When Nokia first introduced the first version of the Nokia N95 late last year, they dubbed it a mini-computer as it was simply packed with applications that could not be found on any mobile phone in the market at that time. The price, unsurprisingly, was a little bit too expensive. Users also experienced some setbacks, primarily on the processing side of the phone.

Those problems, however, have been addressed, and now its successor, the N95 8GB, has been packed with twice the processing power. The increased RAM means you can actually feel the fluidity of the speed as you go through the many functions and applications of the phone.

Another feature which will definitely make local Bloggers take notice is the "post to blog" option. Simply take a picture and you'll be able to send it via MMS directly to your designated blog on Blogger. You can read more about that here.


Overall, Sony Ericsson's K850i excels as a camera phone with innovative features that make it very desirable to both normal and the more photo-savvy users. Perhaps, more important for those who want to be up-to-date with their mobile technology, the phone's HSDPA (3.5G) connectivity will ensure you have broadband mobile Internet speeds once the service is available in the near future.


The Sony Ericsson K850i is available at Incomm for B$898.00, with further discounts when you present your DST Card.

Sony Ericsson's latest addition to their Walkman Series line is the W910i, an impressive 'slide' phone which sports a new media-browsing interface, built-in sensor motion for both music and games, backed by a strong suite of cellular connectivity features.

The W910i comes in two colors - Hearty Red and Noble Black, and thanks once again to our friends at Incomm, we got the chance to play around with this smart-looking piece of gadgetry.

The design and curves of this phone are unsurprisingly sleek and easy on the eyes, following the likes of other recently released Walkman phones. The large 240x320 pixel 2.4-inch display makes the look of the phone even more sexy, being able to display up to 262,144 colours.

One of the phone's sexy features, it's slide function, opens & closes ever so smoothly, which makes picking up a call or accessing the main menu enjoyable to say the least.

Sony Ericsson phone owners will be familiar with the phone's shortcut key button, a regular on almost all recent Sony Ericsson phones, which helps you access your most frequently used functions such as creating a new message and turning on the Bluetooth function. It even lets you assign any other function you want to the menu with ease.

As a Walkman phone, the W910i undoubtedly delivers great quality music. The cool new motion sensor built into the phone lets the user not only control playback by shaking the handset, but also changes the orientation of the screen automatically in the media browser. We wonder if anyone would really make full use of this function really as we always ended up using the normal button controls most of the time. But it is, without doubt still a quite impressive feature. The built-in games also make use of the motion sensor, letting you play in a Nintendo-Wii-type of manner.



The W910i only comes with 40MB of built-in memory, but music lovers will be happy to know that the sets available from Incomm come with a 2GB Memory Stick Micro M2, so you can easily store hundreds of your tunes.

The phone's 2.0 megapixel camera however, seems quite insufficient as there is no autofocus, no LED flash light for shooting in darker environments, and no way to do self-protraits, possible minus points for those snap-happy users.

The rated battery life of the W910i is 9 hours of talktime (3.5 hours using 3G) and approximately 14.5 days of standby. We surprisingly managed to not have to charge the battery for two days worth of texting, gaming, and the occasional music playing when we used the phone over the weekend.

Connectivity-wise, the phone supports GPRS/EDGE, 3G, and even HSDPA (3.5G); which lets you make full use of high-speed broadband connections when they become available.




The super-smart-looking, and impressive Sony Ericsson W910i is available at Incomm for B$828.00, with further discounts when you present your DST Card.

Nokia 6500 Classic
You might have seen this TV ad for the new Nokia 6500 Classic. It shows you just how desirable the phone is. The phone's slim, sleek design is eye-catchingly gorgeous, and thanks to Incomm, we were able to try out the phone for a couple of days.

Before we get into the phone's features & details, lets take a quick look at the beautiful curves on the Nokia 6500 Classic..



So is the phone as good as it's hyped up to be? We personally think it is, and we have to say that it surely made an impression on us. We were especially very impressed with the weight of the phone, and believe us when we say that it felt good in our hands! The phone wasn't too heavy or too light, and the weight surely gave it a touch of class, making it seem more expensive than it really is.

Here's an overview of the main key features of the Nokia 6500 Classic:

• Very sleek and slim
• 1 GB of internal memory
• Great 16M color QVGA display
• User friendly & quick interface
• 3G network support
• Rich preloaded content (Opera Mini, Golf Tour, Rally 3D, etc.,)
• Bluetooth with A2DP support

A major set back for some users might be the lack of an additional external media slot, but we personally think that the 1GB storage is good enough for the average user, letting you store more than a hundred of your favorite tunes.

