What’s Good: Supports every feature Sprint offers; EV-DO Rev. A data speeds; Good touchscreen response; Bright, clear display; Excellent GPS/navigation and voice command features; Good visual voicemail feature; 3.5mm headphone jack and stereo Bluetooth; Second battery included in packaging; Excellent value at $129 retail price

What’s Not Good: “Full HTML” Web browser is disappointing; No IM support; No calendar synching; No support for user-created ringtones or background images on menu screens; No phone as modem support on mandatory Simply Everything plan

Bottom Line: Sprint’s new flagship media phone is a very good device, even if I wish they’d skipped the whole “Instinct vs iPhone” marketing campaign.  The Web browser needs work and mobile IM addicts will be left in the cold by Instinct, but otherwise Instinct offers solid support across a huge variety of features and excellent implementation of GPS-based navigation and voice activated commands in particular.  Though plans start at a hefty $70/mo, if you use the unlimited data, navigation, and Sprint TV it’s actually a good value.  And you can’t beat the $129 price tag.

Specs:

• Make/Model: Samsung Instinct (M800)
• Network: CDMA 850 / 1900
• Data: 1x EV-DO Rev. A (3G)
• Carrier: Sprint
• Size: 116 x 55 x 12.4 mm
• Weight: 128 g
• Form Factor: Candybar with Full Touchscreen
• Display: 3.2” Color LCD, 240 x 432 resolution, 262,000 Colors
• Memory:  32 MB built-in, microSD card slot, 2GB memory card included
• Notable Features: GPS with navigation; Support for Sprint Music Store, Sprint TV, Streaming music services; Voice control system; First Sprint EV-DO Rev. A device for consumers

Read full review here http://www.joemustknow.com/showthread.ph…

Check out his latest video below:

View more at www.phonedog.com

 Below is a video clip of the press conference held by Skyfire earlier this year. I just wish they had a better camera angle - maybe a big screen Plasma would have helped, but I guess everyone is on a budget nowadays

Goto to Skyfire.com and register to be notified when they are going to release Beta 2

Watch the video below for the full scoop

Samsung Blackjack II (SGH-i617) - AT&T

At a Glance:
Ratings:
Styling: 4
Ease of Use:  4
Display: 4
Voice Quality: 4
Battery Life: 5
Quality / Durability: 5

What’s Good: Compact, stylish Windows Mobile 6 smartphone; HSDPA (3G) high speed data; Improved battery life; GPS; Center mounted jog wheel

What’s Not Good: QWERTY keys are a little small and a little slippery; No touchscreen; Display is smallish for a smartphone

Bottom Line: Blackjack II is a solid improvement over its predecessor.  There’s nothing revolutionary here, but faster hardware, improved battery life, and speedy 3G data make this a worthy update to the popular original.

Specs:
Make/Model: Samsung Blackjack II (SGH-i617)
Network: GSM Quad-Band
Data: HSDPA (3G)
Carrier: AT&T (Locked)
Size: 114 x 61 x 13 mm
Weight: 116 g
Form Factor: Candybar
Display: 2.4” Color LCD, 320 x 240 (QVGA) Resolution, 65,000 Colors
Memory: 155 MB built-in, microSD card slot
Notable Features: Windows Mobile 6 Standard OS; QWERTY thumbpad; Front-mounted jog dial navigation; Integrated GPS; 2-megapixel camera; Supports AT&T Video Share videocalling

Introduction
Samsung’s BlackJack was a big hit amongst smartphone users in 2007 thanks to its compact candybar form factor, full QWERTY keyboard, and enterprise-friendly Windows Mobile operating system.  But BlackJack suffered from a few flaws, inadequate battery life being the biggest offender; most BlackJack users I knew wound up buying an extended battery which all but negated the phone’s sleek body by adding a big ol’ bulge to its backside.

Lucky for business users across America, Samsung seems to have learned from its mistakes.  BlackJack II isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s a solid successor that corrects the original’s mistakes and adds a few goodies in the process.  Most notably, BJ2’s battery life is much improved, and faster hardware and speedy 3G data access make for noticeably improved productivity.

The new BlackJack is just a little bit thicker and heavier than the original, but it’s still one of the most compact smartphones around - it’s noticeably smaller than the similarly designed Motorola Q9.  There’s no touchscreen to be found here, and though I wouldn’t mind a slightly larger display and QWERTY layout, BlackJack users ready for an upgrade will generally find a lot to like in this sequel.

