Sony Ericsson Z600 has a clamshell form factor and this is a dramatic change for people who were fans of the T610’s design. I reviewed the Sony Ericsson T610 before this and was really amazed to see that the manufacturer had managed to pack in so many features in such a small chassis. Sony Ericsson Z600 is not really broad at 48 mm and not really long at 90 mm. But a weight of 110 grams certainly makes it a bit bulk. I was also concerned about the thickness of the phone at 28mm. Compared to this, the Samsung V200 and Panasonic GD88 (both having clamshell designs) are just 23 mm thick. The exterior design of this phone is different from other folding type phones. On the top of the lid, there is a tiny LCD panel along with the camera lens. There is a lot of blank gap between the screen and camera. This chassis sports interchangeable covers. The device is well made and doesn’t have that cheap plasticky feeling. The weight is distributed evenly between the  [...]

You might call the Sonim XP3 ugly but that is really accurate. The handset is twice thicker than the Apple iPhone and it is covered in yellow garish plastic but it still has got a character. With the plastic deep ridges, machine like vents and exposed screws, the Sonim XP3 looks more like a drilling accessory than a cell phone. The screen of this phone is really small at just 1.77 inches (measured diagonally), the resolution too is below average at 128x160 pixels. Underneath the display, there are a set of buttons for shortcuts, navigations and standard 12-key numeric keypad. The screen is definitely below expectations but I liked the placement and the size of the buttons underneath the screen. The buttons are sufficiently raised above the surface for typing easily. There are four shortcut buttons around the rugged chassis of Sonim XP3. Two are for adjusting the volume, the left button is  [...]

Sony Ericsson K660i is a mid range phone made for the youth. The handset is really simple looking with a candy bar design and QVGA 2 inch color display. Below the display and the navigational keys, there are circular tiny numeric keys. The design of the keypad isn’t the most attractive one I have ever seen to take but it is certainly useful. Sony Ericsson K660i is 15mm thick and this thickness is a bit more than standard especially considering that it not a high end phone. On the phone’s left side, there is M2 memory slot through which you can easily swap memory and on the bottom, there is a single proprietary port for headphones and charging. The manufacturer has bundled a 256 MB memory card along with the device for loading songs and videos. Sony Ericsson K660i comes with nice Web-based features. On the numeric pad’s right, there are 4 buttons for search entry, bookmarks, page zooming and shortcut for ‘Fun and Downloads’  [...]

LG Cu720 is very stylish and shiny phone with lovely polished metal body and display that has mirror finish. This phone breathes sophistication and luxury. You can easily use this display as a compact mirror when the device is in standby mode. The handset is 3.93 inches tall, 0.59 inch thick and 1.99 inches wide and weighs about 4.23 ounces. The stainless steel body gives a sturdy feel in the hand. The slider mechanism is solid enough and it needs a firm push for smooth sliding. It is just like the KE970 but I wish there was some thumb grip close to the chin of the phone for easy sliding. My fingers often slipped on the glossy surface. Pressing any button on the LG Cu720 will reveal a 2.25 inch screen having mirrored finish. It supports 262k colors and is really gorgeous. The pictures are rich with great looking color and detail. Another cool thing about this display is the multi-angle vision  [...]

LG KF755 is a slim slider phone that has impressive looks and is made from good quality materials as well. The front panel is made up of tempered glass which will easily withstand scratches. I tried poking the display with a pair of scissors and it leave any marks. There is shiny and sleek metallic frame all over except on the top which is covered with leather textured material. The bottom and sides of the handset has rubber soft touch plastic materials for gripping the phone easily and the battery cover is made up of carbon fiber which is the same composite material that goes in spaceships. LG KF755 has a second camera built in for making video calls and there is also an ambient light sensor which automatically adjusts the screen contrast and keyboard backlighting according to the light in the environment. The most important control element of this device is the touch panel which is equipped with vibration or haptic feedback and there is  [...]

MDA Compact IV has borrowed a lot from HTC Touch Diamond and has put those features in a Windows Mobile device. The manufacturer has made some changes to its hardware and the most notable one is the loss of finger print magnet, diamond cut back which has made way for grey flat backplate. MDA Compact IV is based on Windows Mobile Professional 6.1 and you also get HTC’s TouchFLO 3D interface. There is also a change in color and it is made to fit in T-Mobile’s pink and white livery. The phone really looks impressive with the screen having a resolution of 640x480 pixels. But I was disappointed to see that this phone has the same usability problems that I saw first saw on the Touch Diamond – the finger sweeping gesture that is needed for controlling the interface is not really user-friendly and intuitive. The battery life of on the MDA Compact IV too  [...]

There are plenty of touch screens out in the market and now they are in danger of getting generic looks. LG GM730 has avoided that with a very interesting edge design. The phone corners are nicely rounded just like the sides and this makes the phone feel like a pebble in the hand. The handset is 109.8mm by 56.5mm by 11.9mm and at weight of 107 grams, it is very light and compact particularly for Windows Mobile smartphone. This gadget will easily fit in to most jeans pockets and handbags. There is one downside to the compact size of the LG GM730 and is that the space for the screen is limited. The touchscreen, diagonally measured, is just three inches big. This size would have been OK about an year ago but these days, smartphones have really big displays and hence this screen feels too small. You get a resolution of 400x240 pixels which is the same as what you get in Samsung Omnia SGH-i900. This  [...]

Samsung Player Style also goes by the name Samsung SGH-F480 in some parts of the world and this phone is really compact. It has a credit card like dimensions at 98.4mm by 55mm by 11.6mm. This phone is also a bit bigger than Samsung’s own Armani phone and it is a bit smaller as compared to LG’s Prada. Samsung Player Style has a metal chassis which gives it a very reliable and solid feel in the hand. The front estate is dominated by a generous 2.8 inches screen. The display is glossy and hence it attracts a lot of fingerprints. I would recommend hygiene freaks to keep a cleaning cloth close for wiping it. Samsung Player Style or Samsung SGH-F480 has physical call and end buttons on the bottom close to a key which activates shortcut menu. The most useful button here, according to me is the Hold tab which locks the screen and buttons against any unwanted  [...]