General Interface / Settings

I must admit, when I first started to use the Xoom, I was constantly baffled by various tasks that should have been relatively simple. While I’ve managed to get the hang of it now, I don’t believe it’s as intuitive as it should be. Once you’ve learned how to use it you’re fine, but beginning users can be easily overwhelmed. For example, the buttons on the bottom left hand corner of the screen (those that allow you to switch between applications and perform specific tasks) are hard to understand at first glance.

I was also disappointed to note that there is no SMS/MMS capability from a software point of view. The select support it does have doesn’t even count – it allows you to view a SMS when you receive it, but only for ten seconds. After that, it’s lost forever. This is extremely disappointing, especially considering this is a device from Optus – a telecommunications provider first and foremost.

Aside from this, the overall speed and design of the interface is awe-inspiring. It functions well, and as expected with any Android device, the settings and customisations available are vast enough to suit any user.

Xoom – General Interface VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Browser

The browser is an almost carbon copy of Google’s Chrome browser on the PC – and it makes considerable sense keeping it consistent as well to match the experience on all systems. I found the touch interface particularly easy to use, and browsing the web was a breeze.

The Xoom also comes with Adobe Flash support, meaning streaming videos online is fairly straight-forward and supported through various television companies.

Xoom – Browser VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Maps

As an Android device, Google maps comes integrated with maps and navigation. Whilst I can’t personally imagine it replacing a standard GPS in a vehicle (thanks to the size), it provides an effective way to discuss travel plans with friends and family, especially when you’re on the road.

Xoom – Maps VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Music/Videos

The Music and Video capability of the device is very slick – flicking in and out of songs in 3D view is interesting, and watching movies on the crisp screen is wonderfully enjoyable.

Sadly, getting your movies and music on the device isn’t as fun. Though music files are generally fine, it’s hard to find a movie format that is accepted on the Xoom – WMV and AVI (not) included. To play your videos, you need to convert them into accepted filetypes – which is not only time consuming but assumed a level of familiarity with technology that some people simply don’t have.

Xoom – Music/Videos VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

YouTube

The YouTube interface on the Xoom was majestic, using the full size of the screen to its benefit. And with full capability including commenting and rating, there’s no reason why it couldn’t be a complete replacement to the website version used on a computer.

The home interface shows a semi-3D display of the latest videos, allowing you to glance and go at the entertainment on offer.

Xoom – YouTube VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Other Galleries

Xoom – Gmail VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Xoom – Contacts VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Xoom – Gallery VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Xoom – App Store VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Overall

Overall, the Motorola Xoom is a fantastic device, with only a few flaws. While there is no SMS capability and it isn’t as light as its iPad counterpart, the features it does have puts it way ahead of the game. It’s quick and full of customisable features. A thumbs up from me!

The Motorola Xoom is currently available through Optus – my favourite telecommunications provider.

Specifications:

• CPU: 1GHz Dual-Core (with nVidia Tegra 2)
• Platform: Android 3.0 (Honeycomb)
• Memory: Internal (32GB), RAM (1GB)
• Display: 10.1-inch touch screen
• Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi (b/g/n), 3.5 mm stero, micro-USB
• Camera: 5 megapixel with flash, 2 megapixel front camera, 720p HD video recording

First impressions

Opening the door to a courier holding a large package is always a sight for sore eyes, and it certainly was for me this morning. Gently tearing open the packaging I came across an extremely well presented red box – in which couldn’t help but gleam with glory as to the contents inside. Picking up the Xoom, I was midly surprised at the weight – it was more than I had expected. Not a huge amount of weight, but still enough to notice.

Peering around the design of the Xoom, you can certainly see the effort that’s been put in – together with relatively slim sides and contoured edges. It’s extremely easy to carry, and a breeze to hold. I do however, find it strange that the power button is located on the rear of the device. Maybe with time I’ll realise this is a blessing.

