Nokia Lumia 920 and the tale of déjà vu

Exactly a year ago, thanks to the lovely team at Nokia Connects I've had an opportunity to trial the Nokia Lumia 800 - the first Nokia-designed smartphone running the Windows Phone operating system. Putting all ramblings whether Nokia's sudden strategy switch was right or not, the Lumia 800 impressed me, however not to the point where I'd be ready to ditch Android in favour of WP7 just yet.

Fast-forward 12 months and I find myself with the latest top dog from Nokia's Windows Phone range in my hands, the Lumia 920. Again, kudos to Nokia Connects for letting me have it.

Acer Revo RL100 media centre PC review

For the past year or so my over-5-year-old Dell Latitude D620 laptop has been working 24/7 as a home media centre PC. Hooked up to the LCD TV with VGA lead for video and standard 3.5mm jacks for audio, combined with wireless keyboard+trackball combo it was mostly used to watch TV/VoD streaming over the internet (thankfully Xilo has truly unlimited broadband). However, I've been thinking to upgrade this rather archaic setup and replace the dated laptop with dedicated HTPC machine. I wasn't in the hurry tough, so over the course of few months I've ran through few options which included Zotac Z-BOX, Xtreamer Ultra and Acer Revo RL3700 among others. But one day I came across a very good deal on Acer Revo RL100 which I've never heard about earlier, nonetheless given its specification and bargain price I have decided to get one straight away.

HTC Flyer vs. Archos 80 G9 - thoughts and impressions

I didn't really consider changing my tablet anytime soon, as I was quite happy with Archos 80 G9 which I've got around October. But there was that ridiculous Christmas clearance of the HTC Flyer tablet at DSG stores (PCWorld, Dixons and Currys) here in the UK recently and you know... it just happened by itself. ;) When the clearance was pretty much over everywhere, I've somehow managed to bag (in fact, my wife did) a WiFi-only unit, the very last one from the display in Dixons nearby. Phew!

Sony Ericsson Xperia pro - thoughts and review

My recent involvement as an author in Coolsmartphone technology blog has opened an opportunity to get my hands dirty with mobile gadgets I'd probably never had chance to play with. One of the latest example was Sony Ericsson Xperia pro - a full-sized hardware qwerty handset, powered by Android Gingerbread due to receive Ice Cream Sandwich soon.

Judging by nowadays standards Xperia pro perhaps isn't the most compelling handset out there, yet it is still very good looking, reasonably specced and reliable handset, sporting fantastic hardware qwerty keyboard too. Official upgrade to ICS just behind the corner is surely a huge plus too. Considering that combination doesn't really occur often in Android world, Xperia pro is definitely worth a shot, especially with very attractive £272 price tag at Handtec.

I've written up a full review at Coolsmartphone, so read on if interested.

Nokia Lumia 800 review

So here it is, the Nokia Lumia 800 - the first real Windows Phone phone made by Nokia. I've had virtually no experience with Windows Phone 7 before and was looking very much forward to receive Lumia 800 from Nokia Connects (as usual, thanks!) to find out whether WP7 is able to impress me as much as Nokia N9 and MeeGo Harmattan did recently. Frankly, I actually doubted WP7 could stand up to expectations set so high by Harmattan but having solid hands-on experience with both now, I might revise my stance a little bit after all. Let's see...

Nokia N9 - review of the disruptive device

Nokia N9 is very weird kind of beast. It is running MeeGo Harmattan OS and has been released after so-called elopocalypse when Nokia's new CEO Stephen Elop has announced quite sudden and controversial turn towards Windows Phone platform, ditching both homegrown smartphone platforms - Symbian and Maemo/MeeGo - into gloom. Nonetheless, Nokia N9 has received positive reviews from mobile technology blogosphere around the world, which posed the question whether pivotal turn in Nokia's strategy was actually right move? As a former user and fan of Maemo-powered devices, including the latest N900, and also being quite sceptical about Microsoft partnership, I was particularly interested to see N9 myself. Once again, thanks to Nokia Connects I've had a chance to use N9 for past couple of weeks and see how it performs in real life.

