Samsung M7600 Beat DJ review: Scratching the beat

The Samsung M7600 Beat is a DJ. What's on its mind is on its face, a brave stab at not only putting music in your pocket but in your hands as well. The M7600 Beat is quick to claim a territory of its own, where playback simply won't do unless you mix your own music.

The inspired and unmistakable styling, vibrant OLED capacitive touchscreen, sweet clicking TouchWiz and a whole new music experience will make you have a crush or wish you were younger. Meet the first DJ phone.

Samsung M7600 Beat DJ official photos

Key features:

• Stand-out design
• Quad-band GSM and 3G with HSDPA support
• 2.8" 16M-color AMOLED touchscreen display of WQVGA resolution
• 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash and VGA video at 15 fps
• Accelerometer for screen auto rotate
• Proximity sensor for auto screen turn-off
• MicroSD card slot (up to 16 GB), 8 GB card included
• Built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS support, Google Maps
• Stereo Bluetooth (A2DP)
• DivX/XviD video support
• Stereo FM radio with RDS, FM recording
• Standard 3.5mm audio jack
• Office document viewer
• Smart dialing
• BeatDJ app for scratching and sampling

Main disadvantages

• User interface is quite laggy
• BeatDJ app could've been better and more responsive
• No virtual on-screen QWERTY keyboard
• Limited Flash support in browser
• Poor music reproduction quality

The Samsung Beat lineup has a few pawns on the chessboard already, but the M7600 Beat DJ is different stuff. A touchscreen media gadget with high-speed data, GPS, enhanced video playback and good enough imaging, it's fit to stand its ground even against smartphones with an ear for music.

Samsung M7600 Beat DJ live shots

Walkmans to the left of it, XpressMusic to the right, the Samsung M7600 Beat DJ makes a stand with a truly unique feature and throws a DJ deck at the young. The party is on at the Arena, Samsung spinning

Samsung I8000 Omnia II preview: First look

Gather 'round ye gadget lovers, for the tale of Samsung I8000 Omnia II. It's a tale of PocketPC wisdom and touch wizardry, of big screen and pixel aplenty, of ancestry and identity. Lend an ear to this preview as we try to figure out where this creature came from and where it's heading.

Samsung announced the Omnia HD a few months ago and despite sharing a name with the i900 Omnia, it was more a descendant of the Samsung i8510 INNOV8 with its Symbian OS and strong emphasis on imaging.

Coming a year later, the Samsung I8000 Omnia II is the real proper sequel instead.

Samsung I8000 Omnia II official photo

The number of high-end, touchscreen PocketPC bars is getting ever greater. Off the top of our heads, we could name at least five with WVGA screens over 3 inches and a camera of 3.15 MP or higher. If you include phones with a slide-out QWERTY then the market gets even more crowded. All of these have HSDPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, and sleek UI plug-ins, so this isn't a differentiating factor.

The Samsung I8000 Omnia II roars into action with a 5 megapixel camera, 800 MHz CPU, and a huge 3.7 AMOLED screen and 8/16 gigabytes of internal storage. Here's a quick summary of the main I8000 Omnia II specs.

Samsung I8000 Omnia II at a glance:

• General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 900/2100 MHz, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar
• Dimensions: 118 x 59.6 x 11.9 mm
• Display: 3.7-inch 64K-color WVGA AMOLED touchscreen, 480 x 800 pixels, Advanced R touch (Resistive Touch)
• Memory: 8/16GB storage memory, hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 32GB)
• OS: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional with custom TouchWiz 2.0 UI with 3D effects
• CPU: 800 MHz
• Camera: 5 megapixel auto focus camera with dual LED flash, geo-tagging, face and smile detection, image stabilization, Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) and D1 video recording at 15 fps
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth with A2DP, standard microUSB port, standard 3.5mm audio jack, GPS receiver with A-GPS
• Misc: Accelerometer for screen auto rotate, DivX/XviD video support, FM radio with RDS, DNSe
• Battery: 1500 mAh battery

The thumbable cube launcher engaged on the wide screen

Bear in mind that the device we're using for this preview is in the early stages of development so the software will go even further changes before mass production. That said, let's not waste any more time and check out the contender in the Samsung corner - the I8000 Omnia II. The hardware part awaits you on the next page.