Turning the device on, I was pleasantly surprised as the sheer speed. Flicking in and out of applications was seamless – letting you get straight to the good stuff! Start up and shut down was also relatively good, with the start up taking around 45 seconds and shut down in around 5.

What’s next?

Over the next few days I’ll be delving into the applications available on the Xoom, including navigation and business tools, and will be testing the practicality of the device as an entertainment companion (including the battery life, size, and screen display). Be sure to keep an eye out, and feel free to shoot through any questions you have via the comment box below, via Twitter (@MiCCAS) or via the contact form. I’ll be sure to answer them all!

I’d like to thank the Social Team at Optus for loaning me this unit for the purpose of reviewing, and I’d love to give them all a huge shout out for all the fantastic customer service and communication they provide using social media channels – keep it up guys!

Unboxing VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

HTC have always seemed to create suitable names for its vast array of mobile phones, and it’s no surprise that the Incredible S has lived up to the expectations delivered with its name.

Specifications

• CPU: 1 GHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 205 GPU, Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon
• Platform: Android 2.3
• Memory: Internal (1.1GB), RAM (768MB)
• Size/Weight: 120 x 64 x 11.7 mm, 135.5 grams
• Display: 4-inch touch screen
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.1, W-Fi (b/g/n), 3.5 mm stereo, micro-USB
• Camera: 8 megapixel with autofocus and dual LED flash, 1.3 megapixel front camera, 720p HD video recording

Look and Feel

The Incredible S is yet another sleekly designed phone from HTC, with thought put in for every aspect of the phone. I especially liked the back of the phone, seamlessly rubberised to prevent slips from your hand. The overall size of the phone is perfect, touting a very reasonable screen without the “it-can’t-fit-in-your-pocket” aspect.

However, whilst one of the key features of this phone is the capacitive buttons at the bottom of the phone, I found this feature to be useless after the initial intrigue. Whilst this is a fantastic feature in theory, I can’t personally see the benefit when comparing my usage with other phones.

HTC’s implementation of Android 2.3 on this device has exceeded all expectations, running smoothly out-of-the-box. Flicking in and out of menus, browsing the web, and installing apps was a breeze – even after heavy usage.

Camera

The phone has a pretty stock-standard camera built in – with 8 megapixels and dual LED flash. Together with autofocus, a feature HTC seems to always get right,  the camera takes fantastic photographs and videos (in 720p High Definition)!

(Thanks to Ben Edwards for helping with photography)

The phone also comes with a fairly basic front-facing camera, but still perfect for its main purpose – video calling or self-portraits!

Wrap-Up

It’s no wonder that all of the phone operators in Australia are getting on board with this phone – together with its lustrous design, this phone proves to be an extremely fast and enjoyable Android experience.

This phone is available from MobiCity, my favourite mobile retailer, for $569 (or $649 for the NextG counterpart)!

Incredible S Gallery VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Photography

HTC 7 Mozart: Sample Photos VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The HTC’s 8-megapixel camera, coupled with auto focus and Xenon flash, allows you to take high quality professional photos, with ease of use. At the simple click of a button, you’ve taken an image you may very well place in your wedding album!

OK – maybe not your wedding album, but something more intriguing is the Windows 7 Phone’s use of the camera button. Instead of forcing you to log into your phone again, in the case that it’s locked, you simply need to press the camera button for the camera to activate. No more fumbling at the keys trying to remember your PIN number! But beware – this also means your own embarrassing moments may be captured on your phone, at the blink of an eye!

Another small, yet interesting, feature is the auto-rotate of images that you capture. Instead of having to manually rotate each image, the phone will simply save them in the same direction as you were holding the phone at the time!

Feel free to take a look at the gallery of photographs I took in Melbourne CBD and surrounding suburbs, which I have left completely unedited (aside from watermarks).

