150 Ampere

Last time, I took a look at 3G alternatives to the Apple iPhone. In the interim, Apple has announced that it will be releasing a 3G iPhone in 2008, so the question of waiting has become even more relevant.

If you don’t want to wait for a 3G iPhone or you’re looking for alternatives, there are several other 3G phones on the market worth looking at. Last time, I looked at the Nokia N95. I’m going to stick with the Nokia line this time, but I want to look at the E65.

The E65 is definitely a business-class phone, so if you’re looking for a mobile BFF, the E65 will seem a little stuffy in comparison to consumer devices. Like the N95, the E65 is a slider that stows a large numerical keypad with additional controls for phone features. The E65 has three softkeys, one of which is completely programmable. The E65 delivers several conference-calling features, including one-touch dialing into a conference service, and joining two separate incoming calls together. These features are what distinguishes the E65 as a business class phone. Convenience users may find the E65 either provides too much, or doesn’t provide enough of the features consumers want.

The E65 offers Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and IR support. It also features several business-oriented document readers for Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point, and PDF files, and mobile email support. It also comes loaded with Nokia’s mobile Web browser. The 240 x 320 pixel screen has a single vertical orientation, and may be a bit hard on the eyes if you’re trying to read documents. The screen is clear and bright, however and can display 16 million colours.

The E65 comes with a marginal camera at 2.0 megapixels, but the camera does not face the user, so the E65 could not be used to make video phone calls, something a business-class user might have found helpful. It supports SMS and MMS messaging, has a microSD memory slot, supports up to six hours of talk time and as many as 11 days of standby time.

The E65 includes an MP3 player that also handles AAC files, but you’ll have to pop for Nokia Pop-Port compatible stereo earphones on your own, since Nokia only supplies mono earphones with the E65.

In all, it’s definitely a business phone! It comes in two different colour schemes: red and silver, and brown and silver. You can purchase it online from Nokia for £249. You can also pick up a matching Bluetooth headset for £32.

Apple’s introduction of the EDGE iPhone may be a bit of a disappointment to some who were hoping for a 3G product. It was clear from the introduction of the iPhone in the US that Apple weren’t quite ready to cross the 3G threshhold, which leaves open the question of whether to buy an iPhone now or hold out for a 3G product at some future date.

Over the next few posts, I’ll be taking a closer look at 3G phones and what they offer in comparison to the iPhone.

Other 3G phones are plentiful in the UK, the most popular of which is arguably the Nokia N95. The overall device presentation is reminiscent of a PDA, so it doesn’t sport the hipness of the iPhone design, but it’s definitely worth checking out and likely represents the future direction of cell phone deployment.

Nokia markets the N95 as a multi-media computer, rather than as a simple phone. The distinction gives you an idea of what this phone can do. The N95 includes a built-in GPS; digital music player; a 5 mega-pixel, 20x zoom camera with an integrated LED flash, self-timer and video capture; support for 3G and HSDPA networks; Wi-Fi support, a roomy 8GB of storage and several applications designed especially for the N95. The super-bright 2.6″ TFT display also switches automatically between portrait and landscape modes.

The processor is relatively speedy, at 330MHz, and users can expect this to speed up as time goes on. The phone functions don’t require that much power, but if the device is to maintain its “multimedia computer” status, faster processing is in order.

One interesting feature of the N95 is its dual-slider design. If you slide in one direction, you’ll reveal the keypad. Slide opposite and you’ll have access to the music player touch pad controls.

The biggest disadvantage of the N95 to date is the battery life, which won’t provide a great deal of time for avid users of all of the device’s functions and applications.

I browsed trough one of my new favourite sites, Testfreaks, and noticed that they had finally added a lot more products and functions. My mission now is to find me a new digital camera that I can have for a long time to come. A part of me wants a nice SLR camera but the other part thinks it would be a lot easier with just a small point and shot camera. I have narrowed it down to these cameras for now. 

Olympus E-510 – SLR Camera with a medium price.

