I know that many of you are still questioning Windows Phone7’s video playback capabilities especially after I posted about the currently supported codecs list a couple of days ago. I was working on an app I’m currently building and things weren’t working as planned on the device so I had to check out the video capabilities of the hardware to make sure that the problem wasn’t on my side. So here’s some early impressions about the platform’s video experience. Nothing fancy at all, just basic stuff to see how things work and play. Also remember that this is all based on Beta software and OS and non retail hardware.
Continue reading Video playback on Windows Phone 7: Nice and simple →
I had the chance to go to the Microsoft Campus a few hours ago to play a bit with Windows Phone 7 and gather some new info about the much anticipated OS. The session started with a presentation by the Tequila Rapido Team who discussed the Metro UI and the design process of building WP7 applications with SketchFlow. They’ve also unveiled a new Windows Phone 7 application dedicated to the french horse channel Equidia (sorry for the picture quality below). I highly suggest that you take a look at their Renault Rent application and SketchFlow video.
Continue reading Windows Phone 7 live from the Microsoft Campus →
Fresh from the ReMIX event comes this new video that I shot a couple of hours ago. It’s on the same Windows Phone 7 Samsung prototype handset that you saw in the previous video but this time you get to see one of the first game developed for the platform: Twin Blades developed by Press Start Studio. Some of you might have already heard about it because it’s already available on the iPhone and XBOX Live Arcade. The port to Windows Phone 7 was done in Two weeks by only one programmer (90% of the code is identical to the XBOX version thanks to XNA). The game will also include XBOX Live integration with achievements and will be available this fall when WP7 launches. Check out the full video after the break:
Continue reading Windows Phone 7 Gaming Hands-on video: Twin Blades →
I just came back from Microsoft’s ReMIX event where I had the chance to get some hands-on time with the latest Windows Phone 7 build running on the infamous modified Samsung Omnia HD (Samsung Taylor). Just to be clear, this is a prototype device (that will probably never be sold) and from what I have gathered it does have a Qualcomm SnapDragon chipset instead of the TI OMAP 3430 in the original Omnia HD) edit: the screen has also been changed to a WVGA AMOLED panel (the original Omnia HD has a 360×640). As you can see in the video below everything is running smoothly with no sign of lag or stuttering and everything was functional on the handset (GPS, data, and even camera). It’s the smoothest mobile experience I have ever witness (on par with the iPhone) and it definitely feels a lot better when used on a real handset compared to the desktop emulator. (sorry for the soundtrack, we were talking in French and it wasn’t a formal interview, just a short chat). Watch the HD video (still processing) after the break.
Continue reading Windows Phone 7 Hands-On Video with the Samsung Prototype →
I had the chance to get my hands on the
Garmin-Asus Nuvifone A50, the company’s first Android based smartphone. The A50 is currently running
Android 1.6 (with multi-touch implemented by
Garmin-Asus as you can see in the video below) but will be upgradeable to 2.X later this year according to the company. The handset is packed with navigation related customization starting with the home screen (Breeze UI) to the contacts and photo album. Build quality is pretty good (miles better than the
M10 IMO) and the 3.5″ HVGA capacitive touchscreen was also really responsive. Like the vast majority of the mid-end smartphones launched this year the A50 is equipped with Qualcomm’s MSM7227 SoC clocked @ 600Mhz. Unfortunately the A50 doesn’t feature a standard 3.5mm audio jack and has a mini-sub connector (not micro-usb like it’s the norm now)
Here’s a couple of size comparison picture of the
Toshiba TG02 &
Toshiba K01 vs the
HTC HD2. As you can see the HD2 is a tiny bit wider than the other two handsets but slimmer than the TG02 (the K01 beeing the thickest one of the bunch). Remember that the HD2 also has a bigger screen at 4.3″ compared to 4.1″ on the Toshiba handsets.
Toshiba officially unveiled the K01 this week at
MWC. At first glance you would think that it’s just a
TG02 but upon closer inspection you will find out that this thing features a 4 row sliding qwerty keyboard. Similar in design to the TG02 the
Toshiba K01 will also feature an AMOLED display (instead of LCD). As you can see in the pictures, the handset is really slim. Internally it’s speced exactly like the TG02 and like its keyboard brother doesn’t feature a 3.5mm Jack and camera flash.