Video

Of course, it’s great to be able to send your friends and family those happy snaps, but let’s face it – pictures aren’t always worth a thousand words (like if your dog could talk). And, the HTC 7 Mozart doesn’t let you down there either, allowing you to take great 720p video footage.

However, I found it very interesting that the camera function defaulted to a lower 8MP resolution for it’s video recording, rather than it’s higher capability 720p. Unfortunately, I didn’t realise this until arriving home – meaning I had to take a trip back into the city to take a video!

I have uploaded a sample video, also taken in Melbourne – YouTube

Comments? Questions? Feel free to reply below, or send us a tweet at @MobiReviews!

And, as always – thank you to MobiCity who were kind enough to send me this review unit. MobiCity are selling the HTC 7 Mozart as both a standard 900Mhz model, and a Telstra NextG model. Or, feel free to checkout the rest of MobiCity’s Windows 7 phones!

I’ve been given a review unit, thanks to MobiCity, so over the next week I will be using this phone and tweeting (@MobiReviews) about my experiences – which I will then wrap up in a blog post at the end of the week. But, for now, let’s get on with the unboxing!

Specifications

• CPU: 1 GHz
• Platform: Windows Phone OS 7
• Memory: 512 MB ROM / 576 MB RAM
• Size/Weight: 119 X 60.2 X 11.9 mm / 130 grams
• Display: 3.7-inch touch screen
• Network: HSPA/WCDMA (850/2100 MHz)  / GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)  | Also available in 900/2100 model)
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.1, Wifi (b/g/n), 3.5 mm stereo, micro-USB
• Camera: 8 megapixel, with autofocus and flash
• 720p HD video recording

Look and Feel

After unboxing the phone, I was impressed by the quality of the design. Together with the three touch-sensitive ‘back’, ‘Windows’ and ‘search’ keys, the phone is coupled with buttons including the dedicated camera key, the volume rocker and the all important power key. The phone has a solidness to it, and yet it remains light and streamlined against the palm of the hand.

The phone’s screen is amazing – together with its crisp display and responsive touch, flipping in and out of screens is a breeze!

I am however worried about the unprotected camera lens and open micro-USB port. Though, to be fair, I do seem to be part of the minority with this worry – as most of the phones these days come equally unprotected.

HTC 7 Mozart (Unboxing) VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Stay tuned for the full review later this week – and remember, you can tweet (@MobiReviews) or e-mail (mobireviews@michaelcasha.com) any questions you have about the phone!

If you’re like me, when you spend $700 on a new phone, you want it to be absolutely amazing and something you’ve never seen before. But, when you turn on the Nokia N8, and you’ve used a symbian device before, you’ll be annoyed. I found the fact that it was so similar to other devices annoying at first, but after using it for a day, I’ve learned to appreciate that I know how to use all the functions of the device – even though it’s been such a short time.

Keyboard

The keyboard (landscape mode, left) is quite simple and easy to use – but, it did take a fair bit to get used to. You can rotate from portrait to landscape quite quickly, by rotating the device.

I have, however, found that trying to move the cursor to a specific point in the text you have written is a bit of a hit-and-miss. I usually have to press a thousand times before it moves around as required.

Copy/Paste

Copy/Paste is a fairly simple, yet useful tool on mobile phones. And, Nokia seem to have introduced this concept quite well in the Nokia N8.

Home Screen

The home screen, or should I say ‘screen(s)’, is a concept used in so many other smart phone platforms, as has been introduced in the Symbian^3 operating system as well. The Nokia N8 features up to 3 home screens, with the ability to place widgets on each one.

Adding and modifying the widgets are fairly simple, with a simple hold which will pop up appropriate menus.

For more screenshots of the interface, see the gallery below (if there is something I’ve missed that you’d like to see, let me know):

Nokia N8 Interface VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

There were a couple of things I really wanted to test out – and they were the battery life, the ‘screen-in-sunlight’ issue and the camera.