Archos 80 G9 review

Despite being declared gadget maniac, somehow I never really got into tablets. When the first iPad came out and whole hype began, I regarded it as overly-expensive gadget having virtually no practical use to me. Yet quite recently I've started changing my mind towards tablets. I thought they could be good use not only for general web browsing but also for reading articles or e-books more comfortably than on 3-inch-odd display of my phone, playing YouTube videos to my one-and-a-half-year-old daughter (excellent WAF bumper, btw) or just checking various stuff on the web quickly without getting a laptop out. Still, I regarded tablets too expensive for my needs and looked for a budget solution. Thankfully, my search for tablet coincided with release of Archos 80 G9 which promised Android Honeycomb on top of fairly good specification within £200 budget. Seemed like perfect match, so I decided to get one straight away.

I switched to giffgaff after ~5 years with T-Mobile - here's why

I am generally quite loyal chap when it comes to my technology choices. When I stick to one thing (or brand, for that matter), I hesitate a lot before even considering switch to direct competitor, even if it seems better at first glance. So that was the case with the relationship I've had with T-Mobile UK for over 5 years. There were ups and downs, complaints sent, goodwill gestures received and so on but generally once I settled in with satisfying deal I was quite happy with them and never considered switch. Until one day when I learned about that new giffgaff network which gradually attracted me to the point where my usual hesitation broke completely and I ended up switching all my numbers (2x pay monthly + 2x prepaid) from T-Mobile. This tale is to tell you why.

Nokia X7 review

This is no secret that Nokia is currently undergoing the toughest times in their recent history. Stephen Elop announced sudden switch in strategy which essentially converts Nokia into mere hardware manufacturer for Windows Phone based smartphones. However unpopular that decision was, and no matter how upset people (and stocks) became, we all just need to deal with it. Period.

Nonetheless, since that announcement was made, things at Espoo are getting just worse. Shipments of WP-powered mobiles won't happen immediately, so Nokia has to fill the gap somehow to remain relevant, and that emergency plumbing is done with help of ill-fated Symbian smartphones.

The most recent launches in Symbian territory which were supposed to keep Nokia on track are business-oriented E6 and multimedia-powerhorse X7. I have had a chance to review E6 already and my feelings were quite positive, despite the fact Symbian is no longer attracting me enough to dump Android altogether. Now, once again thanks to WOMWorld/Nokia people I've got X7 in my hands to play with for couple of weeks.

Nokia E6 review, part 2

Having already reviewed Nokia E6 from visual and hardware perspective, I could compare it to the beautiful woman walking down the street and passing you by. She's absolute stunner and you can't resist to turn head around and take extra peek at her. Yet, you wonder how is she like personally? Is she really worthwhile? Or maybe she's just looking good?

Second part of my review is to see whether good-looking and having certain hardware virtues Nokia E6 will be also able to impress from inside. Is Anna - an inspiring name of the latest iteration of Symbian - really worthwhile? Does it have strengths, what are the weaknesses? Or perhaps she's just having a nice name? Let's dive in and see.

Nokia E6 review, part 1

About two-three years ago I was a happy user of Nokia's one of the most successful business smartphones in recent years and that was Nokia E71. In fact, I regarded E71 as my truly perfect device at the time - compact, lightweight, feature-packed yet still sporting full qwerty keyboard in my favourite form-factor. However, time was passing by, various different mobile phones have been landing in my hands since then and I've recently settled down with Android-based HTC Desire Z as my default phone. Yet still Nokia E71 will always be the kind of device I will keep the greatest sentiments about.

So despite making different mobile phone choices recently, once I've learned about the latest Nokia E6 smartphone back in April this year, I've got quite excited again. And now, just before Nokia E6 hits the shelves in the UK, thanks to WOMWorld/Nokia I've got a chance to try it out for couple of weeks. Having said that, the main question today is whether Nokia E6 will live up to expectations of Nokia E71/72 owners/fans and keep up with successful business smartphone series from Nokia? Let's see.