Nokia N97 review: Lock, stock and touch

They don't get any bigger than that. A launch of this caliber can aptly be called inauguration day. The release of Nokia N97 is the Nseries counter-move that geeks have been waiting for since November. Easily one of the most complete smartphones ever created, the N97 has been haunting Symbian buffs' dreams for quite a while.

Nokia N97

We're about to see if this feature-loaded son of a gun is the stuff dreams are made of and if it has the gut to stand up to the best on the market. The 5800 XpressMusic was cheap enough to easily be forgiven a couple of shortcomings but the N97 is not the begging type. Nokia-faithfuls are used to only getting the best treatment, so they won't settle for less with the Nseries skipper.

Key features

• Slide-n-tilt 3.5" 16M-color resistive touchscreen of 640 x 360 pixel resolution
• 5 megapixel autofocus camera with dual-LED flash and lens cover (VGA@30fps video recording)
• Symbian OS 9.4 with S60 5th edition UI
• Slide-out three-row full QWERTY keyboard
• ARM 11 434MHz CPU and 128 MB of RAM
• Quad-band GSM support and 3G with HSDPA support
• Wi-Fi and GPS with A-GPS (plus 3 months of free voice-guided navigation via Ovi Maps)
• Digital compass
• Class-leading 32GB onboard storage
• microSD card slot with microSDHC support
• Built-in accelerometer
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• TV out
• Stereo FM Radio with RDS, FM transmitter
• microUSB port and stereo Bluetooth v2.0
• Web browser has full Flash and Java support
• Nice audio reproduction quality

Main disadvantages

• The S60 5th edition UI still has poor ergonomics and is not as thumbable as expected
• Camera features are so two-thousand-and-late
• No DivX or XviD support out-of-the-box
• No smart dialing
• Somewhat limited 3rd party software availability
• No office document editing (without a paid upgrade)

Obvious from the list above, the Nokia N97 hardly puts anything new on the table. It is however a bold try to fit all of today's top features under one hood and offer a nice ride at that. This certainly is an ambitious task by itself but the ever-expectant Nseries fans, who always want something new on their next handset, make it even harder. The Nokia N97 will need to be near flawless to get a warm welcome.

Nokia N97 at ours

Nokia N97 will also be a major test for the still quite young (or immature if you want) S60 5th edition UI. The growing pains were expected and acceptable in the 5800 XpressMusic, but it's been 8 months since. The time is long enough in mobile phone terms and the market leader is simply expected to have had everything figured by now.

Looks pretty good, doesn't it

The disappointing N96 does owe Nokia some and the N97 will - among other things - probably have to cover its debts too. Join us on the next page as we take a peek inside the retail box of the new Nseries sovereign and complete our ergonomics rundown.

Samsung M8910 Pixon12 preview 2: Some sequels are better

Introduction

Following our photoshoot teaser with the M8910 Pixon12 yesterday we are ready to invite you on a second date with this promising cameraphone. This time we hope to show its other side - the one that doesn't necessarily revolve around the camera functionality.

You've all seen that while the gap between cameraphones and the dedicated digicams seemed huge a couple of years ago, it's already closing in fast. The Samsung M8910 Pixon12 certainly isn't a full-time replacement for a camera enthusiast as it lacks the optical zoom and some customization options but it might just do a pretty good on quite a lot of occasions. And the best camera is the one that you always have on you.

We are sure the both flashes will be temptation for many of you especially when the xenon-featured phones were almost forgotten in the last year. The huge count of megapixels plus the wide-angle lens and tons of camera features are something camera geeks can't and won't miss just like that.