Olympus FE-200 - A verry nice standard point and shot camera or the Olympus FE-250 maybe.. moving on to another SLR Camera the Nikon D2X. I got to say I love the looks of the big SLR cameras but will it really be usefull to carry with me all the time? The idea of owning a Leica camera has always thrilled me but I’m not sure about the Leica M3.. Maybe? Moving back to Nikon again they really seem to be on top of what they are doing and the D200 looks amazing and then I haven’t even started talking about the picture quality, check out the D200 group on flickr. Samsung has started to make some really nice looking cameras that also takes from what I can tell great pictures. On of Samsungs camera sthat seems to be popular amongst the reviewers is the Samsung L73. I get that retro feeling from the L73 and that warms my heart a bit

Moving on, I might have completly forgot about Sony (I wonder why) but  it seems to me like they are mostly making small standard point and shoot cameras. I found a nice super zoomer with the DSC-H5, it has 12x optical zoom which could be nice?..

Maybe I’ll just go for the ever so trust worthy Canon Ixus 850 IS.

Let me know if you have any ideas..

So, Apple’s finally made it official. The new iPhone becomes available in the UK 9 November. The iPhone has generated enormous interest since Apple released to the US market in June. At £269, you’re probably wondering why you should run out and buy one. To help you justify your purchase, I’ve compiled five reasons why you need to queue up in November for your very own iPhone.

5. Getting an iPhone on 9 November will allow you to beat out the French once again. Our channel neighbors reportedly receive their chance at the iPhone on 29 November. You can enjoy yours quite smugly for nearly a full three weeks, even if it is more expensive than the French version.

4. At least Apple didn’t choose BT.

3. The iPhone is a worthy challenger to the Aston Martin for coolest brand in the UK. [Lesson to Apple: never send an iPod to do an iPhone’s job.]

2. The iPhone can hold all of your photos of the hot German models at last week’s auto show in Frankfurt.

And the number one reason to get an iPhone….

1. Finally, you’ll have something inside your pants that people want to touch.

This little gem comes to us via Macally. It’s not the first cup-holder based iPod carrier, but it does sport Bluetooth hands-free calling and iPod controls. According to those who know more than me, hands-free calling is just as dangerous as using a hand-held mobile phone.

Between you and me, parking an iPod or a mobile phone in your drink-holder seems like a good way to direct a perfectly lovely cup of Earl Grey right into your Easter eggs. I mean, where else are you supposed to put your bevvy? And isn’t holding a hot cup of tea or coffee just as dangerous as holding a phone?

Nonetheless, if you’re dead-set on hurting yourself, this little gadget also includes an FM transmitter so you can hear your tunes through the car audio system. While you’re being charged with distracted driving, this little gizmo will charge your iPod. It won’t support the latest iPod touch or the new iPod nano, nor will it support the iPhone, which is ok, since nothing else here seems to support it either.

It’s available online for US$119.

In the past week or so, Microsoft and Siemens, Apple and Jaguar, and Apple and VW have announced joint development agreements. Today we take a look at the real benefits of these partnerships.

11. Group licensing means windows for everybody. This option is especially good for parents. No more fighting over who gets the windows!
10. Improved multitasking. Since everyone multitasks when driving anyway, don’t fight it - improve it!
9. Online registration. No more going to the DMV to register your vehicle. Everything’s handled online the first time you start the car.
8. Less likely to experience damage when you back up. Backing up has always been hard on drivers. Now, with automatic back-ups, drivers can feel safe and secure.
7. Remote assistance, improved navigation and searching capabilities. Something for the driver who can’t bring himself to ask for directions.
6. Unlicensed drivers won’t work. Another feature meant for parents. Also good for serial drink-drivers.
5. Roaming profiles. Let’s you enjoy your time out on the road.
4. Regular driver updates. Excellent way to hold Sunday driving to a minimum.
3. Better control over keep-alive parameters. Safety is always the highest priority.
2. After a crash, you can just restart. Much better than having to go weeks without your car while it’s in the shop.
1. Eject option. Need I say more?