Unfortunately, the phone also lacks an FM Radio, a standard in current phones, and the phone's somewhat 'mediocre' 2.0 megapixel camera would slightly disappoint a few enthusiastic shutterbugs.


Music lovers, however, will surely enjoy the stereo speakers and stereo headsets provided. The crisp sounds are a joy to listen to.

Overall, the Nokia 6500 Classic impressed us with it's sleek, sexy looks, and more importantly, ease of use.

The Nokia 6500 Classic is available at Incomm for B$588.00, with further discounts when you present your DST Card.


Nokia 6500 Slide
If the lack of memory and quality of camera on board the Nokia 6500 Classic is not to your liking, then your other option would be the Nokia 6500 Slide. The slide version boasts:

• a 3.2 MP camera; 2048x1536 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, video(VGA 15fps) and flash.
• a microSD card slot
• an FM radio with RDS
• stainless steel casing
• TV out option

The picture quality of this phone is really impressive and doesn't disappoint. The photo below was taken using the phone's 3.2 Megapixel camera.


The Nokia 6500 Slide's brushed and scratch-resistant stainless steel housing makes it exceptionally gorgeous despite the phone's minimalist design. Its hard to find a fault in this phone, but it would be great if Nokia incorporated wireless (WLAN) capabilities to it. But then again, they'll most probably keep that option strictly for its N & E Series.

The Nokia 6500 Slide is available at Incomm at B$668.00 and comes with a 256MB microSD card. You can get further discounts when you present your your DST Card.

Links:

• Official Nokia 6500 series website
• Nokia 6500 Slide review by GSM Arena
• YouTube videos on the Nokia 6500

When the Nokia N80 broke into the market just over a year ago, it was described as the first truly modern world smartphone, due to its adaptability to various ranges of networks and frequencies, which lets the phone be used almost anywhere in the world. The N80 was also the first Nokia N-Series phone to boast a 3.2megapixel camera besides having Wireless (WLAN) connectivity.

Succeeding the N80 is Nokia's latest addition to the N-Series, the Nokia N81. This sleek and polished-looking smartphone comes in two variants; the standard external memory slot version and the whopping 8GB built-in memory version. The 8GB versions are available at all Incomm outlets, and come in black. The Nokia N81 features a Nokia-first touch sensitive navigation control pad, much like the iPod jog-wheel.

Our demo set, courtesy of Incomm, simply blew us away. Holding the set for the first time literally gave us goosebumps! Weight wise, the phone feels almost like its predecessor, but that's where the similarity ends. This gorgeous phone is slightly thinner, and absolutely louder. The speakers (top left & right side) sound simply amazing, and could rival those of the Sony Ericcson Walkman phones.

One of the main features of the N81 is that it's one of the first Nokia smartphones to incorporate the new N-Gage gaming platform, letting you play stunning video games on the go. It's refreshing to know that all future games published for the N-Gage phone will be playable on the N81 too! The pre-installed (demo) games are FIFA 2007, Asphalt 3: Street Rules, and Space Impact Light.



Now we're not much experts in mobile gaming, but we must say that the sound and graphics of the games on this phone simply took our breath away. Its almost like holding a mini Sony PSP in your hands, but instead this one can make calls and send text messages too! Quite a good list of game titles will be available soon, all of which will put the huge 8GB of built-in memory to good use.



Overall, the Nokia N81 is just simply a joy to have and without doubt, fun to use. Here's an overview of some the phone's technical specifications:

- Network : UMTS / GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
- 3G 384 kbps
- WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11b/g with UPnP
- Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP
- USB v2.0 microUSB
- OS Symbian OS 9.2, Series 60 v3.1 UI
- SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
- Java MIDP 2.0
- MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player
- Rotating gallery with Navi wheel
- Stereo FM Radio
- T9
- Push to talk
- Voice dial/memo
- PIM including calendar, to-do list
- 3.5 mm audio output jack
- Built-in handsfree
- Battery Stand-by Up to 410 h
- Talk time Up to 4 h

The feature-packed Nokia N81 8GB is available at Incomm for $898, with further discounts when you present your DST Card. For more information on the phone, please visit Nokia's N81 Website.

Apple introduced a new, refreshed line of iPods last week, much to the delight of portable music lovers all around the world. Besides a revamp of every single iPod model, Apple unveiled a new music and video player (and more) to their line, the beautiful, and thin, iPod Touch.

The iPod Touch features Apple’s revolutionary multi-touch user interface that enables you to navigate through all its features with just the touch of a finger. Sounds vaguely familiar? The iPod Touch can basically do everything the iPhone does, except the ability to make calls.