Camera

If someone were to ask me to mention one thing that puts this device ahead of every other phone, it would have to be it’s built-in camera. The 12MP Carl Zeiss lens, with built-in flash, produces high quality images and amazing quality videos.

But don’t take my word for it – I’ve taken some sample shots for you to look at. (Video to be uploaded soon)

‘Screen-In-Sunlight’ issue

An issue that seems to plague so many touch screen devices is their lack of screen display outside. The Nokia N8’s outside display did drop, as expected, but not by any amount that would limit usage of the phone. I could still perform all the functions needed, and see the screen quite well.

Take a look at the photos – the first one (left – courtesy of @Muskley) being taken at midday, and the second at around 6:30PM (right).

Battery Life

It seems, or at least to me, that phone technology has boomed over the past year – however, battery technology has not caught up. I’ve essentially given in to the idea that any new smart phone will need a charge every night (or every couple, if you’re lucky).

Nokia, however, have always seemed to have battery life down pat – and it’s no wonder why the N8’s battery faired quite well in my tests. On day one, I performed a lot of intensive testing (using lots of data throughout the day, calls, text messages, and general camera usage). At the end of the day, it was reporting a 30% battery. Not bad.

On day two, I was more average with my usage. I looked up train timetables, made a few tweets and sent a few e-mails. I took a couple photos, and made a quick one minute video. At the end of the day, I had 70% left. Again, not bad.

In my unboxing review, I stated that the battery could not be removed. After speaking with a Nokia employee today, Christopher Golacki, I was told the battery is in fact removable, and is the standard battery found in many of the recent models. I will look into this over the next couple of days, and post some Twitter (@MobiCity_N8) photos!

Coming Up: A review of Google’s applications, and more! Stay tuned!

After using the phone for a couple of hours, I’m a little more relaxed on the idea that this will be a troublesome week – but I will still reserve judgement, and let you see here exactly what I think, and what others think!

Over the next week, I will be Tweet (via @MobiCity_N8) and blogging about my thoughts and opinions – and I’ll also be giving the device to friends and family to try out, and I will share their thoughts too! And, don’t forget, you can contact me at any time with your questions and I will answer them for you!

To begin the review, I figured it should start where I started – at the unboxing.

In the box:

• 1x Nokia N8-00
• 1x Stylus
• 1x In-Ear Headphones
• 1x Cloth
• 1x Charger
• 1x USB Cable (Phone –> PC)
• 1x HDMI Connector
• 1x USB Connector (read more about this soon!)

Something interesting that I found was that there wasn’t a battery to install. Whilst I am curious to know if it’s possible to change the battery, it will also be interesting to see the battery life (and if it has improved because of the non-replaceable battery).

Installing the SIM card was also strange! To install the sim card, you need to pull two side flaps out (See left) and insert the sim card to the side of the unit (I hope you have nails!)

Once the device was on, it was simple and easy to setup – and is really no different to most other Nokia devices. And this is, strangely enough, one of my favourite things so far. This device is so different to so many other Nokia mobiles, yet so similar!

Keep an eye out for more posts over the next week! I’ll be testing the camera functions, applications, calls, etc – it will be my primary phone for the next week, and I will let you know everything!

Remember – you can send in your questions and comments via this blog (either on the comments, or at the content page), or send a tweet to @MobiCity_N8 on Twitter! This is YOUR review.

Nokia N8 Unboxing VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Firstly, let me introduce myself. I’m a 17-year old web developer who’s currently studying Year 12 in Australia, and quite enjoying it (maybe I should save this quote for later in the year). I have had a keen interest in Information Technology since I was quite young, and over time I have built up my skills and launched a few of my own websites (including MSNVirusRemoval).

You’re more than welcome to send me an e-mail by using the Contact button on this website with any questions, be it regarding some weird issue you have with your computer, a question you have about web developement or if you’re interested in me doing some work for you – I don’t bite, I promise!

Feel free to post your comments and suggestions in the comments area of this blog post!