons of pics in the gallery below. Make sure you click the thumbnail to get the big picture. [gallery link="file" order="DESC" columns="4"] Unboxing Video httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8Bb_tQkbwE Motorola has surely done a impressive job with this handset and whats more impressive is launching it in India soon. The pricing is on the higher side but for the specs and just the kick ass design ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43849/motorola-razr-xt910-unboxing-pics.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43750/nokia-lumia-710-meets-the-htc-radar.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43750/nokia-lumia-710-meets-the-htc-radar.html#comments Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:01:54 +0000 Dhruv Bhutani http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=43750 We got some time to play with the recently announced Nokia 710 , Windows 7.5 based phone. We also had the HTC Radar which is a close match to the 710 in terms of specifications and target market. Click through to check out some comparative  images and our thoughts on the two. The Nokia 710 feels like a mid range device through and through. This is compounded by the fully plastic construction of the phone. In comparison the HTC Radar follows a unibody design philosophy making liberal use of aluminum along with elegant while plastic panels. Owing to the aluminum construction , the Radar is however heavier than the 710. Over all , we'd rate the HTC Radar higher in the looks department. Both phones come with 5MP camera units capable of auto focus and 720p video. While we cannot comment on the image quality of the 710 without a full review , you can get a better idea of the camera on the Radar by reading our review. As can be seen above , the 710 is just a bit thicker than the Radar. The 710 however feels just as comfortable if not more than the Radar when held in hand. The gently curve of ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43750/nokia-lumia-710-meets-the-htc-radar.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43653/the-mysterious-story-of-the-apple-iphone-4s-not-working-in-india.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43653/the-mysterious-story-of-the-apple-iphone-4s-not-working-in-india.html#comments Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:25:21 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=43653 If you are one amongst consumers who had purchased the iPhone 4S from outside India and were facing issues getting it to work here , good news for you. Many users including me were seeing no signal bars on the iPhone 4S in India. Calls and SMS were not working.Surprisingly 3G data was working fine on most operators including Airtel , Vodafone and BSNL. I had tried using some international SIM cards such as AT&T, T-Mobile , O2 UK, 3 UK, SmarTone (HK). The issue was strange as I had another iPhone 4S which was working perfectly fine with all the SIM cards. Look at the speedtest below on BSNL. Awesome speeds but no signal bars ! Weird right ? Awesome speed yet no bars iPhone 4S was working perfectly fine outside India This is the same phone which was working perfectly fine in the UK. In fact i was using the 4S as a Hotspot for my laptop as I had unlimited data from 3UK. Hardware problem  ? Not convinced If the device had a manufacturing defect or if the hardware was faulty, how would it work in the UK that too for a couple of days without throwing up an error. In fact ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43653/the-mysterious-story-of-the-apple-iphone-4s-not-working-in-india.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43511/nokia-lumia-800-review.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43511/nokia-lumia-800-review.html#comments Fri, 04 Nov 2011 11:19:21 +0000 jonchoo http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=43511 Welcome to the FoneArena Nokia Lumia 800 Review. It is barely eight months after Stephen Elop’s infamous burning platform memo, Nokia has announced their first ever Windows Phone 7 device and has even begun shipment to retailers in Europe. Many thought it was impossible, but Nokia did it anyway. Is this a sign that the once complacent giant has finally woken up to the reality of mobile phone business in the 21st century? Speak to many Nokia employees and in their views are the same: the Lumia 800 is Nokia’s comeback phone. It isn’t the high end device that many hoped for, but it is the first step. After all you need to learn to walk before you run. For Nokia to be able to get the Lumia 800 into the hands of the press eight months after they started working on this device is impressive, but would that be enough. Read on to find out what we think about the new Lumia 800. Hardware: Chassis one with a speed bump The Nokia Lumia 800 is easily the most stunning smartphone I have ever held, period. It is made of a single piece of polycarbonate (basically a posh variety of plastic), a first as far as I ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43511/nokia-lumia-800-review.