Plemix

Underwater photography is still an area yet to be explored by various camera manufacturers. Canon has decided to break the monopoly of Olympus’s Stylus Tough series and entered the “adventure cam” battlefield with its latest offering Powershot D10. Canon fans have now anther option besides using the not-so-reliable underwater casing. D10 is designed to entertain outgoing X-gamers, backpackers, jungle roamers, desert nomads or any other kinds of adventure seekers. D10 is claimed to be 33ft. waterproof, 4.0ft shockproof and 14°F freezeproof. Can Canon stand a chance in waging this war?

The bundle includes the D10 camera, a battery, a battery charger, a USB cable, an AV cable, a wrist strap, a User’s guide and a CD-ROM.

By the look of D10 you can tell it’s made to weather through tough trips. The submarine-ish bloated case may give you the sense of security that it can bulldoze any dangers that it encounters, but may not appeal to users who have more commonplace aesthetics. The protruding lens makes the body looks comparatively bulkier. I suggest you check out Olympus Mju Tough 8000 if you find the design of D10 a bit overwhelming. The blue faceplate is interchangeable and you can choose from a selection of orange, camouflage and gray covers to match your style (extra cover is not included in the package) or to be replaced when scratches are collected.

The 2.5-inch TFT PureColor LCD is truly a stunner. It works well under broad daylight (very important for adventurous users I would say!)

There are sockets on four corners for shoulder or carabiner strap. Printing and switching from photo to film mode are made handy by the shortcut buttons.

The hues are shown vividly. The buttons are rubberized to provide better protection from moist. Although the zoom buttons are relocated, D10 has borrowed the familiar and user-friendly navigation from other Canon siblings.

The door of the battery and MicroSD compartment are invincible. Water can hardly sip through the door.

The AV and USB portals on the side are also well-protected.

The quality of photography has not been sacrificed for the underwater adaptability, 12.1MP, 3X optical zoom, face-detection self-timer, motion detection technology DIGIC 4 Image Processor, ISO3200 and the list goes on. It is just like any other reputable Canon digital cameras function-wise.

We have been reviewing some lower-end phones for the past few weeks. The simplistic Nokia 2700 Classic and the environmental-friendly LG GD330 for instance are all scrambling to find their own niche. Here comes Nokia 3600 Slide which is heralded to serve the image-hungry market (but not the high-end glutton). Is Nokia 3600 Slide another underestimated mid-ranger or just a phone that deserves to be overlooked?

You can’t expect too much from the package, can you? The Nokia 3600 phone, a battery, a charger, a USB cable, a handsfree and a user’s guide. Pretty standard.

Nokia 3600 is an elegant slider. It is comparably petite with dimensions of 97.8 x 47.2 x 14.5 mm. Though the screen is only a 2-incher, it is a QVGA display. The large soft keys and D-pad makes the phone look kind of stale, but function-wise, they are extremely thumb-friendly. (The elevated touchy D-pad should be given a medal!)

The alphanumeric keypad is justifiable.

The left side accommodates the data transfer portal.

The right side of the phone houses the volume rocker and the shutter key which we beg to be as sensitive as the keypad, but it is not the case.

Here you can find the 2.5mm audio jack (I repeat, 2.5mm!) and the charger slot.

Let’s talk about the camera: 3.2MP, 8x digital zoom, LED flash, VGA video recording and TV-out support. To make it short, pretty comprehensive spec list but not so impressive performance.

The battery does not stick to the bed tightly enough that it may fall off when you remove the battery cover. You can find the MicroSD slot here. The memory can be extended up to 4GB.

The phone’s Series 40 user interface is as easy to use as we have known.

The video and music player is pretty smooth.

Nokia 3600 slider is not especially a high-performer in the imaging aspect as it is sold, but it is satisfying with a reliable platform, nice enough articulation with noise cancellation, Bluetooth 2.0 and USB 2.0 connections.

 

Nokia 3600 Slide Video Review

Shiny large touchscreen phones in all shapes, forms and sizes, with or without hardware keyboards…what they all have in common is a price tag that not anyone can afford. After the very first “budget” touchscreen phone- Cookie by LG, we realized that owing one is only a piece of cake. Now, Samsung’s S5600 is coming head to head with Cookie . Nice and welcome, we are taking the advantages of the contest. It’s time to check out whether it meets up with the expectations of us or not.

What’s inside? The phone, a charger, a battery, a USB cable, a handsfree and a manual too.

Being the small brother of Samsung Jet and Onmia II, of course, it shares some of the features set of those high-end device. Yes, the outlooks, obviously!(but all changed to mini size) If you think the S5600 is about to change your views regarding outlook or visual aspects of a phone with a huge touch-screen as Jet or Onmia II, well, you are bound to be sorely disappointed. It got 2.8 inches only but compact and light.

