3GSM 2006
News Flash! The M600 Keyboard is actually a Standard QWERTY
Because of two letters reside on each key of the M600's keypad, it was assumed that the phone had a hybrid keyboard that used predictive text, like the Blackberry 7100 series. Instead the M600 keys are actually rockers - press them on one side, they type one letter, press on the other for the second letter. You can see the rocker shape of the keys in the first picture below. Look at the Q/W or A/S key and you'll notice the letters actually face each other.
Despite how difficult and confusing this sounds, it was actually very easy and very accurate to use. The moment I was informed of this fact, i tried typing out a test sentence and was able to do so with 100% accuracy after a few drinks, something it was far more difficult to do even while sober on the Motorola Q or Samsung i320.
The K610: Contents May Be Lighter Than They Appear
The K610 is shockingly light - a perfectly working model feels like hollow in-store dummy phone. However it is solid in the hand and big enough to hold and use without any strain. It is only a slight evolution of the Sony Ericsson candybar form factor we've seen so much of, so it is difficult to say anything other than why mess with a good thing.
Although the K610 looks awfully close to the W810, as though it would run the same software minus the Walkman player, it features yet another revision of the Sony Ericsson interface, and actually includes the Walkman player. Navigation is further refined, and menu text is now in an enlarged, rounder font. The K610 also adds a few new features that many will wish were in the W810, such as A2DP stereo Bluetooth.
The W950: Pure Music
When introduced to the product manager for the W950, we asked why no camera was added to the phone. Sure a camera would have added extra thickness to a phone that Sony Ericsson wanted to keep as sleek as possible, but that was not his reply. Instead he claimed the intention was to focus the experience on music, and that they have done.
With 4 GB of storage, an easy to navigate music player and navigation buttons that can control playback no matter what application you are in, the W950 is seriously poised to take mobile music to another level. Although it may sound unlikely, the W950 could be one of the most innovative mobile music experiences out there, even more so than the iPod. It certainly is more original and more intuitive than the current Walkman software. The use of the touch screen to do things like select an album by cover art or navigate around by "feel" takes advantage of all this phone has to offer.
QuickTime format
It is surprisingly small considering the size of the screen and the fact that it's a 3G handset in addition to being a flash-based music player. It fits easily in the hand and in the pocket, and with stereo Bluetooth, you won't need to take it out of the pocket unless you want to manually switch tracks or start using the phone itself. It's still difficult to get over the lack of a camera considering there is one on so many handsets these days, but Sony Ericsson have created something compelling even without it.
Review: Nokia 6126
Helio Hero Video Tour
CTIA 2006
CES 2006
Samsung Refreshes Galaxy S Series with S Pen, New Cameras
Pantech Hero / PN-8300
Samsung SGH-i320
Nokia 6126 / 6131 / 6133
