Update: 2 Feb 2011

The new Nokia Lumia 800 is now available from Incredible Connection on Vodacom contract or prepaid:

Vodacom contract details:
R249 pm
On a Business 24 month contract
Once off SIM & Connection R202.00
*T’s&C’s apply. See below
Plus free* 100MB data for 24 months on contract

Prepaid price:
R5999.95

Watch the review below or visit Nokia.co.za/lumia for more info.

*Terms and conditions apply to all contract and prepaid offers. All contract deals are subject to signing a new 24-month or 36-month Vodacom contract and a once-off
SIM and connection fee of R202 on all new contracts, unless otherwise stipulated. Please visit www.vodacom.co.za for our full terms and conditions that always apply
or ask in store for a copy. Gift vouchers/cards are not included in prepaid deals. Gift vouchers/cards may not be redeemed for cash or as payment on installment. When
taking out a contract or making a prepaid purchase – please confi rm with salespersons. Vodacom reserves the right to alter or withdraw the deals advertised without
notice. E&OE (ERRORS AND OMISSIONS EXCEPTED).

In terms of design the handset is remarkably similar to that of its predecessor the N9 / Lumia 800. With its softly rounded sides, sternly flat top and bottom, and a single pane of glass covering the front it’s hard to spot the difference. Nokia has however moved to a 4.3-inch screen with the Lumia 900, so it’s slightly larger than the Lumia 800. To make way for this the top and bottom bezels have been considerably reduced. It’s also almost identical in thickness to the 800. All of this adds up to a handset with an uncanny natural and effortless feel.

The Nokia Lumia 900 boats a WVGA (800 x 480) resolution and a ClearBlack AMOLED display. It has a RGB subpixel arrangement and an anti-glare polarizing filter. No reports on in-depth operation of the phone but reports suggest that the Windows Phone menu interaction is as fluid and snappy as you would expect from the operating system.

If you’re a fan of the Nokia N9 you’ll no doubt be looking forward to launch of this new handset so keep your eyes open for more updates on the Lumia 900 in the coming months.

Looking at the current crop of smartphones and tablets it is clear that capacitive, rather than resistive, is the touchscreen technology of choice. Because of its reliance on pressure for input resistive screens are plagued by inaccuracy and poor responsiveness. Resistive touchscreens do have one advantage over capacitive though – you can use one while wearing gloves.

But now, SMK Electronics and Synaptics have both developed touch screens that will allow gadget users easier usability when operating capacitive touch screen devices. SMK has developed new sensor panel structure that is noise-resistant, allowing for a clearer signal to be detected at high sensitivities. But this isn’t the first touchscreen we’ve seen that works with gloves. The range of screens designed by Synaptics also work by reducing noise but in slightly different way. Synaptics screens integrate the touchscreen controller with the display controller running the screen beneath it. This allows them to work together and avoid interference. The Synaptics touchscreens are able to detect a gloved hand or even the head of a pin!

The Synaptics screens are aimed at mobile phone, MP3 and tablet use while SMK’s have been specifically designed for dash panel systems in cars. The company believes that more and more functions will be centralised in our vehicles, where access at any time is important. The SMK panel is 6.5-inches, but can be scaled up to 8-inches.

The Thrill weighs in at 168g, measures  128.8 x 68 x 11.9mm, and offers a 4.3-inch (800 x 480) display. Under the hood you’ll find a 1GHz dual-core TI OMAP 4430 CPU, 512MB of RAM, and a 1,500mAh battery, pair of 5MP rear cameras (for 3D capture), and a 1.3MP front-facing camera. The Thrill runs on Froyo (Android 2.2).

The Thirll’s defining feature is however it’s 3D image capture. The phone features a pair of rear cameras which allow you to capture your world in 3D. The Thrill can also take standard 2D images and tack on a third D later on. All you need to do is view the picture in the gallery and press the “3D” toggle switch button on the right side of the phone. The converted images don’t turn out as well as those shot in 3D, but it’s a nifty little feature. The other unique feature thrown into the camera is a 3D intensity filter to adjust the image once it’s captured and viewed in the gallery. The device also shoots third-dimension video in HD at 720p and 30fps.