Samsung M8910 Pixon12 lifestyle photos

But we've already showed you how it compares photography-wise to some quite unusual peers. This time around we are all set to showing you there's more to it than just a sharpshooter. Let's see go through the Pixon12 basic specs one more time:

Samsung M8910 Pixon12 at a glance:

• General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 900/2100 MHz, HSDPA 7.2Mbps, HSUPA
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar
• Dimensions: 108 x 53 x 13.8 mm, 120g
• Display: 3.1 inch 16M color WVGA AMOLED resistive touchscreen
• Platform: Latest TouchWiz 2.0 UI with Smart unlock
• Memory: 150MB integrated memory, hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 16GB)
• Camera: 12 megapixel auto focus camera with Power LED flash and xenon flash, wide-angle 28mm lens, object tracking auto focus, automatic lens cover, geo-tagging, image stabilization, Smart Auto mode, face detection, Beauty Shot, Smile Shot and D1 video recording at 30 fps with auto focus and face detection
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, TV out
• Misc: Accelerometer for screen auto rotate and turn-to-mute, FM radio with RDS, DivX/XviD video support
• Battery: 1000mAh Li-Ion battery

We only received the Samsung M8910 Pixon12 yesterday but this is our second cover story on it. We're actually working on a full review but that's probably going to be ready no earlier than next week, so in the mean time we though we'd give you some good reading beside all those camera samples yesterday.

Samsung M8910 Pixon12 in our office

A high-end mobile phone is not about one thing only. A high-end device like the Pixon12 should keep you connected (online, texting, talking), it must be easy and fun to use, it should also help you organize your personal life and appointments, and finally, it should be there for you when you want to share your life's most striking moments to friends and family - and be ready to capture them as well.

So this is what an all-in-one mobile is about and we really hope the Pixon12 delivers on as many of those as possible. The notion of the ultimate device is hardly viable anymore as innovation and new features are always around the corner, but if the Pixon12 does deliver on most of those things without huge compromises, then it would be a fine product by our books.

So follow us on the next page for quick tour of the Samsung Pixon12 design and ergonomics.

HTC MAX 4G review: From Russia with love

Guns at the ready fellas, we have a big game in our sights here. The HTC MAX 4G is paying us a visit in an attempt to prove that its relatively low popularity is only due to its very limited availability. With WiMAX connectivity and one of the most complete feature sets in the WinMo realm, it's a claim that might have some credibility.

HTC MAX 4G official photos

The HTC MAX 4G was never bound to stardom, just heading to the right place. Making sense on the right market is what matters here and some handsets can only envy the MAX 4G focus. Having already previewed its Touch HD sibling we are pretty confident HTC know the touchscreen drill. But you shouldn't take anything for granted in this business so a thorough review is certainly in order.

The HTC MAX 4G is a Touch HD - add or take - and that's not a bad place to start. The WiMAX enabled handset skimps on 3G and that might just reduce it to a niche device with limited appeal. Or is there anything else to spoil the package? We are just about to find that out so sit down, take the weight off your feet and get ready to be treated to the MAX.

Key features

• Massive 3.8" 65K-color WVGA display
• Tri-band GSM support
• WiMAX connectivity
• Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional OS (by default comes in Russian)
• TouchFLO 3D UI plug-in and gesture controls
• Wi-Fi and GPS
• Qualcomm ESM7206A 528 Mhz CPU and 288 MB DDR SDRAM
• Dedicated GPU (64MB RAM reserved for graphics)
• 3 megapixel auto focus camera
• microSD card slot
• Accelerometer sensor for auto screen rotation and turn-to-mute
• Proximity sensor to automatically turn the screen off during calls
• Touch sensitive keys with vibration feedback
• miniUSB slot and Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP on board
• miniUSB to standard 3.5mm audio jack adapter included in the retail box
• Active magnetic stylus
• MS Office Mobile document editor
• Excellent Opera 9.5 web browser
• Free WiMAX plan (Yota Russia subscribers only for a limited duration)