Design / Features
BlackJack II is sleek in a business-class sort of way.  I don’t know that I could ever call a smart phone “sexy,” but the burgundy-finish review sample Samsung sent me certainly is handsome, anyway.  The handset fits easily in one of my hands, and its center-mounted nav dial makes for easy left or right-handed operation  Some folks have bemoaned Samsung’s decision to replace BJ1’s side-mounted scroll wheel with this new front panel dial, but I like it.  The wheel’s similar to those found on iPods, if not quite as smooth and responsive - you can use it to scroll through selections or as a four-way directional pad with a center select key.  A standard layout of softkeys flank the wheel on either side, and I found these plenty spacious - though some might scoff at the slick plastic finish that adorns the buttons.

The QWERTY keys on the lower half of the phone’s front panel are on the smaller side, but the oval shaped keys are set on a slight diagonal and well spaced, which makes them pretty easy to use, even with my big thumbs.  Samsung also grouped the dialing buttons together (they were oddly spread out on the original) and added some shortcut keys to the bottom row of the keypad, which are handy.  My burgundy BlackJack II also featured a textured back panel that made for easier gripping; the black version of the handset has a smooth plastic back instead.  Speaking of the back panel, here you’ll find the sensor for BJ2’s two megapixel camera which can also capture video.

A Windows Mobile device, BlackJack 2 can handle your contacts and email and messaging needs, including support for Exchange Server and POP3 and IMAP email accounts.  Windows Mobile 6 supports full HTML email, and the device ships with support for AIM, Yahoo, and Windows Live instant messaging.  BlackJack II also comes with Microsoft Direct Push, which supports real-time “push” email delivery as well as automatic Outlook syncing.  The handset can be synched to a PC via USB cable using ActiveSync.

On the AT&T side, there’s support for the new Video Share service so you can make video calls if you and your recipient are both on compatible devices, within 3G network coverage, and willing to pay $5/month for 25 minutes of video calling bliss.  There’s also support for AT&T Music and Video, which stream a/v content to your handset for additional costs.  I tried out the XM Radio and ESPN video highlights services and was impressed with how quickly the applications loaded and the content started playing.  For my money streaming music is still much more useful on a mobile phone than streaming video, but the quality of both services was on par with anything I’ve tried on a Sprint or Verizon Wireless device.
Usability / Performance
As a phone, BlackJack II was a solid performer.  Signal strength was good, voice quality was generally quite good, and callers said I came through clearly on the other end.  I found the integrated speakerphone to be so-so; sometimes calls sounded fine (if a bit hissy) while other times voices were garbled and folks on the other end said they couldn’t hear me so well.  The phone paired up just fine with both mono and stereo Bluetooth headsets, and also worked well with the included wired earpiece.  Samsung uses a proprietary headphone jack, so if you want to use a third-party headset you’ll have to get an adapter.

Windows Mobile is not my favorite mobile platform, but BlackJack II ran it pretty well all the same.  WinMob 6 ships with Microsoft Office Mobile Suite, which supports viewing and limited editing of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.  There’s also a PDF viewer onboard.  Combined with HTML Email support, these features give WM 6 a nice shot in the arm, productivity-wise.

On the other hand, Internet Explorer mobile is still a pretty terrible Web browser.  That’s not BlackJack II’s fault, though, and a quick download and install of Opera Mini or Mobile will get the most out of the phone’s access to AT&T’s HSDPA data network.  Armed with Opera Mini, my BlackJack served up a very fast, solid Web browsing experience wherever I had a 3G signal.  There’s no WiFi connectivity on this handset, which isn’t a problem so long as you stay within 3G coverage areas; the larger battery meant that I didn’t have to worry about draining the phone’s battery unless I was doing some serious, steady Web surfing.

BlackJack II packs more memory and a faster processor than its predecessor, and the new hardware translated to noticeably better performance.  The integrated GPS worked well with Google Maps for Mobile, and the two-megapixel camera is an upgrade over the original’s 1.3 MP shooter spec-wise, though image quality is still middle of the road for a cameraphone.  There’s no flash for the camera, but there is a self-portrait mirror. 

Conclusion
BlackJack II is a solid smartphone.  I can’t get super-excited about because I’m not its target audience - I don’t like Windows Mobile and I do like touchscreens and snazzy features - but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate it.  Samsung took a good thing in the original BlackJack, fixed its fatal flaw by upping the battery life, and boosted performance and features in the meantime.

If you’re wedded to the idea of being able to navigate your smartphone via a thumbwheel on the side panel, you won’t like this new BlackJack.  Like I said, I really like the front-mounted navigation dial but I know some users really miss the original BJ’s side-mounted setup.  Aside from that, there’s nothing here that would put off a BlackJack fan looking to upgrade.  Windows Mobile 6 is an upgrade over 5, BJ II’s processor, screen size memory, and megapixel count are all upgrades over I, and now there’s GPS thrown in, too. 