The camera has the usual settings you’d come to expect in a feature-packed phone. It delivers the typical suite of scene modes, white balance effects and focus options for macro, continuous focus and face tracking, and even offers custom exposure settings. It also offers touch-to-autofocus (only for 2D mode).

The phone will give you about 5 hours of battery life before needed a recharge.

The LG Thrill retails at approximately $695.

Some of the more unusual and interesting features of the new phone are a Kevlar and Gorilla glass reinforced case with a splash-guard coating to protect your phone from that wayward cup of coffee, or when you’re just caught in the rain. Moto are also showing off the new 4.3-inch qHD(960×540) Super AMOLED display on the device, the first of it’s kind. The RAZR also comes with Moto Lapdock support, converting your power phone into a UMPC webtop powered laptop.

Moto have also thrown in some surprisingly useful software extras, including Citrix Receiver and video conferencing for the business user. Encryption for all your personal data and any files stored in local or external memory. And one final piece of bundle-ware, Moto’s own Smart Actions software to help extend your battery life and automate some of your day to day activities.

The Motorola RAZR will be available with Vodacom in November 2011. The recommended retail price is approximately R6999, and it will also be available on contract at R269 per month x24 on Business Call.

The device has a curved and compact design, a 3.2-inch HVGA (480 x 320) capacitive display, 600MHz processor, 3MP camera and 512MB of expandable memory. All for a moderate price tag. The phone comes with integrated with HTC Sense integrated – which provides users with sharp graphics, vibrant animations, a wide variety of widgets and a cinematic and immersive weather experience. The HTC Explorer also includes a customisable lock screen that functions as a real-time window to your most important information and content, such as social updates, photos, or weather.  This info is viewed by simply waking up the display. The lock screen also enables quick access to the camera for capturing important moments. It also includes a new Smart Dialer that displays a one-touch menu for quick, easy dialing of contacts.

It’s easy to stay in touch with family and friends with the HTC People widget. The widget displays all your social updates from colleagues, friends and family in one easy-to-view thread. The HTC Explorer provides a complete web browsing experience and is the first in its class with a HVGA display, allowing you to run nearly all of the applications in Android Market. The device also allows you to access multiple work and personal email accounts and combine different calendars into a single view. Simplifying your life has never been simpler.

The Explorer’s most important attribute will undoubtedly be its price. HTC have not yet confirmed the price but it is estimated cost around $160.

This is a great device if you are intimidated by the flashier high-end smartphones and it’ll also serve as a great smart phone for teenagers.

The Galaxy Note is a smartphone that blurs the tablet-cell phone line with its 5-inch screen and bundled stylus. The Galaxy Note is the love child of the Galaxy Tab tablet and the Galaxy S smartphone – with the added benefits of pen and paper. This powerful little device runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread and packs a dual-core 1.4GHz processor, 8-megapixel back camera that captures HD video, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 2500-mAH battery. The device weighs 193 grams and is 37-inch thick. Perhaps the most impressive thing about the Galaxy Note is its big 5.3-inch HD Super AMOLED 1,280-by-800 (285ppi) WXGA display. Samsung claims that five inches is the perfect size to allow for ultimate portability and single-handed operation, but still offer a large-enough display that eliminates the need to carry a tablet in addition to your phone.

Samsung also introduced a little brother to the Galaxy Tab 10.1 – the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7. The thinner and even more portable Galaxy Tab 7.7 is just 31-inch thick and weighs 335 grams making it the thinnest 7-inch tablet currently available. The tablet packs a dual-core 1.4GHz CPU and 1,280-by-800–pixel WXGA Super AMOLED Plus display and runs Android 3.2 Honeycomb with the signature Samsung TouchWiz overlay. You also get A-GPS with Google Maps turn-by-turn navigation, a 3-megapixel rear camera with HD video capture, and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera for video chat. The 5,100-mAh battery promises 10 hours of video playback.

Samsung is steadily making a name for itself as the go-to brand for smartphones and tablets and with all these exciting new offerings it’s easy to see why so many are becoming Samsung converts.

At 8.5mm (0.33 inches) The Galaxy SII  has a is a very thin profile considering what this little phone has going on inside. The Samsung Galaxy SII runs on a 1.2GHz ARMv7 dual-core processor and is helped along with 1 GB of RAM. This allows for smooth video-playback and easy image browsing. Operating on the Android Gingerbread OS the impressive Samsung Galaxy SII is more user-friendly than ever before.

