Omio

LG Posts Positive Q2 Results, Poised To Take No. 3 Spot

By Ernest DokucloseAuthor: Ernest Doku Name: Ernest Doku
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About: I like gadgets, loads! I like talking about them, writing about them, using them, watching other people use them though binoculars... Some would say it was an unhealthy fascination, but then I'd be all like, "Shh...," and go back to doing gadget-related things. Hit me up on Xbox Live or PSN, I'm EJStyleS. I promise to give you a good match as well as talk about things that aren't gadgets. A bit.See Authors Posts (491)

Their tagline rings true, as life certainly is good for the Korean electronics manufacturer if recent financial reports are anything to go by.

Despite their other electronic devices performing well, LG’s mobile sector has been particularly buoyant of late. Selling a record 27.7 million mobile phones from April to June, they have attributed their successes to the luxury handsets performing well with the Secret, the Viewty, and even their cut-price contender, the Orsay attracting huge sales. Also, their focus on the emerging sectors of India and South America has proved profitable.

This puts LG in a strong position moving forward, and with a 9.1% market share and over 50 million sold this year alone, many analysts feel that they could overtake the ailing Motorola to become the third largest phone maker. As recently as March, some were speculating as to whether they could overtake Sony Ericsson, and it took place as predicted only last quarter.

LG does recognise the economic downturn will hit them however, predicting a slowdown in sales for the second half of the year, as fewer new models are released. Still, in light of the difficulties faced by their competitors, LG’s optimistic goal of selling 100 million handsets for 2008 is refreshing.

Could Samsung’s Omnia Be All Things To Everyone?

By Ernest DokucloseAuthor: Ernest Doku Name: Ernest Doku
Email: ernest.doku@omio.com
Site: http://blog.omio.com
About: I like gadgets, loads! I like talking about them, writing about them, using them, watching other people use them though binoculars... Some would say it was an unhealthy fascination, but then I'd be all like, "Shh...," and go back to doing gadget-related things. Hit me up on Xbox Live or PSN, I'm EJStyleS. I promise to give you a good match as well as talk about things that aren't gadgets. A bit.See Authors Posts (491)

With the iPhone 3G’s unveiling far behind us, it seems a far better time to have a look at Samsung’s new i900 Omnia. It had the misfortune of being leaked by Samsung around the same time as Mr. Jobs decided to show his hand, and as such was a tad overlooked. Which is a shame, because it looks to be a beast.

The name (Latin for ‘everything’ and Arabic for ‘wish’) is a pretty clear indication Samsung feels this handset encompasses everything the phone lover will desire, including the glaring oversights in Apple’s own. The massive 3.2-inch screen has haptic force feedback and is easy to use with the included stylus, whilst Samsung’s proprietary TouchWiz software takes away the bitter taste of navigating the Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system. Admittedly, despite the Vista-esque widgets and customisable front-end, it still seems to fall short of the intuitive nature of the iPhone. Take a look at this in-depth video courtesy of Mobifrance to see the phone in (slightly unresponsive) action.

Don’t worry, as the user experience is definitely the iPhone’s specialised subject, and the Omnia hits back hard in all other areas. The 5 megapixel uber-camera shows up the iPhone’s meager 2 MP effort, whilst the built in full-fat GPS, FM radio, TV output and stereo Bluetooth put the boot in. Deservedly so, as even phones that would prove an embarrassment to wield in public have such features as standard.

Arguably the crowning achievement is that the Omnia’s multimedia player is happy running almost any popular audio and video file format, going as far as being the first Windows handset to achieve DivX certification. Downloaded episodes of House (legally, of course) is the ideal way to fill up the 8 or 16GB of memory the Omnia is packing, whilst the iPhone throws a hissy fit the moment a wrongly encoded MP3 goes near it.

With such a strong feature set, if users can get past the ‘homebrew iPhone skin’ feel that the TouchWiz interface has, and if Samsung is willing to throw LG Secret levels of advertising cash at it, this flagship handset could be the one to upset the Apple cart this summer.

Update: Looking at the new official site, we can safely say that Samsung cut a nice fat cheque for the marketing budget…

Sony Ericsson F305 : PSPhone?

By Ernest DokucloseAuthor: Ernest Doku Name: Ernest Doku
Email: ernest.doku@omio.com
Site: http://blog.omio.com
About: I like gadgets, loads! I like talking about them, writing about them, using them, watching other people use them though binoculars... Some would say it was an unhealthy fascination, but then I'd be all like, "Shh...," and go back to doing gadget-related things. Hit me up on Xbox Live or PSN, I'm EJStyleS. I promise to give you a good match as well as talk about things that aren't gadgets. A bit.See Authors Posts (491)

All the signs are there… X and O buttons, a little Playstation-esque d-pad and the dedicated ‘game’ shortcut button has the familiar joypad outline on it. Except it isn’t.

The new handset unofficially outed by the Unofficial Sony Ericsson blog in a completely unofficial manner is the new F305.

The F stands for fun apparently, and no genuine connection aside from the vaguely cosmetic has been made to Sony’s successful handheld. It has already been branded the PSPhone by at least one blog (this one…), and it is obviously designed with an eye towards being a gamer’s handset. It comes preloaded with this season’s hot new bandwagon, motion sensitive games!

Completely unlike the Wii (or LG Secret, or LG Orsay, or the N95….), there are a range of waggle-based games designed for use with it. In an impressive touch, albeit a relic from the heady days of Battleships on the Ericsson T68, Bluetooth multiplayer is also available.

It is also replete with all the great things you grow to expect from a new Sony Ericsson with RDS radio, Track ID, memory card support and amusing colours (”Polar” White and “Mystic” Black).

It is probably alright at making and receiving calls too, but does that even matter anymore?

Super Asus Galaxi

By Ernest DokucloseAuthor: Ernest Doku Name: Ernest Doku
Email: ernest.doku@omio.com
Site: http://blog.omio.com
About: I like gadgets, loads! I like talking about them, writing about them, using them, watching other people use them though binoculars... Some would say it was an unhealthy fascination, but then I'd be all like, "Shh...," and go back to doing gadget-related things. Hit me up on Xbox Live or PSN, I'm EJStyleS. I promise to give you a good match as well as talk about things that aren't gadgets. A bit.See Authors Posts (491)

Now Asus are known for making the sexiest Little PC That Could, people are suddenly taking a lot more notice with the newest entry in their mobile phone stable. The quad-band P320 Galaxi, despite being a bit of a YAiC (Yet Another iClone) in the looks department, it has some serious specs to defend itself. With GPS being this season’s must have accessory for the smartphone market, the Galaxi is no exception.

It has the auspicious honour of being the smallest GPS mobile on the block, cutting a slim figure at 99 x 54.5 x 13.35 mm. Doubling as a more than competent audio/visual media device, it has a 2-megapixel camera and also incorporates the innovative ‘Asus Today’ feature.

Very similar to the Vista/Apple widgets, icons such as time, calendar, messages, weather and the media player can be seen easily in the same window – providing users with easy access to functions. Packing a 65,000 colour 2.6-inch touchscreen and running on Windows Mobile 6.1, all the wireless bases are covered too with Bluetooth 2.0 and Wi-Fi connectivity.

A strong all-rounder, due for release by the end of June (around £300 offline), it definitely stands up to close scrutiny as far as vital statistics goes. With the HTC Touch Diamond out early next week and the LG Secret turning plenty of heads, it looks like the battle to be the iPhone alternative will be a bloody (exciting) one.

Source: Asus