It plays music and video, and lets you store and view your photos just like most of the other iPods, but like the iPhone, Apple has incorporated Wi-Fi onto the device, letting you surf websites on its gorgeous 3.5-inch widescreen display. The iPod Touch also lets you watch YouTube videos and even organise your calendar scheduling and contacts.

The iPod Touch is only 8mm thick, 3.6mm thinner than the iPhone, but has more or less the same looks as the iPhone, sporting the single button the phone is now famous for.

With the introduction of this gadget, the rest of the world will finally get to enjoy most of the features of an iPhone, without having to wait for the phone to be released in their countries. Please visit the Apple Website for details of the iPod touch, and the whole new iPod range.

The iPod Touch. A Guided Tour

The iPod Touch will be released worldwide on September 28th, and comes in 8GB and 16GB models, and will be available in Brunei at the QQeStore, with the absolute lowest price in Brunei guaranteed!* For more information on its price, please click here.

The very first time you lay your eyes on one of the new SA Series Ultra-Mobile PCs (UMPC) from Japanese manufacturer Kohjinsha, it's guaranteed that you'll be very impressed with a notebook PC that's so small and compact, and yet very well-designed.

This hot little 'tablet' PC has been selling like hotcakes in Brunei for the past few weeks, and it's not surprising as it's very affordable, and quite feature-packed too.

Kohjinsha's UMPC runs a full Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition rather than the Tablet PC Edition, so you'll be able to run your favourite applications as you would on your desktop PC. The only difference might be that this time you can make full use of the 7" LED back-lit LCD Touch Screen and physically control your applications using a stylus. It will definitely make a quick sketch on Photoshop a breeze, especially when you can rotate the screen 180 degrees and lie it down flat with its back on the keyboard for a tablet effect. Not bad for a such an affordable mini-laptop.

Not content on using a stylus? The UMPC also has a touchpad, and even a 5-way directional joystick pointer. Still not satisfied? Simply plug in a mouse into one of the two USB ports available.

Weighing at only 990g, it's perfect for people on-the-go, especially with it's Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, making it even easier for you to be connected.

Other features include a 3 in 1 Memory Stick/SD/MMC Memory Card Reader and a 15-pin VGA port.

The Kohjinsha SA Series UMPC, which comes in Black (40GB HDD) and White (100GB HDD), is available in Brunei at the QQeStore, with the absolute lowest price in Brunei guaranteed!* For more information on its current price, please click here.

Apple yesterday unveiled their new line of iMacs, to the delight of millions of Apple users all around the world.

The slimmer, modern-looking, iMacs feature gorgeous 20- or 24-inch glossy widescreen displays, encased in aluminium and glass enclosures, which Apple claims to be the most incredible desktop computer they've ever made.

The iMac boasts a new, ultra-thin aluminium keyboard, built-in iSight video cameras, and iLife '08, Apple's suite of digital lifestyle applications, making it arguably the ultimate digital lifestyle desktop computer for both consumers and professionals.

The new iMac continues Apple's signature all-in-one design, which integrates the whole CPU into the 'monitor' of the computer system, giving users a clutter-free desktop.

As slim as it is, the iMac also packs performance and power, featuring the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, up to 4GB of DDR2 SDRAM memory, and ATI's next generation of graphics with the ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB of GDDR3 memory. Users can now configure their iMacs to up to 1TB of internal storage to accommodate their growing library of digital photos, movies and music.



The slim new Apple iMac is now available in Brunei at the QQeStore, with the absolute lowest price in Brunei guaranteed!* For more information on its current price, please click here.

For more information on the iMac, please visit the Apple Website.

When the great guys at the QQeStore told us at lunch time today that they had an iPhone ready for us to review, we literally jumped out of our seats and didn't waste a single second.. We just had to be one of the first people in Brunei to touch, hold, and play with one of, if not THE most talked about gadget in history!

Yes folks, if you guys read the weekend paper last week, you might have noticed the ad that the QQeStore put out on the front page; they were ready to take pre-orders of Apple's iPhone.

If you read our previous posts on the iPhone, or if you're one of the millions who fell into the iPhone hype machine, you should know by now that Apple restricted the iPhone's use to within the US, and can only be used with an AT&T sim card. The iPhone which will be specifically made for the Asian market will only be released in 2008.

Without an AT&T sim card, the phone was useless, and you were'nt even able to use the iPod and Internet features of the phone. This restriction triggered hackers to start finding out how to unlock the iPhone.

In just a few weeks after the iPhone's release, the hackers managed to partially unlock the phone, making it possible to use all the other features, except making and receiving calls. It's only a matter of time before we get a 'hacked' iPhone with all the phone features accessible to anyone in the world too.