The 4.3 inch Super AMOLED Plus display is topped by a front-facing camera, and underneath the screen are two capacitive Android keys. The SII’s display resists smears and fingerprints better than most smartphones. A technical alteration at the pixel level has eradicated the slight graininess of the original Galaxy S screen. Overall the resolution is noticeably 50 percent sharper than its predecessor.

On-board you’ll find 16 GB of storage as well as a microSD slot to expand on. The Galaxy also features Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi 802.11n, GPS and DLNA, 8 megapixel camera and HD video recording. The Galaxy also boats an impressive 10 hour battery life.

The Samsung Galaxy SII is being hailed as the best smartphone on the market to date and it’s an obvious choice for those wanting an alternative to the popular iPhone. It has an outstanding amount of features and is a great option for those looking for a faultless device with a large screen and impeccable usability.

The ATRIX runs on the Android OS, V2.2 (Froyo) OS and features 1GHz dual-core NVIDA Tegra 2 processor, 1 gig RAM, a four-inch 960×540 qHD display, front- and rear-facing 5MP cameras and the ability to record in 720p. It offers 16GB internal storage which can be expanded up to 32GB using a MicroSD card. The device weighs in at 135 g and has 540 x 960 pixels  4.0 inch screen.

However, the ATRIX’s real party trick is in its accessories. The phone’s Lapdock and the HD Multimedia Dock both amplify the phone’s capabilities through the Motorola webtop application.

The Lapdock provides an 11.6-inch screen, full keyboard, stereo speakers, and a battery that delivers up to eight hours of extra running time. With three USB ports and an HDMI port, the Motorola HD Multimedia Dock can be used for desktop tasks by attaching an HDMI-compatible monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers. Or the dock can be connected to an HDMI-compatible television and home theatre audio system to enjoy your multimedia on a large display. The HD Multimedia Dock is bundled with the ATRIX on purchase.

When plugged into either of the docks, you interact through the webtop application interface, which allows you to run Android applications on a larger screen, browse full websites on Firefox 3.6, send instant messages, check email, access files and make phone calls, all in a multitasking environment. The Entertainment Center feature allows you to show photos, play music and watch videos from HDTVs.

This is a great little device for those looking for a small device with the ability to expand on its performance and size when needed.

Today the smart phone market is becoming one of the most eagerly anticipated battles for supremacy that we have seen in a long time. Apple was viewed as the clear leader with the introduction of the iPhone a few years ago with everyone left in their wake. Today, many view Apple as the leader in the industry in terms of pure quality, but Google has made significant gains to activate 550 000 android devices every day and take the market share away from Apple.
What does this have to do with Google buying Motorola?

Well, the next step in the smart phone market share race is that of patents, and by Google purchasing Motorola’s Mobility division, they have acquired some very coveted patents along with around 17 000 patents with another 7 500 filed and pending. That is the best IP portfolio that was on the market.

So what did Google pay for the hardware manufacturer and some serious IP? $12.5 Billion.

People were starting to wonder what Google was doing with the $35 Billion that they had in the bank and I guess that this goes some way to answering that question. What isn’t answered is whether Google will venture into the hardware business using Motorola, or if they have just bought them for the IP in the wake of Apple clamping down on patents and battling with Samsung over patent infringement.

It isn’t all sunny skies for Google though. This acquisition means that their work force grows by around 19 000 employees which is an increase of about 60% on their current staff numbers. However, the deal effectively only costs Google $9 Billion as the Mobility division sits with around $3 Billion in the bank.

What Google does get is a very smart CEO, Sanjay Jha who has been in charge of the company that split off from Motorola at the beginning of this year since 2008. Of the $3.3 billion made in revenue in the last quarter, $2.4 billion came from mobile devices, so it certainly is an established player in the mobile space.

They also get a company that is well experienced in the production of mobile accessories amongst other mobile products which will bode well for Google & Android. The fact that Apple has so performed so well offering a complete in-house solution – namely building the hardware and software themselves – seems to have spurred Google on. With the Mobility division now also under the Google banner, Android will be able to make a unified push towards a complete solution of building the software and hardware all under the same roof, and attempting to dominate the smart phone market with the same unified experience as Apple have done.
Will it affect the current hardware partners of Android? Only time will tell.