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42851/nokia-n9-review-a-swipetastic-device-from-finland.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42851/nokia-n9-review-a-swipetastic-device-from-finland.html#comments Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:39:15 +0000 Michael Hell http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=42851 It's been a week since I picked up my (test-) Nokia N9 from the kind of folks of Grayling, an agency for Nokia Austria in Vienna. Of course, I was not too anxious to get it in my hands as soon as possible, i just wanted to save them some money for the delivery ;-) In this week I have tried and tested almost everything possible, and to give you a first conclusion of what i think: I love the N9. This is no fanboy rubbish or something like that, I simply speak as an honest, independent blogger, who has tried Android, Windows Phone, Symbian and even iOS. The N9 does not have the most powerful processor, it does not have the most Megapixels and thank god not the biggest display. It's a smartphone with solid hardware, and the one thing Nokia needs so desperately: a decent OS. Yes, I know the whole story around Meego's end before it really started, however, this is not subject of this review. For now, let's have a look at what the N9 has to offer and what you can expect from it! HARDWARE It's an incredibly sexy device, this N9. I would even go as far ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42851/nokia-n9-review-a-swipetastic-device-from-finland.html/feed 10 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42992/iphone-4s-at-a-glance.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42992/iphone-4s-at-a-glance.html#comments Mon, 17 Oct 2011 10:24:36 +0000 Sloan Bowman http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=42992 Apple has released another addition to the iPhone series this year and they named it the iPhone 4S. As many of you remember the S indicates upgrades in hardware and software alike. In June of 2009 Apple made this very same bold move by releasing the 3GS which was a performance boosted 3G. Many claim to be "disappointed" by the decision yet the record sales disprove that claim abruptly. Whether you approve of the decision or not the 4S claims to be a faster, more efficient version of the wildly popular 4 released in June 2010. Let's take a few minutes and look at the noticeable differences at a glance. Please note this is not a full review of the hardware or software. With that in mind lets move along to the good stuff. The Why Each year we have all come to expect Apple to release a new revision of the iPhone. In the mobile industry it brings excitement because along side it comes speculation, assumptions, and in some cases out right lies. Followers of the mobile space have come to appreciate this because it gives them something to look forward to. Let's just admit it, even if you don't like the iPhone you always read about what ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42992/iphone-4s-at-a-glance.html/feed 3 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42330/nokia-x1-01-dual-sim-music-phone-review.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42330/nokia-x1-01-dual-sim-music-phone-review.html#comments Mon, 17 Oct 2011 06:50:08 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=42330 Here is the Fonearena review of the Nokia X1-1. This is Nokia's first Dual SIM Music phone that comes with dual standby. The phone was announced in May, and it is now available in the market in four colors, Red, Ocean Blue, Dark Grey and white. We have the red colored one. This Music phone has speaker that can produce up to 106 phon of loudness and it runs on S30 OS. Specifications of the phone 1.8 inch (128 x 160 pixels ) 65,000 colours, TFT display 16 mm thick and weighs 91.05 g Dual SIM with dual standby Expandable external memory up to 16 GB with MicroSD 500 phone book entries and 250 SMS storage Stereo FM radio and Music Player 3.5mm audio jack Dedicated music keys and torch 1320 mAh Li-Ion battery with 786 min talk time, 43 days of standby and 36 h music playback Hardware / Design The design of the phone is unique with a curved look with the front part of the phone in black color and the the back part in red color. The phone is easy to grip and has a a 1.8 inch TFT display and a 4 row T9 keypad. The name of the phone X1 is on the top left corner and the Nokia ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42330/nokia-x1-01-dual-sim-music-phone-review.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42988/apple-iphone-4s-unboxing.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42988/apple-iphone-4s-unboxing.html#comments Sat, 15 Oct 2011 18:42:16 +0000 Sloan Bowman http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=42988 The iPhone 4S hit stores in many countries across the world yesterday including the United States.FoneArena's Sloan Bowman takes a quick look at the iPhone 4S for AT&T and unboxes the device for us. As a bonus we have a interesting comparison between the iPhone 4 and the 4S. Watch the video after the break. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40vyQXDoQJg Hope you enjoyed the unboxing.Stay tuned to FoneArena for more iPhone 4S coverage . If you have any questions about the device feel free to ask them in the comment box below and we shall try to answer them. What do you want to ask Siri ? ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42988/apple-iphone-4s-unboxing.html/feed 8 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42759/video-nokia-n9-unboxing.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42759/video-nokia-n9-unboxing.html#comments Mon, 10 Oct 2011 07:44:06 +0000 Michael Hell http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=42759 Yes indeed, it is finally here in my hands: Nokia's long awaited first (and hopefully not the last) Meego Smartphone, the Nokia N9! I got my test device for the upcoming weeks this Friday, thanks to Nokia Austria, enduring a rainy trip to Vienna just to get it as soon as possible! I did not waste much time and proudly present to you now, the unboxing of the georgeous 3,9" Touchscreen device - a true pleasure for me, as i hope it is for you! Enjoy, and if you have any questions, leave them in the comments and I'll answer them as soon as possible!! Watch the video after the break! ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42759/video-nokia-n9-unboxing.html/feed 14 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42585/apple-iphone-event-set-for-october-4th.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42585/apple-iphone-event-set-for-october-4th.html#comments Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:45:45 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=42585 Let's talk iPhone , this is what the invite sent by Apple to some media outlets looks like and Engadget got hold of one. The rumour about an iPhone event on Oct 4th was first reported by AllThingsD and it's turned out to be true. The event takes place on October 4th at 10am at the Apple Campus at 1 , Infinite Loop. We are not sure if Apple would launch only one device as there has been a lot of talk about a cheaper iPhone as well. We should be finding out more details as we get closer to the actual event. Get ready for your dose of iPhone news on Oct 4th , 10 AM California Time , 10:30 PM India Time , 6PM London Time and 1 AM Oct 5th in Hong Kong Read ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42585/apple-iphone-event-set-for-october-4th.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42496/nokia-world-2011-five-steps-to-do-it-right.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42496/nokia-world-2011-five-steps-to-do-it-right.html#comments Mon, 26 Sep 2011 10:53:12 +0000 Michael Hell http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=42496 I have been a supporter of Nokia ever since i have started using mobile phones. I guess everyone knows about the enormous downswing Nokia has experienced the last couple of years, when they basically slept when every trend was born and then tried to keep up with some rather unspectacular attempts. Even the current crop of Symbian phones can not keep up with the pace of the mobile world. Those may be harsh words, but it is as it is, and I am saying this as a long time supporter. However, the absolut lowest point in Nokia's history was reached at the infamous February 11 keynote. Not because of the Windows Phone/Microsoft partnership announcement, it's more the way that everything about that keynote felt last minute. Poorly executed. Poorly communicated. Poorly translated by media and blogs. And then an even worse follow-up. The end of Nokia predictions and announcements have been following, as usual. Of course, every one with an IQ higher than a glass of mustard did not buy into this, without even seeing it all play out. Average Joe on the street however, will believe those reports, and will stop buying Nokia phones because of this and that ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42496/nokia-world-2011-five-steps-to-do-it-right.html/feed 6 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41952/nokia-701-photos-hands-on.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41952/nokia-701-photos-hands-on.html#comments Fri, 26 Aug 2011 09:02:20 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=41952 Nokia announced the 701 along with the 600 and 700 at the event in Hong Kong. We got our hands on the Nokia 701 and it is certainly a well designed phone taking cues from the C7. Nokia claims the phone is the brightest phone in the market( We are checking if its brighter than the LG Optimus Black). Take a look at the photos below. Video coming really soon.     We decided to put the phone under a powerful light which was very powerful and we could still manage to read the text on the screen. ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41952/nokia-701-photos-hands-on.html/feed 1 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41951/nokia-600-photos-hands-on.