Samsung did a nice job updating a popular handset without straying too far from what made the original a success.  Is this enough to make smartphone buyers pony up for BlackJack II?  Yeah, I think so.  BlackJack II is a mid-range smartphone - there’s no giant touchscreen or WiFi, but it’s got 3G and it’s small, sleek, and priced to move.  Sounds like another winner to me.

review by Noah Kravitz - read more reviews by Noah here

Source Phonedog.com

I find myself Googling for just about everything including believe it or not - Spell check! Yes it’s faster for me to type a misspelled word into my Google tool bar than it is to take the time to load MS word (all of 1 sec, but what the hey)!

Here is a short list of stuff I had to Google for just today (it was a light day, plus I can’t remember half of them):

•  Is the Nokia n78 a touch screen
• Grams to ounces conversion
• MM to inches conversion
• Wordpress themes
• Keurig (I originally spelled it wrong “kuerig”)
• Alltel Voice Max
• Apple iphones SDK roadmap (need images)

The funny thing is that even if I know the name of the website it is still faster to use Google (fixes any typos automatically). There is definitely a fine line between being efficient and being lazy huh?

Now we come to Youtube, once just a place to get your 15 minutes of fame to a legitimate information resource portal.

I became an even bigger fan of Youtube after taking on a remodeling project for a friend of mine that at the time was somewhat —-well actually totally over my head. I started off like so many others before me and headed to Lowes and sat in front of the “How to” book section and perused all of their ”Best Sellers” (insert sarcasm here) and found that I was going to have to shell out some serious cash if I wanted to cover all the bases. 

Luckily I came to my senses and loaded up Youtube on my phone (still at Lowes) just to see what would come up. During the next 15 minutes or so I must have entered everyone of my ”How do I” or “How to” questions and to my surprise I had a list of what must have been a hundred videos on everything from how to hang kitchen cabinets to installing wood flooring on a concrete slab! Not only did Youtube save me time, money, but the embarrassment of having to purchase so many books ;p

So the question of the day has to be - “What’s the next step for Youtube and Google”? A full fledged Wikipedia style tutorial section would be nice….

There is nothing better than not having to clean the coffee pot, buy filters, measure coffee and wait endlessly for it to brew (or in my case burn). Now I simply fill the container with water and program the unit to turn on 2:00 minutes before my alarm goes off and I am good to go. 

Other than the obvious benefits of time savings and convenience, the mere fact that several people can all use the same machine to have a different flavored coffee is “Priceless”!

Kuerig

I guess there is always Brookstone if one needs an overpriced set of barbecue utensils!

 Source: Reuters

The N96 does everything well - pictures, video, music, internet and high speed connectivity plus it is powered by a 3rd gen Software and OS combination that makes other so called high-end handsets seem rather weak.

Highlights:5.0MP camera with Carl Zeiss optics, HSPDA,GPRS,EDGE data and Wifi capability, Video record (30fps VGA), Digital TV tuner, TV out, GPS and of course games (”Star Wars - The Force Unleashed”). I’m not a big fan of video games (first person shooters always induce motion sickness in .5 sec), but the game play and graphics look very impressive.

I especially like the fact that you don’t have to use the touch screen all of the time to navigate through the menu system. I spend way too much time cleaning finger prints and smudge marks off of the front (and back) of my iPod Touch.

Between Sony Ericsson’s extensive lineup of new phones including the now famous XPERIA X1 and Samsung latest offerings at this years MWC in Barcelona, 08 is shaping up to be a battle of the smartphones …….oh and did forget to mention the possibility of a 3G iPhone being released before the end of this month!!! Stay tuned…..

In any event it is good news for consumers as the more competition combined with the new “openness” of the US carriers should drive the prices down to reasonable levels ($800 for a cell phone??? come now!)

I like the fact that Mitsubishi decided to do away with the front wheel drive and go with and the AWD system borrowed from the Lancer. The car will sport a 2.2 turbo diesel 4cyl putting out 204bhp and 301 lb ft of torque. We all know that its the torque that turns the tires so the relatively low hp number shouldn’t effect the performance. 

Besides, it’s a turbo right? How long do you think it is going to take the tuners to come up with a kit to boost HP and Torque to Lancer levels?

The diesel setup should also provide much better fuel economy, less maintenance, less emmisions and increased durability. However it is doubtful the production model will have the Lambo esque’ doors or thankfully that hideous interior with its wrong color choice - too many angles and huge middle console (probably housing the rear driveshaft), but much of the other styling queues should make it to the final version.