Main disadvantages:

• No 3G
• No Back key
• No dedicated camera key, no flash
• Poor camera performance
• Average display sunlight legibility
• No TV out port
• Video recording flops at CIF@30fps
• Battery life not up to scratch
• Fingerprint magnet front (the back is way better though)
• Too big for comfy single-handed use, on the heavy side
• No FM radio

Clearly designed for one market only, the HTC MAX 4G knows it's never going to have the reach or popularity of the Diamond and Touch Pro, or its 3G twin, the Touch HD. Some might even argue that the MAX 4G is barely first team material, just a sub that comes on in that one game. Well, the fact is quite a lot of handsets refuse it stay where they are supposed to (the handset is exclusive to Yota in Russia) and there may be good reasons why people are sneaking them across the border.

HTC MAX 4G in all its WiMAX shine

So, the MAX 4G units that manage to escape the bear hug tend to get a warm - though not always WiMAX - reception. It's not so hard to believe given HTC's track record and the fact that the MAX 4G is actually a 3G-less Touch HD. There's no doubt the MAX 4G is absolutely on target for its intended market but let's see what it's up against elsewhere. As usual, we start with the retail package and the hardware specs of the device. Join us after the jump for the unboxing of HTC MAX 4G.

LG KM900 Arena review: A touch of class

One of the most exciting handsets the season - the LG KM900 Arena - returns to our office and this time it is going to stay a bit longer. After getting off to a flying start in both sales and reviews the Arena certainly looks like the next big thing from LG. In these tough economic times no company can afford too many blunders so it better live up to those high expectations.

The LG KM900 Arena grabbed our attention for the first time back in February at the MWC and even more so last month when we previewed it. Let's see if it's third time lucky and if it will be able to completely sweep us off our feet in a full review.

LG KM900 Arena official photos

Key features:

• 3" 16M-color capacitive TFT touchscreen of WVGA resolution (480 x 800 pixels)
• S-Class Touch UI
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• 3G with HSDPA (7.2 Mbps)
• Wi-Fi and GPS receiver with A-GPS
• 5 megapixel autofocus camera with Schneider-Kreuznach optics, LED flash, geotagging
• D1 (720x480 pixels)@30fps, VGA@30fps, QVGA fast-motion video and QVGA slo-mo video
• 8GB built-in storage
• Hot-swappable microSD card slot
• Standard 3.5mm audio jack and TV out
• USB Mass Storage
• Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP
• Accelerometer for screen auto rotate
• Multi-touch input
• 3D hardware accelerator
• DivX and XviD support
• Dolby for Mobile audio enhancement
• FM radio with FM transmitter
• Office document viewer
• Smart dialing

Main disadvantages:

• Poor sunlight legibility
• Inadequate flash performance
• No voice-guided GPS navigation software available
• No standard USB port
• Records video in 3GP file format
• Maximum email attachment size is 1MB only (both ways)
• Limited DivX/XviD video support

The LG KM900 Arena is the pioneer of the new UI designed by the South Korean company, boldly named S-class. Promising fluidity never seen before and uncompromising looks and functionality, it is starting to take the world by storm. We doubt that it will be of a measure equal to the hurricane created by the iPhone's UI but the whole package might well surprise us.

We enjoy having the LG KM900 Arena back on board in a retail outfit

Mainly because the LG KM900 Arena has none of the (absurd) limitations of the original iPhone - no proper Bluetooth functionality, no FM radio, lack of file manager and so on. Instead the Arena comes as a exceptionally well equipped phone with almost every feature in the book included. From 3G with HSDPA, through Wi-Fi and GPS to FM transmitter - the LG KM900 has it all.

The Arena is ready to take on the iPhone - and most other full touch phones for that matter

Let's now check if there are any gaps in its performance that avoided our watchful eye in the preview. We will get to the unboxing this multimedia beast after the jump.