So what's the use of the iPhone without the phone capabilities you might ask? Quite alot actually, even enough to make us guys at Simpur drool with envy and want one for ourselves!

Even without the phone capabilities, the QQeStore already has a long list of enthusiastic buyers on the waiting list for the 'phone-less' iPhone. After playing with one for a considerable amount of time this afternoon, we could definitely see why it's touted as one of the best phones ever made.

What makes this phone different is the intuitive touch screen display. Crystal clear, very easy on the eyes, and believe us when we say that it works like a charm. The first time we did the 'slide to unlock' feature, it literally gave us goosebumps! The whole touch interface has a nice feel to it, and worked as smooth as it did in the Apple ads.

The video and music playback features worked perfectly, especially with the cool CoverFlow feature which lets you 'touch' and flick through your music and video collection. Turn the phone to its side and the display follows suit!

The phone's Internet browsing capabilities were the next thing we tested and we were definitely not disappointed. Connecting to the available Wi-Fi network was easy and simple. Typing the addresses on the virtual keyboard was also breeze and not as hard as expected. Once the page loaded, we were surprised at how good the Simpur site looked on such a small mobile device. Tap the screen twice to zoom in, tap it once to zoom out. Flick the screen up, down, left, and right to move to area you want to see. Turn the phone to its side again to see a widescreen view of the website. Simple.

We played with the other features of the phone and not a single thing disappointed us. Who would've thought that we'd enjoy browsing through photos on a small device? The phone's unique 'pinching' features let you zoom in and out of photos easily too.

It's quite surprising how we even forgot that the phone capabilities didn't work as we were just too amazed, and in awe with the other features.

All in all, this device has exceeded all our expectations of it, even without the ability to make or receive calls. If you have extra money in your pocket to spend on, then we suggest you get one right now because it will be the best gadget you'll own, and without doubt you'll be the envy of your friends and the rest of us gadget lovers in Brunei!

The Apple iPhone comes in 4GB or 8GB models, and is limitedly available online at the QQeStore, with the absolute lowest price in Brunei guaranteed!* For more information on its current price, please click here.

The Asian version has not been announced yet, but Apple promises that it will be available in 2008.

In a world where Apple's iPod dominates and reigns supreme in the portable music/video player market, it's quite easy not to notice the other players available, even if they're jam packed with more functions and features.

One player which is more than worth mentioning is the iRiver B20, which does more than just play music and videos.

Slightly smaller than the iPod, the B20 sports a 2.4 inch QVGA TFT LCD screen that can display up to 260,000 colours, which makes it such a joy to look at. Navigation is super easy with its Advanced D*click System, which lets you go through the menu and functions simply by pressing the left, right, top and bottom of the device.

Besides playing music and videos, the B20 has features even the iPod would die for, a Digital TV and FM Radio Tuner (complete with a small antenna). That's right, you can even watch TV on this cool device, and not to mention RTB's digital radio channels.

The B20 comes with stereo headphones and built-in speakers, another feature the iPod lacks. Transferring songs is also a breeze with its USB 2.0 connectivity and built-in Mini-SD slot.

The iRiver B20 might not have all the media attention and publicity as the iPod, but all in all, it's one great feature-packed player, and without doubt definitely worth buying.

The iRiver B20 available online at the QQeStore, with the absolute lowest price in Brunei guaranteed!* For more information on its current price, please click here.

The latest addition to Sony Ericsson's P-series comes a year after the release of its predecessor, the P990, and proves to be their best one yet. The P1 offers a number of new features that many P-series enthusiasts have been waiting for, including an improved display and upgraded user interface.

The Sony Ericsson P1 combines business with pleasure in one beautiful, stylish package. It's 25% smaller than the P990, and perhaps one of the most obvious changes is that the P1 sports a QWERTY keyboard, looking quite like the M600 with wider keys, which is surprisingly very comfortable to use.

The P1 packs a new 2.6" QVGA transreflective TFT display, which will make it easier to read when under direct sunlight. The display still maintains its touchscreen capabilities, a feature all P-series enthusiasts have come to get used to. The phone's intelligent handwriting recognition software lets you input text with a stylus, as you would with a pen, and transforms it to the corresponding letter on a keyboard.

3G connectivity, combined with full office applications, lets you edit and view your documents, and send them to your business counterparts with ease. A surprising addition to the P1 is the business card scanner, which lets you use the phone's 3.2 megapixel camera to take photos of business cards, and automatically scans the text and saves it as a contact.

Besides being 3G enabled, the phone also boasts Wi-Fi connectivity, Push email support, Opera Web Browser, 160MB internal memory and 512MB Memory Stick Micro.