The Toshiba TG02 which is the successor of the infamous TG01 (the first ever SnapDragon powered device) was announced 2 days ago in Barcelona during MWC and is expected to ship in the first half of this year. The TG02 is nearly identical to the its older bother, to only new addition with the capacitive touchscreen and a smaller chassis (the TG01 is wider). The handset is running Windows Mobile 6.5.3 and will ship with SPB Mobile Shell 3.5 as the main UI. The TG02 fits definitely better in the hand but still lacks a 3.5mm Jack and the camera is the same 3.2Mpx with no flash.
The HTC HD Mini is probably the HTC handset that has the best build quality. From the industrial screws on the back to the funky yellow colored internals, the whole packaged feels like it is made to last. The Mini is definitely less powerful than the HD2 but compensates this by being a ton more easier to use with one hand. The handsets currently available at MWC are running a slightly modified version of Windows Mobile 6.5.3 that features a new lock screen, pinch-to-zoom in IE Mobile and not Start soft key (check ou my previous video here).
I just did a quick hands-on with the
HTC Legend today. As you can see in the video there isn’t much of a difference between this device and the previously released
HTC Hero. The Legend does have a better screen (AMOLED) and is a tiny-bit snappier thanks to the Qualcomm MSM7227 So clocked at 600Mhz. the build quality is pretty good (HTC stepped their game up since the
HTC HD2 in terms of robust build quality IMO)and you get some new widgets in the
Sense UI (the updated Sense UI will also become available on the HTC Hero via an update later this year).
Here’s a short video of the new Lock Screen featured on the HTC HD Mini and the new multi-touch enabled version of IE Mobile. The HD Mini seems to be running a slightly modified version of Windows Mobile 6.5.3 (notice there’s no big start button on the lower left…).
As I told you before having “mini” versions of your flagship phone is becoming a new trend this year at
MWC.
LG has officially announced the
LG Mini (
LG GD880) phone today and I had the chance to get some hands on action with the device. First of this is a featurephone, not a smartphone but it does look pretty nice. The build quality is really high and the handset feels really solid in your hand. The Mini sport a 3.2″ capacitive touchscreen (pinch to zoom works as you can see in the video, but it’s a bit sow..). It’s got a dedicated Facebook & Twitter client and a an HTML5 compatible WebKit based browser. On the back you’ll find a 5Mpx camera with AF. I still don’t know what is the screen resolution though.
Here are some hands-on picture I took of LG’s second
Android handset, the
LG GT540 is currently running
Android 1.6(with some customization done by LG)but I was assured that it will be upgradeable to Android 2.X in the future. The device sport a 3Mpix camera with AF and a resistive touchscreen (it is so good that I initially thought that it was capacitive at first but then the LG Rep told me to use my finger nails to prove that it was indeed resistive) and will feature native WMV & Divx playback support. The
GT540is also really light. LG plans to ship it globally in April 2010.
Here are two hands-on videos I shot a couple of hours ago at Sony Ericsson’s press event. The first one shows (yes it’s blurry sorry, the lighting was horrible & it was a real pain to focus on the device…) is a UI walk-through of the Xperia X10 Mini. The second one (which isn’t blurry…) is basically the same thing but on the Xperia X10 Mini Pro. As you can see the whole thing is smooth as silk (the screen looks really sharp in real life btw). As it was mentioned in the specs those two phones are using Qualcomm’s MSM7227 SoC @ 600Mhz.
Xperia X10 Mini:
Xperia X10 Mini Pro:
Here’s a couple of size comparison pictures of the newly announced Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini vs the Xperia X10 Mini Pro.
Here’s a front shot (Mini on the left & Mini Pro on the right):
Front shot with the Mini Pro keyboard open:
Back shot (Mini Pro on the left & Mini on the right):
Thickness shot (Mini on the left & Mini Pro on the right), as you can see the Mini Pro is a bit thicker because of the keyboard. But it isn’t that big at all and feels really good in the hand:
I’ll upload some hands-on action with the two devices in a few…
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