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41951/nokia-600-photos-hands-on.html#comments Fri, 26 Aug 2011 08:46:17 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=41951 Just when everyone was thinking , Symbian has reached it's end Nokia surprised us by launching 3 new Symbian phones running the newest version of Symbian - Belle and packing other interesting goodies such as a 1GHz Processor and NFC ( Near Field Communication ). We got our hands on the most affordable phone of the trio - the Nokia 600 which is also supposed to be the loudest smartphone from Nokia so far. Take a look at the pics below. A video should be up soon as well. The 600 was pretty fast and a bit thicker than the rest. It has an inbuilt FM Radio receiver and a 5 MP Camera on the back which is also capable of HD video recording. Looks like they have done something different with the microUSB cover. ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41951/nokia-600-photos-hands-on.html/feed 1 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41891/live-blog-nokia-symbian-event-at-hong-kong.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41891/live-blog-nokia-symbian-event-at-hong-kong.html#comments Wed, 24 Aug 2011 04:52:28 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=41891 We are here at Hong Kong for Nokia's Symbian Event where we expect see the future of Symbian  hopefully software and hardware. We will be live blogging the event.Stay tuned to FoneArena for latest updates. The event starts at 18:30 Hong Kong Local time 4 PM India Time 11:30 AM London Time , 3 30 AM SFO , 6 30 AM NYC Watch the space below for the live blog. [HTML1] ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41891/live-blog-nokia-symbian-event-at-hong-kong.html/feed 9 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41756/beetel-magiq-android-tablet-launched-in-india-at-rs-9999.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41756/beetel-magiq-android-tablet-launched-in-india-at-rs-9999.html#comments Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:03:51 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=41756 Beetel has launched their Android Tablet, Magiq in India. This 3G Tablet runs on Android 2.2 and has 7 inch TFT touchscreen and powered by a 1 GHz processor. Reliance launched their 3G Tab recently, but this tablet is cheaper and has faster processor. The Magiq tablet also comes with free 3G data for both prepaid and postpaid customers from Airtel.Whats surprising about the tablet is the pricing under Rs.10000 considering it runs on Android 2.2 Beetel Magiq Features SIM Status    Single SIM Screen Size    7.0” WVGA Camera    Dual ( 2MP + 2MP) Memory    Internal – 8GBExpandable-Upto 16GB    Battery    2200mAh Android version    2.2 Wi-fi    802.11 b/g/n Frequency Bands    GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 UMTS 2100 MHz Google market access    Yes Processor Speed    1GHz It comes with 2MP rear facing camera and 2MP front facing camera. It supports both 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity options, and has an internal memory of 8GB that is expandable up to 16GB. It also has an optical track pad for navigation and a 2200mAh battery. ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41756/beetel-magiq-android-tablet-launched-in-india-at-rs-9999.html/feed 56 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41710/motorola-defy-plus-is-official-runs-gingerbread-and-can-survive-some-abuse.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41710/motorola-defy-plus-is-official-runs-gingerbread-and-can-survive-some-abuse.html#comments Mon, 15 Aug 2011 15:29:39 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=41710 The rumoured Motorola Defy+ which is the successor to the original Defy is finally official close on the heels of the Google to acquire Motorola Mobility announcement . The Defy Plus retains the glory of it's ancestor and is Water Resistant, Scratch Resistant and Dust Proof. We are not totally sure what extent of abuse this phone can handle. Our very own Jon had the pleasure of dipping the the old Defy in a glass of water and it did function properly afterwards. In terms of specs it is powered by a 1GHz CPU and runs on Android 2.3 and runs on a 1700 mAh battery. The 3.7 inch display is made of scratch resistant Gorilla Glass.You can find the full specs below. As you can see there are minor improvements in terms of specs but we wish Motorola promoted this phone in a better way at least in countries where it rains a lot !   Motorola DEFY+ Features Talk and Standby Time 7.1 hours and 16 days in standby in 3G mode Bands/Modes Dual-band WCDMA 850/1900, 850/2100, 900/2100, Quadband GSM 850/900/1800/1900, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, HSUPA 2Mbps, EDGE Class 12, GPRS Class 12 Dimensions 107 x 59 x 13.4 mm Display 3.7” FWVGA, 854x480 pixels Weight 118 grams Battery 1700 mAh OS Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) Connectivity 3.5mm headset jack, USB 2.0 ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41710/motorola-defy-plus-is-official-runs-gingerbread-and-can-survive-some-abuse.html/feed 6