At the top of S5600 is a protective cap hiding the standard miscroUSB port that's used for connecting the charger, data cable and headset.

On the left, there is a simple volume rocker.

The right hand side is with only two keys available here - the camera key and the Lock key.

You may see the 3.2 MP Camera here with LED flash whereas the Cookie only got 3 MP without flash. Also, the S5600 comes with smile detection.

The only way to get access to the memory card slot is by removing the back cover and battery. The S5600 got 80MB internal memory, whereas the Cookie got 48 MB only.

The S5600 comes with the latest implementation of the TouchWiz user interface much like the one on Samsung S8300 UltraTOUCH. And added a new touchscreen feature called Gesture Lock, which enables users to simultaneously unlock the phone and open a menu item or an application just by drawing an alphabet letter on the unlock screen.

The music player has a dedicated widget, allowing quick access to the full version of the application by only a single tap. You can also start, stop and alternate tracks straight from the home screen if you prefer. And the player is nicely touch-optimized including fast forward and rewind, just like the Pixon.

With HSDPA 7.2 mps for high performance full internet browser to meet the growing demands of the new internet-savvy generation plus the camera flash and smile detection in S5600, but all absent on Cookie . The S5600 although at mid-level phone but at a proper price to pose a serious threat to the LG Cookie in the budget touchscreen solutions class. I can say: S5600 is the champion in the contest against LGCookie .

Samsung GT-S5600 Video Review

Wow…the story of Android to be continued. Starting from HTC G1 (Dream), with a full QWERTY keyboard which make the dreamer’s Dream come true. And then the Google 2 (Magic) broke with the full QWERTY heritage and become slimmer, also powered by its magical tricks. Lastly, the caterpillar is turning to a butterfly. The latest Android-powered, HTC Hero, our superhero has finally arrived without putting the Google’s logo on the head, and comes with many features which are much more different from its previous. Let’s see how the powerful and invincible hero saves the day.

Hero comes in 2 colours, Black and White. The white one is covered with Teflon coating which we normally see on kitchen utensils like frying pans whereas the black one is covered with rubber-like material, but both protect the phone from dirt and scratched. The package contains a battery, a charger, a handsfree headset, a USB cable and a User’s guide. You may immediately notice that the accessories are in showy white next to the white Hero. Yes, if you take the black one may get all accessories in black.

Inherited from Dream is the 3.2” HVGA widescreen, discarding the full QWERTY but keeping the trademark angled chin, the Hero continues the tradition of slim full-touch phones much along the lines of Magic.

On the top there's a nice surprise - the standard 3.5mm audio jack for the music lovers which is absent in previous Google phones.

The angled chin here is more convenience in operating the hardware below the screen and comfortably around your face while talking on phone, but a bit difficult to slip into tight pockets.

On the bottom, there is the standard miniUSB port used for plugging a charger or a data cable.

Where’s the microSD card slot? You may find it after remove the cover.

Let’s talk about the new features in Hero.

It used to be just TouchFLO, but enter Sense UI, a new profile feature which is a cross between TouchFLO and the stock Android interface. They are customizable and switchable beyond recognition through a variety of widgets. The arched scrollbar at the bottom of the screen is used to create and edit your homescreen. The left key launches the main menu. The middle key is a shortcut to the Phone apps and the right key brings up the "Add to Home" menu. They have extended the flippable homescreen to seven partitions instead of the usual three.

The People widget and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth setting widgets here. You can scroll through a list of your favorite contacts directly here no need to get to the contacts list.

The grid interface here. You simply flick between them using your finger or the trackball. Impressively, even with lots of applications on the go, there's also little noticeable lag.

The bookmarks widget here. It is a gateway to online collections of you and your friends on Facebook or myspace. Of course you can customize it. Nice~

Another cool feature called “Scenes” which comes preloaded with several, named HTC, Social (for social networks and contacts), Work (business related), Play (music and entertainment), Travel, Clean Slate and Custom 1, plus you can save your own personalized versions. Unfortunately, there is no fast switching between modes. Web browsing is another strength here which working at 7.2Mbps download and supports flash video and can be operate in multi-touch. A “Pinch to zoom” gesture is also welcome. With the upgrading camera to 5MP and the “Sense” UI which adds great value to Android by putting the widgets at glance view and makes it uniqueness with a variety of designs and sizes that best match your personality. The Screen QWERTY keyboard matches the best for responsiveness and auto-correction, and acknowledges each press with a useful haptic vibration. So, what do you think? The superhero? The best Android phone to date?

HTC Hero A6262 Video Review