Nokia X7, E6 and Symbian Anna - first impressions

Thanks to the great people at WOMWorld/Nokia (as usual lately ;), I have been lucky enough to get my hands on the latest and greatest Nokia offerings in Symbian world - the new Nokia X7 and E6 which were officially unveiled to the world yesterday morning.

Demonstration was carried out in WOMWorld's headquarters in London by Nokia product managers. They brought few prototype devices to show off and give us to play with. So what are the first impressions?

Nokia BH-905i headphones review

For the past couple of weeks, thanks to great folks at WOMWorldNokia I've had chance to use Nokia BH-905i headphones. That was utterly interesting experience and there's one thing I can say straight away - these are one of the best gadgets I've had in my hands recently! Read on to find out why.

Nokia N8 two weeks hands-on review

Nokia's latest multimedia flagship has been in my hands for almost two weeks now so I've got more thoughts to share about this device in addition to the very first impressions that I posted right on the day when I've got N8.

Firstly, I think any Nokia N8 review has to be split into two parts, describing separately hardware and software aspects of this smartphone. That is because in particular case of N8 it's somewhat difficult to judge it as a whole. Let me explain that further later on.

Nokia N8 is in da hauz!

So I'm lucky! Once again I have been given a brand new mobile phone free! This time thanks to Social Media Week event sponsored by Nokia and related Twitter promo action by folks at @WOMWorldNokia, shiny silver Nokia N8 has landed in my hands. :) Many thanks!

In fact I am double lucky, as I was quite fancy to get N8 in my hands pretty much since it has been released. Not necessarily to have it (as it doesn't have hardware qwerty keyboard, for starters) but to get to know it and see how the latest incarnation of Symbian OS works out. Both N8 and S^3 have been receiving mixed press since the release and I feel it was mostly negative. That alone made me more eager to see it myself. Plus, I am looking very forward to see how N8's famous camera performs.

Quick review of cheap, dedicated car holder for N900

When I've got myself a Nokia N810 couple of years ago, I was nicely surprised by very good quality car holder that came inside the retail box as standard. When I've got myself a Nokia N900 last December, there was no car holder inside the box. Even worse - Nokia didn't seem to care providing one as an optional accessory to buy later. They still don't seem to care, anyway.

Instant Email service by T-Mobile UK - the good, the bad and the ugly

I've been recently looking for a decent email solution for my Nokia E71, that would deliver a push-mail experience from my default Gmail account. After trying quite OK, but not-so-ideal free solutions, the time has come to subscribe to paid service offered by my mobile provider, T-Mobile UK.

HTC Magic as a default phone - final day

It's been a while since last update, as I wasn't able to write new posts recently. My Android & me experiment has officially ended today, and I switched back to Nokia E71. However, to be honest, I haven't done that without a hesitation. HTC Magic has something magic, something that don't let the user off easily. Anyway, I've been still using Magic as a default phone over past few days and I have few points to note before concluding my experiment.

HTC Magic as a default phone - day three

W00t! I found the way of enabling predictive text feature for Polish language! In fact, it was dead simple - just a matter of changing system locale/language to Polish. :) Strangely, keyboard language selection box hasn't Polski option to choose, which was putting me off earlier. But now I have double checked this and prediction works fine in my native language, despite the lack of the option - well, these are some odd quirks of using non-official ROM firmware. Anyway, I wonder whether that discovery is going to convert me to on-screen keyboard now? I guess not, but hopefully typing text will get painful. Time will tell, and I will tell here later what time said.

HTC Magic as a default phone - day two

Yet another day with HTC Magic as my default mobile phone, as I must admit I'm starting to get used to it. Even battery was behaving rather well overnight this time (99% to just 90%). Overall, Magic is very pleasant device, and quite frankly I really enjoy using it on daily basis. It has very nice look & feel, clean, crisp and sensitive, yet not over-sensitive, touch screen, and generally that is a quite appealing piece of hardware. However, there's one thing I really really hate. Text input. Oh, yes...