The P1 offers more than every other Sony Ericsson smartphone has ever before, and is by far the best in the long line of P-series phones.



This smart, feature-packed phone is available at Incomm for $1,088 (further discounts with a DST Card) . For more information, please call 2420122.

The Sony Ericsson P1 is also available online at the QQeStore, with the absolute lowest price in Brunei guaranteed!* For more information on its current price, please click here.

In a world where AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec High Definition) camcorders are fast evolving and increasing, Sony still manages to lead the way, especially after releasing their HDR-SR7E.

This beautifully designed camcorder lets you record up to 22 hours of 1080i quality High Definition videos, all made possible by the AVCHD compression technology. The SR7E is one of the lightest and smallest AVCHD hard disk Handycam models ever made.

With the added functionality of HDD Smart Protection and Easy Back-up Solutions, you can store and share every single moment with superior video and audio quality.

The camcorder's Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T lens with 10x optical zoom, lets you capture still images of up to 6.1 megapixels regularly and 4.6 megapixel photos in dual record mode. It also includes optical image stabilization and Dolby Digital 5.1ch surround sound.

The 2.7-inch wide Hybrid Touch Panel features a 230,000-pixel screen resolution that lets you view your movies clearly, even when shooting in bright outdoor conditions.

Weighing at just 530g, the SR7E is around 20% smaller and 17% lighter than its predecessor, the SR1E.

The Sony Handycam HDR-SR7E camcorder is available online at the QQeStore, with the absolute lowest price in Brunei guaranteed!* For more information on its current price, please click here.

The 10-year old Nokia Communicator legacy lives on to this very day with the release of the eleventh in the series, the E90 Communicator.

The smart phone, which now comes in mocha-brown or maroonish-red, still sports its iconic side-folding design with QWERTY keyboard, but this time it can be folded open to a full 180 degrees.

Slightly smaller in size than its predecessor, the E90 now runs on a Series 60 (S60) platform, dropping the dated S80, making it compatible with a vast array of software titles available. The S60 on this phone is tweaked and optimised for the phone's wide 800 x 352 pixel inner display, making everything look good and easy to access.

The E90 now boasts 3G connectivity and is HSDPA enabled, giving you high-speed Internet access and video calls. You can also talk anywhere in the world with the phone's GSM quad-band 850/900/1800/1900) and WCDMA 2100 support.

Other notable features include integrated GPS, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g WLAN, 140MB of internal flash memory, and 80MB of RAM, 4 times more than that of other S60 smart phones.

The E90 also packs a respectable 3.2 megapixel camera with flash and autofocus and VGA video recording.

All in all, the latest in Nokia Communicator series really does impress, boasting quite a significant upgrade from its predecessor. It really is a must buy for the avid Communicator fans in Brunei, especially for those who demand performance when working on the move.

A brief look at the Nokia E90 Communicator

Finally, the first public impressions and reviews of the iPhone have been made and surprise surprise, it really does match most of its hype.

After 6 months of non-stop, and always growing hype and anticipation, and for some people, days of queuing up, the iPhone finally went into the hands of the public late Friday evening in the United States.

Despite a few activation issues (AT&T system glitch) and minor flaws, the iPhone met its high expectations, with some even going as far as saying that it's the best smart phone ever created.

After a few days of testing and playing with the phone, most iPhone owners claimed that all phone functions worked as well, and as smoothly as the iPhone ads make it seem.

The new optical quality touch-screen glass clearly proved that it is very much as scratch resistant as Apple claims it to be, even when being deliberately scratched with a key. The iPhone also passed a few 'drop' tests, as PC World magazine reports..

Apple iPhone Stress Test - PC World


Virtual keypad typing wasn't as hard to master as claimed, even with large fingers, as Gizmodo.com demonstrated here.

The debate whether or not it was silly of Apple to partner with AT&T, given their so called 'slow' EDGE network, was temporarily laid to rest as iPhone users experienced surprisingly fast downloads, averaging around 150kbps, rather than earlier reports of only less than a third of the speed.

There were, however, a couple of notable flaws. The iPhone doesn't support Multimedia Messaging (MMS) or 3G, and even has no video camera. The unremovable battery makes it hard to swap batteries when you're running out of battery life, and you can't use your own ringtones yet either.

These were just probably tiny flaws when compared to the amount of great functions the phone has to offer. One thing is clear though, the iPhone is still the most wanted gadget of 2007 by a mile.

As every Bruneian gadget lover would painfully already know by now, the iPhone will not be arriving on our shores until 2008, but it's almost certain that we'll be getting much better, updated iPhone versions by then.

New York's iPhone launch - CNET TV